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Sample records for vein xylem water

  1. Water filtration using plant xylem.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael S H Boutilier

    Full Text Available Effective point-of-use devices for providing safe drinking water are urgently needed to reduce the global burden of waterborne disease. Here we show that plant xylem from the sapwood of coniferous trees--a readily available, inexpensive, biodegradable, and disposable material--can remove bacteria from water by simple pressure-driven filtration. Approximately 3 cm(3 of sapwood can filter water at the rate of several liters per day, sufficient to meet the clean drinking water needs of one person. The results demonstrate the potential of plant xylem to address the need for pathogen-free drinking water in developing countries and resource-limited settings.

  2. Direct observation of local xylem embolisms induced by soil drying in intact Zea mays leaves.

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    Ryu, Jeongeun; Hwang, Bae Geun; Kim, Yangmin X; Lee, Sang Joon

    2016-04-01

    The vulnerability of vascular plants to xylem embolism is closely related to their stable long-distance water transport, growth, and survival. Direct measurements of xylem embolism are required to understand what causes embolism and what strategies plants employ against it. In this study, synchrotron X-ray microscopy was used to non-destructively investigate both the anatomical structures of xylem vessels and embolism occurrence in the leaves of intact Zea mays (maize) plants. Xylem embolism was induced by water stress at various soil drying periods and soil water contents. X-ray images of dehydrated maize leaves showed that the ratio of gas-filled vessels to all xylem vessels increased with decreased soil water content and reached approximately 30% under severe water stress. Embolism occurred in some but not all vessels. Embolism in maize leaves was not strongly correlated with xylem diameter but was more likely to occur in the peripheral veins. The rate of embolism formation in metaxylem vessels was higher than in protoxylem vessels. This work has demonstrated that xylem embolism remains low in maize leaves under water stress and that there xylem has characteristic spatial traits of vulnerability to embolism. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  3. Arabidopsis thaliana Ei-5: Minor Vein Architecture Adjustment Compensates for Low Vein Density in Support of Photosynthesis.

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    Stewart, Jared J; Polutchko, Stephanie K; Demmig-Adams, Barbara; Adams, William W

    2018-01-01

    An Arabidopsis thaliana accession with naturally low vein density, Eifel-5 (Ei-5), was compared to Columbia-0 (Col-0) with respect to rosette growth, foliar vein architecture, photosynthesis, and transpiration. In addition to having to a lower vein density, Ei-5 grew more slowly, with significantly lower rates of rosette expansion, but had similar capacities for photosynthetic oxygen evolution on a leaf area basis compared to Col-0. The individual foliar minor veins were larger in Ei-5, with a greater number of vascular cells per vein, compared to Col-0. This compensation for low vein density resulted in similar values for the product of vein density × phloem cell number per minor vein in Ei-5 and Col-0, which suggests a similar capacity for foliar sugar export to support similar photosynthetic capacities per unit leaf area. In contrast, the product of vein density × xylem cell number per minor vein was significantly greater in Ei-5 compared to Col-0, and was associated not only with a higher ratio of water-transporting tracheary elements versus sugar-transporting sieve elements but also significantly higher foliar transpiration rates per leaf area in Ei-5. In contrast, previous studies in other systems had reported higher ratios of tracheary to sieve elements and higher transpiration rate to be associated with higher - rather than lower - vein densities. The Ei-5 accession thus further underscores the plasticity of the foliar vasculature by illustrating an example where a higher ratio of tracheary to sieve elements is associated with a lower vein density. Establishment of the Ei-5 accession, with a low vein density but an apparent overcapacity for water flux through the foliar xylem network, may have been facilitated by a higher level of precipitation in its habitat of origin compared to that of the Col-0 accession.

  4. Functional water flow pathways and hydraulic regulation in the xylem network of Arabidopsis.

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    Park, Joonghyuk; Kim, Hae Koo; Ryu, Jeongeun; Ahn, Sungsook; Lee, Sang Joon; Hwang, Ildoo

    2015-03-01

    In vascular plants, the xylem network constitutes a complex microfluidic system. The relationship between vascular network architecture and functional hydraulic regulation during actual water flow remains unexplored. Here, we developed a method to visualize individual xylem vessels of the 3D xylem network of Arabidopsis thaliana, and to analyze the functional activities of these vessels using synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with hydrophilic gold nanoparticles as flow tracers. We show how the organization of the xylem network changes dynamically throughout the plant, and reveal how the elementary units of this transport system are organized to ensure both long-distance axial water transport and local lateral water transport. Xylem vessels form distinct clusters that operate as functional units, and the activity of these units, which determines water flow pathways, is modulated not only by varying the number and size of xylem vessels, but also by altering their interconnectivity and spatial arrangement. Based on these findings, we propose a regulatory model of water transport that ensures hydraulic efficiency and safety. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Uncoupling between soil and xylem water isotopic composition: how to discriminate mobile and tightly-bound water?

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    Martín Gómez, Paula; Aguilera, Mònica; Pemán, Jesús; Gil Pelegrín, Eustaquio; Ferrio, Juan Pedro

    2014-05-01

    As a general rule, no isotopic fractionation occurs during water uptake and water transport, thus, xylem water reflects source water. However, this correspondence does not always happen. Isotopic enrichment of xylem water has been found in several cases and has been either associated to 'stem processes' like cuticular evaporation 1 and xylem-phloem communication under water stress 2,3 or to 'soil processes' such as species-specific use of contrasting water sources retained at different water potential forces in soil. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that mobile and tightly-bound water may show different isotopic signature 4,5. However, standard cryogenic distillation does not allow to separate different water pools within soil samples. Here, we carried out a study in a mixed adult forest (Pinus sylvestris, Quercus subpyrenaica and Buxus sempervirens) growing in a relatively deep loamy soil in the Pre-Pyrenees. During one year, we sampled xylem from twigs and soil at different depths (10, 30 and 50 cm). We also sampled xylem from trunk and bigger branches to assess whether xylem water was enriched in the distal parts of the tree. We found average deviations in the isotopic signature from xylem to soil of 4o 2o and 2.4o in δ18O and 18.3o 7.3o and 8.9o in δ2H, for P.sylvestris, Q.subpyrenaica and B.sempervirens respectively. Xylem water was always enriched compared to soil. In contrast, we did not find clear differences in isotopic composition between xylem samples along the tree. Declining the hypothesis that 'stem processes' would cause these uncoupling between soil and xylem isotopic values, we tested the possibility to separate mobile and tightly-bound water by centrifugation. Even though we could separate two water fractions in soils close to saturation, we could not recover a mobile fraction in drier soils. In this regard, we welcome suggestions on alternatives to separate different soil fractions in order to find the correspondence between soil and

  6. Phloem as Capacitor: Radial Transfer of Water into Xylem of Tree Stems Occurs via Symplastic Transport in Ray Parenchyma[OPEN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renard, Justine; Tjoelker, Mark G.; Salih, Anya

    2015-01-01

    The transfer of water from phloem into xylem is thought to mitigate increasing hydraulic tension in the vascular system of trees during the diel cycle of transpiration. Although a putative plant function, to date there is no direct evidence of such water transfer or the contributing pathways. Here, we trace the radial flow of water from the phloem into the xylem and investigate its diel variation. Introducing a fluorescent dye (0.1% [w/w] fluorescein) into the phloem water of the tree species Eucalyptus saligna allowed localization of the dye in phloem and xylem tissues using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Our results show that the majority of water transferred between the two tissues is facilitated via the symplast of horizontal ray parenchyma cells. The method also permitted assessment of the radial transfer of water during the diel cycle, where changes in water potential gradients between phloem and xylem determine the extent and direction of radial transfer. When injected during the morning, when xylem water potential rapidly declined, fluorescein was translocated, on average, farther into mature xylem (447 ± 188 µm) compared with nighttime, when xylem water potential was close to zero (155 ± 42 µm). These findings provide empirical evidence to support theoretical predictions of the role of phloem-xylem water transfer in the hydraulic functioning of plants. This method enables investigation of the role of phloem tissue as a dynamic capacitor for water storage and transfer and its contribution toward the maintenance of the functional integrity of xylem in trees. PMID:25588734

  7. Coordination and transport of water and carbohydrates in the coupled soil-root-xylem-phloem leaf system

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    Katul, Gabriel; Huang, Cheng-Wei

    2017-04-01

    In response to varying environmental conditions, stomatal pores act as biological valves that dynamically adjust their size thereby determining the rate of CO2 assimilation and water loss (i.e., transpiration) to the atmosphere. Although the significance of this biotic control on gas exchange is rarely disputed, representing parsimoniously all the underlying mechanisms responsible for stomatal kinetics remain a subject of some debate. It has been conjectured that stomatal control in seed plants (i.e., angiosperm and gymnosperm) represents a compromise between biochemical demand for CO2 and prevention of excessive water loss. This view has been amended at the whole-plant level, where xylem hydraulics and sucrose transport efficiency in phloem appear to impose additional constraints on gas exchange. If such additional constraints impact stomatal opening and closure, then seed plants may have evolved coordinated photosynthetic-hydraulic-sugar transporting machinery that confers some competitive advantages in fluctuating environmental conditions. Thus, a stomatal optimization model that explicitly considers xylem hydraulics and maximum sucrose transport is developed to explore this coordination in the leaf-xylem-phloem system. The model is then applied to progressive drought conditions. The main findings from the model calculations are that (1) the predicted stomatal conductance from the conventional stomatal optimization theory at the leaf and the newly proposed models converge, suggesting a tight coordination in the leaf-xylem-phloem system; (2) stomatal control is mainly limited by the water supply function of the soil-xylem hydraulic system especially when the water flux through the transpiration stream is significantly larger than water exchange between xylem and phloem; (3) thus, xylem limitation imposed on the supply function can be used to differentiate species with different water use strategy across the spectrum of isohydric to anisohydric behavior.

  8. Uptake of water via branches helps timberline conifers refill embolized xylem in late winter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayr, Stefan; Schmid, Peter; Laur, Joan; Rosner, Sabine; Charra-Vaskou, Katline; Dämon, Birgit; Hacke, Uwe G

    2014-04-01

    Xylem embolism is a limiting factor for woody species worldwide. Conifers at the alpine timberline are exposed to drought and freeze-thaw stress during winter, which induce potentially lethal embolism. Previous studies indicated that timberline trees survive by xylem refilling. In this study on Picea abies, refilling was monitored during winter and spring seasons and analyzed in the laboratory and in situ experiments, based on hydraulic, anatomical, and histochemical methods. Refilling started in late winter, when the soil was frozen and soil water not available for the trees. Xylem embolism caused up to 86.2% ± 3.1% loss of conductivity and was correlated with the ratio of closed pits. Refilling of xylem as well as recovery in shoot conductance started in February and corresponded with starch accumulation in secondary phloem and in the mesophyll of needles, where we also observed increasing aquaporin densities in the phloem and endodermis. This indicates that active, cellular processes play a role for refilling even under winter conditions. As demonstrated by our experiments, water for refilling was thereby taken up via the branches, likely by foliar water uptake. Our results suggest that refilling is based on water shifts to embolized tracheids via intact xylem, phloem, and parenchyma, whereby aquaporins reduce resistances along the symplastic pathway and aspirated pits facilitate isolation of refilling tracheids. Refilling must be taken into account as a key process in plant hydraulics and in estimating future effects of climate change on forests and alpine tree ecosystems.

  9. Xylem anatomy correlates with gas exchange, water-use efficiency and growth performance under contrasting water regimes: evidence from Populus deltoides x Populus nigra hybrids.

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    Fichot, Régis; Laurans, Françoise; Monclus, Romain; Moreau, Alain; Pilate, Gilles; Brignolas, Franck

    2009-12-01

    Six Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. x P. nigra L. genotypes were selected to investigate whether stem xylem anatomy correlated with gas exchange rates, water-use efficiency (WUE) and growth performance. Clonal copies of the genotypes were grown in a two-plot common garden test under contrasting water regimes, with one plot maintained irrigated and the other one subjected to moderate summer water deficit. The six genotypes displayed a large range of xylem anatomy, mean vessel and fibre diameter varying from about 40 to 60 microm and from 7.5 to 10.5 microm, respectively. Decreased water availability resulted in a reduced cell size and an important rise in vessel density, but the extent of xylem plasticity was both genotype and trait dependent. Vessel diameter and theoretical xylem-specific hydraulic conductivity correlated positively with stomatal conductance, carbon isotope discrimination and growth performance-related traits and negatively with intrinsic WUE, especially under water deficit conditions. Vessel diameter and vessel density measured under water deficit conditions correlated with the relative losses in biomass production in response to water deprivation; this resulted from the fact that a more plastic xylem structure was generally accompanied by a larger loss in biomass production.

  10. Leaf water stable isotopes and water transport outside the xylem.

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    Barbour, M M; Farquhar, G D; Buckley, T N

    2017-06-01

    How water moves through leaves, and where the phase change from liquid to vapour occurs within leaves, remain largely mysterious. Some time ago, we suggested that the stable isotope composition of leaf water may contain information on transport pathways beyond the xylem, through differences in the development of gradients in enrichment within the various pathways. Subsequent testing of this suggestion provided ambiguous results and even questioned the existence of gradients in enrichment within the mesophyll. In this review, we bring together recent theoretical developments in understanding leaf water transport pathways and stable isotope theory to map a path for future work into understanding pathways of water transport and leaf water stable isotope composition. We emphasize the need for a spatially, anatomically and isotopically explicit model of leaf water transport. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Xylem diameter changes during osmotic stress, desiccation and freezing in Pinus sylvestris and Populus tremula.

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    Lintunen, Anna; Lindfors, Lauri; Nikinmaa, Eero; Hölttä, Teemu

    2017-04-01

    Trees experience low apoplastic water potential frequently in most environments. Low apoplastic water potential increases the risk of embolism formation in xylem conduits and creates dehydration stress for the living cells. We studied the magnitude and rate of xylem diameter change in response to decreasing apoplastic water potential and the role of living parenchyma cells in it to better understand xylem diameter changes in different environmental conditions. We compared responses of control and heat-injured xylem of Pinus sylvestris (L.) and Populus tremula (L.) branches to decreasing apoplastic water potential created by osmotic stress, desiccation and freezing. It was shown that xylem in control branches shrank more in response to decreasing apoplastic water potential in comparison with the samples that were preheated to damage living xylem parenchyma. By manipulating the osmotic pressure of the xylem sap, we observed xylem shrinkage due to decreasing apoplastic water potential even in the absence of water tension within the conduits. These results indicate that decreasing apoplastic water potential led to withdrawal of intracellular water from the xylem parenchyma, causing tissue shrinkage. The amount of xylem shrinkage per decrease in apoplastic water potential was higher during osmotic stress or desiccation compared with freezing. During desiccation, xylem diameter shrinkage involved both dehydration-related shrinkage of xylem parenchyma and water tension-induced shrinkage of conduits, whereas dehydration-related shrinkage of xylem parenchyma was accompanied by swelling of apoplastic ice during freezing. It was also shown that the exchange of water between symplast and apoplast within xylem is clearly faster than previously reported between the phloem and the xylem. Time constant of xylem shrinkage was 40 and 2 times higher during osmotic stress than during freezing stress in P. sylvestris and P. tremula, respectively. Finally, it was concluded that the

  12. The role of water channel proteins in facilitating recovery of leaf hydraulic conductance from water stress in Populus trichocarpa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Laur

    Full Text Available Gas exchange is constrained by the whole-plant hydraulic conductance (Kplant. Leaves account for an important fraction of Kplant and may therefore represent a major determinant of plant productivity. Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf decreases with increasing water stress, which is due to xylem embolism in leaf veins and/or the properties of the extra-xylary pathway. Water flow through living tissues is facilitated and regulated by water channel proteins called aquaporins (AQPs. Here we assessed changes in the hydraulic conductance of Populus trichocarpa leaves during a dehydration-rewatering episode. While leaves were highly sensitive to drought, Kleaf recovered only 2 hours after plants were rewatered. Recovery of Kleaf was absent when excised leaves were bench-dried and subsequently xylem-perfused with a solution containing AQP inhibitors. We examined the expression patterns of 12 highly expressed AQP genes during a dehydration-rehydration episode to identify isoforms that may be involved in leaf hydraulic adjustments. Among the AQPs tested, several genes encoding tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIPs showed large increases in expression in rehydrated leaves, suggesting that TIPs contribute to reversing drought-induced reductions in Kleaf. TIPs were localized in xylem parenchyma, consistent with a role in facilitating water exchange between xylem vessels and adjacent living cells. Dye uptake experiments suggested that reversible embolism formation in minor leaf veins contributed to the observed changes in Kleaf.

  13. The role of water channel proteins in facilitating recovery of leaf hydraulic conductance from water stress in Populus trichocarpa.

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    Laur, Joan; Hacke, Uwe G

    2014-01-01

    Gas exchange is constrained by the whole-plant hydraulic conductance (Kplant). Leaves account for an important fraction of Kplant and may therefore represent a major determinant of plant productivity. Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) decreases with increasing water stress, which is due to xylem embolism in leaf veins and/or the properties of the extra-xylary pathway. Water flow through living tissues is facilitated and regulated by water channel proteins called aquaporins (AQPs). Here we assessed changes in the hydraulic conductance of Populus trichocarpa leaves during a dehydration-rewatering episode. While leaves were highly sensitive to drought, Kleaf recovered only 2 hours after plants were rewatered. Recovery of Kleaf was absent when excised leaves were bench-dried and subsequently xylem-perfused with a solution containing AQP inhibitors. We examined the expression patterns of 12 highly expressed AQP genes during a dehydration-rehydration episode to identify isoforms that may be involved in leaf hydraulic adjustments. Among the AQPs tested, several genes encoding tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIPs) showed large increases in expression in rehydrated leaves, suggesting that TIPs contribute to reversing drought-induced reductions in Kleaf. TIPs were localized in xylem parenchyma, consistent with a role in facilitating water exchange between xylem vessels and adjacent living cells. Dye uptake experiments suggested that reversible embolism formation in minor leaf veins contributed to the observed changes in Kleaf.

  14. Ion-mediated changes of xylem hydraulic resistance in planta: fact or fiction?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ieperen, van W.

    2007-01-01

    Although xylem provides an efficient transport pathway for water in plants, the hydraulic conductivity of xylem (Kh) can still influence plant water status. For decades, the Kh of functional xylem has been assumed to be constant in the short term because xylem consists of a network of dead

  15. Transport and use of CO2 in the xylem sap of Populus deltoides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stringer, J.W.; Kimmerer, T.W.

    1990-01-01

    Results of recent experiments indicate an internal cycling of respiratory CO 2 in woody plants. The CO 2 concentration of xylem sap expressed from the twigs of field grown Populus deltoides ranged from .14 to .50 mM. The pH of the xylem sap was 5.7 to 6.7, providing a significant bicarbonate concentration in many samples. Total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC = CO 2 + H 2 CO 3 + HCO 3 - ) was 0.5 mM to 1.3 mM. Results from the analysis of xylem sap of 10 other species of woody plants were similar. To determine the fate of DIC delivered to the leaves of Populus deltoides, excised leaves were fed 1mM NaHCO 3 (2 μCi NaH 14 CO 3 ml -1 ). Less than 0.4% of the label escaped from the leaves, and ≥93% was fixed. Of the carbon fixed 56% of the 14 C was found in the petiole and midrib, and 14% was in the major veins, with the remaining 30% in the minor veins and lamina. Shading of the peptiole and midrib of leaves decreased the amount of fixed carbon in these tissues to 38% and increased the amount in the lamina to 55%

  16. Magnetic resonance imaging of water ascent in embolized xylem vessels of grapevine stem segments

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    Mingtao Wang; Melvin T. Tyree; Roderick E. Wasylishen

    2013-01-01

    Temporal and spatial information about water refilling of embolized xylem vessels and the rate of water ascent in these vessels is critical for understanding embolism repair in intact living vascular plants. High-resolution 1H magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments have been performed on embolized grapevine stem segments while they were...

  17. Soil water and xylem chemistry in declining sugar maple stands in Pennsylvania

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    David R. DeWalle; Bryan R. Swistock; William E. Sharpe

    1999-01-01

    Evidence is accumulating that decline of sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh., in northern Pennsylvania may be related to overall site fertility as reflected in the chemistry of soil water and bolewood xylem. In this paper we discuss factors related to varying site fertility, including effects of soil liming, past glacialion, topographic position and...

  18. Ion-mediated changes of xylem hydraulic resistance in planta: fact or fiction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Ieperen, Wim

    2007-04-01

    Although xylem provides an efficient transport pathway for water in plants, the hydraulic conductivity of xylem (K(h)) can still influence plant water status. For decades, the K(h) of functional xylem has been assumed to be constant in the short term because xylem consists of a network of dead interconnected capillary elements (conduits). Recent research has shown that K(h) can change in response to the cation content of the xylem fluid. Volume changes of pectin gel in nanometer-sized pores at inter-conduit connections are hypothesized to be the cause, and implications for xylem transport in planta are suggested. However, it seems too early to be conclusive about this phenomenon because the phenomenon has not been measured in planta with xylem fluids that realistically mimic natural xylem sap and the applied methods used to measure ion-mediated changes in K(h) have drawbacks.

  19. Xylem sap proteomics.

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    de Bernonville, Thomas Dugé; Albenne, Cécile; Arlat, Matthieu; Hoffmann, Laurent; Lauber, Emmanuelle; Jamet, Elisabeth

    2014-01-01

    Proteomic analysis of xylem sap has recently become a major field of interest to understand several biological questions related to plant development and responses to environmental clues. The xylem sap appears as a dynamic fluid undergoing changes in its proteome upon abiotic and biotic stresses. Unlike cell compartments which are amenable to purification in sufficient amount prior to proteomic analysis, the xylem sap has to be collected in particular conditions to avoid contamination by intracellular proteins and to obtain enough material. A model plant like Arabidopsis thaliana is not suitable for such an analysis because efficient harvesting of xylem sap is difficult. The analysis of the xylem sap proteome also requires specific procedures to concentrate proteins and to focus on proteins predicted to be secreted. Indeed, xylem sap proteins appear to be synthesized and secreted in the root stele or to originate from dying differentiated xylem cells. This chapter describes protocols to collect xylem sap from Brassica species and to prepare total and N-glycoprotein extracts for identification of proteins by mass spectrometry analyses and bioinformatics.

  20. Xylem anisotropy and water transport--a model for the double sawcut experiment

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    Paul J. Schulte; David G. Costa

    2010-01-01

    Early experiments with overlapping cuts to the stems of trees demonstrated that lateral flow within the stem must be possible to allow such trees to maintain water flow to their leaves. We present a mathematical approach to considering lateral flow in stems by treating the xylem as an anisotropic medium for flow and develop an expression of its conductivity in the form...

  1. Linking xylem water storage with anatomical parameters in five temperate tree species.

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    Jupa, Radek; Plavcová, Lenka; Gloser, Vít; Jansen, Steven

    2016-06-01

    The release of water from storage compartments to the transpiration stream is an important functional mechanism that provides the buffering of sudden fluctuations in water potential. The ability of tissues to release water per change in water potential, referred to as hydraulic capacitance, is assumed to be associated with the anatomy of storage tissues. However, information about how specific anatomical parameters determine capacitance is limited. In this study, we measured sapwood capacitance (C) in terminal branches and roots of five temperate tree species (Fagus sylvatica L., Picea abies L., Quercus robur L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Tilia cordata Mill.). Capacitance was calculated separately for water released mainly from capillary (CI; open vessels, tracheids, fibres, intercellular spaces and cracks) and elastic storage compartments (CII; living parenchyma cells), corresponding to two distinct phases of the moisture release curve. We found that C was generally higher in roots than branches, with CI being 3-11 times higher than CII Sapwood density and the ratio of dead to living xylem cells were most closely correlated with C In addition, the magnitude of CI was strongly correlated with fibre/tracheid lumen area, whereas CII was highly dependent on the thickness of axial parenchyma cell walls. Our results indicate that water released from capillary compartments predominates over water released from elastic storage in both branches and roots, suggesting the limited importance of parenchyma cells for water storage in juvenile xylem of temperate tree species. Contrary to intact organs, water released from open conduits in our small wood samples significantly increased CI at relatively high water potentials. Linking anatomical parameters with the hydraulic capacitance of a tissue contributes to a better understanding of water release mechanisms and their implications for plant hydraulics. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights

  2. N. plumbaginifolia zeaxanthin epoxidase transgenic lines have unaltered baseline ABA accumulations in roots and xylem sap, but contrasting sensitivities of ABA accumulation to water deficit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borel, C; Audran, C; Frey, A; Marion-Poll, A; Tardieu, F; Simonneau, T

    2001-03-01

    A series of transgenic lines of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia with modified expression of zeaxanthin epoxidase gene (ZEP) provided contrasting ABA accumulation in roots and xylem sap. For mild water stress, concentration of ABA in the xylem sap ([ABA](xylem)) was clearly lower in plants underexpressing ZEP mRNA (complemented mutants and antisense transgenic lines) than in wild-type. In well-watered conditions, all lines presented similar [ABA](xylem) and similar ABA accumulation rates in detached roots. Plants could, therefore, be grown under normal light intensities and evaporative demand. Both ZEP mRNA abundance and ABA accumulation rate in roots increased with water deficit in all transgenic lines, except in complemented aba2-s1 mutants in which the ZEP gene was controlled by a constitutive promoter which does not respond to water deficit. These lines presented no change in root ABA content either with time or dehydration. The increase in ZEP mRNA abundance in roots with decreasing RWC was more pronounced in detached roots than in whole plants, suggesting a difference in mechanism. In all transgenic lines, a linear relationship was observed between predawn leaf water potential and [ABA](xylem), which could be reproduced in several experiments in the greenhouse and in the growth chamber. It is therefore possible to represent the effect of the transformation by a single parameter, thereby allowing the use of a quantitative approach to assist understanding of the behaviour of transgenic lines.

  3. BRANCH JUNCTIONS AND THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH XYLEM IN DOUGLAS-FIR AND PONDEROSA PINE STEMS

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    Water flowing through the xylem of most plants from the roots to the leaves must pass through junctions where branches have developed from the main stem. These junctions have been studied as both flow constrictions and components of a hydraulic segmentation mechanism to protect ...

  4. Some considerations on the effect of xylem embolism in conductivity Hydraulic plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Socorro, Alfredo

    2008-01-01

    From the physical characteristics of the elements that make up the xylem tissue in the stems of plants, a hypotheses is proposed to obtain a mathematical expression that defines Water flows through these conductors systems, depending on the potential difference water between the top and bottom of the stem. It raises an expression for the number of air bubbles formed from the imperfections (pores) in the walls of the tracheids forming xylem vessels and high stresses to which it is subjected in this transpiration high activity situations. This leads to an equation for conductivity hydraulic function of water potential in the presence of xylem embolism. using data from the literature and estimated values ​​simulated values ​​is performed stream and the percentage loss of conductivity. These results are compared with evidence and practice is discussed on the basis of physiological mechanisms relating to vulnerability of plants to xylem cavitation. It analyzes how this situation can be be corrected, also valued as this phenomenon affects situations of water stress

  5. Xylem hydraulic properties of roots and stems of nine Mediterranean woody species.

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    Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Prat, Ester; Oliveras, Imma; Piñol, Josep

    2002-09-01

    We studied the hydraulic architecture and water relations of nine co-occurring woody species in a Spanish evergreen oak forest over the course of a dry season. Our main objectives were to: (1) test the existence of a trade-off between hydraulic conductivity and security in the xylem, and (2) establish the safety margins at which the species operated in relation to hydraulic failure, and compare these safety margins between species and tissues (roots vs. stems). Our results showed that the relationship between specific hydraulic conductivity (K s) and resistance to cavitation followed a power function with exponent ≈-2, consistent with the existence of a trade-off between conductivity and security in the xylem, and also consistent with a linear relationship between vessel diameter and the size of inter-vessel pores. The diameter of xylem conduits, K s and vulnerability to xylem embolism were always higher in roots than in stems of the same species. Safety margins from hydraulic failure were narrower in roots than in stems. Among species, the water potential (Ψ) at which 50% of conductivity was lost due to embolism ranged between -0.9 and Cistus albidus=Ilex aquifolium>Phillyrea latifolia>Juniperus oxycedrus. Gas exchange and seasonal Ψ minima were in general correlated with resistance to xylem embolism. Hydraulic safety margins differed markedly among species, with some of them (J. oxycedrus, I. aquifolium, P. latifolia) showing a xylem overly resistant to cavitation. We hypothesize that this overly resistant xylem may be related to the shape of the relationship between K s and security we have found.

  6. Sugars from woody tissue photosynthesis reduce xylem vulnerability to cavitation.

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    De Baerdemaeker, Niels J F; Salomón, Roberto Luis; De Roo, Linus; Steppe, Kathy

    2017-11-01

    Reassimilation of internal CO 2 via woody tissue photosynthesis has a substantial effect on tree carbon income and wood production. However, little is known about its role in xylem vulnerability to cavitation and its implications in drought-driven tree mortality. Young trees of Populus nigra were subjected to light exclusion at the branch and stem levels. After 40 d, measurements of xylem water potential, diameter variation and acoustic emission (AE) were performed in detached branches to obtain acoustic vulnerability curves to cavitation following bench-top dehydration. Acoustic vulnerability curves and derived AE 50 values (i.e. water potential at which 50% of cavitation-related acoustic emissions occur) differed significantly between light-excluded and control branches (AE 50,light-excluded  = -1.00 ± 0.13 MPa; AE 50,control  = -1.45 ± 0.09 MPa; P = 0.007) denoting higher vulnerability to cavitation in light-excluded trees. Woody tissue photosynthesis represents an alternative and immediate source of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) that confers lower xylem vulnerability to cavitation via sugar-mediated mechanisms. Embolism repair and xylem structural changes could not explain this observation as the amount of cumulative AE and basic wood density did not differ between treatments. We suggest that woody tissue assimilates might play a role in the synthesis of xylem surfactants for nanobubble stabilization under tension. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  7. Investigating water transport through the xylem network in vascular plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hae Koo; Park, Joonghyuk; Hwang, Ildoo

    2014-04-01

    Our understanding of physical and physiological mechanisms depends on the development of advanced technologies and tools to prove or re-evaluate established theories, and test new hypotheses. Water flow in land plants is a fascinating phenomenon, a vital component of the water cycle, and essential for life on Earth. The cohesion-tension theory (CTT), formulated more than a century ago and based on the physical properties of water, laid the foundation for our understanding of water transport in vascular plants. Numerous experimental tools have since been developed to evaluate various aspects of the CTT, such as the existence of negative hydrostatic pressure. This review focuses on the evolution of the experimental methods used to study water transport in plants, and summarizes the different ways to investigate the diversity of the xylem network structure and sap flow dynamics in various species. As water transport is documented at different scales, from the level of single conduits to entire plants, it is critical that new results be subjected to systematic cross-validation and that findings based on different organs be integrated at the whole-plant level. We also discuss the functional trade-offs between optimizing hydraulic efficiency and maintaining the safety of the entire transport system. Furthermore, we evaluate future directions in sap flow research and highlight the importance of integrating the combined effects of various levels of hydraulic regulation.

  8. Optical measurement of stem xylem vulnerability

    OpenAIRE

    Brodribb, Timothy J.; Carriqui, Marc; Delzon, Sylvain; Lucani, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    The vulnerability of plant water transport tissues to a loss of function by cavitation during water stress is a key indicator of the survival capabilities of plant species during drought. Quantifying this important metric has been greatly advanced by noninvasive techniques that allow embolisms to be viewed directly in the vascular system. Here, we present a new method for evaluating the spatial and temporal propagation of embolizing bubbles in the stem xylem during imposed water stress. We de...

  9. Wound-induced and bacteria-induced xylem blockage in roses, Astilbe and Viburnum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loubaud, M.; Doorn, van W.G.

    2004-01-01

    We previously concluded that the xylem blockage that prevents water uptake into several cut flowers is mainly due to the presence of bacteria, whilst in chrysanthemum and Bouvardia we observed a xylem occlusion that was mainly due to a wound-reaction of the plant. We have further tested which of

  10. Xylem-to-phloem transfer of organic nitrogen in young soybean plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Da Silva, M.C.; Shelp, B.J.

    1990-01-01

    Xylem-to-phloem transfer in young vegetative soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) plants (V4 stage) was identified as the difference in the distribution of [ 14 C]inulin, a xylem marker, and [ 14 C]aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), a synthetic amino acid, fed via the transpiration stream. Since [ 14 C]AIB was retained in the stem to some extent, whereas [ 14 C]inulin was not, the distribution of these marker compounds in each leaf was expressed as a percentage of the total [ 14 C] radioactivity recovered in the foliage. The developing third trifoliolate was a consistent and reliable indicator of xylem-to-phloem transfer. The phloem stream provided to the developing trifoliolate up to fourfold the relative proportion of solute received from the xylem stream; this was markedly reduced by increased light intensity and consequently water flow through the xylem. Evidence from heat girdling experiments is discussed with respect to the vascular anatomy of the soybean plant, and interpreted to suggest that direct xylem-to-phloem transfer in the stem, in the region of the second node, accounted for about one-half of the AIB supplied to the developing trifoliolate, with the remainder being provided from the second trifoliolate. Since AIB is not metabolized it seems likely that rapid transfer within the second trifoliolate occurred as direct veinal transfer rather than indirect cycling through the mesophyll. This study confirmed that xylem-to-phloem transfer plays a major role in the partitioning of nitrogen for early leaf development

  11. Effect of root pruning and irrigation regimes on leaf water relations and xylem ABA and ionic concentrations in pear trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Yufei; Bertelsen, Marianne G.; Petersen, Karen Koefoed

    2014-01-01

    relation characteristics, stomatal conductance and xylem sap abscisic acid (ABA) and ionic concentrations. Results showed that leaf water potential, leaf turgor and stomatal conductance of root pruning (RP) treatment was significantly lower than those of non-root pruning (NP) treatment indicating that root...

  12. Water transport through tall trees: A vertically-explicit, analytical model of xylem hydraulic conductance in stems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couvreur, Valentin; Ledder, Glenn; Manzoni, Stefano; Way, Danielle A; Muller, Erik B; Russo, Sabrina E

    2018-05-08

    Trees grow by vertically extending their stems, so accurate stem hydraulic models are fundamental to understanding the hydraulic challenges faced by tall trees. Using a literature survey, we showed that many tree species exhibit continuous vertical variation in hydraulic traits. To examine the effects of this variation on hydraulic function, we developed a spatially-explicit, analytical water transport model for stems. Our model allows Huber ratio, stem-saturated conductivity, pressure at 50% loss of conductivity, leaf area, and transpiration rate to vary continuously along the hydraulic path. Predictions from our model differ from a matric flux potential model parameterized with uniform traits. Analyses show that cavitation is a whole-stem emergent property resulting from nonlinear pressure-conductivity feedbacks that, with gravity, cause impaired water transport to accumulate along the path. Because of the compounding effects of vertical trait variation on hydraulic function, growing proportionally more sapwood and building tapered xylem with height, as well as reducing xylem vulnerability only at branch tips while maintaining transport capacity at the stem base, can compensate for these effects. We therefore conclude that the adaptive significance of vertical variation in stem hydraulic traits is to allow trees to grow tall and tolerate operating near their hydraulic limits. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  13. Xylem hydraulic safety margins in woody plants: coordination of stomatal control of xylem tension with hydraulic capacitance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick C. Meinzer; Daniel M. Johnson; Barbara Lachenbruch; Katherine A. McCulloh; David R. Woodruff

    2009-01-01

    The xylem pressure inducing 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity due to embolism (P50) is widely used for comparisons of xylem vulnerability among species and across aridity gradients. However, despite its utility as an index of resistance to catastrophic xylem failure under extreme drought, P50 may have no special...

  14. Association between photosynthesis and contrasting features of minor veins in leaves of summer annuals loading phloem via symplastic versus apoplastic routes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, Onno; Cohu, Christopher M; Stewart, Jared J; Protheroe, Johanna A; Demmig-Adams, Barbara; Adams, William W

    2014-09-01

    Foliar vascular anatomy and photosynthesis were evaluated for a number of summer annual species that either load sugars into the phloem via a symplastic route (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Straight Eight; Cucurbita pepo L. cv. Italian Zucchini Romanesco; Citrullus lanatus L. cv. Faerie Hybrid; Cucurbita pepo L. cv. Autumn Gold) or an apoplastic route (Nicotiana tabacum L.; Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Brandywine; Gossypium hirsutum L.; Helianthus annuus L. cv. Soraya), as well as winter annual apoplastic loaders (Spinacia oleracea L. cv. Giant Nobel; Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynhold Col-0, Swedish and Italian ecotypes). For all summer annuals, minor vein cross-sectional xylem area and tracheid number as well as the ratio of phloem loading cells to phloem sieve elements, each when normalized for foliar vein density (VD), was correlated with photosynthesis. These links presumably reflect (1) the xylem's role in providing water to meet foliar transpirational demand supporting photosynthesis and (2) the importance of the driving force of phloem loading as well as the cross-sectional area for phloem sap flux to match foliar photosynthate production. While photosynthesis correlated with the product of VD and cross-sectional phloem cell area among symplastic loaders, photosynthesis correlated with the product of VD and phloem cell number per vein among summer annual apoplastic loaders. Phloem cell size has thus apparently been a target of selection among symplastic loaders (where loading depends on enzyme concentration within loading cells) versus phloem cell number among apoplastic loaders (where loading depends on membrane transporter numbers). © 2014 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

  15. A closed-form solution for steady-state coupled phloem/xylem flow using the Lambert-W function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, A J; Minchin, P E H

    2013-12-01

    A closed-form solution for steady-state coupled phloem/xylem flow is presented. This incorporates the basic Münch flow model of phloem transport, the cohesion model of xylem flow, and local variation in the xylem water potential and lateral water flow along the transport pathway. Use of the Lambert-W function allows this solution to be obtained under much more general and realistic conditions than has previously been possible. Variation in phloem resistance (i.e. viscosity) with solute concentration, and deviations from the Van't Hoff expression for osmotic potential are included. It is shown that the model predictions match those of the equilibrium solution of a numerical time-dependent model based upon the same mechanistic assumptions. The effect of xylem flow upon phloem flow can readily be calculated, which has not been possible in any previous analytical model. It is also shown how this new analytical solution can handle multiple sources and sinks within a complex architecture, and can describe competition between sinks. The model provides new insights into Münch flow by explicitly including interactions with xylem flow and water potential in the closed-form solution, and is expected to be useful as a component part of larger numerical models of entire plants. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Surface tension phenomena in the xylem sap of three diffuse porous temperate tree species

    Science.gov (United States)

    K. K. Christensen-Dalsgaard; M. T. Tyree; P. G. Mussone

    2011-01-01

    In plant physiology models involving bubble nucleation, expansion or elimination, it is typically assumed that the surface tension of xylem sap is equal to that of pure water, though this has never been tested. In this study we collected xylem sap from branches of the tree species Populus tremuloides, Betula papyrifera and Sorbus...

  17. Drought resistance in early and late secondary successional species from a tropical dry forest: the interplay between xylem resistance to embolism, sapwood water storage and leaf shedding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pineda-García, Fernando; Paz, Horacio; Meinzer, Frederick C

    2013-02-01

    The mechanisms of drought resistance that allow plants to successfully establish at different stages of secondary succession in tropical dry forests are not well understood. We characterized mechanisms of drought resistance in early and late-successional species and tested whether risk of drought differs across sites at different successional stages, and whether early and late-successional species differ in resistance to experimentally imposed soil drought. The microenvironment in early successional sites was warmer and drier than in mature forest. Nevertheless, successional groups did not differ in resistance to soil drought. Late-successional species resisted drought through two independent mechanisms: high resistance of xylem to embolism, or reliance on high stem water storage capacity. High sapwood water reserves delayed the effects of soil drying by transiently decoupling plant and soil water status. Resistance to soil drought resulted from the interplay between variations in xylem vulnerability to embolism, reliance on sapwood water reserves and leaf area reduction, leading to a tradeoff of avoidance against tolerance of soil drought, along which successional groups were not differentiated. Overall, our data suggest that ranking species' performance under soil drought based solely on xylem resistance to embolism may be misleading, especially for species with high sapwood water storage capacity. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Protein and metabolite composition of xylem sap from field-grown soybeans (Glycine max).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnan, Hari B; Natarajan, Savithiry S; Bennett, John O; Sicher, Richard C

    2011-05-01

    The xylem, in addition to transporting water, nutrients and metabolites, is also involved in long-distance signaling in response to pathogens, symbionts and environmental stresses. Xylem sap has been shown to contain a number of proteins including metabolic enzymes, stress-related proteins, signal transduction proteins and putative transcription factors. Previous studies on xylem sap have mostly utilized plants grown in controlled environmental chambers. However, plants in the field are subjected to high light and to environmental stress that is not normally found in growth chambers. In this study, we have examined the protein and metabolite composition of xylem sap from field-grown cultivated soybean plants. One-dimensional gel electrophoresis of xylem sap from determinate, indeterminate, nodulating and non-nodulating soybean cultivars revealed similar protein profiles consisting of about 8-10 prominent polypeptides. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of soybean xylem sap resulted in the visualization of about 60 distinct protein spots. A total of 38 protein spots were identified using MALDI-TOF MS and LC-MS/MS. The most abundant proteins present in the xylem sap were identified as 31 and 28 kDa vegetative storage proteins. In addition, several proteins that are conserved among different plant species were also identified. Diurnal changes in the metabolite profile of xylem sap collected during a 24-h cycle revealed that asparagine and aspartate were the two predominant amino acids irrespective of the time collected. Pinitol (D-3-O-methyl-chiro-inositol) was the most abundant carbohydrate present. The possible roles of xylem sap proteins and metabolites as nutrient reserves for sink tissue and as an indicator of biotic stress are also discussed.

  19. Uptake of water via branches helps timberline conifers refill embolized xylem in late winter

    OpenAIRE

    Schmid, Peter; Laur, Joan; Rosner, Sabine; Charra-Vaskou, Katline; Daemon, Birgit; Hacke, Uwe G.

    2014-01-01

    Xylem embolism is a limiting factor for woody species worldwide. Conifers at the alpine timberline are exposed to drought and freeze-thaw stress during winter, which induce potentially lethal embolism. Previous studies indicated that timberline trees survive by xylem refilling. In this study on Picea abies, refilling was monitored during winter and spring seasons and analyzed in the laboratory and in situ experiments, based on hydraulic, anatomical, and histochemical methods. Refilling starte...

  20. Dynamics of leaf gas exchange, xylem and phloem transport, water potential and carbohydrate concentration in a realistic 3-D model tree crown.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikinmaa, Eero; Sievänen, Risto; Hölttä, Teemu

    2014-09-01

    Tree models simulate productivity using general gas exchange responses and structural relationships, but they rarely check whether leaf gas exchange and resulting water and assimilate transport and driving pressure gradients remain within acceptable physical boundaries. This study presents an implementation of the cohesion-tension theory of xylem transport and the Münch hypothesis of phloem transport in a realistic 3-D tree structure and assesses the gas exchange and transport dynamics. A mechanistic model of xylem and phloem transport was used, together with a tested leaf assimilation and transpiration model in a realistic tree architecture to simulate leaf gas exchange and water and carbohydrate transport within an 8-year-old Scots pine tree. The model solved the dynamics of the amounts of water and sucrose solute in the xylem, cambium and phloem using a fine-grained mesh with a system of coupled ordinary differential equations. The simulations predicted the observed patterns of pressure gradients and sugar concentration. Diurnal variation of environmental conditions influenced tree-level gradients in turgor pressure and sugar concentration, which are important drivers of carbon allocation. The results and between-shoot variation were sensitive to structural and functional parameters such as tree-level scaling of conduit size and phloem unloading. Linking whole-tree-level water and assimilate transport, gas exchange and sink activity opens a new avenue for plant studies, as features that are difficult to measure can be studied dynamically with the model. Tree-level responses to local and external conditions can be tested, thus making the approach described here a good test-bench for studies of whole-tree physiology.

  1. Circadian patterns of xylem sap properties and their covariation with plant hydraulic traits in hybrid aspen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meitern, Annika; Õunapuu-Pikas, Eele; Sellin, Arne

    2017-06-01

    Physiological processes taking place in plants are subject to diverse circadian patterns but some of them are poorly documented in natural conditions. The daily dynamics of physico-chemical properties of xylem sap and their covariation with tree hydraulic traits were investigated in hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L.×P. tremuloides Michx) in field conditions in order to clarify which environmental drivers govern the daily variation in these parameters. K + concentration ([K + ]), electrical conductivity (σ sap ), osmolality (Osm) and pH of the xylem sap, as well as branch hydraulic traits, were measured in the field over 24-h cycles. All studied xylem sap properties and hydraulic characteristics including whole-branch (K wb ), leaf blade (K lb ) and petiole hydraulic conductances (K P ) showed clear daily dynamics. Air temperature (T A ) and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), but also water vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and relative humidity (RH), had significant impacts on K wb K lb , K P , [K + ] and σ sap . Osm varied only with light intensity, while K B varied depending on atmospheric evaporative demand expressed as T A , VPD or RH. Xylem sap pH depended inversely on soil water potential (Ψ S ) and during daylight also on VPD. Although soil water content was close to saturation during the study period, Ψ S influenced also [K + ] and σ sap . The present study presents evidence of coupling between circadian patterns of xylem sap properties and plant hydraulic conductance providing adequate water supply to foliage under environmental conditions characterised by diurnal variation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Interaction of xylem and phloem during exudation and wound occlusion in Cucurbita maxima.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Matthias R; Hafke, Jens B; van Bel, Aart J E; Furch, Alexandra C U

    2013-01-01

    Collection of cucurbit exudates from cut petioles has been a powerful tool for gaining knowledge on phloem sap composition without full notion of the complex exudation mechanism. Only few publications explicitly mentioned that exudates were collected from the basal side of the cut, which exudes more copiously than the apical side. This is surprising since only exudation from the apical side is supposedly driven by phloem pressure gradients. Composition of carbohydrates and pH values at both wounding sides are equal, whereas protein concentration is higher at the basal side. Apparently, exudation is far more complex than just the delivery of phloem sap. Xylem involvement is indicated by lower protein concentrations after elimination of root pressure. Moreover, dye was sucked into xylem vessels owing to relaxation of negative pressure after cutting. The lateral water efflux from the vessels increases turgor of surrounding cells including sieve elements. Simultaneously, detached parietal proteins (PP1/PP2) induce occlusion of sieve plates and cover wound surface. If root pressure is strong enough, pure xylem sap can be collected after removal of the occlusion plug at the wound surface. The present findings provide a mechanism of sap exudation in Cucurbita maxima, in which the contribution of xylem water is integrated. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  3. Physical analysis of the process of cavitation in xylem sap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Fanyi; Gao, Rongfu; Liu, Wenji; Zhang, Wenjie

    2002-06-01

    Recent studies have confirmed that cavitation in xylem is caused by air bubbles. We analyzed expansion of a preexistent bubble adhering to a crack in a conduit wall and a bubble formed by the passage of air through a pore of a pit membrane, a process known as air seeding. We consider that there are two equilibrium states for a very small air bubble in the xylem: one is temporarily stable with a bubble radius r1 at point s1 on the curve P(r) relating pressure within the bubble (P) with bubble radius (r); the other is unstable with a bubble radius r2 at point s2 on Pr (where r1 equilibrium state, the bubble collapse pressure (2sigma/r, where sigma is surface tension of water) is balanced by the pressure difference across its surface. In the case of a bubble from a crack in a conduit wall, which is initially at point s1, expansion will occur steadily as water potential decreases. The bubble will burst only if the xylem pressure drops below a threshold value. A formula giving the threshold pressure for bubble bursting is proposed. In the case of an air seed entering a xylem conduit through a pore in a pit membrane, its initial radius may be r2 (i.e., the radius of the pore by which the air seed entered the vessel) at point s2 on Pr. Because the bubble is in an unstable equilibrium when entering the conduit, it can either expand or contract to point s1. As water vaporizes into the air bubble at s2, P rises until it exceeds the gas pressure that keeps the bubble in equilibrium, at which point the bubble will burst and induce a cavitation event in accordance with the air-seeding hypothesis. However, other possible perturbations could make the air-seeded bubble contract to s1, in which case the bubble will burst at a threshold pressure proposed for a bubble expanding from a crack in a conduit wall. For this reason some cavitation events may take place at a xylem threshold pressure (Pl'*) other than that determined by the formula, Plp'* = -2sigma/rp, proposed by Sperry and

  4. Varicose vein - noninvasive treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... spider veins. These are small varicose veins. Salt water (saline) or a chemical solution is injected into the varicose vein. The vein will harden and then disappear. Laser treatment can be used on the surface of the skin. Small bursts ...

  5. Comparative genomics reveals conservative evolution of the xylem transcriptome in vascular plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinguo; Wu, Harry X; Southerton, Simon G

    2010-06-21

    Wood is a valuable natural resource and a major carbon sink. Wood formation is an important developmental process in vascular plants which played a crucial role in plant evolution. Although genes involved in xylem formation have been investigated, the molecular mechanisms of xylem evolution are not well understood. We use comparative genomics to examine evolution of the xylem transcriptome to gain insights into xylem evolution. The xylem transcriptome is highly conserved in conifers, but considerably divergent in angiosperms. The functional domains of genes in the xylem transcriptome are moderately to highly conserved in vascular plants, suggesting the existence of a common ancestral xylem transcriptome. Compared to the total transcriptome derived from a range of tissues, the xylem transcriptome is relatively conserved in vascular plants. Of the xylem transcriptome, cell wall genes, ancestral xylem genes, known proteins and transcription factors are relatively more conserved in vascular plants. A total of 527 putative xylem orthologs were identified, which are unevenly distributed across the Arabidopsis chromosomes with eight hot spots observed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that evolution of the xylem transcriptome has paralleled plant evolution. We also identified 274 conifer-specific xylem unigenes, all of which are of unknown function. These xylem orthologs and conifer-specific unigenes are likely to have played a crucial role in xylem evolution. Conifers have highly conserved xylem transcriptomes, while angiosperm xylem transcriptomes are relatively diversified. Vascular plants share a common ancestral xylem transcriptome. The xylem transcriptomes of vascular plants are more conserved than the total transcriptomes. Evolution of the xylem transcriptome has largely followed the trend of plant evolution.

  6. Comparison of ecosystem water flux measured with the Eddy covariance- and the direct xylem sap flux method in a mountainous forest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stefanicki, G; Geissbuehler, P; Siegwolf, R [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1999-08-01

    The Eddy covariance technique allows to measure different components of turbulent air fluxes, including the flow of water vapour. Sap flux measurements determine directly the water flow in tree stems. We compared the water flux just above the crowns of trees in a forest by the technique of Eddy covariance and the water flux by the xylem sap flux method. These two completely different approaches showed a good qualitative correspondence. The correlation coefficient is 0.8. With an estimation of the crown diameter of the measured tree we also find a very good quantitative agreement. (author) 3 figs., 5 refs.

  7. A Plumber's-Eye View of Xylem Water Transport in Woody Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez-Vilalta, Jordi; Pinol, Josep

    2004-01-01

    We present a practical for university-level students aimed at measuring and comparing xylem hydraulic properties of co-existing plant species. After sampling branches of several woody species in the field, their main hydraulic properties were measured using a simple set-up. Hydraulic conductivity ("K[subscript h]") was calculated as the ratio…

  8. Influence of Drought on the Hydraulic Efficiency and the Hydraulic Safety of the Xylem - Case of a Semi-arid Conifer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gentine, P.; Guerin, M. F.; von Arx, G.; Martin-Benito, D.; Griffin, K. L.; McDowell, N.; Pockman, W.; Andreu-Hayles, L.

    2017-12-01

    Recent droughts in the Southwest US have resulted in extensive mortality in the pinion pine population (Pinus Edulis). An important factor for resiliency is the ability of a plant to maintain a functional continuum between soil and leaves, allowing water's motion to be sustained or resumed. During droughts, loss of functional tracheids happens through embolism, which can be partially mitigated by increasing the hydraulic safety of the xylem. However, higher hydraulic safety is usually achieved by building narrower tracheids with thicker walls, resulting in a reduction of the hydraulic efficiency of the xylem (conductivity per unit area). Reduced efficiency constrains water transport, limits photosynthesis and might delay recovery after the drought. Supporting existing research on safety-efficiency tradeoff, we test the hypothesis that under dry conditions, isohydric pinions grow xylem that favor efficiency over safety. Using a seven-year experiment with three watering treatments (drought, control, irrigated) in New Mexico, we investigate the effect of drought on the xylem anatomy of pinions' branches. We also compare the treatment effect with interannual variations in xylem structure. We measure anatomical variables - conductivities, cell wall thicknesses, hydraulic diameter, cell reinforcement and density - and preliminarily conclude that treatment has little effect on hydraulic efficiency while hydraulic safety is significantly reduced under dry conditions. Taking advantage of an extremely dry year occurrence during the experiment, we find a sharp increase in vulnerability for xylem tissues built the same year.

  9. Quantification of the xylem-to-phloem transfer of amino acids by use of inulin (14C)carboxylic acid as xylem transfer marker

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Bel, A.J.

    1984-01-01

    Inulin ( 14 C)carboxylic acid and 14 C-labelled amino acid (α-aminoisobutyric acid (aib) and valine) solutions were introduced into the transpiration stream through the cut stem bases of young (4-12 leaves) tomato plants. Inulin carboxylic acid (inu) was translocated exclusively by the xylem, whereas the amino acid distribution resulted from both xylem and phloem import. Comparison of the distribution of inu and aib permitted a quantitative assessment of the xylem-to-phloem transfer in the stem. Of aib, 20.6% traversed from xylem to phloem in a plant with 12 leaves. The phloem import was not evenly distributed over the leaves and varied from 0% (first five leaves) to 95% (top leaf) of the aib import per leaf. Doubling the flow rates in the xylem reduced the aib supply to 25% in the top leaf and 55% in the next leaf, which reflects a reduced xylem-to-phloem transfer. (author)

  10. Processes and xylem anatomical properties involved in rehydration dynamics of cut flowers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meeteren, van U.; Ieperen, van W.; Nijsse, J.; Scheenen, T.W.J.; As, van H.; Keijzer, C.J.

    2001-01-01

    In cut flowers, which are harvested in air and transported dry, all cut xylem vessels in the basal part of the stem contain air instead of water. These air-emboli initially block water transport at the start of vase life, but usually (partly) disappear during the first hours of vase life, resulting

  11. Multi-scale heterogeneity in the temporal origin of water taken up by trees water uptake inferred using stable isotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, S. T.; Kirchner, J. W.; Braun, S.; Siegwolf, R. T.; Goldsmith, G. R.

    2017-12-01

    Xylem water isotopic composition can reveal how water moves through soil and is subsequently taken up by plants. By examining how xylem water isotopes vary across distinct climates and soils, we test how these site characteristics control critical-zone water movement and tree uptake. Xylem water was collected from over 900 trees at 191 sites across Switzerland during a 10-day period in mid-summer 2015. Sites contained oak, beech and/or spruce trees and ranged in elevation from 260 to 1870 m asl with mean annual precipitation from 700 to 2060 mm. Xylem water samples were analyzed for 2H and 18O using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Patterns in the temporal origin of xylem water showed regional differences. For example, trees in the southern and alpine regions had xylem water isotopic signatures that more closely resembled summer precipitation. The isotopic spatial range observed for mid-summer xylem waters was similar to the seasonal range of precipitation; that is, mid-summer xylem water at some sites resembled summer precipitation, and at other sites resembled winter precipitation. Xylem water from spruces, oaks, and beeches at the same sites did not differ from each other, despite these species having different rooting habits. Across all sites and species, precipitation amount correlated positively with xylem δ18O. In higher-precipitation areas, summer rain apparently displaces or mixes with older (winter) stored waters, thus reducing the winter-water isotopic signal in xylem water. Alternatively, in areas with limited precipitation, xylem water more closely matched winter water, indicating greater use of older stored water. We conclude that regional variations in precipitation deficits determine variations in the turnover rate of plant-available soil water and storage.

  12. Deposits formed by ascending vein water (3 type)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komarova, G.V.

    1980-01-01

    Deposits formed by ascending vein waters (3 type), are considered using uranium-bitumen deposit in red-coloured continental sediments of Permo-Triassic as an example. Geological-structural and hydrogeological conditions of mineralization localization and conditions of deposit formation are discussed. Mineralogic-geochemical features and morphology of ore bodies are characterized. Attention is paid to the problem of epigenetic zone in ore-containing rocks and stages of its formation [ru

  13. Hierarchical statistical modeling of xylem vulnerability to cavitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogle, Kiona; Barber, Jarrett J; Willson, Cynthia; Thompson, Brenda

    2009-01-01

    Cavitation of xylem elements diminishes the water transport capacity of plants, and quantifying xylem vulnerability to cavitation is important to understanding plant function. Current approaches to analyzing hydraulic conductivity (K) data to infer vulnerability to cavitation suffer from problems such as the use of potentially unrealistic vulnerability curves, difficulty interpreting parameters in these curves, a statistical framework that ignores sampling design, and an overly simplistic view of uncertainty. This study illustrates how two common curves (exponential-sigmoid and Weibull) can be reparameterized in terms of meaningful parameters: maximum conductivity (k(sat)), water potential (-P) at which percentage loss of conductivity (PLC) =X% (P(X)), and the slope of the PLC curve at P(X) (S(X)), a 'sensitivity' index. We provide a hierarchical Bayesian method for fitting the reparameterized curves to K(H) data. We illustrate the method using data for roots and stems of two populations of Juniperus scopulorum and test for differences in k(sat), P(X), and S(X) between different groups. Two important results emerge from this study. First, the Weibull model is preferred because it produces biologically realistic estimates of PLC near P = 0 MPa. Second, stochastic embolisms contribute an important source of uncertainty that should be included in such analyses.

  14. Investigating differences in the root to shoot transfer and xylem sap solubility of organic compounds between zucchini, squash and soybean using a pressure chamber method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garvin, Naho; Doucette, William J; White, Jason C

    2015-07-01

    A pressure chamber method was used to examine differences in the root to shoot transfer and xylem sap solubility of caffeine (log Kow=-0.07), triclocarban (log Kow=3.5-4.2) and endosulfan (log Kow=3.8-4.8) for zucchini (cucurbita pepo ssp pepo), squash (cucurbita pepo ssp ovifera), and soybean (glycine max L.). Transpiration stream concentration factors (TSCF) for caffeine (TSCF=0.8) were statistically equivalent for all plant species. However, for the more hydrophobic endosulfan and triclocarban, the TSCF values for zucchini (TSCF=0.6 and 0.4, respectively) were 3 and 10 times greater than the soybean and squash (TSCF=0.2 and 0.05, respectively). The difference in TSCF values was examined by comparing the measured solubilities of caffeine, endosulfan and triclocarban in deionized water to those in soybean and zucchini xylem saps using a modified shake flask method. The measured solubility of organic contaminants in xylem sap has not previously been reported. Caffeine solubilities in the xylem saps of soybean and zucchini were statistically equal to deionized water (21500mgL(-1)) while endosulfan and triclocarban solubilities in the zucchini xylem sap were significantly greater (0.43 and 0.21mgL(-1), respectively) than that of the soybean xylem sap (0.31 and 0.11mgL(-1), respectively) and deionized water (0.34 and 0.11mgL(-1), respectively). This suggests that the enhanced root to shoot transfer of hydrophobic organics reported for zucchini is partly due to increased solubility in the xylem sap. Further xylem sap characterization is needed to determine the mechanism of solubility enhancement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Application of point-process statistical tools to stable isotopes in xylem water for the study of inter- and intra-specific interactions in water uptake patterns in a mixed stand of Pinus halepensis Mill. and Quercus ilex L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comas, Carles; del Castillo, Jorge; Voltas, Jordi; Ferrio, Juan Pedro

    2013-04-01

    The stable isotope composition of xylem water reflects has been used to assess inter-specific differences in uptake patterns, revealing synergistic and competition processes in the use of water resources (see e.g. Dawson et al. 1993). However, there is a lack of detailed studies on spatial and temporal variability of inter- and intra-specific competition within forest stands. In this context, the aim of this work was to compare the isotope composition of xylem water (δ18O , δ2H) in two common Mediterranean tree species, Quercus ilex L. and Pinus halepensis Mill, in order to understand their water uptake patterns throughout the growing season. In addition, we analyze the spatial variability of xylem water, to get insight into inter-specific strategies employed to cope with drought and the interaction between the individuals. Our first hypothesis was that both species used different strategies to cope with drought by uptaking water at different depths; and our second hypothesis was that individual trees would behave in different manner according to the distance to their neighbours as well as to whether the neighbour is from one species or the other. The study was performed in a mixed stand where both species are nearly co-dominant, adding up to a total of 33 oaks and 77 pines (plot area= 893 m2). We sampled sun-exposed branches of each tree six times over the growing season, and extracted the xylem water with a cryogenic trap. The isotopic composition of the water was determined using a Picarro Water Analizer L2130-i. Tree mapping for spatial analysis was done using a high resolution GPS technology (Trimble GeoExplorer 6000). For the spatial analysis, we used the pair-correlation function to study intra-specific tree configuration and the bivariate pair correlation function to analyse the inter-specific spatial configurations (Stoyan et al 1995). Moreover, the isotopic composition of xylem water was assumed to be a mark associated to each tree and analysed as a

  16. Response pattern of amino compounds in phloem and xylem of trees to soil drought depends on drought intensity and root symbiosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, X-P; Gong, C-M; Fan, Y-Y; Eiblmeier, M; Zhao, Z; Han, G; Rennenberg, H

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed to identify drought-mediated differences in amino nitrogen (N) composition and content of xylem and phloem in trees having different symbiotic N(2)-fixing bacteria. Under controlled water availability, 1-year-old seedlings of Robinia pseudoacacia (nodules with Rhizobium), Hippophae rhamnoides (symbiosis with Frankia) and Buddleja alternifolia (no such root symbiosis) were exposed to control, medium drought and severe drought, corresponding soil water content of 70-75%, 45-50% and 30-35% of field capacity, respectively. Composition and content of amino compounds in xylem sap and phloem exudates were analysed as a measure of N nutrition. Drought strongly reduced biomass accumulation in all species, but amino N content in xylem and phloem remained unaffected only in R. pseudoacacia. In H. rhamnoides and B. alternifolia, amino N in phloem remained constant, but increased in xylem of both species in response to drought. There were differences in composition of amino compounds in xylem and phloem of the three species in response to drought. Proline concentrations in long-distance transport pathways of all three species were very low, below the limit of detection in phloem of H. rhamnoides and in phloem and xylem of B. alternifolia. Apparently, drought-mediated changes in N composition were much more connected with species-specific changes in C:N ratios. Irrespective of soil water content, the two species with root symbioses did not show similar features for the different types of symbiosis, neither in N composition nor in N content. There was no immediate correlation between symbiotic N fixation and drought-mediated changes in amino N in the transport pathways. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  17. Interplay of growth rate and xylem plasticity for optimal coordination of carbon and hydraulic economies in Fraxinus ornus trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Giai; Savi, Tadeja; Consolini, Martina; Anfodillo, Tommaso; Nardini, Andrea

    2016-11-01

    Efficient leaf water supply is fundamental for assimilation processes and tree growth. Renovating the architecture of the xylem transport system requires an increasing carbon investment while growing taller, and any deficiency of carbon availability may result in increasing hydraulic constraints to water flow. Therefore, plants need to coordinate carbon assimilation and biomass allocation to guarantee an efficient and safe long-distance transport system. We tested the hypothesis that reduced branch elongation rates together with carbon-saving adjustments of xylem anatomy hydraulically compensate for the reduction in biomass allocation to xylem. We measured leaf biomass, hydraulic and anatomical properties of wood segments along the main axis of branches in 10 slow growing (SG) and 10 fast growing (FG) Fraxinus ornus L. trees. Branches of SG trees had five times slower branch elongation rate (7 vs 35 cm year -1 ), and produced a higher leaf biomass (P trees in terms of leaf-specific conductivity (P > 0.05) and xylem safety (Ψ 50 ≈ -3.2 MPa). Slower elongation rate coupled with thinner annual rings and larger vessels allows the reduction of carbon costs associated with growth, while maintaining similar leaf-specific conductivity and xylem safety. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. A low cost apparatus for measuring the xylem hydraulic conductance in plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano Pereira

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Plant yield and resistance to drought are directly related to the efficiency of the xylem hydraulic conductance and the ability of this system to avoid interrupting the flow of water. In this paper we described in detail the assembling of an apparatus proposed by TYREE et al. (2002, and its calibration, as well as low cost adaptations that make the equipment accessible for everyone working in this research area. The apparatus allows measuring the conductance in parts of roots or shoots (root ramifications or branches, or in the whole system, in the case of small plants or seedlings. The apparatus can also be used to measure the reduction of conductance by embolism of the xylem vessels. Data on the hydraulic conductance of eucalyptus seedlings obtained here and other reports in the literature confirm the applicability of the apparatus in physiological studies on the relationship between productivity and water stress.

  19. Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) branches show acclimation of xylem anatomy and hydraulic properties to increased light after thinning

    OpenAIRE

    Lemoine, D.; Jacquemin, S.; Granier, A.

    2002-01-01

    International audience; Hydraulic acclimation of Fagus sylvatica L. was analysed in response to forest thinning. Several months after thinning, leaf and xylem water potential and stomatal conductance of thinned branches were compared to sun-exposed and shade branches. We characterised vulnerability to cavitation for branches taken from these three treatments. We compared effect of thinning on xylem anatomy (mean vessel diameter, vessel density). Thinned branches exhibited higher stomatal cond...

  20. Xylem and phloem phenology in co-occurring conifers exposed to drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swidrak, Irene; Gruber, Andreas; Oberhuber, Walter

    2014-01-01

    Variability in xylem and phloem phenology among years and species is caused by contrasting temperatures prevailing at the start of the growing season and species-specific sensitivity to drought. The focus of this study was to determine temporal dynamics of xylem and phloem formation in co-occurring deciduous and evergreen coniferous species in a dry inner Alpine environment (750 m a.s.l., Tyrol, Austria). By repeated micro-sampling of the stem, timing of key phenological dates of xylem and phloem formation was compared among mature Pinus sylvestris , Larix decidua and Picea abies during two consecutive years. Xylem formation in P. sylvestris started in mid and late April 2011 and 2012, respectively, and in both years about 2 week later in P. abies and L. decidua . Phloem formation preceded xylem formation on average by 3 week in P. sylvestris , and c . 5 week in P. abies and L. decidua . Based on modeled cell number increase, tracheid production peaked between early through late May 2011 and late May through mid-June 2012. Phloem formation culminated between late April and mid-May in 2011 and in late May 2012. Production of xylem and phloem cells continued for about 4 and 5-6 months, respectively. High variability in xylem increment among years and species is related to exogenous control by climatic factors and species-specific sensitivity to drought, respectively. On the other hand, production of phloem cells was quite homogenous and showed asymptotic decrease with respect to xylem cells indicating endogenous control. Results indicate that onset and culmination of xylem and phloem formation are controlled by early spring temperature, whereby strikingly advanced production of phloem compared to xylem cells suggests lower temperature requirement for initiation of the former.

  1. Xylem-to-phloem transfer of boron in broccoli and lupin during early reproductive growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shelp, B J; Kitheka, A M; Cauwenberghe, O.R. Van [Univ. of Guelph, Dept. of Horticultural Science, Guelph, ON (Canada); Vanderpool, R A [Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research service, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Spiers, G A [Univ. of Guelph, Dept. of Land Resource Science, Guelph, ON (Canada)

    1998-12-01

    The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that newly-acquired boron (B) undergoes rapid xylem-to-phloem transfer in plants with restricted mobility. Analysis of the element accumulation and water usage by shoots of intact broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plenck cv. Commander) and lupin (Lupinus albus L. cv. Ultra) plants provided with a non-deficient supply of B, revealed that the concentration of various mineral elements (K, P, Mg, Ca, B, Fe, Zn, Mo, Cu, Mn) in xylem sap of intact plants ranged from 0.3 {mu}M to 3.5 mM, with B being present at 2.9-3.5 {mu}M. For each element assayed, the concentration was higher in phloem exudate (1.6 {mu}M to 91 mM) than in xylem sap; B was present at about 0.4 mM. Intact broccoli and lupin plants or detached transpiring broccoli shoots were supplied simultaneously with enriched {sup 10}B, strontium (a xylem marker) and rubidium (a xylem/phloem marker) during early reproductive growth. The contents of these three compounds were determined in foliage and florets or fruits as a function of time (i.e. up to 12 h and 4 days for broccoli and lupin plants, respectively), and the content in florets or fruits was expressed as a percent of the total recovered. In general, the percent recovery of both {sup 10}B and rubidium in florets or fruits was similar and markedly greater than that for strontium, even at the earliest harvest times (within 2 h for broccoli and 1 day for lupin). The data indicate that in plants with restricted B mobility, B is supplied to sink tissues in the phloem, and the extent of B xylem-to-phloem transfer is closely determined by current uptake. (au) 35 refs.

  2. Xylem-to-phloem transfer of boron in broccoli and lupin during early reproductive growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shelp, B.J.; Kitheka, A.M.; Cauwenberghe, O.R. Van; Vanderpool, R.A.; Spiers, G.A.

