Coevolution of visual signals and eye morphology in Polistes paper wasps

To be effective, signals must propagate through the environment and be detected by receivers. As a result, signal form evolves in response to both the constraints imposed by the transmission environment and receiver perceptual abilities. Little work has examined the extent to which signals may act as selective forces on receiver sensory systems to improve the efficacy of communication. If receivers benefit from accurate signal assessment, selection could favour sensory organs that improve discrimination of established signals. Here, we provide evidence that visual resolution coevolves with visual signals in Polistes wasps. Multiple Polistes species have variable facial patterns that function as social signals, whereas other species lack visual signals. Analysis of 19 Polistes species shows that maximum eye facet size is positively associated with both eye size and presence of visual signals. Relatively larger facets within the eye''s acute zone improve resolution of small images, such as wasp facial signals. Therefore, sensory systems may evolve to optimize signal assessment. Sensory adaptations to facilitate signal detection may represent an overlooked area of the evolution of animal communication.     

Characterisation and computational analysis of a novel lipase nanobio-based reagent for visualising latent fingerprints on water-immersed glass slides

Considering the significant evidential values of fingerprints in underwater criminal investigations and the need to visualise them using a user- and environmentally-friendly reagent, development of a novel, rapid and relatively greener nanobio-based reagent (NBR) is deemed beneficial. Lipase from the commercial Candida rugosa immobilised onto acid-functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NBR) was used as the safer and cheap lipid-sensing reagent to visualise groomed whole/split fingerprints on non-porous objects immersed in stagnant tap water for up to 30 days under a laboratory-controlled setting. Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Spectrometry, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and bioinformatics (molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations) were employed to characterise and confirm the attachment of NBR onto the lipid constituents of wet fingerprints. Chromatographic results further confirmed the presence of n-hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids on fingerprints up to 30 days of immersion. Thus, NBR may potentially be useful as the future state-of-the-art fingerprint visualisation technology.     

View on donated life: Construction of philosophical ethics on human organ donation

With the emergence of organ donation and donation technology, the previous indivisibility of the human body becomes divisible, and different human organs form a new life subject. With reference to specific case studies in China, a new life, consisting of donated organs from different bodies by donation, can be called “donated life.” Donated life is a win-win action between altruism and egoism, that is, to save the lives of others and to regenerate the organs of donors or their relatives. Due to the emergence of this kind of life, traditional social ethics theories based on the marriage-related family find it difficult to difficult to explain the new realities. Thus, new thinking about social ethics is necessary.     

Operation Crayweed: Ecological and sociocultural aspects of restoring Sydney’s underwater forests

Operation Crayweed focuses on the restoration of underwater forests that disappeared from the coastline of Sydney, Australia’s largest city, 40 years previously. We show how a combination of science, hands‐on restoration, community engagement and art has helped the project to reach its goals as well as raise awareness about the importance of underwater kelp forests that are experiencing global decline.     

Synthesize of β‐cyclodextrin functionalized dendritic fibrous nanosilica and its application for the removal of organic dye (malachite green)

Dye removal from industrial waste water has become an important issue. The highvisibility, undesirability and recalcitrance are the significant environmental problemfor the dyes. In the present work,β‐cyclodextrin functionalized KCC‐1 (KCC‐1‐NH‐β‐CD)was synthesized and utilized to the removal of hazardous malachite green. In order to study the morphology of the synthesized nano adsorbent, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were obtained from the surface of the sample. Additionally, the functionalization of KCC‐1 with β‐cyclodextrin was confirmed with Furrier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The textural property of KCC‐1 was verified using nitrogen adsorption/ desorption analysis (BET equation). UV‐Vis spectroscopy utilized for the investigation of malachite green by KCC‐1‐NH‐β‐CD. Specific surface area of the adsorbent was calculated to be 140 m²/g and it can be stated that the synthesized nano adsorbent has high removal efficiency. It should be noted that the adsorption capacity of the employed nano adsorbent was more than 95%, which could be attributed to high porosity of β‐cyclodextrin functionalized KCC‐1.     

全国大学生生命科学竞赛数据分析与展望

全国大学生生命科学竞赛至今已举办三届,赛事组织好、规模大、参与度高,对促进生命科学教育与研究具有重要作用。文中简述全国大学生生命科学竞赛的模式与现状,并基于前三届竞赛数据分地区分年度统计分析报名数据和竞赛成绩,同时结合生命科学领域的新变化新认识进行展望,以更好地推动赛事发展。     

Cretaceous origins of the vibrotactile bill-tip organ in birds

Some probe-foraging birds locate their buried prey by detecting mechanical vibrations in the substrate using a specialized tactile bill-tip organ comprising mechanoreceptors embedded in densely clustered pits in the bone at the tip of their beak. This remarkable sensory modality is known as ‘remote touch’, and the associated bill-tip organ is found in probe-foraging taxa belonging to both the palaeognathous (in kiwi) and neognathous (in ibises and shorebirds) clades of modern birds. Intriguingly, a structurally similar bill-tip organ is also present in the beaks of extant, non-probing palaeognathous birds (e.g. emu and ostriches) that do not use remote touch. By comparison with our comprehensive sample representing all orders of extant modern birds (Neornithes), we provide evidence that the lithornithids (the most basal known palaeognathous birds which evolved in the Cretaceous period) had the ability to use remote touch. This finding suggests that the occurrence of the vestigial bony bill-tip organ in all modern non-probing palaeognathous birds represents a plesiomorphic condition. Furthermore, our results show that remote-touch probe foraging evolved very early among the Neornithes and it may even have predated the palaeognathous–neognathous divergence. We postulate that the tactile bony bill-tip organ in Neornithes may have originated from other snout tactile specializations of their non-avian theropod ancestors.     

Cannot see the diversity for all the species: Evaluating inclusion criteria for local species lists when using abundant citizen science data

Abundant citizen science data on species occurrences are becoming increasingly available and enable identifying composition of communities occurring at multiple sites with high temporal resolution. However, for species displaying temporary patterns of local occurrences that are transient to some sites, biodiversity measures are clearly dependent on the criteria used to include species into local species lists. Using abundant opportunistic citizen science data from frequently visited wetlands, we investigated the sensitivity of α‐ and β‐diversity estimates to the use raw versus detection‐corrected data and to the use of inclusion criteria for species presence reflecting alternative site use. We tested seven inclusion criteria (with varying number of days required to be present) on time series of daily occurrence status during a breeding season of 90 days for 77 wetland bird species. We show that even when opportunistic presence‐only observation data are abundant, raw data may not produce reliable local species richness estimates and rank sites very differently in terms of species richness. Furthermore, occupancy model based α‐ and β‐diversity estimates were sensitive to the inclusion criteria used. Total species lists (all species observed at least once during a season) may therefore mask diversity differences among sites in local communities of species, by including vagrant species on potentially breeding communities and change the relative rank order of sites in terms of species richness. Very high sampling effort does not necessarily free opportunistic data from its inherent bias and can produce a pattern in which many species are observed at least once almost everywhere, thus leading to a possible paradox: The large amount of biological information may hinder its usefulness. Therefore, when prioritizing among sites to manage or preserve species diversity estimates need to be carefully related to relevant inclusion criteria depending on the diversity estimate in focus.