A new intertidal shore bug (Heteroptera: Saldidae) from the Philippines

Salduncula carmencitae sp.n. is described, its habitus and the paramere and parandria of the male are illustrated. This shore bug was found on Mindanao Island, the Philippines, in the intertidal zone. Habitat and behaviour of the species are briefly described. The distinguishing diagnostic characters of species of Salduncula Brown, 1954 are discussed

Three new species of Grouvellinus Champion, 1923 from Maliau Basin, Sabah, Borneo, discovered by citizen scientists during the first Taxon Expedition (Insecta, Coleoptera, Elmidae)

Further results are presented of the first field course at Maliau Basin, Malaysian Borneo organized by Taxon Expeditions, an organization which enables citizen scientists to be directly involved in taxonomic discoveries. Three new species of the aquatic beetle genus Grouvellinus Champion, 1923, namely G. leonardodicaprioi sp. n., G. andrekuipersi sp. n., and G. quest sp. n. were collected jointly by the citizen scientists and taxonomists during the fieldwork in Maliau Basin. Material was mainly sampled from sandstone bottom rocks of blackwater streams at altitudes between 900 m and 1,000 m using fine-meshed hand-nets. The genus is widely distributed in the Oriental and Palearctic regions, but these are the first records from the island of Borneo

AKAP95 organizes a nuclear microdomain to control local cAMP for regulating nuclear PKA

Contrary to the classic model of protein kinase A (PKA) residing outside of the nucleus, we identify a nuclear signaling complex that consists of AKAP95, PKA, and PDE4D5 and show that it forms a functional cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling microdomain. Locally generated cAMP can accumulate within the vicinity of this complex; however, when cAMP is generated at the plasma membrane, PDE4 serves as a local sink and PDE3 as a barrier to prevent accumulation of cAMP within the microdomain as a means of controlling activation of tethered nuclear PKA

Notes on Notonectidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from southeastern Asia, mostly from Brunei and the Philippines

Updated distribution data are presented for the following species of Notonectidae (Heteroptera) in southeastern Asia: Anisops breddini Kirkaldy, 1901, A. kuroiwae Matsumura, 1915, A. nasutus Fieber, 1851, A. nigrolineatus Lundblad, 1933, A. occipitalis Breddin, 1905, A. rhomboides Nieser & Chen, 1999, A. stali Kirkaldy, 1904, Aphelonecta philippina Zettel, 1995, Enithares bakeri Brooks, 1948, E. freyi Brooks, 1948, E. intha Paiva, 1918, E. mandalayensis Distant, 1910, E. martini martini Kirkaldy, 1898, E. quadrispinosa Lansbury, 1967, E. sinica (Stål, 1854), E. subparallela Lansbury, 1968, E. uncata Lundblad, 1933, E. cf. vicintricata Lansbury, 1968, and Nychia sappho Kirkaldy, 1901. There are six fi rst records from Brunei Darussalam (Anisops breddini, A. nasutus, A. nigrolineatus, Aphelonecta philippina, Enithares cf. vicintricata, and Nychia sappho) and one fi rst record each from the Philippines (Anisops occipitalis), China (Enithares mandalayensis), West Malaysia (Enithares sinica) and East Malaysia (Sarawak) (Enithares uncata). A short description of the previously unknown female of Enithares intha is given. The status of Enithares quadrispinosa as a separate species (not a subspecies of E. freyi) is confi rmed. Check-lists of the Notonectidae of the Philippines and Brunei are provided

Dynamic Visualization of mTORC1 Activity in Living Cells

SummaryThe mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) senses diverse signals to regulate cell growth and metabolism. It has become increasingly clear that mTORC1 activity is regulated in time and space inside the cell, but direct interrogation of such spatiotemporal regulation is challenging. Here, we describe a genetically encoded mTORC1 activity reporter (TORCAR) that exhibits a change in FRET in response to phosphorylation by mTORC1. Co-imaging mTORC1 activity and calcium dynamics revealed that a growth-factor-induced calcium transient contributes to mTORC1 activity. Dynamic activity maps generated with the use of subcellularly targeted TORCAR uncovered mTORC1 activity not only in cytosol and at the lysosome but also in the nucleus and at the plasma membrane. Furthermore, a wide distribution of activities was observed upon growth factor stimulation, whereas leucine ester, an amino acid surrogate, induces more compartmentalized activities at the lysosome and in the nucleus. Thus, mTORC1 activities are spatiotemporally regulated in a signal-specific manner

A University Landfill Site Investigation

Proceedings of the 1991 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 19-20, 1991, Athens, Georgia.The following is a description of the RCRA Facilities Investigation (RFI) that Brown and Caldwell Consultants (BCC) conducted at the University of Georgia, Athens (UGA) landfill in 1989. By a careful study of the existing site information, a well-focused approach to the RFI was developed and a favorable outcome achieved. The work was completed in one well-coordinated phase. The site is located in northeast Georgia, south of Athens, Georgia. The landfill was an active repository for low-level radioactive and chemical wastes from 1969 until 1979. The site has not received waste material since 1979. The landfill has approximate dimensions of 250 feet by 150 feet. It consists of east-west trenches, approximately 8 to 12 feet deep. The landfill is equally divided into the eastern half, which received chemical waste, and the western half, which received low-level radioactive and biological wastes. An ephemeral/intermittent stream is located approximately 200 feet north of the landfill. The purpose of the RFI was to validate any evidence of a release at the 1andfi1l, to determine the extent of potential contamination, and to obtain information on the nature and the extent of the release of contaminants. The need for interim corrective action, or a corrective measure study, was thus evaluated. This was accomplished through a series of data gathering and evaluating steps, including review of existing information and additional data obtained from soil and groundwater analyses. Based on the information gathered, an assessment of the impact of the contaminant release was formulated.Sponsored by U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Georgia Institute of Technology.This book was published by the Institute of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 with partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, through the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (P.L. 98242). The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia or the U.S. Geological Survey or the conference sponsors

Contributions to the knowledge of water bugs in Mindoro Island, Philippines, with a species checklist of Nepomorpha and Gerromorpha (Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera)

This survey aims to provide an updated species checklist of aquatic and semi-aquatic bugs in the intra-Philippine biogeographic Region of Mindoro. An assessment survey of water bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera) was conducted mostly by manual collection in selected areas of Oriental Mindoro from 2017 to 2018, in which some of the collecting activities were undertaken by graduate students of Ateneo de Manila University. Twenty-nine aquatic and semi-aquatic heteropteran species were documented and some are known island-endemic species or subspecies, including Enithares martini mindoroensis Nieser & Zettel, 1999, Hydrotrephes stereoides mindoroensis Zettel, 2003, Aphelocheirus freitagi Zettel & Pangantihon, 2010, Rhagovelia mindoroensis Zettel, 1994, Rhagovelia raddai Zettel, 1994, Rhagovelia potamophila Zettel, 1996 and Strongylovelia mindoroensis Lansbury & Zettel, 1997, which were found in new areas in the Region. In addition, there are also new records for the Island that have already been documented in other parts of the Philippines, such as the Philippine-endemic Ochterus magnus Gapud & San Valentin, 1977 and Hebrus philippinus Zettel, 2006 and the widely-distributed backswimmers Anisops nigrolineatus Lundblad, 1933 and Anisops rhomboides Nieser & Chen, 1999. Several undescribed specimens and potentially new species are also discussed in this paper. Further surveys in the other parts of Mindoro and in the other regions of the Philippines, are encouraged to produce a comprehensive baseline data of heteropteran species richness in the country

Hydraena (s.str.) dinarica, new species (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae) along with further records of Hydraena spp. from Durmitor National Park, Montenegro and comments on the DNA barcoding problem with the genus

Background Long-palped Water Beetles were collected during a taxon expedition in Montenegro which involved citizen scientists, students and taxonomists. The material was collected from springs, brooks, fens and the Tara River, at altitudes between 600 m and 1450 m above sea level, using fine-meshed hand-nets and by manual checking of submerged substrates. The morphological species delimitation was supplemented and congruent with mtDNA sequences mainly obtained in the field using the newly-developed MinION-based ONTrack pipeline. New information The new species Hydraena dinarica Freitag & de Vries, sp. n. from Durmitor Mt. is described, illustrated and compared in detail to closely-related congeners of the H. saga d\u27Orchymont, 1930/H. emarginata Rey, 1885 species complex. Five additional species and female specimens of two unidentified morphospecies of the genus were also recorded in the vicinity of Durmitor National Park. New records and the first DNA barcodes for Hydraena biltoni Jäch & Díaz, 2012 (endemic to Montenegro) and H. morio Kiesenwetter, 1849 are provided. Further records of H. nigrita Germar, 1824, H. minutissima Stephens, 1829, H. subintegra Ganglbauer, 1901 and females of two unidentified morphospecies are commented upon. The resulting inter- and intraspecific genetic distances and some observations of low or zero sequence divergence between recently-diverged species of Hydraena Kugelann, 1794 are briefly discussed

SPATIAL COMPARTMENTALIZATION OF CAMP/PKA SIGNALING: NANODOMAINS IN THE NUCLEUS AND BEYOND

Cells respond to their environment through specific tightly regulated intracellular signaling pathways. A hallmark of the regulation of these pathways is spatiotemporal control, or regulation in both space and time. Compartmentalization of the 3’-5’-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and one of its effectors, protein kinase A (PKA) is of particular importance in many cellular pathways. Spatiotemporal control of both cAMP and PKA is essential to their proper function. While cAMP is controlled by where and how much is produced, PKA is regulated chiefly through its scaffolding protein, A-kinase anchoring protein (AKAP). AKAPs hold PKA in specific subcellular compartments and bring it into close to proximity to upstream and downstream components of its pathway as well as other regulatory proteins to control its activity. To study native activity in a spatiotemporal manner fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensors were used in live cells. This dissertation focuses on subcellular compartmentalization of cAMP/PKA, in three parts. In the first section, a nuclear PKA complex is elucidated comprised of AKAP95 and PDE4D5. This complex is able to tightly regulate cAMP around it in a PDE-dependent manner and hence can control anchored PKA activation. The second section describes the methods explored to learn about how this nuclear PKA can be activated and the consequences of its activation. In the final part, compartmentalization of cAMP/PKA signaling within the cytosol, with a particular focus on endosomal signaling, is explored and tools for its study discussed. Combined, these studies provide valuable insight into spatiotemporal control of the cAMP/PKA pathway in specific subcellular compartments. They also highlight the use of live-cell reporters such as fluorescent biosensors and expand that tool set to include other useful molecular tools. The cAMP/PKA pathway is important for many cellular processes and the studies presented here further enhance our understanding of the tight spatiotemporal regulation of its activity