Bearing Capacity of Piles Under Long-Term Vibration

The Bearing capacity of piles under long-term vibration is herein discussed. A real case of continuous subsidence of vibrating pile foundations is presented with a set of vibratory loading tests in-situ and the characteristics of settlement-time curves are described. Analyses of the observed data are made and the additional plastic deformation induced in the soil strata under the piles is interpreted. Based on the test data, authors recommend a conception of long-term bearing capacity of piles to be used in the design of pile foundation under vibration instead of the conventional one, and a method of determination of bearing capacity of single pile is presented

Niches and Interspecific Competitive Relationships of the Parasitoids, Microplitis prodeniae and Campoletis chlorldeae, of the Oriental Leafworm Moth, Spodoptera litura, in Tobacco

Both Microplitis prodeniae Rao and Chandry (Hymenoptera: Bracondidae) and Campoletis chlorideae Uchida (Hymenoptera: Ichnumonidae) are major parasitoids of Spodoptera litura (Fabricious) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae) at Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, South China. The niches and interspecific competition relationships of the two species were studied. The results show that the competition between the two species for spatial and food resources was very intense, and C. chlorideae was always dominant when the two species compete for spatial and food resources in different periods. Thus C. chlorideae may drive M. prodeniae away when they occupy the same spatial or food resource. The adaptability of C. chlorideae to the environment in the tobacco fields may be greater than that of M. prodeniae, so C. chlorideae can maintain a higher population compared to that of M. prodeniae

Ca2+ Cycling in Heart Cells from Ground Squirrels: Adaptive Strategies for Intracellular Ca2+ Homeostasis

Heart tissues from hibernating mammals, such as ground squirrels, are able to endure hypothermia, hypoxia and other extreme insulting factors that are fatal for human and nonhibernating mammals. This study was designed to understand adaptive mechanisms involved in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis in cardiomyocytes from the mammalian hibernator, ground squirrel, compared to rat. Electrophysiological and confocal imaging experiments showed that the voltage-dependence of L-type Ca2+ current (ICa) was shifted to higher potentials in ventricular myocytes from ground squirrels vs. rats. The elevated threshold of ICa did not compromise the Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release, because a higher depolarization rate and a longer duration of action potential compensated the voltage shift of ICa. Both the caffeine-sensitive and caffeine-resistant components of cytosolic Ca2+ removal were more rapid in ground squirrels. Ca2+ sparks in ground squirrels exhibited larger amplitude/size and much lower frequency than in rats. Due to the high ICa threshold, low SR Ca2+ leak and rapid cytosolic Ca2+ clearance, heart cells from ground squirrels exhibited better capability in maintaining intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis than those from rats and other nonhibernating mammals. These findings not only reveal adaptive mechanisms of hibernation, but also provide novel strategies against Ca2+ overload-related heart diseases

Description of a new species of the genus Monelata Förster, 1856 from China (Hymenoptera, Diapriidae)

A new species of the genus Monelata Förster, 1856, Monelata truncata sp. n., is described and illustrated from Yunnan Province, China. This is the third Oriental species assigned to this genus. A key to Oriental species of the genus is provided

Annotated type catalogue of the Chrysididae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) deposited in the collection of Maximilian Spinola (1780–1857), Turin

A critical and annotated catalogue of the ninety-six type specimens of Chrysididae (Hymenoptera), belonging to sixty-seven species, housed in the insect collection of Maximilian Spinola is given. The neotypes of six species are designated: Chrysis bicolor Lepeletier, 1806; C. comparata Lepeletier, 1806; C. dives Dahlbom, 1854; C. pumila Klug, 1845; C. succincta Linnaeus, 1767; Hedychrum bidentulum Lepeletier, 1806. The lectotypes of twenty-four species are designated: Chrysis aequinoctialis Dahlbom, 1854; C. analis Spinola, 1808; C. assimilis Dahlbom, 1854; C. bihamata Spinola, 1838; C. chilensis Spinola, 1851; C. dichroa Dahlbom, 1854; C. distinguenda Dahlbom, 1854; C. episcopalis Spinola, 1838; C. grohmanni Dahlbom, 1854; C. incrassata Spinola, 1838; C. pallidicornis Spinola, 1838; C. pulchella Spinola, 1808; C. ramburi Dahlbom, 1854; C. refulgens Spinola, 1806; C. splendens Dahlbom, 1854; C. succinctula Dahlbom, 1854; C. versicolor Spinola, 1808; Elampus gayi Spinola, 1851; Hedychrum caerulescens Lepeletier, 1806; He. chloroideum Dahlbom, 1854; He. difficile Spinola, 1851; He. virens Dahlbom, 1854; Holopyga janthina Dahlbom, 1854; Ho. luzulina Dahlbom, 1854. Previous lectotype designations of five species are set aside: Chrysis bicolor Lepeletier, 1806 (designated by Morgan 1984); C. calimorpha Mocsáry, 1882 (designated by Móczár 1965); C. elegans Lepeletier, 1806 (designated by Bohart (in Kimsey and Bohart 1991)); Hedychrum chloroideum Dahlbom, 1854 (designated by Kimsey 1986); He. rutilans Dahlbom, 1854 (designated by Morgan 1984). Three new synonymies are proposed: Hedychrum intermedium Dahlbom, 1845, syn. n. of Holopyga fervida (Fabricius, 1781); Chrysis sicula Dahlbom, 1854, syn. n. of C. elegans Lepeletier, 1806; Chrysis succinctula Dahlbom, 1854, syn. n. of C. germari Wesmael, 1839. Chrysis distinguenda Spinola, 1838, and C. coronata Spinola, 1808, are considered nomina dubia. Hedychrum alterum Lepeletier, 1806, and He. aulicum Spinola, 1843, are considered nomina oblita. Hedychrum rutilans Dahlbom, 1854, and He. niemelai Linsenmaier, 1959, are retained as nomina protecta. The first available name for Chrysis succinctulasensu Linsenmaier is C. tristicula Linsenmaier, 1959, (stat. n.) The current status and validity of some types in the Spinola collection are discussed. Photographs of fifty-three types are given

Contribution to the genus Chrysidea Bischoff, 1913 from China, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae)

Rosa, Paolo, Xu, Zai-Fu (2015): Contribution to the genus Chrysidea Bischoff, 1913 from China, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae). Zootaxa 4040 (4): 465-468, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4040.4.

Kryptosega Kimsey, 1986 (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) is newly recorded genus from Oriental Region, with description of one new species

Li, Shuang-Shuang, Xu, Zai-Fu (2016): Kryptosega Kimsey, 1986 (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) is newly recorded genus from Oriental Region, with description of one new species. Zootaxa 4121 (1): 73-76, DOI: http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4121.1.

First record of Imasega Krombein from China, with description of one new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae, Amiseginae)

The genus Imasega Krombein, 1983 is recorded from China for the first time, and one new species, I. bicolor Li & Xu, sp. n. (China: Guangdong) is described and illustrated. An updated diagnosis of the genus and a key to species are provided

One new species and three new records of Chrysis Linnaeus from China (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae)

Four Chinese Chrysis species-groups, the antennata, capitalis, elegans, and maculicornis species-groups, are discussed. Chrysis lapislazulina Rosa & Xu, sp. n. is described in the elegans species-group; and three species, C. brachyceras Bischoff, 1910, C. subdistincta Linsenmaier, 1968 and C. yoshikawai Tsuneki, 1961, are reported for the first time from China in other species-groups. A new synonymy is proposed for C. ignifascia Mocsáry, 1893 = C. taiwana Tsuneki, 1970, syn. n. A short historical review of the elegans species-group is provided. C. goetheana Semenov, 1967 is transferred from the elegans species-group to the maculicornis species-group. C. mesochlora Mocsáry, 1893 is considered a nomen dubium