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The networking landscape is expected to undergo profound changes over the course of the next decade. New network services are expected to emerge that will enable new applications such as the Tactile Internet, Holographic-Type Communications, or Tele-Driving. Many of these services will be characterized by very high degrees of precision with which end-to-end service levels must be supported. This will have profound implications on the management of those networks and services, from the need to support new methods for assurance of ultra-high-precision services to the need for new network programming models that will allow the industry to move beyond DevOps and SDN towards User-Defined Networking. This article analyzes those implications and provides an overview of challenges along with possible solution approaches and opportunities for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For any n-bit boolean function f, we show that the randomized communication complexity of the composed function f o gn, where g is an index gadget, is characterized by the randomized decision tree complexity of f. In particular, this means that many query complexity separations involving randomized models (e.g., classical vs. quantum) automatically imply analogous separations in communication complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a framework of video coding based on Laplacian eigenmaps (LEM) and its related embedding and reconstruction algorithm (ERA). Firstly, a one‐dimensional (1D) representation of LEM is adopted to achieve an extremely low bit per pixel (BPP). Secondly, dual k‐nearest neighbours, which keeps neighbour relationships both in high‐dimensional data space and low‐dimensional representation space and overcomes the disadvantage of classical non‐linear dimensionality reduction methods which cannot preserve the neighbour properties in both of the spaces, based ERA of LEM is employed to gain extraordinarily high peak‐signal‐to‐noise ratio (PSNR). Thirdly, a unified framework of video coding is fit for intra‐frame, inter‐frame and multi‐view video coding. Finally, it is evaluated by simulation experiments that, in the situation of low bitrate transmission, the proposed method can attain better performance of BPP and PSNR than that of the state‐of‐the‐art methods, such as highly efficient video coding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one of the basic technologies of the multimedia are image, audio and video compression.It is necessary to code image and audio at the lowest possible data rates.The transmission and storage of information becomes costly as bandwidth cost money.The transmission and storage become cheaper if less data is used to represent image and audio.The signals plays an important role in our daily life ; examples are audio,speech, music, picture and video signals.A signal is a function of independent variables such as time, distance,position,temperature.A signal is is defined as any physical quantity that carries information which varies with other independent or a dependent variable.Image compression is minimizing the dimensions in bytes of a graphics file without degrading the standard of the image to an unacceptable level.The representation of information in compact form is called compression.The compression is the process used to reduce the bit rate for transmission or storage. While compressing it is also necessary to maintain acceptable fidelity or data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent analyses suggest that cross-species gene flow or introgression is common in nature, especially during species divergences. Genomic sequence data can be used to infer introgression events and to estimate the timing and intensity of introgression, providing an important means to advance our understanding of the role of gene flow in speciation. Here, we implement the multispecies-coalescent-with-introgression model, an extension of the multispecies-coalescent model to incorporate introgression, in our Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo program Bpp. The multispecies-coalescent-with-introgression model accommodates deep coalescence (or incomplete lineage sorting) and introgression and provides a natural framework for inference using genomic sequence data. Computer simulation confirms the good statistical properties of the method, although hundreds or thousands of loci are typically needed to estimate introgression probabilities reliably. Reanalysis of data sets from the purple cone spruce confirms the hypothesis of homoploid hybrid speciation. We estimated the introgression probability using the genomic sequence data from six mosquito species in the Anopheles gambiae species complex, which varies considerably across the genome, likely driven by differential selection against introgressed alleles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs) are molecules discovered by Sergio Ferreira – who found them in the venom of Bothrops jararaca in the 1960s – that literally potentiate the action of bradykinin in vivo by, allegedly, inhibiting the angiotensin-converting enzymes. After administration, the global physiological effect of BPP is the decrease of the blood pressure. Due to this interesting effect, one of these peptides was used by David Cushman and Miguel Ondetti to develop a hypotensive drug, the widely known captopril, vastly employed on hypertension treatment. From that time on, many studies on BPPs have been conducted, basically describing new peptides and assaying their pharmacological effects, mostly in comparison to captopryl. After compiling most of these data, we are proposing that snake BPPs are ‘modular’ peptidic molecules, in which the combination of given amino acid ‘blocks’ results in the different existing peptides (BPPs), commonly found in snake venom. We have observed that there would be mandatory modules (present in all snake BPPs), such as the N-terminal pyroglutamic acid and C-terminal QIPP, and optional modules (amino acid blocks present in some of them), such as AP or WAQ. Scattered between these modules, there might be other amino acids that would ‘complete’ the peptide, without disrupting the signature of the classical BPP. This modular arrangement would represent an important evolutionary advantage in terms of biological diversity that might have its origins either at the genomic or at the post-translational modification levels. Regardless of the modules’ origin, the increase in the diversity of peptides has definitely been essential for snakes’ success on nature.

Background: Branch points (BPs) map within short motifs upstream of acceptor splice sites (3'ss) and are essential for splicing of pre-mature mRNA. Several BP-dedicated bioinformatics tools, including HSF, SVM-BPfinder, BPP, Branchpointer, LaBranchoR and RNABPS were developed during the last decade. Here, we evaluated their capability to detect the position of BPs, and also to predict the impact on splicing of variants occurring upstream of 3'ss. Results: We used a large set of constitutive and alternative human 3'ss collected from Ensembl (n = 264,787 3'ss) and from in-house RNAseq experiments (n = 51,986 3'ss). We also gathered an unprecedented collection of functional splicing data for 120 variants (62 unpublished) occurring in BP areas of disease-causing genes. Branchpointer showed the best performance to detect the relevant BPs upstream of constitutive and alternative 3'ss (99.48 and 65.84% accuracies, respectively). For variants occurring in a BP area, BPP emerged as having the best performance to predict effects on mRNA splicing, with an accuracy of 89.17%. Conclusions: Our investigations revealed that Branchpointer was optimal to detect BPs upstream of 3'ss, and that BPP was most relevant to predict splicing alteration due to variants in the BP area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Multiple evidences were incorporated into species delimitation of the Primulina hochiensis complex. • Genetic data and the multispecies coalescent methods (MSC) revealed five genetic lineages as species. • Principal component analysis (PCA) of morphological data recovered three distinct clusters. • The coalescent species delimitation methods may over-estimate species diversity with strong genetic structure. • A new species, P. lianpingensis , was described. Abstract To consistently and objectively delineate species-level divergence from population subdivision has been a challenge in systematics. This is particularly evident in naturally fragmented and allopatric systems in which small population size often leads to extreme population structuring. Here we evaluated the robustness of the species delimitation methods implemented in BEAST, BPP, and iBPP in the Primulina hochiensis complex comprising four described and one candidate species (five taxa in total) distributed in karst landscapes of southern China. We analyzed levels of molecular and morphological divergence among species using multilocus sequence data (nine chloroplast loci and 10 nuclear loci), and morphological data (16 quantitative and 12 qualitative traits), for 124 individuals from 25 populations of the complex. Independent analyses of cpDNA and nDNA sequence data revealed high levels of genetic differentiation among the five taxa. Both BPP and iBPP delimited five candidate species, which correspond to the five genetic clusters recovered with population structure analysis. In contrast, morphological differences among populations were more limited, so that results from principal component analysis (PCA) recovered only three distinct clusters. We ruled out the possibility of morphologically cryptic species because reciprocally monophyletic groups were not supported among the morphologically un-differentiated taxa. Our results represent a case where extreme population genetic structuring leads to oversplit of species diversity by molecular data using the multispecies coalescent (MSC) methods. The observed congruence across multiple analyses corroborates the recognition of a new species P. lianpingensis and indicates its sister species relationship with P. yingdeensis. This study highlights the dangers of violating model assumption and the importance of incorporating multiple evidence into species delimitation of a particular system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilocus phylogenetic studies revealed a high level of cryptic diversity within the lichen-forming fungal genus Maronina (Protoparmelioideae, Parmeliaceae). Coalescent-based species delimitation suggested that most of the cryptic molecular lineages warranted recognition as separate species. Here we study the morphology and chemistry of these taxa and formally describe eight new species based on phenotypical and molecular characters. Further, we evaluate the use of ITS rDNA as a DNA barcode for identifying species in this genus. For the first time, we obtained an ITS sequence of Maronina australiensis, the type species of the genus and showed that it is phylogenetically not closely related to species currently placed in Maronina or Protoparmelia. We assembled a dataset of 66 ITS sequences to assess the interspecies genetic distances amongst the twelve Maronina species using ITS as DNA barcode. We found that Maronina and Protoparmelia form a supported monophyletic group whereas M. australiensis is sister to both. We therefore propose a new genus Neoprotoparmelia to accommodate the tropical-subtropical species within Protoparmelioideae, with Neoprotoparmelia corallifera as the type, N. amerisidiata, N. australisidiata, N. brasilisidiata, N. capensis, N. crassa, N. pauli, N. plurisporibadia and N. siamisidiata as new species and N. capitata, N. isidiata, N. multifera, N. orientalis and N. pulchra as new proposed combinations. We provide a key to Neoprotoparmelia and confirm the use of ITS for accurately identifying species in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present register-based study investigated the role of IQ in predicting a wide range of indicators of unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement among young men born across five decades in Denmark. The study population comprised all men who have been born since 1950 and have appeared before a draft board during the periods from 1968 to 1984 and from 1987 to 2015 (N = 1,098,742). IQ was assessed by Børge Priens Prøve at age 18. Unsuccessful educational achievement was indicated by leaving lower secondary school without a certificate, by no completed youth education at age 25, by no completed education leading to vocational qualifications at age 30, and by the total number of interruptions to education at age 30. Unsuccessful occupational achievement was indicated by not being in employment, education or training at age 30, by unemployment at age 30, by receiving sickness benefits at age 30, by receiving welfare benefits at age 30, by receiving disability pension at age 30, and by gross income at age 30. Binary logistic regression, negative binomial regression and median regression were used to estimate the associations of IQ with unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement. The results showed that low IQ was a strong and consistent predictor of all indicators of unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement. In conclusion, the study findings suggest that assessment of intelligence may provide crucial information for educational planning and counselling of poor-functioning schoolchildren and adolescents with regard to both the immediate educational goals and the more distant work-related future. Highlights • Low IQ is associated with higher risk of unsuccessful educational achievement. • Low IQ is associated with higher risk of unsuccessful occupational achievement. • The influence of intelligence is strongest in the early educational career. • No consistent time trends in the investigated associations were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep coalescence and introgression make it challenging to infer phylogenetic relationships among closely related species that arose through radiative speciation events. Despite numerous phylogenetic analyses and the availability of whole genomes, the phylogeny in the Anopheles gambiae species complex has not been confidently resolved. Here we extract over 80, 000 coding and noncoding short segments (called loci) from the genomes of six members of the species complex and use a Bayesian method under the multispecies coalescent model to infer the species tree, which takes into account genealogical heterogeneity across the genome and uncertainty in the gene trees. We obtained a robust estimate of the species tree from the distal region of the X chromosome: (A. merus, ((A. melas, (A. arabiensis, A. quadriannulatus)), (A. gambiae, A. coluzzii))), with A. merus to be the earliest branching species. This species tree agrees with the chromosome inversion phylogeny and provides a parsimonious interpretation of inversion and introgression events. Simulation informed by the real data suggest that the coalescent approach is reliable while the sliding-window analysis used in a previous phylogenomic study generates artifactual species trees. Likelihood ratio test of gene flow revealed strong evidence of autosomal introgression from A. arabiensis into A. gambiae (at the average rate of ∼ 0.2 migrants per generation), but not in the opposite direction, and introgression of the 3 L chromosomal region from A. merus into A. quadriannulatus. Our results highlight the importance of accommodating incomplete lineage sorting and introgression in phylogenomic analyses of species that arose through recent radiative speciation events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a two-step workflow, we test the species boundaries in three genera of enchytraeid worms, Globulidrilus , Hemifridericia and Stercutus (Clitellata: Enchytraeidae), which contains one to three nominal species each. For the species discovery phase, DNA barcode-based clustering analyses in ABGD (Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery) are performed, using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) data. The clusters from these analyses are then used as input in the species validation phase, where multispecies coalescent-based multilocus species delimitation analyses are performed in BPP (Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography) using nuclear Histone 3 (H3) and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) data. For all BPP analyses, several species delimitation arrangements are included in the 95% credibility interval, and no complete sets of species are well supported. However, we conclude that our data set comprises at least seven species of Globulidrilus , all attributed to the nominal morpho-species G. riparius , three species of Hemifridericia , whereof two are cryptic lineages within H. parva and one is H. bivesiculata , and at least six species of the previously monotypic Stercutus. The species are not formally described here due to a lack of mature specimens of many of them in combination with low support for some of them in the genetic analyses. However, this is the first step towards a better understanding of the diversity within these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using multiple, independent approaches to molecular species delimitation is advocated to accommodate limitations and assumptions of a single approach. Incongruence in delimitation schemes is a potential by‐product of employing multiple methods on the same data, and little attention has been paid to its reconciliation. Instead, a particular scheme is prioritized, and/or molecular delimitations are coupled with additional, independent lines of evidence that mitigate incongruence. We advocate that incongruence within a line of evidence should be accounted for before comparing across lines of evidence that can themselves be incongruent. Additionally, it is not uncommon for empiricists working in nonmodel systems to be data‐limited, generating some concern for the adequacy of available data to address the question of interest. With conservation and management decisions often hinging on the status of species, it seems prudent to understand the capabilities of approaches we use given the data we have. Here, we apply two molecular species delimitation approaches, spedeSTEM and BPP, to the Castilleja ambigua (Orobanchaceae) species complex, a relatively young plant lineage in western North America. Upon finding incongruence in our delimitation, we employed a post hoc simulation study to examine the power of these approaches to delimit species. Given the data we collected, we find that spedeSTEM lacks the power to delimit while BPP is capable, thus allowing us to address incongruence before proceeding in delimitation. We suggest post hoc simulation studies like this compliment empirical delimitation and serve as a means of exploring conflict within a line of evidence and dealing with it appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watermarking techniques are widely used for copyright protection, confidentiality and integrity issues in medical field. Reversibility, robustness, embedding capacity and invisibility are the essential requirements of a watermarking technique. Cogitating the need of security for medical images, this paper proposes a reversible high embedding capacity, high image fidelity, a hybrid robust lossless data hiding technique by using both transform and spatial domains. Proposed technique alters the mean of the selected non-overlapping slantlet transformed blocks of the host image whereas RS vector considers flipping factor for data embedding. The optimum thresholds to select the blocks are calculated through PSO technique and watermark is generated by using patient details, biometric id and region of interest (ROI) blocks of host image. This watermark is further compressed by applying LZW technique and encrypted by AES as well as MD5. The watermark bits are embedded in all three RGB channels of a cover image, to increase the embedding capacity up to 3.3675 bpp. The credibility of the proposed technique in comparison with other medical watermarking techniques is evidenced through experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complexes of 2,6-bis-(3′,5′-diphenylpyrazolyl)pyridine (bdppp) with the chlorides of Ru(III), Pd(II), and Rh(III) have been synthesized. The X-ray structures of these complexes show that the ligand is tridentate and binds in a 1:1 ratio with the metal in all cases. The Ru and Rh complexes are octahedral, with one ligand and three chlorides around the metal, while the Pd complex is square planar, with one ligand and one chloride bound to the metal. The Pd complex features two Pd-bdppp complexes and a Pd 2 Cl 6 2− counteranion. The electronic spectra of these complexes show strong UV absorbance bands from the phenyl rings present, with the Ru complex exhibiting several charge transfer bands and the Rh complex one charge transfer band. The 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra of the Rh and Pd complexes show slight differences from the free ligand, and the Ru complex is paramagnetic, featuring broad NMR peaks over a wide range. The Ru complex shows a quasi-reversible redox couple, while the Ru and Pd complexes show only irreversible reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer foam has become an important thermal insulation material due to its outstanding features, while its fabrication is still very challenging by foaming injection molding technology. Herein, we reported the successful fabrication of low-density branched polypropylene (BPP) foam with an expansion ratio of up to 25-fold and fine cellular structures using mold-opening foam injection molding (MOFIM) technology. To improve foaming ability, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanofiber reinforced BPP composite was prepared in an in-situ way through a simple twin-screw blending technology. The DSC results show that PTFE nanofibers can promote crystallization of BPP effectively, while the rheological measurements demonstrate that PTFE fibers can improve the viscoelastic behavior of BPP. Furthermore, the MOFIM experimental results show that the cell size is reduced by one order of magnitude while the cell density is increased by four orders of magnitude. Interestingly, PTFE nanofibers endow BPP/PTFE foams a unique cell wall structure with plenty of micro-holes and micro/nano fibrils. Moreover, BPP/PTFE foams show markedly improved thermal insulation and compressive mechanical performance with a thermal conductivity of as low as 32.4 mW·m −1 ·K −1 . Thus, this unique low-density BPP/PTFE foam shows a promising future in high-performance thermal insulation applications, particularly considering the used scalable, versatile, facile and cost-saving processing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phylogenetic relationships among extant gibbon species remain unresolved despite numerous efforts using morphological, behavorial, and genetic data and the sequencing of whole genomes. Amajor challenge in reconstructing the gibbon phylogeny is the radiative speciation process, which resulted in extremely short internal branches in the species phylogeny and extensive incomplete lineage sorting with extensive gene-tree heterogeneity across the genome. Here, we analyze two genomic-scale data sets, with ~10,000 putative noncoding and exonic loci, respectively, to estimate the species tree for the major groups of gibbons. We used the Bayesian full-likelihood method BPP under themultispecies coalescentmodel, which naturally accommodates incomplete lineage sorting and uncertainties in the gene trees. For comparison, we included three heuristic coalescent-based methods (MP-EST, SVDQUARTETS, and ASTRAL) as well as concatenation. From both data sets, we infer the phylogeny for the four extant gibbon genera to be (Hylobates, (Nomascus, (Hoolock, Symphalangus))). We used simulation guided by the real data to evaluate the accuracy of the methods used. ASTRAL, while not as efficient as BPP, performed well in estimation of the species tree even in presence of excessive incomplete lineage sorting. Concatenation, MP-EST and SVDQUARTETS were unreliable when the species tree contains very short internal branches. Likelihood ratio test of gene flow suggests a small amount of migration from Hylobates moloch to H. pileatus, while cross-genera migration is absent or rare. Our results highlight the utility of coalescent-based methods in addressing challenging species tree problems characterized by short internal branches and rampant gene tree-species tree discordance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA barcoding methods use a single locus (usually the mitochondrial COI gene) to assign unidentified specimens to known species in a library based on a genetic distance threshold that distinguishes between-species divergence from within-species diversity. Recently developed species delimitation methods based on the multispecies coalescent ( MSC) model offer an alternative approach to individual assignment using either single-locus or multiloci sequence data. Here, we use simulations to demonstrate three features of an MSC method implemented in the program bpp. First, we show that with one locus, MSC can accurately assign individuals to species without the need for arbitrarily determined distance thresholds (as required for barcoding methods). We provide an example in which no single threshold or barcoding gap exists that can be used to assign all specimens without incurring high error rates. Second, we show that bpp can identify cryptic species that may be misidentified as a single species within the library, potentially improving the accuracy of barcoding libraries. Third, we show that taxon rarity does not present any particular problems for species assignments using bpp and that accurate assignments can be achieved even when only one or a few loci are available. Thus, concerns that have been raised that MSC methods may have problems analysing rare taxa (singletons) are unfounded. Currently, barcoding methods enjoy a huge computational advantage over MSC methods and may be the only approach feasible for massively large data sets, but MSC methods may offer a more stringent test for species that are tentatively assigned by barcoding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate species delimitations are of great importance for effectively characterizing biological diversity. Our criteria for delimiting species have changed dramatically over the last decades with the increasing availability of molecular data and improvement of analytical methods to evaluate these data. Whereas reciprocal monophyly is often seen as an indicator for the presence of distinct lineages, recently diverged species often fail to form monophyletic groups. At the same time, cryptic species have repeatedly been detected in numerous organismal groups. In this study, we addressed the species delimitation in the crustose lichen-forming fungal genus Diploschistes using multilocus sequence data from specimens representing 16 currently accepted species. Our results indicate the presence of previously undetected, cryptic species-level lineages in the subgenus Limborina. In the subgenus Limborina, samples from different continents currently classified under the same species were shown to be only distantly related. At the same time, in parts of subgen. Diploschistes characterized by short branches, none of the currently accepted species formed monophyletic groups. In spite of the lack of monophyly in phylogenetic reconstructions, a multispecies coalescent method provided support for eight of the nine accepted species in subgen. Diploschistes as distinct lineages. We propose to reduce D. neutrophilus to synonymy with D. diacapsis and point out that additional sampling will be necessary before accepting additional species in subgen. Limborina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes the contention that state repression did not play a primary role in the Black Panther Party's (BPP) demise. In their book, Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party, Joshua Bloom and Waldo Martin, Jr. claim that during the BPP's early years, state repression actually helped garner outside support for the Panthers. The authors furthermore argue that the Panthers only became more repressible after they lost external support due to uncontrollable circumstances. This paper considers their conclusions while also surveying previous scholarship on state repression against the Black Panther Party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a conversation with Connie Felder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a conversation with Al Amour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recognition of cryptic diversity within geographically widespread species is gradually becoming a trend in the highly speciose Neotropical biomes. The statistical methods to recognise such cryptic lineages are rapidly advancing, but have rarely been applied to genomic-scale datasets. Herein, we used phylogenomic data to investigate phylogenetic history and cryptic diversity within Tropidurus itambere , a lizard endemic to the Cerrado biodiversity hotspot. We applied a series of phylogenetic methods to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and a coalescent Bayesian species delimitation approach (BPP) to clarify species limits. The BPP results suggest that the widespread nominal taxon comprises a complex of 5 highly supported and geographically structured cryptic species. We highlight and discuss the different topological patterns recovered by concatenated and coalescent species tree methods for these closely related lineages. Finally, we suggest that the existence of cryptic lineages in the Cerrado is much more common than traditionally thought, highlighting the value of using NGS data and coalescent techniques to investigate patterns of species diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic analyses of Australasian organisms have resulted in the identification of extensive cryptic diversity across the continent. The venomous elapid snakes are among the best-studied organismal groups in this region, but many knowledge gaps persist: for instance, despite their iconic status, the species-level diversity among Australo-Papuan blacksnakes ( Pseudechis ) has remained poorly understood due to the existence of a group of cryptic species within the P . australis species complex, collectively termed “pygmy mulga snakes”. Using two mitochondrial and three nuclear loci we assess species boundaries within the genus using Bayesian species delimitation methods and reconstruct their phylogenetic history using multispecies coalescent approaches. Our analyses support the recognition of 10 species, including all of the currently described pygmy mulga snakes and one undescribed species from the Northern Territory of Australia. Phylogenetic relationships within the genus are broadly consistent with previous work, with the recognition of three major groups, the viviparous red-bellied black snake P . porphyriacus forming the sister species to two clades consisting of ovoviviparous species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bradykinin-potentiating peptide (BPP) from Amazon Bothrops atrox venom with m/z 1384.7386 was identified and characterized by collision induced dissociation (CID) using an ESI-MS/MS spectra obtained in positive ion mode on a hybrid Qq-oaTOF mass spectrometer, Xevo G2 QTof MS (Waters, Manchester, UK). De novo peptide sequence analysis of the CID fragmentation spectra showed the amino acid sequence ZKWPRPGPEIPP, with a pyroglutamic acid and theoretical monoisotopic m/z 1384.7378, which is similar to experimental data, showing a mass accuracy of 0.6 ppm. The peptide is homologous to other BPP from Bothrops moojeni and was named as BPP-BAX12.

Absolute Moment Block Truncation Coding (AMBTC) is one of the lossy image compression techniques. The computational complexity involved is less and the quality of the reconstructed images is appreciable. The normal AMBTC method requires 2 bits per pixel (bpp). In this paper, two novel ideas have been incorporated as part of AMBTC method to improve the coding efficiency. Generally, the quality degrades with the reduction in the bit-rate. But in the proposed method, the quality of the reconstructed image increases with the decrease in the bit-rate. The proposed method has been tested with standard images like Lena, Barbara, Bridge, Boats and Cameraman. The results obtained are better than that of the existing AMBTC method in terms of bit-rate and the quality of the reconstructed images.

The Asian world is home to a multitude of venomous and dangerous snakes, which are used to induce various medical effects in the preparation of traditional snake tinctures and alcoholics, like the Japanese snake wine, named Habushu. The aim of this work was to perform the first quantitative proteomic analysis of the Protobothrops flavoviridis pit viper venom. Accordingly, the venom was analyzed by complimentary bottom-up and top-down mass spectrometry techniques. The mass spectrometry-based snake venomics approach revealed that more than half of the venom is composed of different phospholipases A2 (PLA2). The combination of this approach and an intact mass profiling led to the identification of the three main Habu PLA2s. Furthermore, nearly one-third of the total venom consists of snake venom metalloproteinases and disintegrins, and several minor represented toxin families were detected: C-type lectin-like proteins (CTL), cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP), snake venom serine proteases (svSP), l-amino acid oxidases (LAAO), phosphodiesterase (PDE) and 5′-nucleotidase. Finally, the venom of P. flavoviridis contains certain bradykinin-potentiating peptides and related peptides, like the svMP inhibitors, pEKW, pEQW, pEEW and pENW. In preliminary MTT cytotoxicity assays, the highest cancerous-cytotoxicity of crude venom was measured against human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and shows disintegrin-like effects in some fractions.

The multispecies coalescent (MSC) model has emerged as a powerful framework for inferring species phylogenies while accounting for ancestral polymorphism and gene tree-species tree conflict. A number of methods have been developed in the past few years to estimate the species tree under the MSC. The full likelihood methods (including maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference) average over the unknown gene trees and accommodate their uncertainties properly but involve intensive computation. The approximate or summary coalescent methods are computationally fast and are applicable to genomic datasets with thousands of loci, but do not make an efficient use of information in the multilocus data. Most of them take the two-step approach of reconstructing the gene trees for multiple loci by phylogenetic methods and then treating the estimated gene trees as observed data, without accounting for their uncertainties appropriately. In this article we review the statistical nature of the species tree estimation problem under the MSC, and explore the conceptual issues and challenges of species tree estimation by focusing mainly on simple cases of three or four closely related species. We use mathematical analysis and computer simulation to demonstrate that large differences in statistical performance may exist between the two classes of methods. We illustrate that several counterintuitive behaviors may occur with the summary methods but they are due to inefficient use of information in the data by summary methods and vanish when the data are analyzed using full-likelihood methods. These include (i) unidentifiability of parameters in the model, (ii) inconsistency in the so-called anomaly zone, (iii) singularity on the likelihood surface, and (iv) deterioration of performance upon addition of more data. We discuss the challenges and strategies of species tree inference for distantly related species when the molecular clock is violated, and highlight the need for improving the computational efficiency and model realism of the likelihood methods as well as the statistical efficiency of the summary methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butterflies of the genus Polyura form a widespread tropical group distributed from Pakistan to Fiji. The rare endemic Polyura epigenes Godman & Salvin, 1888 from the Solomon Islands archipelago represents a case of marked island polymorphism. We sequenced museum specimens of this species across its geographic range to study the phylogeography and genetic differentiation of populations in the archipelago. We used the Bayesian Poisson tree processes and multispecies coalescent models, to study species boundaries. We also estimated divergence times to investigate the biogeographic history of populations. Our molecular species delimitation and nuclear DNA network analyses unambiguously indicate that Malaita populations form an independent metapopulation lineage, as defined in the generalized lineage concept. This lineage, previously ranked as a subspecies, is raised to species rank under the name Polyura bicolor Turlin & Sato, 1995 stat. nov. Divergence time estimates suggest that this lineage split from its sister taxon in the late Pleistocene. At this time, the bathymetric isolation of Malaita from the rest of the archipelago probably prevented gene flow during periods of lower sea level, thereby fostering allopatric speciation. The combination of molecular species delimitation methods, morphological comparisons, and divergence time estimation is useful to study lineage diversification across intricate geographic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation of the coalescent model in a Bayesian framework is an emerging strength in genetically based species delimitation studies. By providing an objective measure of species diagnosis, these methods represent a quantitative enhancement to the analysis of multilocus data, and complement more traditional methods based on phenotypic and ecological characteristics. Recognized as two species 20 years ago, mouse lemurs (genus Microcebus) now comprise more than 20 species, largely diagnosed from mt DNA sequence data. With each new species description, enthusiasm has been tempered with scientific scepticism. Here, we present a statistically justified and unbiased Bayesian approach towards mouse lemur species delimitation. We perform validation tests using multilocus sequence data and two methodologies: (i) reverse-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to assess the likelihood of different models defined a priori by a guide tree, and (ii) a Bayes factor delimitation test that compares different species-tree models without a guide tree. We assess the sensitivity of these methods using randomized individual assignments, which has been used in bpp studies, but not with Bayes factor delimitation tests. Our results validate previously diagnosed taxa, as well as new species hypotheses, resulting in support for three new mouse lemur species. As the challenge of multiple researchers using differing criteria to describe diversity is not unique to Microcebus, the methods used here have significant potential for clarifying diversity in other taxonomic groups. We echo previous studies in advocating that multiple lines of evidence, including use of the coalescent model, should be trusted to delimit new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2008 there have been many records in Europe ( British Isles, Spain, France, Italy) of a large terrestrial planarian morphologically very similar to the Brazilian species O bama marmorata. Sequences of mitochondrial ( Cox1) and nuclear (18S, 28S, ITS-1 and EF) genes from European specimens and some from Brazil indicate that they belong to a species different from that of other specimens also collected in Brazil. Moreover, the phylogenetic results show that they are not sister-species. Histological sections of both Brazilian and European specimens reveal subtle morphological differences between the two species. O bama marmorata is confined to Brazil, and the second, herein described new species, O bama nungara sp. nov., is found in Brazil and Europe. These cryptic species may be syntopic in areas in Brazil. The new species occurs in human-modified environments both in Brazil and in Europe. We also conclude that the specimens from Spain and Argentina identified previously as O bama marmorata belong to the new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chiefly Holarctic Hydrobius species complex (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae) currently consists of H. arcticus Kuwert, 1890, and three morphological variants of H. fuscipes (Linnaeus, 1758): var. fuscipes, var. rottenbergii and var. subrotundus in northern Europe. Here molecular and morphological data are used to test the species boundaries in this species complex. Three gene segments (COI, H3 and ITS2) were sequenced and analyzed with Bayesian methods to infer phylogenetic relationships. The Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) model and two versions of the Bayesian species delimitation method BPP, with or without an a priori defined guide tree (v2.2 & v3.0), were used to evaluate species limits. External and male genital characters of primarily Fennoscandian specimens were measured and statistically analyzed to test for significant differences in quantitative morphological characters. The four morphotypes formed separate genetic clusters on gene trees and were delimited as separate species by GMYC and by both versions of BPP, despite specimens of H. f. var. fuscipes and H. f. var. subrotundus being sympatric. H. arcticus and H. f. var. rottenbergii could only be separated genetically with ITS2, and were delimited statistically with GMYC on ITS2 and with BPP on the combined data. In addition, six or seven potentially cryptic species of the H. fuscipes complex from regions outside northern Europe were delimited genetically. Although some overlap was found, the mean values of six male genital characters were significantly different between the morphotypes (p < 0.001). Morphological characters previously presumed to be diagnostic were less reliable to separate H. f. var. fuscipes from H. f. var. subrotundus, but characters in the literature for H. arcticus and H. f. var. rottenbergii were diagnostic. Overall, morphological and molecular evidence strongly suggest that H. arcticus and the three morphological variants of H. fuscipes are separate species and Hydrobius rottenbergii Gerhardt, 1872, stat. n. and Hydrobius subrotundus Stephens, 1829, stat. n. are elevated to valid species. An identification key to northern European species of Hydrobius is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the microbiological quality of Brazilian milk and dairy products some measures have been implemented in the milk-producing sector throughout the years, such as milk refrigeration and bulk collection. Refrigeration is a very efficient procedure, however allows psychrotrophics multiplication, which are largely found in milk produced in poor hygienic conditions. To assure and improve the microbiologic quality of milk turns out to be necessary the implementation of hygienic measures, known as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). In this study, several hygienic practices were tested in the main contamination points in milk production, previously determined: teats (different chlorine concentrations pre-dipping), cans and bulk tanks (hygienic techniques) and residual water (elimination). The recommended practices were picked up considering their efficiency in microbial reduction, practiced and economic viability. When the practices were all applied, reduction in microbial counts was observed. After 48 hours the final and refrigerated milk showed a reduction of 11.95x106 CFU/mL to 12.48x103 CFU/mL of mesophilic aerobes, and a reduction of 18.10x106 CFU/mL to 5.38x103 CFU/mL of psychrotrophics. The results show that the procedures proposed by LIPOA is efficient, viable and easily adopted by milk farmers, representing an important alternative in producing high quality milk.Buscando a melhoria da qualidade microbiológica de leite e derivados produzidos no Brasil, nos últimos anos algumas medidas vêm sendo implantadas na produção leiteira como a refrigeração e coleta a granel. A refrigeração é um procedimento eficiente no controle de aeróbios mesófilos, mas permite multiplicação de psicrotróficos, encontrados em altas contagens em leite produzido com pouca higiene. Para garantia e melhoraria da qualidade microbiológica do leite é necessária a implantação de medidas higiênicas, conhecidas como Boas Práticas de Produção (BPP). Neste estudo, diversas práticas higiênicas foram testadas nos principais pontos de contaminação na produção leiteira, previamente determinados: tetos (pré-dipping com diversas concentrações de cloro), latões e refrigeradores (técnicas de higienização), e água residual (eliminação). As práticas recomendadas foram escolhidas quanto à eficiência na redução de microrganismos, praticidade e viabilidade econômica. Quando as práticas foram aplicadas conjuntamente, obteve-se reduções consideráveis nas contagens microbianas. Após 48 horas de refrigeração do leite, as contagens foram reduzidas de 11,95x106 CFU/mL para 12,48x103 CFU/mL de aeróbios mesófilos, e de 18,10x106 CFU/mL para 5,38x103 CFU/mL de psicrotróficos. Os resultados mostram que as práticas propostas são eficientes, viáveis e facilmente adotáveis por produtores leiteiros, representando uma importante alternativa na produção de leite com alta qualidade.

This paper provides an overview and a tutorial of the BPP program, which is a Bayesian MCMC program for analyzing multi-locus genomic sequence data under the multispecies coalescent model. An example dataset of five nuclear loci from the East Asian brown frogs is used to illustrate four different analyses, including estimation of species divergence times and population size parameters under the multispecies coalescent model on a fixed species phylogeny (A00), species tree estimation when the assignment and species delimitation are fixed (A01), species delimitation using a fixed guide tree (A10), and joint species delimitation and species-tree estimation or unguided species delimitation (A11). For the joint analysis (A11), two new priors are introduced, which assign uniform probabilities for the different numbers of delimited species, which may be useful when assignment, species delimitation, and species phylogeny are all inferred in one joint analysis. The paper ends with a discussion of the assumptions, the strengths and weaknesses of the BPP analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies rely on the accurate quantification of biodiversity. In recent studies of taxonomically ambiguous groups, species boundaries are often determined based on multi-locus sequence data. Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (BPP) is a coalescent-based method frequently used to delimit species; however, empirical studies suggest that the requirement of a user-specified guide tree biases the range of possible outcomes. We evaluate fifteen multi-locus datasets using the most recent iteration of BPP, which eliminates the need for a user-specified guide tree and reconstructs the species tree in synchrony with species delimitation (= unguided species delimitation). We found that the number of species recovered with guided versus unguided species delimitation was the same except for two cases, and that posterior probabilities were generally lower for the unguided analyses as a result of searching across species trees in addition to species delimitation models. The guide trees used in previous studies were often discordant with the species tree topologies estimated by BPP. We also compared species trees estimated using BPP and *BEAST and found that when the topologies are the same, BPP tends to give higher posterior probabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charismatic tropical Polyura Nawab butterflies are distributed across twelve biodiversity hotspots in the Indomalayan/Australasian archipelago. In this study, we tested an array of species delimitation methods and compared the results to existing morphology-based taxonomy. We sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear gene fragments to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within Polyura using both Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood. Based on this phylogenetic framework, we used the recently introduced bGMYC, BPP and PTP methods to investigate species boundaries. Based on our results, we describe two new species Polyura paulettae Toussaint sp. n. and Polyura smilesi Toussaint sp. n., propose one synonym, and five populations are raised to species status. Most of the newly recognized species are single-island endemics likely resulting from the recent highly complex geological history of the Indomalayan–Australasian archipelago. Surprisingly, we also find two newly recognized species in the Indomalayan region where additional biotic or abiotic factors have fostered speciation. Species delimitation methods were largely congruent and succeeded to cross-validate most extant morphological species. PTP and BPP seem to yield more consistent and robust estimations of species boundaries with respect to morphological characters while bGMYC delivered contrasting results depending on the different gene trees considered. Our findings demonstrate the efficiency of comparative approaches using molecular species delimitation methods on empirical data. They also pave the way for the investigation of less well-known groups to unveil patterns of species richness and catalogue Earth’s concealed, therefore unappreciated diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today many vehicle manufacturers are interested in an inductive power transfer system design with a secondary side that is simple and low in cost, weight, and size. To achieve this, a more sophisticated primary side design is required to ensure interoperability with various magnetic topologies. Simple secondary pads such as the circular pad and double-D pad (DDP) (similar to the flat solenoid) can only couple either the perpendicular or parallel component of flux entering the surface of the pad respectively. This paper investigates using various known multiple coil pad designs as the primary that can be switched between various excitation modes during operation, without making tuning or other expensive adjustments. The primary pads considered here include; the DDP, the double-D quadrature pad (DDQP) and the bipolar pad (BPP). Results show that the mutually coupled structure of the DDP primary makes it a poor choice for interoperability, whereas the DDQP and BPP are able to achieve good results because of the decoupled coil structures inherent in their design. The DDQP has improved leakage characteristics while the BPP shows better interoperability characteristics with improved material usage efficiency and is easy to drive because of its identical coil structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), despite being regarded as an ideal replacement to the internal combustion engine, is still not an economically attractive prime-mover due to a number of key challenges that have yet to be fully resolved; such as degradation to cell components resulting in inadequate lifetimes, specialized manufacturing processes, and poor gravimetric/volumetric energy densities. This paper presents a stack concept which replaces the conventional bipolar plate (BPP), a component that is responsible for a large proportion of stack cost and volume in traditional fuel cell stack designs. The stack architecture compromises of active and passive components which are suited to mass manufacture and maintain functionality that the BPP fulfilled. Furthermore, the design allows the implementation of a fault tolerant system (FTS) which can bypass faulty cells while still ensuring electrical output. The stack architecture is presented and characterized over a number of operating scenarios. The experimental studies suggest that the performance of the new design is similar to that of traditional stacks over a number of operating conditions despite the removal of the BPP and the FTS continued to operate at a desired operating criterion despite the loss of a cell within the stack [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]