Optical structure and function of the white filamentary hair covering the edelweiss bracts

The optical properties of the inflorescence of the high-altitude ''Leontopodium nivale'' subsp. ''alpinum'' (edelweiss) is investigated, in relation with its submicrometer structure, as determined by scanning electron microscopy. The filaments forming the hair layer have been found to exhibit an internal structure which may be one of the few examples of a photonic structure found in a plant. Measurements of light transmission through a self-supported layer of hair pads taken from the bracts supports the idea that the wooly layer covering the plant absorbs near-ultraviolet radiation before it reaches the cellular tissue. Calculations based on a photonic-crystal model provides insight on the way radiation can be absorbed by the filamentary threads.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures. Published pape

Odoyá, minha mãe! Desconstruindo o uso da imagem da Iemanjá a partir do caso Farm

Este artigo aborda o estudo teórico que envolve uma polêmica gerada na internet envolvendo a empresa de moda brasileira Farm e integrantes e defensores do movimento negro, em dezembro de 2014. A marca divulgou virtualmente a imagem de uma fantasia de Iemanjá, vestida por uma modelo branca, e este foi o início de uma discussão que ultrapassou as redes sociais. Para analisar esse contexto foi utilizada a perspectiva teórica do construcionismo social, aliada ao processo metodológico implementado por Montemezzo (2003) e aplicado ao design de moda. A contribuição científica da pesquisa se sustenta no processo contínuo e plástico de se interpretar um símbolo, nesse caso o religioso de matriz africana, e proporcionar uma relação profícua entre ele e o seu respectivo público-alvo inserido em uma campanha de moda

Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa

This article provides an outline of the classification of the kingdom Fungi (including fossil fungi. i.e. dispersed spores, mycelia, sporophores, mycorrhizas). We treat 19 phyla of fungi. These are Aphelidiomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Entorrhizomycota, Glomeromycota, Kickxellomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota and Zoopagomycota. The placement of all fungal genera is provided at the class-, order- and family-level. The described number of species per genus is also given. Notes are provided of taxa for which recent changes or disagreements have been presented. Fungus-like taxa that were traditionally treated as fungi are also incorporated in this outline (i.e. Eumycetozoa, Dictyosteliomycetes, Ceratiomyxomycetes and Myxomycetes). Four new taxa are introduced: Amblyosporida ord. nov. Neopereziida ord. nov. and Ovavesiculida ord. nov. in Rozellomycota, and Protosporangiaceae fam. nov. in Dictyosteliomycetes. Two different classifications (in outline section and in discussion) are provided for Glomeromycota and Leotiomycetes based on recent studies. The phylogenetic reconstruction of a four-gene dataset (18S and 28S rRNA, RPB1, RPB2) of 433 taxa is presented, including all currently described orders of fungi

Taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus <i>Steinera </i>(Arctomiales, Arctomiaceae) in the subantarctic Islands of Crozet and Kerguelen

International audienceThe lichenized genus Steinera is revised for the archipelagos of Crozet and of Kerguelen, with a high level of endemism revealed. It is shown to represent a good example of convergent evolution between two different orders. Phylogenetic analyses using nuLSU, RPB1 and mtSSU sequences show that two different species groups can be recognized: Steinera s. str. belongs to the Arctomiaceae (Arctomiales) and is characterized notably by species having pluriseptate ascospores, and a second species group belongs to the Koerberiaceae (Peltigerales) and is characterized notably by simple ascospores sometimes having a plasma-bridge. The genus Henssenia is newly described to accommodate this latter group. The type species of Steinera is shown to have been erroneously treated in the past, with Steinera molybdoplaca being the type of Steinera and "S." glaucella belonging to the genus Henssenia. A sorediate morph is recorded for S. molybdoplaca and the results confirmed using a 4-gene phylogeny, including nuITS sequences. Some species previously described in the genera Arctomia and Massalongia from the Southern Hemisphere are shown to belong to Steinera s. str. Five new species are described: Steinera isidiata Ertz and R.S. Poulsen, S. membranacea Ertz and R. S. Poulsen, S. lebouvieri Ertz, S. pannarioides Ertz and R. S. Poulsen and Henssenia subglaucella Ertz and R. S. Poulsen along with seven new combinations: Steinera intricata (Ovstedal) Ertz, S. latispora (Ovstedal) Ertz, S. olechiana (Alstrup and Sochting) Ertz and Sochting, S. subantarctica (Ovstedal) Ertz, Henssenia glaucella (Tuck.) Ertz, R. S. Poulsen and Sochting, H. radiata (P. James and Henssen) Ertz and H. werthii (Zahlbr.) Ertz, R. S. Poulsen and Sochting. An epitype is chosen for Henssenia glaucella and a neotype for H. werthii. "Steinera" symptychia has an isolated phylogenetic position in the Koerberiaceae and might represent a distinct, new genus. World-wide identification keys to the species of Henssenia and Steinera are provided

Ducatina umbilicata gen. et sp. nov., a remarkable Trapeliaceae from the subantarctic islands in the Indian Ocean

International audienceThe new genus and species Ducatina umbilicata is described from Îles Crozet and Îles Kerguelen. This lichen is characterized by an umbilicate thallus with a black verrucose lower surface and a greyish to dark olivaceous smooth upper surface having large verrucae, large semi-immersed cephalodia, semi-immersed apothecia with a prominent thalline margin, simple, mainly ellipsoid ascospores of 23–42×12–25 µm and the presence of unknown chemical compounds. Phylogenetic analyses using nuLSU and mtSSU sequences place Ducatina in the Trapeliaceae (Baeomycetales). The new taxon is closely related to Orceolina antarctica and O. kerguelensis, two other lichens endemic to these subantarctic islands, differing by its morphology and the lack of chemical compounds. Ducatina is the only genus in the Trapeliaceae to develop a large umbilicate thallus

Trading Effort for Freedom: Workday Credits in the Stalinist Camp System1

In this paper, we focus on the economics of forced labour during Stalinism. We show that, despite the regime's ability to apply massive coercion, the camp system administrators used various incentives to raise labour productivity. The particular incentive system examined in this paper is the so-called workday credit system. Workday credits provided for a reduction in sentences for plan fulfilment and overfulfilment to motivate prisoners. An analysis of the economic implications of this instrument enables us to gain insights into the economic goals the camp system administrators pursued. We demonstrate that profitability (or loss-minimisation) was a major concern for the administrators of the Stalinist prison camp system, although the strategies on how to achieve it changed over time. Comparative Economic Studies (2005) 47, 476–491;. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100106