Plastic Character Research Articles

Variability of Morphological Characters of the Genus Alburnoides (Pisces, Leuciscidae) from Watercourses in Southern Russia

The variability of the morphological characters of the genus Alburnoides Jeitteles, 1861 from watercourses in the south of Russia (five rivers of the Crimean Peninsula and two rivers of the Krasnodar Territory) is considered. It has been established that in spirlins within the study areas, body sizes average from 60.1 ± 1.45 mm in individuals from the river Gostagayka (Krasnodar region) up to 88.2 ± 1.87 mm in fish from the river Angara (Crimean Peninsula). Using the Mann–Whitney test, statistically significant differences were registered between the samples in most plastic characters; they were absent in meristic characters. In the studied regions, heterogeneity in the structure of the genus Alburnoides was noted: according to the results of cluster analysis for the totality of all studied characters, the greatest similarity was found in samples from Crimean rivers that are geographically close to each other (rivers Chernaya, Belbek, Kacha and Alma), but group from the river Angara adjoins them at a higher level of divergence. A separate group is formed by samples from the rivers of the Krasnodar Territory. The obtained data are consistent with the literary information on the formation of the ichthyofauna in the rivers of Crimea; the established clear differences between the charaters from the rivers of southern Russia require a more detailed study.

The Problem of Visual Complexity: Criteria for Analysis and Evaluation

The article analyses the concept of visual complexity, highlighted by different researchers as a significant characteristic of contemporary visual communication and culture. The problem of ambiguity of the concept and its dependence on different objective and subjective factors and perception variables is posed. Formal categories and criteria for assessing visual complexity are defined, its stable patterns in the subject area of corporate identity —logo, are revealed. With the help of the identified categories visual complexity is analyzed through specific formal universal attributes that can be systematized, which makes it possible to answer the question of what makes a logo complex. The concept of complexity of corporate identity is meaningfully revealed from the point of view of designers — its direct developers, who determine the visual-graphic, constructive and plastic character of the brand logo. For the first time in the Russian-speaking scientific space, an empirical study of the position of professional designers regarding the significance of the proposed criteria was conducted. The quantitative survey method allowed objectifying the point of view of the professional audience: the data is characterized by stability in comparison with the data obtained from the general audience. Visual complexity is thus conceptualized and empirically operationalized without a gap between the theory and practice of visual communication. It is concluded that, as an expressive design tool, visual complexity is a positive characteristic in contemporary media communication.

Heritage, reinterpretation or imitation? – contemporary inspirations from traditional soft limestone architecture in the Uniejów region

This paper focuses on the possibility of the continuity of traditional values through the architecture’s formal, constructional, and plastic character, based on the analyses of a dozen or so buildings from the Uniejów region in the central part of Poland. A common feature of these structures constructed over the last 20 years was the use of soft limestone. The authors aimed to determine whether and to what extent these structures are consistent with regional rural architecture. In the analyzed area, from the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 1960s, construction based on locally exploited deposits of limestone developed dynamically, unusually in terms of materials for this part of the country. The analysis in this article covered primarily such features of the objects as the area of origin of the stone material, its purpose, the stonemasonry techniques used, the functional program of the object, and its architectural features. The article also discusses whether such contemporary architectural implementations can contribute to the popularization of abandoned stone material in the region and, at the same time, result in more effective protection of traditional construction made of local stone. It is an example of disappearing architectural heritage due to ongoing modernization or demolition

