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Ophiuroidea is the largest class among extant echinoderms, with over 2000 described species assigned to 33 families. Here, the first identification key to the recently revised classification was developed, and revised morphological descriptions were derived from it, expanding the previous short diagnoses. The key was built by analyzing internal and external skeletal characters of predominantly the type species of each family, including at least two mutually exclusive attributes per family. Various numeric and multistate characters were used to create a traditional as well as an interactive key using the DELTA and Xper software programs. Illustrations (SEM and digital photos) are included in the key to facilitate the assessment of character states by users. Not only is it the first identification key to the families, according to the recently proposed new classification and the examined species, but this interactive key also assists users in understanding the family level taxonomy of brittle stars. The interactive key allows new characters and states to be added, when more species will have been analyzed, without the need to reconfigure the complete key (as may be necessary with conventional keys).
Deep-sea ophiuroids were collected by the manned submersible ‘Shenhaiyongshi’ from the South China Sea at depths of 500–3550 m, in 2017 to 2020. A total of 18 species were identified, including three new species and eight new records, increasing the total number of species known from the South China Sea to 304. Most of the ophiuroids recorded from the South China Sea were found in shallow waters (77.9%) and a few of them occurred only in deep water (20.4%). Three new species are described as Ophiacantha aster sp. nov., Ophiomoeris petalis sp. nov. and Ophiopristis shenhaiyongshii sp. nov. We provide comprehensive descriptions of morphological features, including characteristics of the arm skeletons, and a phylogenetic analysis based on COI and 16S sequences. Overall intraspecific and interspecific genetic distance variations among the families found in this study were 0.5% to 2.47% and 1.16% to 44.16%, respectively, along the South Pacific region to the South China Sea. Our phylogenetic analysis suggested that COI partial genes resolved the interspecies complexity in the class Ophiuroidea better than 16S partial genes. The order Euryalida had low interspecies genetic distance variation within the class Ophiuroidea. The present study suggests a high probability that species of Asteroschema and Gorgonocephalus are more widely spread around the Indo-Pacific region than previously expected.
Background: To evaluate clinical outcomes after either immediate or deferred initiation of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients, presenting late with pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) or toxoplasma encephalitis (TE).
Methods: Phase IV, multicenter, prospective, randomized open-label clinical trial. Patients were randomized into an immediate therapy arm (starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) within 7 days after initiation of OI treatment) versus a deferred arm (starting ART after completing the OI-therapy). All patients were followed for 24 weeks. The rates of clinical progression (death, new or relapsing opportunistic infections (OI) and other grade 4 clinical endpoints) were compared, using a combined primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints were hospitalization rates after completion of OI treatment, incidence of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), virologic and immunological outcome, adherence to proteinase-inhibitor based antiretroviral therapy (ART) protocol and quality of life.
Results: 61 patients (11 patients suffering TE, 50 with PCP) were enrolled. No differences between the two therapy groups in all examined primary and secondary endpoints could be identified: immunological and virologic outcome was similar in both groups, there was no significant difference in the incidence of IRIS (11 and 10 cases), furthermore 9 events (combined endpoint of death, new/relapsing OI and grade 4 events) occurred in each group.
Conclusions: In summary, this study supports the notion that immediate initiation of ART with a ritonavir-boosted proteinase-inhibitor and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors is safe and has no negative effects on incidence of disease progression or IRIS, nor on immunological and virologic outcomes or on quality of life.
A new species of brittle star was collected in 2021 by the manned submersible “Fendouzhe” from the central rift zone deep waters, Philippine Sea, at a depth of 7729 m. It is described as Ophiuroglypha fendouzhe sp. nov., and is distinguished from its congeners based on the following features: slender arms, separated dorsal and ventral arm plates, overlapping large disc scales, and distally contiguous radial shields. We provide comprehensive descriptions of the external morphological features, including characteristics of the arm skeleton, and a phylogenetic analysis based on COI sequences. The interspecific genetic distance variation in the genus Ophiuroglypha found in this study was 3.89% to 24.25%. The new species constitutes the deepest known record for the genus Ophiuroglypha.