El equus stenonis cocchi como indicador biostatigráfico del plio-pleistoceno en Italia y España

[Resumen] Se esquematiza la cronoestratigrafía de los principales yacimientos de Vertebrados italianos del Plio-pleistoceno, de el Villafranquiense medio al Galerino. Se estudia, desde un punto de vista evolutivo, la presencia de las distintas formas de Equus stenonis Cocchi hasta la llegada de Equus caballus Linn. La comparación de los distintos estadios evolutivos de E. stenonis y su fauna acompañante permiten la elaboración de un Cuadro sinóptico en el cual los yacimientos españoles con Equus se correlacionan con sus sincrónicos italianos sobre una base estratigráfica comparada (BONADONNA, 1982; ARIAS et all., 1982) con los principales eventos geológicos en Europa[Abstract] The chronostratigraphy of the Plio-pleistocene marnmals italian deposits from middle Villafranchian to Galerian is surnmarized. The presence of different forms of Equus stenonis Cocchi until the appearance of the first kinds of Equus caballus Linn. is studied by an evolutive point of view. The comparison among the different evolutive levels of Equus stenonis and the associated fauna allow us to build a synoptic Table in which the spanish deposits with Equus are correlate to analogous italian ones ln a stratigraphic scale yet compared (BONADONNA, 1982; ARIAS et all., 1982) to the most important geological event ln Europ

Narcissism

Narcissism is a personality trait that is characterized by excessively positive self-views and low empathy. It is a complex constellation consisting of mostly positive individual correlates and mostly negative social correlates. We present two different theoretical models that attempt to reconcile these apparently contradictory implications of narcissism. There are predictable age and gender differences in narcissism. In addition, narcissism is relatively high in Western individualistic cultures, and increasing over time in the United States, yet it is relatively lower in Eastern collectivistic cultures. This suggests that cultural norms and developmental experiences can possibly influence it

Physiological and health-related correlates of the narcissistic personality

Narcissism is a personality trait that is characterized by excessively high self-esteem in combination with low empathy. Since the development of sound instruments to measure the narcissistic personality in the 1970s, scholars have discovered a lot about the interpersonal correlates and consequences of narcissism. For example, people scoring high on narcissism have difficulty maintaining healthy, long-term close relationships and have a tendency to behave aggressively in response to critical feedback. In the current chapter, we summarize known health (Part I) and physiological correlates (Part II) of the narcissistic personality. We review the well-developed literature on narcissism and psychological health, and then move on to less developed research on cognitive performance, health-risk behaviors, and physical-health outcomes, including mortality risk. Research that goes beyond self-reports and examines the physiological underpinnings of the narcissistic personality is very rare, but it is important to use such measures, given narcissistic tendencies to self-enhance. Thus, we thoroughly review the extant literature examining cardiovascular, endocrine, neural, and genetic correlates of narcissism. Given the limited amount of research on this topic, we conclude by discussing potential directions for future research

Olfactory Sex Recognition Investigated in Antarctic Prions

Chemical signals can yield information about an animal such as its identity, social status or sex. Such signals have rarely been considered in birds, but recent results have shown that chemical signals are actually used by different bird species to find food and to recognize their home and nest. This is particularly true in petrels whose olfactory anatomy is among the most developed in birds. Recently, we have demonstrated that Antarctic prions, Pachyptila desolata, are also able to recognize and follow the odour of their partner in a Y-maze

Tephra hazard assessment at Mt. Etna (Italy)

In this paper we present a probabilistic hazard assessment for tephra fallout at Mt. Etna (Italy) associated with both short- and long-lived eruptions. Eruptive scenarios and eruption source parameters were defined based on the geological record, while an advection–diffusion–sedimentation model was used to capture the variation in wind speed and direction with time after calibration with the field data. Two different types of eruptions were considered in our analysis: eruptions associated with strong short-lived plumes and eruptions associated with weak long-lived plumes. Our probabilistic approach was based on one eruption scenario for both types and on an eruption range scenario for eruptions producing weak long-lived plumes. Due to the prevailing wind direction, the eastern flanks are the most affected by tephra deposition, with the 122 BC Plinian and 2002–2003 eruptions showing the highest impact both on infrastructures and agriculture

Physical and Aerodynamic Characterization of Particle Clusters at Sakurajima Volcano (Japan)

The process of particle aggregation significantly affects ash settling dynamics associated with volcanic explosive eruptions. Several experiments have been carried out to investigate the physics of ash aggregation and dedicated numerical schemes have been developed to produce more accurate forecasting of ash dispersal and sedimentation. However, numerical description of particle aggregation is complicated by the lack of complete datasets on natural samples required for model validation and calibration. Here we present a first comprehensive dataset for the internal structure, aerodynamical properties (e.g., size, density, terminal velocity) and grain size of constituting particles of a variety of aggregate types collected in the natural laboratory of Sakurajima Volcano (Japan). Even though the described particle clusters represent the most common types of aggregates associated with ash-rich fallouts, they are of difficult characterization due to the very low potential of preservation in tephra-fallout deposits. Properties were, therefore, derived based on a combination of high-resolution-high-speed videos of tephra fallout, scanning electron microscope analysis of aggregates collected on adhesive paper and analysis of tephra samples collected in dedicated trays. Three main types of particle clusters were recognized and quantitively characterized: cored clusters (PC3), coated particles (PC2), and ash clusters (PC1) (in order of abundance). A wide range of terminal velocities (0.5–4 m/s) has been observed for these aggregates, with most values varying between 1 and 2 m/s, while aggregate size varies between 200 and 1,200 µm. PC1, PC2, and PC3 have densities between 250 and 500, 1,500 and 2,000, and 500 and 1,500 kg/m3, respectively. The size of the aggregate core, where present, varies between 200 and 750 µm and increases with aggregate size. Grain size of tephra samples was deconvoluted into a fine and a coarse Gaussian subpopulation, well correlated with the grain size of shells and of the internal cores of aggregates, respectively. This aspect, together with the revealed abundance of PC3 aggregates, reconciles the presence of a large amount of fine ash (aggregate shells) with coarse ash (aggregate cores) and better explains the grain size distribution bimodality, the high settling velocity with respect to typical PC1 velocities and the low settling velocities of large aggregates with respect to typical PC2 velocity. Furthermore, ash forming the aggregates was shown to be always finer than 45 µm, confirming the key role played by aggregation processes in fine ash deposition at Sakurajima

Paleoclimatic and paleobiological correlations by mammal faunas from Southern America and SW Europe

Proceedings of the 1" R.C.A.N.S. Congress, Lisboa, October 1992The preliminary results of a research dealing with the study of global changes in the last 5 Ma by correlations of continental records between the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres (SW Europe and Argentina, respectively) are reported. The first analyses of the evolutionary patterns point out, in Argentina, two different turnover times: the first one is characterized by a high percentage of mammalautochthonous extinctions placed in the span of time between the last Chapadmalalan and the first Ensenadan faunas, around 2.5-2.3 Ma. It is possible to identify a high percentage of new immigrant genera from North America in the first turnover, while the second one, associated to the "last Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions", probably occurred at the beginning of the "Glacial Pleistocene", around 1.0-0.8 Ma. The oxygen isotope composition of phosphate from fossil mammal bones was measured to have a better climatic resolution from faunal elements of two hemispheres and to compare them by results as quantitative as possible. The preliminary efforts are brought out on fourteen deposits from SE Spain. Isotopic and chemical results strongly suggest the existence of a relation between the oxygen isotope composition in various skeletal components and the taphonomic processes of a single deposit. The variations of 0180 in the mammal teeth of Equidae from SE Spain suggest a shift towards a colder environment from the older one, Huelago, to more recent deposits, as well as from Venta Micena to Fuensanta in agreement with the transition from the Middle to the Upper Villafranchian, around 2.5 Ma, and the transition between the "Preglacial" to the "Glacial" Pleistocene, around 1.9-0.8 Ma

The Indris have got rhythm! Timing and pitch variation of a primate song examined between sexes and age classes

A crucial, common feature of speech and music is that they show non-random structures over time. It is an open question which of the other species share rhythmic abilities with humans, but in most cases the lack of knowledge about their behavioral displays prevents further studies. Indris are the only lemurs who sing. They produce loud howling cries that can be heard at several kilometers, in which all members of a group usually sing. We tested whether overlapping and turn-taking during the songs followed a precise pattern by analysing the temporal structure of the individuals' contribution to the song. We found that both dominants (males and females) and non-dominants influenced the onset timing one another. We have found that the dominant male and the dominant female in a group overlapped each other more frequently than they did with the non-dominants. We then focused on the temporal and frequency structure of particular phrases occurring during the song. Our results show that males and females have dimorphic inter-onset intervals during the phrases. Moreover, median frequencies of the unit emitted in the phrases also differ between the sexes, with males showing higher frequencies when compared to females. We have not found an effect of age on the temporal and spectral structure of the phrases. These results indicate that singing in indris has a high behavioral flexibility and varies according to social and individual factors. The flexible spectral structure of the phrases given during the song may underlie perceptual abilities that are relatively unknown in other non-human primates, such as the ability to recognize particular pitch patterns