Enumeration and characterization of arsenic-tolerant diazotrophic bacteria in a long-term heavy-metal-contaminated soil

The abundance of arsenic-tolerant diazotrophic bacteria was compared in a long-term contaminated soil versus a non-contaminated one. In addition, the characterization of tolerant diazotrophic bacteria was carried out. Differences in the number of heterotrophic N2 fixers were found between soils. Contaminated soil showed a decrease in the microbial population size of about 80%, confirming the great sensitivity of this group of soil bacteria to metals. However, quantitative analysis of the response to increased doses of arsenic reveals that the proportion of the culturable diazotrophic community tolerant to arsenic was identical for both soils (contaminated and non-contaminated). Twentytwo arsenic-tolerant diazotrophic isolates were obtained and further characterized. 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis revealed that these bacterial isolates were distributed among four taxons (Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, γ-Proteobacteria, and β-Proteobacteria). Most genera recovered from the contaminated soil were also found in the uncontaminated soi

Thermal diffusivity of periderm from tomatoes of different maturity stages as determined by the concept of the frequency-domain open photoacoustic cell

The frequency-domain open photoacoustic cell (OPC) approach was used to determine room temperature thermal diffusivity of skins (pericarps) from the raw tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculetum Mill.) characterized by the three different stages of ripeness (from immature-green to a mature-red). Periodically interrupted 532 nm laser radiation was used to heat the dry tomato skins, typically 10 mm in diameter and up to 68 µm thick; the modulating frequency f varied from 8 to 150 Hz. Initially, a combined OPC-model that takes into account both, the thermoelastic bending and the effect of thermal diffusion (TD), has been applied. Preliminary results showed that until at least 40 Hz, the effect of TD dominates; above this value the combined model fits the experimental data only poorly. For this reason a less complex OPC-TD approach was applied to all investigated skins instead, which predicts an exponential decrease for the amplitude of measured photoacoustic signal S with increasing f. For a specimen that is simultaneously opaque and thermally thick, S depends on f as S~exp(-b f1/2) where b is a fitting parameter. The S versus f plot enables one to deduce the numerical value for b which, on its turn allows for the assessment of skin’s thermal diffusivity a. Thermal diffusivities obtained for the immature green, orange, and red skins (periderms) are 9.9×10-8 m2¿s-1, 7.2×10-8 m2¿s-1, and 4.6×10-8 m2¿s-1, respectively; the uncertainty was typically 5% of the measured value

Influence Of Concentrate Levels In Diet And Body Biotypes On Productive Variables Of Guzera Beef Cattle

The goal of this study was evaluate diets (50 or 80% of concentrate) and body biotypes (late or early) on performance, behavior, carcass condition, meat quality, and feed cost estimates in feedlot finishing Guzera beef cattle. Use of concentrates in the diet may improve performance and carcass fat scores in ruminant animals, but Guzera beef cattle may be more efficient in forage conversion, which directly influences the economic viability of the production system. We evaluated 32 non-castrated male Guzera beef cattle at 32±2 months of age. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and six replicates in a 2 × 2 factorial design (2 diets × 2 body biotypes). Initial and final body weights were 459.4±31.2 kg and 566.7±40.8 kg, respectively. There was no change (P > 0.05) in dry matter intake, feed conversion, or daily weight gain when the concentrate in the diet was increased to 80%. Animals fed a diet with 80% of concentrate spent less time (P < 0.05) ruminating (17.8±6.3 vs. 6.3±2.7% of the assessed time). Body biotype did not alter the variables. The rise from 50 to 80% in the proportion of dietary concentrate increased carcass fat, with positive returns in the production process, even given the reduction in rumination, which can lead to poor welfare of animals consuming 80% of dietary concentrate. Body biotype did not affect the variables studied, but it is worth emphasizing that the age at slaughter of these animals probably influenced this result. Thus, selection of the best diet should be based on feeding cost, and in accordance with the cost estimated in this study, the diet with 80% of concentrate is the most suitable for feedlot finished Guzera beef cattle.3764305431

Biomecánica del pilar canino en el cráneo humano basada en la geometría utilizando análisis de elementos finitos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)This study evaluated the stress distribution based on the canine pillar geometry in human skull, using a finite element analysis. Computed tomography of human skull was used to build a finite element model, which was composed by all bony structures of canine pillar: canine eminence, canine fossa, frontal process of maxilla, glabellum and superciliary arch. A support on the bite contact of maxillary canine tooth and a resultant force of the masticatory muscles was applied in the simulation. Equivalent Von-mises and maximum principal stresses were analyzed along the structures that compose the canine pillar geometry. Von-mises stress presented high stress concentrated at the canine fossa and frontal process of maxilla. Maximum principal stress showed compression areas at the canine fossa and part of frontal process and tensile stress at canine eminence and part of the frontal process. In conclusion, the different stress areas means different force concentrations transmitted along the canine pillar geometry during a peak canine bite.This study evaluated the stress distribution based on the canine pillar geometry in human skull, using a finite element analysis. Computed tomography of human skull was used to build a finite element model, which was composed by all bony structures of can321214220CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)sem informaçãoEste estudio evaluó la distribución de la tensión sobre la geometría del pilar canino en el cráneo humano, utilizando análisis de elementos finitos. Se usó la tomografía computarizada de cráneo humano para construir un modelo de elementos finitos compuestBrazil for financial support and the Center for Information Technology “Renato Archer” (Campinas, Brazil) for technical and scientific suppor

Entropy bounds, monotonicity properties and scaling in CFTs

We study the ratio of the entropy to the total energy in conformal field theories at finite temperature. For the free field realizations of {\cal N}=4 super Yang-Mills theory in D=4 and the (2,0) tensor multiplet in D=6, the ratio is bounded from above. The corresponding bounds are less stringent than the recently proposed Verlinde bound. We show that entropy bounds arise generically in CFTs in connection to monotonicity properties with respect to temperature changes of a generalized C-function. For strongly coupled CFTs with AdS duals, we show that the ratio obeys the Verlinde bound even in the presence of rotation. For such CFTs, we point out an intriguing resemblance in their thermodynamic formulas with the corresponding ones of two-dimensional CFTs. We show that simple scaling forms for the free energy and entropy of CFTs with AdS duals reproduce the thermodynamical properties of (D+1)-dimensional AdS black holes.Comment: 19p, LaTeX, v2 minor clarifications and added references, v3 version to appear in NP

Transformação de coordenadas cartográficas: o exemplo da região de Granja (NW do Ceará, Brasil)

Este estudo tem como principal objetivo mostrar a importância de se efetuar a análise metódica da cartografia de base que suporta a produção de Cartografia Geológica, antes de iniciar o trabalho de campo. Em certas regiões, as cartas base publicadas estão ainda associadas a redes geodésicas clássicas, o que obriga a proceder à transformação de coordenadas para assegurar que todos os dados geo-espaciais são definidos no mesmo sistema de referência espacial. Neste estudo, selecionaram-se 8 pontos localizados sobre as cartas publicadas na região de Granja (NW do Ceará, Brasil), determinaram-se as coordenadas no Datum topocêntrico das cartas (CA 70-72) e procedeu-se à sua transformação para os Data geocêntricos WGS84 e SIRGAS2000. As diferenças entre as coordenadas obtidas nos três sistemas são residuais, indicando que erros introduzidos quando se desconsideram parâmetros essenciais como o Datum Geodésico são, neste caso, mínimos para efeitos de Cartografia Geológica.This study draws attention to the importance of conducting a detailed analysis of cartographic products that sustain the Geological Mapping before starting the field work. In some regions, the published base maps are still related to classical geodetic networks. Therefore, it is fundamental to perform the adequate coordinate transformation to ensure that all spatial data are defined relatively to the same spatial reference system. This is particularly relevant when GPS and GIS are used to obtain and plot spatial data. The present study involved the selection of 8 points located on the published maps for the Granja region (NW Ceará, Brazil), the determination of their coordinates in the CA 70-72 topocentric map Datum and their subsequent transformation to the geocentric Data WGS84 and SIRGAS2000. The differences between coordinates are residual, indicating that the error introduced when essential parameters such as the Geodetic Datum are disregarded are, in this case, minimum

Assessment Of Inflammation Based On The Release Of Oxygen Radicals By Granulocytes In Chronic Uncontrolled Asthma [avaliação Da Inflamação Com Base Na Liberação De Radicais Oxidantes Por Granulócitos Na Asma Crônica Não-controlada]

Objective: To evaluate spontaneous release of superoxide anion by peripheral blood granulocytes of atopic patients with uncontrolled asthma undergoing glucocorticoid therapy and of healthy subjects. Methods: We studied 32 patients, aged 6 to 18 (mean 12.04), and 29 healthy subjects as a comparative group. Patients were grouped according to the forced expiratory vital capacity in the first second. Group I, forced expiratory vital capacity in the first second of between 60 and 80%, had 19 patients, and group II, forced expiratory vital capacity in the first second = 60%, had 13 patients. Spontaneous superoxide release by granulocytes was measured by a spectrophotometer method based on superoxide dismutase, before and after oral prednisone and beclomethasone, budesonide or fluticasone inhaled therapy. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA, Wilcoxon and Tukey tests. Results: Comparing the superoxide anion release by granulocytes of asthmatic patients and healthy subjects, we observed a higher release by cells of the uncontrolled patient group II (p < 0.05). Evaluating the superoxide release by cells of asthmatic patients before and after steroid therapy, a significant decrease was found only in patient group I. Conclusion: The impact of corticosteroids on inflammatory modulation occurred in the uncontrolled asthmatics with forced expiratory vital capacity in the first second between 60 and 80%. In those with forced expiratory vital capacity in the first second of = 60%, this finding was not observed. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the effect of this finding on asthmatic patients. Copyright © 2009 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.852143148Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. Revised 2006, , http://www.ginasthma.com/Guidelineitem.asp??l1=2&l2=1&intId=60, site na internet. Acesso: 29/03/2006Solé, D., Melo, K.C., Camelo-Nunes, I.C., Freitas, L.S., Britto, M., Rosário, N.A., Changes in the prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases among Brazilian schoolchildren (13-14 years old): Comparison between ISAAC Phases One and Three (2007) J Trop Pediatr, 53, pp. 13-21Barnes, P.J., Immunology of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (2008) Nat Rev Immunol, 8, pp. 183-192Speer, C.P., Ambruso, D.R., Grimsley, J., Johnston Jr., R.B., Oxidative metabolism in cord blood monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages (1985) Infect Immun, 50, pp. 919-921Sugiura, H., Ichinose, M., Oxidative and nitrative stress in bronchial asthma (2008) Antioxid Redox Signal, 10, pp. 785-797Chanez, J.P., Dent, G., Yukawa, T., Barnes, P.J., Chung, K.F., Generation of oxygen free radicals from blood eosinophils from asthma patients after stimulation with PAF or phorbol ester (1990) Eur Resp J, 3, pp. 1002-1007Kanazawa, H., Kurihara, N., Hirata, K., Takeda, T., The role of free radicals in airway obstruction in asthmatic patients (1991) Chest, 100, pp. 1319-1322Vachier, I., Damon, M., Le Doucen, C., De Paulet, A.C., Chanez, P., Michel, F.B., Increased oxygen species generation in blood monocytes of asthmatic patients (1992) Am Rev Respir Dis, 146, pp. 1161-1166Jarjour, N.N., Busse, W.W., Calhoun, W.J., Enhanced production of oxygen radicals in nocturnal asthma (1992) Am Rev Respir Dis, 146, pp. 905-911Yawn, B.P., Brenneman, S.K., Allen-Ramey, F.C., Cabana, M.D., Markson, L.E., Assessment of asthma severity and asthma control in children (2006) Pediatrics, 118, pp. 322-329Fonseca, A.C., Fonseca, M.T., Rodrigues, M.E., Lasmar, L.M., Camargos, P.A., Peak expiratory flow monitoring in asthmatic children (2006) J Pediatr, 82, pp. 465-469. , Rio JJames, A.L., Wenzel, S., Clinical relevance of airway remodelling in airway diseases (2007) Eur Respir J, 30, pp. 134-155Romagnoli, M., Vachier, I., Tarodo De La Fuente, P., Meziane, H., Chavis, C., Bousquet, J., Godard, P., Chanez, P., Eosinophilic inflammation in sputum of poorly controlled asthmatics (2002) European Respiratory Journal, 20 (6), pp. 1370-1377. , DOI 10.1183/09031936.02.00029202Nadeem, A., Raj, H.G., Chabra, S.K., Increased oxidative stress in acute exacerbations of asthma (2005) J Asthma, 42, pp. 45-50Gogate, S., Katial, R., Pediatric biomarkers in asthma: Exhaled nitric oxide, sputum eosinophils and leukotriene E4 (2008) Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol, 8, pp. 154-157Boyum, A., Isolation of mononuclear cells and granulocytes from human blood. Isolation of monuclear cells by one centrifugation, and of granulocytes by combining centrifugation and sedimentation at 1 g (1968) Scand J Clin Lab Invest Suppl, 97, pp. 77-89McCord, J.M., Fridovich, I., Superoxide dismutase. An enzymatic function for erythrocuprein (hemocuprein) (1969) J Biol Chem, 244, pp. 6044-6055Condino-Neto, A., Newburger, P.E., NADPH oxidase activity and cytochrome b558 content of human Epstein-Barr-virus-transformed B lymphocytes correlate with expression of genes encoding components of the oxidase system (1998) Arch Biochem Biophys, 360, pp. 158-164Montgomery, D.C., (2004) Design and Analysis of Experiments. 6th Ed., , New York, NY: John Wiley & SonsMarçal, L.E., Rehder, J., Newburger, P.E., Condino-Neto, A., Superoxide release and cellular glutathione peroxidase activity in leukocytes from children with persistent asthma (2004) Braz J Med Biol Res, 37, pp. 1607-1613Majori, M., Vachier, I., Godard, P., Farce, M., Bousquet, J., Chanez, P., Superoxide anion production by monocytes of corticosteroid-treated asthmatic patients (1998) Eur Resp J, 11, pp. 133-138Stirling, R.G., Kharitonov, S.A., Campbell, D., Robinson, D.S., Durham, S.R., Chung, K.F., Increase in exhaled nitric oxide levels in patients with difficult asthma and correlation with symptoms and disease severity despite treatment with oral and inhaled corticosteroids (1998) Thorax, 53, pp. 1030-1034. , Asthma and Allergy GroupLa Grutta, S., Gagliardo, R., Mirabella, F., Pajno, G.B., Bonsignore, G., Bousquet, J., Bellia, V., Vignola, A.M., Clinical and Biological Heterogeneity in Children with Moderate Asthma (2003) American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 167 (11), pp. 1490-1495. , DOI 10.1164/rccm.200206-549OCBisgaard, H., Use of inhaled corticosteroids in pediatric asthma (1997) Pediatr Pulmonol Suppl, 15, pp. 27-33Kharitonov, S.A., Barnes, P.J., Effects of corticosteroids on noninvasive biomarkers on inflammation in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (2004) Proc Am Thorac Soc, 1, pp. 191-199Green, R.H., Brightling, C.E., Bradding, P., The reclassification of asthma based on subphenotypes (2007) Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol, 7, pp. 43-50Strunk, R.C., Szefler, S.J., Phillips, B.R., Zeiger, R.S., Chinchilli, V.M., Larsen, G., Hodgdon, K., Lemanske Jr., R.F., Relationship of exhaled nitric oxide to clinical and inflammatory markers of persistent asthma in children (2003) Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 112 (5), pp. 883-892. , DOI 10.1016/j.jaci.2003.08.014Pontin, J., Blaylock, M.G., Walsh, G.M., Turner, S.W., Sputum eosinophil apoptotic rate is positively correlated to exhaled nitric oxide in children (2008) Pediatr Pulmonol, 43, pp. 1130-1134Baraldi, E., De Jongste, J.C., Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide in children, 2001 (2002) Eur Respir J, 20, pp. 223-237. , European Respiratory SocietyAmerican Thoracic SocietySadowska, A.M., Klebe, B., Germonpré, P., De Backer, W.A., Glucocorticosteroids as antioxidants in treatment of asthma and COPD. New application for and old medication? (2007) Steroids, 72, pp. 1-

INFESTAÇÃO NATURAL DE Varroa jacobsoni EM Apis mellifera scutellata (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE)

Varroa jacobsoni foi descrita em 1904 por Oldenans em Java em cria de Apis cerana. O nível de infestação com V. jacobsoni mede indiretamente o grau de tolerância da A. mellifera à V. jacobsoni. O estudo foi conduzido no Município de Mandirituba-PR. Os enxames foram capturados com caixa iscas. A percentagem de infestação V. jacobsoni foi resistrada mensalmente. Aplicando-se o teste de Friedman e usando-se o rank de cada colônia, separou-se os grupos de colônias homogêneas. A tendência sazonal foi demostrada com representação gráfica. O experimento foi delineado segundo blocos inteiramente casualizados. Em todas as amostras foi encontrado o ácaro V. jacobsoni. Diferenças significativas entre as colônias foram observadas. Na população de Apis mellifera scutellata existem três grupos homogêneos de colônias quanto ao nível de infestação com esse ácaro. O inverno é a época onde o grau de infestação com V. jacobsoni é mais elevado. Natural infestation of Apis mellifera scutellata (Hymenoptera; Apidae) by Varroa jacobsoni (Mesostigmata; Varroidae) Abstract Infestation by Varroa jacobsoni in an offspring of Apis cerana was first described as early as 1904 in Java. Since the level of infestation by V. jacobsoni may be an indirect procedure to measure the Apis mellifera scutellata tolerance degree towards it, the present research was carried out in order to evaluate such biological relationship between host and parasite and its implication in the Apis mellifera scutellata productivity. This study was carried out at Mandirituba, Paraná, Brazil. The swarms were captured with bait boxes. The percentage of V. jacobsoni infestation was established monthly. According to the Friedman test ant through the rank, homogeneous colonies were single out. The experiment has been delineated as entirely randomized blocks

Time series forecasting with the WARIMAX-GARCH method

It is well-known that causal forecasting methods that include appropriately chosen Exogenous Variables (EVs) very often present improved forecasting performances over univariate methods. However, in practice, EVs are usually difficult to obtain and in many cases are not available at all. In this paper, a new causal forecasting approach, called Wavelet Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous variables and Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (WARIMAX-GARCH) method, is proposed to improve predictive performance and accuracy but also to address, at least in part, the problem of unavailable EVs. Basically, the WARIMAX-GARCH method obtains Wavelet “EVs” (WEVs) from Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous variables and Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARIMAX-GARCH) models applied to Wavelet Components (WCs) that are initially determined from the underlying time series. The WEVs are, in fact, treated by the WARIMAX-GARCH method as if they were conventional EVs. Similarly to GARCH and ARIMA-GARCH models, the WARIMAX-GARCH method is suitable for time series exhibiting non-linear characteristics such as conditional variance that depends on past values of observed data. However, unlike those, it can explicitly model frequency domain patterns in the series to help improve predictive performance. An application to a daily time series of dam displacement in Brazil shows the WARIMAX-GARCH method to remarkably outperform the ARIMA-GARCH method, as well as the (multi-layer perceptron) Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and its wavelet version referred to as Wavelet Artificial Neural Network (WANN) as in [1], on statistical measures for both in-sample and out-of-sample forecasting