A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers and scales

Feathers, not just for the birds? Theropod dinosaurs, thought to be the direct ancestors of birds, sported birdlike feathers. But were they the only feathery dino group? Godefroit et al. describe an early neornithischian dinosaur with both early feathers and scales. This seemingly feathery nontheropod dinosaur shows that feathers were not unique to the ancestors of birds and may even have been quite widespread. Science , this issue p. 451 </jats:p

Integration Issues of Big Data Analysis on Social Networks

Основная статьяNowadays Social Media becomes one of the major providers of Big Data for analysis of users’ behaviour, focus, trends, and deviations. One user can be presented in several social networks by various avatars. Most users have different dynamics of data processing and generation. In order to provide a solution capable to deal with this, there was developed and implemented a software library for integration with a number of social networks. This paper describes the problem, solution architecture and technical details of its implementation supported by the results of simulation and real data analysis for a number of popular social networks.This work was supported by the Federal Agency of Scientific Organizations (agreement No 007- GZ/Ch3363/26)

A New 76Ge Double Beta Decay Experiment at LNGS

This Letter of Intent has been submitted to the Scientific Committee of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in March 2004. It describes a novel facility at the LNGS to study the double beta decay of 76Ge using an (optionally active) cryogenic fluid shield. The setup will allow to scrutinize with high significance on a short time scale the current evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge using the existing 76Ge diodes from the previous Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments. An increase in the lifetime limit can be achieved by adding more enriched detectors, remaining thereby background-free up to a few 100 kg-years of exposure.Comment: 67 pages, 19 eps figures, 17 tables, gzipped tar fil

A New Saurolophine Dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Far Eastern Russia

Background: Four main dinosaur sites have been investigated in latest Cretaceous deposits from the Amur/Heilongjiang Region: Jiayin and Wulaga in China (Yuliangze Formation), Blagoveschensk and Kundur in Russia (Udurchukan Formation). More than 90% of the bones discovered in these localities belong to hollow-crested lambeosaurine saurolophids, but flat-headed saurolophines are also represented: Kerberosaurus manakini at Blagoveschensk and Wulagasaurus dongi at Wulaga. Methodology/Principal Findings: Herein we describe a new saurolophine dinosaur, Kundurosaurus nagornyi gen. et sp. nov. from the Udurchukan Formation (Maastrichtian) of Kundur, represented by disarticulated cranial and postcranial material. This new taxon is diagnosed by four autapomorphies. Conclusions/Significance: A phylogenetic analysis of saurolophines indicates that Kundurosaurus nagornyi is nested within a rather robust clade including Edmontosaurus spp. Saurolophus spp. and Prosaurolophus maximus, possibly as a sister-taxon for Kerberosaurus manakini also from the Udurchukan Formation of Far Eastern Russia. The high diversity and mosaic distribution of Maastrichtian hadrosaurid faunas in the Amur-Heilongjiang region are the result of a complex palaeogeographical history and imply that many independent hadrosaurid lineages dispersed without any problem between western America and eastern Asia at the end of the Cretaceous. © 2012 Godefroit et al.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Osteology and relationships of Olorotitan arharensis, a hollow−crested hadrosaurid dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of Far Eastern Russia

The holotype of Olorotitan arharensis from the Maastrichtian Udurchukan Formation in Kundur, Far Eastern Russia, is the most complete dinosaur discovered in Russia and one of the best preserved lambeosaurines outside western North America. This taxon is diagnosed by following autapomorphies: large helmet−like hollow crest higher than the rest of the skull and extending caudally well beyond the level of the occiput; very high postorbital process of jugal (ratio height of postorbital process/length of jugal = 1); rostral portion of the jugal shorter than in other lambeosaurines, with a perfectly straight rostral margin; very asymmetrical maxilla in lateral view, with ventral margin distinctly downturned; very elongated neck composed of 18 cervical vertebrae; tibia as high as the femur; shorter cnemial crest, about one fifth of tibia length. A phylogenetic analysis, based on 118 cranial, dental, and postcranial characters, indicates that Olorotitan is a member of the Corythosaurini clade, and is the sister taxon of Corythosaurus casuarius, Hypacrosaurus stebingeri, and Hypacrosaurus altispinus. The high diversity and mosaic distribution of Maastrichtian hadrosaurid faunas in the Amur−Heilongjiang region are the result of a complex palaeogeographical history and imply that many independent hadrosaurid lineages dispersed readily between western America and eastern Asia at the end of the Cretaceous