The Upper Jurassic beds of the Lusitanian Basin in central Portugal yield diverse dinosaurian fauna, dated to the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian interval. Saurischian dinosaurs are, overall, more abundant than their ornithischian counterparts, in terms of both specimens collected and species recognized. Iguanodontians are so far represented by the styracosternan Draconyx loureiroi, the dryosaurid Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis and the enigmatic dryomorphan Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum. Here we aim to highlight the diversity of this clade in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, presenting evidence for yet another species of ankylopollexian iguanodontian dinosaur, represented by the specimen SHN.JJS.015, which is housed at the Sociedade de História Natural, Torres Vedras. Detailed comparisons rule out attribution to previously known taxa, and phylogenetic analyses that include SHN.JJS.015 indicate early-diverging ankylopollexian affinities for this specimen. As there is no robust diagnosis, we do not erect a new formal species for it at this stage. Nevertheless, this specimen represents a previously unreported taxon that highlights greater diversity than previously estimated among the iguanodontians of the Late Jurassic and highlights the importance of Europe in diversification and dispersal events of this clade. A series of smaller, isolated femora from the same sub-basin as SHN.JJS.015 may represent the same taxon, presenting evidence of thriving communities of ankylopollexians during the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian interval in Portugal.

In this note, we consider the monoid PIM_n of all partial monotone transformations on a chain with n elements whose domains and ranges are intervals and its submonoid IM_n constituted by the full transformations. For both of these monoids, our aim is to determine their cardinalities and ranks and define them by means of presentations. We also calculate the number of nilpotent elements of PIM_n.

For reconfigurable radios where the signals can be easily routed from one band to another band, new radio frequency switches (RF) are a fundament. The main factor driving the power consumption of the reconfigurable intelligent system (RIS) is the need for an intermediate device with static power consumption to maintain a certain surface configuration state. Since power usage scales quadratically with the RIS area, there is a relevant interest in mitigating this drawback so that this technology can be applied to everyday objects without needing such a high intrinsic power consumption. Current switch technologies such as PIN diodes, and field effect transistors (FETs) are volatile electronic devices, resulting in high static power. In addition, dynamic power dissipation related to switching event is also considerable. Regarding energy efficiency, non-volatile radio frequency resistive switch (RFRS) concept may be better alternative solution due to several advantages: smaller area, zero-hold voltage, lower actuation bias for operation, short switching time, scalability and capable to be fabricated in the backend-of-line of standard CMOS process.

The fundamental value of universal nomenclatural systems in biology is that they enable unambiguous scientific communication. However, the stability of these systems is threatened by recent discussions asking for a fairer nomenclature, raising the possibility of bulk revision processes for “inappropriate” names. It is evident that such proposals come from very deep feelings, but we show how they can irreparably damage the foundation of biological communication and, in turn, the sciences that depend on it. There are four essential consequences of objective codes of nomenclature: universality, stability, neutrality, and transculturality. These codes provide fair and impartial guides to the principles governing biological nomenclature and allow unambiguous universal communication in biology. Accordingly, no subjective proposals should be allowed to undermine them.

The structural and chemical diversity of β-glucans is reflected on the variety of essential biological roles tackled by these polysaccharides. This natural heterogeneity requires an elaborate assortment of enzymatic mechanisms to assemble, degrade or modify, as well as to extract their full biotechnological potential. Recent metagenomic efforts have provided an unprecedented growth in potential new biocatalysts, most of which remain unconfirmed or uncharacterized. Here we report the first biochemical and structural characterization of two bacterial β-glucanases from the recently created glycoside hydrolase family 157 (LaGH157 and BcGH157) and investigate their molecular basis for substrate hydrolysis. Structural analysis by X-ray crystallography revealed that GH157 enzymes belong to clan GH-A, possessing a (β/α)8-barrel fold catalytic domain, two β-sandwich accessory domains and two conserved catalytic glutamates residues, with relative positions compatible with a retaining mechanism of hydrolysis. Specificity screening and enzyme kinetics suggest that the enzymes prefer mixed-linkage glucans over β-1,3-glucans. Activity screening showed that both enzymes exhibit pH optimum at 6.5 and temperature optimum for LaGH157 and BcGH157 at 25 °C and 48 °C, respectively. Product analysis with HPAEC-PAD and LC-MS revealed that both enzymes are endo-1,3(4)-β-glucanases, capable of cleaving β-1,3 and β-1,4-linked glucoses, when preceded by a β-1,3 linkage. Moreover, BcGH157 needs a minimum of 4 subsites occupied for hydrolysis to occur, while LaGH157 only requires 3 subsites. Additionally, LaGH157 possesses exohydrolytic activity on β-1,3 and branching β-1,6 linkages. This unusual bifunctional endo-1,3(4)/exo-1,3–1,6 activity constitutes an expansion on our understanding of β-glucan deconstruction, with the potential to inspire future applications.

The Hoek–Brown failure criterion has been widely applied to predict the strength of rock masses, demonstrating its relevance in diverse geotechnical contexts. This paper presents a novel 3D numerical implementation of the Hoek–Brown criterion in a finite-element limit analysis code. The proposed formulation is unique in its ability to produce strict upper and lower bounds for 3D problems, providing more accurate and reliable predictions of failure mechanisms compared to previous formulations. The validity of the formulation is demonstrated through comparisons with known analytical solutions or other authors’ numerical solutions. Furthermore, the proposed numerical tool is used to determine the stability of shallow circular tunnels in rock masses, highlighting its practical applicability in engineering design.