Summary There is a drive to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems including the biodiversity component. Cultivar mixtures offer yield benefits from the same land area, but the mechanisms behind this overyielding have not been completely worked out. One potential mechanism is improved competition with weeds. We use an experimental approach of varying barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypic and phenotypic diversity to test the hypothesis that increases in diversity have an impact on weed growth strategies and community assembly, or if responses are driven by barley performance. There was no effect of increasing barley mixture diversity on weed traits, either in terms of species means or the community‐weighted mean. However, Functional Richness of the weed community decreased with increasing barley mixture diversity mainly as a result of reduced specific leaf area Functional Richness. This pattern was driven by a reduction in species richness of the weed community rather than by reduced variation within species. Whilst barley phenotype had different impacts on weed traits, there were no specific mixtures of phenotypes or genotypes that had consistent effects on community assembly or weed species responses. The competitive exclusion of weed species could have agronomic and environmental benefits, through better targeting or less frequent use of herbicides. Growing crop mixtures is one of many strategies available to improve agricultural sustainability and resilience, and one that has clear benefits.

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Isolated leftward prolapse or deviation of the primary atrial septum is a rare CHD that can mimic abnormal pulmonary venous return at first sight. We present a case of a newborn infant, referred for surgical correction of totally anomalous pulmonary venous return into the right atrium, with the peri-operative finding of a leftward deviation of the superior margin of the primary atrial septum. The distinction with a dividing atrial shelf could not be confirmed with certainty. Fifty-three similar cases from the literature are incorporated. A detailed review of the current account on atrial septation is studied. The embryological and clinical features of a dividing partition of the left atrium are discussed.

Background: Neonatal parotitis is a rare disease. Between 1970 and 2011 only 44 cases have been reported in the English literature. Methods: In this case report, we describe a case of neonatal parotitis caused by Group B streptococcus (GBS). Additionally, we performed a review of the recent literature. We found 18 new cases published between 2011 and 2020. These cases were analyzed together with the 44 cases published before 2011. Results: All patients presented with swelling over the parotid area, with varying degrees of local inflammation and general symptoms. Purulent discharge from the Stensen’s duct was present in 85% of the patients. The swelling was usually unilateral (84%). In total 70% of the patients were male. Prematurity was reported in 29% of the cases. The most common isolated pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus (68%). Only 5 cases were found describing GBS as the causative pathogen in neonatal parotitis. In most of the cases treatment with intravenous antibiotics was successful, 27% of the patients needed surgical drainage. The reported outcomes were good. Conclusions: When comparing GBS cases and non-GBS cases there seems to be a difference in presenting symptoms and pathophysiology, with GBS patients presenting without purulent discharge form the Stensen’s duct and with more severe generalized symptoms. Additionally, all GBS patients had a positive blood culture, compared to 27% of the non-GBS patients, which indicates that in GBS cases the major route of parotid infection is hematogenous, compared to a retrograde flow from the oral cavity to the parotid gland in non-GBS cases.