Unearthing the Fossorial Tadpoles of the Indian Dancing Frog Family Micrixalidae

Tadpoles of the monotypic Indian dancing frog family Micrixalidae have remained obscure for over 125 years. Here we report the discovery of the elusive tadpoles of Micrixalus herrei from the sand beds of a forested stream in southern Western Ghats, and confirm their identity through DNA barcoding. These actively burrowing tadpoles lead an entirely fossorial life from eggs to late metamorphic stages. We describe their internal and external morphological characters while highlighting the following features: eel-like appearance, extensively muscularized body and tail, reduced tail fins, skin-covered eyes, delayed development of eye pigmentation in early pre-metamorphic stages (Gosner stages 25–29), prominent tubular sinistral spiracle, large transverse processes on vertebrae II and III, ankylosed ribs on transverse processes of vertebra II, notochord terminating before the atlantal cotyle-occipital condyle junction, absence of keratodonts, serrated well-formed jaw sheaths, and extensive calcified endolymphatic sacs reaching sacrum posteriorly. The tadpole gut contains mostly fine sediments and sand. We discuss the eel-like morphology and feeding habits of M. herrei in the context of convergence with other well-known fossorial tadpoles. This discovery builds the knowledge base for further comparative analyses and conservation of Micrixalus, an ancient and endemic lineage of Indian frogs

Behavioral Phenotypes Associated with MPTP Induction of Partial Lesions in Common Marmosets (\u3cem\u3eCallithrix jacchus\u3c/em\u3e)

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder with the core motor features of resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instability. Non-motor symptoms also occur, and include cognitive dysfunction, mood disorders, anosmia (loss of smell), and REM sleep disturbances. As the development of medications and other therapies for treatment of non-motor symptoms is ongoing, it is essential to have animal models that aid in understanding the neural changes underlying non-motor PD symptoms and serve as a testing ground for potential therapeutics. We investigated several non-motor symptoms in 10 adult male marmosets using the MPTP model, with both the full (n = 5) and partial (n = 5) MPTP dosing regimens. Baseline data in numerous domains were collected prior to dosing; assessments in these same domains occurred post-dosing for 12 weeks. Marmosets given the partial MPTP dose (designed to mimic the early stages of the disease) differed significantly from marmosets given the full MPTP dose in several ways, including behavior, olfactory discrimination, cognitive performance, and social responses. Importantly, while spontaneous recovery of PD motor symptoms has been previously reported in studies of MPTP monkeys and cats, we did not observe recovery of any non-motor symptoms. This suggests that the neurochemical mechanisms behind the non-motor symptoms of PD, which appear years before the onset of symptoms, are independent of the striatal dopaminergic transmission. We demonstrate the value of assessing a broad range of behavioral change to detect non-motor impairment, anosmia, and differences in socially appropriate responses, in the marmoset MPTP model of early PD

An integrative approach to infer systematic relationships and define species groups in the shrub frog genus Raorchestes, with description of five new species from the Western Ghats, India

The genus Raorchestes is a large radiation of Old World tree frogs for which the Western Ghats in Peninsular India is the major center for origin and diversification. Extensive studies on this group during the past two decades have resolved long-standing taxonomic confusions and uncovered several new species, resulting in a four-fold increase in the number of known Raorchestes frogs from this region. Our ongoing research has revealed another five new species in the genus, formally described as Raorchestes drutaahu sp. nov., Raorchestes kakkayamensis sp. nov., Raorchestes keirasabinae sp. nov., Raorchestes sanjappai sp. nov., and Raorchestes vellikkannan sp. nov., all from the State of Kerala in southern Western Ghats. Based on new collections, we also provide insights on the taxonomic identity of three previously known taxa. Furthermore, since attempts for an up-to-date comprehensive study of this taxonomically challenging genus using multiple integrative taxonomic approaches have been lacking, here we review the systematic affinities of all known Raorchestes species and define 16 species groups based on evidence from multi-gene (2,327 bp) phylogenetic analyses, several morphological characters (including eye colouration and pattern), and acoustic parameters (temporal and spectral properties, as well as calling height). The results of our study present novel insights to facilitate a better working taxonomy for this rather speciose and morphologically conserved radiation of shrub frogs. This will further enable proper field identification, provide momentum for multi-disciplinary studies, as well as assist conservation of one of the most colourful and acoustically diverse frog groups of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot

Amphibians Of The Indomalayan Realm

The Indomalayan Realm (sometimes termed the Oriental region) encompasses all of South and Southeast Asia, including the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos, and incorporating the major offshore islands of Sri Lanka, Hainan, and Taiwan, as well as Japan’s Ryukyu archipelago. The western and northern boundaries follow that of Olson et al. (2001), reaching Pakistan, the Himalaya, and southern subtropical China, although the boundary between the Palaearctic and Indomalayan Realm is somewhat unclear in south-east China. However, as here defi ned, the eastern boundary between Indomalaya and Australasia, which is usually taken as Wallace’s line (an imaginary line named for Alfred Russell Wallace running between Borneo and Sulawesi, and between Bali and Lombok in Indonesia), is here taken to lie further to the east, such that the region includes all of Nusa Tenggara and a number of islands in Maluku (but excluding Seram, Amboin, Buru, Obi, Halmahera, Tanimbar and a few other smaller islands) (see Tyler 1999)

Late Cretaceous Vicariance in Gondwanan Amphibians

Overseas dispersals are often invoked when Southern Hemisphere terrestrial and freshwater organism phylogenies do not fit the sequence or timing of Gondwana fragmentation. We used dispersal-vicariance analyses and molecular timetrees to show that two species-rich frog groups, Microhylidae and Natatanura, display congruent patterns of spatial and temporal diversification among Gondwanan plates in the Late Cretaceous, long after the presumed major tectonic break-up events. Because amphibians are notoriously salt-intolerant, these analogies are best explained by simultaneous vicariance, rather than by oceanic dispersal. Hence our results imply Late Cretaceous connections between most adjacent Gondwanan landmasses, an essential concept for biogeographic and palaeomap reconstructions

Revolatilisation of soil-accumulated pollutants triggered by the summer monsoon in India

Persistent organic pollutants that have accumulated in soils can be remobilised by volatilisation in response to chemical equilibrium with the atmosphere. Clean air masses from the Indian Ocean, advected with the onset of the summer monsoon, are found to reduce concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its derivatives, endosulfan and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in air at a mountain site (all in the range 5–20&thinsp;pg&thinsp;m−3) by 77&thinsp;%, 70&thinsp;%, 82&thinsp;% and 45&thinsp;%, respectively. The analysis of fugacities in soil and air suggest that the arrival of summer monsoon triggers net volatilisation or enhances ongoing revolatilisation of the now-banned chemicals HCH and PCBs from background soils in southern India. The response of the air–soil exchange was modelled using a regional air pollution model, WRF-Chem PAH/POP. The results suggest that the air is increasingly polluted during transport by the south-westerly monsoon winds across the subcontinent. Using a multidecadal multimedia mass balance model, it is found that air–surface exchange of HCH and DDT have declined since the ban of these substances from agriculture, but remobilisation of higher chlorinated PCBs may have reached a historical high, 40 years after peak emission.</p

Optimizing both catalyst preparation and catalytic behaviour for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane of Ni-Sn-O catalysts

[EN] Bulk Ni-Sn-O catalysts have been synthesized, tested in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane and characterized by several physicochemical techniques. The catalysts have been prepared by evaporation of the corresponding salts using several additives in the synthesis gel, i.e. ammonium hydroxide, nitric acid, glyoxylic acid or oxalic acid, in the synthesis gel. The catalysts were finally calcined at 500 degrees C in air. Important changes in the catalytic behaviour have been observed depending on the additive. In fact, an important improvement in the catalytic performance is observed especially when some additives, such as glyoxylic or oxalic acid, are used. Thus the productivity to ethylene multiplies by 6 compared to the reference Ni-Sn-O catalyst if appropriate templates are used, and this is the result of an improvement in both the catalytic activity and the selectivity to ethylene. This improved performance has been explained in terms of the decrease of the crystallite size (and the increase in the surface area of catalyst) as well as the modification of the lattice parameter of nickel oxide.The authors would like to acknowledge the DGICYT in Spain (CTQ2015-68951-C3-1-R and CTQ2012-37925-C03-2) for financial support. We also thank the University of Valencia and SCSIE-UV for assistanceSolsona Espriu, BE.; López Nieto, JM.; Agouram, S.; Soriano Rodríguez, MD.; Dejoz, A.; Vázquez, MI.; Concepción Heydorn, P. (2016). Optimizing both catalyst preparation and catalytic behaviour for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane of Ni-Sn-O catalysts. Topics in Catalysis. 59(17-18):1564-1572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-016-0674-zS156415725917-18Heracleous E, Lee AF, Wilson K, Lemonidou AA (2005) J Catal 231:159–171Heracleous E, Lemonidou AA (2006) J Catal 237:162–174Savova B, Loridant S, Filkova D, Millet JMM (2010) Appl Catal A 390:148–157Heracleous E, Lemonidou AA (2010) J Catal 270:67–75Solsona B, Nieto JML, Concepcion P, Dejoz A, Ivars F, Vazquez MI (2011) J Catal 280:28–39Skoufa Z, Heracleous E, Lemonidou AA (2012) Catal Today 192:169–176Zhu H, Ould-Chikh S, Anjum DH, Sun M, Biausque G, Basset JM, Caps V (2012) J Catal 285:292–303Skoufa Z, Heracleous E, Lemonidou AA (2012) Chem Eng Sci 84:48–56Zhu H, Rosenfeld DC, Anjum DH, Caps V, Basset JM (2015) ChemSusChem 8:1254–1263Heracleous E, Lemonidou AA (2015) J Catal 322:118–129Solsona B, Concepcion P, Demicol B, Hernandez S, Delgado JJ, Calvino JJ, Nieto JML (2012) J Catal 295:104–114Nieto JML, Solsona B, Grasselli RK, Concepción P (2014) Top Catal 57:1248–1255Popescu I, Skoufa Z, Heracleous E, Lemonidou AA, Marcu IC (2015) PCCP 17:8138–8147Zhang X, Gong Y, Yu G, Xie Y (2002) J Mol Catal A 180:293–298Popescu I, Skoufa Z, Heracleous E, Lemonidou A, Marcu I-C (2015) Phys Chem Chem Phys 17:8138–8147Nakamura KI, Miyake T, Konishi T, Suzuki T (2006) J Mol Catal A 260:144–151Solsona B, Dejoz AM, Vazquez MI, Ivars F, Nieto JML (2009) Top Catal 52:751–757Bortolozzi JP, Gutierrez LB, Ulla MA (2013) Appl Catal A 452:179–188Takeguchi T, Furukawa S, Inoue M (2001) J Catal 202:14–24Richardson JT, Turk B, Twigg MV (1996) Appl Catal 148:97–112Biju V, Khadar MA (2002) J Nanopart Res 4:247–253Van Veenendaal MA, Sawatzky GA (1993) Phys Rev Lett 70:2459–2462Vedrine JC, Hollinger G, Duc TM (1978) J Phys Chem 82:1515–1520Salagre P, Fierro JLG, Medina F, Sueiras JE (1996) J Mol Catal A 106:125–13

Directing cell therapy to anatomic target sites in vivo with magnetic resonance targeting

Cell-based therapy exploits modified human cells to treat diseases but its targeted application in specific tissues, particularly those lying deep in the body where direct injection is not possible, has been problematic. Here we use a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to direct macrophages carrying an oncolytic virus, Seprehvir, into primary and metastatic tumour sites in mice. To achieve this, we magnetically label macrophages with super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and apply pulsed magnetic field gradients in the direction of the tumour sites. Magnetic resonance targeting guides macrophages from the bloodstream into tumours, resulting in increased tumour macrophage infiltration and reduction in tumour burden and metastasis. Our study indicates that clinical MRI scanners can not only track the location of magnetically labelled cells but also have the potential to steer them into one or more target tissues

Highly Luminescent Salts Containing Well-Shielded Lanthanide-Centered Complex Anions and Bulky Imidazolium Countercations

In this paper, we report on the syntheses, structures, and characterization of four molten salts containing imidazolium cations and europium(III)- or terbium(III)-centered complex anions. In the complex anions, the lanthanide centers are wrapped by four pseudodiketonate anionic ligands, which prevent them from contacting with high-frequency oscillators and allow them to show intense characteristic europium(III) or terbium(III) emission, small line widths, high color purity, high quantum yields (30−49%), and long decay times (\u3e2 ms)

Aeroelastic and Aerothermoelastic Behavior in Hypersonic Flow

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77151/1/AIAA-36711-537.pd