Development stages of the reproductive tract of male of Panulirus echinatus Smith (Decapoda : Palinuridae)

This paper characterizes the developmental stages of the testes and vasa deferentia of the Panulirus echinatus Smith, 1869 through comparisons between microscopic findings, macroscopic aspects, and gonadosomatic index (GSR). The lobsters were sampled monthly (November 1999 to October 2000) using seine nets and a total of 1716 males were obtained at Tamandare Bay. Each carapace was cut to allow evaluation of the reproductive organs; the testes and vasa deferentia were dissected, weighed, fixed in Bouin`s solution up to 12 hours and submitted for histological analysis to determine the presence and/or absence of spermatozoa. These measures, along with change in color, size, diameter, development of the spermatophores and the GSR allowed the caracterization of three development stages: immature, intermediate and ripe. In conclusion, the maturity of the testes precedes the maturity of the vasa deferentia. To evaluate if gonadosomatic relation was a good quantitative indicator of the maturity stage, t tests (alpha = 0,05) were used and verified significant difference in the averages of GSR. The statistics corroborated that GSR can be used as indicative of the developmental stages for P. echinatus.

Segmantação e consumo: a produção fonográfica brasileira - 1965-1999

Este texto busca oferecer uma visão geral da produção fonográfica brasileira entre 1965 e 1999. A partir de levantamentos estatísticos produzidos pelo Nopem (Nelson Oliveira Pesquisas de Mercado), é apresentada aqui uma classificação dessa produção em diferentes segmentos e uma breve descrição do surgimento e da dinâmica de cada um deles, bem como, em alguns casos, uma análise mais detalhada de suas características e de seu desenvolvimento. Com vistas a uma melhor contextualização, a exposição dos dados é acompanhada por uma ligeira discussão acerca do cenário geral da indústria

PHENOLOGY AND FRUIT TRAITS OF ARCHONTOPHOENIX CUNNINGHAMIANA, AN INVASIVE PALM TREE IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST OF BRAZIL

The Australian palm Archontophoenix cunninghamiana was introduced into Brazil as an ornamental species, and became a dangerous invader of remnant Atlantic forest patches, demanding urgent management actions that require careful planning. Its fruits are greatly appreciated by generalist birds and its sudden eradication could be as harmful as its permanence in the native community. Our hypothesis was that A. cunninghamiana phenology and fruit traits would have facilitated the invasion process. Hence the aim of the study was to characterize the reproductive phenology of the palm by registering flowering and fruiting events, estimating fruit production, and evaluating fruit nutritional levels. Phenological observations were carried out over 12 months and analyzed statistically. Fruit traits and production were estimated. Pulp nutritional levels were determined by analyzing proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Results showed constant flowering and fruiting throughout the year with a weak reproductive seasonality. On average, 3651 fruits were produced per bunch mainly in the summer. Fruit analysis revealed low nutrient contents, especially of proteins and lipids compared with other Brazilian native palm species. We concluded that the abundant fruit production all year round, and fruit attractivity mainly due to size and color, :may act positively on the reproductive performance and effective dispersion of A. cunninghamiana. As a management procedure which would add quality to frugivore food resources we suggest the replacement of A. cunninghamiana by the native palm Euterpe edulis, especially in gardens and parks near to Atlantic forest fragments.

Evaluation of apically extruded debris during endodontic retreatment

Introduction: A growing interest to preserve teeth into the mouth by patients resulted in the increasing number of endodontic retreatments, and when these happen, many different types of irritants are extruded through the foramen. Objective: This study analyzed in vitro the amount of debris extruded through the foramen using four instrumentation techniques during endodontic retreatment. Material and methods: Forty mesial-buccal roots of first molars were selected, instrumented with anatomical diameter up to size #30 ISO file and then obturated with gutta-percha and grossman sealer by lateral condensation. After, they were separated and randomly allocated into four groups with 10 teeth each for the endodontic retreatment procedure: G1 – conventional technique + solvent, G2 – conventional technique without solvent, G3 – ProTaper retreatment + solvent, G4 – ProTaper retreatment without solvent. In all groups, gutta-percha in the coronal portion was removed by using size 1-3 Gates Glidden drills. All teeth were irrigated with distilled water. The debris extruded through the foramen were collected and weighed by an analytical balance. Results: Group 4 had the lowest average for material extrusion through the foramen followed by groups 2, 3 and 1. When Tukey test for statistical analysis was applied, no significant difference among groups were found (p = 0.5664). Conclusion: We conclude that all instrumentation techniques used in this study produced debris which goes beyond the foramen.

Mid- to late-Holocene paleoceanographic changes on the southeastern Brazilian shelf based on grain size records

; High-resolution grain size analyses of three AMS (14)C-dated cores from the Southeastern Brazilian shelf provide a detailed record of mid- to late-Holocene environmental changes in the Southwestern Atlantic Margin. The cores exhibit millennial variability that we associate with the previously described southward shift of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) average latitudinal position over the South American continent during the Holocene climatic maximum. This generated changes in the wind-driven current system of the SW Atlantic margin and modified the grain size characteristics of the sediments deposited there. Centennial variations in the grain size are associated with a previously described late-Holocene enhancement of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplitude, which led to stronger NNE trade winds off eastern Brazil, favouring SW transport of sediments from the Paraiba do Sul River. This is recorded in a core from off Cabo Frio as a coarsening trend from 3000 cal. BP onwards. The ENSO enhancement also caused changes in precipitation and wind pattern in southern Brazil, allowing high discharge events and northward extensions of the low-saline water plume from Rio de la Plata. We propose that this resulted in a net increase in northward alongshore transport of fine sediments, seen as a prominent fine-shift at 2000 cal. BP in a core from similar to 24 degrees S on the Brazilian shelf. Wavelet-and spectral analysis of the sortable silt records show a significant similar to 1000-yr periodicity, which we attribute to solar forcing. If correct, this is one of the first indications of solar forcing of this timescale on the Southwestern Atlantic margin.

Potential of Bioactive Glass Particles of Different Size Ranges to Affect Bone Formation in Interproximal Periodontal Defects in Dogs

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the potential of bioactive glass particles of different size ranges to affect bone formation in periodontal defects, using the guided tissue regeneration model in dogs. Methods: In six dogs, 2-wall intrabony periodontal defects were surgically created and chronified on the mesial surfaces of mandibular third premolars and first molars bilaterally. After 1 month, each defect was randomly assigned to treatment with bioabsorbable membrane in association with bioactive glass with particle sizes between 300 and 355 mu m (group 1) or between 90 and 710 mu m (group 2), membrane alone (group 3), or negative control (group 4). The dogs were sacrificed 12 weeks after surgeries, and histomorphometric measurements were made of the areas of newly formed bone, new mineralized bone, and bioactive glass particle remnants. Results: With regard to the area of bioactive glass particle remnants, there was a statistically significant difference between groups 1 and 2, favoring group 1. There were greater areas of mineralized bone in groups 1 and 2 compared to groups 3 and 4 (P<0.05). Conclusion: The bioactive glass particles of small size range underwent faster resorption and substitution by new bone than the larger particles, and the use of bioactive glass particles favored the formation of mineralized bone. J Periodontol 2009;80:808-815.

The Endothelial Sample Size Analysis in Corneal Specular Microscopy Clinical Examinations

Purpose: To evaluate endothelial cell sample size and statistical error in corneal specular microscopy (CSM) examinations. Methods: One hundred twenty examinations were conducted with 4 types of corneal specular microscopes: 30 with each BioOptics, CSO, Konan, and Topcon corneal specular microscopes. All endothelial image data were analyzed by respective instrument software and also by the Cells Analyzer software with a method developed in our lab(US Patent). A reliability degree (RD) of 95% and a relative error (RE) of 0.05 were used as cut-off values to analyze images of the counted endothelial cells called samples. The sample size mean was the number of cells evaluated on the images obtained with each device. Only examinations with RE<0.05 were considered statistically correct and suitable for comparisons with future examinations. The Cells Analyzer software was used to calculate the RE and customized sample size for all examinations. Results: Bio-Optics: sample size, 97 +/- 22 cells; RE, 6.52 +/- 0.86; only 10% of the examinations had sufficient endothelial cell quantity (RE<0.05); customized sample size, 162 +/- 34 cells. CSO: sample size, 110 +/- 20 cells; RE, 5.98 +/- 0.98; only 16.6% of the examinations had sufficient endothelial cell quantity (RE<0.05); customized sample size, 157 +/- 45 cells. Konan: sample size, 80 +/- 27 cells; RE, 10.6 +/- 3.67; none of the examinations had sufficient endothelial cell quantity (RE>0.05); customized sample size, 336 +/- 131 cells. Topcon: sample size, 87 +/- 17 cells; RE, 10.1 +/- 2.52; none of the examinations had sufficient endothelial cell quantity (RE>0.05); customized sample size, 382 +/- 159 cells. Conclusions: A very high number of CSM examinations had sample errors based on Cells Analyzer software. The endothelial sample size (examinations) needs to include more cells to be reliable and reproducible. The Cells Analyzer tutorial routine will be useful for CSM examination reliability and reproducibility.

