Avaliação de imagens multiespectrais LANDSAT/TM5 em radiância e reflectância de superfície na utilização do software CompPlexus.

O software CompPlexus vem sendo utilizado com o propósito de avaliar a complexidade de padrões espectrais e texturais de imagens multiespectrais por meio das métricas: Variabilidade He/Hmax e SDL (Shiner, Davison e Landsberg), embasadas em entropia informacional. Sabe-se que, para a manipulação e interpretação correta dos dados, é necessário o uso dessas imagens convertidas para grandezas físicas como radiância e reflectância. O trabalho em questão objetiva testar a utilização dessas imagens com variações sazonais e, por meio da análise de variância dos dados obtidos, definir qual seria a grandeza mais adequada a ser utilizada no software. Os resultados mostram que, em decorrência das diferenças não muito significativas das variâncias entre as amostras, ambas as grandezas podem ser utilizadas. Porém, para estudos multitemporais com alta variação de condições climáticas, é recomendável o uso de dados em reflectância de superfície (correções atmosféricas aplicadas) como forma de minimizar a eventual soma de valores espúrios ao cálculo das métricas

Mapas de complexidade de fragmentos de Cerrado a partir da variabilidade espacial de dados do sensor Thematic Mapper5.

No estudo em questão, o programa CompPlexus tem seu potencial e eficiência explorada no que tange ao efeito de borda e, de forma geral, à dinâmica ecológica de uma área previamente estudada. Assim, o objetivo aqui buscado é o de mapear os fragmentos de Cerrado a partir do cálculo de valores de complexidade dos padrões obtidos de imagem orbital e subsequentemente a aplicação de Geoestatística para interpolação dos dados

Seed grafting of hevea. I: Potential viability - Preliminary Results

Ensaios exploratórios conduzidos no Centro Nacional de Pesquisa da Seringueira- CNPSe (1976-77), usando extremidades apicais dos clones IAN 717, IAN 873 e Fx 3899, medindo 3-4 cm de comprimento, seccionadas em bisel duplo e enxertadas em sementes em fase de germinação (dois a cinco dias de germinadas), em secção vertical no eixo entre os dois pecíolos cotiledonários, mostraram ser possível a enxertia de plântulas de seringueira desde os primeiros estágios de germinação das sementes. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos quando foi permitido às duas gemas cotiledonárias brotarem e se desenvolverem, pois houve melhor pegamento dos enxertos e mais rápida formação do calo, sete dias após a enxertia. Aos 21 dias após a enxertia, deu-se a expansão foliar com início do primeiro fluxo de lançamento. O segundo lançamento foliar apresentou tamanho superior ao primeiro, em todos os casos, mostrando ter havido perfeita união dos tecidos entre enxerto e porta-enxerto e consequente continuidade de crescimento do clone enxertado.Cleft grafting of rubber trees have been tried with some promising results when apical parts 3-4 cm long were used as scions grafted on to seeds with two-five days after emergence of epicotyl. Better results were obtained when the two lateral cotyledonary buds were left to sprout and grow untill a good callus union was formed between scion and rootstock. In this case, callus was evident after seven days of the graft operation. Scion started flushing withing 21 days. As a result of the exhaustion of seed reserves, due to growth of lateral shoots, these first flushes showed a stunted growth. The second flushes were longer and more vigorous than the first ones, and this is interpreted as the result of the improvement of the graft union and better root growth

Identificação de padrões vegetacionais em imagens do sensor RapidEye comparado ao sensor ASTER utilizando medidas de complexidade.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo identificar o desempenho das métricas de paisagem a partir do sensor RapidEye a fim de verificar se existe diferença significativa nos padrões vegetacionais identificados na mesma área pelo sensor ASTER. Para tanto, foram utilizadas métricas de paisagem para avaliar a complexidade dos padrões vegetacionais da mata da Fazenda Paradouro, em Dourados, MS. Utilizando uma cena do sensor RapidEye, foram selecionadas três regiões aparentemente distintas no interior da mata. Para cada uma destas regiões, foram escolhidas três áreas amostrais para avaliar a complexidade dos padrões a partir das métricas de paisagem baseadas na entropia informacional He/Hmax e SDL. Os resultados foram comparados com aqueles obtidos em imagem ASTER por Rocha e Mattos (2014) para as mesmas áreas. A partir da análise comparativa, foi possível identificar que os padrões vegetacionais, mesmo que análogos aos níveis de complexidade, apresentam variações em suas medidas, oriundas de cada sensor/banda, o que nos leva à recomendação de seu uso eficiente quanto à qualificação/diferenciação entre alvos

A Mycobacterium leprae Hsp65 Mutant as a Candidate for Mitigating Lupus Aggravation in Mice

Hsp60 is an abundant and highly conserved family of intracellular molecules. Increased levels of this family of proteins have been observed in the extracellular compartment in chronic inflammation. Administration of M. leprae Hsp65 [WT] in [NZBxNZW]F1 mice accelerates the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus [SLE] progression whereas the point mutated K409A Hsp65 protein delays the disease. Here, the biological effects of M. leprae Hsp65 Leader pep and K409A pep synthetic peptides, which cover residues 352–371, are presented. Peptides had immunomodulatory effects similar to that observed with their respective proteins on survival and the combined administration of K409A+Leader pep or K409A pep+WT showed that the mutant forms were able to inhibit the deleterious effect of WT on mortality, indicating the neutralizing potential of the mutant molecules in SLE progression. Molecular modeling showed that replacing Lysine by Alanine affects the electrostatic potential of the 352–371 region. The number of interactions observed for WT is much higher than for Hsp65 K409A and mouse Hsp60. The immunomodulatory effects of the point-mutated protein and peptide occurred regardless of the catalytic activity. These findings may be related to the lack of effect on survival when F1 mice were inoculated with Hsp60 or K409A pep. Our findings indicate the use of point-mutated Hsp65 molecules, such as the K409A protein and its corresponding peptide, that may minimize or delay the onset of SLE, representing a new approach to the treatment of autoimmune diseases

Lensing Without Borders. I. A Blind Comparison of the Amplitude of Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing Between Independent Imaging Surveys

Lensing Without Borders is a cross-survey collaboration created to assess the consistency of galaxy-galaxy lensing signals ($\Delta\Sigma$) across different data-sets and to carry out end-to-end tests of systematic errors. We perform a blind comparison of the amplitude of $\Delta\Sigma$ using lens samples from BOSS and six independent lensing surveys. We find good agreement between empirically estimated and reported systematic errors which agree to better than 2.3$\sigma$ in four lens bins and three radial ranges. For lenses with $z_{\rm L}>0.43$ and considering statistical errors, we detect a 3-4$\sigma$ correlation between lensing amplitude and survey depth. This correlation could arise from the increasing impact at higher redshift of unrecognised galaxy blends on shear calibration and imperfections in photometric redshift calibration. At $z_{\rm L}>0.54$ amplitudes may additionally correlate with foreground stellar density. The amplitude of these trends is within survey-defined systematic error budgets which are designed to include known shear and redshift calibration uncertainty. Using a fully empirical and conservative method, we do not find evidence for large unknown systematics. Systematic errors greater than 15% (25%) ruled out in three lens bins at 68% (95%) confidence at $z<0.54$. Differences with respect to predictions based on clustering are observed to be at the 20-30% level. Our results therefore suggest that lensing systematics alone are unlikely to fully explain the "lensing is low" effect at $z<0.54$. This analysis demonstrates the power of cross-survey comparisons and provides a promising path for identifying and reducing systematics in future lensing analyses.Comment: 41 page, 20 figure

Lensing without borders. I. A blind comparison of the amplitude of galaxy-galaxy lensing between independent imaging surveys

Lensing Without Borders is a cross-survey collaboration created to assess the consistency of galaxy-galaxy lensing signals (ΔΣ) across different data-sets and to carry out end-to-end tests of systematic errors. We perform a blind comparison of the amplitude of ΔΣ using lens samples from BOSS and six independent lensing surveys. We find good agreement between empirically estimated and reported systematic errors which agree to better than 2.3σ in four lens bins and three radial ranges. For lenses with zL &amp;gt; 0.43 and considering statistical errors, we detect a 3-4σ correlation between lensing amplitude and survey depth. This correlation could arise from the increasing impact at higher redshift of unrecognised galaxy blends on shear calibration and imperfections in photometric redshift calibration. At zL &amp;gt; 0.54 amplitudes may additionally correlate with foreground stellar density. The amplitude of these trends is within survey-defined systematic error budgets which are designed to include known shear and redshift calibration uncertainty. Using a fully empirical and conservative method, we do not find evidence for large unknown systematics. Systematic errors greater than 15 per cent (25 per cent) ruled out in three lens bins at 68 per cent (95 per cent) confidence at z &amp;lt; 0.54. Differences with respect to predictions based on clustering are observed to be at the 20-30 per cent level. Our results therefore suggest that lensing systematics alone are unlikely to fully explain the ‘lensing is low’ effect at z &amp;lt; 0.54. This analysis demonstrates the power of cross-survey comparisons and provides a promising path for identifying and reducing systematics in future lensing analyses

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)