Funchjohannesen2304

We apply our methodology for model comparison to demonstrate an equivalence between a positional-information model and a Turing-pattern model from developmental biology, constituting a novel observation for two classes of models that were previously regarded as unrelated.Notosuchians are an extinct clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms with a particularly rich record in the late Early to Late Cretaceous (approx. 130-66 Ma) of Gondwana. Although much of this diversity comes from South America, Africa and Indo-Madagascar have also yielded numerous notosuchian remains. Three notosuchian species are currently recognized from the early Late Cretaceous (approx. 100 Ma) Kem Kem Group of Morocco, including the peirosaurid Hamadasuchus rebouli. Here, we describe two new specimens that demonstrate the presence of at least a fourth notosuchian species in this fauna. Antaeusuchus taouzensis n. gen. n. sp. is incorporated into one of the largest notosuchian-focused character-taxon matrices yet to be compiled, comprising 443 characters scored for 63 notosuchian species, with an increased sampling of African and peirosaurid species. Parsimony analyses run under equal and extended implied weighting consistently recover Antaeusuchus as a peirosaurid notosuchian, supported by the presence of two record demonstrates the presence of multiple lineages of approximately contemporaneous notosuchians in several African and Madagascan faunas, and supports previous suggestions regarding an undocumented pre-Aptian radiation of Notosuchia. By contrast, the post-Cretaceous record is depauperate, comprising rare occurrences of sebecosuchians in north Africa prior to their extirpation.A numerical investigation on the soot laden flow of gas in a partial diesel particulate filter (PDPF) is presented based on solving the momentum equations for a continuous phase in the Euler frame and the motion equations for the dispersed phase in the Lagrangian frame. The interaction between the gas phase and the particles is considered as a one-way coupling for dilute particle concentration, while the interaction between particles and porous wall is implemented through user-definedsubroutines. To accurately track motion of nanoscale particles, the Brownian excitation and drag force as well as partial slip are taken into account in the particulate motion equation. Two methods are used to verify the gas flow model and reasonable agreements for both comparisons are observed. The effects of inlet velocity, wall permeability and particle size on the filtration efficiency and deposition distribution of the particles along with wall surface of inlet channel are quantitatively studied. The results show that (i) wall permeability plays the primary role in determining the filtration efficiency of PDPF, (ii) both upstream velocity and particle size have an effect on the initial deposition position of particles and (iii) filtration efficiency of PDPF is not markedly proportional to gas flow into inlet channels at a low wall permeability.We consider spectral methods that uncover hidden structures in directed networks. We establish and exploit connections between node reordering via (a) minimizing an objective function and (b) maximizing the likelihood of a random graph model. We focus on two existing spectral approaches that build and analyse Laplacian-style matrices via the minimization of frustration and trophic incoherence. These algorithms aim to reveal directed periodic and linear hierarchies, respectively. We show that reordering nodes using the two algorithms, or mapping them onto a specified lattice, is associated with new classes of directed random graph models. Using this random graph setting, we are able to compare the two algorithms on a given network and quantify which structure is more likely to be present. We illustrate the approach on synthetic and real networks, and discuss practical implementation issues.Crypsis, or the ability to avoid detection and/or recognition, is an important and widespread anti-predator strategy across the animal kingdom. Many animals are able to camouflage themselves by adapting their body colour to the local environment. In particular, rapid changes in body colour are often critical to the survival of cryptic prey which rely on evading detection by predators. This is especially pertinent for animals subject to spatio-temporal variability in their environment, as they must adapt to acute changes in their visual surroundings. However, which features of the local environment are most relevant is not well understood. In particular, little is known about how social context interacts with other environmental stimuli to influence crypsis. Here, we use a common cryptic prey animal, the goby (Pseudogobius species 2) to examine how the presence and body colour of conspecifics influence the rate and extent to which gobies change colour. We find that solitary gobies change colour to match their background faster and to a greater extent than gobies in pairs. Further, we find that this relationship holds irrespective of the colour of nearby conspecifics. This study demonstrates the importance of social context in mediating colour change in cryptic animals.Microplastics are ubiquitous in global marine systems and may have negative impacts on a vast range of species. Recently, microplastics were shown to impair shell selection assessments in hermit crabs, an essential behaviour for their survival. Hermit crabs also engage in 'rapping' contests over shells, based on cognitive assessments of shell quality and opponent fighting ability and, hence, are a useful model species for examining the effects of microplastics on fitness-relevant behaviour in marine systems. Here, we investigated how a 5-day microplastic exposure (25 microplastics/litre) affected the dynamics and outcome of 120 staged hermit crab contests. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we examined how microplastics (i.e. presence or absence) and contestant role (i.e. attacker or defender) affected various behavioural variables. Significantly higher raps per bout were needed to evict microplastic-treated defenders when attackers were pre-exposed to control conditions (i.e. no plastic). Also, significantly longer durations of rapping bouts were needed to evict control-treated defenders when attackers were pre-exposed to microplastics. We suggest that microplastics impaired defenders' ability to identify resource holding potential and also affected attackers' rapping strength and intensity during contests. These impacts on animal contests indicate that microplastics have broader deleterious effects on marine biota than currently recognized.The human brain carries out complex tasks and higher functions and is crucial for organismal survival, as it senses both intrinsic and extrinsic environments. Proper brain development relies on the orchestrated development of different precursor cells, which will give rise to the plethora of mature brain cell-types. Selleckchem ABT-199 Within this process, neuronal cells develop closely to and in coordination with vascular cells (endothelial cells (ECs), pericytes) in a bilateral communication process that relies on neuronal activity, attractive or repulsive guidance cues for both cell types and on tight-regulation of gene expression. Translational control is a master regulator of the gene-expression pathway and in particular for neuronal and ECs, it can be localized in developmentally relevant (axon growth cone, endothelial tip cell) and mature compartments (synapses, axons). Herein, we will review mechanisms of translational control relevant to brain development in neurons and ECs in health and disease.Oil pollution is of increasing concern for environmental safety and the use of microbial surfactants in oil remediation has become inevitable for their efficacy and ecofriendly nature. In this work, biosurfactants of bacteria isolated from oil-contaminated soil have been characterized. Four potent biosurfactant-producing strains (SD4, SD11, SD12 and SD13) were selected from 27 isolates based on drop collapse assay and emulsification index, and identified as species belonging to Bacillus, Burkholderia, Providencia and Klebsiella, revealed from their 16S rRNA gene-based analysis. Detailed morphological and biochemical characteristics of each selected isolate were determined. Their growth conditions for maximum biosurfactant production were optimized and found quite similar among the four isolates with a pH of 3.0 and temperature 37°C after 6 or 7 days of growth on kerosene. The biosurfactants of SD4, SD11 and SD12 appeared to be glycolipids and that of SD13 a lipopeptide. Emulsification activity of most of the biosurfactants was stable at low and high temperatures (4-100°C), a wide range of pH (2-10) and salt concentrations (2-7% NaCl). Each biosurfactant showed antimicrobial activity against two or more pathogenic bacteria. The biosurfactants were well-capable of emulsifying kerosene, diesel and soya bean, and could efficiently degrade diesel.Domestication is the process by which wild organisms become adapted for human use. Many phenotypic changes are associated with animal domestication, including decreases in brain and brain region sizes. In contrast with this general pattern, the chicken has a larger cerebellum compared with the wild red junglefowl, but what neuroanatomical changes are responsible for this difference have yet to be investigated. Here, we quantified cell layer volumes, neuron numbers and neuron sizes in the cerebella of chickens and junglefowl. Chickens have larger, more folded cerebella with more and larger granule cells than junglefowl, but neuron numbers and cerebellar folding were proportional to cerebellum size. However, chickens do have relatively larger granule cell layer volumes and relatively larger granule cells than junglefowl. Thus, the chicken cerebellum can be considered a scaled-up version of the junglefowl cerebellum, but with enlarged granule cells. The combination of scaling neuron number and disproportionate enlargement of cell bodies partially supports a recent theory that domestication does not affect neuronal density within brain regions. Whether the neuroanatomical changes we observed are typical of domestication or not requires similar quantitative analyses in other domesticated species and across multiple brain regions.Annelids are predominantly found along with the seafloor, but over time have colonized a vast diversity of habitats, such as the water column, where different modes of locomotion are necessary. Yet, little is known about their potential muscular adaptation to the continuous swimming behaviour required in the water column. The musculature and motility were examined for five scale worm species of Polynoidae (Aphroditiformia, Annelida) found in shallow waters, deep sea or caves and which exhibit crawling, occasional swimming or continuous swimming, respectively. Their parapodial musculature was reconstructed using microCT and computational three-dimensional analyses, and the muscular functions were interpreted from video recordings of their locomotion. Since most benthic scale worms are able to swim for short distances using body and parapodial muscle movements, suitable musculature for swimming is already present. Our results indicate that rather than rearrangements or addition of muscles, a shift to a pelagic lifestyle is mainly accompanied by structural loss of muscle bundles and density, as well as elongation of extrinsic dorsal and ventral parapodial muscles.