Miamia maimai n. sp., a new Pennsylvanian stem-orthopteran insect, and a case study on the application of cladotypic nomenclature

A new stem-orthopteran insect assignable to the – traditional – genus and the – cladotypic-defined – taxon Miamia Dana, 1864 is described based on abundant material collected from the Xiaheyan locality (Ningxia, China; Early Pennsylvanian). Intra-specific wing venation variability in Miamia maimai n. sp. is appreciated based on wing pairs of single individuals, and on a complete series of conditions. Rare variants are reported. Details of head and leg morphology are documented: the new species possesses a five-segmented tarsus provided with paired claws and arolium, and labial palps with at least four segments, probably five. The nomenclatural section is conducted under the cladotypic nomenclatural procedure, but in a way largely consistent with the traditional usage. This experiment demonstrates that a combination composed of a "genus level-taxon" name previously associated with a definition and type material (e.g. Miamia), a specific epithet (e.g. maimai), and authorship information (e.g. Béthoux et al. 2012), with further mention to "Miamia maimai" or "M. maimai", provides a suitable reference to the species under all nomenclatural procedures, including the traditional one.doi:10.1002/mmng.20120000

At last, a Pennsylvanian stem-stonefly (Plecoptera) discovered

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stem-relatives of many winged insect orders have been identified among Pennsylvanian fossils (Carboniferous Period). Owing to their presumed 'basal' position in insect phylogeny, stoneflies were expected to occur at this period. However, no relative has ever been designated convincingly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this paper, we report specimens belonging to a new fossil insect species collected from the Tupo Formation (Pennsylvanian; China). The wing venation of <it>Gulou carpenteri </it><b>gen. et sp. nov</b>. exhibits character states diagnostic of the order Plecoptera, but lack character states shared by unequivocal representatives of the order. Derived from this identification, the delimitation of the fossil species is ascertained based on comparison of several extant stonefly species. This comparative analysis allowed a trait present in <it>G. carpenteri </it><b>gen. et sp. nov</b>., but rarely occurring in extant species, to be documented and highlighted as atavistic. Affinities of taxa formerly proposed as putative stem-stoneflies are reconsidered in the light of the new discovery.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Gulou carpenteri </it><b>gen. et sp. nov</b>. is considered the only genuine Plecoptera reported from the Pennsylvanian. Continuing efforts on the systematics of Pennsylvanian winged insects indicate a fauna more diverse than previously appreciated. It suggests that insects already had a long, yet undocumented, history by this time.</p

Electrical architecture for high power segmented PEM Fuel Cell in vehicle application

ABSTRACT In the objective of power increase for transport applications or on-board auxiliaries systems, long fuel cell stacks may be subject to disparities (fluidics, temperature) and can be the cause of possible failures. Coupled with a fault detection strategy, the power converter associated with the fuel cell can act to manage the fault. This article is about power converter topologies applied to a segmented high power fuel cell. The fuel cell generator is a 3-part segmented Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Each fuel cell segment can be controlled independently according to its state of health (SoH). The converter topology has to be simple, compact, reliable and with a high efficiency. The resonant isolated boost as converter &quot;technology brick&quot;, allowing soft switching is a candidate topology to meet the technical specifications of the multi-port fuel cell-converter system

Optimisation des systèmes énergétiques sous contraintes technologiques

This manuscript is written for the defense of a thesis to support application for clearance to direct research. The report covers the author’s contributions to the study of energy systems based on electricity as an energy vector. These contributions combines theoretical background and real implementations on today’s applications. The document aims at showing interest in the developed methods through concrete examples in terms of such processes’ control optimization by integrating inherent technological constraints. Several aspects are considered: power architecture optimal design, the dedicated control structure, the on-line supervision of the system’s without extra sensors. Proof of concept is developed and implemented on several specific energy systems: the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell stack, Electricity power supply based on the fuel cell as main source and synchronous motor drives. The developed issues have been described in about twenty international journals’ articles and approximately 60 papers in international conferences. Regarding the perspectives, these steps towards optimizing energy systems while integrating technological constraints can be reinvested and extended to electric micro grids, and more specifically to future DC home grid based on a significant local production.Ce manuscrit, support à la défense d’une habilitation à diriger les recherches (HDR), couvre des contributions à l’étude de systèmes énergétiques fondés sur le vecteur électricité. Ces apports sont ancrés dans une réalité applicative et tentent donc de montrer au travers d’exemples les moyens d’optimiser la conduite de tels procédés en tenant compte des contraintes technologiques inhérentes. Plusieurs aspects sont couverts : la recherche d’architectures adaptées, la recherche des structures de contrôle associées, la recherche de l’état du système au travers des seules variables mesurées pour réaliser le contrôle du système. Les preuves de concept sont développées autour de la pile à combustible, d’électro générateurs utilisant la pile à combustible comme source principale, de variateurs pour entraînement électromécanique fondé sur des machines synchrones à aimants. Ces apports ont été décrits dans une petite vingtaine d’articles de revues internationales et une bonne soixantaine de communications dans des conférences internationales. Au niveau des perspectives, ces clefs vers l’optimisation de systèmes énergétiques sous contraintes technologiques peuvent être réinvesties et approfondies dans les micro-réseaux en particulier les futurs réseaux domestiques qui pourraient s’appuyer sur une distribution continue et une forte production locale

Grylloptera - a unique origin of the stridulatory fi le in katydids, crickets, and their kin (Archaeorthoptera)

Topographic homology conjectures (= THCs) of male forewing venation in extant ensiferan orthopterans (crickets, katydids, and their kin) and their close stem-relatives are re-evaluated, in order to test competing hypotheses on the origin(s) of the fi le (a row of teeth located on the ventral side of the forewing and used in stridulation). A new set of THCs (= STHC) is proposed, based on morphological data on the species †zeuneri Sharov, 1968, obscura Walker, 1869, monstrosa Uhler, 1864, †madygenicus Sharov, 1968: p. 181, grandidieri de Saussure, 1877: p. 287, bimaculatus de Geer, 1773, villosiceps Chopard, 1951, frontalis Walker, 1869, gryllotalpa Linnaeus, 1758, vicinus Scudder, 1869, and cantans Fuesslin, 1775. This STHC is compared to that proposed by Desutter-Grandcolas (2003) and is found to require a smaller amount of transformation to explain the observed morphologies. The favoured STHC implies that the stridulatory fi le is located along the same vein in all scrutinized taxa (viz. CuPb). Current phylogenetic hypotheses cannot rule out that the fi le was acquired once only. Furthermore, multiple losses explain the observed distribution more plausibly than multiple acquisitions of a complex structure. A new type of wing venation transformation is evidenced, referred to as tracheal un-capture. It involves a vein abandoning its usual course for another, and leaving a remnant of its previous course, in the form of a cross-vein-like structure ('phantom vein'). The taxon Grylloptera is defined under cladotypic nomenclature, and is the lineage in which the character state 'on ventral side, right and/or left forewings with a row of teeth ('fi le') located along CuPb', as exhibited by viridissimus Linnaeus, 1758: p. 430 and campestris Linnaeus, 1758: p. 428, has been acquired. Type material is designated

Cladotypic taxonomy applied: titanopterans are orthopterans

The Linnaean taxon Titanoptera is a distinctive Triassic insect order the origin of which is uncertain. Forewing venation patterns of the Permian Linnaean subfamily Tcholmanvissiinae (Orthoptera) and of the Titanoptera are re-investigated. The comparative analysis supports the view that the morphology of the latter group is derived from that of the former. As a consequence, the order Titanoptera is to be included within the subfamily Tcholmanvissiinae. A cladotypic taxonomy is developed in order to avoid the confusion inherent to taxonomic rearrangements associated with rank-based taxonomy. The following hierarchy is proposed: (Archaeorthoptera nom. Béthoux & Nel, 2002a, dis.-typ.n. (Pantcholmanvissiida nom. n., dis. Béthoux & Nel, 2002b, typ.n. (Tcholmanvissiidae nom. Zalessky, 1934, dis. Sharov, 1968, typ.n. (Tcholmantitanopterida nom.-dis.-typ.n. (Tcholmanvissiella nom. Gorochov, 1987, dis.-typ.n. (Titanopterida nom.-dis.-typ.n. (Gigatitanidae nom. Sharov, 1968, dis. -typ.n.))))))). This fi rst application of cladotypic taxonomy unveiled several practical aspects of this system. A system governing the adaptation of pre-occupied taxon names is developed based on various cases of character state formulations; the issue of the occurrence of Linnaean suffi xes and of the preservation of Linnaean binominals within a cladotypic taxonomy are discussed; the capacity to handle the ancestor ‘species’ vs. apomorphy-less sister-species issue by the various nomenclatural systems is discussed

Cladotypic taxonomy revisited

New propositions are made in order to implement the cladotypic taxonomic system. The term ‘taxon’ designates metapopulation lineages that evolved from a unique metapopulation lineage. In other words, a taxon is composed of a species that experienced a cladogenesis event, and all its descendants. A new formulation for the definition of particular taxa is proposed: a taxon is a species that evolved from the (segments of) metapopulation lineage in which the character state defining character state, as exhibited by species 1 and species 2, has been acquired. An assumption on the polarity of type character states is developed in order to allow the falsifi cation of taxa defined by symplesiomorphies. It is based on a new sense given to ‘adelphospecies’ (or adelpholineage) and to the new concept of ‘amitaspecies’ (or amitalineage). The adelphospecies is understood as the closest sister-species of a taxon T to which the character involved in the definition of T is applicable. As a consequence of the definition of T, the adelphospecies exhibits a character state different from that exhibited by T. The amitaspecies is the closest sister-species of the taxon including T and its adelphospecies. The assumption of polarity takes the form: an amitaspecies can be identifi ed and, regarding the character involved in the definition, it exhibits a character state different from that exhibited by the taxon. Finally a practical version of the isolation assumption is proposed

Linear Controllers: PID controller design

International audienceIn this paper, the issue of designing and tuning a standard three-term PID controller is addressed. To achieve this goal, both the basics of linear controllers and the key principles of the PID controller are described. Subsequently, two popular design approaches are studied and then illustrated in a specific use case. The paper ends with a global conclusion including guidelines on extra material to address implementation issues

Revision and phylogenetic affinities of the lobeattid species bronsoni Dana, 1864 and silvatica Laurentiaux & Laurentiaux-Vieira, 1980 (Pennsylvanian Archaeorthoptera)

The case of the taxonomy of the insect species bronsoni Dana, 1864, yielded from the deposit of Mazon Creek (IL, USA; Westphalian, Pennsylvanian), is investigated. The species contusa Scudder, 1885, infernus Scudder, 1885, clarinervis Melander, 1903, extensa Melander, 1903, indistinctus Melander, 1903, ambulans Handlirsch, 1906, analis Handlirsch, 1906: 700, longicollis Handlirsch, 1911, lata Handlirsch, 1911, elatior Handlirsch, 1911, schucherti Handlirsch, 1911, acutipennis Handlirsch, 1911, parvula Handlirsch, 1911, and angusta Handlirsch, 1911 are considered as junior synonyms of bronsoni. A neotype is designated for this species. The species bronsoni and silvatica Laurentiaux & Laurentiaux-Vieira, 1980 (yielded from the North Coal Basin, France; Westphalian, Pennsylvanian) share the character state 'in forewings, CuPa fuses with M + CuA'. This character state is used for defining the taxon Miamia nom. DANA 1864, nov. dis.-typ. under cladotypic taxonomy. It is demonstrated that bronsoni and silvatica belong to the taxon Archaeorthoptera nom. Béthoux & Nel, 2002a, dis.-typ. Béthoux 2007e. In particular, these species are closely related to lobeattid insects such as schneideri Béthoux, 2005, a new specimen of which is illustrated. The species bronsoni appears to be one of the most frequent insect species of the Mazon Creek entomofauna