bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reproductive life history of snakes in temperate regions: what are the differences between oviparous and viviparous species?
Authors: Bellini Gisela Paola , Arzamendia Vanesa , Giraudo Alejandro Raúl
Published: November 2018

Studying life history (LH) allows a broader understanding of organisms and populations’ responses to their environments. Snakes display an immense diversity in terms of reproductive traits, which is reflected in LH traits. The aim of this study is to compare reproductive biology and morphological variables in viviparous and oviparous snakes of a temperate South American community. We studied nearly 1000 specimens of eight oviparous and seven viviparous species pertaining to the four taxonomic families that inhabit the Paraná basin floodplain. Dimorphic variables did not show a different tendency between oviparous and viviparous species. Our results showed that the reproductive mode determined some reproductive traits of a snake’s LH, such as reproductive frequency and reproductive potential. Oviparous snakes reproduce annually, while viviparous snakes reproduce biannually or multi-annually. All species showed seasonal reproductive cycles and no correlation between clutch size (fecundity) and maternal body size. The reproductive strategy of both oviparous and viviparous species of the Paraná River floodplain was to adjust their reproductive cycles to both hydrological cycle of the river and temperature regime. The reproductive traits under study are suggested to have been influenced by environmental factors as well as by genetic characteristics. The studied assemblage is the result of an admixture of evolutionarily distinct clades, each contributing a set of species with different reproductive traits. Although we do not ignore this fact, we emphasize the importance of studying reproductive LH as raw material for an integrative analysis.
Influence of pesticides, soil temperature and moisture on entomopathogenic nematodes from southern Benin and control of underground termite nest populations
Authors: Baimey Hugues , Zadji Lionel , Afouda Leonard , Moens Maurice , Decraemer Wilfrida
Published: November 2018

The influence of three pesticides on the viability and infectivity of four Beninese isolates of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN), Heterorhabditis indica Ayogbe1, H. sonorensis Azohoue2, H. sonorensis Ze3, and Steinernema sp. Bembereke, was determined. The impact of both soil temperature and soil moisture on the virulence of these EPN to Trinervitermes occidentalis was investigated in laboratory assays. The effect of EPN-infected Galleria mellonella larvae on underground populations of Macrotermes bellicosus was also examined. All tested Heterorhabditis species were more tolerant to glyphosate and fipronil than the Steinernema species. Heterorhabditis sonorensis Azohoue2, showed the best results with 63.2% termite mortality at a soil temperature of 35°C. The increase of soil moisture to 20% (w/w) did not negatively influence the virulence of tested EPN. The underground populations of 71% or 60% treated nests were controlled by H. sonorensis Azohoue2- or H. indica Ayogbe1-infected G. mellonella larvae, respectively.
Mapping quantitative trait loci of Meloidogyne graminicola resistance and tolerance in a recombinant inbred line population of Oryza glaberrima × O. sativa
Authors: Lawilao Judith Galeng , Swamy B.P. Mallikarjuna , Kumar Arvind , Cabasan Ma. Teodora Nadong , De Waele Dirk
Published: November 2018

Host response of BC2F3 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between African rice (CG14) and Asian rice (IR64) genotypes was evaluated in the field and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that confer resistance and tolerance to Meloidogyne graminicola were mapped using SSR markers. Of the 155 BC2F3 progenies evaluated, 23 were resistant and six were partially resistant based on the number of second-stage juveniles (J2) per root system and J2 per g roots. Based on yield reduction, 23 progenies were identified as tolerant and 14 were less sensitive to M. graminicola infection. QTLs related to resistance were detected on chromosomes 6, 7 and 12. QTL for tolerance linked to percentage yield reduction was mapped on chromosome 5. QTLs linked to fresh root weight, dry root weight, dry shoot weight, percentage filled grains per panicle and yields were also mapped. QTLs identified will be useful in a breeding programme to develop M. graminicola-resistant and tolerant rice cultivars.
A fodder sorghum cultivar, ‘Kyushuko 3 go’, suppresses root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita
Authors: Murata Gaku , Takai Tomoyuki , Uesugi Kenta
Published: November 2018

Commercially available sorghum cultivars were tested for resistance to Meloidogyne incognita in order to select cultivars that combine fodder production with M. incognita population management. Initially in a pot test with 12 sorghum cultivars, ‘Kyushuko 3 go’, a sorghum hybrid, supported very low M. incognita reproduction approximately 40 days after inoculation (dai) with 500 second-stage juveniles (J2) pot−1, similar to the resistant green manure ‘Tsuchitaro’. Further tests for development of M. incognita in roots (20 dai with 150 J2 (root system)−1) indicated that the resistance of ‘Kyushuko 3 go’ acts after nematode root penetration. In field tests in 2015 and 2016, ‘Kyushuko 3 go’ suppressed M. incognita population densities, although some variations in field conditions may influence reproduction of M. incognita on ‘Kyushuko 3 go’. These findings demonstrated M. incognita-resistant fodder sorghum cultivars could be a useful alternative to susceptible cultivars for root-knot nematode management.
Sexual selection and organs of sense: Darwin’s neglected insight
Authors: Elgar Mark A. , Johnson Tamara L. , Symonds Matthew R.E.
Published: November 2018

Studies of sexual selection that occurs prior to mating have focussed on either the role of armaments in intra-sexual selection, or extravagant signals for inter-sexual selection. However, Darwin suggested that sexual selection may also act on ‘organs of sense’, an idea that seems to have been largely overlooked. Here, we refine this idea in the context of the release of sex pheromones by female insects: females that lower the release of sex pheromones may benefit by mating with high-quality males, if their signalling investment results in sexual selection favouring males with larger or more sensitive antennae that are costly to develop and maintain.
Effects of Pymetrozine on biochemical parameters and the midgut ultrastructure of Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
Authors: Cunha Franklin M. , Wanderley-Teixeira Valéria , Teixeira Álvaro A.C. , Pereira Bruno Fiorelini , Caetano Flávio H. , Torres Jorge B. , Gonçalves Gabriel G.A. , Santos Fábio A.B.
Published: November 2018

Pymetrozine represents a class of compounds for the control of sucking insects. However, chewing insects have also shown sensitivity to this compound. Therefore, although pymetrozine has been demonstrated to have a direct action on sucking insects, it could also affect species like the boll worm Anthonomus grandis by promoting histological changes in the intestine and alterations in biochemical parameters such as glycogen, lipids, and glucose. The pymetrozine promoted histological changes are characterized by protrusions and detachments of columnar cells toward the intestinal lumen, presence of vacuolated regenerative cells, and removal of the epithelial lamina in some areas of the muscle layer. The ultrastructure of the midgut in the control group exhibited the basal labyrinth near the mid region of the cell, rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, glycogen granules, mitochondria, electron-lucent vesicles, nucleus with well-defined nucleoli, and elongated microvillus. Pymetrozine promoted disarrangement in the basal labyrinth and generated numerous vacuoles and large protrusions between the epithelial lamina and muscular layer. No significant difference was observed in glucose content at 48 h after treatment; however, a significant increase was observed at 144 h after treatment. The glycogen content was reduced in the first 48 h of exposure to pmetrozine and reached the average content of the control insects at 144 h. Significant effects were observed in lipid contents, both in the first 48 h and at 144 h after treatment. Thus, we conclude that pymetrozine compromises the digestive physiology in these insects, affects reproduction, and consequently, it can be a potential alternative to reduce this pest species.
Overstepping the Mark?
Authors: Broughton Fiona
Published: November 2018

This article examines the position of the un Convention on the Right of the Child with regard to pre-natal children in light of the 2016 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. These Observations of the Committee recommend that Ireland, as well as and other State parties to the Convention, decriminalise abortion in all circumstances. The article analyses the possible remit of the Convention to apply to pre-natal children and concludes that the Committee deviates from the Convention’s ethos of inclusive human rights and is overstepping the mark in imposing its abortion belief system on States parties to the Convention.
Challenging Competency and Capacity?
Authors: Tisdall E. Kay M.
Published: November 2018

Galvanised by the un Convention on the Rights of the Child, many jurisdictions have introduced or strengthened children’s rights to participate in family law proceedings. Yet, the research and legal literature continues to show difficulties in implementation. According to the literature, decisions makers frequently view children as insufficiently competent or lacking in capacity to participate in proceedings or for much weight to be given to the children’s views. This article unpicks the concepts of competence and capacity, both in relevant literature and reported case law from Scotland. The article asks three questions: What are meant by competence and capacity? How are they used? Do the concepts enhance or detract from children’s participation rights? The article finds that competence is often casually used in the literature, alternative terms are used in reported case law (such as maturity), and judging capacity remains problematic in both law and practice. The article concludes that both concepts detract from children’s participation rights, as the concepts suggest competence and capacity are inherent to the child rather than contextual and relational. If the concepts were to be used, they should be subject to more critique and precise definition. However, children’s participation rights are more likely to be furthered by alternatives, such as fresh ideas about recognising and supporting people’s legal capacity within the un Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
No Weight for “Due Weight”? A Children’s Autonomy Principle in Best Interest Proceedings
Authors: Daly Aoife
Published: November 2018

Article 12 of the un Convention on the Rights of the Child (crc) stipulates that children should have their views accorded due weight in accordance with age and maturity, including in proceedings affecting them. Yet there is no accepted understanding as to how to weigh children’s views, and it is associated strongly with the indeterminate notion of “competence”. In this article, case law and empirical research is drawn upon to argue that the concept of weighing their views has been an obstacle to children’s rights, preventing influence on outcomes for children in proceedings in which their best interests are determined. Younger children and those whose wishes incline against the prevailing orthodoxy (they may resist contact with a parent, for example) particularly lose out. Children’s views appear only to be given “significant weight” if the judge agrees with them anyway. As it is the notion of autonomy which is prioritised in areas such as medical and disability law and parents’ rights, it is proposed in this article that a children’s autonomy principle is adopted in proceedings – in legal decisions in which the best interest of the child is the primary consideration, children should get to choose, if they wish, how they are involved and the outcome, unless it is likely that significant harm will arise from their wishes. They should also have “autonomy support” to assist them in proceedings. This would likely ensure greater influence for children and require more transparent decision-making by adults.
Children’s Perceptions of Their Access to Rights in Wales: The Relevance of Gender and Age
Authors: Tyrie Jacky , Beauchamp Gary
Published: November 2018

This paper explores children’s perceptions of gender and age as factors in accessing their rights. While much is known about the policy agenda and legal rights of children in Wales (Williams 2013), there is limited evidence about the experiences of children themselves. This article uses the child-friendly, ten Extending Entitlements (The National Assembly for Wales, 2000) to measure children’s experiences of accessing their rights. Data presented was collected from an online quantitative survey (2,043 participants) and qualitative focus groups (180 participants) with young people aged 11 to 17. Findings suggest that a child’s age and gender are related to how much young people felt able to access their rights. A number of other key trends emerged: the lack of knowledge regarding rights of young people; the difficulty of accessing rights for older young people; and adults’ treatment of young people in propagating gender stereotypes. It could be suggested that if these equality issues exist in Wales, where the legal and policy framework is supportive of children’s rights, that in other nations where a rights based agenda has less political influence, that children’s experiences of rights will be further limited.
Protecting the Wrongdoer
Authors: Ross Hamish
Published: November 2018

This article examines the appropriateness of applying civil limitation laws to adult civil law claims in historical childhood abuse cases, focusing on issues of legal policy attending the use of such laws highlighted in the Australian case of Brisbane South Regional Health Authority v. Taylor. It is argued that civil limitation laws are inappropriate when applied to such cases and that ultimately such laws often give primacy to the interests of alleged wrongdoers and to the need to protect alleged wrongdoers from civil law redress in a context in which the ordinary justification for such laws is weak when weighed against the enormity of the injury caused by the abuses complained of and the acute difficulties victims often face in pursuing timely enforcement action in respect of the childhood rights allegedly violated. The article also contains a review of recent developments in the law in several jurisdictions.
First Indian record of Centistidea Rohwer (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Miracinae) with description of eight new species
Authors: Ranjith Avunjikkattu Parambil , van Achterberg Cornelis , Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan , Kim Il-Kwon , Keloth Rajmohana , Mukundan Shweta , Nasser Mannankadiyan
Published: November 2018

Miracinae is one of the least studied braconid subfamilies with only two extant genera. Among them, Centistidea Rohwer is a speciose and widely distributed genus. East Palearctic and Oriental species of Centistidea are revised and eight new species are described, seven of which are from south India, C. crenulator
sp. n., C. glabrator
sp. n., C. lineator
sp. n., C. mellapicalis
sp. n., C. procarinator
sp. n., C. rugator
sp. n., C. scutellator
sp. n.; and one from South Korea, C. albomarginata
sp. n. A key to the extant species is provided. Distribution pattern of Centistidea and character plasticity within species are discussed.
The Australian Paratrichapus Scott (Coleoptera: Ciidae)
Authors: Souza-Gonçalves Igor , Lopes-Andrade Cristiano , Sandoval-Gómez Vivian Eliana , Lawrence John Francis
Published: November 2018

The genus Paratrichapus
Scott, 1926 currently comprises four species, one described from the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, one from Indonesia and two from New Zealand. Here, the first Australian species of Paratrichapus are described, as follows: P. australis
sp. n., P. burwelli
sp. n., P. christmasensis
sp. n., P. metallonotum
sp. n. and P. peckorum
sp. n. Data on their geographic distribution and host fungi are provided, as well as an identification key.
A remarkable new genus and six new species of fern-inhabiting plant bugs endemic to the Society Islands (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae: Filicicoris gen. nov.)
Authors: Namyatova Anna , Cassis Gerasimos
Published: November 2018

Filicicoris gen. nov., a mirine true bug from Tahiti, and six species, F. huahine sp. nov., F. meyeri sp. nov., F. raiatea sp. nov., F. rubramaculus sp. nov., F. tatarnici sp. nov. and F. viridis sp. nov., are described as new to science. Digital images, scanning electron micrographs, maps of distribution, and drawings of male and female genitalia are provided for all species, except for F. viridis, where the female is unknown. The new species represent the first fern record of the subfamily Mirinae.
Laboratory Studies on the Effects of Different Natural Foods on the Reproductive Biology of Lygaeus equestris (L.) (Het. Lygaeidae)
Authors: KUGELBERG OTTO
Published: November 2018

Abstract

The reproductive biology of the seed-feeding bug Lygaeus equestris in the laboratory is described and the suitability of different kinds of seeds for reproductive success are compared. A relationship exists between the duration of reproductive diapause in the field and the subsequent reactivation time in the laboratory. Mating activity starts irrespective of presence of food. Matings or presence of males are, in contrast to feeding, not necessary for ovary maturation and egg-laying. Hatchable eggs were produced on all diets tested. There were significant differences in length of the oviposition period, longevity and number of eggs laid or hatched in females fed on the different diets. The importance of different food plants for the reproductive strategies of the bug in Sweden is discussed.
The Romanian Religious Media Landscape: Between Secularization and the Revitalization of Religion
Authors: Tudor Mihaela-Alexandra , Bratosin Stefan
Published: November 2018

Studies on religion in the former communist countries show that the cessation of the socialist repressions against the church and religion was followed by a revitalization of religion. Contributions supporting the model of market religion conclude that there is a higher chance of increasing religious competition and pluralization due to the opening of the religious markets, which ultimately led to an increase of religious vitality. Studies arguing for the secularization paradigm consider that the changes in the former communist countries (including Romania) rather reflect a premature secularization (Pickel, 2012). In this view, after an initial boom of religious sentiment, there has been no significant return to religion. This article provides an overview of Romanian religious media and presents the transformations of the Romanian religious media landscape by proposing the hypothesis that the religious media scene in Romania is impacted by the effects of the two co-existing opposite tendencies: religious vitality and incomplete secularization.
The Great War Poets and the Campaign for Empathy
Authors: Weems Sandra , Bragg Tom
Published: November 2018

The British soldier-poets of the Great War (1914–1918) composed works that openly, intuitively sought empathy from civilians back home and commanders absent from the Western front. As a term coined only in 1909, empathy was derived, ironically, from German aesthetics (Einfühlung) by an English psychologist: two peoples imaginatively and intellectually engaged in peacetime, later locked in a prolonged, mutual slaughter. While most of the war poets had never heard the word, many of their poems demonstrate a variety of concepts and tropes that we recognise to be empathic. Examining lines by some of the war’s most famous poets – Edward Thomas, Thomas Sorley, Isaac Rosenberg, Charles Sorley, and Ivor Gurney – the authors illustrate ways the poets campaigned for empathy in verse.
Cast(e) in Disgust: Is an Empathic Reading of Caste Possible?
Authors: Kapoor Shivani
Published: November 2018

This essay examines the question of empathy within the discourses of caste in India and argues that the presence of this deeply hierarchical system, which is premised on the idea of disgust, does not allow for the production of empathy or empathic political spaces. Locating itself in a particular case of caste violence and its counter discourse in the Una District of the state of Gujarat in western India, this essay examines the affectual politics of the presence of the animal and the animal-like in caste publics and the consequences that it has for the question of empathy.
Saccades and Subjective Time in Seconds Range Duration Reproduction
Authors: Penney Trevor B. , Cheng Xiaoqin , Leow Yan Ling , Bay Audrey Wei Ying , Wu Esther , Herbst Sophie K. , Yen Shih Cheng
Published: November 2018

A transient suppression of visual perception during saccades ensures perceptual stability. In two experiments, we examined whether saccades affect time perception of visual and auditory stimuli in the seconds range. Specifically, participants completed a duration reproduction task in which they memorized the duration of a 6 s timing signal during the training phase and later reproduced that duration during the test phase. Four experimental conditions differed in saccade requirements and the presence or absence of a secondary discrimination task during the test phase. For both visual and auditory timing signals, participants reproduced longer durations when the secondary discrimination task required saccades to be made (i.e., overt attention shift) during reproduction as compared to when the discrimination task merely required fixation at screen center. Moreover, greater total saccade duration in a trial resulted in greater time distortion. However, in the visual modality, requiring participants to covertly shift attention (i.e., no saccade) to complete the discrimination task increased reproduced duration as much as making a saccade, whereas in the auditory modality making a saccade increased reproduced duration more than making a covert attention shift. In addition, we examined microsaccades in the conditions that did not require full saccades for both the visual and auditory experiments. Greater total microsaccade duration in a trial resulted in greater time distortion in both modalities. Taken together, the experiments suggest that saccades and microsaccades affect seconds range visual and auditory interval timing via attention and saccadic suppression mechanisms.
Multisensory mechanisms for perceptual disambiguation. A classification image study on the stream–bounce illusion
Authors: Parise Cesare V. , Parise Cesare V. , Ernst Marc O.
Published: November 2018

Sensory information is inherently ambiguous, and a given signal can in principle correspond to infinite states of the world. A primary task for the observer is therefore to disambiguate sensory information and accurately infer the actual state of the world.

Here, we take the stream–bounce illusion as a tool to investigate perceptual disambiguation from a cue-integration perspective, and explore how humans gather and combine sensory information to resolve ambiguity.

In a classification task, we presented two bars moving in opposite directions along the same trajectory meeting at the centre. We asked observers to classify such ambiguous displays as streaming or bouncing. Stimuli were embedded in dynamic audiovisual noise, so that through a reverse correlation analysis, we could estimate the perceptual templates used for the classification. Such templates, the classification images, describe the spatiotemporal statistical properties of the noise, which are selectively associated to either percept. Our results demonstrate that the features of both visual and auditory noise, and interactions thereof, strongly biased the final percept towards streaming or bouncing.

Computationally, participants’ performance is explained by a model involving a matching stage, where the perceptual systems cross-correlate the sensory signals with the internal templates; and an integration stage, where matching estimates are linearly combined to determine the final percept. These results demonstrate that observers use analogous MLE-like integration principles for categorical stimulus properties (stream/bounce decisions) as they do for continuous estimates (object size, position, etc.).

Finally, the time-course of the classification images reveal that most of the decisional weight for disambiguation is assigned to information gathered before the physical crossing of the stimuli, thus highlighting a predictive nature of perceptual disambiguation.
DISTANCE FROM VESSELS CHANGES FIBER MORPHOLOGY IN ACACIA MANGIUM
Authors: Yahya Ridwan , Sundaryono Agus , Imai Tomoya , Sugiyama Junji
Published: November 2018

Variation in fiber diameter and wall thickness was analyzed, with respect to the distance from xylem vessels in tangential and radial directions, using images containing the largest diameter along individual fibers from serial sections. For the diameter of the fibers around the vessel, it was often difficult to make a measurement in the radial and tangential direction, because of deformation. Then, around a vessel, we measured the fiber lumen diameter along the radial and tangential axes of the adjacent vessel. These are respectively referred as direction perpendicular to vessel enlargement (PnVE) and parallel with vessel enlargement (PrVE), as the enlarging vessel apparently accounts for the directionality of this fiber deformation. The change in cell wall thickness of individual fibers was also measured from the serial cross sections. Fibers adjacent to vessels were significantly wider in diameter and had thicker cell walls in the PrVE than those that were more distant from vessels in both radial and tangential directions. Wall thickness along the fiber length was found to vary in both fibers adjacent to and distant from the vessel, whereby wall thickness was greatest at the center, and gradually decreased towards the tip of the fiber.
XYLEM ANATOMY AND HYDRAULIC TRAITS OF TWO CO-OCCURRING RIPARIAN DESERT PLANTS
Authors: Ayup Mubarek , Chen Ya-Ning , Nyongesah Maina John , Zhang Yuan-Ming , Rajput Vishnu Dayal , Zhu Cheng-Gang
Published: November 2018

Populus euphratica Oliv. and Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. are the dominant riparian plants in desert ecosystems in China, where they play a significant role in maintaining ecological balance. To obtain a better insight into the ecological adaptations of xylem structure and hydraulic traits in desert phreatophytes to extremely drought-stressed environments, we investigated various quantitative features of the vessels and intervessel pits, as well as the xylem hydraulic efficiency (Ks(max)) and native embolism rate (PLC, %), in the woody shoots and lateral roots (all c. 2–4.5 mm in diameter) of P. euphratica and T. ramosissima from natural populations in the Heihe River Basin, northwestern China. The relationships between xylem anatomy and hydraulic traits are also discussed. There were significant anatomical differences between lateral root and woody shoot xylem within individual species. For lateral roots , arithmetic, hydraulic and maximum vessel diameter (D, Dh, Dmax), average vessel area (Va), intervessel wall thickness (Tvw), intervessel pit membrane and pit aperture areas (APM, APA), and intervessel pit membrane and pit aperture diameters (DPM, DPA), were larger than in woody shoots (P < 0.05).The mean Ks(max) values in lateral roots were 6–11 times greater than in woody shoots for P. euphratica and T. ramosissima, respectively (P < 0.01). Woody shoots of T. ramosissima had higher native PLC values (68%) than P. euphratica (39%).The different vessel grouping patterns in the two species seemed to be related to their different native embolism level. It is possible that the lateral roots of these two riparian desert plants could be more resistant to embolism than the woody shoots, and that cavitation resistance in the root xylem of T. ramosissima is higher than that of P. euphratica.
Fiber Morphology and Chemical Composition of Rapeseed (Brassica Napus) Stems
Authors: Housseinpour Reza , Latibari Ahmad Jahan , Farnood Ramin , Fatehi Pedram , Javad Sepiddehdam S.
Published: November 2018

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) stalks are widely available. Data on their fiber morphology and chemical composition is important to establish their best performance during pulping. This study found that average fiber length, fiber width, cell wall thickness, and lumen width of rapeseed were 1.32 mm, 31 μm, 5.75 μm, and 19.5 μm, respectively. Rapeseed fibers appear almost identical to wood fibers, but the accompanying vessel elements and parenchyma cells mean that small particles (fines) will be produced during refining. The chemical analysis of depithed rapeseed stalks showed that the cellulose, lignin, holocellulose, pentosan, and ash were 48.5%, 20%, 77.5%, 17%, and 6.6%, respectively. Alcoholacetone, hot water, cold water, and 1%-NaOH solubility were 6.6%, 5%, 13.8%, and 50.3%, respectively. These results indicate rapeseed stalks are suitable for pulping and papermaking.
Influence of Microfibril angle on within-tree variations in the Mechanical properties of chinese fir (Cunninghamia Lanceolata)
Authors: Yin Yafang , Bian Mingming , Song Kunlin , Xiao Fuming , Xiaomei Jiang
Published: November 2018

Radial variations in microfibril angle (MFA) and their effect on the mechanical properties of plantation-grown Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) were investigated with the aim of achieving an effective utilization of the wood. Correlations between MFA and mechanical properties, including longitudinal modulus of elasticity (MOEL), static bending strength (MOR) and compression strength parallel-to-the-grain (CS), were analyzed for predicting the quality of timber. The results indicated that MFA had a greater variation in juvenile wood than in mature wood. The biggest change occurred close to the pith in Chinese fir. The outer-rings (rings 9–30 from the pith) have a relatively low MFA, together with high mechanical properties and high density, when compared with the inner-rings (rings 1–8 from the pith). The MFA had significant negative curvilinear correlations with all the mechanical properties (MOEL, MOR and CS) of Chinese fir, with the value of r2 being 0.88, 0.69 and 0.74 respectively. The correlation between the MFA and basic density (BD) was strong in certain consecutive rings (rings 5–30 from the pith), but this did not apply across the whole billet, i.e. from the pith to the bark.
Tree-ring width and vessel characteristics of oriental beech (Fagus Orientalis) along an altitudinal gradient in the caspian forests, northern iran
Authors: Pourtahmasi Kambiz , Lotfiomran Neda , Bräuning Achim , Parsapajouh Davoud
Published: November 2018

Vessel features of broadleaf trees may contain information about both spatial and temporal variations of environmental conditions. We report quantitative data about annual vessel characteristics for Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in the Caspian forest in the Alborz Mountains, northern Iran. Time series of tree-ring width and of various vessel variables were constructed over a 50-year period for three sites along an altitudinal gradient from 1260 to 2200 m a.s.l. We evaluated the dependencies between ring width and vessel variables and estimated the influence of altitude and climate on these variables.

Mean ring width and average vessel-lumen area decreased towards the high-elevation site whereas total vessel-lumen area was independent from altitude, and vessel density increased. Above-average warm summer and autumn seasons in the year prior to growth were negatively correlated with ring width and average vessel-lumen area whereas precipitation in the current June showed a positive association; vessel density responded exactly opposite to these climatic variables. Total vessel-lumen area was the only variable that reacted differently from site to site, mainly positively to temperature at 1200 m a.s.l. and negatively at 2000 and 2200 m a.s.l., whereas a consistent response to precipitation was lacking. The results indicate that vessel variables are meaningful indicators of changes in dynamics of wood formation in relation to climate along an altitudinal gradient in the Caspian mountains. As for climate reconstruction, we have to conclude that for our study area, vessel variables do not add much to information derived from ring width.
Anatomy and Lignin Characterisation of Twigs in the Chaparral Shrub Rhamnus Californica
Authors: De Micco Veronica , Aronne Giovanna
Published: November 2018

Characterisation of anatomical properties and analysis of lignin content and monomer composition were performed on twigs of the shrub Rhamnus californica L. in order to highlight their role in the adaptive strategies of this species in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Our results showed that R. californica twigs develop a thick cuticle accompanied by several layers of subepidermal cells with suberised walls aiming to save water. The xylem is characterised by anatomical and chemical traits ensuring safety of water transport and preventing permanent damage through the enhancement of mechanical strength, also favoured by the lignification of pith cell walls. Moreover, the accumulation of phenolic compounds in the cortical cylinder is a strategy to protect against herbivory and to screen against high levels of radiation. Our overall analysis suggests that R. californica has evolved a strategy of shoot development that allows it to cope with the multiple environmental stresses found in Mediterraneantype ecosystems, among which summer drought and grazing play a major role especially for the survival of seedlings and young plants.
Wood anatomy of Cussonia and Seemannaralia (Araliaceae) with systematic and ecological implications
Authors: De Villiers Bernard J. , Oskolski Alexei A. , Tilney Patricia M. , Van Wyk Ben-Erik
Published: November 2018

The wood structure of two related African genera, Cussonia Thunb. (15 of 21 species) and the monotypic Seemannaralia R.Vig. (Araliaceae) is examined. The considerable diversity in wood anatomical characters within these taxa is mostly related to environmental factors; taxonomic groupings or phylogenetic relationships seem to be less important. The shortening of vessel elements and fibres, an increase in vessel number per group, a decrease in vessel diameter and a reduction in the number of bars of perforation plates, are associated with the more temperat species. The changes in vessel grouping show a significant correlation with rainfall. The placement of the simple-leaved Cussonia species in the subgenus Protocussonia and the isolated position of C. paniculata Eckl. & Zeyh., the only member of the subgenus Paniculatae, are supported. Many Cussonia species share a very low fibre to vessel element length ratio. Despite the basal position of Seemannaralia relative to Cussonia revealed by molecular data (Plunkett et al. 2004), its wood structure is more specialised in terms of the Baileyan major trends in wood evolution. This discrepancy may be the effect of a long-term adaptation of tropical ancestors of Seemannaralia to drier biomes.
A new species of Pistacioxylon (Anacardiaceae) from the Miocene of Yunnan, China
Authors: Cheng Ye-Ming , Mehrotra R.C. , Jin Yue-Gao , Yang Wei , Li Cheng-Sen
Published: November 2018

A new species of Pistacioxylon, Pistacioxylon leilaoensis Cheng et al., showing affinities with Pistacia of the Anacardiaceae is described from the Miocene of Leilao, Yuanmou Basin, Yunnan Province, southwest China. It provides data for reconstructing the phytogeographic history of Pistacia and the paleoenvironment of the Yuanmou Basin. This fossil suggests a long history of exchange of various taxa including Pistacia between Europe and East Asia during the Tertiary.
Wood Anatomy of Chenopodiaceae (Amaranthaceae s.l.)
Authors: Heklau Heike , Gasson Peter , Schweingruber Fritz , Baas Pieter
Published: November 2018

The wood anatomy of the Chenopodiaceae is distinctive and fairly uniform. The secondary xylem is characterised by relatively narrow vessels (<100 μm) with mostly minute pits (<4 μm), and extremely narrow vessels (<10 μm intergrading with vascular tracheids in addition to “normal” vessels), short vessel elements (<270 μm), successive cambia, included phloem, thick-walled or very thick-walled fibres, which are short (<470 μm), and abundant calcium oxalate crystals. Rays are mainly observed in the tribes Atripliceae, Beteae, Camphorosmeae, Chenopodieae, Hablitzieae and Salsoleae, while many Chenopodiaceae are rayless. The Chenopodiaceae differ from the more tropical and subtropical Amaranthaceae s.str. especially in their shorter libriform fibres and narrower vessels. Contrary to the accepted view that the subfamily Polycnemoideae lacks anomalous thickening, we found irregular successive cambia and included phloem. They are limited to long-lived roots and stem borne roots of perennials (Nitrophila mohavensis) and to a hemicryptophyte (Polycnemum fontanesii). The Chenopodiaceae often grow in extreme habitats, and this is reflected by their wood anatomy. Among the annual species, halophytes have narrower vessels than xeric species of steppes and prairies, and than species of nitrophile ruderal sites.
Impact of Water Stress on the Sapwood Anatomy And Functional Morphology of Calligonum Comosum
Authors: Al-Khalifah N.S. , Khan P.R. , Al-Abdulkader A.M. , Nasroun T.
Published: November 2018

This investigation reports the impact of water stress on some anatomical traits of sapwood and other functional morphological features of green assimilatory shoots of Calligonum comosum L'Hér. (Erta), a good source of fuel wood. The major findings of the study are that in this species drought makes for: a) narrower vessels both in earlywood and latewood, b) thicker vessel walls, c) longer vessel elements and fibers, d) a higher frequency of small latewood vessels and a lower frequency of large earlywood vessels, e) narrower growth rings, f) a lower total fraction of vessels per xylem area, g) higher wood density, h) narrower depth of conducting phloem, i) higher specific mass of green photosynthetic shoots, and j) a lower chlorophyll content. Extremely narrow vessels arranged in radial files in latewood were recognized having 40% increased volume fraction in nonirrigated plants. This adaptation is believed to play an important role in the species survival during hot summer months.
WOOD ANATOMY OF THE BRAZILIAN SPECIES OF SWARTZIA AND CONSIDERATIONS WITHIN THE TRIBE SWARTZIEAE
Authors: Angyalossy-Alfonso Veronica , Miller Regis B.
Published: November 2018

Fifty-one Brazilian species and varieties of Swartzia Schreber and eight other genera from the tribe Swartzieae were examined. Features with the greatest diagnostic value for the tribe are intervascular pit size, ray width and frequency, storied structure, axial parenchyma strand length, parenchyma band width, and vessel diameter. We analyzed the wood anatomical data using average linkage cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis. With weighted features, cluster analysis grouped the species and varieties of Swartzia into four distinct groups and tribe Swartzieae into seven groups. With unweighted features for both Swartzia and Swartzieae, the canonical discriminant analysis showed that linear combinations of the variables storied structure, number of tiers per millimetre, axial parenchyma strand length, ray height, intervascular pit size, and exclusively uniseriate rays were good discriminators among the groups. We discuss the grouping of the species of Swartzia and compare other genera within the tribe Swartzieae to the four groups of Swartzia.
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
Authors: Peihani Maziar
Published: November 2018

Part 1 of this project overviewed the literature on the Basel Committee of Banking Supervision (bcbs) and provided a primer on the Committee’s governance and functions. It also engaged with the current theories on legitimacy and discussed what legitimacy meant for the global governance of banking and how it could be assessed. This part investigates the bcbs’s governance, operation, and policy outcomes to determine the extent to which it is and has been legitimate. The assessment is conducted based on three principles of reasoned decision making, transparency, and accountability. I argue that the bcbs has gradually become a more legitimate institution but there still exists significant room for improvement. I highlight a number of areas for reform and set out policy prescriptions to enhance the bcbs’s legitimacy.
Soft Power Runs into Popular Geopolitics: Western Media Frames Democratic Taiwan
Authors: Sullivan Jonathan , Lee Don S.
Published: November 2018

How does the Western media frame Taiwan? Analysing a large set of Western newspaper reports over the past two decades, this article provides the first systematic assessment of global coverage of Taiwan. Seeking to explain why Taiwan has been framed in the way it has, the article reports the views of journalists and editors and puts forward a framework based on popular geopolitics. The article concludes with a discussion of why media framing matters, and the implications for Taiwan’s public diplomacy and ‘soft power’ efforts.
Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: Australian agraeciine katydids, two new genera from northern Australia (Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini)
Authors: RENTZ D. C. F. , SU YOU NING , UESHIMA NORIHIRO , ROBINSON MARTYN
Published: November 2018

Two new agraeciine genera and five new species are described from northern Australia. Both genera have species that live in mixed woodlands in the tropics. Armadillagraecia Rentz, Su, Ueshima, Robinson gen. nov. is known from two species in the Northern Territory and one from Queensland. Kapalgagraecia Rentz, Su, Ueshima, Robinson gen. nov. is known from two species, one apparently widespread in the Northern Territory, the other from Groote Eylandt, NT. Cytological data are provided for all Armadillagraecia species but not for Kapalgagraecia. A table is presented documenting knowledge of the known cytology of all Agraeciini. The calling songs of both A. mataranka and A. yerilla Rentz, Su, Ueshima, Robinson gen. et spp. nov. are noted and documented by sonograms. Known biological, ecological and distributional data are presented.
Review of the genus Trichactia Stein (Diptera: Tachinidae) in the Palaearctic Region, with the description of a new species from Iran and the East Mediterranean
Authors: GILASIAN EBRAHIM , ZIEGLER JOACHIM , PARCHAMI-ARAGHI MEHRDAD
Published: November 2018

The genus Trichactia Stein, 1924 (Diptera: Tachinidae) is newly recorded from Iran and its Palaearctic species are reviewed. The new species Trichactia meridiana Ziegler & Gilasian, sp. nov. is described from Iran and the East Mediterranean. An identification key to the three known Palaearctic species of Trichactia, photographs of all species and illustrations of their male terminalia are provided. Intraspecific variation between different geographical populations of T. meridiana sp. nov. is discussed.
A Mechanism for the Recently Increased Interdecadal Variability of the Silk Road Pattern
Authors: Stephan Claudia Christine , Klingaman Nicholas P. , Turner Andrew G.
Published: November 2018

The Silk Road pattern (SRP) teleconnection manifests in summer over Eurasia, where it is associated with substantial temperature and precipitation anomalies. The SRP varies on interannual and decadal scales; reanalyses show an increase in its decadal variability around the mid-1970s. Understanding what drives this decadal variability is particularly important, because contemporary seasonal prediction models struggle to predict the phase of the SRP. Based on analysis of observations and multiple targeted numerical experiments, this study proposes a mechanism for decadal SRP variability. Causal effect network analysis confirms a positive feedback loop between the eastern portion of the SRP pattern and vertical motion over India on synoptic time scales. Anomalies over a larger region of subtropical South Asia can reinforce a background state that projects onto the positive or negative SRP through this mechanism. This effect is isolated and confirmed in targeted numerical simulations. The transition from weak to strong decadal variability in the mid-1970s is consistent with more spatially coherent interannual precipitation variability over subtropical South Asia. Furthermore, results suggest that oceanic variability does not directly force the SRP. Nevertheless, sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific may indirectly affect the SRP by modulating South Asian rainfall on decadal time scales.
Changes in the MJO under Greenhouse Gas–Induced Warming in CMIP5 Models
Authors: Rushley Stephanie S. , Kim Daehyun , Adames Ángel F.
Published: November 2018

This study investigates changes to the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) in response to greenhouse gas–induced warming during the twenty-first century. Changes in the MJO’s amplitude, phase speed, and zonal scale are examined in five models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) that demonstrate superior MJO characteristics. Under warming, the CMIP5 models exhibit a robust increase in the spectral power of planetary-scale, intraseasonal, eastward-propagating (MJO) precipitation anomalies (~10.9% K−1). The amplification of MJO variability is accompanied by an increase of the spectral power of the corresponding westward-traveling waves at a similar rate. This suggests that enhanced MJO variability in a warmer climate is likely caused by enhanced background tropical precipitation variability, not by changes in the MJO’s stability. All models examined show an increase in the MJO’s phase speed (1.8% K–1–4.5% K−1) and a decrease in the MJO’s zonal wavenumber (1.0% K–1–3.8% K−1). Using a linear moisture mode framework, this study tests the theory-predicted phase speed changes against the simulated phase speed changes. It is found that the MJO’s acceleration in a warmer climate is a result of enhanced horizontal moisture advection by the steepening of the mean meridional moisture gradient and the decrease in zonal wavenumber, which is partially offset by the lengthening of the convective moisture adjustment time scale and the increase in gross dry stability. While the ability of the linear moisture mode framework to explain MJO phase speed changes is model dependent, the theory can accurately predict the phase speed changes in the model ensemble.
Modeling American Migration Aspirations: How Capital, Race, and National Identity Shape Americans’ Ideas about Living Abroad
Authors: Marrow Helen B. , Klekowski von Koppenfels Amanda
Published: November 2018

Recent scholarship proposes a “two-step” approach for better understanding mechanisms underlying the migration process, suggesting we study migration aspirations separately from migration behavior and that the one does not always translate directly into the other. Research on aspirations, however, concentrates on the Global South, despite growing migration flows originating in the Global North. Here, we fill this gap, drawing on a nationally representative online survey we commissioned in 2014 in the United States. Bivariate analysis shows that fully one-third of Americans surveyed reveal some aspiration to live abroad, a plurality of those primarily for the purpose of exploration. Multivariate analysis suggests that certain elements of cultural and social capital, including the networks Americans have with prior and current US citizen migrants, structure these aspirations, in tandem with strength of national attachment. Further, both cultural and economic aspects of class, alongside race and national attachment, shape where American aspirants envision going and why. While the existing literature addresses the motivations and profile of American migrants already living abroad, ours is the first study to examine Americans’ aspirations prospectively from the point of origin, thereby connecting the literature on Global North migration flows to that on migration aspirations.