100,410 research outputs found
Faunulus nielsi Houben, Proesmans & Artois 2022, gen. et sp. nov.
No full text<i>Faunulus nielsi</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois gen. et sp. nov. <p>urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: E8B0D042-259A-427D-8F29-5DB6ED8C8411</p> <p>Fig. 2</p> Diagnosis <p>Provisionally the same diagnosis as the genus.</p> Etymology <p>The species epithet is dedicated to Niels Houben, son of the first author (A.M. Houben).</p> Material examined <p> <b>Holotype</b> AUSTRIA • 1 spec., live observations and sagittal sections; Kreuzberg near Weyer; 47°51′36″ N, 14°39′09″ E; 29 Aug. 2011; A.M. Houben and W. Proesmans leg.; forest soil of <i>Pinus</i>, <i>Sambucus</i>, <i>Corylus</i>, and <i>Cornus</i>; KV.686; FMNH.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes</b> AUSTRIA • 2 specs, live observations, one of which whole mounted; same collection data as for holotype; paratype no. 821; HU.</p> Description <p>Specimens about 1 mm long. The body shape is pointed anteriorly and blunt to rounded posteriorly (see Fig. 2A). On free-swimming specimens, a small tail can be observed. Both anterior and posterior ends possess very typical, strongly eosinophilic glands that appear rod-shaped, like big rhabdites, and are situated more or less parallel to each other. Rostrally, rhabdite glands (Fig. 2A: ar) are present and arranged in two groups. The distal part of the epidermis is completely filled with coarse, strongly eosinophilic secretions, which probably are dermal rhabdites (Fig. 2B: dr?). The protonephridiopores were not observed with certainty. The slightly forward slanted rosulate pharynx (Fig. 2A: ph) is located centrally.</p> <p>The gonopore (Fig. 2A–B: gp) is situated at ±65% of the body and connected to a genital atrium (Fig. 2A– B: ga) that is surrounded by muscles, although their orientation could not be observed with certainty.</p> <p>The paired, differently sized testes (Fig. 2A: t) lie in front of the pharynx and ventral to the paired vitellaria (Fig. 2A–B: vi). One testis is relatively large, while the other is barely visible. The paired vasa deferentia (Fig. 2B: vde) enter the copulatory organ laterally (Fig. 2A: co). Two layers of spiral muscles surround the 50 µm long copulatory organ, which bears an intracapsular seminal vesicle (Fig. 2B–C: vs) and a cirrus (Fig. 2B–C: cir). Large, coarse-grained, extracapsular eosinophilic glands (Fig. 2B: gg) are associated with the copulatory organ, although the point of entry remains uncertain. The 30 µm long cirrus is more or less straight and covered with spines in its distal part (see Fig. 2B–F: cir). The most distal part of the cirrus bears the larger spines and is enveloped in a conical, sclerotised pouch (Fig. 2C: sp).</p> <p>The female duct (Fig. 2B: fd) is relatively long and lined with a high, nuclear epithelium. Proximally it widens into a seminal receptacle (Fig. 2B: rs) that receives the oviduct and the vitelloduct.</p> Discussion <p> <i>Faunulus nielsi</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois gen. et sp. nov. strongly resembles species of <i>Adenocerca</i> Reisinger, 1924 because of the combination of following features: centrally positioned pharynx, presence of tail glands and a spiny cirrus, and absence of a bursa (Van Steenkiste <i>et al.</i> 2010). However, <i>F. nielsi</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois gen. et sp. nov. differs from all species of <i>Adenocerca</i> in having testes that lie rostral to the pharynx. In all species of <i>Adenocerca</i>, they are situated posterior to the pharynx and lie next to the copulatory organ. Moreover, there is a difference in size between the two testes of <i>F. nielsi</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois gen. et sp. nov., which was never reported for <i>Adenocerca</i>. This size difference is consistent for all observed specimens. All species of <i>Adenocerca</i> either have no dermal rhabdites (<i>Adenocerca teshirogii</i> Kolasa, 1981) or dermal rhabdites occurring throughout the whole epidermis. Conversely, what we assume are dermal rhabdites occur solely in the caudal body part of <i>F. nielsi</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois gen. et sp. nov. Because of the unique combination of features present in the new species described, we find it justified to erect a new genus within ‘Typhloplanidae’.</p> Remarks <p>Animals seem to feed on rotifers since trophi were found in the gut.</p>Published as part of <i>Houben, Albrecht M., Monnens, Marlies, Proesmans, Willem & Artois, Tom J., 2022, Limnoterrestrial ' Typhloplanidae' (Rhabdocoela, Platyhelminthes), with the description of four new species and a new genus, pp. 70-102 in European Journal of Taxonomy 798</i> on pages 75-77, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.798.1671, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/6323040">http://zenodo.org/record/6323040</a>
Bryoplana belgica Houben, Proesmans & Artois 2022, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Bryoplana belgica</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois sp. nov. <p>urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 1F08C372-CBAE-45E6-BE50-144752F3D44B</p> <p>Fig. 5</p> Diagnosis <p> Species of <i>Bryoplana</i> with the ciliation reduced or completely lacking dorsally. Testes elongated, in the posterior body part, lateral to the copulatory organ. Copulatory organ with bent, sclerotised ejaculatory duct. Most proximal part of female duct forming a seminal receptacle.</p> Etymology <p>The epithet refers to the fact that the species was found in Belgium.</p> Material examined <p> <b>Holotype</b> BELGIUM • 1 spec., studied alive and serially sectioned; Koksijde, Oostduinkerke, nature reserve ‘De Zeebermduinen’; 51°08′22″ N, 02°41′26″ E; 30 Jul. 2011; A.M. Houben and W. Proesmans leg.; dry moss growing on dunes; KV.687; FMNH.</p> Description <p>The specimen is about 0.8 mm long. Both body ends are rounded (Fig. 5A–B). Free swimming specimens show a small tail. Adenal rhabdite glands (Fig. 5A: ar) are situated in two groups at ±25% of the body. Dermal rhabdites and protonephridiopores were not observed. The epidermis on the ventral body side is 4.5 µm high and entirely covered with locomotory cilia, while on the dorsal body side it is 3.5 µm high and ciliation is strongly reduced, even almost completely lacking. A slightly forward-slanted rosulate pharynx (Fig. 5A–B: ph) is located just rostral to the centre of the body.</p> <p>The gonopore (Fig. 5C–D: gp) is situated at ±80% of the body and connected to a genital atrium (Fig. 5A, C–D: ga), which is lined with a high, nucleated epithelium and surrounded by muscles, the orientation of which could not be observed with certainty.</p> <p>The elongated testes (Fig. 5A, C–D: t) lie at ±70% of the body and ventrally to the paired vitellaria (Fig. 5A–D: vi). They gradually taper into the broad vasa deferentia (Fig. 5C: vde), which laterally enter the copulatory organ (Fig. 5A: co). Circular muscles surround the 34 µm long copulatory organ, which includes an intracapsular seminal vesicle (Fig. 5C–E: vs) and a 22 µm long, strongly sclerotised ejaculatory duct (Fig. 5C–E: de). This ejaculatory duct is more or less straight at its proximal end and bends strongly (±100°) at the distal end. Coarse-grained eosinophilic glands are situated ventrally to the copulatory organ. Although the entrance into the copulatory organ could not be seen, these glands probably represent the prostate glands (Fig. 5D: gg?).</p> <p>The female duct (Fig. 5C–D: fd) is relatively long and lined with a nuclear epithelium. Proximally, it widens into a seminal receptacle (Fig. 5A, C–D: rs), which receives the short oviduct (Fig. 5D: od). The vitelloduct and female glands (Fig. 5D: fg) open into this female duct at the place where it connects to the seminal receptacle.</p> Discussion <p>The new species can readily be placed within ‘Typhloplanidae’ because it possesses all diagnostic features: a pharynx rosulatus, a single ovary, paired testes, and a single genital opening. Furthermore, the ventral position of the testes relative to the vitellaria indicates this species should be placed in ‘Protoplanellinae’, ‘Rhynchomesostominae’ Bresslau, 1933 or ‘Typhloplaninae’ Graff, 1905. However, the species’ general habitus and internal organisation differ markedly from the situation in the latter two subtaxa, and we therefore designate this species to ‘Protoplanellinae’.</p> <p> Most representatives of ‘Protoplanellinae’ have the pharynx situated in the midbody or posterior body half. Only select species have a pharynx in the anterior half of the body, these belong to <i>Achrochordonoposthia</i> Reisinger, 1924; <i>Bockia</i> Reisinger, 1924; <i>Bryoplana</i>; <i>Microcalyptorhynchus</i> Kepner & Ruebush, 1935, <i>Prorhynchella</i> Ruebush, 1939; and <i>Protopharyngiellona</i> Schwank, 1980. Some of these genera show very typical features: presence of a proboscis (<i>Microcalyptorhynchus</i>), presence of ciliated pits in the anterior body half (<i>Prorhynchella</i>), or the fact that the proboscis is of the doliiformis-type (<i>Bockia</i>). Lack of these features in our species indicates that it cannot be allocated to any of these genera. One of the most eye-catching features of <i>B. belgica</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois sp. nov. is the lack of a bursa copulatrix, which in the remaining taxa is only the case for <i>Bryoplana</i>. We hence allocate our specimens to the latter genus, to which it indeed shows much resemblance.</p> <p> <i>Bryoplana belgica</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois sp. nov. differs from <i>Bryoplana xerophila</i> by the presence of a sclerotised, curved ejaculatory duct, the presence of a seminal receptacle in the female system, and the fact that the dorsal body ciliation is very much reduced, or even lacking. The latter feature was also mentioned by Kolasa (1977) for <i>Ventrociliella romanae</i>, which he suggested to be an adaptation to limnoterrestrial habitats. However, in all other typical limnoterrestrial taxa, even in <i>B. xerophila</i>, the dorsal ciliation is present. Both species of <i>Bryoplana</i> were recovered from dried out moss – <i>B. xerophila</i> in the USA and <i>B. belgica</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois sp. nov. in Western Europe – but indeed differ markedly in the extent of the dorsal body ciliation, undermining Kolasa’s (1977) hypothesis. The presence/absence of a seminal receptacle in the female system as a distinguishing character should be used with care at this moment. Indeed, the seminal receptacle in <i>B. belgica</i> Houben, Proesmans & Artois sp. nov. is simply a swelling of the female duct, and not a separate organ. As such, the absence of this structure in <i>B. xerophila</i> may be due to the specimens of Van Steenkiste <i>et al.</i> (2010) not having mated yet. However, as Van Steenkiste <i>et al.</i> (2010) investigated several live specimens and twelve serial sections, this seems unlikely. Regardless, the differences in body ciliation and construction of the copulatory organ proper clearly distinguish both species.</p>Published as part of <i>Houben, Albrecht M., Monnens, Marlies, Proesmans, Willem & Artois, Tom J., 2022, Limnoterrestrial ' Typhloplanidae' (Rhabdocoela, Platyhelminthes), with the description of four new species and a new genus, pp. 70-102 in European Journal of Taxonomy 798</i> on pages 81-83, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.798.1671, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/6323040">http://zenodo.org/record/6323040</a>
Hoplopera isis Houben, Proesmans & Artois 2022, sp. nov.
No full textHoplopera isis Houben, Proesmans & Artois sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4DA3359A-D279-4286-B7B0-822382D258F7 Fig. 7A–C Diagnosis Dark species of Hoplopera, about 0.8 mm long with inconspicuous tail glands. Dermal rhabdites small, adenal rhabdites in two tracks. Atrial glands present. Spindle-shaped testes. Copulatory organ 20 µm long, without sclerotised structures. Bipartite bursa with sclerotised structure containing two groups of parallel, vertical rods, separated from each other by vertical bars, as a whole resembling a fish pot. Female duct forming a seminal receptacle. Etymology The species epithet is dedicated to Isis Houben, first daughter of the first author (A.M. Houben). Material examined Holotype AUSTRIA • 1 spec., studied alive and horizontally sectioned; south of Graz, between Glashütten and Trahütten; 46°49′46″ N, 15°06′09″ E; 23 Aug. 2011; A.M. Houben and W. Proesmans leg.; moss growing in a small stream in a pine forest; KV.688; FMNH. Paratypes AUSTRIA • 5 specs, studied alive, one of which whole mounted; same collection data as for holotype; paratype no. 822; HU. Description Specimens are about 0.7–0.9 mm long. The body is rounded anteriorly and possesses a small tail provided with small, inconspicuous tail glands (Fig. 7C: tg). Rostrally, sharply pointed adenal rhabdites (Fig. 7B: ar) are arranged in two groups. Very small dermal rhabdites occur all over the body. The paired protonephridiopores (Fig. 7A: pp) lie posterior and lateral to the mouth. The rosulate pharynx is located just behind the middle of the body (Fig. 7A: ph). The gonopore (Fig. 7B–C: gp) is situated at ±80% of the body and connected to a genital atrium (Fig. 7A–C: ga) that is lined with a high epithelium and surrounded by muscles of uncertain orientation. At its posterior side, the genital atrium receives a large group of eosinophilic glands (Fig. 7A–C: ag). Two small, spindle-shaped testes (Fig. 7A: t) lie in front of the pharynx (Fig. 7A: ph) and ventral to the paired vitellaria (Fig. 7A, C: vi). In some specimens, one testis seems bigger than the other one. The paired vasa deferentia (Fig. 7B–C: vde) enter the egg-shaped copulatory organ laterally. Two layers of spiral muscles surround the 24µm long copulatory organ (Fig. 7A: co), which bears an intracapsular seminal vesicle (Fig. 7B–C: vs) and an ejaculatory duct (Fig. 7B–C: de). Coarse-grained intra- (Fig. 7B– C: gg1) and extracapsular (Fig. 7C: gg2) eosinophilic glands are associated with the copulatory organ. The relatively long male duct (Fig. 7C: md) receives the bursa (Fig. 7A–C: bu) before entering the genital atrium (Fig. 7A–C: ga). This bipartite bursa consists of an 18 µm long, thin-walled proximal part containing sperm and a 22 µm long distal part, which could be considered the bursal stalk (Fig. 7B–C: bs). This stalk is surrounded by circular muscles and contains a sclerotised structure (Fig. 7B: ss) that resembles the structure of a fish pot. It consists of vertical rods that are divided into two groups by a horizontal bar. The proximal and distal part are also delimited by a horizontal bar. As a whole, this bursal stalk is wrapped in a loose matrix surrounded by circular muscles. The vitellaria (Fig. 7A, C: vi) extend from the anterior third of the body to the posterior end where they meet. The oviduct broadens and becomes a seminal receptacle (Fig. 7A–C: rs), which further becomes a long female duct (Fig. 7C: fd), lined with a high, nucleated epithelium and surrounded by muscles. The vitelloduct was not observed with certainty, although it is probably an unpaired one that meets the oviduct. Discussion See the general discussion on the genus Hoplopera. Remarks The hard parts and copulatory structures are not visible on the whole-mounted specimen. Therefore, we designate a serially sectioned specimen as holotype.Published as part of Houben, Albrecht M., Monnens, Marlies, Proesmans, Willem & Artois, Tom J., 2022, Limnoterrestrial ' Typhloplanidae' (Rhabdocoela, Platyhelminthes), with the description of four new species and a new genus, pp. 70-102 in European Journal of Taxonomy 798 on pages 86-88, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.798.1671, http://zenodo.org/record/632304
Adenoplea reisingeri Houben, Proesmans and Artois, n. sp.
No full textAdenoplea reisingeri Houben, Proesmans and Artois n. sp. (Fig. 1 A) Locality. Vyle-et-Tharoul, Liège, Belgium, moss collected along the Rue Pont de Vyle (50 ° 27 ’06”N; 5 ° 16 ’ 46 ”E), (18 August 2008) Material. Three serially-sectioned specimens: a sagitally-sectioned one designated holotype (SMNH, no. 8758), a sagitally-sectioned (HU, no. 573) and a transverse-sectioned one (HU, no. 574), both paratypes. Etymology. Dedicated to Dr. Erich Reisinger, honouring his contribution to the knowledge of limnoterrestrial rhabdocoels. Description. Animals about 1 mm long with a white-yellowish colour. Rostrally two groups of adenal rhabdite glands are present. Protonephridiopores were not observed with certainty. The rosulate pharynx is positioned at ± 65 % of the body. The gonopore (Fig. 1 A: gp) is situated at ± 90 % of the body and opens into a genital atrium, which is lined with a high, nucleated epithelium and is surrounded by muscles. The paired, large testes (Fig. 1 A: t) lie ventrally to the vitellaria. The paired vasa deferentia (Fig. 1 A: vde) become somewhat wider before entering the copulatory organ separately through its proximal end. The copulatory organ is 60–65 µm long. It contains an intracapsular spindle-shaped seminal vesicle (Fig. 1 A: vs), the ejaculatory duct (Fig. 1 A: de) and coarse-grained eosinophilic (Fig. 1 A: gg 1) and basophilic (Fig. 1 A: gg 2) prostate glands with extracapsular nucleated parts. The copulatory organ is of the inermis-type, i.e. the ejaculatory duct is not provided with sclerotized spines (see Reisinger 1924). Circular muscles surround the ejaculatory duct, and two spirallyrunning muscle layers surround the entire copulatory organ. The male duct (Fig. 1 A: md) is surrounded by a layer of circular muscles and is lined with a high epithelium. The oval bursa (Fig. 1 A: bu) is slightly smaller than the copulatory organ, completely surrounded by circular muscles and opens in the distal part of the male duct. The vitellaria extend from the posterior end up to the rhabdite glands. The female duct (Fig. 1 A: fd) is surrounded with muscles and lined with a high, nucleated epithelium. It receives the oviduct (Fig. 1 A: od) and the common vitelloduct (Fig. 1 A: vd) proximally, and the female glands (Fig. 1 A: fg) somewhat distally from these ducts. Diagnosis. Species of Adenoplea Reisinger, 1924, about 1 mm long. Copulatory organ of the inermis-type, containing at least two types of prostate glands, a spindle-shaped seminal vesicle and a muscular ejaculatory duct in its distal third. An elongate, oval-shaped copulatory bursa, which is completely surrounded by circular muscles, is present. Discussion. See the discussion following the descriptive notes and remarks on Adenoplea perigraptopera Reisinger, 1924.Published as part of Houben, Albrecht M., Schwank, Peter, Proesmans, Willem, Bert, Wim & Artois, Tom J., 2015, Notes on some enigmatic taxa of limnoterrestrial rhabdocoels, with the description of two new species, pp. 83-92 in Zootaxa 4040 (1) on pages 84-85, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4040.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/28999
Letter, [Author unclear] to Paulina T. Merritt
No full textHandwritten letter to Paulina Merritt from an unknown author, October 1, 1876.
Handwritten biographical information on Paulina T. McClung Merritt
No full textA handwritten biography of Paulina T. McClung Merritt by an unknown author, 1892.
Heterogeneous and tissue-specific regulation of effector T cell responses by IFN-gamma during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection.
No full textIFN-γ and T cells are both required for the development of experimental cerebral malaria during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Surprisingly, however, the role of IFN-γ in shaping the effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell response during this infection has not been examined in detail. To address this, we have compared the effector T cell responses in wild-type and IFN-γ(-/-) mice during P. berghei ANKA infection. The expansion of splenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during P. berghei ANKA infection was unaffected by the absence of IFN-γ, but the contraction phase of the T cell response was significantly attenuated. Splenic T cell activation and effector function were essentially normal in IFN-γ(-/-) mice; however, the migration to, and accumulation of, effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the lung, liver, and brain was altered in IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Interestingly, activation and accumulation of T cells in various nonlymphoid organs was differently affected by lack of IFN-γ, suggesting that IFN-γ influences T cell effector function to varying levels in different anatomical locations. Importantly, control of splenic T cell numbers during P. berghei ANKA infection depended on active IFN-γ-dependent environmental signals--leading to T cell apoptosis--rather than upon intrinsic alterations in T cell programming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to fully investigate the role of IFN-γ in modulating T cell function during P. berghei ANKA infection and reveals that IFN-γ is required for efficient contraction of the pool of activated T cells
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Pelevin’s Trinity in the novel “t”: author – protagonist – reader
No full textThe article attempts to interpret Pelevin's artistic strategy in the novel "T" by exploring its subject organization and addressing the key problems of the author, the protagonist, and the reader as they are seen by the researcher. The article analyzes the peculiarities of constructing the narrative reality in the novel "T", and goes on to discuss Pelevin's philosophic models of the development of the humankind, and the emergence of his new anthropology
Measuring industry-science links through inventor-author relations: A profiling method
No full textIn this pilot study we examine the performance of text-based profiling in recovering a set of validated inventor-author links. In a first step we match patents and publications solely based on their similarity in content. Next, we compare inventor and author names on the highest ranked matches for the occurrence of name matches. Finally, we compare these candidate matches with the names listed in a validated set of inventor-author names. Our text-based profile methodology performs significantly better than a random matching of patents and publications, suggesting that text-based profiling is a valuable complementary tool to the name searches used in previous studies.innovation; industry-science links; text-based profiling;
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