We appreciate the invaluable contributions of the following reviewers during the editing of Vol. 8 Nos. 1–2.

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the invaluable contributions of the following reviewers during the editing of Vol. 8 Nos. 1–2.     

Funding the NHS. Is the NHS sustainable?

The survival of the NHS lies largely in the hands of government, and this article suggests steps that it should take to deal with pressures on the NHS in terms of funding, managing efficiency, and demands. Changes to the system of funding may be unfeasible, but management could be improved by research to allow greater understanding of the local effects of national policies. Alternatively health authorities could be given more freedom to manage funds, although this would have to be accompanied by stiff sanctions for those who failed. Demand could be contained by strengthening policies to ensure that new technologies are cost effective. The government could try to reduce demands arising from increased expectations by encouraging informed public debate about priorities and influencing the availability of private health care. All these efforts should be guided by the values underpinning the NHS, which should be debated and decided collectively and confirmed in a new charter for NHS''s 50th anniversary in 1998.     

The ‘Embryonic moults’ of the milkweed bug as seen by the S.E.M.

Deposition, detachment and removal of the three embryonic cuticles are studied. The menbrane-like cuticle 1 covers the embryo during katatrepsis and ‘disappears’ thereafter. Cuticle 2 deposition starts shortly before dorsal closure. Its apolysis is accompanied by contractions of the embryo. Ecdysis of cuticle 2 takes place during hatching. Only cuticle 3 (= first larval cuticle) shows differentiations like sensilla and cornea. Peaks of ecdysteroid (and probably JH) titre are observed during apolysis of cuticle 1 and cuticle 2 (Dorn, 1981). Transition from ectoderm to epidermis proper takes place shortly before and during onset of cuticle 2 synthesis.     

A New Combination of the genus Zingiber—Z. ellipticum (S. Q. Tong et Y. M. Xia) Q. G. Wu et T. L. Wu and the Systematic Evidence

The distinct characters of the flower of Plagiostachys elliptica, S. Q. Tong et Y. M. Xia are: (1) each flower possesses two large lateral staminodes, which are adnate to the lip (labellum) to form a deeply 3 lobed labellum;(2) connective extends into a curved, beak like conspicuous appendage (anther crest) and envelops the upper part of style. In the Zingiberaceae, these characters are only present in the genus Zingiber.Furthermore, in Sect. Pleuranthesis of Zingiber the spike also arises from side of the leafy stem. Pollen grains of the species are with cerebelloid sculpture,that is the character of the Subtype Cerebelloid areolate in Zingiberaceae, and are similar to those sculpture and morphology of Sect. Zingiber of the genus Zingiber and differ from those of Plagiostachys, of which pollen grains are with longer spines and belong to the Group long spinate of Subtype spinate. The endotesta of seeds in this species is composed of one layer of brick shaped parenchymatous cells, which is similar to the parenchymatous endotesta of Zingiber seeds and obviously differs from that of seeds of Plagiostachys, which consists of one layer of sclereids. Therefore,Plagiostachys elliptica S. Q. Tong et Y. M. Xia should be transferred from Plagiostachys to the genus Zingiber, and a new combination——Zingiber ellipticum (S. Q. Tong et Y. M. Xia) Q. G. Wu et T. L. Wu is made in this paper.     

Lepidophylloides corumbataensis sp. nov. from the Guadalupian in the Paraná Basin,southern Brazil

A new species of the isoetalean leaf genus Lepidophylloides is described. This Guadalupian species from the Paraná Basin, Lepidophylloides corumbataensis, found as silicified microphylls in the Corumbataí Formation in the municipality of Piracicaba, São Paulo state, in southern Brazil, is the first species of the genus to be formally described for Brazil, and possibly the first for Gondwanaland. This is also the first time that surviving palisade tissue has been found in a species of Lepidophylloides. The new species is compared to known species and shown to be distinct from all previously described from Euramerican and Cathaysian floras. The organization of the xylem in arch-like or crescent-shaped bundles suggests a relation to Cathaysian species. The close association with Lycopodiopsis derbyi stems (which have true leaf scars and must have suffered leaf abscission) suggests that they are different organs from the same species.     

Ecology of the pteridophytes on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro – I. Altitudinal distribution

140 taxa of 61 genera in 24 families of pteridophytes were recorded on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. These represent about one third of the entire pteridophyte flora of Tanzania. The families richest in species are the Aspleniaceae, the Adiantaceae, the Dryopteridaceae, the Thelypteridaceae and the Hymenophyllaceae. Due to its luxuriant montane rain forest, which receives a precipitation of up to over 3000 mm, Mt. Kilimanjaro is distinctly richer in pteridophyte species than other volcanoes in East Africa. However, compared with the mountains of the Eastern Arc, the number of pteridophytes on Mt. Kilimanjaro is smaller. This can be explained by the widely destroyed submontane (intermediate) forest rather than by the higher age of the Eastern Arc Mts.The altitudinal distribution of all ferns was investigated in 24 transects. On the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro they were found in an altitudinal range of 3640 m. Cyclosorus quadrangularis, Azolla nilotica, Azolla africana andMarsilea minuta are restricted to the foothills, while Polystichum wilsonii, Cystopteris nivalis and Asplenium adiantum-nigrum are species found in the highest altitudes.Based on unidimensionally constrained clustering and on the analysis of the lowermost and uppermost occurrence of species, floristic discontinuities within the transects were determined. From these data and from an evaluation of the distribution of ecological groups and life forms, 11 altitudinal zones could be distinguished: a colline zone (–900 m asl), a submontane zone (900–1600 m asl) with lower and upper subzones, a montane zone (1600-2800 m asl) divided into 4 subzones, a subalpine zone (2800–3900 m asl) with lower, middle and upper subzones, and finally a (lower) alpine zone above 3900 m. The highest species numbers were observed in the lower montane forest belt between 1600 and 2000 m altitude. The zonation of ferns found at Mt. Kilimanjaro corresponds well with the vegetational zonation described by other authors using bryophytes as indicators in different parts of the humid tropics.     

Tenotomy of the avian anterior latissimus dorsi muscle. II. Can regeneration from the stump occur in the pigeon?

Because the chick's anterior latissimus dorsi muscle (ALD) regenerates a fast-twitch muscular connection after tenotomy, the pigeon's ALD was tenotomized, either at the origin or through the muscle 0.5 cm from the origin, to determine whether this muscle behaves similarly to the chick muscle. These procedures were compared in pigeons operated upon at 7 weeks, versus 5 to 9 months of age. The pigeon's ALD did not regenerate a new connection, and other differences were observed between the pigeon and chick ALD. The pigeon ALD has only a single slow muscle-fiber type, has fewer fast fibers, and transforms to a fast-twitch muscle more readily than the chick ALD after tenotomy. The transformation of muscle fiber types occurred more readily in the older pigeons than those tenotomized at 7 weeks of age. Tenotomy induced morphological alterations of the muscle fiber structure in all of the pigeons, which is in contrast to the absence of changes in the tenotomized chick ALD. Therefore the pigeon and chick ALD respond completely differently to tenotomy.     

Cutaneous Photobiology. The Melanocyte vs. the Sun: Who Will Win the Final Round?

Solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) is a major environmental factor that dramatically alters the homeostasis of the skin as an organ by affecting the survival, proliferation and differentiation of various cutaneous cell types. The effects of UV on the skin include direct damage to DNA, apoptosis, growth arrest, and stimulation of melanogenesis. Long‐term effects of UV include photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. Epidermal melanocytes synthesize two main types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Melanin, particularly eumelanin, represents the major photoprotective mechanism in the skin. Melanin limits the extent of UV penetration through the epidermal layers, and scavenges reactive oxygen radicals that may lead to oxidative DNA damage. The extent of UV‐induced DNA damage and the incidence of skin cancer are inversely correlated with total melanin content of the skin. Given the importance of the melanocyte in guarding against the adverse effects of UV and the fact that the melanocyte has a low self‐renewal capacity, it is critical to maintain its survival and genomic integrity in order to prevent malignant transformation to melanoma, the most fatal form of skin cancer. Melanocyte transformation to melanoma involves the activation of certain oncogenes and the inactivation of specific tumor suppressor genes. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about the role of melanin and the melanocyte in photoprotection, the responses of melanocytes to UV, the signaling pathways that mediate the biological effects of UV on melanocytes, and the most common genetic alterations that lead to melanoma.     

Cutaneous photobiology. The melanocyte vs. the sun: who will win the final round?

Solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) is a major environmental factor that dramatically alters the homeostasis of the skin as an organ by affecting the survival, proliferation and differentiation of various cutaneous cell types. The effects of UV on the skin include direct damage to DNA, apoptosis, growth arrest, and stimulation of melanogenesis. Long-term effects of UV include photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. Epidermal melanocytes synthesize two main types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Melanin, particularly eumelanin, represents the major photoprotective mechanism in the skin. Melanin limits the extent of UV penetration through the epidermal layers, and scavenges reactive oxygen radicals that may lead to oxidative DNA damage. The extent of UV-induced DNA damage and the incidence of skin cancer are inversely correlated with total melanin content of the skin. Given the importance of the melanocyte in guarding against the adverse effects of UV and the fact that the melanocyte has a low self-renewal capacity, it is critical to maintain its survival and genomic integrity in order to prevent malignant transformation to melanoma, the most fatal form of skin cancer. Melanocyte transformation to melanoma involves the activation of certain oncogenes and the inactivation of specific tumor suppressor genes. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about the role of melanin and the melanocyte in photoprotection, the responses of melanocytes to UV, the signaling pathways that mediate the biological effects of UV on melanocytes, and the most common genetic alterations that lead to melanoma.     

A contribution to the knowledge of the pteridosperm genera Pseudomariopteris Danzé-Corsin nov. emend. and Helenopteris nov. gen

The macromorphology and epidermal anatomy of three Late Carboniferous-Early Permian pteridosperm species, conventionally assigned to the form-genus Pseudomariopteris Danzé-Corsin, are described from the Stephanian of the Blanzy-Montceau Basin (Central France). The generic diagnosis of Pseudomariopteris is emended, and P. busquetii is designated as the type species of the genus. The combination P. cordato-ovata (Weiss) Gillespie et al. is validated to replace the illegitimate name P. ribeyronii (Zeiller) Danzé-Corsin. The species diagnoses of P. busquetii and P. cordato-ovata are emended. On the basis of its epidermal anatomy, P. paleaui, another species orininally described from Central France, is transferred to the newly established genus Helenopteris Krings et Kerp, and the new combination Helenopteris paleaui is introduced. Lectotypes of P. busquetii and H. paleaui are selected. In addition, specimens from other basins are (re-)examined and illustrated. Seeds attached to a P. busquetii specimen suggest a callistophytalean relationship for Pseudomariopteris. Compression fossils and cuticles of Pseudomariopteris and Helenopteris are interpreted in terms of palaeoecology: Pseudomariopteris busquetii and P. cordato-ovata had climbing/scrambling growth habits; specialized climber hooks can be demonstrated for both species, either in compression or in cuticular preservation. Although the growth habit of H. paleaui is not yet entirely clear, the size of its fronds suggests that this taxon most probably was also a scrambler/climber. Finally, based on epidermal features, a tentative reconstruction of stages of the pinnule ontogeny of H. paleaui is provided.