Dracontium Nivosum (lem.) G.h.zhu (araceae): Range Extension From Amazonia To A Brejo Forest Refugium In Northeast Brazil Confirmed

The 558 km range extension of the Amazonian aroid Dracontium nivosum (Lem.) G.H.Zhu into semiarid Northeast Brazil is confirmed. This species occurs in Ceará in threatened fragments of brejo forest at ca. 580–870 m elevation. An illustrated taxonomic description is provided. The species’ Extent of Occurrence (EOO) is estimated as 356,392 km2 (meets Least Concern); the Area of Occupancy (AOO), 60 km2 using a 2×2 km cell (Endangered). Within Ceará the EOO is 41.4 km2 (Critically Endangered) and the AOO is 16 km2 (Endangered). © 2016 Check List and Authors.12

Decomposition and nutrient release of leguminous plants in coffee agroforestry systems.

Leguminous plants used as green manure are an important nutrient source for coffee plantations, especially for soils with low nutrient levels. Field experiments were conducted in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais State, Brazil to evaluate the decomposition and nutrient release rates of four leguminous species used as green manures (Arachis pintoi, Calopogonium mucunoides, Stizolobium aterrimum and Stylosanthes guianensis) in a coffee agroforestry system under two different climate conditions. The initial N contents in plant residues varied from 25.7 to 37.0 g kg-1 and P from 2.4 to 3.0 g kg-1. The lignin/N, lignin/polyphenol and(lignin+polyphenol)/N ratios were low in all residues studied. Mass loss rates were highest in the first 15 days, when 25 % of the residues were decomposed. From 15 to 30 days, the decomposition rate decreased on both farms. On the farm in Pedra Dourada (PD), the decomposition constant k increased in the order C. mucunoides < S. aterrimum < S. guianensis < A. pintoi. On the farm in Araponga (ARA), there was no difference in the decomposition rate among leguminous plants. The N release rates varied from 0.0036 to 0.0096 d-1. Around 32 % of the total N content in the plant material was released in the first 15 days. In ARA, the N concentration in the S. aterrimum residues was always significantly higher than in the other residues. At the end of 360 days, the N released was 78 % in ARA and 89 % in PD of the initial content. Phosphorus was the most rapidly released nutrient (k values from 0.0165 to 0.0394 d-1). Residue decomposition and nutrient release did not correlate with initial residue chemistry and biochemistry, but differences in climatic conditions between the two study sites modified the decomposition rate constants

Dermatophylosis in Santa Inês sheep from Distrito Federal

Relataram-se quatro casos de dermatofilose em ovinos da raça Santa Inês, no período de um ano. Microscopicamente observaram-se filamentos na forma de "trilho de bonde" e zoósporos nos quatro casos. A tentativa do isolamento do microrganismo foi realizada por meio do método de Haalstra e em apenas um caso obteve-se sucesso, observando-se colônias de aparência lisa, formato circular, cor amarelada e hemolítica em ágar sangue. O exame direto com coloração de Gram mostrou-se um método bastante eficiente na confirmação da presença do microrganismo afetando a epiderme em razão da morfologia típica do agente.Four cases of dermatophylosis were reported in Santa Inês sheep in a study period of one year. Microscopically, septate filaments and coccoid forms zoospores were observed. Attempts to isolate the microorganisms were accomplished using Haastra's method and it was successful in only one case. Dermatophilus congolensis samples have grown on blood agar, colonies where hemolytic, small, round and pigmentation vary from yellow to orange. The gram staining method was efficient to confirm the presence of the microorganism affecting the epidermis due to typical morphology of the agent

Hydrodynamics and Flow

In this lecture note, we present several topics on relativistic hydrodynamics and its application to relativistic heavy ion collisions. In the first part we give a brief introduction to relativistic hydrodynamics in the context of heavy ion collisions. In the second part we present the formalism and some fundamental aspects of relativistic ideal and viscous hydrodynamics. In the third part, we start with some basic checks of the fundamental observables followed by discussion of collective flow, in particular elliptic flow, which is one of the most exciting phenomenon in heavy ion collisions at relativistic energies. Next we discuss how to formulate the hydrodynamic model to describe dynamics of heavy ion collisions. Finally, we conclude the third part of the lecture note by showing some results from ideal hydrodynamic calculations and by comparing them with the experimental data.Comment: 40 pages, 35 figures; lecture given at the QGP Winter School, Jaipur, India, Feb.1-3, 2008; to appear in Springer Lecture Notes in Physic

Electron Dynamics in Nd1.85_{1.85}Ce.15_{.15}CuO4+δ_{4+\delta}: Evidence for the Pseudogap State and Unconventional c-axis Response

Infrared reflectance measurements were made with light polarized along the a- and c-axis of both superconducting and antiferromagnetic phases of electron doped Nd$_{1.85}$Ce$_{.15}$CuO$_{4+\delta}$. The results are compared to characteristic features of the electromagnetic response in hole doped cuprates. Within the CuO$_2$ planes the frequency dependent scattering rate, 1/$\tau(\omega)$, is depressed below $\sim$ 650 cm$^{-1}$; this behavior is a hallmark of the pseudogap state. While in several hole doped compounds the energy scales associated with the pseudogap and superconducting states are quite close, we are able to show that in Nd$_{1.85}$Ce$_{.15}$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ the two scales differ by more than one order of magnitude. Another feature of the in-plane charge response is a peak in the real part of the conductivity, $\sigma_1(\omega)$, at 50-110 cm$^{-1}$ which is in sharp contrast with the Drude-like response where $\sigma_1(\omega)$ is centered at $\omega=0$. This latter effect is similar to what is found in disordered hole doped cuprates and is discussed in the context of carrier localization. Examination of the c-axis conductivity gives evidence for an anomalously broad frequency range from which the interlayer superfluid is accumulated. Compelling evidence for the pseudogap state as well as other characteristics of the charge dynamics in Nd$_{1.85}$Ce$_{.15}$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ signal global similarities of the cuprate phase diagram with respect to electron and hole doping.Comment: Submitted to PR

Energy generation in a Microbial Fuel Cell using anaerobic sludge from a wastewater treatment plant

ABSTRACT In microbial fuel cells (MFCs), the oxidation of organic compounds catalyzed by microorganisms (anode) generates electricity via electron transfer to an external circuit that acts as an electron acceptor (cathode). Microbial fuel cells differ in terms of the microorganisms employed and the nature of the oxidized organic compound. In this study, a consortium of anaerobic microorganisms helped to treat the secondary sludge obtained from a sewage treatment plant. The microorganisms were grown in a 250 mL bioreactor containing a carbon cloth. The reactor was fed with media containing acetate (as the carbon source) for 48 days. Concomitantly, the electrochemical data were measured with the aid of a digital multimeter and data acquisition system. At the beginning of the MFC operation, power density was low, probably due to slow microorganism growth and adhesion. The power density increased from the 15th day of operation, reaching a value of 13.5 &#956;W cm&#8211;2 after ca. 24 days of operation, and remained stable until the end of the process. Compared with data in the literature, this power density value is promising; improvements in the MFC design and operation could increase this value even further. The system investigated herein employed excess sludge as a biocatalyst in an MFC. This opens up the possibility of using organic acids and/or carbohydrate-rich effluents to feed MFCs, and thereby provide simultaneous effluent treatment and energy generation

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02