Maize stigmas react differently to self- and cross-pollination and fungal invasion.

During sexual reproduction in flowering plants, tip-growing pollen tubes travel from the stigma inside the maternal tissues of the pistil toward ovules. In maize (Zea mays L.), the stigma is highly elongated, forming thread-like strands known as silks.

Comparison of Dental Findings with Computed Tomographic and Clinical Examination in Patients with End-Stage Heart Failure.

: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of pre-existing computed tomography (CT) examinations for the detection of dental pathologies compared with clinical dental examination in patients with end-stage heart failure. : For this purpose, 59 patients with end-stage heart failure and pre-existing non-dental CT images of the craniofacial region were included. Virtual orthopantomograms (vOPG) were reconstructed.

Interrater Variability of ML-Based CT-FFR in Patients without Obstructive CAD before TAVR: Influence of Image Quality, Coronary Artery Calcifications, and Location of Measurement.

CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) can improve the specificity of coronary CT-angiography (cCTA) for ruling out relevant coronary artery disease (CAD) prior to transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, little is known about the reproducibility of CT-FFR and the influence of diffuse coronary artery calcifications or segment location. The objective was to assess the reliability of machine-learning (ML)-based CT-FFR prior to TAVR in patients without obstructive CAD and to assess the influence of image quality, coronary artery calcium score (CAC), and the location of measurement within the coronary tree.

Ultrasound intima-media thickness cut-off values for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis using a dual clinical and MRI reference standard and cardiovascular risk stratification.

Objectives: To derive segmental cut-off values and measures of diagnostic accuracy for the intima-media thickness of compressed temporal artery segments for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) on the patient level. To examine the influence of cardiovascular risk.

Methods: Retrospectively, patients evaluated for GCA with an ultrasound of the temporal arteries and an MRI of the head, including a T1-fatsat-black blood (T1-BB) sequence, were identified and classified based on cardiovascular risk and a dual reference standard of T1-BB on the segmental level and the clinical diagnosis on the patient level.