Morphological Tools Research Articles

Comprehensive evaluation of fertilizer treatments on biometric traits and marketable tuber weight across diverse potato varieties

IntroductionThe efficiency of potato production depends to a large extent on the production of quality seeds that meet the requirements of the growing region. The main component of this production includes breeding, which creates the genetic basis of seeds. The process of establishing patterns between the amount of fertilizer application (“Aquarin 12,” “Bona Forte,” “Osmocote Exact High K”), their type, and biometric characteristics of potato plants of the studied varieties “Guliver,” “Beauty of Meshchera,” and “Grand” was explored.MethodsDuring the experimental studies, the methods of variation statistics, the technique of field experiment with the corresponding transformations to achieve normal distribution, and subsequent dispersion analysis were used.ResultsThe results of the research on the evaluation of potato structural elements depending on the plant nutrition system of the studied varieties testify to the expediency of using nutrient solutions in potato cultivation irrespective of their type. In addition, it has been established that increasing the concentration of the nutrient base solution from 75 to 125% of the nutrient formula improves the quality indicators of minitubers, namely the content of starch, sugars, dry matter, crude protein, phosphorus, specific gravity, and ash content, which can contribute to obtaining high-quality potatoes.DiscussionThus, the use of morphological and physiological tools in closed ecosystems is informative for predicting key agricultural characteristics of potato plants. Additionally, integrating organic amendments and biofertilizers, as supported by other studies, could further enhance nutrient uptake and plant health, especially under conditions of low irrigation.

Pyriproxyfen exposure compromises cocoon spinning and damages the Malpighian tubules of the nontarget predator Ceraeochrysa claveri (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Pyriproxyfen has been extensively employed in the Neotropical region for agricultural pest management and insect vectors. However, measuring the sublethal and indirect effects of this active ingredient on nontarget organisms, such as lacewings, is important. Using morphological tools on target organs, we can evaluate these effects and use them as biomarkers for future ecotoxicological studies. Here, we investigated the effects of pyriproxyfen exposure on cocoon spinning and Malpighian tubules in Ceraeochrysa claveri adults. For this purpose, first-instar C. claveri larvae were orally exposed to Diatraea saccharalis egg clusters treated with pyriproxyfen in a solution of 50 or 100 mg a.i. L-1 throughout the larval stage. Insecticide exposure decreases predator survival, mainly in the prepupal and pupal stages, along with changes in the internal and external surfaces and thickness of the cocoon wall. Histopathological and ultrastructural injuries, including cytoplasmic vacuolization, loss of microvilli and a reduction in neutral glycoconjugates, were observed in Malphigian tubule cells of adults (≤ 24 h old). These changes indicate toxicological effects on Malpighian tubules that in lacewing involve cocoon spinning during metamorphosis and, in the adult stage, act in physiological processes of excretion and osmoregulation. Furthermore, it can affect the efficiency of the cocoon in protecting the specimen during metamorphosis against natural enemies and environmental factors. This organ has demonstrated its applicability as a biomarker for assessing the multisystemic effects of insecticides, thereby assisting in future risk assessments aimed at conserving nontargeted specimens.

Cave-dwelling calcareous sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

Abstract The Marquesas Islands harbour numerous underwater caves, with different geomorphologies and a rich diversity of invertebrates dominated by sponges. However, although calcareous sponges are known to be abundant in cryptic habitats, only one of the four species reported from Marquesas was found in caves. Hence, our objective was to study the diversity of cave-dwelling calcareous sponges from the Marquesas Islands. Sponges were collected in semi-dark or dark caves, most of them being lava tubes. Through morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) tools, five species were identified, four of them new to science: Borojevia moana sp. nov., Bidderia watremezi sp. nov., Leucascus polynesiensis sp. nov., Leucandra cavernicola sp. nov., and Murrayona phanolepis. In general, sponge assemblages in caves are different from those on adjacent rocky shores. Indeed, in French Polynesia, Leucascus polynesiensis sp. nov. was the sole species found inside and outside caves. We found that M. phanolepis is a cave-dwelling and widespread species, which might represent a cryptic diversity. Besides, aliactine spicules could be a synapomorphy in the subclass Calcaronea. Even though the number of species for the region is still underestimated, it is noticeable that Marquesan caves seem to harbour a unique diversity of calcareous sponges.

