781 research outputs found
How do voiced retroflex stops evolve? Evidence from typology and an articulatory study
No full textThe present article illustrates that the specific articulatory and aerodynamic requirements for voiced but not voiceless alveolar or dental stops can cause tongue tip retraction and tongue mid lowering and thus retroflexion of front coronals. This retroflexion is shown to have occurred diachronically in the three typologically unrelated languages Dhao (Malayo-Polynesian), Thulung (Sino-Tibetan), and Afar (East-Cushitic). In addition to the diachronic cases, we provide synchronic data for retroflexion from an articulatory study with four speakers of German, a language usually described as having alveolar stops. With these combined data we supply evidence that voiced retroflex stops (as the only retroflex segments in a language) did not necessarily emerge from implosives, as argued by Haudricourt (1950), Greenberg (1970), Bhat (1973), and Ohala (1983). Instead, we propose that the voiced front coronal plosive /d/ is generally articulated in a way that favours retroflexion, that is, with a smaller and more retracted place of articulation and a lower tongue and jaw position than /t/
Callichroma collarti Fuchs 1959
No full text<i>Callichroma collarti</i> Fuchs, 1959, revalidated <p>(Figs 1–5)</p> <p> <i>Callichroma (s. str.) collarti</i> Fuchs, 1959: 2.</p> <p> <i>Callichroma collarti</i>; Damoiseau & Cools, 1987: 8 (types); Monné, 1993: 3 (cat.); Martínez, 2000: 86 (distr.); Monné, 2005: 26 (cat.).</p> <p> <i>Callichroma sericeum</i> (part); Napp & Martins, 2009: 329 (syn.).</p> <p> <i>Callichroma magnificum</i> Napp & Martins, 2009: 345; Monné <i>et al</i>., 2017: 6 (holotype); Taboada-Verona <i>et al</i>., 2017: 2; Monné, 2021: 39 (cat.). <i>Syn. nov.</i></p> <p> Fuchs (1959) described <i>Callichroma collarti</i> (Figs 3–5) as follows (translated): “Male. Frons irregularly, confusedly punctate, genae as long as the lower eye lobes, vertex and space between the antennal tubercles irregularly wrinkled and dense, finely punctate between the wrinkles, also with distinct median groove; area behind eyes rugose. The whole head, except for the black mandible apex, metallic green. Antennae black, more than twice as long as the body, the scape robust, irregularly wrinkled and punctate, with a depression in front of the end and a smaller one at the base; antennomeres III to X increasing in length, XI longer than IX and X together, III to XI carinate lengthways. Anterior margin of the pronotum projected forward centrally, posterior margin straight; lateral tubercles broadly conical, with blunt apex; in front of these, near the anterior margin, a transverse bulge on each side; pronotum constricted anteriorly and posteriorly; the whole surface transversely wrinkled, between the wrinkles and near the anterior margin very densely, finely punctate, lateral of prothorax and prosternum wrinkled; the whole prothorax metallic green, on both sides next to the midline of the pronotum between the wrinkles with more or less short, black pubescence. Scutellum triangular, very finely and densely punctate, with a smooth central longitudinal line, glabrous. Elytra narrowing backward and individually rounded at apex; covered with black-green pubescence, with a narrow, shiny metallic green sutural band, crosswise wrinkled; from the humerus to almost the apex there is a matt, metallic green longitudinal carina; the space between this carina and the side edge is slight lighter green than the space between the carina and the sutural band. Underside of the body shiny metallic green, smooth, with sparse punctures; prosternal process narrow, rounded; mesoventral process broader, flattened. Legs black, pro- and mesofemora, as well as the base half of the metafemora red; femora not punctate; the metafemora surpassing elytral apex, flattened on both sides. Female. Antennae slightly longer than the body, the antennomere XI slight longer than X (one of the females has completely black legs). Length; 28-36 mm. 3 males and 6 females from Muzo, Colombia, or Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia. (The 2 specimens from Sta. Fé de Bogotá carry a note: <i>Callichroma</i> nov. sp. Gounelle, 1911). Closest related to <i>Batesi</i> Gahan, but larger, stouter. <i>Batesi</i> has close to each side of the median line of the pronotum one black tomentose spot, the back of the head is only weakly punctate, the sides of the prothorax, the sloping part of the pronotum and the prosternum are smooth, and only the smooth midline of the pronotum and the shiny part immediately next to the black pubescent spots are wrinkled across; the areas under the black pubescent spots are extremely fine and tightly punctate. In addition, <i>Batesi</i> ’s ventral surface of the thorax and abdomen has short silver-white setae, while in the new species almost no setae can be seen.”</p> <p> According to Monné (2021) and Tavakilian & Chevillotte (2021): Holotype male: Colombia, Muzo (ISNB). However, as it is possible to see in the original description, there are syntypes, and not holotype and paratypes. Damoiseau & Cools (1987) reported: “ <b>collarti</b> FUCHS, 1959, Bull. Inst. r. Sci. nat. Belg. 35, 35: 2, 3, <b>Callichroma</b>. (*) [The etiquette of determination is handwritten by the author] / Type male, allotype female and paratype, (6), Colombie: Muzo, ex coll. Le Moult; Santa Fe De Bogota.” The mention of the specimens of the type series as holotype, allotype, and paratypes, even based on labels included by the author of the species but not mentioned in the original description, has no nomenclatural value (ICZN 1999: 72.1.1).</p> <p> Napp & Martins (2009) synonymized <i>C. collarti</i> with <i>C. sericeum</i> (Fabricius, 1793) (translated): “We could not find consistent morphological characters to distinguish <i>C. brachyale</i>, <i>C. gisteli</i>, and <i>C. collarti</i> (as well as the subspecies <i>rubricrus</i> of <i>C. gounellei</i>) from <i>C. sericeum</i> and we started to consider them as synonyms.” Apparently, Napp & Martins (2009) did not see photographs of the syntypes of <i>C. collarti</i>, which would make it evident that the two names do not correspond to the same species.</p> <p> <i>Cerambyx sericeus</i> (Fig. 6) has been reported as described by Fabricius (1793), and posteriorly mentioned by Olivier (1795). However, according to Fabricius (1793): “ <i>sericeus</i>. <i>Cerambyx</i> with thorax [prothorax] spined, entirely dark velvety, with elytral suture green, femora red. <i>Cerambyx sericeus</i>. Oliv. Ins. 67. tab. 5. Fig. 37. From Brazil, Museum of Dr. Olivier. Antennae not notably long, black. Head and thorax black, velvety, with distinct green macula [band]. Legs dark, femora red, the metafemora before middle. Metatibiae flattened. Olivier (1795) reported on <i>Cerambyx sericeus</i>: “Fab. Ent. Syst. emend. tom. I pars 2. pag. 253. nº 8.” Although the authorship and publication date are somewhat doubtful, the description in Fabricius (1793) and Olivier (1795), as well as the drawing in Olivier, do not allow having doubts about the mistake in the synonymy, especially by the pronotum densely pubescent in <i>Cerambyx sericeus</i>.</p> <p> Napp & Martins (2009) described <i>Callichroma magnificum</i> (Figs. 1–2) as follows (translated): “Male. Metallic green with cupreous reflections. Elytra only with metallic cupreous sutural band. Pro- and mesofemora red with peduncle and apex black. Metafemora black with red area near of the base. Antennae twice longer than the body length. Scape robust, with basal depression and apical projection; coarsely rugose-punctate. Antennomere III with distinct sulcus, as long as IV, and shorter than the following ones that have increasing lengths; XI at least 3 times the length of the III. Pronotum entirely striate; striae slender, smooth and distant between them; area between striae with punctures very fine and dense; pubescence not distinct. Striae of the pronotum extend over the lateral tubercles of the prothorax where they are weakest and with sparse punctures. Remaining surface of the sides of the prothorax smooth, shiny. Base shiny, not punctate, with some striae on anterior half and sides. Scutellum microrugose from base to near apex; pubescence not distinct; median sulcus smooth, more distinct on apical half; sulcus and apex of the scutellum cupreous. Sutural band of the elytra glabrous, rugose. On sides, depending on the angle of the light, appears to has a band (or line) very narrow, lighter, starting after the humerus and disappearing on apical third (almost indistinct). Pro- and mesofemora without basal sulcus; profemora with coarse punctures basally; mesofemora with very fine and shallow punctures on peduncle; metafemora opaque, flattened on entire length, without differentiated punctures, reaching the elytral apex. Metatibiae strongly flattened, sinuously expanded on apical half, as wide as the metafemora. Prosternum shiny with striae on entire surface (similar to the prothorax); procoxae surrounded on sides by striae; pubescence indistinct. Mesoventrite almost smooth, shiny. Metaventrite with sparse pubescence, with coarse, distinct punctures throughout. Ventrites shiny, almost smooth, with slight distinct pubescence. Apex of ventrite 6 truncate. Dimensions, mm, holotype male. Total length, 31.2; humeral width, 9.9. Type material. Holotype male, Colombia, Boyaca: Território Vazquez, II.1991, J. Urbina col. (MZSP).”</p> <p> The study of the original descriptions as well as examination of the holotype of <i>C. magnificum</i> and syntypes of <i>C. collarti</i> allowed concluding that the former is a junior synonym of the latter. Therefore, we are revalidating <i>Callichroma collarti</i>.</p> <p> In addition to the already mentioned chromatic variation, very common in American Callichromatini, the posterior area of the pronotum of <i>C. collarti</i> can be transversely striate or smooth.</p> <p> <b>Material examined.</b> COLOMBIA, <i>Boyacá</i>: Território Vasquez, holotype male of <i>C. magnificum</i>, II.1991, J. Urbina leg. (MZSP); Muzo, syntype female of <i>C. collarti</i>, ex coll. Le Moult [no more data] (HSCV). <i>Bogotá</i>: Santa Fé de Bogotá [Bogotá], syntype male of <i>C. collarti</i> [no more data] (HSCV).</p>Published as part of <i>Santos-Silva, Antonio & Schmid, Herbert, 2021, Revalidation, synonymies, and notes in American Callichromatini (Coleoptera Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae), pp. 579-586 in Zootaxa 5071 (4)</i> on pages 582-585, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5071.4.6, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/5726540">http://zenodo.org/record/5726540</a>
Investigation of the Ahmed body cross-wind flow topology by robotic volumetric PIV
No full textRobotic volumetric PIV is employed to investigate the time-averaged three-dimensional near-wake flow topology of the Ahmed body in steady cross-wind conditions. The model selected for this study is a 1:2 replica of the reference Ahmed body with 25° slant angle. The measurements are conducted at free-stream velocity of 12 m/s, resulting in a Reynolds number of 1.15×105 based on the model’s height. Yaw angles of 0°, 4° and 8° are considered. The results show that the position and strength of the C-pillar vortices are significantly influenced by the presence of a yaw angle. The yaw angles cause an increase in the strength of the windward C-pillar vortex, with a consequent upward displacement; conversely, the strength of the leeward vortex decreases, and the position of its core moves downwards and inboard. At the larger yaw angle, the presence of a ground streamwise vortex is detected which co-rotates with the windward C-pillar vortex and is located between the latter and the ground.Aerodynamic
Abstract 5248: Pioglitazone prevents hepatocellular carcinoma development in a rat model of cirrhosis
No full textAbstract
Introduction: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide with limited treatment options. There is a readily identifiable cohort of cirrhosis patients at risk and they are ideal candidates for chemoprevention. Anti-hyperglycemic agents have garnered interest for their potential anti-fibrotic as well as chemo-preventive effects. Pioglitazone, a selective PPAR-γ agonist, has been shown to reduce non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but its role as an anti-fibrotic and chemopreventive agent has yet to be elucidated. The hypothesis of this study is that Pioglitazone reduces cirrhosis and subsequent HCC development in rats with diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced cirrhosis.
Methods: Male Wistar received DEN 50mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection. DEN injury reliably recapitulates histological and molecular features of human HCC development with induction of hepatic fibrosis at 8 weeks, cirrhosis at 12 weeks, and HCC by 18 weeks. DEN-injured rats were randomized to receive oral gavage of pioglitazone at 3mg/kg/day (n=9) or vehicle control (n=9). Initiation of pioglitazone coincided with the development of liver fibrosis at 8 weeks. All animals were sacrificed at 18 weeks.
Results: As expected, repeated injections of DEN in rats resulted in progressive fibrosis, cirrhosis, followed by HCC formation. Treatment with pioglitazone resulted in a 56% reduction of surface nodules relative to treatment with vehicle (7.4±4.9 vs. 17±7; p&lt;0.005). Liver sections were stained by picrosirius red to assess fibrosis and pioglitazone significantly reduced collagen deposition in DEN-injured rats (collagen proportional area = 3.2±1.8% vs. 9.2±2%; p&lt;0.035). This histologic observation was further confirmed by gene expression analysis with reductions in collagen-I, α-smooth muscle actin, and transforming growth factor beta in rats treated with pioglitazone. Finally, weekly injection of DEN also caused a significant decrease in overall body weight in comparison to untreated rats (398.1±60 vs. 598±46 grams; p&lt;0.015), and pioglitazone treatment resulted in a trend for better protection of body weight relative to vehicle (398.1±60 vs. 427.5±56.3 grams).
Conclusion: Overall our data supports the hypothesis that the anti-diabetic agent pioglitazone may be repurposed as a drug to reduce fibrosis and prevent HCC. This could be beneficiary in patient management given the low cost as well as minimal side effects.
Citation Format: Shen Li, Sarani Ghoshal, Gunisha Arora, Derek J. Erstad, Michael Lanuti, Kenneth K. Tanabe, Bryan C. Fuchs. Pioglitazone prevents hepatocellular carcinoma development in a rat model of cirrhosis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5248. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5248</jats:p
Cello techniques and performing practices in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
No full textThis thesis comprises a study of cello performance practices throughout the nineteenth century and into the early decades of the twentieth. It is organised in terms of the increasing complexity of the concepts which it examines, as they are to be found in printed and manuscript music, instrumental methods and larger treatises, early recordings, concert reviews and pictures. Basic posture is considered along with different ways of holding the
bow. The development of the tail-pin shows that even when it was widely used, the older posture was still referred to as a model. Some implications for tone quality and tonal
projection are considered in the light of the shape of the arms. Some connections between the cellist's posture and that recommended by etiquette books are explored. The
functionality of the left hand and arm, and the development of modem scale fingerings, show that there was a considerable period of overlap between newer and older practices, with modern scale fingerings evolving over a long period of time. Similarly, views on the function of the right wrist in bowing are shown to change gradually, moving towards a more active upper arm movement with less extreme flexibility of the wrist. Two central expressive techniques especially associated with string playing arc considered in the context of the cello, namely vibrato and portamento. These topics are examined in the light of written indications in music, recommendations in cello treatises, and the practices evidenced in early recordings. The sources for this study can be brought into an overall
framework of a constant dialogue between `theory', as expressed in verbal instructions to the learner, or general a priori reflections about the cello, and `practice', manifested in performing editions and early recordings, or in individual acts of reception. A wide divergence is noted, both between theory and practice in general, and in terms of different styles of playing observable at any one time. It is suggested that tensions between practice
and critical disapproval can be resolved in terms of Lacanian discourse. Several test cases are used in order to compare several different recordings of the same works. The question of the musical character of the cello is discussed in terms of widespread assumptions about its gendered identity. A wide range of sources suggest that this moved from a straightforwardly `masculine' identity expressed through a controlling, elevated eloquence to a less clearly defined one, incorporating the 'feminine', with a greater stress on uninhibited emotional expression. Some performance implications for this change of view are pursued with respect to specific repertoires. Broad conclusions stress the importance of the diversity of performance practices as opposed to unifying generalisations
Book Reviews
No full textBook Review 1Book Title: Endocrinology of PregnancyBook Authors: F Fuchs & A Klopper (Eds.)Pp. x + 359. 12.50. New York: Harper & Row. 1970Book Review 2Book Title: Hyperbaric Oxygen and its Clinical ValueBook Author: N.G. MeijnePp. xx + 261. Geillustreerd. 16.50. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas. 1970Book Review 3Book Title: Active/Passive. The crucial psychological dimensionsBook Author: E FriedPp. ix + 222. $7.95. New York and London: Grune & Stratton. 1970
COTORSION MODULES OVER NOETHERIAN HEREDITARY RINGS
No full textCotorsion abelian groups form an important class of abelian groups for which nice structure theorems are known. They have been discussed at length by Harrison [7], Nunke [13] and the author [3]. Cotorsion modules over integral domains have been investigated by Matlis [10]. Some of his results have been extended to arbitrary commutative rings by Henderson and Orzech [8]; they replaced the classical notion of "torsion " by a torsion theory. We also start with a torsion theory with respect to which we define T-cotorsion modules; our aim is to obtain analogues of the relevant structure theorems on cotorsion groups when the base ring is noetherian and hereditary (it can have divisors of zero and can be non-commutative). In õ 1 we give various characterizations of T-cotorsion modules and establish their fundamental properties. Then we turn our attention to the embedding of modules in T-cotorsion modules such that the quotients are T-free; our approach has to be different from what is used in abelian group theory where the functor Extlz(Q/Z, *) yields such an embedding. Properties of the T-cotorsion hulls are investigated in õ3 as a prelude to the structure theory developed in õ4. Though we do not assume throughout that the base rings are noetherian and hereditary, the highlights of our results are established only for noetherian hereditary rings. Observe that examples for such rings are abundant: Dedekind domains as well as matrix rings and triangular matrix rings over them (cf. Chase [1], Fuelberth and Kuzmanovich [ 5] and the literature cited there), etc. õ 1. In the category of unital left R-modules, let (T,F) be a hereditary torsion theory in the sense of Dickson [2], i.e. T and F are classes of R-modules such that (i) T is closed under taking submodules and quotients, (ii) F is closed under taking submodules, (iii) TCh F = (0}, and (iv) every R-module M contains a unique 33 34 L. FUCHS submodule TM C T with FM = M/TM C F. We say M is T-torsion or T-free according as TM = M or 0. A torsion theory is said to be finitely generated if every nonzero T-torsion module contains a cyclic submodule isomorphic to R/L where L is some finitely generated left ideal of R. Given a torsion theory, an exact sequence 0- • A- • B C- • 0 will be called T-exact if the induced sequenc
Gene loss and lineage specific restriction-modification systems associated with niche differentiation in the Campylobacter jejuni Sequence Type 403 clonal complex
No full textCampylobacter jejuni is a highly diverse species of bacteria commonly associated with infectious intestinal disease of humans and zoonotic carriage in poultry, cattle, pigs, and other animals. The species contains a large number of distinct clonal complexes that vary from host generalist lineages commonly found in poultry, livestock, and human disease cases to host-adapted specialized lineages primarily associated with livestock or poultry. Here, we present novel data on the ST403 clonal complex of C. jejuni, a lineage that has not been reported in avian hosts. Our data show that the lineage exhibits a distinctive pattern of intralineage recombination that is accompanied by the presence of lineage-specific restriction-modification systems. Furthermore, we show that the ST403 complex has undergone gene decay at a number of loci. Our data provide a putative link between the lack of association with avian hosts of C. jejuni ST403 and both gene gain and gene loss through nonsense mutations in coding sequences of genes, resulting in pseudogene formation
Redox-sensitivity and site-specificity of S- and N- denitrosation in proteins
No full textBackground
S-nitrosation – the formation of S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) at cysteine residues in proteins – is a posttranslational modification involved in signal transduction and nitric oxide (NO) transport. Recent studies would also suggest the formation of N-nitrosamines (RNNOs) in proteins in vivo, although their biological significance remains obscure. In this study, we characterized a redox-based mechanism by which N-nitroso-tryptophan residues in proteins may be denitrosated.
Methodology/Principal Findings
The denitrosation of N-acetyl-nitroso Trp (NANT) by glutathione (GSH) required molecular oxygen and was inhibited by superoxide dismutase (SOD). Transnitrosation to form S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was observed only in the absence of oxygen or presence of SOD. Protein denitrosation by GSH was studied using a set of mutant recombinant human serum albumin (HSA). Trp-214 and Cys-37 were the only two residues nitrosated by NO under aerobic conditions. Nitroso-Trp-214 in HSA was insensitive to denitrosation by GSH or ascorbate while denitrosation at Cys-37 was evident in the presence of GSH but not ascorbate. GSH-dependent denitrosation of Trp-214 was restored in a peptide fragment of helix II containing Trp-214. Finally, incubation of cell lysates with NANT revealed a pattern of protein nitrosation distinct from that observed with GSNO.
Conclusions
We propose that the denitrosation of nitrosated Trp by GSH occurs through homolytic cleavage of nitroso Trp to NO and a Trp aminyl radical, driven by the formation of superoxide derived from the oxidation of GSH to GSSG. Overall, the accessibility of Trp residues to redox-active biomolecules determines the stability of protein-associated nitroso species such that in the case of HSA, N-nitroso-Trp-214 is insensitive to denitrosation by low-molecular-weight antioxidants. Moreover, RNNOs can generate free NO and transfer their NO moiety in an oxygen-dependent fashion, albeit site-specificities appear to differ markedly from that of RSNOs
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