A Revision of the Genus Elmas Blackwelder, 1952 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae: Xanthopygina), with a Preliminary Reconstructed Phylogeny of the Species1

The staphylinid genus Elmas Blackwelder 1952 (type.species: Selma modesta Sharp 1876 from Chontales, Nicaragua) is revised for the first time. The two previously described species, E. modesta (Sharp) from Nicaragua and E. strigella (Bernhauer) from Brazil, are redescribed. Fifteen species are described as new: Elmas brooksi from Ecuador; Elmas costaricensis from Costa Rica; Elmas elassos from Ecuador; Elmas esmeraldas from Ecuador; Elmas falini from Suriname; Elmas gigas from Peru; Elmas guianas from-French Guiana; Elmas hanleyi from Costa Rica; Elmas hibbsi from Ecuador; Elmas lambas from Brazil; Elmas lescheni from Peru; Elmas panamaensis from Panama; Elmas patillas from Costa Rica; Elmas spinosus from Bolivia; and Elmas windsori from Panama. A key and illustrations of structural features and aedeagi are provided for identification of the known species. The phylogenetic relationships of the species of Elmas species are only weakly resolved by the available dataset. Elmas is strongly supported to be a monophyletic lineage, and E. strigella is the most basal species followed by E. lambos and E. guianas respectively. E. spinosus + E. falini + E. gigas are strongly supported to be a monophyletic . group; E. hfbbsi is weakly supported to be the sister group to these three species. The lineage (E. windsori · + E. costaricensis) + (E. panamaensis + E. patillas) is weakly supported in all trees. The lineage E. elassos + E. hanleyi + E. esmeraldas is also weakly supported, and the successive approximation analysis hypothesizes that E. modesta is also a member of this lineage

The probable larva of an undescribed species of Edrabius (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and its implications for the systematics of the tribe Amblyopinini.

Larval staphylinids collected from the nest of the Chilean tuco-tuco, Ctenomys maulinus brunneus, are presumed to be those of an undescribed species of Edrabius, adults of which are known to occur on this host. These larvae are described and illustrations are provided for their identification. The larvae are characteristic of the subfamily Staphylininae; however, they do not have a combination of characteristics which allows unambiguous placement into one of the described tribes of this subfamily. Edrabius larvae share the greatest number of characteristics with larvae of the tribe Staphylinini, and, among these, with members of the subtribe Xanthopygina. Importantly, they differ from larvae of the tribe Quediini, to which the amblyopinines were believed to be related, in a number of significant ways. However, Edrabius may not be a part of a monophyletic lineage with the remainder of the South American amblyopinines

Chilamblyopinus piceus, a new genus and species of amblyopinine (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from southern Chile, with a discussion of amblyopinine generic relationships

Taxonomic history of staphylinid beetles of the tribe Amblyopinini is discussed. Chilamblyopinus piceus, a distinctive new genus and species, is described and illustrations of diagnostic characters are provided. A key to currently recognized genera in the Amblyopinini is provided. A preliminary reevaluation of relationships among genera currently included in the Amblyopinini suggests that substantial changes in the classification may be required. Myotyphlus, which occurs in the Australian region, shares derived characters both with some members of the genus Quedius, which occur in the Australian region and with the amblyopinine genus Edrabius, which occurs in the Neotropics, as do all other amblyopinines. The monophyly of the lineage which includes these two genera is uncertain. Few characters other than structural reductions and association with mammalian hosts suggest that Myotyphlus and Edrabius are a part of a monophyletic lineage with other South American amblyopinines. In contrast, Amblyopinodes, Amblyopinus, Chilamblyopinus, and Megamblyopinus form a well supported monophyletic lineage of strictly South and Central American taxa. Chilamblyopinus appears to be the most basally derived. Megamblyopinus is a sister group to Amblyopinodes and Amblyopinus. Amblyopinodes is highly autapomorphic; however, Amblyopinus cannot be shown to be monophyletic, and may be a paraphyletic taxon in relation to Amblyopinodes. Additional characters and a more firmly established outgroup for the Amblyopinini as a whole are required for resolution of these problems

A Neuroeconomics Approach to Inferring Utility Functions in Sensorimotor Control

Making choices is a fundamental aspect of human life. For over a century experimental economists have characterized the decisions people make based on the concept of a utility function. This function increases with increasing desirability of the outcome, and people are assumed to make decisions so as to maximize utility. When utility depends on several variables, indifference curves arise that represent outcomes with identical utility that are therefore equally desirable. Whereas in economics utility is studied in terms of goods and services, the sensorimotor system may also have utility functions defining the desirability of various outcomes. Here, we investigate the indifference curves when subjects experience forces of varying magnitude and duration. Using a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, in which subjects chose between different magnitude–duration profiles, we inferred the indifference curves and the utility function. Such a utility function defines, for example, whether subjects prefer to lift a 4-kg weight for 30 s or a 1-kg weight for a minute. The measured utility function depends nonlinearly on the force magnitude and duration and was remarkably conserved across subjects. This suggests that the utility function, a central concept in economics, may be applicable to the study of sensorimotor control

Youth Savings Groups in Africa: They’re a Family Affair

Based on fieldwork in Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, and Ghana, in the paper we provide new evidence that young people’s engagement with savings groups in Africa is deeply embedded in networks of family and social relations. Savings group members rely on money that is given to them by partners and family members to make savings contributions to the groups, while they also transfer some of their share-outs and loans to family members and friends. This is particularly true for younger members. As such we argue that the socially embedded nature of young people's engagement with savings group needs to be taken into account. The tension between the primary focus on the individual within youth saving programming, and the socially embedded nature of their engagement, has important implications for programme design, implementation and evaluation

Ready ... Go: Amplitude of the fMRI Signal Encodes Expectation of Cue Arrival Time

What happens when the brain awaits a signal of uncertain arrival time, as when a sprinter waits for the starting pistol? And what happens just after the starting pistol fires? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we have discovered a novel correlate of temporal expectations in several brain regions, most prominently in the supplementary motor area (SMA). Contrary to expectations, we found little fMRI activity during the waiting period; however, a large signal appears after the “go” signal, the amplitude of which reflects learned expectations about the distribution of possible waiting times. Specifically, the amplitude of the fMRI signal appears to encode a cumulative conditional probability, also known as the cumulative hazard function. The fMRI signal loses its dependence on waiting time in a “countdown” condition in which the arrival time of the go cue is known in advance, suggesting that the signal encodes temporal probabilities rather than simply elapsed time. The dependence of the signal on temporal expectation is present in “no-go” conditions, demonstrating that the effect is not a consequence of motor output. Finally, the encoding is not dependent on modality, operating in the same manner with auditory or visual signals. This finding extends our understanding of the relationship between temporal expectancy and measurable neural signals

How a Lateralized Brain Supports Symmetrical Bimanual Tasks

A large repertoire of natural object manipulation tasks require precisely coupled symmetrical opposing forces by both hands on a single object. We asked how the lateralized brain handles this basic problem of spatial and temporal coordination. We show that the brain consistently appoints one of the hands as prime actor while the other assists, but the choice of acting hand is flexible. When study participants control a cursor by manipulating a tool held freely between the hands, the left hand becomes prime actor if the cursor moves directionally with the left-hand forces, whereas the right hand primarily acts if it moves with the opposing right-hand forces. In neurophysiological (electromyography, transcranial magnetic brain stimulation) and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging experiments we demonstrate that changes in hand assignment parallels a midline shift of lateralized activity in distal hand muscles, corticospinal pathways, and primary sensorimotor and cerebellar cortical areas. We conclude that the two hands can readily exchange roles as dominant actor in bimanual tasks. Spatial relationships between hand forces and goal motions determine hand assignments rather than habitual handedness. Finally, flexible role assignment of the hands is manifest at multiple levels of the motor system, from cortical regions all the way down to particular muscles

Substrate Reduction Augments the Efficacy of Enzyme Therapy in a Mouse Model of Fabry Disease

Fabry disease is an X-linked glycosphingolipid storage disorder caused by a deficiency in the activity of the lysosomal hydrolase α-galactosidase A (α-gal). This deficiency results in accumulation of the glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide (GL-3) in lysosomes. Endothelial cell storage of GL-3 frequently leads to kidney dysfunction, cardiac and cerebrovascular disease. The current treatment for Fabry disease is through infusions of recombinant α-gal (enzyme-replacement therapy; ERT). Although ERT can markedly reduce the lysosomal burden of GL-3 in endothelial cells, variability is seen in the clearance from several other cell types. This suggests that alternative and adjuvant therapies may be desirable. Use of glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors to abate the biosynthesis of glycosphingolipids (substrate reduction therapy, SRT) has been shown to be effective at reducing substrate levels in the related glycosphingolipidosis, Gaucher disease. Here, we show that such an inhibitor (eliglustat tartrate, Genz-112638) was effective at lowering GL-3 accumulation in a mouse model of Fabry disease. Relative efficacy of SRT and ERT at reducing GL-3 levels in Fabry mouse tissues differed with SRT being more effective in the kidney, and ERT more efficacious in the heart and liver. Combination therapy with ERT and SRT provided the most complete clearance of GL-3 from all the tissues. Furthermore, treatment normalized urine volume and uromodulin levels and significantly delayed the loss of a nociceptive response. The differential efficacies of SRT and ERT in the different tissues indicate that the combination approach is both additive and complementary suggesting the possibility of an improved therapeutic paradigm in the management of Fabry disease

Intergenic Transcription, Cell-Cycle and the Developmentally Regulated Epigenetic Profile of the Human Beta-Globin Locus

Several lines of evidence have established strong links between transcriptional activity and specific post-translation modifications of histones. Here we show using RNA FISH that in erythroid cells, intergenic transcription in the human β-globin locus occurs over a region of greater than 250 kb including several genes in the nearby olfactory receptor gene cluster. This entire region is transcribed during S phase of the cell cycle. However, within this region there are ∼20 kb sub-domains of high intergenic transcription that occurs outside of S phase. These sub-domains are developmentally regulated and enriched with high levels of active modifications primarily to histone H3. The sub-domains correspond to the β-globin locus control region, which is active at all developmental stages in erythroid cells, and the region flanking the developmentally regulated, active globin genes. These results correlate high levels of non-S phase intergenic transcription with domain-wide active histone modifications to histone H3

An Amphioxus Gli Gene Reveals Conservation of Midline Patterning and the Evolution of Hedgehog Signalling Diversity in Chordates

Background. Hedgehog signalling, interpreted in receiving cells by Gli transcription factors, plays a central role in the development of vertebrate and Drosphila embryos. Many aspects of the signalling pathway are conserved between these lineages, however vertebrates have diverged in at least one key aspect: they have evolved multiple Gli genes encoding functionally-distinct proteins, increasing the complexity of the hedgehog-dependent transcriptional response. Amphioxus is one of the closest living relatives of the vertebrates, having split from the vertebrate lineage prior to the widespread gene duplication prominent in early vertebrate evolution. Principal findings. We show that amphioxus has a single Gli gene, which is deployed in tissues adjacent to sources of hedgehog signalling derived from the midline and anterior endoderm. This shows the duplication and divergence of the Gli family, and hence the origin of vertebrate Gli functional diversity, was specific to the vertebrate lineage. However we also show that the single amphioxus Gli gene produces two distinct transcripts encoding different proteins. We utilise three tests of Gli function to examine the transcription regulatory capacities of these different proteins, demonstrating one has activating activity similar to Gli2, while the other acts as a weak repressor, similar to Gli3. Conclusions. These data show that the vertebrates and amphioxus have evolved functionally-similar repertoires of Gli proteins using parallel molecular routes; vertebrates via gene duplication and divergence, and amphioxus via alternate splicing of a single gene. Our results demonstrate that similar functional complexity of intercellular signalling can be achieved via different evolutionary pathways