Sirfídeos (Diptera: Syrphidae) predadores de pulgões (Hemiptera: Aphididae) em Prunus persica nas regiões Nordeste e Sul do Rio Grande do Sul.

Este estudo teve por objetivo realizar um levantamento dos sirfídeos predadores de afídeos em pomares na região Sul e da Serra Gaúcha, no período da safra 2012/2013

Electro-thermal dynamic simulations and results of a deorbiting tethered system

Deorbiting techniques with small or better no propellant consumption are an important and critical field of space studies for the mitigation of orbital debris. Electrodynamic tethers (EDTs) are of particular interest because they make possible to deorbit space debris by exploiting the Lorentz force that is provided by the current flowing in the tether thanks to the interaction of the system with the Earth’s magnetosphere and the ionosphere. This paper focuses on the differences between two software packages built at the University of Padova (FLEX and FLEXSIM) and their results in simulating various deorbiting scenarios. Both FLEXSIM and FLEX simulate the electro-thermal behaviour and the dynamics of an EDT. However, while the first one has the simplifying assumption that the tether is always aligned with the local vertical, the second one considers also the overall system attitude with respect to the radial direction and the tether flexibility. The computational times of these S/W are very different and it is important to understand the scenarios that are more appropriate for their use. Results aim to show the impact of different solar activity (simulations are done at different epochs) and lengths of conductive and non conductive segments of tether, in the range of a few hundreds of meters, on the total re-entry time. As expected, deorbiting is faster for high solar activity and conductive tether length but the performance must be balanced against the dynamics stability. The issue of stability over the deorbiting time is evaluated numerically for specific cases by using FLEX

Deployment profile analysis for tethered deorbiting technologies

Over the past few decades, the man-made space debris has become an increasingly concerning problem for future space missions. Fortunately, some innovative "green" deorbiting technologies have been emerged. Among these strategies, electrodynamic tethers have demonstrated to be a promising option, thanks to their passive and fuel-free characteristics. By leveraging the Earth's ionosphere and the geomagnetic field, an electrodynamic tether generates a Lorentz drag force, that can significantly reduce the altitude of a satellite and ultimately cause it to re-enter the atmosphere. The goal of this research is to investigate a critical part of satellite tethered technology, namely the deployment phase. To accomplish this, we utilized a software tool developed by the University of Padova to simulate the dynamics of the deployment phase and optimize its trajectory, in order to meet the desired boundary conditions. This paper gives a description of the software and shows the results of a sensitivity analysis on the trajectory profile that examines the impact of variations in the release angle of the tether and the speed profile actuated by the motor that controls the deployment speed

Deployment requirements for deorbiting electrodynamic tether technology

In the last decades, green deorbiting technologies have begun to be investigated and have raised a great interest in the space community. Among the others, electrodynamic tethers appear to be a promising option. By interacting with the surrounding ionosphere, electrodynamic tethers generate a drag Lorentz force to decrease the orbit altitude of the satellite, causing its re-entry in the atmosphere without using propellant. In this work, the requirements that drive the design of the deployment mechanism proposed for the H2020 Project E.T.PACK\u2014Electrodynamic Tether Technology for Passive Consumable-less Deorbit Kit\u2014are presented and discussed. Additionally, this work presents the synthesis of the reference profiles used by the motor of the deployer to make the tethered system reach the desired final conditions. The result is a strategy for deploying electrodynamic tape-shaped tethers used for deorbiting satellites at the end of their operational life

One maternal lineage leads the expansion of Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) in the new and old worlds.

The bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus, an Australian native insect, has become a nearly worldwide invasive pest in the last 16 years and has been causing signifcant damage to eucalypts (Myrtaceae), including Eucalyptus spp. and Corymbia spp. Its rapid expansion leads to new questions about pathways and routes that T. peregrinus used to invade other continents and countries. We used mtDNA to characterize specimens of T. peregrinus collected from 10 countries where this species has become established, including six recently invaded countries: Chile, Israel, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, and the United States of America. We then combined our mtDNA data with previous data available from South Africa, Australia, and Europe to construct a world mtDNA network of haplotypes. Haplotype A was the most common present in all specimens of sites sampled in the New World, Europe, and Israel, however from Australia second more frequently. Haplotype D was the most common one from native populations in Australia. Haplotype A difers from the two major haplotypes found in South Africa (D and G), confrming that at least two independent invasions occurred, one from Australia to South Africa, and the other one from Australia to South America (A). In conclusion, Haplotype A has an invasion success over many countries in the World. Additionally, analyzing data from our work and previous reports, it is possible to suggest some invasive routes of T. peregrinus to predict such events and support preventive control measures

Genetic diversity, phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of Oncideres impluviata (Germar, 1823) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil.

The Cerambycidae Oncideres impluviata (Germar, 1823) is an important insect pest for Acacia mearnsii De Wild in Southern Brazil. The damage caused by their girdling behavior reduces tree productivity, specially in the early years of plant establishment, when girdling is performed on the main trunk of trees. Here, we used a fragment of the mtDNA COI gene to analyze the genetic diversity, population structure and demography of O. impluviata in Southern Brazil, as well as to present the first hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships among species of the genus Oncideres. Our results identified five distinct haplotypes among the populations of O. impluviata, with the most common haplotype identified as O.imp_COI_01. The phylogenetic inferences corroborated the monophyly of O. impluviata with maximum statistical support. In addition, the phylogeny recovered three main population strains that are largely congruent with the haplotype network, which includes two lineages that are found in different edaphic regions of Rio Grande do Sul (Serra do Sudeste and Encosta Inferior do Nordeste). This is the first molecular phylogenetic assessment of O. impluviata. Our findings provide insights into the evolution of a significant species for the Brazilian forestry sector, as well as new resources for planning of pest management strategies

Association between coa gene and enterotoxin gene in S. aureus from dairy cattle in Brazil.

ABSTRACT - Staphylococcus aureus is an important agent in bovine mastitis, and some specific virulence factors may be implicated in this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the importance of the presence of coagulase, superantigens, genotypic and phenotypic resistance, and pulsotypes in 65 S. aureus isolates from bovine clinical and subclinical mastitis in the Southeast of Brazil. A high correlation was observed between the genes coa and see, as well as between the sei and the see and seh. High resistance rates were observed for penicillin (95.4%), tetracycline (89.2%), cefoxitin (86.1%), oxacillin (84.6%), erythromycin (84.6%), clindamycin (84.6%), chloramphenicol (81.5%), ceftriaxone (80.0%), and ampicillin (80.0%). Analysis of antimicrobial resistance profiles showed that 89.2% of isolates were multi-drug-resistant. No mecA-positive S. aureus isolates were detected. It was observed that seven isolates were resistant to all the β-lactam tested while being susceptible to cefoxitin, which could be indicative of borderline methicillin resistance in S. aureus. High genetic diversity with no specific virulence profile being predominant was observed. Thus, this study observed a high correlation between the coa and enterotoxins genes, and demonstrates that there is no predominant pulsotype causing intramammary infection and that there is a high rate of antibiotic resistance in S. aureus isolates from dairy farms in the southeast regions of Brazil