Forager bees (Apis mellifera) highly express immune and detoxification genes in tissues associated with nectar processing.

Pollinators, including honey bees, routinely encounter potentially harmful microorganisms and phytochemicals during foraging. However, the mechanisms by which honey bees manage these potential threats are poorly understood. In this study, we examine the expression of antimicrobial, immune and detoxification genes in Apis mellifera and compare between forager and nurse bees using tissue-specific RNA-seq and qPCR. Our analysis revealed extensive tissue-specific expression of antimicrobial, immune signaling, and detoxification genes. Variation in gene expression between worker stages was pronounced in the mandibular and hypopharyngeal gland (HPG), where foragers were enriched in transcripts that encode antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and immune response. Additionally, forager HPGs and mandibular glands were enriched in transcripts encoding detoxification enzymes, including some associated with xenobiotic metabolism. Using qPCR on an independent dataset, we verified differential expression of three AMP and three P450 genes between foragers and nurses. High expression of AMP genes in nectar-processing tissues suggests that these peptides may contribute to antimicrobial properties of honey or to honey bee defense against environmentally-acquired microorganisms. Together, these results suggest that worker role and tissue-specific expression of AMPs, and immune and detoxification enzymes may contribute to defense against microorganisms and xenobiotic compounds acquired while foraging

The KπK\pi form factors from Analyticity and Unitarity

Analyticity and unitarity techniques are employed to obtain bounds on the shape parameters of the scalar and vector form factors of semileptonic $K_{l3}$ decays. For this purpose we use vector and scalar correlators evaluated in pQCD, a low energy theorem for scalar form factor, lattice results for the ratio of kaon and pion decay constants, chiral perturbation theory calculations for the scalar form factor at the Callan-Treiman point and experimental information on the phase and modulus of $K\pi$ form factors up to an energy \tin=1 {\rm GeV}^2. We further derive regions on the real axis and in the complex-energy plane where the form factors cannot have zeros.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; Seminar given at DAE-BRNS Workshop on Hadron Physics Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India October 31-November 4, 2011, submitted to Proceeding

Spectral characteristics of normal and nutrient-deficient maize leaves

Reflectance, transmittance and absorbance spectra of normal and six types of mineral-deficient (N,P,K,S,Mg and Ca) maize (Zea mays L.) leaves were analyzed at 30 selected wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum from 500 to 2600 nm. Chlorophyll content and percent leaf moisture were also determined. Leaf thermograms were obtained for normal, N- and S- deficient leaves. The results of the analysis of variance showed significant differences in reflectance, transmittance and absorbance in the visible wavelengths among leaf numbers 3, 4, and 5, among the seven nutrient treatments, and among the interactions of leaves and treatments. In the reflective infrared wavelengths only treatments produced significant differences. The chlorophyll content of leaves was reduced in all deficiencies in comparison to controls. Percent moisture was increased in S-, Mg- and N- deficiencies. Positive correlation (r = 0.707) between moisture content and percent absorption at both 1450 and 1930 nm were obtained. Polynomial regression analysis of leaf thickness and leaf moisture content showed that these two variables were significantly and directly related (r = 0.894)

Bounds and Inequalities Relating h-Index, g-Index, e-Index and Generalized Impact Factor

Finding relationships among different indices such as h-index, g-index, e-index, and generalized impact factor is a challenging task. In this paper, we describe some bounds and inequalities relating h-index, g-index, e-index, and generalized impact factor. We derive the bounds and inequalities relating these indexing parameters from their basic definitions and without assuming any continuous model to be followed by any of them.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 5 table

Epidemiological Modeling of Bovine Brucellosis in India.

The study objective is to develop an epidemiological model of brucellosis transmission dynamics among cattle in India and to estimate the impact of different prevention and control strategies. The prevention and control strategies are test-and-slaughter, transmission rate reduction, and mass vaccination. We developed a mathematical model based on the susceptible-infectious-recovered epidemic model to simulate brucellosis transmission dynamics, calibrated to the endemically stable levels of bovine brucellosis prevalence of cattle in India. We analyzed the epidemiological benefit of different rates of reduced transmission and vaccination. Test-and-slaughter is an effective strategy for elimination and eradication of brucellosis, but socio-cultural constraints forbid culling of cattle in India. Reducing transmission rates lowered the endemically stable levels of brucellosis prevalence correspondingly. One-time vaccination lowered prevalence initially but increased with influx of new susceptible births. While this epidemiological model is a basic representation of brucellosis transmission dynamics in India and constrained by limitations in surveillance data, this study illustrates the comparative epidemiological impact of different bovine brucellosis prevention and control strategies

Pragmatic Analysis of Persuasion in Modern British and Iraqi Parliamentary Election Slogans

Slogans are noteworthy linguistic tools by which people (and particularly politicians) can perform different social and political functions. One main function is associated with their ability to persuade others to take an action or do something in accordance with the messages they intend to convey. Particularly, politicians utilize election campaign slogans to persuade their audience with their views, programs and agendas. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the speech act of persuasion in forty Modern British and Iraqi Parliamentary Election Campaign Slogans. Based on Searle's (1969, 1975, and 1976),the felicity conditions of persuasion have been derived and applied to the chosen data. The study concludes that persuasion act can be indirectly attained through various syntactic structures, especially declarative, active and simple sentences. Furthermore, non-linguistic elements contribute to the persuasive mission of election slogans. Both English and Arabic languages employ almost the same fabric of slogans to deliver influential messages

Phantom Energy Accretion by Stringy Charged Black Hole

We investigate the dynamical behavior of phantom energy near stringy magnetically charged black hole. For this purpose, we derive equations of motion for steady-state spherically symmetric flow of phantom energy onto the stringy magnetically charged black hole. It is found that phantom energy accreting onto black hole decreases its mass. Further, the location of critical points of accretion is explored, which yields mass to charge ratio. This ratio implies that accretion process cannot transform a black hole into an extremal black hole or a naked singularity, hence cosmic censorship hypothesis remains valid here.Comment: 7 pages, no figur

Linear Relationship Statistics in Diffusion Limited Aggregation

We show that various surface parameters in two-dimensional diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) grow linearly with the number of particles. We find the ratio of the average length of the perimeter and the accessible perimeter of a DLA cluster together with its external perimeters to the cluster size, and define a microscopic schematic procedure for attachment of an incident new particle to the cluster. We measure the fractal dimension of the red sites (i.e., the sites upon cutting each of them splits the cluster) equal to that of the DLA cluster. It is also shown that the average number of the dead sites and the average number of the red sites have linear relationships with the cluster size.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure