Workers Make the Queens in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melipona</Emphasis> Bees: Identification of Geraniol as a Caste Determining Compound from Labial Glands of Nurse Bees

Reproductive division of labor in advanced eusocial honey bees and stingless bees is based on the ability of totipotent female larvae to develop into either workers or queens. In nearly all species, caste is determined by larval nutrition. However, the mechanism that triggers queen development in Melipona bees is still unresolved. Several hypotheses have been proposed, ranging from the proximate (a genetic determination of caste development) to the ultimate (a model in which larvae have complete control over their own caste fate). Here, we showed that the addition of geraniol, the main compound in labial gland secretions of nurse workers, to the larval food significantly increases the number of larvae that develop into queens. Interestingly, the proportion of queens in treated brood exactly matched the value (25%) predicted by the two-locus, two-allele model of genetic queen determination, in which only females that are heterozygous at both loci are capable of developing into queens. We conclude that labial gland secretions, added to the food of some cells by nurse bees, trigger queen development, provided that the larvae are genetically predisposed towards this developmental pathway. In Melipona beecheii, geraniol acts as a primer pheromone representing the first caste determination substance identified to date.     

Gefahr Spannungsrisskorrosion – Systematische Untersuchung des Brückenbestands in Mecklenburg‐Vorpommern

In diesem Beitrag wird die systematische Untersuchung des Brückenbestands des Landes Mecklenburg‐Vorpommern hinsichtlich seiner Gefährdung durch Spannungsrisskorrosion beschrieben. Das Projekt war in vier Phasen gegliedert. Zunächst wurde ein Konzept erarbeitet, danach aus dem gesamten Brückenbestand die gefährdeten Bauwerke herausgefiltert und in Kategorien bzw. Bauwerksgruppen eingeteilt. 16 besonders gefährdete Brücken wurden genauer untersucht. In der zweiten Phase wurden die Erkenntnisse aus dieser 1. Phase auf den gesamten Bauwerksbestand übertragen und eine Prioritätenliste erstellt. Außerdem fanden Beprobungen erster ausgewählter Bauwerke statt. Auf die Phasen 3 und 4, bei denen weiterführende theoretische Untersuchungen für spezielle Bauwerke im Vordergrund stehen, wird in diesem Beitrag nicht näher eingegangen. Hazard stress corrosion cracking – Systematical analysis of bridges in Mecklenburg‐Vorpommern. In this article, the systematic investigation of all prestressed bridges of Mecklenburg‐Vorpommern with regard to its exposure to stress corrosion cracking is described. The project was divided into four phases. First, a generally concept was developed. Then the endangered buildings were divided into categories. 16 bridges have been investigated. In the second phase, the findings from phase 1 have been transferred to all buildings in the stock and a priority list drawn up. In addition, first bridges were sampled. In the phase 3 and 4 were more theoretical studies and specific buildings in the foreground. These phases are not content of this paper.     

多弯头数平板状闭式回路脉动热管流动及试验运行机理的可视化试验研究

对多弯头数平板状闭式回路脉动热管进行了可视化试验研究.在180×120×3 mm3的铝板上加工出40个首尾相接的正方形槽道(每个槽道横截面尺寸2×2 mm2,长165 mm),构成闭式回路.采用酒精为工作介质,充液率在10%～90%范围内变化,安装角度可任意调节.通过试验,系统观察平板内部的流型及流态转换规律,探讨其运行机理.     

Fabrication of Highly Ordered Polymeric Nanodot and Nanowire Arrays Templated by Supramolecular Assembly Block Copolymer Nanoporous Thin Films

Realizing the vast technological potential of patternable block copolymers requires both the precise controlling of the orientation and long-range ordering, which is still a challenging topic so far. Recently, we have demonstrated that ordered nanoporous thin film can be fabricated from a simple supramolecular assembly approach. Here we will extend this approach and provide a general route to fabricate large areas of highly ordered polymeric nanodot and nanowire arrays. We revealed that under a mixture solvent annealing atmosphere, a near-defect-free nanoporous thin film over large areas can be achieved. Under the direction of interpolymer hydrogen bonding and capillary action of nanopores, this ordered porous nanotemplate can be properly filled with phenolic resin precursor, followed by curation and pyrolysis at middle temperature to remove the nanotemplate, a perfect ordered polymer nanodot arrays replication was obtained. The orientation of the supramolecular assembly thin films can be readily re-aligned parallel to the substrate upon exposure to chloroform vapor, so this facile nanotemplate replica method can be further extend to generate large areas of polymeric nanowire arrays. Thus, we achieved a successful sub-30 nm patterns nanotemplates transfer methodology for fabricating polymeric nanopattern arrays with highly ordered structure and tunable morphologies.     

Overview of Anti-tank Mines

First the different anti-tank mines laying possibilities are shortly summarized： hand emplaced, with mine layers, ground or helicopter relatively topographical well defined, and with cluster systems of projectiles, rockets and aircraft dispensers. Then examples of the three generations of anti-tank mines are presented：Ⅰ generation： detonating only beneath the track; Ⅱ generation： detonating beneath the track and belly; Ⅲ generation： mines with off-route actions. Weight and cost comparisons are strongly favoring the off-route Ⅲ-generation mines.     

Measurement of heat flux from steaming ground

The total thermal flux at the surface of ‘steaming ground’ consists of a convective and a conductive component, even in the absence of any visible steam discharge at the surface. The total flux and its convective component can be measured separately and directly using a water-filled ground calorimeter. The conductive component is given by the difference between the two fluxes, but can also be assessed independently using measured near-surface soil parameters and temperature gradients, retaining the thermal conductivity as parameter. The conductivity is controlled, in turn, by the thermal diffusivity and the specific moisture content of the near-surface layer. The observed total flux values range between 0.03 and 2 kW/m² at sites where boiling temperatures occur at depths of about 4 m and <0.1 m, respectively; the convective flux can reach 50% of the total flux at most sites. Analysis of various soil parameters and soil temperature sections points to a ‘heat pipe’ transfer mechanism that maintains a high conductive transfer in a thin near-surface layer where sub-surface steam condensation is enhanced. An empirical power-law function can be used to assess the total heat flux from the boiling point depth at single sites with known soil temperature profiles.