Mechanisms of the filtering area adaptation in Daphnia

The changes of selected parameters of the filtering comb of the third thoracic limb were studied in a natural population of Daphnia pulicaria Forbes, as well as in experimental enclosures and in lab cultures, including individual life history. Two hypotheses were tested: 1. either these changes are related to the succession of clones coexisting within one population, or 2. the size of the filtering area changes gradually as an individual adaptation during the moulting. No evidence supporting the clonal hypothesis was found. On the contrary, the adaptability of the filtering comb is the same in a natural population as it is in a clone and in individuals.     

Construction and properties of K1 type killer wine yeasts

Summary With the use of a protoplast fusion technique the killer character of K1 type was transferred into four industrial Saccharomyces wine yeasts. The prototrophic yeast strains active against standard sensitive and K2 killer Saccharomyces strains, resistant to K1 killer toxin were constructed with no changes in technological properties.     

Increase in sialic acids removable by neuraminidase during the shape change of platelets.

Human or rabbit platelets were activated by ADP or 5-hydroxytrypatamine and rapidly fixed with glutaraldehyde. The shape change associated with activation gave rise to an increase in sialic acids removable by neuraminidase. This increase, like the shape change, was prevented by adenosine or methysergide added before ADP or 5-hydroxytryptamine respectively. The results indicate the exposure of additional glycoprotein(s) on the platelet surface.     

Accelerated uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine by human blood platelets enriched in a sialic acid.

The enzymically catalysed incorporation of N-acetylneuraminic acid into human platelets, whether suspended in their own citrated plasma or in buffered saline containing 0.17 mM-sucrose, accelerated the uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine. This acceleration decreased with time. The observations may be explained by assuming that N-acetylneuraminic acid is a component of a transport receptor for 5-hydroxytryptamine.     

Rapid in vitro activation of corpora allata by extracted locust brain allatotropic factor

Brains of young (newly emerged) adult female locusts (Locusta migratoria migratorioides) and of mature (> 9 days old) locusts contain an extractable allatotropic factor, soluble in 100% methanol and in distilled water. This factor stimulates juvenile hormone III (JH III) synthesis and release from corpora allata (CA) that have been excised from donor locusts and then incubated with (radiolabeled methyl)-methionine in vitro in its presence. In addition to JH III, which is the major product synthesized by the CA, other hexanesoluble, radiolabeled compounds–-more polar than JH III–-are also released when CA are incubated in vitro. The activation of CA by the allatotropic factor is rapid and quickly declines when the factor is removed from the medium. Corpora allata excised from young females are marginally active and can be activated by brain allatotropic factor to less of an extent than CA of mature locusts. The content of allatotropic factor in brains of mature locusts is higher than that ascertained in brains of young females. Allatotropic factor is also present in the corpora cardiaca.     

Scale‐dependent biases in species counts in a grassland

Abstract. Numbers of plant species were recorded in species‐rich meadows in the Bílé Karpaty Mts., SE Czech Republic, with the aim to evaluate the sampling error made by well‐trained observers. Five observers recorded vascular plants in seven plots ranging from 9.8 cm² to 4 m² independently and were not time‐limited. In larger plots a discrepancy of 10–20% was found between individual estimates, in smaller plots discrepancy increased to 33%, on average. The gain in observed species richness by combining records of individual observers (in comparison with the mean numbers estimated by single observers) decreased from the smallest plot (27–82% for two to five observers) to the largest one (13–25%). However, after misidentified and suspicious records were eliminated, the gain was much lower and became scale‐independent; two observers added 12% species, on average, and the increase by combining species lists made by three or more observers was negligible (3% more on average). It is concluded that most discrepancies between individual observers were caused by misidentification of rare seedlings and young plants. We suggest that in species‐rich meadows plants should be recorded by at least three observers together and that they should consult all problematic plant specimens together in the field, to minimize errors.     

Excitons in Metal‐Halide Perovskites

The unprecedented increase of the power conversion efficiency of metal‐halide perovskite solar cells has significantly outpaced the understanding of their fundamental properties. One of the biggest puzzles of perovskites has been the exciton binding energy, which has proved to be difficult to determine experimentally. Many contradictory reports can be found in the literature with values of the exciton binding energy from a few meV to a few tens of meV. In this review the results of the last few years of intense investigation of the exciton physic in perovskite materials are summarized. In particular a critical overview of the different experimental approaches used to determine exciton binding energy is provided. The problem of exciton binding energy in the context of the polar nature of perovskite crystals and related polaron effects which have been neglected to date in most of work is discussed. It is shown that polaron effects can reconcile at least some of the experimental observations and controversy present in the literature. Finally, the current status of the exciton fine structure in perovskite materials is summarized. The peculiar carrier–phonon coupling can help to understand the intriguing efficiency of light emission from metal‐halide perovskites.     

The combined effect of host and food availability on optimized parasitoid life‐history traits based on a three‐dimensional trade‐off surface

The reproductive success of many insects is considered to be limited by two main factors: the availability of mature eggs to lay (termed egg limitation) and the time to locate suitable hosts (termed time limitation). High host density in the environment is likely to enhance oviposition opportunities, thereby selecting for higher investment in egg supply. In contrast, a shortage of food (e.g. sugar sources) is likely to increase the risk of time limitation, thereby selecting for higher allocation to initial energy reserves. To our knowledge, the combined effect of host and food availability on these optimal life‐history allocations has never been investigated. We thus modelled their simultaneous effects on a three‐dimensional trade‐off between initial investment in energy reserves, egg number and egg size, while focusing on insect parasitoids. The model was based on Monte Carlo simulations coupled with genetic algorithms, in order to identify the optimal life‐history traits of a single simulated parasitoid female in an environment in which both hosts and food are present in varying densities. Our results reproduced the simple predictions described above. However, some novel predictions were also obtained, especially when specific interactions between the different factors were examined and their effects on the three‐dimensional life‐history surface were considered. The work sheds light on long‐lasting debates regarding the relative importance of time versus egg limitation in determining insect life‐history traits and highlights the complexity of life‐history evolution, where several environmental factors act simultaneously on multiple traits.