Colony Population Research Articles

The Utilization of Kepok Banana Fruit (Musa Paradisiaca, L.,) As An Alternative Media NA (Nutrient Agar) for the Growth Of Bacteria and Mushrooms

The high cost of instant media such as nutrients encourages researchers to find alternative media from materials that are easily available and cheap. This study aims to determine the growth of bacteria and fungi in alternative media using different carbohydrate sources. The carbohydrate sources used were banana peel and kepok fruit and the results were compared with Nutrient agar (NA) media for bacterial growth and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium for fungal growth.
 This research was conducted experimentally. Kepok banana fruit is processed by cutting it into small pieces then mashed in a blender then filtered and deposited to get the starch, then dried in a drying cupboard at 40oC for 12 hours or until the texture is cracked and dry. The tested bacteria and fungi were inoculated by the scatter method and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. The parameters observed were the number of bacterial and fungal colony populations. The mutant Streptococcuswas highest population of in the kepok banana starch medium with a concentration of 5%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa the highest population of was in the kepok banana starch medium with a concentration of 5% and Aspergillus niger the highest population of was in the kepok banana starch medium with a concentration of 5%.
 Based on the results of the research on the number of bacterial and fungal colonies, the best results were on the medium of 5% concentration of kepok banana starch. The results showed that the medium of kepok banana starch can be used as an alternative medium for the growth of bacteria and fungi, the most optimal medium is the medium of starch of kepok banana.

“At Gethsemane”: The Shandong Decision at the Paris Peace Conference and Wilson’s identity crisis

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s proposed policy of Wilsonianism during World War I was riddled with inherent contradictions. Wilson wanted to resolve the conflicts between imperialist powers and their colonial populations through the principle of “national self-determination,” but also relied on the support of the victorious great powers to realize his vision for a League of Nations. The first goal put him at odds with the great powers while the latter required him to ally with them. Wilson’s contradictory relationship with the victorious Allies manifested itself in the resolution of the Shandong question and how Wilson was unable to reconcile the moral principle of self-determination with realist power politics. To form a League of Nations, Wilson had to choose between “ethics” and “politics,” leading to a personal identity crisis. For Wilson, choosing to trust in collective security over moral responsibility was a choice made “at Gethsemane.”

«Во избежание национальной розни с тамошними финнами»: организация духовного призрения лютеран Енисейской губернии во второй половине XIX в.

In the article, the author researches the creation in 1863 and reorganization in the early 1880s of the Lutheran parish in Yenisei Province. Until the end of the 19th century, the Lutheran population of the region was mainly replenished due to criminal exile. The exiled were placed in three colonies purposely established in the 1850s in the south of the province: Verkhniy Suetuk, Nizhnyaya Bulanka, Verkhnyaya Bulanka. Finns and Estonians lived in the first, Estonians in the second, and Latvians and Germans in the third. The author draws attention to the fact that this demarcation of the Lutheran population on a national basis was an initiative of the exiled themselves. The author identified the actors who participated in the creation and reorganization of the parishes: the administration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, the authorities of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, the central imperial authorities, Siberian authorities, the population of the Lutheran colonies of Yenisei Province, the public in the Baltic states and Finland. Finnish authorities advocated the creation of a national parish, only for the Finnish population. Other actors proposed to organize a territorial parish for all Lutherans of the province. The second approach prevailed in 1863: the Lutheran pastor appointed to Verkhniy Suetuk was to guide all Lutherans of Yenisei Province. At the turn of the 1880s, the incapacity of this system became clear: residents of Verkhnyaya Bulanka and Nizhnyaya Bulanka were virtually without the care of a pastor because the latter did not know the languages of their inhabitants (Latvian and Estonian), and they did not know Finnish. This situation led to the revision of the decree of 1863, which resulted in decisions to transfer the center of the parish to Nizhnyaya Bulanka, to impose an obligation of knowing Estonian and Latvian on the future pastor, and to create a new parish with the center in Omsk exclusively for the Finnish population. The author suggests calling this Lutheran parish extraterritorially national because, on the one hand, it was intended only for the Finnish population; on the other, its territory did not coincide with any administrative-territorial formation in Siberia. Besides state structures, the population of the colonies and inhabitants of the Baltic states, who raised money to organize a new parish, participated in the reorganization of the spiritual life of Lutherans in the late 1870s. The Finnish public's participation was not direct; however, the author of the article cites facts of organizing assistance to Siberian Finns from their compatriots. The author evaluates the system created as a result of the reorganization as effective: despite a number of conflict situations between the parishioners of the two parishes, the question of its reform was not raised. The author evaluates the imperial policy regarding the Lutheran population of Yenisei Province (of both Siberian and central authorities, as well as the administration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church) as flexible, able to take into account spiritual needs.

