Search results for " defence"
showing 10 items of 415 documents
Central, Eastern and East-Central Europle: on the History and the Current State of Conceptualization and Demarcation of Concepts
2019
The article is devoted to a historical overview and discussion of the current understanding and demarcation of the concepts “Central Europe”, “Eastern Europe” and “Central Eastern Europe”. The analysis is performed from a descriptive and comparative point of view, including a step‑by‑step generalization and separation of the above concepts and the verification of how natural, artificial or instrumental their character is, as well as by analysing their contrastive properties. In conclusion, the author has argued that the integration / disintegration and democratization / autocratization processes in the countries that used to be or now constitute different sub‑regions of Europe during the 20…
Ocena współczesnej kultury Zachodu w nauczaniu Benedykta XVI (Josepha Ratzingera)
2021
The Assessment of the Contemporary Western Culture in the Teaching of Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger)
 The article consists of two parts. In the first one, the authors pointed out an argument in the social sciences concerning ability to reasonably use the „culture” concept in scientific discourse. In the second one, they analyzed opinions Benedict XVI ( Joseph Ratzinger) expressed about present condition of the Western culture. Views of this figure were selected to study due to recognizing significant influential role the Pope plays in the public sphere. In the opinion of Benedict XVI, today there are two cultures of the West that coexist: rational Christian culture and Enlightenment (…
Critiquing and Joining Intersections of Disaster, Conflict, and Peace Research
2020
AbstractDisaster research, conflict research, and peace research have rich and deep histories, yet they do not always fully intersect or learn from each other, even when they investigate if and how disasters lead to conflict or peace. Scholarship has tended to focus on investigating causal linkages between disaster (including those associated with climate change) and conflict, and disaster diplomacy emerged as a thread of explanatory research that investigates how and why disaster-related activities do and do not influence peace and conflict. However, definitive conclusions on the disaster-conflict-peace nexus have evaded scientific consensus, in part due to conceptual, methodological, and …
Data from: How to fight multiple enemies: target-specific chemical defences in an aposematic moth
2017
Animals have evolved different defensive strategies to survive predation, among which chemical defences are particularly widespread and diverse. Here we investigate the function of chemical defence diversity, hypothesising that such diversity has evolved as a response to multiple enemies. The aposematic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) displays conspicuous hindwing colouration and secretes two distinct defensive fluids, from their thoracic glands and abdomen. We presented fluids from lab-reared moths to two biologically relevant predators, birds and ants, and measured their reaction in controlled bioassays (no information on colour was provided). We found that defensive fluids are targe…
Data from: Dynamic transmission, host quality and population structure in a multi-host parasite of bumble bees
2012
The evolutionary ecology of multi-host parasites is predicted to depend upon patterns of host quality and the dynamics of transmission networks. Depending upon the differences in host quality and transmission asymmetries, as well as the balance between intra- and inter-specific transmission, the evolution of specialist or generalist strategies is predicted. Using a trypanosome parasite of bumble bees we ask how host quality and transmission networks relate to parasite population structure across host species, and thus the potential for the evolution of specialist strains adapted to different host species. Host species differed in quality, with parasite growth varying across host species. Hi…
Data from: De novo synthesis of chemical defences in an aposematic moth
2019
Many animals protect themselves from predation with chemicals, both self-made or sequestered from their diet. The potential drivers of the diversity of these chemicals have been long studied, but our knowledge them, and their acquisition mode, is heavily based on specialist herbivores that sequester their defences. The wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis, Linnaeus, 1758) is a well-studied aposematic species, but the nature of its chemical defences has not been fully described. Here we report the presence of two methoxypyrazines, 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, in the moths’ defensive secretions. By raising larvae on an artificial diet, we confirm, for the fir…
Data from: Ecological conditions alter cooperative behaviour and its costs in a chemically defended sawfly
2018
The evolution of cooperation and social behaviour is often studied in isolation from the ecology of organisms. Yet, the selective environment under which individuals evolve is much more complex in nature, consisting of ecological and abiotic interactions in addition to social ones. Here we measured the life-history costs of cooperative chemical defence in a gregarious social herbivore, Diprion pini pine sawfly larvae, and how these costs vary under different ecological conditions. We ran a rearing experiment where we manipulated diet (resin content) and attack intensity by repeatedly harassing larvae to produce a chemical defence. We show that forcing individuals to allocate more to coopera…
Data from: Collective defence portfolios of ant hosts shift with social parasite pressure
2014
Host defences become increasingly costly as parasites breach successive lines of defence. Because selection favours hosts that successfully resist parasitism at the lowest possible cost, escalating coevolutionary arms races are likely to drive host defence portfolios towards ever more expensive strategies. We investigated the interplay between host defence portfolios and social parasite pressure by comparing 17 populations of two Temnothorax ant species. When successful, collective aggression not only prevents parasitation but also spares host colonies the cost of searching for and moving to a new nest site. However, once parasites breach the host's nest defence, host colonies should resort…
Data from: Aposematism in the burying beetle? Dual function of anal fluid in parental care and chemical defense
2017
Burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) bear distinctive and variable orange-black patterning on their elytra and produce an anal exudate from their abdomen when threatened. During breeding, the anal exudates contribute to the antimicrobial defense of the breeding resource. We investigated whether the anal exudates also provide a responsive chemical defense, which is advertised to potential avian predators by the beetle’s orange and black elytral markings. We found that that the orange-black elytral markings of the burying beetle are highly conspicuous for avian predators against range of backgrounds, by using computer simulations. Using bioassays with wood ants, we also showed that the …
Infections associated with medical devices: pathogenesis, management and prophylaxis.
2005
The insertion or implantation of foreign bodies has become an indispensable part in almost all fields of medicine. However, medical devices are associated with a definitive risk of bacterial and fungal infections. Foreign body-related infections (FBRIs), particularly catheter-related infections, significantly contribute to the increasing problem of nosocomial infections. While a variety of micro-organisms may be involved as pathogens, staphylococci account for the majority of FBRIs. Their ability to adhere to materials and to promote formation of a biofilm is the most important feature of their pathogenicity. This biofilm on the surface of colonised foreign bodies is regarded as the biologi…