Micromorphology and Anatomy of the Flowers in Clivia spp. and Scadoxus multiflorus (Haemantheae, Amaryllidaceae)

The general morphology, micromorphology, and anatomy of the flowers of Clivia miniata , Clivia nobilis , and Scadoxus multiflorus were studied using light microscopy. The studied species have large syntepalous and trimerous flowers, short floral tubes with adnate stamens, and inferior ovaries that develop baccate fruit. The gynoecium in the studied species consists of synascidiate, symplicate, and hemisymplicate zones. The style is composed of postgenitally fused carpels. The few ovules are located in a locule in the synascidiate and symplicate zones in C. miniata and C. nobilis , whereas in S. multiflorus , solitary ovules occupy the synascidiate zone in each locule. The septal nectaries are located in the hemisymplicate zone and occupy the uppermost 29% to 56% of the ovary height. Septal nectaries are of the nonlabyrinthine lilioid-type, covered with secretory tissue only in its lower portion. Nectary channels are apical or subapical and open near the style base. A common pattern of the venation of the floral parts was observed in all species: Tepal traces and stamen traces were fused in the ovary wall, the style was supplied by dorsal carpellary bundles, and ovules were supplied by ventral carpellary bundles entering the ovary from the bottom. The observed gynoecium inner structure provides adaptations for the development of fleshy fruit, with thickened parenchymous ovary wall, ovary base, and ovary roof, and numerous branched vascular bundles in the ovary wall around locules.

Identifying the impact of the Zone Insertion MethodTM (ZIMTM): A randomized controlled trial

Background: In 2011, Dawson proposed the Zone Insertion MethodTM (ZIMTM) to identify the optimal peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) insertion site in the upper arm. However, data on the effectiveness and safety of the ZIMTM in guiding PICC placement in Chinese population is limited. Methods In this randomized controlled trial, 120 cancer patients were randomly assigned to the upper portion of the red zone (RZ), the green zone (GZ) and the lower portion of the yellow zone (YZ) groups (at a 1:1:1 ratio). The aim was to compare the degree of patient comfort and the incidence of major PICC complications among the three insertion zones based on the ZIMTM in a Chinese Cancer Center. (Clinical Trials. Gov number, ChiCTR1900024111) Results A total of 118 catheters were inserted in 118 patients (2 patients were lost to follow-up). After the 1-month follow-up, patients randomly assigned to the YZ group had a higher degree of comfort with a lower score than those assigned to the other two zone groups: 30.21±3.16 in the YZ group versus 31.65±2.51 in the RZ group and 31.59±2.92 in the GZ group ( P=.046). The incidence of thrombosis (10/40, 25%) and occlusion (4/40, 10%) in the RZ, which were significantly higher than those in the other two zone groups (χ2 =7.368, P=.02; χ2 =5.778, P =.03), whereas the risk in the GZ group was similar to that in the YZ group. The incidence of contact dermatitis in the GZ group was significantly higher than that of the other two zone groups (χ2=12.873, P=.001). Conclusions: This study found that the lower portion of YZ seems to be another suitable PICC insertion site for a higher degree of comfort and a lower risk of occlusion and thrombosis, which broadens the choice of PICC insertion sites in the upper arm for clinical practice.

On the nomenclatural type of Sohmaea barbaticaulis (Fabaceae)

The genus Sohmaea H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi (2018: 159) is characterized by predominantly linear loments with narrowly oblong-elliptic articles and comprises eight species, distributed in India through SE Asia to China and Taiwan (Ohashi & Ohashi 2018, Ohashi et al. 2018). The name Uraria barbata Lace (1915: 397) was described based on several gatherings from Myanmar. The proposed name U. barbata Lace was preoccupied for U. barbata (Linnaeus 1759: 1170) Desvaux (1826: 309) and thus, U. barbata Lace is a later homonym of the U. barbata (Linnaeus) Desvaux. Therefore, Iokawa et al. (2004: 226) proposed a replacement name U. barbaticaulis for U. barbata Lace. Later, Ohashi et al. (2018: 305) transferred the name U. barbaticaulis to Sohmaea barbaticaulis (Iokawa, T.Nemoto, J.Murata & H.Ohashi) H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi based on the phylogenetic study. The species is characterized by stems barbate, leaves dimorphic with 1-foliolate leaves in the upper portion and pinnately 3-foliolate leaves in the lower portion or 1-foliolate leaves throughout, leaflets large ovate, inflorescences axillary or terminal, pseudoracemes, fasciculate, (1 or) 2–4 per axil, flowers in clusters of 3–12 per node, loments plicate, hooked hairy (Iokawa et al. 2004, Ohashi et al. 2018, Tokaew et al. 2020). The species was earlier thought to be endemic to Myanmar until its new record from Thailand in 2020 (Lace 1915, De Haas et al. 1980, Kumar & Sane 2003, Iokawa et al. 2004, Tokaew et al. 2020), but being a rare species it is worthy of in situ monitoring for its conservation (Maxted et al. 2001, Marod & Kutintara 2012, Kawada et al. 2020, Murray et al. 2020, Perrino & Perrino 2020).

Rootstocks.

Plants of many horticultural crops consist of multiple genetic systems, two or more distinct genotypes joined together as a single plant. The components are identified as the rootstock, interstem and scion. Grafting and budding are the processes that combine these components to establish vascular continuity between them to produce a single plant. Grafting may be natural or human initiated, forced grafting. This datasheet will mainly consider forced grafting with only a brief discussion of natural grafting. The rootstock is that component of the plant that fuses with the scion and provides the plants root system. Other terms used to describe this lower portion of the plant include stock and understock. Stock is synonymous with both rootstock and understock. Understock implies that the lower portion of the plant provides both the root system and some of the trunk while rootstock or stock implies that only the root system is provided by the lower piece. When grafting is performed high on the rootstock, the rootstock may also provide scaffold limbs. The scion is the plants shoot system. It is the component that produces the desired commodity in most cases, which are usually flowers or fruit. In perennials, the scion is nearly always vegetatively propagated. In grafted vegetables, the scion is usually propagated via seed. An interstem is a third genetic component of some grafted plants and is often selected to provide compatibility between the rootstock and the scion. Both grafting and budding combine dissimilar genotypes into one plant. Budding is a form of grafting where a single vegetative bud is used as the scion or interstem. Grafting refers to the condition where more than one bud on a common stem piece are combined with the rootstock or interstem. Perennial ornamental and fruit crops are the grafted crops that are familiar to most horticulturists. Annual vegetable crops are increasingly being grown as grafted plants and interest in using them in commercial production is rising steeply. Short lists of common rootstocks for a number of ornamental, fruit, nut and vegetable crops are presented in Tables 1-3 (at the bottom of this article). These lists are by no means complete, but provide an insight into the large number of rootstocks available in modern horticultural production. Specific recommendations for an area should be obtained from local experts. Good rootstocks should possess as many of the following crop appropriate characteristics as possible: affordable, long term graft compatible, easily propagated, promotes precocity and productivity, controls scion vigour, conveys pest resistance, improves stress tolerance, and has minimal suckering.

Chainandra zeugostylus gen. et sp. nov., a mid-Cretaceous amber fossil with sagittate anthers opening widely at maturity

A flower preserved in 100 Ma amber from Myanmar is described here as Chainandra zeugostylus, a new genus and species of fossil angiosperms. The anthers in Chainandra are sagittate at the base and have only a short connective. They dehisce by means of a circumferential stomium, the dorsal and ventral sides of each locule forming flaps that become widely separated. The style of Chainandra is columnar and two-branched above the middle, and the fully inferior ovary bears an epigynous nectar disc but lacks well-defined ribs or veins. In Tropidogyne, Lacknociona, and Strombothelya, similar genera described earlier from the same am-ber deposits, the styles are either unbranched or are 3–5-branched to near the base, and the ovary is half-inferior to inferior, its lower portion often being dis-tinctly veined and ribbed. Morphology of the stamens and gynoecium of the three genera suggests that they are early members of the eudotyledons.

Symbiotic embedment structures in Silurian Caryocrinites (Echinodermata, Rhombifera, Hemicosmitida)

A variety of pits representing symbiotic embedments, sometimes associated with pathological deformation in the host, are known from the skeletons of Paleozoic stalked echinoderms. These structures are well known from multiple genera of crinoids and a limited number of blastozoans but have not previously been described in detail from the skeletons of rhombiferans. This is surprising given the abundance of rhombiferans in certain deposits, the co-occurrence of rhombiferans with frequently infested taxa, including diploporitans, in multiple assemblages, and the morphological similarity between certain rhombiferan taxa and coeval infested crinoids. The common hemicosmitid rhombiferan Caryocrinites Say, 1825 is widespread throughout the middle Silurian of eastern North America and is herein reported to contain symbiotic (potentially parasitic) embedment structures. Specimens were collected from the lower portion of the mudstone lithofacies of the Massie Formation (Wenlock, Sheinwoodian) at the Napoleon quarry of southeastern Indiana, USA. Strong host specificity is indicated by the absence of pits in C. ornatus Say, 1825 and exclusive infestation of a smaller co-occurring species of Caryocrinites. Thecae with embedment structures are consistently smaller than thecae without such structures, with pitted specimens being restricted to a narrow range of thecal heights (20–24 mm). All embedment structures are present only on the proximal portion of thecae, with individual specimens containing between one and 30 pits. No elevated rims or significant swelling were observed on any specimens, and all pits are relatively small (~1 mm in diameter). The presence of symbiotic embedment structures represents an additional example of a crinoid-like aspect to the ecology of Caryocrinites.

Anatomy and evolution of the pectoral filaments of threadfins (Polynemidae)

The most remarkable anatomical specialization of threadfins (Percomorphacea: Polynemidae) is the division of their pectoral fin into an upper, unmodified fin and a lower portion with rays highly modified into specialized filaments. Such filaments are usually elongate, free from interradial membrane, and move independently from the unmodified fin to explore the environment. The evolution of the pectoral filaments involved several morphological modifications herein detailed for the first time. The posterior articular facet of the coracoid greatly expands anteroventrally during development. Similar expansions occur in pectoral radials 3 and 4, with the former usually acquiring indentations with the surrounding bones and losing association with both rays and filaments. Whereas most percomorphs typically have four or five muscles serving the pectoral fin, adult polynemids have up to 11 independent divisions in the intrinsic pectoral musculature. The main adductor and abductor muscles masses of the pectoral system are completely divided into two muscle segments, each independently serving the pectoral-fin rays (dorsally) and the pectoral filaments (ventrally). Based on the innervation pattern and the discovery of terminal buds in the external surface of the filaments, we demonstrate for the first time that the pectoral filaments of threadfins have both tactile and gustatory functions.

Salendo sulla Vedetta. Un rilievo laser scanner all’interno del castello di Gallipoli

Going up on the lookout. A laser scanner survey inside the Gallipoli castleGallipoli is a city located along the Ionian coast of Salento (Apulia, Italy) and it still preserves its original defensive system. Nowadays, the phases dating from the sixteenth century are visible together with the later ones and, in recent years, particular attention was dedicated to the Castle. It was opened for visitors from 2014, except to the so-called tower “Della Vedetta”, located on the northwestern quadrilateral’s corner. The only accessible areas of the castle’s lower level are two rooms with a connecting corridor, but the lower portion of the examined tower offers a rare proof of graffiti that has few local parallels. After a deep bibliographic and archivist research and the comparison with analogue works on similar well-studied contexts, we have carried out a direct analysis of this unknown portion through a 3D laser scanner. The scanner result proved to be an excellent tool to investigate the tower, whose articulation is made up of different rooms located on different levels connected by flights of stairs and where numerous mouths of fire are set. This 3D model allows to delineate the internal articulation, the constructive technique, the structural interventions and the whole corpus of graffiti too. The 3D survey helped to extrapolate considerable and various data. Moreover, it has suggested that a realization of a complete 3D model of the Castle can be a fruitful resource for its knowledge and it could represent a precious tool for an interactive enjoyment of the sectors still not open to visitors.