Search

Prediction of periodic event timing is an important function for everyday activities, while the exact neural mechanism remains unclear. Previous studies in nonhuman primates have demonstrated that neurons in the cerebellar dentate nucleus and those in the caudate nucleus exhibit periodic firing modulation when the animals attempt to detect a single omission of isochronous repetitive audiovisual stimuli. To understand how these subcortical signals are sent and processed through the thalamocortical pathways, we examined single-neuron activities in the central thalamus of two macaque monkeys (one female and one male). We found that three types of neurons responded to each stimulus in the sequence in the absence of movements. Reactive-type neurons showed sensory adaptation and gradually waned the transient response to each stimulus. Predictive-type neurons steadily increased the magnitude of the suppressive response, similar to neurons previously reported in the cerebellum. Switch-type neurons initially showed a transient response, but after several cycles, the direction of firing modulation reversed and the activity decreased for each repetitive stimulus. The time course of Switch-type activity was well explained by the weighted sum of activities of the other types of neurons. Furthermore, for only Switch-type neurons the activity just before stimulus omission significantly correlated with behavioral latency, indicating that this type of neuron may carry a more advanced signal in the system detecting stimulus omission. These results suggest that the central thalamus may transmit integrated signals to the cerebral cortex for temporal information processing, which are necessary to accurately predict rhythmic event timing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTSeveral cortical and subcortical regions are involved in temporal information processing, and the thalamus will play a role in functionally linking them. The present study aimed to clarify how the paralaminar part of the thalamus transmits and modifies signals for temporal prediction of rhythmic events. Three types of thalamic neurons exhibited periodic activity when monkeys attempted to detect a single omission of isochronous repetitive stimuli. The activity of one type of neuron correlated with the behavioral latency and appeared to be generated by integrating the signals carried by the other types of neurons. Our results revealed the neuronal signals in the thalamus for temporal prediction of sensory events, providing a clue to elucidate information processing in the thalamocortical pathways.

During the last decades, X-ray (micro-)computed tomography has gained increasing attention for the description of porous skeletal and shell structures of various organism groups. However, their quantitative analysis is often hampered by the difficulty to discriminate cavities and pores within the object from the surrounding region. Herein, we test the ambient occlusion (AO) algorithm and newly implemented optimisations for the segmentation of cavities (implemented in the software Amira). The segmentation accuracy is evaluated as a function of (i) changes in the ray length input variable, and (ii) the usage of AO (scalar) field and other AO-derived (scalar) fields. The results clearly indicate that the AO field itself outperforms all other AO-derived fields in terms of segmentation accuracy and robustness against variations in the ray length input variable. The newly implemented optimisations improved the AO field-based segmentation only slightly, while the segmentations based on the AO-derived fields improved considerably. Additionally, we evaluated the potential of the AO field and AO-derived fields for the separation and classification of cavities as well as skeletal structures by comparing them with commonly used distance-map-based segmentations. For this, we tested the zooid separation within a bryozoan colony, the stereom classification of an ophiuroid tooth, the separation of bioerosion traces within a marble block and the calice (central cavity)-pore separation within a dendrophyllid coral. The obtained results clearly indicate that the ideal input field depends on the three-dimensional morphology of the object of interest. The segmentations based on the AO-derived fields often provided cavity separations and skeleton classifications that were superior to or impossible to obtain with commonly used distance-map-based segmentations. The combined usage of various AO-derived fields by supervised or unsupervised segmentation algorithms might provide a promising target for future research to further improve the results for this kind of high-end data segmentation and classification. Furthermore, the application of the developed segmentation algorithm is not restricted to X-ray (micro-)computed tomographic data but may potentially be useful for the segmentation of 3D volume data from other sources.

Ristedtia vestiflua is described as a new genus and species of cheilostomatous Bryozoa from the Arctic Vesterisbanken Seamount, located in the central Greenland Sea. The currently monospecific genus Ristedtia is included in the family Pyrisinellidae. It is characterised by a paired series of opesiules, interzooidal avicularia and hyperstomial, globular ovicells with a triangular endooecial frontal exposure. Its relationship to other members of this family as well as its habitat preference is discussed. It is suggested that the Recent genera of this family represent Tethyan relicts.

The new sustainable power generation technique which can convert the salinity gradient energy to the hydroelectric energy is expected. This technique is called Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO). Clarification of the relationship between the performance of the PRO module and permeation characteristics is important. It’s already known that increase of salt concentration can increase the permeation flux through the membrane. As the conventional researches, the effects of increase of fresh water concentration and concentration polarization have evaluated. In this research, relationship between the salt concentration and membrane module is focused. The effects of fresh water dissipation and flow state of salt water in hollow fiber membrane module as new factors are researched with experiment and numerical simulation. As result, in the case of low salt concentration, permeation is not caused sufficiently in module. On the other hand, in the case of high salt concentration, very low permeation flux area exists extensively, and the effects of concentration polarization and fresh water dissipation are relatively large. Therefore salt water flow rate and module shape should be changed for each salt concentration.

The bryozoan collection of Prof. Dr Ehrhard Voigt (1905-2004) at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a world-renowned collection of great scientific value. It is the world's largest collection of fossil bryozoans from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene and a unique archive documenting the evolution of this phylum of marine invertebrates during this time interval in the Boreal Chalk Sea that extended from the British Isles to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The Voigt Collection contains over 300,000 specimens and was relocated to the Senckenberg Institute in 2005 according to the bequest of Ehrhard Voigt. As a result of a DFG-funded project, we present here a three-part type catalogue of the holotypes and neotypes of 256 bryozoan species in the Voigt Collection, of which this is Part 1. In total over the three parts, 247 species are re-illustrated but the name-bearing type specimens of 20 species are missing and no material could be found for 9 species. Two species, described as ctenostome bryozoans by Ehrhard Voigt, are questionable, while a further three 'ctenostome' species and one 'ctenostome' genus are considered as ichnotaxa.

The bryozoan collection of Prof. Dr Ehrhard Voigt (1905-2004) at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a world-renowned collection of great scientific value. It is the world's largest collection of fossil bryozoans from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene and a unique archive documenting the evolution of this phylum of marine invertebrates during this time interval in the Boreal Chalk Sea that extended from the British Isles to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The Voigt Collection contains over 300,000 specimens and was relocated to the Senckenberg Institute in 2005 according to the bequest of Ehrhard Voigt. As a result of a DFG-funded project, we present here a three-part type catalogue of the holotypes and neotypes of 256 bryozoan species in the Voigt Collection, of which this is Part 2. In total over the three parts, 247 species are re-illustrated but the name-bearing type specimens of 20 species are missing and no material could be found for 9 species. Two species, described as ctenostome bryozoans by Ehrhard Voigt, are questionable, while a further three 'ctenostome' species and one 'ctenostome' genus are considered as ichnotaxa.

The bryozoan collection of Prof. Dr Ehrhard Voigt (1905–2004) at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a world-renowned collection of great scientific value. It is the world's largest collection of fossil bryozoans from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene and a unique archive documenting the evolution of this phylum of marine invertebrates during this time interval in the Boreal Chalk Sea that extended from the British Isles to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The Voigt Collection contains over 300,000 specimens and was relocated to the Senckenberg Institute in 2005 according to the bequest of Ehrhard Voigt. As a result of a DFG-funded project, we present here a three-part type catalogue of the holotypes and neotypes of 256 bryozoan species in the Voigt Collection, of which this is Part 3. In total over the three parts, 247 species are re-illustrated but the name-bearing type specimens of 20 species are missing and no material could be found for 9 species. Two species, described as ctenostome bryozoans by Ehrhard Voigt, are questionable, while a further three 'ctenostome' species and one 'ctenostome' genus are considered as ichnotaxa.

This study evaluates the feasibility of a power generation system adopting pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) using seawater and fresh water. The authors measured the membrane power density of a commercially available hollow fiber membrane module. The power density of the current membrane module is 3.1 W/m2, but 6.5 W/m2 is required to realize a commercially feasible power plant adopting PRO. In this case of the net output power is 2.8 W/m2 when the DS pressure was 1.5 MPa and the FS pressure was 0.1 MPa, respectively. The cost of power generation is 0.20 $/kWh assuming a commercial plant that uses 1 million m3 of seawater per day and has the calculated membrane power density. It is necessary to improve the A and B values per membrane module to realize this system. Here, the A and B values are coefficients representing water permeability and salt permeability, respectively. The target membrane power density can be achieved using A and B values per membrane module of 2.05 × 10−6 m/s/MPa and 5.5 × 10−9 m/s, respectively. This evaluation is based on theoretical calculations using the solution-diffusion model of membrane permeation in PRO.

Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) would face some problems like energy saving and management of concentrated brine. To solve these problems at the same time, the energy recovery by Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) was proposed in the Mega-ton Water System project. Prototype plant test was conducted using concentrated brine from SWRO plant and fresh water from regional waste water treatment facility. Hollow-fiber membrane module were examined in the prototype plant and the test operation was carried out for more than one year. We have reached the maximum membrane power density, 13.5 W/m2, using 10-in. module. Followings were still existing obstacles for further effective PRO. It was also challenging how to get clean fresh water from waste or river water without additional cost. Innovative new technologies were also required to address these concerns. We have also estimated plant cost and surveyed financial impacts on the energy saving of SWRO operation, based on the situation of currently operated SWRO plants worldwide, especially about the Mega-ton scale ones. Those studies indicated that potential market of PRO was 1–2 GW, and 10% energy saving was possible on the Megaton scale SWRO plants. Those results indicate that the commercialization plant would be available very near future.

In the course of a biomonitoring program to compile a neobiota baseline for German North Sea coastal waters of the Federal State of Lower Saxony, different natural and artificial hard substrates and various soft substrates were sampled at potential bioinvasion ‘hot-spots’ in the region. The survey followed the standardized sampling guideline of the HELCOM/OSPAR protocol. We identified several colonies of Smittoidea prolifica Osburn, 1952 at two harbours in the Jade estuary. Both harbours are characterized by international shipping activity while the Jade Weser Port was only recently constructed between 2009 and 2012. However, the vector of introduction remains unclear. These records from November 2014 are the first for German coastal waters.

Type material of three bryozoan species first described by Ehrhard Voigt in his early publications of 1924 and 1930 has been rediscovered. All bryozoan material described by Voigt between 1923 and 1942 was previously believed to have been either destroyed in 1943 or otherwise lost. The rediscovered material belonged to the collections of Hermann Brandes and the Preusische Geologische Landesanstalt (PGL), and comes from the Middle Santonian of two localities in northern Germany. Three cheilostome bryozoan species—Conopeum congestum Voigt, 1924d, Ogiva promonturiorum Voigt, 1924d and Membranipora brandesi Voigt, 1930—from the Subhercynian Cretaceous Basin and the eastern Lower Saxony Basin are revised herein using new SEM and microphotographic images. C. congestum and M. brandesi are transferred to Chiplonkarina Taylor & Badve, 1995 and Wilbertopora Cheetham, 1954, respectively, while O. promonturiorum is transferred back to its original genus Ogiva Jullien, 1882. The holotypes of C. congestum and M. brandesi are the only known specimens belonging to these species, whereas O. promonturiorum is a common and characteristic species of the Santonian and Lower Campanian in northern Germany. The new species Ogiva ellinorvoigtae sp. nov. is introduced for material in the Voigt Collection that is morphologically similar to but distinct from O. promonturiorum.

Two new species of cheilostome Bryozoa are described from continental-slope habitats off Mauritania, including canyon and cold-water coral (mound) habitats. Internal structures of both species were visualised and quantified using microcomputed tomographic (micro-CT) methods. Cellaria bafouri n. sp. is characterised by the arrangement of zooids in alternating longitudinal rows, a smooth cryptocyst, and the presence of an ooecial plate with denticles. Smittina imragueni n. sp. exhibits many similarities with Smittina cervicornis (Pallas, 1766), but differs especially in the shape and orientation of the suboral avicularium. Observations on Smittina imragueni and material labelled as Smittina cervicornis suggest that the latter represents a species group, members of which have not yet been discriminated, possibly because of high intracolony variation and marked astogenetic changes in surface morphology. Both new species are known only from the habitats where they were collected, probably reflecting the paucity of bryozoan sampling from this geographic area and depth range. Both species are able to tolerate low oxygen concentration, which is assumed to be compensated by the high nutrient supply off Mauritania. The application of micro-CT for the semiautomatic quantification of zooidal skeletal characters was successfully tested. We were able to automatically distinguish individual zooidal cavities and acquire corresponding morphological datasets. Comparing the obtained results with conventional SEM measurements allowed ascertaining the reliability of this new method. The employment of micro-CT allows the observation and quantification of previously unseen characters that can be used in describing and differentiating species that were previously indistinguishable. Furthermore, this method might help elucidate processes of colony growth and the function of individual zooids during this process.

Forward Osmosis (FO) is recently paied attention to preprocessing of the Reverse Osmosis (RO). It can reduce the input power of RO plant. It is required to reduce the salt concentration at outlet and increase the permeation flow rate. In this paper, the characteristics of the fresh water flow and permeation are studied for the hollow fiber membrane module used in FO system. It is cleared that the disappearance of fresh water and the concentration polarization in hollow fiber largely influence to the reduction of permeation flow rate in the case of the low fresh water flow rate. Concentration of fresh water and the leakage of salt influence to the reduction of permeation flow rate in the case of high fresh water flow rate.Copyright © 2015 by JSME

The German research vessel Sonne is operating in the Pacific, Southern and Indian Oceans. In the current stage of development in Pacific deep-sea mining projects, prior understanding of biodiversity patterns in the affected regions is one of the major research goals of the RV Sonne cruises. In the present study, nine bryozoan species are reported from the Equatorial East Pacific and the Kermadec-Tonga Ridge, collected during RV Sonne cruises SO 167 "Louisville" and SO 205 "Mangan", from 356-4007 m. Two new species, Raxifabia oligopora n. sp. and Opaeophora triangula n. sp., are described.

Two new species of cheilostome Bryozoa are described from continental-slope habitats off Mauritania, including canyon and cold-water coral (mound) habitats. Internal structures of both species were visualised and quantified using microcomputed tomographic (micro-CT) methods. Cellaria bafouri n. sp. is characterised by the arrangement of zooids in alternating longitudinal rows, a smooth cryptocyst, and the presence of an ooecial plate with denticles. Smittina imragueni n. sp. exhibits many similarities with Smittina cervicornis (Pallas, 1766), but differs especially in the shape and orientation of the suboral avicularium. Observations on Smittina imragueni and material labelled as Smittina cervicornis suggest that the latter represents a species group, members of which have not yet been discriminated, possibly because of high intracolony variation and marked astogenetic changes in surface morphology. Both new species are known only from the habitats where they were collected, probably reflecting the paucity of bryozoan sampling from this geographic area and depth range. Both species are able to tolerate low oxygen concentration, which is assumed to be compensated by the high nutrient supply off Mauritania. The application of micro-CT for the semiautomatic quantification of zooidal skeletal characters was successfully tested. We were able to automatically distinguish individual zooidal cavities and acquire corresponding morphological datasets. Comparing the obtained results with conventional SEM measurements allowed ascertaining the reliability of this new method. The employment of micro-CT allows the observation and quantification of previously unseen characters that can be used in describing and differentiating species that were previously indistinguishable. Furthermore, this method might help elucidate processes of colony growth and the function of individual zooids during this process.

The German research vessel Sonne is operating in the Pacific, Southern and Indian Oceans. In the current stage of development in Pacific deep-sea mining projects, prior understanding of biodiversity patterns in the affected regions is one of the major research goals of the RV Sonne cruises. In the present study, nine bryozoan species are reported from the Equatorial East Pacific and the Kermadec–Tonga Ridge, collected during RV Sonne cruises SO 167 “Louisville” and SO 205 “Mangan”, from 356–4007 m. Two new species, Raxifabia oligopora n. sp. and Opaeophora triangula n. sp., are described.