2,881 research outputs found
Differential effects of jasmonic acid treatment of Brassica nigra on the attraction of pollinators, parasitoids, and butterflies
Herbivore-induced plant defences influence the behaviour of herbivores as well as that of their natural enemies. Jasmonic acid is one of the key hormones involved in both these direct and indirect induced defences. Jasmonic acid treatment of plants changes the composition of defence chemicals in the plants, induces volatile emission, and increases the production of extrafloral nectar. However, few studies have addressed the potential influence of induced defences on flower nectar chemistry and pollinator behaviour. These have shown that herbivore damage can affect pollination rates and plant fitness. Here, we have investigated the effect of jasmonic acid treatment on floral nectar production and the attraction of pollinators, as well as the effect on the behaviour of an herbivore and its natural enemy. The study system consisted of black mustard plants, Brassica nigra L. (Brassicaceae), pollinators of Brassica nigra (i.e., honeybees and syrphid flies), a specialist herbivore, Pieris rapae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), and a parasitoid wasp that uses Pieris larvae as hosts, Cotesia glomerata L. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). We show that different trophic levels are differentially affected by jasmonic acid-induced changes. While the herbivore prefers control leaves over jasmonic acid-treated leaves for oviposition, the parasitoid C. glomerata is more attracted to jasmonic acid-treated plants than to control plants. We did not observe differences in pollinator preference, the rates of flower visitation by honeybees and syrphid flies were similar for control and jasmonic acid-treated plants. Plants treated with jasmonic acid secreted less nectar than control plants and the concentrations of glucose and fructose tended to be lower than in nectar from control plants. Jasmonic acid treatment resulted in a lower nectar production than actual feeding damage by P. rapae caterpillars
DNA Spools under Tension
DNA-spools, structures in which DNA is wrapped and helically coiled onto
itself or onto a protein core are ubiquitous in nature. We develop a general
theory describing the non-equilibrium behavior of DNA-spools under linear
tension. Two puzzling and seemingly unrelated recent experimental findings, the
sudden quantized unwrapping of nucleosomes and that of DNA toroidal condensates
under tension are theoretically explained and shown to be of the same origin.
The study provides new insights into nucleosome and chromatin fiber stability
and dynamics
Electrostatic complexation of spheres and chains under elastic stress
We consider the complexation of highly charged semiflexible polyelectrolytes
with oppositely charged macroions. On the basis of scaling arguments we discuss
how the resulting complexes depend on the persistence length of the
polyelectrolyte, the salt concentration, and the sizes and charges of the chain
and the macroions. We study first the case of complexation with a single sphere
and calculate the wrapping length of the chain. We then extend our
considerations to complexes involving many wrapped spheres and study
cooperative effects. The mechanical properties of such a complex under an
external deformation are evaluated.Comment: 16 pages, submitted to J. Chem. Phy
The relationships between school belonging and students' motivational, social-emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes in secondary education:a meta-analytic review
This meta-analytic review examines the relationships between students' sense of school belonging and students' motivational, social-emotional, behavioural, and academic functioning in secondary education. Moreover, it examines to what extent these relationships differ between different student groups (grade level, SES), measurement instruments, and region. The meta-analysis included 82 correlational studies, published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2018. Results revealed, on average, a small positive correlation with academic achievement, and small to moderate positive correlations with motivational outcomes such as mastery goal orientations; with social-emotional outcomes such as self-concept and self-efficacy; and with behavioural outcomes such as behavioural, cognitive, and agentic engagement. A small negative correlation is observed with absence and dropout rates. Similar results are found across different student groups (grade level, SES). Although the results vary to some extent across measurement instruments and region, generally, the results reveal that school belonging plays an important role in students' school life
In situ observations of waves in Venus’s polar lower thermosphere with Venus Express aerobraking
Waves are ubiquitous phenomena found in oceans and atmospheres alike. From the earliest formal studies of waves in the Earth’s atmosphere to more recent studies on other planets, waves have been shown to play a key role in shaping atmospheric bulk structure, dynamics and variability1, 2, 3, 4. Yet, waves are difficult to characterize as they ideally require in situ measurements of atmospheric properties that are difficult to obtain away from Earth. Thus, we have incomplete knowledge of atmospheric waves on planets other than our own, and we are thereby limited in our ability to understand and predict planetary atmospheres. Here we report the first ever in situ observations of atmospheric waves in Venus’s thermosphere (130–140 km) at high latitudes (71.5°–79.0°). These measurements were made by the Venus Express Atmospheric Drag Experiment (VExADE)5 during aerobraking from 24 June to 11 July 2014. As the spacecraft flew through Venus’s atmosphere, deceleration by atmospheric drag was sufficient to obtain from accelerometer readings a total of 18 vertical density profiles. We infer an average temperature of T = 114 ± 23 K and find horizontal wave-like density perturbations and mean temperatures being modulated at a quasi-5-day period
Physics of viral dynamics
Viral capsids are often regarded as inert structural units, but in actuality they display fascinating dynamics during different stages of their life cycle. With the advent of single-particle approaches and high-resolution techniques, it is now possible to scrutinize viral dynamics during and after their assembly and during the subsequent development pathway into infectious viruses. In this Review, the focus is on the dynamical properties of viruses, the different physical virology techniques that are being used to study them, and the physical concepts that have been developed to describe viral dynamics
Organized condensation of worm-like chains
We present results relevant to the equilibrium organization of DNA strands of
arbitrary length interacting with a spherical organizing center, suggestive of
DNA-histone complexation in nucleosomes. We obtain a rich phase diagram in
which a wrapping state is transformed into a complex multi-leafed, rosette
structure as the adhesion energy is reduced. The statistical mechanics of the
"melting" of a rosette can be mapped into an exactly soluble one-dimensional
many-body problem.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures in a pdf fil
Facet Formation in the Negative Quenched Kardar-Parisi-Zhang Equation
The quenched Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (QKPZ) equation with negative non-linear
term shows a first order pinning-depinning (PD) transition as the driving force
is varied. We study the substrate-tilt dependence of the dynamic transition
properties in 1+1 dimensions. At the PD transition, the pinned surfaces form a
facet with a characteristic slope as long as the substrate-tilt is
less than . When , the transition is discontinuous and the critical
value of the driving force is independent of , while the transition
is continuous and increases with when . We explain these
features from a pinning mechanism involving a localized pinning center and the
self-organized facet formation.Comment: 4 pages, source TeX file and 7 PS figures are tarred and compressed
via uufile
Folding Langmuir Monolayers
The maximum pressure a two-dimensional surfactant monolayer is able to
withstand is limited by the collapse instability towards formation of
three-dimensional material. We propose a new description for reversible
collapse based on a mathematical analogy between the formation of folds in
surfactant monolayers and the formation of Griffith Cracks in solid plates
under stress. The description, which is tested in a combined microscopy and
rheology study of the collapse of a single-phase Langmuir monolayer of
2-hydroxy-tetracosanoic acid (2-OH TCA), provides a connection between the
in-plane rheology of LM's and reversible folding
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