A new species of bird’s nest fungi: characterisation of Cyathus subglobisporus sp. nov. based on morphological and molecular data

Recent collections of bird’s nest fungi (i.e. Crucibulum, Cyathus, Mycocalia, Nidula, and Nidularia species) in northern Thailand resulted in the discovery of a new species of Cyathus, herein described as C. subglobisporus. This species is distinct by a combination of ivory-coloured fruiting bodies covered with shaggy hairs, plications on the inner surface of the peridium and subglobose basidiospores. Phylogenetic analyses based on ITS and LSU ribosomal DNA sequences using neighbour-joining, maximum likelihood and weighted maximum parsimony support Cyathus subglobisporus as a distinct species and sister to a clade containing C. annulatus, C. renweii and C. stercoreus in the Striatum group

Beliefs and Self-Efficacy of Parents of Young Children with Hearing Loss

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the beliefs and self-efficacy of parents of young children with hearing loss. Seventy-two parents completed the Scale of Parental Involvement and Self-Efficacy - Revised (SPISE-R), which queries parents about their child’s hearing device use and their perceptions of their own beliefs, knowledge, confidence, and actions pertaining to supporting their child’s auditory access and spoken language development. Two beliefs were identified that related to parents’ action scores and one belief was identified that related to children’s hearing device use. Knowledge and confidence scores were significantly correlated with action scores and children’s hearing device use, whereas only confidence scores were related to scores on a measure of children’s spoken language abilities. Results indicate the SPISE-R is a promising tool for use in early intervention to better understand parents’ strengths and needs pertaining to supporting their young child’s auditory access and spoken language development

Six simple guidelines for introducing new genera of fungi

We formulate five guidelines for introducing new genera, plus one recommendation how to publish the results of scientific research. We recommend that reviewers and editors adhere to these guidelines. We propose that the underlying research is solid, and that the results and the final solutions are properly discussed. The six criteria are: (1) all genera that are recognized should be monophyletic; (2) the coverage of the phylogenetic tree should be wide in number of species, geographic coverage, and type species of the genera under study; (3) the branching of the phylogenetic trees has to have sufficient statistical support; (4) different options for the translation of the phylogenetic tree into a formal classification should be discussed and the final decision justified; (5) the phylogenetic evidence should be based on more than one gene; and (6) all supporting evidence and background information should be included in the publication in which the new taxa are proposed, and this publication should be peer-reviewed

High Fat Relative to Low Fat Ground Beef Consumption Lowers Blood Pressure and Does Not Negatively Alter Arterial Stiffness

Beef consumption has been stigmatized as an unhealthy dietary choice. However, randomized control trials to support this claim are lacking. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of low-fat (5%) and high-fat (25%) ground beef consumption on blood pressure (BP) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV).METHODS: Twenty-three male subjects (age 40±11 yrs, height 177.4±6.7 cm, weight 97.3±25.0 kg, lean mass 64.5±9.5 kg, fat mass 30.6±19.1 kg) volunteered to participate in this cross-over design study. Each participant completed two, 5-week ground beef interventions in a randomized order with a 4-week washout period in-between. All participants visited the lab four times after an overnight fast. Each visit to the lab consisted of supine BP, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan to assess body composition, and PWV analysis. The PWV recording was assessed on the right carotid and femoral arteries. The distance used for the PWV calculation was 80% of the actual distance between carotid and femoral sites. All PWV measures were completed according to previously published procedures (Van Bortel, 2011). BP and PWV results were analyzed separately via 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Our results indicate there was a significant decrease in systolic BP (p=0.01) following the high-fat ground beef intervention compared to the low-fat. The BP values for low-fat beef and high-fat beef are 120/74 and 116/73 mmHg, respectively. Further, there were no significant differences between the PWV measures. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, high fat ground beef favorably alters systolic BP and does not negatively affect PWV measures

Cytological and transcript analyses reveal fat and lazy persister-like bacilli in tuberculous sputum

As nonreplicating tubercle bacilli are tolerant to the cidal action of antibiotics and resistant to multiple stresses, identification of this persister-like population of tubercle bacilli in sputum presents exciting and tractable new opportunities to investigate both responses to chemotherapy and the transmission of tuberculosis

Megaphylogeny resolves global patterns of mushroom evolution

Mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes) have the greatest morphological diversity and complexity of any group of fungi. They have radiated into most niches and fulfil diverse roles in the ecosystem, including wood decomposers, pathogens or mycorrhizal mutualists. Despite the importance of mushroom-forming fungi, large-scale patterns of their evolutionary history are poorly known, in part due to the lack of a comprehensive and dated molecular phylogeny. Here, using multigene and genome-based data, we assemble a 5,284-species phylogenetic tree and infer ages and broad patterns of speciation/extinction and morphological innovation in mushroom-forming fungi. Agaricomycetes started a rapid class-wide radiation in the Jurassic, coinciding with the spread of (sub)tropical coniferous forests and a warming climate. A possible mass extinction, several clade-specific adaptive radiations and morphological diversification of fruiting bodies followed during the Cretaceous and the Paleogene, convergently giving rise to the classic toadstool morphology, with a cap, stalk and gills (pileate-stipitate morphology). This morphology is associated with increased rates of lineage diversification, suggesting it represents a key innovation in the evolution of mushroom-forming fungi. The increase in mushroom diversity started during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic radiation event, an era of humid climate when terrestrial communities dominated by gymnosperms and reptiles were also expanding.Fil: Varga, Torda. Hungarian Academy Of Sciences; HungríaFil: Krizsán, Krisztina. Hungarian Academy Of Sciences; HungríaFil: Földi, Csenge. Hungarian Academy Of Sciences; HungríaFil: Dima, Bálint. Eötvös Loránd University; HungríaFil: Sánchez-García, Marisol. Clark University; Estados UnidosFil: Lechner, Bernardo Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez-Ramírez, Santiago. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Szöllosi, Gergely J.. Eötvös Loránd University; HungríaFil: Szarkándi, János G.. University Of Szeged; HungríaFil: Papp, Viktor. Szent István University; HungríaFil: Albert, László. Hungarian Mycological Society; HungríaFil: Andreopoulos, William. United States Department Of Energy. Joint Genome Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Angelini, Claudio. Jardin Botanico Nacional Ma. Moscoso; República DominicanaFil: Antonín, Vladimír. Moravian Museum; República ChecaFil: Barry, Kerrie W.. United States Department Of Energy. Joint Genome Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Bougher, Neale L.. Western Australian Herbarium; AustraliaFil: Buchanan, Peter. Manaaki Whenua-landcare Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Buyck, Bart. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; FranciaFil: Bense, Viktória. Hungarian Academy Of Sciences; HungríaFil: Catcheside, Pam. State Herbarium Of South Australia; AustraliaFil: Chovatia, Mansi. United States Department Of Energy. Joint Genome Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Cooper, Jerry. Manaaki Whenua-landcare Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Dämon, Wolfgang. Oberfeldstrasse 9; AustriaFil: Desjardin, Dennis. San Francisco State University; Estados UnidosFil: Finy, Péter. Zsombolyai U. 56.; HungríaFil: Geml, József. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países BajosFil: Haridas, Sajeet. United States Department Of Energy. Joint Genome Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Hughes, Karen. University of Tennessee; Estados UnidosFil: Justo, Alfredo. Clark University; Estados UnidosFil: Karasinski, Dariusz. Polish Academy of Sciences; Poloni

Multiple M. tuberculosis Phenotypes in Mouse and Guinea Pig Lung Tissue Revealed by a Dual-Staining Approach

A unique hallmark of tuberculosis is the granulomatous lesions formed in the lung. Granulomas can be heterogeneous in nature and can develop a necrotic, hypoxic core which is surrounded by an acellular, fibrotic rim. Studying bacilli in this in vivo microenvironment is problematic as Mycobacterium tuberculosis can change its phenotype and also become acid-fast negative. Under in vitro models of differing environments, M. tuberculosis alters its metabolism, transcriptional profile and rate of replication. In this study, we investigated whether these phenotypic adaptations of M. tuberculosis are unique for certain environmental conditions and if they could therefore be used as differential markers. Bacilli were studied using fluorescent acid-fast auramine-rhodamine targeting the mycolic acid containing cell wall, and immunofluorescence targeting bacterial proteins using an anti-M. tuberculosis whole cell lysate polyclonal antibody. These techniques were combined and simultaneously applied to M. tuberculosis in vitro culture samples and to lung sections of M. tuberculosis infected mice and guinea pigs. Two phenotypically different subpopulations of M. tuberculosis were found in stationary culture whilst three subpopulations were found in hypoxic culture and in lung sections. Bacilli were either exclusively acid-fast positive, exclusively immunofluorescent positive or acid-fast and immunofluorescent positive. These results suggest that M. tuberculosis exists as multiple populations in most conditions, even within seemingly a single microenvironment. This is relevant information for approaches that study bacillary characteristics in pooled samples (using lipidomics and proteomics) as well as in M. tuberculosis drug development