The remarkable olfactory power of insect species is thought to be generated by a combinatorial action of G-protein-coupled olfactory receptors (ORs) and olfactory carriers. Two such carrier gene families are found in insects: the odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and the chemosensory proteins (CSPs). In olfactory sensilla, OBPs and CSPs are believed to deliver hydrophobic air-borne molecules to ORs, but their expression in non-olfactory tissues suggests that they also may function as general carriers in other developmental and physiological processes. ¶ Bioinformatics and experimental approaches were used to characterise the OBP and CSP gene families in a highly social insect, the western honey bee (Apis mellifera). Comparison with other insects reveals that the honey bee has the smallest set of these genes, consisting of only 21 OBPs and 6 CSPs. These numbers stand in stark contrast to the 66 OBPs and 7 CSPs in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae and the 46 OBPs and 20 CSPs in the beetle Tribolium castaneum. The genes belonging to both families are often organised in clusters, and evolve by lineage specic expansions. Positive selection has been found to play a role in generating a greater sequence diversication in the OBP family in contrast to the CSP gene family that is more conserved, especially in the binding pocket. Expression proling under a wide range of conditions shows that, in the honey, bee only a minority of these genes are antenna-specic. The remaining genes are expressed either ubiquitously, or are tightly regulated in specialized tissues or during development. These findings support the view that OBPs and CSPs are not restricted to olfaction, and are likely to be involved in broader physiological functions. ¶ Finally, the detailed expression study and the functional characterization of a member of the CSP family, uth (unable-to-hatch), is reported. This gene is expressed in a maternal-zygotic fashion, and is restricted to the egg and embryo. Blocking the zygotic expression of uth with double-stranded RNA causes abnormalities in all body parts where this gene is highly expressed. The treated embryos are `unable-to-hatch' and cannot progress to the larval stages. Our ndings reveal a novel, essential role for this gene family and suggest that uth is an ectodermal gene involved in embryonic cuticle formation.

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Jämställdhet mellan kvinnor och män på de högre befattningarna är ett väl diskuterat ämne. Forskning kring ämnet har tidigare gjorts i revisionsbranschen, dock inte i lika stor utsträckning i redovisningsbranschen. Uppsatsens syfte blir därmed att undersöka och jämföra kvinnors och mäns karriärmöjligheter i redovisningsbranschen. Studien utgår från en positivistisk syn med ett deduktivt tillvägagångssätt och en kvantitativ metod. För att uppfylla syftet har empiri samlats in genom en enkät som skickats ut till kvinnor och män på renodlade redovisningsbyråer. En intervju har även genomförts för att få bakgrundsinformation om redovisningsbranschen. Teorin som studien utgått ifrån är; Social Role Theory. Den teoretiska referensramen tar upp följande faktorer som kan påverka karriärmöjligheterna; riskbenägenhet, nätverk, familj och homosocialisation/Queen Bee Syndrome. Faktorerna har sedan utmynnats i åtta hypoteser samt varit grunden för enkätens frågor. Hypoteserna testades i en multipel regressionsanalys där karriärmöjligheter utgjorde den beroende variabeln. Resultatet visade att fyra av de åtta hypoteserna hade ett signifikant samband. Kvinnornas utfall blev att nätverk och Queen Bee Syndrome hade ett signifikant samband med karriärmöjligheter samtidigt som riskbenägenhet och nätverk blev signifikanta i männens tester. Studien har därmed kommit fram till att det finns vissa skillnader mellan kvinnors och mäns karriärmöjligheter, dock inte i lika stor utsträckning i redovisningsbranschen som tidigare forskning har kommit fram till. / Equality between women and men at senior positions is a well-discussed topic. Previously research on the subject has been done in the audit industry, but not in the same extent in the accounting industry. The purpose of the essay is to investigate and compare women´s and men´s career opportunities in the accounting industry. This study adopts deductive reasoning and employs a quantitative analysis. To satisfy the purpose, data has been collected through a survey sent to women and men at accounting industries. An interview has also been conducted to get background information about the accounting industry. The study is based on the theory; Social Role Theory. The theoretical framework presents the following factors that can affect woman’s and men´s career opportunities; risk, network, family and homosocialization/Queen Bee Syndrome. The factors have led to eight hypotheses and been the basis for the questions in the survey. The hypotheses were tested in a regression analysis where career opportunities represented the dependent variable. The result showed that four of the eight hypotheses had a significant relationship. Our essay showed that network and Queen Bee Syndrome had a significant relationship with career opportunities, while risk and network become significant in men´s tests. The study has thus concluded that there are some differences between the career opportunities of women and men, but not in the same extent in the accounting industry as the former research.

Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) in southern Africa has gained an important role in alleviating poverty and conserving natural resources. The attention and funding CBNRM is receiving from governments, non-governmental organisations and donors is seen as one way to strengthen civil society‟s involvement in decision-making and participating in activities that contribute to a sustainable livelihood, whilst at the same time learning in their social contexts to adapt and care for the ever changing environment characterised by constraints, challenges, contradictions, new opportunities for learning and change. This study focuses on social learning in commercialisation of natural resource products in two case studies of commercial beekeeping in rural southern African contexts. In this study social learning entails a process of qualitative change taking place in a social context for the purpose of personal and social adaptation. This perspective is useful in this study as learning in the two cases, Hluleka in South Africa and Buhera in Zimbabwe involved the transition beekeeping.from traditional honey harvesting practices and subsistence beekeeping to commercial beekeeping. This study is informed by two related theoretical perspectives namely Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Social Learning Theory. CHAT was used as conceptual and methodological framework to inform the first phase of data gathering and analysis processes; as well as second phase data gathering. In the first phase, I gathered data through semistructured interviews, document reviews and observations to identify problems, challenges and critical incidents in learning commercial beekeeping, technically known as tensions and contradictions within the CHAT framework. These tensions and contradictions, surfaced through analysis of first phase data were used as "mirror data‟ in Intervention Workshops within CHAT's process of Developmental Work Research, which supports social learning in response to tensions and contradictions in workplace activity. Use of mirror data provided a basis for dialogue and the modelling of new solutions to identified contradictions. To interpret the social learning processes resulting from these interactions, I drew on Wals' (2007) analytical lenses, through which I was able to monitor social learning processes that emerged from the Intervention Workshop dialogues while beekeepers modelled new solutions to contradictions in learning commercial beekeeping. The findings of the study revealed that social learning in commercial beekeeping is internally and externally influenced by socio-cultural, political and economic complexities. Social learning in Intervention Workshops was supported by different knowledge bases of participants, in this study these are beekeepers, extension officers, trainers and development facilitators. Such knowledge bases were the source of information for learning and constructing model solutions. The study also revealed that learning in CBNRM workplaces can be observed across the development processes, and CHAT as a methodological tool and Wals‟ (2007) analytical tool are complementary and can be used in researching social learning in other CBNRM workplaces. The study contributes in-depth insight into participatory research and learning processes, especially within the context of CBRM in southern Africa. It gives some empirical and explanatory insight into how change-oriented social learning can emerge and be expanded in Education for Sustainable Development. It also provides learning and extension tools to work with contradictions that arise from socio-cultural and historical dimensions of learning commercialisation of natural resources in southern African context. Its other key contribution is that it provides further insight into the mobilisation of human agency and reflexivity in change oriented social learning processes of commercialisation of sustainable natural resources products and poverty alleviation processes that are critical for responding to socioecological issues and risks and development challenges in southern Africa.

This thesis is focused on the research of the varroatosis disease. In the theoretical part of the thesis I describe the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and its way of infestation. The goal was to document any knowledge gathered on the subject so far and the possibilities of bee vaccination. The practical part of this work included Varroa destructor occurrence monitoring within single hives. The monitoring was carried out in three localities. Localities was called Nedrahovice, Rybník and Kvašťov. The goal was to identify singular hive tolerance to the mite in the various localities based on the strength of the parasitic mite attack. While the hives of the Rybník locality were found to be the most tolerant, the hives of the Nedrahovice locality were found to be the least tolerant of all.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / O pÃlen apÃcola à um produto das abelhas Apis mellifera que possui alto valor nutricional, indispensÃvel para a manutenÃÃo de suas colÃnias. AlÃm disso, representa uma importante fonte de renda para apicultores de diversos paÃses. Mas, a falta de conhecimento sobre a flora polinÃfera e sua contribuiÃÃo no valor nutricional ainda sÃo entraves para a expansÃo da produÃÃo do pÃlen apÃcola. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar o potencial da produÃÃo, a variaÃÃo temporal, a origem botÃnica e o valor nutricional do pÃlen apÃcola produzido por A. mellifera em Floresta Estacional Semidecidual na Serra da Meruoca (FESSM). Para isso foram coletadas 15 amostras de pÃlen mensalmente em cada colÃnia (n=10), durante 12 meses. Cada amostra foi dividida em duas partes, sendo uma destinada à anÃlise bromatolÃgia e a outra à anÃlise da origem botÃnica. A dieta de A. mellifera na FESSM foi composta por 74 tipos polÃnicos distribuÃdos em 58 gÃneros e 27 famÃlias. As famÃlias botÃnicas mais representativas em nÃmero de espÃcies foram Leguminosae (n= 16), Asteraceae (11) e Rubiaceae (6). O gÃnero Mimosa (Leguminosae) apresentou o maior nÃmero de espÃcie (n=7) em floraÃÃo durante o perÃodo de estudo. Ao longo do ano dois picos produtivos de pÃlen apÃcola foram encontrados, um no perÃodo seco e outro no perÃodo chuvoso, com valores mais elevados no perÃodo chuvoso. A anÃlise do valor nutricional considerando, proteÃna bruta, carboidratos, extrato etÃreo e matÃria mineral variaram ao longo do perÃodo estudado. Sendo a matÃria seca influenciada pela precipitaÃÃo. Alguns grupos taxonÃmicos apresentaram relaÃÃo positiva com os nutrientes. Embora a dieta do A. mellifera seja amplamente diversificada, essa espÃcie de abelha direciona a maior parte de seu esforÃo no forrageamento de pÃlen em espÃcies do gÃnero Mimosa e em Attalea speciosa. Este estudo mostra que a FESSM apresenta espÃcies de plantas altamente nutritivas e um elevado potencial para a produÃÃo de pÃlen apÃcola. / Bee pollen is a product of Apis mellifera with high nutritional value, indispensable for the maintenance of its colonies. It is also an important source of income for beekeepers in different countries. However, the lack of knowledge about the polliniferous flora and its contribution to the nutritional value is an obstacle to increase the production of bee pollen. In this sense, this study analyzed the potential of production, the temporal variation, the botanical origin and the nutritional value of bee pollen produced by A. mellifera in a seasonal semideciduous forest at Serra da Meruoca (FESSM). Once in a month, we collected 15 pollen samples in each colony (n= 10) over a period of 12 months. Each sample was divided into two parts, one for chemical analysis and another for botanical origin analysis. The diet of A. mellifera consisted of 74 pollen types distributed in 58 genera and 27 families. The botanical families Leguminosae (n= 16), Asteraceae (11) and Rubiaceae (6) were the most representative in number of species. Mimosa (Leguminosae) had the highest number of species (n= 7) contributing pollen during the study period. As for the production of bee pollen, we found two production peaks, with higher values in the rainy season. Results of the nutritional value considering crude protein, carbohydrates, lipids and mineral matter indicated changes over the study period, with influence of rainfall on the dry matter content. Some taxonomic groups showed a positive relationship with nutrients. Although the diet of A. mellifera is broadly diversified, this species uses most of its pollen foraging effort in the genus Mimosa and the species Attalea speciosa. This study shows that FESSM presents species of highly nutritious plants and a high potential for the pollen production.

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No description available.

BACKGROUND:Widely considered probiotic organisms, Bifidobacteria are common inhabitants of the alimentary tract of animals including insects. Bifidobacteria identified from the honey bee are found in larval guts and throughout the alimentary tract, but attain their greatest abundance in the adult hind gut. To further understand the role of Bifidobacteria in honey bees, we sequenced two strains of Bifidobacterium cultured from different alimentary tract environments and life stages.RESULTS:Reflecting an oxygen-rich niche, both strains possessed catalase, peroxidase, superoxide-dismutase and respiratory chain enzymes indicative of oxidative metabolism. The strains show markedly different carbohydrate processing capabilities, with one possessing auxiliary and key enzymes of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway.CONCLUSIONS:As a result of long term co-evolution, honey bee associated Bifidobacterium may harbor considerable strain diversity reflecting adaptation to a variety of different honey bee microenvironments and hive-mediated vertical transmission between generations.

To integrate the previously disadvantaged population that suffered from the apartheid in South Africa, the government has implemented policies to let them participate in the country’s growing economy. These policies are called the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies and are affecting both local and international businesses. Through a qualitative research method with a deductive approach, the research creates a deeper understanding of how Swedish firms adapt and commit as an effect of the BEE policies. Through already established internationalization theories, we created a theoretical framework as a platform to gather and analyze the empirical data. The theoretical implications show how the BEE policies can disrupt and challenge the commitment that is characterized in different entry modes. It also challenges previous research and brings up Swedish companies’ willingness to adapt with the policies and commit their resources in order to overcome the obstacles of BEE and benefit the growth of South Africa.