Journal articles on the topic 'South-Eastern Brighton'

This study applied the hedonic pricing method to determine whether a disused, solid waste landfill site has an adverse effect on the prices of low-cost houses in New Brighton, a neighbourhood of the Nelson Mandela Metropole, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The results of the study show that the landfill site has a negative effect on New Brighton house prices. The average increase in house value is R36.00 per one hundred metres from the landfill site. This increase amounts to 0.44 percent of the value of a house per 100 metres from the landfill. When the change in value is summed for all the properties in the sample area (allowing for variation in value change due to differing distances from the landfill site) the total disamenity effect of the landfill site is approximately R1.4 million.

Beryl occurs in the ancient Roman mines at Wadi Nugrus, South Eastern Desert of Egypt. It ranges from small crystals to 10 mm in size, and it varies in color, appearing as bright green, pale green, dark green and brown-green with biotite inclusions. The trace and minor elements were analyzed by the SIMS method. The two rims are richer in Cs, Na, Mg, Fe, Sc, V, Rb and H2O than cores but are poor in Mn, Ca, Co, Sr and Li. The bright-green rim is richer than the pale-green one in Na, P, K, Ca, Fe, Rb, Cs and F, but poorer in Mg and Li. The alkaline elements (Cs, Na, Rb) and Fe correlate with the color zoning, and where beryl crystals have a maximum of these elements, the green color is strong and bright. The emerald of Wadi Nugrus has similarities with the geological setting of the Canadian emeralds. Emeralds occur along the contact zone between biotite schists, pegmatites and quartz veins. A large-scale interaction between Be-bearing magmatic fluids from granites and related pegmatites took place with hydrothermal fluids enriched in Cr, V, Sc, Mg and Ca after percolation through pre-existing serpentinite and talc carbonates, metagabbros and biotite schists and additional fluids bearing H2O, NaCl and CO2.

Abstract This article compares two episodes of technology transfer in the 1890s: the movement of bright tobacco production technology to south-central Africa with the spread of the crop to eastern North Carolina and South Carolina. It finds similarities in the people who introduced the crop, but significant differences in the methods used to produce it. This is troubling because the type is defined by the cultivation and especially the curing techniques used to produce it; it is also often described in the historical literature as "Virginia tobacco," even when grown elsewhere. The technological differences are the product of different environments, which include not only the climate but also many elements of the technological system beyond immediate human control: the availability and organization of labor, differences in market structures and marketing institutions, and the government incentives provided to buyers. Therefore, this essay takes as its subject the paradox inherent in the official classification of tobacco types regulated by the USDA and argues that varietal types represent a form of market regulation disguised as botanical taxonomy.

Two new species of Erica L. from South Africa are described. E. jananthus E.G.H.Oliv. I.M .Oliv. is confined to a single peak in the eastern Groot Swartberg Range in Western Cape and usually forms a small, gnarled, woody, shrublet growing in rock crevices with sticky white flowers and black subexserted anthers that have obtrullate decurrent appendages.E. psittacina E.G.H.Oliv. I.M.Oliv. is from KwaZulu-Natal. It forms large woodv shrubs with numerous bright pinkflowers and occurs as a single population on a mountain near Creighton. Both descriptions are accompanied by line drawings and distribution maps

A new species of Kalanchoe (K. [subg. Kalanchoe sect. Raveta] ser. Rotundifoliae; Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae), K. steyniae, is described from the northeastern parts of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province and neighbouring Eswatini in eastern southern Africa. Kalanchoe steyniae differs from K. rotundifolia in especially reproductive characters, with, inter alia, its flowers being densely arranged (not diffusely so) in ± flat-topped, corymbose cymes; its corolla lobes showing weak (not distinct) diurnal movement; its sepals being longer; and its corolla tubes and corolla lobes being bright crimson red (not dull red to orange). Both species are illustrated.

The genus Gymnopaxillus, previously known only from Chile and Argentina, has been found in south-eastern Australia. Two new species, G. nudus and G. vestitus, are described, and the generic description is emended to include hypogeous species with bilaterally symmetric spores and a peridium. Gymnopaxillus spp. are characterised by a yellow to golden-brown, bright cinnamon or ferruginous, loculate, columella-bearing gleba containing boletoid spores that appear vivid golden-yellow in KOH. Molecular phylogeny indicates that the genus is related to the Southern Hemisphere ectomycorrhizal genus Austropaxillus rather than to Paxillus and is placed in the Austropaxillaceae.

SummaryThe Grey-winged Cotinga Tijuca condita, previously known from a single specimen collected in 1942, was rediscovered near the type-locality in the coastal hill ranges of Rio de Janeiro state, south-eastern Brazil, in November 1980. Fieldwork at two sites in November/December 1980 and November 1981 revealed the presence of 10 individuals: one calling male and one female in cloud-forest at 1,320 m in the Serra do Tinguá; and six calling males, one female and one unsexed bird in cloud-forest at 1,830-2,000 m in the Serra dos Órgãos. Two females were netted, and two calling males were seen well in the field. The plumage of calling males resembled that of females, but was brighter with more grey on the face. The voice was described as an explosive sooee-wheee. The calling posture was similar to that of pihas Lipaugus, and there was no indication of any lekking behaviour. The species appears to have a very restricted distribution, but there is no indication that it is under threat at the present time.O cotingídeo Tijuca condita, previamente conhecido de um único indivíduo coletado em 1942, foi redescoberto próximo a sua localidade tipo nas montanhas da costa do estado do Rio de Janeiro, no sudeste do Brasil, em novembro de 1980. Observações no campo em duas localidades em novembro/dezembro 1980 e novembro 1981 revelaram a presença de 10 indivíduos: um macho cantando e uma fêmea em uma floresta de neblina a 1,320 m na Serra do Tinguá; seis machos, uma fêmea e um individuo de sexo não determinado em uma floresta de neblina a 1,830–2,000 m na Serra dos Órgãos. Duas fêmeas foram capturadas em rede e dois machos foram bem observados no campo. A plumagem dos machos assemelha-se a das fêmeas, contudo mais brilhante e acinzentado na face. O canto foi descrito como um explosivo sooee-wheee. A postura de canto foi semelhante à de outros cotingídeos Lipaugus e não há indícios de comportamento de leque. A espécie parece ter uma distribuição muito restrita, mas não ha indícios de que essa espécie esteja ameaçada no momento.

We show that Aloe immaculata and A. affinis (Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae) are two different species. Aloe immaculata, a Limpopo province, South Africa, endemic, is therefore reinstated and treated as distinct from A. affinis, an endemic of the eastern, mainly Drakensberg escarpment in Mpumalanga, South Africa, and southeastern Limpopo, and northwestern Eswatini. Vegetatively, the two species mainly differ in terms of leaf colour (dull green to brownish green in the case of A. immaculata and brighter green in the case of A. affinis). Reproductively, the species differ in inflorescence structure (subcapitate to conical and round-topped racemes in the case of A. immaculata and cylindric-acuminate ones in the case of A. affinis) and flower size and colour (pale flesh pink and 28–33 mm long in A. immaculata and scarlet red and 40–45 mm long in A. affinis). The two species are compared and illustrated, and descriptions for both species and a combined distribution map are provided.

Blache’s flounder, Arnoglossus blachei Stauch, 1965, is redescribed from the eastern Atlantic (Morocco south to Namibia, including the Canary Islands, larvae reaching South Africa) and distinguished from the imperial flounder A. imperialis (Rafinesque, 1810) by having a live colouration of the lower side of males which is bright red (whitish in A. imperialis), the caudal fin with lateral-line scales 52-57 (vs. 58-63), and the dorsal-fin filaments in male light grey, with black margins, distally yellowish (vs. plain white). A lectotype is selected for Arnoglossus blachei. The species is compared with similar species. The externally similar species Arnoglossus imperialis is also redescribed; its distibution range is restricted to the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic, including Madeira and the Azores. Neotypes are selected to stabilize the usage of the names Bothus imperialis Rafinesque, 1810, Bothus punctatus Rafinesque, 1814, Rhombus cristatus Lowe, 1839 and Charybdia rhomdoidichthys Facciolà, 1885. Molecular analyses based on two mitochondrial fragments (12s rRNA and COI) clearly support the validity of A. blachei. Moreover, though A. blachei is morphologically close to A. imperialis, the two species show the highest genetic distances among all Arnoglossus species compared (including A. capensis, A. imperialis, A. laterna, A. rueppelii and A. thori). A key to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean species of Arnoglossus is presented.

A new species of the caridean shrimp genus Lysmata Risso, 1816 is described from St. Helena and Ascension Island in the south-central Atlantic. Lysmata napoleoni sp. nov. is part of the so-called “long-branch group” of the genus and shows a strong morphological similarity with the eastern Atlantic L. seticaudata Risso, 1816, from which it can be distinguished by details of the accessory branch of the antennular flagellum. The new species also displays a unique and bright colour pattern and therefore can be easily recognised in the field. Furthermore, it is typically found in proximity of sea anemones, Telmatactis cricoides (Duchassaing), and appears to be an occasional fish cleaner.

A new species of parrotfish, Sparisoma rocha sp. n., is described from Trindade Island off South-eastern Brazil. It differs from its Western Atlantic congeners by the unique colour pattern of live and freshly preserved individuals: initial phase red overall with a brownish shade from lower jaw to over the abdominal cavity, sparse orange blotches on head, and pale circumpeduncular band; terminal phase reddish brown with orange stripe from jaw angle to end of preopercle, sparse orange blotches on head, three pinkish to reddish stripes from about midline to dorsum, from midline to belly pale greyish green to whitish with suffusion of pale reddish brown, a black spot on base of pectoral fins and a bright-yellow blotch below this spot. Additionally, mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA loci sequences do not match any known Sparisoma species. The new parrotfish increases to six the species of the genus Sparisoma recorded from South-western Atlantic.

A 3′ × 6′ field centered ~4′ south of the Galactic center and a ~2′ × 4′ field east of the Galactic center have been mapped using the 4–1 → 30 E line (36.169 GHz) of methanol (CH3OH). Line profiles typically consist of broad (~10–20 km s−1) components, as well as narrow (~1 km s−1), spike-like components. The narrow features are bright and unresolved with 60″ resolution, and are probably due to maser activity. We found maser activity immediately adjacent to the non-thermal “wisp” (SgrA-E) ~4′ south of SgrA-West, the secondary knot at SgrA-F, and the eastern edge of SgrA-East. Position-velocity diagrams suggest that the molecular material has been shocked to a higher velocity in the same vicinities. We propose that the maser activity, and the shift in velocity south of the Galactic center, heretofore interpreted as an increasingly steep velocity gradient toward the Galactic center, may be due to the impact of a SNR and the resulting shock of the ambient molecular material. The dynamical effects on the molecular gas of such a shock may have implications on gas feeding toward the nucleus.

The genus Loboplusia was recently introduced for a remarkable species of Diallactiini from the cloud forest of Costa Rica (Jaschhof 2016). Males of that species, Loboplusia zurqui Jaschhof, 2016, were found to differ fundamentally from other Diallactiini, with the following traits defining the genus. The scutum is provided with a bright membranous patch called the prescutellar window; setae on the legs, especially the tarsi, are fringed; the gonostylus consists of two lobes (not a single lobe as is the basic pattern in Diallactiini); and the bridge connecting the gonocoxites ventrobasally is markedly shortened (Jaschhof 2016: fig. 15). A diallactiine collected recently by one of us (YJB) in South Korea shows exactly the same characters and is no doubt congeneric with L. zurqui. At the same time there are clear distinctions in the genitalia indicating that the South Korean species is discrete, so it is described and named here L. coreana Jaschhof & Ham sp. nov. With a single species each in Central America and Eastern Asia, the genus Loboplusia has a distinctly odd distribution, a circumstance that is briefly discussed.

The parrotfish Sparisoma choati is described from the tropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is genetically unique and alsodiffers from its congeners by coloration as follows: initial phase individuals and females greyish brown to greyish red,with chin and belly paler and reddish brown scales irregularly distributed along flanks resulting in a general mottled ap-pearance; terminal phase individuals with brownish red head and upper half of anterior two-thirds of body, ventral portionof central third of body bright yellow-green, posterior third of body dark greenish gray and dark spot on upper fifth ofpectoral fin base. The new species is found in rocky reefs along the coast and oceanic islands off West Africa, from Cape Verde and Senegal south to the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe and Angola.

Doctor of Geography, Professor Anatoly Gavrilovich Zolotarev (02.18.1921– 01.15.2011) takes a worthy place in the history of Siberian science and Irkutsk State University. He was a bright and, we can say, unique personality, combining the qualities of a recognized leader, a talented organizer of science and higher university education, a brilliant lecturer and teacher, and, finally, a geologist – a highly qualified investigator. The area of his scientific interests was the geomorphology of Eastern Siberia, the latest tectonics of the Siberian platform and pre-rift transition zones of Eastern Siberia. He examined in detail the stages and features of the formation and structure of the Baikal-Patom step-vaulted uplift, as well as the latest tectonics and geomorphological structure of the Khubsugul region. He developed corrections for calculating the total amplitudes of vertical neotectonic movements – for the initial level, given the fluctuations of the World Ocean and corrections for the lithomorphic level. The result of these studies was the conclusion about the subsidence of some parts of the Siberian platform, and not their uplift, as previously thought. These new data were taken into account when compiling maps of the latest tectonics of the south of Eastern Siberia on a scale of 1: 1,500,000 under the guidance of A.G. Zolotarev. Zolotarev created a powerful Siberian scientific and educational geomorphological school, distinguished by high efficiency both in the field of fundamental and applied geomorphology, and in the training of specialists in geomorphology.

The white man dropped from the sun bright skyFor he envied the blackfellows' land,With greed and revenge in his restless eyeAnd disease and death in his hand.And he grasped the forest, and seized the strandAnd claimed the blue mountains high…Songs of the Carobra (1855)You literally could not kill an Aborigine with an axe.Toowoomba Chronicle (1919)Idyllic accounts of South-East Queensland's triennial bunya festivals - invariably written by Europeans - seem to float like beckoning mirages above a relative historiographical desert.' The story of the bunya gatherings in the coastal Blackall Ranges or in the Bunya Mountains, at the north-eastern periphery of the Darling Downs, is largely cut adrift from the intricate race relations history of these districts, its aura of ‘romantic reminiscence’ conveniently unsullied by surrounding patterns of colonialism, racism and violence which punctuate the extended process of European intrusion and displacement.

The analysis of 78 morphological characters for 16 species representing all the lineages of the tribe Cynopoecilini and three out-groups, indicates that the incertae sedis miniature species ‘Leptolebias’ leitaoi Cruz & Peixoto is the sister group of a clade comprising the genera Leptolebias, Campellolebias, and Cynopoecilus, consequently recognised as the only member of a new genus. Mucurilebias gen. nov. is diagnosed by seven autapomorphies: eye occupying great part of head side, low number of caudal-fin rays (21), distal portion of epural much broader than distal portion of parhypural, an oblique red bar through opercle in both sexes, isthmus bright red in males, a white stripe on the distal margin of the dorsal fin in males, and a red stripe on the distal margin of the anal fin in males. Mucurilebias leitaoi is an endangered seasonal species endemic to the Mucuri river basin. The biogeographical analysis of genera of the subfamily Cynolebiasinae using a dispersal-vicariance, event-based parsimony approach indicates that distribution of South American killifishes may be broadly shaped by dispersal events. The analysis supports south-eastern Brazilian coastal plains as the centre of dispersal for cynolebiasine killifishes. Alternative biogeographical explanations are compared and possible dispersal routes and means of dispersal are discussed.

Climate change is one of the biggest threats for the new millennium, and Bangladesh is considered as "Poster Child" as an impact on climate change in the world. The main focus of this study is to investigate the changing pattern of climate parameters, particularly temperature, rainfall, humidity, cloud coverage, and wind speed in two coastal islands of the southeastern coast of Bangladesh from 1977 to 2017. The linear regression model described that the temperature in Kutubdia and Sandwip islands was 0.0298 and 0.0444 times increased from 1977 to 2017. Besides, rainfall patterns in Kutubdia decreased by 0.4083, and Sandwip Islands increased by 0.875 every year from its previous counterpart. The humidity level also increased due to the rise of temperature and water availability for evaporation from irrigation. Moreover, significant changes in wind speed and the cloud coverage rate in the Island areas increased with the increasing value of temperature and humidity. It also means the rainfall rate increases with cloud cover in the sky. However, the study found decreasing rates of bright sunshine in the Island areas. The declining rate of sunshine is very high and is a matter of great concern for the agriculture and health sectors in particular areas. Therefore, the community's concept of climate parameters, association, and extremes is well apparent. Identify poor land use planning as the primary anthropogenic driver of the change, and they advocated boosting the capacity of linked fields that are in danger owing to climate change. To conclude, the coastal inhabitants recommended that taking preparedness would be easier if the information transmitted through quicker and reliable sources such as news broadcasts, phone messages, or the internet.

We present the results from our analysis of NuSTAR data of the luminous infrared galaxy Mrk 266, which contains two nuclei, south-western (SW) and north-eastern (NE), which were resolved in previous Chandra imaging. Combining this with the Chandra data, we intepret the hard X-ray spectrum obtained from a NuSTAR observation to result from a steeply rising flux from a Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the SW nucleus which is very faint in the Chandra band, confirming the previous claim. This hard X-ray component is dominated by reflection, and its intrinsic 2–10 keV luminosity is likely to be ∼1 × 1043 erg s−1. Although it is bright in soft X-ray, only a moderately absorbed NE nucleus has a 2–10 keV luminosity of 4 × 1041 erg s−1, placing it in the low-luminosity AGN class. These results have implications for understanding the detectability and duty cycles of emission from dual AGN in heavily obscured mergers.

The purpose of this study is to consider the phenomenon of Kargopol ceramics in Karelia, which is manifested in its bright originality, sharp difference from other types of Neolithic ware and the vastness of the area-from Lake Onega in the west to the Pechora River in the east and from the Southern White Sea in the north to the southern limits of the Vologda Region in the south. There are 20 known settlements in Karelia, the complexes of which contain Kargopol ceramics with a total number of 275 vessels. The center of this layer of antiquities is Lake Vodlozero, located near the border of Karelia with the Arkhangelsk Region. Most Kargopol vessels have a straight flat-cut corolla with short and shallow notches applied from the outer and inner edges, below there is a horizontal belt of pits or punctures. There are six variants of ornamentation, three of which include elements of pit-comb and comb dishes. The authors think that the concentration of Kargopol vessels on the monuments of eastern Karelia, mainly in the complexes with pit-comb ceramics of the middle stage of development in the lake basin Vodlozera, and its almost complete absence in other areas of Karelia indicates the penetration of a similar ceramic tradition from the Eastern Prionezh Region, where it was first isolated. Based on the available modern data, it is still difficult to talk about the independent existence of Kargopol ceramics in the Neolithic of Karelia.

ABSTRACT We report the joint analysis of single-dish and interferometric observations of the Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) effect from the galaxy cluster RX J1347.5−1145. We have developed a parametric fitting procedure that uses native imaging and visibility data, and tested it using the rich data sets from ALMA, Bolocam, and Planck available for this object. RX J1347.5−1145 is a very hot and luminous cluster showing signatures of a merger. Previous X-ray-motivated SZ studies have highlighted the presence of an excess SZ signal south-east of the X-ray peak, which was generally interpreted as a strong shock-induced pressure perturbation. Our model, when centred at the X-ray peak, confirms this. However, the presence of two almost equally bright giant elliptical galaxies separated by ∼100 kpc makes the choice of the cluster centre ambiguous, and allows for considerable freedom in modelling the structure of the galaxy cluster. For instance, we have shown that the SZ signal can be well described by a single smooth ellipsoidal generalized Navarro–Frenk–White profile, where the best-fitting centroid is located between the two brightest cluster galaxies. This leads to a considerably weaker excess SZ signal from the south-eastern substructure. Further, the most prominent features seen in the X-ray can be explained as predominantly isobaric structures, alleviating the need for highly supersonic velocities, although overpressurized regions associated with the moving subhaloes are still present in our model.

ABSTRACT We present the results of deep Chandra and XMM–Newton X-ray imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy of Abell 2256, a nearby (z = 0.058) galaxy cluster experiencing multiple mergers and displaying a rich radio morphology dominated by a large relic. The X-ray data reveal three subclusters: (i) the ‘main cluster’; (ii) the remnant of an older merger in the east of the cluster with an ∼600 kpc-long tail; (iii) a bright, bullet-like, low-entropy infalling system, with a large line-of-sight velocity component. The low-entropy system displays a 250 kpc-long cold front with a break and an intriguing surface brightness decrement. Interestingly, the infalling gas is not co-spatial with bright galaxies and the radio-loud brightest cluster galaxy of the infalling group appears dissociated from the low-entropy plasma by ∼50 kpc in projection, to the south of the eastern edge of the cold front. Assuming that the dark matter follows the galaxy distribution, we predict that it is also significantly offset from the low-entropy gas. Part of the low-frequency radio emission near the cold front might be revived by magnetic field amplification due to differential gas motions. Using analytical models and numerical simulations, we investigate the possibility that the supersonic infall of the subcluster generates a large-scale shock along our line of sight, which can be detected in the X-ray temperature map but is not associated with any clear features in the surface brightness distribution.

The bee-mimicking hoverfly species Criorhina pachymera shows pronounced geographical variation in abdominal colour pattern. Based on 218 records from 22 European countries, we describe six abdomen forms divided over two main groups. Group A in western, northern and central parts of Europe contains abdomen forms A1–A3 with slender pollinose bands on the third and fourth tergite. Group B in south-eastern Europe contains forms B1–B3 with broad pollinose bands. These groups are separated by the Alps and the Carpathians, such as the separation of the original distributions of the two main postglacial recolonization lineages of honey bees in Europe. As these honey bee groups differ by the width of the pollinose bands on the third to fifth tergite, Batesian mimicry can explain the group distribution of C. pachymera with slender or broad pollinose bands. The different forms of C. pachymera in both groups are categorised by the extent of orange colouration on the second and third tergite. The darkest form A1, has a widespread distribution in Europe. Intermediate bright forms A2 and A3 occur predominantly in a belt along the southern margin of the group A distribution and in Sweden. Dark form B1 and intermediate bright form B2 occur on the Balkan peninsula and in neighbouring regions. The brightest form B3, is found in Italy, Switzerland (Ticino) and Greece. There is an average increase in the extent of orange colouration on the second and third tergite with decreasing geographical latitude, making temperature a likely additional cause for the described abdominal colour variation.

The bee-mimicking hoverfly species Criorhina pachymera shows pronounced geographical variation in abdominal colour pattern. Based on 218 records from 22 European countries, we describe six abdomen forms divided over two main groups. Group A in western, northern and central parts of Europe contains abdomen forms A1–A3 with slender pollinose bands on the third and fourth tergite. Group B in south-eastern Europe contains forms B1–B3 with broad pollinose bands. These groups are separated by the Alps and the Carpathians, such as the separation of the original distributions of the two main postglacial recolonization lineages of honey bees in Europe. As these honey bee groups differ by the width of the pollinose bands on the third to fifth tergite, Batesian mimicry can explain the group distribution of C. pachymera with slender or broad pollinose bands. The different forms of C. pachymera in both groups are categorised by the extent of orange colouration on the second and third tergite. The darkest form A1, has a widespread distribution in Europe. Intermediate bright forms A2 and A3 occur predominantly in a belt along the southern margin of the group A distribution and in Sweden. Dark form B1 and intermediate bright form B2 occur on the Balkan peninsula and in neighbouring regions. The brightest form B3, is found in Italy, Switzerland (Ticino) and Greece. There is an average increase in the extent of orange colouration on the second and third tergite with decreasing geographical latitude, making temperature a likely additional cause for the described abdominal colour variation.

Abstract The Thar Desert between northwestern India and Pakistan is the most densely populated desert region in the world, and the vast surrounding areas are affected by rapid soil degradation and vegetation loss. The impact of an expanded desert (implemented by changing vegetation type and related greenness fraction, albedo, surface roughness length, emissivity, among others) on the South Asian summer monsoon hydroclimate is investigated by means of 7-month, 4-member ensemble sensitivity experiments with the Weather Research and Forecasting model. It is found that extended desertification significantly affects the monsoon at local and large scales. Locally, the atmospheric water cycle weakens because precipitation, evaporation, and atmospheric moisture convergence all decrease; soil moisture and runoff reduce too. Air temperature cools because of an increase in albedo (the desert makes the area brighter) and a reduction of surface turbulent fluxes; the cooling is partially offset by adiabatic descent, generated to maintain thermodynamic balance and originating at the northern flank of the low-level anticyclone forced by desert subsidence. Regionally, an anomalous northwesterly flow over the Indo-Gangetic Plain weakens the monsoon circulation over northeastern India, causing precipitation to decrease and the formation of an anomalous anticyclone in the region. As a result, the middle troposphere cools because of a decrease in latent heat release, but the ground heats up because of a reduction in cloudiness. At larger scale, the interaction between the anomalous circulation and the mountains leads to an increase in precipitation over the eastern Himalayas and Indochina. The findings of this study reveal that the expansion of the Thar Desert can lead to a pronounced and large-scale impact on summer monsoon hydroclimate, with a potential to redistribute precious water over South Asia.

The twenty-four species of Lonchaeidae (lance flies) known from Australia commonly breed in a wide variety of organic matter, including fruit and vegetables. The metallic-green tomato fly (Lamprolonchaea brouniana) is the best known species, being an agricultural pest. However its common name is also applied to other similar bright metallic goldengreen lance flies. Australian lance flies are generally relatively poorly understood taxonomically, with few species descriptions including (1) both male and female adults, (2) detailed descriptions of larval diagnostic morphological characters, and (3) molecular characterisation of the barcoding COI mitochondrial DNA region (no lance flies having been sequenced to date). The latter two could provide valuable tools to assist in identifying this species from larvae found in food produce, the most common life stage encountered, which are currently sometimes confused with economically important tephritid fruit fly larvae. In the current study we redescribe the morphological characteristics of adults, larvae and pupae as well as characterise the COI gene from the most common Australian lonchaeid fruit pest, L. brouniana, to enable an accurate species diagnosis. We provide a key to known Australian Lamprolonchaea species, and clarify the taxonomy of L. brouniana, including designating type material. This species appears to be restricted to Australia, and has been most commonly collected from the temperate south. Life history characteristics, including the timing of occurrence and host plant use, were also examined. Over the last decade south-eastern Australian larval samples were found over the warmer summer and autumn months from various fruit, most often (>70%) from tomato fruit, and not normally in association with other serious primary pests, such as Queensland Fruit Fly (Bactrocera tryoni).

A total of 13 seismic sections were used for 2D seismic interpretation in order to assess the subsurface geometry of gas sand horizons and hydrocarbon prospect of the Rashidpur structure, Surma Basin, Bangladesh. Out of five reflectors, two selected reflectors were mapped for the study. The top of the Upper Gas Sand (R3) reflector was elongated in N-S with the axis swinging slightly to the east on the northern plunge. North-South trending thrust fault was identified in the eastern part which is parallel to the axial line of the structure. The reflection patterns of the gas sand horizons were parallel to each other and similar in nature. The reflection coefficients were positive at the base and negative at the top of the each gas sand horizons. Velocity dropped from 2562 m/s to 2177 m/s in the Upper Gas Sand (R3) and 4320 m/s to 3413 m/s in the Lower Gas Sand (R5) reflector. Bright spot and amplitude anomalies were identified on the top of the both gas sand horizons. The result depicts that the shape of the gas sand horizons is asymmetric anticline. The structure is compressed and elongated NNW-SSE trending anticline. The study reveals hydrocarbon potentiality of the structure.

From 2014 on, the archaeological excavations of the Roman fort of Apsaros (Gonio, eastern Black Sea area) concentrated in the central area of early buildings, where a large architectural complex from the second half of the first to the first half of the secondcenturies AD was located. This structure probably was a praitorion, the residence of the garrison commander. There was an ancient looters’ pit discovered in one room; it appeared in relation to the construction works in the fort in the late second or early third century AD. The most outstanding find from this pit is a fragmented red slip beaker featuring a relief ornamentation. The beaker comprised an elongated conical body survived to the height of 8.8 cm and a ring-foot measuring 3.8 cm in diameter. The outer side of the vessel is ornamented with two rows of impressed ovals arranged as a chess-board pattern and divided by shallow incised horizontal lines. The vessel is unevenly fired: the clay is bright orange at the top and gray at the bottom. Bright orange slip covers the top of the beaker. No direct analogies to this find are known so far. The red slip beakers of a different shape and vase-like vessels with typical ornamentation of impressed ovals occurred among the products of the workshops from the second to fourth century AD located in northern Bulgaria. Similar vessels, also locally produced, appeared on the sites from the Roman period in the south-western Romania. It is considered that such vessels imitated the glass ware which existed in the same period. Although tumblers and beakers with oval designs on the walls were among the most widespread types of glass ware in Eastern and Northern Europe in the late third and early fourth century, their shape could not be considered the complete parallel to the find under study. The closest similarity appeared among the glass ware from the last quarter of the first to the second half of the second centuries AD, particularly conic beakers with a disc-foot ornamented with elongated ovals. The beaker discovered in Gonio probably dates from a similar period. The quality of the slip and the method of its application indicate that this vessel was possibly produced in the Black Sea area.

The article deals with one of the types of decorative-applied art — the production of lint-free carpets (palases) by the Bashkirs in the south-eastern part of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Abzelilovsky, Burzyansky, Beloretsky, Baymaksky districts). The source base of the study was the author's field materials collected in 2010-2021 in the study area. It was revealed that palases were woven on a frameless loom of sheep and goat wool. The palases are characterized by a longitudinal-striped ornament without a border — buoy balaq with a serrated pattern. Woollen palases were an indispensable element of the interior of the Bashkir dwelling: they covered bunks and hosted guests on them. The woven items were a part of the bride's dowry. In the 70-80s of the 20th century in some settlements of southeastern Bashkiria they started to weave lint-free carpets aqy balaq or kelam. On their dark background there were bright plant motifs, rhombuses and polygons. It was determined that in the late 20th — early 21st centuries, palace production existed in the territory under study. For the most part, the palases produced are used as interior decoration. Carpets neatly laid on a chest occupy a prominent place in rural and sometimes urban dwellings. The material and size of the item changed, but the technique remained the same.

Nothobranchius nikiforovi, a new species known from seasonal habitats in the lower Matandu drainage in south-eastern coastal Tanzania is described. It is distinguished from all other congeners, except N. eggersi, by males presenting two colour phenotypes: the blue phenotype having a bright iridescent light blue to blue-green body, with narrow red-brown scale margins creating irregular reticulated pattern, forming chevron-shaped crossbars on the posteroventral portion of body and light blue median fins with red-brown dotted pattern; the red phenotype has a dark red head, light blue dorsal and anal fins proximally and medially, dark red distally, with dark red stripes parallel to the fin rays, and a plain dark red caudal fin. Nothobranchius nikiforovi differs from N. eggersi by male colour pattern, the blue phenotypes having median fins with dark grey distal portion, some of the rays of dorsal and anal fins with white tips (vs. median fins with distinct slender white distal band), and the caudal fin lacking a spotted pattern (vs. dots arranged into irregular curved stripes); the red phenotype with golden stripe between the nape and dorsal-fin origin (vs. light-blue stripe), the dorsal and anal fins with a plain red distal portion and lacking a light distal band (vs. with distinct narrow white distal band), the pelvic fin lacking a distal band (vs. with distinct slender light blue to white distal band), and some morphometric differences. Phylogenetic analyses also support the genetic distinction of the new species from its closest known relative, N. eggersi, and confirm its position in the N. guentheri species group within the Adiniops subgenus.

The endemic South African species Kalanchoe gideonsmithii (Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae) is described from KwaZulu-Natal, the eastern-most province of the country. The entire natural geographical distribution range of the species falls within the species-rich Maputaland-Pondoland Region of Endemism. Kalanchoe gideonsmithii is related to K. rotundifolia and K. decumbens, but differs from both by having most plant parts, including the flowers, bluish purple-infused. The leaves of K. gideonsmithii are narrowly oblong, like those of K. decumbens, but longer and of greater diameter than those of the latter species. In contrast, the leaves of K. rotundifolia are mostly oblanceolate to obovate to round in outline. The reproductive morphology of K. gideonsmithii is constant in terms of the size and shape of the corolla tube and lobes, with the distal part of the corolla tube and proximal part of the corolla lobes invariably becoming tightly twisted post-anthesis, as in K. decumbens and K. rotundifolia. At the level of the ovary the corolla tubes of K. gideonsmithii are generally dark orange- to purplish blue-infused, rather than somewhat to distinctly green-infused, as is usually the case in K. rotundifolia and, to a lesser extent, K. decumbens. The upper part of the corolla tube is consistently bright orange-red, with the centres of the adaxial surface of the corolla lobes a similar colour, or sometimes very slightly yellowish-infused in the centre. Kalanchoe gideonsmithii presents a combination of vegetative and reproductive morphological characters that warrants its recognition at species rank, especially following the recent description of the ‘rotundifolioid’ K. waterbergensis and the reinstatement of K. decumbens, also a relative of K. rotundifolia.

The article is about the tradition of creating handmade icons with foil rizas in the village Lipovka, located in the Ardatovsky district in the south-west of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The focus is on the genesis of the “flower tradition” of decorating Ardatov icons and on its comparison with other artistic styles in the Nizhny Novgorod Southwest. Also, they study the memories of local residents about Raisa Vasilyevna Serova the craftswoman icon-painter from the village of Lipovka. Cultural and historical origins of the Ardatov tradition of decorative and applied crafts. A hypothesis has been put forward about the presence of the Mordovian ritual substrate in the traditions of decorating foil icons in 20th century. To substantiate it, data from the more eastern districts of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (Diveyevsky and Pervomaisky), as well as from the Republic of Mordovia are presented. According to these data the same practices of decorations with bright paper flowers were preserved in relation to pre-Christian ritual artifacts in the wedding rites of the local Mordva-Erzya (wreaths and ceremonial pies) until the end of the 20th century It is assumed that such more archaic ritual practices of the Mordva could be transferred to Christian ritual artifacts after they adopted Christianity in the 18th century. The authors describe the artistic techniques of the Ardatov icon tradition, characterize the artistic manner of a craftswoman from the Ardatov village of Lipovka and describe the religious landscape of that village during the Soviet era.

Abstract. On 11 February 1997 at 08:36 UT after a substorm onset the Auroral Turbulence 2 sounding rocket was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska into a moderately active auroral region. This experiment has allowed us to investigate evening (21:00 MLT) auroral forms at the substorm recovery, which were discrete multiple auroral arcs stretched to, the east and southeast from the breakup region, and bright auroral patches propagating westward along the arcs like a luminosity wave, which is a typical feature of the disturbed arc. The rocket crossed an auroral arc of about 40 km width, stretched along southeast direction. Auroral patches and associated electric fields formed a 200 km long periodical structure, which propagated along the arc westward at a velocity of 3 km/s, whereas the ionospheric plasma velocity inside the arc was 300 m/s westward. The spatial periodicity in the rocket data was found from optical ground-based observations, from electric field in situ measurements, as well as from ground-based magnetic observations. The bright patches were co-located with equatorward plasma flow across the arc of the order of 200 m/s in magnitude, whereas the plasma flow tended to be poleward at the intervals between the patches, where the electric field reached the magnitude of up to 20 mV/m, and these maxima were co-located with the peaks in electron precipitations indicated by the electron counter on board the rocket. Pulsations of a 70-s period were observed on the ground in the eastern component of the magnetic field and this is consistent with the moving auroral patches and the north-south plasma flows associated with them. The enhanced patch-associated electric field and fast westward propagation suggest essential differences between evening auroral patches and those occurring in the morning ionosphere. We propose the wave that propagates along the plasma sheet boundary to be a promising mechanism for the evening auroral patches.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; electric fields and currents)

Abstract While difficult to prevent introductions, scientific research can help guide control efforts of exotic, invasive species. South American island apple snails Pomacea insularum have quickly spread across the United States Gulf Coast and few control measures exist to delay their spread. Usually occupying cryptic benthic habitats, female apple snails crawl out of the water to deposit large, bright pink egg clutches on emergent objects. To help identify the most likely place to find and remove clutches, we conducted four lab experiments to investigate what specific object qualities (i.e. material; shape and height; plant species; natural and artificial) attracted P. insularum females to lay clutches. In our fourth experiment, we specifically examined the relationship between female size and reproductive output. To further understand reproductive output, we quantified experimental clutch characteristics (height above water, dimensions, mass, approximate volume, number of eggs, hatching efficiency). Pomacea insu-larum females laid more clutches on plant material, chose round over flat surfaces and failed to differentiate between tall and short structures. In comparison to a common native plant in the eastern US, Pontederia cordata, snails clearly preferred to lay clutches on a widely distributed exotic, invasive plant (wild taro, Colocasia esculenta). Unexpectedly, smaller snails showed higher overall total fecundity as well as more eggs per clutch than larger snails. Therefore, hand removal efforts of large females may not be enough to slow down clutch production. Collectively, our results indicate that conservationists and managers should search emergent plants for P. insularum clutches carefully to guard against established populations.

"Background: In contrast to trees from northern hemisphere genera, there has been little research into the selection and vegetative propagation of Australian native tree species for use as street trees. Eucalyptus leucoxylon F. Muell. is one of a few eucalypts occurring in south-eastern Australia with bright coloured fl owers and is highly regarded as an ornamental tree that fl owers readily. It is propagated from seed, but progeny typically show seedling variability and diversity. Eucalyptus leucoxylon was identifi ed as the most widely planted eucalypt in the streets of the city of greater Melbourne, Australia. Methods: This research assessed 300 E. leucoxylon street trees growing across the city of greater Melbourne for their performance against arboricultural criteria relating to canopy structure and density, straightness of the trunk, health (assessed on canopy, trunk, and branch condition, production of exudates, and presence of fungal fruiting bodies), fl ower colour, and root systems. Results: The results showed that E. leucoxylon was a suitable street tree species with most specimens showing good habit, vigour, and health. Discussion: The trees had traits such as live crown ratio, height, fl ower colour, and capacity to cope with pruning that are considered appropriate for a street tree. Their dense canopies and high live crown ratios provide shade that can reduce the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Conclusion: This suggests the species has the potential to be a successful street tree not only in Australia, but in other parts of the world where it has been grown successfully in forestry plantations.

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) causes significant economic losses in tomato crops worldwide. Since its first detection infecting tomato in 1999, aggressive PepMV variants have emerged. This study aimed to characterize two aggressive PepMV isolates, PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2. Both isolates were identified in South-Eastern Spain infecting tomato plants, which showed severe symptoms, including bright yellow mosaics. Full-length infectious clones were generated, and phylogenetic relationships were inferred using their nucleotide sequences and another 35 full-length sequences from isolates representing the five known PepMV strains. Our analysis revealed that PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2 belong to the EU and CH2 strains, respectively. Amino acid sequence comparisons between these and mild isolates identified 8 and 15 amino acid substitutions for PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2, respectively, potentially involved in severe symptom induction. None of the substitutions identified in PepMV-H30 have previously been described as symptom determinants. The E236K substitution, originally present in the PepMV-H30 CP, was introduced into a mild PepMV-EU isolate, resulting in a virus that causes symptoms similar to those induced by the parental PepMV-H30 in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. In silico analyses revealed that this residue is located at the C-terminus of the CP and is solvent-accessible, suggesting its potential involvement in CP–host protein interactions. We also examined the subcellular localization of PepGFPm2E236K in comparison to that of PepGFPm2, focusing on chloroplast affection, but no differences were observed in the GFP subcellular distribution between the two viruses in epidermal cells of N. benthamiana plants. Due to the easily visible symptoms that PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2 induce, these isolates represent valuable tools in programs designed to breed resistance to PepMV in tomato.

A detailed geophysical mapping project has been carried out by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) in the offshore region south-west and west of Disko and Nuussuaq, central West Greenland as part of the preparations for the Disko West Licensing Round in 2006 (Fig. 1). The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the prospectivity of this almost 100 000 km2 large region, and to increase knowledge of basin evolution and the structural development. Results of the work, including a new structural elements map of the region and highlights of particular interest for hydrocarbon exploration of this area, are summarised below. Evidence of live petroleum systems has been recognised in the onshore areas since the beginning of the 1990s when seeps of five different oil types were demonstrated (BojesenKoefoed et al. 1999). Oil seeps suggesting widely distributed marine source rocks of Mesozoic age are particularly promising for the exploration potential (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 2004, 2007). Furthermore, possible DHIs (Direct Hydro carbon Indicators) such as gas-clouds, pock marks, bright spots and flat events have been interpreted in the offshore region (Skaarup et al. 2000; Gregersen & Bidstrup in press). The evaluation of the region (Fig. 1) is based on all public and proprietary seismic data together with public domainmag- netic and gravity data. The seismic data (a total of c. 28 000 line km) are tied to the two existing offshore exploration wells in the region (Hellefisk-1 and Ikermiut-1). The study also incorporates information on sediments and volcanic rocks from onshore Disko and Nuussuaq (Fig. 2). Ten seismic horizons ranging from ‘mid-Cretaceous’ to ‘Base Quaternary’ (Fig. 2) have been interpreted regionally. Large correlation distances to wells, varying data quality and a thick cover of basalt in the north-eastern part of the region, add uncertainty in the regional interpretation, especially for the deeper horizons such as the ‘mid-Cretaceous’ equivalent to Santonian sandstone interval drilled in Qulleq-1 far south. Based on the seismic interpretation (Fig. 3) structural elements maps, horizon-depth maps and isopach maps have been produced; these maps, together with general stratigraphic knowledge on potential reservoirs, seals and source rocks (Fig. 2), provide important information for discussions of critical play elements including kitchens and structures.The existence of many large structures combined with the evidence of live petroleum systems has spurred the recent major interest for hydrocarbon exploration in the region.

NGC 7592 = VV 731 = MCG-01-59-017 is a system of close interacting galaxies. Two main galactic bodies are present in the CCD R-band image taken at the 1.8m, F/9 telescope of the Asiago Observatory and shown in Figure 1:• a north-western (NW) component (≡VV 731B), whose starlike nucleus (A) shows a Seyfert-type spectrum (Archipova et al., 1981). A is surrounded by a nearly spheroidal envelope, with an extension in the west at P.A. = 290° detected up to a distance from A of ≈ 9 arcsec, which corresponds to ≈ 2.5h-1kpc of projected linear distance (1 arcsec ≈ .35 h-1kpc at the redshift z = 0.0244; H0 = 100 h km s-1Mpc-1). This extension seems to bend in the northern direction and to join a bright wing, detected up to « 22 arcsec from A, which turns to east and resembles a spiral arm or a tidal tail.• The envelope around A is connected (over ~ 20 arcsec 7h-1kpc) to a second galactic body (SE) located in the south-east of it. Its nucleus (B), identified by Markarian and Lipovetskii (1976) as the nucleus of Mkn 928, is located at dAB ~ 11 arcsec(~ 4h-1kpc) from A at P.A. = 100°. The morphology of this component is highly peculiar. In the central region, B is linked to two fainter knots which extend up to d″ ~ 4 arcsec at P.A. — 90°. This structure gives to the region surrounding B an elongated and distorted shape. Moreover, a bar-like structure is detected on either sides of B. The north-eastern side of the bar (P.A. = 40°) joins a slightly distorted loop of condensations, which can be traced from P.A. = 335° (at a distance from B«6 arcsec % 2.1 h-1kpc) to P.A. = 100° and from P.A. = 200° to P.A. = 240°, but not in corrispondence of the contact region between the two galaxies. This structure seems to be drained and distorted in the direction of a third condensation C at dBC ≈ 11.7 arcsec (≈ 4.1 h-1kpc) from B at P.A. — 212°. A faint plume bent in a direction opposite to that expected for spiral arms of the SE galaxy appears to extend from the west side of C.

The cultural association of Queensland with a condition of imagination or unreality has a strong history. Queensland has always ‘retained much of its quality as an abstraction, an idea’, asserts Thea Astley in her famous essay on the state's identity (Astley 1976: 263). In one of the most quoted descriptions of Queensland's literary representation, Pat Buckridge draws attention to its ‘othering’, suggesting that Queensland possesses ‘a different sense of distance, different architecture, a different apprehension of time, a distinctive preoccupation with personal eccentricity, and . . . a strong sense of cultural antitheses’ (1976: 30). Rosie Scott comes closest to the concerns of this present article when she asserts that this so-called difference ‘is definitely partly to do with the landscape. In Brisbane, for instance, the rickety old wooden Queenslanders drenched in bougainvillea, the palms, the astounding number of birds even in Red Hill where I lived, the jacarandas, are all unique in Australia’ (quoted in Sheahan-Bright and Glover 2002: xv). For Vivienne Muller, Buckridge's ‘cultural antitheses’ are most clearly expressed in precisely this interpretation of Queensland as a place somewhere between imagined wilderness and paradise (2001: 72). Thus, as Gillian Whitlock suggests, such differences are primarily fictional constructs that feed ‘an image making process founded more on nationalist debates about city and bush, centre and periphery, the Southern states versus the Deep North than on any “real” sense of regionalism’ (quoted in Muller 2001: 80). Queensland, in this reading, is subject to the Orientalist discourse of an Australian national identity in which the so-called civilisation of the south-eastern urban capitals necessitates a dark ‘other’. I want to draw out this understanding of the landscape as it is imagined in Queensland women's writing. Gail Reekie (1994: 8) suggests that, ‘Women's sense of place, of region, is powerfully constructed by their marginality to History.’ These narratives do assert Queensland's ‘difference’, but as part of an articulation of psychological extremity experienced by those living on the edges of a simultaneously ideological and geographically limited space. The Queensland landscape, I argue, is thus used as both setting for and symbol of traumatic experience.

Abstract. Spatial and temporal variations in the level of dust activity can provide valuable information for policymaking and climate research. Recently, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol products have been successfully used for retrieving dust aerosol optical depth (DAOD), especially over bright dust source areas, and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) aerosol reanalysis provides DAOD and additionally other dust-aerosol-related parameters. In this study, spatial and temporal variations in dust activity in Australia were analyzed using MODIS and MERRA-2 combined (M&M) DAOD and MERRA-2 near-surface dust concentrations and estimated PM10 for the period 1980–2020. Validation results show that M&M DAOD has an expected error of ±(0.016+0.15τ) compared to the ground observations at the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) dust storms on populated areas sites. MERRA-2 near-surface dust concentrations show a power-law relationship with visibility data collected at meteorological stations with an r2 value from 0.18 to 0.44, and the estimated MERRA-2 PM10 shows similar temporal variations and correlates with ground-based PM10 data with an r2 value from 0.14 to 0.44 at six selected stations in Australia. Moreover, MERRA-2 horizontal dust flux shows the same major dust pathways as those in previous studies and similar dust emissions and deposition areas identified using ground-based observations. Dust events based on DAOD over eastern Australia are concentrated in the north in December, are concentrated in the south in February, and can occur anywhere in January. Near-surface dust concentration was found to be the highest (over 200 µg m−3) over the center of Lake Eyre basin in central Australia and radially decreased toward the coast to below 20 µg m−3 via the two main pathways in the southwest and northeast. The ratio of near-surface dust concentration to PM10 shows a similar spatial pattern. Total dust emission was estimated to be 40 Mt (megatonnes) per year over the period 1980–2020, of which nearly 50 % was deposited on land and the rest exported away from the Australian continent.

Context. In 2010 March, the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi revealed a transient gamma-ray source that is positionally coincident with the optical nova in the symbiotic binary, V407 Cyg. This event marked the first discovery of gamma-ray emission from a nova. Aims. We aim to obtain resolved radio imaging of the material involved in the nova event, to determine the ejecta geometry and advance velocity directly in the image plane, and to constrain the physical conditions of the system. Methods. We observed the source with the European VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) Network in real time mode, at 1.6 and 5 GHz, and the Very Long Baseline Array at 1.6, 5, and 8.4 GHz. In total, we observed the source over 16 epochs, starting 20 days after the optical discovery and continuing for over six months. Results. Milliarcsecond-scale radio emission is detected in 10/16 epochs of observations. The source is initially very dim but it later shows a substantial increase in brightness and a resolved shell-like structure 40–90 days after the optical event. The shell has a projected elliptical shape and is asymmetric in brightness and spectral index, being brighter and characterised by a rising spectrum at the south-eastern edge. We determine a projected expansion velocity of ∼3500 km s−1 in the initial phase (for an adopted 2.7 kpc distance), and ∼2100 km s−1 between day 20 and 91. We also found an emitting feature about 350 mas (940 AU) to the north-west, advancing at a projected velocity of ∼700 km s−1 along the polar axis of the binary. The total flux density in the VLBI images is significantly lower than that previously reported at similar epochs and over much wider angular scales with the VLA. Conclusions. Optical spectra convincingly demonstrated that in 2010 we were viewing V407 Cyg along the equatorial plane and from behind the Mira. Our radio observations image the bipolar flow of the ejecta perpendicular to the orbital plane, where deceleration is much lower than through the equatorial plane probed by the truncated profile of optical emission lines. The separated polar knot at 350 mas and the bipolar flow strictly resemble a similar arrangement seen in Hen 2-104, another symbiotic Mira seen equator-on that went through a large outburst ∼5700 yrs ago. The observed ∼700 km s−1 expansion constrains the launch date of the polar knot around 2004, during the accretion-fed active phase preceding the 2010 nova outburst.

Eucalypt rust caused by Puccinia psidii Winter represents a major disease affecting eucalypt production in South America, and is threatening myrtaceous hosts worldwide. In Uruguay, it was first detected infecting Eucalyptus globulus in 2001 (4) and later on E. grandis, Myrrhinium atropurpureum, and Myrcianthes pungens, two myrtaceae hosts native to Uruguay (3). Over the summer 2013, bright orange-yellowish pustules were detected on stock plants of E. dunnii in a nursery located in western Uruguay, province of Paysandú. A severe and explosive epidemic was readily observed. Affected leaves were taken to the laboratory and examined under the microscope. Uredinia and urediniospores were similar with those described previously in Uruguay on other hosts (3,4). Uredioniospores were 18 to 25 × 15 to 21 μm, yellow, unicellular, spherical to elliptical, base truncate, finely and uniformly echinulate with spines up to 1 μm long, with an evident bald patch without spines. To confirm identity of this fungus, genomic DNA was extracted from single-pustule urediniospores, and ITS region was amplified using primers PR1 and PR2 (1) with PCR conditions previously described (3). Forward and reverse sequences from three single pustules were obtained, assembled, and compared with those available in GenBank using BLAST searches. Obtained sequences showed to be identical to those analyzed by Pérez et al. (2011) collected from E. grandis and E. globulus, with no variation found in the analyzed region. A 100% identity was found with isolates UY1374 and UY1375 obtained from E. globulus, and with isolate UY1731 obtained from E. grandis (FJ710805, FJ710806, and FJ710807, respectively). Sequences were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers KM083129, KM083130, and KM083131. Even though this pathogen is known to occur in a wide variety of myrtaceous species, to our knowledge, this is the first natural infection record of P. psidii on E. dunnii in Uruguay and worldwide. This report confirms previous studies that indicated the susceptibility of E. dunnii when inoculated under controlled conditions (2,5). E. dunnii is being widely planted in Uruguay, eastern Argentina, and southern Brazil, with increasing significance to the pulp industry. Although the consequences of this finding have yet to be realized, scouting plantations is essential to estimate the real impact of this pathogen on this tree species. Our study contributes to expand the host range known for this globally important pathogen. References: (1) S. R. H. Langrell et al. Plant Pathol. 57:687, 2008. (2) L. Morin et al. PLoS ONE 7:e35434, 2012. (3) C. A. Pérez et al. Mycol. Progress 10:273, 2011. (4) N. Telechea et al. Plant Pathol. 52:427, 2003. (5) E. A. V. Zauza et al. Australas. Plant Pathol. 39:406, 2010.

У статті наведено результати досліджень впливу використання мікроелементного препарату «Аватар», що застосовувався для обробки насіння ячменю ярого і під час вегетації рослин культури, на поширення хвороб ячменю та врожайність зерна. У результаті польових досліджень було встановлено, що в зоні недостатнього зволоження в умовах південно-східного Лісостепу України в польовій сівозміні використання мікроелементного препарату «Аватар» для дворазового позакореневого підживлення рослин ячменю ярого під час вегетації, навіть за несприятливих агрометеорологічних умов (підвищена температура повітря, відсутність достатньої кількості опадів), сприяло одержанню врожайності зерна досліджуваної культури у межах 4,26–4,84 т/га. Обробка насіння протруйником «Авіценна» (0,4 л/т) і мікроелементним препаратом «Аватар» (300 мл/т) + два обприскування рослин під час вегетації «Аватаром» (200 мл/га) забезпечили найнижчу інтенсивність розвитку гельмінтоспоріозної смугастої плямистості на рослинах ячменю ярого – 10,5%, що обумовлено кращим розвитком рослин досліджуваної культури і більшою їх стійкістю проти хвороби. Після обробки насіння протруйником «Авіценна» (0,4 л/т) із наступними двома обприскуваннями рослин під час вегетації «Аватаром» (200 мл/га) ураження рослин ячменю ярого кореневими гнилями виявилось найменшим, зокрема, поширення й інтенсивність розвитку хвороби становили 0,3 і 0,1 % відповідно. In the zone of insufficient humidification, characterized by a sharp lack of atmospheric precipitation and soil moisture, the use of the micronutrient drug «Avatar» for the cultivation of various crops remains open, relevant and requires more systematic study. The purpose of the research was to determine the effect of using the micronutrient drug «Avatar», which was used for the treatment of spring barley seeds and during vegetation of crops, on the spread of barley diseases and grain yield. Field studies were conducted in the production experiment of the Veselopodil experimental and breeding station at the Institute of Bioenergetic Cultures and Sugar Beet at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (Semenivka district, Poltava region) during 2017 in long-term field crop rotation. As a result of field studies, it was found that in the zone of insufficient humidification in the conditions of the South-Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine in field crop rotation, the use of the microelement preparation «Avatar» for two-fold extra-root feeding of spring barley plants during vegetation, even under unfavorable agro-meteorological conditions (elevated temperature regime, absence a sufficient amount of precipitation), contributed to the yield of grain yield of the studied crop in the range of 4.26–4.84 t/ha. The treatment of seeds by Avicenna (0.4 l/ton) and the microelement drug «Avatar» (300 ml/t) + two spraying plants during the «Avatar» (200 ml/ha) growth provided the lowest intensity of helminthosporia strain spotting on barley plants bright – 10.5 %, which is due to the best development of plants of the studied culture and their greatest resistance to the disease.

Outside the Russian Arctic, the floristic classification of willow scrub was carried out in Norway (Nordhagen, 1943), Greenland (Daniёls, 1982; Sieg et al., 2006), and Alaska (Cooper, 1986, 1989; Walker et al., 1994; Schickhoff et al., 2002). In the Russian Arctic, willow communities are most fully studied in Chukotka and Wrangel Isl. (Sekretareva, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2006; Sinelnikova, 2001); several associations are described in the Siberian Arctic (Zanokha, 2003; Telyatnikov et al., 2014, 2015), on the Kola Peninsula (Koroleva, 2006, 2014), while such studies have just begun in the East European tundras (Neshataev, Lavrinenko, 2020). Many researchers faced a dilemma as to which higher units should be assigned to the syntaxa of communities with shrub willows. They were placed in the Betulo-Adenostyletea Br.-Bl. 1948 (synonym Betulo carpaticae–Alnetea viridis Rejmánek ex Bœuf, Theurillat, Willner, Mucina et Simler in Bœuf et al. 2014), Salicetea purpureae Moor 1958, Scheuchzerio palustris–Caricetea fuscae Tx. 1937 nom. ambiguum (in cases of waterlogging) or Loiseleurio procumbentis–Vaccinietea Eggler ex Schubert 1960 (with a significant abundance of tundra species). Shrub willows are one of the most active plants in the southern and typical tundras of the East European sector of the Arctic. They not only form thickets with an independent high layer (willow scrub), but are also part of tundra and mire communities, in which they are located in one layer (up to 30 cm height) with herbs and dwarf-shrubs. We described 6 associations based on the analysis of 54 relevés made in 12 sites (Fig. 1) of the typical tundra subzone on the Kolguyev, Dolgiy and Vaygach islands and in the tundra near the Pechora River. Some of the described communities with Salix spp. can rightfully be called willow scrub. These are rather high (from 30 cm in height in the northern area of the typical tundra subzone to 160 cm in the southern) and closed (willow cover — 60–95 %) herb- or herb-moss rich thickets mainly from hypoarcto-montane species Salix glauca s. str. and S. lanata s. str. Three new associations are described. Ass. Polemonio acutiflorum–Salicetum lanatae Zanokha ex Lavrinenko et Lavrinenko ass. nov. hoc loco (Table 1, rel. 1–5; Table 5, syntaxon 1; Fig. 2a and b, 3; nomenclature type (lectotypus) — Zanokha, 2003: 35–37, Table 2, rel. 6). Low-growing willow scrub from Salix lanata (30–40 cm height) with herb (Arctagrostis latifolia, Artemisia tilesii, Bistorta vivipara, Cardamine pratensis subsp. angustifolia, Cerastium jenisejense, Equisetum arvense s. l., Myosotis asiatica, Petasites frigidus, Polemonium acutiflorum, Ranunculus propinquus, Saxifraga cernua, S. hirculus, Valeriana capitata)-moss (Brachythecium salebrosum, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Calliergonella lindbergii, Hylocomium splendens, Plagiomnium ellipticum) cover occupy large areas (up to several hundred square meters) on slightly sloping (1–5 °) sea terraces of Vaygach Isl. in places where sufficient snow accumulates in winter, on terrace bends, in depressions between ridges, on gentle slopes in valleys of small streams (Fig. 2a and b). The soils are cryogenic-ferruginous gley (Fig. 3). The association is also common in typical tundra of the Taimyr Peninsula. Ass. Triseto sibirici–Salicetum glaucae ass. nov. (Table 1, rel. 6–12, nomenclature type (holotypus) — rel. 10 (author’s number — 31_12), Kolguyev Isl., middlestream of the Bugryanka River, 07.08.2012, authors — O. V. Lavrinenko, I. A. Lavrinenko; Table 5, syntaxon 2; Fig. 4a and b, 5). Willow scrub mainly from Salix glauca (70–160 cm height) with herb (Caltha palustris, Carex aquatilis subsp. stans, Comarum palustre, Equisetum arvense s. l., Myosotis palustris, Petasites frigidus, Polemonium acutiflorum, Ranunculus propinquus, Rubus chamaemorus, Stellaria calycantha, S. crassifolia, S. palustris s. l., Trisetum sibiricum, Valeriana capitata)-moss (Brachythecium mildeanum, B. reflexum, Calliergon giganteum, Plagiomnium ellipticum, Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum, Sanionia uncinata) cover are described on Kolguyev Isl. The communities are widespread both in the floodplain, where they occupy flat areas in the middle part and near-terrace depressions (in front of the main bank), and on watersheds — in shallow runoff troughs, in saddles between hills and in the lower parts of slopes (Fig. 4a). The soils are cryogenic-ferruginous gley (Fig. 5). Ass. Climacio dendroidis–Salicetum lanatae ass. nov. (Table 2, rel. 1–20, nomenclature type (holotypus) — rel. 8 (author’s number — 63_12), Kolguyev Isl., middlestream of the Bugryanka River, 15.08.2012, authors — O. V. Lavrinenko, I. A. Lavrinenko; Table 5, syntaxa 3–5; Fig. 6a, b and c, 7). Dwarf-shrub–herb–moss willow scrub dominated by low Salix lanata (up to 50 cm height) and mosses (Climacium dendroides, Hylocomium splendens and Sanionia uncinata) are found exclusively on floodplain terraces, at the confluence of streams and on river bends, and are flooded in the strongest floods, which is well demonstrated by layered soils (Fig. 7). They are recognizable due to their well-defined hillock-hollow microrelief, which creates conditions for the growth of different ecology species. The communities are floristically rich (Table 6), especially in herbs (Alchemilla murbeckiana, Astragalus alpinus subsp. arcticus, Bartsia alpina, Carex aquatilis subsp. stans, Equisetum scirpoides, Euphrasia frigida, Festuca ovina, Pachypleurum alpinum, Parnassia palustris, Polemonium acutiflorum, Potentilla crantzii, Rubus chamaemorus, Valeriana capitata, Viola biflora). The presence of dwarf-shrubs (Arctous alpina, Empetrum hermaphroditum, Salix nummularia, S. reticulata, Vaccinium uliginosum subsp. microphyllum) with a relatively high abundance (10–40%) is a characteristic feature of this association. Subassociations were identified based on floristic differences caused by different stages of succession: C. d.–S. l. typicum subass. nov. (Table 2, rel. 1–13; Table 5, syntaxon 3; Fig. 6a and b, 7); C. d.–S. l. inops subass. nov. (Table 2, rel. 14–20, nomenclature type (holotypus) — rel. 18 (author’s number — 68_05), Kolguyev Isl., downstream of the Peschanka River, 04.09.2005, authors — O. V. Lavrinenko, I. A. Lavrinenko; Table 5, syntaxon 4; Fig. 6c). Communities of a subassociation depleted in species were formed on a younger alluvium in comparison with the typical subassociation. These 3 associations are united into a new alliance. All. Polemonio acutiflorum–Salicion glaucae all. nov. Willow scrub predominantly from Salix glauca and S. lanata with herb or herb-moss cover in depressions, runoff troughs, on the slopes of hills on watersheds and on occasionally flooded floodplains in the European part of the Russian Arctic. Nomenclature type of alliance (holotypus) — ass. Triseto sibirici–Salicetum glaucae ass. nov. (Table 1, rel. 6–12; Table 5, syntaxon 2) described in typical tundra on Kolguyev Isl. Diagnostic species of the alliance: Salix glauca and S. lanata (such species of the Salicetalia glauco-lanatae Bœuf et al. Ex Mucina et Daniёls in Mucina et al. 2016 order), herbs — Petasites frigidus, Polemonium acutiflorum, Poa pratensis s. l., Ranunculus propinquus, Valeriana capitata and moss Hylocomium splendens. High-constant species: herbs — Bistorta vivipara, Carex aquatilis subsp. stans, Equisetum arvense s. l., Rubus chamaemorus and mosses — Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Sanionia uncinata. The alliance is placed in the Salicetalia glauco-lanatae order and conditionally, following L. Mucina et al. (2016), into the Betulo carpaticae–Alnetea viridis class. We believe that new syntaxonomic units of the highest level are needed for scrub communities in the Arctic. This is evidenced by floristic differences. So, among the diagnostic species of this class (a total of 47 species, including 17 of the genus Salix), only 5 are found in the East European sector of the Arctic — Alnus fruticosa, Salix hastata, S. phylicifolia, Cortusa matthioli and Viola biflora, which are not in any way significant in willow scrub, in particular, the Polemonio acutiflorum–Salicion glaucae alliance. It is problematic to position another part of the described communities with Salix spp. as willow scrub even with high shrub cover. Willows do not form the highest of the dominant layers, affecting the composition of the lower layers, in which sedges, some mire grasses and mosses are significant. Communities with Salix myrsinites and other hemicalcephilic species were assigned to 2 associations. Ass. Carici redowskianae–Salicetum myrsinitae ass. nov. (Table 3, rel. 1–6, nomenclature type (holotypus) — rel. 4 (author’s number — 123_04), east coast of Dolgiy Isl., 11.07.2004, authors — O. V. Lavrinenko, I. A. Lavrinenko; Table 5, syntaxon 6; Fig. 8). Willow–sedge (Carex aquatilis subsp. stans, C. paralella subsp. redowskiana, C. rariflora)–moss communities dominated by low (up to 15 cm height) Salix myrsinites and green mosses (Aulacomnium turgidum, Hylocomium splendens, Sanionia uncinata, Tomentypnum nitens) are developed on base-rich soils in the terraces deflections and are distributed in the northern part of the typical tundra subzone on Vaygach, Dolgiy and Kolguyev islands. The main dominants in the syntaxon — Salix myrsinites, S. reticulata, Tomentypnum nitens, and accompanying species — Carex paralella subsp. redowskiana, Saxifraga hirculus; Cyrtomnium hymenophyllum, Orthothecium chryseon; Cladonia pocillum are hemicalcephytes. Ass. Equiseto palustris–Salicetum myrsinitae ass. nov. (Table 3, rel. 7–14, nomenclature type (holotypus) — rel. 9 (author’s number — Van17), north-west of the Bolshezemelskaya tundra, Vangureymusyur Upland, Khekheganyakha River in the middlestream, 10.07.2017, authors — O. V. Lavrinenko, I. A. Lavrinenko; Table 5, syntaxon 7; Fig. 9a and b, 10a and b). Willow–herb–moss communities dominated by Salix myrsinites (up to 30 cm height), green and sphagnum mosses are developed on base-rich soils in microdepressions on watersheds, on gentle slopes to lakes. The main dominants in the syntaxon — Salix myrsinites, S. reticulata, Equisetum palustre, Catoscopium nigritum, Sphagnum warnstorfii and Tomentypnum nitens, and accompanying species — Bartsia alpina, Carex paralella subsp. redowskiana, Equisetum variegatum, Pedicularis oederi, Pinguicula alpina, P. vulgaris, Thalictrum alpinum; Campylium stellatum, Cyrtomnium hymenophyllum, Orthothecium chryseon, Sphagnum teres are hemicalcephytes. The area of the association is located in the southern part of the typical tundra subzone. The communities are well recognizable by the dense brushing of the erect shoots of Equisetum palustre, giving them their characteristic appearance and a bright green aspect. In terms of species composition and habitats, the communities of these 2 associations fit into the framework of the Caricion atrofusco-saxatilis Nordhagen 1943 alliance in the Caricetalia davallianae Br.-Bl. 1950 order in the mire vegetation Scheuchzerio palustris–Caricetea fuscae class. The description of such communities in the East European tundras and, especially on the eastern macroslope of the Polar Urals (Lapshina et al., 2021), significantly pushes the boundaries of alliance area to the east. Ass. Andromedo pumilae–Salicetum reptantis ass. nov. (Table 4, rel. 1–8, nomenclature type (holotypus) — rel. 3 (author’s number — T134a), Malozemelskaya tundra, Kolokolkova Bay, Tobseda village vicinity, 10.07.2011, authors — O. V. Lavrinenko, I. A. Lavrinenko; Table 5, syntaxon 10). Willow (Salix reptans)–herb–dwarf-shrub–moss communities are distributed along the edges of wet low sea terraces in the Malozemelskaya tundra. The presence of dwarf-shrubs (Andromeda polifolia subsp. pumila, Empetrum hermaphroditum, Vaccinium uliginosum subsp. microphyllum) with a fairly high coverage, and grasses — Carex rariflora, Pedicularis sudetica subsp. arctoeuropaea, Rubus chamaemorus is a characteristic feature of the association. 2 variants are described: typica (Table 4, rel. 1–5; Table 5, syntaxon 8; Fig. 11a and 12a) — in the mainland and var. Sphagnum fimbriatum (Table 4, rel. 6–8; Table 5, syntaxon 9; Fig. 11b and 12b) — to the south, on Lovetskiy Isl. in the Pechora Bay. Aulacomnium palustre most often forms the basis of the ground cover; in var. Sphagnum fimbriatum is codominated by sphagnum (Sphagnum fimbriatum, S. girgensohnii, S. squarrosum) and Hylocomium splendens. In depressions between hillocks, if any, a cover of hygrophilic mosses — Kiaeria glacialis, Polytrichum jensenii, Warnstorfia exannulata, W. sarmentosa is formed. This and previously described (Lavrinenko et al., 2016; Lavrinenko, Lavrinenko, 2018b) associations — Carici rariflorae–Salicetum glaucae Lavrinenko et Lavrinenko 2018, Carici stantis–Aulacomnietum palustris Lavrinenko, Matveyeva et Lavrinenko 2016 and Parnasio palustris–Salicetum reptantis Matveyeva et Lavrinenko ex Lavrinenko et Lavrinenko 2018 (Table 4; Table 5, syntaxa 11–15; Fig. 13–15) united in a new Aulacomnio palustris–Caricion rariflorae alliance in Caricetalia fuscae Koch 1926 nom. ambiguum order and Scheuchzerio palustris–Caricetea fuscae class. All. Aulacomnio palustris–Caricion rariflorae all. nov. Willow–sedge–moss communities with low shrub willows (Salix glauca, S. lanata, S. reptans) occupying extensive wet coastal lowlands, including the rear parts of marshes and the transition stripe from marshes to tundras in the East European sector of the Arctic. Nomenclature type of the alliance (holotypus) — ass. Andromedo pumilae–Salicetum reptantis ass. nov. (Table 4, rel. 1–8; Table 5, syntaxon 10). Diagnostic species of the alliance defined within the Scheuchzerio palustris–Caricetea fuscae class: Empetrum hermaphroditum, Carex rariflora, Luzula wahlenbergii, Pedicularis sudetica subsp. arctoeuropaea and Aulacomnium palustre. Constant species: shrubs Salix glauca and S. reptans and moss Sanionia uncinata. The alliance was proposed on the basis of the structural, physiognomic characteristics of wetland communities and the group significance of the diagnostic species (see Westhoff, Maarel, 1978: 333).

Despite the evolutionary significance of Homoscleromorpha, their diversity and biology are largely unknown. Here we integrate data of morphology, cytology, microbiology, ecology, reproduction, and mitochondrial cox-1 and cob gene sequences to resolve a complex of sympatric species of Plakina in South-eastern Brazil. All datasets congruently supported the delimitation of three species, two of which are new to science. Plakina coerulea has its distribution extended from one locality to over 2360 km wide. Plakina cabofriense, sp. nov. also occurs in North-eastern Brazil. Plakina cyanorosea, sp. nov. occurs only in a single, small tide pool and may be critically endangered. Plakina cyanorosea, sp. nov. produces conspicuous, abundant larvae useful for laboratory investigations. A thin, bright orange organic coat covers some spicules of P. cabofriense, sp. nov. and P. cyanorosea, sp. nov. The three Plakina species harbour diverse microbial symbiont communities, including previously unknown morphologies. Molecular phylogenies and barcoding gaps based on cox-1 and cob sequences supported that each species is monophyletic and distinct from other congeners. The genus Plakina is paraphyletic and strongly needs redefinition. The integrative approach provides new data that widens our knowledge of Homoscleromorpha diversity, distribution and biology.

The northwestern part of Gabal Um Ara granitic pluton is represents a good example for uranium occurrence in the southeastern desert of Egypt. Among the different lithologies in the study area, the granitic rocks attract attention for more detailed geological, geochemical and radiometrical studies. Um Ara granitic masses cover an oval outline area of about 300 km2, which is characterised by moderate topography. The granitic rocks are classified as monzogranite and alkali feldspar granite. Both of them belong to the post-orogenic younger granite magmatic activity that intruded the Egyptian shield between 620 and 530 Ma. The intrusion of Um Ara monzogranite and alkali feldspar granite appears to have been controlled by deep-seated tectonic zones and block faulting. The studied area lies at southeast of Aswan City between 22ͦ 38′ 12˝–22ͦ 38′ 34˝ N and 33ͦ 47′ 27˝–33ͦ 48′ 14˝ E. Geochemically, the average concentration of the elements in North Um Ara granite shows that the relative abundance decreases gradually with decreasing incompatibility from Rb to Y. The common features are enrichment in more mobile elements Rb, Th and U. The monzogranite shows the lowest U and Th content, whereas the alkali-feldspar shows an enhanced contents of both elements, with average Th/U ratio = 3.0. the alkali-feldspar exhibits an expanded enrichment of Th relative to U. The U of the alkali-feldspar may be included within the structure of the refractory accessory minerals. The northern part of the Um Ara granitoids has subjected to different types of alterations. The radiometric survey of the northwestern part of Gabal Um area granitic pluton revealed the presence of several radioactive anomalies near the contact with the Dokhan volcanic and metavolcanic rocks in the north. Some visible uranium mineralisation of uranium minerals occur mainly along the NW, NE, E-W and N-S joints, of a highly sheared alkali feldspar-granite. Uranophane is visible secondary uranium mineral, characterised by bright yellow lemon colours and occurs mainly as filling fractures and joints associated with violet fluorite, iron and manganese oxides. The radioactive and accessory minerals studying and X-ray diffraction analysis that of the mineralised alkali feldspar-granite granite in the northwestern part of Gabal Um Ara granitic pluton revealed include the presence of fluorite, zircon, columbite, spessartine garnet whereas, the secondary uranium minerals are represented by uranophane, β-uranophane and kasolite. The hydrothermal origin was proposed as two possible alternatives for this uranium mineralisation.

The coconut black-headed caterpillar (BHC), Opisina arenosella Walker (Lepidoptera: Xyloryctidae) is an important herbivore of palm trees that originates in South Asia. Over the past decades, O. arenosella has spread to several countries in Eastern and Southeast Asia. BHC larval feeding can cause severe defoliation and occasional plant death, resulting in direct production losses (e.g., for coconut) while degrading the aesthetic value of urban and rural landscapes. In this review paper, we systematically cover taxonomy, bio-ecology, invasion history and current management of O. arenosella throughout Asia. Given that O. arenosella is routinely controlled with insecticides, we equally explore options for more sustainable management through agroecological and biodiversity-based tactics e.g., cultural control or biological control. Also, recent advances in chemical ecology have unlocked lucrative opportunities for volatile-mediated monitoring, mating disruption and mass-trapping. Substantial progress has been made in augmentation biological control, with scheduled releases of laboratory-reared parasitoids lowering BHC infestation pressure up to 95%. Equally, resident ants provide 75-98% mortality of BHC egg masses within the palm canopy. Biological control has been effectively paired with sanitary measures and good agronomy (i.e., proper fertilization, irrigation), and promoted through participatory farmer training programs. Our comprehensive listing of non-chemical preventative and curative tactics offer bright prospects for a more environmentally-sound, biodiversity-driven mitigation of a palm pest of regional allure.

In Thailand, five species of Acanthosaura have been recorded so far, including Acanthosaura armata from the southern region, A. cardamomensis from the eastern region, A. crucigera from the western region, A. lepidogaster from the northern region and A. phuketensis from the Phuket Island and south-western region. However, comprehensive studies of diversity patterns and distribution of Acanthosaura are still lacking in some areas and need further information for designating areas of special conservation importance and nature protection planning in Thailand. Acanthosaura aurantiacrista is a new species of long-horned lizard of the genus Acanthosaura from northern Thailand. It is distinguished from all other species of Acanthosaura by a dagger-like nuchal spine with yellowish-orange colouration in females, bright yellow colouration in males and a combination of other morphological characters: a greater tail length to snout-vent length ratio; a larger postorbital spine, nuchal spine, dorsal spine and occipital spine compared to its head length; a smaller diastema to snout-vent length ratio; a greater number of subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger and fourth toe; and a larger gular pouch than other Acanthosaura species. Analysis of mitochondrial ND2 gene sequences revealed a sister clade between the A. aurantiacrista lineage and the A. crucigera lineage with a 100% probability of divergence, according to Bayesian analysis and strong support value for Maximum Likelihood analysis. The pairwise distance ranged from 13.8-15.0% between A. aurantiacrista and A. cardamomensis, 10.9-14.5% between A. aurantiacrista and A. crucigera and 0-1.2% amongst A. aurantiacrista populations. The discovery of this lizard increases the known endemic herpetological diversity and underscores the importance of conservation in the mountain rainforest region of northern Thailand.

Fungal chitinases play important roles in the decomposition of wastes, mycoparasitism, and biocontrol of nematodes and plant pathogens through chitin biodegradation. This study was conducted during 2013–2017 to investigate the presence of chitinase genes in <em>Trichoderma</em> and <em>Clonostachys</em> species from the Birjand plain, and to evaluate their ability to degrade chitin. Fungal spores and soil suspensions were cultured on minimal medium containing 1% colloidal chitin from crab bodies to isolate chitinolytic fungi. Chitinolytic ability of the isolates was evaluated on this medium by staining with 1% Lugol’s iodine solution and screening for the production of a bright halo around the colonies. Fifty-two isolates capable of degrading chitin were recovered. DNA extracted from the isolates was amplified using Chit2 or DECH degenerative primers that are related to the chitinase gene, and their sequences were aligned using the NCBI GenBank database. The Chit2 and DECH primers amplified 600-bp and 250-bp fragments, respectively, and according to sequence alignment, the isolates had sequences similar to that of the <em>chi18</em> chitinase genes. Morphological and molecular characterization allowed identifying the isolates as belonging to the species <em>Trichoderma harzianum</em> (<em>n</em> = 41), <em>T. longibrachiatum</em> (<em>n</em> = 1), <em>T. virens</em> (<em>n</em> = 3), <em>T. brevicompactum</em> (<em>n</em> = 1), <em>Clonostachys rosea</em> (<em>n</em> = 5), and <em>C. rogersoniana</em> (<em>n</em> = 1), some of which may potentially be used as biocontrol agents of pathogenic nematodes and fungi. This is the first report of isolation of fungi capable of chitin biodegradation from the South Khorasan Province in Eastern Iran.

In March 2020, an intensive cultural resources survey of the proposed Moore Park athletic complex in Plano, Collin County, Texas was completed in order to inventory all cultural resources. The project parcel currently lies within an open field at the southwest corner of the intersection of Chaparral Road and Cottonwood Creek. It is bounded by Chaparral Road on the north, Cottonwood Creek to the east, Bright Star Way on the south, and Cloverhaven Way on the west in a densely residential developed area. A North Texas Municipal Water District building is located in the far northwestern corner near Cottonwood Creek. The archeological area of potential effects (APE) covers an area of approximately 103 acres (42 hectares). Because the project is owned and funded by the City of Plano, a political subdivision of the State of Texas, the project is subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas (9 Texas Natural Resources Code [TNRC] 191), which requires consideration of effects on properties designated as—or eligible to be designated as—State Antiquity Landmarks (SALs), which includes archeological resources. The survey was carried out for the City of Plano, Parks and Recreation under Texas Antiquities Permit 9334 by Brett Lang (Project Archeologist) of Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (CMEC). Melissa M. Green was the Principal Investigator. The parcel is situated on an upper terrace above Cottonwood Creek. From the western boundary, an unnamed tributary of Cottonwood Creek flows from the northwest corner to the southwest corner of the project parcel (as the terrace slopes southeastward) into Cottonwood Creek approximately 860 meters or 2821.5 feet away. Cottonwood Creek parallels the eastern boundary of the APE. Ground surfaces within the project area parcel were mostly covered in short, ankle-high prairie grasses used for active cattle grazing allowing for some limited visibility ranging from 20 to 50 percent. A densely wooded section was observed along the eastern boundary and along part of the tributary, allowing for 30 to 80 percent ground visibility. In all, 19 shovel test units were excavated judgmentally across the project area, of which none contained cultural materials. All materials (notes, photographs, administrative documents, and other project data) generated from this work will be housed at the Center for Archeological Studies at Texas State University at San Marcos, where they will be made permanently available to future researchers per 13 Texas Administrative Code 26.16-17. If any unanticipated cultural materials or deposits are found at any stage of clearing, preparation, or construction, the work should cease and Texas Historical Commission personnel should be notified immediately. The Texas Historical Commission concurred with the findings and recommendations of this report on 8 May 2020.