Transcriptome of Aphanomyces euteiches: New Oomycete Putative Pathogenicity Factors and Metabolic Pathways

Aphanomyces euteiches is an oomycete pathogen that causes seedling blight and root rot of legumes, such as alfalfa and pea. The genus Aphanomyces is phylogenically distinct from well-studied oomycetes such as Phytophthora sp., and contains species pathogenic on plants and aquatic animals. To provide the first foray into gene diversity of A. euteiches, two cDNA libraries were constructed using mRNA extracted from mycelium grown in an artificial liquid medium or in contact to plant roots. A unigene set of 7,977 sequences was obtained from 18,864 high-quality expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) and characterized for potential functions. Comparisons with oomycete proteomes revealed major differences between the gene content of A. euteiches and those of Phytophthora species, leading to the identification of biosynthetic pathways absent in Phytophthora, of new putative pathogenicity genes and of expansion of gene families encoding extracellular proteins, notably different classes of proteases. Among the genes specific of A. euteiches are members of a new family of extracellular proteins putatively involved in adhesion, containing up to four protein domains similar to fungal cellulose binding domains. Comparison of A. euteiches sequences with proteomes of fully sequenced eukaryotic pathogens, including fungi, apicomplexa and trypanosomatids, allowed the identification of A. euteiches genes with close orthologs in these microorganisms but absent in other oomycetes sequenced so far, notably transporters and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, and suggests the presence of a defense mechanism against oxidative stress which was initially characterized in the pathogenic trypanosomatids

Secondary Endoleak Management Following TEVAR and EVAR.

Endovascular abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysm repair and are widely used to treat increasingly complex aneurysms. Secondary endoleaks, defined as those detected more than 30 days after the procedure and after previous negative imaging, remain a challenge for aortic specialists, conferring a need for long-term surveillance and reintervention. Endoleaks are classified on the basis of their anatomic site and aetiology. Type 1 and type 2 endoleaks (EL1 and EL2) are the most common endoleaks necessitating intervention. The management of these requires an understanding of their mechanics, and the risk of sac enlargement and rupture due to increased sac pressure. Endovascular techniques are the main treatment approach to manage secondary endoleaks. However, surgery should be considered where endovascular treatments fail to arrest aneurysm growth. This chapter reviews the aetiology, significance, management strategy and techniques for different endoleak types

Biological indicators of stress in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) after capture

The effects of capture (chasing, netting and air exposure) on cortisol, glucose, chloride, sodium, potassium and calcium concentrations, osmolality, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, red blood cells count (RBC) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were investigated in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). A total of 132 fish (49.7 ± 11.7 g) were subjected to capture and 3 minutes air exposure and capture and 5 minutes air exposure. Nine fish at each treatment were sampled at 5, 15, 30, 60 minutes and 24 hours after the procedure. Nine undisturbed fish were sacrificed before the handling and used as controls. Capture resulted in a rise in blood cortisol and glucose 30 and 5 minutes, respectively, after both air exposures. Both indicators returned to resting levels 24 hours after capture. In both fish groups, plasma chloride decreased 60 minutes after capture, not recovering the resting levels within 24 hours after, and serum sodium rose at 15 and 30 minutes and recovered the resting levels 24 hours later. There were no significant changes neither in potassium, calcium and osmolality nor in hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC and MCV as a consequence of capture. The sequential stressors imposed to pacu during capture activated the brain-pituitary-interrenal axis (cortisol and glucose responses) but the activation of the brain-sympathetic-chromaffin cell axis was apparently moderate (ionic and hematological responses)