scholarly journals Hominids adapted to metabolize ethanol long before human-directed fermentation

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Carrigan ◽  
Oleg Uryasev ◽  
Carole B. Frye ◽  
Blair L. Eckman ◽  
Candace R. Myers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Catalytic Properties ◽  
Darwinian Evolution ◽  
Alcohol Dehydrogenases ◽  
Dehydrogenase Enzyme ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Laboratory Models

Paleogenetics is an emerging field that resurrects ancestral proteins from now-extinct organisms to test, in the laboratory, models of protein function based on natural history and Darwinian evolution. Here, we resurrect digestive alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH4) from our primate ancestors to explore the history of primate–ethanol interactions. The evolving catalytic properties of these resurrected enzymes show that our ape ancestors gained a digestive dehydrogenase enzyme capable of metabolizing ethanol near the time that they began using the forest floor, about 10 million y ago. The ADH4 enzyme in our more ancient and arboreal ancestors did not efficiently oxidize ethanol. This change suggests that exposure to dietary sources of ethanol increased in hominids during the early stages of our adaptation to a terrestrial lifestyle. Because fruit collected from the forest floor is expected to contain higher concentrations of fermenting yeast and ethanol than similar fruits hanging on trees, this transition may also be the first time our ancestors were exposed to (and adapted to) substantial amounts of dietary ethanol.

The natural history and morphology of two bromeliad associated hispines from Brazil: Acentroptera basilica Thomson, 1856 and A. cf. tessellata Baly, 1958 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Sceloenoplini)

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4243 (3) ◽  
pp. 521
Author(s):  
FABIANO F. ALBERTONI ◽  
SÔNIA A. CASARI
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
New Records ◽  
Female Genitalia ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
Leaf Miners ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

The natural history of Acentroptera basilica Guérin-Méneville, 1844 and A. cf. tessellata Baly, 1958 (Cassidinae: Sceloenoplini) associated with Aechmea aquilega Salisb. and Vriesea sp. (Bromeliaceae), respectively, is registered. Adults of both species are leaf scrapers, although larvae are leaf-miners. The immature stages of both species of Acentroptera are described and illustrated for the first time. The male and the female genitalia of A. basilica and new records for both species are also included. 

Description of two new species of Leptinopterus Hope (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae) with notes on the taxonomy and natural history of the genus

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2172 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
PASCHOAL COELHO GROSSI
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Two new species of Leptinopterus are described, both from southern Brazil: L. asketus new species and L. assimilis new species. Two new synonymies are also made; L. rotundicollis Lüderwaldt and L. luederwaldti de Moraes are synonymyzed with L. tibialis (Eschscholtz). The correct identities of two unavailable names are discussed: “L. nitidus ab. lepidus” with L. affinis Parry and “L. elegans ab. catharinensis” with L. gracilis Boileau. For the first time, some natural history notes for five species of Leptinopterus are reported and some information on their behavior is also given. The identity of Leptinopterus gracilis is correctly determined after an examination of a picture of the holotype.

scholarly journals Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Color Sensibility: Natural History, Language and the Lay Color Practices of Renaissance Virtuosi

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4-6) ◽  
pp. 358-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Pugliano
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Unpublished Manuscript ◽  
Standard Nomenclature ◽  
Natural Knowledge ◽  
History Of ◽  
Artistic Patronage ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

Famed for his collection of drawings of naturalia and his thoughts on the relationship between painting and natural knowledge, it now appears that the Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605) also pondered specifically color and pigments, compiling not only lists and diagrams of color terms but also a full-length unpublished manuscript entitled De coloribus or Trattato dei colori. Introducing these writings for the first time, this article portrays a scholar not so much interested in the materiality of pigment production, as in the cultural history of hues. It argues that these writings constituted an effort to build a language of color, in the sense both of a standard nomenclature of hues and of a lexicon, a dictionary of their denotations and connotations as documented in the literature of ancients and moderns. This language would serve the naturalist in his artistic patronage and his natural historical studies, where color was considered one of the most reliable signs for the correct identification of specimens, and a guarantee of accuracy in their illustration. Far from being an exception, Aldrovandi’s ‘color sensibility’ spoke of that of his university-educated nature-loving peers.


A new species and notes on unusual natural history of Cladochaeta Coquillett, 1900 (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4410 (3) ◽  
pp. 483 ◽  
Author(s):  
FERNANDO DA SILVA CARVALHO-FILHO ◽  
GABRIELA PIRANI ◽  
THIAGO GECHEL KLOSS
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
First Record ◽  
The State ◽  
Female Specimen ◽  
Urban Garden ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

A new species of Cladochaeta Coquillett (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is described, C. caxiuana sp. nov. from the Brazilian Amazon, based on 10 male and 10 female specimens obtained from nymphs of Sphodroscarta trivirgata (Amyot & Serville, 1843) (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae). The female of Cladochaeta atlantica Pirani & Amorim, 2016 is described based on specimens reared from spider egg sacs of the spider Cryptachaea migrans (Keyserling, 1884) (Araneae: Theridiidae) obtained in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. This is the first record of this fly genus attacking a spider egg sac. The species Cladochaeta sororia (Williston, 1896) is recorded for the first time from Brazil, based on specimens collected in an urban garden in the Amazon. In addition, an unidentified female specimen of Cladochaeta Coquillett, 1900 was obtained from the cocoon of a spider wasp of the genus Notocyphus Smith (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). 

scholarly journals On occurrence, habitat specificity and natural history of adult tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae) near Manaus, Central Amazonia, and key to the larvae of tiger beetle genera

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim ADIS ◽  
Wilfried PAARMANN ◽  
Maristela A. AMORIM ◽  
Erik ARNDT ◽  
Claudio R. V. da FONSECA
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Habitat Specificity ◽  
Tiger Beetle ◽  
Tiger Beetles ◽  
Inundation Forests ◽  
Central Amazonia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Diurnal Species

Over a seven year period from 1991 to 1997, 22 species of tiger beetles, representing nine genera, were recorded near Manaus, Brazil. In the Whitewaterfloodplains along the Rio Solimões-Amazonas (Ilha de Marchantaria), three diurnal species inhabit inundation forests and six species (two diurnal, four nocturnal) live in open areas. Data on their natural history and adaptation to living conditions in floodplains are presented. Fifteen species were located on non-flooded uplands (Reserva Florestal A. Ducke). Five diurnal species inhabit the forest floor, two species are canopy dwellers, and eight species (seven diurnal, one nocturnal) live in open areas on whitesand or laterite. Only one species, Pentacomia lacordairei, was found in both floodplain and upland forests. A key to the larvae of tiger beetle genera located near Manaus is presented.

scholarly journals Redescription and notes on the natural history of the arboreal tarantula Iridopelma seladonium (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Aviculariinae)

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 728-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina M. Almeida-Silva ◽  
Agustín Camacho ◽  
Antonio D. Brescovit ◽  
Sylvia M. Lucas ◽  
Tania K. Brazil
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Single Female ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

The original description of this species was based on a single female and no illustrations of reproductive organs were presented. After we collected several specimens identified as I. seladonium, we decided to redescribe this species and discovered that the male, previously described as belonging to this species, was misidentified by MELLO LEITÃO (1923). Thus, in this paper the male of I. seladonium is newly described and the reproductive organs of male and female are described and illustrated in detail. Notes on the behavior and natural history of I. seladonium are presented based on the observation of live specimens in the field and in captivity. An immature of I. seladonium was observed constructing a hinged retreat with silk and little pieces of bark, a behavior not previously seen for other Aviculariinae. Two courtship events were observed and photographed, leg tapping and palpal drumming of the male on female's body and dorsum-ventral movements of the female's abdomen while the male was inserting the embolus were documented to Aviculariinae for the first time. The courtships and mating lasted almost two minutes.

Lothar Becker: a German naturalist in Victoria, 1849–52, 1855–65

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Darragh
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
World History ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
First Time ◽  
German Naturalist

Warning Readers of this article are warned that it may contain terms, descriptions and opinions that are culturally sensitive and/or offensive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Lothar Becker (1825–1901?), an unpretentious Silesian naturalist, twice visited the colony of Victoria and published rich and original observations on its natural history and Indigenous people on his return to Germany. On his first visit, 1849 to 1852, Becker recorded his encounter with Black Thursday, a devastating bushfire, its aftermath, and the, by then, still relatively uncleared landscape. He also related his experiences living for a time with an Indigenous family in the Omeo district. After adding to his store of natural history observations on a second visit, 1855 to 1865, Becker tried to make money from writing articles on diverse Australian topics such as ant nests, the sequence and timing of flowering, the distribution of weeds, the natural history of fungi and the world history of tobacco, in all but the latter characterised by a remarkable proto-ecological approach. Becker’s publications have been overlooked by subsequent scientific researchers, in part because he wrote for the popular press, and because his language was German. The life and work of Lothar Becker is introduced here for the first time, and translations provided of six of his articles on Victorian natural history, botany, mycology, horticulture, and anthropology. Reflections on Becker’s contribution to anthropology and to mycology are published in two associated articles by Howes, and May and Darragh.

The Hon. Daines Barrington, F. R. S. —annotations on two journals compiled by Gilbert White

1986 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-93 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Degree Of Isolation

In the field of natural history the Hon. Daines Barrington (1727—1800) is best known as one of the correspondents to whom Gilbert White addressed many of the letters that comprise The Natural History of Selhorne (1). Of almost equal familiarity is the knowledge that Barrington devised the format of The Naturalist's Journal (2), in copies of which White recorded near daily observations of weather and other natural occurrences for a period of over 25 years. That the putative correspondence of Selborne was based on a real correspondence (3), and that Barrington arranged for four of White’s dissertations (4), on ‘hirundines’, to be read at meetings of the Royal Society (5), is also well known. What, however, as the result of recent research, can now be reported for the first time, is that Barrington’s contribution to White’s work extends a good deal further than has been previously thought; and that, with William Sheffield (6), he provided White with the incentive both to ‘quicken [his] Industry, & sharpen [his] attention’ (7)—two important acknowledgements for a man who, throughout his life, experienced a degree of isolation (8), and who, as an old man, in response to a correspondent who complained ‘a little of Procrastination’ , claimed:

scholarly journals The Natural History of Class I Primate Alcohol Dehydrogenases Includes Gene Duplication, Gene Loss, and Gene Conversion

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. e41175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Carrigan ◽  
Oleg Uryasev ◽  
Ross P. Davis ◽  
LanMin Zhai ◽  
Thomas D. Hurley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Gene Duplication ◽  
Gene Conversion ◽  
Gene Loss ◽  
Class I ◽  
Alcohol Dehydrogenases ◽  
History Of

Prevalence and natural history of otitis media with perforation in Maori school children

1991 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Giles ◽  
I. Asher
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Otitis Media ◽  
School Children ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Age Group ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

AbstractNew Zealand Maoris are one of five ethnic groups in developed countries known to have a high rate of ear disease, including perforation of the eardrum (CSOM). It is a strongly held belief by otolaryngologists whose practice dates back to the 1960's that the prevalence of CSOM in Maori children is gradually falling. Despite the obvious practical implications this change has not yet been documented.The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of CSOM in two surveys conducted in 1978 and 1987 of children living in a North Island Maori community. A second aim was to examine the natural history of CSOM in these children.The raw data from the 1978 study were reviewed. Of 134 children aged 4–13,12 had CSOM. In 1987 the same age group yielded 12 children out of 250 with CSOM. The prevalence of CSOM fell from 9 per cent to 4 per cent. The incidence of new perforations in 1987 was 1.3 per cent per child per year. It is concluded there has been a fall in the rate of CSOM, although otitis media remains a significant problem for these children.The probability of a perforation healing was influenced by whether or not the perforation had been observed before: at least 35 per cent of perforations seen for the first time healed, but none of the perforations seen on two occsaions healed spontaneously. It was concluded that perforation of the eardrum can be managed conservatively at first.

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