Neurologic, clinical, and immunologic features in a cohort of HTLV-1 carriers with high proviral loads.

A high proviral load (PVL) is recognized as a risk factor for human T cell leukemia virus-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), but there is a lack of prospective studies evaluating whether or not HTLV-1 carriers with high PVL are at risk of developing HAM/TSP or other HTLV-1-related diseases. Here, we compare the incidence of clinical manifestations and the cytokine levels in 30 HTLV-1 carriers with high (> 50,000 copies/106 PBMC) and an equal number of subjects with low proviral load. Participants were followed for 3 to 16 years (median of 11 years). The PVL, IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-10 levels were quantified at entry and at the end of the follow-up. Among the self-reported symptoms in the initial evaluation, only the presence of paresthesia on the hands was more frequent in the group with high PVL (p < 0.04). The production of IFN-γ was higher in the group with high PVL group (median of 1308 versus 686 pg/ml, p < 0.011) when compared with the control group in the first assessment. There was no difference in the occurrence of urinary symptoms or erectile dysfunction, periodontal disease, Sicca syndrome, and neurologic signs between the two groups during the follow-up. The observation that none of the HTLV-1 carriers with high PVL and with exaggerated inflammatory response progressed to HAM/TSP indicates that other factors in addition to the PVL and an exaggerated immune response are involved in the pathogenesis of HAM/TSP.

A new species of Aspidoras (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) from a small coastal drainage in northeastern Brazil

A new species of Aspidoras from the rio da Dona basin, a small coastal river drainage in Bahia State, is described herein. The new taxon differs from its congeners by presenting infraorbital 1 with well-developed ventral laminar expansion, nuchal plate nearly reaching to or sometimes contacting posterior process of parieto-supraoccipital, anterior tip of nuchal plate just posterior to dorsal margin of first dorsolateral body plate, and blotches on dorsal half of dorsolateral body plates and/or ventral half of ventrolateral body plates fused with midlateral series of blotches, forming three or four enlarged and oblique black blotches.(AU)

Uma nova espécie de Aspidoras da bacia do rio da Dona, uma pequena drenagem costeira do estado da Bahia, é aqui descrita. O novo táxon difere de suas congêneres por apresentar infraorbital 1 com expansão laminar ventral bem desenvolvida, placa nucal quase alcançando ou alcançando o processo posterior do parieto-supraoccipital, extremidade anterior da placa nucal apenas posterior à extremidade dorsal da primeira placa dorsolateral, e três ou quatro manchas pretas grandes na porção lateral mediana do corpo, geralmente inclinadas anterodorsalmente e conectadas à série de manchas dorsais e fusionadas à série ventral de manchas.(AU)

Biogeography of Phallusia nigra: is it really black and white?

Ascidians (Chordata, Tunicata) are an important group for the study of invasive species biology due to rapid generation times, potential for biofouling, and role as filter feeders in an ecosystem. Phallusia nigra is a putative cosmopolitan ascidian that has been described as introduced or invasive in a number of regions in the Indo-Pacific Ocean (India, Japan, and Hawaii) and in the Mediterranean. The taxonomic description of P. nigra includes a striking smooth, black tunic and large size. However, there are at least two similar Phallusia species-P. philippinensis and P. fumigata-which also have dark black tunics and can be difficult to discern from P. nigra. The distribution of P. nigra broadly overlaps with P. philippinensis in the Indo-Pacific and P. fumigata in the Mediterranean. A morphological comparison of P. nigra from Japan, the Caribbean coast of Panama, and Brazil found that Atlantic and Pacific samples were different species and led us to investigate the range of P. nigra using morphological and molecular analyses. We sequenced 18S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase B of individual ascidians from the Red Sea, Greece, Singapore, Japan, Caribbean Panama, Florida, and Brazil. Our results show that identification of the disparate darkly pigmented species has been difficult, and that several reports of P. nigra are likely either P. fumigata or P. philippinensis. Here we include detailed taxonomic descriptions of the distinguishing features of these three species and sequences for molecular barcoding in an effort to have ranges and potential invasions corrected in the ascidian literature.