Stipe Research Articles

A new species of Actinostachys (Schizaeaceae) from Mindanao, Philippines

Actinostachys simplex Amoroso & Coritico (Schizaeaceae), from Mindanao, Philippines is herein described as a new species. The species is unique from all other species of Actinostachys (grass ferns) by its distinct and longer stipe and consistent single and longer sorophore with glabrous sporangia. An identification key to the species of Philippine Actinostachys is provided.

TWO NEW SEDGES (CAREX SECT. ACROCYSTIS, CYPERACEAE) FROM NORTHWESTERN MEXICO AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Carex bajacalifornica Zika is described from five populations in the mountains of northern Baja California, Mexico, in the Sierra de Juarez and Sierra de San Pedro Martir. It is distinguished from Carex rossii Boott by its short inflorescence bract, abbreviated perigynium beak shorter than the stipe, and nerved perigynium faces. Carex cryptosperma Zika, D.S. Bell, and L.J. Gross is described from 12 populations in southern California, in the San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and San Jacinto Mountains. Carex cryptosperma differs from Carex xerophila Janeway & Zika in its relatively short perigynium stipe and relatively long perigynium beak. The new species are illustrated and mapped, and a key is presented to members of Carex sect. Acrocystis in the states of California and Baja California.

Roaming Charges: The Crucifixion – Do It Yourself

Roaming Charges: The Crucifixion – Do It Yourself

Background as Foreground: The Santa Sabina Crucifixion Panel

Background as Foreground: The Santa Sabina Crucifixion Panel

Apocalypse and Body Transgression: On Picasso’s Crucifixion (1930)

The article deals with the question of the possibility of a new interpretation of Picasso’s picture entitled Crucifixion, which was created in the context of the art paradigm shift in the 1930s when the master focused his attention to the return to painting as a reference framework of myth and religion. But this return was only a turning point towards a modern understanding of the world and art from other sources. It should be noted that the problem of pictorial turn nowadays has a strong impact on the postmodern theology, which encompasses various cultural traditions, and also quite opposite philosophical attitudes. The article shows, thus, the inner relationship and connection between painting art and the search for transgression in the language that was the idea of Bataille. In the first part of this article, author tries to show the consequences of Bataille’s thinking of transgression ; the second part has attempted to articulate the problems of interpretation of Picasso’s canvas Crucifixion ; and concluding remarks is an attempt to review the emphasis on relationship with pictorial turn and transformations in the notion of contemporary art concerning the body as a sovereign event of the freedom and sacrifice.

Morse Decorated with the Crucifixion and the Monogram of Abbot Walter Clifton of Warden Abbey

Morse Decorated with the Crucifixion and the Monogram of Abbot Walter Clifton of Warden Abbey

FIRST REPORT OF RHODOTORULA GLUTINIS-INDUCED RED SPOT DISEASE OF PLEUROTUS NEBRODENSIS IN CHINA

In September 2012, red spots located between the stipes and pilei of the fruiting bodies of Pleurotus nebrodensis whose growth had halted were observed in China. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA gene from the putative pathogen, a bacterium isolated from diseases mushrooms, were amplified and sequenced (GenBank accession Nos. KF314800 and KF314802). The neighbour-joining tree constructed with ITS sequences showed that those of the bacterium under study had the highest similarity (99.2%) with the comparable sequences of Rhodotorula glutinis CBS 20T, while the D1/D2 domain sequences were identical with those of the same bacterial species. Metabolic profiles of the bacterial isolate from diseased mushrooms closely resembled that of R. glutinis CBS 20T with one exception (negative for acid production from fermentation of D-ribose). Based on the above, the putative pathogen was identified as R. glutinis. Pathogenicity tests carried out with suspensions (approximately 1×106 CFU/ml) directly inoculated on the surface of young P. nebrodensis fruiting bodies resulted in the development within 3-5 days of red spots like those shown by naturally diseases mushrooms. Negative controls did not develop symptoms. A bacterium identical to that used for inoculation trials was re-isolated from symptomatic mushrooms, thus fulfilling Koch’s postulates. Rhodotorula spp. are closely phylogenetically related to the genus Sporobolomyces, which was reported as the agent of the red spot disease of Pleurotus eryngii (Xu et al., 2014). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of R. glutinis-induced red spot disease of P. nebrodensis in China.

FIRST REPORT OF A PANTOEA sp.-INDUCED BACTERIAL BLIGHT OF PLEUROTUS ERYNGII IN CHINA

In October 2013, a blight condition was observed on the fruiting bodies of Pleurotus eryngii in Beijing (China). Symptoms began as yellow spots on the stipe surface near the pilei, fruiting bodies became blighted and their growth stopped. Pieces from the inside of diseased fruiting bodies were excised, placed in 0.85% NaCl and the suspension was spread on trypticase soy agar (TSA) plates that were incubated at 30°C. Round yellow cultures were obtained, made up of bacterial cells 2.0-3.0×1.0 μm in size. The 16S rRNA and the atpD, gyrB, infB, rpoB genes of four isolates were amplified and sequenced (GenBank accession Nos. KJ654341-KJ654345). Although neighbour-joining tree constructed with 16S rRNA sequences and a multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) showed that these isolates had the highest similarity with Pantoea agglomerans JCM 1236T (99.8% and 99.3%, respectively) the results of biochemical properties based on API 20E, 20NE, ZYM (bioMerieux) and GN2 MicroPlate (Biolog) disclosed 18 differences with P. agglomerans JCM 1236T. Bacterial suspensions in PBS (pH 7.0) ca. 1×106 CFU/ml were sprayed onto the surfaces of healthy fruiting bodies which 5-10 days post inoculation reacted with symptoms similar to those observed in the naturally infected samples, while the negative control sprayed with sterile PBS remained symptomless. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by re-isolating a bacterium identical to that used for inoculation based on biochemical properties, 16S rRNA gene and MLSA. P. agglomerans was reported as the causal agent of blight disease of several hosts in many countries (Lee et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2015). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Pantoea sp.-induced bacterial blight of P. eryngii in China.

Shattering the idols: Confronting the obstinate hold of dehumanising powers on post-apartheid South Africans with the living presence of the crucified and resurrected Lord

This practical-theological article focuses on the spiritual dimension of forces that are influencing the social fabric of post-apartheid South Africans. Working with Eswine’s assumption, we reflect on the hold of idols on the hearts and minds of people. The spiritual powers at work in society develop into idols and place their own desires above God’s purpose for humanity and creation. Rather than serving the ends of human life, the powers exercise dominion over human beings, restricting and dehumanising them and destroying the fabric of integrated social life by means of the blinding and hardening hold of idolatry. In the post-apartheid South African society this idolatry manifests in the illusion of power flowing from entitling oneself to self-aggrandisement and in the false sense of stability flowing from the efforts of the middle class in establishing a sophisticated first-world enclave aimed at protecting themselves from the third-world masses. The purpose is to develop the contours for a homiletic theory aimed at shattering the obstinate hold of idols by means of the prophetic act of ministering the living presence of the crucified and resurrected Christ in the hearts and minds of preachers and listeners. A theory is envisioned for an iconoclast action that originates from a different power and wisdom base than is the case with the dominating forces and the hold of their idols,namely a field of force with the integrating presence of the risen Christ at its heart; a space where a liberated and reconciled humanity will be able to flourish.Die verbryseling van die afgode: Die konfrontering van die hardnekkige houvas van verontmenslikende kragte op post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaners met die lewende teenwoordigheid van die gekruisigde en opgestane Here. Hierdie prakties-teologiese artikel, fokus op die geestelike dimensie van magte wat in ’n post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing ’n invloed op die sosiale omgewing uitoefen. Die uitgangspunt van Eswine dien as aansporing vir die besinning oor die houvas wat afgode op die harte en gedagtes vangelowiges het. Die funksionering van geestelike magte in die samelewing word ondersoek. Hierdie magte verhef hulself tot afgode en plaas hulle eie begeertes bo God se wil vir die skepping en die mens. In plaas daarvan om God se wil vir die onderhouding van die menslike lewe te eerbiedig oefen hierdie magte heerskappy oor mense uit deur afgodery waardeur die geïntegreerdheid van die samelewing gedisintegreer word. Mense word verblind om die invloed van afgodery in hulle lewens te vestig. In ‘n post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing manifesteer dit deur die illusie van mag voortvloeiend uit selfverheerliking, as ook in die middelklas se koorsagtige poging om hulleself in `n gemaklike eerste-wêreldenklawe te isoleer as beskerming teen die Derdewêreldse massas. Die outeurs wil ‘n homiletiese teorie vir die verydeling van afgodery ontwerp wat in die teenwoordigheid van die gekruisigde enopgestane Christus in die harte en gedagtes van hoorders gegrond is. Hierdie kragveld open ’n lewensruimte waarin gelowiges, bevry van die mag van afgodery, versoend sal kan floreer.

Metaxya lanosa, a Second Species in the Genus and Fern Family Metaxyaceae

We describe and illustrate Metaxya lanosa, the second known species in the genus and the fern family Metaxyaceae (Pteridophyta). It is currently known from four different watersheds in Amazonian Peru and Venezuela. It can be distinguished readily from M. rostrata by the noticeably woolly-hairy stipes and rachises (hairs red-brown or orange-brown and easily abraded), broader, more elliptic pinnae, cartilag- inous and whitish pinna margins, more distinct veins abaxially, and longer pinna stalks, especially on the distal pinnae. rbcL data from a very limited sampling are ambiguous but do not reject support for the recognition of at least two species within Metaxya.

OCCURRENCE OF PANTOEA BEIJINGENSIS ON PLEUROTUS ERYNGII IN CHINA

In September 2012, water-soaked lesions and soft rot of stipes and pilei were observed in China on the fruiting bodies of Pleurotus eryngii, whose growth had halted. Four bacterial isolates with yellow, smooth and convex colonies, identical morphological characters and 16S rRNA, gyrB, rpoB, infB and atpD gene sequences were isolated from diseased tissues. Molecular phylogeny based on 16S rRNA sequence and MLSA data (combined gyrB, rpoB, infB and atpD) showed that the isolates had the highest similarity with Pantoea dispersa LMG 2603T. However, physiological and biochemical tests performed using API 20 E, API 50 CHB (bioMerieux) and GN2 Microplates (Biolog), and DNA-DNA hybridization (33.9±1.3% relatedness with P. dispersa LMG 2603T), differentiated the isolates from P. dispersa, identifiying them as Pantoea beijingensis (Liu et al., 2013). Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, a 98% similarity was found between P. beijingensis and Pantoea sp. PA4 reported as the agent of P. eryngii soft rot in Korea (Kim et al., 2007; Liu et al., 2013), suggesting that our isolates belonged to a species differing from Pantoea sp. PA4. Bacterial suspensions (approximately 1×106 CFU/ml) inoculated on the fruiting bodies induced within 5 to 7 days symptoms similar to those observed in natural infection. Controls remained healthy. Bacterial isolates recovered from typical lesions were identical to the inoculated strains in terms of 16S rRNA gene sequence, physiological and biochemical tests, performed using API 20 E, API 50 CHB (bioMerieux) and GN2 Microplates (Biolog), thus fulfilling Koch’s postulates. P. ananatis was first reported as a pathogen of P. eryngii in Korea (Kim et al., 2007), but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. beijingensis-induced soft rot disease of P. eryngii in China.

The Anglo-Norman "Hugo de Lincolnia": A Critical Edition and Translation from the Unique Text in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France MS fr. 902

This edition makes available a critical text with an annotated translation of the Anglo-Norman verse narrative “Hugo de Lincolnia,” one of the Boy Crucifixion sources of the Prioress’s Tale . The Anglo-Norman text has heretofore been available in print only in a flawed nineteenth-century edition. “Hugo de Lincolnia” dates to the third quarter of the thirteenth century. It is the only extant contemporary vernacular account of the death of “Little Saint Hugh,” a Christian boy said to have been crucified by Lincoln Jews in 1255 in mockery of Christ’s Passion. In its author’s superior familiarity with the Lincoln setting, the poem supplements the better-known contemporary accounts in Latin prose by Matthew Paris and the anonymous monastic chroniclers of Burton and Waverley.

From shredded wheat to flour – a look at stipe ornament

From shredded wheat to flour – a look at stipe ornament

Characterization of fluorescent pseudomonads responsible for the yellowing of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

Fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from different lesions on caps and/or stipes of cultivated Pleurotus ostreatus were identified as strains of Pseudomonas tolaasii or showed the White Line Assay (WLA) feature of P. ‘reactans’ or were WLA-negative fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. Pseudomonas tolaasii was consistently associated with brown-reddish blotches on P. ostreatus pseudo-tissues, and in the pathogenicity assays caused depressed dark brown lesions with deliquescence on Agaricus bisporus pseudo-tissues blocks and brown-reddish blotches and yellow discoloration on P. ostreatus sporocarps. Pseudomonas ‘reactans’ and the WLA-negative fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. were mostly associated with superficial yellow lesions on P. ostreatus sporocarps, and in pathogenicity assays caused light or dark brown discoloration, depending on the isolates, on A. bisporus pseudo-tissues blocks and the yellow discoloration of P. ostreatus sporocarps. The results of this study indicate that the aetiology of lesions on cultivated P. ostreatus involves a complex composed of interactions between P. tolaasii , P. ‘reactans’ and Pseudomonas spp., but that individually these bacteria cause different symptoms. This is the first report where the pathogenicity features of these pathogens has been clearly ascertained, and that has fully satisfied Koch’s postulates for the bacteria on the host mushroom. On the basis of virulence, biochemical and physiological characters, the isolates of P. ‘reactans’ and Pseudomonas spp. responsible for yellowing of oyster mushroom belong to several species of Pseudomonas .

Freedom of Religion Crucified?

Liberté de religion crucifiée? Laïcité et écoles italiennes devant la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme Cet article explore la question de l’exposition obligatoire du crucifix dans l’école publique italienne, une matière qui est réglée par des dispositions datant des années 1920. La jurisprudence italienne sur cette question est contradictoire et à plusieurs reprises la Cour constitutionnelle a refusé de prendre position sur le sujet. La décision de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme dans l’affaire Lautsi a mis fin a une odyssée judiciaire de quelque neuf ans sur la présence des crucifix dans les écoles italiennes. Selon la Cour, toute décision à ce sujet appartient à chaque État européen. Ce faisant la Cour a renoncé à jouer un rôle universaliste en faveur des systèmes constitutionnels nationaux. Cependant, plusieurs questions restent ouvertes pour l’Italie: notamment la place des signes religieux dans les espaces publics, leur relation avec les notions d’une société démocratique, pluraliste et laïque et les limites aux libertés de religion et de la religion tant à niveau individuel que collectif.

POSTHARVEST DECAY OF THE CULTIVATED MUSHROOM PLEUROTUS ERYNGII CAUSED BY LACTOCOCCUS LACTIS subsp. LACTIS

Pleurotus eryngii is one of the most commercially-grown mushrooms in the world. In this study, the pathogen causing postharvest water-soaked and sunken lesions on the stipes and decay of P. eryngii in Jiangsu (China) was isolated and identified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis based on phenotypic characteristics and the nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA and gyrB gene. Disease incidence rates were 45.0±8.0% after mushroom storing for 5 days at 20°C in summer, 35.5±6.3% in autumn, 20.5±3.5% in spring, and only 7.5±2.5% in winter. Disease development was closely related to the ambient temperature at which the harvested mushrooms were kept. Thus, cold storage was an effectively method to control the disorder, for the pathogen’s growth was strongly inhibited when mushrooms were grown at a temperature below 10°C and postharvest storage was at 5°C. L. lactis subsp. lactis greatly inhibited the mycelial growth of P. eryngii, and it had obvious extracellular protease activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report that L. lactis subsp. lactis is the causal agent of postharvest decay of P. eryngii.

Analysis of the plasters of some relevant chapels of the Sacro Monte (Sacred Mountain) of Varallo Sesia, Piedmont, Italy

Varallo Sacred Mountain was realized at the end of the fifteenth century on initiative of the Franciscan Father Bernardino Caimi as a place of prayer, meditation and evocation of the Christian faith and has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2003. Some of its buildings show at the moment manifold maintenance, conservation and restoration problems. Therefore, in the frame of a detailed program of interventions, a research cooperation has been launched, aiming at singling out the existent materials and, as much as possible, their working techniques. In particular, this paper deals with the investigations carried out by means of X-Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy observations coupled with elemental analysis, as well as optical microscopy on the plasters of three relevant parts of the “Sacro Monte ”, precisely the complex of the Crucifixion, the Square of the Courts, the chapel of Christ’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Results from the investigated samples indicated that in all cases aerial binders were used together with local aggregates from the Sesia River. Some particular compositions were found in the three buildings, probably to obtain specific aesthetic effects. Several finishing layers used for the outside walls of the Chapel of Crucifixion were made of mixed gypsum-lime mortars, probably for aesthetical reasons, while typical lime mortars were found together with dolomitic ones in the Square of the Courts and in the Mount Tabor chapels. Finally, because of the use of dolomitic limes, hydromagnesite was also evidenced in some mortars.

TRICHOME MORPHOGENESIS ON LEAVES OF CYPHOMANDRA BETACEA SENDT. (SOLANACEAE)

ABSTRACT The trichome tissue on leaves of Cyphomandra betacea Sendt. consists of a simple nonglandular form and two glandular trichomes, short-stiped and long-stiped forms, distinguished by their morphology and development. These types, which occur on both leaf surfaces, can be distinguished from each other upon enlargement of the trichome initial following its inception from the protoderm cells. The nonglandular form consists of a uniseriate filament of typically four to six cells. Glandular trichomes consist of a stipe composed of a stipe cell and neck cell which are surmounted by a glandular head consisting of four cells. Differential enlargement of the stipe cell, whether at the proximal region or distal region, leads to the development of the long-stiped and short-stiped gland, respectively. The long-stiped gland, unlike the short-stiped form, possesses a dehiscence mechanism whereby the glandular head abscisses from the stipe at a specialized site of weakness between the neck cell and the gland head...

Crucifixion in the West: From Constantine to Recceswinth

ABSTRACT Die Forschung geht - gegen wenige abweichende Meinungen - im Allgemeinen davon aus, dass Konstantin die Kreuzigungspraxis beendete. Der Aufsatz erfasst die Anhaltspunkte für Kreuzigungen im Westen aus patristischen, juristischen und literarischen Quellen von der Zeit Konstantins bis zur Verkündung der Lex Visigothorum durch Rekkeswinth im Jahr 654. Konstantin strebte wahrscheinlich das Ende der Praxis an; nach seinem Tod verschwinden Hinweise auf offiziell verhängte Kreuzigungen bis zur Eroberung Spaniens durch die Muslime. Dabei bestehen Parallelen zwischen Konstantins Vorgehen in Fragen der Kreuzigung und seinem Streben danach, die Gladiatorenspiele (besonders die damnatio ad ludum) zu beenden, was aber erst nach drei weiteren Generationen christlicher Kaiser gelang.

Salvage of the Crucified Chin

Salvage of the Crucified Chin