Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Aztecs'

Thesis (doctoral)--Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1987.
At head of title: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Departamento de Historia de América II. A facsimile of the author's doctoral thesis, awarded in 1989 at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Includes bibliographical references (p. [733]-789).

The present study examines the Great Temple of the Aztecs as it has been seen through the eyes of different people through time. It does not intend to be a comprehensive history of the Temple's interpretations, as many important viewpoints have been discarded for the sake of the central questions. It exemplifies three important moments in which the Great Temple of the Aztecs was "reinvented": sixteenth-century New Spain, the Enlightenment in New Spain and Europe, and the Mexican post-revolutionary PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) regime in the twentieth century. It concentrates on interests of three different groups of people which had different visions and agendas to fulfill: the regular orders during the sixteenth century (Franciscans and Dominicans), the early philosophers of history during the eighteenth century, and the scholars, scientists, artists and architects involved in the national reconstruction after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. This dissertation contains a history of the "ideas" of the Temple, revealing, among other things, the way in which contemporary Mexicans have constructed their identity and ways of action. The general ideas of "the Great Temple of the Aztecs" mediated by different viewpoints -as is the scientific one, or the one of the ruling party- say more about contemporary fields of knowledge and national politics than about the temple or the Aztecs "itself." The reading of these different interpretations does not intend to discredit them, but to raise the broader issue of the complexity of human self-understanding. The challenge would be to "loosen" rigid rational understandings in order to visualize the world as something that is given, alive, and unique. This would raise the possibility
La présente étude examine le Grand Temple des Aztèques comme il a été vu à travers les yeux de différentes personnes à différents moments de l´histoire. Il n'a pas l'intention d'être une histoire de l'interprétation du Temple, puisque de nombreux points de vue importants ont été mis de coté pour approfondir la question centrale. Il insiste sur trois grands moments dans lesquels le Grand Temple des Aztèques a été "réinventé": le XVIe siècle en Nouvelle-Espagne, le siècle des Lumières en Europe et en Nouvelle-Espagne, et le Mexique post-révolutionnaire du XXe siècle. L´attention est concentrée sur les intérêts des trois différents groupes de personnes qui avaient des visions différentes et des agendas à remplir, à savoir: les ordres réguliers durant le XVIe siècle (Franciscains et Dominicains), les premiers philosophes de l'histoire au cours du XVIIIe siècle, et les penseurs, scientifiques, artistes et architectes impliqués dans la reconstruction nationale après la révolution mexicaine de 1910. Cette thèse contient une histoire de "l'idée" du Temple, révélant, entre autres choses, la façon dont les Mexicains contemporains ont construit leur identité et leurs moyens d'action. Les idées générales du "Grand Temple des Aztèques" médiatisées par différents points de vue,-comme le scientifique, ou celui du parti au pouvoir-, dit encore plus sur la politique ou sur l'état des domaines de la connaissance contemporaine que sur le temple ou sur les Aztèques eux mêmes. La lecture de ces différentes interprétations n'a pas l'intention de les discréditer, mais de soulever la question plus large de la complexité de l'auto-compréhension de l'homme. Le défi serait de lacher un peu la p

The purpose of this project was to develop and fund a project to add a mental health component that will serve former gang members and their families. The host agency for this project is Aztecs Rising in Los Angeles. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to build insight and knowledge about the gang culture, risk factors for joining gangs, risk factors for leaving gangs, and mental health needs that pertain to the gang population. A thorough search for potential funding sources led to the California Endowment as the funding source for this project. A grant application was developed to support this project. Submission of the actual grant was not a requirement of this thesis project.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004.
"The following is an annotated English translation of the first thirty chapters of Book Two of the Oklahoma Codex, a paleographic Spanish manuscript book in the archives of the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ... The manuscript codex is catalogued in the Museum's Hispanic Documents collection as MS #185."--Pref. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 307-338).

This dissertation intends to demonstrate the impact of numerology in every aspect of the lives of ancient precolombian people as well as several contemporary American Indian tribes. For this reason numerology may be viewed as a true science, that is both an esoteric and a philosophical one. Thus, numbers may be looked upon not only as abstract signs, but as all inclusive entities in and of themselves. To the ancients, numerical symbols had an occult connotation that transcended the restrictive boundaries of simple computation. For instance, numerology had an integral role in Maya, Aztec, and some contemporary American Indian religious ceremonies. As an example, the high priests were able to predict future events by making intricate numerological computations. Further still, Maya and Aztec calendars were so accurate that they demonstrated an extraordinary knowledge of astronomical events. In order to accurately study the intricate subject of numerology it was necessary to divide the dissertation in several parts. These parts include a concise discussion of the Maya, the Aztec, and certain contemporary American Indian tribes. A general account of Maya, Aztec, and Contemporary American Indian culture and society was included, using the available data of present day archeological and written documents, in order to accurately describe the philosophy of these people. From an examination of the life and culture of these ancient societies, the basis for their myths of creation and the impact of numerology on those particular myths may be easily ascertained. The conclusion discusses how numerology shaped two great civilizations, that of the Maya and Aztecs, and how these basic esoteric numbers were absorbed and changed, to suit the needs and culture of some present day American Indian tribes.

Parmi les premières chroniques sur les civilisations préhispaniques, à l’importance fondamentale mais au destin souvent funeste, c’est de l’une des plus intéressantes et des plus énigmatiques, la Chronique X, dont il est question dans cette thèse. Ecrite en nahuatl et abondamment illustrée, il s’agit, et de loin, de la source la plus détaillée dont disposent les mexicanistes sur l’histoire des Aztèques, depuis leurs origines mythiques jusqu’à la Conquête espagnole. Actuellement considérée comme perdue, elle nous est toutefois partiellement parvenue à travers deux adaptations en espagnol du dernier quart du XVIe siècle, réalisées respectivement par un religieux dominicain d’origine espagnole, Diego Durán, et par l’un des petits-fils de Montezuma II, l’historien indien Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc.
Doctorat en philosophie et lettres, Orientation histoire de l'art et archéologie
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The aim of the thesis was to design a building named Hotel Aztec. The building will serve for accommodation and recreation. The restaurant is also part of the hotel. There is a car park near the hotel building. The hotel has four floors and basement. There are 26 suites, 2 of them are three bed rooms, 20 double or twin rooms and 4 single rooms. The south-facing orientation of the suites ensures sufficient insolation. In ground floor there is one twin room for disabled persons. In ground floor there is restaurant with kitchen connected with bar in basement. There is also wellness centre, mechanical rooms and storages. On the northeast side of the hotel there are offices and rooms for employees and training room. The loadbearing masonry is from sand-lime blocks and there are cast-in-place reinforced concrete slabs and concrete foundations. The external wall is insulated with ETICS. All roofs are warm flat, over the restaurant there is intensive green roof, The roof over the 2nd floor is walkable - roof terrace. Over the 3rd floor there is non-walkable flat roof. The building is heated by heat pumps and there is mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

Orientador: Leandro Karnal
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas
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Resumo: Este trabalho enfoca um manuscrito de tradição indígena, chamado Códice Telleriano Remensis, confeccionado em meados do século XVI na região central do México. Trata-se de um documento de patronagem européia composto por um sistema de notação indígena basicamente pictográfico e por textos em caracteres latinos. Foram realizadas análises do documento original com o auxílio da Codicologia, uma disciplina especializada no estudo dos manuscritos do ponto de vista material, e um estudo pormenorizado dos escribas/ pintores ou tlacuilos. O trabalho é focado, portanto, nas características materiais do códice (suporte, organização material, encadernações, restaurações, etc), visando à reconstrução de sua história de confecção, com enfoque no conteúdo imagético. A pesquisa trouxe dados importantes sobre a confecção e formação do manuscrito, que foi realizado por vários tlacuilos, os quais se vinculam estilisticamente a distintas tradições do México Central e mostram diversas formas de adaptar os conteúdos tradicionais indígenas ao papel e formato de livro europeu e às necessidades dos novos usuários. O códice é um material fascinante, de grande heterogeneidade, e as análises permitiram demonstrar suas diversidades internas, que refletem a complexidade e pluralidade das tradições indígenas e algumas formas de adaptá-las a materiais, convenções e concepções ocidentais
Abstract: The present work focuses on a manuscript of indigenous tradition called Codex Telleriano Remensis, created in the mid sixteenth-century in the central region of Mexico. It is a work of European sponsorship which is composed of a native notation system, basically pictographic, and through texts in latin characters. An analysis of the original manuscript was carried out with the help of Codicology, a discipline that specialises on the study of manuscripts from a material perspective, as well as a detailed study of the scribes/ painters, the so-called tlacuilos. The research is hence focused on the material characteristics of the Codex (support, material organization, binding, restorations, etc). The main objective of this analysis was to re-construct the history of its creation, with special emphasis on its pictographic content. The work developed brought important data into light regarding the history of the creation and development of the manuscript. The task was undertaken by several tlacuilos, which a related to different style traditions of Central Mexico and who show various forms of adapting the traditional indigenous contents to European paper and book formats, as well as to the needs of the new users. The Codex itself is a fascinating working material, with a great level of heterogeneity and, the analysis undertaken gave the opportunity to demonstrate its internal diversity, reflecting the complexity and pluralism of indigenous traditions and some of the forms used to adapt them to Western materials, conventions and concepts
Doutorado
Historia da America
Doutor em História

Resumo: A avaliação do contexto genético de organismos, bem como sua correspondência geográfica, formam um potencial para estudos biogeográficos históricos e filogeográficos. A interação Cecropia-Azteca é bastante conhecida por ser amplamente distribuída nos trópicos e pode servir de modelo para estudos populacionais e de coevolução. Este estudo tratou da interação entre Cecropia e Azteca, sua distribuição geográfica potencial e real e implicações genéticas e ecológicas dessa interação. Para este fim o trabalho foi divido em dois capítulos, o primeiro objetivou avaliar a distribuição geográfica de espécies do gênero Cecropia e formigas do gênero Azteca associadas. Buscou-se descrever a estrutura populacional de C. pachystachya, C. glaziovii e C. saxatilis nos locais de ocorrência, foram verificados quais os pares mutualísticos formados entre Cecropia-Azteca e foi produzido um mapa de distribuição potencial baseando-se na teoria de nicho ecológico. No segundo capítulo objetivou-se descrever a estrutura genética de C. pachystachya e C. glaziovii com marcadores ISSR-PCR, avaliar a variabilidade genética de Azteca com o gene do DNA mitocondrial COI e interpretar sobre possíveis efeitos de processos coevolutivos no sistema Cecropia-Azteca. O estudo abrangeu áreas da porção Sul da Mata Atlantica e região central do Cerrado. No primeiro capítulo indivíduos de Cecropia e Azteca foram amostrados em 19 pontos sendo onze na Mata Atlântica e oito no Cerrado. Em cada ponto de coleta foram amostrados 20 indivíduos de Cecropia e 20 exemplares de Azteca correspondente a cada árvore, buscando a rainha para fins de identificação. As árvores foram medidas em altura, circunferência a altura do peito (CAP) e número de ramificações, para interpretação de estrutura populacional. Utilizouse ainda dados de ocorrência das espécies de Cecropia estudadas para uma modelagem de distribuição potencial baseada na teoria de nicho, utilizando o aplicativo openModeller e o algoritmo MaxEnt para gerar um mapa para cada espécie. A distribuição observada mostrou que C.pachistachya é a mais amplamente distribuída, sendo observada em formações de Cerrado e de Mata Atlântica, C. glaziovii foi observada apenas em Mata Atlântica e C. saxatilis exclusivamente em Cerrado. A maioria de indivíduos das três espécies estudadas, estavam na faixa etária juvenil e adulta, férteis e plenamente estabelecidos, apesar de estarem em classes iniciais de tamanho. Os pares mutualísticos encontrados foram de C. pachystachya com A. alfari, C. saxatilis com A. alfari e C. glaziovii com A. muelleri. A espécie A. alfari se mostrou mais generalista na interação, ocorrendo em duas das espécies de Cecropia. A espécie A. muelleri foi mais específica, pois as formigas são mais agressivas e protetoras dos ninhos, sendo que esses ninhos provocam deformações no fuste principal das plantas de C. glaziovii. Os mapas de distribuição potencial gerados mostraram mais coerência com a distribuição observada para C. pachystachya e C. saxatilis do que para C. glaziovii, considerando as limitações do modelo, pois é sujeito aos dados de ocorrência que podem ter erros e também limitações do próprio algoritmo. No capítulo dois, para extração de DNA, amplificação através de PCR-ISSR e interpretação genéticopopulacional, utilizou-se oito populações de C. pachystachya e quatro populações de C. glaziovii coletando uma folha de cada uma das 20 plantas. Quatro primers amplificaram adequadamente para 94 indivíduos de C. pachystachya de Mata Atlântica e Cerrado e 36 de C. glaziovii de Mata Atlântica. Foram selecionados 50 exemplares de Azteca coletados e após a identificação foram submetidos ao sequenciamento do gene (COI), para inferência sobre variabilidade genética. As duas espécies de Cecropia mostraram baixa diversidade genética e a distribuição da variação se mostrou maior dentro das populações do que entre as populações, mostrando baixa estruturação genética correspondente às localidades de ocorrência. Existem efeitos de um conjunto de fatores homogeneizadores dessas populações referentes à sua biologia aliados a descontinuidade de coleta, bem como o número baixo de primers, que podem ter influenciado nesse resultado. Azteca mostrou uma separação em duas linhagens diferentes, porém essas linhagens não correspondem as duas espécies do estudo, misturando ambas e ainda, sem correspondência com a estrutura geográfica. Além disso, os agrupamentos não foram coerentes com a distribuição geográfica das amostras, talvez por existir espécies crípticas não detectadas morfologicamente ou por limitação na resolução do marcador, que isolado pode não ser adequado para algumas interpretações. As análises interpretadas em conjunto podem sugerir que estejam ocorrendo eventos coevolutivos que influenciem reciprocamente os mutualistas e resultem em consequências ecológicas e genéticas evidenciadas na falta de estrutura genética de Cecropia e na falta de padrões coerentes de variabilidade em Azteca de acordo com a estruturação geográfica.

This essay is study of Aztec stone boxes from the pre-conquest Aztec empire. My study focuses on the interpretation of carvings on the surfaces, as well as the interiors and lids when applicable. The study includes not only traditionally functional boxes, but also altars (blocks or basins) and offering chambers, as comparative examples. The thesis focuses on three specific stone boxes located in museums in Mexico, Germany, and Great Britain: the Islas y Bustamante Box (Museo Nacional de Anthropologi­a, Mexico), the Hackmack Box (Museum fur Volkerkunde, Hamburg), and the Ahuitzotl Box (British Museum, London, and Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin). I am studying the iconographic programs, with a focus on themes of auto-sacrifice and creation, carved on the art objects themselves and their function as story-telling devices, with or without the contents that the box may have contained. In their forms, the objects themselves are metaphors for space, time, Aztec history, and Aztec creation myths. The Hackmack Box depicts the creation god, Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent), and refers to the creation myth of mankind saved from the underworld and resurrected from the ashes of bones, using Quetzalcoatl's own blood. The box bears Montezuma's name glyph and is likely a tribute to his birth, his ascension and success as a ruler, and his piety. The Islas y Bustamante Box depicts the god of caves, Tepeyolotl, and refers to the myth that man ascended from caves, as all of life originated from the mouth of a cave that was also a natural spring. The box itself is a metaphor for this type of cave. The Ahuitzotl Box depicts the god of water Tlaloc, and refers to the myth of the tlaloques (helpers) discovery of "food-mountain", in other words, the discovery of maize that nourished the Aztec people. It has been linked to the dedication of the aqueduct built under the Aztec ruler Ahuitzotl, and serves as a tribute to this historical event. The cosmic arrangement of the motifs on these boxes reveal the object as a metaphor for space and time itself as they comply with the Aztec's earthly orientation of the heavens, the earth, an the underworld.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
A herbivoria é uma importante interação ecológica que pode apresentar impactos negativos na sobrevivência, crescimento e reprodução das plantas. A presença de estratégias de defesa podem diminuir esses efeitos ao evitar as injúrias causadas por herbívoros. Dentre as diferentes estratégias de defesa, a defesa biológica por formigas foi considerada a mais efetiva. Entender os benefícios que as plantas recebem da associação com suas formigas mutualísticas pode ajudar a compreender melhor a relação ecológica e evolutiva entre esses organismos. Nesse sentido, esta tese apresenta dois capítulos. No primeiro capítulo, com a finalidade de investigar os benefícios da presença da colônia de formigas para plantas, foram avaliados a taxa de crescimento da planta, a herbivoria, o conteúdo de nitrogênio e os investimentos em outras defesas em indivíduos de Cecropia glaziovii naturalmente colonizados e não-colonizados por Azteca muelleri. Além do benefício de proteção contra herbivoria, foi encontrado um aumento na taxa de crescimento de plantas colonizadas, que pode inclusive ser um benefício indireto provenientes da proteção contra herbivoria. Assim, no segundo capítulo, com o objetivo de verificar se existe um efeito da herbivoria no crescimento das plantas, foram avaliadas a dinâmica do crescimento, a herbivoria e a fauna de herbívoros em plantas jovens, ainda não colonizadas por formigas. De fato, foi encontrado um efeito negativo da herbivoria no crescimento de plantas jovens, corroborando assim a hipótese de que a proteção pelas formigas contra herbivoria beneficiaria o crescimento da planta. Além disso, os resultados da dinâmica de herbivoria nesse sistema revelaram que altos níveis de herbivoria são encontrados com pouca frequência em plantas jovens no seu ambiente natural. Embora diferentes estudos sejam necessários para determinar as reais causas destes resultados, podemos sugerir um investimento em outros tipos de defesas por essas plantas, evitando que as mesmas alcancem altos níveis de herbivoria ao longo do tempo. Dessa forma, esses resultados podem contribuir para elucidar os mecanismos de investimento em defesas de plantas durante a sua ontogenia. Além disso, se extrapolados para o restante da comunidade vegetal, podem ainda trazer importantes informações acerca dos fatores que afetam o sucesso do estabelecimento de plantas em florestas tropicais. Finalmente, as informações geradas pelos resultados da presente tese podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento da teoria de defesa de plantas.
Herbivory is an important ecological interaction that may negatively impact plant survival, growth and reproduction. Defensive strategies can reduce those effects by avoiding injuries by herbivores. Among the different defensive strategies, the biotic one promoted by ants was considered the most effective. Investigating the benefits that plants receive from their association with mutualistic ants can help better understand the ecological and evolutionary relationship between those organisms. This thesis contains two chapters. On the first chapter, in order to investigate the benefits of ant presence in plants, we evaluated the plant growth rate, herbivory, nitrogen content and other defenses investments on Cecropia glaziovii plant individuals naturally colonized and uncolonized by Azteca muelleri ants. We found that colonized plants grew faster than uncolonized plants, and this result could be an indirect benefit from herbivory protection. Thus, on the second chapter, in order to verify if there is an herbivory effect on plant growth we evaluated the plant growth dynamics, herbivory and herbivores insects on uncolonized young plants. In fact, we found a negative effect of herbivory on young plant growth, corroborating the hypothesis that protection against herbivory can benefit plant growth. Our results from herbivory dynamics revealed that high levels of herbivory are infrequently found on young plant in its natural environment. Although various studies are needed to explain these results, we can suggest an investment in diverse types of defenses by young plants, preventing them from reaching high levels of herbivory over time. These results may help to fully elucidate the mechanisms of plant defense investment during their ontogeny. Also, if extrapolated to the plant community, they can also provide important information about the factors that affect the successful of plant establishment in tropical forests. Finally, this thesis may contribute to the development of the plant defense theory.

This work explores the identity politics of performance through the example of an Aztec dancer in the United States, Texomazatl (David Vargas). A central theme involves how Texomazatl's performance of Aztec dance both contests and accomodates hegemony, often simultaneously. This theme is explored through an analysis of his performances before school-age children and "outsider" audiences as well as his reflections on ceremonial Aztec dance. Aztec dance is revealed as an act of resistance whose proliferation in the San Francisco Bay Area from the 1970's onward is closely tied to a social movement in the cultural empowerment of Mexican Americans within the United States. Hegemonic narratives in the United States that have historically portrayed Aztecs as a vanquished and extinct people challenge Texomazatl's presentation of Aztec dance as a continuing tradition. Texomazatl's deliberate methods of countering these obstacles in representing his identity include highlighting the presentation of his spoken narrative (which accompanies his dance performances)in a present tense format. Another method is the enlistment of audiences as participants in performances. In these ways, Texomazatl seeks to utilize audiences as agents of sorts for the inclusion of Aztec culture into the larger American cultural tapestry. Through the course of my research, questions emerged of how de-contextualizing dance through specific types of performances may be impediments to the positive and meaningful presentation of Texomazatl's culture to "outsider" audiences. The thesis thus explores larger questions of how cultural performers who perform as their livelihood at times have to navigate entanglements of cultural commoditization with the intent to bring about culturally educational performances and assertions of agency in their performances. The thesis also touches upon the notion of authenticity as an entrapping force historically used by the dominant society in defining and dismepowering marginalized populations. Texomazatl's experience provides an example of how concepts of authenticity of physical ethnic image may be strategically appropriated by a hisorically marginalized population (in this case, Mexican Americans through Aztec dance). In sum, Texomazatl's experience allows a consideration of how in the quest for social recognition identity revitalization may emerge out of a legacy of cultural assimilation.

Master of Arts
Department of Modern Languages
Douglas Benson
The principal objective of this paper is to provide a thematic teaching unit that explores the Aztec, Incan and Mayan cultures of Latin America, designed for a level II Spanish course. It contains theoretical underpinnings for teaching language, culture and literature while incorporating concepts related to the development of communicative competence; processing instruction; the use of scaffolding in the zone of proximal development; target language instruction; and the inclusion of authentic materials and language in the classroom. The classroom management strategies explained and used throughout the unit include pre, during and post-reading activities; small group activities that help to develop communicative competence through negotiation of meaning and interactional feedback; focused tasks and collaborative output tasks; the use of structured input, structured output and information exchange; the PACE approach to grammar teaching; and the incorporation of authentic aural and written texts. Lesson plans for an eighteen day unit consisting of 40 minute classes are outlined; the lesson objective, necessary materials, time needed for each activity, and expected results of each lesson are included. Each lesson activity is made clear through a description of the activity and instructions for the teacher. The daily lesson plans contain authentic and teacher-created materials that can be found in the appendices section. At the end of the thematic unit, students complete cumulative activities that relate indigenous cultures to present-day life in Latin America through investigating the influence of Aztec words on the Spanish and English languages, analyzing a poem about Peru, and reading an article about discrimination against Mayan descendants in Central America, Mexico and the U.S.

Pyrethroid-resistant Hyalella azteca with genetically-confirmed voltage gated sodium channel mutations were identified at three geographically isolated locations in Central California. In December 2013, H. azteca were collected from Mosher Slough in Stockton, CA, a site with reported pyrethroid concentrations at approximately twice the LC50 for laboratory-cultured H. azteca and shipped to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. These H. azteca have been maintained in pyrethroid-free culture since December, 2013 with one supplement of organisms from the same site in March, 2014. Abundant research exists on fitness costs of insecticide resistance to pest species including reduced fecundity, fertility, reduced overwintering success, and reduced survival to adulthood. The current study showed that after 22 months in culture, resistant animals had approximately 53 times higher tolerance to permethrin than non-resistant H. azteca. After 16 months in culture, the resistant animals maintained complete loss of the wild-type allele at the L925 locus and had non-synonymous substitutions that resulted in either a leucine-isoleucine or leucine-valine substitution. Finally, the resistant animals showed lower reproduction, lower upper thermal tolerance, and were more sensitive to the common contaminants DDT, copper (II) sulfate, and NaCl. As shredders that consume epiphytes, animal and plant detritus, and filamentous algae, H. azteca aid in nutrient cycling through the breakdown and fragmentation of detritus and can serve as an important food source for larger invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and waterfowl. The results of the current study also hold implications for biomonitoring programs, toxicity testing, and laboratory culture procedures, as cryptic species complexes with varied sensitivities could dramatically alter results of these programs.

Chronic exposure to pyrethroid insecticides can result in sublethal impacts to non-target species in aquatic systems, driving population-level changes. Characterizing the underlying mechanisms of resistance is essential to better understanding the role and potential consequences of contaminant-driven microevolution. The current study found that multiple mechanisms enhance the overall phenotypic expression of resistance characteristics in Hyalella azteca. In VGSC mutated H. azteca, both adaptation and acclimation traits appear to play a role in the attenuation of the adverse effects to pyrethroid exposures. Pyrethroid resistance is primarily attributed to the heritable mutation at various loci of the voltage-gated sodium channel, resulting in reduced target-site sensitivity. However, some additional reduced pyrethroid sensitivity was also conferred through reversible physiological responses to environmental conditions, such as enhanced enzyme-mediated detoxification. Cytochrome p450 monooxygenases (CYP450) and general esterases (GE) were the biotransformation pathways that significantly contributed to the detoxification of permethrin in H. azteca. Over time, VGSC mutated H. azteca retained most of their pyrethroid resistance, though there was some increased sensitivity from parent to offspring when reared in the absence of pyrethroid exposure. The permethrin 96 h LC50 declined from 1809 ng/L in P0 individuals to 1123 ng/L in the F1 generation, though still remained well above the 20.4 ng/L of wild-type individuals. This reduction in tolerance was likely related to alterations in acclimation mechanisms conferring resistance traits, rather than changes to target-site sensitivity. Enzyme bioassays indicated decreased CYP450 and GE enzyme activity from P0 to F1, whereas the VGSC mutation was retained. The permethrin LC50 values in resistant H. azteca were still two orders-of-magnitude higher than non-resistant populations indicating that the largest proportion of resistance was maintained through the inherited VGSC mutation. Thus, some variation in phenotypic expression of resistance characteristics in H. azteca over time is likely associated with uninheritable genetic factors or non-constitutively expressed traits controlling enzyme pathways which overlie a strong heritable component of resistance. A better understanding of the mechanistic and genomic basis of variable acclimation will be necessary for better predicting the ecological and evolutionarily consequences of contaminant-driven change in H. azteca.

Se expone la experiencia laboral obtenida dentro de Banco Azteca para el proyecto de Banca Digital; específicamente en el proceso para la inclusión de una aplicación (App) para teléfonos móviles por medio de la cual las personas pueden acceder a los productos y servicios del banco.

There exists a vast literature examining every aspect of Aztec culture. Despite this, few studies focus specifically on Aztec architecture and its implications for understanding broader aspects of Aztec cosmology. This dissertation contributes to our knowledge of Aztec society through an exploration of architectural and urban design principles that guided the building of their cities and ceremonial precincts. By examining ethnohistoric and archaeological sources, and drawing on evidence from several disciplines—art, astronomy, geography, geometry, mathematics and religion—I compile a body of information relevant to the study of Aztec architecture and urban planning. Cosmovision studies offer an understanding of ritual space and time; pictorial manuscripts contribute mathematical insights; analyses of monumental sculpture provide geometric knowledge; and high mountain archaeological research highlight the sacred landscape. The resulting information was then used in a set of archaeoastronomical analyses of seven pre-Aztec and Aztec architectural complexes. This approach builds on previous studies that have revealed the importance of astronomical considerations in Mesoamerican settlements. In order to analyse Aztec ceremonial architecture and urban planning from an archaeoastronomical perspective, I developed a methodology that allowed accurate analyses of the astronomical and topographic orientations of settlements and ceremonial architecture. This methodology integrates a wide range of digital applications including Google Earth, Google Maps, solar charting, topographic analysis, open-content collaborative, geo-location-oriented photo sharing applications as well as a custom-built geometric application. The results allow for a new understanding of: (1) the design principles of the Huey Teocalli, the unique Aztec double-temple architectural type found in almost all of their ceremonial centres, (2) the layout and design principles utilized in the construction of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco and, (3) the Aztec remodelling of Tenayuca, Santa Cecilia Acatitlan and Teopanzolco. These analyses are also extended to the antecedent cultures of the region, revealing new aspects of the urban design principles of Teotihuacan and Tula including an additional interpretation of the Tlaloc mural in Teotihuacan. The implications of this research extend beyond Aztec scholarship, providing a replicable methodology that can be applied to the archaeoastronomical analysis of ancient settlements and ceremonial structures anywhere in the world.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Graduate

Submillimetre galaxies are an important element in the history of the universe. There have been great advances in technology in the last ten years that have enabled deeper and more detailed investigations of these distant objects. In thisthesis I describe investigations of the properties of high redshift submillimetre galaxies made using data from multiple surveys and multiple instruments. Firstly I describe the process involved in reducing AzTEC data to produce images. I then present the reduced maps and compare them, along with a source catalogue, to those produced by the AzTEC instrument team. I found both reductions produce broadly similar results with some differences that can be explained by slightly different sets of input maps. I then present an analysis of the fainter objects in one of the AzTEC fields using a stacking technique. This analysis determines the contribution Spitzer detected galaxies make to the background at 1.1mm, the redshift dependence of this contribution and the average dust mass that can be associated with it. I also describe an analysis of the ux ratios Eales et al. (2003)found using the available AzTEC data and Spitzer IRAC imaging. In the the penultimate chapter I describe the frequentist identification technique I used to determine counterparts to SCUBA submillimetre sources in the CUDSS three hour field using Spitzer infrared data.

En dos segmentos podremos diseccionar el objetivo general que perseguimos a lo largo de este texto de investigación historiográfica y antropológica. El primero de ellos es definir a nuestra disciplina desde una perspectiva contemporánea, lo que haremos a partir del siguiente parágrafo pues, creemos, se hace previamente necesario realizar una cierta reflexión constituyente de nuestra mirada de lo pretérito no-occidental, de lo que se ha escrito acerca de hechos o acontecimientos lejanos en el tiempo, o sea, de textos y de autores, de interpretaciones e ideologías, y llevar adelante ciertas consideraciones epistemológicas, de construcción de conocimientos, acerca de la comprensión del pasado del hombre creyente mesoamericano y, por lo tanto, del occidental-moderno que lo describe escripturariamente, signado por el cristianismo. Lo que aquí queremos hacer es, en segundo término, una “etnohistoria de lo religioso”, en la figura más importante en el viejo panteón mesoamericano, la preciosa serpiente de plumas verdes y azules, estudiando las fuentes coloniales mestizas e hispanas que tratan sobre su origen, desarrollo y ocaso, divino y humano, en la perspectiva mesiánica e histórica.

Licenciada en artes, mención teoría e historia del arte
El arte teotihuacano es uno de los más complejos en analizar debido a que su estilo de narración no es literal y hasta el día de hoy sólo se pueden dar interpretaciones aproximadas sobre estas obras, ya que lamentablemente no existen bases sólidas para decir con total seguridad qué es lo que realmente significan. Desafortunadamente muchas piezas han sido saqueadas pero otras que han sido encontradas gracias a excavaciones y estudios, han logrado que podamos dar una mayor interpretación y tener un poco más de claridad para hacernos una idea de la ciudad que fue Teotihuacan y cómo ésta atraviesa el paso de los siglos. En Teotihuacan existen lo que podemos llamar distintos cultos o especies de adoraciones a diferentes deidades y representaciones variadas de personajes humanos y antropomorfos, así también de animales los cuales llevan atributos humanos u otros que tienen una conducta completamente humana. Es un arte complejo de definir por sus abundantes representaciones, en murales encontrados en distintos conjuntos habitacionales y en general sus distintas expresiones artísticas que se han encontrado a lo largo del tiempo. Dentro del arte teotihuacano encontramos un animal que se ha repetido tanto en murales como en vasijas o figurillas de cerámica; me refiero a un animal que aún habita el valle de México, el coyote (Canis Latrans). Es poco lo que se sabe respecto al por qué de su representación, y mucho menos qué es lo que realmente significaba para los teotihuacanos. Con certeza sabemos que fue importante por la variedad de su reiteración en representaciones y, por supuesto, por los atributos que éste presenta en cada una de ellas.

Licenciada en artes, mención teoría e historia del arte
El estudio de la cultura teotihuacana exige un acercamiento a cada elemento constitutivo de su iconografía. Dentro de esos elementos iconográficos se encuentran las figuras de animales, entre las cuales destacan el jaguar, el coyote, la serpiente emplumada, y distintos tipos de aves. A pesar de que estas últimas son frecuentemente representadas, los estudios e investigaciones respecto de su significado e importancia dentro del repertorio iconográfico teotihuacano no han sido lo suficientemente desarrollados. Esta investigación pretende recopilar las principales representaciones de aves en pintura mural y cerámica, para establecer relaciones pertinentes con ciertos aspectos relevantes de la sociedad teotihuacana, tales como deidades, grupos de elite gobernantes y/o militares, etc. A partir de la interrelación y comparación de estas aves, se ha logrado una interesante recopilación de información, y posibles interpretaciones de su significado, que ponen de manifiesto la importancia de su aparición, y el papel que desempeñan, especialmente las aves que en este trabajo se han clasificado dentro de la categoría de “aves fantásticas”.

Algunas isoenzimas intervienen en procesos específicos de interés para los genetistas, tal como la floración, desarrollo de las plantas, altura, resistencia a plagas y enfermedades entre otras. Por lo que es importante determinar si existe expresión diferencial en lirio azteca (Sprekelia formosissima (L) Herbert durante las fases vegetativa y reproductiva por medio de marcadores bioquímicos. Durante estas fases, se recolectó tejido procedente de las hojas, los tépalos, el gineceo, y los estambres, y se maceraron adicionando un amortiguador de extracción, y cuyos extractos líquidos totales se usaron para determinar patrones isoenzimáticos mediante electroforesis en geles de almidón (SGE). La actividad enzimática diferencial se evaluó utilizando once sistemas isoenzimáticos, de los cuales sólo se observaron nueve formas enzimáticas o patrones de bandeo isoenzimáticos (PBI), a saber: dos bandas con peroxidasa (POX; EC 1.11.1.7), tres bandas mediante fosfatasa acida (ACP; EC 13.1.3.2), una con fosfoglucosa isomerasa (PGI; EC 5.3.1.9), dos para fosfoglucomutasa (PGM; EC 2.7.5.1) y una para malato deshidrogenasa (MDH; EC 1.1.1.37), la cual mostró el mismo PBI en todas las etapas de desarrollo de la planta. Para el propósito de esta investigación únicamente se consideraron los patrones de bandeo isoenzimáticos diferentes.
La agricultura, es una de las actividades económicas más añejas de la historia, le ha permitido al hombre satisfacer sus necesidades alimenticias mediante el cultivo de cereales, granos, legumbres, frutos, forrajes para la alimentación de ganado y la producción de especies ornamentales de corte y macetearía. La rama florícola es de gran importancia económica en México y diferentes partes del mundo debido a la generación de empleos e ingresos generados por la venta de flores en maceta y corte en las diferentes épocas pico del año; las más importantes en México son: día de San Valentín, día de la madre, del padre, muertos y celebración del día de la virgen de Guadalupe. Para satisfacer la demanda en estas fechas, se cultivan diferentes especies florícolas entre las que destacan rosa, lílis, áster, solidago, girasol, crisantemos, entre otras. Por otra parte, en México existen especies silvestres que tienen enorme potencial ornamental y amplia diversidad genética como el lirio azteca (Sprekelia formosissima (L) Herbert) que se ha utilizado desde tiempos prehispánicos por sus propiedades medicinales, alimenticias y por la belleza de sus flores rojas escarlata En algunos países europeos como España e Inglaterra, existen empresas que comercializan durante todo el año material vegetativo de la especie (Vázquez-García et al., 1998). Hasta la fecha, en México existen pocos trabajos de investigación en lirio azteca que citen avances en algún campo del conocimiento, principalmente en el mejoramiento genético y la biología molecular. Uno de los objetivos que tiene esta última, es saber cómo está organizada la información genética a través del estudio del ADN y los mecanismos de regulan la expresión de genes. Una de las herramientas empleadas es la electroforesis horizontal sobre geles de almidón y la tinción histoquímica de las proteínas, Las zonas activas de esta macromolécula con capacidad codificante, llamadas exones, estimulan la síntesis de enzimas específicas en las distintas etapas del desarrollo de un organismo. Estos productos génicos provienen de diferencias determinadas genéticamente en la secuencia de aminoácidos y no incluye modificaciones postraduccionales de la secuencia o estructura. (Scragg, 2000). En el presente trabajo, empleando la técnica de electroforesis sobre geles se logró identificar los diferentes patrones de bandeo en tejidos de S. formosissima colectados durante la fase vegetativa y reproductiva
CONACyT

Though highly advanced and of remarkable sociopolitical importance, Mesoamerican metallurgy has been an understudied field. Recently the study of Archaeometallurgy has begun to establish itself within the region, and archaeologists are increasingly using metal artifacts to address a wide variety of inquiries. While this new emphasis on Mesoamerican metallurgy is seen as a welcomed shift, rarely any studies have focused on the production of gold artifacts. The study of goldwork in this region is laden obstacles, which include the lack of well-defined mining sites, as well as the limited amount of artifacts from provenienced contexts. In the face of these obstacles, I propose a multidisciplinary approach that combines ethnohistoric, and experimental evidence in order compensate for the lack of archaeological evidence of gold production. This thesis attempted to recreate and evaluate the efficiency of four metal casting techniques that could have been available to pre-Columbian goldsmiths for the manufacture of gold sheets that were used by the province of Tlapa as part of their tributary payments to the Aztec Empire. Along with assessing the efficiency of these metal-casting techniques, this thesis also analyzed the debris discarded from each of these techniques in order to identify potential archaeological markers of gold production in Mesoamerica.

This dissertation seeks to test recent important theoretical ideas in the Principles and Parameters and Distributed Morphology frameworks against data from the relatively under-studied Uto-Aztecan languages. In this work I focus on the morphology of reduplication, noun incorporation and related derivational morphology, and the diachronic development of the polysynthetic morphological type in one sub-branch of the family (Corachol-Aztecan). With respect to prosodic morphology, I argue that the comparative Uto-Aztecan evidence suggests that reduplicants should be viewed as morphological pieces, and I analyze them as Vocabulary Items inserted into syntactic slots at Morphological Structure. I also argue that the evidence of cognate reduplication patterns across Uto-Aztecan supports a prosodic view of morphology, as well as the constraint-ranking approach to morphophonology. With respect to noun incorporation and derivational morphology, I argue that the comparative Uto-Aztecan evidence supports the view that denominal verbs are a sub-class of noun-incorporating verbs. I survey the noun incorporation types in Uto-Aztecan and classify NI in these languages into four types: N-V compounding, syntactic NI, classificatory NI, and "object polysynthesis". I offer a unified syntactic account of these types, maintaining that each is formed via head-movement in syntax. I provide a novel approach to hyponomous objects, suggesting that these are in argument positions, and that they are derived via the Late Insertion of material that is not cognate to the incorporated noun, but which is inserted into the lower copy of a movement chain. Non-theme "nominal" roots incorporated into verbs, such as instrumental prefixes, are analyzed as adverbial elements Merged directly into the verbal position. Finally, I argue that this theoretical analysis of NI leads naturally to a diachronic account of the development of polysynthesis in Nahuatl. I show that the crucial aspects of polysynthesis, subject and object pronominal marking on the verb as well as syntactic noun incorporation, have analogues elsewhere in Uto-Aztecan, and I offer a reconstruction of the likely stages of the development of polysynthesis in Nahuatl, each of which have attestation elsewhere in the family.

Orientador: Woodruff W. Benson
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
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Resumo: Neste trabalho são apresentadas informações sobre a biologia e os comportamentos de forrageamento e de defesa em Azteca cf. lanuginosa (Dolichoderinae), uma espécie de formiga que ocorre na região de cerrados do Brasil central. Seus ninhos foram vistos em áreas de cerrado do Distrito Federa_ de Goiás e de Minas Gerais e as observações foram feitas em áreas de cerrado do Distrito Federal. Azteca cf. lanuginosa constrói um ninho oval, de cartão, ao redor de um galho, normalmente em árvores altas e cada ninho corresponde a uma colônia. Externamente o ninho tem uma estrutura de escamas imbricadas e internamente é formado, por canais. Os canais superficiais contêm uma grande quantidade de exoesqueletos de insetos predados por esta formiga. As colônias têm mais de 50 mil operárias e são menores do que as de algumas outras espécies de Azteca que ocorrem em áreas de florestas neotropicais. Os ninhos podem sobreviver por mais de 8 anos e a mortalidade é devida principalmente ao fogo e à morte da árvore com o ninho (árvore suporte). Durante o processo de morte da árvore suporte, as colônias são capazes de se mudar mas uma mudança só foi observada na situação em que a copa da árVore suporte estava em contato com a copa de outra árvore. As operárias forrageiam na vegetação. A árvore suporte e outras plantas em contacto com ela são patrulhadas pelas operárias durante todo o ano, constituindo a área central de forrageamento da colônia. Durante a seca, período com menor disponibilidade de presas, as colônias ampliam a área de forrageamento e outras plantas são patrulhadas pelas operárias. A maioria das plantas incorporadas à área de forrageamento durante a seca estavam a até 3 m de distância do tronco da árvore suporte. Plantas mais distantes foram incorporadas à área de forrageamento quando o acesso a elas foi facilitado por ligações com pontes artificiais. As áreas de forrageamento das colônias tendem a permanecer constantes entre anos mas sofrem alterações quando ocorre morte de plantas na área central de forrageamento e após queimadas. As plantas, nas áreas de forrageamento de Azteca, são basicamente livres de insetos folívoros, mas podem ter a polinização afetada pelas formigas. Nas inflorescências de uma planta (Mimosoideae) foi observada uma alta taxa de predação de visitantes florais e, num período de 17 dias, houve uma redução na freqüência de visitas em inflorescências com alta densidade de operárias, sugerindo que os visitantes, especialmente abelhas do gênero Apis, passaram a evitar estas inflorescências. As operárias são ativas durante o dia, reduzindo drasticamente a atividade durante a noite quando uma baixa atividade é mantida em pelo menos parte da árvore suporte. As operárias utilizam um sistema de trilhas bem marcadas nos galhos maiores da área central de forrageamento e se espalham nos ramos mais finos e nas folhas patrulhando ativamente a área. Operárias em patrulha capturam insetos pequenos e utilizam recrutamento a curta distância, com a colaboração de outras operárias na imobilização destas presas. A utilização de exudados de homópteros como fonte de alimento é pouco freqüente e os insetos que pousam nas plantas são a principal fonte de alimento desta espécie. As áreas de forrageamento das colônias são compactas, mesmo durante a seca, e é sugerido que Azteca cf lanuginosa precisa manter uma alta densidade de operárias para manter o forrageamento por patrulha eficiente na captura de presas moveis. A captura de presas grandes e ágeis é feita por operárias em "grupos de emboscada". No comportamento de grupos de emboscada as operárias se organizam na superfície de uma folha, ficando lado a lado na margem, com as cabeças voltadas para fora. Um inseto que pousa sobre a folha é atacado de forma coordenada por estas operárias. Um inseto capturado é transportado para a superfície inferior da folha, onde é completamente imobilizado com a colaboração de operárias de patrulha, e as operárias do grupo de emboscada voltam a se organizar na margem da folha (substrato). Os grupos de emboscada são organizados pela manhã e se desfazem no final da tarde e este comportamento não é utilizado no final da seca nem em períodos com muita chuva. As mesmas folhas podem ser utilizadas para a organização de grupos de emboscada por longos períodos (mais de três meses) indicando uma fidelidade ao substrato. Operárias marcadas de três grupos retomaram aos mesmos grupos nos dias subseqüentes indicando uma fidelidade ao substrato ou ao grupo. As operárias também se organizam em "grupos de espera" na extremidade de ramos secos, na ráquis de folhas compostas e em inflorescências. Nos grupos de espera as operárias ficam paradas, próximas umas das outras e com as cabeças voltadas para o mesmo lado. Reagem rapidamente à presença de um inseto e são capazes de captura-lo mas, devido a sua disposição ao longo e ao redor de um substrato estreito, sua reação é menos coordenada e menos eficiente do que a das operárias em grupo de emboscada. Os grupos de espera colaboram com as operárias de patrulha na captura de presas, 11mcionando como operárias de reserva descentralizadas do ninho. Os grupos de espera ocorrem durante todo o ano e alguns permanecem na copa da árvore suporte durante a noite. Durante a noite as operárias se organizam no tronco da árvore suporte, logo abaixo das ramificações. As operárias permanecem lado a lado, com as cabeças voltadas para baixo, formando filas múltiplas ao redor do tronco. O conjunto de filas de operárias foi denominado de "cinturão de defesa", um comportamento não descrito para outras formigas. As operárias ativas durante a noite utilizam rotas, a partir do ninho, que passam próximo ao cinturão de defesa e atingem a extremidade dos ramos, onde podem ocorrer grupos de espera, no que parece ser uma rede de informações mantida no período de baixa atividade da colônia. A distribuição de tamanho (largura da cápsula cefálica) das operárias é contínua, porém fortemente platicurtica, não havendo uma distinção clara entre operárias maiores e menores. Não foi encontrada uma relação entre o tamanho das operárias e o local ou a atividade desenvolvida por elas, com exceção do cinturão de defesa onde as maiores operárias foram mais freqüentes. Para o período de março a junho de 1994, foi encontrada uma relação positiva entre o número de grupos de emboscada e a abundância de insetos (F[1,7] = 42,3; p = 0,0003). O número de operárias por grupo de emboscada foi muito variado (3 a 76) e tendeu a aumentar com o aumento da freqüência de pouso de insetos nas folhas usadas como substrato (presas potenciais). O tamanho dos insetos que pousaram em ramos marcados não variou neste período, e os insetos maiores foram proporcionalmente mais capturados pelos grupos de emboscada. A proporção de captura de presas ficou acima de 50%, nos períodos com maior abundância de presas, e tendeu a ser maior nos maiores grupos de emboscada. Não houve captura de presas nos grupos com menos de 10 operárias. No final de junho, com o avanço da seca e a redução da abundância de insetos, os grupos de emboscada eram menos freqüentes e menores. Um acréscimo experimental de presa potenciais levou a um rápido aumento no número de operárias nestes pequenos grupos. Os grupos pequenos, ineficientes na captura de presas, parecem funcionar como avaliadores da disponibilidade de presas. Os grupo de emboscadas não ocorreram em folhas pequenas nem em folhas grandes posicionadas a mais de 4 m de altura. Em ramos com folhas pequenas ou em folhas compostas com pequenos folíolos, os grupos de emboscada são substituídos por grupos de espera. As operárias se organizam no ramo ou no ráquis e atacam presas, de forma menos coordenada mas ainda fortemente cooperativa, em diferentes pontos deste substrato recortado. Insetos ágeis são difíceis de serem capturados e Azteca cf. lanuginosa utiliza a cooperação entre operárias para capturá-los, num gradiente de coordenação de ataque que vai da alta densidade de operárias com o recrutamento a curta distância, passando pelos versáteis grupos de espera, até o ataque fortemente coordenado dos grupos de emboscada
Abstract: This study presents information on the biology, predatory behavior and foraging activities of the ant Azteca cf lanuginosa (Dolichoderinae) in cerrado woodland of central Brazil. This ant builds carton nests on the branches of tall trees, each nest comprising a colony. Large colonies contain in excess of 50,000 workers and may survive longer than 8 years. Colony mortality was due principally to fire and the death of nest trees. Worker ants forage almost exclusively on shrubs and trees where they harvest insect prey. The central foraging area is composed of the nest tree and woody plants that contact it, and these are patrolled during the entire year. During the dry season, the period of reduced prey availability, colonies expand their foraging area to include additional plants up to 3 m from the trunk of the nest tree. The plants foraged by this Azteca are largely free of insect folivorous, although the ants were sometimes observed to consume beneficial arthropods such as flower visitors. Observations showed that visitors, in particular honeybees (Apis), diminished at inflorescences with many ants, suggesting that visitors were avoiding these. The workers are highly active during the day when they use a system of well marked trails that connect the nest to major limbs in the central foraging area and spread out when arriving on finer branches and leaves. Patrolling workers capture and immobilize small prey using short-distance recruitment to call the aid of nearby ants. Feeding on homopteran exudates is rare in this ant, and insects that land on or climb into the foraging area are the principal colony food source. The capture of large agile prey is effected by workers organized in "ambush groups". In these, the workers align themselves side by side around the lower margin of a large leaf with their heads facing outward. When a potential prey lands on the upper leaf surface, the ambushing ants rush and seize it simultaneously. A captured insect is dragged to the leaf undersurface with the aid of patrolling ants recruited from the neighboring stem, and the ants of the ambush group return to their position along the leaf margin. Ambush groups are formed during the morning and break up in late afternoon. They are rare or absent in the later part of the dry season and during periods of heavy rain. The same leaves may be used daily for periods in excess of three months. Workers also form "sit-and-wait" groups at the tips of dead twigs, on the rachises of compound leaves and on inflorescences. In these, worker groups remain immobile while facing distally. The ants respond rapidly to prey, although the attacks are less coordinated and the groups less efficient than in ambush groups. "Sit-and-wait" groups collaborate with patrolling workers in prey capture and may additionally function as worker reserves away from the nest. These groups are present during the entire year and sometimes persist during the night in nest trees. In another type of coordinated group behavior, workers aggregate during the night on the lower trunk of nest trees (below the lowest branches) and line up forming multiple rows around the tree trunk, each with the ants side by side and facing downward. This behavior, called "belt defense", is unknown in other ants. Also during the night, a few workers continue to use trails that extend from the nest, pass near to the belt defense and terminate at branch tips where sit-and-wait groups may form. This trail system appears to serve as a nocturnal information network when ant activity is otherwise at a low point. Workers show a continuous although markedly platykurtic size distribution, and natural caste divisions are distinguishable among workers. No relationship was found between worker size and the activity being engaged in, other than a greater frequency of large workers in the nocturnal defense belts. The frequency of ambush groups correlated positively with general insect abundance. The number of workers per group varied great1y (range 3-76) and tended to increase with increasing rates of arrival of potential prey. The success rate in prey capture was greater than 50% during the period of greatest prey abundance and was greater in larger ambush groups. Groups with fewer than ten workers were not observed to capture prey. By the end of June, with progressive dryness and reduction in insect abundance, ambush groups became smaller and less frequent. An experimental increase in prey arrival resulted in an increase in workers in ambush groups at this time. Small groups, inefficient in prey capture, appear to function to assess prey abundance. Ambush groups do not form on small leaves or leaflets, and tended to be substituted by "sit-and-wait" groups in these circumstances. Thus, Azteca cf lanuginosa uses worker cooperation to subdue difficult to capture prey in a gradient of attack methods ranging from high patrolling densities allied with short distance recruitment, and passing through versatile "sit-and-wait" groups to the strongly coordinated attack method of ambush groups
Doutorado
Ecologia
Doutor em Ciências Biológicas

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kentucky, 2008.
Title from document title page (viewed on December 11, 2008). Document formatted into pages; contains: xiv, 558 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.). Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 516-550).

Myrmecophytic plant species form associations where the ant colony inhabits structures in the plant and offers protection against herbivory in exchange for food and shelter. Widely distributed across the tropics, myrmecophytic mutualisms are particularly diverse in the Neotropics, a region characterized by the rapid and recent uplift of the Andean mountain range. It has been suggested that the abrupt change in terrain triggered the emergence of new niches, new barriers to gene ow and speciation. Studying ant-plant associations in the Neotropics not only provides insight into how associations evolve in time but also the impact that external factors, such as geographic changes, have in the evolution of mutualisms. Because of its wide distribution on both sides of the Andes, The Tococa guianensis- Azteca system is useful to explore the effects the Andean uplift had on the evolution of mutualisms. This thesis aims to 1. Identify the ants associating with T. guianensis and the lineages of ants and plants involved in the mutualisms in different populations on both sides of the Andes, 2. generate genomic data for both ants and plants to increase sampling of loci, and 3. estimate and calibrate the species trees to compare patterns of phylogenetics and temporal congruence between ants, plants and the Andean uplift. Most ant-plant studies focus on only one partner or study both partners by using already collected data for one of them. This project is the first study inferring the evolutionary history of both partners associated at that point in time and across a large area. This thesis identifies two main Azteca lineages associated with T. guianensis, each one distributed on different sides of the Andes. It addresses the monophyly of T. guianensis (and related species) and why such monophyly cannot be confirmed. Results show how both plants and ants were geographically structured congruent with timing of a split of populations coinciding with the Andean uplift. Moreover, four plants and fifteen ant genomes were assembled and used to estimate gene and species trees. For Tococa, candidate markers were selected for future resolution of the plant's phylogeny. Different histories but similar divergence times between ants and plants suggest that the mutualism has evolved in response to geographic changes rather than through codiversication, but that the mutualism persists thanks to the availability of the host. The information generated during this study provides the basis to understand the evolution of mutualisms, the genomic features of ants and plants and opens the possibility for Tococa and Azteca to become a model system.

Laboratory single-species toxicity tests are used to assess the effects of contaminants on aquatic biota. Questions remain as to how accurately these controlled toxicity tests predict sitespecific bioavailability and effects of metals. Concurrent 42-day Hyalella azteca exposures were performed with cadmium and final treated municipal effluent in the laboratory and at the University of North Texas Stream Research Facility. Further laboratory testing in reconstituted hard water was also conducted. Endpoints evaluated include survival, growth, reproduction, and Cd body burden. My results demonstrate that laboratory toxicity tests may overestimate toxicity responses to cadmium when compared to effluent dominated stream exposures. Discrepancies between endpoints in the three tests likely resulted from increased food sources and decreased cadmium bioavailability in stream mesocosms

Anthropology
Ph.D.
This dissertation investigates the production and reception of a modern transnational pan-indigenous ideology and multi-plex identity, through the acquisition of Danza Azteca expressive cultural practices. My research is situated within the Quetzalcoatl-Citlalli Danza Azteca group, based in Sacramento, California. I argue that through the embodied act of dancing, danzantes are able to access, reconstruct, and express socio-historical memories, feelings, and their sense of space and place, effectively creating a Mexica identity and way of life based in a pan-indigenous ideology, a decolonized consciousness. I explore the expressive cultural practices and the processes that each danzante participates in to create this pan-indigenous ideology and identity. I explore the transformative power and habitus of Danza Azteca, an emergent social movement, and I investigate its ability to act as a vehicle for self-representation for individual danzantes as well as the larger Chicana/o and Native communities in which it is situated. Danza encompasses more than just the physical act of dancing. Danzantes are engaged in the movement, music, as well as the multiple visual representations of danza. A danzante may utilize one or more of danza's expressive cultural practices to produce and express the various manifestations of their multi-plex indigenous identities. Danza is seen not as a dance or a religion, it is viewed among the danzantes as a way of life: as prayer, tradition, heritage, history and dancing identity. I argue that through the expression and reception of danza at Danza Azteca dance events, the indigenous ideology acquired, and the expressive cultural practices shared by the danzantes, grant them the power to construct, produce and express a highly politicized pan-indigenous identity. The production of this pan-indigenous identity and ideology confronts past geo-political and ethnic boundaries and is grounded in the specific socio-political relationships the Quetzalcoatl-Citlalli group is embedded in and the corresponding ideology of the Maestro of the Danza group. I explore how the danzantes connect with socio-historical memories via movement, as well as in Danza art vis-`a-vis the images and symbols on their trajes and armas. I show how danzantes employ Nahua art and symbolism as representations of their gendered, social and cultural identity. I focus upon the body as the site where memories are stored, accessed, and expressed. The performance, experience, and reception of dance is a particularly powerful site for the embodiment, expression and reception of identity and memory.
Temple University--Theses

In the United States in the mid-1960's, Chicano cultural nationalists mobilized a generation by recuperating the history and mythology of the pre-conquest Aztecs as strategies of political resistance. Claiming themselves la Raza de Bronce the Bronze race) in their art, literature, and political discourse, Chicano activists and intellectuals distinguished themselves racially from white America and worked toward reunifying an indigenous culture that had been fragmented by colonization and diaspora. This discursive practice of reinscribing Mexican Indian ancestry is a political act that I refer to as narrating the Aztec Nation. Indigenous movement activists across the Americas have often reclaimed their pre-colonial histories. "Aztec Nation" examines the impact of Chicano cultural nationalist revisions of Mexican indigenismo (politics and aesthetics of the post-1910 indigenous movement) upon race, class, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Chicano and Chicana literature and political discourse. In my analysis of Chicano and Chicana political manifestos, graphic art, poetry, essays, and novels, I trace various Chicano cultural nationalist expressions of indigenista ideology throughout el movimiento (the Chicano movement). In particular, I develop critical approaches for rereading Chicana literature and activist journalism published in Chicano/a movement newspapers and journals between 1969 and 1979 that emphasize Chicana faminist reinventions of indigenismo as a transnational alternative to ideological limitations within the Chicano cultural nationalist and second wave white American feminist movements. I offer a new critical term: "Chicana indigenista feminism," which recognizes a distinct Chicana feminist discourse that is characterized by an ongoing negotiation of mestiza (mixed blood) identity. My investigation begins with analyses of Chicano cultural nationalist literature and political documents from 1964 and ends with a reevaluation of chicana indigenista feminist theories posited as recently as 1994.

In this essay you will witness two different cultural exchanges that the Spaniards experienced in the 16th century, on one hand with the Aztec people from Mexico, and on the other hand with multiple peoples from the Philippines. The purpose of this essay is to find out how the Spaniards responded to facing these cultures for the very first time, and also to explore what the differences between these two exchanges were, and to find out why one led to the slaughter of so many human beings, and the other one did not. To find out why this is, I have examined their letters from the 16th century.

The scholarship on the extent of the Nahuatl writing system makes something of a sense-reference error. There are a number of occurrences in which the symbols encode a verb, three in the present tense and one in the past tense. The context of the use of calendar systems and written language in the Aztec empire is roughly described. I suggest that a new typology for is needed in order to fully account for Mesoamerican writing systems and to put to rest the idea that alphabetic orthographies are superior to other full systems. I cite neurolinguistic articles in support of this argument and suggest an evolutionary typology based on Gould's theory of Exaptation paired with the typology outlined by Justeson in his "Origins of Mesoamerican Writing" article.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2009.
"Department of Zoology." Keywords: Hyalella, Organochlorine, Organophosphate, Pesticides, Pyrethroid, Triazine. Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-174). Also available online.

Previous monitoring studies by federal agencies such as the United States Geological Survey have shown that environmental contaminants rarely occur as single compounds but, rather, as mixtures. In aquatic ecosystems, mixtures of these compounds are often complex, sometimes containing dozens of compounds across a number of different chemical classes. Non-target aquatic organisms are frequently exposed to varying levels of contaminants based upon the physical properties of the chemicals, such as water solubility, and life-cycle habits of the individual organisms. In addition to this, past research has indicated that the presence of one class of contaminant may have an influence on the toxicities of other chemical classes. Water-only toxicity testing has historically provided a means by which researchers can rapidly determine the toxic effects of water-soluble compounds such as triazine herbicides and organophosphate insecticides. However, many legacy pesticides, such as organochlorine, and some current-use pesticides, such as pyrethroids, are strongly hydrophobic, and suspended or bedded sediments, rather than water, would generally be more appropriate matrices for monitoring. Yet sampling of sediments and quantification of residues of these pesticides is often lacking. Similarly, there have been few studies examining the toxicity of mixtures of these compounds in sediment. The first goal of this research was to examine the effects of select triazine herbicides on organophosphate insecticide toxicity utilizing water-only toxicity test with the aquatic amphipod Hyalella azteca. The second goal was to analyze an existing database of chemical concentrations using a toxicity-based screening approach in order to estimate the environmental hazard posed by mixtures of pyrethroid, organochlorine, and organophosphate insecticides in sediment to H. azteca. The third goal of this research was to examine the toxic effects of mixtures of different pyrethroid insecticides to H. azteca using compounds identified as most relevant from the screening phase of the study. The fourth goal of this research was to examine how pyrethroid and organochlorine insecticides partition between different size fractions within sediment and detritus, as well as between sediments with differing organic carbon content, and the resulting effects to compound toxicity and bioavailability. The final goal of this research was to examine potential modifications to bifenthrin sediment partitioning, toxicity, and bioaccessibility resulting from various dissolved salt concentrations in overlying water using H. azteca and Chironomus dilutus as reference organisms. Together, the individual objectives of this study provide a thorough and multi-tiered approach to determining the occurrence, environmental fate, biological effects, and bioavailability of frequently detected and co-occurring environmental contaminants in both agricultural and urban landscapes.

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo general determinar la relación entre la calidad de servicio y la fidelidad del cliente en el Banco Azteca S.A. Huancayo, 2017. En cuanto a la variable calidad de servicio se utilizó como libro base La Gestión del Marketing de Servicios, mientras que para la variable fidelidad del cliente se empleó el libro Marketing de Clientes. En cuanto a la metodología, el tipo de investigación es básica, por diseño es no experimental, por prolongación es transversal o transeccional, por naturaleza de datos es cualitativa y el nivel de estudio es descriptivo-correlacional. La población es infinita; por ende, la muestra está conformada por 384 clientes del Banco Azteca S.A Agencia Huancayo, el instrumento que se utilizó es el cuestionario y la técnica es la encuesta. La recolección de datos se llevó a cabo por medio de un cuestionario, el cual consta de 16 preguntas, basada en la escala de Likert, éstas fueron elaboradas en función a las variables en estudio: calidad de servicio y fidelidad del cliente, para la validación y confiabilidad del instrumento se utilizó la validación del instrumento por expertos y el método del Alfa de Cronbach. De acuerdo a los resultados del cuestionario aplicado se concluye que existe suficiente evidencia muestral que afirma a un nivel de significancia del 5% que, si existe relación directa entre la calidad de servicio y la fidelidad del cliente en el Banco Azteca S.A. Huancayo, 2017.