Phylogenetic relationships of typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) and test of incongruence based on Bayes factors

BACKGROUND: The typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) form a monophyletic and diverse family of suboscine passerines that inhabit neotropical forests. However, the phylogenetic relationships within this assemblage are poorly understood. Herein, we present a hypothesis of the generic relationships of this group based on Bayesian inference analyses of two nuclear introns and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The level of phylogenetic congruence between the individual genes has been investigated utilizing Bayes factors. We also explore how changes in the substitution models affected the observed incongruence between partitions of our data set. RESULTS: The phylogenetic analysis supports both novel relationships, as well as traditional groupings. Among the more interesting novel relationship suggested is that the Terenura antwrens, the wing-banded antbird (Myrmornis torquata), the spot-winged antshrike (Pygiptila stellaris) and the russet antshrike (Thamnistes anabatinus) are sisters to all other typical antbirds. The remaining genera fall into two major clades. The first includes antshrikes, antvireos and the Herpsilochmus antwrens, while the second clade consists of most antwren genera, the Myrmeciza antbirds, the "professional" ant-following antbirds, and allied species. Our results also support previously suggested polyphyly of Myrmotherula antwrens and Myrmeciza antbirds. The tests of phylogenetic incongruence, using Bayes factors, clearly suggests that allowing the gene partitions to have separate topology parameters clearly increased the model likelihood. However, changing a component of the nucleotide substitution model had much higher impact on the model likelihood. CONCLUSIONS: The phylogenetic results are in broad agreement with traditional classification of the typical antbirds, but some relationships are unexpected based on external morphology. In these cases their true affinities may have been obscured by convergent evolution and morphological adaptations to new habitats or food sources, and genera like Myrmeciza antbirds and the Myrmotherula antwrens obviously need taxonomic revisions. Although, Bayes factors seem promising for evaluating the relative contribution of components to an evolutionary model, the results suggests that even if strong evidence for a model allowing separate topology parameters is found, this might not mean strong evidence for separate gene phylogenies, as long as vital components of the substitution model are still missing

Degradation of Carbon Nanotube Array Thermal Interface Materials through Thermal Aging: Effects of Bonding, Array Height, and Catalyst Oxidation

Carbon nanotube (CNT) array thermal interface materials (TIMs) are promising candidates for high-performance applications in terms of thermal performance. However, in order to be useful in commercial applications, the reliability of the interfaces is an equally important parameter, which so far has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, the reliability of CNT array TIMs is investigated through accelerated aging. The roles of CNT array height and substrate configuration are studied for their relative impact on thermal resistance degradation. After aging, the CNT catalyst is analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to evaluate chemical changes. The CNT-catalyst bond appears to degrade during aging but not to the extent that the TIM performance is compromised. On the other hand, coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between surfaces creates strain that needs to be absorbed, which requires CNT arrays with sufficient height. Transfer and bonding of both CNT roots and tips also create more reliable interfaces. Crucially, we find that the CNT array height of most previously reported CNT array TIMs is not enough to prevent significant reliability problems

Multiple growth of graphene from a pre-dissolved carbon source

Mono- to few-layer graphene materials are successfully synthesized multiple times using Cu-Ni alloy as a catalyst after a single-chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The multiple synthesis is realized by extracting carbon source pre-dissolved in the catalyst substrate. Firstly, graphene is grown by the CVD method on Cu-Ni catalyst substrates. Secondly, the same Cu-Nicatalyst foils are annealed, in absence of any external carbon precursor, to grow graphene using the carbon atoms pre-dissolved in the catalyst during the CVD process. This annealing process is repeated to synthesize graphene successfully until carbon is exhausted in the Cu-Ni foils. After the CVD growth and each annealing growth process, the as-grown graphene is removed using a bubbling transfer method. A wide range of characterizations are performed to examine the quality of the obtained graphene material and to monitor the carbon concentration in the catalyst substrates. Results show that graphene from each annealing growth process possesses a similar quality, which confirmed the good reproducibility of the method. This technique brings great freedom to graphene growth and applications, and it could be also used for other 2D material synthesis

Topological dynamics of micelles formed by geometrically varied surfactants

The molecular architecture of sugar-based surfactants strongly affects their self-assembled structure, i.e., the type of micelles they form, which in turn controls both the dynamics and rheological properties of the system. Here, we report the segmental and mesoscopic structure and dynamics of a series of C16 maltosides with differences in the anomeric configuration and degree of tail unsaturation. Neutron spin-echo measurements showed that the segmental dynamics can be modeled as a one-dimensional array of segments where the dynamics increase with inefficient monomer packing. The network dynamics as characterized by dynamic light scattering show different relaxation modes that can be associated with the micelle structure. Hindered dynamics are observed for arrested networks of worm-like micelles, connected to their shear-thinning rheology, while nonentangled diffusing rods relate to Newtonian rheological behavior. While the design of novel surfactants with controlled properties poses a challenge for synthetic chemistry, we demonstrate how simple variations in the monomer structure can significantly influence the behavior of surfactantsThe authors thank the Swedish Research Council Formas (Grant 2015-666) for funding J.L. The research was performed with financial support from the Vinnova─Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems within the NextBioForm Competence Centre. The authors also thank the Institut Laue-Langevin, France, for the awarded beamtime (Proposal No. 9-10-1652). NSE data is openly available at doi: 10.5291/ILL-DATA.9-10-1652S

High porosity and light weight graphene foam heat sink and phase change material container for thermal management

During the last decade, graphene foam emerged as a promising high porosity 3-dimensional (3D) structure for various applications. More specifically, it has attracted significant interest as a solution for thermal management in electronics. In this study, we investigate the possibility to use such porous materials as a heat sink and a container for a phase change material (PCM). Graphene foam (GF) was produced using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process and attached to a thermal test chip using sintered silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The thermal conductivity of the graphene foam reached 1.3 W m(-1)K(-1), while the addition of Ag as a graphene foam silver composite (GF/Ag) enhanced further its effective thermal conductivity by 54%. Comparatively to nickel foam, GF and GF/Ag showed lower junction temperatures thanks to higher effective thermal conductivity and a better contact. A finite element model was developed to simulate the fluid flow through the foam structure model and showed a positive and a non-negligible contributions of the secondary microchannel within the graphene foam. A ratio of 15 times was found between the convective heat flux within the primary and secondary microchannel. Our paper successfully demonstrates the possibility of using such 3D porous material as a PCM container and heat sink and highlight the advantage of using the carbon-based high porosity material to take advantage of its additional secondary porosity

Identifying Bird Remains Using Ancient DNA Barcoding.

Bird remains that are difficult to identify taxonomically using morphological methods, are common in the palaeontological record. Other types of challenging avian material include artefacts and food items from endangered taxa, as well as remains from aircraft strikes. We here present a DNA-based method that enables taxonomic identification of bird remains, even from material where the DNA is heavily degraded. The method is based on the amplification and sequencing of two short variable parts of the 16S region in the mitochondrial genome. To demonstrate the applicability of this approach, we evaluated the method on a set of Holocene and Late Pleistocene postcranial bird bones from several palaeontological and archaeological sites in Europe with good success

Reliability investigation of a carbon nanotube array thermal interface material

As feature density increases within microelectronics, so does the dissipated power density, which puts an increased demand on thermal management. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used at the interface between contacting surfaces to reduce the thermal resistance, and is a critical component within many electronics systems. Arrays of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained significant interest for application as TIMs, due to the high thermal conductivity, no internal thermal contact resistances and an excellent conformability. While studies show excellent thermal performance, there has to date been no investigation into the reliability of CNT array TIMs. In this study, CNT array TIMs bonded with polymer to close a Si-Cu interface were subjected to thermal cycling. Thermal interface resistance measurements showed a large degradation of the thermal performance of the interface within the first 100 cycles. More detailed thermal investigation of the interface components showed that the connection between CNTs and catalyst substrate degrades during thermal cycling even in the absence of thermal expansion mismatch, and the nature of this degradation was further analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This study indicates that the reliability will be an important consideration for further development and commercialization of CNT array TIMs

Brief Report: Adults with Mild Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Comorbid Psychopathology

While knowledge about symptom presentation of adults with mild ASD, including comorbid psychopathology, is limited, referral of adults with suspected mild PDD is increasing. We report on pilot research investigating whether patients diagnosed with mild ASD (n = 15) and patients who were not diagnosed with ASD (n = 21) differed in terms of (a) AQ scores and (b) Axis I and II disorders, assessed by the SCAN and the IPDE. Additionally, AQ scores were compared with those from non-ASD patients referred to a general outpatient clinic (n = 369). The results showed very few differences between ASD patients and non-ASD patients. Self-report may not differentiate mild ASD patients from non-ASD patients and Axis I and II disorders seem equally prevalent among these two groups

The Swedish Version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale: Revised (RAADS-R). A Validation Study of a Rating Scale for Adults

There is a paucity of diagnostic instruments for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R), an 80-item self-rating scale designed to assist clinicians diagnosing ASD in adults. It was administered to 75 adults with ASD and 197 comparison cases. Also, a subset completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Three out of four subscales had high internal consistency. Sensitivity was 91% and specificity was 93%. The ASD subjects had significantly higher mean scores on all subscales. ASD females had higher scores than ASD males on the sensory motor subscale, a dimension not included in the AQ. RAADS-R showed promising test re-test reliability