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Staphylinidae beetles form a major portion of terrestrial biodiversity globally and, in particular, in Northern Eurasia, a large area with a historically better known north temperate, subarctic and arctic biota. However, even here, rove beetles remain amongst the so-called “dark taxa” with a high fraction of taxonomically unknown lineage diversity. The propagation of DNA-based technologies in systematic entomology in recent decades has brought new opportunities for biodiversity exploration, true also for Staphylinidae. Simultaneously, new methods have revealed limitations of specimens sampled and curated by traditional practices, as existing legacy collections, whether institutional or private, unfortunately do not always qualify as a source of DNA-grade material. In addition, both legacy and newly-collected DNA-grade material of Staphylinidae remain highly biased towards Central Europe, a region with a traditionally well-developed scientific infrastructure and long-established culture for the maintenance of entomological collections. To increase the degree of biodiversity knowledge for our target organismal group across the globe, efficient sampling of DNA-grade material and, in particular, the development of comprehensive local collections in under-studied regions is highly desirable. To facilitate that, here we provide a practical guide for collecting and curation of Staphylinidae with a focus on capacity building for DNA-grade collections in Siberia and elsewhere in Northern Eurasia.

Cixiidae are small strictly phytophagous hemipteran insects worldwide distributed. Ecology and systematics of Chinese fauna remains poorly investigated. For instance, does their distribution follows the patterns of biogeogaphical distribution established for their host plants or other related-taxa because they are all obligatory phytophagous taxa? Do they follow the usual distributional Chinese realms and boundaries already recognized? Which zoogeographical Chinese regions and connections between them do they depict. To investigate these issues, we provide here a referenced and comprehensive checklist of the 250 cixiid species currently reported from China (77 new records), with their precise distribution at the regional level. In the 8 Chinese main zoogeographical regions usually recognized and 2 adjacent areas, we analyzed further their diversity at the tribal, generic, and specific levels using a non-metric multidimensional scaling and an unweighted pairwise group analysis using an arithmetic mean cluster analyses. The observed distribution patterns shown that an intercalary Sino-Japanese realm is recognisable between the Palaearctic and Oriental realms. At the regional level, the South China region clusters more closely with the Southwest, Central and North China regions. Taiwan, clearly separated from the South China region and mainland China, is more closely related to the Qinghai-Tibet region and Indochina countries. Although Central and South China regions remain close to each other, the Qinghai-Tibet region appears singularly different.An updated checklist of the 250 Cixiidae species, known to occur in China and counting for 10% of the Chinese planthopper fauna, is presented based on literature, recent collections, and museum records. More than 400 records distributed among the 28 provinces and 8 regions in China are extensively provided, including 77 new records. Of these, more than 80% of the species (205 species, 82%) have been only reported from China, and most of them are endemic species, which could reflects the great diversity degree of the Chinese regions and local biotypes highlights the uniqueness of this fauna. These species are found in 8 Chinese zoogeographical regions: The Taiwan region is the most diversified with 161 species and the highest rate of endemic species (69.57%), followed by South China (78 species, 17.95%), Central China (60 species, 33.33%), Southwest China (43 species, 39.53%), North China (29 species, 34.48%), Qinghai-Tibet region (10 species, 20%), Northeast China (8 species, 12.5%), and 5 species found in the Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang region that are not endemic ones. Endemism was analyzed for each region and repeated for species distribution patterns across them, 9 being bi-regionally and tri-regionally distributed. The South China-Taiwan pattern is the most richest one, followed by the Central-South China-Taiwan pattern. Semonini and Pentastirini tribes are widespread among all the zoological regions, representing respectively 21.20% and 17.20% of all the species, while Cixiini being is the most common tribe with 45.20%, remains absent from the North-Eastern China region. Andini with only 5.20% of the species is distributed in the Sino-Japanese - Oriental Region; Eucarpini (6.40%) and Borysthenini (2.00%) are mainly concentrated in the south of the Qingling Mountain-Huai River. The remaining four tribes, Bennini (0.40%), Briixini (0.80%), Oecleini (1.20%) and Stenophlepsiini (0.40%) are relatively rare and restricted to Taiwan. At the generic level, Kuvera (7.2%) is the most widely distributed genus in China while Cixius, Betacixius, Kuvera, Oecleopsis and Andes are the more diversified. One genus (Oliparisca) is distributed only in the Tibet region, while 10 genera are distributed only in the Taiwan region. In addition, nearly half of the genera (16 genera, 48.48%) are distributed south of the Palearctic/Oriental boundary. A non-metric multidimensional scaling and an unweighted pairwise group method analysis using arithmetic mean clustering based on the Jaccard similarity coefficient matrix support a Palaearctic/Sino-Japanese boundary and a South China region closer to the Southwest, Central and North China regions. The Taiwan region appears clearly separated from the South China region and to mainland China, and more closely related to the Qinghai-Tibet region and Indochina countries. The Central and South China regions appear close to each other, but the Qinghai-Tibet region is singularly isolated.

Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the most important species among beta-haemolytic streptococci, causing human infections of different localization. It is isolated from clinical specimens relatively frequently. In this study, the frequency and co-occurrence of toxin genes (speA, speB, speC, speH, speJ, speK) among 147 S. pyogenes strains were evaluated, using real-time PCR. In addition, the relationship between the occurrence of these genes and the origin of S. pyogenes strains from selected clinical material was assessed. The speB gene was present with the highest incidence (98.6%), while the speK gene was the least frequent (8.2%) among the tested strains. Based on the presence of the detected genes, the distribution of 17 genotypes was determined. The most common (21.8%), was speA (−) speB (+) speC (−) speH (−) speJ (−) speK (−) genotype. Furthermore, significant variation in the presence of some genes and genotypes of toxins in S. pyogenes strains isolated from different types of clinical material was found. There is a considerable variety and disproportion between the frequency of individual genes and genotypes of toxins in S. pyogenes strains. The relationship between the origin of S. pyogenes isolates and the presence of toxins genes indicates their pathogenic potential in the development of infections of selected localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although 17 species of Rhopalosiphum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are currently recognized, 85 taxonomic names have been proposed historically. Some species are morphologically similar, especially alate individuals and most synonymies were proposed in catalogues without evidence. This has led to both confusion and difficulty in making accurate species-level identifications. In an attempt to address these issues, we developed a new approach to resolve synonymies based on linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and suggest that this approach may be useful for other taxonomic groups to reassess previously proposed synonymies. We compared 34 valid and synonymized species using 49 measurements and 20 ratios from 1,030 individual aphids. LDA was repeatedly applied to subsets of the data after removing clearly separated groups found in a previous iteration. We found our characters and technique worked well to distinguish among apterae. However, it separated well only those alatae with some distinctive traits, while those apterate which were morphologically similar were not well separated using LDA. Based on our morphological investigation, we transfer R. arundinariae (Tissot, 1933) to Melanaphis supported by details of the wing veination and other morphological traits and propose Melanaphis takahashii Skvarla and Miller as a replacement name for M. arundinariae (Takahashi, 1937); we also synonymize R. momo (Shinji, 1922) with R. nymphaeae (Linnaeus, 1761). Our analyses confirmed many of the proposed synonymies, which will help to stabilize the nomenclature and species concepts within Rhopalosiphum.

Outstanding bit error rate LDPC design in waterfall region and error floor region is one of the challenging tasks for the past decade. This chapter, focuses on the design of LDPC encoder with the low error floor and waterfall region of BER with minimum trapping set. Scheduled Progressive Edge-Growth (SPEG) LDPC encoder is used, and the simulation result of density evolution and exit chart are giving the better convergence of LDPC encoder. BER performance in error floor can controlled by minimum trapping set and waterfall region controlled by scheduled PEG LDPC encoder (1000, 500) with code length (n) is less than 600. The girth of the SPEG encoder is 8. SPEG with minimum trapping set will perform well for short length code also and it converges faster than the other PEG encoder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microtubules are involved in mechanical support, cytoplasmic organization, and several cellular processes by interacting with diverse microtubule-associated proteins such as plus-end tracking proteins, motor proteins, and tubulin-folding cofactors. A number of the cytoskeleton-associated proteins (CAPs) contain the CAP-glycine-rich (CAP-Gly) domain, which is evolutionarily conserved and generally considered to bind to α-tubulin to regulate the function of microtubules. However, there has been a dearth of research on CAP-Gly proteins in fungal pathogens, including Cryptococcus neoformans, which is a global cause of fatal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised patients. In this study, we identified five CAP-Gly protein-encoding genes in C. neoformans. Among these, Cgp1 encoded by CNAG_06352 has a unique domain structure containing CAP-Gly, SPEC, and Spc7 domains that is not orthologous to CAPs in other eukaryotes. Supporting the role of Cgp1 in microtubule-related function, we demonstrate that deletion or overexpression of CGP1 alters cellular susceptibility to thiabendazole, a microtubule destabilizer and that Cgp1 is co-localized with cytoplasmic microtubules. Related to the cellular function of microtubules, Cgp1 governs the maintenance of membrane stability and genotoxic stress responses. Deletion of CGP1 also reduces production of melanin pigment and attenuates the virulence of C. neoformans. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Cgp1 uniquely regulates the sexual differentiation of C. neoformans with distinct roles in the early and late stage of mating. Domain analysis revealed that the CAP-Gly domain plays a major role in all Cgp1 functions examined. In conclusion, this novel CAP-Gly protein, Cgp1, has pleotropic roles in regulating growth, stress responses, differentiation, and virulence in C. neoformans.

Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the most important species among beta-haemolytic streptococci, causing human infections of different localization. It is isolated from clinical specimens relatively frequently. In this study, the frequency and co-occurrence of toxin genes (speA, speB, speC, speH, speJ, speK) among 147 S. pyogenes strains were evaluated, using real-time PCR. In addition, the relationship between the occurrence of these genes and the origin of S. pyogenes strains from selected clinical material was assessed. The speB gene was present with the highest incidence (98.6%), while the speK gene was the least frequent (8.2%) among the tested strains. Based on the presence of the detected genes, the distribution of 17 genotypes was determined. The most common (21.8%), was speA (−) speB (+) speC (−) speH (−) speJ (−) speK (−) genotype. Furthermore, significant variation in the presence of some genes and genotypes of toxins in S. pyogenes strains isolated from different types of clinical material was found. There is a considerable variety and disproportion between the frequency of individual genes and genotypes of toxins in S. pyogenes strains. The relationship between the origin of S. pyogenes isolates and the presence of toxins genes indicates their pathogenic potential in the development of infections of selected localization.

The paper describes a new method for the rapid determination of Technetium (Tc) in sediment samples using solid-phase extraction chromatography (SPEC) with a novel methyl triphenyl phosphoniumnitrate (MTPN) resin. The effectiveness of the resin in selectively recovering Tc was evaluated in both batch and column mode and exploited for rapid analysis of 'Tc'. The procedure involves the acid digestion of samples, pre-concentration of fission products in supernatant and co-precipitation of actinides with Fe(OH) 3 , followed by selective recovery of Tc by SPEC using a column filled with MTPN resin. The recovered Tc was then radiometrically assayed using beta counting. The method was validated using IAEA certified reference materials and was found to provide reliable and reproducible results for the activity concentration of Tc-99 in sediment samples within 24 h. • MTPN resin found to be highly selective for 'Tc' over other radionuclides. • Application of MTPN grafted resin for solid-phase extraction chromatography (SPEC). • Novel SPEC based method for analysis of technetium. • Rapid method – full analysis done within 24 h. • Validated with IAEA reference material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We investigated the patterns of taxonomic and functional diversity of butterflies within the limits of the NATURA 2000 sites at two national parks, on the mountains Olympus and Rhodopes, in Greece. The study was conducted along an elevation gradient in 24 sampling sites on each mountain using the line transect technique. Species richness and abundance followed a monotonic decline on Olympus which is much higher, steeper and has a smaller area size, whereas there was no significant pattern on Rhodopes where average richness and abundance were highest at the extended mid‐elevations with flatter landscape. The altitudinal zonation of butterfly communities on both mountains was primarily due to the specificity of some red‐listed species to high elevations, as well as to the preference of common butterfly species for low or intermediate altitudes. Additive partitioning and null model analyses suggest an ecological redundancy on both mountains, as the environment is filtering species in terms of their environmental requirements rather than their functional position per se. Butterfly communities at high altitudes were not nested subsets of lowland communities. Environmental filtering led to the dominance of generalist species of which many were taxonomically close and had also similar life‐history traits. The application of complementary networks showed that butterfly SPecies of European conservation Concern (SPEC) are good surrogates of the overall butterfly fauna on both mountains. Thus, our study highlights the importance of the conservation targeting of SPEC's especially at high elevations, where red‐listed butterflies are more frequent and potentially threatened by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in the field of oppositely charged polyelectrolyte-surfactant complexes (PESCs) have been reviewed. Among the many developments in that field in particular very interesting is certainly the discovery of still new types of structural arrangements that arise from the complexity of the prevailing interactions, both in terms of electrostatics, as well as steric and specific interactions. More complex structures often arise from the architecture of the polyelectrolyte, such as the use of block copolymers or hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes. However, also the surfactant plays a role in the PESC structure and for instance bilayer forming surfactants can be induced by polyelectrolyte to form multilamellar assemblies. Of course, PESCs may exhibit responsiveness to changes of pH, temperature, chemical environment etc. and this even in a complex fashion as the polyelectrolyte and surfactant may respond here in a different fashion. Interesting observations also concern the control of rheological properties by PESCs that depend strongly on the properties of the polyelectrolyte and the extension of the formed mixed aggregates, as well as their bridging. An old topic is coacervate formation in such systems, but one that currently receives renewed attention, as various aspects here are still not fully understood and at the same time they are very promising for further applications in separation/sequestration. Often overlooked is the fact that PESCs are typically not static entities but instead highly dynamic systems and recent neutron spin-echo (NSE) measurements indicate that the local dynamics of polyelectrolyte chains is only little affected by the incorporation within such aggregates. Therefore PESCs are still a highly fascinating class of self-assembled structures, where a large number of interesting developments may still be expected in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microtubules are involved in mechanical support, cytoplasmic organization, and several cellular processes by interacting with diverse microtubule-associated proteins such as plus-end tracking proteins, motor proteins, and tubulin-folding cofactors. A number of the cytoskeleton-associated proteins (CAPs) contain the CAP-glycine-rich (CAP-Gly) domain, which is evolutionarily conserved and generally considered to bind to α-tubulin to regulate the function of microtubules. However, there has been a dearth of research on CAP-Gly proteins in fungal pathogens, including Cryptococcus neoformans, which is a global cause of fatal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised patients. In this study, we identified five CAP-Gly protein-encoding genes in C. neoformans. Among these, Cgp1 encoded by CNAG_06352 has a unique domain structure containing CAP-Gly, SPEC, and Spc7 domains that is not orthologous to CAPs in other eukaryotes. Supporting the role of Cgp1 in microtubule-related function, we demonstrate that deletion or overexpression of CGP1 alters cellular susceptibility to thiabendazole, a microtubule destabilizer and that Cgp1 is co-localized with cytoplasmic microtubules. Related to the cellular function of microtubules, Cgp1 governs the maintenance of membrane stability and genotoxic stress responses. Deletion of CGP1 also reduces production of melanin pigment and attenuates the virulence of C. neoformans. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Cgp1 uniquely regulates the sexual differentiation of C. neoformans with distinct roles in the early and late stage of mating. Domain analysis revealed that the CAP-Gly domain plays a major role in all Cgp1 functions examined. In conclusion, this novel CAP-Gly protein, Cgp1, has pleotropic roles in regulating growth, stress responses, differentiation, and virulence in C. neoformans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the existence of transitive expletive constructions (TECs) in Swedish. It is often claimed that TECs are a distinctive feature of Insular Scandinavian, but do not exist inMainland Scandinavian. In this article, however, it is shown that such constructions do occur throughout the history of Swedish and, to some extent, still occur in present-day Swedish, although nowadays the language has none of the features previously proposed as licensing TECs. It is also shown that Swedish has a broader repertoire of associate subjects in TECs than does Icelandic. Unlike in Icelandic, associate subjects can also be definite in Swedish. The presence of TECs in Swedish calls into question the previous analysis of the licensing of this construction, and in this article a new explanation for the phenomenon is proposed. It is claimed that TECs are possible if the expletive can merge in a position structurally higher than the canonical subject position. In the case of V2 languages, this implies that expletives must be able to merge in Spec,CP, and it is shown that in Swedish they are able to merge in this position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O objectivo deste artigo é apresentar argumentos que mostram que as duas análises dos sujeitos pré-verbais em Português Europeu, como movidos para Spec, IP ou deslocados à esquerda, não se excluem necessariamente. São apresentados vários argumentos mostrando que, em frases declarativas simples contextualmente não-marcadas, a análise tradicional, de acordo com a qual os sujeitos são deslocados para Spec, IP, não encontra alguns problemas identificados para a análise alternativa.

O objectivo deste artigo é apresentar argumentos que mostram que as duas análises dos sujeitos pré-verbais em Português Europeu, como movidos para Spec, IP ou deslocados à esquerda, não se excluem necessariamente. São apresentados vários argumentos mostrando que, em frases declarativas simples contextualmente não-marcadas, a análise tradicional, de acordo com a qual os sujeitos são deslocados para Spec, IP, não encontra alguns problemas identificados para a análise alternativa.

The aim of this study is to evaluate antibiotic susceptibilities, emm gene types, toxin gene profiles and clonal relatedness of group A streptococci (GAS) isolates obtained from patients and carriers. A total of 79 clinical isolates from patients and 60 isolates from carriers were included in the study. Emm typing, toxin gene detection for speA, speB, speC, speG and smeZ genes and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed. Twenty-one distinct emm types were detected; the most common types were emm12, emm89, emm1, emm77, emm4 and emm3. The detection rates of both emm types and the toxingenes didn't differ significantly between patients and carriers. The presence of speA and smeZ was significantly higher in emm1 and speG was significantly lower in emm4 when compared to the other emm types. The rate of clustering obtained with PFGE wasn't significantly different in patients and carriers. As a result, twelve of the 21 emm types detected in this study were covered by the 26-valent vaccine, constituting 77.7% of the emm typeable isolates; however the emm4 type which is one of the most common types in the present study is not among this coverage.

Energy efficiency is now a top priority. The first four years of the Green500 have seen the importance of energy efficiency in supercomputing grow from an afterthought to the forefront of innovation as we approach a point where systems become increasingly constrained by power consumption. Even so, the landscape of energy efficiency in supercomputing continues to shift-with new trends emerging and unexpected shifts in previous predictions. This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the new and shifting trends in the Green500. In addition, the analysis offers early indications of the path that we are taking towards exascale and what an exascale machine in 2018 is likely to look like. Lastly, we discuss the emerging efforts and collaborations toward designing and establishing better metrics, methodologies, and workloads for the measurement and analysis of energy-efficient supercomputing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work discusses the development of online dosimetry of the boron dose via Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) during a BNCT treatment irradiation. Such a system will allow the online computation of boron dose maps without the large current uncertainties in the assessment of the boron concentration in different tissues. The first tomographic boron dose image with a SPECT prototype is shown. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper provides an analysis of certain nonmanuals from a semantic perspective with respect to the different types of semantic operators they are associated with. The categories of operators include simple/monadic and tripartite/dyadic. This semantic analysis will explain different phonological spreading among upper face/head nonmanuals: negative headshake, brow lowering, and structurally varied use of brow raise. Negative headshake and [+wh]-question brow lowering spread over their c-command domain. However, brow raise does not spread over its c-command domain, and its spreading domain is harder to characterize. The operator analysis provides a coherent explanation for the spreading domain. This distinction underlies a new analysis of the derived sign understand′, and helps resolve two puzzling issues related to its use: (1) why it has brow raise; and (2) what position it occupies in CP. This solution offers additional evidence in support of the claim that ASL has the spec,CP on the left. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the association of a set of land variables with bird species richness in the area of Barcelona, subgrouped into nesting and wintering, and three classes of conservation concern: total species, species of European Concern (SPEC 2 and 3), and species included in the Birds Directive. It also analyzes the association of the species richness among these groups, and compares their values inside and outside of the protected areas. Bird data were obtained by field sampling within 1700 lkm×lkm UTM grid cells, which were sampled between 1990 and 1998 until the entire study area had been assessed. For each cell, derivatives of the following variables were calculated: climate, relief, landscape, geographic position, and human settlement. Relative forest and cropland covers and landscape diversity were the main positive correlates of total species richness, while the average elevation was the prime negative correlate for wintering species. SPEC and Birds Directive species richness were negatively related to forest and urban covers, and positively related to that of croplands and shrublands–grasslands. The species richness of birds of no conservation concern (non-listed) was generally positively related to those of SPEC and Birds Directive species, regardless of whether they were wintering or nesting. There was significantly more bird richness outside the reserves in all but one of the classes of conservation concern—nesting Birds Directive. The study confirms the importance of open habitats and heterogeneous rural landscapes for bird species richness in the study area, and provides conservation guidelines based on regional policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article examines the population trends of the Italian Sparrow Passer italiae in six urban areas of northern Italy from 1996 to 2006. Researchers counted birds at six sampling sites at altitudes ranging between 42 and 262 meters. They recorded each building in order to assess the effect of building characteristics on Sparrow abundance. According to them, urban Italian Sparrow populations have undergone a significant decline in recent years, They cited the possible causes of the decline of Italian Sparrows.

Abstract: The products arising from the intra-molecular acyl migration reactions of drug ester glucuronides can be reactive towards cellular proteins and have been proposed to cause toxic side effects. The relative reactivity of a range of drug and model glucuronides have previously been determined by measuring the rate of disappearance of a peak characteristic of the 1-β-O-acyl glucuronide using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Here the degradation rate of ibuprofen 1-β-O-acyl glucuronide has been investigated using NMR spectroscopy for the first time using material isolated from human urine with solid-phase extraction chromatography (SPEC). The degradation rate was measured by following the disappearance of the 1H NMR signal from the 1-β-anomeric proton of the glucuronic acid moiety as the reaction progressed in pH 7.4 buffer inside an NMR tube. The measured degradation rate represents a pseudo-first order rate constant, a combination of the transacylation rate (1-β-isomer to 2-β-isomer) and the hydrolysis rate, and is presented as a half-life of 3.5h. This value is compared to those from drug glucuronides where adverse effects have been observed in patients after administration of the drug. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a significant cause of human morbidity worldwide associated with a variety of mild and severe diseases. Some M serotypes of GAS have been associated with invasive infections, making it important to maintain epidemiological surveillance of GAS strains in the general population. 215 GAS strains were isolated from uncomplicated pharyngitis from different hospitals in Mexico City. GAS isolates were tested by PCR for emm (M protein), sof (serum opacity factor), sic (streptococcal inhibitor of complement-mediated lysis), speA (exotoxin pyrogenic A) and speC (C) genes. The sof genotype and the RFLP profiles from emm amplicons with DdeI enzyme were used to group the isolates. The emm types were determined by analysis of the emm gene sequence. The emm12, emm1 and emm75 types represented close to 55% of the isolates. While the speC gene was detected in 76% of the isolates, the speA gene was positive in 23%. All speA and sic positive isolates were emm1 type. Hence, emm1 and emm12 types still have a high prevalence in uncomplicated streptococcal infection in our community. Molecular characterization of GAS strains can therefore be of value in epidemiological surveillance of GAS infections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The observational point of departure in this paper is that infinitivals (in Dutch and German) have no tense. Apparent counterexamples to this claim can be shown to involve aspect/Aktionsarten rather than tense. There is consequently no reason to posit any of the functional shell structure associated with tense. Hence, the infinitival markers (zu, te) may be assumed to be in (or close to) the VP. This is in accordance with the observation that these infinitival markers are always directly adjacent to the verb, which makes them similar to the verbal participial prefix ge-. A Minimalist account of zu/te, which is similar but not identical to ge-, is proposed. The question is then raised how zu (originally a true local-allative preposition) could have become a verbal prefix, and relevant diachronic data are adduced. Finally it is shown that a functionalist, or 'cognitivist', theory of grammaticalization like Haspelmath's misses the point in a number of ways. A more formalist theory of 'grammaticalizing reanalysis' is proposed as a better alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports a new rapid radioanalytical procedure for the determination of plutonium (Pu) in sediments by solid phase extraction chromatography (SPEC) using Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) carbamoyl methoxy phenoxy-bis-(2-ethylhexyl) grafted resin, abbreviated as Benzodioxodiamide (BenzoDODA) grafted resin. The resin was synthesized and evaluated for its sorption behaviour towards Pu in batch and column mode to determine its efficacy for selective recovery of Pu from sediment samples. The analytical procedure was based on the radiochemical separation of samples by acid digestion, followed by preconcentration of actinides by co-precipitation with Fe(OH) 3 and finally selective recovery of Pu by SPEC using a column filled with BenzoDODA grafted resin. Pu was then radiometrically assayed by preparing alpha disc sources with electro-deposition followed by alpha spectrometry. The method was further validated with IAEA reference materials. This method gives reliable and reproducible results for the activity concentration of Pu in sediment samples within 24 h. • Novel SPEC based method for analysis of plutonium. • Application of plutonium selective BenzoDODA grafted resin for SPEC. • Highly selective for 'Pu' over other radionuclides. • Rapid method – full analysis done within 24 hours. • Validated with IAEA reference materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]