The effect of electronic cigarette (E-cig) vaping on cardiac and vascular function during the healing phase of myocardial infarction (MI), and post-MI remodeling was investigated. Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to left coronary artery ligation to induce MI. One week later, rats were randomized to receive either 12 weeks of exposure to purified air ( n = 37) or E-cig vapor (15 mg/ml of nicotine) ( n = 32). At 12 weeks, card...

The occurrence and intensity of some natural hazards (e.g. hydro-meteorological) increase due to climate change, with growing exposure and socio-economic vulnerability, leading to mounting risks. In response, Disaster Risk Reduction policy and practice emphasize people-centred Early Warning Systems (EWS). Global policies stress the need for including local knowledge and increasing the literature on integrating local and scient...

Purpose The aim of the present study was to evaluate the toxicity and biodegradation potential of oil hydrocarbons contaminated soil samples obtained from different depths at an oil refinery station area. An approach involving chemical, microbiological, respirometry and ecotoxicity assessment of soil polluted by oil hydrocarbons was adopted, in order to determine the biodegradability of pollutants and ecotoxicological effects...

Accelerating sea level rise in Virginia, United States, will significantly increase the flooding threat to low-lying roads, residences, and critical infrastructure as well as raise the water table, allowing saltwater intrusion into well water and threatening the function of septic fields. Although most of the adaptation work in Virginia has focused on urban economic centers, the majority of the coastline is rural and faces dif...

Summary Wood and litter degrading fungi are the main decomposers of lignocellulose and thus play a key role in carbon cycling in nature. Here, we provide evidence for a novel lignocellulose degradation strategy employed by the litter degrading fungus Agaricus bisporus (known as the white button mushroom). Fusion of hyphae allows this fungus to synchronize the activity of its mycelium over large distances (50 cm). The synchroni...

Leafcutter ants propagate co‐evolving fungi for food. The nearly 50 species of leafcutter ants ( Atta , Acromyrmex ) range from Argentina to the United States, with the greatest species diversity in southern South America. We elucidate the biogeography of fungi cultivated by leafcutter ants using DNA sequence and microsatellite‐marker analyses of 474 cultivars collected across the leafcutter range. Fungal cultivars belong to t...

Aim Early in their evolution, angiosperms evolved a diversity of leaf form far greater than that of any other group of land plants. Some of this diversity evolved in response to varying climate. Our aim is to test the global relationship between leaf form in woody dicot angiosperms and the climate in which they live. Location We have compiled a data set describing leaf form (using 31 standardized categorical characters) from 3...

Measuring chemical tracers in tissues of marine predators provides insight into the prey consumed and the predator's contaminant exposure. In this study, samples from Type C killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) biopsied in Antarctica were analyzed for chemical tracers ( i.e. , stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, fatty acids, and persistent organic pollutants [POPs]). Profiles of these individual tracers were very different from...