A replacement name for <i>Flavala</i> Behounek, Han &amp; Kononenko, 2012 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Pantheinae)

The genus name Flavala Behounek, Han & Kononenko, 2012 (homonym nov.) must be replaced by Mooreia nomen nov. because Flavala is preoccupied by Flavala Berio, 1966, the junior synonym of Thioptera Franclemont, 1950, the Nearctic Eustrotiinae genus (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Eustrortiinae). The name Mooreia is dedicated to Frederic Moore, the famous British lepidopterologist of the nineteenth century, the explorer of the Oriental fauna, described many Lepidoptera taxa including Acronycta flavala Moore, 1867.

Two new species of the genera Cidariplura Butler, 1879 and Oxaenanus Swinhoe, 1900 from Yunnan, China (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Herminiinae)

The Herminiinae genus Cidariplura Butler, 1879 is distributed mainly in the Oriental and partially in the Palaearctic regions (Wu & Owada 2013). The characteristic features of the genus are the structure of the labial palpus, and male foretibia without sheath covering tarsus and containing a tuft of long hairs.

A review of the genus Atrovirensis Kononenko, 2001 with description of four new species from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Xyleninae, Apameini)

The genus Atrovirensis Kononenko, 2001 is reviewed. Four new species (Atrovirensis parannamita sp. n., Atrovirensis furcatus sp. n., Atrovirensis sacculatus sp. n. and Atrovirensis miraculosus sp. n.) are described from China. A new combination Atrovirensis euplexina (Draudt, 1950), comb. n. [Valeria] is proposed. Two taxa of uncertain status (Atrovirensis sp. cf. parannamita and Atrovirensis sp. cf. furcatus) are included to the review. The updated checklist of the genus is presented. All taxa of the genus Atrovirensis are illustrated in colour with black and white photographs of their genitalia in 48 figures.

A revision of the genus Tambana Moore, 1882 with description of eight new species and one subspecies (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Pantheinae). Revision of Pantheinae, contribution XIII

The oriental Pantheinae genus Tambana Moore, 1882 (type-species Tambana variegata Moore, 1882) with 16 previously described species is revised. Eight new species and one subspecies (T. tibetica sp. n., T. xilinga sp. n., T. mekonga sp. n., T. helmuti sp. n., T. fansipana sp. n., T. laura sp. n., T. indeterminata sp. n., T. annamica sp. n., T. annamica stumpfi ssp. n.) are described from China, Vietnam and Myanmar. One unrecognized taxon is included to the revision. Three new synonyms and one new combination are introduced (Trisuloides klapperichii Mell 1958, syn. n. of Tambana entoxantha (Hampson, 1894); Tambana behouneki Speidel & Kononenko, 1998, syn. n. of Tambana glauca (Hampson, 1898); Trichosea gerryi Thöny, 1996, syn. n. of Tambana funebris (Berio, 1973), comb. n. (Trichosea). The updated checklist of 26 taxa of Tambana is presented. Short diagnoses are given for the described species. In addition the related genus Xanthomantis Warren, 1909 with two species X. cornelia (Staudinger, 1888) and X. contaminata (Draudt, 1937) is reviewed.

A new species and two new combinations in the genus Strotihypera Kononenko & Han, 2011 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae: Elaphriini). A postscript to the description of the genus Strotihypera

Elaphriini is a small tribe of the subfamily Noctuinae with predominantly New World distribution. Only three genera, Elaphria Hübner, 1818 with four species, Galgula Guenée, 1852 with one species (Fibiger & Hacker 2010) and Strotihypera Kononenko & Han, 2011 with one species are known from the Eurasia. The majority of species occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. The review of Eurasian Elaphriini with description of the new genus Strotihypera has recently been published by Kononenko & Han (2011). In the subsequent years in the result of intensive collecting in South West China we found a new species allied to Strotihypera flavipuncta (Leech, 1889) and two related species Strotihypera ochreipuncta (Wileman, 1914), comb. n. and "Hyperstrotia" macroplaga (Hampson, 1907), comb. n. The description of a new species and the review of two of its allies are presented here as a postscript to the description of the genus Strotihypera (Kononenko & Han 2011).

A revision of the genus Belciana Walker, 1862 with description of three new species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Pantheinae) from East and South East Asia. Revision of Pantheinae, contribution XII

The Oriental Pantheinae genus Belciana Walker, 1862 is revised. Three new species, B. hreblayi sp. n., B. sulawesiana sp. n., B. pinratanai sp. n., from Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand, are described. Five new combinations in the genus Diphteroides Bethune-Baker, 1906 are proposed: Diphteroides caerulea (Hampson, 1926) comb. n., D. habroscia (Prout, 1924) comb. n., D. patricolor (Prout, 1924) comb. n., D. serrata Bethune-Baker, 1906, D. subserrata (Prout, 1924) comb. n. and D. sophronia (Prout, 1924) comb. n. The extensive diagnoses of known species of Belciana are given. The imagines, male and female genitalia are illustrated. The checklist of the genus Belciana in East Asia is presented.

Two new genera and one new species of Pantheinae from East Asia (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Pantheinae). Revision of Pantheinae, contribution XI

Two new genera, Pantheaforma gen. n. (Type-species Pantheaforma ihlei sp. n.) and Chrisotea gen. n. (Type-species Trichosea zhangi Chen, 1990) from East Asia and a new species Pantheaforma ihlei sp. n. from Thailand and Myanmar are described. New combination Chrisotea zhangi (Chen, 1990), comb. n. is proposed. New taxa are illustrated with imagines in colour and male and female genitalia. The little-known species Pantheana yangzisherpana Hreblay, 1998, formerly only known from Nepal is reported for China for the first time. 

Taxonomic study of the genus Assara Walker (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae, Phycitinae) in NE China, with description of a new species

Four species of the genus Assara Walker, 1863 are revised from NE China. Among them, Assara yanbianensis Bae & Qi sp. n. is described as new to science and A. terebrella (Zincken, 1818) is newly recorded from China. A key to the NE Chinese species of the genus Assara with illustrations of adults and genitalia are presented.

A review of the Palaearctic Mniotype adusta (Esper, 1790) species-group with description of a new species and six new subspecies (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Eighteen Palaearctic taxa of the Mniotype adusta species-group are reviewed. One new species (M. kobyakovi Volynkin, Matov & Behounek, sp. n.) and six new subspecies (M. lama kortka Volynkin, Matov & Behounek, ssp. n., M. lama etugen Volynkin, Matov & Behounek, ssp. n., M. lama ayubaevorum Volynkin, Matov & Behounek, ssp. n., M. adusta poltavskyi Volynkin, Matov & Behounek, ssp. n., M. adjuncta cineritia Volynkin, Matov & Behounek, ssp. n. and M. dubiosa amitayus Volynkin & Han, ssp. n.) are described. Two taxa, previously regarded as subspecies are restored to specific status: M. adjuncta (Moore, 1881) stat. n. and M. dubiosa (A. Bang-Haas, 1912) stat. n. A taxon previously regarded as a junior synonym is restored to specific status: M. juldussica (Draudt, 1934) stat. n. A new synonymy is introduced: M. bathensis (Lutzau, 1900) = Hadena adusta var. moesta Staudinger, 1897 syn. n. The synonymy of M. bathensis and Crino adusta subsp. urupino Bryk, 1942 syn. rev. is revised. The lectotypes for Hadena? lama Staudinger, 1900, Mamestra vicina Alphéraky, 1882, Hadena adusta var. moesta Staudinger, 1897 and Hadena lama var. dubiosa A. Bang-Haas, 1912 are designated. The neotype for Crino adusta juldussica Draudt, 1934 is designated. The adults, male and female genitalia of all reviewed species and subspecies are illustrated.

A new species of Nemacerota Hampson, [1893] (Lepidoptera, Thyatiridae) from Tibet, China

The genus Nemacerota Hampson, [1893] includes 14 species worldwide, which are mainly distributed from Pakistan along the main Himalayan chain, the eastern frontier of the Tibetan plateau and the Central Chinese mountains to the northern Pacific regions. Ten species have been recorded from China. Among them, only N. tancrei (Graeser, 1888) occurs in NE China, whereas all other taxa inhabit mountainous areas in Central China, the eastern frontier of the Tibetan plateau or Tibet. N. igorkostjuki Laszlo, Ronkay, Ronkay & Witt, 2007 is found only in the southern edge of Tibet (Nyalam = Nielamu); N. mandibulata Laszlo, Ronkay, Ronkay & Witt, 2007, N. taurina Laszlo, Ronkay, Ronkay & Witt, 2007, N. stueningi Laszlo, Ronkay, Ronkay & Witt, 2007, N. pectinata (Houlbert, 1921), N. inouei Laszlo, Ronkay, Ronkay & Witt, 2007 and N. owadai Laszlo, Ronkay, Ronkay & Witt, 2007 are known from Mt. Taibaishan, Shaanxi Province; N. griseobasalis (Sick, 1941), N. decorata (Sick, 1941) and N. pectinata (Houlbert, 1921) occur in the northwestern parts of Yunnan Province (and, possibly, also in southern Sichuan).        Here we describe a new species from the Linzhi area, Autonomous Region Xizang (Tibet), China. Specimens were dissected and examined using standard methods; adult photographs were photographed with a Nikon D700; genitalic slides were photographed using the Qcapture pro system, and processed in Adobe Photoshop CS5 software.