    1998-01-01

    The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that newly-acquired boron (B) undergoes rapid xylem-to-phloem transfer in plants with restricted mobility. Analysis of the element accumulation and water usage by shoots of intact broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plenck cv. Commander) and lupin (Lupinus albus L. cv. Ultra) plants provided with a non-deficient supply of B, revealed that the concentration of various mineral elements (K, P, Mg, Ca, B, Fe, Zn, Mo, Cu, Mn) in xylem sap of intact plants ranged from 0.3 μM to 3.5 mM, with B being present at 2.9-3.5 μM. For each element assayed, the concentration was higher in phloem exudate (1.6 μM to 91 mM) than in xylem sap; B was present at about 0.4 mM. Intact broccoli and lupin plants or detached transpiring broccoli shoots were supplied simultaneously with enriched 10 B, strontium (a xylem marker) and rubidium (a xylem/phloem marker) during early reproductive growth. The contents of these three compounds were determined in foliage and florets or fruits as a function of time (i.e. up to 12 h and 4 days for broccoli and lupin plants, respectively), and the content in florets or fruits was expressed as a percent of the total recovered. In general, the percent recovery of both 10 B and rubidium in florets or fruits was similar and markedly greater than that for strontium, even at the earliest harvest times (within 2 h for broccoli and 1 day for lupin). The data indicate that in plants with restricted B mobility, B is supplied to sink tissues in the phloem, and the extent of B xylem-to-phloem transfer is closely determined by current uptake. (au)

  3. Growth of Verticillium longisporum in Xylem Sap of Brassica napus is Independent from Cultivar Resistance but Promoted by Plant Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopisso, Daniel Teshome; Knüfer, Jessica; Koopmann, Birger; von Tiedemann, Andreas

    2017-09-01

    As Verticillium stem striping of oilseed rape (OSR), a vascular disease caused by Verticillium longisporum, is extending into new geographic regions and no control with fungicides exists, the demand for understanding mechanisms of quantitative resistance increases. Because V. longisporum is strictly limited to the xylem and resistance is expressed in the systemic stage post root invasion, we investigated a potential antifungal role of soluble constituents and nutritional conditions in xylem sap as determinants of cultivar resistance of OSR to V. longisporum. Assessment of biometric and molecular genetic parameters applied to describe V. longisporum resistance (net area under disease progress curve, stunting, stem thickness, plant biomass, and V. longisporum DNA content) showed consistent susceptibility of cultivar 'Falcon' in contrast to two resistant genotypes, 'SEM' and 'Aviso'. Spectrophotometric analysis revealed a consistently stronger in vitro growth of V. longisporum in xylem sap extracted from OSR compared with the water control. Further comparisons of fungal growth in xylem sap of different cultivars revealed the absence of constitutive or V. longisporum induced antifungal activity in the xylem sap of resistant versus susceptible genotypes. The similar growth of V. longisporum in xylem sap, irrespective of cultivar, infection with V. longisporum and xylem sap filtration, was correlated with about equal amounts of total soluble proteins in xylem sap from these treatments. Interestingly, compared with younger plants, xylem sap from older plants induced significantly stronger fungal growth. Growth enhancement of V. longisporum in xylem sap of aging plants was reflected by increased contents of carbohydrates, which was consistent in mock or V. longisporum-infected plants and independent from cultivar resistance. The improved nutritional conditions in the xylem of more mature plants may explain the late appearance of disease symptoms, which are observed only in

  4. Two phloem nitrate transporters, NRT1.11 and NRT1.12, are important for redistributing xylem-borne nitrate to enhance plant growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Po-Kai; Tsay, Yi-Fang

    2013-10-01

    This study of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) nitrate transporters NRT1.11 and NRT1.12 reveals how the interplay between xylem and phloem transport of nitrate ensures optimal nitrate distribution in leaves for plant growth. Functional analysis in Xenopus laevis oocytes showed that both NRT1.11 and NRT1.12 are low-affinity nitrate transporters. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot analysis showed higher expression of these two genes in larger expanded leaves. Green fluorescent protein and β-glucuronidase reporter analyses indicated that NRT1.11 and NRT1.12 are plasma membrane transporters expressed in the companion cells of the major vein. In nrt1.11 nrt1.12 double mutants, more root-fed (15)NO3(-) was translocated to mature and larger expanded leaves but less to the youngest tissues, suggesting that NRT1.11 and NRT1.12 are required for transferring root-derived nitrate into phloem in the major veins of mature and larger expanded leaves for redistributing to the youngest tissues. Distinct from the wild type, nrt1.11 nrt1.12 double mutants show no increase of plant growth at high nitrate supply. These data suggested that NRT1.11 and NRT1.12 are involved in xylem-to-phloem transfer for redistributing nitrate into developing leaves, and such nitrate redistribution is a critical step for optimal plant growth enhanced by increasing external nitrate.

  5. Branch xylem density variations across the Amazon Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patiño, S.; Lloyd, J.; Paiva, R.; Baker, T. R.; Quesada, C. A.; Mercado, L. M.; Schmerler, J.; Schwarz, M.; Santos, A. J. B.; Aguilar, A.; Czimczik, C. I.; Gallo, J.; Horna, V.; Hoyos, E. J.; Jimenez, E. M.; Palomino, W.; Peacock, J.; Peña-Cruz, A.; Sarmiento, C.; Sota, A.; Turriago, J. D.; Villanueva, B.; Vitzthum, P.; Alvarez, E.; Arroyo, L.; Baraloto, C.; Bonal, D.; Chave, J.; Costa, A. C. L.; Herrera, R.; Higuchi, N.; Killeen, T.; Leal, E.; Luizão, F.; Meir, P.; Monteagudo, A.; Neil, D.; Núñez-Vargas, P.; Peñuela, M. C.; Pitman, N.; Priante Filho, N.; Prieto, A.; Panfil, S. N.; Rudas, A.; Salomão, R.; Silva, N.; Silveira, M.; Soares Dealmeida, S.; Torres-Lezama, A.; Vásquez-Martínez, R.; Vieira, I.; Malhi, Y.; Phillips, O. L.

    2009-04-01

    Xylem density is a physical property of wood that varies between individuals, species and environments. It reflects the physiological strategies of trees that lead to growth, survival and reproduction. Measurements of branch xylem density, ρx, were made for 1653 trees representing 598 species, sampled from 87 sites across the Amazon basin. Measured values ranged from 218 kg m-3 for a Cordia sagotii (Boraginaceae) from Mountagne de Tortue, French Guiana to 1130 kg m-3 for an Aiouea sp. (Lauraceae) from Caxiuana, Central Pará, Brazil. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in average ρx across regions and sampled plots as well as significant differences between families, genera and species. A partitioning of the total variance in the dataset showed that species identity (family, genera and species) accounted for 33% with environment (geographic location and plot) accounting for an additional 26%; the remaining "residual" variance accounted for 41% of the total variance. Variations in plot means, were, however, not only accountable by differences in species composition because xylem density of the most widely distributed species in our dataset varied systematically from plot to plot. Thus, as well as having a genetic component, branch xylem density is a plastic trait that, for any given species, varies according to where the tree is growing in a predictable manner. Within the analysed taxa, exceptions to this general rule seem to be pioneer species belonging for example to the Urticaceae whose branch xylem density is more constrained than most species sampled in this study. These patterns of variation of branch xylem density across Amazonia suggest a large functional diversity amongst Amazonian trees which is not well understood.

  6. Spatial distribution of xylem embolisms in the stems of Pinus thunbergii at the threshold of fatal drought stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umebayashi, Toshihiro; Morita, Toshimitsu; Utsumi, Yasuhiro; Kusumoto, Dai; Yasuda, Yuko; Haishi, Tomoyuki; Fukuda, Kenji

    2016-10-01

    Although previous studies have suggested that branch dieback and whole-plant death due to drought stress occur at 50-88% loss of stem hydraulic conductivity (P 50 and P 88 , respectively), the dynamics of catastrophic failure in the water-conducting pathways in whole plants subjected to drought remain poorly understood. We examined the dynamics of drought stress tolerance in 3-year-old Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii Parl.). We nondestructively monitored (i) the spatial distribution of drought-induced embolisms in the stem at greater than P 50 and (ii) recovery from embolisms following rehydration. Stem water distributions were visualized by cryo-scanning electron microscopy. The percentages of both embolized area and loss of hydraulic conductivity showed similar patterns of increase, although the water loss in xylem increased markedly at -5.0 MPa or less. One seedling that had reached 72% loss of the water-conducting area survived and the xylem water potential recovered to -0.3 MPa. We concluded that Japanese black pines may need to maintain water-filled tracheids within earlywood of the current-year xylem under natural conditions to avoid disconnection of water movement between the stem and the tops of branches. It is necessary to determine the spatial distribution of embolisms around the point of the lethal threshold to gain an improved understanding of plant survival under conditions of drought. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Effects of combined drought and heavy metal stresses on xylem structure and hydraulic conductivity in red maple (Acer rubrum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Silva, Nayana Dilini Gardiyehewa; Cholewa, Ewa; Ryser, Peter

    2012-10-01

    The effects of heavy metal stress, drought stress, and their combination on xylem structure in red maple (Acer rubrum) seedlings were investigated in an outdoor pot experiment. As metal-contaminated substrate, a mixture of 1.5% slag with sand was used, with Ni, Cu, Co, and Cr as the main contaminants. Plants grown on contaminated substrate had increased leaf metal concentrations. The two stresses reduced plant growth in an additive manner. The effects of metal and drought stresses on xylem characteristics were similar to each other, with a reduced proportion of xylem tissue, reduced conduit density in stems, and reduced conduit size in the roots. This resulted, in both stems and roots, in reductions in hydraulic conductance, xylem-specific conductivity, and leaf-specific conductivity. The similarity of the responses to the two stresses suggests that the plants' response to metals was actually a drought response, probably due to the reduced water uptake capacity of the metal-exposed roots. The only plant responses specific to metal stress were decreasing trends of stomatal density and chlorophyll content. In conclusion, the exposure to metals aggravates water stress in an additive manner, making the plants more vulnerable to drought.

  8. Branch xylem density variations across the Amazon Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Patiño

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Xylem density is a physical property of wood that varies between individuals, species and environments. It reflects the physiological strategies of trees that lead to growth, survival and reproduction. Measurements of branch xylem density, ρx, were made for 1653 trees representing 598 species, sampled from 87 sites across the Amazon basin. Measured values ranged from 218 kg m−3 for a Cordia sagotii (Boraginaceae from Mountagne de Tortue, French Guiana to 1130 kg m−3 for an Aiouea sp. (Lauraceae from Caxiuana, Central Pará, Brazil. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in average ρx across regions and sampled plots as well as significant differences between families, genera and species. A partitioning of the total variance in the dataset showed that species identity (family, genera and species accounted for 33% with environment (geographic location and plot accounting for an additional 26%; the remaining "residual" variance accounted for 41% of the total variance. Variations in plot means, were, however, not only accountable by differences in species composition because xylem density of the most widely distributed species in our dataset varied systematically from plot to plot. Thus, as well as having a genetic component, branch xylem density is a plastic trait that, for any given species, varies according to where the tree is growing in a predictable manner. Within the analysed taxa, exceptions to this general rule seem to be pioneer species belonging for example to the Urticaceae whose branch xylem density is more constrained than most species sampled in this study. These patterns of variation of branch xylem density across Amazonia suggest a large functional diversity amongst Amazonian trees which is not well understood.

  9. Episodic vein formation in Gale crater, Mars: evidence for an extended history of liquid water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kronyak, R. E.; Fedo, C.; Banham, S.; Edgett, K. S.; Newsom, H. E.; Nachon, M.; Kah, L. C.

    2017-12-01

    The sedimentary rock record of Gale crater is consistent with deposition in an ancient lake basin. These strata represent aqueous and potentially habitable past conditions that existed over a relatively small part of Mars' geologic history. Post-depositional fluid migration is recorded by the presence of veins, which have been prevalent features throughout Curiosity's mission. These veins record later episodes of fluid flow and represent an extended history of liquid water stability, and perhaps habitability. White Ca-sulfate veins are observed in the Bradbury (Yellowknife Bay), Mount Sharp (Murray formation), and Siccar Point (Stimson formation) groups across a range of lithologies. At Yellowknife Bay and in the Stimson, Ca-sulfate veins characteristically exhibit mm-scale thicknesses. In the Pahrump Hills (PH) area, 62% of measured veins in the Murray formation are material occurs along the interface between wall rock and Ca-sulfate and is interpreted as a precursor vein fill. Gray veins at PH are more erosionally resistant relative to Ca-sulfate and average 1 mm in width. Additionally, gray veins exhibit elevated Mg and depleted Ca, distinguishing them compositionally from Ca-sulfate veins. Veins continue locally throughout the stratigraphic section. The lowermost Stimson sandstones at the Missoula outcrop contain white clasts and elevated Ca-sulfate, suggesting the formation of Murray veins prior to the deposition of the Stimson formation. Near the Old Soaker outcrop, bedding-parallel sulfate may represent syndepositional gypsum precipitation. In the context of time, the multiple vein systems identified in the Gale crater sedimentary fill shed light on the sequence and evolution of fluids responsible for their deposition. It is envisioned that sulfates first precipitated contemporaneously with the deposition of the Murray formation, followed by burial, lithification, and fracturing to form the earliest gray and sulfate veins. The Murray was then exhumed and

  10. Functional adjustments of xylem anatomy to climatic variability: insights from long-term Ilex aquifolium tree-ring series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rita, Angelo; Cherubini, Paolo; Leonardi, Stefano; Todaro, Luigi; Borghetti, Marco

    2015-08-01

    The present study assessed the effects of climatic conditions on radial growth and functional anatomical traits, including ring width, vessel size, vessel frequency and derived variables, i.e., potential hydraulic conductivity and xylem vulnerability to cavitation in Ilex aquifolium L. trees using long-term tree-ring time series obtained at two climatically contrasting sites, one mesic site in Switzerland (CH) and one drought-prone site in Italy (ITA). Relationships were explored by examining different xylem traits, and point pattern analysis was applied to investigate vessel clustering. We also used generalized additive models and bootstrap correlation functions to describe temperature and precipitation effects. Results indicated modified radial growth and xylem anatomy in trees over the last century; in particular, vessel frequency increased markedly at both sites in recent years, and all xylem traits examined, with the exception of xylem cavitation vulnerability, were higher at the CH mesic compared with the ITA drought site. A significant vessel clustering was observed at the ITA site, which could contribute to an enhanced tolerance to drought-induced embolism. Flat and negative relationships between vessel size and ring width were observed, suggesting carbon was not allocated to radial growth under conditions which favored stem water conduction. Finally, in most cases results indicated that climatic conditions influenced functional anatomical traits more substantially than tree radial growth, suggesting a crucial role of functional xylem anatomy in plant acclimation to future climatic conditions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Influence of leaf vein density and thickness on hydraulic conductance and photosynthesis in rice (Oryza sativa L.) during water stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabassum, Muhammad Adnan; Zhu, Guanglong; Hafeez, Abdul; Wahid, Muhammad Atif; Shaban, Muhammad; Li, Yong

    2016-11-16

    The leaf venation architecture is an ideal, highly structured and efficient irrigation system in plant leaves. Leaf vein density (LVD) and vein thickness are the two major properties of this system. Leaf laminae carry out photosynthesis to harvest the maximum biological yield. It is still unknown whether the LVD and/or leaf vein thickness determines the plant hydraulic conductance (K plant ) and leaf photosynthetic rate (A). To investigate this topic, the current study was conducted with two varieties under three PEG-induced water deficit stress (PEG-IWDS) levels. The results showed that PEG-IWDS significantly decreased A, stomatal conductance (g s ), and K plant in both cultivars, though the IR-64 strain showed more severe decreases than the Hanyou-3 strain. PEG-IWDS significantly decreased the major vein thickness, while it had no significant effect on LVD. A, g s and K plant were positively correlated with each other, and they were negatively correlated with LVD. A, g s and K plant were positively correlated with the inter-vein distance and major vein thickness. Therefore, the decreased photosynthesis and hydraulic conductance in rice plants under water deficit conditions are related to the decrease in the major vein thickness.

  12. Differential expression of genes of Xylella fastidiosa in xylem fluid of citrus and grapevine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Xiangyang; Bi, Jianlong; Morse, Joseph G; Toscano, Nick C; Cooksey, Donald A

    2010-03-01

    Xylella fastidiosa causes a serious Pierce's disease (PD) in grapevine. Xylella fastidiosa cells from a PD strain were grown in a pure xylem fluid of a susceptible grapevine cultivar vs. xylem fluid from citrus, which is not a host for this strain of X. fastidiosa. When grown in grapevine xylem fluid, cells of the PD strain formed clumps and biofilm formed to a greater extent than in citrus xylem fluid, although the PD strain did grow in xylem fluid of three citrus varieties. The differential expression of selected genes of a PD X. fastidiosa strain cultured in the two xylem fluids was analyzed using a DNA macroarray. Compared with citrus xylem fluid, grapevine xylem fluid stimulated the expression of X. fastidiosa genes involved in virulence regulation, such as gacA, algU, xrvA, and hsq, and also genes involved in the biogenesis of pili and twitching motility, such as fimT, pilI, pilU, and pilY1. Increased gene expression likely contributes to PD expression in grapevine, whereas citrus xylem fluid did not support or possibly suppressed the expression of these virulence genes.

  13. Classifying Taiwan Lianas with Radiating Plates of Xylem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheng-Zehn Yang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Radiating plates of xylem are a lianas cambium variation, of which, 22 families have this feature. This study investigates 15 liana species representing nine families with radiating plates of xylem structures. The features of the transverse section and epidermis in fresh liana samples are documented, including shapes and colors of xylem and phloem, ray width and numbers, and skin morphology. Experimental results indicated that the shape of phloem fibers in Ampelopsis brevipedunculata var. hancei is gradually tapered and flame-like, which is in contrast with the other characteristics of this type, including those classified as rays. Both inner and outer cylinders of vascular bundles are found in Piper kwashoense, and the irregularly inner cylinder persists yet gradually diminishes. Red crystals are numerous in the cortex of Celastrus kusanoi. Aristolochia shimadai and A. zollingeriana develop a combination of two cambium variants, radiating plates of xylem and a lobed xylem. The shape of phloem in Stauntonia obovatifoliola is square or truncate, and its rays are numerous. Meanwhile, that of Neoalsomitra integrifolia is blunt and its rays are fewer. As for the features of a stem surface within the same family, Cyclea ochiaiana is brownish in color and has a deep vertical depression with lenticels, Pericampylus glaucus is greenish in color with a vertical shallow depression. Within the same genus, Aristolochia shimadai develops lenticels, which are not in A. zollingeriana; although the periderm developed in Clematis grata is a ring bark and tears easily, that of Clematis tamura is thick and soft.

  14. Pressure Changes before and after Explosive Rhyolitic Bomb Ejection at Chaiten, Chile Recorded By Water Diffusion Profiles Around Tuffisite Veins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuffen, H.; McGowan, E.; Castro, J. M.; Berlo, K.; James, M. R.; Owen, J.; Schipper, C. I.; Wadsworth, F. B.; Saubin, E.; Wehbe, K.

    2014-12-01

    The recent rhyolitic eruptions at Chaitén and Cordón Caulle have provided valuable new insights into the relationship between explosive and effusive activity, and the gas escape mechanisms that permit rapid effusion of degassed lava[1,2]. Bombs ejected during mixed explosive-effusive activity host spectacular tuffisite veins cutting both dense obsidian (Fig 1a) and highly-expanded pumice. Tuffisite veins are ash-filled fracture networks that act as ephemeral permeable pathways for gas escape in shallow conduits and lava domes. Previous studies have revealed water depletion adjacent to tuffisite veins, leading to models of fracture-triggered pressure release[2] and estimates of gas escape timescales[2,3]. We have characterised water diffusion profiles from a new suite of tuffisite-bearing Chaitén bombs, using synchrotron-source FTIR at the Diamond Light Source, Oxford, UK. Unexpectedly, one exceptionally large tuffisite vein, which is 30 mm thick (Fig. 1a, b) is mantled by zones of strong water enrichment, which enclose the usual narrow depletion zones immediately adjacent to the vein (Fig. 1c). Consistent results from different branches of this vein (Fig. 1b) indicate a similar history. The plausible range of diffusion model solutions points towards ~2-4 hours of vein pressurisation, followed by a brief pre-quench period of lower pressure conditions. In our model the vein opened during a period of overpressure at the lava dome base, sustained by gas influx from a deeper catchment extending hundreds of metres into the upper conduit. Overpressure culminated in violent bomb ejection, after which vein pressure decreased due to gas leakage to the atmosphere through the incompletely welded vein, as observed in rhyolitic bombs from Cordón Caulle (Fig. 1d). Commonly-seen water depletion zones[2,3] may therefore merely record post-fragmentation degassing. However, the enrichment zone points towards the type of deep pressurisation associated with cycles of tilt and

  15. Xylem development in prunus flower buds and the relationship to deep supercooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashworth, E N

    1984-04-01

    Xylem development in eight Prunus species was examined and the relationship to deep supercooling assessed. Dormant buds of six species, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasus, P. persica, P. salicina, and P. sargentii deep supercooled. Xylem vessel elements were not observed within the dormant floral primordia of these species. Instead, discrete bundles containing procambial cells were observed. Vascular differentiation resumed and xylem continuity was established during the time that the capacity to deep supercool was lost. In P. serotina and P. virginiana, two species which do not supercool, xylem vessels ran the length of the inflorescence and presumably provided a conduit for the spread of ice into the bud. The results support the hypothesis that the lack of xylem continuity is an important feature of buds which deep supercool.

  16. Dynamic control of osmolality and ionic composition of the xylem sap in two mangrove species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Portillo, Jorge; Ewers, Frank W; Méndez-Alonzo, Rodrigo; Paredes López, Claudia L; Angeles, Guillermo; Alarcón Jiménez, Ana Luisa; Lara-Domínguez, Ana Laura; Torres Barrera, María Del Carmen

    2014-06-01

    • Premise of the study: Xylem sap osmolality and salinity is a critical unresolved issue in plant function with impacts on transport efficiency, pressure gradients, and living cell turgor pressure, especially for halophytes such as mangrove trees.• Methods: We collected successive xylem vessel sap samples from stems and shoots of Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa using vacuum and pressure extraction and measured their osmolality. Following a series of extractions with the pressure chamber, we depressurized the shoot and pressurized again after various equilibration periods (minutes to hours) to test for dynamic control of osmolality. Transpiration and final sap osmolality were measured in shoots perfused with deionized water or different seawater dilutions.• Key results: For both species, the sap osmolality values of consecutive samples collected by vacuum extraction were stable and matched those of the initial samples extracted with the pressure chamber. Further extraction of samples with the pressure chamber decreased sap osmolality, suggesting reverse osmosis occurred. However, sap osmolalities increased when longer equilibration periods after sap extraction were allowed. Analysis of expressed sap with HPLC indicated a 1:1 relation between measured osmolality and the osmolality of the inorganic ions in the sap (mainly Na + , K + , and Cl - ), suggesting no contamination by organic compounds. In stems perfused with deionized water, the sap osmolality increased to mimic the native sap osmolality.• Conclusions: Xylem sap osmolality and ionic contents are dynamically adjusted by mangroves and may help modulate turgor pressure, hydraulic conductivity, and water potential, thus being important for mangrove physiology, survival, and distribution. © 2014 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

  17. Infection processes of xylem-colonizing pathogenic bacteria: possible explanations for the scarcity of qualitative disease resistance genes against them in crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Chungyun; Han, Sang Wook; Song, Yu-Rim; Kim, Bo-Young; Lee, Hyung-Jin; Lee, Je-Min; Yeam, Inhwa; Heu, Sunggi; Oh, Chang-Sik

    2015-07-01

    Disease resistance against xylem-colonizing pathogenic bacteria in crops. Plant pathogenic bacteria cause destructive diseases in many commercially important crops. Among these bacteria, eight pathogens, Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, X. campestris pv. campestris, Erwinia amylovora, Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, and Xylella fastidiosa, infect their host plants through different infection sites and paths and eventually colonize the xylem tissues of their host plants, resulting in wilting symptoms by blocking water flow or necrosis of xylem tissues. Noticeably, only a relatively small number of resistant cultivars in major crops against these vascular bacterial pathogens except X. oryzae pv. oryzae have been found or generated so far, although these pathogens threaten productivity of major crops. In this review, we summarize the lifestyles of major xylem-colonizing bacterial pathogens and then discuss the progress of current research on disease resistance controlled by qualitative disease resistance genes or quantitative trait loci against them. Finally, we propose infection processes of xylem-colonizing bacterial pathogens as one of possible reasons for why so few qualitative disease resistance genes against these pathogens have been developed or identified so far in crops.

  18. Analysis of xylem formation in pine by cDNA sequencing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allona, I.; Quinn, M.; Shoop, E.; Swope, K.; St Cyr, S.; Carlis, J.; Riedl, J.; Retzel, E.; Campbell, M. M.; Sederoff, R.; hide

    1998-01-01

    Secondary xylem (wood) formation is likely to involve some genes expressed rarely or not at all in herbaceous plants. Moreover, environmental and developmental stimuli influence secondary xylem differentiation, producing morphological and chemical changes in wood. To increase our understanding of xylem formation, and to provide material for comparative analysis of gymnosperm and angiosperm sequences, ESTs were obtained from immature xylem of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). A total of 1,097 single-pass sequences were obtained from 5' ends of cDNAs made from gravistimulated tissue from bent trees. Cluster analysis detected 107 groups of similar sequences, ranging in size from 2 to 20 sequences. A total of 361 sequences fell into these groups, whereas 736 sequences were unique. About 55% of the pine EST sequences show similarity to previously described sequences in public databases. About 10% of the recognized genes encode factors involved in cell wall formation. Sequences similar to cell wall proteins, most known lignin biosynthetic enzymes, and several enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were found. A number of putative regulatory proteins also are represented. Expression patterns of several of these genes were studied in various tissues and organs of pine. Sequencing novel genes expressed during xylem formation will provide a powerful means of identifying mechanisms controlling this important differentiation pathway.

  19. Drought-induced xylem cavitation and hydraulic deterioration: risk factors for urban trees under climate change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savi, Tadeja; Bertuzzi, Stefano; Branca, Salvatore; Tretiach, Mauro; Nardini, Andrea

    2015-02-01

    Urban trees help towns to cope with climate warming by cooling both air and surfaces. The challenges imposed by the urban environment, with special reference to low water availability due to the presence of extensive pavements, result in high rates of mortality of street trees, that can be increased by climatic extremes. We investigated the water relations and xylem hydraulic safety/efficiency of Quercus ilex trees growing at urban sites with different percentages of surrounding impervious pavements. Seasonal changes of plant water potential and gas exchange, vulnerability to cavitation and embolism level, and morpho-anatomical traits were measured. We found patterns of increasing water stress and vulnerability to drought at increasing percentages of impervious pavement cover, with a consequent reduction in gas exchange rates, decreased safety margins toward embolism development, and increased vulnerability to cavitation, suggesting the occurrence of stress-induced hydraulic deterioration. The amount of impermeable surface and chronic exposure to water stress influence the site-specific risk of drought-induced dieback of urban trees under extreme drought. Besides providing directions for management of green spaces in towns, our data suggest that xylem hydraulics is key to a full understanding of the responses of urban trees to global change. © 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

  20. Overexpression and cosuppression of xylem-related genes in an early xylem differentiation stage-specific manner by the AtTED4 promoter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endo, Satoshi; Iwamoto, Kuninori; Fukuda, Hiroo

    2018-02-01

    Tissue-specific overexpression of useful genes, which we can design according to their cause-and-effect relationships, often gives valuable gain-of-function phenotypes. To develop genetic tools in woody biomass engineering, we produced a collection of Arabidopsis lines that possess chimeric genes of a promoter of an early xylem differentiation stage-specific gene, Arabidopsis Tracheary Element Differentiation-related 4 (AtTED4) and late xylem development-associated genes, many of which are uncharacterized. The AtTED4 promoter directed the expected expression of transgenes in developing vascular tissues from young to mature stage. Of T2 lines examined, 42%, 49% and 9% were judged as lines with the nonrepeat type insertion, the simple repeat type insertion and the other repeat type insertion of transgenes. In 174 T3 lines, overexpression lines were confirmed for 37 genes, whereas only cosuppression lines were produced for eight genes. The AtTED4 promoter activity was high enough to overexpress a wide range of genes over wild-type expression levels, even though the wild-type expression is much higher than AtTED4 expression for several genes. As a typical example, we investigated phenotypes of pAtTED4::At5g60490 plants, in which both overexpression and cosuppression lines were included. Overexpression but not cosuppression lines showed accelerated xylem development, suggesting the positive role of At5g60490 in xylem development. Taken together, this study provides valuable results about behaviours of various genes expressed under an early xylem-specific promoter and about usefulness of their lines as genetic tools in woody biomass engineering. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Water relations in silver birch during springtime: How is sap pressurised?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hölttä, T; Dominguez Carrasco, M D R; Salmon, Y; Aalto, J; Vanhatalo, A; Bäck, J; Lintunen, A

    2018-05-06

    Positive sap pressures are produced in the xylem of birch trees in boreal conditions during the time between the thawing of the soil and bud break. During this period, xylem embolisms accumulated during wintertime are refilled with water. The mechanism for xylem sap pressurization and its environmental drivers are not well known. We measured xylem sap flow, xylem sap pressure, xylem sap osmotic concentration, xylem and whole stem diameter changes, and stem and root non-structural carbohydrate concentrations, along with meteorological conditions at two sites in Finland during and after the sap pressurisation period. The diurnal dynamics of xylem sap pressure and sap flow during the sap pressurisation period varied, but were more often opposite to the diurnal pattern after bud burst, i.e. sap pressure increased and sap flow rate mostly decreased when temperature increased. Net conversion of soluble sugars to starch in the stem and roots occurred during the sap pressurisation period. Xylem sap osmotic pressure was small in comparison to total sap pressure, and it did not follow changes in environmental conditions or tree water relations. Based on these findings, we suggest that xylem sap pressurisation and embolism refilling occur gradually over a few weeks through water transfer from parenchyma cells to xylem vessels during daytime, and then the parenchyma are refilled mostly during nighttime by water uptake from soil. Possible drivers for water transfer from parenchyma cells to vessels are discussed. Also the functioning of thermal dissipation probes in conditions of changing stem water content is discussed. © 2018 German Society for Plant Sciences and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  2. Effects of Age and Size on Xylem Phenology in Two Conifers of Northwestern China

    OpenAIRE

    Zeng, Qiao; Rossi, Sergio; Yang, Bao

    2018-01-01

    The climatic signals that directly affect the trees can be registered by xylem during its growth. If the timings and duration of xylem formation change, xylogenesis can occur under different environmental conditions and subsequently be subject to different climatic signals. An experimental design was applied in the field to disentangle the effects of age and size on xylem phenology, and it challenges the hypothesis that the timings and dynamics of xylem growth are size-dependent. Intra-annual...

  3. Avoiding transport bottlenecks in an expanding root system: xylem vessel development in fibrous and pioneer roots under field conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagniewska-Zadworna, Agnieszka; Byczyk, Julia; Eissenstat, David M; Oleksyn, Jacek; Zadworny, Marcin

    2012-09-01

    Root systems develop to effectively absorb water and nutrients and to rapidly transport these materials to the transpiring shoot. In woody plants, roots can be born with different functions: fibrous roots are primarily used for water and nutrient absorption, whereas pioneer roots have a greater role in transport. Because pioneer roots extend rapidly in the soil and typically quickly produce fibrous roots, they need to develop transport capacity rapidly so as to avoid becoming a bottleneck to the absorbed water of the developing fibrous roots and, as we hypothesized, immediately activate a specific type of autophagy at a precise time of their development. Using microscopy techniques, we monitored xylem development in Populus trichocarpa roots in the first 7 d after emergence under field conditions. Newly formed pioneer roots contained more primary xylem poles and had larger diameter tracheary elements than fibrous roots. While xylogenesis started later in pioneer roots than in fibrous, it was completed at the same time, resulting in functional vessels on the third to fourth day following root emergence. Programmed cell death was responsible for creating the water conducting capacity of xylem. Although the early xylogenesis processes were similar in fibrous and pioneer roots, secondary vascular development proceeded much more rapidly in pioneer roots. Compared to fibrous roots, rapid development of transport capacity in pioneer roots is not primarily caused by accelerated xylogenesis but by larger and more numerous tracheary elements and by rapid initiation of secondary growth.

  4. Analysis of spatial and temporal dynamics of xylem refilling in Acer rubrum L. using magnetic resonance imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwieniecki, Maciej A; Melcher, Peter J; Ahrens, Eric T

    2013-01-01

    We report results of an analysis of embolism formation and subsequent refilling observed in stems of Acer rubrum L. using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI is one of the very few techniques that can provide direct non-destructive observations of the water content within opaque biological materials at a micrometer resolution. Thus, it has been used to determine temporal dynamics and water distributions within xylem tissue. In this study, we found good agreement between MRI measures of pixel brightness to assess xylem liquid water content and the percent loss in hydraulic conductivity (PLC) in response to water stress (P50 values of 2.51 and 2.70 for MRI and PLC, respectively). These data provide strong support that pixel brightness is well correlated to PLC and can be used as a proxy of PLC even when single vessels cannot be resolved on the image. Pressure induced embolism in moderately stressed plants resulted in initial drop of pixel brightness. This drop was followed by brightness gain over 100 min following pressure application suggesting that plants can restore water content in stem after induced embolism. This recovery was limited only to current-year wood ring; older wood did not show signs of recovery within the length of experiment (16 h). In vivo MRI observations of the xylem of moderately stressed (~-0.5 MPa) A. rubrum stems revealed evidence of a spontaneous embolism formation followed by rapid refilling (~30 min). Spontaneous (not induced) embolism formation was observed only once, despite over 60 h of continuous MRI observations made on several plants. Thus this observation provide evidence for the presence of naturally occurring embolism-refilling cycle in A. rubrum, but it is impossible to infer any conclusions in relation to its frequency in nature.

  5. Compositions and methods for xylem-specific expression in plant cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Kyung-Hwan; Ko, Jae-Heung

    2017-12-19

    The invention provides promoter sequences that regulate specific expression of operably linked sequences in developing xylem cells and/or in developing xylem tissue. The developing xylem-specific sequences are exemplified by the DX5, DX8, DX11, and DX15 promoters, portions thereof, and homologs thereof. The invention further provides expression vectors, cells, tissues and plants that contain the invention's sequences. The compositions of the invention and methods of using them are useful in, for example, improving the quantity (biomass) and/or the quality (wood density, lignin content, sugar content etc.) of expressed biomass feedstock products that may be used for bioenergy, biorefinary, and generating wood products such as pulp, paper, and solid wood.

  6. Up-regulation of abscisic acid signaling pathway facilitates aphid xylem absorption and osmoregulation under drought stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Huijuan; Sun, Yucheng; Peng, Xinhong; Wang, Qinyang; Harris, Marvin; Ge, Feng

    2016-02-01

    The activation of the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway reduces water loss from plants challenged by drought stress. The effect of drought-induced ABA signaling on the defense and nutrition allocation of plants is largely unknown. We postulated that these changes can affect herbivorous insects. We studied the effects of drought on different feeding stages of pea aphids in the wild-type A17 of Medicago truncatula and ABA signaling pathway mutant sta-1. We examined the impact of drought on plant water status, induced plant defense signaling via the abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), and salicylic acid (SA) pathways, and on the host nutritional quality in terms of leaf free amino acid content. During the penetration phase of aphid feeding, drought decreased epidermis/mesophyll resistance but increased mesophyll/phloem resistance of A17 but not sta-1 plants. Quantification of transcripts associated with ABA, JA and SA signaling indicated that the drought-induced up-regulation of ABA signaling decreased the SA-dependent defense but increased the JA-dependent defense in A17 plants. During the phloem-feeding phase, drought had little effect on the amino acid concentrations and the associated aphid phloem-feeding parameters in both plant genotypes. In the xylem absorption stage, drought decreased xylem absorption time of aphids in both genotypes because of decreased water potential. Nevertheless, the activation of the ABA signaling pathway increased water-use efficiency of A17 plants by decreasing the stomatal aperture and transpiration rate. In contrast, the water potential of sta-1 plants (unable to close stomata) was too low to support xylem absorption activity of aphids; the aphids on sta-1 plants had the highest hemolymph osmolarity and lowest abundance under drought conditions. Taken together this study illustrates the significance of cross-talk between biotic-abiotic signaling pathways in plant-aphid interaction, and reveals the mechanisms leading to alter

  7. Identification of Xylem Occlusions Occurring in Cut Clematis (Clematis L., fam. Ranunculaceae Juss. Stems during Their Vase Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Jedrzejuk

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available During the vase life of cut stems obstruction of xylem vessels occurs due to microbial growth, formation of tyloses, deposition of materials in the lumen of xylem vessels and the presence of air emboli in the vascular system. Such obstructions may restrict water uptake and its transport towards upwards thus lowering their ornamental value and longevity of cut flowers. Clematis is a very attractive plant material which may be used as cut flower in floral compositions. Nothing is known about the histochemical or cytological nature of xylem blockages occurring in cut stems of this plant. This study shows that in clematis, tyloses are the main source of occlusions, although bacteria and some amorphic substances may also appear inside the vessels. A preservative composed of 200 mg dm−3 8-HQC (8-hydroxyquinolin citrate and 2% sucrose arrested bacterial development and the growth of tyloses. This information can be helpful in the development of new treatments to improve keeping qualities of cut clematis stems.

  8. Tolerance to oxidative stress is required for maximal xylem colonization by the xylem-limited bacterial phytopathogen, Xylella fastidiosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Peng; Lee, Yunho; Igo, Michele M; Roper, M Caroline

    2017-09-01

    Bacterial plant pathogens often encounter reactive oxygen species (ROS) during host invasion. In foliar bacterial pathogens, multiple regulatory proteins are involved in the sensing of oxidative stress and the activation of the expression of antioxidant genes. However, it is unclear whether xylem-limited bacteria, such as Xylella fastidiosa, experience oxidative stress during the colonization of plants. Examination of the X. fastidiosa genome uncovered only one homologue of oxidative stress regulatory proteins, OxyR. Here, a knockout mutation in the X. fastidiosa oxyR gene was constructed; the resulting strain was significantly more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) relative to the wild-type. In addition, during early stages of grapevine infection, the survival rate was 1000-fold lower for the oxyR mutant than for the wild-type. This supports the hypothesis that grapevine xylem represents an oxidative environment and that X. fastidiosa must overcome this challenge to achieve maximal xylem colonization. Finally, the oxyR mutant exhibited reduced surface attachment and cell-cell aggregation and was defective in biofilm maturation, suggesting that ROS could be a potential environmental cue stimulating biofilm development during the early stages of host colonization. © 2016 BSPP AND JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD.

  9. Conservation of element concentration in xylem sap of red spruce

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin T. Smith; Walter C. Shortle

    2001-01-01

    We investigated the chemistry of xylem sap as a marker of red spruce metabolism and soil chemistry at three locations in northern New England. A Scholander pressure chamber was used to extract xylem sap from roots and branches cut from mature trees in early June and September. Root sap contained significantly greater concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Mn, and A1 than branch...

  10. Fast-growing Acer rubrum differs from slow-growing Quercus alba in leaf, xylem and hydraulic trait coordination responses to simulated acid rain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medeiros, Juliana S; Tomeo, Nicholas J; Hewins, Charlotte R; Rosenthal, David M

    2016-08-01

    We investigated the effects of historic soil chemistry changes associated with acid rain, i.e., reduced soil pH and a shift from nitrogen (N)- to phosphorus (P)-limitation, on the coordination of leaf water demand and xylem hydraulic supply traits in two co-occurring temperate tree species differing in growth rate. Using a full-factorial design (N × P × pH), we measured leaf nutrient content, water relations, leaf-level and canopy-level gas exchange, total biomass and allocation, as well as stem xylem anatomy and hydraulic function for greenhouse-grown saplings of fast-growing Acer rubrum (L.) and slow-growing Quercus alba (L.). We used principle component analysis to characterize trait coordination. We found that N-limitation, but not P-limitation, had a significant impact on plant water relations and hydraulic coordination of both species. Fast-growing A. rubrum made hydraulic adjustments in response to N-limitation, but trait coordination was variable within treatments and did not fully compensate for changing allocation across N-availability. For slow-growing Q. alba, N-limitation engendered more strict coordination of leaf and xylem traits, resulting in similar leaf water content and hydraulic function across all treatments. Finally, low pH reduced the propensity of both species to adjust leaf water relations and xylem anatomical traits in response to nutrient manipulations. Our data suggest that a shift from N- to P-limitation has had a negative impact on the water relations and hydraulic function of A. rubrum to a greater extent than for Q. alba We suggest that current expansion of A. rubrum populations could be tempered by acidic N-deposition, which may restrict it to more mesic microsites. The disruption of hydraulic acclimation and coordination at low pH is emphasized as an interesting area of future study. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. The dynamic pipeline: hydraulic capacitance and xylem hydraulic safety in four tall conifer species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katherine A. McCulloh; Daniel M. Johnson; Frederick C. Meinzer; David R. Woodruff

    2013-01-01

    Recent work has suggested that plants differ in their relative reliance on structural avoidance of embolism versus maintenance of the xylem water column through dynamic traits such as capacitance, but we still know little about how and why species differ along this continuum. It is even less clear how or if different parts of a plant vary along this spectrum. Here we...

  12. 78 FR 77649 - Notification of Proposed Production Activity, Xylem Water Systems USA LLC, Subzone 37D...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-24

    ... inputs noted below and in the existing scope of authority. Customs duties also could possibly be deferred... December 2, 2013. Xylem already has authority to produce centrifugal pumps, submersible pumps, and related... components to the scope of authority. Pursuant to 15 CFR 400.14(b), FTZ activity would be limited to the...

  13. Analysis of spatial and temporal dynamics of xylem refilling in Acer rubrum L. using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maciej Andrzej Zwieniecki

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available We report results of an analysis of embolism formation and subsequent refilling observed in stems of Acer rubrum L. using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI. MRI is one of the very few techniques that can provide direct non-destructive observations of the water content within opaque biological materials at a micrometer resolution. Thus, it has been used to determine temporal dynamics and water distributions within xylem tissue. In this study, we found good agreement between MRI measures of pixel brightness to assess xylem liquid water content and the percent loss in hydraulic conductivity (PLC in response to water stress (P50 values of 2.51 and 2.70 for MRI and PLC, respectively. These data provide strong support that pixel brightness is well correlated to PLC and can be used as a proxy of PLC even when single vessels cannot be resolved on the image. Pressure induced embolism in moderately stressed plants resulted in initial drop of pixel brightness. This drop was followed by brightness gain over 100 minutes following pressure application suggesting that plants can restore water content in stem after induced embolism. This recovery was limited only to current year wood ring; older wood did not show signs of recovery within the length of experiment (16 hours. In vivo MRI observations of the xylem of moderately stressed (~-0.5 MPa A. rubrum stems revealed evidence of a spontaneous embolism formation followed by rapid refilling (~30 minutes. Spontaneous (not induced embolism formation was observed only once, despite over 60 hours of continuous MRI observations made on several plants. Thus this observation provide evidence for presence of naturally occurring embolism-refilling cycle in A. rubrum, but it is impossible to infer any conclusions in relation to its frequency in nature.

  14. Comparative interrogation of the developing xylem transcriptomes of two wood-forming species: Populus trichocarpa and Eucalyptus grandis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hefer, Charles A; Mizrachi, Eshchar; Myburg, Alexander A; Douglas, Carl J; Mansfield, Shawn D

    2015-06-01

    Wood formation is a complex developmental process governed by genetic and environmental stimuli. Populus and Eucalyptus are fast-growing, high-yielding tree genera that represent ecologically and economically important species suitable for generating significant lignocellulosic biomass. Comparative analysis of the developing xylem and leaf transcriptomes of Populus trichocarpa and Eucalyptus grandis together with phylogenetic analyses identified clusters of homologous genes preferentially expressed during xylem formation in both species. A conserved set of 336 single gene pairs showed highly similar xylem preferential expression patterns, as well as evidence of high functional constraint. Individual members of multi-gene orthologous clusters known to be involved in secondary cell wall biosynthesis also showed conserved xylem expression profiles. However, species-specific expression as well as opposite (xylem versus leaf) expression patterns observed for a subset of genes suggest subtle differences in the transcriptional regulation important for xylem development in each species. Using sequence similarity and gene expression status, we identified functional homologs likely to be involved in xylem developmental and biosynthetic processes in Populus and Eucalyptus. Our study suggests that, while genes involved in secondary cell wall biosynthesis show high levels of gene expression conservation, differential regulation of some xylem development genes may give rise to unique xylem properties. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  15. Intervessel connectivity and relationship with patterns of lateral water exchange within and between xylem sectors in seven xeric shrubs from the great Sahara desert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halis, Youcef; Mayouf, Rabah; Benhaddya, Mohamed Lamine; Belhamra, Mohamed

    2013-03-01

    The main objective of this study was to evaluate the role of intervessel contacts in determining the patterns of hydraulic integration both within and between xylem sectors. The degree of intervessel contacts and the lateral exchange capability within and between sectors were examined and correlated in different xeric shrubs. A dye injection method was used to detect the connections between vessels; an apoplastic dye was sucked through a known number of vessels and its distribution in the xylem network was followed. Hydraulic techniques were used to measure axial and tangential conductivity both within and between xylem sectors. The intra- and inter-sector integration indexes were then determined as the ratio of tangential to axial conductance. Species differed significantly in the degree of intervessel contacts, intra- and inter-sector integration index. In all cases, hydraulic integration was observed to be higher within sector than between sectors. From the correlation analyses, the intervessel contacts showed a very weak relationship with inter-sector integration index and a strong positive relationship with intra-sector integration index. Results suggested that (1) the factors affecting patterns of lateral flow within xylem sectors might be relatively different from those between sectors. (2) The degree of intervessel contacts was a major determinant of hydraulic integration within the same xylem sector. (3) Intervessel connectivity alone was a poor predictor of hydraulic integration between different sectors, implying a significant contribution of other anatomical, physiological and environmental factors in determining the patterns of integrated-sectored transport within woody stems.

  16. Sclerotherapy of Varicose Veins and Spider Veins

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Index A-Z Sclerotherapy of Varicose Veins and Spider Veins Sclerotherapy uses injections from a very fine, ... Sclerotherapy? What is Sclerotherapy of Varicose Veins and Spider Veins? Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive treatment used ...

  17. Static and dynamic bending has minor effects on xylem hydraulics of conifer branches (Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayr, Stefan; Bertel, Clara; Dämon, Birgit; Beikircher, Barbara

    2014-09-01

    The xylem hydraulic efficiency and safety is usually measured on mechanically unstressed samples, although trees may be exposed to combined hydraulic and mechanical stress in the field. We analysed changes in hydraulic conductivity and vulnerability to drought-induced embolism during static bending of Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris branches as well as the effect of dynamic bending on the vulnerability. We hypothesized this mechanical stress to substantially impair xylem hydraulics. Intense static bending caused an only small decrease in hydraulic conductance (-19.5 ± 2.4% in P. abies) but no shift in vulnerability thresholds. Dynamic bending caused a 0.4 and 0.8 MPa decrease of the water potential at 50 and 88% loss of conductivity in P. sylvestris, but did not affect vulnerability thresholds in P. abies. With respect to applied extreme bending radii, effects on plant hydraulics were surprisingly small and are thus probably of minor eco-physiological importance. More importantly, results indicate that available xylem hydraulic analyses (of conifers) sufficiently reflect plant hydraulics under field conditions. © 2014 The Authors. Plant, Cell & Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Organic geochemical studies of the transformation of gymnospermous xylem during peatification and coalification to subbituminous coal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatcher, P.G.; Lerch, H. E.; Verheyen, T.V.

    1990-01-01

    It is generally recognized that xylem from trees that are buried in peat swamps is transformed first to huminite macerals in brown coal and then to vitrinite macerals in bituminous coal by processes collectively known as coalification. In order to understand the chemical nature of coalification of xylem and the chemical structures that eventually evolve in coal, we examined a series of gymnospermous xylem samples coalified to varying degrees. The samples included modern fresh xylem, modern degraded xylem in peat, and xylem coalified to ranks of brown coal (lignite B), lignite A, and subbituminous coal. The organic geochemical methods used in this study included solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The NMR method provided average compositional information, and the pyrolysis provided detailed molecular information. Although the samples examined include different plants of different geologic ages, they all share a common feature in that they are gymnospermous and presumably have or had a similar kind of lignin. The data obtained in this study provide enough details to allow delineation of specific coalification pathway for the xylem is microbial degradation in peat (peatification), leading to selective removal of cellulosic components. These components constitute a large fraction of the total mass of xylem, usually greater than 50%. Although cellulosic components can survive degradation under certain conditions, their loss during microbial degradation is the rule rather than exception during peatification. As these components of xylem are degraded and lost, lignin, another major component of xylem, is selectively enriched because it is more resistant to microbial degradation than the cellulosic components. Thus, lignin survives peatification in a practically unaltered state and becomes the major precursor of coalified xylem. During its transformation to brown coal and lignite A, lignin in xylem is altered

  19. Seasonal dynamics of mobile carbohydrate pools in phloem and xylem of two alpine timberline conifers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruber, A; Pirkebner, D; Oberhuber, W

    2013-10-01

    Recent studies on non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves in trees focused on xylem NSC reserves, while still little is known about changes in phloem carbohydrate pools, where NSC charging might be significantly different. To gain insight on NSC dynamics in xylem and phloem, we monitored NSC concentrations in stems and roots of Pinus cembra (L.) and Larix decidua (Mill.) growing at the alpine timberline throughout 2011. Species-specific differences affected tree phenology and carbon allocation during the course of the year. After a delayed start in spring, NSC concentrations in L. decidua were significantly higher in all sampled tissues from August until the end of growing season. In both species, NSC concentrations were five to seven times higher in phloem than that in xylem. However, significant correlations between xylem and phloem starch content found for both species indicate a close linkage between long-term carbon reserves in both tissues. In L. decidua also, free sugar concentrations in xylem and phloem were significantly correlated throughout the year, while a lack of correlation between xylem and phloem free sugar pools in P. cembra indicate a decline of phloem soluble carbohydrate pools during periods of high sink demand.

  20. Effects of Age and Size on Xylem Phenology in Two Conifers of Northwestern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiao Zeng

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The climatic signals that directly affect the trees can be registered by xylem during its growth. If the timings and duration of xylem formation change, xylogenesis can occur under different environmental conditions and subsequently be subject to different climatic signals. An experimental design was applied in the field to disentangle the effects of age and size on xylem phenology, and it challenges the hypothesis that the timings and dynamics of xylem growth are size-dependent. Intra-annual dynamics of xylem formation were monitored weekly during the growing seasons 2013 and 2014 in Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis and Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii with different sizes and ages in a semi-arid region of northwestern China. Cell differentiation started 3 weeks earlier in 2013 and terminated 1 week later in 2014 in small-young pines than in big-old pines. However, differences in the timings of growth reactivation disappeared when comparing the junipers with different sizes but similar age. Overall, 77 days were required for xylem differentiation to take place, but timings were shorter for older trees, which also exhibited smaller cell production. Results from this study suggest that tree age does play an important role in timings and duration of growth. The effect of age should also be considered to perform reliable responses of trees to climate.

  1. Effects of Age and Size on Xylem Phenology in Two Conifers of Northwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Qiao; Rossi, Sergio; Yang, Bao

    2017-01-01

    The climatic signals that directly affect the trees can be registered by xylem during its growth. If the timings and duration of xylem formation change, xylogenesis can occur under different environmental conditions and subsequently be subject to different climatic signals. An experimental design was applied in the field to disentangle the effects of age and size on xylem phenology, and it challenges the hypothesis that the timings and dynamics of xylem growth are size-dependent. Intra-annual dynamics of xylem formation were monitored weekly during the growing seasons 2013 and 2014 in Chinese pine ( Pinus tabulaeformis ) and Qilian juniper ( Juniperus przewalskii ) with different sizes and ages in a semi-arid region of northwestern China. Cell differentiation started 3 weeks earlier in 2013 and terminated 1 week later in 2014 in small-young pines than in big-old pines. However, differences in the timings of growth reactivation disappeared when comparing the junipers with different sizes but similar age. Overall, 77 days were required for xylem differentiation to take place, but timings were shorter for older trees, which also exhibited smaller cell production. Results from this study suggest that tree age does play an important role in timings and duration of growth. The effect of age should also be considered to perform reliable responses of trees to climate.

  2. Measurement of xylem translocation of weak electrolytes with the pressure chamber technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ciucani, Giovannella; Trevisan, M.; Sacchi, G.A.

    2002-01-01

    and triasulfuron). The compounds covered a wide range of log K-OW and pK(a) values. Concentrations in external solution and in xylem sap were measured by HPLC at pH values in external solution of 4.5, 6.5 and 8.5. For weak bases, translocation was higher at low pH and the transpiration stream concentration factors...... (TSCF) were in the range 0.31-0.95. At pH 8.5, the concentrations in leaking xylem sap were very low for fenpropimorph, and steady-state was probably not reached. For weak acids, TSCF values derived with external pH from 4.5 to 8.5 were in the range 0.55-1.50 for primisulfuron-methyl, 0...... to regulate their xylem sap pH, which was almost identical to the pH in external solution. Without pH differences, the ion-trap process, which is responsible for accumulation or exclusion of weak acids and bases in the xylem of living plants, does not take place. Model simulations carried out for intact...

  3. Cavernous transformation of the portal vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehotska, V.; Dostalova, K.; Durkovsky, A.; Samal, V.

    1995-01-01

    In this contribution, the authors give an account of a rare case of a cavernous transformation of the portal vein that may have originated secondarily in a proliferative hematogenous disease with a polyglobulia and thrombosis in the periferal blood count as well as development of portal hypertension of a prehepatal type. The state of hyper-coagulation in a myeloproliferative disease may have lead to a chronic thrombosis of the portal vein with a subsequent malformation of the portal vein in terms of a cavernous transformation of the portal vein. The case is an interesting one because of the discrepancy between the gravity of the thrombotic complication and slightness of the symptoms in the clinical picture. The authors point out the importance of ultrasonography and computed tomography examination following the intravenous application of a water solution of a contrast medium in a morphologic diagnosing of a rare complication of a chronic thrombotic clot of the portal vein - the cavernous transformation. (authors)

  4. The effector repertoire of Fusarium oxysporum determines the tomato xylem proteome composition following infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fleur eGawehns

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Plant pathogens secrete small proteins, of which some are effectors that promote infection. During colonization of the tomato xylem vessels the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol secretes small proteins that are referred to as SIX (Secreted In Xylem proteins. Of these, Six1 (Avr3, Six3 (Avr2, Six5 and Six6 are required for full virulence, denoting them as effectors. To investigate their activities in the plant, the xylem sap proteome of plants inoculated with Fol wild-type or either AVR2, AVR3, SIX2, SIX5 or SIX6 knockout strains was analyzed with nano-Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (nLC-MSMS. Compared to mock-inoculated sap 12 additional plant proteins appeared while 45 proteins were no longer detectable in the xylem sap of Fol-infected plants. Of the 285 proteins found in both uninfected and infected plants the abundance of 258 proteins changed significantly following infection. The xylem sap proteome of plants infected with four Fol effector knockout strains differed significantly from plants infected with wild-type Fol, while that of the SIX2-knockout inoculated plants remained unchanged. Besides an altered abundance of a core set of 24 differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs, each of the four effector knockout strains affected specifically the abundance of a subset of DAPs. Hence, Fol effectors have both unique and shared effects on the composition of the tomato xylem sap proteome.

  5. Effects of Drought on Xylem Anatomy and Water-Use Efficiency of Two Co-Occurring Pine Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dario Martin-Benito

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Exploring how drought influences growth, performance, and survival in different species is crucial to understanding the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems. Here, we investigate the responses of two co-occurring pines (Pinus nigra and Pinus sylvestris to interannual drought in east-central Spain by dendrochronological and wood anatomical features integrated with isotopic ratios of carbon (δ13C and oxygen (δ18O in tree rings. Our results showed that drought induces both species to allocate less carbon to build tracheid cell-walls but increases tracheid lumen diameters, particularly in the transition wood between early and latewood, potentially maximizing hydraulic conductivity but reducing resistance to embolism at a critical phase during the growing season. The thicker cell-wall-to-lumen ratio in P. nigra could imply that its xylem may be more resistant to bending stress and drought-induced cavitation than P. sylvestris. In contrast, the higher intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE in P. sylvestris suggests that it relies more on a water-saving strategy. Our results suggest that narrower cell-walls and reduced growth under drought are not necessarily linked to increased iWUE. At our site P. nigra showed a higher growth plasticity, grew faster and was more competitive than P. sylvestris. In the long term, these sustained differences in iWUE and anatomical characters could affect forest species performance and composition, particularly under increased drought stress.

  6. Stem water transport and freeze-thaw xylem embolism in conifers and angiosperms in a Tasmanian treeline heath.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feild, Taylor S; Brodribb, Tim

    2001-05-01

    The effect of freezing on stem xylem hydraulic conductivity and leaf chlorophyll a fluorescence was measured in 12 tree and shrub species from a treeline heath in Tasmania, Australia. Reduction in stem hydraulic conductivity after a single freeze-thaw cycle was minimal in conifers and the vessel-less angiosperm species Tasmannia lanceolata (Winteraceae), whereas mean loss of conductivity in vessel-forming angiosperms fell in the range 17-83%. A positive linear relationship was observed between percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity by freeze-thaw and the average conduit diameter across all 12 species. This supports the hypothesis that large-diameter vascular conduits have a greater likelihood of freeze-thaw cavitation because larger bubbles are produced, which are more likely to expand under tension. Leaf frost tolerances, as measured by a 50% loss of maximum PSII quantum yield, varied from -6 to -13°C, indicating that these species were more frost-sensitive than plants from northern hemisphere temperate forest and treeline communities. There was no evidence of a relationship between frost tolerance of leaves and the resilience of stem water transport to freezing, suggesting that low temperature survival and the resistance of stem water transport to freezing are independently evolving traits. The results of this study bear on the ecological importance of stem freezing in the southern hemisphere treeline zones.

  7. Effects of environmental conditions on onset of xylem growth in Pinus sylvestris under drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swidrak, Irene; Gruber, Andreas; Kofler, Werner; Oberhuber, Walter

    2011-05-01

    We determined the influence of environmental factors (air and soil temperature, precipitation, photoperiod) on onset of xylem growth in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) within a dry inner Alpine valley (750 m a.s.l., Tyrol, Austria) by repeatedly sampling micro-cores throughout 2007-10 at two sites (xeric and dry-mesic) at the start of the growing season. Temperature sums were calculated in degree-days (DD) ≥5 °C from 1 January and 20 March, i.e., spring equinox, to account for photoperiodic control of release from winter dormancy. Threshold temperatures at which xylogenesis had a 0.5 probability of being active were calculated by logistic regression. Onset of xylem growth, which was not significantly different between the xeric and dry-mesic sites, ranged from mid-April in 2007 to early May in 2008. Among most study years, statistically significant differences (Pdrought stress forces P. sylvestris to draw upon water reserves in the stem for enlargement of first tracheids after cambial resumption in spring. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

  8. Arsenic speciation in xylem sap of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mihucz, Victor G. [Joint Research Group of Environmental Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and L. Eoetvoes University, Budapest (Hungary); Hungarian Satellite Centre of Trace Elements Institute to UNESCO, Budapest (Hungary); Tatar, Eniko [Hungarian Satellite Centre of Trace Elements Institute to UNESCO, Budapest (Hungary); L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest (Hungary); Virag, Istvan [L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest (Hungary); Cseh, Edit; Fodor, Ferenc [L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Plant Physiology, Budapest (Hungary); Zaray, Gyula [Joint Research Group of Environmental Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and L. Eoetvoes University, Budapest (Hungary); Hungarian Satellite Centre of Trace Elements Institute to UNESCO, Budapest (Hungary); L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest (Hungary)

    2005-10-01

    Flow injection analysis (FIA) and high-performance liquid chromatography double-focusing sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-DF-ICP-MS) were used for total arsenic determination and arsenic speciation of xylem sap of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) grown in hydroponics containing 2 {mu}mol dm{sup -3} arsenate or arsenite, respectively. Arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)] and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were identified in the sap of the plants. Arsenite was the predominant arsenic species in the xylem saps regardless of the type of arsenic treatment, and the following concentration order was determined: As(III) > As(V) > DMA. The amount of total As, calculated taking into consideration the mass of xylem sap collected, was almost equal for both treatments. Arsenite was taken up more easily by cucumber than arsenate. Partial oxidation of arsenite to arsenate (<10% in 48 h) was observed in the case of arsenite-containing nutrient solutions, which may explain the detection of arsenate in the saps of plants treated with arsenite. (orig.)

  9. Arsenate impact on the metabolite profile, production and arsenic loading of xylem sap in cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalle eUroic

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Arsenic uptake and translocation studies on xylem sap focus generally on the concentration and speciation of arsenic in the xylem. Arsenic impact on the xylem sap metabolite profile and its production during short term exposure has not been reported in detail. To investigate this, cucumbers were grown hydroponically and arsenate (AsV and DMA were used for plant treatment for 24 h. Total arsenic and arsenic speciation in xylem sap was analysed including a metabolite profiling under arsenate stress. Produced xylem sap was quantified and absolute arsenic transported was determined. AsV exposure has a significant impact on the metabolite profile of xylem sap. Four m/z values corresponding to four compounds were up regulated, one compound down regulated by arsenate exposure. The compound down regulated was identified to be isoleucine. Furthermore, arsenate has a significant influence on sap production, leading to a reduction of up to 96 % sap production when plants are exposed to 1000 μg kg-1 arsenate. No difference to control plants was observed when plants were exposed to 1000 μg kg-1 DMA. Absolute arsenic amount in xylem sap was the lowest at high arsenate exposure. These results show that AsV has a significant impact on the production and metabolite profile of xylem sap. The physiological importance of isoleucine needs further attention.

  10. Arsenate Impact on the Metabolite Profile, Production, and Arsenic Loading of Xylem Sap in Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uroic, M. Kalle; Salaün, Pascal; Raab, Andrea; Feldmann, Jörg

    2012-01-01

    Arsenic uptake and translocation studies on xylem sap focus generally on the concentration and speciation of arsenic in the xylem. Arsenic impact on the xylem sap metabolite profile and its production during short term exposure has not been reported in detail. To investigate this, cucumbers were grown hydroponically and arsenate (AsV) and DMA were used for plant treatment for 24 h. Total arsenic and arsenic speciation in xylem sap was analyzed including a metabolite profiling under AsV stress. Produced xylem sap was quantified and absolute arsenic transported was determined. AsV exposure had a significant impact on the metabolite profile of xylem sap. Four m/z values corresponding to four compounds were up-regulated, one compound down-regulated by AsV exposure. The compound down-regulated was identified to be isoleucine. Furthermore, AsV exposure had a significant influence on sap production, leading to a reduction of up to 96% sap production when plants were exposed to 1000 μg kg−1 AsV. No difference to control plants was observed when plants were exposed to 1000 μg kg−1 DMA. Absolute arsenic amount in xylem sap was the lowest at high AsV exposure. These results show that AsV has a significant impact on the production and metabolite profile of xylem sap. The physiological importance of isoleucine needs further attention. PMID:22536187

  11. Changes in the Proteome of Xylem Sap in Brassica oleracea in Response to Fusarium oxysporum Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pu, Zijing; Ino, Yoko; Kimura, Yayoi; Tago, Asumi; Shimizu, Motoki; Natsume, Satoshi; Sano, Yoshitaka; Fujimoto, Ryo; Kaneko, Kentaro; Shea, Daniel J; Fukai, Eigo; Fuji, Shin-Ichi; Hirano, Hisashi; Okazaki, Keiichi

    2016-01-01

    Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. conlutinans (Foc) is a serious root-invading and xylem-colonizing fungus that causes yellowing in Brassica oleracea. To comprehensively understand the interaction between F. oxysporum and B. oleracea, composition of the xylem sap proteome of the non-infected and Foc-infected plants was investigated in both resistant and susceptible cultivars using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) after in-solution digestion of xylem sap proteins. Whole genome sequencing of Foc was carried out and generated a predicted Foc protein database. The predicted Foc protein database was then combined with the public B. oleracea and B. rapa protein databases downloaded from Uniprot and used for protein identification. About 200 plant proteins were identified in the xylem sap of susceptible and resistant plants. Comparison between the non-infected and Foc-infected samples revealed that Foc infection causes changes to the protein composition in B. oleracea xylem sap where repressed proteins accounted for a greater proportion than those of induced in both the susceptible and resistant reactions. The analysis on the proteins with concentration change > = 2-fold indicated a large portion of up- and down-regulated proteins were those acting on carbohydrates. Proteins with leucine-rich repeats and legume lectin domains were mainly induced in both resistant and susceptible system, so was the case of thaumatins. Twenty-five Foc proteins were identified in the infected xylem sap and 10 of them were cysteine-containing secreted small proteins that are good candidates for virulence and/or avirulence effectors. The findings of differential response of protein contents in the xylem sap between the non-infected and Foc-infected samples as well as the Foc candidate effectors secreted in xylem provide valuable insights into B. oleracea-Foc interactions.

  12. Changes in the proteome of xylem sap in Brassica oleracea in response to Fusarium oxysporum stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zijing ePu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conlutinans (Foc is a serious root-invading and xylem-colonizing fungus that causes yellowing in Brassica oleracea. To comprehensively understand the interaction between F. oxysporum and B. oleracea, composition of the xylem sap proteome of the non-infected and Foc-infected plants was investigated in both resistant and susceptible cultivars using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS after in-solution digestion of xylem sap proteins. Whole genome sequencing of Foc was carried out and generated a predicted Foc protein database. The predicted Foc protein database was then combined with the public B. oleracea and B. rapa protein databases downloaded from Uniprot and used for protein identification. About 200 plant proteins were identified in the xylem sap of susceptible and resistant plants. Comparison between the non-infected and Foc-infected samples revealed that Foc infection causes changes to the protein composition in B. oleracea xylem sap where repressed proteins accounted for a greater proportion than those of induced in both the susceptible and resistant reactions. The analysis on the proteins with concentration change >=2 fold indicated a large portion of up- and down-regulated proteins were those acting on carbohydrates. Proteins with leucine-rich repeats and legume lectin domains were mainly induced in both resistant and susceptible system, so was the case of thaumatins. Twenty-five Foc proteins were identified in the infected xylem sap and ten of them were cysteine-containing secreted small proteins that are good candidates for virulence and/or avirulence effectors. The findings of differential response of protein contents in the xylem sap between the non-infected and Foc-infected samples as well as the Foc candidate effectors secreted in xylem provide valuable insights into B. oleracea-Foc interactions.

  13. Pelvic Vein Embolisation in the Management of Varicose Veins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ratnam, Lakshmi A.; Marsh, Petra; Holdstock, Judy M.; Harrison, Charmaine S.; Hussain, Fuad F.; Whiteley, Mark S.; Lopez, Anthony

    2008-01-01

    Pelvic vein incompetence is common in patients with atypical varicose veins, contributing to their recurrence after surgery. Therefore, refluxing pelvic veins should be identified and treated. We present our experience with pelvic vein embolisation in patients presenting with varicose veins. Patients presenting with varicose veins with a duplex-proven contribution from perivulval veins undergo transvaginal duplex sonography (TVUS) to identify refluxing pelvic veins. Those with positive scans undergo embolisation before surgical treatment of their lower limb varicose veins. A total of 218 women (mean age of 46.3 years) were treated. Parity was documented in the first 60 patients, of whom 47 (78.3%) were multiparous, 11 (18.3%) had had one previous pregnancy, and 2 (3.3%) were nulliparous. The left ovarian vein was embolised in 78%, the right internal iliac in 64.7%, the left internal iliac in 56.4%, and the right ovarian vein in 42.2% of patients. At follow-up TVUS, mild reflux only was seen in 16, marked persistent reflux in 6, and new reflux in 3 patients. These 9 women underwent successful repeat embolisation. Two patients experienced pulmonary embolisation of the coils, of whom 1 was asymptomatic and 1 was successfully retrieved; 1 patient had a misplaced coil protruding into the common femoral vein; and 1 patient had perineal thrombophlebitis. The results of our study showed that pelvic venous embolisation by way of a transjugular approach is a safe and effective technique in the treatment of pelvic vein reflux.

  14. Isolation of developing secondary xylem specific cellulose synthase ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The present study aimed at identifying developing secondary xylem specific cellulose synthase genes from .... the First strand cDNA synthesis kit (Fermentas, Pittsburgh,. USA). .... ing height of the rooted cutting, girth of the stem, leaf area.

  15. The effector repertoire of Fusarium oxysporum determines the tomato xylem proteome composition following infection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gawehns, Fleur; Ma, Lisong; Bruning, Oskar; Houterman, Petra M.; Boeren, Sjef; Cornelissen, B.J.C.; Rep, Martijn; Takken, Frank L.W.

    2015-01-01

    Plant pathogens secrete small proteins, of which some are effectors that promote infection. During colonization of the tomato xylem vessels the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (Fol) secretes small proteins that are referred to as SIX (Secreted In Xylem) proteins. Of these, Six1

  16. Palaeo-adaptive properties of the xylem of Metasequoia: mechanical/hydraulic compromises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jagels, Richard; Visscher, George E; Lucas, John; Goodell, Barry

    2003-07-01

    The xylem of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng is characterized by very low density (average specific gravity = 0.27) and tracheids with relatively large dimensions (length and diameter). The microfibril angle in the S2 layer of tracheid walls is large, even in outer rings, suggesting a cambial response to compressive rather than tensile stresses. In some cases, this compressive stress is converted to irreversible strain (plastic deformation), as evidenced by cell wall corrugations. The heartwood is moderately decay resistant, helping to prevent Brazier buckling. These xylem properties are referenced to the measured bending properties of modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity, and compared with other low-to-moderate density conifers. The design strategy for Metasequoia is to produce a mechanically weak but hydraulically efficient xylem that permits rapid height growth and crown development to capture and dominate a wet site environment. The adaptability of these features to a high-latitude Eocene palaeoenvironment is discussed.

  17. Palaeo‐adaptive Properties of the Xylem of Metasequoia: Mechanical/Hydraulic Compromises

    Science.gov (United States)

    JAGELS, RICHARD; VISSCHER, GEORGE E.; LUCAS, JOHN; GOODELL, BARRY

    2003-01-01

    The xylem of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng is characterized by very low density (average specific gravity = 0·27) and tracheids with relatively large dimensions (length and diameter). The microfibril angle in the S2 layer of tracheid walls is large, even in outer rings, suggesting a cambial response to compressive rather than tensile stresses. In some cases, this compressive stress is converted to irreversible strain (plastic deformation), as evidenced by cell wall corrugations. The heartwood is moderately decay resistant, helping to prevent Brazier buckling. These xylem properties are referenced to the measured bending properties of modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity, and compared with other low‐to‐moderate density conifers. The design strategy for Metasequoia is to produce a mechanically weak but hydraulically efficient xylem that permits rapid height growth and crown development to capture and dominate a wet site environment. The adaptability of these features to a high‐latitude Eocene palaeoenvironment is discussed. PMID:12763758

  18. Structure-function relationships in sapwood water transport and storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbara L. Gartner; Frederick C. Meinzer

    2005-01-01

    Primary production by plants requires the loss of substantial quantities of water when the stomata are open for carbon assimilation. The delivery of that water to the leaves occurs through the xylem. The structure, condition, and quantity of the xylem control not only the transport efficiency but also the release of water from storage. For example, if there is high...

