Morphological characters in light of new molecular phylogenies: the caudal-fin skeleton of Ovalentaria

The Ovalentaria is a taxon of teleosts that has been proposed based on molecular analyses only. Previously widely separated families are assembled in this taxon. For the first time, the Ovalentaria are analysed using a comparative morphological approach. The caudal-fin skeleton of 355 species covering all 48 ovalentarian families are examined in cleared and stained specimens, µCT datasets and X-ray images as well as from the literature. A total of 38 morphological characters are evaluated and used for ancestral character state reconstructions and phylogenetic analyses. Results provide hypotheses for a scenario of the evolution of the caudal-fin skeleton and its ground plan in Ovalentaria. An evolutionary trend towards the reduction of skeletal elements in the caudal fin is observed. Connections between the evolution of the caudal-fin skeleton and modes of locomotion found in ovalentarian taxa are discussed. Phylogenetic analyses based on the caudal-fin morphology provide topologies for intra-ovalentarian relationships that largely agree with molecular hypotheses.

A new species of Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from Uruguay

The genus Myotis comprises a diverse group of vesper bats with worldwide distribution. Twenty-eight neotropical species are currently recognized. Based on a morphological approach, we describe a new species of Myotis from the Uruguayan Pampas grasslands, an ecoregion under high anthropogenic pressure with a largely unknown bat fauna. Qualitative and quantitative morphological analyses support the recognition of the new species and we present a set of external and cranial diagnostic characters by comparing them with other neotropical Myotis species. The new species reassembles Myotis riparius, but can be distinguished by a set of qualitative and quantitative morphological traits, including its clearly bicolored dorsal fur, tricolored ventral fur, a pelage on the dorsal surface of uropatagium, sagittal crest lower, braincase lower in lateral view and overall smaller size.

The Application of Ecological Resilience to Urban Landscapes

<p>The understanding of resilience is a key concept for improving the adaptive capacity of cities to deal with and take benefits from unpredictable changes while keeping on evolving. However, in urbanism and architecture, a theoretical framework to use resilience in urban, landscape and architectural design is still needed. This thesis proposes an instrumental theory that can work as a link between the ecological theory of resilience and its utilisation in urban and architectural design. Through the implementation of this new knowledge, it should be possible to provide insight into the structures, dynamics and self-organizing processes that sustain the resilience capacity of cities. The research has developed a methodology for analysing the ecological resilience of urban landscapes using an urban morphological approach. The method has been tested on case studies in Auckland, New Zealand, and Tokyo, Japan, showing it is possible to observe changes in the resilience of the urban fabric.</p>

The Application of Ecological Resilience to Urban Landscapes

<p>The understanding of resilience is a key concept for improving the adaptive capacity of cities to deal with and take benefits from unpredictable changes while keeping on evolving. However, in urbanism and architecture, a theoretical framework to use resilience in urban, landscape and architectural design is still needed. This thesis proposes an instrumental theory that can work as a link between the ecological theory of resilience and its utilisation in urban and architectural design. Through the implementation of this new knowledge, it should be possible to provide insight into the structures, dynamics and self-organizing processes that sustain the resilience capacity of cities. The research has developed a methodology for analysing the ecological resilience of urban landscapes using an urban morphological approach. The method has been tested on case studies in Auckland, New Zealand, and Tokyo, Japan, showing it is possible to observe changes in the resilience of the urban fabric.</p>

Malaria Parasite Diagnosis Using Computational Techniques: A Comprehensive Review

Malaria is a very serious disease that caused by the transmitted of parasites through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquito. Malaria death cases can be reduced and prevented through early diagnosis and prompt treatment. A fast and easy-to-use method, with high performance is required to differentiate malaria from non-malarial fevers. Manual examination of blood smears is currently the gold standard, but it is time-consuming, labour-intensive, requires skilled microscopists and the sensitivity of the method depends heavily on the skills of the microscopist. Currently, microscopy-based diagnosis remains the most widely used approach for malaria diagnosis. The development of automated malaria detection techniques is still a field of interest. Automated detection is faster and high accuracy compared to the traditional technique using microscopy. This paper presents an exhaustive review of these studies and suggests a direction for future developments of the malaria detection techniques. This paper analysis of three popular computational approaches which is k-mean clustering, neural network, and morphological approach was presented. Based on overall performance, many research proposed based on the morphological approach in order to detect malaria.