A trans-oceanic flight of over 4,200 km by painted lady butterflies.

The extent of aerial flows of insects circulating around the planet and their impact on ecosystems and biogeography remain enigmatic because of methodological challenges. Here we report a transatlantic crossing by Vanessa cardui butterflies spanning at least 4200 km, from West Africa to South America (French Guiana) and lasting between 5 and 8 days. Even more, we infer a likely natal origin for these individuals in Western Europe, and the journey Europe-Africa-South America could expand to 7000 km or more. This discovery was possible through an integrative approach, including coastal field surveys, wind trajectory modelling, genomics, pollen metabarcoding, ecological niche modelling, and multi-isotope geolocation of natal origins. The overall journey, which was energetically feasible only if assisted by winds, is among the longest documented for individual insects, and potentially the first verified transatlantic crossing. Our findings suggest that we may be underestimating transoceanic dispersal in insects and highlight the importance of aerial highways connecting continents by trade winds.

Small-scale mobility fostering the interaction networks of Patagonian (Argentina) hunter-gatherers during the Late Holocene: Perspectives from strontium isotopes and exotic items.

During the Late Holocene, hunter-gatherer interaction networks significantly grew in intensity and extension across Patagonia. Although this growth is evidenced by the increased flow of exotic items across the region, the mechanisms behind these strengthening social networks remain unclear. Since evidence suggests that some individuals might have performed long-distance trips, this article aims to address the potential relationship between these individuals and the flows of exotic items in North Patagonia. We analyzed 54 enamel teeth for strontium isotopes and reconstructed their probable mobility using mixed-effect models and isotope-based geographic assignments. We inferred population and individual mobility trends and compared them against the flow of exotic items built from a standardized compilation. Our results indicate that most individuals have isotopic composition compatible with residence within their burial and surrounding areas. However, a few individuals show isotopic composition incompatible with their burial areas, which suggests axes -from the burial location to the most likely isotope integration area- of extraordinary mobility. At the same time, the flows of exotic items overlap with these axes around the eastern sector of the study area suggesting that this location could have been a central point of convergence for people and items. We argue that small-scale socially driven mobility could have played a relevant role as a general mechanism of interaction that fostered and materialized Patagonian interaction networks during the Late Holocene.

Deletions of mob and tra pJP4 transfer functions after mating of Ralstonia eutropha JMP134 (pJP4) with Escherichia coli harboring F'::Tn10.

One-tenth of Escherichia coli transconjugants resulting from the transfer of the catabolic plasmid pJP4 from Ralstonia eutropha JMP134 to E. coli XL1Blue, contained pJP4 derivatives with deletions (approximately 15-30 kb). The occurrence of these deletions is probably associated with the presence of Tn10 in the recipient. DNA endonuclease restriction analysis of the pJP4 deletion derivatives showed the absence of SphI and EcoRI fragments previously reported to hybridize with IncP Tra DNA probes. Moreover, these pJP4 deletion derivatives are not able to self-transfer, nor are they able to be mobilized. Accordingly, these pJP4 deletion derivatives lack transfer functions.

Advantages and disadvantages of the various methods of rhinomanometry

The author reviews the pros and cons of the several methods of rinomanometry in practice today as well as some proposed alternative and experimental methods

Physics of nasal ventilation, nasal resistence, mathematical model

É apresentado um trabalho de revisäo sobre a física da ventilaçäo nasal, resistência nasal e modelo matemático