301 research outputs found
Dragmacidon hendersoni Sim-Smith & Hickman & Kelly 2021, sp. nov.
No full textDragmacidon hendersoni sp. nov. (Fig. 13) Material examined. Holotype — MCCRDS9412, Nameless Island, 0.670° S, 90.586° W, 9 m, 9 Aug 2003. Type locality. Nameless Island; 9 m. Habitat and distribution. Only known from the type locality. Found in a recess on a vertical wall growing on rock; 9 m. Description. Thinly encrusting sponge, 3 mm thick, with a minutely ridged and punctate surface. A few small oscules are scattered over the surface of the sponge. Texture is compressible, surface is faintly hispid. Colour in life is bright yellow, colour in ethanol is tan (Fig. 13A). Skeleton. Choanosomal skeleton is loosely plumoreticulate, with delicate, multispicular primary tracts and vague secondary tracts/connections. Bundles of styles protrude through the surface of the sponge, in tufts, points uppermost. There is no special ectosome (Fig. 13B). Spicules. Megascleres— Style I (Fig. 13C), small, slender and slightly curved; 231 (209–248) × 6 (4–7) µm (n = 20). Style II (Fig. 13D), very slender and often strongly curved or slightly sinuous; 197 (127–334) × 2.4 (1.2–3.4) µm (n = 20). Etymology. Named after Scott Henderson, who accompanied co-author Cleveland Hickman on numerous trips to the Galápagos from 1983–2016. He assisted Cleve in a variety of roles from local negotiator and logistics organiser, divemaster during harrowing high-current dives, trusted friend and host on his Santa Cruz coffee farm. Of the 149 students Cleve led on 12 Galápagos student field trips, Scott was the only one to make Galápagos his home and life-long conservation project. Remarks. Dragmacidon hendersoni sp. nov. differs considerably from D. raeae sp. nov. by: live colouration (yellow vs bright red); skeleton (compact plumoreticulate vs loosely plumoreticulate to plumose); texture (firm vs compressible); and the possession of two size categories of styles, with both categories being more slender and sinuous than those of D. raeae sp. nov. It also differs considerably from the previously recorded D. oxeon which has much longer megascleres. It differs from all other tropical/subtropical eastern Pacific species by the lack of oxeas. Table 4 provides useful details on all known species of Dragmacidon, many of which appear to fall loosely into two groups: those that were previously identified as species of Pseudaxinella Schmidt, 1875 [D. raeae sp. nov. and other species that form firm dome-shaped sponges, with compact plumoreticulate skeletons that often lack trichodragmata, such as D. australe (Bergquist, 1970), D. coccineum (Keller, 1891), D. debitusae (Hooper & Lévi, 1993)]; and those that have a looser, more plumose skeleton with longer, more sinuous megascleres and often raphides in trichodragmata, resulting in a softer, less firm sponge, such as D. oxeon, D. mutans (Sarà, 1978), D. tumidum (Dendy, 1897), and D. decipiens (Wiedenmayer, 1989). The addition of two species from the Galápagos Archipelago, each of which falls loosely into one or the other group, may lend additional data for future detailed analysis of Dragmacidon, a genus of convenience into which all species commonly previously recorded as Pseudaxinella (a junior synonym of Axinella), were assigned by Alvarez & Hooper (2002: 734).Published as part of Sim-Smith, Carina, Hickman, Cleveland & Kelly, Michelle, 2021, New shallow-water sponges (Porifera) from the Galápagos Islands, pp. 1-71 in Zootaxa 5012 (1) on pages 30-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5012.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/515806
MicroRNAs in chronic airway diseases: Clinical correlation and translational applications
No full text10.1016/j.phrs.2020.105045Pharmacological Research160105045
On the minimum order of 4-lazy cops-win graphs
No full textWe consider the minimum order of a graph G with a given lazy cop number c L (G). Sullivan, Townsend and Werzanski [7] showed that the minimum order of a connected graph with lazy cop number 3 is 9 and K 3 □K 3 is the unique graph on nine vertices which requires three lazy cops. They conjectured that for a graph G on n vertices with ∆(G) ≥ n − k 2 , c L (G) ≤ k. We proved that the conjecture is true for k = 4. Furthermore, we showed that the Petersen graph is the unique connected graph G on 10 vertices with ∆(G) ≤ 3 having lazy cop number 3 and the minimum order of a connected graph with lazy cop number 4 is 16
A case for re-inventory of Australia’s plant pathogens
No full textAustralia has efficient and visible plant quarantine measures, which through various border controls and survey activities attempt to prevent the entry of unwanted pests and diseases. The ability to successfully perform this task relies heavily on determining what pathogens are present and established in Australia as well as those pathogens that are exotic and threatening. There are detailed checklists and databases of fungal plant pathogens in Australia, compiled, in part, from surveys over many years sponsored by Federal and State programmes. These checklists and databases are mostly specimen-based, which enables validation of records with reference herbarium specimens and sometimes associated cultures. Most of the identifications have been based on morphological examination. The use of molecular methods, particularly the analysis of DNA sequence data, has recently shown that several well-known and important plant pathogenic species are actually complexes of cryptic species. We provide examples of this in the important plant pathogenic genera Botryosphaeria and its anamorphs, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Phomopsis / Diaporthe and Mycosphaerella and its anamorphs. The discovery of these cryptic species indicates that many of the fungal names in checklists need scrutiny. It is difficult, and often impossible, to extract DNA for sequence analysis from herbarium specimens in order to validate identifications that may now be considered suspect. This validation can only be done if specimens are recollected, re-isolated and subjected to DNA analysis. Where possible, herbarium specimens as well as living cultures are needed to support records. Accurate knowledge of the plant pathogens within Australia's borders is an essential prerequisite for the effective discharge of plant quarantine activities that will prevent or delay the arrival of unwanted plant pathogens
Emerg Infect Dis
