Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Outcomes of elective liver surgery worldwide: a global, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

Background: The outcomes of liver surgery worldwide remain unknown. The true population-based outcomes are likely different to those vastly reported that reflect the activity of highly specialized academic centers. The aim of this study was to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting from centers across the globe. The geographic distribution of liver surgery activity and complexity was also evaluated to further understand variations in outcomes. Methods: LiverGroup.org was an international, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study following the Global Surgery Collaborative Snapshot Research approach with a 3-month prospective, consecutive patient enrollment within January–December 2019. Each patient was followed up for 90 days postoperatively. All patients undergoing liver surgery at their respective centers were eligible for study inclusion. Basic demographics, patient and operation characteristics were collected. Morbidity was recorded according to the Clavien–Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications. Country-based and hospital-based data were collected, including the Human Development Index (HDI). (NCT03768141). Results: A total of 2159 patients were included from six continents. Surgery was performed for cancer in 1785 (83%) patients. Of all patients, 912 (42%) experienced a postoperative complication of any severity, while the major complication rate was 16% (341/2159). The overall 90-day mortality rate after liver surgery was 3.8% (82/2,159). The overall failure to rescue rate was 11% (82/ 722) ranging from 5 to 35% among the higher and lower HDI groups, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first to our knowledge global surgery study specifically designed and conducted for specialized liver surgery. The authors identified failure to rescue as a significant potentially modifiable factor for mortality after liver surgery, mostly related to lower Human Development Index countries. Members of the LiverGroup.org network could now work together to develop quality improvement collaboratives

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

O2 Consumption Rates Along The Growth Curve: New Insights Into Trypanosoma Cruzi Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain.

Understanding the energy-transduction pathways employed by Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, may lead to the identification of new targets for development of a more effective therapy. Herein, the contribution of different substrates for O(2) consumption rates along T. cruzi epimastigotes (Tulahuen 2 and Y strains) growth curve was evaluated. O(2) consumption rates were higher at the late stationary phase not due to an increase on succinate-dehydrogenase activity. Antimycin A and cyanide did not totally inhibit the mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC). Malonate at 10 or 25 mM was not a potent inhibitor of complex II. Comparing complex II and III, the former appears to be the primary site of H(2)O(2) release. An update on T. cruzi MRC is presented that together with our results bring important data towards the understanding of the parasite's MRC. The findings mainly at the stationary phase could be relevant for epimastigotes transformation into the metacyclic form, and in this sense deserves further attention.43409-1

Dissemination of blaKPC-2 by the Spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae Clonal Complex 258 Clones (ST258, ST11, ST437) and Plasmids (IncFII, IncN, IncL/M) among Enterobacteriaceae Species in Brazil ▿

This article reports the spread of blaKPC-2 in the Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states, facilitated by globally spread K. pneumoniae clonal complex 258 (CC258) clones (ST258, ST11, and ST437) and a diversity of plasmids (IncFII, IncN, and IncL/M, two untypeable plasmids carrying Tn4401a or Tn4401b) successfully disseminated among species of the Enterobacteriaceae (Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, and Citrobacter freundii). It also constitutes the first description of sequence type 258 (ST258) in Brazil, which was associated with a nosocomial hospital outbreak in Ribeirao Preto city

Oxidative Stress and DNA Lesions: The Role of 8-Oxoguanine Lesions in <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Cell Viability

<div><p>The main consequence of oxidative stress is the formation of DNA lesions, which can result in genomic instability and lead to cell death. Guanine is the base that is most susceptible to oxidation, due to its low redox potential, and 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) is the most common lesion. These characteristics make 8-oxoG a good cellular biomarker to indicate the extent of oxidative stress. If not repaired, 8-oxoG can pair with adenine and cause a G:C to T:A transversion. When 8-oxoG is inserted during DNA replication, it could generate double-strand breaks, which makes this lesion particularly deleterious. <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> needs to address various oxidative stress situations, such as the mammalian intracellular environment and the triatomine insect gut where it replicates. We focused on the MutT enzyme, which is responsible for removing 8-oxoG from the nucleotide pool. To investigate the importance of 8-oxoG during parasite infection of mammalian cells, we characterized the MutT gene in <i>T. cruzi</i> (TcMTH) and generated <i>T. cruzi</i> parasites heterologously expressing <i>Escherichia coli</i> MutT or overexpressing the TcMTH enzyme. In the epimastigote form, the recombinant and wild-type parasites displayed similar growth in normal conditions, but the MutT-expressing cells were more resistant to hydrogen peroxide treatment. The recombinant parasite also displayed significantly increased growth after 48 hours of infection in fibroblasts and macrophages when compared to wild-type cells, as well as increased parasitemia in Swiss mice. In addition, we demonstrated, using western blotting experiments, that MutT heterologous expression can influence the parasite antioxidant enzyme protein levels. These results indicate the importance of the 8-oxoG repair system for cell viability.</p></div

<i>T. cruzi</i> MTH overexpressors survival after H₂O₂ treatment.

<p>₂O₂ doses, and after 3 days, the parasites were counted. Survival percentage was measured in relation to untreated cells (** P<0.01, * P<0.05, unpaired <i>t</i> test).</p

TcCPx and TcMPx expression in pROCK or MutT parasites.

<p><i>T. cruzi</i> epimastigotes lysates were prepared with exponential phase cultures after 20 min incubation or not with 50 µM H₂O₂. Protein extracts were quantified by Bradford assay and resolved by SDS-PAGE (A) (30 µg protein/lane). Western blot analysis of TcCPx and TcMPx from non-treated pROCK (1) and MutT (2), or 50 µM H₂O₂-treated pROCK (3) and MutT (4) parasites. β-tubulin was used as loading control. (B) Coomassie blue staining of the protein extracts. The best representative of three independent experiments is shown. The signal intensity obtained for each studied enzyme from pROCK untreated control was set to 100%, and the enzyme levels from the others parasites were evaluated as a percentage of the control. The results were expressed in graphs for each enzyme: TcCPx (C) and TcMPx. (D) The asterisk symbol (*) refers to significant differences from the pROCK non-treated control (*** P<0.001, one-way ANOVA test with Bonferroni post-test).</p

MutT expression enhances <i>in vitro</i> intracellular growth.

<p>Murine fibroblasts were exposed to trypomastigotes (MOI of 50) for 30 minutes. Monolayers were washed to remove extracellular parasites and either fixed (PFA 4%) or incubated with fresh medium without parasites for different times. Slides were stained by immunofluorescence and analyzed in fluorescence microscope. (A) Parasites infectivity was determined by counting the number of internalized trypomastigotes per 100 cells right after cell exposure to parasites. (B) Parasitophorous vacuole escape kinetics were determined by analyzing the number of parasites co-localizing with LAMP, a lysosomal marker, at different time points for 16 hours after invasion. (C) Number of intracellular parasites per infected cell for WT, pROCK and MutT infected cultures from 24 up to 96 hours post-infection (*** P<0.001, * P<0.05, two-way ANOVA test with Bonferroni post-test). (D) Representative images of murine fibroblasts infected either with WT or MutT at an MOI of 50, cells and parasites DNA were labeled with DAPI.</p

MutT heterologous expression did not alter <i>T. cruzi</i> growth but enhanced survival against H₂O₂.

<p>(A) Amplification of a 112-bp fragment of MutT from transfected parasite total RNA (<b>MutT +</b>) and positive controls (<i>E. coli</i> total DNA). <b>pROCK +</b>: total RNA from parasites transfected with the pROCK empty vector. <b>MutT -</b> and <b>pROCK -</b>: RT-PCR negative control without reverse transcriptase; <b>- control:</b> PCR control without template DNA. (B) WT and MutT parasites were grown in LIT medium and followed for 6 days until the stationary phase. Alternatively, WT and MutT were grown in LIT medium containing different concentrations of H₂O₂ for 3 days and then counted (C). Experiments were performed in triplicate. The survival percentage was measured in relation to untreated cells, and the bars represent the SD (*** P<0.001, * P<0.05, unpaired <i>t</i> test).</p