A new species of Cycloramphus Tschudi (Anura: Cycloramphidae) from the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Orgaos, Southeastern Brazil

We report here the discovery of a new species of frog associated to the open areas of the highlands of the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Orgaos. The new species, Cycloramphus organensis is characterized by a unique skin texture, medium size ( maximum male and female SVL 26.4 mm and 33.3 mm respectively), dorsal surfaces uniformly brick red colored, uniformly areolate skin on dorsum, pupil horizontal, iris with a menisc on upper margin; no fleshy tubercles on eyelid, tympanic annulus concealed beneath skin, macroglands not visible externally, fingers and toes without fringes and webs; supernumerary palmar and plantar tubercles absent, nuptial spines absent. Despite the presence of an iris menisc, a character shared by frogs of both genera Cycloramphus and Zachaenus Cope, the combination of morphological characters is so unique that the allocation of the species to any of these genera remains ambiguous. Consequently, we used additional molecular-based phylogenetic analyses to ascertain the position of the new taxon. The new species proved to be embedded within the genus Cycloramphus.

A new species of Dendrophryniscus (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) from the Atlantic Rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil

A new species of the tree toad genus Dendrophryniscus is described from a rainforest habitat at Parque Nacional de Serra das Lontras, municipality of Arataca, southern Bahia, Brazil. Dendrophryniscus oreites sp. nov. is related to the Atlantic forest brevipollicatus group by hand morphology, skin texture, ventral coloration and bromelicolous habits. The new species differs from related species by having a larger size, warty skin, inner finger reduced with presence of a dark nuptial pad in males, and a yellowish coloration with discrete dorsal pattern. This discovery highlights the importance of southern Bahia in terms of conservation, and for our understanding of the evolution of the frog diversity within the Atlantic Rainforest.

A new species of Lauromacromia (Odonata: Corduliidae) from Southeastern Brazil, with a cladistic analysis of the genus and comments on Neotropical dragonfly biogeography

Lauromacromia melanica sp. nov. from Conceicao da Barra municipality, Espirito Santo State, Brazil, is described and illustrated based on two males (both in MNRJ n degrees 135). The new species is similar to L. picinguaba differing from it mainly by the absence of pale spots on S3-6 and by the ellipsoid shape of metepisternal pale stripe. A key for males of all species of the genus is provided. A cladistic analysis encompassing 43 external morphological male characters carried out in two distinct procedures, the first with all characters unordered and the second with two or three state characters ordered. The unordered analysis generated only one most-parsimonious tree (66 steps of length, CI = 0.69, RI = 0.62). The hypothesis of monophyly of Lauromacromia is supported and includes three groups, one formed by the Atlantic Forest species (L. melanica sp. nov. + L. picinguaba), and another by the Cerrado species (L. flaviae + (L. bedei + L. luismoojeni)), and L. dubitalis, positioned in polytomy with these two groups. The ordered analysis also generated only one most-parsimonious tree (68 steps of length, CI = 0.70, RI = 0.67), which maintained the monophyly of Lauromacromia but L. dubitalis positioned basally as sister-group to the Atlantic Forest + Cerrado species groups. The geographic distribution of Lauromacromia is updated with a new record of L. luismoojeni based on one adult male (Brazil: Mato Grosso do Sul State) and probable first Brazilian records for L. dubitalis (Amazonas and Para States) based on two larvae. A vicariance hypothesis is proposed to explain spatial evolution of Lauromacromia, and based on current biogeographical classifications we consider Gomphomacromia and Rialla apart from Neotropical biota. Some aspects of biology and ecology of Lauromacromia are also discussed.

Loxosceles chapadensis (Araneae: Sicariidae): a new recluse spider species of the gaucho group from Brazil

A new species of the medically important recluse spider genus Loxosceles Heinecken & Lowe 1832 is described from the State of Bahia, Brazil. The species occurs between rocks and crevices, as well as in and around man-made structures. The new species belongs to the gaucho group, as evidenced by the spermathecal shape and color pattern. The presence of a long male palpal tibia is unusual in the gaucho group; thus, the inclusion of the new species in this group is discussed.

Topological multi-contour decomposition for image analysis and image retrieval

Successful classification, information retrieval and image analysis tools are intimately related with the quality of the features employed in the process. Pixel intensities, color, texture and shape are, generally, the basis from which most of the features are Computed and used in such fields. This papers presents a novel shape-based feature extraction approach where an image is decomposed into multiple contours, and further characterized by Fourier descriptors. Unlike traditional approaches we make use of topological knowledge to generate well-defined closed contours, which are efficient signatures for image retrieval. The method has been evaluated in the CBIR context and image analysis. The results have shown that the multi-contour decomposition, as opposed to a single shape information, introduced a significant improvement in the discrimination power. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved,

Medical image retrieval based on complexity analysis

Texture is one of the most important visual attributes used in image analysis. It is used in many content-based image retrieval systems, where it allows the identification of a larger number of images from distinct origins. This paper presents a novel approach for image analysis and retrieval based on complexity analysis. The approach consists of a texture segmentation step, performed by complexity analysis through BoxCounting fractal dimension, followed by the estimation of complexity of each computed region by multiscale fractal dimension. Experiments have been performed with MRI database in both pattern recognition and image retrieval contexts. Results show the accuracy of the method and also indicate how the performance changes as the texture segmentation process is altered.

Texture analysis and classification using deterministic tourist walk

In this paper, we present a study on a deterministic partially self-avoiding walk (tourist walk), which provides a novel method for texture feature extraction. The method is able to explore an image on all scales simultaneously. Experiments were conducted using different dynamics concerning the tourist walk. A new strategy, based on histograms. to extract information from its joint probability distribution is presented. The promising results are discussed and compared to the best-known methods for texture description reported in the literature. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Texture analysis using graphs generated by deterministic partially self-avoiding walks

Texture is one of the most important visual attributes for image analysis. It has been widely used in image analysis and pattern recognition. A partially self-avoiding deterministic walk has recently been proposed as an approach for texture analysis with promising results. This approach uses walkers (called tourists) to exploit the gray scale image contexts in several levels. Here, we present an approach to generate graphs out of the trajectories produced by the tourist walks. The generated graphs embody important characteristics related to tourist transitivity in the image. Computed from these graphs, the statistical position (degree mean) and dispersion (entropy of two vertices with the same degree) measures are used as texture descriptors. A comparison with traditional texture analysis methods is performed to illustrate the high performance of this novel approach. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shape classification using complex network and Multi-scale Fractal Dimension

Shape provides one of the most relevant information about an object. This makes shape one of the most important visual attributes used to characterize objects. This paper introduces a novel approach for shape characterization, which combines modeling shape into a complex network and the analysis of its complexity in a dynamic evolution context. Descriptors computed through this approach show to be efficient in shape characterization, incorporating many characteristics, such as scale and rotation invariant. Experiments using two different shape databases (an artificial shapes database and a leaf shape database) are presented in order to evaluate the method. and its results are compared to traditional shape analysis methods found in literature. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Plant Leaf Identification Using Gabor Wavelets

This article presents a novel method of plant classification using Gabor wavelet filters to extract texture filters in a foliar surface. The aim of this promising method is to add to the results obtained by other leaf attributes (such as shape, contour, color, among others), increasing, therefore, the percentage of classification of plant species. To corroborate the efficiency of the technique, an experiment using 20 species from Brazilian flora was done and discussed. The results are also compared with texture Fourier descriptors and cooccurrence matrices. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 19, 236-243, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.20201

Fractal dimension applied to plant identification

This article discusses methods to identify plants by analysing leaf complexity based on estimating their fractal dimension. Leaves were analyzed according to the complexity of their internal and external shapes. A computational program was developed to process, analyze and extract the features of leaf images, thereby allowing for automatic plant identification. Results are presented from two experiments, the first to identify plant species from the Brazilian Atlantic forest and Brazilian Cerrado scrublands, using fifty leaf samples from ten different species, and the second to identify four different species from genus Passiflora, using twenty leaf samples for each class. A comparison is made of two methods to estimate fractal dimension (box-counting and multiscale Minkowski). The results are discussed to determine the best approach to analyze shape complexity based on the performance of the technique, when estimating fractal dimension and identifying plants. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Texture analysis based on maximum contrast walker

Recently, the deterministic tourist walk has emerged as a novel approach for texture analysis. This method employs a traveler visiting image pixels using a deterministic walk rule. Resulting trajectories provide clues about pixel interaction in the image that can be used for image classification and identification tasks. This paper proposes a new walk rule for the tourist which is based on contrast direction of a neighborhood. The yielded results using this approach are comparable with those from traditional texture analysis methods in the classification of a set of Brodatz textures and their rotated versions, thus confirming the potential of the method as a feasible texture analysis methodology. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mode of operation and low-resolution structure of a multi-domain and hyperthermophilic endo-beta-1,3-glucanase from Thermotoga petrophila

1,3-beta-Glucan depolymerizing enzymes have considerable biotechnological applications including biofuel production, feedstock-chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Here we describe a comprehensive functional characterization and low-resolution structure of a hyperthermophilic laminarinase from Thermotoga petrophila (TpLam). We determine TpLam enzymatic mode of operation, which specifically cleaves internal beta-1,3-glucosidic bonds. The enzyme most frequently attacks the bond between the 3rd and 4th residue from the non-reducing end, producing glucose, laminaribiose and laminaritriose as major products. Far-UV circular dichroism demonstrates that TpLam is formed mainly by beta structural elements, and the secondary structure is maintained after incubation at 90 degrees C. The structure resolved by small angle X-ray scattering, reveals a multi-domain structural architecture of a V-shape envelope with a catalytic domain flanked by two carbohydrate-binding modules. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Sphene-Centered Ocellar Texture: An Effect of Grain-Supported Flow and Melt Migration in a Hyperdense Magma Mush

The sphene-centered ocellar texture consists of leucocratic ocelli with sphene (titanite) crystals at the center, enclosed in a biotite-rich matrix. This texture has been recognized worldwide in hybrid intermediate rocks. On the basis of structural, petrological, and geochronological data from selected outcrops of the Variscan Ribadelago pluton (NW Iberian Massif), we propose that the ocelli were formed by migration and accumulation of a residual melt through a plagioclase- and biotite-dominated crystalline framework. At the late stage of crystallization, the magma acted as a hyperdense suspension and reacted to the pressure gradient caused by the regional stress field, entering the domain of grain-supported flow. Microstructures reveal that aligned crystal domains arose in the crystal framework from the shearing and compaction of the crystal mush and behaved as magmatic microshears. Relative displacement of adjacent crystal clusters along these microshears corresponded to the onset of Reynolds dilatancy that generated an expansion of the crystal mush, involving melt migration and pore aperture. The mineralogy of the ocelli, dominated by andesine and sphene, represents the composition of the migrating melt. The chemistry of this late, Ti-rich melt stems from the incongruent melting of biotite. Magmatic sphene from the ocelli yields a U-Pb age of 317 +/- 1 Ma, which represents the final crystallization of the hybridized magmatic system. Moreover, this texture offers an opportunity to better understand the rheological behavior of highly crystallized magmas.

Quartz recrystallization regimes, c-axis texture transitions and fluid inclusion reequilibration in a prograde greenschist to amphibolite facies mylonite zone (Ribeira Shear Zone, SE Brazil)

The crystal-plastic behavior of quartz mylonites from the Ribeira Shear Zone (SE Brazil), a major strike-slip structure that was active during a prograde metamorphic phase related to the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano-Pan African Orogeny, was investigated using a multi-method approach. Geothermobarometry results indicate deformational conditions ranging from similar to 300 to similar to 630 degrees C and 500-700 MPa. A strong correlation between mapped metamorphic zones and a dominance of different dynamic recrystallization mechanisms of quartz occurs within the mylonite zone. Bulging recrystallization (BLG) dominates within the chlorite zone between 300 and 410 degrees C, subgrain rotation recrystallization (SGR) operates within the biotite zone from 410 to 520 degrees C, and grain boundary migration recrystallization (GBM) dominates in the garnet zone above 520 degrees C. The development of quartz c-axis textures is mainly governed by temperature and dynamic recrystallization mechanisms. Textures from BLG zone mylonites are characterized by maxima around Z; SGR zone mylonites display single girdles or asymmetric type I crossed girdles; and GBM zone mylonites comprise maxima around Y and intermediate between X and Z. The scarcity or absence of water-bearing fluid inclusions in quartz mylonites from the SGR and GBM zones, which are dominated by carbonic inclusions, suggests water-deficient conditions, whereas BLG zone mylonites are dominated by water-bearing inclusions. This evidence indicates that water was available in the protoliths but has been eliminated with increasing deformation and deformation temperature. No effect of the water content variation on the quartz microstructural and recrystallized grain size evolution was detected, and little influence on c-axis texture development was observed. Most of the fluid inclusion densities were reequilibrated during the shear zone exhumation history, recording a decompression in the range of 300-500 MPa, while microstructural reequilibration effects related to the prograde metamorphism are largely preserved. Fluid inclusion microstructures and densities from two SGR zone samples preserved evidence for a near isothermal compression within the interior of the Ribeira Shear Zone during the prograde metamorphism. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.