Redescription of the African duck leech Theromyzon cooperi (Harding, 1932) (Hirudinea:Glossiphoniidae)

The African duck leech Theromyzon cooperi, which is the only representative of the genus so far reported in Africa, is redescribed. Aspects of its internal morphology are described for the first time. The conspecificity of the two supposed species T. cooperi and T. lineatum is also indicated

The leech Batracobdelloides tricarinata (Blanchard, 1897) (Hirudinea : Glossiphoniidae) as a possible reservoir of the rainbow trout pathogenic Streptococcus species

A Streptococcus species biochemically and serologically identical to the rainbow trout pathogenic Streptococcus species was isolated from the internal organs of the fish specific leech, Batracobdelloides tricarinata. These leeches were obtained from Roodeplaat Dam, near Pretoria, in which rainbow trout do not occur. This is the first isolation of this bacterium from an environmental source not related to rainbow trout and it is proposed that this leech is a possible reservoir of the rainbow trout pathogenic Streptococcus sp. in South Africa.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.lmchunu2014mn201

An annotated check list of the leeches (Annelida : Hirudinea) of the Kruger National Park with a key to the species

The diagnosis, distribution and bionomics of the ten species of leeches occurring in the Kruger National Park and a key to the identification of the species are presented. Seven species belong to the family Glossiphoniidae, two to the family Hirudinidae and one species to the family Salifidae. The African fish leech Batracobdelloides tricarinatus and the reptilian parasite Placobdelloidesmultistriatus are the most common species in the park. Two of the three snail leeches occurring in the reserve, viz. Alboglossiphoniadisjuncta and Helobdella conifera, the predaceous Salifa perspicax and the sanguivorous Hirudo michaelseni are widespread but not common. The snail leech Alboglossiphonia conjugata occurs only in the small Madzaringwi River and its tributaries located in the most northern part of the park. The amphibian parasite Oosthuizobdella stuhlmanni was found only at two adjacent localities in the most southern reaches of the park with the sanguivorous Asiatic obdella buntonensis limited to the southern half of the reserve. The host-specific parasite of hippopotami, Placobdelloidesjaegerskioeldi, is restricted to habitats inhabited by its host

Redescription, phylogenetic placement, and taxonomic reassignment of Mesobdella lineata (Sciacchitano, 1959) (Hirudinida : Arhynchobdellida)

Mesobdella lineata, a small terrestrial species of leech from southern Africa, originally placed in the family Haemadipsidae, is redescribed based on internal and external morphological characters of the holotype and of additional material collected in 1975. The placement of this species in the South American genus Mesobdella on the basis of seemingly triannulate midbody somites is found to be erroneous as midbody somites are five-annulate. Mesobdella lineata has neither the midventral nephridial pore, a synapomorphy of Xerobdellidae, nor the posteriolateral auricles of Haemadipsidae. With a caudal sucker that is wider than the four most posterior somites of the body, eight teeth per jaw, micromorphic median reproductive structures, and no postanal annuli, this species is placed in the mammalophilic family Praobdellidae. A morphological matrix of 32 characters was analyzed with parsimony and implied weighting. The new genus Parapraobdella is warranted to accommodate the unique combination of characters of the species that is morphologically similar to Neotropical representatives of the family.National Science Foundation (DE B-0640463) awarded to M.E.S. and a CUNY Science Fellowship awarded to A.J.P.http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/9ab201

Effects of current CO2 assimilation and stored reserves on lychee fruit growth

The roles of current CO2 assimilation and stored carbohydrates on fruit retention in lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) were investigated. In 12 year old ‘Tai So’ trees growing at Burgershall in subtropical South Africa (lat. 25°S), terminal branches were cinctured (girdled) 0.5 or 1.0 m from the fruit cluster about 2–4 weeks after anthesis in October to isolate the fruit from the rest of the tree. Each branch had 0, 5,10, 20 or 30 leaves, and 0, 5,10, 20 or 30 fruit. In a separate experiment, branches were cinctured 0.5 or 1.5 m from the fruit cluster in October, while uncinctured branches acted as controls. At Nambour in subtropical Australia (lat. 27°S), branches of ten year old ‘Souey Tung’ were cinctured in October after fruit set about 1.2 m from the fruit cluster, while other branches were cinctured and thinned to five leaves or five fruit per fruit cluster or left uncinctured and unthinned. In other experiments, seven year old trees of cv. Wai Chee and ten year old trees of cv. Kwai May Pink were cinctured on the trunk in November or left uncinctured. The number of fruit retained per panicle, net CO2 assimilation, yield and concentrations of starch in the leaves and stem were determined. In South Africa, the greatest number of fruit per panicle at harvest (8.6) occurred with 30 leaves and 30 fruit at the start of sampling, but a different response was given when the number of fruit retained was expressed as a proportion of that soon after fruit set. Relative fruit retention was below 5% in branches with no leaves and 50–60% in branches with six leaves per fruit. In Australia, about a quarter of the fruit were retained at harvest in control and cinctured branches compared with more than two-thirds after fruit thinning and only one-tenth after leaf thinning. Starch generally accumulated in the stems after fruit were removed, whereas CO2 assimilation was greatest after leaf removal and least with fruit removal. There was double the relative fruit retention with cinctures at 0.5 m (25%) compared with controls (14%), and three times as many with cinctures at 1.5 m (38%), and a 35% increase in yield when whole trees were cinctured. These results suggest that lychee fruit appear to be mainly dependent on current CO2 assimilation. Cincturing increased yields presumably by redirecting assimilates to the developing crop

Homeschooling: Heeding the voices of learners

Homeschooling research to date has focused mainly on the perspective of homeschool educators. However, heeding the voices of homeschool learners is essential for a reliable understanding of the homeschool context. This article focuses on findings regarding one homeschool learner who was a participant in a qualitative, multiple case-study of four homeschools. Homeschool educators and learners were interviewed concerning their discourses and perspectives regarding their respective homeschools. Projections were used that explored participants’ meanings at a deeper level, and there were three sessions of non-participating observation in each homeschool. The views of the homeschool learners corresponded, to a certain extent, with those of the homeschool educators, but also indicated some significant differences. Although the limited scope of the investigation prohibits generalisation, the homeschool educators all appeared to be convinced that they were acting in their children’s best interests, and yet often without accommodation or awareness of their particular needs. The homeschool learners did not communicate their needs or feelings on a conscious level, but instead bowed to the educators’ wishes. The lack of congruence on a deeper level between the views of the homeschool educators and learners is discussed from a bio-ecological perspective, thus giving due regard to both the entire context of each homeschool and developmental factors. We shall consider the implications of the findings for homeschool practice, further research and policy.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/redc20gv201

Message banking: Perceptions of persons with motor neuron disease, significant others and clinicians

PURPOSE : Message banking is an intervention strategy that has the potential to facilitate effective communication for people with motor neuron disease when their condition deteriorates to the extent that they cannot communicate using natural speech. The aim of the current study was to determine and compare the perceptions on message banking of three stakeholder groups, namely, persons with motor neuron disease, their significant others and speech-language pathologists. METHOD : A comparative group survey design was used. Participants listened to a short presentation about message banking, after which they individually completed a questionnaire. RESULT : Although most participants reported that they had never heard of message banking, all were interested in it. The survey results revealed statistically significant differences between the various groups of stakeholders regarding the relevance of message banking and types of messages to bank. CONCLUSION : The study concluded that there is limited awareness about message banking amongst all participant groups.http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/iasl202018-07-31hj2017Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC

Warm-coding deficits and aberrant inflammatory pain in mice lacking P2X3 receptors

ATP activates damage-sensing neurons (nociceptors) and can evoke a sensation of pain(1). The ATP receptor P2X(3) is selectively expressed by nociceptors(2,3) and is one of seven ATP-gated, cation-selective ion channels(4-6). Here we demonstrate that ablation of the P2X(3) gene results in the loss of rapidly desensitizing ATP-gated cation currents in dorsal root ganglion neurons, and that the responses of nodose ganglion neurons to ATP show altered kinetics and pharmacology resulting from the loss of expression of P2X(2/3) heteromultimers. Null mutants have normal sensorimotor function. Behavioural responses to noxious mechanical and thermal stimuli are also normal, although formalin-induced pain behaviour is reduced. In contrast, deletion of the P2X(3) receptor causes enhanced thermal hyperalgesia in chronic inflammation. Notably, although dorsal-horn neuronal responses to mechanical and noxious heat application are normal, P2X(3)-null mice are unable to code the intensity of non-noxious 'warming' stimuli