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Euconocephalus narayanpurensis sp. nov. Kumar & Chand Holotype: male, India, Uttar Pradesh, Mirzapur, Narayanpur, 25.969492N, 80.772087E, 04.xii.2020 (Collected by Kaushik Deuti and Party). Description. Male (Figs. 1A, B, C). Body large and slender. Head triangular in profile (Fig. 2D), rugose dorsally (Fig. 2A). Fastigium of vertex (Fig. 2A) conical, elongated with very weak median carinula; apex obtusely rounded; more than 1.5 times longer than its basal width; more than 2 times wider than first antennal segment. Fastigium separated from frons by a notch with a distinct ventral tubercle present at the base of fastigium (Fig. 2D); length of fastigium anterior to notch is 1.14 times longer than maximum length of an eye. Frons (Fig. 2D) slightly convex in profile, almost smooth. Eyes oval and prominent. Dorsum of pronotum (Fig. 2A) flat, rugose: anterior margin truncated with slight median concavity, posterior margin rounded; transverse sulcus distinct before the middle of pronotum; median carina weak, lateral carinae of pronotum absent. Lateral lobes of pronotum (Fig. 2D) longer than high, rugose; humeral sinus distinct. Prosternum (Fig. 2B) armed with a pair of spines, mesosternal and metasternal lobes triangular (Figs. 1B, 2B). Thoracic auditory spiracle large, oval, completely hidden under the lateral lobe of pronotum; a medium subapical tooth present on posterior edge of spiracle. Elytra (Figs. 1A, 1C, 2F) slightly longer than hind wings; costa parallel to radial, radial sector branched before the middle, apices narrowly rounded. Elytra and wings greatly surpassing the middle of hind tibiae when folded. Stridulatory file (Fig. 2E, 3A, B) on the ventral side of left tegmen with 70 teeth; file slightly curved, uniformly widened anteriorly; narrow at proximal end and wider at distal end. Legs: genicular lobes of all the femora unarmed on both sides; inner genicular lobes of mid and hind femora produced as a spine posteriorly. Fore coxae armed with a long spine. All femora dorsally unarmed. Fore femora ventrally armed with 2 minute spines anteriorly on inner margin and unarmed on outer margin. Mid femora ventrally unarmed on inner margin and 2 minute spines on outer margin anteriorly. Hind femora ventrally armed with 6-7 spines on both inner and outer margins. Fore and mid tibiae dorsally unarmed. Tympanum on fore tibia conchate on both sides, tympanal slits facing forward with a pair of small elongated pits laterally just below the tympanum. Fore tibiae ventrally armed with 6 small spines each on inner margin and outer margin. Mid tibiae ventrally armed with 7 small spines each on inner margin and outer margin. Hind tibiae dorsally armed with 17- 20 small sized spines on outer margin and 15-17 small sized spines on inner margin. Hind tibiae ventrally armed by 9-11 small spines on outer margin and 8-9 small spines on inner margin. Single dorsal pair of spurs and two ventral pairs (inner small and outer large) of spurs present on the apical region of hind tibiae. Posterior margin of male tenth abdominal tergite (Fig. 2G) produced into two triangular lobes with incurved apices, triangular excision present between them; median carina distinct, elevated in apical part. Supra-anal plate elongate-angular with dorsal longitudinal groove, apex rounded. Subgenital plate (Fig. 2H) long, lateral and middle ridges well developed, basal V shaped ridge distinct, apical margin with triangular excision; styli conical, long; apex obtuse. Cerci (Fig. 2I) thick with two incurved teeth, dorsal tooth short with long spine ventral tooth large with small spine. Female. Unknown. Colouration. Body brown. Antennae unicolour, yellowish brown. Lateral margin of fastigium of vertex on both sides with narrow yellow band which extends on the vertex above eye level and reaching up to the posterior margin of pronotum. Fastigium of vertex yellowish ventrally. Frons yellowish brown. Apex of clypeus and maxillary palpi dark brown. A yellow band arising from posterior margin of eye on both sides and extended on the lower margin of lateral pronotal lobes. Sternum yellowish brown with a longitudinal brown band interrupted in the middle. Tegmina with anterior external margin black, inside pale-bordered. Hind wing transparent. Forelegs of body colour. Ventral carinae of mid and hind femora dark brown. Measurements (mm). Holotype. Male: Length of body: 30.2; Length of body with elytra: 52.5; Length of elytra: 41.5; Length of hind wing: 38.2; Length of head: 4.5; Length of pronotum: 8.2; Height of pronotum: 3.8; Length of pronotum (lateral lobe): 5.5; Length of fore femur: 5.0; Length of fore tibia: 5.1; Length of mid femur: 6.9; Length of mid tibia: 6.6; Length of hind femur: 21.0; Length of hind tibia: 20.2. Discussion. The new species, Euconocephalus narayanpurensis sp. nov. Kumar & Chand described in this paper is the sixth species of Euconocephalus Karny, 1907 from India and differs from all the previous Indian species by the characters outlined in the key to species. The new species also has some similarities with African species Euconocephalus lineatipes (Bolívar, 1890) but differs in smaller size, presence of more acute humeral sinus which is more obtuse in later species, apex of elytra narrowly rounded which is obliquely truncated in later species and convex male last abdominal tergite which is distinctly bilobed in later species. Etymology. The geographic name of the new species is based on the locality (Narayanpur) of Uttar Pradesh, India. Distribution. India: Uttar Pradesh.

Kumar, Hirdesh, Kushwaha, Sandeep, Chand, D. Suresh (2021): Rediscovery of Liara (Unalianus) heteracanthus (Redtenbacher, 1891) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae: Agraeciini) from India with notes on its distribution. Zootaxa 5020 (1): 166-170, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5020.1.8

Bile Salt Hydrolases (BSHs) are enzymes from enteric bacteria that catalyze the hydrolysis of Bile Acids and consequently promote the reduction of cholesterol level in the mammalian body. Out of several reported BSHs, the Enterococcus faecalis BSH (EfBSH) has been reported to have the highest enzymatic activity. Herein, we have investigated the mechanistic details of the EfBSH activity. The study was carried out employing two mutants of EfBSH: E269A and R207A, which shows differential catalytic activity. The mutant E269A exhibits significant loss in the BSH activity with an increased affinity towards the substrate as compared to R207A mutant. Further, R207A was found to be involved in allostery with an increased EfBSH activity towards tauro-conjugated bile acids. The structural and electrostatic force analyses of the active sites of the E269A mutant and the wild type EfBSH (wt EfBSH) revealed that the interaction between Glu21 and Arg207 is the determining factor in maintaining the dynamic allostery and high activity of EfBSH.

Our earlier studies showed that lactational exposure to lead (Pb) caused irreversible neurochemical alterations in rats. The present study was carried out to examine whether gestational exposure to Pb can cause long-term changes in the brain cholinergic system and behavior of rats. The protective effect of calcium (Ca) supplementation against Pb toxicity was also examined. Pregnant rats were exposed to 0.2% Pb (Pb acetate in drinking water) from gestational day (GD) 6 to GD 21. The results showed decrease in body weight gain (GD 6–21) of dams, whereas no changes were observed in offspring body weight at different postnatal days following Pb exposure. Male offspring treated with Pb showed marginal alterations in developmental landmarks such as unfolding of pinnae, lower and upper incisor eruption, fur development, eye slit formation and eye opening on postnatal day (PND) 1, whereas significant alterations were found in the righting reflex (PNDs 4–7), slant board behavior (PNDs 8–10) and forelimb hang performance (PNDs 12–16). Biochemical analysis showed decrease in synaptosomal acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and an increase in acetylcholine (ACh) levels in the cortex, cerebellum and hippocampus on PND 14, PND 21, PND 28 and in the four-month age group of rats following Pb exposure. Significant deficits were also observed in total locomotor activity, exploratory behavior and open field behavior in selected age groups of Pb-exposed rats. These alterations were found to be maximal on PND 28, corresponding with the greater blood lead levels observed on PND 28. Addition of 0.02% Ca to Pb reversed the Pb-induced impairments in the cholinergic system as well as in behavioral parameters of rats. In conclusion, these data suggest that gestational exposure to Pb is able to induce long-term changes in neurological functions of offspring. Maternal Ca administration reversed these neurological effects of Pb later in life, suggesting a protective effect of calcium in Pb-exposed animals.

We present month-long observations of speciated acyl peroxy nitrates (APNs), including PAN, PPN, MPAN, APAN, and the sum of PiBN and PnBN, measured at the Mount Bachelor Observatory (MBO) as part of the INTEX-B collaborative field campaign during spring 2006. APN abundances, measured by thermal dissociation-chemical ionization mass spectrometry (TD-CIMS), are discussed in terms of differing contributions from the boundary layer and the free troposphere and in the context of previous APN measurements in the NE Pacific region. PAN mixing ratios range from 11 to 3955 pptv, with a mean value of 334 pptv for the full measurement period. PPN is linearly correlated with PAN (r2=0.96), with an average abundance of 6.5% relative to PAN; other APNs are generally