On the bar pattern speed determination of NGC 3367

An important dynamic parameter of barred galaxies is the bar pattern speed. Among several methods that are used for the determination of the pattern speed the Tremaine-Weinberg method has the advantage of model independency and accuracy. In this work we apply the method to a simulated bar including gas dynamics and study the effect of 2D spectroscopy data quality on robustness of the method. We added a white noise and a Gaussian random field to the data and measured the corresponding errors in the pattern speed. We found that a signal to noise ratio in surface density ~5 introduces errors of ~20% for the Gaussian noise, while for the white noise the corresponding errors reach ~50%. At the same time the velocity field is less sensitive to contamination. On the basis of the performed study we applied the method to the NGC 3367 spiral galaxy using H{\alpha} Fabry-Perot interferometry data. We found for the pattern speed 43 \pm 6 km/s/kpc for this galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 16 pages, 16 figure

Bacillus thuringiensis survey in Brazil: geographical distribution and insecticidal activity against Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

A total of 3408 strains of B. thuringiensis were collected from 1448 soil samples from 10 Brazilian states representing 4 geographical regions (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceara, Pernambuco and Sergipe of the Northeast region; Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo from the Southeast region; Parana from the Southern region; and Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul from the Western Central region) covering 96 counties. These strains were evaluated for insecticidal activity against S. frugiperda larvae. Only 62% killed between 81 and 100% of S. frugiperda; 1758 caused no mortality. The highest proportion of efficient strains (larval mortality more than 75%) was found from the total isolated per region in the South Region (16.6%), followed by Western Central (3.1%), Southeast (1.1%) and Northeast Region (0.4%)

Levantamento dos inimigos naturais da lagarta do cartucho do milho, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), na região de Cascavel, PR.

A survey of the natural enemies of S. frugiperda larvae was done during the years of 1992/93 and 94/95, in Cascavel region, Parana State. The most frequent parasitoids were Campoletis sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), which reached 47.0% of parasitism and Archytas marmoratus (Diptera: Tachinidae), which reached 15.4%. Of all Baculovirus found, 10.8% were NPV (nuclear polihedrosis virus) and only 1% was GV (granulosis virus)

Correlation equalities and upper bounds for the transverse Ising model

Starting from an exact formal identity for the two-state transverse Ising model and using correlation inequalities rigorous upper bounds for the critical temperature and the critical transverse field are obtained which improve effective results.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase Does Not Impact Murine Meiotic Recombination

Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase (AID) was first described as the triggering enzyme of the B-cell-specific reactions that edit the immunoglobulin genes, namely somatic hypermutation, gene conversion and class switch recombination. Over the years, AID was also detected in cells other than lymphocytes, and it has been assigned additional roles in the innate defense against transforming retroviruses, in retrotransposition restriction and in DNA demethylation. Notably, AID expression was found in germline tissues, and in heterologous systems it can induce the double-strand breaks required for the initiation of meiotic recombination and proper gamete formation. However, since AID deficient mice are fully fertile, the molecule is not essential for meiosis. Thus, the remaining question that we addressed here is whether AID influences the frequency of meiotic recombination in mice. We measured the recombination events in the meiosis of male and female mice F1 hybrids of C57BL/6J and BALB/c, in Aicda(+/+) and Aicda(-/-) background using a panel of SNPs that distinguishes C57BL/6J from BALB/c genome across the 19 autosomes. In agreement with the literature, we found that the frequency of recombination in the female germline was higher than in male germline, both in the Aicda(+/+) and the Aicda(-/-) backgrounds. No statistical difference was found in the average recombination events between Aicda(+/+) and Aicda(-/-) animals, either in females or males. In addition, the recombination frequency between SNPs flanking the IgH and Igκ loci was also not different. We conclude that AID has a minor impact, if any, on the overall frequency of meiotic recombination.Marie Curie Reintegration grant: (PIRG03-GA-2008230967), FCT fellowship: (SFRH/BPD/66824/2009)

Self-similar and charged spheres in the diffusion approximation

We study spherical, charged and self--similar distributions of matter in the diffusion approximation. We propose a simple, dynamic but physically meaningful solution. For such a solution we obtain a model in which the distribution becomes static and changes to dust. The collapse is halted with damped mass oscillations about the absolute value of the total charge.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure