Ovarian growth during larval development of queen and worker of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae): a morphometric and histological study.

The present work reports the differences between the ovarian grow in queen and worker larvae of A. mellifera, from the start of differential feeding. The observations made of the growth rates in larvae of both castes showed that the queen and worker larvae have the same rates of cephalic capsule growth from one instar to another but the weight gain is greater in queens. In the same way, the draw areas of ovaries of queens increase more and continuously, while from the 5th instar on the ovaries of workers decrease in size. The decrease is due to a loss of ovariole numbers that starts early in the worker larvae and increases in the 4th-5th instar. The ovarian shape in queens and workers became different in the last larval instars.

Influence of the colony cycle on physiological and morphological caste variation in the perennial neotropical swarm-founding social wasp, Protonectarina sylveirae (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini)

This paper describes the influence of the colony cycle on caste differences in Protonectarina sylveirae. Despite invariably keeping the main aspects of the conspicuous dimorphism between the castes, it is shown that: 1- queen-worker differences varied according to the progress of the colony cycle, 2- queens in pre-emergence colonies were smaller than those in male-producing ones, 3- workers were larger in pre-emergence than in other colony stages, 4- at particular steps of the colony cycle, non-inseminated ovary-developed queens and workers were detected. The size of the spermatheca differed between inseminated and non-inseminated queens with the highest values appearing in those bearing the most developed kind of ovary development. Differences between inseminated and non-inseminated queens were found in tergites III and IV, ovarian development and amount of fatty tissues. Because tergite size relates to gaster size, this character may be an important stimulus for selection of larger queens in the course of the colony cycle.

The role of workers in transferring queen substances and the differences between worker castes in the leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The present study focused on the relationship between the queen and workers in Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus colonies mediated by the possible transfer of substances from the fertile to the sterile caste. The queens were submitted to different situations of physical limitation, i.e., they were kept isolated in cages with holes that only permitted the entry of workers but left the queen isolated. A tracer (water-soluble dye) was applied to the pronotum and gaster of the queen and its dispersal among workers was analyzed. The results demonstrated that the minor sub caste (0.7-0.9 mm) passed on the dye through allogrooming and self-grooming, or transferred the dye through trophallaxis to the major sub caste (1.2-2.0 mm) when they were not in direct contact with the queen. These findings indicate the communication and probable transfer of substances from the queen to the workers, as well as a substance transfer between workers.

Queen lipid content and nest growth in the leaf cutting ant (Atta sexdens rubropilosa) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The relationship between the queens' lipid content and nest growth (population size, biomass and nest architecture) was studied from founding up to 1 year. Nests aged 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12 months were dug in the field, and their dimensions were measured. The ant nest population and fungus garden was also collected. The sample was taken to the laboratory where we counted the worker population and weighed the biomass (fungus plus offspring) and queens. Queens were separated for the determination of lipids. The lipid content in the bodies of queens decreased in the first months, then stabilized (at 4-6 months) before increasing in months 9 and 12. Nest biomass (symbiotic fungus and offspring) and worker population increased over time. The structural growth of the nests was observed by excavating around them. Initially nests (3 months old) had one chamber at an average depth of 15 cm. By 1 year, the nests had three or four deep chambers, and were about 3-4 m deep. Our study contributes to knowledge of the dynamics of the energy-reserve expenditure by queens during colony founding and colony development for up to 1 year. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

The embodied embedded character of system 1 processing

In the last thirty years, a relatively large group of cognitive scientists have begun characterising the mind in terms of two distinct, relatively autonomous systems. To account for paradoxes in empirical results of studies mainly on reasoning, Dual Process Theories were developed. Such Dual Process Theories generally agree that System 1 is rapid, automatic, parallel, and heuristic-based and System 2 is slow, capacity-demanding, sequential, and related to consciousness. While System 2 can still be decently understood from a traditional cognitivist approach, I will argue that it is essential for System 1 processing to be comprehended in an Embodied Embedded approach to Cognition.© MSM 2013.

A dramatização da crise dos valores sociais e humanos em Tess of the d'Urbervilles, de Thomas Hardy

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Mito, lenda e história em Matrinchã do Teles Pires: a construção do terreno ficcional

Pós-graduação em Letras - IBILCE

Andromaque, de Jean Racine: duas leituras

Este artigo tem o objetivo de apresentar uma obra-prima do teatro clássico francês: Andromaque (1667), de Jean Racine. Primeiramente, efetuamos sua leitura segundo os princípios da doutrina clássica, que se formou entre 1620 e 1660, na França. Nessa perspectiva, Andrômaca, rainha troiana vencida e cativa, é a personagem triunfante, uma forte personalidade feminina fora do alcance do leitor/espectador: quem é de fato Andrômaca, enquanto Pirro não está morto? Em seguida, destacamos uma das análises realizadas pela crítica literária do século XX, a qual utilizou instrumentos interpretativos vários. A leitura que fez Roland Barthes (1963) em Sur Racine subverte a interpretação anterior que se fazia à luz da doutrina clássica, apresentando-nos Pirro como o grande herói trágico, e a personagem mais emancipada do teatro raciniano.

A recepção do mito de Heráclio por Gautier d’Arras

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A figura de Dido em Virgílio e Ovídio: uma análise da rainha cartaginesa na Epopeia e na Elegia

This paper has been written as monograph. Its objective is to create a scene of the way the queen Dido is constructed in Virgil's Aeneid and in Ovid's Heroid 7, aiming a comparison between the two constructions of this character, to establish their resemblances and differences. Thus we are able to build the picture that both writers composed for this so important woman for latin literature

O mito de don juan e a subjetividade moderna

The legendary Don Juan character inhabits the popular imaginary with such a vibrancy of a myth, despite its slight recognition as such by the scientific literature. The purpose of this article is to verify if Don Juan’s play can be understood, scientifically, as a modern myth, as well as understand its mythical nature and its relation to the modern man. A structural and historical analysis of the two first plays on Don Juan has guided us: the one written by Tirso de Molina in 1630, and the one by Molière, written in 1665. The studies allow us to say that Don Juan is a typical modern myth, once it is constituted by narratives that expose a world looming under the signs of individualism, hedonism, arrogance and audacity forged under the appeals of sexual desire.

A rainha Margot em duas versões

This paper presents a comparative study concerning the novel The queen Margot (1845), by Alexandre Dumas father, and the homonymous movie (1994), by Patrice Chéreau, mainly considering its historical character, the production conditions of each “discourse” and the personages’ performances in both narratives. The novel has been originally published in the form of feuilleton in the French newspaper La presse, during the years 1844 and 1845, what explains its long extension and the correlation among the chapters. It constitutes a trilogy, the action of which takes place during the religion wars, affording to the text the classification of a traditional historical novel, having the episode of St. Bartholomew carnage as its most striking event. Regarding the movie, which has been awarded five Cesar prizes, two rewards in Cannes Festival and an indication to the Oscar for the best costume design, it also counts with Isabelle Adjani as the protagonist actress. With a few relevant differences regarding the novel, it is remarkable that the action in the movie happens in august 1572 in a Paris that is the center of conflicts among Catholics and Protestants. In this scenery, the comparison between the two artistic manifestations is based strictly on the analysis of the personages’ profiles, the circumstances in which they have been produced and the historical aspects surrounding the two works.

Local structure and hybridization states in Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti1-xZrxO3 ceramic compounds: Correlation with a normal or relaxor ferroelectric character

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

First record of chemical signals from the queen during the oviposition process in stingless bees

In stingless bees, the cell provisioning and oviposition process consists of several integrated behavioral sequences and several stereotyped queen-worker interactions. This study aims to demonstrate that chemical signals originating from the queen may contribute as cues for the sequence of the oviposition process in Melipona marginata. For this, we analyzed the cell before and after queen laying, and compared them with the cuticular hydrocarbons of the queen's abdomen, using a gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry system.

Solvation in aqueous binary mixtures: consequences of the hydrophobic character of the ionic liquids and the solvatochromic probes

Information on the solvation in mixtures of water, W, and the ionic liquids, ILs, 1-allyl-3-R-imidazolium chlorides; R = methyl, 1-butyl, and 1-hexyl, has been obtained from the responses of the following solvatochromic probes: 2,6-dibromo-4-[(E)-2-(1-R-pyridinium-4-yl)ethenyl] phenolate, R = methyl, MePMBr2; 1-octyl, OcPMBr(2), and the corresponding quinolinium derivative, MeQMBr(2). A model developed for solvation in binary mixtures of W and molecular solvents has been extended to the present mixtures. Our objective is to assess the relevance to solvation of hydrogen-bonding and the hydrophobic character of the IL and the solvatochromic probe. Plots of the medium empirical polarity, E-T(probe) versus its composition revealed non-ideal behavior, attributed to preferential solvation by the IL and, more efficiently, by the IL-W hydrogen-bonded complex. The deviation from linearity increases as a function of increasing number of carbon atoms in the alkyl group of the IL, and is larger than that observed for solvation by W plus molecular solvents (1-propanol and 2-(1-butoxy)ethanol) that are more hydrophobic than the ILs investigated. This enhanced deviation is attributed to the more organized structure of the ILs proper, which persists in their aqueous solutions. MeQMBr(2) is more susceptible to solvent lipophilicity than OcPMBr(2), although the former probe is less lipophilic. This enhanced susceptibility agrees with the important effect of annelation on the contributions of the quinonoid and zwitterionic limiting structures to the ground and excited states of the probe, hence on its response to both medium composition and lipophilicity of the IL.