An endemic species flock of Candonidae Kaufmann, 1900 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from wells in Benin (Africa), with the description of a new subfamily, a new genus and five new species.

Between 2015 and 2022, over 200 wells were sampled in four catchment areas of Benin, using both Cvetkov plankton nets (funnel 200 µm mesh size, 150 µm below valve) and baited traps. As artificial wells serve as ecotones (interfaces between surface and groundwater ecosystems), the ostracod fauna is mostly represented by two families; Cyprididae (mainly epigeic) and Candonidae (hypogeic). Here, we describe a new subfamily of Candonidae from the wells in Benin, the Benincandoninae subfam.

Design Principles of DNA-Barcodes for Nanopore-FET Readout, Based on Molecular Dynamics and TCAD Simulations.

Nanopore field-effect transistor (NP-FET) devices hold great promise as sensitive single-molecule sensors, which provide CMOS-based on-chip readout and are also highly amenable to parallelization. A plethora of applications will therefore benefit from NP-FET technology, such as large-scale molecular analysis (e.g.

Live-cell imaging reveals the trade-off between target search flexibility and efficiency for Cas9 and Cas12a.

CRISPR-Cas systems have widely been adopted as genome editing tools, with two frequently employed Cas nucleases being SpyCas9 and LbCas12a. Although both nucleases use RNA guides to find and cleave target DNA sites, the two enzymes differ in terms of protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM) requirements, guide architecture and cleavage mechanism. In the last years, rational engineering led to the creation of PAM-relaxed variants SpRYCas9 and impLbCas12a to broaden the targetable DNA space.

Temporal analysis of relative distances (TARDIS) is a robust, parameter-free alternative to single-particle tracking.

In single-particle tracking, individual particles are localized and tracked over time to probe their diffusion and molecular interactions. Temporal crossing of trajectories, blinking particles, and false-positive localizations present computational challenges that have remained difficult to overcome. Here we introduce a robust, parameter-free alternative to single-particle tracking: temporal analysis of relative distances (TARDIS).

On a new genus and four new species of the subfamily Cyprettinae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Brazilian floodplains.

We describe the new genus Triangocypretta gen. nov. and four new species from Brazilian floodplains.

On a new tribe, genus and species of Cypricercinae McKenzie, 1971 (Crustacea, Ostracoda, Cyprididae) from New Caledonia (Pacific Ocean).

The New Caledonian Archipelago is a hot spot for biodiversity and endemism. Here, we describe Lithocypris peyia gen. et spec.

On , a new genus and species of Psychrodromini Martens, 2001 (Crustacea, Ostracoda, Herpetocypridinae) from New Caledonia (Pacific Ocean).

The New Caledonian Archipelago is a hot spot for biodiversity and endemism. Whereas popular groups such as birds and plants are well-studied, invertebrate groups such as ostracods remain ill-known. Here, is described from a single locality on 'Grande Terre', the main island of the archipelago.

Seven new species and two new genera of Physocypria sensu latu (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Brazilian floodplains.

We describe seven new species in two new genera of the Physocypria sensu latu clade (Cyclocypridinae) from three of the main Brazilian floodplains. Brasilocypria pea gen. et spec.

Redescription of the type species of the genus Cypretta (Ostracoda, Crustacea), with notes on the taxonomy of the genus.

With 53 formally described species, the genus Cypretta is one of the most common freshwater ostracod genera in the world. It has a mainly circumtropical distribution. The type species, Cypretta tenuicauda (Vávra, 1895), was described from Zanzibar (Africa) in a superficial way.

Six new species of Elpidium Müller, 1880 (Podocopida: Limnocytheridae) from Eastern Brazil.

Elpidium is the most common ostracod genus occurring in phytotelmata in the Neotropical region, with distributions ranging from Florida, USA in the north to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in the south. However, the genus remains poorly known both in terms of diversity and of the distributional pattern of its species. Here, we describe six new species of Elpidium, E.

On a New Species of Klie, 1932 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from the Neotropical Region, with a Discussion on the Position of the Genus.

sp. nov. (named after the carapace spots resembling the word "Love") is here described from all-female populations from the four major floodplains in Brazil.

Unraveling the impact of nano-scaling on silicon field-effect transistors for the detection of single-molecules.

Electrolyte-gated silicon field-effect transistors (FETs) capable of detecting single molecules could enable high-throughput molecular sensing chips to advance, for example, genomics or proteomics. For solid-gated silicon FETs it is well-known that nano-scaled devices become sensitive to single elementary charges near the silicon-oxide interface. However, in electrolyte-gated FETs, electrolyte screening strongly reduces sensitivity to charges near the gate oxide.

Raw Data to Results: A Hands-On Introduction and Overview of Computational Analysis for Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy.

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is an advanced microscopy method that uses the blinking of fluorescent molecules to determine the position of these molecules with a resolution below the diffraction limit (∼5-40 nm). While SMLM imaging itself is becoming more popular, the computational analysis surrounding the technique is still a specialized area and often remains a "black box" for experimental researchers. Here, we provide an introduction to the required computational analysis of SMLM imaging, post-processing and typical data analysis.

Enabling Spectrally Resolved Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy at High Emitter Densities.

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a powerful super-resolution technique for elucidating structure and dynamics in the life- and material sciences. Simultaneously acquiring spectral information (spectrally resolved SMLM, sSMLM) has been hampered by several challenges: an increased complexity of the optical detection pathway, lower accessible emitter densities, and compromised spatio-spectral resolution. Here we present a single-component, low-cost implementation of sSMLM that addresses these challenges.

An endemic species flock of Cypridopsinae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from the ancient Lake Malawi (Africa), with the description of a new genus and three new species.

We describe Malawidopsis gen. nov., a new genus of Cypridopsinae Kaufmann, 1900 from the African ancient Lake Malawi.

Two new Cypridopsinae Kaufmann, 1900 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from southern Africa.

Two new Cypridopsinae ostracods, and are described. Both were found only as asexual (all-female) populations in temporary waters of southern Africa. was collected from a small pan in the North-West Province of South Africa.

A Survey of Transposon Landscapes in the Putative Ancient Asexual Ostracod .

How asexual reproduction shapes transposable element (TE) content and diversity in eukaryotic genomes remains debated. We performed an initial survey of TE load and diversity in the putative ancient asexual ostracod . We examined long contiguous stretches of DNA in clones from a genomic fosmid library, totaling about 2.

On two new species of Cypricercus Sars, 1895 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Brazil with a discussion on the taxonomy of the genus.

We describe two new species of Cypricercus, Cypricercus alfredo sp. nov. and Cypricercus tiao sp.

First annotated draft genomes of nonmarine ostracods (Ostracoda, Crustacea) with different reproductive modes.

Ostracods are one of the oldest crustacean groups with an excellent fossil record and high importance for phylogenetic analyses but genome resources for this class are still lacking. We have successfully assembled and annotated the first reference genomes for three species of nonmarine ostracods; two with obligate sexual reproduction (Cyprideis torosa and Notodromas monacha) and the putative ancient asexual Darwinula stevensoni. This kind of genomic research has so far been impeded by the small size of most ostracods and the absence of genetic resources such as linkage maps or BAC libraries that were available for other crustaceans.

The Significance of Nonlinear Screening and the pH Interference Mechanism in Field-Effect Transistor Molecular Sensors.

Electrolyte screening is well known for its detrimental impact on the sensitivity of liquid-gated field-effect transistor (FET) molecular sensors and is mostly described by the linearized Debye-Hückel model. However, charged and pH-sensitive FET sensing surfaces can limit the FET molecular sensitivity beyond the Debye-Hückel screening formalism. Pre-existing surface charges can lead to the breakdown of Debye-Hückel screening and induce enhanced nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann screening.

Taxonomic revision of Strandesia s.s. (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from four Brazilian floodplains, with the description of three new species.

The present paper is a contribution to the taxonomy of the genus Strandesia. Here, we describe three new species: S. thomazi nov.

Computational assessment of the feasibility of protonation-based protein sequencing.

Recent advances in DNA sequencing methods revolutionized biology by providing highly accurate reads, with high throughput or high read length. These read data are being used in many biological and medical applications. Modern DNA sequencing methods have no equivalent in protein sequencing, severely limiting the widespread application of protein data.

Integrating engineered point spread functions into the phasor-based single-molecule localization microscopy framework.

In single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM), the use of engineered point spread functions (PSFs) provides access to three-dimensional localization information. The conventional approach of fitting PSFs with a single 2-dimensional Gaussian profile, however, often falls short in analyzing complex PSFs created by placing phase masks, deformable mirrors or spatial light modulators in the optical detection pathway. Here, we describe the integration of PSF modalities known as double-helix, saddle-point or tetra-pod into the phasor-based SMLM (pSMLM) framework enabling fast CPU based localization of single-molecule emitters with sub-pixel accuracy in three dimensions.

Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of κ-Carrageenan Gels Investigated via Single-Particle-Tracking Fluorescence Microscopy.

Hydrogels made of the polysaccharide κ-carrageenan are widely used in the food and personal care industry as thickeners or gelling agents. These hydrogels feature dense regions embedded in a coarser bulk network, but the characteristic size and behavior of these regions have remained elusive. Here, we use single-particle-tracking fluorescence microscopy (sptFM) to quantitatively describe κ-carrageenan gels.

A database of freshwater fish species of the Amazon Basin.

The Amazon Basin is an unquestionable biodiversity hotspot, containing the highest freshwater biodiversity on earth and facing off a recent increase in anthropogenic threats. The current knowledge on the spatial distribution of the freshwater fish species is greatly deficient in this basin, preventing a comprehensive understanding of this hyper-diverse ecosystem as a whole. Filling this gap was the priority of a transnational collaborative project, i.