First record of Curius chemsaki Nearns and Ray, 2006 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Curiini) in Colombia

Curius chemsaki Nearns and Ray, 2006 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Curiini), is reported from Colombia for the first time. In addition, the range of this taxon within Venezuela is extended to the Andean Province of Táchira

Preliminary checklist of the Cerambycidae, Disteniidae, and Vesperidae (Coleoptera) of Peru

A preliminary checklist of the Cerambycidae, Disteniidae, and Vesperidae (Coleoptera) of Peru is presented. Within Cerambycidae, we record five subfamilies, 55 tribes, 345 genera and subgenera, and 714 species. Within Disteniidae, we record one tribe, six genera, and 11 species. We also record one subfamily, one tribe, one genus, and two species within Vesperidae. Four new country records are recorded: one species in the tribe Anacolini (Cerambycidae: Prioninae): Cycloprionus flavus Tippmann, 1953; and three species in the tribe Onciderini (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae): Cacostola simplex (Pascoe, 1859); Marensis simplex (Bates, 1865); Trachysomus cavigibba Martins, 1975. In addition, 161 species recorded are known only from Peru

Checklist of the Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) of Costa Rica

An updated checklist of the Cerambycidae of Costa Rica is presented. This new version includes 1,071 species and subspecies in 429 genera, 69 tribes, and six subfamilies. Of these, 181 are new country records and 136 species are known only from Costa Rica. In addition, provincial distribution data are provided for each species. The checklist supports a wealth of scientific literature in many other groups of flora and fauna indicating Costa Rica has high species richness of cerambycid beetles. Se presenta una lista actualizada de los Cerambycidae de Costa Rica. Esta nueva versión incluye 1.071 especies y subespecies en 429 géneros, 69 tribus, y seis subfamilias. De estas, 181 son nuevos registros para el país y 136 especies se conocen solamente de Costa Rica. Adicionalmente, para cada especie se incluyen datos sobre su presencia en las diferentes provincias. La lista concuerda con una gran cantidad de literatura científica en muchos otros grupos de flora y fauna que muestran que Costa Rica tiene una alta riqueza de especies

Binding of bacteria to poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) modified with vancomycin: Comparison of behavior of linear and highly branched polymers

YesThe behavior of a linear copolymer of N-isopropyl acrylamide with pendant vancomycin functionality was compared to an analogous highly branched copolymer with vancomycin functionality at the chain ends. Highly branched poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) modified with vancomycin (HB-PNIPAM-van) was synthesized by functionalization of the HB-PNIPAM, prepared using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Linear PNIPAM with pendant vancomycin functionality (L-PNIPAM-van) was synthesized by functionalization of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-vinyl benzoic acid). HB-PNIPAM-van aggregated S. aureus effectively whereas the L-PNIPAM-van polymer did not. It was found that when the HB-PNIPAM-van was incubated with S. aureus the resultant phase transition provided an increase in the intensity of fluorescence of a solvatochromic dye, nile red, added to the system. In contrast, a significantly lower increase in fluorescence intensity was obtained when L-PNIPAM-van was incubated with S. aureus. These data showed that the degree of desolvation of HB-PNIPAM-van was much greater than the desolvation of the linear version. Using microCalorimetry it was shown that there were no significant differences in the affinities of the polymer ligands for D-Ala-D-Ala and therefore differences in the interactions with bacteria were associated with changes in the probability of access of the polymer bound ligands to the D-Ala-D-Ala dipeptide. The data support the hypothesis that generation of polymer systems that respond to cellular targets, for applications such as cell targeting, detection of pathogens etc., requires the use of branched polymers with ligands situated at the chain ends.MR

Branched amphotericin functional poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide): an antifungal polymer

Branched poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) was functionalized with Amphotericin B (AmB) at the chain ends to produce an antifungal material. The polymer showed antifungal properties against AmB-sensitive strains of Candida albicans, Fusarium keratoplasticum and Aspergillus flavus (minimal inhibitory concentration ranged from 5 to 500 µg ml−1) but was not effective against an AmB resistant strain of C. albicans nor against Candida tropicalis. The polymer end groups bound to the AmB target, ergosterol, and the fluorescence spectrum of a dye used as a solvatochromic probe, Nile red, was blue shifted indicating that segments of the polymer became desolvated on binding. The polymer was less toxic to corneal and renal epithelial cells and explanted corneal tissue than the free drug. Also, the polymer did not induce reactive oxygen species release from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, nor did it cause a substantial release of the proinflammatory cytokines, tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β (at 0.5 mg ml−1)

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

‘Nothing about us without us’ : disabled people determining their human rights through the UNCRPD

The human rights and fundamental freedoms of disabled persons are set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This paper firstly focuses on the importance of the involvement of disabled people at all levels of decision-making. The second part of the paper identifies those aspects of the UNCRPD that reflect the direct involvement of disabled people. Finally, it considers how human rights bodies can best build on this specific aspect of the UNCRPD in order to realize the potential of the Convention as a determining factor in affirming disabled people rights in an effective and meaningful manner.peer-reviewe

A nearby m star with three transiting super-earths discovered by k2

I. J. M. Crossfied, “A Nearby M Star with Three Transiting Super-Earths Discovered by K2”, The Astrophysical Journal, Vol 804(1), April 2015. © 2015. The American Astronomical Society.Small, cool planets represent the typical end-products of planetary formation. Studying the architectures of these systems, measuring planet masses and radii, and observing these planets' atmospheres during transit directly informs theories of planet assembly, migration, and evolution. Here we report the discovery of three small planets orbiting a bright (Ks = 8.6 mag) M0 dwarf using data collected as part of K2, the new ecliptic survey using the re-purposed Kepler spacecraft. Stellar spectroscopy and K2 photometry indicate that the system hosts three transiting planets with radii 1.5-2.1 , straddling the transition region between rocky and increasingly volatile-dominated compositions. With orbital periods of 10-45 days the planets receive just 1.5-10x the flux incident on Earth, making these some of the coolest small planets known orbiting a nearby star; planet d is located near the inner edge of the system's habitable zone. The bright, low-mass star makes this system an excellent laboratory to determine the planets' masses via Doppler spectroscopy and to constrain their atmospheric compositions via transit spectroscopy. This discovery demonstrates the ability of K2 and future space-based transit searches to find many fascinating objects of interest.Peer reviewe

An Ultra-short Period Rocky Super-Earth with a Secondary Eclipse and a Neptune-like Companion around K2-141

Ultra-short period (USP) planets are a class of low mass planets with periods shorter than one day. Their origin is still unknown, with photo-evaporation of mini-Neptunes and in-situ formation being the most credited hypotheses. Formation scenarios differ radically in the predicted composition of USP planets, it is therefore extremely important to increase the still limited sample of USP planets with precise and accurate mass and density measurements. We report here the characterization of an USP planet with a period of 0.28 days around K2-141 (EPIC 246393474), and the validation of an outer planet with a period of 7.7 days in a grazing transit configuration. We derived the radii of the planets from the K2 light curve and used high-precision radial velocities gathered with the HARPS-N spectrograph for mass measurements. For K2-141b we thus inferred a radius of $1.51\pm0.05~R_\oplus$ and a mass of $5.08\pm0.41~M_\oplus$, consistent with a rocky composition and lack of a thick atmosphere. K2-141c is likely a Neptune-like planet, although due to the grazing transits and the non-detection in the RV dataset, we were not able to put a strong constraint on its density. We also report the detection of secondary eclipses and phase curve variations for K2-141b. The phase variation can be modeled either by a planet with a geometric albedo of $0.30 \pm 0.06$ in the Kepler bandpass, or by thermal emission from the surface of the planet at $\sim$3000K. Only follow-up observations at longer wavelengths will allow us to distinguish between these two scenarios.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures., accepted for publication in A

Supplement: "Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914" (2016, ApJL, 826, L13)

This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands