Human mitochondrial DNA diversity is compatible with the multiregional continuity theory of the origin of Homo sapiens

Confidence intervals for estimates of human mtDNA sequence diversity, chimpanzee-human mtDNA sequence divergence, and the time of splitting of the pongid-hominid lineages are presented. Consistent with all the data used in estimating the coalescence time for human mitochondrial lineages to a common ancestral mitochondrion is a range of dates from less than 79,000 years ago to more than 1,139,000 years ago. Consequently, the hypothesis that a migration of modern humans (Homo sapiens) out of Africa in the range of 140,000 to 280,000 years ago resulted in the complete replacement, without genetic interchange, of earlier Eurasian hominid populations (Homo erectus) is but one of several possible interpretations of the mtDNA data. The data are also compatible with the hypothesis, suggested earlier and supported by fossil evidence, of a single, more ancient expansion of the range of Homo erectus from Africa, followed by a gradual transition to Homo sapiens in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

A model of bubble coalescence in the presence of a nonionic surfactant with a low bubble approach velocity

A bubble coalescence model for a solution with a nonionic surfactant and with a small bubble approach velocity was developed, in which the mechanism of how coalescence is hindered by Marangoni stress was quantitatively analyzed. The bubble coalescence time calculated for ethanol-water and MIBC-water systems were in good agreement with experimental data. At low surfactant concentrations, the Marangoni stress and bubble coalescence time increased with bulk concentration increase. Conversely, in the high concentration range, the Marangoni stress and coalescence time decreased with bulk concentration. Numerical results showed that the nonlinear relationship between coalescence time and surfactant concentration is determined by the mass transport flux between the film and its interface, which tends to diminish the spatial concentration variation of the interface, i.e., it acts as a “damper”. This damping effect increases with increased surfactant concentration, therefore decreasing the coalescence time at high concentrations.

Palaeogenomics reveal a hybrid origin of the world's largest Camelus species

The extinct Camelus knoblochi is known as the largest camel in genus Camelus, but its relationship to modern Camelus species remains unclear. In this study, we reported the first mitochondrial and nuclear analyses of seven Late Pleistocene C. knoblochi samples from Northeastern China. We found that they are inseparable to wild Bactrian camel on the matrilineal side, but belong to a distinct cluster on the biparental nuclear side. Further admixture proportion analyses suggested hybrid ancestry between both the ancestors of the modern wild and domesticated Bactrian camels, with ~65% contribution from the former and ~35% from the later. By calculating the coalescence time for three Camelus species above, we estimated the hybridization event occurred between approximately 0.8 and 0.33 Ma. We also used Bayesian skyline to reconstruct the maternal demographic trajectories for different Camelus to better compare their evolutionary histories. Our results provide molecular insights into C. knoblochi and fill in a vital piece in understanding the genus Camelus.

Morphology, vocalizations, and mitochondrial DNA suggest that the Graceful Prinia is two species

Prinias (Cisticolidae: Prinia) are resident warblers of open areas across Africa and Asia and include many polytypic species whose species limits have not been seriously reevaluated recently. Based on an integrative taxonomic analysis of morphology, song, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), we suggest that 2 species should be recognized in the Graceful Prinia (Prinia gracilis) complex. In addition, our morphological analyses show the existence of a well-marked undescribed form in southeastern Somalia, which we name herein as a new subspecies. Prinia gracilis is a small, drab, long-tailed species with streaking above and plain pale underparts that has been suggested to fall into 2 groups: the southwestern nominate group (from Egypt to Oman) and the northeastern lepida group (from Turkey through India). However, the characters presented to justify this grouping are variable and show a mosaic pattern, and whether genetic and vocal differences exist is unknown. We found consistent between-group song differences, with the nominate group giving consistently longer inter-phrase intervals, whereas the members of the lepida group sing an essentially continuous reel. An mtDNA tree suggests a deep split between the nominate and lepida groups, with a coalescence time between these clades of ~ 2.2 million years ago. Vocal and mtDNA analyses provided evidence that the northeastern Arabian Peninsula taxon carpenteri belongs to the lepida group. We found that, of all the morphological characters proposed, only proportions and tail barring and spotting relatively consistently distinguish the 2 groups. However, these characters strongly suggest that the eastern Arabian Peninsula is populated by taxa of both the gracilis and lepida groups, in different areas, but we lack genetic and bioacoustic data to corroborate this. Although further study is needed in potential contact zones, we suggest that 2 species should be recognized in the P. gracilis complex, and we propose the retention of the English name Graceful Prinia for P. gracilis sensu stricto, while we suggest that P. lepida be known as Delicate Prinia.

Exploring the effects of approach velocity on depletion force and coalescence in oil-in-water emulsions

Presented here are ways of producing unstable emulsions and use these in optical tweezers studies to determine the effects of system parameters on droplet depletion force and coalescence time.

Analysis of node2vec random walks on networks

Random walks have been proven to be useful for constructing various algorithms to gain information on networks. Algorithm node2vec employs biased random walks to realize embeddings of nodes into low-dimensional spaces, which can then be used for tasks such as multi-label classification and link prediction. The performance of the node2vec algorithm in these applications is considered to depend on properties of random walks that the algorithm uses. In the present study, we theoretically and numerically analyse random walks used by the node2vec. Those random walks are second-order Markov chains. We exploit the mapping of its transition rule to a transition probability matrix among directed edges to analyse the stationary probability, relaxation times in terms of the spectral gap of the transition probability matrix, and coalescence time. In particular, we show that node2vec random walk accelerates diffusion when walkers are designed to avoid both backtracking and visiting a neighbour of the previously visited node but do not avoid them completely.

Coalescence of Binary Droplets in the Transformer Oil Based on Small Amounts of Polymer: Effects of Initial Droplet Diameter and Collision Parameter

In engineering applications, the coalescence of droplets in the oil phase dominates the efficiency of water-oil separation. To improve the efficiency of water-oil separation, many studies have been devoted to exploring the process of water droplets colliding in the oil phase. In this paper, the volume of fluid (VOF) method is employed to simulate the coalescence of water droplets in the transformer oil based on small amounts of polymer. The influences of the initial diameter and collision parameter of two equal droplets on droplet deformation and coalescence time are investigated. The time evolution curves of the dimensionless maximum deformation diameter of the droplets indicate that the larger the droplet diameter, the more obvious the deformation from central collisions. As the collision parameter increases, the contact area of the two droplets, as well as the kinetic energy that is converted into surface energy, decreases, resulting in an increase in droplet deformation. Furthermore, the effects of the initial droplet diameter and collision parameter on coalescence time are also investigated and discussed. The results reveal that as the initial droplet diameter and collision parameter increase, the droplet coalescence time increases.

Dimple drainage before the coalescence of a droplet deposited on a smooth substrate

Thin liquid or gas films are everywhere in nature, from foams to submillimetric bubbles at a free surface, and their rupture leaves a collection of small drops and bubbles. However, the mechanisms at play responsible for the bursting of these films is still in debate. The present study thus aims at understanding the drainage dynamics of the thin air film squeezed by gravity between a millimetric droplet and a smooth solid or a liquid thin film. Solving coupled lubrication equations and analyzing the dominant terms in the solid- and liquid-film cases, we explain why the drainage is much faster in the liquid-film case, leading often to a shorter coalescence time, as observed in recent experiments.

Variance and limiting distribution of coalescence times in a diploid model of a consanguineous population

Recent modeling studies interested in runs of homozygosity (ROH) and identity by descent (IBD) have sought to connect these properties of genomic sharing to pairwise coalescence times. Here, we examine a variety of features of pairwise coalescence times in models that consider consanguinity. In particular, we extend a recent diploid analysis of mean coalescence times for lineage pairs within and between individuals in a consanguineous population to derive the variance of coalescence times, studying its dependence on the frequency of consanguinity and the kinship coefficient of consanguineous relationships. We also introduce a separation-of-time-scales approach that treats consanguinity models analogously to mathematically similar phenomena such as partial selfing, using this approach to obtain coalescence-time distributions. This approach shows that the consanguinity model behaves similarly to a standard coalescent, scaling population size by a factor 1 − 3c, where c represents the kinship coefficient of a randomly chosen mating pair. It provides the explanation for an earlier result describing mean coalescence time in the consanguinity model in terms of c. The results extend the potential to make predictions about ROH and IBD in relation to demographic parameters of diploid populations.