A summary of the endemic beetle genera of the West Indies (Insecta: Coleoptera); bioindicators of the evolutionary richness of this Neotropical archipelago

The Caribbean Islands (or the West Indies) are recognized as one of the leading global biodiversity hot spots. This is based on data on species, genus, and family diversity for vascular plants and non-marine vertebrates. This paper presents data on genus level endemicity for the most speciose (but less well publicised) group of terrestrial animals: the beetles, with 205 genera (in 25 families) now recognized as being endemic (restricted) to the West Indies. The predominant families with endemic genera are Cerambycidae (41), Chrysomelidae (28), Curculionidae (26), and Staphylinidae (25). This high level of beetle generic endemicity can be extrapolated to suggest that a total of about 700 genera of all insects could be endemic to the West Indies. This far surpasses the total of 269 endemic genera of all plants and non-marine vertebrates, and reinforces the biodiversity richness of the insect fauna of the West Indies.Las islas del Caribe (o Indias Occidentales) son reconocidas como uno de los principales hotspots de la biodiversidad global. Esto se basa en datos sobre la diversidad de especies, géneros y familias de plantas vasculares y vertebrados no-marinos. Este trabajo presenta datos sobre la endemicidad a nivel genérico para el más especioso (pero menos popularizado) grupo de animales terrestres: los escarabajos, con 205 géneros (en 25 familias) reconocidos al presente como endémicos (restringidos) a las Indias Occidentales. Las familias predominantes en géneros endémicos son Cerambycidae (41), Chrysomelidae (28), Curculionidae (26) y Staphylinidae (25). Este alto nivel de endemicidad genérica en los escarabajos puede extrapolarse a sugerir que alrededor de 700 géneros pudieran ser endémicos entre todos los insectos de las Indias Occidentales. Esto sobrepasa ampliamente el total de 269 géneros endémicos de plantas y vertebrados no-marinos y refuerza la riqueza en biodiversidad de la fauna de insectos en las Indias Occidentales

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Effects of margin-parallel shortening and density contrasts on back-arc extension during subduction: Experimental insights and possible application to Anatolia

International audienceSo as to investigate the parameters influencing subduction and back-arc extension, we have done three series of laboratory experiments (32 in all) on physical models. Each model consisted of adjacent oceanic and continental plates, floating on an asthenosphere. In experiments of Series A, a wide rigid piston, moving horizontally, controlled the rate of convergence of the oceanic and continental plates, whereas, in Series B or C, a wide or narrow piston produced lateral compression, parallel to the continent-ocean boundary (COB) and perpendicular to the subduction direction. The parameters that we tested were (1) the velocity of plate convergence (Series A), (2) the width of the compressing piston (Series B and C), and (3) the density ratio between oceanic and continental plates (Series B and C). This density ratio was a key factor. For a ratio of 1.4, the amount of extension in the continental plate increased regularly throughout time; for a ratio of 1.3, the extension remained small, until the piston stopped moving laterally; and for a ratio of 1.1, there was little or no extension. The width of the compressing piston had a smaller effect, although a narrow piston provided more space, into which the continental plate could extend. One possible application of our models is to Anatolia. Despite similar geological settings, the areas north of the Hellenic and Cyprus subduction zones differ, in that extension is large in the former and much smaller in the latter. We suggest that one of the main driving forces for Aegean extension may have been a high density ratio between subducting oceanic lithosphere and a Hellenic-Balkanic upper plate

Conductance oscillations of a spin-orbit stripe with polarized contacts

We investigate the linear conductance of a stripe of spin-orbit interaction in a 2D electron gas; that is, a 2D region of length $\ell$ along the transport direction and infinite in the transverse one in which a spin-orbit interaction of Rashba type is present. Polarization in the contacts is described by means of Zeeman fields. Our model predicts two types of conductance oscillations: Ramsauer oscillations in the minority spin transmission, when both spins can propagate, and Fano oscillations when only one spin propagates. The latter are due to the spin-orbit coupling with quasibound states of the non propagating spin. In the case of polarized contacts in antiparallel configuration Fano-like oscillations of the conductance are still made possible by the spin orbit coupling, even though no spin component is bound by the contacts. To describe these behaviors we propose a simplified model based on an ansatz wave function. In general, we find that the contribution for vanishing transverse momentum dominates and defines the conductance oscillations. Regarding the oscillations with Rashba coupling intensity, our model confirms the spin transistor behavior, but only for high degrees of polarization. Including a position dependent effective mass yields additional oscillations due to the mass jumps at the interfaces.Comment: 8.5 pages, 9 figure

Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease responsive to interleukin-1 beta inhibition

BACKGROUND:Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease is characterized by fever, urticarial rash, aseptic meningitis, deforming arthropathy, hearing loss, and mental retardation. Many patients have mutations in the cold-induced autoinflammatory syndrome 1 (CIAS1) gene, encoding cryopyrin, a protein that regulates inflammation.METHODS:We selected 18 patients with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (12 with identifiable CIAS1 mutations) to receive anakinra, an interleukin-1-receptor antagonist (1 to 2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day subcutaneously). In 11 patients, anakinra was withdrawn at three months until a flare occurred. The primary end points included changes in scores in a daily diary of symptoms, serum levels of amyloid A and C-reactive protein, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate from baseline to month 3 and from month 3 until a disease flare.RESULTS:All 18 patients had a rapid response to anakinra, with disappearance of rash. Diary scores improved (P<0.001) and serum amyloid A (from a median of 174 mg to 8 mg per liter), C-reactive protein (from a median of 5.29 mg to 0.34 mg per deciliter), and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate decreased at month 3 (all P<0.001), and remained low at month 6. Magnetic resonance imaging showed improvement in cochlear and leptomeningeal lesions as compared with baseline. Withdrawal of anakinra uniformly resulted in relapse within days; retreatment led to rapid improvement. There were no drug-related serious adverse events.CONCLUSIONS:Daily injections of anakinra markedly improved clinical and laboratory manifestations in patients with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease, with or without CIAS1 mutations

Minorca, an exotic Balearic island (western Mediterranean)

Despite forming part of the Balearic group of islands, Minorca differs stratigraphically and structurally from Majorca and Ibiza: i) Paleozoic rocks are abundant in Minorca but are very scarce in Majorca and are absent in Ibiza. Eocene-Oligocene sediments are virtually absent in Minorca but crop out extensively in Majorca, ii) Contractional structures in Minorca differ in direction (aligned SW-NE in Majorca and Ibiza and N-S in Minorca) and in age from those in Majorca and Ibiza. In addition, Paleozoic deposits of Minorca do not correlate with those of Sardinia, where in addition the Triassic sediments are not very abundant. Contractional deformation in Sardinia is in part older (late Eocene-early Miocene) than in Minorca (early Miocene?). Given its Neogene clockwise rotation, Minorca cannot be considered a small block dragged by the early Miocene counter clockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia block. Furthermore, the Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of Minorca (siliciclasticlate Paleozoic rocks, Triassic Germanic facies and Jurassic carbonates) has affinities with that of the southern part of the Catalan Coastal Ranges. Thus, of all the Balearic islands, Minorca seems to have traveled the farthest during the Valencia Trough rifting with the result that it resembles an exotic island forming part of the Balearic foreland

Frequency-selective fading of ultrawideband wireless channels in confined environments

As a result of the recent ruling by the European Commission, ultrawideband (UWB) wireless communications can now pervade small confined environments such as cars or trains. This research studies frequency-selective fading experienced by UWB wireless channels in these confined environments. It focuses on the relationship between the severity of fading and the environment size using analytical modelling, simulation and measurement. The authors show that the frequency-selective fading is more severe in smaller environments because the bandwidth required to resolve all multipaths in time is inversely proportional to the cubic root of the volume of the environment. They show that the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) International standards for UWB proposed by the WiMedia alliance may not provide sufficient means of mitigating the issues associated with the frequency-selective fading in confined environments such as cars.© 2011 The Institution of Engineering and Technology

Centrosome clustering and Cyclin D1 gene amplification in double minutes are common events in chromosomal unstable bladder tumors

Background: Aneuploidy, centrosome abnormalities and gene amplification are hallmarks of chromosome instability (CIN) in cancer. Yet there are no studies of the in vivo behavior of these phenomena within the same bladder tumor. Methods: Twenty-one paraffin-embedded bladder tumors were analyzed by conventional comparative genome hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a cyclin D1 gene (CCND1)/centromere 11 dual-color probe. Immunofluorescent staining of α, β and γ tubulin was also performed. Results: Based on the CIN index, defined as the percentage of cells not displaying the modal number for chromosome 11, tumors were classified as CIN-negative and CIN-positive. Fourteen out of 21 tumors were considered CIN-positive. All T1G3 tumors were included in the CIN-positive group whereas the majority of Ta samples were classified as CIN-negative tumors. Centrosome clustering was observed in six out of 12 CIN-positive tumors analyzed. CCND1 amplification in homogeneously staining regions was present in six out of 14 CIN-positive tumors; three of them also showed amplification of this gene in double minutes. Conclusions: Complex in vivo behavior of CCND1 amplicon in bladder tumor cells has been demonstrated by accurate FISH analysis on paraffin-embedded tumors. Positive correlation between high heterogeneity, centrosome abnormalities and CCND1 amplification was found in T1G3 bladder carcinomas. This is the first study to provide insights into the coexistence of CCND1 amplification in homogeneously staining regions and double minutes in primary bladder tumors. It is noteworthy that those patients whose tumors showed double minutes had a significantly shorter overall survival rate (p < 0.001)