Biology of the leech Actinobdella inequiannulata Moore, 1901 (Annelida: Hirudinea: Rhynchobdellida: Glossiphoniidae), parasitic on the white sucker, Catostomus commersoni Lacepede, 1803, and the longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus Forster, 1773, in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Actinobdella inequiannulata was found on the white sucker. Catostomus commersoni, and less frequently on the longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus, in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Catostomus commersoni parasitized with Act. inequiannulata was collected from July to October 1973 and May to October 1974. In May and October, less than 3% of the fish carried leeches. In July, 80% of the fish were parasitized with an average of 1.5 leeches/fish. Observations on leech weight suggest that young leeches attach to fish from May to September, some mature in July, and a second generation of leeches reparasitize the fish in August and September. The mean size of leeches on suckers increased from May until July, after which the size remained relatively constant. Leeches produced characteristic lesions on the opercula of suckers. Fully developed lesions on fish opercula produced by aggregated leeches had varying amounts of central erosion, extravasation, dermal and epidermal hyperplasia, and necrosis.

Para subsistir dignamente: Alberto Yarini and the search for Cubanidad, 1882-1910

This study looks at the broader transformations in Cuban history through the case study of a single, yet symbolic, man, and proposes a new paradigm for understanding the dynamics of Cuban society and culture. It also examines the implications for Cuba’s aspiring national identity at the turn of the twentieth century, by detailing the interplay between fact and fiction in the story of Alberto Yarini: elite born; well-educated; politically and socially well-connected; powerful; and celebrated Cuban racketeer and chulo (pimp). Yarini was described as vibrant and triumphant at a time when other nation-building forces in Cuba were weak and ambivalent. A century after his dramatic death, Yarini became the quintessential public man in Cuban lore who symbolized a cubanidad (Cuban national identity) not defined in terms of the ideological hegemony of class, race, or gender, and who through his actions dispelled the ambivalence that plagued Cuban nationalism. Using archival documents, contemporary newspaper accounts, court records, memoirs, and published works, this study analyzes the confluence of national events and individual action in the formation of Cuban national identity. It contends that for Cuba, the failure of nation-building experiments resulted in an ambivalent national identity based on failed philosophical and political ideals of equality and prosperity. These ideals played out within the context of the realities of racial discrimination, political dissonance, and class and gender barriers. Instead of a cohesive sense of national character, for Cubans the result was a competing set of identities including a populist version that was defined through identification with antitypes and pseudo-heroes such as Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León (1882-1910), a rising politician and celebrated chulo of the early republic. The telling and retelling of his story has given rise to what has been termed the island nation’s first national myth – one that continues to evolve and grow in the twenty-first century. For many Cubans, the Yarini antitype provided an idealized national identity which in many ways was—and many argue continues to be— the expression of an elusive and ambivalent cubanidad.

Data compilation on the biological response to ocean acidification: environmental and experimental context of data sets and related literature

The exponential growth of studies on the biological response to ocean acidification over the last few decades has generated a large amount of data. To facilitate data comparison, a data compilation hosted at the data publisher PANGAEA was initiated in 2008 and is updated on a regular basis (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.149999). By January 2015, a total of 581 data sets (over 4 000 000 data points) from 539 papers had been archived. Here we present the developments of this data compilation five years since its first description by Nisumaa et al. (2010). Most of study sites from which data archived are still in the Northern Hemisphere and the number of archived data from studies from the Southern Hemisphere and polar oceans are still relatively low. Data from 60 studies that investigated the response of a mix of organisms or natural communities were all added after 2010, indicating a welcomed shift from the study of individual organisms to communities and ecosystems. The initial imbalance of considerably more data archived on calcification and primary production than on other processes has improved. There is also a clear tendency towards more data archived from multifactorial studies after 2010. For easier and more effective access to ocean acidification data, the ocean acidification community is strongly encouraged to contribute to the data archiving effort, and help develop standard vocabularies describing the variables and define best practices for archiving ocean acidification data.

Waldo Balart y el arte concreto

El arte concreto, definido por Theo van Doesburg en su manifiesto Art concret de 1930, es un arte europeo, abstracto geométrico y universal, desconocido para el público en general, a pesar de tener un siglo de antigüedad. Sus obras se distinguen por ser ejecutadas mecánicamente a partir de bocetos, sólo con los elementos plásticos del arte (planos y colores), sin obtener ninguna referencia de la realidad u otro significado más que sí mismas. De igual modo, la finalidad de su contemplación, que requiere cierto esfuerzo de concentración, es inducir al espectador a un estado de consciencia, a través de una búsqueda interna. Por medio del estudio de uno de sus artistas, el pintor cubano Waldo Balart, afincado en Madrid, nos acercamos a dicho movimiento, repasando su trayectoria, su situación actual y la mentalidad global que comparten sus artistas. El objetivo de este trabajo es demostrar que Waldo Balart es un artista representativo de esta corriente, una conclusión que se ha evidenciado después de comprobar que las colecciones y museos más prestigiosos dedicados al arte concreto cuentan con su obra entre la privilegiada selección de artistas. Otro propósito es hacer visible que él es un artista que ha hecho una gran aportación a la historia del arte, algo que ha sido resuelto con el examen del extenso trabajo artístico y teórico con el que ha contribuido, producto de toda una vida de dedicación. Igualmente se ha revelado que por medio de su amistad ha influido en el trabajo de artistas tan importantes como Andy Warhol. Además, la finalidad de la investigación es probar que Waldo, cuyo apellido completo es Díaz- Balart, despierta un inmenso interés por ser una figura notable socioculturalmente, hecho que conlleva el pertenecer a una familia destacada política y socialmente; primero en su país natal, Cuba y luego en el país donde se exilio, los EEUU. Por otro lado, Waldo ha vivido en diferentes partes del mundo - Cuba, Nueva York, Madrid, Paraguay, Brasil y Bélgica - absorbiendo cosas destacable de varias culturas, en momentos puntuales que concentran una enorme atención. De ellos se destaca la explosión cultural que vivió en Nueva York, durante el reinado del expresionismo abstracto, el pop art y el minimalismo. Asimismo, en cada cultura ha convivido con personalidades tan relevantes como su excuñado Fidel Castro e incluso, fuera del plano artístico, él mismo desempeñó un valor social preponderante. Todas las circunstancias que rodean su atractiva personalidad, de alguna manera han sido absorbidas y proyectadas en su labor artística, en la que utiliza el color como herramienta expresiva. Con pretensión de evitar su dispersión y consiguiente perdida, así como de colaborar en el registro de la historia del arte contemporáneo, este ensayo reúne la mayor parte del material sobre un valioso artista, que hasta ahora está poco estudiado...

Queen's College Journal (1881-1882)

The Journal has been Queen's main student newspaper since it was founded in 1873. It appears twice a week on campus with a mix of news, sports, and entertainment stories, editorials, letters to the editor, and photographs. The paper is students' most important source of news and general information and has been a training ground for scores of Canadian journalists.

Queen's College Journal (1882-1883)

The Journal has been Queen's main student newspaper since it was founded in 1873. It appears twice a week on campus with a mix of news, sports, and entertainment stories, editorials, letters to the editor, and photographs. The paper is students' most important source of news and general information and has been a training ground for scores of Canadian journalists.

Book review: Chinese business in the making of a Malay state, 1882-1941: Kedah and Penang

Review of Chinese business in the making of a Malay State, 1882-1941: Kedah and Penang, by Wu Xiao An (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003)

Stratégies reproductives et sex-ratio chez le termite Cavitermes tuberosus (Emerson, 1925) -- Biologie des Organismes et Ecologie

Recently shown in some termites, Asexual Queen Succession (AQS) is a reproductive strategy in which the primary queen is replaced by numerous parthenogenetically-produced neotenic queens that mate with the primary king. In contrast, the workforce and alate dispersers are produced sexually. If the primary king is replaced by a sexually-produced neotenic son, the matings between neotenic male and females beget asymmetries in the reproductive value of alates, promoting a female-biased alate sex-ratio. Cavitermes tuberosus (Termitidae: Termitinae) is a soil-feeding tropical species, which shows parthenogenetically-produced neotenics and an AQS syndrome. Our work aims to characterize the reproductive strategies in this species by determining (i) the developmental scheme, (ii) the genetic origin of sexuals, (iii) the level of genetic structure (analysis of 65 nests distributed in 14 sites) and (iv) the alate sex-ratio.Our results show that (i) neotenic females develop from the third or fourth nymphal instar; (ii) the majority of neotenic females (82%) are parthenogenetically-produced while only 2% of female alates are so; (iii) nests are differentiated within sites, indicating that the foundation of new nests mainly occurs by nuptial flights; (iv) numerical sex-ratio of alate-destined sexuals is balanced (SRN=0.509, IC95%=0.497-0.522) while investment sex-ratio is slightly female-biased (SRE=0.529, IC95%=0.517-0.542). Altogether, our results demonstrate AQS and its implications in C. tuberosus, and reveal particularities compared to other species in which AQS has been demonstrated: neotenic-headed nests are less frequent than primary-headed ones and neotenic females never become physogastric. AQS is found in various ecological contexts and seems phylogenetically more widespread than previously thought. This strategy shows some evolutionary advantages but these seem to differ depending on species.

Annaes do Parlamento Brazileiro. Tomo VI [1882]

Anais do Parlamento Brasileiro, 1882.

Annaes do Parlamento Brazileiro. Tomo VII [1882]

Anais do Parlamento Brasileiro, 1882.