Photoreceptor Spectral Sensitivity in the Bumblebee, Bombus impatiens (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The bumblebee Bombus impatiens is increasingly used as a model in comparative studies of colour vision, or in behavioural studies relying on perceptual discrimination of colour. However, full spectral sensitivity data on the photoreceptor inputs underlying colour vision are not available for B. impatiens. Since most known bee species are trichromatic, with photoreceptor spectral sensitivity peaks in the UV, blue and green regions of the spectrum, data from a related species, where spectral sensitivity measurements have been made, are often applied to B impatiens. Nevertheless, species differences in spectral tuning of equivalent photoreceptor classes may result in peaks that differ by several nm, which may have small but significant effects on colour discrimination ability. We therefore used intracellular recording to measure photoreceptor spectral sensitivity in B. impatiens. Spectral peaks were estimated at 347, 424 and 539 nm for UV, blue and green receptors, respectively, suggesting that this species is a UV-blue-green trichromat. Photoreceptor spectral sensitivity peaks are similar to previous measurements from Bombus terrestris, although there is a significant difference in the peak sensitivity of the blue receptor, which is shifted in the short wave direction by 12–13 nm in B. impatiens compared to B. terrestris

The IRIS Network of Excellence:: Integrating Research in Interactive Storytelling

Abstract. Interactive Storytelling is a major endeavour to develop new media which could offer a radically new user experience, with a potential to revolutionise digital entertainment. European research in Interactive Storytelling has played a leading role in the development of the field, and this creates a unique opportunity to strengthen its position even further by structuring collaboration between some of its main actors. IRIS (Integrating Research in Interactive Storytelling) aims at creating a virtual centre of excellence that will be able to progress the understanding of fundamental aspects of Interactive Storytelling and the development of corresponding technologies

Introduction: Examined Live – An Epistemological Exchange Between Philosophy and Cultural Psychology on Reflection

Besides the general agreement about the human capability of reflection, there is a large area of disagreement and debate about the nature and value of “reflective scrutiny” and the role of “second-order states” in everyday life. This problem has been discussed in a vast and heterogeneous literature about topics such as epistemic injustice, epistemic norms, agency, understanding, meta-cognition etc. However, there is not yet any extensive and interdisciplinary work, specifically focused on the topic of the epistemic value of reflection. This volume is one of the first attempts aimed at providing an innovative contribution, an exchange between philosophy, epistemology and psychology about the place and value of reflection in everyday life. Our goal in the next sections is not to offer an exhaustive overview of recent work on epistemic reflection, nor to mimic all of the contributions made by the chapters in this volume. We will try to highlight some topics that have motivated a new resumption of this field and, with that, drawing on chapters from this volume where relevant. Two elements defined the scope and content of this volume, on the one hand, the crucial contribution of Ernest Sosa, whose works provide original and thought-provoking contributions to contemporary epistemology in setting a new direction for old dilemmas about the nature and value of knowledge, giving a central place to reflection. On the other hand, the recent developments of cultural psychology, in the version of the “Aalborg approach”, reconsider the object and scope of psychological sciences, stressing that “[h]uman conduct is purposeful”

Bird pollination of Canary Island endemic plants

The Canary Islands are home to a guild of endemic, threatened bird pollinated plants. Previous work has suggested that these plants evolved floral traits as adaptations to pollination by flower specialist sunbirds, but subsequently they appear to be have co-opted passerine birds as sub-optimal pollinators. To test this idea we carried out a quantitative study of the pollination biology of three of the bird pollinated plants, Canarina canariensis (Campanulaceae), Isoplexis canariensis (Veronicaceae) and Lotus berthelotii (Fabaceae), on the island of Tenerife. Using colour vision models, we predicted the detectability of flowers to bird and bee pollinators. We measured pollinator visitation rates, nectar standing crops, as well as seed set and pollen removal and deposition. These data showed that the plants are effectively pollinated by non-flower specialist passerine birds that only occasionally visit flowers. The large nectar standing crops and extended flower longevities (>10days) of Canarina and Isoplexis suggests that they have evolved bird pollination system that effectively exploits these low frequency non-specialist pollen vectors and is in no way suboptimal. Seed set in two of the three species was high, and was significantly reduced or zero in flowers where pollinator access was restricted. In L. berthelotii, however, no fruit set was observed, probably because the plants were self incompatible horticultural clones of a single genet. We also show that, while all three species are easily detectable for birds, the orange Canarina and the red Lotus (but less so the yellow-orange Isoplexis) should be difficult to detect for insect pollinators without specialised red receptors, such as bumblebees. Contrary to expectations if we accept that the flowers are primarily adapted to sunbird pollination, the chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) was an effective pollinator of these species

Facts, Principles, and (Real) Politics

Should our factual understanding of the world influence our normative theorising about it? G.A. Cohen has argued that our ultimate normative principles should not be constrained by facts. Many others have defended or are committed to various versions or subsets of that claim. In this paper I dispute those positions by arguing that, in order to resist the conclusion that ultimate normative principles rest on facts about possibility or conceivability, one has to embrace an unsatisfactory account of how principles generate normative political judgments. So political theorists have to choose between principles ostensibly unbiased by our current understanding of human motivation and political reality, or principles capable of reliably generating political judgments. I conclude with wider methodological observations in defence of the latter option, and so of a return to political philosophy’s traditional blend of normative and descriptive elements

Implantacja stentów wydzielających rapamycynę (Sirolimus) u chorych ze zwiększonym ryzykiem restenozy. Roczna obserwacja 100 pacjentów

Wstęp: Występowanie restenozy w stencie po zabiegach angioplastyki wieńcowej stanowi nadal istotny problem kardiologii interwencyjnej. Wprowadzone niedawno stenty wydzielające leki antyproliferacyjne budzą nadzieję na szybkie uporanie się z tym problemem. Celem pracy jest ocena wczesnych i odległych wyników implantacji stentów wydzielających rapamycynę u chorych ze zwiększonym ryzykiem restenozy. Materiał i metody: Stenty Cypher™ firmy Cordis (Johnson & Johnson) implantowano 107 pacjentom ze stabilną lub niestabilną dławicą, po wcześniejszym, kilkudniowym przygotowaniu tienopirydynami. Oceniano wyniki bezpośrednie zabiegu oraz przeprowadzono obserwację kliniczną pacjentów po 30 dniach, a także po minimum 9 miesiącach. U 71 osób wykonano kontrolną koronarografię. Wyniki: W pierwszych 30 dniach jedynym powikłaniem było wystąpienie zawału serca bez załamka Q (bezobjawowy wzrost stężenia enzymów 3-krotnie przewyższający normę) w okresie okołozabiegowym u 3 pacjentów. W obserwacji odległej nie stwierdzono zgonów, u 3 chorych wystąpił zawał serca z załamkiem Q, u 2 z nich prawdopodobnie na skutek późnej zakrzepicy w stencie. Czterech pacjentów wymagało ponownej rewaskularyzacji leczonego naczynia. Spośród 71 chorych, u których wykonano kontrolną koronarografię, nie zaobserwowano restenozy w stencie, a w jednym przypadku stwierdzono restenozę w leczonym segmencie. Wnioski: Implantacja stentów wydzielających rapamycynę jest bezpiecznym i bardzo skutecznym sposobem leczenia zwężeń naczyń wieńcowych u chorych ze zwiększonym ryzykiem wystąpienia restenozy. (Folia Cardiol. 2004; 11: 505–511

Global effects of non-native tree species on multiple ecosystem services

Non-native tree (NNT) species have been transported worldwide to create or enhance services that are fundamental for human well-being, such as timber provision, erosion control or ornamental value; yet NNTs can also produce undesired effects, such as fire proneness or pollen allergenicity. Despite the variety of effects that NNTs have on multiple ecosystem services, a global quantitative assessment of their costs and benefits is still lacking. Such information is critical for decision-making, management and sustainable exploitation of NNTs. We present here a global assessment of NNT effects on the three main categories of ecosystem services, including regulating (RES), provisioning (PES) and cultural services (CES), and on an ecosystem disservice (EDS), i.e. pollen allergenicity. By searching the scientific literature, country forestry reports, and social media, we compiled a global data set of 1683 case studies from over 125 NNT species, covering 44 countries, all continents but Antarctica, and seven biomes. Using differentmeta-analysis techniques, we found that, while NNTs increase most RES (e.g. climate regulation, soil erosion control, fertility and formation), they decrease PES (e.g. NNTs contribute less than native trees to global timber provision). Also, they have different effects on CES (e.g. increase aesthetic values but decrease scientific interest), and no effect on the EDS considered. NNT effects on each ecosystem (dis)service showed a strong context dependency, varying across NNT types, biomes and socio-economic conditions. For instance, some RES are increased more by NNTs able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and when the ecosystem is located in low-latitude biomes; some CES are increased more by NNTs in less-wealthy countries or in countries with higher gross domestic products. The effects of NNTs on several ecosystem (dis)services exhibited some synergies (e.g. among soil fertility, soil formation and climate regulation or between aesthetic values and pollen allergenicity), but also trade-offs (e.g. between fire regulation and soil erosion control). Our analyses provide a quantitative understanding of the complex synergies, trade-offs and context dependencies involved for the effects of NNTs that is essential for attaining a sustained provision of ecosystem servicesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implantacja stentów wydzielających rapamycynę (Sirolimus) u chorych ze zwiększonym ryzykiem restenozy. Roczna obserwacja 100 pacjentów

Wstęp: Występowanie restenozy w stencie po zabiegach angioplastyki wieńcowej stanowi nadal istotny problem kardiologii interwencyjnej. Wprowadzone niedawno stenty wydzielające leki antyproliferacyjne budzą nadzieję na szybkie uporanie się z tym problemem. Celem pracy jest ocena wczesnych i odległych wyników implantacji stentów wydzielających rapamycynę u chorych ze zwiększonym ryzykiem restenozy. Materiał i metody: Stenty Cypher™ firmy Cordis (Johnson & Johnson) implantowano 107 pacjentom ze stabilną lub niestabilną dławicą, po wcześniejszym, kilkudniowym przygotowaniu tienopirydynami. Oceniano wyniki bezpośrednie zabiegu oraz przeprowadzono obserwację kliniczną pacjentów po 30 dniach, a także po minimum 9 miesiącach. U 71 osób wykonano kontrolną koronarografię. Wyniki: W pierwszych 30 dniach jedynym powikłaniem było wystąpienie zawału serca bez załamka Q (bezobjawowy wzrost stężenia enzymów 3-krotnie przewyższający normę) w okresie okołozabiegowym u 3 pacjentów. W obserwacji odległej nie stwierdzono zgonów, u 3 chorych wystąpił zawał serca z załamkiem Q, u 2 z nich prawdopodobnie na skutek późnej zakrzepicy w stencie. Czterech pacjentów wymagało ponownej rewaskularyzacji leczonego naczynia. Spośród 71 chorych, u których wykonano kontrolną koronarografię, nie zaobserwowano restenozy w stencie, a w jednym przypadku stwierdzono restenozę w leczonym segmencie. Wnioski: Implantacja stentów wydzielających rapamycynę jest bezpiecznym i bardzo skutecznym sposobem leczenia zwężeń naczyń wieńcowych u chorych ze zwiększonym ryzykiem wystąpienia restenozy. (Folia Cardiol. 2004; 11: 505–511

Observational Conditioning in Flower Choice Copying by Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris): Influence of Observer Distance and Demonstrator Movement

A. Avargues-Weber was funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from Fyssen fondation: http://www.fondationfyssen.fr/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript