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Context. GJ 1214 b is one of the few known transiting super-Earth-sized exoplanets with a measured mass and radius. It orbits an M-dwarf, only 14.55? pc away, making it a favorable candidate for follow-up studies. However, the composition of GJ? 1214? b's mysterious atmosphere has yet to be fully unveiled. Aims. Our goal is to distinguish between the various proposed atmospheric models to explain the properties of GJ? 1214? b: hydrogen-rich or hydrogen-He mix, or a heavy molecular weight atmosphere with reflecting high clouds, as latest studies have suggested. Methods. Wavelength-dependent planetary radii measurements from the transit depths in the optical/NIR are the best tool to investigate the atmosphere of GJ? 1214? b. We present here (i) photometric transit observations with a narrow-band filter centered on 2.14? μm and a broad-band I-Bessel filter centered on 0.8665? μm, and (ii) transmission spectroscopy in the H and K atmospheric windows that cover three transits. The photometric and spectrophotometric time series obtained were analyzed with MCMC simulations to measure the planetary radii as a function of wavelength. We determined radii ratios of 0.1173-0.0024+0.0022 for I-Bessel and 0.11735-0.00076+0.00072 at 2.14? μm. Results. Our measurements indicate a flat transmission spectrum, in agreement with the last atmospheric models that favor featureless spectra with clouds and high molecular weight compositions. © ESO, 2014.

A new caddisfly species Plectrocnemia kirmikhia sp. nov. (Polycentropodidae) is described from Priabonian Rovno amber (Upper Eocene, 33.937.8 million years old). Now the family Polycentropodidae is represented in Rovno amber by 16 named species, and the genus Plectrocnemia includes 5 described species in this locality.

An updated list of the caddisfly species occurring in Krabi and Phang Nga Provinces, southern Thailand, comprises 76 species. Among them, 69 species are found in Krabi Province and 17 in Phang Nga Province, 4 are new for science and 2 new for Thailand. New species from the families Hydroptilidae (Hydroptila nevdomek sp. n.), Polycentropodidae (Nyctiophylax dosyhpor sp. n.), Psychomyiidae (Psychomyia dabudettak sp. n.), and Leptoceridae (Setodes pokamest sp. n.) are described. Hydroptila namcattien Malicky Chantaramongkol 2007 and Setodes kybele Malicky Chantaramongkol 2006 are new species for Thailand. Faunistic considerations and comparisons to other regions of Thailand are provided.

Structure and distribution of sensilla were studied in sixteen species of the caddisfly family Philopotamidae. Their antennae bear numerous curved trichoid and pseudoplacoid sensilla and fewer coronal, styloconic and chaetoid sensilla on the flagellar segments. The most numerous pseudoplacoid sensilla have non-specific localization. The curved trichoid sensilla form clusters ventrally on each antennal segment. Sensilla belonging to coronal, styloconic and chaetoid types have specific positions. Long grooved trichoid sensilla are located nonspecifically in all the studied species. The average number of sensilla per segment decreases from the proximal to distal part of the flagellum. Scapus and pedicellum are devoid of most types of sensilla, however, they bear the Böhm bristles and long trichoid sensilla. A positive correlation between antenna dimensions and its cuticular structures is found., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The genus Tinodes (Psychomyiidae) has a wide distribution in the Eastern Hemisphere with the richest species assemblages in the Oriental and southern parts of the Western Palearctic regions. In comparison with the species assemblages in those regions, diversity of the African species of this genus is relatively poor. A brief review of the 10 then-known Afrotropical species belonging to the genus Tinodes was published by Johanson & Oláh (2007) together with descriptions of 14 new species. Some of these new species came from the Eastern African Arc of crystalline mountains, although 5 species have been found in Madagascar and the Comoros where no species of the genus Tinodes have been known previously. These new findings suggest continuing poor knowledge of the Afrotropical faunas where many species escaped descriptions until the beginning of the XXI century.

Knowledge of caddisflies of the Sunda Islands was insufficiently known until recent times; a survey of the caddis fauna of this area was given by Malicky (2010) and some more data were published recently (Malicky et al. 2011). A summary on the particular features of Trichoptera from 3 adjacent islands, Bali, Lombok, and Java, were given by Malicky et al. 2014. These were the first surveys of the local caddisfly fauna of Lombok, listing 60 species and anticipating that more species should occur there. It was shown that the caddisfly fauna of these islands is largely homogenous and there are not sufficient differences between Bali and Lombok to support the hypothesis of Wallace's line (Malicky et al. 2014). The comparative analysis showed continuous impoverishment of the caddis fauna from the Asian continent over the chain of islands from west to east. Unfortunately, the Trichoptera fauna of the easternmost Sunda Islands, Sumba, Sumbawa, Flores, Timor, and the Moluccas is almost unstudied. The Trichoptera fauna of these islands is, according to present knowledge, Asian. Since the previous material from Lombok was collected only once at the end of the wet season, it was necessary to have more data from other seasons. Hence we made another effort to sample caddisflies in this area. As a result, 8 more species were found, 2 of which were new for science. The updated list (Table 1) includes now 68 species.

A new species, Rhyacophila langkawia sp. n., belonging to the R. curvata Group sensu Schmid (1970) is described. The samples provide also material of the previously undescribed species cited by Schmid (1970) as R. schmidi, a nomen nudum; this species is described as R. schmidirossia sp. n., also in the R. curvata Group. Other sampled species were Rhyacophila curvata Morton, recorded for the first time from Negeri Sembilan (West Malaysia) and Lombok (Indonesia); Rhyacophila stheneboia Malicky & Prommi (Pahang and Negeri Sembilan, West Malaysia), and Rhyacophila anakbatukau Malicky, recorded for the first time from Lombok (Indonesia). Updated lists of the Rhyacophila species found in West Malaysia and Indonesia are provided.

Three new caddisflies species of the fossil genus Archaeotinodes: Archaeotinodes petropolitana sp. nov., Archaeotinodes regiomontana sp. nov., and Archaeotinodes rossica sp. nov. from the Baltic amber (Upper Eocene, 40 million years old), are described and illustrated.

Pluto and Eris are icy dwarf planets with nearly identical sizes, comparable densities and similar surface compositions as revealed by spectroscopic studies. Pluto possesses an atmosphere whereas Eris does not; the difference probably arises from their differing distances from the Sun, and explains their different albedos. Makemake is another icy dwarf planet with a spectrum similar to Eris and Pluto, and is currently at a distance to the Sun intermediate between the two. Although Makemake's size (1,420 ± 60 km) and albedo are roughly known, there has been no constraint on its density and there were expectations that it could have a Pluto-like atmosphere. Here we report the results from a stellar occultation by Makemake on 2011 April 23. Our preferred solution that fits the occultation chords corresponds to a body with projected axes of 1,430 ± 9 km (1σ) and 1,502 ± 45 km, implying a V-band geometric albedo p(V) = 0.77 ± 0.03. This albedo is larger than that of Pluto, but smaller than that of Eris. The disappearances and reappearances of the star were abrupt, showing that Makemake has no global Pluto-like atmosphere at an upper limit of 4-12 nanobar (1σ) for the surface pressure, although a localized atmosphere is possible. A density of 1.7 ± 0.3 g cm(-3) is inferred from the data.

We present the discovery and spectroscopic follow-up of a nearby late-type L dwarf (2M0614+3950), and two extremely wide very-low-mass binary systems (2M0525-7425AB and 2M1348-1344AB), resulting from our search for common proper motion pairs containing ultracool components in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalogs. The near-infrared spectrum of 2M0614+3950 indicates a spectral type L9 ± 1 object residing at a distance of 26.0 ± 1.8 pc. The optical spectrum of 2M0525-7425A reveals an M3.0 ± 0.5 dwarf primary, accompanied by a secondary previously classified as L2. The system has an angular separation of ~ 44″, equivalent to ~ 2000 AU at distance of 46.0 ± 3.0 pc. Using optical and infrared spectra, respectively, we classify the components of 2M1348-1344AB as M4.5 ± 0.5 and T5.5 ± 1. The angular separation of ~ 68″ is equivalent to ~ 1400 AU at a distance of 20.7 ± 1.4 pc. 2M1348-1344AB is one of only six very wide (separation > 1000 AU) systems containing late T dwarfs known to date.

The structures of antennal segments and ultrastructures of antennal sensilla were studied in representatives of 28 families of caddisflies from both extant suborders by the methods of light and scanning electron microscopy. Sixteen types of the sensilla have been found to occur on the antenna in Trichoptera; some of them were found for the first time. Morphological characters of the cuticular structures on the antennal surface demonstrate the significant structural differences both in various families and in the lower taxonomy levels. Specialized sensory fields differing structurally from the rest of the flagellomer surface have been found on the antennas in the suborder Phryganeina. A modified classification of sensilla based on the cuticular structures is proposed.

In the caddisfly Molanna angustata, females produce a sex pheromone in glands with openings on the fifth sternite. Gas chromatographic analyses of pheromone gland extracts with electroantennographic detection revealed four major compounds that stimulated male antennae. These compounds were identified by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and enantioselective gas chromatography as heptan-2-one, (S)-heptan-2-ol, nonan-2-one, and (S)-nonan-2-ol in the approximate ratio of 1:1:4:10, respectively. Field tests showed that the mixture of the two alcohols was attractive to males whereas addition of the corresponding ketones reduced trap catches. The sex pheromone of M. angustata, a species in the family Molannidae within the suborder Integripalpia, is similar to the pheromones or pheromone-like compounds previously reported from six other trichopteran families, including members of the basal suborder Annulipalpia. This suggests that minimal evolutionary change of the pheromone chemistry has taken place within the leptoceroid branch of integripalpian Trichoptera compared to the ancestral character state.

We have identified a companion to the young planetary-mass brown dwarf Oph 162225-240515. This pair forms a resolved binary consisting of two objects with masses comparable to those of extrasolar giant planets. Several lines of evidence confirm the coevality and youth of the two objects, suggesting that they form a physical binary. Models yield masses of approximately 14 and approximately 7 times the mass of Jupiter for the primary and the secondary object, respectively, at an age of approximately 1 million years. A wide ( approximately 240-astronomical unit) binary in the ultra-low-mass regime poses a challenge to some popular models of brown dwarf formation.

This review contains a detailed description of factors which determine the allergic danger in a region, the sources of allergens entering the environment, and classification of allergens according to their origin and ecological significance. The authors draw attention to the existing criteria of allergopathic conditions, which may serve as an important diagnostic index when establishing sensitization and performing specific diagnostics of allergic diseases. The article covers a complex of laboratory diagnostic methods, directed towards timely detection of allergopathology and its prevention.

The paper deals with the risk of occurrence and development of allergic diseases under the influence of biological housing factors, such as molds, staphylococci, ticks, and insects. It shows that biological domestic allergens are of high importance in human sensitization. There is evidence that supports the allergic hazard of the above factors to children and adults.

The paper considers the insect fauna of a human dwelling as a risk factor for patients with respiratory allergic diseases with domestic dust hypersensitivity. It shows that cockroaches, moths, domestic dust ticks, and molds may be additional sources of allergens within the human dwelling. The paper also lends support of an important role of cockroaches and their vital activity in the development of respiratory allergy and shows their implication as inhalation allergens.