Contrasting strategies in morphological and physiological response to drought stress among temperate forest understory forbs and graminoids.

Drought stress can profoundly affect plant growth and physiological vitality, yet there is a notable scarcity of controlled drought experiments focused on herbaceous species of the forest understorey. In this study, we collected seeds from five forb and four graminoid species common in European temperate forests. Seeds were germinated under controlled glasshouse conditions and subjected to moderate drought stress for 5 weeks.

Adjustment of storage capacity for non-structural carbohydrates in response to limited water availability in two temperate woody species.

Reserves of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) stored in living cells are essential for drought tolerance of trees. However, little is known about the phenotypic plasticity of living storage compartments (SC) and their interactions with NSC reserves under changing water availability. Here, we examined adjustments of SC and NSC reserves in stems and roots of seedlings of two temperate tree species, Acer negundo L.

Patterns of tropical forest understory temperatures.

Temperature is a fundamental driver of species distribution and ecosystem functioning. Yet, our knowledge of the microclimatic conditions experienced by organisms inside tropical forests remains limited. This is because ecological studies often rely on coarse-gridded temperature estimates representing the conditions at 2 m height in an open-air environment (i.

Infarct exclusion repair of postmyocardial infarction ventricular septal rupture with a hybrid patch and septal occluder device compared with patch only.

Objective: We developed a hybrid technique for repairing post-myocardial infarction (MI) ventricular septal defect (VSD) that combines infarct exclusion with patch and a nitinol-mesh septal occluder device (SOD) to provide a scaffold to support the damaged septal wall. Here, we compare outcomes of patients with post-MI VSD repaired using patch only or hybrid patch/SOD.

Methods: Patients undergoing post-MI VSD repair at our institution from 2013 to 2022 who received patch alone or patch/SOD repair were analyzed.

Improving patient outcomes with a mobile digital health platform for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Purpose: ManageMySurgery (MMS) is a digital health application (app) for patients undergoing surgery, including Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). Patients using MMS review procedure-specific education, view FAQs, and report patient-reported outcomes. This study assessed the impact of app use on postoperative outcomes.

Shifts in intra-annual growth dynamics drive a decline in productivity of temperate trees in Central European forest under warmer climate.

Climate change shifts tree growth phenology and dynamics in temperate forests. However, there is still little information on how warming climate changes intra-annual growth patterns and how these changes affect the productivity and carbon uptake of temperate trees. To address this knowledge gap, we used high-precision growth data from automatic dendrometers to quantify the impacts of unusually warm weather in 2022 (hot year) on growth phenology, dynamics and aboveground biomass (AGB) production in eight common temperate species (both conifers and broadleaved) in the Czech Republic.

ForestClim-Bioclimatic variables for microclimate temperatures of European forests.

Microclimate research gained renewed interest over the last decade and its importance for many ecological processes is increasingly being recognized. Consequently, the call for high-resolution microclimatic temperature grids across broad spatial extents is becoming more pressing to improve ecological models. Here, we provide a new set of open-access bioclimatic variables for microclimate temperatures of European forests at 25 × 25 m resolution.

Networking the forest infrastructure towards near real-time monitoring - A white paper.

Forests account for nearly 90 % of the world's terrestrial biomass in the form of carbon and they support 80 % of the global biodiversity. To understand the underlying forest dynamics, we need a long-term but also relatively high-frequency, networked monitoring system, as traditionally used in meteorology or hydrology. While there are numerous existing forest monitoring sites, particularly in temperate regions, the resulting data streams are rarely connected and do not provide information promptly, which hampers real-time assessments of forest responses to extreme climate events.

Too big to fail?-An aggressive strategy for a dire problem.

Tracheo-innominate fistula (TIF) is a reported complication of tracheostomy that typically presents with a herald bleed. The phenomenon of an aortotracheal fistula has similar pathology and presentation to TIF, but no standard surgical repair. In the manuscript by Musgrove et al.

The First Autoregulated Total Artificial Heart Implant in the United States.

The Aeson total artificial heart provides right- and left-sided heart replacement for biventricular failure with notable improvements from prior generations. These include enhanced hemocompatibility and autoregulation enabling increased output in response to higher filling pressures. We report the first clinical implantation in the United States as part of an early feasibility study.

Selective Sinus Replacement for Aortic Root Aneurysm: Durable Approach in Selected Patients.

Background: Selective sinus replacement (SSR) allows a tailored repair approach in patients with sinus of Valsalva or asymmetric aortic root aneurysm. SSR avoids the need for coronary reimplantation for nondiseased sinuses and shortens operative time, although potential for late growth of retained sinuses exists. This study describes selection of patients and assesses operative outcomes and late root dimensions after SSR.

Does leaf gas exchange correlate with petiole xylem structural traits in Ulmus laevis seedlings under well-watered and drought stress conditions?

Several studies have shown that petiole xylem structure could be an important predictor of leaf gas exchange capacity, but the question of how petiole xylem structure relates to leaf gas exchange under different environment conditions remains unresolved. Moreover, knowledge of the amount of leaf gas exchange and structural variation that exists within a single species is also limited. In this study, we investigated the intraspecies coordination of leaf gas exchange and petiole xylem traits in 2-year-old seedlings of Ulmus laevis Pall.

Pain Trajectories After Valve Surgeries Performed via Midline Sternotomy Versus Mini-Thoracotomy.

Objectives: Controlling moderate-to-severe pain remains a major challenge after cardiothoracic surgery. Several outcomes have been compared extensively after valve surgery performed via midline sternotomy versus mini-thoracotomy, but postoperative pain (POP) was not adequately examined. Therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that there is no difference in POP trajectories in patients undergoing valve surgery via midline sternotomy versus mini-thoracotomy.

Feasibility study of a novel digital health platform for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Introduction: Despite abundant evidence indicating that digital health solutions improve outcomes in chronic medical conditions, there are few validated solutions for acute surgical episodes. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a less invasive alternative to open surgery that is becoming more prevalent. We assessed the feasibility of ManageMySurgery (MMS), a smartphone application that combines patient education and outcomes tracking for patients undergoing TAVR procedures.

Metabolomic and Physiological Changes in Seedlings Infected with and the A1 and A2 Mating Types of .

infections are followed by histological alterations, physiological and metabolomic adjustments in the host but very few studies contemplate these changes simultaneously. seedlings were inoculated with A1 and A2 mating types of the heterothallic and with the homothallic to identify plant physiological and metabolomic changes accompanying microscope observations of the colonization process one, two and three weeks after inoculation. -infected plants died at a faster pace than those inoculated with and showed higher mortality than A1-infected plants.

Tailored approach and outcomes of aortic arch reconstruction after acute type A dissection repair.

Objective: After limited root/ascending with or without hemiarch repair for acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD), 20% to 30% of patients require distal reintervention, frequently for arch pathology. In this report, we describe an institutional algorithm for arch management after previous limited ATAAD repair and detail operative and long-term outcomes.

Methods: From August 2005 to April 2021, 71 patients status post previous limited ATAAD repair underwent reoperative arch repair involving zones 1 to 3 for aneurysmal degeneration of residual arch dissection including complete cervical debranching with zone 0/1 thoracic endovascular aortic repair in 6 (8%), open total arch in 13 (18%), type I hybrid arch repair in 23 (32%), and type II/III hybrid arch repair in 29 (41%).

The 2018 European heatwave led to stem dehydration but not to consistent growth reductions in forests.

Heatwaves exert disproportionately strong and sometimes irreversible impacts on forest ecosystems. These impacts remain poorly understood at the tree and species level and across large spatial scales. Here, we investigate the effects of the record-breaking 2018 European heatwave on tree growth and tree water status using a collection of high-temporal resolution dendrometer data from 21 species across 53 sites.

ForestTemp - Sub-canopy microclimate temperatures of European forests.

Ecological research heavily relies on coarse-gridded climate data based on standardized temperature measurements recorded at 2 m height in open landscapes. However, many organisms experience environmental conditions that differ substantially from those captured by these macroclimatic (i.e.

Do angiosperm tree species adjust intervessel lateral contact in response to soil drought?

During soil drought (i.e. limited soil water availability to plants), woody species may adjust the structure of their vessel network to improve their resistance against future soil drought stress.

Low resistance but high resilience to drought of flushing Norway spruce seedlings.

Spring drought episodes are becoming more frequent and intensive in European temperate forests. To study tree resilience to spring drought, Norway spruce seedlings were exposed to three levels of drought stress (well-watered (W), moderately stressed (M) and severely stressed (S)) for 42 days and then fully irrigated for 14 days. Drought strongly reduced gas exchange parameters for both M and S seedlings.

When to Consider Deferral of Surgery in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: A Review.

Background: Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a surgical emergency with an operative mortality of up to 30%, a rate that has not changed meaningfully in more than 2 decades. A growing body of research has highlighted several comorbidities and presenting factors in which delay or permanent deferral of surgery may be considered; however, modern comprehensive summative reviews are lacking. The urgency and timing of this review are underscored by significant challenges in resource use posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.