The complete mitochondrial genome of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Heteroptera: Miridae)

The complete mitochondrial genome of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, comprised 17,027 bp. The genome contained 13 protein coding regions, 22 tRNA genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The gene arrangement corresponded to the common order found among insect mtDNAs which was considered to be the ancestral arrangement. The protein coding genes started with ATN and stopped with TAA or TAG. The nucleotide distribution was 76.0% A + T. The control region contained two repeat regions, one was 24 bp and the other was 161 bp. The Genbank accession for the complete L. lineolaris mt genome is EU401991.

Field placement and the impact of financial stress on social work and human services students

While significant research has been undertaken exploring the pedagogical benefits of undertaking lengthy social work and human services field placements, there has been very little consideration regarding the potential financial stress involved for students. This study has addressed this knowledge gap. Research was conducted in 2014 using quantitative and qualitative methods with students, academic and professional staff from six Queensland Universities. The findings show a significant relationship between unpaid placements and financial hardship creating considerable stress for students and at times a compromised learning experience whilst on placement. The limited flexibility in the requirements of professional bodies and universities for how placements are undertaken has been identified as a key contributor to financial hardship. Addressing the complexities inherent in this issue requires a collaborative effort from multiple stakeholders and should not be regarded as a problem for students to endure and manage.

Importance of COMT in the regulation of prefrontal dopamine

The prefrontal cortex (PFC), located in the anterior region of the frontal lobe, is considered to have several key roles in higher cognitive and executive functions. In general, the PFC can be seen as a coordinator of thought and action allowing subjects to behave in a goal-directed manner. Due to its anatomical connections with a variety of cortical and subcortical structures, several neurotransmitters, including dopamine, are involved in the regulation of PFC activity. In general, the majority of released dopamine is cleared by the dopamine transporter (DAT). In the PFC however, the number of presynaptic DAT is diminished, emphasizing the relative importance of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) in dopamine metabolism. As a result, the role of COMT in the etiology of psychotic disorders is under constant debate. The present study investigated the role of COMT in prefrontal cortical dopamine metabolism by different neurochemical methods in COMT knockout (COMT-KO) mice. Pharmacological tools to inhibit other dopamine clearing mechanisms were also used for a more comprehensive and collective picture. In addition, this study investigated how a lack of the soluble (S-) COMT isoform affects the total COMT activity as well as the pharmacokinetics of orally administered L-dopa using mutant mice expressing only the membrane-bound (MB-) COMT isoform. Also the role of COMT in striatal and accumbal dopamine turnover during Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) challenge was studied. We found markedly increased basal dopamine concentrations in the PFC, but not the striatum or nucleus accumbens (NAcc), of mice lacking COMT. Pharmacological inhibition of the noradrenaline transporter (NET) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) elevated prefrontal cortical dopamine levels several-fold, whereas inhibition of DAT did not. The lack of COMT doubled the dopamine raising effects of NET and MAO inhibition. No compensatory expression of either DAT or NET was found in the COMT-KO mice. The lack of S-COMT decreased the total COMT activity by 50-70 % and modified dopamine transmission and the pharmacokinetics of exogenous Ldopa in a sex and tissue specific manner. Finally, we found that subsequent tolcapone and THC increased dopamine levels in the NAcc, but not in the striatum. Conclusively, this study presents neurochemical evidence for the important role of COMT in the PFC and shows that COMT is responsible for about half of prefrontal cortical dopamine metabolism. This study also highlights the previously underestimated proportional role of MB-COMT and supports the clinical evidence of a gene x environment interaction between COMT and cannabis.

La teología pastoral de Evangelii Gaudium en el proyecto misionero de Francisco

Resumen: Este ensayo teológico comprende y expone el pensamiento pastoral del Papa Francisco, primer obispo de Roma y Papa latinoamericano, elegido desde las periferias del orbe para guiar al Pueblo de Dios en el corazón de la urbe. Francisco es un pastor misionero y un pastoralista lúcido, que ha enseñado teología pastoral y, lo sigue haciendo, de otra forma, desde el ministerio petrino. La exhortación Evangelii gaudium (2013) condensa de una forma orgánica su mirada a la evangelización en la huella de la exhortación Evangelii nuntiandi de Pablo VI (1975) y del Documento Conclusivo de Aparecida del Episcopado latinoamericano y caribeño (2007). La novedad de su pontificado reformador y misionero hunde sus raíces en la figura singular del jesuita argentino Jorge Mario Bergoglio; en su arraigo en la Iglesia latinoamericana y en el proyecto misionero de Aparecida; y en la incipiente pero promisoria teología argentina postconciliar. El autor hace un pormenorizado estudio sistemático y contextualizado de la exhortación La alegría del Evangelio desde el propio documento y en relación a otros textos de Jorge Bergoglio y, ahora, del Papa Francisco. Articula su discurso en dos momentos mostrando sus interrelaciones. El primero, breve, presenta al sucesor de Pedro como un icono de la fisonomía regional y la reflexión pastoral de la Iglesia latinoamericana. El segundo analiza nueve claves de la Evangelii gaudium: la alegría de evangelizar, síntesis de la mística misionera; la figura de la Iglesia centrada en la misión; la influencia del proyecto misionero de Aparecida; la conversión misionera para la reforma eclesial desde el Concilio Vaticano II; la Iglesia, Pueblo de Dios y Madre de los pueblos, como sujeto de la misión; la fuerza evangelizadora de la piedad católica popular; la revolución de la ternura comunicada en el Evangelio de la misericordia; la dimensión social del Evangelio y de la evangelización; la opción por los pobres desde el corazón de Dios.

Descriptions of new genera and species of microlepidoptera from Panama (with one plate)

The following decriptions [sic] of new forms of Microlepidoptera are published in advance of proposed papers, dealing with the lepidopterous fauna of Panama as a whole, based on material collected by the writer as a member of the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone during the first half of the year 1911. ... (PDF contains 13 pages)

Cyclops singularis Einsle (1996) in Oxford, a new British record

The authors report the record of Cyclops singularis collected from Peasemoor Piece, a seasonal pond on the outskirts of Oxford. This preliminary note is to alert others to the possibility that C singularis may occur in collections from seasonal ponds in the UK. The recent record of this species in Belgium (Alekseev et al. 2002) indicates that this species is not restricted to its type locality.

Uncovering the role of free volume in biomaterials and biological matter

134 p.

Risk based lifetime costs assessment of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system design: Methodology and case study

Space heating accounts for a large portion of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) are a technology which can reduce carbon emissions from heating and cooling. GSHP system performance is however highly sensitive to deviation from design values of the actual annual energy extraction/rejection rates from/to the ground. In order to prevent failure and/or performance deterioration of GSHP systems it is possible to incorporate a safety factor in the design of the GSHP by over-sizing the ground heat exchanger (GHE). A methodology to evaluate the financial risk involved in over-sizing the GHE is proposed is this paper. A probability based approach is used to evaluate the economic feasibility of a hypothetical full-size GSHP system as compared to four alternative Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system configurations. The model of the GSHP system is developed in the TRNSYS energy simulation platform and calibrated with data from an actual hybrid GSHP system installed in the Department of Earth Science, University of Oxford, UK. Results of the analysis show that potential savings from a full-size GSHP system largely depend on projected HVAC system efficiencies and gas and electricity prices. Results of the risk analysis also suggest that a full-size GSHP with auxiliary back up is potentially the most economical system configuration. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Adsorption behavior of α-cypermethrin on cork and activated carbon

Studies were undertaken to determine the adsorption behavior of α-cypermethrin [R)-α-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl(1S)-cis- 3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate, and (S)-α-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl (1R)-cis-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2- dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate] in solutions on granules of cork and activated carbon (GAC). The adsorption studies were carried out using a batch equilibrium technique. A gas chromatograph with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD) was used to analyze α-cypermethrin after solid phase extraction with C18 disks. Physical properties including real density, pore volume, surface area and pore diameter of cork were evaluated by mercury porosimetry. Characterization of cork particles showed variations thereby indicating the highly heterogeneous structure of the material. The average surface area of cork particles was lower than that of GAC. Kinetics adsorption studies allowed the determination of the equilibrium time—24 hours for both cork (1–2 mm and 3–4 mm) and GAC. For the studied α-cypermethrin concentration range, GAC revealed to be a better sorbent. However, adsorption parameters for equilibrium concentrations, obtained through the Langmuir and Freundlich models, showed that granulated cork 1–2 mm have the maximum amount of adsorbed α-cypermethrin (qm) (303 μg/g); followed by GAC (186 μg/g) and cork 3-4 mm (136 μg/g). The standard deviation (SD) values, demonstrate that Freundlich model better describes the α-cypermethrin adsorption phenomena on GAC, while α-cypermethrin adsorption on cork (1-2 mm and 3-4 mm) is better described by the Langmuir. In view of the adsorption results obtained in this study it appears that granulated cork may be a better and a cheaper alternative to GAC for removing α-cypermethrin from water.