Ultramorphology of antennal sensilla of open-nesting honey bees Apis florea F. and Apis dorsata F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Antenna of honey bees is geniculate and has been known to possess a wide variety of sensilla. The sensilla are sensitive to odor, temperature, humidity, air pressure and gustatory stimuli. In the present investigation, ultrastructural study on the antenna of the two open-nesting worker honey bees- Apis florea F. - the dwarf honey bee and A. dorsata F. - the giant honey showed considerable amount of variation in the types and distribution pattern of sensilla in the two species. The antennal form as well as the sensilla arrangement has been suggested to be adapted to the pheromone perception need of regarding a particular species

Scanning electron microscopic studies on tongue of open-nesting honey bees Apis dorsata F. and Apis florea F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Taste stimuli play vital role in the life of honey bees. Sensory structures observed on tongue of the honey bees with the help of Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have become an important tool in analyzing honey bee biodiversity which offers an advanced diagnostic tool to study honey bee biogeography and determine adaptive variations to native flora. Tongue of honey bees present a high geographic variability in regard to the floral resources visited by the bees. The present study has determined to determine differences in the tongue ofopen-nesting bees by scanning electron microscopy of Apis dorsata and Apis florea. The two bees showed distinct morphological variations with respect to the lapping and sucking apparatus. It was observed that the ridges on the proximal region exhibited rough surface on A.dorsata whereas spinous in case of A.florea. Moreover, the arrangement of hair in the middle part of the tongue also differed in the two species. The shape of flabellum differed in the two species reason being the influence of native flora. It was observed that the shape of flabellum was oval in A.dorsata whereas in A.florea it was triangular. These differences indicated for the role of native flora and honey bee biodiversity

Mactinin, a fragment of cytoskeletal α-actinin, is a novel inducer of heat shock protein (Hsp)-90 mediated monocyte activation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monocytes, their progeny such as dendritic cells and osteoclasts and products including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1α and IL-1β play important roles in cancer, inflammation, immune response and atherosclerosis. We previously showed that mactinin, a degradative fragment of the cytoskeletal protein α-actinin, is present at sites of monocytic activation in vivo, has chemotactic activity for monocytes and promotes monocyte/macrophage maturation. We therefore sought to determine the mechanism by which mactinin stimulates monocytes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Radiolabeled mactinin bound to a heterocomplex on monocytes comprised of at least 3 proteins of molecular weight 88 kD, 79 kD and 68 kD. Affinity purification, mass spectroscopy and Western immunoblotting identified heat shock protein (Hsp)-90 as the 88 kD component of this complex. Hsp90 was responsible for mediating the functional effects of mactinin on monocytes, since Hsp90 inhibitors (geldanamycin and its analogues 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin [17-AAG] and 17-(dimethylaminoethylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin [17-DMAG]) almost completely abrogated the stimulatory activity of mactinin on monocytes (production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β and TNF-α, as well as monocyte chemotaxis).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mactinin is a novel inducer of Hsp90 activity on monocytes and may serve to perpetuate and augment monocytic activation, thereby functioning as a "matrikine." Blockage of this function of mactinin may be useful in diseases where monocyte/macrophage activation and/or Hsp90 activity are detrimental.</p

On the 2D plane strain problem for a harmonic stress applied to an impervious elastic layer resting on a porous elastic half space

We solve here for stresses and pore pressure induced in a medium comprising of an impervious elastic layer resting on a water saturated porous elastic half space when the upper surface of the layer is acted upon by a normal stress field varying harmonically in time. The stress is constant along one horizontal space direction while it varies in a prescribed manner along the perpendicular horizontal direction. A formal solution for this boundary value problem is obtained using the Fourier transform approach. We consider for illustration a case where the layer and the half space have nominal values for elastic constants, hydraulic diffusivity and Skempton's coefficient. The stress field imposed on the layer surface acts over a finite width, comparable to layer thickness, and has a temporal variation with a period of one year. The resultant induced stresses in the layer and the induced stresses and pore pressure in the half space have the same temporal period as that of the applied stress. Their amplitudes and magnitudes of the shifts in their respective phases relative to that of the surface stress decrease with distance away from the immediate vicinity of the applied stress. The phase shifts in the induced pore pressure represent the effect of volume changes of solid material, pore spaces and water in the half space under the induced stresses as well as diffusion of water under these changes. The phase shifts in induced stresses arise because they are influenced in turn by changes in induced pore pressure as prescribed in Biot's and Rice and Cleary's theory for porous elastic media. The computed magnitudes of the phase shifts are small because of the chosen values of the parameters for the layer and the half space as well as the relatively long period of variation of the applied stress. The analysis has possible application in the field of reservoir induced seismicity in at least a few cases where, on local site investigations, such a medium geometry would appear relevant in the first approximation

Evidence from earthquake fault plane solutions on upper crustal stresses in the Garhwal Himalaya

The individual thrust-fault type fault plane solution of the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake is considered along with a reverse fault type and a strike-slip type composite fault plane solutions for the Garhwal Himalaya. The two latter solutions are based on data from 49 small and micro-earthquakes. All 50 earthquakes occured in the vicinity of Main Central Thrust over a distance of about 150km from Yamuna to Alaknanda valleys. The data are consistent with the view that a thrust-fault type stress environment prevails throughout the upper crust in the region. The maximum effective principal stress (sigma 1') is horizontal to sub-horizontal with azimuth along N42 degrees everywhere in the upper crust except in the hypocental region of the Uttarkashi earthquake, where it is N26 degrees. Intermediate effective principal stress (sigma 2') is horizontal in the NW quadrant and the minimum effective principal stress (sigma 3')is vertical to sub-vertical correspondingly. Reactivation of the strike-slip faults occurs under the influence of sigma 1' and sigma 2'. This is within the theory of fault reactivation under general three dimensional stresses. Pore pressures approach lithostatic levels over most parts of upper crust in the region

On categorising induced and natural tectonic earthquakes near new reservoirs

Acquisition of a capability for unambiguous classification of earthquakes near a new reservoir into the twin categories of reservoir-induced and natural tectonic earthquakes is still of considerable practical importance from the seismic hazards point of view. We show how this classification may be carried out in the general 3D case by focussing attention on the perturbation of frictional stability of the causative fault of an earthquake under the influence of the reservoir. We suggest that an earthquake may be put in the induced category only if the reservoir-induced stresses and pore pressure actively promote frictional failure on the fault in the same sense as does the ambient shear stress acting on the fault at the time of occurrence of the earthquake. We consider the case of the main Koyna earthquake of December 10, 1967, to illustrate the application of these ideas. We find that it may have been induced by the Koyna reservoir with pore pressure playing a prominent role in lowering fault stability

Poroelastic relaxation and aftershocks of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, India

We analyse aftershocks of the 26 January 2001 Bhuj earthquake, India, that were recorded for 10 weeks following the mainshock. We calculate undrained or instantaneous pore pressure and change in Coulomb stress due to the earthquake and their poroelastic relaxation in the following 10 weeks period. Almost all aftershocks occurred in the region of coseismic dilatation. In the subsequent period, pore pressure increased through relaxation in the dilatation region which further modified coseismic Coulomb stress. Maximum increase in pore pressure is estimated to be about 0.7 MPa in 60 days time following the mainshock. Correlation between the zones of increased pore pressure and postseismic Coulomb stress with that of aftershocks, suggests a definite role of fluid diffusion in their delayed triggering

catena-poly[benzyltrimethylammonium[cadmium(II)-tri-mu(2)-thiocyanato]]

The title compound, {(C10H16N)[Cd(SCN)(3)]}(n), contains [(C6H5CH2)N(CH3)(3)](+) cations lying between one-dimensional chains of stoichiometry {[Cd(SCN)(3)](-)}(n). Each Cd-II ion is 3N,3S-hexacoordinated by thiocyanate ligands, in an octahedral fac arrangement. The asymmetric unit contains two cations and two anions