New Myzopodidae (Chiroptera) from the Late Paleogene of Egypt: Emended Family Diagnosis and Biogeographic Origins of Noctilionoidea

Myzopodidae is a family of bats today represented by two extant species of the genus Myzopoda that are restricted to the island of Madagascar. These bats possess uniquely derived adhesive pads on their thumbs and ankles that they use for clinging to smooth roosting surfaces. Only one fossil myzopodid has been reported previously, a humerus from Pleistocene deposits at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania that was tentatively referred to the genus Myzopoda. Here we describe a new genus and two new species of myzopodids based on dental remains from Paleogene deposits in the Fayum Depression in Egypt, and provide an emended diagnosis for the family Myzopodidae. Phasmatonycteris phiomensis n. sp. is represented by four specimens from the early Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation and P. butleri n. sp. is known from a single specimen from the late Eocene Birket Qarun Formation. Together these specimens extend the temporal range of Myzopodidae by 36+ million years, and the geographic range by nearly 4000 kilometers. The new myzopodids, along with previously described bats from the Fayum and Australia, suggest that eastern Gondwana played a critical role in the origin and diversification of several bats clades notably including the superfamily Noctilionoidea, the majority of which live in the Neotropics today

Uncertainties in the Two-Stage Reception Plate Method for Source Characterisation and Prediction of Structure-Borne Sound Power

To obtain the transmitted structure-borne power from a vibrating machine into a supporting/connected structure, three quantities are required in some form: source activity (either the free velocity or the blocked force), source mobility and receiver mobility. The three quantities can be measured directly, or indirectly using a reception plate method. Whilst direct measurements can be precise, they require extensive data acquisition and processing. The reception plate method is simpler and less precise and therefore yields an engineering grade of accuracy. This paper reports on a collaborative investigation, towards developing an industrial standard for source characterization using the reception plate method. The method yields data as frequency band-averaged values and also as equivalent single values. These simplifications result in uncertainties when obtaining the source quantities and therefore in predictions of the structure-borne sound power in installed conditions. The causes of these uncertainties are considered

A Low Noise Thermometer Readout for Ruthenium Oxide Resistors

The thermometer and thermal control system, for the Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission (ARCADE) experiment, is described, including the design, testing, and results from the first flight of ARCADE. The noise is equivalent to about 1 Omega or 0.15 mK in a second for the RuO_2 resistive thermometers at 2.7 K. The average power dissipation in each thermometer is 1 nW. The control system can take full advantage of the thermometers to maintain stable temperatures. Systematic effects are still under investigation, but the measured precision and accuracy are sufficient to allow measurement of the cosmic background spectrum. Journal-ref: Review of Scientific Instruments Vol 73 #10 (Oct 2002)Comment: 5 pages text 7 figure

Inherent and learnt abilities for relative pitch in the vibrotactile domain using the fingertip

This paper reports experimental results concerning relative pitch discrimination. This is defined as the ability to distinguish one musical note as being higher or lower than another. Seventeen participants with normal hearing undertook a pitch discrimination experiment using the fingertip over a 16 session training period with a full baseline test before and after the training sessions. Two sinusoidal tones were presented, each of Is duration separated by a Is gap. A total of 24 tones were chosen to cover 12 intervals ranging from a semi-tone to an octave over the frequency range C3 to B4. The results show a high success rate for relative pitch discrimination with and without training. For intervals of 4 to 12 semitones, the success rates were >70% with or without the 16 training sessions. As a result of training, a significant improvement was found for individual intervals between 9 and 12 semitones when comparing the number of correct responses between pre-training and post-training tests. Comparison of pre- and post-training tests also showed an appreciable and significant improvement for the whole group of 12 intervals. In addition, reaction times to identify relative pitch tended to decrease over the training period

Prime Focus Spectrograph for the Subaru telescope: massively multiplexed optical and near-infrared fiber spectrograph

The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is an optical/near-infrared multifiber spectrograph with 2394 science fibers distributed across a 1.3-deg diameter field of view at the Subaru 8.2-m telescope. The wide wavelength coverage from 0.38  μm to 1.26  μm, with a resolving power of 3000, simultaneously strengthens its ability to target three main survey programs: cosmology, galactic archaeology and galaxy/AGN evolution. A medium resolution mode with a resolving power of 5000 for 0.71  μm to 0.89  μm will also be available by simply exchanging dispersers. We highlight some of the technological aspects of the design. To transform the telescope focal ratio, a broad-band coated microlens is glued to each fiber tip. A higher transmission fiber is selected for the longest part of the cable system, optimizing overall throughput; a fiber with low focal ratio degradation is selected for the fiber-positioner and fiber-slit components, minimizing the effects of fiber movements and fiber bending. Fiber positioning will be performed by a positioner consisting of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors. The positions of these motors are measured by taking an image of artificially back-illuminated fibers with the metrology camera located in the Cassegrain container; the fibers are placed in the proper location by iteratively measuring and then adjusting the positions of the motors. Target light reaches one of the four identical fast-Schmidt spectrograph modules, each with three arms. The PFS project has passed several project-wide design reviews and is now in the construction phase

Prime focus spectrograph: Subaru's future

The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) of the Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts (SuMIRe) project has been endorsed by Japanese community as one of the main future instruments of the Subaru 8.2-meter telescope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph targets cosmology with galaxy surveys, Galactic archaeology, and studies of galaxy/AGN evolution. Taking advantage of Subaru’s wide field of view, which is further extended with the recently completed Wide Field Corrector, PFS will enable us to carry out multi-fiber spectroscopy of 2400 targets within 1.3 degree diameter. A microlens is attached at each fiber entrance for F-ratio transformation into a larger one so that difficulties of spectrograph design are eased. Fibers are accurately placed onto target positions by positioners, each of which consists of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors, through iterations by using back-illuminated fiber position measurements with a widefield metrology camera. Fibers then carry light to a set of four identical fast-Schmidt spectrographs with three color arms each: the wavelength ranges from 0.38 μm to 1.3 μm will be simultaneously observed with an average resolving power of 3000. Before and during the era of extremely large telescopes, PFS will provide the unique capability of obtaining spectra of 2400 cosmological/astrophysical targets simultaneously with an 8-10 meter class telescope. The PFS collaboration, led by IPMU, consists of USP/LNA in Brazil, Caltech/JPL, Princeton, and JHU in USA, LAM in France, ASIAA in Taiwan, and NAOJ/Subaru

Characterization of the denaturation and renaturation of human plasma vitronectin II. Investigation into the mechanism of formation of multimers

Unfolding and refolding of plasma vitronectin appear irreversible under near physiological conditions, with rearrangements of disulfides and self-association to a multimeric form observed as prominent structural alterations which accompany denaturation. A mechanism for the folding reactions of vitronectin has been proposed (Zhuang, P., Blackburn, M. NPeterson, C. B. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 14323-14332) in which vitronectin acquires a partially folded intermediate structure which is highly prone to oligomerize into a multimeric form. Strongly oxidizing conditions adopted for refolding from urea were effective at preventing disulfide rearrangement which disrupts distal disulfides near the C terminus of the protein. Prohibiting disulfide rearrangement under these conditions, however, was not sufficient to achieve reversibility in folding. In contrast, variations in the ionic strength of the refolding medium affect the partitioning of species so that refolded monomers are obtained at high ionic strength, and self-association is precluded. The effects of ionic strength on the partially folded intermediate in the vitronectin folding pathway appear to favor intramolecular hydrophobic collapse to form a stable hydrophobic core for the monomer versus intermolecular hydrophobic interactions which stabilize multimeric vitronectin. Although both ionic and hydrophobic interactions presumably contribute to subunit interfaces within the multimer, the basic heparin-binding region near the C terminus of the protein does not provide binding interactions which are important for self-association of vitronectin