Echiniscidae in the Mascarenes: the wonders of Mauritius

Many regions of the world remain unexplored in terms of the tardigrade diversity, and the islands of the Indian Ocean are no exception. In this work, we report four species of the family Echiniscidae representing three genera from Mauritius, the second largest island in the Mascarene Archipelago. Two species belong in the genus Echiniscus: Echiniscus perarmatus Murray, 1907, a pantropical species, and one new species: Echiniscus insularissp. nov., one of the smallest members of the spinulosus group and the entire genus, being particularly interesting due to the presence of males and supernumerary teeth-like spicules along the margins of the dorsal plates. The new species most closely resembles Echiniscus tropicalis Binda & Pilato, 1995, for which we present extensive multipopulation data and greatly extend its distribution eastwards towards islands of Southeast Asia. Pseudechiniscus (Meridioniscus) mascarenensissp. nov. is a typical member of the subgenus with elongated (dactyloid) cephalic papillae and the pseudosegmental plate IV’ with reduced posterior projections in males. Finally, a Bryodelphax specimen is also recorded. The assemblage of both presumably endemic and widely distributed tardigrade species in Mauritius fits the recent emerging biogeographic patterns for this group of micrometazoans.

Extremes are Typical. A Game Theoretical Derivation

In this paper we argue that a typical member of a class, or category, is an extreme, rather than a central, member of this category. Making use of a formal notion of representativeness, we can say that a typical member of a category is a stereotype of this category. In the second part of the paper we show that this account of typicality can be given a rational motivation by providing a game-theoretical derivation.

Typicality guides attention during categorical search, but not universally so

The degree to which an item is rated as being a typical member of its category influences an observer’s ability to find that item during word-cued search. However, there are conflicting accounts as to whether or not typicality affects attentional guidance to categorical items, or whether it affects some other aspect of the search process. In this study, we employed word-cued search and eye tracking to disentangle typicality effects on attentional guidance and target verification across differing category cue specificities (i.e., superordinate or basic-level cues), while also varying the degree of similarity between targets and non-targets. We found that typicality influenced attentional guidance when searchers were cued at the superordinate level (e.g., clothing). When cues were provided at the basic level (e.g., pants), typicality did not influence attentional guidance, and only affected target verification when there was featural similarity between targets and non-targets. When a searcher uses a target template comprising features cued at the basic level, therefore, target/non-target similarity produces interference that affects attentional guidance, but we did not find evidence that it also affects target verification.

What do oranges and hammers have in common? The classifier ‘round’ in Wa’ikhana and other East Tukano languages

Eastern Tukanoan languages are known for their developed nominal classification systems. Wa’ikhana (Piratapuyo) is in this sense a typical member of the family, since it has an open system with a big number of classes and with class markers which exercise derivational and agreement functions. Among all the Wa’ikhana inanimate classes, the class ‘round’ stands out for its semantic and morphosyntactic features. It is one of the most (if not the most) extensive class, which includes round objects as well as objects of a less prototypical shape. Its markers in non-plural number have the biggest number of allomorphs, whereas allomorphy of classifiers is not typical for this language. Besides, the class ‘round’ has a distinct plural marker, another feature absent for most classifiers. Comparison between Wa’ikhana and other related languages demonstrates that these peculiarities are shared by many of Eastern Tukanoan languages. Thus, the present paper aims to describe the class ‘round’ in Wa’ikhana and other languages of the family and to show common features as well as features that distinguish Wa’ikhana.

Subterranean Clover Stunt Virus Revisited: Detection of Two Missing Genome Components

Subterranean clover stunt virus (SCSV) is a type species of the genus Nanovirus in the family Nanoviridae. It was the first single-stranded DNA plant virus with a multipartite genome, of which genomic DNA sequences had been determined. All nanoviruses have eight genome components except SCSV, for which homologs of two genome components present in all other nanovirus genomes, DNA-U2 and DNA-U4, were lacking. We analysed archived and more recent samples from SCSV-infected legume plants to verify its genome composition and found the missing genome components. These results indicated that SCSV also has eight genome components and is a typical member of the genus Nanovirus.

2. Communication and imagination

In the breadth of his interests and knowledge, Adam Smith was a typical member of the Enlightenment. ‘Communication and imagination’ explains how the arguments in the Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations intersect, and Smith’s posthumously published Essays on Philosophical Subjects throws light on recurrent themes in his work. Smith investigated forms of social interaction, and considered how humans try to make sense of the world around them and of one another in it. Humans, as social creatures, have to interact or communicate. Smith’s thoughts on the origins of language and development of grammar are discussed, along with his attempts to account for why humans are always looking for explanations.

Implication of our technological species being first and early: The anthropic selection effect of our technological youth

In the previous paper (Whitmire 2017; hereafter Paper I) arguments were given which suggest that the typical technological species is short-lived and that their demise coincides with the extinction of their planetary biosphere. This conclusion is based on two observations and one primary assumption. The observations are: (1) Our own technological species is the first such species to evolve on Earth and (2) we are early in the potential evolution of a technological species. The primary assumption is that we are a typical member (in age) of the reference class of all extant technological species in the universe. In this Letter, I thoroughly discuss the anthropic selection effect that the predicted lifetime of the typical technological species would most likely first be made when a technological species is young, thus guaranteeing a predicted short lifetime, regardless of the actual typical lifetime. I argue here that this selection effect is equivalent to narrowly redefining the reference class to be only early technological species and, although true, it is a logical tautology, correct by definition and does not invalidate the application of the Principle of Mediocrity assumption to the expanded reference class of all technological species, as was done in Paper I. Several simple analogies are given to illustrate this point.

Culverwell, Nathaniel (c.1618–c.1651)

Nathaniel Culverwell (or Culverwel) was one of the first natural law theorists in seventeenth-century England, and one of the first moral philosophers to stress the primacy of reason. His aim was to revive the natural law tradition of Aquinas and Suarez, which had fallen into disrepute in English Calvinism. Culverwell’s theory is a synthesis of rationalism and voluntarism. It attempts to do justice to both the normative and coercive, to the moral and punitive aspects of law. The emphasis of his theory is, however, strongly rationalist, a reaction against the voluntarist legacy of Calvinism. Culverwell had close connections with some of the leading figures of Cambridge Platonism. He is not, however, a typical member of this school, because of the strong Calvinist strands of his early sermons.

Crack Assessment of a Very Thick and Bloc-Like Concrete Member

This paper presents the results of recent research activities on the hardening-induced stresses and the risk of cracking in very thick concrete members. These activities focus on a very large member with bloc-like dimensions. In contrast to typical member types such as ground slabs or foundation walls, bloc-like members are dominated by temperature gradients in all three dimensions (height, width and length) at the same time. Besides, the comparably high stiffness of these members leads to very low external restraints in cases of common applications. In these cases the members considered show distinct eigenstresses (residual stresses or self-balanced stresses) but only low restraint forces and moments. The assessment of the hardening-induced cracking of such members therefore requires a detailed analysis of the temperature and stress fields. This contribution presents comprehensive investigations on the hardening-induced risk of cracking of a typical bloc-like concrete member in the form of an underwater foundation. The results of the simulation were compared with selected practical observations during the construction of the underwater foundation of a recently built bridge.

Implication of our technological species being first and early

According to the Principle of Mediocrity, a cornerstone of modern cosmology, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we should believe that we are a typical member of an appropriately chosen reference class. If we assume that this principle applies to the reference class of all extant technological species, then it follows that other technological species will, like us, typically find that they are both the first such species to evolve on their planet and also that they are early in their potential technological evolution. Here we argue that this suggests that the typical technological species becomes extinct soon after attaining a modern technology and that this event results in the extinction of the planet's global biosphere.