Search

Copyright of Cryptogamie Mycologie is the property of Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Presents the poem "Never Ending Journey," by Consuelo Hernández, translated from the Spanish by Maureen Contreni. First Line: Were you perhaps a butterfly; Last Line: that does not stop this march toward the unknown.

The presence of arbuscular mycorrhizae and communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated to four grasses established in areas of livestock basin “El Tablón”, belonging to the Estación Experimental "Escambray", Cumanayagua municipality, Cienfuegos province, was determined. Megathyrsus maximusscv. Likoni, Pennisetum purpureum cv. king grass, Brachiaria decumbens cv. CIAT-606 and Cynodon nlemfuensis vc. Jamaicano grasses were evaluated. A random block design was applied, with four treatments and 15 repetitions. All species showed arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. The highest value was obtained in Brachiaria decumbens vc. CIAT-606, with 66.27%, while the rootlets of Pennisetum purpureum vc. king grass showed the lowest levels of this variable, with 48.80%. Eight species and five morphotypes of AMF, belonging to eight genera, were observed. The highest density of mycorrhizal fungi spores was associated with Pennisetum purpureum cv. king grass, with 3399 spores/100 g of soil, while the lowest corresponded to Brachiaria decumbens cv. CIAT-606, with only 195 spores/100 g. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities were more populated by species belonging to Glomus genus in the four studied pastures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical power of a thick spherical lens and its Coddington shape factor are essential magnitudes that characterize its image quality. Here, we propose an experimental procedure and apparatus that allow accurate determination of those magnitudes for any spherical lens from geometrical measurements. The performance of the technique and the used instruments are simple since it only requires a microscope and an optical mouse. The propose overcomes the drawbacks of other devices that need of the refractive index or may damage the lens surfaces, like spherometers, and provides similar results to those from commercial lensmeters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted at the Livestock Production Enterprise El Tablón (Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos province, Cuba), in order to evaluate the effect exerted by the application of different doses of agricultural MicoFert on the dry matter (DM) production and the leaf phosphorus content in Leucaena leucocephala cv. Peru. The design was randomized blocks, with six treatments and three replications. The treatments were constituted by four doses of MicoFert (250, 500, 750 and 1 000 g m-1), a variant at a rate of 25 kg of N ha-1, and the control. The experiment lasted two years; four cuttings per year were made, with a frequency of 90 days, at a height of 25 cm over the soil. The application of agricultural MicoFert increased the DM yield between 13 and 40 %, proportionally to the applied doses, with regards to the control. The highest DM yield (18,44 t ha-1) was obtained with the application of nitrogen, and significantly differed from the other treatments. The effect exerted by the inoculation with the biofertilizer on the leaf phosphorus content was evident, showing significant differences among the variants with MicoFert and the control. The colonization of rootlets by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was proportional to the increase of the biofertilizer doses, with values of 34, 38, 44 and 49 %, respectively. The fertilization with nitrogen and the control showed 28 and 26 % of mycorrhizal colonization, which indicated the presence of native AMF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a Grayish Brown soil, a study was conducted to determine the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizae associated to the roots of the species: Leucaena leucocephala cv. Perú, Centrosema pubescens IH-129, Centrosema pubescens CIAT-482, Centrosema macrocarpum CIAT-5434, Canavalia ensiformis and Desmodium sp., innatural areas of the dairy laboratory farmNo. 3 of the Livestock Production Enterprise El Tablón (Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos province, Cuba). An efficiency test was also made on the native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), under semi-controlled conditions (glass house), and with a randomized block design for each species, two treatments and three replications. Under these conditions, the forage legumes were naturally colonized by mycorrhizae, but with low colonization: between 21 and 34 % in the first sampling, and between 14 and 20 % in the second one. When the native AMF were inoculated in an indicator crop (forage sorghum) there were no significant differences regarding the leaf content of phosphorus and the colonization; while the DM yield was slightly benefited in Desmodium sp. in the two variants; therefore, it cannot be ascribed to the effects of AMF. Such results showed the need to test commercial AMF strains in legume species under these conditions and soil type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a Grayish Brown soil, a study was conducted to determine the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizae associated to the roots of the species: Leucaena leucocephala cv. Perú, Centrosema pubescens IH-129, Centrosema pubescens CIAT-482, Centrosema macrocarpum CIAT-5434, Canavalia ensiformis and Desmodium sp., in natural areas of the dairy laboratory farm No. 3 of the Livestock Production Enterprise El Tablón (Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos province, Cuba). An efficiency test was also made on the native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), under semicontrolled conditions (glass house), and with a randomized block design for each species, two treatments and three replications. Under these conditions, the forage legumes were naturally colonized by mycorrhizae, but with low colonization: between 21 and 34 % in the first sampling, and between 14 and 20 % in the second one. When the native AMF were inoculated in an indicator crop (forage sorghum) there were no significant differences regarding the leaf content of phosphorus and the colonization; while the DM yield was slightly benefited in Desmodium sp. in the two variants; therefore, it cannot be ascribed to the effects of AMF. Such results showed the need to test commercial AMF strains in legume species under these conditions and soil type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biomedical model explanations on the origin and treatment of chronic pain have been insufficient in the everyday clinical practice so as to understand and resolve problems stemming from individual differences. Therefore it has been necessary to consider other theoretical perspectives. These aim to identify the importance of psychophysiological variables in the study and treatment of chronic pain. This option is based on the assumption that muscular responding is one key component leading allowing for the identification of mechanisms underlying chronic pain maintenance and chronicity. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of medical and psychophysiological treatments on the muscular activity assess through surface electromyography. Participants conformed a non-random sample. On the basis of their medical treatment they were grouped in non-opiate and opiate groups. All participant's diagnosis was "associated musculoskeletal chronic pain". Muscular activity was assessed before and after psychophysiological treatment under two conditions: passive and dynamic. The findings showed that, depending of medical treatment, the level of muscular activity displayed a different pattern either asymmetrical and hypoactive, which were improved during non-opiate treatment. It is thus concluded that both the evaluation and treatment of muscular activity were appropriate for associated musculoskeletal chronic pain patients, and that there is indeed a relationship between chronic pain and muscular activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a new modelization technique of the human eye based on the calculation of light distributions inside the eye. The method is applied to the study of the crystalline model proposed by Kasprzak and Popiolek. We obtain corneal surface data and axial lengths for two groups of real eyes. With these data, we construct a diffractive model of a human eye, which permits calculation of propagated light distributions at any distance inside the eye. The real crystalline lens is substituted by Kasprzak''s model, thus obtaining a realistic model eye. From calculated patterns, we obtain the Strehl ratio and the modulation transfer functions of 44 eyes, divided in two groups according to the age. We compare our results with those in the bibliography. Finally, we check the performance of the method through individual comparison of the calculated image positions with respect to the retina with the refractive data for the each subject. We have observed good agreement between our method and results from other authors. We also find reasonable correlation between calculated refraction and subjective exams. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The antioxidant effect of caffeine, associated with its ability to upregulate the nuclear factor-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2)-signaling pathway, was explored as a possible mechanism for the attenuation of liver damage. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was induced in rats by the administration of a high-fat, high-sucrose, high-cholesterol diet (HFSCD) for 15 weeks. Liver damage was induced in rats by intraperitoneal administration of thioacetamide (TAA) for six weeks. Caffeine was administered orally at a daily dose of 50 mg/kg body weight during the period of NASH induction to evaluate its ability to prevent disease development. Meanwhile, rats received TAA for three weeks, after which 50 mg/kg caffeine was administered daily for three weeks with TAA to evaluate its capacity to interfere with the progression of hepatic injury. HFSCD administration induced hepatic steatosis, decreased Nrf2 levels, increased oxidative stress, induced the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and elevated proinflammatory cytokine levels, leading to hepatic damage. TAA administration produced similar effects, excluding steatosis. Caffeine increased Nrf2 levels; attenuated oxidative stress markers, including malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxynonenal; restored normal, reduced glutathione levels; and reduced NF-κB activation, inflammatory cytokine levels, and damage. Our findings suggest that caffeine may be useful in the treatment of human liver diseases.

In species-rich regions and highly speciose genera, the need for species identification and taxonomic recognition has led to the development of emergent technologies. Here, we combine long-term plot data with untargated metabolomics, and morphological and phylogenetic data to describe a new rare species in the hyperdiverse genus of trees Inga Mill. Our combined data show that Inga coleyana is a new lineage splitting from their closest relatives I. coruscans and I. cylindrica . Moreover, analyses of the chemical defensive profile demonstrate that I. coleyana has a very distinctive chemistry from their closest relatives, with I. coleyana having a chemistry based on saponins and I. cylindrica and I. coruscans producing a series of dihydroflavonols in addition to saponins. Finally, data from our network of plots suggest that I. coleyana is a rare and probably endemic taxon in the hyper-diverse genus Inga . Thus, the synergy produced by different approaches, such as long-term plot data and metabolomics, could accelerate taxonomic recognition in challenging tropical biomes., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2022 Guevara Andino et al.)

Introduction and Objectives: Caffeine consumption is associated with beneficial effects on hepatic disorders. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antifibrotic effects of caffeine on experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) induced with a high-fat, high-sucrose, high-cholesterol diet (HFSCD), as well as to evaluate the ability of caffeine to prevent the progression of experimental liver fibrosis induced by the administration of thioacetamide (TAA) in rats and explore the mechanisms of action., Methods: NASH and fibrosis were induced in rats by the administration of an HFSCD for 15 weeks, and liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal administration of 200 mg/kg TAA 3 times per week, for 6 weeks. Caffeine was administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight. The effects of diet, TAA, and caffeine on fibrosis were evaluated by biochemical and histological examinations. The profibrotic pathways were analyzed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry., Results: Rats exhibited liver fibrosis after HFSCD feeding and the administration of TAA. Caffeine could reduce the hepatic level of collagen and the fibrotic area in the liver. Caffeine prevented the progression of liver fibrosis by decreasing transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and by inhibiting the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and Smad3 phosphorylation., Conclusions: Caffeine attenuates NASH and the progression of liver fibrosis due to its antifibrotic effects and modulating the MAPK and TGF-β pathways. Therefore, caffeine could be a suitable candidate for treating liver diseases associated with fibrosis., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest None, (Copyright © 2022 Fundación Clínica Médica Sur, A.C. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)