Software Tomato Analyzer para a determinação do tamanho do embrião em sementes radiografadas

A primary interest of image analysis of X-rayed seeds is to identify whether the extent of fill in the embryo cavity is associated with to seed physiological quality. The objective of this research was to verify the accuracy of the freely available Tomato Analyzer (TA) software developed at The Ohio State University to determine the ratio of embryo size over total seed area. Seeds of pumpkin, watermelon, cucumber and cotton were X-rayed and analyzed by the software which defines seed and embryo boundaries and automatically generates numerical values to quantify that ratio. Results showed that the TA has the sensitivity to evaluate the extent of embryo growth within the cucurbits and cotton seeds and is a promising alternative for this assessment in other seed species.Uma das prioridades atuais da pesquisa sobre análise de imagens de sementes radiografadas é determinar a proporção entre a área ocupada pelo embrião e o espaço disponível na cavidade interna da semente e associar esse parâmetro ao potencial fisiológico. Este trabalho procurou avaliar a eficiência do software Tomato Analyzer para quantificar o grau de desenvolvimento do embrião. Sementes de abóbora, melancia, pepino e algodão foram radiogafadas e as imagens processadas foram submetidas à análise pelo software, que define o perímetro da semente e o do embrião e gera valores utilizados para expressar a relação percentual entre a área do embrião e a da cavidade interna da semente. Os resultados indicaram que o softwareTomato Analyzer permite determinar o grau de desenvolvimento do embrião de sementes de cucurbitáceas e de algodão, indicado pela área embrionária ou do espaço livre existente entre o embrião e o tegumento; essa alternativa pode ser viável para avaliar sementes de outras espécies.FAPESPCNP

A log analysis study of 10 years of ebook consumption in academic library collections

Even though libraries have been offering eBooks for more than a decade, very little is known about eBook access and consumption in academic library collections. This paper addresses this gap with a log analysis study of eBook access at the library of the University of Waikato. This in-depth analysis covers a period spanning 10 years of eBook use at this university. We draw conclusions about the use of eBooks at this institution and compare the results with other published studies of eBook usage at tertiary institutes

Reinstatement of "germinal epithelium" of the ovary

BACKGROUND: The existing dogma that the former term ovarian "germinal epithelium" resulted from a mistaken belief that it could give rise to new germ cells is now strongly challenged. DISCUSSION: Two years ago, a research group of the University of Tennessee led by Antonin Bukovsky successfully demonstrated the oogenic process from the human ovarian covering epithelium now commonly called the ovarian surface epithelium. They showed the new oocyte with zona pellucida and granulosa cells, both originated from the surface epithelium arising from mesenchymal cells in the tunica albuginea, and stressed that the human ovary could form primary follicles throughout the reproductive period. This gives a big impact not only to the field of reproductive medicine, but also to the oncologic area. The surface epithelium is regarded as the major source of ovarian cancers, and most of the neoplasms exhibit the histology resembling müllerian epithelia. Since the differentiating capability of the surface epithelium has now expanded, the histologic range of the neoplasms in this category may extend to include both germ cell tumors and sex cord-stromal cell tumors. SUMMARY: Since the oogenic capability of ovarian surface cells has been proven, it is now believed that the oocytes can originate from them. The term "germinal epithelium", hence, might reasonably be reinstated

Macrophyte abundance in Waquoit Bay : effects of land-derived nitrogen loads on seasonal and multi-year biomass patterns

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 31 (2008): 532-541, doi:10.1007/s12237-008-9039-6.Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to coastal waters have rapidly restructured coastal ecosystems. To examine the response of macrophyte communities to land-derived nitrogen loading, we measured macrophyte biomass monthly for six years in three estuaries subject to different nitrogen loads owing to different land uses on the watersheds. The set of estuaries sampled had nitrogen loads over the broad range of 12 to 601 kg N ha-1 y-1. Macrophyte biomass increased as nitrogen loads increased, but the response of individual taxa varied. Specifically, biomass of Cladophora vagabunda and Gracilaria tikvahiae increased significantly as nitrogen loads increased. The biomass of other macroalgal taxa tended to decrease with increasing load, and the relative proportion of these taxa to total macrophyte biomass also decreased. The seagrass, Zostera marina, disappeared from the higher loaded estuaries, but remained abundant in the estuary with the lowest load. Seasonal changes in macroalgal standing stock were also affected by nitrogen load, with larger fluctuations in biomass across the year and higher minimum biomass of macroalgae in the higher loaded estuaries. There were no significant changes in macrophyte biomass over the six years of this study, but there was a slight trend of increasing macroalgal biomass in the latter years. Macroalgal biomass was not related to irradiance or temperature, but Z. marina biomass was highest during the summer months when light and temperatures peak. Irradiance might, however, be a secondary limiting factor controlling macroalgal biomass in the higher loaded estuaries by restricting the depth of the macroalgal canopy. The relationship between the bloom-forming macroalgal species, C. vagabunda and G. tikvahiae, and nitrogen loads suggested a strong connection between development on watersheds and macroalgal blooms and loss of seagrasses. The influence of watershed land uses largely overwhelmed seasonal and inter-annual differences in standing stock of macrophytes in these temperate estuaries.This research was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technologies (CICEET-UNH#99-304, NOAA NA87OR512), NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Research Fellowship NERRS GRF, #NA77OR0228), and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) STAR Fellowship for Graduate Environmental Study (U-915335-01-0) awarded to J. Hauxwell. S. Fox was supported by a NOAA NERRS GRF (#NA03NOS4200132) and an EPA STAR Graduate Research Fellowship. We also thank the Quebec-Labrador Foundation Atlantic Center for the Environment's Sounds Conservancy Program and the Boston University Ablon/Bay Committee for their awarding research funds

Deep drilling phase of the Pen Brand Fault Program

This deep drilling activity is one element of the Pen Branch Fault Program at Savannah River Site (SRS). The effort will consist of three tasks: the extension of wells PBF-7 and PBF-8 into crystalline basement, geologic and drilling oversight during drilling operations, and the lithologic description and analysis of the recovered core. The drilling program addresses the association of the Pen Branch fault with order fault systems such as the fault that formed the Bunbarton basin in the Triassic

High resolution, shallow seismic reflection survey of the Pen Branch fault

The purpose of this project, at the Savannah River River Site (SRS) was to acquire, process, and interpret 28 km (17.4 miles) of high resolution seismic reflection data taken across the trace of the Pen Branch fault and other suspected, intersecting north-south trending faults. The survey was optimized for the upper 300 ft of geologic strata in order to demonstrate the existence of very shallow, flat lying horizons, and to determine the depth of the fault or to sediments deformed by the fault. Field acquisition and processing parameters were selected to define small scale spatial variability and structural features in the vicinity of the Pen Branch fault leading to the definition and the location of the Pen Branch fault, the shallowest extent of the fault, and the quantification of the sense and magnitude of motion. Associated geophysical, borehole, and geologic data were incorporated into the investigation to assist in the determination of optimal parameters and aid in the interpretation

Quaternary investigation

The primary purpose of the Quaternary investigation is to provide information on the location and age of Quaternary deposits for use in evaluating the presence or absence of neotectonic deformation or paleoliquefaction features within the Savannah River Site (SRS) region. The investigation will provide a basis for evaluating the potential for capable faults and associated deformation in the SRS vicinity. Particular attention will be paid to the Pen Branch fault

Quaternary investigation

The primary purpose of the Quaternary investigation is to provide information on the location and age of Quaternary deposits for use in evaluating the presence or absence of neotectonic deformation or paleoliquefaction features within the Savannah River Site (SRS) region. The investigation will provide a basis for evaluating the potential for capable faults and associated deformation in the SRS vicinity. Particular attention will be paid to the Pen Branch fault

Structural Model of the Basement in the Central Savannah River Area, South Carolina and Georgia

Interpretation of several generations of seismic reflection data and potential field data suggests the presence of several crustal blocks within the basement beneath the Coastal Plain in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). The seismic reflection and refraction data include a grid of profiles that capture shallow and deep reflection events and traverse the Savannah River Site and vicinity. Potential field data includes aeromagnetic, ground magnetic surveys, reconnaissance and detailed gravity surveys. Subsurface data from recovered core are used to constrain the model.Interpretation of these data characteristically indicate a southeast dipping basement surface with some minor highs and lows suggesting an erosional pre-Cretaceous unconformity. This surface is interrupted by several basement faults, most of which offset only early Cretaceous sedimentary horizons overlying the erosional surface. The oldest fault is perhaps late Paleozoic because it is truncated at the basement/Coastal Plain interface. This fault is related in timing and mechanism to the underlying Augusta fault. The youngest faults deform Coastal Plain sediments of at least Priabonian age (40-36.6 Ma). One of these young faults is the Pen Branch faults, identified as the southeast dipping master fault for the Triassic Dunbarton basin. All the Cenozoic faults are probably related in time and mechanism to the nearby, well studied Belair fault.The study area thus contains a set of structures evolved from the Alleghanian orogeny through Mesozoic extension to Cenozoic readjustment of the crust. There is a metamorphosed crystalline terrane with several reflector/fault packages, a reactivated Triassic basin, a mafic terrane separating the Dunbarton basin from the large South Georgia basin to the southeast, and an overprint of reverse faults, some reactivated, and some newly formed