Surface antigens of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes as immune targets and malaria vaccine candidates

Understanding the targets and mechanisms of human immunity to malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is crucial for advancing effective vaccines and developing tools for measuring immunity and exposure in populations. Acquired immunity to malaria predominantly targets the blood stage of infection when merozoites of Plasmodium spp. infect erythrocytes and replicate within them. During the intra-erythrocytic development of P. falciparum, numerous parasite-derived antigens are expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes (IEs). These antigens enable P. falciparum-IEs to adhere in the vasculature and accumulate in multiple organs, which is a key process in the pathogenesis of disease. IE surface antigens, often referred to as variant surface antigens, are important targets of acquired protective immunity and include PfEMP1, RIFIN, STEVOR and SURFIN. These antigens are highly polymorphic and encoded by multigene families, which generate substantial antigenic diversity to mediate immune evasion. The most important immune target appears to be PfEMP1, which is a major ligand for vascular adhesion and sequestration of IEs. Studies are beginning to identify specific variants of PfEMP1 linked to disease pathogenesis that may be suitable for vaccine development, but overcoming antigenic diversity in PfEMP1 remains a major challenge. Much less is known about other surface antigens, or antigens on the surface of gametocyte-IEs, the effector mechanisms that mediate immunity, and how immunity is acquired and maintained over time; these are important topics for future research.     

New Polypheretima and Pithemera (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) species from the Mt. Malindang Range,Mindanao Island,Philippines

We describe four new pheretimoid earthworm species, one in Polypheretima and three in Pithemera, from Mt. Malindang, Misamis Occidental Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines, and provide diagrams of external morphology and internal anatomy. Polypheretima mindanaoensis sp. nov. belongs to the Po. elongata species group, characterised by having genital markings on xix and successive segments and pairs of spermathecal batteries in vi and/or vii. It differs from the other members of the Po. elongata species group in having no copulatory bursae. This species shows individual variation in the number of spermathecae in each battery. Individuals that lack spermathecae are presumed to reproduce parthenogenetically. Pithemera malindangensis sp. nov. and Pi. duminagati sp. nov. belong to the Pi. bicincta species group, characterised by having the first spermathecal pores in 4/5. These two species differ in size and in the distance between male pores. Pithemera donvictorianoi sp. nov. belongs to the Pi. pacifica species group, characterised by having the first spermathecal pores in 5/6. This is the only member of this species group so far reported from the Philippines, and this is the only Philippine Pithemera species whose clitellum covers two rather than two and a half segments. Current studies show that worldwide, the Philippines has the highest diversity for Pithemera, with 13 species, followed by Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, each area with six species. Indonesia has the highest diversity for Polypheretima, with 18 species, followed by Vietnam with 13 species, and then Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, each area with eight species. These findings indicate a high degree of endemicity within these areas, suggesting that many species remain to be detected in the Philippines.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2198709C-F5E1-4A0D-A185-CA506D206171     

Does the river blenny Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801) (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) still survive on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus?

The river blenny (Salaria fluviatilis) is rarely mentioned in the natural history literature of Cyprus. This has led to doubts about its existence there. Mistakes with mismatched fish collections have occurred in the past, so it is worth asking whether the recorded specimens are actually from Cyprus and whether the species survives there today. Archived correspondence from the original specimen collector confirms that the record of S. fluviatilis on Cyprus is genuine, yet our extensive surveys there during the last 4 years have failed to locate the fish. A review of the species’ Mediterranean island distribution shows that it exists on 10 islands that are either close to the mainland or are relatively very large in areal extent. Although the mystery of S. fluviatilis survival on Cyprus lingers, efforts must be made to survey all potential habitats and consider planning a re-introduction project if the population is confirmed as extinct.     

X-linked protocadherin 19 mutations cause female-limited epilepsy and cognitive impairment

Epilepsy and mental retardation limited to females (EFMR) is a disorder with an X-linked mode of inheritance and an unusual expression pattern. Disorders arising from mutations on the X chromosome are typically characterized by affected males and unaffected carrier females. In contrast, EFMR spares transmitting males and affects only carrier females. Aided by systematic resequencing of 737 X chromosome genes, we identified different protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) gene mutations in seven families with EFMR. Five mutations resulted in the introduction of a premature termination codon. Study of two of these demonstrated nonsense-mediated decay of PCDH19 mRNA. The two missense mutations were predicted to affect adhesiveness of PCDH19 through impaired calcium binding. PCDH19 is expressed in developing brains of human and mouse and is the first member of the cadherin superfamily to be directly implicated in epilepsy or mental retardation.     

Common sequence variants on 20q11.22 confer melanoma susceptibility

We conducted a genome-wide association pooling study for cutaneous melanoma and performed validation in samples totaling 2,019 cases and 2,105 controls. Using pooling, we identified a new melanoma risk locus on chromosome 20 (rs910873 and rs1885120), with replication in two further samples (combined P < 1 x 10(-15)). The per allele odds ratio was 1.75 (1.53, 2.01), with evidence for stronger association in early-onset cases.     

