An introductory study of house spiders (Araneae) in Belgium

More than 800 spiders were collected in 43 houses heated in winter, distributed mainly in the northern part of Belgium. Information required for the collections to be eligible for the project was: address, construction year, type of house, and surroundings. The spiders were qualified as ‘house spiders’ or ‘garden spiders’. Of the 93 species collected, 19 could be defined as house spiders. Pholcus phalangioides was the most common, followed by Eratigena atrica and Steatoda triangulosa. Garden spiders enter the house much more often in houses in a rural environment than in those situated in clusters, and mainly in spring. The spiders are most common in autumn when many of them are breeding. The common house spiders colonize houses shortly after their construction

Strength-duration time constant and rheobase measurements: comparison of the threshold tracking method and a non-automated procedure

peer reviewe

Bélemnites néocomiennes des régions méditerranéennes, 4ème partie: bélemnites de la coupe stratotypique du Barrémien

Cette étude aborde la distribution des bélemnites de l'Hauterivien terminal au Bédoulien inférieur de la Coupe Stratotypique du Barrémien d'Angles (ABSS). La distribution des bélemnites sur l'ABSS n'est pas uniforme, principalement due à l'inaccessibilité de certains bancs. Pour y remédier et pouvoir comparer leur distribution avec celle qui est observée en des domaines moins profonds, nous avons étudié d'autres localités comme les environs du Bourguet. Les sédiments de l'Hauterivien terminal ont fourni principalement Hibolithes ex gr. subfusiformis et quelques Duvalia ex gr. dilatata. Les sédiments du Barrémien basal ont livré une association plus riche comportant les dernières Hibolithes spp. Les premières bélemnites barrémiennes apparaissent juste un banc au dessus de la limite Hauterivien-Barrémien fondée sur les ammonites. Cette association de bélemnites (BaBA1) se compose de Duvalia ex gr. silesiaca-gagrica, Duvalia pontica et de plusieurs espèces d'Hibolithes. À la limite des zones à Nicklesia pulchella et Kotetishvilia compressissima, la diversité augmente et apparaissent alors les bélemnites "classiques" du Barrémien. Anciennement attribuées au genre Mesohibolites (BaBA2), ces espèces sont à présent rattachées au nouveau genre Shvetsovia. En association avec les duvaliidés de BaBA1 elles ont été initialement décrites dans l'Abkhazie par SHVETSOV (1913). Le Barrémien inférieur somminal (BaBA3) et la partie basale du Barrémien supérieur (BaBA4) montrent des associations de bélemnites diversifiées, avec de nombreuses espèces classiques. En particulier les niveaux du Barrémien inférieur terminal et du Barrémien supérieur basal montrent une association riche et diversifiée, dominée par quelques genres ressemblant étroitement aux vrais Mesohibolites. Ces associations de bélemnites sont ensuite comparées à celles de plusieurs coupes plus proximales dans le Bassin vocontien et à des zones situées en dehors du Bassin vocontien (principalement la Hongrie et la Géorgie). Certaines différences dans la fréquence et l'abondance de plusieurs espèces dans ces diverses coupes sont censées refléter des différences dans leur habitat naturel. Duvalia ex gr. grasiana semble être plus abondante dans les coupes les plus distales, tandis que les jeunes Mesohibolitidae, Conohibolites et Curtohibolites semblent être plus abondants dans les environnements plus proximaux. Les premiers Mesohibolites ont été récoltés dans le Barrémien supérieur (zone à Imerites giraudi) et les derniers dans le partie sommitale du "calcaire Bédoulien". Les premiers Neohibolites ont été récoltés dans la "zone non caractérisée" (Barrémien-Bédoulien) de l'ABSS, mais ce genre est plus fréquent dans les dépôts du "Bédoulien marneux". Les dépôts du Barrémien supérieur-Bédoulien inférieur se composent de sept associations de bélemnites, viz. BaBA5, BaBA6, BaBA7, BdBA1, BdBA2, BdBA3 et BdBA4. Pour conclure, une biozonation est présentée, définie par la distribution des bélemnites dans l'ABSS. Cette biozonation semble applicable dans les coupes les plus proximales, bien que certaines biozones puissent être diachrones. Les nouvelles espèces et les nouveaux genres suivants sont décrits: Hibolithes keleptrishvilii sp. nov. (Hauterivien terminal), Duvalia vermeuleni sp. nov. (Barrémien inférieur), Curtohibolites (?) bourguetensis sp. nov. (Barrémien inférieur), Shvetsovia gen. nov. (Barrémien) et Mesohibolites anglesensis sp. nov. (Barrémien supérieur). Enfin onze taxons ont été laissés en nomenclature ouverte.This paper deals with the distribution of belemnites in the latest Hauterivian to early Bedou-lian of the Angles Barremian Stratotype Section (ABSS). The distribution of the belemnites in the ABSS is not uniform, mainly due to the inaccessibility of certain beds. To cover this, and to compare the distribution with more proximal settings, we investigated a section to the north of Le Bourguet. The la-test Hauterivian sediments mainly yield Hibolithes ex gr. subfusiformis besides some Duvalia ex gr. dilatata. The earliest Barremian sediments deliver a richer association that yields the last Hibolithes spp. The first typical Barremian belemnites occur just one bed above the Hauterivian-Barremian boun-dary based on ammonites. This belemnite association (BaBA1) consists of Duvalia ex gr. silesiaca-gagrica, Duvalia pontica and several species of Hibolithes. At the boundary between the Nicklesia pul-chella and the Kotetishvilia compressissima zones the diversity increases and the first classical Barre-mian belemnites occur. These were formerly attributed to Mesohibolites (BaBA2). These species are herein attributed to a new genus Shvetsovia. Together with the duvaliids from BaBA1 they were first described from Abkhasia by SHVETSOV (1913). The latest Early Barremian (BaBA3) and the earliest Late Barremian (BaBA4) show well diversified belemnite associations, with many classical species, domina-ted by few genera closely resembling the true Mesohibolites. Eventually, these belemnite associations are compared to more proximal sections within the Vocontian Basin, and areas outside the Vocontian Basin (chiefly Hungary and Georgia). Some differences in the frequency and abundance of several spe-cies in these different palaeogeographical settings are believed to indicate differences in natural habi-tat. Duvalia ex gr. grasiana appears to be more abundant in more distal sections, while juvenile Meso-hibolitidae, Conohibolites and Curtohibolites appear to be more abundant in the more proximal environ-ments. Finally, a biozonation is presented and defined based on the distribution of the belemnites in the ABSS. This biozonation appears applicable in the more proximal sections, although some biozones are diachronous. The first Mesohibolites occur in the Upper Barremian Imerites giraudi Zone. In the Barremian-Bedoulian boundary sediments, as defined in the ABSS, Neohibolites first occurs, but the latter is only dominant in the marly sediments above the "calcareous Bedoulian". In the Late Barre-mian-early Bedoulian seven main belemnite associations can be distinguished, viz. BaBA5, BaBA6, BaBA7, BdBA1, BdBA2, BdBA3 and BdBA4. The following new species and genera are described: Hiboli-thes keleptrishvilii sp. nov. (latest Hauterivian), Duvalia vermeuleni sp. nov. (Early Barremian), Curto-hibolites (?) bourguetensis sp. nov. (Early Barremian), and Shvetsovia gen. nov. (late Early-early Late Barremian). Besides, the Late Barremian yields the new species Mesohibolites anglesensis. Moreover, eleven species are described in open-nomenclature

Ruthenacycles and Iridacycles as Catalysts for Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation and Racemisation

Ruthenacycles, which are easily prepared in a single step by reaction between enantiopure aromatic amines and [Ru(arene)Cl2]2 in the presence of NaOH and KPF6, are very good asymmetric transfer hydrogenation catalysts. A range of aromatic ketones were reduced using isopropanol in good yields with ee’s up to 98%. Iridacycles, which are prepared in similar fashion from [IrCp*Cl2]2 are excellent catalysts for the racemisation of secondary alcohols and chlorohydrins at room temperature. This allowed the development of a new dynamic kinetic resolution of chlorohydrins to the enantiopure epoxides in up to 90% yield and 98% enantiomeric excess (ee) using a mutant of the enzyme Haloalcohol dehalogenase C and an iridacycle as racemisation catalyst.

Multimessenger astronomy with pulsar timing and X-ray observations of massive black hole binaries

We demonstrate that very massive (>10^8\msun), cosmologically nearby (z<1) black hole binaries (MBHBs), which are primary targets for ongoing and upcoming pulsar timing arrays (PTAs), are particularly appealing multimessenger carriers. According to current models for massive black hole formation and evolution, the planned Square Kilometer Array (SKA) will collect gravitational wave signals from thousands of such massive systems, being able to individually resolve and locate in the sky several of them (maybe up to a hundred). By employing a standard model for the evolution of MBHBs in circumbinary discs, with the aid of dedicated numerical simulations, we characterize the gas-binary interplay, identifying possible electromagnetic signatures of the PTA sources. We concentrate our investigation on two particularly promising scenarios in the high energy domain, namely, the detection of X-ray periodic variability and of double broad K\alpha iron lines. Up to several hundreds of periodic X-ray sources with a flux >10^-13 erg s^-1 cm^-2 will be in the reach of upcoming X-ray observatories. Double relativistic K\alpha lines may be observable in a handful of low redshift (z<0.3) sources by proposed deep X-ray probes, such as Athena. (Abridged)Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRAS, minor revision of the reference lis

CMS distributed computing workflow experience

The vast majority of the CMS Computing capacity, which is organized in a tiered hierarchy, is located away from CERN. The 7 Tier-1 sites archive the LHC proton-proton collision data that is initially processed at CERN. These sites provide access to all recorded and simulated data for the Tier-2 sites, via wide-area network (WAN) transfers. All central data processing workflows are executed at the Tier-1 level, which contain re-reconstruction and skimming workflows of collision data as well as reprocessing of simulated data to adapt to changing detector conditions. This paper describes the operation of the CMS processing infrastructure at the Tier-1 level. The Tier-1 workflows are described in detail. The operational optimization of resource usage is described. In particular, the variation of different workflows during the data taking period of 2010, their efficiencies and latencies as well as their impact on the delivery of physics results is discussed and lessons are drawn from this experience. The simulation of proton-proton collisions for the CMS experiment is primarily carried out at the second tier of the CMS computing infrastructure. Half of the Tier-2 sites of CMS are reserved for central Monte Carlo (MC) production while the other half is available for user analysis. This paper summarizes the large throughput of the MC production operation during the data taking period of 2010 and discusses the latencies and efficiencies of the various types of MC production workflows. We present the operational procedures to optimize the usage of available resources and we the operational model of CMS for including opportunistic resources, such as the larger Tier-3 sites, into the central production operation

Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data

Aim Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species. Location Worldwide. Time period 1998-2021. Major taxa studied Forty-nine terrestrial mammal species. Methods Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types. Results IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively. Main conclusions We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016