A new Vaccinium (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae) from Guerrero,Mexico

Vaccinium wilburii, a striking epiphyte with pink flowers and woody tuberous roots, is described, illustrated, and compared with similar species.     

Characterization of a basic transthyretin variant - TTR Arg 102 - in the German population

A basic transthyretin (TTR) variant, apparently non-pathogenic, has been reported in a German family. Protein analysis of this TTR variant revealed the substitution of arginine for proline at position 102 of the TTR polypeptide chain. This result was confirmed by DNA analysis of PCR amplified DNA.     

Three new species in the neotropical genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clidemia</Emphasis> (Melastomataceae: Miconieae)

We here propose and describe three new species of Clidemia: C. aguilarii from Costa Rica and Panama; C. aurantiaca from Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador; and C. subpeltata, a Costa Rican endemic. Phenological notes, distribution maps, line drawings, color images of the live plants in the wild, and discussions comparing the new species to their presumed closest relatives are provided.     

Inadvertent intracoronary stent extraction 10 months after implantation complicating cutting balloon angioplasty for in-stent restenosis

We report the case of an unusual complication for Cutting Balloon Angioplasty (CBA) during treatment for instent restenosis (ISR), which resulted in inadvertent intracoronary stent extraction 10 months after implantation. In this case report, CBA was utilized to treat an ISR lesion in the distal right coronary artery (RCA). Due to difficulty in withdrawing the cutting balloon into the guide after treatment of the lesion, the entire system (guide, cutting balloon, and guidewire) was removed as a unit from the body. Upon examination of the system, the previously placed stent in the distal RCA was attached to the microtomes of the cutting balloon. Although the precise mechanisms for stent extraction in this case remain speculative, the initial stent used in the distal RCA may have been undersized, and this may have played a major role in this complication. Although there is limited data regarding the optimal strategy to treat the site of the inadvertent stent extraction, we opted to re-stent the area with a properly-sized coronary stent. Following the intervention, there was no residual stenosis with TIMI 3 flow through the vessel. The patient remained asymptomatic and a serum troponin drawn 18 hours after the procedure was normal, and he was discharged the next day. The interventionist must be vigilant about this rare but serious complication when applying CBA in the treatment of ISR, particularly when an undersized or underdeployed stent is suspected.     

A third species of Tessmannianthus (Melastomataceae: Merianieae) from Panama

Tessmannianthus cereifolius, a new species from eastern Panama, is described, illustrated, and compared to its closest presumed relative,T. heterostemon of Ecuador and Peru. The new species is distinguished by its truncate calyx, absence of exterior calyx teeth, and complete glabrosity. A 5-celled ovary is reported for the first time inT. cereifolius andT. heterostemon. The latter was previously thought to be characterized by a trilocular ovary. A distribution map and a revised key to the three Panamanian species ofTessmannianthus are also provided.     

New and reconsidered species of tropical American Melastomataceae

Two species of berry-fruited Melastomataceae are described as new: Blakea unguiculata from the Caribbean lowlands of Panama, and Miconia mcphersonii from the Caribbean lowlands of Panama and lowland forests on the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. Discussions, distributional data, diagnostic illustrations, and a conservation assessment are provided for each of the new species. Meriania hoyosii, comb. nov. and M. compressicaulis , nom. nov. are proposed to effect the transfer of two species of Adelobotrys (A. hoyosii and A. panamensis respectively) to the genus Meriania. A revised key to the Mesoamerican species of Meriania is also provided.     

Phylogeny and circumscription of the near-endemic Brazilian tribe Microlicieae (Melastomataceae)

The members of tribe Microlicieae in the flowering plant family Melastomataceae are nearly all endemic to the cerrado biome of Brazil. Traditional classifications of the Melastomataceae have attributed between 15 and 17 genera to the Microlicieae, but subsequent revisions have circumscribed the tribe more narrowly. The monophyly and intergeneric relationships of the Microlicieae were evaluated through phylogenetic analyses with molecular and morphological data sets. Incorporation of DNA sequences from the intron of the chloroplast gene rpl16 into a previously generated family-wide data set yielded a clade comprising Chaetostoma, Lavoisiera, Microlicia, Rhynchanthera, Stenodon, and Trembleya ("core Microlicieae"), with Rhynchanthera as the first-diverging lineage. The other four genera of Microlicieae sampled are placed in other clades: Eriocnema with Miconieae; Siphanthera with Aciotis, Nepsera, and Acisanthera of Melastomeae; Castratella as sister to Monochaetum of Melastomeae; and Cambessedesia as part of an unresolved polytomy in a large clade that includes most Melastomataceae. Analyses of the chloroplast genes rbcL and ndhF that included three core genera produced similar results, as did the combined analysis of all three data sets. Combined parsimony analyses of DNA sequences from rpl16 and the nuclear ribosomal intercistronic transcribed spacer (ITS) region of 22 species of core Microlicieae yielded generally low internal support values. Lavoisiera, recently redefined on the basis of several morphological characters, was strongly supported as monophyletic. A morphological phylogenetic analysis of the Microlicieae based on 10 parsimony-informative characters recovered a monophyletic core Microlicieae but provided no further resolution among genera. Penalized likelihood analysis with two calibration time windows produced an age estimate of 3.7 million years for the time of initial divergence of strictly Brazilian core Microlicieae. This date is in general agreement with the estimated age of the most active stage of development of cerrado vegetation and implies an adaptive shift from hydric to seasonally dry habitats during the early evolution of this group.