Many factors drive the organization of communities including environmental factors, dispersal abilities, and competition. In particular, ant communities have high levels of interspecific competition and dominance that may affect community assembly processes. We used a combination of surveys and nest supplementation experiments to examine effects of a dominant ground-nesting ant (Pheidole synant...

The nonstinging house ant, Monomorium pharaonis (pharaoh ant), was recently identified as a cause of respiratory allergy. This study was performed to evaluate the extent of sensitization to pharaoh ant, and its clinical significance in asthmatic patients. We carried out skin prick tests in 318 patients with asthma. Specific IgE (sIgE) to pharaoh ant was measured by ELISA, and cross-reactivity w...

Fullerenes are reactive as dienophiles in Diels–Alder reactions. Their distinctive molecular shape and properties result interesting sometimes elusive reaction patterns. Herein, to contribute the understanding of fullerene reactivity, we evaluate energies reactions for cycloadditions C60, C70, IC60MA with anthracene (Ant), by means DFT computational analysis vacuum solution. The methods used sh...

Cytotox ic T-cel ls were derived from the per i toneal cavity of a C 5 7 B L / 6 mouse immunized with B A L B / c sarcoma Meth A and from the sp leens of B A L B / c x C 5 7 B L / 6 F1 (hereaf ter cal led CB6F1) mice immunized with B A L B / c leukemia R L ~ I . The cel ls were cu l tured in inter leukin 2 and c loned by limiting di lut ion, and their speci f ic i ty was determined by d i rect ...

Tropical birds forage at army ant raids on several continents. Obligate foraging at army ant raids evolved several times in the Neotropical true antbird family (Thamnophilidae), and recent evidence suggests a diversity of bird species from other families specialize to varying degrees on army ant exploitation. Army ant raids offer access to high prey densities, but the ant colonies are mobile an...

Chimpanzees are renowned for their use of foraging tools in harvesting social insects and some populations use tools to prey on aggressive army ants (Dorylus spp.). Tool use in army ant predation varies across chimpanzee study sites with differences in tool length, harvesting technique, and army ant species targeted. However, surprisingly little is known about the detailed ecology of army ant p...

Two improved circularly polarized microstrip planar antennas operating in 5 GHz–6 GHz are proposed in this paper. The Swastika slot and a circular feeding line are introduced into Ant.2 which exhibits wide impedance bandwidth and AR bandwidth during simulation and measurement than a basic truncated edge CP microstrip antenna. In further studies, a center circular slot is introduced into Ant.3, ...

We propose a novel adaptation of the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) Technique for the resolution of analog sizing optimization problems. The paper details the proposed algorithm and highlights its performances using some mathematical test functions. This novel adaptation of the ACO technique is used for the optimal design of analog circuits, namely, a differential pair current conveyor and an in...

It is well documented that ants can protect plants against insect herbivores, but the underlying mechanisms remain almost undocumented. We propose and test the pheromone avoidance hypothesis--an indirect mechanism where insect herbivores are repelled not only by ants but also by ant pheromones. Herbivores subjected to ant predation will experience a selective advantage if they evolve mechanisms...