Genetic diversity of Bursaphelenchus cocophilus in South America

Molecular characterisation of Bursaphelenchus cocophilus, the causal agent of ‘red ring disease’, is imperative for efficient identification procedures in Brazil and Colombia, because quarantine species such as B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus are already listed in both countries. ITS-1/2 region and D2-D3 segment of LSU rDNA were used to characterise isolates of B. cocophilus obtained from coconut plantations in Brazil and Colombia. Results from ITS-1/2 and LSU rDNA regions showed that all isolates of B. cocophilus from Brazil and Colombia formed a monophyletic group. The LSU rDNA region indicated that all isolates formed a single monophyletic group with high Bayesian posterior probability (100%). This is the first study on ITS-1/2 for the characterisation of B. cocophilus populations. A species-specific primer was designed for identification of B. cocophilus

Carbon stable isotope record in the coral species Siderastrea stellata: A link to the Suess Effect in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Coral skeletons are natural archives whose geochemical signatures provide insights into the tropical ocean history beyond the instrumental record. Carbon stable isotopes from coral skeletons (δ13Ccoral) have been used as a proxy for multiple variables on a seasonal basis. Long-term changes in coral δ13C could be related to the changing isotopic composition of the dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC). δ13CDIC in turn reflects changes in the δ13C of atmospheric CO2, which in the modern Earth system is governed primarily by anthropogenic injection of CO2 into the atmosphere – a process known as the Suess Effect. Here we report three δ13C coral-based records of Siderastrea stellata from the tropical South Atlantic. U-series dating for the colonies 12SFB-1, 13SS-1 and 13SS-2 suggests these corals lived 13, 57 and 65 years, respectively. Short-term δ13C variations in their skeletal aragonite are dominated by interannual variation. All three δ13C records additionally exhibit an overall decreasing trend, with a depletion of about −0.0243 ± 0.0057‰·yr−1 (12SFB-1), −0.0208 ± 0.0007‰·yr−1 (13SS-1) and −0.0214 ± 0.0013‰·yr−1 (13SS-2). These rates of the coral records from Rocas Atoll are similar to the reported trend for the δ13C of atmospheric CO2 over the years 1960–1990 (−0.023 to −0.029‰·yr−1), and to the decreasing rates of global δ13CDIC. Our findings suggest that multiple δ13C coral-based records are required for confidently identifying local changes in the δ13CDIC of the ocean. This information, in turn, can be used to infer changes in the δ13C of the atmospheric CO2 composition and provide valuable information about recent changes on the carbon biogeochemical cycle during the Anthropocene epoch.NSP acknowledges the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) for a Post-Doctoral Scholarship Proc. no 150405/2015-4. We thank the chief of the Biological Reserve of Rocas Atoll, Maurizélia de Brito Silva and the field team Tiago Albuquerque, Miguel Miranda, Mirella B. Costa and Eduardo Macêdo, for the great assistance in this study. We thank Gilsa Santana, Vilma Sobral (NEG-LABISE, Brazil) and Bo Petersen (University of Copenhagen) for assisting in stable isotope measurements. We are thankful for the critical and constructive comments of the anonymous reviewers. The 2013 field work was partially supported by National Geographic Waitt Foundation grant W21-12 to K.H.K. and R.K.P.K. U-Th dating was supported by grants from Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) (105-2119-M-002-001, 106-2628-M-002-013 to C.-C.S.) and the National Taiwan University (105R7625 to C.-C.S.). This manuscript is the scientific contribution no 288 of the NEG-LABISE, UFPE, a contribution of the Reef Ecosystems Working Group of the INCT Ambientes Marinhos Tropicais (InctAmbTropic – CNPq #565.054/2010-4) and represents contribution 5470 of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Vascular Trauma in Children-Review from a Major Paediatric Center

BACKGROUND: Traumatic noniatrogenic vascular injuries in children are rare and rarely discussed in literature. Pediatric vascular injuries pose a set of challenges mainly because of continued growth and development in a child or adolescent. The purpose of the study is to characterize management strategies and outcomes in these cases. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective review of patients less than age 18 years (pediatric age) with acute, noniatrogenic traumatic vascular injuries between January 2009 and December 2015. Patient's demographics, injury characteristics, surgical management, complications, and follow-up were analyzed. RESULTS: From 2009 to 2015, 3277 children with traumatic injuries were treated, of which 21 (0.6%) had 23 significant vascular injuries: 17 arterial and 6 venous injuries. The majority were males (n = 16), and the median age was 14 years (range 1 to 16 years). Penetrating injuries were the predominant mechanism (n = 21), mainly by glass (n = 13). At presentation, 4 patients were hemodynamically unstable, 3 of them in hypovolemic shock. All patients were managed operatively. Operations for arterial injuries included 5 primary arterial repairs, 4 repairs using vein grafts and 8 ligations. The following adjunct procedures were necessary: one 4-compartment leg fasciotomy due to associated soft tissue trauma, 8 tendon repairs, and 11 nerve repairs. Operations for venous injuries included 4 ligations and 2 primary repairs. There were no intraoperative or postoperative deaths, major complications, or limb loss. The median length of stay in the hospital was 6 days (range: 2-23 days). The median time of follow-up was 52 months (range: 20-94 months). Ten patients did not have any sequelae, and 11 patients reported impaired mobility and/or decreased sensation, which was transitory in most cases and related to associated neurological or muscle tendon injuries. All reconstructions remained patent over the course of follow-up. No limb asymmetry was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Noniatrogenic pediatric vascular trauma is uncommon. Penetrating mechanism is more common than blunt and extremities are more frequently affected. Overall complications come from associated injuries to tendons and nerves.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of a novel trypsin inhibitor from seeds of Copaifera langsdorffii

A novel trypsin inhibitor isolated from seeds of Copaifera langsdorffii was purified to homogeneity and crystallized. Crystals suitable for X-ray analysis were grown using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method at 291 K in sodium acetate buffer at pH values near 4.3 using PEG 4000 as precipitant. The crystals presented symmetry compatible with the space group P4(1)2(1)2 or P4(3)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 58.71, c = 93.75 Angstrom, and diffracted to 1.83 Angstrom resolution at the synchrotron source.5791316131

Microbes Bind Complement Inhibitor Factor H via a Common Site

To cause infections microbes need to evade host defense systems, one of these being the evolutionarily old and important arm of innate immunity, the alternative pathway of complement. It can attack all kinds of targets and is tightly controlled in plasma and on host cells by plasma complement regulator factor H (FH). FH binds simultaneously to host cell surface structures such as heparin or glycosaminoglycans via domain 20 and to the main complement opsonin C3b via domain 19. Many pathogenic microbes protect themselves from complement by recruiting host FH. We analyzed how and why different microbes bind FH via domains 19–20 (FH19-20). We used a selection of FH19-20 point mutants to reveal the binding sites of several microbial proteins and whole microbes (Haemophilus influenzae, Bordetella pertussis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumonia, Candida albicans, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Borrelia hermsii). We show that all studied microbes use the same binding region located on one side of domain 20. Binding of FH to the microbial proteins was inhibited with heparin showing that the common microbial binding site overlaps with the heparin site needed for efficient binding of FH to host cells. Surprisingly, the microbial proteins enhanced binding of FH19-20 to C3b and down-regulation of complement activation. We show that this is caused by formation of a tripartite complex between the microbial protein, FH, and C3b. In this study we reveal that seven microbes representing different phyla utilize a common binding site on the domain 20 of FH for complement evasion. Binding via this site not only mimics the glycosaminoglycans of the host cells, but also enhances function of FH on the microbial surfaces via the novel mechanism of tripartite complex formation. This is a unique example of convergent evolution resulting in enhanced immune evasion of important pathogens viautilization of a “superevasion site.

A Novel Small Molecule 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-α-D-glucopyranose Mimics the Antiplatelet Actions of Insulin

BACKGROUND: We have shown that 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-α-D-glucopyranose (α-PGG), an orally effective hypoglycemic small molecule, binds to insulin receptors and activates insulin-mediated glucose transport. Insulin has been shown to bind to its receptors on platelets and inhibit platelet activation. In this study we tested our hypothesis that if insulin possesses anti-platelet properties then insulin mimetic small molecules should mimic antiplatelet actions of insulin. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Incubation of human platelets with insulin or α-PGG induced phosphorylation of insulin receptors and IRS-1 and blocked ADP or collagen induced aggregation. Pre-treatment of platelets with α-PGG inhibited thrombin-induced release of P-selectin, secretion of ATP and aggregation. Addition of ADP or thrombin to platelets significantly decreased the basal cyclic AMP levels. Pre-incubation of platelets with α-PGG blocked ADP or thrombin induced decrease in platelet cyclic AMP levels but did not alter the basal or PGE(1) induced increase in cAMP levels. Addition of α-PGG to platelets blocked agonist induced rise in platelet cytosolic calcium and phosphorylation of Akt. Administration of α-PGG (20 mg kg(-1)) to wild type mice blocked ex vivo platelet aggregation induced by ADP or collagen. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that α-PGG inhibits platelet activation, at least in part, by inducing phosphorylation of insulin receptors leading to inhibition of agonist induced: (a) decrease in cyclic AMP; (b) rise in cytosolic calcium; and (c) phosphorylation of Akt. These findings taken together with our earlier reports that α-PGG mimics insulin signaling suggest that inhibition of platelet activation by α-PGG mimics antiplatelet actions of insulin