Genuinely made up: camp,baroque, and other denaturalizing aesthetics in the cultural production of the real

The link that Jean‐Jacques Rousseau forged a long time ago between the ‘real’ and the ‘natural’ has proved to be indissoluble. Time and again, contemporary constructions of the real mobilize all that can be linked to nature. Inauthentic, by contrast, is that which is fabricated, made up, artificial, the all‐too‐evident result of human design. In Bahia, Brazil, the author encountered a completely different mode in the cultural production of the real. Analysing the performance of a Bahian drag queen who goes by the name of Gina da Mascar, the author discusses ‘camp’ and ‘baroque’ as registers that foster a sensibility for (and appreciation of) cultural forms that are ‘truly false’. He shows how the appeal of these registers – their persuasiveness, their form of truth‐telling – resonates with the sensibilities of people whose biographies are marked by radical discontinuities, and he argues that these registers might be understood as a popular articulation of the Lacanian understanding that symbolic closure is an impossibility.     

Building a new research framework for social evolution: intralocus caste antagonism

The breeding and non‐breeding ‘castes’ of eusocial insects provide a striking example of role‐specific selection, where each caste maximises fitness through different morphological, behavioural and physiological trait values. Typically, queens are long‐lived egg‐layers, while workers are short‐lived, largely sterile foragers. Remarkably, the two castes are nevertheless produced by the same genome. The existence of inter‐caste genetic correlations is a neglected consequence of this shared genome, potentially hindering the evolution of caste dimorphism: alleles that increase the productivity of queens may decrease the productivity of workers and vice versa, such that each caste is prevented from reaching optimal trait values. A likely consequence of this ‘intralocus caste antagonism’ should be the maintenance of genetic variation for fitness and maladaptation within castes (termed ‘caste load’), analogous to the result of intralocus sexual antagonism. The aim of this review is to create a research framework for understanding caste antagonism, drawing in part upon conceptual similarities with sexual antagonism. By reviewing both the social insect and sexual antagonism literature, we highlight the current empirical evidence for caste antagonism, discuss social systems of interest, how antagonism might be resolved, and challenges for future research. We also introduce the idea that sexual and caste antagonism could interact, creating a three‐way antagonism over gene expression. This includes unpacking the implications of haplodiploidy for the outcome of this complex interaction.     

The continuity of microevolution and macroevolution

A persistent debate in evolutionary biology is one over the continuity of microevolution and macroevolution – whether macroevolutionary trends are governed by the principles of microevolution. The opposition of evolutionary trends over different time scales is taken as evidence that selection is uncoupled over these scales. I argue that the paradox inferred by trend opposition is eliminated by a hierarchical application of the ‘geometric‐mean fitness’ principle, a principle that has been invoked only within the limited context of microevolution in response to environmental variance. This principle implies the elimination of well adapted genotypes – even those with the highest arithmetic mean fitness over a shorter time scale. Contingent on premises concerning the temporal structure of environmental variance, selectivity of extinction, and clade‐level heritability, the evolutionary outcome of major environmental change may be viewed as identical in principle to the outcome of minor environmental fluctuations over the short‐term. Trend reversals are thus recognized as a fundamental property of selection operating at any phylogenetic level that occur in response to event severities of any magnitude over all time scales. This ‘bet‐hedging’ perspective differs from others in that a specified, single hierarchical selective process is proposed to explain observed hierarchical patterns of extinction.     

Assessing group differences in biodiversity by simultaneously testing a user‐defined selection of diversity indices

Comparing diversities between groups is a task biologists are frequently faced with, for example in ecological field trials or when dealing with metagenomics data. However, researchers often waver about which measure of diversity to choose as there is a multitude of approaches available. As Jost (2008, Molecular Ecology, 17 , 4015) has pointed out, widely used measures such as the Shannon or Simpson index have undesirable properties which make them hard to compare and interpret. Many of the problems associated with the use of these ‘raw’ indices can be corrected by transforming them into ‘true’ diversity measures. We introduce a technique that allows the comparison of two or more groups of observations and simultaneously tests a user‐defined selection of a number of ‘true’ diversity measures. This procedure yields multiplicity‐adjusted P‐values according to the method of Westfall and Young (1993, Resampling‐Based Multiple Testing: Examples and Methods for p‐Value Adjustment, 49, 941), which ensures that the rate of false positives (type I error) does not rise when the number of groups and/or diversity indices is extended. Software is available in the R package ‘simboot’.     

Ready to Fight: Reliable Predictors of Attack in a Cooperatively Breeding,Non‐Passerine Bird

Signal reliability is a major focus of animal communication research. Aggressive signals are ideal for measuring signal reliability because the signal referent – attack or no attack – can be measured unambiguously. Signals of aggressive intent occur at elevated rates in aggressive contexts, predict subsequent aggression by the signaler, and elicit appropriate responses from receivers. We tested the ‘predictive criterion’ in smooth‐billed anis, Crotophaga ani, by broadcasting one of two playback types (‘ahnee’ calls only or ‘ahnee + hoot’ calls), presenting a taxidermic mount, and observing the animals’ behavior. Based on the hypotheses that ‘hoot’ calls and ‘throat‐inflation’ displays signal aggressive intent, we predicted that they would be associated with attack, and that signaling rate would increase over the time period leading up to an attack. Indeed, both hoots and throat‐inflation displays reliably predicted attack. The second prediction, that signaling rate increases in the time leading up to attack, was strongly supported for throat‐inflation displays, which increased over the pre‐attack period in both treatments. Hoots increased over the pre‐attack period in ahnee playbacks but not in ahnee + hoot playbacks. Hierarchical signaling systems are characterized by early, less‐reliable predictors of attack, and later, more reliable predictors of attack. During both natural and simulated interactions, the more‐reliable throat‐inflation display tended to precede the less‐reliable hoot call, suggesting that this signaling system is not hierarchical. In a comparison of 11 putative signals of aggressive intent in birds, the throat‐inflation display had the second highest mutual information (reduction in uncertainty) among visual signals and non‐passerine signals while hoots had below‐average mutual information. Natural observations indicate that both hoots and throat‐inflation displays occur in the context of aggressive between‐group encounters, and hoots also occur during within‐group interactions. Throat‐inflation displays appear to be reliable indicators of aggressive intent, but the function of hoot calls is less clear.     

Funding begets biodiversity

Aim Effective conservation of biodiversity relies on an unbiased knowledge of its distribution. Conservation priority assessments are typically based on the levels of species richness, endemism and threat. Areas identified as important receive the majority of conservation investments, often facilitating further research that results in more species discoveries. Here, we test whether there is circularity between funding and perceived biodiversity, which may reinforce the conservation status of areas already perceived to be important while other areas with less initial funding may remain overlooked. Location Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania. Methods We analysed time series data (1980–2007) of funding (n = 134 projects) and plant species records (n = 75,631) from a newly compiled database. Perceived plant diversity, over three decades, is regressed against funding and environmental factors, and variances decomposed in partial regressions. Cross‐correlations are used to assess whether perceived biodiversity drives funding or vice versa. Results Funding explained 65% of variation in perceived biodiversity patterns – six times more variation than accounted for by 34 candidate environmental factors. Cross‐correlation analysis showed that funding is likely to be driving conservation priorities and not vice versa. It was also apparent that investment itself may trigger further investments as a result of reduced start‐up costs for new projects in areas where infrastructure already exists. It is therefore difficult to establish whether funding, perceived biodiversity, or both drive further funding. However, in all cases, the results suggest that regional assessments of biodiversity conservation importance may be biased by investment. Funding effects might also confound studies on mechanisms of species richness patterns. Main conclusions Continued biodiversity loss commands urgent conservation action even if our knowledge of its whereabouts is incomplete; however, by concentrating inventory funds in areas already perceived as important in terms of biodiversity and/or where start‐up costs are lower, we risk losing other areas of underestimated or unknown value.     

Felicitometry: measuring the 'quality' in quality of life

Following Bernheim, ¹ 1 J.L. Bernheim. How to get serious answers to the serious question: ‘How have you been?’ Subjective quality of life (QOL) as an individual experiential emergent construct. Bioethics. 1998 ; 13 : 272 – 287 .
we examine aspects of ‘felicitometrics,’ ² 2 Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) introduced the term ‘felicitometrics.’ He used the term ‘felicific calculus’ to describe methods for calculating the amounts of pleasure and pain consequent on particular courses of action: to wit, ‘Sum up all the values of all the pleasures on the one side and those of all the pains on the other. The balance, if it be on the side of pleasure, will give the good tendency of the act . . .’
the measurement of the ‘quality’ term in Quality of Life (QOL). Bernheim argued that overall QOL is best captured as the Gestalt ³ 3 Gestalts are unified wholes with the property that the arrangement of component features provides information not apparent in the features alone. The face provides an oft‐used example: Only by seeing the individual features of the face can one see the face as a whole, and only by seeing the face as a whole can one give meaning to its individual features.
of a global self‐assessment and suggested that the Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) approach, in which subjects' memories of the best and worst times of their lives are used to anchor a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), provided a serious answer to the serious question, ‘How have you been?’ Bernheim compares and contrasts the ACSA to multi‐item questionnaire QOL instruments, such as the SF‐36, concluding that the ACSA has a number of advantages. His discussion assumes that the use of QOL outcomes in clinical trials is both relevant and appropriate. In the present paper, we document the reasonableness of this latter assumption, ⁴ 4 We emphasize that the choice of the outcome variable in clinical trials has ethical relevance, and that ethical considerations are paramount in choosing length of life and/or quality of life as primary, or at least secondary, outcomes.
contribute to the characterization of the similarities and differences between multi‐item and individualized QOL instruments, and point to some other individualized instruments that may be used in clinical trial contexts. These ‘other individualized instruments’ differ from the ACSA in fundamental ways; but they are individualized in that the subject defines those areas in his/her life that are most important, and these may vary from subject‐to‐subject.     

Against Anonymity

In ‘New Threats to Academic Freedom’ 1 1 Minerva, F. . New Threats to Academic Freedom . Bioethics 2013 ; DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12066 .
Francesca Minerva argues that anonymity for the authors of controversial articles is a prerequisite for academic freedom in the Internet age. This argument draws its intellectual and emotional power from the author's account of the reaction to the on‐line publication of ‘ After‐birth abortion: why should the baby live?’ 2 2 Giubilini, A. & Minerva, F. . After‐birth Abortion. Why Should the Baby Live? J Med Ethics 2013 ; 39 : 261 – 263 .
– an article that provoked cascades of hostile postings and e‐mails. Reflecting on these events, Minerva proposes that publishers should offer the authors of controversial articles the option of publishing their articles anonymously. This response reviews the history of anonymous publication and concludes that its reintroduction in the Internet era would recreate problems similar to those that led print journals to abandon the practice: corruption of scholarly discourse by invective and hate speech, masked conflicts of interest, and a diminution of editorial accountability. It also contends that Minerva misreads the intent of the hostile e‐mails provoked by ‘After‐birth abortion,’ and that ethicists who publish controversial articles should take responsibility by dialoguing with their critics – even those whose critiques are emotionally charged and hostile.     

Blow fly artifacts from blood and putrefaction fluid on various surfaces: a source for forensic STR typing

Adult blow flies can deposit small spots (‘artifacts’) containing biological fluids like blood on various surfaces at a crime scene, either by regurgitation or defecation, and thereby create new or modify existing stains. These minute traces may represent evidence for the past presence of a certain person or victim in crime scene scenarios where nobody is present or all other crime‐related biological traces have been cleaned up. We analyzed artifacts on crime scene relevant surfaces (glass, wood, concrete, wallpaper, carpet, plastic wrap), produced by the forensically important blow fly Calliphora vicina Robineau‐Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae) after ingesting fresh and degraded porcine blood as well as putrefaction fluid from a pig's trotter and evaluated the potential of these spots for short tandem repeat (STR) analysis at various time intervals after deposition. Genotyping was possible on single fly artifacts on all surfaces up to 300 days after deposition by the flies after both blood or putrefaction fluid intake. The results indicate that the suitability for STR typing of those spots mainly depends on the time since deposition. The activity of flies at a crime scene can lead to artifacts which are – even 300 days after deposition – a valuable source of case‐related DNA. Sometimes those traces may even be the only source of information for DNA profiling.     

A part‐dependent account of biological individuality: why holobionts are individuals and ecosystems simultaneously

Given one conception of biological individuality (evolutionary, physiological, etc.), can a holobiont – that is the host + its symbiotic (mutualistic, commensalist and parasitic) microbiome – be simultaneously a biological individual and an ecological community? Herein, we support this possibility by arguing that the notion of biological individuality is part‐dependent. In our account, the individuality of a biological ensemble should not only be determined by the conception of biological individuality in use, but also by the biological characteristics of the part of the ensemble under investigation. In the specific case of holobionts, evaluations of their individuality should be made either host‐relative or microbe‐relative. We support the claim that biological individuality is part‐dependent by drawing upon recent empirical evidence regarding the physiology of hosts and microbes, and the recent characterization of the ‘demibiont’. Our account shows that contemporary disagreements about the individuality of the holobiont derive from an incorrect understanding of the ontology of biological individuality. We show that collaboration between philosophers and biologists can be very fruitful in attempts to solve some contemporary biological debates.     

Biological relativity to water–energy dynamics

Climate has long been related to geographical differences in the distribution and diversity of life. What has eluded explanation is why this should be so. One emerging possibility is biological relativity to water–energy dynamics: the relative nature of biotic dynamics to changes in energy/matter conditions caused by changes in water (all states) while doing work, especially liquid water. The dynamic parameters involved – liquid water and optimal energy conditions – are independent of life, and have been shown to provide a simple, globally predictive explanation for co‐variation between climate and the species richness of woody plants. Here I elaborate on what I mean by ‘biological relativity to water–energy dynamics’ and how it should relate to the geography and evolution of life in general (terrestrial, subterranean, marine/aquatic biota). Working through a natural hierarchy of physical, geographical, ecological and biological first principles, I outline the hierarchical, abiotic → biotic conceptual framework within which this idea operates. The implications of this idea include the following. First, the biosphere is better conceptualized as a ‘subsphere’ of the liquid hydrosphere – a system within a system, wherein ‘life’ has all the unique physical properties of liquid water, plus unique emergent properties of its own. Second, the fundamental capacity for life to exist and be dynamic in all biotic systems is determined by the abiotic capacity for liquid water to exist and be dynamic, which is always relative to the capacity for water–energy dynamics in general. Third, liquid water–energy dynamics acts as a fundamental mechanism of evolution, while being a constant mechanism of natural selection. Fourth, over space and time, there should be first‐order predictable and/or systematic differences in the capacity for, operation and outcomes of, biotic dynamics globally (e.g. species richness), that necessarily dissolve into apparent chaos locally. Fifth, biological relativity to water–energy dynamics provides a fundamental and natural framework for operationalizing hierarchy theory and developing trans‐scalar explanations for the geography and evolution of life's diversity.     

EQUALITY AND THE DUTY TO RETARD HUMAN AGEING

Where does the aspiration to retard human ageing fit in the ‘big picture’ of medical necessities and the requirements of just healthcare? Is there a duty to retard human ageing? And if so, how much should we invest in the basic science that studies the biology of ageing and could lead to interventions that modify the biological processes of human ageing? I consider two prominent accounts of equality and just healthcare – Norman Daniels's application of the principle of fair equality of opportunity and Ronald Dworkin's account of equality of resources – and conclude that, once suitably amended and revised, both actually support the conclusion that anti‐ageing research is important and could lead to interventions that ought to be considered ‘medical necessities’.     

A plea for ‘genealogical thinking’ in comparative biology – a rebuttal to the reply of Szucsich,Wirkner, and Pass to my article ‘Deconstructing Morphology’

Scholtz G. in press. A plea for ‘genealogical thinking’ in comparative biology – a rebuttal to the reply of Szucsich, Wirkner, and Pass to my article ‘Deconstructing Morphology’. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00 : 1–4. Szucsich et al. (in press) claim that – in contrast to my statement – morphological thinking has to be ‘cladistic.’ Based on this premise, they stress the difference between the relationships among states of characters versus those among structures assigned to the same character state as implemented in numerical cladistic reasoning. SEA claim that my approach to the homology concept only deals with the problem of the integration of various character states into the same character, whereas the necessary relationships among structures assigned to the same state are not covered. Based on this distinction, SEA also criticise the application of similarity in my definition of homology. Furthermore, they address the issue of evolutionarily independent units.     

Queueing up for enzymatic processing: correlated signaling through coupled degradation

High‐throughput technologies have led to the generation of complex wiring diagrams as a post‐sequencing paradigm for depicting the interactions between vast and diverse cellular species. While these diagrams are useful for analyzing biological systems on a large scale, a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the observed network connections is critical for the further development of systems and synthetic biology. Here, we use queueing theory to investigate how ‘waiting lines’ can lead to correlations between protein ‘customers’ that are coupled solely through a downstream set of enzymatic ‘servers’. Using the E. coli ClpXP degradation machine as a model processing system, we observe significant cross‐talk between two networks that are indirectly coupled through a common set of processors. We further illustrate the implications of enzymatic queueing using a synthetic biology application, in which two independent synthetic networks demonstrate synchronized behavior when common ClpXP machinery is overburdened. Our results demonstrate that such post‐translational processes can lead to dynamic connections in cellular networks and may provide a mechanistic understanding of existing but currently inexplicable links.     

On the use of advanced modelling techniques to investigate the conformational discrepancy between two X-ray structures of the AppA BLUF domain

The conformation of the blue light utilising flavin domain of the signalling protein AppA in the dark state is a matter of intensive research, both experimental and theoretical, and has not yet unambiguously been determined. Two contradicting X-ray structures of the dark state have been published previously. We aim at resolving this seeming contradiction by exploring conformational pathways between the two X-ray structures using advanced modelling techniques, such as local-elevation searching and sampling, soft-core non-bonded interactions and protocols of successively biasing the sampling of sets of torsional angles which adopt different values in the two alternative X-ray structures. The results suggest a high energetic barrier for a change in the Trp104 side chain from a ‘Trp-in’ to a ‘Trp-out’ conformation or vice versa, and illustrate the complexity to model conformational transitions involving a large number of degrees of freedom.     

‘Bridges to cash’: channelling agency in mobile money

Encountered by mobile money professionals – industry and philanthropic actors seeking to bring mobile phone‐enabled financial products to poor people in the ‘developing world’ – the authors move together with new collaborators to inquire into a problem they had been grappling with for some time. This is the problem of agency; specifically, the agency of ‘mobile money agents’, the people ‘on the ground’ or ‘in the field’ who form a crucial function in permitting others to put cash into an electronic money transfer system and pull cash out of it. These ‘human ATMs’ or ‘bridges to cash’ become the object of analytical scrutiny for mobile money experts and anthropologists. This article takes that analytical scrutiny – and not mobile money agents themselves – as its object. It seeks to understand how ‘agency’ inflects debates over money, its meaning and its pragmatics, and its transformation in new communicative infrastructures, and how it might inform anthropology and political struggles over money and payment.     

A single‐stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP)‐derived quantitative variable to monitor the virulence of a Barley yellow dwarf virus‐PAV (BYDV‐PAV) isolate during adaptation to the TC14 resistant wheat line

A standardized single‐stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) procedure is proposed as an alternative to the time‐consuming biological characterization of Barley yellow dwarf virus‐PAV (BYDV‐PAV) isolates. Using this procedure, six of 21 overlapping regions used to scan the viral genome gave patterns specific to ‘4E’ (avirulent) or ‘4T’ (‘4E’‐derived virulent) isolates. The calibration of samples and integration of SSCP patterns corresponding to the nucleotide region 1482–2023 allowed the estimation of P_T values that reflect the proportions of a ‘4T’‐specific band. Analysis of the biological (area under the pathogen progress curve) and molecular (P_T) data suggested a positive linear relation between these variables. Moreover, sequence analysis of the nucleotide region 1482–2023 highlighted the presence of a nucleotide polymorphism (C/A₁₈₃₅) which can be considered as a candidate for virus–host interactions linked to the monitored virulence. According to these parameters, P_T values associated with ‘4E’‐ and ‘4T’‐derived populations show that: (i) long‐term infection of a BYDV‐PAV isolate on the ‘TC14’ resistant host leads to the fixation of virulent individuals in viral populations; and (ii) the introduction of susceptible hosts in successive ‘TC14’ infections results in the maintenance of low virulence of the populations. Thus, the presented study demonstrates that SSCP is a useful tool for monitoring viral populations during the host adaptation process. The described impact of host alternation provides new opportunities for the use of the ‘TC14’ resistance source in BYDV‐resistant breeding programmes. This study is part of the global effort made by the scientific community to propose sustainable alternatives to the chemical control of this viral disease.     

Acceptance by Honey Bee Guards of Non‐Nestmates is not Increased by Treatment with Nestmate Odours

Honey bee, Apis mellifera, entrance guards use chemical cues to discriminate nestmates from non‐nestmates. Previous research has shown that when wax combs are reciprocally swapped between two colonies, guards become more accepting of workers from the swap partner. However, when combs were transferred only one way, guards in the comb‐receiver colony became more accepting of bees from the comb‐donor colony, but not vice versa. Hence, the increased acceptance of non‐nestmates caused by reciprocal comb swapping was not because of introduced bees acquiring odours from the transferred combs, which was surprising because comb wax was known to affect the odour of bees. In the current experiment, we caused workers to acquire either nestmate or non‐nestmate odours by holding them for 15 min in a tube, which had previously held nestmates or non‐nestmates and then measured their acceptance by entrance guards of nestmate or non‐nestmate hives. When transferred workers had acquired odours of non‐nestmates, acceptance by their own colony’s guards significantly decreased to 66% from 91%. Conversely, the acceptance of non‐nestmates that had acquired odours of the guards’ own nestmates was unchanged, 25% vs. 25%. These results show that when equivalent changes in the odour of introduced bees are made, guards are more sensitive to changes that cause nestmates to acquire non‐nestmate odours than vice versa. These results are also a likely explanation for the earlier and surprising results from the unidirectional comb swap experiment ( Couvillon et al. 2007 ). We make a hypothesis for the underlying mechanism in terms of a multidimensional recognition cue space.