Plasticity in Hydraulic Architecture: Riparian Trees Respond to Increased Temperatures With Genotype-Specific Adjustments to Leaf Traits.

Climate means and variability are shifting rapidly, leading to mismatches between climate and locally adapted plant traits. Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a plant to respond to environmental conditions within a lifetime, may provide a buffer for plants to persist under increasing temperature and water stress. We used two reciprocal common gardens across a steep temperature gradient to investigate plasticity in six populations of Fremont cottonwood, an important foundation tree species in arid riparian ecosystems.

On the influence of mechanical conditions in osteochondral defect healing.

Despite the introduction of new surgical techniques, the treatment of cartilage defects remains challenging. Delay or complete failure of cartilage healing is associated with problems in biological regeneration. The influence of mechanical conditions on this process, however, remains unevaluated.

Straining of the intact and fractured proximal humerus under physiological-like loading.

Surgical treatment of proximal humeral fractures remains challenging in elderly patients, primarily due to insufficient implant fixation. Both bone quality and physiological-like loading conditions are commonly overlooked during pre-clinical in vitro evaluation. However, this knowledge is necessary in order to improve surgical treatment of the proximal humerus and the mechanical behavior of implants, particularly in patients with complex fractures and weak bone stock.

[Early stress tests following an uncomplicated myocardial infarct: a comparison between symptom-limited and submaximal tests].

To compare the diagnostic and prognostic usefulness of symptom-limited versus load-limited submaximal stress testing, 76 patients, during the first week post acute non-complicated myocardial infarction, were submitted to a symptom-limited Naughton-modified protocol stress test. At 2 METs, 3 METs and maximal effort levels, the tests were classified as positive or negative following the currently used criteria. After a mean follow-up of 15 months, the symptom-limited protocol showed the best sensitivity (95%), specificity (78%), positive (64%) and negative (98%) predictive value, and also the highest risk ratio (27.