Preliminary validation of an indirect method for discharge evaluation of Pertuso Spring (Central Italy)

This paper deals with the results of the first year of the Environmental Monitoring Plan, related to the catchment project of Pertuso Spring, which is going to be exploited to supply an important water network in the South part of Roma district. The study area is located in the Upper Valley of the Aniene River (Latium, Central Italy), in the outcrop of Triassic-Cenozoic carbonate rocks, and belong to an important karst aquifer. Pertuso Spring is the main outlet of this karst aquifer and is the one of the most important water resource in the southeast part of Latium Region, used for drinking, agriculture and hydroelectric supplies. Karst aquifer feeding Pertuso Spring is an open hydrogeological system aquifer characterized by complex interactions and exchanges between groundwater and surface water which influence the aquifer water budget. Thus, evaluation of groundwater discharge from this karst spring can be affected by difficulties in performing measurements because of the insufficient knowledge about water transfer processes in the hydrological cycle and geometry of drainage conduits. The aim of this paper is to assess the interactions between karst aquifer feeding Pertuso Spring and Aniene River based on stream discharge measurements and water geochemical tracer data in order to validate an indirect method for karst spring discharge evaluation. As a matter of fact, in this paper, there are presented the results of the application of Magnesium as a reliable tracer of karst spring discharge. This indirect method is based on the elaboration of surface water discharge measurements in relationship with Mg2+ concentration values, determined as for groundwater, coming from Pertuso Spring, as for surface water sample, collected upstream and downstream of Pertuso Spring, along Aniene River streamflow. The application of Magnesium as an environmental tracer provides a means to evaluate discharge of Pertuso Spring, as it came up to be a marker of the mixing of surface water and groundwater. On the other hand, the Magnesium ion concentration provides information for the identification of groundwater flow systems and the main hydrogeochemical processes affecting the composition of water within the karst aquifers

Hydraulic conductivity estimation using low-flow purging data elaboration in contaminated sites

Hydrogeological characterization is required when investigating contaminated sites, and hydraulic conductivity is an important parameter that needs to be estimated. Before groundwater sampling, well water level values are measured during low-flow purging to check the correct driving of the activity. However, these data are generally considered only as an indicator of an adequate well purging. In this paper, water levels and purging flow rates were considered to estimate hydraulic conductivity values in an alluvial aquifer, and the obtained results were compared with traditional hydraulic conductivity test results carried on in the same area. To test the applicability of this method, data coming from 59 wells located in the alluvial aquifer of Malagrotta waste disposal site, a large area of 160 ha near Rome, were analyzed and processed. Hydraulic conductivity values were estimated by applying the Dupuit's hypothesis for steady-state radial flow in an unconfined aquifer, as these are the hydraulic conditions in pumping wells for remediation purposes. This study aims to show that low-flow purging procedures in monitoring wells-carried out before sampling for groundwater characterization-represent an easy and inexpensive method for soil hydraulic conductivity estimation with good feasibility, if correctly carried on

Karst spring recharge areas and discharge relationship by oxygen-18 and deuterium isotopes analyses. A case study in southern latium region, Italy

Karst aquifer recharge areas are usually difficult to identify because of the complexity of these aquifers' characteristics. On the other hand, their identification is very important in the aim of protecting the groundwater resources that these aquifers host. Regarding this topic, this paper presents an approach aimed at identifying karst aquifer recharge areas by the application of oxygen-18 and deuterium isotopes composition of groundwater coupled with hydrological features. Oxygen-18 and deuterium isotope composition of Capodacqua di Spigno Spring, in the South of the Latium Region, has been applied with rainfall and discharge values related to the feeding aquifer of this spring. As δ18O and δ2H values of groundwater samples are natural tracers of the recharge area's elevation, we propose a model, based on the distribution of the basin surfaces involved as recharge areas, in relation to elevations. The model estimates, for any discharge value, the percentage of the topographic area involved in the aquifer recharge. The setting up of this simulated distribution is supported by a Weibull cumulative probability function. The results show that the measured discharges increase as larger areas with lower elevations are involved in the recharge process

Controle químico da brusone em arroz de terras altas: efeitos nos fungos não alvos do filoplano.

A brusone em arroz de terras altas causa danos significativos, necessitando de uma a duas aplicações de fungicidas, para o controle da doença. No entanto, o efeito de fungicidas sobre fungos não alvos do filoplano do arroz e benéficos são desconhecidos. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito de fungicidas no controle da brusone nas panículas, sobre fungos não alvos do filoplano de arroz, e estudar a antibiose de fungos não alvos para M. oryzae. Foi realizado um experimento em campo, utilizando-se duas cultivares (Primavera e Bonança), quatro fungicidas (trifloxistrobina + propiconazol, azoxistrobina, tebuconazol e triciclazol) e testemunha, com delineamento experimental em blocos ao acaso, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas, e quatro repetições. Foram avaliados a severidade da brusone nas panículas, o teor de clorofila nas folhas, o número de unidades formadoras de colônia cm-² de folha e a antibiose. A cultivar Primavera apresentou maior severidade de brusone nas panículas do que a Bonança. Os fungicidas azoxistrobina e trifloxistrobina + propiconazol diferiram significativamente da testemunha, com menores severidades de brusone nas panículas. O teor de clorofila não foi influenciado pelo tratamento com fungicida, mas houve diferença entre as cultivares. Os fungicidas tebuconazol, trifloxistrobina + propiconazol e azoxistrobina reduziram significativamente os fungos do filoplano, em relação à testemunha. O triciclazol proporcionou maior número de unidades formadoras de colônia cm-² de folha, não diferindo da testemunha. Dos quatro fungos testados, apenas Epicoccum sp. apresentou antagonismo para M. oryzae

Periodicity and quasi-periodicity effects on vibration band gaps

PERIODICITY AND QUASI-PERIODICITY EFFECTS ON VIBRATION BAND GAPS: NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON ONE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE

Qualidade microbiológica do arroz comercializado em Goiânia, Goiás.

Este trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar a qualidade sanitária de vários tipos e marcas de arroz, consumidos e comercializados em Goiânia, GO, por meio da quantificação de fungos totais e de bactérias mesófilas presentes nas amostras; verificar se existe diferença entre os tipos de arroz quanto à presença de microrganismos; verificar se a carga microbiana nas amostras de arroz aumenta com o tempo de armazenamento e identificar, em nível de gênero, os fungos desenvolvidos nas amostras, tanto pelo método blotter test quanto pelo plaqueamento em profundidade.bitstream/item/28999/1/doc261.pd

T2 lesion location really matters: a 10 year follow-up study in primary progressive multiple sclerosis

Objectives: Prediction of long term clinical outcome in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) using imaging has important clinical implications, but remains challenging. We aimed to determine whether spatial location of T2 and T1 brain lesions predicts clinical progression during a 10-year follow-up in PPMS. Methods: Lesion probability maps of the T2 and T1 brain lesions were generated using the baseline scans of 80 patients with PPMS who were clinically assessed at baseline and then after 1, 2, 5 and 10 years. For each patient, the time (in years) taken before bilateral support was required to walk (time to event (TTE)) was used as a measure of progression rate. The probability of each voxel being ‘lesional’ was correlated with TTE, adjusting for age, gender, disease duration, centre and spinal cord cross sectional area, using a multiple linear regression model. To identify the best, independent predictor of progression, a Cox regression model was used. Results: A significant correlation between a shorter TTE and a higher probability of a voxel being lesional on T2 scans was found in the bilateral corticospinal tract and superior longitudinal fasciculus, and in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (p<0.05). The best predictor of progression rate was the T2 lesion load measured along the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (p=0.016, hazard ratio 1.00652, 95% CI 1.00121 to 1.01186). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the location of T2 brain lesions in the motor and associative tracts is an important contributor to the progression of disability in PPMS, and is independent of spinal cord involvement

Identificação de fontes de resistência à Magnaporthe oryzae em arroz (Oryza sativa).

Identificar e selecionar doadores de alelos de resistência a Magnaporthe oryzae para a sua utilização em programas de melhoramento de arroz no Brasil.Conpeex 2010

Avaliação da variabilidade patogênica de Magnaporthe oryzae em duas séries diferenciadoras.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi quantificar a diversidade e a complexidade dos patótipos de M. oryzae oriundos de sistemas de cultivos de várzeas (irrigado) e de terras altas (sequeiro), utilizando-se a série diferenciadora internacional e a série de linhagens isogênicas

Morpho-anatomical and biochemical changes in the roots of rice plants induced by plant growth-promoting microorganisms.

The goal of the present study was to characterize anatomical and biochemical changes in rice plant roots in response to seed treatment with rhizobacteria [Burkholderia pyrrocinia (R-46) + Pseudomonas fluorescens (R-55)] and Trichoderma asperellum (Ta: mixture of strains T-06, T-09, T-12, and T-52)