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- Badian, Reza A., et al.
(author)
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Comparison of novel wide-field in vivo corneal confocal microscopy with skin biopsy for assessing peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes
- 2023
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In: Diabetes. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0012-1797 .- 1939-327X. ; 72:7, s. 908-917
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a serious complication of diabetes, where skin biopsy assessing intraepi-dermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) plays an important diagnostic role. In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) of the corneal subbasal nerve plexus has been proposed as a noninvasive diagnostic modality for DPN. Direct compari-sons of skin biopsy and IVCM in controlled cohorts are lacking, as IVCM relies on subjective selection of images depicting only 0.2% of the nerve plexus. We compared these diagnostic modalities in a fixed-age cohort of 41 participants with type 2 diabetes and 36 healthy participants using machine algorithms to create wide-field image mosaics and quantify nerves in an area 37 times the size of prior studies to avoid human bias. In the same partici-pants, and at the same time point, no correlation between IENFD and corneal nerve density was found. Corneal nerve density did not correlate with clinical measures of DPN, including neuropathy symptom and disability scores, nerve conduction studies, or quantitative sensory tests. Our findings indicate that corneal and intraepidermal nerves likely mirror different aspects of nerve degeneration, where only intraepidermal nerves appear to reflect the clinical status of DPN, suggesting that scrutiny is warranted concerning methodologies of studies using corneal nerves to assess DPN.
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- Ekman, Stefan, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Three overlooked species of Bacidia from insular Laurimacaronesia
- 2021
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In: Nordic Journal of Botany. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0107-055X .- 1756-1051. ; 39:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We discuss the taxonomy of three species of Bacidia occurring in insular Laurimacaronesia. Two of them, B. amylothelia (Vain.) Vain. and B. endoleucoides (Nyl.) Zahlbr., which were previously described from Angola and Madeira, respectively, are found here to belong in Bacidia s. str. (Ramalinaceae). Modern descriptions and illustrations are provided for the first time. Bacidia amylothelia is similar to B. areolata Gerasimova & A. Beck, B. campalea (Tuck.) S. Ekman & Kalb, B. fusconigrescens (Nyl.) Zahlbr., B. heteroloma (Vain.) Zahlbr., B. millegrana (Taylor) Zahlbr. and B. suffusa (Fr.) A. Schneid. and is reported here from the Canary Islands. Bacidia endoleucoides is most likely to be confused with B. absistens (Nyl.) Arnold, B. friesiana (Hepp) Korb., B. salazarensis B. de Lesd. and B. caesiovirens S. Ekman & Holien and was found to be widely distributed in the Canary Islands and Azores in addition to Madeira. The third species, Bacidia deludens S. Ekman, Tonsberg & van den Boom, is described here as new to science. Bacidia deludens is characterised by a greyish, crustose thallus with whitish soralia, pale apothecia with crystals in the hymenium and proper exciple, acicular ascospores with 3-19 septa, and the production of fumarprotocetraric acid as the consistently present major substance. It is described here from the Canary Islands and Madeira. Although conservatively treated here in Bacidia, we argue that it is likely to belong in the Malmideaceae. An identification key to all known species of Bacidia s. str. in insular Macaronesia is provided.
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| 4. |
- Spribille, Toby, et al.
(author)
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Lichens and associated fungi from Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
- 2020
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In: The Lichenologist. - 0024-2829 .- 1096-1135. ; 52:2, s. 61-181
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lichens are widely acknowledged to be a key component of high latitude ecosystems. However, the time investment needed for full inventories and the lack of taxonomic identification resources for crustose lichen and lichenicolous fungal diversity have hampered efforts to fully gauge the depth of species richness in these ecosystems. Using a combination of classical field inventory and extensive deployment of chemical and molecular analysis, we assessed the diversity of lichens and associated fungi in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (USA), a mixed landscape of coastal boreal rainforest and early successional low elevation habitats deglaciated after the Little Ice Age. We collected nearly 5000 specimens and found a total of 947 taxa, including 831 taxa of lichen-forming and 96 taxa of lichenicolous fungi together with 20 taxa of saprotrophic fungi typically included in lichen studies. A total of 98 species (10.3% of those detected) could not be assigned to known species and of those, two genera and 27 species are described here as new to science: Atrophysma cyanomelanos gen. et sp. nov., Bacidina circumpulla, Biatora marmorea, Carneothele sphagnicola gen. et sp. nov., Cirrenalia lichenicola, Corticifraga nephromatis, Fuscidea muskeg, Fuscopannaria dillmaniae, Halecania athallina, Hydropunctaria alaskana, Lambiella aliphatica, Lecania hydrophobica, Lecanora viridipruinosa, Lecidea griseomarginata, L. streveleri, Miriquidica gyrizans, Niesslia peltigerae, Ochrolechia cooperi, Placynthium glaciale, Porpidia seakensis, Rhizocarpon haidense, Sagiolechia phaeospora, Sclerococcum fissurinae, Spilonema maritimum, Thelocarpon immersum, Toensbergia blastidiata and Xenonectriella nephromatis. An additional 71 'known unknown' species are cursorily described. Four new combinations are made: Lepra subvelata (G. K. Merr.) T. Sprib., Ochrolechia minuta (Degel.) T. Sprib., Steineropsis laceratula (Hue) T. Sprib. & Ekman and Toensbergia geminipara (Th. Fr.) T. Sprib. & Resl. Thirty-eight taxa are new to North America and 93 additional taxa new to Alaska. We use four to eight DNA loci to validate the placement of ten of the new species in the orders Baeomycetales, Ostropales, Lecanorales, Peltigerales, Pertusariales and the broader class Lecanoromycetes with maximum likelihood analyses. We present a total of 280 new fungal DNA sequences. The lichen inventory from Glacier Bay National Park represents the second largest number of lichens and associated fungi documented from an area of comparable size and the largest to date in North America. Coming from almost 60 degrees N, these results again underline the potential for high lichen diversity in high latitude ecosystems.
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