Threatened fishes of the world: Brycon nattereri Gunther, 1864 (Characidae)

Brycon nattereri (Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Characidae), a threatened South American freshwater fish, occurs in the Parana, Tocantins and Sao Francisco river basins in central Brazil. It is a middle-sized (up to 50 cm SL), omnivorous species, which occurs in swift, clear-water rivers with well-preserved riparian vegetation. Main threats to the species are water pollution, dam building, and deforestation.

Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 February 2012-31 March 2012

This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bombus pauloensis, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii, Cercospora sojina, Harpyhaliaetus coronatus, Hordeum vulgare, Lachnolaimus maximus, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Rhea americana, Salmo salar, Salmo trutta, Schistocephalus solidus, Sousa plumbea and Tursiops aduncus. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Aquila heliaca, Bulweria bulwerii, Buteo buteo, Buteo swainsoni, Falco rusticolus, Haliaeetus albicilla, Halobaena caerulea, Hieraaetus fasciatus, Oceanodroma castro, Puccinia graminis f. sp. Tritici, Puccinia triticina, Rhea pennata and Schistocephalus pungitii. This article also documents the addition of 27 sequencing primer pairs for Puffinus baroli and Bulweria bulwerii and cross-testing of these loci in Oceanodroma castro, Pelagodroma marina, Pelecanoides georgicus, Pelecanoides urinatrix, Thalassarche chrysostoma and Thalassarche melanophrys.

Convergence of two major pathophysiologic mechanisms in nasal polyposis: immune response to Staphylococcus aureus and airway remodeling

This review is addressed two pathophysiologic mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis: the unique remodeling process found in nasal polyp tissue and the immune response of patients with nasal polyposis to Staphylococcus aureus. These two theories converge to the same direction in different aspects, including decreased extracellular matrix production, impaired T regulation and favoring of a Th2 immune response. In patients with nasal polyposis, an exaggerated immune response to Staphylococcus aureus may aggravate the airway remodeling process.