Fungal Olecranon Bursitis in an Immunocompetent Patient by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Knoxdaviesia dimorphospora</Emphasis> sp. nov.: Case Report and Review

Bursitis is a common medical condition that can occur either with or without infection. We present a case of fungal olecranon bursitis in an immunocompetent individual caused by the new species Knoxdaviesia dimorphospora. It is a dematiaceous filamentous fungus characterized by the production of two different conidia: hyaline and cylindrical, which rise up from phialidic conidiogenous cells located in the upper part of differentiated and unbranched conidiophores, and pale brown and ellipsoidal conidia produced by phialidic conidiogenous cells which are born directly on hyphae. In addition to its morphological peculiarities, the novelty of the fungus was confirmed by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and D1/D2 domains of the 28S of the nuclear rRNA gene. The fungal infection was confirmed by cytological examination and repeated cultures. The infection was resolved by surgical debridement and drainage, and the patient presented a complete functional recovery 3 months later. The in vitro antifungal susceptibility to this new human opportunist is provided, terbinafine being the drug with the most potent activity.     

Drivers of vegetative dormancy across herbaceous perennial plant species

Vegetative dormancy, that is the temporary absence of aboveground growth for ≥ 1 year, is paradoxical, because plants cannot photosynthesise or flower during dormant periods. We test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses for its widespread persistence. We show that dormancy has evolved numerous times. Most species displaying dormancy exhibit life‐history costs of sprouting, and of dormancy. Short‐lived and mycoheterotrophic species have higher proportions of dormant plants than long‐lived species and species with other nutritional modes. Foliage loss is associated with higher future dormancy levels, suggesting that carbon limitation promotes dormancy. Maximum dormancy duration is shorter under higher precipitation and at higher latitudes, the latter suggesting an important role for competition or herbivory. Study length affects estimates of some demographic parameters. Our results identify life historical and environmental drivers of dormancy. We also highlight the evolutionary importance of the little understood costs of sprouting and growth, latitudinal stress gradients and mixed nutritional modes.     

α-d-galactosidase deficiency in coconut endosperm: its possible pleiotropic effects in makapuno

α-d-galactosidase (α-d-galactoside galactohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.22) activity in the normal endosperm increased with age continually up to endosperm maturity. In contrast, makapuno α-d-galactosidase was hardly detected in almost all stages of development except the last, where its activity was 8300-fold lower as compared to the normal. The possible role of α-d-galactosidase in the formation of the makapuno endosperm is discussed.     

CAROTENOID COMPOSITION OF MARINE RED ALGAE1

Photosynthetic organisms possess carotenoids that function either as accessory, photoprotective, or structural pigments. Therefore, the carotenoid profile provides information about certain photoacclimation and photoprotection responses. Carotenoids are also important chemosystematic markers because specific enzymes mediate each step of carotenoid biosynthesis. For red algae, diverse and often contradictory carotenoid compositions have been reported. As a consequence, it is difficult to infer the physiological importance of carotenoids in Rhodophyta. To characterize the relationship between carotenoid composition, rhodophycean phylogeny, and the presence of potentially photoprotective pigments, we analyzed the carotenoid composition of 65 subtropical species from 12 orders and 18 rhodophyte families. Our results showed that red algae do not present a unique carotenoid profile. However, a common profile was observed up to the level of order, with exception of the Ceramiales and the Corallinales. The main difference between profiles is related to the xanthophyll that represents the major carotenoid. In some species lutein is the major carotenoid while in others it is substituted by zeaxanthin or antheraxanthin. The presence of this epoxy carotenoid together with the presence of violaxanthin that are xanthophyll cycle (XC)‐related pigments was found in four of the 12 analyzed orders. The carotenoid pigment profiles are discussed in relation to Rhodophyta phylogeny, and it is suggested that the xanthophyll cycle‐related pigments appeared early in the evolution of eukaryotic phototrophs.     

Selenium levels in related biological samples: human placenta, maternal and umbilical cord blood, hair and nails.

A study on selenium levels has been carried out in human placenta, maternal and umbilical cord blood, hair and nails of a group of 50 mothers and in the hair of the newborns. The determinations were perfomed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The selenium concentration obtained for each sample type was as follows: For the human placenta the values obtained were between 0.56 and 1.06 microg/g (mean +/- standard deviation: 0.81 +/- 0.02 microg/g). The levels for the umbilical cord blood were 51.1-104.2 microg/l (76.3 +/- 6.5 microg/l). For the maternal blood the values measured were between 57.3 and 117.9 microg/l (90.0 +/- 15.2 microg/l), and for hair and nails were 0.22-1.5 microg/g (0.60 +/- 0.37 microg/g) and 0.46-1.57 microg/g (0.90 +/- 0.27 microg/g), respectively. For the hair of the newborns the values obtained were between 0.40 and 2.53 microg/g (1.04 +/- 0.48 microg/g). The effect of different variables as age, habitat, nutritional index or gestation age of the mothers on the selenium concentration in the samples was studied. The influence of the habitat is significant with a confidence level of 95% for the selenium concentration in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood samples. The influence of the mothers' age is significant with a confidence level of 95% for the selenium concentration in the umbilical cord blood samples. For the placenta samples, the effect of the nutritional index is significant with a confidence level of 95%. There is a positive correlation between samples of umbilical cord blood and the newborns' hair, between placenta and umbilical cord, and between cord blood and maternal blood.     

Size-Related Differential Seed Predation in a Heavily Defaunated Neotropical Rain Forest

Hunting and habitat loss represent an increasingly common anthropogenic impact. Available evidence suggests that defaunation is typically differential: medium/large mammals are most affected while small rodents are less affected, or even favored. In heavily impacted areas, such as Los Tuxtlas, the residual mammalian fauna is dominated by small rodents. We tested the expectation that if small rodents will preferentially attack small-seeded species, large-seeded species may escape predation in the absence of medium/large seed predators and that this may affect germination and, possibly, recruitment. Experiments with caged rodents ( Heteromys desmarestianus ) under laboratory conditions showed a preference for smaller seeds. A field experiment involving seeds of contrasting size showed that small, unprotected seeds experienced a predation risk 30-times larger than protected seeds, while the effect of protection was not significant for large seeds. These patterns of predation led to significant differences in germination: protected small-seeded species had a fourfold greater germination than unprotected small-seeded species, while germination was not significantly different between exposed and protected large seeds. The observed contrasts in germination suggest that under heavy defaunation, small-seeded species are likely to be penalized by the overabundance of small rodents, while large-seeded species escape predation. Our results are consistent with the observation of dense seedling carpets dominated by large-seeded species in the understory of Los Tuxtlas. We speculate that the patterns we uncovered may explain, at least partly, the impoverished diversity of the understory vegetation that characterizes heavily defaunated understories and that this has the potential to affect forest regeneration.     

Staphylococcus aureus Protoplasting Induced by d-Cycloserine

Addition of sublethal doses of d-cycloserine to growing cells of Staphylococcus aureus induces the rupture of the cell wall along an equatorial ring, thus allowing the liberation of protoplasts.     

Inter‐annual variability of fruit timing and quantity at Nouragues (French Guiana): insights from hierarchical Bayesian analyses

The timing and quantity of fruit production are major determinants of the functioning of a forest community, but simultaneous analyses of both are rare. We analyzed a ten‐year dataset (2001–2011) of fruit production for 45 tree and liana species from the Nouragues rain forest, French Guiana. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian approach to determine variation in the timing and quantity of fruit production. Our analysis accommodates missing censuses and quantifies variation at seasonal and inter‐annual scales. The fruiting peak of 22 of 45 species occurred during the peak of the rainy season, which is typical for central and eastern Amazon. The timing and quantity of fruit production varied substantially across years in most species, with greater variation in quantity than in timing. The timing of fruit production varied from continuously fruiting species to mast fruiting species that had two or more consecutive years without fruit production. Fully 40% of species were mast fruiting species. The seasonal timing and inter‐annual variation in fruiting were unrelated to seed dispersal mode across species. We saw no evidence for directional change in the level of fruit production, the timing of fruit production, or their variances; however, 10 yr is a short record for such analyses.