Henry Meige: The man and his understanding of dystonia, at the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

BACKGROUND: Henry Meige (1866-1940), a French neurologist, the pupil of Charcot, is remembered for the eponym, the Meige syndrome, describing the clinical picture of craniocervical dystonia. This historical review highlights the controversies from his essay on "Le Juif Errant" (the Wandering Jew), and the evolution of his understanding of the movement disorders of the face and neck at the time of the encephalitis lethargica. RESULTS: His thesis reported 5 patients from Eastern Europe, presenting with functional neurological disorders following traumatic life experiences. He wrote with Feindel the first book on movement disorders "Les tics et leur traitement". He pioneered the concept of focal dystonia and distinguished the facial median spasm as a dystonic movement disorder of the face. He highlighted the co-existence of psychopathology and the influence of the mental on tics and dystonia. He coined with Brissaud and Feindel the term "geste antagoniste" in cervical dystonia. He emphasized the importance of self-management and psycho-motor retraining for focal dystonia. CONCLUSION: Meige made an invaluable contribution to our understanding of movement disorders, during his long medical career. The eponym Meige syndrome should be retained to describe an individual clinical entity.

Seasonality and forest edge as drivers of Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse invasion in the Atlantic Forest / Sazonalidade e efeito de borda florestal como direcionadores da invasão de Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse na Mata Atlântica

As a result of biodiversity and ecosystem service losses associated with biological invasions, there has been growing interest in basic and applied research on invasive species aiming to improve management strategies. Tradescantia zebrine is a herbaceous species increasingly reported as invasive in the understory of disturbed forest ecosystems. In this study, we assess the effect of spatial and seasonal variation on biological attributes of this species in the Atlantic Forest. To this end, we measured attributes of T. zebrina associated with plant growth and stress in the four seasons at the forest edge and in the forest interior of invaded sites in the Iguaçu National Park, Southern Brazil. The invasive plant had higher growth at the forest edge than in the forest interior and lower leaf asymmetry and herbivory in the winter than in the summer. Our findings suggest that the forest edge environment favours the growth of T. zebrina. This invasive species is highly competitive in the understory of semi-deciduous seasonal forests all over the year. Our study contributes to the management of T. zebrina by showing that the summer is the best season for controlling this species.

As perdas de biodiversidade e os seus serviços ecossistêmicos ocasionadas pelas invasões biológicas, têm despertado o interesse em pesquisas básicas e aplicadas sobre as espécies invasoras com o objetivo de buscar estratégias de manejo. Tradescantia zebrina é uma das herbáceas crescentemente relatadas como uma invasora no sub-bosque florestal de ecossistemas impactados. Neste estudo, nós estudamos o efeito da variação espacial e sazonal sobre atributos biológicos desta espécie na Floresta Atlântica. Assim, nós mensuramos atributos de T. zebrina associados com o crescimento vegetal e o estresse nas quatro estações do ano em borda e interior da floresta de locais invadidos no Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, Sul do Brasil. A planta invasora apresentou maior crescimento na borda florestal do que no interior. Adicionalmente, assimetria foliar e herbivoria obtidos no inverno foram menores quando comparados ao verão. Nossos achados sugerem que os ambientes de borda florestal favorecem o crescimento de T. zebrina. Esta espécie invasora é altamente competitiva no sub-bosque da Floresta Estacional Semidecídua durante o ano todo. Nosso estudo contribui com o manejo de T. zebrina mostrando que o verão é a melhor estação para o controle desta espécie.

Seasonality and forest edge as drivers of Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse invasion in the Atlantic Forest / Sazonalidade e efeito de borda florestal como direcionadores da invasão de Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse na Mata Atlântica

As a result of biodiversity and ecosystem service losses associated with biological invasions, there has been growing interest in basic and applied research on invasive species aiming to improve management strategies. Tradescantia zebrina is a herbaceous species increasingly reported as invasive in the understory of disturbed forest ecosystems. In this study, we assess the effect of spatial and seasonal variation on biological attributes of this species in the Atlantic Forest. To this end, we measured attributes of T. zebrina associated with plant growth and stress in the four seasons at the forest edge and in the forest interior of invaded sites in the Iguaçu National Park, Southern Brazil. The invasive plant had higher growth at the forest edge than in the forest interior and lower leaf asymmetry and herbivory in the winter than in the summer. Our findings suggest that the forest edge environment favours the growth of T. zebrina. This invasive species is highly competitive in the understory of semi-deciduous seasonal forests all over the year. Our study contributes to the management of T. zebrina by showing that the summer is the best season for controlling this species.

As perdas de biodiversidade e os seus serviços ecossistêmicos ocasionadas pelas invasões biológicas, têm despertado o interesse em pesquisas básicas e aplicadas sobre as espécies invasoras com o objetivo de buscar estratégias de manejo. Tradescantia zebrina é uma das herbáceas crescentemente relatadas como uma invasora no sub-bosque florestal de ecossistemas impactados. Neste estudo, nós estudamos o efeito da variação espacial e sazonal sobre atributos biológicos desta espécie na Floresta Atlântica. Assim, nós mensuramos atributos de T. zebrina associados com o crescimento vegetal e o estresse nas quatro estações do ano em borda e interior da floresta de locais invadidos no Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, Sul do Brasil. A planta invasora apresentou maior crescimento na borda florestal do que no interior. Adicionalmente, assimetria foliar e herbivoria obtidos no inverno foram menores quando comparados ao verão. Nossos achados sugerem que os ambientes de borda florestal favorecem o crescimento de T. zebrina. Esta espécie invasora é altamente competitiva no sub-bosque da Floresta Estacional Semidecídua durante o ano todo. Nosso estudo contribui com o manejo de T. zebrina mostrando que o verão é a melhor estação para o controle desta espécie.

Seasonality and forest edge as drivers of Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse invasion in the Atlantic Forest

Abstract As a result of biodiversity and ecosystem service losses associated with biological invasions, there has been growing interest in basic and applied research on invasive species aiming to improve management strategies. Tradescantia zebrina is a herbaceous species increasingly reported as invasive in the understory of disturbed forest ecosystems. In this study, we assess the effect of spatial and seasonal variation on biological attributes of this species in the Atlantic Forest. To this end, we measured attributes of T. zebrina associated with plant growth and stress in the four seasons at the forest edge and in the forest interior of invaded sites in the Iguaçu National Park, Southern Brazil. The invasive plant had higher growth at the forest edge than in the forest interior and lower leaf asymmetry and herbivory in the winter than in the summer. Our findings suggest that the forest edge environment favours the growth of T. zebrina. This invasive species is highly competitive in the understory of semi-deciduous seasonal forests all over the year. Our study contributes to the management of T. zebrina by showing that the summer is the best season for controlling this species.

Resumo As perdas de biodiversidade e os seus serviços ecossistêmicos ocasionadas pelas invasões biológicas, têm despertado o interesse em pesquisas básicas e aplicadas sobre as espécies invasoras com o objetivo de buscar estratégias de manejo. Tradescantia zebrina é uma das herbáceas crescentemente relatadas como uma invasora no sub-bosque florestal de ecossistemas impactados. Neste estudo, nós estudamos o efeito da variação espacial e sazonal sobre atributos biológicos desta espécie na Floresta Atlântica. Assim, nós mensuramos atributos de T. zebrina associados com o crescimento vegetal e o estresse nas quatro estações do ano em borda e interior da floresta de locais invadidos no Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, Sul do Brasil. A planta invasora apresentou maior crescimento na borda florestal do que no interior. Adicionalmente, assimetria foliar e herbivoria obtidos no inverno foram menores quando comparados ao verão. Nossos achados sugerem que os ambientes de borda florestal favorecem o crescimento de T. zebrina. Esta espécie invasora é altamente competitiva no sub-bosque da Floresta Estacional Semidecídua durante o ano todo. Nosso estudo contribui com o manejo de T. zebrina mostrando que o verão é a melhor estação para o controle desta espécie.

Wandering throughout South America: Taxonomic revision of Tradescantia subg. Austrotradescantia (D.R.Hunt) M.Pell. (Commelinaceae).

I present the first taxonomic revision for T. subg. Austrotradescantia, based on extensive field, cultivation and herbaria studies. I accept 13 species, three of them (i.e. T. atlantica, T. hertweckii and T. tucumanensis) being described as new in the present study. I provide an identification key to the species, distribution maps, descriptions, comments, conservation assessments and illustrations for all species. The troublesome weed T. fluminensis has its specific limits clarified and its native range is presented so it can serve as a basis to better understanding its ecological requirements and to help control it throughout its invasive range. Furthermore, I highlight that T. mundula, a commonly neglected species closely related to T. fluminensis, might also represent a troublesome weed. Tradescantia mundula has been widely introduced in cultivation under the name T. albiflora and seems to have also escaped from cultivation. However, due to the hitherto poorly understood specific limits of T. fluminensis, T. mundula has been treated as a mere cultivar of T. fluminensiss.s.

Erratum: Wandering throughout South America: Taxonomic revision of Tradescantia subg. Austrotradescantia (D.R.Hunt) M.Pell. (Commelinaceae).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.101.25057.].

Use of pentoxifylline in the treatment of allergic contact reactions to plants of the Commelinceae family in dogs.

The effects of pentoxifylline (10 mg kg-1 orally [PO] twice daily) in three dogs with a confirmed contact allergy to plants of the Commelinceae family are described. Pentoxifylline inhibited the development of clinical signs in all three dogs despite extensive challenge with the offending plants. The protective effect was evident after 2 days of treatment and appeared to be dose related in one dog. The immunomodulatory properties of pentoxifylline are reviewed.