Insights from insects about adaptive social information use.

Copying others can greatly improve individual fitness and is fundamental for the organisation of societies. Yet in some situations it is better to ignore social information and either explore the world individually or use personal information obtained through prior experience. Insects provide excellent models to study the strategic use of social information, but insights from recent research have rarely been viewed in the light of social learning strategies. Here we discuss how insects tailor their reliance on social information to those circumstances for which it is most beneficial, and suggest that insects and vertebrates use similar information-use strategies. We highlight future research avenues, including the use of molecular tools to study the genetic and genomic basis of social information use.

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Urbana, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Urbana, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Pomeroy, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Pomeroy, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Utilité de la prophylaxie antibiotique avant un geste dentaire pour tes porteurs de prothèses totales du genou ou de la hanche [Antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures in arthroplasty patients]

Antibiotic prophylaxis is commonly prescribed to patients with total arthroplasties before a dental intervention. This attitude is not evidence-based for several reasons: 1) the usual pathogens of prosthetic joint infections are not of oral origin; 2) even if given, systemic antibiotic do not completely suppress the occult bacteraemia occurring during dental intervention and 3) humans may have up to twelve episodes of occult bacteraemia of dental origin per day. Routine antibiotic prophylaxis should be clearly distinguished from the antibiotic treatment required in case of established oral cavity infection. A constant optimal oral and dental hygiene is more important in terms of prevention and should be routinely recommended to every patient carrying a joint arthroplasty.

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Vincent, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Vincent, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Walcott, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Walcott, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Kimballton, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Kimballton, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Glidden, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Glidden, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Critical values of nitrogen indices in tomato plants grown in soil and nutrient solution determined by different statistical procedures

The objective of this study was to establish critical values of the N indices, namely soil-plant analysis development (SPAD), petiole sap N-NO3 and organic N in the tomato leaf adjacent to the first cluster (LAC), under soil and nutrient solution conditions, determined by different statistical approaches. Two experiments were conducted in randomized complete block design with four repli-cations. Tomato plants were grown in soil, in 3 L pot, with five N rates (0, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg kg-1) and in solution at N rates of 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 mmol L-1. Experiments in nutrient solution and soil were finished at thirty seven and forty two days after transplanting, respectively. At those times, SPAD index and petiole sap N-NO3 were evaluated in the LAC. Then, plants were harvested, separated in leaves and stem, dried at 70ºC, ground and weighted. The organic N was determined in LAC dry matter. Three statistical procedures were used to calculate critical N values. There were accentuated discrepancies for critical values of N indices obtained with plants grown in soil and nutrient solution as well as for different statistical procedures. Critical values of nitrogen indices at all situations are presented.

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Bertram, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Bertram, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

An Adaptive Field Detection Method For Bridge Scour Monitoring Using Motion-Sensing Radio Transponders (RFIDs), TR-617, 2014

A comprehensive field detection method is proposed that is aimed at developing advanced capability for reliable monitoring, inspection and life estimation of bridge infrastructure. The goal is to utilize Motion-Sensing Radio Transponders (RFIDS) on fully adaptive bridge monitoring to minimize the problems inherent in human inspections of bridges. We developed a novel integrated condition-based maintenance (CBM) framework integrating transformative research in RFID sensors and sensing architecture, for in-situ scour monitoring, state-of-the-art computationally efficient multiscale modeling for scour assessment.

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Olin, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Olin, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Griswold, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Griswold, Iowa for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014

The evolution, maintenance and adaptive function of genetic colour polymorphism in birds.

The hypothesis that ornaments can honestly signal quality only if their expression is condition-dependent has dominated the study of the evolution and function of colour traits. Much less interest has been devoted to the adaptive function of colour traits for which the expression is not, or is to a low extent, sensitive to body condition and the environment in which individuals live. The aim of the present paper is to review the current theoretical and empirical knowledge of the evolution, maintenance and adaptive function of colour plumage traits for which the expression is mainly under genetic control. The finding that in many bird species the inheritance of colour morphs follows the laws of Mendel indicates that genetic colour polymorphism is frequent. Polymorphism may have evolved or be maintained because each colour morph facilitates the exploitation of alternative ecological niches as suggested by the observation that individuals are not randomly distributed among habitats with respect to coloration. Consistent with the hypothesis that different colour morphs are linked to alternative strategies is the finding that in a majority of species polymorphism is associated with reproductive parameters, and behavioural, life-history and physiological traits. Experimental studies showed that such covariations can have a genetic basis. These observations suggest that colour polymorphism has an adaptive function. Aviary and field experiments demonstrated that colour polymorphism is used as a criterion in mate-choice decisions and dominance interactions confirming the claim that conspecifics assess each other's colour morphs. The factors favouring the evolution and maintenance of genetic variation in coloration are reviewed, but empirical data are virtually lacking to assess their importance. Although current theory predicts that only condition-dependent traits can signal quality, the present review shows that genetically inherited morphs can reveal the same qualities. The study of genetic colour polymorphism will provide important and original insights on the adaptive function of conspicuous traits.