Large and small rDNA sequences of 41 species of the family Opecoelidae are utilised to produce phylogenetic inference trees, using brachycladioids and lepocreadioids as outgroups. Sequences were newly generated for 13 species. The resulting Bayesian trees show a monophyletic Opecoelidae. The earliest divergent group is the Stenakrinae, based on two species which are not of the type-genus. The next well-supported clade to diverge is constituted of three species of Helicometra Odhner, 1902. Based on this tree and the characters of the egg and uterus, a new subfamily, the Helicometrinae, is erected and defined to include the genera Helicometra, Helicometrina Linton, 1910 and Neohelicometra Siddiqi et Cable, 1960. The subfamily Opecoelinae is found to be monophyletic, but the Plagioporinae is paraphyletic. The single representative of the Opecoelininae (not of the type genus) is nested within a group of deep-sea 'plagioporines'. The two representatives of the Opistholebetidae are embedded within a group of shallow-water 'plagioporine' species. The Opistholebetidae is reduced to subfamily status pro tem as its morphological and biological characteristics are distinctive. This implies that as opecoelid systematics develops with more molecular evidence, several further subfamilies will be recognised. Many of the morphological characters were found to be homoplasious, but the characters defining the Helicometrinae and Opecoelinae, such as filamented eggs, reduced cirrus-sac and uterine seminal receptacle, are closely correlated with the inferred phylogeny., Rodney A. Bray, Thomas H. Cribb, D. Timothy J. Littlewood, Andrea Waeschenbach., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We prove two versions of the Monotone Convergence Theorem for the vector integral of Kurzweil, $\int _R{\mathrm d}\alpha (t) f(t)$, where $R$ is a compact interval of $\mathbb{R}^n$, $\alpha $ and $f$ are functions with values on $L(Z,W)$ and $Z$ respectively, and $Z$ and $W$ are monotone ordered normed spaces. Analogous results can be obtained for the Kurzweil vector integral, $\int _R\alpha (t)\mathrm{d}f(t)$, as well as to unbounded intervals $R$.
While prototypical uses of slurs express contempt for targets, some reclaimed uses are associated with positive evaluations. This practice may raise concerns. I anticipate this criticism in what I dub the Warrant Argument (WA) and then defend the legitimacy of this kind of reclamation. For the WA, standard pejorative uses of slurs are problematic for assuming unwarranted connections between descriptive properties (e.g., being gay) and value judgements (e.g., being worthy of contempt). When reclaimed uses of slurs express a positive evaluation of their targets—the WA goes—reclamation fails to challenge the unwarranted link between descriptive properties and value judgements, and merely reverses the evaluation polarity from negative to positive. So, the WA concludes, reclaimed uses of slurs evaluating targets positively for belonging to a certain group make a similar moral error as derogatory uses of slurs (sections 2-3). The WA could lead us to condemn reclamation. To resist this conclusion, I draw a parallel with affirmative action, arguing that it can be morally permissible to balance an existing form of injustice by temporarily introducing a countervailing mechanism that prima facie seems to violate the norm of equality: even if the WA were right, it wouldn’t constitute an argument against the moral permissibility of reclamation in the case of most slurs (section 4). This line of argument in defense of pride reclamation may also serve to debunk the myths of reverse racism and reverse sexism (section 5).
Specimens of Neoechinorhynchus (Neoechinorhynchus) poonchensis sp. n. are described from Schizothorax richardsonii (Gray) in the Poonch River, Jammu and Kashmir. Specimens are thick-walled with dissimilar dorsal and ventral para-receptacle structures, anteriorly manubriated hooks, two giant nuclei in each lemniscus and many subcutaneousy. The lemnisci barely overlap the larger anterior testis, the cement gland has eight giant nuclei, and the seminal vesicle is large with thin walls. The vagina is unremarkable but the long uterus is made up of four specialised regions. Neoechinorhynchus rigidus (Van Cleave, 1928), resembles N. poonchensis sp. n. It is distinguished from N. poonchensis sp. n. by having smaller trunk, proboscis, and male reproductive structures, equal testes, unequal lemnisci with three giant nuclei each, and much larger anterior proboscis hook (130 μm in males) than that originally described by Van Cleave (1928) (70 μm in a female). Anterior hook length alone is sufficient to conclude that the N. rigidus of Datta (1937) is not the same species as the N. rigidus of Van Cleave (1928). Van Cleave's (1928) species remains valid and that of Datta (1937) is considered a different species named Neoechinorhynchus pseudorigidus sp. n., herein. Micropores of N. poonchensis sp. n. have variable distribution in different trunk regions and the Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis demonstrated higher levels of sulfur and lower levels of calcium and phosphorus. Sequences of the 18S rDNA gene from nuclear DNA, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) from mitochondrial DNA of N. poonchensis sp. n. were amplified and aligned with other sequences available on GenBank. Maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses inferred for 18S rDNA and cox1 showed that N. poonchensis sp. n. was nested in a separate clade.
