On Brazilian Helobata Bergroth, 1888 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) II: new distribution data

As an add-on to the work of Clarkson et al. (2016), new distributional data on species of Helobata Bergroth, 1888 (Hydrophilidae: Acidocerinae) from Brazil is provided. Helobata amazonensis Clarkson, Santos & Ferreira‑Jr., 2016, is recorded for the first time for Roraima State and its female is recorded for the first time. Helobata quatipuru Fernández & Bachmann, 1987 and H. larvalis (Horn, 1873) are recorded for the first time for Minas Gerais, Cerrado Biome area. The genus is recorded for the first time for Goiás State. Additions and modifications in the previously published key to Brazilian species are provided.As an add-on to the work of Clarkson et al. (2016), new distributional data on species of Helobata Bergroth, 1888 (Hydrophilidae: Acidocerinae) from Brazil is provided. Helobata amazonensis Clarkson, Santos & Ferreira‑Jr., 2016, is recorded for the first time for Roraima State and its female is recorded for the first time. Helobata quatipuru Fernández & Bachmann, 1987 and H. larvalis (Horn, 1873) are recorded for the first time for Minas Gerais, Cerrado Biome area. The genus is recorded for the first time for Goiás State. Additions and modifications in the previously published key to Brazilian species are provided

On Brazilian Helobata Bergroth, 1888 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) II: new distribution data

As an add-on to the work of Clarkson et al. (2016), new distributional data on species of Helobata Bergroth, 1888 (Hydrophilidae: Acidocerinae) from Brazil is provided. Helobata amazonensis Clarkson, Santos & Ferreira‑Jr., 2016, is recorded for the first time for Roraima State and its female is recorded for the first time. Helobata quatipuru Fernández & Bachmann, 1987 and H. larvalis (Horn, 1873) are recorded for the first time for Minas Gerais, Cerrado Biome area. The genus is recorded for the first time for Goiás State. Additions and modifications in the previously published key to Brazilian species are provided.As an add-on to the work of Clarkson et al. (2016), new distributional data on species of Helobata Bergroth, 1888 (Hydrophilidae: Acidocerinae) from Brazil is provided. Helobata amazonensis Clarkson, Santos & Ferreira‑Jr., 2016, is recorded for the first time for Roraima State and its female is recorded for the first time. Helobata quatipuru Fernández & Bachmann, 1987 and H. larvalis (Horn, 1873) are recorded for the first time for Minas Gerais, Cerrado Biome area. The genus is recorded for the first time for Goiás State. Additions and modifications in the previously published key to Brazilian species are provided

Effects of temperature on caffeine and carbon nanotubes co-exposure in Ruditapes philippinarum

In the marine environment, organisms are exposed to a high and increasing number of different con- taminants that can interact among them. In addition, abiotic factors can change the dynamics between contaminants and organisms, thus increasing or even decreasing the toxic effect of a particular com- pound. In this study, the effects of caffeine (CAF) and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f- MWCNTs) induced in the clam Ruditapes philippinarum were evaluated, acting alone and in combination (MIX), under two temperature levels (18 and 21 C). To assess the impact of such compounds, their interaction and the possible influence of temperature, biochemical and histopathological markers were investigated. The effects of f-MWCNTs and caffeine appear to be clearly negative at the control tem- perature, with lower protein content in contaminated clams and a significant decrease in their meta- bolism when both pollutants were acting in combination. Also, at control temperature, clams exposed to pollutants showed increased antioxidant capacity, especially when caffeine was acting alone, although cellular damages were still observed at CAF and f-MWCNTs treatments. Increased biotransformation capacity at 18 C and MIX treatment may explain lower caffeine concentration observed. At increased temperature differences among treatments were not so evident as at 18 C, with a similar biological pattern among contaminated and control clams. Higher caffeine accumulation at MIX treatment under warming conditions may result from clams’ inefficient biotransformation capacity when exposed to increased temperatures

USO DA BIODIVERSIDADE EM QUINTAIS DE COMUNIDADES TRADICIONAIS DA BAÍA DE CHACORORE, BARÃO DE MELGAÇO, MATO GROSSO, BRASIL

O objetivo do estudo é caracterizar os quintais das Comunidades tradicionais de pescadores localizados na bacia do Alto Paraguai nas redondezas da baia de Chacororé: Cuiabá Mirim e Porto Brandão, levantando dados referentes à: estrutura e composição vegetal, as diferentes etnocategorias de uso das plantas pelos moradores locais e a abordagem socioeconômica e cultural das comunidades em destaque. A fase de coleta de dados no campo ocorreu durante abril e maio de 2011 nas Comunidades pertencentes ao município de Barão de Melgaço/MT. Nos quintais estudados catalogaram-se plantas pertencentes a 82 espécies distribuídas em 46 famílias botânicas em Cuiabá Mirim e 96 espécies distribuídas em 48 famílias botânicas em Porto Brandão. A família Fabaceae foi a mais expressiva em Porto Brandão, entretanto em Cuiabá Mirim, Anacardiaceae foi a mais relatada pelos moradores. O número de espécies encontradas por propriedade variou de 9 a 38 espécies com média de 18 espécies em Cuiabá Mirim e 7 a 33 espécies, com média de aproximadamente 19 espécies em Porto Brandão. Com relação às categorias de uso, a população das Comunidades de Cuiabá Mirim e Porto Brandão a maioria das plantas mantidas e cultivadas nos quintais é direcionada à complementação alimentar dos moradores da comunidade

Efficiency of light-emitting diode and halogen units in reducing residual monomers

In this in-vitro study, we aimed to compare the residual monomers in composites beneath brackets bonded to enamel, using a light-emitting diode (LED) or a halogen unit, and to compare the residual monomers in the central to the peripheral areas of the composite

Luminous Red Galaxies in Simulations: Cosmic Chronometers?

There have been a number of attempts to measure the expansion rate of the universe at high redshift using Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) as "chronometers". The method generally assumes that stars in LRGs are all formed at the same time. In this paper, we quantify the uncertainties on the measurement of H(z) which arise when one considers more realistic, extended star formation histories. In selecting galaxies from the Millennium Simulation for this study, we show that using rest-frame criteria significantly improves the homogeneity of the sample and that H(z) can be recovered to within 3% at z~0.42 even when extended star formation histories are considered. We demonstrate explicitly that using Single Stellar Populations to age-date galaxies from the semi-analytical simulations provides insufficient accuracy for this experiment but accurate ages are obtainable if the complex star formation histories extracted from the simulation are used. We note, however, that problems with SSP-fitting might be overestimated since the semi-analytical models tend to over predict the late-time star-formation in LRGs. Finally, we optimize an observational program to carry out this experiment.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted to MNRAS

The PYRIN Domain-only Protein POP1 Inhibits Inflammasome Assembly and Ameliorates Inflammatory Disease

SummaryIn response to infections and tissue damage, ASC-containing inflammasome protein complexes are assembled that promote caspase-1 activation, IL-1β and IL-18 processing and release, pyroptosis, and the release of ASC particles. However, excessive or persistent activation of the inflammasome causes inflammatory diseases. Therefore, a well-balanced inflammasome response is crucial for the maintenance of homeostasis. We show that the PYD-only protein POP1 inhibited ASC-dependent inflammasome assembly by preventing inflammasome nucleation, and consequently interfered with caspase-1 activation, IL-1β and IL-18 release, pyroptosis, and the release of ASC particles. There is no mouse ortholog for POP1, but transgenic expression of human POP1 in monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells protected mice from systemic inflammation triggered by molecular PAMPs, inflammasome component NLRP3 mutation, and ASC danger particles. POP1 expression was regulated by TLR and IL-1R signaling, and we propose that POP1 provides a regulatory feedback loop that shuts down excessive inflammatory responses and thereby prevents systemic inflammation

Anatomical aspects and phytochemical potential of Caryocar villosum (Aubl.) Pers. (pequiá)/ Aspectos anatômicos e potencial fitoquímico de Caryocar villosum (Aubl.) Pers. (pequiá)

The knowledge of anatomical and phytochemical structures of many species has drawn the attention of researchers in several areas, because these species are characterized by the production of chemical compounds, mainly fixed and essential oils, which are of great industrial interest. The “pequiá” tree is a majestic tree from primary forest and represents huge economic potential. This work aimed to study the anatomical aspects, extraction and characterization of the fixed oil present in the fruit and the seed of Caryocar villosum. There were used fifty fruits of pequiá collected from the municipality of Tartarugalzinho (Amapá). The identification of species was made by comparison with exsiccates available in the Amapá Herbarium – HAMAB. For anatomical and phytochemical analyses, conventional methodology was used. The result in the macerate of the mesocarp corresponds to a yellow mass impregnated by lipids; in the endocarp there were registered trichomes which secret these lipids, forming an arc in all its extension. In the solvent-based phytochemical analyses of the mass of pericarp, mesocarp and fixed oil seed, favorable and satisfactory oil yields were obtained. The analyses of the acidity, saponification, ester and peroxide indexes are parameters that are related to the quality of the oil, therefore, the values obtained meet the Anvisa/2015 Resolution. It is thus concluded that the fixed oil obtained from the mesocarp/seed of C. villosum is indicated for alimentary purposes, with potential to reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, as well as in cosmetic industry. Therefore, anatomical analyses help phytochemical studies (CNPq/IEPA)

A Search for the Most Massive Galaxies. II. Structure, Environment and Formation

We study a sample of 43 early-type galaxies, selected from the SDSS because they appeared to have velocity dispersion > 350 km/s. High-resolution photometry in the SDSS i passband using HRC-ACS on board the HST shows that just less than half of the sample is made up of superpositions of two or three galaxies, so the reported velocity dispersion is incorrect. The other half of the sample is made up of single objects with genuinely large velocity dispersions. None of these objects has sigma larger than 426 +- 30 km/s. These objects define rather different relations than the bulk of the early-type galaxy population: for their luminosities, they are the smallest, most massive and densest galaxies in the Universe. Although the slopes of the scaling relations they define are rather different from those of the bulk of the population, they lie approximately parallel to those of the bulk "at fixed sigma". These objects appear to be of two distinct types: the less luminous (M_r>-23) objects are rather flattened and extremely dense for their luminosities -- their properties suggest some amount of rotational support and merger histories with abnormally large amounts of gaseous dissipation. The more luminous objects (M_r<-23) tend to be round and to lie in or at the centers of clusters. Their properties are consistent with the hypothesis that they are BCGs. Models in which BCGs form from predominantly radial mergers having little angular momentum predict that they should be prolate. If viewed along the major axis, such objects would appear to have abnormally large sigma for their sizes, and to be abnormally round for their luminosities. This is true of the objects in our sample once we account for the fact that the most luminous galaxies (M_r<-23.5), and BCGs, become slightly less round with increasing luminosity.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Mock galaxy redshift catalogues from simulations: implications for Pan-STARRS1

We describe a method for constructing mock galaxy catalogues which are well suited for use in conjunction with large photometric surveys. We use the semi-analytic galaxy formation model of Bower et al. implemented in the Millennium simulation. We apply our method to the specific case of the surveys soon to commence with PS1, the first of 4 telescopes planned for the Pan-STARRS system. PS1 has 5 photometric bands (grizy), and will carry out an all-sky 3pi survey and a medium deep survey (MDS) over 84 sq.deg. We calculate the expected magnitude limits for extended sources in the two surveys. We find that, after 3 years, the 3pi survey will have detected over 10^8 galaxies in all 5 bands, 10 million of which will lie at redshift z>0.9, while the MDS will have detected over 10^7 galaxies with 0.5 million lying at z>2. These numbers at least double if detection in the shallowest band, y is not required. We then evaluate the accuracy of photometric redshifts estimated using an off-the-shelf photo-z code. With the grizy bands alone it is possible to achieve an accuracy in the 3pi survey of Delta z/(1+z)~0.06 for 0.25<z<0.8, which could be reduced by about 15% using near infrared photometry from the UKIDDS survey, but would increase by about 25% for the deeper sample without the y band photometry. For the MDS an accuracy of Delta z/(1+z)~0.05 is achievable for 0.02<z<1.5 using grizy. A dramatic improvement in accuracy is possible by selecting only red galaxies. In this case, Delta z/(1+z)~0.02-0.04 is achievable for ~100 million galaxies at 0.4<z<1.1 in the 3pi survey and for 30 million galaxies in the MDS at 0.4<z<2. We investigate the effect of using photo-z in the estimate of the baryonic acoustic oscillation scale. We find that PS1 will achieve a similar accuracy in this estimate as a spectroscopic survey of 20 million galaxies.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, accepted by MNRA