Classical Colony Research Articles

Morphogenesis of confined biofilms: how mechanical interactions determine cellular patterning and global geometry.

Biofilms are surface-attached bacterial communities encased within extracellular matrices that play significant roles in health and society and serve as prototypical examples of proliferating active nematics. Recent advances in fluorescence microscopy have facilitated an unprecedented view of biofilm development at the single-cell level, thus providing the opportunity to develop a mechanistic understanding of how biofilm development is influenced by mechanical interactions with the environment. Here, we review recent studies that examined the morphogenesis of Vibrio cholerae biofilms under confinement at both single-cell and continuum levels. We describe how biofilms under different confinement modes-embedded and interstitial-can acquire various global geometries and forms of cell orientational ordering different from those in unconfined biofilms, and we demonstrate how these properties arise from the mechanical interplay between the biofilm and its confining medium. We also discuss how this interplay is fundamentally governed by the extracellular matrix, which facilitates the transmission of mechanical stress from the medium into the biofilm via adhesion and friction, and serves as the key feature that distinguishes biofilms from classical bacterial colonies. These studies lay the groundwork for many potential future directions, all of which will contribute to the establishment of a new "developmental biology" of biofilms.

How inquilinism shaped breeding systems in a termite host-inquiline relationship.

Social insects have developed a broad diversity of nesting and foraging strategies. One of these, inquilinism, occurs when one species (the inquiline) inhabits the nest built and occupied by another species (the host). Obligatory inquilines must overcome strong constraints upon colony foundation and development, due to limited availability of host colonies. To reveal how inquilinism shapes reproductive strategies in a termite host-inquiline dyad, we carried out a microsatellite marker study on Inquilinitermes inquilinus and its host Constrictotermes cavifrons. The proportion of simple, extended and mixed families was recorded in both species, as well as the presence of neotenics, parthenogenesis and multiple foundations. Most host colonies (95%) were simple families and all were monodomous. By contrast, the inquiline showed a higher proportion of extended (30%) and mixed (5%) families, and frequent neotenics (in 25% of the nests). This results from the simultaneous foundation in host nests of numerous incipient colonies, which, as they grow, may compete, fight, or merge. We also documented the use of parthenogenesis by female-female pairs. In conclusion, the classical monogamous colony pattern of the host species suggests uneventful development of simple foundations dispersed in the environment, in accordance with the wide distribution of their resources. By contrast, the multiple reproductive patterns displayed by the inquiline species reveal strong constraints on foundation sites: founders first concentrate into host nests, then must attempt to outcompete or absorb the neighbouring foundations to gain full control of the resources provided by the host nest.

Detection and evaluation of different morphological forms of Mycoplasma hominis in human semen.

Recently discovered microcolonial forms of Mycoplasma hominis ( M. hominis ) and their impact on human spermatogenesis are studied. The spermatozoa of 125 fertile men (sperm donors; from Reprobank [Reproductive Tissue Bank, Moscow, Russia]) and of 93 patients with fertility problems (from the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Research Centre for Medical Genetics [RCMG]", Moscow, Russia) were used. Classical colonies of M. hominis and microcolonies were detected by molecular biological methods, culture of bacteria, and transmission electron microscopy. The unique structure of microcolonial cells, in which the cytoplasmic cylinder is surrounded by concentric electron-dense and electron-light layers with a periodicity of 12-14 nm, and the ability of microcolonial cells to attach to spermatozoa are shown. In patients with lower sperm quality, microcolonies of M. hominis were detected 2.5 times more frequently than classical colonies. The detection of microcolonies in the ejaculate and the frequent isolation of microcolonies from sperm samples of patients with fertility problems suggest that microcolonial cells may be one cause of infertility.

Postmodern Aesthetics in African Literature

This article examines contemporary critical positions in African literature that mark off perceptible shifts in focus from issues of primal postcolonialism to a more self-reflexive treatment of postmodernism in contemporary African literature. Contemporary African literary works, novels, and plays have become markedly self-reflexive in the way they rewrite one another and draw attention to their own functionality and fictionality. These works present stylistic and thematic departures that challenge the nationalist and realist trend of earlier writing. Creative works further depart from the tradition of “writing back” to the European colonial center by focusing their gaze on local forms of oppression that are seen to parallel classical colonialism. Yet, while critics have separately studied postmodernism and self-reflexivity in African texts, the intersection of the two has not been given sufficient attention. The purpose of this analytical paper then is to decipher postmodernist aesthetics in African literary works, novels and plays, as developed to a higher level of self-consciousness. The specific question I address is to what extent postmodernism expresses itself as an outgrowth of modernism and postcolonialism?
 Keywords: Modernity, postmodernism, postcolonialism, African literary theories and criticisms.

High accuracy monitoring of honey bee colony development by a quantitative method

Honey bees are key insect pollinators, providing important economic and ecological value for human beings and ecosystems. This has triggered the development of several monitoring methods for assessing the temporal development of colony size, food storage, brood and pathogens. Nonetheless, most of these methods are based on visual assessments that are observer-dependent and prone to bias. Furthermore, the impact on colony development (invasiveness), as well as accuracy, were rarely considered when implementing new methods. In this study, we present and test a novel accurate and observer-independent method for honey bee colony assessment, capable of being fully standardized. Honey bee colony size is quantified by assessing the weight of adult bees, while brood and provision are assessed by taking photos and conducting image analysis of the combs with the image analysis software Deepbee®. The invasiveness and accuracy of the method were investigated using field data from two experimental apiaries in Portugal, comparing results from test and control colonies. At the end of each field experiment, most of the tested colonies had the same colony size, brood levels and honey production as the control colonies. Nonetheless, continuous weight data indicated some disturbance in tested colonies in the first year of monitoring. The overall accuracy of the image analysis software was improved by training, indicating that it is possible to adapt the software to local conditions. We conclude that the use of this fully quantitative method offers a more accurate alternative to classic visual colony assessments, with negligible impact on colony development.

Methanol fixed feeder layers altered the pluripotency and metabolism of bovine pluripotent stem cells

The pluripotency maintenance of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) requires the suitable microenvironment, which commonly provided by feeder layers. However, the preparation of feeder layers is time consuming and labor exhaustive, and the feeder cells treated with mitomycin C or γ-ray irradiation bring heterologous contamination. In this study, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were treated by methanol to generate chemical fixed feeder cells, and bovine embryonic stem cells F7 (bESC-F7) cultured on this feeder layer. Then the pluripotency and metabolism of bESC-F7 cultured on methanol-fixed MEFs (MT-MEFs) named MT-F7 was compared with mitomycin C treated MEFs (MC-MEFs). The results showed that bESC-F7 formed alkaline phosphatase positive colonies on MT-MEFs, the relative expression of pluripotent markers of these cells was different from the bESCs cultured on the MC-MEFs (MC-F7). The long-term cultured MT-F7 formed embryoid bodies, showed the ability to differentiate into three germ layers similar to MC-F7. The analyses of RNA-seq data showed that MT-MEFs lead bESCs to novel steady expression patterns of genes regulating pluripotency and metabolism. Furthermore, the bovine expanded pluripotent stem cells (bEPSCs) cultured on MT-MEFs formed classical colonies, maintained pluripotency, and elevated metabolism. In conclusion, MT-MEFs were efficient feeder layer that maintain the distinctive pluripotency and metabolism of PSCs.

Classical Traditions and Internal Colonialism in Early Eighteenth-Century Mexico: Text, Translation, and Notes on Three of Villerías’ Greek Epigrams.

Classical Traditions and Internal Colonialism in Early Eighteenth-Century Mexico: Text, Translation, and Notes on Three of Villerías’ Greek Epigrams.

European experience of land resource potential development in the conditions of globalization

The article analyzes the use of land resources of countries in the context of globalization. Investment-attractive regions have been identified, the socio-economic and political conditions of which contribute to the seizure of land by foreign investors. Sources of food security of countries with developed economies are substantiated. Peculiarities of formation of land and resource space of European neo-colonial countries are determined. One of the most important historical events in the political and socio-economic dimensions of the world was colonialism, associated with the development of capitalism. In the book, Eric Wolfe, "Europe and People Without History", describes in detail the global expansion of the borders of European states in order to control both human and natural resources, as well as to expand global development and promote Christianity. European colonialism became an early form of globalization that shaped most of the world's current political borders. In this way, technologies, food and ideas based on the colonial countries - Britain, Spain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands, etc. were transported. The main goal is to use the limited resources of the colony country and make a profit. This approach is called neocolonialism (corporate colonialism), just as classical European colonialism aims at the comprehensive exploitation of natural resources, labor, and markets for superprofits.

Improved Wolf Pack Algorithm for Solving a Class of Multi-Objective Route Optimization Problem

This paper considers a class of Multi-objective path planning and solving algorithms. The choice of step size is a very important factor that affects the iterative algorithm. This paper improves the classical Wolf Pack Algorithm (WPA) by designing an adaptive step size. This new improved wolf pack algorithm (IWPA) improves the classical wolf colony algorithm by designing an adaptive step size. It effectively solves the problem that the WPA may fall into a endless loop. The simulation results by MATLAB show that the IWPA has a good effectiveness than the WPA to solve multi-objective route optimization.

Historisitas dan Dinamika Lembaga Pendidikan Islam di Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the historicity and dynamics of Islamic education institutions in Indonesia starting from the classical period, colonialism period, and pre- and post-independence periods. This research uses library research method. Data analysis using analytical descriptive analysis techniques. The results of the study show that Islamic education in Indonesia is the same age as the existence of Islam in the archipelago. Broadly speaking, the history of Islamic educational institutions in Indonesia can be divided into three periods. First, the classical period of the 13th - 16th century, namely since the entry of Islam in Indonesia, the establishment of the Islamic empire, the era of the Islamic empire until the entry of colonizers into Indonesia. Several institutions during this period were mosques, Islamic boarding schools, menasah, rangkang and dayah, surau. Second, the colonial period until the independence period (1600 - 1945). At this time it was divided into two, namely during the Dutch colonial period, there were several institutions namely Elementary Education, Latin Schools, Seminarium Theologicum, Academie der Marine, Chinese Schools. During the Japanese occupation there were several institutions, namely Basic Education (Kokumin Gakko), Advanced Education, consisting of Shoto Chu Gakko, Vocational Education, Higher Education. Third, the period of the independence era (1945-present). There are several institutions, namely pesantren, madrasah, schools, PTKI.

Method-Dependent Implications in Foodborne Pathogen Quantification: The Case of Campylobacter coli Survival on Meat as Comparatively Assessed by Colony Count and Viability PCR.

The aim of the present study was to address method-dependent implications during the quantification of viable Campylobacter coli cells on meat over time. Traditional colony counting on selective and non-selective culture media along with an optimized viability real-time PCR utilizing propidium monoazide-quantitative PCR (PMA-qPCR), spheroplast formation and an internal sample process control (ISPC), were comparatively evaluated for monitoring the survival of C. coli on fresh lamb meat during refrigeration storage under normal atmospheric conditions. On day zero of three independent experiments, lamb meat pieces were artificially inoculated with C. coli and then stored under refrigeration for up to 8 days. Three meat samples were tested on different days and the mean counts were determined per quantification method. An overall reduction of the viable C. coli on lamb meat was observed regardless of the applied quantification scheme, but the rate of reduction followed a method-dependent pattern, the highest being observed for colony counting on modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (mCCDA). Univariate ANOVA indicated that the mean counts of viable C. coli using PMA-qPCR were significantly higher compared to Columbia blood agar (CBA) plating (0.32 log10 cell equivalents, p = 0.015) and significantly lower when mCCDA was compared to CBA plating (0.88 log10 CFU, p < 0.001), indicating that selective culture on mCCDA largely underestimated the number of culturable cells during the course of meat storage. PMA-qPCR outperformed the classical colony counting in terms of quantifying both the culturable and viable but non-culturable (VBNC) C. coli cells, which were generated over time on meat and are potentially infectious and equally important from a public health perspective as their culturable counterparts.

