Physiological Perturbation Reveals Modularity of Eyespot Development in the Painted Lady Butterfly, Vanessa cardui

Butterfly eyespots are complex morphological traits that can vary in size, shape and color composition even on the same wing surface. Homology among eyespots suggests they share a common developmental basis and function as an integrated unit in response to selection. Despite strong evidence of genetic integration, eyespots can also exhibit modularity or plasticity, indicating an underlying flexibility in pattern development. The extent to which particular eyespots or eyespot color elements exhibit modularity or integration is poorly understood, particularly following exposure to novel conditions. We used perturbation experiments to explore phenotypic correlations among different eyespots and their color elements on the ventral hindwing of V. cardui. Specifically, we identified which eyespots and eyespot features are most sensitive to perturbation by heat shock and injection of heparin—a cold shock mimic. For both treatments, the two central eyespots (3 + 4) were most affected by the experimental perturbations, whereas the outer eyespot border was more resistant to modification than the interior color elements. Overall, the individual color elements displayed a similar response to heat shock across all eyespots, but varied in their response to each other. Graphical modeling also revealed that although eyespots differ morphologically, regulation of eyespot size and colored elements appear to be largely integrated across the wing. Patterns of integration, however, were disrupted following heat shock, revealing that the strength of integration varies across the wing and is strongest between the two central eyespots. These findings support previous observations that document coupling between eyespots 3 + 4 in other nymphalid butterflies

Borda rule as an alternative to other types of ordinal majoritarian electoral systems

This thesis focuses on the less studied electoral systems, which are called ordinal. These methods allow the voters to order the candidates according to their preferences. The work provides a historical insight into this issue with regard to economics and political science theories, based on the concept of the Condorcet winner. Condorcet winner is the person who defeats all other candidates in pairwise elections and by theorists of the electoral system is the ability to choose the Condorcet winner essential. The work examines three electoral methods - alternative and suplementary vote and Borda rule. These electoral systems are analyzed in terms of effects to system of political parties, political actors and the electorate, with the emphasis on the utilization rate of preferential votes. These aspects are examined on the basis of the actual election results obtained from the website of the electoral commissions and independent institutions. Based on these data, a mathematical model that compares the effects of electoral systems is then created. The conclusion summarizes the results of the analysis and the author expresses further recommendations to address these electoral methods, not only professionally and scientifically, but also as real alternatives for real election

Plosives in Czech: temporal characteristics and variability in realization

The aim of this diploma thesis is to closely investigate and describe selected phonetic properties of Czech oral plosives [p t ť k b d ď g] in normal speech. The re- search focuses mostly on temporal characteristics in various contexts; moreover, we deal with the possible manners of plosive articulation in Czech, including non-canonical realizations. Another important part of the present study is a comparison with earlier studies. In the domain of temporal characteristics we examine the influence of various contexts on phone duration. The contexts include: phonetic context, speaker gender, the position of the plosive in the stress unit or articulation rate. We also examine a possible connection between the duration of the plosive and its realization. In the part that deals with the manner of articulation we focus on the individual phonetic properties, for which we investigate especially the conditions and degree of their stability. Furthermore we describe the specific plosive articulations in certain pho- netic contexts and some alternative realizations of certain plosives. The speech material used is mostly spontaneous. All the speakers are non- professionals from various TV broadcasts. Keywords: plosives, duration, phone segmentation, phonetic properties, pho- netic context, gender, articulation..

Physiological Perturbation Reveals Modularity of Eyespot Development in the Painted Lady Butterfly, <i>Vanessa cardui</i>

<div><p>Butterfly eyespots are complex morphological traits that can vary in size, shape and color composition even on the same wing surface. Homology among eyespots suggests they share a common developmental basis and function as an integrated unit in response to selection. Despite strong evidence of genetic integration, eyespots can also exhibit modularity or plasticity, indicating an underlying flexibility in pattern development. The extent to which particular eyespots or eyespot color elements exhibit modularity or integration is poorly understood, particularly following exposure to novel conditions. We used perturbation experiments to explore phenotypic correlations among different eyespots and their color elements on the ventral hindwing of <i>V</i>. <i>cardui</i>. Specifically, we identified which eyespots and eyespot features are most sensitive to perturbation by heat shock and injection of heparin—a cold shock mimic. For both treatments, the two central eyespots (3 + 4) were most affected by the experimental perturbations, whereas the outer eyespot border was more resistant to modification than the interior color elements. Overall, the individual color elements displayed a similar response to heat shock across all eyespots, but varied in their response to each other. Graphical modeling also revealed that although eyespots differ morphologically, regulation of eyespot size and colored elements appear to be largely integrated across the wing. Patterns of integration, however, were disrupted following heat shock, revealing that the strength of integration varies across the wing and is strongest between the two central eyespots. These findings support previous observations that document coupling between eyespots 3 + 4 in other nymphalid butterflies.</p></div

Additional file 4: Table S3. of Transcriptome analysis of the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui during wing color pattern development

BLAST2GO PRO gene ontology classification for differentially expressed genes (FDR p < 0.001) for each comparison between wing developmental stages (LL vs. EP, EP vs. PO, PO vs. LM). (XLSX 751 kb

Changes in androgen receptor mRNA expression in the forebrain and oviduct during the reproductive cycle of female leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2003; 132: 133–141

Abstract Successful reproduction requires the coordination of reproductive physiology with behavior. The neural correlates of reproductive behavior have been elucidated in a variety of amphibians, mammals, and birds but relatively few studies have examined reptiles. Here we investigate differences in androgen receptor (AR) mRNA expression in the forebrain and oviduct between previtellogenic and late vitellogenic female leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius. Plasma concentrations of testosterone (T) are low when females are previtellogenic and sexually unreceptive but increase dramatically during late vitellogenesis when females are receptive. In addition, receptivity can be induced by treatment with exogenous T. The relative abundance of AR-mRNA across various nuclei was greater in late vitellogenic than in previtellogenic females. This general pattern was observed in the medial preoptic area, anterior hypothalamus, external nucleus of the amygdala, dorsolateral aspect of the ventromedial hypothalamus, lateral septum, and periventricular hypothalamus. There were also clear differences in AR-mRNA expression among these nuclei. The pattern of gene expression observed in the brain was reversed within stromal cells of the oviduct where expression of ARmRNA decreased from the previtellogenic stage to the late vitellogenic stage. Overall, these data demonstrate that T concentration in the plasma, abundance of AR-mRNA in the brain and oviduct, and sexual behavior change coordinately during the reproductive cycle of female leopard geckos. Although the function of AR in the female leopard gecko is not yet clear, our results are in accord with growing evidence that androgens regulate numerous aspects of female physiology and behavior in vertebrates

Dunn-Šidák corrections for multiple comparisons following 2-way ANCOVA for treatment x eyespot interactions comparing changes in colored eyespot elements (cm²).

<p>Significance is indicated when p<0.006 for 14 comparisons and p<0.009 for 6 comparisons. (ES refers to eyespot).</p

Percent difference in area (cm²) for eyespot size and color in response to heat shock (37°C, 48 hrs.) relative to the control.

<p>Module number represents groups identified using graphical modeling (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0161745#pone.0161745.g010" target="_blank">Fig 10</a>) that corresponds to percent changes in size and color.</p