Scattering of graphene plasmons at abrupt interfaces: an analytic and numeric study

We discuss the scattering of graphene surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) at an interface between two semi-infinite graphene sheets with different doping levels and/or different underlying dielectric substrates. We take into account retardation effects and the emission of free radiation in the scattering process. We derive approximate analytic expressions for the reflection and the transmission coefficients of the SPPs as well as the same quantities for the emitted free radiation. We show that the scattering problem can be recast as a Fredholm equation of the second kind. Such equation can then be solved by a series expansion, with the first term of the series correspond to our approximated analytical solution for the reflection and transmission amplitudes. We have found that almost no free radiation is emitted in the scattering process and that under typical experimental conditions the back-scattered SPP transports very little energy. This work provides a theoretical description of graphene plasmon scattering at an interface between distinct Fermi levels which could be relevant for the realization of plasmonic circuitry elements such as plasmonic lenses or reflectors, and for controlling plasmon propagation by modulating the potential landscape of graphene.A.J.C. acknowledges the scholarship from the Brazilian agency CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico). B.A., Y.V.B., and N.M.R.P. acknowledge support from the European Commission through the project "Graphene-Driven Revolutions in ICT and Beyond" (Ref. No. 696656). P.A.D.G. acknowledges financial support from the VILLUM Fonden (Grant No. 16498), and from the Center for Nanostructured Graphene sponsored by the Danish National Research Foundation (project DNRF103). N.M.R.P. also acknowledges the hospitality of the MackGraphe Center, at Mackenzie Presbyterian University, where this work has started, the projects Fapesp 2012/50259-8 and 2016/11814-7, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Financing UID/FIS/04650/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activity from aerial parts of Psychotria cupularis (Rubiaceae) / Atividade antiproliferativa e anti-inflamatória das partes aéreas de Psychotria cupularis (Rubiaceae)

The crude extract and fractions of aerial parts from Psychotria cupularis, collected at Camacan (Brazil), were tested for anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activity. A phytochemical screening indicated the presence of tannins, anthraquinones, triterpenes, steroids and flavonoids. The crude extract and fractions inhibited the ear oedema in mice between 50.2 to 87.2% and the myeloperoxidase enzyme activity between 51.6 to 97.1%. The butanolic and ethyl acetate fractions was active against glioma, breast, ovary, kidney, colon and leukaemia cell line (IG50 = 4.3 to 16.9 ?g/mL). 

Anaerobic co-digestion of acerola (Malphigia emarginata) agro-industry effluent with domestic sewage at mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

This study evaluated the effect of temperature on the anaerobic co-digestion of acerola agro-industry effluent (EAV) and domestic sewage (EDT). The assays were performed in triplicates of reactor flasks using treatments with different mixture compositions (T1= 5% EDT + 95% EAV; T2= 20% EDT + 80% EAV; T3= 30% EDT + 70% EAV) and anaerobic sludge as inoculum (5 g.L−1 ), at mesophilic (35 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) temperatures. The analyses of soluble chemical oxygen demand (CODs) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) were performed by etermining the removal efficiency of the CODs, the decay rate constant of the COD (Kd), and the percentages of anaerobic biodegradability (%BD) and methanation (%M). The inoculum biomass of the treatments was observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at the end of the degradation process (12 days). Regardless of the temperature, the anaerobic digestion was considered efficient, with biodegradability above 60%. The mesophilic temperature favored the anaerobic co-digestion for all mixture compositions, presenting more diversified and structured biomass at the end of the assays, as well as higher removal efficiencies of the CODs and methanization, especially for T3 at 35 °C (63% and 51%, respectively). Furthermore, the kinetics of the degradation process proved to be more accelerated at mesophilic conditions (Kd 0.1d−1 ) and in the treatments with a higher percentage of sewage (T2M and T3M)

Cinética da degradação anaeróbica do efluente de processamento da acerola verde em batelada.

O trabalho objetivou avaliar a cinética de degradação anaeróbia do efluente da ultrafiltração do processamento da acerola verde em três diferentes cargas de matéria orgânica aplicadas

Ranking protected areas in the Azores using standardised sampling of soil epigean arthropods

