An associated partial skeleton of Jainosaurus cf. septentrionalis (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Chhota Simla,Central India

Abstract: The Cretaceous dinosaur fauna of Indo‐Pakistan has remained poorly understood because of a lack of associated and articulated remains, proliferation of named species, and an incomplete understanding of the dinosaur clades present (e.g. abelisaurid theropods; titanosaur sauropods). Continued work on existing collections, and new discoveries of dinosaur material from India, Pakistan and elsewhere in Gondwana, has begun to resolve the composition and affinities of Indo‐Pakistani dinosaurs. Here, we provide archival evidence that documents associations between postcranial remains of a sauropod collected from Chhota Simla, India by C. A. Matley in the 1930s and later described as ‘Titanosaurus sp.’ This partial skeleton, which represents only the fifth such documented association from Indo‐Pakistan, is referable to Jainosaurus cf. septentrionalis and provides a fuller understanding of its anatomy and phylogenetic affinities.     

Electroantennogram and flight orientation response of Cotesia plutellae to hexane extract of cruciferous host plants and larvae of Plutella xylostella

The braconid wasp Cotesia plutellae is an important larval parasitoid of the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella, which a major pest of crucifers in the tropics and subtropics. The peripheral olfactory responses of antennal chemoreceptors of C. plutellae to various cruciferous host plants of DBM and host larval body (cuticle) extracts were examined by electroantennogram (EAG) detection and the behavioral response to a concentration of 1% was analyzed in a Y‐tube olfactometer. Females of C. plutellae exhibited dose‐dependant EAG response for all the extracts tested. Antennal stimulation with 0.1 and 1% concentrations elicited stronger EAG responses than lower concentrations for all the extracts. Host plant extracts were more stimulatory to virgin females, while gravid females exhibited increased antennal sensitivity to host larval body extract odors. In the flight orientation studies, virgin females exhibited increased orientation toward host plant extracts, while gravid females oriented more toward host larval body odors. The EAG response profile and the corresponding orientation behavior revealed a differential preference by the parasitoid wasp to host plant and host‐related cues. Mustard and cauliflower extracts were more attractive to females than other extracts. The possible behavioral manipulation of this specialist parasitoid using these extracts for effective biological control of diamondback moth is discussed.     

Thermal requirements for seed germination in Miscanthus compared with Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinaceae), Maize (Zea mays) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)

The high establishment costs of Miscanthus by clonal propagation are a barrier to widespread deployment. Direct sowing is the cheapest method, but limited field trials have given generally poor results. Miscanthus, a perennial grass with C₄ photosynthesis has tropical origins, but is found growing both at high latitudes (>40°) and altitudes (>1000 m) in Asia. In this paper, we investigate if significant variation in the thermal requirements for germination exist in 10 Miscanthus sinensis half‐sib families and compare these with Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass – Trailblazer), Phalaris arundinaceae (Reed canary grass – P10) and Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass cv AberDart) and maize (Zea mays cv Aviso). The comparisons were made on a thermal gradient bar with a controlled temperature oscillating ± 5 °C on a 12 h cycle and germination was monitored daily for 35 days at mean temperatures ranging from 5.3 to 26.5 °C. Base temperatures were calculated below which germination of at least 50% of viable seeds ceased. Base temperatures were lowest for L. perenne and Zea mays at 3.4 and 4.5 °C respectively; for different Miscanthus half‐sib families base temperatures ranged between 9.7 and 11.6 °C and these were higher than maize and switchgrass which share C₄ photosynthesis with Miscanthus. Parameters derived from germination and temperature were used to predict germination patterns in Europe based on historical climate data. We predict that seed establishment of Miscanthus in spring time is unlikely to be viable in Northern Europe under present climatic conditions without crop management practices aimed at raising soil temperature, and that useful variation in thermal requirement for germination in Miscanthus is available which should facilitate seed germination in other regions.     

Excretion of multiple urinary biomarkers for radical induced damage in rats treated with three different nephrotoxic compounds

In the present study the urinary excretion of seven aldehydes, acetone and coproporphyrin III as non-invasive in vivo biomarkers of free radical damage was measured in rats after treatment with three nephrotoxic compounds: cisplatin, mercuric chloride (HgCl2) and N -acetyl- S -(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl)-L-cysteine (TFE-Nac). A clear difference between the different nephrotoxic compounds was found in the time interval between dosage and maximal toxicity, as measured by clinical chemical parameters in urine. In rats treated with TFE-Nac and HgCl2 this was fast: 12 h and 24 h after treatment, respectively. In the rats treated with cisplatin, however, nephrotoxicity occurred later: 96 h-108 h after treatment. Urinary creatinine excretion was decreased in all treatments. Therefore, the excretion of the proposed biomarkers was expressed as amount excreted per 12 h urine fraction as well as amount excreted per mol creatinine in each 12 h urine fraction. Urinary excretion of coproporphyrin III was decreased in almost all 12 h urine fractions with all treatments, however, when expressed per mol creatinine, increases were found in urine of rats treated with cisplatin and HgCl2. In cisplatin-treated rats an increase was found in the excretion of formaldehyde per 12 h, but acetaldehyde, propanal and MDA levels were decreased. Expressed per mol creatinine, MDA levels were decreased, but other aldehydes were increased. In HgCl2-treated rats urinary aldehyde excretion expressed per mol creatinine was increased. In TFE-Nac treated animals the urinary levels of acetaldehyde per 12 h were increased and per mol creatinine the levels of some aldehydes were only slightly increased. With none of the treatments did the increase in the biomarkers expressed per mol creatinine exceed the decrease in creatinine excretion. Similar time intervals were found between dosage and maximal excretion of biomarkers as for the time intervals between dosage and maximal toxicity. With all treatments significant increases in the excretion of acetone were found both per 12 h and per mol creatinine, probably related to the increased glucose excretion. It was concluded that no convincing evidence for free radical damage was found in the present study with the employed biomarkers.     

21st century climate change threatens mountain flora unequally across Europe

Continental‐scale assessments of 21st century global impacts of climate change on biodiversity have forecasted range contractions for many species. These coarse resolution studies are, however, of limited relevance for projecting risks to biodiversity in mountain systems, where pronounced microclimatic variation could allow species to persist locally, and are ill‐suited for assessment of species‐specific threat in particular regions. Here, we assess the impacts of climate change on 2632 plant species across all major European mountain ranges, using high‐resolution (ca. 100 m) species samples and data expressing four future climate scenarios. Projected habitat loss is greater for species distributed at higher elevations; depending on the climate scenario, we find 36–55% of alpine species, 31–51% of subalpine species and 19–46% of montane species lose more than 80% of their suitable habitat by 2070–2100. While our high‐resolution analyses consistently indicate marked levels of threat to cold‐adapted mountain florae across Europe, they also reveal unequal distribution of this threat across the various mountain ranges. Impacts on florae from regions projected to undergo increased warming accompanied by decreased precipitation, such as the Pyrenees and the Eastern Austrian Alps, will likely be greater than on florae in regions where the increase in temperature is less pronounced and rainfall increases concomitantly, such as in the Norwegian Scandes and the Scottish Highlands. This suggests that change in precipitation, not only warming, plays an important role in determining the potential impacts of climate change on vegetation.     

Impacts of drought and predicted effects of climate change on fish growth in temperate Australian lakes

Climate change is expected to negatively impact many freshwater environments due to reductions in stream‐flow and increases in temperature. These conditions, however, can already be found today in areas experiencing significant drought; current observations of species' responses to droughts can be used to make predictions about their future responses to climate change. Using otolith analysis, we recreated golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) growth chronologies from two temperate lake populations in southeastern Australia over a 15‐year period pre‐ and during a supraseasonal drought. We related interannual growth variation to landscape‐scale changes in temperature and hydrological regimes: fish growth declined as water levels in the lakes dropped during the drought, but this effect was offset by increased growth in warmer years. We hypothesize that golden perch are responding to fluctuations in food availability and intraspecific competition related to water level and to an optimization of physiological growth conditions related to increases in growing season length. Based on our analyses, we made predictions of future growth under a number of climate change scenarios that incorporate forecast deviations in stream‐flows and air temperature. Despite climatic models predicting significant declines in future water availability, fish growth may increase due to a disproportionate lengthening of the growing season. As the two lakes are at the limit of the southerly range of golden perch, our results are consistent with previous findings of climate‐change driven latitudinal range shifts in a poleward direction. We discuss assumptions concerning the constancy of ecological interactions into the future that warrant further study. Our research provides a novel application of biochronological analysis that could be used elsewhere to further our knowledge of species responses to changing environments.     

An improved method using densitometry for evaluating severity of laser photocoagulation induced CNV

Laser photocoagulation induced choroidal neovascularization currently is the most effective model available for the study of this disease in terms of efficacy of new drugs and therapies. Previously, evaluating the extent of choroidal neovascularization using this model was time- consuming and required the use of experienced personnel. We describe a new method for simple and rapid evaluation of laser induced choroidal neovascularization using densitometry. Fluorescein angiograms of a laser photocoagulated rat eye were scanned into a computer. Densitometry software subsequently was used to calculate the severity of the laser lesions. The densitometry method proved effective for calculating the extent of laser induced choroidal neovascularization. In addition, this method was more rapid than visual evaluations and less likely to produce errors.     

Elevated concentrations of CO2 may double methane emissions from mires

The potential impact of an increase in methane emissions from natural wetlands on climate change models could be very large. We report a profound increase in methane emissions from cores of mire peat and vegetation as a direct result of increasing the CO₂ concentration from 355 to 550 μol mol^?1 (a 60% increase). Increased CH₄ fluxes were observed throughout the four month period of study. Seasonal variation in CH₄ flux, consistent with that seen in the field, was observed under both ambient and elevated CO₂. Under ambient CO₂, methane fluxes rose from 0.02 μol m_-2 s^?1 in May to 0.11 μol m^?2 s^?3 in July before declining again in August. Under elevated CO₂ methane fluxes were at least 100% greater throughout the experiment, rising from 0.05 μol m_-2 s^?1 in May to a peak of 0.27 μol m^?2 s^?1 in July. The stimulation of CO₄ emissions was accompanied by a 100% increase in rates of photosynthesis from 4.6 (± 0.3) under ambient CO₂ to 9.3 (± 0.7) μol m^?2 s^?1. Root and shoot biomass were unaffected.     

Experimental modelling of exine self-assembly

Living and fossil megaspores produced by Selaginella (Lycopsida) and its extinct ancestors form distinctive (and occasionally iridescent) exines. Ultrastructural studies of these spores have provided data that demonstrate a colloidal mode of development which in turn implies a degree of self-assembly in the construction of these exines. We present here experimental evidence in support of the theory of selaginellalean megaspore exine construction by depletion flocculation. Iridescent colloidal flocculations of polystyrene latex particles demonstrate an ultrastructural organization virtually indistinguishable from that of the biological system, and clearly demonstrate that self-assembly of complex Selaginella exines by a relatively simple construction process is plausible.