Life history traits of parental care in Crenicichla lepidota (Cichliformes, Geophagini) in the upper Paraguay River basin, Brazil

During focal observations carried out in the Olho d’Água River, upper Paraguay River basin, Brazil, we registered the defensive behaviour of one pair of Crenicichla lepidota attempting to protect their offspring from conspecific and non-specific predators. Adults exhibited substrate-guarding behaviour and displayed primary and secondary anti-predation mechanisms. The primary mechanisms (e.g., fin flicking and flaring, gill extending) were ineffective against conspecific predators or against other species. Secondary mechanisms included charging would-be predators of the offspring, and this tactic was successful against non-specifics. This record confirms, in the wild, agonistic behaviour as an effective secondary defence mechanism used in parental care in Crenicichla lepidota

Estado de conservação de Astyanax biotae (Characiformes: Characidae) em Mato Grosso do Sul, bacia do alto Paraná, Brasil

Astyanax biotae é uma espécie originalmente descrita em um afluente do Rio Paranapanema, bacia do alto Paraná. Durante amostragens realizadas em drenagens dos rios Ivinhema e Verde, no sistema do alto Paraná, em Mato Grosso do Sul, exemplares de A. biotae foram coletados em cabeceiras de pequenos riachos e em lagoas de várzea, tanto em Unidades de Conservação como em áreas de agricultura intensiva. Os dados morfomerísticos de 20 indivíduos analisados foram similares aos da série-tipo. Exemplares testemunhos estão depositados nas coleções ictiológicas da UFMS (ZUFMS), UEMS (CPUEMS) e UNESP (DZSJRP). Com base nos critérios da IUCN, sugerimos sua classificação como Menos Preocupante (LC) no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, considerando principalmente a inexistência de ameaças efetivas em duas das áreas de ocorrência da espécie, situadas dentro de Unidades de Conservação. No entanto, reforçamos a urgência em medidas para a proteção das regiões de cabeceiras de riachos, a fim de evitar o aumento do desmatamento, assoreamento e poluição agrícola, problemas recorrentes no Cerrado, que comprometem severamente a manutenção desses hábitats e suas espécies. É necessário investir em estudos sobre a biologia da espécie e ampliar as amostragens, buscando diminuir os vazios amostrais ainda existentes nas drenagens estaduais

Distribuição temporal, sincronia reprodutiva e padrões de acasalamento do sapo de reprodução explosiva Dermatonotus muelleri (Anura: Microhylidae)

The knowledge about natural history of a species is fundamental for the proposition of theories in population, community, and behavioral ecology. Dermatonotus muelleri (Boettger, 1885) is one of the several Neotropical anuran species that still lacks basic information. These frogs are widely distributed in South America and present many peculiar morphological features, such as a reduced head size and a tongue morphology that suggests a specialized diet in ants and termites. However, D. muelleri is rare in anuran surveys, because of the explosive breeding behavior, which restrict its occurrence in aquatic habitats to few days a year, and the semi-fossorial habit, making the individuals inactive during most part of the year. In this study, we describe the reproductive ecology of Dermatonotus muelleri, with special attention to the mechanisms that regulates (i) the reproductive synchrony between males and females and (ii) the operational sex ratio (OSR), and (iii) if size is a good predictor of pairs formation (assortative mating)

Camadas da Complexidade para análise de Ambientes Acadêmicos Complexos em Rede: Um proposta pela Rede de Saberes Coletivos (ReSa)

O ambiente acadêmico para o desenvolvimento de Estágio Supervisionado curricular  no Ensino Superior apresenta-se, muitas vezes, pautado em pressupostos cartesianos departamentalizadores e centralizadores. O presente trabalho refere-se a uma pesquisa de doutorado que propõe um ambiente para aprendizagem colaborativa em Estágios Supervisionados, a partir de conceitos de Redes Sociais e do Pensamento Complexo (Morin, 1999), assim como um instrumento de para análise de evidências dos Camadas da Complexidade (Morin, 2006) em ambientes acadêmicos complexos. É apresentado a contexto geral da pesquisa, definições conceituais, assim como a proposta metodológica e os resultados preliminares da pesquisa

Growth of lettuce cultivars in beds covered with differing materials

In commercial lettuce growing, the intensive cultivation of the soil results in an increase in weed populations, making it difficult to fully exploit the area and increasing production costs. Under such circumstances, the use of soil covers can minimize this problem. Consequently, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different materials as soil covers on the agronomic performance of three lettuce cultivars. The experiment was arranged in randomized blocks, with treatments set in a subdivided plot scheme. Five types of soil cover (plots) were tested: no cover, black plastic, double white faced plastic, straw mulching and kraft paper and three Lettuce cultivars (subplots): loose-crested leaf group, iceberg lettuce group, with four replicates. Number of leaves per plant, stem length and diameter, head diameter, mass of fresh and total dry matter, fresh matter mass of leaves and stem were evaluated. For the Lisa and Americana lettuce groups, bed soil cover materials were more efficient when compared to the uncovered beds. For economic and environmental reasons, kraft paper is recommended as a bedding cover material for these cultivars. Variation in growth occurred between the lettuce cultivars, independently of the use of bedding cover. This occurred in the sequence: loose leaf > iceberg lettuce> loose-crested leaf group

Medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction to treat recurrent patellar dislocation

OBJECTIVE: To present a new technique for reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) in patients with recurrent patellar dislocation and to evaluate the clinical findings from this. METHODS: Between January 2007 and January 2008, 23 patients underwent reconstruction of the MPFL with a free graft from the semitendinosus tendon. After a minimum of 244 months of follow-up, 22 patients were evaluated using the Kujala and Lysholm clinical protocols. RESULTS: The mean follow up was 26.2 months. According to the Lysholm protocol, the patients had a mean score of 53.72 points preoperatively and 93.36 points postoperatively (p = 0.000006). According to the Kujala protocol, the mean score was 59.81 points preoperatively and 83.54 points postoperatively (p = 0.002173). CONCLUSION: Reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament using the proposed technique showed excellent results over the short term, when evaluated by means of clinical protocols.OBJETIVO: Apresentar nova técnica de reconstrução do ligamento patelofemoral medial (LPFM) em pacientes com luxação recidivante da patela e avaliar seus resultados clínicos. MÉTODOS: Entre jan/2007 e jan/2008, 23 pacientes foram submetidos à reconstrução do LPFM com enxerto livre de tendão semitendíneo. Após acompanhamento mínimo de 24 meses, 22 pacientes foram avaliados pelos protocolos clínicos de Kujala e de Lysholm. RESULTADOS: O seguimento médio foi de 26,2 meses. Segundo o protocolo de Lysholm, os pacientes apresentaram pontuação média de 53,72 pontos no pré-operatório e 93,36 pontos no pós-operatório (p = 0,000006). Pelo protocolo de Kujala, a pontuação média foi 59,81 pontos no préoperatório e 83,54 pontos no pós-operatório (p = 0,002173). CONCLUSÃO: A reconstrução do ligamento patelofemoral medial pela técnica proposta mostrou excelentes resultados no curto prazo, quando avaliada por protocolos clínicos.Hospital Madre Teresa Grupo do JoelhoUNIFESPUFMG Faculdade de Medicina Departamento do Aparelho LocomotorHospital Madre TeresaUNIFESPSciEL

Use of grass and leguminous species as winter mulching in organic notillage system of lettuce crop

ABSTRACT The no-tillage system for vegetables is an environmentally and economically suitable alternative, particularly for organic crops. However, further studies are needed using other plant species and under different growing conditions. This research aimed to evaluate the influence of different winter soil covers on lettuce development and yield under no-tillage system in an organic cultivation area. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with five treatments and six replications. The treatments used were three soil covers in the organic no-tillage system and two systems without cover crops and with soil tillage, one organic and the other conventional. The grass Avena strigosa (L.), the leguminous Lupinus albus (L.), and the intercropping of both species were used. The number of leaves per plant, stem length and diameter, head diameter, fresh and dry weight of plants, fresh weight of leaves and stem and Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) index were evaluated. The use of leguminous straw is recommended for winter cultivation of lettuce in an organic no-tillage system. Black oat straw, single or intercropped, impaired the development and productivity of lettuce in the organic no-tillage system in winter cultivation

Seed counting system evaluation using arduino microcontroller

The development of automated systems has been highlighted in the most diverse productive sectors, among them, the agricultural sector. These systems aim to optimize activities by increasing operational efficiency and quality of work. In this sense, the present work has the objective of evaluating a prototype developed for seed count in laboratory, using Arduino microcontroller. The prototype of the system for seed counting was built using a dosing mechanism commonly used in seeders, electric motor, Arduino Uno, light dependent resistor and light emitting diode. To test the prototype, a completely randomized design (CRD) was used in a two-factorial scheme composed of three groups defined according to the number of seeds (500, 1000 and 1500 seeds tested), three speeds of the dosing disc that allowed the distribution in 17, 21 and 32 seeds per second, with 40 repetitions evaluating the seed counting prototype performance in different speeds. The prototype of the bench counter showed a moderate variability of seed number of counted within the nine tests and a high precision in the seed count on the distribution speeds of 17 and 21 seeds per second (s-1) up to 1500 seeds tested. Therefore, based on the observed results, the developed prototype presents itself as an excellent tool for counting seeds in laboratory

TAMANHO DE AMOSTRA PARA A ESTIMAÇÃO DE CARACTERÍSTICAS FÍSICO-QUÍMICAS DE GOIABA

A fruticultura apresenta grande importância socioeconômica no Espírito Santo, possuindo o terceiro maior Valor Bruto da Produção Agropecuária - VBPA do Estado, sendo superada apenas pela cafeicultura e pela produção animal. Diante desse cenário, pesquisas devem ser realizadas para disponibilizar ao produtor rural novas tecnologias de produção, de colheita e de pós-colheita. Sendo assim, o objetivo do trabalho foi dimensionar o tamanho de amostra para avaliar características físico-químicas de goiaba na colheita. O trabalho foi conduzido no Laboratório de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento do IFES de Venda Nova do Imigrante, onde foram avaliadas as características acidez titulável, pH e umidade de fruto. Verificou-se que o tamanho da amostra para as características umidade de fruto, pH e acidez titulável foi, respectivamente, de 8, 39 e 179 frutos para o erro de estimação igual a 1%, e de 2, 10 e 45 frutos para o erro de estimação de 2%. Para todos os erros de estimação, a característica acidez titulável foi a que exigiu o maior tamanho de amostra, seguida em ordem decrescente pelas características pH e umidade de fruto