Natural history of four species of Platydracus Thomson (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in Heliconia bourgaeana Petersen (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) flower bracts

The insect fauna within inflorescences of Heliconia bourgaeana Petersen (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) was evaluated in Parque Metlac, Fortín de las Flores, Veracruz, Mexico between May and October 1995. Floral bracts were present in May and some persisted to October, despite much destruction in August by a grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus (JF Gmelin) (Icteridae). Flowers were abundant in the bracts in May-June, after which their number declined as fruits matured. Insects that fed on the flowers were most abundant in May-June; several of them could be pollinators; the immature stages of most of these insects were absent from Heliconia Linnaeus. The floral bracts contained water enriched by decomposition of the flowers, and this provided nutrition for aquatic organisms. Syrphid larvae (Diptera) contributed the largest biomass among the aquatic insects, and their distribution among bracts was more uniform in time than that of other aquatic insects. Larvae of Culicidae and Psychodidae (Diptera) were more variable in density and were more abundant after decomposition of the flowers. The most abundant aquatic predators of culicid larvae were larvae of Toxorhynchites Theobald (Culicidae). The most abundant amphibious predators of dipterous larvae were adults of four species of Platydracus Thomson (Staphylinidae), one of them yet undescribed. To capture its prey, the Platydracus adult would immerse its head and thorax, with open mandibles, to snap at passing dipterous larvae.La fauna insectil asociada con las inflorescencias de Heliconia bourgaeana Petersen (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) fue evaluada en el Parque Metlac, Fortín de las Flores, Ver., México entre mayo y octubre de 1995. Las brácteas florales estuvieron presentes en mayo y persistieron hasta octubre, aunque con mucha destrucción a partir de agosto debido a la acción del zanate mexicano (Quiscalus mexicanus (JF Gmelin), Icteridae). Las flores en las brácteas fueron abundantes en mayo y junio, después de lo cual su número se redujo conforme aumento el tamaño de los frutos, los cuales maduraron en octubre. Los insectos adultos que se alimentaron en las flores fueron más abundantes en mayo y julio; varios de ellos podrían actuar como polinizadores. Los estados inmaduros de la mayoría de estos insectos no fueron encontrados en Heliconia Linnaeus. Las brácteas florales contuvieron agua enriquecida por la descomposición de las flores, lo cual provey de nutrimentos para algunos de los organismos acuáticos. Las larvas de la familia Syrphidae (Diptera) constituyeron la mayor biomasa de las larvas de insectos y su distribución fue notablemente uniforme entre las brácteas en cada espiga floral y a lo largo del periodo de observación. Las larvas de las familias Culicidae y Psychodidae (Diptera) fueron más variables en su densidad, y más abundantes después de la descomposición de las flores. Los depredadores acuáticos de las larvas de Culicidae más abundantes fueron larvas de Toxorhynchites Theobald (Culicidae). Los depredadores anfibios más abundantes de las larvas de dípteros fueron cuatro especies de Platydracus Thomson (Staphylinidae), una de ellas aun no descrita. Para capturar su presa, un estafilínido sumerge su cabeza y su tórax, con mandíbulas abiertas, en el agua e intenta capturar las larvas de dípteros

Spacelike immersions in certain Lorentzian manifolds with lightlike foliations

The generalized Schwarzschild spacetimes are introduced as warped manifolds where the base is an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^2$ equipped with a Lorentzian metric and the fiber is a Riemannian manifold. This family includes physically relevant spacetimes closely related to models of black holes. The generalized Schwarzschild spacetimes are endowed with involutive distributions which provide foliations by lightlike hypersurfaces. In this paper, we study spacelike submanifolds immersed in the generalized Schwarzschild spacetimes, mainly, under the assumption that such submanifolds lie in a leaf of the above foliations. In this scenario, we provide an explicit formula for the mean curvature vector field and establish relationships between the extrinsic and intrinsic geometry of the submanifolds. We have derived several characterizations of the slices, and we delve into the specific case where the warping function is the radial coordinate in detail. This subfamily includes the Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstr\"om spacetimes

M\"{o}bius structures and Weingarten endomorphisms of spacelike submanifolds

Starting from a Riemannian conformal structure on a manifold $M$, we provide a method to construct a family of Lorentzian manifolds. The construction relies on the choice of a metric in the conformal class and a smooth $1$-parameter family of self-adjoint tensor fields and it has been inspired by the Fefferman and Graham ambient metric for conformal structures. Every metric in the conformal class corresponds to the induced metric on a codimension two spacelike submanifold into these Lorentzian manifolds. Under suitable choices of the $1$-parameter family of tensor fields, there exists a lightlike normal vector field along such spacelike submanifolds which Weingarten endomorphisms provide a M\"{o}bius structure on the Riemannian conformal structure. Conversely, every M\"{o}bius structure on a Riemannian conformal structure arises in this way. The Ricci-flatness condition along the scale bundle as a lightlike hypersurface into these Lorentzian manifolds is studied by means of the initial velocity of the $1$-parameter family of self-adjoint tensor fields. Finally, flat M\"{o}bius structures are characterized in terms of the extrinsic geometry of the corresponding spacelike surfaces

Natural history of four species of \u3ci\u3ePlatydracus\u3c/i\u3e Thomson (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in \u3ci\u3eHeliconia bourgaeana\u3c/i\u3e Petersen (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) flower bracts

Abstract. The insect fauna within inflorescences of Heliconia bourgaeana Petersen (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) was evaluated in Parque Metlac, Fortín de las Flores, Veracruz, Mexico between May and October 1995. Floral bracts were present in May and some persisted to October, despite much destruction in August by a grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus (JF Gmelin) (Icteridae). Flowers were abundant in the bracts in May-June, after which their number declined as fruits matured. Insects that fed on the flowers were most abundant in May-June; several of them could be pollinators; the immature stages of most of these insects were absent from Heliconia Linnaeus. The floral bracts contained water enriched by decomposition of the flowers, and this provided nutrition for aquatic organisms. Syrphid larvae (Diptera) contributed the largest biomass among the aquatic insects, and their distribution among bracts was more uniform in time than that of other aquatic insects. Larvae of Culicidae and Psychodidae (Diptera) were more variable in density and were more abundant after decomposition of the flowers. The most abundant aquatic predators of culicid larvae were larvae of Toxorhynchites Theobald (Culicidae). The most abundant amphibious predators of dipterous larvae were adults of four species of Platydracus Thomson (Staphylinidae), one of them yet undescribed. To capture its prey, the Platydracus adult would immerse its head and thorax, with open mandibles, to snap at passing dipterous larvae. Resumen. La fauna insectil asociada con las inflorescencias de Heliconia bourgaeana Petersen (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) fue evaluada en el Parque Metlac, Fortín de las Flores, Ver., México entre mayo y octubre de 1995. Las brácteas florales estuvieron presentes en mayo y persistieron hasta octubre, aunque con mucha destrucción a partir de agosto debido a la acción del zanate mexicano (Quiscalus mexicanus (JF Gmelin), Icteridae). Las flores en las brácteas fueron abundantes en mayo y junio, después de lo cual su número se redujo conforme aumento el tamaño de los frutos, los cuales maduraron en octubre. Los insectos adultos que se alimentaron en las flores fueron más abundantes en mayo y julio; varios de ellos podrían actuar como polinizadores. Los estados inmaduros de la mayoría de estos insectos no fueron encontrados en Heliconia Linnaeus. Las brácteas florales contuvieron agua enriquecida por la descomposición de las flores, lo cual provey de nutrimentos para algunos de los organismos acuáticos. Las larvas de la familia Syrphidae (Diptera) constituyeron la mayor biomasa de las larvas de insectos y su distribución fue notablemente uniforme entre las brácteas en cada espiga floral y a lo largo del periodo de observación. Las larvas de las familias Culicidae y Psychodidae (Diptera) fueron más variables en su densidad, y más abundantes después de la descomposición de las flores. Los depredadores acuáticos de las larvas de Culicidae más abundantes fueron larvas de Toxorhynchites Theobald (Culicidae). Los depredadores anfibios más abundantes de las larvas de dípteros fueron cuatro especies de Platydracus Thomson (Staphylinidae), una de ellas aun no descrita. Para capturar su presa, un estafilínido sumerge su cabeza y su tórax, con mandíbulas abiertas, en el agua e intenta capturar las larvas de dípteros

Quality is in the eye of the stakeholders: what do professional subtitlers and viewers think about subtitling?

Quality is a rather slippery concept, and its assessment in subtitling can be a challenging task, as its appreciation can easily vary depending on the diferent stakeholders involved in the production and reception of subtitles. In this paper, we evaluate quality indicators in subtitling as perceived by professional subtitlers and viewers. After exploring the various subtitle parameters that can have an impact on the quality of the end product (such as line breaks, synchronisation, display rates), we present the results of two qualitative studies conducted with professional subtitlers and subtitle viewers with diferent audiovisual backgrounds. The results yield some similarities and discrepancies, particularly in the way in which the strategy of condensation is perceived by the two groups, and they also help delineate the subtitle parameters that should be taken into consideration in order to improve the creative process as well as the reception of subtitles

Dynamic control of a reconfigurable stair-climbing mobility system

Electric-powered wheelchairs improve the mobility of people with physical disabilities, but the problem to deal with certain architectural barriers has not been resolved satisfactorily. In order to solve this problem, a stair-climbing mobility system (SCMS) was developed. This paper presents a practical dynamic control system that allows the SCMS to exhibit a successful climbing process when faced with typical architectural barriers such as curbs, ramps, or staircases. The implemented control system depicts high simplicity, computational efficiency, and the possibility of an easy implementation in a microprocessor-/microcontroller-based system. Finally, experiments are included to support theoretical results

Proyecto Passivhaus: vivienda unifamiliar en urbanización "Padre Manjón"

Trabajo Fin de Grado perteneciente a la Línea de TFG: Nearly Zero Energy BuildingsVemos en los edificios residenciales de los años 80 y 90 que están muy alejados de la realidad social de hoy en día, pues no han sido capaces de adaptarse en función de los cambios sociales y nuevos conceptos de familia y por tanto nuevos espacios domésticos. Por otro lado, se observa como cada vivienda se apropia de los espacios según sus exigencias, restituyendo así una nueva flexibilidad a espacios que no están diseñados de esa forma. Surgen las relaciones entre espacios y programas que son establecidos por el habitante y no por el arquitecto. Actualmente la vivienda está atrapada en una secuencia de procesos globales: obsolescencia y trato como inversión financiera, que están relegando su función social a la categoría de mero bien de especulación. Este cambio de consideración afecta consecuentemente a los espacios urbanos que conforman, acelerando el proceso de pérdida de identidad de la ciudad contemporánea. Frente a esta tendencia, replantearse fundamentos básicos de la vivienda colectiva en base a lo ya construido, puede mostrarnos pautas para identificar y solucionar errores acumulados. La rehabilitación energética de viviendas se centra básicamente en la envolvente del edificio y en las instalaciones de acondicionamiento térmico. La mayor parte del parque de viviendas existente en la actualidad carece de una envolvente apropiada y aceptable con relación a los requerimientos normativos actuales, estando además sus instalaciones térmicas desfasadas. Las técnicas de control de la radiación solar y otras tecnologías bioclimáticas, algunas de ellas conocidas desde hace siglos, fueron prácticamente olvidadas por los constructores del siglo XX. El bienestar térmico se confió a ineficientes y contaminantes calderas que quemaban gasóleo, y en las viviendas humildes debían contentarse con braseros y estufas. La ineficacia frente al calor se resolvió con ventiladores, luego con acondicionadores de ventana. Ésta situación, más que como algo negativo, debería ser entendido como un conjunto de oportunidades que permitirán no solo dotar de una nueva atmósfera a estos complejos, sino también actualizarlos en los que a calidad técnica y espacial se refiere satisfaciendo así los nuevos modos de habitar demandados por las sociedades contemporáneas.Universidad de Granada. Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura. Grado en Arquitectura, curso ..

Topological realizations of groups in Alexandroff spaces

We prove that every group can be realized as the homeomorphism group and as the group of (pointed) homotopy classes of (pointed) self-homotopy equivalences of infinitely many non-homotopy-equivalent Alexandroff spaces

Heterogeneity in HIV and cellular transcription profiles in cell line models of latent and productive infection: implications for HIV latency.

BackgroundHIV-infected cell lines are widely used to study latent HIV infection, which is considered the main barrier to HIV cure. We hypothesized that these cell lines differ from each other and from cells from HIV-infected individuals in the mechanisms underlying latency.ResultsTo quantify the degree to which HIV expression is inhibited by blocks at different stages of HIV transcription, we employed a recently-described panel of RT-ddPCR assays to measure levels of 7 HIV transcripts ("read-through," initiated, 5' elongated, mid-transcribed/unspliced [Pol], distal-transcribed [Nef], polyadenylated, and multiply-sliced [Tat-Rev]) in bulk populations of latently-infected (U1, ACH-2, J-Lat) and productively-infected (8E5, activated J-Lat) cell lines. To assess single-cell variation and investigate cellular genes associated with HIV transcriptional blocks, we developed a novel multiplex qPCR panel and quantified single cell levels of 7 HIV targets and 89 cellular transcripts in latently- and productively-infected cell lines. The bulk cell HIV transcription profile differed dramatically between cell lines and cells from ART-suppressed individuals. Compared to cells from ART-suppressed individuals, latent cell lines showed lower levels of HIV transcriptional initiation and higher levels of polyadenylation and splicing. ACH-2 and J-Lat cells showed different forms of transcriptional interference, while U1 cells showed a block to elongation. Single-cell studies revealed marked variation between/within cell lines in expression of HIV transcripts, T cell phenotypic markers, antiviral factors, and genes implicated in latency. Expression of multiply-spliced HIV Tat-Rev was associated with expression of cellular genes involved in activation, tissue retention, T cell transcription, and apoptosis/survival.ConclusionsHIV-infected cell lines differ from each other and from cells from ART-treated individuals in the mechanisms governing latent HIV infection. These differences in viral and cellular gene expression must be considered when gauging the suitability of a given cell line for future research on HIV. At the same time, some features were shared across cell lines, such as low expression of antiviral defense genes and a relationship between productive infection and genes involved in survival. These features may contribute to HIV latency or persistence in vivo, and deserve further study using novel single cell assays such as those described in this manuscript