A review of the Pterogeniidae (Goleoptera)

The Pterogeniidae, a family of beetles from Indoaustralia, are revised. They comprise five genera and 24 species. Three genera and 17 species are described as new and one species is synonymized. It is shown that the male and particularly the female genitalia provide useful means for species definition. The phylogenetic relationships are discussed based on a cladistic analysis of 23 morphological characters using PAUP. The analysis resulted in a single cladogram with following grouping: ( Kryptogenius + ( Tychogenius + ( Katagenius + ( Plerogenins + Histanocerus )))). For rooting the cladogram and polarizing the characters, Sivacrypticus indicus (Archeocrypticidae) was used as an outgroup. The majority of the species is restricted to insular tropical Asia and Oceania but four of them extend their range onto the Malayan Peninsula. Another four species are known only from continental Asia, i.e. two species from South India and one each from Malayan Peninsula and Vietnam respectively. Species of Kryptogenius, Pterogenius, Katagenius and Tychogenius are highly endemic and could therefore potentially be useful for analysing areas of endemism. For this, however, the cladistic relationships should be resolved at species level. Species of Histanocerus are more widely distributed but none is found on both sides of Wallace's line.     

Longitudinal Neurostimulation in Older Adults Improves Working Memory

An increasing concern affecting a growing aging population is working memory (WM) decline. Consequently, there is great interest in improving or stabilizing WM, which drives expanded use of brain training exercises. Such regimens generally result in temporary WM benefits to the trained tasks but minimal transfer of benefit to untrained tasks. Pairing training with neurostimulation may stabilize or improve WM performance by enhancing plasticity and strengthening WM-related cortical networks. We tested this possibility in healthy older adults. Participants received 10 sessions of sham (control) or active (anodal, 1.5 mA) tDCS to the right prefrontal, parietal, or prefrontal/parietal (alternating) cortices. After ten minutes of sham or active tDCS, participants performed verbal and visual WM training tasks. On the first, tenth, and follow-up sessions, participants performed transfer WM tasks including the spatial 2-back, Stroop, and digit span tasks. The results demonstrated that all groups benefited from WM training, as expected. However, at follow-up 1-month after training ended, only the participants in the active tDCS groups maintained significant improvement. Importantly, this pattern was observed for both trained and transfer tasks. These results demonstrate that tDCS-linked WM training can provide long-term benefits in maintaining cognitive training benefits and extending them to untrained tasks.     

Luteinising hormone,follicle stimulating hormone and gonadotropin releasing hormone immunoreactivity in two insects: Locusta migratoria migratoroides R&F and Sarcophaga bullata (Parker)

Summary

Materials immunologically related to luteinising hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) were localised in cerebral tissue of Locusta migratoria and Sarcophaga bullata by means of the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Several polyclonal and a monoclonal antisera were used. From the third larval instar a positive reaction was observed in cells located in several parts of the brain. Each antiserum reacted with a constant number of well defined cells and nerve fibers. No differences between sexes were observed.     

A new real-time PCR method to overcome significant quantitative inaccuracy due to slight amplification inhibition

Background  

Real-time PCR analysis is a sensitive DNA quantification technique that has recently gained considerable attention in biotechnology, microbiology and molecular diagnostics. Although, the cycle-threshold (Ct) method is the present "gold standard", it is far from being a standard assay. Uniform reaction efficiency among samples is the most important assumption of this method. Nevertheless, some authors have reported that it may not be correct and a slight PCR efficiency decrease of about 4% could result in an error of up to 400% using the Ct method. This reaction efficiency decrease may be caused by inhibiting agents used during nucleic acid extraction or copurified from the biological sample.     

Site localization of sialyl Lewis(x) antigen on alpha1-acid glycoprotein by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

A simple, fast and sensitive method was developed to verify the presence of the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen on an N-linked glycoprotein. High performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/MS) was used to identify which of the five N-linked glycosylation sites of human plasma alpha1-acid-glycoprotein (orosomucoid, OMD) contain the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen. OMD was digested with proteolytic enzymes and analyzed by reversed phase chromatography coupled with on-line ESI/MS. A tandem mass spectrometry experiment was designed to detect the presence of the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen based on the observation of an 803 mass to charge ratio ( m/z ) ion produced in the intermediate pressure region of the ESI interface. The ESI/MS signal at m/z 803 is consistent with an oxonium ion for a glycan structure containing NeuAc, Gal, GlcNAc, and Fuc. The identity of the m/z 803 ion was confirmed by ESI/MS/MS analysis of the m/z 803 fragment ion and comparison with a sialyl Lewis(x) standard. The stereochemistry and linkage positions were assigned using previous NMR analysis but could be determined with permethylation analysis if necessary. The analysis of OMD gave a pattern showing signal for the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen coeluting with each of the five N-linked glycopeptides. The ability to monitor sialyl Lewis(x) expression at each of the five sites is of interest in the study of OMD's role in inflammatory diseases.      

Synemin and vimentin are components of intermediate filaments in avian erythrocytes

Synemin, a high-molecular-weight protein associated with intermediate filaments in muscle, and vimentin, an intermediate-filament subunit found in many different cell types, have been identified by immunologic and electrophoretic criteria as components of intermediate filaments in mature avian erythrocytes. Desmin, the predominant subunit of intermediate filaments in muscle, has not been detected in these cells. Two dimensional immunoautoradiography of proteolytic fragments of synemin and vimentin demonstates that the erythrocyte proteins are highly homologous, if not identical, to their muscle counterparts. Double immunoflurorescence reaveals that erythrocyte synemin and vimentin co-localize in a cytoplasmic network of sinuous filaments that extends from the nucleus to the plasma membrane and resists aggregation by colcemid. Erythrocytes that are attached to glass cover slips can be sonicated to remove nuclei and nonadherent regions of the plasma membrane; this leaves elliptical patches of adherent membrane that retain mats of vimentin- and synemin-containing intermediate filaments, as seen by immunofluorescence and rotary shadowing. Similarly, mechanical enucleation of erythrocyte ghosts in suspension allows isolation of plasma membranes that retain a significant fraction of the synemin and vimentin, as assayed by electrophoresis, and intermediate filaments, as seen in thin sections. Both synemin and vimentin remain insoluble along with spectrin and actin, in solutions containing nonionic detergent and high salt. However, brief exposure of isolated membrane to distilled water releases the synemin and vimentin together in nearly pure form, before the release of significant amounts of spectrin and actin. These data suggest that avian erythrocyte intermeditate filaments are somehow anchored to the plasma membrane; erythrocytes may thus provide a simple system for the study of intermediate filaments and their mode of interaction with membranes. In addition, these data, in conjunction with previous data from muscle, indicate that synemin is capable of associating with either desmin or vimentin and may thus perform a special role in the structure or function of intermediate filaments in erythrocytes as well as muscle.     

Networks and dominance hierarchies: does interspecific aggression explain flower partitioning among stingless bees?

1. The distribution of consumers among resources (trophic interaction network) may be shaped by asymmetric competition. Dominance hierarchy models predict that asymmetric interference competition leads to a domination of high quality resources by hierarchically superior species. 2. In order to determine the competitive dominance hierarchy and its effect on flower partitioning in a local stingless bee community in Borneo, interspecific aggressions were tested among eight species in arena experiments. 3. All species tested were strongly mutually aggressive in the arena, and the observed interactions were often lethal for one or both opponents. Aggression significantly increased with body size differences between fighting pairs and was asymmetric: larger aggressors were superior over smaller species. Additional aggression tests involved dummies with surface extracts, and results suggest that species‐ and colony‐specific surface profiles are important in triggering the aggressive behaviour. 4. Sixteen stingless bee species were observed foraging on 41 species of flowering plants. The resulting bee–flower interaction network showed a high degree of generalisation (network‐level specialisation H₂’ = 0.11), corresponding to a random, opportunistic distribution of bee species among available flower species. 5. Aggressions on flowers were rare and only occurred at a low level. The dominance hierarchy obtained in the arena experiments did not correlate significantly with plant quality, estimated as the number of flowers per plant or as total bee visitation rate. 6. Our findings suggest that asymmetries in interference competition do not necessarily translate into actual resource partitioning in the context of complex interacting communities.