Cyathura odaliscae, a new species of anthurid isopod (Crustacea: Peracarida) from a brackish habitat on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

During a preliminary survey of a brackish mangrove habitat in the Terraba River delta on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, several adult and subadult specimens of a new anthurid isopod, Cyathura odaliscae n. sp. were discovered. The specimens were collected from decaying wood in low salinity conditions (<5‰). The unique shape and complexity of the male copulatory stylet of C. odaliscae distinguishes it from the other 22 species for which males have been described. A combination of other characters (e.g., morphology of the mouth parts, body setation, shape of telson and first pereopod) is used to distinguish the female from the others within the genus. Illustrations of the known male copulatory stylets for the genus and a table listing diagnostic information, depth ranges, and general distribution for the 32 currently recognized species of Cyathura are provided. 

A new species of Callianidea H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Decapoda, Axiidea, Callianideidae) from the Pacific Coast of Central America, with key to the genus.

A new callianideid species, Callianidea mariamartae n. sp. is described from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The material is compared with the type description of C. laevicauda Gill, 1859 and C. typa H. Milne Edwards, 1837. Diagnostic features of the new species include a linea thalassinica very short, lateral margin of carapace with a distinct hepatic groove, accessory respiratory filaments unsegmented, outer uropodal ramus with strong longitudinal carinae. This is first record of the genus from eastern Pacific of Central America and third report of the family from world. A key for identification of the species belonging to the genus is provided in this document.

Yeast response and tolerance to polyamine toxicity involving the drug : H+ antiporter Qdr3 and the transcription factors Yap1 and Gcn4.

The yeast QDR3 gene encodes a plasma membrane drug : H(+) antiporter of the DHA1 family that was described as conferring resistance against the drugs quinidine, cisplatin and bleomycin and the herbicide barban, similar to its close homologue QDR2. In this work, a new physiological role for Qdr3 in polyamine homeostasis is proposed. QDR3 is shown to confer resistance to the polyamines spermine and spermidine, but, unlike Qdr2, also a determinant of resistance to polyamines, Qdr3 has no apparent role in K(+) homeostasis. QDR3 transcription is upregulated in yeast cells exposed to spermine or spermidine dependent on the transcription factors Gcn4, which controls amino acid homeostasis, and Yap1, the main regulator of oxidative stress response. Yap1 was found to be a major determinant of polyamine stress resistance in yeast and is accumulated in the nucleus of yeast cells exposed to spermidine-induced stress. QDR3 transcript levels were also found to increase under nitrogen or amino acid limitation; this regulation is also dependent on Gcn4. Consistent with the concept that Qdr3 plays a role in polyamine homeostasis, QDR3 expression was found to decrease the intracellular accumulation of [(3)H]spermidine, playing a role in the maintenance of the plasma membrane potential in spermidine-stressed cells.

Mapping benthic faunal communities in the shallow and deep sediments of Las Perlas Archipelago, Pacific Panama.

Las Perlas Archipelago (LPA) is located off the Pacific Coast of Panama and was designated as a marine protected area (MPA) in 2007. This baseline study of the shallow and deeper sedimentary habitats of the islands partly informed the MPA designation. Ninety-two grab stations and twenty trawl stations were sampled. Sediment grab sample results were interpolated to produce a map that showed the area to be dominated by mud (1246 km2, 40%) and sand/shell sediments (780 km2, 25%). A total of 201 taxa were recorded and over 5800 individual specimens were processed, revealing that the sediments hold varying community compositions, with annelids being the dominant group (73%) followed by crustaceans (14%). Relationships were evident between community, feeding guilds, and sediment types, which give an indication of communities that can be expected in similar sediments in other areas of the Tropical Eastern Pacific. A study of this scale and level of detail is rare for this biogeographic region and provides a valuable, comprehensive appreciation of the LPA's benthos.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae multidrug resistance transporter Qdr2 is implicated in potassium uptake, providing a physiological advantage to quinidine-stressed cells.

The QDR2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a putative plasma membrane drug:H(+) antiporter that confers resistance against quinidine, barban, bleomycin, and cisplatin. This work provides experimental evidence of defective K(+) (Rb(+)) uptake in the absence of QDR2. The direct involvement of Qdr2p in K(+) uptake is reinforced by the fact that increased K(+) (Rb(+)) uptake due to QDR2 expression is independent of the Trk1p/Trk2p system. QDR2 expression confers a physiological advantage for the yeast cell during the onset of K(+) limited growth, due either to a limiting level of K(+) in the growth medium or to the presence of quinidine. This drug decreases the K(+) uptake rate and K(+) accumulation in the yeast cell, especially in the Deltaqdr2 mutant. Qdr2p also helps to sustain the decrease of intracellular pH in quinidine-stressed cells in growth medium at pH 5.5 by indirectly promoting H(+) extrusion affected by the drug. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that Qdr2p may also couple K(+) movement with substrate export, presumably with quinidine. Other clues to the biological role of QDR2 in the yeast cell come from two additional lines of experimental evidence. First, QDR2 transcription is activated under nitrogen (NH(4)(+)) limitation or when the auxotrophic strain examined enters stationary phase due to leucine limitation, this regulation being dependent on general amino acid control by Gcn4p. Second, the amino acid pool is higher in Deltaqdr2 cells than in wild-type cells, indicating that QDR2 expression is, directly or indirectly, involved in amino acid homeostasis.

Biodiversidad marina de Costa Rica: Crustacea: Infraorden Anomura / Marine biodiversity of Costa Rica: Crustacea: Infraorder Anomura

The anomuran crabs are among the best known crustacean groups from the Pacific coast. However, this group is poorly known from the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. In this compilation based on the literature and the collection at the Zoology Museum, Biology School, University of Costa Rica, we report the presence of 114 species of the Infraorder Anomura for Costa Rica, 20 species from the Caribbean, 96 species from the Pacific (two are present on both coasts). Twenty-nine species are new reports for Costa Rica, 15 from the Caribbean coast (74% of the total of species from that coast) and 14 from the Pacific (15% of the total from the Pacific). The range often species is extended to Costa Rica, siete from the Caribbean and three from the Pacific. Six species are reported for the first time from Cocos Island, where there are also four endemic species.

El grupo de los cangrejos anomuros es uno de los mejor conocidos de la costa Pacífica de Costa Rica, pero muy poco conocidos de la costa Caribe. En esta recopilación, basada en la literatura y en las colecciones del Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, informamos de la presencia de 114 especies del Infraorden Anomura en Costa Rica, 20 especies del Caribe, 96 especies del Pacífico, y dos especies presentes en ambas costa. Veintinueve especies son informes nuevos para Costa Rica, 15 del Caribe (75% del total de especies informadas para esa costa) y 14 del Pacífica (15% del total de esa costa). La distribución de diez especies es ampliada hasta Costa Rica, siete en el Caribe y tres en el Pacífico. Seis especies son informadas por primera vez para la Isla del Coco, donde además hay cuatro especies endémicas.

[Marine biodiversity of Costa Rica: Crustacea: Infraorder Anomura]. / Biodiversidad marina de Costa Rica: Crustacea: Infraorden Anomura.

The anomuran crabs are among the best known crustacean groups from the Pacific coast. However, this group is poorly known from the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. In this compilation based on the literature and the collection at the Zoology Museum, Biology School, University of Costa Rica, we report the presence of 114 species of the Infraorder Anomura for Costa Rica, 20 species from the Caribbean, 96 species from the Pacific (two are present on both coasts). Twenty-nine species are new reports for Costa Rica, 15 from the Caribbean coast (74% of the total of species from that coast) and 14 from the Pacific (15% of the total from the Pacific). The range often species is extended to Costa Rica, siete from the Caribbean and three from the Pacific. Six species are reported for the first time from Cocos Island, where there are also four endemic species.

The yeast multidrug transporter Qdr3 (Ybr043c): localization and role as a determinant of resistance to quinidine, barban, cisplatin, and bleomycin.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ORF YBR043c, predicted to code for a transporter of the major facilitator superfamily required for multiple drug resistance, encodes a plasma membrane protein that confers resistance to quinidine and barban, as observed before for its close homologues QDR1 and QDR2. This ORF was, thus, named the QDR3 gene. The increased expression of QDR3, or QDR2, also leads to increased resistance to the anticancer agents cisplatin and bleomycin. However, no evidence for increased QDR3 expression in yeast cells exposed to all these inhibitory compounds was found. Transport assays support the concept that Qdr3 is involved, even if opportunistically, in the active export of quinidine out of yeast cell. A correlation was established between the efficiency of quinidine active export mediated by Qdr3p, Qdr2p or Qdr1p, and the efficacy of the expression of the encoding genes in alleviating the deleterious action of quinidine, as well as of the other compounds (QDR2>QDR3>>>QDR1).

Saccharomyces cerevisiae multidrug transporter Qdr2p (Yil121wp): localization and function as a quinidine resistance determinant.

This work reports the functional analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae open reading frame YIL121w, encoding a member of a family of drug:H(+) antiporters with 12 predicted membrane-spanning segments (DHA12 family). Like its close homologue Qdr1p, Yil121wp was localized at the plasma membrane, and its increased expression also led to increased tolerance to the antiarrhythmia and antimalarial drug quinidine. The quinidine resistance phenotype was confirmed for different yeast strains and growth media, including a prototrophic strain, and YIL121w was named the QDR2 gene. Both QDR1 and QDR2 were also implicated in yeast resistance to the herbicide barban (4-chloro-2-butynyl [3-chlorophenyl] carbamate), and the genes are functionally interchangeable with respect to both resistance phenotypes. The average intracellular pH of a yeast population challenged with quinidine added to the acidic growth medium was significantly below the intracellular pH of the unstressed population, suggesting plasma membrane permeabilization by quinidine with consequent increase of the H(+) influx rate. For the same extracellular quinidine concentration, internal acidification was more intense for the Deltaqdr2 deletant compared with the parental strain. Although QDR2 transcription was not enhanced in response to quinidine, the results confirmed that Qdr2p is involved in the active export of quinidine out of the cell, thus conferring resistance to the drug.

Anthoathecatae and Leptothecatae hydroids from Costa Rica (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa).

This paper is the first taxonomic account of the hydroid orders Anthoathecatae and Leptothecatae from the Caribbean and Pacific coast of Costa Rica. All specimens are currently stored at the reference collection of the Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. Sixteen hydroid species are recorded: Eudendrium carneum, Pennaria disticha, Acryptolaria longitheca, Plumularia floridana, Halopteris polymorpha, Aglaophenia dubia, Aglaophenia latecarinata, Lytocarpia tridentata, Macrorhynchia phillipina, Macrorhynchia sp., Clytia gracilis, Cnidoscyphus marginatus, Thyroscyphus ramosus, Dynamena disticha, Sertularella diaphana, and Tridentata distans. An extensive synonymy has been given for each species. A simplified taxonomic key is included, and illustrations and descriptions are provided for each species.

Anthoathecatae and Leptothecatae hydroids from Costa Rica (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa)

This paper is the first taxonomic account of the hydroid orders Anthoathecatae and Leptothecatae from the Caribbean and Pacific coast of Costa Rica. All specimens are currently stored at the reference collection of the Museo de ZoologÝa, Escuela de BiologÝa, Universidad de Costa Rica. Sixteen hydroid species are recorded: Eudendrium carneum, Pennaria disticha, Acryptolaria longitheca, Plumularia floridana, Halopteris polymorpha, Aglaophenia dubia, Aglaophenia latecarinata, Lytocarpia tridentata, Macrorhynchia phillipina, Macrorhynchia sp., Clytia gracilis, Cnidoscyphus marginatus, Thyroscyphus ramosus, Dynamena disticha, Sertularella diaphana, and Tridentata distans. An extensive synonymy has been given for each species. A simplified taxonomic key is included, and illustrations and descriptions are provided for each species.

Abscesso pulmonar: tratamento fisioterápico / Lung abscess: physical therapy

Este trabalho tem por objetivo mostrar um relato a respeito da etiologia e fisiopatologia do abscesso pulmonar, doença de incidência crescente em nosso serviço, e revisar o seu tratamento, com especial enfoque para as condutas fisioterápicas, principalmente aquelas que poderão ser utilizadas pela equipe de enfermagem.