Estimativas de ganhos genéticos por diferentes índices de seleção em três populações híbridas de batata.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar a eficiência de diferentes índices de seleção de clones superiores de batata. O experimento foi realizado no campo experimental da Embrapa Clima Temperado em Pelotas-RS, na primavera de 2008. Foram estudadas três populações híbridas de batata derivadas de cruzamentos entre clones avançados do programa de melhoramento de batata da Embrapa e cultivares estrangeiras. O delineamento experimental foi blocos aumentados em quatro repetições. O uso de índices de seleção resultou em maiores estimativas de ganhos de seleção, com melhor distribuição entre os caracteres avaliados. Os melhores índices de seleção encontrados para serem utilizados em programas de melhoramento de batata são os índices multiplicativo de Subandi et al. (1973) e o índice baseado na soma de ranks proposto por Mulamba & Mock (1978)

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Boundary between air entrainment and air transport downstream of a hydraulic jump in circular conduits

The transition from partially full to full flow in downward sloping pipes often occurs with a hydraulic jump that entrains air bubbles downstream in a filled conduit that makes it difficult to define the boundary between the air entrainment and air transport behind the jump in circular conduits. With the aim of addressing this issue, an experimental investigation that included the measurement of air bubble velocities with a high speed camera at distances of 1, 5 and 10 diameters downstream of the jump was carried out. The analysis results showed that when the distance beyond the jump was less than 10 diameters, the velocity profiles were irregular and influenced by the eddying action of the jump; however, when it was greater than 10 diameters, the velocity distribution was very similar to that of a typical fully developed velocity profile in a circular conduit.The work concentrated on a mild downward slope S = 0.087 (theta = 5 degrees) and small Froude numbers ranged from 0.045 to 2.04