Strict Consensus Research Articles

Обзор условий межличностного доверия в Интернете

The purpose of the study is to better qualify the problem of online trust. The problem of online trust is that of evaluating whether online environments have the proper design to enable trust. This paper tries to better qualify this problem by showing that there is no unique answer, but only conditional considerations that depend on the conception of trust assumed and the features that are included in the environments themselves. In fact, the major issue concerning traditional debates surrounding online trust is that those debates focus on specifc defnitions of trust and specifc online environments. Ordinarily, a defnition of trust is assumed and then environmental conditions necessary for trust are evaluated with respect to such specifc defnition. However, this modus operandi fails to appreciate that trust is a rich concept, with a multitude of meanings and that there is still no strict consensus on which meaning shall be taken as the proper one. Moreover, the fact that online environments are constantly evolving and that new design features might be implemented in them is completely ignored. In this paper, the richness of the philosophical discussions about trust is brought into the analysis of online trust. I frst provide a set of conditions that depend on the defnition of trust that can be assumed and then discuss those conditions with respect to the design of online environments in order to determine whether they can enable (and under which circumstances) trust. Tagliaferri, M. Reviewing the Case of Online Interpersonal Trust. Found Sci (2022).

Robustness of Power Distribution System: A Comparative Study of Network and Performance Based Metrics

Improving the resilience of the power distribution networks is becoming a top priority for the utility companies. Robustness is a key part of resilience, and is often studied through failure-based analysis. Furthermore, with the increasingly dynamic nature of the grid, voltage fluctuation is an important factor to consider while assessing system robustness. Very few metrics exist for capturing robustness to voltage fluctuations, primarily due to their complex computation process. While several failure-based robustness metrics have been proposed in the literature, there is no strict consensus regarding the applicability of these metrics. Therefore, this paper addresses two key gaps in robustness analysis of power distribution networks. First, this paper presents a systematic study of different failure-based robustness metrics by comparing their similarity and dissimilarity in ranking critical nodes of the power distribution network. Secondly, the efficacy of these metrics in characterizing voltage fluctuations is evaluated by comparing their ranking to that of voltage influencing scores. From experimental results, it is shown that hybrid failure-based metrics can quantify voltage fluctuations to a reasonable extent. We highlight the major shortcomings of current metric formulations and discuss possible future research directions related to robustness characteristics and analysis.

Phylogeny of Amathusiini butterflies based on adult morphology (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae).

Based on comparative morphology of adults, a phylogeny is proposed for the butterfly tribe Amathusiini (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae). The dataset includes 92 characters scored for 45 species in 12 genera, representing the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for this group. Parsimony analyses produced a well-resolved strict consensus tree where genera were divided in three main groups: (clade 1) Stichophthalma; (clade 2) Aemona, Faunis, Melanocyma and Taenaris; (clade 3) Enispe, Discophora, Thaumantis, Thauria, Amathusia, Amathuxidia, and Zeuxidia. While genera in clades 1 and 2 were found to be morphologically homogeneous, clade 3 showed remarkable morphological divergence between and within genera. The monophyly of most genera was recovered with variable levels of support, but Melanocyma and Taenaris nested within Faunis. Therefore, here Melanocyma NEW SYN. is subsumed within Faunis, and Taenaris STAT. REV. is regarded as a subgenus of Faunis. Mimicry likely evolved a single time within the Faunis-Taenaris assemblage, as species of Taenaris formed a monophyletic group. Results are compared to early classifications and recent DNA-based analyses, and points of agreement and conflicts are discussed.

Parsimony analysis of phylogenomic datasets (II): evaluation of PAUP*, MEGA and MPBoot.