  19. Seasonal changes in plant-water relations influence patterns of leaf display in Miombo woodlands: evidence of water conservative strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinya, Royd; Malhi, Yadvinder; Brown, Nick D; Fisher, Joshua B; Brodribb, Timothy; Aragão, Luiz E O C

    2018-06-15

    Water availability has frequently been linked to seasonal leaf display in seasonally dry ecosystems, but there have been few ecohydrological investigations of this link. Miombo woodland is a dominant seasonally dry tropical forest ecosystem type in southern Africa; however, there are few data on the relationship between seasonal dynamics in plant-water relations and patterns of leaf display for Miombo woodland. Here we investigate this relationship among nine key Miombo woodland tree species differing in drought tolerance ability and leaf phenology. Results of this study showed that seasonal patterns of leaf phenology varied significantly with seasonal changes in stem water relations among the nine species. Leaf shedding coincided with the attainment of seasonal minimum stem water potential. Leaf flush occurred following xylem rehydration at the peak of the dry season suggesting that endogenous plant factors play a pivotal role in seasonal leaf display in this forest type. Drought-tolerant deciduous species suffered significantly higher seasonal losses in xylem hydraulic conductivity than the drought-intolerant semi-evergreen tree species (P water stress in seasonally dry tropical forests selects for water conservative traits that protect the vulnerable xylem transport system. Therefore, seasonal rhythms in xylem transport dictate patterns of leaf display in seasonally dry tropical forests.

  20. Dissolved atmospheric gas in xylem sap measured with membrane inlet mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenk, H Jochen; Espino, Susana; Visser, Ate; Esser, Bradley K

    2016-04-01

    A new method is described for measuring dissolved gas concentrations in small volumes of xylem sap using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. The technique can be used to determine concentrations of atmospheric gases, such as argon, as reported here, or for any dissolved gases and their isotopes for a variety of applications, such as rapid detection of trace gases from groundwater only hours after they were taken up by trees and rooting depth estimation. Atmospheric gas content in xylem sap directly affects the conditions and mechanisms that allow for gas removal from xylem embolisms, because gas can dissolve into saturated or supersaturated sap only under gas pressure that is above atmospheric pressure. The method was tested for red trumpet vine, Distictis buccinatoria (Bignoniaceae), by measuring atmospheric gas concentrations in sap collected at times of minimum and maximum daily temperature and during temperature increase and decline. Mean argon concentration in xylem sap did not differ significantly from saturation levels for the temperature and pressure conditions at any time of collection, but more than 40% of all samples were supersaturated, especially during the warm parts of day. There was no significant diurnal pattern, due to high variability between samples. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Xylem and Leaf Functional Adjustments to Drought in Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica at Their Elevational Boundary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-de-Uña, Laura; Rossi, Sergio; Aranda, Ismael; Fonti, Patrick; González-González, Borja D; Cañellas, Isabel; Gea-Izquierdo, Guillermo

    2017-01-01

    Climatic scenarios for the Mediterranean region forecast increasing frequency and intensity of drought events. Consequently, a reduction in Pinus sylvestris L. distribution range is projected within the region, with this species being outcompeted at lower elevations by more drought-tolerant taxa such as Quercus pyrenaica Willd. The functional response of these species to the projected shifts in water availability will partially determine their performance and, thus, their competitive success under these changing climatic conditions. We studied how the cambial and leaf phenology and xylem anatomy of these two species responded to a 3-year rainfall exclusion experiment set at their elevational boundary in Central Spain. Additionally, P. sylvestris leaf gas exchange, water potential and carbon isotope content response to the treatment were measured. Likewise, we assessed inter-annual variability in the studied functional traits under control and rainfall exclusion conditions. Prolonged exposure to drier conditions did not affect the onset of xylogenesis in either of the studied species, whereas xylem formation ceased 1-3 weeks earlier in P. sylvestris . The rainfall exclusion had, however, no effect on leaf phenology on either species, which suggests that cambial phenology is more sensitive to drought than leaf phenology. P. sylvestris formed fewer, but larger tracheids under dry conditions and reduced the proportion of latewood in the tree ring. On the other hand, Q. pyrenaica did not suffer earlywood hydraulic diameter changes under rainfall exclusion, but experienced a cumulative reduction in latewood width, which could ultimately challenge its hydraulic performance. The phenological and anatomical response of the studied species to drought is consistent with a shift in resource allocation under drought stress from xylem to other sinks. Additionally, the tighter stomatal control and higher intrinsic water use efficiency observed in drought-stressed P. sylvestris

  2. Xylem and Leaf Functional Adjustments to Drought in Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica at Their Elevational Boundary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Fernández-de-Uña

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Climatic scenarios for the Mediterranean region forecast increasing frequency and intensity of drought events. Consequently, a reduction in Pinus sylvestris L. distribution range is projected within the region, with this species being outcompeted at lower elevations by more drought-tolerant taxa such as Quercus pyrenaica Willd. The functional response of these species to the projected shifts in water availability will partially determine their performance and, thus, their competitive success under these changing climatic conditions. We studied how the cambial and leaf phenology and xylem anatomy of these two species responded to a 3-year rainfall exclusion experiment set at their elevational boundary in Central Spain. Additionally, P. sylvestris leaf gas exchange, water potential and carbon isotope content response to the treatment were measured. Likewise, we assessed inter-annual variability in the studied functional traits under control and rainfall exclusion conditions. Prolonged exposure to drier conditions did not affect the onset of xylogenesis in either of the studied species, whereas xylem formation ceased 1–3 weeks earlier in P. sylvestris. The rainfall exclusion had, however, no effect on leaf phenology on either species, which suggests that cambial phenology is more sensitive to drought than leaf phenology. P. sylvestris formed fewer, but larger tracheids under dry conditions and reduced the proportion of latewood in the tree ring. On the other hand, Q. pyrenaica did not suffer earlywood hydraulic diameter changes under rainfall exclusion, but experienced a cumulative reduction in latewood width, which could ultimately challenge its hydraulic performance. The phenological and anatomical response of the studied species to drought is consistent with a shift in resource allocation under drought stress from xylem to other sinks. Additionally, the tighter stomatal control and higher intrinsic water use efficiency observed in drought

  3. Proteomics approach to identify unique xylem sap proteins in Pierce's disease-tolerant Vitis species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basha, Sheikh M; Mazhar, Hifza; Vasanthaiah, Hemanth K N

    2010-03-01

    Pierce's disease (PD) is a destructive bacterial disease of grapes caused by Xylella fastidiosa which is xylem-confined. The tolerance level to this disease varies among Vitis species. Our research was aimed at identifying unique xylem sap proteins present in PD-tolerant Vitis species. The results showed wide variation in the xylem sap protein composition, where a set of polypeptides with pI between 4.5 and 4.7 and M(r) of 31 kDa were present in abundant amount in muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia, PD-tolerant), in reduced levels in Florida hybrid bunch (Vitis spp., PD-tolerant) and absent in bunch grapes (Vitis vinifera, PD-susceptible). Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry analysis of these proteins revealed their similarity to beta-1, 3-glucanase, peroxidase, and a subunit of oxygen-evolving enhancer protein 1, which are known to play role in defense and oxygen generation. In addition, the amount of free amino acids and soluble sugars was found to be significantly lower in xylem sap of muscadine genotypes compared to V. vinifera genotypes, indicating that the higher nutritional value of bunch grape sap may be more suitable for Xylella growth. These data suggest that the presence of these unique proteins in xylem sap is vital for PD tolerance in muscadine and Florida hybrid bunch grapes.

  4. Xylem resistance to embolism: presenting a simple diagnostic test for the open vessel artefact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres-Ruiz, José M; Cochard, Hervé; Choat, Brendan; Jansen, Steven; López, Rosana; Tomášková, Ivana; Padilla-Díaz, Carmen M; Badel, Eric; Burlett, Regis; King, Andrew; Lenoir, Nicolas; Martin-StPaul, Nicolas K; Delzon, Sylvain

    2017-07-01

    Xylem vulnerability to embolism represents an essential trait for the evaluation of the impact of hydraulics in plant function and ecology. The standard centrifuge technique is widely used for the construction of vulnerability curves, although its accuracy when applied to species with long vessels remains under debate. We developed a simple diagnostic test to determine whether the open-vessel artefact influences centrifuge estimates of embolism resistance. Xylem samples from three species with differing vessel lengths were exposed to less negative xylem pressures via centrifugation than the minimum pressure the sample had previously experienced. Additional calibration was obtained from non-invasive measurement of embolism on intact olive plants by X-ray microtomography. Results showed artefactual decreases in hydraulic conductance (k) for samples with open vessels when exposed to a less negative xylem pressure than the minimum pressure they had previously experienced. X-Ray microtomography indicated that most of the embolism formation in olive occurs at xylem pressures below -4.0 MPa, reaching 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity at -5.3 MPa. The artefactual reductions in k induced by centrifugation underestimate embolism resistance data of species with long vessels. A simple test is suggested to avoid this open vessel artefact and to ensure the reliability of this technique in future studies. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  5. Anti-transpirant activity in xylem sap from flooded tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants is not due to pH-mediated redistributions of root- or shoot-sourced ABA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Else, Mark A; Taylor, June M; Atkinson, Christopher J

    2006-01-01

    In flooded soils, the rapid effects of decreasing oxygen availability on root metabolic activity are likely to generate many potential chemical signals that may impact on stomatal apertures. Detached leaf transpiration tests showed that filtered xylem sap, collected at realistic flow rates from plants flooded for 2 h and 4 h, contained one or more factors that reduced stomatal apertures. The closure could not be attributed to increased root output of the glucose ester of abscisic acid (ABA-GE), since concentrations and deliveries of ABA conjugates were unaffected by soil flooding. Although xylem sap collected from the shoot base of detopped flooded plants became more alkaline within 2 h of flooding, this rapid pH change of 0.5 units did not alter partitioning of root-sourced ABA sufficiently to prompt a transient increase in xylem ABA delivery. More shoot-sourced ABA was detected in the xylem when excised petiole sections were perfused with pH 7 buffer, compared with pH 6 buffer. Sap collected from the fifth oldest leaf of "intact" well-drained plants and plants flooded for 3 h was more alkaline, by approximately 0.4 pH units, than sap collected from the shoot base. Accordingly, xylem [ABA] was increased 2-fold in sap collected from the fifth oldest petiole compared with the shoot base of flooded plants. However, water loss from transpiring, detached leaves was not reduced when the pH of the feeding solution containing 3-h-flooded [ABA] was increased from 6.7 to 7.1 Thus, the extent of the pH-mediated, shoot-sourced ABA redistribution was not sufficient to raise xylem [ABA] to physiologically active levels. Using a detached epidermis bioassay, significant non-ABA anti-transpirant activity was also detected in xylem sap collected at intervals during the first 24 h of soil flooding.

  6. Two Complementary Mechanisms Underpin Cell Wall Patterning during Xylem Vessel Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Rene; Tang, Lu; Lampugnani, Edwin R; Barkwill, Sarah; Lathe, Rahul; Zhang, Yi; McFarlane, Heather E; Pesquet, Edouard; Niittyla, Totte; Mansfield, Shawn D; Zhou, Yihua; Persson, Staffan

    2017-10-01

    The evolution of the plant vasculature was essential for the emergence of terrestrial life. Xylem vessels are solute-transporting elements in the vasculature that possess secondary wall thickenings deposited in intricate patterns. Evenly dispersed microtubule (MT) bands support the formation of these wall thickenings, but how the MTs direct cell wall synthesis during this process remains largely unknown. Cellulose is the major secondary wall constituent and is synthesized by plasma membrane-localized cellulose synthases (CesAs) whose catalytic activity propels them through the membrane. We show that the protein CELLULOSE SYNTHASE INTERACTING1 (CSI1)/POM2 is necessary to align the secondary wall CesAs and MTs during the initial phase of xylem vessel development in Arabidopsis thaliana and rice ( Oryza sativa ). Surprisingly, these MT-driven patterns successively become imprinted and sufficient to sustain the continued progression of wall thickening in the absence of MTs and CSI1/POM2 function. Hence, two complementary principles underpin wall patterning during xylem vessel development. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  7. Leaf extraction and analysis framework graphical user interface: segmenting and analyzing the structure of leaf veins and areoles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Charles A; Symonova, Olga; Mileyko, Yuriy; Hilley, Troy; Weitz, Joshua S

    2011-01-01

    Interest in the structure and function of physical biological networks has spurred the development of a number of theoretical models that predict optimal network structures across a broad array of taxonomic groups, from mammals to plants. In many cases, direct tests of predicted network structure are impossible given the lack of suitable empirical methods to quantify physical network geometry with sufficient scope and resolution. There is a long history of empirical methods to quantify the network structure of plants, from roots, to xylem networks in shoots and within leaves. However, with few exceptions, current methods emphasize the analysis of portions of, rather than entire networks. Here, we introduce the Leaf Extraction and Analysis Framework Graphical User Interface (LEAF GUI), a user-assisted software tool that facilitates improved empirical understanding of leaf network structure. LEAF GUI takes images of leaves where veins have been enhanced relative to the background, and following a series of interactive thresholding and cleaning steps, returns a suite of statistics and information on the structure of leaf venation networks and areoles. Metrics include the dimensions, position, and connectivity of all network veins, and the dimensions, shape, and position of the areoles they surround. Available for free download, the LEAF GUI software promises to facilitate improved understanding of the adaptive and ecological significance of leaf vein network structure.

  8. The impact of xylem cavitation on water potential isotherms measured by the pressure chamber technique in Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W.C. Cheng.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Dongmei; Pan, Shaoan; Tyree, Melvin T

    2016-08-01

    Pressure-volume (PV) curve analysis is the most common and accurate way of estimating all components of the water relationships in leaves (water potential isotherms) as summarized in the Höfler diagram. PV curve analysis yields values of osmotic pressure, turgor pressure, and elastic modulus of cell walls as a function of relative water content. It allows the computation of symplasmic/apoplastic water content partitioning. For about 20 years, cavitation in xylem has been postulated as a possible source of error when estimating the above parameters, but, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no one has ever previously quantified its influence. Results in this paper provide independent estimates of osmotic pressure by PV curve analysis and by thermocouple psychrometer measurement. An anatomical evaluation was also used for the first time to compare apoplastic water fraction estimates from PV analysis with anatomical values. Conclusions include: (i) PV curve values of osmotic pressure are underestimated prior to correcting osmotic pressure for water loss by cavitation in Metasequoia glyptostroboides; (ii) psychrometer estimates of osmotic pressure obtained in tissues killed by freezing or heating agreed with PV values before correction for apoplastic water dilution; (iii) after correction for dilution effects, a solute concentration enhancement (0.27MPa or 0.11 osmolal) was revealed. The possible sources of solute enhancement were starch hydrolysis and release of ions from the Donnan free space of needle cell walls. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Use of gold nanoparticles to detect water uptake in vascular plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Bae Geun; Ahn, Sungsook; Lee, Sang Joon

    2014-01-01

    Direct visualization of water-conducting pathways and sap flows in xylem vessels is important for understanding the physiology of vascular plants and their sap ascent. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) combined with synchrotron X-ray imaging technique is a new promising tool for investigating plant hydraulics in opaque xylem vessels of vascular plants. However, in practical applications of AuNPs for real-time quantitative visualization of sap flows, their interaction with a vascular network needs to be verified in advance. In this study, the effect of AuNPs on the water-refilling function of xylem vessels is experimentally investigated with three monocot species. Discrepancy in the water uptakes starts to appear at about 20 min to 40 min after the supply of AuNP solution to the test plant by the possible gradual accumulation of AuNPs on the internal structures of vasculature. However conclusively, it is observed that the water-refilling speeds in individual xylem vessels are virtually unaffected by hydrophilically surface-modified AuNPs (diameter ∼20 nm). Therefore, the AuNPs can be effectively used as flow tracers in the xylem vessels in the first 20∼30 min without any physiological barrier. As a result, AuNPs are found to be useful for visualizing various fluid dynamic phenomena occurring in vascular plants.

  10. Metabolomics of tomato xylem sap during bacterial wilt reveals Ralstonia solanacearum produces abundant putrescine, a metabolite that accelerates wilt disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lowe-Power, Tiffany M.; Hendrich, Connor G.; Roepenack-Lahaye, von Edda; Li, Bin; Wu, Dousheng; Mitra, Raka; Dalsing, Beth L.; Ricca, Patrizia; Naidoo, Jacinth; Cook, David; Jancewicz, Amy; Masson, Patrick; Thomma, Bart; Lahaye, Thomas; Michael, Anthony J.; Allen, Caitilyn

    2018-01-01

    Ralstonia solanacearum thrives in plant xylem vessels and causes bacterial wilt disease despite the low nutrient content of xylem sap. We found that R. solanacearum manipulates its host to increase nutrients in tomato xylem sap, enabling it to grow better in sap from infected plants than in sap from

  11. Varicose vein stripping

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... stripping; Venous reflux - vein stripping; Venous ulcer - veins Patient Instructions Surgical wound care - open Varicose veins - what to ask your doctor Images Circulatory system References American Family Physician. Management of varicose veins. www.aafp.org/afp/2008/ ...

  12. Plant GSK3 proteins regulate xylem cell differentiation downstream of TDIF-TDR signalling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Yuki; Ito, Tasuku; Nakagami, Hirofumi; Hirakawa, Yuki; Saito, Masato; Tamaki, Takayuki; Shirasu, Ken; Fukuda, Hiroo

    2014-03-01

    During plant radial growth typically seen in trees, procambial and cambial cells act as meristematic cells in the vascular system to self-proliferate and differentiate into xylem cells. These two processes are regulated by a signalling pathway composed of a peptide ligand and its receptor; tracheary element differentiation inhibitory factor (TDIF) and TDIF RECEPTOR (TDR). Here we show that glycogen synthase kinase 3 proteins (GSK3s) are crucial downstream components of the TDIF signalling pathway suppressing xylem differentiation from procambial cells. TDR interacts with GSK3s at the plasma membrane and activates GSK3s in a TDIF-dependent fashion. Consistently, a specific inhibitor of plant GSK3s strongly induces xylem cell differentiation through BRI1-EMS SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1), a well-known target transcription factor of GSK3s. Our findings provide insight into the regulation of cell fate determination in meristem maintenance.

  13. Effects of Xylem-Sap Composition on Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Egg Maturation on High- and Low-Quality Host Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sisterson, Mark S; Wallis, Christopher M; Stenger, Drake C

    2017-04-01

    Glassy-winged sharpshooters must feed as adults to produce mature eggs. Cowpea and sunflower are both readily accepted by the glassy-winged sharpshooter for feeding, but egg production on sunflower was reported to be lower than egg production on cowpea. To better understand the role of adult diet in egg production, effects of xylem-sap chemistry on glassy-winged sharpshooter egg maturation was compared for females confined to cowpea and sunflower. Females confined to cowpea consumed more xylem-sap than females held on sunflower. In response, females held on cowpea produced more eggs, had heavier bodies, and greater lipid content than females held on sunflower. Analysis of cowpea and sunflower xylem-sap found that 17 of 19 amino acids were more concentrated in cowpea xylem-sap than in sunflower xylem-sap. Thus, decreased consumption of sunflower xylem-sap was likely owing to perceived lower quality, with decreased egg production owing to a combination of decreased feeding and lower return per unit volume of xylem-sap consumed. Examination of pairwise correlation coefficients among amino acids indicated that concentrations of several amino acids within a plant species were correlated. Principal component analyses identified latent variables describing amino acid composition of xylem-sap. For females held on cowpea, egg maturation was affected by test date, volume of excreta produced, and principal components describing amino acid composition of xylem-sap. Principal component analyses aided in identifying amino acids that were positively or negatively associated with egg production, although determining causality with respect to key nutritional requirements for glassy-winged sharpshooter egg production will require additional testing. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

  14. Influence of soil texture on hydraulic properties and water relations of a dominant warm-desert phreatophyte.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hultine, K R; Koepke, D F; Pockman, W T; Fravolini, A; Sperry, J S; Williams, D G

    2006-03-01

    We investigated hydraulic constraints on water uptake by velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina Woot.) at a site with sandy-loam soil and at a site with loamy-clay soil in southeastern Arizona, USA. We predicted that trees on sandy-loam soil have less negative xylem and soil water potentials during drought and a lower resistance to xylem cavitation, and reach E(crit) (the maximum steady-state transpiration rate without hydraulic failure) at higher soil water potentials than trees on loamy-clay soil. However, minimum predawn leaf xylem water potentials measured during the height of summer drought were significantly lower at the sandy-loam site (-3.5 +/- 0.1 MPa; all errors are 95% confidence limits) than at the loamy-clay site (-2.9 +/- 0.1 MPa). Minimum midday xylem water potentials also were lower at the sandy-loam site (-4.5 +/- 0.1 MPa) than at the loamy-clay site (-4.0 +/- 0.1 MPa). Despite the differences in leaf water potentials, there were no significant differences in either root or stem xylem embolism, mean cavitation pressure or Psi(95) (xylem water potential causing 95% cavitation) between trees at the two sites. A soil-plant hydraulic model parameterized with the field data predicted that E(crit) approaches zero at a substantially higher bulk soil water potential (Psi(s)) on sandy-loam soil than on loamy-clay soil, because of limiting rhizosphere conductance. The model predicted that transpiration at the sandy-loam site is limited by E(crit) and is tightly coupled to Psi(s) over much of the growing season, suggesting that seasonal transpiration fluxes at the sandy-loam site are strongly linked to intra-annual precipitation pulses. Conversely, the model predicted that trees on loamy-clay soil operate below E(crit) throughout the growing season, suggesting that fluxes on fine-textured soils are closely coupled to inter-annual changes in precipitation. Information on the combined importance of xylem and rhizosphere constraints to leaf water supply across soil

  15. Differences in xylem and leaf hydraulic traits explain differences in drought tolerance among mature Amazon rainforest trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Thomas L; Wheeler, James K; de Oliveira, Alex A R; da Costa, Antonio Carlos Lola; Saleska, Scott R; Meir, Patrick; Moorcroft, Paul R

    2017-10-01

    Considerable uncertainty surrounds the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the composition and structure of Amazon forests. Building upon results from two large-scale ecosystem drought experiments in the eastern Brazilian Amazon that observed increases in mortality rates among some tree species but not others, in this study we investigate the physiological traits underpinning these differential demographic responses. Xylem pressure at 50% conductivity (xylem-P 50 ), leaf turgor loss point (TLP), cellular osmotic potential (π o ), and cellular bulk modulus of elasticity (ε), all traits mechanistically linked to drought tolerance, were measured on upper canopy branches and leaves of mature trees from selected species growing at the two drought experiment sites. Each species was placed a priori into one of four plant functional type (PFT) categories: drought-tolerant versus drought-intolerant based on observed mortality rates, and subdivided into early- versus late-successional based on wood density. We tested the hypotheses that the measured traits would be significantly different between the four PFTs and that they would be spatially conserved across the two experimental sites. Xylem-P 50 , TLP, and π o , but not ε, occurred at significantly higher water potentials for the drought-intolerant PFT compared to the drought-tolerant PFT; however, there were no significant differences between the early- and late-successional PFTs. These results suggest that these three traits are important for determining drought tolerance, and are largely independent of wood density-a trait commonly associated with successional status. Differences in these physiological traits that occurred between the drought-tolerant and drought-intolerant PFTs were conserved between the two research sites, even though they had different soil types and dry-season lengths. This more detailed understanding of how xylem and leaf hydraulic traits vary between co-occuring drought-tolerant and

  16. Portal Vein Thrombosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hakan Demirci

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Portal vein thrombosis is an important cause of presinusoidal portal hypertension. Portal vein thrombosis commonly occurs in patient with cirrhosis, malignancy and prothrombotic states. Patients with acute portal vein thrombosis have immediate onset. Patients with chronic portal vein thrombosis have developed portal hypertension and cavernous portal transformation. Portal vein thrombosis is diagnosed with doppler ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Therapy with low molecular weight heparin achieves recanalization in more than half of acute cases.

  17. Transcriptome analysis of the phytobacterium Xylella fastidiosa growing under xylem-based chemical conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciraulo, Maristela Boaceff; Santos, Daiene Souza; Rodrigues, Ana Claudia de Freitas Oliveira; de Oliveira, Marcus Vinícius; Rodrigues, Tiago; de Oliveira, Regina Costa; Nunes, Luiz R

    2010-01-01

    Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited bacterium responsible for important plant diseases, like citrus-variegated chlorosis (CVC) and grapevine Pierce's disease (PD). Interestingly, in vitro growth of X. fastidiosa in chemically defined media that resemble xylem fluid has been achieved, allowing studies of metabolic processes used by xylem-dwelling bacteria to thrive in such nutrient-poor conditions. Thus, we performed microarray hybridizations to compare transcriptomes of X. fastidiosa cells grown in 3G10-R, a medium that resembles grape sap, and in Periwinkle Wilt (PW), the complex medium traditionally used to cultivate X. fastidiosa. We identified 299 transcripts modulated in response to growth in these media. Some 3G10R-overexpressed genes have been shown to be upregulated in cells directly isolated from infected plants and may be involved in plant colonization, virulence and environmental competition. In contrast, cells cultivated in PW show a metabolic switch associated with increased aerobic respiration and enhanced bacterial growth rates.

  18. Transcriptome Analysis of the Phytobacterium Xylella fastidiosa Growing under Xylem-Based Chemical Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maristela Boaceff Ciraulo

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited bacterium responsible for important plant diseases, like citrus-variegated chlorosis (CVC and grapevine Pierce's disease (PD. Interestingly, in vitro growth of X. fastidiosa in chemically defined media that resemble xylem fluid has been achieved, allowing studies of metabolic processes used by xylem-dwelling bacteria to thrive in such nutrient-poor conditions. Thus, we performed microarray hybridizations to compare transcriptomes of X. fastidiosa cells grown in 3G10-R, a medium that resembles grape sap, and in Periwinkle Wilt (PW, the complex medium traditionally used to cultivate X. fastidiosa. We identified 299 transcripts modulated in response to growth in these media. Some 3G10R-overexpressed genes have been shown to be upregulated in cells directly isolated from infected plants and may be involved in plant colonization, virulence and environmental competition. In contrast, cells cultivated in PW show a metabolic switch associated with increased aerobic respiration and enhanced bacterial growth rates.

  19. Collateral veins in left renal vein stenosis demonstrated via CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lien, H.H.; Lund, G.; Talle, K.

    1983-02-01

    Twelve patients with left renal vein stenosis from tumor compression were studied with CT. All had distended collateral veins in the perirenal space which either formed a radiating or a cobweb pattern or appeared as marked longitudinal veins. Inferior phrenic vein branches were seen in seven patients and were considerably enlarged in two. Other major veins possibly taking part in collateral circulation could not be recognized due to obliteration of fat planes. The renal fascia was thickened in eleven patients, probably due to edema. A close study of the perirenal space with CT may give valuable information about collateral development.

  20. Collateral veins in left renal vein stenosis demonstrated via CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lien, H.H.; Lund, G.; Talle, K.

    1983-01-01

    Twelve patients with left renal vein stenosis from tumor compression were studied with CT. All had distended collateral veins in the perirenal space which either formed a radiating or a cobweb pattern or appeared as marked longitudinal veins. Inferior phrenic vein branches were seen in seven patients and were considerably enlarged in two. Other major veins possibly taking part in collateral circulation could not be recognized due to obliteration of fat planes. The renal fascia was thickened in eleven patients, probably due to edema. A close study of the perirenal space with CT may give valuable information about collateral development. (orig.)

  1. Diversity, Biocontrol, and Plant Growth Promoting Abilities of Xylem Residing Bacteria from Solanaceous Crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gauri A. Achari

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Eggplant (Solanum melongena L. is one of the solanaceous crops of economic and cultural importance and is widely cultivated in the state of Goa, India. Eggplant cultivation is severely affected by bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum that colonizes the xylem tissue. In this study, 167 bacteria were isolated from the xylem of healthy eggplant, chilli, and Solanum torvum Sw. by vacuum infiltration and maceration. Amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA grouped these xylem residing bacteria (XRB into 38 haplotypes. Twenty-eight strains inhibited growth of R. solanacearum and produced volatile and diffusible antagonistic compounds and plant growth promoting substances in vitro. Antagonistic strains XB86, XB169, XB177, and XB200 recorded a biocontrol efficacy greater than 85% against BW and exhibited 12%–22 % increase in shoot length in eggplant in the greenhouse screening. 16S rRNA based identification revealed the presence of 23 different bacterial genera. XRB with high biocontrol and plant growth promoting activities were identified as strains of Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Streptomyces sp., Enterobacter sp., and Agrobacterium sp. This study is the first report on identity of bacteria from the xylem of solanaceous crops having traits useful in cultivation of eggplant.

  2. Impacts of long-term precipitation manipulation on hydraulic architecture and xylem anatomy of piñon and juniper in Southwest USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, P J; Limousin, J M; Krofcheck, D J; Boutz, A L; Pangle, R E; Gehres, N; McDowell, N G; Pockman, W T

    2018-02-01

    Hydraulic architecture imposes a fundamental control on water transport, underpinning plant productivity, and survival. The extent to which hydraulic architecture of mature trees acclimates to chronic drought is poorly understood, limiting accuracy in predictions of forest responses to future droughts. We measured seasonal shoot hydraulic performance for multiple years to assess xylem acclimation in mature piñon (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus monosperma) after 3+ years of precipitation manipulation. Our treatments consisted of water addition (+20% ambient precipitation), partial precipitation-exclusion (-45% ambient precipitation), and exclusion-structure control. Supplemental watering elevated leaf water potential, sapwood-area specific hydraulic conductivity, and leaf-area specific hydraulic conductivity relative to precipitation exclusion. Shifts in allocation of leaf area to sapwood area enhanced differences between irrigated and droughted K L in piñon but not juniper. Piñon and juniper achieved similar K L under ambient conditions, but juniper matched or outperformed piñon in all physiological measurements under both increased and decreased precipitation treatments. Embolism vulnerability and xylem anatomy were unaffected by treatments in either species. Absence of significant acclimation combined with inferior performance for both hydraulic transport and safety suggests piñon has greater risk of local extirpation if aridity increases as predicted in the southwestern USA. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Tyloses and phenolic deposits in xylem vessels impede water transport in low-lignin transgenic poplars: a study by cryo-fluorescence microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter Kitin; Steven L. Voelker; Frederick C. Meinzer; Hans Beekman; Steven H. Strauss; Barbara. Lachenbruch

    2010-01-01

    Of 14 transgenic poplar genotypes (Populus tremula x Populus alba) with antisense 4-coumarate:coenzynle A ligase that were grown in the field for 2 years, five that had substantial lignin reductions also had greatly reduced xylem-specific conductivity compared with that of control trees and those transgenic events with small...

  4. Salivary enzymes are injected into xylem by the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a vector of Xylella fastidiosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Backus, Elaine A; Andrews, Kim B; Shugart, Holly J; Carl Greve, L; Labavitch, John M; Alhaddad, Hasan

    2012-07-01

    A few phytophagous hemipteran species such as the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis, (Germar), subsist entirely on xylem fluid. Although poorly understood, aspects of the insect's salivary physiology may facilitate both xylem-feeding and transmission of plant pathogens. Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited bacterium that causes Pierce's disease of grape and other scorch diseases in many important crops. X. fastidiosa colonizes the anterior foregut (precibarium and cibarium) of H. vitripennis and other xylem-feeding vectors. Bacteria form a dense biofilm anchored in part by an exopolysaccharide (EPS) matrix that is reported to have a β-1,4-glucan backbone. Recently published evidence supports the following, salivation-egestion hypothesis for the inoculation of X. fastidiosa during vector feeding. The insect secretes saliva into the plant and then rapidly takes up a mixture of saliva and plant constituents. During turbulent fluid movements in the precibarium, the bacteria may become mechanically and enzymatically dislodged; the mixture is then egested back out through the stylets into plant cells, possibly including xylem vessels. The present study found that proteins extracted from dissected H. vitripennis salivary glands contain several enzyme activities capable of hydrolyzing glycosidic linkages in polysaccharides such as those found in EPS and plant cell walls, based on current information about the structures of those polysaccharides. One of these enzymes, a β-1,4-endoglucanase (EGase) was enriched in the salivary gland protein extract by subjecting the extract to a few, simple purification steps. The EGase-enriched extract was then used to generate a polyclonal antiserum that was used for immunohistochemical imaging of enzymes in sharpshooter salivary sheaths in grape. Results showed that enzyme-containing gelling saliva is injected into xylem vessels during sharpshooter feeding, in one case being carried by the transpiration stream away

  5. Focus on Varicose Veins

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... because the valves of the veins no longer work. Under the pressure of gravity these veins can continue to expand and, in ... and to determine whether the vein valves are work- ing properly or have ... painless. How are varicose veins treated? Varicose veins are always ...

  6. Lead mobility within the xylem of red spruce seedlings: Implications for the development of pollution histories

    Science.gov (United States)

    John R. Donnelly; John B. Shane; Paul G. Schaberg

    1990-01-01

    Development of Pb pollution histories using tree ring analyses has been troubled by possible mobility of Pb within stem xylem. In a 2-yr study, we exposed red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) seedlings to Pb during one growing season, with Pb excluded in either the previous or following growing season. Lead levels within xylem rings and bark were...

  7. Plasticity in variation of xylem and phloem cell characteristics of Norway spruce under different local conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jozica eGricar

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available There is limited information on intra-annual plasticity of secondary tissues of tree species growing under different environmental conditions. To increase the knowledge about the plasticity of secondary growth, which allows trees to adapt to specific local climatic regimes, we examined climate–radial growth relationships of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L. H. Karst. from three contrasting locations in the temperate climatic zone by analyzing tree-ring widths for the period 1932–2010, and cell characteristics in xylem and phloem increments formed in the years 2009–2011. Variation in the structure of xylem and phloem increments clearly shows that plasticity in seasonal dynamics of cambial cell production and cell differentiation exists on xylem and phloem sides. Anatomical characteristics of xylem and phloem cells are predominantly site-specific characteristics, because they varied among sites but were fairly uniform among years in trees from the same site. Xylem and phloem tissues formed in the first part of the growing season seemed to be more stable in structure, indicating their priority over latewood and late phloem for tree performance. Long-term climate and radial growth analyses revealed that growth was in general less dependent on precipitation than on temperature; however, growth sensitivity to local conditions differed among the sites. Only partial dependence of radial growth of spruce on climatic factors on the selected sites confirms its strategy to adapt the structure of wood and phloem increments to function optimally in local conditions.

  8. The amino acid distribution in rachis xylem sap and phloem exudate of Vitis vinifera 'Cabernet Sauvignon' bunches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gourieroux, Aude M; Holzapfel, Bruno P; Scollary, Geoffrey R; McCully, Margaret E; Canny, Martin J; Rogiers, Suzy Y

    2016-08-01

    Amino acids are essential to grape berry and seed development and they are transferred to the reproductive structures through the phloem and xylem from various locations within the plant. The diurnal and seasonal dynamics of xylem and phloem amino acid composition in the leaf petiole and bunch rachis of field-grown Cabernet Sauvignon are described to better understand the critical periods for amino acid import into the berry. Xylem sap was extracted by the centrifugation of excised leaf petioles and rachises, while phloem exudate was collected by immersing these structures in an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) buffer. Glutamine and glutamic acid were the predominant amino acids in the xylem sap of both grapevine rachises and petioles, while arginine and glycine were the principal amino acids of the phloem exudate. The amino acid concentrations within the xylem sap and phloem exudate derived from these structures were greatest during anthesis and fruit set, and a second peak occurred within the rachis phloem at the onset of ripening. The concentrations of the amino acids within the phloem and xylem sap of the rachis were highest just prior to or after midnight while the flow of sugar through the rachis phloem was greatest during the early afternoon. Sugar exudation rates from the rachis was greater than that of the petiole phloem between anthesis and berry maturity. In summary, amino acid and sugar delivery through the vasculature to grape berries fluctuates over the course of the day as well as through the season and is not necessarily related to levels near the source. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Spider Vein Removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spider veins: How are they removed? I have spider veins on my legs. What options are available ... M.D. Several options are available to remove spider veins — thin red lines or weblike networks of ...

  10. Oxygen isotope analysis of plant water without extraction procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gan, K.S.; Wong, S.C.; Farquhar, G.D.; Yong, J.W.H.

    2001-01-01

    Isotopic analyses of plant water (mainly xylem, phloem and leaf water) are gaming importance as the isotopic signals reflect plant-environment interactions, affect the oxygen isotopic composition of atmospheric O 2 and CO 2 and are eventually incorporated into plant organic matter. Conventionally, such isotopic measurements require a time-consuming process of isolating the plant water by azeotropic distillation or vacuum extraction, which would not complement the speed of isotope analysis provided by continuous-flow IRMS (Isotope-Ratio Mass Spectrometry), especially when large data sets are needed for statistical calculations in biological studies. Further, a substantial amount of plant material is needed for water extraction and leaf samples would invariably include unenriched water from the fine veins. To measure sub-microlitre amount of leaf mesophyll water, a new approach is undertaken where a small disc of fresh leaf is cut using a specially designed leaf punch, and pyrolysed directly in an IRMS. By comparing with results from pyrolysis of the dry matter of the same leaf, the 18 O content of leaf water can be determined without extraction from fresh leaves. This method is validated using a range of cellulose-water mixtures to simulate the constituents of fresh leaf. Cotton leaf water δ 18 O obtained from both methods of fresh leaf pyrolysis and azeotropic distillation will be compared. The pyrolysis technique provides a robust approach to measure the isotopic content of water or any volatile present in a homogeneous solution or solid hydrous substance

  11. What Are Varicose Veins?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Leer en español What Is Varicose (VAR-i-kos) veins are swollen, twisted veins that you can ... TA-ze-uhs), spider veins, varicoceles (VAR-i-ko-seals), and other vein problems. Telangiectasias Telangiectasias are ...

  12. Trade-offs between xylem hydraulic properties, wood anatomy and yield in Populus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajek, Peter; Leuschner, Christoph; Hertel, Dietrich; Delzon, Sylvain; Schuldt, Bernhard

    2014-07-01

    Trees face the dilemma that achieving high plant productivity is accompanied by a risk of drought-induced hydraulic failure due to a trade-off in the trees' vascular system between hydraulic efficiency and safety. By investigating the xylem anatomy of branches and coarse roots, and measuring branch axial hydraulic conductivity and vulnerability to cavitation in 4-year-old field-grown aspen plants of five demes (Populus tremula L. and Populus tremuloides Michx.) differing in growth rate, we tested the hypotheses that (i) demes differ in wood anatomical and hydraulic properties, (ii) hydraulic efficiency and safety are related to xylem anatomical traits, and (iii) aboveground productivity and hydraulic efficiency are negatively correlated to cavitation resistance. Significant deme differences existed in seven of the nine investigated branch-related anatomical and hydraulic traits but only in one of the four coarse-root-related anatomical traits; this likely is a consequence of high intra-plant variation in root morphology and the occurrence of a few 'high-conductivity roots'. Growth rate was positively related to branch hydraulic efficiency (xylem-specific conductivity) but not to cavitation resistance; this indicates that no marked trade-off exists between cavitation resistance and growth. Both branch hydraulic safety and hydraulic efficiency significantly depended on vessel size and were related to the genetic distance between the demes, while the xylem pressure causing 88% loss of hydraulic conductivity (P88 value) was more closely related to hydraulic efficiency than the commonly used P50 value. Deme-specific variation in the pit membrane structure may explain why vessel size was not directly linked to growth rate. We conclude that branch hydraulic efficiency is an important growth-influencing trait in aspen, while the assumed trade-off between productivity and hydraulic safety is weak. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

  13. Ligation of superior mesenteric vein and portal to splenic vein anastomosis after superior mesenteric-portal vein confluence resection during pancreaticoduodenectomy - Case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jianlin; Abbas, Jihad; Hoetzl, Katherine; Allison, David; Osman, Mahamed; Williams, Mallory; Zelenock, Gerald B

    2014-12-01

    62 year old Caucasian female with pancreatic head mass abutting the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) presented with fine needle aspiration biopsy confirmed diagnosis of ductal adenocarcinoma. CT scan showed near complete obstruction of portal vein and large SMV collateral development. After 3 months of neoadjuvant therapy, her portal vein flow improved significantly, SMV collateral circulation was diminished. Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and superior mesenteric portal vein (SMPV) confluence resection were performed; A saphenous vein interposition graft thrombosed immediately. The splenic vein remnant was distended and adjacent to the stump of the portal vein. Harvesting an internal jugular vein graft required extra time and using a synthetic graft posed a risk of graft thrombosis or infection. As a result, we chose to perform a direct anastomosis of the portal and splenic vein in a desperate situation. The anastomosis decompressed the mesenteric venous system, so we then ligated the SMV. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course, except transient ascites. She redeveloped ascites more than one year later. At that time a PET scan showed bilateral lung and right femur metastatic disease. She expired 15 months after PD. The lessons we learned are (1) Before SMPV confluence resection, internal jugular vein graft should be ready for reconstruction. (2) Synthetic graft is an alternative for internal jugular vein graft. (3) Direct portal vein to SMV anastomosis can be achieved by mobilizing liver. (4) It is possible that venous collaterals secondary to SMV tumor obstruction may have allowed this patient's post-operative survival.

  14. Xylem monoterpenes of pines: distribution, variation, genetics, function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard Smith

    2000-01-01

    The monoterpenes of about 16,000 xylem resin samples of pine (Pinus) speciesand hybrids—largely from the western United States—were analyzed in this long-term study of the resistance of pines to attack by bark beetles (Coleoptera:Scolytidae), with special emphasis on resistance to the western pine beetle(Dendroctonus brevicomis). The samples were analyzed by gas liquid...

  15. Symplasmic, long-distance transport in xylem and cambial regions in branches of Acer pseudoplatanus (Aceraceae) and Populus tremula x P. tremuloides (Salicaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokołowska, Katarzyna; Zagórska-Marek, Beata

    2012-11-01

    The picture of how long-distance transport proceeds in trees is still far from being complete. Beside the apoplasmic pathway, transport undoubtedly also takes place within the system of living cells in the secondary xylem and cambial region. Because detailed, thorough studies of the symplasmic routes in woody branches, using direct localization with fluorescent tracers, had not been done, here we focused on the main routes of long-distance symplasmic transport in xylem and cambial tissues and analyzed in detail tracer distribution in the rays on the extended cambial surface in branches of Acer pseudoplatanus and Populus tremula ×P. tremuloides. Fluorescent tracers were loaded into branches through the vascular system, then their distribution in xylem and cambial regions was analyzed. Tracer signal was present in the symplast of axial and radial xylem parenchyma cells and in both types of cambial cells. The living cells of xylem parenchyma and of the cambium were symplasmically interconnected via xylem rays. Tracer distribution in rays was uneven on the extended cambial surface; cambial regions with intensively or sparsely dyed rays alternated along the vertical axis of analyzed branches. Symplasmic, long-distance transport is present between the living cells of xylem and the cambial region in woody branches. The uneven distribution of fluorescent tracers in cambial rays along the stems is surprising and suggests the presence of an intrinsic pattern caused by an unknown mechanism.

  16. Metabolomics of tomato xylem sap during bacterial wilt reveals Ralstonia solanacearum produces abundant putrescine, a metabolite that accelerates wilt disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowe-Power, Tiffany M; Hendrich, Connor G; von Roepenack-Lahaye, Edda; Li, Bin; Wu, Dousheng; Mitra, Raka; Dalsing, Beth L; Ricca, Patrizia; Naidoo, Jacinth; Cook, David; Jancewicz, Amy; Masson, Patrick; Thomma, Bart; Lahaye, Thomas; Michael, Anthony J; Allen, Caitilyn

    2018-04-01

    Ralstonia solanacearum thrives in plant xylem vessels and causes bacterial wilt disease despite the low nutrient content of xylem sap. We found that R. solanacearum manipulates its host to increase nutrients in tomato xylem sap, enabling it to grow better in sap from infected plants than in sap from healthy plants. Untargeted GC/MS metabolomics identified 22 metabolites enriched in R. solanacearum-infected sap. Eight of these could serve as sole carbon or nitrogen sources for R. solanacearum. Putrescine, a polyamine that is not a sole carbon or nitrogen source for R. solanacearum, was enriched 76-fold to 37 µM in R. solanacearum-infected sap. R. solanacearum synthesized putrescine via a SpeC ornithine decarboxylase. A ΔspeC mutant required ≥ 15 µM exogenous putrescine to grow and could not grow alone in xylem even when plants were treated with putrescine. However, co-inoculation with wildtype rescued ΔspeC growth, indicating R. solanacearum produced and exported putrescine to xylem sap. Intriguingly, treating plants with putrescine before inoculation accelerated wilt symptom development and R. solanacearum growth and systemic spread. Xylem putrescine concentration was unchanged in putrescine-treated plants, so the exogenous putrescine likely accelerated disease indirectly by affecting host physiology. These results indicate that putrescine is a pathogen-produced virulence metabolite. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Improving the Outcome of Vein Grafts: Should Vascular Surgeons Turn Veins into Arteries?

    OpenAIRE

    Isaji, Toshihiko; Hashimoto, Takuya; Yamamoto, Kota; Santana, Jeans M.; Yatsula, Bogdan; Hu, Haidi; Bai, Hualong; Jianming, Guo; Kudze, Tambudzai; Nishibe, Toshiya; Dardik, Alan

    2017-01-01

    Autogenous vein grafts remain the gold standard conduit for arterial bypass, particularly for the treatment of critical limb ischemia. Vein graft adaptation to the arterial environment, i.e., adequate dilation and wall thickening, contributes to the superior performance of vein grafts. However, abnormal venous wall remodeling with excessive neointimal hyperplasia commonly causes vein graft failure. Since the PREVENT trials failed to improve vein graft outcomes, new strategies focus on the ada...

  18. Contrasting xylem vessel constraints on hydraulic conductivity between native and non-native woody understory species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria S Smith

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available We examined the hydraulic properties of 82 native and non-native woody species common to forests of Eastern North America, including several congeneric groups, representing a range of anatomical wood types. We observed smaller conduit diameters with greater frequency in non-native species, corresponding to lower calculated potential vulnerability to cavitation index. Non-native species exhibited higher vessel-grouping in metaxylem compared with native species, however, solitary vessels were more prevalent in secondary xylem. Higher frequency of solitary vessels in secondary xylem was related to a lower potential vulnerability index. We found no relationship between anatomical characteristics of xylem, origin of species and hydraulic conductivity, indicating that non-native species did not exhibit advantageous hydraulic efficiency over native species. Our results confer anatomical advantages for non-native species under the potential for cavitation due to freezing, perhaps permitting extended growing seasons.

  19. Intensity Variation Normalization for Finger Vein Recognition Using Guided Filter Based Singe Scale Retinex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Shan Juan; Lu, Yu; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

    2015-07-14

    Finger vein recognition has been considered one of the most promising biometrics for personal authentication. However, the capacities and percentages of finger tissues (e.g., bone, muscle, ligament, water, fat, etc.) vary person by person. This usually causes poor quality of finger vein images, therefore degrading the performance of finger vein recognition systems (FVRSs). In this paper, the intrinsic factors of finger tissue causing poor quality of finger vein images are analyzed, and an intensity variation (IV) normalization method using guided filter based single scale retinex (GFSSR) is proposed for finger vein image enhancement. The experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing the image quality and finger vein recognition accuracy.

  20. Upward translocation of 14C-amino compounds in xylem and phloem of citrus trees (citrus unshiu marc.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Tadashi; Yamagata, Makoto; Tsukahara, Sadao

    1985-01-01

    Upward and lateral movements of 14 C-amino compounds in intact trees and excised shoots, and upward translocation of major amino compounds in intact shoots were examined in the early stage of new shoot development. The results were summarized as follows. 1. Uniformly 14 C-labelled arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid and proline were steadily taken up by roots of intact trees, translocated to old leaves and new shoots, and appeared in the fed compound and its metabolized products in these organs. 2. 14 C-arginine, asparagine and proline were translocated upward not only via the xylem but also via the phloem. Lateral movements, from the xylem to the pholoem and from the phloem to the xylem, also occurred. These compounds showed different patterns in their movements. 14 C-arginine and its metabolic products tended to accumulate in the xylem and translocate upward in the xylem. This was in contrast to 14 C-proline and its metabolic products, which tended to accumulate in the phloem and translocate upward in the phloem. These findings were supported by the results obtained in intact shoots. 3. The 14 C-amino compounds were metabolized to soluble and insoluble compounds during the translocation and in the new shoots. However, they differed significantly in the extent of metabolic conversion during translocation; proline was hardly metabolized, arginine and asparagine were moderately metabolized, and aspartic acid was almost completely metabolized. (author)

  1. Accessory hepatic vein: MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Chang Hee; Rho, Tack Soo; Cha, Sang Hoon; Park, Cheol Min; Cha, In Ho

    1995-01-01

    To evaluate the MR appearance of the accessory hepatic veins. The study included 87 consecutive patients for whom abdominal MR images were obtained. The subjects who had liver lesion or hepatic vascular abnormalities were excluded. Couinaud classified accessory hepatic veins into inferior and middle right hepatic veins. Our major interests were evaluation of the incidence, morphology, and location of the accessory hepatic vein. Inferior right hepatic vein was demonstrated in 43 out of 87 patients (49%). The morphology was linear in 35 patients (80.5%), and V-shaped in 8 patients (19.5%). In 40 patients (93%), the inferior right hepatic vein was located in the posteroinferior aspect of the right lobe. Middle right hepatic vein was demonstrated in 7 out of 87 patients (8%). All were single linear in morphology, combined with the inferior right hepatic vein, and located between the right hepatic vein and inferior right hepatic vein. The accessory hepatic vein was demonstrated in 49% among the Korean adult population, and was located in posteroinferior portion of the liver, in 93%

  2. Intensity Variation Normalization for Finger Vein Recognition Using Guided Filter Based Singe Scale Retinex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shan Juan Xie

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Finger vein recognition has been considered one of the most promising biometrics for personal authentication. However, the capacities and percentages of finger tissues (e.g., bone, muscle, ligament, water, fat, etc. vary person by person. This usually causes poor quality of finger vein images, therefore degrading the performance of finger vein recognition systems (FVRSs. In this paper, the intrinsic factors of finger tissue causing poor quality of finger vein images are analyzed, and an intensity variation (IV normalization method using guided filter based single scale retinex (GFSSR is proposed for finger vein image enhancement. The experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing the image quality and finger vein recognition accuracy.

  3. Telescoped porphyry-style and epithermal veins and alteration at the central Maratoto valley prospect, Hauraki Goldfield, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simpson, M.P.; Mauk, J.L.; Kendrick, R.G.

    2004-01-01

    At the central Maratoto valley prospect, southern Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand, andesite flows and dacite breccias host rare porphyry-style quartz veins that are telescoped by widespread epithermal veins and alteration. Early porphyry-style quartz veins, which lack selvages of porphyry-style alteration, host hypersaline fluid inclusions that contain several translucent daughter crystals, including halite and sylvite. Overprinting epithermal veins and alteration are divided into two stages. Main-stage epithermal alteration and veins are characterised by the successive deposition of pyrite, quartz, and ankerite-dolomite veinlets coupled with intense alteration of the wall rock to quartz, illite, interlayer illite-smectite (≤ 10% smectite), chlorite, pyrite, ankerite, and dolomite. Late-stage epithermal veins and alteration are characterised by the formation of calcite and siderite veinlets, coupled with overprinting of the wall rocks by both these minerals. Multiphase fluid inclusions in a porphyry-style quartz vein formed at temperatures >400 degrees C and trapped hypersaline magmatic fluid. Lower temperature secondary liquid-rich inclusions in the porphyry-style quartz vein homogenise between 283 and 329 degrees C and trapped a dilute fluid with 18 O (VSMOW) values of 13.5-18.1 permille, whereas late-stage epithermal calcite has δ 18 O (VSMOW) values of 3.1-5.1 permille. Calculated isotopic compositions for the fluid in equilibrium with ankerite-dolomite and calcite at 260 degrees C, averages 6 and -3 permille, respectively. The enriched value for main-stage ankerite-dolomite suggests formation from waters that underwent significant water-rock exchange, whereas isotopically lighter water that formed late-stage calcite underwent little water-rock interaction. We propose a three-stage model to explain telescoped veins and alteration styles at the central Maratoto valley prospect area. Porphyry-style quartz veins were the first to form from hot hypersaline

  4. Hydraulic properties of rice and the response of gas exchange to water stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiller, Volker; Lafitte, H Renee; Sperry, John S

    2003-07-01

    We investigated the role of xylem cavitation, plant hydraulic conductance, and root pressure in the response of rice (Oryza sativa) gas exchange to water stress. In the field (Philippines), the percentage loss of xylem conductivity (PLC) from cavitation exceeded 60% in leaves even in watered controls. The PLC versus leaf water potential relationship indicated diurnal refilling of cavitated xylem. The leaf water potential causing 50 PLC (P(50)) was -1.6 MPa and did not differ between upland versus lowland rice varieties. Greenhouse-grown varieties (Utah) were more resistant to cavitation with a 50 PLC of -1.9 MPa but also showed no difference between varieties. Six-day droughts caused concomitant reductions in leaf-specific photosynthetic rate, leaf diffusive conductance, and soil-leaf hydraulic conductance that were associated with cavitation-inducing water potentials and the disappearance of nightly root pressure. The return of root pressure after drought was associated with the complete recovery of leaf diffusive conductance, leaf-specific photosynthetic rate, and soil-leaf hydraulic conductance. Root pressure after the 6-d drought (61.2 +/- 8.8 kPa) was stimulated 7-fold compared with well-watered plants before drought (8.5 +/- 3.8 kPa). The results indicate: (a) that xylem cavitation plays a major role in the reduction of plant hydraulic conductance during drought, and (b) that rice can readily reverse cavitation, possibly aided by nocturnal root pressure.

  5. Ligation of superior mesenteric vein and portal to splenic vein anastomosis after superior mesenteric-portal vein confluence resection during pancreaticoduodenectomy – Case report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jianlin; Abbas, Jihad; Hoetzl, Katherine; Allison, David; Osman, Mahamed; Williams, Mallory; Zelenock, Gerald B.

    2014-01-01

    62 year old Caucasian female with pancreatic head mass abutting the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) presented with fine needle aspiration biopsy confirmed diagnosis of ductal adenocarcinoma. CT scan showed near complete obstruction of portal vein and large SMV collateral development. After 3 months of neoadjuvant therapy, her portal vein flow improved significantly, SMV collateral circulation was diminished. Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and superior mesenteric portal vein (SMPV) confluence resection were performed; A saphenous vein interposition graft thrombosed immediately. The splenic vein remnant was distended and adjacent to the stump of the portal vein. Harvesting an internal jugular vein graft required extra time and using a synthetic graft posed a risk of graft thrombosis or infection. As a result, we chose to perform a direct anastomosis of the portal and splenic vein in a desperate situation. The anastomosis decompressed the mesenteric venous system, so we then ligated the SMV. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course, except transient ascites. She redeveloped ascites more than one year later. At that time a PET scan showed bilateral lung and right femur metastatic disease. She expired 15 months after PD. Conclusion The lessons we learned are (1) Before SMPV confluence resection, internal jugular vein graft should be ready for reconstruction. (2) Synthetic graft is an alternative for internal jugular vein graft. (3) Direct portal vein to SMV anastomosis can be achieved by mobilizing liver. (4) It is possible that venous collaterals secondary to SMV tumor obstruction may have allowed this patient's post-operative survival. PMID:25568802

  6. Seasonal embolism and xylem vulnerability in deciduous and evergreen Mediterranean trees influenced by proximity to a carbon dioxide spring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tognetti, R.; Raschi, A. [Consiglio Nazionale della Ricerche, Firenze (Italy); Longobucco, A. [Centro Studi per l`Informatica applicata all`Agricoltura, Firenze (Italy)

    1999-04-01

    The effect of proximity to natural CO{sub 2} springs on seasonal patterns of xylem embolism in various species of Quercus (oak), Fraxinus, Populus (poplar) and Arbutus was studied. Xylem embolism was evaluated in both artificially dehydrated branches and in hydrated apical branches collected at monthly intervals over a 20-month period. Species-dependent differences in xylem hydraulic properties in response to elevated CO{sub 2} were noted. Populus tremula was the most embolized, an Arbutus unedo was the least embolized among the species examined. The actual differences in xylem vulnerability between trees growing near the CO{sub 2} spring and those growing in control area were small, however, these differences combined with the interaction of seasonal stress events, may be of great importance in determining future community composition in Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Causes and ecological significance of such differences are discussed vis-a-vis elevated carbon dioxide concentration and other environmental factors. 48 refs., 2 tabs., 3 figs.

  7. Vestured pits: a diagnostic character in the secondary xylem of Myrtales

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, S.; Pletsers, A.; Rabaey, D.; Lens, F.

    2008-01-01

    Vestures are small projections from the secondary cell wall associated with tracheary elements of the secondary xylem. They are usually associated with bordered pits and characterize various angiosperm families, including important timber species such as Dipterocarpaceae and Eucalyptus trees. The

  8. Varicose Veins - Multiple Languages

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy: Varicose Veins - English MP3 Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy: Varicose Veins - 简体中文 (Chinese, Simplified (Mandarin dialect)) MP3 Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy: Varicose Veins - English ...

  9. Are phloem-derived amino acids the origin of the elevated malate concentration in the xylem sap following mineral N starvation in soybean?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitor, Simone C; do Amarante, Luciano; Sodek, Ladaslav

    2018-05-16

    A substantial increase in malate in the xylem sap of soybean subjected to mineral N starvation originates mainly from aspartate, a prominent amino acid of the phloem. A substantial increase in xylem malate was found when non-nodulated soybean plants were transferred to a N-free medium. Nodulated plants growing in the absence of mineral N and, therefore, dependent on symbiotic N 2 fixation also contained elevated concentrations of malate in the xylem sap. When either nitrate or ammonium was supplied, malate concentrations in the xylem sap were low, both for nodulated and non-nodulated plants. Evidence was obtained that the elevated malate concentration of the xylem was derived from amino acids supplied by the phloem. Aspartate was a prominent component of the phloem sap amino acids and, therefore, a potential source of malate. Supplying the roots of intact plants with 13 C-aspartate revealed that malate of the xylem sap was readily labelled under N starvation. A hypothetical scheme is proposed whereby aspartate supplied by the phloem is metabolised in the roots and the products of this metabolism cycled back to the shoot. Under N starvation, aspartate metabolism is diverted from asparagine synthesis to supply N for the synthesis of other amino acids via transaminase activity. The by-product of aspartate transaminase activity, oxaloacetate, is transformed to malate and its export accounts for much of the elevated concentration of malate found in the xylem sap. This mechanism represents a new additional role for malate during mineral N starvation of soybean, beyond that of charge balance.

  10. Valsalva and gravitational variability of the internal jugular vein and common femoral vein: Ultrasound assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beddy, P. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland)]. E-mail: pbeddy@eircom.net; Geoghegan, T. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland); Ramesh, N. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland); Buckley, O. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland); O' Brien, J. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland); Colville, J. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland); Torreggiani, W.C. [Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24 (Ireland)

    2006-05-15

    Purpose: Central venous cannulation via the common femoral vein is an important starting point for many interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimum conditions for cannulation of the femoral vein and to compare these with the relative changes in the internal jugular vein. Methods: High-resolution 2D ultrasound was utilised to determine variability of the calibre of the femoral and internal jugular veins in 10 healthy subjects. Venous diameter was assessed during the Valsalva manoeuvre and in different degrees of the Trendelenburg position. Results: The Valsalva manoeuvre significantly increased the size of the femoral and internal jugular veins. There was a relatively greater increase in femoral vein diameter when compared with the internal jugular vein of 40 and 29%, respectively. Changes in body inclination (Trendelenburg position) did not significantly alter the luminal diameter of the femoral vein. However, it significantly increased internal jugular vein diameter. Conclusions: Femoral vein cannulation is augmented by the Valsalva manoeuvre but not significantly altered by the gravitational position of the subject.

  11. ESKIMO1 disruption in Arabidopsis alters vascular tissue and impairs water transport.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valérie Lefebvre

    Full Text Available Water economy in agricultural practices is an issue that is being addressed through studies aimed at understanding both plant water-use efficiency (WUE, i.e. biomass produced per water consumed, and responses to water shortage. In the model species Arabidopsis thaliana, the ESKIMO1 (ESK1 gene has been described as involved in freezing, cold and salt tolerance as well as in water economy: esk1 mutants have very low evapo-transpiration rates and high water-use efficiency. In order to establish ESK1 function, detailed characterization of esk1 mutants has been carried out. The stress hormone ABA (abscisic acid was present at high levels in esk1 compared to wild type, nevertheless, the weak water loss of esk1 was independent of stomata closure through ABA biosynthesis, as combining mutant in this pathway with esk1 led to additive phenotypes. Measurement of root hydraulic conductivity suggests that the esk1 vegetative apparatus suffers water deficit due to a defect in water transport. ESK1 promoter-driven reporter gene expression was observed in xylem and fibers, the vascular tissue responsible for the transport of water and mineral nutrients from the soil to the shoots, via the roots. Moreover, in cross sections of hypocotyls, roots and stems, esk1 xylem vessels were collapsed. Finally, using Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR spectroscopy, severe chemical modifications of xylem cell wall composition were highlighted in the esk1 mutants. Taken together our findings show that ESK1 is necessary for the production of functional xylem vessels, through its implication in the laying down of secondary cell wall components.

  12. Coordination of leaf and stem water transport properties in tropical forest trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick C. Meinzer; David R. Woodruff; Jean-Christophe Domec; Guillermo Goldstein; Paula I. Campanello; Genoveva M. Gatti; Randol Villalobos-Vega

    2008-01-01

    Stomatal regulation of transpiration constrains leaf water potential (ψ l) within species-specific ranges that presumably avoid excessive tension and embolism in the stem xylem upstream. However, the hydraulic resistance of leaves can be highly variable over short time scales, uncoupling tension in the xylem of leaves from that in the...

  13. Spatial and temporal patterns of xylem sap pH derived from stems and twigs of Populus deltoides L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doug Aubrey; Justin Boyles; Laura Krysinsky; Robert Teskey

    2011-01-01

    Xylem sap pH (pHX) is critical in determining the quantity of inorganic carbon dissolved in xylem solution from gaseous [CO2] measurements. Studies of internal carbon transport have generally assumed that pHX derived from stems and twigs is similar and that pHX remains constant through time; however, no empirical studies have investigated these assumptions. If any of...

  14. Moving beyond the cambium necrosis hypothesis of post-fire tree mortality: cavitation and deformation of xylem in forest fires

    Science.gov (United States)

    S.T. Michaletz; E.A. Johnson; M.T. Tyree

    2012-01-01

    It is widely assumed that post-fire tree mortality results from necrosis of phloem and vascular cambium in stems, despite strong evidence that reduced xylem conductivity also plays an important role. In this study, experiments with Populus balsamifera were used to demonstrate two mechanisms by which heat reduces the hydraulic conductivity of xylem:...

  15. Xylem vulnerability to cavitation can be accurately characterised in species with long vessels using a centrifuge method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobin, M F; Pratt, R B; Jacobsen, A L; De Guzman, M E

    2013-05-01

    Vulnerability to cavitation curves describe the decrease in xylem hydraulic conductivity as xylem pressure declines. Several techniques for constructing vulnerability curves use centrifugal force to induce negative xylem pressure in stem or root segments. Centrifuge vulnerability curves constructed for long-vesselled species have been hypothesised to overestimate xylem vulnerability to cavitation due to increased vulnerability of vessels cut open at stem ends that extend to the middle or entirely through segments. We tested two key predictions of this hypothesis: (i) centrifugation induces greater embolism than dehydration in long-vesselled species, and (ii) the proportion of open vessels changes centrifuge vulnerability curves. Centrifuge and dehydration vulnerability curves were compared for a long- and short-vesselled species. The effect of open vessels was tested in four species by comparing centrifuge vulnerability curves for stems of two lengths. Centrifuge and dehydration vulnerability curves agreed well for the long- and short-vesselled species. Centrifuge vulnerability curves constructed using two stem lengths were similar. Also, the distribution of embolism along the length of centrifuged stems matched the theoretical pressure profile induced by centrifugation. We conclude that vulnerability to cavitation can be accurately characterised with vulnerability curves constructed using a centrifuge technique, even in long-vesselled species. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  16. CT findings of portal vein aneurysm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Dal Mo; Chang, Mi Son; Yoon, Myung Hwan; Kim, Hak Soo; Kim, Hyung Sik; Chung, Hyo Sun; Chung, Jin Woo

    1999-01-01

    To describe the CT findings of portal vein aneurysm in eight patients. All patients included in this study (two men and six women) underwent CT examinations between October 1996 and June1998. Of these eight, three were suffering from hepatic disease and portal hypertension. We determined the location, shape, size, and characteristics of the lesions, and the presence or absence of portal vein anomaly. Seven patients had intrahepatic portal vein aneurysm (at the umbilical portion of the left portal vein in five patients, between the transverse and umbilical portion of the left portal vein in one, and at the bifurcation of the anterior and posterior branch of the right portal vein in one), while extrahepatic portal vein aneurysm, at the confluence of the superior mesenteric and splenic vein was found in only one. Lesions were cyst-shaped in seven cases and saccular in one, and showed well-circumscribed, markedly enhanced mass, which communicated with the portal vein and/or gives off major branches. Portal vein anomaly, in which the right anterior segmental portal vein originated from the umbilical portion of the left portal vein, was seen in three patients. In all three, intrahepatic portal vein aneurysm was present at the umbilical portion of the left portal vein, and in one, the umbilical protion of the left portal vein was located to the right of the Cantlic line. CT examination can help reveal portal vein aneurysm by detecting a well-circumscribed, markedly enhanced mass which communicates with the portal vein and/or gives off major branches

  17. The study of Cr(III) complexation in the xylem sap using ion exchange and radiotracer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juneja, Shikha; Prakash, Satya

    2003-01-01

    Radiotracer was employed to carry out ion exchange experiments to study the chromium speciation in the in vitro samples of xylem sap of maize stem of 60 days old plants. Cr(III) radiolabelled with its radioactive isotope ( 51 Cr) was mixed with both the ion exchange fraction of the sap which represented the carboxylic acids, as well as the whole sap and was analysed for complexation after 10 and 30 days at 25 degC. Prior to this, the ion exchange elution chromatography of Cr(III), and the Cr(III) complexes with oxalic and citric acid were used to compare the complexes being formed in the in vitro studies. The in vitro Cr(III) complexation results indicated that Cr(III) was vitally present as anionic species. The elution curve trend was similar to that of citric acid complexation. Citric acid was also found to be the major complexing acid in the xylem sap as determined by HPLC. The results indicate the transportation of Cr(III) as a citrate complex in the xylem sap of maize plants. (author)

  18. Data on xylem sap proteins from Mn- and Fe-deficient tomato plants obtained using shotgun proteomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos-Laita, Laura; Gutierrez-Carbonell, Elain; Takahashi, Daisuke; Abadía, Anunciación; Uemura, Matsuo; Abadía, Javier; López-Millán, Ana Flor

    2018-04-01

    This article contains consolidated proteomic data obtained from xylem sap collected from tomato plants grown in Fe- and Mn-sufficient control, as well as Fe-deficient and Mn-deficient conditions. Data presented here cover proteins identified and quantified by shotgun proteomics and Progenesis LC-MS analyses: proteins identified with at least two peptides and showing changes statistically significant (ANOVA; p ≤ 0.05) and above a biologically relevant selected threshold (fold ≥ 2) between treatments are listed. The comparison between Fe-deficient, Mn-deficient and control xylem sap samples using a multivariate statistical data analysis (Principal Component Analysis, PCA) is also included. Data included in this article are discussed in depth in the research article entitled "Effects of Fe and Mn deficiencies on the protein profiles of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum) xylem sap as revealed by shotgun analyses" [1]. This dataset is made available to support the cited study as well to extend analyses at a later stage.

  19. Genotypic difference in salinity tolerance in quinoa is determined by differential control of xylem Na+ loading and stomatal density

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shabala, Sergey; Hariadi, Yuda; Jacobsen, Sven-Erik

    2013-01-01

    old seedlings. Six weeks after the treatment commenced, leaf sap Na and K content and osmolality, stomatal density, chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics, and xylem sap Na and K composition were measured. Responses to salinity differed greatly among the varieties. All cultivars had substantially...... increased K+ concentrations in the leaf sap, but the most tolerant cultivars had lower xylem Na+ content at the time of sampling. Most tolerant cultivars had lowest leaf sap osmolality. All varieties reduced stomata density when grown under saline conditions. All varieties clustered into two groups...... to the xylem, and reduced stomata density are important physiological traits contributing to genotypic differences in salinity tolerance in quinoa, a halophyte species from Chenopodium family....

  20. Robustness of xylem properties in conifers: analyses of tracheid and pit dimensions along elevational transects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Losso, Adriano; Anfodillo, Tommaso; Ganthaler, Andrea; Kofler, Werner; Markl, Yvonne; Nardini, Andrea; Oberhuber, Walter; Purin, Gerhard; Mayr, Stefan

    2018-02-01

    In alpine regions, tree hydraulics are limited by low temperatures that restrict xylem growth and induce winter frost drought and freezing stress. While several studies have dealt with functional limitations, data on elevational changes in functionally relevant xylem anatomical parameters are still scarce. In wood cores of Pinus cembra L. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. trunks, harvested along five elevational transects, xylem anatomical parameters (tracheid hydraulic diameter dh, wall reinforcement (t/b)2), pit dimensions (pit aperture Da, pit membrane Dm and torus Dt diameters) and respective functional indices (torus overlap O, margo flexibility) were measured. In both species, tracheid diameters decreased and (t/b)2 increased with increasing elevation, while pit dimensions and functional indices remained rather constant (P. cembra: Dt 10.3 ± 0.2 μm, O 0.477 ± 0.005; P. abies: Dt 9.30 ± 0.18 μm, O 0.492 ± 0.005). However, dh increased with tree height following a power trajectory with an exponent of 0.21, and also pit dimensions increased with tree height (exponents: Dm 0.18; Dt 0.14; Da 0.11). Observed elevational trends in xylem structures were predominantly determined by changes in tree size. Tree height-related changes in anatomical traits showed a remarkable robustness, regardless of the distributional ranges of study species. Despite increasing stress intensities towards the timberline, no adjustment in hydraulic safety at the pit level was observed. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Microclimate, Water Potential, Transpiration, and Bole Dielectric Constant of Coniferous and Deciduous Tree Species in the Continental Boreal Ecotone of Central Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, R.; McDonald, K.; Way, J.; Oren, R.

    1994-01-01

    Tree canopy microclimate, xylem water flux and xylem dielectric constant have been monitored in situ since June 1993 in two adjacent natural forest stands in central Alaska. The deciduous stand represents a mature balsam poplar site on the Tanana River floodplain, while the coniferous stand consists of mature white spruce with some black spruce mixed in. During solstice in June and later in summer, diurnal changes of xylem water potential were measured to investigate the occurrence and magnitude of tree transpiration and dielectric constant changes in stems.

  2. Comparison between mechanical properties of human saphenous vein and umbilical vein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamedani Borhan

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background As a main cause of mortality in developed countries, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD is known as silent killer with a considerable cost to be dedicated for its treatment. Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG is a common remedy for CAD for which different blood vessels are used as a detour. There is a lack of knowledge about mechanical properties of human blood vessels used for CABG, and while these properties have a great impact on long-term patency of a CABG. Thus, studying these properties, especially those of human umbilical veins which have not been considered yet, looks utterly necessary. Methods Umbilical vein, as well as human Saphenous vein, are respectively obtained after cesarean and CABG. First, histological tests were performed to investigate different fiber contents of the samples. Having prepared samples carefully, force-displacement results of samples were rendered to real stress–strain measurements and then a fourth-order polynomial was used to prove the non-linear behavior of these two vessels. Results Results were analyzed in two directions, i.e. circumferentially and longitudinally, which then were compared with each other. The comparison between stiffness and elasticity of these veins showed that Saphenous vein’s stiffness is much higher than that of umbilical vein and also, it is less stretchable. Furthermore, for both vessels, longitudinal stiffness was higher than that of circumferential and in stark contrast, stretch ratio in circumferential direction came much higher than longitudinal orientation. Conclusion Blood pressure is very high in the region of aorta, so there should be a stiff blood vessel in this area and previous investigations showed that stiffer vessels would have a better influence on the flow of bypass. To this end, the current study has made an attempt to compare these two blood vessels’ stiffness, finding that Saphenous vein is stiffer than umbilical vein which is somehow as stiff as

  3. Vein grafting in fingertip replantations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hede; Jackson, William D; Songcharoen, Somjade; Akdemir, Ovunc; Li, Zhijie; Chen, Xinglong; Jiang, Liangfu; Gao, Weiyang

    2009-01-01

    In this retrospective study, the survival rates of fingertip replantation with and without vein grafting were evaluated along with their postoperative functional and cosmetic results. One hundred twenty-one-fingertip amputations were performed in 103 patients between September 2002 and July 2007. Thirty-four amputated fingertips were replanted without vein grafting, while 87 amputated fingertips were replanted with vein grafting for arterial and/or venous repairs. The overall survival rates of the replantations with and without vein grafting were 90% (78/87) and 85% (29/34), respectively. The survival rates were 88% (36/41) with venous repair, 93% (25/27) with arterial repair, and 89% (17/19) with both. Nineteen patients without vein grafting and 48 patients with vein grafting had a follow-up period of more than one year. Good cosmetic and functional outcomes were observed in both groups of patients. The results show that vein grafting is a reliable technique in fingertip replantations, showing no significant difference (P > 0.05) in survival between those with and without vein grafting. Furthermore, no significant difference (P > 0.05) in survival was found between cases with vein grafts for arterial and/or venous repairs. In fingertip replantations with vein grafting, favorable functional and esthetic results can be achieved without sacrificing replantation survival. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. Cell Wall Amine Oxidases: New Players in Root Xylem Differentiation under Stress Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandip A. Ghuge

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Polyamines (PAs are aliphatic polycations present in all living organisms. A growing body of evidence reveals their involvement as regulators in a variety of physiological and pathological events. They are oxidatively deaminated by amine oxidases (AOs, including copper amine oxidases (CuAOs and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD-dependent polyamine oxidases (PAOs. The biologically-active hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 is a shared compound in all of the AO-catalyzed reactions, and it has been reported to play important roles in PA-mediated developmental and stress-induced processes. In particular, the AO-driven H2O2 biosynthesis in the cell wall is well known to be involved in plant wound healing and pathogen attack responses by both triggering peroxidase-mediated wall-stiffening events and signaling modulation of defense gene expression. Extensive investigation by a variety of methodological approaches revealed high levels of expression of cell wall-localized AOs in root xylem tissues and vascular parenchyma of different plant species. Here, the recent progresses in understanding the role of cell wall-localized AOs as mediators of root xylem differentiation during development and/or under stress conditions are reviewed. A number of experimental pieces of evidence supports the involvement of apoplastic H2O2 derived from PA oxidation in xylem tissue maturation under stress-simulated conditions.

  5. Vein matching using artificial neural network in vein authentication systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noori Hoshyar, Azadeh; Sulaiman, Riza

    2011-10-01

    Personal identification technology as security systems is developing rapidly. Traditional authentication modes like key; password; card are not safe enough because they could be stolen or easily forgotten. Biometric as developed technology has been applied to a wide range of systems. According to different researchers, vein biometric is a good candidate among other biometric traits such as fingerprint, hand geometry, voice, DNA and etc for authentication systems. Vein authentication systems can be designed by different methodologies. All the methodologies consist of matching stage which is too important for final verification of the system. Neural Network is an effective methodology for matching and recognizing individuals in authentication systems. Therefore, this paper explains and implements the Neural Network methodology for finger vein authentication system. Neural Network is trained in Matlab to match the vein features of authentication system. The Network simulation shows the quality of matching as 95% which is a good performance for authentication system matching.

  6. Xylem Resin in the Resistance of the Pinaceae to Bark Beetles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard H. Smith

    1972-01-01

    Xylem resin of Pinaceae is closely linked with their resistance and suseptibility to tree-killing bark beetles. This review of the literature on attacking adults suggests that all three resistance mechanisms proposed by Painter -- preference, antibiosis, and tolerance -- are active in this relationship: preference by attraction, repellency, and synergism; antibiosis...

  7. Spatial variation of vessel grouping in the xylem of Betula platyphylla Roth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xiping

    2016-01-01

    Vessel grouping in angiosperms may improve hydraulic integration and increase the spread of cavitations through redundancy pathways. Although disputed, it is increasingly attracting research interest as a potentially significant hydraulic trait. However, the variation of vessel grouping in a tree is poorly understood. I measured the number of solitary and grouped vessels in the xylem of Betula platyphylla Roth. from the pith to the bark along the water flow path. The vessel grouping parameters included the mean number of vessels per vessel group (VG), percentage of solitary vessels (SVP), percentage of radial multiple vessels (MVP), and percentage of cluster vessels (CVP). The effects of cambial age (CA) and flow path-length (PL) on the vessel grouping were analyzed using a linear mixed model.VG and CVP increased nonlinearly, SVP decreased nonlinearly with PL. In trunks and branches, VG and CVP decreased nonlinearly, and SVP increased nonlinearly with CA. In roots, the parameters had no change with CA. MVP was almost constant with PL or CA. The results suggest that vessel grouping has a nonrandom variation pattern, which is affected deeply by cambial age and water flow path.

  8. Quantitative Evaluation of Hybrid Aspen Xylem and Immunolabeling Patterns Using Image Analysis and Multivariate Statistics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Sandquist

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available A new method is presented for quantitative evaluation of hybrid aspen genotype xylem morphology and immunolabeling micro-distribution. This method can be used as an aid in assessing differences in genotypes from classic tree breeding studies, as well as genetically engineered plants. The method is based on image analysis, multivariate statistical evaluation of light, and immunofluorescence microscopy images of wood xylem cross sections. The selected immunolabeling antibodies targeted five different epitopes present in aspen xylem cell walls. Twelve down-regulated hybrid aspen genotypes were included in the method development. The 12 knock-down genotypes were selected based on pre-screening by pyrolysis-IR of global chemical content. The multivariate statistical evaluations successfully identified comparative trends for modifications in the down-regulated genotypes compared to the unmodified control, even when no definitive conclusions could be drawn from individual studied variables alone. Of the 12 genotypes analyzed, three genotypes showed significant trends for modifications in both morphology and immunolabeling. Six genotypes showed significant trends for modifications in either morphology or immunocoverage. The remaining three genotypes did not show any significant trends for modification.

  9. Absence of Middle Hepatic Vein Combined with Retro-Aortic Left Renal Vein: a Very Rare Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sezer Akçer

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The hepatic and renal veins drain into the inferior vena cava. The upper group of hepatic veins consists of three veins which extend to the posterior face of the liver to join the inferior cava. The left renal vein passes anterior to the aorta just below the origin of the superior mesenteric artery. We detected a variation in the hepatic and renal veins in a multislice CT angiogram of a nine-year-old male patient in the Radiology Department of Afyon Kocatepe University Medical School. The upper group hepatic veins normally drains into the inferior vena cava as three separate trunks, namely the right, left and middle. In our case, we found that only the right and left hepatic veins existed and the middle hepatic vein was absent. Furthermore, the left renal vein, which normally passes anterior to the abdominal aorta, was retro-aortic. Left renal vein variations are of great importance in planning retroperitoneal surgery and vascular interventions. Knowledge of a patient’s hepatic vein and renovascular anatomy and determining their variations and anomalies are of critical importance to abdominal operations, transplantations and preoperative evaluation of endovascular interventions.

  10. Surgical Access to Jejunal Veins for Local Thrombolysis and Stent Placement in Portal Vein Thrombosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schellhammer, Frank; Esch, Jan Schulte am; Hammerschlag, Sascha; Knoefel, Wolfram Trudo; Fuerst, Guenter

    2008-01-01

    Portal vein thrombosis is an infrequent entity, which may cause high morbidity and mortality. We report a case of portal vein thrombosis due to benign stenosis following partial pancreatoduodenectomy with segmental replacement of the portal vein by a Gore-tex graft. Using a surgical access to jenunal veins, local thrombolysis, mechanical fragmentation of thrombus, and stent placement were successfully performed.

  11. Ion-mediated enhancement of xylem hydraulic conductivity in four Acer species: relationships with ecological and anatomical features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nardini, Andrea; Dimasi, Federica; Klepsch, Matthias; Jansen, Steven

    2012-12-01

    The 'ionic effect', i.e., changes in xylem hydraulic conductivity (k(xyl)) due to variation of the ionic sap composition in vessels, was studied in four Acer species growing in contrasting environments differing in water availability. Hydraulic measurements of the ionic effect were performed together with measurements on the sap electrical conductivity, leaf water potential and vessel anatomy. The low ionic effect recorded in Acer pseudoplatanus L. and Acer campestre L. (15.8 and 14.7%, respectively), which represented two species from shady and humid habitats, was associated with a low vessel grouping index, high sap electrical conductivity and least negative leaf water potential. Opposite traits were found for Acer monspessulanum L. and Acer platanoides L., which showed an ionic effect of 23.6 and 23.1%, respectively, and represent species adapted to higher irradiance and/or lower water availability. These findings from closely related species provide additional support that the ionic effect could function as a compensation mechanism for embolism-induced loss of k(xyl), either as a result of high evaporative demand or increased risk of hydraulic failure.

  12. The economics of vein disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sales, Clifford M; Podnos, Joan; Levison, Jonathan

    2007-09-01

    The management of cosmetic vein problems requires a very different approach than that for the majority of most other vascular disorders that occur in a vascular surgery practice. This article focuses on the business aspects of a cosmetic vein practice, with particular attention to the uniqueness of these issues. Managing patient expectations is critical to the success of a cosmetic vein practice. Maneuvering within the insurance can be difficult and frustrating for both the patient and the practice. Practices should use cost accounting principles to evaluate the success of their vein work. Vein surgery--especially if performed within the office--can undergo an accurate break-even analysis to determine its profitability.

  13. Altitudinal variations of ground tissue and xylem tissue in terminal shoot of woody species: implications for treeline formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hong; Wang, Haiyang; Liu, Yanfang; Dong, Li

    2013-01-01

    1. The terminal shoot (or current-year shoot), as one of the most active parts on a woody plant, is a basic unit determining plant height and is potentially influenced by a variety of environmental factors. It has been predicted that tissues amount and their allocation in plant stems may play a critical role in determining plant size in alpine regions. The primary structure in terminal shoots is a key to our understanding treeline formation. The existing theories on treeline formation, however, are still largely lacking of evidence at the species level, much less from anatomy for the terminal shoot. 2. The primary structures within terminal shoot were measured quantitatively for 100 species from four elevation zones along the eastern slope of Gongga Mountain, southwestern China; one group was sampled from above the treeline. An allometric approach was employed to examine scaling relationships interspecifically, and a principal components analysis (PCA) was performed to test the relation among primary xylem, ground tissue, species growth form and altitude. 3. The results showed that xylem tissue size was closely correlated with ground tissue size isometrically across species, while undergoing significant y- or/and x-intercept shift in response to altitudinal belts. Further, a conspicuous characteristic of terminal shoot was its allocation of contrasting tissues between primary xylem and ground tissues with increasing elevation. The result of the PCA showed correlations between anatomical variation, species growth form/height classes and environment. 4. The current study presents a comparative assessment of the allocation of tissue in terminal shoot across phylogenically and ecologically diverse species, and analyzes tissue, function and climate associations with plant growth forms and height classes among species. The interspecific connection between primary xylem ratio and plant size along an elevation gradient suggests the importance of primary xylem in explaining

  14. Altitudinal variations of ground tissue and xylem tissue in terminal shoot of woody species: implications for treeline formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Chen

    Full Text Available 1. The terminal shoot (or current-year shoot, as one of the most active parts on a woody plant, is a basic unit determining plant height and is potentially influenced by a variety of environmental factors. It has been predicted that tissues amount and their allocation in plant stems may play a critical role in determining plant size in alpine regions. The primary structure in terminal shoots is a key to our understanding treeline formation. The existing theories on treeline formation, however, are still largely lacking of evidence at the species level, much less from anatomy for the terminal shoot. 2. The primary structures within terminal shoot were measured quantitatively for 100 species from four elevation zones along the eastern slope of Gongga Mountain, southwestern China; one group was sampled from above the treeline. An allometric approach was employed to examine scaling relationships interspecifically, and a principal components analysis (PCA was performed to test the relation among primary xylem, ground tissue, species growth form and altitude. 3. The results showed that xylem tissue size was closely correlated with ground tissue size isometrically across species, while undergoing significant y- or/and x-intercept shift in response to altitudinal belts. Further, a conspicuous characteristic of terminal shoot was its allocation of contrasting tissues between primary xylem and ground tissues with increasing elevation. The result of the PCA showed correlations between anatomical variation, species growth form/height classes and environment. 4. The current study presents a comparative assessment of the allocation of tissue in terminal shoot across phylogenically and ecologically diverse species, and analyzes tissue, function and climate associations with plant growth forms and height classes among species. The interspecific connection between primary xylem ratio and plant size along an elevation gradient suggests the importance of primary

  15. Assessing inter- and intraspecific variability of xylem vulnerability to embolism in oaks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lobo, Albin; Torres-Ruiz, José M.; Burlett, Regis

    2018-01-01

    for future afforestation. However, the presence of long vessels makes it difficult to assess xylem vulnerability to embolism in these species. Thanks to the development of a flow centrifuge equipped with a large rotor, we quantified (i) the between species variability of embolism resistance in four native...

  16. Deep Vein Thrombosis

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    OWNER

    Deep Vein Thrombosis: Risk Factors and Prevention in Surgical Patients. Deep Vein ... preventable morbidity and mortality in hospitalized surgical patients. ... the elderly.3,4 It is very rare before the age ... depends on the risk level; therefore an .... but also in the post-operative period. ... is continuing uncertainty regarding.

  17. BACOPA MONNIERI (L. PENNELL –A GOOD BIOMARKER OF WATER POLLUTION/CONTAMINATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hussain. K

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Effect of water pollution on Bacopa monnieri was studied by culturing their rooted propagules in various polluted water samples and Hoagland nutrient medium artificially contaminated with different micro-level concentrations of HgCl2. Anatomical observations of those plants showed safranin-stained masses deposited in the xylem vessels of stem. The plants treated in chemical solutions which are free from metallic ions, under threshold level of HgCl2, and control plants were devoid of such deposits. Similar deposits were observed in plants cultured in various local water samples. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric analyses of these water samples and the bioaccumulation property of the plant detected the presence of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn at various levels. The occurrence of the localized stained deposits in the xylem vessels of the stem of the plants cultured in polluted/contaminated aqueous medium, eventhough the growth medium contamination is micro-levels, is indicative of high sensitivity of Bacopa monnieri plants towards water pollution irrespective of the chemical nature of the pollutants. Although these stained deposits are not specific to any individual element that causes pollution, detection of water contamination is possible by observing the safranin-stained masses in the xylem vessels of this medicinal plant.

  18. Mixed xylem and phloem sap ingestion in sheath-feeders as normal dietary behavior: Evidence from the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuche, Julien; Sauvion, Nicolas; Thiéry, Denis

    2017-10-01

    In phytophagous piercing-sucking insects, salivary sheath-feeding species are often described as xylem- or phloem-sap feeding specialists. Because these two food sources have very different characteristics, two feeding tactics are often associated with this supposed specialization. Studying the feeding behavior of insects provides substantial information on their biology, ecology, and evolution. Furthermore, study of feeding behavior is of primary importance to elucidate the transmission ability of insects that act as vectors of plant pathogens. In this study, we compared the durations of ingestion performed in xylem versus phloem by a leafhopper species, Scaphoideus titanus Ball, 1932. This was done by characterizing and statistically analyzing electrical signals recorded using the electropenetrography technique, derived from the feeding behaviors of males and females. We identified three groups of S. titanus based on their feeding behavior: 1) a group that reached the phloem quickly and probed for a longer time in phloem tissue than the other groups, 2) a group that reached the xylem quickly and probed for a longer time in xylem tissue than the other groups, and 3) a group where individuals did not ingest much sap. In addition, the numbers and durations of waveforms representing ingestion of xylem and phloem saps differed significantly depending on the sex of the leafhopper, indicating that the two sexes exhibit different feeding behaviors. Males had longer phloem ingestion events than did females, which indicates that males are greater phloem feeders than females. These differences are discussed, specifically in relation to hypotheses about evolution of sap feeding and phytoplasma transmission from plant to plant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effects of Fe and Mn deficiencies on the protein profiles of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) xylem sap as revealed by shotgun analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos-Laita, Laura; Gutierrez-Carbonell, Elain; Takahashi, Daisuke; Abadía, Anunciación; Uemura, Matsuo; Abadía, Javier; López-Millán, Ana Flor

    2018-01-06

    The aim of this work was to study the effects of Fe and Mn deficiencies on the xylem sap proteome of tomato using a shotgun proteomic approach, with the final goal of elucidating plant response mechanisms to these stresses. This approach yielded 643 proteins reliably identified and quantified with 70% of them predicted as secretory. Iron and Mn deficiencies caused statistically significant and biologically relevant abundance changes in 119 and 118 xylem sap proteins, respectively. In both deficiencies, metabolic pathways most affected were protein metabolism, stress/oxidoreductases and cell wall modifications. First, results suggest that Fe deficiency elicited more stress responses than Mn deficiency, based on the changes in oxidative and proteolytic enzymes. Second, both nutrient deficiencies affect the secondary cell wall metabolism, with changes in Fe deficiency occurring via peroxidase activity, and in Mn deficiency involving peroxidase, Cu-oxidase and fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins. Third, the primary cell wall metabolism was affected by both nutrient deficiencies, with changes following opposite directions as judged from the abundances of several glycoside-hydrolases with endo-glycolytic activities and pectin esterases. Fourth, signaling pathways via xylem involving CLE and/or lipids as well as changes in phosphorylation and N-glycosylation also play a role in the responses to these stresses. Biological significance In spite of being essential for the delivery of nutrients to the shoots, our knowledge of xylem responses to nutrient deficiencies is very limited. The present work applies a shotgun proteomic approach to unravel the effects of Fe and Mn deficiencies on the xylem sap proteome. Overall, Fe deficiency seems to elicit more stress in the xylem sap proteome than Mn deficiency, based on the changes measured in proteolytic and oxido-reductase proteins, whereas both nutrients exert modifications in the composition of the primary and secondary

  20. Tissue-type-specific transcriptome analysis identifies developing xylem-specific promoters in poplar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Jae-Heung; Kim, Hyun-Tae; Hwang, Ildoo; Han, Kyung-Hwan

    2012-06-01

    Plant biotechnology offers a means to create novel phenotypes. However, commercial application of biotechnology in crop improvement programmes is severely hindered by the lack of utility promoters (or freedom to operate the existing ones) that can drive gene expression in a tissue-specific or temporally controlled manner. Woody biomass is gaining popularity as a source of fermentable sugars for liquid fuel production. To improve the quantity and quality of woody biomass, developing xylem (DX)-specific modification of the feedstock is highly desirable. To develop utility promoters that can drive transgene expression in a DX-specific manner, we used the Affymetrix Poplar Genome Arrays to obtain tissue-type-specific transcriptomes from poplar stems. Subsequent bioinformatics analysis identified 37 transcripts that are specifically or strongly expressed in DX cells of poplar. After further confirmation of their DX-specific expression using semi-quantitative PCR, we selected four genes (DX5, DX8, DX11 and DX15) for in vivo confirmation of their tissue-specific expression in transgenic poplars. The promoter regions of the selected DX genes were isolated and fused to a β-glucuronidase (GUS)-reported gene in a binary vector. This construct was used to produce transgenic poplars via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The GUS expression patterns of the resulting transgenic plants showed that these promoters were active in the xylem cells at early seedling growth and had strongest expression in the developing xylem cells at later growth stages of poplar. We conclude that these DX promoters can be used as a utility promoter for DX-specific biomass engineering. © 2012 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal © 2012 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. Source of sustained voltage difference between the xylem of a potted Ficus benjamina tree and its soil.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher J Love

    Full Text Available It has long been known that there is a sustained electrical potential (voltage difference between the xylem of many plants and their surrounding soil, but the mechanism behind this voltage has remained controversial. After eliminating any extraneous capacitive or inductive couplings and ground-mediated electric current flows, we have measured sustained differences of 50-200 mV between the xylem region of a Faraday-caged, intact, potted Ficus benjamina tree and its soil, as well as between its cut branches and soils and ionic solutions standardized to various pH values. Using identical platinum electrodes, no correlation between the voltage and time of day, illumination, sap flow, electrode elevation, or ionic composition of soil was found, suggesting no direct connection to simple dissimilar-metal redox reactions or transpirational activity. Instead, a clear relationship between the voltage polarity and magnitude and the pH difference between xylem and soil was observed. We attribute these sustained voltages to a biological concentration cell likely set up by the homeostatic mechanisms of the tree. Potential applications of this finding are briefly explored.

  2. Ligation of superior mesenteric vein and portal to splenic vein anastomosis after superior mesenteric-portal vein confluence resection during pancreaticoduodenectomy – Case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianlin Tang

    2014-12-01

    Conclusion: The lessons we learned are (1 Before SMPV confluence resection, internal jugular vein graft should be ready for reconstruction. (2 Synthetic graft is an alternative for internal jugular vein graft. (3 Direct portal vein to SMV anastomosis can be achieved by mobilizing liver. (4 It is possible that venous collaterals secondary to SMV tumor obstruction may have allowed this patient's post-operative survival.

  3. Quantifying the role of vegetation in controlling the time-variant age of evapotranspiration, soil water and stream flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, A.; Tetzlaff, D.; Soulsby, C.

    2017-12-01

    Identifying the sources of water which sustain plant water uptake is an essential prerequisite to understanding the interactions of vegetation and water within the critical zone. Estimating the sources of root-water uptake is complicated by ecohydrological separation, or the notion of "two-water worlds" which distinguishes more mobile and immobile water sources which respectively sustain streamflow and evapotranspiration. Water mobility within the soil determines both the transit time/residence time of water through/in soils and the subsequent age of root-uptake and xylem water. We used time-variant StorAge Selection (SAS) functions to conceptualise the transit/residence times in the critical zone using a dual-storage soil column differentiating gravity (mobile) and tension dependent (immobile) water, calibrated to measured stable isotope signatures of soil water. Storage-discharge relationships [Brutsaert and Nieber, 1977] were used to identify gravity and tension dependent storages. A temporally variable distribution for root water uptake was identified using simulated stable isotopes in xylem and soil water. Composition of δ2H and δ18O was measured in soil water at 4 depths (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm) on 10 occasions, and 5 times for xylem water within the dominant heather (Calluna sp. and Erica sp.) vegetation in a Scottish Highland catchment over a two-year period. Within a 50 cm soil column, we found that more than 53% of the total stored water was water that was present before the start of the simulation. Mean residence times of the mobile water in the upper 20 cm of the soil were 16, 25, 36, and 44 days, respectively. Mean evaporation transit time varied between 9 and 40 days, driven by seasonal changes and precipitation events. Lastly, mean transit times of xylem water ranged between 95-205 days, driven by changes in soil moisture. During low soil moisture (i.e. lower than mean soil moisture), root-uptake was from lower depths, while higher than mean soil

  4. Intact plant MRI for the study of cell water relations, membrane permeability, cell-to-cell and long distance water transport

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    As, van H.

    2007-01-01

    Water content and hydraulic conductivity, including transport within cells, over membranes, cell-to-cell, and long-distance xylem and phloem transport, are strongly affected by plant water stress. By being able to measure these transport processes non-invasely in the intact plant situation in

  5. Vein visualization: patient characteristic factors and efficacy of a new infrared vein finder technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiao, F B; Resta-Flarer, F; Lesser, J; Ng, J; Ganz, A; Pino-Luey, D; Bennett, H; Perkins, C; Witek, B

    2013-06-01

    We investigated the patient characteristic factors that correlate with identification of i.v. cannulation sites with normal eyesight. We evaluated a new infrared vein finding (VF) technology device in identifying i.v. cannulation sites. Each subject underwent two observations: one using the conventional method (CM) of normal, unassisted eyesight and the other with the infrared VF device, VueTek's Veinsite™ (VF). A power analysis for moderate effect size (β=0.95) required 54 samples for within-subject differences. Patient characteristic profiles were obtained from 384 subjects (768 observations). Our sample population exhibited an overall average of 5.8 [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.4-6.2] veins using CM. As a whole, CM vein visualization were less effective among obese [4.5 (95% CI 3.8-5.3)], African-American [4.6 (95% CI 3.6-5.5 veins)], and Asian [5.1 (95% CI 4.1-6.0)] subjects. Next, the VF technology identified an average of 9.1 (95% CI 8.6-9.5) possible cannulation sites compared with CM [average of 5.8 (95% CI 5.4-6.2)]. Seventy-six obese subjects had an average of 4.5 (95% CI 3.8-5.3) and 8.2 (95% CI 7.4-9.1) veins viewable by CM and VF, respectively. In dark skin subjects, 9.1 (95% CI 8.3-9.9) veins were visible by VF compared with 5.4 (95% CI 4.8-6.0) with CM. African-American or Asian ethnicity, and obesity were associated with decreased vein visibility. The visibility of veins eligible for cannulation increased for all subgroups using a new infrared device.

  6. Palliative treatment of TIPS to portal vein tumor thrombosis complicated with portal vein hypertension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Zaibo; Shan Hong; Guan Shouhai; Zhu Kangshun; Huang Mingsheng; Li Zhengran; Guo Tiansheng; Liu Lang

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the palliative therapeutic effects of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) complicated with portal vein hypertension, and to discuss the technical skills. Methods: There were 14 cases of end-stage hepatocellular carcinoma complicated with PVTT and portal vein hypertension, the average age was 53.6 yr. There were 8 cases with complete occlusion of main portal vein, 6 eases with incomplete thrombosis, and 5 cases combined with portal vein cavernous transformation. One case had simple hemorrhage, 3 eases had intractable ascites, and 10 cases had hemorrhage accompanied by intractable ascites. Results: The procedure of TIPS was successful in 10 cases, the successful rate was about 71%. The mean portal vein pressure was reduced from 37.2 mm Hg to 18.2 mm Hg, with an average reduction of 19.0 mm Hg. After the procedure of TIPS, the ascites decreased, hemorrhage stopped and the clinical symptoms disappeared. The average survival period was 132.3 days. The procedure were failing in 4 cases. Conclusion: TIPS was an effective palliative therapeutic methods to control the hemorrhage and ascites aroused by hepatic carcinoma complicated with PVTT

  7. Interpreting the Climatic Effects on Xylem Functional Traits in Two Mediterranean Oak Species: The Role of Extreme Climatic Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rita, Angelo; Borghetti, Marco; Todaro, Luigi; Saracino, Antonio

    2016-01-01

    In the Mediterranean region, the widely predicted rise in temperature, change in the precipitation pattern, and increase in the frequency of extreme climatic events are expected to alter the shape of ecological communities and to affect plant physiological processes that regulate ecosystem functioning. Although change in the mean values are important, there is increasing evidence that plant distribution, survival, and productivity respond to extremes rather than to the average climatic condition. The present study aims to assess the effects of both mean and extreme climatic conditions on radial growth and functional anatomical traits using long-term tree-ring time series of two co-existing Quercus spp. from a drought-prone site in Southern Italy. In particular, this is the first attempt to apply the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS) technique and Bayesian modeling procedures to xylem traits data set, with the aim of (i) detecting non-linear long-term responses to climate and (ii) exploring relationships between climate extreme and xylem traits variability in terms of probability of occurrence. This study demonstrates the usefulness of long-term xylem trait chronologies as records of environmental conditions at annual resolution. Statistical analyses revealed that most of the variability in tree-ring width and specific hydraulic conductivity might be explained by cambial age. Additionally, results highlighted appreciable relationships between xylem traits and climate variability more than tree-ring width, supporting also the evidence that the plant hydraulic traits are closely linked to local climate extremes rather than average climatic conditions. We reported that the probability of extreme departure in specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) rises at extreme values of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Therefore, changing frequency or intensity of extreme events might overcome the adaptive limits of vascular transport, resulting

  8. Interpreting the climatic effects on xylem functional traits in two Mediterranean oak species: the role of extreme climatic events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelo Rita

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available In the Mediterranean region, the widely predicted rise in temperature, change in the precipitation pattern and increase in the frequency of extreme climatic events are expected to alter the shape of ecological communities and to affect plant physiological processes that regulate ecosystem functioning. Although change in the mean values are important, there is increasing evidence that plant distribution, survival and productivity respond to extremes rather than to the average climatic condition. The present study aims to assess the effects of both mean and extreme climatic conditions on radial growth and functional anatomical traits using long-term tree-ring time series of two co-existing Quercus spp. from a drought-prone site in Southern Italy. In particular, this is the first attempt to apply the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS technique and Bayesian modeling procedures to xylem traits data set, with the aim of i detecting non-linear long-term responses to climate and ii exploring relationships between climate extreme and xylem traits variability in terms of probability of occurrence. This study demonstrates the usefulness of long-term xylem trait chronologies as records of environmental conditions at annual resolution. Statistical analyses revealed that most of the variability in tree-ring width and specific hydraulic conductivity might be explained by cambial age. Additionally, results highlighted appreciable relationships between xylem traits and climate variability more than tree-ring width, supporting also the evidence that the plant hydraulic traits are closely linked to local climate extremes rather than average climatic conditions. We reported that the probability of extreme departure in specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks rises at extreme values of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI. Therefore, changing frequency or intensity of extreme events might overcome the adaptive limits of vascular transport

  9. Are needles of Pinus pinaster more vulnerable to xylem embolism than branches? New insights from X-ray computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouche, Pauline S; Delzon, Sylvain; Choat, Brendan; Badel, Eric; Brodribb, Timothy J; Burlett, Regis; Cochard, Hervé; Charra-Vaskou, Katline; Lavigne, Bruno; Li, Shan; Mayr, Stefan; Morris, Hugh; Torres-Ruiz, José M; Zufferey, Vivian; Jansen, Steven

    2016-04-01

    Plants can be highly segmented organisms with an independently redundant design of organs. In the context of plant hydraulics, leaves may be less embolism resistant than stems, allowing hydraulic failure to be restricted to distal organs that can be readily replaced. We quantified drought-induced embolism in needles and stems of Pinus pinaster using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). HRCT observations of needles were compared with the rehydration kinetics method to estimate the contribution of extra-xylary pathways to declining hydraulic conductance. High-resolution computed tomography images indicated that the pressure inducing 50% of embolized tracheids was similar between needle and stem xylem (P50 needle xylem  = -3.62 MPa, P50 stem xylem  = -3.88 MPa). Tracheids in both organs showed no difference in torus overlap of bordered pits. However, estimations of the pressure inducing 50% loss of hydraulic conductance at the whole needle level by the rehydration kinetics method were significantly higher (P50 needle  = -1.71 MPa) than P50 needle xylem derived from HRCT. The vulnerability segmentation hypothesis appears to be valid only when considering hydraulic failure at the entire needle level, including extra-xylary pathways. Our findings suggest that native embolism in needles is limited and highlight the importance of imaging techniques for vulnerability curves. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy - Varicose Veins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy - Varicose Veins Varicose veins are enlarged veins you may see on your ... Healthy Roads Media project www. healthyroadsmedia. org English - Concerns and Discomforts of Pregnancy (Varicose Veins) Last reviewed ...

  11. Corrosion cast study of the canine hepatic veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uršič, M; Vrecl, M; Fazarinc, G

    2014-11-01

    This study presents a detailed description of the distribution, diameters and drainage patterns of hepatic veins on the basis of the corrosion cast analysis in 18 dogs. We classified the hepatic veins in three main groups: the right hepatic veins of the caudate process and right lateral liver lobe, the middle hepatic veins of the right medial and quadrate lobes and the left hepatic veins of both left liver lobes and the papillary process. The corrosion cast study showed that the number of the veins in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria and most anatomical textbooks is underestimated. The number of various-sized hepatic veins of the right liver division ranged from 3 to 5 and included 1 to 4 veins from the caudate process and 2 to 4 veins from the right lateral liver lobe. Generally, in all corrosion casts, one middle-sized vein from the right part of the right medial lobe, which emptied separately in the caudal vena cava, was established. The other vein was a large-sized vein from the remainder of the central division, which frequently joined the common left hepatic vein from the left liver lobes. The common left hepatic vein was the largest of all the aforementioned hepatic veins.

  12. Image Quality Enhancement Using the Direction and Thickness of Vein Lines for Finger-Vein Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young Ho Park

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of the increased emphasis placed on the protection of privacy, biometric recognition systems using physical or behavioural characteristics such as fingerprints, facial characteristics, iris and finger-vein patterns or the voice have been introduced in applications including door access control, personal certification, Internet banking and ATM machines. Among these, finger-vein recognition is advantageous in that it involves the use of inexpensive and small devices that are difficult to counterfeit. In general, finger-vein recognition systems capture images by using near infrared (NIR illumination in conjunction with a camera. However, such systems can face operational difficulties, since the scattering of light from the skin can make capturing a clear image difficult. To solve this problem, we proposed new image quality enhancement method that measures the direction and thickness of vein lines. This effort represents novel research in four respects. First, since vein lines are detected in input images based on eight directional profiles of a grey image instead of binarized images, the detection error owing to the non-uniform illumination of the finger area can be reduced. Second, our method adaptively determines a Gabor filter for the optimal direction and width on the basis of the estimated direction and thickness of a detected vein line. Third, by applying this optimized Gabor filter, a clear vein image can be obtained. Finally, the further processing of the morphological operation is applied in the Gabor filtered image and the resulting image is combined with the original one, through which finger-vein image of a higher quality is obtained. Experimental results from application of our proposed image enhancement method show that the equal error rate (EER of finger-vein recognition decreases to approximately 0.4% in the case of a local binary pattern-based recognition and to approximately 0.3% in the case of a wavelet transform

  13. Seasonal and diel variation in xylem CO2 concentration and sap pH in sub-Mediterranean oak stems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salomón, Roberto; Valbuena-Carabaña, María; Teskey, Robert; McGuire, Mary Anne; Aubrey, Doug; González-Doncel, Inés; Gil, Luis; Rodríguez-Calcerrada, Jesús

    2016-04-01

    Since a substantial portion of respired CO2 remains within the stem, diel and seasonal trends in stem CO2 concentration ([CO2]) are of major interest in plant respiration and carbon budget research. However, continuous long-term stem [CO2] studies are scarce, and generally absent in Mediterranean climates. In this study, stem [CO2] was monitored every 15min together with stem and air temperature, sap flow, and soil water storage during a growing season in 16 stems of Quercus pyrenaica to elucidate the main drivers of stem [CO2] at different temporal scales. Fluctuations in sap pH were also assessed during two growing seasons to evaluate potential errors in estimates of the concentration of CO2 dissolved in xylem sap ([CO2*]) calculated using Henry's law. Stem temperature was the best predictor of stem [CO2] and explained more than 90% and 50% of the variability in stem [CO2] at diel and seasonal scales, respectively. Under dry conditions, soil water storage was the main driver of stem [CO2]. Likewise, the first rains after summer drought caused intense stem [CO2] pulses, suggesting enhanced stem and root respiration and increased resistance to radial CO2 diffusion. Sap flow played a secondary role in controlling stem [CO2] variations. We observed night-time sap pH acidification and progressive seasonal alkalinization. Thus, if the annual mean value of sap pH (measured at midday) was assumed to be constant, night-time sap [CO2*] was substantially overestimated (40%), and spring and autumn sap [CO2*] were misestimated by 25%. This work highlights that diel and seasonal variations in temperature, tree water availability, and sap pH substantially affect xylem [CO2] and sap [CO2*]. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Water movement through plant roots - exact solutions of the water flow equation in roots with linear or exponential piecewise hydraulic properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meunier, Félicien; Couvreur, Valentin; Draye, Xavier; Zarebanadkouki, Mohsen; Vanderborght, Jan; Javaux, Mathieu

    2017-12-01

    In 1978, Landsberg and Fowkes presented a solution of the water flow equation inside a root with uniform hydraulic properties. These properties are root radial conductivity and axial conductance, which control, respectively, the radial water flow between the root surface and xylem and the axial flow within the xylem. From the solution for the xylem water potential, functions that describe the radial and axial flow along the root axis were derived. These solutions can also be used to derive root macroscopic parameters that are potential input parameters of hydrological and crop models. In this paper, novel analytical solutions of the water flow equation are developed for roots whose hydraulic properties vary along their axis, which is the case for most plants. We derived solutions for single roots with linear or exponential variations of hydraulic properties with distance to root tip. These solutions were subsequently combined to construct single roots with complex hydraulic property profiles. The analytical solutions allow one to verify numerical solutions and to get a generalization of the hydric behaviour with the main influencing parameters of the solutions. The resulting flow distributions in heterogeneous roots differed from those in uniform roots and simulations led to more regular, less abrupt variations of xylem suction or radial flux along root axes. The model could successfully be applied to maize effective root conductance measurements to derive radial and axial hydraulic properties. We also show that very contrasted root water uptake patterns arise when using either uniform or heterogeneous root hydraulic properties in a soil-root model. The optimal root radius that maximizes water uptake under a carbon cost constraint was also studied. The optimal radius was shown to be highly dependent on the root hydraulic properties and close to observed properties in maize roots. We finally used the obtained functions for evaluating the impact of root maturation

  15. Normal hepatic vein patterns on ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hae Jin; Chae, Yoo Soon; Park, Hea Yeoung; Park, Bok Hwan; Kim, Yang Sook

    1987-01-01

    Understanding of the anatomy of the hepatic vein is important in manipulation for transplantation of the liver, hepatectomy and the treatment of hepatic trauma with avulsion of the hepatic vein. Demonstrated of the inferior right hepatic vein (IRHV) is also important; in some cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, thrombus can be seen in the IRHV; in primary Budd-Chiari syndrome, the IRHV is main draining vein; during hepatectomy, the postero-inferior segment of the right lobe and draining IRHV can be preserved. For some 10 months ultrasound examination was done in a total of 124 patients with normal liver function with special emphasis on the hepatic vein, their branches, and the IRHV, and analysed in terms of branching pattern and relative size of the hepatic vein and the detection rate of the IRHV.

  16. The umbilical and paraumbilical veins of man.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, B F; Tudor, R G

    1980-03-01

    During its transit through the umbilicus structural changes occur in the thick wall of the extra-abdominal segment of the umbilical vein whereby the components of the intra-abdominal segment acquire an essentially longitudinal direction and become arranged in fibro-elastic and fibro-muscular zones. The vein lumen becomes largely obliterated by asymmetrical proliferation of loose subendothelial conective tissue. The latter forms a new inner zone within which a small segment of the lumen persists in an eccentric position. This residual lumen transmits blood to the portal system from paraumbilical and systemic sources, and is retained in the upper part of the vein, even in old age. A similar process of lumen closure is observed in the ductus venosus. In early childhood the lower third of the vein undergoes breakdown, with fatty infiltration, resulting in its complete division into vascular fibro-elastic strands, and in old age some breakdown occurs in the outermost part of the wall of the upper two thirds. The paraumbilical veins are thick-walled and of similar structure to the umbilical vein. Together they constitute an accessory portal system which is confined between the layers of the falciform ligament and is in communication with the veins of the ventral abdominal wall. The constituents form an ascending series, namely, Burow's veins, the umbilical vein, and Sappey's inferior and superior veins. The main channel of Sappey's inferior veins may be the remnant of the right umbilical vein since it communicates with the right rectus sheath and often communicates directly with the portal system within the right lobe of the liver. The results are of significance in relation to clinical usage of the umbilical vein.

  17. Idiopathic Bilateral External Jugular Vein Thrombosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hindi, Zakaria; Fadhel, Ehab

    2015-08-20

    Vein thrombosis is mainly determined by 3 factors, which constitute a triad called Virchow's triad: hypercoagulability, stasis, and endothelial injury. Venous thrombosis commonly occurs in the lower extremities since most of the blood resides there and flows against gravity. The veins of the lower extremities are dependent on intact valves and fully functional leg muscles. However, in case of valvular incompetency or muscular weakness, thrombosis and blood stasis will occur as a result. In contrast, the veins of the neck, specially the jugulars, have distensible walls which allow flexibility during respiration. In addition, the blood directly flows downward towards the heart. Nevertheless, many case reports mentioned the thrombosis of internal jugular veins and external jugular veins with identified risk factors. Jugular vein thrombosis has previously been associated in the literature with a variety of medical conditions, including malignancy. This report is of a case of idiopathic bilateral external jugular vein thrombosis in a 21 year-old male construction worker of Southeast Asian origin with no previous medical history who presented with bilateral facial puffiness of gradual onset over 1 month. Doppler ultrasound and computed tomography were used in the diagnosis. Further work-up showed no evidence of infection or neoplasia. The patient was eventually discharged on warfarin. The patient was assessed after 6 months and his symptoms had resolved completely. Bilateral idiopathic external jugular veins thrombosis is extremely rare and can be an indicator of early malignancy or hidden infection. While previous reports in the literature have associated jugular vein thrombosis with malignancy, the present case shows that external jugular vein thrombosis can also be found in persons without malignancy.

  18. Blood sampling from adrenal gland vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Yong; Ni Caifang

    2009-01-01

    Adrenal gland vein sampling is an interventional method to get the blood samples from the adrenal gland vein. The blood is obtained via a catheter which is selectively inserted in the adrenal gland vein. This technique is mainly used to be diagnostic for primary hyperaldosteronism. A full knowledge of the anatomy and variations of the adrenal gland vein, serious preoperative preparation and skilled catheterization manipulation are necessary for obtaining sufficient blood sample and for reducing the occurrence of complications. Providing the physicians with definite diagnostic evidence and being technically feasible, adrenal gland vein sampling should become one of the routine examinations for clarifying the cause of primary hyperaldosteronism. (authors)

  19. Isolated inferior mesenteric portal hypertension with giant inferior mesenteric vein and anomalous inferior mesenteric vein insertion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G Raghavendra Prasad

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Extrahepatic portal hypertension is not an uncommon disease in childhood, but isolated inferior mesenteric portal varices and lower gastrointestinal (GI bleed have not been reported till date. A 4-year-old girl presented with lower GI bleed. Surgical exploration revealed extrahepatic portal vein obstruction with giant inferior mesenteric vein and colonic varices. Inferior mesenteric vein was joining the superior mesenteric vein. The child was treated successfully with inferior mesenteric - inferior vena caval anastomosis. The child was relieved of GI bleed during the follow-up.

  20. Water movement through plant roots – exact solutions of the water flow equation in roots with linear or exponential piecewise hydraulic properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Meunier

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In 1978, Landsberg and Fowkes presented a solution of the water flow equation inside a root with uniform hydraulic properties. These properties are root radial conductivity and axial conductance, which control, respectively, the radial water flow between the root surface and xylem and the axial flow within the xylem. From the solution for the xylem water potential, functions that describe the radial and axial flow along the root axis were derived. These solutions can also be used to derive root macroscopic parameters that are potential input parameters of hydrological and crop models. In this paper, novel analytical solutions of the water flow equation are developed for roots whose hydraulic properties vary along their axis, which is the case for most plants. We derived solutions for single roots with linear or exponential variations of hydraulic properties with distance to root tip. These solutions were subsequently combined to construct single roots with complex hydraulic property profiles. The analytical solutions allow one to verify numerical solutions and to get a generalization of the hydric behaviour with the main influencing parameters of the solutions. The resulting flow distributions in heterogeneous roots differed from those in uniform roots and simulations led to more regular, less abrupt variations of xylem suction or radial flux along root axes. The model could successfully be applied to maize effective root conductance measurements to derive radial and axial hydraulic properties. We also show that very contrasted root water uptake patterns arise when using either uniform or heterogeneous root hydraulic properties in a soil–root model. The optimal root radius that maximizes water uptake under a carbon cost constraint was also studied. The optimal radius was shown to be highly dependent on the root hydraulic properties and close to observed properties in maize roots. We finally used the obtained functions for evaluating the impact

  1. Multimodal ultrasonographic assessment of leiomyosarcoma of the femoral vein in a patient misdiagnosed as having deep vein thrombosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mei; Yan, Feng; Huang, Bin; Wu, Zhoupeng; Wen, Xiaorong

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Rationale: Primary leiomyosarcoma (LMS) of the vein is a rare tumor that arises from the smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall and has an extremely poor prognosis. This tumor can occur in vessels such as the inferior vena cava, great saphenous vein, femoral vein, iliac vein, popliteal vein, and renal vein; the inferior vena cava is the most common site. LMS of the femoral vein can result in edema and pain in the lower extremity; therefore, it is not easy to be differentiated from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Moreover, virtually no studies have described the ultrasonographic features of LMS of the vein in detail. Patient concerns: We present a case of a 55-year-old woman with LMS of the left femoral vein that was misdiagnosed as having deep vein thrombosis (DVT) on initial ultrasonographic examination. The patient began to experience edema and pain in her left leg seven months previously. She was diagnosed as having DVT on initial ultrasonographic examination, but the DVT treatment that she had received for 7 months failed to improve the status of her left lower limb. Diagnoses: She subsequently underwent re-examination by means of a multimodal ultrasonographic imaging approach (regular B-mode imaging, color Doppler imaging, pulsed-wave Doppler imaging, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography), which confirmed a diagnosis of LMS. Interventions: This patient was treated successfully with surgery. Outcomes: This case demonstrates that use of multiple ultrasonographic imaging techniques can be helpful to diagnose LMS accurately. Detection of vasculature in a dilated vein filled with a heterogeneous hypoechoic substance on ultrasonography is a sign of a tumor. Lessons: The pitfall of misdiagnosing this tumor as DVT is a useful reminder. PMID:29145269

  2. Duplex sonography of the near-surface leg veins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendoza, E.

    2007-01-01

    The book contains the following contributions: The ultrasonograph, selection of the ultrasonic transducer, anatomy of the near-surface vein system, physiology of the near-surface vein system, varicose status classification, systematics of the duplex sonography of near-surface leg veins, provocational maneuver for the duplex sonographic varicose diagnostics, exploration of vena saphena parva, perforans veins, side branches, phlebitis, sonography for varicose therapy, postsurgical sonography, deep leg veins, examination of near-surface leg veins for the pathology of the deep vein system, differential diagnostic clarification of leg oedema from the phlebologic-lymphological view, diagnostic side features along the near-surface leg veins

  3. Self-taught axillary vein access without venography for pacemaker implantation: prospective randomized comparison with the cephalic vein access.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squara, Fabien; Tomi, Julien; Scarlatti, Didier; Theodore, Guillaume; Moceri, Pamela; Ferrari, Emile

    2017-12-01

    Axillary vein access for pacemaker implantation is uncommon in many centres because of the lack of training in this technique. We assessed whether the introduction of the axillary vein technique was safe and efficient as compared with cephalic vein access, in a centre where no operators had any previous experience in axillary vein puncture. Patients undergoing pacemaker implantation were randomized to axillary or cephalic vein access. All three operators had no experience nor training in axillary vein puncture, and self-learned the technique by reading a published review. Axillary vein puncture was fluoroscopy-guided without contrast venography. Cephalic access was performed by dissection of delto-pectoral groove. Venous access success, venous access duration (from skin incision to guidewire or lead in superior vena cava), procedure duration, X-ray exposure, and peri-procedural (1 month) complications were recorded. results We randomized 74 consecutive patients to axillary (n = 37) or cephalic vein access (n = 37). Axillary vein was successfully accessed in 30/37 (81.1%) patients vs. 28/37 (75.7%) of cephalic veins (P = 0.57). Venous access time was shorter in axillary group than in cephalic group [5.7 (4.4-8.3) vs. 12.2 (10.5-14.8) min, P < 0.001], as well as procedure duration [34.8 (30.6-38.4) vs. 42.0 (39.1-46.6) min, P = 0.043]. X-ray exposure and peri-procedural overall complications were comparable in both groups. Axillary puncture was safe and faster than cephalic access even for the five first procedures performed by each operator. Self-taught axillary vein puncture for pacemaker implantation seems immediately safe and faster than cephalic vein access, when performed by electrophysiologists trained to pacemaker implantation but not to axillary vein puncture. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Xylem sap nitrogen compounds of some Crotalaria species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitória Angela Pierre

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Thirteen species of Crotalaria were analysed for nitrogen compounds in the xylem root bleeding sap. Amino acids were the main form of organic nitrogen found, but only traces of ureides were present. Of the four species analysed for amino acid composition, asparagine was found to be the major amino acid, accounting for over 68% of the nitrogen transported. No striking deviations from this general pattern was found between species, between vegetative and floral stages of development, or between nodulated and non-nodulated plants. It was concluded that the Crotalaria species studied here have an asparagine-based nitrogen metabolism, consistent with many other non-ureide-producing legume species.

  5. Early changes of the pH of the apoplast are different in leaves, stem and roots of Vicia faba L. under declining water availability

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Karuppanapandian, T.; Geilfus, C.M.; Muehling, K.H.; Novák, Ondřej; Gloser, V.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 255, FEB (2017), s. 51-58 ISSN 0168-9452 Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : xylem sap constituents * abscisic-acid * stomatal conductance * leaf apoplast * helianthus-annuus * plant-responses * intact plants * nacl stress * drying soil * guard-cells * Drought stress * Abscisic acid * Soil drying * Xylem sap * Osmolality * Water relations * Leaf water potential Subject RIV: EF - Botanics OBOR OECD: Plant sciences, botany Impact factor: 3.437, year: 2016

  6. Measurement of leaf hydraulic conductance and stomatal conductance and their responses to irradiance and dehydration using the Evaporative Flux Method (EFM).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sack, Lawren; Scoffoni, Christine

    2012-12-31

    Water is a key resource, and the plant water transport system sets limits on maximum growth and drought tolerance. When plants open their stomata to achieve a high stomatal conductance (gs) to capture CO2 for photosynthesis, water is lost by transpiration(1,2). Water evaporating from the airspaces is replaced from cell walls, in turn drawing water from the xylem of leaf veins, in turn drawing from xylem in the stems and roots. As water is pulled through the system, it experiences hydraulic resistance, creating tension throughout the system and a low leaf water potential (Ψ(leaf)). The leaf itself is a critical bottleneck in the whole plant system, accounting for on average 30% of the plant hydraulic resistance(3). Leaf hydraulic conductance (K(leaf) = 1/ leaf hydraulic resistance) is the ratio of the water flow rate to the water potential gradient across the leaf, and summarizes the behavior of a complex system: water moves through the petiole and through several orders of veins, exits into the bundle sheath and passes through or around mesophyll cells before evaporating into the airspace and being transpired from the stomata. K(leaf) is of strong interest as an important physiological trait to compare species, quantifying the effectiveness of the leaf structure and physiology for water transport, and a key variable to investigate for its relationship to variation in structure (e.g., in leaf venation architecture) and its impacts on photosynthetic gas exchange. Further, K(leaf) responds strongly to the internal and external leaf environment(3). K(leaf) can increase dramatically with irradiance apparently due to changes in the expression and activation of aquaporins, the proteins involved in water transport through membranes(4), and K(leaf) declines strongly during drought, due to cavitation and/or collapse of xylem conduits, and/or loss of permeability in the extra-xylem tissues due to mesophyll and bundle sheath cell shrinkage or aquaporin deactivation(5

  7. Comparisons of xylem sap flow and water vapour flux at the stand level and derivation of canopy conductance for Scots pine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granier, A.; Biron, P.; Köstner, B.; Gay, L. W.; Najjar, G.

    1996-03-01

    Simultaneous measurements of xylem sap flow and water vapour flux over a Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris) forest (Hartheim, Germany), were carried out during the Hartheim Experiment (HartX), an intensive observation campaign of the international programme REKLIP. Sap flow was measured every 30 min using both radial constant heating (Granier, 1985) and two types of Cermak sap flowmeters installed on 24 trees selected to cover a wide range of the diameter classes of the stand (min 8 cm; max 17.5 cm). Available energy was high during the observation period (5.5 to 6.9 mm.day-1), and daily cumulated sap flow on a ground area basis varied between 2.0 and 2.7 mm day-1 depending on climate conditions. Maximum hourly values of sap flow reached 0.33 mm h-1, i.e., 230 W m-2. Comparisons of sap flow with water vapour flux as measured with two OPEC (One Propeller Eddy Correlation, University of Arizona) systems showed a time lag between the two methods, sap flow lagging about 90 min behind vapour flux. After taking into account this time lag in the sap flow data set, a good agreement was found between both methods: sap flow = 0.745* vapour flux, r 2 = 0.86. The difference between the two estimates was due to understory transpiration. Canopy conductance ( g c ) was calculated from sap flow measurements using the reverse form of Penman-Monteith equation and climatic data measured 4 m above the canopy. Variations of g c were well correlated ( r 2 = 0.85) with global radiation ( R) and vapour pressure deficit ( vpd). The quantitative expression for g c = f ( R, vpd) was very similar to that previously found with maritime pine ( Pinus pinaster) in the forest of Les Landes, South Western France.

  8. Portal vein thrombosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chawla, Yogesh K; Bodh, Vijay

    2015-03-01

    Portal vein thrombosis is an important cause of portal hypertension. PVT occurs in association with cirrhosis or as a result of malignant invasion by hepatocellular carcinoma or even in the absence of associated liver disease. With the current research into its genesis, majority now have an underlying prothrombotic state detectable. Endothelial activation and stagnant portal blood flow also contribute to formation of the thrombus. Acute non-cirrhotic PVT, chronic PVT (EHPVO), and portal vein thrombosis in cirrhosis are the three main variants of portal vein thrombosis with varying etiological factors and variability in presentation and management. Procoagulant state should be actively investigated. Anticoagulation is the mainstay of therapy for acute non-cirrhotic PVT, with supporting evidence for its use in cirrhotic population as well. Chronic PVT (EHPVO) on the other hand requires the management of portal hypertension as such and with role for anticoagulation in the setting of underlying prothrombotic state, however data is awaited in those with no underlying prothrombotic states. TIPS and liver transplant may be feasible even in the setting of PVT however proper selection of candidates and type of surgery is warranted. Thrombolysis and thrombectomy have some role. TARE is a new modality for management of HCC with portal vein invasion.

  9. Ferns are less dependent on passive dilution by cell expansion to coordinate leaf vein and stomatal spacing than angiosperms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madeline R Carins Murphy

    Full Text Available Producing leaves with closely spaced veins is a key innovation linked to high rates of photosynthesis in angiosperms. A close geometric link between veins and stomata in angiosperms ensures that investment in enhanced venous water transport provides the strongest net carbon return to the plant. This link is underpinned by "passive dilution" via expansion of surrounding cells. However, it is not known whether this 'passive dilution' mechanism is present in plant lineages other than angiosperms and is another key feature of the angiosperms' evolutionary success. Consequently, we sought to determine whether the 'passive dilution' mechanism is; (i exclusive to the angiosperms, (ii a conserved mechanism that evolved in the common ancestor of ferns and angiosperms, or (iii has evolved continuously over time. To do this we first we assessed the plasticity of vein and stomatal density and epidermal cell size in ferns in response to light environment. We then compared the relationships between these traits found among ferns with modelled relationships that assume vein and stomatal density respond passively to epidermal cell expansion, and with those previously observed in angiosperms. Vein density, stomatal density and epidermal cell size were linked in ferns with remarkably similar relationships to those observed in angiosperms, except that fern leaves had fewer veins per stomata. However, plasticity was limited in ferns and stomatal spacing was dependent on active stomatal differentiation as well as passive cell expansion. Thus, ferns (like angiosperms appear to coordinate vein and stomatal density with epidermal cell expansion to some extent to maintain a constant ratio between veins and stomata in the leaf. The different general relationships between vein density and stomatal density in ferns and angiosperms suggests the groups have different optimum balances between the production of vein tissue dedicated to water supply and stomatal tissue for gas

  10. Estimating the Seasonal Importance of Precipitation to Plant Source Water over Time and Space with Water Isotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, D. B.; Kahmen, A.

    2017-12-01

    The stable isotopic composition of hydrogen and oxygen are physical properties of water molecules that can carry information on their sources or transport histories. This provides a useful tool for assessing the importance of rainfall at different times of the year for plant growth, provided that rainwater values vary over time and that waters do not partially evaporate after deposition. We tested the viability of this approach using data from samples collected at nineteen sites throughout Europe at monthly intervals over two consecutive growing seasons in 2014 and 2015. We compared isotope measurements of plant xylem water with soil water from multiple depths, and measured and modeled precipitation isotope values. Paired analyses of oxygen and hydrogen isotope values were used to screen out a limited number of water samples that were influenced by evaporation, with the majority of all water samples indicating meteoric sources. The isotopic composition of soil and xylem waters varied over the course of an individual growing season, with many trending towards more enriched values, suggesting integration of the plant-relevant water pool at a timescale shorter than the annual mean. We then quantified how soil water residence times varied at each site by calculating the interval between measured xylem water and the most recently preceding match in modeled precipitation isotope values. Results suggest a generally increasing interval between rainfall and plant uptake throughout each year, with source water corresponding to dates in the spring, likely reflecting a combination of spring rain, and mixing with winter and summer precipitation. The seasonally evolving spatial distribution of source water-precipitation lag values was then modeled as a function of location and climatology to develop continental-scale predictions. This spatial portrait of the average date for filling the plant source water pool provides insights on the seasonal importance of rainfall for plant

  11. Case report: Varicosity of the communicating vein between the left renal vein and the left ascending lumbar vein mimicking a renal artery aneurysm: Report of an unusual site of varicose veins and a novel hypothesis to explain its association with abdominal pain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandeep G Jakhere

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A communicating vein between the left renal vein and the left ascending lumbar vein has only rarely been reported in the imaging literature. There are very few reports of varicosity of this communicating vein. Nonetheless, awareness about this communicating vein is of utmost importance for surgeons performing aortoiliac surgeries and nephrectomies as it may pose technical difficulties during surgery or cause life-threatening retroperitoneal hemorrhage. Varicosity of this venous channel may be mistaken for paraaortic lymphadenopathy, adrenal pseudo-mass, or renal artery aneurysm. We report a case of a patient with varicosity of this communicating vein, which mimicked a left renal artery aneurysm. A novel hypothesis is also proposed to explain the relationship with abdominal pain.

  12. Analyzing 3D xylem networks in Vitis vinifera using High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recent developments in High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) have made it possible to visualize three dimensional (3D) xylem networks without time consuming, labor intensive physical sectioning. Here we describe a new method to visualize complex vessel networks in plants and produce a quantitat...

  13. Interventional treatment of iliac vein compression syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Xiaoqiang; Zhou Weiming; Nie Zhonglin; Yu Chaowen

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To explore the clinical significance of interventional treatment of iliac vein compression syndrome (IVCS). Methods: Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed in 40 cases. Thirty-three cases underwent endovascular stent implantation and 27 cases underwent second-stage left saphenous vein ligation and stripping and the valves of left femoral veins narrowing. Thirty-one cases were followed-up postoperatively and the duration was 6-66 months (mean 28 months). Results: The dilation of iliac veins was successful in 36 cases and there were god efficacy in all patients when they discharged from hospital. Followed-up during post-operation, all the limbs ulcers were cured and varicose veins disappeared. The skin pigmentation disappeared in 17 of 19 cases and markedly relieved in 2 cases. Left lower limb swelling disappeared in 15 of 17 cases and relieved in 2 cases. Conclusion: There is good efficacy in the interventional treatment of left iliac vein lesions, but second-stage procedures should be performed in secondary lesions of saphenous veins and valves of femoral veins

  14. Transgenic poplars with reduced lignin show impaired xylem conductivity, growth efficiency and survival

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steven L. Voelker; Barbara Lachenbruch; Frederick C. Meinzer; Peter Kitin; Steven H. Strauss

    2011-01-01

    We studied xylem anatomy and hydraulic architecture in 14 transgenic insertion events and a control line of hybrid poplar (Populus spp.) that varied in lignin content. Transgenic events had different levels of down-regulation of two genes encoding 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase (4CL). Two-year-old trees were characterized after...

  15. Does water transport scale universally with tree size?

    Science.gov (United States)

    F.C. Meinzer; B.J. Bond; J.M. Warren; D.R. Woodruff

    2005-01-01

    1. We employed standardized measurement techniques and protocols to describe the size dependence of whole-tree water use and cross-sectional area of conducting xylem (sapwood) among several species of angiosperms and conifers. 2. The results were not inconsistent with previously proposed 314-power scaling of water transport with estimated above-...

  16. How does climate influence xylem morphogenesis over the growing season? Insights from long-term intra-ring anatomy in Picea abies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castagneri, Daniele; Fonti, Patrick; von Arx, Georg; Carrer, Marco

    2017-04-01

    During the growing season, the cambium of conifer trees produces successive rows of xylem cells, the tracheids, that sequentially pass through the phases of enlargement and secondary wall thickening before dying and becoming functional. Climate variability can strongly influence the kinetics of morphogenetic processes, eventually affecting tracheid shape and size. This study investigates xylem anatomical structure in the stem of Picea abies to retrospectively infer how, in the long term, climate affects the processes of cell enlargement and wall thickening. Tracheid anatomical traits related to the phases of enlargement (diameter) and wall thickening (wall thickness) were innovatively inspected at the intra-ring level on 87-year-long tree-ring series in Picea abies trees along a 900 m elevation gradient in the Italian Alps. Anatomical traits in ten successive tree-ring sectors were related to daily temperature and precipitation data using running correlations. Close to the altitudinal tree limit, low early-summer temperature negatively affected cell enlargement. At lower elevation, water availability in early summer was positively related to cell diameter. The timing of these relationships shifted forward by about 20 (high elevation) to 40 (low elevation) d from the first to the last tracheids in the ring. Cell wall thickening was affected by climate in a different period in the season. In particular, wall thickness of late-formed tracheids was strongly positively related to August-September temperature at high elevation. Morphogenesis of tracheids sequentially formed in the growing season is influenced by climate conditions in successive periods. The distinct climate impacts on cell enlargement and wall thickening indicate that different morphogenetic mechanisms are responsible for different tracheid traits. Our approach of long-term and high-resolution analysis of xylem anatomy can support and extend short-term xylogenesis observations, and increase our

  17. Direct micro-CT observation confirms the induction of embolism upon xylem cutting under tension

    Science.gov (United States)

    We used two different Synchrotron-based micro-CT facilities (SLS: Swiss Light Source, Villigen, Switzerland, and ALS: Advanced Light Source, Berkeley, CA USA) to test the excision artifact described by Wheeler et al. (2013). Specifically, we examined the impact of cutting xylem under tension and und...

  18. The angiographic demonstration of hepatic vein obstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zu Maoheng; Xu Hao; Li Guojun; Gu Yuming; Wei Ning; Wang Cheng; Xu Wei

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the angiographic feature of hepatic vein obstruction. Methods Forty-five patients (male 23, female 22, age 9-54 years) suffered from hepatic vein obstruction. The inferior vena cavography and the hepatic venography were performed in all cases. Results: IVC was free in 37 patients with hepatic vein obstruction, both IVC and HV were obstructed in 8 patients. The local or long stenosis of IVC was found in 31 inferior vena cavography. The diameter of IVC was normal in 12 patients. The sign of membranous dome was found in hepatic vein orifice in 5 cases and in accessory hepatic vein orifice in 4 cases. Intrahepatic venous collaterals were found in 45 cases. Conclusion: Hepatic vein obstruction can be reproached primarily in inferior vena cavography, the membranous dome is a direct sign of membranous obstruction of HV and AHV in inferior vena cavography. The selected hepatic venography can provide reliable evidence to diagnose hepatic vein obstruction

  19. A Vein Map Biometric System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix Fuentes

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available There is increasing demand world-wide, from government agencies and the private sector for cutting-edge biometric security technology that is difficult to breach but userfriendly at the same time. Some of the older tools, such as fingerprint, retina and iris scanning, and facial recognition software have all been found to have flaws and often viewed negatively because of many cultural and hygienic issues associated with them. Comparatively, mapping veins as a human barcode, a new technology, has many advantages over older technologies. Specifically, reproducing a three-dimensional model of a human vein system is impossible to replicate. Vein map technology is distinctive because of its state-of-the-art sensors are only able to recognize vein patterns if hemoglobin is actively flowing through the person

  20. Below- and above-ground controls on tree water use in lowland tropical forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meinzer, F. C.; Woodruff, D.; McCulloh, K.; Domec, J.

    2012-12-01

    Even in moist tropical forests, fluctuations in soil water availability and atmospheric evaporative demand can constrain tree water use. Our research in three lowland tropical forest sites in Panama over the past two decades has identified a series of tree biophysical and functional traits related to daily and seasonal patterns of uptake, transport and loss of water. Studies combining measurements of sap flow and natural abundance of hydrogen isotopes in soil and xylem water during the dry season show considerable variation in depth of soil water uptake among co-occurring species. Trees able to exploit progressively deeper sources of soil water during the dry season, as indicated by increasingly negative xylem water hydrogen isotope ratios, were also able to maintain constant or even increased rates of water use. Injections of a stable isotope tracer (deuterated water) into tree trunks revealed a considerable range of water transit and residence times among co-occurring, similarly-sized trees. Components of tree hydraulic architecture were also strong determinants of patterns of water use. Sapwood hydraulic capacitance, the amount of water released per unit change in tissue water potential, was a strong predictor of several tree water use and water relations traits, including sap velocity, water residence time, daily maximum branch xylem tension, and the time of day at which stomata began to increasingly restrict transpiration. Among early and late successional species, hydraulic traits such as trunk-to-branch tapering of xylem vessels, branch sap flux, branch sapwood specific conductivity and whole-tree leaf area-specific hydraulic conductance scaled uniformly with branch wood density. Consistent with differences in trunk-to-branch tapering of vessels between early and late successional species, the ratio of branch to trunk sap flux was substantially greater in early successional species. Among species, stomatal conductance and transpiration per unit leaf area

  1. Mass spectrometric identification of isoforms of PR proteins in xylem sap of fungus-infected tomato

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rep, Martijn; Dekker, Henk L.; Vossen, Jack H.; de Boer, Albert D.; Houterman, Petra M.; Speijer, Dave; Back, Jaap W.; de Koster, Chris G.; Cornelissen, Ben J. C.

    2002-01-01

    The protein content of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) xylem sap was found to change dramatically upon infection with the vascular wilt fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Peptide mass fingerprinting and mass spectrometric sequencing were used to identify the most abundant proteins appearing during

  2. Transpiration directly regulates the emissions of water-soluble short-chained OVOCs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rissanen, K; Hölttä, T; Bäck, J

    2018-04-20

    Most plant-based emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are considered mainly temperature dependent. However, certain oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) have high water solubility; thus, also stomatal conductance could regulate their emissions from shoots. Due to their water solubility and sources in stem and roots, it has also been suggested that their emissions could be affected by transport in xylem sap. Yet, further understanding on the role of transport has been lacking until present. We used shoot-scale long-term dynamic flux data from Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) to analyse the effects of transpiration and transport in xylem sap flow on emissions of three water soluble OVOC: methanol, acetone and acetaldehyde. We found a direct effect of transpiration on the shoot emissions of the three OVOCs. The emissions were best explained by a regression model that combined linear transpiration and exponential temperature effects. In addition, a structural equation model indicated that stomatal conductance affects emissions mainly indirectly, by regulating transpiration. A part of temperature's effect is also indirect. The tight coupling of shoot emissions to transpiration clearly evidences that these OVOCs are transported in xylem sap from their sources in roots and stem to leaves and to ambient air. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  3. Deep vein thrombosis of the leg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Eun Hee; Rhee, Kwang Woo; Jeon, Suk Chul; Joo, Kyung Bin; Lee, Seung Ro; Seo, Heung Suk; Hahm, Chang Kok [College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1987-04-15

    Ascending contrast venography is the definitive standard method for the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities. Authors analysed 22 cases of DVT clinically and radiographically. 1.The patients ranged in age from 15 to 70 yrs and the most prevalent age group was 7th decade (31%). There was an equal distribution of males and females. 2.In 11 cases of 22 cases, variable etiologic factors were recognized, such as abdominal surgery, chronic bedridden state, local trauma on the leg, pregnancy, postpartum, Behcet's syndrome, iliac artery aneurysm, and chronic medication of estrogen. 3.Nineteen cases out of 22 cases showed primary venographic signs of DVT, such as well-defined filling defect in opacified veins and narrowed, irregularly filled venous lumen. In only 3 cases, the diagnosis of DVT was base upon the segmental nonvisualization of deep veins with good opacification of proximal and distal veins and presence of collaterals. 4.Extent of thrombosis: 3 cases were confined to calf vein, 4 cases extended to femoral vein, and 15 cases had involvement above iliac vein. 5.In 17 cases involving relatively long segment of deep veins, propagation pattern of thrombus was evaluated by its radiologic morphology according to the age of thrombus: 9 cases suggested central or antegrade propagation pattern and 8 cases, peripheral or retrograde pattern. 6.None of 22 cases showed clinical evidence of pulmonary embolism. The cause of the rarity of pulmonary embolism in Korean in presumed to be related to the difference in major involving site and propagation pattern of DVT in the leg.

  4. Deep vein thrombosis of the leg

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Eun Hee; Rhee, Kwang Woo; Jeon, Suk Chul; Joo, Kyung Bin; Lee, Seung Ro; Seo, Heung Suk; Hahm, Chang Kok

    1987-01-01

    Ascending contrast venography is the definitive standard method for the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities. Authors analysed 22 cases of DVT clinically and radiographically. 1.The patients ranged in age from 15 to 70 yrs and the most prevalent age group was 7th decade (31%). There was an equal distribution of males and females. 2.In 11 cases of 22 cases, variable etiologic factors were recognized, such as abdominal surgery, chronic bedridden state, local trauma on the leg, pregnancy, postpartum, Behcet's syndrome, iliac artery aneurysm, and chronic medication of estrogen. 3.Nineteen cases out of 22 cases showed primary venographic signs of DVT, such as well-defined filling defect in opacified veins and narrowed, irregularly filled venous lumen. In only 3 cases, the diagnosis of DVT was base upon the segmental nonvisualization of deep veins with good opacification of proximal and distal veins and presence of collaterals. 4.Extent of thrombosis: 3 cases were confined to calf vein, 4 cases extended to femoral vein, and 15 cases had involvement above iliac vein. 5.In 17 cases involving relatively long segment of deep veins, propagation pattern of thrombus was evaluated by its radiologic morphology according to the age of thrombus: 9 cases suggested central or antegrade propagation pattern and 8 cases, peripheral or retrograde pattern. 6.None of 22 cases showed clinical evidence of pulmonary embolism. The cause of the rarity of pulmonary embolism in Korean in presumed to be related to the difference in major involving site and propagation pattern of DVT in the leg

  5. Bilateral meandering pulmonary veins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thupili, Chakradhar R.; Udayasankar, Unni [Pediatric Imaging, Imaging Institute Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH (United States); Renapurkar, Rahul [Imaging Institute Cleveland Clinic, Thoracic Imaging, L10, Cleveland, OH (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Meandering pulmonary veins is a rare clinical entity that can be mistaken for more complex congenital syndromes such as hypogenetic lung syndrome. We report imaging findings in a rare incidentally detected case of bilateral meandering pulmonary veins. We briefly discuss the role of imaging in diagnosing this condition, with particular emphasis on contrast-enhanced CT. (orig.)

  6. Effects of dormancy progression and low-temperature response on changes in the sorbitol concentration in xylem sap of Japanese pear during winter season.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Akiko; Sugiura, Toshihiko; Sakamoto, Daisuke; Moriguchi, Takaya

    2013-04-01

    In order to elucidate which physiological event(s) are involved in the seasonal changes of carbohydrate dynamics during winter, we examined the effects of different low temperatures on the carbohydrate concentrations of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm.) Nakai). For four winter seasons, large increases in the sorbitol concentration of shoot xylem sap occurred during mid- to late December, possibly due to the endodormancy completion and low-temperature responses. When trees were kept at 15 °C from 3 November to 3 December in order to postpone the initiation and completion of chilling accumulation that would break endodormancy, sorbitol accumulation in xylem sap was always higher from trees with sufficient chilling accumulation than from trees that received insufficient chilling. However, an additional increase in xylem sap sorbitol occurred around late December in trees regardless of whether their chilling accumulation naturally progressed or was postponed. To examine different temperature effects more closely, we compared the carbohydrate concentrations of trees subjected to either 6 or 0 °C treatment. The sorbitol concentration in xylem sap tremendously increased at 0 °C treatment compared with 6 °C treatment. However, an additional increase in xylem sap sorbitol occurred at both the temperatures when sufficient chilling accumulated with a peak coinciding with the peak expression in shoots of the sorbitol transporter gene (PpSOT2). Interestingly, the total carbohydrate concentration of shoots tremendously increased with exposure to 0 °C compared with exposure to 6 °C, but was not affected by the amount of accumulated chilling. Instead, as chilling accumulated the ratio of sorbitol to total soluble sugars in shoots increased. We presumed that carbohydrates in the shoot tissues may be converted to sorbitol and loaded into the xylem sap so that the sorbitol accumulation patterns were synchronized with the progression of dormancy, whereas the total

  7. The veining phenomenon in unalloyed plutonium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, J.S.

    1976-01-01

    An investigation has been made of the veining phenomenon in unalloyed plutonium. The surface markings, or veins, which are sometimes seen on α-phase plutonium samples, arise as a result of the β→α transformation. As far as is known, this veining is unrivalled in its scale and form as compared with the solid state surface transformation effects shown by any other metal. The phenomenon has been explained by the application of the Le Chatelier principle to the phase change. In this instance, the large (10%) volume contraction associated with the β→α reaction and the anisotropy of the nonoclinic α-phase structure, account for the fact that the veins are so prominent in plutonium. On the basis of the proposed model, the veins can only form at temperatures where the transformation mechanism is non-martensitic. (Auth.)

  8. Unusual termination of the right testicular vein | Woldeyes | Anatomy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The testicular veins are formed by the veins emerging from the testis and epididymis forming the pampiniform venous plexus. The right testicular vein drains into inferior vena cava and the left testicular vein to the left renal vein. Testicular veins display a great variability with regard to their number, course and sites of ...

  9. An unusual case: right proximal ureteral compression by the ovarian vein and distal ureteral compression by the external iliac vein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Halil Ibrahim Serin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A 32-years old woman presented to the emergency room of Bozok University Research Hospital with right renal colic. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT showed compression of the proximal ureter by the right ovarian vein and compression of the right distal ureter by the right external iliac vein. To the best of our knowledge, right proximal ureteral compression by the ovarian vein together with distal ureteral compression by the external iliac vein have not been reported in the literature. Ovarian vein and external iliac vein compression should be considered in patients presenting to the emergency room with renal colic or low back pain and a dilated collecting system.

  10. Hydrogen isotope ratios of clay minerals constituting clay veins found in granitic rocks in Hiroshima Prefecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitagawa, Ryuji; Kakitani, Satoru; Kuroda, Yoshimatsu; Matsuo, Sadao; Suzuoki, Tetsuro.

    1980-01-01

    The deuterium content of the constitutional and interlayer water extracted from the clay minerals (illite, montmorillonite, interstratified illite-montmorillonite mineral, kaolinite, halloysite) constituting the clay veins found in the granitic rocks in Hiroshima Prefecture was measured. The clay minerals were heated at 270 deg C to extract the interlayer water, then heated to 1,400 or 1,500 deg C to extract the constitutional water. The deuterium content of the local surface water collected from sampling points was measured. In the clay veins formed along perpendicular joints, the constituent clay minerals change from lower to upper part: illite → montmorillonite → kaolinite → halloysite. The deuterium content values of the constitutional water for illite and montmorillonite were estimated to be -67 to -69% and -86 to -89%, respectively. The deuterium content values of the constitutional water for halloysite range from -68 to -80% and for kaolinite from -63 to -67%. (J.P.N.)

  11. The accumulation pattern of ferruginol in the heartwood-forming Cryptomeria japonica xylem as determined by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and quantity analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroda, Katsushi; Fujiwara, Takeshi; Hashida, Koh; Imai, Takanori; Kushi, Masayoshi; Saito, Kaori; Fukushima, Kazuhiko

    2014-01-01

    Background and Aims Heartwood formation is a unique phenomenon of tree species. Although the accumulation of heartwood substances is a well-known feature of the process, the accumulation mechanism remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the accumulation process of ferruginol, a predominant heartwood substance of Cryptomeria japonica, in heartwood-forming xylem. Methods The radial accumulation pattern of ferruginol was examined from sapwood and through the intermediate wood to the heartwood by direct mapping using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). The data were compared with quantitative results obtained from a novel method of gas chromatography analysis using laser microdissection sampling and with water distribution obtained from cryo-scanning electron microscopy. Key Results Ferruginol initially accumulated in the middle of the intermediate wood, in the earlywood near the annual ring boundary. It accumulated throughout the entire earlywood in the inner intermediate wood, and in both the earlywood and the latewood in the heartwood. The process of ferruginol accumulation continued for more than eight annual rings. Ferruginol concentration peaked at the border between the intermediate wood and heartwood, while the concentration was less in the latewood compared wiht the earlywood in each annual ring. Ferruginol tended to accumulate around the ray parenchyma cells. In addition, at the border between the intermediate wood and heartwood, the accumulation was higher in areas without water than in areas with water. Conclusions TOF-SIMS clearly revealed ferruginol distribution at the cellular level. Ferruginol accumulation begins in the middle of intermediate wood, initially in the earlywood near the annual ring boundary, then throughout the entire earlywood, and finally across to the whole annual ring in the heartwood. The heterogeneous timing of ferruginol accumulation could be related to the distribution of ray parenchyma cells

  12. Investigation of adverse events associated with an off-label use of arterial stents and CE-marked iliac vein stents in the iliac vein: insights into developing a better iliac vein stent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shida, Takuya; Umezu, Mitsuo; Iwasaki, Kiyotaka

    2018-06-01

    We analyzed the adverse events associated with an off-label use of arterial stents and CE-marked iliac vein stents for the treatment of iliac venous thromboembolism and investigated their relationships with the anatomical features of the iliac vein, to gain insights into the development of a better iliac vein stent. Reports of adverse events following the use of stents in the iliac vein were retrieved from the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database that contain suspected device-associated complications reported to the Food and Drug Administration. Data from 2006 to 2016 were investigated. The literature analysis was also conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science focusing on English articles published up to 4 October 2016. The analysis of 88 adverse events from the MAUDE database and 182 articles from the literature revealed that a higher number of adverse events had been reported following the use of arterial stents in the iliac vein compared to CE-marked iliac vein stents. While stent migration and shortening were reported only for the arterial stents, stent fracture and compression occurred regardless of the stent type, even though a vein does not pulsate. A study of the anatomical features of the iliac vein implies that bending, compression, and kink loads are applied to the iliac vein stents in vivo. For designing, developing, and pre-clinical testing of stents intended for use in the iliac vein, the above mechanical load environments induced by the anatomical features should be considered.

  13. Preoperative mapping of the saphenous vein

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levi-Mazloum, Niels Donald; Sillesen, H; Nielsen, Tina G

    1995-01-01

    A consecutive series of 92 patients had their greater saphenous vein assessed with duplex ultrasound scanning prior to planned infrainguinal bypass procedures. A naturally occurring optimal vein diameter was discovered. It was significantly correlated with higher postoperative ankle-brachial pres......-brachial pressure index (ABI) and lesser early postoperative thrombosis. A significant linear regression was found between the pre and postoperative vein diameter....

  14. The CT appearance of the superior intercostal veins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lund, G.

    1982-01-01

    The CT appearance of the superior intercostal veins is described. The veins are more frequently seen on the right side. The right superior intercostal vein should not be misinterpreted as a paraspinal mass when it is large or bulges into the contour of the right lung. A case of stenosis of the left brachiocephalic vein is shown, where the left superior intercostal vein serves as a collateral. (orig.)

  15. Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varix draining via the left inferior phrenic vein into the left hepatic vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibukuro, Kenji; Mori, Koichi; Tsukiyama, Toshitaka; Inoue, Yoshihiro; Iwamoto, Yukako; Tagawa, Kazumi

    1999-01-01

    We encountered a patient with gastric varix draining not via the usual left suprarenal vein but via the left inferior phrenic vein joining the left hepatic vein. Transfemoral balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) of the varix was performed under balloon occlusion of the left inferior phrenic vein via the left hepatic vein and retrograde injection of the sclerosing agent (5% of ethanolamine oleate) into the gastric varix. Disappearance of the gastric varix was confirmed on endoscopic examination 2 months later.

  16. The design and fabrication of two portal vein flow phantoms by different methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yunker, Bryan E., E-mail: bryan.yunker@ucdenver.edu; Lanning, Craig J.; Shandas, Robin; Hunter, Kendall S. [Department of Bioengineering, University of Colorado – Denver/Anschutz, 12700 East 19th Avenue, MS 8607, Aurora, Colorado 80045 (United States); Dodd, Gerald D., E-mail: gerald.dodd@ucdenver.edu; Chang, Samuel; Scherzinger, Ann L. [Department of Radiology, University of Colorado – SOM, 12401 East 17th Avenue, Mail Stop L954, Aurora, Colorado 80045 (United States); Chen, S. James, E-mail: james.chen@ucdenver.edu [Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Colorado 80045 and Department of Medicine/Cardiology, University of Colorado – SOM, 12401 East 17th Avenue, Mail Stop B132, Aurora, Colorado 80045 (United States); Feng, Yusheng, E-mail: yusheng.feng@utsa.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas – San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, Mail Stop: AET 2.332, San Antonio, Texas 78249–0670 (United States)

    2014-02-15

    Purpose: This study outlines the design and fabrication techniques for two portal vein flow phantoms. Methods: A materials study was performed as a precursor to this phantom fabrication effort and the desired material properties are restated for continuity. A three-dimensional portal vein pattern was created from the Visual Human database. The portal vein pattern was used to fabricate two flow phantoms by different methods with identical interior surface geometry using computer aided design software tools and rapid prototyping techniques. One portal flow phantom was fabricated within a solid block of clear silicone for use on a table with Ultrasound or within medical imaging systems such as MRI, CT, PET, or SPECT. The other portal flow phantom was fabricated as a thin walled tubular latex structure for use in water tanks with Ultrasound imaging. Both phantoms were evaluated for usability and durability. Results: Both phantoms were fabricated successfully and passed durability criteria for flow testing in the next project phase. Conclusions: The fabrication methods and materials employed for the study yielded durable portal vein phantoms.

  17. Structures of Bordered Pits Potentially Contributing to Isolation of a Refilled Vessel from Negative Xylem Pressure in Stems of Morus australis Poir.: Testing of the Pit Membrane Osmosis and Pit Valve Hypotheses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ooeda, Hiroki; Terashima, Ichiro; Taneda, Haruhiko

    2017-02-01

    Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanism preventing the refilling vessel water from being drained to the neighboring functional vessels under negative pressure. The pit membrane osmosis hypothesis proposes that the xylem parenchyma cells release polysaccharides that are impermeable to the intervessel pit membranes into the refilling vessel; this osmotically counteracts the negative pressure, thereby allowing the vessel to refill. The pit valve hypothesis proposes that gas trapped within intervessel bordered pits isolates the refilling vessel water from the surrounding functional vessels. Here, using the single-vessel method, we assessed these hypotheses in shoots of mulberry (Morus australis Poir.). First, we confirmed the occurrence of xylem refilling under negative pressure in the potted mulberry saplings. To examine the pit membrane osmosis hypothesis, we estimated the semi-permeability of pit membranes for molecules of various sizes and found that the pit membranes were not semi-permeable to polyethylene glycol of molecular mass osmosis mechanism in mulberry would be unrealistically large. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Environment of ore deposition in the creede mining district, San Juan Mountains, Colorado: Part V. Epithermal mineralization from fluid mixing in the OH vein

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayba, D.O.

    1997-01-01

    Detailed fluid inclusion studies on coarse-grained sphalerite from the OH vein, Creede, Colorado, have shown that the abrupt color changes between growth zones correspond to abrupt changes in the nature of the ore fluids. Within each growth zone, however, the composition of the fluids remained constant. The base of a distinctive orange-brown growth zone marks a sharp increase in both temperature and salinity relative to the preceding yellow-white zone. The orange-brown growth zone can be correlated along much of the vein and is believed to represent a time-stratigraphic interval. Along the vein, temperatures and salinities of fluid inclusions within this interval show a systematic decrease from about 285??C and 11.5 wt percent NaCl equiv near the base of the vein to about 250??C and 8 wt percent NaCl equiv, respectively, near the top of the vein. The iron concentration of this sphalerite growth zone shows a similar pattern, decreasing from about 2.8 to 1.2 mole percent FeS. When plotted on an enthalpy-salinity diagram, the fluid inclusion data define a spatial trend indicating the progressive mixing of deeply circulating hydrothermal brines with overlying, dilute ground waters. The hydrothermal brines entered the OH vein from below at a temperature, salinity, and density of approximately 285??C, 11.5 wt percent NaCl equiv, and 860 kg/m3, respectively, whereas the overlying ground waters appear to have been preheated to roughly 150??C and had an assumed salinity of 0 wt percent and a density of 920 kg/m3. The greater density of the heated ground water promoted mixing with the hydrothermal brine within the open fractures, causing sphalerite deposition. Although there were also episodes of boiling during vein mineralization, boiling appears unimportant for this sphalerite. Isotopic evidence and geochemical modeling studies also indicate that mixing was the depositional mechanism for sphalerite. An important aspect of the mixing hydrology of the Creede system involves

  19. Vein Patch Closure Using Below the Knee Greater Saphenous Vein for Femoral Endarterectomy Procedures is Not Always a Safe Choice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Berner

    Full Text Available : Background: The complication of vein patch rupture is well described after carotid patch angioplasty; however, there is a paucity of data about the safety of vein patch closure in the setting of femoral endarterectomy. Methods/results: From May 2012 to May 2015, 115 femoral endarterectomies with patch closure were performed. A patch rupture occurred in three cases (2.6% with a mortality rate of 66% (2/3. In all cases the greater saphenous vein below the knee was used as patch material. Discussion/conclusion: Vein patches, particularly from small calibre veins, should be excluded in femoral endarterectomy procedures as they pose a substantial risk of rupture. Keywords: Angioplasty, Patch rupture, Femoral artery, Patch, Great saphenous vein

  20. Varicose Veins: Role of Mechanotransduction of Venous Hypertension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atta, Hussein M.

    2012-01-01

    Varicose veins affect approximately one-third of the adult population and result in significant psychological, physical, and financial burden. Nevertheless, the molecular pathogenesis of varicose vein formation remains unidentified. Venous hypertension exerted on veins of the lower extremity is considered the principal factor in varicose vein formation. The role of mechanotransduction of the high venous pressure in the pathogenesis of varicose vein formation has not been adequately investigated despite a good progress in understanding the mechanomolecular mechanisms involved in transduction of high blood pressure in the arterial wall. Understanding the nature of the mechanical forces, the mechanosensors and mechanotransducers in the vein wall, and the downstream signaling pathways will provide new molecular targets for the prevention and treatment of varicose veins. This paper summarized the current understanding of mechano-molecular pathways involved in transduction of hemodynamic forces induced by blood pressure and tries to relate this information to setting of venous hypertension in varicose veins. PMID:22489273

  1. [Deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandoval-Chagoya, Gloria Alejandra; Laniado-Laborín, Rafael

    2013-01-01

    Background: despite the proven effectiveness of preventive therapy for deep vein thrombosis, a significant proportion of patients at risk for thromboembolism do not receive prophylaxis during hospitalization. Our objective was to determine the adherence to thrombosis prophylaxis guidelines in a general hospital as a quality control strategy. Methods: a random audit of clinical charts was conducted at the Tijuana General Hospital, Baja California, Mexico, to determine the degree of adherence to deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis guidelines. The instrument used was the Caprini's checklist for thrombosis risk assessment in adult patients. Results: the sample included 300 patient charts; 182 (60.7 %) were surgical patients and 118 were medical patients. Forty six patients (15.3 %) received deep vein thrombosis pharmacologic prophylaxis; 27.1 % of medical patients received deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis versus 8.3 % of surgical patients (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: our results show that adherence to DVT prophylaxis at our hospital is extremely low. Only 15.3 % of our patients at risk received treatment, and even patients with very high risk received treatment in less than 25 % of the cases. We have implemented strategies to increase compliance with clinical guidelines.

  2. Anomalous adrenal vein anatomy complicating the evaluation of primary hyperaldosteronism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaitlin M. Ford, BS

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Adrenal vein development in utero occurs concurrently with the development of the inferior vena cava, the renal veins, and the gonadal veins. The embryologic formation of these veins involves communication of various venous systems. Although the left adrenal-renal vein complex is most commonly described as a shared emptying of the left adrenal vein and the left inferior phrenic vein into the left renal vein, there have been reports of numerous anatomic variations of this complex. In this report, we present a case of a rare variant of the left adrenal vein, in which the left adrenal vein empties into the left gonadal vein, which takes an atypical course superolateral to the left kidney.

  3. On dynamics of uranium vein mineralization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrosyan, R.V.

    1981-01-01

    The formation of urnaium vein deposits and the essence of consanguinity of the mineralization and wall metasomatites are considered. The formation of uranium mineralization is analysed from the positions of Korzhinsky D. S. : the formation of metasomatite aureole and associated vein ores take place as a result of the development of one solution flow while the formation of mineral vein associations occurs on the background of contineous filtration of the solution during metasomato is due to a repeated (pulse) half-opening of fractures and their filling with a part of filtrating solution. The analysis of the available information on the example of two different uranium manifestations permits to reveal certain relations both in the character of wall rock alterations and between the metasomatosis and the formation of ore minerals in veins. The conclusion is made that spatial-time correlations of vein formations with wall metasomatites attest that the pulse formation of ores in veinlets occurs on the background and in interrelation with a consecutive precipitation of components in the aureole volume. The analysis of element migration dynamics in wall aureole carried out from the positions of the Korzhinsky hypothesis of the advance wave of acid components that takes into account the interaction of continuous and pulse mechanisms of solution movement permits to avoid contradictions when interpreting the processes of wall rock alterations and vein ore-forming, and permits to make a common scheme of vein ore-genesis [ru

  4. A Morphological Insight of the Femoral Vein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferreira AH

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available A total of 13 cadavers (12 men and 1 women of different age group were used for the study with the purpose to determine the prevalence of femoral vein duplication. Lower limb regions (26 sides were carefully dissected as per the standard dissection procedure. Femoral vein (unitruncular was found in 96.15% of specimen. Bitruncular configurations (total bifidity was found in a male cadaver of 75 years of age (3.85%. In the right lower limb, 6.5 cms below the inguinal ligament the femoral vein - lateral ramus received the lateral circumflex femoral vein, and the medial circumflex femoral vein, and the lateral and medial ramii formed a common venous trunk. Knowledge of the truncular venous variations is important to recognize and avoid potential errors in diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis of the femoral vein, in the case of an occluded duplicated trunk.

  5. Varicose Vein Treatment (Endovenous Ablation of Varicose Veins)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... associated veins. top of page What are the benefits vs. risks? Benefits No surgical incision is needed—only a small ... risk of infection. The chance of infection requiring antibiotic treatment appears to be less than one in ...

  6. Preduodenal portal vein: its surgical significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makey, D A; Bowen, J C

    1978-11-01

    Preduodenal portal vein is a rare anatomical variant which may be one of many anomalies in the neonate with duodenal "atresia." Preduodenal portal vein also may be an occasional finding in an adult undergoing biliary, gastric, or pancreatic surgery. Awareness and recognition of the anomaly are essential for the avoidance of injury during such operations. We report here a symptomless patient whose preduodenal portal vein was discovered at cholecystectomy.

  7. Seasonal transfer of oxygen isotopes from precipitation and soil to the tree ring: source water versus needle water enrichment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treydte, Kerstin; Boda, Sonja; Graf Pannatier, Elisabeth; Fonti, Patrick; Frank, David; Ullrich, Bastian; Saurer, Matthias; Siegwolf, Rolf; Battipaglia, Giovanna; Werner, Willy; Gessler, Arthur

    2014-05-01

    For accurate interpretation of oxygen isotopes in tree rings (δ(18) O), it is necessary to disentangle the mechanisms underlying the variations in the tree's internal water cycle and to understand the transfer of source versus leaf water δ(18) O to phloem sugars and stem wood. We studied the seasonal transfer of oxygen isotopes from precipitation and soil water through the xylem, needles and phloem to the tree rings of Larix decidua at two alpine sites in the Lötschental (Switzerland). Weekly resolved δ(18) O records of precipitation, soil water, xylem and needle water, phloem organic matter and tree rings were developed. Week-to-week variations in needle-water (18) O enrichment were strongly controlled by weather conditions during the growing season. These short-term variations were, however, not significantly fingerprinted in tree-ring δ(18) O. Instead, seasonal trends in tree-ring δ(18) O predominantly mirrored trends in the source water, including recent precipitation and soil water pools. Modelling results support these findings: seasonal tree-ring δ(18) O variations are captured best when the week-to-week variations of the leaf water signal are suppressed. Our results suggest that climate signals in tree-ring δ(18) O variations should be strongest at temperate sites with humid conditions and precipitation maxima during the growing season. © 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

  8. Multimodal ultrasonographic assessment of leiomyosarcoma of the femoral vein in a patient misdiagnosed as having deep vein thrombosis: A case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mei; Yan, Feng; Huang, Bin; Wu, Zhoupeng; Wen, Xiaorong

    2017-11-01

    Primary leiomyosarcoma (LMS) of the vein is a rare tumor that arises from the smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall and has an extremely poor prognosis. This tumor can occur in vessels such as the inferior vena cava, great saphenous vein, femoral vein, iliac vein, popliteal vein, and renal vein; the inferior vena cava is the most common site. LMS of the femoral vein can result in edema and pain in the lower extremity; therefore, it is not easy to be differentiated from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Moreover, virtually no studies have described the ultrasonographic features of LMS of the vein in detail. We present a case of a 55-year-old woman with LMS of the left femoral vein that was misdiagnosed as having deep vein thrombosis (DVT) on initial ultrasonographic examination. The patient began to experience edema and pain in her left leg seven months previously. She was diagnosed as having DVT on initial ultrasonographic examination, but the DVT treatment that she had received for 7 months failed to improve the status of her left lower limb. She subsequently underwent re-examination by means of a multimodal ultrasonographic imaging approach (regular B-mode imaging, color Doppler imaging, pulsed-wave Doppler imaging, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography), which confirmed a diagnosis of LMS. This patient was treated successfully with surgery. This case demonstrates that use of multiple ultrasonographic imaging techniques can be helpful to diagnose LMS accurately. Detection of vasculature in a dilated vein filled with a heterogeneous hypoechoic substance on ultrasonography is a sign of a tumor. The pitfall of misdiagnosing this tumor as DVT is a useful reminder.

  9. Duplication of the Portal Vein: A Case Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Sang Won; Shin, Hyeong Cheol; Jou, Sung Shick; Han, Jong Kyu; Kim, Il Young [Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-12-15

    The duplication of the portal vein is an uncommon congenital anomaly. To date, only four cases have been reported in the medical literature. This anomaly can cause portal hypertension in pediatric patients. In addition, duplication of the portal vein has various patterns of connection with a splenic vein or mesenteric veins, and it can lie anterior or posterior to the duodenum. We report the MDCT findings of an adult patient with duplication of the portal vein that was found incidentally

  10. Management of Post-Traumatic Phlegmasia Cerulea Dolens via Right-to-Left Femoral Vein to Femoral Vein Bypass (Palma Procedure).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dua, Anahita; Heller, Jennifer; Lee, Cheong

    2017-11-01

    Phlegmasia cerulea dolens (PCD) is a rare condition resulting from venous occlusion that impairs arterial flow. We report a rare case of post-traumatic PCD after ligation of the iliac vein with successful treatment by right-to-left femoral vein to femoral vein bypass using left great saphenous vein (Palma procedure). The clinical presentation, diagnostic process, and approach to management along with a literature review on the operative management of PCD are presented in this case report.

  11. Absent right superior caval vein in situs solitus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lytzen, Rebekka; Sundberg, Karin; Vejlstrup, Niels

    2015-01-01

    Introduction In up to 0.07% of the general population, the right anterior cardinal vein obliterates and the left remains open, creating an absent right superior caval vein and a persistent left superior caval vein. Absent right superior caval vein is associated with additional congenital heart...... disease in about half the patients. We wished to study the consequences of absent right superior caval vein as an incidental finding on prenatal ultrasonic malformation screening. Material and methods This is a retrospective case series study of all foetuses diagnosed with absent right superior caval vein...... no postnatal complications. All children were found to have healthy hearts at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In all cases, the findings proved to be a benign condition with no clinical manifestations or complications. Although isolated absent right superior caval vein does not seem to affect the outcome, associated...

  12. Finger vein extraction using gradient normalization and principal curvature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Joon Hwan; Song, Wonseok; Kim, Taejeong; Lee, Seung-Rae; Kim, Hee Chan

    2009-02-01

    Finger vein authentication is a personal identification technology using finger vein images acquired by infrared imaging. It is one of the newest technologies in biometrics. Its main advantage over other biometrics is the low risk of forgery or theft, due to the fact that finger veins are not normally visible to others. Extracting finger vein patterns from infrared images is the most difficult part in finger vein authentication. Uneven illumination, varying tissues and bones, and changes in the physical conditions and the blood flow make the thickness and brightness of the same vein different in each acquisition. Accordingly, extracting finger veins at their accurate positions regardless of their thickness and brightness is necessary for accurate personal identification. For this purpose, we propose a new finger vein extraction method which is composed of gradient normalization, principal curvature calculation, and binarization. As local brightness variation has little effect on the curvature and as gradient normalization makes the curvature fairly uniform at vein pixels, our method effectively extracts finger vein patterns regardless of the vein thickness or brightness. In our experiment, the proposed method showed notable improvement as compared with the existing methods.

  13. A comprehensive strategy for identifying long-distance mobile peptides in xylem sap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Satoru; Suzuki, Takamasa; Kawaguchi, Masayoshi; Higashiyama, Tetsuya; Matsubayashi, Yoshikatsu

    2015-11-01

    There is a growing awareness that secreted pemediate organ-to-organ communication in higher plants. Xylem sap peptidomics is an effective but challenging approach for identifying long-distance mobile peptides. In this study we developed a simple, gel-free purification system that combines o-chlorophenol extraction with HPLC separation. Using this system, we successfully identified seven oligopeptides from soybean xylem sap exudate that had one or more post-transcriptional modifications: glycosylation, sulfation and/or hydroxylation. RNA sequencing and quantitative PCR analyses showed that the peptide-encoding genes are expressed in multiple tissues. We further analyzed the long-distance translocation of four of the seven peptides using gene-encoding peptides with single amino acid substitutions, and identified these four peptides as potential root-to-shoot mobile oligopeptides. Promoter-GUS analysis showed that all four peptide-encoding genes were expressed in the inner tissues of the root endodermis. Moreover, we found that some of these peptide-encoding genes responded to biotic and/or abiotic factors. These results indicate that our purification system provides a comprehensive approach for effectively identifying endogenous small peptides and reinforce the concept that higher plants employ various peptides in root-to-shoot signaling. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Adventitial cystic disease of the common femoral vein presenting as deep vein thrombosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Kyun Kim

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Adventitial cystic disease of the common femoral vein is a rare condition. We herein report the case of a 50-year-old woman who presented with painless swelling in her left lower leg that resembled deep vein thrombosis. She underwent femoral exploration and excision of the cystic wall. The presentation, investigation, treatment, and pathology of this condition are discussed with a literature review.

  15. Immunogold scanning electron microscopy can reveal the polysaccharide architecture of xylem cell walls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yuliang; Juzenas, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) and immunogold transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are the two main techniques commonly used to detect polysaccharides in plant cell walls. Both are important in localizing cell wall polysaccharides, but both have major limitations, such as low resolution in IFM and restricted sample size for immunogold TEM. In this study, we have developed a robust technique that combines immunocytochemistry with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study cell wall polysaccharide architecture in xylem cells at high resolution over large areas of sample. Using multiple cell wall monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), this immunogold SEM technique reliably localized groups of hemicellulosic and pectic polysaccharides in the cell walls of five different xylem structures (vessel elements, fibers, axial and ray parenchyma cells, and tyloses). This demonstrates its important advantages over the other two methods for studying cell wall polysaccharide composition and distribution in these structures. In addition, it can show the three-dimensional distribution of a polysaccharide group in the vessel lateral wall and the polysaccharide components in the cell wall of developing tyloses. This technique, therefore, should be valuable for understanding the cell wall polysaccharide composition, architecture and functions of diverse cell types. PMID:28398585

  16. Stylet morphometrics and citrus leaf vein structure in relation to feeding behavior of the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri, vector of citrus huanglongbing bacterium.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    El-Desouky Ammar

    Full Text Available The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae, is the primary vector of the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (LAS associated with huanglongbing (HLB, citrus greening, considered the world's most serious disease of citrus. Stylet morphometrics of ACP nymphs and adults were studied in relation to citrus vein structure and to their putative (histologically verified feeding sites on Valencia orange leaves. ACP nymphs preferred to settle and feed on the lower (abaxial side of young leaves either on secondary veins or on the sides of the midrib, whereas adults preferred to settle and feed on the upper (adaxial or lower secondary veins of young or old leaves. Early instar nymphs can reach and probe the phloem probably because the distance to the phloem is considerably shorter in younger than in mature leaves, and is shorter from the sides of the midrib compared to that from the center. Additionally, the thick-walled 'fibrous ring' (sclerenchyma around the phloem, which may act as a barrier to ACP stylet penetration into the phloem, is more prominent in older than in younger leaves and in the center than on the sides of the midrib. The majority (80-90% of the salivary sheath termini produced by ACP nymphs and adults that reached a vascular bundle were associated with the phloem, whereas only 10-20% were associated with xylem vessels. Ultrastructural studies on ACP stylets and LAS-infected leaves suggested that the width of the maxillary food canal in first instar nymphs is wide enough for LAS bacteria to traverse during food ingestion (and LAS acquisition. However, the width of the maxillary salivary canal in these nymphs may not be wide enough to accommodate LAS bacteria during salivation (and LAS inoculation into host plants. This may explain the inability of early instar nymphs to transmit LAS/HLB in earlier reports.

  17. Augmented reality based real-time subcutaneous vein imaging system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Danni; Yang, Jian; Fan, Jingfan; Zhao, Yitian; Song, Xianzheng; Shen, Jianbing; Shao, Ling; Wang, Yongtian

    2016-07-01

    A novel 3D reconstruction and fast imaging system for subcutaneous veins by augmented reality is presented. The study was performed to reduce the failure rate and time required in intravenous injection by providing augmented vein structures that back-project superimposed veins on the skin surface of the hand. Images of the subcutaneous vein are captured by two industrial cameras with extra reflective near-infrared lights. The veins are then segmented by a multiple-feature clustering method. Vein structures captured by the two cameras are matched and reconstructed based on the epipolar constraint and homographic property. The skin surface is reconstructed by active structured light with spatial encoding values and fusion displayed with the reconstructed vein. The vein and skin surface are both reconstructed in the 3D space. Results show that the structures can be precisely back-projected to the back of the hand for further augmented display and visualization. The overall system performance is evaluated in terms of vein segmentation, accuracy of vein matching, feature points distance error, duration times, accuracy of skin reconstruction, and augmented display. All experiments are validated with sets of real vein data. The imaging and augmented system produces good imaging and augmented reality results with high speed.

  18. Personal authentication through dorsal hand vein patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Chih-Bin; Hao, Shu-Sheng; Lee, Jen-Chun

    2011-08-01

    Biometric identification is an emerging technology that can solve security problems in our networked society. A reliable and robust personal verification approach using dorsal hand vein patterns is proposed in this paper. The characteristic of the approach needs less computational and memory requirements and has a higher recognition accuracy. In our work, the near-infrared charge-coupled device (CCD) camera is adopted as an input device for capturing dorsal hand vein images, it has the advantages of the low-cost and noncontact imaging. In the proposed approach, two finger-peaks are automatically selected as the datum points to define the region of interest (ROI) in the dorsal hand vein images. The modified two-directional two-dimensional principal component analysis, which performs an alternate two-dimensional PCA (2DPCA) in the column direction of images in the 2DPCA subspace, is proposed to exploit the correlation of vein features inside the ROI between images. The major advantage of the proposed method is that it requires fewer coefficients for efficient dorsal hand vein image representation and recognition. The experimental results on our large dorsal hand vein database show that the presented schema achieves promising performance (false reject rate: 0.97% and false acceptance rate: 0.05%) and is feasible for dorsal hand vein recognition.

  19. Thrombosis of right ovarian vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forner, J.; Talens, A.; Flores, M.; Mendez, M.

    2001-01-01

    Ovarian vein thrombosis is a rare postpartum complication (0.1%). It can be fatal, since it can lead to sepsis, pulmonary thromboembolisms and inferior vena cava or renal vein thrombosis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are the techniques of choice for its diagnosis, while the value of ultrasound is limited due to its low sensitivity and specificity. We report the case of a woman who, during puerperium, developed thrombosis of right ovarian vein that presented clinical, ultrasonographic and computed tomographic features of appendicitis. We describe the radiological sings and stress the fact that this diagnosis should be suspected in puerperal women. (Author) 9 refs

  20. Inferring the source of evaporated waters using stable H and O isotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stable isotope ratios of H and O are widely used to identify the source of water, e.g., in aquifers, river runoff, soils, plant xylem, and plant-based beverages. In situations where the sampled water is partially evaporated, its isotope values will have evolved along an evaporati...

  1. Assessment and management of patients with varicose veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Louise

    Varicose veins are enlarged superficial veins found in the legs. This article explores the anatomy and physiology of the venous system to assist nurses to assess, manage and treat patients with varicose veins.

  2. Repression of BLADE-ON-PETIOLE genes by KNOX homeodomain protein BREVIPEDICELLUS is essential for differentiation of secondary xylem in Arabidopsis root.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woerlen, Natalie; Allam, Gamalat; Popescu, Adina; Corrigan, Laura; Pautot, Véronique; Hepworth, Shelley R

    2017-06-01

    Repression of boundary genes by KNOTTED1-like homeodomain transcription factor BREVIPEDICELLUS promotes the differentiation of phase II secondary xylem in Arabidopsis roots. Plant growth and development relies on the activity of meristems. Boundaries are domains of restricted growth that separate forming organs and the meristem. Class I KNOX homeodomain transcription factors are important regulators of meristem maintenance. Members of this class including BREVIDICELLUS also called KNOTTED-LIKE FROM ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA1 (BP/KNAT1) fulfill this function in part by spatially regulating boundary genes. The vascular cambium is a lateral meristem that allows for radial expansion of organs during secondary growth. We show here that BP/KNAT1 repression of boundary genes plays a crucial role in root secondary growth. In particular, exclusion of BLADE-ON-PETIOLE1/2 (BOP1/2) and other members of this module from xylem is required for the differentiation of lignified fibers and vessels during the xylem expansion phase of root thickening. These data reveal a previously undiscovered role for boundary genes in the root and shed light on mechanisms controlling wood development in trees.

  3. Deep vein thrombosis: a clinical review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kesieme EB

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Emeka Kesieme1, Chinenye Kesieme2, Nze Jebbin3, Eshiobo Irekpita1, Andrew Dongo11Department of Surgery, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria; 2Department of Paediatrics, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria; 3Department of Surgery, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port-Harcourt, NigeriaBackground: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT is the formation of blood clots (thrombi in the deep veins. It commonly affects the deep leg veins (such as the calf veins, femoral vein, or popliteal vein or the deep veins of the pelvis. It is a potentially dangerous condition that can lead to preventable morbidity and mortality.Aim: To present an update on the causes and management of DVT.Methods: A review of publications obtained from Medline search, medical libraries, and Google.Results: DVT affects 0.1% of persons per year. It is predominantly a disease of the elderly and has a slight male preponderance. The approach to making a diagnosis currently involves an algorithm combining pretest probability, D-dimer testing, and compression ultrasonography. This will guide further investigations if necessary. Prophylaxis is both mechanical and pharmacological. The goals of treatment are to prevent extension of thrombi, pulmonary embolism, recurrence of thrombi, and the development of complications such as pulmonary hypertension and post-thrombotic syndrome.Conclusion: DVT is a potentially dangerous condition with a myriad of risk factors. Prophylaxis is very important and can be mechanical and pharmacological. The mainstay of treatment is anticoagulant therapy. Low-molecular-weight heparin, unfractionated heparin, and vitamin K antagonists have been the treatment of choice. Currently anticoagulants specifically targeting components of the common pathway have been recommended for prophylaxis. These include fondaparinux, a selective indirect factor Xa inhibitor and the new oral selective direct thrombin inhibitors (dabigatran and selective

  4. Dual Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of Gastric Varix Draining into the Left Adrenal Vein and Left Inferior Phrenic Vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishida, Norifumi; Ninoi, Teruhisa; Kitayama, Toshiaki; Yamamoto, Akira; Sakai, Yukimasa; Sato, Kimihiko; Hamuro, Masao; Nakamura, Kenji; Inoue, Yuichi; Yamada, Ryusaku

    2004-01-01

    A 66-year-old woman with a gastric varix, draining into a dilated left adrenal vein and a left inferior phrenic vein, was treated with dual balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO). Under balloon occlusion of the left adrenal vein and the left inferior phrenic vein, retrograde injection of a sclerosant (5% ethanolamine oleate) into the gastric varix was performed. Two weeks later, disappearance of flow in the gastric varix was confirmed on endoscopic ultrasound examination

  5. Genesis of the vein-type tungsten mineralization at Nyakabingo (Rwanda) in the Karagwe-Ankole belt, Central Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewaele, S.; De Clercq, F.; Hulsbosch, N.; Piessens, K.; Boyce, A.; Burgess, R.; Muchez, Ph.

    2016-02-01

    The vein-type tungsten deposit at Nyakabingo in the central Tungsten belt of Rwanda is located in the eastern flank of the complex Bumbogo anticlinal structure. The host rock is composed of alternating sequences of sandstones, quartzites, and black pyritiferous metapelitic rocks. Two types of W-mineralized quartz veins have been observed: bedding-parallel and quartz veins that are at high angle to the bedding, which are termed crosscutting veins. Both vein types have been interpreted to have been formed in a late stage of a compressional deformation event. Both vein types are associated with small alteration zones, comprising silicification, tourmalinization, and muscovitization. Dating of muscovite crystals at the border of the veins resulted in a maximum age of 992.4 ± 1.5 Ma. This age is within error similar to the ages obtained for the specialized G4 granites (i.e., 986 ± 10 Ma). The W-bearing minerals formed during two different phases. The first phase is characterized by scheelite and massive wolframite, while the second phase is formed by ferberite pseudomorphs after scheelite. These minerals occur late in the evolution of the massive quartz veins, sometimes even in fractures that crosscut the veins. The ore minerals precipitated from a H2O-CO2-CH4-N2-NaCl-(KCl) fluid with low to moderate salinity (0.6-13.8 eq. wt% NaCl), and minimal trapping temperatures between 247 and 344 °C. The quartz veins have been crosscut by sulfide-rich veins. Based on the similar setting, mineralogy, stable isotope, and fluid composition, it is considered that both types of W-mineralized quartz veins formed during the same mineralizing event. Given the overlap in age between the G4 granites and the mineralized quartz veins, and the typical association of the W deposits in Rwanda, but also worldwide, with granite intrusions, W originated from the geochemically specialized G4 granites. Intense water-rock interaction and mixing with metamorphic fluids largely overprinted the

  6. Effects of climatic seasonality on the isotopic composition of evaporating soil waters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Benettin

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Stable water isotopes are widely used in ecohydrology to trace the transport, storage, and mixing of water on its journey through landscapes and ecosystems. Evaporation leaves a characteristic signature on the isotopic composition of the water that is left behind, such that in dual-isotope space, evaporated waters plot below the local meteoric water line (LMWL that characterizes precipitation. Soil and xylem water samples can often plot below the LMWL as well, suggesting that they have also been influenced by evaporation. These soil and xylem water samples frequently plot along linear trends in dual-isotope space. These trend lines are often termed "evaporation lines" and their intersection with the LMWL is often interpreted as the isotopic composition of the precipitation source water. Here we use numerical experiments based on established isotope fractionation theory to show that these trend lines are often by-products of the seasonality in evaporative fractionation and in the isotopic composition of precipitation. Thus, they are often not true evaporation lines, and, if interpreted as such, can yield highly biased estimates of the isotopic composition of the source water.

  7. Recurrence of superficial vein thrombosis in patients with varicose veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karathanos, Christos; Spanos, Konstantinos; Saleptsis, Vassileios; Tsezou, Aspasia; Kyriakou, Despina; Giannoukas, Athanasios D

    2016-08-01

    To investigate which factors other than history of superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) are associated with recurrent spontaneous SVT episodes in patients with varicose veins (VVs). Patients with a history of spontaneous SVT and VVs were followed up for a mean period of 55 months. Demographics, comorbidities, and thrombophilia screening test were analyzed. Patients were grouped according to the clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology classification. A multiple logistic regression analysis with the forward likelihood ratio method was undertaken. Thirteen patients out of 97 had a recurrence SVT episode during the follow-up period. All those patients were identified to have a thrombophilia defect. Protein C and S, antithrombin, and plasminogen deficiencies were more frequently present in patients without recurrence. Gene mutations were present in 38% in the nonrecurrence group and 77% in the recurrence group. After logistic regression analysis, patients with dislipidemia and mutation in prothrombin G20210A (FII) had an increased risk for recurrence by 5.4-fold and 4.6-fold, respectively. No deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism occurred. Dislipidemia and gene mutations of F II are associated with SVT recurrence in patients with VVs. A selection of patients may benefit from anticoagulation in the short term and from VVs intervention in the long term. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. Endovenous mechanochemical ablation of great saphenous vein incompetence using the ClariVein device: a safety study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eekeren, R. van; Boersma, D.; Elias, S.; Holewijn, S.; Werson, D.A.; Vries, J.P. de; Reijnen, M.M.P.J.

    2011-01-01

    PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of endovenous mechanochemical ablation (MOCA) for the treatment of great saphenous vein (GSV) incompetence. METHODS: The newly developed ClariVein device uses a technique that combines mechanical endothelial damage using a rotating wire with the

  9. Stem girdling affects the quantity of CO2 transported in xylem as well as CO2 efflux from soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloemen, Jasper; Agneessens, Laura; Van Meulebroek, Lieven; Aubrey, Doug P; McGuire, Mary Anne; Teskey, Robert O; Steppe, Kathy

    2014-02-01

    There is recent clear evidence that an important fraction of root-respired CO2 is transported upward in the transpiration stream in tree stems rather than fluxing to the soil. In this study, we aimed to quantify the contribution of root-respired CO2 to both soil CO2 efflux and xylem CO2 transport by manipulating the autotrophic component of belowground respiration. We compared soil CO2 efflux and the flux of root-respired CO2 transported in the transpiration stream in girdled and nongirdled 9-yr-old oak trees (Quercus robur) to assess the impact of a change in the autotrophic component of belowground respiration on both CO2 fluxes. Stem girdling decreased xylem CO2 concentration, indicating that belowground respiration contributes to the aboveground transport of internal CO2 . Girdling also decreased soil CO2 efflux. These results confirmed that root respiration contributes to xylem CO2 transport and that failure to account for this flux results in inaccurate estimates of belowground respiration when efflux-based methods are used. This research adds to the growing body of evidence that efflux-based measurements of belowground respiration underestimate autotrophic contributions. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

  10. Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR venography for varicose veins of the calf

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohata, Yoshiko; Naito, Akira; Ito, Katuhide.

    1995-01-01

    2D time-of-flight MR venography (2D TOF MRV) was performed in 16 patients (25 calves) with varicose veins and 2 volunteers (4 calves), and compared with venography. Sequential SPGR (TR/TE/FA=45 ms/7 ms/60deg) transverse images and/or GRASS (TR/TE/FA=100 ms/13 ms/60deg) transverse images were obtained for MRV. Superior presaturation pulse (S-SAT) was placed in 21 calves, and 0.05 mmol/kg Gd-DTPA was used in all calves. Projection MRVs were generated with maximum intensity projection (MIP) reconstruction. Regarding sequence parameter, S-SAT was useful to eliminate signal from artery that would obscure the signal of deep veins. The detectability of deep veins was improved with the use of S-SAT. In the comparison with venography, MRV could more clearly demonstrate varicose veins more than 5 mm in diameter and their drainage veins than venography. But it could not so clearly demonstrate deep veins as venography. It could not detect fine varicose veins less than 5 mm in diameter and connecting veins with valve insufficiency. In the examination of varicose veins, detection of deep veins, large varicose veins and their main drainage veins is clinically important, because diagnosis of patency of deep veins and dilatation of the drainage veins is necessary to choose the treatment, concluding conservative therapy, stripping and sclerotherapy. However, detection of fine varicose veins and connecting veins are not so important because those veins seldom need treatment. MRV was not so suitable for detection of deep veins, but very useful for detection of varicose veins more than 5 mm in diameter and their main drainage veins. In conclusion, MRV is non-invasive and effective method in varicose veins of calf, and it can take the place of venography with the improvement of deep vein detectability. (author)

  11. Studying global change through investigation of the plastic responses of xylem anatomy in tree rings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonti, Patrick; von Arx, Georg; García-González, Ignacio; Eilmann, Britta; Sass-Klaassen, Ute; Gärtner, Holger; Eckstein, Dieter

    2010-01-01

    Variability in xylem anatomy is of interest to plant scientists because of the role water transport plays in plant performance and survival. Insights into plant adjustments to changing environmental conditions have mainly been obtained through structural and functional comparative studies between taxa or within taxa on contrasting sites or along environmental gradients. Yet, a gap exists regarding the study of hydraulic adjustments in response to environmental changes over the lifetimes of plants. In trees, dated tree-ring series are often exploited to reconstruct dynamics in ecological conditions, and recent work in which wood-anatomical variables have been used in dendrochronology has produced promising results. Environmental signals identified in water-conducting cells carry novel information reflecting changes in regional conditions and are mostly related to short, sub-annual intervals. Although the idea of investigating environmental signals through wood anatomical time series goes back to the 1960s, it is only recently that low-cost computerized image-analysis systems have enabled increased scientific output in this field. We believe that the study of tree-ring anatomy is emerging as a promising approach in tree biology and climate change research, particularly if complemented by physiological and ecological studies. This contribution presents the rationale, the potential, and the methodological challenges of this innovative approach.

  12. Leiomyosarcoma of the renal vein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lemos Gustavo C.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Leiomyosarcoma of the renal vein is a rare tumor of complex diagnosis. We presented a case of renal vein leiomyosarcoma detected in a routine study. The primary treatment was complete surgical removal of the mass. In cases where surgical removal is not possible the prognosis is poor, with high rates of local recurrence and distant spread.

  13. Ultrasound assessment of great saphenous vein insufficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chander RK

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Rajiv K Chander,1 Thomas S Monahan1,2 1Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 2Department of Surgery, Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA Abstract: Duplex ultrasonography is the ideal modality to assess great saphenous vein insufficiency. Duplex ultrasonography incorporates both gray scale images to delineate anatomy and color-Doppler imaging that visualizes the flow of blood in a structure. Assessment of great saphenous vein requires definition of the anatomy, augmentation of flow, evaluation for both superficial and deep vein thrombosis, and determining the presence of reflux. Currently, evolution in the treatment of reflux also relies on ultrasound for the treatment of the disease. Understanding the utilization of the ultrasound for the diagnosis and treatment of greater saphenous vein reflux is important for practitioners treating reflux disease. Keywords: duplex ultrasonography, small saphenous vein 

  14. Thermographic visualization of the superficial vein and extravasation using the temperature gradient produced by the injected materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Katsumasa; Sasaki, Tomonari; Ohga, Saiji; Yoshitake, Tadamasa; Terashima, Kotaro; Asai, Kaori; Matsumoto, Keiji; Shinoto, Makoto; Shioyama, Yoshiyuki; Nishie, Akihoro; Honda, Hiroshi

    2014-11-01

    There are few effective methods to detect or prevent the extravasation of injected materials such as chemotherapeutic agents and radiographic contrast materials. To investigate whether a thermographic camera could visualize the superficial vein and extravasation using the temperature gradient produced by the injected materials, an infrared thermographic camera with a high resolution of 0.04 °C was used. At the room temperature of 26 °C, thermal images and the time course of the temperature changes of a paraffin phantom embedded with rubber tubes (diameter 3.2 mm, wall thickness 0.8 mm) were evaluated after the tubes were filled with water at 15 °C or 25 °C. The rubber tubes were embedded at depths of 0 mm, 1.5 mm, and 3.0 mm from the surface of the phantom. Temperature changes were visualized in the areas of the phantom where the tubes were embedded. In general, changes were more clearly detected when greater temperature differences between the phantom and the water and shallower tube locations were employed. The temperature changes of the surface of a volunteer's arm were also examined after a bolus injection of physiological saline into the dorsal hand vein or the subcutaneous space. The injection of 5 ml room-temperature (26 °C) saline into the dorsal hand vein enabled the visualization of the vein. When 3 ml of room-temperature saline was injected through the vein into the subcutaneous space, extravasation was detected without any visualization of the vein. The subtraction image before and after the injection clearly showed the temperature changes induced by the saline. Thermography may thus be useful as a monitoring system to detect extravasation of the injected materials.

  15. Gonadal vein tumor thrombosis due to renal cell carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamidreza Haghighatkhah

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Renal cell carcinoma (RCC had a tendency to extend into the renal vein and inferior vena cava, while extension into the gonadal vein has been rarely reported. Gonadal vein tumor thrombosis appears as an enhancing filling defect within the dilated gonadal vein anterior to the psoas muscle and shows an enhancement pattern identical to that of the original tumor. The possibility of gonadal vein thrombosis should be kept in mind when looking at an imaging study of patients with RCC

  16. Identifikasi Pepper vein yellows virus yang Berasosiasi dengan Penyakit Yellow Vein Banding pada Tanaman Mentimun di Bali

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Dewa Nyoman Nyana

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Yellowing vein banding disease has been reported infecting cucurbit plants in Bali since 2014. Similar vein banding symptom on chilli pepper was observed previously, and early diagnosis indicated infection of Polerovirus. The objective of this research was to confirm the presence of Polerovirus infection on cucumber plant showing yellow vein banding symptom in Bali. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction – based detection method was conducted using specific primer pairs PeVYV-CP-F-BamH1/ PeVYV-CP-R-Pst1followed by sequencing and nucleotide sequence analysis.  Specific DNA fragments of ± 650 bp was successfully amplified from field samples.  Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the sequence has the highest similarity > 95% with Pepper vein yellow virus (PeVYV infecting chili pepper from Indonesia (Bali, and Rembang, Japan, and Greece.

  17. Elevated temperature and CO2 concentration effects on xylem anatomy of Scots pine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilpelainen, A.; Gerendiain, A.Z.; Luostarinen, K.; Peltola, H.; Kellomaki, S.

    2007-01-01

    The effects of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations and elevated temperatures on the xylem anatomy of 20-year old Scots pine trees were investigated. The experiment was conducted in 16 chambers containing 4 trees each with a factorial combination of both ambient and elevated CO 2 concentrations and 2 different temperature regimes. CO 2 concentrations were doubled with a corresponding increase of between 2 and 6 degrees C according to each season over a period of 6 years. The study showed that elevated CO 2 concentrations increased the ring width in 4 of the 6 analyzed treatment years. Earlywood width increased during the first 2 years of the experiment, while latewood width increased during the third year of the study. The study also showed that the tracheid walls in both the latewood and earlywood samples were thicker when either temperature levels or CO 2 levels were increased. It was noted that combined CO 2 and temperature elevations resulted in thinner tracheid walls. However, latewood tracheid lumen diameters were larger in all CO 2 and temperature treatments than trees grown in ambient conditions. It was concluded that xylem anatomy was impacted more by increases in temperature than by elevated CO 2 concentrations. 48 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs

  18. Endovascular management for significant iatrogenic portal vein bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jong Woo; Shin, Ji Hoon; Park, Jonathan K; Yoon, Hyun-Ki; Ko, Gi-Young; Gwon, Dong Il; Kim, Jin Hyoung; Sung, Kyu-Bo

    2017-11-01

    Background Despite conservative treatment, hemorrhage from an intrahepatic branch of the portal vein can cause hemodynamic instability requiring urgent intervention. Purpose To retrospectively report the outcomes of hemodynamically significant portal vein bleeding after endovascular management. Material and Methods During a period of 15 years, four patients (2 men, 2 women; median age, 70.5 years) underwent angiography and embolization for iatrogenic portal vein bleeding. Causes of hemorrhage, angiographic findings, endovascular treatment, and complications were reported. Results Portal vein bleeding occurred after percutaneous liver biopsy (n = 2), percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (n = 1), and percutaneous cholecystostomy (n = 1). The median time interval between angiography and percutaneous procedure was 5 h (range, 4-240 h). Common hepatic angiograms including indirect mesenteric portograms showed active portal vein bleeding into the peritoneal cavity with (n = 1) or without (n = 2) an arterioportal (AP) fistula, and portal vein pseudoaneurysm alone with an AP fistula (n = 1). Successful transcatheter arterial embolization (n = 2) or percutaneous transhepatic portal vein embolization (n = 2) was performed. Embolic materials were n-butyl cyanoacrylate alone (n = 2) or in combination with gelatin sponge particles and coils (n = 2). There were no major treatment-related complications or patient mortality within 30 days. Conclusion Patients with symptomatic or life-threatening portal vein bleeding following liver-penetrating procedures can successfully be managed with embolization.

  19. An improved method and data analysis for ultrasound acoustic emissions and xylem vulnerability in conifer wood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolkerstorfer, Silviya V; Rosner, Sabine; Hietz, Peter

    2012-10-01

    The vulnerability of the xylem to cavitation is an important trait in plant drought resistance and has been quantified by several methods. We present a modified method for the simultaneous measurement of cavitations, recorded as ultrasound acoustic emissions (UAEs), and the water potential, measured with a thermocouple psychrometer, in small samples of conifer wood. Analyzing the amplitude of the individual signals showed that a first phase, during which the mean amplitude increased, was followed by a second phase with distinctly lower signal amplitudes. We provide a method to separate the two groups of signals and show that for many samples plausible vulnerability curves require rejecting late low-energy UAEs. These very likely do not result from cavitations. This method was used to analyze the differences between juvenile wood, and early and late mature wood in Picea abies (L.) Karst. Juvenile earlywood was more resistant to cavitation than mature earlywood or latewood, which we relate to the tracheid anatomy of the samples. Copyright © Physiologia Plantarum 2012.

  20. SPHERICAL MICROPARTICLES FROM GOLD–BEARING QUARTZ VEINS OF THE IROKINDA DEPOSIT, WESTERN TRANSBAIKALIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Tatarinov

    2016-01-01

    .The consequence of metamorphism, i.e. deformational or mechano-chemical transformations of rocks in Irokinda, as well as the autochthon (the rock bed of the Kelyano-Irokinda belt, is the gas-water (‘hydrothermal’ system capable of forming the spherical ore particles with low-temperature mineral rims.The main feature of the structure of the spherical microparticles in Irokinda is a sharp contrast of the crystallization conditions of the metal nodes and their rims. Similar conditions leading to formation of contrasting mineral associations, that are similar in compositions to the discussed spherules, are characteristic of the gas-water-lithoclastitic and gas-water stages of mud volcanoes. For these stages, we suggest the cavitation mechanism of formation of spherical metal particles of Fe, Fe–Cr and other compositions, which is accompanied by combustion (pyrogenic melt and pyrolysis of hydrocarbon components of the fluid. This mechanism, with the exception of the origin of the melt (in this case, of the friction type seems to most closely correspond to the actual data.  The spheroids are likely to have formed in the pre-ore stage of formation of the quartz veins.The high-temperature metal spherical microparticles revealed in our study can be regarded as specific indicators showing conditions in which the ore-forming system of the dynamo-metamorphic type was functioning to produce gold mineralization on the Irokinda deposit. The structure and composition of these microparticles differ from those of the microspherules from other gold deposits in Transbaikalia (black shale formation in Sukhoi Log, and low–sulphide gold–quartz ore formation in Pervenets, which also belong to the dynamogenic genetic type. However, the ore-forming systems of the compared deposits have two common factors that contribute to formation of spherical microparticles – high tectonic activity manifested by repeated (impulse-type tectonic movements, and the associated unstable pressure conditions. The

  1. Conventional tomographic hilar anatomy emphasizing the pulmonary veins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genereux, G.P.

    1983-01-01

    The pulmonary hili are a frequent site of interpretive uncertainty because of thir complex anatomy. The right hilar shadow relates primarily to the ascending and descending pulmonary arteries and the right superior pulmonary vein, whereas the left hilar density accrues from the left pulmonary artery, left descending pulmonary artery, and left superior pulmonary vein. The right and left superoir pulmonary veins are intimately associated with and inseparable from the arteries. Knowledge of the course of these veins facilitates their identification on conventional tomograms. The right and left inferior pulmonary veins lie behind the lower hili and contribute only a small increment to the normal hilar density; the horizontal course of these vessels readily distinguishes them from the vertically oriented lower lobe arteries. Prominence of both the right and left superior and inferior veins may cause hilar pseudotumors. Conventional tomograms are most helpful in understanding plain radiographs. A multiview approach in anteroposterior, 55 0 posterior oblique, and lateral projections is recommended for a complete assessment. Computed tomography in transaxial sections adds further understanding of spatial relations in the hili, including the contributions of the pulmonary veins

  2. Evaluation of the portal veins, hepatic veins and bile ducts using fat-suppressed segmented True FISP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Takashi; Uchikoshi, Masato; Imaoka, Izumi; Iwaya, Kazuo; Matsuo, Michimasa; Wada, Akihiko

    2005-01-01

    True FISP (fast imaging with steady-state free precession) is a fast imaging technique that provides high SNR (signal to noise ratio) and excellent delineation of parenchymal organs. The contrast of True FISP depends on the mixture of T 2 /T 1 . Vessels with slow flow are usually displayed as high signal intensity on True FISP images. The purpose of this study was to optimize fat-suppressed (FS) segmented True FISP imaging for portal veins, hepatic veins, and bile ducts. FS segmented True FISP images were applied to the phantoms of liver parenchyma, saline, and oil with various flip angles (every 10 degrees from 5-65 degrees) and k-space segmentations (3, 15, 25, 51, 75, 99). Five healthy volunteers were also examined to get optimized flip angle and k-space segmentation. The largest flip angle, 65 degrees, showed the best contrast between the liver parenchyma phantom, saline, and oil. The largest segmentations, 99, provided the best contrast between a liver parenchyma phantom and saline. However, the signal of the oil phantom exceeded that of the liver parenchyma phantom with 99 segmentations. As a result, the flip angle of 65 degrees and 75 segments is recommended to get the best contrast between the liver parenchyma phantom and saline, while suppressing the signal of oil. The volunteer studies also support the phantom studies and showed excellent anatomical delineation of portal veins, hepatic veins, and bile ducts when using these parameters. We conclude that True FISP is potentially suitable for the imaging of portal veins, hepatic veins, and bile ducts. The flip angle of 65 degrees with 75 segments is recommended to optimize FS segmented True FISP images. (author)

  3. Active water transport in unicellular algae: where, why, and how.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raven, John A; Doblin, Martina A

    2014-12-01

    The occurrence of active water transport (net transport against a free energy gradient) in photosynthetic organisms has been debated for several decades. Here, active water transport is considered in terms of its roles, where it is found, and the mechanisms by which it could occur. First there is a brief consideration of the possibility of active water transport into plant xylem in the generation of root pressure and the refilling of embolized xylem elements, and from an unsaturated atmosphere into terrestrial organisms living in habitats with limited availability of liquid water. There is then a more detailed consideration of volume and osmotic regulation in wall-less freshwater unicells, and the possibility of generation of buoyancy in marine phytoplankton such as large-celled diatoms. Calculations show that active water transport is a plausible mechanism to assist cells in upwards vertical movements, requires less energy than synthesis of low-density organic solutes, and potentially on a par with excluding certain ions from the vacuole. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Generating and analyzing synthetic finger vein images

    OpenAIRE

    Hillerström, Fieke; Kumar, Ajay; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract: The finger-vein biometric offers higher degree of security, personal privacy and strong anti-spoofing capabilities than most other biometric modalities employed today. Emerging privacy concerns with the database acquisition and lack of availability of large scale finger-vein database have posed challenges in exploring this technology for large scale applications. This paper details the first such attempt to synthesize finger-vein images and presents analysis of synthesized images fo...

  5. Water uptake and transport in lianas and co-occurring trees of a seasonally dry tropical forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    José Luis Andrade; Frederick C. Meinzer; Guillermo Goldstein; Stefan A. Schnitzer

    2005-01-01

    Water uptake and transport were studied in eight liana species in a seasonally dry tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Stable hydrogen isotope composition (δD) of xylem and soil water, soil volumetric water content (θv), and basal sap flow were measured during the 1997 and...

  6. Stomatal closure of Pelargonium × hortorum in response to soil water deficit is associated with decreased leaf water potential only under rapid soil drying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyle, Richard K A; McAinsh, Martin; Dodd, Ian C

    2016-01-01

    Soil water deficits applied at different rates and for different durations can decrease both stomatal conductance (gs ) and leaf water potential (Ψleaf ). Understanding the physiological mechanisms regulating these responses is important in sustainable irrigation scheduling. Glasshouse-grown, containerized Pelargonium × hortorum BullsEye plants were irrigated either daily at various fractions of plant evapotranspiration (100, 75 and 50% ET) for 20 days or irrigation was withheld for 4 days. Xylem sap was collected and gs and Ψleaf were measured on days 15 and 20, and on days 16-19 for the respective treatments. Xylem sap pH and NO3 (-) and Ca(2+) concentrations did not differ between irrigation treatments. Xylem abscisic acid (ABA) concentrations ([ABA]xyl ) increased within 24 h of irrigation being withheld whilst gs and Ψleaf decreased. Supplying irrigation at a fraction of daily ET produced a similar relationship between [ABA]xyl and gs , but did not change Ψleaf . Treatment differences occurred independently of whether Ψleaf was measured in whole leaves with a pressure chamber, or in the lamina with a thermocouple psychrometer. Plants that were irrigated daily showed lower [ABA]xyl than plants from which irrigation was withheld, even at comparable soil moisture content. This implies that regular re-watering attenuates ABA signaling due to maintenance of soil moisture in the upper soil levels. Crucially, detached leaves supplied with synthetic ABA showed a similar relationship between [ABA]xyl and gs as intact plants, suggesting that stomatal closure of P. hortorum in response to soil water deficit is primarily an ABA-induced response, independent of changes in Ψleaf . © 2015 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

  7. Endovascular Radiofrequency Ablation for Varicose Veins

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Executive Summary Objective The objective of the MAS evidence review was to conduct a systematic review of the available evidence on the safety, effectiveness, durability and cost–effectiveness of endovascular radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of primary symptomatic varicose veins. Background The Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee (OHTAC) met on August 26th, 2010 to review the safety, effectiveness, durability, and cost-effectiveness of RFA for the treatment of primary symptomatic varicose veins based on an evidence-based review by the Medical Advisory Secretariat (MAS). Clinical Condition Varicose veins (VV) are tortuous, twisted, or elongated veins. This can be due to existing (inherited) valve dysfunction or decreased vein elasticity (primary venous reflux) or valve damage from prior thrombotic events (secondary venous reflux). The end result is pooling of blood in the veins, increased venous pressure and subsequent vein enlargement. As a result of high venous pressure, branch vessels balloon out leading to varicosities (varicose veins). Symptoms typically affect the lower extremities and include (but are not limited to): aching, swelling, throbbing, night cramps, restless legs, leg fatigue, itching and burning. Left untreated, venous reflux tends to be progressive, often leading to chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). A number of complications are associated with untreated venous reflux: including superficial thrombophlebitis as well as variceal rupture and haemorrhage. CVI often results in chronic skin changes referred to as stasis dermatitis. Stasis dermatitis is comprised of a spectrum of cutaneous abnormalities including edema, hyperpigmentation, eczema, lipodermatosclerosis and stasis ulceration. Ulceration represents the disease end point for severe CVI. CVI is associated with a reduced quality of life particularly in relation to pain, physical function and mobility. In severe cases, VV with ulcers, QOL has been rated to be as bad

  8. Umbilical vein draining into the inferior vena cava via the internal iliac vein, bypassing the liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Currarino, G.; Stannard, M.W.; Texas Univ., Dallas, TX; Kolni, H.

    1991-01-01

    This is the third report of an anomalous umbilical vein draining ectopically in a left pelvic vein, probably the left internal iliac, and through the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. The anomaly was encountered in a newborn infant with nonimmune hydrops fetalis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, multiorgan failure and possibly Noonan Syndrome. (orig.)

  9. Umbilical vein draining into the inferior vena cava via the internal iliac vein, bypassing the liver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Currarino, G.; Stannard, M.W. (Children' s Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States). Dept. of Radiology Texas Univ., Dallas, TX (United States). Southwestern Medical Center); Kolni, H. (Methodist Hospital, Dallas, TX (United States). Dept. of Pediatrics)

    1991-05-01

    This is the third report of an anomalous umbilical vein draining ectopically in a left pelvic vein, probably the left internal iliac, and through the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. The anomaly was encountered in a newborn infant with nonimmune hydrops fetalis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, multiorgan failure and possibly Noonan Syndrome. (orig.).

  10. Patterning of leaf vein networks by convergent auxin transport pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawchuk, Megan G; Edgar, Alexander; Scarpella, Enrico

    2013-01-01

    The formation of leaf vein patterns has fascinated biologists for centuries. Transport of the plant signal auxin has long been implicated in vein patterning, but molecular details have remained unclear. Varied evidence suggests a central role for the plasma-membrane (PM)-localized PIN-FORMED1 (PIN1) intercellular auxin transporter of Arabidopsis thaliana in auxin-transport-dependent vein patterning. However, in contrast to the severe vein-pattern defects induced by auxin transport inhibitors, pin1 mutant leaves have only mild vein-pattern defects. These defects have been interpreted as evidence of redundancy between PIN1 and the other four PM-localized PIN proteins in vein patterning, redundancy that underlies many developmental processes. By contrast, we show here that vein patterning in the Arabidopsis leaf is controlled by two distinct and convergent auxin-transport pathways: intercellular auxin transport mediated by PM-localized PIN1 and intracellular auxin transport mediated by the evolutionarily older, endoplasmic-reticulum-localized PIN6, PIN8, and PIN5. PIN6 and PIN8 are expressed, as PIN1 and PIN5, at sites of vein formation. pin6 synthetically enhances pin1 vein-pattern defects, and pin8 quantitatively enhances pin1pin6 vein-pattern defects. Function of PIN6 is necessary, redundantly with that of PIN8, and sufficient to control auxin response levels, PIN1 expression, and vein network formation; and the vein pattern defects induced by ectopic PIN6 expression are mimicked by ectopic PIN8 expression. Finally, vein patterning functions of PIN6 and PIN8 are antagonized by PIN5 function. Our data define a new level of control of vein patterning, one with repercussions on other patterning processes in the plant, and suggest a mechanism to select cell files specialized for vascular function that predates evolution of PM-localized PIN proteins.

