The Evolution and Diversity of SALMFamide Neuropeptides

The SALMFamides are a family of neuropeptides that act as muscle relaxants in echinoderms. Two types of SALMFamides have been identified: L-type (e.g. the starfish neuropeptides S1 and S2) with the C-terminal motif LxFamide (x is variable) and F-type with the C-terminal motif FxFamide. In the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (class Echinoidea) there are two SALMFamide genes, one encoding L-type SALMFamides and a second encoding F-type SALMFamides, but hitherto it was not known if this applies to other echinoderms. Here we report the identification of SALMFamide genes in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (class Holothuroidea) and the starfish Patiria miniata (class Asteroidea). In both species there are two SALMFamide genes: one gene encoding L-type SALMFamides (e.g. S1 in P. miniata) and a second gene encoding F-type SALMFamides plus one or more L-type SALMFamides (e.g. S2-like peptide in P. miniata). Thus, the ancestry of the two SALMFamide gene types traces back to the common ancestor of echinoids, holothurians and asteroids, although it is not clear if the occurrence of L-type peptides in F-type SALMFamide precursors is an ancestral or derived character. The gene sequences also reveal a remarkable diversity of SALMFamide neuropeptides. Originally just two peptides (S1 and S2) were isolated from starfish but now we find that in P. miniata, for example, there are sixteen putative SALMFamide neuropeptides. Thus, the SALMFamides would be a good model system for experimental analysis of the physiological significance of neuropeptide "cocktails" derived from the same precursor protein

Gesture-verbal utterances from the cognitive perspective

The article develops the idea of speech and gesture as an integral system of generation of meaning viewing an individual’s cognitive system as a dynamic, evolving semantic lattice organising semantic items of propositional and imagistic modes around a core meaning: linguistic items (propositions) are linked to ideas, concepts and beliefs as well as to specific feelings, mental states, images of gestures and stereotypic patterns of behaviour. Since gesture and speech are equally engaged in generation of meaning, they are treated in terms of gesture-verbal utterances as minimal material carriers of semantic content, activating the semantic lattice. According to the sphere of human consciousness / sub-consciousness which is basically ‘responsible’ for their production and interpretation, gesture-verbal utterances are divided into rational classifying / qualifying (activating semantic structure to provide information, helping classify or qualify the referents of the utterances), emotional (activating emotional attitudes) and suggestive (activating no semantic content but organising narration over large spans). Rational gesture-verbal utterances are further classified on the basis of the semiotic principle, governing the gestural activation of semantic structure, into deictic (pointing to the referent), iconic (depicting the referent) and symbolic (standing for the referent) and also into literal and metaphoric in accordance with the image-realistic or image-schematic principle of depicting the referent

Stability analysis of large-scale functional differential systems

The present paper is focused on a new method for analysis of stability of solutions of a large-scale functional differential system via matrix-valued Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals. The stability conditions are based on information about the dynamical behavior of subsystems of the general system and properties of the functions of interconnection between them.Запропоновано один новий метод аналізу стійкості розв'язків великомасштабної функціонально-диференціальної системи на основі матричнозначного функціонала Ляпунова - Красовського. Умови стійкості ґрунтуються на динамічній поведінці підсистем загальної системи та властивостях функцій зв'язку між ними

Measuring Impact of Increase in High-Skilled Workers on the Livelihoods of Medium- and Low-Skilled Workers

This paper assesses the impact of high-skilled labor on the unemployment and wages of low- and medium-skilled workers in the Netherlands. Using annual panel data from the Netherlands’ Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (National Bureau of Statistics, CBS), a statistically significant negative impact of an increase in high-skilled labor on the livelihoods of low- and medium-skilled workers can be shown. An increase in high-skilled labor is associated with a significant decrease in the income share of the bottom tenth percentile of the population as well as a decrease in jobs for the low- and medium-skilled workers. The data reveals a significant negative effect on the bottom 60 percent of earners and a disproportionate increase in the earnings share of the top 30 percent. This development can be explained by job market dynamics. Every high-skilled worker that enters the labor market displaces medium- and low-skilled workers into lower paid positions

Lighting options of light sources

Розроблено структурну схему пристрою контролю захисного потенціалу антикорозійного захисту електричних нагрівачів води по перериванню постійного струму катодного захисту.The structural scheme of the device for controlling the protective potential of anticorrosion protection of electric water heaters by interrupting the direct current of cathode protection is developed