New synonymy and records of American bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Alniphagus africanus Schedl, 1963, and Hylesinus africanus Schedl, 1965, were both transferred to Hylesinopsis and thereby become junior homonyms of H. africanus (Eggers, 1933). The new name H. acaciolens is proposed as a replacement for Schedl's 1963 name and H. secutus as a new name for Schedl's 1965 name. Six species from Mexico are described as new to science, including: Hylocurus atkinsoni, H. crotonis, Monarthrum xalapensis, Pseudochramesus jaliscoensis, Pseudopityophthorus durangoensis , and P. xalapae .     

Nomenclatural changes and new species of Scolytidae (Coleoptera), Part II

The following new synonymy is proposed: Halystus Schedl (= Phlocographus Wood), Hylesinopsis Eggers (= Aridiamerus Schedl), Halystus namibiae Schedl (= Phlocographus mamibiae Wood), Ips stebbingi Strohmeyer (= Tomicus blandfordi Stebbing), Olonthogaster (Hylurgus) concinnulus (Walker) (= Olonthogaster nitidifrons Motschulsky), Olonthogaster nitidicollis Motschulsky (= Hyledius asper Sampson), Polygraphus longifolia Stebbing (= Polygraphus himalayensis Stebbing), Pseudochramesus harringtoni Blackman (= Pseudochramesus multiseriatus Schedl), Pseudodiamerus obsurus Eggers (= Phlocoditica obscura ) Schedl, 1962, and Phlocoditica obsura Schedl, 1963), Xylechinosomus brasiliensis (Schedl) (= Xylechinosomus araucariae Schedl), Xylechinus (Pseudochramesus) imperialis (Schedl), new combination (= Xylechinus calvus Schedl). The following species are named as new to science: Aphanarthrum indicum (India), Aphanarthrum reticulatum (India), Aphanarthrum ryaleanum (India), Bothinodroctonus indicus (India), Bothinodroctonus setosus, (Andaman Islands), Carphoborus lautus (India), Liparthrum artocarpus (India), Liparthrum tinianesis (Tinian Island), Polygraphus anogeissi (India and Burma), Polygraphus difficilis (India and Pakistan), Polygraphus querci (Burma).     

Deer mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus ) home-range size and fidelity in sage-steppe habitat

Within a species, home-range size can vary due to factors such as sex, mass, age, and breeding condition of individuals as well as habitat type, food availability, population density, and season. The objectives of this study were to estimate home ranges of deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus ) in sage-steppe habitat and to test the hypothesis that several factors (sex, mass, reproductive status, and seasonality) affect home-range size. We also tested the hypothesis that deer mice exhibit home-range fidelity over time. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology was used to estimate home ranges in June and September 2006. Home-range estimates varied from 360 m 2 to 5868 m 2 (65 individuals, 753 observations). Home-range size increased by approximately 60% from June to September. Besides seasonality, none of the other predictors of home range were informative in explaining the variation in home range. Deer mice recaptured in September (3 months after initial capture) had high fidelity in home-range use (42.1% [SE = 8.4%] overlap with 74.1% [SE = 8.7%] area conserved; n = 9). All animals for which home range was estimated in both seasons retained some fraction of their June home range in September. Results support the use of combined location data collected over long periods, such as weeks or months, to estimate home range for deer mice. The results have implications for deer mouse–pathogen ecology, particularly with respect to modeling transmission of Sin Nombre virus—a pathogen that is directly transmitted by deer mice.     

New synonymy and new species of American bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), Part V

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} New synonymy of American Scolytidae is proposed as follows: Phloeoborus Erichson ( = Phloeotrupes Erichson), Phloeotribus Latreille ( = Eulytocerus Blandford), Scolytodes Ferrari ( = Epomadius Blandford), Carphoborus pinicolens Wood ( = Carphoborus tuberculatus Bright), Coccotrypes indicus (Eggers) ( = Dryocoetes subimpressus Eggers), Coccotrypes surinamensis Schedl ( = Coccotrypes brevipilosus Eggers), Conophthorus coniperda Schwarz ( = Conophthorus clunicus Hopkins, Conophthorus taedae Hopkins), Conophthorus ponderosae Hopkins ( = Conophthorus scopulorum Hopkins, Conophthorus contortae Hopkins, Conophthorus monticolae Hopkins, Conophthorus flexilis Hopkins, Conophthorus lambertianae Hopkins), Conophthorus resinosae Hopkins ( = Conophthorus virginianae Hopkins), Cryphalomorphus knabi (Hopkins) ( = Cryphalomorphus minutissimus Schedl), Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff) ( = Tomicus cribricollis Eichhoff), Ips perturbatus (Eichhoff) ( = Tomicus interpunctus Eichhoff), Ips tridens engelmanni Swaine ( = Ips yohoensis Swaine, Ips semirostris Hopping, Ips amiskwiensis Hopping), Leperisinus aculeatus (Say) ( = Hylesinus imperialis Eichhoff), Leperisinus californicus Swaine ( = Leperisinus hoferi Blackman), Phloeosinus serratus (LeConte) ( = Phloeosinus neotropicus Schedl), Phoeotribus championi (Blandford) ) = Eulytocerus substriatus Schedl), Pseudohylesinus sericeus (Mannerheim) ( = Pseudohylesinus yasamatsui Nobuchi), Pityophthorus boycei Swaine ( = Pityophthorus siouxensis Bright), Pityophthorus deletus LeConte ( = Pityophthorus inquietus Blackman, Pityophthorus monophyllae Blackman, Pityophthorus praelatus Bright, Pityophthorus brucki Bright), Scolytus opacus Blackman ( = Scolytus abietis Blackman), Scolytus tsugae Swaine ( = Scolytus reflexus Blackman, Scolytus wickhami Blackman), Scolytus unispinosus LeConte ( = Scolytus fiskei Blackman). The following species are named as new to science: Phloeotribus hirtus, P. ingae, P. levis, P. minor, P. nebulosus, P. simplicidens (Colombia), P. amplus, P. fici, P. squamiger, P. tetricus, P. vesculus (Venezuela), Pityophthorus discretus (Mexico).       

Origin and evolution of the genus Homo.

It is remarkable that the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the earliest known representatives of our own genus, Homo, remain obscure. Advances in techniques for absolute dating and reassessments of the fossils themselves have rendered untenable a simple unilineal model of human evolution, in which Homo habilis succeeded the australopithecines and then evolved via H. erectus into H. sapiens-but no clear alternative consensus has yet emerged.     

The establishment and maintenance of pregnancy using in vitro fertilization and embryo donation in a patient with primary ovarian failure

Ovarian steroid replacement therapy in the ovariectomized ewe, given in the correct sequence to mimic endogenous steroid changes in the normal ovulatory cycle, allows the development of embryos transferred in utero. A similar type of sequential therapy was designed for steroid replacement in women with primary ovarian failure. This produces the histological changes in uterine endometrial morphology and plasma oestradiol and progesterone similar to those observed in the normal ovulatory cycle. We now report that in one of these women a donated oocyte, fertilized by her husband's spermatozoa and cultured to the two-cell stage in vitro, was transferred in utero, resulting in a normal pregnancy and the delivery of a healthy child. Oestrogen therapy was withdrawn at 12 weeks and progesterone at 19 weeks gestation. This technique allows the treatment of human infertility due to primary ovarian failure.     

High resolution X-ray analyses of renin inhibitor-aspartic proteinase complexes

Inhibitors of the conversion of angiotensinogen to the vasoconstrictor angiotensin II have considerable value as antihypertensive agents. For example, captopril and enalapril are clinically useful as inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme. This has encouraged intense activity in the development of inhibitors of kidney renin, which is a very specific aspartic proteinase catalysing the first and rate limiting step in the conversion of angiotensinogen to angiotensin II. The most effective inhibitors such as H-142 and L-363,564 have used non-hydrolysable analogues of the proposed transition state, and partial sequences of angiotensinogen (Table 1). H-142 is effective in lowering blood pressure in humans but has no significant effect on other aspartic proteinases such as pepsin in the human body (Table 1). At present there are no crystal structures available for human or mouse renins although three-dimensional models demonstrate close structural similarity to other spartic proteinases. We have therefore determined by X-ray analysis the three-dimensional structures of H-142 and L-363,564 complexed with the aspartic proteinase endothiapepsin, which binds these inhibitors with affinities not greatly different from those measured against human renin (Table 1). The structures of these complexes and of that between endothiapepsin and the general aspartic proteinase inhibitor, H-256 (Table 1) define the common hydrogen bonding schemes that allow subtle differences in side-chain orientations and in the positions of the transition state analogues with respect to the active-site aspartates.