Resident synovial macrophages in synovial fluid: Implications for immunoregulation.

Resident synovial macrophages (RSMs) are anti-inflammatory, self-renewing macrophages that provide physical immune sequestration of the joint space from the peripheral immune system. Increased permeability of this structure is associated with peripheral immune cells in the synovial fluid (SF). Direct measures of synovial barrier integrity are possible with tissue histology, but after barrier breakdown, if these cells perpetuate or initiate chronic inflammation in SF remains unknown.

Resident Synovial Macrophages in Synovial Fluid: Implications for Immunoregulation in Infectious and Inflammatory Arthritis.

Objectives: Resident synovial macrophages (RSM) provide immune sequestration of the joint space and are likely involved in initiation and perpetuation of the joint-specific immune response. We sought to identify RSM in synovial fluid (SF) and demonstrate migratory ability, in additional to functional changes that may perpetuate a chronic inflammatory response within joint spaces.

Methods: We recruited human patients presenting with undifferentiated arthritis in multiple clinical settings.

Trans-anal small bowel evisceration in a patient with a perforated rectal prolapse.

An 85-year-old lady with a history of chronic constipation presented with gangrenous small bowel protruding from the anus through a hole in a prolapsed rectum. At surgery, a resection of 125 cm of gangrenous small bowel was performed in the perineum prior to laparotomy, where rectal repair was followed by the creation of a sigmoid loop colostomy and double-barrel ileostomy. This avoided an intrabdominal anastomosis which was felt likely to complicate due to the lady's intraoperative haemodynamic instability requiring inotropic support.

Extensive intragenomic variation in the internal transcribed spacer region of fungi.

Fungi are among the most biodiverse organisms in the world. Accurate species identification is imperative for studies on fungal ecology and evolution. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA region has been widely accepted as the universal barcode for fungi.

Genetic time traveling: sequencing old herbarium specimens, including the oldest herbarium specimen sequenced from kingdom Fungi, reveals the population structure of an agriculturally significant rust.

Sequencing herbarium specimens can be instrumental in answering ecological, evolutionary, and taxonomic inquiries. We developed a protocol for sequencing herbarium specimens of rust fungi (Pucciniales) and proceeded to sequence specimens ranging from 4 to 211 yr old from five different genera. We then obtained sequences from an economically important biological control agent, Puccinia suaveolens, to highlight the potential of sequencing herbarium specimens in an ecological sense and to evaluate the following hypotheses: (1) The population structure of a plant pathogen changes over time, and (2) introduced pathogens are more diverse in their native range.