Foramiminifères, spores et coraux du Famennien superieur et du Dinantien du Massif de l'Omolon (extreme-orient sovietique)

Faunal assemblages allowing biostratigraphical Upper Famennian and Dinantian correlations between the Omolon Massif and Western Europe were recorded by Simakov in 1979. New investigations in 1981 allowed to improve the correlations using forams, corals and also palynological material from one shaly sample

Questions of authentication and standardization of white varieties of Ceylon tea imported to Russia

The article raises questions concerning the reasons for the falsification of white tea varieties in Russia, the possibility of determining its authenticity by instrumental and sensory methods. The technological process and parameters of brewing leaves of white tea varieties, for example, silver tea, are considered. The criteria for the organoleptic evaluation of the silver tea infusion are developed with repeated brewing by "spillage" metho

Novel technique for the CO₂ laser fabrication of optical devices with sub-micrometer ablation depth precision

We present novel techniques for the processing of fibre end face and cladding surfaces using a 9.6 µm CO2 laser. We investigate the effects of pulse duration on process parameters

Nuclear data libraries for IFMIF-DONES neutronic calculations

International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility-DEMO Oriented NEutron Source (IFMIF-DONES) is an installation aimed to irradiate with a high neutron flux materials relevant for the construction of the DEMOnstration fusion power plant (DEMO), in order to study the damage due to irradiation. Neutrons are generated using a 40 MeV and 125 mA deuteron beam impinging on a thick liquid lithium target. With these characteristics, damage due to irradiation comparable to that in the first wall of a fusion power reactor is achieved. In this paper we investigate the differences in the neutronic calculations of the IFMIF-DONES design when using different nuclear data libraries. We first studied the differences in neutron production due to Li(d, xn) reactions between different models and evaluations, comparing the different results with experimental data. Additionally, we tested the performance of the MCNP6.2 and Geant4 Monte Carlo codes when using deuteron incident data libraries. Then, we performed neutronic calculations of the IFMIF-DONES design using the most reliable Li(d, xn) neutron production models available, which are the FZK-2005 and JENDL/DEU-2020 evaluations according to the results obtained in the first part of the study. Thus, the differences in these evaluations are propagated to different neutronic calculation results: neutron flux, primary displacement damage, gas production, and heating in the materials to be irradiated. Finally, we also carried out these same neutronic calculations while using different nuclear data libraries for the neutron transport

Ancient gene linkages support ctenophores as sister to other animals

A central question in evolutionary biology is whether sponges or ctenophores (comb jellies) are the sister group to all other animals. These alternative phylogenetic hypotheses imply different scenarios for the evolution of complex neural systems and other animal-specific traits1,2,3,4,5,6. Conventional phylogenetic approaches based on morphological characters and increasingly extensive gene sequence collections have not been able to definitively answer this question7,8,9,10,11. Here we develop chromosome-scale gene linkage, also known as synteny, as a phylogenetic character for resolving this question12. We report new chromosome-scale genomes for a ctenophore and two marine sponges, and for three unicellular relatives of animals (a choanoflagellate, a filasterean amoeba and an ichthyosporean) that serve as outgroups for phylogenetic analysis. We find ancient syntenies that are conserved between animals and their close unicellular relatives. Ctenophores and unicellular eukaryotes share ancestral metazoan patterns, whereas sponges, bilaterians, and cnidarians share derived chromosomal rearrangements. Conserved syntenic characters unite sponges with bilaterians, cnidarians, and placozoans in a monophyletic clade to the exclusion of ctenophores, placing ctenophores as the sister group to all other animals. The patterns of synteny shared by sponges, bilaterians, and cnidarians are the result of rare and irreversible chromosome fusion-and-mixing events that provide robust and unambiguous phylogenetic support for the ctenophore-sister hypothesis. These findings provide a new framework for resolving deep, recalcitrant phylogenetic problems and have implications for our understanding of animal evolution.journal articl

<i>In silico</i> identification and expression of protocadherin gene family in <i>Octopus vulgaris</i>

Connecting millions of neurons to create a functional neural circuit is a daunting challenge. Vertebrates developed a molecular system at the cell membrane to allow neurons to recognize each other by distinguishing self from non-self through homophilic protocadherin interactions. In mammals, the protocadherin gene family counts about 50 different genes. By hetero-multimerization, protocadherins are capable of generating an impressive number of molecular interfaces. Surprisingly, in the California two-spot octopus, Octopus bimaculoides, an invertebrate belonging to the Phylum Mollusca, over 160 protocadherins (PCDHs) have been identified. Here we briefly discuss the role of PCDHs in neural wiring and conduct a comparative study of the protocadherin gene family in two closely related octopus species, Octopus vulgaris and O. bimaculoides. A first glance at the expression patterns of protocadherins in O. vulgaris is also provided. Finally, we comment on PCDH evolution in the light of invertebrate nervous system plasticity