Budding Forms Research Articles

Salinity-mediated limitation of asexual reproduction in the colonial ascidian Polyandrocarpa zorritensis

Ascidians are among the most common invasive marine invertebrates worldwide. Many species of non-indigenous ascidians (NIAs) have successfully colonized the Mediterranean Sea, notably within anthropized coastal lagoons and harbors. Although invasive species are generally characterized by their broad ecological tolerance, different ascidian species exhibit varied responses to biotic and abiotic environmental stressors, including temperature and salinity. Acquiring a better understanding about of the impact of such parameters on ascidian life history is crucial for predicting the invasive potential of NIAs. In this study, we investigated the impact of various salinities on the reproduction of the colonial ascidian Polyandorcarpa zorritensis, a species indigenous to Peru and a thriving invader. P. zorritensis undergoes asexual reproduction via a peculiar form of budding named vasal budding and produces resistant spherules, which likely facilitated its dissemination over long distances. Despite its widespread distribution along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, it is only found in a few Mediterranean coastal areas with a low salinity. We tested the impact of different salinity conditions on the sexual and asexual reproduction rates of P. zorritensis in a controlled laboratory setting. Our experiments showed that the rate of asexual reproduction in colonies bred at 29 or 36 ppt salinity levels, corresponding to the natural range inhabited by P. zorritensis, was higher than those grown in 40 ppt salinity, commonly found in Mediterranean marinas and harbors. The results suggest that, although P. zorritensis has been present in the Mediterranean for several decades, its potential for invasion could be constrained by an intolerance to high salinity.

3D culture of mesenchymal stem cells from the yolk sac to generate intestinal organoid

Organoids are in vitro models that originated from the three-dimensional culture of stem cells with the ability to reproduce part of the in vivo structural and functional specificities of body organs. Intestinal organoids have great relevance in cell therapy, as they provide more accurate information about tissue composition and architecture in relation to two-dimensional culture, in addition to serving as a study model for host interaction and drug testing. The yolk sac (YS) is a promising source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are multipotent stem cells with self-renewal ability and potential to differentiated into mesenchymal lineages. Besides this, the YS is responsible for the formation of intestinal epithelium during embryonic development. Thus, the aim of this study was to verify if the three-dimensional in vitro culture of stem cells derived from the canine YS is capable of developing intestinal organoids. MSCs from the canine YS and gut cells were isolated and characterized, then three-dimensionally cultured in Matrigel. In both cells lineages, spherical organoids were observed and after 10 days the gut cells formed crypt-like buds and villus-like structures. Despite having the same induction of differentiation process and having the expression of intestinal markers, the MSC from the YS morphology was not in the form of crypt budding. The hypothesis is that these cells could generate structures equivalent to the intestinal organoids of the colon that other studies showed formed only spherical structures. The culture of MSC from the YS, as well as the establishment of protocols for 3D cultivation of this tissue, is relevant, as it will serve as a tool in various applications in basic and scientific biology.

Gastric stem cell research and gastric organoids

The stomach is a complex organ lined with ordered epithelium consisting of different adult stem cell (ASC) pools. In the previous decade, research into gastric epithelial stem cells has been performed using lineage tracing methods, and several putative ASC markers in the gastric gland have been identified, although their roles in homeostasis maintenance and the origin of cancer remain to be clarified. With advances in gastric stem cell research, 3-dimensional (3D) organoid culture has been developed on the basis of in-depth insights into the control of stem cell self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation. Since the initial report that single intestinal stem cells have the ability to generate long-lived 3D structures that exhibit budding forms and self-renewal, tissue-specific adaptations of this method have been established in various organs, such as the small intestine, colon, liver, and stomach. In the murine stomach, putative ASCs isolated from the corpus and antrum generate gastric organoids that can simulate organ-specific cells to some extent. In addition, a few trials have been conducted to generate long-lived 3D organoids using human-derived ASCs and pluripotent stem cells. We hope that this review will provide comprehensive knowledge on gastric stem cell research and gastric organoids.

Oral Warty Dyskeratoma-A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Objective: To systematically review the clinicopathological features of oral warty keratoma based on published literature. Materials and Methods: PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for reports of oral warty dyskeratoma. Of the 52 identified articles, only 25 articles (43 cases) satisfied the selection criteria (case report/series in the English language reporting clinicopathologically diagnosed oral warty dyskeratoma/oral focal acantholytic keratosis/oral isolated dyskeratosis follicularis in humans). Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs institute critical appraisal checklist for case reports and case series. Results: Most cases had well-circumscribed, white, nodular verruco-papillary lesions with a central depressed/crater-like area. Alveolar ridges were the most frequent sites of occurrence and tobacco was the most commonly associated risk factor. Histopathologically, the most pathognomonic feature was the supra-basal clefting. The cleft had dyskeratotic acantholytic cells (corps ronds, and grains). Below the cleft were projections of the connective tissue villi lined by basal cells. The basal cells in a few cases exhibited hyperplasia in the form of budding into the stroma, but epithelial dysplasia was not reported. The surface epithelium had crypts filled with keratin debris. Conclusion: Oral warty dyskeratoma is a rare solitary self-limiting benign entity, which due to its clinical and histopathological resemblance and associated habit history could be misdiagnosed as leukoplakia or carcinoma. None of the assessed articles provided molecular data, which in turn could be the reason for the lack of insight into the etiopathogenesis of this enigmatic lesion.

Composite branch construction by dual autozooidal budding modes in hornerids (Bryozoa: Cyclostomatida).

Horneridae (Cyclostomatida: Cancellata) is a family of marine bryozoans that forms tree-like colonies bearing functionally unilaminate branches. Colony development in this clade is not well understood. We used micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy to trace zooidal budding in Hornera from the ancestrula onwards. Results show that hornerid branches are constructed by dual zooidal budding modes occurring synchronously at two separate budding sites at the growing tips. Frontal autozooids bud from a multizooidal budding lamina. Lateral autozooids bud from discrete abfrontal budding loci by "exomural budding," a previously undescribed form of frontal budding centered on hypostegal pores in interzooidal grooves on the colonial body wall. These two budding modes are integrated during primary branch morphogenesis, forming composite, developmentally bilaminate, branches. Patterns of exomural budding vary among hornerid taxa, and future studies of Cancellata taxonomy and phylogeny may benefit from morphological concepts presented here.

Pathomorphological manifestations of vascular remodeling in the perifocal areas of ischemic cerebral infarction

Abstract. Acute disorders of cerebral circulation remain one of the leading causes of death of patients throughout the world. Tissue recovery after a stroke is directly related to active revascularization, which is intensified in the peri-infarction area. Newly formed vessels contribute to the restoration of cellular metabolism in surviving neurons. The processes of vascular remodeling after stroke have been at the center of many clinical and morphological studies in recent years. The aim of the study. To study the processes of vascular remodeling and neoplasm of vessels in the perifocal areas of ischemic cerebral infarctions. Material and methods. The study researched the brain of 29 deceased patients with hemispheric infarctions with different periods of the disease: up to 3 days (n = 5), 6 days (n = 5), 9-12 (n = 10), 30 (n = 5), 45 days (n = 4). The object of the study was perifocal areas of cerebral infarction, as well as areas outside ischemic lesions. The studies were carried out using histological, morphometric and statistical techniques. Results. Studies have shown that in the perifocal areas of cerebral infarction within 3 days from the onset of the disease, the morpho-functional state of the microvasculature was characterized by circulatory and hemocoagulation disorders. Along with destructive changes in blood vessels, processes are directed to improve blood circulation in ischemic areas of the brain. Collateral blood flow increases, dilation of pial vessels is noted with a decrease in the Kernogan index. On the 6th day, the processes of angiogenesis and vasculogenesis are activated, which intensify in the subsequent stages of the disease. In the long term, the efficiency of collateral blood flow in the pial vessels decreases, reduction in the capillary network, and the lumen of large arteries is recalibrated. Conclusions. In the early stages of cerebral stroke (up to 3 days), increased blood circulation in the ischemic areas of the brain occurs due to increased collateral blood flow. From the 6th day, the processes of angiogenesis in the form of capillary budding and the processes of vasculogenesis intensify. In large arterioles, recalibration processes take place. After 30-45 days in the perifocal areas of cerebral infarction, a significant reduction of the capillary network is recorded, which is regarded as a reaction to a decrease in blood supply to the areas of organized infarction.

Elucidation of malachite green induced behavioural, biochemical, and histo-architectural defects in Cyprinus carpio, as piscine model

Colours are an indispensable portion of human survival. Malachite green (MG) is a dye with a bright hue of green, used in textile, paint, and confectionery industry. For the present study, healthy fingerlings of Cyprinus carpio were exposed to sub-lethal concentration (0.087 ​mg/L) of malachite green for 15, 30, and 60 days. Assessment of chronic toxicity was made through varied organs (cornea, erythrocytes, and liver) and analytical methods, comprising behavioural, histopathological, ultra-structural (transmission electron microscopy), biochemical (antioxidant and marker enzymes) and bioaccumulation studies. Behavioural aspects, comprised of opercular and fin (dorsal and caudal) movements, presented an inverse relation with MG treatment, and displayed escaping behaviour from the experimental tank. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of MG exposed fish peripheral erythrocytes demonstrated morphological anomalies in form of clubbing, budding, and appearance of the varied shaped cells as stomatocytes, acanthocytes, dacrocytes and fusiform cells in the exposure dependent manner, instead of regular elliptical erythrocytes in control. Corneal epithelium study conducted through SEM in MG treated fish reported damaged pavements cells, microridges, and microplicae, and increased intra-microplicae distance compared to control fish. Elevated levels of serum marker enzymes and disturbed levels of antioxidant enzymes were also evident; accompanied by abundance of MDA-TBARs level suggestive of oxidative stress in MG treated fish. Bioaccumulation studies conducted revealed up to 3.06 fold dye deposition, conferring the enhanced and prolonged toxicity of the dye in the fish. Consequently, MG can be inferred as a strong cellular toxicant even at sub-lethal concentration.

Intestinal paracoccidioidomycosis resembling Crohn\u2019s disease in a teenager: a case report

BackgroundDifferential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease is often very challenging. Paracoccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease that can mimic manifestations of Crohn’s disease.Case presentationWe report a case of a 13-year-old Caucasian boy with abdominal pain for 1.5 years associated with nausea, diarrhea, and weight loss of 10 kg. He presented increased C-reactive protein and an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate. A colonoscopy showed deep serpiginous ulcers throughout his entire colon and rectum, which suggested Crohn’s disease. He received one dose of infliximab, which is an anti-tumor necrosis factor-α, and showed no improvement. After the second dose, he got worse and started to have bloody diarrhea. A new colonoscopy was performed and pathological examination revealed ulcerative chronic inflammation with non-caseating granulomas and fungal structures (budding forms) compatible with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. He underwent intravenously administered and then orally administered trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole treatment. Due to drug intolerance, he was treated with amphotericin B and itraconazole, then he showed clinical improvement and mucosal healing with good outcome.ConclusionParacoccidioidomycosis must be part of the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases in endemic areas and must be excluded before starting immunosuppressive therapy.

