New insights into phylogenetic relationships of Rhabdocoela (Platyhelminthes) including members of Mariplanellida.

Background: Previous flatworm phylogenetic research has been carried out analysing 18S and 28S DNA markers. Through this methodology, Mariplanellinae subfamily has been recently re-classified as Mariplanellida status novus. This new classification implied that 3 genera belonged to Mariplanellida: Mariplanella, Lonchoplanella and Poseidoplanella.

A new primer pair for barcoding of bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) without amplifying the orthologous coxA gene of Wolbachia bacteria.

Objectives: DNA barcoding became an effective method for the identification and monitoring of bees. However, standard primer pairs used for barcoding often result in (co-) amplification of bacterial endosymbionts of the genus Wolbachia, which are widespread among bee species. Here we designed a new primer pair and compared it with the performance of the standard Folmer-primers for a small sample set of bees representing the main taxonomic groups of bees.

A tree of leaves: Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the leaf insects (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae).

The insect order Phasmatodea is known for large slender insects masquerading as twigs or bark. In contrast to these so-called stick insects, the subordinated clade of leaf insects (Phylliidae) are dorso-ventrally flattened and therefore resemble leaves in a unique way. Here we show that the origin of extant leaf insects lies in the Australasian/Pacific region with subsequent dispersal westwards to mainland Asia and colonisation of most Southeast Asian landmasses.

Wooden Penetrating Pelvic Trauma Passing the Foramen Ischiadicum.

We describe the case of a 45-year-old woman who suffered an impalement injury of the pelvis with penetration of the sciatic foramen by a wooden foreign body. Following a single operation, the injury healed without complications or infection. We have taken this as an opportunity to describe the case and our standard procedure in more detail.

Surgical vacuum filter-derived stromal cells are superior in proliferation to human bone marrow aspirate.

Background: During joint replacement, surgical vacuum suction guarantees a sufficient overview on the situs. We assume high concentrations of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) on surgical vacuum filters. We compared the in vitro proliferative and differentiation potency of cells from the following: (i) bone marrow (BM), (ii) cancellous bone (CB), (iii) vacuum filter (VF), and (iv) cell saver filtrate reservoir (SF) in 32 patients undergoing elective total hip replacement.