Argyripnus electronus,a new sternoptychid fish from the Sala y Gomez submarine ridge

Argyripnus electronus sp. nov. collected from the Sala y Gomez submarine ridge in the eastern South Pacific is most similar toA. atlanticus Maul from the Atlantic Ocean and unnamedArgyripnus sp. of Yamamoto (1982) from the Kyushu-Palau ridge. It differs from both these species in having much more photophores in VAV+AC and IC series, in lower body depth and in other characters.     

The development of loop-mediated isothermal amplification combined with lateral flow dipstick for detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Aims: The current study was aimed to develop a loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with amplicon detection by chromatographic lateral flow dipstick (LFD) assay for rapid and specific detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Methods and Results: Biotinylated LAMP amplicons were produced by a set of four designed primers that recognized specifically the V. parahaemolyticus thermolabile haemolysin (tlh) gene followed by hybridization with an FITC‐labelled probe and LFD detection. The optimized time and temperature conditions for the LAMP assay were 90 min at 65°C. The LAMP–LFD method accurately identified 28 isolates of V. parahaemolyticus but did not detect 24 non‐parahaemolyticus Vibrio isolates and 35 non‐Vibrio bacterial isolates. The sensitivity of LAMP–LFD for V. parahaemolyticus detection in pure cultures was 120 CFU ml^?1. In the case of spiked shrimp samples without enrichment, the detection limit for V. parahaemolyticus was 1·8 × 10³ CFU g^?1 or equivalent to 3 CFU per reaction while that of conventional PCR was 30 CFU per reaction. Conclusions: The established LAMP–LFD assay targeting tlh gene was specific, rapid and sensitive for identification of V. parahaemolyticus. Significance and Impact of the Study: The developed LAMP–LFD assay provided a valuable tool for detection of V. parahaemolyticus and can be used effectively for identification of V. parahaemolyticus in contaminated food sample.     

RNA-Puzzles: a CASP-like evaluation of RNA three-dimensional structure prediction

We report the results of a first, collective, blind experiment in RNA three-dimensional (3D) structure prediction, encompassing three prediction puzzles. The goals are to assess the leading edge of RNA structure prediction techniques; compare existing methods and tools; and evaluate their relative strengths, weaknesses, and limitations in terms of sequence length and structural complexity. The results should give potential users insight into the suitability of available methods for different applications and facilitate efforts in the RNA structure prediction community in ongoing efforts to improve prediction tools. We also report the creation of an automated evaluation pipeline to facilitate the analysis of future RNA structure prediction exercises.     

Materials for the revision of the family Caristiidae (Perciformes): 1. Description of Paracaristius heemstrai gen. et sp. nov.

All representatives of the oceanic mesobenthopelagic family Caristiidae are rare. This family comprises of two genera and six species, but the status of these taxa remains indistinct. On the basis of examinations of collections from both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, and from published data a new genus Paracaristius is established. It differs by a wide suborbital space, the upper jaw is fully covered with suborbitalia, and there is a weak dentition of the roof of the mouth cavity. Within this genus two species are attributed, P. maderensis (Maul, 1949), initially attributed to the genus Caristius (Gill et Smith, 1905), and P. heemstrai sp. nova.     

The Principle of a Closed Feedback Loop of Human Endogenous Rhythms in Modern Neurofeedback and Adaptive Neurostimulation Technologies

Biophysics - This study was aimed at analyzing features of the closed feedback loop principle for human endogenous rhythms in two perspective technologies of neurointerfaces, which are...     

Specific monoclonal antibodies raised against Taura syndrome virus (TSV) capsid protein VP3 detect TSV in single and dual infections with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)

The gene sequence encoding VP3 capsid protein of Taura syndrome virus (TSV) was cloned into pGEX-6P-1 expression vector and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21. After induction, recombinant GST-VP3 (rVP3) fusion protein was obtained and further purified by electro-elution before use in immunizing Swiss mice for production of monoclonal antibodies (MAb). One MAb specific to glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and 6 MAb specific to VP3 were selected using dot blotting and Western blotting. MAb specific to VP3 could be used to detect natural TSV infections in farmed whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei by dot blotting and Western blotting, without cross reaction to shrimp tissues or other shrimp viruses, such as white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), yellow head virus (YHV), monodon baculovirus (MBV) and hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV). These MAb were also used together with those specific for WSSV to successfully detect TSV and WSSV in dual infections in farmed P. vannamei.