New records of macrochelid mites and description of a new phoretic species (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae) from Greece

International audienceThree female specimens of a new macrochelid mite species (Neopodocinum longisetum n. sp.) were collected on Oryctes nasicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Epirus Mountains in Northern Greece. The new species is closely related to Neopodocinum caputmedusae (Berlese, 1908), but these two species differ from each other in the length of setae j1 and j2, the peritreme, the numbers of lyrifissures, the spur-like structures on sternal shield and microspicules on the dorsal shield. Furthermore, seven species belonging to the genus Geholaspis Berlese, 1918, Longicheles Valle, 1953, Macrholaspis Oudemans, 1931, Macrocheles Latreille, 1829 and Nothrholaspis Berlese, 1918 are recorded for the first time from Greece

Genetic diversity and population genetics of large lungworms (Dictyocaulus, Nematoda) in wild deer in Hungary

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.Dictyocaulus nematode worms live as parasites in the lower airways of ungulates and can cause significant disease in both wild and farmed hosts. This study represents the first population genetic analysis of large lungworms in wildlife. Specifically, we quantify genetic variation in Dictyocaulus lungworms from wild deer (red deer, fallow deer and roe deer) in Hungary, based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequence data, using population genetic and phylogenetic analyses. The studied Dictyocaulus taxa display considerable genetic diversity. At least one cryptic species and a new parasite–host relationship are revealed by our molecular study. Population genetic analyses for Dictyocaulus eckerti revealed high gene flow amongst weakly structured spatial populations that utilise the three host deer species considered here. Our results suggest that D. eckerti is a widespread generalist parasite in ungulates, with a diverse genetic backround and high evolutionary potential. In contrast, evidence of cryptic genetic structure at regional geographic scales was observed for Dictyocaulus capreolus, which infects just one host species, suggesting it is a specialist within the studied area. D. capreolus displayed lower genetic diversity overall, with only moderate gene flow compared to the closely related D. eckerti. We suggest that the differing vagility and dispersal behaviour of hosts are important contributing factors to the population structure of lungworms, and possibly other nematode parasites with single-host life cycles. Our findings are of relevance for the management of lungworms in deer farms and wild deer populations.This work was carried out as a part of Zoltán Ács’ PhD thesis on “Distribution and host spectrum of Dictyocaulus lungworms in deer” supported by the Hungarian Government

American Constitution Society Presents: Voting Rights Going Into 2024

https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/flyers-2023-2024/1063/thumbnail.jp

Expression in Escherichia coli of a cloned DNA sequence encoding the pre-S2 region of hepatitis B virus

A DNA sequence encoding the entire pre-S2 region (amino acids 120-174; serotype ayw) of human hepatitis B virus envelope protein has been inserted into the lacZ gene of the plasmid pSKS105 yielding a recombinant, pWS3. Lac+ colonies of the Escherichia coli M182 (lacIOPZYA), isolated after transformation with pWS3, produced a pre-S2 peptide-ß-galactosidase fusion protein. This fusion protein, which comprised as much as 3% of the total bacterial protein, was purified to >90% homogeneity by affinity chromatography on p-aminophenyl-ß-D-thiogalactoside-Sepharose. It is immunoprecipitable with rabbit antibodies to a synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acids 120-145 of the pre-S2 region of serotype adw [pre-S(120-145)] or with antibodies to hepatitis B virus. pre-S(120-145) completely blocked the binding of either antibody to the pre-S2 peptide-ß-galactosidase fusion protein. These results indicate that there are antigenic determinants on the fusion protein that are closely related to, if not identical to, determinants on synthetic pre-S(120-145) and on pre-S2 sequences of native hepatitis B virus particles. Thus, bacteria transformed with pWS3 can provide an abundant source of pre-S2-ß-galactosidase fusion protein, which may prove useful either as a diagnostic reagent possessing marker enzyme activity suitable for ELISA tests or as an immunogen with potential to contribute to active prophylaxis of hepatitis B

Recent developments in the Dutch firm-size distribution

This study investigates the development of the firm-size distribution in the Netherlands using various measures. Data are used for the period 1978 through 1989 covering practically the entire Dutch private sector. The results show a general tendency towards smaller firm sizes in manufacturing industries until 1986, but indicate an opposite development after that year. This tendency towards larger firm sizes after 1986 is also encountered for non-manufacturing industries. This study is part of a research program carried out at the Centre for Advanced Small Business Economics (CASBEC) of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The authors are grateful to Jan van Dalen, Aad Kleijweg, Jeroen Potjes and Wim Verhoeven for helpful comments and Herman van Schaik for elaborating the original data files. The authors acknowledge a research grant from the Stichting KMO-fonds

Small store presence in Japan

The determinants of the development of small store presence in Japan are investigated using a fixed effects multinomial logit market share model. Large stores tend to have higher market shares in shop-types with increasing shares in consumer expenditures, increasing inventory turnover, and increasing diversification, but do not seem to be able to profit from scale economies in labour use

LAYSI: A layered approach for SLA-violation propagation in self-manageable cloud infrastructures

Cloud computing represents a promising comput ing paradigm where computing resources have to be allocated to software for their execution. Self-manageable Cloud in frastructures are required to achieve that level of flexibility on one hand, and to comply to users' requirements speci fied by means of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) on the other. Such infrastructures should automatically respond to changing component, workload, and environmental conditions minimizing user interactions with the system and preventing violations of agreed SLAs. However, identification of sources responsible for the possible SLA violation and the decision about the reactive actions necessary to prevent SLA violation is far from trivial. First, in this paper we present a novel approach for mapping low-level resource metrics to SLA parameters necessary for the identification of failure sources. Second, we devise a layered Cloud architecture for the bottom-up propagation of failures to the layer, which can react to sensed SLA violation threats. Moreover, we present a communication model for the propagation of SLA violation threats to the appropriate layer of the Cloud infrastructure, which includes negotiators, brokers, and automatic service deployer. © 2010 IEEE