Key concepts and a world-wide look at plant recruitment networks.

Plant-plant interactions are major determinants of the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. There is a long tradition in the study of these interactions, their mechanisms and their consequences using experimental, observational and theoretical approaches. Empirical studies overwhelmingly focus at the level of species pairs or small sets of species.

Exploring the influences of resource limitation and plant aging on pollen development in Azorella nivalis Phil. (Apiaceae), a long-lived high-Andean cushion plant.

Angiosperm pollen, the male gametophyte, plays a crucial role in facilitating fertilization by protecting and transporting male sperm cells to the female pistil. Despite their seemingly simple structure, pollen grains undergo intricate development to produce viable sperm cells capable of fertilizing the egg cell. Factors such as resource limitation and plant aging can disrupt normal pollen development and affect pollen performance.

An Interesting Image of Carcinoma Breast with Renal Calyceal Diverticulum Mimicking Renal Metastasis on [18F]FDG PET/CT Scan.

A diverticulum is an outpouching of a hollow (or fluid-filled) structure in the body. They are most commonly seen in the urinary bladder, intestine, and pharyngeal region and are rarely seen in renal calyces. They are usually benign, asymptomatic, and are coincidentally detected.

Predation risk and floral rewards: How pollinators balance these conflicts and the consequences on plant fitness.

Foraging behavior of pollinators is shaped by, among other factors, the conflict between maximizing resource intake and minimizing predation risk; yet, empirical studies quantifying variation in both forces are rare, compared to those investigating each separately. Here, we discuss the importance of simultaneously assessing bottom-up and top-down forces in the study of plant-pollinator interactions, and propose a conceptual and testable graphical hypothesis for pollinator foraging behavior and plant fitness outcomes as a function of varying floral rewards and predation risk. In low predation risk scenarios, no noticeable changes in pollinator foraging behavior are expected, with reward levels affecting only the activity threshold.

A palliative care approach for adult non-cancer patients with life-limiting illnesses is cost-saving or cost-neutral: a systematic review of RCTs.

Background: Patients living with life-limiting illnesses other than cancer constitute the majority of patients in need of palliative care globally, yet most previous systematic reviews of the cost impact of palliative care have not exclusively focused on this population. Reviews that tangentially looked at non-cancer patients found inconclusive evidence. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for treatment efficacy, while total health care costs offer a comprehensive measure of resource use.