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Lot-sizing and scheduling in a job shop environment is a fundamental problem that appears in many industrial settings. The problem is very complex, and solutions are often needed fast. Although many solution methods have been proposed, with increasingly better results, their computational times are not suitable for decision-makers who want solutions instantly. Therefore, we propose a novel greedy heuristic to efficiently generate production plans and schedules of good quality. The main innovation of our approach represents the incorporation of a simulation-based technique, which directly generates schedules while simultaneously determining lot sizes. By utilising priority rules, this unique feature enables us to address the complexity of job shop scheduling environments and ensures the feasibility of the resulting schedules. Using a selection of well-known rules from the literature, experiments on a variety of shop configurations and complexities showed that the proposed heuristic is able to obtain solutions with an average gap to Cplex of 4.12%. To further improve the proposed heuristic, a cooperative coevolutionary genetic programming-based hyper-heuristic has been developed. The average gap to Cplex was reduced up to 1.92%. These solutions are generated in a small fraction of a second, regardless of the size of the instance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although evolutionary economics has extensively analyzed the evolution of industries in relation to innovation and technology lifecycles, the interplay between industry lifecycles and evolutionary patterns of knowledge networks has not been fully explored yet. This work aims to bridge this gap by analyzing the co-evolutionary patterns of knowledge and trade flows in the mining industry, using social network tools in combination with the Schumpeterian tradition of analysis. The study focuses on three Latin American countries: Brazil, Chile, and Peru, where the mining sector plays a significant role in the economy, particularly in the context of energy and digital transitions. Our findings suggest that the innovation network and the global value chain-trade network display divergent co-evolutionary patterns; while the former tends to be stable and concentrated, the latter shows increasing fragmentation and turbulence. The analysis also shows remarkable evolutionary evidence at the country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life on Earth comprises prokaryotes and a broad assemblage of endosymbioses. The pages of Molecular Biology and Evolution and Genome Biology and Evolution have provided an essential window into how these endosymbiotic interactions have evolved and shaped biological diversity. Here, we provide a current perspective on this knowledge by drawing on decades of revelatory research published in Molecular Biology and Evolution and Genome Biology and Evolution, and insights from the field at large. The accumulated work illustrates how endosymbioses provide hosts with novel phenotypes that allow them to transition between adaptive landscapes to access environmental resources. Such endosymbiotic relationships have shaped and reshaped life on Earth. The early serial establishment of mitochondria and chloroplasts through endosymbioses permitted massive upscaling of cellular energetics, multicellularity, and terrestrial planetary greening. These endosymbioses are also the foundation upon which all later ones are built, including everything from land-plant endosymbioses with fungi and bacteria to nutritional endosymbioses found in invertebrate animals. Common evolutionary mechanisms have shaped this broad range of interactions. Endosymbionts generally experience adaptive and stochastic genome streamlining, the extent of which depends on several key factors (e.g. mode of transmission). Hosts, in contrast, adapt complex mechanisms of resource exchange, cellular integration and regulation, and genetic support mechanisms to prop up degraded symbionts. However, there are significant differences between endosymbiotic interactions not only in how partners have evolved with each other but also in the scope of their influence on biological diversity. These differences are important considerations for predicting how endosymbioses will persist and adapt to a changing planet.

Across internally fertilising species, males transfer ejaculate proteins that trigger wide-ranging changes in female behaviour and physiology. Much theory has been developed to explore the drivers of ejaculate protein evolution. The accelerating availability of high-quality genomes now allows us to test how these proteins are evolving at fine taxonomic scales. Here, we use genomes from 264 species to chart the evolutionary history of Sex Peptide (SP), a potent regulator of female post-mating responses in Drosophila melanogaster. We infer that SP first evolved in the Drosophilinae subfamily and has since followed markedly different evolutionary trajectories in different lineages. Outside of the Sophophora-Lordiphosa, SP exists largely as a single-copy gene with independent losses in several lineages. Within the Sophophora-Lordiphosa, the SP gene family has repeatedly and independently expanded. Up to seven copies, collectively displaying extensive sequence variation, are present in some species. Despite these changes, SP expression remains restricted to the male reproductive tract. Alongside, we document considerable interspecific variation in the presence and morphology of seminal microcarriers that, despite the critical role SP plays in microcarrier assembly in D. melanogaster, appears to be independent of changes in the presence/absence or sequence of SP. We end by providing evidence that SP's evolution is decoupled from that of its receptor, Sex Peptide Receptor, in which we detect no evidence of correlated diversifying selection. Collectively, our work describes the divergent evolutionary trajectories that a novel gene has taken following its origin and finds a surprisingly weak coevolutionary signal between a supposedly sexually antagonistic protein and its receptor.

ABSTRACT Parasites may suppress the immune function of infected hosts using microRNAs (miRNAs) to prevent protein production. Nonetheless, little is known about the diversity of miRNAs and their mode(s) of action. In this study, we investigated the effects of infection by a parasitic lungworm (Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala) on miRNA and mRNA expression of its host, the invasive cane toad (Rhinella marina). To investigate the cane toad's innate and adaptive immune response to this parasite, we compared miRNA and mRNA expression in naïve toads that had never been infected by lungworms to toads that were infected with lungworms for the first time in their lives, and toads that were infected the second time in their lives (i.e., had two consecutive infections). In total, we identified 101 known miRNAs and 86 potential novel miRNAs. Compared to uninfected and single‐infection toads, multiple‐infection animals drastically downregulated three miRNAs. These miRNAs were associated with gene pathways related to the immune response, potentially reflecting the immunosuppression of cane toads by their parasites. Infected hosts did not respond with substantially differential mRNA transcription; only one gene was differentially expressed between control and single‐infection hosts. Our study suggests that miRNA may play an important role in mediating host–parasite interactions in a system in which an ongoing range expansion by the host has generated substantial divergence in host–parasite interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-society experimental setups are increasingly used to infer aspects of human behavioural evolution. A key part of human society today is our dependence on, and use of, technology–whether simple (such as a knife) or complex (such as the technology that underpins AI). Previously, two groups of researchers used an abstracted-wheel experiment to explore the evolution of human technical behaviour, reaching fundamentally different outcomes. Whereas one group saw their results as indicating social learning only (void of causal understanding), the other inferred non-social technical reasoning as part of human technical behaviour. Here we report on the third generation of the micro-society abstracted-wheel experiment. We argue that causal reasoning is inseparable from both social learning and technical reasoning, and that these traits probably co-evolved into the current human socio-technical niche. Based on our outcomes, we present a critical assessment of what this experiment may (or may not) reveal about the evolution of human technical behaviour. We show that the abstracted-wheel experiment reflects behavioural output only, instead of testing for cognition. It is therefore limited in its ability to inform on aspects of human cognitive evolution, but it can provide useful insights into the interrelatedness of social learning, technical reasoning, and causal reasoning. Such a co-evolutionary insight has the potential to inform on aspects of human socio-technical evolution throughout the Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addressed the characteristics of multi-objective, multi-variable, complex