902 research outputs found
Aulacophora mbabaram Reid, Halling & Beatson 2021, sp. nov.
No full textAulacophora mbabaram Reid, Halling & Beatson, sp. nov. (Figs 6, 14, 22, 40, 53, 90, 103, 116, 130, 145, 159, 176–177, 183) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 541FC0FA-4971-4F50-BCCD-C6CB3D2D7828 Material examined. Types: Holotype: ♁*/ Almaden, Chillagoe Distr., 1928 WD Campbell / holotype Aulacophora mbabaram Reid et al. / (AMS); Paratypes (14): AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 1♁/ Almaden, Chillagoe Distr., 1928 WD Campbell (AMS); 1♁, 2♀, ditto except iii.1928 (AMS); 3♁, 2♀, 1♀ *, ditto except iii.1929 (AMS); 1♁, ditto except vi.1932 (AMS); 1♀, ditto except 1. iii.1933 K463207 ([ex AMS] NAQS); 1♁, 1♀ / Mt Mulligan, plateau, 700m 15–19.iv.1985, KH Halfpapp (QDAF). Description. Colour (Fig. 6). Head brownish-yellow, except apical third to half of labrum dark brown; extreme apices of mandibles dark brown; antennomeres 5–11 dark brown to black, 4 outer edge dark brown to black, 3 apically darkened, 1–2 brownish-yellow; pronotum and elytra entirely brownish-yellow; venter of prothorax entirely brownish-yellow; scutellum brownish-yellow; mesanepisternum, mesepimeron and mesoventrite brownish-yellow; metaventrite black with yellowish anterior margins; procoxae brownish-yellow, mesocoxae entirely brownish-yellow or anterior yellowish-brown, posteriorly brown, metacoxae mostly yellowish-brown to brown with yellowish edges; profemora brownish-yellow; mesofemora yellowish-brown on basal third and brown on apical third, middle third variable; metafemora basal third yellowish-brown to almost entirely dark brown, with paler brown anterior and posterior edges; protibiae brownish-yellow, with dark brown streak along ridged outer edge, meso- and metatibiae brown with paler bases; protarsi yellowish-brown, meso- and metatarsi brown; tergites brown with yellow margins, pygidium yellow in males and mostly brown in females; abdominal ventrites 1–4 black with yellowish-brown apical margins, ventrite 5 with dark brown to black base and yellow apical half. Male: length 7–7.5 mm; frontoclypeus without arcuate ridges or densely setose patches; first antennomere expanded, oval flat area in apical half defined by sharp ridge; antennae about 0.6x body length; antennomere 2 shortest, about one third length of 1, antennomere 1 longest, comparative lengths: 1>11>4=5>3=6>7=8>9=10>2; length antennomere 5 about 2.5x width; antennomeres 3–7 slightly expanded to apices; antennomeres 3–11 each with only 1–4 erect lateral setae; pronotal transverse depression posteriorly shallowly arcuate, deepest and broadest at middle; in lateral view anterior half of pronotum slightly less convex than posterior half and median depression with anterior slope shallower than posterior slope; without pair of large pits anterior to transverse groove; elytra shining, shallowly microreticulate; elytral humeri with small patch of 10–15 laterally directed erect setae (may be broken off); apical lobe of ventrite V asymmetrically sculptured, cavity bounded by a thin sharp ridge on left and thick rounded ridge on right; elongate cavity deepened from base almost to apex and deepest at left side of apex, apically bounded by an almost vertical wall; tergite VIII brown with darker anterior edge, strap-like, with medially produced but narrowly truncate apical margin, slightly membranous midline, without lateral lobes; penis thick & strongly curved in lateral view with minute angulate tubercle at tip; sides penis conspicuously punctured, slightly ridged on right, smooth and unridged on left; broad and only slightly asymmetric in dorsal view, almost evenly attenuated from middle to acute apex; membranous area about half penis length. Female as male, except: length 7–7.5 mm; antennomeres slightly thinner than male, length antennomere 5 about 2.7x width, length antennomere 8 about 2.8x width; transverse pronotal depression shallower; elytral without setal patch; pygidium apically swollen and extended, sometimes apically medially ridged; apex pygidium narrowly produced as a rounded to truncate lobe with a small apicodorsal tubercle; pygidial apex in lateral view flat and thick, with sinuate sides and without tubercle; venter of pygidial apex flat or shallowly concave; apex ventrite V shallowly and widely concave, somtimes with small angulations on the edge, and not reflexed; vaginal palpi elongate ovate, length 3–3.5x width, with 8–9 pairs of setae in apical half; basal apodemes slightly curved, 0.4–0.45 mm long; sternite VIII with tignum separated from weakly sclerotised posterior margin of the sternite by a transparent membranous area, and posterior margin truncate, not produced; tignum about 1.2 mm long, apex membranous and rounded, separated from shaft by a narrow band of deeper pigmentation; spermathecal shape falcate, collum abruptly demarkated from receptaculum, reflexed relative to receptaculum, insertion point of gland (ramus) slightly produced; receptaculum strongly hook-shaped with angulate interior bend and small to moderately large beak-like appendix. Diagnosis. Male: without paired glands on pronotal disc (Fig. 14), pronotal depression thin and shallow (Figs 6, 22), humeral setal patch present (Fig. 22), scutellum pale (Fig. 6), tergite 8 medially lobed (Fig. 90), penis smooth sided with acutely attenuated apex (Fig. 103) and strongly reflexed in lateral view (Fig. 130). Female: frontoclypeus medially keeled, antennomeres 1–3 pale and 4–11 dark brown to black (Fig. 22), scutellum pale, basal half ventrite 5 dark brown (Fig. 53), pygidium narrowly produced partly dark brown with tooth at apex (Fig. 53), apical margin of ventrite 5 shallowly concave (Fig. 53). Etymology. Named for the local (extinct) language mbabaram, indigenous to the Almaden area (Dixon 2011). Distribution (Fig. 183) and biology. Aulacophora mbabaram is apparently endemic to a small area of northern Queensland. Two specimens have been collected on the extensive summit plateau of Mount Mulligan at 700 m, 250 m higher than the adjacent collecting locality for A. relicta in the dry woodland at the base of the cliffs (CAMR, pers. obs.). The other material was collected at Almaden, about 55km SSW of Mount Mulligan. The precise locality of collection of these specimens is unknown, and the beetles are not mentioned in any of the correspondence from the collector WD Campbell held in the Australian Museum Archives. Campbell was a retired geologist who, during the period of collection (from 1928–1933), was in his late 70s to mid 80s but was actively collecting zoological specimens for the Australian Museum. Parcels and/or letters arrived approximately monthly during this period. He lived in Almaden, beside the Crooked Creek river (Campbell 1928), but also had a mining lease called Manipota on a wooded ridge 8 kilometres northwest of Almaden (de Keyzer & Wolff 1964). One or both of these localities may represent the collection site. The hostplant of A. mbabaram is unknown. The Chillagoe to Mount Mulligan area of northern Queensland is mostly savannah woodland and particularly rich in Cucurbitaceae, with eight native species including Cucumis queenslandicus, a local endemic (Telford et al. 2011) and a possible host.Published as part of Reid, Chris, Halling, Luke & Beatson, Max, 2021, Revision of the Australopapuan and West Pacific species of plain pumpkinbeetles, the Aulacophora indica species-complex (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae), pp. 1-73 in Zootaxa 4932 (1) on pages 34-35, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4932.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/454544
Where is the Market? Evidence from Cross-Listings in the U.S.
No full textWe analyze the location of stock trading for firms with a U.S. cross-listing. The fraction of trading that occurs in the United States tends to be larger for companies from countries that are geographically close to the United States and feature low financial development and poor insider trading protection. For companies based in developed countries, trading volume in the United States is larger if the company is small, volatile and technology oriented, while this does not apply to emerging country firms. The domestic turnover rate increases in the cross-listing year and remains higher for firms based in developed markets, but not for emerging market firms. Domestic trading volume actually declines for companies from countries with poor enforcement of insider trading regulation
Ionophores in the Environment
No full textQuestions have arisen about the effects of veterinary medicines and especially their metabolites have on organisms in the environment. A couple of recent investigations has further reported that metabolites of certain veterinary drugs such as antibacterial agents (i.e. tetracyclines) and antiparacitics (i.e. ionophores) posses an environmental effects of similar level as their parent compounds on i.e. the soil bacterial community (Halling-Sørensen et al.2002; Hansen et al. 2009). Ionophores are used extensively worldwide as prophylactic chemotherapeutics and growth promoters in livestock production. Ionophores are antibiotic drugs that form lipid soluble complexes with, primarily, alkali cations that inhibit or kill pathogenic parasites in livestock. Several reports have revealed that ionophores are emerging environmental contaminants in agricultural run-off waters, surface waters, sediments, and ground waters, due to their continuously increased and constant application as feed additives in modern livestock production. This presentation will focus on the development of new analytical method for determination of ionophores in liquid and solid matrices. The hyphenated method consist of pressurised liquid extraction with integrated clean-up followed by solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography tandem in space mass spectrometry (PLE-SPE-LC-MS/MS).Halling-Sørensen B, Sengelov G, Tjornelund J (2002) Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 42: 3, p. 263-271. DOI: 10.1007/s00244-001-0017-2 Hansen M, Krogh KA, Brandt A, Christensen JH, Halling-Sorensen B (2009) Environmental Pollution 157: 2 p. 474-480. DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2008.09.022 <br/
Crystallographic analysis of counterion effects on subtilisin enzymatic action in acetonitrile
No full textWhen enzymes are in low dielectric nonaqueous media, it would be expected that their charged groups would be more closely associated with counterions. There is evidence that these counterions may then affect enzymatic activity. Published crystal structures of proteins in organic solvents do not show increased numbers of associated counterions, and this might reflect the difficulty of distinguishing cations like Na+ from water molecules. In this paper, the placement of several Cs+ and Cl− ions in crystals of the serine protease subtilisin Carlsberg is presented. Ions are more readily identified crystallographically through their anomalous diffraction using softer X-rays. The protein conformation is very similar to that of the enzyme without CsCl in acetonitrile, both for the previously reported (1SCB) and our own newly determined model. No fewer than 11 defined sites for Cs+ cations and 8 Cl− anions are identified around the protein molecule, although most of these have partial occupancy and may represent nonspecific binding sites. Two Cs+ and two Cl− ions are close to the mouth of the active site cleft, where they may affect catalysis. In fact, cross-linked CsCl-treated subtilisin crystals transferred to acetonitrile show catalytic activity several fold higher than the reference crystals containing Na+. Presoaking with another large cation, choline, also increases the enzyme activity. The active site appears only minimally sterically perturbed by the ion presence around it, so alternative activation mechanisms can be suggested: an electrostatic redistribution and/or a larger hydration sphere that enhances the protein domain
Extraction and detection of Ionophores in the Aquatic Environment
No full textAnticoccidial agents or coccidiostatics are the only anti-bacterial substances still authorised as feed additives within the European Union (Vincent et al. 2011). Anticoccidial agents are used for the prevention of the disease coccidiosis, which is caused by a unicellular intestinal parasite. Coccidiosis is a major disease in poultry as well as in many other hosts. Ionophores are the most heavily applied sup-group of the two sub-groups of anticoccidial agents, because they also have antibacterial properties. After the ban of antibiotic growth promoters Ionophores are used extensively worldwide as prophylactic chemotherapeutics and growth promoters in livestock production. As an example, the yearly consumptions of active compounds are more than 10 tonnes in Denmark and for the Republic of Korea more than 800 tonnes (Hansen et al. 2009a, Kim et al. 2008). In long term this could cause problems with resistance in the treatment of coccidiosis. Several reports have revealed that ionophores are emerging environmental contaminants in agricultural run-off waters, surface waters, sediments, and ground waters, due to their continuously increased and constant application as feed additives in modern livestock production (Dolliver et al. 2008; Hansen et al. 2009a and 2009b). Recent investigations has further reported that metabolites of certain veterinary drugs such as antibacterial agents (i.e. tetracyclines) and antiparacitics (i.e. ionophores) posses an environmental effects of similar level as their parent compounds on the soil bacterial community (Halling-Sørensen et al. 2002; Hansen et al. 2009c). The focus of the present study is on the recent advances of a new analytical method for sampling, extraction and detection of ionophores in liquid matrices. The hyphenated method consists of an integrated clean-up with solid phase extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem in space mass spectrometry. Preliminary results for the HPLC-MS/MS method determine the limit of detection (LOD) for five ionophores in the range of 10 - 25 ng kg-1 and limit of quantification (LOQ) in the range of 25 – 100 ng kg-1. Vincent U, Ezerskis Z, Chedin M, von Holst C (2011) J Pharm Biomed Anal 54, pp 526-534Halling-Sørensen B, Sengelov G, Tjørnelund J (2002) Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 42: 3, pp. 263-271 Dolliver H, Gupta S (2008) J. Environ. Qual. 37: 2 pp. 1227-1237. Hansen M, Björklund E, Krogh KA, Halling-Sørensen B (2009a) TrAC 28:5 pp521-533. Kim Y, Jung J, Kim M, Park J, Boxall ABA, and Choi K (2008) Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 26:167-176Hansen M, Krogh KA, Björklund E, Brandt A, Halling-Sørensen B (2009b) TrAC 28:5 pp534-542.Hansen M, Krogh KA, Brandt A, Christensen JH, Halling-Sørensen B (2009c) Environ Poll 157: 2 pp. 474-480. <br/
Enzymatic solid-to-solid peptide synthesis
No full textSolid-to-solid peptide synthesis is an enzyme-catalyzed reaction carried out in a mixture consisting of solid substrates and up to 20% (w/w) of enzyme solution in water. No organic solvents are necessary for the preparation of the initial reaction mixtures. Generally, solid-to-solid synthesis is considered to be a low-water reaction system because of the very high overall concentration of substrates used. However, from the enzyme's 'viewpoint,' the reaction mixture is just an aqueous solution saturated with substrates, as this is where the actual biotransformation takes place. Therefore, this approach combines advantages of both water- and solvent-based systems (i.e., high enzyme activity, high substrate concentration, and high degree of conversion to the final product). Another attraction of solid-to-solid synthesis is that it enables improved volumetric productivity in the reactor to be achieved. The avoidance of organic solvents is often advantageous too, especially for applications in the pharmaceutical and food industry
Estimation of flattening coefficient for absorption and circular dichroism using simulation
No full textThe absorbance and circular dichroism (CD) of suspensions is lower than if the same amount of chromophore were uniformly distributed throughout the medium. Several mathematical treatments of this absorption flattening phenomenon have been presented using various assumptions and approximations. This article demonstrates an alternative simulation approach that allows relaxation of assumptions. On current desktop computers, the algorithm runs quickly with enough particles and light paths considered to get answers that are usually accurate to better than 3%. Results from the simulation agree with the most popular analytical model for 0.01 volume fraction of particles, showing that the extent of flattening depends mainly on the absorbance through a particle diameter. Unlike previous models, the simulation can show that flattening is significantly lower when volume fraction increases to 0.1 but is higher when the particles have a size distribution. The simulation can predict the slope of the nearly linear relationship between flattening of CD and the absorbance of the suspension. This provides a method to correct experimental CD data where volume fraction and particle size are known
Interaction of counterions with subtilisin in acetonitrile : insights from molecular dynamics simulations
No full textA recent X-ray structure has enabled the location of chloride and cesium ions on the surface of subtilisin Carlsberg in acetonitrile soaked crystals.(1) To complement the previous study and analyze the system in solution, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, in acetonitrile, were performed using this structure. Additionally, Cl– and Cs+ ions were docked on the protein surface and this system was also simulated. Our results indicate that chloride ions tend to stay close to the protein, whereas cesium ions frequently migrate to the solvent. The distribution of the ions around the enzyme surface is not strongly biased by their initial locations. Replacing cesium by sodium ions showed that the distribution of the two cations is similar, indicating that Cs+ can be used to find the binding sites of cations like Na+ and K+, which, unlike Cs+, have physiological and biotechnological roles. The Na+Cl– is more stable than the Cs+Cl– ion pair, decreasing the probability of interaction between Cl– and subtilisin. The comparison of water and acetonitrile simulations indicates that the solvent influences the distribution of the ions. This work provides an extensive theoretical analysis of the interaction between ions and the model enzyme subtilisin in a nonaqueous medium
Renal function and renal histopathology in assessment of course and prognosis in Henoch Schönlein nephritis and IgA nephropathy
No full textBackground: Henoch Schönlein Nephritis (HSN) is a common childhood vasculitis that generally has a self-limiting course but the long-term outcome varies with the clinical picture at onset. Morbidity is high among the most severe cases, and therefore there is a need for intervention. Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most frequent glomerulonephritis in the world, and the risk of disease progression to chronic renal disease (CKD) is as high in paediatric population as among adults. There is no consensus regarding treatment strategies in the two diseases.Aim: To identify patients at risk and to identify predictors of a poor outcome in HSN and IgAN patients and to study the results of treated patients with severe forms of HSN and IgAN.Results: In study I 73 patients with HSN, investigated within 5 years from onset, we observed that GFR at the first investigation was lowest among patients with nephrotic syndrome or with a nephritic-nephrotic picture at onset. The clinical picture at onset was related to the histology findings. Advanced biopsy findings were found in 60% of patients with nephrotic syndrome and in 70% of patients with a nephritic-nephrotic picture at onset. Among patients with non- nephrotic proteinuria, generally considered to be a benign group, 69% showed advanced biopsy findings, despite the fact that their GFR showed only a moderate reduction at onset.In study II the results of treatment of the most severe cases of HSN (n=24) and IgAN (n=19) were presented. All patients were treated with ACEi/ARB. In group A (n=18) Methylprednisolone/oral prednisolone was combined with Cyclophosphamide given as 3-6 monthly pulses. In group B (n=25) 15 patients received corticosteroids and 10 only ACEi/ARB. In group A proteinuria was reduced after Methylprednisolone and further declined after Cyclophophamide treatment. GFR improved during follow-up in group A. In group B the proteinuria decreased during follow-up and the GFR remained unchanged. There was a greater fall in the protein reduction in the group treated with corticosteroids and ACEi/ARB than in the group treated without corticosteroids.The results presented in study III identified the predictors of a poor outcome in 78 HSN patients followed mean 5 years. 26% progressed to a poor outcome (active renal disease or CKD stage 4-5/ESRD). Both severe clinical features at onset and advanced biopsy findings were related to a poor outcome. Proteinuria at one year follow-up was assessed as a strong individual predictor. The combination of proteinuria at one year and the histology grading showed highest discriminative ability.The results in study IV validated the new Oxford classification and assessed the predictability of the of the histology findings identified in the Oxford MEST score: mesangial (M) and endocapillary (E) hypercellularity, segmental glomerulosclerosis (S) and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (T). Ninety-nine children were followed > 5 years. Eighteen per cent progressed to a poor outcome. Ninety biopsies were reviewed according to the MEST score: M, E and T were each associated with a poor outcome but S did not reach significance. Instead, presence of crescents and of global sclerosis was predictive of poor outcome in our cohort.Conclusion: Morbidity is high among severe cases of HSN and IgAN. Identification of predictors of a poor prognosis will improve medical intervention and reduce the risk of deterioration of the diseases.List of scientific papersI. Henoch Schönlein Nephritis: Clinical findings related to renal function and morphology. Edström Halling S.F, Söderberg M.P, Berg U.B. Pediatric Nephology. 2005 Jan; 20 (1):46-51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-004-1650-6 II. Treatment of severe Henoch–Schönlein and Immunoglobulin A nephritis. A single center experience. Edström Halling S, Söderberg M.P, Berg U.B. Pediatric Nephrology. 2009 Jan; 24 (1):91-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-008-0990-z III. Predictors of outcome in Henoch Schönlein nephritis. Edström Halling S, Söderberg M.P, Berg U.B. Pedatric Nephrology. 2010, June; 25 (6): 1101-1108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-010-1444-y IV. Predictors of outcome in paediatric IgA nephropathy with regard to clinical and histopathologic variables (Oxford Classification). Edström Halling S, Söderberg M.P, Berg U.B. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2012 Feb;27(2):715-22. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfr339 </p
Data sources for model validation – variety testing data from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden
No full textOfficial variety tests provide one and well organized data source for model validation. Someinformation of official variety testing experiments of forage crops in Finland and Sweden ispresented in this paper. Information of the testing progamme procedure and of the latestresults are available for example in the publications of Dryler 2012, Halling 2012, Kangas et al.2012 and Nesheim and Langerud 2013
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