Biodiversity in the Cladosporium herbarum complex (Davidiellaceae, Capnodiales), with standardisation of methods for Cladosporium taxonomy and diagnostics.

The Cladosporium herbarum complex comprises five species for which Davidiella teleomorphs are known. Cladosporium herbarum s. str. (D. tassiana), C. macrocarpum (D. macrocarpa) and C. bruhnei (D. allicina) are distinguishable by having conidia of different width, and by teleomorph characters. Davidiella variabile is introduced as teleomorph of C. variabile, a homothallic species occurring on Spinacia, and D. macrospora is known to be the teleomorph of C. iridis on Iris spp. The C. herbarum complex combines low molecular distance with a high degree of clonal or inbreeding diversity. Entities differ from each other by multilocus sequence data and by phenetic differences, and thus can be interpreted to represent individual taxa. Isolates of the C. herbarum complex that were formerly associated with opportunistic human infections, cluster with C. bruhnei. Several species are newly described from hypersaline water, namely C. ramotenellum, C. tenellum, C. subinflatum, and C. herbaroides. Cladosporium pseudiridis collected from Iris sp. in New Zealand, is also a member of this species complex and shown to be distinct from C. iridis that occurs on this host elsewhere in the world. A further new species from New Zealand is C. sinuosum on Fuchsia excorticata. Cladosporium antarcticum is newly described from a lichen, Caloplaca regalis, collected in Antarctica, and C. subtilissimum from grape berries in the U.S.A., while the new combination C. ossifragi, the oldest valid name of the Cladosporium known from Narthecium in Europe, is proposed. Standard protocols and media are herewith proposed to facilitate future morphological examination of Cladosporium spp. in culture, and neotypes or epitypes are proposed for all species treated.

Is massage beneficial to critically ill patients in intensive care units? A critical review.

In today's society there is an ever-increasing awareness of the availability of complementary therapies, both inside and outside the National Health Service (NHS). The following paper is based on a literature review to discover whether the experiences of critically ill patients in a high-technology environment may be improved by the incorporation of therapeutic massage into their nursing care, thus helping them to cope more effectively with the barrage of unfamiliarity, technology and impersonality that Intensive Care Units (ICUs) often exude.

Respiratory metabolism in mangrove seedlings.

The respiratory gaseous exchanges of detached whole mangrove seedlings (Avicennia, Bruguiera, Rhizophora) in a range of O(2) concentrations from 0 to 21% (air) were markedly reduced by the presence of external CO(2). Aerobic respiration decreased steadily for 16 days but the RQ remained at unity.In anoxia CO(2) output fell to half that in air. Ethanol accumulation was negligible but, relatively, acetaldehyde values were higher than in other tissues. Lactate accumulated initially but later decreased. On return to air CO(2) output was elevated above control values in a pattern resembling the previous lactate accumulation. The extent of the burst was too great, and the RQ too low, to be explained entirely by lactate oxidation.In 5 or 10% O(2) the CO(2) outputs were below those in anoxia and the RQ eventually rose to 1.4, suggesting the induction of fermentation. The absence of ethanol, acetaldehyde or lactate indicates that CO(2) was released from reactions other than those in the Embden-Meyerhof pathway.Tissue slice CO(2) outputs decreased with lowered O(2) concentrations and the RQ was always above unity except in air. The burst on return to air was absent, suggesting that slicing affects decarboxylation mechanisms.