Review of the genus Taurotettix Haupt, 1929 (Homoptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Cicadulini): morphology, acoustic signals, and geographical variability

The leafhopper genus Taurotettix includes two subgenera, Taurotettix (Taurotettix) and Taurotettix (Callistrophia), and three species, T. (T.) beckeri (Fieber, 1885), T. (C.) modesta (Mityaev, 1971), and T. (C.) elegans (Melichar, 1900). T. (C.) elegans is subdivided into two subspecies, T. (C.) elegans elegans and T. (C.) elegans subornata (Mityaev, 1971) stat. nov. Illustrated descriptions and data on biology and distribution for all taxa are given. Oscillograms of male calling signals of T. (T.) beckeri, T. (C.) modesta, and T. (C.) elegans elegans are provided. A hypothesis about speciation in Taurotettix (Callistrophia) is presented.

The MOPITT Version 9 CO Product: Sampling Enhancements and Validation

Characteristics of the Version 9 (V9) MOPITT ("Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere") satellite retrieval product for tropospheric carbon monoxide (CO) are described. The new V9 product includes many CO retrievals over land which, in previous MOPITT product versions, would have been discarded by the cloud detection algorithm. Globally, the number of daytime MOPITT retrievals over land has increased by 30–40 % relative to the Version 8 product, although the increase in retrieval coverage exhibits significant geographical variability. Areas benefiting from the improved cloud detection performance include (but are not limited to) source regions often characterized by high aerosol concentrations. The V9 MOPITT product also incorporates a modified calibration strategy for the MOPITT near-infrared (NIR) CO channels, resulting in greater temporal consistency for the NIR-only and thermal infrared-near infrared (TIR-NIR) retrieval variants. Validation results based on in-situ CO profiles acquired from aircraft in a variety of contexts indicate that retrieval biases for V9 are typically within the range of ±5 % and are generally comparable to results for the V8 product.

Ileal Lactase Expression Associates with Lactase Persistence Genotypes

(1) Background: Lactose digestion depends on persistence genotypes (including rs4988235), the frequency of which exhibits broad geographical variability. However, little is known about the relationship between lactase (LCT) genotypes and intestinal expression of LCT. We aimed to investigate ileal expression of LCT depending on main genetic polymorphisms (rs4988235, rs3754689, rs3739022), age, sex, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), and the expression of other genes; (2) Methods: phenotype, array-based genotype, and ileal mucosal biopsy expression data were obtained from the CEDAR study; (3) Results: analyses included 196 healthy Europeans (53.6% women) aged 53.0 ± 13.6 years with a mean BMI of 25.6 ± 4.2 kg/m2, of whom 17.4% were smoking. Ileal LCT expression was mostly independent of age, sex, BMI, or smoking. Rs4988235 homozygous minor allele (GG) associated with lower LCT expression (vs. AG p = 2.2 × 10−6, vs. AA p = 1.1 × 10−7). Homozygous major allele of rs3754689 (GG) was related to higher LCT expression (vs. AG p = 1.7 × 10−5, vs. AA p = 0.0074). Rs3754689 genotype did not modify LCT expression (GG vs. AG p = 0.051) in rs4988235-heterozygous subgroup. Interestingly, CD14, which is a marker of monocytes and macrophages, was the strongest negative transcriptomic correlate of LCT expression (r = −0.57, pFDR = 1.1 × 10−14); (4) Conclusions: both rs4988235 and rs3754689 associated with ileal LCT expression, which did not seem related to age, sex, smoking, or BMI. The inverse correlation between LCT and CD14 expression in the ileum is striking and requires further investigation.