No sex-biased dispersal in a primate with an uncommon social system-cooperative polyandry.

An influential hypothesis proposed by Greenwood (1980) suggests that different mating systems result in female and male-biased dispersal, respectively, in birds and mammals. However, other aspects of social structure and behavior can also shape sex-biased dispersal. Although sex-specific patterns of kin cooperation are expected to affect the benefits of philopatry and dispersal patterns, empirical evidence is scarce. Unlike many mammals, Saguinus geoffroyi (Geoffroy's tamarin) has a breeding system in which typically multiple males mate with a single breeding female. Males typically form cooperative reproductive partnerships between relatives, whereas females generally compete for reproductive opportunities. This system of cooperative polyandry is predicted to result in female-biased dispersal, providing an opportunity to test the current hypotheses of sex-biased dispersal. Here we test for evidence of sex-biased dispersal in S. geoffroyi using demographic and genetic data from three populations. We find no sex bias in natal dispersal, contrary to the prediction based on the mating patterns. This pattern was consistent after controlling for the effects of historical population structure. Limited breeding opportunities within social groups likely drive both males and females to disperse, suggesting that dispersal is intimately related to the social context. The integration of genetic and field data revealed that tamarins are another exception to the presumed pattern of male-biased dispersal in mammals. A shift in focus from mating systems to social behavior, which plays a role in most all processes expected to influence sex-bias in dispersal, will be a fruitful target for research both within species and across taxa

Single hole and vortex excitations in the doped Rokhsar-Kivelson quantum dimer model on the triangular lattice

We consider the doped Rokhsar-Kivelson quantum dimer model on the triangular lattice with one mobile hole (monomer) at the Rokhsar-Kivelson point. The motion of the hole is described by two branches of excitations: the hole may either move with or without a trapped Z2 vortex (vison). We perform a study of the hole dispersion in the limit where the hole hopping amplitude is much smaller than the interdimer interaction. In this limit, the hole without vison moves freely and has a tight-binding spectrum. On the other hand, the hole with a trapped vison is strongly constrained due to interference effects and can only move via higher-order virtual processes.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; minor changes, replaced by published versio

Postural patterns in the first year of life: contributions of maternal physical activity in the pregnancy period

BACKGROUND: The study objective was intended to verify whether the practice of maternal physical activity during the pregnancy period could be assumed as a contribution to the acquisition of postural patterns in the child during its first year of life. METHODS: A transversal and descriptive study was carried where we recorded the developments observed in a sample of 80 Portuguese children, according to the habits and type of physical activity of the mothers. Statistical descriptive and inferential test were performed. RESULTS: The results were clearly positive in terms of temporal gains of neck tonic control, and also in the acquisition of an erect position. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the average values are not statistical significant we have observed indicators that the maternal physical activity during pregnancy apparently is a factor that can favor the child’s motor development during their first year of life, particularly in the acquisition of postural patterns.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EDUCast@fccn: An example of European cooperation to implement the production of AV content in Higher Education Institutions in Portugal

The specific logistics of each Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Portugal and the specific teaching of each academic community are some of the major challenges faced by technical staff, administrative staff and educational support staff of these institutions when trying to find an appropriate solution for the provision of audiovisual content. In this sense, it was developed since 2010 an innovative partnership initiated by the Portuguese Foundation for National Scientific Computing (FCCN), by SWITCH (the institution that manages the Swiss Network Technology Research and Education) and the University of Porto (U.Porto). These three European institutions have developed a work of exploration and discussion under the auspices of TERENA (Trans-European Research and Education Networking) during the various forums for collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing that this institution regularly promotes. Thus, was born in 2011 the project Educast@fccn that can be considered the simplest national service to manage educational video from recording to the distribution process. This service is based on a technology platform for production, editing and video distribution that allows full autonomy to the user in all the process. In addition to the innovative technology, this service provides to all HEI's in Portugal the integration into a professional structure that supports the production of audiovisual content for e-learning and blended learning in each institution and a great possibility of scaling the production on each HEI. This professional network structure also ensures a high level of service support, and consequently, a great confidence to the teachers and other audiovisual content producers in the various academic communities in Portugal. But this project also allowed, since its inception, to consolidate a national community of experts in content development for e-learning and blended learning, especially the audiovisual components. The U. Porto also positioned itself as a pivotal entity in this privileged national network of experts on audiovisual content on education through the training of about 50 employees spread across 15 HEI's in Portugal. It was materialized one more step of this ambitious national project that allowed to build a set of technical teams specialized in the production of educational content and that directly support the academic communities of their own institutions. The results after one year of project implementation in Portugal confirm the high expectations of those involved and augur a promising future for the expansion of this project. About 28 HEI's joined the project Educast@fccn with 676 producers, 1607 videos were produced and integrated in 311 channels of this platform. With these quantitative results it is created a set of technological and logistic conditions to start a strong manifestation of significant qualitative results regarding the educational impact of this project in the daily activities of teachers. Aspects such as the better management of lectures that are traditionally less appealing, the attractiveness of the educational contents created through video, the improved productivity of teachers through the recording of audiovisual content, the release and allocation of teaching time for productive activities and to the interactive direct support to the student or even the increase of the students' interest in certain content that traditionally would not be so appealing, are just a few issues that constitute these qualitative aspects

Os quatro paradigmas da comunicação estratégica e o ensino em Portugal

A área da Comunicação Estratégica tem crescido nos últimos anos, dando origem a diversos programas de formação em instituições do ensino superior Portuguesas, incluindo mestrados e programas doutorais. Esta crescente importância científica do campo, que integra o estudo da comunicação como uma prática social em contextos estratégicos e organizacionais, conduziu também à adoção de diferentes tradições de investigação. Mas como podemos conhecer a história da Comunicação Estratégica em Portugal e identificar os enquadramentos teóricos de referência desta área de estudo? Ora, foi esta questão que desencadeou a nossa investigação que pretende, assim: (1º) refletir sobre o estado da arte deste campo de estudo; (2º) criar a base para uma reflexão sistemática e orientadora de diferentes paradigmas de investigação no âmbito da Comunicação Estratégica; bem como, (3º) identificar a presença das tradições de investigação no ensino superior em Portugal

Parâmetros fisiológicos e produtivos de trigo afetados pela remoção de perfilhos e pela desfolha

The objective of this work was to evaluate the photosynthetic parameters, yield potential, and response to defoliation of wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants subjected to tiller removal. Two experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions. In the first, the two following cultivars were evaluated for complete tiller removal: TBIO Audaz and BRS 394, with a high and low tillering capacity, respectively. In the second, only 'TBIO Audaz' was subjected to detillering and defoliation at post-anthesis. Tiller removal increased the yield potential of the main stem of both tested cultivars and the CO2 assimilation potential of the flag leaf, which was possibly a strategy to meet the demands for an increased sink strength, as evidenced by the response curves to irradiance and leaf internal CO2 concentration. The partial defoliation of 'TBIO Audaz' increased daily CO2 assimilation, both in intact and detillered plants. Detillered plants show a higher photosynthetic and yield potential of the main stem, but also a greater sensitivity to defoliation in the post-anthesis period.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os parâmetros fotossintéticos, o potencial produtivo e as respostas à desfolha de plantas de trigo (Triticum aestivum) submetidas à remoção de perfilhos. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos em cultivo protegido. No primeiro, as duas seguintes cultivares foram avaliadas quanto à remoção total de perfilhos: TBIO Audaz e BRS 394, com alto e baixo potencial de perfilhamento, respectivamente. No segundo, apenas 'TBIO Audaz' foi submetida à remoção de perfilhos e à desfolha no período de pós-antese. A remoção dos perfilhos aumentou o potencial produtivo do colmo principal das duas cultivares testadas e a assimilação de CO2 da folha bandeira, que, possivelmente, foi uma estratégia para suprir a maior demanda de drenos, como evidenciado pelas curvas de resposta à irradiância e à concentração foliar interna de CO2. A desfolha parcial de 'TBIO Audaz' aumentou a assimilação diária de CO2, tanto em plantas intactas quanto nas com perfilhos removidos. As plantas submetidas à remoção de perfilhos apresentam maior potencial fotossintético e produtivo do colmo principal, mas, também, maior sensibilidade à desfolha no período de pós-antese

Reptilia, Colubridae, Helicops angulatus: distribution extension and rediscovery in the state of Ceará

Non

Phosphate: from stardust to eukaryotic cell cycle control

Phosphorus is a pivotal element in all biochemical systems: it serves to store metabolic energy as ATP, it forms the backbone of genetic material such as RNA and DNA, and it separates cells from the environment as phospholipids. In addition to this “big hits”, phosphorus has recently been shown to play an important role in other important processes such as cell cycle regulation. In the present review, we briefly summarize the biological processes in which phosphorus is involved in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae before discussing our latest findings on the role of this element in the regulation of DNA replication in this eukaryotic model organism. We describe both the role of phosphorus in the regulation of G1 progression by means of the Cyclin Dependent Kinase (CDK) Pho85 and the stabilization of the cyclin Cln3, as well as the role of other molecule composed of phosphorus–the polyphosphate–in cell cycle progression, dNTP synthesis, and genome stability. Given the eminent role played by phosphorus in life, we outline the future of phosphorus in the context of one of the main challenges in human health: cancer treatment. [Int Microbiol 19(3):133-141 (2016)]Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae · Pho85 · cyclin · polyphosphate · cell cycl

Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): Poly (styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT/PSS) / Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) composite thick film for use in an actuator device / Poli (3,4-etilenodioxiotiófeno): Película espessa composta de poli (sulfonato de estireno)(PEDOT/PSS) / Di-hidrogenofosfato de potássio (KDP) para utilização num dispositivo actuador

An actuator based on a thick film of the composite Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): Poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) / Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) is proposed in this work. Both materials are water-soluble and easy to purchase. The composite is easy to produce and is very reproducible. Three different types of substrates were used for the mechanical support of the thick film: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) covered with tin and indium oxide (ITO) (PET / ITO), polyester and aluminium foil. Film thicknesses ranged from 6.9 ?m to 43.2 ?m. The concentration of KDP in the films varied between 2 mg and 10 mg per mL of PEDOT: PSS. The thick films were electrically characterised and then subjected to performance tests. Displacements were observed in all the samples tested, for which DC voltages from 1 to 6 V were applied. Measurements of displacement as a function of the voltage application time, and as a function of the applied voltage, were collected. The former showed linear behaviour while the latter showed non-linear behaviour. It was observed that the actuator effect is monopolar in these samples. The observed displacement was of the order of 5 mm. The samples sustain displacement while the voltage is applied. All samples operate in an ambient condition. The strain (?) value calculated, using the data obtained experimentally, was 2.6%.