bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of radiosensitivity predictive genes in gastric cancer cell line using gene expression profiling
Authors: Kim Han Sang , Rha Sun Young , Kim Sun Jeong , Park Chan Hee , Roh Jae Kyung , Chung Hyun Cheol , Ahn Joong Bae , Jeung Hei-Cheul , Shin Sang Joon , Kim Yong Bae
Published: May 2015

Background: In the post-genome era, the development of a radiation sensitivity predictive assay is significant as it could lead to better patient and dose selection in radiotherapy.

Methods: To identify radiosensitivity predictive genes in gastric cancer cells, 12 gastric and 4 colorectal cancer cell lines were used. Oligonucleotide microarray was performed using a human oligo chip containing 22,740 oligonucleotide probes of 70 bases with a reference design before radiation. Clonogenic survival assays with 2Gy of radiation were performed and survival fraction at 2 Gy (SF2) was measured. Differentially expressed genes were identified through Significant analysis of microarrays (SAM) between radiosensitive and radioresistant cell lines and functional study through Ingenuity pathway analysis was conducted.

Results: According to SF2, SNU-638 (0.127±0.038), MKN-1 (0.143±0.032), and HCT-116 (0.313±0.034) were classified as radiosensitive cells, whereas YCC-2 (0.609±0.046), YCC-16 (0.62±0.091), HT29 (0.641±0.070), and YCC-7 (0.667±0.192) were determined as radioresistant cells. Eighty-two up-regulated and one hundred and forty-two down-regulated genes were identified in radiosensitive cell lines compared to radioresistant cell lines. Cell death (43 genes), cellular growth and proliferation (36 genes), cell-to-cell signaling (16 genes), cell cycle (13 genes), and DNA repair (6 genes) were related with identified gene set. Genetic network via TGFB1 and TP53 showed important role in radiosensitivity.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that identified genes are candidates for radiosensitivity biomarker discovery and in vitro clonogenic assay with expression analysis may assist to predict responsiveness to radiotherapy.
EGFR mutations in African American NSCLC patients occurs at a similar frequency to Caucasians but demonstrates an extreme bias to exon 19 mutations
Authors: Atikukke Govindaraja , Cote Michele L. , Schwartz Ann G. , Shirish Gadgeel , Soubani Ayman O. , Ethier Stephen P. , Lonardo Fulvio , Haddad Ramsi , Edwards David J.
Published: May 2015

Oncogenomic mutations found in NSCLC are potential therapeutic targets, as seen in the dramatic responses individuals with EGFR mutations have to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. We selected 149 patients with NSCLC from previous population-based studies of lung cancer which included 80 (54%) Caucasian samples and 69 African American (46%) samples. Tumor DNA was extracted from formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue. We examined 238 mutations in 19 oncogenes using the OncoCarta Assay v1.0 (Sequenom). We identified a total of 52 mutations in tumors from 47 individuals; the remaining 102 tumors did not have mutations in the oncogenes we assayed. Mutations were identified in EGFR (n=20), KRAS (n=19), PIK3CA (n=6), PDGFRA (n=2), AKT2 (n=1), FLT3 (n=1) and CDK1 (n=1). Consistent with previous studies, EGFR mutation was more likely to occur in non-smokers (p=3.3E-08 Fisher's test) and the significance of this effect was more pronounced when analyzed against the number of pack years smoked (p=7.3E-08, Kruskal-Wallis test). Previously published reports have suggested that African American patients are less likely to exhibit EGFR mutations compared to Caucasian NSCLC patients and are therefore less likely to respond to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. We found no difference in the proportion of EGFR mutations in African American patients (n=8, 11.6%) compared to Caucasian (n=12, 15.0%, p-value=0.54). Furthermore, EGFR mutations in African American patients were exclusively in exon 19 (n=8, 100%), whereas Caucasian patients had mutations in exon 21 (n=3, 25%) and exon 18 (n=1, 8.3%) in addition to those in exon 19 (n=8, 66.7%). Interestingly, several reports have suggested a higher rate of response of NSCLC to erlotinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, associated with exon 19 deletions relative to the exon 21 L858R mutation. Thus, our oncogenomic data demonstrates that African American NSCLC patients not only harbor a similar frequency of EGFR mutation as Caucasians, but that the specific nature of the mutation may result in a higher frequency of response to EGFR targeted therapeutics.
Diagnosis of prostate cancer using differentially expressed genes in stroma
Authors: Jia Zhenyu , Wang Yipeng , Sawyers Anne , Yao Huazhen , Rahmatpanah Farahnaz , Xia Xiao-Qin , Xu Qiang , Pio Rebecca , Turan Tolga , Koziol James A. , Goodison Steve , Carpenter Philip , Wang-Rodriguez Jessica , Simoneau Anne , Meyskens Frank , Sutton Manuel , Lernhardt Waldemar , Beach Thomas , McClelland Michael , Mercola Dan
Published: May 2015

Over 1 million prostate biopsies are performed in the U.S. every year. A failure to find cancer is not definitive in a significant percentage of patients due to the presence of equivocal structures or continuing clinical suspicion. We have identified gene expression changes in stroma that can detect tumor nearby. We compared gene expression profiles of 13 biopsies containing stroma near tumor and 15 biopsies from volunteers without prostate cancer. More than a thousand significant expression changes were found and thereafter filtered using large numbers of other expression profiles to eliminate possible age-related genes and genes expressed at detectable levels in tumor cells. A stroma-specific classifier was constructed based on 114 candidate genes and tested on 364 independent samples, including 243 tumor-bearing samples and 121 non-tumor samples (normal biopsies, normal autopsies, remote stroma, as well as stroma within a few millimeters of tumor). The classifier predicted the tumor status of patients using tumor-free samples with an average accuracy of 97.2% (sensitivity = 97.9% and specificity = 88.0%) whereas classifiers trained with sets of 100 randomly generated genes had no diagnostic value. These results indicate that the prostate cancer microenvironment exhibits reproducible changes useful for categorizing the presence of tumor in patients when a prostate sample is derived from near the tumor but does not contain any recognizable tumor.
Four-protein signature accurately predicts lymph node metastasis and survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Zanaruddin Sharifah NurAin Syed , Saleh Amyza , Yi-Hsin Yang , Hamid Sharifah , Mustafa Wan Mahadzir Wan , AAN Khairul Bariah , Teo Soo-Hwang , Zain Rosnah Binti , Lau Shin Hin , Cheong Sok Ching
Published: May 2015

The presence of lymph node metastasis significantly affects the survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients and successful detection and removal of positive lymph nodes is crucial in the treatment of this disease. Current evaluation methods still have their limitations in detecting the presence of tumor cells in the lymph nodes, where up to a third of clinically diagnosed metastasis-negative (N0) patients actually have metastasis—positive LNs in the neck. We aimed to develop a molecular signature in the primary tumor that could predict lymph node (LN) metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma. The expression levels of 11 proteins was evaluated using immunohistochemical analysis in a tissue microarray (TMA) consisting of 110 specimens from 32 individuals. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to identify proteins that could significantly differentiate patients with LN metastasis from those that did not. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis was used to verify the ability of chosen biomarkers in segregating LN positive patients from those with no LN involvement. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log rank test was utilized to determine the association between LN metastasis and biomarker expression with disease-specific survival. Of the 11 biomarkers, EGFR, HER-2/neu, LAMC2 and RHOC were found to be significantly associated with LN metastasis. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering demonstrated that expression patterns of these 4 proteins could be used to differentiate the positive LN metastasis specimens from specimens that are negative. Collectively, EGFR, HER-2/neu, LAMC2 and RHOC have a specificity of 87.5% and sensitivity of 70% with a prognostic accuracy of 83.4% for LN metastasis. We also demonstrated the LN signature could independently predict disease-specific survival (p = 0.023). In summary, we developed a 4-protein LN signature that could reliably distinguish patients with lymph node metastasis from those who were metastasis free. In addition, this LN signature is also associated with disease-specific survival indicating that would be a useful prognostic tool for the management of oral cancer patients.
SCV-07 treatment leads to alterations in VEGF, MIF, IL-1alpha, and MIP-1beta levels in patients with head and neck cancer
Authors: Tuthill Cynthia W. , Rios Israel , Modelska Katharina , Sonis Stephen T. , Fey Edward , Alterovitz Gil , Epstein Joel B.
Published: May 2015

Introduction: Serum was collected before and after chemoradiation therapy from head and neck cancer (HNC) patients enrolled in a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging, placebo-controlled trial designed to test the safety, tolerability and efficacy of an immunomodulatory peptide, gamma-D-glutamyl-L-tryptophan (SCV-07) as an intervention for oral mucositis (OM). Results of the trial demonstrated that the high dose of SCV-07 (0.1 mg/kg daily on days of radiation) was safe and effective in attenuating the course of OM. The objective of this study was to determine if the administration of high dose SCV-07 affected detectable levels of peripheral blood cytokines that may be involved in the host response to chemoradiation therapy for HNC.

Experimental Procedures: Samples were analyzed via multiplex (Affymetrix Procarta cytokine assay), evaluating 35 proteins expected to be affected by SCV-07, which has been shown to stimulate a Th1 cytokine profile and to inhibit IL-6 dependent STAT3 signaling. For each of the 35 proteins, the null hypothesis “average subject protein value in high-dose regimen subjects equals average subject protein value in placebo regimen subjects” was tested against the alternative hypothesis “average subject protein value in high-dose regimen subjects does not equal average subject protein value in placebo regimen subjects.” A two tail test (=0.05) was used as there was no a priori knowledge of a relationship between protein levels and treatment regimen. Unequal population variances were assumed as the samples were not assumed to be random draws from the same population. The dataset analyzed 26 subjects given the high dose SCV-07 regimen and 23 subjects given placebo.

Summary of Results: MIF, MIP-1beta, and VEGF were found to be significantly higher (p < 0.049, p < 0.049, p < 0.015 respectively) in high dose SCV-07 treated individuals compared to placebo, whereas IL-1alpha was found to be significantly lower (p < 0.045) in high dose SCV-07 treated individuals compared to placebo.

Conclusions: SCV-07 treatment leads to increases in circulation of some immune-related cytokines (MIF, MIP-1beta, and VEGF) and leads to a decrease in another (IL-1alpha). These results can be used to better understand SCV-07's mechanism of action, and to follow biomarkers during future clinical trials evaluating SCV-07.

Basic Research, Epigenetics, Immunology, Noncoding RNAs, Tumor Microenvironment, Metastasis, Target Identification, Validation, Lead Discovery, and Optimization
Using biomedical informatics to see the forest AND the trees for molecular diagnostics in cancer therapeutic development
Authors: Buetow Kenneth H.
Published: May 2015

Cancer research in general—and molecular diagnostic development in particular—are leveraging the diverse collection of publicly-accessible molecular information that underpins disease. The ability to access and integrate this information will be crucial to the development of molecular diagnostics. Use of this data requires overcoming the silos and data disconnects common throughout biomedicine and new models for interpreting this massive amount of information. The National Cancer Institute has developed the caBIG® initiative (Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid) to integrate the diverse multidimensional data. An active area of research is developing biologic process models for integrating and interpreting this massive volume of data.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is an example of the challenges faced in transforming data to information. Large volumes of diverse, multidimensional data including various genomic characterizations and clinical information must be synthesized. Through the caBIG® generated Cancer Molecular Analysis portal (http://cma.nci.nih.gov), it is possible to see integrated views of the TCGA data from different research perspectives including genomic and clinical views. Tools leveraging this data can be used to display and analyze the data in biologic networks. As more TCGA data and additional molecular data are shared through the portal it will become increasingly possible to obtain a comprehensive view of the molecular basis of cancer and drive development of molecular diagnostics.
Tissue issues: Clinical and research implications of diagnostic biopsy practices
Authors: Bethel Kelly J.
Published: May 2015

Tissue Issues for Researchers: Why the pathologist does NOT want to give you human tumor tissue...and how to get it anyway. Or: Why you should befriend a pathologist.

Overview: More research should be done using human tumor tissue.This is very hard for many logistical, organizational, and sociological reasons.Befriend a pathologist. Involve them early during the design phase. Fund their time.So you want some human tumor tissue...Tissue banks exist, with well-annotated tumor samples, sometimes with clinical follow up information.This tissue is either frozen or paraffin embedded.Tissue arrays are available, which are very efficient and allow for good QC because one can cut a section and actually see what cells are there, and then punch out a corresponding core of tissue from the block to use for experiment.Expensive, not necessarily tailored to your experiment, and not fresh tissue. Fresh tissue: No, we don't want to give you any...Pathologists control tissue in a hospital setting, where most cancer surgeries take place.Biopsies are hard won tiny fragments of people — we have to bully the other doctors into getting us enough in the first place.Resections usually provide lots of tissue but it takes a bunch of extra time and judgment to collect them fresh and carefully annotate them for you, and place them in special media and make sure they get picked up and handled promptly. How do we get the tissue to make the diagnosis? From whom do we get it? Diagnostic adequacy rate of sampling procedures is related to type of biopsy.Research samples are considered second priority after adequate diagnostic material is obtained. Suggestions for optimizing your chances of getting some.
The transition from discovery by genome-wide association studies to validation of clinical risk models: Where are we, what will it take, and when can we expect to be there?
Authors: Chanock Stephen J.
Published: May 2015

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have emerged as an important tool for discovering regions of the genome that harbor genetic variants that confer risk for different types of cancers. The success of GWAS has been a consequence of the convergence of new technologies that can genotype hundreds of thousands of common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers together with comprehensive annotation of genetic variation. This approach has provided the opportunity to scan across the genome in a sufficiently set of cases and controls without a set of prior hypotheses in search of susceptibility alleles with low effect sizes. So far, susceptibility alleles discovered thus far are common, namely, with a frequency in one or more population of greater than 5% and each allele confers a small contribution to the overall risk for the disease. In prostate cancer, there could be more than 35 distinct regions harboring common susceptibility alleles identified by GWAS whereas in lung cancer, a disease strongly driven by exposure to tobacco products, so far, only three regions have been conclusively established. To date, over 125 regions have been conclusively associated in over a dozen different cancers, yet no more than six regions have been associated with more than one distinct cancer type. GWAS are an important discovery tool that require extensive follow-up to map each region, investigate the biological mechanism underpinning the association and eventually test the optimal markers for assessing risk for a disease or its outcome, such as in pharmacogenomics. The early fruits of success employed by GWAS have opened new horizons for applying genetic variation to the early diagnosis, treatment and perhaps prevention of different types of cancers. At the same time, it has become apparent that the complex genomic architecture of disease susceptibility will require further discovery of uncommon and rare variants using next generation sequence technologies that contribute to different cancers before we can expect to establish robust tests of germline DNA to be clinically useful. To reach this goal, new studies will need to be designed to validate the utility of known genetic variants in assessing risk for cancer.
Prediction of drug response using genomic signatures from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia
Authors: Venkatesan Kavitha , Stransky Nicolas , Margolin Adam , Reddy Anupama , Raman Pichai , Sonkin Dmitriy , Jones Michael , Wilson Christopher , Kim Sungjoon , Warmuth Markus , Sellers William , Lehar Joseph , Barretina Jordi , Caponigro Giordano , Garraway Levi , Morrissey Michael
Published: May 2015

Accurate prediction of patient drug response is required for successful personalized medicine. Cancer is a disease resulting from myriad genetic alterations. Accordingly, it should be possible to predict drug response of specific cancers using genetic and molecular signatures. To aid this effort, an ongoing collaboration established between Novartis and the Broad Institute called the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) has (i) comprehensively characterized genome-scale mRNA expression, copy number alteration and mutation profiles for nearly 1000 cancer cell line models spanning many tumor types and (ii) profiled ~500 of these cell lines against ~1000 anticancer compounds. Using these data, we are developing a scalable, extensible predictive modeling framework based on various supervised learning methods that include both categorical classification and linear regression approaches to predict compound sensitivity. By cross-validation of the generated models against test data sets, we quantitatively estimated model performance. Our initial results validate several preexisting genetic predictors of sensitivity. In addition, our models reported 70% or higher sensitivity and specificity for a number of compounds and yielded interesting potentially novel predictive features that, in some cases, outperform previously existing genetic predictors of sensitivity. Our integrative approach demonstrates that pharmacological profiling of large, genomically annotated cancer model systems, coupled with systematic predictive modeling, can uncover novel predictors of drug response and may ultimately aid patient stratification.

This talk is also presented as Poster A4.
Atovaquone for Prophylaxis of Toxoplasmosis after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Mendorf Alexander , Klyuchnikov Evgeny , Langebrake Claudia , Rohde Holger , Ayuk Francis , Regier Marc , Christopeit Maximilian , Zabelina Tatjana , Bacher Adelbert , Stübig Thomas , Wolschke Christine , Bacher Ulrike , Kröger Nicolaus
Published: May 2015

Toxoplasmosis and infections by other opportunistic agents such as Pneumocystis jirovecii constitute life-threatening risks for patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) has been well established for post-transplant toxoplasmosis and pneumocystis prophylaxis, but treatment may be limited due to toxicity. We explored atovaquone as an alternative and compared it with TMP-SMX regarding toxicity and efficacy during the first 100 days after transplantation in 155 consecutive adult stem cell recipients. Eight patients with a prior history of TMP-SMX intolerance received atovaquone as first-line prophylaxis. TMP-SMX was used for 141 patients as first-line strategy, but 13 patients (9.2%) were later switched to atovaquone due to TMP-SMX toxicity or gastrointestinal symptoms. No active toxoplasmosis or active P. jirovecii infection developed under continued prophylaxis with either TMP-SMX or atovaquone. However, for reasons of TMP-SMX and/or atovaquone toxicity, 7 patients were unable to tolerate any efficacious toxoplasmosis prophylaxis and therefore obtained inhalative pentamidine as P. jirovecii prophylaxis but no toxoplasmosis prophylaxis. Importantly, 2 of these patients developed severe toxoplasmosis. In summary, atovaquone appears as a valid alternative for at least some post-transplant patients who cannot tolerate TMP-SMX. This should be further confirmed by multicenter trials.
Serum Pentraxin-3 Level in Patients Who Underwent Coronary Angiography and Relationship with Coronary Atherosclerosis
Authors: Nerkiz Polat , Doganer Yusuf Cetin , Aydogan Umit , Akbulut Halil , Parlak Adem , Aydogdu Aydogan , Sari Oktay , Cayci Tuncer , Barcin Cem , Koc Bayram
Published: May 2015

Objectives: To evaluate the role of pentraxin-3 (PTX-3) in determining the presence and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Subjects and Methods: Ninety-five patients (77 males and 18 females) who underwent elective coronary angiography were enrolled in this study. Patients with heart failure, renal failure, diabetes and thyroid disease were excluded. The study population was divided into 3 groups: individuals with normal coronary arteries, patients with critical CAD (n = 35) and patients with noncritical CAD (n = 36). The association of PTX-3 levels with the presence and severity of CAD and the number of involved vessels were analyzed. Results: The mean age was 53.40 ± 10.25 years. The PTX-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with CAD than without CAD (146.48 ± 48.52 vs. 109.83 ± 49.06 pg/ml, p < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was found among the 3 groups regarding the severity of CAD (165.66 ± 49.10, 127.83 ± 40.51 and 109.83 ± 49.06 pg/ml, p < 0.001, respectively). The serum PTX-3 levels in normal arteries were 110.4 ± 48.11 pg/ml, in single-vessel disease 132.35 ± 32.96 pg/ml, in 2-vessel disease 142.57 ± 55.88 pg/ml, in 3-vessel disease 156.07 ± 50.53 pg/ml, and in 3-vessel disease 160.50 ± 30.41 pg/ml. After adjusting for baseline confounders, older age (OR = 1.107, 95% CI = 1.027-1.193, p = 0.008) and higher PTX-3 levels (OR = 1.017, 95% CI = 1.003-1.032, p = 0.021) were detected as significant predictors for the presence of CAD. Conclusions: Higher PTX-3 levels were associated with the presence of CAD and its increased severity in clinically stable patients. Higher PTX-3 levels may be regarded as a novel diagnostic predictor and may offer therapeutic options in the clinic.
Sobre Tábuas Brutas e Porcelanas Finas
Authors: Matsunaga Priscila
Published: May 2015

O artigo propõe uma reflexão sobre o trabalho da Companhia do Latão, grupo teatral paulistano. O Latão apresenta um repertório de peças teatrais que auxilia na compreensão da formação brasileira e, ao mesmo tempo, das formas representacionais que nos auxiliam na compreensão da realidade. Esboça-se, aqui, o interesse pelos “dramas representativos”, que se fazem a partir do ponto de vista dos trabalhadores. Em específico, analiso a peça O Patrão Cordial, inspirada em Raízes do Brasil, e em O Sr. Puntila e Seu Criado Matti.
O vaqueiro e o procurador dos pobres: Vidas Secas
Authors: Pacheco Ana Paula
Published: May 2015

