Genetic and morphological studies of Trichosirocalus species introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand for the biological control of thistles

Trichosirocalus horridus sensu lato has been used as a biological control agent of several invasive thistles (Carduus spp., Cirsium spp. and Onopordum spp.) since 1974. It has been recognized as a single species until 2002, when it was split into three species based on morphological characters: T. horridus, Trichosirocalus briesei and Trichosirocalus mortadelo, each purported to have different host plants. Because of this taxonomic change, uncertainty exists as to which species were released in various countries; furthermore, there appears to be some exceptions to the purported host plants of some of these species. To resolve these questions, we conducted an integrative taxonomic study of the T. horridus species complex using molecular genetic and morphological analyses of specimens from three continents. Both mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and nuclear elongation factor 1α markers clearly indicate that there are only two distinct species, T. horridus and T. briesei. Molecular evidence, morphological analysis and host plant associations support the synonymy of T. horridus (Panzer, 1801) and T. mortadelo Alonso-Zarazaga & Sánchez-Ruiz, 2002. We determine that T. horridus has been established in Canada, USA, New Zealand and Australia and that T. briesei is established in Australia. The former species was collected from Carduus, Cirsium and Onopordum spp. in the field, whereas the latter appears to be specific to Onopordum

A heat island model for large urban areas and its application to Milano

The study of the urban heat island has been carried out through two new enhanced versions of the UCLM (Urban Canopy Layer Model) model, Landsat/Thematic Mapper data sets and meteorological data collected over a square area 30 km of side including Milan and its hinterland. The urban climate can be described in different summer and winter radiative settings. The input data are divided into two classes: 1) parameters related to urban and rural local properties (albedo and emissivity, vegetation index NDVI, surface roughness length, land cover...); 2) meteorological data related to the general synoptic conditions. The bulk system of the model is made up of four independent equations expressed in terms of four unknowns, i.e., the temperature values at ground level, canopy level and reference level (100 m) and relative humidity within the urban structure. The study area is divided by a regular square mesh of variable dimension (from 30 m to 1500 m); both the input and output data are average cell values. UCLM30 and UCLM60 calculate the temperature excess as well as the turbulent heat exchanges and the heat storage in the urban canopy as a function of the radiative and dynamic forcing. As can be observed in reality, the model shows that in summer the highest urban heating occurs in early morning and after sunset and that, in extreme conditions, the temperature can be up to 8 7C warmer in town than in the nearby rural lands

Pms2 suppresses large expansions of the (GAA·TTC)n sequence in neuronal tissues

Copyright @ 2012 Bourn et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Expanded trinucleotide repeat sequences are the cause of several inherited neurodegenerative diseases. Disease pathogenesis is correlated with several features of somatic instability of these sequences, including further large expansions in postmitotic tissues. The presence of somatic expansions in postmitotic tissues is consistent with DNA repair being a major determinant of somatic instability. Indeed, proteins in the mismatch repair (MMR) pathway are required for instability of the expanded (CAG·CTG)(n) sequence, likely via recognition of intrastrand hairpins by MutSβ. It is not clear if or how MMR would affect instability of disease-causing expanded trinucleotide repeat sequences that adopt secondary structures other than hairpins, such as the triplex/R-loop forming (GAA·TTC)(n) sequence that causes Friedreich ataxia. We analyzed somatic instability in transgenic mice that carry an expanded (GAA·TTC)(n) sequence in the context of the human FXN locus and lack the individual MMR proteins Msh2, Msh6 or Pms2. The absence of Msh2 or Msh6 resulted in a dramatic reduction in somatic mutations, indicating that mammalian MMR promotes instability of the (GAA·TTC)(n) sequence via MutSα. The absence of Pms2 resulted in increased accumulation of large expansions in the nervous system (cerebellum, cerebrum, and dorsal root ganglia) but not in non-neuronal tissues (heart and kidney), without affecting the prevalence of contractions. Pms2 suppressed large expansions specifically in tissues showing MutSα-dependent somatic instability, suggesting that they may act on the same lesion or structure associated with the expanded (GAA·TTC)(n) sequence. We conclude that Pms2 specifically suppresses large expansions of a pathogenic trinucleotide repeat sequence in neuronal tissues, possibly acting independently of the canonical MMR pathway.IDB was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Ataxia Foundation. RMP was supported by Ataxia UK. SA was supported by The Wellcome Trust. This research was made possible by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NINDS) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association to S.I.B

Laryngeal breathing dystonia

Laryngeal Breathing Dystonia (LBD) is a rare disorder characterized by inappropriate adduction of the true vocal cords during inspiration, resulting in stridor and dispnea. However, sometimes it is difficult to recognize the underlying etiology of the stridor, specially in emergencial situations, and LBD may be occasionally misdiagnosed, which makes this disease perhaps more frequent than it has been taught. The diagnosis is further supported by the finding of dystonic features and by exclusion of other causes of paradoxical vocal cord motion. There has been no satisfactory treatment for the disease. Botulinum toxin type A (Botox®) injection into the thyreoarytenoid muscle has been shown to be very effective, but only few cases have been reported. The authors describe the clinical presentation of Laryngeal Breathing Dystonia in two patients with complaints of stridor. Evaluation by laryngoscopy revealed paradoxical vocal cord motion and malacia of the epiglottis. Treatment was attempted by injection of Botox® in the adductor muscles. In this article the diagnostic approach of this disease is evaluated in accordance to the earliest concepts on laryngeal dystonias. Based on the classification system for laryngeal dystonias presented by Koufman and Blabock, the authors propose the recognition of a new subtype of DLR.A distonia laríngea respiratória (DLR) é uma desordem rara caracterizada por espasmos da musculatura adutora das pregas vocais durante a fase inalatória da respiração, com manifestação clínica de dispnéia e estridor. O diagnóstico etiológico do estridor laríngeo, entretanto, nem sempre é fácil de ser realizado, principalmente em situações emergenciais, de forma que a DLR pode não ser diagnosticada, o que nos leva a supor ser mais freqüente do que usualmente é descrita. O diagnóstico da DRL requer primeiramente a realização de uma história médica e exames laringológico e neurológico apropriados, com ênfase na verificação da presença de características distônicas e na exclusão de outras etiologias causadoras de movimentos paradoxais de pregas vocais. Muitos tratamentos foram propostos para a DLR, mas nenhum deles apresentou resultados satisfatórios. O uso da Toxina Botulínica do tipo A (Botox®) no músculo tireoaritenoídeo tem oferecido melhoras admiráveis, apesar dos poucos casos descritos. Apresentamos dois casos clínicos de pacientes com DLR tratados com Botox® que apresentavam o fechamento glótico inspiratório causado tanto pelos espasmos anômalos dos músculos tireoaritenoídeos, como pela movimentação paradoxal da epiglote. Dentro da classificação proposta por Koufman e Blabock para as distonias laríngeas, inserimos um novo subtipo de DLR caracterizado pela presença de paroxismos de adução de estruturas glóticas e supraglóticas durante a respiração.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Instituto da LaringeUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina OtorrinolaringologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Instituto da LaringeUNIFESP, EPM, OtorrinolaringologiaSciEL

PAX8 (paired box 8)

Review on PAX8 (paired box 8), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Heat transfer in 3D water and ice basins

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SARS-CoV2 RNA detection in a pancreatic pseudocyst sample

The involvement of gastrointestinal system in SARS-CoV2 related disease, COVID-19, is increasingly recognized. COVID-19 associated pancreatic injury has been suggested, but its correlation with pancreatic disease is still unclear. In this case report, we describe the detection of SARS-CoV2 RNA in a pancreatic pseudocyst fluid sample collected from a patient with SARS-CoV2 associated pneumonia and a pancreatic pseudocyst developed as a complication of an acute edematous pancreatitis. The detection of SARS-CoV2 within the pancreatic collection arise the question of whether this virus has a tropism for pancreatic tissue and whether it plays a role in pancreatic diseases occurrence

Cerebrovascular risk in restless legs syndrome: Intima-media thickness and cerebral vasomotor reactivity: A case\u2013control study

Purpose: Although some studies have suggested an association between cardiovascular disease and restless legs syndrome (RLS), the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. The intima-media thickness (IMT) and vasomotor reactivity are two simple, non-invasive tools to investigate preclinical atherosclerosis and microangiopathy, respectively. The aims of this study were to evaluate carotid IMT and to explore vasomotor reactivity in idiopathic RLS (iRLS) patients. Patients and Methods: We enrolled 44 iRLS after exclusion of patients with secondary causes of RLS, history of vascular events, known uncontrolled vascular risk factors and other neurological disorders. Forty-four age and sex matched controls were therefore recruited. No significant differences in demographic data and vascular risk factors were found between the two groups. Carotid IMT was measured with a high-resolution B-mode ultrasound on the far-wall of common carotid artery, 10 mm and 30 mm to the carotid bulb. Vasomotor reactivity to hypo-and hypercapnia was assessed, by right middle cerebral artery transcranial Doppler, accordingly to the changes in peak systolic velocity, peak diastolic velocity and mean blood flow velocity. Results: Mean IMT was significantly increased in patients with iRLS when measured immediately proximally to carotid bifurcation (0.73; sd=0.17), versus controls (0.65; sd=0.13); p=0.035. Patients showed higher cerebrovascular flow velocities (CBFVs) compared to controls. After multivariate analysis, age, hypertension and iRLS proved to be independent IMT predictors. Conclusion: Increased IMT and higher CBFVs in iRLS support the association of iRLS with vascular damage, possibly through enhanced atherogenesis and sympathetic hyperactivity. However, to clarify a causal relationship, further longitudinal assessment of these parameters is needed, trying to control all their physiological modifying factors

Validation of p53 Immunohistochemistry (PAb240 Clone) in Canine Tumors with Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Analysis

In human medicine, p53 immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a common method that is used for the identification of tumors with TP53 mutations. In veterinary medicine, several studies have performed IHC for p53 in canine tumors, but it is not known how well it actually predicts the mutation. The aim of this study was to estimate the accuracy of the IHC method for p53 (clone PAb240) using a lab-developed NGS panel to analyze TP53 mutations in a subset of malignant tumors in dogs. A total of 176 tumors were analyzed with IHC and then 41 were subjected to NGS analysis; among them, 15 were IHC positive and 26 were negative, and 16 out of 41 (39%) were found to be inadequate for NGS analysis. Excluding the non-evaluable cases at NGS, of the remaining eight IHC-positive cases, six were mutants and two were wild-type. Among the 17 IHC-negative cases, 13 were wild type, and 4 were mutants. The sensitivity was 60%, specificity was 86.7%, and the accuracy was 76%. These results suggest that when using IHC for p53 with this specific antibody to predict mutation, up to 25% wrong predictions can be expected