Diesel effects on some population attributes of Orthonychiurus folsomi Schäffer 1900 (Collembola: Onychiuridae) under laboratory conditions.

Soil contamination by hydrocarbons and its effects on population health and welfare is a growing concern, especially in urban environments with industrial activity. Indicator species complement the information obtained from the measurement of environment quality by using physicochemical variables. The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of a springtail species that could be potentially used as a bioindicator of hydrocarbon contaminated sites. We studied the effects of seven diesel concentrations on survival and other population parameters of Orthonychiurus folsomi under laboratory conditions; we evaluated the springtails response on survival, fecundity, population size, hatching and development time. Survival and fertility were analyzed by using generalized linear models (GLM). An ANOVA test was used to analyze the final population size and a Kruskal-Wallis test for oviposition, hatching, and development times. Results showed that diesel has negative effects on some population parameters. The most evident effects were recorded above 500 mg/kg concentrations. A significant decrease in survival, fertility, and population size was recorded in function of diesel concentration increase. The estimated LC50 for survival was 955 mg/kg. Oviposition and hatching time increased significantly when diesel concentrations were above 500 mg/kg, while development time increased slightly at low diesel concentrations but decreased at concentrations above 500 mg/kg. Population final size decreased as soil diesel concentrations increased. Due to the sensitive and rapid response of O. folsomi, it could be useful to detect diesel-contaminated soil, mainly in urban areas.

Nose-to-Brain Delivery of Dexamethasone: Biodistribution Studies in Mice.

Neuroinflammation (NI) is an important physiologic process which promotes the tissue repair and homeostatic maintenance in the central nervous system after different types of insults. However, when it is exacerbated and sustained in time, NI plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of different neurologic diseases. The high systemic doses required for brain-specific targeting lead to severe undesirable effects. The intranasal (IN) route has been proposed as an alternative drug administration route for a better NI control. Herein, the brain biodistribution of intranasally administered dexamethasone versus intravenously administered one is reported. A higher amount of dexamethasone was found in every analyzed region of those brains of intranasally administered mice. HPLC analysis also revealed that IN administration allows Dex to arrive faster and in a greater concentration to the brain in comparison with intravenous administration, data confirmed by immunofluorescence and HPLC analysis. These data support the proposal of the IN administration of Dex as an alternative for a more efficient control of NI. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This work highlights the biodistribution of dexamethasone after its intranasal administration. Intranasal administration allows for a faster arrival, better distribution, and a higher concentration of the drug within the brain compared to its intravenous administration. These results explain some of the evidence shown in a previous work in which dexamethasone controls neuroinflammation in a murine stroke model and can be used to propose alternative treatments for neuroinflammatory diseases.

The diversity of ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and their connections with other arthropods from three temperate forests of Central Mexico.

Ants have been considered useful for bioindication because of their ecological characteristics. Nonetheless, among the characteristics of a bioindicator group, there must be a consistent and replicable response to disturbance. In this sense, divergent reactions have been found, even between taxons narrowly related. The objective of this work was to compare the diversity of the ant communities in three different temperate forests with different levels of disturbance, and to correlate their abundance and diversity of species, with that found in other arthropod communities of the same forests. The work was carried out in three municipalities in the North of the State of Mexico, where three types of different forests were identified by their degree of disturbance. These types include: 1) primary forest (PF), with typical species of a conserved forest; 2) mixed forest (MF), with species of a conserved forest and a reforestation effort; and 3) reforested forest (RF), with species used in reforestation efforts and indicative of disturbance. In each sample, an area of 2 500 m2 was selected. Each area had 16 pitfalls apiece and they were placed 10 m away from each other. Samples were collected twice; one from February through March 2009 (dry season) and another from August through September 2010 (rainy season), which produced a total of 192 traps. Obtained specimens were identified at the most taxonomically specific level. All data captured was transformed to √n + 0.5 and diversity index levels of Shannon and Simpson were calculated, as well as richness of species for ants, beetles, grasshoppers, true bugs, and spiders. The values of richness, diversity, and abundance were correlated with the Pearson coefficient, and to evaluate possible causal relationships between these, a path analysis was performed. Results suggested an important influence of the site over ant communities, and values of richness, abundance and diversity were correlated with the communities of spiders, beetles, grasshoppers and true bugs, but not for all the sites studied. Responses to environmental changes are not only on the numeric proportions of abundance, richness and diversity, but also in the indirect and casual ecological interactions. Finally, the data seems to indicate that the responses of the ants to the environmental changes are not necessarily reflected on other organisms' communities, so the ants' role as bioindicators can be limited.

Soil microarthropods and their relationship to higher trophic levels in the Pedregal de San Angel Ecological Reserve, Mexico.

Soil fauna is essential for ecosystem dynamics as it is involved in biogeochemical processes, promotes nutrient availability, and affects the animal communities associated with plants. In this study, we examine the possible relationship between the soil microarthropod community on foliage production and quality of the shrub Pittocaulon praecox. We also examine the arthropods associated to its foliage, particularly the size of the main herbivores and of their natural enemies, at two sites with contrasting vegetation cover and productivity. The diversity of soil microarthropods was assessed from soil samples collected monthly under P. praecox individuals over 13 mo. Specimens collected were identified to species or morphospecies. Shrub foliage productivity was evaluated through the amount of litter produced. Resource quality was assessed by the mean content (percentage by weight) of N, C, S, and P of 30 leaves from each shrub. The mean size of herbivores and their natural enemies were determined by measuring 20 adult specimens of each of the most abundant species. We found a higher species richness of soil microarthropods and foliar arthropods in the open site, although the diversity of foliage arthropods was lower in the closed site. Shrubs growing in the closed site tend to produce more, larger, and nutritionally poorer (lower nitrogen content) leaves than open site. Herbivores and their natural enemies were also larger in the closed site. We found a significant positive relationship between the diversity and species richness of foliar arthropods and the nitrogen content of leaves. In general, species richness and diversity of both the foliar and soil fauna, as well as the size of organisms belonging to higher trophic levels, were affected by vegetation cover and primary productivity at each site. These findings highlight the need to simultaneously consider at least four trophic levels (soil organisms, plants, herbivores, and natural enemies) to better understand the functioning of these systems and their responses to environmental changes.

Reaction Layer Formation on MgO in the Presence of Humidity.

Mineralization by MgO is an attractive potential strategy for direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 due to its tendency to form carbonate phases upon exposure to water and CO2. Hydration of MgO during this process is typically assumed to not be rate limiting, even at ambient temperatures. However, surface passivation by hydrated phases likely reduces the CO2 capture capacity. Here, we examine the initial hydration reactions that occur on MgO(100) surfaces to determine whether they could potentially impact CO2 uptake. We first used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to explore changes in reaction layers in water (pH = 6 and 12) and MgO-saturated solution (pH = 11) and found the reaction layers on MgO are heterogeneous and nonuniform. To determine how relative humidity (R.H.) affects reactivity, we reacted samples at room temperature in nominally dry N2 (∼11-12% R.H.) for up to 12 h, in humid (>95% R.H.) N2 for 5, 10, and 15 min, and in air at 33 and 75% R.H. for 8 days. X-ray reflectivity and electron microscopy analysis of the samples reveal that hydrated phases form rapidly upon exposure to humid air, but the growth of the hydrated reaction layer slows after its initial formation. Reaction layer thickness is strongly correlated with R.H., with denser reaction layers forming in 75% R.H. compared with 33% R.H. or nominally dry N2. The reaction layers are likely amorphous or poorly crystalline based on grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements. After exposure to 75% R.H. in air for 8 days, the reaction layer increases in density as compared to the sample reacted in humid N2 for 5-15 min. This may represent an initial step toward the crystallization of the reaction layer. Overall, high R.H. favors the formation of a hydrated, disordered layer on MgO. Based on our results, DAC in a location with a higher R.H. will be favorable, but growth may slow significantly from initial rates even on short timescales, presumably due to surface passivation.

Intranasal Versus Intravenous Dexamethasone to Treat Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Randomized Multicenter Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV2 induces flu-like symptoms that can rapidly progress to severe acute lung injury and even death. The virus also invades the central nervous system (CNS), causing neuroinflammation and death from central failure. Intravenous (IV) or oral dexamethasone (DXM) reduced 28 d mortality in patients who required supplemental oxygen compared to those who received conventional care alone. Through these routes, DMX fails to reach therapeutic levels in the CNS. In contrast, the intranasal (IN) route produces therapeutic levels of DXM in the CNS, even at low doses, with similar systemic bioavailability. AIMS: To compare IN vs. IV DXM treatment in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. METHODS: A controlled, multicenter, open-label trial. Patients with COVID-19 (69) were randomly assigned to receive IN-DXM (0.12 mg/kg for three days, followed by 0.6 mg/kg for up to seven days) or IV-DXM (6 mg/d for 10 d). The primary outcome was clinical improvement, as defined by the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) ordinal scale. The secondary outcome was death at 28 d between IV and IN patients. Effects of both treatments on biochemical and immunoinflammatory profiles were also recorded. RESULTS: Initially, no significant differences in clinical severity, biometrics, and immunoinflammatory parameters were found between both groups. The NEWS-2 score was reduced, in 23 IN-DXM treated patients, with no significant variations in the 46 IV-DXM treated ones. Ten IV-DXM-treated patients and only one IN-DXM patient died. CONCLUSIONS: IN-DMX reduced NEWS-2 and mortality more efficiently than IV-DXM, suggesting that IN is a more efficient route of DXM administration.

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure.

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning.

The family Opilioacaridae (Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida) in Mexico, description of two new species, new records, and geographical distribution.

Two new species of Neocarus (Opilioacarida: Opilioacaridae), N. haicolous n. sp. and N. queretanus n. sp., are described from mesophyll and pine-oak forests in the state of Querétaro, central Mexico. One species was described from adults and tritonymphs. Distribution and habitat preferences of all known collections of Opilioacarida are reviewed. In Mexico, they have been collected in all habitats, from semideserts areas to tropical forest and from to sea level in dunes to high temperate and cloud forest.

Towards the development of an epitope-focused vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 on all continents and the mortality induced by SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has motivated an unprecedented effort for vaccine development. Inactivated viruses as well as vaccines focused on the partial or total sequence of the Spike protein using different novel platforms such us RNA, DNA, proteins, and non-replicating viral vectors have been developed. The high global need for vaccines, now and in the future, and the emergence of new variants of concern still requires development of accessible vaccines that can be adapted according to the most prevalent variants in the respective regions. Here, we describe the immunogenic properties of a group of theoretically predicted RBD peptides to be used as the first step towards the development of an effective, safe and low-cost epitope-focused vaccine. One of the tested peptides named P5, proved to be safe and immunogenic. Subcutaneous administration of the peptide, formulated with alumina, induced high levels of specific IgG antibodies in mice and hamsters, as well as an increase of IFN-γ expression by CD8+ T cells in C57 and BALB/c mice upon in vitro stimulation with P5. Neutralizing titers of anti-P5 antibodies, however, were disappointingly low, a deficiency that we will attempt to resolve by the inclusion of additional immunogenic epitopes to P5. The safety and immunogenicity data reported in this study support the use of this peptide as a starting point for the design of an epitope restricted vaccine.

Comparison of traditional and DNA metabarcoding samples for monitoring tropical soil arthropods (Formicidae, Collembola and Isoptera).

The soil fauna of the tropics remains one of the least known components of the biosphere. Long-term monitoring of this fauna is hampered by the lack of taxonomic expertise and funding. These obstacles may potentially be lifted with DNA metabarcoding. To validate this approach, we studied the ants, springtails and termites of 100 paired soil samples from Barro Colorado Island, Panama. The fauna was extracted with Berlese-Tullgren funnels and then either sorted with traditional taxonomy and known, individual DNA barcodes ("traditional samples") or processed with metabarcoding ("metabarcoding samples"). We detected 49 ant, 37 springtail and 34 termite species with 3.46 million reads of the COI gene, at a mean sequence length of 233 bp. Traditional identification yielded 80, 111 and 15 species of ants, springtails and termites, respectively; 98%, 37% and 100% of these species had a Barcode Index Number (BIN) allowing for direct comparison with metabarcoding. Ants were best surveyed through traditional methods, termites were better detected by metabarcoding, and springtails were equally well detected by both techniques. Species richness was underestimated, and faunal composition was different in metabarcoding samples, mostly because 37% of ant species were not detected. The prevalence of species in metabarcoding samples increased with their abundance in traditional samples, and seasonal shifts in species prevalence and faunal composition were similar between traditional and metabarcoding samples. Probable false positive and negative species records were reasonably low (13-18% of common species). We conclude that metabarcoding of samples extracted with Berlese-Tullgren funnels appear suitable for the long-term monitoring of termites and springtails in tropical rainforests. For ants, metabarcoding schemes should be complemented by additional samples of alates from Malaise or light traps.

Intranasal dexamethasone: a new clinical trial for the control of inflammation and neuroinflammation in COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: By end December of 2021, COVID-19 has infected around 276 million individuals and caused over 5 million deaths worldwide. Infection results in dysregulated systemic inflammation, multi-organ dysfunction, and critical illness. Cells of the central nervous system are also affected, triggering an uncontrolled neuroinflammatory response. Low doses of glucocorticoids, administered orally or intravenously, reduce mortality among moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. However, low doses administered by these routes do not reach therapeutic levels in the CNS. In contrast, intranasally administered dexamethasone can result in therapeutic doses in the CNS even at low doses. METHODS: This is an approved open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of intranasal versus intravenous dexamethasone administered in low doses to moderate and severe COVID-19 adult patients. The protocol is conducted in five health institutions in Mexico City. A total of 120 patients will be randomized into two groups (intravenous vs. intranasal) at a 1:1 ratio. Both groups will be treated with the corresponding dexamethasone scheme for 10 days. The primary outcome of the study will be clinical improvement, defined as a statistically significant reduction in the NEWS-2 score of patients with intranasal versus intravenous dexamethasone administration. The secondary outcome will be the reduction in mortality during hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: This protocol is currently in progress to improve the efficacy of the standard therapeutic dexamethasone regimen for moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04513184 . Registered November 12, 2020. Approved by La Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS) with identification number DI/20/407/04/36. People are currently being recruited.

[Distribution and diversity of springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) on the altitudinal gradient of a temperate forest in Mexico]. / Distribución y diversidad de colémbolos (Hexapoda: Collembola) en el gradiente altitudinal de un bosque templado en México.

Mountain ecosystems have shown slow mineralization activity due to weather conditions, and to some groups with arthropods with special roles. The Collembola is an important group for litter fragmentation, showing different distribution patterns. The objective of the present study was to determine the diversity of Collembola along a volcano altitudinal gradient. For this, four sampling expeditions evaluated four altitudinal levels (I = 2 753, II = 3 015, III = 3 250 and IV = 3 687 masl) in Iztaccihuatl Volcano, from November 2003, and March, June and August 2004. Shannon diversity (H'), Pielou evenness (J') and Simpson dominance (1/lambda) indices were calculated. The similarity between the associations of springtails between the sampling sites was evaluated by a cluster analysis using the Pearson correlation coefficient, as distance and the unpaired arithmetic averages (UPGMA) as amalgamation method. A total of 24 075 springtails, distributed in 12 families, 46 genera and 86 species was collected. The higher species abundance was found at the altitudinal area II. The lowest diversity value was recorded in IV, while the higher diversity values were found in III. Significant differences between Shannon indices were found between zones II-III (t(0.01, 187) = 4.11, p < 0.05) and between III-IV (t(0.01, 187) = 3.8, p < 0.05) according to modified t-test. When considering sampling dates, no significant differences were found. The dendrogram showed that in composition the level I is more homogeneous throughout the year. In conclusion, a statistically significant seasonal variation in springtail abundances was not found, but it was observed that, the lower altitude (I) resulted more homogeneous along the studied period, followed by level II and III. There is a particular assemblage of springtails community in each altitudinal area studied; in general, the sites with low slope resulted more diverse in Collembola communities. These results show that there are important factors such as altitude, vegetation type and microhabitat heterogeneity that may affect the distribution of springtails communities along an altitudinal gradient.

New Species of the Genus Periglischrus (Acari: Spinturnicidae) from Monophyllus Bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in the West Indies, Including a Morphometric Analysis of Its Intraspecific Variation.

The discovery of a new species, Periglischrus empheresotrichus, was determined through a review of museum collections, as well as a field survey of ectoparasites of island bats. This new species parasitizes on two bat species of the genus Monophyllus Leach, the Greater Antillean Long-tongued bat Monophyllus redmani Leach and the Lesser Antillean Long-tongued bat Monophyllus plethodon Miller. The female, male, deuthonymphs, and protonymph are described and illustrated. P. empheresotrichus n. sp. has an insular distribution, we evaluated the morphological variation of the adult populations, and concluded that intra-specific variation is correlated both with host species and locality (island) in the West Indies.

Intranasal Methylprednisolone Effectively Reduces Neuroinflammation in Mice With Experimental Autoimmune Encephalitis.

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form, is characterized by acute neuroinflammatory episodes. In addition to continuous disease-modifying therapy, these relapses require treatment to prevent lesion accumulation and progression of disability. Intravenous methylprednisolone (1-2 g for 3-5 days) is the standard treatment for relapses. However, this treatment is invasive, requires hospitalization, leads to substantial systemic exposure of glucocorticoids, and can only reach modest concentrations in the central nervous system (CNS). Intranasal delivery may represent an alternative to deliver relapse treatment directly to the CNS with higher concentrations and reducing side effects. Histopathological analysis revealed that intranasal administration of methylprednisolone to mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) suppressed the neuroinflammatory peak, and reduced immune cell infiltration and demyelination in the CNS similarly to intravenous administration. Treatment also downregulated Iba1 and GFAP expression. A similar significant reduction of IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-17, IFN-γ, and TNF-α levels in the spinal cord was attained in both intranasal and intravenously treated mice. No damage in the nasal cavity was found after intranasal administration. This study demonstrates that intranasal delivery of methylprednisolone is as efficient as the intravenous route to treat neuroinflammation in EAE.

Intranasal Dexamethasone Reduces Mortality and Brain Damage in a Mouse Experimental Ischemic Stroke Model.

Neuroinflammation triggered by the expression of damaged-associated molecular patterns released from dying cells plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. However, the benefits from the control of neuroinflammation in the clinical outcome have not been established. In this study, the effectiveness of intranasal, a highly efficient route to reach the central nervous system, and intraperitoneal dexamethasone administration in the treatment of neuroinflammation was evaluated in a 60-min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in C57BL/6 male mice. We performed a side-by-side comparison using intranasal versus intraperitoneal dexamethasone, a timecourse including immediate (0 h) or 4 or 12 h poststroke intranasal administration, as well as 4 intranasal doses of dexamethasone beginning 12 h after the MCAO versus a single dose at 12 h to identify the most effective conditions to treat neuroinflammation in MCAO mice. The best results were obtained 12 h after MCAO and when mice received a single dose of dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg) intranasally. This treatment significantly reduced mortality, neurological deficits, infarct volume size, blood-brain barrier permeability in the somatosensory cortex, inflammatory cell infiltration, and glial activation. Our results demonstrate that a single low dose of intranasal dexamethasone has neuroprotective therapeutic effects in the MCAO model, showing a better clinical outcome than the intraperitoneal administration. Based on these results, we propose a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of the damage process that accompanies ischemic stroke.

Mexico ants: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface.

Mexico is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with an important proportion of endemism mainly because of the convergence of the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographic regions, which generate great diversity and species turnover at different spatial scales. However, most of our knowledge of the Mexican ant biota is limited to a few well-studied taxa, and we lack a comprehensive synthesis of ant biodiversity information. For instance, most of the knowledge available in the literature on Mexican ant fauna refers only to species lists by states, or is focused on only a few regions of the country, which prevents the study of several basic and applied aspects of ants, from diversity and distribution to conservation. Our aims in this data paper are therefore (1) to compile all the information available regarding ants across the Mexican territory, and (2) to identify major patterns in the gathered data set and geographic gaps in order to direct future sampling efforts. All records were obtained from raw data, including both unpublished and published information. After exhaustive filtering and updating information and synonyms, we compiled a total of 21,731 records for 887 ant species distributed throughout Mexico from 1894 to 2018. These records were concentrated mainly in the states of Chiapas (n = 6,902, 32.76%) and Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (n = 4,329, 19.92%), which together comprise half the records. The subfamily with the highest number of records was Myrmicinae (n = 10,458 records, 48.12%), followed by Formicinae (n = 3,284, 15.11%) and Ponerinae (n = 1,914, 8.8%). Most ant records were collected in the Neotropical region of the country (n = 12,646, 58.19%), followed by the Mexican transition zone (n = 5,237, 24.09%) and the Nearctic region (n = 3,848, 17.72%). Native species comprised 95.46% of the records (n = 20,745). To the best of our knowledge, this is the most complete data set available to date in the literature for the country. We hope that this compilation will encourage researchers to explore different aspects of the population and community research of ants at different spatial scales, and to aid in the establishment of conservation policies and actions. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using its data for publications or teaching events.

Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis: variations in its parasite growth permissiveness that encounter with local immune features in BALB/c substrains.

This study describes the first days of Taenia crassiceps infection in BALB/c substrains, BALB/cAnN and BALB/cJ, using two stocks of the same strains which were kept in different animal facilities, conventional and pathogen-free conditions, respectively. This study shows that parasite growth restriction shown by conventional BALB/cJ mice changed to parasite growth permissiveness when pathogen-free BALB/cJ mice were used. In addition, the higher number of macrophages, NK cells and intraperitoneal level of IFN-gamma found in the conventional restrictive BALB/cJ substrain vanished when the permissiveness to the parasite growth increased. No differences were found in DNA sequences of parasites collected before and after the change in the permissiveness to parasite growth which favors the possibility that the observed modifications could be due to changes in the murine strains and/or their maintenance conditions.

First Mexican species of the genus Cosberella (Collembola, Hypogastruridae).

A new species of Cosberella is described and illustrated from a temperate forest of Citlaltépetl formation, Veracruz State. It is characterized by the following combination of characters: Th I with 2 + 2 dorsal setae; 2 + 2 axial setae on Th II-III; two capitate tenent hairs on each leg; unguiculus half the length of unguis; unguis with tooth; six dental setae and Abd VI without anal spines. A key for the species of the genus is included.

Sepsis: developing new alternatives to reduce neuroinflammation and attenuate brain injury.

Sepsis occurs when a systemic infection induces an uncontrolled inflammatory response that results in generalized organ dysfunction. The exacerbated peripheral inflammation can induce, in turn, neuroinflammation which may result in severe impairment of the central nervous system (CNS). Indeed, the ensuing blood-brain barrier disruption associated with sepsis promotes glial activation and starts a storm of proinflammatory cytokines in the CNS that leads to brain dysfunction in sepsis survivors. Endotoxic shock induced in mice by peripheral injection of lipopolysaccharides closely resembles the peripheral and central inflammation observed in sepsis. In this review, we provide an overview of the neuroinflammatory features in sepsis and of recent progress toward the development of new anti-neuroinflammatory therapies seeking to reduce mortality and morbidity in sepsis survivors.