Social bonds and genetic ties: Kinship association and affiliation in a community of bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Studies of captive populations of bonobos suggest that females are more gregarious than males. This seems to contradict assumed sex-differences in kinship deriving from a speciestypical dispersal pattern of female exogamy and male philopatry. Here we present data on spatial associations and affiliative relations among members of one wild community (Eyengo) for which genetic relationships were identified by analysing mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Our data from Lomako confirm the existence of spatial associations among resident females. In addition, they reveal strong social bonds between males and females. While most female-female associations did not last longer than one field season, long-term associations occurred predominantly between mixed-sex dyads and involved both close kin and unrelated individuals. Differences in social grooming appeared to be related to patterns of spatial association rather than to kinship. It is suggested that under natural conditions social organisation of bonobos is characterised by strong inter-sexual bonds. Males may benefit from bonding with females by increased reproductive success via rank acquisition. For females benefits may derive from inclusive fitness and reduced food competition. Preliminary evidence suggests that females also may benefit from protection by resident males against male intruders

Perovskite type nanopowders and thin films obtained by chemical methods

The review presents the contribution of the authors, to the preparation of two types of perovskites, namely BiFeO3 and LaCoO3, by innovative methods. The studied perovskites were obtained as powders, films and sintered bodies. Their complex structural and morphological characterization is also presented. The obtained results have underlined the important influence of the method of preparation on the properties of the synthesized perovskites

Analysis of collection of hemolytic uremic syndrome-associated enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Multilocus sequence typing of 169 non-O157 enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) isolated from patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) demonstrated 29 different sequence types (STs); 78.1% of these strains clustered in 5 STs. From all STs and serotypes identified, we established a reference panel of EHEC associated with HUS (HUSEC collection).</p