Olfactory eavesdropping between two competing stingless bee species

Foragers can improve search efficiency, and ultimately fitness, by using social information: cues and signals produced by other animals that indicate food location or quality. Social information use has been well studied in predator–prey systems, but its functioning within a trophic level remains poorly understood. Eavesdropping, use of signals by unintended recipients, is of particular interest because eavesdroppers may exert selective pressure on signaling systems. We provide the most complete study to date of eavesdropping between two competing social insect species by determining the glandular source and composition of a recruitment pheromone, and by examining reciprocal heterospecific responses to this signal. We tested eavesdropping between Trigona hyalinata and Trigona spinipes, two stingless bee species that compete for floral resources, exhibit a clear dominance hierarchy and recruit nestmates to high-quality food sources via pheromone trails. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of T. hyalinata recruitment pheromone revealed six carboxylic esters, the most common of which is octyl octanoate, the major component of T. spinipes recruitment pheromone. We demonstrate heterospecific detection of recruitment pheromones, which can influence heterospecific and conspecific scout orientation. Unexpectedly, the dominant T. hyalinata avoided T. spinipes pheromone in preference tests, while the subordinate T. spinipes showed neither attraction to nor avoidance of T. hyalinata pheromone. We suggest that stingless bees may seek to avoid conflict through their eavesdropping behavior, incorporating expected costs associated with a choice into the decision-making process

Intervenção da fisioterapia na esclerose múltipla: uma revisão da literatura

Mestrado em FisioterapiaA esclerose múltipla é uma doença do sistema nervoso central, que afeta mais frequentemente mulheres jovens. A esclerose múltipla é uma doença progressiva e imprevisível, resultando em alguns casos de incapacidades e limitações a nível físico, psicológico e social. Objetivo: Revisão da literatura na busca de evidência da efetividade da fisioterapia na Intervenção da Esclerose Múltipla. Método: As pesquisas foram feitas nas bases de dado SciELO, RCAAP, PubMed e B-ON, selecionados artigos com idioma Inglês e Português, publicados entre os anos de 2003 a 2013. Na SciELO foi utilizada as seguintes palavras-chave: Esclerose Múltipla e Fisioterapia na Esclerose Múltipla tendo como resultado 16 artigos. No RCAAP fisioterapia na esclerose múltipla, fisioterapia e intervenção da fisioterapia na esclerose múltipla tendo como resultados 12 artigos. Na B-ON intervention of physical therapy in multiple sclerose e exercise in multiple sclerosis tendo como resultado 17 artigos e na PubMed foram utilizadas as mesmas da B-ON, tendo como resultados 13. Resultados: Após a seleção dos artigos, utilizou-se os critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Tivemos como amostra final 26 artigos ou seja 32 foram excluídos e 26 incluídos. Discussão: A intervenção da fisioterapia é importante para uma administração bem-sucedida das limitações funcionais, incapacidades e melhorias sobre a qualidade de vida dos pacientes com esclerose múltipla. Os pacientes devem incidir precocemente numa intervenção de neurofacilitação e nos casos de EDSS menor que 7 e estáveis deverão realizar exercício. O número de séries de exercícios deverá iniciar com 1-3 séries, aumentando progressivamente para 3-4 séries. O descanso entre as séries de exercícios deverá ser de 2–4 minutos. Alguns autores aconselham a combinação de treino aeróbico e de força. Com 3 sessões/semana de treino de força e 1 sessão de exercício aeróbio. Conclusão: Através da leitura dos resultados podemos verificar que a fisioterapia tem um papel fundamental na reabilitação e prevenção do indivíduo com esclerose múltipla.ABSTRACT - Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that affects more frequently young women. It is a progressive and unpredictable disease, resulting in some cases of disabilities and limitations to physical, psychological and social level. Purpose: To review the literature searching for evidence of the effectiveness of physiotherapy intervention in Multiple Sclerosis. Methodology: The research was performed in the databases SciELO, RCAAP, PubMed and B-ON, where articles in english and portuguese idioms published from 2003 to 2013 were selected. In the SciELO database were used the following keywords: multiple sclerosis and Physioterapy in multiple sclerosis, having as result 16 articles. The keywords in the RCAAP database were Physioterapy in multiple sclerosis, Physioterapy and intervention of Physioterapy in multiple sclerosis, having as result 12 articles. In B-ON databases the keywords were intervention of physical therapy in multiple sclerose and exercise in multiple sclerosis, having as result 17 articles and in the database PubMed were used the same keyword of B-ON, having as result 13 articles. Results: After selecting the items, using the criteria for inclusion and exclusion as a final sample we have come to 26, been 32 articles excluded and 26 included. Discussion: The physiotherapy intervention is important for a successful management of functional limitations, disabilities, and to improve the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients should be submitted to early intervention of neurofacilitation and in cases of EDSS less than 7 with stability they should perform the exercise. The number of series of exercises should start with 1-3 series, progressively increasing to 3-4 series. The resting between series of exercises should be 2-4 minutes. Some authors advise the combination of aerobic and strength training with 3 sessions / week of strength training and 1 session of aerobic exercise. Conclusion: Through the reading of the results we can see that physical therapy plays a key role in the prevention and rehabilitation of individuals with multiple sclerosis

Patterns of Early Gut Colonization Shape Future Immune Responses of the Host

The most important trigger for immune system development is the exposure to microbial components immediately after birth. Moreover, targeted manipulation of the microbiota can be used to change host susceptibility to immune-mediated diseases. Our aim was to analyze how differences in early gut colonization patterns change the composition of the resident microbiota and future immune system reactivity. Germ-free (GF) mice were either inoculated by single oral gavage of caecal content or let colonized by co-housing with specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice at different time points in the postnatal period. The microbiota composition was analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for 16S rRNA gene followed by principal component analysis. Furthermore, immune functions and cytokine concentrations were analyzed using flow cytometry, ELISA or multiplex bead assay. We found that a single oral inoculation of GF mice at three weeks of age permanently changed the gut microbiota composition, which was not possible to achieve at one week of age. Interestingly, the ex-GF mice inoculated at three weeks of age were also the only mice with an increased pro-inflammatory immune response. In contrast, the composition of the gut microbiota of ex-GF mice that were co-housed with SPF mice at different time points was similar to the gut microbiota in the barrier maintained SPF mice. The existence of a short GF postnatal period permanently changed levels of systemic regulatory T cells, NK and NKT cells, and cytokine production. In conclusion, a time window exists that enables the artificial colonization of GF mice by a single oral dose of caecal content, which may modify the future immune phenotype of the host. Moreover, delayed microbial colonization of the gut causes permanent changes in the immune system

Data standardization of plant–pollinator interactions

Background: Animal pollination is an important ecosystem function and service, ensuring both the integrity of natural systems and human well-being. Although many knowledge shortfalls remain, some high-quality data sets on biological interactions are now available. The development and adoption of standards for biodiversity data and metadata has promoted great advances in biological data sharing and aggregation, supporting large-scale studies and science-based public policies. However, these standards are currently not suitable to fully support interaction data sharing. Results: Here we present a vocabulary of terms and a data model for sharing plant–pollinator interactions data based on the Darwin Core standard. The vocabulary introduces 48 new terms targeting several aspects of plant–pollinator interactions and can be used to capture information from different approaches and scales. Additionally, we provide solutions for data serialization using RDF, XML, and DwC-Archives and recommendations of existing controlled vocabularies for some of the terms. Our contribution supports open access to standardized data on plant–pollinator interactions. Conclusions: The adoption of the vocabulary would facilitate data sharing to support studies ranging from the spatial and temporal distribution of interactions to the taxonomic, phenological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of plant–pollinator interactions. We expect to fill data and knowledge gaps, thus further enabling scientific research on the ecology and evolution of plant–pollinator communities, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the development of public policies. The proposed data model is flexible and can be adapted for sharing other types of interactions data by developing discipline-specific vocabularies of termsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Melissopalynological, physicochemical and antioxidant properties of honey from West Coast of Malaysia

Stingless bees are native to tropical region and produce honey which are high in moisture content. Compared to honey from honeybees, there are limited studies on honey derived from stingless bees. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of stingless bee honey. Fifteen types of honey were collected from six states in West Coast of Malaysia and pollen analyses were carried out. Four types of unifloral honey samples produced by stingless bees were selected to determine their physicochemical and antioxidant activities including total phenolic, total flavonoid and ascorbic acid contents. Melissopalynological study of 15 honey samples collected from different states showed presence of both unifloral and multifloral origins. Honey samples collected from Apis mellifera (honeybee) combs had lower number of total pollen compared to samples collected from Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica (stingless bees). Jambul Merak honey contains the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents with greatest color intensity and has the highest antioxidant potential. This study highlights the chemical composition and biological activity of honey from stingless bees which may increase its commercial value or to be utilised as potential functional food ingredient

A mixed colony of Scaptotrigona depilis and Nannotrigona testaceicornis (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponina)

We describe a case of a spontaneously established mixed colony of two species of stingless bees. The host colony of Scaptotrigona depilis, an aggressive bee that forms large colonies, was invaded by workers of Nannotrigona testaceicornis, a smaller bee that forms small colonies. The host colony and the invading species colony were maintained in next boxes about 1.5 m apart. The N. testaceicornis colony had been recently divided. Observations were made daily for 10 min, and every two weeks the colony was opened for observations within the nest. Initially the host colony bees repulsed the invading species, but as their numbers built up, they were no longer able to defend the entrance. An estimated 60-90 N. testaceicornis workers lived integrated into the colony of S. depilis for 58 days. During this period, they reconstructed and maintained the entrance tube, changing it to an entrance typical of N. testaceicornis. They also collected food and building material for the host colony. Nannotrigona testaceicornis tolerated transit of S. depilis through the entrance, but did not allow the host species to remain within the tube, though the attacks never resulted in bee mortality. Aggression was limited to biting the wings; when the bees fell to the ground they immediately separated and flew back. There have been very few reports of spontaneously occurring mixed stingless bee colonies. It is difficult to determine what caused the association that we found; probably workers of N. testaceicornis got lost when we split their colony, and then they invaded the colony of S. depilis.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[06/53839-4]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[07/50218-1]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)[142319/2006-6