Physiological Responses and Partisan Bias: Beyond Self-Reported Measures of Party Identification

People are biased partisans: they tend to agree with policies from political parties they identify with, independent of policy content. Here, we investigate how physiological reactions to political parties shape bias. Using changes in galvanic skin conductance responses to the visual presentation of party logos, we obtained an implicit and physiological measure of the affective arousal associated with political parties. Subsequently, we exposed subjects to classical party cue experiments where the party sponsors of specific policies were experimentally varied. We found that partisan bias only obtains among those exhibiting a strong physiological reaction to the party source; being a self-reported party identifier is not sufficient on its own. This suggests that partisan bias is rooted in implicit, affective reactions.     

Differential effects of circadian typology on sleep-related symptoms,physical fatigue and psychological well-being in relation to resilience

Various physiological and psychological functions are influenced by circadian typology (CT), which was reported to be related to resilience. However, few studies have assessed the effects of CT in relation to resilience. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of CT on sleep-related symptoms, physical fatigue and psychological well-being in relation to resilience. The present study included a total of 1794 healthy hospital employees, and they completed the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version. Subjects with evening type showed lower sleep quality, more daytime sleepiness and physical fatigue than neither types and morning types. Additionally, evening types were more depressed and anxious and reported a poorer quality of life. CT was found to be a significant predictor of sleep quality, but CT was minimally associated with physical fatigue and psychological well-being in the regression analysis. Instead, resilience was substantially related to all of the variables measured. In conclusion, CT independently predicts sleep quality, but the effects of CT on physical fatigue and psychological well-being are negligible compared to those of resilience.     

Review of the East Asian species of the genera Hybrizon Fallén and Ghilaromma Tobias (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Hybrizontinae)

East Asian species of the genera Hybrizon and Ghilaromma are reviewed. Four species of Hybrizon, H. buccatus (Brébisson 1825), H. ghilarovi Tobias, 1988, H. juncoi (Ceballos 1957) and H. flavofacialis Tobias, 1988 and two species of Ghilaromma, G. orientalis Tobias, 1988 and G. ussuriensis Tobias, 1988, were recognized. H. ghilarovi was recorded from Korea, Japan and China, while H. juncoi was recorded from Korea, for the first time. The specimens recorded from Japan as G. fuliginosi (Wilkinson, 1930) by Watanabe (1984) are referred to G. orientalis herein. This species is newly recorded from Korea and Japan. Keys to East Asian species of Hybrizon and the world species of Ghilaromma are also provided.     

Effects of auditory stimuli on the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster

It is well known that music can have calming effects on humans, other mammals and birds. Reducing environmental stress or enhancing the resistance to certain stressors has been shown to extend lifespan in several organisms. Evidence also suggests that mild temporary stress may also enhance stress resistance and ultimately slow the aging process. This study explored the possibility that music may influence the lifespan of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, possibly by affecting responses to stress. Flies received either background sounds (control), or background sounds supplemented with music (experimental). The experimental group had classical music playing constantly at an average of 20 dB above background sound. The median lifespan of females receiving music was 42 days compared to the median of 45 days without music, but the difference was not significant. For males median lifespans were 42 days with music exposure, and 47 days without music and the difference was significant. These results suggest that exposure to classical music decreased the lifespan of male Drosophila. Both experimental and control populations showed age-dependent increases in mortality, indicating that music affects the normal aging process rather than showing overt toxicity. These results suggest that certain auditory stimuli may be stressful and can be used as insect management.     

Secretion of Recombinant Pediocin PA-1 by Bifidobacterium longum, Using the Signal Sequence for Bifidobacterial α-Amylase

A recombinant DNA, encoding the chimeric protein of the signal sequence for bifidobacterial α-amylase mature pediocin PA-1, was introduced into Bifidobacterium longum MG1. Biologically active pediocin PA-1 was successfully secreted from the strain and showed bactericidal activity against Listeria monocytogenes and the same molecular mass as native pediocin PA-1.     

Moths use multimodal sensory information to adopt adaptive resting orientations

Camouflage conceals animals from predators and depends on the interplay between the morphology and behaviour of animals. Behavioural elements of animals, such as the choice of a resting spot or posture, are important for effective camouflage, as well as the animals’ cryptic appearance. To date, the type of sensory input that mediates resting site choice remains poorly understood. Previously, we showed that bark‐like moths perceive and rely on bark structure to seek out cryptic resting positions and body orientations on tree trunks. In the present study, we investigated the sensory organs through which moths perceive the structure of bark when positioning their bodies in adaptive resting orientations. We amputated (or blocked) each one of the hypothetical sensory organs in moths (antennae, forelegs, wings, and eyes) and tested whether they were still able to perceive bark structure properly and adopt adaptive resting orientations. We found that visual information or stimulation is crucial for adaptively orienting their bodies when resting and tactile information from wings may play an additional role. The present study reveals multimodal information use by moths to achieve visual camouflage and highlights the sensory mechanism that is responsible for the adaptive behaviour of cryptic insects. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 111 , 900–904.