Comparação da fauna de formigas de serapilheira entre área de floresta atlântica secundária e plantação adjacente de pinus no sudeste do Brasil

We investigated the influence of Pinus afforestation on the structure of leaf-litter ant communities in the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest, studying an old secondary forest and a nearly 30 year-old never managed Pinus elliottii reforested area. A total of 12,826 individual ants distributed among 95 species and 32 genera were obtained from 50 1 m² samples/ habitat. Of these, 60 species were recorded in the pine plantation and 82 in the area of Atlantic forest; almost 50% of the species found in the secondary forest area were also present in the pine plantation. The number of species per sample was significantly higher in the secondary forest than in the pine plantation. Forest-adapted taxa are the most responsible for ant species richness differences between areas, and the pine plantation is richer in species classified as soil or litter omnivorous-dominants. The specialized ant predators registered in the pine plantation, as seven Dacetini, two Basiceros, two Attini and two Discothyrea, belong to widely distributed species. The NMDS (non-metric multidimensional scaling) ordination also suggested strong differences in similarity among samples of the two areas. Furthermore, this analysis indicated higher sample heterogeneity in the secondary forest, with two clusters of species, while in the pine plantation the species belong to a single cluster. We applied the ant mosaic hypothesis to explain the distribution of the leaf-litter fauna and spatial autocorrelation tests among samples. We argue that the results are likely related to differences in quality and distribution of the leaf-litter between the pine plantation and the secondary area.A influência do reflorestamento com Pinus na estrutura da fauna de formigas de serapilheira foi investigada, estudando uma floresta Atlântica secundária inalterada há 30 anos e uma área reflorestada com Pinus elliottii no Sudeste do Brasil. Em 50 amostras de 1 m² tomadas em cada área, foram coletados 12.826 indivíduos, distribuídos em 95 espécies e 32 gêneros de formigas. Foram identificadas 60 espécies na área reflorestada com Pinus e 82 espécies na área de floresta secundária; aproximadamente 50% das espécies foram registradas nas duas áreas. A mediana do número de espécies por amostra foi maior na floresta secundária. Táxons com biologia especializada são responsáveis por grande parte das diferenças de composição de fauna, sendo a área de reflorestamento com Pinus mais rica em espécies onívoras e dominantes. Predadoras especializadas registradas na área de Pinus, como sete espécies de Dacetini, duas Basiceros, duas Attini e duas Discothyrea, têm ampla distribuição na Floresta Atlântica. A ordenação das amostras com o escalonamento multidimensional não-métrico (NMDS) indicou grande diferença na similaridade entre as amostras das áreas. Adicionalmente, essa análise sugere maior heterogeneidade na composição das amostras da floresta secundária, identificando dois agrupamentos de espécies, enquanto a área de Pinus apresenta um agrupamento apenas. Para investigar quais fatores podem explicar a heterogeneidade observada, testes de co-ocorrência e de autocorrelação espacial foram aplicados entre amostras de cada área. Nossa conclusão é que as diferenças observadas devem estar relacionadas com diferenças na qualidade e distribuição da serapilheira entre as áreas.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)UMC - Fundação de Amparo ao Ensino e Pesquis

The supramolecular structures of oximes: an update and the crystal structure of 1,3-diphenyl-propan-2-one oxime

The crystal structure of 1,3-diphenyl-propan-2-one oxime, C15H15NO, is described. The compound crystallises in the monoclinic space group C2/c. Centrosymmetrically related molecules are linked to form R22 (6) dimers. An update, since 2003, of a systematic analysis of the hydrogen bonding patterns in oxime structures with and without competitive O-H...A type acceptors (an acceptor other than the nitrogen of the oxime) functional group is made, taking into account their moieties. The majority of these oximes form dimeric, R22 (6), structures but R33 (8) and R44 (12) were also found. C3 chains which were classically claimed as the usual oxime H-bond pattern were rarely observed. They are mostly found in aldoxime structures

1,3-Diphenyl­propan-2-one (2,4-dinitro­phen­yl)hydrazone

In the title compound, C21H18N4O4, there is an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond between the amino H atom and an O atom of the 2-nitro group of the adjacent benzene ring. The central benzene ring forms dihedral angles of 79.98 (7) and 82.88 (7)° with the two phenyl rings. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network by weak C—H⋯N, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π inter­actions

Radiologic images of the thoracic cavity of Golden Retriever dogs affected by muscular dystrophy

A distrofia muscular de Duchenne (DMD) é uma doença de origem genética, cuja principal manifestação clínica é enfraquecimento e atrofia progressiva dos músculos. Os cães da raça Golden Retriever podem apresentar distrofia muscular, com características genotípicas e fenotípicas muito próximas à distrofia muscular humana, sendo considerado o modelo animal mais apropriado para o estudo da DMD. Foram realizadas radiografias torácicas látero-laterais e dorsoventrais de 10 cães Golden Retriever afetados pela distrofia muscular, com o objetivo de relatar as alterações radiográficas associadas a essa patologia. O exame radiográfico da cavidade torácica evidenciou: (a) padrão pulmonar intersticial e alveolar predominante, (b) um quadro de pneumonia e edema pulmonar em fase inicial, (c) a cardiomegalia como o principal achado de comprometimento circulatório na cavidade torácica, (d) O megaesôfago torácico foi observado deslocando a traquéia e silhueta cardíaca ventralmente e, (e) a cúpula diafragmática apresentou modificação morfológica, mostrando protrusão para o interior da cavidade torácica e hérnia hiatal, com deslocamento do estômago para o espaço mediastino caudal. Os achados de necropsia evidenciaram efusão pleural e enfisema pulmonar e lesões compatíveis com processos degenerativos e metaplásicos da musculatura diafragmática e intercostal. A avaliação radiográfica constituiu-se como um meio diagnóstico auxiliar essencial na identificação de doença cardíaca e respiratória em cães Golden Retriever acometidos pela Distrofia Muscular, capaz de identificar processos pneumônicos primários, permitindo o estabelecimento de terapêutica adequada de tratamento, com prognóstico reservado nos estágios mais avançados desta alteraçãoDuchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder with clinical signs of muscular weaknesses and progressive atrophy. Golden Retriever dogs show similar genotypic and phenotypic characteristics to Human Muscular Dystrophy and are considered a proper animal model for DMD studies. Latero-lateral and dorso-ventral thoracic radiographies were obtained from 10 Golden Retriever dogs affected by muscular dystrophy, to investigate possible radiographic alterations. Thorax radiographic examination revealed (a) interstitial and alveolar pattern, (b) initial phases of pneumonia and pulmonary edema, (c) cardiomegaly as a principal alteration in the thoracic cavity, (d) megaesophagus displacing the trachea and heart silhouette, and (e) cranial protrusion of the diaphragm lining into the thorax with development of a hiatus hernia displacing the stomach to the caudal mediastinum. Postmortem examination showed pleural effusion, pulmonary emphysema, degenerative and metaplasic processes in the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. Radiographic examination was considered essential for the diagnosis of cardiac and respiratory disease in Golden Retriever dogs affected by muscular dystrophy, and to identify the primary pulmonary process and to provide the establishment of suitable therapeutic treatment, with a reserved prognosis in advanced stage of the diseas

Environmental Costs of Government-Sponsored Agrarian Settlements in Brazilian Amazonia

Brazil has presided over the most comprehensive agrarian reform frontier colonization program on Earth, in which ~1.2 million settlers have been translocated by successive governments since the 1970's, mostly into forested hinterlands of Brazilian Amazonia. These settlements encompass 5.3% of this ~5 million km2 region, but have contributed with 13.5% of all land conversion into agropastoral land uses. The Brazilian Federal Agrarian Agency (INCRA) has repeatedly claimed that deforestation in these areas largely predates the sanctioned arrival of new settlers. Here, we quantify rates of natural vegetation conversion across 1911 agrarian settlements allocated to 568 Amazonian counties and compare fire incidence and deforestation rates before and after the official occupation of settlements by migrant farmers. The timing and spatial distribution of deforestation and fires in our analysis provides irrefutable chronological and spatially explicit evidence of agropastoral conversion both inside and immediately outside agrarian settlements over the last decade. Deforestation rates are strongly related to local human population density and road access to regional markets. Agrarian settlements consistently accelerated rates of deforestation and fires, compared to neighboring areas outside settlements, but within the same counties. Relocated smallholders allocated to forest areas undoubtedly operate as pivotal agents of deforestation, and most of the forest clearance occurs in the aftermath of government-induced migration