First record of the mite genus Neharpyrhyncuhus (Acari: Harpirhynchidae) in the Russian fauna

The mites of genus Neharpyrhynchus Fain, 1972 (Acari: Harpirhynchidae) are recorded from Rissia for first time. Two species, N. hippolae sp. n. from Hippolais icterina (Passeriformes: Sylviidae) and N. plumaris (Fritsch) from Fringilla coelebs (Passeroformes: Fringillidae) from N. W. Russia was found. N. hippolae sp. n., female holotype (all measurements in mkm, abbreviations--see Fain e.a., 1999): L 517, W 382, LS 179, WS 325, PA 27, thicker than PI 49 and PE 24, pts smooth, vi, ve [symbol: see text] sci are subequal, about 94, l5 247; propodosomal shield not divided; anterior region of pronotum with rounded verrucosites; venter without scales; legs I-II with 2 free segments and strongly developed lobes at their bases; legs III-IV with one segment, bears 4 and 5 setae respectively (in paratypes number of these setae is variable, 4-5). Male: L 227-254, W 210-219, LS 129-134, WS 170-183, pts are smooth, ve 78-87, sci 83-90, sce 89-95, h 90-110; penis 49-56 long; legs III with 2 free segments, basal segment bears seta, apical segment with 5-6 setae; legs IV with one free segment, it bears 4-5 setae. The new species is closely related to N. pilirostris (Berlese et Trouessart, 1889) and distinguished by characters as follows. N. hippolae sp. n. (female): the setae PI about 2 times are longer than PA and PE; the apical segment of legs III-IV bears 4-5 setae. N. pilirostris: setae PA, PI [symbol: see text] PE are subequal; the apical segment of legs III-IV bears 4 setae only. N. plumaris differs from closely related species N. novoplumaris Moss e.a., 1968 by characters as follows. In female of N. plumaris, the setae PA are subequal to PE and 1.6-1.8 times shorter than PI. In N. novoplumaris, the setae PA shorter than PI and PE.     

Flora Europaea Notulae Systematicae ad Floram Europaeam spectantes No. 20 Corrigenda et Addenda

Following the publication of the last of the series of Flora Europaea Notulae, No. 20 in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 76: 297–384 (1978), a number of additions or alterations have been drawn to our attention. These are published in continuation.     

The oxidation state of phospholipids controls the oxidative burst in neutrophil granulocytes

The activation of neutrophil granulocytes has to be carefully controlled to balance desired activity against invading pathogens while avoiding overwhelming activation leading to host tissue damage. We now show that phospholipids are potential key players in this process by either enhancing or dampening the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the oxidative burst. Unoxidized phospholipids induce the production of ROS, and they also work synergistically with FMLP in potentiating the oxidative burst in neutrophil granulocytes. Oxidation of these phospholipids, however, turns them into potent inhibitors of the oxidative burst. OxPls specifically inhibit ROS production by inhibiting the assembly of the phagocyte oxidase complex but do not alter neutrophil viability, nor do they interfere with MAPK activation. Furthermore, up-regulation of the activation marker Mac-1 and phagocytosis of bacteria is not affected. Therefore, phospholipids may act as sensors of oxidative stress in tissues and either positively or negatively regulate neutrophil ROS production according to their oxidation state.     

Structure of populations and ecological nishes of ectoparasites in the parasite communities of small forest mammals

The paper reports the results of eight-year investigations on the ectoparasites of rodents and insectivores carried out in southern taiga of the Ilmen-Volkhov lowland (Novgorod Region) and Kurgolovsky reserve (Leningrad Region). Twelve species of small mammals were captured including three dominate species--bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus (2722 specimens), common shrew Sorex araneus (1658 specimens), and wood mouse Apodemus uralensis (367 specimens). Parasite community of the bank vole comprises 34 species of mites, ticks, and insects, the community of common shrew comprises 25 species, and the community of A. uralensis includes 28 species. Taxonomic diversity of the ectoparasite communities was shown to be based on the diversity of types of parasitism and ecological nishes of the host body. Permanent ectoparasites are found to be represented by 2 species of lie and 14 species of acariform mites. The group of temporary parasites includes 13 species of fleas, 10 species of gamasid mites. 3 ixodid species and 1 Trombiculidae. There is a common pool of temporary parasites of small mammals in the ecological system of taiga. Significance of different shrew and rodent species as hosts were found to be dependent on the population density in possible hosts and many other factors. Species diversity in the parasite communities of different small mammal species is dependent on the number of possible ecological nishes in the host body. Actual infill of these nishes by ectoparasites is usually lesser than potential one. Species composition of temporary parasites, their occurrence and abundance changes according to season. Interspecific competition in the temporary parasite species can decrease because of the seasonal disjunction of their population peaks. Diversification of the ecological niches of ectoparasites allow simultaneous feeding of more parasite individuals on one host, than in the case of parasitising of single species or several species with similar ecological nishes. The distribution of parasites on their hosts was also studied. The aggregative distribution has been found in ixodid larvae only, and the distribution of fleas was close to the Poisson distribution. Deviations from the aggregative distribution can be an effect of several independent factors, including limited ability of small mammals for providing numerous parasites with food. On the most part of hosts simultaneous parasitizing of no more than 1-3 individuals of each tick, mite, and flea species was registered. Excessive infestation by ectoparasites may probably be limited by effective reactions of self-purification in the mammal hosts.     

Shikimic acid: review of its analytical, isolation, and purification techniques from plant and microbial sources

Shikimic acid properties and its available analytical techniques are discussed. Plants having the highest content of shikimic acid are shown. The existing isolation methods are analyzed and the most optimal approaches to extracting this acid from natural sources (plants and microorganisms) are considered.     

A new mite superfamily Cloacaroidea and its position within the Prostigmata (Acariformes)

The external morphology of 2 closely related mite families, Cloacaridae and Epimyodicidae (Acari: Prostigmata), comprising highly specialized endoparasites of vertebrates, is analyzed. These mites exhibit strong regression of many structures ancestrally present in other Prostigmata as a consequence of their endoparasitic mode of life. The relationships of these 2 families with other taxa in the infraorder Eleutherengona are still not clear. Our reinterpretation of the chelicerae as unfused precludes inclusion of this lineage in the Cheyletoidea as proposed previously. A new superfamily, Cloacaroidea superfam, nov., incertae sedis, within the infraorder Eleutherengona is established for these 2 families, and their host-parasite relationships are briefly discussed. A new cloacarid species, Caminacarus dawsoni n. sp., from Graptemys pseudogeographica (Testudines: Emydidae) from the United States is also described.     

Translational efficiency of EMCV IRES in bicistronic vectors is dependent upon IRES sequence and gene location

The internal ribosomal entry site (IRES)from encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) is a popular RNA element used widely in experimental and pharmaceutical applications to express proteins in eukaryotic cells or cell-free extracts. Inclusion of the wild-type element in monocistronic or bicistronic messenger RNAs (mRNAs) confers a high level of cap-independent translation activity to appropriately configured cistrons. The history of this element and the experimental consequences of sequence derivations inherent to commercial IRES vectors are less well known. Compared head-to-head with dual-luciferase reporter constructs, a native EMCV IRES in a bicistronic configuration directed 8- to 10-fold more protein than a similarly configured pIRES vector. It also produced nearly twice as much protein as pCITE-1, an early monocistronic iteration, harboring a suboptimal A7 sequence in a crucial structural motif The results indicate that investigators should be aware of and carefully report the sequence of their IRES in any comparative study. The preferred IRES (viral bases 273-845) and the minimum IRES (viral bases 400-836) for optimum activity are illustrated.     

Mites of the genus Neharpyrhynchus Fain (Acariformes, Harpirhynchidae) from Neotropical birds

Three new species of parasitic mites of the genus Neharpyrhynchus Fain (Acariformes, Harpirhynchidae) are described from Neotropical birds: Neharpyrhynchus chlorospingussp. n. from Chlorospingus pileatus (Passeriformes, Emberizidae) from Costa Rica, Neharpyrhynchus mironovisp. n. from Dacnys cayana (Passeriformes, Thraupidae) and Neharpyrhynchus tangarasp. n. from Tangara cayana (Thraupidae) both from Brazil. Neharpyrhynchus trochilinus (Fain) is recorded from 3 new host species of the family Trochilidae (Apodiformes), Panterpe insignis and Eugenes fulgens from Costa Rica, and Amazilia lactea from Brazil. Emended diagnosis of the genus and a key to species are provided; all records of Neharpyrhynchus species are summarized.     

Mites of the subgenus Neotomobia n. subg. (Acariformes: Myobiidae: Radfordia), parasites of the subfamily Neotominae (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

A new subgenus Neotomobia n. subg. (Acariformes: Myobiidae: Radfordia) is established for species parasitising rodents of the subfamily Neotominae (Rodentia: Cricetidae): Radfordia subuliger Ewing, 1938 (type-species), Radfordia eremici Fain & Bochkov, 2002, Radfordia neotomae Jameson & Whitaker, 1975 and Radfordia hamiltoni Jameson & Whitaker, 1975. Three new species are described: Radfordia peromyscus n. sp. from Peromyscus megalops Merriam from Mexico, Radfordia onychomys n. sp. from Onychomys leucogaster (Wied-Neuwied) from the USA and Radfordia megadontomys n. sp. from Megadontomys thomasi (Merriam) from Mexico.     

Analysis of the results of a laboratory experiment on the observation of a runaway electron avalanche in air under high overvoltages

Analytic estimates and numerical computations are carried out to test the concept of a laboratory experiment on the demonstration of a runaway electron (RE) avalanche and RE-induced air breakdown under high overvoltages. It is shown that the development of an RE avalanche is impossible under the conditions of the given laboratory experiment. The experimentally observed distinct tail of the picosecond RE pulse, which was interpreted as the RE avalanche induced by the primary RE peak, is very weakly pronounced in the numerical experiment. Only the initial stage of the RE avalanche could be observed in the laboratory experiment; however, according to the numerical results, the fraction of REs in it is too small (as compared to the number of electrons in the primary peak) for the secondary REs to appreciably affect the breakdown process.