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This article provides descriptions ofQuercus hirtifolia, a new oak species endemic to eastern Mexico, and ofQ. depressa, a species poorly characterized in the literature. Due to the morphological resemblance ofQ. hirtifoliatoQ. hintoniorum, Q. hypoxantha, Q. eduardii, Q. laurina, andQ. depressa, a dichotomous key for their identification is provided.

SynopsisThe black wattle breeding programme that has served the wattle bark industry ofSouth Africa for the past five decades putlittleemphasis on improvingthe yield and quality ofthe timber, as timberwas not the product ofimportance. Today the timber is as important, ifnot more so, than the bark. Adecision was taken, by the industry to re-design the breedingand production strategy for the species in SouthAfrica, to improve timber yield and quality while maintaining an acceptable bark quality. Using the available seed at the ICFR at present, a Multiple PopulationBreedingStrategyhas beenchosen. The sub-populationshavebeen established usingthe origin ofthe seed as the determiningfactor. Five sub-populationswere establishedinKwaZulu-Natal during November 2002. The sub-populations were designed as progeny tests and as seedling seed orchards planted adjacent to one another. The performance of the families in the progeny tests will determine the management ofthe seed orchards. Generation turnover will be via open pollination in the initial years. Once a nucleus populationis established, controlled pollinations maybe used. The benefits from this strategy will be passed on to the industry in the form ofimproved seed.

Abstract.:  Fossil vegetative and reproductive structures from deposits of the Raritan Formation in New Jersey (Turonian, Upper Cretaceous, ∼90 MYBP) include ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. Gymnosperms collected from this formation have been known since the beginning of the 20th century. Fossil leaves, wood and seed cones have been are identified as belonging to the Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, and Taxodiaceae. In the present contribution, we describe a series of fossil dwarf shoots, leaves and a pollen cone belonging to the family Pinaceae. Fossils are charcoalified with preserved three-dimensional structure and excellent cellular detail. The dwarf shoots are assigned to a new species Prepinus crossmanensis sp. nov. and to the previously described Pinus quinquefolia Jeffrey. The new species Prepinus crossmanensis differs in size, shape, presence of hypodermis, sclerenchyma and stomata in the cataphylls, and number and shape of needle leaves from previously known species. Also, isolated leaves were found that were assigned to the new species, Prepinus raritanensis sp. nov. The new species is differentiated by the size and shape of stomata, the presence of number of layers of the hypodermis; and the cell-shape and number of layers of the mesophyll and transfusion tissue. A previously undescribed male cone, Amboystrobus cretacicum gen. and sp. nov., has an axis with spirally attached microsporophylls, each bearing two abaxial ovoid microsporangia. The pollen grains are monosulcate and bisaccate (eusaccate), with an elliptical corpus, granulate exine sculpture, and honeycomb-like wall structure.

We report here on a series of specimens of charcoalified sorophores with characteristics of the extant fern genusLygodium (Schizaeaceae) collected from sediments of the Raritan Formation (Late Cretaceous). Each elongate lobed fertile pinnule (sorophore) is flattened and bears alternately arranged sporangia on one surface. Each sporangium is covered by an indusium continuous with the margin of the lamina. Sporangia are oblong in shape, short stalked, and have an apical annulus formed by a single ring of radiating cells that dehisces longitudinally. The ‘sporangial cap’ or ‘distal face’ is formed by only one cell. All of these features are characteristic of the extant genusLygodium. Small numbers of trilete, psilate spores are found in the sporangia. Megafossils assignable toLygodium are known from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and Germany with worldwide distribution during the Tertiary. The newLygodium fossils are compared with others previously referred to the genus.

Background: malnutrition is a common problem in dialysis patients and may affect up to one-third of patients. Near-infrared interactance (NIR) is a novel approach to estimate body composition and per cent total body fat.
Methods: We used near-infrared interactance (Futrex 5000®) to estimate the body composition including body fat percentage, as well as subjective global assessment (SGA), anthropometric measurements including mid-arm circumference (MAC), triceps and biceps skinfold thickness, calculated mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), body mass index (BMI), and laboratory values. NIR score, SGA assessment and anthropometric parameters were measured shortly after the end of a dialysis session. NIR measurement was made by placing a Futrex® sensor on the non-access upper arm for several seconds. Serum albumin, transferrin (reflected by total iron binding capacity), and total cholesterol concentrations were performed as well.
Results: Thirty-four patients (20 men and 14 women) were selected from a pool of 120 haemodialysis patients. Their ages ranged from 26 to 86 years (58±14 years). Time on dialysis ranged from 8 months to 19 years (4.5±4.6 years). NIR scores were significantly different in three SGA group: (A) well-nourished, 32.5±6.9%; (B) mildly to moderately malnourished, 29.2±5.3%; and severely malnourished, 23.2±10.2% (P<0.001). Pearson correlation coefficients (r) between the NIR score and nutritionally relevant parameters were significant (P<0.001) for body mass index (r=+0.81), mid-arm circumference (r=+0.74), triceps skin fold (r=+0.54), biceps skin fold (r=+0.55), and mid-arm muscle circumference (r=+0.54). An inverse correlation was also found between NIR and years dialysed (r=-0.49, P=0.004), denoting a lesser body fat percentage according to NIR for patients dialysed longer. NIR was correlated with serum transferrin (r=+0.41, P=0.016) and cholesterol (r=+0.39, P=0.022) and marginally with serum albumin (r=+0.29, P=0.097).
Conclusions: We conclude that NIR, which can be performed within seconds, may serve as an objective indicator of nutritional status in haemodialysis patients. More comparative and longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the validity of NIR measurements in nutritional evaluation of dialysis patients.

Malnutrition is a common problem in dialysis patients and may affect up to one-third of patients. Near-infrared interactance (NIR) is a novel approach to estimate body composition and per cent total body fat.

Exceptionally well-preserved staminate inflorescences, pistillate inflorescences, and detached stamens with important phylogenetic and paleoecological implications have been discovered from the Turonian (ca. 88.5-90.4 million years B.P.) Raritan Formation of New Jersey. The fossils have a combination of floral and pollen characters found in various genera of modern entomophilous and anemophilous Hamamelidaceae and anemophilous Platanus (Platanaceae). The floral characters of the fossils, including a sepal cup, staminal tube, and apparently nectariferous staminodes, indicate that this taxon was probably insect pollinated. The juxtaposition of character complexes in an extinct taxon from disparate modern taxa provides an interesting phylogenetic perspective on the origins of Hamamelidaceae and is a striking example of a fossil that is a mosaic of familial level characters relative to modern taxa. Of even broader interest, however, is the occurrence of staminodal nectaries that have structural characters intermediate between the fossil's functional stamens and modern hamamelidaceous petals. This transitional staminode morphology in the context of the other fossil characters suggests a staminodal origin of petals in the hamamelid-rosid lineage. This hypothesis is supported by the apparent staminode position within the fossil flowers where petals are found in modern genera. The character complex of morphologically transitional staminodes, a staminal tube, and sepal cup can be viewed as prehypanthial, lacking only fusion of the staminal tube to the sepal cup. The appearance of the character complex embodied in these flowers during the late mid-Cretaceous may signal the early stages of the relationship between specialized pollinators, such as bees, and the hamamelid-rosid-asterid lineage of angiosperms, arguably one of the most important events in angiosperm radiation.

Recent measurements have examined the electron-impact ionization of excited-state laser-aligned Mg atoms. In this work we show that the ionization cross section arising from the geometry where the aligned atom is perpendicular to the scattering plane directly probes the unnatural parity contributions to the ionization amplitude. The contributions from natural parity partial waves cancel exactly in this geometry. Our calculations resolve the discrepancy between the nonzero measured cross sections in this plane and the zero cross section predicted by distorted-wave approaches. We demonstrate that this is a general feature of ionization from /;-state targets by additional studies of ionization from excited Ca and Na atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]