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Marinopoulou A, Kagioglou G, Vacharakis N, Raphaelides S, Papageorgiou M. Effects of the Incorporation of Male Honey Bees on Dough Properties and on Wheat Flour Bread's Quality Characteristics. Foods 2023; 12:4411. [PMID: 38137215 PMCID: PMC10742990 DOI: 10.3390/foods12244411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Two different levels (5 and 10%) of male honey bees (drones) in powder form were incorporated into wheat flour, and their impact on dough properties and on bread-quality characteristics were investigated. The incorporation of the drone powder to the wheat flour caused a decrease in the extensibility and energy of the dough in the extensograph and an increase in the dough's maximum resistance with increasing levels of the added drone powder. The elongational viscosity values of the dough fortified with drone powder were significantly higher than those of the control wheat flour dough. The breads supplemented with 10% drone powder exhibited lower lightness (L*) values compared to the control bread. The addition of drone powder led to an increase in the total dietary fiber content and insoluble dietary fiber content in the fortified bread. Significant differences in the specific volume values were observed between the control bread and the corresponding ones with 10% drone powder. Upon storage, the moisture content of the crumb of the control bread and of the fortified breads were both significantly decreased, while the addition of the drone powder to the wheat flour bread increased the crumb hardness and gumminess but decreased the cohesiveness of the breads.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Maria Papageorgiou
- Department of Food Science and Technology, International Hellenic University, Alexandrian Campus, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece; (A.M.); (G.K.); (N.V.); (S.R.)
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Palmer RA, O’Reilly LJ, Carpenter J, Chenchiah IV, Robert D. An analysis of time-varying dynamics in electrically sensitive arthropod hairs to understand real-world electrical sensing. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20230177. [PMID: 37553992 PMCID: PMC10410214 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
With increasing evidence of electroreception in terrestrial arthropods, an understanding of receptor level processes is vital to appreciating the capabilities and limits of this sense. Here, we examine the spatio-temporal sensitivity of mechanoreceptive filiform hairs in detecting electrical fields. We first present empirical data, highlighting the time-varying characteristics of biological electrical signals. After which, we explore how electrically sensitive hairs may respond to such stimuli. The main findings are: (i) oscillatory signals (elicited by wingbeats) influence the spatial sensitivity of hairs, unveiling an inextricable spatio-temporal link; (ii) wingbeat direction modulates spatial sensitivity; (iii) electrical wingbeats can be approximated by sinusoidally modulated DC signals; and (iv) for a moving point charge, maximum sensitivity occurs at a faster timescale than a hair's frequency-based tuning. Our results show that electro-mechanical sensory hairs may capture different spatio-temporal information, depending on an object's movement and wingbeat and in comparison with aero-acoustic stimuli. Crucially, we suggest that electrostatic and aero-acoustic signals may provide distinguishable channels of information for arthropods. Given the pervasiveness of electric fields in nature, our results suggest further study to understand electrostatics in the ecology of arthropods and to reveal unknown ecological relationships and novel interactions between species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A. Palmer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Fry Building, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
| | - Liam J. O’Reilly
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Jacob Carpenter
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Fry Building, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
| | - Isaac V. Chenchiah
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Fry Building, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
| | - Daniel Robert
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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Cortés-Gómez AM, González-Chaves A, Urbina-Cardona N, Garibaldi LA. Functional Traits in Bees: the Role of Body Size and Hairs in the Pollination of a Passiflora Crop. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2023:10.1007/s13744-023-01058-w. [PMID: 37493880 PMCID: PMC10390375 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-023-01058-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Pollination is a vitally important function in nature and becomes an ecosystem service because it influences the food and nutritional security for people. However, the contribution of different functional traits of insects for pollen transport of plants is still poorly known. We explore the relationship between pollinator insect functional traits and the transport of pollen of sweet granadilla (Passiflora ligularis Juss) in eight crops. We sampled flower-visiting insects of this crop and recorded 10 functional traits (five by direct measurements and five from the literature) that were related to the amount of pollen carried by each insect. Bees (Apidae) were not only the most abundant insects but also the ones that loaded the highest amounts of pollen. Within these, the most abundant species was the exotic common honeybee (Apis mellifera (Linnaeus)) making up almost half of the specimens collected; however, this bee carried less pollen grains than other native bees. Bombus hortulanus (Smith) was one of the large-bodied native bees that carried more sweet granadilla pollen, despite not being an abundant species in the community. Body size was the most important trait determining the transport of sweet granadilla pollen, while the traits related to body hairs were not significant for the body's pollen load. None of the functional traits evaluated was influenced by taxonomy at species-level. Our results suggest that large body sizes in bees are the most important traits in granadilla pollen transport, regardless of other changes in composition and structure of pollinating insect assemblages in the crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M Cortés-Gómez
- Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Univ Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | | | | | - Lucas A Garibaldi
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Univ Nacional de Rio Negro, Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Río Negro, Argentina
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Passive electrolocation in terrestrial arthropods: Theoretical modelling of location detection. J Theor Biol 2023; 558:111357. [PMID: 36410450 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The recent discovery that some terrestrial arthropods can detect, use, and learn from weak electrical fields adds a new dimension to our understanding of how organisms explore and interact with their environments. For bees and spiders, the filiform mechanosensory systems enable this novel sensory modality by carrying electric charge and deflecting in response to electrical fields. This mode of information acquisition opens avenues for previously unrealised sensory dynamics and capabilities. In this paper, we study one such potential: the possibility for an arthropod to locate electrically charged objects. We begin by illustrating how electrostatic interactions between hairs and surrounding electrical fields enable the process of location detection. After which we examine three scenarios: (1) the determination of the location and magnitude of multiple point charges through a single observation, (2) the learning of electrical and mechanical sensor properties and the characteristics of an electrical field through several observations, (3) the possibility that an observer can infer their location and orientation in a fixed and known electrical field (akin to "stellar navigation"). To conclude, we discuss the potential of electroreception to endow an animal with thus far unappreciated sensory capabilities, such as the mapping of electrical environments. Electroreception by terrestrial arthropods offers a renewed understanding of the sensory processes carried out by filiform hairs, adding to aero-acoustic sensing and opening up the possibility of new emergent collective dynamics and information acquisition by distributed hair sensors.
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Zhang Z, Yang X, Li P, Wang Y, Zhao X, Safaei J, Tian H, Zhou D, Li B, Kang F, Wang G. Biomimetic Dendrite-Free Multivalent Metal Batteries. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2022; 34:e2206970. [PMID: 36124867 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202206970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Rechargeable multivalent metal (e.g., zinc (Zn) and aluminum (Al)) batteries are ideal choices for large-scale energy storage owing to their intrinsic low cost and safety. However, the poor compatibility between metallic anodes and electrolytes strongly hampers their practical applications. Herein, it is demonstrated that confining multivalent metals in a biomimetic scaffold (Bio-scaffold) can achieve highly efficient multivalent metal plating/stripping. This Bio-scaffold is well-tailored through the synergy of a parallel-aligned array of fractal copper branches and a CaTiO3 (CTO)-based coating layer. By virtue of this design strategy, the as-developed Bio-scaffold-based Zn- and Al-metal anodes exhibited dendrite-free morphologies with high reversibility and long lifespan, as well as excellent performance for Zn and Al full batteries. Theoretical modeling and experimental investigations reveal that the fractal copper array not only facilitates multivalent ion diffusion and electrolyte wetting but also effectively reduces the local current densities during cycling; Meanwhile, the CTO-based coating layer effectively blocks interfacial side reactions and enables a homogeneous ionic flux. This work opens a new avenue for developing multivalent metal batteries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijia Zhang
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China
- Centre for Clean Energy Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Xu Yang
- Centre for Clean Energy Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Peng Li
- College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210006, P. R. China
| | - Yao Wang
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China
| | - Xin Zhao
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China
| | - Javad Safaei
- Centre for Clean Energy Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Hao Tian
- Centre for Clean Energy Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Dong Zhou
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China
| | - Baohua Li
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China
| | - Feiyu Kang
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China
| | - Guoxiu Wang
- Centre for Clean Energy Technology, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
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