Candida albicans FRE8 encodes a member of the NADPH oxidase family that produces a burst of ROS during fungal morphogenesis

Until recently, NADPH oxidase (NOX) enzymes were thought to be a property of multicellularity, where the reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by NOX acts in signaling processes or in attacking invading microbes through oxidative damage. We demonstrate here that the unicellular yeast and opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is capable of a ROS burst using a member of the NOX enzyme family, which we identify as Fre8. C. albicans can exist in either a unicellular yeast-like budding form or as filamentous multicellular hyphae or pseudohyphae, and the ROS burst of Fre8 begins as cells transition to the hyphal state. Fre8 is induced during hyphal morphogenesis and specifically produces ROS at the growing tip of the polarized cell. The superoxide dismutase Sod5 is co-induced with Fre8 and our findings are consistent with a model in which extracellular Sod5 acts as partner for Fre8, converting Fre8-derived superoxide to the diffusible H2O2 molecule. Mutants of fre8Δ/Δ exhibit a morphogenesis defect in vitro and are specifically impaired in development or maintenance of elongated hyphae, a defect that is rescued by exogenous sources of H2O2. A fre8Δ/Δ deficiency in hyphal development was similarly observed in vivo during C. albicans invasion of the kidney in a mouse model for disseminated candidiasis. Moreover C. albicans fre8Δ/Δ mutants showed defects in a rat catheter model for biofilms. Together these studies demonstrate that like multicellular organisms, C. albicans expresses NOX to produce ROS and this ROS helps drive fungal morphogenesis in the animal host.

Biodegradation of the endocrine disrupter 4-tert-octylphenol by the yeast strain Candida rugopelliculosa RRKY5 via phenolic ring hydroxylation and alkyl chain oxidation pathways

4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutane)-phenol (4-tert-OP) is one of the most prevalent endocrine disrupting pollutants. Information about bioremediation of 4-tert-OP remains limited, and no study has been reported on the mechanism of 4-tert-OP degradation by yeasts. The yeast Candida rugopelliculosa RRKY5 was proved to be able to utilize 4-methylphenol, bisphenol A, 4-ethylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-tert-OP, 4-tert-nonylphenol, isooctane, and phenol under aerobic conditions. The optimum conditions for 4-tert-OP degradation were 30°C, pH 5.0, and an initial 4-tert-OP concentration of 30mgL−1; the maximum biodegradation rate constant was 0.107d−1, equivalent to a minimum half-life of 9.6d. Scanning electron microscopy revealed formation of arthroconidia when cells were grown in the presence of 4-tert-OP, whereas the cells remained in the budding form without 4-tert-OP. Identification of the 4-tert-OP degradation metabolites using liquid chromatography–hybrid mass spectrometry revealed three different mechanisms via both branched alkyl side chain and aromatic ring cleavage pathways.

Virus-Like Nanoparticle Vaccine Confers Protection against Toxoplasma gondii.

The inner membrane complex (IMC) of Toxoplasma gondii as a peripheral membrane system has unique and critical roles in parasite replication, motility and invasion. Disruption of IMC sub-compartment protein produces a severe defect in T. gondii endodyogeny, the form of internal cell budding. In this study, we generated T. gondii virus-like particle particles (VLPs) containing proteins derived from IMC, and investigated their efficacy as a vaccine in mice. VLP vaccination induced Toxoplasma gondii-specific total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a antibody responses in the sera and IgA antibody responses in the feces. Upon challenge infection with a lethal dose of T. gondii (ME49), all vaccinated mice survived, whereas all naïve control mice died. Vaccinated mice showed significantly reduced cyst load and cyst size in the brain. VLP vaccination also induced IgA and IgG antibody responses in feces and intestines, and antibody-secreting plasma cells, mixed Th1/Th2 cytokines and CD4+/CD8+ T cells from spleen. Taken together, these results indicate that non-replicating VLPs containing inner membrane complex of T. gondii represent a promising strategy for the development of a safe and effective vaccine to control the spread of Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Loss of Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) is strongly associated with high-grade tumor budding and correlates with an aggressive phenotype in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)

BackgroundRaf-1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) has emerged as a significant metastatic suppressor in a variety of human cancers and is known to inhibit Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling. By suppressing the activation of the NFkB/SNAIL circuit, RKIP can regulate the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The aim of this study was to evaluate RKIP expression and to determine its association with clinicopathological features, including EMT in form of tumor budding in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).MethodsStaining for RKIP was performed on a multipunch Tissue Microarray (TMA) of 114 well-characterized PDACs with clinico-pathological, follow-up and adjuvant therapy information. RKIP-expression was assessed separately in the main tumor body and in the tumor buds. Another 3 TMAs containing normal pancreatic tissue, precursor lesions (Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia, PanINs) and matched lymph node metastases were stained in parallel. Cut-off values were calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.ResultsWe found a significant progressive loss of RKIP expression between normal pancreatic ductal epithelia (average: 74%), precursor lesions (PanINs; average: 37%), PDAC (average 20%) and lymph node metastases (average 8%, p < 0.0001). RKIP expression was significantly lower in tumor buds (average: 6%) compared to the main tumor body (average 20%; p < 0.005). RKIP loss in the tumor body was marginally associated with advanced T-stage (p = 0.0599) as well as high-grade peritumoral (p = 0.0048) and intratumoral budding (p = 0.0373). RKIP loss in the buds showed a clear association with advanced T stage (p = 0.0089).ConclusionsThe progressive loss of RKIP seems to play a major role in the neoplastic transformation of pancreas, correlates with aggressive features in PDAC and is associated with the presence of EMT in form of tumor budding.

Urban Play: Imaginatively responsible behavior as an alternative to neoliberalism

Urban Play is a budding form of social activism in which groups of friends engage in improvised play with each other and with strangers in public places. This work may contribute to social justice by helping participants discover opportunities for change. If neoliberalism encourages the pursuit of narrowly defined self-interests, neoliberal institutions may be maintained by the fear that these interests are threatened. By allowing participants to define the actions that are uniquely possible among them, play appears to offer an alternative to neoliberalism. What has been learned so far from playing in public also suggests a fresh perspective on Developmental Transformations, the form of drama therapy that inspired Urban Play.

"This Is London": Cosmopolitan Nationalism and the Discourse of Resilience in the Case of the 7/7 Terrorist Attacks

This essay analyzes competing discourses of resilience across United States and United Kingdom online news and blog coverage following the 2005 London 7/7 subway bombings. More specifically, it tracks how dominant articulations of resilience reflect an emerging Anglo-American sensibility that created constraints and possibilities for British national identity and security policy. We argue that the prevailing construction of Londoners as resilient represents a budding form of cosmopolitan nationalism that may have paved the way for the adoption of resilience as an official plank of U.S. and U.K. security policy. We conclude by examining the potential socio-political consequences of the discursive cultivation of resilience and explore its dialectical relation to vulnerability.

"This Is London": Cosmopolitan Nationalism and the Discourse of Resilience in the Case of the 7/7 Terrorist Attacks

Abstract This essay analyzes competing discourses of resilience across United States and United Kingdom online news and blog coverage following the 2005 London 7/7 subway bombings. More specifically, it tracks how dominant articulations of resilience reflect an emerging Anglo-American sensibility that created constraints and possibilities for British national identity and security policy We argue that the prevailing construction of Londoners as resilient represents a budding form of cosmopolitan nationalism that may have paved the way for the adoption of resilience as an official plank of U.S. and U.K. security policy. We conclude by examining the potential socio-political consequences of the discursive cultivation of resilience and explore its dialectical relation to vulnerability.

An RNA Transport System in Candida albicans Regulates Hyphal Morphology and Invasive Growth

Localization of specific mRNAs is an important mechanism through which cells achieve polarity and direct asymmetric growth. Based on a framework established in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we describe a She3-dependent RNA transport system in Candida albicans, a fungal pathogen of humans that grows as both budding (yeast) and filamentous (hyphal and pseudohyphal) forms. We identify a set of 40 mRNAs that are selectively transported to the buds of yeast-form cells and to the tips of hyphae, and we show that many of the genes encoded by these mRNAs contribute to hyphal development, as does the transport system itself. Although the basic system of mRNA transport is conserved between S. cerevisiae and C. albicans, we find that the cargo mRNAs have diverged considerably, implying that specific mRNAs can easily move in and out of transport control over evolutionary timescales. The differences in mRNA cargos likely reflect the distinct selective pressures acting on the two species.

A Rare Case of Gastrointestinal Histoplasmosis in a 15-Year-Old Male Patient with a History of Cardiac Transplant and Diarrhea

Purpose: To report this rare finding. Methods: Case: A 15 y/o Caucasian male presents with fever of unknown origin. He has a h/o cardiac transplant in 1992 for Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. His cough symptoms did not improve with a course of azithromycin. The patient had a four-week visit with relatives in Michigan and Illinois approximately 3 months prior to the appearance of these symptoms. He now develops nausea, some vomiting, and slightly increased loose stool while hospitalized. A test for urine Histoplasma Ag was positive. A chest CT and sputum cultures showed no evidence of a fungal infection. An EGD showed several several duodenal bulb erosions. During colonoscopy, there was extensive erythema seen with superficial to deep ulcerations scattered from the cecum to sigmoid colon. Multiple pseudopolyps and inflammatory nodules were seen in the cecum. Biopsies were taken throughout which were significant for non-necrotizing granulomas. Giemsa and PAS special stains were also positive for numerous intracellular small yeast forms with focal narrow-based budding and rare hyphal forms. Duodenal biopsies were similar. These were morphologically consistent with Histoplasma capsulatum. Results: Histoplasma Capsulatum is a dimorphic fungus and found worldwide.1 In North America it is endemic in the major river valleys (Mississippi and Ohio) of the southern and central United States.2 Once the acute infection is spread hematogenously from the lungs to other organs it is generally classified as systemic. In addition to this, findings of positive blood cultures, or positive urine or serum Histoplasma antigens changes its classification to disseminated.2 Most infections are self-limited, but 1 in 2000 infections result in progressive dissemination especially in immunocompromised hosts.4 The symptoms of disseminated histoplasmosis include fever, malaise, anorexia, and weight loss. The gastrointestinal tract is commonly involved (70–90%) during disseminated infection as determined by autopsy studies.4,8 The colon is usually the most involved organ of the gastrointestinal tract followed by the small bowel. Serious gastrointestinal complications include malabsorption from severe diarrhea, ulcerations, strictures, bowel obstruction, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and perforations.7,8 Conclusion: Our case is a unique example of an immunosuppressed patient with recent travel to an endemic area which may have predisposed the duodenum and colon to a Histoplasma Capsulatum infection. Laboratory evidence of dissemination warrants endoscopic exam even when asymptomatic because the gastrointestinal tract is commonly involved. Prompt diagnosis and treatment may reduce the incidence of serious gastrointestinal complications.

Endogenous excess cortisol production and diabetes mellitus as predisposing factors for pulmonary cryptococcosis: A case report and literature review

Pulmonary cryptococcosis usually occurs as an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients. Endogenous Cushing's syndrome is associated with cortisol excess and can predispose to development of cryptococcal infections. We report a case of diabetic patient with ACTH secreting pituitary tumour who developed a cavitating lung mass. Computed tomography-guided biopsy of the lesion revealed mucicarminophilic budding forms of cryptococcus. Broncheoalveolar lavage culture grew Cryptococcus neoformans. There was radiological response to treatment with liposomal Amphotericin, but patient ultimately succumbed to septicemia and multiorgan failure. Opportunistic infections with organisms like Cryptococcus neoformans, should be considered in patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome and a pulmonary infiltrate.

Governing Images: The Politics of Film and Video Distribution in Late-Apartheid and Postapartheid South Africa

IN SOUTH AFRICA DURING THE 1980s, opponents of the apartheid state intensified their resistance to the regime. This resistance occurred in the form of strikes, unsanctioned mass rallies, direct confrontations with apartheid security forces, and covert military and political operations by the banned African National Congress, as well as international boycotts and sanctions. South African censors responded to this resistance in two ways unaddressed by scholars writing on apartheid censorship (e.g., Coggin; Tomaselli; Merrett; Coetzee; deLange). First, in order to temper opposition to the regime at home and abroad, apartheid censors reformed the way they regulated film and video distribution. second-and connected to the reform measure-apartheid censors strategically adjusted their understanding of race and racism instrumental to the regulation of film and video distribution. This politicization of race and racism during the 1980s is not surprising, given South Africa's colonial and apartheid history. Beyond the obvious, though, late-apartheid censorship illustrated how and why a budding form of governance came into existence. Specifically, those charged with regulating film and video distribution in South Africa subtly started to govern the way that the state visualized, understood, and talked about whites and nonwhites. These liberal South African censors significantly helped to soften the binary tenor of apartheid's racial template, where whites historically used discourse in order to construct themselves as civilized and nonwhites as savage. Furthermore, these liberal censors-or, really, neoliberal censors-also sought to direct responsibility for 1980s political conflict and the correcting of these conflicts away from the apartheid state and toward individuals and groups who were to increasingly govern themselves. Indicative of what neoliberal critic Pierre Bourdieu calls an ethos of deregulation (Essence) and what Michel Foucault called governmentality, this redirecting of responsibility, in addition to neutering the state as a force for good, made it possible for apartheid censors to talk about race without really talking about race and especially without forthrightly talking about apartheid as a racist ideology. Circumventing discussions of race and racism, from the censor's perspective, removed politics from film and video distribution. Problematically, the regulatory form adopted and deployed by the late-apartheid censorship apparatus has survived apartheid. Of course, the face of the South African state has dramatically changed since the establishment of a multiracial democracy in 1994, even if, as one Nigerian commentator derisively suggested, South Africa is a white country with a black president. There exists, though, a kind of continuity between the old and new states, specifically between the late-apartheid and the postapartheid forms of film and video regulation. This continuity in the regulation, understood in this article in neoliberal terms, has hindered the transformation of apartheid's regulatory state practices because the role of the state has been marginalized and the public sphere eroded in the name of a private and individual freedom. (This South African trend is in the vein of the Reagan revolution and Thatcherism, as well as of Bill Clinton's New Democrats and Tony Blair's New Labour as Third Way, where the state is perceived as the problem, not the solution.) Continuity in the regulation of film and video distribution has also stymied the transformation of race and the destruction of racism in postapartheid South Africa because, not unlike the regulatory order in late-apartheid censorship, a postapartheid reckoning with race as construct and racism as reality is deferred. In short, the persistence of neoliberalism in the regulation of film and video distribution has impeded the realization of that for which so many South Africans fought and died. Mapantsula as Image The official response to the film Mapantsula (1988) exemplifies the problematic continuity in South African media regulation before and after apartheid. …

Candida albicans VAC8 is required for vacuolar inheritance and normal hyphal branching.

Hyphal growth is prevalent during most Candida albicans infections. Current cell division models, which are based on cytological analyses of C. albicans, predict that hyphal branching is intimately linked with vacuolar inheritance in this fungus. Here we report the molecular validation of this model, showing that a specific mutation that disrupts vacuolar inheritance also affects hyphal division. The armadillo repeat-containing protein Vac8p plays an important role in vacuolar inheritance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The VAC8 gene was identified in the C. albicans genome sequence and was resequenced. Homozygous C. albicans vac8Delta deletion mutants were generated, and their phenotypes were examined. Mutant vac8Delta cells contained fragmented vacuoles, and minimal vacuolar material was inherited by daughter cells in hyphal or budding forms. Normal rates of growth and hyphal extension were observed for the mutant hyphae on solid serum-containing medium. However, branching frequencies were significantly increased in the mutant hyphae. These observations are consistent with a causal relationship between vacuolar inheritance and the cell division cycle in the subapical compartments of C. albicans hyphae. The data support the hypothesis that cytoplasmic volume, rather than cell size, is critical for progression through G1.