Gradual ER calcium depletion induces a progressive and reversible UPR signaling.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a widespread signal transduction pathway triggered by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Because calcium (Ca2+) is a key factor in the maintenance of ER homeostasis, massive Ca2+ depletion of the ER is a potent inducer of ER stress. Although moderate changes in ER Ca2+ drive the ubiquitous Ca2+ signaling pathways, a possible incremental relationship between UPR activation and Ca2+ changes has yet to be described. Here, we determine the sensitivity and time-dependency of activation of the three ER stress sensors, inositol-requiring protein 1 alpha (IRE1α), protein kinase R-like ER kinase (PERK), and activating transcription factor 6 alpha (ATF6α) in response to controlled changes in the concentration of ER Ca2+ in human cultured cells. Combining Ca2+ imaging, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments, biochemical analyses, and mathematical modeling, we uncover a nonlinear rate of activation of the IRE1α branch of UPR, as compared to the PERK and ATF6α branches that become activated gradually with time and are sensitive to more important ER Ca2+ depletions. However, the three arms are all activated within a 1 h timescale. The model predicted the deactivation of PERK and IRE1α upon refilling the ER with Ca2+. Accordingly, we showed that ER Ca2+ replenishment leads to the complete reversion of IRE1α and PERK phosphorylation in less than 15 min, thus revealing the highly plastic character of the activation of the upstream UPR sensors. In conclusion, our results reveal a dynamic and dose-sensitive Ca2+-dependent activation/deactivation cycle of UPR induction, which could tightly control cell fate upon acute and/or chronic stress.

Variability and phenotypic diversity of the Diplostomum Petromyzifluviatilis Diesing, 1850 trematodes, parasites of lampreys (Lampetrinae, Petromyzontidae)

Variability and phenotypic diversity of Diplostomum petromyzifluviatilis metacercariae from two lamprey species, the river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis (Baltic Sea basin) and the Pacific lamprey Lethenteron camtschaticum (Arctic Ocean basin), were studied. It was found that metacercariae from both hosts are similar as in the number of variations in body shape, oral and ventral suckers, and pharynx, so in the frequency of occurrence. Differences in population diversity by variations in the shape of the Holdfast organ were found. It was shown that gostal forms possess the similar range of variability of plastic characters, but has different distribution of frequency classes of the variation curve. We hypothesized that the change in the distribution and character of variation in the size of metacercariae from the Arctic lamprey is one of the population mechanisms of species adaptation to the northern limit of its range.

Dietary Variation Effect on Life History Traits and Energy Storage in Neotropical Species of Drosophila (Diptera; Drosophilidae).

The ability of an organism to respond to nutritional stress can be a plastic character under the action of natural selection, affecting several characteristics, including life history and energy storage. The genus Drosophila (Diptera; Drosophilidae) presents high variability regarding natural resource exploration. However, most works on this theme have studied the model species D. melanogaster Meigen, 1830 and little is known about Neotropical drosophilids. Here we evaluate the effects of three diets, with different carbohydrate-to-protein ratios, on life history (viability and development time) and metabolic pools (triglycerides, glycogen, and total soluble protein contents) of three Neotropical species of Drosophila: D. maculifrons Duda, 1927; D. ornatifrons Duda, 1927, both of the subgenus Drosophila Sturtevant, 1939, and D. willistoni Sturtevant, 1916 of the subgenus Sophophora Sturtevant, 1939. Our results showed that only D. willistoni was viable on all diets, D. maculifrons was not viable on the sugary diet, while D. ornatifrons was barely viable on this diet. The sugary diet increased the development time of D. willistoni and D. ornatifrons, and D. willistoni glycogen content. Thus, the viability of D. maculifrons and D. ornatifrons seems to depend on a certain amount of protein and/or a low concentration of carbohydrate in the diet. A more evident effect of the diets on triglyceride and protein pools was detected in D. ornatifrons, which could be related to the adult attraction to dung and carrion baited pitfall as food resource tested in nature. Our results demonstrated that the evolutionary history and differential adaptations to natural macronutrient resources are important to define the amplitude of response that a species can present when faced with dietary variation.

Physical Mechanism of Nanocrystalline Composite Deformation Responsible for Fracture Plastic Nature at Cryogenic Temperatures.

