Modeling body size evolution in Felidae under alternative phylogenetic hypotheses

The use of phylogenetic comparative methods in ecological research has advanced during the last twenty years, mainly due to accurate phylogenetic reconstructions based on molecular data and computational and statistical advances. We used phylogenetic correlograms and phylogenetic eigenvector regression (PVR) to model body size evolution in 35 worldwide Felidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) species using two alternative phylogenies and published body size data. The purpose was not to contrast the phylogenetic hypotheses but to evaluate how analyses of body size evolution patterns can be affected by the phylogeny used for comparative analyses (CA). Both phylogenies produced a strong phylogenetic pattern, with closely related species having similar body sizes and the similarity decreasing with increasing distances in time. The PVR explained 65% to 67% of body size variation and all Moran's I values for the PVR residuals were non-significant, indicating that both these models explained phylogenetic structures in trait variation. Even though our results did not suggest that any phylogeny can be used for CA with the same power, or that “good” phylogenies are unnecessary for the correct interpretation of the evolutionary dynamics of ecological, biogeographical, physiological or behavioral patterns, it does suggest that developments in CA can, and indeed should, proceed without waiting for perfect and fully resolved phylogenies

Paternity testing and behavioral ecology: a case study of jaguars (Panthera onca) in Emas National Park, Central Brazil.

We used microsatellite loci to test the paternity of two male jaguars involved in an infanticide event recorded during a long-term monitoring program of this species. Seven microsatellite primers originally developed for domestic cats and previously selected for Panthera oncawere used. In order to deal with uncertainty in the mother?s genotypes for some of the loci, 10000 values of Wwere derived by simulation procedures. The male that killed the two cubs was assigned as the true sire. Although the reasons for this behavior remain obscure, it shows, in principle, a low recognition of paternity and kinship in the species. Since the two cubs were not very young, one possibility is that the adult male did not recognize the cubs and killed them for simple territorial reasons. Thus, ecological stress in this local population becomes a very plausible explanation for this infanticide, without further sociobiological implications

O YouTube: potencialidades pedagógicas na aprendizagem da Língua Inglesa no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico

Mestrado em Ensino Precoce do InglêsO presente projeto de investigação procurou apresentar o YouTube como um banco de recursos audiovisuais, promotor do desenvolvimento das macrocapacidades de audição e de expressão oral, no processo de ensino/aprendizagem da Língua Inglesa no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico. Desta forma, procurámos tecer algumas considerações relativamente à origem e natureza orgânica do YouTube, que nos conduziram à visualização e à exploração de vídeos publicados no website, que promovessem, simultaneamente, o usufruto de imagem e som e, por conseguinte, o cumprimento de objetivos pedagógicos inerentes à aprendizagem significativa da língua estrangeira. O trabalho de pesquisa centrou-se num estudo de caso, cujo desenvolvimento providenciou a aplicação de vídeos e a realização de atividades diversas, numa turma de alunos do 4.º ano de escolaridade, tendo como base princípios decorrentes de métodos e abordagens utilizados no ensino de Inglês a crianças, auscultando-se o seu grau de envolvimento e participação no processo de aprendizagem. Do mesmo modo, e porque consideramos fundamental a troca de ideias e a partilha de experiências e práticas, especialmente no que se refere ao campo de ação da Educação, procurou-se estabelecer práticas de trabalho colaborativo e colegialidade entre as professoras envolvidas no decurso da investigação realizada.This research work aimed at describing the YouTube as a source of audiovisual materials, favourable to the development of listening and speaking skills concerning the process of English language teaching and learning in primary schools. Bearing in mind YouTube’s origins and organic nature, we engaged in selecting and exploring videos uploaded on the website, which conveyed both image and sound, in order to attain a set of pedagogical objectives aimed at a meaningful learning of the foreign language. The research work redefined itself as a case study, whose development consisted in using a number of videos and activities with fourth graders, having in mind principles from preferred methods and approaches in the teaching of English to Young Learners, as well as the assessment of their degree of involvement and participation in the learning process. Furthermore, and because we consider the sharing of ideas, experiences and practices of major importance, especially as far as Education is concerned, we tried to develop and enhance collaborative and collegial work between the teachers engaged in the course of the research work

Vibrational and thermal properties of crystalline topiramate

Topiramate, a powerful anticonvulsant drug, was investigated by X-ray diffractometry, FT-Raman, FT-IR, TGA and DTA techniques as well as by DFT calculations. From this study it was possible to tentatively assign most of the normal vibrational modes of the crystal. Thermal analysis from room temperature to 900 ºC shows that the material does not present any structural phase transition and that the decomposition occurs in a two-step exothermic process.O topiramato, que é uma poderosa droga anticonvulsiva utilizada para controlar os sintomas da epilepsia, foi investigado pelas técnicas de difratometria de raios X, FT-Raman, FT-infravermelho, análise termogravimétrica, análise térmica diferencial e cálculos com teoria do funcional de densidade. A partir deste estudo foi possível identificar a maior parte das bandas observadas nos espectros Raman e infravermelho. Das análises térmicas, efetuadas da temperatura ambiente até 900 ºC, verificou-se que o material não apresenta nenhuma mudança de fase e que a decomposição ocorre num processo exotérmico de duas etapas.16071613Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Convergence and divergence in the evolution of cat skulls: temporal and spatial patterns of morphological diversity

Background: Studies of biological shape evolution are greatly enhanced when framed in a phylogenetic perspective. Inclusion of fossils amplifies the scope of macroevolutionary research, offers a deep-time perspective on tempo and mode of radiations, and elucidates life-trait changes. We explore the evolution of skull shape in felids (cats) through morphometric analyses of linear variables, phylogenetic comparative methods, and a new cladistic study of saber-toothed cats. Methodology/Principal Findings: A new phylogenetic analysis supports the monophyly of saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) exclusive of Felinae and some basal felids, but does not support the monophyly of various sabertoothed tribes and genera. We quantified skull shape variation in 34 extant and 18 extinct species using size-adjusted linear variables. These distinguish taxonomic group membership with high accuracy. Patterns of morphospace occupation are consistent with previous analyses, for example, in showing a size gradient along the primary axis of shape variation and a separation between large and small-medium cats. By combining the new phylogeny with a molecular tree of extant Felinae, we built a chronophylomorphospace (a phylogeny superimposed onto a two-dimensional morphospace through time). The evolutionary history of cats was characterized by two major episodes of morphological divergence, one marking the separation between saber-toothed and modern cats, the other marking the split between large and small-medium cats. Conclusions/Significance: Ancestors of large cats in the ‘Panthera’ lineage tend to occupy, at a much later stage, morphospace regions previously occupied by saber-toothed cats. The latter radiated out into new morphospace regions peripheral to those of extant large cats. The separation between large and small-medium cats was marked by considerable morphologically divergent trajectories early in feline evolution. A chronophylomorphospace has wider applications in reconstructing temporal transitions across two-dimensional trait spaces, can be used in ecophenotypical and functional diversity studies, and may reveal novel patterns of morphospace occupation

Transcriptional Alterations Related to Neuropathology and Clinical Manifestation of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the human population, characterized by a spectrum of neuropathological abnormalities that results in memory impairment and loss of other cognitive processes as well as the presence of non-cognitive symptoms. Transcriptomic analyses provide an important approach to elucidating the pathogenesis of complex diseases like AD, helping to figure out both pre-clinical markers to identify susceptible patients and the early pathogenic mechanisms to serve as therapeutic targets. This study provides the gene expression profile of postmortem brain tissue from subjects with clinic-pathological AD (Braak IV, V, or V and CERAD B or C; and CDR >= 1), preclinical AD (Braak IV, V, or VI and CERAD B or C; and CDR = 0), and healthy older individuals (Braak <= II and CERAD 0 or A; and CDR = 0) in order to establish genes related to both AD neuropathology and clinical emergence of dementia. Based on differential gene expression, hierarchical clustering and network analysis, genes involved in energy metabolism, oxidative stress, DNA damage/repair, senescence, and transcriptional regulation were implicated with the neuropathology of AD; a transcriptional profile related to clinical manifestation of AD could not be detected with reliability using differential gene expression analysis, although genes involved in synaptic plasticity, and cell cycle seems to have a role revealed by gene classifier. In conclusion, the present data suggest gene expression profile changes secondary to the development of AD-related pathology and some genes that appear to be related to the clinical manifestation of dementia in subjects with significant AD pathology, making necessary further investigations to better understand these transcriptional findings on the pathogenesis and clinical emergence of AD.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2005/04151-7]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP

Genetic structure of drone congregation areas of Africanized honeybees in southern Brazil

As yet, certain aspects of the Africanization process are not well understood, for example, the reproductive behavior of African and European honeybees and how the first Africanized swarms were formed and spread. Drone congregation areas (DCAs) are the ideal place to study honeybee reproduction under natural conditions since hundreds of drones from various colonies gather together in the same geographical area for mating. In the present study, we assessed the genetic structure of seven drone congregations and four commercial European-derived and Africanized apiaries in southern Brazil, employing seven microsatellite loci for this purpose. We also estimated the number of mother-colonies that drones of a specific DCA originated from. Pairwise comparison failed to reveal any population sub-structuring among the DCAs, thus indicating low mutual genetic differentiation. We also observed high genetic similarity between colonies of commercial apiaries and DCAs, besides a slight contribution from a European-derived apiary to a DCA formed nearby. Africanized DCAs seem to have a somewhat different genetic structure when compared to the European