Sponge-mediated nitrification is an important process in the nitrogen cycle, however, nothing is known about how nitrification and symbiotic Archaea may be affected by sponge disease and bleaching events. The giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta is a prominent species on Caribbean reefs that contains cyanobacterial symbionts, the loss of which results in two types of bleaching: cyclic, a recov...

It is shown that for every triple of integers (α, β, γ) such that α ≥ 1, β ≥ 1, and γ ≥ 2, there is a homogeneous, non-bihomogeneous continuum whose every point has a neighborhood homeomorphic the Cartesian product of Menger compacta μ ×μ × μ . In particular, there is a homogeneous, non-bihomogeneous, Peano continuum of covering dimension four.

We describe some new ideas and techniques introducedto study spaces with a given lower Ricci curvature bound, and discuss a number of recent results about such spaces.

We discuss 1-Ahlfors-regular connected sets in a general metric space and prove that such sets are ‘flat’ on most scales and in most locations. Our result is quantitative, and when combined with work of I. Hahlomaa, gives a characterization of 1-Ahlfors regular subsets of 1Ahlfors-regular curves in metric spaces. Our result is a generalization to the metric space setting of the Analyst’s (Geome...

Symbioses between sponges and algae are abundant in the nutrient-poor waters of tropical reefs, yet very little is known of the nutritional interactions that may promote this abundance. We measured nitrogen flux between the sponge Haliclona cymiformis and its symbiotic partner, the rhodophyte Ceratodictyon spongiosum, and assessed the potential importance of this flux to the symbiosis. While th...

Molecular techniques were employed to document the microbial diversity associated with the marine sponge Rhopaloeides odorabile. The phylogenetic affiliation of sponge-associated bacteria was assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing of cloned DNA fragments. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to confirm the presence of the predominant groups indicated by 16S rDNA analysis. The community s...

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are one of the most ancient extant multicellular animals and can provide valuable insights into origin and early evolution of Metazoa. High plasticity of cell differentiations and anatomical structure is characteristic feature of sponges. Present study deals with sponge cell reaggregation after dissociation as the most outstanding case of sponge plasticity. Dynamic of ...

The spontaneous defecation of the surgical retained sponge is very rare. Here, we report a case of migrating surgical sponge that was retained in the colon and it was evacuated by defecation.

In anterior lumbar spinal fusion, patients treated with rhBMP-2 on a collagen sponge carrier had statistically superior outcomes compared to patients treated with autogenous bone graft. A collagen sponge carrier should replace autogenous bone graft for this patient population.