Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans (74 isolates) and C. neoformans var. gattii (44 isolates) were used to test urease activity after growth on both yeast extract-glucose-peptone agar (YEPG) and on YEPG supplemented with 100 microM EDTA. Every isolate grown on YEPG agar for 48 h at 30 degrees C produced a positive reaction within 1 h in a modified rapid urease assay at 37 degrees C. However...

A robust analysis of Juniperus, sect. Juniperus is presented based on nrDNA and five cpDNA regions. The section is clearly divided into two groups composed of blue and red seed cone species and is composed of four major clades: J. communis and allies; J. cedrus oxycedrus allies; J. brevifolia deltoides navicularis; and a loose clade of J. formosana, f. var. mairei, and J. communis var. jackii. ...

Hymenaea is a genus of the Resin-producing Clade of the tribe Detarieae (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) with 14 species. Hymenaea courbaril is the most widespread species of the genus, ranging from southern Mexico to southeastern Brazil. As currently circumscribed, Hymenaea courbaril is a polytypic species with six varieties: var. altissima, var. courbaril, var. longifolia, var. stilbocarpa, va...

The rDNA sequencing data obtained during the last 5 years in several laboratories clearly demonstrate that within the heterogeneous genus Kluyveromyces there is a group of highly related species, which we refer to as the genus Zygofabospora Kudriavzev 1960 emend. G. Naumov 2002. This genus includes four hybridizing species, Zf. marxiana, Zf. dobzhanskii, Zf. lactis, Zf. wickerhamii (Zygofabospo...

At present, all value at risk (VaR) implementations ± i.e., all risk measures of thè`maximum loss at a given level of con®dence'' type ± are based on the assumption that the portfolio mix will not change before the VaR horizon. This hypothesis may be unrealistic, especially when the VaR horizon is established by the regulators (BIS). At the opposite, we measure VaR dynamically, i.e., taking int...

Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) proteins expressed on the surface of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes undergo antigenic variation by switching the gene expressed within a repertoire of approximately 50 var genes per haploid genome. The switching of PfEMP1 plays an important role in the survival and pathogenesis of the parasite. To understand how a parasite switc...

Let Var(Mplan) denote the variety generated by the class Mplan of planar modular lattices. In 1977, based on his structural investigations, R. Freese proved that Var(Mplan) has continuumly many subvarieties. The present paper provides a new approach to this result utilizing lattice identities. We also show that each subvariety of Var(Mplan) is generated by its planar (subdirectly irreducible) m...

Immune evasion by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by the mutually exclusive expression of a single member of the var family of genes, which encode variant surface antigens. In a recent paper in Nature, demonstrate that a construct carrying a transcriptionally active var promoter is sufficient to promote allelic exclusion of the parasite's endogenous var gene.

Introns of Plasmodium falciparum var genes act as transcriptional silencing elements that help control antigenic variations. In transfected episomes, intron silencing of a drug-selectable marker under var promoter control is reversed by the spontaneous deletion of key intron regions. The resulting promoter activation does not affect the transcription of chromosomal var genes.

Vieussens' arterial ring (VAR) is the connection between the conus branch of the right coronary artery and the proximal right ventricular branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery. VARs are found in 48% of the population; however, pathologic VAR is rare. We experienced a case of pathologic VAR that involved a fistula connecting to the main pulmonary artery.