Progress in the use of genetic methods to study insect behavior outside Drosophila

In the span of a decade we have seen a rapid progress in the application of genetic tools and genome editing approaches in ‘non-model’ insects. It is now possible to target sensory receptor genes and neurons, explore their functional roles and manipulate behavioral responses in these insects. In this review, we focus on the latest examples from Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera of how applications of genetic tools advanced our understanding of diverse behavioral phenomena. We further discuss genetic methods that could be applied to study insect behavior in the future

La dynamique des porteurs dans des structures à boîtes quantiques dopées InAs/GaAs

L'objet de cette maîtrise est l'étude de la dynamique des porteurs dans des nanostructures semi-conductrices, en particulier des structures à boîtes quantiques. Dans ce travail nous avons étudié les propriétés optiques de ces structures à l'aide d'expériences de photoluminescence résolue en temps. Nous avons en particulier étudié la dépendance du temps de montée des signaux de photoluminescence des boîtes quantiques en fonction du niveau de dopage de l'échantillon, de la puissance et de la longueur d'onde d'excitation. Un modèle simplifié à"3 niveaux" a permis d'apprécier l'ordre de grandeur du temps de capture dans les boîtes et de décrire de façon qualitative l'influence des conditions expérimentales sur la dynamique des photoporteurs dans ces structures. Un modèle à"4 niveaux" basé sur les équations d'évolution de la population des porteurs des 4 niveaux quantiques les plus pertinents a été développé pour une description adéquate des processus de relaxation/capture/recombinaison dans nos structures à boîtes quantiques."--Résumé abrégé par UMI

Approach Direction Prior to Landing Explains Patterns of Colour Learning in Bees

Gaze direction is closely coupled with body movement in insects and other animals. If movement patterns interfere with the acquisition of visual information, insects can actively adjust them to seek relevant cues. Alternatively, where multiple visual cues are available, an insect’s movements may influence how it perceives a scene. We show that the way a foraging bumblebee approaches a floral pattern could determine what it learns about the pattern. When trained to vertical bicoloured patterns, bumblebees consistently approached from below centre in order to land in the centre of the target where the reward was located. In subsequent tests, the bees preferred the colour of the lower half of the pattern that they predominantly faced during the approach and landing sequence. A predicted change of learning outcomes occurred when the contrast line was moved up or down off-centre: learned preferences again reflected relative frontal exposure to each colour during the approach, independent of the overall ratio of colours. This mechanism may underpin learning strategies in both simple and complex visual discriminations, highlighting that morphology and action patterns determines how animals solve sensory learning tasks. The deterministic effect of movement on visual learning may have substantially influenced the evolution of floral signals, particularly where plants depend on fine-scaled movements of pollinators on flowers

Енергозберігаючі віконні системи: види, розвиток, порівняння та перспективи

The tendency to use natural resources is decreasing; energy conservation and ecosystems are taking the first positions. Therefore, the use of glass finishing of buildings has become a starting point in the search for new technologies to save energy use, reduce the need for air conditioning and additional lighting. The developed smart glass is an advanced type of glass that can change transparency depending on different conditions, or convert sunlight into electricity that can be used for human needs. The work examines the appearance of the first types of smart windows, and further development of smart windows using various films, chemical and organic compounds. The prospect of using smart glass to improve natural lighting in various fields and the future possibilities of related technologies by comparing several types of smart glass. The main types of smart windows are presented: photochromic window, thermochromic window, electrochromic window, liquid crystal windows, windows based on suspended particles, window using a "thermal mirror". On the basis of the given characteristics of various technologies of smart glass, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the associated difficulties, which should be resolved in the future, are revealed. The existing classification of smart windows by the type of use of films in them and their advantages and disadvantages of using. The main newest technologies of absorption of sunlight by the surface of the window and the conversion of light into electricity, the problem of achieving transparency by glass, and the tendency of solving this issue are described. On specific examples, the areas of application of glass with controlled transparency are considered, and the economic indicators obtained when it is used in buildings. The technology of using solar panels in the form of blinds and their influence on providing the building with energy is considered. improvement of some of its optical properties, contributed to a decrease in its cost, which leads to an increase in the availability of this material.Тенденція використання природних копалин зменшується, на перші позиції виходять енергозбереження та екосистеми. Тому використання скляного оздоблення будівель стало відправною точкою у пошуку нових технологій збереження використання електроенергії, зменшення потреб у кондиціонуванні та додатковому освітленні. Розроблене смарт-скло є вдосконаленим типом скла, яке здатне змінювати прозорість в залежності від різних умов, або переробляти сонячне світло в електроенергію, якою можливо користуватись на потреби людини. В роботі досліджується поява перших видів смарт-вікон, та подальші розробки смарт-вікон з використанням різних плівок, хімічних та органічних сполук. Перспективність використання розумного скла для поліпшення природного освітлення в різних сферах та майбутні можливості пов’язаних технологій методами порівняння декількох видів смарт-скла. Наведено основні види смарт-вікон: фотохромне вікно, термохромне вікно, електрохромне вікно, рідкокристалічні вікна, вікна на основі зважених частинок, вікно з використанням «Теплового дзеркала». На основі наведеної характеристики різних технологій смарт-скла виявлено його переваги та недоліки, також пов'язані з ними складності, які в перспективі повинні бути дозволені. Сформована класифікація смарт-вікон за типом використання в них плівок, та їх переваги та недоліки використання. Описується основні новітні технології поглинання сонячного світла поверхнею вікна, та конвертацією світла в електроенергію, проблематика досягання прозорості склом, та тенденція розв’язання цього питання. На конкретних прикладах розглянуто області застосування скла з керованою прозорістю, та отримані економічні показники при його використанні в будівлях Розглянуто технологію використання сонячних батарей у виді жалюзів та їх вплив на забезпечення будівлі енергією.. Виявлено, що з розвитком техніки та технології виробництва смарт-скла відбулося поліпшення деяких його оптичних властивостей, що сприяло зменшенні його вартості, що веде до збільшення доступності даного матеріалу

