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Species of Mortoniella are revised for the northern and Andean part of the South American continent, including the countries of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana. All previously described species from the region are reillustrated and redescribed, except for Mortoniella santiaga Sykora, 1999 and M. quinuas Harper and Turcotte, 1985, whose types could not be located, and M. tranquilla Martynov, 1912, whose type is based on a female specimen and thus is currently unidentifiable. Included in the revision are 35 described species and 59 new species. Mortoniella similis Sykora, 1999 is considered a junior synonym of M. roldani Flint, 1991, and M. macuta (Botosaneanu, 1998) is considered a junior synonym of M. limona (Flint, 1981). A new subgenus, Nanotrichia, is recognized to accommodate species previously referred to as members of the ormina and velasquezi groups. Mexitrichia pacuara Flint, 1974 is designated the type species for the subgenus. Species previously referred to as members of the bilineata and leroda species groups are retained in the nominate subgenus, along with additional taxa not previously placed to species group, and treated within a number of subgroups. Previously described species of M. (Mortoniella) which are redescribed and reillustrated include: M. angulata Flint, 1963; M. apiculata Flint, 1963; M. atenuata (Flint, 1963); M. bifurcata Sykora, 1999; M. bilineata Ulmer, 1906; M. bolivica (Schmid, 1958); M. chicana Sykora, 1999; M. denticulata Sykora, 1999; M. elongata (Flint, 1963); M. enchrysa Flint, 1991; M. flinti Sykora, 1999; M. foersteri (Schmid, 1964); M. hodgesi Flint, 1963; M. iridescens Flint, 1991; M. leei (Flint, 1974); M. limona (Flint, 1981); M. marini (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); M. paralineata Sykora, 1999; M. paraenchrysa Sykora, 1999; M. pocita (Flint, 1983); M. punensis (Flint, 1983); M. roldani Flint, 1991; M. simla (Flint, 1974); M. spinulata (Flint, 1991); M. squamata Sykora, 1999; M. unilineata Sykora, 1999; and M. wygodzinskii (Schmid, 1958). New species described in M. (Mortoniella), followed by their respective areas of distribution, include: M. acutiterga (Ecuador); M. adamsae (Peru); M. akrogeneios (Ecuador); M. applanata (Peru); M. auricularis (Colombia); M. barinasi (Venezuela); M. biramosa (Venezuela); M. bothrops (Peru); M. brevis (Ecuador, Venezuela); M. bulbosa (Peru); M. catherinae (Peru); M. chalalan (Peru); M. cornuta (Peru); M. cressae (Venezuela); M. croca (Peru); M. curtispina (Venezuela); M. curvistylus (Ecuador); M. dentiterga (Ecuador); M. dinotes (Peru); M. draconis (Ecuador); M. emarginata (Ecuador, Colombia); M. esrossi (Colombia); M. flexuosa (Colombia); M. furcula (Ecuador); M. gilli (Ecuador); M. gracilis (Venezuela); M. grandiloba (Venezuela); M. guyanensis (Guyana); M. hamata (Colombia); M. langleyae (Ecuador); M. longiterga (Ecuador); M. membranacea (Bolivia); M. monopodis (Colombia, Ecuador); M. parameralda (Ecuador); M. pica (Ecuador); M. proakantha (Ecuador); M. prolata (Peru); M. quadrispina (Ecuador); M. rectiflexa (Ecuador); M. ruedae (Bolivia); M. schlingeri (Colombia); M. silacea (Colombia, Ecuador); M. sinuosa (Bolivia, Peru); M. spatulata (Venezuela); M. tanyrhabdos (Venezuela); M. tridens (Peru); M. triramosa (Bolivia); M. tusci (Venezuela); and M. variabilis (Venezuela, Colombia). Species assigned to the subgenus M. (Nanotrichia) which are redescribed and reillustrated include: M. aequalis (Flint, 1963); M. aries (Flint, 1963); M. collegarum (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); M. eduardoi (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); M. macarenica (Flint, 1974); M. pacuara (Flint, 1974); M. usseglioi (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); and M. velasquezi (Flint, 1991). Previously described species of Mortoniella, outside the area of coverage, that are transferred to the subgenus M. (Nanotrichia) include: M. alicula Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011; M. bocaina Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011; M. catarinensis (Flint, 1974); M. froehlichi Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011; M. ormina (Mosely, 1939); M. rodmani Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2008; and M. tripuiensis Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011. New species in the subgenus M. (Nanotrichia), followed by their respective areas of distribution, include: Mortoniella cognata (Ecuador, Venezuela); M. coheni (Ecuador); M. licina (Ecuador); M. paucispina (Peru); M. quadridactyla (Venezuela); M. simplicis (Venezuela); M. spangleri (Ecuador); M. triangularis (Ecuador); M. venezuelensis (Venezuela); and M. zamora (Ecuador). A key to the males of species from the region is also provided, as well as a key to females for the major subgroups and a species key to females of the velasquezi group. Finally, a partially resolved phylogeny of the species is presented, along with a discussion of evolutionary trends within the genus.
Distributional records of the 177 tiger beetle species and subspecies known for Vietnam are given together with a key and habitus photos (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae). Tricondyla (Tricondyla) macrodera abruptesculpta Horn, 1925, Protocollyris festiva Naviaux, 2008, Neocollyris (Brachycollyris) purpureomaculata borea Naviaux, 1994, Neocollyris (Brachycollyris) torosa Naviaux, 2010, Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) rogeri Shook and Wu, 2006, Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) laosensis Naviaux, 1999, Neocollyris (Stenocollyris) rubens (Bates, 1878), Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) tricolor Naviaux, 1991, Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) panfi lovi Naviaux and Matalin, 2002, Therates rugulosus Horn, 1900, Therates bannapecolus Sawada and Wiesner, 1999, Calochroa interruptofasciata fl avolineata (Chaudoir, 1865), Cylindera (Ifasina) cyclobregma Acciavatti and Pearson, 1989, Cylindera (Ifasina) decolorata (Horn, 1907), Cylindera (Ifasina) humillima (Gestro, 1893) and Cylindera (Eugrapha) elisae elisae (Motschulsky, 1859) are reported for the fi rst time in the fauna of Vietnam. Neocollyris (Isocollyris) septentrionalis Naviaux, 1999, Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) linearis tenuicornis (Chaudoir, 1864), Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) aptera apicalis (Chaudoir, 1864), Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) contracta (Horn, 1905), Therates dimidiatus wallacei Thomson, 1857, Cylindera (Cylindera) pseudocylindriformis Horn, 1913, Cylindera (Ifasina) viridilabris (Chaudoir, 1852), Cylindera (Ifasina) psilica psilica (Bates, 1866), Cylindera (Eugrapha) venosa (Kollar, 1836) and Myriochila (Myriochila) undulata (Dejean, 1825) are excluded from the fauna of Vietnam
Species of Mortoniella are revised for the northern and Andean part of the South American continent, including the countries of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana. All previously described species from the region are reillustrated and redescribed, except for Mortoniella santiaga Sykora, 1999 and M. quinuas Harper and Turcotte, 1985, whose types could not be located, and M. tranquilla Martynov, 1912, whose type is based on a female specimen and thus is currently unidentifiable. Included in the revision are 35 described species and 59 new species. Mortoniella similis Sykora, 1999 is considered a junior synonym of M. roldani Flint, 1991, and M. macuta (Botosaneanu, 1998) is considered a junior synonym of M. limona (Flint, 1981). A new subgenus, Nanotrichia, is recognized to accommodate species previously referred to as members of the ormina and velasquezi groups. Mexitrichia pacuara Flint, 1974 is designated the type species for the subgenus. Species previously referred to as members of the bilineata and leroda species groups are retained in the nominate subgenus, along with additional taxa not previously placed to species group, and treated within a number of subgroups. Previously described species of M. (Mortoniella) which are redescribed and reillustrated include: M. angulata Flint, 1963; M. apiculata Flint, 1963; M. atenuata (Flint, 1963); M. bifurcata Sykora, 1999; M. bilineata Ulmer, 1906; M. bolivica (Schmid, 1958); M. chicana Sykora, 1999; M. denticulata Sykora, 1999; M. elongata (Flint, 1963); M. enchrysa Flint, 1991; M. flinti Sykora, 1999; M. foersteri (Schmid, 1964); M. hodgesi Flint, 1963; M. iridescens Flint, 1991; M. leei (Flint, 1974); M. limona (Flint, 1981); M. marini (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); M. paralineata Sykora, 1999; M. paraenchrysa Sykora, 1999; M. pocita (Flint, 1983); M. punensis (Flint, 1983); M. roldani Flint, 1991; M. simla (Flint, 1974); M. spinulata (Flint, 1991); M. squamata Sykora, 1999; M. unilineata Sykora, 1999; and M. wygodzinskii (Schmid, 1958). New species described in M. (Mortoniella), followed by their respective areas of distribution, include: M. acutiterga (Ecuador); M. adamsae (Peru); M. akrogeneios (Ecuador); M. applanata (Peru); M. auricularis (Colombia); M. barinasi (Venezuela); M. biramosa (Venezuela); M. bothrops (Peru); M. brevis (Ecuador, Venezuela); M. bulbosa (Peru); M. catherinae (Peru); M. chalalan (Peru); M. cornuta (Peru); M. cressae (Venezuela); M. croca (Peru); M. curtispina (Venezuela); M. curvistylus (Ecuador); M. dentiterga (Ecuador); M. dinotes (Peru); M. draconis (Ecuador); M. emarginata (Ecuador, Colombia); M. esrossi (Colombia); M. flexuosa (Colombia); M. furcula (Ecuador); M. gilli (Ecuador); M. gracilis (Venezuela); M. grandiloba (Venezuela); M. guyanensis (Guyana); M. hamata (Colombia); M. langleyae (Ecuador); M. longiterga (Ecuador); M. membranacea (Bolivia); M. monopodis (Colombia, Ecuador); M. parameralda (Ecuador); M. pica (Ecuador); M. proakantha (Ecuador); M. prolata (Peru); M. quadrispina (Ecuador); M. rectiflexa (Ecuador); M. ruedae (Bolivia); M. schlingeri (Colombia); M. silacea (Colombia, Ecuador); M. sinuosa (Bolivia, Peru); M. spatulata (Venezuela); M. tanyrhabdos (Venezuela); M. tridens (Peru); M. triramosa (Bolivia); M. tusci (Venezuela); and M. variabilis (Venezuela, Colombia). Species assigned to the subgenus M. (Nanotrichia) which are redescribed and reillustrated include: M. aequalis (Flint, 1963); M. aries (Flint, 1963); M. collegarum (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); M. eduardoi (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); M. macarenica (Flint, 1974); M. pacuara (Flint, 1974); M. usseglioi (Rueda Martín and Gibon, 2008); and M. velasquezi (Flint, 1991). Previously described species of Mortoniella, outside the area of coverage, that are transferred to the subgenus M. (Nanotrichia) include: M. alicula Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011; M. bocaina Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011; M. catarinensis (Flint, 1974); M. froehlichi Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011; M. ormina (Mosely, 1939); M. rodmani Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2008; and M. tripuiensis Blahnik and Holzenthal, 2011. New species in the subgenus M. (Nanotrichia), followed by their respective areas of distribution, include: Mortoniella cognata (Ecuador, Venezuela); M. coheni (Ecuador); M. licina (Ecuador); M. paucispina (Peru); M. quadridactyla (Venezuela); M. simplicis (Venezuela); M. spangleri (Ecuador); M. triangularis (Ecuador); M. venezuelensis (Venezuela); and M. zamora (Ecuador). A key to the males of species from the region is also provided, as well as a key to females for the major subgroups and a species key to females of the velasquezi group. Finally, a partially resolved phylogeny of the species is presented, along with a discussion of evolutionary trends within the genus.
Genera of Cephaloscymnini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Coccidulinae) are discussed and a key to all recognized genera and species is provided. Succinctonotum, new genus, is proposed. Scymnus laboulbenii Mulsant and Prodilis maculata Weise are transferred to Neaporia as new combinations. Prodiloides bipunctata Weise, and Neaporia compta are transferred to Prodilis as new combinations. Neaporia cuprea Gorham is considered a junior synonym of Neaporia viridiscens Gorham and Cephaloscymnus bruchi Weise a junior synonym of Prodilis volgus Mulsant. New species described in Cephaloscymnus are C. beulah, C. candice, C. juanita. New species described in Neaporia are N. becky, N. bobbie, N. brandy, N. carole, N. cassandra, N. christy, N. daisy, N. deanna, N. dianne, N. felicia, N. gwendolyn, N. hilda, N. irma, N. jennie, N. jenny, N. kay, N. kayla, N. kristine, N. leah, N. lena, N. leona, N. longifrons, N. mabel, N. mae, N. margie, N. marsha, N. miriam, N. misty, N. myrtle, N. naomi, N. nina, N. nora, N. olga, N. opal, N. patsy, N. penny, N. priscilla, N. shelley, N. sonia, N. tracey, and N. violet. New species described in Succinctonotum is S. frosti. New species described in Prodilis are P. ada, P. alberta, P. alison, P. amelia, P. angie, P. araguaensis, P. bartletti, P. belinda, P. blanche, P. brandi, P. cecilia, P. claire, P. cora, P. dubitalis, P. erika, P. eunice, P. fannie, P. faye, P. flora, P. geneva, P. guadalupe, P. harriet, P. hattie, P. inez, P. iris, P. isabel, P. jan, P. janie, P. joanna, P. jodi, P. katrina, P. kristi, P. kristy, P. lindsey, P. lola, P. lula, P. lynda, P. madeline, P. maggie, P. mamie, P. margarita, P. maryann, P. melody, P. molly, P. monique, P. natasha, P. olivia, P. pecki, P. ramona, P. rosie, P. sabrina, P. sandy, P. shelley, P. sherri, P. sheryl, P. sonya, P. susie, and P. yvette. Ponaria, new genus of Coccidulini is proposed. Neaporia caerulea Gorham is transferred to Ponaria as a new combination. New species described in Ponaria are P. daviesi, P. hurtadoi, and P. paprzyckii. Lectotypes are here designated for Neaporia arrowi, N. coelestis, N. metallica, N. guatemalana, N. indagator, and Prodilis pallidifrons.
A new cryptic species, Aleochara (Xenochara) castaneimarmotae Klimaszewski, Webster, and Brunke, new species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), associated with Marmota monax (Linnaeus) burrows and caves in eastern North America, is described and illustrated. A key to Canadian species of subgenus Xenochara Mulsant and Rey and revised distributions of the taxonomically difficult fumata species group are provided. Aleochara quadrata Sharp is recorded from Washington and Oregon for the first time.
El pulgón Sarucallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) conocido comúnmente como pulgón del árbol de júpiter, se reporta por primera vez para Guatemala. Esta especie de la familia Aphididae (Hemiptera) fue encontrada en Lagerstroemia indica (Lythraceae). También se presenta la información básica de la especie así como una diagnosis para identificarla.
Se redescribe el género Ogyges Kaup, 1871 (Coleoptera: Passalidae), incluyendo su historia taxonó- mica. Se presentan las imágenes, los datos registrados en las etiquetas, las coordenadas geográficas, mediciones, comentarios taxonómicos y las instituciones depositarias de 19 tipos primarios que fueron descritos o que están incluidos dentro del género Ogyges Kaup. El nombre infrasubespecífico Ogyges laevior ab. vinculotaenia Kuwert, 1897, está indisponible, de acuerdo al artículo 45.6.2 del ICZN.
Many nomenclatural changes are implemented in the beetle families Georissidae, Histeridae, Hydraenidae, Hydrochidae, Hydrophilidae, Ptiliidae, Leiodidae and especially Staphylinidae, of the beetle series Staphyliniformia (Coleoptera), in preparation for making a world catalog of this group available online. Limited taxonomic changes are also made in the staphylinid subfamilies Osoriinae and Staphylininae.
At the level of family-group taxa, Article 29.4 of the current (1999) Zoological Code is reviewed and the original spellings of two tribal names, Nymphisterini Tishechkin (Histeridae) and Cryptonotopsisini Pace (Staphylinidae), are resurrected. The tribal name Stictocraniini Jakobson (Staphylinidae) is also resurrected as the valid name for its new synonym Fenderiini Scheerpeltz.
Changes at the genus-group level in Histeridae include placing Contipus Marseul as a new synonym of Hister Linnaeus due to the current placement of its validly designated type species C. subquadratus Marseul; proposal of Contipides Newton gen. nov. (type species Contipus digitatus Marseul) for the 10 species that had remained in Contipus of authors; and new designation of Idolia laevigata Lewis as type species of Idolia Lewis. In Ptiliidae, Rodwayia ovata Lea is newly designated as type species of Rodwayia Lea, and Throscidium germainii Matthews is newly designated as type species of Throscidium Matthews. In Staphylinidae, Paramichrotus Naomi is resurrected as a valid subgenus of Hesperosoma Scheerpeltz with Hemihesperosoma Hayashi placed as a new synonym of it; Sonoma corticina Casey is reaffi rmed as the type species of Sonoma Casey in place of Faronus tolulae LeConte; Stanosthetus Dejean is recognized as an available name and junior synonym of Euplectus Kirby; Taplandria Pace (type species T. guyanensis Pace) is recognized as a junior homonym and new synonym of Taplandria Pace (type species T. fl ava Pace); and Termitobiella Wasmann is resurrected as the valid name for the genus Felda Blackwelder. Replacement names for preoccupied generic or subgeneric names include in Histeridae Bellatricides Newton nom. nov. for Pachylister (Bellatrix) Mazur, junior homonym of Bellatrix Boie; and in Staphylinidae Foxiides Newton nom. nov. for Foxia Pace, junior homonym of Foxia Ashmead, and Xenasterides Newton nom. nov. for Xenaster Bierig, junior homonym of Xenaster Simonwitsch. Taxonomic changes at the generic level in Staphylinidae include proposal of Prolibia Newton gen. nov. (type species Lispinus californicus LeConte) for four Nearctic species recently placed in Clavilispinus Bernhauer; placement of Heterotrochinus Coiffait and its synonym Heterotrochus Coiffait as new synonyms of Eulibia Cameron; placement of the generic or subgeneric names Chapmaniella Bernhauer, Glenothorax Bierig, Euryolinus Bernhauer and Plesiolinus Bernhauer as new synonyms of Platydracus Thomson; and transfer of the subgenus Poikilodracus Scheerpeltz from Staphylinus Linnaeus to Platydracus. First reviser actions are used to select Georissites Ponomarenko (Georissidae) as the correct original spelling over the alternate original spelling Georyssites, and Kyrtusa Pace (Staphylinidae) as correct original spelling over Kirtusa.
Several hundred nomenclatural and taxonomic changes at the species group level are briefl y summarized here but are too numerous to list completely. Replacement names for preoccupied species or subspecies names in current use are proposed in Histeridae (3), Hydrochidae (1), Hydrophilidae (1), Leiodidae (2), Ptiliidae (3) and Staphylinidae (180); an additional staphylinid replacement name, Phloeopora nilgiriensis, is newly proposed by G. Paśnik. New or resurrected combinations are proposed for either nomenclatural or taxonomic reasons in the following genera (with indication of how many names in each genus): in Histeridae, Contipides Newton (10); in Staphylinidae, Abemus Mulsant and Rey (4), Allotrochus Fagel (6), Atheta Thomson (1), Cheilocolpus Solier (4), Eulibia Cameron (4), Foxiides Newton (1), Lispinus Erichson (3), Loncovilius Germain (2), Nacaeus Blackwelder (119), Naddia Fauvel (1), Neohypnus Coiffait and Sáiz (8), Neolosus Blackwelder (1), Ocypus Leach (2), Ontholestes Ganglbauer (1), Platydracus Thomson (59), Prolibia Newton (4) Termitobiella Wasmann (10), Thyreocephalus Guérin-Méneville (4), Xenasterides Newton (1), and Zeoleusis Steel (3). First reviser actions are used to resolve the correct original spellings (of two or more original spellings) of two species of Hydraena Kugelann (Hydraenidae) and 21 species of Staphylinidae. Changes in priority or availability of names are cited to establish the following names as valid over one or more new synonyms each: Acrotrichis rotundata (Haldeman) and Acrotrichis glabricollides Newton sp. nov. in Ptiliidae, Nemadiopsis franki Perreau in Leiodidae, and Gyrophaena nigra Kraatz, Heterothops fumigatus LeConte, Loncovilius germaini (Scheerpeltz), Philonthus upotovus Newton, sp. nov., Stenus fulviventris Rougemont, and nine species of Homalota Mannerheim in Staphylinidae. Finally, the species Eleusis lata Coiffait and Eleusis microlestiformis Coiffait are noted as not belonging to the genus Eleusis Laporte de Castelnau or to Staphylinidae, and are transferred without generic assignment to the subfamily Inopeplinae of the family Salpingidae.
The tribe Zolini (Carabidae: Trechinae) is revised for New Zealand. Two subtribes, fi ve genera, and fortyeight species are recognized. The presence of the subtribe Merizodina is confi rmed for New Zealand; it includes three genera (Maungazolus n. gen., Pseudoopterus Csiki, 1928, and Synteratus Broun, 1909). The subtribe Zolina contains two genera (Oopterus Guérin-Méneville, 1841 and Zolus Sharp, 1886).
One genus and twenty-fi ve species are described as new: Maungazolus n. gen.; Maungazolus acutus n. sp., Maungazolus priestleyensisn. sp., Maungazolus ranatungaen. sp., Maungazolus septempunctatus n. sp., Maungazolus tararuaensisn. sp., Oopterus anglemensisn. sp., Oopterus arthurensisn. sp., Oopterus corvinki n. sp., Oopterus discoideus n. sp., Oopterus garnerae n. sp., Oopterus marrisin. sp., Oopterus mohiensis n. sp., Oopterus monticola n. sp., Oopterus nanus n. sp., Oopterus nunni n. sp., Oopterus palmai n. sp., Oopterus punctatus n. sp., Oopterus quadripunctatus n. sp., Oopterus taieriensis n. sp., Oopterus trechoides n. sp., Pseudoopterus fi ordlandensis n. sp., Pseudoopterus otiraensis n. sp., Zolus kauriensis n. sp., Zolus unisetosus n. sp., Zolus wongi n. sp.
Lectotypes are designated for Zolus helmsi Sharp, 1886 and Oopterus parvulus Broun, 1903.
Seven taxa are reinstated as valid genera and previous combinations: Zolus Sharp, 1886 and Pseudoopterus Csiki, 1928 (previously synonymized with Oopterus Guérin-Méneville,1841); Oopterus carinatus Broun, 1882 = Zolus carinatus (Broun, 1882); Oopterus helmsi (Sharp, 1886) = Zolus helmsi Sharp, 1886; Oopterus latipennis Broun, 1903 = Pseudoopterus latipennis (Broun, 1903); Oopterus plicaticollis Blanchard, 1843 = Pseudoopterus plicaticollis (Blanchard, 1843); Oopterus subopacus (Broun, 1915) = Zolus subopacus Broun, 1915.
Three new combinations are established: Oopterus pallidipes Broun, 1893 = Maungazolus pallidipes (Broun, 1893); Oopterus parvulus Broun, 1903 = Maungazolus parvulus (Broun, 1903); Oopterus pygmeatus Broun, 1907 = Maungazolus pygmeatus (Broun, 1907).
Eleven new synonymies are established: Oopterus basalis Broun, 1915 and Oopterus minor Broun, 1917 = Maungazolus pygmeatus (Broun, 1907); Oopterus nigritulus Broun, 1908 and Oopterus laevigatus Broun, 1912 = Oopterus sobrinus Broun, 1886; Oopterus sculpturatus ovinotatus Broun, 1908 = Oopterus sculpturatus Broun, 1908; Oopterus probus Broun, 1903 and Oopterus latifossus Broun, 1917 = Pseudoopterus latipennis (Broun, 1903); Oopterus puncticeps Broun, 1893 = Oopterus laevicollis Bates, 1871; Zolus atratus Broun, 1893 and Zolus femoralis Broun, 1894 = Zolus carinatus (Broun, 1882); Zolus labralis Broun, 1921 = Zolus helmsi Sharp, 1886.
A revision of all taxa is provided. Descriptions, identifi cation keys, illustrations of male genitalia, habitus photos, distributional data and maps are given. Extensive information on ecology, biology, dispersal power, and collecting techniques is included for each species.
Species of Hydrosmecta C. G. Thomson, occurring in eastern Canada, are studied and reviewed. Six species are recognized, and two of them are described as new to science. The new species are: Hydrosmecta canadensis Webster and Klimaszewski, new species, and Hydrosmecta minutissimoides Webster and Klimaszewski, new species. Two species described in the USA are recorded from Canada and New Brunswick for the first time: Hydrosmecta caduca Casey and Hydrosmecta dulcis Casey. New distribution and collection data, diagnoses, a key for species identification, and images of habitus and genital structures are provided. Hydrosmecta newfoundlandica Klimaszewski and Langor, 2011, is transferred to the genus Atheta Thomson based on morphology of genital structures.
This paper revises the genus Ganelius Benesh, which is endemic to Madagascar, in the stag beetle tribe Figulini Burmeister (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae). Species in the genus are striking in their highly sexually dimorphic mandibles, a character that rarely occurs in the tribe. The genus was previously comprised of four species, but three of these names were problematic or questionably applied. A lectotype is designated for G. madagascariensis Laporte, a neotype is designated for Ganelius oberndorferi Nonfried, and Nigidius passaliformis Benesh is newly synonymized with G. oberndorferi. Two new species, G. gnamptus Paulsen and G. zombi Paulsen, are described from western Madagascar. The identity of the overlooked Ganelius nageli (Kriesche) is fixed through a neotype designation, and the species is moved to the new genus Agnelius, which is distinguished from Ganelius by a lack of sexual dimorphism, serrate protibiae, and a more flattened body.
New genera and species of mimetic Cleridae from Mexico and Central America (Coleoptera: Cleroidea)
(2017)
New genera and species of putatively mimetic Cleridae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) are described from Mexico and Central America: Namba testacea, new genus and species from Nuevo León, Mexico; Aulicoides leavengoodi, new genus and species from Jalisco, Mexico; and Quadrophenia, new genus, which includes Q. townshendi, new species, from Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, Q. mooni, new species, from Costa Rica, Q. entwistlei, new species, from Guatemala and Honduras, Q. daltreyi, new species, from Costa Rica, and Q. sumidero new species, from Chiapas, Mexico. A key to the species of Quadrophenia is provided. All of the newly described species are hypothesized to be Batesian mimics of aposematically colored coleopteran models, some of which are known to be chemically protected.
A systematic redefinition of the species belonging to the genus Geomyphilus Gordon and Skelley, 2007 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae) of Mexico and neighboring countries is presented. The new species G. tuzincola of Mexico is described and figured. The new combination Coelotrachelus macgregori (Islas, 1955) is proposed.
Adesmus martinsi (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Hemilophini), a new species from Bolivia, is described, illustrated, and included in a previous key. The new species displays gender dimorphism in the pubescent pattern and in anatomical structure. Thus, Adesmus becomes the second genus recorded in the Hemilophini to have visual chromatic dimorphism.
A preliminary catalogue of the moths (Lepidoptera except Papilionoidea) of Tobago, West Indies
(2017)
This catalogue comprises records of 355 species of moths (non-papilionoid Lepidoptera) from Tobago, of which 15 are partially identified. Of this total, all except 17 (5%) are known from Trinidad, although not all these records from Trinidad are published yet. Of these 17, eleven are expected to occur in Trinidad as they also occur on the mainland of South America and two are only known from Tobago but will probably also occur in Trinidad. This leaves just four species (1% of the total) that are known from the Lesser Antilles and are currently not known from further south than Tobago. The families represented by the most species are Erebidae, Crambidae, Geometridae, Noctuidae and Sphingidae, which between them account for 73% of records. Taxonomic changes are made as follows. Podalia farmbri (Kaye, 1925) sp. rev. (Megalopygidae) is removed from the synonymy of P. nigrescens Schaus, 1905. Podalia walkeri Hopp, 1935 and P. dimidiata (Walker, 1865) are syn. nov. of P. farmbri Kaye, 1925. Renia bipunctata (Kaye, 1901) (Erebidae) is a comb. nov. for Zanclognatha bipunctata. Aristaria trinitalis Schaus, 1906 (Erebidae) is a syn. nov. of Renia bipunctata Kaye, 1901. Aglaonice deldonalis Walker, 1859 sp. rev. (Erebidae) is removed from the synonymy of A. hirtipalpis Walker, [1859]. Plusiodonta cupristria Kaye, 1923 (Erebidae) is a syn. nov. of Oraesia excitans Walker [1858]. Oroscopa abluta (Schaus, 1912) (Erebidae) is a comb. nov. for Freilla abluta Schaus, 1912, which is a new combination in common use, but not previously published. Ptichodis dorsalis (Fabricius, 1797) (Erebidae) is a comb. nov. for Noctua auct. dorsalis Fabricius, a new combination already in use, but not formally published. I endorse the unpublished conclusion of I.W.B. Nye that Ptichodis basilans (Guenée, 1852) is a syn. nov. of Ptichodis dorsalis (Fabricius, 1797). Ptichodis agrapta Hampson, 1913 is also a syn. nov. of Ptichodis dorsalis (Fabricius, 1797).
Se describe con medidas, dibujos e imágenes obtenidas con microscopio compuesto, una nueva especie de mosca blanca, Tetraleurodes dorsibandas Sánchez y Carapia sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) que se encontró alimentándose de Casimiroa edulis (Rutaceae) y Ehretia tinifolia (Boraginaceae) en Morelos y Oaxaca (México), respectivamente. La especie se diferencia de Tetraleurodes perileuca (Cockerell) por tener el raquis en forma de bandas, presentar estructuras en forma de mosaico irregular en la parte media de los segmentos abdominales y la presencia de setas cefálicas. Se proporciona una clave de las especies de México y se enlistan las especies del nuevo mundo.
Thirty-one species of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are reported from South Korea based upon monitoring surveys conducted from 2010 to 2016, along with a dichotomous key to separate them. Six species, Nipaecoccus nipae (Maskell), Palmicultor lumpurensis (Takahashi), Planococcus citri (Risso), Pseudococcus dendrobiorum Williams, Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni-Tozzetti), and Pseudococcus orchidicola Takahashi, known only to occur in greenhouses, are considered as adventive mealybug species to South Korea; of these, P. citri has already established in the exterior environment in South Korea.
New state records for 49 species of Eucnemidae (Coleoptera) are reported throughout the United States and a single species is newly reported from Utah. Diagnostic remarks are offered for Xylophilus crassicornis Muona and distributional observations are discussed for Dirrhagofarsus lewisi. The importance of retaining by-catch from statewide, regional, and national surveys for future studies is also discussed.
A statewide survey of Wisconsin’s Nemonychidae and Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) was conducted over one full (2012) and two partial (2011, 2013) fi eld seasons. Specimens were collected using a variety of techniques. Two species of the nemonychid genus Cimberis and 22 species of Anthribidae in 13 genera are now confi rmed. Generic and species-level keys for Wisconsin species are provided along with generic and species diagnoses. Species treatments also include a synonymy, a description, and information on natural history, phenology, distribution and collecting methods. Dorsal and lateral habitus images are also provided for most of the species.
Tragosoma soror (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae), a new Nearctic species, is described and compared to its North American congeners. Tragosoma harrisii LeConte, revised status, and Tragosoma spiculum Casey, revised status are both resurrected from synonymy and considered valid species distinct from T. depsarium (Linnaeus). The Mexican T. nigripenne Bates is confi rmed as a valid species. Tragosoma chiricahuae Linsley, new synonym, is placed in synonymy under T. spiculum Casey, and T. sodale Casey, new synonym, T. parvicolle Casey, new synonym, and T. repens Casey new synonym are placed in synonymy under T. harrisii. Tragosoma repens is a junior objective synonym of T. parvicolle. A lectotype is designated for T. sodale. An updated synonymical and distributional checklist of Tragosoma of the world is provided.
We propose a model for measuring the runtime of concurrent programs by the minimal number of evaluation steps. The focus of this paper are improvements, which are program transformations that improve this number in every context, where we distinguish between sequential and parallel improvements, for one or more processors, respectively. We apply the methods to CHF, a model of Concurrent Haskell extended by futures. The language CHF is a typed higher-order functional language with concurrent threads, monadic IO and MVars as synchronizing variables. We show that all deterministic reduction rules and 15 further program transformations are sequential and parallel improvements. We also show that introduction of deterministic parallelism is a parallel improvement, and its inverse a sequential improvement, provided it is applicable. This is a step towards more automated precomputation of concurrent programs during compile time, which is also formally proven to be correctly optimizing.
Der viersemestrige Master-Studiengang Biochemie leitet sich aus der langjährigen Tradition in biomolekularer Forschung und Lehre in der Frankfurter Forschungslandschaft her und ist stark forschungsorientiert.
Ziel des Studienganges ist es, fachliche Kenntnisse, Fähigkeiten und Methodenkompetenzen zu vermitteln, mit denen die Absolventen in die Lage versetzt werden, in einem forschungsbezogenem Kontext selbstständig zu arbeiten.
Inhaltlich erstreckt sich der Studiengang von zellulärer Biochemie über Strukturbiologie bis hin zur Biophysik/Biophysikalischen Chemie und ermöglicht den Studierenden die Setzung individueller Schwerpunkte. Für eine forschungsnahe Ausbildung auf hohem Niveau ist der Studiengang integral mit dem lokalen Forschungsumfeld verknüpft, was neben dem Heimatfachbereich Biochemie / Chemie / Pharmazie auch die Fachbereiche Physik, Biowissenschaften, Medizin als auch außeruniversitäre Institutionen wie das Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik und das Paul-Ehrlich-Institut involviert. Den besonderen Frankfurter Schwerpunkten Strukturbiologie und Membranproteinforschung wird im Studiengang Rechnung getragen.
Das Masterstudium am hochmodernen Life-Science Campus der Goethe-Universität bietet in einer einzigartigen Mischung aus Theorie und Praxis in Biochemie und Biophysikalischer Chemie das Rüstzeug für eine Karriere in der universitären sowie industriellen Umgebung. Die Beteiligung diverser Forschungsinstitute am Masterprogramm ermöglicht eine Spezialisierung in Immunologie, Tumorbiologie oder in Membranbiochemie. Die starke Vernetzung der Universität in nationale sowie internationale Forschungsverbünde gewährleistet den Studierenden einen engen Kontakt mit international führenden Wissenschaftlern und die Möglichkeit zu weltweiten Forschungsaufenthalten. ...
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a condition of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia), induced by physical activity or stress. Mutations in ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2), a Ca2+ release channel located in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), or calsequestrin 2 (CASQ2), a SR Ca2+ binding protein, are linked to CPVT. For specific drug development and to study distinct arrhythmias, simple models are required to implement and analyze such mutations. Here, we introduced CPVT inducing mutations into the pharynx of Caenorhabditis elegans, which we previously established as an optogenetically paced heart model. By electrophysiology and video-microscopy, we characterized mutations in csq-1 (CASQ2 homologue) and unc-68 (RyR2 homologue). csq-1 deletion impaired pharynx function and caused missed pumps during 3.7 Hz pacing. Deletion mutants of unc-68, and in particular the point mutant UNC-68(R4743C), analogous to the established human CPVT mutant RyR2(R4497C), were unable to follow 3.7 Hz pacing, with progressive defects during long stimulus trains. The pharynx either locked in pumping at half the pacing frequency or stopped pumping altogether, possibly due to UNC-68 leakiness and/or malfunctional SR Ca2+ homeostasis. Last, we could reverse this ‘worm arrhythmia’ by the benzothiazepine S107, establishing the nematode pharynx for studying specific CPVT mutations and for drug screening.
Background: Malaria remains one of the most serious infections for travellers to tropical countries. Due to the lack of harmonized guidelines a large variety of treatment regimens is used in Europe to treat severe malaria.
Methods: The European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health (TropNet) conducted an 8-year, multicentre, observational study to analyse epidemiology, treatment practices and outcomes of severe malaria in its member sites across Europe. Physicians at participating TropNet centres were asked to report pseudonymized retrospective data from all patients treated at their centre for microscopically confirmed severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria according to the 2006 WHO criteria.
Results: From 2006 to 2014 a total of 185 patients with severe malaria treated in 12 European countries were included. Three patients died, resulting in a 28-day survival rate of 98.4%. The majority of infections were acquired in West Africa (109/185, 59%). The proportion of patients treated with intravenous artesunate increased from 27% in 2006 to 60% in 2013. Altogether, 56 different combinations of intravenous and oral drugs were used across 28 study centres. The risk of acute renal failure (36 vs 17% p = 0.04) or cerebral malaria (54 vs 20%, p = 0.001) was significantly higher in patients ≥60 years than in younger patients. Respiratory distress with the need for mechanical ventilation was significantly associated with the risk of death in the study population (13 vs 0%, p = 0.001). Post-artemisinin delayed haemolysis was reported in 19/70 (27%) patients treated with intravenous artesunate.
Conclusion: The majority of patients with severe malaria in this study were tourists or migrants acquiring the infection in West Africa. Intravenous artesunate is increasingly used for treatment of severe malaria in many European treatment centres and can be given safely to European patients with severe malaria. Patients treated with intravenous artesunate should be followed up to detect and manage late haemolytic events.
Progressive neurodegenerative diseases plague millions of individuals both in the United States and across the world. The current pathology of progressive neurodegenerative tauopathies, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Pick’s disease, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and progressive supranuclear palsy, primarily revolves around phosphorylation and hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein. However, more recent evidence suggests acetylation of tau protein at lysine 280 may be a critical step in molecular pathology of these neurodegenerative diseases prior to the tau hyperphosphorylation. Secondary injury cascades such as oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and neuroinflammation contribute to lasting damage within the brain and can be induced by a number of different risk factors. These injury cascades funnel into a common pathway of early tau acetylation, which may serve as the catalyst for progressive degeneration. The post translational modification of tau can result in production of toxic oligomers, contributing to reduced solubility as well as aggregation and formation of neurofibrillary tangles, the hallmark of AD pathology. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), caused by repetitive brain trauma is also associated with a hyperphosphorylation of tau. We postulated acetylation of tau at lysine 280 in CTE disease could be present prior to the hyperphosphorylation and tested this hypothesis in CTE pathologic specimens. We also tested for ac-tau 280 in early stage Alzheimer’s disease (Braak stage 1). Histopathological examination using the ac tau 280 antibody was performed in three Alzheimer's cases and three CTE patients. Presence of ac-tau 280 was confirmed in all cases at early sites of disease manifestation. These findings suggest that tau acetylation may precede tau phosphorylation and could be the first "triggering" event leading to neuronal loss. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify acetylation of the tau protein in CTE. Prevention of tau acetylation could possibly serve as a novel target for stopping neurodegeneration before it fully begins. In this study, we highlight what is known about tau acetylation and neurodegeneration.
Online reading behavior can be regarded as a "new" form of cultural capital in today’s digital world. However, it is unclear whether "traditional" mechanisms of cultural and social reproduction are also found in this domain, and whether they manifest uniformly across countries at different stages of development. This article analyzes whether the early home literacy environment has an impact on informational online reading behavior among adolescents and whether this association varies between countries with different levels of digitalization and educational expansion. Data from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) were used for the empirical analyses. The results of regression models with country-fixed effects indicate a positive association between literacy activities in early childhood and informational online reading at age 15. This association was quite stable across countries. These findings are discussed in light of cultural and social reproduction theory and digital divide research.
The toolbox for imaging molecules is well-equipped today. Some techniques visualize the geometrical structure, others the electron density or electron orbitals. Molecules are many-body systems for which the correlation between the constituents is decisive and the spatial and the momentum distribution of one electron depends on those of the other electrons and the nuclei. Such correlations have escaped direct observation by imaging techniques so far. Here, we implement an imaging scheme which visualizes correlations between electrons by coincident detection of the reaction fragments after high energy photofragmentation. With this technique, we examine the H2 two-electron wave function in which electron–electron correlation beyond the mean-field level is prominent. We visualize the dependence of the wave function on the internuclear distance. High energy photoelectrons are shown to be a powerful tool for molecular imaging. Our study paves the way for future time resolved correlation imaging at FELs and laser based X-ray sources.
The cardiovascular system (CVS) consists of heart and blood vessels, forming a close circulatory loop. All tissues depend on the nutrients and molecular oxygen (O2) delivered by the blood. Therefore, it is not surprising that the CVS is one of the first working systems and the heart is the first functional organ in the forming embryo (Baldwin 1996). The building blocks of blood vessels are endothelial cells (ECs), which form the endothelium, a specialized epithelium that defines the luminal surface of the vessels (Pugsley and Tabrizchi 2000). The process of blood vessel development comprises several steps. The first events occurring are the formation of new vessels de novo to constitute the primary vascular loop known as vasculogenesis. During vasculogenesis the vascular precursors, known as angioblasts, migrate and coalesce to form the axial vessels. Subsequently, the main vessels undergo a specification step where they acquire either arterial or venous identity. As the embryo increases in size, the main vascular loop needs to increase in complexity. In order to reach all the different parts of the developing organs, new blood vessels are formed from pre-existing ones, a phenomenon known as angiogenesis (Gore et al. 2012).
Mature blood cells have a short lifespan. Therefore, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are required throughout lifetime to constantly form new blood cells in a process called hematopoiesis. Interestingly, endothelial and immune cells development have been shown to converge at different points during their development, one of which is developmental hematopoiesis. During embryogenesis, definitive hematopoiesis occurs in a tissue called hemogenic endothelium (HE), a specialized subset of ECs at the ventral wall of the dorsal aorta (DA). HE acquires hematopoietic potentials and gives rise to HSCs, through a process known as endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT). During EHT, these specialized ECs extrude from DA and colonize the so-called aorta-gonadmesonephros (AGM) region, forming the native HSCs (Paik and Zon 2010).
As vascular development requires different steps, the molecular pathways involved are many. The Notch signaling pathway has been demonstrated to be one of the main players in vascular development. Among other functions, Notch signaling has been shown to be important during EHT. In the murine model, Runx1, a master regulator of HSC formation, has been shown to be transcriptionally regulated by NOTCH1 through GATA2 activation. This observation was later corroborated by knockdown studies for notch1a and notch1b in zebrafish (Butko, Pouget, and Traver 2016). Another essential pathway for vascular development is the HIF pathway. Hif-1α, Hif-1β and Hif-2α mouse mutants show severe vascular defects that result in early embryonic lethality (Simon and Keith 2008), which hinders a deep analysis of the phenotypes incurring in the mutant embryos. In addition, deletion of Hif-1α specifically in myeloid cells showed abnormalities in the motility, invasiveness, and adhesion of macrophages (Cramer et al. 2003). Intriguingly, Hif-1α deletion in vascular endothelial cadherin-expressing cells led to a significant but partial reduction of HSC number, suggesting that other players may be involved in this pathway (Imanirad et al. 2014).
Zebrafish embryos have been shown to be tolerant to hypoxia at very early stages of development (Padilla and Roth 2001). Also, zebrafish embryos develop externally and this allows to finely manipulate the environment where they grow (Lieschke and Currie 2007). These features make zebrafish an ideal model to investigate how hypoxia and Hif transcription factors affect vertebrate vascular development. In this study, I will examine the impact of hypoxia on zebrafish vascular development. Specifically, I will dissect the role of hif-1α in macrophage-EC interactions during vascular development and repair. Moreover, I show redundant functions for hif-1α and hif-2α in HSC development upstream of Notch signaling.
The ALICE High-Level-Trigger (HLT) is a large scale computing farm designed and constructed for the purpose of the realtime reconstruction of particle interactions (events) inside the ALICE detector. The reconstruction of such events is based on the raw data produced in collisions inside the ALICE at the Large Hadron Collider. The online reconstruction in the HLT allows the triggering on certain event topologies and a significant data reduction by applying compression algorithms. Moreover, it enables a real-time verification of the quality of the data.
To receive the raw data from the various sub-detectors of ALICE, the HLT is equipped with 226 custom built FPGA-based PCI-X cards, the H-RORCs. The H-RORC interfaces the detector readout electronics to the nodes of the HLT farm. In addition to the transfer of raw data, 108 H-RORCs host 216 Fast-Cluster-Finder (FCF) processors for the Time-Projection-Chamber (TPC). The TPC is the main tracking detector of ALICE and contributes with up to 16 GB/s to over 90% of the overall data volume. The FCF processor implements the first of two steps in the data reconstruction of the TPC. It calculates the space points and their properties from charge clouds (clusters) created by charged particles traversing the TPCs gas volume. Those space points are not only the base for the tracking algorithm, but also allow for a Huffman-based data compression, which reduces the data volume by a factor of 4 to 6.
The FCF processor is designed to cope with any incoming data rate up to the maximum bandwidth of the incoming optical link (160 MB/s) without creating back-pressure to the detectors readout electronics. A performance comparison with the software implementation of the algorithm shows a speedup factor of about 20 compared with one AMD Opteron 6172 Core @ 2.1 GHz, the CPU type used in the HLT during the LHC Run1 campaign. Comparison with an Intel E5-2690 Core @ 3.0 GHz, the CPU type used by the HLT for the LHC Run2 campaign, results in a speedup factor of 8.5. In total numbers, the 216 FCF processors provide the computing performance of 4255 AMD Opteron cores or 2203 Intel cores of the previously mentioned type. The performance of the reconstruction with respect to the physics analysis is equivalent or better than the official ALICE Offline clusterizer. Therefore, ALICE data taking was switched in 2011 to FCF cluster recording and compression only, discarding the raw data from the TPC. Due to the capability to compress the clusters, the recorded data volume could be increased by a factor of 4 to 6.
For the LHC Run3 campaign, starting in 2020, the FCF builds the foundation of the ALICE data taking and processing strategy. The raw data volume (before processing) of the upgraded TPC will exceed 3 TB/s. As a consequence, online processing of the raw data and compression of the results before it enters the online computing farms is an essential and crucial part of the computing model.
Within the scope of this thesis, the H-RORC card and the FCF processor were developed and built from scratch. It covers the conceptual design, the optimisation and implementation, as well as the verification. It is completed by performance benchmarks and experiences from real data taking.
Secretins form multimeric channels across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria that mediate the import or export of substrates and/or extrusion of type IV pili. The secretin complex of Thermus thermophilus is an oligomer of the 757-residue PilQ protein, essential for DNA uptake and pilus extrusion. Here, we present the cryo-EM structure of this bifunctional complex at a resolution of ~7 Å using a new reconstruction protocol. Thirteen protomers form a large periplasmic domain of six stacked rings and a secretin domain in the outer membrane. A homology model of the PilQ protein was fitted into the cryo-EM map. A crown-like structure outside the outer membrane capping the secretin was found not to be part of PilQ. Mutations in the secretin domain disrupted the crown and abolished DNA uptake, suggesting a central role of the crown in natural transformation.
Studentische Lehrevaluationsergebnisse sind ein weit verbreitetes Maß, um die Qualität universitärer Lehre zu erfassen. Diese Ergebnisse werden unter anderem dafür genutzt, Entscheidungen für die Modifikation des Lehrangebots zu treffen oder die Vergabe der Leistungsorientieren Mittelvergabe mitzubestimmen. Aufgrund dieser relevanten Folgen wird in dieser Arbeit der Frage nachgegangen, wie ein angemessener Validierungsprozess bezüglich studentischer Lehrevaluationsergebnisse gestaltet werden könnte.
Bisherige Validierungsstudien zu studentischen Lehrevaluationsinventaren fokussierten sich meist auf die Überprüfung verschiedener Validitätsarten (inhaltsbezogene, kriteriumsbezogene oder faktorielle) und die Erfassung der Messfehlerfreiheit.
Allerdings ist zum einen zu hinterfragen, ob diese Ansätze grundsätzlich für alle Inventare geeignet sind. Weiterhin hat sich das Verständnis von dem verändert, was unter Validität verstanden wird: Von der Annahme von Validität als Testeigenschaft, verschiedener Validitätsarten und binärer Aussagen auf Basis von Einzelbefunden hin zu dem Verständnis von Validität bezogen auf die Testwert-Interpretation und Verwendung, zu einem einheitlichen Validitätskonzept und zu einer Validitäts-Argumentation. Diese Veränderungen werden in den neueren argumentationsbasierten Validitätsansätzen berücksichtigt und bieten einen Rahmen, der auf die jeweilige Intention ausgerichtet ist, einen Test oder Fragebogen einzusetzen.
Auf Grundlage dieser argumentationsbasierten Ansätze wird in dieser Arbeit die Interpretation studentischer Lehrevaluationsergebnisse überprüft, die als das Ausmaß an qualitätsbezogener Zufriedenheit der Teilnehmer mit der Durchführung einer Lehrveranstaltung und der Vermittlung von Lehrinhalten angesehen werden. Der Validierungsprozess wird anhand der Lehrevaluationsdaten des Frankfurter Promotionskollegs am Fachbereich Medizin dargestellt. Dieser Prozess bestätigte weitgehend die beabsichtigte Interpretation, zeigte aber auch eine zumindest teilweise Revision des Inventars und eine weitere Überprüfung an. Eine Validierung bezüglich der Verwendung der Lehrevaluationsergebnisse sowie der auf diesen basierenden beabsichtigten Konsequenzen wird in einer Folgestudie überprüft.
Anhand dieser Arbeit wird Anwendern und Entwicklern von Lehrevaluationsinventaren eine Her- und Anleitung für den Validierungsprozess gegeben und die Vorteile argumentationsbasierter Ansätze aufgezeigt.
Einleitung: Die Intention dieser Arbeit war es zu evaluieren, ob das Prüfungsformat eines OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Examination), durchgeführt im Fach Zahnerhaltungskunde (6. Fachsemester), Aussagen über den Studienerfolg im praktischen Teil des Staatsexamens (11. Fachsemester) im selben Fach zu treffen erlaubt. Ferner sollte unter Berücksichtigung allgemeiner Angaben der StudienteilnehmerInnen (Abitursnote, Physikumsnote, Studiendauer, Kohorte und Geschlecht) analysiert werden, ob bezüglich der Gesamt- sowie Teilnoten des OSPE und der Staatsexamensprüfung im Fach Zahnerhaltungskunde Zusammenhänge oder Unterschiede bestehen.
Methoden: Im Rahmen dieser longitudinalen, retrospektiven Studie wurden über einen Zeitraum von 11 Semestern prüfungsbezogene Daten von Studierenden (N = 223) des Fachbereichs Zahnmedizin in Frankfurt am Main erhoben und untersucht. Ferner wurden persönliche Angaben der Studienteilnehmer zu Alter, Geschlecht, Abitursnote, Physikumsnote und Studiendauer evaluiert sowie eine Zuordnung zu Kohorten vorgenommen. Für die statistische Auswertung der Daten wurden Spearman Rangkorrelationen, Partialkorrelationen, Korrelationskoeffizienten nach Pearson, und Multiple Regressionen (SPSS Statistics 21, IBM Corporation, New York) berechnet.
Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Durchführung einer OSPE (Cronbachs α = .87) mit dem Erfolg im praktischen Teil des Staatsexamens im Fach Zahnerhaltungskunde korreliert (p = .01, r = .17). Als eine weitere signifikante Korrelation mit der Examensleistung erwies sich die Dauer des Studiums (p = .001, r = .23). Gemeinsam vermögen diese beiden Variablen einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Vorhersage der Examensnote (p = .001, R2 = .076) zu leisten. Das zeigte sich im größeren Umfang bei weiblichen Studierenden. Zudem wurde festgestellt, dass diese bessere Abitursnoten als männliche Studierende aufweisen (F = 6.09, p = .01, η² = .027) und dass es nur bei männlichen Studierenden eine signifikante Korrelation zwischen der Physikumsnote (Zahnärztliche Vorprüfung) und der OSPE-Benotung gab (r = .17, p = .01).
Schlussfolgerung: In der vorliegenden Untersuchung konnte der prädiktive Effekt eines durchgeführten klinischen OSPE auf die Prüfungsleistung im Staatsexamen nachgewiesen werden. Unter Berücksichtigung der Limitation der Studie empfiehlt sich aus unserer Sicht die Durchführung eines solchen Prüfungsformats im Rahmen des klinischen Studienabschnitts im 6. Semester im Fach Zahnmedizin.
Deciphering the ecological functions of fungal root endophytes based on their natural occurrence
(2017)
Plants are colonized by a large diversity of fungi, some residing on the surface and others penetrating the plant tissues, the latter referred to as fungal endophytes (endon Gr., within; phyton, plant; de Bary 1879). Despite the saprotrophic potential of fungal endophytes, they are not found to cause visible disease symptoms to the host. Plants are colonized simultaneously by various fungal species, which form rich and diverse endophytic assemblages. Although it is hypothesized that fungal endophytes contribute to the fitness of their hosts and to the functioning of ecosystems, the ecological function of fungal endophytic assemblages remains cryptic. The aims of this doctoral thesis are to gain insight to the ecological functions of root fungal endophytes, by deciphering their roles in ecosystems based on their natural occurrence and the structure of their assemblages. The thesis focuses on studying the diversity and structure of the endophytic mycobiome within roots of two annual and widespread plant hosts Microthlapsi perfoliatum and M. erraticum (Brassicaceae) in several locations across northern Mediterranean and central Europe. The thesis is composed by six Chapters, with a primary focus on Chapter 1, 2 and 3.
Chapter 1 (Glynou et al., 2016) aimed at characterizing the diversity of fungal endophytes in roots at a continental scale and at assessing the factors affecting the structure of endophytic assemblages with the use of cultivation-based methods. For that, root samples were collected from 52 plant populations, along with a collection of soil, bioclimatic, geographic and host data. Cultivation of surface-sterilized root samples on culture media and isolation of fungal colonies in pure culture generated 1,998 fungal colonies. Grouping of sequences into Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), based on the 97% similarity of the isolates’ rDNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequence, generated in total 296 OTUs, representing taxa mostly within the phylum Ascomycota with a minor representation of Basidiomycota. Endophytic assemblages were mostly correlated with variation in bioclimatic conditions. Interestingly, despite the large diversity revealed, the assemblages were dominated by only six OTUs related to the orders Hypocreales, Pleosporales and Helotiales, which had a widespread distribution across populations but with some following patterns of ecological preferences.
Chapter 2 aimed at characterizing the uncultivable fraction of the root fungal endophytic diversity, which was not possible to capture in Chapter 1. High-throughput sequencing via the
Illumina Miseq platform was implemented in 43 of the 52 original populations and mostly in the same root samples. In comparison with the cultivation-based approach, the HTS managed to cover the overall diversity within samples. It revealed a large non-cultivated endophytic diversity but the same cultivable fungi dominated assemblages. Moreover, the endophytic diversity was grouped mostly within fungal orders with demonstrated ability to grow in culture and taxonomically related groups were found to have divergent ecological preferences.
The genetic identity of the most abundant OTUs was further investigated in Chapter 3 (Glynou et al., 2017), aiming to unravel genotypic variability, which was possibly overlooked due to the use of lTS, as a universal genetic marker, and could explain their high abundance and widespread distribution. Multi-locus gene sequencing and AFLP profiling for the five most abundant OTUs suggested a low within-OTU genetic variability and show that these fungi have ubiquitous distribution and are not limited by environmental conditions within the ecological ranges of the study. A selection of endophytes frequently isolated in Chapter 1 was functionally characterized in Chapter 4 (Kia et al., 2017) based on the isolates’ traits and interactions with plants. In Chapter 5 (Cheikh-Ali et al., 2015) fungal cultures of Exophiala sp. with differential colony structure where investigated for their production of secondary metabolites. Moreover, Chapter 6 (Maciá-Vicente et al., 2016) comprises the description of the new species Exophiala radicis based on morphological and molecular characteristics.
Compilation of all results shows that the fungal endophytic diversity in roots of Microthlaspi spp. is high but few widespread OTUs dominate the assemblages, and have unlimited dispersal ability. These fungi seem also to have a wide niche breadth and are not affected by environmental filtering. The findings indicate that the local environment but also processes of competitive exclusion determine the structure of endophytic assemblages. In addition, the fungal endophytes associated with Microthlapsi spp. likely have saprotrophic activity however the interactions with plants are likely context-dependent. Further research is needed to assess the biotic interactions among endophytes and their effect on the structure of fungal endophytic assemblages. Ultimately, the findings of this thesis are useful to shed light on the processes underlying the structure of endophytic assemblages. They also upraise the need to describe diversity by combining genetic, metabolic and physiological data, in order to disentangle the elusive ecological roles of the endophytic mycobiome.
Patients who undergo endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms (EVAR) require life-long surveillance because complications including, in particular, endoleaks, aneurysm rupture, and graft dislocation are diagnosed in a certain share of the patient population and may occur at any time after the original procedure. Radiation exposure in patients undergoing EVAR and post-EVAR surveillance has been investigated by previous authors. Arriving at realistic exposure data is essential because radiation doses resulting from CT were shown to be not irrelevant. Efforts directed at identification of factors impacting the level of radiation exposure in both the course of the EVAR procedure and post-EVAR endovascular interventions and CTAs are warranted as potentially modifiable factors may offer opportunities to reduce the radiation. In the light of the risks found to be associated with radiation exposure and considering the findings above, those involved in EVAR and post-EVAR surveillance should aim at optimal dose management.
We have determined the crystal structures of two decachlorocyclopentasilanes, namely bis(tetra-n-butylammonium) dichloride decachlorocyclopentasilane dichloromethane disolvate, 2C16H36N+·2Cl−·Si5Cl10·2CH2Cl2, (I), and bis(tetraethylammonium) dichloride decachlorocyclopentasilane dichloromethane disolvate, 2C8H20N+·2Cl−·Si5Cl10·2CH2Cl2, (II), both of which crystallize with discrete cations, anions, and solvent molecules. In (I), the complete decachlorocyclopentasilane ring is generated by a crystallographic twofold rotation axis. In (II), one cation is located on a general position and the other two are disordered about centres of inversion. These are the first structures featuring the structural motif of a five-membered cyclopentasilane ring coordinated from both sides by a chloride ion. The extended structures of (I) and (II) feature numerous C—H⋯Cl interactions. In (II), the N atoms are located on centres of inversion and as a result, the ethylene chains are disordered over equally occupied orientations.
Status and restoration potential of heathlands and sand grasslands in the southwest of Luxembourg
(2017)
In Europe, semi-natural nutrient-poor ecosystems such as sand grasslands and heathlands have shown extreme declines in surface area and species richness within the last century. The remaining sites are hence of high conservation value. This study analysed the vascular plant species inventory of established and recently restored heathlands and sand grasslands in the southwest of Luxembourg. Analyses to explain differences in vegetation composition between “old” (remnant sites or sites restored a long time ago) and “new” (recently restored) sites in relation to environmental variables were carried out with DCAs and ANOVA/Mann-Whitney-U tests, respectively. The vegetation of old heathlands had few character species of typical heathland communities (Calluno-Ulicetea, Nardetalia), whereas new heathland sites were preponderantly marked by taxa of meso- or eutrophic grasslands and ruderal communities. New heathland sites mainly differed from old sites by higher soil phosphorus contents. Sand grassland vegetation was species-rich and composed by species of the Sedo-Scleranthetea and Festuco-Brometea. With increasing age of the sites, vegetation composition shifted to grass dominance with species of the Molinio-Arrhenateretea. New sand grasslands differed from old sand grasslands by higher soil pH, higher soil potassium content and lower graminoid cover. The differences between new and old sites of both habitat types could mainly be explained by successional processes or were a result of topsoil removal. In some cases, former anthropogenic impact at or in close proximity of restored sites resulted in unsuitable conditions, such as alkaline soil on former landfill sites or highly eutrophic soil due to intensive agriculture. Future management options for the study sites are discussed.
This study describes the vascular flora and community structure of grasslands occurring on heaps of waste rock left by former Zn-Pb mining in relation to the metal content in the soil and other environmental factors. The study was performed on 65 heaps scattered in agricultural land in southern Poland. The sites were described in terms of plant community characteristics, soil physicochemical properties, distance from woodland, altitude and local climate. The number of plant species and proportion of species of the Festuco-Brometea class decreased with increasing heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Zn) content in the soil, and increased with Ca content and pH of the soil. There was a negative relationship between the proportion of the later successional species and heavy metal content in the soil and a positive relationship between plants connected with the earlier stages of succession and metals. Floristic composition was also affected by distance from woodland and height above sea level. The investigated heaps were primarily colonised by native species dispersed by wind, characterised as competitive stresstolerant, ruderal and competitive strategy species. Three types of Carlino acaulis-Brometum erecti (CB) communities were distinguished: CB typicum – dominated by Brachypodium pinnatum, with the highest proportion of calcareous grassland species, CB festucetosum ovinae subass. nova – loose grassland with abundant facultative metallophytes, and the CB rubietosum caesi subass. nova with nutrientdemanding ruderal and woody plants invading from the nearby forest communities. The three subassociations represent different successional stages of Carlino acaulis-Brometum erecti, strongly dependent on both the substrate and spatial relations. The proportions of species traits, especially a high occurrence of endangered species and a very low proportion of alien species show that the post-mining habitats studied have a similar degree of ‘naturalness’ as valuable xerothermic grasslands on nonmetalliferous habitats. They thus may be considered as valuable objects for the protection of plant diversity.
This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the results of phytocoenological research into Alnus incana forests from the alliance Alnion incanae in the Dinarides. Stands from the south-eastern Dinarides (Alnetum incanae = Oxali-Alnetum incanae) were analyzed and compared with those from the north-western Dinarides (Lamio orvalae-Alnetum incanae). The comparison reveals significant differences in the floristic composition and in the degree of differentiation – and particularly in the presence of the species of the Illyrian floristic geoelement. Focus was placed on the area of western Croatia where a geographic variant of Helleborus dumetorum had previously been defined within the association Lamio orvalae-Alnetum incanae. Two of its subtypes, Salix alba and Alnus glutinosa, were determined in our research. The former subtype thrives on occasionally flooded, moist sites, where the floristic composition is dominated by hygrophytes. The latter subtype grows on elevated and drier terraces and is richer in mesophilous species from the surrounding zonal forests. A floristic-sociological comparison of the Lamio orvalae-Alnetum incanae with the related syntaxa indicates the presence of about fourty diagnostic species which accentuate its independence and the need to assess it at the level of an independent, regional association within the alliance Alnion incanae.
The aim of our study was to reveal the differences in the species composition and soil properties of open sandy grasslands dominated by different Festuca species, Festuca vaginata and F. pseudovaginata. Due to the arid conditions, sandy grasslands are generally covered by xerothermic vegetation in which F. vaginata is a typical dominant species. Festuca pseudovaginata, a species newly described by the authors, can also gain dominance in sandy grasslands. However, species composition and soil properties of grasslands dominated by this recently discovered species are still undiscovered. Based on previous coenological studies, we hypothesised that the grasslands characterised by the endemic F. vaginata are more species-rich than those with F.pseudovaginata.
Coenological sampling was carried out in May 2009 at two study sites using the Braun-Blanquet method in quadrats of 2 m × 2 m. Five relevés were sampled in stands dominated by F. vaginata and F. pseudovaginata respectively at two study sites in Central Hungary, resulting in a total of twenty relevés. Analyses were based on the cover scores of vascular plant species and cryptogam crust and values of seven soil properties (pH [KCl], pH [H2O], humus, total N, Ca, P2O5 and K2O) measured in the 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil layers. Soil properties of the grasslands dominated by F. pseudovaginata and F. vaginata (dependent variables) were compared by linear mixed models, where ‘grassland type’ was the fixed factor and ‘site nested in grassland type’ was considered as random factor. Data were analysed by cluster analysis, fusion algorithm was a combinatorial method (minimising increase of variance), and the correlation was used as comparative function. We compared the cover of subordinate species by Mann-Whitney U test. We found that F. pseudovaginata and F. vaginata samples were well separated, and grasslands dominated by F. pseudovaginata had nearly two times more species than those dominated by F. vaginata. Based on the cluster analyses using plant cover and upper 0–15 cm soil layer data, F. pseudovaginata and F. vaginata groups could be well separated. Linear mixed models revealed that F. vaginata grasslands were typical on soils with higher pH, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium contents compared to F. pseudovaginata grasslands, which indicates a tight connection between the properties of the upper soil layer and the vegetation in sandy grasslands.
Bromus racemosus L. is a rather rare grass species of moist meadows. It has strongly decreased in the course of the 20th century due to intensification of agricultural grassland management, and is therefore included in Red Lists of several European countries. Its winter annual life-cycle is remarkable for a species of permanent grasslands.
The aim of this study is to determine the habitat preference and optimal management of B. racemosus in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. Vegetation, soil and hydrological data from 28 sites in the Netherlands have been compared with B. racemosus cover, and with vegetation data from surrounding countries. The results indicate that B. racemosus is characteristic of Molinio-Arrhenatheretea meadows with good mineralisation and aftermath grazing. The optimum lies in grasslands of the alliance Alopecurion pratensis (Deschampsion cespitosae), but the species ranges from wetter Calthion palustris meadows to drier Arrhenatherion elatioris and Cynosurion cristati grasslands. It prefers intermediate nutrient levels and hydrological conditions (mesic sites), but within this range the highest cover is found in relatively nutrient rich and dry sites. Because of the absence of a seedbank and a low dispersal capability, B. racemosus is vulnerable to changes in grassland management. A management of mowing after 15 June and aftermath grazing is most suitable, since it enables fruit ripening and the maintenance of an open sward, needed for germination and development. The risk of extinction is likely to be higher in flat polders than in floodplain sites with natural relief, where the species may shift between belts in different years.
Vegetation patterns of floodplain forests are highly variable across different habitats in European regions. Their plant communities have been well described from the phytosociological point of view, but plant species richness and composition patterns and their underlying environmental factors are still insufficiently known. Sixty-one vegetation plots of black alder-dominated floodplain forests were sampled in central Slovakia in order to find main environmental predictors affecting floristic diversity of their vegetation. For each vegetation plot with a constant size (400m2), vascular plant species and a set of topographic, climatic, soil physical and chemical characteristics were recorded. A generalized linear model was applied to explain relevance of environmental factors on changes of species richness, whereas the relationship between species composition and explanatory variables was tested using ordination methods. Main gradients of species compositional variation were soil moisture, light, elevation and soil chemistry-related variables. Vascular species richness of plots varied between 19 and 59 (mean 38). Herb-layer species richness was positively related to the soil pH, stream power index and negatively to the concentration of soil iron. These linear trends were accompanied by a hump-shaped response to sand content and a U-shaped response to elevation.
Bacteria are highly organized organisms which are able to adapt to and propagate under a multitude of environmental conditions. Propagation hereby requires reliable chromosome replication and segregation which has to occur cooperatively with other cellular processes such as transcription, translation or signaling. Several mechanisms were proposed for segregation of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) chromosome, for example a mitotic-like active segregation model or entropy-based passive chromosome segregation. Another segregation model suggests coupled transcription, translation and insertion of membrane proteins (termed "transertion"), which links the replicating chromosome (nucleoid) to the growing cell cylinder.
Fluorescence microscopy was widely used to provide evidence for a distinct segregation model. However, the dynamic nature of bacterial chromosomes, the small bacterial size and the optical resolution limit of ~ 200-300 nm impair unveiling the underlying mechanisms. With the emergence of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy techniques and advanced labeling methods, a new toolbox became available enabling scientists to visualize biomolecules and cellular processes in unprecedented detail. Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) represents a set of super-resolution microscopy techniques which relies on the temporal separation of the fluorescence signal and detection of single fluorophores. Separation can be achieved using photoactivatable or -convertible fluorescent proteins (FPs) in photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM), photoswitchable organic dyes in direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) or dynamically binding fluorescent probes in point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (PAINT). In all these techniques, the fluorescence emission pattern of single fluorophores is spatially localized with nanometer-precision. An artificial image is finally reconstructed from the coordinates of all single fluorophores detected. This provides a spatial resolution of ~ 20 nm, which is perfectly suited to investigate cellular processes in bacteria. In this thesis, different SMLM techniques were applied to study fundamental processes in E. coli. This includes determination of protein copy numbers and distributions as well as the nanoscale organization of nucleic acids and lipids.
A novel labeling approach was applied and used for super-resolution imaging of the E. coli nucleoid. It is based on the incorporation of the modified thymidine analogue 5-ethynyl-2’- deoxyuridine (EdU) into the replicating chromosome. Azide-functionalized organic fluorophores can be covalently attached to the ethynyl group of incorporated EdU bases using a copper-catalyzed "click chemistry" reaction. Under the investigated growth condition, E. coli cells exhibited overlapping replication cycles, which is commonly referred to as multi-fork replication and enables cells to divide faster than they can replicate the entire chromosome. dSTORM imaging of such labeled nucleoids revealed chromosome features with diameters of 50 - 200 nm, representing highly condensed DNA filaments. Sorting single E. coli cells by length allowed visualizing structural changes of the nucleoid throughout the cell cycle. Replicating nucleoids segregated and expanded along the bacterial long axis, while constantly covering the entire width of the cell. Measuring cell and nucleoid length revealed a relative nucleoid expansion rate of 78 ± 6 %. At the same time, nucleoids populated 63 ± 8 % of the cell length, almost exclusively being localized to the cylindrical part of the cell. This value was hence normalized to the cylindrical fraction of the cell, yielding a value of 79 ± 10 % (nucleoid-populated fraction of the cell cylinder), which is in good agreement with the observed relative nucleoid expansion rate. These results therefore support a growth-mediated segregation model, in which the chromosome is anchored to the inner membrane and passively segregated into the prospective daughter cells upon cell growth. 3-dimensional dSTORM imaging of labeled nucleoids confirmed that compacted nucleoids helically wrap along the inner membrane. Similar results were obtained by imaging orthogonally aligned E. coli cells using a holographic optical tweezer approach.
In order to visualize particular proteins together with the nucleoid, several correlative imaging workflows were established, facilitating multi-color SMLM imaging in single E. coli cells. These workflows bypass prior limitations of SMLM, including destruction of FPs by reactive oxygen species in copper-catalyzed click reactions or incompatibility of PALM imaging with dSTORM imaging buffers. A sequential SMLM imaging routine was developed which is based on postlabeling and retrieval of previously imaged cells. Optimal imaging conditions can be maintained for each fluorophore, enabling to extract quantitative information from PALM measurements while correlating the protein distribution to the nucleoid ultrastructure within the highly resolved cell envelope. Applying this workflow to an E. coli strain carrying a chromosomal rpoC - photoactivatable mCherry (PAmCh) fusion, transcribing RNA polymerase (RNAP) was found to be localized on the surface of nucleoids, where active genes are exposed towards the cytosol. During growth in nutrient-rich medium, the majority of RNAP molecules was bound to the chromosome, thus ensuring that the RNAP pool is equally distributed to the daughter cells upon cell division. This work represented the first triple-color SMLM study performed in E. coli cells. ...
The East African Rift System (EARS) was initiated in the Eocene epoch between 50 and 21 Ma probably due to the influence of mantle plumes that caused volcanism, flood basalts and rifting extensions in Ethiopa and the Afar region. As a result of magmatic intrusions and adiabatic decompression melting within the lithosphere caused by the impact of the Kenya plume, there was a southward propagation of the EARS of about 30 – 15 Ma from Ethiopia to Kenya, which coincide with the occurrence of volcanism. The EARS developed towards the south along the margins of the Tanzania Craton between 15 and 8 Ma. Previous findings of low-velocity anomalies within the upper mantle and the mantle transition zone indicate an upwelling of hot mantle material in the vicinity of the Afar region and the East African Rift. This study includes the analysis of P- and S-receiver functions in order to determine further impacts on the lithosphere from below. The aim was to determine the topographic undulations of further boundary layers and to identify their variability owing to the rifting processes and the formation of the EARS. The study area included the Tanzania Craton and the surrounding rift branches of the East African Rift System.
The region of the Rwenzori Mountains can be analysed in detail because of the large dataset of the RiftLink project. The use of the P-receiver function technique and the H-K stacking method enabled to determine different vP /vS ratios depending on the tectonic setting in the Rwenzori region: Rift shoulders (vP /vS =1.74), Albert Rift segment (vP /vS =1.80), Edward Rift segment (vP /vS =1.87) and Rwenzori Mountains (vP /vS =1.86). To determine the topography of the Moho, it is necessary to take into account the thickness of the sedimentary layer, the surface topography, the azimuthal variations in crustal thickness and the impact of local anomalies. After correcting these effects on the Moho depths, significant variations in Moho topography could be determined. The Moho depths range from 29 to 39 km beneath the rift shoulders of the Albertine Rift. Within the rift valley, the crustal thickness varies between 25 – 31 km in the Edward Rift segment and 22 – 30 km in the Albert Rift segment. An averaged crustal thickness of about 26 km within the rift valley indicates the lack of the crustal root beneath the Rwenzoris. Similar variations in crustal thickness were determined by using an automatic procedure for analysing S-receiver functions that was developed in this study.
The S-receiver functions are created by applying a rotation criterion in order to rotate the Z, N and E components into the L, Q and T components. It is necessary to perform trial rotations using different incident and azimuth angles to determine the correct rotation angles. The latter are identified by the use of the rotation criterion, including the amplitude ratio of the converted Moho signal to the direct S/SKS-wave signal. The L component is rotated correctly in the direction of the incident shear wave in the case of the maximum amplitude ratio. After analysing the frequency content of the receiver functions in order to sort out harmonic and long-periodic traces, the individual Moho signals are checked for consistency in order to remove atypic signals. To increase the signal-to-noise ratios on the traces, the S-receiver functions are stacked. For this purpose, the signals of the direct shear waves must originate from similar epicenters. On the basis of similar ray paths, the receiver functions show comparable waveforms and converted signals. To perform the stacking procedure, it is necessary to merge the datasets of the adjacent stations in order to obtain a sufficient number of receiver functions. This analysis is based on the assumption that the incident seismic waves arriving at the adjacent stations penetrate to some extent the same underground structures in the case of similar wave propagation paths. This approach accounts for the fact that the converted signals do not result exclusively from the piercing points at the boundary layers. Further signals originate from the conversions at the boundary layer within the Fresnel Zone. The piercing points are derived from the significant signals in the receiver functions. Depending on the order of arrival of the converted phases on the traces, the signals are attributed to the theoretical discontinuities DIS1, DIS2, DIS3 and DIS4. However, partly due to the low signal-to-noise ratios on the traces, it is difficult to identify the real conversions on the traces and to ensure that the converted signals are attributed to the correct boundary layers. For this reason, it is necessary to check the consistency of the conversion depths among each other. In the case of inconsistent conversion depths, the corresponding signals are either adjusted to another seismic boundary layer or removed from the dataset. To verify the functionality of the automatic procedure and to determine the resolvability with respect to two boundary layers, several models are tested including horizontal and dipping discontinuities. To resolve distinct discontinuities, their depths must differ by at least 60 km, otherwise, due to similar depth ranges of the different boundary layers, the converted signals cannot be separated from each other. As a consequence, the converted signals that originate from different discontinuities are attributed to a single one. Further tests including break-off edges of seismic discontinuities are performed to check the attributions of the converted signals to the discontinuities. Owing to the varying number of boundary layers, the converted signals cannot be attributed to the discontinuities according to the order of their arrivals on the traces. It is necessary to correct their attributions to the seismic discontinuities in order to resolve the boundary layers.
The crust-mantle boundary and further discontinuities within the lithospheric mantle are investigated by applying this automatic procedure. Depending on the tectonic setting, the conversion depths of the Moho range from about 30 – 45 km beneath the western rift shoulder to 20 – 35 km within the rift valley up to 30 – 40 km beneath the eastern rift shoulder. The long wavelengths of the shear waves hamper the correct identification of the converted phases in the S-receiver functions. With respect to the relative differences in conversion depth, the topographic undulations of the crust-mantle boundary are consistent with the Moho depths derived from P-receiver functions. In contrast to the Rwenzori region, it is difficult to resolve completely the trend of the Moho in the remaining area of the East African Rift due to the small dataset provided by IRIS. The results exibit an increase in crustal thickness to up to 45 km in the region of the Cenozoic volcanics such as Virunga, Kivu, Rungwe and Kenya. The greatest Moho depths of more than 50 km are located near Mount Kilimanjaro. In addition to the Moho, the analysis of the S-receiver functions revealed two further boundary layers at depths of 60 – 140 km and 110 – 260 km, which are associated with a mid-lithospheric discontinuity and the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, respectively. The shallowest conversion depths of the LAB are focussed to small-scale regions within the rift branches, namely the northern Albertine Rift, the Chyulu Hills and the Mozambique Belt, which are located around the Tanzania Craton. The larger thickness of the lithosphere beneath the cratonic terrain indicates that the Tanzania Craton is not significantly eroded. However, there are indications that the lithosphere beneath the craton and the rift branches is penetrated by ascending asthenospheric melts to depths of up to 140 and 60 km, respectively. The top of the ascending melts is associated with the occurrence of the mid-lithospheric discontinuity. The shallowest conversion depths of this boundary layer (60 – 90 km) are related to the rifted areas of the EARS and the Cenozoic volcanic provinces, which are located along the Albertine Rift, the Kenya Rift and the Rukwa-Malawi rift zones. The deepest conversion depths of up to 140 km are related to the Rwenzori Belt, the Ugandan Basement Complex and the interior of the Tanzania Craton.
Ziel dieser Dissertation war es, die biologische Rolle der Autophagie für die Entwicklung, Alterung und mitochondriale Qualitätskontrolle in dem Ascomyceten Podospora anserina zu untersuchen. Folgende Ergebnisse wurden dabei erzielt:
1. Der Verlust einer funktionalen Autophagie-Maschinerie ist in P. anserina mit einem Defekt der Sporen-Entwicklung bzw. -Keimung charakterisiert.
2. Es konnten drei Methoden zur Untersuchung der Autophagie in P. anserina etabliert werden: 1) Die Verwendung eines Gfp::PaAtg8-Stamms ermöglicht die Fluoreszenzmikroskopische Bestimmung der Autophagosomen-Anzahl; 2) Die phänotypische Charakterisierung des PaAtg1-Deletionsstamms unter verschiedenen Stressbedingungen (z. B. Stickstoffmangel, Rapamycin) liefert Hinweise auf eine mögliche Autophagie-abhängige Stressadaption; 3) Die Verwendung des „GFPcleavage assays“ ermöglicht einen quantitativen Nachweis genereller und selektiver Autophagie (hier: Mitophagie).
3. In zwei voneinander unabhängigen Experimenten wurde ein altersabhängiger Anstieg der Autophagie für P. anserina demonstriert: Das Autophagie-Niveau nimmt in gealterten P. anserina-Kulturen zu. Gleichzeitig resultiert der Verlust der Autophagie in ∆PaAtg1 in eine reduzierte Lebensspanne. Unter Stressbedingungen (hier: Stickstoffmangel) wird dieser positive Einfluss der Autophagie auf die Lebensspanne im Wildtyp sogar noch verstärkt.
4. Der unerwartet „gesunde“ Phänotyp der PaSod3-Deletionsmutante ist abhängig von einer funktionalen Autophagie-Maschinerie. Der Mitophagie wurde eine besondere Rolle als Kompensationsmechanismus für den Verlust von PaSOD3 zugeteilt, da das Mitophagie-Niveau in dieser Mutante erhöht ist. Am Beispiel dieser Mutante, für die ein erhöhter Superoxid-Ausstoß nachgewiesen wurde, konnte eine Dosis-abhängige Wirkung von ROS in P. anserina identifiziert werden. Eine geringe zelluläre ROSMenge verursacht eine mitohormetische Reaktion, die eine Induktion der Mitophagie zur Folge hat und sich positiv auf den Organismus auswirkt. Übersteigt die zelluläre ROS-Dosis einen kritischen Punkt, kommt es zur Induktion des autophagischen Zelltods und damit zum vorzeitigen Tod des Individuums.
5. Der Verlust der PaCLPXP-Protease führt zu Beeinträchtigungen in der Funktion und Zusammensetzung der mitochondrialen Atmungskette. Dieses Defizit im Energiemetabolismus wird über eine Induktion der AOX, vor allem aber über eine ZUSAMMENFASSUNG 127 gesteigerte Autophagie kompensiert. Die deutlich verlängerte Lebensspanne der verschiedenen PaClpXP-Deletionsmutanten (∆PaClpX, ∆PaClpP und ∆PaClpXP) ist abhängig von einer funktionalen Autophagie-Maschinerie. Interessanterweise konnte keine kompensatorische Funktion der Autophagie oder Mitophagie für den Verlust der mitochondrialen i-AAA-Protease PaIAP in P. anserina nachgewiesen werden.
Autophagie/Mitophagie stellt einen übergeordneten Qualitätskontrollmechanismus in P. anserina dar, der den Organismus sehr effektiv vor zellulären Schäden und Dysfunktionen bewahrt und einen positiven Einfluss auf die Alterung, Entwicklung und Energieversorgung einnimmt.