A simplified protocol for detecting two systemic bait markers (Rhodamine B and iophenoxic acid) in small mammals

We developed a method of quantifying levels of fluorescence in the whiskers of wild stoats (Mustela erminea) using fluorescence microscopy and Axiovision 3.0.6.1 software. The method allows for discrimination between natural fluorescence present in or on a whisker, and the fluorescence resulting from the ingestion of the systemic marker Rhodamine B (RB), although some visual judgement is still required. We also developed a new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) protocol for detecting the systemic marker iophenoxic acid (IPA) in the blood of laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) and wild stoats. With this method, the blood of an animal that has consumed IPA can be tested for the presence of the foreign IPA compound itself. This is a more reliable test than the previous method, which measured the raised level of natural blood protein-bound iodine correlated with IPA absorption. The quantity of blood required from animal subjects is very small (10 μl), so the testing is less intrusive and the method can be extended to smaller species. The extraction technique uses methanol, rather than acids and heavy metal salts, thereby simplifying the procedure. Recovery of IPA is quantitative, giving a highly reliable reading. In experiments on captive rats the IPA method proved successful. Of 12 positively marked carcasses, two that had not been frozen for the 24 h before blood samples were taken showed relatively lower IPA levels. The same IPA detection method, as well as the whisker analysis for RB, was applied successfully to a population of wild stoats to which both Rhodamine B and IPA were made available at bait stations. The presence of both bait markers was detectable in rats for at least 21 days and in stoats for at least 27 days

Taxonomic investigation of Ralfsia-like (Ralfsiales, Phaeophyceae) taxa in the North Atlantic Ocean based on molecular and morphological data, with descriptions of Pseudoralfsiaceae fam. nov., Pseudoralfsia azorica gen. et sp. nov. and Nuchella vesicularis gen. et sp. nov.

In this study we investigatedRalfsia-like crusts (i.e. excludingRalfsiasensu stricto,Stragulariaspp. and/or Scytosiphonaceae crustose phases) with an emphasis on the North Atlantic Ocean using molecular data (COI-5P, ITS andrbcL-3P) combined with morpho-anatomical comparisons of type material and contemporary specimens. Of the four species ofRalfsiapreviously reported in Europe, onlyR. fungiformisis presently recognized as belonging toRalfsiasensu stricto, Ralfsiaceae, with the remaining species,R. lucida, R. ovataandR. verrucosa, of uncertain taxonomic status. Our study revealed 11 independent genetic lineages ofRalfsia-like taxa, which were not assignable to any of the recognized families of the Ralfsiales. To accommodate this diversity, we propose Pseudoralfsiaceae Parente, Fletcher & G.W.Saunders fam. nov., including two new generaPseudoralfsiaParente, Fletcher & G.W.Saunders gen. nov. andNuchellaParente, Fletcher & G.W.Saunders gen. nov. The first genus includesPseudoralfsia verrucosa(Areschoug) Parente, Fletcher & G.W.Saunders comb. nov. as the generitype (the only species of the three remaining European species of uncertain taxonomic status assigned toRalfsiathat was reassessed here),P. azoricaParente, Fletcher & G.W.Saunders sp. nov. and seven undescribed genetic groups, which require additional vouchers for description. The second genus has as generitypeNuchella vesicularisParente, Fletcher & G.W.Saunders sp. nov., and also includesN. sp._1MP, which was represented by a single sterile specimen from Swanage, UK and consequently not characterized. Three characteristics differentiateNuchellafromPseudoralfsia- the former typically with numerous vesicles, non-synchronous development of the plurangia and hair pits arising from both middle and lower cells of the erect filaments. Species of Pseudoralfsiaceae can be distinguished fromRalfsiasensu stricto (Ralfsiaceae) mainly by DNA sequences and by consistently having frequent hair pits, and typically unsymmetrical thalli.This research was funded by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology in the scope of the MACROBIOMOL project (ref. PTDC/MAR/114613/2009) and under the UID/BIA/50027/2013 and POCI-010145-FEDER-006821 programmes. Work completed in the Saunders Laboratory was supported by the Canadian Barcode of Life Network from Genome Canada in association with the Ontario Genomics Institute, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, as well as other sponsors listed at www.boldsystems.org, with infrastructure support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and New Brunswick Innovation Foundation

Small-molecule CaVα1⋅CaVβ antagonist suppresses neuronal voltage-gated calcium-channel trafficking

Extracellular calcium flow through neuronal voltage-gated CaV2.2 calcium channels converts action potential-encoded information to the release of pronociceptive neurotransmitters in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, culminating in excitation of the postsynaptic central nociceptive neurons. The CaV2.2 channel is composed of a pore-forming α1 subunit (CaVα1) that is engaged in protein-protein interactions with auxiliary α2/δ and β subunits. The high-affinity CaV2.2α1⋅CaVβ3 protein-protein interaction is essential for proper trafficking of CaV2.2 channels to the plasma membrane. Here, structure-based computational screening led to small molecules that disrupt the CaV2.2α1⋅CaVβ3 protein-protein interaction. The binding mode of these compounds reveals that three substituents closely mimic the side chains of hot-spot residues located on the α-helix of CaV2.2α1 Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the critical nature of a salt-bridge interaction between the compounds and CaVβ3 Arg-307. In cells, compounds decreased trafficking of CaV2.2 channels to the plasma membrane and modulated the functions of the channel. In a rodent neuropathic pain model, the compounds suppressed pain responses. Small-molecule α-helical mimetics targeting ion channel protein-protein interactions may represent a strategy for developing nonopioid analgesia and for treatment of other neurological disorders associated with calcium-channel trafficking

TeAAL: A Declarative Framework for Modeling Sparse Tensor Accelerators

Over the past few years, the explosion in sparse tensor algebra workloads has led to a corresponding rise in domain-specific accelerators to service them. Due to the irregularity present in sparse tensors, these accelerators employ a wide variety of novel solutions to achieve good performance. At the same time, prior work on design-flexible sparse accelerator modeling does not express this full range of design features, making it difficult to understand the impact of each design choice and compare or extend the state-of-the-art. To address this, we propose TeAAL: a language and compiler for the concise and precise specification and evaluation of sparse tensor algebra architectures. We use TeAAL to represent and evaluate four disparate state-of-the-art accelerators--ExTensor, Gamma, OuterSPACE, and SIGMA--and verify that it reproduces their performance with high accuracy. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of TeAAL as a tool for designing new accelerators by showing how it can be used to speed up Graphicionado--by $38\times$ on BFS and $4.3\times$ on SSSP.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure

Overall evaluation of Skylab imagery for mapping of Latin America

The author has identified the following significant results. Skylab imagery is both desired and needed by the Latin American catographic agencies. The imagery is cost beneficial for the production of new mapping and maintenance of existing maps at national topographic series scales. If this information was available on a near time routine coverage basis, it would provide an excellent additional data base to the Latin American cartographic community, specifically Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Venezuela

The Octave (Birmingham - Sheffield Hallam) automated pipeline for extracting oscillation parameters of solar-like main-sequence stars

The number of main-sequence stars for which we can observe solar-like oscillations is expected to increase considerably with the short-cadence high-precision photometric observations from the NASA Kepler satellite. Because of this increase in number of stars, automated tools are needed to analyse these data in a reasonable amount of time. In the framework of the asteroFLAG consortium, we present an automated pipeline which extracts frequencies and other parameters of solar-like oscillations in main-sequence and subgiant stars. The pipeline uses only the timeseries data as input and does not require any other input information. Tests on 353 artificial stars reveal that we can obtain accurate frequencies and oscillation parameters for about three quarters of the stars. We conclude that our methods are well suited for the analysis of main-sequence stars, which show mainly p-mode oscillations.Comment: accepted by MNRA

Using Rapidity Gaps to Distinguish Between Higgs Production by W and Gluon Fusion

The possibility of distinguishing between two higgs production mechanisms, W fusion and gluon fusion, is investigated using the Monte Carlo event generator PYTHIA. It is shown that, considering the designed CM energy and luminosity for the LHC, it is not possible to distinguish between the two higgs production processes as, for a given integrated luminosity, they lead to the same number of events containing a rapidity gap.Comment: uudecoded compressed tar file containing a tex file and 6 figure files. Two more figures, avaiable from the authors upon reques

‘O sibling, where art thou?’ – a review of avian sibling recognition with respect to the mammalian literature

Avian literature on sibling recognition is rare compared to that developed by mammalian researchers. We compare avian and mammalian research on sibling recognition to identify why avian work is rare, how approaches differ and what avian and mammalian researchers can learn from each other. Three factors: (1) biological differences between birds and mammals, (2) conceptual biases and (3) practical constraints, appear to influence our current understanding. Avian research focuses on colonial species because sibling recognition is considered adaptive where ‘mixing potential’ of dependent young is high; research on a wider range of species, breeding systems and ecological conditions is now needed. Studies of acoustic recognition cues dominate avian literature; other types of cues (e.g. visual, olfactory) deserve further attention. The effect of gender on avian sibling recognition has yet to be investigated; mammalian work shows that gender can have important influences. Most importantly, many researchers assume that birds recognise siblings through ‘direct familiarisation’ (commonly known as associative learning or familiarity); future experiments should also incorporate tests for ‘indirect familiarisation’ (commonly known as phenotype matching). If direct familiarisation proves crucial, avian research should investigate how periods of separation influence sibling discrimination. Mammalian researchers typically interpret sibling recognition in broad functional terms (nepotism, optimal outbreeding); some avian researchers more successfully identify specific and testable adaptive explanations, with greater relevance to natural contexts. We end by reporting exciting discoveries from recent studies of avian sibling recognition that inspire further interest in this topic

Increasing compliance with wearing a medical device in children with autism

Health professionals often recommend the use of medical devices to assess the health, monitor the well-being, or improve the quality of life of their patients. Children with autism may present challenges in these situations as their sensory peculiarities may increase refusals to wear such devices. To address this issue, we systematically replicated prior research by examining the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to increase compliance with wearing a heart rate monitor in 2 children with autism. The intervention increased compliance to 100% for both participants when an edible reinforcer was delivered every 90 s. The results indicate that DRO does not require the implementation of extinction to increase compliance with wearing a medical device. More research is needed to examine whether the reinforcement schedule can be further thinned