“
“T-RFLP investigation of the microbial community of the ruminal fluid of calves revealed changes in the LY3039478 cell line microbiocenosis resulting from feeding the animals with biofilm-protected Bacillus subtilis cells. In the control animals, which switched from the diary to the vegetable diet, the phylum Firmicutes predominated Firmicutes (55.11 +/- 1.97%), in particular the class Clostridia (53.10 +/- 2.06%), families Lachnospiraceae (25.93 +/- 1.41%) and Clostridiaceae (9.90 +/- 1.35%). Members of the phyla Bacteroidetes (11.15 +/- 2.88%) and Actinobacteria (9.27 +/- 1.95%) were also present. Uncultured forms constituted 17.28 +/- 2.01%. The share of bacilli (family

Bacillaceae) was below 2% (1.46 +/- 0.41%). Introduction of B. subtilis cells into the rumen of experimental animals increased the share of Bacillaceae to 2.80 +/- 0.30%. The numbers of Thermoanaerobacteriaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, and Alicyclobacillaceae increased by an order of magnitude. The numbers of Pseudomonadaceae, Burkholderiaceae, and uncultured Bacteroidetes increased twofold. Increased numbers of the rumen bacteria and protozoa, elevated fatty acid content, and higher ammonia emission indicated increased efficiency of digestion. Some families, including the domineering ones, included the members with different

Buparlisib cell line directions of the correlation with the indices of rumen digestion. The introduced bacilli stimulated the phylotypes with the positive correlation coefficients and suppressed those with the negative correlation. This, the rumen ecosystem was modified in the direction of improved digestion. The functional role of the members of the microbial community, for which the correlations were negative, weakly associated, or unassociated with the indices of rumen digestion are discussed.”
“The aim of this study was to investigate

the influence of apoptosis on Peyer’s patches and the intestinal immunoglobulin A (IgA) response in burned mice. Sixty male Balb/c mice were randomly assigned into the sham-burn (control) group (n = 30) and the burn Vactosertib TGF-beta/Smad inhibitor group (n = 30). The mice in the burn group received a full-thickness scald burn over 20% of the total body surface area (TBSA), on the back. At 12, 24 and 72 h, respectively, after injury, the burned mice (n = 10, at every time point) were anaesthetised and their entire intestines were collected. The mice in the sham-burn group were treated with the same procedure as above, except for the burn injury. The number of Peyer’s patches on every entire intestine and the total Peyer’s patches cell yield were counted. The changes of lymphocyte subpopulations in Peyer’s patches were measured by flow cytometry (FCM). And the levels of intestinal IgA were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fluoresceinisothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Annexin-gamma and propiddium iodide (PI) double-staining cells were analysed by FCM for apoptotic ratio in Peyer’s patches.

(C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“The aim of this study was to investigate the activation of JNK1/2 signalling pathway and the respective cellular phenotype of H9c2 cardiac myoblasts during two distinct types of oxidative insult. We examined the dose- and time-dependent activation of JNK1/2 pathway by exogenous H2O2, both under transient and sustained stimulation. At 2 h of either sustained or transient treatment, Cyclosporin A mw maximal phosphorylation of c-Jun was observed, coincidently with the activation of nuclear JNK1/2; under sustained stress, these phosphorylation levels remained elevated above basal

for up to 6 h, whereas under transient stress they declined to basal ones within 4 h of withdrawal. Furthermore, the JNK1/2 selective inhibitor SP600125 abolished the c-jun phosphorylation induced by oxidative stress. Our results using cell viability assays and light microscopy revealed that sustained H2O2 stimulation significantly and time-dependently decreased H9c2 viability, in contrast to

transient stimulation; SP600125 (10 mu M) abolished cell death induced by sustained as well as cell survival induced by transient oxidative stress. Hoechst staining showed an increase in DNA condensation during sustained, but not during transient stimulation. Moreover, from the antioxidants tested, catalase and superoxide dismutase prevented oxidative stress-induced cell death. Flow cytometry studies reconfirmed that sustained oxidative stress induced apoptosis, whereas NU7026 transient resulted in the recovery of cardiac myoblasts within 24 h. We conclude

that in H9c2 myoblasts, sustained activation of JNK1/2 signalling pathway during oxidative stimulation is followed by an apoptotic phenotype, while transient JNK1/2 activation correlates well with cell survival, suggesting a dual role of this signalling pathway in cell fate determination.”
“Left Atrial Stiffness and Atrial Fibrillation. Introduction: An increased left atrial (LA) stiffness reflects the structural remodeling and deterioration of the LA function. This study was designed to estimate LA stiffness by measuring a combination of the strain and LA pressure in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation Compound C cell line (PVI) of atrial fibrillation (AF) and to evaluate the influence of the LA stiffness on the cardiac function, serum markers, and recurrence of AF after PVI.\n\nMethods: In 155 consecutive patients with AF, the brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and aminoterminal procollagen type III propeptide (PIIIP) plasma levels were measured before the PVI. The difference between the minimum and maximum LA systolic pressures was directly measured by a transseptal puncture. The ratio of the difference in the LA pressures to the peak systolic LA strain evaluated by speckle-tracking echocardiography was used as an index of the LA stiffness.

A simplified methodology was developed for contexts with poor environmental datasets. The aim was to provide ecological information to recognise ESs and encourage effective governance of ESs at a regional level. The results

showed that the indirect value of the considered ecosystem services was three times higher than the direct value, and a spatial mismatch emphasised a “debt” in coastal areas from upstream areas for selected ecosystem services. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Hyperalgesia is a well recognized hallmark of disease. Pro-inflammatory cytokines have been suggested to be mainly responsible, but human data are scarce. Changes in pain threshold during selleck chemical systemic inflammation evoked by human endotoxemia, were evaluated with three quantitative sensory testing methods.

Methods and Results: Pressure pain thresholds, electrical pain thresholds and tolerance to the cold pressor test were measured before and 2 hours after the intravenous administration of 2 ng/kg purified E. coli endotoxin in 27 healthy volunteers. Another 20 subjects not exposed to endotoxemia served as controls. Endotoxemia led to a rise in body temperature and inflammatory symptom scores and a rise in plasma TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-1RA. During endotoxemia, pressure pain thresholds and electrical pain thresholds were reduced with 20 +/- 4 % and 13 +/- 3 %, respectively. In controls only a minor decrease in pressure pain thresholds (7 Y-27632 cost +/- 3 %) and no change in electrical pain thresholds occurred. Endotoxin-treated subjects experienced more pain during the cold pressor test, and fewer subjects were able to complete the cold pressor test measurement, while in controls the cold pressor test results were not altered. Peak levels

and area under curves of each individual cytokine did not correlate to a change in pain threshold measured by one of the applied quantitative sensory testing techniques. Conclusions and Significance: In conclusion, this study shows that systemic Ferroptosis assay inflammation elicited by the administration of endotoxin to humans, results in lowering of the pain threshold measured by 3 quantitative sensory testing techniques. The current work provides additional evidence that systemic inflammation is accompanied by changes in pain perception.”
“The kidney is a key target organ for bioactive components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS); however, various renal cells such as the tubular epithelium contain an intrinsic RAS. The renal RAS can be functionally divided into ANG II-AT(1) receptor and ANG-(1-7)-AT(7)/Mas receptor arms that functionally oppose one another. The current review considers both extracellular and intracellular pathways that potentially govern the formation and metabolism of angiotensin peptides within the renal proximal tubules.

\n\nIn this study the authors measured the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of soluble endoglin (sEng) and soluble fms-like tyrosine

kinase 1 (sFlt1) in controls and SAH patients within 48 h of the bleed. Patients were prospectively followed and subcategorized into those with (sVS) and without symptomatic vasospasm (no-sVS).\n\nCompared to healthy controls, Sotrastaurin TGF-beta/Smad inhibitor SAH patients had higher CSF levels of sEng (0.037 vs. 0.251 ng/ml; P = 0.02) and sFlt1 (0.068 vs. 0.679 ng/ml; P = 0.001). In the subgroup analysis, sVS patients had higher CSF levels of sEng and sFlt1 than no-sVS patients (sEng: 0.380 vs. 0.159 ng/ml, P = 0.02; sFlt1: 1.277 vs. 0.343 ng/ml, P = 0.01). The serum levels of sEng and sFlt1 were not statistically different among the different groups.\n\nBased on these results the authors conclude that elevated CSF levels of sFlt1 and sEng herald the occurrence of symptomatic VS post SAH.”
“IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic entity characterised by multiorgan inflammatory lesions with abundant IgG4+ plasma cells, obliterative phlebitis, and storiform fibrosis. Involvement of several organs such as the pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, salivary glands, periorbital tissue and lymph nodes has been described.

