Developmental strategies of Koenigia islandica, a high-arctic annual plant

Seed germination, growth and flowering of the arctic-alpine annual Koenigia islandica were studied in controlled environment. Intact (unabraded) seeds germinated poorely at temperatures up to 18°C, with an optimum at 24°C (89% in 10 d). Scarified seeds germinated rapidly, and reached 100% germination in 3 d at 21°C, but no >40% germination occurred at 9 and 12°C, The seeds had no light requirement for germination, nor did fluctuating temperatures improve germination
Dry matter production was optimal at 12°C in both short day (SD) and long day (LD) conditions, but was markedly higher in LD than in SD at identical fluences at all temperatures except 21°C where the plants showed symptoms of severe heat stress. The temperature compensation point for net productivity was estimated to 24°C, and negative carbon balance at higher temperatures might be an important physiological mechanism limiting the distribution of K. islandica in Scandinavia.
Flowering was extremely rapid and independent of daylength, even in a high-arctic population from 79°N, In full summer daylight anthesis was reached 24 d after germination and seeds ripened after 36 d at 15°C, Days to anthesis varied little across the temperature range from 6 to 21°C, giving a linear decrease in the heat-sum requirement for the attainment of flowering with decreasing temperature.
It is concluded that conservative seed germination strategy, tininess and rapid development, low temperature optima for growth and reproduction, and daylength indifference of flowering are important adaptations for success of an annual plant in high-arctic and high-alpine environments, Daylength neutrality has facilitated the wide-latitudinal distribution of K. islandica. including the penetration of the species to the southern hemisphere.     

Application of the fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction in clinical practice

Abstract

Purpose: The Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) has highlighted the different pathophysiological mechanisms that may lead to ischaemic and non-ischaemic myocardial injury and has emphasised that the diagnosis of myocardial infarction requires the presence of acute myocardial ischaemia in the setting of acute myocardial injury. This case based review intends to illustrate basic principles on how to apply this new, revised definition in clinical practice.

Methods and Results: The distinction between different types of MIs (type 1 or type 2) and the delineation of MI from acute non-ischaemic myocardial injury may be challenging in individual patients, which is illustrated by presenting and discussing real-life routine cases.

Conclusions: Type 1?MI is a consequence of coronary plaque rupture or erosion with intracoronary thrombus formation that is usually apparent on coronary angiography. Plausible triggering mechanisms causing myocardial oxygen supply/demand mismatch must be identified for the diagnosis of type 2?MI and its treatment should focus initially on management of the underlying disease attributable to acute myocardial ischaemia.     

Spatial clumping of food and social dominance affect interference competition among ruddy turnstones

In studying the success of foraging animals, studies of interferencecompetition have put emphasis on effects of competitor density,whereas studies of resource defense have focused on the effectsof the spatial distribution of food within patches. Very fewstudies have looked at both factors simultaneously, that is,determined whether the effects of competitor density on foragingsuccess depend on the spatial distribution of food. We studiedthe behavior and the foraging success of ruddy turnstones (Arenariainterpres) using an experiment in which we varied both the presenceof a competitor and the food distribution. Because turnstonesmay differ strongly in their relative dominance status, we alsoexperimentally varied the foragers' relative dominance status.We found that the presence of a competitor only reduced theforaging success of subordinate birds foraging at the clumpedfood distribution. At this condition, dominant and subordinatebirds differed markedly in their foraging success. Contraryto our expectations, we did not observe more agonistic behaviorat the clumped food distribution. This indicates that the amountof agonistic behavior observed may be a bad indicator of interferenceeffects. These findings have specific implications for modelsof interference competition. Most notably they show that theeffects of competitor density on agonistic behavior and foragingsuccess may well depend on the spatial distribution of foodand the foragers' relative dominance status. Additionally, ourresults suggest that social dominance will not be fully understoodwithout considering long-term processes such as the formationand maintenance of social dominance hierarchies.     

Age-specific residual reproductive value and reproductive effort in the Iceland scallop,Chlamys islandica (O.F. Müller)

Summary The possibility for a trade-off between age-specific residual reproductive value (RRV) and reproductive effort (RE) was investigated. Different ways of estimating RE did not affect conclusions which were: a) there is no clear trade-off between RRV and RE until the scallop has reached an age of about 13 years, i.e. after a reproductive life of about eight years; b) the larva of C. islandica is more important as a means of dispersal than as a means of maintaining the parent population.     

Quantitation of gibberellins and indoleacetic acid in Begonia leaves: Relationship with environment, regeneration and flowering

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was purified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in leaf extracts of Begonia × cheimantha Everett cv. Nova. The content of IAA and of gibberellins A4, A9, A19 and A20 (GAs) previously identified in this material, were quantified by GC-MS in leaves of Begonia plants grown under different temperature and daylength conditions, using deuterated compounds as internal standards. GA1, which was also identified, was present in too low quantities for reliable quantitation. Rapid and significant decreases (within 2–4 days) occurred in the content of both IAA and GAs when the plants were transferred from conditions which are non-inductive for adventitious bud formation and flowering (24°C/long day) to inductive conditions (24°C/short day, 15°C/long day or 15°C/short day). GA4 and GA9 were affected by photoperiod only, whereas IAA, GA19 and GA20 were affected by both photoperiod and temperature. The data suggest that biosynthesis of GA9 and GA4 are blocked in short days at a step located before GA9. Conversion of GA19 to GA20 seemed to be blocked by both short days and low temperature, while an additional block located before GA19 seemed to be imposed in 15°C/short day. The results confirm earlier results and support the hypothesis that photoperiod and temperature effects in Begonia are mediated by endogenous hormones.     

Cytokinin Activity in Begonia and Bryophyllum

Cytokinin activity has been obtained in ethanol extracts of Begonia and Bryophyllum plants. Begonia x cheimantha Everett yielded 30 to 300 μg kinetin equivalents per kg of fresh leaves in the tobacco callus bioassay. Short day conditions appeared to increase the extractable cytokinin content in the tissue. Purification by fractionation on Dowex 50 H⁺ columns followed by organic solvent extraction, silver precipitation, and repeated paper chromatography yielded an apparently homogeneous product which accounted for most of the activity in the Begonia extracts. It was indistinguishable from zeatin in chromatograms developed with six solvent systems. Other cytokinin active fractions were also obtained from both Begonia and Bryophyllum. Crystalline picrate preparations of active products were insufficient for identification by mass spectrometry.