This paper examines the implementation of parsimony methods in the programs PAUP*, MEGA and MPBoot, and compares them with TNT. PAUP* implements standard, well-tested algorithms, and flexible search strategies and options for handling trees; its main drawback is the lack of advanced search algorithms, which makes it difficult to find most parsimonious trees for large and complex datasets. In addition, branch-swapping can be much slower than in TNT for datasets with large numbers of taxa, although this is only occasionally a problem for phylogenomic datasets given that they typically have small numbers of taxa. The parsimony implementation of MEGA has major drawbacks. MEGA often fails to find parsimonious trees because it does not perform all possible branch swapping subtree pruning regrafting (SPR)/tree bisection-reconnection (TBR) rearrangements. It furthermore fails to properly handle ambiguity or multiple equally parsimonious trees, and it uses the same addition sequence for all bootstrap replicates. The latter yields values of group support that depend on the order in which taxa are listed in the dataset. In addition, tree searches are very slow and do not facilitate the exploration of different starting points (as random seed is fixed). MPBoot searches for optimal trees using the ratchet, but it is based on SPR instead of TBR (and only evaluates by default a subset of the SPR rearrangements). MPBoot approximates bootstrap frequencies by first finding a sample of trees and then selecting from those trees for every replicate, without performing a tree-search. The approximation is too rough in many cases, producing serious under- or overestimations of the correct support values and, for most kinds of datasets, slower estimations than can be obtained with TNT. In addition, bootstrapping with PAUP*, MEGA or MPBoot can attribute strong supports to groups that have no support at all under any meaningful concept of support, such as likelihood ratios or Bremer supports. In TNT, this problem is decreased by using the strict consensus tree to represent each replicate, or eliminated entirely by using different approximations of the Bremer support.

Phylogenetic value of jaw elements of lacertid lizards (Squamata: Lacertoidea): a case study with Oligocene material from France.

Several extinct species are known from the family Lacertidae, but due to poor preservation, many of them are based on single bones. Here, we compare phylogenetic signals of disarticulated premaxillae, maxillae and dentaries of lacertids from four French Oligocene localities (Coderet, La Colombière, Roqueprune 2, Mas de Got B). We identified five morphotypes among the premaxillae, six among the maxillae, and ten among the dentaries. These morphotypes were scored as individual taxa per locality into three separate character matrices with the same 246 characters, one matrix for each jaw element. Subsequently, the phylogenetic position of the morphotypes was tested using maximum parsimony. The consensus trees with the dentaries and the maxillae found a large polytomy including all taxa except the outgroup taxon Gekko gecko. The consensus tree with the premaxillae showed a considerably more resolved topology but found all morphotype taxa outside Lacertidae. In a second step, we compared the constitution of our three datasets and the morphotype taxa. Our results suggest that a combination of convergent characters and missing data led to the outgroup position of the premaxilla morphotype taxa. The poor resolution of the maxillae strict consensus is likely a consequence of their fragmentary preservation. For the dentaries, a high amount of missing data due to the high number of morphotype taxa most likely caused the poor tree resolution. Indeed, tests with fewer morphotypes found tree resolutions comparable to the premaxilla data. When linking the morphotypes, five possible lacertid "species" were found. Comparison with already known French Oligocene lacertid species points to a slightly higher species richness of Lacertidae at that time than known before. Reliable species classification based on phylogeny only seems possible when combining the jaw elements or in association with other cranial and postcranial material, putting some doubt on species identifications based on single bones.

<p><strong>A novel species of <em>Ischaemum </em>(Poaceae, Andropogoneae) from the northern Western Ghats, India, based on morphological and molecular data</strong></p>

Ischaemum amboliense (Poaceae, Andropogoneae), a new species of Muraina grass, is described and illustrated here. The new species is closely allied to I. travancorense but differs from it in having annual habit and erect posture, culm with sparsely hairy nodes, well-exerted racemes, lower glumes of sessile spikelets with 3–4 side nodules without ridges, upper glume of sessile spikelets with bicuspidate apex and margins with a membranous wing on one side of apical region and lower lemma of sessile spikelets winged on both sides towards the apex. A strict consensus tree obtained from the Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses of trnLC–trnLD and ETS datasets supported the novelty of the species. Here, we provide a detailed morphological description, molecular phylogenetic analysis, distribution map, and photo-plates of the novel and allied species.

Phylogenetic relationships of the shearwater taxa Puffinus/ (sensu/ lato) and Calonectris/ (Aves: Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) based on osteological characters.

Shearwaters are among the most diverse groups of Procellariiformes, and the systematics of genera Calonectris, Ardenna and Puffinus (sensu stricto) is particularly complex. Here we present the first morphology-based phylogenetic hypothesis for the group, using 104 osteological characters (23 continuous and 81 discrete) scored for 20 extant species of shearwaters, representing 62.5% of species currently recognized. Both equal and implied weighting were used for phylogenetic analyses, and the final hypothesis presented herein is the strict consensus of the most stable trees produced by the latter. Calonectris was recovered as monophyletic (Relative Bremer Support = 75), while all other members of shearwaters were included in a single, monophyletic grouping: Puffinus (sensu lato) (RBS = 76). The monophyly of Ardenna, as suggested by all molecular-based hypotheses, was not recovered, whereas a monophyletic Puffinus (sensu stricto) is present within the larger clade. The final hypothesis, wherein shearwaters fall into the sister taxa Calonectris and Puffinus (sensu lato), is consistent with earlier classifications based on osteological evidence.