  11. Patterning of leaf vein networks by convergent auxin transport pathways.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan G Sawchuk

    Full Text Available The formation of leaf vein patterns has fascinated biologists for centuries. Transport of the plant signal auxin has long been implicated in vein patterning, but molecular details have remained unclear. Varied evidence suggests a central role for the plasma-membrane (PM-localized PIN-FORMED1 (PIN1 intercellular auxin transporter of Arabidopsis thaliana in auxin-transport-dependent vein patterning. However, in contrast to the severe vein-pattern defects induced by auxin transport inhibitors, pin1 mutant leaves have only mild vein-pattern defects. These defects have been interpreted as evidence of redundancy between PIN1 and the other four PM-localized PIN proteins in vein patterning, redundancy that underlies many developmental processes. By contrast, we show here that vein patterning in the Arabidopsis leaf is controlled by two distinct and convergent auxin-transport pathways: intercellular auxin transport mediated by PM-localized PIN1 and intracellular auxin transport mediated by the evolutionarily older, endoplasmic-reticulum-localized PIN6, PIN8, and PIN5. PIN6 and PIN8 are expressed, as PIN1 and PIN5, at sites of vein formation. pin6 synthetically enhances pin1 vein-pattern defects, and pin8 quantitatively enhances pin1pin6 vein-pattern defects. Function of PIN6 is necessary, redundantly with that of PIN8, and sufficient to control auxin response levels, PIN1 expression, and vein network formation; and the vein pattern defects induced by ectopic PIN6 expression are mimicked by ectopic PIN8 expression. Finally, vein patterning functions of PIN6 and PIN8 are antagonized by PIN5 function. Our data define a new level of control of vein patterning, one with repercussions on other patterning processes in the plant, and suggest a mechanism to select cell files specialized for vascular function that predates evolution of PM-localized PIN proteins.

  12. Exogenous GA3 Application Enhances Xylem Development and Induces the Expression of Secondary Wall Biosynthesis Related Genes in Betula platyphylla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiyan Guo

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Gibberellin (GA is a key signal molecule inducing differentiation of tracheary elements, fibers, and xylogenesis. However the molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of GA on xylem elongation and secondary wall development in tree species remain to be determined. In this study, Betula platyphylla (birch seeds were treated with 300 ppm GA3 and/or 300 ppm paclobutrazol (PAC, seed germination was recorded, and transverse sections of hypocotyls were stained with toluidine blue; the two-month-old seedlings were treated with 50 μM GA3 and/or 50 μM PAC, transverse sections of seedling stems were stained using phloroglucinol–HCl, and secondary wall biosynthesis related genes expression was analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR. Results indicated that germination percentage, energy and time of seeds, hypocotyl height and seedling fresh weight were enhanced by GA3, and reduced by PAC; the xylem development was wider in GA3-treated plants than in the control; the expression of NAC and MYB transcription factors, CESA, PAL, and GA oxidase was up-regulated during GA3 treatment, suggesting their role in GA3-induced xylem development in the birch. Our results suggest that GA3 induces the expression of secondary wall biosynthesis related genes to trigger xylogenesis in the birch plants.

  13. Quantification of deep medullary veins at 7 T brain MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuijf, Hugo J.; Viergever, Max A.; Vincken, Koen L. [University Medical Center Utrecht, Image Sciences Institute, Utrecht (Netherlands); Bouvy, Willem H.; Razoux Schultz, Tom B.; Biessels, Geert Jan [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Neurology, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Utrecht (Netherlands); Zwanenburg, Jaco J.M. [University Medical Center Utrecht, Image Sciences Institute, Utrecht (Netherlands); University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2016-10-15

    Deep medullary veins support the venous drainage of the brain and may display abnormalities in the context of different cerebrovascular diseases. We present and evaluate a method to automatically detect and quantify deep medullary veins at 7 T. Five participants were scanned twice, to assess the robustness and reproducibility of manual and automated vein detection. Additionally, the method was evaluated on 24 participants to demonstrate its application. Deep medullary veins were assessed within an automatically created region-of-interest around the lateral ventricles, defined such that all veins must intersect it. A combination of vesselness, tubular tracking, and hysteresis thresholding located individual veins, which were quantified by counting and computing (3-D) density maps. Visual assessment was time-consuming (2 h/scan), with an intra-/inter-observer agreement on absolute vein count of ICC = 0.76 and 0.60, respectively. The automated vein detection showed excellent inter-scan reproducibility before (ICC = 0.79) and after (ICC = 0.88) visually censoring false positives. It had a positive predictive value of 71.6 %. Imaging at 7 T allows visualization and quantification of deep medullary veins. The presented method offers fast and reliable automated assessment of deep medullary veins. (orig.)

  14. Preoperative mapping of the saphenous vein

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levi-Mazloum, Niels Donald; Sillesen, H; Nielsen, Tina G

    1996-01-01

    A series of 124 patients had their greater saphenous vein assessed with duplex ultrasound scanning prior to planned infrainguinal bypass procedures. 33 (27%) bypass procedures thrombosed within the first year. A naturally occurring optimal vein diameter was discovered: 5.0-6.5 mm at mid-thigh lev...

  15. Recanalization after acute deep vein thrombosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Mucoucah Sampaio Brandao

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The process of recanalization of the veins of the lower limbs after an episode of acute deep venous thrombosis is part of the natural evolution of the remodeling of the venous thrombus in patients on anticoagulation with heparin and vitamin K inhibitors. This remodeling involves the complex process of adhesion of thrombus to the wall of the vein, the inflammatory response of the vessel wall leading to organization and subsequent contraction of the thrombus, neovascularization and spontaneous lysis of areas within the thrombus. The occurrence of spontaneous arterial flow in recanalized thrombosed veins has been described as secondary to neovascularization and is characterized by the development of flow patterns characteristic of arteriovenous fistulae that can be identified by color duplex scanning. In this review, we discuss some controversial aspects of the natural history of deep vein thrombosis to provide a better understanding of its course and its impact on venous disease.

  16. Visualization of root water uptake: quantification of deuterated water transport in roots using neutron radiography and numerical modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarebanadkouki, Mohsen; Kroener, Eva; Kaestner, Anders; Carminati, Andrea

    2014-10-01

    Our understanding of soil and plant water relations is limited by the lack of experimental methods to measure water fluxes in soil and plants. Here, we describe a new method to noninvasively quantify water fluxes in roots. To this end, neutron radiography was used to trace the transport of deuterated water (D2O) into roots. The results showed that (1) the radial transport of D2O from soil to the roots depended similarly on diffusive and convective transport and (2) the axial transport of D2O along the root xylem was largely dominated by convection. To quantify the convective fluxes from the radiographs, we introduced a convection-diffusion model to simulate the D2O transport in roots. The model takes into account different pathways of water across the root tissue, the endodermis as a layer with distinct transport properties, and the axial transport of D2O in the xylem. The diffusion coefficients of the root tissues were inversely estimated by simulating the experiments at night under the assumption that the convective fluxes were negligible. Inverse modeling of the experiment at day gave the profile of water fluxes into the roots. For a 24-d-old lupine (Lupinus albus) grown in a soil with uniform water content, root water uptake was higher in the proximal parts of lateral roots and decreased toward the distal parts. The method allows the quantification of the root properties and the regions of root water uptake along the root systems. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  17. Renal vein doppler sonography in rabbits with acute ureteral obstruction: usefulness of impedance index of renal vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sohn, Kyung Myung; Chung, Su Kyo; Lee, Sung Yong

    2004-01-01

    To evaluate the usefulness of the impedance index of the renal vein for the diagnosis of acute obstructive uropathy in rabbits. Ligation of the left ureter was done in 12 rabbits. Doppler sonography of the interlobar veins in both kidneys was checked before and 30 minutes, 1, 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours after ureteral ligation. The venous impedance index [(peak flow signal-least flow signal)/peak flow signal] was compared between the obstructed and non-obstructed kidneys for all periods. The change in the impedance index after ureteral ligation was also compared between the obstructed and non-obstructed kidneys. A decrease in the impedance index of the intrarenal vein was observed starting from 30 mins atter ureteral ligation, and the index remained low up to 24 hours after ureteral ligation. The obstructed kidneys had a significantly lower impedance index than the contralateral kidneys for all six of the postligation measurements (p< 0.05). There were significant differences in the change of impedance index after ureteral ligation between the obstructed and non-obstructed kidneys (p< 0.05). The impedance index of the intrarenal vein was significantly decreased in the obstructed kidneys. The measurement of the impedance index of the intrarenal vein using Doppler sonography could provide a useful method of diagnosing obstructive uropathy

  18. Percutaneous transhepatic portal vein stenting in a patient with benign non-transplant postoperative portal vein stenosis: A case report

    OpenAIRE

    Madhusudhan, KS; Agrawal, Nikhil; Srivastava, Deep N; Pal, Sujoy; Gupta, Arun K

    2013-01-01

    Extrahepatic portal vein stenosis is caused by a variety of benign and malignant diseases and results in development of symptoms due to portal hypertension. Benign post-surgical adhesions causing portal vein stenosis in non-transplant population is an uncommon etiology of portal hypertension. Endovascular treatment of such patients with angioplasty and stenting is uncommonly reported in literature. We report a case of portal hypertension caused by benign postoperative portal vein fibrosis, su...

  19. Comparison of image quality and portal vein visualization in IADSP using iopamidol, 76 % urografin, and 38 % urografin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibata, Toshiya; Yamashita, Keiji; Konishi, Junji; Hayakawa, Katsumi; Hamanaka, Daizaburo; Okumura, Ryouji; Ishi, Yasushi.

    1988-01-01

    The image quality of intra-arterial digital subtraction portography (IADSP) was studied in 50 randomly assigned patients using one of three contrast agents: iopamidol, (IOP, 20 cases), 76 % Na-meglumine diatrzioate (76 % UG, 20 cases), and 38 % Na-meglumine diatrizoate (38 % UG, 10 cases). Sharpness and contrast of images, and portal vein visualization were evaluated in these groups. IOP provided better image quality and portal vein visualization than 76 % UG. There was no significant difference between them in terms of side effects, such as contrast medium-induced pain and feeling of warmth, or changes in physiological parameters like blood pressure and heart rate. When a low osmolar contrast agent like IOP passes through the mesentery capillary bed, the eflux of the contrast agent into the interstitial space and the influex of water into the capillary may be less, resulting in less dilution of the contrast agent in the superior mesenteric vein. This might explain the better image quality and portal vein visualization of IOP. (author)

  20. Animal Model of Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, Sumit; Laerum, Frode; Brosstad, Frank; Kvernebo, Knut; Sakariassen, Kjell S.

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: To develop an animal model of acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Methods: In part I of the study nine juvenile domestic pigs were used. Each external iliac vein was transluminally occluded with a balloon catheter. Thrombin was infused through a microcatheter in one leg according to one of the following protocols: (1) intraarterial (IA): 1250 U at 25 U/min in the common femoral artery (n= 3); (2) intravenous (IV): 5000 U in the popliteal vein at 500 U/min (n= 3), or at 100 U/min (n= 3). Saline was administered in the opposite leg. After the animals were killed, the mass of thrombus in the iliofemoral veins was measured. The pudendoepiploic (PEV), profunda femoris (PF), and popliteal veins (PV) were examined. Thrombosis in the tributaries of the superficial femoral vein (SFVt) was graded according to a three-point scale (0, +, ++). In part II of the study IV administration was further investigated in nine pigs using the following three regimens with 1000 U at 25 U/min serving as the control: (1) 1000 U at 100 U/min, (2) 250 U at 25 U/min, (3) 250 U at 6.25 U/min. Results: All animals survived. In part I median thrombus mass in the test limbs was 1.40 g as compared with 0.25 g in the controls (p= 0.01). PEV, PFV and PV were thrombosed in all limbs infused with thrombin. IV infusion was more effective in inducing thrombosis in both the parent veins (mass 1.32-1.78 g) and SVFt (++ in 4 of 6 legs), as compared with IA infusion (mass 0.0-1.16 g; SFVt ++ in 1 of 3 legs). In part II thrombus mass in axial veins ranged from 1.23 to 2.86 g, and showed no relationship with the dose of thrombin or the rate of infusion. Tributary thrombosis was less extensive with 250 U at 25 U/min than with the other regimens. Conclusion: Slow distal intravenous thrombin infusion in the hind legs of pigs combined with proximal venous occlusion induces thrombosis in the leg veins that closely resembles clinical DVT in distribution

  1. Plant water stress effects on stylet probing behaviors of Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) associated with acquisition and inoculation of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krugner, Rodrigo; Backus, Elaine A

    2014-02-01

    ABSTRACT The glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a xylem fluid-ingesting leafhopper that transmits Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al., a plant-infecting bacterium that causes several plant diseases in the Americas. Although the role of plant water stress on the population density and dispersal ofH. vitripennis has been studied, nothing is known about the effects of plant water stress on the transmission of X. fastidiosa by H. vitripennis. A laboratory study was conducted to determine the influence of plant water stress on the sharpshooter stylet probing behaviors associated with the acquisition and inoculation of X. fastidiosa. Electrical penetration graph was used to monitor H. vitripennis feeding behaviors for 20-h periods on citrus [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] and almond [Prunus dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb] plants subjected to levels of water stress. Adult H. vitripennis successfully located xylem vessels, then performed behaviors related to the evaluation of the xylem cell and fluid, and finally ingested xylem fluid from citrus and almond plants under the tested fluid tensions ranging from -5.5 to -33.0 bars and -6.0 to -24.5 bars, respectively. In general, long and frequent feeding events associated with the acquisition and inoculation of X. fastidiosa were observed only in fully irrigated plants (i.e., >-10 bars), which suggests that even low levels of plant water stress may reduce the spread of X. fastidiosa. Results provided insights to disease epidemiology and support the hypothesis that application of regulated deficit irrigation has the potential to reduce the incidence of diseases caused by X.fastidiosa by reducing the number of vectors and by decreasing pathogen transmission efficiency.

  2. Distribution of pines in the Iberian Peninsula agrees with species differences in foliage frost tolerance, not with vulnerability to freezing-induced xylem embolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Pérez, Laura; Villar-Salvador, Pedro; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Toca, Andrei; Zavala, Miguel A

    2018-04-01

    Drought and frosts are major determinants of plant functioning and distribution. Both stresses can cause xylem embolism and foliage damage. The objective of this study was to analyse if the distribution of six common pine species along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in Europe is related to their interspecific differences in frost tolerance and to the physiological mechanisms underlying species-specific frost tolerance. We also evaluate if frost tolerance depends on plant water status. We studied survival to a range of freezing temperatures in 2-year-old plants and assessed the percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) due xylem embolism formation and foliage damage determined by needle electrolyte leakage (EL) after a single frost cycle to -15 °C and over a range of predawn water potential (ψpd) values. Species experiencing cold winters in their range (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold, Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus uncinata Raymond ex A. DC.) had the highest frost survival rates and lowest needle EL and soluble sugar (SS) concentration. In contrast, the pines inhabiting mild or cool winter locations (especially Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pinus pinea L. and, to a lesser extent, Pinus pinaster Ait.) had the lowest frost survival and highest needle EL and SS values. Freezing-induced PLC was very low and differences among species were not related to frost damage. Reduction in ψpd decreased leaf frost damage in P. pinea and P. sylvestris, increased it in P. uncinata and had a neutral effect on the rest of the species. This study demonstrates that freezing temperatures are a major environmental driver for pine distribution and suggests that interspecific differences in leaf frost sensitivity rather than vulnerability to freezing-induced embolism or SS explain pine juvenile frost survival.

  3. A Case Study of Deep Vein Thrombosis of the Right Internal Jugular Vein in a Healthy 21-Year-Old Male

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier Corral

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We are reporting a case of a healthy 21-year-old male, with no significant past medical history, who was found to have an incidental nonocclusive deep vein thrombosis in the right internal jugular vein detected on a head MRI previously ordered for work-up of headaches. A follow-up upper extremity venous Doppler ultrasound confirmed the presence of a partially occlusive deep vein thrombosis in the right jugular vein. The case presented is unique for the reason that the patient is young and has no prior risk factor, personal or familial, for venous thrombosis except for associated polycythemia on clinical presentation.

  4. Water use patterns of three species in subalpine forest, Southwest China: the deuterium isotope approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qing Xu; Harbin Li; Jiquan Chen; Jiquan Cheng; Xiaoli Cheng; Shirong Liu; Shuqing An

    2011-01-01

    Determination of water sources of plant species in a community is critical for understanding the hydrological processes and their importance in ecosystem functions. Such partitioning of plant xylem water into specific sources (i.e. precipitation, groundwater) can be achieved by analyzing deuterium isotopic composition (δD) values for source waters. A subalpine dark...

  5. Veins improve fracture toughness of insect wings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan-Henning Dirks

    Full Text Available During the lifetime of a flying insect, its wings are subjected to mechanical forces and deformations for millions of cycles. Defects in the micrometre thin membranes or veins may reduce the insect's flight performance. How do insects prevent crack related material failure in their wings and what role does the characteristic vein pattern play? Fracture toughness is a parameter, which characterises a material's resistance to crack propagation. Our results show that, compared to other body parts, the hind wing membrane of the migratory locust S. gregaria itself is not exceptionally tough (1.04±0.25 MPa√m. However, the cross veins increase the wing's toughness by 50% by acting as barriers to crack propagation. Using fracture mechanics, we show that the morphological spacing of most wing veins matches the critical crack length of the material (1132 µm. This finding directly demonstrates how the biomechanical properties and the morphology of locust wings are functionally correlated in locusts, providing a mechanically 'optimal' solution with high toughness and low weight. The vein pattern found in insect wings thus might inspire the design of more durable and lightweight artificial 'venous' wings for micro-air-vehicles. Using the vein spacing as indicator, our approach might also provide a basis to estimate the wing properties of endangered or extinct insect species.

  6. Transvenous liver biopsy via the femoral vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khosa, F.; McNulty, J.G.; Hickey, N.; O'Brien, P.; Tobin, A.; Noonan, N.; Ryan, B.; Keeling, P.W.N.; Kelleher, D.P.; McDonald, G.S.A.

    2003-01-01

    AIM: To study the safety, effectiveness and diagnostic value of transvenous forceps biopsy of the liver in 54 patients with coagulopathy, gross ascites or morbid obesity and suspected liver disease in whom percutaneous liver biopsy was contraindicated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forceps biopsy of the liver via the femoral vein was attempted in 54 adult patients with advanced liver disease of unknown aetiology who had coagulation disorders (41 cases), gross ascites (11 cases) or morbid obesity (two cases). In each patient two to six biopsies (average four) were taken using a radial jaw forceps inserted via the right or left femoral vein. RESULTS: The procedure was successful in 53 cases. Hepatic vein catheterization failed in one patient. Adequate liver tissue for diagnosis was obtained in 84% of cases. One patient developed delayed haemorrhage at 12 h from a capsular leak that was undetected during the biopsy procedure. This patient required blood transfusions and laparotomy to control bleeding. There were no deaths in the 53 patients studied. Transient minor chest and shoulder pain was encountered during sheath insertion into a hepatic vein in 23 patients. Three patients developed a femoral vein haematoma, which resolved with conservative treatment. CONCLUSION: Transvenous liver biopsy via the femoral vein is another safe, effective, simple alternative technique of biopsy when the percutaneous route is contraindicated

  7. Computed tomographic evaluation of the portal vein in the hepatomas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Kee Hyung; Lee, Seung Chul; Bae, Man Gil; Seo, Heung Suk; Kim, Soon Yong; Lee, Min Ho; Kee, Choon Suhk; Park, Kyung Nam [Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1986-10-15

    Computed tomography and pornographic findings of 63 patients with hepatoma, undergone hepatic angiography and superior mesenteric pornography for evaluation of tumor and thrombosis of portal vein and determination of indication of transcatheter arterial embolization for palliative treatment of hepatoma from April, 85 to June, 86 in Hanyang university hospital, were reviewed. The results were as follows: 1. In 36 cases, portal vein thrombosis was detected during photography. Nineteen of 37 cases which revealed localized hepatoma in the right lobe of the liver showed portal vein thrombosis; 9 of 11 cases of the left lobe; 8 of 14 cases which were involved in entire liver revealed thrombosis. One case localized in the caudate lobe showed no evidence of invasion to portal vein. 2. Twenty-four of 34 cases with diffuse infiltrative hepatoma revealed portal vein thrombosis and the incidence of portal vein thrombosis in this type were higher than in the cases of the nodular type. 3. The portal vein thrombosis appeared as filling defects of low density in the lumen of the portal veins in CT and they did not reveal contrast enhancement. 4. CT revealed well the evidence of obstructions in the cases of portal vein thrombosis and the findings were well-corresponded to the findings of the superior mesenteric photography. 5. Five of the cases of the portal vein thrombosis were missed in the CT and the causes were considered as due to partial volume effect of enhanced portal vein with partial occlusion or arterioportal shunts. 6. Six of 13 cases with occlusion of main portal vein showed cavernous transformation and they were noted as multiple small enhanced vascularities around the porta hepatis in the CT. According to the results, we conclude that CT is a useful modality to detect the changes of the portal veins in the patients of the hepatoma.

  8. Computed tomographic evaluation of the portal vein in the hepatomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kee Hyung; Lee, Seung Chul; Bae, Man Gil; Seo, Heung Suk; Kim, Soon Yong; Lee, Min Ho; Kee, Choon Suhk; Park, Kyung Nam

    1986-01-01

    Computed tomography and pornographic findings of 63 patients with hepatoma, undergone hepatic angiography and superior mesenteric pornography for evaluation of tumor and thrombosis of portal vein and determination of indication of transcatheter arterial embolization for palliative treatment of hepatoma from April, 85 to June, 86 in Hanyang university hospital, were reviewed. The results were as follows: 1. In 36 cases, portal vein thrombosis was detected during photography. Nineteen of 37 cases which revealed localized hepatoma in the right lobe of the liver showed portal vein thrombosis; 9 of 11 cases of the left lobe; 8 of 14 cases which were involved in entire liver revealed thrombosis. One case localized in the caudate lobe showed no evidence of invasion to portal vein. 2. Twenty-four of 34 cases with diffuse infiltrative hepatoma revealed portal vein thrombosis and the incidence of portal vein thrombosis in this type were higher than in the cases of the nodular type. 3. The portal vein thrombosis appeared as filling defects of low density in the lumen of the portal veins in CT and they did not reveal contrast enhancement. 4. CT revealed well the evidence of obstructions in the cases of portal vein thrombosis and the findings were well-corresponded to the findings of the superior mesenteric photography. 5. Five of the cases of the portal vein thrombosis were missed in the CT and the causes were considered as due to partial volume effect of enhanced portal vein with partial occlusion or arterioportal shunts. 6. Six of 13 cases with occlusion of main portal vein showed cavernous transformation and they were noted as multiple small enhanced vascularities around the porta hepatis in the CT. According to the results, we conclude that CT is a useful modality to detect the changes of the portal veins in the patients of the hepatoma.

  9. Image Quality Enhancement Using the Direction and Thickness of Vein Lines for Finger-Vein Recognition

    OpenAIRE

    Park, Young Ho; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2012-01-01

    On the basis of the increased emphasis placed on the protection of privacy, biometric recognition systems using physical or behavioural characteristics such as fingerprints, facial characteristics, iris and finger‐vein patterns or the voice have been introduced in applications including door access control, personal certification, Internet banking and ATM machines. Among these, finger‐vein recognition is advantageous in that it involves the use of inexpensive and small devices that are diffic...

  10. A Modified Technique of Basilic Vein Transposition for Haemodialysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhary, F. A.; Parvez, Z.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To modify the technique of basilic vein transposition for vascular accesss for haemodialysis aiming at better maturation rate, longer survival of fistula and lesser complications. Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: Shaikh Zayed Hospital and Omer Hospital, Lahore, from February 2008 to July 2011. Methodology: Patients referred for basilic vein transposition for haemodialysis vascular access were prospectively enrolled. The surgical technique included small tracking incisions, an extra 3 - 4 cm of vein length harvesting to avoid tension in the vein in its new course, an oval arteriotomy and a smooth curved pathway, away from vein harvesting incision to avoid entrapment of vein in the scar. Maturation rate, fistula survival and other complications were noted. Results: There was no immediate failure in 51 patients. The complications during follow-up period were infection and thrombosis, bleeding and non-development of basilic vein in 2 patients each; and false aneurysm formation in one. Four patients died during follow-up period. The maturation time was 4.9 A +- 1.1 weeks. The early patency rate was 92.2%, same at 6 months and 90.7% at 12 months. Conclusion: Arteriovenous fistula constructed with modified technique of basilic vein transposition is an acceptable and valid option of vascular access for haemodialysis. (author)

  11. New insights into the mechanisms of water-stress-induced cavitation in conifers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochard, Hervé; Hölttä, Teemu; Herbette, Stéphane; Delzon, Sylvain; Mencuccini, Maurizio

    2009-10-01

    Cavitation resistance is a key parameter to understand tree drought tolerance but little is known about the mechanisms of air entry into xylem conduits. For conifers three mechanisms have been proposed: (1) a rupture of pit margo microfibrils, (2) a displacement of the pit torus from its normal sealing position over the pit aperture, and (3) a rupture of an air-water menisci in a pore of the pit margo. In this article, we report experimental results on three coniferous species suggesting additional mechanisms. First, when xylem segments were injected with a fluid at a pressure sufficient to aspirate pit tori and well above the pressure for cavitation induction we failed to detect the increase in sample conductance that should have been caused by torus displacement from blocking the pit aperture or by membrane rupture. Second, by injecting xylem samples with different surfactant solutions, we found a linear relation between sample vulnerability to cavitation and fluid surface tension. This suggests that cavitation in conifers could also be provoked by the capillary failure of an air-water meniscus in coherence with the prediction of Young-Laplace's equation. Within the bordered pit membrane, the exact position of this capillary seeding is unknown. The possible Achilles' heel could be the seal between tori and pit walls or holes in the torus. The mechanism of water-stress-induced cavitation in conifers could then be relatively similar to the one currently proposed for angiosperms.

  12. Percutaneous transhepatic portal vein stenting in a patient with benign non-transplant postoperative portal vein stenosis: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KS Madhusudhan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Extrahepatic portal vein stenosis is caused by a variety of benign and malignant diseases and results in development of symptoms due to portal hypertension. Benign post-surgical adhesions causing portal vein stenosis in non-transplant population is an uncommon etiology of portal hypertension. Endovascular treatment of such patients with angioplasty and stenting is uncommonly reported in literature. We report a case of portal hypertension caused by benign postoperative portal vein fibrosis, successfully treated by self-expandable metallic stent.

  13. Stratigraphic distribution of veins in the Murray and Stimson formations, Gale crater, Mars: Implications for ancient groundwater circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nachon, M.; Sumner, D. Y.; Borges, S. R.; Stack, K.; Stein, N.; Watkins, J. A.; Banham, S.; Rivera-Hernandez, F.; Wiens, R. C.; l'Haridon, J.; Rapin, W.; Kronyak, R. E.

    2017-12-01

    lithification of the overlying Stimson aeolian rocks. Given the distribution of veins, ground water was likely present during an extended time interval, spanning a duration of at least millions of years. [1]Grotzinger et al., 2015, DOI: 10.1126/science.aac7575 [2]Banham et al., 2017, this meeting [3]Nachon et al., 2017, AbSciCon #3667

  14. Potassium co-transport and antiport during the uptake of sucrose and glutamic acid from the xylem vessels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bel, A.J.E. van; Erven, A.J. van

    Perfusion experiments with excised internodes of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv Moneymaker) showed that the uptake of glutamic acid and sucrose from the xylem vessels is accompanied with coupled proton co-transport and potassium antiport at low pH (<5.5). At high pH (5.5) both proton and

  15. Dynamic relationship between the VOC emissions from a Scots pine stem and the tree water relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhatalo, Anni; Chan, Tommy; Aalto, Juho; Kolari, Pasi; Rissanen, Kaisa; Hakola, Hannele; Hölttä, Teemu; Bäck, Jaana

    2013-04-01

    The stems of coniferous trees contain huge storages of oleoresin. The composition of oleoresin depends on e.g. tree species, age, provenance, health status, and environmental conditions. Oleoresin is under pressure in the extensive network of resin ducts in wood and needles. It flows out from a mechanically damaged site to protect the tree by sealing the wounded site. Once in contact with air, volatile parts of oleoresin evaporate, and the residual compounds harden to make a solid protective seal over damaged tissues. The hardening time of the resin depends on evaporation rate of the volatiles which in turn depends on temperature. The storage is also toxic to herbivores and attracts predators that restrict the herbivore damage. Despite abundant knowledge on emissions of volatile isoprenoids from foliage, very little is known about their emissions from woody plant parts. We set up an experiment to measure emissions of isoprene and monoterpenes as well as two oxygenated VOCs, methanol and acetone, from a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stem and branches. The measurements were started in early April and continued until mid-June, 2012. Simultaneously, we measured the dynamics of whole stem and xylem diameter changes, stem sap flow rate and foliage transpiration rate. These measurements were used to estimate A) pressure changes inside the living stem tissue and the water conducting xylem, B) the refilling of stem water stores after winter dehydration (the ratio of sap flow at the stem base to water loss by foliage), and C) the increase in tree water transport capacity (the ratio of maximum daily sap flow rate to the diurnal variation in xylem pressure) during spring due to winter embolism refilling and/or the temperature dependent root water uptake capacity. The results show that already very early in spring, significant VOC emissions from pine stem can be detected, and that they exhibit a diurnal cycle similar to that of ambient temperature. During the highest emission

  16. Applied anatomic study of testicular veins in adult cadavers and in human fetuses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano A. Favorito

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Analyze the anatomic variations of the testicular veins in human cadavers and fetuses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred male adult cadavers and 24 fetuses were studied. Four anatomic aspects were considered: 1 Number of testicular veins, 2 The local of vein termination, 3 Type and number of collaterals present and 4 Testicular vein termination angle. RESULTS: Cadavers - Right side - One testicular vein occurred in 85% and 2 veins in 5% of the cases. There were communicating veins with the colon in 21% of the cases. Left side - One testicular vein occurred in 82%, two veins in 15%, three veins in 2% and four veins in 1% of the cases. There were communicating veins with the colon in 31% of the cases. Fetuses - Right side -One testicular vein occurred in all cases. This vein drained to the vena cava in 83.3% of the cases, to the junction of the vena cava with the renal vein in 12.5% and to the renal vein in 4.2%. There were communicating veins with the colon in 25% of the cases. Left side - One testicular vein occurred in 66.6% of the cases, and 2 veins in occurred 33.3%. Communicating veins with the colon were found in 41.6% of the cases. CONCLUSION: The testicular vein presents numeric variations and also variations in its local of termination. In approximately 30% of the cases, there are collaterals that communicate the testicular vein with retroperitoneal veins. These anatomic findings can help understanding the origin of varicocele and its recurrence after surgical interventions.

  17. Changes In water translocation in the vascular tissue of grape during fruit development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhaosen, X.; Forney, C.F.

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between vascular water translocation in grapes and berry growth was investigated. Berry growth, firmness and turgor were measured, and the structure and function of the vascular bundles for water translocation was observed. During phase I fruit development, the dorsal and central vascular bundles rapidly translocated introduced dye in the pedicle. The speed of dye translocation was highest in the dorsal vascular bundles of phase I fruit with a speed of 0.97cm/h. After phase II, both the distribution of dye and the speed of dye translocation in the fruit vascular tissue decreased, with speeds in the dorsal and central vascular bundles being 0.08 cm/h and 0.72 cm/h, respectively. During phase III, the distribution of dye was still lower than phase I. After phase II, the walls of some xylem vessels were indistinct and broken. After phase III, even though the water translocation efficiency of the xylem decreased, sugar accumulation in the berry as well as osmoregulation increased. (author)

  18. Apical control of xylem formation in the pine stem. II. Responses of differentiating tracheids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jarosław Porandowski

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The effect of auxin supplied to the main stem of 5-year-old Pinus silvestris trees during various periods after decapitation upon differentiation of the secondary xylem tracheids was investigated. The results revealed the complexity of auxin involvement in the regulatory system of tracheid differentiation of secondary xylem. It is manifested both as the inductive effect to which the cells respond in the meristematic phase and in the continuous control during the consecutive stages of radial growth and maturation. A lack of auxin during the meristematic phase resulted in smaller cell diameters and reduced the daily rate of cell wall deposition even though these cells progressively grew and matured in the presence of auxin. The intensity of these two processes increased and the cells deposited thicker walls when auxin was supplied during all stages of tracheid differentiation even though the period of maturation decreased. Under these conditions tracheids of compression wood type differentiated. Continuous availability of auxin causes earlier termination of tracheid maturation while lack of auxin results in a delay of autolysis of protoplasts. In this case auxin probably functions in a system specifying information concerning the position of the cells in respect to the cambial layer.

  19. Elevated temperature and CO{sub 2} concentration effects on xylem anatomy of Scots pine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilpelainen, A.; Gerendiain, A.Z.; Luostarinen, K.; Peltola, H.; Kellomaki, S. [Joensuu Univ., Joensuu (Finland). Faculty of Forestry

    2007-09-15

    The effects of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) concentrations and elevated temperatures on the xylem anatomy of 20-year old Scots pine trees were investigated. The experiment was conducted in 16 chambers containing 4 trees each with a factorial combination of both ambient and elevated CO{sub 2} concentrations and 2 different temperature regimes. CO{sub 2} concentrations were doubled with a corresponding increase of between 2 and 6 degrees C according to each season over a period of 6 years. The study showed that elevated CO{sub 2} concentrations increased the ring width in 4 of the 6 analyzed treatment years. Earlywood width increased during the first 2 years of the experiment, while latewood width increased during the third year of the study. The study also showed that the tracheid walls in both the latewood and earlywood samples were thicker when either temperature levels or CO{sub 2} levels were increased. It was noted that combined CO{sub 2} and temperature elevations resulted in thinner tracheid walls. However, latewood tracheid lumen diameters were larger in all CO{sub 2} and temperature treatments than trees grown in ambient conditions. It was concluded that xylem anatomy was impacted more by increases in temperature than by elevated CO{sub 2} concentrations. 48 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs.

  20. Golgi enrichment and proteomic analysis of developing Pinus radiata xylem by free-flow electrophoresis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harriet T Parsons

    Full Text Available Our understanding of the contribution of Golgi proteins to cell wall and wood formation in any woody plant species is limited. Currently, little Golgi proteomics data exists for wood-forming tissues. In this study, we attempted to address this issue by generating and analyzing Golgi-enriched membrane preparations from developing xylem of compression wood from the conifer Pinus radiata. Developing xylem samples from 3-year-old pine trees were harvested for this purpose at a time of active growth and subjected to a combination of density centrifugation followed by free flow electrophoresis, a surface charge separation technique used in the enrichment of Golgi membranes. This combination of techniques was successful in achieving an approximately 200-fold increase in the activity of the Golgi marker galactan synthase and represents a significant improvement for proteomic analyses of the Golgi from conifers. A total of thirty known Golgi proteins were identified by mass spectrometry including glycosyltransferases from gene families involved in glucomannan and glucuronoxylan biosynthesis. The free flow electrophoresis fractions of enriched Golgi were highly abundant in structural proteins (actin and tubulin indicating a role for the cytoskeleton during compression wood formation. The mass spectrometry proteomics data associated with this study have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000557.

  1. Supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection with a descending vertical vein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Sejal; Singh, Mukesh; John, Colin; Maheshwari, Sunita

    2009-10-01

    The commonly used Darling classification for total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) consists of supracardiac, cardiac, infracardiac, and mixed types (Craig et al., Lab Invest 6:44-64, 1967). In supracardiac TAPVC, the common pulmonary vein drains superiorly into the left innominate vein, the superior vena cava, or the azygos vein by way of an ascending vertical vein. We describe a case of supracardiac TAPVC draining into the azygos vein atypically by way of a descending vertical vein.

  2. Induced chorioretinal venous anastomosis in experimental retinal branch vein occlusion.

    OpenAIRE

    McAllister, I L; Yu, D Y; Vijayasekaran, S; Barry, C; Constable, I

    1992-01-01

    Iatrogenic retinal vein to choroidal vein anastomoses were created using laser photocoagulation in six of seven dog eyes in which a partial branch retinal vein occlusion had previously been created photochemically. A similar attempt to create an anastomosis was made in six control eyes in which no branch vein occlusion was present. In the eyes in which a branch retinal vein had been created, a venous chorioretinal anastomosis appeared to be present by 3 to 6 weeks. In three control eyes simil...

  3. The physiological resilience of fern sporophytes and gametophytes: advances in water relations offer new insights into an old lineage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jarmila ePittermann

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Ferns are some of the oldest vascular plants in existence and they are the second most diverse lineage of tracheophytes next to angiosperms. Recent efforts to understand fern success have fo-cused on the physiological capacity and stress tolerance of both the sporophyte and the gameto-phyte generations. In this review, we examine these insights through the lens of plant water rela-tions, focusing primarily on the form and function of xylem tissue in the sporophyte, as well as the tolerance to and recovery from drought and desiccation stress in both stages of the fern life cycle. The absence of secondary xylem in ferns is compensated by selection for efficient primary xylem composed of large, closely arranged tracheids with permeable pit membranes. Protection from drought-induced hydraulic failure appears to arise from a combination of pit membrane traits and the arrangement of vascular bundles. Features such as tracheid-based xylem and vari-ously sized megaphylls are shared between ferns and more derived lineages, and offer an oppor-tunity to compare convergent and divergent hydraulic strategies critical to the success of xylem-bearing plants. Fern gametophytes show a high degree of desiccation tolerance but new evidence shows that morphological attributes in the gametophytes may facilitate water retention, though little work has addressed the ecological significance of this variation. We conclude with an emergent hypothesis that selection acted on the physiology of both the sporophyte and gameto-phyte generations in a synchronous manner that is consistent with selection for drought tolerance in the epiphytic niche, and the increasingly diverse habitats of the mid to late Cenozoic.

  4. Radiation Retinopathy Associated with Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yan; Liu; FengWen

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: To report a case of radiation retinopathy associated with central retinal vein occlusion.Methods: The clinical features and fundus fluorescein angiography of this case were analyzed.Results: The patient had been treated with radiotherapy for her nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and presented with sudden visual loss in the left eye. The funduscopic examination and fluorescein angiography showed the features of radiation retinopathy in both eyes, and central retinal vein occlusion in the left eye.Conclusions: Radiation retinopathy can be associated with central retinal vein occlusion in the same eye, and it seems that the endothelial cell loss caused by radiation retinopathy may lead to retinal vein occlusion.

  5. Structure of the secondary xylem of Aniba Aubl. species from the Brazilian Amazon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cláudia Viana Urbinati

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to characterize the wood of Aniba species from the Brazilian Amazon, on the basis of specimens in the wood collection of the Herbarium of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in the city of Belém, Brazil. The species were found to present a homogeneous structure in the secondary xylem, as defined by the location of oil cells; the presence of tyloses and crystals; and singularities of the radial and axial parenchyma.

  6. Disastrous Portal Vein Embolization Turned into a Successful Intervention

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dobrocky, Tomas, E-mail: tomas.dobrocky@insel.ch [University of Bern, Department of Interventional, Pediatric and Diagnostic Radiology, Inselspital, University Hospital (Switzerland); Kettenbach, Joachim, E-mail: joachim.kettenbach@stpoelten.lknoe.at [Universitätsklinikum St. Pölten-Lilienfeld, Institute of Medical Radiology, Diagnostic, Intervention (Austria); Lopez-Benitez, Ruben, E-mail: Ruben.lopez@insel.ch; Kara, Levent, E-mail: levent.kara@insel.ch [University of Bern, Department of Interventional, Pediatric and Diagnostic Radiology, Inselspital, University Hospital (Switzerland)

    2015-10-15

    Portal vein embolization (PVE) may be performed before hemihepatectomy to increase the volume of future liver remnant (FLR) and to reduce the risk of postoperative liver insufficiency. We report the case of a 71-year-old patient with hilar cholangiocarcinoma undergoing PVE with access from the right portal vein using a mixture of n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate and ethiodized oil. During the procedure, nontarget embolization of the left portal vein occurred. An aspiration maneuver of the polymerized plug failed; however, the embolus obstructing portal venous flow in the FLR was successfully relocated into the right portal vein while carefully bypassing the plug with a balloon catheter, inflating the balloon, and pulling the plug into the main right portal vein.

  7. Effect of gamma-irradiation and colchicine on cell division and differentiation of xylem elements in citrus limon juice vesicle cultures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Aysha; Chauhan, Y.S.

    1999-01-01

    The effects of varying doses of gamma irradiation on cell division and cytodifferentiation of tracheary elements in cultured juice vesicles of Citrus limon (L) Burmann var. Assam lemon were investigated. Low radiation doses stimulated cell division and differentiation of xylem fibres, sclereids and tracheids in explants given up to 10 Gy of gamma rays. Although cell division and cytodifferentiation of fibers and sclereids occurred in explants exposed to 150 dose of Gy radiation, the intensity of differentiation was much less than that induced by 10 Gy radiation dose. Amongst the differential elements, tracheids were more sensitive to radiation than fibres and sclereids. The requirement of cell division for differentiation of xylem cells was also studied by using different concentrations of colchicine in Citrus limon juice vesicle cultures. It was found that the low concentrations of colchicine permitted normal cell division and also resulted in normal differentiation of xylem cells; higher colchicine concentration, however, inhibited cell division as well as differentiation and resulted in an abnormal differentiation of tracheary element. A positive correlation between intensity of nucleic acid staining and cell division in both the above-mentioned experiments was qualitatively confirmed by Azur B staining test of nucleic acid. Thus, it was concluded that juice vesicle parenchyma cells go through nucleic acid synthesis, followed by cell division before differentiation. (author)

  8. Non-contact finger vein acquisition system using NIR laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jiman; Kong, Hyoun-Joong; Park, Sangyun; Noh, SeungWoo; Lee, Seung-Rae; Kim, Taejeong; Kim, Hee Chan

    2009-02-01

    Authentication using finger vein pattern has substantial advantage than other biometrics. Because human vein patterns are hidden inside the skin and tissue, it is hard to forge vein structure. But conventional system using NIR LED array has two drawbacks. First, direct contact with LED array raise sanitary problem. Second, because of discreteness of LEDs, non-uniform illumination exists. We propose non-contact finger vein acquisition system using NIR laser and Laser line generator lens. Laser line generator lens makes evenly distributed line laser from focused laser light. Line laser is aimed on the finger longitudinally. NIR camera was used for image acquisition. 200 index finger vein images from 20 candidates are collected. Same finger vein pattern extraction algorithm was used to evaluate two sets of images. Acquired images from proposed non-contact system do not show any non-uniform illumination in contrary with conventional system. Also results of matching are comparable to conventional system. We developed Non-contact finger vein acquisition system. It can prevent potential cross contamination of skin diseases. Also the system can produce uniformly illuminated images unlike conventional system. With the benefit of non-contact, proposed system shows almost equivalent performance compared with conventional system.

  9. Management of reticular veins and telangiectases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Philip Coleridge

    2015-11-01

    To review the literature related to the management of reticular varices and telangiectases of the lower limbs to provide guidance on the treatment of these veins. Very few randomised clinical trials are available in this field. A European Guideline has been published on the treatment of reticular varices and telangiectases, which is largely based on the opinion of experts. Older accounts written by individual phlebologists contain extensive advice from their own practice, which is valuable in identifying effective methods of sclerotherapy. All accounts indicate that a history should be taken combined with a clinical and ultrasound examination to establish the full extent of the venous disease. Sclerotherapy is commenced by injecting the larger veins first of all, usually the reticular varices. Later in the same session or in subsequent sessions, telangiectases can be treated by direct injection. Following treatment, the application of class 2 compression stockings for a period of up to three weeks is beneficial but not used universally by all phlebologists. Further sessions can follow at intervals of 2-8 weeks in which small residual veins are treated. Resistant veins can be managed by ultrasound-guided injection of underlying perforating veins and varices. Other treatments including RF diathermy and laser ablation of telangiectases have very limited efficacy in this condition. Sclerotherapy, when used with the correct technique, is the most effective method for the management of reticular varices and telangiectases. © The Author(s) 2015.

  10. A review of the anatomy and clinical significance of adrenal veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cesmebasi, Alper; Du Plessis, Maira; Iannatuono, Mark; Shah, Sameer; Tubbs, R Shane; Loukas, Marios

    2014-11-01

    The adrenal veins may present with a multitude of anatomical variants, which surgeons must be aware of when performing adrenalectomies. The adrenal veins originate during the formation of the prerenal inferior vena cava (IVC) and are remnants of the caudal portion of the subcardinal veins, cranial to the subcardinal sinus in the embryo. The many communications between the posterior cardinal, supracardinal, and subcardinal veins of the primordial venous system provide an explanation for the variable anatomy. Most commonly, one central vein drains each adrenal gland. The long left adrenal vein joins the inferior phrenic vein and drains into the left renal vein, while the short right adrenal vein drains immediately into the IVC. Multiple variations exist bilaterally and may pose the risk of surgical complications. Due to the potential for collaterals and accessory adrenal vessels, great caution must be taken during an adrenalectomy. Adrenal venous sampling, the gold standard in diagnosing primary hyperaldosteronism, also requires the clinician to have a thorough knowledge of the adrenal vein anatomy to avoid iatrogenic injury. The adrenal vein acts as an important conduit in portosystemic shunts, thus the nature of the anatomy and hypercoagulable states pose the risk of thrombosis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Kinetics of vein graft hyperplasia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwolak, R.M.; Adams, M.C.; Clowes, A.W.

    1986-01-01

    Human aortocoronary vein grafts fail due to accelerated occlusive disease. The possibility that this is related to cellular hyperplasia was investigated in a rabbit model where kinetics of vein graft thickening, endothelial (EC) repair, and smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation were measured from 2 days to 24 weeks after implanting jugular vein segments in the carotid artery. Immediately after graft placement focal EC denudation was observed. These defects were repaired within 1 week and did not recur. By 4 weeks intimal area had increased 30 fold from 0.028 +/- 0.004 to 0.705 +/- 0.021 mm 2 , and a 24 weeks was 0.93 +/- 0.21 mm 2 . This response did not produce a reduction in graft lumen area. EC and SMC thymidine-labeling index were measured by en face and cross-section autoradiography after injection of 3 H-thymidine and perfusion fixation. Despite rapid EC surface repair EC labeling index remained elevated and only returned to normal levels at 12 weeks; SMC labeling was 10 fold greater than baseline even at 24 weeks (0.22% vs 0.02%). SMC mass demonstrated morphometrically increased between 2 and 12 weeks. Intimal thickening in vein grafts is due to SMC proliferation and develops after the EC layer has been restored. In contrast, intimal SMC proliferate in damaged arteries when the EC layer is absent and cease when the EC layer is regenerated

  12. Interventional treatment for the occlusive hepatic veins in Budd-Chiari syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xitong; Xu Ke; Feng Bo; Su Hongying; Li Hong; Zu Maoheng; Cui Jingguo; Yang Xueliang; Zhao Jinxu; Chen Kai

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the interventional methods for occlusive hepatic veins in Budd-Chiari syndrome and its mid and long-term effects. Methods: Forty-two patients (male 17 cases and female 25 cases) aged from 18 to 57 years old (mean 34.5 years) were studied. The liver functions were Child A in 23 cases, Child B in 6 cases, and Child C in 13 cases, respectively. A total of 92 hepatic veins were occluded. Among them, 29 left hepatic veins, 24 middle hepatic veins, 36 right hepatic veins, and 3 accessory hepatic veins were occluded. Thirty-four patients were accompanied with the stenotic or occlusive inferior vena cave (IVC) . The interventional methods included: (1) recanalization of occlusive hepatic veins (by transjugular, transfemoral, and percutaneous transhepatic route, or the combination of above three methods); (2) percutaneous transluminal angioplasty; (3) self-expanding stent implantation. The occlusive IVC in 32 patients also accepted PTA and/or stent implantation. Results: The successful recanalization was carried out in forty hepatic veins in 40 patients. PTA of occlusive veins was followed by stent implantation in 8 patients. The pressure of hepatic veins dropped from 34.5 cm H 2 O (25.0-48.0 cm H 2 O) to 22.0 cm H 2 O (12.0-35.0 cm H 2 O) after intervention (T=11.50, P < 0.01). The symptoms and pathological signs improved obviously in 32 cases and improved partly in 8 cases. During the follow-up period from 1 month to 54 months (mean 27.5 months), one cases died of liver function failure at one month after intervention. The re-intervention of occlusive veins in two cases were performed and the better results were acquired again. Five cases didn't accept re-intervention. Neither recurrence of symptoms nor re-occlusion of hepatic veins was found in the other 32 patients. Conclusion: (1) Multiple and synthetical interventional methods for the occlusive hepatic veins in Budd-Chiari syndrome can be utilized. (2) The intervention of hepatic vein is mini

  13. Leaf and stem water potential as vine water status indicators, in Tempranillo grapevine, under different water regimes in the Duero valley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús Yuste

    2004-03-01

    The measurement of water potential of the leaf has been easier to take, because it is not necessary to cover the leaves prior to taking the measurement (except in the measurement before dawn, in which case one must be in the vineyard at an unpleasant hour. However, using the potential of the xylem it has been possible to make better observations of the differences between treatments, when these differences are not very important.

  14. Duplex sonography of the near-surface leg veins; Duplexsonographie der oberflaechlichen Beinvenen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendoza, E.

    2007-07-01

    The book contains the following contributions: The ultrasonograph, selection of the ultrasonic transducer, anatomy of the near-surface vein system, physiology of the near-surface vein system, varicose status classification, systematics of the duplex sonography of near-surface leg veins, provocational maneuver for the duplex sonographic varicose diagnostics, exploration of vena saphena parva, perforans veins, side branches, phlebitis, sonography for varicose therapy, postsurgical sonography, deep leg veins, examination of near-surface leg veins for the pathology of the deep vein system, differential diagnostic clarification of leg oedema from the phlebologic-lymphological view, diagnostic side features along the near-surface leg veins.

  15. Overexpression of the cytosolic cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX7) from Arabidopsis causes specific changes in root growth and xylem differentiation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kollmer, I.; Novák, Ondřej; Strnad, Miroslav; Schmülling, T.; Werner, T.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 78, č. 3 (2014), s. 359-371 ISSN 0960-7412 Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : xylem differentiation * Arabidopsis thaliana * cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 5.972, year: 2014

  16. Generating and analyzing synthetic finger vein images

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hillerström, Fieke; Kumar, Ajay; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract: The finger-vein biometric offers higher degree of security, personal privacy and strong anti-spoofing capabilities than most other biometric modalities employed today. Emerging privacy concerns with the database acquisition and lack of availability of large scale finger-vein database have

  17. Complications of umbilical vein catherisation. Case Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bothur-Nowacka, J.; Czech-Kowalska, J.; Gruszfeld, D.; Nowakowska-Rysz, M.; Dobrzanska, A.; Kosciesza, A.; Polnik, D.

    2011-01-01

    Umbilical vein catheterization is a relatively easy procedure performed routinely on the neonate intensive care units. It provides a fast central vein access, but some complications have been described in the literature. Case Reports: We presented a case report of a premature infant (34 hbd) with extravasation of the parenteral nutrition and drugs to the liver after umbilical vein catheterization. Fever and increasing biochemical markers of infection were observed. USG revealed a heterogenic, well-limited space of 4 cm in diameter, located in the right lobe of the liver. CT excluded liver abscess. Considering neoplastic process or incorrect location of the catheter of the central vein, we performed liver biopsy. Results: Cytological and biochemical analysis of the aspirated fluid revealed extravasation of parenteral nutrition to the liver.Our case confirms the necessity of controlling a proper location of the central catheter right after its insertion and during hospitalization. (authors)

  18. [Treatment of nontumoral portal vein thrombosis in cirrhosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bañares, Rafael; Catalina, María-Vega

    2014-07-01

    Portal vein thrombosis in cirrhosis is a relatively common complication associated with the presence of an accompanying prothrombotic phenotype of advanced cirrhosis. The consequences of portal vein thrombosis are relevant because it can be associated with impaired hepatic function, might contraindicate hepatic transplantation and could increase morbidity in the surgical procedure. There is controversy concerning the most effective treatment of portal vein thrombosis, which is based on information that is seldom robust and whose primary objective is to achieve a return to vessel patency. Various studies have suggested that starting anticoagulation therapy early is associated with portal vein repatency more frequently than without treatment and has a low rate of complications. There are no proven data on the type of anticoagulant (low-molecular-weight heparins or dicoumarin agents) and the treatment duration. The implementation of TIPS is technically feasible in thrombosis without cavernous transformation and is associated with portal vein recanalization in a significant proportion of cases. Thrombolytic therapy does not appear to present an adequate balance between efficacy and safety; its use is therefore not supported for this indication. The proper definition of treatment for portal vein thrombosis requires properly designed studies to delimit the efficacy and safety of the various alternatives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  19. Regulation of Water Use in the Southernmost European Fir (Abies pinsapo Boiss.: Drought Avoidance Matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Sánchez-Salguero

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The current scenario of global warming has resulted in considerable uncertainty regarding the capacity of forest trees to adapt to increasing drought. Detailed ecophysiological knowledge would provide a basis to forecast expected species dynamics in response to climate change. Here, we compare the water balance (stomatal conductance, xylem water potential, needle osmotic adjustment of Abies pinsapo, a relict drought-sensitive Mediterranean fir, along an altitudinal gradient. We related these variables to soil water and nutrient availability, air temperature, atmospheric water potential, and vapour pressure deficit during two consecutive years. Our results indicate that A. pinsapo closed stomata rapidly over a very narrow range of soil water availability and atmospheric dryness. This isohydric response during water stress suggests that this relict conifer relied on the plant hormone abscisic acid to maintain closed stomata during sustained drought, instead of needle desiccation to passively drive stomatal closure, needle osmotic adjustment or a plastic response of the xylem to different levels of water availability. Both the soil and foliar nutrient contents suggest that the studied populations are not limited by nutrient deficiencies, and drought was stronger in the warmer low-elevation areas.

  20. Influence of tree age and variety on allometric characteristics and water use of Mangifera indica L. growing in plantation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oguntunde, P.G.; fasinmirin, J.T.; Van de Giesen, N.C.

    2011-01-01

    Data on water relations and growth characteristics of mango trees needed for productive plantation management are currently lacking in West Africa. Relationships between allometric properties and water use in mango trees were examined. In addition, the effects on allometric characteristics and xylem

  1. Do quantitative vessel and pit characters account for ion-mediated changes in the hydraulic conductance of angiosperm xylem?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, S.; Gortan, E.; Lens, F.; Assunta Lo Gullo, M.; Salleo, S.; Scholtz, A.; Stein, A.; Trifilò, P.; Nardini, A.

    2011-01-01

    • The hydraulic conductance of angiosperm xylem has been suggested to vary with changes in sap solute concentrations because of intervessel pit properties. • The magnitude of the ‘ionic effect’ was linked with vessel and pit dimensions in 20 angiosperm species covering 13 families including six

  2. Catheter Displacement into Inferior Epigastric Vein Causing Local Phlebitis and Cellulitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noriko Hattori

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Catheter insertion for intravenous hyperalimentation is a commonly and widely used clinical technique. When compared with the incidence of complications associated with insertions into the internal jugular vein or the subclavian vein, complications associated with insertions into the femoral vein are less frequent. In this paper, we describe a very rare complication of femoral vein catheter insertion—namely, catheter displacement into the inferior epigastric vein.

  3. Renal Vein Reconstruction for Harvesting Injury in Kidney Transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birkan Bozkurt

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Kidney transplantation is the best treatment choice in the end-stage renal disease. In the renal transplantation, renal vein damage or shortness which occurs during cadaveric or living donor nephrectomy causes technical difficulties for surgeons. The lack of the donors already especially cadaveric, the acquirement of the graft, gets very much importance. In this report, it is aimed to share the clinical experiment by which it seen, how anastomosis can become appropriate by using the renal vein which is damaged in the way that anastomosis cannot be done anyway by using cadaveric vena cava graft. The renal vein brought to length for anostomosis which is repaired by using cadaveric vena cava graft, is anastomosed successfully by becoming an end-to-side of the external iliac vein of the recipient. Vascular anastomoses are applied easily in technique. The time of the warm ischemia was under 2 hours and the kidney was functional in the post-operative period. Renal vein trombosis was not observed. The renal vein damage occured during cadaveric or living donor nephrectomy, can be repaired by some methods. In the kidneys in which vein requirement is done, the success rates are rather high although acute tubular necrosis and delayed function can be seen more.

  4. Ralstonia solanacearum uses inorganic nitrogen metabolism for virulence, ATP production, and detoxification in the oxygen-limited host xylem environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalsing, Beth L; Truchon, Alicia N; Gonzalez-Orta, Enid T; Milling, Annett S; Allen, Caitilyn

    2015-03-17

    Genomic data predict that, in addition to oxygen, the bacterial plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum can use nitrate (NO3(-)), nitrite (NO2(-)), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrous oxide (N2O) as terminal electron acceptors (TEAs). Genes encoding inorganic nitrogen reduction were highly expressed during tomato bacterial wilt disease, when the pathogen grows in xylem vessels. Direct measurements found that tomato xylem fluid was low in oxygen, especially in plants infected by R. solanacearum. Xylem fluid contained ~25 mM NO3(-), corresponding to R. solanacearum's optimal NO3(-) concentration for anaerobic growth in vitro. We tested the hypothesis that R. solanacearum uses inorganic nitrogen species to respire and grow during pathogenesis by making deletion mutants that each lacked a step in nitrate respiration (ΔnarG), denitrification (ΔaniA, ΔnorB, and ΔnosZ), or NO detoxification (ΔhmpX). The ΔnarG, ΔaniA, and ΔnorB mutants grew poorly on NO3(-) compared to the wild type, and they had reduced adenylate energy charge levels under anaerobiosis. While NarG-dependent NO3(-) respiration directly enhanced growth, AniA-dependent NO2(-) reduction did not. NO2(-) and NO inhibited growth in culture, and their removal depended on denitrification and NO detoxification. Thus, NO3(-) acts as a TEA, but the resulting NO2(-) and NO likely do not. None of the mutants grew as well as the wild type in planta, and strains lacking AniA (NO2(-) reductase) or HmpX (NO detoxification) had reduced virulence on tomato. Thus, R. solanacearum exploits host NO3(-) to respire, grow, and cause disease. Degradation of NO2(-) and NO is also important for successful infection and depends on denitrification and NO detoxification systems. The plant-pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt, one of the world's most destructive crop diseases. This pathogen's explosive growth in plant vascular xylem is poorly understood. We used biochemical and genetic approaches to show

  5. Cytokinin Activity in Water-stressed Shoots 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itai, Chanan; Vaadia, Yoash

    1971-01-01

    Water stress applied to the plant shoot through enhanced evaporative demands reduced cytokinin activity in extracts of xylem exudate and leaves. This reduction resembled the changes in cytokinin activity caused by water stress applied to the root. Cytokinin activity in detached wilting leaves decreased rapidly. Recovery took place after several hours in a humid chamber. Experiments with 14C-kinetin indicated that the mechanism of the inactivation and its reversal involve a chemical transformation of the cytokinin molecule. PMID:16657585

  6. Sap fluxes from different parts of the rootzone modulate xylem ABA concentration during partial rootzone drying and re-wetting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Pérez, J G; Dodd, I C

    2015-04-01

    Previous studies with partial rootzone drying (PRD) irrigation demonstrated that alternating the wet and dry parts of the rootzone (PRD-Alternated) increased leaf xylem ABA concentration ([X-ABA]leaf) compared with maintaining the same wet and dry parts of the rootzone (PRD-Fixed). To determine the relative contributions of different parts of the rootzone to this ABA signal, [X-ABA]leaf of potted, split-root tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants was modelled by quantifying the proportional water uptake from different soil compartments, and [X-ABA]leaf responses to the entire pot soil-water content (θpot). Continuously measuring soil-moisture depletion by, or sap fluxes from, different parts of the root system revealed that water uptake rapidly declined (within hours) after withholding water from part of the rootzone, but was rapidly restored (within minutes) upon re-watering. Two hours after re-watering part of the rootzone, [X-ABA]leaf was equally well predicted according to θpot alone and by accounting for the proportional water uptake from different parts of the rootzone. Six hours after re-watering part of the rootzone, water uptake by roots in drying soil was minimal and, instead, occurred mainly from the newly irrigated part of the rootzone, thus [X-ABA]leaf was best predicted by accounting for the proportional water uptake from different parts of the rootzone. Contrary to previous results, alternating the wet and dry parts of the rootzone did not enhance [X-ABA]leaf compared with PRD-Fixed irrigation. Further work is required to establish whether altered root-to-shoot ABA signalling contributes to the improved yields of crops grown with alternate, rather than fixed, PRD. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  7. Congestive index of portal vein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Won Ho; Kim, H. K.; Lee, S. C.; Han, S. H.; Han, K. H.; Chung, J. B.; Choi, H. J.

    1989-01-01

    In patients with portal hypertension, the blood flow volume is maintained despite decreased blood flow velocity due to enlargement of the vascular cross sectional area. Thus, the 'congestion index' of the portal vein, which is the ratio between the cross sectional area (cm2) and the blood flow velocity (cm/sec) determined by a Doppler ultrasonography, may be a sensitive index by which to assess portal hypertension. We performed Doppler ultrasonography on 24 normal subjects, 14 patients with biopsy proved chronic active hepatitis and 55 patients with liver cirrhosis in order to assess the diagnostic value of the congestion index. The cross sectional area of the portal vein was significantly enlarged and the mean blood flow velocity was significantly reduced in patients with liver cirrhosis compared with controls. However, the blood flow volume was no difference. The congestion index of the portal vein was significantly increased in patients with liver cirrhosis (0.113+0.035) compared with patients with chronic active hepatitis(0.078+0.029) (p<0.001) and controls (0.053+0.016) (p<0.001). The sensitivity, specificity and predictability of the congestion index for detection of patients with the cirrhosis of the liver were 76.4%, 100% and 100% respectively, when the normal range was set at mean+2SD. The results suggest that the congestion index of the portal vein may pla a significant role in diagnosis of portal hypertensive patients

  8. Phenotypic heterogeneity in the endothelium of the human vortex vein system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Paula K; Tan, Priscilla E Z; Cringle, Stephen J; McAllister, Ian L; Yu, Dao-Yi

    2013-10-01

    The vortex vein system is the drainage pathway for the choroidal circulation and serves an important function in the effective drainage of the exceptionally high blood flow from the choroidal circulation. As there are only 4-6 vortex veins, a large volume of blood must be drained from many choroidal veins into each individual vortex vein. The vortex vein system must also cope with passing through tissues of different rigidity and significant pressure gradient as it transverses from the intrao-cular to the extra-ocular compartments. However, little is known about how the vortex vein system works under such complex situations in both physiological and pathological condition. Endothelial cells play a vital role in other vascular systems, but they have not been studied in detail in the vortex vein system. The purpose of this study is to characterise the intracellular structures and morphology in both the intra-and extra-ocular regions of the human vortex vein system. We hypothesise the presence of endothelial phenotypic heterogeneity through the vortex vein system. The inferior temporal vortex vein system from human donor eyes were obtained and studied histologically using confocal microscopy. The f-actin cytoskeleton and nuclei were labelled using Alexa Fluor conjugated Phalloidin and YO-PRO-1. Eight regions of the vortex vein system were examined with the venous endothelium studied in detail with quantitative data obtained for endothelial cell and nuclei size and shape. Significant endothelial phenotypic heterogeneity was found throughout the vortex vein system with the most obvious differences observed between the ampulla and its downstream regions. Variation in the distribution pattern of smooth muscle cells, in particular the absence of smooth muscle cells around the ampulla, was noted. Our results suggest the presence of significantly different haemodynamic forces in different regions of the vortex vein system and indicate that the vortex vein system may play

  9. Finger Vein Recognition Based on Personalized Weight Maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Gongping; Xiao, Rongyang; Yin, Yilong; Yang, Lu

    2013-01-01

    Finger vein recognition is a promising biometric recognition technology, which verifies identities via the vein patterns in the fingers. Binary pattern based methods were thoroughly studied in order to cope with the difficulties of extracting the blood vessel network. However, current binary pattern based finger vein matching methods treat every bit of feature codes derived from different image of various individuals as equally important and assign the same weight value to them. In this paper, we propose a finger vein recognition method based on personalized weight maps (PWMs). The different bits have different weight values according to their stabilities in a certain number of training samples from an individual. Firstly we present the concept of PWM, and then propose the finger vein recognition framework, which mainly consists of preprocessing, feature extraction, and matching. Finally, we design extensive experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposal. Experimental results show that PWM achieves not only better performance, but also high robustness and reliability. In addition, PWM can be used as a general framework for binary pattern based recognition. PMID:24025556

  10. Finger Vein Recognition Based on Personalized Weight Maps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Yang

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Finger vein recognition is a promising biometric recognition technology, which verifies identities via the vein patterns in the fingers. Binary pattern based methods were thoroughly studied in order to cope with the difficulties of extracting the blood vessel network. However, current binary pattern based finger vein matching methods treat every bit of feature codes derived from different image of various individuals as equally important and assign the same weight value to them. In this paper, we propose a finger vein recognition method based on personalized weight maps (PWMs. The different bits have different weight values according to their stabilities in a certain number of training samples from an individual. Firstly we present the concept of PWM, and then propose the finger vein recognition framework, which mainly consists of preprocessing, feature extraction, and matching. Finally, we design extensive experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposal. Experimental results show that PWM achieves not only better performance, but also high robustness and reliability. In addition, PWM can be used as a general framework for binary pattern based recognition.

  11. Deep Vein Thrombosis

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2012-04-05

    This podcast discusses the risk for deep vein thrombosis in long-distance travelers and ways to minimize that risk.  Created: 4/5/2012 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 4/5/2012.

  12. Characterization of a porcine model of chronic superficial varicose veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Gregory T; Grant, Mark W; Thomson, Ian A; Hill, B Geraldine; van Rij, André M

    2009-06-01

    Previous animal models of venous disease, while inducing venous hypertension and valvular insufficiency, do not produce superficial varicose veins. In this study, we aimed to develop and characterize a pig-based model of superficial varicose veins. Right femoral arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) were surgically fashioned in young adult pigs. Animals were examined at postoperative times up to 15 weeks to determine the development of varicose veins and measurement of both blood pressure and flow velocities within the superficial thigh veins. Histology and vascular corrosion casts were used to characterize the resulting structural venous alterations. Porcine pathophysiological features were compared with those of human primary superficial varicose veins. Gross superficial varicosities developed over the ipsilateral medial thigh region after an initial lag period of 1-2 weeks. Veins demonstrated retrograde filling with valvular incompetence, and a moderate, non-pulsatile, venous hypertension, which was altered by changes in posture and Valsalva. Venous blood flow velocities were elevated to 15-30 cm/s in varicose veins. Structurally, pig varicose veins were enlarged, tortuous, had valvular degeneration, and regions of focal medial atrophy with or without overlying intimal thickening. The superficial varicose veins, which developed within this model, have a pathophysiology that is consistent with that observed in humans. The porcine femoral AVF model is proposed as a suitable experimental model to evaluate the pathobiology of superficial venous disease. It may also be suitable for the evaluation of treatment interventions including drug therapy.

  13. [Portal perfusion with right gastroepiploic vein flow in liver transplant].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Sánchez, Federico; Javier-Haro, Francisco; Mendoza-Medina, Diego Federico; González-Ojeda, Alejandro; Cortés-Lares, José Antonio; Fuentes-Orozco, Clotilde

    Liver transplantation in patients with liver cirrhosis, portal vein thrombosis, and cavernous transformation of the portal vein, is a complex procedure with high possibility of liver graft dysfunction. It is performed in 2-19% of all liver transplants, and has a significantly high mortality rate in the post-operative period. Other procedures to maintain portal perfusion have been described, however there are no reports of liver graft perfusion using right gastroepiploic vein. A 20 year-old female diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis, with a Child-Pugh score of 7 points (class "B"), and MELD score of 14 points, with thrombosis and cavernous transformation of the portal vein, severe portal hypertension, splenomegaly, a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to oesophageal varices, and left renal agenesis. The preoperative evaluation for liver transplantation was completed, and the right gastroepiploic vein of 1-cm diameter was observed draining to the infrahepatic inferior vena cava and right suprarenal vein. An orthotopic liver transplantation was performed from a non-living donor (deceased on January 30, 2005) using the Piggy-Back technique. Portal vein perfusion was maintained using the right gastroepiploic vein, and the outcome was satisfactory. The patient was discharged 13 days after surgery. Liver transplantation was performed satisfactorily, obtaining an acceptable outcome. In this case, the portal perfusion had adequate blood flow through the right gastroepiploic vein. Copyright © 2015 Academia Mexicana de Cirugía A.C. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

  14. A study of images of Projective Angles of pulmonary veins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Jue [Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing (China); Zhaoqi, Zhang [Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing (China)], E-mail: zhaoqi5000@vip.sohu.com; Yu Wei; Miao Cuilian; Yan Zixu; Zhao Yike [Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing (China)

    2009-09-15

    Aims: In images of magnetic resonance and computed tomography (CT) there are visible angles between pulmonary veins and the coronary, transversal or sagittal section of body. In this study these angles are measured and defined as Projective Angles of pulmonary veins. Several possible influential factors and characters of distribution are studied and analyzed for a better understanding of this imaging anatomic character of pulmonary veins. And it could be the anatomic base of adjusting correctly the angle of the central X-ray of the angiography of pulmonary veins undergoing the catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Method: Images of contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEMRA) and contrast enhanced computer tomography (CECT) of the left atrium and pulmonary veins of 137 health objects and patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are processed with the technique of post-processing, and Projective Angles to the coronary and transversal sections are measured and analyzed statistically. Result: Project Angles of pulmonary veins are one of real and steady imaging anatomic characteristics of pulmonary veins. The statistical distribution of variables is relatively concentrated, with a fairly good representation of average value. It is possible to improve the angle of the central X-ray according to the average value in the selective angiography of pulmonary veins undergoing the catheter ablation of AF.

