230 research outputs found
Filamentous fungi occurrence in free water and biofilms from drinking water storage tanks
In some regions of Brazil, especially where the water is scarce, drinking water is stored in water storage tanks. This practice gives the consumer the guarantee of available water. The water storage conditions such as the exposure to hot weather when the tanks are on rooftops allow the development of microorganisms and microbial biofilms which can deteriorate the water quality and increase the risk to human health [1,2]. This study describes the filamentous fungi (FF) detected in free water and biofilms in drinking water storage tanks in Recife - Pernambuco, Brazil. Five sampling times in triplicate were performed at two distinct points. Colony-forming units (CFU) of FF fungi were determined with 0.45 μm filtration membranes using peptone glucose rose Bengal agar (PGRBA). From the 30 samples analysed a total of 1136 CFU were obtained. The water biofilms were collected from samplers consisting of polyethylene coupons, previously installed in the reservoirs. These coupons were transferred to PGRBA plates and incubated using with the same conditions described for free FF. For the in situ detection of FF in biofilms the Calcofluor White staining technique was used. This procedure demonstrated FF forming biofilms on the surfaces of the coupons. Brazilian legislation does not define limits for FF in drinking water. However considering the potential risk of fungal contamination, the data obtained in this study will contribute to developing future quantitative and qualitative parameters for the presence of fungi in drinking water distribution systems in Brazil
Conservação de acessos tradicionais de arroz armazenados no banco ativo de germoplasma da Embrapa.
O presente trabalho objetivou analisar o poder germinativo de 2475 acessos tradicionais de arroz do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma da Embrapa Arroz e Feijão que foram coletados nos últimos 26 anos
Effect of band filling in the Kondo lattice: A mean-field approach
The usual Kondo-lattice, including an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction
between nearest-neighboring localized spins, is treated here in a mean-field
scheme that introduces two mean-field parameters: one associated with the local
Kondo effect, and the other related to the magnetic correlations between
localized spins. Phases with short-range magnetic correlations or coexistence
between those and the Kondo effect are obtained. By varying the number of
electrons in the conduction band, we notice that the Kondo effect tends to be
suppressed away from half filling, while magnetic correlations can survive if
the Heisenberg coupling is strong enough. An enhanced linear coefficient of the
specific heat is obtained at low temperatures in the metallic state.Comment: 7 pages, ReVTeX two-column, 7 figure
Descritores morfo agronômicos e fenológicos de linhagens de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) de várzeas e de terras altas.
O presente trabalho teve por objetivo apresentar os descritores morfo agronômicos e fenológicos de linhagens de arroz irrigado e de terras altas com possibilidades de serem recomendadas como novas cultivares comerciais.bitstream/CNPAF-2009-09/27599/1/doc_219.pd
Magnetic and superconducting instabilities in the periodic Anderson model: an RPA stud
We study the magnetic and superconducting instabilities of the periodic
Anderson model with infinite Coulomb repulsion U in the random phase
approximation. The Neel temperature and the superconducting critical
temperature are obtained as functions of electronic density (chemical pressure)
and hybridization V (pressure). It is found that close to the region where the
system exhibits magnetic order the critical temperature T_c is much smaller
than the Neel temperature, in qualitative agreement with some T_N/T_c ratios
found for some heavy-fermion materials. In our study, all the magnetic and
superconducting physical behaviour of the system has its origin in the
fluctuating boson fields implementing the infinite on-site Coulomb repulsion
among the f-electrons.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Filamentous fungi in drinking water tanks of a water supply system in Recife-PE, Brazil
Drinking water reservoirs are widely used in various building constructions in
Brazil for as a source of potable water for users. However, they are susceptible to
the growth of microorganisms such as fungi. From these, several negative factors
may ensue, namely, unpleasant odors and flavours, pigments, biofilm formation
and mycotoxins. This is caused fungal resistance to treatment and disinfection.
Brazilian law and those of other countries offer no encouragement for the research
of the species of fungi that cause these problems. There are no legal limits as to
the presence in drinking water. This study assesses the occurrence of filamentous
fungi in drinking water reservoirs connected to the Alto do Céu distribution system
located in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Four monthly collections were carried out,
in triplicate, at two fixed points in the network, at the same treatment area, and
another 2.0 km away from this site. For water physicochemical characterization at
the time of collection, pH, temperature and free residual chlorine were analyzed.
