Family Ismaridae Thomson (Hymenoptera,Diaprioidea), new to fauna of Iran

Occurrence of the family Ismaridae Thomson is recorded for the first time from Iran, represented by a single species, Ismarus rugulosus Förster, 1850. A series of diagnostic characters and morphometric ratios for this species is presented, as well as a distribution map throughout the Holarctic region.     

线栓法制备大鼠局灶性脑缺血模型手术操作的研究进展

线栓法大鼠大脑中动脉阻塞模型被普遍认为是标准的大鼠局灶性脑缺血动物模型。该模型在制备过程中,易受到多重因素的影响,其中手术操作对模型的成功制作起着关键作用。文章从大鼠颈部主要动脉的解剖位置、手术切口位置的选择、手术左右侧别的选择,以及插线位置的选择进行了综述。     

Application of trophic transfer efficiency and age structure in the trophic analysis of fossil assemblages

We evaluate onshore-offshore trends in age-frequency distributions and trophic transfer efficiencies using 11 modern death assemblages off the Texas coast. Trophic transfer efficiencies within trophic levels offer little insight over that achieved by a size-frequency distribution. Production/biomass ratios will always be 1 in the fossil record. Within trophic-level estimates of paleogrowth efficiency, the ratio of paleoproduction to paleoingestion (Pⁱ_glt/Iⁱ_lt where i indicates the i^th trophic level and lt indicates the time-averaged value) follow the expected ecological trend precisely in that paleogrowth efficiency is consistently higher in primary consumers than in predators in all 11 death assemblages. Paleoutilization efficiency, the ratio of predator paleoingestion to prey paleoproduction, I²_lt^°/P¹_glt^°, may provide information on the degree of bias in the preservation of primary (1 °) and secondary (2 °) consumer trophic groups. I²_lt^°/P¹_glt^° fell below 0.1 in most cold-seep and bay assemblages, indicating a large surplus of primary consumers. In sharp contrast, I²_lt^°/P¹_glt^°     

A Frailty‐Model‐Based Approach to Estimating the Age‐Dependent Penetrance Function of Candidate Genes Using Population‐Based Case‐Control Study Designs: An Application to Data on the BRCA1 Gene

Summary The population‐based case–control study design is perhaps one of, if not the most, commonly used designs for investigating the genetic and environmental contributions to disease risk in epidemiological studies. Ages at onset and disease status of family members are routinely and systematically collected from the participants in this design. Considering age at onset in relatives as an outcome, this article is focused on using the family history information to obtain the hazard function, i.e., age‐dependent penetrance function, of candidate genes from case–control studies. A frailty‐model‐based approach is proposed to accommodate the shared risk among family members that is not accounted for by observed risk factors. This approach is further extended to accommodate missing genotypes in family members and a two‐phase case–control sampling design. Simulation results show that the proposed method performs well in realistic settings. Finally, a population‐based two‐phase case–control breast cancer study of the BRCA1 gene is used to illustrate the method.     

Biodeterioration of stone: a review

The alteration and weathering of stone is basically determined by natural and anthropogenic impacts influencing various physical, chemical and biological damage factors at the object site. Whether as direct or catalytically enhancing factor, the biodeterioration of stone is coupled with nearly all environmentally induced degradation processes: the presence of the one makes deterioration by the other all the more effective. The bioreceptivity of stone is described by its structure and chemical composition, while the intensity of the microbial contamination is determined by the referring climatic conditions and the anthropogenic euthrophication of the atmosphere. The microflora improves the nutrient and moisture-restricted growth conditions on building stones by the formation of surface-covering biofilms. Besides the aesthetical impairment caused by the coloured biopatina, the biofouling effect promotes even “abiotic” deterioration processes due to the alteration of the material structure as well as their thermo-hygric properties; in addition, mechanical pressure due to the shrinking and swelling of the colloidal biofilms might cause a further weakening of the mineral lattice. Acidolytic and oxido-reductive biocorrosion processes complete the biodeteriorating attack of stone acting as a preliminary precursor for the latter formation of detrimental crusts. Suitable and reliable methods for the detection of biodeterioration processes are available, but only the interdisciplinary diagnosis and evaluation of the entire decay process of stone allows the formulation of adaequate countermeasure strategies. In case the significance of biodeterioration impacts is proven, the possible effects of the microbial contamination on cleaning procedures, protective treatments as well as biocidal applications has to be considered. This paper will give a comprehensive overview to the biodeterioration of stone and stresses the practical relevance for the conservation.     

Distal NF-kB binding motif functions as an enhancer for nontypeable H. influenzae-induced DEFB4 regulation in epithelial cells

Among the antimicrobial molecules produced by epithelial cells, DEFB4 is inducible in response to proinflammatory signals such as cytokines and bacterial molecules. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is an important human pathogen that exacerbates chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adult and causes otitis media and sinusitis in children. Previously, we have demonstrated that DEFB4 effectively kills NTHi and is induced by NTHi via TLR2 signaling. The 5′-flanking region of DEFB4 contains several NF-κB binding motifs, but their NTHi-specific activity remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate molecular mechanism involved in DEFB4 regulation, focusing on the role of the distal NF-κB binding motif of DEFB4 responding to NTHi. Here, we show that the human middle ear epithelial cells up-regulate DEFB4 expression in response to NTHi via NF-κB activation mediated by IκKα/β−IκBα signaling. Deletion of the distal NF-κB binding motif led to a significant reduction in NTHi-induced DEFB4 up-regulation. A heterologous construct containing the distal NF-κB binding motif was found to increase the promoter activity in response to NTHi, indicating a NTHi-responding enhancer activity of the distal NF-κB binding motif. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that the p65 domain of NF-κB binds to the distal NF-κB binding motif in response to NTHi. Taken together, our results suggest that NTHi-induced binding of p65 NF-κB to the distal NF-κB binding motif of DEFB4 enhances NTHi-induced DEFB4 regulation in epithelial cells.     

Investigating human responses to political and environmental change through paleodiet and paleomobility

Bioarchaeological approaches are well suited for examining past responses to political and environmental changes. In the Andes, we hypothesized that political and environmental changes around AD 1100 resulted in behavioral changes, visible as shifts in paleodiet and paleomobility, among individuals in the San Pedro de Atacama oases and Loa River Valley. To investigate this hypothesis, we generated carbon and oxygen isotope data from cemeteries dating to the early Middle Horizon (Larache, Quitor‐5, Solor‐3), late Middle Horizon (Casa Parroquial, Coyo Oriental, Coyo‐3, Solcor‐Plaza, Solcor‐3, Tchecar), and Late Intermediate Period (Caspana, Quitor‐6 Tardío, Toconce, Yaye‐1, Yaye‐2, Yaye‐3, Yaye‐4). Carbon isotope data demonstrate a greater range of carbon sources during the late Middle Horizon compared with the Late Intermediate Period; while most individuals consumed largely C₃ sources, some late Middle Horizon individuals consumed more C₄ sources. Oxygen isotope data demonstrate greater diversity in drinking water sources during the late Middle Horizon compared with the Late Intermediate Period. Water samples were analyzed to provide baseline data on oxygen isotope variability within the Atacama Desert, and demonstrated that oxygen isotope values are indistinguishable in the San Pedro and Loa Rivers. However, oxygen isotope values in water sources in the high‐altitude altiplano and coast are distinct from those in the San Pedro and Loa Rivers. In conclusion, instead of utilizing a wider variety of resources after environmental and political changes, individuals exhibited a wider range of paleodietary and paleomobility strategies during the Middle Horizon, a period of environmental and political stability. Am J Phys Anthropol 157:179–201, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Nubian Complex strategies in the Egyptian high desert

Systematic survey by the Abydos Survey for Paleolithic Sites project has recorded Nubian Complex artifact density, distribution, typology, and technology across the high desert landscape west of the Nile Valley in Middle Egypt. Our work contrasts with previous investigations of Nubian Complex settlement systems in Egypt, which focused on a small number of sites in the terraces of the Nile Valley, the desert oases, and the Red Sea Mountains. Earlier research interpreted the Nubian Complex, in particular, as a radiating settlement system that incorporated a specialized point production. Our high desert data, however, indicate that the Nubian Complex associated with early modern humans in this region of the high desert reflects a circulating, rather than a radiating, settlement system, and that point production has been over-emphasized. Data available from our work, as well as sites investigated by others, do not conclusively identify Nubian Complex behavioral strategies as modern. These data, however, do contribute to the understanding of landscape use by early modern human populations living along the Nile Valley Corridor route out of Africa.     

争胜鼠(Zelomys)的门齿釉质结构和分类位置

争胜鼠的上门齿釉质结构分为两层。内层施氏明暗带界线清楚,呈横向延伸,带宽不规则,主要为１个釉柱宽。釉柱间质很发育,围绕釉柱,其微晶方向与釉往平行,属单系。争胜鼠与始鼠科共有单系门齿微细结构,而与先松鼠科共有始啮型头骨的特征,因前者为较进特征而后者为近祖的原始特征,故争胜鼠与始鼠科有较近的系统关系。