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Despite multidisciplinary local and systemic therapeutic approaches, the prognosis for most patients with brain metastases is still dismal. The role of adaptive and innate anti-tumor response including the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) machinery of antigen presentation is still unclear. We present data on the HLA class II-chaperone molecule CD74 in brain metastases and its impact on the HLA peptidome complexity.
We analyzed CD74 and HLA class II expression on tumor cells in a subset of 236 human brain metastases, primary tumors and peripheral metastases of different entities in association with clinical data including overall survival. Additionally, we assessed whole DNA methylome profiles including CD74 promoter methylation and differential methylation in 21 brain metastases. We analyzed the effects of a siRNA mediated CD74 knockdown on HLA-expression and HLA peptidome composition in a brain metastatic melanoma cell line.
We observed that CD74 expression on tumor cells is a strong positive prognostic marker in brain metastasis patients and positively associated with tumor-infiltrating T-lymphocytes (TILs). Whole DNA methylome analysis suggested that CD74 tumor cell expression might be regulated epigenetically via CD74 promoter methylation. CD74high and TILhigh tumors displayed a differential DNA methylation pattern with highest enrichment scores for antigen processing and presentation. Furthermore, CD74 knockdown in vitro lead to a reduction of HLA class II peptidome complexity, while HLA class I peptidome remained unaffected.
In summary, our results demonstrate that a functional HLA class II processing machinery in brain metastatic tumor cells, reflected by a high expression of CD74 and a complex tumor cell HLA peptidome, seems to be crucial for better patient prognosis.
Rationale: With advances in contemporary radiotherapy techniques, and as cancer survival improves, severe isolated coronary ostial disease may develop many years following mediastinal radiotherapy, even in the absence of classical cardiovascular risk factors.
Patient concerns: We describe the case of a 73-year-old woman with previous chest radiotherapy for breast cancer who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery for severe bilateral coronary ostial lesions.
Diagnoses: Coronary angiography demonstrated severe, isolated bilateral coronary ostial lesions.
Interventions: The patient underwent urgent coronary artery bypass graft surgery to treat her critical coronary artery disease.
Outcomes: Intra-operatively, internal mammary arteries were not amenable to harvesting due to very dense mediastinal adhesions. Therefore, saphenous vein grafts were performed to the left anterior descending, distal left circumflex, obtuse marginal and distal right coronary arteries. The patient made a satisfactory in-hospital recovery, and was subsequently discharged back to her local hospital for rehabilitation.
Lessons: Patients successfully treated with mediastinal radiotherapy require careful long-term follow-up for the assessment of radiation-induced coronary artery disease. Importantly, mediastinal irradiation may preclude internal mammary artery utilization, and thus alter the strategy for surgical myocardial revascularization.
During the Holocene, North American ice sheet collapse and rapid sea-level rise reconnected the Black Sea with the global ocean. Rapid meltwater releases into the North Atlantic and associated climate change arguably slowed the pace of Neolithisation across southeastern Europe, originally hypothesized as a catastrophic flooding that fueled culturally-widespread deluge myths. However, we currently lack an independent record linking the timing of meltwater events, sea-level rise and environmental change with the timing of Neolithisation in southeastern Europe. Here, we present a sea surface salinity record from the Northern Aegean Sea indicative of two meltwater events at ~8.4 and ~7.6 kiloyears that can be directly linked to rapid declines in the establishment of Neolithic sites in southeast Europe. The meltwater events point to an increased outflow of low salinity water from the Black Sea driven by rapid sea level rise >1.4 m following freshwater outbursts from Lake Agassiz and the final decay of the Laurentide ice sheet. Our results shed new light on the link between catastrophic sea-level rise and the Neolithisation of southeastern Europe, and present a historical example of how coastal populations could have been impacted by future rapid sea-level rise.
We investigate whether and how the shift from discretionary forward-looking provisioning to the restrictive incurred loss approach under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the European Union (EU) affects the cross-country comparability and predictive ability of loan loss allowances. Given bank supervisors’ keen interest in comparable and adequate loan loss allowances, we also examine the role of supervisors in determining financial statement effects around IFRS adoption. We find that the application of the incurred loss approach has led to more comparable loan loss allowances. However, some differences persist in countries where supervisors were reluctant to enforce the incurred loss approach. Our results also suggest that the predictive ability of loan loss allowances improved following IFRS adoption. Finally, in supplemental analyses we document that increased comparability of loan loss allowances is associated with the cross-country convergence of the risk sensitivity of bank leverage indicating an improvement in the effectiveness of market discipline in the EU.
Background: The Indonesian region of Aceh was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004. Department of Health data reveal an upward trend of dengue cases in Aceh since the events of the tsunami. Despite the increasing incidence of dengue in the region, there is limited understanding of dengue among the general population of Aceh. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding dengue among the people of Aceh, Indonesia in order to design intervention strategies for an effective dengue prevention program.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Aceh between November 2014 and March 2015 with a total of 609 participants living in seven regencies and two municipalities. Information on the socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their KAP regarding dengue was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The KAP status (good vs. poor) of participants with different socio-demographic characteristics was compared using Chi Square-test, ANOVA or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of each KAP domain.
Results: We found that 45% of participants had good knowledge regarding dengue and only 32% had good attitudes and good dengue preventive practices. There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes, knowledge and practice, and attitudes and practice. In addition, people who had good knowledge were 2.7 times more likely to have good attitudes, and people who had good attitudes were 2.2 times more likely to have good practices regarding dengue. The level of education, occupation, marital status, monthly income, socioeconomic status (SES) and living in the city were associated with the knowledge level. Occupation, SES, and having experienced dengue fever were associated with attitudes. Education, occupation, SES and type of residence were associated with preventive practices.
Conclusion: Our study suggests that dengue prevention programs are required to increase KAP levels regarding dengue in the communities of Aceh.
Genetic heterogeneity of primary lesion and metastasis in small intestine neuroendocrine tumors
(2018)
Data on intratumoral heterogeneity of small intestine neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) and related liver metastasis are limited. The aim of this study was to characterize genetic heterogeneity of 5 patients with SI-NETs. Therefore, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of primary and metastatic lesions as well as benign liver of five patients with synchronously metastasized, well differentiated SI-NETs were analyzed with whole exome sequencing. For one patient, chip based 850k whole DNA methylome analysis was performed of primary and metastatic tumor tissue as well as control tissue. Thereby, 156 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in 150 genes were identified and amount of mutations per sample ranged from 9–34 (mean 22). The degree of common (0–94%) and private mutations per sample was strongly varying (6–100%). In all patients, copy number variations (CNV) were found and the degree of intratumoral heterogeneity of CNVs corresponded to SNV analysis. DNA methylation analysis of a patient without common SNVs revealed a large overlap of common methylated CpG sites. In conclusion, SI-NET primary and metastatic lesions show a highly varying degree of intratumoral heterogeneity. Driver events might not be detectable with exome analysis only, and further comprehensive studies including whole genome and epigenetic analyses are warranted.
A recent CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber study showed that sulfuric acid and dimethylamine produce new aerosols very efficiently and yield particle formation rates that are compatible with boundary layer observations. These previously published new particle formation (NPF) rates are reanalyzed in the present study with an advanced method. The results show that the NPF rates at 1.7 nm are more than a factor of 10 faster than previously published due to earlier approximations in correcting particle measurements made at a larger detection threshold. The revised NPF rates agree almost perfectly with calculated rates from a kinetic aerosol model at different sizes (1.7 and 4.3 nm mobility diameter). In addition, modeled and measured size distributions show good agreement over a wide range of sizes (up to ca. 30 nm). Furthermore, the aerosol model is modified such that evaporation rates for some clusters can be taken into account; these evaporation rates were previously published from a flow tube study. Using this model, the findings from the present study and the flow tube experiment can be brought into good agreement for the high base-to-acid ratios (∼ 100) relevant for this study. This confirms that nucleation proceeds at rates that are compatible with collision-controlled (a.k.a. kinetically controlled) NPF for the conditions during the CLOUD7 experiment (278 K, 38 % relative humidity, sulfuric acid concentration between 1 × 106 and 3 × 107 cm−3, and dimethylamine mixing ratio of ∼ 40 pptv, i.e., 1 × 109 cm−3).
Mannitol is the major compatible solute, next to glutamate, synthesized by the opportunistic human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii under low water activities. The key enzyme for mannitol biosynthesis, MtlD, was identified. MtlD is highly similar to the bifunctional mannitol‐1‐phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphatase from Acinetobacter baylyi. After deletion of the mtlD gene from A. baumannii ATCC 19606T cells no longer accumulated mannitol and growth was completely impaired at high salt. Addition of glycine betaine restored growth, demonstrating that mannitol is an important compatible solute in the human pathogen. MtlD was heterologously produced and purified. Enzyme activity was strictly salt dependent. Highest stimulation was reached at 600 mmol/L NaCl. Addition of different sodium as well as potassium salts restored activity, with highest stimulations up to 41 U/mg protein by sodium glutamate. In contrast, an increase in osmolarity by addition of sugars did not restore activity. Regulation of mannitol synthesis was also assayed at the transcriptional level. Reporter gene assays revealed that expression of mtlD is strongly dependent on high osmolarity, not discriminating between different salts or sugars. The presence of glycine betaine or its precursor choline repressed promoter activation. These data indicate a dual regulation of mannitol production in A. baumannii, at the transcriptional and the enzymatic level, depending on high osmolarity.
Spatial modelling of malaria cases associated with environmental factors in South Sumatra, Indonesia
(2018)
Background: Malaria, a parasitic infection, is a life-threatening disease in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. This study aimed to investigate the spatial association between malaria occurrence and environmental risk factors.
Methods: The number of confirmed malaria cases was analysed for the year 2013 from the routine reporting of the Provincial Health Office of South Sumatra. The cases were spread over 436 out of 1613 villages. Six potential ecological predictors of malaria cases were analysed in the different regions using ordinary least square (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The global pattern and spatial variability of associations between malaria cases and the selected potential ecological predictors was explored.
Results: The importance of different environmental and geographic parameters for malaria was shown at global and village-level in South Sumatra, Indonesia. The independent variables altitude, distance from forest, and rainfall in global OLS were significantly associated with malaria cases. However, as shown by GWR model and in line with recent reviews, the relationship between malaria and environmental factors in South Sumatra strongly varied spatially in different regions.
Conclusions: A more in-depth understanding of local ecological factors influencing malaria disease as shown in present study may not only be useful for developing sustainable regional malaria control programmes, but can also benefit malaria elimination efforts at village level.
The emerging relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia (B.) miyamotoi is transmitted by ixodid ticks and causes the so-called hard tick-borne relapsing fever or B. miyamotoi disease (BMD). More recently, we identified a surface-exposed molecule, CbiA exhibiting complement binding and inhibitory capacity and rendering spirochetes resistant to complement-mediated lysis. To gain deeper insight into the molecular principles of B. miyamotoi-host interaction, we examined CbiA as a plasmin(ogen) receptor that enables B. miyamotoi to interact with the serine protease plasmin(ogen). Recombinant CbiA was able to bind plasminogen in a dose-dependent fashion. Moreover, lysine residues appear to play a crucial role in the protein-protein interaction as binding of plasminogen was inhibited by the lysine analog tranexamic acid as well as increasing ionic strength. Of relevance, plasminogen bound to CbiA can be converted by urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPa) to active plasmin which cleaved both, the chromogenic substrate S-2251 and its physiologic substrate fibrinogen. Concerning the involvement of specific amino acids in the interaction with plasminogen, lysine residues located at the C-terminus are frequently involved in the binding as reported for various other plasminogen-interacting proteins of Lyme disease spirochetes. Lysine residues located within the C-terminal domain were substituted with alanine to generate single, double, triple, and quadruple point mutants. However, binding of plasminogen to the mutated CbiA proteins was not affected, suggesting that lysine residues distant from the C-terminus might be involved in the interaction.
The quasi-two-dimensional organic charge-transfer salt κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu 2 (CN) 3 is one of the prime candidates for a quantum spin-liquid due the strong spin frustration of its anisotropic triangular lattice in combination with its proximity to the Mott transition. Despite intensive investigations of the material’s low-temperature properties, several important questions remain to be answered. Particularly puzzling are the 6 K anomaly and the enigmatic effects observed in magnetic fields. Here we report on low-temperature measurements of lattice effects which were shown to be particularly strongly pronounced in this material (R. S. Manna et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 2010, 104, 016403)). A special focus of our study lies on sample-to-sample variations of these effects and their implications on the interpretation of experimental data. By investigating overall nine single crystals from two different batches, we can state that there are considerable differences in the size of the second-order phase transition anomaly around 6 K, varying within a factor of 3. In addition, we find field-induced anomalies giving rise to pronounced features in the sample length for two out of these nine crystals for temperatures T< 9 K. We tentatively assign the latter effects to B-induced magnetic clusters suspected to nucleate around crystal imperfections. These B-induced effects are absent for the crystals where the 6 K anomaly is most strongly pronounced. The large lattice effects observed at 6 K are consistent with proposed pairing instabilities of fermionic excitations breaking the lattice symmetry. The strong sample-to-sample variation in the size of the phase transition anomaly suggests that the conversion of the fermions to bosons at the instability is only partial and to some extent influenced by not yet identified sample-specific parameters.
Für das bessere Verständnis der Nukleosynthese der schweren Elemente im s-Prozess wurde im Rahmen dieser Arbeit die Messung zur Bestimmung der Neutroneneinfangsreaktion von 83Kr durchgeführt. Als Messinstrument wurde DANCE am LANL verwendet, ein 4pi-Kalorimeter zur Detektion der entstehenden g-Kaskaden bei (n,g)-Reaktionen. Darüber hinaus wurden außerdem noch Proben mit 85Kr und 86Kr vermessen.
Die Herausforderung an diesem Experiment bestand vor allem in der Probenherstellung. Das Edelgas Kr erforderte eine Neukonstruktion der normalerweise bei DANCE verwendeten Probenhalterung. Das Hauptaugenmerk lag auf der Maximierung der Kr-Exposition durch den Neutronenstrahl. Im Gegenzug wurde versucht das umgebende Material nach Möglichkeit keinen Neutronen auszusetzen. Für die Isotope 83,86Kr wurden Hochdruckgaskugeln verwendet, die an der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt gefüllt und in eine der neuen Probenhalterungen eingesetzt wurden. Zur Beachtung des bei der Messung entstehenden Untergrundes wurde eine Messung mit baugleicher Probenhalterung und leerer Gaskugel durchgeführt. Da bereits kleine Mengen 85Kr eine hohe Radioaktivität aufweisen, wurde eine in einen Stahlzylinder eingeschweißte, existierende Quelle verwendet.
