Learning through the waste: olfactory cues from the colony refuse influence plant preferences in foraging leaf-cutting ants

Leaf-cutting ants learn to avoid plants initially harvested if they proved to be harmful for their symbiotic fungus once incorporated into the nest. By this time, waste particles removed from the garden likely contain cues originating from both the unsuitable plant and the damaged fungus. We investigated whether leaf-cutting ant foragers learn to avoid unsuitable plants solely through the colony waste. We fed subcolonies of Acromymex ambiguus privet leaves treated with a fungicide undetectable for the ants, collected later the produced waste, and placed it into the fungus chamber of naïve subcolonies. In individual choice tests, naïve foragers preferred privet leaves before, but avoided them after waste was given into the fungus chamber. Evidence on the influence of olfactory cues from the waste on decision making by foragers was obtained by scenting and transferring waste particles from subcolonies that had been fed either fungicide-treated or untreated leaves. In choice experiments, foragers from subcolonies given scented waste originating from fungicide-treated leaves collected less sugared paper disks smelling to it, as compared to foragers from subcolonies given scented waste from untreated leaves. Results indicate that foragers learn to avoid plants unsuitable for the fungus by associating plant odours and cues from the damaged fungus that are contingent in waste particles. It is argued that waste particles may contribute to spread information about noxious plants for the fungus within the colony.Fil: Arenas, Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentina. Universität Würzburg; AlemaniaFil: Roces, Flavio. Universität Würzburg; Alemani

Ser campesina en la Amazonia : la agroecología como herramienta de cambio en los roles de género

Contiene las notas "La Violación del Derecho al asociacionismo y al cooperativismo en Brasil", de Jair Ferreira de Souza (INCOPE) y Joan Ribas Sebastian (politólogo), y "La cooperativa de la ética", de Esnetik

The Militant Nun as Political Activist and Feminist in Martial Law Philippines

During the martial law era (1972-1986), the militant nuns were the most visible symbols of political activism: they dominated the Task Force Detainees, they were active in the underground press, and were present in the labour strikes and demonstrations. But, in becoming political activists, they discovered the potential of moral power as women religious figures. During the People Power revolution, for example, the nuns – armed only with rosaries, confronted the military (the supreme example of machismo politics) and triumphed. In the process of attacking political oppression, these nuns also began to challenge cultural constructions of the feminine – becoming the first overt feminists to do so in Philippine history. This paper explores how martial law transformed these women into militant activists and feminists. Although driven by their struggle to protect the victims of martial law, they also succeeded in empowering themselves. This new ‘moral power’ has since been harnessed for women’s issues

Long-term avoidance memory formation is associated with a transient increase in mushroom body synaptic complexes in leaf-cutting ants

Long-term behavioral changes related to learning and experience have been shown to be associated with structural remodeling in the brain. Leaf-cutting ants learn to avoid previously preferred plants after they have proved harmful for their symbiotic fungus, a process that involves long-term olfactory memory. We studied the dynamics of brain microarchitectural changes after long-term olfactory memory formation following avoidance learning in Acromyrmex ambiguus. After performing experiments to control for possible neuronal changes related to age and body size, we quantified synaptic complexes (microglomeruli, MG) in olfactory regions of the mushroom bodies (MBs) at different times after learning. Long-term avoidance memory formation was associated with a transient change in MG densities. Two days after learning, MG density was higher than before learning. At days 4 and 15 after learning—when ants still showed plant avoidance—MG densities had decreased to the initial state. The structural reorganization of MG triggered by long-term avoidance memory formation clearly differed from changes promoted by pure exposure to and collection of novel plants with distinct odors. Sensory exposure by the simultaneous collection of several, instead of one, non-harmful plant species resulted in a decrease in MG densities in the olfactory lip. We hypothesize that while sensory exposure leads to MG pruning in the MB olfactory lip, the formation of long-term avoidance memory involves an initial growth of new MG followed by subsequent pruning

Simulación de la Remodelación Ósea tras la Implantación de Vástagos de Cadera

La implantación de un componente protésico en el cuerpo humano supone una alteración biológica y mecánica. Esto implica reacciones de la estructura del hueso y en las partes blandas cercanas a la implantación, que pue-den derivar en problemas postoperatorios. Una de las reacciones más estudiadas y con mayor influencia en el éxito o fracaso de una prótesis es la remodelación ósea. En los últimos años, con la mejora de la computación y la imagen médica, se ha estudiado y simulado la remodelación ósea del fémur y de otros huesos. Todas las inves-tigaciones concluyen que el diseño y materiales del implante, la calidad inicial del hueso y el posicionamiento y alineación correcta durante la intervención quirúrgica, son parámetros que afectan a la remodelación ósea y pueden provocar problemas en la zona intervenida. Las zonas cercanas al implante que tengan un decremento importante de las tensiones internas óseas, sufrirán una pérdida de densidad y pueden derivar en aflojamientos del implante. El objetivo de este trabajo es establecer un sistema predictivo, basado en los modelos de bajo coste compu-tacional utilizados previamente por los autores, que permita obtener datos de la futura remodelación ósea tras la implantación de una prótesis. Aunque ya existen modelos matemáticos y software informático que aplican la remodelación ósea esta propuesta pretende reducir los costes, tanto económico como temporal, para realizar una predicción rápida de las posibles alteraciones en la estructura del hueso

Superstars power, mining the paths to stars’ persuasion

This paper analyzes the influence of star power on the cinema market. The study adopts two gauges of star power, one based on the industry’s opinion and one based on the market’s interest. The article merges contributions in the persuasion and cinema market literatures to examine the influence of star power over spectators. This study use machine learning methods based on support vector ordinal regression to analyze the paths to superstars’ persuasion. The present research shows differences in the persuasion effect of star power based on the industry and star power based on the market. Similarly, there are differences in the influence of star power among men and women. The results of this study help to explain the mixed findings of previous research on superstars’ powe

Mujeres, agroecología y soberanía alimentaria en la comunidad Moreno Maia del Estado de Acre. Brasil

Following the polical proposal of the Food Sovereignty, Agroecology proposes alternative rural development strategies to the agro-industrial predominant model in the current context of globalization. In this essay, we argued that, despite the conceptual blindness of gender in Agroecology, agroecological projects open a door that leads to the participation, visibility and enhancement of women's work. At the same time they are moving toward an agrofood organization, less unsustainable, and they come together with the Ecofeminism thesis. Our thoughts are based on the experience of the women participating in the agroecological ACS-Amazon network from the Moreno-Maia Community in the State of Acre in Brazil.La Agroecología, en coherencia con la propuesta política de la Soberanía Alimentaria, propone estrategias de desarrollo rural alternativas al modelo agroindustrial dominante en el actual contexto de la globalización. En este trabajo argumentamos que, pese a la ceguera conceptual hacia el género de la Agroecología, los proyectos agroecológicos abren puertas a la participación, visibilización y valorización del trabajo de las mujeres a la vez que avanzan hacia una organización agroalimentaria menos insustentable, confluyendo con las tesis ecofeministas. Las reflexiones se fundamentan en la experiencia de las mujeres del Comunidad Moreno-Maia que participan en la red agroecológica ACS-Amazonía en el Estado de Acre en Brasil

Mujeres, agroecología y soberanía alimentaria en la comunidad Moreno Maia del Estado de Acre. Brasil

La Agroecología, en coherencia con la propuesta política de la Soberanía Alimentaria, propone estrategias de desarrollo rural alternativas al modelo agroindustrial dominante en el actual contexto de la globalización. En este trabajo argumentamos que, pese a la ceguera conceptual hacia el género de la Agroecología, los proyectos agroecológicos abren puertas a la participación, visibilización y valorización del trabajo de las mujeres a la vez que avanzan hacia una organización agroalimentaria menos insustentable, confluyendo con las tesis ecofeministas. Las reflexiones se fundamentan en la experiencia de las mujeres del Comunidad Moreno-Maia que participan en la red agroecológica ACS-Amazonía en el Estado de Acre en Brasil.Following the polical proposal of the Food Sovereignty, Agroecology proposes alternative rural development strategies to the agro-industrial predominant model in the current context of globalization. In this essay, we argued that, despite the conceptual blindness of gender in Agroecology, agroecological projects open a door that leads to the participation, visibility and enhancement of women's work. At the same time they are moving toward an agrofood organization, less unsustainable, and they come together with the cofeminism thesis. Our thoughts are based on the experience of the women participating in the agroecological ACS-Amazon network from the Moreno-Maia Community in the State of Acre in Brazil

The spatial level of analysis affects the patterns of forest ecosystem services supply and their relationships

The implementation of the Ecosystem Services (ES) framework (including supply and demand) should be based on accurate spatial assessments to make it useful for land planning or environmental management. Despite the inherent dependence of ES assessments on the spatial resolution at which they are conducted, the studies analyzing these effects on ES supply and their relationships are still scarce. To study the influence of the spatial level of analysis on ES patterns and on the relationships among different ES, we selected seven indicators representing ES supply and three variables that describe forest cover and biodiversity for Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula). These indicators were estimated at three different scales: local, municipality and county. Our results showed differences in the ES patterns among the levels of analysis. The higher levels (municipality/county) removed part of the local heterogeneity of the patterns observed at the local scale, particularly for ES indicators characterized by a finely grained, scattered distribution. The relationships between ES indicators were generally similar at the three levels. However, some negative relationships (potential trade-offs) that were detected at the local level changed to positive (and significant) relationships at municipality and county. Spatial autocorrelation showed similarities between patterns at local and municipality levels, but differences with county level. We conclude that the use of high-resolution spatial data is preferable whenever available, in particular when identifying hotspots or trade-offs/synergies is of primary interest. When the main objective is describing broad patterns of ES, intermediate levels (e.g., municipality) are also adequate, as they conserve many of the properties of assessments conducted at finer scales, allowing the integration of data sources and, usually, being more directly relevant for policy-making. In conclusion, our results warn against the uncritical use of coarse (aggregated) spatial ES data and indicators in strategies for land use planning and forest conservation.We thank to the volunteers fromthe Catalan Ornithological Institute (ICO) and Dr. Miquel de Cáceres Ainsa for providing data for the analyses presented in this study. Funding was obtained from the Catalan Office for Climate Change (OCCC) through project ForESMap, from EU FORESTERRA program (INFORMED project) and from the Spanish government (CGL2013-46808-R and AGL2015-66001-C3-1-R). JVRD was supported by the Government of Asturias and the FP7-Marie Curie- COFUND program of the European Commission (Grant ‘Clarín’ ACA17- 02). We also thank the ECOMETAS (CGL2014-53840-REDT) network for support. This study also received funding fromthe European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the framework of the MultiFUNGtionality Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (IF-EF) under grant agreement No. 655815 and from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Serra-Hunter Fellow grant number UdL-AG-203). We thank Gabriel Borras and Gemma Cantos (OCCC) for useful discussion during the elaboration of this work. We are very grateful to all persons who made the two Spanish Forest Inventories possible and, especially, to their main coordinators, Ramon Villaescusa (IFN2) and Jose Antonio Villanueva (IFN3). We also thank two anonymous reviewers who helped us improve the quality of the manuscript