The BCC-FCC Phase Transformation Pathways and Crystal Orientation Relationships in Dual Phase Materials From Al-(Co)-Cr-Fe-Ni Alloys

The alloy system Al-(Co)-Cr-Fe-Ni contains compositional ranges where a solid state BCC-FCC phase transformation leads to dual-phase materials composed of face-centered cubic (FCC) and body-centered cubic (BCC) phases with nearly equal volume fraction. The microstructure arising from this transformation at slow cooling rates is the classical Widmanstatten structure, with FCC-laths and colonies growing from grain boundaries into the parent BCC-B2 grain. Very distinct microstructures are obtained, when Widmanstatten growth is kinetically suppressed e.g. during continuous cooling with high cooling rates. These novel microstructures are associated with the spinodal decomposition of the parent BCC-B2 such that FCC growth occurs during the spinodal decomposition or upon annealing from a metastable, fully spinodal state. We review the microstructures at case as function of the imposed cooling regimes for the Co-free medium entropy alloy AlCrFe2Ni2. One of them, termed ultrafine vermicular microstructure, involves a characteristic and novel crystal orientation relationship (OR) between FCC and BCC. We identify the common planes and directions of this OR using electron backscatter diffraction maps to be {111}^FCC∥{121 }^BCC and 〈1 01〉^FCC∥〈1 01 〉^BCC, respectively. Embedded is a second OR with {13 1 }^FCC∥{1 03}^BCC and 〈101〉^FCC∥〈010〉^BCC. We further show that the vermicular FCC phase contains a high amount of lattice strain and sub-grain boundaries with disorientation angles in the range from 2 to 12°, as a result of the solid-state phase transformation.

Establishment of a feeder and serum-free culture system for human embryonic stem cells.

Stem cells are an immortal cell population capable of self-renewal; they are essential for human development and ageing and are a major focus of research in regenerative medicine. Despite considerable progress in differentiation of stem cells in vitro, culture conditions require further optimization to maximize the potential for multicellular differentiation during expansion. The aim of this study was to develop a feeder-free, serum-free culture method for human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), to establish optimal conditions for hESC proliferation, and to determine the biological characteristics of the resulting hESCs. The H9 hESC line was cultured using a homemade serum-free, feeder-free culture system, and growth was observed. The expression of pluripotency proteins (OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, LIN28, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81) in hESCs was determined by immunofluorescence and western blotting. The mRNA expression levels of genes encoding nestin, brachyury and α-fetoprotein in differentiated H9 cells were determined by RT-PCR. The newly developed culture system resulted in classical hESC colonies that were round or elliptical in shape, with clear and neat boundaries. The expression of pluripotency proteins was increased, and the genes encoding nestin, brachyury, and α-fetoprotein were expressed in H9 cells, suggesting that the cells maintained in vitro differentiation capacity. Our culture system containing a unique set of components, with animal-derived substances, maintained the self-renewal potential and pluripotency of H9 cells for eight passages. Further optimization of this system may expand the clinical application of hESCs.

Future Trends in Teaching Political Science - A 20 Year Perspective

Today, the of political science is shaped by the transition from classical colonialism to contemporary colonialism in a world founded on colonialism. In this process, the of political science has been perceived as a task that is generally focused on administration and bureaucracy. Because, in particular, between 1945 and 1980, political science was seen as the only means of social development, the means of execution of state and state. For this reason, the need for an examination of policy has emerged in order to get to know the state formation in the best way, to work effectively and to achieve social development. The joint efforts made for political science have led to the emergence of universal laws. In a more general sense, such universal laws are used to formulate policy science. All of the efforts made to compare political science to natural sciences raise the impairment of default or actual laws from irreversible individual reasoning and the effects of irrelevant cultural circles over the normative values. The emphasis on the political science has forced the state administration system to change within the scope of the new colonialism and a proposal has been made to suggest that putting the integrity of the state and bureaucracy on an edge, seeing everything belonging to them as a business. As a result of this proposal, the new and alternative name in political science is discipline of public administration. Considering political science as a one-dimensional phenomenon may lead to the conceptual misrepresentation. Political science is closely related to political science, law and business administration are social sciences. Therefore, it seems very difficult to introduce a new mold by separating policy science from the different elements it contains. The distinction between politics and management has brought with it a limit which limits the thought of political science. Because politics takes decisions and management takes decisions. The problem of seeing the science of politics as a tool rather than a would be an appropriate approach to abolish the separation of politics and administration so that the situation or the situation can be removed. In this study, a conceptual evaluation of the future of political science has been put into place. While examining the future of political science, it has been addressed the application of the New Policy, which can be called a new initiative in this field to emphasize the practicing identity of policy science. Nevertheless, a brief evaluation was made because of the importance of the bureaucracy that has become an inseparable part of the administration and, in some respects, the future of policy science. While discussing the scientific future of political science, scientific support has been sought from the concepts of civil policy and governance, which are practical applications. It has been tried to draw attention to the necessity of a transition from the understanding of classical policy consciousness to the understanding of civilized administration in the process of scientific evaluation of political science. This study examined the scientific history of policy science, cameralism, the understanding of New Political Science, bureaucracy and politics in the axis of public governance, and emphasized the necessity of shaping policy science with civilian policy understanding. In this context, the case of public governance is considered both a target and a tool.

Identification of Duhem-type piezoelectric hysteresis using a modified bee colony algorithm

Purpose The determination of parameters of Duhem model that can describe piezoelectric hysteresis is usually a great challenge. The purpose of this paper is to find a way to identify the parameters of Duhem model by using a modified bee colony algorithm. Design/methodology/approach The promising bee colony algorithm has great potential to identify hysteresis nonlinearity, but has not yet been used to identify the Duhem-type hysteresis in the literatures. To explore this possibility, the classical bee colony algorithm is modified to enhance its performance regarding both searching capability and convergence speed. In the modification, the current optimal solution is used to guide the search direction, which can balance the local and global searching ability. Moreover, a new searching formula for scout bees is proposed to enhance the convergence ability of the algorithm. Findings Through a series of experiments, the modified algorithm can attain the optimal parameters with a 0.61 µm peak valley error and a 0.12 µm root-mean-square error. Compared to the particle swarm optimization and classical bee colony algorithms, the modified bee colony algorithm can reach higher parameter identification accuracy. Based on 50 trials, the robustness of the posed algorithm was also proved. Originality/value The well-performed modified bee colony algorithm is a good candidate in parameter identification of Duhem-type hysteresis nonlinear systems. As there is no work studying the parameter identification of Duhem model using a bee colony algorithm in the literatures, this work closed this gap and explored the ability of bee colony algorithm to identify piezoelectric hysteresis with superb accuracy and robustness.

Own or dam's genotype? Classical colony breeding may bias spontaneous and stress-challenged activity in DAT-mutant rats.

There is considerable interest in understanding what makes an individual vulnerable or resilient to the deleterious effects of stressful events. From candidate genes, dopamine (DA) and dopamine transporter (DAT) have been linked to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We investigated role of DAT using the new DAT heterozygous (DAT-HET) and homozygous mutant (DAT-KO) rat models of hyperdopaminergia. We studied the impact of two breeding conditions in spontaneous locomotor behavior of female rats. The classical colony, through mating DAT-HET males×DAT-HET females (breeding HET-HET), was used. A second WT colony was derived and maintained (breeding WT-WT). Additionally, a subgroup of rats was bred through mating DAT-KO males×WT females (atypical HET, breeding KO-WT). We studied the effects of genotype and its interaction with maternal care (depending by breeding condition). HET-HET breeding led to reduced activity in HET females compared to WT rats (from WT-WT breeding). However, HET females from KO-WT breeding did not differ so much from WT rats (WT-WT breeding). The maternal-care impact was then confirmed: HET mothers (breeding HET-HET) showed reduced liking/grooming of pups and increased digging away from nest, compared to WT mothers (breeding WT-WT). In their female offspring (HET, breeding HET-HET vs. WT, breeding WT-WT), isolation plus wet bedding induced higher and more persistent impact on activity of HET rats, even when the stressor was removed. Our results highlight the importance of epigenetic factors (e.g., maternal care) in responses to stress expressed by offspring at adulthood, quite independently of genotype. DAT hypofunction could determinate vulnerability to stressful agents via altered maternal care.

