High levels of genetic differentiation and selfing in the Brazilian cerrado fruit tree Dipteryx alata Vog. (Fabaceae)

Dipteryx alata is a native fruit tree species of the cerrado (Brazilian savanna) that has great economic potential because of its multiple uses. Knowledge of how the genetic variability of this species is organized within and among populations would be useful for genetic conservation and breeding programs. We used nine simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers developed for Dipteryx odorata to evaluate the genetic structure of three populations of D. alata located in central Brazil based on a leaf sample analysis from 101 adults. The outcrossing rate was evaluated using 300 open-pollinated offspring from 25 seed-trees. Pollen dispersal was measured by parentage analysis. We used spatial genetic structure (SGS) to test the minimal distance for harvesting seeds in conservation and breeding programs. Our data indicate that the populations studied had a high degree of genetic diversity and population structure, as suggested by the high level of divergence among populations . The estimated outcrossing rate suggested a mixed mating system, and the intrapopulation fixation index was influenced by SGS. We conclude that seed harvesting for genetic conservation and breeding programs requires a minimum distance between trees of 196 m to avoid collecting seeds from related seed-trees

Taking two to tango:fMRI analysis of improvised joint action with physical contact

<div><p>Many forms of joint action involve physical coupling between the participants, such as when moving a sofa together or dancing a tango. We report the results of a novel two-person functional MRI study in which trained couple dancers engaged in bimanual contact with an experimenter standing next to the bore of the magnet, and in which the two alternated between being the leader and the follower of joint improvised movements. Leading showed a general pattern of self-orientation, being associated with brain areas involved in motor planning, navigation, sequencing, action monitoring, and error correction. In contrast, following showed a far more sensory, externally-oriented pattern, revealing areas involved in somatosensation, proprioception, motion tracking, social cognition, and outcome monitoring. We also had participants perform a “mutual” condition in which the movement patterns were pre-learned and the roles were symmetric, thereby minimizing any tendency toward either leading or following. The mutual condition showed greater activity in brain areas involved in mentalizing and social reward than did leading or following. Finally, the analysis of improvisation revealed the dual importance of motor-planning and working-memory areas. We discuss these results in terms of theories of both joint action and improvisation.</p></div

Audiovisual temporal recalibration occurs independently at two different time scales

Combining signals across the senses improves precision and speed of perception, although this multisensory benefit declines for asynchronous signals. Multisensory events may produce synchronized stimuli at source but asynchronies inevitably arise due to distance, intensity, attention and neural latencies. Temporal recalibration is an adaptive phenomenon that serves to perceptually realign physically asynchronous signals. Recently, it was discovered that temporal recalibration occurs far more rapidly than previously thought and does not require minutes of adaptation. Using a classical audiovisual simultaneity task and a series of brief flashes and tones varying in onset asynchrony, perceived simultaneity on a given trial was found to shift in the direction of the preceding trial’s asynchrony. Here we examine whether this inter-trial recalibration reflects the same process as prolonged adaptation by combining both paradigms: participants adapted to a fixed temporal lag for several minutes followed by a rapid series of test trials requiring a synchrony judgment. Interestingly, we find evidence of recalibration from prolonged adaptation and inter-trial recalibration within a single experiment. We show a dissociation in which sustained adaptation produces a large but decaying recalibration effect whilst inter-trial recalibration produces large transient effects whose sign matches that of the previous trial

Informe de experiencia profesional realizado en la Municipalidad Provincial de Loreto- Nauta, periodo 2006-2009;

Trabajo de suficiencia profesionalDescribe a la Institución y su entorno económico en el cual se desarrolla. Realiza un trabajo descriptivo de la formulación de proyectos de inversión realizada en la Unidad Formuladora de la Sub gerencia de Estudios y Proyectos de la Municipalidad Provincial de Loreto- Nauta. Verifica y compara la aplicación de las técnicas empleadas para la elaboración de un proyecto de inversión de acuerdo al SNIP. Sustenta la experiencia profesional adquirida en la Unidad Formuladora de la Sub Gerencia de Estudios y Proyectos de la Municipalidad Provincial de Loreto -Nauta mediante una descripción detallada de la misma y propone alternativas para el logro de los objetivos y metas de la Municipalidad Provincial de Loreto- Nauta. Concluye que el personal no se identifica con la visión, misión y los objetivos de la institución, por cuanto su actuar está condicionado por el apoyo electoral brindado a la autoridad para su elección. Falta de concertación e integración de las instituciones del estado generando duplicidad de intervenciones e ineficiencias en el uso de los recursos entre la Sub Región Loreto-Nauta y la Municipalidad Provincial de Loreto- Nauta. La capacitación y actualización del personal, contribuye a mejorar la calidad, la capacidad y el criterio de análisis de los profesionales que elaboran y formulación de los proyectos de preinversión