On the types of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Maxillaria grandiflora</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heterotaxis valenzuelana</Emphasis> (Orchidaceae: Maxillariinae)

The type specimen of Maxillaria grandiflora (Kunth) Lindl. was collected by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland during their scientific expedition to Tropical America. Its type locality, which has been the subject of confusion, is identified as a place on the eastern part of La Cruz municipality in the province of Nari?o, Colombia. The type of M. grandiflora is shown to be a mixed collection and a lectotype is designated; the protologue illustration represents an amalgamation of both species. The type of Heterotaxis valenzuelana (A. Rich.) Ojeda & Carnevali was collected by José María Valenzuela but has been erroneously cited as Wright 3314 in the recent literature.     

Epidemiology and Microbiologic Characterization of Nosocomial Candidemia from a Brazilian National Surveillance Program

Candidemia is a growing problem in hospitals all over the world. Despite advances in the medical support of critically ill patients, candidiasis leads to prolonged hospitalization, and has a crude mortality rate around 50%. We conducted a multicenter surveillance study in 16 hospitals distributed across five regions of Brazil to assess the incidence, species distribution, antifungal susceptibility, and risk factors for bloodstream infections due to Candida species. From June 2007 to March 2010, we studied a total of 2,563 nosocomial bloodstream infection (nBSI) episodes. Candida spp. was the 7^th most prevalent agent. Most of the patients were male, with a median age of 56 years. A total of 64 patients (46.7%) were in the ICU when candidemia occurred. Malignancies were the most common underlying condition (32%). The crude mortality rate of candidemia during the hospital admission was 72.2%. Non-albicans species of Candida accounted for 65.7% of the 137 yeast isolates. C. albicans (34.3%), Candida parapsilosis (24.1%), Candida tropicalis (15.3%) and Candida glabrata (10.2%) were the most prevalent species. Only 47 out of 137 Candida isolates were sent to the reference laboratory for antifungal susceptibility testing. All C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis isolates were susceptible to the 5 antifungal drugs tested. Among 11 C. glabrata isolates, 36% were resistant to fluconazole, and 64% SDD. All of them were susceptible to anidulafungin and amphotericin B. We observed that C. glabrata is emerging as a major player among non-albicans Candida spp. and fluconazole resistance was primarily confined to C. glabrata and C. krusei strains. Candida resistance to echinocandins and amphotericin B remains rare in Brazil.Mortality rates remain increasingly higher than that observed in the Northern Hemisphere countries, emphasizing the need for improving local practices of clinical management of candidemia, including early diagnosis, source control and precise antifungal therapy.     

Systemic increased immune response to Nocardia brasiliensis co-exists with local immunosuppressive microenvironment

Human diseases produced by pathogenic actinomycetes are increasing because they may be present as opportunistic infections. Some of these microbes cause systemic infections associated with immunosuppressive conditions, such as chemotherapy for cancer, immunosuppressive therapy for transplant, autoimmune conditions, and AIDS; while others usually cause localized infection in immunocompetent individuals. Other factors related to this increase in incidence are: antibiotic resistance, not well defined taxonomy, and a delay in isolation and identification of the offending microbe. Examples of these infections are systemic disease and brain abscesses produced by Nocardia asteroides or the located disease by Nocardia brasiliensis, named actinomycetoma. During the Pathogenic Actinomycetes Symposium of the 16th International Symposium on Biology of Actinomycetes (ISBA), held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, several authors presented recent research on the mechanisms by which N. brasiliensis modulates the immune system to survive in the host and advances in medical treatment of human actinomycetoma. Antibiotics and antimicrobials that are effective against severe actinomycetoma infections with an excellent therapeutic outcome and experimental studies of drugs that show promising bacterial inhibition in vivo and in vitro were presented. Here we demonstrate a systemic strong acquired immune response in humans and experimental mice at the same time of a local dominance of anti inflammatory cytokines environment. The pathogenic mechanisms of some actinomycetes include generation of an immunosuppressive micro environment to evade the protective immune response. This information will be helpful in understanding pathogenesis and to design new drugs for treatment of actinomycetoma.     

Cell Autonomous Lipin 1 Function Is Essential for Development and Maintenance of White and Brown Adipose Tissue

Through analysis of mice with spatially and temporally restricted inactivation of Lpin1, we characterized its cell autonomous function in both white (WAT) and brown (BAT) adipocyte development and maintenance. We observed that the lipin 1 inactivation in adipocytes of aP2^Cre/+/Lp^{fEx2-3/fEx2-3} mice resulted in lipodystrophy and the presence of adipocytes with multilocular lipid droplets. We further showed that time-specific loss of lipin 1 in mature adipocytes in aP2^Cre-ERT2/+/Lp^{fEx2-3/fEx2-3} mice led to their replacement by newly formed Lpin1-positive adipocytes, thus establishing a role for lipin 1 in mature adipocyte maintenance. Importantly, we observed that the presence of newly formed Lpin1-positive adipocytes in aP2^Cre-ERT2/+/Lp^{fEx2-3/fEx2-3} mice protected these animals against WAT inflammation and hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat diet. Loss of lipin 1 also affected BAT development and function, as revealed by histological changes, defects in the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), PGC-1α, and UCP1, and functionally by altered cold sensitivity. Finally, our data indicate that phosphatidic acid, which accumulates in WAT of animals lacking lipin 1 function, specifically inhibits differentiation of preadipocytes. Together, these observations firmly demonstrate a cell autonomous role of lipin 1 in WAT and BAT biology and indicate its potential as a therapeutical target for the treatment of obesity.     

mTrop1/Epcam Knockout Mice Develop Congenital Tufting Enteropathy through Dysregulation of Intestinal E-cadherin/β-catenin

Congenital tufting enteropathy (CTE) is a life-threatening hereditary disease that is characterized by enteric mucosa tufting degeneration and early onset, severe diarrhea. Loss-of-function mutations of the human EPCAM gene (TROP1, TACSTD1) have been indicated as the cause of CTE. However, loss of mTrop1/Epcam in mice appeared to lead to death in utero, due to placental malformation. This and indications of residual Trop-1/EpCAM expression in cases of CTE cast doubt on the role of mTrop1/Epcam in this disease. The aim of this study was to determine the role of TROP1/EPCAM in CTE and to generate an animal model of this disease for molecular investigation and therapy development. Using a rigorous gene-trapping approach, we obtained mTrop1/Epcam -null (knockout) mice. These were born alive, but failed to thrive, and died soon after birth because of hemorrhagic diarrhea. The intestine from the mTrop1/Epcam knockout mice showed intestinal tufts, villous atrophy and colon crypt hyperplasia, as in human CTE. No structural defects were detected in other organs. These results are consistent with TROP1/EPCAM loss being the cause of CTE, thus providing a viable animal model for this disease, and a benchmark for its pathogenetic course. In the affected enteric mucosa, E-cadherin and β-catenin were shown to be dysregulated, leading to disorganized transition from crypts to villi, with progressive loss of membrane localization and increasing intracellular accumulation, thus unraveling an essential role for Trop-1/EpCAM in the maintenance of intestinal architecture and functionality.Supporting information is available for this article.     

Biological traits of a sub-Antarctic nototheniid,Patagonotothen ramsayi,from the Burdwood Bank

The rock cod Patagonotothen ramsayi (Regan 1913) is the most abundant species of the genus Patagonotothen, occurring along the Patagonian shelf. It plays an important role in the demersal food web both as prey and predator, showing an increasing importance for the local finfish and squid trawl fisheries. Age structure and the reproductive traits were investigated from the population inhabiting the eastern shelf of Burdwood Bank, which represents the southernmost area of its geographical distribution. Adult specimens of P. ramsayi were collected during bottom trawling carried out in the austral summer. The specimens were aged by otolith readings, and their reproductive characteristics were assessed by macroscopical and histological analyses. Age was similar between sexes, ranging from 4 to 7 and from 4 to 8 years in males and females of comparable size, respectively. GSI was relatively low in females (<1.5 %), as fish were sampled far from the reported spawning season (June–August). Females were all in the early developing stage (III) on the macroscopic maturity scale, with the most advanced oocytes being in early vitellogenesis. The oocyte size distribution was bi-modal, with two partially overlapping modes consisting of oocytes of a maximum size of 0.66 mm. A few large atretic oocytes (diameter > 1 mm) were found in three females. Absolute fecundity ranged from approximately 30 to 120 thousands of eggs. No relationship was found between female size and fecundity, probably due to the relatively narrow range of the investigated fish sizes. Males were in the spent (VII) or resting (II) stages.     

Exogenous Schwann Cells Migrate,Remyelinate and Promote Clinical Recovery in Experimental Auto-Immune Encephalomyelitis

Schwann cell (SC) transplantation is currently being discussed as a strategy that may promote functional recovery in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). However this assumes they will not only survive but also remyelinate demyelinated axons in the chronically inflamed CNS. To address this question we investigated the fate of transplanted SCs in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the Dark Agouti rat; an animal model that reproduces the complex inflammatory demyelinating immunopathology of MS. We now report that SCs expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP-SCs) allografted after disease onset not only survive but also migrate to remyelinate lesions in the inflamed CNS. GFP-SCs were detected more frequently in the parenchyma after direct injection into the spinal cord, than via intra-thecal delivery into the cerebrospinal fluid. In both cases the transplanted cells intermingled with astrocytes in demyelinated lesions, aligned with axons and by twenty one days post transplantation had formed Pzero protein immunoreactive internodes. Strikingly, GFP-SCs transplantation was associated with marked decrease in clinical disease severity in terms of mortality; all GFP-SCs transplanted animals survived whilst 80% of controls died within 40 days of disease.     

Soil Nematode Responses to Crop Management and Conversion to Native Grasses

Soil nematode community response to treatments of three, four-year crop rotations (spring wheat-pea-spring wheat-flax, spring wheat-green manure-spring wheat-flax, and spring wheat-alfalfa-alfalfa-flax) under conventional and organic management, and native tall grass restoration (restored prairie) were assessed in June 2003, and July and August 2004. The research site was the Glenlea Long-term Rotation and Crop Management Study, in the Red River Valley, Manitoba, established in 1992. The nematode community varied more with sample occasion than management and rotation. The restored prairie favored high colonizer-persister (c-p) value omnivores and carnivores, and fungivores but less bacterivores. The restored prairie soil food web was highly structured, mature and low-to-moderately enriched as indicated by structure (SI), maturity (MI) and enrichment (EI) index values, respectively. Higher abundance of fungivores and channel index (CI) values suggested fungal-dominated decomposition. Nematode diversity was low even after more than a decade of restoration. A longer time may be required to attain higher diversity for this restored fragmented prairie site distant from native prairies. No consistent differences were found between organic and conventional management for nematode trophic abundance, with the exception of enrichment opportunists of the c-p 1 group which were favored by conventional management. Although EI was lower and SI was higher for organic than conventional their absolute values suggested decomposition channels to be primarily bacterial, and fewer trophic links with both management scenarios. A high abundance of fungivores in the rotation including the green manure indicates greater fungal decomposition.     

Liver Retransplantation in Adults: The Largest Multicenter Italian Study

This study is the largest Italian survey on liver retransplantations (RET). Data report on 167 adult patients who received 2 grafts, 16 who received 3 grafts, and one who received 4 grafts over a 11 yr period.There was no statistically significant difference in graft survival after the first or the second RET (52, 40, and 29% vs 44, 36, and 18% at 1,5,and 10 yr, respectively: Log-Rank test, p = 0.30).Survivals at 1, 5, and 10 years of patients who underwent 2 (n = 151) or 3 (n = 15) RETs, were 65, 48,and 39% vs 59, 44, and 30%, respectively (p = 0.59).Multivariate analysis of survival showed that only the type of graft (whole vs reduced) was associated with a statistically significant difference (HR = 3.77, Wald test p = 0. 05); the donor age appeared to be a relevant factor as well, although the difference was not statistically significant (HR = 1.91, Wald test p = 0.08).Though late RETs have better results on long term survival relative to early RETs, no statistically significant difference can be found in early results, till three years after RET.Considering late first RETs (interval>30 days from previous transplantation) with whole grafts the difference in graft survival in RETs due to HCV recurrence (n = 17) was not significantly different from RETs due to other causes (n = 53) (65–58 and 31% vs 66–57 and 28% respectively at 1–5 and 10 years, p = 0.66).