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Sarraceniainsectivorous plants show a diversity of visual features in their pitchers but their perception by insects and their role in attraction, have received little attention. They also vary in prey composition, with some species trapping more flying Hymenoptera, such as bees. To test the hypothesis of a link between visual signal variability and prey segregation ability, and to identify which signal could attract flying Hymenoptera, we characterised, the colour patterns of 32 pitchers belonging to four taxa, modelled their perception by flying Hymenoptera, and examined the prey they trapped. The pitchers of the four taxa differed in colour patterns, with notably two long-leaved taxa displaying clear areoles, which contrasted strongly in colour and brightness with the vegetative background and with other pitcher areas in the eyes of flying Hymenoptera. These taxa trapped high proportion of flying hymenoptera. This suggests that contrasting areoles may act as a visual lure for flying Hymenoptera, making plants particularly visible to these insects. Prey capture also differed according to pitcher stage, morphology, season and visual characteristics. Further studies on prey visitation are needed to better understand the link between prey capture and attraction feature.

Background. Degos acanthoma is rare benign tumor. Typical signs of this disease are localization on the lower limbs, abdomen and anterior chest in middle-aged and elderly patients (50–70 years old). The only one clinical case of pale cell acanthoma with the atopic dermatitis, and eczema in the area of areoles in the 26 years old patient was described.Clinical Case Description. The boy had redness and swelling in the area of the right mammary gland at the age of 11 years. This mass lesion was regarded as the eczema of the areola region due to burdened allergic history (atopic dermatitis), thus, antihistamine therapy was prescribed. Similar lesion has appeared in the area of the left areola 3 months later, the same therapy was used. Saniopurulent discharge was occasionally noted from the lesions. The child was consulted by dermatologist, endocrinologist and surgeon at the place of residence, and diagnosed with chronic purulent mastitis. Conservative therapy had no positive dynamics. Bilateral changes in areoles were revealed during hospitalization at the age of 13 years. There were red lesions with non-homogenous surface, yellow discharge, hyperemia around the right areola. The lesion sizes were 2.03.0 cm on the left and 3.03.5 cm on the right side. Biopsy has revealed pale cell acanthoma. Conservative treatment with oral and systemic glucocorticosteroids was prescribed, positive dynamics was obtained for 3 days after the therapy initiation.Conclusion. The presence of eczema in the area of the nipple associated with sanioserous discharge requires the differential diagnosis with pale cell acanthoma. The conservative therapy (with glucocorticosteroids) efficacy for pale cell acanthoma is shown.

Amastia refers to a condition where breast tissue, nipples, and areoles are congenitally absent, and it can affect one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) breasts. Congenital amastia is a rare condition with only 34 reported cases in the literature. In this case, we report a 17-year-old female with congenital unilateral amastia of the right breast. She came to our clinic due to a cosmetic view of this defect, which was bothering her, and greatly reducing the overall quality of her life. Our patient's physical examination revealed the absence of right breast, and there was no other obvious physical or anatomical abnormality. The defect was successfully reconstructed in three steps. Firstly, 200 cc adipose tissue was transferred under the skin before inserting the breast implant due to increasing the thickness between the skin and the nipple-areola. Secondly, after four months breast implant was inserted. Finally, the patient's right nipple-areola complex (NAC) was reconstructed with a skate flap.

Yellow pitahaya is an exotic fruit that is rich in essential nutrients and antioxidants. In Colombia, it grows naturally in warm areas, but it is not clear which species exist because this genus presents a lot of intra and interspecific hybridization. More studies are needed in this field along with characterizations of the genotypes. This study aimed to undertake an in situ morphoagronomic evaluation of yellow pitahaya genotypes from five municipalities in Boyacá, Colombia. Measurements were taken in a completely random design. Qualitative and quantitative descriptors for cladodes, fruits and covered production systems were evaluated with a descriptive analysis, Spearman correlation variance, and multivariate and cluster analysis. The results showed that cladode characteristics such as cladode width, distance between areoles, number of spines, length of areoles, margin ribs of cladode and waxiness could be used to identify Megalanthus spp. Characteristics such as weight (270–274 g), size (100 mm), color of the fruit and pulp as well as acidity (0.18) and soluble solids (15.7) were highly variable between the genotypes. Genotypes with good morphological and fruit characteristics were identified (Gen2 and Gen9), which can provide the bases for the selection of pitahaya that satisfy the needs of farmers and consumers.

Although spine variation within cacti species or populations is assumed to be large, the minimum sample size of different spine anatomical and morphological traits required for species description is less studied. There are studies where only 2 spines were used for taxonomical comparison amnog species. Therefore, the spine structure variation within areoles and individuals of one population of Gymnocalycium kieslingii subsp. castaneum (Ferrari) Slaba was analyzed. Fifteen plants were selected and from each plant one areole from the basal, middle and upper part of the plant body was sampled. A scanning electron microscopy was used for spine surface description and a light microscopy for measurements of spine width, thickness, cross-section area, fiber diameter and fiber cell wall thickness. The spine surface was more visible and damaged less in the upper part of the plant body than in the basal part. Large spine and fiber differences were found between upper and lower parts of the plant body, but also within single areoles. In general, the examined traits in the upper part had by 8–17% higher values than in the lower parts. The variation of spine and fiber traits within areoles was lower than the differences between individuals. The minimum sample size was largely influenced by the studied spine and fiber traits, ranging from 1 to 70 spines. The results provide pioneer information useful in spine sample collection in the field for taxonomical, biomechanical and structural studies. Nevertheless, similar studies should be carried out for other cacti species to make generalizations. The large spine and fiber variation within areoles observed in our study indicates a very complex spine morphogenesis.

To our knowledge, there are no studies about the structure and ecological function of extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) in Opuntia robusta. This is the first description of EFNs in O. robusta, where young spines have an interesting structure and a secreting function, which are different from EFNs described in other Cactaceae species. We used light, scanning-electron, and transmission-electron microscopy to examine morphology, anatomy, and ultrastructure of the secretory spines in areoles in female and hermaphrodite individuals of O. robusta. Young cladodes develop areoles with modified and secretory spines as EFNs only active during the early growth phase. EFNs are non-vascularized structures, with no stomata, that consist of a basal meristematic tissue, a middle elongation region, and an apical secretory cone formed by large globular epidermal cells, containing nectar and medullar elongated cells. We observed the presence of Golgi apparatus, vesicles and plastids in the medullar and sup-epidermal cells of the spine. We propose that the nectar is stored in the globular cells at the apex of the spine and secreted by breaking through the globular cells or by pores. We recorded a more frequent presence of ants on younger cladode sprouts producing young secreting spines: this result is parallel with the predictions of Optimal Defense Hypothesis, which states that younger plant organs should be better defended than older ones because their loss produces a higher fitness impairment. Although Diaz-Castelazo's hypothesis states that a more complex structure of EFNs correlates with their lower among-organs dispersion, comparing to less complex EFNs, non-vascularized structure of EFNs in O. robusta is not associated with their higher among-organs dispersion likened to O. stricta, which produces vascularized EFNs. We provide evidence that this characteristic is not a good taxonomic feature of Opuntia genus. Moreover, the comparison of EFNs of O. robusta and O. stricta suggests that the hypothesis of Diaz-Castelazo should be revised: it is rather a rule but not a law.

A new species from Ecuador, Symplocos limonensis, is here described and illustrated. It resembles Symplocos clethrifolia but differs by having larger leaves with evident (i.e., not concealed) areoles on lower surface, sessile inflorescences, smaller white corollas, and fewer stamens. The species is only known from three collections in the Andean forests of Morona-Santiago Province in southern Ecuador.ResumenSe describe e ilustra una nueva especie

Els nous estudis del complex Opuntia humifusa ens permeten revisar la identitat de les plantes anomenades O. humifusa (Raf.) Raf. a Catalunya. Totes les plantes estudiades d’aquest complex en l’àrea citada presenten els mateixos trets morfològics (principalment el gruix de les espines, el nombre d’arèoles i la forma de les llavors) que O. mesacantha Raf. subsp. mesacantha., Recent studies on the Opuntia humifusa complex allow us to review the identity of plants called O. humifusa (Raf.) Raf. in Catalonia. All the studied plants of the O. humifusa complex from this area exhibit the same morphological characteristics (mainly the thickness of the spines, the number of areoles and the seed form) as O. mesacantha Raf. subsp. mesacantha., Los nuevos estudios del complejo Opuntia humifusa nos han permitido revisar la identidad de las plantas llamadas O. humifusa (Raf.) Raf. en Cataluña. Todas las plantas estudiadas de este complejo del área citada presentan los mismos caracteres morfológicos (principalmente el grosor de las espinas, el número de aréolas y la forma de las semillas) que O. mesacantha Raf. subsp. mesacantha.

Foliar architecture of Myrtaceae native species of the Argentinian flora IV. Tribes Myrteae and Metrosidereae and key based on foliar characters. This work completes the leaf architecture of native species of Myrtaceae from Argentina. In this contribution are studied two native genus of the tribe Myrteae with uncertain position in the past, and the only one native genus of tribe Metrosidereae in SouthAmerica. One species of Blepharocalyx and two species of Eugenia are simple, with variable apex and base, leathery texture and entire margin. First vein pinnate, simple and straight, without agrophic veins,second veins broquidodromous, with or without paramarginal and intramarginal veins, third and fourth veins random reticulate or percurrent, and fifth vein random reticulate, percurrent or dichotomized. With or without areoles, with venules branching one, two or more times. The last marginal venation can be complete or incomplete. The leaves of genus Metrosideros are characterized by simple, with acute apex and cuneate base, leathery texture and entire margin. First vein category suprabasal-acrodromous, with agrophic veins, second vein cladodromous or branched, without paramarginal veins and intramarginal veins, and third vein dichotomized. Not develop areoles. Venules branched two or more times. The last marginal venation can be incomplete. Finally, is presented a key to differentiate all native Argentinian species of Myrtaceae, based on characters or character combinations of foliar architecture.

Three species of cactus whose spines act as dew harvesters were chosen for this study: Copiapoa cinerea var. haseltoniana , Mammillaria columbiana subsp. yucatanensis and Parodia mammulosa and compared with Ferocactus wislizenii whose spines do not perform as dew harvesters. Time-lapse snapshots of C. cinerea showed movement of dew droplets from spine tips to their base, even against gravity. Spines emanating from one of the areoles of C. cinerea were submerged in water laced with fluorescent nanoparticles and this particular areole with its spines and a small area of stem was removed and imaged. These images clearly showed that fluorescent water had moved into the stem of the plant. Lines of vascular bundles radiating inwards from the surface areoles (from where the spines emanate) to the core of the stem were detected using magnetic resonance imaging, with the exception of F. wislizenii that does not harvest dew on its spines. Spine microstructures were examined using SEM images and surface roughness measurements ( R a and R z ) taken of the spines of C. cinerea . It was found that a roughness gradient created by tapered microgrooves existed that could potentially direct surface water from a spine tip to its base. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Bioinspired hierarchically structured surfaces for green science’.

Chordodes mizoramensis, a new species of freshwater gordiid horsehair worm, is described from Mizoram, NE India on the basis of scanning electron microscopic and morphometric studies. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners in that the apical filaments of the crowned areoles are branched several times, a pattern that has not been observed in other species. An additional distinguishing character is that it has more bulging areoles, which are distributed among simple areoles alone or in groups, do not form clear patterns.

An experiment was conducted with the aim of developing a protocol for the in vitro propagation of cactus pear from in vitro derived areole explants. The protocol involves subsequent in vitro morphogenesis and rooting of the in vitro proliferated shoots. For the shoot proliferation stage, explants each with 1 to 2 areoles were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin (Kin) each with concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4 mg/l and two combinations (0.5 mg/l BA + 4.0 mg/l Kin and 0.5 mg/l Kin + 4.0 mg/l BA). Analysis of the results indicated that there was no significant difference among the treatments used in terms of percentage of bud formation.

