Search results for " manipulation"
showing 10 items of 113 documents
Larval size in acanthocephalan parasites : Influence of intraspecific competition and effects on intermediate host behavioural changes
2012
Abstract Background Parasites often face a trade-off between exploitation of host resources and transmission probabilities to the next host. In helminths, larval growth, a major component of adult parasite fitness, is linked to exploitation of intermediate host resources and is influenced by the presence of co-infecting conspecifics. In manipulative parasites, larval growth strategy could also interact with their ability to alter intermediate host phenotype and influence parasite transmission. Methods We used experimental infections of Gammarus pulex by Pomphorhynchus laevis (Acanthocephala), to investigate larval size effects on host behavioural manipulation among different parasite sibshi…
Role of the non-infective stage of the acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhychus laevis on the behavioural manipulation of its amphipod intermediate host
2012
In trophically-transmitted parasites, exploitation strategies of the intermediate host have been selected, in a way increasing parasites transmission probabilities to their definitive host. Particularly, numerous parasites are able to alter their intermediate host behaviour, a phenomenon called ‘behavioural manipulation’. This manipulation only occurs when the parasite developmental stage (or larval stage) is infective for the definitive host. Before reaching this stage, the development of parasite larvae is not sufficiently advanced to allow establishment in the definitive host (this stage is thus called ‘non-infective’). Early transmission of a non-infective stage therefore implies parasi…
Soil microbial diversity effects on primary production and symbiotic interactions
2013
SPEEAEcolDurGenoSolGEAPSI; The importance of telluric microorganisms linked together by trophic exchanges with plants, that sustain all ecosystems through primary production, is known. However, the role of soil microbial diversity for primary production remains controversial. A diversity decreasing was achieved, by inoculating a sterilized soil with serial dilutions of a suspension from the same non-sterilized soil, to determine the consequences of microbial diversity erosion on the growth and fitness of three plant species more or less dependent on symbionts, Medicago truncatula, Brachypodium distachyon and Arabidopsis thaliana. The results showed that the impact of microbial diversity dec…
Persuasión, manipulación y (des)cortesía en los anuncios de televenta
2012
Imperceptible boundaries between information, in many cases argumentation and manipulation are difficult to draw, even in advertising discourse. In fact, due to its explicit propagandistic vocation, advertising and, in the specific case, teleshopping spots are a paradigmatic example of discursive realization, whereby advertising agent, adopting different strategies, builds a message aimed at convincing his interlocutor of the "advisability" to purchase a commercial product. This study is an attempt to shed light on some aspects of the complex world of advertising communication. Specifically, it seeks to demonstrate how teleshopping spots, being a “testo unidirezionale” (Lo Cascio, 1991: 101…
Chemically Stressed Bacterial Communities in Anaerobic Digesters Exhibit Resilience and Ecological Flexibility
2020
Anaerobic digestion is a technology known for its potential in terms of methane production. During the digestion process, multiple metabolites of high value are synthesized. However, recent works have demonstrated the high robustness and resilience of the involved microbiomes; these attributes make it difficult to manipulate them in such a way that a specific metabolite is predominantly produced. Therefore, an exact understanding of the manipulability of anaerobic microbiomes may open up a treasure box for bio-based industries. In the present work, the effect of nalidixic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and sodium phosphate on the microbiome of digested sewage sludge from a water treatmen…
Chemical Ecology of Insect Parasitoids: Essential Elements for Developing Effective Biological Control Programmes
2013
Insect parasitoids can find their hosts in complex environments and reproduce through a series of behavioural steps which are regulated mainly by chemical cues, termed semiochemicals. According to functional criteria, stimuli can be classified into four main categories: (A) cues coming from the habitat, the host microhabitat or the food plant, (B) direct host‐related cues, (C) indirect host‐related cues, and (D) cues coming from the parasitoid itself. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in elucidating the semiochemicals used by parasitoids to locate their hosts. Several studies provided interesting prospective for manipulating foraging behaviour of parasitoids in order to i…
Ploidy manipulation for genetic improvement in some Mediterranean fruit crops
2017
Plant breeding is focused on selection of new genotypes with improved traits. Conventional methods based on hybridization and those based on biotechnology (somatic hybridization, genetic transformation, ploidy manipulation, etc.) are used to create novel genetic variations. Biotechnology provides powerful tools for plant breeding, for instance, haploid technology allows achievement of homozygous lines from heterozygous parents in one step, which reduces significantly the time required by conventional methods. Concerning woody species, characterized by self-incompatibility, long juvenile period and high degree of heterozygosity, this technique is the only way to get homozygous lines. Haploid…
Technologies for cultivation and exploitation of microalgae in industrial applications
2020
This thesis work is focused on technologies for the development of the microalgal industry. During this 3-years PhD work several themes were addressed. Section 1 consists in a literature review concerning the general features of microalgae, their composition and a description of the photosynthetic process. Furthermore, themes such as biosynthetic pathways, growth kinetics, microalgae cultivation and their applications are reviewed. Section 2 focuses on the genetic manipulation of microalgae aimed at producing a vitamin B12-enriched food supplement. In this case, the human intrinsic factor gene, was inserted in the genome of the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinardhtii in order to integrate new …
Nanodevices by DNA based gold nanostructures
2017
In this thesis DNA based structures were utilized to create gold nanostructures for nanosensing and nanoelectronic applications. In the past, both of these fields have been dominated by the conventional lithography methods, e.g., electron beam lithography and UV-lithography, but more recently scaling down the components by these techniques has become increasingly more complex and costly. Especially in the micro- and nanoelectronics, the increase in the component density and thus computational power would require fabrication of sub-10-nm components, which is challenging for the top-down approaches. Aforementioned developments have led researchers to seek alternative methods to fabricate these…
Manipulation and control in couple relationships. A study of young women.
2016
The term gaslighting refers to a typology of psychological abuse that is expressed through acts of manipulation, which tend to control a partner’s mental and affective state. The aim of the present study was to assess the presence of gaslighting behaviour as sustained by a group of young women in their relational experiences as a couple. Moreover, the associations between frequency of gaslighting behaviour and specific maladaptive personality traits, were evaluated. One hundred women, aged from 19 to 30 years (M=22,5; ds=3,14) participated in this research study. Manipulation and/or control behaviour were evaluated by administrating 25 descriptions of three typologies of gaslighter (glamour…