Notes on \u3ci\u3ePhaleria Rotundata\u3c/i\u3e Leconte with Description of the Larva (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

(excerpt) In 1956 I presented a discussion of the Coleoptera indigenous to the seashore of Pacific North America. I divided the fauna into zones and subzones based on type of shore and reach of tide. Among the genera listed were two of the family Tenebrionidae, Epantius (now called Apsena) and Phaleria. Each of these is represented in southern California by a single species in decaying seaweed on sandy beaches. The first of these,Apsena obscura LeConte, is found only in the dry or nearly dry seaweed left on the berm of the beach by the highest tide of each tidal period (Moore\u27s Zone 2, subzone A). A. obscura is sometimes common but not nearly as common as the second species, Phaleria rotundata LeConte. P. rotundata is unusual among the Coleoptera of this fauna in that it is one of the few species to be commonly encountered in two separate subzones. It is often abundant in both decaying seaweed and dry seaweed (Moore\u27s subzones 2A and 2B). It is one of the most common insects of the southern California seashore

Pupa of \u3ci\u3ePhaleria Rotundata\u3c/i\u3e Leconte (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

(excerpt) It is not necessary to apologize for making known fragments of the insect fauna of the seabeach of Pacific North America. This fauna commands attention. Among its several aspects are (1) it is linear, extending several thousand kilometers from north to south, but being only a few hundred meters wide, (2) its species are all confined within the seabeach limits, and (3) it is a threatened fauna particularly in southern California where the habitat is being rapidly altered by man for purposes of industry, housing and recreation. P~eservation of specimens from this fauna and recording of observations on its ecology at this time seems of paramount importance. Description of the larva and ecological notes on Phalerh rotundata LeConte have been made (Moore, 1975), but no opportunity to attempt to rear specimens presented itself at that time. Since then, pupae have become available and are described below

Peptide metabolism in the lactococci and its regulation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biochemistry at Massey University

Aspects of peptide metabolism in the lactococci have been investigated to increase the understanding of how these nutritionally fastidious bacteria, which have a central role in the dairy manufacturing industry, are able to grow in a complex medium such as milk. Peptide metabolism by lactococci in milk encompasses the processes by which large oligopeptides, produced from milk-caseins by the extracellular activity of the cell wall-associated proteinase, are converted into an intracellular pool of metabolisable amino acids. This involves the activities of both membrane-bound transport systems and peptidases. Early research into lactococcal peptide utilisation has proposed significant differences between Lactococcus lactis strains with respect to the mechanisms by which these bacteria utilise peptides in their environment. More recent studies of the lactococcal peptide carrier systems, based on intensive studies of only a single strain, have proposed a major role for a carrier system capable of transporting di- and tripeptides, and a subsidiary role for another system transporting oligopeptides containing four or more residues. Yet to date, peptidases with an extracellular location capable of degrading the large casein-peptides into smaller peptides have not been isolated. This current study has attempted to investigate more fully the in vivo activity of the oligopeptide transport system, and to assess whether it may have a more fundamental role in peptide utilisation than previous work has suggested. For this study a model series of homologous peptides of increasing size from the dipeptide Val-Gly to the octapeptide Val-Gly7 , all based on the essential amino acid valine, was used. The larger peptides in this series, Val-Gly3 , Val-Gly4 and Val-Gly7 , were synthesised for this work. The ability of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris E8 8 to transport these peptides, and to grow in a chemically defined medium where they constitute the sole source of the essential amino acid valine, was studied . Preliminary peptide uptake studies were also performed using oligopeptides derived from a proteolytic cleavage of β-casein. The collective results of these studies suggest that the upper size limit, and the relative activity of this transport system, may be sufficient to permit this strain to utilise relatively large casein-derived oligopeptides without the need for hydrolysis into smaller peptides and free amino acids. A comparative study of peptide transport by a number of Lactococcus lactis strains was undertaken to investigate previously published observations indicating significant differences in the mechanisms of peptide uptake between lactococcal strains. While the results of this comparative study are consistent with the general model proposing two separate peptide carrier systems, they have revealed that significant differences can exist between strains in the relative activities and possible substrate specificities of these transport systems consistent with previous work that the lactococci have only two peptide carrier systems. These observations imply the need for caution in extrapolating the results obtained from the study of a single strain to lactococci as a whole. In contrast to the finding of significant strain differences with respect to the relative rates of peptide transport, a comparative study of the relative activity of six different intracellular peptidases showed relatively few differences in peptidase activity between strains. An investigation was also carried out to assess whether the peptidases and transport systems involved in the utilisation of peptides were nutritionally regulated. No clear evidence was obtained for the significant induction of either the intracellular peptidase complement or the di-/tripeptide transport system. An attempt was also made to isolate a mutant of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris E8 unable to utilise dipeptides, to assess whether the di-/tripeptide transport system or the intracellular dipeptidase of this strain were essential to casein utilisation. This attempt was not successful

Staphylinidae from Under Bark and at Sap of Trees, a Preliminary Survey of Species Possibly Beneficial to Forestry (Coleoptera)

Two hundred and one species of Staphylinidae known to be found under bark or at sap of trees are listed. The possibility of these insects being important elements in the population dynamics of forest pests is discussed. An indication is given of the distribution and habitat of each species

Tasks of Philosophy in the Present Age RIAS-Lecture, June 9, 1952

Translators’ Abstract: This is a translation of Hans-Georg Gadamer’s recently discovered 1952 Berlin speech. The speech includes several themes that reappear in Truth and Method, as well as in Gadamer’s later writings such as Reason in the Age of Science. For example, Gadamer criticizes positivism, modern philosophy’s orientation toward positivism, and Enlightenment narratives of progress, while presenting his view of philosophy’s tasks in an age of crisis. In addition, he discusses structural power, instrumental reason, the objectification of nature and human beings, the reduction of both to mere means, and the colonization of scientific-technological ways of knowing and being—all of which continue to impact our social and political lives together and threaten the very existence of every living being. This speech is essential reading for Gadamer scholars interested in the social, political, and ethical dimensions of his thought and for those interested in bringing Gadamer into conversation with critical theor

Electronic structure of metal surfaces

Imperial Users onl

Sensor Sleeve: Sensing Affective Gestures

We describe the use of textile sensors mounted in a garment sleeve to detect affective gestures. The `Sensor Sleeve' is part of a larger project to explore the role of affect in communications. Pressure activated, capacitive and elasto-resistive sensors are investigated and their relative merits reported on. An implemented application is outlined in which a cellphone receives messages derived from the sleeve's sensors using a Bluetooth interface, and relays the signals as text messages to the user's nominated partner

Determination Of The Direct Protein-Protein Interactions In The Drosophila Sin3a Complex

The proteins that comprise the Drosophila SIN3 220 and SIN3 187 complexes are currently known. Limited information with regard to interacting complex member proteins has been described. Much of these data are results of high-throughput investigations, and there have been no studies done to reconstitute all direct interactions within the complex. The unique C-terminal region of the SIN3 220 isoform was used to test for interactions with other complex proteins using the bacterial expression system. Additionally, the region of Caf1-55 necessary for interaction with SIN3 in vivo was identified using a truncation mutant. The results of this work identified novel protein interactions as well as novel regions of Caf1-55 required to maintain certain protein interactions in vivo. This study gives a clearer understanding of direct interacting partners within the Drosophila SIN3 complex as well as raising interesting questions regarding their role in gene regulation

“The Pealing of Stillness”: Gadamer on Georg Trakl

Addressing the place of the Austrian poet, Georg Trakl, in the philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer, this article turns in particular to Trakl’s poem “A Winter Evening” in order to unfold a sense of language in dialogue with the poet. This engagement equally becomes the occasion for Gadamer to confront Heidegger, whose own reading of Trakl becomes both an inspiration and a challenge