Filamentous fungi were quantified by filtration through cellulose nitrate membrane
with a 0.45 μm porosity. All strains were grown in Petri dishes containing Peptone
Glucose, Rose Bengal Agar (PGRBA) and were incubated at 30°C for 48h. Fungal
occurrence was quantified as colony forming units (CFU) per litre. Twenty-four
samples were analyzed, and these accounted for 807 CFU. Considering the potential
for water spreading diseases, and the high toxicity of fungi into account it is
intended that this work may prompt the creation of acceptable parameters as to
the presence of fungi in drinking water networks
Filamentous fungi in biofilms of water tanks in a supply system in Recife-PE, Brazil
Fungi cause detrimental organoleptic effects in water, and their presence may
facilitate the occurrence of infections, allergic reactions and harmful effects from
mycotoxins. Despite the lack of knowledge on the biological structure of filamentous
fungi in biofilms, it is known that they can contribute with bacteria, yeasts,
protozoa and viruses. Hence, this study analyzed, in situ, filamentous fungi in
biofilms found in drinking water reservoirs of the distribution network in Alto do
Céu, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Biofilms were collected, in triplicate from samplers
consisting of a polyethylene plate (4.0cm x 1.5cm) established in drinking water
reservoirs. Four monthly collections were carried out between August and November
2011 at two fixed points. Polyethylene samplers were taken to the laboratory
and washed with sterile water and transferred to Petri dishes containing medium
Peptone, Glucose, Rose Bengal Agar (PGRBA). The plates were incubated at 30°C
for 48h. The occurrence of fungi was reported as CFU/L. Fifty three colony forming
units of fungi were quantified. For water physicochemical characterization at the
time of collection, pH, temperature and free residual chlorine were analyzed. For
detection of biofilms, a combination of two fluorescent techniques was used: (A)
Fluorescent “in situ” hybridization (FISH) using a rDNA universal probe EUK516
(ACCAGACTTGCCCTCC 5’-3’, MWG Biotech, Ebersberg, Germany) labeled with
cyanine Cy3 at the 5’ end and (B) Calcofluor White M2R (CW). After FISH and
CW, the samples were observed under an epifluorescent microscope. Fungal filaments
which formed biofilms in the distribution network were observed establishing
biofilm formation. These results confirm the presence and relevance of filamentous
fungi in structuring biofilms
Orbital quantization in the high magnetic field state of a charge-density-wave system
A superposition of the Pauli and orbital coupling of a high magnetic field to
charge carriers in a charge-density-wave (CDW) system is proposed to give rise
to transitions between subphases with quantized values of the CDW wavevector.
By contrast to the purely orbital field-induced density-wave effects which
require a strongly imperfect nesting of the Fermi surface, the new transitions
can occur even if the Fermi surface is well nested at zero field. We suggest
that such transitions are observed in the organic metal
-(BEDT-TTF)KHg(SCN) under a strongly tilted magnetic field.Comment: 14 pages including 4 figure
Two-dimensional SIR epidemics with long range infection
We extend a recent study of susceptible-infected-removed epidemic processes
with long range infection (referred to as I in the following) from
1-dimensional lattices to lattices in two dimensions. As in I we use hashing to
simulate very large lattices for which finite size effects can be neglected, in
spite of the assumed power law for the
probability that a site can infect another site a distance vector
apart. As in I we present detailed results for the critical case, for the
supercritical case with , and for the supercritical case with . For the latter we verify the stretched exponential growth of the
infected cluster with time predicted by M. Biskup. For we find
generic power laws with dependent exponents in the supercritical
phase, but no Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) like critical point as in 1-d. Instead
of diverging exponentially with the distance from the critical point, the
correlation length increases with an inverse power, as in an ordinary critical
point. Finally we study the dependence of the critical exponents on in
the regime , and compare with field theoretic predictions. In
particular we discuss in detail whether the critical behavior for
slightly less than 2 is in the short range universality class, as conjectured
recently by F. Linder {\it et al.}. As in I we also consider a modified version
of the model where only some of the contacts are long range, the others being
between nearest neighbors. If the number of the latter reaches the percolation
threshold, the critical behavior is changed but the supercritical behavior
stays qualitatively the same.Comment: 14 pages, including 29 figure
Resolving the ancestry of Austronesian-speaking populations
There are two very different interpretations of the prehistory of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA), with genetic evidence invoked in support of both. The “out-of-Taiwan” model proposes a major Late Holocene expansion of Neolithic Austronesian speakers from Taiwan. An alternative, proposing that Late Glacial/postglacial sea-level rises triggered largely autochthonous dispersals, accounts for some otherwise enigmatic genetic patterns, but fails to explain the Austronesian language dispersal. Combining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome and genome-wide data, we performed the most comprehensive analysis of the region to date, obtaining highly consistent results across all three systems and allowing us to reconcile the models. We infer a primarily common ancestry for Taiwan/ISEA populations established before the Neolithic, but also detected clear signals of two minor Late Holocene migrations, probably representing Neolithic input from both Mainland Southeast Asia and South China, via Taiwan. This latter may therefore have mediated the Austronesian language dispersal, implying small-scale migration and language shift rather than large-scale expansion
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