constraints, non-linear solution results and difficult solution process of urban water resources allocation issues in the new development stage. In response to the issues of unreasonable solution results, low computational efficiency and slow convergence of traditional optimization algorithms such as linear programming, dynamic programming and non-linear programming in solving water resources allocation issues, a multi-objective water resources allocation model based on coevolutionary particle swarm optimization (CPSO) was proposed. The water resources allocation model was built with the objective of maximising social, economic and ecological benefits, and water supply, water demand, water supply capacity and reservoir capacity by taking Zhengzhou as an example. Through inputting the water demand and water availability of each calculation unit and sector in Zhengzhou, the model calculated and output the proportion of water shortage in the nine districts of Zhengzhou in 2019 and 2035. The results show that the regional distribution of water supply in Zhengzhou City is relatively balanced, and the water shortage rate is within an acceptable range. The algorithm of this model has a fast evolutionary speed and good evolutionary stability. The advantageous results can be well preserved in the population and have strong dominance over the evolutionary direction. It can be effectively applied to solve water resources allocation issues and improve the computational efficiency of the model, providing technical support for water resources management departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories have been widely proposed and tested for impacts of soil nitrogen (N) on phytochemical defenses. Among the hundreds of distinct cardenolide toxins produced by milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), few contain N, yet these appear to be the most toxic against specialist herbivores. Because N- and non-N-cardenolides coexist in milkweed leaves and likely have distinct biosynthesis, they present an opportunity to address hypotheses about drivers of toxin expression. We tested effects of soil N and herbivore-damage on cardenolide profiles of two milkweed species differing in life-history strategies (Asclepias syriaca and A. curassavica), and the toxicity of their leaves. In particular leaf extracts were tested against the target enzymes (Na+/K+-ATPase extracted from neural tissue) from both monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) as well as less cardenolide-resistant queen butterflies, D. gilippus. Increasing soil N enhanced biomass of Asclepias syriaca but had weak effects on cardenolides, including causing a significant reduction in the N-cardenolide labriformin; feeding by monarch caterpillars strongly induced N-cardenolides (labriformin), its precursors, and total cardenolides. Conversely, soil N had little impact on A. curassavica biomass, but was the primary driver of increasing N-cardenolides (voruscharin, uscharin and their precursors); caterpillar induction was weak. Butterfly enzyme assays revealed damage-induced cardenolides substantially increased toxicity of both milkweeds to both butterflies, swamping out effects of soil N on cardenolide concentration and composition. Although these two milkweed species differentially responded to soil N with allocation to growth and specific cardenolides, leaf toxicity to butterfly Na+/K+-ATPases was primarily driven by herbivore-induced defense. Thus, both biotic and abiotic factors shape the composition of phytochemical defense expression, and their relative importance may be dictated by plant life-history differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals with close social relationships often have similar microbiomes. These socially structured microbiomes can arise through multiple mechanisms that are often difficult to disentangle, including transmission between social partners or via socially structured, shared environments. Here, we review evidence for socially structured microbiomes and propose methods to differentiate the mechanisms that give rise to them. We discuss the evolutionary implications of these mechanisms for both hosts and their microbiomes, including the possibility that social transmission selects for host-specialized microbiomes. We conclude by identifying outstanding questions related to social microbiomes and their implications for social evolution. We identify new or underutilized approaches like longitudinal study designs, strain-sharing analysis, and culture-based characterization to address these outstanding questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenetic comparative methods are important tools in biology, providing insights into the way traits evolve. There are many technical resources describing how these methods work. Our aim here is to complement these with an overview of the types of biological questions that can be addressed by different methods and to outline potential pitfalls and considerations when embarking on comparative studies. First, we introduce what comparative methods are and why they are important. Second, we outline how they can be used to understand when, where, and how frequently traits evolve. Third, we examine how the coevolution of traits within and between species can be studied, along with patterns of causality. Finally, we discuss how to approach comparative analyses and the ways in which different types of data, such as published relationships, omic, and remote sensing data, can be integrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intraspecific variability in parasite virulence holds significant ecological and evolutionary implications as it can result in uneven costs incurred by individuals of a host species. Obligate brood parasites, birds that lay their eggs in the nest of another species and do not raise their own young, differ in interspecific virulence, as some species kill all host nestmates directly while other species do not. However, variation in the intraspecific virulence of a brood-parasitic species has rarely been investigated. One source of this variability could arise through sexual size dimorphism, because many brood-parasitic species are sexually dimorphic in size starting at the nestling stage, and nestling size often impacts competitive ability in the brood. Here, we investigated the sex-specific effects of nestling brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater , on one of their hosts, the prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea. We predicted that larger male cowbird nestlings would cause host chicks to have lower survival and size and altered life history in the form of delayed fledging. Using experimentally parasitized broods, we found that although male brood-parasitic cowbird nestlings are heavier than females, there was no effect of cowbird sex on the survival, size or fledging phenology of the host nestlings. Furthermore, there were no differences in fledging phenology between the male and female cowbird chicks. Instead, we found that wing length, which was similar between the parasitic nestlings' sexes, was an important predictor for age and order of fledging. These findings show that the extent of development is critical for the timing of fledging of both parasitic and host species. Notably, the lack of effect of cowbird nestling sex on host chick survival and fledging suggests that the presence of a parasite is more influential for host nestlings than the size of parasites. • Nest-sharing obligate brood parasite chicks often outcompete smaller host nestmates. • Several brood-parasitic species display sexual size dimorphism at the chick stage. • Sex-specific virulence of larger male parasitic chicks could affect host demography. • Parasitic chick sex did not affect host chick survival or fledging. • Parasites decreased host chick survival and delayed fledging regardless of mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: How does the interaction between time and knowledge affect the evolution of organizations? Past research in organizational evolution has mostly investigated time and knowledge as two separate variables. In contrast, theoretical perspectives integrating these variables are still seemingly scant. The authors believe that filling this literature gap needs attention. Thus, this study aims to contribute by developing a conceptual framework. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual study. The framework is centred on the concept of "co-evolutionary time", which the authors explain through a business example from the tourism industry. Supported by a narrative-based style, from a methodological point of view the framework is featured by the attempt to synthesize specific, extant literature into new theoretical development. Findings: As its main theoretical contribution, the co-evolutionary time suggests how firms can adapt in a way that, from an evolutionary perspective, proves fitting both in terms of contents and methods, thus opening possibilities for new long-term social construction and reconstruction. As its main practical contribution, co-evolutionary time can constitute not only a temporary source of organizational success and competitive advantage but also an agent of enduring change and long-term business survival. Originality/value: As its main novelty, the framework is developed through merging two literature streams. In particular, the authors first consider the literature about time, with a focus on its objective and subjective dimensions. The authors then consider the literature about organizational evolution, with a focus on the co-evolutionary nature of the firm/environment relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium species are the dominant cause of maize ear rot, but they also inflict serious damage to the roots and stalks. Theoretically, the organ where the host interacts with the pathogen most frequently should exhibit the highest degree of symptom-genotype correlation. Because that symptom-genotype correlation is an indicator reflecting the degree of coevolution between pathogen and its hosts. We wonder which organ is the main battlefield for the antagonism between maize and Fusarium. For this purpose, 43 isolates of Fusarium were isolated from infected maize ears. Fusarium verticillioides and F. graminearum are the two dominant pathogens, accounting for 44% and 30%, respectively. Furthermore, 14 elite maize inbreds were exposed to 43 Fusarium isolates and the symptoms of ear rot, stalk rot and root rot were investigated. In general, symptoms caused by F. graminearum were significantly more severe than those caused by other Fusarium species. Surprisingly, the genotype of F. verticillioides showed a strong correlation with stalk and root rot, but not with ear rot. Accordingly, our study may provide the first evidence that the stalk and root of maize, rather than the ear, is the main battlefield for the coevolution between maize and F. verticillioides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clevelandellids are highly diversified and widespread unicellular eukaryotic organisms inhabiting the digestive tract of a broad spectrum of invertebrates and vertebrates. Time‐calibrated phylogeny of clevelandellids was built to reconstruct their ancestral hosts using stochastic mapping, investigate their coevolution with animal hosts using an event‐based tree reconciliation approach and examine the impact of hosts on their diversification dynamics and molecular evolution using the MuSSE method and phylogenetic regression. The progenitor of the analysed representatives of the order Clevelandellida colonized the hindgut of anurans in the Late Jurassic. Later on, clevelandellids switched from anuran to other terrestrial poikilotherm vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Panesthiine cockroaches served as a source for at least four independent colonization waves into millipedes and non‐panesthiine cockroaches. Duplication events, duplications followed by host switching and inertia were recognized as the most relevant coevolutionary processes shaping the common history of clevelandellids and their animal hosts over geological time. Clevelandellids associated with panesthiine cockroaches were revealed to have significantly higher net‐diversification rates than ciliates living in millipedes, non‐panesthiine cockroaches and poikilotherm vertebrates. Clevelandellids show some interesting macroevolutionary trends, including clustering specific for higher taxa of their hosts, no backward transfers from invertebrate to vertebrate hosts and host‐dependent diversification dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria, the cellular powerhouses with bacterial evolutionary origins, play a pivotal role in maintaining neuronal function and cognitive health. Several viruses have developed sophisticated mechanisms to target and disrupt mitochondrial function which contribute to cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. The interplay between viruses and mitochondria might be traced to their co-evolutionary history with bacteria and may reflect ancient interactions that have shaped modern mitochondrial biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial function relies on the coordinated expression of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, exhibiting remarkable resilience despite high mitochondrial mutation rates. The nuclear compensation mechanism suggests deleterious mitochondrial alleles drive compensatory nuclear mutations to preserve mito-nuclear compatibility. However, prevalence and factors conditioning this phenomenon remain debated due to its conflicting evidence. Here, we investigate how mito-nuclear incompatibilities impact substitutions in a model for species radiation. Mating success depends on genetic compatibility (nuclear DNA) and spatial proximity. Populations evolve from partially compatible mito-nuclear states, simulating mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) introgression. Mutations do not confer advantages nor disadvantages, but individual fecundity declines with increasing incompatibilities, selecting for mito-nuclear coordination. We find that selection for mito-nuclear compatibility affects each genome differently based on their initial state. In compatible gene pairs, selection reduces substitutions in both genomes, while in incompatible nuclear genes, it consistently promotes compensation, facilitated by more mismatches. Interestingly, high mitochondrial mutation rates can reduce nuclear compensation by increasing mtDNA rectification, while substitutions in initially compatible nuclear gene are boosted. Finally, the presence of incompatibilities accelerates species radiation, but equilibrium richness is not directly correlated to substitution rates, revealing the complex dynamics triggered by mitochondrial introgression and mito-nuclear coevolution. Our study provides a perspective on nuclear compensation and the role of mito-nuclear incompatibilities in speciation by exploring extreme scenarios and identifying trends that empirical data alone cannot reveal. We emphasize the challenges in detecting these dynamics and propose analyzing specific genomic signatures could shed light on this evolutionary process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly studies the convergence of time-varying discrete-time Altafini model. Firstly, we convert the bipartite consensus of the Altafini model with n nodes into consensus of the DeGroot model with $ 2n $ 2 n nodes by adopting lifting approach. Secondly, based on structural balance theory and node relabelling theory, the consensus of enlarged DeGroot model can be further equivalently converted into the consensus of one simple DeGroot model with n nodes. Thirdly, by using the equivalent transformation and the ergodic coefficient theory, we change the sufficient condition from 'repeatedly jointly strongly connected' graphs to 'repeatedly jointly scrambling' graphs, and verify that the new condition also can lead to the bipartite consensus of the Altafini model. This novel criterion allows for determining the bipartite consensus of the Altafini model without the condition of 'repeatedly jointly strongly connected' graphs. Next, we provide a concise proof for the case of opinions converging to 0 with the condition of 'repeatedly jointly strongly connected' by the ergodic coefficient theory. Finally, we develop a reasonable coevolution model to illustrate the effectiveness and strong applicability of our main theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antagonistic co-evolution can be asymmetric, where one species lags behind another. Asymmetry in a predator–prey context is expressed by the 'life–dinner principle', a classic informal model predicting that prey should be in some sense ahead in this arms race, since prey are running for their lives, while predators lag as they only run for their dinner. The model has undergone surprisingly little theoretical scrutiny. We derive analytical models that show coevolutionary outcomes do not always align with the life–dinner principle. Our results show that other important asymmetries can easily reverse the outcome, especially the rare-enemy principle: predators are usually outnumbered by their prey, sometimes substantially (trophic asymmetry), which can make selection on prey relatively weak. We additionally show that the antagonists typically exhibit different evolutionary responses to a situation where both predator and prey start out as equally fast runners. Although predators sometimes become so efficient that attacks always succeed, attack success often reaches a stable intermediate value. We conclude that the life–dinner principle has some validity as a metaphor, but its effect is of an 'all else being equal' type, which is surprisingly easily overridden by other features of the evolutionary dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungus-farming ants cultivate multiple lineages of fungi for food, but, because fungal cultivar relationships are largely unresolved, the history of fungus-ant coevolution remains poorly known. We designed probes targeting >2000 gene regions to generate a dated evolutionary tree for 475 fungi and combined it with a similarly generated tree for 276 ants. We found that fungus-ant agriculture originated ~66 million years ago when the end-of-Cretaceous asteroid impact temporarily interrupted photosynthesis, causing global mass extinctions but favoring the proliferation of fungi. Subsequently, ~27 million years ago, one ancestral fungal cultivar population became domesticated, i.e., obligately mutualistic, when seasonally dry habitats expanded in South America, likely isolating the cultivar population from its free-living, wet forest-dwelling conspecifics. By revealing these and other major transitions in fungus-ant coevolution, our results clarify the historical processes that shaped a model system for nonhuman agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Competition is often proposed to drive niche segregation along multiple axes in speciose communities. Understanding spatial partitioning of foraging areas is particularly important in species that are constrained to a central place. We present a natural experiment examining variation in habitat preferences of congeneric Southern Ocean predators in sympatry and allopatry. Our aim was to ascertain consistency of habitat preferences within species, and to test whether preferences changed in the presence of the congener. Location: Southern Hemisphere. Taxon: Multiple colonies of both species within the genus Phoebetria (sooty albatrosses). Methods: The two Phoebetria albatrosses breed on islands located from ~37–55°S – sooty albatrosses (P. fusca) in the north and light‐mantled albatrosses (P. palpebrata) in the south – with sympatric overlap at locations ~46–49°S. We analysed GPS and PTT tracks from 87 individuals and multiple remotely sensed environmental variables using GAMs, to determine and compare the key factors influencing habitat preference for each species at each breeding colony. Results: While foraging habitat preferences are consistent in light‐mantled albatrosses, there is divergence of preferences in sooty albatrosses depending on whether they are in sympatry with their congener or in allopatry. Main Conclusions: This study represents the most comprehensive work on this genus to date and highlights how habitat preferences and behavioural plasticity may influence species distributions under different competitive conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) frequently exchange data through the Internet by comprising a complex network of smart devices. However, various vulnerabilities of IoT applications are observed which shall keep IoT as a technology in danger. Therefore, IoT applications should go through rigorous testing at the network edge. Python is widely used for programming IoT devices as well as developing the corresponding back-end at the network edge. Due to the difficulty of static program analysis on dynamic languages, the quality of test code in Python libraries for IoT development faces a serious threat, which in turn affects the performance of IoT applications. In order to evaluate test quality of Python libraries for IoT applications, we propose a test analysis framework named Pysta. It uses a hybrid analysis engine to support the multi-dimensional evaluation of Python test code. Based on Pysta, we then conduct an empirical study on test quality in eight Python libraries which are widely used for IoT development to investigate test code composition, test objects, test co-evolution, and test code smells. The study results reveal the major problems and challenge in the tests of Python libraries for IoT applications, including low naming consistency, single form of assertion, lacking edge tests, low test coverage in large-scale projects, delaying test co-evolution, and various code smells in tests. This work can inspire researchers and developers on how to improve test quality of IoT applications and further reduce security risks associated with IoT systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the overcome the problem of the slow convergence speed and low precision of ant colony algorithm in solving TSP (Traveling Salesman Problem), a heterogeneous ant optimization based on dynamic entropy evolution is proposed. In this algorithm, a heterogeneous double population is comprised of ACS (Ant Colony System) and MMAS (Max Min Ant System), which is helpful to promote the complementary advantages between the populations. And the dynamic entropy evolution strategy is introduced to dynamically control the communication frequency between the populations by information entropy. The pheromones of the two populations optimal common paths are fused to adjust the distribution of pheromones on the optimal paths of the low entropy populations, thereby effectively preserving the historical search information of the two populations and accelerating the convergence of the algorithm. The non common path of the optimal solution of low entropy population is pseudo initialized to expand its search range near the optimal solution and improve the accuracy of the solution, so as to realize the co evolution of two populations. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively balance the relationship between algorithm diversity and convergence when solving large-scale traveling salesman problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sexually reproducing animals, genital morphology is usually divergent among closely related species, which can lead to a mismatch of genital coupling (i.e. mechanical isolation). The montium species group of the subgenus Sophophora is the largest clade in Drosophila and is a useful model in which to study the evolution of genital morphology. This group includes a pair of sister clades, i.e. the Drosophila auraria and Drosophila rufa species complexes. The former includes four species with overlapping distributions, and the latter consists of five species that are almost allopatric. The previous study on the D. auraria complex suggested genital co-evolution between sexes (female structures accepting for or protecting from male structures). To test the generality, we analysed the D. rufa complex and three outgroup species. In the D. rufa complex, we detected genital structures corresponding between sexes, and copulatory wounds with species-specific positions. Given that approximately the same number of evolutionary changes in the genital traits were detected in both sexes of the two clades, we conclude that selection pressure to avoid interspecific mating (reproductive character displacement) is not a prerequisite for rapid genital co-evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB, Oryctes rhinoceros) is a palm tree pest capable of rapidly expanding its population in new territories. Previous studies identified a digestive symbiosis between CRB and its gut microbes. However, no research compared the genetic variation of CRBs with their hindgut microbiota on a global scale. This study aims to investigate the genetic divergence of CRB and the compositional variation of CRB's microbiota across different geographical locations, and explore the association between them and their predicted functional profiles and environmental data. The research reveals a distinct and consistent microbial community within local populations, but it varies across different geographical populations. The microbial functional profiles linked to the production of digestive enzymes, including cellulases and ligninases, are nonetheless globally conserved. This suggests that CRBs employ specific mechanisms to select and maintain microbes with functional benefits, contributing to host adaptability, stress tolerance, and fitness. The CRB microbial communities did not appear to recapitulate the genetic variation of their hosts. Rather than depend on obligate symbionts, CRBs seem to establish similar digestive associations with whatever environmentally acquired microbes are available wherever they are, aiding them in successfully establishing after invading a new location. IMPORTANCE Coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRBs) are notorious pests on Arecaceae plants, posing destructive threats to countries highly reliant on coconut, oil palm, and date palm as economic crops. In the last century, CRBs have rapidly expanded their presence to territories that were once free of these beetles. The United States, for instance, has officially designated CRBs as invasive and alien pests. Given their remarkable ability to swiftly adapt to new environments, their gut microbes may play a crucial role in this process. While the microbiota of CRBs vary depending on geographical location, these beetles consistently exhibit a functionally identical digestive association with locally acquired microbes. This underscores the significance of CRB-microbe association in shaping the adaptive strategies of this agricultural pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the coevolution of coauthorship and citation networks and their influence on scientific metrics such as the h-index and journal impact factors. Using a preferential attachment mechanism, we developed a model that integrated these networks and validated it with data from the American Physical Society (APS). While the correlations between reference counts, paper lifetime, and team sizes with scientific impact metrics are well-known, our findings demonstrate how these relationships vary depending on specific model parameters. For instance, increasing reference counts or reducing paper lifetime significantly boosts both journal impact factors and h-indexes, while expanding team sizes without adding new authors can artificially inflate h-indexes. These results highlight potential vulnerabilities in commonly used metrics and emphasize the value of modeling and simulation for improving bibliometric evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals that consume toxic diets provide models for understanding the molecular and physiological adaptations to ecological challenges. Garter snakes (Thamnophis) in western North America prey on Pacific newts (Taricha), which employ tetrodotoxin (TTX) as an antipredator defense. These snakes possess mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav), the molecular targets of TTX, that decrease the binding ability of TTX to sodium channels (target-site resistance). However, genetic variation at these loci that cannot explain all the phenotypic variation in TTX resistance in Thamnophis. We explored a separate means of resistance, toxin metabolism, to determine if TTX-resistant snakes either rapidly remove TTX or sequester TTX. We examined the metabolism and distribution of TTX in the body (toxicokinetics), to determine differences between TTX-resistant and TTX-sensitive snakes in the rates at which TTX is eliminated from organs and the whole body (using TTX half-life as our metric). We assayed TTX half-life in snakes from TTX-resistant and TTX-sensitive populations of three garter snake species with a coevolutionary history with newts (T. atratus, T. couchii, T. sirtalis), as well as two non-resistant "outgroup" species (T. elegans, Pituophis catenifer) that seldom (if ever) engage newts. We found TTX half-life varied across species, populations, and tissues. Interestingly, TTX half-life was shortest in T. elegans and P. catenifer compared to all other snakes. Furthermore, TTX-resistant populations of T. couchii and T. sirtalis eliminated TTX faster (shorter TTX half-life) than their TTX-sensitive counterparts, while populations of TTX-resistant and TTX-sensitive T. atratus showed no difference rates of TTX removal (same TTX half-life). The ability to rapidly eliminate TTX may have permitted increased prey consumption, which may have promoted the evolution of additional resistance mechanisms. Finally, snakes still retain substantial amounts of TTX, and we projected that snakes could be dangerous to their own predators days to weeks following the ingestion of a single newt. Thus, aspects of toxin metabolism may have been key in driving predator–prey relationships, and important in determining other ecological interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sperm function is suggested to evolve by sexual selection but is also reduced by microbial damage. Here, we provide experimental evidence that male fertility can adapt to microbes. We found that in vivo, male fertility was reduced by one-fifth if sperm encountered microbes in the females that they had not previously been exposed to, compared to sperm from males that coevolved with these microbes. The female immune system activation reduced male fertility by an additional 13 percentage points. For noncoevolved males, fertility was larger if microbes were injected into females after they had stored away the sperm, indicating microbial protection as a previously unrecognized benefit of female sperm storage. Both medical and evolutionary research on reproductive health and fertility will benefit from considering our findings that the impact of microbes on sperm depends on their joint evolutionary history. Our results may assist in reconciling contradictory results of sexually transmitted disease effects on sperm and bring empirical realism to a recently proposed role of locally adapted reproductive microbiomes to speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technology has influenced, constrained, guided, and even dominated modern combat methods. Especially in the field of command and control(C2), artificial intelligence technology deeply influences various elements and links of C2 activities through C2 systems and equipment. However, due to the novelty of artificial intelligence technology and the specificity of military systems, the impact of artificial intelligence on C2 is difficult to explicitly capture and measure during non war periods. This article systematically explores the mechanism of the role of artificial intelligence in the field of C2 from four aspects: the relationship between artificial intelligence and C2, the ways in which artificial intelligence affects the elements of C2, the trends in the impact of artificial intelligence on C2, and the risks and challenges faced by the co-evolution of artificial intelligence and C2. The conclusion drawn can assist military personnel in better controlling the battlefield, controlling war, and facing the challenges of war in the intelligent era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence of bacteriophages driving microbial community composition from natural examples, such as cholera outbreaks, during phage therapy, experiments, and mathematical models. However, many studies suggest little or no role of phages in shaping community dynamics, suggesting that viruses may instead follow microbial population dynamics. Evidence from coevolutionary studies suggests that phages may have a greater role in shaping composition at the strain rather than the species level (where evolutionary mechanisms predominate). Phages are most likely to affect community composition when encounter rates with susceptible hosts is high, over short timescales with novel phage, and in relatively simple communities. The ubiquity of bacteriophages (phages) and the major evolutionary and ecological impacts they can have on their microbial hosts has resulted in phages often cited as key drivers shaping microbial community composition (the relative abundances of species). However, the evidence for the importance of phages is mixed. Here, we critically review the theory and data exploring the role of phages in communities, identifying the conditions when phages are likely to be important drivers of community composition. At ecological scales, we conclude that phages are often followers rather than drivers of microbial population and community dynamics. While phages can affect strain diversity within species, there is yet to be strong evidence suggesting that fluctuations in species' strains affects community composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant–hummingbird interactions are considered a classic example of coevolution, a process in which mutually dependent species influence each other's evolution. Plants depend on hummingbirds for pollination, whereas hummingbirds rely on nectar for food. As a step towards understanding coevolution, this review focuses on the macroevolutionary consequences of plant–hummingbird interactions, a relatively underexplored area in the current literature. We synthesize prior studies, illustrating the origins and dynamics of hummingbird pollination across different angiosperm clades previously pollinated by insects (mostly bees), bats, and passerine birds. In some cases, the crown age of hummingbirds pre‐dates the plants they pollinate. In other cases, plant groups transitioned to hummingbird pollination early in the establishment of this bird group in the Americas, with the build‐up of both diversities coinciding temporally, and hence suggesting co‐diversification. Determining what triggers shifts to and away from hummingbird pollination remains a major open challenge. The impact of hummingbirds on plant diversification is complex, with many tropical plant lineages experiencing increased diversification after acquiring flowers that attract hummingbirds, and others experiencing no change or even a decrease in diversification rates. This mixed evidence suggests that other extrinsic or intrinsic factors, such as local climate and isolation, are important covariables driving the diversification of plants adapted to hummingbird pollination. To guide future studies, we discuss the mechanisms and contexts under which hummingbirds, as a clade and as individual species (e.g. traits, foraging behaviour, degree of specialization), could influence plant evolution. We conclude by commenting on how macroevolutionary signals of the mutualism could relate to coevolution, highlighting the unbalanced focus on the plant side of the interaction, and advocating for the use of species‐level interaction data in macroevolutionary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a digital technology multilayer convergence network model to explore the mechanisms of digital technology convergence. The analysis is based on patent data from China's A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2021. The results show a continuous increase in network scale and structural complexity, with intensified cross-domain interactions. The company collaboration subnetwork evolved from decentralization to a more centralized structure, while the technology convergence subnetwork expanded and became increasingly complex. Core technologies maintained dominant positions, and the co-evolution between companies and technologies showed sustained development. This study reveals intricate interdependencies between technological convergence and company collaboration, providing theoretical insights and practical implications for digital technology innovation and strategic decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interspecific introgression is a potentially important source of novel variation of adaptive significance. Although multiple cases of adaptive introgression are well documented, broader generalizations about its targets and mechanisms are lacking. Multiallelic balancing selection, particularly when acting through rare allele advantage, is an evolutionary mechanism expected to favor adaptive introgression. This is because introgressed alleles are likely to confer an immediate selective advantage, facilitating their establishment in the recipient species even in the face of strong genomic barriers to introgression. Vertebrate major histocompatibility complex genes are well-established targets of long-term multiallelic balancing selection, so widespread adaptive major histocompatibility complex introgression is expected. Here, we evaluate this hypothesis using data from 29 hybrid zones formed by fish, amphibians, squamates, turtles, birds, and mammals at advanced stages of speciation. The key prediction of more extensive major histocompatibility complex introgression compared to genome-wide introgression was tested with three complementary statistical approaches. We found evidence for widespread adaptive introgression of major histocompatibility complex genes, providing a link between the process of adaptive introgression and an underlying mechanism. Our work identifies major histocompatibility complex introgression as a general mechanism by which species can acquire novel, and possibly regain previously lost, variation that may enhance defense against pathogens and increase adaptive potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a symptom of the current global climate emergency, rising temperatures pervade organizational lives. Yet organization studies have hardly investigated the everyday organizing necessary to cope and adapt, here and now, to life in a world approaching and even surpassing 50°C. This article seeks to open spaces of collective inquiry to grapple with practices of organizational co-evolution with heat. I apply Barad's post-humanist notion of diffraction—patterns of interference in entangled agency—through warming organizations, as rising temperatures intra-act with the matter, materials, bodies, and discourses that co-constitute them. Diffractive inquiry helps organization studies understand how rising heat alters and amplifies bodily differences across families, communities, firms, societies, and ecologies. This post-humanist view forces us to rethink theories of organizational resilience, inequality, and identity in co-evolution with heat and other ecological phenomena as part of a relational whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we delved into the interaction between corallivorous marine gastropods, the muricid Coralliophilinae Chenu, 1859, and their cnidarian food targets. Coralliophilinae is a subfamily of specialised corallivorous caenogastropods that feed by browsing on octocorals or hexacorals. Only sparse information is available on the phylogenetic relationships and the degree of specificity of the trophic relationships within this corallivorous lineage. To address these gaps, we generated the largest molecular dataset to date, comprising two mitochondrial (cox1 and 16S rDNA) and one nuclear gene (ITS2 rDNA) from 586 specimens collected worldwide. The coral hosts of coralliophilines were identified through an integrative approach, combining literature data with new records, employing morphological and/or molecular markers, and incorporating data from DNA barcoding of the snail stomach content. Our comprehensive approach unveiled the existence of numerous cryptic species in Coralliophilinae, while the phylogeny showed that most of the currently accepted genera are not monophyletic. The molecular dating confirmed the origin of the Coralliophilinae in Middle Eocene, with diversification of most lineages during the Miocene. Our results indicate that the subfamily's ancestor evolved in shallow waters in association with Scleractinia. Through the evolutionary history of Coralliophilinae, multiple host shifts to other cnidarian orders were observed, not correlated with changes in the depth range. The results of diversification analyses within the subfamily further suggest that the association with the host has influenced the evolutionary patterns of Coralliophilinae, but not vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout evolution, protein families undergo substantial sequence divergence while preserving structure and function. Although most mutations are deleterious, evolution can explore sequence space via epistatic networks of intramolecular interactions that alleviate the harmful mutations. However, comprehensive analysis of such epistatic networks across protein families remains limited. Thus, we conduct a family wide analysis of the B1 metallo-β-lactamases, combining experiments (deep mutational scanning, DMS) on two distant homologs (NDM-1 and VIM-2) and computational analyses (in silico DMS based on Direct Coupling Analysis, DCA) of 100 homologs. The methods jointly reveal and quantify prevalent epistasis, as ~1/3rd of equivalent mutations are epistatic in DMS. From DCA, half of the positions have a >6.5 fold difference in effective number of tolerated mutations across the entire family. Notably, both methods locate residues with the strongest epistasis in regions of intermediate residue burial, suggesting a balance of residue packing and mutational freedom in forming epistatic networks. We identify entrenched WT residues between NDM-1 and VIM-2 in DMS, which display statistically distinct behaviors in DCA from non-entrenched residues. Entrenched residues are not easily compensated by changes in single nearby interactions, reinforcing existing findings where a complex epistatic network compounds smaller effects from many interacting residues. Combining computation and experimentation, the authors reveal prevalent epistatic patterns of the highly diverged B1 β-lactamase family. Both methods locate residues with the strongest epistasis in regions of intermediate residue burial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combine unsupervised machine learning and econometric methods to study England's print culture in the pivotal sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Machine learning synthesizes the content of 57,863 texts comprising 83 million words into 110 topics. Topics include the expected, such as Natural Philosophy, and the unexpected, such as Baconian Theology. Timelines suggest that religious and political discourse gradually became less antagonistic and economic topics more prominent. The epistemology associated with Bacon was present in theological debates already before Bacon's epistemological contributions. Vector autoregression estimates provide insight into the coevolution of ideas on religion, science, and institutions. Innovations in religious ideas stimulated focus on science, especially at times when Puritanism was prominent in religious discourse. Neither science nor institutional thought evidence secularization. The Glorious Revolution and the Civil War did not spur debates on institutions nor did the founding of the Royal Society markedly elevate attention to science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In ecological networks, cohesive groups of species may shape the evolution of interactions, serving as coevolutionary units. Ranging across network scales, from motifs to isolated components, elucidating which cohesive groups are more determinant for coevolution remains a challenge in ecology. We address this challenge by integrating 376 empirical mutualistic and antagonistic networks and coevolutionary models. We identified cohesive groups at four network scales containing a significant proportion of potential direct coevolutionary effects. Cohesive groups displayed hierarchical organisation, and potential coevolutionary effects overflowing lower‐scale groups were contained by higher‐scale groups, underscoring the hierarchy's impact. However, indirect coevolutionary effects blurred group boundaries and hierarchy, particularly under strong selection from ecological interactions. Thus, under strong selection, indirect effects render networks themselves, and not cohesive groups, as the likely coevolutionary units of ecological systems. We hypothesise hierarchical cohesive groups to also shape how other forms of direct and indirect effects propagate in ecological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harrison's Rule (HR) postulates a positive allometry between host and parasite body sizes. We tested HR for Syringophilid quill mites parasitizing birds. Using host body mass and parasite body length as size indices, this pattern was absent in the Syringophilidae family and the Syringophilinae subfamily as a whole. However, when considering the parasite genera as units of study, as proposed originally by Harrison, we found that host body mass positively correlates with both male and female parasite body length in seven genera (Aulobia, Aulonastus, Neoaulonastus, Picobia, Neopicobia, Syringophilopsis, and Torotrogla). Most of these relationships were non-significant. On the contrary, male and female Syringophiloidus mites exhibited negative relationships with host mass (both non-significant). This apparent contradiction disappeared when we applied wing length as an index of host body size. Since species of this genus are specific to the host flight feathers (secondaries and also primaries), wing length is a more meaningful index of host body size than body mass. Overall, most cases corresponded to the positive direction predicted by Harrison when examined on the genus level. This finding also implies a surprising reliability of the genus concept, at least in this group of ectoparasites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic compounds (phenolics) are secondary metabolites ubiquitous across plants. The earliest phenolics are linked to plants' successful transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment, serving as protection against damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and as antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress in an atmosphere with an increasingly high O2:CO2 ratio. In modern plants, phenolics are best known for the defense against fungal and bacterial pathogens and as antifeedants that deter herbivory. Phenolics also play a role in seed dormancy, delaying germination, and lengthening viability in the seed bank. Many plants' seeds are endozoochorous – dispersed by animals, like birds, who eat and later excrete the seeds. Plants send visual signals to attract birds with UV‐sensitive (UVS) vision for pollination and seed dispersal. As fruits ripen, antioxidant activity and phenolic content decrease. The waxy cuticle of fruits increases in UV reflection as phenolic rings, which absorb UV light, degrade. The UV contrast that birds detect may act as an honest signal, indicating nutritional changes in the fruit. However, there is little evidence to support the evolution of UV coloration during ripening being driven by frugivore selection. Antioxidant properties of fruit phenolics may be dually adaptive in plants and avian frugivores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coevolution is often found in parasite–host interactions, but has not yet been described for hemiparasitic plants and their hosts. Root hemiparasites like Rhinanthus alectorolophus perform photosynthesis but also parasitize other plant species, some of which (e.g. Plantago lanceolata) may defend themselves against parasite attack by blocking the haustoria of the parasites. We grew seedlings of the hemiparasite R. alectorolophus and the potential host P. lanceolata from seven grassland sites in a factorial design. To detect differences in host defence, we also included hosts from two 'naïve' populations from regions where the parasite does not occur. R. alectorolophus grew consistently larger and had higher fitness with sympatric than with allopatric hosts, suggesting parasite adaptation to local host populations. Moreover, R. alectorolophus remained smallest with allopatric hosts from the same region and reached intermediate sizes with allopatric hosts from other regions or naïve hosts, suggesting host adaptation to parasites at the regional scale. Parasite presence reduced the size of the host plants already after four weeks, but only that of hosts with 'experience' of the parasite, suggesting an early host response. Follow‐up experiments confirmed that parasites attach to hosts already after four weeks and hosts respond by changing belowground allocation patterns. However, parasite roots did not preferentially grow towards sympatric hosts. Our results suggest that local adaptation to hosts can occur even in generalist parasites and does not require specialization on individual hosts. We discuss the role of potential mechanisms, including variation in chemical signalling (early) and in host defence (late effects). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutualisms constitute a diverse class of ecologically important interactions, yet their ecological and evolutionary stability remain topics of debate in coevolutionary theory. Recent theoretical and empirical work has suggested that coevolutionary arms races may be involved in the maintenance of mutualistic interactions, sustaining mutually beneficial outcomes for interacting species while producing exaggerated traits. Here we present an individual-based model that evaluates how asynchronous life histories—that is, partners with different average lifespans—change the dynamics of trait coevolution, the expected fitness outcomes for species involved, and the dynamics of selection differentials across time for each species. Results indicate that a longer-lived mutualist will consistently "lose" an otherwise balanced coevolutionary arms race, being outpaced in both the mean trait value and fitness outcome compared with a shorter-lived partner. Furthermore, linear selection differentials on mutualistic traits become increasingly divergent as life histories become increasingly asynchronous, with the longer-lived species experiencing persistent directional selection and the shorter-lived species experiencing weaker, more inconsistent selection. These results suggest that asynchronous life histories can complicate the maintenance of mutualistic interactions via coevolutionary arms races and that detecting coevolution via selection differentials may be difficult when life histories are sufficiently divergent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How often males and females need to mate to maximize their fitness is a source of sexual conflict in animals. Sexual conflict over mating frequency can lead to antagonistic coevolution in which males employ tactics to coerce females into mating, while females resist or evade mating attempts by males. Here, we report on a novel burying behavior observed in female northern map turtles (Graptemys geographica) in Opinicon Lake, Ontario, Canada that appears to function as a tactic to avoid male detection during the mating season. Underwater videos indicated that females are heavily solicited during the mating season with over half the females being actively pursued by males. Biologgers indicated that females are less active and remain deeper than males during the mating season. Our data strongly suggest that female northern map turtles avoid intense solicitation and potential harassment by males by burying themselves in lake sediments. This behavior appears to be a low‐cost solution for females to reduce the costs of resistance and mating while they are constrained to habitats with high male densities for overwintering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antagonistic coevolution, arising from genetic conflict, can drive rapid evolution and biological innovation. Conflict can arise both between organisms and within genomes. This review focuses on budding yeasts as a model system for exploring intra- and inter-genomic genetic conflict, highlighting in particular the 2-micron (2μ) plasmid as a model selfish element. The 2μ is found widely in laboratory strains and industrial isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has long been known to cause host fitness defects. Nevertheless, the plasmid is frequently ignored in the context of genetic, fitness, and evolution studies. Here, I make a case for further exploring the evolutionary impact of the 2μ plasmid as well as other selfish elements of budding yeasts, discuss recent advances, and, finally, future directions for the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees, as long-lived, sessile, and slowly evolving organisms, are disproportionally impacted by the impacts of climate change. Gradual and ongoing selective pressures over extended geologic timescales has provided coevolutionary opportunity for both the tree and its microbiome (holobiont) to improve tree fitness under changing conditions. This coevolution of the holobiont could infer phenological plasticity to trees to adapt to rapid climate shifts expected in the Anthropocene. Systems-based approaches founded on complex systems sciences, holobiome theory, combined with an understanding of coevolutionary history and application of suitable model systems will expose more opportunities to manipulate the holobiont and help us to grow climate-resilient trees and forests. Understanding the complex relationships between plants, their microbiomes, and environmental changes is crucial for improving growth and survival, especially for long-lived tree species. Trees, like other plants, maintain close associations with a multitude of microorganisms on and within their tissues, forming a 'holobiont'. However, a comprehensive framework for detailed tree–microbiome dynamics, and the implications for climate adaptation, is currently lacking. This review identifies gaps in the existing literature, emphasizing the need for more research to explore the coevolution of the holobiont and the full extent of climate change impact on tree growth and survival. Advancing our knowledge of plant–microbial interactions presents opportunities to enhance tree adaptability and mitigate adverse impacts of climate changes on trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the scientific and practical problem of increasing the energy and resource efficiency of chemical and technological processes to produce phosphorite pellets from waste apatite–nepheline ores. A promising way to solve this problem is to find the optimal temperature regime for heating the charge in a roasting conveyor machine. The specifics of the optimization problem posed (nonlinearity of the objective function, large dimension of the search space, high computational complexity) determine the advisability of using stochastic methods, particularly the bee colony algorithm. To determine the values of "free" parameters that significantly affect the convergence of the algorithm, it was proposed to use the idea of coevolution, which consists in parallel running of several canonical bee colony algorithms with different "settings" for each subpopulation. Control of the chemical–technological system based on the results obtained will ensure energy-resource-saving operating conditions for the roasting conveyor machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To unravel the roots of the relationship between the individualism–collectivism dimension of culture (IC) and market-supporting institutions, we develop a model where the two interact and coevolve. IC and institutions are related indirectly via social organization: agents settle either in the Town, a loose organization where they work independently, or in the Clan, a cohesive organization where they engage in collective work. The town's relative economic potential positively affects the town's size and institutional quality. A larger town then renders society more individualistic, which attracts even more agents to the town and improves its institutional quality. The resulting positive feedback loop drives societies toward different steady states. If the town's relative economic potential is sufficiently high, the society converges to a steady state with a completely individualistic culture, high institutional quality, and a large town. Otherwise, the society converges to a steady state with a completely collectivistic culture, weak institutions, and a large clan. We conclude that contemporary IC and institutions exhibit path dependence and are thus related to the historical exogenous conditions in each region. Using current and historical data, we provide empirical evidence supporting our model. In addition, we apply the model to discuss the historical divergence between China and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil's Northeast region (BRN), especially the state of Ceará (CE), has dealt historically with severe drought events since the late 1800s, which commonly led to catastrophic impacts of mass migration and deaths of thousands of people. Throughout the last century, the "Droughts Polygon" region experienced an intense infrastructural development, with the expansion of a dense network of reservoirs. This paper presents a parsimonious hydrologic modeling approach to investigate the 100‐year (1920–2020) evolution of the hydrology of the 24,500 km2 Upper Jaguaribe Basin, throughout the development of a dense reservoir network. We aimed at reproducing the hydrology at the basin scale and analyzed the outcomes of reservoir expansion in terms of water fluxes and water security. Our model's structure captured the growth in reservoir count and storage capacity, which was then confronted with an evolving water demand, allowing us to estimate how water security (i.e., proportion of demand being met) varied over the 100‐year period. Significant streamflow reduction at the basin's outlet and increase in evaporation losses, associated with a decrease in streamflow at varying exceedance frequencies were observed at the end of the study period. While reservoir expansion allowed for the transition from complete vulnerability to meteorological droughts to increased levels of water security, drought impacts had, in the meantime, disproportionally intensified, especially in reservoirs of medium to small capacities. Smaller reservoirs are suggested to have played the role of distributing water resources throughout the region, while larger reservoirs were more efficient as tools to promote water security. Plain Language Summary: Brazil's Northeast region is known to suffer from severe droughts since colonial times. The state of Ceará is perhaps the best representation of how hydraulic interventions were used in the last century to mitigate water scarcity in Brazil's semi‐arid. Recently, the debate on how widespread construction of reservoirs can lead to unintended (negative) consequences in terms of water provisioning has been the brought to the attention of the scientific community. Studies to quantitatively characterize such phenomena are thus necessary to create basic understanding on how humans interact with water systems, with the potential of promoting more sustainable water management practices. In this study, we investigate a large region in the state of Ceará that experienced a dramatic increase in storage capacity through the last century, spurred by the construction of dams of varying sizes led by both local population as well as funded by the authorities. Our study tries to characterize how this complex system has evolved over time in terms of the positive and negative effects reservoir expansion might have brought to humans living in that region. Key Points: A hydrologic model with an evolving structure was developed to capture 100 years of reservoir expansion in a large semi‐arid basinDrought intensity and duration evolved differently through the system, with smaller reservoirs becoming more affected over timeWater retention in the basin reduced streamflow at the basin outlet and increased evaporation losses [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Relevance. Trophic relationships along with competition and mutualism are the most basic and significant interactions in ecosystems. To develop, survive, and multiply, insects need to consume a certain amount of nutrients at a certain ratio. Food products are complex mixes of nutrients and non-nutritive substances (sometimes toxic ones): macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), and water. Some nutrients are essential; insects lack the ability to synthesize them in their bodies and must obtain them from their diet or through symbiosis with beneficial organisms. Identification mechanisms being well developed in the system “phytophagous insect – plant” allow insects to successfully spread, multiply, and feed on certain plant species. The complex of hydrolytic enzymes in the insect intestine is one of the main targets for plant defense responses because these enzymes determine the availability of structural compounds for phytophagous insects. For this reason, enzymes in the insect intestine play a key role in the adaptation of insects to the pest resistance of fodder plants. For instance, when proteinase inhibitors are synthesized in a fodder plant as the result of induced insect resistance the complex of enzymes in an insect intestine might change negating the effect of these inhibitors. The development of co-adaptations due to interactions among species in food chains depends on a complicated constellation of conflicting relationships between consumers and food objects. The mechanisms of this influence may be rooted in the allelochemical interactions in the system “phytophagous insect – plant recipient”. Allelopathic interactions are among the most complex interactions because they are constituted by direct and indirect effects. Plants when damaged by phytophagous insects activate defense responses, which incorporate several mechanisms, including an increase in the concentration of secondary metabolites, many of which are phenolic compounds.The aim of the work is to describe the mechanisms of relationships in the system “phytophage-plant”. Conclusion. Management of processes of intra-water divergence of insect-phytophages in agrobiocoenoses in order to prevent the emergence of races and populations of pests adapted to live on initially resistant to them plant forms is possible in compliance with the transition to a targeted selection of agricultural crops for resistance to a complex of pests.

The marketing literature has long recognized the positive relationship between advertising spending and sales at the firm level. However, this literature overlooks country-level heterogeneity of both the advertising channel and retail format evolution, limiting global managers' understanding of the heterogeneity and evolution of advertising channels and retail formats across country markets and, therefore, managers' ability to effectively formulate a global marketing strategy that adjusts for such differences. The authors call for a glocal approach when considering the association between ad spend by media channels and retail format sales at the country level, accounting for country institutional environments. They explore this topic using a 29-country, seven-year unbalanced panel data set. The authors find that there is substantive heterogeneity in ad spend by media channels and retail format sales across countries. Further, they find that changes in ad spend in specific media channels are positively associated with changes in related retail format sales at the country level, whereas the associations between changes in ad spend in media channels with unrelated retail format sales are more nuanced. The findings are informative to international marketing managers navigating the complex and ever-evolving retail landscape and highlight the importance of thinking globally while acting locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]