Intra and Inter-Population Morphological Variation of Shape and Size of the Chilean Magnificent Beetle, Ceroglossus chilensis in the Baker River Basin, Chilean Patagonia

The alteration of habitat generates different degrees of stress in insects. It has been suggested that the degrees of phenotypic disturbances reflect the ability of an individual to overcome the effects of stress. The Baker River Basin in the Aysén Region, Chilean Patagonia has a very fragmented landscape, due to the destruction of the native forest and the use of land for agriculture and animal husbandry. This alteration should generate different degrees of disturbances in the insect communities, whose effects may be quantified by geometric morphometric tools. We analyzed morphological differences in 244 males and 133 females of the the Chilean magnificent beetle, Ceroglossus chilensis (Eschscholtz) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) collected in January, 2007, in mixed forests of Nothofagus dombeyi Mirbel (Ørsted) (Fagales: Nothofagaceae) and N. nitida Hofmus and in Second-growth forest of N. pumilio (Poepp. & Endl.) Krasser. Males were generally wider in the pronotum, while females had wider abdominal sternites. Although there were significant differences in shape and size between mature forests and second-growth forest, these were less significant among the sites within each type of vegetal formation. Individuals had more shape variations in the mature forest. We suggest that differences in shape are due at least in part to the isolation of the habitat. The differences found between sexes raises the question of how morphological variations and sexual dimorphism may be affected spatially by natural selection

Incidencia de la personalidad y resiliencia en la aparición del burnout en una muestra de deportistas españoles

The aim of this research was to know the level of burnout in athletes and the relation between this syndrome and personality from Costa and McCrae’s five factors model, adding also the resilience. The sample consisted of 141 athletes (M = 21.20; SD = 3.64). IBD-R, NEO-FFI, Resilience Scale, and IPAQ were used to record and measure the variables previously mentioned. Results indicated that the participants had moderated levels in all dimensions of burnout. Also, being a man was associated to higher burnout levels, as well as being federated, participating in an individual sport and spending a higher quantity of hours training. Age didn’t turn out to be an influential variable in the suffering of this syndrome. Moreover, results indicated a vulnerable personality pattern from Five Factors Model, consisting on high levels of neuroticism and low levels of responsibility, kindness, openness and extraversion. Lastly, resilience was also a protective variable for burnout.El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue conocer los niveles de burnout en deportistas y la relación de este síndrome con la personalidad desde el Modelo de los Cinco Factores de Costa y McCrae, añadiendo asimismo la resiliencia. La muestra estuvo constituida por 141 hombres y mujeres. Se utilizaron el IBD-R, NEO-FFI, Escala de Resistencia, e IPAQ para registrar y medir las variables anteriormente mencionadas. Los resultados apuntaron a que los participantes presentaban niveles moderados en todas las dimensiones del burnout. Además, ser hombre estaba asociado a mayores niveles de burnout, así como estar federado, participar en un deporte individual y pasar un mayor número de horas de entrenamiento. La edad no resultó ser una variable influyente en el padecimiento de este síndrome. Asimismo, los resultados indicaron un patrón de personalidad vulnerable del Modelo de los Cinco Factores, consistente en altos niveles de neuroticismo y bajos niveles de responsabilidad, amabilidad, apertura y extraversión. Por último, la resiliencia también fue una variable protectora del burnout

Effect of Growth Temperature on Bamboo-shaped Carbon–Nitrogen (C–N) Nanotubes Synthesized Using Ferrocene Acetonitrile Precursor

This investigation deals with the effect of growth temperature on the microstructure, nitrogen content, and crystallinity of C–N nanotubes. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) study reveals that the atomic percentage of nitrogen content in nanotubes decreases with an increase in growth temperature. Transmission electron microscopic investigations indicate that the bamboo compartment distance increases with an increase in growth temperature. The diameter of the nanotubes also increases with increasing growth temperature. Raman modes sharpen while the normalized intensity of the defect mode decreases almost linearly with increasing growth temperature. These changes are attributed to the reduction of defect concentration due to an increase in crystal planar domain sizes in graphite sheets with increasing temperature. Both XPS and Raman spectral observations indicate that the C–N nanotubes grown at lower temperatures possess higher degree of disorder and higher N incorporation

Chaperones convert the energy from ATP into the nonequilibrium stabilization of native proteins.

During and after protein translation, molecular chaperones require ATP hydrolysis to favor the native folding of their substrates and, under stress, to avoid aggregation and revert misfolding. Why do some chaperones need ATP, and what are the consequences of the energy contributed by the ATPase cycle? Here, we used biochemical assays and physical modeling to show that the bacterial chaperones GroEL (Hsp60) and DnaK (Hsp70) both use part of the energy from ATP hydrolysis to restore the native state of their substrates, even under denaturing conditions in which the native state is thermodynamically unstable. Consistently with thermodynamics, upon exhaustion of ATP, the metastable native chaperone products spontaneously revert to their equilibrium non-native states. In the presence of ATPase chaperones, some proteins may thus behave as open ATP-driven, nonequilibrium systems whose fate is only partially determined by equilibrium thermodynamics

Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification versus karyotyping in prenatal diagnosis: the M.A.K.E. study

Abstract BACKGROUND: In the past 30 years karyotyping was the gold standard for prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aberrations in the fetus. Traditional karyotyping (TKT) has a high accuracy and reliability. However, it is labor intensive, the results take 14-21 days, the costs are high and unwanted findings such as abnormalities with unknown clinical relevance are not uncommon. These disadvantages challenged the practice of karyotyping. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a new molecular genetic technique in prenatal diagnosis. Previous preclinical evidence suggests equivalence of MLPA and traditional karyotyping (TKT) regarding test performance. METHODS/DESIGN: The proposed study is a multicentre diagnostic substitute study among pregnant women, who choose to have amniocentesis for the indication advanced maternal age and/or increased risk following prenatal screening test. In all subjects, both MLPA and karyotyping will be performed on the amniotic fluid sample. The primary outcome is diagnostic accuracy. Secondary outcomes will be maternal quality of life, women's preferences and costs. Analysis will be intention to treat and per protocol analysis. Quality of life analysis will be carried out within the study population. The study aims to include 4500 women. DISCUSSION: The study results are expected to help decide whether MLPA can replace traditional karyotyping for 'low-risk' pregnancies in terms of diagnostic accuracy, quality of life and women's preferences. This will be the first clinical study to report on all relevant aspects of the potential replacement

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns