Study Design and Setting: We reviewed all original articles of nonrandomized studies published in 2010 in New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Annals of Internal Medicine, We classified articles based on whether authors recommend a medical practice and whether they state that a randomized trial is needed to support their recommendation. We also examined the types of logical extrapolations used by authors who did advance recommendations.

Results: Of the 631 original articles published in 2010, 298 (47%) articles were eligible observational studies. In 167 (56%) of 298 studies,

authors recommended a medical practice based on their results. Only 24 (14%) of 167 studies

stated that a randomized controlled trial TPCA-1 (RCT) should be done to validate the recommendation, whereas the other 143 articles made a total of 149 logical extrapolations to recommend SBE-β-CD specific medical practices. Recommendations without a call for a randomized trial were most common in studies of modifiable factors (59%), but they were also common in studies reporting incidence or prevalence (51%), studies examining novel tests (41%), and association studies of nonmodifiable factors (32%).

Conclusion: The authors of observational studies often extrapolate their results to make recommendations concerning a medical practice, typically without first calling for a RCT. Published by Elsevier Inc.”
“The aim of this study was to evaluate the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging findings (MRI) of asymptomatic remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH) at the preoperative, early postoperative, and postoperative period. A total of 983 consecutive adult patients who underwent supratentorial Nocodazole molecular weight craniotomies were included in the study. The ethics committee approved the study. The patient’s clinical records and radiological examinations were retrospectively analyzed. All patients

had preoperative CT and MRI examinations, immediate postoperative CT, and postoperative MRI within 24 h. The patients with the radiological diagnosis of RCH were followed up to 5 years. Eight asymptomatic RCH cases were recruited. The prevalence of asymptomatic RCH was 0.8% in our series. RCH was unilateral in two patients and bilateral in six patients. The postoperative CT was positive in two cases. The hemorrhage presented on MRI as folial linear hypointensities in six cases. In three cases (including one mixed case), punctate hypointense spots were identified at the superior cerebellar folia. Diffuse hemorrhage in the cerebellar tonsil, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and hemorrhage in the cerebellar vermis and the ventricles were also seen. The MRI findings were stable up to 5 years. The prevalence of asymptomatic RCH is higher than previously reported.

Methods. The study compared the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program and an education booklet for the postoperative management of patients undergoing discectomy or lateral nerve root decompression surgery, each compared with “”usual care”" using a 2 x 2 factorial design, randomizing patient to four groups; rehabilitation-only, booklet-only, rehabilitation-plus-booklet, and usual care only. The primary outcome measure was the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) at 12 months, with secondary

outcomes including visual analog scale measures of back and leg pain.

Results. Nepicastat Three hundred thirty-eight patients were recruited into the study and measurements were obtained preoperatively and then repeated at 6 weeks, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months postoperatively. Twelve months postoperatively the observed effect of rehabilitation on ODI was -2.7 (95% CI: -6.8 to 1.5) and the effect of booklet was 2.7 (95% CI: -1.5 to 6.9).

Conclusion. This study PF-6463922 found that neither intervention had a significant impact on long-term outcome.”
“Two different zwitterionic block copolymers (BCs) and a cationic BC were synthesized from the same BC precursor, which consisted of a polystyrene (PS) block and a poly[N-(3-dimethylamino-1-propyl)acrylamide] block. The zwitterionic BCs contained the dimethylammonioacetate (carboxybetaine)

and dimethylammoniopropyl sulfonate (sulfobetaine) groups. Thin films cast from these polymers were investigated for surface selleck chemicals llc wettability, surface charge, and protein adsorption. Surface-energy parameters calculated with advancing contact angle (theta a) and receding contact angle (theta(r)) of different probe liquids showed that it was theta r and not theta a that was representative of the polar/ionic

groups in the near-surface regions of the coatings. Electrophoretic mobility was used to characterize the influence of pH on the net surface charge. In aqueous dispersions, the carboxybetaine polymer showed an ampholyte behavior with an isoelectric point of 6, whereas the sulfobetaine polymer was found to be anionic at all pH values between 2 and 10. Protein adsorption on the carboxybetaine BC was relatively independent of the net charges on the protein or the polymer, but the negatively charged sulfobetaine polymer showed a higher adsorption of positively charged protein molecules. Regardless of the net protein charge, both zwitterionic coatings adsorbed less protein compared to the PS and poly(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) controls. The sulfobetaine and cationic BCs adsorbed higher amounts of oppositely charged protein molecules than like-charged protein molecules. However, the adsorption of oppositely charged protein was much higher on the cationic surface than on the sulfobetaine surface.

