The lichen connections of black fungi.

Many black meristematic fungi persist on rock surfaces-hostile and exposed habitats where high doses of radiation and periods of desiccation alternate with rain and temperature extremes. To cope with these extremes, rock-inhabiting black fungi show phenotypic plasticity and produce melanin as cell wall pigments. The rather slow growth rate seems to be an additional prerequisite to oligotrophic conditions.

New insights into classification and evolution of the Lecanoromycetes (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota) from phylogenetic analyses of three ribosomal RNA- and two protein-coding genes.

The Lecanoromycetes includes most of the lichen-forming fungal species (> 13500) and is therefore one of the most diverse class of all Fungi in terms of phenotypic complexity. We report phylogenetic relationships within the Lecanoromycetes resulting from Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses with complementary posterior probabilities and bootstrap support values based on three combined multilocus datasets using a supermatrix approach. Nine of 10 orders and 43 of 64 families currently recognized in Eriksson's classification of the Lecanoromycetes (Outline of Ascomycota--2006 Myconet 12:1-82) were represented in this sampling.

Stability of acromioclavicular joint reconstruction: biomechanical testing of various surgical techniques in a cadaveric model.

Background: Despite reports of excellent results with the Weaver-Dunn coracoacromial ligament transfer, many authors recommend augmenting the transfer with supplemental fixation. The authors of this study sought to determine whether there is a biomechanical basis for this assertion and which augmentative method, if any, most closely restored acromioclavicular motion to normal.

Hypothesis: Augmentative coracoclavicular fixation provides better restoration of normal acromioclavicular joint laxity and an increased failure load when compared with the Weaver-Dunn reconstruction alone.