Revision of the Old World genera Panthea Hübner, [1820] 1816 and Pantheana Hreblay, 1998 with description two new species from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Pantheinae). Revision of Pantheinae, contribution IX

The Old World species of the genus Panthea Hübner [1820] 1816 are revised. The article contains the description of two new species Panthea fuscogrisea sp. n. and Panthea florianii sp. n. from continental China and re-description of two species P. roberti Joannis 1928 and P. grisea Wileman, 1919 with illustration of male and female genitalia. Diphthera hoenei Draudt, 1950 (syn. n.) is synonymised with P. roberti Joannis 1928. The species Panthea ronnyi Thony, 1996 is excluded from the genus Panthea. Lectotypes for Diphthera hoenei and Panthea roberti are designated. The genus includes five species in the Old World, distributed mainly in Sino-Himalayan subregion of the Palaearctic. A checklist of species of the genus Panthea is presented. The little-known genus Pantheana Hreblay, 1998 with the sole species Pantheana yangzisherpana Hreblay, 1998 is reviewed. The imagines, male and female genitalia of all Old World species of Panthea and Pantheana are illustrated.

Mammographic densities and the prevalence and incidence of histological types of benign breast disease. Reference Pathologists of the Canadian National Breast Screening Study

There is now a large amount of evidence indicating that women with extensive areas of mammographic densities are 4-6 times more likely to develop breast cancer than those with little or no density in the mammogram. We have examined one potential biological explanation for this association by estimating the incidence of various histological types of benign breast disease in relation to mammographic density. We studied the large cohort of women taking part in the National Breast Screening Study (NBSS), a randomized trial of screening with mammography. Mammograms from subjects with biopsies (n = 423) and from a comparison group of subjects randomly selected from the NBSS (n = 465) were included. Histological slides from biopsied subjects (n = 353) were classified independently by the pathologists of the NBSS and by a review pathologist (H.M.J.). Mammographic density in more than 75% of the breast area was associated with an increased risk of incidence of hyperplasia without atypia, and of atypical hyperplasia and/or carcinoma in situ. The classifications of the review pathologist showed that, compared to women with no density, the relative risk of incident lesions for women with density in more than 75% of breast was 13.85 (95% CI 2.65-72.49) for hyperplasia, and 9.23 (95% CI 1.66-51.48) for atypical hyperplasia and/or carcinoma in situ. These findings suggest that the association between extensive mammographic density and breast cancer risk may, at least in part, be attributable to biological processes in the breast that give rise to these histological features that are known to be related to breast cancer risk.

Distinct selectin ligands on colon carcinoma mucins can mediate pathological interactions among platelets, leukocytes, and endothelium

Selectins are adhesion molecules that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell interactions among leukocytes, platelets, and endothelial cells. The naturally occurring vascular ligands for the selectins are mostly mucin-type glycoproteins. Increased expression and altered glycosylation of mucins are known to be prominent features of carcinoma progression. We have previously shown that all three selectins bind to colon carcinoma cell lines in a calcium-dependent fashion and that carcinoma growth and metastasis formation are attenuated in P-selectin-deficient mice. Here we show that the three recombinant soluble selectins recognize ligands within primary colon carcinoma tissue samples. Affinity chromatography showed that the ligands for all three selectins are O-sialoglycoprotease-sensitive mucins that are recognized in a calcium- and sialic acid-dependent manner. Furthermore, there are separate binding sites on the mucins for each selectin, allowing cross-binding of a single mucin molecule by more than one selectin. We also show that the selectin ligands on purified carcinoma mucins can mediate at least four different pathological interactions among platelets, leukocytes, and endothelial cells. These findings could explain some of the adhesive events of blood-borne tumor cells reported to occur with leukocytes, platelets, and endothelial cells, which are believed to play a part in modulating some early events in tumor metastases.

Inhibition of L- and P-selectin by a rationally synthesized novel core 2-like branched structure containing GalNAc-Lewisx and Neu5Acalpha2-3Galbeta1-3GalNAc sequences

The selectins interact in important normal and pathological situations with certain sialylated, fucosylated glycoconjugate ligands containing sialyl Lewisx(Neu5Acalpha2-3Galbeta1-4(Fucalpha1-3)GlcN Ac). Much effort has gone into the synthesis of sialylated and sulfated Lewisxanalogs as competitive ligands for the selectins. Since the natural selectin ligands GlyCAM-1 and PSGL-1 carry sialyl Lewisxas part of a branched Core 2 O-linked structure, we recently synthesized Galbeta1-4(Fucalpha1-3)GlcNAcbeta1-6(SE-3Galbeta1++ +-3)GalNAc1alphaOMe and found it to be a moderately superior ligand for L and P-selectin (Koenig et al. , Glycobiology 7, 79-93, 1997). Other studies have shown that sulfate esters can replace sialic acid in some selectin ligands (Yeun et al. , Biochemistry, 31, 9126-9131, 1992; Imai et al. , Nature, 361, 555, 1993). Based upon these observations, we hypothesized that Neu5Acalpha2-3Galbeta1-3GalNAc might have the capability of interacting with L- and P-selectin. To examine this hypothesis, we synthesized Galbeta1-4(Fucalpha1-3)GlcNAcbeta1-6(Neu5Acalpha2++ +-3Galbeta1-3)-GalNAc alpha1-OB, which was found to be 2- to 3-fold better than sialyl Lexfor P and L selectin, respectively. We also report the synthesis of an unusual structure GalNAcbeta1-4(Fucalpha1- 3)GlcNAcbeta1-OMe (GalNAc-Lewisx-O-methyl glycoside), which also proved to be a better inhibitor of L- and P-selectin than sialyl Lewisx-OMe. Combining this with our knowledge of Core 2 branched structures, we have synthesized a molecule that is 5- to 6-fold better at inhibiting L- and P-selectin than sialyl Lewisx-OMe, By contrast to unbranched structures, substitution of a sulfate ester group for a sialic acid residue in such a molecule resulted in a considerable loss of inhibition ability. Thus, the combination of a sialic acid residue on the primary (beta1-3) arm, and a modified Lexunit on the branched (beta1-6) arm on an O-linked Core 2 structure generated a monovalent synthetic oliogosaccharide inhibitor superior to SLexfor both L- and P-selectin.

DNA aptamers block L-selectin function in vivo. Inhibition of human lymphocyte trafficking in SCID mice

Selectins participate in the initial events leading to leukocyte extravasation from the blood into tissues. Thus the selectins have generated much interest as targets for antiinflammatory agents. Therapeutic molecules based on the monomeric carbohydrate ligand sialyl Lewis X (SLe(X)) have low affinities and are not specific for a given selectin. Using SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential Enrichment) technology, we have generated aptamers specific for L-selectin that require divalent cations for binding and have low nanomolar affinity. In vitro, the deoxyoligonucleotides inhibit L-selectin binding to immobilized SLe(X) in static assays and inhibit L-selectin-mediated rolling of human lymphocytes and neutrophils on cytokine-activated endothelial cells in flow-based assays. These aptamers also block L-selectin-dependent lymphocyte trafficking in vivo, indicating their potential utility as therapeutics.

Calcium-dependent oligonucleotide antagonists specific for L-selectin

The selectins are calcium-dependent C-type lectins that recognize complex anionic carbohydrate ligands, initiating many cell-cell interactions in the vascular system. Selectin blockade shows therapeutic promise in a variety of inflammatory and postischemic pathologies. However, the available oligosaccharide ligand mimetics have low affinities and show cross-reaction among the three selectins, precluding efficient and specific blockade. The SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) process uses combinatorial chemistry and in vitro selection to yield high affinity oligonucleotides with unexpected binding specificities. Nuclease-stabilized randomized oligonucleotides subjected to SELEX against recombinant L-selectin yielded calcium-dependent antagonists with approximately 10(5) higher affinity than the conventional oligosaccharide ligand sialyl LewisX. Most of the isolated ligands shared a common consensus sequence. Unlike sialyl LewisX, these antagonists show little binding to E- or P-selectin. Moreover, they show calcium-dependent binding to native L-selectin on peripheral blood lymphocytes and block L-selectin-dependent interactions with the natural ligands on high endothelial venules.

The human sperm acrosome reaction does not depend on arachidonic acid metabolism via the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways

The objective of this study was to determine whether the metabolism of arachidonic acid via the cyclooxygenase pathway, the lipoxygenase pathway, or both has a pivotal role in the human sperm acrosome reaction. To do so, the stimulatory effect of arachidonic acid and a number of its metabolites, as well as the inhibitory effect of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitors on the acrosome reaction, was evaluated. Arachidonic acid, prostaglandin E2, and prostacyclin (PGI2) induced the acrosome reaction when added to 3-hour preincubated (capacitated) spermatozoa. The arachidonic acid-induced acrosome reaction was dependent upon extracellular calcium. Leukotriene B4 and 15-HPETE only induced the acrosome reaction when present throughout the preincubation period, indicating that they may enhance the capacitation process rather than the acrosome reaction. Thromboxane did not affect the acrosome reaction under any of the conditions tested. Inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (indomethacin, phenylbutazone) and lipoxygenase (phenidone, nordihydroguiaretic acid) or FPL 55712 (a leukotriene antagonist) did not prevent the arachidonic acid-stimulated acrosome reaction. Furthermore, 5, 8, 11, 14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), the acetylenic analog of arachidonic acid that inhibits arachidonic acid metabolism, induced an acrosome reaction equivalent to that of arachidonic acid. These results strongly suggest that the acrosome reaction induced by exogenous arachidonic acid is not mediated via either the cyclooxygenase pathway or the lipoxygenase pathway.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)