Fuzzy Connectedness Image Segmentation in Graph Cut Formulation: A Linear-Time Algorithm and a Comparative Analysis

A deep theoretical analysis of the graph cut image segmentation framework presented in this paper simultaneously translates into important contributions in several directions. The most important practical contribution of this work is a full theoretical description, and implementation, of a novel powerful segmentation algorithm, GC(max). The output of GC(max) coincides with a version of a segmentation algorithm known as Iterative Relative Fuzzy Connectedness, IRFC. However, GC(max) is considerably faster than the classic IRFC algorithm, which we prove theoretically and show experimentally. Specifically, we prove that, in the worst case scenario, the GC(max) algorithm runs in linear time with respect to the variable M=|C|+|Z|, where |C| is the image scene size and |Z| is the size of the allowable range, Z, of the associated weight/affinity function. For most implementations, Z is identical to the set of allowable image intensity values, and its size can be treated as small with respect to |C|, meaning that O(M)=O(|C|). In such a situation, GC(max) runs in linear time with respect to the image size |C|. We show that the output of GC(max) constitutes a solution of a graph cut energy minimization problem, in which the energy is defined as the a"" (a) norm ayenF (P) ayen(a) of the map F (P) that associates, with every element e from the boundary of an object P, its weight w(e). This formulation brings IRFC algorithms to the realm of the graph cut energy minimizers, with energy functions ayenF (P) ayen (q) for qa[1,a]. Of these, the best known minimization problem is for the energy ayenF (P) ayen(1), which is solved by the classic min-cut/max-flow algorithm, referred to often as the Graph Cut algorithm. We notice that a minimization problem for ayenF (P) ayen (q) , qa[1,a), is identical to that for ayenF (P) ayen(1), when the original weight function w is replaced by w (q) . Thus, any algorithm GC(sum) solving the ayenF (P) ayen(1) minimization problem, solves also one for ayenF (P) ayen (q) with qa[1,a), so just two algorithms, GC(sum) and GC(max), are enough to solve all ayenF (P) ayen (q) -minimization problems. We also show that, for any fixed weight assignment, the solutions of the ayenF (P) ayen (q) -minimization problems converge to a solution of the ayenF (P) ayen(a)-minimization problem (ayenF (P) ayen(a)=lim (q -> a)ayenF (P) ayen (q) is not enough to deduce that). An experimental comparison of the performance of GC(max) and GC(sum) algorithms is included. This concentrates on comparing the actual (as opposed to provable worst scenario) algorithms' running time, as well as the influence of the choice of the seeds on the output.

Desenvolvimento Sustentável: análise das relações interorganizacionais na indústria de celulose e papel

O trabalho apresenta os resultados da aplicação do modelo de sistematização do processo de análise das relações de influências entre os agentes públicos e privados na busca do desenvolvimento sustentável da Região do Alto Tietê, em particular, na indústria de celulose e papel da região. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se um referencial teórico ajustado com a dinâmica conflituosa entre os interesses econômicos, sociais e ambientais. A sustentação teórica foi alcançada com a composição das seguintes abordagens conceituais: Teoria dos Sistemas Abertos, Nova Economia Institucional e Organizações em Rede. A pesquisa-ação foi o método adotado para aprofundar o estudo das relações dos agentes envolvidos na indústria de celulose e papel do município de Suzano. A ilustração da aplicação do modelo, com os dados obtidos, serve para mostrar uma perspectiva mais analítica para o estudo das relações entre os agentes envolvidos em atividades econômicas, respeitando os preceitos do desenvolvimento sustentável.