Contextual cueing: implicit memory of tactile context facilitates tactile search

In visual search, participants detect and subsequently discriminate targets more rapidly when these are embedded in repeatedly encountered distractor arrangements, an effect termed contextual cueing (Chun & Jiang Cognitive Psychology, 36, 28–71, 1998). However, whereas previous studies had explored contextual cueing exclusively in visual search, in the present study we examined the effect in tactile search using a novel tactile search paradigm. Participants were equipped with vibrotactile stimulators attached to four fingers on each hand. A given search array consisted of four stimuli (i.e., two items presented to each hand), with the target being an odd-one-out feature singleton that differed in frequency (Exps. 1 and 2) or waveform (Exp. 3) from the distractor elements. Participants performed a localization (Exps. 1 and 2) or discrimination (Exp. 3) task, delivering their responses via foot pedals. In all three experiments, reaction times were faster when the arrangement of distractor fingers predicted the target finger. Furthermore, participants were unable to explicitly discriminate repeated from nonrepeated tactile configurations (Exps. 2 and 3). This indicates that the tactile modality can mediate the formation of configural representations and use these representations to guide tactile search

Levantamento de dados agropecuários da região metropolitana de Campinas: principais produtos e sua importância para fundamentar o atlas ambiental escolar.

Este trabalho pretende descrever os principais produtos agropecuários presentes na Região Metropolitana de Campinas (RMC). A descrição foi baseada em levantamento e organização de dados primários de acesso público.O trabalho de coleta de dados integra o projeto ?Geotecnologias como apoio à elaboração de material didático para o ensino fundamental: Atlas Ambiental Escolar da Região Metropolitana de Campinas (GeoAtlas)?. Este projeto visa elaborar, em conjunto com professores da rede municipal de Campinas, um material de apoio para estudantes do ensino fundamental com enfoque para a agropecuária como um agente modificador da paisagem (EMBRAPA MONITORAMENTO POR SATÉLITE, 2010). O atlas utilizará a RMC como estudo de caso, inserindo o local de vivência dos alunos em seu aprendizado.A coleta de dados primários é fundamental para a compreensão das atividades agropecuárias presentes na região. O uso de materiais e dados de acesso público permitirá que a metodologia desenvolvida para a elaboração do atlas possa ser disseminada para outros municípios do Brasil.Os dados censitários serão analisados, buscando compreender quais são os produtos agrícolas mais importantes na paisagem dos municípios que integram a RMC

Controle da sigatoka-amarela com aplicação do fungicida flutriafol na axila da 2ª folha da bananeira.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do fungicida flutriafol, no controle desta doença, aplicado na axila da segunda folha

Isolation of micropropagated strawberry endophytic bacteria and assessment of their potential for plant growth promotion.

Twenty endophytic bacteria were isolated from the meristematic tissues of three varieties of strawberry cultivated in vitro, and further identified, by FAME profile, into the genera Bacillus and Sphingopyxis. The strains were also characterized according to indole acetic acid production, phosphate solubilization and potential for plant growth promotion. Results showed that 15 strains produced high levels of IAA and all 20 showed potential for solubilizing inorganic phosphate. Plant growth promotion evaluated under greenhouse conditions revealed the ability of the strains to enhance the root number, length and dry weight and also the leaf number, petiole length and dry weight of the aerial portion. Seven Bacillus spp. strains promoted root development and one strain of Sphingopyxis sp. promoted the development of plant shoots. The plant growth promotion showed to be correlated to IAA production and phosphate solubilization. The data also suggested that bacterial effects could potentially be harnessed to promote plant growth during seedling acclimatization in strawberr

Is Thyroid Stunning Clinically Relevant? A Retrospective Analysis Of 208 Patients.

Current guidelines have advised against the performance of (131)I-iodide diagnostic whole body scintigraphy (dxWBS) to minimize the occurrence of stunning, and to guarantee the efficiency of radioiodine therapy (RIT). The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of stunning on the efficacy of RIT and disease outcome. This retrospective analysis included 208 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer managed according to a same protocol and followed up for 12-159 months (mean 30 ± 69 months). Patients received RIT in doses ranging from 3,700 to 11,100 MBq (100 mCi to 300 mCi). Post-RIT-whole body scintigraphy images were performed 10 days after RIT in all patients. In addition, images were also performed 24-48 hours after therapy in 22 patients. Outcome was classified as no evidence of disease (NED), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). Thyroid stunning occurred in 40 patients (19.2%), including 26 patients with NED and 14 patients with SD. A multivariate analysis showed no association between disease outcome and the occurrence of stunning (p = 0.3476). The efficacy of RIT and disease outcome do not seem to be related to thyroid stunning.58292-30

Gestión ambiental de los sistemas agroforestales en el Valle de Paraíba del Sur, Estado de Sao Paulo, Brasil.

En el año de 2011 se analizó el desempeño ambiental de la finca Coruputuba, en Pindamonhangaba, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. La metodología utilizada fué el sistema APOIA-NovoRural, con 62 indicadores de sustentabilidad en el contexto para el análisis de la implementación de los sistemas agroforestales con Calophyllum braziliense y Acacia mangium. Antes de la implementación de los sistemas agroforestales, la finca estuvo plantada con arroz en el valle y eucalipto en las terrazas. Con el proyecto se logró sustituir 10 ha en el valle y 4 ha de terraza con Calophyllum, especie que ofrece una madera fina. Otra especie que se introdujo en la terraza fue la acacia (50 ha), sustituta del eucalipto. La finca aporta un valor agregado a la gestión dirigida a procesos de recuperación de la viabilidad económica y ambiental mediante el rescate de la vocación agrícola. Se fue reintroducido la Manihot esculenta, Maranta arundinaceae, Colocasia esculenta, Euterpe edulis, Musa sp., Cajanus cajan, y especies forestales en asociación con Calophyllum: Inga sp., Schinnus terebinthifolius, Alchornea triplinervia, Sesbania sp., repartidas entre 159 ha productivas y 50 ha para hábitats naturales de conservación. Las variables como efecto de los sistemas agroforestales estuvieron repartidas en suelos, caracteristicas productivas, apropiación y mejoramiento de las condicones de los trabajadores, aspectos ambientales y socioeconónicos que en conjunto arrojaron indices de desempeño para el sistema APOIA-NovoRural. Se encontraron contribuciones de los sistemas agroforestales para la sustentabilidad, destacándose la calidad del agua con índice (0,94) comparado con (0,85) obtenido en los sedimentos que drenan del cultivo de arroz; valores económicos (0,85) y de ecología del paisaje (0,77). El índice integrado medio, llegó a 0,79 en una escala de 0 a 10, con referencia de 0,70. La Finca Coruputuba estuvo entre los cinco valores más altos de desempeño ambiental de un universo de 178 casos

Mantle dynamics of the Andean Subduction Zone from continent-scale teleseismic S-wave tomography

The Andean Subduction Zone is one of the longest continuous subduction zones on Earth. The relative simplicity of the two-plate system has makes it an ideal natural laboratory to study the dynamics in subduction zones. We measure teleseismic S and SKS traveltime residuals at >1000 seismic stations that have been deployed across South America over the last 30 yr to produce a finite-frequency teleseismic S-wave tomography model of the mantle beneath the Andean Subduction Zone related to the Nazca Plate, spanning from ~5°N to 45°S and from depths of ~130 to 1200 km. Within our model, the subducted Nazca slab is imaged as a fast velocity seismic anomaly. The geometry and amplitude of the Nazca slab anomaly varies along the margin while the slab anomaly continues into the lower mantle along the entirety of the subduction margin. Beneath northern Brazil, the Nazca slab appears to stagnate at ~1000 km depth and extend eastward subhorizontally for >2000 km. South of 25°S the slab anomaly in the lower mantle extends offshore of eastern Argentina, hence we do not image if a similar stagnation occurs. We image several distinct features surrounding the slab including two vertically oriented slow seismic velocity anomalies: one beneath the Peruvian flat slab and the other beneath the Paraná Basin of Brazil. The presence of the latter anomaly directly adjacent to the stagnant Nazca slab suggests that the plume, known as the Paraná Plume, may be a focused upwelling formed in response to slab stagnation in the lower mantle. Additionally, we image a high amplitude fast seismic velocity anomaly beneath the Chile trench at the latitude of the Sierras Pampeanas which extends from ~400 to ~1000 km depth. This anomaly may be the remnants of an older, detached slab, however its relationship with the Nazca-South America subduction zone remains enigmatic.Fil: Rodríguez, Emily E.. University of Arizona; Estados UnidosFil: Portner, Daniel Evan. No especifíca;Fil: Beck, Susan L.. University of Arizona; Estados UnidosFil: Rocha, Marcelo P.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Bianchi, Marcelo B.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Assumpção, Marcelo. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Ruiz, Mario. Escuela Politécnica Nacional; EcuadorFil: Alvarado, Patricia Monica. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Geofísica y Astronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaFil: Condori, Cristobal. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Lynner, Colton. University Of Delaware; Estados Unido

Classification of homogeneous regions of vegetation cover in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and its temporal dynamics, using AVHRR GIMMS and MODIS data sets

This study aimed to classify the homogeneous regions of vegetation cover, which occur in Rio Grande do Sul, formed by clustering of pixels with same pattern of temporal variability of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of AVHRR GIMMS and MODIS series and to compare their temporal dynamics. We use K means cluster analysis for defi ning homogeneous regions, based on the temporal variability of GIMMS (8 km spatial resolution) and MODIS (1 km spatial resolution) NDVI data sets, using monthly images mean from 2000 to 2008 (overlapping period); and we analyzed the annual pattern of NDVI. Accuracy assessment was done with Landsat images. The results show that the temporal variability of GIMMS and MODIS NDVI allows to delimit similar homogeneous regions in order to mapping the main vegetation cover. MODIS series shows a greater detail in the defi nition of the regions, but with compatibility with those generated by GIMMS. The temporal dynamics show a typical seasonal pattern, with variations of NDVI amplitude between the groups, that allow to monitor phenological changes. The deviations from calibration between times series are linear, which would facilitate a correction in order to construct a long synthetic time series for studies of land cover change

The influence of aerobic fitness status on ventilatory efficiency in patients with coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that 1) coronary artery disease patients with lower aerobic fitness exhibit a lower ventilatory efficiency and 2) coronary artery disease patients with lower initial aerobic fitness exhibit greater improvements in ventilatory efficiency with aerobic exercise training. METHOD: A total of 123 patients (61.0±0.7 years) with coronary artery disease were divided according to aerobic fitness status into 3 groups: group 1 (n = 34, peak VO2;17.5 and ;24.5 ml/kg/min). All patients performed a cardiorespiratory exercise test on a treadmill. Ventilatory efficiency was determined by the lowest VE/VCO2 ratio observed. The exercise training program comprised moderate-intensity aerobic exercise performed 3 times per week for 3 months. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02106533 RESULTS: Before intervention, group 1 exhibited both lower peak VO2 and lower ventilatory efficiency compared with the other 2 groups (

Increase in muscle power induced by periodized resistance training in elderly women

Resistance training (RT) has been recommended to prevent muscle force and power decrease induced by aging. Neuromuscular tests are important tools to analyze muscle force function. The objective of the present study was to analyze the behavior of lower limb muscle power of elderly women submitted to 12 weeks of periodized RT. 16 women aged 65.5±3.6 years with a minimum of one year of previous experience in strength training were selected, they performed 24 sessions of RT divided in 3 mesocycles (MA, MB and MC), of 8 sessions each, with a session frequency of twice a week. The MA with light intensity, MB moderate and MC with high intensity. Lower limb muscle power was measured by vertical jump test. For statistical analysis a p\u3c0.05 was assumed. There was a significant increase in vertical jump after four (T2), eight (T3) and 12 weeks (T4) as compared with baseline (T1). Periodized RT induced positive effects on lower limb muscle power in elderly women. These results are very important for aging, since higher loses in muscle force are observed in lower limb. Periodization is an important tool to prolong the results of muscle power increase induced by RT