Anurans Of The Municipality Of Barão De Monte Alto, State Of Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)We present a list of the anuran amphibians from municipality of Barão de Monte Alto, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. This region is part of the remaining Atlantic Forest and the studied environments are represented by forest patches and open habitats. We recorded 29 anuran species, many of these typical and/or endemic to the Atlantic Forest. None of the species registered was considered under threat of extinction in state, national or international red-lists. It is worth noting, however, the presence of the tree frogs Dendropsophus pseudomeridianus, the first record of this species in the state of Minas Gerais, and D. Bipunctatus, marking its expanded distribution in various locations of Minas Gerais. The present list examines zoogeography and conservation of anurans in the Brazilian southeast and broadens the knowledge of the anuran fauna in this region. © 2016 Check List and Authors.125CAPES, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Infestação entomológica e estimativa do risco de lepidópteros numa moagem de trigo em Cabo Verde

An insect species list associated to a flour mill in Cape Verde was presented. The possible factors responsible for the differences observed in the different locations within the flour mill were discussed. Results obtained in 1999 were compared with data recorded in 1984 in identical conditions inside this flour mill. During two years the risk estimate from Lepidoptera infestations was carried out in this flour mill using pheromone traps. The number of adults captured in the pheromone traps recorded weekly within two years, indicated the places with higher infestation levels and allowed to estimate the risk assessment and to make decisions for controlling and planning clean actions against Ephestia cautella and E. kuehniella

Adopção de protecção integrada em tabaco armazenado em Portugal

Lasioderma serricorne (F.) and Ephestia elutella (Hb.) are the most serious pests of stored tobacco. Mainly are the larvae that feed on the product, may contaminate it with their excreta and cause damage on tobacco and allergic responses. The present work evaluated cigarette beetles and tobacco moths’ populations from the tobacco fields to the processing factories in Portugal using pheromone traps. Density, dispersion, risk assessment and the efficacy of making decisions based on economic thresholds were evaluated. For L. serricorne, the efficacy of mass-trapping using pheromone traps was studied. Sequential sampling for risk assessment was developed for processed tobacco and in a cigarette factory. These studies pretended to contribute for the integrated pest management of stored tobacco and also for the stored products in general, as the methodologies applied, with some adaptations, can be used for other pests and stored products

A versatile reactor for continuous monitoring of biofilm properties in laboratory and industrial conditions

Aims: The understanding of the dynamics of surface microbial colonization with concomitant monitoring of biofilm formation requires the development of biofilm reactors that enable direct and real-time evaluation under different hydrodynamic conditions. Methods and Results: This work proposes and discusses a simple flow cell reactor that provides a means to monitoring biofilm growth by periodical removing biofilm-attached slides for off-line, both non-destructive and destructive biofilm analyses. This is managed without the stoppage of the flow, thus reducing the contamination and the disturbance of the biofilm development. With this flow cell, biofilm growth and respiratory activity can be easily followed, either in well-defined laboratory conditions or in an industrial environment. Conclusions, Significance and Impact of the Study: The reproducible and typical biofilm development curves obtained, validated this flow cell and confirmed its potential for different biofilm-related studies, which can include biocidal treatment.Instituto de Biotecnologia e Química Fina(IBQF)

Embracing change in tandem:resilience and sustainability together transforming supply chains

PurposeThis article investigates how micro-foundations of sustainability can build supply chain resilience (SCRes). Specifically, by defining supply chains as social-ecological systems, this article explores how sustainability as a supplier capability leads to the transformative development of SCRes capabilities.Design/methodology/approachLongitudinal multi-case studies were developed over the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 52 interviews were conducted with managers and employees of 12 global supplier firms as well as associated local cooperative and consultancy managers. Secondary data were also used for triangulation. An inductive approach was used for data analysis to elaborate theory through a metaphor.FindingsNine micro-foundations of sustainability were identified and categorised using the dynamic capabilities steps: sensing, seizing and reconfiguring. They were found to move together with the preparing, responding and transforming steps of SCRes, respectively, and thus to perform as dance partners using our dance performance metaphor. Moreover, ten supplier cases were found to be adopting a transformative social-ecological perspective as they performed all key stages of our dance performance metaphor. The transformations all resulted from either institutional or social sustainability, and the associated micro-foundations generated six main SCRes capabilities, most commonly linking visibility and organisation with institutional and social sustainability respectively.Practical implicationsA deeper understanding of sustainability micro-foundations is provided for supply chain managers to enhance the development of SCRes strategies in preparation for future sustainability-related crises.Originality/valueUnlike previous research, this article explores an intertwined understanding of SCRes and sustainability during a crisis. Through the micro-foundations of sustainability we explain how sustainability capability builds transformative SCRes using a supplier perspective

Functional differences in the microbial processing of recent assimilates under two contrasting perennial bioenergy plantations

Land use change driven alteration of microbial communities can have implications on belowground C cycling and storage, although our understanding of the interactions between plant C inputs and soil microbes is limited. Using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA's) we profiled the microbial communities under two contrasting UK perennial bioenergy crops, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus Giganteus (miscanthus), and used 13C – pulse labelling to investigate how recent carbon (C) assimilates were transferred through plant tissues to soil microbes. Total PLFA's and fungal to bacterial (F:B) ratios were higher under SRC willow (Total PLFA = 47.70 ± 1.66 SE μg PLFA g−1 dry weight soil, F:B = 0.27 ± 0.01 SE) relative to miscanthus (Total PLFA = 30.89 ± 0.73 SE μg PLFA g−1 dry weight soil, F:B = 0.17 ± 0.00 SE). Functional differences in microbial communities were highlighted by contrasting processing of labelled C. SRC willow allocated 44% of total 13C detected into fungal PLFA relative to 9% under miscanthus and 380% more 13C was returned to the atmosphere in soil respiration from SRC willow soil compared to miscanthus. Our findings elucidate the roles that bacteria and fungi play in the turnover of recent plant derived C under these two perennial bioenergy crops, and provide important evidence on the impacts of land use change to bioenergy on microbial community composition

Mixed mode fracture: numerical evaluation and experimental validation using PMMA specimens

Mixed mode crack propagation analysis has been more accessible with the development of new numerical tools, allowing to evaluate the influence of non-mode I loadings in the crack path and in the growth rate. The aim of this work is to analyse the propagation of pre-existing cracks under pure mode I, pure mode II and unstable mixed mode I-II loading conditions. Numerical simulations with two-dimensional models created in Abaqus software were performed, and the results obtained were compared with the analytical and experimental results. To determine T-stress and stress intensity factors, the conventional finite element method was used, post-processed with the modified virtual crack closure technique (mVCCT) and / or the J-integral. The extended finite element method (XFEM) is also used to predict the crack trajectory under different loading conditions. The experimental procedures were performed in three and four-point bending tests on single edge notch specimens of PMMA, in which a natural pre-crack was created by small impacts with a hammer on a blade located over the pre-existing machined notch. The four-point bending test was performed with an asymmetrical configuration. Varying the locations of supports and loading points with respect to the crack plane, this configuration allows to create pure mode II and mixed-mode I-II situations. The three-point bending test was performed in the conventional manner, with only the distance from the load line to the crack plane being varied

Influence of the meso-substituents of zinc porphyrins in dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency with improved performance under short periods of white light illumination

The sensitization activity of four zinc metalloporphyrin dyes: meso-tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (a), meso-triphenyl-(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (b), meso-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (c) and meso-tripyridyl(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (d) is reported here, in terms of current-potential curve, open-circuit potential, fill factor, and overall solar energy conversion efficiency which have been evaluated under 100 mW/cm2 light intensity and their performances compared to the benchmark N719 (di-tetrabutylammonium cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato) ruthenium(II)). This work focus the structural aspects of dyes with anchoring groups using TiO2-based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), which includes pyridyl and carboxyphenyl acid groups and argue how the combination of both anchoring groups, in the same structure, may allow relevant optimization of DSSCs performance in the near future. Also, a noticeable improvement in the photovoltaic performance of all dyes, reaching a maximum increase from 25% to 69% in the overall DSSC efficiency under short periods of white light illumination is discussed.publishe

. FIRST MOLECULAR DETECTION OF LEISHMANIA INFANTUM IN SERGENTOMYIA MINUTA (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE) IN ALENTEJO, SOUTHERN PORTUGAL

One Sergentomyia minuta female was positive for L. infantum infection and another for human blood as a meal source

A universal Hamiltonian for the motion and the merging of Dirac cones in a two-dimensional crystal

We propose a simple Hamiltonian to describe the motion and the merging of Dirac points in the electronic spectrum of two-dimensional electrons. This merging is a topological transition which separates a semi-metallic phase with two Dirac cones from an insulating phase with a gap. We calculate the density of states and the specific heat. The spectrum in a magnetic field B is related to the resolution of a Schrodinger equation in a double well potential. They obey the general scaling law e_n \propto B^{2/3} f_n(Delta /B^{2/3}. They evolve continuously from a sqrt{n B} to a linear (n+1/2)B dependence, with a [(n+1/2)B]^{2/3} dependence at the transition. The spectrum in the vicinity of the topological transition is very well described by a semiclassical quantization rule. This model describes continuously the coupling between valleys associated with the two Dirac points, when approaching the transition. It is applied to the tight-binding model of graphene and its generalization when one hopping parameter is varied. It remarkably reproduces the low field part of the Rammal-Hofstadter spectrum for the honeycomb lattice.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figure