Sampling Plan Optimization: A Data Review and Sampling Frequency Evaluation Process

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) uses a cost-effective sampling (CES) methodology to evaluate and review ground water contaminant data and optimize the site's ground water monitoring plan. The CES methodology is part of LLNL's regulatory approved compliance monitoring plan (Lamarre et al., 1996 Lamarre, A. L., Nichols, E. M., Berg, L. L., Dresen, M. D., Gelinas, R. J., Bainer, R. W. and Folsom, E. N. 1996. Compliance monitoring plan for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Livermore Site UCRL-AR-120936 [Google Scholar]). It allows LLNL to adjust the ground water sampling plan every quarter in response to changing conditions at the site. Since the use of the CES methodology has been approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies, such adjustments do not need additional regulatory approval. This permits LLNL to respond more quickly to changing conditions. The CES methodology bases the sampling frequency for each location on trend, variability, and magnitude statistics describing the contaminants at that location, and on the input of the technical staff (hydrologists, chemists, statisticians, and project leaders). After initial setup is complete, each application of CES takes only a few days for as many as 400 wells. Effective use of the CES methodology requires sufficient data, an understanding of contaminant transport at the site, and an adequate number of monitoring wells downgradient of the contamination. The initial implementation of CES at LLNL in 1992 produced a 40% reduction in the required number of annual routine ground water samples at LLNL. This has saved LLNL $390,000 annually in sampling, analysis, and data management costs.     

Salmonella Typhimurium methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) prefers TrxA in repairing methionine sulfoxide

Intraphagocytic survival of Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) depends (at least in part) upon its ability to repair oxidant-damaged macromolecules. Met residues either free or in protein bound form are highly susceptible to phagocyte-generated oxidants. Oxidation of Mets leads to Met-SO formation, consequently loss of protein functions that results in cell death. Methionine sulfoxide reductase (Msr) reductively repairs Met-SO to Met in the presence of thioredoxin (trx) and thioredoxin reductase (trxR). Earlier we reported that methionine sulfoxide reductase A (msrA) gene deletion strain of ST suffered oxidative stress.^[1 Trivedi, R.N.; Agarwal, P.; Kumawat, M.; Pesingi, P.K.; Gupta, V.K.; Goswami, T.K.; Mahawar, M. Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase A (MsrA) Contributes to Salmonella Typhimurium Survival Against Oxidative Attack of Neutrophils. Immunobiology 2015, 220(12), 1322–1327.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]^] Thioredoxin system of ST comprises of two thioredoxins (trxA and trxC) and one thioredoxin reductase (trxB). Preferred trx utilized in MsrA-mediated repair of Met-SO is not known. In current study, we cloned, expressed, and purified ST TrxA, TrxB, TrxC, and MsrA in recombinant forms. The migration of TrxA, TrxB, TrxC, and MsrA proteins was approximately 10, 36, 16, and 26?kDa on SDS-gels. The nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH)-linked reductase assays interpreted that MsrA utilized two times more NADPH for the reduction of S-methyl p-tolyl sulfoxide when TrxA was included in the assays as compared to TrxC.     

Buried Tracks: Ichnological Applications of High-Frequency Georadar

Recognition and sampling of traces in unconsolidated sands present a major challenge for ichnologists. This can be partially remedied through the application of high-resolution geophysical techniques, such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR or georadar), which uses electromagnetic impulse for continuous imaging of shallow subsurface. It addition to geological applications, GPR imaging has been used in several studies focused on animal traces as related to conservation of endangered fossorial species (Kinlaw et al., 2007 Kinlaw, A. E., Conyers, L. B. and Zajac, W. 2007. Use of ground penetrating radar to image burrows of the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Herpetological Review, 38: 50–56.  [Google Scholar]; Martin et al., 2011 Martin, A. J., Skaggs, S. A., Vance, R. K. and Greco, V. 2011. Ground-penetrating radar investigation of gopher-tortoise burrows: Refining the characterization of modern vertebrate burrows and associated commensal traces. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 43: 381 [Google Scholar]), slope and levee stability (Nichol et al., 2003 Nichol, D., Lenham, J. W. and Reynolds, J. M. 2003. Application of ground-penetrating radar to investigate the effects of badger setts on slope stability at St. Asaph Bypass, North Wales. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 36: 143–153.  [Google Scholar]; Di Prinzio et al., 2010 Di Prinzio, M, Bittelli, M., Castellarin, A. and Pisa, P. R. 2010. Application of GPR to the monitoring of river embankments. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 7: 53–61.  [Google Scholar]), and mapping of fossil tracks (Matthews et al., 2006 Matthews, N. A., Noble, T. A. and Breithaupt, B. H. 2006. “The application of photogrammetry, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to fossil resource management”. In Fossils from Federal Lands, Edited by: Lucas, S. G., Spielmann, J. A., Hester, P. M., Kenworthy, J. P. and Santucci, V. L. Vol. 34, 119–131. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin.  [Google Scholar]; Aucoin and Hasbargen, 2010 Aucoin, C. D. and Hasbargen, L. 2010. Using GPR, GPS and close-range photography to map and characterize dinosaur tracks in the Connecticut River valley. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 42: 276 [Google Scholar]) and tracking surfaces (Webb, 2007 Webb, S. 2007. Further research of the Willandra Lakes fossil footprint site, southeastern Australia. Journal of Human Evolution, 52: 711–715. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Few efforts have been dedicated specifically to characterizing burrow and track characteristics (Stott, 1996 Stott, P. 1996. Ground-penetrating radar: a technique for investigating the burrow structure of fossorial vertebrates. Wildlife Research, 22: 519–530.  [Google Scholar]; Sensors & Software Inc., 2010 [compilation on geophysical projects related to animal burrows]; Buynevich and Hasiotis, 2011; Buynevich et al., 2011; Martin et al., 2011) and most of the above studies are published in journals not routinely accessed by ichnologists.     

EFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF FUSED ISOTHIAZOLO C-NUCLEOSIDES. III. SYNTHESIS OF 7-SUBSTITUTED ISOTHIAZOLO[4,5-d]PYRIMIDINE C-NUCLEOSIDES*

The Divakar-Reese procedure has been successfully applied for transforming 7-oxo-isothiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidine C-nucleosides (4a,b, 5a,b, 6a) via 1,2,4-triazol-1-yl intermediates (7a,b, 8a,b) into various 7-substituted C-nucle- osides 15a,b, 16a,b, 17a, 18a, 19a,b, 20a,b; their subsequent deprotection provides novel types of unusual C-glycosides 22b, 23a, 24a,b, 25b, 26b.

C-Nucleosides, possessing on its heterocyclic base other than naturally occuring oxo- or amino substituents, are important model compounds for biological or medicinal studies [2a] Hanessian, S. and Pernet, A. G. 1976. Adv. Carbohydr. Chem. Biochem., 32: 111–188. cf. [Google Scholar], [2b] Mizuno, Y. 1986. The Organic Chemistry of Nucleic Acids Amsterdam: Elsevier.  [Google Scholar], [2c] Huryn, D. M. and Okabe, M. 1992. Chem. Rev., 92: 1745–1768. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], [2d] Häbich, D. 1991. Chem. in uns. Zeit, 25: 295–307.  [Google Scholar], [2e] Uhlmann, E. and Peyman, A. 1990. Chem. Rev., 90: 543–584. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], [2f] Thuong, N. T. and Helene, C. 1993. Angew. Chem., 105: 697–723. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], [2g] 1993. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 33: 666–690.  [Google Scholar], [2h] Yarchoan, R., Mitsuya, H., Zhomas, R. V., Pluda, J. M., Hartman, N. R., Perno, C. F., Marczyk, K. S., Allain, J. P., Johns, D. G. and Broder, S. 1989. Science, 245: 412–414. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], [2i] Tanaka, H., Baba, M., Hayakawa, H., Sakamaki, T., Miyasaka, T., Ubasawa, M., Takashima, H., Sekiya, E., Nitta, I., Shigeta, S., Walker, R. T., Balzarini, J. and De Clerq, E. 1991. J. Med. Chem., 34: 349–357. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] [3a] Koyama, G., Maeda, K., Umezawa, H. and Iitaka, Y. 1966. Tetrahedron Lett., : 597–602. Some C-glycosides with antibiotic, antiviral (HIV), and anticancer activities [Google Scholar], [3b] Hori, M., Wakashiro, T., Ito, E., Sawa, T., Takeuchi, T. and Umezawa, H. J. 1968. J. Antibiot., 21A: 264–270. [Chem. Abstr. 1968, 69, 11356j] [Google Scholar], [3c] Farkas, J. and ?orm. 1972. F. Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun., 37: 2798–2803.  [Google Scholar], [3d] Acton, E. M., Ryan, K. J., Henry, D. W. and Goodman, L. 1971. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., : 986–988.  [Google Scholar], [3e] Nakagawa, Y., Kano, H., Tsukuda, Y. and Koyama, H. 1967. Tetrahedron Lett., : 4105–4109.  [Google Scholar], [3f] Inoue, I. and Kuwaijama, I. 1980. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., : 251–253.  [Google Scholar], [3g] Buchanan, J. G., Stobie, A. and Wightman, R. H. 1980. ibid., : 916–917. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], [3h] Hildebrand, S. and Leumann, C. 1996. Angew. Chem., 108: 2100–2102. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1996, 35, 1968–1970 [Google Scholar]. We want to report on the synthesis of novel 7-substituted isothiazolo = [4,5-d]pyrimidine C-nucleosides. As we could show in previous papers [1] Wamhoff, H., Berressem, R. and Nieger, M. 1994. J. Org. Chem., 59: 1912–1917. Part 2 [Google Scholar], [4] Wamhoff, H., Berressem, R. and Nieger. 1993. M. J. Org. Chem., 58: 5181–5185.  [Google Scholar], there exists a simple approach to the protected C-glycosides 4–6.

     

175 Structure-based engineering to generate high-affinity immunotherapy for the drug of abuse

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse is a major threat in the USA and worldwide without any FDA approved medications. Anti-METH antibody antagonists block or slow the rate of METH entry into the brain and have shown efficacy in preclinical studies (Peterson, Laurenzana, Atchley, Hendrickson, & Owens, 2008 Peterson, E. C., Laurenzana, E. M., Atchley, W. T., Hendrickson, H. P. and Owens, S. M. 2008. Development and preclinical testing of a high-affinity single-chain antibody against (+)-methamphetamine. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 08: 124–133.  [Google Scholar]).?A key determinant of the antibody’s efficacy is its affinity for METH and we attempted to enhance the efficacy by designing mutations to alter the shape or the electrostatic character of the binding pocket. Towards this goal, we developed a single chain anti-METH antibody fragment (scFv6H4) from a parent IgG (1). The crystal structure of scFv-6H4 in complex with METH was determined (Celikel, Peterson, Owens, & Varughese, 2009 Celikel, R., Peterson, E. C., Owens, S. M. and Varughese, K. I. 2009. Crystal structures of a therapeutic single chain antibody in complex with two drugs of abuse-Methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Protein Science, 09: 2336–2345.  [Google Scholar]). Based on its elucidated binding interactions, we designed point mutations in the binding pocket to improve its affinity for METH and amphetamine (AMP), the active metabolite of METH. The mutants, scFv-S93T,-I37?M and -Y34?M were cloned, expressed in yeast and tested for affinity against METH and AMP. Two mutants showed enhanced binding affinity for METH: scFv-I37?M by 1.3-fold and scFv-S93T by 2.6-fold. Additionally, all the mutants showed increase in affinity for AMP: scFv-I37?M by 56-fold, scFv-S93T by 17-fold and scFvY34?M by 5-fold. Crystal structure for one of the high-affinity mutant, scFv-S93T, in complex with METH was determined (Figure 1). Binding pocket of the mutant is more hydrophobic in comparison with the wild type. ScFv-6H4 binds METH in a deep pocket containing two water molecules. The substitution of a serine residue by a threonine leads to the expulsion of a water molecule (Figure 2), relieving some unfavorable contacts between the hydrocarbon atoms of METH and the water molecule and increasing the affinity to sub-nanomolar range. Therefore, the present study shows that efficacy could be enhanced by altering the hydrophobicity or the shape of the binding pocket.     

Nucleoside dimers analogs containing floxuridine and thymidine with unnatural linker groups: synthesis and cancer line studies. Part III

Abstract

Two series of novel fluorinated nucleosides dimers with an unnatural 1,2,3-triazole linkage were synthesized. The obtained molecules were prepared using “click” chemistry approach based on copper(I) catalyzed Huisgen azide–alkyne cycloaddition. It was performed between 3′- and 5′-azido-nucleosides as the azide components, and the 3′-O- and 5′-O-propargyl-nucleosides as the alkyne components. Based on analysis of the ³ Brunton, L. L.; Lazo, J. S.; Parker, K. L. (Eds.), Goodman & Gilman’s the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill, Medical Publishing Division: New York, NY, 2006. [Google Scholar]J_HH, ³ Brunton, L. L.; Lazo, J. S.; Parker, K. L. (Eds.), Goodman & Gilman’s the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill, Medical Publishing Division: New York, NY, 2006. [Google Scholar]J_H1′C2 and ³ Brunton, L. L.; Lazo, J. S.; Parker, K. L. (Eds.), Goodman & Gilman’s the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill, Medical Publishing Division: New York, NY, 2006. [Google Scholar]J_H1′C6 we estimated conformational preferences of sugar part and orientation around glycosidic bond. All described nucleosides dimers analogs were characterized by spectroscopic methods and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity in three human cancer cell lines: cervical (HeLa), oral (KB) and breast (MCF-7).     

Redefinition of the hypotrichous ciliate Uncinata,with descriptions of the morphology and phylogeny of three urostylids (Protista,Ciliophora)

We investigated the morphology, morphogenesis and small subunit rRNA gene-based phylogeny of three marine urostylids, Uncinata gigantea Bullington, 1940 Bullington, W. E. (1940). Some ciliates from Tortugas. Papers from the Tortugas Laboratory, 32, 179–221. [Google Scholar], Holosticha heterofoissneri Hu & Song, 2001 Hu, X., & Song, W. (2001). Morphology and morphogenesis of Holosticha heterofoissneri n. sp. from the Yellow Sea, China (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida). Hydrobiologia, 448, 171–179. doi:10.1023/A:1017553406031.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], and Holosticha cf. heterofoissneri. The dorsal morphogenesis of Uncinata gigantea shows de novo formation of two groups of anlagen near the marginal rows. Holosticha cf. heterofoissneri demonstrates fragmentation of the first dorsal kinety anlage as in Holosticha heterofoissneri. Our population of H. heterofoissneri corresponds well with previously described populations in terms of its general morphology and ciliary pattern. Uncinata gigantea can be recognized by its large and highly contractile body, yellowish to brownish cell colour, two types of cortical granules, and 20–30 transversely oriented and densely arranged cirri in the left marginal row, which often overlie the buccal vertex. Based on the new data, especially infraciliature, the genus Uncinata is here redefined. Both the morphology and phylogenetic analyses suggest that the genus Uncinata should be classified within the family Urostylidae. In addition, both morphological and morphogenetic data suggest that Holosticha bradburyae Gong et al., 2001 Gong, J., Song, W., Hu, X., Ma, H., & Zhu, M. (2001). Morphology and infraciliature of Holosticha bradburyae n. sp. (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida) from the Yellow Sea, China. Hydrobiologia, 464, 63–69. doi:10.1023/A:1013901621439.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] should be transferred to Uncinata as U. bradburyae (Gong et al., 2001 Gong, J., Song, W., Hu, X., Ma, H., & Zhu, M. (2001). Morphology and infraciliature of Holosticha bradburyae n. sp. (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida) from the Yellow Sea, China. Hydrobiologia, 464, 63–69. doi:10.1023/A:1013901621439.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) comb. nov., due to its possession of a characteristically prominent beak-like, leftwards curved projection and the developmental mode of the dorsal kineties. This assignment is supported by the phylogenetic analyses, which placed Uncinata gigantea in a clade with U. bradburyae (Gong et al., 2001 Gong, J., Song, W., Hu, X., Ma, H., & Zhu, M. (2001). Morphology and infraciliature of Holosticha bradburyae n. sp. (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida) from the Yellow Sea, China. Hydrobiologia, 464, 63–69. doi:10.1023/A:1013901621439.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) comb. nov., and revealed only 1.13% (19 bp) difference in their SSU-rDNA gene sequence.     

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]).     

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.     

The genus Antillophos Woodring, 1928 (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) from the China seas,with description of a new species

The species of genus Antillophos Woodring, 1928 Woodring, W.P. (1928) Miocene Mollusks from Bowden, Jamaica. 2. Gastropods and Discussion of Results. Contributions to the Geology and Paleontology of the West Indies. Carnegie Institute of Washington, Washington D.C. [Google Scholar] from the China seas are studied. Six species, Antillophos liui n. sp., Antillophos lucubratonis Fraussen & Poppe, 2005 Fraussen, K. & Poppe, G.T. (2005) Revision of Phos and Antillophos (Buccinidae) from the Central Philippines. Visaya 1, 76–115. [Google Scholar], Antillophos monsecourorum Fraussen & Poppe, 2005 Fraussen, K. & Poppe, G.T. (2005) Revision of Phos and Antillophos (Buccinidae) from the Central Philippines. Visaya 1, 76–115. [Google Scholar], Antillophos pyladeum (Kato, 1995 Kato, S. (1995) Discussion of the genus Phos. Hitaciobi 70, 15–20. [Google Scholar]), Antillophos roseatus (Hinds, 1844 Hinds, R.B. (1844) Mollusca. In: Hinds, R.B. (Ed.) The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur During the years 1836–1842. 2. Smith, Elder and Co., London, pp. 1–72. [Google Scholar]) and Antillophos sp., are described and illustrated.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:51481997-A841-4F37-8E15-B753DC99CB4D     

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.     

Small Amphibian and Reptile Footprints from the Permian Carapacha Basin,Argentina

This paper contains a taxonomic study of the Permian tetrapod ichnofauna from the Carapacha Basin. Tetrapod traces are analyzed in their environmental context and compared with similar faunas from Europe and North America. This ichnofauna is particularly relevant because of the scarcity of Permian tetrapod tracks from South America and also of Permian tetrapod fossils from Argentina. Ephemeral fluvial and shallow lacustrine deposits compose the sedimentary succession of the basin, which is represented by the Carapacha Formation. Most of the tracks have been collected from the upper member of the formation (Urre-Lauquen Member), mainly from freshwater ephemeral lake deposits as well as from playa-lake mudflats. The deposits of this member have been attributed to the early Late Permian on the basis of a Glossopteris fossil flora. Ichnotaxonomic designations of tetrapod traces are made on the basis of morphologic features that reflect the anatomy of the producer and special attention has been paid to extramorphologic deformations observed in the track assemblage. A total of four footprint ichnotaxa have been recognized, namely Batrachichnus salamandroides (Geinitz, 1861 Geinitz, H. B. 1861. Dyas oder die Zechsteinformation und das Rhotliegende—Die animalischen Überreste der Dyas, 130 ppLeipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann.  [Google Scholar]), Hyloidichnus bifurcatus Gilmore, 1927 Gilmore, C. W. 1927. Fossil footprints from the Grand Canyon: second contribution. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, 80(3): 1–78.  [Google Scholar], cf. Amphisauropus isp. and cf. Varanopus isp. These track taxa are associated with two forms of vertebrate swimming traces (Characichnos isp. and type A swimming trace) and a possible fish trail. Invertebrate trace fossils include abundant arthropod locomotion traces and Scoyenia isp. The ichnofauna is composed of six tetrapod ichnocoenoses that are dominated by tiny amphibian tracks attributed to Temnospondyli (Batrachichnus and type A swimming trace) and Seymouriamorpha (Amphisauropus), and also contain the footprints of small reptiles, mostly Captorhinomorpha and possibly Pelycosauria (Hyloidichnus and Varanopus). Even if the ichnofauna of the Carapacha Basin is slightly younger than typical examples from the literature of the Early Permian “red bed ichnofacies” (Hunt et al., 1995b Hunt, A. P., Lucas, S. G., Lockley, M. G., Haubold, H. and Braddy, S. 1995b. Tetrapod ichnofacies in Early Permian red beds of the American Southwest. Bulletin New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 6: 295–301. Early Permian footprint facies [Google Scholar]), a comparison is made. However, further detailed case studies are needed to formally define this “red bed ichnofacies” and its prospective subdivisions.     

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]].     

Two reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA lineages elucidate the taxonomic status of Mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella)

Mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) rank among the most critically endangered mammals on the Arabian Peninsula. Past conservation efforts have been plagued by confusion about the phylogenetic relationship among various ‘phenotypically discernable’ populations, and even the question of species boundaries was far from being certain. This lack of knowledge has had a direct impact on conservation measures, especially ex situ breeding programmes, hampering the assignment of captive stocks to potential conservation units. Here, we provide a phylogenetic framework, based on the analysis of mtDNA sequences (360 bp cytochrome b and 213 bp Control Region) of 126 individuals collected from the wild throughout the Arabian Peninsula and from captive stocks. Our analyses revealed two reciprocally monophyletic genetic lineages within the presumed species Gazella gazella: one ‘northern clade’ on the Golan Heights (Israel/Syrian border) and one genetically diverse larger clade from the rest of the Arabian Peninsula including the Arava Valley (Negev, Israel). Applying the Strict Phylogenetic Species Concept (sensu Mishler & Theriot, 2000 Mishler, B. D. and Theriot, E. C. 2000. “The phylogenetic species concept (sensu Mishler and Theriot): monophyly, apomorphy, and phylogenetic species concepts”. In Species Concepts and Phylogenetic Theory. A Debate, Edited by: Wheeler, Q. D. and Meier, R. 44–54. Columbia University Press, NY.  [Google Scholar]) allows assigning species status to these two major clades.     

Early Oligocene Mammal Tracks from Southeastern France

Two new sites with mammalian footprints in the early Oligocene of southeastern France are described here. They represent one of the best preserved and more numerous record of tracks and trackways in the world with more than 320 ichnites. Many of those are arranged in trackways and sometimes show pes-manus impressions, a quite rare feature in mammalian ichnology. The ichnotaxonomic study indicates the presence of perissodactyls tracks referred to as Rhinoceripeda voconcense (Demathieu et al., 1984 Demathieu, G., Ginsburg, L., Guérin, C. and Truc, G. 1984. Etude paléontologique, ichnologique et paléoécologique du gisement oligocène de Saignon (bassin d’Apt, Vaucluse). Bulletin du Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 6: 153–183.  [Google Scholar]), artiodactyls footprints referred to as Megapecoripeda velox (Demathieu et al., 1984 Demathieu, G., Ginsburg, L., Guérin, C. and Truc, G. 1984. Etude paléontologique, ichnologique et paléoécologique du gisement oligocène de Saignon (bassin d’Apt, Vaucluse). Bulletin du Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 6: 153–183.  [Google Scholar]) and a carnivore footprint referred to as Bestiopeda sp. Vialov (1966) Vialov, O. S. 1966. Sledy zhiznedeyatelnosti organizmow i ikh paleontologicheskoe znachenie. Naukova Dumka, : 219 (in Russian) [Google Scholar]. They can be attributed to early Rhinocerotids, Lophiomerycids and/or Entelodonts and Mustelid-like carnivore, respectively. This study also aims at homogenizing the ichnotaxonomy used for mammal tracks where several genera were erected without a full review of the literature. All this taken together reveals a rich mammalian ichnofauna at a time period when no other fossils of mammals are known in the area and represents a good opportunity to provide state-of-the-art concerning the worldwide known sites that yielded mammalian footprints.     

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.     

New Important Iguanodontid and Theropod Trackways of the Tracksite Obernkirchen in the Berriasian of NW Germany and Megatracksite Concept of Central Europe

This article examines the high-resolution track horizon stratigraphy at the outcrop Obernkirchen. Massive sandstones, products of marine sand bar and fluviatile environments are present at the tracksite. Recently two track beds were examined in the outcrop. One new track slab of the lower track bed is described exposing well-preserved quadrupedal iguanodontid tracktypes of Iguanodontipus Sarjeant, Delair, and Lockley, 1998 Sarjeant, W. A. S., Delair, J. B. and Lockley, M. G. 1998. The footprints of Iguanodon: a history and taxonomic study. Ichnos, 6: 183–202. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], and bipedal theropod tracks Megalosauropus Kaever and Lapparent, 1974 Kaever, M. and Lapparent, A. F. de. 1974. Les traces des pas le Dinosaures du Jurassique des Barkhausen (Basse Saxe, Allemagne). Bulletin de la Societé Geologique Français, 16: 516–525.  [Google Scholar]. The ichnogenus Iguanodontipus is discussed and the diagnosis extended. The tracksite Obernkirchen belongs to a megatracksite of the ancient coastline of the marginal marine Hercynic Basin of the Lower Cretaceous of Europe, including the four well-known sites Obernkirchen, Bad Rehburg, Münchehagen, and Bückeburg of Northwest Germany. Three different tracktypes of huge sauropods, theropods, and ornithopods are abundant at basal Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic coastlines in different regions in Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, and Switzerland. Dinosaur tracks are also present in carbonate platform environments of northern Italy and Istria.     

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.