Exploring land use scenarios by long-term simulation of soil organic matter in central Argentina

Frequently, agriculture intensification by means of high-input technologies and agroecosystem simplification led to unsustainable farming systems. Increasing spatial-temporal diversity in agroecosystems has been shown as a promising alternative for restoring degraded land. A methodological approach is discussed here, based on preliminary results of experiences in a region of strong biophysical gradients. The CENTURY model is validated under local conditions and used as monitoring tool. The impact of an increased agrodiversity on soils with contrasting inherent properties is exemplified by running three land use scenarios for two case-study sites for the next 50 years and evaluating trends in soil organic matter (SOM) contents. Field survey and simulation results suggested that: (1) reference values for SOM levels for monitoring soil health should be defined considering main agroecological factors; (2) simulation models may help identifying adequate ranges of variation for them; (3) and model outputs may complement experimentation and represent a didactic tool to be used for decision-making and knowledge-transfer processes

Análise de endemismo de táxons neotropicais de Pentatomidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

The definition of areas of endemism is central to studies of historical biogeography, and their interrelationships are fundamental questions. Consistent hypotheses for the evolution of Pentatomidae in the Neotropical region depend on the accuracy of the units employed in the analyses, which in the case of studies of historical biogeography, may be areas of endemism. In this study, the distribution patterns of 222 species, belonging to 14 Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) genera, predominantly neotropical, were studied with the Analysis of Endemicity (NDM) to identify possible areas of endemism and to correlate them to previously delimited areas. The search by areas of endemism was carried out using grid-cell units of 2.5° and 5° latitude-longitude. The analysis based on groupings of grid-cells of 2.5° of latitude-longitude allowed the identification of 51 areas of endemism, the consensus of these areas resulted in four clusters of grid-cells. The second analysis, with grid-cells units of 5° latitude-longitude, resulted in 109 areas of endemism. The flexible consensus employed resulted in 17 areas of endemism. The analyses were sensitive to the identification of areas of endemism in different scales in the Atlantic Forest. The Amazonian region was identified as a single area in the area of consensus, and its southeastern portion shares elements with the Chacoan and Paraná subregions. The distribution data of the taxa studied, with different units of analysis, did not allow the identification of individual areas of endemism for the Cerrado and Caatinga. The areas of endemism identified here should be seen as primary biogeographic hypotheses.A definição de áreas de endemismo é central aos estudos de Biogeografia Histórica e suas inter-relações são questões fundamentais. Hipóteses consistentes sobre a evolução de Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) na Região Neotropical dependem da acuidade das unidades empregadas nas análises, que no caso de estudos de biogeografia histórica, podem ser áreas endêmicas. Neste trabalho foram estudados os padrões de distribuição de 222 espécies, pertencentes a 14 gêneros de Pentatomidae, com ocorrência predominantemente neotropical, com base em uma Análise de Endemicidade (NDM) a fim de inferir possíveis áreas endêmicas e relacioná-las a áreas previamente delimitadas. A busca por áreas endêmicas foi realizada com quadrículas de 2,5° e 5° latitude-longitude. A análise com base em agrupamentos de 2,5° latitude-longitude permitiu identificar 51 áreas de endemismo, sendo que o consenso destas áreas resultou em quatro agrupamentos de quadrículas. A segunda análise, com quadrículas de 5° latitude-longitude, resultou em 109 áreas de endemismo. O consenso flexível empregado resultou em 17 áreas de endemismo. As análises foram sensíveis à identificação de áreas de endemismo na Mata Atlântica em diferentes escalas. A região Amazônica foi identificada como uma área única no consenso, sendo que a porção sudeste compartilha elementos com as sub-regiões do Chaco e Paraná. Os dados de distribuição dos táxons estudados, com diferentes unidades de análises, não permitiram a identificação de áreas endêmicas para o Cerrado e a Caatinga. As áreas de endemismo aqui identificadas devem ser tratadas como hipóteses biogeográficas primárias.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Laboratório de Entomologia Sistemática Departamento de ZoologiaUniversidade Federal do Paraná Departamento de Zoologia Programa de Pós-Graduação em EntomologiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Ciências BiológicasUNIFESP, Depto. de Ciências BiológicasSciEL

Understanding Functional Relationships Affecting Growth and Quality of Field Grown Leaf Lettuce in the Greenbelt of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Earlier studies in the horticultural production area around Buenos Aires (Argentina) indicated that field grown leaf lettuce fertilised with 150 kg N ha-1 accumulated NO3-N in the leaves up to concentrations well above the reference limits adopted by European countries. Previous studies also showed that the planning of sowing dates and a sound management may help overcome nutritional quality problems, reduce risks of environmental pollution and increase the efficiency of the system. As an aid to crop planning, a management decision-tool is being developed following a modelling approach to predict growth and quality (i.e. NO3 content) of field-grown lettuce in the area. The model was conceptually based on that of Seginer et al. (1997) for greenhouse lettuce, in which a negative correlation between C assimilates and NO3 concentrations in vacuole is used. The first step in the development of the model was to asses the simplest (and satisfactorily accurate) approach to model growth of a leaf lettuce crop under field conditions relying on few, easily available parameters, and then to identify source-limited conditions along the year. The model was calibrated with data from several experiments in the area. The model predicted crop (R2 = 0.97) and plant (R2 = 0.98) growth quite accurately when compared with independent data. A first analysis revealed that since leaf lettuce does not need to form a ¿head¿ to be commercially mature, growth can be fairly described by a simple exponential model. NO3 contents varied widely (from 990 to 7590 ppm) under different growing conditions, suggesting that there is room to model the interaction of factors creating source-limited conditions that eventually lead to NO3 accumulation in leaves

Contracts for Abstract Processes in Service Composition

Contracts are a well-established approach for describing and analyzing behavioral aspects of web service compositions. The theory of contracts comes equipped with a notion of compatibility between clients and servers that ensures that every possible interaction between compatible clients and servers will complete successfully. It is generally agreed that real applications often require the ability of exposing just partial descriptions of their behaviors, which are usually known as abstract processes. We propose a formal characterization of abstraction as an extension of the usual symbolic bisimulation and we recover the notion of abstraction in the context of contracts.Comment: In Proceedings FIT 2010, arXiv:1101.426

Review of group A rotavirus strains reported in swine and cattle

Group A rotavirus (RVA) infections cause severe economic losses in intensively reared livestock animals, particularly in herds of swine and cattle. RVA strains are antigenically heterogeneous, and are classified in multiple G and P types defined by the two outer capsid proteins, VP7 and VP4, respectively. This study summarizes published literature on the genetic and antigenic diversity of porcine and bovine RVA strains published over the last 3 decades. The single most prevalent genotype combination among porcine RVA strains was G5P[7], whereas the predominant genotype combination among bovine RVA strains was G6P[5], although spatiotemporal differences in RVA strain distribution were observed. These data provide important baseline data on epidemiologically important RVA strains in swine and cattle and may guide the development of more effective vaccines for veterinary use

Combined cardiological and neurological abnormalities due to filamin A gene mutation

Background: Cardiac defects can be the presenting symptom in patients with mutations in the X-linked gene FLNA. Dysfunction of this gene is associated with cardiac abnormalities, especially in the left ventricular outflow tract, but can also cause a congenital malformation of the cerebral cortex. We noticed that some patients diagnosed at the neurogenetics clinic had first presented to a cardiologist, suggesting that earlier recognition may be possible if the diagnosis is suspected. Methods and results: From the Erasmus MC cerebral malformations database 24 patients were identified with cerebral bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) without other cerebral cortical malformations. In six of these patients, a pathogenic mutation in FLNA was present. In five a cardiac defect was also found in the outflow tract. Four had presented to a cardiologist before the cerebral abnormalities were diagnosed. Conclusions: The cardiological phenotype typically consists of aortic or mitral regurgitation, coarctation of the aorta or other left-sided cardiac malformations. Most patients in this category will not have a FLNA mutation, but the presence of neurological complaints, hyperlaxity of the skin or joints and/or a family history with similar cardiac or neurological problems in a possibly X-linked pattern may alert the clinician to the possibility of a FLNA mutation

A Cloud-Based Tool for Integrating Occupational Risk Assessment Within Management Systems for {SMEs}

About 67% of workers employed in the industrial and service sectors in the European Union are currently contracted by Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which represent the economic heart of the European economy. However, this strength is counterbalanced by a considerably higher overall accident rate compared to Large Enterprises (LEs), and this trend seems to be confirmed worldwide. Moreover, most available tools for risk assessment and occupational health and safety (OHS) management are originally designed to fit the needs of LEs, resulting in a gap for SMEs. Therefore, the effective management of OHS in SMEs has become a crucial issue for researchers, practitioners and policymakers, aiming to improve the social and economic sustainability of small companies. The main purpose of this study is to provide guidelines to implement effective risk assessment processes and integrate them with OHS management systems in SMEs. A literature analysis of risk assessment and OHS management in SMEs highlights the main findings and gaps. Then, the three-phases methodology adopted is presented, outlining the main steps and outputs of the project. Finally, the web-based software tool for OHS risk analysis and management, designed to answer the specific needs of SMEs, is presented

Phenotypic plasticity of Southern Ocean diatoms: Key to success in the sea ice habitat?

Diatoms are the primary source of nutrition and energy for the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Microalgae, including diatoms, synthesise biological macromolecules such as lipids, proteins and carbohydrates for growth, reproduction and acclimation to prevailing environmental conditions. Here we show that three key species of Southern Ocean diatom (Fragilariopsis cylindrus, Chaetoceros simplex and Pseudo-nitzschia subcurvata) exhibited phenotypic plasticity in response to salinity and temperature regimes experienced during the seasonal formation and decay of sea ice. The degree of phenotypic plasticity, in terms of changes in macromolecular composition, was highly species-specific and consistent with each species? known distribution and abundance throughout sea ice, meltwater and pelagic habitats, suggesting that phenotypic plasticity may have been selected for by the extreme variability of the polar marine environment. We argue that changes in diatom macromolecular composition and shifts in species dominance in response to a changing climate have the potential to alter nutrient and energy fluxes throughout the Southern Ocean ecosystem

Images of the Early Universe from the BOOMERanG experiment

The CMB is the fundamental tool to study the properties of the early universe and of the universe at large scales. In the framework of the Hot Big Bang model, when we look to the CMB we look back in time to the end of the plasma era, at a redshift ~ 1000, when the universe was ~ 50000 times younger, ~ 1000 times hotter and ~ 10^9 times denser than today. The image of the CMB can be used to study the physical processes there, to infer what happened before, and also to study the background geometry of our Universe