Too many spines, or an integrative foundation of the Echiniscus spinulosus morphogroup (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae)

AbstractHistorical taxonomic bias has started to be effectively removed in tardigrade taxonomy in the last two decades by the application of modern statistical, genetic and morphological tools. Many of the “old” tardigrade taxa have been redefined, and their succinct original diagnoses—refined, finally resulting in making them properly identifiable and less enigmatic. At the same time, many of the “old” species were synonymised and perished in the taxonomic wastebasket. Herein, we address the species distinction between Echiniscus spiniger Richters, 1904 and Echiniscus spinulosus (Doyère, 1840) by means of integrative analyses of 11 European populations collected in the Mediterranean, the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea islands of Öland and Gotland, covering the southern distribution zone and northernmost known localities within trustworthy geographic range of these species. We disclose that, as previously hypothesised, E. spiniger is conspecific with E. spinulosus, and synonymised accordingly. We deliver morphological evidence supporting the triphyly of the morphogroup, with all tropical and subtropical species truly lacking intracuticular pillars, whereas the Palaearctic lineage corresponding solely to E. spinulosus and Afrotropical lineage represented by E. belloporus Gąsiorek and Kristensen, 2018—occasionally exhibiting pillars in some specimens. A synopsis and key to all representatives of the E. spinulosus morphogroup are provided, pinpointing to some problems that must be taken into consideration during identification and solved in the future.

First report of potato pink rot caused by Phytophthora erythroseptica in Colorado.

Pink rot, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora erythroseptica, is a serious disease that may cause substantial losses to potato growers. In 2023, high infection rates of pink rot were noticed in the San Luis Valley (SLV), Colorado around harvest time and in storage with several growers losing complete storage pins to pink rot. In September 2023, tubers with pink rot symptoms were collected from two grower fields of Russet Norkotah (~2-3% infection) and Canela Russet (~5% infection) near the San Luis Valley Research Center at harvest time. Infected tubers showed dark discoloration on the surface at the stem end. Upon cutting, affected tissue developed salmon pink color about 20-30 min later (Fig. 1). DNA was extracted from two symptomatic tubers from each cultivar and healthy tubers using DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit (Qiagen, MD, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The conventional PCR and qPCR assays developed by Cullen et al. (2007) were used to detect P. erythroseptica. In the conventional PCR, the primer pair Pery2F1/R1 produced expected bands of 135bp from symptomatic tubers but not from the healthy tubers. The symptomatic tubers were positive in the qPCR using the primer-probe set 99F, 177R, and 133T (Cullen et al., 2007). P. erythroseptica was isolated by culturing specimens of infected tissues on PARP selective media (Jeffers and Martin, 1986). A week later colonies of white color grew on the media. These colonies were confirmed to be of P. erythroseptica by PCR as mentioned above. The colonies of two isolates were transferred to water agar media, then three days later a mycelium tip was excised and cultured on PDA media for single isolation. On PDA media the colonies showed chrysanthemum pattern. Four days later DNA was extracted from the two isolates, RN296-1 and Canela-2, and tested positive for P. erythroseptica by the above-mentioned PCR. PDA agar plugs of two isolates were used to inoculate surface sterilized potato tubers. The isolate SLV-2023-Canela2 was inoculated on tubers of Russet Norkotah and Reveille Russet, 10 each, while10 tubers of Russet Norkotah were inoculated with the isolate SLV-2023-RN296-1. Ten tubers of Russet Norkotah were inoculated by sterilized plugs of PDA for negative controls. Tubers were left at room temperature for a week. All tubers of Russet Norkotah inoculated with SLV-2023-Canela2 and RN296-4 developed pink rot symptoms and tested positive for P. erythroseptica by PCR, while only 9 tubers of Reveille Russet inoculated with SLV-2023-Canela2 developed symptoms and were positive to P. erythroseptica by PCR. No symptoms were observed on the mock inoculated tubers and no P. erythroseptica was detected by the PCR. P. erythroseptica was isolated again from Russet Norkotah tubers inoculated with RN296-1 on PDA media and tested positive for P. erythroseptica by PCR one week later. To further confirm the identity, the ITS region was amplified using the primers ITS-1 and ITS-4 (White et al., 1990) from DNA extracted from inoculated Russet Norkotah tubers with SLV-2023-Canela2 isolate. PCR product was purified using QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit (Qiagen, MD, USA)and cloned using TOPO TA Cloning Kit for Sequencing (Invitrogen, MD, USA). Four clones were submitted for sequencing. The 846 nt sequence of the ITS was submitted to the GenBank (accession number PP587391) shared 99.76% identity with the P. erythroseptica strain BBA 62683 (KJ755119). P. erythroseptica was identified previously using morphological tools from tubers with symptoms resembling pink rot collected in the SLV (Tyler et al., 2002). However, in that report neither Koch's Postulates, nor molecular identification were conducted, hence, the current study presents the first molecular report of pink rot in the SLV, Colorado. Rapidly changing climate and increased temperature around harvest time may lead to an increase in the incidence of pink rot, hence effective management strategies need to be developed and implemented.

Degradation of High Concentrations of Anthracene Using White-Rot Wood-Inhabiting Fungi and Investigation of Enzyme Activities

Owing to the production of lignin-modifying enzymes (LMEs), white-rot fungi (WRF) such as polypores are potent organisms in the biodegradation of xenobiotic pollutants. The nonspecific function of LMEs including laccase and manganese peroxidase (MnP), has enabled the use of WRF in biotechnological applications, particularly in bioremediation. In this study, 12 strains from nine white-rot basidiomycete genera viz., Ganoderma, Inocutis, Irpex, Lentinus, Lenzites, Oxyporus, Peniophora, Sanghuangporus, and Trametes were isolated from Iran and identified using morphological and molecular tools. The enzyme activity of laccase and manganese peroxidase that directly correlated with the biodegradation were determined, and the strains with the highest enzyme activities were evaluated for their ability to degrade 400 mg/L of anthracene over 28 days. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) revealed that four polypores viz., Trametes versicolor v21te, T. versicolor v22da, T. hirsuta, and Oxyporus sp. degraded 64%, 52%, 34%, and 20% of the anthracene, respectively. According to our analysis, the examined indigenous WRF are potentially useful candidates for the development of new mycoremediation techniques to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Towards an open and integrated cyberinfrastructure for river morphology research in the big data era

The objective of this paper is to present the initial illustration of a cyberinfrastructure named the RIver MORPHology Information System (RIMORPHIS) that addresses the current limitations related to river morphology data and tools. RIMORPHIS is supported by a data model for storing river morphology data. A new specification for data and semantics on river morphology datasets has been developed to support the web-based platform for discovering and visualization of river morphology data. Several geoprocessing tools are developed that enable scientific analysis and practical studies, including the coordinate transformation, cross-section generation and bathymetry mesh generation. Our vision for RIMORPHIS is to create a self-sustained community platform with tools to support scientific discoveries on river morphology and to enable multidisciplinary research for riverine environments. To accomplish this vision, we created a community to gather input and build partnerships. The RIMORPHIS cyberinfrastructure addresses the community needs related to data access, processing and visualization. The current implementation of RIMORPHIS is scalable for new data and tools.

Illuminating Entomological Dark Matter with DNA Barcodes in an Era of Insect Decline, Deep Learning, and Genomics.

Most insects encountered in the field are initially entomological dark matter in that they cannot be identified to species while alive. This explains the enduring quest for efficient ways to identify collected specimens. Morphological tools came first but are now routinely replaced or complemented with DNA barcodes. Initially too expensive for widespread use, these barcodes have since evolved into powerful tools for specimen identification and sorting, given that the evolution of sequencing approaches has dramatically reduced the cost of barcodes, thus enabling decentralized deployment across the planet. In this article, we review how DNA barcodes have become a key tool for accelerating biodiversity discovery and analyzing insect communities through both megabarcoding and metabarcoding in an era of insect decline. We predict that DNA barcodes will be particularly important for assembling image training sets for deep learning algorithms, global biodiversity genomics, and functional analysis of insect communities.Review in Advance first posted online on October 1, 2024. Updated on November 5, 2024. Changes may still occur before final publication.

First record of the family Callianopsidae (Decapoda: Axiidea) and a new species of Vulcanocalliax from the Hikurangi Margin off Aotearoa New Zealand, with a key to species of Callianopsidae

IntroductionThe Aotearoa New Zealand ghost shrimp of the infraorders Axiidea and Gebiidea have never been comprehensively reviewed, with recent work uncovering a diverse regional fauna representing eight of the 14 known families.MethodsUsing standard morphological and DNA sequencing tools, the family Callianopsidae is, for the first time, recorded off New Zealand, represented by a new species of Vulcanocalliax.ResultsThe new species was found near hydrocarbon seeps on the Hikurangi Margin, on the eastern New Zealand continental slope, and is only the second species now known in this genus. The single congener, V. arutyunovi, is only known from a mud volcano in the Gulf of Cádiz, off the Iberian Peninsula. Vulcanocalliax sp. nov. was formerly reported as an unnamed host of a new endemic New Zealand rhizocephalan barnacle Parthenopea australis and is here formally described as Vulcanocalliax beervana sp. nov.DiscussionThe new species differs, e.g., in the shape of the anterior carapace margin (convexly rounded and without elevated postantennal shoulder present in V. arutyunovi), the ocular peduncle having a convex anterolateral margin (compared to a straight margin), and the uropodal exopod has a dorsomedian ridge, lacking the elevated anterior portion that is distinct in V. arutyunovi. This brings the number of described New Zealand ghost shrimp species to 18. A key to all known Callianopsidae is provided.ZOOBANKLSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4EDE6CE1-B644-4FFB-94CA-C8725A7549DD.

Infection of Egyptian domestic rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, with Cysticercus pisiformis (Cestoda: Taeniidae): morphological, molecular, and histopathological diagnostic tools.

Cysticercosis raises the alarm for domestic rabbits since it has a significant impact on their health, productivity, and nutritional value. In this study, several white creamy- colored cysts were detected in the mesentery of the stomach and intestine, as well as embedded in the liver of domestic rabbits collected from Qena Governorate, Egypt. Based on both morphological and molecular assessments, revealed cysts could be identified as Cysticercus pisiformis, the larval stage of Taenia pisiformis. Gross and histopathological investigations of infected organs were documented. To our knowledge, this is the first geographical report on Cysticercus pisiformis in domestic rabbits in Qena Governorate, using current morphological, molecular, and histopathological methodologies that provide critical data for developing diagnostic targets for C. pisiformis.

Intensive agriculture increases fluctuating asymmetry of dorsal head shape in Iberian asp viper populations

AbstractHabitats resulting from agricultural intensification harbour a wide array of stressors for resident organisms. Environmental stress during development can leave imprints on the phenotype that are useful as indicators of its impairment. Among them, fluctuating asymmetry (FA), considered the morphological manifestation of developmental instability (DI), may reflect the increment of developmental noise and the inefficiency of buffering mechanisms. Here, we evaluated for the first time the impact of intensive agriculture on the development of a viviparous reptile, the asp viper, Vipera aspis (Linnaeus 1758), by means of FA. To this end, we first quantified unsigned asymmetry indexes (uAI) of dorsal head shape captured by geometric morphometrics (GM) and of seven pholidotic traits in 127 and 482 individuals, respectively. Using linear models, we then tested for variation in uAI according to habitat type. Furthermore, we tested the effect of climatic variables with a potential influence on development, and thus, on FA. We performed analyses at the V. aspis zinnikeri subspecies range and at the population level, including three well‐sampled natural localities (NAT) and three sites of intensive agriculture (AGR). We found significantly higher FA levels in dorsal head shape in individuals from agricultural habitats than in those from natural habitats, which suggests that asp viper development is impaired by stressors resulting from agricultural intensification. Our results also point to a lower sensitivity of traditional morphological tools to capture the signal that intensive agriculture leaves on development and a lack of capacity of climatic factors in isolation to predict variation in the degree of asymmetry. In addition to encouraging the use of high‐precision methods, we hypothesize on the overall effect of different stressors linked to intensive agriculture as the real constraint.

Sporocysts of Sarcocystis bertrami (syn. Sarcocystis fayeri) shed by dogs: Molecular analysis, morphometry and pattern of excretion

Sarcocystis bertrami (synonym: Sarcocystis fayeri) is a coccidian parasite that infects horses and donkeys in several countries. Dogs are known as definitive hosts of the parasite, however, the patent period is not well defined, and S. bertrami shed by dogs has never been confirmed by molecular methods. Here we investigated the shedding of S. bertrami by experimentally infected dogs and examined the excreted parasites by morphological and molecular tools. Three dogs of small breeds (one Yorkshire terrier and two miniature Pinschers) were acquired with ages of 30 and 60 days and were exclusively fed commercial dog food. Two dogs consumed equine muscle tissues containing cysts of S. bertrami. The third dog served as negative control and was simultaneously fed commercial dog food. The two animals that received equine tissues shed sporocysts and/or oocysts in their feces after prepatent periods of 13 and 23 days. The patent periods were 47 and 14 days. Sporocysts showed average dimensions of 14.19 µm (± 0.53) x 10.06 µm (± 0.44). The control dog did not shed sporocysts or oocysts of the parasite. Interestingly, patent periods had never been reported, and for one dog, the patent period (47 days) was longer than that reported for other Sarcocystidae parasites. PCRs to the gene 18S and to the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the rDNA were successfully performed with DNA extracted from sporocysts. ITS1 sequences were also obtained from the equine tissue cysts used to infect the dogs. Nucleotide sequences of cloned fragments of 18S from sporocysts, and ITS1 from both stages (tissue cysts and sporocysts) matched with S. bertrami (18S: 97.50–99.88 %; ITS1: 88.76–95.21 %), although high molecular diversity was observed with data from these loci. PCR to cox1 using sporocysts’ DNA failed to amplify any product. The possibility of the existence of an additional and undescribed Sarcocystis species in the excreted sporocysts, besides S. bertrami, cannot be excluded from this experiment. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular confirmation of S. bertrami in canine feces. Sporocyst dimensions and prepatent periods observed in this study were similar to those previously described for S. bertrami and S. fayeri. In conclusion, the molecular, morphological and biological data generated here fit in previous descriptions for both S. bertrami and S. fayeri.

Gambierdiscus carpenteri (Dinophyceae) from Bahía de La Paz, Gulf of California: morphology, genetic affinities, and mouse toxicity

Abstract Gambierdiscus is a marine benthic dinoflagellate genus that currently contains 19 species; some of them are toxigenic, producing ciguatoxins, maitotoxins, and other toxic compounds. The objective of this study was to document the morphological and molecular identification (ITS, 5.8S and 28S of the rDNA) of two strains of Gambierdiscus from La Gaviota Island, Gulf of California, Mexico, and a toxicity test. The shape of the 2′ plate varied between hatchet-shaped and rectangular, that complicated the differentiation between G. carpenteri and G. toxicus. Molecular markers of the three rDNA regions allowed confirmation of the taxonomic identity of G. carpenteri, separating this species from other congeners with high phylogenetic affinity, such as G. excentricus, G. toxicus and G. caribaeus. Studies of the morphological taxonomy of G. carpenteri are scarce; therefore, due to the similarity between species, the combination of morphological and molecular tools is recommended for the identification of species, such as G. carpenteri, G. excentricus, G. toxicus and G. caribaeus. The mouse bioassay showed that the examined isolate was toxic, and it is a potential etiology of ciguatera fish poisoning cases in the region. This study provides the first reliable report and ribosomal sequences of G. carpenteri for the Gulf of California, as well as data on mouse bioassay toxicity.

Calcinean sponges (Porifera: Calcarea) from the shelf edge of the Great Australian Bight

Abstract The deep-water regions of eastern and central Great Australian Bight (GAB) are subject to hydrocarbon exploration; consequently, there are efforts to study their biodiversity. Australia has ~200 species of Calcarea, but none has been described taxonomically from the GAB, and most are known down to only 200 m depth. A characterization of deep benthic communities was performed in the GAB at depths ranging from 200 to 3000 m. Of sponge species collected, 16% were members of Calcarea, and 11 were members of subclass Calcinea, which is the focus group of this work. Morphological and molecular tools were used for identification. Calcinean sponges were not found deeper than 400 m. The most diverse genus was Ascoleucetta, which had four species. Nine species and two genera are new to science: Clathrina williamsi sp. nov., Leucascus boomerang sp. nov., Ascoleucetta gabensis sp. nov., Ascoleucetta globularis sp. nov., Ascoleucetta parallela sp. nov., Ascoleucetta plana sp. nov., Leucetta conspicua sp. nov., Robspongia vociva gen. nov., sp. nov., and Rappya australiensis gen. nov., sp. nov. Calcareous sponges represented 1.8% of overall sponge biomass, and site 181 had the highest species richness. Our results reveal a unique community of calcareous sponges hidden within the GAB, suggesting high endemism.

Plant genotype and inoculation with indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi modulate wheat productivity and quality of processed products through changes in the frequency of root AM fungal taxa

ContextArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been extensively applied as biofertilizers in wheat to promote crop productivity. However, variability in AM root colonization, grain yield, and nutrients was observed among wheat genotypes and according to AM genotype and environment. ObjectivesWe hypothesized that wheat response to AM inoculation is more affected by genotype than environment; the response is driven by increases in AM abundance and community structure changes, and not by modification of composition. MethodsWe inoculated an indigenous AM consortium on four old genotypes (Bianco Nostrale, Andriolo, Abbondanza, Sieve) and one modern variety (Bologna) of bread wheat for two years. The effect was evaluated by assessing grain yield, nutrients, and quality of processed products (flour and breadsticks), while the AM abundance and the community composition and structure in roots were characterized, at two plant growth stages, using morphological and molecular tools. ResultsThe functional traits of AMF and plant were better explained by inoculation than by genotype or environment (33 %, 17 %, 4 % of total explained variance), although significant interactions environment x genotype and genotype x inoculation were highlighted. Consistent increases in AM abundance in Sieve and Bologna were associated with positive changes in grain yield and nutrients, supporting the good responsiveness of these genotypes with inoculated AMF, while the plant response of other genotypes was shaped by air temperature and rainfall. However, we did not find significant correlations between changes in AM colonization and mycorrhizal response ratio, with the exception of P and K. After inoculation, AM community composition was similar in all wheat genotypes, but the structure greatly differed among genotypes in interaction with inoculation and plant growth stage. These changes were significantly related to wheat productivity. A Septoglomus taxon, present in the inoculum, was the best predictor of wheat performance. The characterization of the community structure at early crop development and maturity allowed the identification of fast and latest active AM colonizers. Our results showed for the first time that AM inoculation affect the rheological parameters and nutraceuticals of processed products, although the response was modulated by genotype. ConclusionsThe selection of responsive wheat genotypes is fundamental for the positive outcome of inoculation. The positive effects on wheat productivity and field persistence of the inoculated AMF support the use of indigenous consortia that have low impacts on resident AMF. SignificanceOur findings advance the understanding of the facilitative mechanisms that underlie compatibility between AMF and wheat genotypes.

EMS induced in vitro mutagenesis for solid mutant induction and validation of mutants using morphological and molecular tools in kinnow mandarin (Citrus nobilis × Citrus deliciosa)

EMS induced in vitro mutagenesis for solid mutant induction and validation of mutants using morphological and molecular tools in kinnow mandarin (Citrus nobilis × Citrus deliciosa)

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF NUMBER IN UZBEK LANGUAGE

The purpose of this research article is to describe the structure, meaning, function and use of plural meanings, to determine the grammatical indicators of the plural in the history of the Uzbek language based on written sources, the linguistic features ofthe plural category in the Uzbek language and speech realization, morphological, lexical, syntactic, phonetic and non-linguistic tools representing plural meaning were studied according to the integrated system.

A universal method for solar filament detection from Hαobservations using semi-supervised deep learning

Filaments are omnipresent features in the solar atmosphere. Their location, properties, and time evolution can provide important information about changes in solar activity and assist in the operational space weather forecast. Therefore, filaments have to be identified in full-disk images and their properties extracted from these images, but manual extraction is tedious and too time-consuming, and extraction with morphological image processing tools produces a large number of false positive detections. Automatic object detection, segmentation, and extraction in a reliable manner would allow for the processing of more data in a shorter time frame. The Chromospheric Telescope (ChroTel; Tenerife, Spain), the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), and the Kanzelhöhe Observatory for Solar and Environmental Research (KSO; Austria) provide regular full-disk observations of the Sun in the core of the chromospheric Hαabsorption line. In this paper, we present a deep learning method that provides reliable extractions of solar filaments from Hαfiltergrams. First, we trained the object detection algorithm YOLOv5 with labeled filament data of ChroTel Hαfiltergrams. We used the trained model to obtain bounding boxes from the full GONG archive. In a second step, we applied a semi-supervised training approach where we used the bounding boxes of filaments to train the algorithm on a pixel-wise classification of solar filaments with u-net. We made use of the increased data set size, which avoids overfitting of spurious artifacts from the generated training masks. Filaments were predicted with an accuracy of 92%. With the resulting filament segmentations, physical parameters such as the area or tilt angle could be easily determined and studied. We demonstrated this in an example where we determined the rush-to-the pole for Solar Cycle 24 from the segmented GONG images. In a last step, we applied the filament detection to Hαobservations from KSO and demonstrated the general applicability of our method to Hαfiltergrams.

Sphenoptera sp. (Buprestidae: Coleoptera) threatening wild cancer bush (Sutherlandia frutescens) population

Cancer bush (Sutherlandia frutescens) is a medicinal plant indigenous to Southern Africa, important in the treatment of diverse human diseases and ailments. The rampant harvesting in the wild has threatened many indigenous medicinal plants. To safeguard this national treasure, cultivation has been recommended. Recently, substantial insect damage to the wild population of cancer bush in the Limpopo province has been observed. Currently, there are no reports of insect pests associated with cancer bush, hence the objective of this study was to use morphological and molecular tools in the identification of insect pest associated with extensive damage to wild cancer bush populations in Makgophong and Tubatse, Limpopo Province, South Africa from March to June 2023. Plants were cut longitudinally to expose insects inside the stem, and a microscope at 40X magnification, was used to examine the morphological characteristics of insects found. Insect species found were further confirmed using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI). All life stages of the beetle except the egg stage were observed in the plant, and the morphological and molecular examination of these specimens revealed that the adults and larvae corresponded with the descriptions of Sphenoptera species. This is the first positive confirmation of Sphenoptera species associated with cancer bush and urgent development of management strategies is needed if this plant population (species) is to be conserved.

Beyond Functionality: Morphological Design Tools for Users’ Satisfaction in Housing

Various factors can affect an individual’s satisfaction level. While studying residential satisfaction and assessing it, subjective perceptions have the most significant influence. An essential element in ensuring satisfaction in housing is to consider the design of spaces that cater to individuals’ specific desires and needs that change over time. Housing was frequently constructed considering the specific subjective needs of individuals, before the era of industrialization. As industrialization rises, housing gradually transformed into a commodity. Certain researchers propose that studying traditional built environments and harnessing the data gained from such analyses can be advantageous for contemporary housing production. Notably, Habraken is a prominent researcher who sought to ensure users’ satisfaction in housing by devising the “Support System” rooted in his analysis of Dutch houses. Traditional house plans in Türkiye exhibit resemblances to the morphological arrangements observed by Habraken in Dutch houses, yet with some distinctive characteristics. In modern times, designers often prioritize function as the primary consideration. However, there have been attempts, such as Habraken’s, to shift towards prioritizing morphology instead. This paper will explain links between users’ satisfaction and their ability to change their immediate environments through morphologies that accommodate diverse functions.