Drill holes in shells of Permian benthic invertebrates

Newly discovered benthic fossils and specimens illustrated in the paleontological literature indicate that drilling predators (or parasites) were present in the Permian. New field data from southern Brazil document the first drill holes ever reported for Permian bivalve mollusks. In addition, a literature review revealed drill holes in shells of articulate brachiopods from Russia, Greece, and West Texas. Holes range in size from 0.1 to 5.8 mm and are typically round, cylindrical, singular penetrations perpendicular to the valve surface. Incomplete, healed, and multiple holes are absent. Drilling frequency, a proxy for predation intensity, is very low: less than 1 percent (this estimate may be seriously affected by taphonomic and monographic biases). Literature data suggest that frequency of drilled specimens varied significantly among higher brachiopod taxa. The geography and stratigraphy of drilled specimens indicate that drilling organisms were worldwide in their occurrence and continuously present in marine ecosystems throughout the Permian. This report is consistent with other recent studies indicating that although drillers were continuously present throughout the Phanerozoic, drilling intensity was lower in the Late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic.

Optimizing the design of preactivated titanium T-loop springs with Loop software

ATMA (Ormco Corp, Glendora, Calif) T-loop spring (TTLS), preactivated with a gable bend distal to the loop, holds promise for producing controlled tipping of the canines and translation of the posterior segment. However, there is currently no consensus as to where the preactivated gable bend or the loop should be placed, what the height of the loop should be, or how the interbracket distance changes the moments produced. Using the Loop software program (dHal, Athens, Greece), we systematically modified a .017 x .025-in TTLS (10 x 6 mm) that was preactivated with a 45 degrees gable bend distal to the loop, and simulated the effects. As the gable bend was moved posteriorly, the moment increased at the posterior bracket more than it decreased at the anterior bracket. As the loop was brought closer to the anterior bracket, the posterior moment decreased at the same rate that it increased anteriorly. As the loop was increased in size, the moments increased both posteriorly and anteriorly. As the interbracket distance increased, the posterior moment decreased, and the anterior moment remained constant. We concluded that the size of the loop should be slightly increased, to 10 x 7 mm, and it should be placed 2 mm from the anterior bracket, with a preactivation bend of 45 degrees, 4 to 5 mm from the posterior bracket (after 4 mm of activation).

Evolutionary dynamics of 5S rDNA location in acridid grasshoppers and its relationship with H3 histone gene and 45S rDNA location

We analyze the chromosomal location of 5S rDNA clusters in 29 species of grasshoppers belonging to the family Acrididae. There was extensive variation among species for the number and location of 5S rDNA sites. Out of 148 sites detected, 75% were proximally located, 21.6% were interstitial, and only 3.4% were distal. The number of 5S rDNA sites per species varied from a single chromosome pair (in six species) to all chromosome pairs (in five species), with a range of intermediate situations. Thirteen chromosomes from eight species carried two 5S rDNA clusters. At intraspecific level, differences among populations were detected in Eyprepocnemis plorans, and some heteromorphisms have also been observed in some species. Double FISH for 5S rDNA and H3 histone gene DNA, performed on 17 of these 29 species, revealed that both markers are sometimes placed in a same chromosome but at different location, whereas they appeared to co-localize in five species (Calliptamus barbarus, Heteracris adpersa, Aiolopus strepens, Oedipoda charpentieri and O. coerulescens). Double fiber-FISH in A. strepens and O. coerulescens showed that the two DNAs are closely interspersed with variable relative amounts of both classes of DNA. Finally, no correlation was observed between the number of 5S and 45S rDNA clusters in 23 species where this information was available. These results are discussed in the light of possible mechanisms of spread that led to the extensive variation in the number of clusters observed for both rDNA types in acridid grasshoppers. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.