Leaf-Level Field Spectroscopy to Discriminate Invasive Species (Psidium guajava L. and Hovenia dulcis Thunb.) from Native Tree Species in the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Invasive species are known to have potential advantages over the native community and can be expressed in their leaf functional traits. Thus, leaf-level traits with spectral reflectance can provide valuable insights for distinguishing invasive trees from native trees in complex forest environments. We conducted field spectroscopy measurements in a subtropical area, where we also collected trait data for 12 functional traits of invasive (Psidium guajava and Hovenia dulcis), and native species (Psidium cattleianum and Luehea divaricata). We found that photosynthetic pigments were responsible for the greatest interspecific variability, especially in the green region of the spectrum at 550 nm, therefore contributing to detection of invasive species. In addition, according to LDA and stepwise procedures, the most informative reflectance spectra were concentrated in the visible range that is closely related to pigment absorption features. Furthermore, we aimed to understand the leaf optical properties of the target invasive species by using a combination of narrow bands and linear regression models. P. guajava showed high correlations with specific leaf area, Car/Chl and relative water content. H. dulcis had a strong correlation with water content, specific leaf area and Chla/Chlb. Overall, this methodology proved to be appropriate for discriminating invasive trees, although parameterization by species is necessary

Ocorrência de contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja armazenados em diferentes regiões brasileiras no período de 2008-2010.

Os contaminantes comprometem a qualidade das sementes e dos grãos de soja. Eles podem vir da lavoura ou surgirem durante a armazenagem, sendo caracterizados pela presença de material inerte, insetos e seus fragmentos, fungos de campo e de armazenagem e micotoxinas. O objetivo do trabalho foi de determinar a ocorrência de contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja, armazenados em diferentes regiões do país. Foram realizados levantamentos em armazéns de grãos e de sementes de soja em seis locais, nos Estados do Rio Grande do Sul (Espumoso), do Paraná (Palotina, Londrina e Mandaguari), de São Paulo (Orlândia) e do Mato Grosso (Alto Garças). Foram realizadas cinco amostragens, efetuadas em novembro/2008, junho/2009, novembro/2009, junho/2010 e novembro/2010. Também foram realizadas análises visando à determinação da presença e quantificação de micotoxinas, como: aflatoxinas (B1, B2, G1 e G2); ocratoxina A; zearalenona; e tricotecenos (nivalenol-NIV e dioxinivalenol-DON). Na soja armazenada foram detectadas as espécies de insetos Ephestia spp., Sitophilus oryzae, Cryptolestes ferrugineos, Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Liposcelides bostrychophila, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Lasioderma serricorne, Ahasveus advena e Lophocateres pusillus. O principal fungo presente nas amostras foi Aspergillus flavus, embora outras espécies também ocorreram, como Fusarium semitectum, Phomopsis sp., Cercospora kikuchii, Macrophomina sp. Entre as micotoxinas, apenas a aflatoxina B1 foi detectada nas amostras analisadas

Ocorrência de contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja armazenados em diversas regiões brasileiras.

Os contaminantes comprometem a qualidade das sementes e dos grãos de soja. Eles podem vir da lavoura e da armazenagem, sendo caracterizados pela presença de material inerte, insetos e seus fragmentos, fungos de campo e de armazenagem e micotoxinas. O objetivo do trabalho foi de determinar os contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja, armazenados em diferentes regiões do país. Os levantamentos foram realizados em armazéns em seis locais, no RS (Espumoso), PR (Palotina, Londrina e Mandaguari), SP (Orlândia) e MT (Alto Garças). Foram realizadas cinco amostragens em nov/2008, junho e nov/2009, junho e nov/2010. Em cada amostragem, foram coletadas quatro amostras de 1,0 kg de grãos e quatro amostras de 1,0 kg de sementes. Foram realizadas as análises de patologia de sementes, infestação por insetos e quantificação de micotoxinas. Foram detectadas as seguintes espécies de insetos: Ephestia spp., Sitophilus oryzae, Cryptolestes ferrugineos, Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Liposcelides bostrychophila, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Lasioderma serricorne, Ahasveus advena e Laphocateres pusillus, esta última, relatada pela primeira vez no Brasil. A maior incidência de infestação ocorreu com S. oryzae, seguido de Ephestia spp. e R. dominica, destacando-se a ocorrência de L. serricorne, que passou a ser uma praga importante no armazenamento de soja no Brasil. Dentre as micotoxinas, foi detectada apenas a presença de Aflatoxina B1, em amostras de grãos provenientes de duas regiões do PR. A ocorrência dessa micotoxina é justificada pelos elevados índices de grãos infectados por Aspergillus flavus. Outros fungos como Fusarium semitectum, Phomopsis sp., Cercospora kikuchii, Macrophomina sp. foram detectados, porém com menor intensidade. Vale destacar que a ocorrência de insetos, fungos e micotoxinas foi sempre mais elevada nas amostras de grãos em relação às de sementes

Changes in trabecular bone, hematopoiesis and bone marrow vessels in aplastic anemia, primary osteoporosis, and old age

Retrospective histologic analyses of bone biopsies and of post mortem samples from normal persons of different age groups, and of bone biopsies of age- and sex-matched groups of patients with primary osteoporosis and aplastic anemia show characteristic age dependent as well as pathologic changes including atrophy of osseous trabeculae and of hematopoiesis, and changes in the sinusoidal and arterial capillary compartments. These results indicate the possible role of a microvascular defect in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and aplastic anemia

The first 62 AGN observed with SDSS-IV MaNGA - IV: gas excitation and star-formation rate distributions

We present maps of the ionized gas flux distributions, excitation, star-formation rate SFR, surface mass density $\Sigma_{H+}$, and obtain total values of SFR and ionized gas masses {\it M} for 62 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) observed with SDSS-IV MaNGA and compare them with those of a control sample of 112 non-active galaxies. The most luminous AGN -- with L(\rm{[OIII]}\lambda 5007) \ge 3.8\times 10^{40}\,\mbox{erg}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}, and those hosted by earlier-type galaxies are dominated by Seyfert excitation within 0.2 effective radius $R_e$ from the nucleus, surrounded by LINER excitation or transition regions, while the less luminous and hosted by later-type galaxies show equally frequent LINER and Seyfert excitation within $0.2\,R_e$. The extent $R$ of the region ionized by the AGN follows the relation $R\propto\,L(\rm{[OIII]})^{0.5}$ -- as in the case of the Broad-Line Region. The SFR distribution over the region ionized by hot stars is similar for AGN and controls, while the integrated SFR -- in the range $10^{-3}-10$\,M$_\odot$\,yr$^{-1}$ is also similar for the late-type sub-sample, but higher in the AGN for 75\% of the early-type sub-sample. We thus conclude that there is no signature of AGN quenching star formation in the body of the galaxy in our sample. We also find that 66\% of the AGN have higher ionized gas masses $M$ than the controls -- in the range 10$^5-3\times10^7$\,M$_\odot$ -- while 75\% of the AGN have higher $\Sigma_{H+}$ within $0.2\,R_e$ than the control galaxies

The first 62 AGN observed with SDSS-IV MaNGA -- III: stellar and gas kinematics

We investigate the effects of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) on the gas kinematics of their host galaxies, using MaNGA data for a sample of 62 AGN hosts and 109 control galaxies (inactive galaxies). We compare orientation of the line of nodes (kinematic Position Angle - PA) measured from the gas and stellar velocity fields for the two samples. We found that AGN hosts and control galaxies display similar kinematic PA offsets between gas and stars. However, we note that AGN have larger fractional velocity dispersion $\sigma$ differences between gas and stars [$\sigma_{frac}=(\sigma_{\rm gas}-\sigma_{stars})/\sigma_{\rm stars}$] when compared to their controls, as obtained from the velocity dispersion values of the central (nuclear) pixel (2.5" diameter). The AGN have a median value of $\sigma_{\rm frac}$ of $_{\rm AGN}=0.04$, while the the median value for the control galaxies is $_{\rm CTR}=-0.23$. 75% of the AGN show $\sigma_{frac}>-0.13$, while 75% of the normal galaxies show $\sigma_{\rm frac}<-0.04$, thus we suggest that the parameter $\sigma_{\rm frac}$ can be used as an indicative of AGN activity. We find a correlation between the [OIII]$\lambda$5007 luminosity and $\sigma_{frac}$ for our sample. Our main conclusion is that the AGN already observed with MaNGA are not powerful enough to produce important outflows at galactic scales, but at 1-2 kpc scales, AGN feedback signatures are always present on their host galaxies.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, published in MNRA

Characterization of the hot Neptune GJ 436b with Spitzer and ground-based observations

We present Spitzer Space Telescope infrared photometry of a secondary eclipse of the hot Neptune GJ436b. The observations were obtained using the 8-micron band of the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC). The data spanning the predicted time of secondary eclipse show a clear flux decrement with the expected shape and duration. The observed eclipse depth of 0.58 mmag allows us to estimate a blackbody brightness temperature of T_p = 717 +- 35 K at 8 microns. We compare this infrared flux measurement to a model of the planetary thermal emission, and show that this model reproduces properly the observed flux decrement. The timing of the secondary eclipse confirms the non-zero orbital eccentricity of the planet, while also increasing its precision (e = 0.14 +- 0.01). Additional new spectroscopic and photometric observations allow us to estimate the rotational period of the star and to assess the potential presence of another planet.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A on 11/09/2007; 7 pages, 6 figure

Efeito de gramíneas forrageiras sobre a germinação carpogênica de Sclerotinia sclerotiorum e atividade microbiana do solo.

O mofo branco, causado por Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Ss), é uma doença severa que infecta várias culturas e é de difícil controle. Uma das estratégias de manejo da doença é por meio do uso de gramíneas forrageiras, visando-se a redução do inóculo do patógeno no solo. Objetivando-se avaliar o efeito de gramíneas forrageiras sobre a germinação carpogênica de Ss e atividade microbiana (AM) do solo, realizou-se este trabalho