Mesa Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the United States in terms of enrollment..
Flagellicaudatan sauropods are well known for their elongated tails which end in a ‘whiplash’-like structure, consisting of biconvex rod-like caudal vertebrae lacking a neural arch. A remarkably well-preserved and relatively complete specimen of Barosaurus from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation preserves a number of these vertebrae, including the last two that terminate the axial series. The penultimate element preserves a distinct callus which we investigated, together with the terminal caudal vertebra, using X-ray computed tomography. A transverse fracture initiated the formation of the callus, highlighted by extensive, disorganized vascularization of the bone outside of the cortex. Healing was likely still ongoing as the vertebra remains in two parts. Although various etiologies can be proposed for the trauma, none can be unambiguously put forward as the cause. The last caudal shows an interesting vascular pattern, and together with the lack of a posterior articular surface, can here be definitely identified as the last vertebra in the axial series. There is substantial variability in the morphology of the last caudal vertebra throughout Sauropoda, and future studies should focus on the soft tissues in this part of the tail, thereby enlightening the potential function of the ‘whip’. We also highlight here the use of high-resolution scanning to reveal the internal structures of fossils in detail when consumptive analysis is not possible.
We report the morphology and genome of a novel bacteriophage. TrixiePhattel, isolated from silty soil collected at the bank of a creek in Potato Patch AZ, USA, is capable of infecting Arthrobacter globiformis ( A. globiformi s), and possesses a siphovirus morphology. Due to gene content, TrixiePhattel is assigned to the actinobacter phage cluster AU6. The absence of identifiable genes involved in lysogeny and failure to raise lysogens suggests TrixiePhattel is a virulent phage.
Dietary macronutrient balance is a major determinant of infection outcomes, yet the mechanisms linking host nutrition to pathogen success remain poorly understood. In the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, protein-biased diets enhance several markers of immune function but paradoxically increase susceptibility to infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii. We hypothesized that dietary protein may benefit the pathogen by increasing access to host nutritional resources, and predicted that protein-biased diets would increase hemolymph concentrations of total protein and branched-chain amino acids, nutrients known to support Metarhizium growth, and that infection would cause declines in these compounds. We also hypothesized that infected locusts would behaviorally compensate by shifting nutrient intake toward a more resistant, carbohydrate-biased intake target. To test these predictions, we examined how dietary protein-to-carbohydrate balance influenced hemolymph nutrient reserves and nutrient intake behavior following fungal infection. Protein-biased diets increased total hemolymph protein and concentrations of 8 out of 12 amino acids measured, but did not affect hemolymph glucose or trehalose concentrations. Infection caused declines in glucose, protein, and the three branched chain amino acids and tyrosine. Infected locusts did not alter nutrient intake behavior. Together, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that protein-biased diets accelerate mortality during fungal infection by creating a more favorable nutritional environment for the pathogen.