Copyright © Springer 2005.Nineteen areas in seven of the nine Azorean islands were evaluated for species diversity and rarity based on soil epigean arthropods. Fifteen out of the 19 study areas are managed as Natural Forest Reserves and the remaining four were included due to their importance as indigenous forest cover. Four of the 19 areas are not included in the European Conservation network, NATURA 2000. Two sampling replicates were run per study area, and a total of 191 species were collected; 43 of those species (23%) are endemic to the archipelago and 12 have yet to be described. To produce an unbiased multiple-criteria index (importance value for conservation, IV-C) incorporating diversity and rarity based indices, an iterative partial multiple regression analysis was performed. In addition, an irreplaceability index and the complementarity method (using both optimisation and heuristic methods) were used for priority-reserves analyses. It was concluded that at least one well-managed reserve per island is absolutely necessary to have a good fraction of the endemic arthropods preserved. We found that for presence/absence data the suboptimal complementarity algorithm provides solutions as good as the optimal algorithm. For abundance data, optimal solutions indicate that most reserves are needed if we want that at least 50% of endemic arthropod populations are represented in a minimum set of reserves. Consistently, two of the four areas not included in the NATURA 2000 framework were considered of high priority, indicating that vascular plants and bird species used to determine NATURA 2000 sites are not good surrogates of arthropod diversity in the Azores. The most irreplaceable reserves are those located in older islands, which indicates that geological history plays an important role in explaining faunal diversity of arthropods in the Azores. Based both on the uniqueness of species composition and high species richness, conservation efforts should be focused on the unmanaged Pico Alto region in the archipelago’s oldest island, Santa Maria

New records and detailed distribution and abundance of selected arthropod species collected between 1999 and 2011 in Azorean native forests

[Background] In this contribution we present detailed distribution and abundance data for arthropod species identified during the BALA ¿ Biodiversity of Arthropods from the Laurisilva of the Azores (1999-2004) and BALA2 projects (2010-2011) from 18 native forest fragments in seven of the nine Azorean islands (all excluding Graciosa and Corvo islands, which have no native forest left).[New information] Of the total 286 species identified, 81% were captured between 1999 and 2000, a period during which only 39% of all the samples were collected. On average, arthropod richness for each island increased by 10% during the time frame of these projects. The classes Arachnida, Chilopoda and Diplopoda represent the most remarkable cases of new island records, with more than 30% of the records being novelties. This study stresses the need to expand the approaches applied in these projects to other habitats in the Azores, and more importantly to other less surveyed taxonomic groups (e.g. Diptera and Hymenoptera). These steps are fundamental for getting a more accurate assessment of biodiversity in the archipelago.AMCS was supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (IEF 331623 ‘COMMSTRUCT’) and by a Juan de la Cierva Fellowship (IJCI-2014-19502) funded by the Spanish ‘Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad’.Peer Reviewe

Congenital Zika syndrome is associated with maternal protein malnutrition

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy is associated with a spectrum of developmental impairments known as congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). The prevalence of this syndrome varies across ZIKV endemic regions, suggesting that its occurrence could depend on cofactors. Here, we evaluate the relevance of protein malnutrition for the emergence of CZS. Epidemiological data from the ZIKV outbreak in the Americas suggest a relationship between undernutrition and cases of microcephaly. To experimentally examine this relationship, we use immunocompetent pregnant mice, which were subjected to protein malnutrition and infected with a Brazilian ZIKV strain. We found that the combination of protein restriction and ZIKV infection leads to severe alterations of placental structure and embryonic body growth, with offspring displaying a reduction in neurogenesis and postnatal brain size. RNA-seq analysis reveals gene expression deregulation required for brain development in infected low-protein progeny. These results suggest that maternal protein malnutrition increases susceptibility to CZS.Fil: Barbeito Andrés, Jimena. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos; ArgentinaFil: Pezzuto, Paula. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Higa, Luiza. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Dias, André Alves. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Vasconcelos, Janaina. Universidade Federal do Pará; BrasilFil: Santos, T. M. P.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Ferreira, Jéssica. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Ferreira, R. O.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Dutra, F. F.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Rossi, A. D.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Barbosa, R. V.. Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro. Centro Nacional de Biologia Estrutural E Bioimagem.; BrasilFil: Amorim, C. K. N.. Evandro Chagas Institute; BrasilFil: de Souza, M. P. C.. Evandro Chagas Institute; BrasilFil: Chimelli, L.. Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer ; BrasilFil: Aguiar, R. S.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Gonzalez, Paula Natalia. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos; ArgentinaFil: Lara, F. A.. Oswaldo Cruz Institute; BrasilFil: Castro, M.C.. Harvard University. Harvard School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Molnár, Z.. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Lopes, R. T.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Bozza, M. T.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Vianez, J. L. S. G.. Evandro Chagas Institute; BrasilFil: Barbeito, Claudio Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Cuervo, P.. Oswaldo Cruz Institute; BrasilFil: Bellio, M.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Tanuri, A.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Garcez, P. P.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasi