Tanyops undans Marsh, 1894: A junior subjective synonym of Protapirus obliquidens Wortman and Earle, 1893 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla)

Tanyops undans Marsh, 1894, a tapirid from upper Oligocene strata of South Dakota, has been almost totally ignored in the literature. Here the unique holotype specimen is redescribed and illustrated for the first time. Tanyops undans is virtually identical in morphology to, and thus a junior subjective synonym of, Protapirus obliquidens Wortman and Earle, 1893

Preliminary description of a new late Paleocene land-mammal fauna from South Carolina, U.S.A.

Five mammalian specimens from the late Paleocene Black Mingo Group, Berkeley County, South Carolina, represent the first occurrence of Paleocene land-mammals from the east coast of North America. A P3 or P4 represents the taeniodont Ectoganus gliriformis lobdelli, known previously only from the late Paleocene of western North America. A M1 or M2 represents Mingotherium holtae, new genus and species, a taxon which may be closely related to pseudictopids, uintatheres and xenungulates. A lower premolar or molar can only be classified as Tribosphenida incertae sedis. A ?canine and a parietal can only be identified as Mammalia incertae sedis

A new species of Conoryctella (Mammalia: Taeniodonta) from the Paleocene of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and a revision of the genus

Specimens from Paleocene strata of the Nacimiento Formation in Kutz Canyon, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, add to our knowledge of the poorly known taeniodont genus Conoryctella Gazin, 1939 and provide evidence for its taxonomic revision. C. dragonensis Gazin, 1939 is only known with certainty from its type specimen from the Dragon local fauna, North Horn Formation in east-central Utah, although a poorly preserved maxillary fragment and canine of uncertain provenance from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, may pertain to this taxon. C. pattersoni, new species, differs from C. dragonensis in its smaller size, less molariform P4 and relatively narrow upper molars. It is known from: dental remains from the Dragon local fauna previously referred to C. dragonensis by Gazin (1939, 1941); dental remains from Torrejonian strata in Kutz Canyon referred by Wilson (1956, p. 82) to conoryctine, n. gen. and sp. ; and newly discovered dental and postcranial remains from a horizon in Kutz Canyon that, based on magnetostratigraphy (Tomida and Butler, 1980), is temporally equivalent to the Dragon local fauna. The occurrences of Conoryctella in the San Juan Basin extend the geographic range of the genus and also extend its time-stratigraphic range into a typical Torrejonian horizon. These extensions further reduce the distinctiveness of the Dragon local fauna, supporting recent arguments that the Dragon local fauna should be considered early Torrejonian in age

A new subfamily, Conacodontinae, and new species, Conacodon kohlbergeri, of the Periptychidae (Condylarthra, Mammalia)

An associated palate and dentaries from the early Paleocene (Puercan), San Juan Basin, New Mexico, are the type of a new species, Conacodon kohlbergeri. This species is cladistically most closely related to C. entoconus. Both species lack the paraconid on P3-4 and have a more complete precingulum on the upper molars. Both Conacodon and Oxyacodon have a lingually expanded hypocone and lack the protocone on P3. These two genera are included in a new subfamily, Conacodontinae. A trichotomy between this subfamily, the Anisonchinae, and Periptychinae cannot be resolved at present

Exploration of Adaptive Beaconing for Efficient Intervehicle Safety Communication

In the future intervehicle communication will make driving safer, easier, and more comfortable. As a cornerstone of the system, vehicles need to be aware of other vehicles in the vicinity. This cooperative awareness is achieved by beaconing, the exchange of periodic single-hop broadcast messages that include data on the status of a vehicle. While the concept of beaconing has been developed in the first phase of research on VANETs, recent studies have revealed limitations with respect to network performance. Obviously, the frequency of beacon messages directly translates into accuracy of cooperative awareness and thus traffic safety. There is an indisputable trade-off between required bandwidth and achieved accuracy. In this work we analyze this trade-off from different perspectives considering the consequences for safety applications. As a solution to the problem of overloading the channel, we propose to control the offered load by adjusting the beacon frequency dynamically to the current traffic situation while maintaining appropriate accuracy. To find an optimal adaptation, we elaborate on several options that arise when determining the beacon frequency. As a result, we propose situation-adaptive beaconing. It depends on the vehicle's own movement and the movement of surrounding vehicles, macroscopic aspects like the current vehicle density, or microscopic aspects

Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Beratungskonzeptes zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe

In der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung – auch bei Ökobetrieben – werden in der Regel produktionstechnische oder betriebswirtschaftliche Fragestellungen bearbeitet. Eine Beratung, die alle Nachhaltigkeitsdimensionen umfasst und dem Betriebsleiter ein Instrument an die Hand gibt, in dem der Gesamtbetrieb widergespiegelt wird, fehlt bislang. Ziel des noch laufenden Projektes ist die Entwicklung eines Beratungsangebots, mit dem landwirtschaftliche Betriebe wirksam bei einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung unterstützt werden können. Wichtiges Novum ist der Weg der freiwilligen, selbstbestimmten Betriebsentwicklung zu mehr Nachhaltigkeit in Abgrenzung zu von außen kommenden Richtlinien

Looking beyond the exome: a phenotype-first approach to molecular diagnostic resolution in rare and undiagnosed diseases.

PurposeTo describe examples of missed pathogenic variants on whole-exome sequencing (WES) and the importance of deep phenotyping for further diagnostic testing.MethodsGuided by phenotypic information, three children with negative WES underwent targeted single-gene testing.ResultsIndividual 1 had a clinical diagnosis consistent with infantile systemic hyalinosis, although WES and a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based ANTXR2 test were negative. Sanger sequencing of ANTXR2 revealed a homozygous single base pair insertion, previously missed by the WES variant caller software. Individual 2 had neurodevelopmental regression and cerebellar atrophy, with no diagnosis on WES. New clinical findings prompted Sanger sequencing and copy number testing of PLA2G6. A novel homozygous deletion of the noncoding exon 1 (not included in the WES capture kit) was detected, with extension into the promoter, confirming the clinical suspicion of infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy. Individual 3 had progressive ataxia, spasticity, and magnetic resonance image changes of vanishing white matter leukoencephalopathy. An NGS leukodystrophy gene panel and WES showed a heterozygous pathogenic variant in EIF2B5; no deletions/duplications were detected. Sanger sequencing of EIF2B5 showed a frameshift indel, probably missed owing to failure of alignment.ConclusionThese cases illustrate potential pitfalls of WES/NGS testing and the importance of phenotype-guided molecular testing in yielding diagnoses