Bei der Analyse zu 86Kr wurde schnell eine zu starke Verunreinigung der Kr-Probe mit Xe offensichtlich, einen signifikanten Anteil des Spektrums ausmachte. Aus diesem Grund kam es vor allem zu Problemen den korrekten Untergrund von den 86Kr Messdaten zu subtrahieren. Die weitere Bestimmung inklusive Streukorrekturen, Normierung anhand des Flussmonitors und DICEBOX/GEANT3 Effizienzbestimmung lieferte zwar einen energieabhängigen Wirkungsquerschnitt, dieser zeigte allerdings große Abweichungen von den evaluierten ENDF/B-VII.1 Daten, was besonders ersichtlich in der deutlichsten 86Kr Resonanz bei 5515 eV zu erkennen war. Aus diesem Grund konnte aus den Messdaten kein MACS extrahiert werden.
Bei einer Untersuchung der Aktivität der 85Kr-Probe mit Hilfe der einzelnen BaF2-Detektoren in der DANCE Kugel zeigte sich zunächst eine um fast einen Faktor vier geringere Aktivität als vom Hersteller angegeben. Auch bei der weiteren Analyse traten massive Untergrundprobleme auf. Die Form des Stahlzylinders, in dem das Kr-Gasgemisch eingeschweißt war, konnte aufgrund seiner Form nur schwer im Strahlrohr untergebracht werden. Beim Experiment selbst zeigte sich dann, dass Teile der Halterung vom Neutronenstrahl getroffen wurden, was einen Untergrund mit sehr hohem Q-Wert erzeugte, der nicht durch ein Esum Fenster entfernt werden konnte. Durch eine Beschädigung der Halterung mit der Probe kam es darüber hinaus zu Abweichungen mit der verwendeten Leerhalterung. All das führte trotz einer langen Messzeit von fast 18 d dazu, dass nur ein sehr schwaches Signal von der eigentlichen Kr-Probe zu erkennen war. Es wurde eine mögliche 85Kr Resonanz bei 675 eV gefunden, allerdings ist die endgültige Zuordnung aufgrund der nicht eindeutigen Untergrundsituation äußerst schwierig. Im Vorfeld des Kr-Experimentes wurde eine Messung von RbCl an DANCE durchgeführt, da ursprünglich zu erwarten war, dass bereits ein Teil des 85Kr zu 85Rb zerfallen war. Durch diese Messung sollte dieser Anteil leicht von der späteren Messung zu subtrahieren sein. Allerdings trat ein unerwartetes Problem während der Datenaufnahme auf. Die Verbindung der DAQ Boards wurde getrennt, wodurch ca. 3/4 der Detektoren nicht mehr zeitsynchron liefen. Im Zuge dieser Arbeit wurde eine Rekonstruktion dieser Daten angestrebt. Durch Modifikationen am FARE Code, der zur Auswertung verwendet wurde, konnte Flugzeitspektren für jeden Beschleunigerpuls erzeugt werden. Es zeigte sich zunächst ein offensichtlicher Trend einer Verschiebung der getrennten Boards zu späteren Zeiten. Durch mehrere Fits an die Abweichungsverteilung und anschließende Korrektur konnte zunächst ein Spektrum wiederhergestellt werden, das vergleichbar mit den unbeschädigten Daten war. Bei einer detaillierten Analyse dieser neu gewonnen Daten zeigte sich jedoch eine Nichtlinearität in der Zeitverschiebung. Dies resultierte letztlich in einer Korrektur des Spektrums, allerdings nicht in einem Koinzidenzfenster von 10 ns, das für eine Wirkungsquerschnittsanalyse notwendig ist. Es wurde geschlussfolgert, dass durch die geringe Statistik in den einzelnen Flugzeitspektren solch eine Genauigkeit nicht zu erreichen ist.
Die Messung des Neutroneneinfangsquerschnitts von 83Kr konnte im Zuge dieser Arbeit erfolgreich durchgeführt werden. Es wurden zwei Messungen mit verschiedenen Strömen kombiniert. Eine Messung mit 40 µA wurde durchgeführt, um Pile-Up in der größten Resonanz bei 28 eV zu reduzieren. Die zweite Messung diente dann dem Sammeln von ausreichend Statistik in den nicht resonanten Bereichen. Die eingesetzte Leerkugel erlaubte eine saubere Subtraktion des Untergrundes von Probenhalterung, Gaskugel und Umgebung. Für die Skalierung der Messergebnisse wurde eine weitere Messung mit einer 5000 Å dicken Goldfolie durchgeführt. Zur Bestimmung der Detektoreffizienz konnten zunächst die durch den Neutroneneinfang entstandenen Abregungskaskaden der 84Kr Kerne mit DICEBOX modelliert werden. Diese Kaskaden wurden dann anschließend in GEANT3 Simulationen verwendet, um die Effizienz bestimmen zu können. Mit diesen Methoden erhielt man die Maxwell-gemittelten Wirkungsquerschnitte von kT = 5 keV - 100 keV. Bei der für den s-Prozess wichtigen Temperatur von kT = 30 keV wurde der Querschnitt bestimmt zu: MACS (30 keV) = (256,6 +- 14,2 (stat) +- 18,1(sys)) mb.
Dieser Wert ist in guter Übereinstimmung mit dem in der KADoNIS v0.3 Datenbank angegebenen Wert von MACS;KADoNIS (30 keV) = (243 +- 15) mb. Mit den so gewonnenen Wirkungsquerschnitten wurden außerdem die Reaktionsraten berechnet. Bei den anschließenden Netzwerkrechnungen mit dem Programm NETZ wurden die Auswirkungen der in dieser Arbeit gewonnenen Wirkungsquerschnitte im Vergleich zu den KADoNIS v0.3 Werten betrachtet. Dabei zeigte sich eine leicht erhöhte Produktion der stabilen Isotope 84Kr, 86Kr, 85Rb und 87Rb, sowie eine leichte Unterproduktion der stabilen Isotope 86-88Sr in der Hauptkomponente des s-Prozess. Ein ähnliches Bild zeigte sich in der He-Brennphase der schwachen Komponente. Der in dieser Arbeit gemessene Wirkungsquerschnitt bei hohen Temperaturen ist geringer als der in KADoNIS v0.3 angegebene, weswegen es bei der Simulation mit NETZ zu einer stark erhöhten Produktion von 83Kr in der C-Brennphase kommt.
IFLS-Journal. Nr. 23, 2018
(2018)
GOeTHEO : Ausgabe 18
(2018)
Compact objects - black holes and neutron stars - are fascinating objects, not only for the astrophysicists, but for a wide range of researchers, including astronomers, theoretical physicists, particle and nuclear physicists, condensed matter physicists and arguably for the layman as well.
First theorized in the first part of the twentieth century, for a long time these objects have been considered just exotic ideas or mathematical curiosities. Pulsar were however detected in the late 1960s and readily identified as rotating, radiating neutron stars, while the first candidate black hole, Cygnus X-1, was observed in 1972. Since then the interest in these objects has steadily grown.
The reasons behind this interest are easily understood considering that compact object dwell at the intersection of many different areas of physics, and are ideal laboratories to explore the interplay between these areas.
Black holes, which are purely gravitational objects, are perfectly suited to study the nature of gravity, its manifestations such as gravitational waves, and the differences between various theories of gravity in the regime where they are expected to be most relevant, i.e. the strong field regime. However, just like any massive astrophysical object, black holes are interested by accretion phenomena, which are thought to be the power source of some very bright astrophysical emitters of electromagnetic signals, such as active galactic nuclei or X-ray binaries.
At the same time, black holes exist in a variety of different mass scales, from stellar mass to supermassive black holes billions of times heavier. The latter play a very important and yet not fully understood role in the formation and evolution of galaxies, as well as in shaping the large scale structure of the universe, making them relevant to cosmology as well.
Neutron stars share with black holes the characteristic of being gravitationally dominated systems; but because they are composed of baryon matter, they display a much richer behaviour. It has been realized early on that the matter in neutron star cores reaches extreme densities, exceeding the one in atomic nuclei. This means that neutron stars could provide invaluable information on the behaviour of matter in such extreme conditions (which are impossible to achieve in laboratory experiments), such as details of the nucleonic interaction, the properties of hyperons or of quark-gluon plasmas.
...
Diploid transgenic organisms are either hemi- or homozygous. Genetic assays are, therefore, required to identify the genotype. Our AGameOfClones vector concept uses two clearly distinguishable transformation markers embedded in interweaved, but incompatible Lox site pairs. Cre-mediated recombination leads to hemizygous individuals that carry only one marker. In the following generation, heterozygous descendants are identified by the presence of both markers and produce homozygous progeny that are selected by the lack of one marker. We prove our concept in Tribolium castaneum by systematically creating multiple functional homozygous transgenic lines suitable for long-term fluorescence live imaging. Our approach saves resources and simplifies transgenic organism handling. Since the concept relies on the universal Cre-Lox system, it is expected to work in all diploid model organisms, for example, insects, zebrafish, rodents and plants. With appropriate adaptions, it can be used in knock-out assays to preselect homozygous individuals and thus minimize the number of wasted animals.
The mission of the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment is to investigate the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter in the region of high net-baryon densities and moderate temperatures. According to various transport models, matter densities of more than 5 times saturation density can be reached in collisions between gold nuclei at beam energies between 5 and 11 GeV per nucleon, which will be available at FAIR. The core detector of the CBM experiment is the Silicon Tracking System (STS), which is used to measure the tracks of up to 700 particles per collision with high efficiency (>95%) and good momentum resolution (<1.5%). The technological and experimental challenge is to realize a detector system with very low material budget, in order to reduce multiple scattering of the particles, and a free-streaming data readout chain, in order to achieve reaction rates up to 10 MHz together with an online event reconstruction and selection.
The STS comprises 8 tracking stations positioned between 30 cm and 100 cm downstream the target inside a magnetic field, covering polar emission angles up to 25 degrees. A station consists of vertical structures with increasing number (between 8 and 16, depending on station number), each structure carrying between 2 and 10 double-sided microstrip silicon sensors, which are connected through low-mass microcables to the readout electronics placed at the detector periphery outside the active detector area.
The work presented in this thesis focuses on the detector performance simulation and local hit pattern reconstruction in the STS. For efficient detector design and reconstruction performance, a reliable detector response model is of utmost importance. Within this work, a realistic detector response model was designed and implemented in the CBM software framework. The model includes non-uniform energy loss of an incident particle within a sensor, electric field of a planar p-n junction, Lorentz shift of the charge carriers, their diffusion, and the influence of parasitic capacitances. The developed model has been verified with experimental data from detector tests in a relativistic proton beam. Cluster size distributions at different beam incident angles are sensitive to charge sharing effects and were chosen as an observable for the verification. Taking into account parasitic capacitances further improves the agreement with measured data.
Using the developed detector response model, the cluster position finding algorithm was improved. For two-strip clusters, a new, unbiased algorithm has been developed, which gives smaller residuals than the Centre-Of-Gravity algorithm. For larger clusters, the head-tail algorithm is used as the default one. For an estimate of the track parameters, the Kalman Filter based track fit requires not only hit positions but their uncertainties as an input. A new analytic method to estimate the hit position errors has been designed in this work. It requires as input neither measured spatial resolution nor information about an incident particle track. The method includes all the sources of uncertainties independently, namely: the cluster position finding algorithm itself, the non-uniform energy loss of incident particles, the electronics noise, and the discretisation of charge in the readout chip.
The verification with simulations shows improvements in hit and track pull distributions as well as x²-distributions in comparison to the previous simple approach. The analytic method improves the track parameters reconstruction by 5-10%.
Several STS module prototypes have been tested in a relativistic proton beam. A signal to-noise ratio was obtained at the level of 10-15 for modules made of 30 cm long microcable and of either one or two 6.2 x 6.2 cm² CiS sensors.
First simulations have shown that this signal-to-noise ratio is sufficient to reach the required efficiency and momentum resolution. The high-radiation environment of CBM operation will deteriorate the sensor performance. Radiation hardness of sensors has been studied in the beam with sensors irradiated to 2 x 10[hoch 14] 1MeV [neq/cm²], twice the lifetime dose expected for CBM operation. Charge collection efficiency drops by 17-25%, and simultaneously noise levels increase 1.5-1.75 times. The simulations show that if all sensors in the STS setup are exposed to such a fluence uniformly, the track reconstruction efficiency drops from 95.5% to 93.2% and the momentum resolution degrades from 1.6% to 1.7%.
Rationale: Classic histology is the gold standard for vascular network imaging and analysis. The method however is laborious and prone to artefacts. Here, the suitability of ultramicroscopy (UM) and micro-computed tomography (CT) was studied to establish potential alternatives to histology.
Methods: The vasculature of murine organs (kidney, heart and atherosclerotic carotid arteries) was visualized using conventional 2D microscopy, 3D light sheet ultramicroscopy (UM) and micro-CT. Moreover, spheroid-based human endothelial cell vessel formation in mice was quantified. Fluorescently labeled Isolectin GS-IB4 A647 was used for in vivo labeling of vasculature for UM analysis, and analyses were performed ex vivo after sample preparation. For CT imaging, animals were perfused postmortem with radiopaque contrast agent.
Results: Using UM imaging, 3D vascular network information could be obtained in samples of animals receiving in vivo injection of the fluorescently labeled Isolectin GS-IB4. Resolution was sufficient to measure single endothelial cell integration into capillaries in the spheroid-based matrigel plug assay. Because of the selective staining of the endothelium, imaging of larger vessels yielded less favorable results. Using micro-CT or even nano-CT, imaging of capillaries was impossible due to insufficient X-ray absorption and thus insufficient signal-to-noise ratio. Identification of lumen in murine arteries using micro-CT was in contrast superior to UM.
Conclusion: UM and micro-CT are two complementary techniques. Whereas UM is ideal for imaging and especially quantifying capillary networks and arterioles, larger vascular structures are easier and faster to quantify and visualize using micro-CT. 3D information of both techniques is superior to 2D histology. UM and micro-CT together may open a new field of clinical pathology diagnosis.
Three fungi associated with living leaves of plants are new records for Panama: Annellophora phoenicis causing leaf spots of Cocos nucifera (Arecaceae), Cercospora corniculatae (C. apii s. lat.) on living leaves of Oxalis barrelieri (Oxalidaceae) with and without discoloration, and Sclerotium coffeicola on zonate leaf spots of Annona montana (Annonaceae) and Dioscorea alata (Dioscoreaceae). Some records of A. phoenicis and S. coffeicola relevant for known geographical distribution and available by literature are critically revised.
Background: The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is an extremely invasive, globally distributed and medically important vector of various human and veterinary pathogens. In Germany, where this species was recently introduced, its establishment may become modulated by interspecific competition from autochthonous mosquito species, especially Culex pipiens (s.l.). While competitive superiority of Ae. albopictus to Cx. pipiens (s.l.) has been described elsewhere, it has not been assessed in the epidemiological conditions of Germany. The present study aimed to determine if such superiority exists under the physicochemical and microclimatic conditions typical for container habitats in Germany.
Methods: In a replacement series experiment, the larval and pupal responses of Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens (s.l.) (mortality, development time, growth) to interspecific interaction (five larval ratios) at (sub-)optimal temperatures (15, 20 and 25 °C) and differing food supply (3 and 6 mg animal-based food larva-1) were investigated using a randomized split-plot design. In addition to physicochemical measurements of the test media, natural physicochemical conditions were determined for comparative analyses in mosquito breeding sites across the Rhine-Main metropolitan region of Germany.
Results: Under the physicochemical and microclimatic conditions similar to the breeding sites of the Rhine-Main region, competitive superiority of Cx. pipiens (s.l.) to Ae. albopictus in terms of larval survival was more frequently observed than balanced coexistence. Food regime and multifactorial interactions, but not temperature alone, were controlling factors for interspecific competition. Larval food regime and the larval ratio of Ae. albopictus influenced the physicochemistry and algal growth at 15 °C, with increased Ae. albopictus mortality linked to a decreasing number of Scenedesmus, Oocystis and Anabaena algae.
Conclusions: Under the present environmental conditions, the spread of Ae. albopictus from isolated foci in Germany may generally be slowed by biotic interactions with the ubiquitous Cx. pipiens (s.l.) (and potentially other container-breeding mosquito species) and by limnic microalgae in microhabitats with high resource levels. Detailed knowledge of the context dependency in temperate mosquito ecology, and interrelations of physicochemistry and phycology may help to achieve a better understanding of the upcoming Ae. albopictus colonization processes in central and northern Europe.
Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) have crucial functions, but their roles in obesity are not well defined. We show here that ASCs from obese individuals have defective primary cilia, which are shortened and unable to properly respond to stimuli. Impaired cilia compromise ASC functionalities. Exposure to obesity-related hypoxia and cytokines shortens cilia of lean ASCs. Like obese ASCs, lean ASCs treated with interleukin-6 are deficient in the Hedgehog pathway, and their differentiation capability is associated with increased ciliary disassembly genes like AURKA. Interestingly, inhibition of Aurora A or its downstream target the histone deacetylase 6 rescues the cilium length and function of obese ASCs. This work highlights a mechanism whereby defective cilia render ASCs dysfunctional, resulting in diseased adipose tissue. Impaired cilia in ASCs may be a key event in the pathogenesis of obesity, and its correction might provide an alternative strategy for combating obesity and its associated diseases.
Workshopleitung: Anne Menzel und Mechthild Exo
Die Idee: Welchen Feminismus brauchen, wollen, leben wir? Unter dieser breiten Fragestellung möchten wir uns mit Teilnehmer*innen darüber austauschen, was Feminismus für uns nicht nur in der Wissenschaft und unserer wissenschaftlichen Praxis bedeutet.
Wie halten wir es eigentlich in unserem Alltag mit dem Feminismus? Wie und wann brauchen, wollen, leben wir Feminismus als Berufstätige, Selbstständige, Erwerbsarbeitssuchende, Elternteile, Alleinerziehende, Feldforschende, Kinderlose, Aktivist*innen und/oder vieles mehr? Fordern wir die Perspektiven und Rechte, die wir grundsätzlich vertreten, auch für uns selbst und für andere in unserem direkten Umfeld ein? Werden wir ihnen gerecht? Geht es uns vielleicht sogar um grundlegende, sozusagen revolutionäre Veränderungen der Herrschaftsverhältnisse? (Ver-)Zweifeln wir in bestimmten Situationen auch an feministischen Perspektiven und den Forderungen nach Frauenrechten?
Über diese und andere Fragen möchten wir sprechen und diskutieren. Wir wünschen uns einen ehrlichen, nachdenklichen und hoffentlich auch befreienden Austausch, der gerne auch wissenschaftlich inspirieren darf.
Workshopleitung: David Scheuing, Esther Binne und Daniela Pastoors
Welches Wissen schafft Praxis? Wie hängen Forschung, Theorie und Praxis zusammen? Wie kann die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung hier eine Brücke sein? Wie kann Forschung in und mit der Praxis gemeinsam stattfinden?
Mit diesen Fragen beschäftigt sich der Workshop, der auf Erfahrungen des Praxis<->Forschungsseminars basiert, das 2017/2018 im Marburger M.A. Friedens- und Konfliktforschung als einjähriges Forschungsseminar stattfindet und Studierenden die Möglichkeit bietet, ihre Praxiserfahrungen forschend zu begleiten.
Im Workshop werden wir einen Einblick in unsere Erfahrungen mit dem Seminarprozess geben, indem wir unser Seminarkonzept vorstellen und einzelne Methoden gemeinsam anwenden, um das Verhältnis von Wissenschaft und Praxis zu erkunden. Wir wollen einen Reflexions- und Diskussionsraum für die Frage anbieten, welche Rolle dieses Spannungsfeld im Studium der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung einnehmen sollte.
Gemeinsam mit den Teilnehmenden des Workshops wollen wir Perspektiven für diese Form der Praxisforschung diskutieren und in die Zukunft einer stärkeren Integration von Praxiserfahrungen im Studium blicken. Wir freuen uns, wenn Teilnehmende ihre eigenen Fragen und Erfahrungen an und mit Praxisforschung(slehre) mitbringen.
Workshopleitung: Christine Buchwald, Sebastian Grieser und Elise Kopper-Koelen
„Welches Wissen(-)schafft Praxis?“. Diese Frage wollen wir zum Anlass nehmen, um über die komplexen Zusammenhänge von Wissenschaft und Praxis in der Friedensbewegung nachzudenken. Denn die sowohl begrüßte wie kritisierte Trennung von Wissenschaft und Aktivismus nehmen auch wir, die wir Berührungspunkte in beide Szenen haben, wahr, wollen in unserem Beitrag jedoch versuchen, sie differenzierter zu diskutieren. Zwei überspitzte Bilder kursieren in den Diskussionen: Auf der einen Seite der 60-jährige, bildungsbürgerliche, friedensbewegte Aktivist in seiner Jeansjacke, der die theoretischen Diskussionen bis höchstens in die 90er Jahre verfolgt hat. Auf der anderen Seite die Theoretiker*innen in ihren Elfenbeintürmen - unpolitisch, abgehoben und realitätsfern. Diese weit verbreiteten Narrationen greifen jedoch zu kurz und versperren den Blick auf die deutlich komplexeren Verhältnisse von Theorie, Wissen und Praxis.
Im Anschluss an wissenssoziologische Überlegungen wollen wir nachzeichnen, welche Zusammenhänge zwischen Wissen und Handeln von Praktikerinnen in der Friedensbewegung selbst hergestellt werden. Welche Deutungsmuster bezüglich der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung werden in der deutschen Friedensbewegung geteilt? Wie werden Theorien der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung in der Friedensbewegung rezipiert und wahrgenommen? An welchen Stellen verstehen sich Aktivistinnen selbst als Theoretikerinnen und welches Selbstverständnis haben sie von sich selbst als Praktikerinnen im Gegensatz zu Forschenden? Wo lassen sich Verbindungslinien zwischen Aktivistinnen und Wissenschaftlerinnen ausmachen? Und welche Erwartungen an die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung haben Menschen in der Friedensbewegung? Anhand von neu arrangierten Ergebnissen von Leitfadeninterviews mit hauptberuflichen Akteur*innen der deutschen Friedensbewegung werden wir verschiedene Arten des Bezuges auf Praxiswissen und akademisches Wissen aufzeigen. Zu vermuten ist, dass Theoriegenerierung, wie sie in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung stattfindet, und die Produktion von Erfahrungswissen in der Bewegung nicht als zwei gegensätzliche Pole zu verstehen sind. Vielmehr, so unsere These, müssen Theorie- und Praxiswissen in einem ambivalenten Verhältnis gedacht werden. Ein solches Denken erlaubt, Differenzen zwischen Forschung und Praxis in ihrer Vielschichtigkeit anzuerkennen, aber als gesellschaftlich hergestellt zu reflektieren. Darüber hinaus wird der Blick auf die wechselseitige Hervorbringung und die Gleichzeitigkeit verschiedener Wissensbestände gerichtet. Ein solches relationales Verständnis von Forschung_Praxis_Bewegung ermöglicht, die Trennungslinien - zumindest an einzelnen Stellen - produktiv aufzulösen.
Der Workshop ist im ersten Teil als Lesung konzipiert, in der wir Interviewausschnitte neu arrangieren und so die Ansichten "der Friedensbewegung", die unsere Interviewpartnerinnen vertreten, zum Sprechen zu bringen. In der anschließenden Diskussion wollen wir mit den Teilnehmenden die Ergebnisse der Interviews und die Erfahrungen der Teilnehmenden gemeinsam reflektieren. Die Praktikerinnen im Dialog mit sich, mit uns und mit dem Publikum erlauben es, Theorie in Bewegung und Bewegung in die Theorie zu bringen.
Junge AFK Workshop 2: Revolution – nicht nur im Ausstellungstitel, auch in der Wissenschaftspraxis?!
(2018)
Workshopleitung: Stella Kneifel und Sophie Bischoff
Wie kann universitäres Wissen alternativ vermittelt und auf unterschiedlichen Darstellungsebenen gezeigt werden? Wie können verschiedene Adressaten der Gesellschaft eingebunden, neue Perspektiven geschaffen und ein Lernen voneinander gefördert werden? Welche Chancen ergeben sich durch alternative Formate für die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung? Anhand des Praxisbeispiels der Fotoausstellung „Repression – Protest – Revolution“ gibt der Workshop Einblick in diese FrageDie Fotoausstellung wurde im Rahmen eines Seminars der Universität Erfurt von Studierenden und Geflüchteten erarbeitet. Das Konzept hierfür wurde von Mitarbeiterinnen der Professur Geschichte Westasiens und Masterstudierenden entworfen und danach in die Praxis umgesetzt. Im Workshop möchten zwei der Verantwortlichen ihre Erfahrungen mit der alternativen Methode universitären Lehrens teilen. Da die in Erfurt erarbeitete Ausstellung „Repression – Protest – Revolution“ auf der Konferenz zu sehen sein wird, ist es möglich, auf diese als Praxisbeispiel zurückzugreifen und einen praxisnahen Diskussionsraum zu schaffen.
Die Einführung soll dazu dienen, alternative Wissensformate für die universitäre Praxis im Allgemeinen und für Seminare im Speziellen vorzustellen. Dabei wird die Ausstellung als ein Beispiel herausgestellt und Möglichkeiten und Grenzen dieser aufgezeigt.
Anschließend soll, erstens, die Planung, die am Anfang jedes Projektes steht, diskutiert werden. Dazu gehört u.a. das Formulieren konkreter inhaltlicher und ästhetischer Ziele, das Erstellen eines Zeitplanes, aber auch das Heraussuchen geeigneter Arbeitsmaterialien.
Darüber hinaus wird es, zweitens, um die Durchführung in einem universitären Seminar gehen. Dabei geht es u.a. um die Motivation der Teilnehmenden, die sinnvolle Anwendung von Methoden der Wissensgenerierung oder auch die Art der Zusammenarbeit.
Drittens soll diskutiert werden, welche Chancen und Risiken alternative Darstellungsformen in der universitären Praxis haben. Dabei können die Seminarleiterinnen aus ihren eigenen Erfahrungen theoretische sowie praktische Tipps geben. Daran schließt sich die Frage an, welche Möglichkeiten alternative Wissensformate, wie eine Ausstellung, für die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung bieten.
Workshopleitung: Miriam Bach und John Preuss
Welches Wissen schafft Forschung? Wie wird dieses Wissen geschaffen und wie verhält es sich zur Praxis? In welcher Beziehung stehen dabei Forscher*innen und Beforschte, speziell Forscher*innen oder Student*innen aus der Universität und Praktiker*innen, Aktivist*innen aus sozialen Bewegungen und/oder marginalisierte Personen?
Diesen Fragen wollen wir uns widmen, um daran anschließend über Macht und Herrschaft in Forschungsprojekten zu diskutieren und nach Möglichkeiten zu suchen, damit bewusst und solidarisch umzugehen. Ein Versuch, dem zu begegnen, bietet für uns die Wahl eines aktivistisch-partizipativen Methodenansatzes. Diesen möchten wir in seinen Grundlagen theoretisch erläutern und mit euch Potentiale, aber auch Herausforderungen und Grenzen thematisieren.
Vor allem mit Blick auf schon realisierte oder potentielle Forschungsprojekte mit „der Praxis“ erörtern wir so in diesem Workshop die Frage, ob ein aktivistisch-partizipativer Ansatz als ethisch-methodisches und erkenntnistheoretisches Korrektiv der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung dienen kann.
Zur Tagungsbegleitung und als virtueller Abstractroom stehen auf dem Bretterblog nun die Beiträge der Jungen AFK-Konferenz „Welches Wissen(-)schafft Praxis?“ bereit, um sie im Vorfeld, parallel und im Nachhinein zu diskutieren und barrierefrei über die Tagungsgrenzen hinaus, thematische Anregungen zu liefern.
The genus Pseudolatirus Bellardi, 1884, with the Miocene type species Fusus bilineatus Hörnes, 1853, has been used for 13 Miocene to Early Pleistocene fossil species and eight Recent species and has traditionally been placed in the fasciolariid subfamily Peristerniinae Tryon, 1880. Although the fossil species are apparently peristerniines, the Recent species were in their majority suspected to be most closely related to Granulifusus Kuroda & Habe, 1954 in the subfamily Fusininae Wrigley, 1927. Their close affinity was confirmed by the molecular phylogenetic analysis of Couto et al. (2016). In the molecular phylogenetic section we present a more detailed analysis of the relationships of 10 Recent Pseudolatirus-like species, erect two new fusinine genera, Okutanius gen. nov. (type species Fusolatirus kuroseanus Okutani, 1975) and Vermeijius gen. nov. (type species Pseudolatirus pallidus Kuroda & Habe, 1961). Five species are described as new for science, three of them are based on sequenced specimens (Granulifusus annae sp. nov., G. norfolkensis sp. nov., Okutanius ellenae gen. et sp. nov.) and two (G. tatianae sp. nov., G. guidoi sp. nov.) are attributed to Granulifusus on the basis of conchological similarities to sequenced species. New data on radular morphology is presented for examined species.
The taxonomy of the American Onthophagus Latreille, 1802 included in the “hirculus” group is revised, and a study of their morphology allows for the delineation of five species-complexes. Herein, we provide a diagnosis of the “hirculus” group, an illustrated key to the complexes, along with a descriptive overview of their taxonomy and geographic distribution. Onthophagus hirculus Mannerheim, 1829 is considered to be a junior synonym of O. hircus Billberg, 1815, which is here demonstrated to be a valid species name. Thus, the “hirculus” group is here renamed the “hircus” group. Furthermore, a general scheme of the genital organs of American Onthophagus is provided, including names of different anatomical parts and a brief discussion on the need for nomenclatural stability for the genitalia of scarab beetles.
Two obligate cave-dwelling species of cyclopoid copepods (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) were discovered inside caves in central Thailand. Siamcyclops cavernicolus gen. et sp. nov. was recognised as as a member of a new genus. It resembles Bryocyclops jankowskajae Monchenko, 1972 from Uzbekistan (part of the former USSR). It differs from it by (1) lack of pointed triangular prominences on the intercoxal sclerite of the fourth swimming leg, (2) mandibular palp with three setae, (3) spine and setal formulae of swimming legs 3.3.3.2 and 5.5.5.5, respectively, and (4) specific shape of spermatophore. Metacyclops thailandicus sp. nov. resembles M. cushae Reid, 1991 from Louisiana (USA). It differs from it by (1) distal segment of the endopod of the fourth swimming leg with one apical spine, (2) the fifth swimming legs with one broad segment, (3) the spine formula of the distal segment of the exopod of the swimming legs 3.4.3.3, and (4) well developed anal operculum reaching articulation with caudal rami. Detailed descriptions of the habitats of the new species and up-to-date keys to the genera and subgenera of the Bryocyclops and Microcyclops groups are provided, along with an updated list of obligate groundwater species of Copepoda in Southeast Asia.
This paper presents an improved diagnosis and definition of the genus Stenaelurillus Simon, 1886, with new taxonomic and faunistic data for 23 species. The genera Microheros Wesołowska & Cumming, 1999 and Mashonarus Wesołowska & Cumming, 2002 are synonymized with Stenaelurillus. Six new species are described: Stenaelurillus bandama sp. nov. (♂♀, from Côte d’Ivoire), S. belihuloya sp. nov. (♂, from Sri Lanka), S. jocquei sp. nov. (♂♀, from Cameroon), S. pseudoguttatus sp. nov. (♂, from Namibia), S. senegalensis sp. nov. (♂♀, from Senegal), and Stenaelurillus siyamae sp. nov. (♀, from Sudan). Lectotypes are designated for two species: S. albopunctatus Caporiacco, 1949 (♂) from Kenya and S. werneri Simon, 1906 (♀) from South Sudan. Six new combinations are proposed: Aelurillus ambiguus (Denis, 1966), comb. nov. (ex Stenaelurillus); Evarcha werneri (Simon, 1906), comb. nov. (ex Stenaelurillus); Phlegra davidi (Caleb, Mungkung & Mathai, 2015), comb. nov. (ex Mashonarus); Stenaelurillus brandbergensis (Wesołowska, 2006), comb. nov. (ex Mashonarus); Stenaelurillus guttatus (Wesołowska & Cumming, 2002), comb. nov. (ex Mashonarus); and S. termitophagus (Wesołowska & Cumming, 1999), comb. nov. (ex Microheros). Two species names are synonymized: Evarcha elegans Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000 with E. werneri comb. nov.; and Aelurillus sahariensis Berland & Millot, 1941 with Stenaelurillus nigricaudus Simon
We describe five new species of fungi of the order Laboulbeniales Lindau growing on millipedes and belonging to the genera Diplopodomyces W.Rossi & Balazuc and Troglomyces S.Colla. Three new species of Diplopodomyces, viz. Diplopodomyces coronatus Santam., Enghoff & Reboleira sp. nov. living on Serboiulus spelaeophilus Gulicka, 1967 from Bulgarian caves, Diplopodomyces liguliphorus Santam., Enghoff & Reboleira sp. nov. on an unidentified species of Spirobolida from Sri Lanka, and Diplopodomyces ramosus Santam., Enghoff & Reboleira sp. nov. on Pachyiulus spp. from Turkey, Macedonia and Serbia; and two new species of Troglomyces, viz. Troglomyces dioicus Santam., Enghoff & Reboleira sp. nov. on Nepalmatoiulus sp. from Myanmar, and Troglomyces tetralabiatus Santam., Enghoff & Reboleira sp. nov. on Caucaseuma Strasser, 1970 and Heterocaucaseuma Antić & Makarov, 2016 from caves in Western Caucasus. Troglomyces dioicus sp. nov. is the first dioecious species described in the genus Troglomyces. Keys for all hitherto known species of Diplopodomyces and Troglomyces are presented, as is a discussion of the status of both genera. Additional records for Diplopodomyces lusitanipodos Santam., Enghoff & Reboleira and Troglomyces manfrediae S.Colla are also included.
An unexpected new subgenus and species of Campodeidae (Diplura), Plusiocampa (Pentachaetocampa) inopinata subgen. et sp. nov., a troglobitic species found in Schallsinger Höhle in an isolated karstic region in southwestern Germany is described. The new taxon shows two unique characters for the genus Plusiocampa: five dorsal femoral macrosetae and the presence of g1-glandular setae in females. Two other Plusiocampa species have been studied and taxonomic remarks made for them; both are also cave dwelling species from Germany: Plusiocampa dobati Condé in Dobat, 1975 studied from eight caves in the Swabian Alb, and one unnamed species of Plusiocampa (Plusiocampa) from four caves in the Franconian Alb. The biogeographical and taxonomic affinities among Plusiocampa species of Central Europe are discussed. The distribution of Plusiocampa species in Central Europe runs alongside the frontier of the Pleistocene glaciations, with non-troglomorphic Plusiocampa species adjacent to the glacial limits and troglomorphic Plusiocampa species below. Worthy of note is the presence only in the northeast of the Central Alps of two relict Plusiocampinae species, the already known Hystrichocampa pelletieri Condé, 1948 and the new species P. (P.) inopinata subgen. et sp. nov.
The Charipinae Dalla Torre & Kieffer, 1910 present in the Palaearctic region are revised; 2410 specimens have been identified, belonging to 75 species: 52 to Alloxysta, one to Apocharips, six to Dilyta and 16 to Phaenoglyphis. For 33 species, new country-level distribution records are provided. Two new species are here described: Alloxysta palearctica Ferrer-Suay & Pujade-Villar sp. nov. and Alloxysta pascuali Ferrer-Suay sp. nov. A diagnosis for these species is included and their diagnostic features are shown in different figures. A key to identify all the species of Charipinae in the Palaearctic region is also given.
Chlorine and bromine atoms lead to catalytic depletion of ozone in the stratosphere. Therefore the use and production of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) containing chlorine and bromine is regulated by the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer. Equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC) has been adopted as an appropriate metric to describe the combined effects of chlorine and bromine released from halocarbons on stratospheric ozone. Here we revisit the concept of calculating EESC. We derive a refined formulation of EESC based on an advanced concept of ODS propagation into the stratosphere and reactive halogen release. A new transit time distribution is introduced in which the age spectrum for an inert tracer is weighted with the release function for inorganic halogen from the source gases. This distribution is termed the release time distribution. We show that a much better agreement with inorganic halogen loading from the chemistry transport model TOMCAT is achieved compared with using the current formulation. The refined formulation shows EESC levels in the year 1980 for the mid-latitude lower stratosphere, which are significantly lower than previously calculated. The year 1980 is commonly used as a benchmark to which EESC must return in order to reach significant progress towards halogen and ozone recovery. Assuming that – under otherwise unchanged conditions – the EESC value must return to the same level in order for ozone to fully recover, we show that it will take more than 10 years longer than estimated in this region of the stratosphere with the current method for calculation of EESC. We also present a range of sensitivity studies to investigate the effect of changes and uncertainties in the fractional release factors and in the assumptions on the shape of the release time distributions. We further discuss the value of EESC as a proxy for future evolution of inorganic halogen loading under changing atmospheric dynamics using simulations from the EMAC model. We show that while the expected changes in stratospheric transport lead to significant differences between EESC and modelled inorganic halogen loading at constant mean age, EESC is a reasonable proxy for modelled inorganic halogen on a constant pressure level.
Background: The risk for major depression and obesity is increased in adolescents and adults with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adolescent ADHD predicts adult depression and obesity. Non-pharmacological interventions to treat and prevent these co-morbidities are urgently needed. Bright light therapy (BLT) improves day–night rhythm and is an emerging therapy for major depression. Exercise intervention (EI) reduces obesity and improves depressive symptoms. To date, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been performed to establish feasibility and efficacy of these interventions targeting the prevention of co-morbid depression and obesity in ADHD. We hypothesize that the two manualized interventions in combination with mobile health-based monitoring and reinforcement will result in less depressive symptoms and obesity compared to treatment as usual in adolescents and young adults with ADHD.
Methods: This trial is a prospective, pilot phase-IIa, parallel-group RCT with three arms (two add-on treatment groups [BLT, EI] and one treatment as usual [TAU] control group). The primary outcome variable is change in the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology total score (observer-blinded assessment) between baseline and ten weeks of intervention. This variable is analyzed with a mixed model for repeated measures approach investigating the treatment effect with respect to all three groups. A total of 330 participants with ADHD, aged 14 – < 30 years, will be screened at the four study centers. To establish effect sizes, the sample size was planned at the liberal significance level of α = 0.10 (two-sided) and the power of 1-β = 80% in order to find medium effects. Secondary outcomes measures including change in obesity, ADHD symptoms, general psychopathology, health-related quality of life, neurocognitive function, chronotype, and physical fitness are explored after the end of the intervention and at the 12-week follow-up.
Discussion: This is the first pilot RCT on the use of BLT and EI in combination with mobile health-based monitoring and reinforcement targeting the prevention of co-morbid depression and obesity in adolescents and young adults with ADHD. If at least medium effects can be established with regard to the prevention of depressive symptoms and obesity, a larger scale confirmatory phase-III trial may be warranted.
Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00011666. Registered on 9 February 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03371810. Registered on 13 December 2017.
Convection-permitting models (CPMs) have proven their usefulness in representing precipitation on a sub-daily scale. However, investigations on sub-hourly scales are still lacking, even though these are the scales for which showers exhibit the most variability. A Lagrangian approach is implemented here to evaluate the representation of showers in a CPM, using the limited-area climate model COSMO-CLM. This approach consists of tracking 5‑min precipitation fields to retrieve different features of showers (e.g., temporal pattern, horizontal speed, lifetime). In total, 312 cases are simulated at a resolution of 0.01 ° over Central Germany, and among these cases, 78 are evaluated against a radar dataset. The model is able to represent most observed features for different types of convective cells. In addition, the CPM reproduced well the observed relationship between the precipitation characteristics and temperature indicating that the COSMO-CLM model is sophisticated enough to represent the climatological features of showers.
Myomas, also known as fibroids, are a specific characteristic of the human species. No other primates develop fibroids. At a cellular level, myomas are benign hyperplastic lesions of uterine smooth muscle cells. There are interesting theoretical concepts that link the development of myomas in humans with the highly specific process of childbirth from an upright position and the resulting need for greatly increased “expulsive” forces during labor. Myomas might be the price our species pays for our bipedal and highly intelligent existence. Myomas affect, with some variability, all ethnic groups and approximately 50% of all women during their lifetime. While some remain asymptomatic, myomas can cause significant and sometimes life-threatening uterine bleeding, pain, infertility, and, in extreme cases, ureteral obstruction and death. Traditionally, over 50% of all hysterectomies were performed for fibroids, leading to a significant healthcare burden. In this article, we review the developments of the past 20 years with regard to multiple new treatment strategies that have evolved during this time.
We present a study of the influence of disorder on the Mott metal-insulator transition for the organic charge-transfer salt κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Cl. To this end, disorder was introduced into the system in a controlled way by exposing the single crystals to X-ray irradiation. The crystals were then fine-tuned across the Mott transition by the application of continuously controllable He-gas pressure at low temperatures. Measurements of the thermal expansion and resistance show that the first-order character of the Mott transition prevails for low irradiation doses achieved by irradiation times up to 100 h. For these crystals with a moderate degree of disorder, we find a first-order transition line which ends in a second-order critical endpoint, akin to the pristine crystals. Compared to the latter, however, we observe a significant reduction of both, the critical pressure pc and the critical temperature Tc . This result is consistent with the theoretically-predicted formation of a soft Coulomb gap in the presence of strong correlations and small disorder. Furthermore, we demonstrate, similar to the observation for the pristine sample, that the Mott transition after 50 h of irradiation is accompanied by sizable lattice effects, the critical behavior of which can be well described by mean-field theory. Our results demonstrate that the character of the Mott transition remains essentially unchanged at a low disorder level. However, after an irradiation time of 150 h, no clear signatures of a discontinuous metal-insulator transition could be revealed anymore. These results suggest that, above a certain disorder level, the metal-insulator transition becomes a smeared first-order transition with some residual hysteresis.
Im ersten Projekt der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden CD - 1 Mäuse mit drei unterschiedlichen Diäten für zwei Wochen ad libitum gefüttert. Die Diäten bestanden aus zwei kohlenhydratarmen, fettreichen Diäten und einer Standard Haltungsdiät. Die kohlenhydratarmen, fettreichen Diäten enthielten entweder Triheptanoin (dreifach mit Heptanoat verestertes Glycerol) oder Soja - Öl als Fettkomponente (jeweils 35 % der Gesamtkalorien). Nach zwei Wochen wurde ein ischämischer Schlaganfall für 90 min. mithilfe eines Silikonfadens induziert. Die Leber, das Blut und das Gehirn wurden nach dem Schlaganfall entnommen und die Konzentrationen der Metabolite β - Hydroxybutyrat, Glukose, Laktat und Citrat wurden mit der zuvor etablierten GC - MS-Methode ermittelt. Unter gleichen Bedingungen wurde eine Mikrodialysestudie durchgeführt.
Bei den Tieren, die die kohlenhydratarmen, fettreichen Diäten erhielten, konnte in den Leber - und Hirnhomogenaten, im Plasma sowie im Mikrodialysat eine Ketose festgestellt werden. Die BHB Konzentrationen durch eine Soja Diät erreichten im Leberhomogenat bis zu 4 mM, im Plasma bis zu 1,5 mM, im Hirnhomogenat bis zu 1,5 mM und im Mikrodialysat bis zu 30 µM. Um eine Aussage treffen zu können, ob das Gehirn die von der Leber produzierten Ketonkörper als Energiesubstrate nutzen kann, wurde eine Folgestudie (unter gleichen Bedingungen) durchgeführt. Bei dieser Studie wurde der Zeitpunkt der Gewebeentnahme 60 min. nach Entfernen des Fadens (Reperfusion) gewählt. In den Leber – und Hirnhomogenaten konnten erniedrigte Konzentrationen des Ketonkörpers BHB nachgewiesen werden. Die nicht operierten Tiere, die eine fettreiche Diät erhielten, hatten erhöhte Konzentrationen an Citrat in den genannten Geweben. Durch den Abbau des Ketonkörpers BHB können bei Verstoffwechslung in Geweben außerhalb der Leber, zwei Moleküle Acetyl - CoA gebildet werden. Diese gebildeten Acetyl - CoA Moleküle können in den Citratzyklus eingespeist werden.
Um diesen Befund mechanistisch besser verstehen zu können, wurde den Mäusen Propranolol (ein unselektiver β - Blocker) verabreicht, und zwar kurz nachdem der Faden die mittlere Zerebralarterie verschlossen hatte. Als Folge blieb bei den fettreich gefütterten Tieren die zuvor beobachtete Ketose, aus. Daraus wurde geschlossen, dass die auftretende Ketose bei den fettreich gefütterten Tieren durch adrenerge β - Rezeptoren vermittelt wurde. Zusammengefasst kann eine fettreiche bzw. ketogene Ernährung im Falle einer Ischämie die Versorgung des Gehirns durch die Bildung von Ketonkörper gewährleisten.
Die zu beobachtende hepatische Ketogenese aus dem ersten Projekt hat die Frage entstehen lassen, ob eine akute Gabe von β - Hydroxybutyrat (BHB) bei Entfernen des Fadens schützende Effekte auf das Verhalten bzw. die Mitochondrien als Kraftwerke der Zelle hat. Hierzu wurde BHB bei Reperfusion gegeben und die Wirkungen dieser Einmalgabe nach 24 h untersucht. Als erster Schritt wurde der Nachweis erbracht, dass eine exogene Gabe von BHB das Gehirn erreicht. Im zweiten Schritt wurde das Verhalten der Mäuse nach 24 h untersucht. Hierbei erbrachte die Gabe von BHB eine signifikante Verbesserung der sensorischen und motorischen Fähigkeiten der Mäuse. Die metabolischen Veränderungen nach 24 h wurden erneut in Leberhomogenaten und Plasma vermessen. Eine Einzelgabe von BHB bewirkte eine milde Ketose auch 24 h nach Reperfusion der mittleren Zerebralarterie. Um eine detailliertere Erkenntnis über die Wirkung von BHB zu erlangen, wurden die Mitochondrien als potentielles Ziel für BHB in den Fokus genommen. Die Einmalgabe von BHB verhinderte ein Absinken der Komplex – II Aktivität. Außerdem kann die Aktivität der Citratsynthase unter der Gabe von BHB erhalten werden, sodass die Mitochondrien vor allem im wichtigen Zeitraum nach der Reperfusion geschützt werden. Im Rahmen der Untersuchungen der Mitochondrien wurden unterschiedliche Substrateinflüsse auf die Respiration der isolierten Mitochondrien getestet. Bei Zugabe von BHB, Oxalacetat + Acetat oder Citrat zu dem Respirationsmedium stieg die Respiration der Mitochondrien an. Im Falle von Glukose, Propranolol oder Acetat wird die Respiration verringert. Bei Zugabe von Laktat, verbleibt die Respiration auf Ausgangsniveau. Abschließend ist festzustellen, dass die Einzelgabe von BHB nach 24 h das Verhalten der Mäuse verbessert, eine milde Ketose induziert, sowie Mitochondrien und die Citratsynthase gegen ischämische Ereignisse schützt.
Um die in dieser Arbeit gezeigten Daten über metabolische Veränderungen zeigen zu können, musste eine vorherige Etablierung der GC – MS Analytik vollzogen werden. Auf der einen Seite musste die Probenvorbereitung, aber auch die gesamte Vermessung der Proben aufgebaut werden. Es wurden insgesamt 11 Analyte in vier unterschiedlichen Kompartimenten quantifiziert. Die Nachweisgrenze lag bei diesen 11 Analyten bei 0,01 - 1 ng/µl, was einer umgerechneten Stoffmengenkonzentration von 0,5 - 10 µM entspricht. Mithilfe dieser Methode können optional weitere Substanzen aus verschiedenen Geweben zugänglich gemacht werden. Diese Arbeit bietet hierzu eine Anleitung, wie die Etablierung erfolgen kann. Im Rahmen der Probenvorbereitung wurden alle Schritte systematisch verbessert. Dazu wurden Wiederholungsmessungen für unterschiedliche Modalitäten vollzogen. Die Abundance und die Zeitbeständigkeit waren die wesentlichen Beurteilungskriterien. So wurden die Daten für die Extraktionseffektivität, die Lösungsmittelabhängigkeit der Silylierung, der Zusatz von Hünig - Base sowie die Temperatur und Zeitabhängigkeit der Silylierung in dieser Arbeit erarbeitet. Die Quantifizierung wurde anhand von internen Standardverbindungen durchgeführt. Die jeweiligen Response – Faktoren blieben über die gesamte Zeit nach der Etablierung konstant und erlaubten die Quantifizierung mit geringen Fehlern. Die Beurteilung der ermittelten Daten über die Validierung wurden anhand von geltenden Regelwerken der pharmazeutischen Industrie entschieden. Es wurde ein Protokoll entwickelt, das im Rahmen der universitären Forschung eine vertrauenswürdige Aussage über Veränderungen von Metabolitenspiegeln in vielen Geweben der Maus und der Ratte geben kann.
Der Titel dieses Artikels spielt auf "Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst an" und ist Programm. Es geht um die Botschaft, dass alle, ganz gleich, ob nach gängiger Definition behindert oder nicht, 1. wissen sollten, dass wir nicht alles können, aber Vieles lernen können, 2. dass wir Menschen unsere Fähigkeiten und Beeinträchtigungen kommunizieren sollten und zwar 3. ganz neid- oder mitleidsfrei sowohl mit denen, die etwas unerreichbar können, als auch mit denen, die etwas bereits können, was man selbst erreichen kann und denen, die manches, nie können werden. Damit kann eine Synergie und Teamarbeit entstehen. Nur manchmal müssen wir für die Überbrückung von Beeinträchtigungen uns -und manchmal die Welt- verändern. ...
The continuous conversion of natural wildlife habitats into agricultural areas, as well as the fragmentation of the last wildlife refuges, is increasing the interface between people and wildlife. When wildlife negatively impacts on people and vice versa, we speak about human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs). This definition includes losses on both sides and takes into consideration the rooting of most of these conflicts between different groups of interest, such as advocates for nature conservation and economic groups. The centres of highest biodiversity are located in developing countries, which are also characterized by poverty. In African and Asian countries, people living in the vicinity of national parks and other conservation areas mostly receive only little support through the government or conservation organisations. Especially for those people who are dependent on agriculture, damage to fields and harvests can have catastrophic consequences. If the species causing damage is protected by national or even international law, the farmer is not allowed to use lethal methods, but has to approach the authority in charge. If this agency, however, cannot offer appropriate support, resentment, anger or even hate develops, and the support for wildlife conservation activities declines. For this reason, HWCs were declared as one of the most important conservation topics today, being particularly relevant for large and threatened species such as the African and Asian elephant, hippopotamus and the greater one-horned rhino, as well as for large predators. Up to today, no general assessment scheme has been recommended for damage caused by protected wildlife species.
In my study, HWCs in Asia and Africa are compared, focussing on all herbivorous species identified which damaged crops. For the French NGO Awely, des animaux et des hommes, I developed a detailed assessment scheme suitable for all terrestrial ecosystems, and any type of HWCs and any species (Chapter 2). This HWC assessment scheme was used in four different study areas located in two African countries (South Luangwa/Zambia (SL), Tarangire/Tanzania (TA)) and two Asian countries (Bardia/Nepal (BA) and Manas/India (MA)). This scheme ran for six consecutive years (2009 to 2014) for Zambia, Nepal and India and two years (2010 to 2011) for Tanzania. To carry out the assessments, I trained local HWC officers (Awely Red Caps) to assess HWCs by field observations (measurement of damage, identification of species through signs of presence, landscape attributes etc.) and interviews with aggrieved parties (socio economic data). Results of this assessment are presented in Chapters 2-4.
To determine whether elephants prefer or avoid specific crop species, two field experiments were carried out, one in SL and one in BA (Chapter 5 and 6). For this, two test plots were set up and damage by elephants (and other herbivores) were quantified.
Within this doctoral thesis, 3306 damage events of 7408 aggrieved parties were analysed. In three out of the four study areas (SL, BA, MA), elephants caused the highest number of damage events compared to all other wildlife species, however, in TA, most fields were damaged by zebra. Furthermore, the greater one-horned rhino, hippopotamus, wild boar, bushpig, deer and antelope, as well as primates, caused damage to fields and harvests. Damage to houses and other property were nearly exclusively caused by elephants.
With this doctoral thesis I was able to show that season, crop availability, type and the phenological stage of the crop played an important role for crop damaging behavior of herbivores (Chapter 2). Elephants especially damaged rice, maize and wheat and preferred all crop types in a mature stage of growth. In contrast, rhinos preferred wheat to rice and similar to antelope and deer, they preferred crops at earlier stages of growth, before ripening. Crop damage by wildlife species varied strongly in size; most damages fell below 40% of the total harvest per farmer, but in several cases (3 to 8% depending on the study area), harvests were completely destroyed. Interestingly, during times of low nutritional availability in the natural habitat (dry season), crop damages in all four study areas were significantly less than during other seasons.
In all four study areas, crop protection strategies, such as active guarding in the fields, chasing wildlife with noise or fire torches or erecting barriers, were used. In some cases protection strategies were combined. Analysis of data revealed that traditional protection strategies did not reduce the costs of damage (Chapter 3). In some cases, costs of damage, on protected fields were even higher than for unprotected fields. Only in MA did strategic and cohesive guarding significantly reduce crop damage by wildlife species.
Besides damage in the fields, elephants also caused damage to properties in the villages. In search for stored staple crops, they damaged houses, grain stores and kitchens. Such damage was analysed in three study areas (SL, BA, MA) (Chapter 4). Although property damage occurred less frequently compared to crop damage in the fields, the mean cost of this damage was found to be double in BA/MA and four times higher in SL, compared to the costs of crop damage in the fields. It is further remarkable that property damage significantly increased towards the dry season, when the harvest was brought into the villages.
The findings of this study underpin the assumption that wildlife herbivores, especially elephants, are lured to fields and crops because the highly nutritional food (crop) being readily available. Traditional crop protection is cost and labour intensive and does not reduce the costs of damage. For this reason, crop types, which are thought to be not consumed by elephants were systematically tested on their attractiveness in field experiments in SL and BA (Chapter 5 and 6). In SL, lemon grass, ginger and garlic were proven to be less attractive to African elephants than maize and in BA, basil, turmeric, chamomile, coriander, mint, citronella and lemon grass were found to be less attractive to Asian elephants than rice.
The results of this doctoral thesis are relevant for the management of wildlife conservation as they can lead to new approaches to the mitigation of HWCs in African and Asian countries. Finally, specific needs for more scientific research in this field have been identified.
Most of the elements in the universe are produced via charged-particle fusion reactions during the primordial nucleosynthesis and different stellar burning stages, as well as via neutron-capture reactions. Around 35 heavy, proton-rich isotopes are bypassed by those reaction paths, the p nuclei. A series of photo-disintegration reactions occurring in supernovae, called the γ process, was suggested as a mechanisms to produce the p nuclei. Numerical simulations of the γ process have been unable to reproduce the observed abundances of the light p isotopes. Recent models showed that a series of proton capture reactions could provide the observed abundances. Hence, the cross sections of the crucial capture reactions have to be measured in order to test those assumptions.
Radiative proton captures in addition to the γ-process could reproduce the observed abundance pattern. This thesis presents preparations of a proton capture measurement on the radioactive 91Nb in standard kinematics with a calorimetric 4π setup. The 91Nb(p,γ)92Mo reaction might be the key to explain the production of one of the most abundant p-nuclei, 92Mo. So far, no experimental data for this reaction is available.
We produced a sample of 91Nb, with a half-life of 680 yr, at the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, Germany, by irradiating 92Mo with protons in the energy range of 12 – 20MeV. 91Nb was produced via the reaction 92Mo(p,2p)91Nb and via 92Mo(p,pn)91Mo, where 91Mo decays to 91Nb with a half-life of 15.5min. To predict the amount of produced 91Nb the cross section of 92Mo(p, 2p) was measured. It was found to be higher than the value given by theoretical calculations with TALYS. Finally, 91Nb was chemically separated from the molybdenum carried at Paul-Scherrer- Institut, Villigen, Switzerland.
In-beam total absorption cross-section measurement of the reaction 91Nb(p,γ)92Mo with 2 MeV protons at FRANZ is planed with the produced 91Nb. A 4π BaF2 detector consisting of 41 crystals will be used. During this experiment we will measure the sum energy and the multiplicity of each event. The freshly produced 91Nb constitutes only a minor component of the sample material. The sum energy and multiplicity are crucial to distinguish the desired 91Nb(p,γ) from all the other more dominant reactions. The expected multiplicity and the efficiency of the setup were carefully simulated with DICEBOX and GEANT4. It was possible to show that background reactions can be effectively suppressed. The most important background contributions could be identified and result from 92Mo(p,γ), 19F(p,γ), and 19F(p,α).
The Siriella brevicaudata species group from the West Indo-Pacific, defined and designated by Murano & Fukuoka (2008), previously contained five nominal species. In this study we describe five new species in the brevicaudata group: S. bassi sp. nov. from the Bass Strait, southern Australia, S. occulta sp. nov. from the Arabian Gulf, S. muranoi sp. nov. from the coast of Northern Territory, Australia, S. tabaniocula sp. nov. from Ningaloo Reef of Western Australia and Lodestone Reef off Queensland, and S. talbotae sp. nov. from Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia. Furthermore, Siriella hanseni W.M. Tattersall, 1922 from India and S. vincenti W.M. Tattersall, 1927 from South Australia are redescribed based on re-examination of their type material. A re-examination of specimens subsequently attributed to these two species from other geographical regions showed that these were misidentifications, partly representing three of the new species described herein. Siriella gibbosa (Ledoyer, 1970), which was previously synonymized with S. brevicaudata Paulson, 1875 by Bačescu, is revalidated and included within the brevicaudata group. Siriella lacertilis Talbot, 2009, from Lizard Island, is placed within the brevicaudata group. Diagnostic features for all the members of the group and the group itself are updated. As a result of the present study, the brevicaudata group now comprises 12 valid species.
Five species of Batillipes Richters, 1909 were collected from subtidal sediments of the Portuguese coast. Two of them, B. algharbensis sp. nov. and B. lusitanus sp. nov., are new to science. Batillipes algharbensis sp. nov. differs from all the other Batillipes species in having the middle toes 3 on the fourth feet longer than middle toes 4 and by the presence of rounded lateral body projections between legs III and IV. Batillipes lusitanus sp. nov. has the middle toes of the fourth feet equal in length, but it exhibits a dorsal cuticular ornamentation, constituted by large pillars, similar to the cuticle of B. adriaticus Grimaldi de Zio, Morone De Lucia, D’Addabbo Gallo & Grimaldi, 1979 and B. roscoffensis Kristensen, 1978. However, contrary to B. adriaticus, the caudal apparatus of B. lusitanus sp. nov. is a roundish cuticular expansion and B. roscoffensis lacks caudal apparatus. Batillipes adriaticus and B. phreaticus Renaud-Debyser, 1959 are new records for Portugal. Based on the examination of specimens of B. phreaticus collected at the Portuguese coast and their comparison with type material of this species and also of B. littoralis Renaud-Debyser, 1959, the toe arrangement patterns in species of Batillipes are clarified and a new identification key to species of this genus is provided.
The described Afrotropical species of the genus Hexophthalma Karsch, 1879 (under the genus name Sicarius Walckenaer, 1847), of the spider family Sicariidae Keyserling, 1880, were recently reviewed. In the present paper the Afrotropical species of the genus Hexophthalma are revisited. After a thorough examination of all the available specimens from nine major collections, the species H. testacea (Purcell, 1908) is here synonymized with H. hahni (Karsch, 1878), three new species are described – H. binfordae sp. nov., H. goanikontesensis sp. nov. (both from Namibia) and H. leroyi sp. nov. (from South Africa) – and the male of H. dolichocephala (Lawrence, 1928) is described for the first time. The distribution of the species is also revised and a new updated key to the species is compiled.
Homollea Arènes (Rubiaceae, subfamily Ixoroideae, tribe Pavetteae) is a genus of shrubs and small trees endemic to western and northern Madagascar. The genus comprises five species occurring in dry deciduous forest, often in limestone areas. The five species are narrow endemics and their conservation status is either Endangered (4 species) or Critically Endangered (1 species). Homollea is characterized by few-flowered, pseudo-axillary, pedunculate inflorescences, well-developed calyces with the lobes much longer than the tube, laterally flattened seeds with a shallow, elongated to linear hilum and entire endosperm, ovules arising from the upper margin of the placenta, and, pollen grains with supratectal elements in the shape of microgemmae. Until now, three species were known and their descriptions are amended. Two further species, H. furtiva De Block sp. nov. and H. septentrionalis De Block sp. nov., are described as new for science. The five species are dealt with in detail: descriptions, distribution maps, conservation assessments, illustrations, lists of exsiccatae and an identification key are given.
A new monotypic genus of flatid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Flatidae), Medleria gen. nov., is described for Medleria caudata gen. et sp. nov. (type species) from the island of Socotra (Yemen). Habitus, male and female external and internal genital structures of the new species are illustrated and compared with similar taxa. Medleria caudata gen. et sp. nov. is probably endemic to Socotra where it is known to date from a small area of the Dixam mountain plateau only.
We describe two new species of the annelid genus Trilobodrilus Remane, 1925 (Dinophilidae Verill, 1892) from an intertidal and a subtidal location in San Diego, California. These two species show morphological and molecular divergences between each other and the previously described, geographically distant species. Intertidal T. windansea sp. nov. differs from subtidal T. ellenscrippsae sp. nov. most remarkably in the number and pattern of ciliary tufts and bands on the prostomium and along the body length, besides showing ca. 15% difference in gene fragments of COI and CytB. Trilobodrilus windansea sp. nov., though nesting with T. ellenscrippsae sp. nov. in the molecular phylogenetic analyses, morphologically resembles the Japanese T. itoi Kajihara, Ikoma, Yamasaki & Hiruta, 2015 most closely, but still differs from this species in the higher number of apical ciliary tufts, an additional ciliary row posterior to the second ciliary band, and by lacking a forth ciliary band and segmentally arranged lateral ciliary tufts. Trilobodrilus ellenscrippsae sp. nov. is morphologically most similar to the Japanese T. nipponicus Uchida & Okuda, 1943, but is much shorter, has more apical ciliary tufts, and less regularly arranged lateral ciliary tufts along the body. All species differ significantly in all compared gene fragments, and no obvious correlation was found between habitat and the species morphology or relationships.
The skeleton and the relationships of Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov. and of Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov., two pycnodontiform fishes from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, are studied in detail. Both species belong to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by their parietal brush-like process. Some osteological characters (bifid cloacal scale, large well visible dilatator fossa surrounded by the dermosphenotic and the dermopterotic, etc.) indicate that they are members of the subfamily Pycnodontinae. Libanopycnodus gen. nov. has the preopercle much deeper than the exposed region of the hyomandibula-dermohyomandibula and is the most primitive genus of this lineage. Sigmapycnodus gen. nov. is one of the most advanced members of the subfamily. It shares with Oropycnodus Poyato-Ariza & Wenz, 2002 and Pycnodus Agassiz, 1833 an apomorphy not present in the less specialized Pycnodontinae, the arcocentra in hypercomplex contact.
Three new species of Entomobrya Rondani, 1861 from China are described: E. leviseta sp. nov. and E. polychaeta sp. nov. from Shaanxi Province and E. dingi sp. nov. from Yunnan Province. This is the first report of Entomobrya from Shaanxi Province. Entomobrya leviseta sp. nov. is characterised by prelabral smooth chaetae on the labrum; E. polychaeta sp. nov. by three pairs of longitudinal dark blue stripes from Th. II to Abd. III and eight lateral mac on Abd. III; and E. dingi sp. nov. by only a little pigment on the body and 5 central mac on And. II & III. A key to all Chinese species of Entomobrya is given.
The concept of the jumping spider genus Pochytoides Berland & Millot, 1941 is reviewed, based on the examination of described and undescribed species. Pochytoides is elevated from the subgeneric to the generic rank and a short diagnosis and description of the genus are presented. Redescriptions or descriptions of all species are provided together with a key to the species. Two new combinations are proposed: Pochytoides perezi (Berland & Millot, 1941) comb. nov. and P. poissoni (Berland & Millot, 1941) comb. nov. (both from Pochyta). Pochyta remyi Berland & Millot, 1941 originally placed in the subgenus Pochytoides is excluded; new combination Thiratoscirtus remyi (Berland & Millot, 1941) comb. nov. is proposed for it (but its generic status is uncertain). Six new species are described: Pochytoides monticola sp. nov., P. obstipa sp. nov., P. lamottei sp. nov., P. patellaris sp. nov., P. securis sp. nov. and P. spiniger sp. nov. The genus has a West African distribution.
The Palaearctic species of Ismaridae Thomson, 1858 are reviewed. Thirteen species of Ismaridae are recognized from the Palaearctic. Five species are described as new: Ismarus brevis Kim & Lee sp. nov. from the Russian Far East and South Korea; I. distinctus Kim, Notton & Ødegaard sp. nov. from Norway and the United Kingdom; I. excavatus Kim & Lee sp. nov. from China, Japan and South Korea; I. similis Kim, Notton & Lee sp. nov. from the United Kingdom and I. tripotini Kim & Lee sp. nov. from South Korea. Ismarus apicalis Kolyada & Chemyreva, 2016 is newly recorded from China, France, Japan and South Korea; I. dorsiger (Haliday, 1831) from France, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland; I. flavicornis (Thomson, 1858) from Bulgaria and Norway; I. grandis Alekseev, 1978, I. halidayi Förster, 1850 and I. multiporus Kolyada & Chemyreva from Japan and South Korea; I. rugulosus Förster, 1850 from Austria and I. spinalis Kolyada & Chemyreva, 2016 from China, Japan and South Korea. An identification key to all species found in the Palaearctic region is presented.
A new classification of Ophiuroidea, considering family rank and above, is presented. The new family and superfamily taxa in O’Hara et al. (2017) were proposed to ensure a better readability of the new phylogeny but are unavailable under the provisions of the ICZN. Here, the morphological diagnoses to all 33 families and five superfamilies are provided. Ten new families, Ophiosphalmidae fam. nov., Ophiomusaidae fam. nov., Ophiocamacidae fam. nov., Ophiopteridae fam. nov., Clarkcomidae fam. nov., Ophiopezidae fam. nov., Ophiernidae fam. nov., Amphilimnidae fam. nov., Ophiothamnidae fam. nov. and Ophiopholidae fam. nov., are described. The family Ophiobyrsidae Matsumoto, 1915, not yet discovered in the previous publication, is added, based on new molecular data. A new phylogenetic reconstruction is presented. Definitions of difficult-to-apply morphological characters are given.
The genus Camafroneta gen. nov. is established to accomodate Camafroneta oku gen. et sp. nov., a new species of mynoglenine spider from Cameroon, West Africa, with unusual complex male genitalia. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the new species does not belong to a known genus of mynoglenine spiders. Another three new species of Afroneta Holm, 1968 from East Africa are described: Afroneta flavescens sp. nov., Afroneta serrata sp. nov. and Afroneta sarahae sp. nov. We also describe the missing sex (♂) of Afroneta elgonensis Merrett, 2004.
An update of the current knowledge of Anacharis Dalman, 1823 for the Palaearctic and Indomalayan regions is given. The previously known Palaearctic species Anacharis antennata Belizin, 1951, Anacharis eucharoides (Dalman, 1818), Anacharis immunis Walker, 1835 and Anacharis parapsidalis Belizin, 1951 are redescribed. Three new species are described: Anacharis fergussoni sp. nov. from Europe, Anacharis norvegica sp. nov. from Norway and Anacharis belizini sp. nov. from Thailand, the first recorded Indomalayan species for the genus. Anacharis gracilipes Ionescu, 1969, is synonymized with A. eucharoides, while Anacharis flavidicornis Kieffer, 1910 is transferred to the genus Aegilips Haliday, 1835, resulting in Aegilips flavidicornis (Kieffer, 1910) comb. nov. Diagnostic characters and data about the biology, distribution and affinities with other species of Anacharis are discussed. An identification key for the Palaearctic and Indomalayan species of Anacharis is given.
A new genus and species of owlfly from eastern and southern Africa (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae)
(2018)
The genus Dorsomitus Tjeder, 1992, is considered a nomen nudum. Dorsomitus gen. nov. is described and validated here. A new combination, Dorsomitus neavei (Kimmins, 1949) gen. et comb. nov. is proposed, Dorsomitus tjederi gen. et sp. nov. is described, and Disparomitus neavei Kimmins, 1949, is designated as type species of the genus Dorsomitus gen. nov.
The recently described family Chummidae, now the sister clade of Macrobuninae, so far only known from two South African species, is extended with seven new species, six from the southern part of South Africa and one from Lesotho: Chumma bicolor sp. nov. (♀), C. foliata sp. nov. (♂♀), C. interfluvialis sp. nov. (♂♀), C. lesotho sp. nov. (♀), C. striata sp. nov. (♂♀), C. subridens sp. nov. (♂♀) and C. tsitsikamma sp. nov. ♂. A key to the species is provided. Although Chumma is part of a clade containing the Macrobuninae, it is argued that the family name Chummidae should remain valid.
The Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation in central Spitsbergen has yielded two new species of asteroids and two species of ophiuroids, one of which is described as new. Polarasterias janusensis Rousseau & Gale gen. et sp. nov. is a forcipulatid neoasteroid with elongated arms, small disc and very broad ambulacral grooves with narrow adambulacrals. Savignaster septemtrionalis Rousseau & Gale sp. nov. is a pterasterid with welldeveloped interradial chevrons. The Spitsbergen specimens are the first described articulated material of Savignaster and reveal the overall arrangement of the ambulacral groove ossicles. Ophiogaleus sp. is an ophiacanthid with relatively long jaws and lateral arm plates, with a coarsely reticulate outer surface. Here again, we report the first articulated skeletons of this genus, providing unprecedented insights into the disc morphology. Ophioculina hoybergia Rousseau & Thuy gen. et sp. nov. is an ophiopyrgid with a well-developed arm comb and tentacle pores reduced to within-plate perforations starting at median arm segments. These new finds are important additions to the asterozoan fossil record with regard to their good degree of articulation and the high latitudinal position of the localities. They significantly add to the set of exhaustively known fossil asterozoan taxa which play a key role in the phylogenetic analysis and reconstruction of evolutionary history.
The identity of Barbus capensis, as described by Andrew Smith (1841), is reviewed following a careful examination of the lectotype in the Natural History Museum, London. Evidence shows clearly that it represents a specimen of the Berg-Breede River whitefish or ‘witvis’ and not the species known as the Clanwilliam yellowfish, to which it was attributed until recently. The original illustration of the species is shown to be a composite of these two different species. A replacement name for the Clanwilliam yellowfish is drawn from the earliest described synonym, Labeobarbus seeberi (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1913). Following widespread recognition that the genus Barbus Daudin, 1805 does not occur in sub-Saharan Africa, the generic status of the Berg-Breede River whitefish (witvis) and other tetraploid cyprinines of southern Africa is reviewed, taking genetic and morphological characters into account. Five distinct lineages, each representing a genus, are recognized, including the genera Pseudobarbus Smith, 1841 and Cheilobarbus Smith, 1841, and three new genera described herein: Amatolacypris gen. nov., Sedercypris gen. nov. and Namaquacypris gen. nov.
The nutty world of hazel names - a crtitical taxonomic checklist of the genus Corylus (Betulaceae)
(2018)
Hazelnuts (Corylus L.) are the source of one of the globally most important nut crops. Despite their economic and cultural importance, taxonomic knowledge is poor, even the number of species is equivocal. Weak morphological differentiation, the inconsistent taxonomic treatment of horticultural selections and cultivars, and uncritical regional treatments generated a multitude of names. The situation is further complicated by an ancient history of use (at least 10 400 years), trade (at least 4000 years) and domestication (at least 2000 years). Here, we present an annotated checklist of the taxa in the genus Corylus based on an extensive literature review, electronic database research, and visits to some European herbaria. Full citations are given for all names, typifications are provided for the majority of them. Cultivars are listed if described under the rules of the ICN. We designate lectotypes and neotypes for 28 names, and discuss the identity of enigmatic C. maxima Mill., a taxon not known from the wild.
This paper provides descriptions of Calcigorgia gorgonians collected from the Sea of Okhotsk and shores of the Kurile Islands between 3 Aug. 1984 and 20 Aug. 1987. New species described are the deep-water gorgonians Calcigorgia matua sp. nov. and C. simushiri sp. nov., belonging to the temperate fauna of the North Pacific hemisphere. Specimens belonging to all species of the genus were examined and the distinctive characters for each one are provided and summarized in a table. A modified diagnosis of the genus is proposed. The finding of a previously undescribed species emphasizes the need of further surveys, particularly in shelf and deeper waters, in order to improve our knowledge of this neglected fauna in Far East seas.
Synchroidae Lacordaire, 1859 is a taxonomically and biologically poorly known group. In the present paper, diagnostic characters used to separate genera are analysed and the phylogenetic relationships within this family are preliminarily investigated. Results suggest that the characteristic Synchroa pangu Hsiao, Li, Liu & Pang, 2016 can be removed to establish a new genus, Thescelosynchroa gen. nov. The new combination, T. pangu (Hsiao, Li, Liu & Pang) gen. et comb. nov., is proposed. The definitions of Synchroa Newman, 1838 and Synchroina Fairmaire, 1898 are revised. Moreover, morphological analysis and character comparison also suggest that the familial placement of Mallodrya subaenea Horn, 1888 is questionable. Six species are re-examined and rediagnosed: Synchroa chinensis Nikitsky, 1999, S. elongatula Nikitsky, 1999, S. formosana Hsiao, 2015, S. melanotoides Lewis, 1895, S. punctata Newman, 1838 and Synchroina tenuipennis Fairmaire, 1898. The male of S. chinensis and the female of S. formosana are described for the first time. Synchroa elongatula and Synchroina tenuipennis are newly recorded from Laos and Indonesia, respectively. We also hypothesize that the Eastern Asian-North American disjunction of Synchroa could be connected to a Mid-Late Tertiary migration of plants via the Bering Land Bridge.
New species of Neanura MacGillivray, 1893 and Deutonura Cassagnau, 1979 are described from northern Iran. Both taxa are characterized by unusual features that place them in isolated positions within the genera. Neanura deharvengi sp. nov. differs from congeners by the extreme reduction of head chaetotaxy and fused lateral tubercles on the head. These characteristics of the new species broaden the existing diagnosis of the genus Neanura. An updated diagnosis is provided herein. Deutonura persica sp. nov. is most similar to D. plena (Stach, 1951), known from the Carpathians. The new species can be distinguished by the strong reduction of its head, labial, and labral chaetotaxy as well as the relative length of chaetae De2 and De3 on abdominal segments I–III. The Iranian records of D. decolorata (Gama & Gisin, 1964) are questioned. Brief remarks on the importance of the newly described species for the knowledge of both genera are also provided.
Two new species of the family Selachinematidae Cobb, 1915 from an intertidal sandy flat in the East China Sea are described. Both species are distinct rapacious nematodes, preying on other nematodes. Gammanema magnum sp. nov. is characterized by its leaf-like labial setae, large loop-shaped amphideal fovea in the male and small spiral ones in the female, an anterior buccal cavity reinforced by 12 rhabdia, each rhabdion with about six denticles, and two unequally long spicules. Gammanema magnum sp. nov. is a striking species, exhibiting extreme sexual dimorphism in the amphideal fovea, but lacking a gubernaculum or precloacal supplements, all features by which it can be differentiated from congeneric species. Synonchium caudatubatum sp. nov. is characterized by a posterior buccal cavity, with three mandibles each with a large tooth flanked by three smaller teeth on both sides, a transverse oval-shaped multispiral amphideal fovea, and a bluntly rounded tail with a protuberant caudal duct. Synonchium caudatubatum sp. nov. is unique in the genus in having a protuberant caudal duct in the tail end. Furthermore, it differs from its congeners by its mandibles, which have seven teeth each. Synonchium caudatubatum sp. nov. lacks a gubernaculum and a precloacal supplement, both features present in congeners except S. depressum Gerlach, 1954.
The vividly coloured Neotropical genus Callipia Guenée (1858) (Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758, Geometridae (Leach, 1815), Larentiinae (Leach, 1815), Stamnodini Forbes, 1948) is revised and separated into four species groups, according to a provisional phylogeny based on Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene data and morphology. Fourteen new species are described using COI data and morphology: a) in the balteata group: C. fiedleri sp. nov., C. jakobi sp. nov., C. lamasi sp. nov.; b) in the vicinaria group: C. hausmanni sp. nov., C. walterfriedlii sp. nov.; c) in the parrhasiata group: C. augustae sp. nov., C. jonai sp. nov., C. karsholti sp. nov., C. levequei sp. nov., C. milleri sp. nov., C. sihvoneni sp. nov., C. wojtusiaki sp. nov. and d) in the constantinaria group: C. hiltae sp. nov., C. rougeriei sp. nov. One new subspecies is described: C. wojtusiaki septentrionalis subsp. nov. Two species are revived from synonymy: C. intermedia Dognin, 1914 stat. rev. and C. occulta Warren, 1904 stat. rev. The taxon hamaria Sperry, 1951 is transferred from being a junior synonym of C. constantinaria Oberthür, 1881 to being a junior synonym of C. occulta stat. rev. The taxon admirabilis Warren, 1904 is confirmed as being a junior synonym of C. paradisea Thierry-Mieg, 1904. The taxon languescens Warren, 1904 is confirmed as being a junior synonym of C. rosetta, Thierry-Mieg, 1904 and the taxon confluens Warren, 1905 is confirmed as being a junior synonym of C. balteata Warren, 1905. The status of the remaining species is not changed: C. aurata Warren, 1904, C. brenemanae Sperry, 1951, C. parrhasiata Guenée, 1858, C. flagrans Warren, 1904, C. fulvida Warren, 1907 and C. vicinaria Dognin. All here recognised 26 species are illustrated and the available molecular genetic information of 25 species, including Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) for most of the taxa is provided. The almost threefold increase from 10 to 26 valid species shows that species richness of tropical moths is strongly underestimated even in relatively conspicuous taxa. Callipia occurs from medium to high elevations in wet parts of the tropical and subtropical Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina. The early stages and host plants are still unknown.
A new species complex, the eparmata complex, is established within the subgenus Phortica s. str., based on eight known and five new species, all of which are endemic to the Oriental Region: P. bipartita (Toda & Peng, 1992), P. eparmata (Okada, 1977), P. lanuginosa Chen & Toda, 2007, P. latipenis Chen & Gao, 2005, P. pangi Chen & Wen, 2005, P. setitabula Chen & Gao, 2005, P. unipetala Chen & Wen, 2005 and P. zeta Chen & Toda, 2007; P. jadete sp. nov., P. kava sp. nov., P. mengda sp. nov., P. wongding sp. nov. and P. yena sp. nov. A key to all species of this complex is provided. Barcoding sequences (mitochondrial COI gene) were obtained for 22 specimens of five known and the five abovementioned new species. The intra- and inter-specific pairwise K-2P (Kimura’s two-parameter) distances of COI were determined. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using Bayesian inference based on COI sequences, confirming the monophyletic status of the eparmata complex, which is distinct from the species complexes of magna, omega, variegata and another two ungrouped species.
The Astyanax orthodus species-group includes nine species: Astyanax boliviensis sp. nov., A. bopiensis nom. nov., A. embera sp. nov., A. gandhiae sp. nov., A. moorii comb. nov., A. orthodus, A. superbus, A. villwocki and A. yariguies comb. nov. The group is diagnosed by the presence of a series of pinnate-shaped marks (chevrons) located along the lateral midline, which extends from the humeral region to the caudal peduncle. Astyanax bopiensis nom. nov. is proposed as a substitute name for Astyanacinus multidens, which, along with Astyanax yariguies comb. nov., we reassign to Astyanax. We also propose the synonymy of Astyanacinus with Astyanax. The members of the A. orthodus speciesgroup are distributed in northwestern South America, occurring in the Patia River drainage (A. embera sp. nov.) of the Pacific coast of Colombia, the Atrato River Basin (A. orthodus), the Magdalena River Basin (A. yariguies comb. nov.) of Caribbean Colombia, streams of the southern flank of the Andes of the Orinoco Basin in Venezuela (A. superbus), in the upper Amazon River Basin of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (A. villwocki, A. gandhiae sp. nov.), from the upper Paraguay River (A. moorii comb. nov.), the Madidi and Mamore Rivers, Bolivia (A. boliviensis sp. nov. and A. bopiensis nom. nov.). All species currently included in Astyanacinus are reassigned to the Astyanax orthodus species-group.
The Quedius mutilatus group, a very poorly known presumably monophyletic complex of wingless, possibly hypogean species confined to the Tien-Shan Mountains, is characterized as such for the first time. Newly available material clarified the identity of Q. mutilatus Eppelsheim, 1888 and Q. kalabi Smetana, 1995, each hitherto known from a handful of non-conspecific and vaguely georeferenced specimens only. Additional material is reported for Q. equus Smetana, 2014 and bionomics for all these four species of the group are summarized.
Bees of the genus Lasioglossum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) from Greater Puerto Rico, West Indies
(2018)
The species of Lasioglossum from Greater Puerto Rico are reviewed. Nine species are recognized, including five new species described herein: asioglossum (Dialictus) genaroi sp. nov., L. (D.) dispersum sp. nov., L. (D.) enatum sp. nov., L. (D.) monense sp. nov. and L. (D.) amona sp. nov. The latter two are known only from Mona Island. Keys and images are provided to assist in identification. Details of nesting biology, floral hosts and distribution are provided where available. Three species, L. (D.) parvum (Cresson, 1865), L. (D.) busckiellum (Cockerell, 1915), and L. (D.) mestrei (Baker, 1906) are removed from the list of species for Puerto Rico. Details on their revised distribution are provided. Three new records for Haiti, L. (D.) gundlachii (Baker, 1906), L. (D.) ferrerii (Baker, 1906) and L. (D.) busckiellum are documented. Notes on other species in the Greater Antilles are provided, including the synonymy of Lasioglossum bruesi (Cockerell, 1912) and L. jamaicae (Ellis, 1914) under L. gemmatum (Smith, 1853).
The genus Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 is found to be represented in Western Asia by 16 species: ♂♀ R. adjarica sp. nov. (Georgia), ♂ R. anadolu sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂ R. arthuri Kunt & Yağmur, 2010 (Turkey), ♂ R. birecikensis sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂♀ R. dunini sp. nov. (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran), ♂♀ R. hyrcanica Dunin, 1988 (Azerbaijan), ♂ R. marusiki sp. nov. (Iran), ♂ R. mazandaranica Marusik, Zamani & Mirshamsi, 2014 (Iran), ♂♀ R. micropa (Ausserer, 1871) (Turkey), ♀ R. nana sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂♀ R. niedermeyeri (Brignoli, 1972) (Iran), ♂♀ R. pontica (Spassky, 1937) (Russia, Georgia), ♀ R. sinani sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂♀ R. turcica sp. nov. (Turkey), ♂♀ R. vonwicki Zonstein, 2000 (Iran) and ♂♀ R. zaitzevi (Charitonov, 1948) (Azerbaijan, Georgia) = ♀ Brachythele recki Mcheidze, 1983, syn. nov. Eight species are described as new; others are redescribed from types and/or conspecific material. Males of R. micropa and R. zaitzevi, hitherto unknown, are described for the first time. Data on the variability, relationships, distribution and ecology of all considered species are also provided.
Two new species of marine Platyhelminthes, Microstomum laurae sp. nov. and Microstomum edmondi sp. nov. (Macrostomida: Microstomidae) are described from the west coast of Sweden. Microstomum laurae sp. nov. is distinguished by the following combination of characters: rounded anterior and posterior ends; presence of approximately 20 adhesive papillae on the posterior rim; paired lateral red eyespots located level with the brain; preoral gut extending anterior to brain and and very small sensory pits. Microstomum edmondi sp. nov. is a protandrous hermaphrodite with a single ovary, single testis and male copulatory organ with stylet. It is characterized by a conical pointed anterior end, a blunt posterior end with numerous adhesive papillae along the rim, and large ciliary pits. The stylet is shaped as a narrow funnel with a short, arched tip. In addition, the first records of fully mature specimens of Microstomum rubromaculatum von Graff, 1882 from Fiskebäckskil and a phylogenetic analysis of Microstomum Schmidt, 1848 based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene are presented.
The frog Pristimantis marmoratus was originally described als Hylodes marmoratus by George A. Boulenger in 1900 based on a single specimen reported to have been collected at the foot of Mount Roraima in Guyana in 1898. We herein discuss the exact location of the type locality of P. marmoratus and provide a redescription of the species based on new material from Kaieteur National Park and from the slopes of Maringma-tepui in Guyana. We also describe the previously unknown vocalization and breeding ecology of the species, and conducted an exploratory molecular analysis of the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Pristimantis represented by the members of the "unistrigatus species group" in the Guiana Shield. Pristimantis marmoratus is a small-sized species mainly distinguished from its known Guiana Shield congeners by the combination of F I < II, SVL ≤ 20.4 in males, presence of vocal slits in males, granular/pustulate dorsal skin with well-developed scapular ridges, basal webbing between fingers, fringes in fingers and toes, crossed iris, diffuse yellow or pale green wash on groin, and absence of flashy colour on axillary/pre-axillary region. The advertisement call consists of a single note repeated at a rate of ca 11 calls/min with a dominant frequency ranging from 2756 to 3101 Hz. Pristimantis marmoratus is primarily arboreal, exclusively active at dusk, and propably restricted to the pristine rainforests of the Pantepui uplands and highlands, east of the Gran Sabana between ca 600 and 1800 m above sea level. Preliminary molecular analyses recovered Pristimantis marmoratus as sister to an unnamed species from the Eastern Guiana Shield. On grounds of the newly established distributional extent we suggest maintaining the IUCN conservation status as Least Concern.
Following a taxonomic revision of Begonia L. (Begoniaceae, Cucurbitales) from Northeast India based on 332 herbarium specimens, 38 species are confirmed to occur in the region, of which ten are endemic. One new species is described, Begonia koelzii R.Camfield sp. nov., in B. sect. Platycentrum (Klotzsch) A.DC. One species is reduced into synonymy; B. barbata Wall. is now a synonym of B. thomsonii A.DC. Three species, B. difformis (Irmsch.) W.C.Leong, C.I Peng & K.F.Chung, B. labordei H.Lév. and B. handelii Irmsch., are reported new for India, and B. lushaiensis C.E.C.Fisch. is reinstated as an accepted species, having previously been synonymised under B. modestiflora Kurz. A key to the species in the region and preliminary conservation assessments are presented.
Chigger mites of the African continent are reviewed using data acquired from the literature and examination of the collections deposited at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium) and the Natural History Museum (London, UK). All findings for 443 valid chigger species belonging to 61 genera are reported, along with details on their collection locality and host species. Three new synonyms are proposed: Straelensia Vercammen-Grandjean & Kolebinova, 1968 (= Anasuscuta Brown, 2009 syn. nov.); Herpetacarus (Herpetacarus) Vercammen-Grandjean, 1960 (= Herpetacarus (Lukoschuskaaia) Kolebinova & Vercammen-Grandjean, 1980 syn. nov.); Gahrliepia brennani (Jadin & Vercammen-Grandjean, 1952) (= Gahrliepia traubi Audy, Lawrence & Vercammen-Grandjean, 1961 syn. nov.). A new replacement name is proposed: Microtrombicula squirreli Stekolnikov, 2017 nom. nov. pro Eltonella myonacis heliosciuri Vercammen-Grandjean, 1965 (praeocc. Vercammen-Grandjean, 1965). Ninety new combinations are proposed. Keys to subfamilies, genera and subgenera of African trombiculid larvae and diagnoses of these taxa are given.
Damacornu gen. nov. (type species: D. transversum gen. et sp. nov.), Geotypodon papei sp. nov. and Spinotarsus fortehamatus sp. nov. are described, and Helicochetus dimidiatus (Peters, 1855), H. mutaba Kraus, 1960 and Hoffmanides dissutus (Hoffman, 1963) are recorded from the Udzungwa Mts, Tanzania. A complete overview of the 39 odontopygid species now known from the Udzungwa Mts is given, including notes on endemism, biogeographical relationships and altitudinal distribution patterns.
A group of Amazonian harvestmen is recognized and described as Amazochroma gen. nov. This taxon includes Discocyrtus carvalhoi Mello-Leitão, 1941 (type species), the only species of Discocyrtus previously thought to occur in Amazonia, and Amazochroma pedroi gen. et sp. nov., described here from the Brazilian states of Acre and Rondônia. New records are added for Amazochroma carvalhoi gen. et comb. nov, expanding its distribution from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso northwards also to Pará and Amazonas in Brazil and additionally French Guiana and Suriname. Diagnostic features of Amazochroma gen. nov. include: trichromatic pattern of legs, dry marks on the dorsal scutum and base of legs and diastema in the row of macrosetae C of the penis ventral plate. A morphological maximum parsimony analysis (1022 scorings; 16 taxa; 64 characters) is performed to test whether Amazochroma gen. nov. is a member of Discocyrtus and if the traditional allocation of Discocyrtus in Pachylinae is defendable. A clade is retrieved containing three groups: Amazochroma carvalhoi gen. et comb. nov, here described as a new subfamily of Gonyleptidae - Roeweriinae subfam. nov. Discocyrtanus Roewer, 1929 and Roeweria Mello-Leitão, 1923 are accordingly here transferred from Pachylinae to Roeweriinae subfam. nov.
The species of the subgenus Conocetus Desbrochers des Loges, 1875 are reviewed and Polydrusus (Conocetus) transjordanus sp. nov. is described. Upon examination of the holotype of Polydrusus bardus Gyllenhal, 1834, it was observed that the species hitherto determined sensu auctorum as P. bardus was a misidentification. The specimen in question was therefore unnamed and is thus newly described as Polydrusus (Conocetus) crinipes sp. nov. Polydrusus femoratus (Stierlin, 1888) is a junior synonym of P. angustus (Lucas, 1854). Polydrusus gracilicornis Kiesenwetter, 1864, P. cylindrithorax (Desbrochers des Loges, 1900) and P. quadraticollis (Desbrochers des Loges, 1902) are proposed as junior synonyms of P. bardus. Polydrusus zurcheri (Schilsky, 1912) is proposed as a junior synonym of P. grandiceps (Desbrochers des Loges, 1875). Polydrusus kahri Kirsch, 1865 is transferred from subgenus Conocetus to Denticonocetus subgen. nov., with P. siculus Desbrochers des Loges, 1872 and P. vodozi Desbrochers des Loges, 1903 both recognized as new junior synonyms of P. kahri. The lectotypes of P. gracilicornis, P. zurcheri, P. marcidus Kiesenwetter, 1864, P. gracilis (Stierlin, 1888), P. rhodiacus (Schilsky, 1912) and P. grandiceps are designated. A key, figures, label data and distribution maps are provided for all species, except for P. longus (Stierlin, 1884), for which no specimens were available for examination, and whose placement in the subgenus Conocetus remains uncertain (thus categorized as incertae sedis). Polydrusus angustus is recorded for the first time for Italy, P. rhodiacus for mainland Turkey and P. festae (Solari, 1925) for Greece.
Regulation of the antiapoptotic protein cFLIP by the glucocorticoid Dexamethasone in ALL cells
(2018)
We recently reported that the Smac mimetic BV6 and glucocorticoids, e.g. Dexamethasone (Dexa), synergize to induce cell death in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in vitro and in vivo. Here, we discover that this synergism involves Dexa-stimulated downregulation of cellular FLICE-like inhibitory protein (cFLIP) in ALL cells. Dexa rapidly decreases cFLIPL protein levels, which is further enhanced by addition of BV6. While attenuating the activation of non-canonical nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling by BV6, Dexa suppresses cFLIPL protein but not mRNA levels pointing to a transcription-independent downregulation of cFLIPL by Dexa. Analysis of protein degradation pathways indicates that Dexa causes cFLIPL depletion independently of proteasomal, lysosomal or caspase pathways, as inhibitors of the proteasome, lysosomal enzymes or caspases all failed to protect from Dexa-mediated loss of cFLIPL protein. Also, Dexa alone or in combination with BV6 does not affect overall activity of the proteasome. Importantly, overexpression of cFLIPL to an extent that is no longer subject to Dexa-imposed downregulation rescues Dexa/BV6-mediated cell death. Vice versa, knockdown of cFLIP increases BV6-mediated cell death, thus mimicking the effect of Dexa. Altogether, these data demonstrate that Dexa-mediated downregulation of cFLIPL protein promotes Dexa/BV6-mediated cell death, thereby providing novel insights into the synergistic antitumor activity of this combination treatment.
Although effective antibody-based vaccines have been developed against multiple viruses, such approaches have so far failed for the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Despite the success of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) that has turned HIV-1 infection into a chronic disease and has reduced the number of new infections worldwide, a vaccine against HIV-1 is still urgently needed. We discuss here the major reasons for the failure of “classical” vaccine approaches, which are mostly due to the biological properties of the virus itself. HIV-1 has developed multiple mechanisms of immune escape, which also account for vaccine failure. So far, no vaccine candidate has been able to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against primary patient viruses from different clades. However, such antibodies were identified in a subset of patients during chronic infection and were shown to protect from infection in animal models and to reduce viremia in first clinical trials. Their detailed characterization has guided structure-based reverse vaccinology approaches to design better HIV-1 envelope (Env) immunogens. Furthermore, conserved Env epitopes have been identified, which are promising candidates in view of clinical applications. Together with new vector-based technologies, considerable progress has been achieved in recent years towards the development of an effective antibody-based HIV-1 vaccine.
The mechanisms involved in malignant transformation of mature B and T lymphocytes are still poorly understood. In a previous study, we compared gene expression profiles of the tumor cells of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) to their normal cellular counterparts and found the basic leucine zipper protein ATF-like 3 (BATF3) to be significantly upregulated in the tumor cells of both entities. To assess the oncogenic potential of BATF3 in lymphomagenesis and to dissect the molecular interactions of BATF3 in lymphoma cells, we retrovirally transduced murine mature T and B cells with a BATF3-encoding viral vector and transplanted each population into Rag1-deficient recipients. Intriguingly, BATF3-expressing B lymphocytes readily induced B-cell lymphomas after characteristic latencies, whereas T-cell transplanted animals remained healthy throughout the observation time. Further analyses revealed a germinal center B-cell-like phenotype of most BATF3-initiated lymphomas. In a multiple myeloma cell line, BATF3 inhibited BLIMP1 expression, potentially illuminating an oncogenic action of BATF3 in B-cell lymphomagenesis. In conclusion, BATF3 overexpression induces malignant transformation of mature B cells and might serve as a potential target in B-cell lymphoma treatment.
Titanium is a biocompatible material that is frequently used for making implantable medical devices. Nanoengineering of the surface is the common method for increasing material biocompatibility, and while the nanostructured materials are well-known to represent attractive substrata for eukaryotic cells, very little information has been documented about the interaction between mammalian cells and bactericidal nanostructured surfaces. In this study, we investigated the effect of bactericidal titanium nanostructures on PC12 cell attachment and differentiation—a cell line which has become a widely used in vitro model to study neuronal differentiation. The effects of the nanostructures on the cells were then compared to effects observed when the cells were placed in contact with non-structured titanium. It was found that bactericidal nanostructured surfaces enhanced the attachment of neuron-like cells. In addition, the PC12 cells were able to differentiate on nanostructured surfaces, while the cells on non-structured surfaces were not able to do so. These promising results demonstrate the potential application of bactericidal nanostructured surfaces in biomedical applications such as cochlear and neuronal implants.
A large body of evidence suggests that the 11+ warm-up programme is effective in preventing football-related musculoskeletal injuries. However, despite considerable efforts to promote and disseminate the programme, it is unclear as to whether team head coaches are familiar with the 11+ and how they rate its feasibility. The present study aimed to gather information on awareness and usage among German amateur level football coaches. A questionnaire was administered to 7893 individuals who were in charge of youth and adult non-professional teams. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the obtained data. A total of 1223 coaches (16%) returned the questionnaire. There was no risk of a non-response bias (p>.05). At the time of the survey, nearly half of the participants (42.6%) knew the 11+. Among the coaches who were familiar with the programme, three of four reported applying it regularly (at least once per week). Holding a license (φ = .28, p < .0001), high competitive level (Cramer-V = .13, p = .007), and coaching a youth team (φ = .1, p = .001) were associated with usage of 11+. Feasibility and suitability of the 11+ were rated similarly by aware and unaware coaches. Although a substantial share of German amateur level coaches is familiar with the 11+, more than half of the surveyed participants did not know the programme. As the non-usage does not appear to stem from a lack of rated feasibility and suitability, existing communication strategies might need to be revised.
The structural diversity of terpenoids is limited by the isoprene rule which states that all primary terpene synthase products derive from methyl-branched building blocks with five carbon atoms. With this study we discover a broad spectrum of novel terpenoids with eleven carbon atoms as byproducts of bacterial 2-methylisoborneol or 2-methylenebornane synthases. Both enzymes use 2-methyl-GPP as substrate, which is synthesized from GPP by the action of a methyltransferase. We used E. coli strains that heterologously produce different C11-terpene synthases together with the GPP methyltransferase and the mevalonate pathway enzymes. With this de novo approach, 35 different C11-terpenes could be produced. In addition to eleven known compounds, it was possible to detect 24 novel C11-terpenes which have not yet been described as terpene synthase products. Four of them, 3,4-dimethylcumene, 2-methylborneol and the two diastereomers of 2-methylcitronellol could be identified. Furthermore, we showed that an E. coli strain expressing the GPP-methyltransferase can produce the C16-terpene 6-methylfarnesol which indicates the condensation of 2-methyl-GPP and IPP to 6-methyl-FPP by the E. coli FPP-synthase. Our study demonstrates the broad range of unusual terpenes accessible by expression of GPP-methyltransferases and C11-terpene synthases in E. coli and provides an extended mechanism for C11-terpene synthases.
Aims: Carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) predicts cardiovascular (CVD) events, but the predictive value of CIMT change is debated. We assessed the relation between CIMT change and events in individuals at high cardiovascular risk.
Methods and results: From 31 cohorts with two CIMT scans (total n = 89070) on average 3.6 years apart and clinical follow-up, subcohorts were drawn: (A) individuals with at least 3 cardiovascular risk factors without previous CVD events, (B) individuals with carotid plaques without previous CVD events, and (C) individuals with previous CVD events. Cox regression models were fit to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of the combined endpoint (myocardial infarction, stroke or vascular death) per standard deviation (SD) of CIMT change, adjusted for CVD risk factors. These HRs were pooled across studies.
In groups A, B and C we observed 3483, 2845 and 1165 endpoint events, respectively. Average common CIMT was 0.79mm (SD 0.16mm), and annual common CIMT change was 0.01mm (SD 0.07mm), both in group A. The pooled HR per SD of annual common CIMT change (0.02 to 0.43mm) was 0.99 (95% confidence interval: 0.95–1.02) in group A, 0.98 (0.93–1.04) in group B, and 0.95 (0.89–1.04) in group C. The HR per SD of common CIMT (average of the first and the second CIMT scan, 0.09 to 0.75mm) was 1.15 (1.07–1.23) in group A, 1.13 (1.05–1.22) in group B, and 1.12 (1.05–1.20) in group C.
Conclusions: We confirm that common CIMT is associated with future CVD events in individuals at high risk. CIMT change does not relate to future event risk in high-risk individuals.
Empiric antibiotics are often used in combination with mechanical debridement to treat patients suffering from periodontitis and to eliminate disease-associated pathogens. Until now, only a few next generation sequencing 16S rDNA amplicon based publications with rather small sample sizes studied the effect of those interventions on the subgingival microbiome. Therefore, we studied subgingival samples of 89 patients with chronic periodontitis (solely non-smokers) before and two months after therapy. Forty-seven patients received mechanical periodontal therapy only, whereas 42 patients additionally received oral administered amoxicillin plus metronidazole (500 and 400 mg, respectively; 3x/day for 7 days). Samples were sequenced with Illumina MiSeq 300 base pairs paired end technology (V3 and V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rDNA). Inter-group differences before and after therapy of clinical variables (percentage of sites with pocket depth ≥ 5mm, percentage of sites with bleeding on probing) and microbiome variables (diversity, richness, evenness, and dissimilarity) were calculated, a principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was conducted, and differential abundance of agglomerated ribosomal sequence variants (aRSVs) classified on genus level was calculated using a negative binomial regression model. We found statistically noticeable decreased richness, and increased dissimilarity in the antibiotic, but not in the placebo group after therapy. The PCoA revealed a clear compositional separation of microbiomes after therapy in the antibiotic group, which could not be seen in the group receiving mechanical therapy only. This difference was even more pronounced on aRSV level. Here, adjunctive antibiotics were able to induce a microbiome shift by statistically noticeably reducing aRSVs belonging to genera containing disease-associated species, e.g., Porphyromonas, Tannerella, Treponema, and Aggregatibacter, and by noticeably increasing genera containing health-associated species. Mechanical therapy alone did not statistically noticeably affect any disease-associated taxa. Despite the difference in microbiome modulation both therapies improved the tested clinical parameters after two months. These results cast doubt on the relevance of the elimination and/or reduction of disease-associated taxa as a main goal of periodontal therapy.