No full textSoil has been considered the natural reservoir for the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes melioidosis. We examined 550 melioidosis cases that occurred during a 10-year period in the highly urbanized city of Singapore, where soil exposure is rare, and found that rainfall and humidity levels were associated with disease incidence
Blotto game-based low-complexity fair multiuser subcarrier allocation for uplink OFDMA networks
No full textThis article presents a subcarrier allocation scheme based on a Blotto game (SABG) for orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) networks where correlation between adjacent subcarriers is considered. In the proposed game, users simultaneously compete for subcarriers using a limited budget. In order to win as many good subcarriers as possible in this game, users are required to wisely allocate their budget. Efficient power and budget allocation strategies are derived for users for obtaining optimal throughput. By manipulating the total budget available for each user, competitive fairness can be enforced for the SABG. In addition, the conditions to ensure the existence and uniqueness of Nash equilibrium (NE) for the SABG are also established. An low-complexity algorithm that ensures convergence to NE is proposed. Simulation results show that the proposed low-complexity SABG can allocate resources fairly and efficiently for both uncorrelated and correlated fading channels
Lipid-soluble Vitamins A, D, and E in HIV-Infected Pregnant women in Tanzania.
No full textThere is limited published research examining lipid-soluble vitamins in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected pregnant women, particularly in resource-limited settings. This is an observational analysis of 1078 HIV-infected pregnant women enrolled in a trial of vitamin supplementation in Tanzania. Baseline data on sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics, clinical signs and symptoms, and laboratory parameters were used to identify correlates of low plasma vitamin A (<0.7 micromol/l), vitamin D (<80 nmol/l) and vitamin E (<9.7 micromol/l) status. Binomial regression was used to estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Approximately 35, 39 and 51% of the women had low levels of vitamins A, D and E, respectively. Severe anemia (hemoglobin <85 g/l; P<0.01), plasma vitamin E (P=0.02), selenium (P=0.01) and vitamin D (P=0.02) concentrations were significant correlates of low vitamin A status in multivariate models. Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) was independently related to low vitamin A status in a nonlinear manner (P=0.01). The correlates of low vitamin D status were CD8 cell count (P=0.01), high ESR (ESR >81 mm/h; P<0.01), gestational age at enrollment (nonlinear; P=0.03) and plasma vitamins A (P=0.02) and E (P=0.01). For low vitamin E status, the correlates were money spent on food per household per day (P<0.01), plasma vitamin A concentration (nonlinear; P<0.01) and a gestational age <16 weeks at enrollment (P<0.01). Low concentrations of lipid-soluble vitamins are widely prevalent among HIV-infected women in Tanzania and are correlated with other nutritional insufficiencies. Identifying HIV-infected persons at greater risk of poor nutritional status and infections may help inform design and implementation of appropriate interventions
The rise of emerging market multinationals and its impact on marketing
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the rise of emerging market multinationals (EMMs), with a special focus on its impact on marketing. Emerging market countries not only have millions newly affluent consumers and are also the home of a new generation of multinational companies. The rise of EMMs challenges the extant thinking in strategy and marketing, and creates both threats and opportunities for western firms. With unique character and behaviour, EMMs are different from both developed countries multinationals and Japanese and Korean firms. It is imperative to study EMMs in order to win the new competition
Design and optimisation of a coreless superconducting synchronous generator
No full textConstantly increasing demand for electrical power requires more efficient and more powerful machines to be built. The conventional technology cannot provide such machines. It cannot deliver machines that are smaller, lighter and provide larger torques and power ratings. The answer to these problems is believed to be in superconducting machines.After short introduction to the phenomena of superconductivity and superconducting devices, practical superconducting tapes are described. The evolution and problems considered during the design of a coreless superconducting rotor for a synchronous machine are described. A few possible coreless rotor configurations are characterised and a simple formula is used to minimise the harmonic content.Estimation of machine parameters and evaluation of losses is also conducted. The areas to which particular attention has to be paid are pointed out. All these are undertaken for a demonstrator size machine with BSCCO windings. But to achieve real benefits it is important to build a machine that more closely represents real machines. Hence an optimisation method is used to investigate the possibility of increasing the size of the machine
Representations of swine flu: Perspectives from a Malaysian pig farm
No full text© The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Novel influenza viruses are seen, internationally, as posing considerable health challenges, but public responses to such viruses are often rooted in cultural representations of disease and risk. However, little research has been conducted in locations associated with the origin of a pandemic. We examined representations and risk perceptions associated with swine flu amongst 120 Malaysian pig farmers. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents felt at particular risk of infection, two-thirds were somewhat or very concerned about being infected. Those respondents who were the most anxious believed particular societal “out-groups” (homosexuals, the homeless and prostitutes) to be at higher infection risk. Although few (4%) reported direct discrimination, 46% claimed friends had avoided them since the swine flu outbreak. Findings are discussed in the context of evolutionary, social representations and terror management theories of response to pandemic threat
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