Reading the Complex Skipper Butterfly Fauna of One Tropical Place

BACKGROUND: An intense, 30-year, ongoing biodiversity inventory of Lepidoptera, together with their food plants and parasitoids, is centered on the rearing of wild-caught caterpillars in the 120,000 terrestrial hectares of dry, rain, and cloud forest of Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. Since 2003, DNA barcoding of all species has aided their identification and discovery. We summarize the process and results for a large set of the species of two speciose subfamilies of ACG skipper butterflies (Hesperiidae) and emphasize the effectiveness of barcoding these species (which are often difficult and time-consuming to identify). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Adults are DNA barcoded by the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Guelph, Canada; and they are identified by correlating the resulting COI barcode information with more traditional information such as food plant, facies, genitalia, microlocation within ACG, caterpillar traits, etc. This process has found about 303 morphologically defined species of eudamine and pyrgine Hesperiidae breeding in ACG (about 25% of the ACG butterfly fauna) and another 44 units indicated by distinct barcodes (n = 9,094), which may be additional species and therefore may represent as much as a 13% increase. All but the members of one complex can be identified by their DNA barcodes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Addition of DNA barcoding to the methodology greatly improved the inventory, both through faster (hence cheaper) accurate identification of the species that are distinguishable without barcoding, as well as those that require it, and through the revelation of species "hidden" within what have long been viewed as single species. Barcoding increased the recognition of species-level specialization. It would be no more appropriate to ignore barcode data in a species inventory than it would be to ignore adult genitalia variation or caterpillar ecology

A Correlational Study of Anxiety Level, Spiritual Practices, and Spiritual Well-Being

Research has indicated that anxiety is the most prevalent of all psychological disorders, affecting up to 30 million people in the United States at some point during their lives (Lepine, 2002). It has also been determined that anxiety may be a fairly stable trait that people experience. Some people are more likely to experiencing anxiety than others, and for those who are more likely it is also more difficult to stop having anxiety. Predictors of anxiety have been identified and include such items as: low self-esteem, ineffective social support, high education, low religiosity (Hovey & Magana, 2002), low vocational satisfaction (Knox, Virginia, & Lombardo, 2002), female gender (Fergusson, Swain-Campbell, & Horwood, 2002), and family history of anxiety (Frazier, 2001). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between anxiety and spirituality in order to provide a basis for further research and to lead to the development of additional strategies to help individuals cope with, and manage anxiety levels. For this current study a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate college students from a private Pacific Northwest university were surveyed. Both men (n=2 5) and women (n=63 ) were surveyed. A demographic questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Spiritual Practices scale, and the Spiritual Well-Being scale were administered. The hypotheses stated that, firstly, Christian Spiritual Practices would be significantly negatively correlated with the level of both Trait and State Anxiety. Secondly, that Spiritual Well-Being would be significantly negatively correlated with both the level of Trait and State Anxiety. And thirdly, that there would be a significant positive correlation between Spiritual Well-Being and Christian Spiritual Practices. Results of the study indicate that all of the hypotheses were fully supported and that there is indeed a strong negative correlation between the level of Anxiety an individual experiences and the specific types of Spiritual Practices and level of Spiritual Well-Being exhibited. Additionally, a strong positive correlation between Spiritual Well-Being and Christian Spiritual Practices was also evidenced. Currently the most widely used treatment modalities for lowering symptoms of anxiety include psychotherapy, pharmacological treatment, or a combination of the two. These can be extremely beneficial in providing symptom relief and changing the individuals\u27 beliefs, roles, or expectations. However, in light of the strong findings of this research, it may be advantageous for clinicians to begin thinking outside of the box in their treatment of individuals suffering from severe anxiety. Encouraging Christian spiritual practices in particular, and possibly other spiritual practices, may also prove effective in reducing anxiety. These may provide an important ancillary treatment to psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy

Effects of vegetation density on flow, mass exchange and sediment transport in lateral cavities

Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) were used to investigate the hydrodynamics and mass transfer between the flow in the main channel and a vegetated lateral cavity. Fourteen vegetation densities (0 to 10.65 %) were tested, revealing two distinct hydrodynamic patterns. For cavities with low vegetation density (a 3.99 %), two gyres in contact with the interface with low velocity were formed, the thickness of the mixing layer did not grow, and the vorticity and turbulence kinetic energy were low inside the cavity. The mass transport presented the same threshold value as the hydrodynamics (a = 3.99 %). For cavities with low vegetation density, a fast mass transfer occurred through the interface between the main channel and cavity and inside the cavity, while the opposite was observed for cavities with high vegetation density. Finally, the modelled hydrodynamics was used to infer possible sediment deposition patterns and flow resistance

Differences in strategic abilities but not associative processes explain memory development

Children’s learning capabilities change while growing up. One framework that describes the cognitive and neural development of children’s growing learning abilities is the two-component model. It distinguishes processes that integrate separate features into a coherent memory representation (associative component) and executive abilities, such as elaboration, evaluation and monitoring, that support memory processing (strategic component). In an fMRI study using an object-location association paradigm, we investigated how the two components influence memory performance across development. We tested children (10-12 yrs., n=31), late adolescents (18 yrs., n=29) and adults (25+ yrs., n=30) of either sex. For studying the associative component, we also probed how the utilisation of prior knowledge (schemas) facilitates memory across age groups. Children had overall lower retrieval performance, while adolescents and adults did not differ from each other. All groups benefitted from schemas, but this effect did not differ between groups. Performance differences between groups were associated with deactivation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), which in turn was linked to executive functioning. These patterns were stronger in adolescents and adults and seemed absent in children. This pattern of results suggests the children’s executive system, the strategic component, is not as mature and thus cannot facilitate memory performance in the same way as in adolescents/adults. In contrast, we did not find age-related differences in the associative component; with activity in the angular gyrus predicting memory performance systematically across groups. Overall our results suggest that differences of executive rather than associative abilities explain memory differences between children, adolescents and adults

Дослідження захисту інформації в корпоративній мережі при взаємодії з мобільними користувачами

Об'єкт дослідження: безпека інформації, що передається, зберігається та оброблюється при використанні мобільних пристроїв. Предмет досліджень: методи забезпечення інформаційної безпеки при використанні мобільних пристроїв.Ідея роботи:використання новітніх хмарних криптографічних технологій для забезпечення безпечного обміну інформації з мобільними користувачами корпоративних мереж Мета дипломної роботи:підвищення інформаційної безпеки підприємств, де кінцевий користувач має доступ і обробляє корпоративну інформацію за допомогою мобільних пристроїв Наукова новизна полягає в дослідженні методів забезпечення інформаційної безпеки на підприємствах, де використовуються мобільні пристрої для роботи з інформаційними активами підприємства. Практичне значення полягає в дослідженні ефективності протидії загрозам несанкціонованого доступу до корпоративної інформації, яка оброблюється за допомогою мобільних пристроїв У спеціальній частині переглянута архітектура взаємодії мобільних користувачів з інтрамережею підприємства, визначені загрози при підключенні мобільних користувачів, розроблені рекомендації щодо побудови гібридної інформаційно-комунікаційної системи з мобільними користувачами . В економічному розділі виконаний розрахунок економічної ефективності створення обґрунтованих рекомендаційзахисту інформації. Напрямки подальших досліджень полягають у детальному аналізі існуючої нормативно-правової бази України і світу, стосовно застосування хмарних технологій для керування мобільними пристроями

Iron Age hunting and herding in coastal eastern Africa: ZooMS identification of domesticates and wild bovids at Panga ya Saidi, Kenya

The morphological differentiation of African bovids in highly fragmented zooarchaeological assemblages is a major hindrance to reconstructing the nature and spread of pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we employ collagen peptide mass fingerprinting, known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), coupled with recently published African ZooMS reference datasets, to identify domesticates and wild bovids in Iron Age assemblages at the cave site of Panga ya Saidi in southeast Kenya. Through ZooMS we have identified all three major African livestock—sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus) and cattle (Bos taurus)—at the site for the first time. The results provide critical evidence for the use of domesticates by resident foraging populations during the Iron Age, the period associated with the arrival of food production in coastal Kenya. ZooMS results show that livestock at Panga ya Saidi form a minor component of the assemblage compared to wild bovids, demonstrating the persistence of hunting and the secondary role of acquiring livestock in hunter-gatherer foodways during the introduction of agro-pastoralism. This study sheds new light on the establishment of food production in coastal eastern Africa, particularly the role of interactions between hunter-gatherers and neighbouring agro-pastoral groups in what was a protracted regional transition to farming.1. Introduction 2. Background 2.1. Problems with differentiating domesticates in African zooarchaeology 2.2. ZooMS in Africa 2.3. Panga ya Saidi, southeastern Kenya 2.3.1. Ecological setting 2.3.2. Archaeological background 3. Materials and methods 3.1. Sample Selection 3.2. ZooMS protocol 4. Results 5. Discussion 5.1. The impact of domestic livestock on hunting economies at PYS 5.2. Livestock trading or herding? 5.3. The role of domesticates in forager-farmer interactions 5.4. Behavioural and ecological implications of klipspringers at PYS 6. Conclusio

Distribution of mycorrhizal fungi in different soil zone with pyrosequencing approach

Non-Peer ReviewedWe collected 83 soil samples distributed in all five soil types of Saskatchewan, and amplified 18s rDNA as our target DNA segment with primer pairs NS1/NS4 and AMV4.5NF/AMDGR. Sequencing results show that there is rich diversity of AM and other soil fungi in summer season but fungal composition vary among different soil zones and culture management

Understanding depletion forces beyond entropy

The effective interaction energy of a colloidal sphere in a suspension containing small amounts of non-ionic polymers and a flat glass surface has been measured and calculated using total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM) and a novel approach within density functional theory (DFT), respectively. Quantitative agreement between experiment and theory demonstrates that the resulting repulsive part of the depletion forces cannot be interpreted entirely in terms of entropic arguments but that particularly at small distances ($\lesssim$ 100 nm) attractive dispersion forces have to be taken into account

Distinguishing African bovids using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS): new peptide markers and insights into Iron Age economies in Zambia

Assessing past foodways, subsistence strategies, and environments depends on the accurate identification of animals in the archaeological record. The high rates of fragmentation and often poor preservation of animal bones at many archaeological sites across sub-Saharan Africa have rendered archaeofaunal specimens unidentifiable beyond broad categories, such as “large mammal” or “medium bovid”. Identification of archaeofaunal specimens through Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), or peptide mass fingerprinting of bone collagen, offers an avenue for identification of morphologically ambiguous or unidentifiable bone fragments from such assemblages. However, application of ZooMS analysis has been hindered by a lack of complete reference peptide markers for African taxa, particularly bovids. Here we present the complete set of confirmed ZooMS peptide markers for members of all African bovid tribes. We also identify two novel peptide markers that can be used to further distinguish between bovid groups. We demonstrate that nearly all African bovid subfamilies are distinguishable using ZooMS methods, and some differences exist between tribes or sub-tribes, as is the case for Bovina (cattle) vs. Bubalina (African buffalo) within the subfamily Bovinae. We use ZooMS analysis to identify specimens from extremely fragmented faunal assemblages from six Late Holocene archaeological sites in Zambia. ZooMS-based identifications reveal greater taxonomic richness than analyses based solely on morphology, and these new identifications illuminate Iron Age subsistence economies c. 2200–500 cal BP. While the Iron Age in Zambia is associated with the transition from hunting and foraging to the development of farming and herding, our results demonstrate the continued reliance on wild bovids among Iron Age communities in central and southwestern Zambia Iron Age and herding focused primarily on cattle. We also outline further potential applications of ZooMS in African archaeology.Introduction Faunal identifications and key research questions ZooMS in African archaeology Materials & methods Collagen extraction and digestion Peptide mass fingerprinting LC-MS/MS Biomarker identification and confirmation Identification of archaeological samples Results and discussion - Data quality control - Distinguishing among bovid groups Comparison with published markers ZooMS analysis and archaeofaunal identifications Herding economies and the persistence of hunting in Iron Age Zambia Conclusio