Anomalous diffusion: A basic mechanism for the evolution of inhomogeneous systems

In this article we review classical and recent results in anomalous diffusion and provide mechanisms useful for the study of the fundamentals of certain processes, mainly in condensed matter physics, chemistry and biology. Emphasis will be given to some methods applied in the analysis and characterization of diffusive regimes through the memory function, the mixing condition (or irreversibility), and ergodicity. Those methods can be used in the study of small-scale systems, ranging in size from single-molecule to particle clusters and including among others polymers, proteins, ion channels and biological cells, whose diffusive properties have received much attention lately.Comment: Review article, 20 pages, 7 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:cond-mat/0201446 by other author

Temporary Immersion System for Micropropagation of Tree Species: a Bibliographic and Systematic Review

This paper was characterized by a bibliometric and systematic review on the database ISI Web of Science, aiming to provide an update of the main points addressed regarding the Temporary Immersion Systems (TIS) for micropropagation of tree species. It was pointed out that the frequency and time of immersion were one of the main parameters studied in the papers and 35% these papers worked with eucalyptus species. The main problem reported in the papers was the hyperhydricity, but it was overcome via procedures such as: a) air injection into the system, b) increasing the immersion intervals and decreasing the immersion time and c) decreasing concentration of cytokinin. Most papers reported that TIS produced plants that were more successful in surviving the ex-vitro acclimation stage than those produced on semi-solid media or continuous immersion systems. Few studies compared different types of temporary immersion bioreactors on micropropagation of plants and within the established criteria, papers with TIS tree species represented only 15% of the total. This system has presented promising results for most of the tree species, and although some gaps have been identified and few are the works with tree species, this process has been taking an increasingly larger space in the propagation of plants

Identificação e mapeamento de pastagens degradadas nos municípios de Corguinho e Rio Negro, MS, utilizando fusão de imagens CBERS-2B (CCD e HRC).

A degradação das pastagens pode ser definida como um processo evolutivo de perda de vigor, produtividade e capacidade de recuperação natural constituindo atualmente um dos maiores problemas para a pecuária brasileira. Estudos recentes apontam resultados promissores para identificar e mapear diferentes níveis de degradação em pastagens através de imagens de satélites, além de permitir o monitoramento do processo de degradação no âmbito local ou regional. O objetivo do presente estudo consiste em avaliar o uso de imagens fusionadas dos sensores CCD e HRC do satélite CBERS-2B, para identificação e caracterização de áreas com pastagens degradadas nos municípios de Corguinho e Rio Negro no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Imagens CCD das bandas 2, 3 e 4 e HRC foram processados no aplicativo SPRING e por meio da classificação MAXVER , da segmentação e da classificação Bhattacharya foi elaborado um mapa na escala de 1:50.000 das áreas de pastagens degradadas.GeoPantanal 2009

Identification of a fibrinogen-related protein (FBN9) gene in neotropical anopheline mosquitoes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria has a devastating impact on worldwide public health in many tropical areas. Studies on vector immunity are important for the overall understanding of the parasite-vector interaction and for the design of novel strategies to control malaria. A member of the fibrinogen-related protein family, <it>fbn9</it>, has been well studied in <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>and has been shown to be an important component of the mosquito immune system. However, little is known about this gene in neotropical anopheline species.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This article describes the identification and characterization of the <it>fbn9 </it>gene partial sequences from four species of neotropical anopheline primary and secondary vectors: <it>Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles nuneztovari, Anopheles aquasalis</it>, and <it>Anopheles albitarsis </it>(namely <it>Anopheles marajoara</it>). Degenerate primers were designed based on comparative analysis of publicly available <it>Aedes aegypti </it>and <it>An. gambiae </it>gene sequences and used to clone putative homologs in the neotropical species. Sequence comparisons and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were then performed to better understand the molecular diversity of this gene in evolutionary distant anopheline species, belonging to different subgenera.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparisons of the <it>fbn9 </it>gene sequences of the neotropical anophelines and their homologs in the <it>An. gambiae </it>complex (Gambiae complex) showed high conservation at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, although some sites show significant differentiation (non-synonymous substitutions). Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of <it>fbn9 </it>nucleotide sequences showed that neotropical anophelines and African mosquitoes form two well-supported clades, mirroring their separation into two different subgenera.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present work adds new insights into the conserved role of <it>fbn9 </it>in insect immunity in a broader range of anopheline species and reinforces the possibility of manipulating mosquito immunity to design novel pathogen control strategies.</p

Performance of Beef Heifers of Various Genetic Groups, Supplemented or Not, in Coastcross Pastures

The objective of this study was to determine whether the performance of beef heifers of different genetic groups was affected by breed x nutritional environment interactions. Sixty four weaned heifers, 16 per genetic group: ½ Angus + ½ Nellore (AN), ½ Canchim + ½ Nellore (CN), ½ Simmental + ½ Nellore (SN) and pure Nellore (NE), were used with or without 3.0 kg of concentrate.animal-1 .day-1 in a fertilized coastcross pasture under rotational grazing system. There were effects of genetic group and supplementation (P\u3c 0.05) on the weight and age at first estrus, but there was no interaction between them. In a rotational grazing system with 4000 kg of available dry matter per hectare with 13% of crude protein, the crossbred AN, supplemented or not, was more precocious (111 days) than Nellore heifers, showing the first estrus at 356 days of age and 324 kg of live weight