A influência de variáveis ambientais no crescimento de espécies/procedências de Eucalyptus spp. nos estados de Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo.

Foram analisados onze experimentos de introdução de espécies e procedências potenciais de Eucalyptus instalados em várias localidades dos estados de Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo. O estudo da influência de variáveis ambientais dos locais de introdução no crescimento em altura dessas espécies, aos três anos e meio de idade, permitiu concluir que a altitude do local do experimento foi a variável que mais influenciou o crescimento em altura de Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. dunnii, E. grandis, E. pellita e E. tereticornis; o déficit hídrico isoladamente influenciou significativamente apenas o crescimento em altura de E. urophylla; a temperatura média e o total anual de precipitações não influenciaram isoladamente o crescimento em altura das oito espécies estudadas, e que é possível prever o comportamento das espécies e procedências em relação ao crescimento em altura, conhecendo-se a altitude, déficit hídrico e total anual médio de precipitações do local de introdução

Ethanol-induced changes in the fatty acid composition of Lactobaci//us hilgardii, its effects on plasma membrane fluidity and relationship with ethanol tolerance

The effect of environmental ethanol concentration on the fatty acid composition of strains of Lactobacillus hilgardii, differing in their tolerance to ethanol, was determined. A marked increase in the proportion of lactobacillic acid (a cyclopropane fatty acid) and a decrease in oleic and vaccenic acids with increasing ethanol concentration was observed. The amount of lactobacillic acid determined at standard conditions (25°C, 0% ethanol) was found to be proportional to the ethanol tolerance of the strains studied. The effect of this alcohol on plasma membrane fluidity was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The adaptive response to growth in the presence of high concentrations of ethanol produced membranes which, within the limits of ethanol tolerance, maintained the fluidity and integrity in an environment which tends to increase membrane rigidity. When pre-adapted cells are analysed in the absence of environmental ethanol there is a measurabie increase in fluidity. It is proposed that this phenomenon may be correlated with the increase in the proportion of lactobacillic acid. The existence of a relationship between membrane fluidity and ethanol tolerance is discussed

Análise estatística de um sistema agroflorestal através do índice de produção equivalente.

As interações biológicas, econômicas e ambientais que ocorrem entre as culturas componentes de um sistema agroflorestal) (SAF, implicam em respostas diferenciadas das respectivas culturas, conforme os arranjos aos quais as mesmas estejam submetidas. Num ensaio de avaliação de S SAF' , cada parcela apresenta mais de uma variável a ser estudada e portanto, os dados apresentam-se de forma multidimensional. Assim sedo, a forma mais apropriada para análise desses sistemas é através do uso das técnicas da estatísticas multivariadas. Não obstante, o tipo de analise estatística mais freqüentemente realizado nos sistemas consorciados é através da transformação do problema multivariado em um problema univariado através da obtenção de uma única variável como função resposta das observações das culturas componentes e, a partir da mesma, aplicam-se os testes estatísticos comumente empregados na análise de dados agronômicos

Detaching from the negative by reappraisal: the role of right superior frontal gyrus (BA9/32)

The ability to reappraise the emotional impact of events is related to long-term mental health. Self-focused reappraisal (REAPPself), i.e., reducing the personal relevance of the negative events, has been previously associated with neural activity in regions near right medial prefrontal cortex, but rarely investigated among brain-damaged individuals. Thus, we aimed to examine the REAPPself ability of brain-damaged patients and healthy controls considering structural atrophies and gray matter intensities, respectively. Twenty patients with well-defined cortex lesions due to an acquired circumscribed tumor or cyst and 23 healthy controls performed a REAPPself task, in which they had to either observe negative stimuli or decrease emotional responding by REAPPself. Next, they rated the impact of negative arousal and valence. REAPPself ability scores were calculated by subtracting the negative picture ratings after applying REAPPself from the ratings of the observing condition. The scores of the patients were included in a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) analysis to identify deficit related areas (ROI). Then, a ROI group-wise comparison was performed. Additionally, a whole-brain voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) analysis was run, in which healthy participant's REAPPself ability scores were correlated with gray matter intensities. Results showed that (1) regions in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), comprising the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA9) and the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BA32), were associated with patient's impaired down-regulation of arousal, (2) a lesion in the depicted ROI occasioned significant REAPPself impairments, (3) REAPPself ability of controls was linked with increased gray matter intensities in the ROI regions. Our findings show for the first time that the neural integrity and the structural volume of right SFG regions (BA9/32) might be indispensable for REAPPself. Implications for neurofeedback research are discussed.Fil: Falquez, Rosalux. University of Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Couto, Juan Blas Marcos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Freitag, Martin T.. German Cancer Research Center; AlemaniaFil: Berger, Moritz. German Cancer Research Center; AlemaniaFil: Arens, Elisabeth A.. University of Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Lang, Simone. University of Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Barnow, Sven. University of Heidelberg; Alemani

Análise de um sistema agroflorestal usando estatística multivariada.

Os cultivos consorciados onde são cultivados no mesmo espaço, de forma simultânea ou seqüencial, culturas anuais e/ou fruteiras com espécies florestais, com a presença ou não de animais, receberam a denominação específica de sistemas agroflorestais, ou simplesmente, s SAF' . Nas regiões tropicais, parece óbvio as vantagens desses sistemas em relação às outras formas de cultivo, principalmente no que tange a sua sustentabilidade a longo prazo. Não obstante, as análises quantitativas dos efeitos diretos das culturas componentes dos s SAF' , bem como das associações existentes entre essas culturas, são fundamentais para uma melhor compreensão e sistematização desses sistemas de cultivo. Entre os componentes dos s SAF' , há interações biológicas, econômicas e ambientais, entre outras, o que torna complexo as análises e interpretações dos mesmos

Control of zootechnology leads to improved Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis, L.) reproduction performance up to pre-industrial levels

Cephalopods are gaining momentum as an alternate group for aquaculture species diversification, not only because they are a good food source (highly appreciated in some worldwide markets) but they also have the potential to quickly reach a market size. However, there are some bottlenecks impeding the transition of culture technology from the laboratory to industry. One is related to control over reproduction in captivity. The objective of the present experiment was to verify the effects of tanks with different bottom areas/volumes on the reproduction performance of S. officinalis breeding stocks, when sex ratios were controlled a priori; and the food cost associated with such performance when individuals are fed a natural frozen diet. One hundred and ninety two juvenile cuttlefish were used to compare three different round-shaped tanks: one type with 3000L volume and two types with 9000L volume (with differences in bottom areas and water column). Individuals had their sex and maturity stage determined to establish a sexual ratio of 2 female:1 male per tank and assure that cuttlefish were still immature. Biological data was collected during both growth and reproduction stages and until the death of all females in each tank. The experiment lasted nearly 300 days. Temperature differences between tank types were registered during both stages. The optimizing of rearing conditions has allowed for higher growth and a higher amount of cuttlefish available for breeding purposes. A total of 123,751 eggs (in 85 batches) was obtained during this experiment, which is a number that may meet a small scale cuttlefish commercial hatchery facility requirements. The present conditions contributed to a better and predictable reproduction performance in specific 9000L tanks, with values reaching pre-industrial numbers (approximate to 24,000 eggs/tank). Moreover, both the amount of eggs per batch and the overall quality of eggs has increased. Three of these 9000L tanks have an overall consumption of approximate to 38.64 Kg tank(-1), which translates in an investment in feed of approximate to 193 (sic) tank(-1), 8.40 (sic) per cuttlefish and an overall daily tank expense of 1.76 (sic) d(-1).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Balloon Flight Data Handling Overview

The GLAST Balloon Flight Engineering Model (BFEM) represents one of 16 towers that constitute the Large Area Telescope (LAT), a high-energy (>20 MeV) gamma-ray pair-production telescope being built by an international partnership of astrophysicists and particle physicists for a satellite launch in 2006. The prototype tower consists of a Pb/Si pair-conversion tracker (TKR), a CsI hodoscopic calorimeter (CAL), an anti-coincidence detector (ACD) and an autonomous data acquisition system (DAQ). The self-triggering capabilities and performance of the detector elements have been previously characterized using positron, photon and hadron beams. External target scintillators were placed above the instrument to act as sources of hadronic showers. This paper provides a comprehensive description of the BFEM data-reduction process, from receipt of the flight data from telemetry through event reconstruction and background rejection cuts. The goals of the ground analysis presented here are to verify the functioning of the instrument and to validate the reconstruction software and the background-rejection scheme.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in IEEE Transacations on Nuclear Science, August 200

Honey bee attractants and pollination in sweet orange, Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, var. Pera-Rio

This experiment studied the frequency and behavior of insects on sweet orange flowers, Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, their effect on fruit production (quantity and quality), nectar and pollen collection, and the effectiveness of different attractants. Over three consecutive years, the most frequent visitor to the flowers was Apis mellifera (Africanized). Flowers visited less than ten times showed low fructification. Fruit production was 35.30% greater in uncovered flowers. Fruit mean weight was much greater in uncovered (180.2g) than in covered flowers (168.5g). Fruits from the covered were more acid (1.411g of citric acid/100ml of juice) than the uncovered flowers (1.164g of citric acid/100ml of juice). The number of seeds per bud was higher in the uncovered (1 seed/bud) than in the covered treatment (0.8 seed/bud). Bee-HereR, eugenol, geraniol, citral, and lemon grass extract, mainly diluted in water, were effective in attracting honeybees to orchards. However, these compounds were less effective when diluted in sugar syrup. The same products had variable attractiveness to honeybees in different years

Free androgens and progestins and their conjugated forms in serum and urine of stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas) males

Stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas) males from Volga River treated with LH-RH-A showed an increase of free, sulfated and glucuronided sex steroid levels in serum and urine at spermiation. Conjugated forms of sex steroids could act as pheromones in sturgeon

Levels of free and conjugated androgens and progestins in coelomic fluid and serum of stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas) females

Stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas) females from the Volga River were analysed for sex steroids after hormonal stimulation. The results show a significant increase of sulfated sex steroid levels in serum and coelomic fluid (CF) at final maturation (FM). It is hypothesized that the steroid metabolites could be part of a chemical communication system related to reproduction