In this work, we consider the physical basis of deformation and fracture in layered composite nanocrystalline/amorphous material-low-melting crystalline alloy in a wide temperature range. Deformation and fracture at the crack tip on the boundary of such materials as nanocrystalline alloy of the trademark 5BDSR, amorphous alloy of the trademark 82K3XSR and low-melting crystalline alloy were experimentally investigated. The crack was initiated by uniaxial stretching in a temperature range of 77-293 K. A theoretical description of the processes of deformation and fracture at the crack tip is proposed, with the assumption that these processes lead to local heating and ensure the plastic character of crack growth at liquid nitrogen temperatures. The obtained results improve the theoretical understanding of the physics of fracture at the boundary of nanocrystalline and crystalline alloys in a wide temperature range. The possibility of preserving the plastic nature of fracture in a thin boundary layer of crystalline-nanocrystalline material at cryogenic temperatures has been experimentally shown.

Performing Plasticity: On Recycling, Prosthetic Memories, and the Precarious Working-Class Renaissance

This paper examines the representation of post-industrial malaise in post-socialist China through a case study of the plastic characters of the 2019 hit song Disco Alaskan Wolves (野狼disco). Gem Dong, the singer/composer from Northeastern China, inflects Cantonese with accented Mandarin, utilizing a "disco" motif to express his generation's traumatic transition to the market economy in a laid-off worker's family. Taking a threefold connotation of “plasticity” as references to the materiality of media affordance, the kitschy aesthetic form, and a mode reflective of neoliberalist flexible corporeal politics, I claim that lyrics, singing, and derivative amateur dancing videos of the song all demonstrate “plasticity” as a performing tactic that undermines the glorification of post-socialist economic reform through a paradoxical self-exploitation of underclass bodies. I argue that the song’s parody of Cantonese and stunt performances manifests prosthetic memories formed with spectatorial experiences of "plastic media waste" — cut-out disco CDs and pirate Hong Kong films. They simultaneously unsettle the neoliberalist aesthetic of flexibility through plastic clumsiness. Controversies around the copyright of choreography, however, reveal an uneven distribution of cultural capital in the global capitalist structure that may continuously mutate and ironize the social undertone. Plasticity thus embodies and delivers sensory knowledge of desire, trauma, and precariousness for the post-socialist working class and asks for an ecological understanding of the working-class cultural renaissance.

Green armoured tardigrades (Echiniscidae: Viridiscus), including a new species from the Southern Nearctic, exemplify problems with tardigrade variability research

Ranges of tardigrade intraspecific and interspecific variability are not precisely defined, both in terms of morphology and genetics, rendering descriptions of new taxa a cumbersome task. This contribution enhances the morphological and molecular dataset available for the heterotardigrade genus Viridiscus by supplying new information on Southern Nearctic populations of V.perviridis, V.viridianus, and a new species from Tennessee. We demonstrate that, putting aside already well-documented cases of significant variability in chaetotaxy, the dorsal plate sculpturing and other useful diagnostic characters, such as morphology of clavae and pedal platelets, may also be more phenotypically plastic characters at the species level than previously assumed. As a result of our integrative analyses, V.viridianus is redescribed, V.celatus sp. nov. described, and V.clavispinosus designated as nomeninquirendum, and its junior synonymy with regard to V.viridianus suggested. Morphs of three Viridiscus species (V.perviridis, V.viridianus, and V.viridissimus) are depicted, and the implications for general echiniscid taxonomy are drawn. We emphasise that taxonomic conclusions reached solely through morphological or molecular analyses lead to a distorted view on tardigrade α-diversity.

Highly surface-selective nitration of cellulose nanofibers under mildly acidic reaction conditions

Cellulose nitrate (CN) is used in numerous industrial materials, such as propellants, lacquers, and plastics, exploiting its highly flammable, hydrophobic, and plastic characters. The downsizing of cellulose nitrate fibers may enhance their properties. Although a direct nitration of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) is a prospective method for preparing nanosized CN materials, it is difficult because of the susceptibility of CNF to acids. In the previous study, we prepared nitrated cellulose nanofibers (NCNFs) using never-dried CNFs and relatively dilute H2SO4, obtaining a high yield and degree of substitution. In this study, we describe a novel highly surface-selective nitration method using dried CNFs. To prevent the acid hydrolysis of the CNFs, mildly acidic conditions (acetic acid/acetic anhydride/HNO3) were used instead of the conventional mixed-acid systems. Solid- and gel-state NMR studies revealed that the original crystalline structure of the produced NCNF core was retained, even after nitration, whereas the cellulose molecules on the NCNF surface were completely converted to cellulose pernitrates. The NCNFs exhibited morphologies comprising thin nanofiber diameters of approximately 10–50 nm with high specific surface areas of approximately 260 m2 g–1. Thus, unique core–shell NCNFs were prepared, potentially leading to the development of CNF derivatives with novel applications and functions.Graphical abstract

Comparative and morphological review of plunderfishes of the genus Artedidraco (Artedidraconidae, Notothenioidiei)

The external morphology and axial skeleton of 5 species of Antarctic plunderfishes of the genus Artedidraco Lönnberg, 1905 were studied using materials from the collection of ZIN. Plastic (26) and meristic (14) characters were analyzed; a morphological characteristics of the species was prepared. The results of the study partially con firm the previously revealed differences between the species of the genus, but some diagnostic characters of plunderfishes are found for the first time: the number of branched rays of the caudal fin, height of the head, length of the chin barbel and height of the second dorsal fin, predorsal, preanal and prebranchial distances, number of vertebrae in different parts of the spine. Assumptions are made about the functional role of characters, according to which the differences between the species associated with the diet and habitat of these fish are established. Two groups of Artedidraco species were found: “skottsbergi” (A. skottsbergi Lönnberg, 1905, A. loennbergi Roule, 1913) and “shackletoni” (A. shackletoni Waite, 1911, A. glareobarbatus Eastman et Eakin, 1999). Species of A. mirus Lönnberg, 1905 and A. orianae Regan, 1914 were not assigned to any group, since during the work a sufficient number of their similarities was not found. An identification key for species of the genus was compiled.

Genome-wide analysis of MdPLATZ genes and their expression during axillary bud outgrowth in apple (Malus domestica Borkh.)

BackgroundBranching is a plastic character that affects plant architecture and spatial structure. The trait is controlled by a variety of plant hormones through coordination with environmental signals. Plant AT-rich sequence and zinc-binding protein (PLATZ) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in plant growth and development. However, systematic research on the role of the PLATZ family in apple branching has not been conducted previously.ResultsIn this study, a total of 17 PLATZ genes were identified and characterized from the apple genome. The 83 PLATZ proteins from apple, tomato, Arabidopsis, rice, and maize were classified into three groups based on the topological structure of the phylogenetic tree. The phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, gene structure, regulatory cis-acting elements, and microRNAs of the MdPLATZ family members were predicted. Expression analysis revealed that MdPLATZ genes exhibited distinct expression patterns in different tissues. The expression patterns of the MdPLATZ genes were systematically investigated in response to treatments that impact apple branching [thidazuron (TDZ) and decapitation]. The expression of MdPLATZ1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, and 16 was regulated during axillary bud outgrowth based on RNA-sequencing data obtained from apple axillary buds treated by decapitation or exogenous TDZ application. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that MdPLATZ6 was strongly downregulated in response to the TDZ and decapitation treatments, however, MdPLATZ15 was significantly upregulated in response to TDZ, but exhibited little response to decapitation. Furthermore, the co-expression network showed that PLATZ might be involved in shoot branching by regulating branching-related genes or mediating cytokinin or auxin pathway.ConclusionThe results provide valuable information for further functional investigation of MdPLATZ genes in the control of axillary bud outgrowth in apple.

About the sexual dimorphism of the crucian carp Carassius carassius (Cyprinidae)

The Crucian carp Carassius carassius (Linnaeus, 1758) is widely distributed in the Northern Eurasia. This is a medium-sized schooling fish, mainly its habitat is shallow water bodies overgrown of aquatic plants and slow flowing rivers. The Crucian carp is resistant to hypoxiaand fluctuations of water temperature. It is euryphage. In recent decades, there has been a widespread reduction in its range and a decline in numbers both in Western Europe and in Russia. In Western Siberia, Crucian carp was previously relatively numerous. Since the end of the 20th century, this species has a decrease reduces the number or complete extinction in some water bodies of the region. This provokes an increased interest to the peculiarities of the biology of this fish species, including the variability of its morphological characteristics in different types of water bodies and the environmental characteristics that determine them. We have revealed sexual dimorphism of C. carassius in 47% of the studied plastic characters: females have a longer head length, anteventral and antepectral distances, and males have ventroanal, ventrocaudal, anal-caudal and dorso-caudal distances. In addition, males have larger fins: the height of the dorsal and anal fins, the length of the pectoral, ventral, and lower lobe of the caudal fins are statistically significantly greater. There are differences in head morphology: males have the height of the head through the middle of the eye and diameter of eye are statistically significantly greater. There are no sexual dimorphism of C. carassius in countable morphological characters. The our data obtained make it necessary to take into account the sex composition of the samples when analyzing the features of the variability of the morphological features of the Crucian carp C. carassius.

Exceptional features of the embryonic ontogeny of a direct‐developing Robber frog

AbstractIn frogs, the loss of the free‐living tadpole stage implies deep transformations in morphology and development, and the result is a combination of traits exclusive to direct development with the reduction or absence of typically larval features. Two traits stand out in terraranans, a mostly Neotropical clade with ca. 1200 species known or suspected to have direct development: (1) the development of forelimbs, which unlike in tadpoles and in several unrelated direct‐developing lineages, in this clade is described to occur completely exposed during ontogeny, and (2) the reduction of gills and their physiological replacement by highly vascularized tails for gas exchange. In this contribution, we report unusual aspects of the embryonic ontogeny in the Confused Robber frog Oreobates berdemenos, which complicate the interpretation of morphological diversity in Terrarana and in direct‐developing frogs in general. First, forelimbs develop initially entirely concealed by a larval operculum. Second, tail fins develop dorsal and ventral to the tail muscular core but their arrangement changes to lateral during ontogeny. Third, the expansion of the tail fins appears to be a plastic character whose variation likely responds to individual conditions of humidity and/or oxygenation of each egg within the clutch. Finally, we report cells with the morphology of hatching gland cells in the rostral region of embryos at stages about to hatch. If not vestigial, these cells could assist the egg tooth, which is characteristic of terraranans, with chemical softening of the egg capsules during hatching.

Falling Knights: Sir Gawain in Pre and Post Malory Arthurian Tradition

The present study traces the development of Sir Gawain’s traits in the Arthurian legend through an analysis of Arthurian literature in early medieval works, in transition, and in modern cycle. It aims to show what makes Sir Gawain a multiple character and how his plastic character has appealed to the literary, political, and social taste of the time of his creation and recreation. The focus will be upon the roles that the new characteristics of Sir Gawain should fulfil and the reasons which stand behind this transition in his character.The study examines the representation of Sir Gawain as a heroic knight in mainly three texts from the medieval and modern English Arthurian tradition: Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae Sir Thomas Malory’s De Morte Arthur, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Some references are made to other contemporary texts. These texts range from literary to history, providing a broad overview of the many ways in which history and romance approaches the question of the roles of knighthood and chivalry through the figure of Sir Gawain.By exploring these narratives in their historical and social contexts, the present study explains why Sir Gawain maintains certain characteristics across a particularly eventful period in English history, as well as why certain characteristics change drastically. It will also offer new insights about public perception of medieval notions of knighthood and chivalry.All translated quotations from Historia Regum Britanniae are taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of Kings of Britain, translated by Sebastian Evans (London: Dent, 1963). All Latin quotations from Wace’s Roman de Brut: A History of the British are taken fromWace, Wace’s Roman de Brut: A History of the British, edited by Judith Weiss (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2002). All quotations from the Arthurian Section of Layamon’s Brut are taken from Layamon, Layamon’s Arthur: the Arthurian Section of Layamon’s Brut, edited by W.R.J. Barron and S.C. Weinberg (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2001). All quotations from Idylls of the King are taken from Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the king, edited by J. M. Gray (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1983).

Recognition of Ephedra yangthangensis as a new synonym of E. intermedia (Ephedraceae)

Critical study of the protologue, herbarium and live specimens of Ephedra yangthangensis Prabha Sharma & Rita Singh revealed that this species actually corresponds to E. intermedia. The description of E. yangthangensis as a new species is based on phenotypically plastic characters such as nature of microsporagiophore, size of male strobili and colour of stem, fruit and leaf, which actually fall within the circumscription of E. intermedia. Therefore, here we report E. yangthangensis as a new synonym of E. intermedia. We identify the taxonomic discrepancies in the diagnosis of E. yangthangensis and provide taxonomic keys, description with photographic illustrations of vegetative (habit, stems and leaves), reproductive (cone arrangement and nature) and anatomical characters and enlist the representative herbarium specimens.

Morphometric features of the Acipenser baerii × Huso huso hybrid against the background of the original (parent) species

Despite the rapid development of molecular genetic methods, the use of traditional morphometry for the identification of sturgeon hybrids, which has an obvious advantage when working in field or production conditions, does not lose its significance. The hybrid Acipenser baerii × Huso huso (Lenbel), which is promising for commercial cultivation, is completely insufficiently studied in this regard. The purpose of the work was to make a comparative morphometric analysis of the hybrid and parental species, as well as to determine its identifying features.Experimental and control groups of fish were obtained from producers grown on the farm. It has been established that the hybrid, according to most indicators, occupies an intermediate position between the Siberian sturgeon and the beluga. The difference with the parental species is statistically significant for 32 characters. The hybrid differs from the beluga in 23 plastic indicators out of 30, and in 4 out of 6 meristic indicators; from the Siberian sturgeon — in 18 of 33 plastic characters, and in 5 of 6 meristic ones. At the same time, the hybrid differs from both parents in 14 plastic and 4 meristic characters. In hybrids, the matroclinic effect is significantly manifested: the transgression rate with Siberian sturgeon below 67% was noted only for the width of the snout at the base of the middle pair of antennae (29.2%) and for the width of the gap of the lower lip (21.2%). The main indicators that are promising as test characters for hybrid identification are concentrated mainly in measurements of the head (O, HC, rc, rr, SRc SRr) and mouth (SO, il).

Trout growth (Parasalmo mykiss Walbaum, 1792) in different ecological conditions of water bodies in the Komi Republic

Despite the rapid development of molecular genetic methods, the use of traditional morphometry for the identification of sturgeon hybrids, which has an obvious advantage when working in field or production conditions, does not lose its significance. The hybrid Acipenser baerii × Huso huso (Lenbel), which is promising for commercial cultivation, is completely insufficiently studied in this regard.The purpose of the work was to make a comparative morphometric analysis of the hybrid and parental species, as well as to determine its identifying features. Experimental and control groups of fish were obtained from producers grown on the farm. It has been established that the hybrid, according to most indicators, occupies an intermediate position between the Siberian sturgeon and the beluga. The difference with the parental species is statistically significant for 32 characters. The hybrid differs from the beluga in 23 plastic indicators out of 30, and in 4 out of 6 meristic indicators; from the Siberian sturgeon — in 18 of 33 plastic characters, and in 5 of 6 meristic ones. At the same time, the hybrid differs from both parents in 14 plastic and 4 meristic characters. In hybrids, the matroclinic effect is significantly manifested: the transgression rate with Siberian sturgeon below 67% was noted only for the width of the snout at the base of the middle pair of antennae (29.2%) and for the width of the gap of the lower lip (21.2%). The main indicators that are promising as test characters for hybrid identification are concentrated mainly in measurements of the head (O, HC, rc, rr, SRc SRr) and mouth (SO, il).

Aptian−Albian extension in Tethyan rifted continental passive margin of Tunisia inferred from sequential restorations of balanced cross-sections and expansion index

This article presents an overview of regional extensional deformation across the north-facing southern Tethyan continental passive margin of Tunisia during the Aptian and Albian syn-rift stages. Because of the Late Eocene, Late Miocene and Pleistocene orogenic overprinting, the earlier extensional history of the Tunisian Atlassic province had to be reconstructed from balanced and sequentially restored transects across four key fault systems active at the time. These were used to (i) estimate the amount and timing of extension and (ii) calculate the expansion index (EI) for each fault system. The analysis demonstrates the region experienced a very significant amount of mid-Cretaceous extension, representing the last of several Permian-Mesozoic rift events. Two closely linked styles of deformation were recognised: thick-skinned basement involved faulting and shallow listric faulting detached on decollement surfaces within late Triassic evaporites. Both styles of faulting triggered salt diapirism.Sequential pre-orogenic restorations of a transect across the Tebaga Kebili and Orbata faults in the southern part of this province suggest both experienced a large amount of extensional displacement during the Aptian and Albian (Aptian-Albian extension = 2.6 km), recorded by footwall erosion, growth strata, rollover structures and changes in sedimentary facies. A similar restoration across the Labaiedh (M'rhila-Cherichira) fault system further north, identified both thick and thin-skinned extensional movement associated with diapiric growth and salt extrusion reaching a maximum during the Aptian (Aptian-Albian extension = 0.55 km). A pre-Tertiary restoration of the Teboursouk fault system in the northern part of the province, demonstrated thick-skinned extension peaking during the Albian (Aptian-Albian extension = 0.4 km). This accommodated a thick sequence of basinal shales to the north, deformed by active diapirism with sea-floor salt extrusion, triggered by deep basement faulting and enhanced by the plastic incompetent character of the thick shale dominant overburden.Regional extension across the Tunisian Atlassic province during the Aptian-Albian was contemporaneous with a significant change in intra-plate stress across northern Africa, the opening of the South Atlantic and structural reorganization along the East African continental margin. This synchroneity across such a wide region may reflect some still poorly understood deep crustal processes, ultimately responsible for reactivating older rift faults and regional tilting across the province. The associated gravity salt gliding and diapirism bear comparison with the post-rift deformational style of the South Atlantic passive margin. However intra-evaporite decollement surfaces were more local, limited by active thick-skinned faulting with diapirism typically soft linked to deeper fault movement.

A Morphological and Molecular Study of Phallus multicolor in Indonesia

Phallus is known as stinkhorn mushroom. Previous reports have shown that this genus is recognized by the size and color of the basidioma, which is a highly plastic morphological character that can potentially lead to misidentification. In Indonesia, no study has combined morphological and molecular analyses to identify Phallus. This study aimed to determine the identity of Phallus that has the orange color of an indusium found in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia. The morphological characteristics were described by observing the macroscopic and microscopic features of fresh specimens. Molecular analyses were performed based on the internal transcribed spacer 4/5 region sequence. The results showed that specimen BO24430 was identified as Phallus multicolor with 100% similarity in the BLAST results and a 98% bootstrap value on the phylogenetic tree. This taxonomic placement was supported by morphological features, such as a campanulate pileus, yellowish to white pseudostipe, brown to whitish eggs, and ellipsoid spores. This study is the only record of P. multicolor in Indonesia with a herbarium voucher since Boedijn in 1932. In addition, the current study assessed the diversity of Phallus in Indonesia using morphological and molecular evidence.