Patriots, Royalists, and Terrorists in the West Indies: The French Revolution in Martinique and Guadeloupe by William S. Cormack

Reviewed by: Patriots, Royalists, and Terrorists in the West Indies: The French Revolution in Martinique and Guadeloupe by William S. Cormack Deirdre T. Lyons Cormack, William S. – Patriots, Royalists, and Terrorists in the West Indies: The French Revolution in Martinique and Guadeloupe. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019. 400 p. While much scholarship on the French Revolution in the Caribbean has concentrated on Saint-Domingue, Patriots, Royalists, and Terrorists in the West Indies examines the political and social turmoil that erupted in Martinique and Guadeloupe from c. 1789–1802. William Cormack argues that the revolutionary conflicts in the Windward Islands were shaped as much by the “realities of race and slavery” as they were “inspired by the political drama unfolding in France” (p. 262). By exploring Martinique and Guadeloupe as central sites of revolutionary upheaval and transformation, Cormack highlights the ways in which they “should be seen as part of the larger story of the French Revolution” (p. 263). Through an analysis of administrative reports, official correspondence, and the records of colonial councils, the book’s eight chapters offer a chronological account of the French Revolution in Martinique and Guadeloupe. Cormack makes a compelling case for how metropolitan rumors, discourse, signs, symbols, and communications (the “revolutionary script”) shaped social and political upheaval in the Windward Islands. This approach expands our understanding of how the civil wars, slave uprisings, and inter-island conflicts that exploded in the Caribbean from 1789 to 1802 emerged from the ways in which colonial populations experienced, understood, and contested the French Revolution (p. 3). Different factions of the colonial population (which Cormack classifies as “patriots,” “royalists,” or “terrorists”) seized on the revolutionary script from the metropole, which they applied to their specific circumstances—generating “competing claims to speak for the nation” (p. 263). Patriots, Royalists, and Terrorists in the West Indies thus argues that even as events in France furnished colonial actors with a continuously evolving “script for revolutionary action,” it was local political, social, and economic [End Page 696] contingencies that shaped how these populations grappled with revolutionary transformation (p. 3). Cormack predominantly focuses on the White populations of the Windward Islands—composed of grand blancs (colonial administrators, planters, and elite merchants), as well as petits blancs (soldiers, sailors, clerks, tradesmen, and poor Whites)—and examines their role in exacerbating revolutionary conflict. While Cormack gives less attention to free people of colour and enslaved persons, which constituted the majority of the colonial population, his examination of factional fighting between grands blancs and petits blancs offers insight into how this discord rendered Martinique and Guadeloupe vulnerable to crises of political legitimacy, civil wars, invasions, and rebellions in which free people of colour and enslaved persons played central roles. The book’s chapters correspond to different phases of the Revolution in the Windward Islands. Chapter 1 offers a particularly rich account of Martinique and Guadeloupe on the eve of the Revolution and argues that, despite serving as integral “sources of tremendous national wealth,” France’s control of the Windward Islands was “neither secure nor stable,” as social and political order were weakened by bitter internal social divisions (p. 12). Economic disparity between the grands blancs and petits blancs, as well as the increasing demands of free people of colour for social and political equality, all compounded tensions among the free population. Combined with the fact that over 80% of the population were enslaved Africans or people of African descent, these dynamics all converged to make “the Windward Islands a powder keg” by 1789 (p. 13). The outbreak of the Revolution in the metropole exposed these internal divisions in Martinique and Guadeloupe, as “the communication of new political forms, radical concepts, and subversive language from France” ignited local conflicts (p. 38). Newly formed colonial assemblies seized the opportunity to demand greater local autonomy, planters challenged the authority of colonial administrators and mercantile restrictions, free people of colour demanded civil rights, and enslaved persons tried to seize freedom. The outbreak of the Revolution thus provided the framework for these groups to contest or reaffirm racial, economic, and social hierarchies in Martinique and Guadeloupe. The next five chapters trace successive phases of the Revolution in the Windward Islands between...

Strategy of innovative development of animal husbandry in the Bryansk region

The article substantiates the strategy of innovative development of animal husbandry in the Bryansk region. The main indicators of animal husbandry development are studied. The dynamics of the population of animals, poultry, rabbits and bee colonies is analyzed. The structure and dynamics of livestock products manufacturing, including the production of cattle and poultry in carcass weight, milk, eggs and honey, are calculated. The productivity of animals is estimated, including the average daily weight gain of cattle and pigs, the average annual milk yield per cow, and the average annual egg production of laying hens. The best practices of animal husbandry effective development on an innovative basis are considered. Major investment projects implemented in the livestock industry are considered. The scenario forecast of production of the most important types of animal products (milk and meat of cattle and poultry) is presented. The directions of the strategic development of the industry are justified.

Conceived in Crisis: The Revolutionary Creation of an American State by Christopher R. Pearl

Reviewed by: Conceived in Crisis: The Revolutionary Creation of an American State by Christopher R. Pearl Terry Bouton (bio) Keywords American Revolution, Pennsylvania, Government Conceived in Crisis: The Revolutionary Creation of an American State. By Christopher R. Pearl. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020. Pp. 320. Cloth $49.50.) This important book breaks new ground on an old topic: the origins of the American Revolution. Using eighteenth-century Pennsylvania as a case study, Christopher R. Pearl argues that one of the main causes of the American Revolution was how poorly the British administered the colony, creating widespread antipathy toward British rule even before Parliament enacted infamous policies like the Stamp, Townshend, and Coercive Acts. In what amounts to a new entry in the “Imperial School” of interpretation, Pearl shows how the imperial government in colonial Pennsylvania failed to meet the basic needs of its inhabitants. Those failures came on multiple fronts, mostly through a lack of government institutions: law enforcement, judges, courts, and land offices. Even when the institutions were present, they tended to operate in ways that benefited the local elite at the expense of ordinary citizens. The result was a population primed for revolution and ready to embrace a stronger government that protected their communities, which, as Pearl demonstrates, is exactly what the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution gave them—not just because it was more democratic, but because it created a bigger, stronger, and more locally active government. The strength of this book is Pearl’s extensive local-level, archival research. Pearl digs deep in court records and petition files to show how many ordinary Pennsylvanians were dissatisfied with their government prior to start of the imperial showdown. During most of the eighteenth century, Pennsylvanians complained that there weren’t enough courts, judges, sheriffs, or constables in most counties and that the ones that existed were concentrated in county seats and long-settled townships, many miles away from where many of the county’s inhabitants lived. William Penn’s ideas of governance relied on non-governmental institutions, like churches, picking up the slack by acting as agents of social control. But there weren’t enough of those either. The result left large numbers of people without any kind of meaningful government presence, leading to long and expensive trips to courthouses, where few citizens could expect justice in a legal system overwhelmed with a backlog of cases. This meager government presence produced rampant crime, with roving gangs [End Page 655] and powerful families terrorizing communities with wanton lawbreaking. Time and again, Pennsylvanians petitioned for redress only to have requests for more courts, judges, and constables rejected by colonial governors, the king’s ministers, and the king himself. These difficulties form a crucial backdrop to the rise of the revolutionary movement in Pennsylvania, which, according to Pearl, was more about ineffective local governance than it was about new imperial policies enacted after the Seven Years’ War. As Pearl puts it, “The coming of the revolution was the result of a cataclysmic breakdown after a long period of crisis encapsulating local grievances and struggles, which was exacerbated by imperial measures that gave oppositional focus to a large swath of the colonial population” (129). With independence, the leaders of Pennsylvania’s revolution made improving local governance a central part of their efforts. Pearl shifts our attention away from the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution’s democratic provisions to examine how that document beefed up county and township administration, local law enforcement, courts, and judges. He then shows how state assemblies under the new charter further increased the reach of government, bringing it closer to “the people” by creating new counties and increasing the number of state officials at the township level. In all these ways, the revolutionary government made exactly the kinds of changes that many Pennsylvanians had been demanding for the better part of a century. As strong a case as Pearl makes, his argument has some big holes in it that are largely a product of ignoring interpretations and evidence that don’t fit his thesis. The biggest problem is that the Revolution was often strongest in the parts of Pennsylvania where the institutions of colonial government were concentrated. The county seats (which...

Opportunistic colonizers in the Kallankurichchi Formation, Cauvery Basin, South India: Implications on Maastrichtian environmental stress

Serpulids are marine filter‐feeding annelids that live in calcareous tubes. Their distribution, colonization, and proliferation are dependent on physical environmental variables, including energy conditions. This article documents the occurrences of serpulid colonies over opportunistic colonizing trace fossil of Ophiomorpha‐rich sedimentary unit in the Lower Maastrichtian Kallankurichchi Formation of the Ariyalur Group, Cauvery Basin, South India and links them with ecosystem dynamics, as a function of changes in eustatic and other relative sea‐level changes and attendant variations in environmental parameters. Present observations indicate episodic changes in faunal composition, diversity, and population, across the boundary between Kattupiringiyam Inoceramus limestone Member and Tancem biostromal Member of the Kallankurichchi Formation. The boundary marked a significant change from low‐moderate energy, to high‐energy waters, thus replacing a filter‐feeding community by an opportunistic community. The opportunistic colonizers/trace makers of Ophiomorpha irregulaire occupied the ecospaces vacated by the sea‐level changes. Systematic studies of faunal association across the boundary indicate a sudden appearance of significant populations of Serpula colonies above the surface (i.e., after the changes in ecosystem conditions) and enhancement of intensity of sponge boring in benthic organisms. This means that the changes brought about by the newer environmental conditions were supportive for opportunistic colonizers followed by parasitic and commensalic organisms. Significant reduction of Gryphaea population that was increasingly replaced by Alectryonia, Exogyra, and Terebratula is also documented. These changes, collectively, indicate prevalent environmental stress due to relative sea‐level variations and attendant ecological conditions, to which, the opportunistic colonizers and parasitic organisms responded positively, while the native organisms dwindled in population and were forced to parasitic invasions.

Craniofacial and mandibular variation in colonial populations of the southern Andes during the 16th to 19th centuries.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the morphological variation of human populations that inhabited the southern Andes (Mendoza city, Argentina) during 16th to 19th centuries. That period represents an encounter of several distinctive populations inhabiting the same area: Europeans, descendants from Europeans (criollos), Africans, and Native Americans. In this paper, we study the shape changes of the cranial base, cranial vault, facial skeleton, and mandible to evaluate if the craniofacial variation differs in relation to the colonial periods and burial areas. For this, we analyzed 44 skulls from four colonial temples of the Foundational Area of Mendoza, and 36 prehistoric ones as a comparative sample. A total of 84 3D anatomical landmarks were registered with a Microscribe G2X. First, we explored the morphological changes by chronological period through a Principal Component Analysis, and then we calculated Mahalanobis distances among the individuals from different chronological periods. Second, we evaluated the morphological variation of the colonial subsample according to chronological period, archaeological site, and burial area. For this, we conducted a Principal Component Analysis and a MANOVA. We represent the morphological changes by Wireframes that show the main variation along PC1 and PC2. The results obtained showed morphological differences in the cranial base and facial skeleton of the individuals from different chronological periods, while the cranial base and mandible vary when comparing individuals from different burial areas. We conclude that the colonial society was highly diverse in terms of biological and cultural variation, and that there were differential dietary patterns among them.

Colony field test reveals dramatically higher toxicity of a widely-used mito-toxic fungicide on honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) and other pollinator populations are declining worldwide, and the reasons remain controversial. Based on laboratory testing, fungicides have traditionally been considered bee-safe. However, there have been no experimental tests of the effects of fungicides on colony health under field conditions, and limited correlational data suggests there may be negative impacts on bees at levels experienced in the field. We tested the effects of one of the most commonly used fungicides on colony health by feeding honey bee colonies pollen containing Pristine® (active ingredients: 25.2% boscalid, 12.8% pyraclostrobin) at four levels that bracketed concentrations we measured for pollen collected by bees in almond orchards. We also developed a method for calculating per-bee and per-larva dose. Pristine® consumption significantly and dose-dependently reduced worker lifespan and colony population size, with negative health effects observed even at the lowest doses. The lowest concentration we tested caused a 15% reduction in the worker population at an estimated dosage that was three orders of magnitude below the estimated LD15 values for previous acute laboratory studies. The enhanced toxicity under field conditions is at least partially due to activation of colonial nutritional responses missed by lab tests. Pristine® causes colonies to respond to perceived protein malnutrition by increasing colony pollen collection. Additionally, Pristine induces much earlier transitioning to foraging in individual workers, which could be the cause of shortened lifespans. These findings demonstrate that Pristine® can negatively impact honey bee individual and colony health at concentrations relevant to what they experience from pollination behavior under current agricultural conditions.

Defined Expansion Protocol Supports Ex Vivo Expansion of Gene Edited Hematopoietic Stem Cells to the Single Cell Level

Background The application of gene editing in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) holds great promise for the treatment of genetic blood disorders such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). However, one critical bottleneck is that edited HSCs cannot easily be expanded ex vivo without concomitant loss of self-renewal. This limitation excludes the possibility of growing functional HSCs from single cells, which would enable the selection of desired clones based on sequence verification of relevant on- and off-target modifications. We recently reported on a defined, serum-free, polymer-based culture protocol that selectively facilitates in vitro proliferation of murine HSCs [1]. In the current study, we aimed to expand functional, CRISPR/Cas9-edited HSCs from bulk cell populations as well as from cloned, single HSCs to generate grafts capable of hematopoietic reconstitution. We show that HSCs from the murine PrkdcSCID model, which harbors a point mutation in the Prkdc gene leading to B and T cell deficiency, can be edited and expanded to correct the immunodeficient phenotype after transplantation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that single, gene-edited HSCs can be cloned and expanded using our system to generate functional HSCs for SCT. Methods CD150+CD201+c-Kit+Lin- (CD150+CD201+KL) HSCs from C.B17/Icr-PrkdcSCID (SCID) mice were isolated and cultured in polymer-based medium supplemented with recombinant cytokines. Gene editing was performed with Cas9 protein and appropriate gRNAs delivered as ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) via electroporation. HDR donors were supplied as single-strand oligonucleotides (ssODNs). Stem cell transplantations (SCTs) were carried out after lethal irradiation with 2.5 Gy. Results To demonstrate that edited HSCs can be expanded as a bulk population and efficiently engraft to correct a disease phenotype, SCID mouse-derived donor HSCs were subjected to Cas9-mediated gene editing at the Prkdc locus (Fig. 1a). Total cells and primitive CD201+CD150+cKit+Lin-(KL) cells expanded 70- and 10-fold, respectively, over seven days after which bulk populations were transplanted into SCID mice. Inference of CRISPR edits (ICE) analysis performed at the time of SCT indicated an HDR frequency of 29%±10%. The emergence of B and T cells in peripheral blood samples was observed from four weeks after transplantation (B220+: 21±7%, CD4+: 27±4%, CD8+: 4±1%; Fig 1b). We also confirmed the presence of B and T cells in the spleen and thymus of transplanted mice. Immunization experiments showed immunoglobulin titer levels equal to healthy control mice after challenge with a T-dependent antigen. We conclude that expansion and autologous SCT of edited HSCs restores a functional B and T cell compartment in SCID mice. We next inquired whether our system could be used to expand single, edited HSC clones. To this end, we sorted single, edited CD150+CD201+KL clones by flow cytometry and expanded them for two weeks. Genomic DNA was sampled from growing colonies and editing outcomes at the Prkdc locus were individually assessed to screen for corrected HSCs (Fig. 2a). After transplantation of the selected clones, B and T cells could be detected starting from 4 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively, in peripheral blood (Fig. 2b), suggesting that functional HSCs could be expanded from edited clones. Interestingly, we found that engraftment was associated with high expression of EPCR in the CD150+KL populations of single cell-derived HSC colonies. Conclusion We have shown that functional, Cas9-edited SCID and wildtype HSCs can be expanded in our defined culture system. Corrected SCID HSCs contributed to hematopoietic reconstitution of B and T lineages conferring restored immunity in vivo. Furthermore, we were able to generate transplantable HSCs from single edited clones. This approach has important applications in HSC gene editing and has potential to overcome marker-based selection strategies since individual clones can be interrogated and selected for targeted gene editing events prior to transplantation. Our expansion system will serve as a tool to further the development of targeted gene therapeutic strategies. [1] Wilkinson et al., Nature 571, 117-121 (2019) Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Where do people live longer?

Can historical exposures of non-European countries to European migrants explain part of their current health outcomes? We find that higher European share of the colonial population robustly raised life expectancy and reduced both fertility and infant mortality rates of present-day population in these former colonies. Specifically, after controlling for other plausible determinants, our baseline results imply that, on average, countries at the 95th percentile of the European share of the colonial population, compared to those at the 5th percentile, live 17 years longer, have 1 less child, and experience 54 fewer infant deaths per 1000 live births. A causal interpretation is given to these results by considering various identification strategies. Overall, our results indicate that health fortunes around the world, on average, improved because of European colonial settlers and that differences in the current levels of health performance can be traced back to differential levels of European colonial settlements, where countries that experienced higher influx of colonial Europeans have better health prosperity nowadays than countries with lower inflow of colonial Europeans. A puzzlement arises, however, as countries with no colonial European settlements have outperformed countries with low colonial European settlements. Thus, explaining this phenomenon and exploring how historical migration holds such an enduring influence on the health of nations today opens up an important avenue for future research.

Sayaka Chatani. Nation-Empire: Ideology and Rural Youth Mobilization in Japan and Its Colonies.

In Nation-Empire: Ideology and Rural Youth Mobilization in Japan and Its Colonies, a strikingly original new work on pre-1945 Japan and its empire, Sayaka Chatani begins by posing a simple but compelling question: Why did tens of thousands of young men across the Japanese empire in the 1930s and 1940s, not only in Japan but also in colonies such as Korea and Taiwan, embrace the military mobilization of the period and even seek to enlist voluntarily in the Imperial Army? Chatani frames her answer around a conception of Imperial Japan as a “nation-empire,” an attempt “to form a nation across imperial domains” (4) through a radical and atypical process of imperial ideological assimilation in which Japan sought to make its colonized subjects “similar” to the colonizer and to integrate them into the Japanese “Yamato race.” She takes as her main focus the government-sponsored “village youth associations” (seinendan) (22) that proliferated throughout the empire, which she regards as the most important top-down vehicle for youth mobilization. And here Chatani makes the first of several bold interventions in the existing scholarship. Since Andre Schmid’s famous critique twenty years ago of Japanese historiography for its neglect of empire (and of Korea specifically) as part of the study of Japanese modernity, the field has been greatly enhanced by many studies of one or more aspects of Japanese imperialism. But there have been few studies, especially in English, that look at the empire holistically through the lens of a common question or theme. One reason for this is the daunting linguistic challenges such studies face. At a minimum, the responsible scholar must be able to handle not only Japanese but also Chinese and Korean. Chatani appears to excel in this regard, drawing deeply from primary and secondary sources, including personal interviews, in all three languages, as she takes readers chapter by chapter from seinendan in Japan and Okinawa to those in Taiwan and Korea, highlighting “translocal” similarities but also pointing out key differences in each case. In focusing on the youth associations, moreover, which were all located in the countryside, Chatani makes another important scholarly intervention. The histories of modern East Asia have for the most part been studies of urban change and modernity, but as Chatani rightly notes, the vast majority of the populations in the Japanese empire were farmers living in rural areas, and to neglect this key demographic is to leave out a crucial part of the modern story. In the case of Korea, for example, where more than 80 percent of the colonial population were peasants, the dominant “colonial modernity” scholarly paradigm has to a great extent ignored the rural population, seeing “modernity” as essentially an urban phenomenon.

America's Martial Culture and Its Evolution

This research paper attempts to answer the questions posed about martial culture in Colonial America. It ponders the importance that early Americans put on protection and the ramifications of paranoia in the colonies. Additionally, this paper examines the political ambitions of the warrior class as they turned into statesmen after retiring from the battlefield. The men who fought for independence had developed a social order in the colonies, placing themselves in positions of power. While this social order emphasized domestic security, it allowed for a pattern of racism and fear that continues today.
 In the tradition of military historians such as John Shy and Don Higginbotham, this paper recognizes the early American way of war that often allowed for glorification of unjust massacres under the guise of protection. This uniquely American fighting tradition evolved to become a basis for warriors to continue their belligerency in the halls of government. In doing so, America became a country run by veterans (Washington and Jackson are great examples of the rise of martial culture to the highest office of the young nation). This has echoed through history, as voters routinely choose soldiers over scholars.
 Researching data on colonial populations and presidential vetoes has yielded evidence of this evolution. The warrior class in colonial America evolved into the warrior politicians that made policies leading to atrocities against Indians, slaves, and Latin Americans. They became leaders in a nation that valued family life and the protection of it all costs.

Indian Settlement in Bechuanaland Protectorate: Immigration, Trade and the Limits of Colonial Government, 1880–1935

ABSTRACT The history of people of Indian origin in southern Africa has been dominated by the history of the large and influential populations of South Africa. The neglect of other parts of the region has meant that the particularities of Indian settlement and its relationship with the colonial governance and local populations, especially in the poorest and most marginal colonies, have in turn been neglected. I argue that the fact of the Bechuanaland Protectorate’s late colonisation, strong chieftainships and lack of obvious resources meant that Indian settlers were more able to subvert colonial officials’ attempts to duplicate the types of wholesale racial exclusion found in South Africa. The Protectorate’s marginality meant that, unlike the more politically and diplomatically powerful dominions, they were unable to sidestep central ideological justifications for the broader imperial project itself – the protected status of subject peoples. Indian settlers were able to combine the fact of a small and relatively weak colonial authority with the threat of political embarrassment to subvert and undermine efforts at their exclusion. The conflict that ensued forged the small but influential and deeply embedded ‘Batswana-Indian’ community in Botswana.

