Drosophila mercatorum is a sexual species that can reproduce parthenogenetically in the laboratory. A previous study showed that a natural population of D. mercatorum inhabiting the Kamuela garbage dump on the Island of Hawaii could produce both viable parthenogenetic adults and self-sustaining parthenogenetic lines. The present study deals with a second screen for parthenogenesis and an isozym...

The Hippo signaling pathway functions through Yorkie to control tissue growth and homeostasis. How this pathway regulates non-developmental processes remains largely unexplored. Here, we report an essential role for Hippo signaling in innate immunity whereby Yorkie directly regulates the transcription of the Drosophila IκB homolog, Cactus, in Toll receptor-mediated antimicrobial response. Loss ...

In this paper, we provide efficient algorithms for solving the weighted center problems in a cactus graph. In particular, an O(n log n) time algorithm is proposed that finds the weighted 1-center in a cactus graph, where n is the number of vertices in the graph. For the weighted 2-center problem, an O(n log n) time algorithm is devised for its continuous version and showed that its discrete ver...

Toll receptors transduce signals that activate Rel-family transcription factors, such as NF-κB, by directing proteolytic degradation of inhibitor proteins. In mammals, the IκB Kinase (IKK) phosphorylates the inhibitor IκBα. A βTrCP protein binds to phosphorylated IκBα, triggering ubiquitination and proteasome mediated degradation. In Drosophila, Toll signaling directs Cactus degradation via a s...

Screened potted cactus,Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., plants containing pairs of adult male and female cactus moths, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), were placed in a cactus Þeld in St. Marks, FL, to measure oviposition patterns under ambient conditions. Results showed a narrow window for oviposition during third and sixth day of adult femaleÕs life. Peak oviposition act...

Herbivory has long been recognized as a significant driver of plant population dynamics, yet its effects along environmental gradients are unclear. Understanding how weather modulates plant-insect interactions can be particularly important for predicting the consequences of exotic insect invasions, and an explicit consideration of weather may help explain why the impact can vary greatly across ...

The chain packing in ordered phases of lipid bilayers can be classified according to wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXS). For triclinic (T(‖)) and monoclinic (M(‖)) packing in crystalline L(c) phases, the wide-angle reflections index on an oblique lattice with spacings s(10)≠s(01)≠s(11), and each chain has four nearest neighbours. For orthorhombic (O(⊥)) packing in L(c) phases, and the rotation...

A cactus graph is a connected graph in which any two cycles have at most one vertex in common. Let γ(G) and γc(G) be the domination number and connected domination number of a graph G, respectively. We can see that γ(G) ≤ γc(G) for any graph G. S. Arumugam and J. Paulraj Joseph [1] have characterized trees, unicyclic graphs and cubic graphs with equal domination and connected domination numbers...

Wild Cardon cactus seeds were inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense strains Cd and Sp-245 to improve seed germination and seedling growth parameters. Differential germination responses were related to the bacterial strain. A. brasilense Cd (the type strain for the species A. brasilense) significantly decreased seed germination. A. brasilense Sp245 (a known beneficial bacteria for cereal plant...