On integration and adaptation in complex service systems

The services sector employs a large and growing proportion of workers in the industrialized nations, and it is increasingly dependent on information and communication technologies. While the interdependences, similarities and complementarities of manufacturing and services are significant, there are considerable differences between goods and services, including the shift in focus from mass production to mass customization （whereby a service is produced and delivered in response to a customer＇s stated or imputed needs）. In general, services can be considered to be knowledge-intensive agents or components which work together as providers and consumers to create or co-produce value. Like manufacturing systems, an efficient service system must be an integrated system of systems, leading to greater connectivity and interdependence. Integration must occur over the physical, temporal, organizational and functional dimensions, and must include methods concerned with the component, the management, and the system. Moreover, an effective service system must also be an adaptable system, leading to greater value and responsiveness. Adaptation must occur over the dimensions of monitoring, feedback, cybernetics and learning, and must include methods concerned with space, time, and system. In sum, service systems are indeed complex, especially due to the uncertainties associated with the human-centered aspects of such systems. Moreover, the system complexities can only be dealt with methods that enhance system integration and adaptation. The paper concludes with several insights, including a plea to shift the current misplaced focus on developing a science or discipline for services to further developing a systems engineering approach to services, an approach based on the integration and adaptation of a host of sciences or disciplines （e.g., physics, mathematics, statistics, psychology, sociology, etc.）. In fact, what is required is a services-related transdisciplinary - beyond a single disciplinary - ontology or taxon     

Predicting the potential distribution of invasive exotic species using GIS and information-theoretic approaches： A case of ragweed （Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.） distribution in China

Invasive exotic species pose a growing threat to the economy,public health,and ecological integrity of nations worldwide. Explaining and predicting the spatial distribution of invasive exotic species is of great importance to prevention and early warning efforts. We are investigating the potential distribution of invasive exotic species,the environmental factors that influence these distributions,and the ability to predict them using statistical and information-theoretic approaches. For some species,detailed presence/absence occurrence data are available,allowing the use of a variety of standard statistical techniques. However,for most species,absence data are not available. Presented with the challenge of developing a model based on presence-only information,we developed an improved logistic regres-sion approach using Information Theory and Frequency Statistics to produce a relative suitability map. This paper generated a variety of distributions of ragweed(Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) from logistic regression models applied to herbarium specimen location data and a suite of GIS layers including climatic,topographic,and land cover information. Our logistic regression model was based on Akaike's Information Criterion(AIC) from a suite of ecologically reasonable predictor variables. Based on the results we provided a new Frequency Statistical method to compartmentalize habitat-suitability in the native range. Finally,we used the model and the compartmentalized criterion developed in native ranges to “project” a potential distribution onto the exotic ranges to build habitat-suitability maps.     

基于参考说话人模型和双层结构的说话人辨认

为了提高基于Gauss混合模型通用背景模型(GMM-UBM)的说话人辨认系统的运算效率,提出一种基于参考说话人模型的双层结构用于目标说话人剪枝,采用矢量量化方法从目标说话人模型集合中训练参考说话人模型,利用语音与参考说人模型的偏差来描述说话人的发音特性,将辨认语音偏差向量和目标说话人偏差向量的相似性作为距离度量来进行目标说话人剪枝。实验结果表明:在基于GMM-UBM的说话人辨认系统中,对包含5 200个目标说话人和1 000个集外说话人的测试集进行开集辨认的条件下,在提高辨认的运算效率12.5倍的同时识别率仅下降0.3%。     

Association of dwarfism and floral induction with a grape 'green revolution' mutation

The transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is an essential process in the life cycle of plants. Plant floral induction pathways respond to both environmental and endogenous cues and much has been learnt about these genetic pathways by studying mutants of Arabidopsis. Gibberellins (GAs) are plant growth regulators important in many aspects of plant growth and in Arabidopsis they promote flowering. Here we provide genetic evidence that GAs inhibit flowering in grapevine. A grapevine dwarf mutant derived from the L1 cell layer of the champagne cultivar Pinot Meunier produces inflorescences along the length of the shoot where tendrils are normally formed. The mutated gene associated with the phenotype is a homologue of the wheat 'green revolution' gene Reduced height-1 (ref. 6) and the Arabidopsis gene GA insensitive (GAI). The conversion of tendrils to inflorescences in the mutant demonstrates that the grapevine tendril is a modified inflorescence inhibited from completing floral development by GAs.     

A planetary system as the origin of structure in Fomalhaut's dust belt

The Sun and >15 per cent of nearby stars are surrounded by dusty disks that must be collisionally replenished by asteroids and comets, as the dust would otherwise be depleted on timescales <10(7) years (ref. 1). Theoretical studies show that the structure of a dusty disk can be modified by the gravitational influence of planets, but the observational evidence is incomplete, at least in part because maps of the thermal infrared emission from the disks have low linear resolution (35 au in the best case). Optical images provide higher resolution, but the closest examples (AU Mic and beta Pic) are edge-on, preventing the direct measurement of the azimuthal and radial disk structure that is required for fitting theoretical models of planetary perturbations. Here we report the detection of optical light reflected from the dust grains orbiting Fomalhaut (HD 216956). The system is inclined 24 degrees away from edge-on, enabling the measurement of disk structure around its entire circumference, at a linear resolution of 0.5 au. The dust is distributed in a belt 25 au wide, with a very sharp inner edge at a radial distance of 133 au, and we measure an offset of 15 au between the belt's geometric centre and Fomalhaut. Taken together, the sharp inner edge and offset demonstrate the presence of planetary-mass objects orbiting Fomalhaut.