Gas jet disruption mitigation studies on Alcator C-Mod and DIII-D

High-pressure noble gas jet injection is a mitigation technique which potentially satisfies the requirements of fast response time and reliability, without degrading subsequent discharges. Previously reported gas jet experiments on DIII-D showed good success at reducing deleterious disruption effects. In this paper, results of recent gas jet disruption mitigation experiments on Alcator C-Mod and DIII-D are reported. Jointly, these experiments have greatly improved the understanding of gas jet dynamics and the processes involved in mitigating disruption effects. In both machines, the sequence of events following gas injection is observed to be quite similar: the jet neutrals stop near the plasma edge, the edge temperature collapses and large MHD modes are quickly destabilized, mixing the hot plasma core with the edge impurity ions and radiating away the plasma thermal energy. High radiated power fractions are achieved, thus reducing the conducted heat loads to the chamber walls and divertor. A significant (2 × or more) reduction in halo current is also observed. Runaway electron generation is small or absent. These similar results in two quite different tokamaks are encouraging for the applicability of this disruption mitigation technique to ITER.United States. Dept. of Energy (Coop. Agreements DE-FC02-99ER54512 and DE-FC02-04ER54698, Grants DE-FG02-04ER54758 and DE-FG02-04ER54762, and Contracts DE-AC05-00OR22725, W-7405-ENG-48, and W-7405-ENG-36

Exigências de triptofano e padrão de recuperação do desempenho de poedeiras comerciais após alimentação com rações deficientes em triptofano Tryptophan requirements and recovery performance pattern of commercial laying hens after feeding tryptophan-deficient diets

Este experimento foi conduzido para avaliar as exigências de triptofano e o padrão de recuperação do desempenho de poedeiras alimentadas com rações deficientes em triptofano. Foram utilizadas 160 poedeiras comerciais da linhagem Hisex White distribuídas em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com cinco níveis de triptofano nas dietas (0,13; 0,15; 0,17; 0,19 e 0,21%), com oito repetições de quatro aves. As poedeiras permaneceram por duas semanas em adaptação (51 a 52 semanas), por seis semanas para avaliação da exigência de triptofano (53 a 58 semanas) e por quatro semanas para determinação do padrão de recuperação do desempenho (59 a 62 semanas). A produção e a massa de ovos foram prejudicadas quando as poedeiras foram alimentadas com rações contendo 0,13% de triptofano, no entanto, o desempenho foi recuperado após uma semana de alimentação com ração contendo 0,21% desse aminoácido. A qualidade interna dos ovos não foi influenciada pelos níveis de triptofano estudados (ingestão de 137,1 a 228,0 mg triptofano/dia). As exigências de triptofano foram estabelecidas entre 161 e 188 mg/dia, dependendo da característica avaliada (produção ou massa de ovos) e do modelo de regressão aplicado (polinomial, exponencial ou segmentado).<br>This experiment was carried out to evaluate the tryptophan (Trp) requirements and the recovery performance pattern of laying hens fed Trp-deficient diets. One hundred sixty Hisex White commercial laying hens were randomly distributed in five Trp levels in the diets (0.13, 0.15, 0.17, 0.19 and 0.21% ) with eight replicates of four birds. The laying hens remained for two weeks in adaptation (51 to 52 weeks), for six weeks for evaluation of Trp requirements (53 to 58 weeks) and for four weeks for the determination of the recovery performance pattern (59 to 62 weeks). Egg production and egg mass were impaired when laying hens were fed diets containing 0.13% of Trp, however, the performance was recovered after one week of feeding under a diet containing 0.21% of this amino acid. Internal egg quality was not influenced by the Trp levels studied (intake among 137.1 to 228.0 of Trp mg/day). Tryptophan requirements ranged from 161 to 188 mg/ay, depending on the characteristics evaluated (egg production or egg mass) and the regression model applied (polynomial, exponential or broken line)

Farelo de gérmen de milho desengordurado na dieta de poedeiras comerciais de 28 a 44 semanas de idade Defatted corn germ meal in diets for laying hens from 28 to 44 weeks of age

Um experimento foi conduzido para avaliar os efeitos da inclusão de farelo de gérmen de milho desengordurado na dieta de galinhas de 28 a 44 semanas de idade. Foram utilizadas 240 poedeiras Hy-Line W36 distribuídas em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com seis níveis de farelo de germen de milho desengordurado (0, 6, 12, 18, 24 e 30%),cada um com cinco repetições de oito aves. No período experimental, que durou quatro ciclos de 28 dias, foram avaliados os parâmetros de desempenho das aves (consumo de ração, produção de ovos, peso médio do ovo, massa de ovo e conversão alimentar) e de qualidade dos ovos (gravidade específica, índice de pigmentação da gema, porcentagem de gema e albúmen, porcentagem e espessura da casca e unidade haugh). Os níveis de farelo de gérmen de milho desengordurado tiveram efeito linear negativo sobre o consumo de ração e o índice de pigmentação da gema e efeito quadrático sobre a conversão alimentar. A inclusão de farelo de gérmen de milho desengordurado na dieta não influenciou as outras variáveis estudadas. O farelo de gérmen de milho desengordurado pode ser incluído em níveis de até 21,2% em rações para galinhas poedeiras.<br>This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of including defatted corn germ meal in diets for laying hens. It was assigned two hundred and forty laying hens to a randomized design, with six diets and five replicates of eight hens per diet. Experimental diets were formulated by inclusion of defatted corn germ meal at 0, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30% level. The period experiment was carried out for four 28-day cycles and performance (feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass and feed conversion) and the egg quality (egg specific gravity, yolk color, yolk and albumen percentages, shell percentages, shell thickness and Haugh unity) were the evaluated parameters. Negative linear effect was observed for feed intake and yolk pigmentation by increasingly including defatted corn germ meal in diets for laying hens. Quadratic effect of defatted corn germ meal for feed conversion was also observed. No statistical differences were observed for any other parameters. Defatted corn germ meal can be included at 21.2% in laying hens diets

Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms

Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins5,6,7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes8. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora