Millipeds (Arthropoda: Diplopoda) of the Ark-La-Tex. II. Distributional Records for Some Species of Western and Central Arkansas and Easter and Southeastern Oklahoma

We collected millipeds between November 2001 and March 2002 at several sites in the Ouachita Provinces of western (Garland, Hot Spring, Pike, and Polk counties) and central Arkansas (Pulaski County) and the Ouachita and Kiamichi Provinces of southeastern Oklahoma (LeFlore and McCurtain counties). The following millipeds were found: Eurymerodesmus dubius, Auturus louisianus louisianus, Pseudopolydesmus pinetorum, and Cambala minor in Garland County; Eurymerodesmus sp., A. I. louisianus, P. pinetorum, and juveniles of the family Parajulidae (tribe Aniulini) from Hot Spring County; E. dubius, A. I. louisianus, and juveniles of the family Cleidogonidae from Pike County; Brachycybe lecontei, A. I. louisianus, Abacion tesselatum, and P. pinetorum in Polk County; Eurymerodesmus pulaski, P. pinetorum, Auturus evides, C. minor, B. lecontei, and a possible new species of Cleidogona in Pulaski County; A. I. louisianus, Apheloria virginiensis ?reducta, P. pinetorum, Narceus americanus, and E. dubius in McCurtain County; and B. lecontei, A.l. louisianus, Eurymerodesmus b. birdi, A. Ptesselatum, and juveniles of the family Parajulidae (tribe Aniulini) in LeFlore County. Two new state records are documented for Oklahoma: B. lecontei (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae), a record not only for the genus and species but also for the family and order; and E. dubius, the westernmost locality ever reported for the species

Geographic Distribution Records for Scolopendromorph Centipedes (Arthropoda: Chilopoda) from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas

During 2001-2003, we collected eight species of scolopendromorph centipedes from 17 counties of Arkansas (AR), seven counties of Oklahoma (OK), and 17 counties of Texas (TX). The following taxa were collected: Cryptops leucopodus (Rafinesque) from Bowie and Cass counties, TX, and Pulaski County, AR; Hemiscolopendra marginata (Say) from Columbia, Garland, Hempstead, Little River, Pike, Polk, and Yell counties, AR, and Cass, Cherokee, Coryell, Houston, Johnson, Kimble, Marion, Nacogdoches, Smith, and Tom Green counties, TX; Scolopocryptops rubiginosus L. Koch from Bowie and Dallas counties, TX; Scolopocryptops sexspinosus (Say) from Clark, Columbia, Conway, Faulkner, Hot Spring, Garland, Miller, Montgomery, Polk, Pope, and Pulaski counties, AR, LeFlore and McCurtain counties, OK, and Marion, Red River, and Rusk counties, TX; Scolopendra hews Girard from Atoka, Major, and McCurtain counties, OK; Scolopendra polymorpha Wood from Woodward County, OK; Theatops posticus (Say) from Montgomery County, AR, Choctaw, Marshall, and McCurtain counties, OK, and Cass, Dallas, Freestone, Hopkins, Houston, Red River, and Titus counties, TX; and Theatops spinicaudus (Wood) from Garland, Hot Spring, Little River, Pike, and Scott counties, AR, and Atoka, Choctaw, and McCurtain counties, OK. Most significantly, our records of S. rubiginosus are well outside its distributional range as depicted in Shelley (2002). A total of 43 new county records is documented, including 14 in Arkansas, nine in Oklahoma, and 20 in Texas

Millipeds (Arthropoda: Diplopoda) of the Ark-La-Tex. III. Additional Records from Arkansas

As part of an on-going effort by the second author (RMS) to elucidate the North American diplopod fauna, we collected millipeds in 14 Arkansas counties between April 2002 and October 2003. Additional information for these species is recorded from the holdings at the University of Arkansas Arthropod Museum along with unpublished records from other institutions in the second author\u27s files. The following species were identified: Abacion tesselatum, A. texense, Aliulus caddoensis, Apheloria virginiensis ?reducta, Auturus evides, A. louisianus louisianus, Brachycybe lecontei, Brachyiulus lusitanus, B.pusillus, Cambala minor, Desmonus pudicus, Eurymerodesmus birdibirdi, E. polkensis, E. pulaski, E. serratus, Narceus americanus, Oriulus venustus, Oxidis gracilis, Pseudopolydesmus pinetorum, P. serratus, and Virgoiulus minutus. A different and potentially new species of Pseudopolydesmus was collected in the entrance to Searcy Cave, Independence County. Three new state and 68 new county records are documented

Genome-Wide Association and Genomic Prediction for Host Response to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Infection

Host genetics has been shown to play a role in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), which is the most economically important disease in the swine industry. A region on Sus scrofa chromosome (SSC) 4 has been previously reported to have a strong association with serum viremia and weight gain in pigs experimentally infected with the PRRS virus (PRRSV). The objective here was to identify haplotypes associated with the favorable phenotype, investigate additional genomic regions associated with host response to PRRSV, and to determine the predictive ability of genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) based on the SSC4 region and based on the rest of the genome. Phenotypic data and 60 K SNP genotypes from eight trials of ~200 pigs from different commercial crosses were used to address these objectives. Across the eight trials, heritability estimates were 0.44 and 0.29 for viral load (VL, area under the curve of log-transformed serum viremia from 0 to 21 days post infection) and weight gain to 42 days post infection (WG), respectively. Genomic regions associated with VL were identified on chromosomes 4, X, and 1. Genomic regions associated with WG were identified on chromosomes 4, 5, and 7. Apart from the SSC4 region, the regions associated with these two traits each explained less than 3% of the genetic variance. Due to the strong linkage disequilibrium in the SSC4 region, only 19 unique haplotypes were identified across all populations, of which four were associated with the favorable phenotype. Through cross-validation, accuracies of EBV based on the SSC4 region were high (0.55), while the rest of the genome had little predictive ability across populations (0.09). Traits associated with response to PRRSV infection in growing pigs are largely controlled by genomic regions with relatively small effects, with the exception of SSC4. Accuracies of EBV based on the SSC4 region were high compared to the rest of the genome. These results show that selection for the SSC4 region could potentially reduce the effects of PRRS in growing pigs, ultimately reducing the economic impact of this disease

Millipeds (Arthropoda: Diplopoda) of the Ark-La-Tex. I. New Distributional and State Records for Seven Counties of the West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas

Unlike the Diplopoda of the Ozark Mountains region of north Arkansas, the millipeds of the West Gulf Coastal Plain of the state are poorly known. During the winter months of 2001-2002, we collected millipeds in four counties (Hempstead, Lafayette, Little River, and Miller) of southwest Arkansas and three counties (Columbia, Nevada, and Ouachita) of south Arkansas. We found the following species/subspecies Eurymerodesmus dubuis and Pseudopolydesmus pinetorum from Hempstead County; E. birdi birdi, E. mundus, Oxidus gracilis, and Pseudopolydesmus ? minor from Lafayette County; Aniulus (Hakiulus) diversifrons diversifrons, P. pinetorum, and a possible new species of Tiganogona in Little River County; Abacion ? texense, E. Mundus, 0. gracilis, P. pinetorum, Thrinaxoria lampra, and a new species of Aniulus (Hakiulus) from Miller County; Auturus louisianus louisianus, E. dubuis, Cambala minor, O. gracilis, P. pinetorum, and a female xystodesmid of the tribe Pachydesmini from Columbia County; Virgoiulus minutus, C. minor, P. pinetorum, and A. l. louisianus from Nevada County; and P. pinetorum, Eurymerodesmus sp., Narceus americanus, and C. minor from Ouachita County. A new state record is documented for T. lampra from Miller County, and the finding of V. minutus in Miller and Nevada counties represents the southwesternmost distributional records for the genus and species. To our knowledge, all millipeds reported herein for Little River County are the first ever documented for that county, including a potentially new species of Tiganogona, a genus known previously from Carroll, Clay, Sebastian, and Washington counties, Arkansas, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, and more distant locales in Missouri and Indiana

Biological Records Centre Annual Report 2005-2006

The period covered by this report is the first year of a new six-year partnership between CEH and JNCC. For this period, there is increased emphasis on targeted survey, on analysis and interpretation and on communications and outreach. These activities were always part of BRC’s work, but they have been given greater prominence as a result of rapid developments in information technology. Data are increasingly reaching BRC in electronic form, so that the effort of data entry and collation is reduced. The data, collected by many volunteers and then collated and analysed at BRC, document the changing status and distribution of plants and animals in Britain. Distribution maps are published in atlases and are available via the internet through the NBN Gateway. The effects of change or loss of habitats, the influence of climate change and the consequences of changing water quality are all examples of the environmental factors that affect our biodiversity and which BRC aims to document and understand. The results are vital for developing environmental policies, to support conservation, and for fundamental ecological research. BRC is funded jointly by JNCC and NERC through a partnership based on a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). The partnership started in 1973 when the Nature Conservancy was divided to form the successor bodies Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) and Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE). NCC was in turn divided further to form JNCC and three Country Agencies, while ITE was merged with other NERC units to form CEH. Through all these changes, the partnership has been maintained. A six-year memorandum of agreement ended on 31 January 2005 (Hill et al. 2005). The present report covers the first full year, 2005-6, of the new agreement for 2005-2010. Rapid progress in information technology continues to be highly beneficial for BRC, whose data are increasingly used by the UK country conservation agencies, environmental consultants, NGOs, research workers, policy makers and volunteers. It is gratifying to know that, through our ability to display data on the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Gateway, some of our data suppliers now have immediate access to their own data in a convenient form. The year 2005-6 has been one of steady progress, with new datasets added to BRC, substantial additions to existing data, and improved communication with the NBN Gateway. The most high profile activity of the year has been the Harlequin Ladybird Survey, which has enabled us to observe the early stages of colonization by a mobile insect in greater detail than has been possible in any previous case

The impact of malaria parasites on dendritic cell–T cell interaction

Malaria is caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. While infection continues to pose a risk for the majority of the global population, the burden of disease mainly resides in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although immunity develops against disease, this requires years of persistent exposure and is not associated with protection against infection. Repeat infections occur due to the parasite's ability to disrupt or evade the host immune responses. However, despite many years of study, the mechanisms of this disruption remain unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated a parasite-induced failure in dendritic cell (DCs) function affecting the generation of helper T cell responses. These T cells fail to help B cell responses, reducing the production of antibodies that are necessary to control malaria infection. This review focuses on our current understanding of the effect of Plasmodium parasite on DC function, DC-T cell interaction, and T cell activation. A better understanding of how parasites disrupt DC-T cell interactions will lead to new targets and approaches to reinstate adaptive immune responses and enhance parasite immunity

Distinct roles of parvalbumin and somatostatin interneurons in gating the synchronization of spike-times in the neocortex

Synchronization of precise spike times across multiple neurons carries information about sensory stimuli. Inhibitory interneurons are suggested to promote this synchronization, but it is unclear whether distinct interneuron subtypes provide different contributions. To test this, we examined single-unit recordings from barrel cortex in vivo and used optogenetics to determine the contribution of parvalbumin (PV)– and somatostatin (SST)–positive interneurons to the synchronization of spike times across cortical layers. We found that PV interneurons preferentially promote the synchronization of spike times when instantaneous firing rates are low (<12 Hz), whereas SST interneurons preferentially promote the synchronization of spike times when instantaneous firing rates are high (>12 Hz). Furthermore, using a computational model, we demonstrate that these effects can be explained by PV and SST interneurons having preferential contributions to feedforward and feedback inhibition, respectively. Our findings demonstrate that distinct subtypes of inhibitory interneurons have frequency-selective roles in the spatiotemporal synchronization of precise spike times