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The success of maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria, such as Wolbachia, is directly linked to their host reproduction but in direct conflict with other parasites that kill the host before it reaches reproductive maturity. Therefore, symbionts that have evolved strategies to increase their host’s ability to evade lethal parasites may have high penetrance, while detrimental symbionts would
The emulsifying properties of proteins have been a subject concern for those dealing with functional properties of proteins. The studies so far have been restricted to two main approaches: emulsifying capacity and emulsion stability measurements. The former measures the maximum oil addition until inversion or phase separation of the emulsion occurs, whereas the latter measures the ability of the e
BackgroundAdaptation to local habitat conditions may lead to the natural divergence of populations in life-history traits such as body size, time of reproduction, mate signaling or dispersal capacity. Given enough time and strong enough selection pressures, populations may experience local genetic differentiation. The genetic basis of many life-history traits, and their evolution according to diff
In butterflies, male reproductive success is highly related to the quality and the size of the spermatophore transferred to the female. The spermatophore is a capsule produced by the male during copulation, which in many species contains sperm in addition to a nuptial gift, and which is digested by the female after copulation. The nuptial gift may contribute to egg production and offspring quality
Bicyclusbutterflies are key species for studies ofwing pattern development, phenotypic plasticity, speciationand the genetics of Lepidoptera. One of the key endosymbi-onts in butterflies, the alpha-ProteobacteriumWolbachiapipientis, is affecting many of these biological processes;however, Bicyclusbutterflies have not been investigated sys-tematically as hosts toWolbachia.Inthisstudy,wescreenforWo
The Lepidoptera is one of the most widespread and recognisable insect orders. Due to their remarkable diversity, economic and ecological importance, moths and butterflies have been studied extensively over the last 200 years. More recently, the relationship between Lepidoptera and their heritable microbial endosymbionts has received increasing attention. Heritable endosymbionts reside within the h
Protein stabilized emulsions made up of 40% soybean oil by weight and protein dispersions of 2.5% (w/w) protein content have been prepared in an ultrasonic device. The emulsifying apparatus was incorporated into a recirculating system, where power input and number of passes were varied. The food proteins studied were a soy bean protein isolate, a whey protein concentrate (WPC), and a sodium casein
All organisms are challenged by encounters with parasites, which strongly select for efficient escape strategies in the host. The threat is especially high for gregarious species entering immobile periods, such as diapause. Larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly, Melitaea cinxia, spend the winter in diapause in groups of conspecifics each sheltered in a silk-nest. Despite intensive monitorin
A new approach to prepare W/O/W-double emulsions is described. The inner W/O-phase is composed of a thermodynamically stable micellar solution of inverse type, an L2-phase. A protein, caseinate, is then used to stabilize the dispersion of this phase in water. Release from the inner to the outer water phase was followed by dialysis. Phase equilibria of the two ternary systems monolaurin-water-soybe
In the drop volume method the surface of the drop enlarges throughout the process of the interfacial tension decay. This surface expansion has been measured for drops of various sizes and shapes, where the interfacial tension depression was caused by different proteins such as lysozyme, β-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin, sodium caseinate, whey protein concentrate and soy protein isolate at dif
Venous thromboembolism is a major medical problem, annually affecting 1 in 1000 individuals. It is a typical multifactorial disease, involving both genetic and circumstantial risk factors that affect a delicate balance between procoagulant and anticoagulant forces. In the last 50 years, the molecular basis of blood coagulation and the anticoagulant systems that control it have been elucidated. Thi
Macrophages have been shown to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis through the action of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (CAMP), whose expression was shown to be induced by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D3). Here, we investigated in detail the antimycobacterial effect of murine and human cathelicidin against Mycobacterium smegmatis and M. bovis BCG infections. We have synthesized novel LL-37 pe
Although diffusion MRI has shown promise for the characterization of breast cancer, it has low specificity to malignant subtypes. Higher specificity might be achieved if the effects of cell morphology and molecular exchange across cell membranes could be disentangled. The quantification of exchange might thus allow the differentiation of different types of breast cancer cells. Based on differences
Sources of airborne particulate matter and their seasonal variation in urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa are poorly understood due to lack of long-term measurement data. In view of this, filter samples of airborne particulate matter (particle diameter ?2.5 ?m, PM2.5) were collected between May 2008 and April 2010 at two sites (urban background site and suburban site) within the Nairobi metropolita
