Intraspecific variability drives diversity in food webs

Biodiversity theories neglect individual-level variability in ecological interactions even though empirical work has revealed considerable genetic and phenotypic variation among individuals in natural populations. This impedes assessing the impact of individual-level variability on biodiversity in multi-trophic ecosystems. Here we use a density-dependent and individual-based food web model, tested against the largest individual-based food web to date, to show that non-random intraspecific variation in prey selection alters species diversity in food webs. Predators consuming many prey increase diversity by preferentially selecting common prey; predators consuming few prey inhibit diversity by preferentially selecting rare prey, putting them at risk of extinction. Thus species-level patterns cannot be explained by species-level averages, but instead must consider individual-level variation in prey selection. Individual-level variation occurs in many biological and social contexts, suggesting that analyses of individual-level interaction data will be relevant in a wide range of fields

Distribution and salinity tolerance of the invasive isopod Synidotea laticauda in the Guadalquivir estuary (SW Spain): Field and laboratory observations

Trabajo presentado en ECSA 56 (Coastal systems in transition: From a 'natural' to an 'anthropogenically-modified' state), celebrado en Bremen del 4 al 7 de septiembre de 2016.The effects of the exotic species in native communities are unpredictable and ecological studies should be required for environmental management. In Europe, the exotic species Synidotea laticauda has been introduced in several estuaries but there was not any previous biological study about these non-native populations. The spatio-temporal field distribution of S. laticauda in the last 30 km of the Guadalquivir estuary (salinities 0 to 30) was assessed during 7 years (August 1997-June 2004) by sampling at each new moon with a mesh size net of 1 mm. Survival and osmoregulatory patterns of the species under different experimental salinity conditions were also estimated. This exotic species is a permanent resident of the estuary, with presence of juveniles and adults during most of the year, but showing maximum densities in the warmest period (summer to early autumn). Spatial patterns were closely related to the salinity gradient: the highest densities were observed between 10 and 30 of salinity, with a maximum at 20 (≈ isosmotic point). In fact, the isopod is a weak osmoregulator, which maintains the osmolality of the hemolymph partially independent of the medium osmolality (in a salinity range of 5 to 25). Moreover, survival experiments showed a high tolerance (mortality < 30%) to sudden salinity changes between 2 and 35 and virtually no mortality in salinities (15-25) close to the isosmotic point (20). Osmoregulatory and survival patterns were not dependent on sex but they seemed to be specific-dependent on salinity acclimation. Although it is a euryhaline species, its weak osmoregulatory capacity explains its salinity-dependent distribution pattern. Our results provide a framework to predict the distribution of this invasive species under sceneries of climate change and consequent freshwater scarcity.N

Stabilizing edge fluorination in graphene nanoribbons

The on-surface synthesis of edge-functionalized graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) is challenged by the stability of the functional groups throughout the thermal reaction steps of the synthetic pathway. Edge fluorination is a particularly critical case in which the interaction with the catalytic substrate and intermediate products can induce the complete cleavage of the otherwise strong C-F bonds before the formation of the GNR. Here, we demonstrate how a rational design of the precursor can stabilize the functional group, enabling the synthesis of edge-fluorinated GNRs. The survival of the functionalization is demonstrated by tracking the structural and chemical transformations occurring at each reaction step with complementary X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. In contrast to previous attempts, we find that the C-F bond survives the cyclodehydrogenation of the intermediate polymers, leaving a thermal window where GNRs withhold more than 80% of the fluorine atoms. We attribute this enhanced stability of the C-F bond to the particular structure of our precursor, which prevents the cleavage of the C-F bond by avoiding interaction with the residual hydrogen originated in the cyclodehydrogenation. This structural protection of the linking bond could be implemented in the synthesis of other sp2-functionalized GNRs

Apoio à agropecuária sustentável e à inclusão socioprodutiva na Região Nordeste

Este capítulo relativo ao trabalho sobre o olhar do BNDES para a Região Nordeste do Brasil procurou apontar as ações de inclusão socioprodutiva rural e urbana com base nos pontos de convergência entre a atuação da Área Agropecuária e de Inclusão Social (AGRIS) e as diretrizes do governo federal de buscar a competitividade do setor agropecuário e a diminuição da pobreza urbana e rural no Brasil, além do importante apoio ao segmento agropecuário da região. De acordo com os principais pontos estratégicos de sua atuação, a AGRIS analisou, neste artigo, as ações por ela realizadas, as que estão em desenvolvimento e as em perspectiva, notadamente no financiamento de investimentos na agricultura familiar, no agronegócio em geral, no cooperativismo de crédito e de produção e na inclusão socioprodutiva urbana.This chapter focuses on how the BNDES envisions the Northeast Region in Brazil and sought to indicate efforts aimed at rural and urban socio-productive inclusion. This is based on the common aspects between efforts made by both the Agriculture and Cattleraising Division and the Social Inclusion Division (AGRIS), as well as the federal government’s guidelines for seeking competitiveness in the agricultural and cattle-raising sector and the reduction of urban and rural poverty in Brazil, besides the important support to the sector throughout the region. According to the main strategic points in its efforts, AGRIS analyzed its own actions, including those underway and those yet in perspective, notably in financing for investments in family farming, agribusiness in general, credit and production cooperatives as well as urban socio-production inclusion

Apoio à agropecuária sustentável e à inclusão socioprodutiva na Região Sul

Bibliografia: p. 211Este capítulo relativo ao trabalho sobre o olhar do BNDES para a Região Sul do Brasil procurou apontar as ações de inclusão socioprodutiva rural e urbana com base nos pontos de convergência entre a atuação da Área Agropecuária e de Inclusão Social (AGRIS) e as diretrizes do governo federal de buscar a competitividade do setor agropecuário e de diminuir a pobreza urbana e rural no Brasil, além do importante apoio ao segmento agropecuário da região. O setor agropecuário brasileiro deve seu desenvolvimento e dinamismo, em grande parte, às atividades agropecuárias das regiões Sul, Sudeste e Centro-Oeste e, nesse cenário, a Região Sul é uma importante personagem, haja vista que, segundo dados do Censo Agropecuário 2006 do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), responde por cerca de 27% do Valor da Produção Agropecuária do país. De acordo com os principais pontos estratégicos de sua atuação, a AGRIS analisou, neste artigo, as ações por ela realizadas, as que estão em desenvolvimento e as em perspectiva, notadamente no financiamento de investimentos na agricultura familiar, no agronegócio em geral, no cooperativismo de crédito e de produção e na inclusão socioprodutiva urbana.This chapter focuses on labor within the BNDES’ approach to Brazil’s South region, and seeks to highlight efforts aimed at rural and urban, social and production inclusion. This is based on issues that both the Agricultural, Cattle-raising and Social Inclusion Division (AGRIS) and the federal government’s guidelines agree upon when it comes to fostering competitiveness in the agricultural and cattle-raising sector and to reducing urban and rural poverty in Brazil, besides the important support for the same sectors in the South region. The growth in Brazil’s agricultural and cattle-raising sector is largely due to such activities in the South, Southeast and Central-west regions. Within this scenario, the South region is a key payer, because, according to data from the 2006 Agricultural and Cattle-raising Census put together by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE), it accounts for close to 27% of the Value of Agricultural and Cattle-raising Production in the country. In accordance with the main strategic issues of its operations, AGRIS, in this article, analyzed its own efforts, those underway and those under analysis, especially in financing investments in family farming, in agribusiness as a whole, in credit and production cooperatives, and in urban social and production inclusion

Apoio à agropecuária sustentável e à inclusão socioprodutiva na Região Centro-Oeste

Bibliografia: p. 92-93Este capítulo procurou apontar as ações de inclusão socioprodutiva rural e urbana na Região Centro-Oeste, de acordo com os principais pontos estratégicos da atuação da Área Agropecuária e de Inclusão Social (AGRIS) do BNDES. São abordados os pontos de convergência entre a atuação da AGRIS e as diretrizes do governo federal para buscar a diminuição da pobreza no Brasil. Para cumprir seu propósito, neste artigo, foram analisadas as ações realizadas, as que estão em desenvolvimento e as em perspectiva, notadamente no financiamento de investimentos na agricultura familiar, no agronegócio em geral, no cooperativismo de crédito e de produção e na inclusão socioprodutiva urbana.This chapter sought to highlight efforts aimed at rural and urban social and production inclusion in the Central-West Region, in accordance with the main strategic points in efforts made by the Agriculture, Cattle-Raising and Social Inclusion Division (AGRIS) at the BNDES. Discussion focuses on where the role of AGRIS and the federal government s guidelines meet in order to reduce poverty in Brazil. To fulfill its purpose, this article analyzes efforts made, those still being developed and those in perspective, notably to finance investments in family farming, general agribusiness, credit and production cooperatives, as well as urban social and production inclusion

Band Depopulation of Graphene Nanoribbons Induced by Chemical Gating with Amino Groups

Altres ajuts: Xunta de Galicia (ED431G/09); Gobierno Vasco (IT1246-19, IT-1255-19); Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa (RED 2019-096); CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya; Program Interreg V-A España-Francia-Andorra (194/16 TNI)The electronic properties of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) can be precisely tuned by chemical doping. Here we demonstrate that amino (NH) functional groups attached at the edges of chiral GNRs (chGNRs) can efficiently gate the chGNRs and lead to the valence band (VB) depopulation on a metallic surface. The NH-doped chGNRs are grown by on-surface synthesis on Au(111) using functionalized bianthracene precursors. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy resolves that the NH groups significantly upshift the bands of chGNRs, causing the Fermi level crossing of the VB onset of chGNRs. Through density functional theory simulations we confirm that the hole-doping behavior is due to an upward shift of the bands induced by the edge NH groups

SAÚDE BUCAL DA POPULAÇÃO CARCERÁRIA: LEVANTAMENTO EPIDEMIOLÓGICO

A saúde bucal de pessoas privadas de liberdade tem se apresentado de forma precária como resultado da negligência anteriormente a prisão, bem como pelos escassos seviços odontológicos prestados quando no ambiente prisional. Objetivo: Avaliar a condição bucal de perivados de liberdade, em uma penitenciária do estado do Pará, analisando a experiência de cárie dentária e perda dentária, o uso e a necessidade de reabilitação protética e a utilização de serviços odontológicos. Método: Trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo, através de um estudo epidemiológico descritivo, de delineamento transversal e abordagem quantitativa. A amostra selecionada foi composta de 104 indivíduos. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi elaborado a partir do formulário utilizado na pesquisa nacional de saúde bucal-SB Brasil 2010, com adaptação para aplicação empopulação carcerária. Resultados: Analisando-se as características sociodemográficas e condenatórias, observou-se que na faixa etária compreendida entre 18 a 34 anos, 75,96% dos detentos encontram-se com o grau de escolaridade até o Ensino Fundamental. Com relação ao tempo de prisão, 50,0% encontram-se reclusos hámais de três anos. Quanto à utilização de serviços odontológicos, 75,0% não foram atendidos no próprio sistema prisional, 10,0% nunca foram ao dentista e 100% dos detentos nunca receberam orientação de saúde bucal. Referente ao motivo da consulta, 66,4% ocorreram com exodontia. Com relação ao uso de prótese, 92,31% não utilizam, embora 90,31%, ou seja, a grande maioria necessite. Ao que concerne à experiência de cárie por faixa etária resultou: 18 a 34 anos (CPO-D 4,04); 35 a 44 anos (CPO-D 7,58) e 45 ou mais (CPO-D 14,25), verificando-se que o componente perdido foi a mais prevalente em todas as faixas. O CPO-D total foi de 5,25. Conclusão: Apesar de diversos estudos comprovarem um declínio considerável na prevalência de cárie dentária e perdas de dentes na maioria da população brasileira, o estudo mostrou que a saúde bucal dos indivíduos privados de liberdade é de grande preocupação, principalmente se considerarmos o aumento do número dessa população nos últimos anos

Design, Prototyping and Stratospheric Launch of CubeSats for University Competition

This work presents the design and prototyping of two 1U standard CubeSats for the First Brazilian MCTI Satellite Olympiad, launching one in a stratospheric helium-filled balloon. The nanosatellites were designed for two missions: Internet of Things connectivity in remote areas based on CubeSat (IoSat) and low-orbit harmful gamma radiation mapping (LOHGRM). The IoSat mission aimed to provide server connectivity for a remote sensor network. The LOHGRM CubeSat was designed for sensing and mapping gamma radiation power levels in the satellite’s orbit to construct a heat map to study the gamma radiation effect on the equipment. The prototype’s performance was evaluated based on physical, mechanical, magnetic, thermal, and transmission characterization, with satisfactory results under test conditions. The LOHGRM mission test was carried out on the ground as proof of concept without flying while a stratospheric balloon launched the IoSat prototype. Due to restrictions imposed by the competition, the IoSat nanosatellite only captured and registered altitude, pressure, and temperature data without testing the communication payload. Instead, this data was sent to the ground station through the competition communication system and stored in a memory card to assess its operation during the flying. The satellite’s maximum altitude was 22.6 km, operating under –23.5 °C

Bottom-up synthesis of multifunctional nanoporous graphene

Nanosize pores can turn semimetallic graphene into a semiconductor and, from being impermeable, into the most efficient molecular-sieve membrane. However, scaling the pores down to the nanometer, while fulfilling the tight structural constraints imposed by applications, represents an enormous challenge for present top-down strategies. Here we report a bottom-up method to synthesize nanoporous graphene comprising an ordered array of pores separated by ribbons, which can be tuned down to the 1-nanometer range. The size, density, morphology, and chemical composition of the pores are defined with atomic precision by the design of the molecular precursors. Our electronic characterization further reveals a highly anisotropic electronic structure, where orthogonal one-dimensional electronic bands with an energy gap of ∼1 electron volt coexist with confined pore states, making the nanoporous graphene a highly versatile semiconductor for simultaneous sieving and electrical sensing of molecular species