New earliest Paleocene (Puercan) periptychid ‘condylarths’ from the Great Divide Basin, Wyoming, USA

An earliest Paleocene (Puercan) locality in the China Butte Member of the Fort Union Formation in the Great Divide Basin (GDB) of Wyoming contains a diverse mammalian faunal assemblage, including a number of ‘condylarth’ taxa. From UCM locality 2011035, we describe three new periptychid ‘condylarths’ and report first occurrences of Maiorana noctiluca, Ampliconus antoni and Conacodon harbourae from the GDB. The new genus and species Miniconus jeanninae is characterized by a ridge-like metaconid and incipient paraconid on p4, and a molar parastylid. Based on its similarity to M. jeanninae and differences from other species of Oxyacodon, O. archibaldi is placed within the new genus Miniconus. A second new genus and species Beornus honeyi is characterized by its large size with inflated premolars and molars, and small molar paraconid. A new species of Conacodon, C. hettingeri, is similar to other species of Conacodon but differs in its m3 morphology. To examine the relationships of the three new GDB taxa to each other and to other Puercan ‘condylarths’ from the Western Interior of North America, a phylogenetic analysis was performed using 28 Puercan periptychid and arctocyonid taxa as well as the eutherian outgroup taxon Procerberus formicarum and 64 dental characters. The resulting strict consensus tree of 210 steps confirms that the three new species from the GDB fall within Periptychidae. Beornus honeyi forms a polytomy with Mithrandir gillianus and Hemithlaeus kowalevskianus. Conacodon hettingeri is recovered as the basal member of a clade that includes the other species of Conacodon. Miniconus jeanninae is the sister to M. archibaldi. Additionally, the early Puercan Mimatuta spp. and Maiorana noctiluca fall within the Arctocyonidae, supporting the phylogenetic placement of these taxa by other recent analyses. The occurrence of the three new periptychids in the GDB indicates that mammalian diversity is higher than previously suggested for the early Puercan. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org.pub:4F31F461-814D-4C4A-99A9-3D7ED5D6701C

Current Challenges for Education and Training in Transanal Surgery.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) is a technique that was introduced in the 1980s for improved exposure to upper rectal polyps. This technique, though initially difficult to master due to new skill acquisition for surgeons, has spared many patients proctectomy. There are many benign indications for transanal endoscopic surgery which has led to in vivo operating room training with fewer undesirable effects to the patient. With the explosion of laparoscopic technology this transanal technique is no longer limited to intraluminal pathology, but is now being used to remove the entire rectum. In transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME), benign indications are less common, translating to potentially more severe oncologic patient consequences during the early phase of adoption. For this reason, strict training criteria consensus guidelines have been developed by the experts in taTME. The current consensus statements agree that training surgeons should have performed a minimum of 10 laparoscopic TME procedures and should have some experience with transanal surgery. Surgeons need to attend a formal training course and should start clinically on benign or early malignant pathology without threated circumferential resection margins. Surgeons also need to have their first cases proctored until deemed proficient by the proctor and monitor their morbidity, oncologic, and functional outcomes prospectively.

A combined molecular and morphological phylogeny of the Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), with emphasis on the Harttiini and Farlowellini.

We present a combined molecular and morphological phylogenetic analysis of the Loricariinae, with emphasis on the Harttiini (Cteniloricaria, Harttia, and Harttiella) and Farlowellini (Aposturisoma, Farlowella, Lamontichthys, Pterosturisoma, Sturisoma, and Sturisomatichthys). Character sampling comprised seven molecular markers (the mitochondrial Cytb, nd2, 12S and 16S, and the nuclear MyH6, RAG1 and RAG2) and 196 morphological characters. A total of 1,059 specimens, and 159 tissue samples were analized, representing 100 species. A Bayesian Inference analysis was performed using the concatenated data matrix, which is comprised of 6,819 characters. The Loricariinae were found to comprise the tribes (Hartiini (Loricariini, Farlowellini)), the latter two elevated from subtribes. A Maximum Parsimony analysis was also performed using the same data matrix in order to reveal phenotypical synapomorphies to diagnose each clade. Two MP trees were found with a length of 14,704 steps, consistency index of 0.29 and retention index of 0.61, which were summarized in a strict consensus tree. Harttiini includes (Harttiella (Cteniloricaria, Harttia), and Farlowellini includes (Lamontichthys (Pterosturisoma (Sturisoma (Sturisomatichthys, Farlowella)))). Aposturisoma was recovered nested within Farlowella and is synonymyzed to the latter. Sturisoma was corroborated as strictly cis-Andean, while Sturisomatichthys encompasses, besides the valid species already included in the genus, the trans-Andean species once belonging to Sturisoma sensu lato. Identification keys and phylogenetic diagnoses of family-group taxa and genera of both the Harttiini and the Farlowellini are provided.

Exploring the impact of unstable terminals on branch support values in paleontological data

AbstractRecent studies have acknowledged the many benefits of including fossils in phylogenetic inference (e.g., reducing long-branch attraction). However, unstable taxa are known to be problematic, as they can reduce either the resolution of the strict consensus or branch support. In this study, we evaluate whether unstable taxa that reduce consensus resolution affect support values, and the extent of such impact, under equal and extended implied weighting. Two sets of analyses were conducted across 30 morphological datasets to evaluate complementary aspects. The first focused on the analytical conditions incrementing the terminal instability, while the second assessed whether pruning wildcards improves support. Changes in support were compared with the “number of nodes collapsed by unstable terminals,” their “distance to the root,” the “proportion of missing data in a dataset,” and the “proportion of sampled characters.” Our results indicate that the proportion of missing entries distributed among closely related taxa (for a given character) might be as detrimental for stability as those distributed among characters (for a given terminal). Unstable terminals that (1) collapse few nodes or (2) are closely located to the root node have more influence on the estimated support values. Weighting characters according to their extra steps while assuming that missing entries contribute to their homoplasy reduced the instability of wildcards. Our results suggest that increasing character sampling and using extended implied weighting decreases the impact of wildcard terminals. This study provides insights for designing future research dealing with unstable terminals, a typical problem of paleontological data.

Collapsing dubiously resolved gene-tree branches in phylogenomic coalescent analyses

In two-step coalescent analyses of phylogenomic data, gene-tree topologies are treated as fixed prior to species-tree inference. Although all gene-tree conflict is assumed to be caused by lineage sorting when applying these methods, in empirical datasets much of the conflict can be caused by estimation error. Weakly supported and even arbitrarily resolved clades are important sources of this estimation error for gene trees inferred from few informative characters relative to the number of sampled terminals, and the resulting extraneous conflict among gene trees can negatively impact species-tree inference. In this study, we quantified the relative severity of alternative methods for collapsing gene-tree branches for seven empirical datasets and quantified their effects on species-tree inference. The branch-collapsing methods that we employed were based on the strict consensus of optimal topologies, various bootstrap thresholds, and 0% approximate likelihood ratio test (SH-like aLRT) support. Up to 86% of internal gene-tree branches are dubiously or arbitrarily resolved in reanalyses of these published phylogenomic datasets, and collapsing these branches increased inferred species-tree coalescent branch lengths by up to 455%. For two datasets, the longer inferred branch lengths sometimes impacted inference of anomaly-zone conditions. Although branch-collapsing methods did not consistently affect the species-tree topology, they often increased branch support. The more severe and clearly justified gene-tree branch-collapsing methods, which we recommend be broadly applied for two-step coalescent analyses, are use of the strict consensus in parsimony analyses and the collapse clades with 0% SH-like aLRT support in likelihood analyses. Collapsing dubiously or arbitrarily resolved branches in gene trees sometimes improved congruence between coalescent-based results and concatenation trees. In such cases, we contend that the resolution provided by concatenation should be preferred and that incomplete lineage sorting is a poor explanation for the initial conflict between phylogenetic approaches.

Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Following a Prolonged Second Stage of Labor: A Meta-analysis of Observational Studies

(Abstracted from Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2020;252:62–69) Prolonged second stage of labor and its impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes have been the focus of a number of research articles. Yet, strict consensus on these outcomes remains unclear.

Evaluation of the fluid balance in geriatric patients-What contribution can abdominal ultrasound make?

The assessment of the fluid balance as well as the identification of hyperhydration and dehydration often represent a diagnostic challenge, especially in older patients. In principle, various diagnostic procedures and approaches are suitable for assessment of the various facets, by which such a disorder can be recognized. The contribution of abdominal ultrasound is described and evaluated in the context of the different diagnostic procedures. An overview of the current situation with respect to assessment of the vena cava is provided. In many respects there is no strict consensus concerning the thresholds of the individual measurements and the value of the different measurements. Currently, an orthograde diameter of the inferior vena cava > 2 cm is accepted as being a good indicator for hyperhydration. Less certain are analogously derived thresholds as indicators for dehydration.

Gondwanan affinities of Tengrisaurus, Early Cretaceous titanosaur from Transbaikalia, Russia (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)

An additional anterior caudal vertebra of a titanosaurian sauropod Tengrisaurus starkovi from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian–Aptian) Murtoi Formation of Transbaikalia, Asiatic Russia, reveals new morphological details of this taxon. The new characters include dorsoventrally compressed cotyle and condyle of the centrum and a prominent ridge separating the condyle from the rest of the centrum with the ventral triangular plate (autapomorphy). Parsimony phylogenetic analysis places Tengrisaurus in the predominantly Gondwanan clade Colossosauria + Epachthosaurus on the strict consensus tree and as the sister taxon to the Colossosauria on 66% of the most parsimonious trees. Among Colossosauria, Tengrisaurus is similar with Normanniasaurus from the Albian of France by having a dorsoventrally compressed condyle circumscribed by a distinct ridge, a distinct depression anteroventral to the postzygapophysis, and a deep depression within the postspinal fossa. This discovery suggests that ancestors of the clade Colossosauria were widely distributed in Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous and the clade becomes restricted to the southern continents in the Late Cretaceous.

Cranial anatomy of Andinodelphys cochabambensis, a stem metatherian from the early Palaeocene of Bolivia

Andinodelphys cochabambensis Marshall & Muizon, 1988 is one of the best preserved metatherian species from the early Palaeocene fauna of Tiupampa (Bolivia). It is represented by five almost complete skulls, three of them being securely associated to sub-complete to partial skeleton. Four skulls could be extracted from a block including several intermingled skeletons. The present paper provides a thorough description of the dental, cranial, and dentary anatomy of A. cochabambensis. The cranial anatomy of A. cochabambensis is similar to that of Pucadelphys andinus. The skull of Andinodelphys however differs from that of Pucadelphys in its larger size and proportionally longer rostrum. Other differences include the presence, in Andinodelphys, of large anteriorly protruding I1s, small palatal vacuities, a transverse canal, and a small hypotympanic sinus. Andinodelphys has the same dental formula as Pucadelphys (I 5/4, C 1/1, P 3/3, M4/4), the plesiomorphic condition for metatherians. Furthermore, both genera share the lack a tympanic process of the alisphenoid, a deep groove for the internal carotid artery at the anterior apex of the promontorium, a small prootic canal perforating the lateral edge of the petrosal and opening laterally in the deep sulcus for the prootic sinus, and a vestigial anterior lamina of the petrosal. Dentally Andinodelphys closely resembles Pucadelphys, the two genera differing in the larger size of the former and in the inconstant presence in the former of a twinned stylar cusp C. Although 25% smaller, the cheek teeth of Andinodelphys closely resemble those of Itaboraidelphys camposi from the early Eocene of Itaboraí (Brazil). As far as dental morphology is concerned, both genera are likely to have diverged from a direct common ancestor, probably Andinodelphys-like, with Itaboraidelphys displaying more derived dental structures. Two isolated petrosal from Itaboraí (Type 2 petrosals) are morphologically close to those of Andinodelphys but distinctly larger. In this paper, a previous interpretation including the teeth of Itaboraidelphys and these petrosals in the same taxon is followed. A phylogenetic analysis retrieved Itaboraidelphys as a sister taxon of the clade Pucadelphys + Andinodelphys, thus lending support to inclusion of the former in the Pucadelphyidae. Three sets of parsimony analyses were performed. A first set of analyses (with all characters) retrieved a strict consensus tree with a clade as follows: (pucadelphyids, (deltatheroidans (stagodontids, Gurlin Tsav skull-GTS), sparassodonts)). An implied weighting analysis with the same data matrix placed the stagodontids in an early diverging position but retained a clade (pucadelphyids, (deltatheroidans, (GTS, sparassodonts))), the deltatheroidans, being therefore inserted in the pucadelphydans. This result implies an independent arrival of pucadelphyids and sparassodonts to South America, which consequently must have been present in North America in the Late Cretaceous. Possible North American sparassodonts could be the poorly known genera Atokatheridium and Olklatheridium (currently referred to deltatheroidans) and the pucadelphyids may have been present in the Late Cretaceous of North America with the genus Aenigmadelphys. However, this hypothesis is less parsimonious (with regard to palaeobiogeography) than a single southward migration of an ancestral Pucadelphyda (Pucadelphyidae + Sparassodonta). Because the result of this first set of analyses may have been induced by heavily homoplastic dental characters related to hypercarnivory, a second set of analyses was performed excluding all the dental characters. The strict consensus is poorly resolved but retains monophyletic Marsupialia and Sparassodonta. An implied weighting analysis retrieved a monophyletic Pucadelphyda but split the deltatheroidans, the polyphyly of which is regarded as a possible artefact related to the lack of dental characters. The GTS is sister taxon to Pucadelphyda. Because the polyphyly of deltatheroidans contradicts all previous hypotheses, a third set of analyses has been performed excluding only those molar characters that supported the close relationships of the hypercarnivorous clades (deltatheroids, stagodontids, and sparassodonts). The strict consensus tree retrieved monophyletic deltatheroidans, Marsupialia and sparassodonts. An implied weighting analysis resulted in deltatheroidans forming a paraphyletic stem assemblage of Metatheria and monophyletic Pucadelphyda. The GTS was no longer related to sparassodonts but was the sister taxon of a clade including the North American taxa of the data matrix, Asiatherium, and Marsupialia. This topology, which is favoured here, supports (as well as that of the second set of analyses) a single pucadelphydan southward migration, probably in the Late Cretaceous, with a Tiupampian radiation of South American carnivorous metatherians.

Indicadores de input/output de la ciencia iberoamericana: ¿cuán similares son las clasificaciones basadas en los indicadores de RICYT y Scimago?

El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la congruencia existente entre las clasificaciones de países obtenidas a partir de los indicadores de Scimago Journal and Country Rank .SCIJCR) y aquellos provistos por la RICYT, tomando como unidades de estudio 11 países iberoamericanos, durante el lapso 2006-2017. Como variables se tomaron 34 indicadores de input/output, 11 de SCIJCRy 23 de la RICYT. Las relaciones de similitud entre los países y los indicadores se representaron por medio de fenogramas (método de Ward) y la congruencia entre las clasificaciones de los países se representó mediante árboles de consenso estricto, cuantificándose por medio de un índice de consenso. Las principales conclusiones del estudio indican que: 1) La clasificación de países basada en los 34 indicadores se corresponde con el tamaño de estos (e.g., desarrollo económico-social, población) y con las respectivas tradiciones científicas. 2) Los indicadores muestran un patrón de agrupamiento complejo, no observándose agrupamientos en función de las diferentes tipologías (e.g., producción, repercusión, insumo, contexto). 3) La gran mayoría de los indicadores de SCIJCR muestran estrechas vinculaciones mutuas, produciendo información redundante. 4) El porcentaje de colaboración internacional solo se relaciona a valores de similitud moderada con las citas por documento, de manera que no concuerda con la idea de que la cantidad de citas es directamente proporcional la colaboración internacional. 5) Tomando en cuenta los resultados obtenidos, las inversiones más redituables en términos de producción, repercusión, y repercusión y producción son aquellas medidas por los indicadores de graduación (licenciados), el gasto en I+D (en dólares expresados en PPC), y la cantidad de investigadores en I+D. 6) La ausencia de congruencia observada al comparar las clasificaciones de países solo a partir de una fuente (i.e., SCIJCR o RICYT) contradice la idea simplista de que es posible predecir resultados científicos solo a partir de los recursos invertidos. 7) La comparación de la clasificación de países a partir de la totalidad de los indicadores con aquellas producidas a partir de unos u otros (i.e., SCIJCR o RICYT) produce pocos grupos comunes. Esto puede explicarse a partir de cuestiones intrínsecas al análisis, como la diferente cantidad de indicadores y la redundancia de la información provista por la gran mayoría de los de SCIJCR, lo cual hace que tengan un peso menor que aquellos de la RICYT a la hora de diferenciar grupos de países.

Archaeogaia macachaae gen. et sp. nov., one of the oldest Notoungulata Roth, 1903 from the early-middle Paleocene Mealla Formation (Central Andes, Argentina) with insights into the Paleocene-Eocene south American biochronology

In this contribution, we report the discovery of Archaeogaia macachaae gen. et sp. nov., one of the oldest notoungulate recovered from the upper section of Mealla Formation in the Tonco Valley (Northwestern Argentina, Salta Province). The new material consists on a left mandibular fragment with damaged m1 and complete m2-3. Archaeogaia macachaae is characterized by the following combination of features: m1 slightly shorter than m2 and both larger than m3; brachydont molars; talonid mesio-distally shorter than trigonid; metaconid slightly taller than protoconid and distally placed; reduced paraconid in m2; metalophid straight in m2–3, but it runs mesially forming a slightly obtuse angle in the labial edge in m2, whereas it is more transverse in m3; transverse entolophid; mesial cingulid extending from the middle to the lingual face of molars; and distal cingulid connecting the hypoconulid with the mesial face of the entoconid on m2–3. We perform a phylogenetic analysis based on a data matrix composed of 147 craniodental characters and 70 taxa. The analysis yields 6104 most parsimonious trees of 423 steps each. In the strict consensus previously well-supported clades collapse into a polytomy; and Archaeogaia is positioned within the order Notoungulata based on two synapomorphies: a) presence of a transverse entolophid, and b) lower cheek teeth with short mesio-distal protolophid, transverse metalophid and mesio-distal hypolophid slightly convex labially. The former character was recovered as a synapomorphy for Notoungulata in several previous studies. According to the reduced consensus, Archaeogaia occupies different positions within the order; these fluctuating locations could be the result of the presence of plesiomorphic features in the holotype, and the absence of the structures that define the notoungulate clades in which the new taxon is located. The paleomagnetic data indicates that the Mealla Formation was deposited during Chron 27r to the base of Chron 26r (latest Danian-earliest Selandian). In this context, we discuss the finding of Archaeogaia, and the age of Mealla Formation in the South American biochronology.

Distribution consensus of nonlinear stochastic multi-agent systems based on sliding-mode control with probability density function compensation

Strict consensus is difficult to be implemented due to the stochastic behavior of multi-agent systems (MASs), so a new concept, distribution consensus, is proposed here to keep the agents’ consensus in the stochastic sense, i.e., the output errors do not converge to a fixed value but follow a desired distribution function. The appropriate control protocol, with the output error probability density function (PDF) as the target, is designed based on the combination of sliding mode control and PDF compensation. Sliding mode control is the core part to ensure the whole system’s stability, and the PDF compensator is used to compensate the random variation and reduce the chattering effect, respectively. In order to realize the complete control in real time, the PDF compensator is modeling by a radial basis function (RBF) neural network and its optimal control law is calculated by the iterative training of RBF network weights. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by MASs simulations with three different communication topologies. The PDF compensator can greatly improve the consensus effect for the nonlinear stochastic MASs.

Cladistics analysis of Calycanthaceae on the basis of morphological and anatomical characters

Cladistics analysis was carried out to find the correct phylogenetic relationship of the four genera of Calycanthaceae. Morphological and anatomical information from all aspect of the data were considered for the analysis. Siparuna guianensis (Siparunaceae) and Cinnamomum malabatrum (Lauraceae) were considered as out-group. Characters were selected mainly for reasonable argument of the similarity. Character-state transformation and discrimination of the genera were decided based upon the out-group comparison method. PAUP* (ver. 4.0) program was used for the dataset analysis and to make phylogenetic tree. The genera split into two separate genera Idiospermum + Chimonanthus and Sinocalycanthus + Calycanthus. Chimonanthus + Idiospermum are supported strict consensus tree with f-value calculation. Furthermore, Sinocalycanthus and Calycanthus are separated genera. Therefore, Calycanthaceae be redefined wide circumscriptions of the characters. The detailed investigation of the cladistics analysis revealed that the Sinocalycanthus and Calycanthus are the sole genus. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3908965 Keywords: Calycanthaceae, Characters and characters state, Cladistics, Out-group, Phylogeny