The role of resource availability in determining the incidence of masting has been widely studied, but how floral transition and initiation are regulated by the resource level is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that floral transition is stimulated by high resource availabiltiy in Fagus crenata based on a new technique, the expression analyses of flowering genes. We isolated F. crenata orthologues of FLOWERING LOCUS T, LEAFY and APETALA1, and confirmed their functions using transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. We monitored the gene expression levels for 5 years and detected a cycle of on and off years, which was correlated with fluctuations of the shoot-nitrogen concentration. Nitrogen fertilisation resulted in the significantly higher expression of flowering genes than the control, where all of the fertilised trees flowered, whereas the control did not. Our findings identified nitrogen as a key regulator of mast flowering, thereby providing new empirical evidence to support the resource budget model.

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bWe report two cases of conjunctivitis caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae with reduced cephalosporin susceptibility. Patients showed no response to cefmenoxime eye drops and intravenous ceftriaxone administration. The patients' condition improved after the addition of oral minocycline. The isolates contained the mosaic penA for reduction of ␤-lactam susceptibility. CASE REPORTSC ase 1. A 31-year-old man visited a private clinic and presented with conjunctival injection and discharge in his right eye. A diagnosis of acute conjunctivitis was made, and he was treated with a combination of 1.5% levofloxacin (LVFX) and 0.1% betamethasone eye drops 4 times per day. However, his symptoms had worsened 2 days later, and he was referred to our hospital. Slitlamp biomicroscopy revealed severe purulent discharge, conjunctival injection, and eyelid edema in the right eye (Fig. 1A). However, he did not have conjunctival papillae or follicles or corneal epithelial damage. Direct microscopy and bacterial culture of the discharge were performed. Direct microscopy demonstrated the presence of Gram-negative diplococci, and the culture reports confirmed the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The patient did not have other gonococcal infection, such as pharyngitis or urethritis. We considered conjunctivitis caused by N. gonorrhoeae and began treatment with topical 0.5% cefmenoxime (CMX) every hour and intravenous administration of ceftriaxone (CTRX) (1 g/day) for 3 days. Although the amount of discharge was slightly decreased 1 week after initiating the therapy, conjunctival injection was still active (Fig. 1B). We added oral minocycline (MINO; 200 mg/day) for 2 weeks after obtaining drug susceptibility testing results, and the conjunctivitis resolved within 7 days (Fig. 1C).Case 2. A 28-year-old woman visited a local hospital and presented with conjunctival injection and discharge in the right eye. She was treated with a combination of 1.5% LVFX and 0.1% fluorometholone eye drops 4 times per day. However, the amount of discharge increased, and she was referred to our hospital. Slitlamp biomicroscopy revealed severe purulent discharge and eyelid edema. The patient's condition was similar to the condition shown in Fig. 1A. Microbiological tests revealed the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. She did not have other gonococcal infection. We started treatment with topical 0.5% CMX every hour and intravenous administration of CTRX (1 g/day) for 3 days. As conjunctival infection was still active 3 days later, oral MINO (200 mg/day) was administered for 1 week. Conjunctival inflammation subsided within 5 days after the addition of MINO.Antimicrobial susceptibility testing.