Continental copepod biodiversity in North-Eastern Borneo, Malaysia

To obtain a relevant information on copepod biodiversity/distribution in continental Borneo water bodies in June 2011 about 30 different sites in Malaysian state Sabah were visited and more than 50 alcohol and formalin preserved samples in nine rivers, 10 ponds, and six near-road ditches and canals, rice fields and forest leaf litter environment were collected. In literature 16 copepod species were referred for Borneo and 10 other species for Kalimantan (Indonesean) states. After the Sabah sample analyses, the copepodspecies richnessin the Borneo island increased more than twice. The most abundant with species number genera were ranged as: Mesocyclops (13), Elaphoidella (6), Microcyclops (5), Eucyclops (4), Thermocyclops (4), Halicyclops (3) and Paracyclops (3). Species biodiversity in different sites plotted against type of water body and several environment parameters revealed significant positive correlations for number of species and both for depth and temperature in sampling site (Pearson non-parametric tests 0.6 and 0.5 respectively at p < 0.05). One way Kruscal-Walise dispersal analysis confirmed significant relationship between copepod biodiversity and water transparence/ turbidity (p < 0.05). The highest copepod biodiversity values were found in ponds (23 species), near road ditches (15), rivers with transparent water (12), lowland or swamp areas related with rivers (9). The lowest number of species were found in rivers with turbid water colored in orange with soil-erosive matter where the average number of copepod species (0.2 ± 0.08 species per site) was about 20 times less than in waters without silt particles (3.8 ± 2.8 species per site). This indicates a strong negative effect of soil erosion resulting water land-used activities and deforestation in the watershed on the biodiversity of aquatic organisms in Borneo. In one sub-urban population of Mesocyclops cf. thermocyclopoides, a trans-sexual mutation of female-sized but constructed as male armed with genicu late antennule organisms was found that possibly reflect a negative result of wide artificial hormone-based pesticide usage in this area. Keys for Harpacticoida species for Borneo and for Eucyclops species known for SEAsia, Australia and India are provided. Within practically each copepod genus studied in Borneo there are forms with problems on species identification by existing faunistic keys. This possibly indicates a necessity of new species description from this area in the nearest future

Effect of food density on male appearance and ephippia production in a tropical cladoceran, Moina micrura Kurz, 1874

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of different food concentrations consisting of Nannochloropsis oculata (4 × 102, 4 × 104, 4 × 106 cells ml− 1 and control) on male and ephippia production in a tropical cladoceran, Moina micrura. The highest number of males (186.7 ± 13.4 males l− 1) was produced in cultures fed with 4 × 102 cells ml− 1 of N. oculata (FC 3) when the population density reached > 1600 individuals l− 1. Similarly, the highest total mean number of ephippia (160.0 ± 0.0 ephippia l− 1) was achieved in M. micrura culture supplied with 4 × 102 cells ml− 1 of N. oculata (FC 3). The second highest ephippia density was found in M. micrura cultures fed with 4 × 104 cells ml− 1 of N. oculata (FC 2) which produced a mean total of 93.3 ± 13.4 ephippia l− 1 in a population density of > 3000 individuals l− 1. However, with a population density of > 4000 individuals l− 1, but fed with the highest food concentration of 4 × 106 cells ml− 1 N. oculata (FC 1), no ephippia was produced although males were present in the culture. This study illustrates that ephippia were produced in high density cultures with the presence of males and insufficient food supply. Crowding could trigger the production of males, but was not an adequate stress factor for inducing the formation of ephippia. Similarly, food limitation alone did not induce the production of males and ephippia without crowding

Electrospun Biodegradable Nanofibers Coated Homogenously by Cu Magnetron Sputtering Exhibit Fast Ion Release. Computational and Experimental Study

Copper-coated nanofibrous materials are desirable for catalysis, electrochemistry, sensing, and biomedical use. The preparation of copper or copper-coated nanofibers can be pretty challenging, requiring many chemical steps that we eliminated in our robust approach, where for the first time, Cu was deposited by magnetron sputtering onto temperature-sensitive polymer nanofibers. For the first time, the large-scale modeling of PCL films irradiation by molecular dynamics simulation was performed and allowed to predict the ions penetration depth and tune the deposition conditions. The Cu-coated polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were thoroughly characterized and tested as antibacterial agents for various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Fast release of Cu2+ ions (concentration up to 3.4 mu g/mL) led to significant suppression of E. coli and S. aureus colonies but was insufficient against S. typhimurium and Ps. aeruginosa. The effect of Cu layer oxidation upon contact with liquid media was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealing that, after two hours, 55% of Cu atoms are in form of CuO or Cu(OH)(2). The Cu-coated nanofibers will be great candidates for wound dressings thanks to an interesting synergistic effect: on the one hand, the rapid release of copper ions kills bacteria, while on the other hand, it stimulates the regeneration with the activation of immune cells. Indeed, copper ions are necessary for the bacteriostatic action of cells of the immune system. The reactive CO2/C2H4 plasma polymers deposited onto PCL-Cu nanofibers can be applied to grafting of viable proteins, peptides, or drugs, and it further explores the versatility of developed nanofibers for biomedical applications use

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal

Eucyclops dumonti sp.nov. from Central Mongolia

Abstract Eucyclops dumonti sp.nov. is described from a shallow spring-fed lake in Central Mongolia. Data on its morphological variability are given, a comparison with the type population of Eucyclops serrulatus (Fischer, 1853) from St. Petersburg area is made, and its position relative to some closely related congeners is discussed

A redescription of the rare eucyclopine copepod Eucyclops productus Kiefer, 1939 (Multicrustacea: Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae) and a keу to Eucyclops subgenera and species of China and adjacent areas

Ding, Ruirui, Chen, Feizhou, Alekseev, Victor R. (2022): A redescription of the rare eucyclopine copepod Eucyclops productus Kiefer, 1939 (Multicrustacea: Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae) and a keу to Eucyclops subgenera and species of China and adjacent areas. Zootaxa 5182 (4): 377-388, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5182.4.

Effect of Space Flight Factor on Dormant Stages in Aquatic Organisms: A Review of International Space Station and Terrestrial Experiments

This work is a review of the experiments carried out in the Russian segment of the ISS (inside and outside) from 2005 to 2016 on the effect of the space flight factor on the resting stages of organisms. In outer space, ultraviolet, a wide range of high and low temperatures, cosmic radiation, altered gravity, modified electromagnetic field, vacuum, factors of technical origin, ultrasound, microwave radiation, etc. and their combination determine the damaging effect on living organisms. At the same time, biological dormancy, known in a wide range of bacteria, fungi, animals and plants, allows them to maintain the viability of their dormant stages in extreme conditions for a long time, which possibly allows them to survive during space flight. From 2005 to 2016, the resting stages (propagules) of micro- and multicellular organisms were tested on the ISS to assess their ability to survive after prolonged exposure to the conditions of open space and space flight. Among the more than 40 species studied, about a third were dormant stages of aquatic organisms (eggs of cyprinodont fish, daphnia embryos, resting eggs of fairy shrimps, tadpole shrimps, copepods and ostracods, diapausing larvae of dipterans, as well as resting cysts of algae). The experiments were carried out within the framework of four research programs: (1) inside the ISS with a limited set of investigated species (Akvarium program); (2) outside the station in outer space without exposure to ultraviolet radiation (Biorisk program); (3) under modified space conditions simulating the surface of Mars (Expose program); and (4) in an Earth-based laboratory where single-factor experiments were carried out with neutron radiation, modified magnetic field, microwave radiation and ultrasound. Fundamentally new data were obtained on the stability of the resting stages of aquatic organisms exposed to the factors of the space environment, which modified the idea of the possibility of bringing Earth life forms to other planets with spacecraft and astronauts. It also can be used for creating an extraterrestrial artificial ecosystem and searching for extraterrestrial life

Cyclopoid and calanoid copepod biodiversity in Indonesia

Recent limnological investigations conducted on the large lakes of Indonesia provide valuable physical and ecological data for future environmental and developmental programmes, yet few studies have focused on zooplankton taxonomy. Here we describe Eucyclops troposperatus Alekseev et Yusoff n. sp. from a pond in Sumatra, and Mesocyclops jakartensis Alekseev n. sp. from a city pond in Jakarta, Java. In the pelagic zone of the lakes of Sulawesi we found only few copepod species. For the endemic cyclopoid Tropocyclops matanoensis Defaye, 2007, we propose a new subgenus, Defayeicyclops n. subg., and provide more data on the morphology as well as scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning images of Tropocyclops (Defayeicyclops) matanoensis. Two other cyclopoid species were possibly introduced to Sulawesi: Mesocyclops aequatorialis similis Van de Velde, 1984 from Africa and Thermocyclops crassus (Fischer, 1853) from Eurasia. A new subspecies, Phyllodiaptomus praedictus sulawesensis Alekseev et Vaillant n. ssp. (Calanoida, Diaptomidae), is described from the plankton of lake Tondano, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The new subspecies resembles P. blanci (de Guerne et Richard, 1896) and P. wellekensae Dumont et Reddy, 1992. Phyllodiaptomus praedictus sulawesensis appears to be endemic to Sulawesi island. The form matanensis formerly treated as a subspecies of Eodiaptomus wolterecki Brehm, 1933 is here elevated to species rank, E. matanensis Brehm, 1933. A preliminary list of the copepod species found in Sulawesi and other large islands of Indonesia now includes more than 60 species. An updated key to the Southeast Asian species of the genus Eucyclops is provided