Absence of Gigasporales and rarity of spores in a hot desert revealed by a multimethod approach.

Hot deserts impose extreme conditions on plants growing in arid soils. Deserts are expanding due to climate change, thereby increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems and the need to preserve them. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) improve plant fitness by enhancing plant water/nutrient uptake and stress tolerance.

Ecological aspects and relationships of the emblematic Vachellia spp. exposed to anthropic pressures and parasitism in natural hyper-arid ecosystems: ethnobotanical elements, morphology, and biological nitrogen fixation.

Emblematic Vachellia spp. naturally exposed to hyper-arid conditions, intensive grazing, and parasitism maintain a high nitrogen content and functional mutualistic nitrogen-fixing symbioses. AlUla region in Saudi Arabia has a rich history regarding mankind, local wildlife, and fertility islands suitable for leguminous species, such as the emblematic Vachellia spp.

Microplastics in the insular marine environment of the Southwest Indian Ocean carry a microbiome including antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria: A case study from Reunion Island.

The increasing threats to ecosystems and humans from marine plastic pollution require a comprehensive assessment. We present a plastisphere case study from Reunion Island, a remote oceanic island located in the Southwest Indian Ocean, polluted by plastics. We characterized the plastic pollution on the island's coastal waters, described the associated microbiome, explored viable bacterial flora and the presence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria.

A leguminous species exploiting alpha- and beta-rhizobia for adaptation to ultramafic and volcano-sedimentary soils: an endemic Acacia spirorbis model from New Caledonia.

Acacia spirorbis subsp. spirorbis Labill. is a widespread tree legume endemic to New Caledonia that grows in ultramafic (UF) and volcano-sedimentary (VS) soils.

Ectomycorrhizal Communities Associated with the Legume Acacia spirorbis Growing on Contrasted Edaphic Constraints in New Caledonia.

This study aims to characterize the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) communities associated with Acacia spirorbis, a legume tree widely spread in New Caledonia that spontaneously grows on contrasted edaphic constraints, i.e. calcareous, ferralitic and volcano-sedimentary soils.

Artificial intervertebral discs and beyond: a North American Spine Society Annual Meeting symposium.

Background Content: This is a synopsis of a symposium presented to the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA, 2001.

Purpose: To bring to the reader who may not have attended the symposium a distillation of the material presented on this frontier of spinal surgery.

Methods: Panel presentation.

Wear analysis of the Bryan Cervical Disc prosthesis.

Study Design: In vitro wear testing of the Bryan Cervical Disc prosthesis was performed in a cervical spine simulator. The biologic response was assessed in chimpanzee and goat animal models.

Objective: Determine the wear characteristics of the Bryan disc.

Cervical motion segment replacement.

When symptoms bring to light a cervical spine degenerative disc process that requires surgical intervention, a symptom relieving procedure such as decompression, followed by functional restoration, arthroplasty, offers the benefit of prophylaxis of accelerated spondylosis at the operated level. In addition, by altering the biomechanical stress factors at adjacent levels, theoretically it should offer prophylactic benefit at these levels as well. The design requirements for a cervical disc prosthesis, the importance of precision instrumentation, and technique are described.