Estrutura genética e demográfica do caranguejo-uçá (Ucides cordatus) na costa do Brasil

O caranguejo Ucides cordatus, popularmente conhecido no Brasil como caranguejo-uçá, é encontrado em manguezais desde o estado de Santa Catarina até a Flórida, nos Estados Unidos. No Brasil, a grande demanda por esta espécie na indústria alimentícia é a causa da cata de várias toneladas de indivíduos todos os anos. Somados a este fator, a destruição dos manguezais e o surgimento de uma doença letal vêm sendo apontados como agentes causadores de severas reduções nos estoques naturais de U. cordatus. Uma vez que reduções populacionais severas tendem a provocar eventos de efeito gargalo e, consequentemente, redução da aptidão dos indivíduos ao longo do tempo, estudos de genética de populações que se dediquem a entender o padrão da distribuição genética, quantificar o fluxo gênico e avaliar as tendências demográficas das populações, são essenciais na elaboração de estratégias de manejo e de conservação. Portanto, neste trabalho, utilizamos sequências de 568 pb da subunidade 1 do gene mitocondrial citocromo c oxidase de 181 espécimes de U. cordatus coletados em 15 localidades ao longo da costa brasileira, entre os estados de Santa Catarina e Maranhão, que compreendem praticamente toda a região de ocorrência da espécie no Brasil. Do total de sequências, 80 haplótipos foram revelados, caracterizando uma elevada diversidade haplotípica (h=0,925). Por outro lado, a diversidade nucleotídica foi baixa (π =0,00462), dada a diferença de poucos pares de bases entre os haplótipos. A relação hierárquica entre os haplótipos não demonstrou nenhuma estruturação geográfica da diversidade genética. Além disso, a análise de variância molecular e os valores da estatística-Φ (Φst=0,00231) revelaram que a maior parte da variação genética em U. cordatus está contida no nível intrapopulacional (98,8%), e apenas uma fração sutil entre os grupos de populações (2,5%). Os valores de Fs de Fu e D de Tajima revelaram-se negativos, indicando que as populações de U. cordatus sofreram eventos de expansão populacional recente. Este cenário também foi confirmado através da análise de mismatch distribution, na qual distribuições unimodais foram encontradas para todas as populações. Nossos dados são concordantes com trabalhos prévios que indicam que o fluxo gênico em U. cordatus é suficientemente amplo a fim de produzir homogeneidade genética entre as populações. Este perfil é condizente com a estratégia de exportação das larvas desta espécie para alto mar, no qual fatores oceanográficos, como correntes marinhas, podem agir de forma a ampliar a dispersão destas formas imaturas

Quantum Correlations and Coherence in Spin-1 Heisenberg Chains

We explore quantum and classical correlations along with coherence in the ground states of spin-1 Heisenberg chains, namely the one-dimensional XXZ model and the one-dimensional bilinear biquadratic model, with the techniques of density matrix renormalization group theory. Exploiting the tools of quantum information theory, that is, by studying quantum discord, quantum mutual information and three recently introduced coherence measures in the reduced density matrix of two nearest neighbor spins in the bulk, we investigate the quantum phase transitions and special symmetry points in these models. We point out the relative strengths and weaknesses of correlation and coherence measures as figures of merit to witness the quantum phase transitions and symmetry points in the considered spin-1 Heisenberg chains. In particular, we demonstrate that as none of the studied measures can detect the infinite order Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the XXZ model, they appear to be able to signal the existence of the same type of transition in the biliear biquadratic model. However, we argue that what is actually detected by the measures here is the SU(3) symmetry point of the model rather than the infinite order quantum phase transition. Moreover, we show in the XXZ model that examining even single site coherence can be sufficient to spotlight the second-order phase transition and the SU(2) symmetry point.Comment: 8 pages. 5 figure

Separable Multipartite Mixed States - Operational Asymptotically Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

We introduce an operational procedure to determine, with arbitrary probability and accuracy, optimal entanglement witness for every multipartite entangled state. This method provides an operational criterion for separability which is asymptotically necessary and sufficient. Our results are also generalized to detect all different types of multipartite entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters. Revised version with new calculation

A Robust Semidefinite Programming Approach to the Separability Problem

We express the optimization of entanglement witnesses for arbitrary bipartite states in terms of a class of convex optimization problems known as Robust Semidefinite Programs (RSDP). We propose, using well known properties of RSDP, several new sufficient tests for the separability of mixed states. Our results are then generalized to multipartite density operators.Comment: Revised version (minor spell corrections) . 6 pages; submitted to Physical Review

Effects of Isometric Handgrip Training in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundMeta‐analyses have shown that isometric handgrip training (IHT) can reduce brachial systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) by >6/4 mm Hg, respectively. However, whether IHT promotes these effects among patients with peripheral artery disease, who exhibit severe impairment in cardiovascular function, is currently unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of IHT on the cardiovascular function of patients with peripheral artery disease. Methods and ResultsA randomized controlled trial with peripheral artery disease patients assigned to either the IHT or control group was conducted. The IHT group performed 3 sessions per week, for 8 weeks, of unilateral handgrip exercises, consisting of 4 sets of isometric contractions for 2 minutes at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction and a 4‐minute interval between sets. The control group received a compression ball in order to minimize the placebo effects, representing sham training. The primary outcome was brachial BP. The secondary outcomes were central BP, arterial stiffness parameters, cardiac autonomic modulation, and vascular function. The IHT program reduced diastolic BP (75 [10] mm Hg preintervention versus 72 [11] mm Hg postintervention), with no change in the control group (74 [11] mm Hg preintervention versus 74 [11] mm Hg postintervention), with this between‐group difference being significant (P=0.04). Flow‐mediated dilation improved in the IHT group (6.0% [5.7] preintervention versus 9.7% [5.5] postintervention), with no change in the control group (7.6% [5.5] preintervention versus 7.4% [5.1] postintervention), with this between‐group difference being significant (P=0.04). There was no change in other measured variables over the intervention period. ConclusionsIHT reduced brachial diastolic BP and improved local vascular function in patients with peripheral artery disease

Spatial distribution of two symmetric four-wave mixing signals induced by Gaussian beams

We present a theoretical analysis of the spatial shape of two symmetric signals of degenerate four-wave mixing induced by Gaussian beams in a thin sample of two-level atoms. Our calculations take into account the full spatial and spectral dependencies of the relevant nonlinear susceptibilities that govern the two processes. This reveals two interesting effects. The first one is that the total power of incident beams affects the transverse profile of the four-wave mixing signals at the medium exit and their free propagation. The second one is the influence of the spectral characteristics of the medium on the longitudinal profile of both generated signals upon free propagation. We argue that the first effect can be seen as the saturation of the medium in regions of higher intensity, while the second can be understood as the result of a nonlinear contribution to the refractive index inside the atomic medium. These effects can be symmetric between the two signals, with asymmetries induced by different detunings from resonance of the incident fields

Recombinant biosynthesis of functional human growth hormone and coagulation factor IX in transgenic soybean seeds.

Edição do Congress of the Brazilian Biotechnology Society, Florianópolis, 2013

Efeito da reutilização de implantes de progesterona sobre o momento e número de ovulações em ovelhas.

Resumo: Em um programa de manejo reprodutivo ovino, as vantagens do uso da inseminação artificial dependem do controle do estro e da ovulação. Os métodos mais utilizados para a indução e sincronização de estro e estimulação do crescimento folicular em ovelhas envolvem progesterona e a administração de gonadotrofina sérica da égua gestante (Menchaca & Rubianes, 2004). O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da reutilização de implantes de progesterona sobre o momento e número de ovulações de ovelhas. [Effect of reuse the implants of progesterone on the moment and number of ovulations in sheep]

Schmidt balls around the identity

Robustness measures as introduced by Vidal and Tarrach [PRA, 59, 141-155] quantify the extent to which entangled states remain entangled under mixing. Analogously, we introduce here the Schmidt robustness and the random Schmidt robustness. The latter notion is closely related to the construction of Schmidt balls around the identity. We analyse the situation for pure states and provide non-trivial upper and lower bounds. Upper bounds to the random Schmidt-2 robustness allow us to construct a particularly simple distillability criterion. We present two conjectures, the first one is related to the radius of inner balls around the identity in the convex set of Schmidt number n-states. We also conjecture a class of optimal Schmidt witnesses for pure states.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur