Insect trace fossils in glyptodonts from Uruguay

Abstract

The association of vertebrate remains and invertebrate traces, although less studied than other bioerosion traces, provides important paleoecological information. This report describes Cubiculum ornatum Roberts, Rogers, and Foreman 2007 Roberts, E., R. Rogers, and B. Foreman. 2007. Continental insect borings in dinosaur bone: examples from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar and Utah. Journal of Paleontology 81(1):201–208.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Osteocallis Roberts, Rogers, and Foreman 2007 Roberts, E., R. Rogers, and B. Foreman. 2007. Continental insect borings in dinosaur bone: examples from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar and Utah. Journal of Paleontology 81(1):201–208.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] and other unidentified insect traces from the dermal skeletal remains of glyptodonts found in Uruguay. They come from the Fray Bentos Formation (Late Oligocene), the Camacho Formation (Late Miocene) and the Dolores Formation (Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene). The reported traces were likely made by sarcosaprophagous beetles, which indicate depositional conditions with dry episodes in a warm climate for the referred stratigraphical units.     

Ichnogeny and bivalve bioerosion: examples from shell and wood substrates

Abstract

The ichnospecies Gastrochaneolites dijugus Kelly and Bromley 1984 Kelly, S. R. A., and R. G. Bromley. 1984. “Ichnological Nomenclature of Clavate Borings.” Palaeontology 27: 793–807.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] and Teredolites longissimus Kelly and Bromley 1984 Kelly, S. R. A., and R. G. Bromley. 1984. “Ichnological Nomenclature of Clavate Borings.” Palaeontology 27: 793–807.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], attributed to the boring activity of gastrochaenoid and pholadid bivalves, are described respectively from the Miocene Vilanova Basin and the Pliocene Almería-Níjar Basin. Miocene and Pliocene traces are preserved as positive casts associated to invertebrate shells and wood fragments, respectively; in both cases, the host substrate (shells and wood) has been lost almost entirely by different taphonomic processes (mainly dissolution). For the first time in the fossil record, the complete ichnogenetic sequence of these two ichnospecies is described and figured.     

Macroborings in Otodus megalodon and Otodus chubutensis shark teeth from the submerged shelf of Onslow Bay,North Carolina,USA: implications for processes of lag deposit formation

Abstract

The shallow continental shelf in the Cape Fear Region of southwestern Onslow Bay, North Carolina, contains lag deposits with an abundance of megatoothed shark teeth belonging to Otodus megalodon (Agassiz 1835) and Otodus chubutensis (Ameghino 1906) that derive from the Pliocene Yorktown and Miocene Pungo River formations, respectively. These teeth exhibit different frequencies and orientations of macroborings identified as Gastrochaenolites torpedo Kelly and Bromley (1984 Kelly, S., and R. Bromley. 1984. “Ichnological Nomenclature of Clavate Borings.” Palaeontology 27: 793–807.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Gastrochaenolites lapidicus Kelly and Bromley (1984 Kelly, S., and R. Bromley. 1984. “Ichnological Nomenclature of Clavate Borings.” Palaeontology 27: 793–807.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Maeandropolydora sulcans Voigt (1965 Voigt, E. 1965. “Über parasitische Polychaeten in Kreide-Austern sowie einige andere in Muschelschalen bohrende Würmer.” Paläontologische Zeitschrift 39 (3–4): 193–211.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and ?Entobia isp. attributed to endolithic bivalves, serpulid worms and clionaid sponges. Different frequencies and orientations of macroborings seen in lag deposits containing O. megalodon and O. chubutensis teeth are the result of repeated exhumation and reworking in response to bathymetrically controlled wave-based erosion during storm events and glacioeustatically driven sea-level cyclicity across Onslow Bay. Chronological ranges of O. megalodon and O. chubutensis teeth that contain macroborings indicate that these lag deposits may have been forming since the late early Miocene.     

On several conjectures from evolution of dispersal

We address several conjectures raised in Cantrell et al. [Evolution of dispersal and ideal free distribution, Math. Biosci. Eng. 7 (2010), pp. 17–36 [9 Cantrell, R. S., Cosner, C. and Lou, Y. 2010. Evolution of dispersal and ideal free distribution. Math. Biosci. Eng., 7: 17–36. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]]] concerning the dynamics of a diffusion–advection–competition model for two competing species. A conditional dispersal strategy, which results in the ideal free distribution of a single population at equilibrium, was found in Cantrell et al. [9 Cantrell, R. S., Cosner, C. and Lou, Y. 2010. Evolution of dispersal and ideal free distribution. Math. Biosci. Eng., 7: 17–36. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]]. It was shown in [9 Cantrell, R. S., Cosner, C. and Lou, Y. 2010. Evolution of dispersal and ideal free distribution. Math. Biosci. Eng., 7: 17–36. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]] that this special dispersal strategy is a local evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) when the random diffusion rates of the two species are equal, and here we show that it is a global ESS for arbitrary random diffusion rates. The conditions in [9 Cantrell, R. S., Cosner, C. and Lou, Y. 2010. Evolution of dispersal and ideal free distribution. Math. Biosci. Eng., 7: 17–36. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]] for the coexistence of two species are substantially improved. Finally, we show that this special dispersal strategy is not globally convergent stable for certain resource functions, in contrast with the result from [9 Cantrell, R. S., Cosner, C. and Lou, Y. 2010. Evolution of dispersal and ideal free distribution. Math. Biosci. Eng., 7: 17–36. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]], which roughly says that this dispersal strategy is globally convergent stable for any monotone resource function.     

An Efficient Alternative Route To 3,6-Disubstituted-Furo[2,3-d]Pyrimidin-2-One Analogues

Copper(I)-catalyzed 5-endo-dig cyclizations of 5-(alkyn-1-yl)uracil derivatives had given poor yields of substituted furo[2 Robins, M. J. and Barr, P. J. 1983. Nucleic acid related compounds. 39. Efficient conversion of 5-iodo to 5-alkynyl and derived 5-substituted uracil bases and nucleosides. J. Org. Chem, 48: 1854–1862. [CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 3 De Clercq, E., Descamps, J., Balzarini, J., Giziewicz, J., Barr, P. J. and Robins, M. J. 1983. Nucleic acid related compounds. 40. Synthesis and biological activities of 5-alkynyluracil nucleosides. J. Med. Chem, 26: 661–666. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]]pyrimidin-2-ones unless the uracil ring was substituted at N1 with alkyl or glycosyl groups. This limited flexibility for the synthesis of analogues with varied substituents at N3 and/or C6 of the furo[2 Robins, M. J. and Barr, P. J. 1983. Nucleic acid related compounds. 39. Efficient conversion of 5-iodo to 5-alkynyl and derived 5-substituted uracil bases and nucleosides. J. Org. Chem, 48: 1854–1862. [CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 3 De Clercq, E., Descamps, J., Balzarini, J., Giziewicz, J., Barr, P. J. and Robins, M. J. 1983. Nucleic acid related compounds. 40. Synthesis and biological activities of 5-alkynyluracil nucleosides. J. Med. Chem, 26: 661–666. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]]pyrimidin-2-one core has been overcome with 5-(3-hydroxyalkyn-1-yl)uracil compounds with no substituent at N1. Manipulation of the side-chain hydroxyl group gives access to additional furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one analogues.     

Conformational transitions of the quercetin molecule via the rotations of its rings: a comprehensive theoretical study

Abstract

Quercetin is an important flavonoid compound, usually extracted from plants, vegetables and fruits such as blueberries, apples, green tea, wine, onions and possessing broad range of pharmacological properties, in particular, powerful antioxidant, antitoxic, antiinflammation and antimicrobial effects due to its various reactive sites. The structure of this phenolic compound consists of three (A?+?C) and B rings, bearing five hydroxyl groups. Primarily, the chemical structure of quercetin determines its physico-chemical properties. Earlier, it was established that isolated quercetin molecule can acquire 48 stable conformations (24 planar and 24 non-planar) due to the mobility of its hydroxyl groups and (A?+?C) and B rings with relative Gibbs free energies in the range of 0.0–25.3?kcal·mol^?1 under normal conditions (Brovarets’ et al., 2019c Brovarets’, O. O., & Hovorun, D. M. (2019c). Conformational diversity of the quercetin molecule: A quantum-chemical view. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2019.1645734[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In this work by quantum-mechanical calculations at the MP2/6-311++G(2df,pd)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory and Bader’s ‘Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules’, we have theoretically modeled the interconversions in the 24 pairs of the conformers of the quercetin molecule, occuring via the rotation of its non-deformable (A+С) and B rings around the С2-С1' bond through the quasi-orthogonal transition state with low values of the imaginary frequencies (28–33/29–36?cm^?1) and Gibbs free energies of activation in the range of 2.17–5.68/1.86–4.90?kcal·mol^?1 in the continuum with dielectric permittivity ε?=?1/ε?=?4 under normal conditions. Also, we studied the changes of the number of physico-chemical characteristics of all intramolecular-specific contacts – hydrogen bonds and attractive van der Waals contacts during these conformational rearrangements.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Capillary Effects on Natural Remobilization of Pools of Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid Mixtures in Porous Media

The natural remobilization of an initially static mixed dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) pool due to dissolution was demonstrated by (Roy et al. 2002 Roy, J. W., Smith, J. E. and Gillham, R. W. 2002. Natural remobilization of multicomponent DNAPL pools due to dissolution. J. Contam. Hydrol., 59: 163–186. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar], 2004 Roy, J. W., Smith, J. E. and Gillham, R. W. 2004. Laboratory evidence of natural remobilization of multicomponent DNAPL pools due to dissolution. J. Contam. Hydrol., 74: 145–161. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]) using a compositional mathematical model and laboratory experiments with open pools over a porous medium. The purposes of this study were to: a) demonstrate natural remobilization for a pool within porous media (as opposed to an open pool); and b) analyze the capillary effects associated with residual formation, a changing saturation profile, hysteresis, and aging, as these processes may reduce the potential for natural remobilization of pools in porous media. DNAPL pools comprised of tetrachloroethene and benzene were created within a zone of larger glass beads overlying smaller glass beads, in a water-saturated 2-D flow cell. In one case, remobilization occurred in the form of a DNAPL finger, after 56 days of flushing. In another case, no remobilization had occurred after 64 days of flushing, though the density increased by 430 kg m ^?3 and remobilization was predicted by the compositional model. Comparison of observations with model predictions suggest that contact angle hysteresis, related to an observed change in wettability, was the most significant contributing factor causing overprediction of the potential for natural remobilization.     

Animal-Facilitated Therapy Revisited

In Disney/Pixar's phenomenally popular animated film Finding Nemo (Stanton, 2003 Stanton, A. Writer/Director. 2003. Finding Nemo [Motion picture], United States: Pixar Animation Studios.  [Google Scholar]), one of the central themes of fish welfare was highlighted when the moorish idol, Gill, commented, “Fish aren't meant to be kept in a box, kid. It does things to you.” The notion that fish might have the capacity to suffer in captivity (Chandroo, Duncan, & Moccia, 2004a Chandroo, K. P., Duncan, I. J. H and Moccia, R. D. 2004a. Can fish suffer?: Perspectives on sentience, pain, fear and stress. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 86: 225–250. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2004b Chandroo, K. P., Duncan, I. J. H and Moccia, R. D. 2004b. An evaluation of current perspectives on consciousness and pain in fish. Fish and Fisheries, 5: 281–295. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) links to the larger question of sentiency, which remains a fundamental tenet when justifying concerns for nonhuman animal welfare (Dawkins, 2006 Dawkins, M. S. 2006. Through animal eyes: What behaviour tells us. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 100: 4–10. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Huntingford et al., 2006 Huntingford, F. A., Adams, C., Braithwaite, V. A., Kadri, S., Pottinger, T. G.Sandoe, P. 2006. Review paper: Current issues in fish welfare. Journal of Fish Biology, 68: 332–372. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Although terrestrial nonhuman-animal welfare has been discussed and explored for many years, the development of aquatic animal welfare concepts and approaches remains relatively new and beyond public awareness (Braastad, Damsgård, & Juell, 2006; Broom, 2007 Broom, D. M. 2007. Cognitive ability and sentience: Which aquatic animals should be protected?. Disease of Aquatic Organisms, 75: 99–108. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Farmed Animal Welfare Council, 1996; Fisheries Society of the British Isles, 2002; Håstein, Scarfe, & Lund, 2005; Iwama, 2007 Iwama, G. K. 2007. The welfare of fish. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 75: 155–158. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Schreck, 1981 Schreck, C. B. 1981. “Stress and compensation in teleostean fishes: Response to social and physical factors”. In Stress and fish, Edited by: Pickering, A. D. 295–321. London: Academic.  [Google Scholar]).     

Thermodynamics of Agricultural Sustainability: The Case of US Maize Agriculture

This paper considers the local, field-scale sustainability of a productive industrial maize agrosystem that has replaced a fertile grassland ecosystem.

Using the revised thermodynamic approach of Svirezhev (1998 Svirezhev, Y. M. 1998. “Thermodynamic orientors: How to use Thermodynamic concepts in ecology”. In Eco Targets, Goal Functions, and Orientors, 102–122. Berlin: Springer Verlag. [Crossref] [Google Scholar], 2000 Svirezhev, Y. M. 2000. Thermodynamics and ecology. Ecological Modelling, 132: 11–22. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]) and Steinborn and Svirezhev (2000) Steinborn, W. and Svirezhev, Y. M. 2000. Entropy as an indicator of sustainability in agro-ecosystems: North Germany case study. Ecol. Mode., 133: 247–257. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar], it is shown that currently this agrosystem is unsustainable in the U.S., with or without tilling the soil. The calculated average erosion rates of soil necessary to dissipate the entropy produced by U.S. maize agriculture, 23–45 t ha^?1 yr^?1, are bounded from above by an experimental estimate of mean soil erosion by conventional agriculture worldwide, 47 t ha^?1 yr^?1, (Montgomery, 2007 Montgomery, D. R. 2007. Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability. PNAS, 104(33): 13268–13272. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). Between 1982 and 1997, US agriculture caused an estimated 7–23 t ha^?1 yr^?1 of average erosion with the mean of 15 t ha^?1 yr^?1 (USDA-NRCS Database). The lower mean erosion rate of no till agriculture, 1.5 t ha^?1 yr^?1 (Montgomery, 2007 Montgomery, D. R. 2007. Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability. PNAS, 104(33): 13268–13272. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]), necessitates the elimination of weeds and pests with field chemicals—with the ensuing chemical and biological soil degradation, and chemical runoff—to dissipate the produced entropy. The increased use of field chemicals that replace tillers is equivalent to the killing or injuring of up to 300 kg ha^?1 yr^?1 of soil flora and fauna. Additional soil degradation, not calculated here, occurs by acidification, buildup of insoluble metal compounds, and buildup of toxic residues from field chemicals. The degree of unsustainability of an average U.S. maize field is high, requiring 6–13 times more energy to reverse soil erosion and degradation, etc., than the direct energy inputs to maize agriculture. This additional energy, if spent, would not increase maize yields. The calculated “critical yield” of “organic” maize agriculture that does not use field chemicals and fossil fuels is only 30 percent lower than the average maize yield of 8.7 tons per hectare (～140 bu/acre) assumed here. This critical yield would not likely be achieved and sustained by large monocultures, but might be achieved by more balanced organic polycultures (Baum et al., 2008 Baum, A. W., Patzek, T. W., Bender, M., Renich, S. and Jackson, W. 2008. The Visible, Sustainable Farm: A Comprehensive Energy Analysis of a Midwestern Farm 1–34. Posted at petroleum.berkeley.edu/papers/Biofuels/SSF?Report3-051408.pdf [Google Scholar]).     

New software for finding transition states by probing accessible,or ergodic,regions

An automated, iterative approach to finding the lowest energy, ionic diffusion paths through a periodic structure has been developed within our new code (written in FORTRAN 77 and named Bubble). The approach is quite general in that it can be applied to find, at a chosen temperature, the accessible (ergodic) regions of a hyper-surface, which is defined across a uniform grid [1 Schön, J.C., Putz, H. and Jansen, M. 1996. Studying the energy hypersurface of continuous system—The threshold algorithm. J. Phys.-Conden. Matt., 8: 143[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]]. We describe both our implementation within the Bubble code and its application to locating the approximate transition states for Mg interstitial diffusion in forsterite, which can then be refined using standard transition state searching [2 Banerjee, A., Adams, N., Simons, J. and Shepard, R. 1985. Search for stationary points on surfaces. J. Phys. Chem., 89: 52[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]].     

The Dangerous Myth of Emerging Adulthood: An Evidence-Based Critique of a Flawed Developmental Theory

This article examines the theory of emerging adulthood, introduced into the literature by Arnett (2000 Arnett , J. J. ( 2000 ). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties . American Psychologist , 55 , 469 – 480 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), in terms of its methodological and evidential basis, and finds it to be unsubstantiated on numerous grounds. Other, more convincing, formulations of variations in the transition to adulthood are examined. Most flawed academic theories are simply ignored by scientists. However, Arnett's unsubstantiated formulations have found their way to journalists, who are influencing public opinion, and policymakers, who are determining the fate of youth populations. As such, the article argues that an academic myth is being created that has serious economic and emotional repercussions for the many young people facing difficult circumstances in their transition to adulthood. Consequently, this myth requires corrections from the scientific community, one of which is provided here.     

Gobies are deeply divided: phylogenetic evidence from nuclear DNA (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Gobiidae)

Gobies (Gobiidae sensu Gill & Mooi, 2012 Gill, A. and Mooi, R. 2012. Thalasseleotrididae, new family of marine gobioid fishes from New Zealand and temperate Australia, with a revised definition of its sister taxon, the Gobiidae (Teleostei: Acanthomorpha). Zootaxa, 3266: 41–52.  [Google Scholar]) are one of the most diverse families of vertebrates, and comprise over 1700 species of marine, brackish and freshwater fishes. Phylogenetic studies based on morphological characters and mtDNA have suggested that goby diversity is asymmetrically split between a speciose clade of predominantly marine species, and a less rich, but ecologically diverse, clade comprising predominantly freshwater and brackish species. This study is the first to explore this deep divide in gobies and their relationships at the family level using phylogenetic data from nuclear genes (RAG1, rhodopsin). Our results confirm the split within the Gobiidae, and agree with prior molecular studies on the inclusion of the following taxa within the two goby clades: (i) the more diverse of the two clades of gobies (the ‘Gobiidae’ sensu stricto of Thacker 2009 Thacker, C. E. 2009. Phylogeny of Gobioidei and placement within Acanthomorpha, with a new classification and investigation of diversification and character evolution. Copeia, 1: 93–104. doi:10.1643/CI-08-004[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) comprises the gobiines, microdesmines, ptereleotrines and kraemeriines; (ii) the less diverse of the two gobiid clades (‘Gobionellidae’ sensu Thacker 2009 Thacker, C. E. 2009. Phylogeny of Gobioidei and placement within Acanthomorpha, with a new classification and investigation of diversification and character evolution. Copeia, 1: 93–104. doi:10.1643/CI-08-004[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) includes the gobionellines, oxudercines, amblyopines, sicydiines, as well as the European sand gobies. Some relationships within the two major gobiid clades remain unclear. Specifically, there remains confusion regarding the monophyly and interrelationships between the northern Pacific gobionellines, the Mugilogobius group gobionellines, and the European sand gobies. Additionally, within Thacker's (2009 Thacker, C. E. 2009. Phylogeny of Gobioidei and placement within Acanthomorpha, with a new classification and investigation of diversification and character evolution. Copeia, 1: 93–104. doi:10.1643/CI-08-004[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Gobiidae sensu stricto, there are several well-supported groups (e.g. the wormfishes and dartfishes, the Coral Gobies, the Gobiosomatini), yet relationships among these groups are still poorly resolved despite the use of data from two conserved nuclear genes. Future phylogenetic analyses of gobies will benefit greatly from taxon sampling that includes groups that have been historically under-represented in molecular studies (e.g. European sand gobies, northern Pacific gobionellines, African species), as well as deeper genetic sampling including large numbers of independent loci from throughout the genome (i.e. a phylogenomic approach).     

Spirodesmos milanai n. isp.: A Shallow-Water Spiral Trace Fossil from the Cambrian of the Eastern Cordillera,Northwest Argentina

Abstract

A new ichnofossiliferous locality in Salta Province (northwest Argentina) contains an association with numerous irregular spiral traces assigned to Spirodesmos milanai n. isp., in mature sandstones and quartzites with rippled bedding surfaces, rare wavy lamination and cross-bedded stratification. This record of early spiral behavior is interpreted as a primitive grazing method formed on muddy laminae above sand layers, and is related to a feeding strategy of an annelid-type of organism. Associated traces are Cruziana cf. semiplicata, Diplocraterion isp., Monocraterion isp., Rusophycus isp., Skolithos linearis Haldeman and Skolithos magnus Howell. The ichnoassemblage is similar to a shallow-water ichnoassociation from the Permian Ecca Group of South Africa (Mason et al., 1983 Mason, T. R., Stanistreet, I. G. and Tavener-Smith, R. 1983. Spiral trace fossils from the Permian Ecca Group of Zululand. Lethaia, 16: 241–247. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

Attitudes to biotechnology: Estimating the opinions of a better-informed public

Public familiarity with basic scientific concepts and principles has been proposed as essential for effective democratic decision-making (Miller, 1998 Miller, J. D. 1998. The measurement of civic scientific literacy. Public Understanding of Science, 7: 203–23. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Empirical research, however, finds that public ‘scientific literacy’ is generally low, falling well short of what normative criteria would consider ‘acceptable’. This has prompted calls to better engage, educate and inform the public on scientific matters, with the additional, usually implicit assumption that a knowledgeable citizenry should express more supportive and favourable attitudes toward science. Research investigating the notion that ‘to know science is to love it’ has provided only weak empirical support and has itself been criticised for representing science and technology as a unified and homogenous entity. In practice, it is argued, how knowledge impacts on the favourability of attitudes will depend on a multiplicity of factors, not least of which is the particular area of science in question and the technologies to which it gives rise (Evans & Durant, 1992 Evans, G. and Durant, J. 1992. The relationship between knowledge and attitudes in the public understanding of science in Britain. Public Understanding of Science, 4: 57–74.  [Google Scholar]). This article uses a new method for examining the knowledge-attitude nexus on a prominent area of 21st century science—biotechnology. The idea that greater scientific knowledge can engender change in the favourability of attitudes toward specific areas of science is investigated using data from the 2000 British Social Attitudes Survey and the 1999 Wellcome Consultative Panel on Gene Therapy. Together the surveys measure public opinion on particular applications of genetic technologies, including gene therapy and the use of genetic data, as well as more general attitudes towards genetic research. We focus our analysis on how two different measures of knowledge impact on these attitudes; one a general measure of scientific knowledge, the other relating specifically to knowledge of modern genetic science. We investigate what impact these knowledge domains have on attitudes towards biotechnology using a regression-based modelling technique (Bartels, 1996 Bartels, L. M. 1996. Uninformed votes: information effects in presidential elections. American Journal of Political Science, 40(1): 194–230. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Althaus, 1998 Althaus, S. L. 1998. Information effects in collective preferences. The American Political Science Review, 92(3): 545–58. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Sturgis, 2003 Sturgis, P. 2003. Knowledge and collective preferences: a comparison of two approaches to estimating the opinions of a better-informed public. Sociological Methods and Research, 31(4): 453–85. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Controlling for a range of socio-demographic characteristics, we provide estimates of what collective and individual opinion would look like if everyone were as knowledgeable as the currently best-informed members of the general public on the knowledge domains in question. Our findings demonstrate that scientific knowledge does appear to have an important role in determining individual and group attitudes to genetic science. However, we find no support for a simple ‘deficit model’ of public understanding, as the nature of the relationship itself depends on the application of biotechnology in question and the social location of the individual.     

Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Analyses and Phylogenetic Relationships Among Two Nigerian Goat Breeds and the South African Kalahari Red

The first hypervariable (HV1) region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of two popular Nigerian goat breeds: West African Dwarf (WAD) (n = 35) and Red Sokoto (RS) (n = 37) and one exotic breed: Kalahari Red (KR) (n = 38) imported from South Africa were sequenced to investigate sequence diversity, genetic structure, origin, and demographic history of the populations. A total of 68 polymorphic sites were found in 110 sequences that grouped into 68 haplotypes. Average haplotype and nucleotide diversities for all breeds were 0.982 ± 0.005 and 0.02350 ± 0.00213, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two mtDNA lineages (A and B). Lineage A was predominant and included all haplotypes from WAD and RS and 5 out of 11 haplotypes of KR goats. The remaining haplotypes (6 Amills M, Ramírez O, Tomàs A, et al. Mitochondrial DNA diversity and origins of South and Central American goats. Animal Genetics 2009; 40(3): 315–322.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) of KR belong to lineage B. The analysis of molecular variance revealed a high-within breed genetic variance of 82.4% and a low-between breed genetic variance of 17.6%. The three breeds clustered with Capra aegagrus as their wild ancestor. Mismatch distribution analysis showed that WAD, RS and haplogroup A have experienced population expansion events. The study has revealed very high diversity within the three breeds which are not strongly separated from each other based on mtDNA analysis. The information obtained on the genetic structure of the breeds will be useful in planning improvement and conservation programs for the local populations.     

A Life-History Model of Human Fitness Indicators

Recent adaptationist accounts of human mental and physical health have reinvigorated the debate over the evolution of human intelligence. In the tradition of strong inference the current study was developed to determine whether either Miller's (1998 Miller, G. F. 1998. “How mate choice shaped human nature: A review of sexual selection and human evolution”. In Handbook of evolutionary psychology: Ideas, issues, and applications, Edited by: Crawford, C. and Krebs, D. 87–129. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.  [Google Scholar], 2000a Miller, G. F. 2000a. Mental traits as fitness indicators: Expanding evolutionary psychology's adaptationism. Evolutionary approaches to human reproductive behavior. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 907: 62–74. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Fitness Indicator Theory or Rushton's (1985 Rushton, J. P. 1985. Differential K theory: The sociobiology of individual and group differences. Pers Indiv Diff, 6(4): 441–452. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 2000 Rushton, J. P. 2000. Race, evolution, and behavior: A life-history perspective, 3rd, Port Huron, MI: Charles Darwin Research Institute.  [Google Scholar]) Differential-K Theory better accounts for general intelligence (“g”) in an undergraduate university population (N = 192). Owing to the lengthy administration time of the test materials, a newly developed 18-item short form of the Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM-18; Sefcek, Miller, and Figueredo 2007 Sefcek, J. A., Miller, G. F. and Figueredo, A. J. 2007. “Development and of an 18-item short form of the Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM-18). (Submitted)”.  [Google Scholar]) was used. A significant, positive relationship between K and F (r = .31, p < .001) emerged. Contrary to predictions, no significant relationships were found between “g” and either K or F (r = –.09, p ≥ .05 and r = .11, p ≥ .05, respectively). Though generally contrary to both hypotheses, these results may be explained in relation to antagonistic pleiotropy and a potential failure to derive correct predictions for within-species comparisons directly from the results of between-species comparisons.     

Higher-Order Factor Invariance and Idiographic Mapping of Constructs to Observables

Theory, research, and application in developmental science share the conceptual and methodological challenges of integrating the study of the course of a person's intra-individual changes and the formulation of subgroup (differential) or nomothetic generalizations. One approach to these challenges has involved building tailored construct representations that filter out irrelevant idiosyncratic information hampering the articulation of nomothetic relations by means of individual level factor analysis (P–technique). Exploring this approach has provided initially promising results (Nesselroade, Gerstorf, Hardy, & Ram, 2007 Nesselroade , J. R. , Gerstorf , D. , Hardy , S. A. , & Ram , N. ( 2007 ). Idiographic filters for psychological constructs . Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives , 5 , 217 – 235 . doi: DOI: 10.1080/15366360701741807 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). We present a specification of an alternative to traditional factor invariance (higher-order invariance) that further formalizes these ideas and examine the results of some simulation experiments designed to evaluate the appropriateness of the implementation. The results also have implications for use in basic and applied work across the life span of between-persons variation and subgroup comparisons to establish relations among variables.     

Model for compression of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes

The new materials of carbon, solid C₆₀ and carbon nanotubes (CNT) [1 Chesnokov, S.A., Nalimova, V.A., Rinzler, A.G., Smalley, R.E. and Fischer, E. 1999. Mechanical energy storage in carbon nanotube springs. PRL, 82: 343[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar],4 V.K. Jindal, Shuchi Gupta, K. Dharamvir, Bulk and lattice properties for rigid carbon nanotubes materials. http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0008382  [Google Scholar]] are important for various technological applications. One of the reasons for their technological applications could be based upon the fact that they have a lot of empty space in their molecules as well as in their unit cells when bulk quantities of these are taken in the form of either C₆₀ solid or nanoropes. Their compressibility studies have revealed extremely interesting results showing tremendous reversible compression which has aroused curiosity and interest. CNT have been found to be compressible reversibly up to about 65% of their original volume when subjected to pressures of about 20 kbar. This enormous volume compression in such materials under moderate pressures is conceived to be of great significance for understanding and interpreting the mechanism based on molecular level understanding related to shock compression in these materials.

We undertake a model study accounting for unit cell deformations by applying pressures up to 3 Gpa and develop a pressure compression relation. We use the anharmonicity of the intermolecular potential energy to calculate Gruneisen parameters and the temperature increase due to an adiabatic pressure application. This work uses some components calculated from a rigid molecule model, whereas others are taken from experimental pressure compression data.     

Teaching Bernoulli's Principle through Demonstrations

ABSTRACT

One proven strategy to help students make sense of abstract concepts is to sequence instruction so students have exploratory opportunities to investigate science before being introduced to new science explanations (Abraham and Renner 1986 Abraham, M. R. and Renner, J. W. 1986. The sequence of learning cycle activities in high school chemistry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 23: 121–143. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Renner, Abraham, and Birnie 1988 Renner, J. W., Abraham, M. R. and Birnie, H. H. 1988. The necessity of each phase of the learning cycle in teaching high school physics. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 25: 39–58. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). To help physical science teachers make sense of how to effectively sequence lessons, this article summarizes our experiences using an exploration–explanation sequence of instruction to teach Bernoulli's principle to prospective middle and secondary science teachers in a science methods course. We use demonstrations during our Bernoulli unit to help students go back and forth between their observations of phenomenon and what occurs on the microscopic level with what we have termed molecular talk. Students engage in guiding questions, consider their old and new understandings of science, and use evidence to construct new ideas during all stages of the lesson.