Wood ants protect their brood with tree resin

Social insects use multiple lines of collective defences to combat pathogens. One example of a behav- ioural group defence is the use of antimicrobial plant compounds to disinfect the nest. Indeed, wood ants collect coniferous tree resin, and the presence of resin in their nest protects them against fungal and bacterial pathogens. Many questions remain on the mechanisms of resin use, including which factors elicit resin collection and placement within nests. Here, we investigated whether the presence of brood induces Formica paralugubris workers to collect more resin, and whether the workers preferentially place resin near the brood. We also tested whether the collection and placement of resin depends on the presence of the fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana. Workers brought more resin to their nest when brood was present, and preferentially placed the resin near the brood. In contrast, workers did not increase resin collection in response to exposure to B. bassiana, nor did they place resin closer to contaminated brood or contaminated areas of the nest. This lack of response may be explained by a limited effect of resin against the germination and growth of B. bassiana in vitro. Overall, our main result is that woods ants actively position resin near the brood, which probably confers prophylactic protection against other detrimental microorganisms.

Seeing the Wood through the Trees: The Current State of Higher Systematics in the Strepsirhini.

Strepsirhines comprise 10 living or recently extinct families, ≥50% of extant primate families. Their phylogenetic relationships have been intensively studied, but common topologies have only recently emerged; e.g. all recent reconstructions link the Lepilemuridae and Cheirogaleidae. The position of the indriids, however, remains uncertain, and molecular studies have placed them as the sister to every clade except Daubentonia, the preferred sister group of morphologists. The node subtending Afro-Asian lorisids has been similarly elusive. We probed these phylogenetic inconsistencies using a test data set including 20 strepsirhine taxa and 2 outgroups represented by 3,543 mtDNA base pairs, and 43 selected morphological characters, subjecting the data to maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses, and reconstructing topology and node ages jointly from the molecular data using relaxed molecular clock analyses. Our permutations yielded compatible but not identical evolutionary histories, and currently popular techniques seem unable to deal adequately with morphological data. We investigated the influence of morphological characters on tree topologies, and examined the effect of taxon sampling in two experiments: (1) we removed the molecular data only for 5 endangered Malagasy taxa to simulate 'extinction leaving a fossil record'; (2) we removed both the sequence and morphological data for these taxa. Topologies were affected more by the inclusion of morphological data only, indicating that palaeontological studies that involve inserting a partial morphological data set into a combined data matrix of extant species should be interpreted with caution. The gap of approximately 10 million years between the daubentoniid divergence and those of the other Malagasy families deserves more study. The apparently contemporaneous divergence of African and non-daubentoniid Malagasy families 40-30 million years ago may be related to regional plume-induced uplift followed by a global period of cooling and drying. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

La construction argumentative des émotions dans les débats parlementaires français sur l'abolition de la peine de mort

Ce travail se situe au carrefour de la rhétorique, des théories de l'argumentation et de la linguistique du discours : il s'intéresse aux modalités diverses selon lesquelles une émotion peut être sémiotisée par un locuteur, et cela dans le cadre spécifique d'un discours de type argumentatif. Le questionnement vise à reprendre à nouveaux frais le concept rhétorique de pathos et porte, de façon générale, sur les rapports complexes qui unissent l'argumentation, d'une part, et l'émotion, d'autre part. L'hypothèse développée a trait à ce que l'on peut appeler l'argumentabilité des émotions. Les locuteurs ne font pas seulement « appel » à l'émotion dans le but d'accroître l'efficacité d'une argumentation visant à établir le bien-fondé d'une opinion ou l'opportunité d'une action : ils peuvent aussi, dans certains cas, chercher à argumenter pour ou contre l'émotion elle-même. Ils s'efforcent alors de formuler les raisons pour lesquelles il convient ou, au contraire, il ne convient pas d'éprouver cette émotion. La construction de l'émotion est dite « argumentative », dans le sens où l'émotion en vient à constituer l'objet même de l'argumentation : l'effort argumentatif des locuteurs porte moins sur des dispositions à croire et à agir que sur des dispositions à ressentir. Parler de l'« argumentabilité » des émotions, c'est insister sur le fait - essentiel, mais rarement relevé - que les émotions donnent elles aussi prise aux opérations argumentatives que l'on recense traditionnellement (mise en doute quant à la légitimité, justification ou, au contraire, tentative de réfutation). Ce travail ne vise pas seulement à apporter une contribution théorique aux études sur l'argumentation : il entend aussi mettre en pratique l'analyse argumentative sur un corpus de textes. Il s'agit des comptes-rendus écrits des principaux débats parlementaires français relatifs à l'abolition de la peine de mort (1791, 1848, 1908 et 1981). Bien qu'il s'échelonne sur une période de près de deux siècles, ce corpus présente une forte cohésion, dans la mesure où les textes qui le composent traitent d'un même thème et appartiennent à un même genre de discours. Cette cohésion est essentielle, dans la mesure où elle autorise une pratique raisonnée de la comparaison en diachronie : l'enjeu est de décrire l'évolution des stratégies argumentatives à travers le temps. Observé sur une longue durée, le pathos que développent les parlementaires favorables ou au contraire hostiles à l'abolition présente des visages multiples. On cherche à décrire aussi rigoureusement que possible la logique qui, lors de chaque débat, préside à la construction d'émotions comme la peur, la pitié, l'indignation ou encore la honte.

Database construction and Peptide identification strategies for proteogenomic studies on sequenced genomes.

Since the advent of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies, the ever-increasing rate at which genomes have been published has generated new challenges notably at the level of genome annotation. Even if gene predictors and annotation softwares are more and more efficient, the ultimate validation is still in the observation of predicted gene product( s). Mass-spectrometry based proteomics provides the necessary high throughput technology to show evidences of protein presence and, from the identified sequences, confirmation or invalidation of predicted annotations. We review here different strategies used to perform a MS-based proteogenomics experiment with a bottom-up approach. We start from the strengths and weaknesses of the different database construction strategies, based on different genomic information (whole genome, ORF, cDNA, EST or RNA-Seq data), which are then used for matching mass spectra to peptides and proteins. We also review the important points to be considered for a correct statistical assessment of the peptide identifications. Finally, we provide references for tools used to map and visualize the peptide identifications back to the original genomic information.

Causes of subcontracting: Evidence from panel data on construction firms

This paper examines factors explaining subcontracting decisions in the construction industry. Rather than the more common cross-sectional analyses, we use panel data to evaluate the influence of all relevant variables. We design and use a new index of the closeness to small numbers situations to estimate the extent of hold-up problems. Results show that as specificity grows, firms tend to subcontract less. The opposite happens when output heterogeneity and the use of intangible assets and capabilities increase. Neither temporary shortage of capacity nor geographical dispersion of activities seem to affect the extent of subcontracting. Finally, proxies for uncertainty do not show any clear effect.

Comparative morphology of the mandibles of female polistine social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae)

Comparative morphology of the mandibles of female polistine social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae). Diversity of mandibular forms in female polistines is explored and compared among 116 species of all polistine genera. Inferences about function are made and discussed based on observed form differences. Mandible length and width measurements are analyzed for a subset of polistine species plus two vespines and two eumenines. A variable expressing the ratio between these variables is also considered in morphometric analyses. The following mechanical interactions among mandible structural elements are highlighted: opposition and crossing of mandibles' apical teeth at the middle of the closing trajectory; shearing action of the apical teeth against mesial denticles of the opposite mandible; shearing action of the mandible anterior margin against the ventral margin of the clypeus. In the genera Agelaia and Angiopolybia, exceptionally developed mesial mandibular structures may be related to necrophagy. In some epiponine genera, poorly developed mesial denticles and strong torsion of mandibles may be partially related to use of short wood fibers in nest construction as advanced by Sarmiento (2004). The considerable morphological variation found across the subfamily Polistinae is certain to be important in taxonomic and phylogenetic studies at the genus and species levels.

Mating triggers dynamic immune regulations in wood ant queens.

Mating can affect female immunity in multiple ways. On the one hand, the immune system may be activated by pathogens transmitted during mating, sperm and seminal proteins, or wounds inflicted by males. On the other hand, immune defences may also be down-regulated to reallocate resources to reproduction. Ants are interesting models to study post-mating immune regulation because queens mate early in life, store sperm for many years, and use it until their death many years later, while males typically die after mating. This long-term commitment between queens and their mates limits the opportunity for sexual conflict but raises the new constraint of long-term sperm survival. In this study, we examine experimentally the effect of mating on immunity in wood ant queens. Specifically, we compared the phenoloxidase and antibacterial activities of mated and virgin Formica paralugubris queens. Queens had reduced levels of active phenoloxidase after mating, but elevated antibacterial activity 7 days after mating. These results indicate that the process of mating, dealation and ovary activation triggers dynamic patterns of immune regulation in ant queens that probably reflect functional responses to mating and pathogen exposure that are independent of sexual conflict.

Waste Reduction, Construction and Demolition Debris: Guide for Building, Construction and Environmental Professionals, Revised November 2008

This document is intended to lay the foundation for resource reduction strategies in new construction, renovation and demolition. If you have an innovative idea or information that you believe should be included in future updates of this manual please email Shelly Codner at scodner@region12cog.org or Jan Loyson at Jan.Loyson@Iowalifechanging.com. Throughout this manual, we use the term “waste reduction” to define waste management initiatives that will result in less waste going to the landfill. In accordance with the waste management hierarchy these practices include reducing (waste prevention), reusing (deconstruction and salvage), recycling and renewing (making old things new again) - in that order. This manual will explain what these practices are and how to incorporate them into your projects.

Construction Code, November 25, 2008

Construction codes establish minimum standards for structural integrity, life safety, accessibility and energy conservation in construction of buildings and facilities intended for human occupancy. These requirements affect all of the major systems of buildings and facilities.