Pollen morphology in the tribe Sipaneeae (Rubiaceae, Ixoroideae)

The tribe Sipaneeae has its center of diversity on the Guiana Shield (northern South America), where 9 of the 10 genera occur, and a total of 44 species. It includes the genera Chalepophyllum (3 spp.), Dendrosipanea (3 spp.), Limnosipanea (3 spp.), Maguireothamnus (3 spp.), Neblinathamnus (2 spp.), Neobertiera (5 spp.), Pteridocalyx (1 sp.), Sipanea (17 spp.), Sipaneopsis (8 spp.), and Steyermarkia (1 sp.). The pollen morphology of all the genera of the tribe was studied. For pollen preparation, nearly mature flower buds (just before anthesis) were taken from herbarium material. Pollen grains destined for light microscope (LM) studies were mounted in Kaiser’s glycerine jelly. Pollen grains for scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies were suspended in ethanol and mounted on aluminium stubs using carbon adhesive tape and coated with a platinum palladium. Values of the length of polar and equatorial axes were based on LM-measurements. In all the genera, pollen grains are released in monads, and are 3- or 4-colporate. In most genera the number of colpi are consistently 3 or 4, which represents a significant diagnostic character. The largest pollen grains are found in Maguireothamnus, which is also the genus with the largest corollas in the tribe. The second largest grains in the tribe are found in Chalepophyllum, which is the genus with the second largest corollas in the tribe. The smallest pollen grains are found in Neobertiera, Pteridocalyx, and Sipanea, which are the genera with the smallest corollas in the tribe. The exine is externally foveolate-reticulate in Chalepophyllum, Neblinathamnus, Pteridocalyx, and Sipanea, foveolate or foveolate-reticulate in Dendrosipanea, shallowly foveolate, without perforations or finely perforated in Limnosipanea, smooth or finely foveolate in Maguireothamnus, and foveolate in Neobertiera, Sipaneopsis, and Steyermarkia. Possible pollen dimorphism was observed only in populations of S. pratensis var. pratensis, in which pollen grains dimensions and external ornamentation were found to be similar

The Virgo 3 km interferometer for gravitational wave detection

Virgo, designed, constructed and developed by the French-Italian VIRGO collaboration located in Cascina (Pisa, Italy) and aiming to detect gravitational waves, is a ground-based power recycled Michelson interferometer, with 3 km long suspended Fabry-Perot cavities. The first Virgo scientific data-taking started in mid-May 2007, in coincidence with the corresponding LIGO detectors. The optical scheme of the interferometer and the various optical techniques used in the experiment, such as the laser source, control, alignment, stabilization and detection strategies are outlined. The future upgrades that are planned for Virgo from the optical point of view, especially concerning the evolution of the Virgo laser, are presented. Finally, the next generation of the gravitational wave detector (advanced Virgo) is introduced from the point of view of the laser system

Weight-Loss Maintenance in Overweight Individuals One to Five Years Following Successful Completion of a Commercial Weight Loss Program

OBJECTIVE: To determine weight loss maintenance among participants in a commercial weight loss program (Weight Watchers) who had reached their goal weights 1-5 y previously. DESIGN: A national sample (n=1002) was surveyed by phone to obtain demographic and weight-related information. An oversample (n=258) was recruited and weighed in person to develop a correction factor for self-reported weights in the national sample. RESULTS: Based on corrected weights, weight regain from 1 to 5 y following weight loss ranged between 31.5 and 76.5%. At 5 y, 19.4% were within 5 lb of goal weight, 42.6% maintained a loss of 5% or more, 18.8% maintained a loss of 10% or more, and 70.3% were below initial weight. CONCLUSIONS: These results are not directly comparable to those obtained in clinical settings because of differences in the populations studied. Nonetheless, they suggest that the long-term prognosis for weight maintenance among individuals who reach goal weight in at least one commercial program is better than that suggested by existing research

A study of multi-jet events at the CERN I3p collider and a search for double patton scattering UA2 Collaboration Bern-Cambridge-CERN-Dortmund-Heidelberg-Melbourne-Milano-Orsay (LAL)-Pavia- Perugia-Pisa-Saclay (CEN)

A study of events containing at least four high transverse momentum jets and a search for double parton scattering (DPS) have been performed using data collected with the UA2 detector at the CERN lbp Collider (x/s= 630 GeV). The results are in good agreement with leading order QCD calculations. A value of at~Ps < 0.82 nb at 95% confidence level (CL) is obtained for the DPS cross section

A new species of Rustia (Rubiaceae, Rondeletieae) from Bilsa Biological Station, Esmeralda Province, Ecuador

Volume: 8Start Page: 231End Page: 23

Psychotria carrascoana (Rubiaceae), a new species from the Carrasco vegetation of northeastern Brazil

Volume: 14Start Page: 158End Page: 16

Precision of gestational age assessment in the neonate

The precision of the Ballard scale for assessing gestational age (GA) was evaluated in a consecutive sample of 227 preterm and/or low-birth-weight neonates. Each newborn was rated independently by two neonatologists and the difference in GA estimation between them was computed. The estimated precision was not high, the 95% tolerance interval estimate being as large as 7.4 weeks. The precision of the neurologic and physical parts of the scale was poorer than that of the complete scale (95% of differences less than 10.5 and 9.2 weeks respectively), and more influenced by the type of delivery. These findings are not unexpected from statistical theory, and cast doubts on the use of only the physical part of the Ballard scale in assessing GA, since greater accuracy could be accompanied by reduced precision