The larval morphology of the western Palaearctic zygaenid species Aglaope infausta (Linnaeus, 1767) is described and figured in detail. Unlike other members of the zygaenid subfamily Chalcosiinae, the last instar larva of A. infausta has numerous secondary setae and a multitude of cuticular cavities that are devoid of openings. The other chalcosiine genera have primary setae and cuticular cavities with specialized openings through which a defensive secretion can be discharged. Imaginal characters, on the other hand, provide strong evidence for placing Aglaope in the Chalcosiinae.
This article examines the symbolism of the orange tree (ju, juyou, and also gan in later developments) in Chinese poetry from ancient times through the Tang dynasty. It will trace back its beginnings to Chuci and the Qu Yuan lore. The motif is examined as it appears in late Hun gushi, during its transformations in Six Dynasties "imitations of ancient verses" (nigu), as well as in the court "poems on things" (yongwu). Tang use and the further transformations of the motif are also touched upon, showing its development in the hands of such poets as Zhang Jiuling, Du Mu, and Du Fu. As a result, the flexibility of the symbolic meaning of the orange tree motif, its adaptation for new purposes, and the eventual transformation of the conventionalized motif into a poetic image endowed with unique personal symbolism of the poet are demonstrated.
Despite the long-term study of the house mouse hybrid zone in Europe knowledge of its course in some areas is still rather vague. Comparisons of different portions of the zone showed some common patterns, however, several discordances were also revealed, the most remarkable being introgression of the Y chromosome. We sampled mice along the presumed course of the secondary contact zone between two subspecies, Mus musculus musculus and M. m. domesticus, from Schleswig-Holstein to southern Bavaria, in order to localize more precisely its position. A second aim was to reveal whether introgression shows some general rules obscured until now by studies of geographically isolated transects of the zone. We employed maternally (mtDNA), paternally (Y), and biparentally inherited markers and related their introgression patterns to the hybrid index (HI) based on five X-linked loci. While transition of autosomal loci across the zone was congruent with changes in HI, mtDNA showed bidirectional introgression with alien alleles occurring far behind the zone. Finally, the Y chromosome displayed asymmetric unidirectional introgression of the musculus type into domesticus background. We discuss evolutionary forces shaping these patterns.
The multicolored Asian ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was first reported in southern Canada in 1994. In this study, we examined the status of the ladybeetle in Quebec agroecosystems seven to ten years after its arrival. We integrated the findings from eight independent field studies carried out in pome fruit, grapes, medicinal crops, field corn, sweet corn, sweet pepper, lettuce, and soybean. Nine aphidophagous and 6 coccidophagous coccinellid species were sampled on these crops. Among these aphidophagous species, three invasive (H. axyridis, Coccinella septempunctata and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata) as well as one indigenous species (Coleomegilla maculata lengi) were consistently present. Higher richness was observed in perennial crops, where the 6 coccidophagous coccinellids were almost exclusively present. Higher abundance of aphidophagous coccinellids was observed in field and sweet corn. The multicolored Asian ladybeetle was a dominant species of the coccinellid assemblage in all crops monitored.
The multiple star 14 Aurigae (= ADS 3824) contains five visual members, of which A and C (both of them single-lined spectroscopic binaries) form a physical system. Extreme ultraviolet observations reveal a hot white dwarf superposed on 14 Au r C. Ultraviolet spectroscopy reveals that it is a distant companion to the optical spectroscopic binary, but that is a physical member of the system. Capitalizing on the fact that the visible component of 14 Aur A, KW Aur, in somewhat evolved, and is both an ellipsoidal variable and δ Scuti pulsator, we are able to model this quintuple system, obtaining both an evolutionary age for the system and a cooling age for the white dwarf, also masses for all five components, orbital inclinations for the two spectroscopic binaries, and an improved distance estimate to the system. Our results provide empirical values of the pulsation constants of KW Aur, and an estimate of the initial as well as final mass of the white dwar.
Arthrospira maxima is unique among cyanobacteria, growing at alkaline pH (<11) in concentrated (bi)carbonate (1.2 M saturated) and lacking carbonic anhydrases. We investigated dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) roles within PSII of A. maxima cells oximetrically and fluorometrically, monitoring the light reactions on the donor and acceptor sides of PSII. We developed new methods for removing DIC based on a (bi)carbonate chelator and magnesium for (bi)carbonate ionpairing. We established relative affinities of three sites: the water-oxidizing complex (WOC), non-heme iron/QA-, and solvent-accessible arginines throughout PSII. Full reversibility is achieved but (bi)carbonate uptake requires light. DIC depletion at the non-heme iron site and solvent-accessible arginines greatly reduces the yield of O2 due to O2 uptake, but accelerates the PSII-WOC cycle, specifically the S2-S3 and S3-S0 transitions. DIC removal from the WOC site abolishes water oxidation and appears to influence free energy stabilization of the WOC from a site between CP43-R357 and Ca2+., G. Ananyev, C. Gates, G. C. Dismukes., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy