The Invertebrate Prey of the Northern Leopard Frog, Rana pipiens, in a Northeastern Ohio Population

Author Institution: Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State UniversityThe purpose of this investigation was to determine the feeding habits of the northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, in northeastern Ohio. To accomplish this we examined the stomach contents of 13 adults and 19 juveniles collected from a restored wetland in Summit County, Ohio during the summers of 1996 and 1997. The adult and juvenile frogs ingested 142 invertebrates representing 2 phyla, 3 classes, 12 orders, and 34 families. Adult and juvenile frogs consumed both diurnal and nocturnal prey belonging primarily to the insect orders Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera. Although juvenile frogs consumed more individual prey items than adults (t = 2.196, p <0.05), neither age cohort specialized on active or inactive prey (X2 = 3.84, p <0.05)- Approximately 67% of all prey consumed consisted of fossorial or crawling organisms. Our data suggest that R. pipiens is an efficient predator that maximizes prey diversity by employing more than one feeding strategy

Sharpenings of Li's criterion for the Riemann Hypothesis

Exact and asymptotic formulae are displayed for the coefficients $\lambda_n$ used in Li's criterion for the Riemann Hypothesis. For $n \to \infty$ we obtain that if (and only if) the Hypothesis is true, $\lambda_n \sim n(A \log n +B)$ (with $A>0$ and $B$ explicitly given, also for the case of more general zeta or $L$-functions); whereas in the opposite case, $\lambda_n$ has a non-tempered oscillatory form.Comment: 10 pages, Math. Phys. Anal. Geom (2006, at press). V2: minor text corrections and updated reference

A first genome assembly of the barley fungal pathogen Pyrenophora teres f. teres

Background: Pyrenophora teres f. teres is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen and the cause of one of barley’s most important diseases, net form of net blotch. Here we report the first genome assembly for this species based solely on short Solexa sequencing reads of isolate 0-1. The assembly was validated by comparison to BAC sequences, ESTs, orthologous genes and by PCR, and complemented by cytogenetic karyotyping and the first genome-wide genetic map for P. teres f. teres. Results: The total assembly was 41.95 Mbp and contains 11,799 gene models of 50 amino acids or more. Comparison against two sequenced BACs showed that complex regions with a high GC content assembled effectively. Electrophoretic karyotyping showed distinct chromosomal polymorphisms between isolates 0-1 and 15A, and cytological karyotyping confirmed the presence of at least nine chromosomes. The genetic map spans 2477.7 cM and is composed of 243 markers in 25 linkage groups, and incorporates SSR markers developed from the assembly. Among predicted genes, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and efflux pumps in particular appear to have undergone a P. teres f. teres-specific expansion of non-orthologous gene families. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that paired-end Solexa sequencing can successfully capture coding regions of a filamentous fungal genome. The assembly contains a plethora of predicted genes that have been implicated in a necrotrophic lifestyle and pathogenicity and presents a significant resource for examining the bases for P. teres f. teres pathogenicity

Осаждение покрытий из хрома и никеля с помощью магнетронного диода с «горячей» мишенью

В настоящей работе представлены результаты исследования свойств покрытий из хрома и никеля от режимов распыления "горячей" металлической мишени в плазме магнетронной распылительной системы.This work reports on the dependence of properties of Cr and Ni coatings on operation parameters of magnetron sputtering system with hot target

Cell-Specific Monitoring of Protein Synthesis In Vivo

Analysis of general and specific protein synthesis provides important information, relevant to cellular physiology and function. However, existing methodologies, involving metabolic labelling by incorporation of radioactive amino acids into nascent polypeptides, cannot be applied to monitor protein synthesis in specific cells or tissues, in live specimens. We have developed a novel approach for monitoring protein synthesis in specific cells or tissues, in vivo. Fluorescent reporter proteins such as GFP are expressed in specific cells and tissues of interest or throughout animals using appropriate promoters. Protein synthesis rates are assessed by following fluorescence recovery after partial photobleaching of the fluorophore at targeted sites. We evaluate the method by examining protein synthesis rates in diverse cell types of live, wild type or mRNA translation-defective Caenorhabditis elegans animals. Because it is non-invasive, our approach allows monitoring of protein synthesis in single cells or tissues with intrinsically different protein synthesis rates. Furthermore, it can be readily implemented in other organisms or cell culture systems

24-h sheltering behaviour of individually kept horses during Swedish summer weather

Provision of shelter for horses kept on summer pasture is rarely considered in welfare guidelines, perhaps because the benefits of shelter in warm conditions are poorly documented scientifically. For cattle, shade is a valued resource during summer and can mitigate the adverse effects of warm weather on well-being and performance. We found in a previous study that horses utilized shelters frequently in summer. A shelter with a roof and closed on three sides (shelter A) was preferred and can reduce insect pressure whereas a shelter with roof and open on three sides was not utilized. However, shelter A restricts the all-round view of a horse, which may be important for horses as flight animals. Therefore, we studied whether a shelter with roof, where only the upper half of the rear wall was closed (shelter B), would be utilized while maintaining insect protection properties and satisfying the horses’ sense for security. A third shelter was offered with walls but no roof (shelter C) to evaluate whether the roof itself is an important feature from the horse’s perspective. Eight Warmblood horses were tested each for 2 days, kept individually for 24 h in two paddocks with access to shelters A and B, or shelters A and C, respectively. Shelter use was recorded continuously during the night (1800–2400 h, 0200–0600 h) and the following day (0900–1600 h), and insect defensive behaviour (e.g., tail swish) in instantaneous scan samples at 5-min intervals during daytime

Neuroscience, Ethics, and National Security: The State of the Art

Military involvement and research in neuroscience generates unique ethical, legal, and social issues that require careful elucidation and consideration in order to align the potentially conflicting needs of national defense, public interest, and scientific progress

The Mind and the Machine. On the Conceptual and Moral Implications of Brain-Machine Interaction

Brain-machine interfaces are a growing field of research and application. The increasing possibilities to connect the human brain to electronic devices and computer software can be put to use in medicine, the military, and entertainment. Concrete technologies include cochlear implants, Deep Brain Stimulation, neurofeedback and neuroprosthesis. The expectations for the near and further future are high, though it is difficult to separate hope from hype. The focus in this paper is on the effects that these new technologies may have on our ‘symbolic order’—on the ways in which popular categories and concepts may change or be reinterpreted. First, the blurring distinction between man and machine and the idea of the cyborg are discussed. It is argued that the morally relevant difference is that between persons and non-persons, which does not necessarily coincide with the distinction between man and machine. The concept of the person remains useful. It may, however, become more difficult to assess the limits of the human body. Next, the distinction between body and mind is discussed. The mind is increasingly seen as a function of the brain, and thus understood in bodily and mechanical terms. This raises questions concerning concepts of free will and moral responsibility that may have far reaching consequences in the field of law, where some have argued for a revision of our criminal justice system, from retributivist to consequentialist. Even without such a (unlikely and unwarranted) revision occurring, brain-machine interactions raise many interesting questions regarding distribution and attribution of responsibility

A first genome assembly of the barley fungal pathogen Pyrenophora teres f. teres

Background: Pyrenophora teres f. teres is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen and the cause of one of barley’s most important diseases, net form of net blotch. Here we report the first genome assembly for this species based solely on short Solexa sequencing reads of isolate 0-1. The assembly was validated by comparison to BAC sequences, ESTs, orthologous genes and by PCR, and complemented by cytogenetic karyotyping and the first genome-wide genetic map for P. teres f. teres. Results: The total assembly was 41.95 Mbp and contains 11,799 gene models of 50 amino acids or more. Comparison against two sequenced BACs showed that complex regions with a high GC content assembled effectively. Electrophoretic karyotyping showed distinct chromosomal polymorphisms between isolates 0-1 and 15A, and cytological karyotyping confirmed the presence of at least nine chromosomes. The genetic map spans 2477.7 cM and is composed of 243 markers in 25 linkage groups, and incorporates SSR markers developed from the assembly. Among predicted genes, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and efflux pumps in particular appear to have undergone a P. teres f. teres-specific expansion of non-orthologous gene families. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that paired-end Solexa sequencing can successfully capture coding regions of a filamentous fungal genome. The assembly contains a plethora of predicted genes that have been implicated in a necrotrophic lifestyle and pathogenicity and presents a significant resource for examining the bases for P. teres f. teres pathogenicity