Ocurrence of Nyssomyia intermedia (Lutz & Neiva) (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Paraná State, south of Brazil

Nyssomyia intermedia s. lat. tem sido citada por vários autores no Paraná. No entanto, alguns estudos apontam que esse táxon corresponde a Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto). Em coletas realizadas em galinheiro e em ambiente de mata, com armadilhas, entre novembro de 2005 e outubro de 2006, em Adrianópolis, Morretes e Pontal do Paraná, localizados na região de Mata Atlântica na Serra do Mar e no litoral do Paraná, sete fêmeas de Nyssomyia intermedia s. str. (Lutz & Neiva) foram encontradas juntamente com outras 14 espécies de flo ebotomíneos, confirmando a ocorrência de N.intermedia em área de costa e de mata Atlântica do Paraná.The occurrence of Nyssomyia intermedia s.lat. in the state of Paraná, Brazil, has been registered by several authors; however, studies have identified this taxon as belonging, in Paraná, to Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto). During captures with traps in a hen-house and forested areas, from November 2005 to October 2006, in Adrianópolis, Morretes and Pontal do Paraná, situated in the Atlantic forest domain, Paraná state, seven females of Nyssomyia intermedia s.str. (Lutz & Neiva) were collected together with other 14 sand floy species. Thus the occurrence of N. intermedia on the coast and in areas of Atlantic forest in Paraná is confirmed

Net cage tambaqui farming: microbiological quality, nutritional value and yield.

Tambaqui is traditionally consumed at a commercial size of 1.0 to 3.0 kg However, it is also consumed at between 0.350 to 0.450 kg, this size being referred to as tambaqui curumim (C). The objective of this study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of tambaqui at the commercial size (CS) and to characterize the nutritional value and yield of tambaqui belonging to the two size classes Curumim and CS originating from net cages. The effect of size on the centesimal composition and fish yield was evaluated in a completely randomized design with 12 repetitions while for the microbiological analysis one fish from each net cage was used. C showed protein, ash and moisture contents above those of CS, whereas the ether extract was higher for CS. The yields were 70.04% for C and 65.55% for CS. 50% of the samples showed contamination by Staphylococcus aureus, all values being within the Brazilian?s regulation limits. Salmonella spp. was found in 91.67% of the samples while 75% showed contamination by total coliforms and 8.34% by Escherichia coli. C showed a suitable nutritional value and a better yield in relation to CS. The addition of C to the diet will depend on its acceptance in the markets where its commercialization is not yet established. The microbiological results suggest a tendency of the species to harbor Salmonella spp. on the body surface

Estudos sobre a corrosão do latão em ambiente interno de um museu

Os bens culturais são o produto e o testemunho das tradições e realizações intelectuais do passado e, dentre eles, as coleções de instrumentos científicos históricos constituem- se em testemunhos significativos da história da ciência. Neste trabalho, são apresentados resultados de estudos sobre a corrosão atmosférica do latão, um dos principais constituintes metálicos desses instrumentos, em seu próprio ambiente de guarda, um ambiente interno típico de um museu situado em região de clima tropical. Os estudos, com duração de 300 dias, utilizaram peças de latão, em composição similar àquela encontrada nas peças dos instrumentos, em testes preliminares, de exposição ao ambiente e em teste acelerado (imersão- emersão). Foi possível, em linhas gerais, simular de forma acelerada o processo real de corrosão atmosférica, através de testes de imersão- emersão adaptados, e os resultados obtidos por técnicas instrumentais de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM) e difração de raios- X (DRX) mostraram que o primeiro produto de oxidação formado foi a cuprita, e que o processo mostrou- se muito lento. Não foi possível identificar compostos contendo enxofre, porém as análises por SEM mostraram a presença desse elemento na superfície das placas. Os resultados das análises por espectroscopia de retro- espalhamento Rutherford (RBS) e SEM permitem sugerir, a partir da medida de espessura das camadas de produtos de corrosão formadas, uma relação entre as escalas de tempo dos testes de imersão- emersão e de exposição atmosférica, resultando que cada 30 dias de ensaio acelerado corresponderam a cerca de 300 dias de exposição ao ambiente estudado.Cultural heritage is the product of and testament to past traditions and intellectual achievements, of which collections of historic scientific instruments provide the most significant of records in the history of science field. This work presents the results of studies into the atmospheric corrosion of brass, one of the main metal components of these instruments, in their own museum storage space, which is an indoor environment typical of a museum in a tropical clime. The studies, which lasted 300 days, were done on strips of brass with a similar composition to that of the instrument parts. They included preliminary tests, an environmental exposure test and an accelerated test (alternate immersion), which was adapted from the methodology proposed by M. Pourbaix. Overall, it was possible to simulate an acceleration of the real atmospheric corrosion process using adapted alternate immersion test. The results obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x- ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the first oxidation product formed was cuprite, and that the process was very slow. It was not possible to identify any sulfur compounds, though the SEM analyses showed the presence of this element on the surface of the strips. The results of the Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and SEM analyses suggested that, based on the thickness of the layers of corrosion products formed, there was a relationship between the time scales of the alternate immersion and atmospheric exposure tests, whereby each 30 days of accelerated test corresponded to approximately 300 days of exposure to the environment under study

Hole concentration in a diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor

We consider a mean-field approach to the hole-mediated ferromagnetism in III-V Mn-based semiconductor compounds to discuss the dependence of the hole density on that of Mn sites in Ga_{1-x}Mn_xAs. The hole concentration, p, as a function of the fraction of Mn sites, x, is parametrized in terms of the product m*J_{pd}^2 (where m* is the hole effective mass and J_{pd} is the Kondo-like hole/local-moment coupling), and the critical temperature Tc. By using experimental data for these quantities, we have established the dependence of the hole concentration with x, which can be associated with the occurrence of a reentrant metal-insulator transition taking place in the hole gas. We also calculate the dependence of the Mn magnetization with x, for different temperatures (T), and found that as T increases, the width of the composition-dependent magnetization decreases drammatically, and that the magnetization maxima also decreases, indicating the need for quality-control of Mn-doping composition in diluted magnetic semiconductor devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX 3; Fig. 1 changed, new references adde

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade de genótipos de feijão-caupi em Mato Grosso do Sul.

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a adaptabilidade e a estabilidade da produtividade de grãos de linhagens e cultivares de feijão-caupi para fins de recomendação para o Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Foram conduzidos quatro experimentos no período de fevereiro a junho de 2008 e 2009, em três municípios: Aquidauana, Chapadão do Sul e Dourados, localizados no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos ao acaso, com 20 tratamentos e quatro repetições, em parcelas de quatro linhas de cinco metros. A adaptabilidade e estabilidade dos genótipos foi analisada pelo método do melhor desempenho. As linhagens MNCO2-675-4-9 e MNCO3-736F-6 apresentaram maior adaptabilidade e estabilidade, sendo as mais indicadas para cultivo em ambientes com maior grau de tecnologia. A linhagem MNCO2-689F-2-8 e a cultivar BRS Gurguéia podem ser recomendadas para os agricultores que utilizam pouca tecnologia no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul.CONAC 2012. Disponível em: http://www.conac2012.org/resumos/pdf/050a.pdf. Acesso em: 03 jul. 2013

Temperature measurements by oh lif and chemiluminescence kinetic modeling for ethanol flames

OH LIF-thermometry was applied to premixed ethanol flames at atmospheric pressure in a burner for three flame conditions. Flame temperatures were simulated from energy equation with PREMIX code of CHEMKIN software package for comparison. A kinetic modeling based on a model validated through chemiluminescence measurements and on a set of reactions for nitrogen chemistry was evaluated. Marinov's mechanism was also tested. Sensitivity analysis was performed for fuel-rich flame condition with Φ = 1.34. Simulated temperatures from both reaction mechanisms evaluated were higher than experimental values. However, the proposed kinetic modeling resulted in temperature profiles qualitatively very close to the experimental

Diacutaneous fibrolysis versus passive stretching after articular immobilisation : muscle recovery and extracellular matrix remodelling

Introduction Atrophy and muscle shortening due to articular immobilisation are common problems in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Muscle stretching mechanical stimuli might be considered as the golden standard procedure to improve muscle flexibility in rehabilitation. Muscle stretching generates mechanotransduction, potentiating specific gene expression and promotes sarcomerogenesis and extracellular matrix remodelling on shortened and atrophied muscles. Hypothesis Diacutaneous fibrolysis, like stretching, uses an external force to stress connective and muscle tissues mechanically to treat muscle shortening; thus, it is widely used in clinical practice even if there is no evidence to support it. Considering this subject, we have hypothesised that diacutaneous fibrolysis can generate mechanotransduction, affecting muscle hypertrophy and extracellular matrix remodelling after immobilisation. Evaluation of hypothesis We have designed a laboratory experimental study with a sample of 50 rats. The sample was randomly divided into five groups: Control group (n = 10) with non–immobilised rats; 3–week immobilisation group (n = 10); 3–week immobilisation/3–week non–immobilisation group (n = 10);3–week immobilisation/3–week stretching group (n = 10); and 3–week immobilisation/3–week diacutaneous fibrolysis group (n = 10). All rats had their left tibiotarsal joint immobilised in maximum plantar flexion with the orthotics for 3 consecutive weeks. After the immobilisation period, the intervention groups received their respective intervention on their left triceps suralis for 3 weeks. Dependent variables of the study were sarcomere analysis, polymerase chain reaction, connective tissue density, collagen birefringence and matrix metalloproteinases. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance and Duncan post hoc test was applied for differences between groups. For all calculations, a 5% (p < 0.05) significance level was established. Conclusion If the hypothesis is confirmed, the present study might provide evidence to support the use of this physical therapy resource widely used to treat muscle dysfunctions

An outlier-resistant κ\kappa-generalized approach for robust physical parameter estimation

In this work we propose a robust methodology to mitigate the undesirable effects caused by outliers to generate reliable physical models. In this way, we formulate the inverse problems theory in the context of Kaniadakis statistical mechanics (or $\kappa$-statistics), in which the classical approach is a particular case. In this regard, the errors are assumed to be distributed according to a finite-variance $\kappa$-generalized Gaussian distribution. Based on the probabilistic maximum-likelihood method we derive a $\kappa$-objective function associated with the finite-variance $\kappa$-Gaussian distribution. To demonstrate our proposal's outlier-resistance, we analyze the robustness properties of the $\kappa$-objective function with help of the so-called influence function. In this regard, we discuss the role of the entropic index ($\kappa$) associated with the Kaniadakis $\kappa$-entropy in the effectiveness in inferring physical parameters by using strongly noisy data. In this way, we consider a classical geophysical data-inverse problem in two realistic circumstances, in which the first one refers to study the sensibility of our proposal to uncertainties in the input parameters, and the second is devoted to the inversion of a seismic data set contaminated by outliers. The results reveal an optimum $\kappa$-value at the limit $\kappa \rightarrow 2/3$, which is related to the best results.Comment: 37 pages, 23 figure

Severity of Ascites Is Associated with Increased Mortality in Patients with Cirrhosis Secondary to Biliary Atresia

Very few prior studies have investigated the presence of ascites as a prognostic factor in children with cirrhosis. To the best of our knowledge, there are no prior studies evaluating the relationship between severity of ascites and patient survival in children with biliary atresia and cirrhosis.Clinically detectable ascites is associated with decreased 1-year survival of children with biliary atresia. These patients should be treated with caution and prioritized for liver transplantation.Background Very few prior studies have investigated the presence of ascites as a prognostic factor in children with cirrhosis. To the best of our knowledge, there are no prior studies evaluating the relationship between severity of ascites and patient survival in children with biliary atresia and cirrhosis. Aims To evaluate the association between severity of ascites and survival of children with cirrhosis and biliary atresia. Methods All children with cirrhosis secondary to biliary atresia evaluated at our institution from 2000 to 2014 were included in this study. Patients were classified into four groups: NA = no ascites; A1 = grade 1 ascites; A2 = grade 2 ascites; and A3 = grade 3 ascites. The primary endpoint of the study was mortality within the first year after patient inclusion. Ninetyday mortality was also evaluated. Prognostic factors related to both endpoints also were studied. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio