No Change Detected in Culturable Fungal Assemblages on Cave Walls in Eastern Canada with the Introduction of Pseudogymnoascus destructans

Studies of fungi in caves have become increasingly important with the advent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by the invasive fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that has killed an estimated 6.5 million North American bats. We swabbed cave walls in New Brunswick, Canada, in 2012 and 2015 to determine whether the culturable fungal assemblage on cave walls changed after the introduction of Pd and subsequent decrease in hibernating bat populations. We also compared fungal assemblages on cave walls to previous studies on the fungal assemblages of arthropods and hibernating bats in the same sites. The fungal diversity of bats and cave walls was more similar than on arthropods. The diversity and composition of fungal assemblages on cave walls was significantly different among media types and sites but did not differ over time. Therefore, no change in the culturable fungal assemblage present on cave walls was detected with the introduction of Pd and subsequent disappearance of the hibernating bat population over a 3-year period. This suggests that fungi documented in caves in the region prior to the outbreak of Pd do not require regular transmission of spores by bats to maintain fungal diversity at these sites.

Pattern and process in hominin brain size evolution are scale-dependent

A large brain is a defining feature of modern humans, yet there is no consensus regarding the patterns, rates and processes involved in hominin brain size evolution. We use a reliable proxy for brain size in fossils, endocranial volume (ECV), to better understand how brain size evolved at both clade- and lineage-level scales. For the hominin clade overall, the dominant signal is consistent with a gradual increase in brain size. This gradual trend appears to have been generated primarily by processes operating within hypothesized lineages—64% or 88% depending on whether one uses a more or less speciose taxonomy, respectively. These processes were supplemented by the appearance in the fossil record of larger-brained Homo species and the subsequent disappearance of smaller-brained Australopithecus and Paranthropus taxa. When the estimated rate of within-lineage ECV increase is compared to an exponential model that operationalizes generation-scale evolutionary processes, it suggests that the observed data were the result of episodes of directional selection interspersed with periods of stasis and/or drift; all of this occurs on too fine a timescale to be resolved by the current human fossil record, thus producing apparent gradual trends within lineages. Our findings provide a quantitative basis for developing and testing scale-explicit hypotheses about the factors that led brain size to increase during hominin evolution.

The Lectionary of Jerusalem

This chapter examines the scriptural readings of the Liturgy of St James, focusing on the lectionary of Jerusalem. Gospel and epistle reading cycles of the liturgical calendar are presented and analysed. The chapter complements and updates the work of biblical scholars who identified a distinct Hagiopolite pericope order. Unlike Constantinople, Greek and Georgian manuscripts from Jerusalem preserve Old Testament readings at the Sunday Divine Liturgy. The subsequent disappearance of these readings during the liturgy in Jerusalem points to Byzantinization. Certain Hagiopolite reading cycles, such as Gospel readings in Easter Week, were assimilated into the Byzantine rite as the matins Gospels throughout the year. The text of the Jerusalem lectionary itself reveals significant variants, including interpolations not found in other biblical traditions. These divergences point to a particular familiarity with the scriptures, as well as to a distinct exegetical tradition.

Aspects of the life span and phenology of the invasive freshwater shrimp Atyaephyra desmarestii (Millet, 1831) at the northeastern edge of its range (Upper Rhine)

Quantitative aspects of the life cycle of the freshwater shrimpAtyaephyra desmarestiiwere used to investigate its life span at the edge of its distribution area in Central Europe (Upper Rhine) for a period of three years. We estimated the proportion of the population surviving a second hibernation period. The appearance of ovigerous females in late spring was followed by a strong decline in the number of adults, the appearance of a high percentage of juveniles in late summer (0.58 ind./m2), and their subsequent disappearance from the shore in winter. A small semivoltine cohort survived a second winter. The average life span was 12-15 (max. 29) months under laboratory conditions. In molecular studies (COX I), the Upper Rhine and Southern France populations clustered within the North Africa/West-Central Europe species clade. Due to its low productivity, this invasive species is unlikely to cause management problems.

Experimental Investigation of Cavitation in the Circulation Pumps With Lead and Lead-Bismuth Coolants

The purpose of this paper is optimization of methods for calculating of flow parts of impeller pumps for high-temperature lead coolant, taking into account specific cavitation performance of the lead coolant [1]. The article presents the studies of cavitation performance of the high-temperature coolant. The studies were conducted in the lead coolant medium at 450–550 °C, flow rate up to 25–30 m/s and lead flow pressure from 0 to 5.0 kgf/cm2 (atm), at oxygen content in lead from 10−5–10−4 up to saturation, as well as in the presence of solid phase of lead oxides in the flow and in the experimental loop with such coolant. With a view to improving the representativeness of the research results, conditions of occurrence and characteristics of gaseous cavitation in the lead coolant flow were determined using three independent methods [2, 3]. The research showed that gas cavitation can take place in lead flows in the vane-type pumps and other components of circulation loops followed by apertures of lead flow discontinuity (bubbles, caverns, etc.), filled up with diluted gas with subsequent disappearance of these apertures of flow discontinuity. Traditional cavitation with formation and subsequent collapse of lead vapors in reactor loops with lead and lead-bismuth coolant is not possible. Cavitation performance of lead coolant is identified.