An experiment was conducted with the aim of developing a protocol for the in vitro propagation of cactus pear from in vitro derived areole explants. The protocol involves subsequent in vitro morphogenesis and rooting of the in vitro proliferated shoots. For the shoot proliferation stage, explants each with 1 to 2 areoles were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin (Kin) each with concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4 mg/l and two combinations (0.5 mg/l BA + 4.0 mg/l Kin and 0.5 mg/l Kin + 4.0 mg/l BA). Analysis of the results indicated that there was no significant difference among the treatments used in terms of percentage of bud formation. Kinetin at 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5 mg/l were the best for days to shoot emergence. The highest bud numbers (95.75 buds per explant) were achieved on medium supplemented with Kin at 1.0 and 2.0 mg/l. Culturing the explants on MS medium amended with Kin at 1.0 mg/l concentration significantly augmented the shootlet proliferation rates to 29.5-fold higher than on MS-free medium. The best result for shoot length (4.7 cm) was obtained from medium with 0.5 mg/l Kin. Similarly, Kin at 0.5, 1.0 mg/l and BA at 2.0 mg/l yielded maximum plant mass production (shoot fresh and dry weight). Elongated shoot cuttings were placed on the medium (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/l) of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and (0.25 mg/l IBA + 1.5 mg/l NAA and 1.5 mg/l IBA + 0.25 mg/l NAA) for in vitro root induction. Hundred percent rooting was achieved on all of the treatments tested in two weeks of culture except the PGR free medium. The most efficient growth treatment for the longest root length (10.75 cm), maximum root fresh weight (1.88 gm) and root dry weight (0.41 gm) was IBA at 1.5 mg/l. However, there was no significance difference between IBA at 1.0 mg/l and IBA at 1.5 mg/l regarding to root length per explant. The best result for root number (10.0 roots per explant) was obtained from medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l NAA. In conclusion, it is beneficial to use the in vitro protocol developed in this study for mass micropropagation and circumvent the challenges of conventional in vivo multiplication of cactus pear., Journal of Science and Sustainable Development, Vol. 1 No. 1 (2013)

Taxonomic characters of both male and female horse-hair worms Chordodes moutoni Camerano, 1895 (Nematomorpha) are re-described using scanning electron microscopy. The features are compared with the original description. C. moutoni cuticle has five different areolar types in male while female have six types of areoles. The crowned areoles, characteristic of Chordodes, are surrounded by other areoles forming pairs or clusters. Sexual dimorphism was found in the cuticular pattern, the female showing two different types of crowned areoles with distinct distribution pattern while the male has only one type of crowned areoles. These data are compared to other Chordodes species that have been studied. Fil: Zanca, Fernanda Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina Fil: De Villalobos, Cristina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina

The Gordiida species Chordodes moraisi (Carvalho, 1942) and C. staviarskii Carvalho and Feio, 1950 are re-described using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Chordodes moraisi is characterized by four areole types, two of which correspond to tubercle areoles, the crown areoles appear as single structures and occur on both sides along the ventral midline. Chordodes staviarskii is characterized by a polymorphism of crowned areoles which appear as two types with distinct distribution patterns. Two species, Chordodes gestri Camerano, 1904 and Pseudochordodes griffinii (Camerano, 1898) are synonymized with Neochordodes occidentalis (Montgomery, 1898) and Chordodes peraccae (Camerano, 1894). Fil: de Villalobos, Leonor Cristina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina Fil: Zanca, Fernanda Mariel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina

The case is presented of a 29-year-old female who, at the age of 13 years, developed bilateral verrucous thickening of her areolae. Despite the condition causing her significant psychosocial morbidity, a specialist referral was initially denied on the grounds that no treatment was apparently available. The condition progressively deteriorated over the subsequent 14 years. She was eventually referred for a dermatology opinion, and the diagnosis of nevoid hyperkeratosis was made. Topical therapy with keratolytics was unsuccessful, and she was referred for a plastic surgery review. Bilateral shave excision of the lesion was performed under general anesthesia, with a satisfactory outcome and no evidence of recurrence at 10 months.

The nematomorph species Chordodes festae Camerano, 1897 and C. peraccae (Camerano, 1894) are redescribed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). C. festae has a cuticle with four different areolar types, the crown areoles being the most noticeable with long spiniform processes. The terminal end in the male specimen has two short lobe-like structures and a ventral groove. C. peraccae has three areolar types in which, as in C. festae, some areoles form groups surrounding the crown areoles. Intraspecific variations were found in body length and body colour in both species and, in C. peraccae, also in the cuticle., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

The leaves extracts of some species of Bauhinia L. s.l. are consumed to treat diabetes, inflammation, pains and several disorders in traditional medicine in austral South America. Despite its wide use and commercialization, sale is not controlled, and botanical quality of samples is not always adequate because of plant misidentification and adulteration. Here, we characterized leaf vein pattern in nineteen taxa to contribute to the recognition and commercial quality control of plant material commercially available. The vein characters intercostal tertiary and quinternary vein fabric, areole development and shape, free ending veinlet branching and marginal ultimate venation allowed to distinguish the main medicinal species in the region. Instituto de Recursos Biológicos Fil: Fortunato, Renee Hersilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Universidad de Morón. Facultad de Agronomía y Ciencias Agroalimentarias; Argentina Fil: Varela, Beatriz Graciela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina Fil: Castro, María A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Nores, María Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina