Sharp Claws Research Articles

Detection of chronic lymphocytic leukemia using Deep Neural Eagle Perch Fuzzy Segmentation – A novel comparative approach

With a high mortality rate worldwide, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) poses a serious health risk. Radiologists view the ability to detect blood tumor cells as both important and difficult. It is challenging for many of the current studies to properly examine these blood cancer cells. An intellectual system for separating healthy cells from tumor cells is suggested in this research work. This research primarily depends on the effective implementation of computed tomography (CT) samples of both benign and malignant blood samples. In this research paper, novel methodologies called public active contour pixel mapping and Deep Neural Eagle Perch Fuzzy Segmentation (DNEPFS) are proposed, which help in detecting the blood cell boundary of the unaffected cells. It is quite similar to an eagle using the claw searching algorithm. Here, the eagle uses its sharp claws to tear the prey’s skin during the search for its food. 99.64% and 99.32% accuracy are obtained during the research work for benign and malignant nodules using MATLAB R2023a. The computational complexity was found to be less, which is 7.13 s. Different segmentation techniques are used for comparative analyses. According to the research results, this proposed flow is superior to all segmentation techniques currently in use for the accurate detection of tumor cells. Based on the expert's annotation on online samples and clinical samples, the methodology has been validated to prove their effectiveness and throw light on the life of affected patients to resume normalcy – live long. The research work was tested in real-time clinical samples which deliver promising and encouraging results in leukemia detection procedures.

Sharp claws beneath our feet – the diversity of tarsal attachment devices of oribatid mites (Acari, Chelicerata, excluding Astigmata) – a review

ABSTRACT The majority of animals possess claws on their legs and they are mainly used for keeping attached to the substrate. Recent studies on claw shapes and function suggest that claws are not just simple attachment devices but highly specialized morphological traits bearing information about lifestyle, ecology and evolution. In that respect, knowledge about claws is extremely scarce, especially in highly diverse groups, as for example the oribatid mites, with more than 11000 named species occurring in every environment all over the world. This review summarizes all information about claws and relevant aspects for this large group of arthropods. There is a huge variety of ambulacral claw morphologies present in oribatid mites and this diversity does not follow a strict phylogenetic or systematic pattern. Lifestyle and ecology apparently play an important role in shaping claw morphologies. Intertidal oribatid mites are mostly characterized by having single large tarsal claws to withstand tidal flooding, a similar tendency can be found in terrestrial limnic species where monodactylous species prevail. Additionally, fresh-water Oribatida often show scaliform and barbed distal tarsal setae which cooperate with the claws helping the mites to stick to water plants. Claws of arboreal mites are often equipped with adhesive pads “pulvilli” allowing them to walk on smooth plant surfaces. Suction pads are also found in a few mites showing epilithic lifestyles and in mites being able to perform sudden evasive jumps. Claws of phoretic oribatid mites show in most cases no apparent adaptations but certain groups are equipped with highly modified claws allowing them to attach to specific structures of their hosts. Finally, this review gives an overview of all claw morphologies present in each larger phylogenetic oribatid mite group.

Design of a Felid-like Humanoid Foot for Stability Enhancement.

The foot is an important part of humanoid robot locomotion that can help with shock absorption while making contact with the ground. The mechanism of the foot directly affects walking stability. A novel foot mechanism inspired by the toes of felids is proposed. The foot has four bionic modules with soft pads and sharp claws installed at the four corners of a flat foot. This foot can reduce the impact experienced during foot landing and increase the time that the foot is in contact with the ground, which can improve the adaptability of the robot to different ground surface conditions with different levels of stiffness. The main structure of the bionic module is a four-bar linkage consisting of a slide way and a spring. Furthermore, the length of the four-bar linkage and the posture of the claw during insertion into soft ground are optimized to improve the stability and buffering performance. The validity of the proposed foot mechanism has been proved in simulations.

A robotic leg inspired from an insect leg

While most insect-inspired robots come with a simple tarsus, such as a hemispherical foot tip, insect legs have complex tarsal structures and claws, which enable them to walk on complex terrain. Their sharp claws can smoothly attach and detach on plant surfaces by actuating a single muscle. Thus, installing an insect-inspired tarsus on legged robots would improve their locomotion on complex terrain. This paper shows that the tendon-driven ball–socket structure provides the tarsus with both flexibility and rigidity, which is necessary for the beetle to walk on a complex substrate such as a mesh surface. Disabling the tarsus’ rigidity by removing the socket and elastic membrane of a tarsal joint, means that the claws could not attach to the mesh securely. Meanwhile, the beetle struggled to draw the claws out of the substrate when we turned the tarsus rigid by tubing. We then developed a cable-driven bio-inspired tarsus structure to validate the function of the tarsus as well as to show its potential application in the legged robot. With the tarsus, the robotic leg was able to attach and retract smoothly from the mesh substrate when performing a walking cycle.

Balinese Calonarang in Performance

Balinese <i>Calonarang</i> in Performance

Smooth and slipless walking mechanism inspired by the open–close cycle of a beetle claw

This study investigated the function of the beetle’s claw for its smooth and slipless walking and designed an artificial claw open–close cycle mechanism to mimic the beetle’s walking. First, the effects of claw opening and closing on beetles’ ability to attach to surfaces were examined. A beetle does not have an attachment pad, and only its claws work to grip the ground; its claw opens and closes and attaches with two sharp hooks. With their claws, beetles can smoothly walk, neither slipping on nor having their claws stuck in the surface. How do they perform smooth walking with sharp claws? In this study, we observed that beetles close their claws when they raise and swung their legs forward, while they open their claws when they lowered their legs to the ground. We then conducted non-destructive tests: their claws were forced open or closed. There was a significant difference in the trajectories of forced-closed claws compared to intact claws and forced-open claws. When their claws were forced-closed, this caused slippage in walking. On the other hand, when a claw was forced-open and its rotation was also inhibited, the claw stuck heavily in the surface, and the beetle could not walk. Based on these findings, we designed an artificial claw to open and close in the same cyclic manner as in the case of natural beetles. The performance of the artificial claw was consistent with the conclusions drawn from natural beetles: the locomotive robot with the artificial claw smoothly moved without slippage. Through these observations, non-destructive tests and performance of the bio-inspired artificial claws, this study confirmed the function of the open–close cycle of beetle claws and demonstrated and successfully adopted it for a locomotive robot.

Clawed forelimbs allow northern seals to eat like their ancient ancestors.

Streamlined flippers are often considered the defining feature of seals and sea lions, whose very name ‘pinniped’ comes from the Latin pinna and pedis, meaning ‘fin-footed’. Yet not all pinniped limbs are alike. Whereas otariids (fur seals and sea lions) possess stiff streamlined forelimb flippers, phocine seals (northern true seals) have retained a webbed yet mobile paw bearing sharp claws. Here, we show that captive and wild phocines routinely use these claws to secure prey during processing, enabling seals to tear large fish by stretching them between their teeth and forelimbs. ‘Hold and tear’ processing relies on the primitive forelimb anatomy displayed by phocines, which is also found in the early fossil pinniped Enaliarctos. Phocine forelimb anatomy and behaviour therefore provide a glimpse into how the earliest seals likely fed, and indicate what behaviours may have assisted pinnipeds along their journey from terrestrial to aquatic feeding.

Reconstructing an incomparable organism: the Chalicothere in nineteenth and early-twentieth century palaeontology.

Palaeontology developed as a field dependent upon comparison. Not only did reconstructing the fragmentary records of fossil organisms and placing them within taxonomic systems and evolutionary lineages require detailed anatomical comparisons with living and fossil animals, but the field also required thinking in terms of behavioural, biological and ecological analogies with modern organisms to understand how prehistoric animals lived and behaved. Yet palaeontological material often worked against making easy linkages, bringing a sense of mystery and doubt. This paper will look at an animal whose study exemplified these problems: the Chalicothere. Increasingly (although not unproblematically) recognized as a specific type from finds across North America and Eurasia from the early nineteenth century onwards, these prehistoric mammals showed short back legs terminating in pawed feet, long front limbs ending in sharp claws, a long flexible neck, and herbivorous grinding teeth. The Chalicothere became a significant organism within palaeontological studies, as the unexpected mix of characters made it a textbook example against the Cuvierian notion of "correlation of parts," while explaining how the animal moved, fed and behaved became puzzling. However, rather than prevent comparisons, these actually led to comparative analogies becoming flexible and varied, with different forms of comparison being made with varying methods and degrees of confidence, and with the anatomy, movement and behaviour of giraffes, bears, horses, anteaters, primates and other organisms all serving at various points as potential models for different aspects of the animal. This paper will examine some of the attempts to reconstruct and define the Chalicotheres across a long timescale, using this to show how multiple comparisons and analogies could be deployed in a reconstructive and evolutionary science like palaeontology, and illustrate some of the limits and tensions in comparative methods, as they were used to reconstruct organisms which were thought to be incomparable to any modern animal.

A Systematic Review of Human Bat Rabies Virus Variant Cases: Evaluating Unprotected Physical Contact with Claws and Teeth in Support of Accurate Risk Assessments.

In the United States and Canada, the most recent documented cases of rabies have been attributed to bat rabies viruses (RABV). We undertook this systematic review in an effort to summarize and enhance understanding of the risk of infection for individuals who have been potentially exposed to a suspect or confirmed rabid bat. United States rabies surveillance summaries documented a total of 41 human bat-rabies virus variant verified non-transplant cases between 1990 and 2015. All cases were fatal. Seven (17.1%) of 41 cases reported a bite from a bat. Ten (24.3%) cases had unprotected physical contact (UPC); these included seven cases that had a bat land or crawl on them (contact with claws) and one case that touched a bat’s teeth. Seven (17.1%) cases had probable UPC. Insectivorous bat teeth are extremely sharp and highly efficient for predation upon arthropod prey. Bats also have sharp claws on the end of their thumbs and feet. One of the most common bat RABV variants has an ability to replicate in non-neural cells. Questioning individuals about unprotected contact with bat teeth and claws (including a bat landing or crawling on a person) may help identify additional exposures.

가금류 악성 전염병 감염축 처리자의 보호 장비 착용실태 조사 및 개선에 관한 연구

This study was aimed to investigate factors that affected the status of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for handling poultry carcasses with potential exposure to virulent avian infectious agents. A large outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) occurred in South Korea in 2014. Many public officers participated for euthanizing and handling livestock carcass. However, several safety issues with using PPE were revealed. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was conducted for 340 people who participated euthanasia and carcass disposal in the place where HPAI mainly occurred in 2014. It was found that 31.8% of the respondents had ever taken off their protective equipment during operations because of its inconvenience. The most inconvenient PPE was goggles (54.6%), followed by mask (20.2%), latex gloves (11.6%), shoe covers (5.9%) and protective clothing (5.3%). The main complaints about this individual PPE was unclear sight, damp emitted toward eye, sweating, tearing easily and sweating, respectively. Considering such problems of PPE, new possible directions for improvement of gloves and goggles were suggested. With newly developed rubber coating fabric gloves and conventionally using latex and fabric gloves, H3N2 influenza virus transmission experiment was conducted. Rubber coating fabric gloves showed similar efficiency for blocking virus transmission with latex laboratory gloves and were not easily torn by sharp claws of chicken. In addition, air flow control safety eyewear was suggested to minimize moisture formation. The air flow control system efficiently suppressed moisture formation inside the goggles. Therefore our study will provide more specific directions about new PPE development for safety protection of actual wearers.

Prague: The Czech Republic's “Dear Little Mother”

photos: logan webb notebook Prague City Profile Cities are like oceans: their ebbs and flows offer glimpses of their depths, providing contrasts between what we know and what they’ve yet to reveal. Similarly, Prague’s staccato bursts of modernism are juxtaposed against its wonderfully intact feudal atmosphere, creating a delicious sense of fluidity between medieval and modern. Often referred to as the city of a thousand spires, Prague’s simultaneously idyllic and austere landscape hosts the Prague Writers’ Festival (www.pwf.cz) each spring. Since its inception in 1991, the festival has sought to bring together the minds of great authors—often Nobel, Pulitzer , and Booker Prize recipients—and readers to encourage cross-cultural discussion. Proposed in the late 1970s, the festival began as a rather small poetry reading in London before relocating to Prague’s Valdštejnský Palác (Wallenstein Palace ), the home of the Czech Senate. How could the Czech Republic’s Golden City not be the perfect location for thousands of literature lovers to convene? From housing numerous royals, to hosting the world premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, to what would have been Adolf Hitler’s home had his efforts been successful, Prague’s rich history is ubiquitous. Prague’s connection to the literary world doesn’t end with the writers’ festival. The city is peppered with literary cafés and antikvariats (used bookstores) stacked high with decades-old volumes. These locales are sure to satisfy even the most insatiable hunger for Czech literature, including, of course, the works of Prague’s most famous son, Franz Kafka, whose influence haunts every obscure alleyway, from cobbled street below to ascetic spire above. One of the most popular you-gotta-be-lost-to-find-it literary haunts is the Tynska Literary Café just beyond Old Town. Concealed in a meandering alley, Tynska’s walled courtyard sits just beneath the twin spires of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn, providing a hidden nook for reading, writing, and drinking. A city of contradiction, Prague is simultaneously warm and stern, soft and severe, no doubt leading Kafka to write, “Prague never lets you go . . . this dear little mother has sharp claws.” Logan Webb is an art student at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. The Czech Republic’s “Dear Little Mother” What to Read at Tynska Caleb Crain, Necessary Errors Myla Goldberg, Time’s Magpie Franz Kafka, The Trial, tr. Breon Mitchell (Schocken Books, 1998) Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, tr. Michael Henry Heim (HarperCollins, 2004) Gustav Meyrink, The Golem, tr. Mike Mitchell (Dedalus, 2011) Jáchym Topol, City Sister Silver, tr. Alex Zucker (Catbird Press, 2000) Logan Webb November–December 2014 • 5 ...

Prague: The Czech Republic's “Dear Little Mother”

photos: logan webb notebook Prague City Profile Cities are like oceans: their ebbs and flows offer glimpses of their depths, providing contrasts between what we know and what they’ve yet to reveal. Similarly, Prague’s staccato bursts of modernism are juxtaposed against its wonderfully intact feudal atmosphere, creating a delicious sense of fluidity between medieval and modern. Often referred to as the city of a thousand spires, Prague’s simultaneously idyllic and austere landscape hosts the Prague Writers’ Festival (www.pwf.cz) each spring. Since its inception in 1991, the festival has sought to bring together the minds of great authors—often Nobel, Pulitzer , and Booker Prize recipients—and readers to encourage cross-cultural discussion. Proposed in the late 1970s, the festival began as a rather small poetry reading in London before relocating to Prague’s Valdštejnský Palác (Wallenstein Palace ), the home of the Czech Senate. How could the Czech Republic’s Golden City not be the perfect location for thousands of literature lovers to convene? From housing numerous royals, to hosting the world premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, to what would have been Adolf Hitler’s home had his efforts been successful, Prague’s rich history is ubiquitous. Prague’s connection to the literary world doesn’t end with the writers’ festival. The city is peppered with literary cafés and antikvariats (used bookstores) stacked high with decades-old volumes. These locales are sure to satisfy even the most insatiable hunger for Czech literature, including, of course, the works of Prague’s most famous son, Franz Kafka, whose influence haunts every obscure alleyway, from cobbled street below to ascetic spire above. One of the most popular you-gotta-be-lost-to-find-it literary haunts is the Tynska Literary Café just beyond Old Town. Concealed in a meandering alley, Tynska’s walled courtyard sits just beneath the twin spires of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn, providing a hidden nook for reading, writing, and drinking. A city of contradiction, Prague is simultaneously warm and stern, soft and severe, no doubt leading Kafka to write, “Prague never lets you go . . . this dear little mother has sharp claws.” Logan Webb is an art student at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. The Czech Republic’s “Dear Little Mother” What to Read at Tynska Caleb Crain, Necessary Errors Myla Goldberg, Time’s Magpie Franz Kafka, The Trial, tr. Breon Mitchell (Schocken Books, 1998) Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, tr. Michael Henry Heim (HarperCollins, 2004) Gustav Meyrink, The Golem, tr. Mike Mitchell (Dedalus, 2011) Jáchym Topol, City Sister Silver, tr. Alex Zucker (Catbird Press, 2000) Logan Webb November–December 2014 • 5 ...

Fighting by Kittens and Piglets during Suckling: What Does it Mean?

AbstractNewborn kittens and piglets show some notable similarities in suckling‐associated behaviours. Both develop a pattern of teat use in which each member of the litter predominantly occupies one or two particular nipples or teats, both show agonistic behaviour towards littermates during suckling, and both are born with ‘weapons’–kittens with sharp claws and piglets with sharp needle teeth. Traditionally, the differential use of nipples or teats has been thought to be due to differential quality of the mammary glands. However, neither our findings in kittens nor an examination of the literature on piglets support this view. As mammary glands usually are of equal quality and as there are normally more glands than young, there seems little reason for littermates to fight. Furthermore, there is also little evidence that individual performance in suckling contests or use of ‘weapons’ is related to weight gain or to dominance relations. Given the present lack of satisfying adaptive explanations for the seemingly aggressive behaviour and use of weapons by kittens and piglets, we suggest these to be epiphenomena of developmental processes anticipating the use of these behaviours and structures in later adaptive contexts.

The Paradise Trap (review)

Reviewed by: The Paradise Trap Kate Quealy-Gainer Jinks, Catherine . The Paradise Trap. Egmont, 2012. [352p]. Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-60684-273-7 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-60684-283-6 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7. Marcus' mom is intent on reliving the magic of her childhood vacations at the ocean, which is why Marcus has been dragged away from his beloved video games to accompany her in a beat-up old trailer to Diamond Beach. The beach turns out to be anything but summery fun-in fact, it is more cement than sand-but when Marcus and his new friend Edison stumble upon an old door in the trailer that inexplicably leads to a cellar, Marcus goes from being bored to being spooked. The cellar leads to a giant amusement park that enchants Edison but tries to kill Marcus (first by suffocation by teddy bear and then by a killer ferris wheel); although Marcus manages to escape, Edison is not so lucky. As Marcus repeatedly tries to return with reinforcements to rescue Edison, the scene behind the door changes each time to represent someone's ideal vacation while containing their doom: Edison's mother sees a luxurious spa, for instance, but its purring cats are murderous. There's a bit of Twilight Zone-like trickery going on here: just when Marcus and his mom think they are safe, the rug is pulled out again and they find themselves in yet another paradise gone awry. The settings are often both hilariously absurd (the spa cats are [End Page 404] both giant and pink) and frightening (they also have very, very sharp claws). The motivation of the villain, a siren who must now lure tourists with ideal vacations after losing her voice, is a bit of stretch, but the snappy pace more than makes up for the somewhat lackluster antagonist as Marcus and his makeshift family battle maniacal clowns, epic tidal waves, and camping vampires. In a refreshing change from the horror genre's typical early dismissal of parental units, Marcus' mom is in on the adventure the whole time to offer support and guidance, making this a spirited and family-friendly tale. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Design and Analysis of a Wall-Climbing Robot Based on a Mechanism Utilizing Hook-Like Claws

Wall-climbing robots have extensive applications, however, no effective adhesion system has been designed for robots deployed in high-altitude, rough concrete buildings that are subjected to large wind loads and vibrations. This paper proposes a new suction method based on a mechanism utilizing hook-like claws and presents the design of a robot system for inspecting rough concrete walls. We present a method for describing the degree of concrete surface roughness. To study the stress imposed on the hook-like claws, we propose two types of mechanical models for the interactions between sharp claws and microprotuberances. The design method for the tips of the sharp claws is then established. Finally, an 8-foot wall-climbing robot based on a mechanism utilizing hook-like claws is designed and laboratory experiments on a man-made concrete wall are conducted. The results indicate that the low-cost system endows the robot with enhanced climbing stability and satisfies the inspection requirements for tower constructed by water brush stone or bricks.

"White Clouds," Poem, 1988

"White Clouds," Poem, 1988 Peter Whitehead This poem first appeared in Arab News, October 16, 1988. Dedicated to Prince Khaled Al- Faisal One moment there is nothing there,The next, as if out of nowhere,There are white clouds over the Black Mountain.You try to fix the image, like a fleeting thought,Like a photograph, like an unexpected memory,Because afterward there will be nothing.How to avoid the coming, the going, the daily reminderOf the dying away of time,Measured by translucent shimmerings of imminent rain?You plant a seed in the red earth of the mountain,And watch a young tree grow,Nurtured by the rain,As a father plants a seed in a womb,To defeat his own dying of time,Nurturing the hope that a son will cultivate the land,When he is gone. White clouds. Black clouds.As lightning strikes a tree on a mountain,And kills without reason,Before it has born all its fruit,Once, a black cloud overshadowed the whole kingdom,From which lightning had struck,And a beloved King, still young, was felled, [End Page 770] Leaving a forest of bereaved sons.And in the soil were only the imprints of their knees,Blunted roots searching for a renewal of spirit,And of hope. Today, still emblazoned on the clouded skyOf our memories,Were white falcons with black wings,Hovering, still, over the Black Mountain,Poised outside of time,As in the gap between the clouds coming and going,Waiting the moment of their first lightning strike,Their first kill. Their sharp claws reflect the sun,As in men's minds.The sun reflects its own power,As passionate thought. But as that power can raise water from the ocean,And drop it on the land as rain,Its heat can raise the desire for false powerIn men's fertile hearts,And drop it on the faces of the people, as tears.In man's mind, the falcon's clawsHave become the curved scimitars of intellect,That carve out destiny and history. But sons try to fly too, to master the powerOf the untouchable, ungraspable father,And sometimes, blinded by that stronger light,As even lightning can blind the eye of the falcon,They stoop wildly, even amongst their own people,And strike a blow against themselves and against hope. Black clouds. White clouds.One moment there is nothing there,The next, as if out of nowhere,There are white clouds over the Black Mountain again,As in mere earth, another tree grows. So does the spirit causeThe red earth to swell and rupture and with mere mud,Sculpts the form of man,In which it lives its fleeting purpose,A day's flight on the great wings of eternity. But the Black Mountain has another name,Still remembered by the peopleWho grew from the mountains soil;The Mountain of Light,The Mountain of the Beacon, [End Page 771] From whose crown of black polished stones,Fires sent messages at the speed of light,Over the lakes of cloud, of smouldering rain,That will soon fall, and sucked from the red earth,Become sap and blood. Messages to warn shepherds on other mountain tops,Of the threat of an enemy,Or of blessings from Allah;Like the coming of a king's son,To govern in his memory,To plant trees and protect sons,To complete his father's unfinished work. Today there were white clouds, black clouds,Gray clouds, red clouds. And a voice, as of wind.A poetry of clouds. A painting of clouds.Nature mocking man's imagination. But around the gray clouds,An incandescent halo of burning white light,Reminded us of how the work of an inspired son,Can crown the graying head of a father,With further glory ... ... [End Page 772] Copyright © 2011 Wayne State University Press

Evolutionary implications of the unusual walking mechanics of the common marmoset (C. jacchus).

Several features that appear to differentiate the walking gaits of most primates from those of most other mammals (the prevalence of diagonal-sequence footfalls, high degrees of humeral protraction, and low forelimb vs. hindlimb peak vertical forces) are believed to have evolved in response to requirements of locomotion on thin arboreal supports by early primates that had developed clawless grasping hands and feet. This putative relationship between anatomy, behavior, and ecology is tested here by examining gait mechanics in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a primate that has sharp claws and reduced pedal grasping, and that spends much of its time clinging on large trunks. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected on three male Callithrix jacchus as they walked across a force platform attached to the ground or to raised horizontal poles. The vast majority of all walking gaits were lateral-sequence. For all steps, the humerus was retracted (<90 degrees relative to a horizontal axis) or held in a neutral (90 degrees ) position at forelimb touchdown. Peak vertical forces on the forelimb were always higher than those on the hindlimb. These three features of the walking gaits of C. jacchus separate it from any other primate studied (including other callitrichids). The walking gaits of C. jacchus are mechanically more similar to those of small, nonprimate mammals. The results of this study support previous models that suggest that the unusual suite of features that typify the walking gaits of most primates are adaptations to the requirements of locomotion on thin arboreal supports. These data, along with data from other primates and marsupials, suggest that primate postcranial and locomotor characteristics are part of a basal adaptation for walking on thin branches.

A new carnosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan

An associated skeleton from the Kitadani quarry of the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) strata in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, represents a new genus and species of carnosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda). The immature specimen, which is about 4.2 m long, is well preserved and includes elements of the skull, vertebral column, front limbs, and hind limbs. The hands are relatively large and armed with strongly curved, sharp claws, suggesting that it was an active predator. Phylogenetic analysis indicates it is a basal allosauroid. An isolated astragalus from Australia may represent a closely related species.

Scanning Electron Microscopic Observations on the Mouthparts of Panonychus citri (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Agistemus terminalis (Quayle) (Acari: Stigmaeidae) on Satsuma Mandarin.

A comparative study of the mouthparts of Panonychus citri (McGregor) and Agistemus terminalis (Quayle) were conducted under scanning electron microscope. In P. citri, the palpus is five segmented and irregularly striated. The palpotarsus has three setae, three sensory organs and one smooth surfaced palpotarsal eupathidial spinneret. The palpotibia has comparatively small claws. The stylophore is comprised of irregularly striated basal and horizontally striated distal segments. The stylets are smoothly surfaced and originate from the ventral portion of fixed digits. The rostrum has an elevated lip of rostral gutter on its dorsal surface and a membranous flap on the ventral and lateral sides. The cheliceral stylets are cylindrically concave and reveal a rod-shaped food channel in the mesal region. While in A. terminalis, the palpus is also five segmented, a portion of the second segment is striated and the others are smoothly surfaced. The palpotarsus has a cylindrical and roughly surfaced sensory organ which exhibits a branched slender trifid sensillum at the apex. The palpotibia has bigger sharp claws, thicker at the base and roughly surfaced. The stylophore consists of a membranous basal and smoothly surfaced distal segments. The rostrum has a membranous overlap on the dorsal surface extending up to the rostral cavity.

Clipped Wings, Sharp Claws: Iraq in the 1990s

Clipped Wings, Sharp Claws: Iraq in the 1990s