Piptochaetium fuscum (Nees ex Steud.) Barkworth, Ciald., & Gandhi, a new combination replacing Piptochaetium setosum (Trin.) Arechav.

A new name, Piptochaetium fuscum, is provided for a taxon hitherto known as Piptochaetium setosum (Trin.) Arechav. Morphological, anatomical, and molecular studies that argue against including Piptochaetium in Stipa, and hence use of S. purpurata (Phil.) Columbus & J.P. Sm., are cited.Fil: Barkworth, Mary E.. State University of Utah; Estados UnidosFil: Cialdella, Ana Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Gandhi, Kanchi. Harvard University; Estados Unido

Hazara University\u27s Monocot Specimen Data in OpenHerbarium.org on 20 December 2023

Northern Pakistan is interpreted here as including three administrative regions: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It is dominated by multiple mountain ranges whose valleys drain, directly or indirectly, into the Indus River. Hazara University, which is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was started in 2002 and its herbarium (HUP) in 2005. Digitization of the herbarium\u27s vascular plants began in 2021 with its records being shared in OpenHerbarium and GBIF. Its online presence is now growing more rapidly than any other Pakistani herbarium. This paper summarizes the taxonomic diversity and geographic origin of its monocot holdings in 2023. In 2023, the Hazara University Herbarium held 744 monocot specimens from Northern Pakistan. They belonged to 9 orders, 23 families, 126 genera, amd 299 species. Most specimens belonged to the Poales, with many more belonging to the Poaceae than to the Cyperaceae, the family with the next best representation in the collection. Two orders, Acorales and Dioscoreales were represented by only one specimen each. Slightly more than half the species were represented by only one specimen; eleven species were represented by 9 or more specimens. Comparison with a checklist developed from multiple sources, including a GBIF download, revealed that HUP did not have any reprsentatives of five families that other sources report as occurring in Northern Pakistan: Juncaginaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Nartheciaceae, Pontederiaceae, and Musaceae.Most of the herbarium\u27s specimens were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the university\u27s home province, the fewest from Gilgit-Baltistan. The best represented districts (level 3 regions) were Districts Swat, Chitral, and Lower Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Neelum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, all of which are known for their scenic beauty and floristic wealth. The best represented district of Gilgit-Baltistan was Hunza which is home to three passes through the Karakoram Mountains

A study comparing the actions of gabapentin and pregabalin on the electrophysiological properties of cultured DRG neurones from neonatal rats

BACKGROUND: Gabapentin and pregabalin have wide-ranging therapeutic actions, and are structurally related to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Gabapentin, pregablin and GABA can all modulate voltage-activated Ca(2+ )channels. In this study we have used whole cell patch clamp recording and fura-2 Ca(2+ )imaging to characterise the actions of pregabalin on the electrophysiological properties of cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones from neonatal rats. The aims of this study were to determine whether pregabalin and gabapentin had additive inhibitory effects on high voltage-activated Ca(2+ )channels, evaluate whether the actions of pregabalin were dependent on GABA receptors and characterise the actions of pregabalin on voltage-activated potassium currents. RESULTS: Pregabalin (25 nM – 2.5 μM) inhibited 20–30% of the high voltage-activated Ca(2+ )current in cultured DRG neurones. The residual Ca(2+ )current recorded in the presence of pregabalin was sensitive to the L-type Ca(2+ )channel modulator, Bay K8644. Saturating concentrations of gabapentin failed to have additive effects when applied with pregabalin, indicating that these two compounds act on the same type(s) of voltage-activated Ca(2+ )channels but the majority of Ca(2+ )current was resistant to both drugs. The continual application of GABA, the GABA(B )receptor antagonist CGP52432, or intracellular photorelease of GTP-γ-S had no effect on pregabalin-induced inhibition of Ca(2+ )currents. Although clear inhibition of Ca(2+ )influx was produced by pregabalin in a population of small neurones, a significant population of larger neurones showed enhanced Ca(2+ )influx in response to pregabalin. The enhanced Ca(2+ )influx evoked by pregabalin was mimicked by partial block of K(+ )conductances with tetraethylammonium. Pregabalin produced biphasic effects on voltage-activated K(+ )currents, the inhibitory effect of pregabalin was prevented with apamin. The delayed enhancement of K(+ )currents was attenuated by pertussis toxin and by intracellular application of a (Rp)-analogue of cAMP. CONCLUSIONS: Pregabalin reduces excitatory properties of cultured DRG neurones by modulating voltage-activated Ca(2+ )and K(+ )channels. The pharmacological activity of pregabalin is similar but not identical to that of gabapentin. The actions of pregabalin may involve both extracellular and intracellular drug target sites and modulation of a variety of neuronal conductances, by direct interactions, and through intracellular signalling involving protein kinase A

Systematics of the Tribe Stipeae (Gramineae) Using Molecular Data

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences have been determined for a wide range of stipoid grasses (Poaceae, Pooideae, Stipeae). Nardus was confirmed as the most appropriate outgroup. Anisopogon is consistently included among the stipoid genera. Lithachne and Oryza form a clade and are clearly not close to Stipeae, and there is no support for including Brachyelytrum within Stipeae. Ampelodesmos and Diarrhena do appear among the core taxa in some analyses, but their positions are unstable and the evidence for retaining them is limited. So far there is inadequate support for rejecting them from Stipeae, so they should be included in any comprehensive study of the tribe. The ITS phylogeny supports a narrow interpretation of Jarava, one that includes only species with clear adaptations to anemophilous diaspore dispersal. There is no support for Achnatherum s.l. being a monophyletic group, nor are there any clear and consistent groups within it. Nassella, Hesperostipa, and Piptochaetium remain well supported. The data support some internal groupings within Nassella, but the sample size is small. It may be worthwhile investigating subgeneric relationships within Nassella. Anemanthele always appears associated with, and sometimes within, Austrostipa, but its position is inconsistent. We recommend continuing to recognize it at the generic level because of its distinctive morphological characters. Stipa s.s. shows some cohesion, but the results also suggest that some species currently included in the genus do not belong in it, suggestions that are supported by other studies. There has been no advance in understanding Piptatherum. The data support some of the subgeneric groupings within Austrostipa, but suggest that others should be combined. Austrostipa subgen. Falcateae is well supported, in part by a shared deletion. Additional species of Stipa s.s. and Piptatherum are being sequenced to broaden the sampling of these two genera

Dacar Cas/Somali Red Aloe: A New Species of Aloe (Asphodelaceae) From Somaliland

A new species of Aloe (Asphodelaceae) is described from Somaliland. It differs from other species in forming large clumps and in having sap that is initially yellow but quickly turns bright red and then dark red or reddish-brown, paniculate red-flowered inflorescences and uniformly coloured leaves with red teeth. Its recognition raises the number of species known from the combined area of Somaliland and Somalia s.s. from 31 to 36. A map portraying species density of Aloe by country, as that genus is now interpreted, shows that Aloe has its highest density on islands in the Indian Ocean but that, within Africa, the greatest density is in countries along the eastern highlands. The data also reinforce the importance of field botanists in determining a country’s known plant diversity

(050-051) Proposals to add a new interpretative paragraph with new Examples to Article 36, dealing with certain designations published without explicit acceptance

Peer reviewe

A note on four historical names recorded in Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae)

We show that of four previously unrecorded, but recently unearthed names in Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae), none has an impact on the species-rank nomenclature of the genus as currently accepted. Although nomenclatural stability is not here impacted, we argue that such long-hidden names that are now visible as part of the nomenclature applicable to Aloe have the potential to unnecessarily or inappropriately disrupt the status quo. The same will apply to other taxa for which the existence of historical names has been recorded. A formal mechanism must be introduced through the Code to lessen or, ideally, entirely prevent such names displacing ones long in use.Wir zeigen, dass vier bisher vergessene Namen von Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae), die kürzlich ausgegraben wurden, keinen Einfluss auf die Nomenklatur der Gattung in ihrer gegenwärtigen Umschreibung haben. Obwohl in diesen Fällen die nomenklatorische Stabilität nicht beeinträchtigt wird, sind wir der Meinung, dass solche lange vergessenen Namen, die nun im Rahmen der auf Aloe anzuwendenden Nomenklatur ans Tageslicht kommen, das Potential haben, den Status Quo unnötigerweise oder ungehörigerweise in Frage zu stellen. Dasselbe gilt für andere Taxa, für welche die Existenz von historischen Namen etabliert wurde. Im Nomenclaturcode muss ein formaler Mechanismus eingeführt werden, um möglichst ganz zu vermeiden, dass solche Namen die seit langem gängigerweise verwendeten Namen ersetzen.http://www.bcss.org.uk/journal.htmlam201

Report of the Special-purpose Committee on Virtual Participation in the Nomenclature Section

The Special-purpose Committee on Virtual Participation in the Nomenclature Section was established by the XIX International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Shenzhen, China in 2017, with the mandate “to investigate the possibility of and mechanisms for virtual participation and voting in the Nomenclature Section of an International Botanical Congress via the internet” and to report to the XX IBC. The wide access to the World Wide Web and availability of software for virtual meetings makes the possibility for virtual (online) attendance and voting at a Nomenclature Section seem attainable and advisable. In order to make informed recommendations, we discussed various aspects of online attendance and voting, such as: who should be able to observe?; what would qualify a person to cast institutional votes and personal votes?; if the accumulation of institutional votes should be allowed by an online voter; registration of online voters; how costs would be covered; and recommendations for online attendees. This report provides a synthesis of our discussions and is necessary for interpreting the proposals of this Special-purpose Committee to change aspects of Div. III (Provisions for governance) of the Code (Landrum & al. in Taxon 70: 1397–1398. 2021). This report and those proposals should be consulted together.Fil: Landrum, Leslie R.. Arizona State University; Estados UnidosFil: Fortunato, Renee Hersilia. Universidad de Morón. Facultad de Agronomía y Ciencias Agroalimentarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Barkworth, Mary. State University of Utah; Estados UnidosFil: Breitwieser, Ilse. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Demissew, Sebsebe. Addis Ababa University; EtiopíaFil: Dönmez, Ali A.. Hacettepe University; TurquíaFil: Dutta, Suchandra. Rishi Dayaram And Seth Hassaram National College And Seth Wassiamull Assomull Science College; IndiaFil: Freire Fierro, Alina. Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam; EcuadorFil: Kim, Young Dong. Hallym University; Corea del SurFil: León, Blanca. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; PerúFil: Moore, Gerry. United States Department of Agriculture; Estados UnidosFil: Mosyakin, Sergei L.. Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; UcraniaFil: Oh, Sang Hun. Daejeon University; Corea del SurFil: Parra-O, Carlos. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Prado, Jefferson. Instituto de Botânica de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Rico Arce, Lourdes. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad; México. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Sennikov, Alexander N.. Russian Academy of Sciences; Rusia. University of Helsinki; FinlandiaFil: Smith, Gideon F.. Nelson Mandela University; Sudáfric