Paleontology of leaf beetles

`The rate of evolution in any large group is not uniform; there are periods of relatise stability, and periods of comparatively rapid change.' Cockerell and LeVeque, 1931 To Yenli Ych, my beloved wife, a most wonderful person! The fossil record of the Chrysomelidae can be tentatively traced back to the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic Triassic. Mesozoic records at least 9 subfamilies, 19 genera, and 35 species, are represented by the Sagrinae, the exclusively Mesozoic Proto scelinae, Clytrinae, Cryptocephalinae, Eumolpinae, Chrysomelinae. Galerucinac, Alticinae, and Cassidinae. Cenozoic records at least 12 subfamilies- 63 % of the extant- 12! genera, and 325 species, include the same extant subfamilies as well as the Donaciinae, Zeugophorinae, Criocerinae, and Hispinae and can be frequently identified to genus, especially if preserved in amber. Quaternary records are often identified to extant species. tn total, at least t3! genera about 4 % of total extant, and 357 species < 1 % have been reported. At least, 24 genera <1 % of the extant seem to be extinct. Although reliable biological information associated with the fossil chrysomelids is very scarce, it seems that most of the modern host-plant associations were established, at least, in the late Mesozoic to early Cenozoic. As a whole, stasis seems to be the general rule of the chrysomelid fossil record. Together with other faunal elements, chrysomelids, especially donaciines, have been used as biogeographic and paleoclimatological indicators in the Holocene. I

Techniques to Improve Quality-of-Service in Video Communications via Best Effort Networks

Provisioning of real-time video communication services with sufficiently high quality is getting increasingly important in nowadays computer networks. This task is particularly challenging in the case of the presently typical communication networks which offer their data transport services in a best effort manner, i.e. without any guarantees regarding service quality. This paper classifies the principal techniques for quality improvement in video communications, which can be embedded in a communication network or in dedicated, network-external middleware components. With these techniques we distinguish, on one hand, mechanisms achieving quality improvement by means of local decisions within the sending or receiving endsystem and, on the other hand, mechanisms requiring communication and cooperation between middleware components on both, sending and receiving side. We also emphasize the combined usage of different techniques for quality-of-service (QoS) improvement. In order to judge the current service quality on different layers within the protocol hierarchy we introduce a set of QoS measures for each of the basic service interfaces identified. Finally, we solve the mapping problems between these QoS measures by way of example

Veraschung schwachradioaktiver brennbarer Abfälle in der Jülicher Verbrennungsanlage : Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse aus der Zeit von 1976 bis 1978

For the combustion of low radioactive combustible waste the Juelich Incineration Process has been developed. It is a two-step-process consisting of a medium temperature pyrolysis step and an oxidation step. The pyrolysis gases are sucked through the waste column and pass the glowing bed of pyrolysis coke. Here high molecular compounds are cracked. In the oxidation step the pyrolysis gas and the nongasified rest of pyrolysis coke is completely oxidized. The ash and the off-gas are of high quality. Radioactive dust and aerosols are retained by a simple dry filtration technique consisting of several steps

De novo variants in RNF213 are associated with a clinical spectrum ranging from Leigh syndrome to early-onset stroke.

RNF213, encoding a giant E3 ubiquitin ligase, has been recognized for its role as a key susceptibility gene for moyamoya disease. Case reports have also implicated specific variants in RNF213 with an early-onset form of moyamoya disease with full penetrance. We aimed to expand the phenotypic spectrum of monogenic RNF213-related disease and to evaluate genotype-phenotype correlations. Patients were identified through reanalysis of exome sequencing data of an unselected cohort of unsolved pediatric cases and through GeneMatcher or ClinVar. Functional characterization was done by proteomics analysis and oxidative phosphorylation enzyme activities using patient-derived fibroblasts. We identified 14 individuals from 13 unrelated families with (de novo) missense variants in RNF213 clustering within or around the Really Interesting New Gene (RING) domain. Individuals presented either with early-onset stroke (n = 11) or with Leigh syndrome (n = 3). No genotype-phenotype correlation could be established. Proteomics using patient-derived fibroblasts revealed no significant differences between clinical subgroups. 3D modeling revealed a clustering of missense variants in the tertiary structure of RNF213 potentially affecting zinc-binding suggesting a gain-of-function or dominant negative effect. De novo missense variants in RNF213 clustering in the E3 RING or other regions affecting zinc-binding lead to an early-onset syndrome characterized by stroke or Leigh syndrome