As mulleres e o deporte : unha carreira de obstáculos. 'Las mujeres y el deporte: una carrera de obstáculos'.

Guía de trabajo para servir de apoyo y estímulo al profesorado de enseñanza secundaria obligatoria y postobligatoria, así como para talleres de estudio y debate de personas jóvenes y adultas, agrupaciones vecinales y para todos aquellos lugares donde exista interés por el estudio de los diferentes aspectos de la historia y de la situación de las mujeres ante el deporte. El objetivo de este trabajo es el análisis del origen de la discriminación de las mujeres en el deporte, detectar las causas por las que no se incorporan con normalidad tanto al deporte de competición como a las actividades deportivas no competitivas, y señalar algunos de los factores que en la actualidad impiden el acceso de las mujeres a estas actividades. A lo largo de la guía se especifican diversos aspectos, históricos y culturales sobre el deporte y la participación de las mujeres en diferentes etapas históricas y en diferentes actividades, analizando las dificultades de acceso, y el rechazo social que existió y todavía existe ante determinados aspectos de la participación femenina. Los materiales que se presentan se enmarcan en una propuesta de trabajo de coeducar para la paz, con la intención de que contribuyan a combatir prejuicios sexistas y raciales; y que se creen actitudes y comportamientos que conduzcan a una organización social más justa, más igualitaria y menos violenta.

Physical geography : the global environment.

Esta publicación proporciona una base para la comprensión de los sistemas ambientales de la Tierra y sus procesos, desde el lugar que ocupa nuestro planeta en el sistema solar, a los paisajes regionales resultantes de la erosión y las fuerzas tectónicas. El texto ofrece cincuenta y dos unidades agrupadas en cinco contenidos:una perspectiva global; atmósfera e hidrosfera; biosfera; la corteza inquieta; lo que esculpió la superficie. Al final de cada unidad hay una relación de términos clave, preguntas de repaso, referencias bibliográficas y recursos web que proporcionan a los estudiantes una manera interactiva de conocer más de cerca los conceptos expuestos en texto. Tiene además un apéndice con mapa político del mundo, un apéndice con las unidades y sus conversiones, guía de pronunciación figurada, glosario e índice.

Study guide to accompany Physical Geography : the global environment.

Esta guía de estudio está diseñada para mejorar la comprensión de la geografía física. Complementa las unidades del libro de texto y las experiencias de aprendizaje. Cada unidad sigue un formato idéntico: resumen de la unidad; objetivos de la unidad; glosario de términos clave; esquema de la unidad; preguntas de examen; auto-test que se puede utilizar para preparar los exámenes de respuestas cortas. Para cada unidad hay seis preguntas de selección múltiple y verdadero o falso.

Dextros y zurdos.

El fenómeno de las personas zurdas es considerado un problema que requiere una nueva aproximación, sobre todo a nivel educativo. Para ello se parte de los antecedentes históricos y etológicos, para llegar a la preocupación social actual que supone el hecho de que algunos miembros de la sociedad sean zurdos. Es preciso desterrar la noción de la antigüedad, por la cual los zurdos eran consideraba seres inferiores, y arraigar el hecho de que el ser zurdo no supone ningún inconveniente desde el punto de vista psíquico como fisiológico, ni para el desempeño profesional o el desenvolvimiento en el medio social. A continuación se analizan las principales causas por las que una persona puede ser zurda, como la herencia genética, causas específicas de configuración cerebral, o por una lesión cerebral en un hemisferio del cerebro. Además se dan una serie de datos estadísticos sobre la frecuencia de la zurdez en diferentes estudios de autores como Muller u Ogle, así como los de un estudio realizado en un grupo de 1.458 escolares barceloneses de ambos sexos. De los 758 niños, son zurdos 80, lo que representa el 7,9 por 100. Mientras, en las 700 niñas observadas, son zurdas, 26, lo cual supone el 3,7 por 100. Los últimos puntos que se tratan son la determinación de la lateralidad, la dominancia cerebral y la relación entre zurdez y educacion.

Vibrational spectroscopy of a compound with a CS7 ring

The product of the Asinger reaction between elemental sulfur, n-butylamine and acetophenone is 8-(n-butylaminophenylmethyliden)-1,2,3,4,5,6,7-heptathiocane which contains a CS7 ring. A combination of infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopies with periodic density functional theory calculations is used to provide a complete assignment of the vibrational spectra of this unusual species. The similarity between the Raman spectra of the compound and that of elemental sulfur is particularly striking. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Detecting local adaptation in widespread grassland species - the importance of scale and local plant community

1 Adaptation of plant populations to local environments has been shown in many species but local adaptation is not always apparent and spatial scales of differentiation are not well known. In a reciprocal transplant experiment we tested whether: (i) three widespread grassland species are locally adapted at a European scale; (ii) detection of local adaptation depends on competition with the local plant community; and (iii) local differentiation between neighbouring populations from contrasting habitats can be stronger than differentiation at a European scale. 2 Seeds of Holcus lanatus, Lotus corniculatus and Plantago lanceolata from a Swiss, Czech and UK population were sown in a reciprocal transplant experiment at fields that exhibit environmental conditions similar to the source sites. Seedling emergence, survival, growth and reproduction were recorded for two consecutive years. 3 The effect of competition was tested by comparing individuals in weeded monocultures with plants sown together with species from the local grassland community. To compare large-scale vs. small-scale differentiation, a neighbouring population from a contrasting habitat (wet-dry contrast) was compared with the 'home' and 'foreign' populations. 4 In P. lanceolata and H. lanatus, a significant home-site advantage was detected in fitness-related traits, thus indicating local adaptation. In L. corniculatus, an overall superiority of one provenance was found. 5 The detection of local adaptation depended on competition with the local plant community. In the absence of competition the home-site advantage was underestimated in P. lanceolata and overestimated in H. lanatus. 6 A significant population differentiation between contrasting local habitats was found. In some traits, this small-scale was greater than large-scale differentiation between countries. 7 Our results indicate that local adaptation in real plant communities cannot necessarily be predicted from plants grown in weeded monocultures and that tests on the relationship between fitness and geographical distance have to account for habitat-dependent small-scale differentiation. Considering the strong small-scale differentiation, a local provenance from a different habitat may not be the best choice in ecological restoration if distant populations from a more similar habitat are available.

Potential contribution of natural enemies to patterns of local adaptation in plants

Genetic differentiation among plant populations and adaptation to local environmental conditions are well documented. However, few studies have examined the potential contribution of plant antagonists, such as insect herbivores and pathogens, to the pattern of local adaptation. Here, a reciprocal transplant experiment was set up at three sites across Europe using two common plant species, Holcus lanatus and Plantago lanceolata. The amount of damage by the main above-ground plant antagonists was measured: a rust fungus infecting Holcus and a specialist beetle feeding on Plantago, both in low-density monoculture plots and in competition with interspecific neighbours. Strong genetic differentiation among provenances in the amount of damage by antagonists in both species was found. Local provenances of Holcus had significantly higher amounts of rust infection than foreign provenances, whereas local provenances of Plantago were significantly less damaged by the specialist beetle than the foreign provenances. The presence of surrounding vegetation affected the amount of damage but had little influence on the ranking of plant provenances. The opposite pattern of population differentiation in resistance to local antagonists in the two species suggests that it will be difficult to predict the consequences of plant translocations for interactions with organisms of higher trophic levels.

Climate vs. soil factors in local adaptation of two common plant species

Evolutionary theory suggests that divergent natural selection in heterogeneous environments can result in locally adapted plant genotypes. To understand local adaptation it is important to study the ecological factors responsible for divergent selection. At a continental scale, variation in climate can be important while at a local scale soil properties could also play a role. We designed an experiment aimed to disentangle the role of climate and ( abiotic and biotic) soil properties in local adaptation of two common plant species. A grass (Holcus lanatus) and a legume ( Lotus corniculatus), as well as their local soils, were reciprocally transplanted between three sites across an Atlantic-Continental gradient in Europe and grown in common gardens in either their home soil or foreign soils. Growth and reproductive traits were measured over two growing seasons. In both species, we found significant environmental and genetic effects on most of the growth and reproductive traits and a significant interaction between the two environmental effects of soil and climate. The grass species showed significant home site advantage in most of the fitness components, which indicated adaptation to climate. We found no indication that the grass was adapted to local soil conditions. The legume showed a significant home soil advantage for number of fruits only and thus a weak indication of adaptation to soil and no adaptation to climate. Our results show that the importance of climate and soil factors as drivers of local adaptation is species-dependent. This could be related to differences in interactions between plant species and soil biota.

Relative importance of fertiliser addition to plants and exclusion of predators for aphid growth in the field

Herbivore dynamics and community structure are influenced both by plant quality and the actions of natural enemies. A factorial experiment manipulating both higher and lower trophic levels was designed to explore the determinants of colony growth of the aphid Aphis jacobaeae, a specialist herbivore on ragwort Senecio jacobaea. Potential plant quality was manipulated by regular addition of NPK-fertiliser and predator pressure was reduced by interception traps; the experiment was carried out at two sites. The size and persistence of aphid colonies were measured. Fertiliser addition affected plant growth in only one site, but never had a measurable effect on aphid colony growth. In both habitats the action of insect predators dominated, imposing strong and negative effects on aphid colony performance. Ants were left unmanipulated in both sites and their performance on the aphid colonies did not significantly differ between sites or between treatments. Our results suggest that, at least for aphid herbivores on S. jacobaea, the action of generalist insect predators appears to be the dominant factor affecting colony performance and can under certain conditions even improve plant productivity.