Information Society: Educational Trends and Technical Aspects of Formation (EU Experience)

The purpose of the article is to analyze educational trends and technical aspects of information society development; to investigate the modern education digitization through the prism of global transformations of human society and its opportunities. In the article next theoretical research methods were used: analysis, synthesis, deduction, and induction. The results reveal the modern mutual influences between education and the “knowledge society”, the role, place and significance of information competence for modern educational processes. In the conclusions one emphasizes that important aspects of education development will be the acquisition of additional digital competencies, essential measures of which are value-motivational, cognitive, technological, communicative, reflective components

Head movements and the optic flow generated during the learning flights of bumblebees.

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordInsects inform themselves about the 3D structure of their surroundings through motion parallax. During flight, they often simplify this task by minimising rotational image movement. Coordinated head and body movements generate rapid shifts of gaze separated by periods of almost zero rotational movement, during which the distance of objects from the insect can be estimated through pure translational optic flow. This saccadic strategy is less appropriate for assessing the distance between objects. Bees and wasps face this problem when learning the position of their nest-hole relative to objects close to it. They acquire the necessary information during specialised flights performed on leaving the nest. Here, we show that the bumblebee's saccadic strategy differs from other reported cases. In the fixations between saccades, a bumblebee's head continues to turn slowly, generating rotational flow. At specific points in learning flights these imperfect fixations generate a form of 'pivoting parallax', which is centred on the nest and enhances the visibility of features near the nest. Bumblebees may thus utilize an alternative form of motion parallax to that delivered by the standard 'saccade and fixate' strategy in which residual rotational flow plays a role in assessing the distances of objects from a focal point of interest.Financial support came from the EPSRC, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and The Leverhulme Trust. O.R. was supported by the Overseas Researc

Route-following ants respond to alterations of the view sequence

Ants can navigate by comparing the currently perceived view with memorised views along a familiar foraging route. Models regarding route-following suggest the views are stored and recalled independently of the sequence in which they occur. Hence, the ant only needs to evaluate the instantaneous familiarity of the current view to obtain a heading direction. This study investigates whether ant homing behaviour is influenced by alterations in the sequence of views experienced along a familiar route, using the frequency of stop-and-scan behaviour as an indicator of the ant's navigational uncertainty. Ants were trained to forage between their nest and a feeder which they exited through a short channel before proceeding along the homeward route. In tests, ants were collected before entering the nest and released again in the channel, which was placed either in its original location or halfway along the route. Ants exiting the familiar channel in the middle of the route would thus experience familiar views in a novel sequence. Results show that ants exiting the channel scan significantly more when they find themselves in the middle of the route, compared to when emerging at the expected location near the feeder. This behaviour suggests that previously encountered views influence the recognition of current views, even when these views are highly familiar, revealing a sequence component to route memory. How information about view sequences could be implemented in the insect brain as well as potential alternative explanations to our results are discussed

Different W cluster deposition regimes in pulsed laser ablation observed by in situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

We report on how different cluster deposition regimes can be obtained and observed by in situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) by exploiting deposition parameters in a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process. Tungsten clusters were produced by nanosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation in Ar atmosphere at different pressures and deposited on Au(111) and HOPG surfaces. Deposition regimes including cluster deposition-diffusion-aggregation (DDA), cluster melting and coalescence and cluster implantation were observed, depending on background gas pressure and target-to-substrate distance which influence the kinetic energy of the ablated species. These parameters can thus be easily employed for surface modification by cluster bombardment, deposition of supported clusters and growth of films with different morphologies. The variation in cluster mobility on different substrates and its influence on aggregation and growth mechanisms has also been investigated.Comment: 12 pages (3 figures); Surface Science (accepted