However, even without weight loss, exercise results in positive metabolic effects. The effect of an aerobic exercise program on 24-h total energy expenditure (TEE) AZD6094 supplier and its components-basal (BEE), sleep (SEE), and awake sedentary (SEDEE) energy expenditure and substrate oxidation-has not been studied in lean and obese adolescents.

Objective: The objective was to test the hypothesis that 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation increase in lean and obese adolescents after 12 wk of moderate aerobic exercise without dietary intervention and weight loss.

Design: Twenty-eight postpubertal Hispanic adolescents (13 lean [mean

+/- SE: age, 15.3 +/- 0.3 y; body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)), 20.2 +/- 0.7; body fat, 18.7 +/- 1.6%] and 15 obese [age, 15.6 +/- 0.3 y; BMI, 33.1 +/-

0.9; body fat, 38.1 +/- 1.4%]) completed a 12-wk aerobic exercise program (4 x 30 min/wk at >= 70% of VO(2) (peak)) without weight loss. Energy expenditure and substrate oxidation were quantified by 24-h room calorimetry at baseline and Navitoclax cost post-exercise.

Results: This aerobic exercise program did not affect 24-h TEE, BEE, SEE, or SEDEE in lean or obese participants. In obese adolescents, respiratory quotient (RQ) and substrate oxidation also did not change. In lean adolescents, 24-h RQ and RQ during SEE decreased (both P < 0.01) and fat oxidation increased (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: A 12-wk aerobic exercise program did not increase TEE, BEE, SEE, or SEDEE in either lean or obese sedentary adolescents. Furthermore,

24-h fat oxidation did not change in the obese adolescents, whereas it increased in the lean adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:589-96.”
“P>Rice (Oryza sativa) produces momilactone diterpenoids as both phytoalexins and allelochemicals. Strikingly, the rice genome contains a biosynthetic gene cluster for momilactone production, located on rice chromosome 4, which contains two cytochrome P450 (CYP) mono-oxygenases, CYP99A2 and CYP99A3, with undefined roles; although it has been previously BIX 01294 research buy shown that RNA interference double knock-down of this pair of closely related CYPs reduced momilactone accumulation. Here we attempted biochemical characterization of CYP99A2 and CYP99A3, which was ultimately achieved by complete gene recoding, enabling functional recombinant expression in bacteria. With these synthetic gene constructs it was possible to demonstrate that while CYP99A2 does not exhibit significant activity with diterpene substrates, CYP99A3 catalyzes consecutive oxidations of the C19 methyl group of the momilactone precursor syn-pimara-7,15-diene to form, sequentially, syn-pimaradien-19-ol, syn-pimaradien-19-al, and syn-pimaradien-19-oic acid. These are presumably intermediates in momilactone biosynthesis, as a C19 carboxylic acid moiety is required for formation of the core 19,6-gamma-lactone ring structure.

Animals in two groups also received a central venous infusion of donor-derived ‘transplant acceptance-inducing cells’ (TAICs) on the seventh and 14th days postoperatively. Allograft survival was monitored by sequential chest X-rays, bronchoscopies and transbronchial biopsy histologies. No acute adverse events were associated with the administration of TAICs INCB028050 clinical trial and there was no evidence of accelerated graft rejection. The observations presented in this report represent an important first step towards the development of a clinically

applicable protocol for the use of TAIC therapy in lung transplantation.”
“Atherosclerosis as a main etiopathogenetic source for coronary artery disease (CAD) development is intimately related to dynamic changes in the extracellular Quisinostat molecular weight matrix (ECM). Elevated levels of MMP-13 have been observed in human atherosclerotic plaques which could also involve variability in MMP-13 gene. The aim of the study was to associate rs640198 polymorphism with CAD and/or with its severity.

The study comprised 1071 consecutive patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD), confirmed

by coronary angiography.

Genotyping for the rs640198 polymorphism in MMP-13 gene was performed using Taqman (R) assay. The TT and TG genotypes of rs640198 polymorphism in MMP-13 gene confer the significantly increased risk of triple vessel disease compared to patients without selleck chemical atherosclerotic lesions in coronary arteries (odds ratio = 1.64, Pcorr = 0.05). Furthermore, an increased risk of having 5 and more stenoses (odds ratio = 1.90, Pcorr = 0.004) was observed in TT and TG carriers (sensitivity of 0.613 and a specificity of 0.544; power of the test is 0.87).

The T allele of MMP-13 intron polymorphism rs640198 is associated with the severity of coronary artery disease, represented by

the number of affected arteries as well as by the number of stenoses confirmed by coronarography.”
“Electromigration-induced damage has been an important concern in very large scale integrated circuit design for a long time and will be a major road block in the pursuit of nanoelectronics devices and next generation power electronics. In this letter, the failure mechanism analysis on two-terminal TiSi(2) nanowire devices was reported. Electromigration dominant mass migration is observed and verified by energy dispersive spectroscopy. The contribution of thermomigration is discussed based on temperature simulation. This work provides useful reference for future devices and the failure analysis on nanostructures. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3151965]“
“Malnutrition is a common complication in hemodialysis (HD) patients and it is related to morbidity and mortality.

Perinatal outcomes were obtained for all cases.

Results: In a total of 29 cases, we confirmed initial antenatal diagnosis of ovarian cyst in 20 cases (68.9%) at postnatal period. Diagnosis of remaining nine cases revealed urogenital sinus anomaly in four cases, multicystic dysplastic kidney in two HKI-272 cases, mesenteric cyst in one case, intestinal duplication cyst in one case and lymphangioma in one case postnatally. In seven of the 20 ovarian cysts (35%),

resolution of the cyst occurred prenatally. Intrauterine death of a fetus occurred at second trimester. In the postnatal period, most often cases (11/20) were spontaneously resolved and surgery was performed on two babies due to ovarian torsion (2/20).

Conclusion: Differential diagnosis of FOCs should always include genitourinary tract disorders, gastrointestinal tract disorders

and other intra-abdominal cystic structures.”
“BACKGROUND Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is characterized by gastrointestinal hamartomatous polyps and visible mucocutaneous lentigines distributed in the oral and anal mucosa, hands, face, and nails. Although there are many reports regarding successful treatment of intestinal polyps of PJS, there is little information regarding treatment of lentigines. Q-switched lasers are the preferred method of treatment for benign melanocytic lesions.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of the Q-switched alexandrite laser (QSAL) in treating oral labial lentigines of PJS.

METHODS AND MATERIALS Fourteen cases of laser treatment of oral labial lentigines in learn more patients diagnosed with PJS were studied G418 ic50 between 2005 and 2008. All were treated using a single treatment with a QSAL with a 3-mm handpiece and a fluence of 4.0 to 9.0 J/cm(2). Retrospective analysis of the effect of QSAL was conducted.

RESULTS All 14 cases exhibited successful elimination of treated lentigines after one laser treatment. There were significant acute side effects. After a median 2-year follow-up, there were no recurrences or scars in treated sites.

CONCLUSIONS The QSAL provides effective treatment for removal of labial lentigines associated with PJS.”
“Continuous cell tracking by time-lapse

microscopy has led to detailed study of cell differentiation pathways using single cell fate maps. There are a multitude of cell fate outcomes, so hundreds of clonal division histories are required to measure these stochastic branching processes. This study examines the principle of condensing cell imaging information into a relatively small region to maximize live cell imaging throughput. High throughput clonal analysis of non-adherent cells by continuous live cell tracking was possible using a microwell perfusion array with an internal volume of 16 mu l and 600 microwells at the base. This study includes examination of biocompatibility of buffer systems, connecting tubing, cell culture substrates, and media degradation.

Moreover, histopathological examination of the lung tissue was performed. On the biochemical level, PQ provoked remarkable HSP990 clinical trial lung damage noted by elevation of neutrophils MPO activity accompanied by decreased activities

of cytosolic SOD and LDH, depletion of GSH and Pr-SHs contents as well as increased production of NO and TBARS. Furthermore, histopathological examination revealed marked edema, subpleural hemorrhage, acute inflammation and lymphocytic infiltration. Treatment significantly protected against most of PQ-induced lung biochemical and histopathological changes. It could be concluded that quercetin, green tea, malt extract and deprenyl offered remarkable protection against PQ-induced lung injury.”
“Detailed temperature/field-dependent selleck chemicals magnetic and transport

behaviors are reported for a nominally doped La0.73Ba0.27MnO3 single crystal. The magnetic analysis demonstrates an intriguing coincidence of critical exponents consistent with Heisenberg model values (gamma=1.39, beta=0.38, delta=4.83) and the presence of a Griffiths-like phase. The transport measurements yield a ferromagnetic insulating ground phase, but one complemented by the appearance of colossal magnetoresistance near the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic (FM-PM) phase transition temperature T-C=245 K. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3335895]“
“P>Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may contribute to rejection and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) by being intrinsically involved in the rejection process and causing neointimal hyperplasia. The mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors (mTORi), sirolimus and everolimus, have been demonstrated to attenuate the progression of CAV and are cytotoxic to EPC. Thus, one mechanism by which mTORi may protect against CAV is by altering EPC function. EGFR inhibitor Our study measured circulating EPC function and correlated this assessment with

rejection episodes in heart transplant (HT) recipients. In addition, we examined the effect of mTORi on EPCs. Patients who received HT at our institution between 1995 and 2007 were included and stratified by International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) rejection grade. Group A (n = 13) consisted of patients with at least one moderate/severe rejection episode (grade >= 2). Group B (n = 28) patients had no moderate/severe episodes (grade < 2). Patients were also independently stratified based on exposure as mTORi (n = 21) vs. non mTORi (n = 20). To assess EPC functional capacity, we counted the number of colony-forming units (CFU) of EPCs in peripheral blood samples from HT recipients. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups. The mean EPC-CFU counts/plate for group A (rejecting) were 30 +/- 6 vs.16 +/- 3 for group B (nonrejecting) (P = 0.03).

“
“Advances in antiretroviral treatment have transformed HIV-1 infection from a deadly TGF beta inhibitor disease to

a chronic one. Novel antiretroviral drugs have been approved for clinical use. In order to achieve long- term suppression of viremia, patients have to commit and take these drugs, or others approved in the future, for the rest of their lives. However, the emergence of multidrug-resistant mutants, along with the side effects of them, often results in the failure of therapy, so better treatment options are needed. Elvitegravir is a potent HIV integrase inhibitor with antiviral activity against wild-type and drug-resistant strains of HIV. In addition, elvitegravir can also inhibit the replication of several JQ1 mouse retroviruses and lentiviruses. Elvitegravir undergoes extensive primary metabolism by hepatic and intestinal cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) and secondary metabolism by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1-1 and 1-3 (UGT1A1/3). Although boosting it with a strong CYP3A inhibitor such as ritonavir substantially increases its plasma exposure

and prolongs its elimination half-life, other combinations or even monotherapy could also be considered. Ritonavirboosted elvitegravir requires once-daily administration of a low dose. As a stand-alone agent, elvitegravir will require twice-daily dosing to achieve effective viral reductions.”
“Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma (DDCS), a highly malignant variant of chondrosarcoma (CCS), is characterized by high-grade sarcoma adjacent to low-grade chondroid tumor. Owing to its complicated composition, the histogenesis of this tumor remains controversial. Earlier, we carried out Screening Library cost DNA microarray analysis using chondrosarcomatous tissues, and found that Sox9 and runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) were differentially

expressed in CCS compared with DDCS. Here, we analyzed Sox9, Runx2, Col2a1, and Col1a1 in NDCS-1 (DDCS) and SW1353 (CCS) cell lines using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunocytochemistry. The results showed high expression of Runx2 and Col1a1, and low expression of Sox9 and Col2a1 in NDCS-1 cells. In SW1353 cells, however, gene expressions were reversed. These findings provide evidence that Sox9 and Runx2 are involved in the occurrence and development of DDCS. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 19:466-471 (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“Corn stover used in this study contained 37.0 +/- 0.4% cellulose, 31.3 +/- 0.6% hemicellulose and 17.8 +/- 0.2% lignin on dry basis. Hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification were evaluated for conversion of corn stover cellulose and hemicellulose to fermentable sugars.

“
“Objective: Hip labrum pathology has only begun to emerge as a significant source of groin pain in the last decade since the development of hip arthroscopy. Few data are available on the anatomy, histology and function of this structure. Moreover, no metabolic data exist at cellular level. The aim of this study was to characterize extracellular matrix (ECM) genes and pro-inflammatory mediators expressed by these cells.

Methods:

Isolated human acetabular labrum cells were cultured in alginate beads for 10 days and additionally stimulated with interleukin (IL)-1 for 24 h. Gene expression levels selleck chemicals and secretion of different ECM genes, enzymes and cytokines were examined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess the metabolic characteristics of labrum cells. Articular chondrocytes and meniscus cells served as controls.

Results: Labrum cells expressed high levels of COL1A1 and low levels of COL2A1, aggrecan and SOX-9 compared to chondrocytes. However, COL2A1 was more expressed by labrum cells than by meniscus cells. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1/-2/-9.

ADAMTS-4 and IL-6 was significantly higher in labrum cells than in chondrocytes. IL-1 suppressed the ECM gene expression levels of labrum cells, but increased the expression levels and release check details of MMP-1/-3/-9/-13 and ADAMTS-4 and IL-6 by these cells. Remarkably, MMP-9 was only significantly upregulated in acetabular labrum cells.

Conclusions: The findings in this study demonstrated that the acetabular labrum is populated with unique highly active fibrochondrocyte-like cells. These cells are capable of expressing and releasing proinflammatory enzymes and cytokines and react to a pro-inflammatory stimulus. In this way, they contribute obviously to disturbed tissue function in hip labrum pathology.

(C) 2012 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“3,4-Diiodo-2,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrrole reacted with thioacetamide in polar solvents or under solvent-free conditions to give 2,4,6-trimethyl-5H-pyrrolo[3,4-d][1,3]thiazole. The major product in the reaction of the title compound with thiobenzamide click here was 3,5-diphenyl-1,2,4-thiadiazole.”
“Objectives: To report on the clinical evolution of a patient with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) treated with etanercept who subsequently developed Crohn’s disease, to review the literature for similar cases, and to discuss possible mechanisms responsible for these observations.

Methods: We describe the medical history, diagnostic tests, and disease progression of a 26-year-old man with AS who developed the clinical manifestations of Crohn’s disease after 16 months of successful treatment of his rheumatologic symptoms with etanercept.

However, the efficacy of HU in beta-thalassemia intermedia (TI) is unclear. Methods: The authors treated 16 transfusion-independent TI patients (8 males) aged 10.7 +/-

5.0 years with HU, 20 mg/kg/day 4 days per week, for 6 months. Hemoglobin (Hb) and HbF levels were measured prior to treatment, during the treatment period (monthly), and following the completion of treatment. Mutations in the beta-globin gene as well as the XmnI polymorphism were determined. Results: Treatment was well tolerated. There was a significant increase in both Hb and HbF (p < .001), and the increments were strongly correlated (r = .94; p < .001). XmnI polymorphism was not correlated with hematological response. Hb (p = .026) and HbF (p = .046) showed a more significant rise in patients with a Fr8/9 allele than those with one or two NCT-501 datasheet IVS-II-1 alleles. Conclusion: HU therapy was associated with a significant hematological response in our TI patients. The Fr8/9 mutation, but not the XmnI polymorphism, was a predictor of good hematological response. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed

to confirm the results obtained in this study.”
“In the zwitterionic polymer gel which has cationic and anionic groups Hedgehog/Smoothened inhibitor inside, it forms a complex to producing stability by adding thermal energy. We reported the behavior induced by the ionic interaction of them and the impact that a nonionic surfactant could exert on

the complex formation. We had heating experiments of the zwitterionic polymer gel in PBS with a nonionic surfactant added. We analyzed DSC and measured the diameter, stress and flexure of heated the gel. As the result, it has been demonstrated that formation of strong ionic interactions inside the gel can be achieved by heating them in a solution containing the nonionic surfactant. It has been also demonstrated that the ratio of bound water is increased within the gel, promising an enhanced strength. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 2764-2768, 2009″
“Based on an ensemble Monte Carlo analysis, we show that Coulomb interactions play a dominant role in SC79 bound-to-continuum terahertz quantum cascade lasers and thus require careful modeling. Coulomb interactions enter our simulation in the form of space charge effects as well as Coulomb scattering events. By comparison to a full many-subband Coulomb screening model, we show that simplified approaches produce considerable deviations for such structures. Also the spin dependence of electron-electron scattering has to be adequately considered. Moreover, we demonstrate that iterative Schroumldinger-Poisson and carrier transport simulations are necessary to correctly account for space charge effects.

The endpoint was total cardiovascular mortality. Survival curves (Kaplan-Meier) and a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model were adjusted to determine the association between EIVA and mortality.

Results: The median duration of follow-up was 9.9 years (range, 132 days to 17

years). EIVA prevalence was 43.1% (95% CI: 34.5-51.7). Thirty-three cardiovascular deaths (25.4%) occurred. The hazard ratio of EIVA for cardiovascular death, after adjustment for age, was 1.84 (P = 0.09). An interaction was found between EIVA and cardiomegaly on x-ray. In the group with cardiomegaly, the hazard of dying was four times greater in the presence of EIVA (P for interaction Belnacasan = 0.05).

Conclusion: In clinically stable chagasic subjects with cardiomegaly, EIVA is a clinically significant marker of total cardiovascular mortality and may be a useful risk stratification tool in this population. (PACE 2011; 34: 1492-1497)”
“Extended x-ray-absorption fine structure has been used to study the bond-length and bond-angle distortions in thin (similar to 220 angstrom) La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 films grown epitaxially on SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates. Growth on these substrates produces films with both in-plane tensile and in-plane compressive strains, respectively. It is found that the strain imposed on the thin-film lattice is accommodated mostly through changes in the first-shell Co-O bond lengths

and third-shell this website Co-Co distances, while second-shell Co-La and Co-Sr distances behave similarly to distortions found previously in the tetrahedral semiconductors; i.e., they are most strongly affected by bond-angle distortions that account for the relaxation of the film lattice constant perpendicular to the film/substrate interface. These structural changes are directly correlated with the magnetic properties of the films. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3564934]“
“Effects of elevated root zone (RZ) CO2 and air temperature on photosynthesis,

productivity, nitrate (NO3-), and total reduced nitrogen (N) content in aeroponically grown lettuce plants were studied. Three weeks after transplanting, four different RZ [CO2] concentrations [ambient (360 ppm) and elevated concentrations of 2000, 10 000, and 50 000 ppm] were imposed on plants grown at two air temperature regimes of 28 degrees C/22 degrees C (day/night) and 36 degrees C/30 degrees FG-4592 cost C. Photosynthetic CO2 assimilation (A) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) increased with increasing photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). When grown at 28 degrees C/22 degrees C, all plants accumulated more biomass than at 36 degrees C/30 degrees C. When measured under a PAR >= 600 mu mol m(-2) s(-1), elevated RZ [CO2] resulted in significantly higher A, lower g(s), and higher midday leaf relative water content in all plants. Under elevated RZ [CO2], the increase of biomass was greater in roots than in shoots, causing a lower shoot/root ratio.