Allopatric differentiation in the Marcusenius macrolepidotus species complex in southern and eastern Africa: the resurrection of M. pongolensis and M. angolensis, and the description of two new species (Mormyridae, Teleostei)

We critically compared local populations of the bulldog fish, Marcusenius macrolepidotus (Peters 1852), from different watersheds, from the furthest south (28° South, South Africa) to the Equator in Kenya. We ascertained allopatric differentiation from topotypical M. macrolepidotus from the Lower Zambezi River (Mozambique) in morphology, electric organ discharges, and molecular genetics for: (1) samples from the Okavango and Upper Zambezi Systems (Botswana and Namibia), (2) samples from South Africa's rivers draining into the Indian Ocean, and (3) samples from the East African Tana River (Kenya). Significant genetic distances in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and differing ISSR-PCR profiles corroborate differentiation between the four taxa. We resurrect M. pongolensis (Fowler, 1934) for South Africa (sample 2), and M. angolensis (Boulenger, 1905) for the Quanza River/Angola. We recognize M. altisambesi sp. n. for the Upper Zambezi/Okavango specimens (sample 1), and M. devosi sp. n. for those from Kenya (sample 3)

A critical revision of the churchill snoutfish, genus Petrocephalus Marcusen, 1854 (Actinopterygii: Teleostei: Mormyridae), from southern and eastern Africa, with the recognition of Petrocephalus tanensis, and the description of five new species

We morphologically and genetically studied the southern African electric fish Petrocephalus catostoma, or churchill, and its six nominal species, five of which by synonymization (three valid subspecies). We reinstate the synonymized species, and recognize Petrocephalus tanensis (Whitehead and Greenwood, 1959) from the Tana River in Kenya, also using electric organ discharges. The Okavango delta (Botswana) is inhabited by Petrocephalus okavangensis sp. nov. and Petrocephalus magnitrunci sp. nov., and the Namibian Cunene River by Petrocephalus magnoculis sp. nov. We recognize Petrocephalus petersi sp. nov. for the Lower Zambezi River (Mozambique), and Petrocephalus longicapitis sp. nov. for the Upper Zambezi River (Namibia). The Lufubu River in Northern Zambia is inhabited by Petrocephalus longianalis sp. nov. For the southern churchill, Petrocephalus wesselsi Kramer and Van der Bank, 2000, we confirm intraspecific and interspecific differentiation. Sequence data from mitochondrial DNA confirm differentiation of two new western and two eastern species, forming mutual sister groups

Biventricular function in exercise during autonomic (thoracic epidural) block

Background Blockade of cardiac sympathetic fibers by thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) was previously shown to reduce right and left ventricular systolic function and effective pulmonary arterial elastance. At conditions of constant paced heart rate, cardiac output and systemic hemodynamics were unchanged. In this study, we further investigated the effect of cardiac sympathicolysis during physical stress and increased oxygen demand. Methods In a cross-over design, 12 patients scheduled to undergo thoracic surgery performed dynamic ergometric exercise tests with and without TEA. Hemodynamics were monitored and biventricular function was measured by transthoracic two-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography, pulsed wave Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging. Results TEA attenuated systolic RV function (TV SMODIFIER LETTER PRIME: - 21%, P < 0.001) and LV function (MV SMODIFIER LETTER PRIME: - 14%, P = 0.025), but biventricular diastolic function was not affected. HR (- 11%, P < 0.001), SVI (- 15%, P = 0.006), CI (- 21%, P < 0.001) and MAP (- 12%, P < 0.001) were decreased during TEA, but SVR was not affected. Exercise resulted in significant augmentation of systolic and diastolic biventricular function. During exercise HR, SVI, CI and MAP increased (respectively, + 86%, + 19%, + 124% and + 17%, all P < 0.001), whereas SVR decreased (- 49%, P < 0.001). No significant interactions between exercise and TEA were found, except for RPP (P = 0.024) and MV E DT (P = 0.035). Conclusion Cardiac sympathetic blockade by TEA reduced LV and RV systolic function but did not significantly blunt exercise-induced increases in LV and RV function. These data indicate that additional mechanisms besides those controlled by the cardiac sympathetic nervous system are involved in the regulation of cardiac function during dynamic exercise

MSX Mid infrared imaging of massive star birth environments. II: Giant HII regions

We conduct a Galactic census of Giant HII regions, based on the all sky 6cm dataset of Kuchar & Clark, plus the kinematic distances obtained by Russeil. From an inspection of mid-IR Mid-course Space Experiment (MSX) and far-IR IRAS Sky Survey Atlas images we identify a total of 56 GHII regions in the Milky Way, of which 15% (65%) can be seen at optical (near-IR) wavelengths.The mid to far-IR fluxes from each GH {\sc ii} region are measured, and sample the thermal emission from the ubiquitous dust present within the exciting clusters of OB stars, arising from the integrated luminosity of the hot stars heating the cluster dust, for which we obtain log L(IR)=5.5-7.3 L_sun. The mid-IR 21micron spatial morphology is presented for each GHII region, and often indicates multiple emission sources, suggesting complicated cluster formation. IR colour-colour diagrams are presented, providing information about the temperature distribution and optical depth of the dust. For the clusters of our study, the dust is not optically thick to all the stellar radiation, thus the measured infra-red luminosity is lower than the L(bol). As the dust environment of a cluster begins to dissipate, the thermal emission and its optical depth ought to decrease even before the stars appreciably evolve. We see evidence of this in our empirical relationship between the integrated IR and Lyman continuum luminosities.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures (+ 10 figures for electronic edition). Accepted for MNRAS. Substantive revisions, including sample selection, based on referees comment

The Mysticism Scale as Measure for Subjective Spirituality: New Results with Hood's M-Scale and the Development of a Short Form

Streib H, Klein C, Keller B, Hood RW. The Mysticism Scale as Measure for Subjective Spirituality: New Results with Hood's M-Scale and the Development of a Short Form. In: Ai AL, Harris KA, Wink P, Paloutzian R, eds. Assessing Spirituality and Religion in a Diversified World: Beyond the Mainstream Perspective. New York: Springer; 2021: 45.In this chapter, we suggest the use of Hood’s Mysticism Scale (M-scale) for a differential assessment of subjective spirituality. We base this view on the conceptualization of mysticism and its relation to spirituality, and on the definition of spirituality as individualized experience-orientated religiosity. This perspective was empirically tested in the Bielefeld-based Cross-cultural Study on Spirituality, which explored in comprehensive semantic analyses how participants in the USA and Germany define spirituality and revealed that more spiritual than religious people preferably associate spirituality with experiences of all-connectedness, search for a higher self, existential truth, and humanistic morality. Moreover, structural equations modeling based on this and other recent data sets reveal that the M-scale and its factors have considerable effects on self-rated spirituality. Thus, we recommend the M-scale as measure for subjective spirituality, which avoids the widespread problem of many extant measures that assess spirituality primarily in terms of either (Christian) religiosity or psychosocial well-being. The M-scale may be very useful in research that intends to assess the subjective spirituality of a diversity of participants who might affiliate with various religious traditions and worldviews, including the non-religious, atheists, and non-theists. Besides the well-established 32-item version of the M-scale, the chapter additionally presents an economic 8-item short form of the M-scale and its psychometric properties

Introduction: Policymaking, Learning and Devolution

This collection explores the idea that devolution in European states can provide &lsquo;laboratories of democracy' as states experiment in different ways to address social and economic problems and engage their citizens. While there is a substantial literature on policy diffusion and learning among US states, and on transfer and learning between countries, there is not much on learning among European federated and devolved governments. This collection fills that gap with a series of studies based primarily on experiences in Germany, Spain and the UK (including a particular focus on Northern Ireland). The introduction sets up the analytical framework, discussing the concepts of learning and transfer, the direction of transfer (for example, from the centre to the devolved territory), the mechanisms involved (from voluntary to coercive) and the degree of transfer

Investigation of Nrf2, AhR and ATF4 Activation in Toxicogenomic Databases

Toxicological responses to chemical insult are largely regulated by transcriptionally activated pathways that may be independent, correlated and partially or fully overlapping. Investigating the dynamics of the interactions between stress responsive transcription factors from toxicogenomic data and defining the signature of each of them is an additional step toward a system level understanding of perturbation driven mechanisms. To this end, we investigated the segregation of the genes belonging to the three following transcriptionally regulated pathways: the AhR pathway, the Nrf2 pathway and the ATF4 pathway. Toxicogenomic datasets from three projects (carcinoGENOMICS, Predict-IV and TG-GATEs) obtained in various experimental conditions (in human and rat in vitro liver and kidney models and rat in vivo, with bolus administration and with repeated doses) were combined and consolidated where overlaps between datasets existed. A bioinformatic analysis was performed to refine pathways' signatures and to create chemical activation capacity scores to classify chemicals by their potency and selectivity of activation of each pathway. With some refinement such an approach may improve chemical safety classification and allow biological read across on a pathway level

Epizootic Emergence of Usutu Virus in Wild and Captive Birds in Germany

This study aimed to identify the causative agent of mass mortality in wild and captive birds in southwest Germany and to gather insights into the phylogenetic relationship and spatial distribution of the pathogen. Since June 2011, 223 dead birds were collected and tested for the presence of viral pathogens. Usutu virus (USUV) RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 86 birds representing 6 species. The virus was isolated in cell culture from the heart of 18 Blackbirds (Turdus merula). USUV-specific antigen was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry in brain, heart, liver, and lung of infected Blackbirds. The complete polyprotein coding sequence was obtained by deep sequencing of liver and spleen samples of a dead Blackbird from Mannheim (BH65/11-02-03). Phylogenetic analysis of the German USUV strain BH65/11-02-03 revealed a close relationship with strain Vienna that caused mass mortality among birds in Austria in 2001. Wild birds from lowland river valleys in southwest Germany were mainly affected by USUV, but also birds kept in aviaries. Our data suggest that after the initial detection of USUV in German mosquitoes in 2010, the virus spread in 2011 and caused epizootics among wild and captive birds in southwest Germany. The data also indicate an increased risk of USUV infections in humans in Germany