Modeling the skin pattern of fishes

Complicated patterns showing various spatial scales have been obtained in the past by coupling Turing systems in such a way that the scales of the independent systems resonate. This produces superimposed patterns with different length scales. Here we propose a model consisting of two identical reaction-diffusion systems coupled together in such a way that one of them produces a simple Turing pattern of spots or stripes, and the other traveling wave fronts that eventually become stationary. The basic idea is to assume that one of the systems becomes fixed after some time and serves as a source of morphogens for the other system. This mechanism produces patterns very similar to the pigmentation patterns observed in different species of stingrays and other fishes. The biological mechanisms that support the realization of this model are discussed

Relative importance of inoculum sources of Guignardia citricarpa on the citrus black spot epidemic in Brazil.

Guignardia citricarpa, the causal agent of citrus black spot (CBS), forms ascospores and conidia in citrus leaf litter and only conidia on fruit and twigs. The objective of this work was to determine the relative importance of inoculum sources of ascospores and conidia in the progress of CBS under natural conditions in Brazil. A first experiment was conducted in an orchard subdivided into two areas. In one area, fallen leaves were removed and in the other area fallen leaves were maintained. In each area, two treatments were established: 1) CBS symptomatic mature fruit remained on the trees after the new fruit set, and 2) CBS symptomatic mature fruit were harvested before the new fruit set. A second experiment was carried out in a CBS-free experimental orchard where detached symptomatic fruit and leaf litter on the orchard floor and detached symptomatic fruit and dead twigs on the tree canopy were distributed to investigate the spread of disease. In the first experiment disease incidence was similar for all treatments in all years. However, in 2003, in the area without leaf litter (absence of the ascospores source), disease intensity and the rate of progress of disease incidence were higher when there was overlap of mature and young fruit. In the second experiment, only detached symptomatic fruit and dead twigs on the tree canopy were able to spread CBS in two years of the experiment. The distance of disease spread was less than 80 cm from these inoculum sources. The removal of fallen leaves was not sufficient to completely suppress the disease because of the presence of conidia in fruit and dead twigs. Therefore the reduction of conidia sources should be considered in CBS management in Brazil

P-Fuzzy Diffusion Equation Using Rules Base

We propose a fuzzy system that simulates dispersion of individuals whose movements are described by diffusion. We will use only the position of the population as an input variable for describing the process. We emphasize that the classical diffusion equation along with its analytical solution in no time was used for obtaining our solution

Dinâmica temporal da população do ácaro Brevipalpus phoenicis e da leprose dos citros sob condições naturais de epidemia.

A densidade populacional do ácaro veto r de Citrus leprosis virus (CiLV), Brevipalpus phoenicis, num talhão, é o principal indicador para a tomada de decisão de medidas de controle da leprose dos citros. Há pouca informação sobre o crescimento da incidência de plantas com leprose dos citros isoladamente ou em conjunto com a população do ácaro. Este trabalho teve por objetivo caracterizar o progresso temporal da população de B. phoenicis e da incidência de leprose dos citros e a relação entre essas populações, sob condições naturais de epidemia. Dois talhões de laranja doce, cvs. Valência e Natal, foram monitorados de 2002 a 2004, em intervalos de 22 dias, em média. O crescimento da incidência da doença foi lento e estimativas da taxa de progresso da doença foram bastante baixas, variando de 0,0126 a 0,0448 para 'Valência' e de 0,0044 a 0,0525 para 'Natal'. A quantidade de inóculo inicial nos ramos cresceu significativamente de um ciclo para outro. Ao final do período, a incidência foi de 32% das plantas de 'Valência' e de 6,8% na cv. Natal. Apesar de não ser sistêmica, a leprose dos citros comporta-se como poliética com acúmulo de inóculo de ano para ano, especialmente nos ramos. A incidência não esteve correlacionada com a presença de ácaros na planta em levantamentos anteriores, mas apresentou correlação positiva significativa (P<O,OOI) com a própria incidência da doença registrada anteriormente. Isto indica que a presença de sintomas, e não somente a de ácaros, deve ser considerada em amostragens visando controle da doença. Palavras-chave adicionais: Citrus leprosis virus, incidência, análise temporal. ABSTRACT Temporal dynamics of populations of Brevipalpus phoenicis mite and citrus leprosis under natural epidemic conditions The density of mite Brevipalpus phoenicis, vector of Citrus leprosis virus (CiLV), is determinant for decisions on control measures for citrus leprosis. Little information on the progress of incidence of trees with citrus leprosis has been compiled, either separately or together with the mite population. This study aimed to characterize the temporal growth of B. phoenicis populations and leprosis incidence on citrus trees and the relationship with these populations, under natural conditions. Two sweet orange groves, one with 'Valencia' and the other with 'Natal', were monitored from 2002 to 2004, every 22 days. The increase in disease incidence was slow and estimates of disease growth rate were quite low, varying from 0.0126 to 0.0448 for 'Valencia' and from 0.0044 to 0.0525 for 'Natal'. The initial inoculurn quantity on the branches increased significantly from one cycle to the next. After the three years of observation, the incidence reached 32% in Valencia and 6.8% in Natal trees. Although not systemic, citrus leprosis has a polyetic performance, building up inoculurn year after year, especially on the branches. The incidence was not correlated with the mite density on the trees in previous data collections, but presented a significant positive correlation (P<O.OO1) with the disease incidence reported earlier. This indicates that the presence of symptoms, rather than only the mites, must be taken into consideration in sampling aiming at disease control

On the Penrose Inequality for Charged Black Holes

In arXiv:0905.2622v1 and arXiv:0910.4785v1, Bray and Khuri outlined an approach to prove the Penrose inequality for general initial data sets of the Einstein equations. In this paper we extend this approach so that it may be applied to a charged version of the Penrose inequality. Moreover, assuming that the initial data is time symmetric, we prove the rigidity statement in the case of equality for the charged Penrose inequality, a result which seems to be absent from the literature. A new quasi-local mass, tailored to charged initial data sets is also introduced, and used in the proof.Comment: 19 pages; final versio

Genetic variation and recombination of RdRp and HSP 70h genes of Citrus tristeza virus isolates from orange trees showing symptoms of citrus sudden death disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Citrus sudden death (CSD), a disease that rapidly kills orange trees, is an emerging threat to the Brazilian citrus industry. Although the causal agent of CSD has not been definitively determined, based on the disease's distribution and symptomatology it is suspected that the agent may be a new strain of <it>Citrus tristeza virus </it>(CTV). CTV genetic variation was therefore assessed in two Brazilian orange trees displaying CSD symptoms and a third with more conventional CTV symptoms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 286 RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRp) and 284 heat shock protein 70 homolog (HSP70h) gene fragments were determined for CTV variants infecting the three trees. It was discovered that, despite differences in symptomatology, the trees were all apparently coinfected with similar populations of divergent CTV variants. While mixed CTV infections are common, the genetic distance between the most divergent population members observed (24.1% for RdRp and 11.0% for HSP70h) was far greater than that in previously described mixed infections. Recombinants of five distinct RdRp lineages and three distinct HSP70h lineages were easily detectable but respectively accounted for only 5.9 and 11.9% of the RdRp and HSP70h gene fragments analysed and there was no evidence of an association between particular recombinant mosaics and CSD. Also, comparisons of CTV population structures indicated that the two most similar CTV populations were those of one of the trees with CSD and the tree without CSD.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We suggest that if CTV is the causal agent of CSD, it is most likely a subtle feature of population structures within mixed infections and not merely the presence (or absence) of a single CTV variant within these populations that triggers the disease.</p