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“The consequences of biodiversity loss for ecosystem services largely depend on the functional

identities of extirpated species. However, poor descriptions of spatial patterns of community functional composition across landscapes hamper accurate predictions, particularly in highly diverse tropical regions. Therefore, understanding how community functional composition varies across environmental gradients remains an important challenge. We sampled 15 functional traits in 800 Neotropical tree species across 13 forest plots representative of the broad climatic and soil gradients encompassed by three widespread lowland forest habitats GDC-0068 mouse (terra firme forests on clay-rich soils, seasonally flooded forests and white-sand forests) at opposite ends of Amazonia (Peru and French Guiana). We combined univariate and multivariate approaches to test the magnitude and predictability of environmental filtering on community

leaf and wood functional composition. Directional shifts in community functional composition correlated with environmental changes across the 13 plots, with denser see more leaves, stems and roots in forests occurring in environments with limited water and soil-nutrient availability. Critically, these relationships allowed us to accurately predict the functional composition of 61 additional forest plots from learn more environmental data alone.Synthesis. Environmental filtering consistently shapes the functional composition of highly diverse tropical forests at large scales across the terra firme, seasonally flooded and white-sand forests of lowland Amazonia. Environmental factors drive and allow the prediction of variation

in community functional composition among habitat types in Amazonian forests.”
“LUFFACHITIN obtained from the residue of the sponge-like dried fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca was developed as a weavable skin substitute in this study. A chemical analysis revealed that LUFFACHITIN was composed of a copolymer containing N-acetylglucosamine (similar to 40%) as a major monomer with a filamentary structure as demonstrated by both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The pulp-like white residue of the sponge-like dried fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca after treatment was then woven into a thin, porous membrane by filtration and lyophilization as a skin substitute for conducting wound-healing study on rats. The results indicated that the LUFFACHITIN membrane showed significant wound-healing enhancement (25 days to complete healing) compared to cotton gauze ( bigger than 30 days), but not inferior to that of SACCHACHITIN. Furthermore, the LUFFACHITIN membrane had advantages of having a high yield, better physical properties for fabrication, and a more attractive appearance.