O ensaio busca iluminar o caráter experimental do romance Vidas Secas, de Graciliano Ramos, o qual permite a apreensão da fratura social brasileira a partir das contradições entre o narrador-intelectual e a representação da consciência de uma família de retirantes empurrada pela seca. Num contexto de queda das oligarquias (a crise do café de 1929), de populismo nacional-patriarcalista (a era Vargas) e de imaginação crítica, as relações de trabalho vêm ao procênio, funcionando como princípio formal do livro.
A Graça, o Sal e o Espírito ou José de Alencar Ao Correr da Pena
Authors: Oliveira José Quintão de
Published: May 2015

Importantes em si mesmos pelo valor literário, os folhetins de Ao Correr da Pena são também de importância definitiva para se compreender a evolução criativa do seu autor. Publicados em livro pela primeira vez em 1874, foram bastante reeditados desde então, permanecendo, no entanto, escassamente estudados. Projeta-se analisar rapidamente essa produção ao mesmo tempo que se avalia sua circulação e se destaca o trabalho de alguns dos mais importantes estudiosos que atentaram ao folhetinismo de José de Alencar.
The appendiculatus species-group of Habropogon Loew, 1847 (Diptera: Asilidae) in the Palaearctic Region, including the description of new species
Authors: HRADSKÝ MILAN , GELLER-GRIMM FRITZ
Published: May 2015

Six Palaearctic species of the Habropogon appendiculatus-group are recognized, two of them being described as new: H. hauseri, sp. n. and H. theodori, sp. n. A key for their identification and comments on their distribution are provided. The distributions of three species are extended: H. aegyptius Efflatoun, 1937 occurs also in Jordan, H. appendiculatus Schiner, 1867 in Spain, and H. parappendiculatus Weinberg & Tsacas, 1973 in Morocco.
A new tarantula species from northern Australia (Araneae, Theraphosidae)
Authors: RAVEN ROBERT J.
Published: May 2015

A new species of tarantula, Coremiocnemis tropix (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) is described from northern Australia; it is the first record of the genus outside of Malaysia. New hair types on legs of the Selenocosmiinae are figured.
A review of the Neotropical genus Sarcopromusca Townsend (Diptera: Muscidae) with a key to species and a redescription of S. sarcophagina (Wulp)
Authors: NIHEI SILVIO SHIGUEO
Published: May 2015

Sarcopromusca Townsend, 1927 is a Neotropical genus with two species distributed from Mexico southward to northern Argentina and southern Brazil. In the present paper, the genus Sarcopromusca is diagnosed, an identification key to species is provided, S. sarcophagina (Wulp, 1896) is redescribed and illustrated, and lectotypes are designated for this species and for the type species S. arcuata Townsend, 1927 [= S. pruna (Shannon & Del Ponte, 1926)]. A discussion is presented to clarify the geographic distributions of S. pruna and S. sarcophagina.
Redescription of Australian crab spider Diaea pulleinei Rainbow, 1915 (Araneae: Thomisidae)
Authors: SZYMKOWIAK PAWEŁ
Published: May 2015

Species richness of described crab spiders (Family Thomisidae) in Australia is low. Altogether 123 species of the family are known from this continent. One of the most abundantly represented genera of crab spiders in Australia is Diaea (31 recognized species). This paper revises knowledge of one species of this genus, Diaea pulleinei Rainbow, 1915, supplementing its description with the hitherto unknown female.
Cotylegaleatidae, a new family of Ploima (Rotifera: Monogononta), for Cotylegaleata perplexa gen. et sp. nov., from freshwater benthos of Belgium
Authors: DE SMET WILLEM H.
Published: May 2015

A new monotypic rotifer family, Cotylegaleatidae, is proposed for Cotylegaleata perplexa gen. et sp. nov., collected from benthos of an artificial small freshwater lake in Belgium. The new family belongs to the subclass Monogononta, order Ploima. Its distinctive characters include: a hollow cup-shaped structure (sucker ?) surrounding the mouth opening, a non-retractile head shield, a distal foot pseudosegment with two toes and two ventro-lateral spurs, a J-shaped vitellarium, and characteristic specialized virgate trophi with stiletto-shaped epipharyngeal elements.
Convolutriloba macropyga sp. nov., an uncommonly fecund acoel (Acoelomorpha) discovered in tropical aquaria
Authors: SHANNON THOMAS , ACHATZ JOHANNES G.
Published: May 2015

A new species of Convolutriloba Hendelberg & Akesson, 1988, collected from an aquarium in Marietta, Georgia, USA, and cultured at the University of Georgia comprises exceptionally large individuals, up to 10 mm in length. Like other members of the genus, Convolutriloba macropyga sp. nov. reproduces asexually and possesses symbiotic zoochlorellae, but it also routinely reproduces sexually, laying relatively large eggs that hatch into aposymbiotic juveniles with a statocyst and frontal organ ( which are absent in the adults). C. macropyga has a narrow tolerance for extremes of temperature and salinity: it cannot survive outside of a temperature range of 18–28 degrees C and suffers 50% lethality at salinity as low as 24 ppt and as high as 44 ppt. It cannot survive total darkness for longer than 23–26 days, even with prey provided, suggesting an obligate symbiosis with its algal endosymbiont. A method for inducing sexual reproduction in other convolutrilobids is presented, as are suggestions for successful shipping of these acoels.
A new species of ‘spike-nosed’ frog from northern New Guinea (Anura: Hylidae: Litoria)
Authors: RICHARDS STEPHEN J.
Published: May 2015

A new species of frog with a prominent rostral spike is described from the Sepik Basin, northern lowlands of Papua New Guinea. The new species is most similar to Litoria prora (Menzies) and L. humboldtorum Gunther but differs from those species in its smaller size, reduced dermal lappets on the limbs, and unique advertisement call. It is the sixth species of Australopapuan hylid frog known to possess a dermal projection on the snout.
A new stalked species of Polycarpa (Tunicata : Ascidiacea) from deeper waters of the tropical Western Pacific and in situ observations on sympatric species
Authors: SANAMYAN KAREN , HISSMANN KAREN
Published: May 2015

A new species of a stalked ascidian (genus Polycarpa, family Styelidae) is described from living and preserved material. Living specimens of the new and some sympatric species were observed and photographed in situ and specimens of the former were collected by the manned submersible "JAGO" at depths between 200 and 277 m off Sangihe Island between Sulawesi (Indonesia) and the Philippines. Specimens display a number of adaptations known previously from a range of ascidian taxa recorded from deeper waters, including a stalk from the anterior end of the body, the loss of ciliated pharyngeal perforations and wide atrial apertures exposing extensive areas of the branchial sac.
Separation of Pleuroxus pamirensis (Werestschagin, 1923) from P. annandalei (Daday, 1908) (Cladocera : Chydoridae)
Authors: KOTOV ALEXEY A. , SHEVELEVA NATALIA G.
Published: May 2015

Lateral horns on valves are found in few representatives from different families of the Anomopoda (Crustacea: Cladocera). We found that populations of "horned" Pleuroxus Baird, 1843 from mountains of Central Asia belong to two different species, P. pamirensis (Werestschagin, 1923) present in Pamirs, and P. annandalei (Daday, 1908), occuring in Tibetan Plateau, Baikal Rift System and Mongolian Altai. Redescriptions and a list of differences between the species are presented. Genera Cornuella Werestschagin, 1923 and Sinopleuroxus Chiang Sieh-chih, 1963 are suggested junior synonyms of Pleuroxus.
Bucephalids (Digenea: Bucephalidae) from marine fishes off the south-western coast of Java, Indonesia, including the description of two new species of Rhipidocotyle and comments on the marine fish digenean fauna of Indonesia
Authors: BRAY RODNEY A. , PALM HARRY W.
Published: May 2015

Two new bucephalids are described from marine fishes from off the southern coast of Java, Indonesia. Rhipidocotyle danai n. sp. from the gempylid Thyrsitoides marleyi and R. jayai n. sp. from the sciaenid Johnius macropterus. Neither has previously been reported as host of members of the genus Rhipidocotyle. They can be distinguished from other species within the genus by a suite of characters, including the body shape, rhynchus length, pre-vitelline, pre-uterine, pre-mouth and post-testicular distances, cirrus-sac reach and egg length. Prosorhynchus platycephali is reported from the platycephalid Sunagocia otaitensis. This identification is based on the distinctly separated testes and the position of Mehlis' gland directly posterior to the anterior testis. To aid identification within these species-rich trematode genera, we have devised an illustrated metrical key that indicates the most similar described species. Nine distinct metrical features were recorded or calculated for all known marine species within Rhipidocotyle (51 known species) and Prosorhynchus (64 known species) and utilised in species identification. With about 75 identified fish trematode species, only a fraction of the expected species diversity has been recorded from Indonesia, strongly suggesting the need for greater effort for fish parasitological research in the region.
Three new species of striped Ichthyophis (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Ichthyophiidae) from the northeast Indian states of Manipur and Nagaland
Authors: KAMEI RACHUNLIU G. , WILKINSON M. , GOWER DAVID J. , BIJU S. D.
Published: May 2015

Three new ichthyophiid species, Ichthyophis khumhzi sp. nov., Ichthyophis moustakius sp. nov. and Ichthyophis sendenyu sp. nov., from the northeast Indian states of Manipur and Nagaland, are described on the basis of morphological analysis of new material. The new material (16 specimens) more than doubles the number of northeast Indian caecilian specimens reported in previous literature, and increases the caecilian fauna of the region to seven species. Two of the new species have very distinctive, moustache-like stripes between their tentacles and nares, a feature not reported in other ichthyophiids. Diagnoses, type descriptions, illustrations, data on variation, distribution, and natural history are provided for the new species. Concern for the conservation of northeast Indian caecilians is raised, given the paucity of previous work, evidence of unrecognized diversity, and ongoing habitat destruction.
First description of the female of the spider Savignia zero Eskov, 1988 (Araneae: Linyphiidae)
Authors: LASUT LIANA , MARUSIK YURI M. , FRICK HOLGER
Published: May 2015

Savignia is a relatively large and well defined Holarctic spider genus (see Eskov 1988). It includes 23 species, of which seven are known by males only (Platnick 2009). Thirteen species, including many endemics, have been recorded from the Far East Palaearctic (Eskov 1991).
The taxonomic status of the water mite genera Todothyas Cook and Parathyas Lundblad—supplement to Di Sabatino et al. (2009)
Authors: SABATINO ANTONIO DI , GERECKE REINHARD , GLEDHILL TERENCE , SMIT HARRY
Published: May 2015

The taxonomic placement of Parathyas Lundblad, 1926 as a separate monotypic genus was questioned by Tuzovskij (2007) who demonstrated the absence of significant apomorphic character states in larvae and arranged the type species in the genus Thyas Koch, 1836. Özdikmen (2006) reported on the homonymy of Thyas Koch, 1836 ["1835", err. Özdikmen] with Thyas Hübner, 1824 (Lepidoptera), and proposed Acerbitas nom. nov. for Thyas Koch, 1836. However, he incorrectly applied the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature: as stated by Di Sabatino et al. (2009), if this taxon is maintained separate from Parathyas, the first available name for Thyas Koch, 1836 is Todothyas Cook, 1974. Considering that there are no significant differences in larval and adult morphology - dorsal setae on P-4 of adults, for Di Sabatino et al. (2009, p. 4) the main reason to distinguish Parathyas from Todothyas, may also be found in Todothyas bruzelii and T. pachystoma (see Tuzovskij 2007) - there is no evidence to accept the taxonomic placement of the two taxa as separate units.
Linking operational clustered taxonomic units (OCTUs) from parallel ultra sequencing (PUS) to nematode species
Authors: PORAZINSKA DOROTA L. , GIBLIN-DAVIS ROBIN M. , SUNG WAY , THOMAS W. KELLEY
Published: May 2015

DNA-sequence-based approaches such as single nematode PCR and sequencing have been successfully used in nematode species diagnostics. Here, we use SSU rDNA sequences generated from an artificially-assembled community of nematodes of known identity and relative abundance to assess a relationship between nematode species and operationally clustered taxonomic units (OCTUs). OCTUs that formed at 95% similarity underestimated species richness by ca 30%, and all expected species were recovered only at 99% OCTU similarity. Although the number of OCTUs formed at 99% similarity was considerably higher than the actual number of nematode species, a pattern of the distribution of OCTUs within each species allowed an assignment of OCTUs to specific species. The pattern was highly predictable and helped to discern rather than obscure species recognition. The patterns and parameters that emerged from the control nematode dataset were then used to test our approach on environmental samples of nematodes obtained from a tropical rainforest in Costa Rica.
Systematic revision of the feather mite genus Protolichus Trouessart, 1884 (Astigmata, Pterolichidae)
Authors: MIRONOV SERGEY V. , DABERT JACEK
Published: May 2015

Based on the type materials deposited in the Trouessart collection (Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France), the six formerly known species of the feather mite genus Protolichus Megnin et Trouessart, 1884 (Pterolichidae: Pterolichinae) are redescribed: Protolichus brachiatus Trouessart, 1884, P. magnificus Favette et Trouessart, 1904, P. strangulatus Favette et Trouessart, 1904 (brachiatus group), P. casuarius Trouessart, 1884, P. crassior Trouessart, 1884, and P. gratus Favette et Trouessart, 1904 (crassior group). One new species of the brachiatus group found in the examined materials is described: Protolichus sigillator sp. n. from Chalcopsitta scintillata chloroptera (Salvadori, 1876) (Psittacidae: Loriinae). A new expanded diagnosis for the genus Protolichus is provided and a key to all known species is constructed for the first time. Known host associations of Protolichus species with parrots of the Old World are critically revised. Mites of this genus are apparently restricted to lories and lorikeets (Loriinae) distributed in the Australian and Indo Malayan regions, particularly to representatives of the genera Chalcopsitta, Charmosyna, Lorius, Pseudeos, and Trichoglossus, while other formerly recorded hosts, including those from other subfamilies of parrots, seem to be results of accidental contaminations.
A new genus and five new species of Astieae (Araneae: Salticidae) from Australia, with remarks on distribution
Authors: GARDZIŃSKA JOANNA , ŻABKA MAREK
Published: May 2015

Parahelpis, a new genus of Astieae, is described for Helpis abnormis (Zabka, 2002) and Parahelpis smithae spec. nov., the former being designated the type species. Adoxotoma embolica spec. nov., A. nitida spec. nov., A. sexmaculata spec. nov., and Helpis longipalpis spec. nov. are described. Astia nodosa L. Koch, 1879 is transferred to Adoxotoma. Diagnoses and lists of species for Adoxotoma and Helpis are provided and remarks on their distribution are given.
Discovery of a new duiker species (Bovidae: Cephalophinae) from the Dahomey Gap, West Africa
Authors: COLYN MARC , HULSELMANS JAN , SONET GONTRAN , OUDÉ PASCAL , DE WINTER JAN , NATTA ARMAND , NAGY ZOLTÁN TAMÁS , VERHEYEN ERIK
Published: May 2015

Among the two most widely distributed duiker species, Philantomba monticola (Thunberg, 1789) and Philantomba maxwelli (C. H. Smith, 1827), the latter shows geographic variation in pelage color and body size. This issue was not investigated in detail so far, especially in the eastern region of its distribution area, notably due to the lack of material from the Dahomey Gap. We undertook a species-level revision of Philantomba in West Africa, notably including a series of specimens collected in Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Using morphological measurements (craniometry) and genetic data (two mitochondrial and three nuclear markers), we describe a new duiker species occurring in the Dahomey Gap (Togo, Benin) and the Niger delta, Philantomba walteri sp. nov. This discovery highlights the importance of the Dahomey Gap for the evolutionary history of the West African forest faunas. It also has conservation implications given that the new species is one of the main targets of the local bushmeat trade.
A new species of Draconarius Ovtchinnikov, 1999 (Araneae, Amaurobioidea, Coelotinae) from Northern Pakistan
Authors: MARUSIK YURI M. , BALLARIN FRANCESCO
Published: May 2015

A new species Draconarius latellai n.sp. is described on the basis of two sexes from Northern Pakistan. It belongs to D. venustus species group and most similar to the generotype D. venustus Ovtchinnikov, 1999. The new species is compared with three other species occuring in Central Asia: D. venustus (Tajikistan), D. naranensis Ovtchinnikov, 2005 and D. pakistanicus Ovtchinnikov, 2005 (both from Northern Pakistan). Key to the four Central Asian species is provided and illustrations of all species are given.
Taxonomic revision of one of the Old World's smallest frogs, with description of a new Bornean Microhyla (Amphibia, Microhylidae)
Authors: MATSUI MASAFUMI
Published: May 2015

An examination of the holotype of Microhyla borneensis Parker 1928 revealed that this nomen applies to a miniaturized narrow-mouthed frog from Borneo that recently was described as Microhyla nepenthicola Das & Haas 2010. This is confirmed concordantly by body size of the female holotype of M. borneensis, and by its reduced extent of toe webbing and rather rounded, short snout profile. Consequently, the name M. nepenthicola is to be considered as a junior synonym of M. borneensis, and an old report of nepenthiphilous breeding habits of M. borneensis is therefore justified. A sympatric larger species usually treated as M. borneensis has no scientific name and is described here as M. malang sp. nov. The new species and M. borneensis are sister to each other, and together are closely related to M. mantheyi from Peninsular Malaysia. These three species are morphologically very similar, but can be distinguished by body size, color pattern, and extent of toe webbing. Phylogenetic relationships, miniaturization, and larval oral morphology in the genus Microhyla are discussed.
Revision of Aspidoscopulia Reiswig, 2002 (Porifera: Hexactinellida: Farreidae) with description of two new species
Authors: TABACHNICK KONSTANTIN R. , MENSHENINA LARISA L. , PISERA ANDRZEJ , EHRLICH HERMANN
Published: May 2015

The genus Aspidoscopulia previously known from a single Recent representative from the Indonesian Archipelago has been found to have wide West Pacific distribution, being present in large numbers in French and Russian collections. Two new Recent species of this genus, i.e. A. bisymmetrica sp. n. and A. tetrasymmetrica sp. n., are here described and illustrated. The genus is also found to have fossil record in the late Paleocene-early Eocene of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. The generic diagnosis of Aspidoscopulia is emended due to new findings. Branching pattern and metamery occurring in these sponges are also discussed.
New species and new records of mites of the family Laelapidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) associated with Coleoptera in Iran
Authors: JOHARCHI OMID , HALLIDAY BRUCE
Published: May 2015

We report on a collection of mites in the family Laelapidae associated with scarabaeid beetles in Iran. Five known species are recorded from Iran for the first time: Coleolaelaps asiaticus Karg, 1999, Hypoaspis integer Berlese, 1911, Hypoaspis pentodoni Costa, 1971, Hypoaspis phyllognathi Costa, 1971, and Hypoaspis terrestris (Leonardi, 1899). Four new species are described: Coleolaelaps costai sp. nov., Hypoaspis larvicolus sp. nov., Hypoaspis maryamae sp. nov., and Hypoaspis melolonthae sp. nov. The ecological relationship between these mites and their beetle hosts has not been analysed in detail, but they probably do not play a major role as biological control agents of pest scarabs.
How features of the hinge plate aid in discriminating among three Yoldiella (Pelecypoda, Protobranchia) species from the Campos Basin, Brazil
Authors: BENAIM NATALIA PEREIRA , VIEGAS DINIZ CORREA PAONE , ABSALÃO RICARDO SILVA
Published: May 2015

Subjectivity is a common problem in most taxonomic studies that deal with gradual changes in shape. An example is the systematics of the genus Yoldiella, which has been a matter of debate for over 40 years. However, hinge plate features have never been examined as a significant diagnostic feature in descriptions of Yoldiella species. We tested how hinge plate characters perform in discriminating among three species of this genus from the Campos Basin, Brazil. We tested the efficacy of traditional shell shape features alone, and contrasted this with a general analysis that included the hinge plate features; and also with an analysis based solely on the hinge plate. Some information on the hinge plate is used here for the first time, such as the distance between the highest teeth to the umbo and the distance between the highest teeth to the margin. The hinge plate analysis and a general analysis, including both shell shape and hinge plate variables, were more effective (87.5% of cases assigned correctly) than the analysis that included only shell shape variables (73.3% cases assigned correctly). The variables related to the highest teeth and the width of the hinge teeth stood out as major contributors in discriminating among these three species.
"Same-same, but different": an unusual new species of the Limnonectes kuhlii Complex from West Sumatra (Anura: Dicroglossidae)
Authors: MCLEOD DAVID S. , HORNER STEPHANI J. , HUSTED COLIN , BARLEY ANTHONY , ISKANDAR DJOKO
Published: May 2015

A new species in the dicroglossine genus Limnonectes from West Sumatra, Indonesia, is described. Analysis of DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial 12S and 16S gene regions places the species within the Limnonectes kuhlii Complex and demonstrates it to be the sister taxon of Limnonectes kuhlii sensu stricto from Java. Both molecular and morphological data support the recognition of this lineage as a new species. Notably, the presence of a spinule-covered mental plate distinguishes Limnonectes sisikdagu sp. nov. from all other members of the L. kuhlii Complex. Additionally, pair-wise sequence divergence greater than 10% separate the new species from its sister taxon, L. kuhlii from Java.