Seeds of several species of the genera Platanthera and Habenaria have been studied by means of scanning electron microscopy. In the genus Platanthera, two morphological patterns were found. One of these appears in the so‐called ‘dilatata–hyperborea complex’. It is proposed that this pattern is a good diagnostic character to split off this group of species into the genus Limnorchis. In Habenaria, the morphological patterns vary between the species and differs completely from those found in Platanthera.

Phagocytosis and intracellular killing of invading pathogens by host cells play the major role in resistance to bacterial infections. In vitro, antibiotics improve the susceptibility of microorganisms to antimicrobial activity of leukocytes, suggesting that this effect may contribute to determine the antimicrobial therapy and safe dosing intervals. The susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to phagocytosis and killing by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) in the presence of normal human serum in the postantibiotic phase of fosfomycin were compared with ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime and pristinamycin. Pretreatment of S. aureus for 10 min with 4 × MIC of fosfomycin and ciprofloxacin clearly sensitized the bacteria to leukocytic killing in the presence of normal human serum (10% v/v); cefotaxime and pristinamycin failed to enhance the phagocytic killing.

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Previous studies suggest that alpha 1-adrenergic (alpha 1-AR)-induced intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) mobilization in rat parotid acinar cells declines with age. In this study, we examined the effects of food restriction on alpha 1-AR and muscarinic-stimulated [Ca2+]i mobilization in parotid acinar cells during aging. [Ca2+]i levels in response to the alpha 1-AR agonist epinephrine and the muscarinic agonist carbachol were evaluated in Fura-2-loaded parotid acinar cells from ad libitum-fed (AL) and food-restricted (FR) Fischer 344 male rats at 4, 6, 14, and 24 months of age. [Ca2+]i responses to epinephrine and carbachol (10 microM) were significantly reduced (48% and 35%, respectively; p < .05) in cells from 24-month-old AL rats as compared to younger AL rats. In contrast, no significant reduction of epinephrine and carbachol responses was observed in 24-month-old FR animals. An age-related increase in basal [Ca2+]i (peak around 14 months; p < .02) was observed in both AL and FR rats. In addition, basal [Ca2+]i was higher in FR than in AL rats at 14 and 24 months of age (p < .02). These studies suggest that FR partially attenuates or delays age-related impairments in alpha 1-AR- and muscarinic-cholinergic signal transduction systems of parotid acinar cells. Basal [Ca2+]i also appears to be altered during aging and by FR.