On the Classes of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases,Amino Acids and the Genetic Code

The division of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in two classes is compared with a division of the amino acids in two classes, obtained from the AAIndex databank by a principal component analysis. The division of the enzymes in Classes I and II follows to a great extent a division in the chemical and biological properties of their cognate amino acids. Furthermore, the phylogenetic trees of Classes I and II enzymes are highly correlated with dendrograms obtained for their cognate amino acids by using the indices in the AAIndex database. We argue that the evolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases was determined by the characteristics of their corresponding amino acids. We interpret these results considering models for the origin and evolution of the genetic code in which an initial version, containing fewer amino acids, was modified by the incorporation of new amino acids following duplication and divergence of previous synthetases and tRNA molecules.     

Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Scolopendra cingulata Latreille, 1829 (Chilopoda: Scolopendridae) in the Mediterranean region

Scolopendra cingulata Latreille, 1829 is the commonest scolopendromorph species in the Mediterranean area. However, its morphological and geographic variation has not been examined so far, and therefore robust hypotheses about the factors that have shaped that variability are lacking. We examined, using multivariate methods for 19 morphometric and meristic characters, the morphological variation of that species using a comprehensive sample of 503 adult specimens from 130 restricted geographic localities. The localities were distributed in three major geographic areas (Balkans, Asia Minor-Middle East, and Italy) in order to discern biological entities and to estimate the morphological relationships between populations and geographic regions. Results showed significant differences between the three geographic groups. Characters such as the distance between the paramedian sulci of the 7th and 8th tergite, the number of antennal segments, the number of spines on the dorsal side of 21st prefemur and number of spines on the 21st prefemoral process significantly discriminated populations of S. cingulata along a west-east geographic gradient. Both eastern (Balkan) and easternmost populations (Asia Minor-Middle East) showed higher mean values of antennal articles and spines of 21st prefemur than the Italian populations. No significant morphological variation was discovered between the sexes of S. cingulata apart from cephalic width and distance between the two paramedian sulci of the 7th and 8th tergite. Based on certain morphometric differences among the three major geographic regions, we suggest that S. cingulata originated in the east and colonized south European area from two different geographic routes. It is suggested that west-east morphological trend of S. cingulata is related either to the prominent palaeogeographic events of the area or to the competition with S. oraniensis Lucas, 1846 in the western Mediterranean.     

双耳条件下超前声对人分辨滞后声强度的影响

在复杂声环境中,对声音强度的分辨是听觉系统对声音信号精确处理的重要功能之一.到目前为止,有关人对声音强度分辨的研究都是在单耳条件下进行的,然而,正常条件下人都是利用双耳感知强度和方位变化的声音.以人对声刺激强度的最小可察觉差异(just noticeable difference,JND)为强度分辨阈值的指标,观察双耳条件下超前声对人分辨滞后声强度的影响.实验在封闭声场中进行,声刺激强度和空间方位的控制是通过改变双耳平均声压(average binaural level,ABL)和双耳声压差(interaural level difference,ILD)来模拟的.实验结果表明,与安静条件下人对声刺激强度的分辨阈值相比,低强度的超前声对人分辨滞后声强度的阈值无显著影响,而中等及以上强度(ABL大于或等于40 dB)的超前声可提高人分辨滞后声强度的阈值,阈值的提高随超前声强度的增加呈单调增大的趋势.当超前声强度一定时,超前声对人分辨滞后声强度的影响随滞后声强度的增加而衰减,对分辨较高强度的滞后声的阈值影响不显著,该结果与单耳的研究结果有明显差异.实验未发现超前声和滞后声ILD的相对改变对人探测滞后声强度变化的阈值有显著影响.     

Perspectives: Hamilton's Legacy: Mechanisms of Kin Recognition in Humans

The behavior literature is replete with examples of individuals exhibiting costly acts that benefit someone else. These examples troubled Darwin so much so that he thought they would be fatal to his theory of natural selection. A century later, W. D. Hamilton refined that theory by showing, quantitatively, that such acts could be favored if the individuals involved were relatives. His theory of inclusive fitness is generally considered one of the greatest theoretical advances in evolution since Darwin's time. Less appreciated from Hamilton's 1964 paper is the hypothesis that mechanisms favoring accurate kin recognition will also be selected. Here, I review those recognition mechanisms and survey the literature on human kin recognition. Although not often considered, humans both produce cues to kinship that vary with genetic relatedness and have perceptual abilities to detect these cues in others and assess that relatedness. The potential functions of these abilities are discussed. Importantly, gaps in our understanding of the development and use of recognition mechanisms are noted.     

Picture – Object Recognition in Kea (Nestor notabilis)

Although pictures are widely used as stimuli in cognitive experiments with both humans and animals, the question of how subjects interpret pictures receives less attention. Gaining a better understanding of this is especially important when working with avian subjects, as their visual anatomy and processing is different from that of humans, and even differs from one avian species to another. Successful testing for picture recognition in birds has been carried out mainly with pigeons, but no such research has been explicitly performed with ‘brainy’ birds like parrots, despite the fact that these have been the subject of exciting cognitive research. This study tested kea (Nestor notabilis) mountain parrots for picture–object recognition using a procedure which required the transfer of a learned discrimination task between pictures and objects. Kea successfully showed both picture‐to‐object and object‐to‐picture transfer and performed at a comparable level when pictures were displayed on a touch screen or as printed photographs.     

The diet‐body offset in human nitrogen isotopic values: A controlled dietary study

The “trophic level enrichment” between diet and body results in an overall increase in nitrogen isotopic values as the food chain is ascended. Quantifying the diet–body Δ¹⁵N spacing has proved difficult, particularly for humans. The value is usually assumed to be +3–5‰ in the archaeological literature. We report here the first (to our knowledge) data from humans on isotopically known diets, comparing dietary intake and a body tissue sample, that of red blood cells. Samples were taken from 11 subjects on controlled diets for a 30‐day period, where the controlled diets were designed to match each individual's habitual diet, thus reducing problems with short‐term changes in diet causing isotopic changes in the body pool. The Δ¹⁵N_diet‐RBC was measured as +3.5‰. Using measured offsets from other studies, we estimate the human Δ¹⁵N_{diet‐keratin} as +5.0–5.3‰, which is in good agreement with values derived from the two other studies using individual diet records. We also estimate a value for Δ¹⁵N_{diet‐collagen} of ≈6‰, again in combination with measured offsets from other studies. This value is larger than usually assumed in palaeodietary studies, which suggests that the proportion of animal protein in prehistoric human diet may have often been overestimated in isotopic studies of palaeodiet. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Competing carboxylases: circadian and metabolic regulation of Rubisco in C3 and CAM Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L

The temporal co-ordination of ribulose 1·5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPc) activities by Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. in C(3) and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) modes was investigated under conventional light-dark (LD) and continuous light (LL) conditions. When C(3) , net CO(2) assimilation rate increased during each subjective night under LL with maximum carboxylation unrelated to Rubisco activation state. The CAM circadian rhythm of CO(2) uptake was more pronounced, with CO(2) assimilation rate maximal towards the end of each subjective night. In vivo and in vitro techniques were integrated to map carboxylase enzyme regulation to the framework provided by CAM LL gas exchange activity. Rubisco was activated in vitro throughout each subjective dark period and consistently deactivated at each subjective dawn, similar to that observed at true dawn in constitutive CAM species. Instantaneous carbon isotope discrimination showed in vivo carboxylase co-dominance during the CAM subjective night, initially by Rubisco and latterly C(4) (PEPc), despite both enzymes seemingly activated in vitro. The circadian rhythm in titratable acidity accumulation was progressively damped over successive subjective nights, but maintenance of PEPc carboxylation capacity ensures that CAM plants do not become progressively more 'C(3) -like' with time under LL.     

African Americans respond to stigmatization: the meanings and salience of confronting,deflecting conflict,educating the ignorant and ‘managing the self’

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with 150 randomly sampled African Americans, we analyse how members of a stigmatized group understand their experience of stigmatization and assess appropriate responses when asked about the best approach to deal with stigmatization and about responses to specific incidents. Combining in-depth interviews with a systematic coding of the data, we make original contributions to the previous literature by identifying the relative salience of modalities and tools for responding. We also examine closely through qualitative data the two most salient modalities of response, ‘confronting’ and ‘deflating’ conflict, the most salient tools, teaching out-group members about African Americans, and ‘the management of the self’, a rationale for deflating conflict that is largely overlooked in previous studies. We find that ‘confronting’ is the more popular modality for responding to stigmatization among African Americans.     

Prey discrimination by a generalist coccinellid predator: effect of prey age or parasitism?

1. Patterns of prey discrimination by the generalist predatory coccinellid Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timb. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were studied in relation to prey quality, under laboratory conditions. 2. Choice experiments were performed in which second‐ and fourth‐instar coccinellids had the choice between Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs that were young or old, unparasitised or parasitised by Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). 3. Coleomegilla maculata larvae did not exhibit any preference for parasitised or unparasitised eggs at a similar stage of development but always preferred younger eggs, regardless of whether or not they were parasitised. Furthermore, the percentage of rejection was higher and handling time longer on the less preferred egg type. Pre‐imaginal development time, food intake to reach adulthood, and survival of coccinellid immatures were altered when coccinellid larvae were fed with parasitised and old unparasitised eggs. 4. These results indicate that C. maculata larvae select eggs based on their stage of development regardless of parasitism, and that prey quality of aged prey is lower. 5. Fourth‐instar coccinellid larvae spent less time in patches containing solely parasitised old eggs, and their level of exploitation was greatly reduced, compared with homogeneous patches containing unparasitised young eggs. This suggests that C. maculata larvae respond to variable patch quality by using flexible decision rules that reflect the payoff of the patch.