Cytomegalovirus infection in transplant recipients

Cytomegalovirus infection is a frequent complication after transplantation. This infection occurs due to transmission from the transplanted organ, due to reactivation of latent infection, or after a primary infection in seronegative patients and can be defined as follows: latent infection, active infection, viral syndrome or invasive disease. This condition occurs mainly between 30 and 90 days after transplantation. In hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in particular, infection usually occurs within the first 30 days after transplantation and in the presence of graft-versus-host disease. The major risk factors are when the recipient is cytomegalovirus seronegative and the donor is seropositive as well as when lymphocyte-depleting antibodies are used. There are two methods for the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infection: the pp65 antigenemia assay and polymerase chain reaction. Serology has no value for the diagnosis of active disease, whereas histology of the affected tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage analysis are useful in the diagnosis of invasive disease. Cytomegalovirus disease can be prevented by prophylaxis (the administration of antiviral drugs to all or to a subgroup of patients who are at higher risk of viral replication) or by preemptive therapy (the early diagnosis of viral replication before development of the disease and prescription of antiviral treatment to prevent the appearance of clinical disease). The drug used is intravenous or oral ganciclovir; oral valganciclovir; or, less frequently, valacyclovir. Prophylaxis should continue for 90 to 180 days. Treatment is always indicated in cytomegalovirus disease, and the gold-standard drug is intravenous ganciclovir. Treatment should be given for 2 to 3 weeks and should be continued for an additional 7 days after the first negative result for viremia

Diversification and evolutionary histories of patagonian steppe lizards

During the last two decades, regional exploration coupled with dense geographic sampling, new molecular techniques, and phylogeographic approaches have led to the discovery of unexpected hidden diversity. These data have expanded inferences about evolutionary and demographic processes to explain patterns of geographic genetic distribution, phylogenetic history, and morphological characteristics. This chapter summarizes current knowledge of species boundaries and possible underlying processes, highlighting the extent of hybridization and its possible role for the lack of strongly supported phylogenetic relationships within several species groups.Fil: Morando, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Cintia Débora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagonico. Unidad de Administracion Territorial.; ArgentinaFil: Minoli, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Cristian Hernan Fulvio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Confluencia. Unidad de Administración Territorial; ArgentinaFil: Sites, Jack W.. University Brigham Young; Estados UnidosFil: Avila, Luciano Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentin

Biogeography, ecology, and spatial patterns of patagonian lizards

Patagonia has a great diversity of lizards, including 6 families, 11 genera and 163 species. The majority of this diversity with documented geographical records corresponds to the Liolaemidae family (Phymaturus and Liolaemus). Latitudinally, lizard richness is higher between 37° to 39° S, decreasing gradually until latitude 54° S; longitudinally, it is higher between 69° and 71° W. The georeferenced records and the number of collected specimens have some biases, with higher values in the northern regions (up to latitude 42° S). However, there are areas up to latitude 45° S with species richness similar to others with a greater number of collected individuals. The vegetation units with the highest species richness (S) in Argentinean Patagonia are the northern and central areas reaching west of Chubut Province: Western District (S = 60) and Typical Southern Monte (S = 49), passing through areas with intermediate richness and with only one species (Wet Magellanic Steppe) or none (Evergreen shrub, Monte?s Mountains and Valleys, Western Interior Pampa, and Peat Bogs). There is a general trend towards lower species richness in vegetation units located in the extreme south of Argentina and south of latitude 41° S in Chile. We evaluated differences in lizard diversity and evenness among vegetation units through a dendrogram based on species incidences and found 6 clusters. Then, we compared species richness between members of each cluster with rarefaction curves. Species marginally distributed in Patagonia have a narrower altitudinal range than Patagonian endemics. Species in genus Liolaemus have small differences in altitudinal range, but species of Phymaturus have pronounced differences in altitudinal ranges. Our spatial analyses, based on intensive systematic-taxonomic activity over the last two decades, shed light into the understanding of lizard distributions in one of the regions with the greatest diversity of reptiles in the world. We also provide ecological and spatial metrics for an updated list of Patagonian lizards. We highlight that the usefulness of discretizing large volumes of information and geographic space into a synthetic framework allows using quantitative results for the study of spatial patterns of biodiversity, decision-making for design studies, use of resources and creation of protected areas.Fil: Minoli, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Cristian Hernan Fulvio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagonico. Unidad de Administracion Territorial.; ArgentinaFil: Morando, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Avila, Luciano Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentin