Tightening the requirements for species diagnoses would help integrate DNA-based descriptions in taxonomic practice.

Modern advances in DNA sequencing hold the promise of facilitating descriptions of new organisms at ever finer precision but have come with challenges as the major Codes of bionomenclature contain poorly defined requirements for species and subspecies diagnoses (henceforth, species diagnoses), which is particularly problematic for DNA-based taxonomy. We, the commissioners of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, advocate a tightening of the definition of "species diagnosis" in future editions of Codes of bionomenclature, for example, through the introduction of requirements for specific information on the character states of differentiating traits in comparison with similar species. Such new provisions would enhance taxonomic standards and ensure that all diagnoses, including DNA-based ones, contain adequate taxonomic context.

Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp.

Social insects are highly diverse in their social structures, aside from the consistent presence of reproductive castes. Among social insects, the Australian paper wasp Ropalidia plebeiana constructs extremely dense colony aggregations consisting of hundreds of colonies within a few square meters; however, little is known about the aggregation structures. We genetically analyzed the colony and population structure of R.

Eusocial wasp fauna of Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Vespinae).

Taxonomy of eusocial wasps (Polistinae and Vespinae) occurring in Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea, is reviewed. Sixteen (12 polistine and four vespine) species are recognized. Polistes (Polistella) stigma, known to be widely distributed in southern Asia and Australasia, is newly recorded for Sulawesi Island.

Review of the paper wasps of the Parapolybia indica species-group (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Polistinae) in eastern parts of Asia.

Nine species of the Parapolybia indica species-group in eastern parts of Asia are reviewed. Four new species are described: P. flava sp.

Distribution and nests of paper wasps of Polistes (Polistella) in northeastern Vietnam, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae).

Seven species of the subgenus Polistella Ashmead of the genus Polistes Latreille including a new species, P. brunetus Nguyen & Kojima, sp. n.

Review of potter wasps with a petiolate metasoma excluding so-called "Zethinae" (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) in the Lesser Sunda Islands of the Indonesian Archipelago.

Twenty species and six subspecies of nine genera of eumenine wasps with a petiolate metasoma occurring in the Lesser Sunda Islands are listed. New synonymies are proposed for Delta campaniforme campaniforme (Fabricius 1775) (=D. campaniforme gracilior Giordani Soika 1986, syn.

Taxonomic notes on the paper wasps of the genus in the Indian subcontinent (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

The taxonomy of wasps in the Indian subcontinent is revised, recognizing 26 species in the subcontinent. Their diagnostic characteristics are summarized in a key to species. New synonymies proposed in the present study are: Das and Gupta, 1989 under van der Vecht, 1962; van der Vecht, 1941 under van der Vecht, 1941; Lambert and Narendran, 2005 and Lambert and Narendran, 2005, both under Fabricius, 1804; Das and Gupta, 1989, and Lambert and Narendran, 2005, both under du Buysson, 1908; Lambert and Narendran, 2005, under Lepeletier, 1836; Lambert and Narendran, 2005, under Cameron, 1900; van der Vecht, 1941 under Cameron, 1905; Smith, 1858, under Weber, 1801; and a revised synonymy is Smith, 1857, under Smith, 1852.

Polistes formosanus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), a good species supported by both morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, and a key social wasp in understanding the historical biogeography of the Nansei Islands.

Polistes formosanus Sonan, 1927 is closely related to P. japonicus de Saussure, 1858, and has been treated variously as a good species or subspecies or synonym of P. japonicus.

Vespidae of Viet Nam (Insecta: Hymenoptera) 2. Taxonomic notes on Vespinae.

The taxonomy of the Vietnamese species of the social wasp subfamily Vespinae is revised. Vespa auraria Smith, 1852, is synonymized under V. velutina Lepeletier, 1836.

The induction of super-resistance using synthetic lipopolysaccharide receptor agonist rescues fatal endotoxemia in rats without excessive immunosuppression.

Endotoxin tolerance provides protection against mortality under various conditions of stress. However, the induction of endotoxin tolerance thus far has no clinical application because of endotoxin toxicity and the excessive immune suppression that follows the tolerance induction. In this study, we examined whether a novel, synthetic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor agonist, ER-803058 (ER) can induce endotoxin tolerance with accompanying low toxicity.

Simultaneous onset of acute inflammatory response, sepsis-like symptoms and intestinal mucosal injury after cancer chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is 1 method for the treatment of cancer, but serious side effects can sometimes limit the dosage given. Mild fever and diarrhea are common side effects of cancer chemotherapy. Gastrointestinal injury induced by chemotherapeutic agents may result in bacterial/endotoxin translocation from the gut into the systemic circulation.