Pulmonary Granuloma Is Not Always the Tuberculosis Hallmark: Pathology of Tuberculosis Stages in New World and Old World Monkeys Naturally Infected with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex.

We present the pathology of monkeys naturally infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from five different colonies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On the basis of gross and histopathological findings, the lesions were classified into chronic-active, extrapulmonary, early-activation or latent-reactivation stages. Typical granulomatous pneumonia was seen in 46.6% of cases (six rhesus monkeys [Macaca mulatta] and one Uta Hick's bearded saki [Chiropotes utahickae]). The absence of pulmonary granulomas did not preclude a diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB): classical granulomatous pneumonia was observed in the chronic-active and latent-reactivation stages but not in the extrapulmonary and early-activation stages. The early-activation stage was characterized by interstitial pneumonia with a predominance of foamy macrophages and molecular and immunohistochemical evidence of M. tuberculosis complex infection. TB should be considered as a cause of interstitial pneumonia in New World Monkeys. We recommend the use of immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis for diagnosis of TB, even when typical macroscopic or histological changes are not observed.

Landscape Genomics to Enable Conservation Actions: The California Conservation Genomics Project.

The California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP) is a unique, critically important step forward in the use of comprehensive landscape genetic data to modernize natural resource management at a regional scale. We describe the CCGP, including all aspects of project administration, data collection, current progress, and future challenges. The CCGP will generate, analyze, and curate a single high-quality reference genome and 100-150 resequenced genomes for each of 153 species projects (representing 235 individual species) that span the ecological and phylogenetic breadth of California's marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. The resulting portfolio of roughly 20 000 resequenced genomes will be analyzed with identical informatic and landscape genomic pipelines, providing a comprehensive overview of hotspots of within-species genomic diversity, potential and realized corridors connecting these hotspots, regions of reduced diversity requiring genetic rescue, and the distribution of variation critical for rapid climate adaptation. After 2 years of concerted effort, full funding ($12M USD) has been secured, species identified, and funds distributed to 68 laboratories and 114 investigators drawn from all 10 University of California campuses. The remaining phases of the CCGP include completion of data collection and analyses, and delivery of the resulting genomic data and inferences to state and federal regulatory agencies to help stabilize species declines. The aspirational goals of the CCGP are to identify geographic regions that are critical to long-term preservation of California biodiversity, prioritize those regions based on defensible genomic criteria, and provide foundational knowledge that informs management strategies at both the individual species and ecosystem levels.

Genome-wide diversity and habitat underlie fine-scale phenotypic differentiation in the rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum).

Adaptation to environmental change requires that populations harbor the necessary genetic variation to respond to selection. However, dispersal-limited species with fragmented populations and reduced genetic diversity may lack this variation and are at an increased risk of local extinction. In freshwater fish species, environmental change in the form of increased stream temperatures places many cold-water species at-risk. We present a study of rainbow darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) in which we evaluated the importance of genetic variation on adaptive potential and determined responses to extreme thermal stress. We compared fine-scale patterns of morphological and thermal tolerance differentiation across eight sites, including a unique lake habitat. We also inferred contemporary population structure using genomic data and characterized the relationship between individual genetic diversity and stress tolerance. We found site-specific variation in thermal tolerance that generally matched local conditions and morphological differences associated with lake-stream divergence. We detected patterns of population structure on a highly local spatial scale that could not be explained by isolation by distance or stream connectivity. Finally, we showed that individual thermal tolerance was positively correlated with genetic variation, suggesting that sites with increased genetic diversity may be better at tolerating novel stress. Our results highlight the importance of considering intraspecific variation in understanding population vulnerability and stress response.

Genome Sequences of Synechococcus sp. Strain MIT S9220 and Cocultured Cyanophage SynMITS9220M01.

Synechococcus bacteria are unicellular cyanobacteria that contribute significantly to global marine primary production. We report the nearly complete genome sequence of Synechococcus sp. strain MIT S9220, which lacks the nitrate utilization genes present in most marine Synechococcus genomes. Assembly also produced the complete genome sequence of a cyanophage present in the MIT S9220 culture.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography method for anthocyanins in strawberry (Fragaria spp.) and complementary studies on stability, kinetics and antioxidant power.

A RPLC-DAD method for the analysis of eight anthocyanins was developed, validated and applied to strawberry extracts. The chromatographic method was conducted under gradient elution in acidulated water-methanol mobile phase and octadecyl-silica columns. An ultrasound extraction procedure was optimized by a 3(2) factorial design (%HCl in methanol, temperature, and time) and response surface methodology. Method validation was performed according to the following parameters: linearity (R(2)>0.99, p-value<10(-4), F>725), LOD (3-7 µmol L(-1)) and LOQ (9-22 µmol L(-1)), selectivity/specificity (baseline separation of all analytes and peak purity), instrumental precision (<6.4%CV), repeatability (<6.3%CV) and intermediate precision (<9.9%CV), recovery (83-99%), robustness (mobile phase pH, column temperature and flow rate) and stability (high temperatures and storage; 1st order kinetics). The antioxidant power of anthocyanins was measured on-line (ABTS(+) reaction; Trolox as reference). Ten strawberry extracts were quantified (average values: 24.2 µg/g for cyanidin-3-glucoside and 49.1 µg/g for pelargonidin-3-glucoside).

Are idiopathic and Chagasic achalasia two different diseases?

Although Chagas' disease esophagopaty and idiopathic (primary) achalasia share several similarities, however, some differences between the two diseases have been noticed. To evaluate if treatment options and their results can be accepted universally, the authors review characteristics of both diseases in the international and Latin American literature. Neuronal denervation, sensitivity to gastrin, patient age, duration of symptoms, lower esophageal sphincter pressure, incidence of vigorous achalasia, and cancer risk are considered points of discrepancy between the maladies. Data with a high level of evidence base are scarce; however, differences between the diseases seem to exist, despite the fact that no influence on response to treatment was noticed.