De novo assembly of the olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae) genome with linked-reads and long-read technologies minimizes gaps and provides exceptional Y chromosome assembly

Background: The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, is the most important pest in the olive fruit agribusiness industry. This is because female flies lay their eggs in the unripe fruits and upon hatching the larvae feed on the fruits thus destroying them. The lack of a high-quality genome and other genomic and transcriptomic data has hindered progress in understanding the fly’s biology and proposing alternative control methods to pesticide use. Results: Genomic DNA was sequenced from male and female Demokritos strain flies, maintained in the laboratory for over 45 years. We used short-, mate-pair-, and long-read sequencing technologies to generate a combined male-female genome assembly (GenBank accession GCA_001188975.2). Genomic DNA sequencing from male insects using 10x Genomics linked-reads technology followed by mate-pair and long-read scaffolding and gap-closing generated a highly contiguous 489 Mb genome with a scaffold N50 of 4.69 Mb and L50 of 30 scaffolds (GenBank accession GCA_001188975.4). RNA-seq data generated from 12 tissues and/or developmental stages allowed for genome annotation. Short reads from both males and females and the chromosome quotient method enabled identification of Y-chromosome scaffolds which were extensively validated by PCR. Conclusions: The high-quality genome generated represents a critical tool in olive fruit fly research. We provide an extensive RNA-seq data set, and genome annotation, critical towards gaining an insight into the biology of the olive fruit fly. In addition, elucidation of Y-chromosome sequences will advance our understanding of the Y-chromosome’s organization, function and evolution and is poised to provide avenues for sterile insect technique approaches

Longitudinal river zonation in the tropics: examples of fish and caddisflies from endorheic Awash river, Ethiopia

Primary Research PaperSpecific concepts of fluvial ecology are well studied in riverine ecosystems of the temperate zone but poorly investigated in the Afrotropical region. Hence, we examined the longitudinal zonation of fish and adult caddisfly (Trichoptera) assemblages in the endorheic Awash River (1,250 km in length), Ethiopia. We expected that species assemblages are structured along environmental gradients, reflecting the pattern of large-scale freshwater ecoregions. We applied multivariate statistical methods to test for differences in spatial species assemblage structure and identified characteristic taxa of the observed biocoenoses by indicator species analyses. Fish and caddisfly assemblages were clustered into highland and lowland communities, following the freshwater ecoregions, but separated by an ecotone with highest biodiversity. Moreover, the caddisfly results suggest separating the heterogeneous highlands into a forested and a deforested zone. Surprisingly, the Awash drainage is rather species-poor: only 11 fish (1 endemic, 2 introduced) and 28 caddisfly species (8 new records for Ethiopia) were recorded from the mainstem and its major tributaries. Nevertheless, specialized species characterize the highland forests, whereas the lowlands primarily host geographically widely distributed species. This study showed that a combined approach of fish and caddisflies is a suitable method for assessing regional characteristics of fluvial ecosystems in the tropicsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pleistocene lacustrine fan delta deposits of the Valdarno Basin

Lo studio riporta le caratteristiche sediemntologiche di fan delta non gilbertiani Pleistoicenici nel Valdarno Superior

Teaching cinema with machinima

The need to incorporate concepts such as creativity, innovation, collaboration, critical thinking, and digital freedom has shifted the focus of the educational process to seeking technologically advanced methods that will complement or, in many cases, replace the classical method of transfer and dissemination of knowledge. Recently, cinema and film studies, apart from tertiary education, show a trend of expanding to younger audiences, in secondary or even in primary education, acting more as ancillary tools in teaching certain concepts rather than as basic learning techniques. In this work, we employ qualitative research methods to show that these arts/techniques can be integrated in the machinima technique, a hybrid form which is a popular case of creating and consuming educational content at the research level in recent years, adjusted to the requirements of the new generation of students of the digital age. © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Digital Storytelling, comics and new technologies in education: Review, research and perspectives

This work reviews the current application of one of the most widely used techniques in education around the world: Digital Storytelling (DS), along with comic and animation tools, and presents a study about the Greek educational system as well as posing questions concerning the form of a new study, design, implementation and assessment of educational project across all educational levels. Nowadays, people and students at all educational levels in the developed world are surrounded by multiple electronic media and are familiar with a variety of pictures, video and information from early childhood. The educational process, as it proceeds in parallel with fast technological and societal evolution, tries to smoothly adjust new educational methods without abandoning traditional teaching and moving away from its main aim: the establishment of knowledge. © 2018, Flinders University

Arid climate 2.5 Ma in the Plio-Pleistocene Valdarno Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy)

Distinctive, eolian-dominated sandy deposits 35 m thick exposed in the SW margin of the Plio-Pleistocene Valdarno Basin in the Northern Apennines, Italy, reflect an unusually arid period in the region. Paleomagnetic investigation and 40Ar/39Ar dating of a tephra layer, 10 m above the eolian sand, suggest that the sand was deposited between about 2.7 to 2.4 Ma. This age is comparable to the global climatic deterioration that occurred at the Middle-Upper Pliocene transition. Eolian sediments are represented by cross-bedded sand, rippled sand and horizontal-bedded sand. The alluvial deposits, associated with the eolian sediment, consist of sheet-like beds of coarse sand and erosively based pebbly sand bodies. Eolian sand, together with fluvial sandy deposits, were formed in the medial-distal portion of an alluvial system, and represent the Rena Bianca Sand Unit. The eolian and alluvial deposits are arranged into sedimentary cycles (2-6 m thick), displaying wetting-drying-wetting upward trend recording second-order climatic oscillations of ca 40 ka. Each cycle is included between major bounding surfaces, defined by iron mineral encrustations. These bounding surfaces represent periods of reduced eolian sand accumulation caused by a rising water table. During the 2.5 Ma global cooling the Valdarno Basin experienced a period of arid conditions owing to the influence of cold and dry eastern and northeaster trade wind. In contrast, during the Pleistocene, the uplift of the Pratomagno Ridge protected the Valdarno Basin from eastern and north-eastern trade winds, giving rise to relatively warm and wet conditions, and mitigating the regional and global climatic changes