The ability of rhesus macaques to perform elementary mathematical actions

Rhesus macaques were presented as an example with multitudes in the range from 1–2 to 5–6 “dots,” 10 mm in diameter, on the monitor screen. By consecutive discrete pressing the key with “+” symbol, the monkeys formed on the “field of counting” a randomized multitude equal to that presented as an example. O. Koehler’s hypothesis of connection between counting and thinking and the proximity of the consecutive effector form of counting to discrete nature of human language is discussed.     

On the controversy over "fast" and "slow" helix-coil transition rates in polypeptides

The controversy over “fast” and “slow” helix-coil transition rates in polypeptides is discussed. The “slow” results are derived from the assumption that multiple NMR spectra of α-CH and NH groups arise from chemical exchange. In this paper it is shown that such spectra may be obtained without invoking chemical exchange. The multiplicity arises from the difference in helicity of amino acid residues near the ends of the chain by comparison with amino acid residues nearer the middle, and from a polydispersity in molecular weight. As a consequence of this analysis, support is given to the “fast” transition rates.     

"Noise" as a unifying concept in the theory of schizophrenia

The psychological effects of pharmacologically active substances can only be adequately described in terms of the psychological processes upon which they act. Psychopharmacology therefore depends on the development of psychological “models”, i.e. formally stated and testable hypotheses concerning the psychological processes required for the performance of any given task. Information theory is not concerned with the physical nature of events but only with those features which confer specificity upon them. It therefore provides a suitable theoretical language in which to describe interactions between biochemical, neurophysiological and psychological events. (i) The first section of this paper defines the information-theory concept of noise. Starting from first principles with the “noisy channel” and progressing to the “noisy system”, some of its psychophysiological implications are explored. (ii) An “order-memory” task is described which was used for three years to study the thinking of acutely disturbed young adult psychiatric patients, including many with acute schizophrenia. On the basis of a simple model, it is possible to calculate the value of a “critical” noise-level which marks the dividing line between two qualitatively different modes of functioning. (iii) A number of results are either reported or summarized, which show the functional significance of a supra-critical noise-level and its connection with the acute schizophrenic state. (iv) A “control-theory” approach to schizophrenia is outlined, which shows how specific and non-specific hereditary factors could be accommodated in the hypothesis but mainly emphasizes the concept of a mutual struggle for control between parent and child, in which the “loser” overloads the regulatory capacity of the other by “going noisy”. In this way the “loser” escapes from control but is more or less disabled by his own cognitive noise.     

"Bioplutonism" and the evolutionary implications of beneficial genes from another biosphere

Could exogenous genes from another biosphere have aided the evolution of life on Earth's surface over the last half-billion years? That possibility was considered by Thomas Gold in 1992, when he hypothesized that a “deep hot biosphere” (DHB) resides independently well below its cooler surface counterpart. And he suggested that “… in the long term … there may occasionally be beneficial exchanges of genetic material between microbial life at depth and the surface life.” Thus, the question: what evidence is there to support Gold's notion that exogenous genes from the DHB – let us call them “bioplutons” – ever bestowed benefits on the evolution of surface life? In pursuit of this question I drafted a null hypothesis: “Nothing beyond our own biosphere, as we know it today, renders any kind of genetic benefits to biological evolution.” After objectively analyzing the evidence and arguments pro and con I failed to reject the null hypothesis, given what we know today, especially the fact that no genetic imprint from the DHB has been identified in eukaryotic genomes. But my conclusion is regarded as tentative, because the fundamentals of Gold's argument, collectively referred to herein as “bioplutonism,” might be confirmed eventually with successful probes into the DHB, and with the sampling of its alleged genetic material.     

Honey and diabetes mellitus: Obstacles and challenges – Road to be repaired

Background and objectiveSince ancient times, honey has been used due to its nutritional and therapeutic value. The role of honey has been acknowledged in the scientific literature however, its use has been controversially discussed and has not been well accepted in modern medicine especially for diabetic patients. This study aimed to investigate the role of honey in diabetic patients.MethodsIn this study, we identified 107 research articles from data based search engines including “PubMed”, “ISI-Web of Science”, “Embase” and “Google Scholar”. The research papers were selected by using the primary key-terms including “Honey”, “Honey bee” and “Diabetes Mellitus”. The research documents in which “Honey” and “Diabetes Mellitus” were debated are included. After screening, we reviewed 66 papers and finally we selected 35 studies which met the inclusion criteria and the remaining documents were excluded.ResultsThis study investigated the preclinical, clinical, human and animal model studies on honey and diabetes mellitus and found that honey decreases the fasting serum glucose, increases the sting C-peptide and 2-h postprandial C-peptide. Although, there is a dearth of data and literature also contrary discussed the use of honey in diabetic patients.ConclusionHoney decreases the fasting serum glucose, increases fasting C-peptide and 2-h postprandial C-peptide. Honey had low glycemic index and peak incremental index in diabetic patients. The use of honey in diabetic patients still has obstacles and challenges and needs more large sample sized, multi-center clinical controlled studies to reach better conclusions.     

Heterogeneous assemblages of bioethics and science: the “pre-embryo” debate in America

This paper explores the “pre-embryo” debate in America to analyze the relationship between scientific uncertainty and moral decision-making. This paper explores how an ethical debate among bioethicists around the term “pre-embryo” has been transformed into a scientific “fact” debate between developmental biology and embryology. This transformation is driven by the scientism of ethical reasoning that stresses scientific claims to increase the credibility of ethical claims. This paper concludes that the “pre-embryo” debate is not an ethical controversy over a unified science but rather credibility struggles between two heterogeneous assemblages of science and bioethics.     

An explantion for the determination of "self" versus "non-self" proteins

Deamidation of proteins, which has been linked to turnover, results in the production of a different protein—different in sequence and shape. It is proposed that this is the protein which is normally encountered by the immune system and is therefore viewed as “self”. If the protein in the form in which it exists in situ is released through disease, or introduced by artificial means, it would then be recognized as “non-self.” This is offered as a hypothesis to explain autoimmune response to the basic protein of myelin.     

Diversity of honey stores and their impact on pathogenic bacteria of the honeybee,Apis mellifera

Honeybee colonies offer an excellent environment for microbial pathogen development. The highest virulent, colony killing, bacterial agents are Paenibacillus larvae causing American foulbrood (AFB), and European foulbrood (EFB) associated bacteria. Besides the innate immune defense, honeybees evolved behavioral defenses to combat infections. Foraging of antimicrobial plant compounds plays a key role for this “social immunity” behavior. Secondary plant metabolites in floral nectar are known for their antimicrobial effects. Yet, these compounds are highly plant specific, and the effects on bee health will depend on the floral origin of the honey produced. As worker bees not only feed themselves, but also the larvae and other colony members, honey is a prime candidate acting as self‐medication agent in honeybee colonies to prevent or decrease infections. Here, we test eight AFB and EFB bacterial strains and the growth inhibitory activity of three honey types. Using a high‐throughput cell growth assay, we show that all honeys have high growth inhibitory activity and the two monofloral honeys appeared to be strain specific. The specificity of the monofloral honeys and the strong antimicrobial potential of the polyfloral honey suggest that the diversity of honeys in the honey stores of a colony may be highly adaptive for its “social immunity” against the highly diverse suite of pathogens encountered in nature. This ecological diversity may therefore operate similar to the well‐known effects of host genetic variance in the arms race between host and parasite.     

Jules Cotard: sa vie, son œuvre

Jules Cotard was a psychiatrist at the Vanves asylum. Described as a sharp observer and clinician, he also had a passion for clinical research. Jules Cotard was always ready to modify, question, or even abandon a hypothesis if clinical facts and scientific analysis made him deem it necessary to do so. He devoted most of his writing to “negation delirium”, (also known as “nihilistic delusion”): “Du délire hypochondriaque dans une forme grave de mélancolie (“Concerning hypochondriac delusion in serious melancholy”)” in 1880, “Du délire des négations (“Concerning negation delirium”)” in 1882, “Perte de la vision mentale dans une mélancolie anxieuse (“Loss of mental vision in anxious melancholy”)” in 1884 and “Du délire d’énormité (“Concerning delusions of enormity”)” in 1888. Long after his death, there was much controversy and debate about the existence of negation delirium. J. Séglas and J. Régis were the main contributors to the development and clarification of his work. Thus it is this most unusual of syndromes, Cotard’s syndrome, that has caused Jules Cotard to be part of the history of French psychiatry since the end of the 19th century.     

Media for the detection of Bacillus larvae spores in honey

Bacillus larvae, the causative agent of American foulbrood in honey bees completes its life cycle of germination, outgrowth and sporulation in young honey bee larvae by killing them and often bringing about the destruction of the entire hive. While B. larvae germinates and outgrows on complex organic media in vitro, the literature suggests, for reasons that are not at all clear, that a relatively large number of spores of B. larvae are required to yield each visible colony (colony forming units, CFU) on media. Various researchers have reported that from 16 to 3,000 or more spores of B. larvae are required to yield a single colony on an agar plate. HANSEN in Denmark designed a useful method of spreading approximately 80 mg of honey directly on the surface of a PETRI plate containing “J” agar medium to determine if B. larvae spores are present in the honey. In the present study, selected media were tested for the ability to recover B. larvae spores in honeys in the form of visible colonies (CFU) using HANSEN's strek method. A modification of a medium (TMYGP) developed by DINGMAN and STAHLY, (T-HCL-YGP agar), recovered considerably more viable B. larvae spores in the form of visible colonies (CFU) than HANSEN's “J” medium. When “J” medium was fortified with 0.1% sodium pyruvate, it was comparable to modified T-HCL-YGP medium in its recovery of B. larvae spores. Brain heart infusion agar (BHIA) with the addition of thiamine recovered more spores in the form of viable colonies than did “J” medium but it was not as efficient as T-HCL-YGP medium. Serial dilution from 100 to 10,000 times of weighed samples of honey with deionized water led to higher spore counts (CFU per g honey) than that indicated by undiluted honeys plated at 80 mg levels directly onto the surface of media by the HANSEN procedure.     

Invasive ant (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Anoplolepis gracilipes</Emphasis>) disrupts pollination in pumpkin

Yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes (F. Smith); “YCA”) is known for its aggressive predatory ability and ability to exert exploitation competition on both native and other invasive ants via floral nectar. We argue that YCA invasion can exert both interference and exploitation competition on legitimate pollinators. In pumpkin fields (Cucurbita maxima L.) of south India, YCA infested the flowers, particularly the pistillate flowers, for nectar foraging. Pumpkin is a honey bee-mediated cross-pollinated monoecious plant that produces disproportionately very few pistillate flowers. We hypothesize that YCA presence in the flowers can affect the visitation rate and foraging time of honey bees in the flowers, the fruit set in pumpkins, and can exert predatory pressure on the honey bees if the bees linger in ant-colonized flowers. Both YCA and honey bees preferred to forage on the limited pistillate flowers in the plants. After colonizing the flowers, YCA did not retreat for hours, even upon disturbance by competitors, such as honey bees. Both the visitation frequency and the foraging time of honey bees were drastically reduced in ant-colonized flowers, and none of the ant-colonized flowers developed into fruits, suggesting that the YCA exert both an ecological and evolutionary pressure on pumpkin. The ants preyed upon about 17% of the honey bees that lingered in ant-colonized flowers, and the time the bees spent foraging predicted the fate of the bees. Exploitation competition exerted by the YCA on pumpkin may have far-reaching consequences for the pollination and productivity of this cash crop.     

The effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queen reproductive potential on colony growth

Reproduction in species of eusocial insects is monopolized by one or a few individuals, while the remaining colony tasks are performed by the worker caste. This reproductive division of labor is exemplified by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), in which a single, polyandrous queen is the sole colony member that lays fertilized eggs. Previous work has revealed that the developmental fate of honey bee queens is highly plastic, with queens raised from younger worker larvae exhibiting higher measures in several aspects of reproductive potential compared to queens raised from older worker larvae. Here, we investigated the effects of queen reproductive potential (“quality”) on the growth and winter survival of newly established honey bee colonies. We did so by comparing the growth of colonies headed by “high-quality” queens (i.e., those raised from young worker larvae, which are more queen-like morphologically) to those headed by “low-quality” queens (i.e., those raised from older worker larvae, which are more worker-like morphologically). We confirmed that queens reared from young worker larvae were significantly larger in size than queens reared from old worker larvae. We also found a significant positive effect of queen grafting age on a colony’s production of worker comb, drone comb, and stored food (honey and pollen), although we did not find a statistically significant difference in the production of worker and drone brood, worker population, and colony weight. Our results provide evidence that in honey bees, queen developmental plasticity influences several important measures of colony fitness. Thus, the present study supports the idea that a honey bee colony can be viewed (at least in part) as the expanded phenotype of its queen, and thus selection acting predominantly at the colony level can be congruent with that at the individual level.     

Venom replenishment,as indicated by histamine,in honey bee (Apis mellifera) venom

Venom resynthesis, as indicated by histamine, has been investigated in the venom system of worker honey bees.After depletion of the venom contained in the venom reservoir, by electrical “milking”, histamine resynthesis was most active between 18 and 24 hr after “milking”.The ability of a bee to resynthesise histamine is age dependent. Young bees show some resynthetic ability, two week old bees show maximal ability to replace histamine. This capability is gradually lost as bees age and is virtually absent in 40 day old bees.     

Tomasello,Wittgenstein, and Vygotsky: The Problem of the Intermental

The subject of this article is the early mental development of children in the light of research by two classical scholars from the last century and several of our contemporaries. L.S. Vygotsky contended that before the higher mental functions are mastered by a child, they are in a state distributed between the child and an adult “as an intermental category.” However, he subsequently developed this productive notion in a very narrow sense, and the intermental was concretized as it was expressed in language. L. Wittgenstein persuasively showed that mastery of language is impossible without a practical “demonstration” of the meanings of words as part of “language games” within practical activities. At the same time, he argued that there could be no theory regarding this process. M. Tomasello, in works written already in this century, shows that “language games” are learned by the child long before mastering spoken language, based on gestures that in turn rely on joint intentions and joint attention—i.e. on the intermental in the sense in which one can interpret Vygotsky’s comments. The article clarifies the principal difficulties of exploring the topic of the intermental in psychology. A function distributed between an adult and a child cannot be objectified (it was an attempt to objectify that resulted in a narrowing of Vygotsky’s topic). Moreover, the interpretation of the intersubjective status of some forms of the psychic leads to the notion that any mental function remains intermental throughout one’s lifetime. In the view of the author of the article, such an interpretation is essential, but requires serious advances in the philosophical-methodological development of the subject under study.     

Distinct subspecies or phenotypic plasticity? Genetic and morphological differentiation of mountain honey bees in East Africa

Identifying the forces shaping intraspecific phenotypic and genotypic divergence are of key importance in evolutionary biology. Phenotypic divergence may result from local adaptation or, especially in species with strong gene flow, from pronounced phenotypic plasticity. Here, we examine morphological and genetic divergence among populations of the western honey bee Apis mellifera in the topographically heterogeneous East African region. The currently accepted “mountain refugia hypothesis” states that populations living in disjunct montane forests belong to a different lineage than those in savanna habitats surrounding these forests. We obtained microsatellite data, mitochondrial sequences, and morphometric data from worker honey bees collected from feral colonies in three montane forests and corresponding neighboring savanna regions in Kenya. Honey bee colonies from montane forests showed distinct worker morphology compared with colonies in savanna areas. Mitochondrial sequence data did not support the existence of the two currently accepted subspecies. Furthermore, analyses of the microsatellite data with a Bayesian clustering method did not support the existence of two source populations as it would be expected under the mountain refugia scenario. Our findings suggest that phenotypic plasticity rather than distinct ancestry is the leading cause behind the phenotypic divergence observed between montane forest and savanna honey bees. Our study thus corroborates the idea that high gene flow may select for increased plasticity.     

Thinking beyond Western commercial honeybee hives: towards improved conservation of honey bee diversity

A decline of wild pollinators, along with a decline of bee diversity, has been a cause of concern among academics and governmental organizations. According to IPBES, a lack of wild pollinator data contributes to difficulties in comprehensively analyzing the regional status of wild pollinators in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania. It may have also contributed to the prevailing lack of awareness of the diversity of honey bees, of which the managed Apis mellifera is often considered as “the (only) honey bee,” despite the fact that there are eight other honey bee species extant in Asia. A survey of 100 journal articles published in 2016 shows that 57% of the studies still identified A. mellifera as “the honey bee.” In total, 80% of studies were conducted solely on A. mellifera. This focus on A. mellifera has also caused the honey standard of Codex Alimentarius and the European Union to be based solely on A. mellifera, causing improper evaluation of honeys from other species. We recommend adapting current standards to reflect the diversity of honey bees and in the process correct failures in the honey market and pave the way towards improved protection of honey bee species and their habitats.     

The "intruder" hypothesis and selection against arginine

The “intruder” hypothesis for the presence of more arginine codons in the genetic code than are needed leads to the expectation for selection against arginine in protein synthesis. This selection is therefore a consequence of the intruder hypothesis rather than a substitute for it, as claimed by Wallis (1974).     

Testing the effect of paraquat exposure on genomic recombination rates in queens of the western honey bee, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis>

The rate of genomic recombination displays evolutionary plasticity and can even vary in response to environmental factors. The western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) has an extremely high genomic recombination rate but the mechanistic basis for this genome-wide upregulation is not understood. Based on the hypothesis that meiotic recombination and DNA damage repair share common mechanisms in honey bees as in other organisms, we predicted that oxidative stress leads to an increase in recombination rate in honey bees. To test this prediction, we subjected honey bee queens to oxidative stress by paraquat injection and measured the rates of genomic recombination in select genome intervals of offspring produced before and after injection. The evaluation of 26 genome intervals in a total of over 1750 offspring of 11 queens by microsatellite genotyping revealed several significant effects but no overall evidence for a mechanistic link between oxidative stress and increased recombination was found. The results weaken the notion that DNA repair enzymes have a regulatory function in the high rate of meiotic recombination of honey bees, but they do not provide evidence against functional overlap between meiotic recombination and DNA damage repair in honey bees and more mechanistic studies are needed.     

Vergleich eines "glatten" und eines "rauhen" Stammes von Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola

Comparison of a “smooth” and a “rough” isolate of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola The “smooth” (S) wild strain of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola was compared with a “rough” (R) variant of low virulence. Both strains grew nearly equally well on a sucrose containing medium with yeast extract and casamino acids, and the strains did not differ markedly in the quantity of produced EPS (= extracellular polysaccharides). Principally the same results were obtained for high and medium concentrations of sucrose, or when sucrose was replaced by glucose or fructose. However, on glucose and fructose considerably lower quantities of EPS were produced. The biological activity of S-EPS was higher than that of R-EPS. This difference between the EPS preparations was not as marked as leaf inoculation with both bacterial isolates. After prolonged bacterial culture the EPS-production increased further, so that the differences between both strains decreased. A different EPS type was produced on the glycerol containing medium of KING B. Variations in the composition of this medium resulted in different morphology of the agar grown cultures, and the relative differences between S and R bacteria changed. When 62 different physiological tests for both bacterial strains were compared, the “rough” bacteria revealed a lowered range of positive reactions, with a few exceptions. However, it appeared unlikely that the reduced virulence of the “rough” bacteria was due to these differences. Obviously, defects in the extracellular products, but not in levan, were responsible for the reduction of virulence.     

A qualitative model of mortality in honey bee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis>) colonies infested with tracheal mites (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Acarapis woodi</Emphasis>)

The tracheal mite has been associated with colony deaths worldwide since the mite was first discovered in 1919. Yet controversy about its role in honey bee colony mortality has existed since that time. Other pathogens such as bacteria and viruses have been suggested as the cause of colony deaths as well as degenerative changes in individual honey bees. Using data from published work we developed a qualitative mortality model to explain colony mortality due to tracheal mite infestation in the field. Our model suggests that colonies of tracheal-mite infested honey bees, with no other pathogens present, can die out in the late winter/early spring period due to their inability to thermoregulate. An accumulation of factors conspire to cause colony death including reduced brood/bee population, loose winter clusters, reduced flight muscle function and increasing mite infestation. In essence a cascade effect results in the colony losing its cohesion and leading to its ultimate collapse.