Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycena</Emphasis> from alpine sites in Norway

Mycena aphanes and Mycena exilis, belonging to section Filipedes and section Polyadelphia, are proposed as new species. They are described and illustrated and compared to other species in the two sections. Mycena aphanes is a strikingly characteristic Mycena with fulvous or yellowish brown colours of both pileus and stipe. Mycena exilis is characterized by its occurrence on fallen Salix leaves, a pale brown pileus, occasionally with a pale pink tinge, narrowly adnate lamellae, four-spored basidia, and the presence of clamp connections.

Evidence of gonochorism in a grouper, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycteroperca rosacea</Emphasis>, from the Gulf of California,Mexico

The sexual pattern and sexual development of the leopard grouper, Mycteroperca rosacea, were investigated from 483 specimens collected from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Histological and population data indicated a gonochoric sexual pattern. Some juveniles passed through an immature bisexual phase of gonadal development, but no evidence of post-maturational sex change was found. The immature bisexual phase is believed to be associated only with male development. The size distribution and size at sexual maturity were similar for both males and females. In accordance with predictions of the size-advantage model, the gonochoric sexual pattern of M. rosacea is likely influenced by its group-spawning mating system.

Group size in folivorous primates: ecological constraints and the possible influence of social factors

The ecological-constraints model assumes that food items occur in depletable patches and proposes that an increase in group size leads to increased day range due to more rapid patch depletion. Smaller groups become advantageous when an increase in travel costs is not repaid by an increase in energy gained or some other fitness advantage. On the other hand, we also know that group size can be influenced by social factors. Here we contrast the diet and group size of red colobus (Procolobus badius) and black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza) in Kibale National Park, Uganda to consider how ecological and social factors are affecting their group sizes. Subsequently, we examine whether the insights gained from this detailed comparison can provide an understanding of why the social organization and group size of mantled howlers (Alouatta palliata) and black howlers (A. pigra) differ. Two groups of red colobus and two groups of black-and-white colobus were studied over 10 months. Red colobus groups were larger (48 and 24) than black-and-white colobus groups (9 and 6). The two groups of red colobus overlap home ranges with the two groups of black-and-white colobus; 75% and 95% of their home ranges were within red colobuss home range. There was a great deal of similarity in the plant parts eaten by the two species and both species fed primarily on young leaves (red colobus 70%, black-and-white colobus 76%). In terms of the actual species consumed, again there was a great deal of similarity between species. The average dietary overlap among months for the two neighboring groups of red colobus was 37.3%, while the dietary overlap between the red colobus and the black-and-white colobus group that had its home range almost entirely within the home range of the red colobus groups averaged 43.2% among months. If ecological conditions were responsible for the difference in group size between the two colobine species, one would expect the density of food trees to be lower in the home ranges of the black-and-white colobus monkeys, since they have the smaller group size. We found the opposite to be true. Both black-and-white colobus groups had more food trees and the cumulative size of those trees was greater than those in the red colobuss home ranges. We quantify how these differences parallel differences in mantled and black howlers. The average group size for mantled howlers was 12.9 individuals, and for black howlers it was 5.3 individuals. We explore possible social constraints, such as infanticide, that prevent black-and-white colobus and black howlers from living in large groups.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with corrections to the cover date of the issue.     

Progress in understanding the <Emphasis Type="Italic">N-</Emphasis>demethylation of alkaloids by exploiting isotopic techniques

The reaction of N-demethylation plays an important role in the degradation of some alkaloids in a number of organisms. This review presents how our understanding of the N-demethylation of nicotine in plants has been improved through studies in cell cultures of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia and N. glutinosa using a variety of isotopic techniques. The overall aim is to understand how metabolism recycles the alkaloid skeleton, both in terms of the metabolic route(s) exploited and the reaction mechanisms of the enzymes involved. The former has been approached using high-resolution 2-dimensional NMR and GC-MS methods; the latter by determining kinetic isotope effects and modelling the potential reaction steps. It appears that the mechanism for nicotine demethylation in plants is similar to but has significant differences from that described for mammals and Pseudomonas bacteria. These differences are discussed.

Biological activity and identification of nucleopolyhedroviruses isolated from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mythimna separata</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spodoptera litura</Emphasis> in Japan

We compared the infectivity of two nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs), MyseNPV G isolated from Mythimna separata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and SpltNPV S isolated from Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). MyseNPV G was more pathogenic against M. separata than against S. litura. Although SpltNPV S was more pathogenic than MyseNPV G against S. litura, it did not infect M. separata. Restriction endonuclease (REN) analysis of viral genomic DNA revealed that the two NPVs have quite different REN profiles. Based on nucleotide sequences of the coding regions of polyhedrin, lef-8 and lef-9, SpltNPV S was closely related to other SpltNPV isolates, whereas MyseNPV G appeared to belong to the Mamestra NPV group, and was distinct from a Chinese isolate of Leucania (=Mythimna) separata NPV. The potential of MyseNPV G and SpltNPV S to control pest insects is discussed.

Membrane microdomains from early gastrula embryos of medaka, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryzias latipes</Emphasis>, are a platform of E-cadherin- and carbohydrate-mediated cell–cell interactions during epiboly

Formation of membrane microdomain is critical for cell migration (epiboly) during gastrulation of medaka fish [Adachi et al. (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 358:848–853, 2007)]. In this study, we characterized membrane microdomain from gastrula embryos to understand its roles in epiboly. A cell adhesion molecule (E-cadherin), its associated protein (β-catenin), transducer proteins (PLCγ, cSrc), and a cytoskeleton protein (β-actin) were enriched in the membrane microdomain. Le^X-containing glycolipids and glycoproteins (Le^X-gp) were exclusively enriched in the membrane microdomain. Interestingly, the isolated membrane microdomain had the ability to bind to each other in the presence of Ca²⁺. This membrane microdomain binding was achieved through the E-cadherin homophilic and the Le^X-glycan-mediated interactions. E-cadherin and Le^X-gp were co-localized on the same membrane microdomain, suggesting that these two interactions are operative at the same time. Thus, the membrane microdomain functions as a platform of the E-cadherin- and Le^X-glycan-mediated cell adhesion and signal transduction.

A single operon-encoded form of the acetyl-CoA decarbonylase/synthase multienzyme complex responsible for synthesis and cleavage of acetyl-CoA in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Methanosarcina thermophila</Emphasis>

Methanogens growing on C-1 substrates synthesize 2-carbon acetyl groups in the form of acetyl-CoA for carbon assimilation using the multienzyme complex acetyl-CoA decarbonylase/synthase (ACDS) which contains five different subunits encoded within an operon. In species growing on acetate ACDS also functions to cleave the acetate C-C bond for energy production by methanogenesis. A number of species of Methanosarcina that are capable of growth on either C-1 compounds or acetate contain two separate ACDS operons, and questions have been raised about whether or not these operons play separate roles in acetate synthesis and cleavage. Methanosarcina thermophila genomic DNA was analyzed for the presence of two ACDS operons by PCR amplifications with different primer pairs, restriction enzyme analyses, DNA sequencing and Southern blot analyses. A single ACDS operon was identified and characterized, with no evidence for more than one. MALDI mass spectrometric analyses were carried out on ACDS preparations from methanol- and acetate-grown cells. Peptide fragmentation patterns showed that the same ACDS subunits were present regardless of growth conditions. The evidence indicates that a single form of ACDS is used both for acetate cleavage during growth on acetate and for acetate synthesis during growth on C-1 substrates. Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article at

---

Steps towards sustainable harvest of Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Bhutan

The insect-pathogenic fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (better known as Cordyceps sinensis) is harvested over much of the Himalayan plateau as a highly prized remedy in traditional Oriental medicine. Over the past 10 years its financial value has increased dramatically, with collectors paid as much as US $12,500 kg⁻¹ for top-quality material. This is causing significant distortion to local economies, and there is widespread concern that the current rate of collection is unsustainable. This paper introduces the fungus and its insect hosts, documents some of the biological and social constraints to achieving sustainability, describes the socioeconomic climate within which harvest and sale occurs in Bhutan, and details the measures put in place by the Royal Government of Bhutan to promote wise management of this valuable natural resource.

A queueing model for predicting message latency in uni-directional <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-ary <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-cubes with deterministic routing and non-uniform traffic

The interconnection network is one of the key architectural components in any parallel computer. The distribution of the traffic injected into the network is among the factors that greatly influences network performance. The uniform traffic pattern has been adopted in many existing network performance evaluation studies due to the tractability of the resulting analytical modelling approach. However, many real applications exhibit non-uniform traffic patterns such as hot-spot traffic. K-ary n-cubes have been the mostly widely used in the implementation of practical parallel systems. Extensive research studies have been conducted on the performance modelling and evaluation of these networks. Nonetheless, most of these studies have been confined to uniform traffic distributions and have been based on software simulation. The present paper proposes a new stochastic model to predict message latency in k-ary n-cubes with deterministic routing in the presence of hot-spot traffic. The model has been validated through simulation experiments and has shown a close agreement with simulation results.

Mapping the geographic distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aglaia bourdillonii</Emphasis> Gamble (Meliaceae), an endemic and threatened plant,using ecological niche modeling

Aglaia bourdillonii is a plant narrowly endemic to the southern portion of the Western Ghats (WG), in peninsular India. To understand its ecological and geographic distribution, we used ecological niche modeling (ENM) based on detailed distributional information recently gathered, in relation to detailed climatic data sets. The ENMs successfully reconstructed key features of the species’ geographic distribution, focusing almost entirely on the southern WG. Much of the species’ distributional potential is already under protection, but our analysis allows identification of key zones for additional protection, all of which are adjacent to existing protected areas. ENM provides a useful tool for understanding the natural history of such rare and endangered species.

Group Size and Composition of Colobus guereza in Kyambura Gorge, Southwest Uganda, in Relation to Chimpanzee Activity

We documented and assessed the influence of chimpanzee activity on group size and composition of Colobus guereza in Kyambura Gorge, southwest Uganda, from July to September, 1994 and in February and March 1996. The population density of colobus is very high: 347 individuals per km ². Density differed outside activity centers of chimpanzees (525 individuals per km ² ) and within the centers (186 per km ² ). We identified a total of 24 colobus groups, ranging between 3 and 13 individuals. Of the 24 groups, 22 were one-male groups. Groups were smaller and the percentage of subadults and juveniles was lower in groups within chimpanzee activity centers. Estimates of home ranges are between 1.7 and 6.2 ha, but neighboring home ranges overlapped 80%. Only a territory of approximately 0.5 ha was defended by the alpha male.     

Predictive performance modelling of parallel component compositions

Large-scale scientific computing applications frequently make use of closely-coupled distributed parallel components. The performance of such applications is therefore dependent on the component parts and their interaction at run-time. This paper describes a methodology for predictive performance modelling and evaluation of parallel applications composed of multiple interacting components. In this paper, the fundamental steps and required operations involved in the modelling and evaluation process are identified—including component decomposition, component model combination, M×N communication modelling, dataflow analysis and overall performance evaluation. A case study is presented to illustrate the modelling process and the methodology is verified through experimental analysis.

Entomopathogenic fungi as a potential control agent against the lesser mealworm, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alphitobius diaperinus</Emphasis> in broiler houses

We tested the pathogenicity of 18 Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokin isolates and 22 Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin isolates against Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae and adults. The efficacy of the most virulent isolate—M. anisopliae K—was evaluated in containers with a concrete bottom covered with wood shavings, under simulated poultry house conditions. Application of conidia of this isolate to the shavings or directly to the concrete bottom reduced the yield of larvae in 8–15 time compared with the control. In another test, the mortality of mature larvae placed on previously inoculated shavings or bottom reached 80–90% within 14 days, compared with 14% in the control. The residual activity of conidia kept at 28°C retained its initial level during 14 days post-inoculation, but declined after three weeks. Based on our data M. anisopliae has considerable potential for the control of A. diaperinus.

Aeropalynological research in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salitral de la Vidriera</Emphasis>, Buenos Aires province,Argentina

This paper reports results from monitoring atmospheric pollen in Salitral de la Vidriera, an area of natural vegetation near Bahía Blanca city (East Central Argentina). Sampling was carried out weekly during January to December 2003 and May 2005 to April 2006 using a volumetric impact sampler. Observations of flowering in the field were carried out at the same time as the aerial sampling. During this period, 43 pollen types were identified; most of these correspond to pollen grains from either herbaceous or shrubby vegetation typical of the study area, for example Amaranthus, Brassicaceae, Centaurea, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Urticaceae, some Asteraceae, and Condalia microphylla. This study on the atmosphere of Salitral de la Vidriera allowed us to identify the components of the vegetation type dominant in the area, namely a shrubby halophytic steppe. A well represented family, for example Chenopodiaceae, could, under appropriate weather conditions, be an important contributor of pollen to Bahía Blanca.

Martin Gibbs and the peaceful uses of nuclear radiation, <Superscript>14</Superscript>C

This abstract is a prologue to this paper. Prior to his health failing, Martin Gibbs began writing remembrances of his education and beginning a science career, particularly on the peaceful uses of nuclear radiation, at the U.S. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Camp Upton, NY. Two years before his death Martin provided one of us (Govindjee) a draft text narrating his science beginnings in anticipation of publication in Photosynthesis Research. Govindjee edited his draft and returned it to him. Later, when it became difficult for him to complete it, he phoned Govindjee and expressed the desire that Govindjee publish this story, provided he kept it close to his original. Certain parts of Martin’s narrations have appeared without references (Gibbs 1999). The Gibbs family made a similar request since the narrations contained numerous early personal accounts. Clanton Black recently presented an elegant tribute on Martin Gibbs and his entire science career (Black 2008). Clanton was given the draft, which he and Govindjee then agreed to finish. This chronicle is their effort to place Gibbs’s narrations about his education and his maturation scientifically, in context with the beginnings of biological chemistry work with carbon-14 at the BNL (see Gibbs 1999). Further, these events are placed in context with those times of newly discovered radioisotopes which became available as part of the intensive nuclear research of World War II (WW II). Carbon-14, discovered during WW II nuclear research in 1940, was extremely useful and quickly led to the rapid discovery of new carbon metabolism pathways and biochemical cycles, e.g., photosynthetic carbon assimilation, within a decade after WW II.

Experimenting with Transmutation: Darwin, the Beagle, and Evolution

Detailed analysis of Darwin’s scientific notes and other writings from the Beagle voyage reveals a focus on endemism and replacement of allied taxa in time and in space that began early in the journey. Though it is impossible to determine exactly when Darwin became a transmutationist, the evidence suggests that he was conversant with the transmutational ideas of Lamarck and others and testing (“experimenting” with) them—before he received a copy of Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. 2, in November 1832, in which Lyell describes and disputes Lamarck’s theory. To the two rhea species of Patagonia and the four mockingbird species of the Galapagos, we can now add the living Patagonian cavy (rodent) species, and its extinct putatively related species that Darwin collected at Monte Hermoso (Bahia Blanca) in the Fall of 1832, as a replacement pattern absolutely critical to the development of Darwin’s transmutational thinking. Darwin developed his first transmutational theory by adopting “Brocchi’s analogy” (Rudwick 2008)—i.e. that births and deaths of species are analogous to the births and deaths of individuals. Births and deaths of species, as of individuals, are thus explicable in terms of natural causes. Darwin explored these themes and the replacement of the extinct cavy by the modern species explicitly in his February 1835 essay (Darwin 1835a).