First record of the sawfly family Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) from Malta

Xyela cf. altenhoferi Blank, 2013 is recorded from Buskett (Malta). Its host is Pinus halepensis. This is the first species of the sawfly family Xyelidae to be found in the Maltese Islands.peer-reviewe

An updated flora of selmunett (St. Paul's Island) including mosses and lichens

A survey of four visits in Selmunett (Gzejjer ta' San Pawl) resulted in a number of new records comprising 23 lichens, 2 mosses and 20 higher plants. Five of these species are protected, amongst which Plocama calabrica is very rare whereas Parietaria cretica, a critical species only recorded from Selmunett in the Maltese islands, has been rediscovered after not being sighted for about 15 years and was suspected of having become extinct. Records resulting from this survey are compared with those from previous records or surveys between 1927 and 2012. These are examined critically, identifying possible misidenti cations as well as establishing their status, thus producing a final update of the florula of Selmunett.peer-reviewe

The whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin

The whitefly fauna of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin comprises 56 species that are considered to be native or naturalized, accommodated within 25 genera. Presented here are a check-list, an identification key to puparia, and a brief account of each species including its distribution and host-plant range. The puparium of each species is illustrated. One new nomenclatural combination (Aleuroclava similis, from Aleurotuberculatus) and two new synonymies (Parudamoselis kesselyakiwith Ceraleurodicus varus, Asterobemisia nigrini with A. paveli) are proposed. Three nominal species (Aleurodes capreae, A. fraxini, and Aleyrodes campanulae) are here treated as nomina dubia. Species which, in the study area, have only been recorded from glasshouses are discussed. Four additional species, not yet recorded from the region, are included in the discussion, two of them because a particular quarantine risk is perceived and two because they are notifiable pests in European Union quarantine legislatio

Strengthening extended Gravity constraints with combined systems:\\ \texorpdfstring{f(R)f(R)}{} bounds from Cosmology and the Galactic Center

MOdified Gravity (MoG)) is widely constrained in different astrophysical and astronomical systems. Since these different systems are based on different scales it is not trivial to get a combined constraint that is based on different phenomenology. Here, for the first time (to the best of our knowledge), we combine constraints for MoG from late time Cosmology and the orbital motion of the stars around the galactic center. MoG give different potentials that are tested directly in the galactic center. The cosmological data set includes the type Ia supernova and baryon acoustic oscillations. For the galactic star center data set we use the published orbital measurements of the S2 star. The constraints on the universal parameter $\beta$ from the combined system give: $\beta_{HS}=0.154 \pm 0.109$ for the Hu-Sawicki model, while $\beta_{St}= 0.309 \pm 0.19$ for the Starobinsky model. These results improve on the cosmological results we obtain. The results show that {{\it combined constraint}} from different systems yields a stronger constraint for different theories under consideration. Future measurements from the galactic center and from cosmology will give better constraints on MoG.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

In-body wireline interfacing platform for multi-module implantable microsystems

The recent evolution of implantable medical devicesfrom single-unit stimulators to modern implantable microsys-tems, has driven the need for distributed technologies, in whichboth the implant system and functions are partitioned across mul-tiple active devices. This multi-module approach is made possiblethanks to novel network architectures, allowing for in-body powerand data communications to be performed using implantableleads. This paper discusses the challenges in implementing suchinterfacing system and presents a platform based on one centralimplant (CI) and multiple peripheral implants (PIs) using a cus-tom 4WiCS communication protocol. This is implemented in PCBtechnology and tested to demonstrate intrabody communicationcapabilities and power transfer within the network. Measuredresults show CI-to-PI power delivery achieves 70%efficiency inexpected load condition, while establishing full-duplex data linkwith up to 4 PIs simultaneously

Adaptive Power Regulation and Data Delivery for Multi-Module Implants

Emerging applications for implantable devices are requiring multi-unit systems with intrabody transmission of power and data through wireline interfaces. This paper proposes a novel method for power delivery within such a configuration that makes use of closed loop dynamic regulation. This is implemented for an implantable application requiring a single master and multiple identical slave devices utilising a parallel-connected 4-wire interface. The power regulation is achieved within the master unit through closed loop monitoring of the current consumption to the wired link. Simultaneous power transfer and full-duplex data communication is achieved by superimposing the power carrier and downlink data over two wires and uplink data over a second pair of wires. Measured results using a fully isolated (AC coupled) 4-wire lead, demonstrate this implementation can transmit up to 120 mW of power at 6 V (at the slave device, after eliminating any losses). The master device has a maximum efficiency of 80 % including a dominant dynamic power loss. A 6 V constant supply at the slave device is recovered 1.5 ms after a step of 22 mA

Distinct epigenetic and gene expression changes in rat hippocampal neurons after Morris water maze training

Gene transcription and translation in the hippocampus is of critical importance in hippocampus-dependent memory formation, including during Morris water maze (MWM) learning. Previous work using gene deletion models has shown that the immediate-early genes (IEGs) c-Fos, Egr-1 and Arc are crucial for such learning. Recently, we reported that induction of IEGs in sparse dentate gyrus neurons requires ERK MAPK signaling and downstream formation of a distinct epigenetic histone mark (i.e. phospho-acetylated histone H3). Until now, this signaling, epigenetic and gene transcriptional pathway has not been comprehensively studied in the MWM model. Therefore, we conducted a detailed study of the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and serine10 in histone H3 (H3S10p) and induction of IEGs in the hippocampus of MWM trained rats and matched controls. MWM training evoked consecutive waves of ERK1/2 phosphorylation and H3S10 phosphorylation, as well as c-Fos, Egr-1 and Arc induction in sparse hippocampal neurons. The observed effects were most pronounced in the dentate gyrus. A positive correlation was found between the average latency to find the platform and the number of H3S10p-positive dentate gyrus neurons. Furthermore, chromatin immuno-precipitation (ChIP) revealed a significantly increased association of phospho-acetylated histone H3 (H3K9ac-S10p) with the gene promoters of c-Fos and Egr-1, but not Arc, after MWM exposure compared with controls. Surprisingly, however, we found very little difference between IEG responses (regarding both protein and mRNA) in MWM-trained rats compared with matched swim controls. We conclude that exposure to the water maze evokes ERK MAPK activation, distinct epigenetic changes and IEG induction predominantly in sparse dentate gyrus neurons. It appears, however, that a specific role for IEGs in the learning aspect of MWM training may become apparent in downstream AP-1- and Egr-1-regulated (second wave) genes and Arc-dependent effector mechanisms