Soils and land use at ancient Greek colonial temples of southern Italy

Soils at ancient Greek temples in Greece are distinct for each deity, reflecting an economic basis for their cults, but did this pattern also extend to classical Greek colonies? This study of 24 temples in southern Italy reveals little assimilation by Greek colonists of indigenous cults at first, because their temples are on the same kinds of soils, reflecting similar cults for each of the Olympian deities as in Greece. Worship of Hera was more widespread in Italy than in Greece and the Aegean, and also on Alfisol soils suitable for pastoralism. Temples of Demeter in contrast were on Mollisols best for grain cultivation. Rocks and grottos sacred to Persephone are comparable with those in Greece, but were popular with hellenized Sikels for an indigenous hybrid cult of Demeter and Kore.

Antibacterial properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane) surfaces modified with graphene oxide-catechol composite

We have prepared the graphene oxide (GO)- a catechol derivative –dopamine methacrylamide monomer (DMA) composite modified poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) surfaces by π−π stacking of 1-pyrenebutyric acid on the GO and dopamine surface. PDMS substrates were first oxidized by plasma to transform the Si−CH3 groups on their surfaces into Si−OH groups. Subsequently, aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APS) was immobilized onto the PDMS−OH surface, and 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PA) was then bonded covalently onto the PDMS-γ-APS surfaces by the amidation reaction. Finally, PDMS-GO-DMA surfaces were prepared by modifying GO-DMA composites onto the PDMS-PA surface by π−π stacking between 1-pyrenebutyric acid and GO-DMA. Various characterization techniques, including contact angle measurements, attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were used to ascertain the successful prepared the PDMS-GO-DMA surface. The antibacterial ability of PDMS-GO-DMA surface was investigated by the classic colony and visible spectrophotometry methods. The results showed that PDMS-GO-DMA surface displayed antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria compared with native PDMS surface. Furthermore, we studied the biocompatibility of the PDMS-GO-DMA by culturing the cell lines (HepG2 and A549) on the PDMS-GO-DMA surface which exhibited excellent biocompatibility. Additionally, our results present possible uses for the PDMS–GO-DMA surface as antibacterial functional surfaces in biomedical microdevices applications.

Intracellular Assays to Monitor Survival and Growth of Yersinia pestis Within Macrophages.

Yersinia pestis is able to survive and replicate within macrophages, while also being able to live in the extracellular milieu of the host. Assays that facilitate better understanding of how Y. pestis survives intracellularly and subverts normal host antimicrobial defenses require the ability to monitor intracellular Y. pestis survival and replication. In this chapter three different assays for monitoring intracellular survival and replication will be described, along with the formulas and methods to quantify and present the acquired data. These assays are fundamental to answering a multitude of questions pertaining to which bacterial factors are important for intracellular survival. Additionally, these assays can be used, with modifications, for other intracellular pathogens of interest. The first assay discussed will be the conventional bacterial enumeration assay, which quantifies bacterial numbers directly through a classic colony forming units (CFU) assay. Quantifying bacterial burden through CFU determination allows for differentiation between intracellular/cell-associated bacteria and extracellular bacteria. However, CFU determination is laborious, does not allow for direct kinetic monitoring of bacterial growth, and is difficult to adapt to high throughput assays. Bioluminescence bioreporters that use luciferase to monitor bacterial numbers allow for simple, plate reader-based, real-time kinetic monitoring of bacterial growth that is amendable to high throughput techniques. Finally, we will describe live cell microscopy using fluorescent bioreporters, which allows for monitoring of bacterial replication in individual cells and the possibility to visualize interactions between bacterial and host proteins during intracellular infection.

Flippin’ the scripted curriculum: ethnic studies inquiry in elementary education

ABSTRACTThis study examines the practical application of ethnic studies inquiry projects to supplement elementary scripted language arts curriculum. Drawing from decolonial theory, the study examines pedagogical strategies in challenging the normalization of colonialism within standards and curriculum. Blending autoethnography and portraiture, data were collected throughout the 2013–2014 academic year, and consisted of observations, artifacts, and field notes from an elementary public school in South Los Angeles. The findings highlight the use of inquiry projects to center Indigeneity and resistance toward classical and internal colonialism.