Historical documentation of the Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister) in Massachusetts

Although most summaries of the distribution of the Allegheny Woodrat, Neotoma magister, do not include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there are two historical reports that lack details of its distribution in Massachusetts. Herein, we review those literature reports and provide details on a specimen from the Berkshire Mountains taken in 1958. No additional observations of woodrats have been documented in Massachusetts over the subsequent 60 years. Recent searching for evidence of woodrats at the Berkshire Mountains site and efforts in the past several decades to locate a population elsewhere in Massachusetts have not been successful. The Allegheny Woodrat historically did occur in Massachusetts and, based on the limited available habitat and the documented patterns of decline in other portions of the Northeast, especially New York, it is almost surely now extirpated from the Commonwealth

Forward Analysis and Model Checking for Trace Bounded WSTS

We investigate a subclass of well-structured transition systems (WSTS), the bounded---in the sense of Ginsburg and Spanier (Trans. AMS 1964)---complete deterministic ones, which we claim provide an adequate basis for the study of forward analyses as developed by Finkel and Goubault-Larrecq (Logic. Meth. Comput. Sci. 2012). Indeed, we prove that, unlike other conditions considered previously for the termination of forward analysis, boundedness is decidable. Boundedness turns out to be a valuable restriction for WSTS verification, as we show that it further allows to decide all $\omega$-regular properties on the set of infinite traces of the system

Explanatory Model on Academic Self-Efficacy in Engineering Students: Role of Anxiety, Dysthymia, and Negative Affect

Students in engineering tend to be loners, making interpersonal relationships and mental health issues more likely to arise. The COVID pandemic caused university students to experience anxi-ety and depression, which affected their academic performance and self-esteem. However, stu-dents’ mental health was rarely evaluated after the pandemic, especially engineering students, who showed higher levels of depression than students from other disciplines. The present study aims to establish an explanatory model of academic self-efficacy based on factors related to mental health, such as anxiety, depression, and negative emotions. The method used was quan-titative cross-sectional, and a structural equation modeling was used. A sample of 561 students (54.4% males and 45.6% females) was analyzed. Instruments to measure self-efficacy, negative affect, depression, and anxiety, previously validated and with adequate reliability, were applied. The results showed that a state of anxiety affects academic self-efficacy negatively and directly; depression and negative affect indirectly affect academic self-efficacy mediated by a state of anxiety. These results show that a student with depression problems and a predominance of negative emotions is vulnerable to present anxiety in an academic setting. This anxiety causes his efficacy beliefs to decrease. As a result, he does not feel capable of facing academic challenges

Taklobo Tours: Conservation, Tourism and Livelihood Opportunities in the Island Garden City of Samal, Southern Philippines

Taklobo Tours was launched in 2013 at Adecor, Samal Island, Southern Philippines, to promote giant clam conservation, ecotourism, and provide livelihood to 19 fisherfolk beneficiaries. This is to address the observations that coastal communities in Barangay Adecor and other areas in Region XI have violated RA 8550 on the rules and regulations of the CITES-listed species, Tridacna spp., and that fisherfolk have low income. This study aims to determine the impacts of Taklobo Tours to conservation, tourism, and livelihood of beneficiaries. Qualitative and quantitative data from 2013 to 2015 were used to analyze and describe the impacts. On top of the existing in-situ conservation of giant clams in a marine protected area (MPA), capacity building, conservation advocacy, policy support, and site development were among the site interventions. To date, the beneficiaries have increased their level of participation as conservation advocates, violations are no longer observed in the barangay, and communities have shown strong support for the advocacy. Being the banner tourism project of the local government, it has an increasing number of guests from 284 per month in 2013 to 700 per month in 2015, but usually higher during peak months of April and May. A total of 11,611 local and international guests visited and contributed to the income from fees amounting to PhP835,195.00. This provided additional income of PhP50 to PhP700 per month in 2013 and PhP500 to PhP4,800 per month in 2015 to the beneficiaries and sustainability fund to the project. This remarkable journey was made possible through the strong partnership of academe with local government units of Island Garden City of Samal and Adecor for technical assistance, promotion, management, and legislations. Regular monitoring is recommended to ensure project sustainability

Prey and Non-prey Arthropods Sharing a Host Plant: Effects on Induced Volatile Emission and Predator Attraction

It is well established that plants infested with a single herbivore species can attract specific natural enemies through the emission of herbivore-induced volatiles. However, it is less clear what happens when plants are simultaneously attacked by more than one species. We analyzed volatile emissions of lima bean and cucumber plants upon multi-species herbivory by spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) and caterpillars (Spodoptera exigua) in comparison to single-species herbivory. Upon herbivory by single or multiple species, lima bean and cucumber plants emitted volatile blends that comprised mostly the same compounds. To detect additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects, we compared the multi-species herbivory volatile blend with the sum of the volatile blends induced by each of the herbivore species feeding alone. In lima bean, the majority of compounds were more strongly induced by multi-species herbivory than expected based on the sum of volatile emissions by each of the herbivores separately, potentially caused by synergistic effects. In contrast, in cucumber, two compounds were suppressed by multi-species herbivory, suggesting the potential for antagonistic effects. We also studied the behavioral responses of the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialized natural enemy of spider mites. Olfactometer experiments showed that P. persimilis preferred volatiles induced by multi-species herbivory to volatiles induced by S. exigua alone or by prey mites alone. We conclude that both lima bean and cucumber plants effectively attract predatory mites upon multi-species herbivory, but the underlying mechanisms appear different between these species

Fungal volatile organic compounds: emphasis on their plant growth-promoting

Fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly formed bioactive interface between plants and countless of microorganisms on the above- and below-ground plant-fungus interactions. Fungal-plant interactions symbolize intriguingly biochemical complex and challenging scenarios that are discovered by metabolomic approaches. Remarkably secondary metabolites (SMs) played a significant role in the virulence and existence with plant-fungal pathogen interaction; only 25% of the fungal gene clusters have been functionally identified, even though these numbers are too low as compared with plant secondary metabolites. The current insights on fungal VOCs are conducted under lab environments and to apply small numbers of microbes; its molecules have significant effects on growth, development, and defense system of plants. Many fungal VOCs supported dynamic processes, leading to countless interactions between plants, antagonists, and mutualistic symbionts. The fundamental role of fungal VOCs at field level is required for better understanding, so more studies will offer further constructive scientific evidences that can show the cost-effectiveness of ecofriendly and ecologically produced fungal VOCs for crop welfare

Indole is an essential herbivore-induced volatile priming signal in maize

Herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds prime non-attacked plant tissues to respond more strongly to subsequent attacks. However, the key volatiles that trigger this primed state remain largely unidentified. In maize, the release of the aromatic compound indole is herbivore-specific and occurs earlier than other induced responses. We therefore hypothesized that indole may be involved in airborne priming. Using indole-deficient mutants and synthetic indole dispensers, we show that herbivore-induced indole enhances the induction of defensive volatiles in neighbouring maize plants in a species-specific manner. Furthermore, the release of indole is essential for priming of mono- and homoterpenes in systemic leaves of attacked plants. Indole exposure markedly increases the herbivore-induced production of the stress hormones jasmonate-isoleucine conjugate and abscisic acid, which represents a likely mechanism for indole-dependent priming. These results demonstrate that indole functions as a rapid and potent aerial priming agent that prepares systemic tissues and neighbouring plants for incoming attacks

Effect of probe energy and competing pathways on time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy signals: ring-opening reaction of 1,3-cyclohexadiene

The ring-opening dynamics of 1,3-cyclohexadiene (CHD) following UV excitation is studied using a model based on quantum molecular dynamics simulations with the ab-initio multiconfigurational Ehrenfest (AI-MCE) method coupled to the Dyson orbital approach for photoionisation cross sections. Time-dependent photoelectron spectra are calculated for probe photon energies in the range 2-15 eV. The calculations demonstrate the value of universal high-energy probes, capableof tracking the full photochemical dynamics of the molecule, as well as the benefit of more selective, lower-energy probes. The predicted signal, especially with the universal probes, becomes highly convoluted due to the contributions from multiple reaction paths, rendering interpretationdifficult unless complementary measurements and theoretical comparisons are available

Thermal Stability of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Receptors, CD4 and CXCR4, Reconstituted in Proteoliposomes

BACKGROUND: The entry of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) into host cells involves the interaction of the viral exterior envelope glycoprotein, gp120, and receptors on the target cell. The HIV-1 receptors are CD4 and one of two chemokine receptors, CCR5 or CXCR4. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We created proteoliposomes that contain CD4, the primary HIV-1 receptor, and one of the coreceptors, CXCR4. Antibodies against CD4 and CXCR4 specifically bound the proteoliposomes. CXCL12, the natural ligand for CXCR4, and the small-molecule CXCR4 antagonist, AMD3100, bound the proteoliposomes with affinities close to those associated with the binding of these molecules to cells expressing CXCR4 and CD4. The HIV-1 gp120 exterior envelope glycoprotein bound tightly to proteoliposomes expressing only CD4 and, in the presence of soluble CD4, bound weakly to proteoliposomes expressing only CXCR4. The thermal stability of CD4 and CXCR4 inserted into liposomes was examined. Thermal denaturation of CXCR4 followed second-order kinetics, with an activation energy (E(a)) of 269 kJ/mol (64.3 kcal/mol) and an inactivation temperature (T(i)) of 56°C. Thermal inactivation of CD4 exhibited a reaction order of 1.3, an E(a) of 278 kJ/mol (66.5 kcal/mol), and a T(i) of 52.2°C. The second-order denaturation kinetics of CXCR4 is unusual among G protein-coupled receptors, and may result from dimeric interactions between CXCR4 molecules. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our studies with proteoliposomes containing the native HIV-1 receptors allowed an examination of the binding of biologically important ligands and revealed the higher-order denaturation kinetics of these receptors. CD4/CXCR4-proteoliposomes may be useful for the study of virus-target cell interactions and for the identification of inhibitors