Population abundance of Varroa destructor and its effects on Apis mellifera scutellata colonies in Kenya.

The devastating effects of Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman on Western honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) have been well documented. Not only do these mites cause physical damage to parasitized individuals when they feed on them, but they also transmit viruses and other pathogens, weaken colonies and ultimately may cause their death. Unlike the subspecies of European origin, the honeybees of African origin suffer less from mite infestations. Absconding is one of the factors contributing to low V. destructor population in honeybee colonies as it creates a brood-free period. For a long time, researchers hypothesized that absconding was the main mechanism to control the parasite. The effects of V. destructor are well documented under temperate climatic conditions with a break during winter. Therefore, our study aimed at investigating the impact of V. destructor population growth on colony size, absconding and productivity under natural infestation levels of a tropical/subtropical climate with continuous brood production. We measured several characteristics related to the mite populations, the bee colonies and the resources of the bee colonies for a period of 8 months. The seven colonies that absconded during the study period were not influenced by densities of V. destructor. Absconding of the colonies occurred as a result of low numbers of capped brood. Mite densities were generally low throughout the study period (ranged between 26.9 and 59.8 mites per month) but were positively associated with adult bee densities. The amount of open and capped brood was positively associated with densities of V. destructor in the brood and negatively associated with denisities of V. destructor on screen boards, which appeared as extremely important factors that should be monitored regularly alongside colony stores and availability of pollen.

Human Urinal Cell Reprogramming: Synthetic 3D Peptide Hydrogels Enhance Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Population Homogeneity

Somatic cells can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which have promising potential applications in regenerative medicine. However, the challenges of successful applications of human iPSCs for medical purposes are the low generation efficiency, heterogeneous colonies, and exposure to the animal-derived product Matrigel. We aimed to investigate whether human urinal cells could be efficiently reprogrammed into iPSCs in three-dimensional Puramatrix (3D-PM) compared to two-dimensional Matrigel (2D-MG) and to understand how this 3D hydrogel environment affects the reprogramming process. Human urinal cells were successfully reprogrammed into iPSCs in the defined synthetic animal-free 3D-PM. Interestingly, although the colony efficiency in 3D-PM was similar to that in 2D-MG (∼0.05%), the reprogrammed colonies in 3D-PM contained an iPSC population with significantly higher homogeneity, as evidenced by the pluripotent-like morphology and expression of markers. This was further confirmed by transcriptome profile analysis in bulk cells and at the single cell level. Moreover, the homogeneity of the iPSC population in 3D-PM colonies was correlated with the downregulation of integrin β1 (ITGB1) and phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Collectively, 3D-PM provides an alternative approach for obtaining iPSCs with enhanced homogeneity. This work also unveiled the regulation of human somatic cell reprogramming via the extracellular microenvironment.

Heterogenous Adaptive Ant Colony Optimization with 3-opt local search for the Travelling Salesman Problem

The majority of optimization algorithms require proper parameter tuning to achieve the best performance. However, it is well-known that parameters are problem-dependent as different problems or even different instances have different optimal parameter settings. Parameter tuning through the testing of parameter combinations is a computationally expensive procedure that is infeasible on large-scale real-world problems. One method to mitigate this is to introduce adaptivity into the algorithm to discover good parameter settings during the search. Therefore, this study introduces an adaptive approach to a heterogeneous ant colony population that evolves the alpha and beta controlling parameters for ant colony optimization (ACO) to locate near-optimal solutions. This is achievable by introducing a set of rules for parameter adaptation to occur in order for the parameter values to be close to the optimal values by exploring and exploiting both the parameter and fitness landscape during the search to reflect the dynamic nature of search. In addition, the 3-opt local search heuristic is integrated into the proposed approach to further improve fitness. An empirical analysis of the proposed algorithm tested on a range of Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) instances shows that the approach has better algorithmic performance when compared against state-of-the-art algorithms from the literature.

A Meta-Analysis Shows That Screen Bottom Boards Can Significantly Reduce Varroa destructor Population.

Simple SummaryVarroa destructor is the most serious threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Screen bottom board, a cultural method for mite control, is a modified bottom board with a screen to allow mites to fall to a sticky board or to the grass or soil directly below the screen. Most studies show a trend of lower varroa population in colonies with these boards, but the results are usually not statistically significant. To understand whether the negative results were due to small sample sizes, or because the board is actually ineffective, we conducted a meta-analysis with seven published studies with 145 colonies. The results showed that the varroa population in colonies with screen bottom boards is significantly lower compared to those with traditional, wooden floors. The screen bottom board does have a significantly negative impact on the varroa population and can be part of tool kits for mite control.Varroa destructor is by far the most serious threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. A screen bottom board, a cultural method for mite control, is a modified bottom board with a screen that allows mites to fall onto a sticky board, or the grass or soil below the screen. Whether or not a screen bottom board can reduce varroa significantly has been controversial. Most studies show a trend of lower varroa populations in colonies with these boards, but the results are usually not statistically significant. To understand whether the negative results have been due to small sample sizes, or because the board is actually ineffective, we conducted a meta-analysis with seven published studies with a total of 145 colonies. Meta-analysis showed that the confidence intervals of the combined effect sizes were negative with a Hedges’ g of −1.09 (SE 0.39, 95% CI −2.0 to −0.19, p < 0.01), which suggests that the varroa population in colonies with screen bottom boards is significantly lower compared to those with traditional wooden floors. We thus conclude that the screen bottom board does have a significantly negative impact on the varroa population and can be part of tool kits for mite control.

Seasonality of Nosema ceranae Infections and Their Relationship with Honey Bee Populations, Food Stores, and Survivorship in a North American Region.

Nosema ceranae is an emerging pathogen of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), and thus its seasonality and impact on bee colonies is not sufficiently documented for North America. This study was conducted to determine the infection intensity, prevalence, and viability of N. ceranae in >200 honey bee colonies during spring, summer, and fall, in a North American region. We also determined the relationship of N. ceranae infections with colony populations, food stores, bee survivorship, and overwinter colony mortality. The highest rates of N. ceranae infection, prevalence, and spore viability were found in the spring and summer, while the lowest were recorded in the fall. N. ceranae spore viability was significantly correlated with its prevalence and infection intensity in bees. Threshold to high levels of N. ceranae infections (>1,000,000 spores/bee) were significantly associated with reduced bee populations and food stores in colonies. Furthermore, worker bee survivorship was significantly reduced by N. ceranae infections, although no association between N. ceranae and winter colony mortality was found. It is concluded that N. ceranae infections are highest in spring and summer and may be detrimental to honey bee populations and colony productivity. Our results support the notion that treatment is justified when infections of N. ceranae exceed 1,000,000 spores/bee.

Longitudinal monitoring of honey bee colonies reveals dynamic nature of virus abundance and indicates a negative impact of Lake Sinai virus 2 on colony health.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators of plants, including those that produce nut, fruit, and vegetable crops. Therefore, high annual losses of managed honey bee colonies in the United States and many other countries threaten global agriculture. Honey bee colony deaths have been associated with multiple abiotic and biotic factors, including pathogens, but the impact of virus infections on honey bee colony population size and survival are not well understood. To further investigate seasonal patterns of pathogen presence and abundance and the impact of viruses on honey bee colony health, commercially managed colonies involved in the 2016 California almond pollination event were monitored for one year. At each sample date, colony health and pathogen burden were assessed. Data from this 50-colony cohort study illustrate the dynamic nature of honey bee colony health and the temporal patterns of virus infection. Black queen cell virus, deformed wing virus, sacbrood virus, and the Lake Sinai viruses were the most readily detected viruses in honey bee samples obtained throughout the year. Analyses of virus prevalence and abundance revealed pathogen-specific trends including the overall increase in deformed wing virus abundance from summer to fall, while the levels of Lake Sinai virus 2 (LSV2) decreased over the same time period. Though virus prevalence and abundance varied in individual colonies, analyses of the overall trends reveal correlation with sample date. Total virus abundance increased from November 2015 (post-honey harvest) to the end of the almond pollination event in March 2016, which coincides with spring increase in colony population size. Peak total virus abundance occurred in late fall (August and October 2016), which correlated with the time period when the majority of colonies died. Honey bee colonies with larger populations harbored less LSV2 than weaker colonies with smaller populations, suggesting an inverse relationship between colony health and LSV2 abundance. Together, data from this and other longitudinal studies at the colony level are forming a better understanding of the impact of viruses on honey bee colony losses.