Systematics, distribution and morphology of the newt parasitic water mites of the subgenus Lurchibates Goldschmidt amp; Fu, 2011 (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae, Hygrobates Koch, 1837), including the description of four new species and a key to all so far known species.

Four new water mite species of the genus Hygrobates, subgenus Lurchibates (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae) are described. Hygrobates (Lurchibates) macrochela sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano is described in male and female; Hygrobates (Lurchibates) malosimilis sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano is described in male, both new water mite species were collected from newts of the species Pachytriton inexpectatus Nishikawa, Jiang, Matsui Mo, 2011; Hygrobates (Lurchibates) incognitus sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano is described in female collected from newts of the species Paramesotriton guangxiensis (Huang, Tang and Tang, 1983); Hygrobates (Lurchibates) fragmentarius sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano is described in a single severely fragmented specimen (sex could not be determined) collected from a newt of the species Paramesotriton yunwuensis Wu, Jiang, and Hanken, 2010. Principal differences between the subgenus Lurchibates and the nominal subgenus Hygrobates s. str. are illustrated and discussed as well as the sexual dimorphism of Lurchibates. Morphometric analyses confirmed the morphological differences of ten out of the eleven so far described species (H. (L.) fragmentarius could not be included in the analysis); two morphological groups became evident mainly based upon the shape of the anterior coxae. These analyses as well provide an idea of possible phylogenetic relationships among the species. A key to all currently known species of the subgenus Lurchibates is given. So far the subgenus is restricted to SE-Asia, a map showing the distribution of all species is presented.

Discovering and documenting Acari: the first twenty years in Zootaxa.

Acari represent the most diverse group within the arachnids with some 60,000 described species. It is generally believed that most species of mites are waiting to be discovered and described. Zootaxa was the most important journal for mite taxonomy during the last twenty years (2001 to 2020). It published 1305 papers by 1057 authors during these two decades, with descriptions of 3271 new taxa/names, which account for 24.4% of the total indexed in Zoological Record. The numbers of new synonyms of Acari in Zootaxa (334) also accounted for nearly a quarter (24.9%) of the total published during this period. These data indicate that Zootaxa has been an important and leading journal for acarologists to document the diversity of mites and ticks in the world.

Taxonomic amendments of Southeast Asian newt species of the genera Pachytriton, Paramesotriton and Laotriton (Amphibia, Urodela, Salamandridae) parasitized by water mites of the subgenus Lurchibates (Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae, Hygrobates).

Hygrobates salamandrarum Goldschmidt, Gerecke and Alberti, 2002 (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae) is the first-known water mite parasitizing adult newts. After its description, three further species of newt-parasitizing mites were described and the subgenus Lurchibates Goldschmidt and Fu, 2011 was proposed for the group, now containing four newt-parasitizing mites. Until now, each water mite species parasitizes a different newt species (Table 1), suggesting possible mite-newt co-speciation. In order to test this hypothesis, we need an accurate taxonomy of both of the hosts and parasites. However, the taxonomy of those Asian newt genera known to be parasitized by Lurchibates mites has been substantially revised after the initial description of the H. salamandrarum. To account for these taxonomic changes, we here revise the host-parasite species list and amend the host species name as shown in Table 1.

Description of three new water mite species of Hygrobates Koch, 1837 (Lurchibates Goldschmidt amp; Fu, 2011) (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae), parasitic in newts of the genera Paramesotriton and Pachytriton (Amphibia, Caudata, Salamandridae) from China.

Males and females of three new water mite species of the genus Hygrobates Koch, 1837, subgenus Lurchibates Goldschmidt Fu, 2011 (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae) are described. The diagnosis of the subgenus is extended based upon the new material. The new species were all just found on one newt species each: Hygrobates (Lurchibates) intermedius sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano was collected from newts of the species Paramesotriton qixilingensis Yuan, Zhao, Jiang, Hou, He, Murphy Che, 2014 from Jiangxi Province, China; H. (L.) robustipalpis sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano on Pachytriton inexpectatus Nishikawa, Jiang, Matsui Mo, 2011 from Guizhou Province, China and H. (L.) pilosus sp. nov. Goldschmidt, Nishikawa Shimano on Paramesotriton yunwuensis Wu, Jiang Hanken, 2010 found in a pet shop.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of two water mite species: Hygrobates (H.) longiporus and Hygrobates (rivobates) taniguchii (Acari, Trombidiformes, Hygrobatoidea).

We determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two water mites, Hygrobates (Hygrobates) longiporus and H. (Rivobates) taniguchii. The length of the entire mitogenome of these two species is 13,721 bp and 13,770 bp long, respectively. Both of them contain 13 proteins, two rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs for a total of 37 gene products. The gene order of Hygrobates is almost identical to the two species of Unionicola we included in the analysis, with some difference in the position of transfer RNA genes. Phylogenetic analyses highly support these Hygrobates species form a clade with other species of the Hygrobatoidea.

Supplement to the Checklist of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the Balkan peninsula.

The last checklist of the water mites of the Balkan countries published in 2010 by Pesic et al. is updated to November 2017. This supplement includes new records of water mite species from the Balkan countries (Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece) published after 2010, as well as unpublished records based on material collected from Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, and Greece. Numerous new records for the national faunas, including one species new for the Mediterranean region (Arrenurus stjordalensis Thor, 1899), are reported and one species new to science (Trichothyas jadrankae Pesic sp. nov.) is described. With these additions, a total number of 390 water mite species and subspecies from 34 families and 77 genera is now recorded from the Balkan peninsula (including the Greek Islands).

Sustained peripheral depletion of amyloid-ß with a novel form of neprilysin does not affect central levels of amyloid-ß.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid deposits in the brain and the progressive loss of cognitive functions. Although the precise role of amyloid-ß in disease progression remains somewhat controversial, many efforts to halt or reverse disease progression have focussed on reducing its synthesis or enhancing its removal. It is believed that brain and peripheral soluble amyloid-ß are in equilibrium and it has previously been hypothesized that a reduction in peripheral amyloid-ß can lower brain amyloid-ß, thereby reducing formation of plaques predominantly composed of insoluble amyloid-ß; the so-called peripheral sink hypothesis. Here we describe the use of an amyloid-ß degrading enzyme, the endogenous metallopeptidase neprilysin, which is fused to albumin to extend plasma half-life and has been engineered to confer increased amyloid-ß degradation activity. We used this molecule to investigate the effect of degradation of peripheral amyloid-ß on amyloid-ß levels in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid after repeated intravenous dosing for up to 4 months in Tg2576 transgenic mice, and 1 month in rats and monkeys. This molecule proved highly effective at degradation of amyloid-ß in the periphery but did not alter brain or cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-ß levels, suggesting that the peripheral sink hypothesis is not valid and is the first time that this has been demonstrated in non-human primates.

Possible allelic structure of IgG2a and IgG2c in mice.

Earlier publication suggested that IgG2a and IgG2c (coding for Igh-1a and Igh-1b) are organized in tandem on the same chromosome as two distinct loci in mice. Our data suggest that IgG2a and IgG2c are not physically linked on the chromosome and are allelic - single locus in majority strains of mice. In another word, IgG2b-IgG2c-IgG2a haplotype proposed by Morgado et al. (1989) may exist in some strains of mice, but IgG2b-IgG2a and IgG2b-IgG2c are likely to be most common haplotypes in mice. Therefore, inbred mice may produce different IgG2a isotypes dependent on their origin (strain); C57B/6 and SJL mice secrete IgG2c while NMRI and DBA/2 mice secrete IgG2a only. The situation is more complicated for Swiss Webster mice (outbred) and Alzheimer's disease transgenic (AD/Tg) mice with multi-genetic backgrounds; mice may secrete only IgG2a, or IgG2c, or both IgG2a and IgG2c. IgG2a and IgG2c likely have different immune profile (response, immune-decoration) in mice due to their divergence of protein sequence. If antibodies based on IgG2a (or IgG2c) are used in chronic studies for preclinical evaluation of antibody efficacy, characterization of IgG2a isotypes in advance becomes critical in the design of such biopharmaceutical projects in order to avoid immune response.

Environmental parameters determining water mite assemblages in Costa Rica.

This paper presents an ecological analysis of the water mite fauna of 350 streams, rivers, springs and standing waters from all main regions, ecosystems and elevations in Costa Rica. From 509 sample sites about 20,000 water mites representing 74 genera in 21 families were collected. 17 habitat types were distinguished and 11 further environmental parameters were measured. The significance of the particular parameters was analysed using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Habitat type, elevation, temperature and velocity were identified as major factors determining water mite assemblages. The analyses showed the existence of characteristic water mite coenoses in different neotropical habitats and the suitability of neotropical water mites for bio-monitoring programmes.