NCT-501 Up to now, vascular involvement by IgG4-RD has been thought to be essentially confined to large vessels. We present a patient with small-vessel systemic vasculitis involving muscle, peripheral nerve and kidney (glomerulonephritis) in the context of IgG4-RD diagnosed on the basis of elevated serum IgG4+ concentrations YM155 and histologically consistent signs in all biopsied tissues. Thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms in addition to aortitis, suggestive of large-vessel involvement, were also present. This observation expands the spectrum of vascular involvement in the context

of IgG4-RD and supports the inclusion of IgG4-RD in the category of vasculitis associated with systemic disorder.”
“Low circulating concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are associated with adverse health outcomes in diverse populations. However, 25(OH)D concentrations vary seasonally with varying exposure to sunlight, so single measurements may poorly reflect long-term 25(OH)D exposure. The authors investigated cyclical trends in average serum 25(OH)D concentrations among 2,298 individuals enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study of community-based older adults (1992-1993). A sinusoidal model closely approximated observed 25(OH)D concentrations and fit the data significantly better than did a mean model (P < 0.0001). The mean annual 25(OH)D concentration was 25.1 ng/mL (95% confidence interval: 24.7, 25.5), and the mean peak-trough difference was 9.6 ng/mL (95% confidence interval: 8.5, 10.7).

At 16 weeks, the predicted LEFS score was 63 out of a maximum score of 80. The LEFS demonstrated excellent test-retest

reliability in this population (ICC2,1 = 0.90, SEM = 3.7).\n\nConclusions: This study provides a description of postsurgical change in functional status for patients after ACL reconstructive surgery that can assist clinicians in developing clinical goals.\n\nClinical R406 mouse Relevance: A rapid improvement in lower extremity physical function is demonstrated in the first 7 to 8 weeks after ACL reconstructive surgery with a tapering of this improvement after 8 weeks.”
“Concussions and head injuries may never be completely eliminated from sports. However, with better data comes an improved understanding of the types of actions and activities that typically result in concussions. With this knowledge can come improved techniques and rule changes to minimize the rate and severity of concussions in sports. This article identifies the factors that affect concussion rate.”
“Histological examinations of the topographical distribution and the area of highest density (the area centralis: AC) of presumed retinal ganglion cells found in the retina in

0- to 6-year-old Champsocephalus gunnari revealed differences between younger and older fish. Individuals of up to 2 years of age had the AC in the temporal GSK 4529 retina, whereas in 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-year-old fish it was positioned in the ventro-temporal region of the retina. The main visual axis in the pitch plane of C. gunnari was shown to shift from facing forward to an upward-forward direction during growth, corresponding to the habitat change in this species from pelagic to benthic. Moreover, the AC in 0- to 3-year-old fish was near the retinal periphery, but displaced towards the inner retina in 4- to 6-year-old fish. This means that the visual axis in the horizontal plane of the younger fish was directed towards EPZ5676 the frontal sector of vision, while in the older fish a slightly more lateral position was favoured. Therefore, younger fish can be expected

to possess superior binocular vision when it comes to prey closely in front of them, but in older fish it seems more important to have a wider visual field to detect prey (and possibly predators) within a greater volume of water.”
“We analyzed rickettsial DNA of ticks from tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA) patients. Dermacentor marginatus (9/17) and Dermacentor reticulatus (8/17) transmitted rickettsiae to a similar extent. Rickettsia raoultii was detected in more ticks than Rickettsia slovaca. We observed the development of TIBOLA symptoms after the bite of males of both tick species. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Numerous studies have revealed atypical face processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) characterized by social interaction and communication difficulties. This study investigated sensitivity to face-likeness in ASD.

Interestingly, our patient fits the description of a rare genetic disease referred to as Al-Gazali syndrome, for which the genetic cause is unknown. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“We have characterized the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in silver

nanowires www.selleckchem.com/products/ABT-737.html using spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the scanning transmission electron microscope. Non-symmetric EELS spectra due to high-k SPR propagation along the nanowire and spectral shifts due to higher-order mode excitation are observed when the beam is positioned near the tip of the nanowire. When the beam is far from the tip region and on the side of nanowire, no spectral shifts are observed as the beam is scanned in the radial direction of the nanowire. The experimental spectra are compared with three different theoretical approaches: direct numerical calculation of the energy loss, analytical models for energy loss, and numerical simulations using an optical model. All three models reproduce the spectral shifts as the electron beam approaches the cap of the nanowire. The analytical model reveals the origin of the shifts in high-order

plasmon mode excitation. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.”
“beta 2-Adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) agonists acutely relieve bronchoconstriction via cAMP-mediated relaxation of airway smooth muscle (ASM). Airway constrictor Ofev responsiveness may be significantly heightened, however, following

protracted exposure to these agents, presumably reflecting the effects of beta 2AR desensitization in ASM accompanying prolonged cAMP signaling. Because cAMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity can significantly modulate ASM contractility, we investigated the mechanism regulating PDE expression and its potential role in mediating changes in agonist-induced constrictor and relaxation responsiveness in ASM following its heterologous beta 2AR desensitization selleck kinase inhibitor by prolonged exposure to cAMP-elevating agents. Isolated rabbit ASM tissues and cultured human ASM cells treated for 24 h with the receptor- or nonreceptor-coupled cAMP-stimulating agent, prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) or forskolin, respectively, exhibited constrictor hyperresponsiveness to acetylcholine and impaired beta 2AR-mediated relaxation and cAMP accumulation. These proasthmatic-like changes in ASM function were associated with upregulated PDE4 activity, reflective of increased transcription of the PDE4D5 isoform, and were prevented by pretreatment of the ASM with a PDE4 inhibitor.

$5,566). This study shows that DVA management provided in a FOC has multiple advantages over that provided in a HOPD.”
“Background: Unexplained infertility

is still a challenging issue as to its causes, appropriate management and treatment. Evidence implicates early embryopathy or implantation failure as likely causes.\n\nObjective: This study aims Cyclosporin A Immunology & Inflammation inhibitor to investigate the effect of local endometrial injury on pregnancy rate in selected unexplained infertile patients.\n\nMaterials and Methods: This was a randomized clinical trial conducted in Shiraz University Infertility Clinic of Ghadir Hospital. A total of 217 women with unexplained infertility aged 23-35 years old were randomly divided into two study groups through block randomization. After superovulation by clomiphene-citrate and gonadotropins and when the dominant follicles reached 18-20 mm, patients were randomly assigned to undergo endometrial local injury at posterior uterine wall by piplle endometrial sampling (n=114) or mock pipette biopsy (n=103) during preovulatory days (when spontaneous urinary LH surge was detected). Then all the patients were instructed to follow a regularly timed intercourse.\n\nResults: PF-562271 mw The pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the endometrial injury group compared to the control

group [17/114 (14.9%) vs. 6/103 (5.8%) (OR: 2.83 95% CI: 1.07-7.49, p=0.03]. The abortion rate was comparable between two groups INCB28060 in vitro (17.64% vs. 14.28%; p=0.701).\n\nConclusion: Local mechanical injury of the endometrium can enhance the uterine receptivity and facilitates the embryo implantation. This simple, easy, and cost effective procedure is worth considering in selective unexplained infertility patients who implantation failure is the likely causes of infertility before complex treatments. This procedure may help reduce psychological tensions and high expenses imposed through such interventions.”
“A

GaN/Si nanoheterostructure is prepared by growing wurtzite GaN on a silicon nanoporous pillar array (Si-NPA) with a chemical vapor deposition method. The temperature evolution of the photoluminescence (PL) of GaN/Si-NPA is measured and the PL mechanism is analyzed. It is found that the PL spectrum is basically composed of two narrow ultraviolet peaks and a broad blue peak, corresponding to the near band edge emission of GaN and its phonon replicas, and the emission from Si-NPA. No GaN defect-related PL is observed in the as-prepared GaN/Si-NPA. Our experiments prove that Si-NPA might be an ideal substrate for preparing high-quality Si-based GaN nanomaterials or nanodevices.”
“In both humans and mice there are numerous reports of Y chromosome abnormalities that interfere with sex determination. Recent studies in the mouse of one such mutation have identified Y chromosome nondisjunction during preimplantation development as the cause of abnormal testis determination that results in a high frequency of true hermaphroditism.

There were, however, noticeable individual differences in grip behavior in the symbolic and direct cueing groups. Although the majority of participants performed the task in a similar fashion to the semi-symbolic group, there was a subset of participants

(40 % in each group) who grasped the two objects using an overhand grip in virtually all trials, regardless of condition. It is hypothesized that the observed individual differences in grasp posture strategy arise from differences in motor planning abilities, find more or the strategies participants employ in order to comply with task demands. A secondary finding is that the degree of interlimb coupling was larger for congruent, than incongruent, conditions irrespective of stimulus cueing. This finding indicates that the interference in the execution of bimanual grasping and placing tasks arises from interference during the specification of GSK461364 movement parameters specific to planning and execution of bimanual

movements, or neuronal cross-talk in efferent pathways, rather than response selection conflicts.”
“Left ventricular (LV) myocardial structure and function differ in heart failure (HF) with normal (N) and reduced (R) LV ejection fraction (EF). This difference could underlie an unequal outcome of trials with beta-blockers in heart failure with normal LVEF (HFNEF) and heart failure with reduced LVEF (HFREF) with mixed results observed in HFNEF and positive results in HFREF. To investigate whether beta-blockers have distinct myocardial effects in HFNEF and HFREF, myocardial structure, cardiomyocyte function, and myocardial protein composition were compared in HFNEF and HFREF patients without or with beta-blockers.\n\nPatients, free of coronary artery disease, were divided into beta-(HFNEF) (n = 16), beta+(HFNEF) (n = 16), beta-(HFREF) (n = 17), and beta+(HFREF) (n = 22) groups.

Using LV endomyocardial biopsies, Z-VAD-FMK manufacturer we assessed collagen volume fraction (CVF) and cardiomyocyte diameter (MyD) by histomorphometry, phosphorylation of myofilamentary proteins by ProQ-Diamond phosphostained 1D-gels, and expression of beta-adrenergic signalling and calcium handling proteins by western immunoblotting. Cardiomyocytes were also isolated from the biopsies to measure active force (F(active)), resting force (F(passive)), and calcium sensitivity (pCa(50)). Myocardial effects of beta-blocker therapy were either shared by HFNEF and HFREF, unique to HFNEF or unique to HFREF. Higher F(active), higher pCa(50), lower phosphorylation of troponin I and myosin-binding protein C, and lower beta(2) adrenergic receptor expression were shared. Higher F(passive), lower CVF, lower MyD, and lower expression of stimulatory G protein were unique to HFNEF and lower expression of inhibitory G protein was unique to HFREF.\n\nMyocardial effects unique to either HFNEF or HFREF could contribute to the dissimilar outcome of beta-blocker therapy in both HF phenotypes.

Conclusion Estrogen receptors a regulates CCL20/CXCL1 secretion in the female reproductive tract, and ERa antagonists directly oppose the regulation by estradiol. Understanding ER-mediated ABT263 antimicrobial chemokine expression is important to elucidate cyclic susceptibility to sexually transmitted pathogens.”
“Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been declared as a global public health threat to society. However, the burden of the disease in elderly Asian patients has not been described. The aim of the study

is to assess the disease burden of DM and its associated adverse outcomes in elderly patients from an Asian hospital using the hospital inpatient database.\n\nMethods: Retrospective study of hospital discharge database from 2004 to 2008 to identify patients aged 65 years and above with DM and its associated ‘adverse outcomes’ using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-9-AM) codes.\n\nResults: Of 89,875 hospitalized patients aged 65 years and above over the 5 years, 31,124 (34.6%) patients had DM, and the percentage of DM cases increased

steadily from 34.3% to 35.6%. Prevalence of DM-associated adverse outcomes was higher in DM patients than in non-DM patients (53.8% vs. 31.5%, p<0.001). For trends over time, the adverse outcomes decreased Volasertib purchase in both DM patients (58.1% to 53.6%) and non-DM patients (34.3% to 31.4%, all p<0.001). All disease-specific adverse outcomes except renal disease decreased over time both in DM and non-DM patients (all p<0.05). There were increased trends over time for renal disease in both DM patients (16.1% to 23.2%, p<0.001) and non-DM patients (6.7% to 10.4%, p<0.001).\n\nConclusion: The burden of DM in this group of elderly patients is high. Elderly patients with DM experienced much higher rates of the adverse outcomes. (C) 2011 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published selleckchem by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Background:

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is a potentially fatal condition mainly affecting critically ill patients. Current experience from computed tomography (CT) findings in AAC is contradictory.\n\nMethods: CT images of 127 mixed medical-surgical intensive care unit patients were retrospectively reviewed for the following findings: bile density, thickness and enhancement of the gallbladder (GB) wall, subserosal edema, greatest perpendicular diameters of the GB, width of extrahepatic bile ducts, gas within the GB, ascites, peritoneal fat edema, and diffuse tissue edema. Forty-three of these patients underwent open cholecystectomy, and 8 patients revealed a normal GB, 26 an edematous GB, and 9 a necrotic AAC.\n\nResults: Abnormal CT findings were present in 96% of all the intensive care unit patients. Higher bile density in the GB body and subserosal edema was associated with an edematous GB (specificity, 93.

Multiple PU

development risk factors were extracted from the electronic GSK3326595 in vitro health record system using standardised data collection forms and entered into the Spinal Cord Injury Pressure Ulcer Database (SCIPUD). Potential associations with RHA were analysed. Results: Twenty variables were initially identified as potentially related to PU development. Descriptive statistics and statistically significant associations between risk factors and RHA were determined. Demographic factors showed no significant association with RHA. Duration of injury, power wheelchair use and sub-optimally managed spasticity (SMS) were significantly associated with higher RHA. Suboptimally managed neurogenic bowel (SMNB) at admission was significantly associated with reduced RHA. Conclusion: Factors previously found to be predictive of initial PU development may not, in fact, be predictive of RHA. Some protective trends were observed, such as polypharmacy and marital status, but these did not reach statistical significance in this preliminary study of admission characteristics, warranting further research.”
“Cytomegalovirus (CMV) GS-1101 infection is a common complication after liver transplantation, and it is associated

with multiple direct and indirect effects. Management of CMV infection and disease has evolved over the years, and clinical guidelines have been recently updated. Universal antiviral prophylaxis and a pre-emptive treatment strategy are options for prevention. A currently-recruiting randomized clinical trial is comparing the efficacy and safety of the two prevention strategies in the highest risk D+R-liver recipients. Drug-resistant CMV infection remains uncommon but is now increasing in incidence. This highlights the currently limited therapeutic options, and the need for novel drug discoveries. Immunotherapy and antiviral drugs with novel mechanisms of action are being investigated, including letermovir (AIC246) Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor and brincidofovir (CMX001). This article reviews the current state of CMV management after liver

transplantation, including the updated practice guidelines, and summarizes the data on investigational drugs and vaccines in clinical development. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Despite its major economic importance and the vulnerability of Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. to climate change, how its radial growth at intra-annual resolution is influenced by weather conditions in forest stands with a high production capacity has scarcely been explored. Between 2009 and 2011, phenological variation in seasonal cambial cell production (CP) was analysed in adult P. abies trees from three contrasting sites, differing in altitude and latitude. The results indicate that the timing of cambial CP is a highly synchronic process within populations since in all cases the cambium simultaneously started and stopped producing xylem and phloem cells.