Three new species of Aprusia (Araneae: Oonopidae) from Sri Lanka with a phylogenetic analysis of the genus

The South Asian goblin spider genus Aprusia Simon, 1893 currently consists of five species. All species are narrow endemics with very restricted distributions. In this paper, the Sri Lankan species are revised and three new species described from both sexes: Aprusia koslandensis n. sp., Aprusia rawanaellensis n. sp. and Aprusia vankhedei n. sp. We also provide some notes on the poorly known species A. strennus and A. vestigator. In addition, we present a key to adult Aprusia and a distribution map of the Sri Lankan species, highlighting their diversity in the highly fragmented forests of the island. To test the monophyly of Aprusia and infer relationships among its species, a matrix of 49 morphological characters scored for 11 taxa (seven ingroup and four outgroup) was assembled and analysed. The monophyly of Aprusia is recovered and supported by three unambiguous synapomorphies: the presence of smooth male endites, the presence of leg spines on the prolateral side of the femur I and the procurved ridge of the postepigastric scutum.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:40352A9B-F455-4F41-B293-FF57BACA2997     

Developing an Entrepreneurship Model to Increase Students’ Entrepreneurial Skills: an Action Research Project in a Higher Education Institution in Indonesia

Systemic Practice and Action Research - The University of Cenderawasih (Uncen) has developed a locally relevant entrepreneurship education model within its curriculum to increase students’...     

Molecular chaperones are nanomachines that catalytically unfold misfolded and alternatively folded proteins

By virtue of their general ability to bind (hold) translocating or unfolding polypeptides otherwise doomed to aggregate, molecular chaperones are commonly dubbed “holdases”. Yet, chaperones also carry physiological functions that do not necessitate prevention of aggregation, such as altering the native states of proteins, as in the disassembly of SNARE complexes and clathrin coats. To carry such physiological functions, major members of the Hsp70, Hsp110, Hsp100, and Hsp60/CCT chaperone families act as catalytic unfolding enzymes or unfoldases that drive iterative cycles of protein binding, unfolding/pulling, and release. One unfoldase chaperone may thus successively convert many misfolded or alternatively folded polypeptide substrates into transiently unfolded intermediates, which, once released, can spontaneously refold into low-affinity native products. Whereas during stress, a large excess of non-catalytic chaperones in holding mode may optimally prevent protein aggregation, after the stress, catalytic disaggregases and unfoldases may act as nanomachines that use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to repair proteins with compromised conformations. Thus, holding and catalytic unfolding chaperones can act as primary cellular defenses against the formation of early misfolded and aggregated proteotoxic conformers in order to avert or retard the onset of degenerative protein conformational diseases.     

Is Leibnizian Calculus Embeddable in First Order Logic?

To explore the extent of embeddability of Leibnizian infinitesimal calculus in first-order logic (FOL) and modern frameworks, we propose to set aside ontological issues and focus on procedural questions. This would enable an account of Leibnizian procedures in a framework limited to FOL with a small number of additional ingredients such as the relation of infinite proximity. If, as we argue here, first order logic is indeed suitable for developing modern proxies for the inferential moves found in Leibnizian infinitesimal calculus, then modern infinitesimal frameworks are more appropriate to interpreting Leibnizian infinitesimal calculus than modern Weierstrassian ones.     

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P?相似文献   

Effects of aging on the microstructure of a Cu-Al-Ni-Mn shape memory alloy

The influence of aging on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-11.6wt%Al-3.9wt%Ni-2.5wt%Mn shape memory alloy (SMA) was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer, and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Experimental results show that bainite, γ_2, and α phase precipitates occur with the aging effect in the alloy. After aging at 300dgC, the bainitic precipitates appear at the early stages of aging, while the precipitates of γ₂ phase are observed for a longer aging time. When the aging temperature increases, the bainite gradually evolves into γ₂ phase and equilibrium α phase (bcc) precipitates from the remaining parent phase. Thus, the bainite, γ₂, and α phases appear, while the martensite phase disappears progressively in the alloy. The bainitic precipitates decrease the reverse transformation temperature while the γ₂ phase precipitates increase these temperatures with a decrease of solute content in the retained parent phase. On the other hand, these precipitations cause an increasing in hardness of the alloy.     

Creation and diagnosis of a solid-density plasma with an X-ray free-electron laser

Matter with a high energy density (>10(5)?joules per cm(3)) is prevalent throughout the Universe, being present in all types of stars and towards the centre of the giant planets; it is also relevant for inertial confinement fusion. Its thermodynamic and transport properties are challenging to measure, requiring the creation of sufficiently long-lived samples at homogeneous temperatures and densities. With the advent of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser, high-intensity radiation (>10(17)?watts per cm(2), previously the domain of optical lasers) can be produced at X-ray wavelengths. The interaction of single atoms with such intense X-rays has recently been investigated. An understanding of the contrasting case of intense X-ray interaction with dense systems is important from a fundamental viewpoint and for applications. Here we report the experimental creation of a solid-density plasma at temperatures in excess of 10(6) kelvin on inertial-confinement timescales using an X-ray free-electron laser. We discuss the pertinent physics of the intense X-ray-matter interactions, and illustrate the importance of electron-ion collisions. Detailed simulations of the interaction process conducted with a radiative-collisional code show good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. We obtain insights into the evolution of the charge state distribution of the system, the electron density and temperature, and the timescales of collisional processes. Our results should inform future high-intensity X-ray experiments involving dense samples, such as X-ray diffractive imaging of biological systems, material science investigations, and the study of matter in extreme conditions.     

Minimal ProtoHox cluster inferred from bilaterian and cnidarian Hox complements

Bilaterian animals have a Hox gene cluster essential for patterning the main body axis, and a ParaHox gene cluster. Comparison of Hox and ParaHox genes has led workers to postulate that both clusters originated from the duplication of an ancient cluster named ProtoHox, which contained up to four genes with at least the precursors of anterior and posterior Hox/ParaHox genes. However, the way in which genes diversified within the ProtoHox, Hox and ParaHox clusters remains unclear because no systematic study of non-bilaterian animals exists. Here we characterize the full Hox/ParaHox gene complements and genomic organization in two cnidarian species (Nematostella vectensis and Hydra magnipapillata), and suggest a ProtoHox cluster simpler than originally thought on the basis of three arguments. First, both species possess bilaterian-like anterior Hox genes, but their non-anterior genes do not appear as counterparts of either bilaterian central or posterior genes; second, two clustered ParaHox genes, Gsx and a gene related to Xlox and Cdx, are found in Nematostella vectensis; and third, we do not find clear phylogenetic support for a common origin of bilaterian Cdx and posterior genes, which might therefore have appeared after the ProtoHox cluster duplication. Consequently, the ProtoHox cluster might have consisted of only two anterior genes. Non-anterior genes could have appeared independently in the Hox and ParaHox clusters, possibly after the separation of bilaterians and cnidarians.     

Presence of digoxin detectable by radioimmunoassay inTetrahymena

Summary Digoxin was demonstrated inTetrahymena pyriformis by radioimmunoassay, at a concentration of 4.3 ng/100,000 cells. Pretreatment of the cells with digoxin or ouabain did not significantly alter the digoxin concentration of the progeny generations.