  15. Adrenal vein catheterization. Anatomic considerations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Sherief, M.A. (Akademiska Sjukhuset, Uppsala (Sweden))

    1982-01-01

    Twenty post-mortem specimens and 93 phlebographies (56 right side, 37 left side) from 44 patients were investigated with respect to the adrenal venous anatomy. At autopsy, the venous orifices displayed in the area of adrenal drainage were injected bilaterally to identify the adrenal vein(s), the surrounding channels and the presence of interconnections. The findings were correlated with those at clinical phlebography, and the different sources of error were elicited. These were mainly found on the right side. Some guidelines are suggested in the hope that these will contribute to eliminate misconceptions.

  16. Treatment of hepatic encephalopathy by retrograde transcaval coil embolization of an ileal vein-to-right gonadal vein portosystemic shunt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishie, Akihiro; Yoshimitsu, Kengo; Honda, Hiroshi; Kaneko, Kuniyuki; Kuroiwa, Toshiro; Fukuya, Tatsuro; Irie, Hiroyuki; Ninomiya, Toshiharu; Yoshimitsu, Takahiro; Hirakata, Hideki; Okuda, Seiya; Masuda, Kouji

    1997-01-01

    A 43-year-old non-cirrhotic woman suffered from encephalopathy caused by an extrahepatic portosystemic shunt between the ileal vein and inferior vena cava via the right gonadal vein. Percutaneous transcatheter embolization with stainless steel coils was performed by the retrograde systemic venous approach. Encephalopathy improved dramatically

  17. Vein-type uranium deposits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rich, R.A.; Holland, H.D.; Petersen, U.

    1975-01-01

    A critical review is presented of published data bearing on the mineralogy, paragenesis, geochemistry, and origin of veiw-type uranium deposits. Its aim is to serve as a starting point for new research and as a basis for the development of new exploration strategies. During the formation of both vein and sandstone types of deposits uranium seems to have been dissolved by and transported in rather oxidized solutions, and deposited where these solutions encountered reducing agents such as carbon, sulfides, ferrous minerals and hydrocarbons. Granitic rocks abnormally enriched in uranium have apparently been the most common source for uranium in vein-type deposits. Oxidizing solutions have been derived either from the surface or from depth. Surface solutions saturated with atmospheric oxygen have frequently passed through red bed or clean sandstone conduits on their way to and from uranium source rocks. Deep solutions of non-surface origin have apparently become sufficiently oxidizing by passage through and equilibration with red beds. The common association of clean sandstones or red beds with uranium-rich granites in the vicinity of vein-type uranium deposits is probably not fortuitous, and areas where these rock types are found together are considered particularly favorable targets for uranium exploration

  18. Interposition vein cuffs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, P; Da Silva, T; How, T

    1996-01-01

    A vein cuff interposed at the distal anastomosis between a prosthetic vascular graft and a recipient infrageniculate artery improves the chances of continued patency of the graft, at least in the short and medium term. The mode of effect appears to be suppression or modification of anastomotic myointimal hyperplasia (MIH). In the event of graft failure the recipient artery and run-off vessels remain free from MIH and their patency is preserved thereby improving the prospects for further vascular reconstruction and limb salvage. The mechanisms by which interposition vein cuffs might modulate MIH are reviewed. Experimental evidence is described to show that the geometry of a cuffed anastomosis promotes a characteristic haemodynamic flow structure with a stable vortex. It is suggested that this vortex exerts greater shear stress upon the wall of the artery than the normal laminar flow observed in conventional anastomoses. High shear stress is known to inhibit MIH.

  19. High spatial resolution and high contrast visualization of brain arteries and veins. Impact of blood pool contrast agent and water-selective excitation imaging at 3T

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spuentrup, E.; Jacobs, J.E.; Kleimann, J.F.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate a blood pool contrast agent and water-selective excitation imaging at 3 T for high spatial and high contrast imaging of brain vessels including the veins. Methods and Results: 48 clinical patients (47 ± 18 years old) were included. Based on clinical findings, twenty-four patients received a single dose of standard extracellular Gadoterate-meglumine (Dotarem registered ) and 24 received the blood pool contrast agent Gadofosveset (Vasovist registered ). After finishing routine MR protocols, all patients were investigated with two high spatial resolution (0.15 mm 3 voxel size) gradient echo sequences in random order in the equilibrium phase (steady-state) as approved by the review board: A standard RF-spoiled gradient-echo sequence (HR-SS, TR/TE 5.1 / 2.3 msec, FA 30 ) and a fat-suppressed gradient-echo sequence with water-selective excitation (HR-FS, 1331 binominal-pulse, TR/TE 8.8 / 3.8 msec, FA 30 ). The images were subjectively assessed (image quality with vessel contrast, artifacts, depiction of lesions) by two investigators and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were compared using the Student's t-test. The image quality and CNR in the HR-FS were significantly superior compared to the HR-SS for both contrast agents (p < 0.05). The CNR was also improved when using the blood pool agent but only to a minor extent while the subjective image quality was similar for both contrast agents. Conclusion: The utilized sequence with water-selective excitation improved image quality and CNR properties in high spatial resolution imaging of brain arteries and veins. The used blood pool contrast agent improved the CNR only to a minor extent over the extracellular contrast agent. (orig.)

  20. Lignin depletion enhances the digestibility of cellulose in cultured xylem cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine I Lacayo

    Full Text Available Plant lignocellulose constitutes an abundant and sustainable source of polysaccharides that can be converted into biofuels. However, the enzymatic digestion of native plant cell walls is inefficient, presenting a considerable barrier to cost-effective biofuel production. In addition to the insolubility of cellulose and hemicellulose, the tight association of lignin with these polysaccharides intensifies the problem of cell wall recalcitrance. To determine the extent to which lignin influences the enzymatic digestion of cellulose, specifically in secondary walls that contain the majority of cellulose and lignin in plants, we used a model system consisting of cultured xylem cells from Zinniaelegans. Rather than using purified cell wall substrates or plant tissue, we have applied this system to study cell wall degradation because it predominantly consists of homogeneous populations of single cells exhibiting large deposits of lignocellulose. We depleted lignin in these cells by treating with an oxidative chemical or by inhibiting lignin biosynthesis, and then examined the resulting cellulose digestibility and accessibility using a fluorescent cellulose-binding probe. Following cellulase digestion, we measured a significant decrease in relative cellulose content in lignin-depleted cells, whereas cells with intact lignin remained essentially unaltered. We also observed a significant increase in probe binding after lignin depletion, indicating that decreased lignin levels improve cellulose accessibility. These results indicate that lignin depletion considerably enhances the digestibility of cellulose in the cell wall by increasing the susceptibility of cellulose to enzymatic attack. Although other wall components are likely to contribute, our quantitative study exploits cultured Zinnia xylem cells to demonstrate the dominant influence of lignin on the enzymatic digestion of the cell wall. This system is simple enough for quantitative image analysis

  1. Xylem formation can be modeled statistically as a function of primary growth and cambium activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jian-Guo; Deslauriers, Annie; Rossi, Sergio

    2014-08-01

    Primary (budburst, foliage and shoot) growth and secondary (cambium and xylem) growth of plants play a vital role in sequestering atmospheric carbon. However, their potential relationships have never been mathematically quantified and the underlying physiological mechanisms are unclear. We monitored primary and secondary growth in Picea mariana and Abies balsamea on a weekly basis from 2010 to 2013 at four sites over an altitudinal gradient (25-900 m) in the eastern Canadian boreal forest. We determined the timings of onset and termination through the fitted functions and their first derivative. We quantified the potential relationships between primary growth and secondary growth using the mixed-effects model. We found that xylem formation of boreal conifers can be modeled as a function of cambium activity, bud phenology, and shoot and needle growth, as well as species- and site-specific factors. Our model reveals that there may be an optimal mechanism to simultaneously allocate the photosynthetic products and stored nonstructural carbon to growth of different organs at different times in the growing season. This mathematical link can bridge phenological modeling, forest ecosystem productivity and carbon cycle modeling, which will certainly contribute to an improved prediction of ecosystem productivity and carbon equilibrium. © 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

  2. Internal jugular vein: Peripheral vein adrenocorticotropic hormone ratio in patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone-dependent Cushing′s syndrome: Ratio calculated from one adrenocorticotropic hormone sample each from right and left internal jugular vein during corticotrophin releasing hormone stimulation test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sachin Chittawar

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Demonstration of central: Peripheral adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH gradient is important for diagnosis of Cushing′s disease. Aim: The aim was to assess the utility of internal jugular vein (IJV: Peripheral vein ACTH ratio for diagnosis of Cushing′s disease. Materials and Methods: Patients with ACTH-dependent Cushing′s syndrome (CS patients were the subjects for this study. One blood sample each was collected from right and left IJV following intravenous hCRH at 3 and 5 min, respectively. A simultaneous peripheral vein sample was also collected with each IJV sample for calculation of IJV: Peripheral vein ACTH ratio. IJV sample collection was done under ultrasound guidance. ACTH was assayed using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA. Results: Thirty-two patients participated in this study. The IJV: Peripheral vein ACTH ratio ranged from 1.07 to 6.99 ( n = 32. It was more than 1.6 in 23 patients. Cushing′s disease could be confirmed in 20 of the 23 cases with IJV: Peripheral vein ratio more than 1.6. Four patients with Cushing′s disease and 2 patients with ectopic ACTH syndrome had IJV: Peripheral vein ACTH ratio less than 1.6. Six cases with unknown ACTH source were excluded for calculation of sensitivity and specificity of the test. Conclusion: IJV: Peripheral vein ACTH ratio calculated from a single sample from each IJV obtained after hCRH had 83% sensitivity and 100% specificity for diagnosis of CD.

  3. Convolutional Neural Network-Based Finger-Vein Recognition Using NIR Image Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Hyung Gil; Lee, Min Beom; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2017-06-06

    Conventional finger-vein recognition systems perform recognition based on the finger-vein lines extracted from the input images or image enhancement, and texture feature extraction from the finger-vein images. In these cases, however, the inaccurate detection of finger-vein lines lowers the recognition accuracy. In the case of texture feature extraction, the developer must experimentally decide on a form of the optimal filter for extraction considering the characteristics of the image database. To address this problem, this research proposes a finger-vein recognition method that is robust to various database types and environmental changes based on the convolutional neural network (CNN). In the experiments using the two finger-vein databases constructed in this research and the SDUMLA-HMT finger-vein database, which is an open database, the method proposed in this research showed a better performance compared to the conventional methods.

  4. The vein collar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundgren, F; Schroeder, Torben Veith

    2012-01-01

    Randomized studies evaluating the effect of a vein collar at the distal anastomosis of PTFE-grafts show conflicting results. The study of the Joint Vascular Research Group (JVRG) of UK found improved primary patency while the Scandinavian Miller Collar Study (SCAMICOS) found neither any effect...

  5. Mesenteric vein thrombosis after percitaneous transhepatic portal vein catheterisation for the localisation of an insulinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luska, G.; Langer, H.E.; Le Blanc, S.; Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

    1984-01-01

    The authors report on a fatal mesenteric vein thrombosis following an uncomplicated percutaneous transhepatic portal vein catheterisation for the localisation of an insulinoma. Several hours after the procedure the patient developed an acute abdomen. An emergency laparotomy revealed a haemorrhagic infarct of the ileum. The resected specimen showed an acute phlebitis with fresh thrombus. The cause of the phlebothrombosis was thought to be intimal damage from high osmolar contrast medium. There was no evidence of damage due to the catheder, either on the phlebogram or pathologically. (orig.) [de

  6. Measurement of imidacloprid in xylem fluid from eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) by derivitization/GC/MS and ELISA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony Lagalante; Peter Greenbacker; Jonathan Jones; Richard Turcotte; Bradley Onken

    2007-01-01

    Imidacloprid is a nonvolatile insecticide and its direct quantification is not possible by gas chromatography. In order to ascertain imidacloprid levels in soil and trunk injection treated trees, a sensitive and selective method has been developed using GC/MS to measure the imidacloprid levels in xylem fluid exudates. In May 2005, a stand of hemlock trees in West...

  7. NMR, water and plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    As, H. van.

    1982-01-01

    This thesis describes the application of a non-destructive pulsed proton NMR method mainly to measure water transport in the xylem vessels of plant stems and in some model systems. The results are equally well applicable to liquid flow in other biological objects than plants, e.g. flow of blood and other body fluids in human and animals. The method is based on a pulse sequence of equidistant π pulses in combination with a linear magnetic field gradient. (Auth.)

  8. Incidental retroaortic left innominate vein in adult patient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Semionov, MD, PhD

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Retro-aortic left innominate vein is a rare vascular abnormality, usually associated with congenital heart disease. Here we report a case of isolated retro-aortic left innominate vein in an adult female.

  9. TrapEase inferior vena cava filter placement: use of the subclavian vein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Patrick A; Aburahma, Ali F; Hass, Stephen M; Hofeldt, Matthew J; Zimmerman, William B; Deel, John T; Deluca, John A

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the safety and technical success of TrapEase inferior vena cava filter placement via the subclavian vein. As of yet, no reports in the literature have specifically investigated the use of the subclavian vein as a route for deploying TrapEase vena cava filters. Retrospective chart review was conducted of 135 patients with attempted TrapEase inferior vena cava filter placement over a 2-year period. In a majority of cases, the choice of subclavian vein approach was based primarily on surgeon preference. Other circumstances for subclavian vein deployment included cervical immobilization secondary to trauma, desire for concomitant placement of a subclavian long-term central venous access catheter, and patient body habitus limiting exposure to the internal jugular vein. One hundred and thirty-five filters were placed over this 2-year period. The internal jugular vein approach was used in 56 patients, the femoral vein approach in 39 patients, and the subclavian vein approach in 40 patients. Thirty-nine of the 40 TrapEase filter placements using the subclavian vein were successful. Twenty-six were deployed through the right subclavian vein and 14 through the left subclavian vein. The single failed subclavian deployment was due to the inability to pass the guidewire adequately into the inferior vena cava after successful cannulation of the right subclavian vein. The average deployment time for subclavian vein placement was 26 minutes when TrapEase filter placement was the only procedure performed. No insertional complications were encountered, specifically no pneumothoraces confirmed by chest radiography or fluoroscopy. The subclavian vein provides an alternative site of access for the TrapEase inferior vena cava filter. This route is comparable to other alternative methods evaluated both in average deployment time and complication occurrence. Furthermore, the subclavian vein route is valuable in patients with limited central access

  10. Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injections in the treatment of retinal vein occlusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth, Daniel B; Cukras, Catherine; Radhakrishnan, Ravi; Feuer, William J; Yarian, David L; Green, Stuart N; Wheatley, Harold M; Prenner, Jonathan

    2008-01-01

    To report the visual acuity response after intravitreal triamcinolone injection in patients with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusions. Retrospective nonrandomized interventional series of 172 consecutive patients with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusions who were treated with intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection. Patients underwent Snellen visual acuity testing and ophthalmoscopic examination at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection. All subtypes of retinal vein occlusions showed significant improvements in mean visual acuity 1 month after injection. This improvement in visual acuity was maintained over the 12-month period for all but the central retinal vein occlusion group. Seventy-one (41.3%) of the 172 patients received more than one intravitreal triamcinolone injection for unresolved or recurrent macular edema. This study demonstrates a benefit associated with intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection for retinal vein occlusions that was maintained by patients with branch retinal vein occlusions and hemiretinal vein occlusions over a 12-month period. Visual acuity improvement was not maintained in patients with central retinal vein occlusions with this course of treatment.

  11. Robust finger vein ROI localization based on flexible segmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yu; Xie, Shan Juan; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

    2013-10-24

    Finger veins have been proved to be an effective biometric for personal identification in the recent years. However, finger vein images are easily affected by influences such as image translation, orientation, scale, scattering, finger structure, complicated background, uneven illumination, and collection posture. All these factors may contribute to inaccurate region of interest (ROI) definition, and so degrade the performance of finger vein identification system. To improve this problem, in this paper, we propose a finger vein ROI localization method that has high effectiveness and robustness against the above factors. The proposed method consists of a set of steps to localize ROIs accurately, namely segmentation, orientation correction, and ROI detection. Accurate finger region segmentation and correct calculated orientation can support each other to produce higher accuracy in localizing ROIs. Extensive experiments have been performed on the finger vein image database, MMCBNU_6000, to verify the robustness of the proposed method. The proposed method shows the segmentation accuracy of 100%. Furthermore, the average processing time of the proposed method is 22 ms for an acquired image, which satisfies the criterion of a real-time finger vein identification system.

  12. Robust Finger Vein ROI Localization Based on Flexible Segmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Sun Park

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Finger veins have been proved to be an effective biometric for personal identification in the recent years. However, finger vein images are easily affected by influences such as image translation, orientation, scale, scattering, finger structure, complicated background, uneven illumination, and collection posture. All these factors may contribute to inaccurate region of interest (ROI definition, and so degrade the performance of finger vein identification system. To improve this problem, in this paper, we propose a finger vein ROI localization method that has high effectiveness and robustness against the above factors. The proposed method consists of a set of steps to localize ROIs accurately, namely segmentation, orientation correction, and ROI detection. Accurate finger region segmentation and correct calculated orientation can support each other to produce higher accuracy in localizing ROIs. Extensive experiments have been performed on the finger vein image database, MMCBNU_6000, to verify the robustness of the proposed method. The proposed method shows the segmentation accuracy of 100%. Furthermore, the average processing time of the proposed method is 22 ms for an acquired image, which satisfies the criterion of a real-time finger vein identification system.

  13. Robust Finger Vein ROI Localization Based on Flexible Segmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yu; Xie, Shan Juan; Yoon, Sook; Yang, Jucheng; Park, Dong Sun

    2013-01-01

    Finger veins have been proved to be an effective biometric for personal identification in the recent years. However, finger vein images are easily affected by influences such as image translation, orientation, scale, scattering, finger structure, complicated background, uneven illumination, and collection posture. All these factors may contribute to inaccurate region of interest (ROI) definition, and so degrade the performance of finger vein identification system. To improve this problem, in this paper, we propose a finger vein ROI localization method that has high effectiveness and robustness against the above factors. The proposed method consists of a set of steps to localize ROIs accurately, namely segmentation, orientation correction, and ROI detection. Accurate finger region segmentation and correct calculated orientation can support each other to produce higher accuracy in localizing ROIs. Extensive experiments have been performed on the finger vein image database, MMCBNU_6000, to verify the robustness of the proposed method. The proposed method shows the segmentation accuracy of 100%. Furthermore, the average processing time of the proposed method is 22 ms for an acquired image, which satisfies the criterion of a real-time finger vein identification system. PMID:24284769

  14. Testing the plant pneumatic method to estimate xylem embolism resistance in stems of temperate trees

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Ya; Lamarque, Laurent J.; Torres-Ruiz, José Manuel; Schuldt, Bernhard; Karimi, Zohreh; Li, Shan; Qin, De-Wen; Bittencourt, Paulo; Burlett, Régis; Cao, Kun-Fang; Delzon, Sylvain; Oliveira, Rafael; Pereira, Luciano; Jansen, Steven

    2018-01-01

    Methods to estimate xylem embolism resistance generally rely on hydraulic measurements, which can be far from straightforward. Recently, a pneumatic method based on air flow measurements of terminal branch ends was proposed to construct vulnerability curves by linking the amount of air extracted from a branch with the degree of embolism. We applied this novel technique for 10 temperate tree species, including six diffuse, two ring-porous and two gymnosperm species, and compared the pneumatic ...

  15. The hydraulic mechanism in the hind wing veins of Cybister japonicus Sharp (order: Coleoptera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiyu Sun

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The diving beetles (Dytiscidae, Coleoptera are families of water beetles. When they see light, they fly to the light source directly from the water. Their hind wings are thin and fragile under the protection of their elytra (forewings. When the beetle is at rest the hind wings are folded over the abdomen of the beetle and when in flight they unfold to provide the necessary aerodynamic forces. In this paper, the unfolding process of the hind wing of Cybister japonicus Sharp (order: Coleoptera was investigated. The motion characteristics of the blood in the veins of the structure system show that the veins have microfluidic control over the hydraulic mechanism of the unfolding process. A model is established, and the hind wing extending process is simulated. The blood flow and pressure changes are discussed. The driving mechanism for hydraulic control of the folding and unfolding actions of beetle hind wings is put forward. This can assist the design of new deployable micro air vehicles and bioinspired deployable systems.

  16. Contact-free palm-vein recognition based on local invariant features.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenxiong Kang

    Full Text Available Contact-free palm-vein recognition is one of the most challenging and promising areas in hand biometrics. In view of the existing problems in contact-free palm-vein imaging, including projection transformation, uneven illumination and difficulty in extracting exact ROIs, this paper presents a novel recognition approach for contact-free palm-vein recognition that performs feature extraction and matching on all vein textures distributed over the palm surface, including finger veins and palm veins, to minimize the loss of feature information. First, a hierarchical enhancement algorithm, which combines a DOG filter and histogram equalization, is adopted to alleviate uneven illumination and to highlight vein textures. Second, RootSIFT, a more stable local invariant feature extraction method in comparison to SIFT, is adopted to overcome the projection transformation in contact-free mode. Subsequently, a novel hierarchical mismatching removal algorithm based on neighborhood searching and LBP histograms is adopted to improve the accuracy of feature matching. Finally, we rigorously evaluated the proposed approach using two different databases and obtained 0.996% and 3.112% Equal Error Rates (EERs, respectively, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  17. Contact-free palm-vein recognition based on local invariant features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Wenxiong; Liu, Yang; Wu, Qiuxia; Yue, Xishun

    2014-01-01

    Contact-free palm-vein recognition is one of the most challenging and promising areas in hand biometrics. In view of the existing problems in contact-free palm-vein imaging, including projection transformation, uneven illumination and difficulty in extracting exact ROIs, this paper presents a novel recognition approach for contact-free palm-vein recognition that performs feature extraction and matching on all vein textures distributed over the palm surface, including finger veins and palm veins, to minimize the loss of feature information. First, a hierarchical enhancement algorithm, which combines a DOG filter and histogram equalization, is adopted to alleviate uneven illumination and to highlight vein textures. Second, RootSIFT, a more stable local invariant feature extraction method in comparison to SIFT, is adopted to overcome the projection transformation in contact-free mode. Subsequently, a novel hierarchical mismatching removal algorithm based on neighborhood searching and LBP histograms is adopted to improve the accuracy of feature matching. Finally, we rigorously evaluated the proposed approach using two different databases and obtained 0.996% and 3.112% Equal Error Rates (EERs), respectively, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  18. Budd-Chiari and inferior caval vein syndromes due to membranous obstruction of the liver veins. Successful treatment with angioplasty and transcaval TIPS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holland-Fischer, Peter

    2004-01-01

    The case is presented of a 25-year-old Caucasian patient with Budd-Chiari syndrome due to membranous obstruction of the liver veins and inferior caval vein syndrome as a result of secondary hyperplasia of the caudate lobe of the liver, obstructing the caval vein. Diagnosis was established...... that angioplasty and TIPS are safe and efficient procedures to reduce liver engorgement and complications of portal hypertension in selected patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome....

  19. Retinal vein occlusion: pathophysiology and treatment options

    OpenAIRE

    Karia, Niral

    2010-01-01

    Niral KariaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Southend Hospital, Prittlewell Chase, Westcliff on Sea, Essex, United KingdomAbstract: This paper reviews the current thinking about retinal vein occlusion. It gives an overview of its pathophysiology and discusses the evidence behind the various established and emerging treatment paradigms.Keywords: central, hemispheric, branch, retinal vein occlusion, visual loss

  20. Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus in interrupted inferior caval vein through femoral vein approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Endale Tefera

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Percutaneous closure of the patent arterial duct in patients with interrupted inferior caval vein poses a technical challenge. A 12-year-old girl with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA and interrupted inferior caval vein is described in this report. The diagnosis of interrupted inferior caval vein and azygos continuation was made in the catheterization laboratory. A catheter was advanced and snared in the descending aorta. An exchange wire was advanced through the catheter and snared in the descending aorta. Then, an Amplatzer TorqVue 2 delivery sheath was advanced over the wire from the venous side and again snared in the descending aorta. An Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO size 8/6 was advanced through the sheath while still holding the sheath with a snare. The device was opened. The sheath was then unsnared once the aortic disc was completely out. The sheath and the device were pulled back into the duct and the device was successfully implanted. The device was then released and it attained a stable position. An aortic angiogram was performed which showed complete occlusion.

  1. Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus in interrupted inferior caval vein through femoral vein approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tefera, Endale; Bermudez-Cañete, Ramon

    2014-01-01

    Percutaneous closure of the patent arterial duct in patients with interrupted inferior caval vein poses a technical challenge. A 12-year-old girl with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and interrupted inferior caval vein is described in this report. The diagnosis of interrupted inferior caval vein and azygos continuation was made in the catheterization laboratory. A catheter was advanced and snared in the descending aorta. An exchange wire was advanced through the catheter and snared in the descending aorta. Then, an Amplatzer TorqVue 2 delivery sheath was advanced over the wire from the venous side and again snared in the descending aorta. An Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO) size 8/6 was advanced through the sheath while still holding the sheath with a snare. The device was opened. The sheath was then unsnared once the aortic disc was completely out. The sheath and the device were pulled back into the duct and the device was successfully implanted. The device was then released and it attained a stable position. An aortic angiogram was performed which showed complete occlusion

  2. [Intraosseous veins of the maxilla in the newborn].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogdanov, R A

    1975-12-01

    The intraosseous veins of the maxilla in newborns grow larger with enlargement of the bone and become disposed in three mutually perpendicular planes. The venous plexus of the alveolar process is large. V. v. vallares are thin and interlace forming a network. The veins of interdental septum are well pronounced. The thick venous network of the periosteum and the mucous membrane of the nasal surface of the palatine process includes the vessels transversal and longitudinal to the nasal septum. The venous loops of the incisor part are of triangular, pentagonal and polygonal shape. The veins of the palatine process are connected with 3-4 large vessels falling into the vessels of the tear duct. The transversal and oblique veins of the oral surface of the palatine process are connected with large vessels disposed in parallel to the medial structure of the hard palate. The venous network of the incisor part of the bone is restricted by densified small arc-shaped plexuses. Two-three largest veins lie sagittally and, connected by arc-shaped anastomoses, are tributaries of the vessels of the palate bone, soft palate and pharynx.

  3. Anatomical variation of thyroid veins on contrast-enhanced multi-detector row computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomita, Hayato, E-mail: m04149@yahoo.co.jp [Department of Radiology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Yokohama City Seibu Hospital, 1197-1 Yasashicho, Asahi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 241-0811 (Japan); Yamada, Takayuki; Murakami, Kenji; Hashimoto, Kazuki; Tazawa, Yoko; Kumano, Reiko [Department of Radiology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Yokohama City Seibu Hospital, 1197-1 Yasashicho, Asahi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 241-0811 (Japan); Nakajima, Yasuo [Department of Radiology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 216-8511 (Japan)

    2015-05-15

    Highlights: • This is the first study to demonstrate the anatomy of thyroid veins on contrasted-enhanced MDCT. • Identifying the thyroid vein on MDCT prior to selective venous sampling of parathyroid hormone provides clinical information to interventional radiologist. • Detecting especially the inferior thyroid veins with individual variability in numbers, locations, and lengths may have an effect on SVS for HPT and decrease the difficulty and time of the procedure. - Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study was to clarify the anatomical variation of thyroid veins into the systemic vein using contrast-enhanced multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT). Design and methods: : The subjects were 80 patients (34 males and 46 females; mean age, 50.1 years; age range, 15–92 years) with neck diseases who underwent MDCT. The number and location of inflow points of the thyroid veins into the systemic vein, and the length from the junction of bilateral brachiocephalic veins to the orifice of inferior thyroid vein were investigated by reviewing the axial and coronal images. Results: All superior thyroid veins were detected. Right and left middle thyroid veins were identified in 39 and 29 patients, respectively. Right inferior thyroid veins, left inferior thyroid veins, and common trunks were detected in 43, 46, and 39 patients, respectively; in five patients, two left thyroid veins were identified. All left inferior thyroid veins and 34 common trunks flowed into the innominate vein, while right ones had some variations in inflow sites. Mean lengths were 3.01 ± 1.30 cm (range, 0.5–6.19) and 2.04 ± 0.91 cm (0.5–4.4) in the left inferior thyroid vein and common trunk, and 1.96 ± 1.05 cm (0.81–4.8) and 1.65 ± 0.69 cm (0.63–2.94) in the right one flowing into the right internal jugular vein and the innominate vein, respectively. Conclusions: The numbers and orifices of thyroid veins were identified at high rates on contrast-enhanced MDCT. This

  4. Multidetector CT venography and contrast-enhanced MR venography of the inferior mesenteric vein in paediatric extrahepatic portal vein obstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chennur, Vikash SrinivasaiahSetty; Sharma, Raju; Gamanagatti, Shivanand; Gupta, Arun Kumar; Bhatnagar, Veereshwar; Vishnubhatla, Sreenivas

    2011-01-01

    Extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) is a common cause of paediatric portal hypertension and the only permanent treatment is shunt surgery. The inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) is a portal venous channel that can be used for the shunt when the splenic vein/superior mesenteric vein is thrombosed or when a lienorenal shunt is not possible. To compare MDCT venography (MDCTV) and contrast-enhanced MR venography (CEMRV) for visualisation of the IMV in children with EHPVO. This was a prospective study of 26 children (4-12 years, median 10 years) who underwent MDCTV and CEMRV. The IMV visualisation was graded using 4- and 2-point scales and the difference in visualisation was assessed by calculating the exact significance probability (P). The IMV was visualised in all children on MDCTV and 25/26 children on CEMRV (96%). The images were diagnostic in 23/26 children (88%) on MDCTV and in 18/26 (69%) children on CEMRV (P = 0.063). MDCTV and CEMRV are comparable for IMV visualisation with a tendency toward MDCTV being superior. (orig.)

  5. Multidetector CT venography and contrast-enhanced MR venography of the inferior mesenteric vein in paediatric extrahepatic portal vein obstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chennur, Vikash SrinivasaiahSetty; Sharma, Raju; Gamanagatti, Shivanand; Gupta, Arun Kumar [All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Department of Radiology, New Delhi (India); Bhatnagar, Veereshwar [AIIMS, Department of Paediatric Surgery, New Delhi (India); Vishnubhatla, Sreenivas [AIIMS, Department of Biostatistics, New Delhi (India)

    2011-03-15

    Extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) is a common cause of paediatric portal hypertension and the only permanent treatment is shunt surgery. The inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) is a portal venous channel that can be used for the shunt when the splenic vein/superior mesenteric vein is thrombosed or when a lienorenal shunt is not possible. To compare MDCT venography (MDCTV) and contrast-enhanced MR venography (CEMRV) for visualisation of the IMV in children with EHPVO. This was a prospective study of 26 children (4-12 years, median 10 years) who underwent MDCTV and CEMRV. The IMV visualisation was graded using 4- and 2-point scales and the difference in visualisation was assessed by calculating the exact significance probability (P). The IMV was visualised in all children on MDCTV and 25/26 children on CEMRV (96%). The images were diagnostic in 23/26 children (88%) on MDCTV and in 18/26 (69%) children on CEMRV (P = 0.063). MDCTV and CEMRV are comparable for IMV visualisation with a tendency toward MDCTV being superior. (orig.)

  6. Primary leiomyosarcoma of the innominate vein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illuminati, Giulio; Miraldi, Fabio; Mazzesi, Giuseppe; D'urso, Antonio; Ceccanei, Gianluca; Bezzi, Marcello

    2007-01-01

    Primary venous leiomyosarcoma is rare. We report the case of a primary leiomyosarcoma of the left innominate vein, with neoplastic thrombus extending into the left jugular and subclavian veins. The tumor was curatively resected en bloc with anterior mediastinal and laterocervical lymphatics, through a median sternotomy prolonged into left cervicotomy. Primary venous sarcomas may be associated with prolonged survival in individual cases, with curative resection recommended as the standard treatment, in the absence of distant spread.

  7. Right top pulmonary vein: Evaluation with 64 section multidetector computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arslan, Gokhan; Dincer, Elvan; Kabaalioglu, Adnan; Ozkaynak, Can

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and anatomic features of the rare variant of the pulmonary veins named 'right top pulmonary vein' as depicted with 64 section multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Materials and methods: MDCT of 610 patients obtained over 12 months period for diagnosis of suspected thoracic or cardiac pathology were routinely reviewed in transverse and 3D images. The frequency of right top pulmonary vein (RTPV) was determined and anatomic features were also documented. Results: Right top pulmonary vein (RTPV) is a supernumerary vein arising from the roof of the right part of the left atrium separately from the orifice of the right superior pulmonary vein. It crosses behind the intermediate bronchus and drains mainly posterior segment of the right upper lobe but also receives few subsegmental branches of superior segment of the right lower lobe. It was detected in 2.2% of patients (14/610). The mean diameter of RTPV was 5.1 mm. Conclusion: The RTPV is a rare venous drainage variation of pulmonary veins. It is important to be aware of this anatomic pattern for avoiding misinterpretation of pulmonary venographic findings, inadvertent ablation of pulmonary vein and perioperative bleeding during video assisted thorocoscopic lobectomy

  8. Regional heterogeneity of endothelial cells in the porcine vortex vein system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Priscilla Ern Zhi; Yu, Paula K; Cringle, Stephen J; Morgan, William H; Yu, Dao-Yi

    2013-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether region-dependent endothelial heterogeneity is present within the porcine vortex vein system. The superior temporal vortex vein in young adult pig eyes were dissected out and cannulated. The intact vortex vein system down to the choroidal veins was then perfused with labels for f-actin and nucleic acid. The endothelial cells within the choroidal veins, pre-ampulla, anterior portion of the ampulla, mid-ampulla, posterior portion of the ampulla, post-ampulla, intra-scleral canal and the extra-ocular vortex vein regions were studied in detail using a confocal microscopy technique. The endothelial cell and nuclei length, width, area and perimeter were measured and compared between the different regions. Significant regional differences in the endothelial cell and nuclei length, width, area and perimeter were observed throughout the porcine vortex vein system. Most notably, very narrow and elongated endothelia were found in the post-ampulla region. A lack of smooth muscle cells was noted in the ampulla region compared to other regions. Heterogeneity in endothelial cell morphology is present throughout the porcine vortex vein system and there is a lack of smooth muscle cells in the ampulla region. This likely reflects the highly varied haemodynamic conditions and potential blood flow control mechanisms in different regions of the vortex vein system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Management Strategy for Patients With Chronic Subclavian Vein Thrombosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keir, Graham; Marshall, M Blair

    2017-02-01

    We performed a systematic review to determine best practice for the management of patients with chronic or subacute subclavian vein thrombosis. This condition is best managed with surgical excision of the first rib followed by long-term anticoagulation. Interventional techniques aimed at restoring patency are ineffective beyond 2 weeks postthrombosis. Additional therapeutic options should be made based on the severity of symptoms as well as vein status. Patients with milder symptoms are given decompression surgery followed by anticoagulation whereas patients with more severe symptoms are considered for either a jugular vein transposition or saphenous patch based on the vein characteristics. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Microtubule-dependent targeting of the exocyst complex is necessary for xylem development in Arabidopsis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vukašinović, Nemanja; Oda, Y.; Pejchar, Přemysl; Synek, Lukáš; Pečenková, Tamara; Rawat, Anamika; Sekereš, Juraj; Potocký, Martin; Žárský, Viktor

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 213, č. 3 (2017), s. 1052-1067 ISSN 0028-646X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA15-14886S Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) LO1417 Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : secondary cell-wall * tracheary element differentiation * cortical microtubules * plasma-membrane * vesicle trafficking * secretory pathways * auxin transport * exocytosis * deposition * thaliana * conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG) complex * exocyst * microtubules * secondary cell wall * tracheary elements * xylem Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Cell biology Impact factor: 7.330, year: 2016

  11. Introducing wood anatomical and dendrochronological aspects of herbaceous plants: applications of the Xylem Database to vegetation science

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Büntgen, Ulf; Psomas, A.; Schweingruber, F. H.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 25, č. 4 (2014), s. 967-977 ISSN 1100-9233 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0248 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : dendrochronology * dicotyledon * environmental change * functional traits * herbs * life form * non-forest vegetation * secondary growth * shrub * vegetation cover * wood anatomy * Xylem formation Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 3.709, year: 2014

  12. MULTIPLE VARIATIONS OF THE SUPERFICIAL JUGULAR VEINS: CASE REPORT AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Paraskevas

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The jugular venous system constitutes the primary venous drainage of the head and neck. It includes a profundus or subfascial venous system, formed by the two internal jugular veins, and a superficial or subcutaneous one, formed by the two anterior and two external jugular veins. We report one case of unilateral anatomical variations of the external and anterior jugular veins. Particularly, on the right side, three external jugular veins co-existed with two anterior jugular veins. Such a combination of venous anomalies is extremely rare. The awareness of the variability of these veins is essential to anesthesiologists and radiologists, since the external jugular vein constitutes a common route for catheterization. Their knowledge is also important to surgeons performing head and neck surgery.

  13. Surgery for acquired cardiovascular disease: antiseptic treatment of contaminated vein grafts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, F P; Peivandi, A A; Kohnen, W; Jansen, B

    2014-04-01

    Saphenous vein grafts harvested for use as bypass conduits can be contaminated intraoperatively, e.g. by being inadvertently dropped to the floor of the operating room (OR). This study was performed to investigate microorganisms most likely contaminating vein grafts and to assess the possible efficacy of measures to treat potentially contaminated vein grafts antiseptically for further use. In a first step we determined the microbiological flora of the OR using surface cultures and cultures from intentionally dropped vein grafts. Several antiseptic agents (PVP-iodine 10%, octenidinhydrochloride 0.1%, polyhexanide 1%) were evaluated for their in vitro efficacy to disinfect artificially contaminated vein segments. The most promising antiseptic regimen was tested on veins contaminated in a real OR setting. Finally, we tested for possible alterations in mechanical properties of the veins caused by antiseptic treatment. Coagulase-negative staphylococci where the predominant bacteria recovered from the OR with 59.9%. Antiseptic treatment with a combination of octenidine and PVP-iodine resulted in a higher rate of negative cultures than any single agent. Treatment of 50 saphenous vein grafts contaminated in the OR with the combination regimen resulted in only 3 positive cultural results within 7 days. Mechanical tear-stress testing comparing antiseptically treated vein grafts with controls showed no difference in their resistance to tear stress. Antiseptic treatment of contaminated vein grafts was shown to be effective in a high percentage of cases without altering mechanical properties of grafts and may be an option for the surgeon in case of a contamination.

  14. Clinicopathological comparisons of open vein harvesting and endoscopic vein harvesting in coronary artery bypass grafting patients in Mashhad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amouzeshi, Ahmad; Teshnisi, Mohamad Abbassi; Zirak, Nahid; Shamloo, Alireza Sepehri; Hoseinikhah, Hamid; Alizadeh, Behzad; Moeinipour, Aliasghar

    2016-01-01

    Harvesting of the greater saphenous vein is almost an inevitable part of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) operations, and it is done by two main techniques, i.e., conventional or open vein harvesting (OVH) and the minimally-invasive endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH). This study aimed to compare these two techniques in off-pump CABG procedures with respect to clinical and pathological outcomes. This cohort study was conducted on CABG candidates during a one-year period from October 2013 through September 2014 in the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Eighty-seven patients voluntarily underwent EVH, and another 86 patients matched for age, gender, and other cardiovascular risk factors were selected for OVH. They were followed up for six weeks, and the main outcome measures were infections of the wound, pain, duration of hospital stay, and the costs of hospitalization. Paired sample t-test, independent t-test, or their non-parametric equivalents and the chi-squared test were used by SPSS version 17.0 for data analysis. The mean duration of time for vein harvesting was shorter in the EVH group (p < 0.001), and the pain score was lower (p = 0.04). No infections occurred at the site of the wound. The length of hospital stay was not significantly different for the two groups (OVH versus EVH: 8.5 ± 3.3 versus 8.4 ± 3.2 days; p-value: 0.08). Hospitalization costs were significantly higher in the EVH group (OVH versus EVH: 5.8 ± 4.7 versus 7.3 ± 2.0 million Tomman; p-value: 0.008), yet no difference was diagnosed with respect to endothelial damage in the vein grafts harvested by the EVH and OVH techniques. EVH is considered as a minimally invasive and safe vein harvesting technique in our Center, and it can reduce the harvesting time and post-operative pain. In addition, its efficiency was similar to that of OVH.

  15. Leiomyosarcoma of inferior vena cava involving bilateral renal veins: Surgical challenges and reconstruction with upfront saphenous vein interposition graft for left renal vein outflow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rishi Nayyar

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Leiomyosarcoma of inferior vena cava (IVC involving bilateral renal veins presents a surgical challenge. Herein, we report the successful management of two such cases using restoration of left renal venous outflow by saphenous vein interposition graft as first step of surgery. Then radical resection of tumor and right kidney was done. IVC was lastly reconstructed using Gore-Tex graft. This report highlights the surgical challenges to ensure radical resection. Furthermore, the importance of restoring left renal outflow in presence of concomitant right nephrectomy is discussed. Both the patients were disease free at six months with no loss of left renal glomerular filtration rate.

  16. Beta irradiation inhibits neo-intimal formation in vein grafts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lang Xiaoou; Ji Shenquan; Zeng Ke; Li Jun; Liu Bingbing; Ma Wenfeng; Zhang Qiang

    2002-01-01

    Objective: The study was to evaluate the effect of beta irradiation on intimal proliferation response in vein grafts. Methods: An autogenous vein graft model was established in 40 rats by transplanting internal branch of jugular vein to carotid artery by end-to-end anastomosis. The vein was irradiated by 32 P before anastomosis. Four dose schedules were studied: (1) control graft (nonirradiated); (2) irradiated with 8 Gy; (3) 18 Gy; and (4) 36 Gy. The grafted veins were harvested at 2 weeks after the operation. IH (intimal hyperplasia) and SMC (smooth muscle cell) proliferation were histologically and immuno-histochemically observed and analyzed by a computer digitalising system. Results: In 18 Gy and 36 Gy-irradiated grafts compared with the control, there was a significant decrease in the average intimal thickness (P 0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis of PCNA indicated decrease of positive cells in both 18 Gy and 36 Gy groups compared with 8 Gy and the control group (P 0.05) groups, and there was also no significant difference between 8 Gy and the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: These preliminary results demonstrate that proper dose of beta irradiation in vein graft inhibits smooth muscle cells proliferation and neo-intimal hyperplasia in rat

  17. Geometric Analysis of Vein Fracture Networks From the Awibengkok Core, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatwa, A.; Bruhn, R. L.; Brown, S. R.

    2003-12-01

    Fracture network systems within rocks are important features for the transportation and remediation of hazardous waste, oil and gas production, geothermal energy extraction and the formation of vein fillings and ore deposits. A variety of methods, including computational and laboratory modeling have been employed to further understand the dynamic nature of fractures and fracture systems (e.g. Ebel and Brown, this session). To substantiate these studies, it is also necessary to analyze the characteristics and morphology of naturally occurring vein systems. The Awibengkok core from a geothermal system in West Java, Indonesia provided an excellent opportunity to study geometric and petrologic characteristics of vein systems in volcanic rock. Vein minerals included chlorite, calcite, quartz, zeolites and sulphides. To obtain geometric data on the veins, we employed a neural net image processing technique to analyze high-resolution digital photography of the veins. We trained a neural net processor to map the extent of the vein using RGB pixel training classes. The resulting classification image was then converted to a binary image file and processed through a MatLab program that we designed to calculate vein geometric statistics, including aperture and roughness. We also performed detailed petrographic and microscopic geometric analysis on the veins to determine the history of mineralization and fracturing. We found that multi-phase mineralization due to chemical dissolution and re-precipitation as well as mechanical fracturing was a common feature in many of the veins and that it had a significant role for interpreting vein tortuosity and history of permeability. We used our micro- and macro-scale observations to construct four hypothetical permeability models that compliment the numerical and laboratory modeled data reported by Ebel and Brown. In each model, permeability changes, and in most cases fluctuates, differently over time as the tortuosity and aperture of

  18. Preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Physicians Contact Us My ACOG ACOG Departments Donate Shop Career Connection Home Clinical Guidance & Publications Practice Management ... skin. A clot also can form if blood flow is too slow the lining of a vein ...

  19. Finger Vein Recognition Based on Local Directional Code

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xianjing; Yang, Gongping; Yin, Yilong; Xiao, Rongyang

    2012-01-01

    Finger vein patterns are considered as one of the most promising biometric authentication methods for its security and convenience. Most of the current available finger vein recognition methods utilize features from a segmented blood vessel network. As an improperly segmented network may degrade the recognition accuracy, binary pattern based methods are proposed, such as Local Binary Pattern (LBP), Local Derivative Pattern (LDP) and Local Line Binary Pattern (LLBP). However, the rich directional information hidden in the finger vein pattern has not been fully exploited by the existing local patterns. Inspired by the Webber Local Descriptor (WLD), this paper represents a new direction based local descriptor called Local Directional Code (LDC) and applies it to finger vein recognition. In LDC, the local gradient orientation information is coded as an octonary decimal number. Experimental results show that the proposed method using LDC achieves better performance than methods using LLBP. PMID:23202194

  20. Finger Vein Recognition Based on Local Directional Code

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rongyang Xiao

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Finger vein patterns are considered as one of the most promising biometric authentication methods for its security and convenience. Most of the current available finger vein recognition methods utilize features from a segmented blood vessel network. As an improperly segmented network may degrade the recognition accuracy, binary pattern based methods are proposed, such as Local Binary Pattern (LBP, Local Derivative Pattern (LDP and Local Line Binary Pattern (LLBP. However, the rich directional information hidden in the finger vein pattern has not been fully exploited by the existing local patterns. Inspired by the Webber Local Descriptor (WLD, this paper represents a new direction based local descriptor called Local Directional Code (LDC and applies it to finger vein recognition. In LDC, the local gradient orientation information is coded as an octonary decimal number. Experimental results show that the proposed method using LDC achieves better performance than methods using LLBP.

  1. Palm Vein Verification Using Multiple Features and Locality Preserving Projections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Mohsin Al-juboori

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Biometrics is defined as identifying people by their physiological characteristic, such as iris pattern, fingerprint, and face, or by some aspects of their behavior, such as voice, signature, and gesture. Considerable attention has been drawn on these issues during the last several decades. And many biometric systems for commercial applications have been successfully developed. Recently, the vein pattern biometric becomes increasingly attractive for its uniqueness, stability, and noninvasiveness. A vein pattern is the physical distribution structure of the blood vessels underneath a person’s skin. The palm vein pattern is very ganglion and it shows a huge number of vessels. The attitude of the palm vein vessels stays in the same location for the whole life and its pattern is definitely unique. In our work, the matching filter method is proposed for the palm vein image enhancement. New palm vein features extraction methods, global feature extracted based on wavelet coefficients and locality preserving projections (WLPP, and local feature based on local binary pattern variance and locality preserving projections (LBPV_LPP have been proposed. Finally, the nearest neighbour matching method has been proposed that verified the test palm vein images. The experimental result shows that the EER to the proposed method is 0.1378%.

  2. Portal vein branching order helps in the recognition of anomalous right-sided round ligament: common features and variations in portal vein anatomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Rikiya; Yamaoka, Toshihide; Nishitai, Ryuta; Isoda, Hiroyoshi; Taura, Kojiro; Arizono, Shigeki; Furuta, Akihiro; Ohno, Tsuyoshi; Ono, Ayako; Togashi, Kaori

    2017-07-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the common features and variations of portal vein anatomy in right-sided round ligament (RSRL), which can help propose a method to detect and diagnose this anomaly. In this retrospective study of 14 patients with RSRL, the branching order of the portal tree was analyzed, with special focus on the relationship between the dorsal branch of the right anterior segmental portal vein (P A-D ) and the lateral segmental portal vein (P LL ), to determine the common features. The configuration of the portal vein from the main portal trunk to the right umbilical portion (RUP), the inclination of the RUP, and the number and thickness of the ramifications branching from the right anterior segmental portal vein (P A ) were evaluated for variations. In all subjects, the diverging point of the P A-D was constantly distal to that of the P LL . The portal vein configuration was I- and Z-shaped in nine and five subjects, respectively. The RUP was tilted to the right in all subjects. In Z-shaped subjects, the portal trunk between the branching point of the right posterior segmental portal vein and that of the P LL was tilted to the left in one subject and was almost parallel to the vertical plane in four subjects. Multiple ramifications were radially distributed from the P A in eight subjects, whereas one predominant P A-D branched from the P A in six subjects. Based on the diverging points of the P A-D and P LL , we proposed a three-step method for the detection and diagnosis of RSRL.

  3. A rhamnose-rich O-antigen mediates adhesion, virulence, and host colonization for the xylem-limited phytopathogen Xylella fastidiosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clifford, Jennifer C; Rapicavoli, Jeannette N; Roper, M Caroline

    2013-06-01

    Xylella fastidiosa is a gram-negative, xylem-limited bacterium that causes a lethal disease of grapevine called Pierce's disease. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) composes approximately 75% of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and, because it is largely displayed on the cell surface, it mediates interactions between the bacterial cell and its surrounding environment. LPS is composed of a conserved lipid A-core oligosaccharide component and a variable O-antigen portion. By targeting a key O-antigen biosynthetic gene, we demonstrate the contribution of the rhamnose-rich O-antigen to surface attachment, cell-cell aggregation, and biofilm maturation: critical steps for successful infection of the host xylem tissue. Moreover, we have demonstrated that a fully formed O-antigen moiety is an important virulence factor for Pierce's disease development in grape and that depletion of the O-antigen compromises its ability to colonize the host. It has long been speculated that cell-surface polysaccharides play a role in X. fastidiosa virulence and this study confirms that LPS is a major virulence factor for this important agricultural pathogen.

  4. The application of carbon-isotope measurements to dendro- and xylem-chronology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yonenobu, Hitoshi; Hattori, Yoshiaki; Kikata, Yoji; Mitsutani, Takumi; Nakamura, Toshio.

    1990-01-01

    We measured 14 C/ 13 C Ratio of the Teak. The 14 C excess, which reflects the execution of the tropospheric nuclear tests, is stamped in the Teak trunk. In place of the annual rings this stamp can estimate the xylem-chronologies and more accurate growth rates of tropical trees which have no annual rings. And replacing the shot-pinning method we can estimate the growing period in an annual ring formed especially in 1963-1966, when the 14 C concentration in the tropospheric air changes dramatically. And we measured 14 C-chronologies of the annual rings of O-Hinoki, 14 C-chronologies agree well with dendrochronologies for the past 600 years. And the 14 C chronologies support more determinative cross-dating of the archaeological samples. (author)

  5. A Tight Spot After Pulmonary Vein Catheter Ablation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Amir, Rabia; Yeh, Lu; Montealegre-Gallegos, Mario; Saraf, Rabya; Matyal, Robina; Mahmood, Feroze

    2016-01-01

    A 52-YEAR-OLD woman with a history of embolic stroke due to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was referred to the authors’ institution for epicardial surgical pulmonary vein isolation with left atrial appendage resection. The patient had 2 previous failed pulmonary vein catheter ablations. Dense

  6. An evaluation of evidence pertaining to the origin of vein deposits exposed in Trench 14, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stuckless, J.S.

    1991-01-01

    Large vein-like deposits of calcite and opaline silica that infill the Bow Ridge fault are exposed by Trench 14 at the Nevada Test Site. The origin of the deposits has been the center of considerable controversy because the deposits occur on the edge of Yucca Mountain, which is being characterized geologically as a possible site for the nation's first high level nuclear waste repository, and the various proposed modes of origin have differing implications for the performance of a geologic repository. Isotopic data for oxygen, carbon, strontium, and uranium in the carbonates preclude deposition by upwelling waters by any mechanism from either of the regionally extensive aquifers known to exist beneath Yucca Mountain. Data from the adjacent Ash Meadows flow system further suggest that the isotopic compositions of ground water in southern Nevada have not chanted markedly during the last 300 to 600 ky, and that therefore, conclusions based on present-day water compositions are probably valid for at least the last 600 ky. Geologic and paleontologic data are inconsistent with shallow a perched water spring origin for the veins, but are consistent with a pedogenic origin. Mineralogic and isotopic data match well with those for pedogenic deposits with perhaps minor modification from entrained or reacted wall rock. Taken as a whole, the data show that the carbonate and opaline silica deposits exposed in Trench 14 must have formed by a pedogenic process. Preliminary results suggest that veins in the sand ramps west of Busted Butte formed by the same mechanism. 26 refs., 11 figs

  7. CO2-DSA in lower extremity veins: a clinical application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Jinhe; Teng Gaojun; Zhu Guangyu; Liu Zhensheng; Li Guozhao; Ding Huijuan; Shen Zhiping; He Shicheng; Deng Gang; Fang Wen

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To explore the feasibility and usefulness of carbon dioxide digital subtraction angiography (CO 2 -DSA) in deep veins of lower extremity via the dorsal is pedis vein. Methods: CO 2 -DSA in lower extremity veins was performed in 15 patients (15 limbs affected, male 9, female 6) by injection of CO 2 via the dorsal is pedis vein. Among them, 8 patients were suspected with deep venous thrombosis (DVT), 6 patients with saphena magna dilation, and 1 patient with a follow-up after thrombolysis due to DVT. Results: Excellent image was obtained in 12 cases, which showed branches of the venous system clearly, as well as the details of DVT. Good image was obtained in 2 cases. Technical failure was encountered in one patient due to inaccessible puncture veins. Mild discomfort (transient pain at the percutaneous site) during the procedure was demonstrated in 11 patients. There was no severe side effects or complications in this series. Conclusion: CO 2 -DSA in lower extremity veins is feasible and safe, the preliminary result is satisfactory. (authors)

  8. Updated cannulation technique for tissue plasminogen activator injection into peripapillary retinal vein for central retinal vein occlusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Overdam, Koen A; Missotten, Tom; Spielberg, Leigh H

    2015-12-01

    To update the surgical technique in which a vitrectomy is performed and a retinal branch vein is cannulated and infused with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (RTPA) to treat central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in patients who present with very low visual acuity (VA). Twelve consecutive patients (12 eyes) with CRVO and low VA (logMAR >1.00) at presentation were treated using this method. Cannulation of a peripapillary retinal vein and stable injection of RTPA was successfully performed without surgery-related complications in all 12 eyes. At 12 months after surgery, 8 of the 12 patients (67%) experienced at least one line of improvement in best corrected visual acuity; 6 of the 12 (50%) improved ≥5 lines and 2 (17%) improved ≥8 lines. After additional grid laser and/or subconjunctival or intravitreal corticosteroids, the mean decrease in central foveal thickness was 260 μm, and the mean total macular volume decreased from 12.10 mm(3) to 9.24 mm(3) . Four patients received panretinal photocoagulation to treat either iris neovascularization (n = 2) or neovascularization of the retina and/or disc (n = 2). Administration of RTPA via a peripapillary vein using this updated technique provides an alternative or additional treatment option for patients with very low VA after CRVO. © 2015 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Xylem anatomy of the Caesalpiniaceae registered in wood collection of the Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pulido Rodriguez, Esperanza N; Mateus, Durley; Lozano D, Ivan

    2011-01-01

    The anatomical study of the xylem of 21 species of Caesalpiniaceae registered in the wood collection Jos Anatolio Lastra Rivera (JALR), of the Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas, included the macroscopic, microscopic and biometric characterization of the cellular elements that constitute the xylematic tissue. These analyses were developed following parameters defined by the International Association Wood Anatomist Committee (IAWA Committee 1989) and methods established by the Wood Technology Laboratory of Universidad Distrital. Measurements and descriptions were used to prepare identification keys and similarity analysis. The wood of Caesalpiniaceae family illustrated common characteristics in growth rings differentiation, porosity, vessel arrangement, deposits, diameter and length, plates perforation type, alternate and vestured intervessel pits; fibers wall thickness and length; paratracheal axial vasicentric parenchyma, aliform and banded parenchyma and presence of prismatic crystals. Also, variations in anatomical features such us longitudinal channels were found as diagnostic for some genera like Copaifera. The variation and analysis of anatomical characteristics of the xylem tissue allowed to verify some taxonomic relations of the family Caesalpiniaceae, like the observed with the species Mora megistosperma, Mora oleofera, Peltogyne pubescens, Peltogyne paniculata, Sclerolobium odoratissimum and Tachigali polyphylla .

  10. No evidence of complementary water use along a plant species richness gradient in temperate experimental grasslands.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dörte Bachmann

    Full Text Available Niche complementarity in resource use has been proposed as a key mechanism to explain the positive effects of increasing plant species richness on ecosystem processes, in particular on primary productivity. Since hardly any information is available for niche complementarity in water use, we tested the effects of plant diversity on spatial and temporal complementarity in water uptake in experimental grasslands by using stable water isotopes. We hypothesized that water uptake from deeper soil depths increases in more diverse compared to low diverse plant species mixtures. We labeled soil water in 8 cm (with 18O and 28 cm depth (with ²H three times during the 2011 growing season in 40 temperate grassland communities of varying species richness (2, 4, 8 and 16 species and functional group number and composition (legumes, grasses, tall herbs, small herbs. Stable isotope analyses of xylem and soil water allowed identifying the preferential depth of water uptake. Higher enrichment in 18O of xylem water than in ²H suggested that the main water uptake was in the upper soil layer. Furthermore, our results revealed no differences in root water uptake among communities with different species richness, different number of functional groups or with time. Thus, our results do not support the hypothesis of increased complementarity in water use in more diverse than in less diverse communities of temperate grassland species.

  11. CT of portal vein tumor thrombosis. Usefulness of dynamic CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takemoto, Kazumasa; Inoue, Yuichi; Tanaka, Masahiro; Nemoto, Yutaka; Nakamura, Kenji [Osaka City Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine

    1983-08-01

    We evaluated CT findings of portal vein tumor thrombosis in 16 hepatomas by plain, contrast and dynamic CT. Plain and contrast CT findings were an enlargement of the portal vein (81%), intraluminal low density area (63%). Dynamic CT enhanced the diagnostic capability of the tumor thrombus as a relatively low density area because of the marked enhancement of the portal vein. In addition, dynamic CT newly demonstrated hyperdense peripheral ring (35%) and arterio portal shunt (35%). It is advisable to select the scan level to include the portal vein when dynamic CT is performed in the patient of hepatocellular carcinoma.

  12. Palm vein recognition based on directional empirical mode decomposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jen-Chun; Chang, Chien-Ping; Chen, Wei-Kuei

    2014-04-01

    Directional empirical mode decomposition (DEMD) has recently been proposed to make empirical mode decomposition suitable for the processing of texture analysis. Using DEMD, samples are decomposed into a series of images, referred to as two-dimensional intrinsic mode functions (2-D IMFs), from finer to large scale. A DEMD-based 2 linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for palm vein recognition is proposed. The proposed method progresses through three steps: (i) a set of 2-D IMF features of various scale and orientation are extracted using DEMD, (ii) the 2LDA method is then applied to reduce the dimensionality of the feature space in both the row and column directions, and (iii) the nearest neighbor classifier is used for classification. We also propose two strategies for using the set of 2-D IMF features: ensemble DEMD vein representation (EDVR) and multichannel DEMD vein representation (MDVR). In experiments using palm vein databases, the proposed MDVR-based 2LDA method achieved recognition accuracy of 99.73%, thereby demonstrating its feasibility for palm vein recognition.

  13. [Cockett's syndrome, May-Thurner syndrome, or iliac vein compression syndrome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil Martín, A R; Carreras Aja, M; Arrieta Ardieta, I; Labayen Azparren, I

    2014-01-01

    Iliac vein compression syndrome (also known as May-Thurner syndrome or Cockett's syndrome) is a rare clinical entity in which the left common iliac vein is compressed when it passes between the right common iliac artery and the spine. The sustained compression and trauma caused by the pulsatile force of the artery on the vein damage the intima and lead to the formation of membranes or bands in the vascular lumen that hinder or obstruct the flow of blood in the vein, favoring thrombus formation. The current treatment strategy of choice is endovascular vein patch angioplasty and stenting with the aim of improving the caliber of the lumen and enabling normal venous drainage. We present two cases of May-Thurner syndrome and review the clinical and CT findings. Copyright © 2011 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  14. Pattern of venous collateral development after splenic vein occlusion in an extended Whipple procedure : comparison with collateral vein pattern in cases of sinistral portal hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strasberg, Steven M; Bhalla, Sanjeev; Sanchez, Luis A; Linehan, David C

    2011-11-01

    The risks of developing sinistral portal hypertension as a result of occlusion of the splenic vein close to its termination during a Whipple procedure are unclear. Our purpose was to compare the pattern of venous collateral development after splenic vein ligation in an extended Whipple procedure with the pattern of collateral development in cases of sinistral portal hypertension. Five patients underwent an extended Whipple procedure in which the splenic vein was divided and not reconstructed. Six to eight months later detailed mapping of venous return from the spleen was determined by contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography or in one case by 3D contrast-enhanced MRI. Spleen size and length of residual patent splenic vein were also measured. The literature on sinistral portal hypertension was evaluated to ascertain whether the venous collateral pattern in cases of left-sided portal hypertension was similar to the pattern that developed when the splenic vein was ligated at its termination in the Whipple procedure. A length of splenic vein remained patent in all five patients, measuring 4.5 to 11.5 cm from the spleen. Splenomegaly did not develop. Blood returned from the spleen by multiple collaterals including collaterals in the omentum and mesocolon. These types of collaterals do not develop in sinistral portal hypertension, nor is residual patent splenic vein seen. Ligation of the splenic vein close to its termination in five patients resulted in a pattern of venous return different from patients that have developed left-sided portal hypertension.

  15. A rare case of anastomosis between the external and internal jugular veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karapantzos, Ilias; Zarogoulidis, Paul; Charalampidis, Charalampos; Karapantzou, Chrysanthi; Kioumis, Ioannis; Tsakiridis, Kosmas; Mpakas, Andrew; Sachpekidis, Nikolaos; Organtzis, John; Porpodis, Konstantinos; Zarogoulidis, Konstantinos; Pitsiou, Georgia; Zissimopoulos, Athanasios; Kosmidis, Christoforos; Fouka, Evagelia; Demetriou, Theodoros

    2016-01-01

    Jugular veins bring deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart. There are two sets of external and internal veins. The external jugular vein receives the greater part of the blood from the cranium and the deep parts of the face. It commences from the substance of the parotid gland and runs down the neck at the posterior border of sternocleidomastoideus and ends in the subclavian vein in front of the scalenus anterior. The external jugular vein is covered by the platysma and its upper half runs parallel with the great auricular nerve. There is also another minor jugular vein, the anterior, draining the submaxillary region. In our patient, we recognized a shunt between the external and internal jugular veins. It appeared in the middle of the veins, between the pair of valves, which are placed ~2.5 cm above the termination of the vessel. The anastomosis was fully functional, and there was no problem in the blood pressure of the patient. Moreover, the shunt was not associated with any systemic disease.

  16. Quartz-molybdenite veins in the Priestly Lake granodiorite, north-central Maine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayuso, Robert A.; Shank, Stephen G.

    1983-01-01

    Quartz-molybdenite veins up to 15 cm in width occur in fine to medium-grained porphyritic biotite-hornblende granodiorite at Priestly Lake north-central Maine. An area of about 150 m x 150 m contains quartz-molybdenite veins; a larger area is characterized by barren quartz veins. Quartz-molybdenite veins are concentrated within the most felsic variants of the intrusion as suggested by lower mafic mineral contents. The pluton has a narrow range in SiO2 (67-70 wt.%), major oxides, and in trace-element compositions. Molybdenite occurs as coarse grained clusters in pockets within the quartz veins, and fills fractures in the quartz veins and host rocks. Disseminated molybdenite in the granodiorite is relatively rare and occurs only in the area characterized by a high density of quartz veins (up to 50 veins per square meter). Alteration envelopes along the quartz veins are very thin or absent, although in some areas the granodiorite appears to be selectively and pervasively altered. Sericite, chlorite, epidote, calcite, pyrite, and quartz are concentrated near the quartz-molybdenite veins. Many of the field and geochemical characteristics of the Priestly Lake pluton are unlike those of major molybdenum-producing areas (Climax, Henderson, Urad). For example, the area of alteration seems to be of limited extent, the host rock is not intensely altered hydrothermally at the surface, the density of fractures is rather low in the mineralized area, and the amount of disseminated molybdenite appears to be small. However, the Priestly Lake pluton may be a small fraction of a concealed batholith as suggested by geophysical data. It is conceivable that the type of mineralization at the surface might be the expression of more extensive molybdenite mineralization at depth. The quartz-molybdenite veins in the Priestly Lake pluton are significant because they indicate that potential molybdenum sources for producing mineralized granites were available at depth. Future studies should be

  17. A new design concept for knitted external vein-graft support mesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Charanpreet; Wang, Xungai

    2015-08-01

    Autologous vein-graft failure significantly limits the long-term efficacy of coronary artery bypass procedures. The major cause behind this complication is biomechanical mismatch between the vein and coronary artery. The implanted vein experiences a sudden increase (10-12 fold) in luminal pressures. The resulting vein over-distension or 'ballooning' initiates wall thickening phenomenon and ultimate occlusion. Therefore, a primary goal in improving the longevity of a coronary bypass procedure is to inhibit vein over-distension using mechanical constriction. The idea of using an external vein-graft support mesh has demonstrated sustained benefits and wide acceptance in experimental studies. Nitinol based knitted structures have offered more promising mechanical features than other mesh designs owing to their unique loosely looped construction. However, the conventional plain knit construction still exhibits limitations (radial compliance, deployment ease, flexibility, and bending stresses) which limit this design from proving its real clinical advantage. The new knitted mesh design presented in this study is based on the concept of composite knitting utilising high modulus (nitinol and polyester) and low modulus (polyurethane) material components. The experimental comparison of the new design with a plain knit design demonstrated significant improvement in biomechanical (compliance, flexibility, extensibility, viscoelasticity) and procedural (deployment limit) parameters. The results are indicative of the promising role of new mesh in restoring the lost compliance and pulsatility of vein-graft at high arterial pressures. This way it can assist in controlled vein-graft remodelling and stepwise restoration of vein mechanical homoeostasis. Also, improvement in deployment limit parameter offers more flexibility for a surgeon to use a wide range of vein diameters, which may otherwise be rendered unusable for a plain knit mesh. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  18. Anatomical variations of the right hepatic veins and their relevance to surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hribernik, Marija; de Cecchis, Lucio; Trotovsek, Blaz; Gadzijev, Eldar M; Ravnik, Dean

    2003-01-01

    In a morphological study of the right hepatic veins anatomical characteristics of surgical importance were looked for. 110 cadaveric human livers were prepared by the corrosion casts method. The confluence patterns of the superior right hepatic vein, the hepatocaval confluence, the accessory right hepatic veins and the anastomoses between hepatic veins in the right hemiliver were examined. Four types of the superior right hepatic vein, based on the length of its trunk and the confluence pattern of its main tributaries were determined and their frequency was calculated. Type I was found in 20%, type II in 40%, type III in 25% and type IV in 15%. Accessory right hepatic veins with a minimal caliber of 0.4 cm, which were always present in type IV, were also found in other types, all together in 27% of the casts. The tributary-free part of the superior right hepatic vein at hepatocaval confluence was longer than 1 cm in 77%. In the right hemiliver 109 anastomoses were found in 29/110 liver casts. Knowing the characteristics of different superior right hepatic vein types and of the accessory right hepatic veins may be useful in segment-oriented liver resections and in right side living donor resections.

  19. Inferior vena cava filter insertion through the popliteal vein: enabling the percutaneous endovenous intervention of deep vein thrombosis with a single venous access approach in a single session

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyoung Ook; Kim, Jae Kyu; Park, Jin Gyoon; Yim, Nam Yeol; Kang, Yang Jun; Jung, Hye Doo

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE We aimed to evaluate the efficiency of placing an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter through the same popliteal vein access site used for percutaneous endovenous intervention in patients with extensive lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. METHODS This retrospective study included 21 patients who underwent IVC filter insertion through the popliteal vein over a three-year period. Patient medical records were reviewed for the location of the deep vein thrombosis, result of filter removal, and total number of endovascular procedures needed for filter insertion and recanalization of the lower extremity venous system. Follow-up lower extremity computed tomography (CT) venography was also reviewed in each patient to assess the degree of filter tilt in the IVC. RESULTS All patients had extensive lower extremity deep vein thrombosis involving the iliac vein and/or femoral vein. Seventeen patients showed deep vein thrombosis of the calf veins. In all patients, IVC filter insertion and the recanalization procedure were performed during a single procedure through the single popliteal vein access site. In the 17 patients undergoing follow-up CT, the mean tilt angle of the filter was 7.14°±4.48° in the coronal plane and 8.77°±5.49° in the sagittal plane. Filter retrieval was successful in 16 of 17 patients (94.1%) in whom filter retrieval was attempted. CONCLUSION Transpopliteal IVC filter insertion is an efficient technique that results in low rates of significant filter tilt and enables a single session procedure using a single venous access site for filter insertion and percutaneous endovenous intervention. PMID:27559713

  20. Formation of quartz veins by local dissolution and transport of silica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wangen, Magnus; Munz, Ingrid Anne

    2004-08-01

    A simple model is proposed for the (often) thick quartz veins observed in the Modum Complex in Southern Norway. The formation of these veins cannot easily be explained by silica imported by hot ascending fluids. The proposed model has dissolution in the host rock adjacent to the veins as the source for silica. The suggested process for vein formation is represented by a reaction-diffusion equation, and the process is studied in terms of a Damkoehler number. Estimates for the growth rate of quartz cement are derived. The estimates for the growth rate can be used to constrain poorly known parameters of the vein formation process, like for instance, the degree of supersaturation in the host rock. (Author)

  1. Primary extraskeletal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma arising from the iliac vein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Zhang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The iliac vein is an extremely rare site for mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, and patients with primary extraskeletal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma arising from a vein always suffer a very poor prognosis. We report a case of a 45-year-old female who presented with a 5-month history of left leg edema in 2015. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a large mass in the left iliac vein with scattered calcifications. Wide-margin resection was performed, and histopathologic and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed the presence of intraluminal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma with local invasion out of the vein wall. Due to poor patient compliance, postoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy were not started, and a bone scan performed 16 weeks postoperatively showed multiple bone metastases. The patient died on the twenty-fourth postoperative week.

  2. Iliac Vein Compression Syndrome due to Bladder Distention Caused by Urethral Calculi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akiko Ikegami

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We report a rare case of iliac vein compression syndrome caused by urethral calculus. A 71-year-old man had a history of urethral stenosis. He complained of bilateral leg edema and dysuria for 1 week. Physical examination revealed bilateral distention of the superficial epigastric veins, so obstruction of both common iliac veins or the inferior vena cava was suspected. Plain abdominal computed tomography showed a calculus in the pendulous urethra, distention of the bladder (as well as the right renal pelvis and ureter, and compression of the bilateral common iliac veins by the distended bladder. Iliac vein compression syndrome was diagnosed. Bilateral iliac vein compression due to bladder distention (secondary to neurogenic bladder, benign prostatic hyperplasia, or urethral calculus as in this case is an infrequent cause of acute bilateral leg edema. Detecting distention of the superficial epigastric veins provides a clue for diagnosis of this syndrome.

  3. The study of multi-detector CT on the grouping and measuring of the hepatic veins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xianliang; Dong Guang; Geng Hai; Wang Wengang; Li Linkun; Gao Wei; Wang Rongfang

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To study the three-dimensional topography of the hepatic vein (HV), the inferior vena cava(IVC) and the inferior right hepatic vein(IRHV) in the retrohepatic and pre-IVC tunnel in human beings, and to provide an anatomic reference for liver surgery. Methods: One hundred and ten volunteers underwent CT scanning at 60 to 75 s after injection of contrast medium, and their HV, IVC and IRHV were reconstructed into MPR and 3D-MIP images. The hepatic veins were grouped according to the way by which the hepatic vein enters IVC. The angle between the right hepatic vein and the middle hepatic vein or the trunk of hepatic vein was measured, and the width from right hepatic vein to middle hepatic vein or to the trunk of hepatic vein on IVC was recorded. The frequency of IRHV was observed, and the length of the tunnel was measured. Results: Among the 110 volunteers, there were 6 cases (5.45%) with three hepatic veins respectively entering IVC, 98 cases (89.10%) with right hepatic vein and a common trunk of the middle hepatic vein and the left hepatic vein entering IVC, and 6 cases (5.45%) with left hepatic vein and a common trunk of the right hepatic vein and the middle hepatic vein entering IVC. The mean value of the angles between the right hepatic vein and the middle hepatic vein or the mink of hepatic vein was (55 ± 18) degree. The width from the right hepatic vein to the middle hepatic vein or to the trunk of hepatic vein was (21 ± 7)mm. The IRHV was observed in 30 cases(27.27%). The mean value of the tunnel length was (53 ± 11) mm. Conclusion: The parameters of the retrohepatic and pre-IVC tunnel in human beings can be measured accurately by the imaging of MPR, which can provide an anatomic reference for the liver surgery. (authors)

  4. Right ovarian vein drainage variant: Is there a relationship with pelvic varices?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koc, Zafer; Ulusan, Serife; Oguzkurt, Levent

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To correlate right ovarian vein (ROV) variations that drain into the right renal vein (RRV) with the presence of pelvic varices. Materials and methods: Routine abdominal multidetector-row computed tomography scans of 324 women were analyzed for the presence and type of ROV variations in this retrospective study. The subjects were divided into 2 groups: those with ROV variations and those without such variations. The diameters of the subjects' ROV, left ovarian vein (LOV), and parauterine veins were measured. Pelvic varices and the presence and degree of ovarian vein reflux were noted and compared between the 2 groups. The χ 2 -test and the Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Thirty-two (9.9%) of 324 women studied exhibited ROV variant that drained into the right renal vein, and the remaining subjects (90.1%) exhibited a normal pattern of ROV drainage that flowed directly into the inferior vena cava. Pelvic varices were identified in 59 (18%) of the subjects. Reflux was not observed in any patient without pelvic varices. Fifty-seven of 59 women exhibited ovarian vein reflux. In 56 of those 57 individuals, reflux occurred only in the LOV, and in 1 subject, reflux was noted predominantly in the ROV. No significant relationship between the presence of an ROV that drained into the right renal vein and pelvic varices was noted. Conclusion: Although right-sided pelvic varices associated with right ovarian vein drainage variations are rare, anatomic variations of the right ovarian vein are not. This study did not find an association between the presence of right ovarian vein and pelvic varices

  5. Right ovarian vein drainage variant: Is there a relationship with pelvic varices?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koc, Zafer [Baskent Universitesi, Adana Hastanesi, Radyoloji Boeluemue, Serin Evler 39, Sok. No. 6 Yueregir, Adana (Turkey)]. E-mail: koczafer@gmail.com; Ulusan, Serife [Baskent Universitesi, Adana Hastanesi, Radyoloji Boeluemue, Serin Evler 39, Sok. No. 6 Yueregir, Adana (Turkey); Oguzkurt, Levent [Baskent Universitesi, Adana Hastanesi, Radyoloji Boeluemue, Serin Evler 39, Sok. No. 6 Yueregir, Adana (Turkey)

    2006-09-15

    Objective: To correlate right ovarian vein (ROV) variations that drain into the right renal vein (RRV) with the presence of pelvic varices. Materials and methods: Routine abdominal multidetector-row computed tomography scans of 324 women were analyzed for the presence and type of ROV variations in this retrospective study. The subjects were divided into 2 groups: those with ROV variations and those without such variations. The diameters of the subjects' ROV, left ovarian vein (LOV), and parauterine veins were measured. Pelvic varices and the presence and degree of ovarian vein reflux were noted and compared between the 2 groups. The {chi}{sup 2}-test and the Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Thirty-two (9.9%) of 324 women studied exhibited ROV variant that drained into the right renal vein, and the remaining subjects (90.1%) exhibited a normal pattern of ROV drainage that flowed directly into the inferior vena cava. Pelvic varices were identified in 59 (18%) of the subjects. Reflux was not observed in any patient without pelvic varices. Fifty-seven of 59 women exhibited ovarian vein reflux. In 56 of those 57 individuals, reflux occurred only in the LOV, and in 1 subject, reflux was noted predominantly in the ROV. No significant relationship between the presence of an ROV that drained into the right renal vein and pelvic varices was noted. Conclusion: Although right-sided pelvic varices associated with right ovarian vein drainage variations are rare, anatomic variations of the right ovarian vein are not. This study did not find an association between the presence of right ovarian vein and pelvic varices.

  6. Acute paraumbilical vein recanalization: an unusual complication of acute pancreatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R J Foster

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Acute pancreatitis is associated with a number of well-known complications and imaging findings. Spontaneous recanalization of the paraumbilical veins as a consequence of pancreatitis in a patient with an otherwise normal liver is, however, a rare entity. This case report depicts this unusual complication as a consequence of gallstone pancreatitis in a patient with a non-cirrhotic liver and no clinical or radiological evidence of portal hypertension. There was recanalization of the paraumbilical veins followed by thrombosis, which is believed to have propagated in a retrograde fashion into distal branches of the otherwise patent portal vein. A literature search for similar cases such as this has yielded no results. Although rare, clinicians and radiologists alike need to be aware of this finding. This case discussion highlights the embryology and anatomy of the paraumbilical veins, as well as discusses the management of paraumbilical and portal vein thrombosis.

  7. Finger Vein Recognition Using Optimal Partitioning Uniform Rotation Invariant LBP Descriptor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bang Chao Liu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available As a promising biometric system, finger vein identification has been studied widely and many relevant researches have been proposed. However, it is hard to extract a satisfied finger vein pattern due to the various vein thickness, illumination, low contrast region, and noise existing. And most of the feature extraction algorithms rely on high-quality finger vein database and take a long time for a large dimensional feature vector. In this paper, we proposed two block selection methods which are based on the estimate of the amount of information in each block and the contribution of block location by looking at recognition rate of each block position to reduce feature extraction time and matching time. The specific approach is to find out some local finger vein areas with low-quality and noise, which will be useless for feature description. Local binary pattern (LBP descriptors are proposed to extract the finger vein pattern feature. Two finger vein databases are taken to test our algorithm performance. Experimental results show that proposed block selection algorithms can reduce the feature vector dimensionality in a large extent.

  8. Sliding Window-Based Region of Interest Extraction for Finger Vein Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lu; Yang, Gongping; Yin, Yilong; Xiao, Rongyang

    2013-01-01

    Region of Interest (ROI) extraction is a crucial step in an automatic finger vein recognition system. The aim of ROI extraction is to decide which part of the image is suitable for finger vein feature extraction. This paper proposes a finger vein ROI extraction method which is robust to finger displacement and rotation. First, we determine the middle line of the finger, which will be used to correct the image skew. Then, a sliding window is used to detect the phalangeal joints and further to ascertain the height of ROI. Last, for the corrective image with certain height, we will obtain the ROI by using the internal tangents of finger edges as the left and right boundary. The experimental results show that the proposed method can extract ROI more accurately and effectively compared with other methods, and thus improve the performance of finger vein identification system. Besides, to acquire the high quality finger vein image during the capture process, we propose eight criteria for finger vein capture from different aspects and these criteria should be helpful to some extent for finger vein capture. PMID:23507824

  9. Veias do sistema porta-hepático em gansos domésticos Veins from hepatic portal vein system in domestic geese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana C. Santos

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available A distribuição intraparenquimal das veias porta-hepáticas foi estudada em 30 gansos domésticos. Latex Neoprene corado foi injetado pela veia isquiática e os animais forma fixados por imersão e injeção intramuscular com formol a 10% e dissecados. O fígado esteve composto por um grande lobo hepático direito e por um lobo hepático esquerdo menor, os quais estiveram conectados por uma ponte de parênquima. O lobo direito do fígado teve exclusivamente vasos do sistema porta-hepático formados pela distribuição intraparenquimal da veia porta-hepática direita, enquanto que no lobo esquerdo estes originaram-se da veia porta-hepática direita e de pequenas veias porta-hepáticas esquerdas. A veia porta-hepática direita emitiu o ramo caudal direito, que emitiu um pequeno ramo caudolateral direito e um grande ramo caudomedial direito. Cranialmente esta veia emitiu os ramos craniais direito e ramos lateral direito. A porção transversa da veia porta-hepática direita cruzou para o lobo hepático esquerdo, emitindo de 1 a 6 pequenos ramos craniais e caudais para a região média do fígado. No lobo esquerdo, o ramo esquerdo da veia porta-hepática direita emitiu o ramo cranial esquerdo, o ramo lateral esquerdo e o ramo medial. De 1 a 6 veias porta-hepáticas esquerdas foram identificadas desembocando ou no ramo esquerdo da veia porta-hepática direita ou em sua porção transversa, oriundos do ventrículo gástrico e do pró-ventrículo. Em 40% dos gansos uma veia porta-hepática própria oriunda da confluência de vasos venosos da face esquerda do ventrículo distribuiu-se na extremidade caudal do lobo esquerdo isoladamente.The intraparenchymal distribution of the hepatic portal veins in 30 domestic geese were studied. Stained Neoprene latex was injected into the isquiatic vessels, and the animals were fixed in 10% formaldehyde by immersion and intramuscular injection. The liver of geese was composed of a large right and a smaller left

  10. Arabidopsis thickvein mutation affects vein thickness and organ vascularization, and resides in a provascular cell-specific spermine synthase involved in vein definition and in polar auxin transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clay, Nicole K; Nelson, Timothy

    2005-06-01

    Polar auxin transport has been implicated in the induction of vascular tissue and in the definition of vein positions. Leaves treated with chemical inhibitors of polar auxin transport exhibited vascular phenotypes that include increased vein thickness and vascularization. We describe a recessive mutant, thickvein (tkv), which develops thicker veins in leaves and in inflorescence stems. The increased vein thickness is attributable to an increased number of vascular cells. Mutant plants have smaller leaves and shorter inflorescence stems, and this reduction in organ size and height is accompanied by an increase in organ vascularization, which appears to be attributable to an increase in the recruitment of cells into veins. Furthermore, although floral development is normal, auxin transport in the inflorescence stem is significantly reduced in the mutant, suggesting that the defect in auxin transport is responsible for the vascular phenotypes. In the primary root, the veins appear morphologically normal, but root growth in the tkv mutant is hypersensitive to exogenous cytokinin. The tkv mutation was found to reside in the ACL5 gene, which encodes a spermine synthase and whose expression is specific to provascular cells. We propose that ACL5/TKV is involved in vein definition (defining the boundaries between veins and nonvein regions) and in polar auxin transport, and that polyamines are involved in this process.

  11. Portal Vein Stenting for Portal Biliopathy with Jaundice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyun, Dongho, E-mail: mesentery@naver.com; Park, Kwang Bo, E-mail: kbjh.park@samsung.com [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Seong Joo [Konyang University, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Konyang University Hospital (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Jin Ho [Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Department of Radiology (Korea, Republic of); Sinn, Dong Hyun [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-04-15

    Portal biliopathy refers to obstruction of the bile duct by dilated peri- or para-ductal collateral channels following the main portal vein occlusion from various causes. Surgical shunt operation or endoscopic treatment has been reported. Herein, we report a case of portal biliopathy that was successfully treated by interventional portal vein recanalization.

  12. Pattern of xylem phenology in conifers of cold ecosystems at the Northern Hemisphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossi, Sergio; Anfodillo, Tommaso; Čufar, Katarina; Cuny, Henri E; Deslauriers, Annie; Fonti, Patrick; Frank, David; Gričar, Jožica; Gruber, Andreas; Huang, Jian-Guo; Jyske, Tuula; Kašpar, Jakub; King, Gregory; Krause, Cornelia; Liang, Eryuan; Mäkinen, Harri; Morin, Hubert; Nöjd, Pekka; Oberhuber, Walter; Prislan, Peter; Rathgeber, Cyrille B K; Saracino, Antonio; Swidrak, Irene; Treml, Václav

    2016-11-01

    The interaction between xylem phenology and climate assesses forest growth and productivity and carbon storage across biomes under changing environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of wood formation are maintained unaltered despite the temperature changes across cold ecosystems. Wood microcores were collected weekly or biweekly throughout the growing season for periods varying between 1 and 13 years during 1998-2014 and cut in transverse sections for assessing the onset and ending of the phases of xylem differentiation. The data set represented 1321 trees belonging to 10 conifer species from 39 sites in the Northern Hemisphere and covering an interval of mean annual temperature exceeding 14 K. The phenological events and mean annual temperature of the sites were related linearly, with spring and autumnal events being separated by constant intervals across the range of temperature analysed. At increasing temperature, first enlarging, wall-thickening and mature tracheids appeared earlier, and last enlarging and wall-thickening tracheids occurred later. Overall, the period of wood formation lengthened linearly with the mean annual temperature, from 83.7 days at -2 °C to 178.1 days at 12 °C, at a rate of 6.5 days °C -1 . April-May temperatures produced the best models predicting the dates of wood formation. Our findings demonstrated the uniformity of the process of wood formation and the importance of the environmental conditions occurring at the time of growth resumption. Under warming scenarios, the period of wood formation might lengthen synchronously in the cold biomes of the Northern Hemisphere. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Near-infrared image formation and processing for the extraction of hand veins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouzida, Nabila; Hakim Bendada, Abdel; Maldague, Xavier P.

    2010-10-01

    The main objective of this work is to extract the hand vein network using a non-invasive technique in the near-infrared region (NIR). The visualization of the veins is based on a relevant feature of the blood in relation with certain wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the present paper, we first introduce the image formation in the NIR spectral band. Then, the acquisition system will be presented as well as the method used for the image processing in order to extract the vein signature. Extractions of this pattern on the finger, on the wrist and on the dorsal hand are achieved after exposing the hand to an optical stimulation by reflection or transmission of light. We present meaningful results of the extracted vein pattern demonstrating the utility of the method for a clinical application like the diagnosis of vein disease, of primitive varicose vein and also for applications in vein biometrics.

  14. Novel Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation of Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus: Safety and Feasibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mizandari, Malkhaz [High Technology Medical Center, Tbilisi State Medical University (Georgia); Ao, Guokun [The 309 Hospital of People' s Liberation Army, Department on Oncology (China); Zhang Yaojun; Feng Xi [Imperial College London, Department of Surgery and Cancer (United Kingdom); Shen Qiang [The First Minimally Invasive Department of Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (China); Chen Minshan [Cancer Centre of Sun Yat-Sen University, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery (China); Lau, Wan Yee [Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine (Hong Kong); Nicholls, Joanna; Jiao Long; Habib, Nagy, E-mail: nagy.habib@imperial.ac.uk [Imperial College London, Department of Surgery and Cancer (United Kingdom)

    2013-02-15

    We report our experience of the safety of partial recanalization of the portal vein using a novel endovascular radiofrequency (RF) catheter for portal vein tumor thrombosis. Six patients with liver cancer and tumor thrombus in the portal vein underwent percutaneous intravascular radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using an endovascular bipolar RF device. A 0.035-inch guidewire was introduced into a tributary of the portal vein and through which a 5G guide catheter was introduced into the main portal vein. After manipulation of the guide catheter over the thrombus under digital subtraction angiography, the endovascular RF device was inserted and activated around the thrombus. There were no observed technique specific complications, such as hemorrhage, vessel perforation, or infection. Post-RFA portography showed partial recanalization of portal vein. RFA of portal vein tumor thrombus in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma is technically feasible and warrants further investigation to assess efficacy compared with current recanalization techniques.

  15. The color Doppler ultrasonography in in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ameneiro Perez, Santiago; Alvarez Sanchez, Jose A.; Rodriguez Villalonga, Luis; Borras Migues, Marisela; Quinnones Castro, Mayda

    2004-01-01

    The paper was aimed at evaluating the accuracy of color Doppler ultrasonography, a noninvasive method, in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs, comparing it to the results of the cruel and costly diagnostic g olden rule , that is, phlebography. Methods: Color Doppler ultrasonography served to assess 102 patients clinically suspected of deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs, taking into account the following criteria: vein compressibility, echographic images, color, Vein Doppler signal modulation after several maneuvers and distal compression. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and diagnostic efficacy were estimated for each criteria, taking the phlebography as a reference. Results: Total or partial lack of vein compressibility combined with the vein flow evaluation is the ultrasonographic criterion that reveals higher degree of sensitivity, specificity and efficacy (0,98; 0,95 and 0,97 respectively. Color Doppler ultrasonography is a highly effective noninvasive diagnostic method that detects deep vein thrombosis in proximal areas of the lower limbs

  16. Endovascular vein harvest: systemic carbon dioxide absorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maslow, Andrew M; Schwartz, Carl S; Bert, Arthur; Hurlburt, Peter; Gough, Jeffrey; Stearns, Gary; Singh, Arun K

    2006-06-01

    Endovascular vein harvest (EDVH) requires CO(2) insufflation to expand the subcutaneous space, allowing visualization and dissection of the saphenous vein. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of CO(2) absorption during EDVH. Prospective observational study. Single tertiary care hospital. Sixty patients (30 EDVH and 30 open-vein harvest) undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Hemodynamic, procedural, and laboratory data were collected prior to (baseline), during, and at it the conclusion (final) of vein harvesting. Data were also collected during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Data were compared by using t tests, analysis of variance, and correlation statistics when needed. There were significant increases in arterial CO(2) (PaCO(2), 35%) and decreases in pH (1.35%) during EDVH. These were associated with increases in heart rate, mean blood pressure, and cardiac output. Within the EDVH group, greater elevations (>10 mmHg) in PaCO2 were more likely during difficult harvest procedures, and these patients exhibited greater increase in heart rate. Elevated CO(2) persisted during CPB, requiring higher systemic gas flows and greater use of phenylephrine to maintain desired hemodynamics. EDVH was associated with systemic absorption of CO(2). Greater absorption was more likely in difficult procedures and was associated with greater hemodynamic changes requiring medical therapy.

  17. Varicography in the preoperative evaluation of primary varicose veins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinzani, A.; Paoli, G.; Gongolo, A.; Spreafico, G.

    1989-01-01

    Primary varicose veins in the lower limb are usually well evaluated by the surgeon, who avails himself of tornequet tests and Doppler US. However, the operation is often followed by failure or recurrence, or else it requires ugly skin dissection to eradicate an unforeseeably complicated varicose vein. The authors suggest that, whenever the surgeon considers the information obtained with tests and Doppler US inadequate for planning surgery, varicography be performed to get further morphological (and functional) data about the origin of varicose veins, which is of fundamental importance for an accurate surgical planning (crossectomy, stripping, ligation, sclerosis). Out of 100 varicographies consecutively carried out on patients in whom clinical examination was not conclusive, 62% allowed an already planned surgical approach to be changed. The figure rose to 100% in the case of unusual varicose veins. Such a results allowed the needs of both the surgeon (selectivity, effectiveness, radicality) and the patients (narrow scars, absence of relapse) to be respected. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that some vein segments are often only pathological, and they are to be adequately treated, while others can be undamaged, and they are to be preserved for both their function and an eventual by-pass surgery. Varicography is rapidly performed, without complication, and is well accepted by the patients. It is a fundamental help in the preoperative study of primary varicose veins, especially in case of unusual ones, whenever the surgeon is in the slightest diagnostic - and therefore surgical - doubt

  18. Palm-vein classification based on principal orientation features.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yujia Zhou

    Full Text Available Personal recognition using palm-vein patterns has emerged as a promising alternative for human recognition because of its uniqueness, stability, live body identification, flexibility, and difficulty to cheat. With the expanding application of palm-vein pattern recognition, the corresponding growth of the database has resulted in a long response time. To shorten the response time of identification, this paper proposes a simple and useful classification for palm-vein identification based on principal direction features. In the registration process, the Gaussian-Radon transform is adopted to extract the orientation matrix and then compute the principal direction of a palm-vein image based on the orientation matrix. The database can be classified into six bins based on the value of the principal direction. In the identification process, the principal direction of the test sample is first extracted to ascertain the corresponding bin. One-by-one matching with the training samples is then performed in the bin. To improve recognition efficiency while maintaining better recognition accuracy, two neighborhood bins of the corresponding bin are continuously searched to identify the input palm-vein image. Evaluation experiments are conducted on three different databases, namely, PolyU, CASIA, and the database of this study. Experimental results show that the searching range of one test sample in PolyU, CASIA and our database by the proposed method for palm-vein identification can be reduced to 14.29%, 14.50%, and 14.28%, with retrieval accuracy of 96.67%, 96.00%, and 97.71%, respectively. With 10,000 training samples in the database, the execution time of the identification process by the traditional method is 18.56 s, while that by the proposed approach is 3.16 s. The experimental results confirm that the proposed approach is more efficient than the traditional method, especially for a large database.

  19. Endovenous laser therapy for occlusion of incompetent saphenous veins using 1940nm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sroka, Ronald; Pongratz, Thomas; Esipova, Anna; Dikic, Slobodan; Demhasaj, Sahit; Comsa, Florin; Schmedt, Claus-Georg

    2015-07-01

    Objective: Several studies indicate that ELT using wavelengths of high water absorption showed advantages compared to conventional ELT. Thulium-Lasers emit nearby the local absorption maximum of water at 1940nm. In this clinical study the effectiveness, safety and the feasibility of 1940nm-ELT is proven. Materials and Method: A single centric, prospective observational study was performed. 1940nm-laserenergy was applied using radial emitting fibres with continuous pullback (1mm/s). Treatment was performed under anesthesia (general, spinal, tumescent) thus simultaneous miniphlebectomy and ligation of perforators could be applied. Patient and technical details were systematically collected. Evaluation included: standardized questionnaire, clinical examination, color-duplex ultrasonography preoperatively, 3d, 4w, 6m postoperatively, statistic. Results: The 1940nm-ELT study include 55 patients (female/men=34/21, mean age 55y, range 23-90y) treating n=72 vessels. The mean maximum diameter of great saphenous veins (GSV, n=59) was 7.5mm (range 3.7-11.3mm) and of small saphenous veins (SSV, n=13) was 5.3mm (3.0-10.0mm). The mean applied longitudinal endovenous energy density (LEED) was 64.3J/cm (40.3-98.2J/cm) in GSVs and 51.0J/cm (37.6-72.7J/cm) in SSVs. Complete occlusion of the vein without sign of reflux was achieved in 100%. The mean length of non-occluded stump at the sapheno-femoral junction was 6.0mm (1.0-20.0mm). Postoperative reduction of the diameter of GSV was 1.6mm (21.3%) and 2.0mm (37.7%) in SSV. One (1.4%) endovenous heat induced thrombus (EHIT) was observed. Further adverse events were: paresthesia 10/72 (13.9%), ecchymosis 1/72 (1.4%), lymphocele 1/72 (1.4%), hyperpigmentation 1/72 (1.4%). The mean postoperative pain intensity was 1.3 and 1.8 single doses of analgesics were administered. Normal physical activity was reached after 3d (1-21d). Conclusion: 1940nm-ELT using radial light application effectively eliminates the reflux in insufficient saphenous

  20. The umbilical and paraumbilical veins of man.

    OpenAIRE

    Martin, B F; Tudor, R G

    1980-01-01

    During its transit through the umbilicus structural changes occur in the thick wall of the extra-abdominal segment of the umbilical vein whereby the components of the intra-abdominal segment acquire an essentially longitudinal direction and become arranged in fibro-elastic and fibro-muscular zones. The vein lumen becomes largely obliterated by asymmetrical proliferation of loose subendothelial conective tissue. The latter forms a new inner zone within which a small segment of the lumen persis...

  1. Aneurysmal malformation of the extrahepatic portal vein: a case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jeong Min; Kang, Sung Soo; Kim, Chong Soo; Han, Hyeun Young

    1999-01-01

    Aneurysmal malformation of the portal vein is a rare entity. To our knowledge, only scattered reports of portal vein aneurysms appear in the literature in English, and there is no previously published report in Korean. We describe a case exhibiting aneurysmal malformation of the extrahepatic portal vein at the hepatic hilum ; the findings demonstrated by ultrasound, CT and angiography are discussed, a review of previously described cases is included

  2. Congenital vascular malformations: the persistence of marginal and embryonal veins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, J; Daffinger, N

    2006-05-01

    In about 18% of cases with conginental vascular malformations we find a perspective of an atypical truncular vein, located along the outside of the leg, frequently extended from the dorsal foot up to the bottom. In presence of a normally developed system of the deep collecting veins of the lower limb and within the pelvic outflow we are talking about a persisting marginal vein (MV). Hypoplasia or even aplasia of the main deep veins in contrary defines the persisting embryonal vein (EV). Already in childhood these truncular dysplastic veins tend to develop varicose enlargement, causing severe reflux of a huge volume of blood--even more when being associated with av-fistulas (46%). In consequence a rapidly growing chronic venous insufficiency will guide to additional injuries. We have analysed 97 patients showing a persisting MV (n: 92 ) within a total of 102 legs. A persistent embryonal vein (EV) was seen 10 times within this clientel. The persisting truncular veins, associated with phlebectasias and typical clinical symptoms have been examined in a diagnostic "step-by-step" procedure, mainly phlebographically (ascending leg phlebography and varicography), including direct venous blood pressure measurements (phlebodynamometry) and--if needed--by arteriography, showing av-shunting fistulae in 46% of cases. CT and MRI were consulted for the exact therapy planing (frequently initially offered as a non-invasive, however, inadequate key of diagnostic). Actually now these techniques cannot replace pre-operatively the angiographic imaging techniques. The analysis of clinical, morphologic and functional signs, guiding to a specific therapy-relevant classification of MV's and EV's will be presented. And a specific strategy of surgical repair, interventional treatment of av-fistulas and conservative compressive follow-up treatment attempting palliative recompensation of the diseased venous outflow will be discussed also.

  3. Contralateral Deep Vein Thrombosis after Iliac Vein Stent Placement in Patients with May-Thurner Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Trong Binh; Lee, Taeg Ki; Park, Keun-Myoung; Jeon, Yong Sun; Hong, Kee Chun; Cho, Soon Gu

    2018-04-25

    To investigate the incidence and potential causes of contralateral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after common iliac vein (CIV) stent placement in patients with May-Thurner syndrome (MTS). Data of 111 patients (women: 73%) who had CIV stent implantation for symptomatic MTS at a single center were retrospectively analyzed. Mean patient age was 63.1 ± 15.2 years. Median follow-up was 36 months (range, 1-142 months). Stent location was determined by venogram and classified as extended to the inferior vena cava (IVC), covered the confluence, or confined to the iliac vein. Potential causes of contralateral DVT were presumed based on venographic findings. The relationship between stent location and contralateral DVT was analyzed. Ten patients (9%, men/women: 4/6) exhibited contralateral DVT at a median timing of 40 months (range, 6-98 months). Median age was 69 years (range, 42-85 years). Median follow-up was 73.5 months (range, 20-134 months). Potential causes were venous intimal hyperplasia (VIH) (n = 7), "jailing" (n = 2), and indeterminate (n = 1). All patients with VIH had previous CIV stents overextended to the IVC. Overextension of CIV stent was associated with contralateral DVT (P VIH should be considered a potential cause. Copyright © 2018 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Morphology of congenital portosystemic shunts involving the left colic vein in dogs and cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, R N; Parry, A T

    2016-05-01

    To describe the anatomy of congenital portosystemic shunts involving the left colic vein in dogs and cats. Retrospective review of a consecutive series of dogs and cats managed for congenital portosystemic shunts. For inclusion a shunt involving the left colic vein with recorded intraoperative mesenteric portovenography or computed tomography angiography along with direct gross surgical observations at the time of surgery was required. Six dogs and three cats met the inclusion criteria. All cases had a shunt which involved a distended left colic vein. The final communication with a systemic vein was variable; in seven cases (five dogs, two cats) it was via the caudal vena cava, in one cat it was via the common iliac vein and in the remaining dog it was via the internal iliac vein. In addition, two cats showed caudal vena cava duplication. The morphology of this shunt type appeared to be a result of an abnormal communication between either the left colic vein or the cranial rectal vein and a pelvic systemic vein (caudal vena cava, common iliac vein or internal iliac vein). This information may help with surgical planning in cases undergoing shunt closure surgery. © 2016 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

  5. Plantar vein thrombosis: a rare cause of plantar foot pain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegal, Daniel S.; Wu, Jim S.; Brennan, Darren D.; Hochman, Mary G.; Challies, Tracy

    2008-01-01

    Plantar vein thrombosis is a rare condition, with only a handful of cases reported in the literature. The cause is unknown; however, the disease has been attributed to prior surgery, trauma, and paraneoplastic conditions. We present a case of a 32-year-old female runner with plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed on contrast-enhanced MRI and confirmed on ultrasound. The symptoms resolved with conservative treatment and evaluation revealed the presence of a prothrombin gene mutation and use of oral contraceptive pills. To our knowledge, this is the first case of plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed initially by MRI. Moreover, this case suggests that plantar vein thrombosis should be considered in patients with hypercoagulable states and plantar foot pain. (orig.)

  6. Plantar vein thrombosis: a rare cause of plantar foot pain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siegal, Daniel S.; Wu, Jim S.; Brennan, Darren D.; Hochman, Mary G. [Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Challies, Tracy [Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Pathology, Boston, MA (United States)

    2008-03-15

    Plantar vein thrombosis is a rare condition, with only a handful of cases reported in the literature. The cause is unknown; however, the disease has been attributed to prior surgery, trauma, and paraneoplastic conditions. We present a case of a 32-year-old female runner with plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed on contrast-enhanced MRI and confirmed on ultrasound. The symptoms resolved with conservative treatment and evaluation revealed the presence of a prothrombin gene mutation and use of oral contraceptive pills. To our knowledge, this is the first case of plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed initially by MRI. Moreover, this case suggests that plantar vein thrombosis should be considered in patients with hypercoagulable states and plantar foot pain. (orig.)

  7. Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava Associated with Hemiazygos Vein Draining in It and Absence of Left Brachiocephalic Vein, in a Patient with Congenital Heart Defect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Opincariu Diana

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Persistent left superior vena cava is an anomalous vein that derives from a malfunction of obliteration of the left common cardinal vein during intrauterine life. The diagnosis can be suggested by a dilated coronary sinus as seen in echocardiography, or other imagistic methods. Due to the lack of hemodynamic impairment, and consequently with few or no symptoms, this vascular anomaly is frequently discovered incidentally. In this brief report we present the case of a 35-year-old male known with a complex congenital cardiovascular malformation that included atrial septum defect, persistent left superior vena cava and anomalous right pulmonary vein drainage in the PLSVC, diagnosed with sinoatrial block that required pacemaker implantation. Due to the patient’s medical history, investigations to decide the best approach needed for pacemaker implantation were performed, including a thoracic CT that incidentally found additional anomalies — the hemiazygos vein draining in PLSVC and the lack of the left brachiocephalic vein.

  8. Collateral veins in inferior caval vein occlusion demonstrated via CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lien, H.H.; Lund, G.

    1983-01-01

    CT-scans of 12 patients with tumour-induced occlusion of the inferior vena cava were studied with regard to collateral veins. A comparison was performed with findings at phlebography in 10 patients and at autopsy in 2. The site and appearance of the main collateral pathway are presented. A close study of vascular structures renders useful information on collateral circulation in occlusion of the inferior vena cava. (orig.)

  9. Arabidopsis thickvein Mutation Affects Vein Thickness and Organ Vascularization, and Resides in a Provascular Cell-Specific Spermine Synthase Involved in Vein Definition and in Polar Auxin Transport1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clay, Nicole K.; Nelson, Timothy

    2005-01-01

    Polar auxin transport has been implicated in the induction of vascular tissue and in the definition of vein positions. Leaves treated with chemical inhibitors of polar auxin transport exhibited vascular phenotypes that include increased vein thickness and vascularization. We describe a recessive mutant, thickvein (tkv), which develops thicker veins in leaves and in inflorescence stems. The increased vein thickness is attributable to an increased number of vascular cells. Mutant plants have smaller leaves and shorter inflorescence stems, and this reduction in organ size and height is accompanied by an increase in organ vascularization, which appears to be attributable to an increase in the recruitment of cells into veins. Furthermore, although floral development is normal, auxin transport in the inflorescence stem is significantly reduced in the mutant, suggesting that the defect in auxin transport is responsible for the vascular phenotypes. In the primary root, the veins appear morphologically normal, but root growth in the tkv mutant is hypersensitive to exogenous cytokinin. The tkv mutation was found to reside in the ACL5 gene, which encodes a spermine synthase and whose expression is specific to provascular cells. We propose that ACL5/TKV is involved in vein definition (defining the boundaries between veins and nonvein regions) and in polar auxin transport, and that polyamines are involved in this process. PMID:15894745

  10. Investigation on the Assimilation of Nitrogen by Maize Roots and the Transport of Some Major Nitrogen Compounds by Xylem Sap. III

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ivanko, S.; Ingversen, J.

    1971-01-01

    Xylem sap was collected from nitrogen-starved maize plants and investigations were made on the nitrogen transported. It appears from the results that several pools for different amino acids exist, which have different relations to the transport of nitrogen taken up. While in maize roots Glu, Glu...

  11. Iliac vein stenosis is an underdiagnosed cause of pelvic venous insufficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoshi, Ratnam K N; Lakhanpal, Sanjiv; Satwah, Vinay; Lakhanpal, Gaurav; Malone, Michael; Pappas, Peter J

    2018-03-01

    Reflux in the ovarian veins, with or without an obstructive venous outflow component, is reported to be the primary cause of pelvic venous insufficiency (PVI). The degree to which venous outflow obstruction plays a role in PVI is currently ill-defined. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 227 women with PVI who presented to the Center for Vascular Medicine from January 2012 to September 2015. Assessments and interventions consisted of an evaluation for other causes of chronic pelvic pain by a gynecologist; preintervention and postintervention visual analog scale (VAS) pain score; complete venous duplex ultrasound examination; and Clinical, Etiology, Anatomy, and Pathophysiology classification. All patients underwent diagnostic venography of their pelvic and left ovarian veins as well as intravascular ultrasound of their iliac veins. Patients were treated in one of six ways: ovarian vein embolization (OVE) alone (chemical ± coils), OVE with staged iliac vein stenting, OVE with simultaneous iliac vein stenting, iliac vein stenting alone, OVE with venoplasty, and venoplasty alone. Of the 227 women treated, the average age and number of pregnancies was 46.4 ± 10.4 years and 3.36 ± 1.99, respectively. Treatment distribution was the following: OVE, n = 39; OVE with staged stenting, n = 94; OVE with simultaneous stenting, n = 33; stenting alone, n = 50; OVE with venoplasty, n = 8; and venoplasty alone, n = 3. Seven patients in the OVE and stenting groups (staged) and one patient in the OVE + venoplasty group required a second embolization of the left ovarian vein. Eighty percent (181/227) of patients demonstrated an iliac stenosis >50% by intravascular ultrasound. Average VAS scores for the entire cohort before and after intervention were 8.45 ± 1.11 and 1.86 ± 1.61 (P ≤ .001). In the staged group, only 9 of 94 patients reported a decrease in the VAS score with OVE alone. VAS score decreased from 8.6 ± 0.89 before OVE to 7.97 ± 2.10 after OVE

  12. The response of thrombosis in the portal vein or hepatic vein in hepatocellular carcinoma to radiation therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bae, Bong Kyung; Kim, Jae Chul [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-09-15

    The purpose of current study is to evaluate the response of the patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) or hepatic vein thrombosis (HVT) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). In addition, survival of patients and potential prognostic factors of the survival was evaluated. Forty-seven patients with PVT or HVT in HCC, referred to our department for radiotherapy, were retrospectively reviewed. For 3D-CRT plans, a gross tumor volume (GTV) was defined as a hypodense filling defect area in the portal vein (PV) or hepatic vein (HV). Survival of patients, and response to radiation therapy (RT) were analyzed. Potential prognostic factors for survival and response to RT were evaluated. The median survival time of 47 patients was 8 months, with 1-year survival rate of 15% and response rate of 40%. Changes in Child-Pugh score, response to RT, Eastern cooperative oncology group performance status (ECOG PS), hepatitis C antibody (HCVAb) positivity, and additional post RT treatment were statistically significant prognostic factors for survival in univariate analysis (p = 0.000, p = 0.018, p = 0.000, p = 0.013, and p = 0.047, respectively). Of these factors, changes in Child-Pugh score, and response to RT were significant for patients' prognosis in multivariate analysis (p = 0.001 and p = 0.035, respectively). RT could constitute a reasonable treatment option for patients with PVT or HVT in HCC with acceptable toxicity. Changes in Child-Pugh score, and response to RT were statistically significant factors of survival of patients.

  13. The risk of varicose veins in standing female workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tony Hidayat

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available AbstrakLatar belakang:Varises sering terjadi pada karyawan yang harus bekerja dalam posisi kerja berdiri. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui beberapa faktor risiko terhadap varises tungkai dan atau kaki di antara pekerja perempuan. Metode:Penelitian potong lintang ini dilakukan pada Januari-Maret 2010. Sampel penelitian yang dipilih secara purposif yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi penelitian di antara pekerja perempuan perlu bekerja dalam  posisi  kerja  berdiri.  Data  dikumpulkan  dengan  wawancara,  pemeriksaan  fisik  dan  observasi posisi kerja berdiri. Pengolahan data untuk menentukan faktor dominan terhadap varises menggunakan pendekatan risiko relatif.Hasil:Dari 152 karyawan yang terdapat 111 yang bersedia mengikuti penelitian, dan yang menderita varises tungkai dan atau kaki sebanyak 52,3% (53 orang. Sebagian besar responden berusia 18-35 tahun, memiliki masa kerja 3-17 tahun, bekerja dalam posisi kerja banyak berdiri. Sebagian kecil responden memiliki riwayat varises di dalam keluarga (13,51%, memakai kontrasepsi oral (11,71%, memiliki kebiasaan olah raga (18,02% dan memakai sepatu hak tinggi (11,71%. Faktor umur, pemakaian kontrasepsi oral, pemakaian sepatu hak tinggi, kebiasaan olah raga, posisi kerja berdiri, tempat kerja, dan masa kerja tidak berhubungan dengan varises tungkai dan atau kaki. Karyawan yang mempunyai dibandingkan dengan yang tidak mempunyai riwayat keluarga varises, berisiko 69% lebih tinggi menderita varises [risiko relatif (RR = 1,69; P = 0.121]. Kesimpulan:Karyawan yang mempunyai riwayat keluarga varises berisiko lebih tinggi menderita varises. (Health Science Indones 2013;1:47-50 Kata kunci:varises, posisi kerja berdiriAbstractBackground: Varicose veins often occur in employees who have to work in a position of standing work. The purpose of this study to determine risk factors for varicose veins and leg or foot among women workers.Methods: In this cross-sectional study in January-March 2010 the

  14. Hydraulic failure defines the recovery and point of death in water-stressed conifers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodribb, Tim J; Cochard, Hervé

    2009-01-01

    This study combines existing hydraulic principles with recently developed methods for probing leaf hydraulic function to determine whether xylem physiology can explain the dynamic response of gas exchange both during drought and in the recovery phase after rewatering. Four conifer species from wet and dry forests were exposed to a range of water stresses by withholding water and then rewatering to observe the recovery process. During both phases midday transpiration and leaf water potential (Psileaf) were monitored. Stomatal responses to Psileaf were established for each species and these relationships used to evaluate whether the recovery of gas exchange after drought was limited by postembolism hydraulic repair in leaves. Furthermore, the timing of gas-exchange recovery was used to determine the maximum survivable water stress for each species and this index compared with data for both leaf and stem vulnerability to water-stress-induced dysfunction measured for each species. Recovery of gas exchange after water stress took between 1 and >100 d and during this period all species showed strong 1:1 conformity to a combined hydraulic-stomatal limitation model (r2 = 0.70 across all plants). Gas-exchange recovery time showed two distinct phases, a rapid overnight recovery in plants stressed to 50% loss of Kleaf. Maximum recoverable water stress (Psimin) corresponded to a 95% loss of Kleaf. Thus, we conclude that xylem hydraulics represents a direct limit to the drought tolerance of these conifer species.

  15. A free vein graft cap influences neuroma formation after nerve transection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galeano, Mariarosaria; Manasseri, Benedetto; Risitano, Giovanni; Geuna, Stefano; Di Scipio, Federica; La Rosa, Paola; Delia, Gabriele; D'Alcontres, Francesco Stagno; Colonna, Michele R

    2009-01-01

    : Neuroma formation is a major problem in nerve surgery and consensus about its prevention has not been reached. It has been suggested that vein covering can reduce neuroma formation in transected nerves. In this article, the Authors propose an easy and novel method of covering by nerve stump capping with a free vein graft. : Neuroma-like lesions were created on the rat thigh sectioning the femoral nerve above its division in 16 animals. The proximal nerve stump was invaginated into the lumen of a 1.5 cm long femoral free vein graft on the right side, and the vein was closed on itself by microsurgical sutures to form a cap for the nerve stump. On the left side acting as the control neuroma, the nerve was cut and left uncovered. Histological and immunohistochemical assessment was used to quantify the degree of neuroma formation. : Significant differences were found in both neuroma size and axon-glia organization between the treated and control sides indicating that free vein graft capping reduced neuroma formation in comparison to uncovered nerve stumps. : Our results confirm that vein-covering of a transected nerve stump can be effective in reducing neuroma formation. Moreover, unlike previous works that buried the nerve into an adjacent vein left in place, our experiments showed that also the use of a free vein graft cap can hinder neuroma formation. Although translation of rat experiments to the clinics should be dealt with caution, our data suggest a careful clinical use of the technique. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2009.

  16. Galen's vein aneurysm as cause of heart failure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Echeverria, Claudia; Cassalett, Gabriel; Franco, Jaime; Carrillo, Gustavo

    2005-01-01

    We present the case of a newborn admitted to the intensive care unit with a heart failure of difficult medical management. A large ductus arteriosus was found. It was surgically corrected, but the heart failure persisted and did not improve with medical treatment. Incidentally, a big Galen's vein aneurysm was found. Galen's vein aneurysm is a rare congenital pathology, originated by a fusion defect of the internal cerebral veins. Due to its low resistance, it produces a picture of high-output heart failure. Large defects may contain 50% to 60% of cardiac output. An aneurysm may be suspected in each newborn or infant with clinical picture of heart failure and right cardiac chamber dilation without any evidence of structural cardiac anomaly

  17. Renal computed angiography. Part I: Renal CT phlebography. Renal veins variants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Amin, M.; Krupev, M.; Hadjidekov, V.; Plachkov, I.

    2012-01-01

    The changing trend in renal surgery, transplantation and minimal invasive urology implies preprocedure evaluation of renal veins. Development of imaging methods offers new possibilities for venographic visualization. The goal of this study is to present authors experience in visualization of renal veins using 64 MDCT and to evaluate the utility in assessments of their variants. 128 patients (68 females and 60 males, mean age 53,3) with urological complaints underwent 64MDCT examination including CT angiography. Contrast enhancement includes 3-4ml/sec injection flow of 90 ml contrast medium followed by 20 ml saline at the same rate. In 23 out of 128 examined patients some of the common variants of the renal vein is found. 64 MDCT angiography visualize very well renal veins and becomes method of choice in preoperative assessment of renal vein anatomy. (authors)

  18. The psychological aspects of everyday functioning in a group of patients with varicose veins – an assessment with VEINES Qol/Sym for patients before and after varicose veins surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Łukasz Migdalski

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Psychological functioning of patients in early stages of venous insufficiency has not been a common subject of scientific investigation so far, even though this group of patients experiences many limitations in daily functioning, as well as psychological distress. Varicose veins are the most common type of venous insufficiency, with an epidemiology of up to 50% of the western population. The present study is concerned with the functioning of a group undergoing surgery of varicose veins. The operation was carried out in an ambulatory mode, and such psychological factors as acceptance of illness, anxiety–state, anxiety–trait, and wellbeing (treated as personality construct have been considered. It is the first time that such variables have been used with the new tool for assessing quality of life in venous diseases (VEINES Qol/Sym, and no previous findings about applying VEINES Qol/Sym to assess patients after varicose veins operations exist. The results are promising, especially for combining such psychological variables as anxiety, acceptance of illness, or wellbeing with specific venous measures of quality of life. It has been proved that there is a need for monitoring psychological variables in the group of patients in an early stage of chronic venous illness. Further research on other venous patient groups is necessary to fully understand the specificity of these groups.

  19. Analysis of hepatic vein variations in healthy people with 64-slice spiral CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Rong; Li Yong; Shen Jun; Zeng Weike; Li Jieting; Huang Suiqiao; Liang Biling; Liu Chao

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To analyze variations of hepatic vein in healthy people with 64-slice spiral CT. Methods: Seventy-five healthy subjects underwent multi-slice spiral computed (MSCT) hepatic venography. The anatomy of the junction of the hepatic veins with the inferior vena cava and the intrahepatic drainage territory of the hepatic veins and tributaries were evaluated. The hepatic veins were classified according to three anatomic classification (Nakamura's, Marcos's and Kawasaki's classification) methods respectively. Results: There was a common trunk of the middle and left hepatic veins before joining the IVC in 86.7% (65/75)of the cases. In 13.3% (10/75)of the cases, the three main hepatic veins joined the IVC separately. The ratios of Nakamma's classification type A, B, C of hepatic veins were 49.4% (37/75), 37.3% (28/75), and 13.3% (10/75) respectively. The ratios of Marcos's classification type A, B, C of hepatic veins were 56.0% (42/75), 24.0% (18/75), and 20.0% (15/75) respectively. The ratios of Kawasaki's classification type I, II of hepatic vein were 40.0% (30/75) and 60.0% (45/75). Conclusion: Multi-slice spiral CT hepatic venography can provide visualization of peripheral hepatic venous branches in details. (authors)

  20. Factors affecting optimal linear endovenous energy density for endovenous laser ablation in incompetent lower limb truncal veins - A review of the clinical evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowpland, Christine A; Cleese, Amy L; Whiteley, Mark S

    2017-06-01

    Objectives The objective is to identify the factors that affect the optimal linear endovenous energy density (LEED) to ablate incompetent truncal veins. Methods We performed a literature review of clinical studies, which reported truncal vein ablation rates and LEED. A PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) flow diagram documents the search strategy. We analysed 13 clinical papers which fulfilled the criteria to be able to compare results of great saphenous vein occlusion as defined by venous duplex ultrasound, with the LEED used in the treatment. Results Evidence suggests that the optimal LEED for endovenous laser ablation of the great saphenous vein is >80 J/cm and water might have a lower optimal LEED. A LEED 80 J/cm and <95 J/cm based on current evidence for shorter wavelength lasers. There is evidence that longer wavelength lasers may be effective at LEEDs of <85 J/cm.

  1. Incidence of Central Vein Stenosis and Occlusion Following Upper Extremity PICC and Port Placement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonsalves, Carin F.; Eschelman, David J.; Sullivan, Kevin L.; DuBois, Nancy; Bonn, Joseph

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of central vein stenosis and occlusion following upper extremity placement of peripherally inserted central venous catheters(PICCs) and venous ports. One hundred fifty-four patients who underwent venography of the ipsilateral central veins prior to initial and subsequent venous access device insertion were retrospectively identified. All follow-up venograms were interpreted at the time of catheter placement by one interventional radiologist over a 5-year period and compared to the findings on initial venography. For patients with central vein abnormalities, hospital and home infusion service records and radiology reports were reviewed to determine catheter dwelltime and potential alternative etiologies of central vein stenosis or occlusion. The effect of catheter caliber and dwell time on development of central vein abnormalities was evaluated. Venography performed prior to initial catheter placement showed that 150 patients had normal central veins. Three patients had central vein stenosis, and one had central vein occlusion. Subsequent venograms (n = 154)at the time of additional venous access device placement demonstrated 8 patients with occlusions and 10 with stenoses. Three of the 18 patients with abnormal follow-up venograms were found to have potential alternative causes of central vein abnormalities. Excluding these 3 patients and the 4 patients with abnormal initial venograms, a 7% incidence of central vein stenosis or occlusion was found in patients with prior indwelling catheters and normal initial venograms. Catheter caliber showed no effect on the subsequent development of central vein abnormalities. Patients who developed new or worsened central vein stenosis or occlusion had significantly (p =0.03) longer catheter dwell times than patients without central vein abnormalities. New central vein stenosis or occlusion occurred in 7% of patients following upper arm placement of venous access devices

  2. Research and implementation of finger-vein recognition algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Zengyao; Yang, Jie; Chen, Yilei; Liu, Yin

    2017-06-01

    In finger vein image preprocessing, finger angle correction and ROI extraction are important parts of the system. In this paper, we propose an angle correction algorithm based on the centroid of the vein image, and extract the ROI region according to the bidirectional gray projection method. Inspired by the fact that features in those vein areas have similar appearance as valleys, a novel method was proposed to extract center and width of palm vein based on multi-directional gradients, which is easy-computing, quick and stable. On this basis, an encoding method was designed to determine the gray value distribution of texture image. This algorithm could effectively overcome the edge of the texture extraction error. Finally, the system was equipped with higher robustness and recognition accuracy by utilizing fuzzy threshold determination and global gray value matching algorithm. Experimental results on pairs of matched palm images show that, the proposed method has a EER with 3.21% extracts features at the speed of 27ms per image. It can be concluded that the proposed algorithm has obvious advantages in grain extraction efficiency, matching accuracy and algorithm efficiency.

  3. C1-esterase inhibitor protects against early vein graft remodeling under arterial blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krijnen, Paul A J; Kupreishvili, Koba; de Vries, Margreet R; Schepers, Abbey; Stooker, Wim; Vonk, Alexander B A; Eijsman, Leon; Van Hinsbergh, Victor W M; Zeerleder, Sacha; Wouters, Diana; van Ham, Marieke; Quax, Paul H A; Niessen, Hans W M

    2012-01-01

    Arterial pressure induced vein graft injury can result in endothelial loss, accelerated atherosclerosis and vein graft failure. Inflammation, including complement activation, is assumed to play a pivotal role herein. Here, we analyzed the effects of C1-esterase inhibitor (C1inh) on early vein graft remodeling. Human saphenous vein graft segments (n=8) were perfused in vitro with autologous blood either supplemented or not with purified human C1inh at arterial pressure for 6h. The vein segments and perfusion blood were analyzed for cell damage and complement activation. In addition, the effect of purified C1inh on vein graft remodeling was analyzed in vivo in atherosclerotic C57Bl6/ApoE3 Leiden mice, wherein donor caval veins were interpositioned in the common carotid artery. Application of C1inh in the in vitro perfusion model resulted in significantly higher blood levels and significantly more depositions of C1inh in the vein wall. This coincided with a significant reduction in endothelial loss and deposition of C3d and C4d in the vein wall, especially in the circular layer, compared to vein segments perfused without supplemented C1inh. Administration of purified C1inh significantly inhibited vein graft intimal thickening in vivo in atherosclerotic C57Bl6/ApoE3 Leiden mice, wherein donor caval veins were interpositioned in the common carotid artery. C1inh significantly protects against early vein graft remodeling, including loss of endothelium and intimal thickening. These data suggest that it may be worth considering its use in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Compressed sensing approach for wrist vein biometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lantsov, Aleksey; Ryabko, Maxim; Shchekin, Aleksey

    2018-04-01

    The work describes features of the compressed sensing (CS) approach utilized for development of a wearable system for wrist vein recognition with single-pixel detection; we consider this system useful for biometrics authentication purposes. The CS approach implies use of a spatial light modulation (SLM) which, in our case, can be performed differently-with a liquid crystal display or diffusely scattering medium. We show that compressed sensing combined with above-mentioned means of SLM allows us to avoid using an optical system-a limiting factor for wearable devices. The trade-off between the 2 different SLM approaches regarding issues of practical implementation of CS approach for wrist vein recognition purposes is discussed. A possible solution of a misalignment problem-a typical issue for imaging systems based upon 2D arrays of photodiodes-is also proposed. Proposed design of the wearable device for wrist vein recognition is based upon single-pixel detection. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Metabolic effects of portal vein sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mithieux, G

    2014-09-01

    The extrinsic gastrointestinal nerves are crucial in the sensing of nutrients and hormones and its translation in terms of control of food intake. Major macronutrients like glucose and protein are sensed by the extrinsic nerves located in the portal vein walls, which signal to the brain and account for the satiety phenomenon they promote. Glucose is sensed in the portal vein by neurons expressing the glucose receptor SGLT3, which activate the main regions of the brain involved in the control of food intake. Proteins indirectly act on food intake by inducing intestinal gluconeogenesis and its sensing by the portal glucose sensor. The mechanism involves a prior antagonism by peptides of the μ-opioid receptors present in the portal vein nervous system and a reflex arc with the brain inducing intestinal gluconeogenesis. In a comparable manner, short-chain fatty acids produced from soluble fibre act via intestinal gluconeogenesis to exert anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects. In the case of propionate, the mechanism involves a prior activation of the free fatty acid receptor FFAR3 present in the portal nerves and a reflex arc initiating intestinal gluconeogenesis. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Female Pelvic Vein Embolization: Indications, Techniques, and Outcomes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopez, Anthony James, E-mail: consultant@radiologist.co.uk [The Imaging Clinic (United Kingdom)

    2015-08-15

    Until recently, the main indication for pelvic vein embolization (PVE) in women was to treat pelvic venous congestion syndrome (PVC) but increasingly, patients with refluxing pelvic veins associated with leg varicosities are also being treated. A more unusual reason for PVE is to treat pelvic venous malformations, although such lesions may be treated with sclerotherapy alone. Embolotherapy for treating PVC has been performed for many years with several published studies included in this review, whilst an emerging indication for PVE is to treat lower limb varicosities associated with pelvic vein reflux. Neither group, however, has been subjected to an adequate randomized, controlled trial. Consequently, some of the information presented in this review should be considered anecdotal (level III evidence) at this stage, and a satisfactory ‘proof’ of clinical efficacy remains deficient until higher-level evidence is presented. Furthermore, a wide range of techniques not accepted by all are used, and some standardization will be required based on future mandatory prospective studies. Large studies have also clearly shown an unacceptably high recurrence rate of leg varicose veins following venous surgery. Furthermore, minimally or non-invasive imaging is now revealing that there is a refluxing pelvic venous source in a significant percentage of women with de novo leg varicose veins, and many more with recurrent varicosities. Considering that just over half the world’s population is female and a significant number of women not only have pelvic venous reflux, but also have associated leg varicosities, minimally invasive treatment of pelvic venous incompetence will become a common procedure.

  7. Female Pelvic Vein Embolization: Indications, Techniques, and Outcomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, Anthony James

    2015-01-01

    Until recently, the main indication for pelvic vein embolization (PVE) in women was to treat pelvic venous congestion syndrome (PVC) but increasingly, patients with refluxing pelvic veins associated with leg varicosities are also being treated. A more unusual reason for PVE is to treat pelvic venous malformations, although such lesions may be treated with sclerotherapy alone. Embolotherapy for treating PVC has been performed for many years with several published studies included in this review, whilst an emerging indication for PVE is to treat lower limb varicosities associated with pelvic vein reflux. Neither group, however, has been subjected to an adequate randomized, controlled trial. Consequently, some of the information presented in this review should be considered anecdotal (level III evidence) at this stage, and a satisfactory ‘proof’ of clinical efficacy remains deficient until higher-level evidence is presented. Furthermore, a wide range of techniques not accepted by all are used, and some standardization will be required based on future mandatory prospective studies. Large studies have also clearly shown an unacceptably high recurrence rate of leg varicose veins following venous surgery. Furthermore, minimally or non-invasive imaging is now revealing that there is a refluxing pelvic venous source in a significant percentage of women with de novo leg varicose veins, and many more with recurrent varicosities. Considering that just over half the world’s population is female and a significant number of women not only have pelvic venous reflux, but also have associated leg varicosities, minimally invasive treatment of pelvic venous incompetence will become a common procedure

  8. [Transposition of the cephalic vein in free flap breast reconstruction: Technical note].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silhol, T; Suffee, T; Hivelin, M; Lantieri, L

    2018-02-01

    Free flaps have become a reliable practice for breast reconstruction. However, the venous congestion is still the most frequent reason of flap failure. It is due to bad quality of the internal mammary veins, a preferential superficial venous outflow of the flap or due to venous thrombosis. The transposition of the cephalic vein could useful in some cases. We describe the surgical technique and suggest an intraoperative algorithm. Seventeen patients (15 DIEP and 2 PAP) were included. Twenty nine point four percent had an unusable internal mammary vein, 23.5% a preferential superficial venous outflow and 47.1% a venous thrombosis. The length of the cephalic vein dissected varied from 15 to 25cm. The mean time of dissection was 39min. There was no flap failure after cephalic vein transposition. The sequelae were one or two scars on the arm without any functional morbidity. The transposition of the cephalic vein is a reliable, less morbid alternative in case of bad quality internal mammary vein with a good quality internal mammary artery, in case of an additional venous outflow necessity or in case of venous thrombosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy for beta-thalassemia major

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Hawsawi, Zakaria M.; Tarawah, Ahmed M.; Hassan, Ruhul Amin A.; Haouimi, Ammar S.

    2004-01-01

    Portal vein thrombosis is a recognized complication after splenectomy for beta-thalassemia major due to the chronic hypercoagulable state which has been recognized to exist in childhood thalassemia and contribute to thromboembolic events. We reporting one patient with beta-thalassemia major developed portal vein thrombosis following splenectomy. (author)

  10. LOCAL LINE BINARY PATTERN FOR FEATURE EXTRACTION ON PALM VEIN RECOGNITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayanti Yusmah Sari

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, palm vein recognition has been studied to overcome problems in conventional systems in biometrics technology (finger print, face, and iris. Those problems in biometrics includes convenience and performance. However, due to the clarity of the palm vein image, the veins could not be segmented properly. To overcome this problem, we propose a palm vein recognition system using Local Line Binary Pattern (LLBP method that can extract robust features from the palm vein images that has unclear veins. LLBP is an advanced method of Local Binary Pattern (LBP, a texture descriptor based on the gray level comparison of a neighborhood of pixels. There are four major steps in this paper, Region of Interest (ROI detection, image preprocessing, features extraction using LLBP method, and matching using Fuzzy k-NN classifier. The proposed method was applied on the CASIA Multi-Spectral Image Database. Experimental results showed that the proposed method using LLBP has a good performance with recognition accuracy of 97.3%. In the future, experiments will be conducted to observe which parameter that could affect processing time and recognition accuracy of LLBP is needed

  11. Percutaneous sclerotherapy of testicular vein insufficiency in persistent and recurrent varicocele

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sigmund, G.; Baehren, W.; Gall, H.; Thon, W.

    1986-01-01

    Among 1217 retrograde phlebographies of left-sided idiopathic varicoceles 66 patients presented because of persistence or recurrence of varicocele, 34 of them after operation and 32 after sclerotherapy. After operation without success there was always - except for one case - a reflux passing the site of ligature. If persistence or recurrence of varicocele occured after sclerotherapy, the testicular (internal spermatic) vein was most often found to be obliterated at the junction with the renal vein and the sonographically proven reflux went via collaterals or unidentified veins which prevented a repeat sclerotheraphy. In 12 out of 32 patients after sclerotherapy a persistent main stem of the testicular vein allowed a second attempt of sclerotherapy. If sclerotherapy in patients after operation or previous sclerotherapy could be performed, it was an effective, low risk procedure on an outpatient basis just as in primary sclerotherapy of testicular vein insufficiency causing varicocele. (orig.) [de

  12. Prediction of renovascualar hypertension by captopril-stimulated renal vein renin ratios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roubidoux, M.A.; Dunnick, N.R.; Svetkey, L.; Newmann, G.E.; Cohan, R.H.; Kadir, S.; Klotman, P.

    1989-01-01

    The authors have prospectively studied 114 patients with suspected renovascular hypertension to determine whether captopril-stimulated, selective, renal vein renin ratios could be used to predict renovascular hypertension. As judged by the response to correction of renal artery lesions, 14 patients had renovascular hypertension, and renal vein renin ratios were significant in eight (sensitivity 57%). Overall, the positive predictive value of renal vein renin ratios was 33%, and the negative predictive value was 89%. The authors concluded that, in patients with renal artery stenosis, renal vein renin ratios predict neither the need for conventional arteriography nor potential benefit from the correction of vascular insufficiency

  13. Effects of Fe and Mn deficiencies on the protein profiles of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) xylem sap as revealed by shotgun analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    The aim of this work was to study the effects of Fe and Mn deficiencies on the xylem sap proteome of tomato using a shotgun proteomic approach, with the final goal of elucidating plant response mechanisms to these stresses. This approach yielded 643 proteins reliably identified and quantified with 7...

  14. Bordered pit structure and function determine spatial patterns of air-seeding thresholds in xylem of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii; Pinaceae) trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    J.C. Domec; B. Lachenbruch; F.C. Meinzer

    2006-01-01

    The air-seeding hypothesis predicts that xylem embolism resistance is linked directly to bordered pit functioning. We tested this prediction in trunks, roots, and branches at different vertical and radial locations in young and old trees of Pseudotsuga menziesii. Dimensions of bordered pits were measured from light and scanning electron micrographs...

  15. Pregnancy causes diminished myogenic tone and outward hypotrophic remodeling of the cerebral vein of Galen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Wijk, Anne-Eva; Schreurs, Malou P H; Cipolla, Marilyn J

    2013-04-01

    Pregnancy increases the risk of several complications associated with the cerebral veins, including thrombosis and hemorrhage. In contrast to the cerebral arteries and arterioles, few studies have focused on the effect of pregnancy on the cerebral venous side. Here, we investigated for the first time the effect of pregnancy on the function and structure of the cerebral vein of Galen in rats. Our major finding was that cerebral veins from late-pregnant (LP, n=11) rats had larger lumen diameters and thinner walls than veins from nonpregnant (NP, n=13) rats, indicating that pregnancy caused outward hypotrophic remodeling of the vein of Galen. Moreover, veins from NP animals had a small amount of myogenic tone at 10 mm Hg (3.9±1.0%) that was diminished in veins during pregnancy (0.8±0.3%; Ppregnancy. Using immunohistochemistry, we show that the vein of Galen receives perivascular innervation, and that serotonergic innervation of cerebral veins is significantly higher in veins from LP animals. Outward hypotrophic remodeling and diminished tone of cerebral veins during pregnancy may contribute to the development of venous pathology through elevated wall tension and wall stress, and possibly by promoting venous blood stasis.

  16. Anatomical and embryological considerations of renal vein abnormalities: The value of preoperative CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hruby, W.; Hoelti, W.

    1986-01-01

    Renal vein abnormalities are an uncommon kind of vascular abnormality. The distribution in the general population is 1.5%-2.5% in unselected pathologic material. In 354 autopsies we have seen six cases of renal vein abnormalities; in 215 cases of major retroperitoneal surgery, seven renal vein abnormalities; and in 4,500 patients who underwent CT examinations of the retroperitoneal areas, 36 cases of atypical renal vein anatomy. The radiologist must be familiar with embryologic details to understand the development of renal vein abnormalities. The authors discuss the value of preoperative diagnosis for preventing a surgical disaster in major retroperitoneal surgery

  17. An unusual presentation of postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hakim, Fayaz A.; Khan, Nadra N.; Qushmaq, Khalid A.; Al-Shami, Sadiq Y.

    2007-01-01

    Ovarian vein thrombosis is a rare but potentially serious complication following childbirth. The majority of patients present during the first week postpartum, with fever and right lower quadrant abdominal pain. We report an unusual case of postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis who presented with fever, low backache, and painful thighs. A high index of suspicion is crucial to diagnose and treat this condition in order to avoid serious consequences. (author)

  18. Sarpogrelate hydrochloride reduced intimal hyperplasia in experimental rabbit vein graft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kodama, Akio; Komori, Kimihiro; Hattori, Keisuke; Yamanouchi, Dai; Kajikuri, Junko; Itoh, Takeo

    2009-05-01

    The selective 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist sarpogrelate has been clinically used for treatment in atherosclerotic diseases. However, it remains unknown whether administration of sarpogrelate inhibits intimal hyperplasia seen in autologous vein grafts. Therefore, we sought to clarify this question using an experimental rabbit vein graft model. Male rabbits were divided into two groups: a control group and a sarpogrelate-treated group. The jugular vein was interposed in the carotid artery in reversed fashion for 4 weeks and intimal hyperplasia of the grafted vein was measured (n = 8, in each group). Acetylcholine (ACh)-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation was tested by precontraction with prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha), 5 muM) (n = 5, in each). endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) protein expression and superoxide production of these veins were also assessed. The suppression of intimal hyperplasia was significantly greater in the sarpogrelate-treated group than in the control group. ACh induced an endothelium-dependent relaxation in the sarpogrelate-treated group (but not in the control group). In endothelium-intact strips from the sarpogrelate-treated group, the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor nitroarginine enhanced the PGF(2alpha)-induced contraction and blocked the ACh-induced relaxation. Immunoreactive eNOS protein expression was similar between the two groups but superoxide production (estimated from ethidium fluorescence) in endothelial cells was significantly smaller in the sarpogrelate-treated group. The present results indicate that in vivo blockade of 5-HT(2A) receptors leads to an inhibition of intimal hyperplasia in rabbit vein graft. It is suggested that an increased function of endothelium-derived NO through a reduction in endothelial superoxide production may be a possible underlying mechanism for this. These novel findings support the clinical usefulness of sarpogrelate for preventing intimal hyperplasia in vein graft after bypass

  19. Spoof Detection for Finger-Vein Recognition System Using NIR Camera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dat Tien Nguyen

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Finger-vein recognition, a new and advanced biometrics recognition method, is attracting the attention of researchers because of its advantages such as high recognition performance and lesser likelihood of theft and inaccuracies occurring on account of skin condition defects. However, as reported by previous researchers, it is possible to attack a finger-vein recognition system by using presentation attack (fake finger-vein images. As a result, spoof detection, named as presentation attack detection (PAD, is necessary in such recognition systems. Previous attempts to establish PAD methods primarily focused on designing feature extractors by hand (handcrafted feature extractor based on the observations of the researchers about the difference between real (live and presentation attack finger-vein images. Therefore, the detection performance was limited. Recently, the deep learning framework has been successfully applied in computer vision and delivered superior results compared to traditional handcrafted methods on various computer vision applications such as image-based face recognition, gender recognition and image classification. In this paper, we propose a PAD method for near-infrared (NIR camera-based finger-vein recognition system using convolutional neural network (CNN to enhance the detection ability of previous handcrafted methods. Using the CNN method, we can derive a more suitable feature extractor for PAD than the other handcrafted methods using a training procedure. We further process the extracted image features to enhance the presentation attack finger-vein image detection ability of the CNN method using principal component analysis method (PCA for dimensionality reduction of feature space and support vector machine (SVM for classification. Through extensive experimental results, we confirm that our proposed method is adequate for presentation attack finger-vein image detection and it can deliver superior detection results compared

  20. Spoof Detection for Finger-Vein Recognition System Using NIR Camera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Dat Tien; Yoon, Hyo Sik; Pham, Tuyen Danh; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2017-10-01

    Finger-vein recognition, a new and advanced biometrics recognition method, is attracting the attention of researchers because of its advantages such as high recognition performance and lesser likelihood of theft and inaccuracies occurring on account of skin condition defects. However, as reported by previous researchers, it is possible to attack a finger-vein recognition system by using presentation attack (fake) finger-vein images. As a result, spoof detection, named as presentation attack detection (PAD), is necessary in such recognition systems. Previous attempts to establish PAD methods primarily focused on designing feature extractors by hand (handcrafted feature extractor) based on the observations of the researchers about the difference between real (live) and presentation attack finger-vein images. Therefore, the detection performance was limited. Recently, the deep learning framework has been successfully applied in computer vision and delivered superior results compared to traditional handcrafted methods on various computer vision applications such as image-based face recognition, gender recognition and image classification. In this paper, we propose a PAD method for near-infrared (NIR) camera-based finger-vein recognition system using convolutional neural network (CNN) to enhance the detection ability of previous handcrafted methods. Using the CNN method, we can derive a more suitable feature extractor for PAD than the other handcrafted methods using a training procedure. We further process the extracted image features to enhance the presentation attack finger-vein image detection ability of the CNN method using principal component analysis method (PCA) for dimensionality reduction of feature space and support vector machine (SVM) for classification. Through extensive experimental results, we confirm that our proposed method is adequate for presentation attack finger-vein image detection and it can deliver superior detection results compared to CNN