Asidini marroquíes VI. Descripción de tres nuevas especies pertenecientes al género <i>Alphasida</i> Escalera, 1905 y de una subespecie nueva del género <i>Asida</i> Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae)

Four new taxa belonging to the Moroccan fauna are described in this paper, on the basis of specimens found in the collections of Coleoptera Tenebrionidae from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Madrid and from the Muséum National d´Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris. The original labels of identification of the MNCN, in three cases represent a nomen in litteris, and one an erroneous identification. The specimens preserved in the MNHN were unidentified. Three of the new taxa are new species of the genus Alphasida Escalera, 1905, subgenus Glabrasida Escalera, 1910: Alphasida (Glabrasida) cobosi n. sp., Alphasida (Glabrasida) dendriticosta n. sp. and Alphasida (Glabrasida) sefrouensis n. sp. The remaining taxon belongs to the genus Asida Latreille, 1802 and is related to Asida (Planasida) bereai Escalera, 1907, but differs from the nominal form and from the other known subspecies in several characters; it is described as Asida (Planasida) bereai espagnoli n. subsp.Se describen cuatro taxones nuevos, pertenecientes a la fauna de Marruecos, que han sido estudiados en las colecciones de Tenebriónidos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid (MNCN) y del Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) de París. De los ejemplares examinados en el MNCN, tres de ellos portaban etiquetas de identificación correspondientes a un nomen in litteris y en una ocasión a una denominación errónea. Los ejemplares del MNHN estaban sin identificar. Entre los taxones descritos, tres son de categoría específica y forman parte del género Alphasida Escalera, 1905 y del subgénero Glabrasida Escalera, 1910. Se trata de Alphasida (Glabrasida) cobosi n. sp., Alphasida (Glabrasida) dendriticosta n. sp. y Alphasida (Glabrasida) sefrouensis n. sp. El taxón restante pertenece al género Asida Latreille, 1802 y es una Planasida Escalera, 1907 próxima de Asida (Planasida) bereai Escalera, 1907, que por presentar diferencias con la forma nominal y con sus restantes subespecies, se describe como Asida (Planasida) bereai espagnoli n. subsp

Ethnobotany in Intermedical Spaces: The Case of the Fulni-ô Indians (Northeastern Brazil)

We analyzed the Fulni-ô medical system and introduced its intermedical character based on secondary data published in the literature. Then we focused on the medicinal plants known to the ethnic group, describing the most important species, their therapeutic uses and the body systems attributed to them. We based this analysis on the field experience of the authors in the project Studies for the Environmental and Cultural Sustainability of the Fulni-ô Medical System: Office of Medicinal Plant Care. This traditional botanical knowledge was used to corroborate the hybrid nature of local practices for access to health. We show that intermedicality is a result not only of the meeting of the Fulni-ô medical system with Biomedicine but also of its meeting with other traditional systems. Finally, we discuss how traditional botanical knowledge may be directly related to the ethnogenesis process led by the Fulni-ô Indians in northeastern Brazil

A New Application for the Optimal Foraging Theory: The Extraction of Medicinal Plants

The Optimal Foraging Theory was used to identify possible patterns in bark extraction and the selective cutting of Anadenanthera colubrina (Angico), a medicinal plant. The hypotheses were built on two approaches: selection of collection place and bark exploitation occurrence in only one of these resource areas. The results suggest that the distance that must be traveled to reach each gathering site determines the extent of the extraction process, showing that people minimize the time and energy spent in A. colubrina collection. The availability of each site appears not to influence the operation. The resource amount was the optimized variable for bark extraction, which was analyzed in only one collection zone. In contrast to the phenomenon of collection place selection, the distance between angico individuals, the management period, and the tannin content did not affect bark extraction. This study also discusses how certain cultural aspects influence the extraction of angico

Towards the ultimate regime in Rayleigh-Darcy convection

Numerical simulations are used to probe Rayleigh-Darcy convection in fluid-saturated porous media towards the ultimate regime. The present three-dimensional dataset, up to Rayleigh-Darcy number, suggests that the appropriate scaling of the Nusselt number is, fitting the computed data for. Extrapolation of current predictions to the ultimate linear regime yields the asymptotic law, about less than indicated in previous studies. Upon examination of the flow structures near the boundaries, we confirm previous indications of small flow cells hierarchically nesting into supercells, and we show evidence that the supercells at the boundary are the footprints of the megaplumes that dominate the interior part of the flow. The present findings pave the way for more accurate modelling of geophysical systems, with special reference to geological sequestration

Long non-axisymmetric fibres in turbulent channel flow

In this work, we investigate the dynamics of long non-axisymmetric fibres in turbulent channel flow. The experimental facility is the TU Wien Turbulent Water Channel, consisting of a closed water channel (aspect ratio of 10), and the experiments are performed at a shear Reynolds number of 360. Fibres are neutrally buoyant rods that are curved and characterised by a length-to-diameter ratio of 120. Illumination is provided by a laser sheet and the motion of fibres is recorded by four high-speed cameras in a fully developed flow section. We apply multiplicative algebraic reconstruction techniques to the recorded images from four high-speed cameras to identify the three-dimensional location, shape and orientation of the fibres. The fibres are also tracked in time to obtain their three-dimensional vectors of velocity and rotation rate. We investigate the behaviour of the fibres, from the near-wall region to the channel centre, and we produce original statistics on the effect of curvature of the fibres on their orientation and rotation rate. Specifically, we measured the orientation and rotation rate of the fibres, and we can confirm that in the centre, the most homogeneous part of the channel, statistics, although influenced by the curvature, bear similarities to those obtained in previous investigations in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. In addition, we have been able to compare the tumbling rate of our long non-axisymmetric fibres with previous solutions for curved ellipsoids in simple shear flow

Towards the ultimate regime in Rayleigh–Darcy convection

Numerical simulations are used to probe Rayleigh-Darcy convection in fluid-saturated porous media towards the ultimate regime. The present three-dimensional dataset, up to Rayleigh-Darcy number Ra = 80 × 10 3 , suggests that the appropriate scaling of the Nusselt number is Nu = 0.0081 Ra +0.067 Ra 0.61 , fitting the computed data for Ra &amp; 10 3 . Extrapolation of current predictions to the ultimate linear regime yields the asymptotic law Nu = 0.0081 Ra, about 16% less than indicated in previous studies. Upon examination of the flow structures near the boundaries, we confirm previous indications of small flow cells hierarchically nesting into supercells, and we show evidence that the supercells at the boundary are the footprints of the megaplumes that dominate the interior part of the flow. The present findings pave the way for more accurate modeling of geophysical systems, with special reference to geological CO 2 sequestration

Thermal imaging reveals audience-dependent effects during cooperation and competition in wild chimpanzees

Funding from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Fond des Donations of the University of Neuchâtel, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project Number 310030_185324 to K.Z.) are gratefully acknowledged. The research further benefitted from funding from the NCCR Evolving Language (SNSF 51NF40_180888).Accessing animal minds has remained a challenge since the beginnings of modern science. Here, we used a little-tried method, functional infrared thermal imaging, with wild chimpanzees during common social interactions. After removing confounds, we found that chimpanzees involved in competitive events had lower nose skin temperatures whereas those involved in cooperative events had higher temperatures, the latter more so in high- than low-ranking males. Temperatures associated with grooming were akin to those of cooperative events, except when males interacted with a non-reciprocating alpha male. In addition, we found multiple audience effects. Notably, the alpha male’s presence reduced positive effects associated with cooperation, whereas female presence buffered negative effects associated with competition. Copulation was perceived as competitive, especially during furtive mating when other males were absent. Overall, patterns suggest that chimpanzees categorise ordinary social events as cooperative or competitive and that these perceptions are moderated by specific audiences.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Experimental assessment of mixing layer scaling laws in Rayleigh-Taylor instability

We assess experimentally the scaling laws that characterize the mixing region produced by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a confined porous medium. In particular, we wish to assess experimentally the existence of a superlinear scaling for the growth of the mixing region, which was observed in recent two-dimensional simulations. To this purpose, we use a Hele-Shaw cell. The flow configuration consists of a heavy fluid layer overlying a lighter fluid layer, initially separated by a horizontal, flat interface. When small perturbations of concentration and velocity fields occur at the interface, convective mixing is eventually produced: Perturbations grow and evolve into large finger-like convective structures that control the transition from the initial diffusion-dominated phase of the flow to the subsequent convection-dominated phase. As the flow evolves, diffusion acts to reduce local concentration gradients across the interface of the fingers. When the gradients become sufficiently small, the system attains a stably-stratified state and diffusion is again the dominant mixing mechanisms. We employ an optical method to obtain high-resolution measurements of the density fields and we perform experiments for values of the Rayleigh-Darcy number (i.e., the ratio between convection and diffusion) sufficiently large to exhibit all the flow phases just described, which we characterize via the mixing length, a measure of the extension of the mixing region. We are able to confirm that the growth of the mixing length during the convection-dominated phase follows the superlinear scaling predicted by previous simulations

Strong Rayleigh-Darcy convection regime in three-dimensional porous media

We perform large-scale numerical simulations to study Rayleigh-Darcy convection in three-dimensional fluid-saturated porous media up to Rayleigh-Darcy number. At these large values of, the flow is dominated by large columnar structures - called megaplumes - which span the entire height of the domain. Near the boundaries, the flow is hierarchically organized, with fine-scale structures interacting and nesting to form larger-scale structures called supercells. We observe that the correlation between the flow structure in the core of the domain and at the boundaries decreases only slightly for increasing, and remains rather high even at the largest considered here. This confirms that supercells are the boundary footprint of megaplumes dominating the core of the domain. In agreement with available literature predictions, we show that the thickness of the thermal boundary layer scales very well with the Nusselt number as. Measurements of the mean wavenumber - inverse of the mean length scale - in the core of the flow support the scaling, in very good agreement with theoretical and numerical predictions. Interestingly, the behaviour of the mean wavenumber near the boundaries scales as, which is distinguishably different from the presumed linear behaviour. We hypothesize that a linear behaviour can only be observed in the ultimate regime, which we argue to set in only at in excess of, whereas a sublinear behaviour is recovered at more modest. The present results are expected to help the development of long desired reliable models to predict the large- and fine-scale structure of Rayleigh-Darcy convection in the high- regime typically encountered in geophysical processes, such as for instance in geological carbon dioxide sequestration

Does environmental instability favor the production and horizontal transmission of knowledge regarding medicinal plants? A study in Southeast Brazil

Greater socio-environmental instability favors the individual production of knowledge because innovations are adapted to new circumstances. Furthermore, instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge because this mechanism disseminates adapted information. This study investigates the following hypothesis: Greater socio-environmental instability favors the production of knowledge (innovation) to adapt to new situations, and socio-environmental instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge, which is a mechanism that diffuses adapted information. In addition, the present study describes "how", "when", "from whom" and the "stimulus/context", in which knowledge regarding medicinal plants is gained or transferred. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from three groups that represented different levels of socio-environmental instability. Socio-environmental instability did not favor individual knowledge production or any cultural transmission modes, including vertical to horizontal, despite increasing the frequency of horizontal pathways. Vertical transmission was the most important knowledge transmission strategy in all of the groups in which mothers were the most common models (knowledge sources). Significantly, childhood was the most important learning stage, although learning also occurred throughout life. Direct teaching using language was notable as a knowledge transmission strategy. Illness was the main stimulus that triggered local learning. Learning modes about medicinal plants were influenced by the knowledge itself, particularly the dynamic uses of therapeutic resources.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse