Patterns of viral infection in honey bee queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Francis, Roy Mathew; Kryger, Per; Nielsen, Steen Lykke

2013-01-01

by two real-time PCRs: one for the presence of deformed wing virus (DWV), and one that would detect sequences of acute bee-paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus and Israeli acute paralysis virus (AKI complex). Worker bees accompanying the queen were also analysed. The queens could be divided into three......The well-being of a colony and replenishment of the workers depends on a healthy queen. Diseases in queens are seldom reported, and our knowledge on viral infection in queens is limited. In this study, 86 honey bee queens were collected from beekeepers in Denmark. All queens were tested separately...... groups based on the level of infection in their head, thorax, ovary, intestines and spermatheca. Four queens exhibited egg-laying deficiency, but visually all queens appeared healthy. Viral infection was generally at a low level in terms of AKI copy numbers, with 134/430 tissues (31 %) showing...

The parent magma of xenoliths in shergottite EETA79001: Bulk and trace element composition inferred from magmatic inclusions

Science.gov (United States)

Treiman, Allan H.; Lindstrom, David J.; Martinez, Rene R.

1994-01-01

The SNC meteorites are samples of the Martian crust, so inferences about their origins and parent magmas are of wide planetologic significance. The EETA79001 shergottite, a basalt, contains xenoliths of pyroxene-olivine cumulate rocks which are possibly related to the ALHA77005 and LEW88516 SNC lherzolites. Olivines in the xenoliths contain magmatic inclusions, relics of magma trapped within the growing crystals. The magmatic inclusions allow a parent magma composition to be retrieved; it is similar to the composition reconstructed from xenolith pyroxenes by element distribution coefficients. The xenolith parent magma is similar but not identical to parent magmas for the shergottite lherzolites.

Queen introduction into the queenright honey bee colony

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Antonín Přidal

2010-01-01

Full Text Available One of the actual elementary biologic principles of the introduction of queen is that the recipient co­lo­ny has to be queenless. We accidentally found that a queen can be accepted also in queenright co­lo­ny with using of the queen excluder. Therefore, we conducted two experiments with the introduction of queen in queenright colony.Under defined conditions of the experiment and with application of the queen excluder as a separator of queens we successfully introduced queen in the queenright colony. This result is discussed in relation to the general principle that a queen should be introduced only in a queenless colony. It is possible that there are some exceptions advert to the existence of some unknown biologic patterns in the honey bee biology and pheromones.

Trace Element Characteristics of the New Shergottite LEW88516

Science.gov (United States)

Wadhwa, M.; Crozaz, G.

1992-07-01

LEW88516, a meteorite collected in Antarctica, has recently been identified as a shergottite (Mason and Satterwhite, 1991). The shergottites belong to a group of unique achondritic meteorites, the SNCs, for which Mars has been suggested as the parent body. From preliminary petrologic and geochemical studies, it appears that LEW88516 is closely related to the shergottite ALHA77005. Like ALHA77005, LEW88516 is composed of two distinct lithologies; one consists of large (mm-sized) pyroxenes poikilitically enclosing olivine crystals, and the other is represented by interstitial areas that contain small pyroxenes, olivine, maskelynite, whitlockite, and opaques (Lindstrom et al., 1992). Besides mineralogy and texture, whole rock chemical characteristics of these two shergottites also appear to be strikingly similar (Lindstrom et al., 1992; Boynton et al., 1992). We measured REE and other selected trace elements in individual mineral phases present in LEW88516, and compared the results with similar data obtained for ALHA77005 by Lundberg et al. (1990). Analyses were made on a thin section of LEW88516 with an ion microprobe; trace elements concentrations were measured in poikilitic and interstitial pyroxenes (augites and pigeonites), maskelynite, whitlockite, and glass. The total REE inventory of LEW88516 is dominated by whitlockite, although this mineral, as in ALHA77005, is present in only small modal abundance. Maskelynite in LEW88516 is characterized by a positive Eu anomaly that is approximately twice as large as that present in the maskelynite in ALHA77005, although the rest of the REE are present in lower abundances. The homogeneous, crystallite-free glass in LEW88516 is slightly enriched relative to LEW88516 bulk rock REE abundances, and has a REE pattern that is parallel to the ALHA77005 whole rock REE pattern. Pyroxenes in LEW88516 are zoned in their trace element concentrations, as are the pyroxenes in ALHA77005. Elemental abundances (e.g., REE, Y, Ti, Zr, Cr, V

Queen promiscuity lowers disease within honeybee colonies

Science.gov (United States)

Seeley, Thomas D; Tarpy, David R

2006-01-01

Most species of social insects have singly mated queens, but in some species each queen mates with numerous males to create a colony with a genetically diverse worker force. The adaptive significance of polyandry by social insect queens remains an evolutionary puzzle. Using the honeybee (Apis mellifera), we tested the hypothesis that polyandry improves a colony's resistance to disease. We established colonies headed by queens that had been artificially inseminated by either one or 10 drones. Later, we inoculated these colonies with spores of Paenibacillus larvae, the bacterium that causes a highly virulent disease of honeybee larvae (American foulbrood). We found that, on average, colonies headed by multiple-drone inseminated queens had markedly lower disease intensity and higher colony strength at the end of the summer relative to colonies headed by single-drone inseminated queens. These findings support the hypothesis that polyandry by social insect queens is an adaptation to counter disease within their colonies. PMID:17015336

75 FR 68397 - DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC-Acquisition and Operation Exemption-DeQueen and Eastern...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-05

... Eastern Railroad, LLC--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--DeQueen and Eastern Railroad Company DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC (DQE), a noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire from DeQueen and Eastern Railroad Company and to operate approximately 47 miles of...

Dispersal behavior of yellowjacket (Vespula germanica) queens.

Science.gov (United States)

Masciocchi, Maité; Martinez, Andrés S; Pereira, Ana J; Villacide, José M; Corley, Juan C

2018-02-01

Understanding the factors that affect animal dispersal behavior is important from both fundamental and applied perspectives. Dispersal can have clear evolutionary and ecological consequences, but for nonnative insect pests, dispersal capacity can also help to explain invasion success. Vespula germanica is a social wasp that, in the last century, has successfully invaded several regions of the world, showing one of the highest spread rates reported for a nonnative insect. In contrast with nonsocial wasps, in social species, queens are responsible for population redistribution and spread, as workers are sterile. For V. germanica, it has been observed that queen flight is limited to 2 distinct periods: early autumn, when new queens leave the nest to mate and find sheltered places in which to hibernate, and spring when new colonies are founded. Our aim was to study the flight behavior of V. germanica queens by focusing on the different periods in which dispersal occurs, characterizing as well the potential contribution of queen flight (i.e., distance) to the observed geographical spread. Our results suggest that the distances flown by nonoverwintered queens is greater than that flown by overwintered individuals, suggesting that the main queen dispersal events would occur before queens enter hibernation. This could relate to a behavioral trait of the queens to avoid the inbreeding with related drones. Additionally, given the short distances flown and remarkable geographical spread observed, we provide evidence showing that queen dispersal by flight is likely to contribute proportionately less to population spread than human-aided factors. © 2016 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Nuclear tracks, Sm isotopes and neutron capture effects in the Elephant Morraine shergottite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajan, R.S.; Lugmair, G.; Tamhane, A.S.; Poupeau, G.

1986-01-01

Nuclear track studies, uranium concentration measurements and Sm-isotope studies have been performed on both lithologies A and B of the Elephant Morraine shergottite, EETA 79001. Track studies show that EETA 79001 was a rather small object in space with a preatmospheric radius of 12+-2 cm, corresponding to a preatmospheric mass of 28+-13 kg. Phosphates have U-concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 1.3 ppm. There are occasional phosphates with excess fission tracks, possibly produced from neutron induced fission of U and Th, during the regolith exposure in the shergottite parent body (SPB). Sm-isotope studies, while not showing any clear cut excess in 150 Sm, enable us to derive meaningful upper limits to thermal neutron fluences of 2 to 3x10 15 n/cm 2 , during a possible regolith irradiation. These limits are consistent with the track data and also enable us to derive an upper limit to the neutron exposure age of EETA 79001 of 55 Myr in the SPB regolith. (author)

Nuclear tracks, Sm isotopes and neutron capture effects in the Elephant Morraine shergottite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajan, R.S.; Lugmair, G.; Tamhane, A.S.; Poupeau, G.

1985-01-01

Nuclear track studies, uranium concentration measurements and Sm-isotope studies have been performed on both lithologies A and B of the Elephant Morraine Shergottite, EETA 79001. Track studies show that EETA 79001 was a rather small object in space with a preatmospheric radius of 12 +-2cm, corresponding to a preatmospheric mass of 28 +- 13 kg. U-concentrations measurements indicate that phosphates have concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 1.3 ppm. There are occasional phosphates with excess fission tracks, possibly produced from neutron induced fission of U and Th, during the regolith exposure in the shergottite parent body (SPB). Sm-isotope studies, while not showing any clear cut excess in 150 Sm, enable us to derive meaningful upper limits to thermal neutron fluences of 2 to 3x10 15 n/cm 2 , during a possible regolith irradiation. These limits are consistent with that required to explain the track data and also enable us to derive an upper limit to the neutron exposure age of EETA 79001 of 55 Myr in the SPB regolith. (Author) [pt

Changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of the slave-maker ant queen, Polyergus breviceps emery, after killing a Formica host queen (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, C A; Vander Meer, R K; Lavine, B

2001-09-01

Queens of the slave-maker ant, Polyergus breviceps, take over nests of their Formica host species by fatally attacking the resident queen. As workers only begin grooming the P. breviceps queen once she has ceased her attack, we investigated whether a change in parasite queen chemistry may account for the change in worker behavior. Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of newly mated P. breviceps queens and of queens of their two Formica host species were found to be species-specific. Profiles of newly mated P. breviceps queens that had attacked a Formica queen, however, were virtually identical to the queen profile of the species killed. Mass spectral analysis revealed that the hydrocarbons on the cuticles of newly mated P. breviceps changed from primarily normal alkanes to methyl and di-methyl branched alkanes after attacks. The results suggest that cuticular compounds from the host queen were transferred to the parasite queen during their aggressive interaction.

Queen Quality and the Impact of Honey Bee Diseases on Queen Health: Potential for Interactions between Two Major Threats to Colony Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esmaeil Amiri

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Western honey bees, Apis mellifera, live in highly eusocial colonies that are each typically headed by a single queen. The queen is the sole reproductive female in a healthy colony, and because long-term colony survival depends on her ability to produce a large number of offspring, queen health is essential for colony success. Honey bees have recently been experiencing considerable declines in colony health. Among a number of biotic and abiotic factors known to impact colony health, disease and queen failure are repeatedly reported as important factors underlying colony losses. Surprisingly, there are relatively few studies on the relationship and interaction between honey bee diseases and queen quality. It is critical to understand the negative impacts of pests and pathogens on queen health, how queen problems might enable disease, and how both factors influence colony health. Here, we review the current literature on queen reproductive potential and the impacts of honey bee parasites and pathogens on queens. We conclude by highlighting gaps in our knowledge on the combination of disease and queen failure to provide a perspective and prioritize further research to mitigate disease, improve queen quality, and ensure colony health.

Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus in Honeybee Queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amiri, Esmaeil; Meixner, Marina; Büchler, Ralph

2014-01-01

Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is known as a disease of worker honey bees. To investigate pathogenesis of the CBPV on the queen, the sole reproductive individual in a colony, we conducted experiments regarding the susceptibility of queens to CBPV. Results from susceptibility experiment showed...... a similar disease progress in the queens compared to worker bees after infection. Infected queens exhibit symptoms by Day 6 post infection and virus levels reach 1011 copies per head. In a transmission experiment we showed that social interactions may affect the disease progression. Queens with forced...... contact to symptomatic worker bees acquired an overt infection with up to 1011 virus copies per head in six days. In contrast, queens in contact with symptomatic worker bees, but with a chance to receive food from healthy bees outside the cage appeared healthy. The virus loads did not exceed 107...

Sperm use economy of honeybee (Apis mellifera) queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baer, Boris; Collins, Jason; Maalaps, Kristiina

2016-01-01

the fecundity and longevity of queens and therefore colony fitness. We quantified the number of sperm that honeybee (Apis mellifera) queens use to fertilize eggs. We examined sperm use in naturally mated queens of different ages and in queens artificially inseminated with different volumes of semen. We found...

Effects of insemination quantity on honey bee queen physiology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Freddie-Jeanne Richard

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Mating has profound effects on the physiology and behavior of female insects, and in honey bee (Apis mellifera queens, these changes are permanent. Queens mate with multiple males during a brief period in their early adult lives, and shortly thereafter they initiate egg-laying. Furthermore, the pheromone profiles of mated queens differ from those of virgins, and these pheromones regulate many different aspects of worker behavior and colony organization. While it is clear that mating causes dramatic changes in queens, it is unclear if mating number has more subtle effects on queen physiology or queen-worker interactions; indeed, the effect of multiple matings on female insect physiology has not been broadly addressed. Because it is not possible to control the natural mating behavior of queens, we used instrumental insemination and compared queens inseminated with semen from either a single drone (single-drone inseminated, or SDI or 10 drones (multi-drone inseminated, or MDI. We used observation hives to monitor attraction of workers to SDI or MDI queens in colonies, and cage studies to monitor the attraction of workers to virgin, SDI, and MDI queen mandibular gland extracts (the main source of queen pheromone. The chemical profiles of the mandibular glands of virgin, SDI, and MDI queens were characterized using GC-MS. Finally, we measured brain expression levels in SDI and MDI queens of a gene associated with phototaxis in worker honey bees (Amfor. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that insemination quantity significantly affects mandibular gland chemical profiles, queen-worker interactions, and brain gene expression. Further research will be necessary to elucidate the mechanistic bases for these effects: insemination volume, sperm and seminal protein quantity, and genetic diversity of the sperm may all be important factors contributing to this profound change in honey bee queen physiology, queen behavior, and social interactions in the

Stimulating natural supersedure of honeybee queens, Apis mellifera

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendriksma, H.P.; Calis, J.N.M.; Boot, W.J.

2004-01-01

When a honeybee queen starts to fail, she is often superseded by a young queen that takes over reproduction inside the colony. Natural supersedure in winter leads to an unfertilised young queen and colony loss. To reduce these losses we tried to stimulate supersedure of queens earlier in the season.

Queen promiscuity lowers disease within honeybee colonies

OpenAIRE

Seeley, Thomas D; Tarpy, David R

2006-01-01

Most species of social insects have singly mated queens, but in some species each queen mates with numerous males to create a colony with a genetically diverse worker force. The adaptive significance of polyandry by social insect queens remains an evolutionary puzzle. Using the honeybee (Apis mellifera), we tested the hypothesis that polyandry improves a colony's resistance to disease. We established colonies headed by queens that had been artificially inseminated by either one or 10 drones. ...

Tracking the Depleted Mantle Signature in Melt Inclusions and Residual Glass of Basaltic Martian Shergottites using Secondary Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Timothy J.; Simon, Justin I.; Jones, John H.; Usui, Tomohiro; Economos, Rita C.; Schmitt, Axel K.; McKeegan, Kevin D.

2013-01-01

Trace element abundances of depleted shergottite magmas recorded by olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MI) and interstitial mesostasis glass were measured using the Cameca ims-1270 ion microprobe. Two meteorites: Tissint, an olivine-­phyric basaltic shergottite which fell over Morocco July 18th 2001; and the Antarctic meteorite Yamato 980459 (Y98), an olivine-phyric basaltic shergottite with abundant glassy mesostasis have been studied. Chondrite-­normalized REE patterns for MI in Tissint and Y98 are characteristically LREE depleted and, within analytical uncertainty, parallel those of their respective whole rock composition; supporting each meteorite to represent a melt composition that has experienced closed-­system crystallization. REE profiles for mesostasis glass in Y98 lie about an order of magnitude higher than those from the MI; with REE profiles for Tissint MI falling in between. Y98 MI have the highest average Sm/Nd and Y/Ce ratios, reflecting their LREE depletion and further supporting Y98 as one of our best samples to probe the depleted shergotitte mantle. In general, Zr/Nb ratios overlap between Y98 and Tissint MI, Ce/Nb ratios overlap between Y98 MI and mesostasis glass, and Sm/Nd ratios overlap between Y98 mesostasis glass and Tissint MI. These features support similar sources for both, but with subtle geochemical differences that may reflect different melting conditions or fractionation paths during ascent from the mantle. Interestingly, the REE patterns for both Y98 bulk and MI analyses display a flattening of the LREE that suggests a crustal contribution to the Y98 parent melt. This observation has important implications for the origins of depleted and enriched shergottites.

Colony strength and queen replacement in Melipona marginata (Apidae: Meliponini

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A. de M. P. Kleinert

Full Text Available Physogastric queens of Melipona marginata were removed from their colonies in order to verify the acceptance of a new queen by workers. Colony strength was evaluated according to queen oviposition rate and comb diameters. Replacement was observed seven times. Its occurrence and speed related positively to colony strength, independently of queen's age. In weak colonies, queen replacement was observed only once, following colony population increase that occurred after introduction of combs from another colony. Worker oviposition after queen removal was observed three times: in a strong colony with virgin queens and males, and in two of the weak colonies. In the first two or three days of new queen oviposition, during which most of the eggs were eaten by the queen, worker oviposition preceded almost all provisioning and oviposition processes (POPs. After this period, worker oviposition decreased until it reached around 25% of the POPs. Daily oviposition rate of young queens decreased or was even interrupted by hatching of their first brood.

The Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Redox State of Multivalent Cations During the Crystallization of Primitive Shergottitic Liquids at Various (f)O2. Insights into the (f)O2 Fugacity of the Martian Mantle and Crustal Influences on Redox Conditions of Martian Magmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Shearer, C. K.; Bell, A. S.; Burger, P. V.; Papike, J. J.; Jones, J.; Le, L.; Muttik, N.

2016-01-01

The (f)O2 [oxygen fugacity] of crystallization for martian basalts has been estimated in various studies to range from IW-1 to QFM+4 [1-3]. A striking geochemical feature of the shergottites is the large range in initial Sr isotopic ratios and initial epsilon(sup Nd) values. Studies by observed that within the shergottite group the (f)O2 [oxygen fugacity] of crystallization is highly correlated with these chemical and isotopic characteristics with depleted shergottites generally crystallizing at reduced conditions and enriched shergottites crystallizing under more oxidizing conditions. More recent work has shown that (f)O2 [oxygen fugacity] changed during the crystallization of these magmas from one order of magnitude in Y980459 (Y98) to several orders of magnitude in Larkman Nunatak 06319. These real or apparent variations within single shergottitic magmas have been attributed to mixing of a xenocrystic olivine component, volatile loss-water disassociation, auto-oxidation during crystallization of mafic phases, and assimilation of an oxidizing crustal component (e.g. sulfate). In contrast to the shergottites, augite basalts such as NWA 8159 are highly depleted yet appear to be highly oxidized (e.g. QFM+4). As a first step in attempting to unravel petrologic complexities that influence (f)O2 [oxygen fugacity] in martian magmas, this study explores the effect of (f)O2 [oxygen fugacity] on the liquid line of descent (LLD) for a primitive shergottite liquid composition (Y98). The results of this study will provide a fundamental basis for reconstructing the record of (f)O2 [oxygen fugacity] in shergottites and other martian basalts, its effect on both mineral chemistries and valence state partitioning, and a means for examining the role of crystallization (and other more complex processes) on the petrologic linkages between olivine-phyric and pyroxene-plagioclase shergottites.

Queen Victoria, her physicians, and her cataracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravin, J G

1994-01-01

Decreasing vision due to cataracts became a significant problem for Queen Victoria toward the end of the 19th century. Her personal physician, Sir James Reid, obtained consultations with two eminent British ophthalmologists, George Lawson and Edward Nettleship. The Queen was not satisfied, and requested an opinion from the German professor Hermann Pagenstecher. All the doctors agreed on the diagnosis, but the Queen never underwent surgery.

Queen volatiles as a modulator of Tetragonisca angustula drone behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Fierro, Macario M; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Sánchez, Daniel; Villanueva-Gutiérrez, Rogel; Vandame, Remy

2011-11-01

Tetragonisca angustula mating occurs during the virgin queen nuptial flight, usually in the presence of a drone congregation area (DCA). The presence of virgin queen pheromone is considered the trigger for DCA establishment, although this has not been demonstrated experimentally. We established meliponaries, in different habitats, with T. angustula virgin queens during the main drone reproduction period. Eight DCAs were observed in urban areas, and all established outside or near colonies containing at least one virgin queen. The accumulation of drones in the DCAs occurred from 08:00 to 18:00 h and over 3-35 days. The number of drones in DCAs ranged from 60 to 2,000. In field trials, drones were attracted to virgin queens and also, unexpectedly, to physogastric queens. Volatiles collected from both virgin and physogastric queens elicited strong electoantennogram (EAG) responses from drones. Virgin and physogastric queen volatiles were qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different, in chemical composition. The queen's abdomen was the principal source of these compounds. Isopropyl hexanoate (IPH), the most abundant compound in virgin queen volatiles and one of the most abundant in physogastric queen volatiles, was identified as one of the compounds that elicited EAG responses and was demonstrated to attract drones in a field test.

A contribution to queens graphs: A substitution method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ambrus, G.; Barat, Janos

2006-01-01

A graph G is a queens graph if the vertices of G can be mapped to queens on the chessboard such that two vertices are adjacent if and only if the corresponding queens attack each other, i.e. they are in horizontal, vertical or diagonal position. We prove a conjecture of Beineke, Broere and Hennin...

Viral infections in queen bees (Apis mellifera carnica from rearing apiaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleš Gregorc

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Viral infection could have an impact on the success of queen rearing and a potential effect on reduced queen quality. Newly mated honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica queens were collected from mating nuclei in queen rearing operations in Slovenia. Altogether, 81 queens were sampled from 27 rearing apiaries in 2006 and 72 queens from 24 apiaries in 2008. Queens were analysed for the presence of four viruses: acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV, black queen cell virus (BQCV, sacbrood virus (SBV and deformed wing virus (DWV by using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR. In 2006, 12%, 9% and 1% prevalence was found for ABPV, DWV and SBV, respectively; BQCV was not detected. Two years later, DWV, BQCV, SBV and ABPV were detected in 58%, 24%, 11% and 10% bee queens, respectively. In 2006, fourteen out of twenty-seven apaiaries were virus free, whereas in 2008 only three out of twenty-four apiaries were virus free. This is the first evidence of virus infection occurring in newly mated queens from mating nuclei in rearing apiaries. The possible impacts of queen rearing technology and epidemiological influences on virus infection are discussed in this study.

Population and colony structure and morphometrics in the queen dimorphic little black ant, Monomorium sp. AZ-02, with a review of queen phenotypes in the genus Monomorium.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert A Johnson

Full Text Available The North American little black ant, Monomorium sp. AZ-02 (subfamily Myrmicinae, displays a dimorphism that consists of alate (winged and ergatoid (wingless queens. Surveys at our field site in southcentral Arizona, USA, demonstrated that only one queen phenotype (alate or ergatoid occurred in each colony during the season in which reproductive sexuals were produced. A morphometric analysis demonstrated that ergatoid queens retained all specialized anatomical features of alate queens (except for wings, and that they were significantly smaller and had a lower mass than alate queens. Using eight morphological characters, a discriminant analysis correctly categorized all queens (40 of 40 of both phenotypes. A molecular phylogeny using 420 base pairs of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I demonstrated that alate and ergatoid queens are two alternative phenotypes within the species; both phenotypes were intermixed on our phylogeny, and both phenotypes often displayed the same haplotype. A survey of the genus Monomorium (358 species found that wingless queens (ergatoid queens, brachypterous queens occur in 42 of 137 species (30.6% in which the queen has been described. These wingless queen species are geographically and taxonomically widespread as they occur on several continents and in eight species groups, suggesting that winglessness probably arose independently on many occasions in the genus.

Number of queens in founding associations of the ponerine ant Pachycondyla villosa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

D'Ettorre, Patrizia; Kellner, K.; Delabie, J. H. C.

2005-01-01

In the ant Pachycondyla villosa, new colonies are usually started cooperatively by two or more young queens who establish a dominance order with a division of labour. Co-founding can lead to primary polygyny, where queens stay together after workers have emerged. Here we show that two queens...... these were attacked and sometimes killed in queen associations. The removal of dominant alpha queens from three-queen associations resulted in beta queens obtaining the dominant role and sometimes the destruction of the existing eggs. It appears that two queens suffice for a successful association...

Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic undertaking behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Pull, Christopher D; Cremer, Sylvia

2017-10-13

Social insects form densely crowded societies in environments with high pathogen loads, but have evolved collective defences that mitigate the impact of disease. However, colony-founding queens lack this protection and suffer high rates of mortality. The impact of pathogens may be exacerbated in species where queens found colonies together, as healthy individuals may contract pathogens from infectious co-founders. Therefore, we tested whether ant queens avoid founding colonies with pathogen-exposed conspecifics and how they might limit disease transmission from infectious individuals. Using Lasius niger queens and a naturally infecting fungal pathogen Metarhizium brunneum, we observed that queens were equally likely to found colonies with another pathogen-exposed or sham-treated queen. However, when one queen died, the surviving individual performed biting, burial and removal of the corpse. These undertaking behaviours were performed prophylactically, i.e. targeted equally towards non-infected and infected corpses, as well as carried out before infected corpses became infectious. Biting and burial reduced the risk of the queens contracting and dying from disease from an infectious corpse of a dead co-foundress. We show that co-founding ant queens express undertaking behaviours that, in mature colonies, are performed exclusively by workers. Such infection avoidance behaviours act before the queens can contract the disease and will therefore improve the overall chance of colony founding success in ant queens.

Immunosuppression in Honeybee Queens by the Neonicotinoids Thiacloprid and Clothianidin.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Annely; Grikscheit, Katharina; Siede, Reinhold; Grosse, Robert; Meixner, Marina Doris; Büchler, Ralph

2017-07-05

Queen health is crucial to colony survival of honeybees, since reproduction and colony growth rely solely on the queen. Queen failure is considered a relevant cause of colony losses, yet few data exist concerning effects of environmental stressors on queens. Here we demonstrate for the first time that exposure to field-realistic concentrations of neonicotinoid pesticides can severely affect the immunocompetence of queens of western honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). In young queens exposed to thiacloprid (200 µg/l or 2000 µg/l) or clothianidin (10 µg/l or 50 µg/l), the total hemocyte number and the proportion of active, differentiated hemocytes was significantly reduced. Moreover, functional aspects of the immune defence namely the wound healing/melanisation response, as well as the antimicrobial activity of the hemolymph were impaired. Our results demonstrate that neonicotinoid insecticides can negatively affect the immunocompetence of queens, possibly leading to an impaired disease resistance capacity.

Intraspecific queen parasitism in a highly eusocial bee

Science.gov (United States)

Wenseleers, Tom; Alves, Denise A.; Francoy, Tiago M.; Billen, Johan; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L.

2011-01-01

Insect societies are well-known for their advanced cooperation, but their colonies are also vulnerable to reproductive parasitism. Here, we present a novel example of an intraspecific social parasitism in a highly eusocial bee, the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. In particular, we provide genetic evidence which shows that, upon loss of the mother queen, many colonies are invaded by unrelated queens that fly in from unrelated hives nearby. The reasons for the occurrence of this surprising form of social parasitism may be linked to the fact that unlike honeybees, Melipona bees produce new queens in great excess of colony needs, and that this exerts much greater selection on queens to seek alternative reproductive options, such as by taking over other nests. Overall, our results are the first to demonstrate that queens in highly eusocial bees can found colonies not only via supersedure or swarming, but also by infiltrating and taking over other unrelated nests. PMID:20961883

Intraspecific queen parasitism in a highly eusocial bee.

Science.gov (United States)

Wenseleers, Tom; Alves, Denise A; Francoy, Tiago M; Billen, Johan; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L

2011-04-23

Insect societies are well-known for their advanced cooperation, but their colonies are also vulnerable to reproductive parasitism. Here, we present a novel example of an intraspecific social parasitism in a highly eusocial bee, the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. In particular, we provide genetic evidence which shows that, upon loss of the mother queen, many colonies are invaded by unrelated queens that fly in from unrelated hives nearby. The reasons for the occurrence of this surprising form of social parasitism may be linked to the fact that unlike honeybees, Melipona bees produce new queens in great excess of colony needs, and that this exerts much greater selection on queens to seek alternative reproductive options, such as by taking over other nests. Overall, our results are the first to demonstrate that queens in highly eusocial bees can found colonies not only via supersedure or swarming, but also by infiltrating and taking over other unrelated nests.

Long-term memory of individual identity in ant queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreier, Stéphanie Agnès Jeanine; Van Zweden, Jelle Stijn; D'Ettorre, Patrizia

2007-01-01

of familiar or unfamiliar queens over time. We show that unrelated founding queens of P. villosa and Pachycondyla inversa store information on the individual identity of other queens and can retrieve it from memory after 24h of separation. Thus, we have documented for the first time that long-term memory...

Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastin, Florian; Cholé, Hanna; Lafon, Grégory; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe

2017-07-24

Although the honeybee is a crucial agricultural agent and a prominent scientific model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behaviour are still unknown. During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregations 10-40 m above ground. Converging evidence suggests that drones emit a pheromone that can attract other drones, thereby increasing the size of the congregation. Virgin queens join the vicinity of the congregation after it has formed, and mate with as many as 20 males in mid-air. It is still unclear which sensory cues help virgin queens find drone congregations in the first place. Beside visual cues for long-range orientation, queens may use olfactory cues. We thus tested virgin queens' olfactory orientation on a walking simulator in which they have full control over odour stimulation. We show that sexually-mature virgin queens are attracted to the odour bouquet from a group of living drones. They are not attracted to the bouquet from a group of workers. In addition, non-sexually receptive females (workers) of the same age are not attracted to the drone odour bouquet. Interpreted in the context of mating, these results may suggest that virgin queens use volatile olfactory cues from the drones to find the congregations.

Queen pheromones: The chemical crown governing insect social life.

Science.gov (United States)

Holman, Luke

2010-11-01

Group-living species produce signals that alter the behavior and even the physiology of their social partners. Social insects possess especially sophisticated chemical communication systems that govern every aspect of colony life, including the defining feature of eusociality: reproductive division of labor. Current evidence hints at the central importance of queen pheromones, but progress has been hindered by the fact that such pheromones have only been isolated in honeybees. In a pair of papers on the ant Lasius niger, we identified and investigated a queen pheromone regulating worker sterility. The cuticular hydrocarbon 3-methylhentriacontane (3-MeC(31)) is correlated with queen maturity and fecundity and workers are also more likely to execute surplus queens that have low amounts of this chemical. Experiments with synthetic 3-MeC(31) found that it inhibits ovarian development in queenless workers and lowers worker aggression towards objects coated with it. Production of 3-MeC(31) by queens was depressed by an experimental immune challenge, and the same chemical was abundant on queenlaid eggs, suggesting that the workers' responses to the queen are conditional on her health and fecundity. Together with other studies, these results indicate that queen pheromones are honest signals of quality that simultaneously regulate multiple social behaviors.

Budke, Alexandra; Kanwischer, Detlef; Pott, Andreas (Hg.), Internetgeographien : Beobachtungen zum Verhältnis von Internet, Raum und Gesellschaft / [rezensiert von] Helmut Klüter

OpenAIRE

Klüter, Helmut

2009-01-01

Rezensiertes Werk: Internetgeographien : Beobachtungen zum Verhältnis von Internet, Raum und Gesellschaft / hrsg. von Alexandra Budke ... - Stuttgart : Steiner, 2004. - 192 S. : Ill., graph. Darst., Kt. - (Erdkundliches Wissen ; 136) ISBN 3-515-08506-8

Queen Size Variation in the Ponerine Ant Ponera coarctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae

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J. Liebig

1995-01-01

Full Text Available Queens of Ponera coarctata show a pronounced variation in size as measured by ommatidia number and Weber's alitrunk length. Isometric size variation and the normal distribution of size categories indicate that, despite these differences, only one queen morph exists. Queen size varies less within colonies than between colonies, and thus appears to be colony specific. Ovary length apparently varies with queen size. Similar size variations as in queens also occured in males, but not in workers.

Composição química das sementes de Archontophoenix alexandrae H. Wendl. & Drude (Arecaceae Seed chemical composition of Archontophoenix alexandrae H. Wendl. & Drude (Arecaceae

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Maria Isabel Vallilo

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Sementes de Archontophoenix alexandrae extraídas de frutos coletados no Parque Estadual da Cantareira, São Paulo, foram analisadas quanto à composição química, ao perfil de ácidos graxos do óleo e aos teores de minerais, visando avaliar o seu potencial alimentício. Detectaram-se alto teor de fibras alimentares (38,80% p/p e umidade (47,72% p/p. Na fração oleosa, apesar do baixo conteúdo de óleo encontrado (2,74% p/p, predominaram os ácidos palmítico (19,80% p/p, entre os saturados, e oléico (42% p/p e linoléico (13% p/p, quanto aos insaturados. A presença, no óleo, de alfa-tocoferol (vitamina E equivalente a 4,0 mg 100 g-1 e de delta-tocoferol (1,8 mg 100 g-1 confere ao óleo certa estabilidade oxidativa. Embora contendo minerais como K, P, S, Ca, Fe, Zn, Se e Cu, lipídios e fibras alimentares, a presença do elemento Pb (2,74 mg kg-1 inviabiliza o consumo dessas sementes como alimento da avifauna e sinaliza contaminação antrópica no local de coleta.Seeds of Archontophoenix alexandrae, extracted from fruits collected at the Cantareira State Park, São Paulo, Brazil, were analyzed for chemical composition, oil fatty acids profiles and mineral content aiming to evaluate their nutritional potential. High values of dietary fibers (38.80% w/w and humidity (47.72% w/w were found. Palmitic acid (19.80% w/w was predominant among the saturated oil fraction, and oleic (42% w/w and linoleic (13% w/w among the insaturated oil fraction. The presence of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E equivalent to 4.0mg 100g-1 and delta-tocopherol (1.8 mg 100g-1 confers some oxidative stability to the oil. Even containing minerals such as K, P, S, Ca, Zn, Se and Cu, lipids and dietary fibers, the presence of Pb (2.74mg kg-1 makes its consume unviable for avifauna, as well as it indicates anthropic contamination at the collect spot.

Crystallization history of enriched shergottites from Fe and Mg isotope fractionation in olivine megacrysts

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Collinet, Max; Charlier, Bernard; Namur, Olivier; Oeser, Martin; Médard, Etienne; Weyer, Stefan

2017-06-01

Martian meteorites are the only samples available from the surface of Mars. Among them, olivine-phyric shergottites are basalts containing large zoned olivine crystals with highly magnesian cores (Fo 70-85) and rims richer in Fe (Fo 45-60). The Northwest Africa 1068 meteorite is one of the most primitive "enriched" shergottites (high initial 87Sr/86Sr and low initial ε143Nd). It contains olivine crystals as magnesian as Fo 77 and is a major source of information to constrain the composition of the parental melt, the composition and depth of the mantle source, and the cooling and crystallization history of one of the younger magmatic events on Mars (∼180 Ma). In this study, Fe-Mg isotope profiles analyzed in situ by femtosecond-laser ablation MC-ICP-MS are combined with compositional profiles of major and trace elements in olivine megacrysts. The cores of olivine megacrysts are enriched in light Fe isotopes (δ56FeIRMM-14 = -0.6 to -0.9‰) and heavy Mg isotopes (δ26MgDSM-3 = 0-0.2‰) relative to megacryst rims and to the bulk martian isotopic composition (δ56Fe = 0 ± 0.05‰, δ26Mg = -0.27 ± 0.04‰). The flat forsterite profiles of megacryst cores associated with anti-correlated fractionation of Fe-Mg isotopes indicate that these elements have been rehomogenized by diffusion at high temperature. We present a 1-D model of simultaneous diffusion and crystal growth that reproduces the observed element and isotope profiles. The simulation results suggest that the cooling rate during megacryst core crystallization was slow (43 ± 21 °C/year), and consistent with pooling in a deep crustal magma chamber. The megacryst rims then crystallized 1-2 orders of magnitude faster during magma transport toward the shallower site of final emplacement. Megacryst cores had a forsterite content 3.2 ± 1.5 mol% higher than their current composition and some were in equilibrium with the whole-rock composition of NWA 1068 (Fo 80 ± 1.5). NWA 1068 composition is thus close to a

Does the queen win it all? Queen-worker conflict over male production in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris

Science.gov (United States)

Alaux, Cédric; Savarit, Fabrice; Jaisson, Pierre; Hefetz, Abraham

Social insects provide a useful model for studying the evolutionary balance between cooperation and conflict linked to genetic structure. We investigated the outcome of this conflict in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, whose annual colony life cycle is characterized by overt competition over male production. We established artificial colonies composed of a queen and unrelated workers by daily exchange of callow workers between colony pairs of distinct genetic make-up. Using microsatellite analysis, this procedure allowed an exact calculation of the proportion of worker-derived males. The development and social behavior of these artificial colonies were similar to those of normal colonies. Despite a high worker reproduction attempt (63.8% of workers had developed ovaries and 38.4% were egg-layers), we found that on average 95% of the males produced during the competition phase (CPh) were queen-derived. However, in four colonies, queen death resulted in a considerable amount of worker-derived male production. The different putative ultimate causes of this efficient control by the queen are discussed, and we suggest a possible scenario of an evolutionary arms race that may occur between these two female castes.

Survey of the Health Status of Some Honey Bee Queens in Italy

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Porporato Marco

2015-12-01

Full Text Available While observing: non-acceptance, frequent replacements, and reduced performance in honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica queens, we were induced to analyse a certain number of queens to detect the causes. For this purpose, 99 newly mated queens were bought from 20 Italian queen breeders. In addition, 109 older or at-the-end-of-their-career queens, that showed poor productivity, were collected from honey production hives throughout Italy. All the queens were dissected to check the status of their reproductive system and/or the presence of various anomalies and diseases.

Late-life depression and the death of Queen Victoria.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Robert C

2010-12-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate relationships between the death of Queen Victoria and the depressive episode she experienced during the last year of her life. The last volume of Queen Victoria's personal Journal was reviewed from a geriatrician's perspective, tracing the onset and course of depressive symptoms from entries beginning on 17 August 1900 and ending on 13 January 1901, 9 days before her death. The Queen's own words are supplemented with observations from contemporaneous secondary sources. The antecedents of Queen Victoria's late-life depression, including multiple losses, disabilities, and chronic pain, taken together with the presentation of vegetative, affective, and late cognitive symptoms, suggested the presence of a distinctively geriatric major depressive disorder. The absence of any other medical condition to explain the clinical picture seemed probable but not certain. Although historians and biographers have long been aware of Queen Victoria's final depression, the emphasis has mostly been on her earlier and prolonged mourning for her husband Prince Albert. Re-examined now, the Queen's Journal suggests that a severe late-life depressive episode occurring approximately in her last 5 months contributed meaningfully to her death. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Selfish strategies and honest signalling: reproductive conflicts in ant queen associations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holman, Luke; Dreier, Stephanie; d'Ettorre, Patrizia

2010-01-01

Social insects offer unique opportunities to test predictions regarding the evolution of cooperation, life histories and communication. Colony founding by groups of unrelated queens, some of which are later killed, may select for selfish reproductive strategies, honest signalling and punishment....... Here, we use a brood transfer experiment to test whether cofounding queens of the ant Lasius niger 'selfishly' adjust their productivity when sharing the nest with future competitors. We simultaneously analysed queen cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles to investigate whether queens honestly signal...... correlated with reproductive maturation, and to a lesser extent with productivity; the same hydrocarbons were more abundant on queens that were not killed, suggesting that workers select productive queens using these chemical cues. Our results highlight the role of honest signalling in the evolution...

Gender-bias primes elicit queen-bee responses among senior Policewomen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Derks, B.; Laar, C. van; Ellemers, N.; Groot, K. de

2011-01-01

Queen bees are senior women in male-dominated organizations who have achieved success by emphasizing how they differ from other women. Although the behavior of queen bees tends to be seen as contributing to gender disparities in career outcomes, we argue that queen-bee behavior is actually a result

How to make a particular case for person-centred patient care: A commentary on Alexandra Parvan.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, George

2018-06-14

In recent years, a person-centred approach to patient care in cases of mental illness has been promoted as an alternative to a disease orientated approach. Alexandra Parvan's contribution to the person-centred approach serves to motivate an exploration of the approach's most apt metaphysical assumptions. I argue that a metaphysical thesis or assumption about both persons and their uniqueness is an essential element of being person-centred. I apply the assumption to issues such as the disorder/disease distinction and to the continuity of mental health and illness. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

First demonstration of olfactory learning and long term memory in honey bee queens.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Zhiwen; Tan, Ken; Nieh, James C

2018-05-18

As the primary source of colony reproduction, social insect queens play a vital role. However, the cognitive abilities of queens are not well understood, although queen learning and memory are essential in multiple species such as honey bees, in which virgin queens must leave the nest and then successful learn to navigate back over repeated nuptial flights. Honey bee queen learning has never been previously demonstrated. We therefore tested olfactory learning in queens and workers and examined the role of DNA methylation, which plays a key role in long term memory formation. We provide the first evidence that honey bee queens have excellent learning and memory. The proportion of honey bee queens that exhibited learning was 5-fold higher than workers at every tested age and, for memory, 4-fold higher than workers at a very young age. DNA methylation may play a key role in this queen memory because queens exhibiting remote memory had a more consistent elevation in Dnmt3 gene expression as compared to workers. Both castes also showed excellent remote memory (7 day memory), which was reduced by 14-20% by the DNA methylation inhibitor, zebularine. Given that queens live about 10-fold longer than workers, these results suggest that queens can serve as an excellently long-term reservoir of colony memory. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Asymmetric dispersal and colonization success of Amazonian plant-ants queens.

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Emilio M Bruna

Full Text Available The dispersal ability of queens is central to understanding ant life-history evolution, and plays a fundamental role in ant population and community dynamics, the maintenance of genetic diversity, and the spread of invasive ants. In tropical ecosystems, species from over 40 genera of ants establish colonies in the stems, hollow thorns, or leaf pouches of specialized plants. However, little is known about the relative dispersal ability of queens competing for access to the same host plants.We used empirical data and inverse modeling--a technique developed by plant ecologists to model seed dispersal--to quantify and compare the dispersal kernels of queens from three Amazonian ant species that compete for access to host-plants. We found that the modal colonization distance of queens varied 8-fold, with the generalist ant species (Crematogaster laevis having a greater modal distance than two specialists (Pheidole minutula, Azteca sp. that use the same host-plants. However, our results also suggest that queens of Azteca sp. have maximal distances that are four-sixteen times greater than those of its competitors.We found large differences between ant species in both the modal and maximal distance ant queens disperse to find vacant seedlings used to found new colonies. These differences could result from interspecific differences in queen body size, and hence wing musculature, or because queens differ in their ability to identify potential host plants while in flight. Our results provide support for one of the necessary conditions underlying several of the hypothesized mechanisms promoting coexistence in tropical plant-ants. They also suggest that for some ant species limited dispersal capability could pose a significant barrier to the rescue of populations in isolated forest fragments. Finally, we demonstrate that inverse models parameterized with field data are an excellent means of quantifying the dispersal of ant queens.

Questionnaire-based survey of parturition in the queen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Musters, J.; de Gier, J.; Kooistra, H.S.; Okkens, A.C.

The lack of scientific data concerning whether parturition in the queen proceeds normally or not may prevent veterinarians and cat owners from recognizing parturition problems in time. A questionnaire-based study of parturition in 197 queens was performed to determine several parameters of

Gender-bias primes elicit queen-bee responses among senior policewomen.

Science.gov (United States)

Derks, Belle; Van Laar, Colette; Ellemers, Naomi; de Groot, Kim

2011-10-01

Queen bees are senior women in male-dominated organizations who have achieved success by emphasizing how they differ from other women. Although the behavior of queen bees tends to be seen as contributing to gender disparities in career outcomes, we argue that queen-bee behavior is actually a result of the gender bias and social identity threat that produce gender disparities in career outcomes. In the experiment reported here, we asked separate groups of senior policewomen to recall the presence or absence of gender bias during their careers, and we measured queen-bee responses (i.e., masculine self-descriptions, in-group distancing, and denying of discrimination). Such gender-bias priming increased queen-bee responses among policewomen with low gender identification, but policewomen with high gender identification responded with increased motivation to improve opportunities for other women. These results suggest that gender-biased work environments shape women's behavior by stimulating women with low gender identification to dissociate with other women and to display queen-bee responses as a way to achieve individual mobility.

Cellular energy metabolism maintains young status in old queen honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Cheng-Yen; Qiu, Jiantai Timothy; Hsu, Chin-Yuan

2018-05-02

Trophocytes and oenocytes of queen honey bees are used in studies of cellular longevity, but their cellular energy metabolism with age is poorly understood. In this study, the molecules involved in cellular energy metabolism were evaluated in the trophocytes and oenocytes of young and old queen bees. The findings indicated that there were no significant differences between young and old queen bees in β-oxidation, glycolysis, and protein synthesis. These results indicate that the cellular energy metabolism of trophocytes and oenocytes in old queen bees is similar to young queen bees and suggests that maintaining cellular energy metabolism in a young status may be associated with the longevity of queen bees. Fat and glycogen accumulation increased with age indicating that old queen bees are older than young queen bees. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Are queen ants inhibited by their own pheromone?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holman, L.; Leroy, C.; Jørgensen, Charlotte

2013-01-01

. Communication in social insects is predominantly chemical, and the mechanisms regulating processes such as reproductive division of labor are becoming increasingly well understood. Recently, a queen cuticular hydrocarbon (3-MeC31) that inhibits worker reproduction and aggression was isolated in the ant Lasius...... niger. Here, we find that this pheromone also has a weak negative effect on queen productivity and oogenesis. Because 3-MeC31 is present on both queens and their brood, we suggest that it is used by ants of both castes to adjust their fecundity to the amount of developing brood and the presence of other...

Prudent sperm use by leaf-cutter ant queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Den Boer, Susanne Petronella A; Baer, Boris; Dreier, Stéphanie Agnès Jeanine

2009-01-01

are able to fertilize close to 100 per cent of the eggs and that the average sperm use per egg is very low, but increases with queen age. The robustness of stored sperm was found to decrease with years of storage, signifying that senescence affects sperm either directly or indirectly via the declining...... glandular secretions or deteriorating sperm-storage organs. We evaluate our findings with a heuristic model, which suggests that the average queen has sperm for almost 9 years of normal colony development. We discuss the extent to which leaf-cutter ant queens have been able to optimize their sperm...

Do sexist organizational cultures create the Queen Bee?

Science.gov (United States)

Derks, Belle; Ellemers, Naomi; van Laar, Colette; de Groot, Kim

2011-09-01

'Queen Bees' are senior women in masculine organizational cultures who have fulfilled their career aspirations by dissociating themselves from their gender while simultaneously contributing to the gender stereotyping of other women. It is often assumed that this phenomenon contributes to gender discrimination in organizations, and is inherent to the personalities of successful career women. We argue for a social identity explanation and examine organizational conditions that foster the Queen Bee phenomenon. Participants were 94 women holding senior positions in diverse companies in The Netherlands who participated in an on-line survey. In line with predictions, indicators of the Queen Bee phenomenon (increased gender stereotyping and masculine self-descriptions) were found mostly among women who indicated they had started their career with low gender identification and who had subsequently experienced a high degree of gender discrimination on their way up. By contrast, the experience of gender discrimination was unrelated to signs of the Queen Bee phenomenon among women who indicated to be highly identified when they started their career. Results are discussed in light of social identity theory, interpreting the Queen Bee phenomenon as an individual mobility response of low gender identified women to the gender discrimination they encounter in their work. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Alex McQueen : power

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

1998-01-01

A. McQueeni moevälisest tegevusest. 'American Express' tellis temalt krediitkaardi kujunduse. 1998. a. suvest ajakirja 'Dazed & Confused' abitoimetaja. A. McQueen on lubanud olla Björki (Island) video kunstiline juht.

Factors influencing survival duration and choice of virgin queens in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata

Science.gov (United States)

Kärcher, Martin H.; Menezes, Cristiano; Alves, Denise A.; Beveridge, Oliver S.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera-Lucia; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.

2013-06-01

In Melipona quadrifasciata, about 10 % of the females develop into queens, almost all of which are killed. Occasionally, a new queen replaces or supersedes the mother queen or heads a new colony. We investigated virgin queen fate in queenright and queenless colonies to determine the effects of queen behaviour, body mass, nestmate or non-nestmate status, queenright or queenless colony status, and, when queenless, the effect of the time a colony had been queenless, on survival duration and acceptance. None of 220 virgin queens observed in four observation hives ever attacked another virgin queen nor did any of 88 virgin queens introduced into queenright colonies ever attack the resident queen. A new queen was only accepted in a queenless colony. Factors increasing survival duration and acceptance of virgin queens were to emerge from its cell at 2 h of queenlessness, to hide, and to avoid fights with workers. In this way, a virgin queen was more likely to be available when a colony chooses a new queen, 24-48 h after resident queen removal. Running, walking or resting, antennating or trophallaxis, played little or no role, as did the factors body mass or nestmate. "Queen choice" took about 2 h during which time other virgin queens were still being killed by workers. During this agitated process, the bees congregated around the new queen. She inflated her abdomen and some of the workers deposited a substance on internal nest surfaces including the glass lid of the observation hive.

Non-transferable signals on ant queen eggs

Science.gov (United States)

D'Ettorre, Patrizia; Tofilski, Adam; Heinze, Jürgen; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.

2006-03-01

How biological systems resolve internal conflicts is a major evolutionary question. Social insect workers cooperate but also pursue individual interests, such as laying male eggs. The rewards of this individual selfishness can be reduced by policing, such as by killing worker-laid eggs. However, selfish individuals may evade policing. What factors prevent individuals from being able to evade policing? In the ant Pachycondyla inversa, workers kill (police) worker-laid eggs. Because the colony keeps eggs in piles and worker-laid and queen-laid eggs are chemically distinct, worker-laid eggs might become more acceptable once placed in the egg pile by odour transfer from touching queen-laid eggs. Here, we show that such “cue scrambling” does not occur. Worker-laid eggs that were sandwiched between three queen-laid eggs for 45 min were not more acceptable in a policing bioassay than control worker-laid eggs. Chemical analyses also showed that the surface hydrocarbon profile of these eggs was unchanged. Policing, therefore, is stable against this potential cheating mechanism probably because queen-laid eggs are made chemically distinct using chemicals, that are not easily transferred by physical contact.

Genetic components to caste allocation in a multiple-queen ant species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Libbrecht, Romain; Schwander, Tanja; Keller, Laurent

2011-01-01

Reproductive division of labor and the coexistence of distinct castes are hallmarks of insect societies. In social insect species with multiple queens per colony, the fitness of nestmate queens directly depends on the process of caste allocation (i.e., the relative investment in queen, sterile

Design, fabrication and erection of Queen Mall Bridge; Queen mall kyo no sekkei seisaku kasetsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arai, M.; Ishii, A.; Shinohara, T. [Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-12-20

This paper describes design, fabrication and erection of Queen Mall Bridge, which is a new landmark in Minato-Mirai Yokohama. This bridge is two-span continuous cable stayed pedestrian bridge with a roof, and has a length 72.2 m, a width 18 m and a weight about 1,050 t. This bridge connects between the Queen`s Square and the second floor of Pacifico Yokohama. Achieving harmonious impression of the newly designed bridge in this area, glass roof was employed and all-weld method was applied to the in-site jointing of main girders and main tower in addition to the essential structural design. Since all-weld method was applied to the in-site jointing, highly accurate fabrication was considered during the in-site jointing. Due to the heavy traffic of the road below the bridge, the erection time was shortened under the severe erection conditions at night by large block method. Especially, accuracy control was considered for the whole shape management. Pre-assemble of all members was conducted just near the erection site, only 500 m away from the site, to shorten the construction time. 1 ref., 5 figs.

Selection against aerial dispersal in ants: two non-flying queen phenotypes in Pogonomyrmex laticeps.

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Christian Peeters

Full Text Available The South American seed-harvester ant Pogonomyrmex laticeps has dimorphic queens: ergatoid (permanently wingless and brachypterous (short, non-functional wings. Surveys in western Argentina indicated that colonies near Chilecito, La Rioja Province, produced only ergatoid queens, while those near Punta Balasto, Catamarca Province (263 km away, produced only brachypterous queens. Brachypterous queens were significantly larger than ergatoid queens for 10 of 11 external characters, but both phenotypes had comparable reproductive potential, i.e., a spermatheca and a similar number of ovarioles. Using normal winged queens of the closely related P. uruguayensis for comparison, we determined that both queen phenotypes in P. laticeps had a full set of dorsal thoracic sclerites, albeit each sclerite was much reduced, whereas workers had a thorax without distinct dorsal sclerites. Sclerites were fused and immobile in ergatoid queens, while they were separable and fully articulated in brachypterous queens. Both phenotypes lacked the big indirect flight muscles, but brachypterous queens retained the tiny direct flight muscles. Overall, this dimorphism across populations indicates that there are alternative solutions to selective pressures against flying queens. We lack field data about colony founding strategy (independent or dependent for either queen phenotype, but colonies at both sites produced numerous gynes, and we infer that all foundresses initiate colonies independently and are obligate foragers.

Unequal subfamily proportions among honey bee queen and worker brood

Science.gov (United States)

Tilley; Oldroyd

1997-12-01

Queens from three colonies of feral honey bees, Apis mellifera were removed and placed in separate nucleus colonies. For each colony, eggs and larvae were taken from the nucleus and placed in the main hive on each of 3-4 consecutive weeks. Workers in the queenless parts selected young larvae to rear as queens. Queen pupae, together with the surrounding worker pupae, were removed from each colony and analysed at two to three microsatellite loci to determine their paternity. In all three colonies, the paternity of larvae chosen by the bees to rear as queens was not a random sample of the paternities in the worker brood, with certain subfamilies being over-represented in queens. These results support an important prediction of kin selection theory: when colonies are queenless, unequal relatedness within colonies could lead to the evolution of reproductive competition, that is some subfamilies achieving greater reproductive success than others. The mechanism by which such dominance is achieved could be through a system of kin recognition and nepotism, but we conclude that genetically based differential attractiveness of larvae for rearing as queens is more likely.Copyright 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal BehaviourCopyright 1997The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

How many gamergates is an ant queen worth?

Science.gov (United States)

Monnin, Thibaud; Peeters, Christian

2008-02-01

Ant reproductives exhibit different morphological adaptations linked to dispersal and fertility. By reviewing the literature on taxa where workers can reproduce sexually (i.e. become gamergates) we show that (1) species with a single gamergate generally have lost the winged queen caste, whereas only half of the species with several gamergates have, and (2) single-gamergate species have smaller colonies than multiple-gamergate species. Comparison with “classical” ants without gamergates, where having one vs having several winged queens are two distinct syndromes, suggests that having one vs having several gamergates are not. Gamergate number does not affect the success of colony fission, but retention of the queen caste permits the option of independent foundation.

Natural transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus from infected queen to kitten.

Science.gov (United States)

Medeiros, Sheila de Oliveira; Martins, Angelica Nascimento; Dias, Carlos Gabriel Almeida; Tanuri, Amilcar; Brindeiro, Rodrigo de Moraes

2012-05-25

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a naturally occurring lentivirus that infects cats. The primary mode of transmission occurs through bite wounds, and other routes are difficult to observe in nature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate FIV transmission from queen to kitten in a colony of naturally infected stray cats. With this aim, a queen was monitored over a period of three years. A blood sample was taken to amplify and sequence gag, pol and env regions of the virus from the queen, two kittens and other cats from the colony. Phylogenetic analysis showed evidence of queen to kitten transmission.

Preliminary Report on U-Th-Pb Isotope Systematics of the Olivine-Phyric Shergottite Tissint

Science.gov (United States)

Moriwaki, R.; Usui, T.; Yokoyama, T.; Simon, J. I.; Jones, J. H.

2014-01-01

Geochemical studies of shergottites suggest that their parental magmas reflect mixtures between at least two distinct geochemical source reservoirs, producing correlations between radiogenic isotope compositions, and trace element abundances.. These correlations have been interpreted as indicating the presence of a reduced, incompatible-element- depleted reservoir and an oxidized, incompatible-element-rich reservoir. The former is clearly a depleted mantle source, but there has been a long debate regarding the origin of the enriched reservoir. Two contrasting models have been proposed regarding the location and mixing process of the two geochemical source reservoirs: (1) assimilation of oxidized crust by mantle derived, reduced magmas, or (2) mixing of two distinct mantle reservoirs during melting. The former clearly requires the ancient martian crust to be the enriched source (crustal assimilation), whereas the latter requires a long-lived enriched mantle domain that probably originated from residual melts formed during solidification of a magma ocean (heterogeneous mantle model). This study conducts Pb isotope and U-Th-Pb concentration analyses of the olivine-phyric shergottite Tissint because U-Th-Pb isotope systematics have been intensively used as a powerful radiogenic tracer to characterize old crust/sediment components in mantle- derived, terrestrial oceanic island basalts. The U-Th-Pb analyses are applied to sequential acid leaching fractions obtained from Tissint whole-rock powder in order to search for Pb isotopic source components in Tissint magma. Here we report preliminary results of the U-Th-Pb analyses of acid leachates and a residue, and propose the possibility that Tissint would have experienced minor assimilation of old martian crust.

Non-transferable signals on ant queen eggs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

D'Ettorre, Patrizia; Tofilski, Adam; Heinze, Jürgen

2006-01-01

How biological systems resolve internal conflicts is a major evolutionary question. Social insect workers cooperate but also pursue individual interests, such as laying male eggs. The rewards of this individual selfishness can be reduced by policing, such as by killing worker-laid eggs. However......, selfish individuals may evade policing. What factors prevent individuals from being able to evade policing? In the ant Pachycondyla inversa, workers kill (police) worker-laid eggs. Because the colony keeps eggs in piles and worker-laid and queen-laid eggs are chemically distinct, worker-laid eggs might...... become more acceptable once placed in the egg pile by odour transfer from touching queen-laid eggs. Here, we show that such "cue scrambling" does not occur. Worker-laid eggs that were sandwiched between three queen-laid eggs for 45 min were not more acceptable in a policing bioassay than control worker...

Impact of Thiamethoxam on Honey Bee Queen (Apis mellifera carnica) Reproductive Morphology and Physiology.

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Gajger, Ivana Tlak; Sakač, Martina; Gregorc, Aleš

2017-09-01

High honey bee losses around the world have been linked in part by the regular use of neonicotinoids in agriculture. In light of the current situation, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of thiamethoxam on the development of the reproductive system and physiology in the honey bee queen. Two experimental groups of honey bee queen larvae were treated with thiamethoxam during artificial rearing, applied via artificial feed in two cycles. In the first rearing cycle, honey bee larvae received a single treatment dose (4.28 ng thiamethoxam/queen larva on the 4th day after larvae grafting in artificial queen cells), while the second honey bee queen rearing cycle received a double treatment dose (total of 8.56 ng thiamethoxam/queen larva on the 4th and 5th day after larvae grafting in artificial queen cells). After emerging, queens were anesthetized and weighed, and after mating with drones were anesthetized, weighed, and sectioned. Ovary mass and number of stored sperm were determined. Body weight differed between untreated and treated honey bee queens. The results also show a decrease in the number of sperm within honey bee queen spermathecae that received the double thiamethoxam dose.

Chemical Characterization of Young Virgin Queens and Mated Egg-Laying Queens in the Ant Cataglyphis cursor: Random Forest Classification Analysis for Multivariate Datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Monnin, Thibaud; Helft, Florence; Leroy, Chloé; d'Ettorre, Patrizia; Doums, Claudie

2018-02-01

Social insects are well known for their extremely rich chemical communication, yet their sex pheromones remain poorly studied. In the thermophilic and thelytokous ant, Cataglyphis cursor, we analyzed the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and Dufour's gland contents of queens of different age and reproductive status (sexually immature gynes, sexually mature gynes, mated and egg-laying queens) and of workers. Random forest classification analyses showed that the four groups of individuals were well separated for both chemical sources, except mature gynes that clustered with queens for cuticular hydrocarbons and with immature gynes for Dufour's gland secretions. Analyses carried out with two groups of females only allowed identification of candidate chemicals for queen signal and for sexual attractant. In particular, gynes produced more undecane in the Dufour's gland. This chemical is both the sex pheromone and the alarm pheromone of the ant Formica lugubris. It may therefore act as sex pheromone in C. cursor, and/or be involved in the restoration of monogyny that occurs rapidly following colony fission. Indeed, new colonies often start with several gynes and all but one are rapidly culled by workers, and this process likely involves chemical signals between gynes and workers. These findings open novel opportunities for experimental studies of inclusive mate choice and queen choice in C. cursor.

Social regulation of maternal traits in nest-founding bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) queens.

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Woodard, S Hollis; Bloch, Guy; Band, Mark R; Robinson, Gene E

2013-09-15

During the nest-founding phase of the bumble bee colony cycle, queens undergo striking changes in maternal care behavior. Early in the founding phase, prior to the emergence of workers in the nest, queens are reproductive and also provision and feed their offspring. However, later in the founding phase, queens reduce their feeding of larvae and become specialized on reproduction. This transition is synchronized with the emergence of workers in the colony, who assume the task of feeding their siblings. Using a social manipulation experiment with the bumble bee Bombus terrestris, we tested the hypothesis that workers regulate the transition from feeding brood to specialization on reproduction in nest-founding bumble bee queens. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that early-stage nest-founding queens with workers prematurely added to their nests reduce their brood-feeding behavior and increase egg laying, and likewise, late-stage nest-founding queens increase their brood-feeding behavior and decrease egg-laying when workers are removed from their nests. Further, brood-feeding and egg-laying behaviors were negatively correlated. We used Agilent microarrays designed from B. terrestris brain expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) to explore a second hypothesis, that workers alter brain gene expression in nest-founding queens. We found evidence that brain gene expression in nest-founding queens is altered by the presence of workers, with the effect being much stronger in late-stage founding queens. This study provides new insights into how the transition from feeding brood to specialization on reproduction in queen bumble bees is regulated during the nest initiation phase of the colony cycle.

Characteristics of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Carnica, Pollman 1879 Queens Reared in Slovenian Commercial Breeding Stations

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Gregorc Aleš

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this three-year-trial study, we examined the quality of mated queens based on morphological and physiology traits. At each location, sister queen bees were reared each year from one Apis mellifera carnica breeder queen. Queens were also reared and mated in different locations. Altogether, we sampled and analysed 324 queens from 27 apiaries in 2006, 288 queens from 24 apiaries in 2008, and 276 queens from 23 apiaries in 2010. Nine queens from each apiary were sampled and dissected for morphological analyses and Nosema ceranae (N. ceranae spores, if present, were quantified. Three queens from each apiary were prepared and tested for four viruses: acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV, black queen cell virus (BQCV, deformed wing virus (DWV, and sacbrood virus (SBV. The highest average queen weight of 209.49 ± 9.82 mg was detected in 2008. The highest average ovary weight of 78.67 ± 11.86 mg was detected in 2010, and the highest number of ovarioles was 161.59 ± 8.70 in 2006. The average number of spermatozoa in queens ranged from 3.30 x 106 in 2006 to 5.23 x 106 in 2010. Nosema ceranae spores were found in queens sampled in 2008 and 2010. Viruses were discovered sporadically during the queen testing periods from 2006 - 2010. This study importantly demonstrates that queens from rearing stations require regular evaluation for morphological and physiological changes as well as for infection from harmful pathogens. These results could also be used in establishing relevant commercial standards for rearing quality queens.

Natural transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus from infected queen to kitten

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Medeiros Sheila de

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV is a naturally occurring lentivirus that infects cats. The primary mode of transmission occurs through bite wounds, and other routes are difficult to observe in nature. Findings The purpose of this study was to evaluate FIV transmission from queen to kitten in a colony of naturally infected stray cats. With this aim, a queen was monitored over a period of three years. A blood sample was taken to amplify and sequence gag, pol and env regions of the virus from the queen, two kittens and other cats from the colony. Conclusion Phylogenetic analysis showed evidence of queen to kitten transmission.

Lozas inglesas desechadas por los miembros de la administración de Alexandra Colony, 1870-1885, Santa Fe, Argentina

OpenAIRE

Dosztal, Irene

2017-01-01

Como ejemplo de un proyecto de colonización oficial, Alexandra Colony contaba con un centro administrativo que regulaba su desarrollo. Conocidas como Casas Centrales de Administración cumplieron diferentes funciones: residencial, comercial-administrativa y centro social. La identificación y estudio del conjunto cerámico detectados en dos pozos de basura ubicados en sus alrededores, es uno de los ejes que nos llevará a conocer el modo de vida cotidiano llevado por los diferentes directores y s...

The evolution of honest queen pheromones in insect societies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Zweden, Jelle Stijn

2010-01-01

of their ovaries and by preventing other workers from reproducing (worker policing). However, what maintains the honesty of such queen pheromones is still under discussion. The explanation that an honest queen signal evolves simply because it serves the interest of all colony members does not seem to hold, since...

Queen pheromones: The chemical crown governing insect social life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holman, Luke

2010-01-01

Group-living species produce signals that alter the behavior and even the physiology of their social partners. Social insects possess especially sophisticated chemical communication systems that govern every aspect of colony life, including the defining feature of eusociality: reproductive division...... of labor. Current evidence hints at the central importance of queen pheromones, but progress has been hindered by the fact that such pheromones have only been isolated in honeybees. In a pair of papers on the ant Lasius niger, we identified and investigated a queen pheromone regulating worker sterility...... with other studies, these results indicate that queen pheromones are honest signals of quality that simultaneously regulate multiple social behaviors....

Social context predicts recognition systems in ant queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreier, Stéphanie Agnès Jeanine; d'Ettorre, Patrizia

2009-01-01

Recognition of group-members is a key feature of sociality. Ants use chemical communication to discriminate nestmates from intruders, enhancing kin cooperation and preventing parasitism. The recognition code is embedded in their cuticular chemical profile, which typically varies between colonies....... We predicted that ants might be capable of accurate recognition in unusual situations when few individuals interact repeatedly, as new colonies started by two to three queens. Individual recognition would be favoured by selection when queens establish dominance hierarchies, because repeated fights...... for dominance are costly; but it would not evolve in absence of hierarchies. We previously showed that Pachycondyla co-founding queens, which form dominance hierarchies, have accurate individual recognition based on chemical cues. Here, we used the ant Lasius niger to test the null hypothesis that individual...

Eco-evolutionary Red Queen dynamics regulate biodiversity in a metabolite-driven microbial system.

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Bonachela, Juan A; Wortel, Meike T; Stenseth, Nils Chr

2017-12-15

The Red Queen Hypothesis proposes that perpetual co-evolution among organisms can result from purely biotic drivers. After more than four decades, there is no satisfactory understanding as to which mechanisms trigger Red Queen dynamics or their implications for ecosystem features such as biodiversity. One reason for such a knowledge gap is that typical models are complicated theories where limit cycles represent an idealized Red Queen, and therefore cannot be used to devise experimental setups. Here, we bridge this gap by introducing a simple model for microbial systems able to show Red Queen dynamics. We explore diverse biotic sources that can drive the emergence of the Red Queen and that have the potential to be found in nature or to be replicated in the laboratory. Our model enables an analytical understanding of how Red Queen dynamics emerge in our setup, and the translation of model terms and phenomenology into general underlying mechanisms. We observe, for example, that in our system the Red Queen offers opportunities for the increase of biodiversity by facilitating challenging conditions for intraspecific dominance, whereas stasis tends to homogenize the system. Our results can be used to design and engineer experimental microbial systems showing Red Queen dynamics.

The Red Queen lives: Epistasis between linked resistance loci.

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Metzger, César M J A; Luijckx, Pepijn; Bento, Gilberto; Mariadassou, Mahendra; Ebert, Dieter

2016-02-01

A popular theory explaining the maintenance of genetic recombination (sex) is the Red Queen Theory. This theory revolves around the idea that time-lagged negative frequency-dependent selection by parasites favors rare host genotypes generated through recombination. Although the Red Queen has been studied for decades, one of its key assumptions has remained unsupported. The signature host-parasite specificity underlying the Red Queen, where infection depends on a match between host and parasite genotypes, relies on epistasis between linked resistance loci for which no empirical evidence exists. We performed 13 genetic crosses and tested over 7000 Daphnia magna genotypes for resistance to two strains of the bacterial pathogen Pasteuria ramosa. Results reveal the presence of strong epistasis between three closely linked resistance loci. One locus masks the expression of the other two, while these two interact to produce a single resistance phenotype. Changing a single allele on one of these interacting loci can reverse resistance against the tested parasites. Such a genetic mechanism is consistent with host and parasite specificity assumed by the Red Queen Theory. These results thus provide evidence for a fundamental assumption of this theory and provide a genetic basis for understanding the Red Queen dynamics in the Daphnia-Pasteuria system. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Mating with stressed males increases the fitness of ant queens.

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Alexandra Schrempf

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: According to sexual conflict theory, males can increase their own fitness by transferring substances during copulation that increase the short-term fecundity of their mating partners at the cost of the future life expectancy and re-mating capability of the latter. In contrast, sexual cooperation is expected in social insects. Mating indeed positively affects life span and fecundity of young queens of the male-polymorphic ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, even though males neither provide nuptial gifts nor any other care but leave their mates immediately after copulation and die shortly thereafter. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we show that mating with winged disperser males has a significantly stronger impact on life span and reproductive success of young queens of C. obscurior than mating with wingless fighter males. CONCLUSIONS: Winged males are reared mostly under stressful environmental conditions, which force young queens to disperse and found their own societies independently. In contrast, queens that mate with wingless males under favourable conditions usually start reproducing in the safety of the established maternal nest. Our study suggests that males of C. obscurior have evolved mechanisms to posthumously assist young queens during colony founding under adverse ecological conditions.

Cellular degradation activity is maintained during aging in long-living queen bees.

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Hsu, Chin-Yuan; Qiu, Jiantai Timothy; Chan, Yu-Pei

2016-11-01

Queen honeybees (Apis mellifera) have a much longer lifespan than worker bees. Whether cellular degradation activity is involved in the longevity of queen bees is unknown. In the present study, cellular degradation activity was evaluated in the trophocytes and oenocytes of young and old queen bees. The results indicated that (i) 20S proteasome activity and the size of autophagic vacuoles decreased with aging, and (ii) there were no significant differences between young and old queen bees with regard to 20S proteasome expression or efficiency, polyubiquitin aggregate expression, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-II (LC3-II) expression, 70 kDa heat shock cognate protein (Hsc70) expression, the density of autophagic vacuoles, p62/SQSTM1 expression, the activity or density of lysosomes, or molecular target of rapamycin expression. These results indicate that cellular degradation activity maintains a youthful status in the trophocytes and oenocytes of queen bees during aging and that cellular degradation activity is involved in maintaining the longevity of queen bees.

Individual Recognition in Ant Queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

D'Ettorre, Patrizia; Heinze, Jürgen

2005-01-01

Personal relationships are the cornerstone of vertebrate societies, but insect societies are either too large for individual recognition, or their members were assumed to lack the necessary cognitive abilities 1 and 2 . This paradigm has been challenged by the recent discovery that paper wasps...... recognize each other's unique facial color patterns [3] . Individual recognition is advantageous when dominance hierarchies control the partitioning of work and reproduction 2 and 4 . Here, we show that unrelated founding queens of the ant Pachycondyla villosa use chemical cues to recognize each other...... individually. Aggression was significantly lower in pairs of queens that had previously interacted than in pairs with similar social history but no experience with one another. Moreover, subordinates discriminated familiar and unfamiliar dominants in choice experiments in which physical contact, but not odor...

The effect of queen and worker adoption on weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) queen fecundity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Offenberg, Joachim; Peng, Renkang; Nielsen, Mogens Gissel

2012-01-01

Incipient ant colonies are often under fierce competition, making fast growth crucial for survival. To increase production, colonies can adopt multiple queens (pleometrosis), fuse with other colonies or rob brood from neighboring colonies. However, different adoption strategies might have different...

Sexual Cooperation: Mating Increases Longevity in Ant Queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrempf, Alexandra; Heinze, Jürgen; Cremer, Sylvia

2005-01-01

Divergent reproductive interests of males and females often cause sexual conflict [1] and [2] . Males of many species manipulate females by transferring seminal fluids that boost female short-term fecundity while decreasing their life expectancy and future reproductivity [3] and [4] . The life...... history of ants, however, is expected to reduce sexual conflict; whereas most insect females show repeated phases of mating and reproduction, ant queens mate only during a short period early in life and undergo a lifelong commitment to their mates by storing sperm [5] . Furthermore, sexual offspring can...... sterilized male lived considerably longer and started laying eggs earlier than virgin queens. Only queens that received viable sperm from fertile males showed increased fecundity. The lack of a trade-off between fecundity and longevity is unexpected, given evolutionary theories of aging [6] . Our data...

Modelling information exchange in worker-queen conflict over sex allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pen, I.R.; Taylor, P.D.

2005-01-01

We investigate the conflict between queen and worker over sex allocation, specifically the allocation of the queen's eggs between workers and reproductives and the allocation of the reproductive eggs between male and female. In contrast to previous models, we allow workers to observe and use

Long-Lived Termite Queens Exhibit High Cu/Zn-Superoxide Dismutase Activity

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Eisuke Tasaki

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In most organisms, superoxide dismutases (SODs are among the most effective antioxidant enzymes that regulate the reactive oxygen species (ROS generated by oxidative energy metabolism. ROS are considered main proximate causes of aging. However, it remains unclear if SOD activities are associated with organismal longevity. The queens of eusocial insects, such as termites, ants, and honeybees, exhibit extraordinary longevity in comparison with the nonreproductive castes, such as workers. Therefore, the queens are promising candidates to study the underlying mechanisms of aging. Here, we found that queens have higher Cu/Zn-SOD activity than nonreproductive individuals of the termite Reticulitermes speratus. We identified three Cu/Zn-SOD sequences and one Mn-SOD sequence by RNA sequencing in R. speratus. Although the queens showed higher Cu/Zn-SOD activity than the nonreproductive individuals, there were no differences in their expression levels of the Cu/Zn-SOD genes RsSOD1 and RsSOD3A. Copper (Cu2+ and Cu+ is an essential cofactor for Cu/Zn-SOD enzyme activity, and the queens had higher concentrations of copper than the workers. These results suggest that the high Cu/Zn-SOD activity of termite queens is related to their high levels of the cofactor rather than gene expression. This study highlights that Cu/Zn-SOD activity contributes to extraordinary longevity in termites.

Performance of Africanized honeybee colonies settled by queens selected for different traits

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Tânia Patrícia Schafaschek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We evaluated varroa infestation and the performance of Africanized honeybee colonies with queens selected for honey and royal jelly production, and also unselected queens, correlating with climatic variables. In Campo Alegre, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, the experiment I used 10 Langstroth hives and in Mafra, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, the experiment II was performed with 15 Schenk hives. A mapping in areas of sealed and unsealed brood, honey and pollen was carried out on days zero, 45 and 90 days after the introduction of the queen. In the experiment I, there was interaction between the type of queen selection and the evaluation period for areas of sealed brood, honey, and total stored food. The group selected for royal jelly production presented larger sealed brood area and smaller honey area at 90 days. Varroa infestation was lower (p < 0.05 at 90 days. The type of queen selection and the evaluation period influenced the sealed brood area, the total brood and the total area occupied in the colony. The high relative humidity caused greater honey storage for the local group. The different groups of queens presented different behavior according to the environment in which they are settled.

Thelytokous parthenogenesis by queens in the dacetine ant Pyramica membranifera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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Ito, Fuminori; Touyama, Yoshifumi; Gotoh, Ayako; Kitahiro, Shungo; Billen, Johan

2010-08-01

Thelytokous parthenogenesis in which diploid females are produced from unfertilized eggs, was recently reported for some ant species. Here, we document thelytokous reproduction by queens in the polygynous species Pyramica membranifera. Queens that emerged in the laboratory were kept with or without workers under laboratory conditions. Independent colony founding was successful for a few queens if prey was provided. All artificial colonies, which started with a newly emerged queen and workers produced new workers and some of the colonies also produced female sexuals. Some of the female sexuals shed their wings in the laboratory and started formation of new polygynous colonies. Workers had no ovaries and thus, were obligatorily sterile.

The Effects of Pesticides on Queen Rearing and Virus Titers in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

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DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria; Chen, Yanping; Simonds, Roger

2013-01-01

The effects of sublethal pesticide exposure on queen emergence and virus titers were examined. Queen rearing colonies were fed pollen with chlorpyrifos (CPF) alone (pollen-1) and with CPF and the fungicide Pristine® (pollen-2). Fewer queens emerged when larvae from open foraging (i.e., outside) colonies were reared in colonies fed pollen-1 or 2 compared with when those larvae were reared in outside colonies. Larvae grafted from and reared in colonies fed pollen-2 had lower rates of queen emergence than pollen-1 or outside colonies. Deformed wing virus (DWV) and black queen cell virus were found in nurse bees from colonies fed pollen-1 or 2 and in outside colonies. The viruses also were detected in queen larvae. However, we did not detect virus in emerged queens grafted from and reared in outside colonies. In contrast, DWV was found in all emerged queens grafted from colonies fed pollen-1 or 2 either reared in outside hives or those fed pollen-1 or 2. The results suggest that sublethal exposure of CPF alone but especially when Pristine® is added reduces queen emergence possibly due to compromised immunity in developing queens. PMID:26466796

The Effects of Pesticides on Queen Rearing and Virus Titers in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.

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Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of sublethal pesticide exposure on queen emergence and virus titers were examined. Queen rearing colonies were fed pollen with chlorpyrifos (CPF alone (pollen-1 and with CPF and the fungicide Pristine® (pollen-2. Fewer queens emerged when larvae from open foraging (i.e., outside colonies were reared in colonies fed pollen-1 or 2 compared with when those larvae were reared in outside colonies. Larvae grafted from and reared in colonies fed pollen-2 had lower rates of queen emergence than pollen-1 or outside colonies. Deformed wing virus (DWV and black queen cell virus were found in nurse bees from colonies fed pollen-1 or 2 and in outside colonies. The viruses also were detected in queen larvae. However, we did not detect virus in emerged queens grafted from and reared in outside colonies. In contrast, DWV was found in all emerged queens grafted from colonies fed pollen-1 or 2 either reared in outside hives or those fed pollen-1 or 2. The results suggest that sublethal exposure of CPF alone but especially when Pristine® is added reduces queen emergence possibly due to compromised immunity in developing queens.

Dominance and queen succession in captive colonies of the eusocial naked mole-rat, Heterocephalus glaber.

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Clarke, F M; Faulkes, C G

1997-07-22

Naked mole-rat colonies exhibit a high reproductive skew, breeding being typically restricted to one female (the 'queen') and one to three males. Other colony members are reproductively suppressed, although this suppression can be reversed following the removal or death of the queen. We examined dominance and queen succession within captive colonies to investigate the relationship between urinary testosterone and cortisol, dominance rank and reproductive status; and to determine if behavioural and/or physiological parameters can be used as predictors of queen succession. Social structure was characterized by a linear dominance hierarchy before and after queen removal. Prior to queen removal, dominance rank was negatively correlated with body weight and urinary testosterone and cortisol titres in males and females. Queen removal results in social instability and aggression between high ranking individuals. Dominance rank appears to be a good predictor of reproductive status: queens are the highest ranking colony females and are succeeded by the next highest ranking females. The intense dominance-related aggression that accompanies reproductive succession in naked mole-rats provides empirical support for optimal skew theory.

Martian Pyroxenes in the Shergottite Meteorites; Zagami, SAU005, DAG476 and EETA79001

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Stephen, N.; Benedix, G. K.; Bland, P.; Hamilton, V. E.

2010-12-01

The geology and surface mineralogy of Mars is characterised using remote sensing techniques such as thermal emission spectroscopy (TES) from instruments on a number of spacecraft currently orbiting Mars or gathered from roving missions on the Martian surface. However, the study of Martian meteorites is also important in efforts to further understand the geological history of Mars or to interpret mission data as they are believed to be the only available samples that give us direct clues as to Martian igneous processes [1]. We have recently demonstrated that the spectra of Martian-specific minerals can be determined using micro-spectroscopy [2] and that these spectra can be reliably obtained from thin sections of Martian meteorites [3]. Accurate modal mineralogy of these meteorites is also important [4]. In this study we are using a variety of techniques to build upon previous studies of these particular samples in order to fully characterise the nature of the 2 common pyroxenes found in Martian Shergottites; pigeonite and augite [5], [6]. Previous studies have shown that the Shergottite meteorites are dominated by pyroxene (pigeonite and augite in varying quantities) [4], [5], commonly but not always olivine, plagioclase or maskelynite/glass and also hydrous minerals, which separate the Martian meteorites from other achondrites [7]. Our microprobe study of meteorites Zagami, EETA79001, SAU005 and DAG476 in thin-section at the Natural History Museum, London shows a chemical variability within both the pigeonite and augite composition across individual grains in all thin sections; variation within either Mg or Ca concentration varies from core to rim within the grains. This variation can also be seen in modal mineralogy maps using SEM-derived element maps and the Photoshop® technique previously described [4], and in new micro-spectroscopy data, particularly within the Zagami meteorite. New mineral spectra have been gathered from the Shergottite thin-sections by

Classical conditioning of proboscis extension in harnessed Africanized honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Aquino, Italo S; Abramson, Charles I; Soares, Ademilson E E; Fernandes, Andrea Cardoso; Benbassat, Danny

2004-06-01

Experiments are reported on learning in virgin Africanized honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.). Queens restrained in a "Pavlovian harness" received a pairing of hexanal odor with a 1.8-M feeding of sucrose solution. Compared to explicitly unpaired controls, acquisition was rapid in reaching about 90%. Acquisition was also rapid in queens receiving an unconditioned stimulus of "bee candy" or an unconditioned stimulus administered by worker bees. During extinction the conditioned response declines. The steepest decline was observed in queens receiving an unconditioned stimulus of bee candy. These findings extend previous work on learning of Afrianized honey bee workers to a population of queen bees.

Genetic reincarnation of workers as queens in the Eastern honeybee Apis cerana.

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Holmes, M J; Tan, K; Wang, Z; Oldroyd, B P; Beekman, M

2015-01-01

Thelytokous parthenogenesis, or the asexual production of female offspring, is rare in the animal kingdom, but relatively common in social Hymenoptera. However, in honeybees, it is only known to be ubiquitous in one subspecies of Apis mellifera, the Cape honeybee, A. mellifera capensis. Here we report the appearance of queen cells in two colonies of the Eastern honeybee Apis cerana that no longer contained a queen or queen-produced brood to rear queens from. A combination of microsatellite genotyping and the timing of the appearance of these individuals excluded the possibility that they had been laid by the original queen. Based on the genotypes of these individuals, thelytokous production by natal workers is the most parsimonious explanation for their existence. Thus, we present the first example of thelytoky in a honeybee outside A. mellifera. We discuss the evolutionary and ecological consequences of thelytoky in A. cerana, in particular the role thelytoky may play in the recent invasions by populations of this species.

Tolerating an infection: an indirect benefit of co-founding queen associations in the ant Lasius niger

Science.gov (United States)

Pull, Christopher D.; Hughes, William O. H.; Brown, Mark J. F.

2013-12-01

Pathogens exert a strong selection pressure on organisms to evolve effective immune defences. In addition to individual immunity, social organisms can act cooperatively to produce collective defences. In many ant species, queens have the option to found a colony alone or in groups with other, often unrelated, conspecifics. These associations are transient, usually lasting only as long as each queen benefits from the presence of others. In fact, once the first workers emerge, queens fight to the death for dominance. One potential advantage of co-founding may be that queens benefit from collective disease defences, such as mutual grooming, that act against common soil pathogens. We test this hypothesis by exposing single and co-founding queens to a fungal parasite, in order to assess whether queens in co-founding associations have improved survival. Surprisingly, co-foundresses exposed to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium did not engage in cooperative disease defences, and consequently, we find no direct benefit of multiple queens on survival. However, an indirect benefit was observed, with parasite-exposed queens producing more brood when they co-founded, than when they were alone. We suggest this is due to a trade-off between reproduction and immunity. Additionally, we report an extraordinary ability of the queens to tolerate an infection for long periods after parasite exposure. Our study suggests that there are no social immunity benefits for co-founding ant queens, but that in parasite-rich environments, the presence of additional queens may nevertheless improve the chances of colony founding success.

Colony fusion and worker reproduction after queen loss in army ants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kronauer, Daniel J C; Schöning, Caspar; d'Ettorre, Patrizia

2010-01-01

their reproductive success. We show that worker chemical recognition profiles remain similar after queen loss, but rapidly change into a mixed colony Gestalt odour after fusion, consistent with indiscriminate acceptance of alien workers that are no longer aggressive. We hypothesize that colony fusion after queen...

Héctor Brioso and Alexandra Chereches, eds., «Callando pasan los ligeros años...»: El Lope de Vega joven y el teatro antes de 1609

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Presotto

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Review of Héctor Brioso and Alexandra Chereches, eds., «Callando pasan los ligeros años...»: El Lope de Vega joven y el teatro antes de 1609, Liceus (Literatura Española, Papeles de Teatro, 1, Madrid, 2012, 220 pp. ISBN: 978-84-9714-033-1.

Depression of brain dopamine and its metabolite after mating in European honeybee (Apis mellifera) queens

Science.gov (United States)

Harano, Ken-Ichi; Sasaki, Ken; Nagao, Takashi

2005-07-01

To explore neuro-endocrinal changes in the brain of European honeybee (Apis mellifera) queens before and after mating, we measured the amount of several biogenic amines, including dopamine and its metabolite in the brain of 6- and 12-day-old virgins and 12-day-old mated queens. Twelve-day-old mated queens showed significantly lower amounts of dopamine and its metabolite (N-acetyldopamine) than both 6- and 12-day-old virgin queens, whereas significant differences in the amounts of these amines were not detected between 6- and 12-day-old virgin queens. These results are explained by down-regulation of both synthesis and secretion of brain dopamine after mating. It is speculated that higher amounts of brain dopamine in virgin queens might be involved in activation of ovarian follicles arrested in previtellogenic stages, as well as regulation of their characteristic behaviors.

Differential antennal proteome comparison of adult honeybee drone, worker and queen (Apis mellifera L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Yu; Song, Feifei; Zhang, Lan; Aleku, Dereje Woltedji; Han, Bin; Feng, Mao; Li, Jianke

2012-01-04

To understand the olfactory mechanism of honeybee antennae in detecting specific volatile compounds in the atmosphere, antennal proteome differences of drone, worker and queen were compared using 2-DE, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Therefore, 107 proteins were altered their expressions in the antennae of drone, worker and queen bees. There were 54, 21 and 32 up-regulated proteins in the antennae of drone, worker and queen, respectively. Proteins upregulated in the drone antennae were involved in fatty acid metabolism, antioxidation, carbohydrate metabolism and energy production, protein folding and cytoskeleton. Proteins upregulated in the antennae of worker and queen bees were related to carbohydrate metabolism and energy production while molecular transporters were upregulated in the queen antennae. Our results explain the role played by the antennae of drone is to aid in perceiving the queen sexual pheromones, in the worker antennae to assist for food search and social communication and in the queen antennae to help pheromone communication with the worker and the drone during the mating flight. This first proteomic study significantly extends our understanding of honeybee olfactory activities and the possible mechanisms played by the antennae in response to various environmental, social, biological and biochemical signals. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grafický design gramofonových alb hudební skupiny Queen

OpenAIRE

Bílková, Alena

2014-01-01

Bachelor thesis will deal with graphic design of LP covers music group Queen. It will focus on visual studies and LP graphic design in general. The main part will concentrate on music group Queen and graphic design of its LP covers. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Deformed wing virus can be transmitted during natural mating in honey bees and infect the queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amiri, Esmaeil; Meixner, Marina D.; Kryger, Per

2016-01-01

prevalence of deformed wing virus, queens (n = 30) were trapped upon their return from natural mating flights. The last drone’s endophallus (n = 29), if present, was removed from the mated queens for deformed wing virus quantification, leading to the detection of high-level infection in 3 endophalli. After...... oviposition, viral quantification revealed that seven of the 30 queens had high-level deformed wing virus infections, in all tissues, including the semen stored in the spermathecae. Two groups of either unmated queens (n = 8) with induced egg laying, or queens (n = 12) mated in isolation with drones showing...... comparatively low deformed wing virus infections served as control. None of the control queens exhibited high-level viral infections. Our results demonstrate that deformed wing virus infected drones are competitive to mate and able to transmit the virus along with semen, which occasionally leads to queen...

Queen Specific Exocrine Glands in Legionary Ants and Their Possible Function in Sexual Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hölldobler, Bert

2016-01-01

The colonies of army ants and some other legionary ant species have single, permanently wingless queens with massive post petioles and large gasters. Such highly modified queens are called dichthadiigynes. This paper presents the unusually rich exocrine gland endowment of dichthadiigynes, which is not found in queens of other ant species. It has been suggested these kinds of glands produce secretions that attract and maintain worker retinues around queens, especially during migration. However, large worker retinues also occur in non-legionary species whose queens do not have such an exuberance of exocrine glands. We argue and present evidence in support of our previously proposed hypothesis that the enormous outfit of exocrine glands found in dichthadiigynes is due to sexual selection mediated by workers as the main selecting agents.

Queen Specific Exocrine Glands in Legionary Ants and Their Possible Function in Sexual Selection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bert Hölldobler

Full Text Available The colonies of army ants and some other legionary ant species have single, permanently wingless queens with massive post petioles and large gasters. Such highly modified queens are called dichthadiigynes. This paper presents the unusually rich exocrine gland endowment of dichthadiigynes, which is not found in queens of other ant species. It has been suggested these kinds of glands produce secretions that attract and maintain worker retinues around queens, especially during migration. However, large worker retinues also occur in non-legionary species whose queens do not have such an exuberance of exocrine glands. We argue and present evidence in support of our previously proposed hypothesis that the enormous outfit of exocrine glands found in dichthadiigynes is due to sexual selection mediated by workers as the main selecting agents.

Honey bees consider larval nutritional status rather than genetic relatedness when selecting larvae for emergency queen rearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagili, Ramesh R; Metz, Bradley N; Lucas, Hannah M; Chakrabarti, Priyadarshini; Breece, Carolyn R

2018-05-16

In honey bees and many other social insects, production of queens is a vital task, as colony fitness is dependent on queens. The factors considered by honey bee workers in selecting larvae to rear new queens during emergency queen rearing are poorly understood. Identifying these parameters is critical, both in an evolutionary and apicultural context. As female caste development in honey bees is dependent on larval diet (i.e. nutrition), we hypothesized that larval nutritional state is meticulously assessed and used by workers in selection of larvae for queen rearing. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of experiments manipulating the nutritional status of one day old larvae by depriving them of brood food for a four-hour period, and then allowing workers to choose larvae for rearing queens from nutritionally deprived and non-deprived larvae. We simultaneously investigated the role of genetic relatedness in selection of larvae for queen rearing. In all the experiments, significantly greater numbers of non-deprived larvae than deprived larvae were selected for queen rearing irrespective of genetic relatedness. Our results demonstrate that honey bees perceive the nutritional state of larvae and use that information when selecting larvae for rearing queens in the natural emergency queen replacement process.

Effects of neonicotinoid imidacloprid exposure on bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queen survival and nest initiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu-Smart, Judy; Spivak, Marla

2018-02-08

Neonicotinoids are highly toxic to insects and may systemically translocate to nectar and pollen of plants where foraging bees may become exposed. Exposure to neonicotinoids can induce detrimental sublethal effects on individual and colonies of bees and may have long-term impacts, such as impaired foraging, reduced longevity, and reduced brood care or production. Less well-studied are the potential effects on queen bumble bees that may become exposed while foraging in the spring during colony initiation. This study assessed queen survival and nest founding in caged bumble bees [Bombus impatiens (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)] after chronic (18-d) dietary exposure of imidacloprid in syrup (1, 5, 10, and 25 ppb) and pollen (0.3, 1.7, 3.3, and 8.3 ppb), paired respectively. Here we show some mortality in queens exposed at all doses even as low as 1 ppb, and, compared with untreated queens, significantly reduced survival of treated queens at the two highest doses. Queens that survived initial imidacloprid exposure commenced nest initiation; however, they exhibited dose-dependent delay in egg-laying and emergence of worker brood. Furthermore, imidacloprid treatment affected other parameters such as nest and queen weight. This study is the first to show direct impacts of imidacloprid at field-relevant levels on individual B. impatiens queen survival and nest founding, indicating that bumble bee queens are particularly sensitive to neonicotinoids when directly exposed. This study also helps focus pesticide risk mitigation efforts and highlights the importance of reducing exposure rates in the early spring when bumble bee queens, and other wild bees are foraging and initiating nests. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Potential increase in mating frequency of queens in feral colonies of Bombus terrestris introduced into Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Maki N.; Saito, Fuki; Tsuchida, Koji; Goka, Koichi

2012-10-01

With the exception of several species, bumblebees are monandrous. We examined mating frequency in feral colonies of the introduced bumblebee Bombus terrestris in Japan . Using microsatellite markers, genotyping of sperm DNA stored in the spermatheca of nine queens detected multiple insemination paternities in one queen; the others were singly mated. The average effective paternity frequency estimated from the genotypes of queens and workers was 1.23; that estimated from the workers' genotype alone was 2.12. These values were greater than those of laboratory-reared colonies in the native ranges of B. terrestris. The genotypes of one or two workers did not match those of their queens or showed paternities different from those of their nestmates; this may have arisen from either queen takeover or drifting of workers. These alien workers were responsible for the heterogeneous genotype distribution within each B. terrestris colony, resulting in higher estimates of paternity frequency than of insemination frequency. The high mating frequency of introduced B. terrestris may have occurred by artificial selection through mass breeding for commercialization. Moreover, polyandrous queens may be selectively advantageous, because reproduction by such queens is less likely to be disturbed by interspecific mating than that by monandrous queens.

Ant Queen Egg-Marking Signals: Matching Deceptive Laboratory Simplicity with Natural Complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Zweden, Jelle Stijn; Heinze, Jürgen; Boomsma, Jacobus Jan

2009-01-01

Background Experiments under controlled laboratory conditions can produce decisive evidence for testing biological hypotheses, provided they are representative of the more complex natural conditions. However, whether this requirement is fulfilled is seldom tested explicitly. Here we provide a lab....../field comparison to investigate the identity of an egg-marking signal of ant queens. Our study was based on ant workers resolving conflict over male production by destroying each other's eggs, but leaving queen eggs unharmed. For this, the workers need a proximate cue to discriminate between the two egg types...... that this compound by itself is not the natural queen egg-marking pheromone. We subsequently investigated the overall differences of entire chemical profiles of eggs, and found that queen-laid eggs in field colonies are more distinct from worker-laid eggs than in lab colonies, have more variation in profiles...

Women in History--Queen Liliuokalani

Science.gov (United States)

Koeppe, Tina

2007-01-01

This article profiles Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii's last monarch. Liliuokalani was born in Hawaii in 1838 into the family of a high chief. She attended the Royal School, run by American missionaries, and received a high quality education and learned to love music, writing and politics. Liliuokalani was given the Christian name "Lydia" as…

Effect of cuticular abrasion and recovery on water loss rates in queens of the desert harvester ant Messor pergandei.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Robert A; Kaiser, Alexander; Quinlan, Michael; Sharp, William

2011-10-15

Factors that affect water loss rates (WLRs) are poorly known for organisms in natural habitats. Seed-harvester ant queens provide an ideal system for examining such factors because WLRs for mated queens excavated from their incipient nests are twofold to threefold higher than those of alate queens. Indirect data suggest that this increase results from soil particles abrading the cuticle during nest excavation. This study provides direct support for the cuticle abrasion hypothesis by measuring total mass-specific WLRs, cuticular abrasion, cuticular transpiration, respiratory water loss and metabolic rate for queens of the ant Messor pergandei at three stages: unmated alate queens, newly mated dealate queens (undug foundresses) and mated queens excavated from their incipient nest (dug foundresses); in addition we examined these processes in artificially abraded alate queens. Alate queens had low WLRs and low levels of cuticle abrasion, whereas dug foundresses had high WLRs and high levels of cuticle abrasion. Total WLR and cuticular transpiration were lowest for alate queens, intermediate for undug foundresses and highest for dug foundresses. Respiratory water loss contributed ~10% of the total WLR and was lower for alate queens and undug foundresses than for dug foundresses. Metabolic rate did not vary across stages. Total WLR and cuticular transpiration of artificially abraded alate queens increased, whereas respiratory water loss and metabolic rate were unaffected. Overall, increased cuticular transpiration accounted for essentially all the increased total water loss in undug and dug foundresses and artificially abraded queens. Artificially abraded queens and dug foundresses showed partial recovery after 14 days.

The Queen Bee Phenomenon: Why Women Leaders Distance Themselves from Junior Women

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Derks, B.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/299622673; Van Laar, C.; Ellemers, Naomi|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/086631276

2016-01-01

This contribution reviews work on the Queen Bee phenomenon whereby women leaders assimilate into masculine organizations, distance themselves from junior women and legitimize gender inequality in their organization. We propose that rather than being a source of gender inequality, the Queen Bee

Effect of a fungicide and spray adjuvant on queen-rearing success in honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Reed M; Percel, Eric G

2013-10-01

Commercial producers of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.) have reported unexplained loss of immature queens during the larval or pupal stage. Many affected queen-rearing operations are situated among the almond orchards of California and report these losses in weeks after almond trees bloom. Almond flowers are a rich foraging resource for bees, but are often treated with fungicides, insecticides, and spray adjuvants during bloom. Anecdotal reports by queen producers associate problems in queen development with application of the fungicide Pristine (boscalid and pyraclostrobin) and spray adjuvants that are tank-mixed with it. To test the effect of these compounds on queen development, a new bioassay was developed in which queens are reared in closed swarm boxes for 4 d, until capping, with nurse bees fed exclusively on artificially contaminated pollen. Pollen was treated with four concentrations of formulated Pristine (0.4, 4, 40, and 400 ppm), a spray adjuvant (Break-Thru, 200 ppm), the combination of Pristine and spray adjuvant (400:200 ppm), the insect growth regulator insecticide diflubenzuron (100 ppm) as a positive control, or water as negative control. Chemical analysis revealed that low concentrations of pyraclostrobin (50 ppb), but no boscalid, were detectable in royal jelly secreted by nurse bees feeding on treated pollen. No significant difference in queen development or survival was observed between any of the experimental treatments and the negative control. Only diflubenzuron, the positive control, caused a substantial reduction in survival of immature queens.

Behavioral Differentiation and Ovarian Development of Unmated Gynes, Queens, and Workers of Ectatomma vizottoi Almeida 1987 (Formicidae, Ectatomminae

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Alexsandro Santana Vieira

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Behavioral differentiation and ovarian development of unmated gynes, queens, and workers of Ectatomma vizottoi were investigated in laboratory conditions. Forty-one behavioral acts were identified and quantified for workers, 19 for queens and 24 for unmated gynes, for an overall species repertoire of 42 different behavioral acts. Ovipositing reproductive eggs was an exclusive task of the queen, whereas workers showed 15 caste-specific behaviors. The most important (frequent behaviors for the queens were brood care, immobility, and reproduction, and for workers were immobility, grooming/interaction, brood care, and foraging. Unmated gynes (not winged primarily showed immobility, brood care, grooming/interaction, and foraging. Analysis of ovarian development showed that unmated gynes had little-developed ovarioles, in contrast to queens. Queens and unmated gynes showed a clear behavioral differentiation, in which queens played the role of reproducers and unmated gynes performed activities belonging to the worker repertoire. Despite the presence of several breeding queens in the colony, functional monogyny was the rule.

case of natural queen succession in a captive colony of naked mole ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Naked mole-rats occur in large colonies where usually a single queen monopolizes reproduction. Queen succession occurs from within usually as a result of aggressive encounters with subordinate females that queue for reproductive succession following colony instability, which inevitably results in death of either the ...

Cuticular hydrocarbons correlate with queen reproductive status in native and invasive Argentine ants (Linepithema humile, Mayr)

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz, Mireia; Lenoir, Alain; Ivon Paris, Carolina; Boulay, Raphaël; Gómez, Crisanto

2018-01-01

In insect societies, chemical communication plays an important role in colony reproduction and individual social status. Many studies have indicated that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are the main chemical compounds encoding reproductive status. However, these studies have largely focused on queenless or monogynous species whose workers are capable of egg laying and have mainly explored the mechanisms underlying queen-worker or worker-worker reproductive conflicts. Less is known about what occurs in highly polygynous ant species with permanently sterile workers. Here, we used the Argentine ant as a model to examine the role of CHCs in communicating reproductive information in such insect societies. The Argentine ant is unicolonial, highly polygynous, and polydomous. We identified several CHCs whose presence and levels were correlated with queen age, reproductive status, and fertility. Our results also provide new insights into queen executions in the Argentine ant, a distinctive feature displayed by this species in its introduced range. Each spring, just before new sexuals appear, workers eliminate up to 90% of the mated queens in their colonies. We discovered that queens that survived execution had different CHC profiles from queens present before and during execution. More specifically, levels of some CHCs were higher in the survivors, suggesting that workers could eliminate queens based on their chemical profiles. In addition, queen CHC profiles differed based on season and species range (native vs. introduced). Overall, the results of this study provide new evidence that CHCs serve as queen signals and do more than just regulate worker reproduction. PMID:29470506

"Courageous, Zealous, Learned, Wise, and Chaste" - Queen Elizabeth I's Biblical Analogies After Her Death

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Aidan Norrie

2015-11-01

Full Text Available During her reign, Queen Elizabeth I of England was the subject of various biblical analogies. Much of the current historiography, however, does not continue analysis of these literary devices after the Queen's death in 1603. Primary source documents show that their use did not cease with the Queen's death. These analogies appear to have continued for two primary purposes. Analogies legitimised a questionable event that had occurred during Elizabeth's reign, and portrayed these decisions as an example for the current Protestant monarch to imitate. Also, in the years after the Queen's death, analogies reinforced England's Protestantism (and its divine sanction, and gave the Stuart monarchs an example to emulate in religio-political matters.

Comparing alternative methods for holding virgin honey bee queens for one week in mailing cages before mating.

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Gianluigi Bigio

Full Text Available In beekeeping, queen honey bees are often temporarily kept alive in cages. We determined the survival of newly-emerged virgin honey bee queens every day for seven days in an experiment that simultaneously investigated three factors: queen cage type (wooden three-hole or plastic, attendant workers (present or absent and food type (sugar candy, honey, or both. Ten queens were tested in each of the 12 combinations. Queens were reared using standard beekeeping methods (Doolittle/grafting and emerged from their cells into vials held in an incubator at 34C. All 12 combinations gave high survival (90 or 100% for three days but only one method (wooden cage, with attendants, honey gave 100% survival to day seven. Factors affecting queen survival were analysed. Across all combinations, attendant bees significantly increased survival (18% vs. 53%, p<0.001. In addition, there was an interaction between food type and cage type (p<0.001 with the honey and plastic cage combination giving reduced survival. An additional group of queens was reared and held for seven days using the best method, and then directly introduced using smoke into queenless nucleus colonies that had been dequeened five days previously. Acceptance was high (80%, 8/10 showing that this combination is also suitable for preparing queens for introduction into colonies. Having a simple method for keeping newly-emerged virgin queens alive in cages for one week and acceptable for introduction into queenless colonies will be useful in honey bee breeding. In particular, it facilitates the screening of many queens for genetic or phenotypic characteristics when only a small proportion meets the desired criteria. These can then be introduced into queenless hives for natural mating or insemination, both of which take place when queens are one week old.

Queen influence on workers behavior of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa (Forel, 1908

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L. Sousa-Souto

Full Text Available In an ant colony, the queen is the single reproducer and can interact with her workers via pheromones and cuticular compounds. However, in most species queen importance is not restricted to reproduction: in the initial development of the colony, her presence might play a more important role. In this work, we studied the effects of queen absence on workers behavior displayed in the foraging arena. Ant’s mortality and refuse accumulation was also measured daily. The results showed that queen absence did not alter either workers behavior or foraging efficiency. However, we observed increased ant mortality accompanied by a decrease in refuse dumping outside the nest. These results corroborate the hypothesis that environmental factors are more important than intrinsical factors in the allocation of external tasks. Probably, the queen could only influence internal activities of the colony.

A distinct role of the queen in coordinated workload and soil distribution in eusocial naked mole-rats.

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Nobuyuki Kutsukake

Full Text Available We investigated how group members achieve collective decision-making, by considering individual intrinsic behavioural rules and behavioural mechanisms for maintaining social integration. Using a simulated burrow environment, we investigated the behavioural rules of coordinated workload for soil distribution in a eusocial mammal, the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber. We tested two predictions regarding a distinct role of the queen, a socially dominant individual in the caste system: the presence of a queen would increase the workload of other caste individuals, and the cues by a queen would affect the soil distribution. In experiment 1, we placed four individuals of various castes from the same colony into an experimental burrow. Workers exhibited the highest frequency of workload compared to other castes. The presence of a queen activated the workload by other individuals. Individuals showed a consistent workload in a particular direction so as to bias the soil distribution. These results suggest that individuals have a consensus on soil distribution and that the queen plays a distinct role. In experiment 2, we placed the odour of a queen in one of four cells and observed its effect on other individuals' workload and soil distribution. Relative to other cells, individuals frequently dug in the queen cell so the amount of soil in the queen cell decreased. These results suggest that queen odour is an important cue in coordinated workload and soil distribution in this species.

How Complex, Probable, and Predictable is Genetically Driven Red Queen Chaos?

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, Jorge; Rodrigues, Carla; Januário, Cristina; Martins, Nuno; Sardanyés, Josep

2015-12-01

Coevolution between two antagonistic species has been widely studied theoretically for both ecologically- and genetically-driven Red Queen dynamics. A typical outcome of these systems is an oscillatory behavior causing an endless series of one species adaptation and others counter-adaptation. More recently, a mathematical model combining a three-species food chain system with an adaptive dynamics approach revealed genetically driven chaotic Red Queen coevolution. In the present article, we analyze this mathematical model mainly focusing on the impact of species rates of evolution (mutation rates) in the dynamics. Firstly, we analytically proof the boundedness of the trajectories of the chaotic attractor. The complexity of the coupling between the dynamical variables is quantified using observability indices. By using symbolic dynamics theory, we quantify the complexity of genetically driven Red Queen chaos computing the topological entropy of existing one-dimensional iterated maps using Markov partitions. Co-dimensional two bifurcation diagrams are also built from the period ordering of the orbits of the maps. Then, we study the predictability of the Red Queen chaos, found in narrow regions of mutation rates. To extend the previous analyses, we also computed the likeliness of finding chaos in a given region of the parameter space varying other model parameters simultaneously. Such analyses allowed us to compute a mean predictability measure for the system in the explored region of the parameter space. We found that genetically driven Red Queen chaos, although being restricted to small regions of the analyzed parameter space, might be highly unpredictable.

Relic excavated in western India is probably of Georgian Queen Ketevan.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Niraj; Taher, Nizamuddin; Singh, Manvendra; Chaubey, Gyaneshwer; Jha, Aditya Nath; Singh, Lalji; Thangaraj, Kumarasamy

2014-01-01

History has well documented the execution of Queen Ketevan of Georgia by the Persian Emperor of modern day Iran. Based on historical records, in 1624 two Augustinian friars unearthed the queen's remains and one of them brought the relic to the St. Augustine convent in Goa, India. We carried out ancient DNA analysis on the human bone remains excavated from the St. Augustine convent by sequencing and genotyping of the mitochondrial DNA. The investigations of the remains revealed a unique mtDNA haplogroup U1b, which is absent in India, but present in Georgia and surrounding regions. Since our genetic analysis corroborates archaeological and literary evidence, it is likely that the excavated bone belongs to Queen Ketevan of Georgia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rezension von: Alexandra Kautzky-Willer (Hg.: Gendermedizin. Prävention, Diagnose, Therapie. Wien u.a.: UTB Böhlau Verlag 2012.

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Heinz-Jürgen Voß

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Die ‚Gendermedizin‘ ist im Begriff, zu einem antiemanzipatorischen Projekt zu werden. Menschen werden als durch und durch vergeschlechtlicht gedacht, die Ursachen nicht in gesellschaftlicher Ungleichbehandlung gesucht, sondern essentialisiert. Der von Alexandra Kautzky-Willer herausgegebene Sammelband macht diese Entwicklung deutlich. Gleichwohl zeigen sich in ihm vereinzelt auch reflektierte Betrachtungen, die soziale Faktoren in der Analyse zumindest zulassen. Ist der Band als Lehrbuch gedacht und soll er erste Orientierungsmöglichkeiten und Handlungsempfehlungen für die Praxis bieten, so wird er beidem nicht gerecht. Vielmehr handelt es sich um einen theoretisch gehaltenen Sammelband für Wissenschaftler/-innen mit lediglich vereinzelten Anregungen für die medizinische Praxis.

Epidemiology of a Daphnia-multiparasite system and its implications for the red queen.

Science.gov (United States)

Auld, Stuart K J R; Hall, Spencer R; Duffy, Meghan A

2012-01-01

The Red Queen hypothesis can explain the maintenance of host and parasite diversity. However, the Red Queen requires genetic specificity for infection risk (i.e., that infection depends on the exact combination of host and parasite genotypes) and strongly virulent effects of infection on host fitness. A European crustacean (Daphnia magna)--bacterium (Pasteuria ramosa) system typifies such specificity and high virulence. We studied the North American host Daphnia dentifera and its natural parasite Pasteuria ramosa, and also found strong genetic specificity for infection success and high virulence. These results suggest that Pasteuria could promote Red Queen dynamics with D. dentifera populations as well. However, the Red Queen might be undermined in this system by selection from a more common yeast parasite (Metschnikowia bicuspidata). Resistance to the yeast did not correlate with resistance to Pasteuria among host genotypes, suggesting that selection by Metschnikowia should proceed relatively independently of selection by Pasteuria.

Queen's discovery lauded by top scientific journal

CERN Multimedia

McGrady, S

2002-01-01

A scientific breakthrough at Queen's University's Sudbury Neutrino Observatory has received major international recognition. The journal Science ranked the discovery that cracked the "neutrino problem" second, in the journal's top 10 scientific achievements of 2002 (1/2 page).

Ser e estar drag queen: um estudo sobre a configuração da identidade queer Being a drag queen: a study on the characterization of the queer identity

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Maria Teresa Vargas Chidiac

2004-12-01

Full Text Available O principal objetivo deste estudo foi identificar o processo de formação da identidade queer das drag queens do circuito Balneário Camboriú e Florianópolis. Para atingir este propósito, foi investigado como se processa a relação de identificação das drag queens com o gênero feminino e masculino. Abordou-se também de que modo configura-se a relação entre o sujeito e a personagem drag queen, descrevendo a sua visão sobre a própria sexualidade. Estes dados foram obtidos através de pesquisa exploratória com três sujeitos através de entrevistas, sendo o roteiro semidirigido, além de terem sido realizadas visitas em suas moradias e em casas noturnas onde faziam apresentações artísticas. Os entrevistados relataram que a identidade das drags se diferencia de suas identidades pessoais em diversos aspectos. A drag possui características físicas e psicológicas, além de posturas e atitudes, que são próprias da personagem e que a distinguem do sujeito que a compõe. Mas houve relatos com freqüência que existem situações em que personagem e sujeito que a compõe se confundem. Através dos resultados, pode-se identificar como a configuração da identidade está relacionada com a socialização e com as transformações do corpo. Os sujeitos que interpretam as drag queens manifestam esse jogo de identidades, de ambos os gêneros, configurando o que pode se identificar com uma identidade queer.The main objective of this study was to identify the formation process of queer identity of some drag queens in the cities of Balneário Camboriú and Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, south of Brazil. In order to achieve this objective, we investigated how the drag queens identify themselves with the female and male genders. In addition, we investigated how the relation between the interviewed subjects and their drag queen character gets established through their description of their own sexuality. The data was collected

Protein content of leaf-cutting ant queens before the nuptial flight and during the post-claustral phase

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Edypo Jacob Silva

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Protein content of leaf-cutting ant queens before the nuptial flight and during the post-claustral phase. This study evaluated the crude protein content of queens of Atta sexdens before the nuptial flight and after the claustral phase in laboratory and field colonies. The hypothesis was that protein is used for survival of the queen and for early colony growth during the claustral phase. Additionally, the nest morphology, live biomass and adult population of field colonies were evaluated. Crude protein was determined by digestion of the organic material with sulfuric acid at high temperatures. The mean crude protein content was 123.23 ± 11.20 mg for females before the nuptial flight and 70.44 ± 12.21 mg for laboratory-reared queens after the claustral phase. The post-claustral crude protein content of field-collected queen was 55.90 ± 9.18 mg. With respect to the loss of crude protein as a function of duration of the claustral phase, laboratory-reared queens lost 52.79 mg and field-collected queens lost 67.33 mg compared to females before the nuptial flight. A positive linear correlation was observed between the weight of field-collected queens (256.4 ± 36.3 mg and colony biomass (13.02 ± 9.12 g, but there was no correlation between biomass and nest depth (13.11 ± 3.82 cm. As expected, the present results support the hypothesis that protein is used for survival of the queen and for early colony growth, as demonstrated by the reduction in crude protein content as a function of duration of the claustral phase. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide data of the dynamics of protein reserves in leaf-cutting ant queens during the claustral phase.

Ant parasite queens revert to mating singly

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sumner, Seirian; Hughes, William Owen Hamar; Pedersen, Jes Søe

2004-01-01

quantified and they tend to be similar in related species. Here we compare the mating strategies of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior and its recently derived social parasite Acromyrmex insinuator, which is also its closest relative 2 (see Fig. 1 ). We find that although the host queens mate with up......A parasitic ant has abandoned the multiple mating habit of the queens of its related host. Multiple mating (polyandry) is widespread among animal groups, particularly insects 1 . But the factors that maintain it and underlie its evolution are hard to verify because benefits and costs are not easily...... to a dozen different males, the social parasite mates only singly. This rapid and surprising reversion to single mating in a socially parasitic ant indicates that the costs of polyandry are probably specific to a free-living lifestyle....

Epidemiology of a Daphnia-multiparasite system and its implications for the red queen.

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Stuart K J R Auld

Full Text Available The Red Queen hypothesis can explain the maintenance of host and parasite diversity. However, the Red Queen requires genetic specificity for infection risk (i.e., that infection depends on the exact combination of host and parasite genotypes and strongly virulent effects of infection on host fitness. A European crustacean (Daphnia magna--bacterium (Pasteuria ramosa system typifies such specificity and high virulence. We studied the North American host Daphnia dentifera and its natural parasite Pasteuria ramosa, and also found strong genetic specificity for infection success and high virulence. These results suggest that Pasteuria could promote Red Queen dynamics with D. dentifera populations as well. However, the Red Queen might be undermined in this system by selection from a more common yeast parasite (Metschnikowia bicuspidata. Resistance to the yeast did not correlate with resistance to Pasteuria among host genotypes, suggesting that selection by Metschnikowia should proceed relatively independently of selection by Pasteuria.

Genomic analysis of post-mating changes in the honey bee queen (Apis mellifera

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Richard Freddie-Jeanne

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The molecular mechanisms underlying the post-mating behavioral and physiological transitions undergone by females have not been explored in great detail. Honey bees represent an excellent model system in which to address these questions because they exhibit a range of "mating states," with two extremes (virgins and egg-laying, mated queens that differ dramatically in their behavior, pheromone profiles, and physiology. We used an incompletely-mated mating-state to understand the molecular processes that underlie the transition from a virgin to a mated, egg-laying queen. We used same-aged virgins, queens that mated once but did not initiate egg-laying, and queens that mated once and initiated egg-laying. Results Differences in the behavior and physiology among groups correlated with the underlying variance observed in the top 50 predictive genes in the brains and the ovaries. These changes were correlated with either a behaviorally-associated pattern or a physiologically-associated pattern. Overall, these results suggest that the brains and the ovaries of queens are uncoupled or follow different timescales; the initiation of mating triggers immediate changes in the ovaries, while changes in the brain may require additional stimuli or take a longer time to complete. Comparison of our results to previous studies of post-mating changes in Drosophila melanogaster identified common biological processes affected by mating, including stress response and alternative-splicing pathways. Comparison with microarray data sets related to worker behavior revealed no obvious correlation between genes regulated by mating and genes regulated by behavior/physiology in workers. Conclusion Studying the underlying molecular mechanisms of post-mating changes in honey bee queens will not only give us insight into how molecular mechanisms regulate physiological and behavioral changes, but they may also lead to important insights into the evolution of

Functional morphology of the postpharyngeal gland of queens and workers of the ant Monomorium pharaonis (L.)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eelen, Dieter; Børgesen, Lisbeth W.; Billen, Johan

2006-01-01

the PPG morphology varies considerably according to age and mating status. The epithelial thickness increases with age and reaches a maximum at 3 weeks in both virgin and mated queens. A considerable expansion of the lumen diameter occurs in both groups between 4 and 7 days. Virgin queens release...... nurses and foragers. We suggest the PPG serves different purposes in pharaoh's ants: it is likely that the PPG of workers and virgin queens is used to feed larvae. In mated queens the gland probably plays a role in providing the queen with nutritious oils for egg production. The PPG may also function...

INFLUENCE OF HONEYBEE QUEENS ORIGIN TO THE PRODUCTION CHARACTERISTICS OF CARNIOLAN BEES (APIS MELLIFERA CARNICA IN SLOVENIA

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J POKLUKAR

2002-05-01

Full Text Available Total amount of 4.355 records of honeybee colonies production characteristics was estimated on the 251 bee yards in Slovenia from 1993 to 2001. Queens were produced on 29 queen producing yards. The average lsmeans of honey yields increased by 0,41 kg a year. The swarming behaviour and the defensive behaviour of bees increased as well by - 0,091 points, and –0,038 points respectively. According to the last two years records, the honey yields of bee colonies were significantly influenced by the drone gene pool at queen production yards. The swarming behaviour was in contrary more influenced by the queen mothers on queen production yards. The defensive behaviour of bee colonies and the daily varroa mite fall were not significantly influenced by parents.

Red Queen Processes Drive Positive Selection on Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC Genes.

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Maciej Jan Ejsmond

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC genes code for proteins involved in the incitation of the adaptive immune response in vertebrates, which is achieved through binding oligopeptides (antigens of pathogenic origin. Across vertebrate species, substitutions of amino acids at sites responsible for the specificity of antigen binding (ABS are positively selected. This is attributed to pathogen-driven balancing selection, which is also thought to maintain the high polymorphism of MHC genes, and to cause the sharing of allelic lineages between species. However, the nature of this selection remains controversial. We used individual-based computer simulations to investigate the roles of two phenomena capable of maintaining MHC polymorphism: heterozygote advantage and host-pathogen arms race (Red Queen process. Our simulations revealed that levels of MHC polymorphism were high and driven mostly by the Red Queen process at a high pathogen mutation rate, but were low and driven mostly by heterozygote advantage when the pathogen mutation rate was low. We found that novel mutations at ABSs are strongly favored by the Red Queen process, but not by heterozygote advantage, regardless of the pathogen mutation rate. However, while the strong advantage of novel alleles increased the allele turnover rate, under a high pathogen mutation rate, allelic lineages persisted for a comparable length of time under Red Queen and under heterozygote advantage. Thus, when pathogens evolve quickly, the Red Queen is capable of explaining both positive selection and long coalescence times, but the tension between the novel allele advantage and persistence of alleles deserves further investigation.

The origin and evolution of queen and fertility signals in Corbiculate bees.

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Caliari Oliveira, Ricardo; Oi, Cintia Akemi; do Nascimento, Mauricio Meirelles Castro; Vollet-Neto, Ayrton; Alves, Denise Araujo; Campos, Maria Claudia; Nascimento, Fabio; Wenseleers, Tom

2015-11-16

In social Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), various chemical compounds present on the cuticle have been shown to act as fertility signals. In addition, specific queen-characteristic hydrocarbons have been implicated as sterility-inducing queen signals in ants, wasps and bumblebees. In Corbiculate bees, however, the chemical nature of queen-characteristic and fertility-linked compounds appears to be more diverse than in ants and wasps. Moreover, it remains unknown how queen signals evolved across this group and how they might have been co-opted from fertility signals in solitary ancestors. Here, we perform a phylogenetic analysis of fertility-linked compounds across 16 species of solitary and eusocial bee species, comprising both literature data as well as new primary data from a key solitary outgroup species, the oil-collecting bee Centris analis, and the highly eusocial stingless bee Scaptotrigona depilis. Our results demonstrate the presence of fertility-linked compounds belonging to 12 different chemical classes. In addition, we find that some classes of compounds (linear and branched alkanes, alkenes, esters and fatty acids) were already present as fertility-linked signals in the solitary ancestors of Corbiculate bees, while others appear to be specific to certain species. Overall, our results suggest that queen signals in Corbiculate bees are likely derived from ancestral fertility-linked compounds present in solitary bees that lacked reproductive castes. These original fertility-linked cues or signals could have been produced either as a by-product of ovarian activation or could have served other communicative purposes, such as in mate recognition or the regulation of egg-laying.

Secondary queens in the parthenogenetic termite Cavitermes tuberosus develop through a transitional helper stage

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hellemans, S.; Fournier, D.; Hanus, Robert; Roisin, Y.

2017-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 6 (2017), s. 253-262 ISSN 1520-541X Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : facultative parthenogenesis * replacement queens * termites * asexual queen succession * ontogeny * Cavitermes Subject RIV: EG - Zoology OBOR OECD: Developmental biology Impact factor: 2.243, year: 2016

The effect of queen pheromone status on Varroa mite removal from honey bee colonies with different grooming ability.

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Bahreini, Rassol; Currie, Robert W

2015-07-01

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) with different grooming ability and queen pheromone status on mortality rates of Varroa mites (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman), mite damage, and mortality rates of honey bees. Twenty-four small queenless colonies containing either stock selected for high rates of mite removal (n = 12) or unselected stock (n = 12) were maintained under constant darkness at 5 °C. Colonies were randomly assigned to be treated with one of three queen pheromone status treatments: (1) caged, mated queen, (2) a synthetic queen mandibular pheromone lure (QMP), or (3) queenless with no queen substitute. The results showed overall mite mortality rate was greater in stock selected for grooming than in unselected stock. There was a short term transitory increase in bee mortality rates in selected stock when compared to unselected stock. The presence of queen pheromone from either caged, mated queens or QMP enhanced mite removal from clusters of bees relative to queenless colonies over short periods of time and increased the variation in mite mortality over time relative to colonies without queen pheromone, but did not affect the proportion of damaged mites. The effects of source of bees on mite damage varied with time but damage to mites was not reliably related to mite mortality. In conclusion, this study showed differential mite removal of different stocks was possible under low temperature. Queen status should be considered when designing experiments using bioassays for grooming response.

Mating with an allopatric male triggers immune response and decreases longevity of ant queens.

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Schrempf, A; von Wyschetzki, K; Klein, A; Schrader, L; Oettler, J; Heinze, J

2015-07-01

In species with lifelong pair bonding, the reproductive interests of the mating partners are aligned, and males and females are expected to jointly maximize their reproductive success. Mating increases both longevity and fecundity of female reproductives (queens) of the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, indicating a tight co-evolution of mating partners. Here, we show that mating with a male from their own population increases lifespan and reproductive success of queens more than mating with a male from a different population, with whom they could not co-evolve. A comparison of transcriptomes revealed an increased expression of genes involved in immunity processes in queens, which mated with males from a different population. Increased immune response might be proximately associated with decreased lifespan. Our study suggests a synergistic co-evolution between the sexes and sheds light on the proximate mechanisms underlying the decreased fitness of allopatrically mated queens. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Connectivity and genetic structure of the queen conch on the Mesoamerican Reef

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Machkour-M'Rabet, Salima; Cruz-Medina, Jorge; García-De León, Francisco J.; De Jesús-Navarrete, Alberto; Hénaut, Yann

2017-06-01

The queen conch ( Strombus gigas) is a commercially important marine invertebrate that is widely distributed throughout the western Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil. Intense exploitation has resulted in a decrease in population numbers of this species, which is listed as protected from commercial exploitation under IUCN and CITES. Previous studies on population genetics have demonstrated contrasting results in terms of the population structure of S. gigas. This research analyzed the genetic connectivity of the queen conch over a wide area of the Mesoamerican Reef System to determine whether S. gigas presents one panmictic population or a more complex structure. Furthermore, we evaluated the risk of local extinction by establishing the genetic diversity of the studied populations. High resolution was obtained for the five ISSR markers used for a total of 190 individuals, from seven localities along the Mesoamerican Reef. Our results reject the panmictic structure hypothesis for the queen conch in the study area and demonstrate genetic patchiness, indicating general homogeneity among localities that present an isolation-by-distance pattern. However, some genetic temporal variation was confirmed for the Cozumel locality. Furthermore, our results reveal self-recruitment for the Alacranes Reef aggregation and suggest sufficient connectivity with localities on the Caribbean coast to maintain high genetic diversity. With regard to genetic diversity, the results demonstrate that the queen conch is not genetically threatened in the study area. This is probably due to high annual recruitment within Caribbean queen conch aggregations, and suggests that S. gigas is a highly resilient organism. We advocate that the appropriate management of S. gigas (fishing quota and/or closed season) must be followed to attain a rapid recovery of queen conch populations. This study represents a fundamental step in the understanding of the dynamic population structure of S. gigas in the

When invasive ants meet: effects of outbreeding on queen performance in the tramp ant Cardiocondyla itsukii.

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Heinze, Jürgen; Frohschammer, Sabine; Bernadou, Abel

2017-08-18

Most disturbed habitats in the tropics and subtropics harbor numerous species of invasive ants, and occasionally the same species has been introduced repeatedly from multiple geographical sources. We examined how experimental crossbreeding between sexuals from different populations affects the fitness of queens of the tramp ant Cardiocondyla itsukii, which is widely distributed in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Eggs laid by queens that mated with nestmate males had a higher hatching rate than eggs laid by queens mated to males from neighboring (Hawaii × Kauai) or distant introduced populations (Hawaii/Kauai × Okinawa). Furthermore, inbreeding queens had a longer lifespan and produced a less female-biased offspring sex ratio than queens from allopatric mating. This suggests that the genetic divergence between different source populations may already be so large that in case of multiple invasions eventual crossbreeding might negatively affect the fitness of tramp ants. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Effect of Open Brood and Colony Strength on the Onset of Oviposition by Queen Bees

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Gąbka Jakub

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In bee colonies without open brood, e.g., after swarming, there is no need for royal jelly, and nurse bees thus do not produce it. According to many beekeepers, adding combs with open brood restarts the production of royal jelly by nurse bees, and the virgin queens then are better fed and start earlier oviposition. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the presence of open brood and the strength of the colonies affect the onset of oviposition by queen bees. Open brood in colonies with virgins before and during mating flights did not accelerate the initiation of oviposition by the queens. In addition, no differences were identified in starting oviposition by queens in strong colonies of more than 30,000 worker bees, or in weak colonies with up to 1,000 workers. Overall, the results showed that neither open brood in the nests, nor the strength of the colonies affects the onset of oviposition by queen bees.

Localization of deformed wing virus infection in queen and drone Apis mellifera L

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Colin Marc

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The distribution of deformed wing virus infection within the honey bee reproductive castes (queens, drones was investigated by in situ hybridization and immunohistology from paraffin embedded sections. Digoxygenin or CY5.5 fluorochrome end-labelled nucleotide probes hybridizing to the 3' portion of the DWV genome were used to identify DWV RNA, while a monospecific antibody to the DWV-VP1 structural protein was used to identify viral proteins and particles. The histological data were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR of dissected organs. Results showed that DWV infection is not restricted to the digestive tract of the bee but spread in the whole body, including queen ovaries, queen fat body and drone seminal vesicles.

Localization of deformed wing virus infection in queen and drone Apis mellifera L

Science.gov (United States)

Fievet, Julie; Tentcheva, Diana; Gauthier, Laurent; de Miranda, Joachim; Cousserans, François; Colin, Marc Edouard; Bergoin, Max

2006-01-01

The distribution of deformed wing virus infection within the honey bee reproductive castes (queens, drones) was investigated by in situ hybridization and immunohistology from paraffin embedded sections. Digoxygenin or CY5.5 fluorochrome end-labelled nucleotide probes hybridizing to the 3' portion of the DWV genome were used to identify DWV RNA, while a monospecific antibody to the DWV-VP1 structural protein was used to identify viral proteins and particles. The histological data were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR of dissected organs. Results showed that DWV infection is not restricted to the digestive tract of the bee but spread in the whole body, including queen ovaries, queen fat body and drone seminal vesicles. PMID:16569216

Sex allocation in fungus-growing ants: worker or queen control without symbiont-induced female bias

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dijkstra, Michiel B.; Boomsma, Jacobus Jan

2008-01-01

The fungal cultivars of fungus-growing ants are vertically transmitted by queens but not males. Selection would therefore favor cultivars that bias the ants' sex ratio towards gynes, beyond the gyne bias that is optimal for workers and queens. We measured sex allocation in 190 colonies of six...... sympatric fungus-growing ant species. As predicted from relatedness, female bias was greater in four singly mated Sericomyrmex and Trachymyrmex species than in two multiply mated Acromyrmex species. Colonies tended to raise mainly a single sex, which could be partly explained by variation in queen number......, colony fecundity, and fungal garden volume for Acromyrmex and Sericomyrmex, but not for Trachymyrmex. Year of collection, worker number and mating frequency of Acromyrmex queens did not affect the colony sex ratios. We used a novel sensitivity analysis to compare the population sex allocation ratios...

76 FR 3596 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-20

.... 0907151138-1011-02] RIN 0648-AY03 Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Queen Conch Management Measures AGENCY: National... includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), when harvest and possession of queen...

Presentation of child sexual abuse cases to Queen Elizabeth ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

presenting to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH),. Blantyre ... American guidelines recommend HIV PEP for children after ..... reactions, poor social support and traumatic associations ... However animal models of PEP have shown.

Modifications in the oviducts of workers and queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides (Hymenoptera: Apidae) with different ages.

Science.gov (United States)

Serrão, José Eduardo; Naves, Amanda Paula; Zanuncio, José Cola

2011-10-01

The study of morphological features of highly eusocial bees has helped to answer a series of questions concerning their biology. The labor division places the females into two castes, queen with reproductive function and worker with a wide variety of tasks. However, in different species and under different conditions, workers can develop ovaries and lay trophic eggs that are eaten by the queen or used to originate males. In this work, the development of the oviducts was monitored in workers and virgin queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides specimens of different ages to verify whether there is permanent sterility of these queens and workers due to aging. Lateral and common oviducts of virgin queens aged <7, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days old, physogastric queens, nurse, and forager workers were analyzed for histology and ultrastructure. Although the structural organization of the lateral and common oviducts were very similar, differences in width of the cuticle and the degree of chromatin condensation were observed, indicating differences in the development of this organ of the reproductive system between the castes. It was also demonstrated that electron-lucent vesicles appear to be related to the formation of the cuticle that lines the oviducts. Because no cellular death characteristics were found, it can be inferred that the absence of mating of the queens as old as of 25 days of age does not cause permanent sterility.

78 FR 77772 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “A Royal Passion: Queen...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-24

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8570] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``A Royal Passion: Queen Victoria and Photography'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the... that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``A Royal Passion: Queen Victoria and Photography...

Social and genetic structure of a supercolonial weaver ant, Polyrhachis robsoni, with dimorphic queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Van Zweden, Jelle Stijn; Carew, Melissa E.; Henshaw, Michael T.

2007-01-01

We studied a population of the Australian weaver ant Polyrachis robsoni with regard to variation in the morphology of its winged queens using six newlydeveloped microsatellite markers. Morphometrically the queens fell clearly into two groups, macrogynes and microgynes, with the latter an isometri...... also significantly related and there was a weak inverse relationship between pairwise relatedness value between individuals and distance between nests.We conclude that this species is supercolonial and that the two queen morphs are part of the same population....

Red Queen Takes White Knight: The Commercialisation of Accounting Education in Australia

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Graham Bowrey

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the adaptive and maladaptive consequences of changes resulting from the commercialisation of Australian universities, specifically their accounting schools, and aims to identify the organisational changes triggered by competition that affect the growth of universities over time. The paper synthesises organisational learning theory, benchmarking theory, mimetic isomorphism and institutional theories, which are presented as "the Red Queen", itself an evolutionary theory; this synthesis provides the theoretical underpinning. The Red Queen theory posits that competition triggers organisational learning, which in turn intensifies competition in rivals that ultimately triggers an adaptive response. This selfreinforcing process produces results that may be adaptive or maladaptive. There is evidence to support that “running fast” in terms of Red Queen evolution theory has allowed some universities to place competitive pressure on rivals and achieve elite levels of publications, international accreditation and improved international rankings. This search for improvement, driven by commercialisation, provided ways to improve performance, thus improving the university’s competitive strength. There is also evidence to support the belief that “running slow” provides maladaptive consequences that could affect growth rates, quality and staff performance. The use of the Red Queen hypothesis provides an evolutionary approach to the study of strategy, strategic change and organisations. This provides an opportunity to examine competition in universities as a force that continually disturbs equilibrium.

Conserved queen pheromones in bumblebees: a reply to Amsalem et al.

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Luke Holman

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In a recent study, Amsalem, Orlova & Grozinger (2015 performed experiments with Bombus impatiens bumblebees to test the hypothesis that saturated cuticular hydrocarbons are evolutionarily conserved signals used to regulate reproductive division of labor in many Hymenopteran social insects. They concluded that the cuticular hydrocarbon pentacosane (C25, previously identified as a queen pheromone in a congeneric bumblebee, does not affect worker reproduction in B. impatiens. Here we discuss some shortcomings of Amsalem et al.’s study that make its conclusions unreliable. In particular, several confounding effects may have affected the results of both experimental manipulations in the study. Additionally, the study’s low sample sizes (mean n per treatment = 13.6, range: 4–23 give it low power, not 96–99% power as claimed, such that its conclusions may be false negatives. Inappropriate statistical tests were also used, and our reanalysis found that C25 substantially reduced and delayed worker egg laying in B. impatiens. We review the evidence that cuticular hydrocarbons act as queen pheromones, and offer some recommendations for future queen pheromone experiments.

Honeybee colony marketing and its implications for queen rearing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Honeybee colony marketing and its implications for queen rearing and beekeeping development in Werieleke ... Thus, colony marketing is an important venture in Werieleke district of Tigray region. ... EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

Variation in honey yield per hive of Africanized bees depending on the introducing time of young queens

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Vladson Carbonari

2016-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The objective of this research was to evaluate the honey production per hive and the egg laying rates of queens produced in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Thirty colonies initiated with a queen per colony at each climatic season were used during the three years. The years, started on January (summer, April (autumn, July (winter and October (spring and ended 12 months later, at the same periods related to each season of the later years. Honey supply were weighed before and after centrifugation to evaluate the quantity of the stored honey. Colonies with queens introduced during autumn and winter in the three years produced 57.2±6.0kg and 60.7±7.5kg of honey, respectively. In the first year of production activity, after the introduction of queens in the initial colonies, values were significantly higher than those obtained in colonies with queens introduced in the summer (39.3±7.6kg and spring (41.8±3.7kg. Egg laying rates of queens were higher in spring (98.2±3.9% and summer (88.4±7%, indicating greater food flow (flowerings in these seasons compared to the averages in autumn (30.3±8.1% and winter (24.5±7.2%. Produce and introduce queens of Africanized Apis mellifera in colonies initiated during autumn and winter was found to be economically feasible. Honey production of colonies initiated in these periods were higher and they had greater population stability in times of scarcity of flowerings.

The Queens' estates: fiscal properties and royal policy ( 9th -10th centuries

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Tiziana Lazzari (a cura di

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The special condition of the queens of italic Kingdom during the 9th and 10th centuries is exemplified by the title of consors regni and by the exceptionally copious dowers bestowed to them when compared to those entrusted to other European queens. Through the accurate reconstruction of these dowries, composed of royal fiscal assets, this anomaly is explained within the context of specific royal governmental strategies.

Workers and alate queens of Solenopsis geminata share qualitatively similar but quantitatively different venom alkaloid chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

The cis and trans alkaloids from body extracts of workers and alate queens of the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), were successfully separated by silica gel chromatography, identified, and quantitated by GC-MS analysis. Both workers and alate queens produce primarily...

Queen's researchers make the grade: University boasts two of three finalists for million-dollar grant

CERN Multimedia

Armstrong, F E

2003-01-01

Two Queen's University researchers are among three Canadian finalists in a contest to win $1 million. Art McDonald, director of the Queen's-run Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Institute, and John Smol, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change, have been nominated for the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering (1 page).

Founding weaver ant queens (Oecophylla longinoda) increase production and nanitic worker size when adopting non-nestmate pupae.

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Ouagoussounon, Issa; Offenberg, Joachim; Sinzogan, Antonio; Adandonon, Appolinaire; Kossou, Dansou; Vayssières, Jean-François

2015-01-01

Weaver ants (Oecophylla longinoda Latreille) are used commercially to control pest insects and for protein production. In this respect fast colony growth is desirable for managed colonies. Transplantation of non-nestmate pupae to incipient colonies has been shown to boost colony growth. Our objectives were to find the maximum number of pupae a founding queen can handle, and to measure the associated colony growth. Secondly, we tested if transplantation of pupae led to production of larger nanitic workers (defined as unusually small worker ants produced by founding queens in their first batch of offspring). Forty-five fertilized queens were divided into three treatments: 0 (control), 100 or 300 non-nestmate pupae transplanted to each colony. Pupae transplantation resulted in highly increased growth rates, as pupae were readily adopted by the queens and showed high proportions of surviving (mean = 76%). However, survival was significantly higher when 100 pupae were transplanted compared to transplantation of 300 pupae, indicating that queens were unable to handle 300 pupae adequately and that pupae require some amount of nursing. Nevertheless, within the 60-day experiment the transplantation of 300 pupae increased total colony size more than 10-fold whereas 100 pupae increased the size 5.6 fold, compared to control. This increase was due not only to the individuals added in the form of pupae but also to an increased per capita brood production by the resident queen, triggered by the adopted pupae. The size of hatching pupae produced by the resident queen also increased with the number of pupae transplanted, leading to larger nanitic workers in colonies adopting pupae. In conclusion, pupae transplantation may be used to produce larger colonies with larger worker ants and may thus reduce the time to produce weaver ant colonies for commercial purposes. This in turn may facilitate the implementation of the use of weaver ants.

Male scent-marking pheromone of Bombus ardens ardens (Hymenoptera; Apidae) attracts both conspecific queens and males

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, Ryohei; Harano, Ken-ichi; Ono, Masato

2017-10-01

To explore the role of the volatiles emitted from male labial gland (LG) of the bumblebee Bombus ardens ardens, we investigated the responses of virgin queens and males to volatiles using a gas chromatography-electroantennographic detector (GC-EAD) system and Y-tube olfactometer. GC-EAD analysis revealed that citronellol, the main compound detected in the male LG, caused clear electrophysiological responses in the antennae of B. a. ardens virgin queens and males although two minor compounds elicited antennal responses when applied in a high concentration. Behavioral tests using a Y-tube olfactometer showed that queens and males were significantly attracted to both LG extracts and citronellol more than to the solvent alone. This is the first study to demonstrate that citronellol as a major compound of male scent-marking pheromone in B. a. ardens functions as a sex attractant for queens. The results also suggest that this compound has another function as a trail marker used by males.

Ross Ice Shelf and the Queen Maude Mounains, Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

Part of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Queen Maude Mounains of Antarctica (55.5N, 178.0W) are in the background of this scene, oriented toward the south. Low stratocumulus clouds are predominant throughout most of the scene.

The reduced-risk insecticide azadirachtin poses a toxicological hazard to stingless bee Partamona helleri (Friese, 1900) queens.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardes, Rodrigo Cupertino; Barbosa, Wagner Faria; Martins, Gustavo Ferreira; Lima, Maria Augusta Pereira

2018-06-01

Large-scale pesticide application poses a major threat to bee biodiversity by causing a decline in bee populations that, in turn, compromises ecosystem maintenance and agricultural productivity. Biopesticides are considered an alternative to synthetic pesticides with a focus on reducing potential detrimental effects to beneficial organisms such as bees. The production of healthy queen stingless bees is essential for the survival and reproduction of hives, although it remains unknown whether biopesticides influence stingless bee reproduction. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the biopesticide azadirachtin on the survival, behavior, morphology, development, and reproduction of queens of the stingless bee Partamona helleri (Friese, 1900). The neonicotinoid imidacloprid was used as a toxic reference standard. Queens were orally exposed in vitro to a contaminated diet (containing azadirachtin and imidacloprid) during development. Azadirachtin resulted in reduced survival, similarly to imidacloprid, altered development time, caused deformations, and reduced the size of the queens' reproductive organs. All of these factors could potentially compromise colony survival. Results from the present study showed azadirachtin posed a toxicological hazard to P. helleri queens. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rezension von: Alexandra Weiss: Regulation und Politisierung von Geschlechterverhältnissen im fordistischen und postfordistischen Kapitalismus. Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot 2012.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heike Kahlert

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In ihrer uneingeschränkt lesenswerten Monographie setzt sich Alexandra Weiss mit Stabilität, Wandel und Widersprüchen der Geschlechterordnung in den Transformationen des Kapitalismus am Beispiel Österreichs auseinander. Dabei zeigt sie den Maskulinismus der neoliberalen Idee und Politik auf, analysiert die Re-Traditionalisierung des Politischen im Postfordismus und reflektiert über Handlungsperspektiven feministischer Politik unter den Bedingungen gegenwärtiger Staatlichkeit. Im Zentrum emanzipatorischer (Geschlechter-Politik sieht sie die Re-Etablierung von Gleichheit als Voraussetzung von Freiheit in einer demokratischen Gesellschaft. Die kraftvolle gesellschaftsanalytische Studie überzeugt schließlich durch eine stringente Argumentation und eine erfreulich klare Sprache.

Social chromosome variants differentially affect queen determination and the survival of workers in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta.

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Buechel, Séverine D; Wurm, Yanick; Keller, Laurent

2014-10-01

Intraspecific variation in social organization is common, yet the underlying causes are rarely known. An exception is the fire ant Solenopsis invicta in which the existence of two distinct forms of social colony organization is under the control of the two variants of a pair of social chromosomes, SB and Sb. Colonies containing exclusively SB/SB workers accept only one single queen and she must be SB/SB. By contrast, when colonies contain more than 10% of SB/Sb workers, they accept several queens but only SB/Sb queens. The variants of the social chromosome are associated with several additional important phenotypic differences, including the size, fecundity and dispersal strategies of queens, aggressiveness of workers, and sperm count in males. However, little is known about whether social chromosome variants affect fitness in other life stages. Here, we perform experiments to determine whether differential selection occurs during development and in adult workers. We find evidence that the Sb variant of the social chromosome increases the likelihood of female brood to develop into queens and that adult SB/Sb workers, the workers that cull SB/SB queens, are overrepresented in comparison to SB/SB workers. This demonstrates that supergenes such as the social chromosome can have complex effects on phenotypes at various stages of development. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Recovery of Queen Conch in the U. S. Virgin Islands

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The queen conch is an important cultural component and an extremely valuable coral reef fishery resource throughout the Caribbean, historically second only to the...

Queens Tri-School Confederation, 1991-92 Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannah, Susan; Dworkowitz, Barbara

An evaluation was done of the Queens Tri-School Confederation, three high schools in the New York City Public Schools funded by a federal grant from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. The grant provided Hillcrest, Jamaica, and Thomas A. Edison High Schools with funds to develop or expand emergency technician programs at Hillcrest; a law…

A queen pheromone induces workers to kill sexual larvae in colonies of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta)

Science.gov (United States)

Klobuchar, Emily; Deslippe, Richard

2002-05-01

We conducted five bioassays to study how queens control the execution of sexual larvae by workers in colonies of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. In each assay, subset colonies were made from many large polygyne colonies, and the 20 sexual larvae they contained were monitored over time. Sexual larvae mostly survived in queenless colonies, but were mostly killed in colonies with a single dealated queen, regardless of whether or not the queen was fertilized. The larvae were also killed when fresh corpses of queens were added to queenless colonies. Whereas acetone extracts of queens did not produce a significant increase in killings, extracts in buffered saline induced workers to execute most sexual larvae, indicating successful extraction of an execution pheromone. We identified the probable storage location of the chemical as the poison sac, and found both fresh (1 day) and old (21 day) extracts of poison sacs to be equally effective in inducing executions. The pheromone is stable at room temperature, perhaps because venom alkaloids also present in the extracts keep the pheromone from degrading. It is apparently either proteinaceous or associated with a proteinaceous molecule, a novel finding, as no queen pheromone of a proteinaceous nature has been previously demonstrated in ants.

Workers make the queens in melipona bees: identification of geraniol as a caste determining compound from labial glands of nurse bees.

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Jarau, Stefan; van Veen, Johan W; Twele, Robert; Reichle, Christian; Gonzales, Eduardo Herrera; Aguilar, Ingrid; Francke, Wittko; Ayasse, Manfred

2010-06-01

Reproductive division of labor in advanced eusocial honey bees and stingless bees is based on the ability of totipotent female larvae to develop into either workers or queens. In nearly all species, caste is determined by larval nutrition. However, the mechanism that triggers queen development in Melipona bees is still unresolved. Several hypotheses have been proposed, ranging from the proximate (a genetic determination of caste development) to the ultimate (a model in which larvae have complete control over their own caste fate). Here, we showed that the addition of geraniol, the main compound in labial gland secretions of nurse workers, to the larval food significantly increases the number of larvae that develop into queens. Interestingly, the proportion of queens in treated brood exactly matched the value (25%) predicted by the two-locus, two-allele model of genetic queen determination, in which only females that are heterozygous at both loci are capable of developing into queens. We conclude that labial gland secretions, added to the food of some cells by nurse bees, trigger queen development, provided that the larvae are genetically predisposed towards this developmental pathway. In Melipona beecheii, geraniol acts as a primer pheromone representing the first caste determination substance identified to date.

Seasonal Dynamics in the Chemistry and Structure of the Fat Bodies of Bumblebee Queens.

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Alena Votavová

Full Text Available Insects' fat bodies are responsible for nutrient storage and for a significant part of intermediary metabolism. Thus, it can be expected that the structure and content of the fat body will adaptively change, if an insect is going through different life stages. Bumblebee queens belong to such insects as they dramatically change their physiology several times over their lives in relation to their solitary overwintering, independent colony foundation stage, and during the colony life-cycle ending in the senescent stage. Here, we report on changes in the ultrastructure and lipid composition of the peripheral fat body of Bombus terrestris queens in relation to seasonal changes in the queens' activity. Six life stages are defined and evaluated in particular: pharate, callow, before and after hibernation, egg-laying, and senescence. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the fat body contained two main cell types-adipocytes and oenocytes. Only adipocytes reveal important changes related to the life phase, and mostly the ration between inclusion and cytoplasm volume varies among particular stages. Both electron microscopy and chemical analyses of lipids highlighted seasonal variability in the quantity of the stored lipids, which peaked prior to hibernation. Triacylglycerols appeared to be the main energy source during hibernation, while the amount of glycogen before and after hibernation remained unchanged. In addition, we observed that the representation of some fatty acids within the triacylglycerols change during the queen's life. Last but not least, we show that fat body cell membranes do not undergo substantial changes concerning phospholipid composition in relation to overwintering. This finding supports the hypothesis that the cold-adaptation strategy of bumblebee queens is more likely to be based on polyol accumulation than on the restructuring of lipid membranes.

Ground-water resources of Kings and Queens Counties, Long Island, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Buxton, Herbert T.; Shernoff, Peter K.

1995-01-01

The aquifers beneath Kings and Queens Counties supplied an average of more than 120 Mgal/d (million gallons per day) for industrial and public water supply during 1904-47, but this pumping caused saltwater intrusion and a deterioration of water quality that led to the cessation of pumping for public supply in Kings County in 1947 and in western Queens County in 1974. Since the cessation of pumping in Kings and western Queens Counties, ground-water levels have recovered steadily, and the saltwater has partly dispersed and become diluted. In eastern Queens County, where pumpage for public supply averages 60 Mgal/d, all three major aquifers contain a large cone of depression. The saltwater-freshwater interface in the Jameco-Magothy aquifer already extends inland in southeastern Queens County and is moving toward this cone of depression. The pumping centers' proximity to the north shore also warrants monitoring for saltwater intrusion in the Flushing Bay area. Urbanization and development on western Long Island since before the tum of this century have caused significant changes in the ground-water budget (total inflow and outflow) and patterns of movement. Some of the major causes are: ( 1) intensive pumping for industrial and public supply; (2) paving of large land-surface areas; (3) installation of a vast network of combined (stonn and sanitary) sewers; (4) leakage from a water-supply-line network that carries more than 750 Mgal/d; and (5) burial of stream channels and extensive wetland areas near the shore.Elevated nitrate and chloride concentrations throughout the upper glacial (water-table) aquifer indicate widespread contamination from land surface. Localized contamination in the underlying Jameco-Magothy aquifer is attributed to downward migration in areas of hydraulic connection between aquifers where the Gardiners Clay is absent A channel eroded through the Raritan confining unit provides a pathway for migration of surface contaminants to the Lloyd aquifer

Viral diseases in honey bee queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Francis, Roy Mathew

Honey bees are important insects for human welfare, due to pollination as well as honey production. Viral diseases strongly impact honey bee health, especially since the spread of varroa mites. This dissertation deals with the interactions between honey bees, viruses and varroa mites. A new tool...... was developed to diagnose three viruses in honey bees. Quantitative PCR was used to investigate the distribution of two popular viruses in five different tissues of 86 honey bee queens. Seasonal variation of viral infection in honey bee workers and varroa mites were determined by sampling 23 colonies under...

Honey Bee Colonies Headed by Hyperpolyandrous Queens Have Improved Brood Rearing Efficiency and Lower Infestation Rates of Parasitic Varroa Mites.

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Keith S Delaplane

Full Text Available A honey bee queen mates on wing with an average of 12 males and stores their sperm to produce progeny of mixed paternity. The degree of a queen's polyandry is positively associated with measures of her colony's fitness, and observed distributions of mating number are evolutionary optima balancing risks of mating flights against benefits to the colony. Effective mating numbers as high as 40 have been documented, begging the question of the upper bounds of this behavior that can be expected to confer colony benefit. In this study we used instrumental insemination to create three classes of queens with exaggerated range of polyandry--15, 30, or 60 drones. Colonies headed by queens inseminated with 30 or 60 drones produced more brood per bee and had a lower proportion of samples positive for Varroa destructor mites than colonies whose queens were inseminated with 15 drones, suggesting benefits of polyandry at rates higher than those normally obtaining in nature. Our results are consistent with two hypotheses that posit conditions that reward such high expressions of polyandry: (1 a queen may mate with many males in order to promote beneficial non-additive genetic interactions among subfamilies, and (2 a queen may mate with many males in order to capture a large number of rare alleles that regulate resistance to pathogens and parasites in a breeding population. Our results are unique for identifying the highest levels of polyandry yet detected that confer colony-level benefit and for showing a benefit of polyandry in particular toward the parasitic mite V. destructor.

Water in Nominally Anhydrous Minerals from Nakhlites and Shergottites

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Peslier, Anne H.

2013-01-01

Estimating the amount of water in the interior of terrestrial planets has tremendous implications on our understanding of solar nebula evolution, planet formation and geological history, and extraterrestrial volcanism. Mars has been a recent focus of such enquiry with complementary datasets from spacecrafts, rovers and martian meteorite studies. In planetary interiors, water can be dissolved in fluids or melts and hydrous phases, but can also be locked as protons attached to structural oxygen in lattice defects in nominally anhydrous minerals (NAM) such as olivine, pyroxene, or feldspar [1-3]. Measuring water in Martian meteorite NAM is challenging because the minerals are fragile and riddled with fractures from impact processes that makes them break apart during sample processing. Moreover, curing the sample in epoxy causes problems for the two main water analysis techniques, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS). Measurements to date have resulted in a heated debate on how much water the mantle of Mars contains. SIMS studies of NAM [4], amphiboles [5], and apatites [6-8] from Martian meteorites report finding enough water in these phases to infer that the martian mantle is as hydrous as that of the Earth. On the other hand, a SIMS study of glass in olivine melt inclusions from shergottites concludes that the Martian mantle is much drier [9]. The latter interpretation is also supported by the fact that most martian hydrous minerals generally have the relevant sites filled with Cl and F instead of H [10,11]. As for experimental results, martian basalt compositions can be reproduced using water as well as Cl in the parent melts [12,13]. Here FTIR is used to measure water in martian meteorite minerals in order to constrain the origin of the distribution of water in martian meteorite phases.

Acute bacterial meningitis in children admitted to the Queen ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In order to design appropriate interventioos, we collected clinical and demographic data prospectively on all children aged one day to 14 years admitted with a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (BM) from April 1st 1996 to March 31st 1997 to the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre Malawi. During the study ...

The role of the glucose-sensing transcription factor carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein pathway in termite queen fertility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sillam-Dussès, David; Hanus, Robert; Thomas-Poulsen, Michael

2016-01-01

in eight different termite species. ChREBP is expressed in several tissues, including ovaries and fat bodies, and increases in expression in totipotent workers during their differentiation into neotenic mature queens. We further show that ChREBP is regulated by a carbohydrate diet in termite queens...

Queen Christina’s esoteric interests as a background to her Platonic Academies

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Susanna Åkerman

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In 1681 the blind quietist, Francois Malaval, stated that Queen Christina of Sweden late in life had ‘given up’ [Hermes] Trismegistos and the Platonists, in favour of the Church fathers. The statement does not explain what role the Church fathers were to play in her last years, but it does show that Christina really had been interested in the rather elitist and esoteric doctrine of Hermetic Platonic Christianity. In this article the author looks at her library to show the depth of this Hermetic involvement. Her interest serves as a background to her life as ex-queen in Italy after her famous abdication from the Swedish throne in 1654, when she was 27 years old.

Standard methods for rearing and selection of Apis mellifera queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Büchler, Ralph; Andonov, Sreten; Bienefeld, Kaspar

2013-01-01

Here we cover a wide range of methods currently in use and recommended in modern queen rearing, selection and breeding. The recommendations are meant to equally serve as standards for both scientific and practical beekeeping purposes. The basic conditions and different management techniques for q...

Qualidade do palmito da palmeira real em conserva Industrial adaptability of the heart of palm from Archontophoenix alexandrae and A. cunninghamiana

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Shirley Aparecida Garcia Berbari

2008-12-01

Full Text Available A pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar o aproveitamento industrial e a qualidade do palmito da palmeira Real Australiana (Archontophoenix alexandrae e A. cunninghamiana em comparação aos palmitos das palmeiras Açaí (Euterpe oleracea e Pupunha (Bactris gasipaes. O palmito foi processado como conserva acidificada e pasteurizada e submetido às análises de comprimento e diâmetro dos toletes, peso bruto, líquido e drenado, espaço livre, vácuo, pH, avaliação microbiológica, cor e textura objetivas e avaliação sensorial quanto à cor, aparência, textura, sabor e preferência geral. Os resultados da pesquisa mostraram que o palmito da palmeira Real é adequado para processamento em forma de conserva acidificada e pasteurizada, apresentando características sensoriais semelhantes às das outras variedades. Do ponto de vista da estabilidade ao armazenamento, as análises físico-químicas e microbiológicas mostraram que o palmito da palmeira Real em conserva se apresentou estável durante o período de doze meses de armazenamento. Pode-se afirmar então, que a palmeira Real Australiana apresenta boa qualidade em termos de industrialização na forma de palmito em conserva acidificada e pasteurizada.The objective of this research was to evaluate the industrial adaptability of the heart of palm from Archontophoenix alexandrae e A. cunninghamiana in comparison with "Açaí" (Euterpe oleracea and "Pupunha" (Bactris gasipaes hearts. The heart of palm was canned acidified and pasteurized and analyzed in terms of stems length and diameter, the gross, net and drained weight, headspace; pH; vacuum; microbiological evaluation, objective color and texture and sensorial evaluation of color, appearance, texture, taste and general preference. The results showed that Australian royal palm is adequate for the process of acidified canning and pasteurization since it presented sensorial characteristics similar to other varieties. During 12 months of storage

76 FR 30554 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-26

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 622 [Docket No. 0907151138-1235-03] RIN 0648-AY03 Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Queen Conch Management Measures Correction In rule...

Honeybee Venom Proteome Profile of Queens and Winter Bees as Determined by a Mass Spectrometric Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Danneels, Ellen L.; Van Vaerenbergh, Matthias; Debyser, Griet; Devreese, Bart; de Graaf, Dirk C.

2015-01-01

Venoms of invertebrates contain an enormous diversity of proteins, peptides, and other classes of substances. Insect venoms are characterized by a large interspecific variation resulting in extended lists of venom compounds. The venom composition of several hymenopterans also shows different intraspecific variation. For instance, venom from different honeybee castes, more specifically queens and workers, shows quantitative and qualitative variation, while the environment, like seasonal changes, also proves to be an important factor. The present study aimed at an in-depth analysis of the intraspecific variation in the honeybee venom proteome. In summer workers, the recent list of venom proteins resulted from merging combinatorial peptide ligand library sample pretreatment and targeted tandem mass spectrometry realized with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS/MS). Now, the same technique was used to determine the venom proteome of queens and winter bees, enabling us to compare it with that of summer bees. In total, 34 putative venom toxins were found, of which two were never described in honeybee venoms before. Venom from winter workers did not contain toxins that were not present in queens or summer workers, while winter worker venom lacked the allergen Api m 12, also known as vitellogenin. Venom from queen bees, on the other hand, was lacking six of the 34 venom toxins compared to worker bees, while it contained two new venom toxins, in particularly serine proteinase stubble and antithrombin-III. Although people are hardly stung by honeybees during winter or by queen bees, these newly identified toxins should be taken into account in the characterization of a putative allergic response against Apis mellifera stings. PMID:26529016

Honeybee venom proteome profile of queens and winter bees as determined by a mass spectrometric approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Danneels, Ellen L; Van Vaerenbergh, Matthias; Debyser, Griet; Devreese, Bart; de Graaf, Dirk C

2015-10-30

Venoms of invertebrates contain an enormous diversity of proteins, peptides, and other classes of substances. Insect venoms are characterized by a large interspecific variation resulting in extended lists of venom compounds. The venom composition of several hymenopterans also shows different intraspecific variation. For instance, venom from different honeybee castes, more specifically queens and workers, shows quantitative and qualitative variation, while the environment, like seasonal changes, also proves to be an important factor. The present study aimed at an in-depth analysis of the intraspecific variation in the honeybee venom proteome. In summer workers, the recent list of venom proteins resulted from merging combinatorial peptide ligand library sample pretreatment and targeted tandem mass spectrometry realized with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS/MS). Now, the same technique was used to determine the venom proteome of queens and winter bees, enabling us to compare it with that of summer bees. In total, 34 putative venom toxins were found, of which two were never described in honeybee venoms before. Venom from winter workers did not contain toxins that were not present in queens or summer workers, while winter worker venom lacked the allergen Api m 12, also known as vitellogenin. Venom from queen bees, on the other hand, was lacking six of the 34 venom toxins compared to worker bees, while it contained two new venom toxins, in particularly serine proteinase stubble and antithrombin-III. Although people are hardly stung by honeybees during winter or by queen bees, these newly identified toxins should be taken into account in the characterization of a putative allergic response against Apis mellifera stings.

78 FR 34310 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-07

.... 130402313-3499-01] RIN 0648-BD15 Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Regulatory Amendment 2 AGENCY: National Marine... the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin...

78 FR 56171 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-12

.... 130402313-3748-02] RIN 0648-BD15 Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Regulatory Amendment 2 AGENCY: National Marine... Management Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI...

Chemical profiles of two pheromone glands are differentially regulated by distinct mating factors in honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L..

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elina L Niño

Full Text Available Pheromones mediate social interactions among individuals in a wide variety of species, from yeast to mammals. In social insects such as honey bees, pheromone communication systems can be extraordinarily complex and serve to coordinate behaviors among many individuals. One of the primary mediators of social behavior and organization in honey bee colonies is queen pheromone, which is produced by multiple glands. The types and quantities of chemicals produced differ significantly between virgin and mated queens, and recent studies have suggested that, in newly mated queens, insemination volume or quantity can affect pheromone production. Here, we examine the long-term impact of different factors involved during queen insemination on the chemical composition of the mandibular and Dufour's glands, two of the major sources of queen pheromone. Our results demonstrate that carbon dioxide (an anesthetic used in instrumental insemination, physical manipulation of genital tract (presumably mimicking the act of copulation, insemination substance (saline vs. semen, and insemination volume (1 vs. 8 µl all have long-term effects on mandibular gland chemical profiles. In contrast, Dufour's gland chemical profiles were changed only upon insemination and were not influenced by exposure to carbon dioxide, manipulation, insemination substance or volume. These results suggest that the chemical contents of these two glands are regulated by different neuro-physiological mechanisms. Furthermore, workers responded differently to the different mandibular gland extracts in a choice assay. Although these studies must be validated in naturally mated queens of varying mating quality, our results suggest that while the chemical composition of Dufour's gland is associated with mating status, that of the mandibular glands is associated with both mating status and insemination success. Thus, the queen appears to be signaling both status and reproductive quality to the workers

Influence of toxic bait type and starvation on worker and queen mortality in laboratory colonies of Argentine ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Mathieson, Melissa; Toft, Richard; Lester, Philip J

2012-08-01

The efficacy of toxic baits should be judged by their ability to kill entire ant colonies, including the colony queen or queens. We studied the efficacy of four toxic baits to the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). These baits were Xstinguish that has the toxicant fipronil, Exterm-an-Ant that contains both boric acid and sodium borate, and Advion ant gel and Advion ant bait arena that both have indoxacarb. Experimental nests contained 300 workers and 10 queen ants that were starved for either 24 or 48 h before toxic bait exposure. The efficacy of the toxic baits was strongly influenced by starvation. In no treatment with 24-h starvation did we observe 100% worker death. After 24-h starvation three of the baits did not result in any queen deaths, with only Exterm-an-Ant producing an average of 25% mortality. In contrast, 100% queen and worker mortality was observed in colonies starved for 48 h and given Xstinguish or Exterm-an-Ant. The baits Advion ant gel and Advion ant bait arena were not effective against Argentine ants in these trials, resulting in ants are likely to be starved. Our results suggest queen mortality must be assessed in tests for toxic bait efficacy. Our data indicate that of these four baits, Xstinguish and Exterm-an-Ant are the best options for control of Argentine ants in New Zealand.

Morphometric study of newly emerged unmated queens of honey bee Apis mellifera L. in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt

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S.M. Kamel

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Recently, morphometric analysis is being a very good tool for identification of honey bee races and characterization of genetic materials. This fact has motivated the present work to investigate the effects of two grafting methods, three types of artificial queen wax cups and four periods of queen rearing on some morphological characters of newly emerged queens. The developed technique used in the present study depends on the integration between Scanner unit and Photoshop program, called Scan Photo Method (SPM. The measurements of 23 morphological characteristics of reared queens were estimated by using SPM. Results indicated significant differences between periods in the measurements of the studied characteristics on forewing such as cubital index, distance C, distance D, radial field, inner wing length, inner wing width, dumb bell index, distance I, II, III and IV, except cubital A and cubital B. Regarding the effects of cup types and grafting methods, data also revealed significant differences in all measurements of studied characteristics, except tibial length, hind wing length, cubital B, radial field and distance IV. Further works in this area were recommended to find out a relation between some morphometric characters and important of some quantitative characters.

Birth weights and gestational ages of Malawian newborns at Queen ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To determine the distributions of birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA) and calculate rates of still birth (SB) of four years delivery in the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital( QECH). Methods: Retrospective analysis was carried out on data of deliveries conducted between January 2000 and December 2003.

The Imperial Style: Rhetorical Depiction and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, James R.

2000-01-01

Contributes to scholarship advancing the understanding of human communication by examining a powerful set of imperialist symbols that have a lingering impact on the British national psyche. Investigates the Queen's Diamond Jubilee speech and the performative rhetoric of the Jubilee celebration itself, to illustrate how rhetorical depiction may…

A comparison of honeybee (Apis mellifera) queen, worker and drone larvae by RNA-Seq.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xu-Jiang; Jiang, Wu-Jun; Zhou, Mi; Barron, Andrew B; Zeng, Zhi-Jiang

2017-11-06

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) have haplodiploid sex determination: males develop from unfertilized eggs and females develop from fertilized ones. The differences in larval food also determine the development of females. Here we compared the total somatic gene expression profiles of 2-day and 4-day-old drone, queen and worker larvae by RNA-Seq. The results from a co-expression network analysis on all expressed genes showed that 2-day-old drone and worker larvae were closer in gene expression profiles than 2-day-old queen larvae. This indicated that for young larvae (2-day-old) environmental factors such as larval diet have a greater effect on gene expression profiles than ploidy or sex determination. Drones had the most distinct gene expression profiles at the 4-day larval stage, suggesting that haploidy, or sex dramatically affects the gene expression of honeybee larvae. Drone larvae showed fewer differences in gene expression profiles at the 2-day and 4-day time points than the worker and queen larval comparisons (598 against 1190 and 1181), suggesting a different pattern of gene expression regulation during the larval development of haploid males compared to diploid females. This study indicates that early in development the queen caste has the most distinct gene expression profile, perhaps reflecting the very rapid growth and morphological specialization of this caste compared to workers and drones. Later in development the haploid male drones have the most distinct gene expression profile, perhaps reflecting the influence of ploidy or sex determination on gene expression. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Rare earth elements in minerals of the ALHA77005 shergottite and implications for its parent magma and crystallization history

Science.gov (United States)

Lundberg, Laura L.; Crozaz, Ghislaine; Mcsween, Harry Y., Jr.

1990-01-01

Analyses of mineral REE and selected minor and trace elements were carried out on individual grains of pyroxenes, whitlockite, maskelynite, and olivine of the Antarctic shergottite ALHA77005, and the results are used to interpret its parent magma and crystallization history. The results of mineral compositions and textural observations suggest that ALHA77005 is a cumulate with about half cumulus material (olivine + chromite) and half postcumulus phases. Most of the REEs in ALHA77005 reside in whitlockite whose modal concentration is about 1 percent. Mineral REE data support previous suggestions that plagioclase and whitlockite crystallized late, and that low-Ca pyroxene initiated crystallization before high-Ca pyroxene. The REE patterns for the intercumulus liquid, calculated from distribution coefficients for ALHA77005 pyroxene, plagioclase, and whitlockite, are in very good agreement and are similar to that of Shergotty.

Queen-worker caste ratio depends on colony size in the pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Anna Mosegaard; Linksvayer, Timothy Arnold; Boomsma, Jacobus Jan

2011-01-01

The success of an ant colony depends on the simultaneous presence of reproducing queens and nonreproducing workers in a ratio that will maximize colony growth and reproduction. Despite its presumably crucial role, queen–worker caste ratios (the ratio of adult queens to workers) and the factors...... affecting this variable remain scarcely studied. Maintaining polygynous pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) colonies in the laboratory has provided us with the opportunity to experimentally manipulate colony size, one of the key factors that can be expected to affect colony level queen–worker caste ratios...... species with budding colonies may adaptively adjust caste ratios to ensure rapid growth....

Morphometric Identification of Queens, Workers and Intermediates in In Vitro Reared Honey Bees (Apis mellifera).

Science.gov (United States)

De Souza, Daiana A; Wang, Ying; Kaftanoglu, Osman; De Jong, David; Amdam, Gro V; Gonçalves, Lionel S; Francoy, Tiago M

2015-01-01

In vitro rearing is an important and useful tool for honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) studies. However, it often results in intercastes between queens and workers, which are normally are not seen in hive-reared bees, except when larvae older than three days are grafted for queen rearing. Morphological classification (queen versus worker or intercastes) of bees produced by this method can be subjective and generally depends on size differences. Here, we propose an alternative method for caste classification of female honey bees reared in vitro, based on weight at emergence, ovariole number, spermatheca size and size and shape, and features of the head, mandible and basitarsus. Morphological measurements were made with both traditional morphometric and geometric morphometrics techniques. The classifications were performed by principal component analysis, using naturally developed queens and workers as controls. First, the analysis included all the characters. Subsequently, a new analysis was made without the information about ovariole number and spermatheca size. Geometric morphometrics was less dependent on ovariole number and spermatheca information for caste and intercaste identification. This is useful, since acquiring information concerning these reproductive structures requires time-consuming dissection and they are not accessible when abdomens have been removed for molecular assays or in dried specimens. Additionally, geometric morphometrics divided intercastes into more discrete phenotype subsets. We conclude that morphometric geometrics are superior to traditional morphometrics techniques for identification and classification of honey bee castes and intermediates.

Review of samples of sediment, tailings, and waters adjacent to the Cactus Queen gold mine, Kern County, California

Science.gov (United States)

Rytuba, James J.; Kim, Christopher S.; Goldstein, Daniel N.

2011-01-01

The Cactus Queen Mine is located in the western Mojave Desert in Kern County, California. The Cactus Queen gold-silver (Au-Ag) deposit is similar to other Au-Ag deposits hosted in Miocene volcanic rocks that consist of silicic domes and associated flows, pyroclastic rocks, and subvolcanic intrusions. The volcanic rocks were emplaced onto a basement of Mesozoic silicic intrusive rocks. A part of the Cactus Queen Mine is located on Federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Staff from the BLM initially sampled the mine area and documented elevated concentrations of arsenic (As) in tailings and sediment. BLM then requested that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with Chapman University, measure and characterize As and other geochemical constituents in sediment, tailings, and waters on the part of the mine on Federal lands. This report is made in response to the request by the BLM, the lead agency mandated to conduct a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) - Removal Site Investigation (RSI). The RSI applies to the potential removal of As-contaminated mine waste from the Cactus Queen Mine as a means of reducing As release and exposure to humans and biota. This report summarizes data obtained from field sampling of sediments, mine tailings, and surface waters at the Cactus Queen Mine on January 27, 2008. Our results provide a preliminary assessment of the sources of As and associated chemical constituents that could potentially impact humans and biota.

DNA extraction from wings as a suitable approach for queen bees genotyping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Facchini

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In livestock, genomics has been used since a decade in combination with phenotypic information for the estimation of breeding values. In honey bees (Apis mellifera, the advantage for including genomics in selective breeding programmes is represented by the possibility to reduce the generation interval and increase the accuracies of estimated breeding values resulting in higher genetic gain (Brascamp et al., 2018. The limit for this application is DNA extraction. Extraction methods for small animals such as insects often rely upon destructive approaches. The challenge is to develop tissue sampling methods that permit the survival of the animal while providing adequate quality DNA for genotyping. Along with previous reports of DNA extraction from several matrices, this study aims to contribute in developing suitable methodologies for genotyping honey bees queens using DNA extracted from wing cuttings (Chaline et al., 2004; Gregory and Rinderer, 2004; Gould et al., 2011. The clipping of the queen wings in beekeeping is a common practice and it ensures the survival and normal activities of the animal (Forster, 1971. A total of 57 queens with known pedigree were enrolled for this study. Wings from each queen were cut and stored at -20°C until processed (Fig. 1. Extractions were carried out using a modified protocol provided by Qiagen (DNeasy® Blood & Tissue. The modification consists in an initial incubation of the samples with proteinase K for 20 minutes, further steps are carried out following the manufacturer’s instructions. To test the suitability of the extracted DNA for genotyping, PCR was performed on Esterase FE4 like gene. Although quantification with NanoDrop™ resulted in <20 ng/μL of DNA in solution, the extracted material was sufficient for PCR amplification of candidate genes for sequencing and genotyping. Our results show that it is possible to extract DNA from wings’ cuttings permitting to implement genomic approaches in honey

Impact of chronic neonicotinoid exposure on honeybee colony performance and queen supersedure.

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Christoph Sandrock

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Honeybees provide economically and ecologically vital pollination services to crops and wild plants. During the last decade elevated colony losses have been documented in Europe and North America. Despite growing consensus on the involvement of multiple causal factors, the underlying interactions impacting on honeybee health and colony failure are not fully resolved. Parasites and pathogens are among the main candidates, but sublethal exposure to widespread agricultural pesticides may also affect bees. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate effects of sublethal dietary neonicotinoid exposure on honeybee colony performance, a fully crossed experimental design was implemented using 24 colonies, including sister-queens from two different strains, and experimental in-hive pollen feeding with or without environmentally relevant concentrations of thiamethoxam and clothianidin. Honeybee colonies chronically exposed to both neonicotinoids over two brood cycles exhibited decreased performance in the short-term resulting in declining numbers of adult bees (-28% and brood (-13%, as well as a reduction in honey production (-29% and pollen collections (-19%, but colonies recovered in the medium-term and overwintered successfully. However, significantly decelerated growth of neonicotinoid-exposed colonies during the following spring was associated with queen failure, revealing previously undocumented long-term impacts of neonicotinoids: queen supersedure was observed for 60% of the neonicotinoid-exposed colonies within a one year period, but not for control colonies. Linked to this, neonicotinoid exposure was significantly associated with a reduced propensity to swarm during the next spring. Both short-term and long-term effects of neonicotinoids on colony performance were significantly influenced by the honeybees' genetic background. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Sublethal neonicotinoid exposure did not provoke increased winter losses. Yet

Fantasy under Duress: Connie Scozzaro’s Contrapposto Action Queen

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Edward Luker

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article explores how Connie Scozzaro’s 'Contrapposto Action Queen (2013' repeatedly takes up two mystifications of femininity from classical mythology, Venus and Lamia, so as to subject them to critique. It takes the images of Venus and Lamia from the writing of two poets, Charles Algernon Swinburne and John Keats. These examples are shown to be epitomes of male poetic fantasy. Within Scozzaro’s collection these fantasies are dissected, undermined, or taken apart through exaggeration, ironization, and the use of tone. The book makes explicit that within patriarchal society, male fantasies are part of a social condition of gendered violence. Contra Brandon Brown’s argument that 'Contrapposto Action Queen' articulates the dialectic of the possible and the actual, this article articulates that for Scozzaro the possible is always conditioned by fantasy. It finishes by looking at Theodor Adorno’s essay ‘Lyric Poetry and Society’. Where Adorno states the lyric subject manifests itself with masculine ‘unrestrained individuation’, this fails to grasp how the lyric poem can utilize strategies of concealment to stress the consequences of the lyric subject’s gendering.

Functional characterisation of semen in honeybee queen (A.m.ligustica S. spermatheca and efficiency of the diluted semen technique in instrumental insemination

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Andrea Galli

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Differences over time in the quality of semen present in the honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica queen spermatheca werestudied. An increase in the non-vital spermatozoa was shown to be evident (P>0.05 between the 12th and 24th month.The study of semen viability demonstrated that the passage of the semen to the spermatheca is due to sperm motility.In the queen inseminated with non-viable spermatozoa, no semen was detected in the spermatheca. Queens inseminatedtwice with a Hyes solution/semen mixture (1:1 stored as many spermatozoa in their spermatheca as those inseminatedonce with the classic technique. Queen replacement, oviposition and other functional characteristics were similarto those observed in the classic insemination procedure.

76 FR 82403 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Amendments to the Queen Conch and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-30

... Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 622 Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Amendments to the Queen Conch and Reef Fish Fishery Management Plans of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin... South Atlantic; Amendments to the Queen Conch and Reef Fish Fishery Management Plans of Puerto Rico and...

Queens and Workers Contribute Differently to Adaptive Evolution in Bumble Bees and Honey Bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Harpur, Brock A; Dey, Alivia; Albert, Jennifer R; Patel, Sani; Hines, Heather M; Hasselmann, Martin; Packer, Laurence; Zayed, Amro

2017-09-01

Eusociality represents a major transition in evolution and is typified by cooperative brood care and reproductive division of labor between generations. In bees, this division of labor allows queens and workers to phenotypically specialize. Worker traits associated with helping are thought to be crucial to the fitness of a eusocial lineage, and recent studies of honey bees (genus Apis) have found that adaptively evolving genes often have worker-biased expression patterns. It is unclear however if worker-biased genes are disproportionately acted on by strong positive selection in all eusocial insects. We undertook a comparative population genomics study of bumble bees (Bombus) and honey bees to quantify natural selection on queen- and worker-biased genes across two levels of social complexity. Despite sharing a common eusocial ancestor, genes, and gene groups with the highest levels of positive selection were often unique within each genus, indicating that life history and the environment, but not sociality per se, drives patterns of adaptive molecular evolution. We uncovered differences in the contribution of queen- and worker-biased genes to adaptive evolution in bumble bees versus honey bees. Unlike honey bees, where worker-biased genes are enriched for signs of adaptive evolution, genes experiencing positive selection in bumble bees were predominately expressed by reproductive foundresses during the initial solitary-founding stage of colonies. Our study suggests that solitary founding is a major selective pressure and that the loss of queen totipotency may cause a change in the architecture of selective pressures upon the social insect genome. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees

OpenAIRE

Bastin, Florian; Chol?, Hanna; Lafon, Gr?gory; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe

2017-01-01

Although the honeybee is a crucial agricultural agent and a prominent scientific model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behaviour are still unknown. During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregations 10?40?m above ground. Converging evidence suggests that drones emit a pheromone that can attract other drones, thereby increasing the size of the congregation. Virgin queens join the vicinity of the congregation after it has formed, and mate with as many as...

The Queen's Two Bodies: Sor Juana and New Spain's Vicereines

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, George Anthony

2009-01-01

The work of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz contains many examples of positive representations of the Queens of Spain and the Vicereines of New Spain. These poetic portraits serve to counter the primarily misogynistic portrayals of ruling women of the seventeenth century. Most importantly, Sor Juana increased the visibility of the vicereine in colonial…

Queen elizabeth class battleships

CERN Document Server

Brown, Les

2010-01-01

The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic survey of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.This volume covers the five ships of the highly successful Queen Elizabeth class, a design of fast battleship that set the benchmark for the last generati...

76 FR 66675 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Amendments to the Queen Conch and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-27

.... 100120037-1626-01] RIN 0648-AY55 Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Amendments to the Queen Conch and Reef Fish Fishery Management Plans of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands... the Fishery Management Plan for Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and...

Effect of Different Substrates on the Acceptance of Grafted Larvae in Commercial Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Queen Rearing

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Contreras-Martinez Celia A.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The need for the increased production of honey bee (Apis mellifera queens has led beekeepers to use different substrates in artificial queen cups where larvae destined to become queens are deposited (grafting. However, not enough scientific evidence exists that indicates that this practice is useful and what substance offers the best results. This study was conducted to determine with the Doolittle queen rearing method the acceptance rate of larvae deposited on different substrates during grafting and to determine if the sugar content and pH of the substrates used affect the acceptance of larvae in cell builder colonies. The evaluated substrates were coconut water, apple nectar, royal jelly, cola soda and distilled water, plus control (without substrate. Grafted larvae of the six treatments were introduced into cell builder colonies and their acceptance verified after 72 h. Apple nectar provided the highest rate of larvae acceptance with 81.06%, followed by cola soda with 62.93%, coconut water with 60.90%, royal jelly with 57.82% and distilled water with 58.99%. The larvae acceptance rates of all substrates were significantly higher than the control, which had an acceptance rate of 47.04%. No significant relationship was found between the sugar content of the substrates and larvae acceptance. However, although not significant, a high negative correlation was found between the substrate pH and the number of accepted larvae (Rho = - 0.90, p = 0.07. These results suggest that the use of liquid acidic substrates during larvae grafting, in particular apple nectar, may increase the production of honey bee queens.

Intrinsic worker mortality depends on behavioral caste and the queens' presence in a social insect

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Kohlmeier, Philip; Negroni, Matteo Antoine; Kever, Marion; Emmling, Stefanie; Stypa, Heike; Feldmeyer, Barbara; Foitzik, Susanne

2017-04-01

According to the classic life history theory, selection for longevity depends on age-dependant extrinsic mortality and fecundity. In social insects, the common life history trade-off between fecundity and longevity appears to be reversed, as the most fecund individual, the queen, often exceeds workers in lifespan several fold. But does fecundity directly affect intrinsic mortality also in social insect workers? And what is the effect of task on worker mortality? Here, we studied how social environment and behavioral caste affect intrinsic mortality of ant workers. We compared worker survival between queenless and queenright Temnothorax longispinosus nests and demonstrate that workers survive longer under the queens' absence. Temnothorax ant workers fight over reproduction when the queen is absent and dominant workers lay eggs. Worker fertility might therefore increase lifespan, possibly due to a positive physiological link between fecundity and longevity, or better care for fertile workers. In social insects, division of labor among workers is age-dependant with young workers caring for the brood and old ones going out to forage. We therefore expected nurses to survive longer than foragers, which is what we found. Surprisingly, inactive inside workers showed a lower survival than nurses but comparable to that of foragers. The reduced longevity of inactive workers could be due to them being older than the nurses, or due to a positive effect of activity on lifespan. Overall, our study points to behavioral caste-dependent intrinsic mortality rates and a positive association between fertility and longevity not only in queens but also in ant workers.

Legal syringe purchases by injection drug users, Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, 2000-2001.

Science.gov (United States)

Des Jarlais, Don C; McKnight, Courtney; Friedmann, Patricia

2002-01-01

To assess preliminary results of the Expanded Syringe Access Demonstration Program (ESAP) in New York City. Temporal trends of pharmacy use among injection drug users (IDUs) in Brooklyn and Queens were analyzed from December 2000 through December 2001. Brooklyn and Queens, New York City. PARTIPANTS: IDUs. Attempts to purchase syringes from pharmacies and success in doing so. Of the 1,072 IDUs interviewed from December 2000 through December 2001, the majority were daily heroin injectors, but there was also substantial speedball and cocaine injection. There was a clear increase over time in both the percentage of subjects who attempted to purchase syringes in pharmacies and in the percentage who successfully purchased syringes. Among IDUs interviewed 4 or more months after ESAP began, large majorities of those who attempted to purchase syringes were successful in doing so. No differences in use of ESAP by IDUs were identified in Brooklyn versus Queens: 27% of IDUs interviewed in Queens reported that they had attempted to purchase syringes in pharmacies versus 28% in Brooklyn. Persons who reported injecting on a daily or more frequent basis were more likely to have attempted pharmacy purchases than persons who reported injecting less frequently, 32% versus 21%. The ESAP program has led to an increase in the use of pharmacies as sources of sterile injection equipment among IDUs in New York City. The extent to which pharmacies become an important source of sterile injection equipment and the effect of legal pharmacy sales on risk behaviors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remain to be determined.

Cellulolytic Protist Numbers Rise and Fall Dramatically in Termite Queens and Kings during Colony Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Keisuke; Lo, Nathan; Kitade, Osamu; Wakui, Akane

2013-01-01

Among the best-known examples of mutualistic symbioses is that between lower termites and the cellulolytic flagellate protists in their hindguts. Although the symbiosis in worker termites has attracted much attention, there have been only a few studies of protists in other castes. We have performed the first examination of protist population dynamics in queens and kings during termite colony foundation. Protist numbers, as well as measurements of hindgut and reproductive tissue sizes, were undertaken at five time points over 400 days in incipient colonies of Reticulitermes speratus, as well as in other castes of mature colonies of this species. We found that protist numbers increased dramatically in both queens and kings during the first 50 days of colony foundation but began to decrease by day 100, eventually disappearing by day 400. Hindgut width followed a pattern similar to that of protist numbers, while ovary and testis widths increased significantly only at day 400. Kings were found to contain higher numbers of protists than queens in incipient colonies, which may be linked to higher levels of nutrient transfer from kings to queens than vice versa, as is known in some other termite species. Protists were found to be abundant in soldiers from mature colonies but absent in neotenics. This probably reflects feeding of soldiers by workers via proctodeal trophallaxis and of reproductives via stomodeal trophallaxis. The results reveal the dynamic nature of protist numbers during colony foundation and highlight the trade-offs that exist between reproduction and parental care during this critical phase of the termite life cycle. PMID:23376945

The Red Queen model of recombination hot-spot evolution: a theoretical investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Latrille, Thibault; Duret, Laurent; Lartillot, Nicolas

2017-12-19

In humans and many other species, recombination events cluster in narrow and short-lived hot spots distributed across the genome, whose location is determined by the Zn-finger protein PRDM9. To explain these fast evolutionary dynamics, an intra-genomic Red Queen model has been proposed, based on the interplay between two antagonistic forces: biased gene conversion, mediated by double-strand breaks, resulting in hot-spot extinction, followed by positive selection favouring new PRDM9 alleles recognizing new sequence motifs. Thus far, however, this Red Queen model has not been formalized as a quantitative population-genetic model, fully accounting for the intricate interplay between biased gene conversion, mutation, selection, demography and genetic diversity at the PRDM9 locus. Here, we explore the population genetics of the Red Queen model of recombination. A Wright-Fisher simulator was implemented, allowing exploration of the behaviour of the model (mean equilibrium recombination rate, diversity at the PRDM9 locus or turnover rate) as a function of the parameters (effective population size, mutation and erosion rates). In a second step, analytical results based on self-consistent mean-field approximations were derived, reproducing the scaling relations observed in the simulations. Empirical fit of the model to current data from the mouse suggests both a high mutation rate at PRDM9 and strong biased gene conversion on its targets.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evolutionary causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in sexual organisms'. © 2017 The Authors.

The Macalister archive: records from the Queen's Hospital, Sidcup, 1917-1921.

Science.gov (United States)

Bamji, A N

1993-04-01

The Queen's Hospital opened in 1917 to care for soldiers receiving facial injuries in Western Front trenches, usually as a result of a gunshot wound. Some 8000 patients were treated by the medical teams of the UK, the Dominions and the USA. The wartime records were removed by their respective sections in 1921, but Queen Mary's Hospital has recently reacquired those of the New Zealand section, rescued from imminent destruction by Professor A.D. Macalister, late Dean of the Dental School at Dunedin, and kindly donated by him. There are 282 sets of case-notes containing typescript summaries, clinical photographs and radiographs, drawings, 77 watercolor paintings and a life-size wax model of head and upper torso illustrating some of the surgical techniques. The archive is a fine example of medical illustration 75 years ago, and provides invaluable detail on the plastic surgery and dental reconstructive methods that were developed at Sidcup.

King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway visit CERN

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2006-01-01

Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja take a tour of the ATLAS detector with CERN's Director-General Robert Aymar in April 2006. During their visit the royal party met with members of CERN's Norwegian community. A group of about 40 students greeted the royal motorcade with a belting rendition of 'The King's Song', Norway's royal anthem.

Natural Larval Diet Differently Influences the Pattern of Developmental Changes in DNA 5-Methylcytosine Levels in Apis mellifera Queens as Compared with Workers and Drones.

Science.gov (United States)

Strachecka, A; Olszewski, K; Bajda, M; Demetraki-Paleolog, J

2015-08-01

The principal mechanism of gene activation/silencing is DNA 5-methylcytosine methylation. This study was aimed at determining global DNA methylation levels in larvae, prepupae, pupae, and 1-day-old adults of Apis mellifera queens, workers and drones. The Imprint Methylated DNA Quantification Kit MDQ1 was used. Percentages of DNA 5-methylcytosine were low and relatively similar in the larvae of all the castes until 4th day of larval development (3-5%). However, they were higher in the drone and worker larvae than in the queen larvae. Generally, the developmental patterns of changes in the DNA methylation levels were different in the queens in comparison with the drones and workers. While methylation increased in the queens, it decreased in the drones and workers. Methylated DNA methylcytosine percentages and weights in the queen prepupae (15%, 9.18 ng) and pupae (21%, 10.74 ng) were, respectively, three and four times higher than in the worker/drone brood of the same age (2.5-4%, 0.03-0.07 ng). Only in the queens, after a substantial increase, did DNA methylation decrease almost twice between the pupal stage and queen emergence (from 21% and 10.74 ng to 12% and 6.78 ng). This finding seems very interesting, particularly for experimental gerontology.

Founding weaver ant queens (Oecophylla longinoda) increase production and nanitic worker size when adopting non-nestmate pupae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ouagoussounon, Issa; Offenberg, Joachim; Sinzogan, Antonio

2015-01-01

Weaver ants (Oecophylla longinoda Latreille) are used commercially to control pest insects and for protein production. In this respect fast colony growth is desirable for managed colonies. Transplantation of non-nestmate pupae to incipient colonies has been shown to boost colony growth. Our...... of 300 pupae increased total colony size more than 10-fold whereas 100 pupae increased the size 5.6 fold, compared to control. This increase was due not only to the individuals added in the form of pupae but also to an increased per capita brood production by the resident queen, triggered by the adopted...... objectives were to find the maximum number of pupae a founding queen can handle, and to measure the associated colony growth. Secondly, we tested if transplantation of pupae led to production of larger nanitic workers (defined as unusually small worker ants produced by founding queens in their first batch...

Mating frequencies of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.) in a population of feral colonies in the Northeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarpy, David R; Delaney, Deborah A; Seeley, Thomas D

2015-01-01

Across their introduced range in North America, populations of feral honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies have supposedly declined in recent decades as a result of exotic parasites, most notably the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Nonetheless, recent studies have documented several wild populations of colonies that have persisted. The extreme polyandry of honey bee queens-and the increased intracolony genetic diversity it confers-has been attributed, in part, to improved disease resistance and may be a factor in the survival of these populations of feral colonies. We estimated the mating frequencies of queens in feral colonies in the Arnot Forest in New York State to determine if the level of polyandry of these queens is especially high and so might contribute to their survival success. We genotyped the worker offspring from 10 feral colonies in the Arnot Forest of upstate New York, as well as those from 20 managed colonies closest to this forest. We found no significant differences in mean mating frequency between the feral and managed queens, suggesting that queens in the remote, low-density population of colonies in the Arnot Forest are neither mate-limited nor adapted to mate at an especially high frequency. These findings support the hypothesis that the hyperpolyandry of honey bees has been shaped on an evolutionary timescale rather than on an ecological one.

Mating frequencies of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L. in a population of feral colonies in the Northeastern United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R Tarpy

Full Text Available Across their introduced range in North America, populations of feral honey bee (Apis mellifera L. colonies have supposedly declined in recent decades as a result of exotic parasites, most notably the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Nonetheless, recent studies have documented several wild populations of colonies that have persisted. The extreme polyandry of honey bee queens-and the increased intracolony genetic diversity it confers-has been attributed, in part, to improved disease resistance and may be a factor in the survival of these populations of feral colonies. We estimated the mating frequencies of queens in feral colonies in the Arnot Forest in New York State to determine if the level of polyandry of these queens is especially high and so might contribute to their survival success. We genotyped the worker offspring from 10 feral colonies in the Arnot Forest of upstate New York, as well as those from 20 managed colonies closest to this forest. We found no significant differences in mean mating frequency between the feral and managed queens, suggesting that queens in the remote, low-density population of colonies in the Arnot Forest are neither mate-limited nor adapted to mate at an especially high frequency. These findings support the hypothesis that the hyperpolyandry of honey bees has been shaped on an evolutionary timescale rather than on an ecological one.

Workers and alate queens of Solenopsis geminata share qualitatively similar but quantitatively different venom alkaloid chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qun-Hui eShi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Solenopsis geminata group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae encompasses ant species commonly called fire ants because of their painful sting. The many physiological effects of the venom are caused by 2-methyl-6-alkyl and/or alkenylpiperidine alkaloids. The variation in piperidine alkaloid structures has useful taxonomic characters. The most well studied Solenopsis species is S. invicta, which was accidentally imported into the USA in the 1930s from South America. It quickly spread throughout the southern USA and is now a major invasive pest ant in the USA and in other parts of the world. Interestingly, the invasive S. invicta has largely displaced a native USA fire ant, S. geminata, from the southern USA. We explore the possibility that differences in venom chemistry could be correlated with this displacement. The cis and trans alkaloids from body extracts of workers and alate queens of S. geminata were separated by silica gel chromatography, identified, and quantitated by GC-MS analysis. Both workers and alate queens produce primarily cis- and trans-2-methyl-6-n-undecyl-piperidines, as well as other minor alkaloid components. Imported fire ant, S. invicta, alate queens produce the same alkaloids as S. geminata alate queens, but in contrast S. invicta workers produce piperidine alkaloids with longer side chains, which are purported to be physiologically more effective. These results are discussed in relation to the evolutionary progression of fire ant venom alkaloids and displacement of S. geminata by S. invicta in the USA.

Community-led cancer action councils in Queens, New York: process evaluation of an innovative partnership with the Queens library system.

Science.gov (United States)

Basu Roy, Upal; Michel, Tamara; Carpenter, Alison; Lounsbury, David W; Sabino, Eilleen; Stevenson, Alexis Jurow; Combs, Sarah; Jacobs, Jasmine; Padgett, Deborah; Rapkin, Bruce D

2014-02-06

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has great potential to address cancer disparities, particularly in racially and ethnically diverse and underserved neighborhoods. The objective of this study was to conduct a process evaluation of an innovative academic-community partnership, Queens Library HealthLink, which aimed to reduce cancer disparities through neighborhood groups (Cancer Action Councils) that convened in public libraries in Queens, New York. We used a mixed-methods approach to conduct 69 telephone survey interviews and 4 focus groups (15 participants) with Cancer Action Council members. We used 4 performance criteria to inform data collection: action or attention to sustainability, library support for the council, social cohesion and group leadership, and activity level. Focus group transcripts were independently coded and cross-checked for consensus until saturation was achieved. Members reported benefits and barriers to participation. Thirty-three original focus group transcript codes were organized into 8 main themes related to member experiences: 1) library as a needed resource, 2) library as a reputable and nondenominational institution, 3) value of library staff, 4) need for a HealthLink specialist, 5) generation of ideas and coordination of tasks, 6) participation challenges, 7) use of community connections, and 8) collaboration for sustainability. In response to the process evaluation, Cancer Action Council members and HealthLink staff incorporated member suggestions to improve council sustainability. The councils merged to increase intercouncil collaboration, and institutional changes were made in funding to sustain a HealthLink specialist beyond the grant period.

Worker laying in the absence of an ergatoid queen in the ponerine ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1987-06-12

Jun 12, 1987 ... berthoudi - an alternative fonn of eusocial organization. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 18: 28-37. WINTER, U. & BUSCHINGER, A. 1986. Genetically mediated queen polymorphism and caste determination in the slave-making ant, Harpagoxenus sublaevis. (Hymenoptera: Fonnicidae). Entomol. Gener. 11:.

To and From the Queen: Modalities of Epistolography in the Correspondence of Elizabeth I

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuliana Iannaccaro

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the connection between modalities of letter writing and the relation between writer and addressee. We take into consideration the case of Elizabeth I of England, situated in the overall panorama of early modern European historiography. The English Queen was a prolific and skilful letter writer, endowed with an uncommon talent for foreign languages; but she was also, thanks to her role, the willing or unwilling recipient of thousands of epistles. By selecting two different corpora of letters, from and to the Queen, it is possible to explore how personal relations, degree of acquaintance, respective status and purpose of the letter influence the very structure of the genre.

2006 Maryland Department of Natural Resources Lidar: Caroline, Kent and Queen Anne Counties

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Maryland Department of Natural Resources requested the collection of LIDAR data over Kent, Queen Anne and Caroline Counties, MD. In response, EarthData acquired the...

Simplified Analytical Model for a Queen-Post Covered Timber Bridge

Science.gov (United States)

F Fanous; D. Rammer; T. Wipf

2013-01-01

During the 19th century, the economic material to build bridges was timber due to its abundant availability, cost, and ease of construction. Many of the well-known timber bridge types are the Burr arch, Town lattice, Howe, Queen and King type of trusses. This paper summarizes an investigation that was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the USDA Forest...

Honey bee queens do not count mates to assess their mating success

Science.gov (United States)

The mating system of honey bees (genus Apis) is extremely polyandrous, where reproductive females (queens) typically mate with 12 or more males (drones) during their mating flight(s). The evolutionary implications for hyperpolyandry have been subject to considerable debate and empirical testing beca...

Mitosis and cell death in the optic lobes of workers, queens and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Prakash

of white, pink, brown and black eyes, and the beginning of tegument ... Our purpose was to investigate cell division and death in the optic lobes (OL) of workers, queens and males during ... new ones in each caste and sex. Nevertheless, most ...

Was Queen Victoria depressed? 1. Natural history and differential diagnosis of presenting problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Powles, W E; Alexander, M G

1987-02-01

For some years we have speculated as to whether Queen Victoria suffered a definable psychiatric illness in her notorious and prolonged seclusion after the Prince Consort's death. We here summarize criteria for grief and depression from three authorities. Against these, we examine the natural history of the Queen's bereavement and restitution. We find that her suffering and her portrayal of the role of widow were related to her personal style and were culturally accepted. Her self-esteem, ego functions, and object relatedness were preserved. While some clinicians might favour a diagnosis of Dysthymic Disorder, we find the evidence strongly in favour of an intense, prolonged, normal human grief (Uncomplicated Bereavement of DSM III) coloured by a romantic and histrionic personal style. Intensity and duration do not, in this case, establish a diagnosis of depression.

Holocene Tree Line and Climate Change on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Pellatt, Marlow G.; Mathewes, Rolf W.

1997-07-01

Palynological study of two subalpine ponds on the Queen Charlotte Islands reveals changes in tree line and climate during the Holocene. The findings agree with previous reconstructions, from nearby Louise Pond on the Queen Charlotte Islands, that suggest a warmer-than-present climate and higher-than-present tree lines in the early Holocene (ca. 9600-6600 14C yr B.P.). Basal ages at SC1 Pond and Shangri-La Bog indicate that the basins did not hold permanent water before 7200 14C yr B.P., consistent with a warmer and drier early Holocene previously inferred from Louise Pond. Pollen and plant macrofossils indicate the initial establishment of subalpine conditions by 6090 ± 90 14C yr B.P., similar to the 5790 ± 130 14C yr B.P. age for cooling inferred from Louise Pond. Conditions similar to present were established at SC1 Pond by 3460 ± 100 14C yr B.P., confirming the previous estimate of 3400 14C yr B.P. at Louise Pond. This 3400 14C yr B.P. vegetation shift on the Queen Charlotte Islands corresponds with the beginning of the Tiedemann glacial advance in the south-coastal mountains of British Columbia (ca. 3300 14C yr B.P.), the Peyto and Robson glacial advances between 3300 and 2800 14C yr B.P. in the Rocky Mountains, and climatic cooling inferred from palynological studies throughout southern British Columbia, northern Washington, and southeast Alaska. These findings confirm that changes in regional climate influenced changes in vegetation in coastal British Columbia.

The turning points in the solution of n-queens problem using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We also observed that, using a set of even and odd numbers, the odd number experience a turning point before the even numbers. The algorithm of the standard backtracking method was implemented in C programming language and, we used Microsoft Notepad as our output file to display the arrangement of the queens.

MicroRNA signatures characterizing caste-independent ovarian activity in queen and worker honeybees (Apis mellifera L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Macedo, L M F; Nunes, F M F; Freitas, F C P; Pires, C V; Tanaka, E D; Martins, J R; Piulachs, M-D; Cristino, A S; Pinheiro, D G; Simões, Z L P

2016-06-01

Queen and worker honeybees differ profoundly in reproductive capacity. The queen of this complex society, with 200 highly active ovarioles in each ovary, is the fertile caste, whereas the workers have approximately 20 ovarioles as a result of receiving a different diet during larval development. In a regular queenright colony, the workers have inactive ovaries and do not reproduce. However, if the queen is sensed to be absent, some of the workers activate their ovaries, producing viable haploid eggs that develop into males. Here, a deep-sequenced ovary transcriptome library of reproductive workers was used as supporting data to assess the dynamic expression of the regulatory molecules and microRNAs (miRNAs) of reproductive and nonreproductive honeybee females. In this library, most of the differentially expressed miRNAs are related to ovary physiology or oogenesis. When we quantified the dynamic expression of 19 miRNAs in the active and inactive worker ovaries and compared their expression in the ovaries of virgin and mated queens, we noted that some miRNAs (miR-1, miR-31a, miR-13b, miR-125, let-7 RNA, miR-100, miR-276, miR-12, miR-263a, miR-306, miR-317, miR-92a and miR-9a) could be used to identify reproductive and nonreproductive statuses independent of caste. Furthermore, integrative gene networks suggested that some candidate miRNAs function in the process of ovary activation in worker bees. © 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.

Lower disease infections in honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies headed by polyandrous vs monandrous queens

Science.gov (United States)

Tarpy, David R.; Seeley, Thomas D.

2006-04-01

We studied the relationship between genetic diversity and disease susceptibility in honeybee colonies living under natural conditions. To do so, we created colonies in which each queen was artificially inseminated with sperm from either one or ten drones. Of the 20 colonies studied, 80% showed at least one brood disease. We found strong differences between the two types of colonies in the infection intensity of chalkbrood and in the total intensity of all brood diseases (chalkbrood, sacbrood, American foulbrood, and European foulbrood) with both variables lower for the colonies with higher genetic diversity. Our findings demonstrate that disease can be an important factor in the ecology of honeybee colonies and they provide strong support for the disease hypothesis for the evolution of polyandry by social insect queens.

Chronic Exposure of Imidacloprid and Clothianidin Reduce Queen Survival, Foraging, and Nectar Storing in Colonies of Bombus impatiens

Science.gov (United States)

Scholer, Jamison; Krischik, Vera

2014-01-01

In an 11-week greenhouse study, caged queenright colonies of Bombus impatiens Cresson, were fed treatments of 0 (0 ppb actual residue I, imidacloprid; C, clothianidin), 10 (14 I, 9 C), 20 (16 I, 17C), 50 (71 I, 39 C) and 100 (127 I, 76 C) ppb imidacloprid or clothianidin in sugar syrup (50%). These treatments overlapped the residue levels found in pollen and nectar of many crops and landscape plants, which have higher residue levels than seed-treated crops (less than 10 ppb, corn, canola and sunflower). At 6 weeks, queen mortality was significantly higher in 50 ppb and 100 ppb and by 11 weeks in 20 ppb–100 ppb neonicotinyl-treated colonies. The largest impact for both neonicotinyls starting at 20 (16 I, 17 C) ppb was the statistically significant reduction in queen survival (37% I, 56% C) ppb, worker movement, colony consumption, and colony weight compared to 0 ppb treatments. Bees at feeders flew back to the nest box so it appears that only a few workers were collecting syrup in the flight box and returning the syrup to the nest. The majority of the workers sat immobilized for weeks on the floor of the flight box without moving to fed at sugar syrup feeders. Neonicotinyl residues were lower in wax pots in the nest than in the sugar syrup that was provided. At 10 (14) ppb I and 50 (39) ppb C, fewer males were produced by the workers, but queens continued to invest in queen production which was similar among treatments. Feeding on imidacloprid and clothianidin can cause changes in behavior (reduced worker movement, consumption, wax pot production, and nectar storage) that result in detrimental effects on colonies (queen survival and colony weight). Wild bumblebees depending on foraging workers can be negatively impacted by chronic neonicotinyl exposure at 20 ppb. PMID:24643057

Chronic exposure of imidacloprid and clothianidin reduce queen survival, foraging, and nectar storing in colonies of Bombus impatiens.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamison Scholer

Full Text Available In an 11-week greenhouse study, caged queenright colonies of Bombus impatiens Cresson, were fed treatments of 0 (0 ppb actual residue I, imidacloprid; C, clothianidin, 10 (14 I, 9 C, 20 (16 I, 17C, 50 (71 I, 39 C and 100 (127 I, 76 C ppb imidacloprid or clothianidin in sugar syrup (50%. These treatments overlapped the residue levels found in pollen and nectar of many crops and landscape plants, which have higher residue levels than seed-treated crops (less than 10 ppb, corn, canola and sunflower. At 6 weeks, queen mortality was significantly higher in 50 ppb and 100 ppb and by 11 weeks in 20 ppb-100 ppb neonicotinyl-treated colonies. The largest impact for both neonicotinyls starting at 20 (16 I, 17 C ppb was the statistically significant reduction in queen survival (37% I, 56% C ppb, worker movement, colony consumption, and colony weight compared to 0 ppb treatments. Bees at feeders flew back to the nest box so it appears that only a few workers were collecting syrup in the flight box and returning the syrup to the nest. The majority of the workers sat immobilized for weeks on the floor of the flight box without moving to fed at sugar syrup feeders. Neonicotinyl residues were lower in wax pots in the nest than in the sugar syrup that was provided. At 10 (14 ppb I and 50 (39 ppb C, fewer males were produced by the workers, but queens continued to invest in queen production which was similar among treatments. Feeding on imidacloprid and clothianidin can cause changes in behavior (reduced worker movement, consumption, wax pot production, and nectar storage that result in detrimental effects on colonies (queen survival and colony weight. Wild bumblebees depending on foraging workers can be negatively impacted by chronic neonicotinyl exposure at 20 ppb.

Chronic exposure of imidacloprid and clothianidin reduce queen survival, foraging, and nectar storing in colonies of Bombus impatiens.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholer, Jamison; Krischik, Vera

2014-01-01

In an 11-week greenhouse study, caged queenright colonies of Bombus impatiens Cresson, were fed treatments of 0 (0 ppb actual residue I, imidacloprid; C, clothianidin), 10 (14 I, 9 C), 20 (16 I, 17C), 50 (71 I, 39 C) and 100 (127 I, 76 C) ppb imidacloprid or clothianidin in sugar syrup (50%). These treatments overlapped the residue levels found in pollen and nectar of many crops and landscape plants, which have higher residue levels than seed-treated crops (less than 10 ppb, corn, canola and sunflower). At 6 weeks, queen mortality was significantly higher in 50 ppb and 100 ppb and by 11 weeks in 20 ppb-100 ppb neonicotinyl-treated colonies. The largest impact for both neonicotinyls starting at 20 (16 I, 17 C) ppb was the statistically significant reduction in queen survival (37% I, 56% C) ppb, worker movement, colony consumption, and colony weight compared to 0 ppb treatments. Bees at feeders flew back to the nest box so it appears that only a few workers were collecting syrup in the flight box and returning the syrup to the nest. The majority of the workers sat immobilized for weeks on the floor of the flight box without moving to fed at sugar syrup feeders. Neonicotinyl residues were lower in wax pots in the nest than in the sugar syrup that was provided. At 10 (14) ppb I and 50 (39) ppb C, fewer males were produced by the workers, but queens continued to invest in queen production which was similar among treatments. Feeding on imidacloprid and clothianidin can cause changes in behavior (reduced worker movement, consumption, wax pot production, and nectar storage) that result in detrimental effects on colonies (queen survival and colony weight). Wild bumblebees depending on foraging workers can be negatively impacted by chronic neonicotinyl exposure at 20 ppb.

SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIVE CHICKEN QUEEN PINEAPPLE-CURED HAM

OpenAIRE

Dr. Lilibeth A. Roxas; Nikko A. Roxas

2015-01-01

The potential of Native Chicken to be processed into palatable ham was conducted making use of Queen Pineapple (QP) crude extract as one of the curing ingredients. Primarily, the main goal is to develop a protocol in the manufacture of processed native chicken ham and determine the organoleptic quality of native chicken ham product. The age of the bird and maturity of the fruit were considered for the best organoleptic quality of chicken ham. In this study, the combine injectio...

An observation study on the effects of queen age on some characteristics of honey bee colonies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Çakmak

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to determine the effects of the queen’s age on performance of the honeybee (A. mellifera anatoliaca colonies at nomad beekeeping conditions. Performances of the colonies, which had 0, 1, 2 and 3 year-old queens, were compared. The number of combs, brood areas, wintering ability survival rate and honey yield were determined as performance criteria. The average number of combs with bees throughout the experiment in Group I, Group II, Group III and Group IV was 10.92±0.78, 14.68±0.55, 10.10±0.60, 7.88±0.45 number combs/colony; the average of brood areas was 3078±372.5 cm2, 3668±460.3 cm2, 2215±294.0 cm2, 1665.38±241.8 cm2; the average of wintering ability was 84.3±2.9%, 88.0±3.7%, 46.6±19.0%, 26.8±16.5%; the survival rate was 100%, 100%, 60%, 40%; and the average of honey yields was 31.4±1.89 kg, 41.5±1.05 kg, 20.4±2.62 kg and 12.0±1.41 kg per colony, respectively. A significant and negative correlation between queen age and brood production (r=-80.2, colony strength (r=-62.5, wintering ability (r=-66 and honey yield (r=-75.6 were calculated (P<0.01. The colonies headed by young queens had more brood areas, longer worker colony population, better wintering ability and greater honey yield in comparison to colonies headed by old queens.

Worker laying in the absence of an ergatoid queen in the ponerine ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ergatoid queens (without wings and worker-like) occur in Plectroctena mandibularis and P. conjugata. Five nests of these species were incompletely excavated, and an ergatoid was collected in only one of them. The orphaned groups of workers were kept in the laboratory for several months, during which time many eggs ...

Sir James Reid and the Death of Queen Victoria: An Early Model for End-of-Life Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Robert C

2015-12-01

An appraisal of the last ten days of Queen Victoria's life, viewed primarily from the perspective of her personal physician, Sir James Reid, is presented. Sir James' clinical encounters with his patient and the Royal Family are examined to reveal his strategic and medical thinking and gauge his level of success in basic palliative aims. It was found that the lack of effective medical interventions, tensions within the Royal Family, the importance of his post to Sir James' professional career, and the political ramifications unavoidably connected with the illness of a head of state, all presented challenges to Reid's efforts to ease the physical and emotional pain of Queen Victoria's dying. Key features of Sir James' approach included reliance on physician-patient and physician-family relationships, emphasis on emotional support for the patient, and the careful selection of interventions for the family. In the first years of the 20th century, an era when the contemporary concepts of palliative care, hospice, and family dynamics did not exist, Sir James' management of the Queen's final illness suggested an early model for end-of-life care. By the end of Queen Victoria's life, Sir James was seen to have preserved his patient's comfort and dignity, at the same time advancing family and societal acceptance of the death of this matriarchal figure. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Pollen foraging in colonies of Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini): effects of season, colony size and queen number.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilário, S D; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V L

2009-01-01

We evaluated the ratio between the number of pollen foragers and the total number of bees entering colonies of Melipona bicolor, a facultative polygynous species of stingless bees. The variables considered in our analysis were: seasonality, colony size and the number of physogastric queens in each colony. The pollen forager ratios varied significantly between seasons; the ratio was higher in winter than in summer. However, colony size and number of queens per colony had no significant effect. We conclude that seasonal differences in pollen harvest are related to the production of sexuals and to the number of individuals and their body size.

Primary sex ratio adjustment by ant queens in response to local mate competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Menten, Ludivine; Cremer, Sylvia; Heinze, Jürgen

2005-01-01

In the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, wingless males compete with nestmate males for access to female mating partners, leading to local mate competition (LMC). Queen number varies between colonies, resulting in variation in the strength of LMC. Cremer & Heinze (2002, Proceedings of the Royal Society...

Queen Nefertari, the Royal Spouse of Pharaoh Ramses II: A Multidisciplinary Investigation of the Mummified Remains Found in Her Tomb (QV66)

Science.gov (United States)

Habicht, Michael E.; Bianucci, Raffaella; Buckley, Stephen A.; Fletcher, Joann; Bouwman, Abigail S.; Öhrström, Lena M.; Seiler, Roger; Galassi, Francesco M.; Hajdas, Irka; Vassilika, Eleni; Böni, Thomas; Henneberg, Maciej; Rühli, Frank J.

2016-01-01

Queen Nefertari, the favourite Royal Consort of Pharaoh Ramses II (Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty c. 1250 BC) is famous for her beautifully decorated tomb in the Valley of the Queens. Her burial was plundered in ancient times yet still many objects were found broken in the debris when the tomb was excavated. Amongst the found objects was a pair of mummified legs. They came to the Egyptian Museum in Turin and are henceforth regarded as the remains of this famous Queen, although they were never scientifically investigated. The following multidisciplinary investigation is the first ever performed on those remains. The results (radiocarbon dating, anthropology, paleopathology, genetics, chemistry and Egyptology) all strongly speak in favour of an identification of the remains as Nefertari’s, although different explanations—albeit less likely—are considered and discussed. The legs probably belong to a lady, a fully adult individual, of about 40 years of age. The materials used for embalming are consistent with Ramesside mummification traditions and indeed all objects within the tomb robustly support the burial as of Queen Nefertari. PMID:27902731

The Evolutionary Ecology of Multi-Queen Breeding in Ants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huszár, Dóra Borbála

on other ant species to better understand the social syndromes and how supercolonies function. Foremost, this would help to manage invasive supercolonies that harm humans and biodiversity, but could also provide contribution to our general understanding on how ecology, especially demography impacts upon......). Multi-queen breeding requires both social and life-history adaptations from individuals to decrease intra-colony conflicts and to ensure that sterile workers receive inclusive fitness benefits despite lowered relatedness. However, it remains unclear exactly what ecological and life-history covariates...

Synthesis of carrier-free tritium-labeled queen bee pheromone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webster, F.X.; Prestwich, G.D.

1988-01-01

A short synthesis of [4,5- 3 H 2 ] (E)-9-oxo-2-decenoic acid (ODA), a high-specific-activity tritium-containing isotopomer of the queen bee pheromone, is described. Catalytic tritiation of the ketal of ethyl 9-oxo-4-decenoate introduces tritium into two positions, one of which is completely unactivated. Subsequent transformation by selenation, oxidation, and hydrolysis affords the labeled 9-ODA at >60 Ci/mmol. The material is suitable for biochemical studies of binding and catabolism in ovarian, antennal, and other target tissues

The Red Queen hypothesis and geographical parthenogenesis in the alpine hawkweed Hieracium alpinum (Asteraceae)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hartmann, M.; Štefánek, M.; Zdvořák, P.; Heřman, P.; Chrtek, Jindřich; Mráz, P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 122, č. 4 (2017), s. 681-696 ISSN 0024-4066 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : apomixis * polyploidy * Red Queen hypothesis Subject RIV: EF - Botanics OBOR OECD: Plant sciences, botany Impact factor: 2.288, year: 2016

Study of the seasonal variation in the exchanges of food labelled with 198Au from a worker bee to a queen (Apis mellifica ligustica S.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pain, Janine; Roger, Bernard; Douault, Philippe

1975-01-01

Food exchanges from a worker giver to a queen receiver were quantified throughout the year. 4 days old workers distribute great amounts of food to queens, about 74% in average, but variations are low. On the other hand workers of unknown age distribute amounts that are less high and varying in terms of the season. A parallelism exists between percentage variations of food shared by workers of unknown age and the seasonal cycle of the 9-oxodec-2-enoic acid content of queens [fr

Great day: H. M. Queen Elizabeth II at the Calder Hall opening

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1956-01-01

The opening of the world's first nuclear power station, Calder Hall, was a major event in the history of post-war Britain. This film describes the construction and design of the station and its opening by the Queen. It is also an interesting historical document reflecting the beliefs and aspirations of the time. (author).

Great day: H.M. Queen Elizabeth II at the Calder Hall opening

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1956-01-01

The opening of the world's first nuclear power station, Calder Hall, was a major event in the history of post-war Britain. This film describes the construction and design of the station and its opening by the Queen. It is also an interesting historical document reflecting the beliefs and aspirations of the time. (author)

The first royal appendix abscess drainage.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Harold

2015-05-01

On January 22nd 1901, at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, Queen Victoria, nearing her 82nd birthday and having ruled for 64 years, drew her last breath. Edward Prince of Wales, 59 years of age, was now King Edward VII. A year of mourning was proclaimed and his coronation scheduled for June 26th. It was unexpectedly delayed by an attack of royal appendicitis. On Saturday June 14th 1902, less than two weeks before the coronation, Edward travelled to Aldershot to attend a military review. It was a cold, rainy day and the King did not feel well. That night, his abdominal discomfort was getting worse and by five next morning the King's personal physician, Sir Francis Laking, was called to see him. Laking asked Sir Thomas Barlow, Physician-Extraordinary to the King, for a second opinion. By now there was fever, rigor and distinct tenderness in the right iliac fossa of the very obese abdomen. Under heavy sedation, the King was transferred to Windsor Castle, leaving his Queen, Alexandra, to review the parade of 30,000 soldiers gathered at Aldershot.

Did the use of chloroform by Queen Victoria influence its acceptance in obstetric practice?

Science.gov (United States)

Connor, H; Connor, T

1996-10-01

Examination of contemporaneous publications suggests that the use of chloroform by Queen Victoria in 1853 did not result in the major breakthrough in the acceptability of obstetric anaesthesia with which the event has been credited by some later writers.

Lytton Strachey : l’historien intime de deux reines Lytton Strachey’s Intimate Biographies of Two Queens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeannine Hayat

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The British writer Lytton Strachey (1880-1932 wrote biographies of the two most eminent Queens of England: Queen Victoria (1921 and Elizabeth and Essex (1928. The two books made him a very famous historian. However, he would personally have preferred to be admired for his poetry or his plays, for he was a very gifted literary author. Nevertheless many of Strachey’s readers have appreciated his conception of biography, as a means of personal confession while studying the destiny of a public figure. Indeed the Stracheyan way of life, free from Victorian moral standards and guided by the rules of the Bloomsbury group, inspired his story of Victoria and Elizabeth. Both Queens at the end of their lives and at the height of their power carried on strange love affairs: Victoria with her Scottish gillie and Elizabeth with the Earl of Essex, thirty years her younger. In fact, both romances subtly reflect Strachey’s own love affairs. He was himself engaged in a kind of common life with Dora Carrington— the painter, thirteen years younger than him, with whom he was not sexually involved— while he engaged in numerous homosexual love affairs.

Multichannel Seismic Reflection Data - SCAR - Queen Maud Land - 1985-1986, SDLS CD-ROM vol 22

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These data are stacked multichannel marine seismic reflection data recorded during 1985-86 in the Queen Maud Land region, Antarctica, by the Japan National Oil...

Sperm viability and gene expression in honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) following exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid and the organophosphate acaricide coumaphos.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaimanee, Veeranan; Evans, Jay D; Chen, Yanping; Jackson, Caitlin; Pettis, Jeffery S

2016-06-01

Honey bee population declines are of global concern. Numerous factors appear to cause these declines including parasites, pathogens, malnutrition and pesticides. Residues of the organophosphate acaricide coumaphos and the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid, widely used to combat Varroa mites and for crop protection in agriculture, respectively, have been detected in wax, pollen and comb samples. Here, we assess the effects of these compounds at different doses on the viability of sperm stored in the honey bee queens' spermatheca. Our results demonstrate that sub-lethal doses of imidacloprid (0.02ppm) decreased sperm viability by 50%, 7days after treatment. Sperm viability was a downward trend (about 33%) in queens treated with high doses of coumaphos (100ppm), but there was not significant difference. The expression of genes that are involved in development, immune responses and detoxification in honey bee queens and workers exposed to chemicals was measured by qPCR analysis. The data showed that expression levels of specific genes were triggered 1day after treatment. The expression levels of P450 subfamily genes, CYP306A1, CYP4G11 and CYP6AS14 were decreased in honey bee queens treated with low doses of coumaphos (5ppm) and imidacloprid (0.02ppm). Moreover, these two compounds suppressed the expression of genes related to antioxidation, immunity and development in queens at day 1. Up-regulation of antioxidants by these compounds in worker bees was observed at day 1. Coumaphos also caused a repression of CYP306A1 and CYP4G11 in workers. Antioxidants appear to prevent chemical damage to honey bees. We also found that DWV replication increased in workers treated with imidacloprid. This research clearly demonstrates that chemical exposure can affect sperm viability in queen honey bees. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new nuclear materials laboratory at Queen's University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holt, R.A.; Daymond, M.R.

2015-01-01

The Reactor Materials Testing Laboratory (RMTL) at Queen's University and the results of commissioning tests are described. RMTL uses energetic protons (up to 8MeV) to simulate fast neutron damage in materials for reactor components. The laboratory is also capable of He implantation (up to 12 MeV) to simulate the effects of transmutation He in reactor components. The $17.5M laboratory comprises a new building, a 4MV tandem accelerator, two electron microscopes, mechanical testing and specimen preparation equipment, and a radiation detection laboratory. RMTL focusses on studying dynamic effects of irradiation (irradiation creep, irradiation growth, irradiation induced swelling, fatigue under irradiation) in-situ. (author)

Identifying the Transition between Single and Multiple Mating of Queens in Fungus-Growing Ants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villesen, Palle; Murakami, Takahiro; Schultz, Ted R.

2002-01-01

Obligate mating of females (queens) with multiple males has evolved only rarely in social Hymenoptera (ants, social bees, social wasps) and for reasons that are fundamentally different from those underlying multiple mating in other animals. The monophyletic tribe of ('attine') fungus-growing ants...

Identifying the transition between single and multiple mating of queens in fungus-growing ants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villesen, Palle; Murakami, Takahiro; Schultz, Ted R

2002-01-01

Obligate mating of females (queens) with multiple males has evolved only rarely in social Hymenoptera (ants, social bees, social wasps) and for reasons that are fundamentally different from those underlying multiple mating in other animals. The monophyletic tribe of ('attine') fungus-growing ants...

Solving the N-Queens Problem with GROOVE - Towards a Compendium of Best Practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zambon, Eduardo; Rensink, Arend; Hermann, F.; Sauer, S.

We present a detailed solution to the N-queens puzzle using GROOVE, a graph transformation tool especially designed for state space exploration and analysis. While GROOVE has been freely available for more than a decade and has attracted a reasonable number of users, it is safe to say that only a

Co-occurrence of mated workers and a mated queen in a colony of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

arnoldi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Martin Villet *. Department of Zoology, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O.. Wits, 2050 Republic of South Africa. Received 23 March 1992; accepted 8 June 1992. A colony of Platythyrea arnold; was found to contain a functional queen and laying workers, both virgin and mated. This form ...

Mating Frequencies of Honey Bee Queens (Apis mellifera L.) in a Population of Feral Colonies in the Northeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Tarpy, David R.; Delaney, Deborah A.; Seeley, Thomas D.

2015-01-01

Across their introduced range in North America, populations of feral honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies have supposedly declined in recent decades as a result of exotic parasites, most notably the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Nonetheless, recent studies have documented several wild populations of colonies that have persisted. The extreme polyandry of honey bee queens—and the increased intracolony genetic diversity it confers—has been attributed, in part, to improved disease resistance and may be a factor in the survival of these populations of feral colonies. We estimated the mating frequencies of queens in feral colonies in the Arnot Forest in New York State to determine if the level of polyandry of these queens is especially high and so might contribute to their survival success. We genotyped the worker offspring from 10 feral colonies in the Arnot Forest of upstate New York, as well as those from 20 managed colonies closest to this forest. We found no significant differences in mean mating frequency between the feral and managed queens, suggesting that queens in the remote, low-density population of colonies in the Arnot Forest are neither mate-limited nor adapted to mate at an especially high frequency. These findings support the hypothesis that the hyperpolyandry of honey bees has been shaped on an evolutionary timescale rather than on an ecological one. PMID:25775410

Effect of irradiation on queen survivorship and reproduction in the invasive fire ant Solenopsis invicta,(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and a generic phytosanitary irradiation treatment for ants

Science.gov (United States)

Ants are common hitchhiker pests on traded agricultural commodities that could be controlled by postharvest irradiation treatment. We studied radiation tolerance in queens of the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren to determine the dose sufficient for its control. Virgin or fertile queens...

History and hydrologic effects of ground water use in Kings, Queens, and western Nassau counties, Long Island, New York, 1800's through 1997

Science.gov (United States)

Cartwright, Richard A.

2002-01-01

Ground-water withdrawals from the aquifers underlying Kings and Queens Counties varied temporally and spatially during the 20th century and caused extreme changes in water levels. The resultant lowering of water levels during periods of heavy pumping caused saltwater intrusion in nearshore areas and the migration of contaminants from land surface into deep aquifers. The recovery of water levels in response to countywide curtailment of pumping has resulted in the flooding of underground structures. Combined withdrawals for public and industrial supply in Kings and Queens Counties were greatest during the 1930's--about 130 million gallons per day. During this period, a large cone of depression developed in the water table in Kings County; within this depression, water levels were about 45 feet lower than in 1903. All pumping for public supply was halted in Kings County in 1947, and in Jamaica (in Queens County) in 1974. Water levels in Kings County had recovered by 1974 and have remained similar to those of 1903 since then, except for minor localized drawdowns due to industrial-supply or dewatering withdrawals. A large cone of depression that had formed in southeastern Queens County before 1974 has now (1997) disappeared. The estimated combined withdrawal for public supply and industrial supply in Kings and Queens Counties in 1996 was only about 50 million gallons per day.The water-level recoveries in the water-table and confined aquifers generally have resulted in the dilution and dispersion of residual salty and nitrate-contaminated ground water. The majority of recently sampled wells indicate stable or decreasing chloride and nitrate concentrations in all aquifers since 1983. Organic contaminants remain in ground water in Kings, Queens, and Nassau Counties, however; the most commonly detected compounds in 1992-96 were tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, chloroform, and total trihalomethanes. Water samples from monitoring wells in Kings County indicate a greater

Ground-water and geohydrologic conditions in Queens County, Long Island, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Soren, Julian

1971-01-01

Queens County is a heavily populated borough of New York City, at the western end of Long Island, N. Y., in which large amounts of ground water are used, mostly for public supply. Ground water, pumped from local aquifers, by privately owned water-supply companies, supplied the water needs of about 750,000 of the nearly 2 million residents of the county in 1967; the balance was supplied by New York City from surface sources outside the county in upstate New York. The county's aquifers consist of sand and gravel of Late Cretaceous and of Pleistocene ages, and the aquifers comprise a wedge-shaped ground-water reservoir lying on a southeastward-sloping floor of Precambrian(?) bedrock. Beds of clay and silt generally confine water in the deeper parts of the reservoir; water in the deeper aquifers ranges from poorly confined to well confined. Wisconsin-age glacial deposits in the uppermost part of the reservoir contain ground water under water-table conditions. Ground water pumpage averaged about 60 mgd (million gallons per day) in Queens County from about 1900 to 1967. Much of the water was used in adjacent Kings County, another borough of New York City, prior to 1950. The large ground-water withdrawal has resulted in a wide-spread and still-growing cone of depression in the water table, reflecting a loss of about 61 billion gallons of fresh water from storage. Significant drawdown of the water table probably began with rapid urbanization of Queens County in the 1920's. The county has been extensively paved, and storm and sanitary sewers divert water, which formerly entered the ground, to tidewater north and south of the county. Natural recharge to the aquifers has been reduced to about one half of the preurban rate and is below the withdrawal rate. Ground-water levels have declined more than 40. feet from the earliest-known levels, in 1903, to 1967, and the water table is below sea level in much of the county. The aquifers are being contaminated by the movement of

Structure of ovarioles in adult queens and workers of the common wasp, Vespula germanica (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Jabłońska, A; Biliński, S M

2001-01-01

The ovaries of the common wasp, Vespula germanica are polytrophic-meroistic and consist of 2-3 (workers) or 7 (queens) ovarioles. The ovarioles are differentiated into three regions: a terminal filament, a germarium, and a vitellarium. The germaria of both castes consist of two zones: an anterior zone of germ-cell cluster formation and a posterior one of germ-cell cluster differentiation. The vitellaria comprise 4-6 (workers) or 7-10 (queens) ovarian follicles (egg chambers). Each chamber consists of an oocyte and about 60 isodiametric nurse cells (trophocytes). The egg chambers have been arbitrarily classified into four developmental categories: early and late previtellogenic, vitellogenic, and choriogenic. The process of oogenesis in workers proceeds only up to the onset of the late previtellogenesis. Neither vitellogenic nor choriogenic egg chambers were observed in this caste. During early and late previtellogenesis the envelope of the oocyte nucleus proliferates and becomes highly folded. This process leads to the formation of characteristic organelles, termed accessory nuclei (AN). Although AN arise in the oocytes of both queens and workers, their number in the latter caste is always considerably lower. At the onset of the late previtellogenesis AN start to migrate towards the periphery of the oocyte where they reside till the end of oogenesis. The physiological state of the worker ovaries is discussed in the light of the presented results.

A genetic component to size in queens of the ant, Formica truncorum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bargum, Katja; Boomsma, Jacobus Jan; Sundström, L.

2004-01-01

The genetic basis of morphological traits in social insects remains largely unexplored. This is even true for individual body size, a key life-history trait. In the social insects, the size of reproductive individuals affects dispersal decisions, so that small size in queens is often associated w...

Temperature and Snowfall in Western Queen Maud Land Increasing Faster Than Climate Model Projections

Science.gov (United States)

Medley, B.; McConnell, J. R.; Neumann, T. A.; Reijmer, C. H.; Chellman, N.; Sigl, M.; Kipfstuhl, S.

2018-02-01

East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) mass balance is largely driven by snowfall. Recently, increased snowfall in Queen Maud Land led to years of EAIS mass gain. It is difficult to determine whether these years of enhanced snowfall are anomalous or part of a longer-term trend, reducing our ability to assess the mitigating impact of snowfall on sea level rise. We determine that the recent snowfall increases in western Queen Maud Land (QML) are part of a long-term trend (+5.2 ± 3.7% decade-1) and are unprecedented over the past two millennia. Warming between 1998 and 2016 is significant and rapid (+1.1 ± 0.7°C decade-1). Using these observations, we determine that the current accumulation and temperature increases in QML from an ensemble of global climate simulations are too low, which suggests that projections of the QML contribution to sea level rise are potentially overestimated with a reduced mitigating impact of enhanced snowfall in a warming world.

School-Parent-Community Partnerships: The Experience of Teachers Who Received the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Science.gov (United States)

Obeidat, Osamha M.; Al-Hassan, Suha M.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the school-parents-community partnerships created by teachers who received the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education. This study analyzes the applications of the 28 teachers who received the Award in 2007 and addresses three questions: How do teachers who received the Queen Rania Award…

Podiel osobností na vývoji profesionálnej hudobnej kultúry. K pocte Alexandra Moyzesa (1906–1984) a Ludovíta Rajtera (1906–2000). Muzikologická konferencia s medzinárodnou účasťou, Bratislava 4.–6. 10. 2006

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gabrielová, Jarmila

2007-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 2 (2007), s. 193-194 ISSN 0018-7003. [Podiel osobností na vývoji profesionálnej hudobnej kultúry. K pocte Alexandra Moyzesa (1906–1984) a Ludovíta Rajtera (1906–2000). Bratislava, 04.10.2006–06.10.2006] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z90580513 Keywords : professional music culture * Alexander Moyzes * Ludovit Rajter Subject RIV: AL - Art, Architecture, Cultural Heritage

Cross-species correlation between queen mating numbers and worker ovary sizes suggests kin conflict may influence ovary size evolution in honeybees

Science.gov (United States)

Rueppell, Olav; Phaincharoen, Mananya; Kuster, Ryan; Tingek, Salim

2011-09-01

During social evolution, the ovary size of reproductively specialized honey bee queens has dramatically increased while their workers have evolved much smaller ovaries. However, worker division of labor and reproductive competition under queenless conditions are influenced by worker ovary size. Little comparative information on ovary size exists in the different honey bee species. Here, we report ovariole numbers of freshly dissected workers from six Apis species from two locations in Southeast Asia. The average number of worker ovarioles differs significantly among species. It is strongly correlated with the average mating number of queens, irrespective of body size. Apis dorsata, in particular, is characterized by numerous matings and very large worker ovaries. The relation between queen mating number and ovary size across the six species suggests that individual selection via reproductive competition plays a role in worker ovary size evolution. This indicates that genetic diversity, generated by multiple mating, may bear a fitness cost at the colony level.

A review of methods used in some European countries for assessing the quality of honey bee queens through their physical characters and the performance of their colonies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hatjina, Fani; Bienkowska, Malgorzata; Charistos, Leonidas

2014-01-01

The term “quality” in relation to queens and drones refers to certain quantitative physical and / or behavioural characters. It is generally believed that a high quality queen should have the following physical characteristics: high live weight; high number of ovarioles; large size of spermatheca...

Genomewide analysis indicates that queen larvae have lower methylation levels in the honey bee ( Apis mellifera)

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yuan Yuan; Yan, Wei Yu; Huang, Zachary Y.; Wang, Zi Long; Wu, Xiao Bo; Zeng, Zhi Jiang

2013-02-01

The honey bee is a social insect characterized by caste differentiation, by which a young larva can develop into either a queen or a worker. Despite possessing the same genome, queen and workers display marked differences in reproductive capacity, physiology, and behavior. Recent studies have shown that DNA methylation plays important roles in caste differentiation. To further explore the roles of DNA methylation in this process, we analyzed DNA methylome profiles of both queen larvae (QL) and worker larvae (WL) of different ages (2, 4, and 6 day old), by using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing (meDIP-seq) technique. The global DNA methylation levels varied between the larvae of two castes. DNA methylation increased from 2-day- to 4-day-old QL and then decreased in 6-day-old larvae. In WL, methylation levels increased with age. The methylcytosines in both larvae were enriched in introns, followed by coding sequence (CDS) regions, CpG islands, 2 kbp downstream and upstream of genes, and 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs). The number of differentially methylated genes (DMGs) in 2-, 4-, and 6-day-old QL and WL was 725, 3,013, and 5,049, respectively. Compared to 4- and 6-day-old WL, a large number of genes in QL were downmethylated, which were involved in many processes including development, reproduction, and metabolic regulation. In addition, some DMGs were concerned with caste differentiation.

Drone exposure to the systemic insecticide Fipronil indirectly impairs queen reproductive potential

Science.gov (United States)

Kairo, Guillaume; Provost, Bertille; Tchamitchian, Sylvie; Ben Abdelkader, Faten; Bonnet, Marc; Cousin, Marianne; Sénéchal, Jacques; Benet, Pauline; Kretzschmar, André; Belzunces, Luc P.; Brunet, Jean-Luc

2016-08-01

A species that requires sexual reproduction but cannot reproduce is doomed to extinction. The important increasing loss of species emphasizes the ecological significance of elucidating the effects of environmental stressors, such as pesticides, on reproduction. Despite its special reproductive behavior, the honey bee was selected as a relevant and integrative environmental model because of its constant and diverse exposure to many stressors due to foraging activity. The widely used insecticide Fipronil, the use of which is controversial because of its adverse effects on honey bees, was chosen to expose captive drones in hives via syrup contaminated at 0.1 μg/L and gathered by foragers. Such environmental exposure led to decreased spermatozoa concentration and sperm viability coupled with an increased sperm metabolic rate, resulting in drone fertility impairment. Subsequently, unexposed queens inseminated with such sperm exhibited fewer spermatozoa with lower viability in their spermatheca, leaving no doubt about the detrimental consequences for the reproductive potential of queens, which are key for colony sustainability. These findings suggest that pesticides could contribute to declining honey bee populations through fertility impairment, as exemplified by Fipronil. More broadly, reproductive disorders should be taken into consideration when investigating the decline of other species.

Drone exposure to the systemic insecticide Fipronil indirectly impairs queen reproductive potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Kairo, Guillaume; Provost, Bertille; Tchamitchian, Sylvie; Ben Abdelkader, Faten; Bonnet, Marc; Cousin, Marianne; Sénéchal, Jacques; Benet, Pauline; Kretzschmar, André; Belzunces, Luc P; Brunet, Jean-Luc

2016-08-23

A species that requires sexual reproduction but cannot reproduce is doomed to extinction. The important increasing loss of species emphasizes the ecological significance of elucidating the effects of environmental stressors, such as pesticides, on reproduction. Despite its special reproductive behavior, the honey bee was selected as a relevant and integrative environmental model because of its constant and diverse exposure to many stressors due to foraging activity. The widely used insecticide Fipronil, the use of which is controversial because of its adverse effects on honey bees, was chosen to expose captive drones in hives via syrup contaminated at 0.1 μg/L and gathered by foragers. Such environmental exposure led to decreased spermatozoa concentration and sperm viability coupled with an increased sperm metabolic rate, resulting in drone fertility impairment. Subsequently, unexposed queens inseminated with such sperm exhibited fewer spermatozoa with lower viability in their spermatheca, leaving no doubt about the detrimental consequences for the reproductive potential of queens, which are key for colony sustainability. These findings suggest that pesticides could contribute to declining honey bee populations through fertility impairment, as exemplified by Fipronil. More broadly, reproductive disorders should be taken into consideration when investigating the decline of other species.

Drone exposure to the systemic insecticide Fipronil indirectly impairs queen reproductive potential

Science.gov (United States)

Kairo, Guillaume; Provost, Bertille; Tchamitchian, Sylvie; Ben Abdelkader, Faten; Bonnet, Marc; Cousin, Marianne; Sénéchal, Jacques; Benet, Pauline; Kretzschmar, André; Belzunces, Luc P.; Brunet, Jean-Luc

2016-01-01

A species that requires sexual reproduction but cannot reproduce is doomed to extinction. The important increasing loss of species emphasizes the ecological significance of elucidating the effects of environmental stressors, such as pesticides, on reproduction. Despite its special reproductive behavior, the honey bee was selected as a relevant and integrative environmental model because of its constant and diverse exposure to many stressors due to foraging activity. The widely used insecticide Fipronil, the use of which is controversial because of its adverse effects on honey bees, was chosen to expose captive drones in hives via syrup contaminated at 0.1 μg/L and gathered by foragers. Such environmental exposure led to decreased spermatozoa concentration and sperm viability coupled with an increased sperm metabolic rate, resulting in drone fertility impairment. Subsequently, unexposed queens inseminated with such sperm exhibited fewer spermatozoa with lower viability in their spermatheca, leaving no doubt about the detrimental consequences for the reproductive potential of queens, which are key for colony sustainability. These findings suggest that pesticides could contribute to declining honey bee populations through fertility impairment, as exemplified by Fipronil. More broadly, reproductive disorders should be taken into consideration when investigating the decline of other species. PMID:27549030

76 FR 13271 - DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC-Corporate Family Transaction Exemption-Texas, Oklahoma...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-10

... Eastern Railroad, LLC--Corporate Family Transaction Exemption--Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad, LLC DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC (DQ&E) and Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad, LLC (TOE), have filed a... the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family. Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the...

Ultrastructure of the intramandibular gland of workers and queens of the stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata.

Science.gov (United States)

Da Cruz-Landim, Carminda; Gracioli-Vitti, Luciana F; Abdalla, Fábio C

2011-01-01

The intramandibular glands of workers and queens of Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae), at different ages and from different functional groups, were studied using light and transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that these glands are composed of two types of secretory structures: 1.A hypertrophied epidermis on the dorsal side of the mandible that is an epithelial gland. 2. Free secretory cells filling the inner spaces of the appendices that constitute a unicellular gland. The epithelial gland is larger in the young (1-2-day-old workers), and the gland becomes involuted during the nurse worker stage. The unicellular glands of the workers posses some secretion during all of the studied phases, but secretory activity is more intensive in the foraging workers. Vesicles of secretion are absent in the unicellular glands of queens. These results demonstrate that these glands show functional adaptations in different castes corresponding to the functions of each caste.

The History of Neurosurgery at the National Hospital, Queen Square, London, with Some Personal Recollections from 1948 Onwards: The Early Years.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Michael P

2017-07-01

The National Hospital, Queen Square, London was founded as a charitable institution in 1860, becoming the first dedicated neuroscience hospital in the world. Sir Victor Horsley, the first neurosurgeon was appointed in 1886, and since that time, Queen Square neurosurgeons have been prominent on the World neurosurgical stage, including Sir Wylie McKissock and Prof Lindsay Symon, inter alia. This article gives the history taken from both published records and personal stories, recorded by a neurosurgeon who has worked at the hospital for thirty five years. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

‘A token of their love’: Queen Victoria Memorials in New Zealand

OpenAIRE

Stocker, Mark

2016-01-01

This article provides an overview of the four metropolitan sculptural memorials to Queen Victoria in late-colonial New Zealand, which all immediately precede the colony’s Dominion status (1907). In chronological order, they were erected in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Dunedin. While the Auckland memorial was unveiled within the Queen’s lifetime, her death in 1901 catalysed the commission of more ambitious counterparts in Wellington and Dunedin, and a degree of intercity rivalry was...

Review: Alexandra König (2007. Kleider schaffen Ordnung. Regeln und Mythen jugendlicher Selbst-Präsentation [Clothing and Social Order: Rules and Myths of Juvenile Self-Presentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yvonne Niekrenz

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Alexandra KOENIG's book analyses juvenile clothing behaviour and the development of individual taste using BOURDIEU's theory of class distinctions. By means of qualitative single and group interviews with adolescents the author reconstructs how aesthetic practice is related to social order and unmasks the freedom of choice in developing preferences and styles as a myth. In fact, she argues, clothing reproduces social inequality and establishes social order. Using theoretical concepts developed by Erving GOFFMAN the author sheds light on the stages of self presentation. Although the adolescents in the sample are heterogeneous in terms of their social background—on the one hand pupils of a secondary modern school (Hauptschule, on the other hand of an international private school (Privatschule—the empirical work produces an answer to the question of how "individual styles," social inequality and a juvenile habitus are produced by clothing. The book shows how social order gets transformed into class-, gender- and age-specific self presentation. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs100190

When Power Seduces Women: Shakespeare’S Tragic (Mother Queens in Manga

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Şerban Andreea

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Power is seductive, and fantasies of power affect both men and women, who are sometimes willing to do anything in order to achieve or retain it. The paper looks at how such a modern transmediation as manga renders powerful femininity in two of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, namely Hamlet and Macbeth. The paper aims to discuss the ways in which the emotive behaviour of both female protagonists eventually makes them inappropriate for the power roles they assume as wives, queens and mothers.

Transcript levels of ten caste-related genes in adult diploid males of Melipona quadrifasciata (Hymenoptera, Apidae: a comparison with haploid males, queens and workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreia A. Borges

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In Hymenoptera, homozygosity at the sex locus results in the production of diploid males. In social species, these pose a double burden by having low fitness and drawing resources normally spent for increasing the work force of a colony. Yet, diploid males are of academic interest as they can elucidate effects of ploidy (normal males are haploid, whereas the female castes, the queens and workers, are diploid on morphology and life history. Herein we investigated expression levels of ten caste-related genes in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata, comparing newly emerged and 5-day-old diploid males with haploid males, queens and workers. In diploid males, transcript levels for dunce and paramyosin were increased during the first five days of adult life, while those for diacylglycerol kinase and the transcriptional co-repressor groucho diminished. Two general trends were apparent, (i gene expression patterns in diploid males were overall more similar to haploid ones and workers than to queens, and (ii in queens and workers, more genes were up-regulated after emergence until day five, whereas in diploid and especially so in haploid males more genes were down-regulated. This difference between the sexes may be related to longevity, which is much longer in females than in males.

Transcript levels of ten caste-related genes in adult diploid males of Melipona quadrifasciata (Hymenoptera, Apidae) - A comparison with haploid males, queens and workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Borges, Andreia A; Humann, Fernanda C; Oliveira Campos, Lucio A; Tavares, Mara G; Hartfelder, Klaus

2011-10-01

In Hymenoptera, homozygosity at the sex locus results in the production of diploid males. In social species, these pose a double burden by having low fitness and drawing resources normally spent for increasing the work force of a colony. Yet, diploid males are of academic interest as they can elucidate effects of ploidy (normal males are haploid, whereas the female castes, the queens and workers, are diploid) on morphology and life history. Herein we investigated expression levels of ten caste-related genes in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata, comparing newly emerged and 5-day-old diploid males with haploid males, queens and workers. In diploid males, transcript levels for dunce and paramyosin were increased during the first five days of adult life, while those for diacylglycerol kinase and the transcriptional co-repressor groucho diminished. Two general trends were apparent, (i) gene expression patterns in diploid males were overall more similar to haploid ones and workers than to queens, and (ii) in queens and workers, more genes were up-regulated after emergence until day five, whereas in diploid and especially so in haploid males more genes were down-regulated. This difference between the sexes may be related to longevity, which is much longer in females than in males.

Teaching geriatric medicine at the Queen's University of Belfast.

Science.gov (United States)

Stout, R W

1983-01-01

Undergraduate teaching at the Queen's University, Belfast, takes place in the fourth year of a five year curriculum. It lasts three weeks and this is divided into two parts. First, held within the university department, is topic-based teaching including seminars, discussions, case histories and visits. The second phase of two weeks consists of attachment of two to four students to geriatric medical units both in and outside Belfast. The whole of this module is situated within a combined course involving community medicine, general practice, geriatric medicine and mental health lasting 12 weeks and involving one-third of the year of 150 students each time. In addition to the three weeks teaching in geriatrics, joint discussion groups are held.

The beauty and the beast: reflections about the socio-historical and subcultural context of drag queens and "Tunten" in Berlin.

Science.gov (United States)

Balzer, Carsten

2004-01-01

In this article, I focus on two different faces found in Berlin's gay subculture: the Tunten and the drag queens. Both are commonly seen as "male homosexual transvestites," although many such individuals today prefer to identify themselves somewhere within a diverse transgender spectrum rather than as transvestites. Tunten and drag queens differ in their gender performativity, their self-image and their chosen role models as well as in the niches in which they have been able to establish themselves in German mainstream society. Based on ethnographic data, I argue against the widespread reductionist view that the differences between Tunten and drag queens lie primarily in style, behavior, talent and success. Nor can these differences be easily explained away as a result of subculture globalization. Instead, I show that there is a simultaneous coexistence of both a subculturally established, "traditional" local transgender culture and a more recently adopted and partly imported, new local transgender culture. The coexistence of these two urban transgender cultures also indicates the paradigm shift in German gay and youth cultures of the last decades. Thus, I will emphasize the importance of the socio-historical and subcultural processes in studying transgender cultures in Western societies.

Asexual queen succession mediates an accelerated colony life cycle in the termite Silvestritermes minutus

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fougeyrollas, R.; Křivánek, Jan; Roy, V.; Dolejšová, Klára; Frechault, S.; Roisin, Y.; Hanus, Robert; Sillam-Dusses, D.

2017-01-01

Roč. 26, č. 12 (2017), s. 3295-3308 ISSN 0962-1083 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-12774S Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : asexual queen succession * breeding system * life history * parthenogenesis * Silvestritermes minutus * termites Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Genetics and heredity (medical genetics to be 3) Impact factor: 6.086, year: 2016

Postava krále Artuše jako prostředek legitimizace moci. Edmund Spenser a John Dee // The character of King Arthur as a medium of legitimization of Queen Elizabeth’s policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zdeňka Špiclová

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article deals with two essential aspects of the policy of Queen Elizabeth I. — the enforcement of Protestantism as the state religion and the claim of the British Empire to the New World — and its justification in two famous works: the Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser and Brytanici Imperii Limites by John Dee. They both used the character of King Arthur to support Queen Elizabeth’s policy.

Patients' 'thingification', unexplained symptoms and response-ability in the clinical context: in response to 'Patients' substantialization of disease, the hybrid symptom and the metaphysical care', by Alexandra Parvan.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksen, Thor Eirik; Kirkengen, Anna Luise

2016-08-01

The types of diseases, or categories of suffering, referred to as medically unexplained symptoms or syndromes (MUS) are the focus for the following commentary. Such cases seem to invite reflection. The very nature of such complex patterns of disease and suffering raises a number of fundamental epistemological and ontological issues. Furthermore, such health challenges can serve as the basis for an exploration of how the suffering person as well as the medical caretaker comes to grip with disease, incapacitation or suffering. We have structured our comments into two parts: first, we will describe medically unexplained health problems as the background for an inquiry into a process wherein patients reify their suffering in order to meet their doctors on equal terms, which carries a potential for alienation. Second, we will reflect on Alexandra Parvan's text as regards patients' 'substantialization' of their disease, the resulting 'hybrid symptom' and a proposed model for care and healing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Non-Detriment Finding Regarding the Export of Queen conch (Lobatus gigas) from St Eustatius (Caribbean Netherlands)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graaf, de M.; Meijer zu Schlochteren, M.; Boman, E.

2014-01-01

Queen conch (Lobatus gigas (Strombidae; Gastropoda) is a large, long-lived marine gastropod that is widely distributed throughout the coastal zones of the Wider Caribbean region. Because of concern for its future the species was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in

‘All Touched my Hand’: Queenly Sentiment and Royal Prerogative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Bates

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The Crimean War occurred during a formative period of ‘civic publicness’, a term used by John Plunkett to describe the press-mediated public duties undertaken by Victoria and Albert to affirm the monarchy’s popular constitution. The war triggered significant royal intervention into the condition of the army, one of the few sites of royal prerogative. At a time when aristocratic governance was being attacked and the privations of soldiers exposed to an unprecedented extent, the monarchy was keen both to legitimize its role as head of the army and to demonstrate its sensitivity to popular concern for the suffering of ordinary soldiers. This manifested in a highly publicized leaked letter from the Queen expressing her regard for ‘her troops’, the royal family’s visits to wounded soldiers, and the distribution of the Crimean Medal at a special ceremony, which portrayed the accessibility of the Queen through the use of touch. This article explores the symbolism and impetus of these occurrences and assesses the reception of royal intervention in the press. The few assessments of royal influence during the Crimean War have focused largely on Victoria’s personal fascination with the progress of the war and her soldiers. This article explores instead the wider, political significance of the army as extension of the royal family. The Liberal press and artists responded favourably to demonstrations of the Queen’s maternal sympathy for the troops, but my article will point to a hidden struggle to assert the Crown’s authority. Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

Identification, expression, and immuno-reactivity of Sol i 2 & Sol i 4 venom proteins of queen red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Stephanie A; Haghipour-Peasley, Jilla; Hoffman, Donald R; Deslippe, Richard J

2012-10-01

We report on two low-molecular weight proteins that are stored in the venom of queen red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta). Translated amino acid sequences identified one protein to have 74.8% identity with the Sol i 2w worker allergen, and the other protein was found to have 96/97% identity with Sol i 4.01w/4.02w worker allergens. Both Sol i 2 and Sol i 4 queen and worker proteins were expressed using pEXP1-DEST vector in SHuffle™ T7 Express lysY Escherichia coli. Proteins were expressed at significant concentrations, as opposed to the μg/ml amounts by our previous expression methods, enabling further study of these proteins. Sol i 2q protein bound weakly to human IgE, sera pooled from allergic patients, whereas Sol i 2w, Sol i 4.01w, and Sol i 4q proteins bound strongly. Despite Sol i 2w and Sol i 2q proteins having 74.8% identity, the queen protein is less immuno-reactive than the worker allergen. This finding is consistent with allergic individuals being less sensitive to queen than worker venom. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new nuclear materials laboratory at Queen's University

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holt, R.A.; Daymond, M.R., E-mail: holt@queensu.ca, E-mail: daymond@queensu.ca [Queen' s University, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Kingston, ON (Canada)

2015-07-01

The Reactor Materials Testing Laboratory (RMTL) at Queen's University and the results of commissioning tests are described. RMTL uses energetic protons (up to 8MeV) to simulate fast neutron damage in materials for reactor components. The laboratory is also capable of He implantation (up to 12 MeV) to simulate the effects of transmutation He in reactor components. The $17.5M laboratory comprises a new building, a 4MV tandem accelerator, two electron microscopes, mechanical testing and specimen preparation equipment, and a radiation detection laboratory. RMTL focusses on studying dynamic effects of irradiation (irradiation creep, irradiation growth, irradiation induced swelling, fatigue under irradiation) in-situ. (author)

The queen is not a pacemaker in the small-colony wasps Polistes instabilis and P. dominulus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jha, Shalene; Casey-Ford, Rowan G.; Pedersen, Jes Søe

2006-01-01

How work is organized varies in social insect colonies. Some investigators have argued that the queen plays an active role in regulating worker activity in species with small, simple colonies, but that work is self-organized in species with large, complex colonies. Here, we present data that sugg...

The Black Queen Hypothesis: evolution of dependencies through adaptive gene loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, J Jeffrey; Lenski, Richard E; Zinser, Erik R

2012-01-01

Reductive genomic evolution, driven by genetic drift, is common in endosymbiotic bacteria. Genome reduction is less common in free-living organisms, but it has occurred in the numerically dominant open-ocean bacterioplankton Prochlorococcus and "Candidatus Pelagibacter," and in these cases the reduction appears to be driven by natural selection rather than drift. Gene loss in free-living organisms may leave them dependent on cooccurring microbes for lost metabolic functions. We present the Black Queen Hypothesis (BQH), a novel theory of reductive evolution that explains how selection leads to such dependencies; its name refers to the queen of spades in the game Hearts, where the usual strategy is to avoid taking this card. Gene loss can provide a selective advantage by conserving an organism's limiting resources, provided the gene's function is dispensable. Many vital genetic functions are leaky, thereby unavoidably producing public goods that are available to the entire community. Such leaky functions are thus dispensable for individuals, provided they are not lost entirely from the community. The BQH predicts that the loss of a costly, leaky function is selectively favored at the individual level and will proceed until the production of public goods is just sufficient to support the equilibrium community; at that point, the benefit of any further loss would be offset by the cost. Evolution in accordance with the BQH thus generates "beneficiaries" of reduced genomic content that are dependent on leaky "helpers," and it may explain the observed nonuniversality of prototrophy, stress resistance, and other cellular functions in the microbial world.

Sex Attractant Pheromones of Virgin Queens of Sympatric Slave-Making Ant Species in the Genus Polyergus, and their Possible Roles in Reproductive Isolation.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Les; Johnson, Christine A; Trager, James C; McElfresh, J Steven; Rodstein, Joshua; Millar, Jocelyn G

2018-06-01

Species of the ant genus Polyergus are social parasites that steal brood from colonies of their hosts in the closely related genus Formica. Upon emergence as adults in a mixed population, host Formica workers carry out all the normal worker functions within the Polyergus colony, including foraging, feeding, grooming, and rearing brood of the parasitic Polyergus ants. Some unmated Polyergus gynes (queens) run in the raiding columns of their colonies and attract males by releasing a pheromone from their mandibular glands. There are two Polyergus species groups in North America: an eastern P. lucidus group and a western P. breviceps group. One species of each of these groups, P. lucidus Mayr and P. mexicanus Emery, are sympatric in Missouri. In this study, we characterized the sex pheromones of virgin queens of two species of the P. lucidus group (P. lucidus sensu stricto and P. sanwaldi) and one species of the P. breviceps group (P. mexicanus), and compared these with the previously identified sex pheromone of P. topoffi of the P. breviceps group. We then used sex pheromone blends reconstructed from synthesized components of the two groups to test their efficacy at reproductively isolating these species. We found that methyl 6-methylsalicylate is conserved as the major component of the pheromone blends for both Polyergus species groups; however, methyl (R)-3-ethyl-4-methylpentanoate is the species-specific minor component produced by P. lucidus group queens, and (R)-3-ethyl-4-methylpentan-1-ol is the crucial minor component for P. breviceps group queens. The optimal ratio of the major and minor components for P. lucidus group queens was about 100:1 salicylate to ester. In concurrent field trials in Missouri, males of P. lucidus sensu stricto and P. mexicanus (a member of the P. breviceps group) were attracted almost exclusively to their particular blends of sex pheromone components. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a possible sex

Extreme queen-mating frequency and colony fission in African army ants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kronauer, Daniel J C; Schoning, Caspar; Pedersen, Jes S

2004-01-01

, which have so far been regarded as odd exceptions within the social Hymenoptera. Army ants and honeybees are fundamentally different in morphology and life history, but are the only social insects known that combine obligate multiple mating with reproduction by colony fission and extremely male......-biased sex ratios. This implies that the very high numbers of matings in both groups may be due partly to the relatively low costs of additional matings. Second, we were able to trace recent events of colony fission in four of the investigated colonies, where the genotypes of the two queens were only...

Not the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L. Queen, but the Drone Determines the Termination of the Nuptial Flight and the Onset of Oviposition - The Polemics, Abnegations, Corrections and Supplements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woyke Jerzy

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper emphasizes the topics concerning honey bee (Apis mellifera L. mating biology, which have not been described in the recently published book of Koeniger et al. (2014. At the beginning of natural mating, the drone becomes paralyzed. However, the muscles in the abdomen continuously contract shrinking the abdomen till mating has ended and the pair have separated. It is not the queen that ends the nuptial flight. The termination of the nuptial flight is determined by the drone, which fails to remove the mating sign of the previous drone from the sting chamber of the queen. The mating sign originates from two or more drones. The queen also does not determine the age at which she starts oviposition. It is the last drone, which tried to mate, but failed to remove the mating sign of the predecessor, that determines the age that the queen starts oviposition. The book of Koeniger et al. (2014, together with this paper, present the current knowledge of the mating biology of honey bees.

The reduction of the intrapartum still birth rate at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, I; Chang, A; Renou, P; Wood, C

1977-06-18

A significant reduction in intrapartum anoxic fetal deaths has occurred at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital over the last ten years. The possible explanations for this include a variety of factors, which may either improve the health of the population presenting to the hospital, or improve obstetric care. Epidemiological evidence suggests that the use of fetal diagnostic techniques has contributed to the reduction of intrapartum anoxic still births.

Neonicotinoid pesticide reduces bumble bee colony growth and queen production.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehorn, Penelope R; O'Connor, Stephanie; Wackers, Felix L; Goulson, Dave

2012-04-20

Growing evidence for declines in bee populations has caused great concern because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in these declines because they occur at trace levels in the nectar and pollen of crop plants. We exposed colonies of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris in the laboratory to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, then allowed them to develop naturally under field conditions. Treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens compared with control colonies. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids, we suggest that they may be having a considerable negative impact on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world.

Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre: four years' experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, N; Campbell, J; Biro, M A; Lumley, J; Rao, J; Spensley, J

1986-06-09

A review of the first four years of the functioning of the birth centre at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre is presented. In that time, 1040 pregnant women were accepted for confinement there. Of these, 52 withdrew for non-obstetric reasons, while 470 were transferred to alternative obstetrical care--274 because of antepartum complications and 196 because of intrapartum problems. Therefore, 518 women were delivered in the birth centre. The care of the women is entrusted almost entirely to a team of midwives and this review demonstrates an enviable safety record.

EBSD analysis of the Shergottite Meteorites: New developments within the technique and their implication on what we know about the preferred orientation of Martian minerals

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen, N.; Benedix, G. K.; Bland, P.; Berlin, J.; Salge, T.; Goran, D.

2011-12-01

What we know about the geology and mineralogy of the Martian surface has been characterised by both the use of remote sensing techniques and the analysis of Martian meteorites. Various techniques are employed to conduct these analyses including crystallographic, geochemical and spectral measurements, all of which enable us to infer a geological history for these rocks. Several references have been made to the potential for preferred orientation of crystals within the Shergottites [1] and their implication for the cooling history of the respective magmas on Mars [2]. We have already shown that a preferred orientation of the two pyroxenes, augite and pigeonite, can be seen in the Zagami meteorite using electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis [3]. However, when compared to previous modal studies of the same meteorites [4], it becomes apparent that the current EBSD datasets for Martian meteorites are incomplete. Indexing of some minerals can be hampered by the lack of available matches within library databases for EBSD, or become difficult to resolve between minerals where crystallographic differences between similar minerals fall below the technical limitations of the instrument [3]. Recent advances in EBSD technologies combined with the simultaneous acquisition of energy-dispersive spectra (EDS) however now allow us to determine a more comprehensive set of analyses in a much shorter period of time, fully resolving even similar minerals where areas have been left with no indexing previously [5]. Preliminary investigations suggest that the new technology can successfully index >90% of the sample. The most recent EBSD analyses potentially reveals previously unseen fabrics in the meteorites alongside the EDS hyper-spectral imaging helping to resolve any unknown or questionable phases within them. In this study we will present new data from an investigation using EDS alongside EBSD analysis on 2 Shergottite meteorites, SAU 005 and Zagami, to further resolve

Tapping Teen Talent in Queens: A Library-Based, LSCA-Funded Youth Development Success Story from New York.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Barbara Osborne

1996-01-01

Describes a program developed by the Youth Services Division at the Queens Borough Public Library's Central Library to help teenagers maximize growth opportunities, build self-esteem, and see the library as a life resource. Highlights include securing funding through LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act), recruiting participants, and…

The tragic 1824 journey of the Hawaiian king and queen to London: history of measles in Hawaii.

Science.gov (United States)

Shulman, Stanford T; Shulman, Deborah L; Sims, Ronald H

2009-08-01

The susceptibility of isolated island-based populations to acute infections like measles is well documented, most clearly in Fiji and the Faröe Islands. We review the remarkably tragic 1824 journey of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu of Hawaii to London and the later enormous impact of measles on Hawaii on first arrival in 1848. The young royalty came to seek an audience with King George IV to negotiate an alliance with England. Virtually the entire royal party developed measles within weeks of arrival, 7 to 10 days after visiting the Royal Military Asylum housing hundreds of soldiers' children. Within the month the king (27) and queen (22) succumbed to measles complications. Their bodies were transported to Hawaii by Right Honorable Lord Byron (Captain George Anson, the poet's cousin). Before 1848 measles was unknown in Hawaii. Several epidemics struck Hawaii in late 1848, beginning with measles and pertussis, then diarrhea and influenza. Measles arrived at this time from California, spreading from Hilo, Hawaii, through all the islands; 10% to 33% of the population died. Subsequent measles epidemics occurred in 1861, 1889 to 1890, 1898, and 1936 to 1937, the latter with 205 deaths. The imported epidemics of infections including measles diminished Hawaii's population from approximately 300,000 at Captain Cook's arrival in 1778 to 135,000 in 1820 and 53,900 in 1876. The measles deaths of the king and queen in London in 1824, likely acquired visiting a large children's home, was a harbinger of the devastating impact of measles upon Hawaiians 24 years later with its first arrival to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands.

Techniques for the In Vitro Production of Queens in Stingless Bees (Apidae, Meliponini)

OpenAIRE

Baptistella, Ana Rita; Souza, Camila C. M.; Santana, Weyder Cristiano; Egea Soares, Ademilson Espencer

2012-01-01

Considering the ecological importance of stingless bees as caretakers and pollinators of a variety of native plants makes it necessary to improve techniques which increase of colonies' number in order to preserve these species and the biodiversity associated with them. Thus, our aim was to develop a methodology of in vitro production of stingless bee queens by offering a large quantity of food to the larvae. Our methodology consisted of determining the amount of larval food needed for the dev...

The queen is dead--long live the workers: intraspecific parasitism by workers in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, D A; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V L; Francoy, T M; Santos-Filho, P S; Nogueira-Neto, P; Billen, J; Wenseleers, T

2009-10-01

Insect societies are well known for their high degree of cooperation, but their colonies can potentially be exploited by reproductive workers who lay unfertilized, male eggs, rather than work for the good of the colony. Recently, it has also been discovered that workers in bumblebees and Asian honeybees can succeed in entering and parasitizing unrelated colonies to produce their own male offspring. The aim of this study was to investigate whether such intraspecific worker parasitism might also occur in stingless bees, another group of highly social bees. Based on a large-scale genetic study of the species Melipona scutellaris, and the genotyping of nearly 600 males from 45 colonies, we show that approximately 20% of all males are workers' sons, but that around 80% of these had genotypes that were incompatible with them being the sons of workers of the resident queen. By tracking colonies over multiple generations, we show that these males were not produced by drifted workers, but rather by workers that were the offspring of a previous, superseded queen. This means that uniquely, workers reproductively parasitize the next-generation workforce. Our results are surprising given that most colonies were sampled many months after the previous queen had died and that workers normally only have a life expectancy of approximately 30 days. It also implies that reproductive workers greatly outlive all other workers. We explain our results in the context of kin selection theory, and the fact that it pays workers more from exploiting the colony if costs are carried by less related individuals.

Report from the 2nd Summer School in Computational Biology organized by the Queen's University of Belfast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Emmert-Streib

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a meeting report for the 2nd Summer School in Computational Biology organized by the Queen's University of Belfast. We describe the organization of the summer school, its underlying concept and student feedback we received after the completion of the summer school.

Eddies off the Queen Charlotte Islands

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

The bright red, green, and turquoise patches to the west of British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands and Alaska's Alexander Archipelago highlight the presence of biological activity in the ocean. These colors indicate high concentrations of chlorophyll, the primary pigment found in phytoplankton. Notice that there are a number of eddies visible in the Pacific Ocean in this pseudo-color scene. The eddies are formed by strong outflow currents from rivers along North America's west coast that are rich in nutrients from the springtime snowmelt running off the mountains. This nutrient-rich water helps stimulate the phytoplankton blooms within the eddies. (For more details, read Tracking Eddies that Feed the Sea.) To the west of the eddies in the water, another type of eddy-this one in the atmosphere-forms the clouds into the counterclockwise spiral characteristic of a low pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere. (Click on the image above to see it at full resolution; or click to see the scene in true-color.) The snow-covered mountains of British Columbia are visible in the upper righthand corner of the image. This scene was constructed using SeaWiFS data collected on June 13, 2002. SeaWiFS image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

Induced chlorophyll variation in pineapple c v. 'queen' by gamma irradiation (60Cobalt)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valencia, Lolita DC.

2012-01-01

Irradiation using gamma rays ( 60 Cobalt) coupled with in vitro culture techniques was undertaken to induce variation or mutation in pineapple. Calli from crown meristem tips of pineapple cv 'Queen' [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.] were initiated using Murashiege and Skoog's basal meduim supplemented with 10mg/liter 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyrodinecarboxylic acid (Picloram). High percentage of growth and shoot proliferation was observed in basal medium supplemented with 50 μM benzene adenine purine (BAP) and 10 μM gibberrelic acid (GA) after 8 weeks in vitro. Regenerants derived from shoots using different doses of gamma rays (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 Gy) were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Of the different doses, 15 Gy produced the most variegation in young shoots (chlorophyll variants) maintained in vitro. The variants appeared to have yellow and green color combinations of the young leaves of pineapple 'Queen' variety. When transplanted inside the greenhouse, high percentage of plantlets survival was observed, ranging from 90-95%. Of the different irradiation doses, variegation in young leaves was observed at 15, 20, 25 and 30 Gy. Further assessment on the effect of irradiation is currently being unertaken under screen house conditions. The variants produced could serve a basis for selection of ornamental-type pineapple. In addition, protocols developed on the use of in vitro culture techniques could be utilized as a tool for induced mutation breeding in pineapple. (author)

Differences in mushroom bodies morphogenesis in workers, queens and drones of Apis mellifera: neuroblasts proliferation and death.

Science.gov (United States)

Roat, Thaisa Cristina; da Cruz Landim, Carminda

2010-06-01

Apis mellifera is an interesting model to neurobiological studies. It has a relatively small brain that commands the complex learning and memory tasks demanded by the social organization. An A. mellifera colony is made up of a queen, thousands of workers and a varying number of drones. The latter are males, whereas the former are the two female castes. These three phenotypes differ in morphology, physiology and behavior, correlated with their respective functions in the society. Such differences include the morphology and architecture of their brains. To understand the processes generating such polymorphic brains we characterized the cell division and cell death dynamics which underlie the morphogenesis of the mushroom bodies, through several methods suitable for evidence the time and place of occurrence. Cell death was detected in mushroom bodies of last larval instar and mainly in black-eyed pupae. Cell division was observed in mushroom bodies, primarily at the start of metamorphosis, exhibiting temporal differences among workers, queens and males. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The recipe: the queen of pragmatics. An Italian case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leopoldina FORTUNATI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the communicative status and the daily practices of use of the recipe in the broader context of cooking and eating inside the home. My thesis is that the recipe should be regarded as the queen of pragmatics of communication, as recipes are to be found in homes all over the world. I draw on two different research projects: the first study reports upon semi-structured interviews with 137 respondents living in the North East of Italy. The second study presents and discusses the most important categories of meaning that emerged from a content analysis of 398 messages posted on the online cooking forum of the site of Donna Moderna [Modern Woman], the most widely read women’s weekly magazine in Italy.

Insights into the dynamics of hind leg development in honey bee (Apis mellifera L. queen and worker larvae - A morphology/differential gene expression analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Gonçalves Santos

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Phenotypic plasticity is a hallmark of the caste systems of social insects, expressed in their life history and morphological traits. These are best studied in bees. In their co-evolution with angiosperm plants, the females of corbiculate bees have acquired a specialized structure on their hind legs for collecting pollen. In the highly eusocial bees (Apini and Meliponini, this structure is however only present in workers and absent in queens. By means of histological sections and cell proliferation analysis we followed the developmental dynamics of the hind legs of queens and workers in the fourth and fifth larval instars. In parallel, we generated subtractive cDNA libraries for hind leg discs of queen and worker larvae by means of a Representational Difference Analysis (RDA. From the total of 135 unique sequences we selected 19 for RT-qPCR analysis, where six of these were confirmed as differing significantly in their expression between the two castes in the larval spinning stage. The development of complex structures such as the bees’ hind legs, requires diverse patterning mechanisms and signaling modules, as indicated by the set of differentially expressed genes related with cell adhesion and signaling pathways.

Insights into the dynamics of hind leg development in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queen and worker larvae - A morphology/differential gene expression analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Carolina Gonçalves; Hartfelder, Klaus

2015-01-01

Phenotypic plasticity is a hallmark of the caste systems of social insects, expressed in their life history and morphological traits. These are best studied in bees. In their co-evolution with angiosperm plants, the females of corbiculate bees have acquired a specialized structure on their hind legs for collecting pollen. In the highly eusocial bees (Apini and Meliponini), this structure is however only present in workers and absent in queens. By means of histological sections and cell proliferation analysis we followed the developmental dynamics of the hind legs of queens and workers in the fourth and fifth larval instars. In parallel, we generated subtractive cDNA libraries for hind leg discs of queen and worker larvae by means of a Representational Difference Analysis (RDA). From the total of 135 unique sequences we selected 19 for RT-qPCR analysis, where six of these were confirmed as differing significantly in their expression between the two castes in the larval spinning stage. The development of complex structures such as the bees’ hind legs, requires diverse patterning mechanisms and signaling modules, as indicated by the set of differentially expressed genes related with cell adhesion and signaling pathways. PMID:26500430

Swan Queen, shipping, and boundary regulation in fandom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria M. Gonzalez

2016-09-01

Full Text Available There are a number of fan activities and practices that are subject to regulation. The mechanisms of regulation in shipping, however, are not always clear. Shipping, the fan activity of romantically pairing two fictional characters, has become a popular and contentious facet of fan interaction. The case that will be examined in this article is that of the Swan Queen ship, which pairs two female characters from Once Upon a Time (2011–. The lengths that fans have gone to support and promote this ship led to rather intense discussion and infighting among members of the Once Upon a Time fandom. I utilize comments and posts made on Tumblr to examine the mechanisms that dictate inclusion and exclusion in shipper communities. In doing so, I hope to identify the kinds of shipper activities that are subject to regulation and the kinds of boundaries that this regulation establishes. Shipping is dictated not only by fans' imaginations but also by boundaries that are performed and regulated on digital forums.

How the clinical customization of an EMR means good business: a case study of Queen City Physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Coyle-Toerner, Pam; Collins, Louise

2003-01-01

This article describes a case study of Queen City Physicians, a 38-provider internal medicine and pediatrics practice spread over eight locations in the Cincinnati, OH area. The authors share steps taken and lessons learned that can ensure success for any small to medium practice, from vendor/system selection to go-live. The financial feasibility of EMR systems is also discussed.

Workers select mates for queens: a possible mechanism of gene flow restriction between supercolonies of the invasive Argentine ant

Science.gov (United States)

Sunamura, Eiriki; Hoshizaki, Sugihiko; Sakamoto, Hironori; Fujii, Takeshi; Nishisue, Koji; Suzuki, Shun; Terayama, Mamoru; Ishikawa, Yukio; Tatsuki, Sadahiro

2011-05-01

Some invasive ants form large networks of mutually non-aggressive nests, i.e., supercolonies. The Argentine ant Linepithema humile forms much larger supercolonies in introduced ranges than in its native range. In both cases, it has been shown that little gene flow occurs between supercolonies of this species, though the mechanism of gene flow restriction is unknown. In this species, queens do not undertake nuptial flight, and males have to travel to foreign nests and cope with workers before gaining access to alien queens. In this study, we hypothesized that male Argentine ants receive interference from workers of alien supercolonies. To test this hypothesis, we conducted behavioral and chemical experiments using ants from two supercolonies in Japan. Workers attacked males from alien supercolonies but not those from their own supercolonies. The level of aggression against alien males was similar to that against alien workers. The frequency of severe aggression against alien males increased as the number of recipient workers increased. Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, which serve as cues for nestmate recognition, of workers and males from the same supercolony were very similar. Workers are likely to distinguish alien males from males of their own supercolony using the profiles. It is predicted that males are subject to considerable aggression from workers when they intrude into the nests of alien supercolonies. This may be a mechanism underlying the restricted gene flow between supercolonies of Argentine ants. The Argentine ant may possess a distinctive reproductive system, where workers participate in selecting mates for their queens. We argue that the aggression of workers against alien males is a novel form of reproductive interference.

Salt-water encroachment in southern Nassau and southeastern Queens Counties, Long Island, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Lusczynski, N.J.; Swarzenski, Wolfgang V.

1966-01-01

Test drilling, extraction of water from cores, electric logging, water sampling, and water-level measurements from 1958 to 1961 provided a suitable basis for a substantial refinement in the definition of the positions, chloride concentrations, and rates of movement of salty water in the intermediate and deep deposits of southern Nassau County and southeastern Queens County. Filter-press, centrifugal, and dilution methods were used to extract water from cores for chloride analysis at the test-drilling sites. Chloride analysis of water extracted by these methods, chloride analyses of water from wells, and the interpretation of electric logs helped to define the chloride content of the salty water. New concepts of environmental-water head and zerovels, developed during the investigation, proved useful for defining hydraulic gradients and ratee of flow in ground water of variable density in a vertical direction and in horizontal and inclined planes, respectively. Hydraulic gradients in and between fresh and salty water were determined from water levels from data at individual and multiple-observation wells. Salty ground water occurs in southern Nassau and southeastern Queens Counties as three wedgelike extensions that project landward in unconsolidated deposits from a main body of salty water that lies seaward of the barrier beaches in Nassau County and of Jamaica Bay in Queens County. Salty water occurs not only in permeable deposits but also in the shallow and deep clay deposits. The highest chloride content of the salty ground water in the main body and the wedges is about 16,000 ppm, which is about 1,000 to 2,000 ppm less than the chloride content of ocean water. The shallow salty water in the Pleistocene and Recent deposits is connected freely with the bays, tidal estuaries, and ocean. The intermediate wedge is found only in the southwestern part of Nassau County in the upper part of the Magothy (?) Formation, in the Jamneco Gravel, and in the overlying clay

ARSENIC REMOVAL FROM DRINKING WATER BY ADSORPTIVE MEDIA. EPA DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AT QUEEN ANNES COUNTY, MARYLAND SIX-MONTH EVALUATION REPORT

Science.gov (United States)

This report documents the activities performed and the results obtained from the first six months of the arsenic removal treatment technology demonstration project at the community of Prospect Bay at Grasonville in Queen Anne’s County, MD. The objectives of the project were to ev...

W3C director Tim Berners-Lee to be Knighted by Queen Elizabeth web inventor recognized for contributions to internet development

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

"Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), will be made a Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth" (1/2 page).

76 FR 23907 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-29

... Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Queen Conch Management Measures AGENCY: National... zone (EEZ) east of 64[deg]34' W. longitude, which includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin... Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for which an agency is...

Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre. I. Obstetric and neonatal outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, J; Hudson, H; Lumley, J; Morris, N; Rao, J; Spensley, J

1981-10-03

A review of hte first 175 confinements at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre Birth Centre is presented. The design, structure and function of hte Birth Centre is described and the safety of the programme demonstrated. Seventy-four pregnancies (42%) accepted for Birth Centre confinement required transfer because of antepartum or intrapartum complications. There were satisfactory obstetric and neonatal outcomes in all pregnancies. The first year's experience has allowed a reassessment of the risk factors, which will permit greater use of the Birth Centre without any increases risk to mothers or babies.

Queen conch (Strombus gigas testis regresses during the reproductive season at nearshore sites in the Florida Keys.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel J Spade

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Queen conch (Strombus gigas reproduction is inhibited in nearshore areas of the Florida Keys, relative to the offshore environment where conchs reproduce successfully. Nearshore reproductive failure is possibly a result of exposure to environmental factors, including heavy metals, which are likely to accumulate close to shore. Metals such as Cu and Zn are detrimental to reproduction in many mollusks. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Histology shows gonadal atrophy in nearshore conchs as compared to reproductively healthy offshore conchs. In order to determine molecular mechanisms leading to tissue changes and reproductive failure, a microarray was developed. A normalized cDNA library for queen conch was constructed and sequenced using the 454 Life Sciences GS-FLX pyrosequencer, producing 27,723 assembled contigs and 7,740 annotated transcript sequences. The resulting sequences were used to design the microarray. Microarray analysis of conch testis indicated differential regulation of 255 genes (p<0.01 in nearshore conch, relative to offshore. Changes in expression for three of four transcripts of interest were confirmed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis indicated changes in biological processes: respiratory chain (GO:0015992, spermatogenesis (GO:0007283, small GTPase-mediated signal transduction (GO:0007264, and others. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysis indicated that Zn and possibly Cu were elevated in some nearshore conch tissues. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Congruence between testis histology and microarray data suggests that nearshore conch testes regress during the reproductive season, while offshore conch testes develop normally. Possible mechanisms underlying the testis regression observed in queen conch in the nearshore Florida Keys include a disruption of small GTPase (Ras-mediated signaling in testis development. Additionally, elevated tissue

UTERINE PROLAPSE IN QUEEN AND UTERINE PROLAPSO UTERINO EM GATA E RETROFLEXÃO UTERINA EM CADELA

OpenAIRE

Giuliano Queiroz Mostachio; Wilter Ricardo Russiano Vicente; Diogo José Cardilli; Tathiana Ferguson Motheo; Gilson Hélio Toniollo

2008-01-01

Obstetrical emergencies are problem in veterinary clinics and hospital. So, the aim of this report is to describe the clinical-surgical aspect of one of them, the uterine prolapse. Complete protrusion and retroflexion of uterus had been diagnosed in a queen and female dog, respectively. After the stabilization of the animals and reduction of the prolapses followed by ovary-hysterectomy, one of the animals came to death due to septicemia and hypovolemic sho...

Queen survival and oxalic acid residues in sugar stores after summer application against Varroa destructor in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cornelissen, B.; Donders, J.N.L.C.; Stratum, van P.; Blacquière, T.; Dooremalen, van C.

2012-01-01

Methods using oxalic acid (OA) to control Varroa destructor in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are widely applied. In this study, the effects of an OA spray application in early summer on the survival of young and old queens, and on OA residues in sugar stores were investigated. A questionnaire

Yamato 980459: Crystallization of Martian Magnesian Magma

Science.gov (United States)

Koizumi, E.; Mikouchi, T.; McKay, G.; Monkawa, A.; Chokai, J.; Miyamoto, M.

2004-01-01

Recently, several basaltic shergottites have been found that include magnesian olivines as a major minerals. These have been called olivinephyric shergottites. Yamato 980459, which is a new martian meteorite recovered from the Antarctica by the Japanese Antarctic expedition, is one of them. This meteorite is different from other olivine-phyric shergottites in several key features and will give us important clues to understand crystallization of martian meteorites and the evolution of Martian magma.

The relationship between Christianity and homosexuality from the perspective of The Queen James Bible: Ideological or scientific correctly?

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Zekavica Radomir G.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality through the analysis of the interpretation of the first 'gay Bible' -The Queen James Bible. The editors of The Queen James Bible offer their interpretation of biblical texts that are commonly used as an argument towards condemnation of homosexuality, and their main goal is to prevent homophobic interpretation of the Bible. However, such an aim is self-defeating and leads to a circular argument. The purpose of interpretation is to determine, as objective as possible, the original meaning and the purpose of texts intended by the authors, not to put interpretation in the service of contemporary, culturally biased agendas. In the end, such interpretation quite naturally achieves the anticipated meanings. Notwithstanding the fact that the resulting interpretation serves good purposes (in this case the purpose of preventing homophobic interpretations of the Bible, the methodology of this kind of approach can be categorized as ideological rather than objective and scientific. It seems that the interpretations of biblical texts that are offered in The Queen James Bible are ideologically motivated and have no support in sound biblical hermeneutics. The analysis of hermeneutical methodology suggests that the major concern of The Queen James Bible editors was not to offer an objective translation. For instance, some words were given different meanings and some parts of the original biblical text were not taken into a consideration and therefore are not appearing in the final product. The resulting translation of the Bible promotes a non-offending and rather auspicious attitude towards homosexuality which fits, or better say reflects, contemporary LGBT activist sentiments. In order to achieve this ideologically motivated translation, it seems that the implemented method must be free of the original intention of the authors these ancient texts, their original content and their

Metal distribution in urban soil around steel industry beside Queen Alia Airport, Jordan.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Khashman, Omar A; Shawabkeh, Reyad A

2009-12-01

The objective of this study was to assess the extent and severity of metal contamination in urban soil around Queen Alia Airport, Jordan. Thirty-two soil samples were collected around steel manufacturing plants located in the Al-Jiza area, south Jordan, around the Queen Alia Airport. The samples were obtained at two depths, 0-10 and 10-20 cm, and were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and chromium (Cr) levels. The physicochemical factors believed to affect the mobility of metals in the soil of the study area were also examined, including pH, electrical conductivity, total organic matter, calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) content and cation exchange capacity. The high concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in the soil samples were found to be related to anthropogenic sources, such as the steel manufacturing plants, agriculture and traffic emissions, with the highest concentrations of these metals close to the site of the steel plants; in contrast the concentration of Cr was low in the soil sampled close to the steel plants. The metals were concentrated in the surface soil, and concentrations decreased with increasing depth, reflecting the physical properties of the soil and its alkaline pH. The mineralogical composition of the topsoil, identified by X-ray diffraction, was predominantly quartz, calcite, dolomite and minor minerals, such as gypsum and clay minerals. Metal concentrations were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compute the statistical significance of the mean. The results of the ANOVA showed significant differences between sites for Pb, Cd and Cu, but no significant differences for the remaining metals tested. Factor analysis revealed that polluted soil occurs predominantly at sites around the steel plants and that there is no significant variation in the characteristics of the unpolluted soil, which are uniform in the study area.

Brood removal or queen caging combined with oxalic acid treatment to control varroa mites (Varroa destructor) in honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera)

Science.gov (United States)

Few studies of honey bee colonies exist where varroa mite control is achieved by integrating broodless conditions, through either total brood removal or queen caging, in combination with oxalic acid (OA) applications. We observed significant varroa mortality after applications of OA in obtaining bro...

Testing the effect of paraquat exposure on genomic recombination rates in queens of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera.

Science.gov (United States)

Langberg, Kurt; Phillips, Matthew; Rueppell, Olav

2018-04-01

The rate of genomic recombination displays evolutionary plasticity and can even vary in response to environmental factors. The western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) has an extremely high genomic recombination rate but the mechanistic basis for this genome-wide upregulation is not understood. Based on the hypothesis that meiotic recombination and DNA damage repair share common mechanisms in honey bees as in other organisms, we predicted that oxidative stress leads to an increase in recombination rate in honey bees. To test this prediction, we subjected honey bee queens to oxidative stress by paraquat injection and measured the rates of genomic recombination in select genome intervals of offspring produced before and after injection. The evaluation of 26 genome intervals in a total of over 1750 offspring of 11 queens by microsatellite genotyping revealed several significant effects but no overall evidence for a mechanistic link between oxidative stress and increased recombination was found. The results weaken the notion that DNA repair enzymes have a regulatory function in the high rate of meiotic recombination of honey bees, but they do not provide evidence against functional overlap between meiotic recombination and DNA damage repair in honey bees and more mechanistic studies are needed.

Pb evolution in the Martian mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Bellucci, J. J.; Nemchin, A. A.; Whitehouse, M. J.; Snape, J. F.; Bland, P.; Benedix, G. K.; Roszjar, J.

2018-03-01

The initial Pb compositions of one enriched shergottite, one intermediate shergottite, two depleted shergottites, and Nakhla have been measured by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). These values, in addition to data from previous studies using an identical analytical method performed on three enriched shergottites, ALH 84001, and Chassigny, are used to construct a unified and internally consistent model for the differentiation history of the Martian mantle and crystallization ages for Martian meteorites. The differentiation history of the shergottites and Nakhla/Chassigny are fundamentally different, which is in agreement with short-lived radiogenic isotope systematics. The initial Pb compositions of Nakhla/Chassigny are best explained by the late addition of a Pb-enriched component with a primitive, non-radiogenic composition. In contrast, the Pb isotopic compositions of the shergottite group indicate a relatively simple evolutionary history of the Martian mantle that can be modeled based on recent results from the Sm-Nd system. The shergottites have been linked to a single mantle differentiation event at 4504 Ma. Thus, the shergottite Pb isotopic model here reflects a two-stage history 1) pre-silicate differentiation (4504 Ma) and 2) post-silicate differentiation to the age of eruption (as determined by concordant radiogenic isochron ages). The μ-values (238U/204Pb) obtained for these two different stages of Pb growth are μ1 of 1.8 and a range of μ2 from 1.4-4.7, respectively. The μ1-value of 1.8 is in broad agreement with enstatite and ordinary chondrites and that proposed for proto Earth, suggesting this is the initial μ-value for inner Solar System bodies. When plotted against other source radiogenic isotopic variables (Sri, γ187Os, ε143Nd, and ε176Hf), the second stage mantle evolution range in observed mantle μ-values display excellent linear correlations (r2 > 0.85) and represent a spectrum of Martian mantle mixing-end members (depleted

Nan Goldin: da Fotografia do Cotidiano à Visibilidade Drag Queen

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Vivian Castro de Miranda

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar a biografia da fotógrafa americana Nan Goldin, a partir do recorte de sua produção datada entre as décadas de 1970 e 1990, em que ela fotografou a comunidade drag queen. A partir do cruzamento de informações vigentes em documentário (Série, 2004 e fontes relevantes (Guggenheim Museum, EUA; The Guardian, UK a quem a fotógrafa concedeu entrevistas ou foi notícia, procura-se explorar nesse texto a importância de uma produção que se insere no âmbito de questões caras ao contexto contemporâneo, que é a temática de gênero. Com a perspectiva teórica adotada, baseada principalmente nos apontamentos de Barthes (1984, é possível compreender o corpus analisado como resultante de um olhar sensível para o aspecto humano, com impacto para a discussão e aceitação do grupo social.

Cyber against punk: Greg Bear’s Queen of Angels as metamorphosed cyberpunk

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M. F. Blatchford

1994-05-01

Full Text Available Recent American science fiction (which commercially dominates world science fiction incorporates two schools of thought, ‘cyberpunk' and ‘hard SF’. which may be read to embody, respectively, radical/liberal and patriotic/ conservative propaganda. This article, after attempting to define aspects of these schools, examines Queen of Angels by Greg Bear (who before producing that text had been a proponent of hard SF. This text is shown to have strong elements of cyberpunk (possibly, to judge by one critical review, appealing to a cyberpunk audience but to have transformed and inverted the radical and liberal themes of cyberpunk into conservative themes. The text thus illuminates philosophical and technical differences between the schools. It is suggested that the imagery of cyberpunk, and perhaps that of science fiction in general, is liable to such reversals of ideological significance.

Volunteering as Red Queen Mechanism for Cooperation in Public Goods Games

Science.gov (United States)

Hauert, Christoph; De Monte, Silvia; Hofbauer, Josef; Sigmund, Karl

2002-05-01

The evolution of cooperation among nonrelated individuals is one of the fundamental problems in biology and social sciences. Reciprocal altruism fails to provide a solution if interactions are not repeated often enough or groups are too large. Punishment and reward can be very effective but require that defectors can be traced and identified. Here we present a simple but effective mechanism operating under full anonymity. Optional participation can foil exploiters and overcome the social dilemma. In voluntary public goods interactions, cooperators and defectors will coexist. We show that this result holds under very diverse assumptions on population structure and adaptation mechanisms, leading usually not to an equilibrium but to an unending cycle of adjustments (a Red Queen type of evolution). Thus, voluntary participation offers an escape hatch out of some social traps. Cooperation can subsist in sizable groups even if interactions are not repeated, defectors remain anonymous, players have no memory, and assortment is purely random.

Theology: Still a queen of science in the post-modern era

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Erna Oliver

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Theology is just as relevant today as it was in the time of Aquinas who called theology ‘the queen of science’ although the knowledge-driven network society does not seem to be in agreement. By using the tools provided by the fourth revolution in the development of society, theology can, as part of the academic world of higher education that is supposed to lead society, strengthen ties with the past, seek explanations and solutions to current problems and produce guidelines for future investigation through multi- and interdisciplinary discourse. Theology can and should influence people to become positive change agents, re-shape the way in which the message of salvation is brought to the world in order to stay relevant in changing circumstances and be on the forefront of progressive transformation in society. This should be achieved through constant dialogue with other academic disciplines, the Church as institution and with society in general.

Recreations in the theory of numbers the queen of mathematics entertains

CERN Document Server

Beiler, Albert H

1966-01-01

Number theory, the Queen of Mathematics, is an almost purely theoretical science. Yet it can be the source of endlessly intriguing puzzle problems, as this remarkable book demonstrates. This is the first book to deal exclusively with the recreational aspects of the subject and it is certain to be a delightful surprise to all devotees of the mathematical puzzle, from the rawest beginner to the most practiced expert. Almost every aspect of the theory of numbers that could conceivably be of interest to the layman is dealt with, all from the recreational point of view. Readers will become acquainted with divisors, perfect numbers, the ingenious invention of congruences by Gauss, scales of notation, endless decimals, Pythagorean triangles (there is a list of the first 100 with consecutive legs; the 100th has a leg of 77 digits), oddities about squares, methods of factoring, mysteries of prime numbers, Gauss's Golden Theorem, polygonal and pyramidal numbers, the Pell Equation, the unsolved Last Theorem of Fermat, a...

Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands demonstration tidal power plant feasibility study : summary results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tu, A. [BC Hydro, Burnaby, BC (Canada)

2008-07-01

Remote communities may benefit from using tidal energy in terms of reduced diesel fuel consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. A study was conducted to assess the feasibility for a tidal demonstration project on the Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands. Candidate communities were scanned for resource potential, load profile, infrastructure distribution and community interest. This presentation focused on choosing an appropriate site for a given tidal power technology. Three hotspots in Masset Sound were identified as well as one hotspot at Juskatla Narrows. Technology providers were solicited for information on unit performance, cost, and trials to date. The presentation noted that demonstration or future commercial deployment is limited by resource and by the ability of the grid to accommodate tidal power. The presentation concluded with next steps which include publishing the study. tabs., figs.

Queen rearing and selection practices and their impact on the genetic diversity and fitness of honey bee colonies

OpenAIRE

Bouga, Maria; Arnold, Gerard; Bienkowska, Malgorzata; Büchler, Ralph; Garnery, Lionel; Ivanova, Evgeniya; De Jong, David; De la Rúa, Pilar; Kence, Meral; Kezic, Nikola; Kryger, Per; Murilhas, António; Oldroyd, Benjamin; Oliver, Randy; Palacio, María

2011-01-01

The Apimondia working group on honey bee diversity and fitness (AWG 7) was created on October 25, 2010 as a Scientific Working Group of Apimondia. The aim of this AWG is to collect information on honey bee queen rearing practices, and examine their impact on the genetic variability and general health of honey bee colonies. The AWG consists of 23 members from 16 different countries. The world wide survey being conducted by this AWG is focused on gathering information on how selection methods, ...

Resisting majesty: Apis cerana, has lower antennal sensitivity and decreased attraction to queen mandibular pheromone than Apis mellifera

OpenAIRE

Shihao Dong; Ping Wen; Qi Zhang; Xinyu Li; Ken Tan; James Nieh

2017-01-01

In highly social bees, queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) is vital for colony life. Both Apis cerana (Ac) and Apis mellifera (Am) share an evolutionarily conserved set of QMP compounds: (E)-9-oxodec-2-enoic acid (9-ODA), (E)-9-hydroxydec-2-enoic acid (9-HDA), (E)-10-hydroxy-dec-2-enoic acid (10-HDA), 10-hydroxy-decanoic acid (10-HDAA), and methyl p?hydroxybenzoate (HOB) found at similar levels. However, evidence suggests there may be species-specific sensitivity differences to QMP compounds bec...

‘A token of their love’: Queen Victoria Memorials in New Zealand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Stocker

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article provides an overview of the four metropolitan sculptural memorials to Queen Victoria in late-colonial New Zealand, which all immediately precede the colony’s Dominion status (1907. In chronological order, they were erected in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Dunedin. While the Auckland memorial was unveiled within the Queen’s lifetime, her death in 1901 catalysed the commission of more ambitious counterparts in Wellington and Dunedin, and a degree of intercity rivalry was consciously articulated in advocacy for them. The memorials reflect a Pākeha (European New Zealand sense of identity as a loyal, pro-monarchical, and imperial colony, but also as a ‘Better Britain’, with a proud sense of prosperity and achievement. Local content features prominently in two of them, notably the signing with Māori of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840 in one of the reliefs for the capital city memorial (Wellington, and an ambitious celebration of fifty years of provincial achievement in the pedestal sculpture for the Christchurch counterpart. Due to a dearth of home-grown talent, together with the belief in the artistic superiority of Britain (often known at the time as ‘Home’, British sculptors were invariably commissioned for these memorials. Cost-effectiveness, prestige, and the ability to render a realistic likeness were all criteria behind the choice of artists, with Francis John Williamson commissioned for two of them (Auckland and Christchurch. In researching this article, extensive use has been made of primary newspaper sources to document the political context of the memorials. In all of them, particularly that of Christchurch, New Zealand’s loyalty to Britain in the South African War (1899–1902 was a leading issue. Artistic and aesthetic issues and analysis were less prominent, although there was a widespread belief that the Queen should be honoured for purely symbolic and not utilitarian causes. While emphasis is given

Identifying the transition between single and multiple mating of queens in fungus-growing ants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villesen, Palle; Murakami, Takahiro; Schultz, Ted R

2002-01-01

Obligate mating of females (queens) with multiple males has evolved only rarely in social Hymenoptera (ants, social bees, social wasps) and for reasons that are fundamentally different from those underlying multiple mating in other animals. The monophyletic tribe of ('attine') fungus-growing ants...... is known to include evolutionarily derived genera with obligate multiple mating (the Acromyrmex and Atta leafcutter ants) as well as phylogenetically basal genera with exclusively single mating (e.g. Apterostigma, Cyphomyrmex, Myrmicocrypta). All attine genera share the unique characteristic of obligate...... dependence on symbiotic fungus gardens for food, but the sophistication of this symbiosis differs considerably across genera. The lower attine genera generally have small, short-lived colonies and relatively non-specialized fungal symbionts (capable of living independently of their ant hosts), whereas...

The overlooked knowledge: exploring knowledge circulation in the scaling up of Local Innovation: the case of beehive construction and queen replacement in Enebsie District, Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Getnet, A.

2008-01-01

The study here is set out to explore the facilitating and restraining factors for knowledge circulation in the scaling up of local innovation taking beehive and queen replacement innovation as case of the study in Enebsie district, Amhara region, Ethiopia. Appreciating farmers’ innovations and

Using pleometrosis (multiple queens) and pupae transplantation to boost weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) colony growth in ant nurseries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Offenberg, Hans Joachim; Nielsen, Mogens Gissel; Peng, Renkang

2011-01-01

Weaver ants (Oecophylla spp.) are increasingly being used for biocontrol and are targeted for future production of insect protein in ant farms. An efficient production of live ant colonies may facilitate the utilization of these ants but the production of mature colonies is hampered by the long...... and no transplantation. Thus, in ant nurseries the use of multiple queens during nest founding as well as transplantation of pupae from foreign colonies may be utilised to decrease the time it takes to produce a colony ready for implementation....

Meu nome é “Híbrida”: Corpo, gênero e sexualidade na experiência drag queen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseylson Fagner Santos

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Homem e mulher, feminino e masculino: o comportamento social dos indivíduos é norteado por dicotomias que encontramos em corpos aprendidos e disciplinados. Nesse sentido, os papéis sociais de gênero vêm a ser fatores de diferenciação sexual, de forma a orientar a inteligibilidade dos corpos, através construções sociais de códigos estéticos, funcionais e comportamentais. A drag queen – representada como um corpo onde os papéis sociais de gênero encontram-se justapostos – apresenta, através da performance, a possibilidade de ressignificar as relações fixas entre gênero, corpo e sexo. Enquanto indivíduo que opera na transformação estética e comportamental de seus papéis de gênero, a drag permite pensar numa desnaturalização dos laços que envolvem esses conceitos. Diferente do travesti e do transexual, a drag queen questiona a fixidez de questões “hetero-normativas” através de um ato performativo, onde o corpo adquire signos específicos do sexo feminino e aplica a um corpo masculino, tornando-se “queer”. A experiência do corpo drag representa uma possibilidade de verificar o momento em que a normatividade da relação entre corpo, sexo e gênero entra em desconstrução, resultando num corpo híbrido. O artigo se propõe à reflexão sobre a formação da dicotomia masculino/feminino e a produção performativa de corpos drag.

Mating Frequencies of Honey Bee Queens (Apis mellifera L.) in a Population of Feral Colonies in the Northeastern United States

OpenAIRE

Tarpy, David R.; Delaney, Deborah A.; Seeley, Thomas D.

2015-01-01

Across their introduced range in North America, populations of feral honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies have supposedly declined in recent decades as a result of exotic parasites, most notably the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Nonetheless, recent studies have documented several wild populations of colonies that have persisted. The extreme polyandry of honey bee queens-and the increased intracolony genetic diversity it confers-has been attributed, in part, to improved disease resis...

Nectar Attracts Foraging Honey Bees with Components of Their Queen Pheromones.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fanglin; Gao, Jie; Di, Nayan; Adler, Lynn S

2015-11-01

Floral nectar often contains chemicals that are deterrent to pollinators, presenting potential challenges to outcrossing plant species. Plants may be able to co-opt pollinator chemical signals to mitigate the negative effects of nectar deterrent compounds on pollination services. We found that buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) produce nectar with abundant phenolics, including three components of the Apis honeybee queen mandibular pheromone (QMP). In addition, these nectars contain a non-pheromonal phenolic, chlorogenic acid (CA), which was toxic to honeybees, and T. diversifolia nectar also contained isochlorogenic acid (IA). Fresh nectar or solutions containing nectar phenolics reduced Apis individual feeding compared to sucrose solutions. However, freely foraging bees preferred solutions with QMP components to control solutions, and QMP components over-rode or reversed avoidance of CA and IA. Furthermore, prior exposure to the presence or just the odor of QMP components removed the deterrent effects of CA and IA. By mimicking the honey bee pheromone blend, nectar may maintain pollinator attraction in spite of deterrent nectar compounds.

Cloning of the queen variety pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) merr) through the callus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapade, A.G.; Veluz, A.M.S.; Santos, I.S.

1988-01-01

Crown sections of pineapple were inoculated aseptically in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with varying levels of benzyl adenine (BA) in combination with napthalene acetic acid (NAA). Callus was induced from crown sections that was grown in MS with 0 ppm BA + 2 ppm NAA, 2 ppm BA + 6 ppm NAA. These calli when grown continuously in the same medium developed profusely into shoots. Callus and shoots developed profusely at medium containing 2 ppm BA + 2 ppm NAA. Calli that were further sub-cultured in MS with 2 ppm BA + 2 ppm NAA produced multiple shoots. Calli and shoots that were further sub-cultured in 0 to 4 ppm BA to 4 to 6 ppm NAA formed roots. Results showed that complete plantlets were produced from crown sections of pineapple variety Queen in MS medium supplemented with the different treatment combinations of BA and NAA. (Author). 9 refs.; 1 fig

Society News: Queen honours Fellows; The Society and legacies; Thesis prizes; Lectures on laptops; Stonehenge story

Science.gov (United States)

2007-08-01

The Queen's Birthday Honours list announced on 16 June contained some familiar names from astronomy. Prof. Mark Bailey (1) of Armagh Observatory, currently a Vice-President of the RAS, was awarded an MBE and Dr Heather Couper (2), former President of the British Astronomical Association, a CBE. Prof. Nigel Mason (3) of the Open University and inaugural Director of the Milton Keynes Science Festival received an OBE. Prof. Jocelyn Bell-Burnell (4), President of the RAS from 2002-2004, was awarded a DBE - and an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University. In addition, Prof. Lord Rees (5), Astronomer Royal, president of the Royal Society and President of the RAS from 1992-1994, was appointed to the Order of Merit.

Immunolocalization of the short neuropeptide F receptor in queen brains and ovaries of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietrantonio Patricia V

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Insect neuropeptides are involved in diverse physiological functions and can be released as neurotransmitters or neuromodulators acting within the central nervous system, and as circulating neurohormones in insect hemolymph. The insect short neuropeptide F (sNPF peptides, related to the vertebrate neuropeptide Y (NPY peptides, have been implicated in the regulation of food intake and body size, and play a gonadotropic role in the ovaries of some insect species. Recently the sNPF peptides were localized in the brain of larval and adult Drosophila. However, the location of the sNPF receptor, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR, has not yet been investigated in brains of any adult insect. To elucidate the sites of action of the sNPF peptide(s, the sNPF receptor tissue expression and cellular localization were analyzed in queens of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera, an invasive social insect. Results In the queen brains and subesophageal ganglion about 164 cells distributed in distinctive cell clusters (C1-C9 and C12 or as individual cells (C10, C11 were immuno-positive for the sNPF receptor. Most of these neurons are located in or near important sensory neuropils including the mushroom bodies, the antennal lobes, the central complex, and in different parts of the protocerebrum, as well as in the subesophageal ganglion. The localization of the sNPF receptor broadly links the receptor signaling pathway with circuits regulating learning and feeding behaviors. In ovaries from mated queens, the detection of sNPF receptor signal at the posterior end of oocytes in mid-oogenesis stage suggests that the sNPF signaling pathway may regulate processes at the oocyte pole. Conclusions The analysis of sNPF receptor immunolocalization shows that the sNPF signaling cascade may be involved in diverse functions, and the sNPF peptide(s may act in the brain as neurotransmitter(s or neuromodulator(s, and in the ovaries

Late Miocene mollusks from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Addicott, Warren O.

1978-01-01

A fauna of bivalve mollusks, scattered gastropods, and an echinoid from exposures of the Skonun Formation in the northeastern part of Graham Island is indicative of an early late Miocene age and correlation with the provincial Wishkahan Stage. The molluscan assemblages are from the upper 600 of the 1800-m-thick marine and nonmarine formation, which appears to be entirely of late Miocene age. The Skonun Formation is the strandline fa.cies of marginal marine and nonmarine deposits of the northwestern part of the Queen Charlotte basin, a Nieogene embayment paralleling the modern mainland coast. The molluscan fauna and associated lignite beds are known from a few widely scattered outcrops; they are indicative of alternating marine and nonmarine to brackish-water environments in the upper part of the formation. The Skonun fauna occurs near the northern boundary of the Pacific Northwest Neogene molluscan province. It is the only marine Neogene molluscan fauna known from the British Columbia coast. The fauna has strong taxonomic ties with the fauna of the Empire Formation of southwestern Oregon and has several species in common with the upper Miocene of the Lituya district, southeastern Alaska, implying that these three faunas are coeval.

Five egg-laying queens in a single colony of brazilian stingless bees (Melipona scutellaris Latreille Presença de cinco rainhas fisogástricas em colônia de abelha sem ferrão (Melipona scutellaris Latreille

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Carlos Alfredo Lopes de Carvalho

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Polygyny, characterized by the presence of several egg-laying queens, is considered as a temporary colony status. In stingless bees it is rarely observed. This paper reports the first case of natural polygyny in Melipona scutellaris colony, with five egg-laying queens.Poliginia, caracterizada pela presença de mais de uma rainha poedeira, é considerada como uma condição temporária em colônias. Em abelhas sem ferrão isso é raramente observado. Este artigo registra o primeiro caso de poliginia natural em colônia de Melipona scutellaris, com cinco rainhas poedeiras.

Leukaemia at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukiibi, J M; Nyirenda, C M; Adewuyi, J O; Mzula, E L; Magombo, E D; Mbvundula, E M

2001-07-01

To determine the patterns of leukaemias seen in Malawians at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and to compare the findings with those from elsewhere. An overview of the problems encountered in the management of leukaemia in developing countries especially those in sub-Saharan Africa are highlighted. Retrospective descriptive analysis of consecutive leukaemia cases seen from January 1994 through December 1998. Of the 95 leukaemia patients diagnosed during the study period, childhood (0-15 years) leukaemia occurred in 27 (28.4%) patients while adulthood (above 15 years) leukaemia accounted for 68 (71.6%) patients. The main leukaemia types were: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) 14 (14.7%), acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) 25 (26.3%), chronic myeloid (granulocytic) leukaemia (CML) 32 (33.7%), chronic lymphocytic (lymphatic) leukaemia (CLL) 22 (23.2%) and hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) two (2.1%) patients. Most of the acute leukaemia (AL) cases occurred in the six to 15 year age bracket with a male preponderance. In ALL, lymphadenopathy was the commonest presenting feature followed by pallor (92.9%) while in the AML group, pallor occurred in 80% of cases. Abdominal swelling (87.5%) due to splenomegaly (81.3%) were the main clinical features in the CML group whereas lymphadenopathy (63.6%) followed by splenomegaly (59.1%) were the dominant presenting features in CLL. Haematologically, although leucocytosis characterised both acute and chronic leukaemias, most cases of acute leukaemia presented with more severe anaemia (Hb charitable organisations.

Life Cycles of Ad Hoc Task Groups

Science.gov (United States)

1983-10-01

Rick’s Cafe after work. . 25 Alexandra: You have connections? 26 Ken: Yes! ൣ Alexandra: You can be the industrial spy! (Pause) We don’t really need...with franchising --he could do a whole business strictly dealing with spare parts. We have to describe these packages and describe how to... (words

Re-framing the prostitute identity in Zimbabwe: An approach to Virginia Phiri’s novel Highway queen (2010

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Oliver Nyambi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In Zimbabwe, as in most traditionally conservative, patriarchal and Christian dominated countries, female sex work is abhorred on moral grounds as an unbecoming means of livelihood which takes away the practising woman’s social respectability. In such societies, then, the moral threat and stigma associated with female sex work affect women’s decisions on whether or not to take up sex work as a permanent means of livelihood. One can, however, ask how sustainable and stable these patriarchally constructed notions of morality and female identity are, especially in the face of crises? This article uses Virginia Phiri’s novel Highway queen, which is set in one of Zimbabwe’s economically tumultuous eras, to demonstrate how cultural texts grapple with the discourse of female sex work in contemporary Zimbabwe. The gist of my argument is that dominant prostitute identity constructs shaped by Zimbabwe’s patriarchal social and economic system are unstable. I find that the novel Highway queen manipulates such instability not only to re-inscribe sex work as a product of patriarchal impairment of female agency but, perhaps more importantly, to reflect on how women who are forced by circumstances to become sex workers can rise above their passive victimhood to achieve personal goals despite the social odds charted by patriarchy. Zooming in on the representation of the daily experiences of the female sex worker and protagonist, Sophie, the article explores the various ways in which the novel deconstructs stereotypical perceptions of female sex work and sex workers. The analysis ends with the argument that, whilst Sophie’s situation is fundamentally tragic, it affectively appeals to our sense of morality in a way which destabilises dominant (patriarchal constructs of sex work.

Clinical abnormalities, early intervention program of Down syndrome children: Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuengfoo, Adidsuda; Sakulnoom, Kim

2014-06-01

Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health is a tertiary institute of children in Thailand, where early intervention programs have been provided since 1990 by multidisciplinary approach especially in Down syndrome children. This aim of the present study is to follow the impact of early intervention on the outcome of Down syndrome children. The school attendance number of Down syndrome children was compared between regular early intervention and non-regular early intervention. The present study group consists of 210 Down syndrome children who attended early intervention programs at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health between June 2008 and January 2012. Data include clinical features, school attendance developmental quotient (DQ) at 3 years of age using Capute Scales Cognitive Adaptive Test/Scale (CAT/CLAMS). Developmental milestones have been recorded as to the time of appearance of gross motor, fine motor, language, personal-social development compared to those non-regular intervention patients. Of 210 Down syndrome children, 117 were boys and 93 were girls. About 87% received regular intervention, 68% attended speech training. Mean DQ at 3 years of age was 65. Of the 184 children who still did follow-up at developmental department, 124 children (59%) attended school: mainstream school children 78 (63%) and special school children 46 (37%). The mean age at entrance to school was 5.8 ± 1.4 years. The school attendance was correlated with maternal education and regular early intervention attendance. Regular early intervention starts have proven to have a positive effect on development. The school attendance number of Down syndrome children receiving regular early intervention was statistically and significantly higher than the number of Down syndrome children receiving non-regular early intervention was. School attendance correlated with maternal education and attended regularly early intervention. Regular early intervention together with maternal

Image and Role of the Queen Mother of the West in Han Grave Art

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Nataša VAMPELJ SUHADOLNIK

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The present article is a detailed study of the image of an ancient Chinese goddess, The Queen Mother of the West, called Xiwangmu 西王母 in Chinese. In the mythological tradition, Xiwangmu is a goddess who possesses the elixir of immortality and dwells in the western paradise, on the magic mountain Kunlun 崑崙. While her image can be found in mural paintings, and on lacquered objects and bronze mirrors, it appears primarily in the form of relief images on the stones and bricks of grave chambers and temples in the Han (206 BCE–220 CE grave complexes. The literary tradition reveals a multifunctional role of the mother, with her many attributes developing in accordance with the changing values of social and mythological concepts. The article concludes with a detailed discussion of her image and role within the wider cosmological context of Han grave art.

Gene expression profiling in the ovary of Queen conch (Strombus gigas) exposed to environments with high tributyltin in the British Virgin Islands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Titley-O'Neal, Cassander P.; Spade, Daniel J.; Zhang, Yanping; Kan, Rosalinda; Martyniuk, Christopher J.; Denslow, Nancy D.; MacDonald, Bruce A.

2013-01-01

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) are listed in CITES Appendix II. Populations may be declining due to anthropogenic inputs that include pollutants from boating activity. In the British Virgin Islands (BVI), some conch exhibit imposex, a condition in which male external genitalia are present in female conch. Previous studies suggest that tributyltin (TBT), an antifouling chemical used in boat paint, is correlated to increased incidence of imposex although the mechanisms leading to imposex are not known. The present study utilized a Queen conch microarray to measure the response of the ovarian transcriptome in conch inhabiting polluted environments with high TBT levels in the BVI. The polluted sites, Road Harbour (RH) and Trellis Bay (TB), are areas with high boating activity while the reference sites, Guana Island (GI) and Anegada (AN), are areas with low boating activity. There were 754 and 898 probes differentially expressed in the ovary of conch collected at RH and TB respectively compared to conch collected at GI. Of the genes that were differentially expressed at both sites, > 10% were shared suggesting that these sites have additional environmental factors influencing gene expression patterns. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the biological processes of cell proliferation, translation, and oxidative stress were over-represented in the polluted sites. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that transcripts involved in the biological processes of general metabolism, immune, lipid metabolism, and stress were affected in conch from polluted environments. Interestingly, altered stress genes appeared to be more prevalent in conch collected from RH than TB, corresponding to the higher TBT load at RH compared to TB. Our study shows that stress pathways are affected in conch ovary in environments that experience heavy boating activity in the BVIs, although we are unable to directly link changes at the transcriptomics level to high TBT levels. Highlights: �

Gene expression profiling in the ovary of Queen conch (Strombus gigas) exposed to environments with high tributyltin in the British Virgin Islands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Titley-O' Neal, Cassander P. [Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada E2L 4L5 (Canada); Spade, Daniel J. [Department of Physiological Sciences and Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Zhang, Yanping [Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Kan, Rosalinda; Martyniuk, Christopher J. [Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada E2L 4L5 (Canada); Denslow, Nancy D. [Department of Physiological Sciences and Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); MacDonald, Bruce A., E-mail: bmacdon@unbsj.ca [Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada E2L 4L5 (Canada)

2013-04-01

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) are listed in CITES Appendix II. Populations may be declining due to anthropogenic inputs that include pollutants from boating activity. In the British Virgin Islands (BVI), some conch exhibit imposex, a condition in which male external genitalia are present in female conch. Previous studies suggest that tributyltin (TBT), an antifouling chemical used in boat paint, is correlated to increased incidence of imposex although the mechanisms leading to imposex are not known. The present study utilized a Queen conch microarray to measure the response of the ovarian transcriptome in conch inhabiting polluted environments with high TBT levels in the BVI. The polluted sites, Road Harbour (RH) and Trellis Bay (TB), are areas with high boating activity while the reference sites, Guana Island (GI) and Anegada (AN), are areas with low boating activity. There were 754 and 898 probes differentially expressed in the ovary of conch collected at RH and TB respectively compared to conch collected at GI. Of the genes that were differentially expressed at both sites, > 10% were shared suggesting that these sites have additional environmental factors influencing gene expression patterns. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the biological processes of cell proliferation, translation, and oxidative stress were over-represented in the polluted sites. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that transcripts involved in the biological processes of general metabolism, immune, lipid metabolism, and stress were affected in conch from polluted environments. Interestingly, altered stress genes appeared to be more prevalent in conch collected from RH than TB, corresponding to the higher TBT load at RH compared to TB. Our study shows that stress pathways are affected in conch ovary in environments that experience heavy boating activity in the BVIs, although we are unable to directly link changes at the transcriptomics level to high TBT levels. Highlights: �

Racism and Acceptance： a Clash Between Aunt Alexandra and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird%歧视还是接受：析《杀死一只知更鸟》中Aunt Alexandra和Scout体现出来的种族歧视文化冲突（英文）

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王颖慧

2011-01-01

《杀死一只知更鸟》是一部描述美国种族歧视的作品。通过对小说中两个女性人物Aunt Alexan-dra和Scout的比较,可以更清晰的体现出美国内战以后人们对黑人的态度转变：从极度的歧视到理解性的接受。%To Kill a Mocking Bird is a work which successfully described racism in America. This paper makes a comparative analysis of two female characters： Aunt Alexandra and Scout. The comparisons of these two female characters illustrate the great change from racism to acceptance towards the blacks in America after the Civil War.

Quantitative determination of juvenile hormone III and 20-hydroxyecdysone in queen larvae and drone pupae of Apis mellifera by ultrasonic-assisted extraction and liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jinhui; Qi, Yitao; Hou, Yali; Zhao, Jing; Li, Yi; Xue, Xiaofeng; Wu, Liming; Zhang, Jinzhen; Chen, Fang

2011-09-01

In this paper, a method for the rapid and sensitive analysis of juvenile hormone III (JH III) and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in queen larvae and drone pupae samples was presented. Ultrasound-assisted extraction provided a significant shortening of the leaching time for the extraction of JH III and 20E and satisfactory sensitivity as compared to the conventional shake extraction procedure. After extraction, determination was carried out by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) operating in electrospray ionization positive ion mode via multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) without any clean-up step prior to analysis. A linear gradient consisting of (A) water containing 0.1% formic acid and (B) acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid, and a ZORBAX SB-Aq column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) were employed to obtain the best resolution of the target analytes. The method was validated for linearity, limit of quantification, recovery, matrix effects, precision and stability. Drone pupae samples were found to contain 20E at concentrations of 18.0 ± 0.1 ng/g (mean ± SD) and JH III was detected at concentrations of 0.20 ± 0.06 ng/g (mean ± SD) in queen larvae samples. This validated method provided some practical information for the actual content of JH III and 20E in queen larvae and drone pupae samples. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of (E)-9-Oxo-2-decenoic acid (the queen substance of honeybee) from methyl 3-formylpropionate; 3-horumiruporopion san mechiru wo mochiita (E)-9-okiso-2-desen san (Mitsubachi joo busshitsu) no gosei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsukasa, H. [Toyotama Koryo Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-05-20

The queen substance, (E)-9-oxo-2-decenoic acid (1) is a pheromone secreted by queen honeybee (Apis mellifera) and inhibits reproductive ability of worker bees. Several synthesese have been reported. It was synthesized starting from methyl-3-formylpropionate this time. Methyl 7,7-ethylenedioxy-4-oxooctanoate was prepared by radical addition reaction from (2) and 2-methyl-2-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane and reduced to an ethyelenedioxy carboxylic acid with hydrazine and KOH. This compound was converted to an alcohol by reduction with sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride, followed by oxidation with pyridinium chlorochromate to an acetal aldehyde, which was condensed with malonic acid and (1) was obtained after the hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid. 7 refs., 1 tab.

Sulimar Queen environmental restoration project closure package Sandia environmental stewardship exemplar.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tillman, Jack B.

2008-09-01

In March 2008, Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia), in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, Roswell Field Office, completed its responsibilities to plug and abandon wells and restore the surface conditions for the Sulimar Queens Unit, a 2,500 acre oil field, in Chaves County, Southeast New Mexico. Sandia assumed this liability in an agreement to obtain property to create a field laboratory to perform extensive testing and experimentation on enhanced oil recovery techniques for shallow oil fields. In addition to plugging and abandoning 28 wells, the project included the removal of surface structures and surface reclamation of disturbed lands associated with all plugged and abandoned wells, access roads, and other auxiliary facilities within unit boundaries. A contracting strategy was implemented to mitigate risk and reduce cost. As the unit is an important wildlife habitat for prairie chickens, sand dune lizards, and mule deer, the criteria for the restoration and construction process were designed to protect and enhance the wildlife habitat. Lessons learned from this project include: (1) extreme caution should be exercised when entering agreements that include future liabilities, (2) partnering with the regulator has huge benefits, and (3) working with industry experts, who were familiar with the work, and subcontractors, who provided the network to complete the project cost effectively.

Diagenesis of arc-derived sandstones of Cretaceous formations in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada(MEMORIAL VOLUME TO THE LATE PROFESSOR TERUHIKO SAMESHIMA)

OpenAIRE

Yagishita, Koji

1994-01-01

Diagenesis of sediments derived from a magmatic arc provenance may greatly differ from that of sediments derived from an intracratonic- or foreland-type provenance. Sediments from the magmatic arc are compositionally immature and rich in volcanic and sedimentary rock fragments. Sandstone samples of mid- to Upper Cretaceous formations in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada, contain either large amounts of pseudomatrix or authigenic cements. An inverse relationship between the...

Comparative Study on Quality Parameters of Royal Jelly, Apilarnil and Queen Bee Larvae Triturate

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Rodica MARGAOAN

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Given their beneficial effects in terms of health, the natural products, especially beehive products, have drawn the attention of consumers since long time ago. In order to guarantee the quality of these products on the market, their chemical composition needs to be analyzed. Thus, this current research had as objective the establishment of quality parameters for beehive brood food derived products: apilarnil and queen bee larvae triturate. These two products were compared with royal jelly which is the basis of brood food in the first 3 days of larval stage. The carbohydrates were determined by HPLC-IR and allowed the identification of seven carbohydrate compounds, predominantly glucose, fructose and sucrose. The lipid profile was analyzed by the Soxhlet method. The total protein content was determined by the Kjeldahl method. Free amino acids were analyzed by LC-MS. A total of 31 amino acids were identified of which nine are essential amino acids for humans.Â

Misoprostol en la inducción del parto. Experiencias en el Queen Elizabeth II Hospital de Maseru, Lesotho Misoprostol (Cytotec for artificial delivery. Experiences at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital from Maseru, Lesotho*

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Viviana Pascual López

2011-04-01

Full Text Available La inducción del parto con misoprostol es un procedimiento médico reconocido por la Organización Mundial de la Salud como práctica clínica beneficiosa para la madre y el perinato y, por ello, los autores de este trabajo se propusieron sistematizar su aplicación por vía vaginal, en dosis de 50 µg (máxima de 200 µg e intervalos de 4 horas, en gestantes seleccionadas (n= 468 con criterio de interrupción médica del embarazo, ingresadas y tratadas en el Hospital Queen Elizabeth II -- institución de referencia nacional -- de Maseru, capital de Lesotho. Se considera que las experiencias y resultados obtenidos pueden ser de apreciable utilidad para los colegas que en circunstancias y condiciones similares, brinden atención médica internacionalista, puesto que la inducción del parto con ese producto fue altamente efectiva, por cuanto disminuyó el índice de cesáreas; mostró muy buen pronóstico de vida y salud, según puntaje de Apgar al quinto minuto, morbilidad y mortalidad del peripato, así como también garantizó que la morbilidad materna se correspondiera con el patrón de la población obstétrica en general y que no se produjeran defunciones.Artificial abortion using Misoprostol is a medical procedure recognized by the World Health Organization as a clinical practice that benefits both the mother and the neonate. That is why the authors of the present work proposed to systematize its vaginal application using doses of 50 µg (200 µg as maximum and time periods of 4 hours in pregnant women (n= 468 who were chosen under the criterion of medical pregnancy interruption and hospitalized and treated at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital -- a national reference institution -- from Maseru, capital of Lesotho. Experiences and results obtained are considered of high usefulness for colleagues who, under similar conditions and circumstances, provide international medical care. Artificial abortion using this product was highly effective; thus

Basic Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and Self-Appraisals in PTSD

Science.gov (United States)

2014-02-01

PTSD study and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study for Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder ... Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury recruitment protocol. All subjects participating in an MRI scan are required to provide...include subjects from the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study for Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury who

Uso da tela excluidora de rainha no alvado e seus efeitos na atividade de coleta e no desenvolvimento de colônias de Apis mellifera Hoarding activity and hive development of Apis mellifera with queen excluder at the entrance

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Leoman Almeida Couto

1998-10-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos da tela excluidora de rainhas colocada no alvado sobre a atividade de coleta das operárias de Apis mellifera, peso da carga de pólen transportada e desenvolvimento das colônias. Foram utilizadas seis colônias, três com tela e três sem tela. Em média, 51,4%, 37,0% e 11,6% das operárias que entravam nas colméias transportavam pólen nas corbículas das 8-11, 11-14 e 14-17 horas, respectivamente. Somente 0,0175% das operárias perderam sua carga de pólen ao passar pela tela excluidora, o que representou 0,06% do total de pólen coletado/dia/colméia. A presença da tela excluidora reduziu em 15,2% e 19,4% a entrada das operárias com e sem pólen, respectivamente. Em média, o peso da carga de pólen representou 13,88 ± 8,4% do peso corporal da operária que a transportava. A tela excluidora no alvado reduziu a atividade de coleta de operárias.The aim of this article was to investigate the effect of the use of queen excluder at the hive entrance on Apis mellifera hoarding activity, pollen load and hive development in six hives, three of which provided with queen excluders. An average of 51.4%, 37.0% and 11.6% of the Apis mellifera workers which entered the hives from 8 to 11 a.m., 11 to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m., respectively, were pollen-loaded. Only 0.0175% of them lost their pollen load when passing the queen excluder, which amounted to 0.06% of total pollen collected/day/hive. The queen excluder caused the reduction of 15.2% to the entrance of pollen-loaded bees and 19.4% to the entrance of non-pollen-loaded bees. On average, the weight of the pollen load represented 13.88% ± 8.4% of the bee body weight. The results also indicated that the hoarding activity was reduced by the queen excluder.

Wisdom and love as path to sanctity. St Jadwiga the Queen in the liturgy and teachings of John Paul II

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Jan Józef Janicki

2006-12-01

Full Text Available In the 600th year after the birth of Jadwiga Queen of Poland, "the most beloved female character in our history", Krakow metropolitan bishop cardinal Karol Wojtyła announced in his pastoral letter issued on this occasion that "Jadwiga, her life and work exerted a huge impact on Polish history both in historical and spiritual dimension". His statement was made pending an approval by the Holy See of her worship and its extension to the entire church (i.e. the introduction of a liturgical feast, a mass and an officium venerating Blessed Jadwiga.

Change in Brooklyn and Queens: How New York?s Reforming the Energy Vision Program and Con Edison Are Reshaping Electric Distribution Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coddington, Michael; Sciano, Damian; Fuller, Jason

2017-03-01

The New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are undergoing a period of gentrification, infrastructure rebuilding, new construction, and load growth not experienced in decades. Significant numbers of residents are moving in, and structures that had been abandoned or were in disrepair are being refurbished and modernized to accommodate the burgeoning population. Homes, businesses, and industries are reviving areas long in decline, and Brooklyn's growth has made it the nation's fourth most populous city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Adherence to hand hygiene protocol by clinicians and medical students at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre-Malawi.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalata, N L; Kamange, L; Muula, A S

2013-06-01

While communicable diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Malawi, the contribution of nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is unknown but could be substantial. The single most important method of preventing nosocomial infections is hand hygiene. We report a study which was conducted in 2011 to investigate adherence to hand hygiene protocols by clinicians and medical students working at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. There were two parts to the study: a single blinded arm in which participants were observed without their knowledge by trained nurses; and a second arm which included self-completion of questionnaire after participant consent was obtained. The 2009 World Health Organization hand hygiene technique and recommendations which were adopted by Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital were used to define an opportunity for hand washing and effectiveness of hand washing. Hand hygiene effectiveness was defined as adherence to at least 6 out of 7 steps (80%) of the hand hygiene technique when using alcohol-based formulation or at least 8 out of 10 steps (80%) of the hand hygiene technique when using water and soap formulation before and after having direct contact with patients or their immediate surroundings. Clinicians were found to have disinfected their hands more than medical students (phand sanitizer and hand hygiene practice (p=0.3). Adherence to hand hygiene was found to be 23%. Most of the participants mentioned infection transmission prevention as a reason for disinfecting their hands. Other reasons mentioned included: a routine personal hand hygiene behaviour and discomfort if not washing hands. The top three reasons why they did not disinfect hands were forgetfulness, unavailability of sanitizers and negligence. Adherence to hand hygiene practice was found to be low, with forgetfulness and negligence being the major contributing factors. A hospital-wide multifaceted program aiming at clinicians and

Review-article of ALEXANDRA-KYRIAKI WASSILIOU-SEIBT, Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Teil 1: Einleitung, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My, Wien 2011. 619 p. with 8 plates of 80 b/w photos. ISBN 978-2-503-53443-5

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Ολγα ΚΑΡΑΓΙΩΡΓΟΥ

2014-02-01

Full Text Available 72 1024x768 Normal 0 false false false EL X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Κανονικός πίνακας"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Review-article of Alexandra-Kyriaki Wassiliou-Seibt, Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Teil 1: Einleitung, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My, Wien 2011. 619 p. with 8 plates of 80 b/w photos. ISBN 978-2-503-53443-5

Superfund at work: Hazardous waste cleanup efforts nationwide, spring 1993 (Radium Chemical Site profile, Queens, New York)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The Radium Chemical hazardous waste site in Queens, New York was contaminated with radium, posing a grave potential threat to the community. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used the Superfund program to design a long-term cleanup for the site using input from citizens and the business community. Superfund staff: Mobilized a quick cleanup action to remove 10,000 small containers of radium; Developed a streamlined approach to long-term cleanup; Secured the site to reduce the possibility of radiation exposure to the local residents; Cooperated with the community to design a well-organized emergency response plan; and Educated local citizens about site hazards, incorporating community concerns into the cleanup process. The Radium Chemical site is a clear example of EPA's effective management and problem-solving strategies at Superfund sites

Declining densities and reproductive activities of the queen conch Strombus gigas (Mesogastropoda: Strombidae in Banco Chinchorro, Eastern Caribbean, Mexico

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Alberto De Jesús Navarrete

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Queen conch is a gastropod inhabiting the Caribbean Sea, it represents the second largest fishery after the spiny lobster, but it has been extensively captured in the area. In order to know its population status in Chinchorro Bank, we determined conch density changes and its effects on reproductive activities, between July and November 2009. For this, data on conch density, morphology and reproductive activities were obtained from 15 sites within three fishing zones, and compared with previously collected data (1990, 1992, 1994, and 1997. Data showed that adult density decreased with time, from 10 700ind./ha in 1990, to 198ind./h in 2009. Neither egg masses nor spawns were found and mating was only observed once in July 2009. In July, adult (lip>4mm density in the Southern zone was 23ind./ha whereas in the Northern zone and Central zone densities were 15 and 9ind./ha respectively. In November, density was somewhat higher: Southern zone 96ind./ha; Central zone 39ind./ha and Northern zone had 38ind./ha. In July, mean shell length was 170.80±46.28mm, with a higher median abundance at 180-189mm. In November, higher frequency was 187.63±45.14mm, maximum at 210-219mm interval. For the last 10 years period, mean adult conch densities have diminished in each zone, which might be the main cause of decreased reproductive activities of the conch at Banco Chinchorro. It is therefore an immediate need to analyse the management plan for this species in this Reserve and perhaps to promote a re-population of queen conch and culture activities. Rev. Biol. Trop. 61 (4: 1671-1679. Epub 2013 December 01.

A petrogenetic model of the relationships among achondritic meteorites

Science.gov (United States)

Stolper, E.; Hays, J. F.; Mcsween, H. Y., Jr.

1979-01-01

Petrological evidence is used to support the hypothesis that although the magma source regions and parent bodies of basaltic achondrite, shergottite, nakhlite, and chassignite meteorites are clearly distinct, they may be simply related. It is proposed that the peridotites which on partial melting generated the parent magmas of the shergottite meteorites differed from those which gave rise to eucritic magmas by being enriched in a component rich in alkalis and other volatiles. Similarly, the source regions of the parent magmas of the nakhlite and chassignite meteorites differed from those on the shergottite parent body by being still richer in this volatile-rich component. These regions could have been related by processes such as mixture of variable amounts of volatile-rich and volatile-poor components in planetary or nebular settings, or alternatively by variable varying degrees of volatile loss from volatile-rich materials.

A Sinner or a Saint: the image of Mary, Queen of Scots in the works of Friedrich Schiller, Juliusz Słowacki and Stefan Zweig

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Melkov Andrey Sergeevich

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The artistic image of Mary, Queen of Scots in the works of F. Schiller, J. Słowacki and S. Zweig are researched in the article. The Queen’s life, character, inner world and psychological portrait appear on the pages of the classicists’ works in the context of the era she lived. The turbulent historical processes that took place in England and Scotland at the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Early Modern Period led to the phenomenon of Mary Stuart’s personality. Obviously the creativity of the authors whose works were dedicated to Mary I of Scotland was influenced by the experience learned from the lessons of their time. It was reflected in the classicists’ analyses and description of the past. Romanticistsof the 19th century, F. Schiller and J. Słowacki, interpreted the personality of Mary Stuart in the sinner/saint dichotomy, but S. Zweig at the historic break in the 30s of the 20th century departed from the unilateralism of such an approach. In his romanced biography of Mary, Queen of Scots he tells about the rises and falls of his heroine. S. Zweig presents Mary I of Scotland as a wonderful, passionate and suffering woman, who even 400 years after her death inspires and excites peoples’ minds and hearts.

Adopting a blended approach to learning: Experiences from Radiography at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cockbain, M.M.; Blyth, C.M.; Bovill, C.; Morss, K.

2009-01-01

The perspective of the radiography teaching team at Queen Margaret University (QMU) was that a transmission mode of programme delivery was sub-optimal in helping students to learn and make links between theory and practice. Programme redesign adopted a blended learning approach with both face-to-face and online learning aimed at enhancing the students' control over their own learning. Online tasks within Web Classroom Tools (WebCT) were used as an integral part of careful programme design, which resulted in a programme enabling synthesis of the skills, knowledge and competencies acquired in the academic and clinical environments. With the move towards a more learner-centred, blended educational experience for the students the lecturers' role shifted to that of facilitator with WebCT providing the tutor with a more transparent view of student learning. Lecturers plan learning activities that build upon the skills students have developed through learning in groups, online and in class. The explicit connections that now exist between the academic programme and the opportunities for applying knowledge in practice allow students to engage more deeply in their learning.

Newborn transport in South Australia, 1978-80: experience of the Queen Victoria Hospital, Adelaide.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, A G; Fitzgerald, A M; Dahlenburg, G W

1982-01-23

389 infants were transported to the Queen Victoria Hospital, Adelaide between 1978 and 1980. Twenty-three percent (99) of the infants were ventilated, and 49% (189) received intravenous or intra-arterial therapy. Fifty-six percent (217) of the infants required transport because of prematurity; 11% (46) because of perinatal asphyxia in babies weighing more than 2,500 g. Only one baby died during transport, while 14% of the babies died subsequently. A core temperature of less than 36 degrees C in either hospital is important; a cold baby is 3.5 times more likely to die (X2=25.46, P less than 0.001). The transport of babies over distances greater than 300 kilometres is peculiar to Australia. Significantly more of these babies were cold than those retrieved from hospitals near Adelaide (X2=4.7, P less than 0.05), and significantly more died. Difficulty in transferring mothers in preterm labour may be another reason these babies did relatively badly. Better education and facilities will be important if we are to improve their survival chances.

A study on the isolation of protoplasts from mesophyll cells of Dendrobium Queen Pink

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aqeel, R.; Zehra, M.; Kazmi, S. K.; Khan, S.

2016-01-01

Protoplasts were successfully isolated from one month old In vitro grown plantlets of Dendrobium cultivar Queen pink. The enzyme solution used was composed of 1 percent Cellulase Onozuka R-10, 0.5 percent Macerozyme R-10, 0.1 percent Pectinase, 0.3 M mannitol, 10 mM CaCl/sub 2/.2H/sub 2/O and 10 mM 2 (N-morpholino)-ethanesulfonic acid (MES) at pH 5.8. Protoplast highest yield with 15.7x104 protoplasts per 1.5 gm freshly chopped leaves were obtained when digested in enzyme solution for 4 hrs on a rotary shaker with an agitation speed of 45 rpm in dark conditions. Protoplasts were filtered with 45 micro m nylon sieve and washed with 0.3 M mannitol solution supplemented with 10 mM CaCl/sub 2/.2H/sub 2/O and 10 mM MES, and purified with 0.3 M sucrose solution gradient. Purification of protoplasts on a sucrose mannitol gradient yielded clean protoplasts that were free from debris. (author)

Insights into the role of age and social interactions on the sexual attractiveness of queens in an eusocial bee, Melipona flavolineata (Apidae, Meliponini)

Science.gov (United States)

Veiga, Jamille Costa; Menezes, Cristiano; Contrera, Felipe Andrés León

2017-04-01

The attraction of sexual partners is a vital necessity among insects, and it involves conflict of interests and complex communication systems among male and female. In this study, we investigated the developing of sexual attractiveness in virgin queens (i.e., gynes) of Melipona flavolineata, an eusocial stingless bee. We followed the development of sexual attractiveness in 64 gynes, belonging to seven age classes (0, 3, 6, 9, 15, 18 days post-emergence), and we also evaluated the effect of different social interactions (such as competition between queens and interactions with workers) on the development of attractiveness in other 60 gynes. We used the number of males that tried to mate with a focal gyne as a representative variable of its sexual attractiveness. During the essays, each gyne was individually presented to 10 sexually mature males, and during 3 min, we counted the number of males that everted their genitalia in response to the presence of a gyne. Here, we show that M. flavolineata gynes are capable to (i) maintain their sexual attractiveness for long periods through adult life, (ii) they need a minimum social interaction to trigger the development of sexual attractiveness, and (iii) that gynes express this trait only within a social context. We conclude that the effective occurrence of matings is conditional on potential social interactions that gynes experienced before taking the nuptial flight, when they are still in the nest. These findings bring insights into the factors determining reproductive success in social insects.

Myth and memory in the “queen of dreams”

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Gloria Montero

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Aristotle said that where the historian tells us what took place, the poet tells us how it came about. More recently, Gore Vidal defined ‘memoir’ as how one remembers one’s own life as distinct from an autobiography which is history, requiring research into dates and facts which must be double-checked. Memory and Myth play an important role in memoir, allowing the writer to incorporate the real underpinnings of a story that has been lived through rather than simply the account of a sequence of actual events. It might also be argued that the patina of memory that coats the ‘memoir’, as distinct from autobiography, might indeed add its own dimension, taking the account of something very real into a more surreal space. What I call my Rora stories published in Spanish under the title Todas Esas Guerras-- All Those Wars – have never appeared as a collection in English but have been published separately in literary journals. These stories, the very closest I think I will ever come to writing autobiography, grew out of a need to explore my own background – so fragmented in terms of geography, history and culture – at a time when, as a writer, I felt the desperate need to find out exactly who this multicultural person with her mixed baggage might be. The Queen of Dreams, one of the stories in the collection, uses the memory of the child Rora as she attempts to understand the drama and magic of sexuality and love in a grown-up, intolerant world at war. While the story explores the child’s personal history, it also reflects the psyche of Australia at that particular moment.

Dame Maud McCarthy (1859-1949): Matron-in-Chief, British Expeditionary Forces France and Flanders, First World War.

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Rosemary; Shields, Linda

2016-11-01

Emma Maud McCarthy was one of the most decorated nurses of the First World War. Born in Sydney in 1859, she trained as a nurse at The London Hospital in England. She was one of the first nurses to go to the South African War and in 1914 was one of the first members of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service. Maud McCarthy went to France as Matron-in-Chief of British, Colonial and US nursing services until the end of hostilities in 1918. After the First World War she became Matron-in-Chief of the Territorial Army Nursing Service and retired five years later. She was appointed Dame Grand Cross in 1918 and earned awards from Britain, France, Belgium and America. Her influence on nursing was profound. One of the first senior nurses to recognise the impact of war on minds, she set up separate units for men who had self-harmed and she pioneered nurse anaesthetists in the British Armed Forces. Dame Maud McCarthy was an administrator par excellence whose determination to provide the best conditions possible for both her nurses and the men for whom they cared made possible the highest standards of nursing care in the First World War. © The Author(s) 2015.

Temperature profile data collected using XBTs from the QUEENS WAY BRIDGE from the Pacific Ocean during the Thermal Structure Monitoring Program in the Pacific (TRANSPAC) project, 1977-07-02 to 1977-07-09 (NODC Accession 8100225)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature profile data were collected using bathythermograph (BT/XBT) casts from QUEENS WAY BRIDGE in the Pacific Ocean from July 2, 1977 to July 9, 1977. Data...

Dona Amélia Queen Reformatory: A sanatorium for weak children

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do Nascimento, Dilene Raimundo

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This article intends to examine the conditions of the city of Rio de Janeiro, regarding the city's health safety or the living and housing conditions of its workers, which helped bringing about the spread of tuberculosis in the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Evidencing the high incidence of tuberculosis at this time, it intends to verify the reasons for creating the Brazilian League Against Tuberculosis and its purpose, analyzing its project of assistance to children's health and its intervention to discipline, which resulted in the creation of the Dona Amélia Queen Reformatory.

Este artigo pretende examinar as condições da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, seja no que diz respeito à insalubridade da cidade seja em relação às condições de vida e moradia dos seus trabalhadores, que propiciavam a disseminação da tuberculose no final do século XIX e início do XX. Constatando-se a alta incidência da tuberculose nessa época, pretende-se verificar a motivação de criação e o propósito da Liga Brasileira contra a Tuberculose e analisar o seu projeto de assistência à saúde das crianças e sua intervenção disciplinar, que resultou na criação do Preventório Rainha Dona Amélia.

Evidence of shallow gas in the Queen Charlotte Basin from waveform tomography of seismic reflection data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takam Takougang, Eric M.; Calvert, Andrew J. [Simon Fraser University (Canada)], email: eta9@sfu.ca

2011-07-01

The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) collected eight seismic reflection lines in 1988 across the Queen Charlotte sedimentary basin of western Canada, which is the largest tertiary basin on the west coast. This work furthers the study of the upper part of the basin by using quantitative imaging of its structure through application of 2-D waveform tomography to the limited offset seismic reflection data. With the help of waveform tomography, seismic reflection data has allowed the identification of pockmark structures and pipe-like gas chimney in the recovered velocity and attenuation models. Overall, there is an excellent match between field data and predicted data. and a good match between the sonic log and a 1-D velocity function derived from the 2-D velocity model. This shows that specific preconditioning of the data and a good inversion strategy make it possible to use waveform tomography of relatively short offset reflection data for the imaging of shallow geological features.

Growth and population assessment of the queen conch Strombus gigas (Mesogastropoda: Strombidae by capture mark-recapture sampling in a natural protected area of the Mexican Caribbean

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Joanne Rebecca Peel

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The Inlet of Xel-Ha is used as a park for ecotourism, representing a sanctuary for the conservation of Pink Queen Conch. Increasing fishing pressure has led to the inclusion of the species in CITES. Most knowledge about the growth of the queen conch was generated through aquaculture, ocean enclosures or obtained using estimates derived from population dynamics. In this study we estimated the growth rate of juvenile S. gigas in a natural protected area by direct methods, during the period of April 2009 to January 2011. Data was obtained by capture-mark-recapture sampling. 1418 individuals were tagged and growth of 714 conchs was analyzed. Population size and density was estimated using Schnabel’s method. The average density was estimated at 0.1694 ± 0.0996ind. m-2, while the highest density was estimated for September 2010 (0.3074ind. m-2. The highest growth rate (0.27 ± 0.10mm day-1 was detected in juveniles with an initial size between 100-149mm, followed by conch 200mm (0.08 ± 0.07mm day-1. Variability in growth rate was high in conch 100-149mm and showed seasonal differences, with the highest growth rate in May 2010. Recruitment of juveniles was highest in October 2009 and February 2010. The population of Xel-Ha has grown in size and more large and juvenile conch could be found than in previous studies, indicating that Xel-ha park is working as a sanctuary for the conservation of the queen conch in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The growth rate of juvenile conch in Xel-Ha is high and exhibits large variations in individuals, reflecting the natural conditions of foraging and aggregation. Seasonal differences in growth rate may be associated with water quality and availability of nutrients for primary production. We conclude that the direct method is useful for the assessment of growth in juvenile S. gigas and that growth in natural conditions may be higher than in aquaculture systems. This information may be applied to fishery management as

The Big Rust and the Red Queen: Long-Term Perspectives on Coffee Rust Research.

Science.gov (United States)

McCook, Stuart; Vandermeer, John

2015-09-01

Since 2008, there has been a cluster of outbreaks of the coffee rust (Hemileia vastatrix) across the coffee-growing regions of the Americas, which have been collectively described as the Big Rust. These outbreaks have caused significant hardship to coffee producers and laborers. This essay situates the Big Rust in a broader historical context. Over the past two centuries, coffee farmers have had to deal with the "curse of the Red Queen"-the need to constantly innovate in the face of an increasing range of threats, which includes the rust. Over the 20th century, particularly after World War II, national governments and international organizations developed a network of national, regional, and international coffee research institutions. These public institutions played a vital role in helping coffee farmers manage the rust. Coffee farmers have pursued four major strategies for managing the rust: bioprospecting for resistant coffee plants, breeding resistant coffee plants, chemical control, and agroecological control. Currently, the main challenge for researchers is to develop rust control strategies that are both ecologically and economically viable for coffee farmers, in the context of a volatile, deregulated coffee industry and the emergent challenges of climate change.

Groundwater availability in the Crouch Branch and McQueen Branch aquifers, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, 1900-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Bruce G.; Landmeyer, James E.

2014-01-01

Chesterfield County is located in the northeastern part of South Carolina along the southern border of North Carolina and is primarily underlain by unconsolidated sediments of Late Cretaceous age and younger of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Approximately 20 percent of Chesterfield County is in the Piedmont Physiographic Province, and this area of the county is not included in this study. These Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments compose two productive aquifers: the Crouch Branch aquifer that is present at land surface across most of the county and the deeper, semi-confined McQueen Branch aquifer. Most of the potable water supplied to residents of Chesterfield County is produced from the Crouch Branch and McQueen Branch aquifers by a well field located near McBee, South Carolina, in the southwestern part of the county. Overall, groundwater availability is good to very good in most of Chesterfield County, especially the area around and to the south of McBee, South Carolina. The eastern part of Chesterfield County does not have as abundant groundwater resources but resources are generally adequate for domestic purposes. The primary purpose of this study was to determine groundwater-flow rates, flow directions, and changes in water budgets over time for the Crouch Branch and McQueen Branch aquifers in the Chesterfield County area. This goal was accomplished by using the U.S. Geological Survey finite-difference MODFLOW groundwater-flow code to construct and calibrate a groundwater-flow model of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Chesterfield County. The model was created with a uniform grid size of 300 by 300 feet to facilitate a more accurate simulation of groundwater-surface-water interactions. The model consists of 617 rows from north to south extending about 35 miles and 884 columns from west to east extending about 50 miles, yielding a total area of about 1,750 square miles. However, the active part of the modeled area, or the part where groundwater flow is simulated

Changes in the structure and pigmentation of the eyes of honeybee (Apis mellifera L. queens with the "limão" mutation

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José Chaud-Netto

2000-03-01

Full Text Available This study describes the ultrastructural differences between the compound eyes of ch li/ch li and Ch/ch li honeybee queens. Heterozygous "limão" bees had an almost normal ultrastructural organization of the ommatidia, but there were some alterations, including small vacuoles in the crystalline cones and a loss of pigment by primary pigmentary cells. In homozygous bees many ommatidia had very deformed crystalline cones and there were some bipartite rhabdoma. There was a reduction in the amount of pigment in the primary and secondary pigmentary cells and receptor cells (retinulae of mutant eyes. However, the eyes of both heterozygous and homozygous queens had the same type of pigment granules. Certain membrane-limited structures containing pigment granules and electron-dense material appeared to be of lysosomal nature. Since these structures occurred in the retinular cells of mutant eyes, they were considered to be multivesicular bodies responsible for the reduction in rhabdom volume in the presence of light, as a type of adaptation to brightness. The reduction of pigment in the pigmentary and retinular cells and the morphological changes seen in the rhabdom of the ommatidia may originate visual deficiencies, which could explain the behavioral modifications reported for Apis mellifera queens with mutant eye color.Este estudo descreve as diferenças ultra-estruturais entre os olhos compostos de rainhas de abelhas de genótipo ch li/ch li e Ch/ch li. Foram registradas diferenças na organização do omatídeo e na pigmentação geral dos dois tipos de olhos. As abelhas heterozigotas apresentaram organização ultra-estrutural dos omatídeos praticamente normal. Contudo, foram observadas algumas alterações nos cones cristalinos, particularmente a presença de pequenos vacúolos nas células dos cones e perda de pigmento pelas células pigmentares primárias. Nas abelhas homozigotas foram encontrados vários omatídeos com cones cristalinos muito

Glaciation history of Queen Maud Land (Antarctica) – New exposure data from nunataks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strub, E.; Wiesel, H. [Division of Nuclear Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne (Germany); Delisle, G. [Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover (Germany); Binnie, S.A.; Liermann, A.; Dunai, T.J. [Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Cologne, Cologne (Germany); Herpers, U. [Division of Nuclear Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne (Germany); Dewald, A.; Heinze, S. [Institute of Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne, Cologne (Germany); Christl, M. [Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Coenen, H.H. [Division of Nuclear Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne (Germany); Institute of Nuclear Chemistry (INM-5), Research Centre Jülich (Germany)

2015-10-15

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for the Wohlthat Massif (Antarctica), have previously been determined. This was done with {sup 10}Be and {sup 26}Al measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at the AMS facility at the ETH Zurich. In order to determine the extent to which the results from the Wohlthat Massif are of regional significance, additional samples were collected during the 2007 BGR-expedition “Queenmet”. Two of the Steingarden Nunataks (isolated mountain peaks) were chosen as sampling locations, approximately 100 km south-east of the Wohlthat Massif/Queen Maud Land, at the edge of the Polar Plateau. Quartz rich samples were collected at different elevations on the nunataks to reconstruct an elevation-dependent exposure history. The in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides {sup 10}Be and {sup 26}Al in these samples were measured by AMS. During sample processing the quartz separates were prepared by two different methods (Kohl and Nishiizumi, 1992, Altmaier, 2000) and measurements were performed at two different facilities (CologneAMS und Zurich AMS) to confirm the reproducibility of the results. The new results of rock surface exposure ages reveal that the exposure of the lower nunatak to cosmic radiation started between 0.65 and 1.1 Ma ago, while the more elevated regions of the second nunatak were apparently above the ice 3–4 Ma ago.

How counterfactuals of Red-Queen theory shed light on science and its historiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Dagg, Joachim L

2017-08-01

A historical episode of evolutionary theory, which has lead to the Red Queen theory of the evolutionary maintenance of sex, includes two striking contingencies. These are used to explore alternative what-if scenarios, in order to test some common opinions about such counterfactuals. This sheds new light on the nature of science and its historiography. One counterfactual leads to an unexpected convergence of its result to that of the actual science but, nevertheless, differs in its causal structure. The other diverges towards an incompatible alternative, but this requires further contingent choices that also diverge from actual science. The convergence in the first counterfactual is due to a horizontal transfer of knowledge. Similar transfers of knowledge are typical for innovations of actual science. This suggests that contingent choices can merge as well as fork research traditions both in actual research and counterfactual history. Neither the paths of the actual history of science nor those of its counterfactual alternatives will form a tree of exclusively diverging bifurcations, but a network instead. Convergencies in counterfactuals may, therefore, be due to the web-structure of science as much as to the aims of the historians in question. Furthermore, the difference in causal structure between the actual science and its convergent counterfactual might become diagnostic for external factors rather than internal aims forcing a historian towards convergence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A histochemical and X-ray microanalysis study of calcium changes in insect flight muscle degeneration in Solenopsis, the queen fire ant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, R.G.; Davis, W.L.; Vinson, S.B.

1982-01-01

Potassium pyroantimonate histochemistry, coupled with ethyleneglycoltetraacetic acid (EGTA)-chelation and X-ray microprobe analysis, was employed to localize intracellular calcium binding sites in the normal and degenerating flight musculature in queens of Solenopsis, the fire ant. In normal animals, calcium distribution was light to moderate within myofibrils and mitochondria. In the early contracture stages of the insemination-induced degeneration, both myofilament and mitochondrial calcium loading was markedly increased. In the terminal stages of myofibril breakdown, only Z-lines (isolated or in clusters) with an associated filamentous residue persisted. These complexes were also intensely calcium positive. This study further documents the presence of increased sarcoplasmic calcium during muscle necrosis. Surface membrane defects, mitochondrial calcium overload, and calcium-activated proteases may all be involved in this ''normal'' breakdown process

Influence of obliquely subducting slab on Pacific-North America shear motion inferred from seismic anisotropy along the Queen Charlotte margin

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, L.; Kao, H.; Wang, K.; Wang, Z.

2016-12-01

Haida Gwaii is located along the transpressive Queen Charlotte margin between the Pacific (PA) and North America (NA) plates. The highly oblique relative plate motion is partitioned, with the strike-slip component accommodated by the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) and the convergent component by a thrust fault offshore. To understand how the presence of a obliquely subducting slab influences shear deformation of the plate boundary, we investigate mantle anisotropy by analyzing shear-wave splitting of teleseismic SKS phases recorded at 17 seismic stations in and around Haida Gwaii. We used the MFAST program to determine the polarization direction of the fast wave (φ) and the delay time (δt) between the fast and slow phases. The fast directions derived from stations on Haida Gwaii and two stations to the north on the Alaska Panhandle are predominantly margin-parallel (NNW). However, away from the plate boundary, the fast direction transitions to WSW-trending, very oblique or perpendicular to the plate boundary. Because the average delay time of 0.6-2.45 s is much larger than values based on an associated local S phase splitting analysis in the same study area, it is reasonable to infer that most of the anisotropy from our SKS analysis originates from the upper mantle and is associated with lattice-preferred orientation of anisotropic minerals. The margin-parallel fast direction within about 100 km of the QCF (average φ = -40º and δt = 1.2 s) is likely induced by the PA-NA shear motion. The roughly margin-normal fast directions farther away, although more scatterd, are consistent with that previously observed in the NA continent and are attributed to the absolute motion of the NA plate. However, the transition between the two regimes based on our SKS analysis appears to be gradual, suggesting that the plate boundary shear influences a much broader region at mantle depths than would be inferred from the surface trace of the QCF. We think this is due to the presence

Unrecognized circulation of SAT 1 foot-and-mouth disease virus in cattle herds around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dhikusooka, Moses Tefula; Ayebazibwe, Chrisostom; Namatovu, Alice

2016-01-01

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in Uganda in spite of the control measures used. Various aspects of the maintenance and circulation of FMD viruses (FMDV) in Uganda are not well understood; these include the role of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) as a reservoir for FMDV. To better...... understand the epidemiology of FMD at the livestock-wildlife-interface, samples were collected from young, unvaccinated cattle from 24 pastoral herds that closely interact with wildlife around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, and analysed for evidence of FMDV infection. In total, 37 (15 %) of 247...... serum samples had detectable antibodies against FMDV non-structural proteins (NSPs) using a pan-serotypic assay. Within these 37 sera, antibody titres ≥ 80 against the structural proteins of serotypes O, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3 were detected by ELISA in 5, 7, 4 and 3 samples, respectively, while...

Renal Impairment and Complication After Kidney Transplant at Queen Rania Abdulla Children's Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Almardini, Reham Issa; Salita, Ghazi Mohamad; Farah, Mahdi Qasem; Katatbeh, Issa Ahmad; Al-Rabadi, Katibh

2017-02-01

Kidney transplant is the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease, but it is not without complications. We review the medical cause of significant renal impairment and complications that developed after kidney transplant in pediatric patients who required hospital admission and intervention and/or who were followed between 2007 and 2016. A retrospective noninterventional chart review study was conducted in pediatric patients who received a kidney transplant and/or followed at the nephrology clinic at Queen Rania Abdulla Children's Hospital between 2007 and 2016. In this study, 101 pediatric patients received a total of 103 transplants. Forty-eight patients (47%) experienced deterioration of kidney function out of a total of 53 episodes of complications; 37 of these episodes occurred early (0-6 mo after transplant), and 26 episodes occurred late. The causes of kidney function deterioration were surgical complications, acute tubular necrosis, cell- or antibody-mediated rejection, diabetes mellitus, urinary leak, recurrence of original disease, and chronic allograft nephropathy. Thirteen patients experienced graft loss; 50% of these losses were secondary to noncompliance to immunosuppressant medication treatment after transplant. A total of six patients died; 2 (23%) of these deaths occurred in the first week after transplant, whereas the other 4 patients died over a period of 10 years. Pediatric kidney transplant is not without complications; however, most of these complications are treatable and reversible. The most serious complications leading to graft loss and death occur early, in the first week after transplant. Improving immunosuppressant compliance after transplant would prevent 50% of graft losses.

Altjeringa and didgeridoo: Australian Identity Devices on Polyphonic Spatiality of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Stephan Elliott

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Alves Santana

2016-06-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2016v69n2p127 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994 is an Australian film directed by Stephan Elliott. It expresses socio- and aesthetically a perspective of devices that produce contemporary subjectivities in Australia. In this article, some aspects of the production of such subjectivities shall be discussed in terms of possible cross mobilities, present in relations strained by spatiality - in their lieux and non-lieux, lieux lisse and lieux strié (AUGÉ, 1992; 1997; 2006; Deleuze, 1997 - traveled by the trio of protagonists who, in the trip from Sydney to Alice Springs, meet an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Outback. Among Altjeringa and the didgeridoo, we will follow this meeting between homoaffective and ancestral identities, which, on a certain semantic level of this film, indicates contexts of political and cultural negotiations in the historical and imaginative nation building process (Anderson, 2006, carried out by the stratified Australian society.

Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson. Wilson's disease, Queen Square and neurology.

Science.gov (United States)

Broussolle, E; Trocello, J-M; Woimant, F; Lachaux, A; Quinn, N

2013-12-01

This historical article describes the life and work of the British physician Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson (1878-1937), who was one of the world's greatest neurologists of the first half of the 20th century. Early in his career, Wilson spent one year in Paris in 1903 where he learned from Pierre-Marie at Bicêtre Hospital. He subsequently retained uninterrupted links with French neurology. He also visited in Leipzig the German anatomist Paul Flechsig. In 1904, Wilson returned to London, where he worked for the rest of his life at the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic (later the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, and today the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery) in Queen Square, and also at Kings' College Hospital. He wrote on 'the old motor system and the new', on disorders of motility and muscle tone, on the epilepsies, on aphasia, apraxia, tics, and pathologic laughing and crying, and most importantly on Wilson's disease. The other objective of our paper is to commemorate the centenary of Wilson's most important work published in 1912 in Brain, and also in Revue Neurologique, on an illness newly recognized and characterized by him entitled "Progressive lenticular degeneration, a familial nervous disease associated with liver cirrhosis". He analyzed 12 clinical cases, four of whom he followed himself, but also four cases previously published by others and a further two that he considered in retrospect had the same disease as he was describing. The pathological profile combined necrotic damage in the lenticular nuclei of the brain and hepatic cirrhosis. This major original work is summarized and discussed in the present paper. Wilson not only delineated what was later called hepato-lenticular degeneration and Wilson's disease, but also introduced for the first time the terms extrapyramidal syndrome and extrapyramidal system, stressing the role of the basal ganglia in motility. The present historical work emphasizes the special

William P. Barnett e a Evolução da Competição: A Teoria da Red Queen

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Thiago de Luca Sant'ana Ribeiro

2017-12-01

Full Text Available O livro “The Red Queen among organizations: how competitiveness evolves” sintetiza e estende diversos trabalhos nos quais William P. Barnett estuda a competição entre empresas, com base na ideia de que as organizações aprendem através do ato de competir e que, ao fazê-lo, se tornam competidores mais fortes ao longo do tempo. Uma resenha deste livro é aqui apresentada, sumarizando a teoria desenvolvida por Barnett e os testes empíricos que o autor realizou para o validação das suas hipóteses principais em duas indústrias, com resultados parcialmente confirmatórios. Em complemento à exposição da teoria e dos seus testes, são apresentados também os resultados de uma pesquisa bibliométrica realizada na base ISI Web of Science, que investiga  o impacto da obra de Barnett e sua influência sobre diferentes linhas de pesquisa voltadas à competição entre empresas. 

Brain transcriptomes of honey bees (Apis mellifera experimentally infected by two pathogens: Black queen cell virus and Nosema ceranae

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Vincent Doublet

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Regulation of gene expression in the brain plays an important role in behavioral plasticity and decision making in response to external stimuli. However, both can be severely affected by environmental factors, such as parasites and pathogens. In honey bees, the emergence and re-emergence of pathogens and potential for pathogen co-infection and interaction have been suggested as major components that significantly impaired social behavior and survival. To understand how the honey bee is affected and responds to interacting pathogens, we co-infected workers with two prevalent pathogens of different nature, the positive single strand RNA virus Black queen cell virus (BQCV, and the Microsporidia Nosema ceranae, and explored gene expression changes in brains upon single infections and co-infections. Our data provide an important resource for research on honey bee diseases, and more generally on insect host-pathogen and pathogen-pathogen interactions. Raw and processed data are publicly available in the NCBI/GEO database: (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/ under accession number GSE81664.

The four hexamerin genes in the honey bee: structure, molecular evolution and function deduced from expression patterns in queens, workers and drones.

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Martins, Juliana R; Nunes, Francis M F; Cristino, Alexandre S; Simões, Zilá L P; Bitondi, Márcia M G

2010-03-26

Hexamerins are hemocyanin-derived proteins that have lost the ability to bind copper ions and transport oxygen; instead, they became storage proteins. The current study aimed to broaden our knowledge on the hexamerin genes found in the honey bee genome by exploring their structural characteristics, expression profiles, evolution, and functions in the life cycle of workers, drones and queens. The hexamerin genes of the honey bee (hex 70a, hex 70b, hex 70c and hex 110) diverge considerably in structure, so that the overall amino acid identity shared among their deduced protein subunits varies from 30 to 42%. Bioinformatics search for motifs in the respective upstream control regions (UCRs) revealed six overrepresented motifs including a potential binding site for Ultraspiracle (Usp), a target of juvenile hormone (JH). The expression of these genes was induced by topical application of JH on worker larvae. The four genes are highly transcribed by the larval fat body, although with significant differences in transcript levels, but only hex 110 and hex 70a are re-induced in the adult fat body in a caste- and sex-specific fashion, workers showing the highest expression. Transcripts for hex 110, hex 70a and hex70b were detected in developing ovaries and testes, and hex 110 was highly transcribed in the ovaries of egg-laying queens. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that HEX 110 is located at the most basal position among the holometabola hexamerins, and like HEX 70a and HEX 70c, it shares potential orthology relationship with hexamerins from other hymenopteran species. Striking differences were found in the structure and developmental expression of the four hexamerin genes in the honey bee. The presence of a potential binding site for Usp in the respective 5' UCRs, and the results of experiments on JH level manipulation in vivo support the hypothesis of regulation by JH. Transcript levels and patterns in the fat body and gonads suggest that, in addition to their primary

Characterization and petrologic interpretation of olivine-rich basalts at Gusev Crater, Mars

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McSween, H.Y.; Wyatt, M.B.; Gellert, Ralf; Bell, J.F.; Morris, R.V.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Crumpler, L.S.; Milam, K.A.; Stockstill, K.R.; Tornabene, L.L.; Arvidson, R. E.; Bartlett, P.; Blaney, D.; Cabrol, N.A.; Christensen, P.R.; Clark, B. C.; Crisp, J.A.; Des Marais, D.J.; Economou, T.; Farmer, J.D.; Farrand, W.; Ghosh, A.; Golombek, M.; Gorevan, S.; Greeley, R.; Hamilton, V.E.; Johnson, J. R.; Joliff, B.L.; Klingelhofer, G.; Knudson, A.T.; McLennan, S.; Ming, D.; Moersch, J.E.; Rieder, R.; Ruff, S.W.; Schrorder, C.; de Souza, P.A.; Squyres, S. W.; Wanke, H.; Wang, A.; Yen, A.; Zipfel, J.

2006-01-01

Rocks on the floor of Gusev crater are basalts of uniform composition and mineralogy. Olivine, the only mineral to have been identified or inferred from data by all instruments on the Spirit rover, is especially abundant in these rocks. These picritic basalts are similar in many respects to certain Martian meteorites (olivine-phyric shergottites). The olivine megacrysts in both have intermediate compositions, with modal abundances ranging up to 20-30%. Associated minerals in both include low-calcium and high-calcium pyroxenes, plagioclase of intermediate composition, iron-titanium-chromium oxides, and phosphate. These rocks also share minor element trends, reflected in their nickel-magnesium and chromium-magnesium ratios. Gusev basalts and shergottites appear to have formed from primitive magmas produced by melting an undepleted mantle at depth and erupted without significant fractionation. However, apparent differences between Gusev rocks and shergottites in their ages, plagioclase abundances, and volatile contents preclude direct correlation. Orbital determinations of global olivine distribution and compositions by thermal emission spectroscopy suggest that olivine-rich rocks may be widespread. Because weathering under acidic conditions preferentially attacks olivine and disguises such rocks beneath alteration rinds, picritic basalts formed from primitive magmas may even be a common component of the Martian crust formed during ancient and recent times. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Dialysis in Barbados: the cost of hemodialysis provision at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital La diálisis en Barbados: el costo de la hemodiálisis en el Queen Elizabeth Hospital

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Sara A. Adomakoh

2004-11-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the health service cost of hemodialysis delivered at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in St. Michael, Barbados. METHODS: A cost analysis was performed from the viewpoint of the tertiary hospital studied here, using treatment protocols based on current practice for establishing vascular access sites (surgical set-up and dialysis maintenance. Cost and patient data were collected for the period from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999. Sixty-four patients were studied and a total of 7 488 hemodialysis sessions were performed in the study period. The costs analyzed were personnel, drug expenditure, supplies (dialysis and nondialysis, inpatient costs, laboratory and other ancillary services, and indirect or overhead costs such as engineering, housekeeping, laundry and administration. RESULTS: The cost per hemodialysis treatment was calculated as US$ 156.64 in the first year and US$ 145.55 in subsequent years. The total cost per patient per year was US$ 18 327.22 in the first year of dialysis including surgical set-up, and US$ 17 029.54 thereafter. Direct costs (determined by patients' utilization of resources and labor costs for physicians and nurses contributed to 80.7% of the total cost. The main expenditures were dialysis-related supplies, labor and overheads. CONCLUSION: These findings are important in the light of limited economic resources available to health services in Caribbean countries coupled with the spiraling prevalence of kidney failure in these countries. Further analyses are recommended to review the provision of renal replacement therapy services in Barbados and to develop plans to expand and optimize services.OBJETIVO: El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el costo, para los servicios sanitarios, de la hemodiálisis realizada en el Queen Elizabeth Hospital de St. Michael, Barbados. MÉTODOS: Realizamos un análisis de costos desde el punto de vista del hospital terciario objeto de este

Matilda, Edgith and Adelaide: conflicts between generations and the doweries of the queens in Germany

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Giovanni Isabella

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The reconstruction of the size and geographical distribution of properties that made up the dowers of the first three Ottonian queens makes possible to see the great importance of these assets, both for their large extension, both for the relevant strategic role dues to their location. Already Henry I, the first king of the dynasty, endowed his wife Matilda with numerous curtes that belonged to the area of oldest and strong presence of the Ottonian family, namely the eastern Saxony and Thuringia. Precisely, the control of these important goods was the cause of the fight between Matilda and her son Otto I when, in 938, the mother supported the claims to the throne of her younger son Henry during a revolt against Otto. The dower of Edgith, the first wife of Otto, was made from the large curtis of Magdeburg, which became a place of great symbolic and political importance thanks to the burial of the royal couple and for its elevation to Archdiocese which was entrusted with the supervision of slavic territories east of the Elbe. The set of the assets granted in Germany by Otto to Adelaide, his second wife, it's difficult to reconstruct in detail, but it was definitely of great extent in continuity with the dower of Matilda, although compared to this the curtes were spread across a wider area encompassing both the eastern Saxony and Thuringia, both Alsace and Franconia.

Results from an acoustic modelling study of seismic airgun survey noise in Queen Charlotte Basin

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MacGillivray, A.O.; Chapman, N.R. [Victoria Univ., BC (Canada). School of Earth and Ocean Sciences

2005-12-07

An acoustic modelling study was conducted to examine seismic survey noise propagation in the Queen Charlotte Basin (QCB) and better understand the physical aspects of sound transmission. The study results are intended to help determine the potential physiological and behavioural effects of airgun noise on marine mammals and fish. The scope of the study included a numerical simulation of underwater sound transmission in QCB in areas where oil and gas exploration activities may be conducted; a forecast of received noise levels by combining acoustic transmission loss computations with acoustic source levels representative of seismic exploration activity and, the use of received forecasts to estimate zones of impact for marine mammals. The critical environmental parameters in the QCB are the bathymetry of the ocean, the sound speed profile in the water and the geoacoustic profile of the seabed. The RAM acoustic propagation model developed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory was used to compute acoustic transmission loss in the QCB. The source level and directionality of the seismic array was determined by a full-waveform array source signature model. This modelling study of noise propagation from seismic surveys revealed several key findings. Among them, it showed that received noise levels in the water are affected by the source location, array orientation and the shape of the sound speed profile with respect to water depth. It also showed that noise levels are lowest in shallow bathymetry. 30 refs., 5 tabs., 13 figs.

Adaptive evolution of a key gene affecting queen and worker traits in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

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Kent, Clement F; Issa, Amer; Bunting, Alexandra C; Zayed, Amro

2011-12-01

The vitellogenin egg yolk precursor protein represents a well-studied case of social pleiotropy in the model organism Apis mellifera. Vitellogenin is associated with fecundity in queens and plays a major role in controlling division of labour in workers, thereby affecting both individual and colony-level fitness. We studied the molecular evolution of vitellogenin and seven other genes sequenced in a large population panel of Apis mellifera and several closely related species to investigate the role of social pleiotropy on adaptive protein evolution. We found a significant excess of nonsynonymous fixed differences between A. mellifera, A. cerana and A. florea relative to synonymous sites indicating high rates of adaptive evolution at vitellogenin. Indeed, 88% of amino acid changes were fixed by selection in some portions of the gene. Further, vitellogenin exhibited hallmark signatures of selective sweeps in A. mellifera, including a significant skew in the allele frequency spectrum, extreme levels of genetic differentiation and linkage disequilibrium. Finally, replacement polymorphisms in vitellogenin were significantly enriched in parts of the protein involved in binding lipid, establishing a link between the gene's structure, function and effects on fitness. Our case study provides unequivocal evidence of historical and ongoing bouts of adaptive evolution acting on a key socially pleiotropic gene in the honey bee. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns in Outpatient Emergency Clinics at Queen Rania Al Abdullah II Children's Hospital, Jordan, 2013.

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Al-Niemat, Sahar I; Aljbouri, Tareq M; Goussous, Lana S; Efaishat, Rania A; Salah, Rehab K

2014-07-01

To investigate antibiotics prescribing patterns in the outpatient pediatric emergency clinic at Queen Rania Al Abdullah II Children's Hospital at Royal Medical Services in Amman, Jordan. The data was collected from the emergency pharmacy over the period of a -five consecutive months. The methodology recommended by the World Health Organization for investigating drug use in a health facility was followed. The study measures the percentage of encounter with a prescribed antibiotic and the percentage share of each antibiotic category. The distribution of diagnostic categories that accounted for all antibiotics being prescribed and the distribution of each antibiotic being prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) were also measured. Antibiotic prescribing was frequent during pediatric visits to the outpatient pediatric emergency clinic resulting in a high percentage of encounters (85%) when compared to appropriate. Emergency physicians continue to frequently prescribe broad spectrum antibiotics which accounted for approximately (60%) of the total prescribed antibiotics and (83%) of prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections and macrolides (primarily azithromycin) were the leading class among them. Our results showed high consumption of antibiotics by emergency department pediatricians which highlight the importance for interventions to promote rational and judicious prescribing. An insight into factors influencing antibiotics prescribing patterns by military prescribers is required.

Nondestructive insights into composition of the sculpture of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti with CT.

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Huppertz, Alexander; Wildung, Dietrich; Kemp, Barry J; Nentwig, Tanja; Asbach, Patrick; Rasche, Franz Maximilian; Hamm, Bernd

2009-04-01

To assess the conservation status of, to gain information on the creation of, and to provide surface reformations of the core and the surface of the bust of the pharaoh-queen Nefertiti, considered to be one of the greatest treasures of ancient Egyptian art, with computed tomography (CT). Multisection CT was performed with 0.6-mm section thickness. Two- and three-dimensional reformations were made to depict the core and the surface separately. The stucco layer on the face and the ears was very thin, a maximum of 1-2 mm thick. The rear part of the reconstructed crown showed two thick stucco layers of different attenuation values, indicating that a multistep process was used to create the sculpture. Within the stucco, a great number of air-equivalent hypoattenuating areas, filamentous fissures parallel to the surface, and an inhomogeneous bonding between the layers were delineated. Nefertiti's inner face was not anonymous, but rather delicately sculpted by the royal sculptor Thutmose. The comparison to the outer face revealed differences, including the angles of the eyelids, creases around the corners of the mouth on the limestone surface, and a slight bump on the ridge of the nose. According to the beauty ideals of the Amarna period, the differences had positive and negative effects and can be read as signs of individualization of the sculpture. The potential material-related weaknesses of the sculpture that were revealed at imaging necessitate careful handling, with the avoidance of any focal pressure and shearing forces in the crown and the shoulders. CT imaging revealed construction techniques in Nefertiti's bust that had implications for conservation, as well as for an understanding of the artistic methods used in the creation of this masterpiece of art of the 18th dynasty.

Cytochemistry of fat body trophocytes and ovaries of workers and queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) during vitellogenesis.

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Paes-de-Oliveira, Vagner Tadeu; Roat, Thaisa Cristina; Berger, Bruno; Da Cruz-Landim, Carminda

2012-12-01

The fat body (FB) of insects is where yolk proteins are synthesized. Therefore, relationships between the FB and oogenesis were studied in nurse workers, virgins, and physogastric queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides, a stingless bee in which the workers produce and lay eggs while provisioning brood cells. The relationships between FB and oogenesis, as well as the routes of materials from hemolymph to the oocytes, were studied through the cytochemical detection of lipids by osmium imidazole (OI), carbohydrates by ruthenium red (RR) and basic proteins by ammoniacal silver (AS). The results show differences in the presence of the studied materials in FB trophocytes and ovary of the classes of females studied and oogenesis phases. Material that tested positive for the treatments was detected among the classes of individuals studied in both, trophocytes and oocytes, and in the route of those materials from hemolymph to the oocytes. The differences found among the individual classes indicate relationships with the nutrition and adaptation to the parsimonious use of nutrients in the metabolism of reproduction. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brad Patterson, Tom Brooking, and Jim McAloon, Unpacking the Kist: The Scots in New Zealand. McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History Series, No. 2.33. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013. Pp. 412. ISBN 978-0-7735-4190-0. CAD $100.00.

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Seán Gerard Brosnahan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Brad Patterson, Tom Brooking, and Jim McAloon, Unpacking the Kist: The Scots in New Zealand. McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History Series, No. 2.33. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013. Pp. 412. ISBN 978-0-7735-4190-0. CAD $100.00.

Substituição natural de rainhas fisogástricas e distância de vôo dos machos em Tiuba (Melipona compressipes fasciculata Smith, 1854 e Uruçu (Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Apidae, Meliponini Natural substitutions of queens and flight distance of males in tiuba (Melipona compressipes fasciculata Smith, 1854 and uruçu (Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Apidae, Meliponini

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Gislene Almeida Carvalho-Zilse

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho relata detalhes da vida reprodutiva de duas espécies de abelhas sem ferrão. Rainhas velhas de Melipona compressipes fasciculata, no Maranhão, morrem e são substituídas com sucesso em todos os meses. Rainhas de Melipona scutellaris, trazidas de Lençóis (BA - nordeste do Brasil para Uberlândia (MG, centro-sudeste do Brasil morreram durante todos os meses e não mostraram a existência de trimestre preferencial para as novas rainhas iniciarem postura. Quarenta machos de M. scutellaris, após serem marcados no tórax e libertados em grupos de 10 a 100, 400, 800 e 1000 metros do meliponário, tiveram seus retornos observados. Todos os machos libertados a 100 e 400 metros regressaram ao meliponário, 7 de 10 machos e 2 de 10 machos retornaram de 800 e 1000 metros, respectivamente. Os machos esperam constantemente pela saída de uma rainha virgem, próximos às colônias órfãs, o que indica que a maioria das rainhas é inseminada próximo aos seus ninhos, portanto, a dispersão dos genes depende do vôo dos machos e da distância de enxameagem para ocupação de uma cavidade para o novo ninho.This work reports on the reproductive life of the stingless bees (Meliponini. Old queens of Melipona compressipes fasciculata in Maranhão State, Brazil die and are successfully substituted by new ones in all months. Queens of Melipona scutellaris from Lençois (BA - northeastern Brazil brought to Uberlândia (Central South eastern Brazil died during all months, and there are no months where new queens are more able to begin egg laying. Forty males of M. scutellaris were marked in the thorax and released in groups of 10 at 100, 400, 800 and 1000 meters from the meliponary and their return to it was observed. All males released at 100 to 400 meters returned, 7 out of 10 and 2 out of 10 males returned respectively from 800 and 1000 meters. Males are constantly waiting for a virgin queen next to orphan colonies, the majority of the queens is

METRIC SURVEY OF THE MONUMENT OF QUEEN ELISENDA'S TOMB IN THE MONASTERY OF PEDRALBES, BARCELONA

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M. A. Núñez

2012-09-01

Full Text Available When an urban development is planned the cartography of this territory is necessary, in the same way before starting a project to rehabilitate a monument the graphic information about it has to be available. At present, different techniques are available which allow to obtain three-dimensional models with a different accuracy level and runtimes.This paper shows the work carried out to obtain the graphic information and three-dimensional models that are necessary for the rehabilitation project of the tomb of Queen Elisenda in the Monastery of Pedralbes, Barcelona (Spain. This monument has the peculiarity of being symmetrical about the wall separating monastery church and the cloister. To do this, different techniques have been used that allow us to obtain an accurate model and as complete as possible, for the analysis of the construction process of the monument. In order to achieve the complete architectural survey the integration of laser scanning and photogrammetric data, and CAD models has been necessary. Due to the detail of the sculptures and the Queen’s sarcophagus two sensors, with different resolution, range and accuracy, have been used to obtain the laser scanning data. Stereo pairs have been taken to obtain the 3D model of these elements to complete the model and obtain an ortophotography.In this way, a comparative analysis of both techniques has been carried out, in order to decide which one is the suitable for certain application. This investigation has been restricted to the tomb, in the two symmetrical parts of the monument.

The clinical pattern of primary hyperoxaluria in pediatric patient at Queen Rania Abdulla Children Hospital.

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Almardini, Reham I; Alfarah, Mahdi G; Salaita, Ghazi M

2014-05-01

Hyperoxaluria is a metabolic disorder that can lead to end stage renal disease (ESRD). It can be either inherited or acquired. Primary hyperoxaluria (PHO) is more common and characterized by an excessive production of oxalate leading to recurrent urolithiasis and progressive nephrocalcinosis. Due to the high rate of consanguineous marriage in Jordan this disease is commonly diagnosed in pediatric nephrology clinics. We aimed to demonstrate the clinical pattern and progression to ESRD in pediatric patients with hyperoxaluria at Queen Rania Abdulla Children Hospital. Medical records of all patients followed up in the pediatric nephrology clinic with the diagnosis of PHO during the period between September 2007 and March 2013 were reviewed. There were 70 patients with the diagnosis of PHO, 52.9% were males. The median age at presentation was 3 years ± 3 months with the youngest child being two months old. Diagnosis was made in the first year of life in 15.7% of patients. The most common presenting symptom was hematuria, while 14% of patients were asymptomatic and detected by family screening after the diagnosis of an index case. At the time of initial presentation, 15.7% of patients had ESRD and 25% had impaired renal function. Kidney stones were found in 57% of cases and nephrocalcinosis was found in 37%. High index of suspicion is needed to diagnose PHO in children presenting with kidney stone or unexplained hematuria. Twenty-four hour urine collection for oxalate are required to make the proper diagnosis. Family screening, when appropriate, is indicated for early detection of PHO.

Resisting majesty: Apis cerana, has lower antennal sensitivity and decreased attraction to queen mandibular pheromone than Apis mellifera

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Dong, Shihao; Wen, Ping; Zhang, Qi; Li, Xinyu; Tan, Ken; Nieh, James

2017-03-01

In highly social bees, queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) is vital for colony life. Both Apis cerana (Ac) and Apis mellifera (Am) share an evolutionarily conserved set of QMP compounds: (E)-9-oxodec-2-enoic acid (9-ODA), (E)-9-hydroxydec-2-enoic acid (9-HDA), (E)-10-hydroxy-dec-2-enoic acid (10-HDA), 10-hydroxy-decanoic acid (10-HDAA), and methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (HOB) found at similar levels. However, evidence suggests there may be species-specific sensitivity differences to QMP compounds because Ac workers have higher levels of ovarian activation than Am workers. Using electroantennograms, we found species-specific sensitivity differences for a blend of the major QMP compounds and three individual compounds (9-HDA, 10-HDAA, and 10-HDA). As predicted, Am was more sensitive than Ac in all cases (1.3- to 2.7- fold higher responses). There were also species differences in worker retinue attraction to three compounds (9-HDA, HOB, and 10-HDA). In all significantly different cases, Am workers were 4.5- to 6.2-fold more strongly attracted than Ac workers were. Thus, Ac workers responded less strongly to QMP than Ac workers, and 9-HDA and 10-HDA consistently elicited stronger antennal and retinue formation responses.

UTERINE PROLAPSE IN QUEEN AND UTERINE PROLAPSO UTERINO EM GATA E RETROFLEXÃO UTERINA EM CADELA

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Giuliano Queiroz Mostachio

2008-10-01

Full Text Available

Obstetrical emergencies are problem in veterinary clinics and hospital. So, the aim of this report is to describe the clinical-surgical aspect of one of them, the uterine prolapse. Complete protrusion and retroflexion of uterus had been diagnosed in a queen and female dog, respectively. After the stabilization of the animals and reduction of the prolapses followed by ovary-hysterectomy, one of the animals came to death due to septicemia and hypovolemic shock. Rapid assessment and intensive treatments are required to sustain the life of the animal.

KEY WORDS: Cat, dog, uterine prolapse, uterine retroflexion.

Binding interaction between a queen pheromone component HOB and pheromone binding protein ASP1 of Apis cerana.

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Weng, Chen; Fu, Yuxia; Jiang, Hongtao; Zhuang, Shulin; Li, Hongliang

2015-01-01

The honeybee's social behavior is closely related to the critical response to pheromone, while pheromone binding proteins (PBPs) play an important role in binding and transferring those pheromones. Here we report one known PBP, antennal special protein 1(ASP1), which has high affinity with a queen mandibular pheromone component, methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (HOB). In this study, multiple fluorescent spectra, UV absorption spectra, circular dichroism (CD) spectra and molecular docking analysis were combined to clarify the binding process. Basically, fluorescence intensity of ASP1 could be considerably quenched by HOB with an appropriate interaction distance (3.1 nm), indicating that a complex, which is more stable in lower temperature, was formed. The fact ΔH < 0, ΔS < 0, by thermodynamic analysis, indicated the van der Waals and hydrogen bond as main driving force. Moreover, synchronous fluorescence spectra and CD spectra analysis showed the change of partial hydrophilicity of ASP1 and the increase of α-helix after HOB addition. In conclusion, ASP1 can strongly and spontaneously interact with HOB. But the binding ability decreases with the rise of temperature, which may be necessary for sufficient social stability of hives. This study provides elucidation of the detailed binding mechanism and potential physicochemical basis of thermal stability to the social behavior of honeybee. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns in Outpatient Emergency Clinics at Queen Rania Al Abdullah II Children's Hospital, Jordan, 2013

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Sahar I. Al-Niemat

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate antibiotics prescribing patterns in the outpatient pediatric emergency clinic at Queen Rania Al Abdullah II Children’s Hospital at Royal Medical Services in Amman, Jordan. Methods: The data was collected from the emergency pharmacy over the period of a -five consecutive months. The methodology recommended by the World Health Organization for investigating drug use in a health facility was followed. The study measures the percentage of encounter with a prescribed antibiotic and the percentage share of each antibiotic category. The distribution of diagnostic categories that accounted for all antibiotics being prescribed and the distribution of each antibiotic being prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs were also measured. Results: Antibiotic prescribing was frequent during pediatric visits to the outpatient pediatric emergency clinic resulting in a high percentage of encounters (85% when compared to appropriate. Emergency physicians continue to frequently prescribe broad spectrum antibiotics which accounted for approximately (60% of the total prescribed antibiotics and (83% of prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections and macrolides (primarily azithromycin were the leading class among them. Conclusion: Our results showed high consumption of antibiotics by emergency department pediatricians which highlight the importance for interventions to promote rational and judicious prescribing. An insight into factors influencing antibiotics prescribing patterns by military prescribers is required.

The four hexamerin genes in the honey bee: structure, molecular evolution and function deduced from expression patterns in queens, workers and drones

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Martins Juliana R

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Hexamerins are hemocyanin-derived proteins that have lost the ability to bind copper ions and transport oxygen; instead, they became storage proteins. The current study aimed to broaden our knowledge on the hexamerin genes found in the honey bee genome by exploring their structural characteristics, expression profiles, evolution, and functions in the life cycle of workers, drones and queens. Results The hexamerin genes of the honey bee (hex 70a, hex 70b, hex 70c and hex 110 diverge considerably in structure, so that the overall amino acid identity shared among their deduced protein subunits varies from 30 to 42%. Bioinformatics search for motifs in the respective upstream control regions (UCRs revealed six overrepresented motifs including a potential binding site for Ultraspiracle (Usp, a target of juvenile hormone (JH. The expression of these genes was induced by topical application of JH on worker larvae. The four genes are highly transcribed by the larval fat body, although with significant differences in transcript levels, but only hex 110 and hex 70a are re-induced in the adult fat body in a caste- and sex-specific fashion, workers showing the highest expression. Transcripts for hex 110, hex 70a and hex70b were detected in developing ovaries and testes, and hex 110 was highly transcribed in the ovaries of egg-laying queens. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that HEX 110 is located at the most basal position among the holometabola hexamerins, and like HEX 70a and HEX 70c, it shares potential orthology relationship with hexamerins from other hymenopteran species. Conclusions Striking differences were found in the structure and developmental expression of the four hexamerin genes in the honey bee. The presence of a potential binding site for Usp in the respective 5' UCRs, and the results of experiments on JH level manipulation in vivo support the hypothesis of regulation by JH. Transcript levels and patterns in the fat body

The four hexamerin genes in the honey bee: structure, molecular evolution and function deduced from expression patterns in queens, workers and drones

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Background Hexamerins are hemocyanin-derived proteins that have lost the ability to bind copper ions and transport oxygen; instead, they became storage proteins. The current study aimed to broaden our knowledge on the hexamerin genes found in the honey bee genome by exploring their structural characteristics, expression profiles, evolution, and functions in the life cycle of workers, drones and queens. Results The hexamerin genes of the honey bee (hex 70a, hex 70b, hex 70c and hex 110) diverge considerably in structure, so that the overall amino acid identity shared among their deduced protein subunits varies from 30 to 42%. Bioinformatics search for motifs in the respective upstream control regions (UCRs) revealed six overrepresented motifs including a potential binding site for Ultraspiracle (Usp), a target of juvenile hormone (JH). The expression of these genes was induced by topical application of JH on worker larvae. The four genes are highly transcribed by the larval fat body, although with significant differences in transcript levels, but only hex 110 and hex 70a are re-induced in the adult fat body in a caste- and sex-specific fashion, workers showing the highest expression. Transcripts for hex 110, hex 70a and hex70b were detected in developing ovaries and testes, and hex 110 was highly transcribed in the ovaries of egg-laying queens. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that HEX 110 is located at the most basal position among the holometabola hexamerins, and like HEX 70a and HEX 70c, it shares potential orthology relationship with hexamerins from other hymenopteran species. Conclusions Striking differences were found in the structure and developmental expression of the four hexamerin genes in the honey bee. The presence of a potential binding site for Usp in the respective 5' UCRs, and the results of experiments on JH level manipulation in vivo support the hypothesis of regulation by JH. Transcript levels and patterns in the fat body and gonads suggest that

A cytogenetic methodology to evaluate in vitro the G2-chromosomal ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2National School of Public Health, Department of Occupational and Industrial Hygiene, 196 Alexandras Avenue, ... In this work, we propose an experimental methodol- ... quinone affects the cell-cycle proliferation kinetics inducing.

How flies respond to honey bee pheromone: the role of the foraging gene on reproductive response to queen mandibular pheromone

Science.gov (United States)

Camiletti, Alison L.; Awde, David N.; Thompson, Graham J.

2014-01-01

In this study we test one central prediction from sociogenomic theory—that social and non-social taxa share common genetic toolkits that regulate reproduction in response to environmental cues. We exposed Drosophila females of rover ( for R) and sitter ( for s) genotypes to an ovary-suppressing pheromone derived from the honeybee Apis mellifera. Surprisingly, queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) affected several measures of fitness in flies, and in a manner comparable to the pheromone's normal effect on bee workers. QMP-treated sitter flies had smaller ovaries that contained fewer eggs than did untreated controls. QMP-treated rover flies, by contrast, showed a more variable pattern that only sometimes resulted in ovary inhibition, while a third strain of fly that contains a sitter mutant allele in a rover background ( for s2) showed no ovarian response to QMP. Taken together, our results suggest that distinctly non-social insects have some capacity to respond to social cues, but that this response varies with fly genotype. In general, the interspecific response is consistent with a conserved gene set affecting reproductive physiology. The differential response among strains in particular suggests that for is itself important for modulating the fly's pheromonal response.

Neurofibromatosis: an update of ophthalmic characteristics and applications of optical coherence tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdolrahimzadeh B

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Barmak Abdolrahimzadeh,1 Domenica Carmen Piraino,2 Giorgio Albanese,2 Filippo Cruciani,2 Siavash Rahimi3 1Polimed Beltramelli Medical Center, Rome, Italy; 2Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Sense Organs, University of Rome “Sapienza”, Rome, Italy; 3Pathology Centre, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK Abstract: Neurofibromatosis (NF is a multisystem disorder and tumor predisposition syndrome caused by genetic mutation on chromosome 17-17q11.2 in NF type 1 (NF1, and on chromosome 22-22q12.2 in NF type 2. The disorder is characterized by considerable heterogeneity of clinical expression. NF1 is the form with the most characteristic ocular manifestations. Lisch nodules of the iris are among the well-known diagnostic criteria for the disease. Glaucoma and associated globe enlargement have been described in a significant proportion of patients with NF1 and orbital–facial involvement. Optic nerve glioma may cause strabismus and proptosis, and palpebral neurofibroma may reach considerable size and occasionally show malignant transformation. Near infrared reflectance has greatly contributed to enhancing our knowledge on choroidal alterations in NF1. Indeed, some authors have proposed to include these among the diagnostic criteria. Optical coherence tomography has given new insight on retinal alterations and is a noninvasive tool in the management of optic nerve gliomas in children. Ocular manifestations in NF type 2 can range from early-onset cataracts in up to 80% of cases to optic nerve hamartomas and combined pigment epithelial and retinal hamartomas. Keywords: neurofibromatosis, ophthalmic, optical coherence tomography, infrared reflectance, choroideal nodules, Lisch nodules

Metal/sulfide-silicate intergrowth textures in EL3 meteorites: Origin by impact melting on the EL parent body

Science.gov (United States)

van Niekerk, Deon; Keil, Klaus

2011-10-01

We document the petrographic setting and textures of Fe,Ni metal, the mineralogy of metallic assemblages, and the modal mineral abundances in the EL3 meteorites Asuka (A-) 881314, A-882067, Allan Hills 85119, Elephant Moraine (EET) 90299/EET 90992, LaPaz Icefield 03930, MacAlpine Hills (MAC) 02635, MAC 02837/MAC 02839, MAC 88136, Northwest Africa (NWA) 3132, Pecora Escarpment 91020, Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 93351/QUE 94321, QUE 94594, and higher petrologic type ELs Dar al Gani 1031 (EL4), Sayh al Uhaymir 188 (EL4), MAC 02747 (EL4), QUE 94368 (EL4), and NWA 1222 (EL5). Large metal assemblages (often containing schreibersite and graphite) only occur outside chondrules and are usually intergrown with silicate minerals (euhedral to subhedral enstatite, silica, and feldspar). Sulfides (troilite, daubréelite, and keilite) are also sometimes intergrown with silicates. Numerous authors have shown that metal in enstatite chondrites that are interpreted to have been impact melted contains euhedral crystals of enstatite. We argue that the metal/sulfide-silicate intergrowths in the ELs we studied were also formed during impact melting and that metal in EL3s thus does not retain primitive (i.e., nebular) textures. Likewise, the EL4s are also impact-melt breccias. Modal abundances of metal in the EL3s and EL4s range from approximately 7 to 30 wt%. These abundances overlap or exceed those of EL6s, and this is consistent either with pre-existing heterogeneity in the parent body or with redistribution of metal during impact processes.

Schooling, the underclass and intergenerational mobility: a dual education system dilemma

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Tracey Morton McKay

2015-07-01

Full Text Available School education in South Africa has seen much progressive change in the last 20 years. Yet educational outcomes are poor and many argue that a dual education system exists. Those with financial and socio-cultural capital access resourced schools, while poor South Africans are relegated to schools still suffering from apartheid resource neglect. This empirical study of high schools in Alexandra township, a poor black African residential area, demonstrates both the extent of the resource backlog and the consequences thereof. Secondary schools in Alexandra have an inadequate number, and standard, of toilets, libraries, computer facilities and science laboratories. They also have relatively high learner to teacher ratios and poor matriculation success rates. Enrolment in such schools means learners achieve a poor quality matriculation certificate or none at all, thus, trapping these learners into significant disadvantage. Meagre financial resources preclude Alexandra parents from selecting better resourced schools. Thus, for these learners, neither their legal rights with respect to school choice nor their geographical proximity to resourced schools has ensured redress from the apartheid past. The result is that intergenerational class mobility is limited. Thus, the dual nature of South Africa’s education system is creating a vicious cycle of intergenerational poverty where young people cannot improve their living standards despite enrolment in secondary schooling.

Maria Carolina and Marie Antoinette: Sisters and Queens in the mirror of Jacobin Public Opinion

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Cinzia Recca

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Marie Antoinette of Franceand Maria Carolina of Naples, both consorts, contributed to a flourishing of matronage, reproducing conceptions of royal femininity that embraced both the private and public roles they were expected to fulfil. However, while the political role of the first Queen has been largely reconsidered, her sister Maria Carolina has not yet been adjudicated impartially. This is somewhat curious, because Maria Carolina inherited from her sister the same disregard towards the Revolution and this, as perceived by the Jacobins, was duly proposed in their acrimonious criticism of her political role. This paper aims to focus on this criticism, analysing how the charges against Maria Carolina in the post-French revolutionary period, were a political duplication of the Jacobin attacks on Marie Antoinette from 1791 onwards. From this point of view, the paper will focus on the portrait of Maria Carolina in 1793 revolutionary Parisby Giuseppe Gorani, an Italian Jacobin noble. His Mémoires Secrets – where Maria Carolina was represented as a wicked woman in the same terms previously employed to denounce her sister Marie Antoinette by the French Republicans – was well known across Italy. This subject dominated the main pamphlets and brochures published in Naples in 1799, during the brief duration of the Neapolitan Republic, because it legitimised the rebellion against the monarchy. After the fall of the Neapolitan Republic, the political attacks on Maria Carolina continued likewise in France, where many Neapolitan patriots were obliged to flee. Analysing  Giuseppe Gorani’s Mémoires we gather that the portrait of Marie Antoinette’s sister was painted according to the main stereotypes of  French revolutionary political culture.

Diversity Generator Mechanisms Are Essential Components of Biological Systems: The Two Queen Hypothesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Muraille

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Diversity is widely known to fuel adaptation and evolutionary processes and increase robustness at the population, species and ecosystem levels. The Neo-Darwinian paradigm proposes that the diversity of biological entities is the consequence of genetic changes arising spontaneously and randomly, without regard for their usefulness. However, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that the evolutionary process has shaped mechanisms, such as horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, meiosis and the adaptive immune system, which has resulted in the regulated generation of diversity among populations. Though their origins are unrelated, these diversity generator (DG mechanisms share common functional properties. They (i contribute to the great unpredictability of the composition and/or behavior of biological systems, (ii favor robustness and collectivism among populations and (iii operate mainly by manipulating the systems that control the interaction of living beings with their environment. The definition proposed here for DGs is based on these properties and can be used to identify them according to function. Interestingly, prokaryotic DGs appear to be mainly reactive, as they generate diversity in response to environmental stress. They are involved in the widely described Red Queen/arms race/Cairnsian dynamic. The emergence of multicellular organisms harboring K selection traits (longer reproductive life cycle and smaller population size has led to the acquisition of a new class of DGs that act anticipatively to stress pressures and generate a distinct dynamic called the “White Queen” here. The existence of DGs leads to the view of evolution as a more “intelligent” and Lamarckian-like process. Their repeated selection during evolution could be a neglected example of convergent evolution and suggests that some parts of the evolutionary process are tightly constrained by ecological factors, such as the population size, the generation time and

Study on isoenzymes and SDS-PAGE of the electron beam induced mutant of gladiolus 'Beauty Queen'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhiwei; Wang Dan; Zhang Dongxue

2007-01-01

In order to test the feasibility of electron beam induced mutation on Gladiolus and the effects of various doses of electron beam on flower traits, the corms of gladiolus 'Beauty Queen' were irradiated by electron beam with different doses. Flower-colour and inflorescence mutants (M1' and M2')were obtained, respectively at the doses of 40 Gy and l60 Gy. The two mutants and the parent (CK) and those irradiated with same doses (40 Gy and 160 Gy) were studied. The isozymes of POD, CAT, AMY and EST were tested, it shows that isozymes patterns of gladiolus irradiated at the doses of 40 Gy and 160 Gy a similar to CK, but the mutants' bands were added or absent compared to CK. Based on band types of isozymes, the cluster analysis was carried out and dendrogram generated using SPSS software version 11.5, it indicates that they may be divided into three groups: CK group (CK, gladiolus irradiated at the doses of 40 Gy and 160 Gy), M1' group and M2' group. The bands of protein subunit were analyzed by SDS- PAGE, it shows protein expression is obviously inhibited by electron beam irradiation. But three different protein bands were found in the two mutants, and their molecular weights were 96 kDa, 115.4 kDa, 137.2 kDa, respectively. These special proteins may have relation with regulation and control flower-color and inflorescence. The results indicate that electron beam irradiation is an effective way for inducing flower-color and flower-shape mutants. (authors)

The Recovered Treasure. The Inventory of the Property of Sicilian queens confiscated by Manfredi Alagona in 1393

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santoro, Daniela

2007-06-01

Full Text Available

Beginning from the discovery, in the “Archivio di Stato” of Palermo, of an inventory containing the belongings confiscated from Manfredi Alagona in 1393, this work reconstructs the story of the treasure of the Sicilian queens (Costanza of Aragon and Maria of Sicily, that had been confiscated from the powerful Alagona family, originally from Aragon, who moved to Sicily. A detailed study of the inventoried movables allows the analysis of several aspects connected to customs and society at the end of the XIVth century, from clothing to utensils, from taste and fashion to care of appearance, from the love of jewels to the workship of relics.

Desiccation effects on germination and vigor of King palm seeds

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Martins Cibele C.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The desiccation tolerance of Archontophoenix alexandrae (Wendl. & Drude seeds was determined and the most sensitive vigor test for assessing seed deterioration of this species was identified. Mature fruits were harvested in the palm collection of the Instituto Agronomico in Campinas, Brazil. Depulped fruits were transported in impermeable packages to the Faculdade de Agronomia in Botucatu, where the seeds were dried. As the seed moisture decreased, germination, seedling length, electrical conductivity and moisture were measured. The seeds of A. alexandrae are recalcitrant, with high germination percentage (over 67% when undried (47% seed moisture. Lowering seed moisture below 31.5% reduced the germination rate significantly (<52.5%. Total germination failure was observed when seed moisture reached 15.1%. The electrical conductivity was the most sensitive vigor test to identify seed deterioration.

Xenophobia and the of the refugee in the rainbow nation of human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ANBR

was attacked by people from Alexandra who were brought to his workplace by taxi. Compressors .... that in a study of women migrants that some changed ..... stigmatisation and stereotyping, while in many townships African immigrants lived.

Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ben Stevens

3221/2017/v45n2a433. (License: CC BY 4.0). 49. ENHANCING SMALLHOLDER ...... Annual report. 2012/2013. ECRDA, 28 Alexandra Road, King Williams Town, 5600. South Africa. FAO (FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION), 2011.

The queen, the prince, and the ideologue: Alonso Ortiz’s notions of queenship at the court of the Catholic Kings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silleras-Fernández, Núria

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the court of the Catholic Monarchs (r. 1474-1516, Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon, that of a ruling queen, humanists constructed theories of what it meant to be a ruler. Alonso Ortiz, one of the humanists attached to their court, composed the Latin text, Liber de educatione Johannis Serenissimi Principis et primogeniti regum potentissimorum Castelle Aragonum et Siciliae Ferdinandi et Helisabet inclyta prosapia coniugum clarissimorum, a book that reflects an idealized and disempowered humanist vision of elite women that contrasts with the agency they wielded in historical fact.En la corte de los Reyes Católicos (1474-1516, Isabel I de Castilla y Fernando II de Aragón, una corte en la que una reina gobernaba, los humanistas construyeron teorías sobre lo que significaba ser un gobernante. Alonso Ortiz, un humanista de su corte, compuso el texto latino: Liber de educatione Johannis Serenissimi Principis et primogeniti regum potentissimorum Castelle Aragonum et Siciliae Ferdinandi et Helisabet inclyta prosapia coniugum clarissimorum, libro que refleja una visión idealizada y despojada de poder de las mujeres de la élite, hecho este que contrasta con la capacidad de actuación que éstas tuvieron según la evidencia histórica.

Finding strategic communication & diverse leadership in the ancient world: The case of Queen Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shannon A. Bowen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The reign of Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt offers a rare historical glimpse into ancient communication activities and how communication was used by the world’s last pharaoh. This historical research reveals how Cleopatra used public relations and strategic communication activities to advance both her reign as a lone woman sovereign and the interests of the Egyptian empire. Cleopatra was perhaps the first woman sovereign in history to rule alone for a period of over a decade. Her leadership showed skilled use of public communication and diplomacy with which she forestalled the fall of Egypt to Rome. A grounded theory approach allowed data to emerge naturally, surrounding communication activities, and then for a theoretical framework to be imposed that could explain the common themes in that data. This research compares Cleopatra’s activities with public relations theory using the classic four models of public relations to classify public communication. Findings show that Cleopatra used research in asymmetrical public relations and symmetrical relationship building, also including public diplomacy, public information, and press agentry/pseudo-event mastery. Careful examination of literature sources led to the conclusion that Cleopatra was a truly advanced, research-based, relationship-focused, and international policy-oriented lone woman ruler who was a supremely strategic communicator.

Colonies of Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens Produce Fewer Workers, Less Bee Biomass, and Have Smaller Mother Queens Following Fungicide Exposure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivia M. Bernauer

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Bees provide vital pollination services to the majority of flowering plants in both natural and agricultural systems. Unfortunately, both native and managed bee populations are experiencing declines, threatening the persistence of these plants and crops. Agricultural chemicals are one possible culprit contributing to bee declines. Even fungicides, generally considered safe for bees, have been shown to disrupt honey bee development and impair bumble bee behavior. Little is known, however, how fungicides may affect bumble bee colony growth. We conducted a controlled cage study to determine the effects of fungicide exposure on colonies of a native bumble bee species (Bombus impatiens. Colonies of B. impatiens were exposed to flowers treated with field-relevant levels of the fungicide chlorothalonil over the course of one month. Colony success was assessed by the number and biomass of larvae, pupae, and adult bumble bees. Bumble bee colonies exposed to fungicide produced fewer workers, lower total bee biomass, and had lighter mother queens than control colonies. Our results suggest that fungicides negatively affect the colony success of a native bumble bee species and that the use of fungicides during bloom has the potential to severely impact the success of native bumble bee populations foraging in agroecosystems.

Video and Course Context Discussion on Massive Open Online Courses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dubosson, Magali; Emad, Sabine; Broillet, Alexandra

2014-01-01

Video and Course Content Discussion on Massive Open Online Courses: An Exploratory Research—Magali Dubosson (HEG Fribourg), Sabine Emad (HEG Genève), Alexandra Broillet (University of Geneva and Webster University Geneva), Constance Kampf (Aarhus University, Denmark)...

Breeding system and reproductive skew in a highly polygynous ant population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haag-Liautard, C.; Pedersen, Jes Søe; Ovaskainen, O.

2008-01-01

of mature queens by mark-release-recapture in 29 nests and dissected a sub-sample of queens to assess their reproductive status. We also used microsatellites to estimate relatedness within and between all classes of nestmates (queens, their mates, worker brood, queen brood and male brood). Queen number...... Factors affecting relatedness among nest members in ant colonies with high queen number are still poorly understood. In order to identify the major determinants of nest kin structure, we conducted a detailed analysis of the breeding system of the ant Formica exsecta. We estimated the number...... was very high, with an arithmetic mean of 253 per nest. Most queens (90%) were reproductively active, consistent with the genetic analyses revealing that there was only a minimal reproductive skew among nestmate queens. Despite the high queen number and low reproductive skew, almost all classes...

A preliminary investigation of tuberculosis and other diseases in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Kalema-Zikusoka

2005-09-01

Full Text Available A survey to determine the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis and certain other infectious diseases was conducted on 42 free-ranging African buffaloes, (Syncerus caffer from May to June 1997 in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. Using the gamma interferon test, exposure to M. bovis was detected in 21.6 % of the buffaloes. One dead buffalo and an emaciated warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus that was euthanased, were necropsied; both had miliary granulomas from which M. bovis was isolated. None of the buffaloes sampled in Sector A of the park, which has no cattle interface, tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (BTB exposure. The prevalence and distribution of BTB does not appear to have changed significantly since the 1960s, but this may be due to fluxes in the buffalo population. Serological testing for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD demonstrated positive exposure of 57.1% of the buffaloes sampled, with types A, O and SAT 1-3, which is the first known report of FMD antibodies to A and O types in free ranging African buffaloes. Foot-and-mouth disease virus types SAT 1 and SAT 3 were isolated from buffalo probang samples. Two percent of the buffaloes had been exposed to brucellosis. None of the buffaloes tested had antibodies to rinderpest, leptospirosis or Q fever.

The effects of naturally occurring impurities in rock salt

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Author Affiliations. Alina-Mihaela Badescu1 Alexandra Saftoiu2. University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Splaiul Independen¸tei 313, Sector 6, Bucharest 060042, Romania; IFIN-Horia Hulubei, Str. Reactorului No. 30, P.O. Box MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele, Romania ...

Evaluation of a school-based physical activity intervention in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives. Non-communicable diseases and limited participation in school physical education have become increasing concerns in South Africa. In response to these concerns, a schoolbased physical activity intervention, Healthnutz, was implemented in three primary schools in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg.

Metallothionein and Glutathione Content as Biomarkers of Metal Pollution in Mussels and Local Fishermen in Abu Qir Bay, Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aziza A. Saad

2016-01-01

Ethical Approval. Ethical approval was given by the ethics committee of Alexandra University (US Department of Health and Human Services, Registration of an Institutional Review Board, IORG0008812 Medical Research Institute, Expires 4/8/2019, OMB No: 0990-0279.

No intracolonial nepotism during colony fissioning in honey bees

Science.gov (United States)

Rangel, Juliana; Mattila, Heather R.; Seeley, Thomas D.

2009-01-01

Most species of social insects have singly mated queens, but in some species each queen mates with numerous males to create a colony whose workers belong to multiple patrilines. This colony genetic structure creates a potential for intracolonial nepotism. One context with great potential for such nepotism arises in species, like honey bees, whose colonies reproduce by fissioning. During fissioning, workers might nepotistically choose between serving a young (sister) queen or the old (mother) queen, preferring the former if she is a full-sister but the latter if the young queen is only a half-sister. We examined three honeybee colonies that swarmed, and performed paternity analyses on the young (immature) queens and samples of workers who either stayed with the young queens in the nest or left with the mother queen in the swarm. For each colony, we checked whether patrilines represented by immature queens had higher proportions of staying workers than patrilines not represented by immature queens. We found no evidence of this. The absence of intracolonial nepotism during colony fissioning could be because the workers cannot discriminate between full-sister and half-sister queens when they are immature, or because the costs of behaving nepotistically outweigh the benefits. PMID:19692398

The simple modelling method for storm- and grey-water quality ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The simple modelling method for storm- and grey-water quality management applied to Alexandra settlement. ... objectives optimally consist of educational programmes, erosion and sediment control, street sweeping, removal of sanitation system overflows, impervious cover reduction, downspout disconnections, removal of ...

Download the whole Issue (9Mb

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Redazione Reti Medievali (a cura di

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Peer reviewed by Renato Bordone, Filippo Burgarella, Sandro Carocci, Alexandra Chavarria Arnau, Simone Collavini, Salvatore Cosentino, Cristina La Rocca, Lech Leciejewicz, Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur, Marc Mayer, Eduardo Manzano Moreno, Fabio Saggioro, Chris Wickham, Enrico Zanini, Luca Zavagno.

Estimation of storm runoff loads based on rainfall-related variables ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2004-11-19

Nov 19, 2004 ... ... rainfall-related variables and power law models – Case study in Alexandra ... and appropriate technology for treating runoff and grey-water. To achieve this ... schools, and other open spaces take up 20% of the area. If the.

Mining, contamination, and health in Ecuador | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-01-06

Jan 6, 2011 ... They have found that the effects extend beyond the immediate area to farming ... These are the words of Alexandra Jaramillo, a member of the newly created .... They hypothesized that they would find the water and food was ...

Isotopic evidence bearing on Late Triassic extinction events, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, and implications for the duration and cause of the Triassic/Jurassic mass extinction

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, P.D.; Garrison, G.H.; Haggart, J.W.; Kring, D.A.; Beattie, M.J.

2004-01-01

Stable isotope analyses of Late Triassic to earliest Jurassic strata from Kennecott Point in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada shows the presence of two distinct and different organic carbon isotope anomalies at the Norian/Rhaetian and Rhaetian/Hettangian (=Triassic/Jurassic) stage boundaries. At the older of these boundaries, which is marked by the disappearance of the bivalve Monotis, the isotope record shows a series of short-lived positive excursions toward heavier values. Strata approaching this boundary show evidence of increasing anoxia. At the higher boundary, marked by the disappearance of the last remaining Triassic ammonites and over 50 species of radiolarians, the isotopic pattern consists of a series of short duration negative anomalies. The two events, separated by the duration of the Rhaetian age, comprise the end-Triassic mass extinction. While there is no definitive evidence as to cause, the isotopic record does not appear similar to that of the impact-caused Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary extinction. ?? 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

SNC meteorites: Clues to martian petrologic evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McSween, H.Y. Jr.

1985-01-01

The shergottites, nakhlites, and Chassigny (SNC meteorites) are apparently cumulate mafic and ultramafic rocks that crystallized at shallow levels in the crust of their parent body. The mineralogy and chemistry of these meteorites are remarkably like equivalent terrestrial rocks, although their ratios of Fe/(Fe+Mg) and certain incompatible elements and their oxygen isotopic compositions are distinctive. All have crystallization ages of 1.3 b.y. or younger and formed from magmas produced by partial melting of previously fractionated source regions. Isotope systematics suggest that the SNC parent body had a complex and protracted thermal history spanning most of geologic time. Some meteorites have been severely shock metamorphosed, and all were ejected from their parent body at relatively recent times, possibly in several impact events. Late crystallization ages, complex petrogenesis, and possible evidence for a large gravitational field suggest that these meteorites are derived from a large planet. Trapped gases in shergottite shock melts have compositions similar to the composition measured in the Martian atmosphere. Ejection of Martian meteorites may have been accomplished by acceleration of near-surface spalls or other mechanisms not fully understood. If SNC meteorites are of Martian origin, they provide important information on planetary composition and evolution. The bulk composition and redox state of the Martian mantle, as constrained by shergottite phase equilibria, must be more earthlike than most current models. Planetary thermal models should benefit from data on the abundances of radioactive heat sources, the melting behavior of the mantle, and the timing of planetary differentiation

Compound-Specific Carbon, Nitrogen, and Hydrogen Isotopic Ratios for Amino Acids in CM and CR Chondrites and their use in Evaluating Potential Formation Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Elsila, Jamie E.; Charnley, Steven B.; Burton, Aaron S.; Glavin, Daniel P.; Dworkin, Jason P.

2012-01-01

Stable hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen isotopic ratios (oD, 013C, and olSN) of organic compounds can revcal information about their origin and formation pathways. Several formation mechanisms and environments have been postulated for the amino acids detected in carbonaceous chondrites. As each proposed mechanism utilizes different precursor molecules, the isotopic signatures of the resulting amino acids may indicate the most likely of these pathways. We have applied gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry to measure the compound-specific C, N, and H stable isotopic ratios of amino acids from seven CM and CR carbonaceous chondrites: CM1I2 Allan Hills (ALH) 83100, CM2 Murchison, CM2 Lewis Cliff (LEW) 90500, CM2 Lonewolf Nunataks (LON) 94101, CRZ Graves Nunataks (GRA) 95229, CRZ Elephant Moraine (EET) 92042, and CR3 Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 99177. We compare the isotopic compositions of amino acids in these meteorites with predictions of expected isotopic enrichments from potential formation pathways. We observe trends of decreasing ODC and increasing oD with increasing carbon number in the aH, (l-NH2 amino acids that correspond to predictions made for formation via Streckercyanohydrin synthesis. We also observe light ODC signatures for -alanine, which may indicate either formation via Michael addition or via a pathway that forms primarily small, straight-chain, amine-terminal amino acids (n-ro-amino acids). Higher deuterium enrichments are observed in amethyl amino acids, indicating formation of these amino acids or their precursors in cold interstellar or nebular environments. Finally, individual amino acids are more enriched in deuterium in CR chondrites than CM chondrites, reflecting different parent-body chemistry.

Cost-effectiveness of routine imaging of suspected appendicitis.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, N; Marsden, M; Bottomley, S; Nagarajah, N; Scutt, F; Toh, S

2018-01-01

Introduction The misdiagnosis of appendicitis and consequent removal of a normal appendix occurs in one in five patients in the UK. On the contrary, in healthcare systems with routine cross-sectional imaging of suspected appendicitis, the negative appendicectomy rate is around 5%. If we could reduce the rate in the UK to similar numbers, would this be cost effective? This study aimed to calculate the financial impact of negative appendicectomy at the Queen Alexandra Hospital and to explore whether a policy of routine imaging of such patients could reduce hospital costs. Materials and methods We performed a retrospective analysis of all appendicectomies over a 1-year period at our institution. Data were extracted on outcomes including appendix histology, operative time and length of stay to calculate the negative appendicectomy rate and to analyse costs. Results A total of 531 patients over 5 years of age had an appendicectomy. The negative appendicectomy rate was 22% (115/531). The additional financial costs of negative appendicectomy to the hospital during this period were £270,861. Universal imaging of all patients with right iliac fossa pain that could result in a 5% negative appendicectomy rate would cost between £67,200 and £165,600 per year but could save £33,896 (magnetic resonance imaging), £105,896 (computed tomography) or £132,296 (ultrasound) depending on imaging modality used. Conclusions Negative appendicectomy is still too frequent and results in additional financial burden to the health service. Routine imaging of patients with suspected appendicitis would not only reduce the negative appendicectomy rate but could lead to cost savings and a better service for our patients.

Antimicrobial coatings — obtaining and characterization

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Author Affiliations. Cornelia Guran1 Alexandra Pica2 Denisa Ficai1 Anton Ficai1 Cezar Comanescu1. Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1-7 Polizu St, Bucharest 011061, Romania; Research Institute for Advanced Coating, 49 A Theodor Pallady Bd, Bucharest 032258, Romania ...

A new elasmosaurid from the early Maastrichtian of Angola and the implications of girdle morphology on swimming style in plesiosaurs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Araújo, R.; Polcyn, Michael J.; Schulp, A. S.; Mateus, O.; Jacobs, L.; Gonçalves, António Olímpio; Morais, M.L.

2014-01-01

We report here a new elasmosaurid from the early Maastrichtian at Bentiaba, southern Angola. Phylogenetic analysis places the new taxon as the sister taxon to Styxosaurus snowii, and that clade as the sister of a clade composed of (Hydrotherosaurus alexandrae (Libonectes morgani + Elasmosaurus

Mothers' perinatal and infant mental health knowledge in a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: This paper examines maternal knowledge regarding perinatal and infant mental health amongst mothers in Alexandra township, Johannesburg. ... the denial of negative maternal affect post-birth to elevated levels of post-natal depression found amongst South African mothers parenting in adverse circumstances.

The red queen model of recombination hotspots evolution in the light of archaic and modern human genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lesecque, Yann; Glémin, Sylvain; Lartillot, Nicolas; Mouchiroud, Dominique; Duret, Laurent

2014-11-01

Recombination is an essential process in eukaryotes, which increases diversity by disrupting genetic linkage between loci and ensures the proper segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. In the human genome, recombination events are clustered in hotspots, whose location is determined by the PRDM9 protein. There is evidence that the location of hotspots evolves rapidly, as a consequence of changes in PRDM9 DNA-binding domain. However, the reasons for these changes and the rate at which they occur are not known. In this study, we investigated the evolution of human hotspot loci and of PRDM9 target motifs, both in modern and archaic human lineages (Denisovan) to quantify the dynamic of hotspot turnover during the recent period of human evolution. We show that present-day human hotspots are young: they have been active only during the last 10% of the time since the divergence from chimpanzee, starting to be operating shortly before the split between Denisovans and modern humans. Surprisingly, however, our analyses indicate that Denisovan recombination hotspots did not overlap with modern human ones, despite sharing similar PRDM9 target motifs. We further show that high-affinity PRDM9 target motifs are subject to a strong self-destructive drive, known as biased gene conversion (BGC), which should lead to the loss of the majority of them in the next 3 MYR. This depletion of PRDM9 genomic targets is expected to decrease fitness, and thereby to favor new PRDM9 alleles binding different motifs. Our refined estimates of the age and life expectancy of human hotspots provide empirical evidence in support of the Red Queen hypothesis of recombination hotspots evolution.

The red queen model of recombination hotspots evolution in the light of archaic and modern human genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yann Lesecque

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Recombination is an essential process in eukaryotes, which increases diversity by disrupting genetic linkage between loci and ensures the proper segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. In the human genome, recombination events are clustered in hotspots, whose location is determined by the PRDM9 protein. There is evidence that the location of hotspots evolves rapidly, as a consequence of changes in PRDM9 DNA-binding domain. However, the reasons for these changes and the rate at which they occur are not known. In this study, we investigated the evolution of human hotspot loci and of PRDM9 target motifs, both in modern and archaic human lineages (Denisovan to quantify the dynamic of hotspot turnover during the recent period of human evolution. We show that present-day human hotspots are young: they have been active only during the last 10% of the time since the divergence from chimpanzee, starting to be operating shortly before the split between Denisovans and modern humans. Surprisingly, however, our analyses indicate that Denisovan recombination hotspots did not overlap with modern human ones, despite sharing similar PRDM9 target motifs. We further show that high-affinity PRDM9 target motifs are subject to a strong self-destructive drive, known as biased gene conversion (BGC, which should lead to the loss of the majority of them in the next 3 MYR. This depletion of PRDM9 genomic targets is expected to decrease fitness, and thereby to favor new PRDM9 alleles binding different motifs. Our refined estimates of the age and life expectancy of human hotspots provide empirical evidence in support of the Red Queen hypothesis of recombination hotspots evolution.

Analysis of the intercaste transcriptional profile of Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) by mRNA differential display.

Science.gov (United States)

Siquieroli, Ana Carolina S; Vieira, Carlos U; Carvalho-Zilse, Gislene A; Goulart, Luiz R; Kerr, Warwick E; Bonetti, Ana M

2009-01-01

In colonies of Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 workers can be found with four ganglion nerve cells, a morphological characteristic of the queen. It is hypothesized that these workers, called intercastes, or phenocopies, are phenotypically-like workers, but genotypically identical to queens due to this specific trait. Workers with the same number of ganglion as queens seem to be intercastes between queens and workers. Our objective was to analyze the mRNA pro files of workers, queens, and intercastes of M. scutellaris through DDRT-PCR. Three hundred (300) pupae with white eyes were collected and externally identified according to the number of abdominal nerve ganglions: workers (5 ganglions), queens (4 ganglions) and intercastes (4 ganglions). The analysis identified differentially expressed transcripts that were present only in workers, but absent in intercastes and queens, confirming the hypothesis, by demonstrating the environmental effect on the queen genotype that generated phenotype-like workers.

Fertility signals in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Sramkova, A.; Schulz, C.; Twele, R.; Francke, W.; Ayasse, M.

2008-06-01

In eusocial Hymenoptera, queen control over workers is probably inseparable from the mechanism of queen recognition. In primitively eusocial bumblebees ( Bombus), worker reproduction is controlled not only by the presence or absence of a dominant queen but also by other dominant workers. Furthermore, it was shown that the queen dominance is maintained by pheromonal cues. We investigated whether there is a similar odor signal released by egg-laying queens and workers that may have a function as a fertility signal. We collected cuticular surface extracts from nest-searching and breeding Bombus terrestris queens and workers that were characterized by their ovarian stages. In chemical analyses, we identified 61 compounds consisting of aldehydes, alkanes, alkenes, and fatty acid esters. Nest-searching queens and all groups of breeding females differed significantly in their odor bouquets. Furthermore, workers before the competition point (time point of colony development where workers start to develop ovaries and lay eggs) differed largely from queens and all other groups of workers. Breeding queens showed a unique bouquet of chemical compounds and certain queen-specific compounds, and the differences toward workers decrease with an increasing development of the workers’ ovaries, hinting the presence of a reliable fertility signal. Among the worker groups, the smallest differences were found after the competition point. Egg-laying females contained higher total amounts of chemical compounds and of relative proportions of wax-type esters and aldehydes than nest-searching queens and workers before the competition point. Therefore, these compounds may have a function as a fertility signal present in queens and workers.

Rare royal families in honeybees, Apis mellifera

Science.gov (United States)

Moritz, Robin F. A.; Lattorff, H. Michael G.; Neumann, Peter; Kraus, F. Bernhard; Radloff, Sarah E.; Hepburn, H. Randall

2005-10-01

The queen is the dominant female in the honeybee colony, Apis mellifera, and controls reproduction. Queen larvae are selected by the workers and are fed a special diet (royal jelly), which determines caste. Because queens mate with many males a large number of subfamilies coexist in the colony. As a consequence, there is a considerable potential for conflict among the subfamilies over queen rearing. Here we show that honeybee queens are not reared at random but are preferentially reared from rare “royal” subfamilies, which have extremely low frequencies in the colony's worker force but a high frequency in the queens reared.

Pobyt Aleksandry Kołłontaj w Szwecji i Danii (IX 1914–I 1915

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Ratuszniak

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The sojourn of Alexandra Kollontai in Sweden and Denmark (IX 1914–I 1915The aim of this article is to present the activites undertaken by Alexandra Kollontai during her stay in Sweden in 1914. Alexandra was a famous socialist activist at the time, and as a consequence of her activity had to flee Russia in 1908. For the following eight years, she remained in exile. She traveled throughout Europe, but collaborated most closely the with German Social Democrats party. After the I World War began, Kollontai – along with her son, Michael – was arrested. Thanks to an intervention of influential German politicians, both of them were released from jail. Shaken, she broke up her ties with the German socialist movement. Alone, Kollontai traveled to Sweden in September 1914, and moved for good to Stockholm. During the sojourn in Sweden, Kollontai was in touch with one of the most prominent local socialist activists, Hjalmar Branting, and took an active part in the Swedish socialist movement. During her short-term stay in Norway, Kollontai was not formally a supporter of the Bolshevik proposition, but she still wrote letters to Lenin. She also had a love affair with a Bolshevik comrade, Alexander Shliapnikov. The Swedish police arrested Kollontai for participation in anti-military propaganda activities. She was exiled from the country in November 1914, to Copenhagen. Also there, Kollontai managed to establish close relationship with the Bolsheviks. Hereafter, she has played a crucial role in the re-opening of the northern smuggling route.

New Maps for Old: a Topological Approach to "the Faerie Queene" and Shakespeare's History Plays

Science.gov (United States)

Graney, Kathleen M.

1994-01-01

When Nicholas Copernicus published De revolutionibus in 1543, his announced discoveries both displaced humankind from its former place at the center of the universe and enlarged the boundaries of that universe beyond anything that had been imagined before. These discoveries evoked in men and women of the late-sixteenth century a new consciousness of both cosmic space and of psychological spaces within themselves, spaces for self-definition made available by the breakdown of the traditional, hierarchical world view. This re-vision of space is evident in almost every aspect of the culture of Elizabethan England, from its science and art to the accounts of New World voyagers. In the works of Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare, this spatial awareness manifests itself "topologically" --that is, in the relationship between places in their epic and dramatic works that can be identified as "inside" or "outside" and in the kinds of actions associated with each place. In Books One and Two of The Faerie Queene Spenser uses space both topographically and topologically. He maps the journeys of his knights through Fairyland by means of references to allegorical structures and features of the mythical landscape. At the same time, he contrasts inside spaces, where the knights struggle psychologically to define themselves in terms of certain moral virtues, and outside spaces, where that "self" intersects with Spenser's myth of English history. In his earliest chronicle plays of the 1580s and '90s Shakespeare also depicts English history topographically, as a series of epic confrontations enacted in outside, public spaces bearing familiar place -names. With Richard III, however, he begins to dramatize that history as related to moments of self-discovery achieved by the central character within the privacy of inside spaces and involving some conflict between the values of public and private life. Unlike Spenser, whose characters ultimately define themselves in terms of some value

Analysis of the Intercaste Transcriptional Profile of Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini by mRNA Differential Display

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANA CAROLINA S SIQUIEROLI

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In colonies of Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811 workers can be found with four ganglion nerve cells, a morphological characteristic of the queen. It is hypothesized that these workers, called intercastes, or phenocopies, are phenotypically-like workers, but genotypically identical to queens due to this specific trait. Workers with the same number of ganglion as queens seem to be intercastes between queens and workers. Our objective was to analyze the mRNA pro files of workers, queens, and intercastes of M. scutellaris through DDRT-PCR. Three hundred (300 pupae with white eyes were collected and externally identified according to the number of abdominal nerve ganglions: workers (5 ganglions, queens (4 ganglions and intercastes (4 ganglions. The analysis identified differentially expressed transcripts that were present only in workers, but absent in intercastes and queens, confirming the hypothesis, by demonstrating the environmental effect on the queen genotype that generated phenotype-like workers.

Sidi Ali Ou Azza (L4): A New Moroccan Fall

Science.gov (United States)

Chennaoui Aoudjehane, H.; Agee, C. B.; Aaranson, A.; Bouragaa, A.

2016-08-01

Sidi Ali Ou Azza is the latest meteorite fall in Morocco, it occurred on 28 July 2015 very close (about 40 km) to Tissint martian shergottite fall that occurred on 18 July 2011. It's one of the small group of 23 L4 ordinary chondrite falls.

76 FR 15281 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Evaluation of the...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-21

... information available to school food authorities about food service products and commodities. DATES: Written... or other forms of information technology. Comments may be sent to: Alexandra Lewin, Food and...: Evaluation of the Quantity and Quality of Nutritional Information Available to School Food Authorities about...

78 FR 5179 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Acquisitions of Shares of a Bank or Bank Holding Company

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-24

... February 11, 2013. A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Colette A. Fried, Assistant Vice President) 230..., as independent trustee of Trust, Kurt Bosshard, Kapaa, Hawaii, John Bosshard III, McCarthy, Alaska..., California, Elizabeth Bosshard-Blakely, South Pasadena, California, Alexandra Bosshard, Sandy, Utah, and John...

New Evidence for Quaternary Strain Partitioning Along the Queen Charlotte Fault System, Southeastern Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, M. A. L.; Miller, N. C.; Brothers, D. S.; Kluesner, J.; Haeussler, P. J.; Conrad, J. E.; Andrews, B. D.; Ten Brink, U. S.

2017-12-01

The Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) is a fast-moving ( 53 mm/yr) transform plate boundary fault separating the Pacific Plate from the North American Plate along western Canada and southeastern Alaska. New high-resolution bathymetric data along the fault show that the QCF main trace accommodates nearly all strike-slip plate motion along a single narrow deformation zone, though questions remain about how and where smaller amounts of oblique convergence are accommodated along-strike. Obliquity and convergence rates are highest in the south, where the 2012 Haida Gwaii, British Columbia MW 7.8 thrust earthquake was likely caused by Pacific underthrusting. In the north, where obliquity is lower, aftershocks from the 2013 Craig, Alaska MW 7.5 strike-slip earthquake also indicate active convergent deformation on the Pacific (west) side of the plate boundary. Off-fault structures previously mapped in legacy crustal-scale seismic profiles may therefore be accommodating part of the lesser amounts of Quaternary convergence north of Haida Gwaii. Between 2015 and 2017, the USGS acquired more than 8,000 line-km of offshore high-resolution multichannel seismic (MCS) data along the QCF to better understand plate boundary deformation. The new MCS data show evidence for Quaternary deformation associated with a series of elongate ridges located within 30 km of the QCF main trace on the Pacific side. These ridges are anticlinal structures flanked by growth faults, with recent deformation and active fluid flow characterized by seafloor scarps and seabed gas seeps at ridge crests. Structural and morphological evidence for contractional deformation decreases northward along the fault, consistent with a decrease in Pacific-North America obliquity along the plate boundary. Preliminary interpretations suggest that plate boundary transpression may be partitioned into distinctive structural domains, in which convergent stress is accommodated by margin-parallel thrust faulting, folding, and ridge

Social coercion of larval development in an ant species.

Science.gov (United States)

Villalta, Irene; Amor, Fernando; Cerdá, Xim; Boulay, Raphaël

2016-04-01

Ants provide one of the best examples of the division of labor in animal societies. While the queens reproduce, workers generally refrain from laying eggs and dedicate themselves exclusively to domestic tasks. In many species, the small diploid larvae are bipotent and can develop either into workers or queens depending mostly on environmental cues. This generates a conflicting situation between the adults that tend to rear a majority of larvae into workers and the larvae whose individual interest may be to develop into reproductive queens. We tested the social regulation of larval caste fate in the fission-performing ant Aphaenogaster senilis. We first observed interactions between resident workers and queen- and worker-destined larvae in presence/absence of the queen. The results show that workers tend to specifically eliminate queen-destined larvae when the queen is present but not when she is absent or imprisoned in a small cage allowing for volatile pheromone exchanges. In addition, we found that the presence of already developed queen-destined larvae does not inhibit the development of younger still bipotent larvae into queens. Finally, we analyzed the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of queen- and worker-destined larvae and found no significant quantitative or qualitative difference. Interestingly, the total amount of hydrocarbons on both larval castes is extremely low, which lends credence on the chemical insignificance hypothesis of larval ants. Overall, our results suggest that workers control larval development and police larvae that would develop into queens instead of workers. Such policing behavior is similar in many aspects to what is known of worker policing among adults.

Social coercion of larval development in an ant species

Science.gov (United States)

Villalta, Irene; Amor, Fernando; Cerdá, Xim; Boulay, Raphaël

2016-04-01

Ants provide one of the best examples of the division of labor in animal societies. While the queens reproduce, workers generally refrain from laying eggs and dedicate themselves exclusively to domestic tasks. In many species, the small diploid larvae are bipotent and can develop either into workers or queens depending mostly on environmental cues. This generates a conflicting situation between the adults that tend to rear a majority of larvae into workers and the larvae whose individual interest may be to develop into reproductive queens. We tested the social regulation of larval caste fate in the fission-performing ant Aphaenogaster senilis. We first observed interactions between resident workers and queen- and worker-destined larvae in presence/absence of the queen. The results show that workers tend to specifically eliminate queen-destined larvae when the queen is present but not when she is absent or imprisoned in a small cage allowing for volatile pheromone exchanges. In addition, we found that the presence of already developed queen-destined larvae does not inhibit the development of younger still bipotent larvae into queens. Finally, we analyzed the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of queen- and worker-destined larvae and found no significant quantitative or qualitative difference. Interestingly, the total amount of hydrocarbons on both larval castes is extremely low, which lends credence on the chemical insignificance hypothesis of larval ants. Overall, our results suggest that workers control larval development and police larvae that would develop into queens instead of workers. Such policing behavior is similar in many aspects to what is known of worker policing among adults.

Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) Analysis to Measure Trace Metals in Soil Along the East River in Queens, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Chalise, Sajju; Conlan, Skye; Porat, Zachary; Labrake, Scott; Vineyard, Michael

2017-09-01

The Union College Ion-Beam Analysis Lab's 1.1 MV tandem Pelletron accelerator is used to determine the presence of heavy trace metals in Queens, NY between Astoria Park and 3.5 miles south to Gantry State Park. A PIXE analysis was performed on 0.5 g pelletized soil samples with a 2.2 MeV proton beam. The results show the presence of elements ranging from Ti to Pb with the concentration of Pb in Astoria Park (2200 +/-200 ppm) approximately ten times that of the Gantry State Park. We hypothesize that the high lead concentration at Astoria Park is due to the nearby Hell Gate Bridge, painted in 1916 with lead based paint, then sandblasted and repainted in the '90s. If the lead is from the repair of the bridge, then we should see the concentration decrease as we go further from the bridge. To test this, soil samples were collected and analyzed from seven different locations north and south of the bridge. The concentrations of lead decreased drastically within a 500 m radius and were approximately constant at greater distances. More soil samples need to be collected within the 500 m radius from bridge to identify the potential source of Pb. We will describe the experimental procedure, the PIXE analysis of soil samples, and present preliminary results on the distribution of heavy trace metals.

A heritable component in sex ratio and caste determination in a Cardiocondyla ant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinze Jürgen

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Studies on sex ratios in social insects provide among the most compelling evidence for the importance of kin selection in social evolution. The elegant synthesis of Fisher's sex ratio principle and Hamilton's inclusive fitness theory predicts that colony-level sex ratios vary with the colonies' social and genetic structures. Numerous empirical studies in ants, bees, and wasps have corroborated these predictions. However, the evolutionary optimization of sex ratios requires genetic variation, but one fundamental determinant of sex ratios - the propensity of female larvae to develop into young queens or workers ("queen bias" - is thought to be largely controlled by the environment. Evidence for a genetic influence on sex ratio and queen bias is as yet restricted to a few taxa, in particular hybrids. Because of the very short lifetime of their queens, ants of the genus Cardiocondyla are ideal model systems for the study of complete lifetime reproductive success, queen bias, and sex ratios. We found that lifetime sex ratios of the ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi have a heritable component. In experimental single-queen colonies, 22 queens from a genetic lineage with a highly female-biased sex ratio produced significantly more female-biased offspring sex ratios than 16 queens from a lineage with a more male-biased sex ratio (median 91.5% vs. 58.5% female sexuals. Sex ratio variation resulted from different likelihood of female larvae developing into sexuals (median 50% vs. 22.6% female sexuals even when uniformly nursed by workers from another colony. Consistent differences in lifetime sex ratios and queen bias among queens of C. kagutsuchi suggest that heritable, genetic or maternal effects strongly affect caste determination. Such variation might provide the basis for adaptive evolution of queen and worker strategies, though it momentarily constrains the power of workers and queens to optimize caste ratios.

A heritable component in sex ratio and caste determination in a Cardiocondyla ant.

Science.gov (United States)

Frohschammer, Sabine; Heinze, Jürgen

2009-10-28

Studies on sex ratios in social insects provide among the most compelling evidence for the importance of kin selection in social evolution. The elegant synthesis of Fisher's sex ratio principle and Hamilton's inclusive fitness theory predicts that colony-level sex ratios vary with the colonies' social and genetic structures. Numerous empirical studies in ants, bees, and wasps have corroborated these predictions. However, the evolutionary optimization of sex ratios requires genetic variation, but one fundamental determinant of sex ratios - the propensity of female larvae to develop into young queens or workers ("queen bias") - is thought to be largely controlled by the environment. Evidence for a genetic influence on sex ratio and queen bias is as yet restricted to a few taxa, in particular hybrids.Because of the very short lifetime of their queens, ants of the genus Cardiocondyla are ideal model systems for the study of complete lifetime reproductive success, queen bias, and sex ratios. We found that lifetime sex ratios of the ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi have a heritable component. In experimental single-queen colonies, 22 queens from a genetic lineage with a highly female-biased sex ratio produced significantly more female-biased offspring sex ratios than 16 queens from a lineage with a more male-biased sex ratio (median 91.5% vs. 58.5% female sexuals). Sex ratio variation resulted from different likelihood of female larvae developing into sexuals (median 50% vs. 22.6% female sexuals) even when uniformly nursed by workers from another colony.Consistent differences in lifetime sex ratios and queen bias among queens of C. kagutsuchi suggest that heritable, genetic or maternal effects strongly affect caste determination. Such variation might provide the basis for adaptive evolution of queen and worker strategies, though it momentarily constrains the power of workers and queens to optimize caste ratios.

Anton Ficai

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science. ANTON FICAI. Articles written in Bulletin of Materials Science. Volume 36 Issue 2 April 2013 pp 183-188. Antimicrobial coatings — obtaining and characterization · Cornelia Guran Alexandra Pica Denisa Ficai Anton Ficai Cezar Comanescu · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

Internationaal huwelijksvermogensrecht : van Den Haag naar Brussel

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuper, Alexandra Geertruida Henderika

2012-01-01

Alexandra Kuper’s doctoral thesis holds a study into the applicable law on matrimonial property. In international cases it is not always intelligible that Dutch law is applicable. In the present study, the main question is how the current Dutch conflicts-of-laws rule for international matrimonial

Supreme Court Deals Blow to Student Journalists.

Science.gov (United States)

Gynn, Ann

1989-01-01

Covers the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, which gave principals the right to censor school publications. In "One Student's Pursuit of Journalism," Alexandra Salas relates one student journalist's experience, including internships, from high school through the end of college. (LS)

to view fulltext PDF

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

worker policing has come from two spontaneously occurring mutant colonies which produce large numbers of drone pupae above the queen extruder, i.e. where the queen cannot lay eggs (queen extruder is a wire-mesh screen that permits the workers but not the queen to pass through, which bee keepers use to exclude ...

No facultative worker policing in the honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.)

Science.gov (United States)

Loope, Kevin J.; Seeley, Thomas D.; Mattila, Heather R.

2013-05-01

Kin selection theory predicts that in colonies of social Hymenoptera with multiply mated queens, workers should mutually inhibit ("police") worker reproduction, but that in colonies with singly mated queens, workers should favor rearing workers' sons instead of queens' sons. In line with these predictions, Mattila et al. (Curr Biol 22:2027-2031, 2012) documented increased ovary development among workers in colonies of honey bees with singly mated queens, suggesting that workers can detect and respond adaptively to queen mating frequency and raising the possibility that they facultative police. In a follow-up experiment, we test and reject the hypothesis that workers in single-patriline colonies prefer worker-derived males and are able to reproduce directly; we show that their eggs are policed as strongly as those of workers in colonies with multiply mated queens. Evidently, workers do not respond facultatively to a kin structure that favors relaxed policing and increased direct reproduction. These workers may instead be responding to a poor queen or preparing for possible queen loss.

The Red Queen in a potato field: integrated pest management versus chemical dependency in Colorado potato beetle control.

Science.gov (United States)

Alyokhin, Andrei; Mota-Sanchez, David; Baker, Mitchell; Snyder, William E; Menasha, Sandra; Whalon, Mark; Dively, Galen; Moarsi, Wassem F

2015-03-01

Originally designed to reconcile insecticide applications with biological control, the concept of integrated pest management (IPM) developed into the systems-based judicious and coordinated use of multiple control techniques aimed at reducing pest damage to economically tolerable levels. Chemical control, with scheduled treatments, was the starting point for most management systems in the 1950s. Although chemical control is philosophically compatible with IPM practices as a whole, reduction in pesticide use has been historically one of the main goals of IPM practitioners. In the absence of IPM, excessive reliance on pesticides has led to repeated control failures due to the evolution of resistance by pest populations. This creates the need for constant replacement of failed chemicals with new compounds, known as the 'insecticide treadmill'. In evolutionary biology, a similar phenomenon is known as the Red Queen principle - continuing change is needed for a population to persevere because its competitors undergo constant evolutionary adaptation. The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), is an insect defoliator of potatoes that is notorious for its ability to develop insecticide resistance. In the present article, a review is given of four case studies from across the United States to demonstrate the importance of using IPM for sustainable management of a highly adaptable insect pest. Excessive reliance on often indiscriminate insecticide applications and inadequate use of alternative control methods, such as crop rotation, appear to expedite evolution of insecticide resistance in its populations. Resistance to IPM would involve synchronized adaptations to multiple unfavorable factors, requiring statistically unlikely genetic changes. Therefore, integrating different techniques is likely to reduce the need for constant replacement of failed chemicals with new ones. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault Zone - Geomorphology of a submarine transform fault, offshore British Columbia and southeastern Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, M. A. L.; Barrie, V.; Greene, H. G.; Brothers, D. S.; Conway, K.; Conrad, J. E.

2017-12-01

The Queen Charlotte-Fairweather (QC-FW) Fault Zone is the Pacific - North America transform plate boundary and is clearly seen for over 900 km on the seabed as a linear and continuous feature from offshore central Haida Gwaii, British Columbia to Icy Point, Alaska. Recently (July - September 2017) collected multibeam bathymetry, seismic-reflection profiles and sediment cores provide evidence for the continuous strike-slip morphology along the continental shelfbreak and upper slope, including a linear fault valley, offset submarine canyons and gullies, and right-step offsets (pull apart basins). South of central Haida Gwaii, the QC-FW is represented by several NW-SE to N-S trending faults to the southern end of the islands. Adjacent to the fault at the southern extreme and offshore Dixon Entrance (Canada/US boundary) are 400 to 600 m high mud volcanos in 1000 to 1600 m water depth that have plumes extending up 700 m into the water column and contain extensive carbonate crusts and chemosynthetic communities within the craters. In addition, gas plumes have been identified that appear to be directly associated with the fault zone. Surficial Quaternary sediments within and adjacent to the central and southern fault date either to the deglaciation of this region of the Pacific north coast (16,000 years BP) or to the last interstadial period ( 40,000 years BP). Sediment accumulation is minimal and the sediments cored are primarily hard-packed dense sands that appear to have been transported along the fault valley. The majority of the right-lateral slip along the entire QC-FW appears to be accommodated by the single fault north of the convergence at its southern most extent.

Critical Arts - Vol 18, No 2 (2004)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Vanessa McLennan-Dodd. Hitting the Hot Spots: Literary Tourism as a Research Field with Particular Reference to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Lindy Stiebel. Representations and Objections: Geert Van Kesteren and the 13th International Aids Conference, Durban, 2000. Alexandra von Stauss. Book Review: Brian McNair, ...

Student Pressure Subject of Debate

Science.gov (United States)

Gewertz, Catherine

2006-01-01

This article discusses student pressure as a subject of debate. The latest debate about schoolwork is being fueled by three recent books: "The Homework Myth" by Alfie Kohn, "The Case Against Homework" by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish, and "The Overachievers", by Alexandra Robbins, which depicts overextended high…

Enhancing Video Games Policy Based on Least-Squares Continuous Action Policy Iteration: Case Study on StarCraft Brood War and Glest RTS Games and the 8 Queens Board Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahenda Sarhan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With the rapid advent of video games recently and the increasing numbers of players and gamers, only a tough game with high policy, actions, and tactics survives. How the game responds to opponent actions is the key issue of popular games. Many algorithms were proposed to solve this problem such as Least-Squares Policy Iteration (LSPI and State-Action-Reward-State-Action (SARSA but they mainly depend on discrete actions, while agents in such a setting have to learn from the consequences of their continuous actions, in order to maximize the total reward over time. So in this paper we proposed a new algorithm based on LSPI called Least-Squares Continuous Action Policy Iteration (LSCAPI. The LSCAPI was implemented and tested on three different games: one board game, the 8 Queens, and two real-time strategy (RTS games, StarCraft Brood War and Glest. The LSCAPI evaluation proved superiority over LSPI in time, policy learning ability, and effectiveness.

Behaviour and Ecological Impacts of Termites: Fecundity Investigations in Mounds

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Wako Sutuma Edessa

2015-03-01

Full Text Available A radical study was conducted on the behaviour and ecological impacts of termites in Haru District of Western Oromia, Ethiopia. It was aimed at investigating the natural behaviour, fecundity in mounds, ecological impacts and recommending possible solutions to termite problems. Four mounds in different sites were vertically dug down to display the profile of the queen, soldiers, workers, number of laid eggs, nymphs and colonies of termites. On an average, termite queens of the study site may lay about 25 eggs per minute, 36, 000 eggs per day and 13, 140, 000 eggs annually. The fourth queen was unearthed to study the structure, size, number of ovaries and fecundity. It was examined that the death of a queen does not affect the colony, because four small queens are formed and one of them becomes the queen of queens and replaced the dead queen promptly. Accordingly, termites are found to be one of the most destructive agents of our ecosystems and their management requests careful and biological control methods. As a result, the negative effect of termites outweighs the positive effect of termites so that minimising the population size is important for human beings.

Brain modulation of Dufour's gland ester biosynthesis in vitro in the honeybee ( Apis mellifera)

Science.gov (United States)

Katzav-Gozansky, Tamar; Hefetz, Abraham; Soroker, Victoria

2007-05-01

Caste-specific pheromone biosynthesis is a prerequisite for reproductive skew in the honeybee. Nonetheless, this process is not hardwired but plastic, in that egg-laying workers produce a queen-like pheromone. Studies with Dufour’s gland pheromone revealed that, in vivo, workers’ gland biosynthesis matches the social status of the worker, i.e., sterile workers showed a worker-like pattern whereas fertile workers showed a queen-like pattern (production of the queen-specific esters). However, when incubated in vitro, the gland spontaneously exhibits the queen-like pattern, irrespective of its original worker type, prompting the notion that ester production in workers is under inhibitory control that is queen-dependent. We tested this hypothesis by exposing queen or worker Dufour’s glands in vitro to brain extracts of queens, queenright (sterile) workers and males. Unexpectedly, worker brain extracts activated the queen-like esters biosynthesis in workers’ Dufour’s gland. This stimulation was gender-specific; queen or worker brains demonstrated a stimulatory activity, but male brains did not. Queen gland could not be further stimulated. Bioassays with heated and filtered extracts indicate that the stimulatory brain factor is below 3,000 Da. We suggest that pheromone production in Dufour’s gland is under dual, negative positive control. Under queenright conditions, the inhibitor is released and blocks ester biosynthesis, whereas under queenless conditions, the activator is released, activating ester biosynthesis in the gland. This is consistent with the hypothesis that queenright workers are unequivocally recognized as non-fertile, whereas queenless workers try to become “false queens” as part of the reproductive competition.

Multiculturalism and international law : discussing universal standards / Alexandra Xanthaki

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Xanthaki, Alexandra

2010-01-01

Multikultuurilisuse tõlgendamisest rahvusvahelistes lepingutes (ICESCR - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; ICERD -International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ; CESCR - Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)

The Ububele Baby Mat Service – A primary preventative mental ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Ububele Baby Mat Service is a community-based, parent–infant mental health intervention offered at five primary health care clinics in Alexandra Township, in Johannesburg. The aim of the intervention is to promote healthy caregiver-infant attachments. There has been a steady increase in the number of mother-baby ...

Application of the information, motivation and behavioural skills ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper discusses the application of an information, motivation and behavioural skills (IMB) model in a school-based programme for the reduction of HIV risk behaviour among 259 Grade 11 learners in two high schools in Alexandra township, Johannesburg. School 1 was the Experimental group, while School 2 was the ...

Breeding a PKU-mouse model on Phe-free diet, is it possible?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dagnæs-Hansen, Frederik; Johansen, Karen Singers; Vorup-Jensen, Thomas

2014-01-01

The PKU-mouse model mutated in the PAH gene was developed in the 1990s in the laboratory of Dr. Alexandra Shedlovsky at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin. The mutation was generated by ENU (N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea) treatment of BTBR males. Several mutation was found...

A second horizon scan of biogeography: Golden Ages, Midas touches, and the Red Queen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael N Dawson

2016-12-01

and geography for decades into the future. But golden ages come and go, and they need not touch every domain in a discipline nor affect subdisciplines at the same time; moreover, what appears to be a Golden Age may sometimes have an undesirable ‘Midas touch’. Contexts within and outwith biogeography—e.g., methods, knowledge, climate, biodiversity, politics—are continually changing, and at times it can be challenging to establish or maintain relevance. In so many races with the Red Queen, we suggest that biogeography will enjoy greatest success if we also increasingly engage with the epistemology of our discipline.

Antarctic Martian Meteorites at Johnson Space Center

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, R. C.; Satterwhite, C. E.; Righter, K.; Harrington, R.

2018-01-01

This past year marked the 40th anniversary of the first Martian meteorite found in Antarctica by the ANSMET Antarctic Search for Meteorites) program, ALH 77005. Since then, an additional 14 Martian meteorites have been found by the ANSMET program making for a total of 15 Martian meteorites in the U. S. Antarctic meteorite collection at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Of the 15 meteorites, some have been paired so the 15 meteorites actually represent a total of approximately 9 separate samples. The first Martian meteorite found by ANSMET was ALH 77005 (482.500 g), a lherzolitic shergottite. When collected, this meteorite was split as a part of the joint expedition with the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) Japan. Originally classified as an "achondrite-unique", it was re-classified as a Martian lherzolitic shergottite in 1982. This meteorite has been allocated to 137 scientists for research and there are 180.934 g remaining at JSC. Two years later, one of the most significant Martian meteorites of the collection at JSC was found at Elephant Moraine, EET 79001 (7942.000 g), a shergottite. This meteorite is the largest in the Martian collection at JSC and was the largest stony meteorite sample collected during the 1979 season. In addition to its size, this meteorite is of particular interest because it contains a linear contact separating two different igneous lithologies, basaltic and olivine-phyric. EET 79001 has glass inclusions that contain noble gas and nitrogen compositions that are proportionally identical to the Martian atmosphere, as measured by the Viking spacecraft. This discovery helped scientists to identify where the "SNC" meteorite suite had originated, and that we actually possessed Martian samples. This meteorite has been allocated to 205 scientists for research and 5,298.435 g of sample is available.

Moessbauer spectra of olivine-rich achondrites - Evidence for preterrestrial redox reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, R. G.; Martinez, S. L.

1991-01-01

Moessbauer spectral measurements at 4.2 K were made on several ureilites and the two shergottites found in Antarctica, as well as two ureilite falls, three SNC meteorite falls, and two finds in order to distinguish products of preterrestrial redox reactions from phases formed during oxidative weathering on the earth. The spectra indicated that several ureilites contain major proportions of metallic iron, much of which resulted from preterrestrial carbon-induced reduction of ferrous iron in the outermost 10-100 microns of olivine grains in contact with carbonaceous material in the ureilites. The cryptocrystalline nature of these Fe inclusions in olivine renders the metal extremely vulnerable to aerial oxidation, even in ureilites collected as falls. It is inferred that the nanophase ferric oxides or oxyhydroxides identified in Brachina and Lafayette were produced by terrestrial weather of olivines before the meteorites were found. The absence of goethite in two olivine-bearing Antarctic shergottites suggests that the 2 percent ferric iron determined in their Moessbauer spectra also originated from oxidation on Mars.

Unusual Iron Redox Systematics of Martian Magmas

Science.gov (United States)

Danielson, L.; Righter, K.; Pando, K.; Morris, R. V.; Graff, T.; Agresti, D.; Martin, A.; Sutton, S.; Newville, M.; Lanzirotti, A.

2012-01-01

Martian magmas are known to be FeO-rich and the dominant FeO-bearing mineral at many sites visited by the Mars Exploration rovers (MER) is magnetite. Morris et al. proposed that the magnetite appears to be igneous in origin, rather than of secondary origin. However, magnetite is not typically found in experimental studies of martian magmatic rocks. Magnetite stability in terrestrial magmas is well understood, as are the stabilities of FeO and Fe2O3 in terrestrial magmas. In order to better understand the variation of FeO and Fe2O3, and the stability of magnetite (and other FeO-bearing phases) in martian magmas, we have undertaken an experimental study with two emphases. First, we determine the FeO and Fe2O3 contents of super- and sub-liquidus glasses from a shergottite bulk composition at 1 bar to 4 GPa, and variable fO2. Second, we document the stability of magnetite with temperature and fO2 in a shergottite bulk composition.

Remember the Algae that Went to Space? Here's What Happened Next | News |

Science.gov (United States)

. He met with Dr. Alexandra Dubini, at the time a research scientist at NREL working with the algae education how to grow algae. Nick Sweeney, a research technician in NREL's National Bioenergy Center . vulgaris to shift into lipid production mode. Squares of a special tape that changes color from tan to gray

Viin! / Karen Jagodin

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Jagodin, Karen, 1982-

2006-01-01

Näitused austria kaasaegsest arhitektuurist Eesti Arhitektuurimuuseumis kuni 21. V: "Viin: linnaehitus ja uusim arhitektuur" suures saalis (kuraator Leopold Dungl), kaasneb kataloog; "Elamuehitus Viinis: arhitektuur igaühele" galeriil (näituse idee: Wolfgang Förster, Dietmar Steiner, Alexandra Viehhauser, kuraator A. Viehhauser, kujundus - Span-Arhitektid: Matias del Campo, Sandra Manninger, Sebastian Michalski)

Determinação das castas em Scaptotrigona postica (Latreille) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): diferenciação do ovário Caste determination in Scaptotrigona postica (Latreille) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): the ovarian differentiation

OpenAIRE

Thaís da Cruz Alves dos Santos; Carminda da Cruz-Landim

2002-01-01

Both castes of Scaptotrigolia postica (Latreille, 1804) possess four ovarioles in each ovary. Queen and workers have the same ovarian development during the larvallife, but in lhe late larval stage the queen ovary beco me larger. During pupation a higher rate of cell division is observed in queen ovarioles and a higher rale of cell death in workers. Newly emerged workers have short ovarioles with differenriatcd germarium and vitellarium while queens have very long ovarioles with only germariu...

Selection of VSH-derived “Pol-line” honey bees and evaluation of their Varroa-resistance characteristics

OpenAIRE

Danka , Robert G.; Harris , Jeffery W.; Dodds , Garrett E.

2016-01-01

International audience; AbstractHoney bees with Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) have good resistance to Varroa destructor. We bred “Pol-line” bees by outcrossing VSH queens to US commercial stocks from 2008 to 2014 and then selecting colonies with low mite infestations. Beginning in 2011, field performance of colonies with outcrossed Pol-line queens was compared to colonies with outcrossed VSH queens. Mite infestations after one season were comparable in colonies of the two bee types. Queens f...

Genetic diversity affects colony survivorship in commercial honey bee colonies

Science.gov (United States)

Tarpy, David R.; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis; Pettis, Jeffrey S.

2013-08-01

Honey bee ( Apis mellifera) queens mate with unusually high numbers of males (average of approximately 12 drones), although there is much variation among queens. One main consequence of such extreme polyandry is an increased diversity of worker genotypes within a colony, which has been shown empirically to confer significant adaptive advantages that result in higher colony productivity and survival. Moreover, honey bees are the primary insect pollinators used in modern commercial production agriculture, and their populations have been in decline worldwide. Here, we compare the mating frequencies of queens, and therefore, intracolony genetic diversity, in three commercial beekeeping operations to determine how they correlate with various measures of colony health and productivity, particularly the likelihood of queen supersedure and colony survival in functional, intensively managed beehives. We found the average effective paternity frequency ( m e ) of this population of honey bee queens to be 13.6 ± 6.76, which was not significantly different between colonies that superseded their queen and those that did not. However, colonies that were less genetically diverse (headed by queens with m e ≤ 7.0) were 2.86 times more likely to die by the end of the study when compared to colonies that were more genetically diverse (headed by queens with m e > 7.0). The stark contrast in colony survival based on increased genetic diversity suggests that there are important tangible benefits of increased queen mating number in managed honey bees, although the exact mechanism(s) that govern these benefits have not been fully elucidated.

Not Our Regularly Scheduled Programming: Integrating Feminist Theory, Popular Culture, and Writing Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Alexandra

2016-01-01

When Alexandra Gold described her composition course: one that situates feminist and queer theory as a lens through which to view, analyze, and discuss contemporary television, a male acquaintance responded by saying he would not pay for that class. Another female acquaintance assured Gold that although she had loved a similar class at her Ivy…

Sperm influences female hibernation success, survival and fitness in the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baer, Boris; Schmid-Hempel, Paul

2005-01-01

. Using the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris, we artificially inseminated queens (females) with sperm from one or several males and show that sire groups (groups of brother males) vary in their effects on queen hibernation survival, longevity and fitness. In addition, multiply inseminated queens always had...

The Effects of Age of Grafted Larvae and of Supplemental Feeding on Performance of Iranian Honey Bee Colonies (Apis Mellifera Meda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahbobi Ali

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The performance of bee colonies greatly depends on the quality of the queens. The current research was conducted at the apiary of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, in Zanjan, Iran. Together, 24 rearing colonies were assigned to 4 grafting larvae age groups: 1-day-old, 2-day-old, 3-day-old, and emergency queens. Two feeding groups, fed and not fed, were created. The effects of reared queens on biological characteristics and performance of honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera meda headed by those queens were measured. Age of grafted larvae significantly influenced the results. The performance ratios of the most efficient colonies headed by queens reared from 1-day-old larvae compared with the least-efficient queens reared from 3-day-old larvae were 118% in brood production, 140% in bee population, and 154% in honey production. However, the age of grafted larvae did not affect colony defense behavior. Supplemental feeding of rearing colonies increased brood production to 111%, bee population to 116%, and honey production to 115%. A combination of the effect of age of larvae and supplemental feeding resulted in twice as much honey (12 kg produced by colonies with queens reared from 1-day-old larvae in fed rearing colonies compared to those with queens raised from 3-day-old larvae in unfed rearing colonies.

Effects of treatment of the fat body trophocytes of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides nurse workers and virgin queens in culture by juvenile hormone III and ecdysterone (20-HE).

Science.gov (United States)

Paes-De-Oliveira, Vagner Tadeu; Berger, Bruno; Poiani, Silvana Beani; Paulino Simões, Zilá Luz; Da Cruz-Landim, Carminda

2013-01-01

The fat body (FB) consists of two types of cells: throphocytes and oenocytes. Throphocytes are related to intermediary metabolism storing lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins while oenocytes play role in the lipids and lipoproteins production. The vitellogenin is the precursor of egg yolk (vitelline) and is synthesized on FB. The aim of this work was to analyze the effects of hormones acting in bee reproduction, as juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdisteroids (20 HE) on FB cells, where vitellogenin is synthesized. For the study were chose nurse workers that in Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides present activated ovaries and produce eggs, and virgin queens whose ovaries are not yet activated, presenting only previtellogenic follicles. FB trophocytes from these classes of bees were cultivated in media containing different amounts of JH and 20-HE. The effects on trophocytes cytoplasm reserves of lipids, proteins, and activity of acid phosphatase were compared by observing preparations from cultured FB, treated and control, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the hormones effects are related to the bee's caste and functional ovary stage. The role of acid phosphatase on mobilization of the trophocyte reserves was also determined. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Worker policing in the German wasp Vespula germanica

OpenAIRE

Wim Bonckaert; Kristel Vuerinckx; Johan Billen; Rob L. Hammond; Laurent Keller; Tom Wenseleers

2008-01-01

In some ants, bees, and wasps, workers kill or "police" male eggs laid by other workers in order to maintain the reproductive primacy of the queen. Kin selection theory predicts that multiple mating by the queen is one factor that can selectively favor worker policing. This is because when the queen is mated to multiple males, workers are more closely related to the queen's sons than to the sons of other workers. Earlier work has suggested that reproductive patterns in the German wasp Vespula...

Honeybee drones are attracted by groups of consexuals in a walking simulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandstaetter, Andreas Simon; Bastin, Florian; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe

2014-04-15

During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregation areas 10-40 m above ground. When a receptive female, a queen, enters the congregation, drones are attracted to her by queen-produced pheromones and visual cues and attempt to mate with the queen in mid-air. It is still unclear how drones and queens find the congregations. Visual cues on the horizon are most probably used for long-range orientation. For shorter-range orientation, however, attraction by a drone-produced aggregation pheromone has been proposed, yet so far its existence has not been confirmed conclusively. The low accessibility of congregation areas high up in the air is a major hurdle and precise control of experimental conditions often remains unsatisfactory in field studies. Here, we used a locomotion compensator-based walking simulator to investigate drones' innate odor preferences under controlled laboratory conditions. We tested behavioral responses of drones to 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid (9-ODA), the major queen-produced sexual attractant, and to queen mandibular pheromone (QMP), an artificial blend of 9-ODA and several other queen-derived components. While 9-ODA strongly dominates the odor bouquet of virgin queens, QMP rather resembles the bouquet of mated queens. In our assay, drones were attracted by 9-ODA, but not by QMP. We also investigated the potential attractiveness of male-derived odors by testing drones' orientation responses to the odor bouquet of groups of 10 living drones or workers. Our results demonstrate that honeybee drones are attracted by groups of other drones (but not by workers), which may indicate a role of drone-emitted cues for the formation of congregations.

NJEMANZE QUEEN

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

communication Technology (ICT) into the Nigerian System is a new trend that is eating deep into .... communicate with their children in their native language. ... The concept of digital storage emanated from the practical effects of technological.

Drama Queen

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Angelica Shirley

2006-01-01

This article presents an interview with Jacqueline Wilson, a popular British author of children's books. Wilson has published 86 books for children and young adults with more than 20 million copies sold in the U.K. alone. Wilson's fans--mostly seven- to 14-year-old girls--love her gripping plots about dysfunctional families, homelessness, and…

Sedução e identidade nacional: dançarinas eróticas brasileiras no Queens, Nova York Performing Seduction and National Identity: Brazilian Erotic Dancers in New York

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzana Maia

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Este artigo examina a trajetória de mulheres brasileiras que trabalham como dançarinas eróticas em bares noturnos da cidade de Nova York. Parte-se do pressuposto de que processos de globalização e transnacionalismo estão relacionados não apenas a transformações políticoeconômicas, como também a mudanças na maneira com que as pessoas se relacionam, como utilizam seus corpos e realizam seus desejos. Tais transformações devem também ser entendidas em relação ao regime colonial e pós-colonial, em que representações sobre seus corpos ganham inteligibilidade. A maioria das mulheres consideradas pela pesquisa é proveniente das classes médias e, quanto à raça, tendem a se autodenominar "morenas". A partir de trabalho de campo realizado durante os anos de 2004 e 2005, eu analiso de que forma essas posições e identidades sociais são traduzidas de um contexto a outro, e como novas hierarquias sociais são construídas num contexto transnacional. Tomando como foco de estudo o Blue Diamond, um bar localizado no bairro do Queens, este artigo examina como tais reconfigurações transnacionais são articuladas através das interações cotidianas entre dançarinas e entre essas e seus clientesThis article examines the trajectory of Brazilian women who work as erotic dancers in New York City's gentlemen's bars. It argues that processes of globalization and transnationalism are related not just with political-economic transformations, but also to significant shifts in the ways people relate to each other, use their bodies, and conceive and realize their desires. Such transformations must also be understood in relation to a colonial and post-colonial regime, in which representations about their bodies gain intelligibility. Most of the women who participated in my research are from the middle-classes, and in terms of race, they self-identify as "morenas". Based on fieldwork conducted between years 2004-2005, I analyze how their social