| 1. |
- Werren, John H, et al.
(författare)
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Functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid Nasonia species.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 327:5963, s. 343-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report here genome sequences and comparative analyses of three closely related parasitoid wasps: Nasonia vitripennis, N. giraulti, and N. longicornis. Parasitoids are important regulators of arthropod populations, including major agricultural pests and disease vectors, and Nasonia is an emerging genetic model, particularly for evolutionary and developmental genetics. Key findings include the identification of a functional DNA methylation tool kit; hymenopteran-specific genes including diverse venoms; lateral gene transfers among Pox viruses, Wolbachia, and Nasonia; and the rapid evolution of genes involved in nuclear-mitochondrial interactions that are implicated in speciation. Newly developed genome resources advance Nasonia for genetic research, accelerate mapping and cloning of quantitative trait loci, and will ultimately provide tools and knowledge for further increasing the utility of parasitoids as pest insect-control agents.
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| 2. |
- Fushitani, Mizuho, et al.
(författare)
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Time-resolved photoelectron imaging of complex resonances in molecular nitrogen
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Journal of chemical physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 154:14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have used the FERMI free-electron laser to perform time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiments on a complex group of resonances near 15.38 eV in the absorption spectrum of molecular nitrogen, N2, under jet-cooled conditions. The new data complement and extend the earlier work of Fushitani et al. [Opt. Express 27, 19702–19711 (2019)], who recorded time-resolved photoelectron spectra for this same group of resonances. Time-dependent oscillations are observed in both the photoelectron yields and the photoelectron angular distributions, providing insight into the interactions among the resonant intermediate states. In addition, for most states, we observe an exponential decay of the photoelectron yield that depends on the ionic final state. This observation can be rationalized by the different lifetimes for the intermediate states contributing to a particular ionization channel. Although there are nine resonances within the group, we show that by detecting individual photoelectron final states and their angular dependence, we can identify and differentiate quantum pathways within this complex system.
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| 3. |
- Fushitani, Mizuho, et al.
(författare)
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Wave packet dynamics and control in excited states of molecular nitrogen
- 2024
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Ingår i: The Journal of chemical physics. - 0021-9606. ; 160:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wave packet interferometry with vacuum ultraviolet light has been used to probe a complex region of the electronic spectrum of molecular nitrogen, N2. Wave packets of Rydberg and valence states were excited by using double pulses of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), free-electron-laser (FEL) light. These wave packets were composed of contributions from multiple electronic states with a moderate principal quantum number (n ∼ 4-9) and a range of vibrational and rotational quantum numbers. The phase relationship of the two FEL pulses varied in time, but as demonstrated previously, a shot-by-shot analysis allows the spectra to be sorted according to the phase between the two pulses. The wave packets were probed by angle-resolved photoionization using an infrared pulse with a variable delay after the pair of excitation pulses. The photoelectron branching fractions and angular distributions display oscillations that depend on both the time delays and the relative phases of the VUV pulses. The combination of frequency, time delay, and phase selection provides significant control over the ionization process and ultimately improves the ability to analyze and assign complex molecular spectra.
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| 4. |
- Pratt, Stephen C, et al.
(författare)
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An agent-based model of collective nest choice by the ant Temnothorax albipennis
- 2005
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Ingår i: Animal Behaviour. - London : Academic Press. - 0003-3472 .- 1095-8282. ; 70:5, s. 1023-1036
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Colonies of the ant Temnothorax (formerly Leptothorax) albipennis can collectively choose the best of several nest sites, even when many of the active ants who organize the move visit only one site. Previous studies have suggested that this ability stems from the ants' strategy of graded commitment to a potential home. On finding a site, an ant proceeds from independent assessment, to recruiting fellow active ants via slow tandem runs, to bringing the passive bulk of the colony via rapid transports. Assessment duration varies inversely with site quality, and the switch from tandem runs to transports requires that a quorum of ants first be summoned to the site. These rules may generate a collective decision, by creating and amplifying differential population growth rates among sites. We test the importance of these and other known behavioural rules by incorporating them into an agent-based model. All parameters governing individual behaviour were estimated from videotaped emigrations of individually marked ants given a single nest option of either good or mediocre quality. The time course of simulated emigrations and the distribution of behaviour across ants largely matched these observations, except for the speed with which the final transport phase was completed, and the overall emigration speed of one particularly large colony. The model also predicted the prevalence of splitting between sites when colonies had to choose between two sites of different quality, although it correctly predicted the degree of splitting in only four of six cases. It did not fully capture variance in colony performance, but it did predict the emergence of variation in individual behaviour, despite the use of identical parameter values for all ants. The model shows how, with adequate empirical data, the algorithmic form of a collective decision-making mechanism can be captured.
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| 5. |
- Sasaki, Takao, et al.
(författare)
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Ant colonies outperform individuals when a sensory discrimination task is difficult but not when it is easy
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 110:34, s. 13769-13773
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- "Collective intelligence" and "wisdom of crowds" refer to situations in which groups achieve more accurate perception and better decisions than solitary agents. Whether groups outperform individuals should depend on the kind of task and its difficulty, but the nature of this relationship remains unknown. Here we show that colonies of Temnothorax ants outperform individuals for a difficult perception task but that individuals do better than groups when the task is easy. Subjects were required to choose the better of two nest sites as the quality difference was varied. For small differences, colonies were more likely than isolated ants to choose the better site, but this relationship was reversed for large differences. We explain these results using a mathematical model, which shows that positive feedback between group members effectively integrates information and sharpens the discrimination of fine differences. When the task is easier the same positive feedback can lock the colony into a suboptimal choice. These results suggest the conditions under which crowds do or do not become wise.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Sumpter, David J. T., et al.
(författare)
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Quorum responses and consensus decision making
- 2009
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Ingår i: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8436 .- 1471-2970. ; 364:1518, s. 743-753
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal groups are said to make consensus decisions when groupmembers come to agree on the same option. Consensus decisions are taxonomically widespread and potentially offer three key benefits: maintenance of group cohesion, enhancement of decision accuracy compared with lone individuals and improvement in decision speed. In the absence of centralized control, arriving at a consensus depends on local interactions in which each individual's likelihood of choosing an option increases with the number of others already committed to that option. The resulting positive feedback can effectively direct most or all group members to the best available choice. In this paper, we examine the functional form of the individual response to others' behaviour that lies at the heart of this process. We review recent theoretical and empirical work on consensus decisions, and we develop a simple mathematical model to show the central importance to speedy and accurate decisions of quorum responses, in which an animal's probability of exhibiting a behaviour is a sharply nonlinear function of the number of other individuals already performing this behaviour. We argue that systems relying on such quorum rules can achieve cohesive choice of the best option while also permitting adaptive tuning of the trade-off between decision speed and accuracy.
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