Oxygen uptake of active and aestivating earthworm Glosso scolex pa ulistus (Oligochaeta, Glossoscolecidae)

1. 1. The onset of or reactivation from aestivation in the earthworm Glossoscolex paulistus were dependent upon soil moisture. No evidence of temperature effect in the process was found either in field or laboratory data. 2. 2. Oxygen uptake measured in active and aestivating groups revealed remarkable reduction for aestivating earthworms at various temperatures studied. 3. 3. No evidences of temperature compensation in oxygen uptake was found in both groups of earthworms, indicating that reduction in oxygen uptake is the only adaptation for the aestivating G. paulistus. © 1985.

The effects of wet suits on physiological and biomechanical indices during swimming

The objectives of this study were to verify the effects of wet suits (WS) on the performance during 1500m swimming (V1500), on the velocity corresponding to the anaerobic threshold (VAT) and on the drag force (AD) as well as its coefficient (Cx). 19 swimmers randomly completed the following protocols on different days (with and without WS): 1) maximal performance of 1500m swimming; 2) VAT in field test, with fixed concentration of blood lactate (4 mM) and 3) determination of hydrodynamic indices (AD and Cx). The results demonstrated significant differences (p < 0.05) in the VAT (1.27±0.09; 1.21±0.06 m.s-1), and in the V1500 (1.21±0.08; 1.17±0.08 m.s-1), with and without WS, respectively. However the AD, and its Cx did not present significant differences (p>0.05) for the respective maximal speeds of swimming. In summary, we can conclude that WS allows swimmers to reach greater speeds in both, long- and short-course swims. This improvement can be related to the decrease of the AD, since with higher speeds (with WS) the subjects presented the same resistance, as they did when compared to speeds without a WS. Moreover, these data suggest that the methodology used in this study to determine the Cx is unable to detect the improvement caused by WS.

Composição fitoquímica dos óleos essenciais de folhas de Lippia alba (Mill.)N.E.Br. em diferentes épocas de colheita e partes do ramo

This work aimed to determine the best harvest time for biomass production, yield and essential oil composition considering the seasonal variation (spring, summer, autumn and winter) on different plant parts (apical, medial and basal). Essential oils were extracted by hydro-distillation with a Clevenger apparatus for both fresh and dry mass obtained in field and lab conditions respectively. The extracted essential oils were analyzed by GS/MS (Shimadzu, QP-5000). The chemical components were identified by comparing their mass spectrum to the patterns filed in the MS computer memory (Wiley,139,Lib.), to the literature references, and by co-injection with authentic standards. Applying phyto-chemical tests on fresh and dry mass, the chemical component percentages of essential oils were calculated and identified as follows: citral (neral and geranial), myrcene, caryophylene and elemene.

Efeitos de sistemas de preparo do solo no potencial matricial de um Latossolo Vermelho (Oxisol)

The present work aimed to investigate which was the soil tillage system that better fits for conditions of intensive agriculture, on the region of Selviria-MS. The main objective of this paper was to study the conservation and availability of water in the soil profile. In order to evaluate the soil matric potential in field conditions, readings were accomplished, using tensiometers with a mercury gauger. Matric potential was measured at 0.10 m depth, during the vegetative period of Triticum aestivum L. and at four depths 0.10; 0.20; 0.30 e 0.40 m during the vegetative period of Phaseolus vulgaris L. The study areas were located in the municipal district of Selviria, MS, Brazil. The used experimental set-up was entirely random designed, with treatments disposed in strips; three treatments and four repetitions were used. In the different treatments, soil matric potential was determined. Result allow to conclude that the water matric potential was highest for no-tillage and minimum tillage; however, it was also shown that these two tillage systems, allowed to conserve more water in the soil, when compared to the conventional tillage. In the last cycle of the Phaseolus vulgaris L. crop, no-tillage presented smaller storage of water in the soil, compared to the minimum tillage.

Tabelas de esperança de vida e fertilidade para Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) em condições de laboratório e campo

In this study, the aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt) was reared at different temperatures, under laboratory and field conditions, aiming to obtain age-specific life tables. In the laboratory, L. erysimi was fed on kale, Brassica oleracea L. var acephala, and kept in incubators adjusted to 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C, 14h photophase and 70±10% RH. The longest mean generation time (T) was observed at 15°C (23.86 days) and the shortest at 30°C (7.18 days), while the smallest net reproductive rate (R0) occurred at 15°C (4.30) and largest one at 25°C (38.29). For the temperatures of 15, 20, 25 and 30°C, the intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm) and the finite rate of increase (λ) were 0.06/1.06, 0.24/1.27, 0.28/1.33 and 0.23/1.25, respectively. The doubling time (DT) at 15, 20, 25 and 30°C were 11.55, 2.80, 2.47, and 3.01 days, respectively. Under field conditions, the net reproductive rate (R0) of L. erysimi was larger in the winter (53.50) than in the summer (40.99), the same being observed for the mean generation time (T), which was 13.85 days in the winter and 7.57 days in the summer. The intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm) and the finite rate of increase (λ) were 0.29/1.34 and 0.40/1.63 for winter and summer, respectively. The doubling time (DT) observed for winter (2.39 days) was larger than the one observed for summer (1.41 days). The temperature affects longevity of L. erysimi and the best parameters of life table of fertility under laboratory conditions are obtained at 25°C. The data obtained in field conditions reinforced this finding. The daily fecundity was higher and longevity was smaller in the summer than in the winter, thus increasing the innate capacity of increasing in number and duplicating the population in a shorter period of time.

The caste system of Coptotermes gestroi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Coptotermes gestroi is an oriental species introduced to Brazil and considered, in the São Paulo State area, one of the most economically important pests. Although there are a few works concerning the basic biology of this species, its post-embryonic development has been poorly studied. The aim of the present research was to study the post-embryonic development of C. gestroi for a better knowledge of the caste system in this termite. The post-embryonic development of C. gestroi starts with two larval instars of whitish appearance and different sizes. A separation of the neutral and imaginal developmental pathways occurs following the second larval instar. The second-instar larva originates alates after six molts. The worker caste presents five instars and also develops from the second larval instar. Soldiers develop from younger workers in laboratory colonies and from older workers in field colonies.

Insulinoterapia, controle glicêmico materno e prognóstico perinatal - Diferença entre o diabetes gestacional e o clínico

PURPOSE: to evaluate the insulin therapy protocol and its maternal and perinatal outcome in patients with clinical or gestational diabetes in a high risk reference service. METHODS: descriptive and prospective study including 103 pregnant women with gestational or clinical diabetes treated with insulin and attended by the reference service from October 2003 to December 2005. Gemellarity, miscarriages, unfinished prenatal care and deliveries not attended by the service were excluded. The gestational age at the beginning of the treatment, dosage, doses/day, increment of insulin (UI/kg), glycemic index (GI) and perinatal outcomes were compared. ANOVA, Fisher's exact test and Goodman's test considering p<0.05 were used. RESULTS: multiparity (92 versus 67.9%), pre-gestational body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m 2 (88 versus 58.5%), weight gain (WG) <8 kg (36 versus 17%) and a high increment of insulin characterized the gestational diabetes. For the patients with clinical diabetes, despite the highest GI (120 mg/dL (39.2 versus 24%)) at the end of the gestational period, insulin therapy started earlier (47.2 versus 4%), lasted longer (56.6 versus 6%) and higher doses of insulin (92 versus 43 UI/day) were administered up to three times a day (54.7 versus 16%). Macrosomia was higher among newborns from the cohort of patients with gestational diabetes (16 versus 3.8%), being the only significant neonatal outcome. There were no neonatal deaths, except for one fetal death in the cohort of patients with clinical diabetes. There were no differences in the other neonatal complications in both cohorts, and most of the newborns were discharged from hospital up to seven days after delivery (46% versus 55.8%). CONCLUSIONS: the analysis of these two cohorts has shown differences in the insulin therapy protocol in quantity (UI/day), dosage (UI/kg weight) and number of doses/day, higher for the clinical diabetes cohort, and in the increment of insulin, higher for the gestational diabetes cohort. Indirectly, the quality of maternal glycemic control and the satisfactory perinatal outcome have proven that the treatment protocol was adequate and did not depend on the type of diabetes.

Avaliação da liberação de lh e da concentração de progesterona em protocolos ovsynch e heatsynch em bubalinos (bubalus bubalis)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the LH surge after last hormonal injection of synchronization of ovulation protocols in buffalo. Fifteen multiparous buffaloes received 25 mg of Lecirelin in Day 0, and 150 mg of D-Cloprostenol on Day 7. On Day 8, estradiol benzoate was injected in Group 1 (0.5 mg, n = 5) and Group 2 (1.0 mg, n = 5). On Day 9, five buffaloes received 25 mg of Lecirelin (Control). Blood samples were collected for measure the LH concentrations on Day 7 and then every 3 hours until 72 hours after the PGF 2a injection. For evaluation of LH surge were compared the interval between PGF 2a injection to LH surge, duration, amplitude and area under the LH peak. The LH surge occurred 51.0 + 0.0 hours, 47.3 + 2.7 hours and 47.0 + 3.8 hours after PGF 2a injection for Control, Group 1 and Group 2, respectively (P > 0.05). The duration of LH peak in Control (7.8 + 1.5 hours) was shorter than Groups 1 and 2 (10.5 + 1.5 hours vs. 10.8 + 2.4 hours, respectively; P < 0.05). The amplitudes of LH peak were 4.5 + 0.4 ng/mL, 4.0 + 0.4 ng/mL and 4.3 + 0.8 ng/mL for Control, Group 1 and Group 2, respectively (P > 0.05). The area under LH peak for Control (4.8 ± 0.7) was smaller than the areas of the Groups 1 and 2 (8.8 ± 2.5 vs. 8.7 2.2, respectively; P < 0.05). In summary, the estradiol benzoate injection provided higher duration and area of LH peak than GnRH injection in Ovsynch protocol in buffalo.

Yang-Mills Chern-Simons corrections from the pure spinor superstring

Nilpotency of the pure spinor BRST operator in a curved background implies superspace equations of motion for the background. By computing one-loop corrections to nilpotency for the heterotic sigma model, the Yang-Mills Chern-Simons corrections to the background are derived. © 2008 SISSA.

Eficiência do protocolo Ovsynch em ovelhas da raça Santa Inês

Twenty six Santa Inês ewes were asigned to three treatments to evaluate the efficiency of the Ovsynch protocol. In the treatment 1 - control (n=8), the estrus was synchronized with sponges containing 60 mg MAP for 14 days. On D14, 300 IU eCG were administered. In treatment 2 (n=9) the Ovsynch protocol was used: 25 μg of GnRH (D0), 37.5 μg of PGF2α (D7) and 25 μg of GnRH (D9). In treatment 3 (n=9) the modified Ovsynch protocol was used: the administration of PGF2α and second GnRH as two days early. Estrus detection was accomplished using teaser. All ewes were mated twice with 12 hours of interval. Pregnancy rate (PR) was evaluated by ultrasonography 30 days after the end of mating. Estrus response was of 88.46% on average, and without differences among treatments (p>0.05). The interval for onset of estrus was greater (p<0.05) in T1, when compared with T2 and T3 (41.31±7.2, 13.37±8.42 and 6.75±5.2 h, respectively). The time of receptivity was greater (p<0.05) in females of T1 and T3 (40.5±6.49 h and 53.68±10.27 h, respectively), compared to females of T2 (34.56±7.2 h). The duration of the induced estrus did not differ significant among treatments (p>0.05). Pregnancy rate was significantly greater (p<0.05) in ewes synchronized with Ovsynch protocol (37.5%, 62.5% and 25% for treatment 1, 2 and 3, respectively). The results show superior efficiency of the Ovsynch protocol, under the experimental conditions.

Esterco bovino para o desenvolvimento inicial de plantas provenientes de quatro matrizes de Corymbia citriodora

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of cattle manure levels in the phase of implementation Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K. D. Hill & L. A. S. Johnson (Eucalyptus citriodora) seedlings in field, produced from seeds collected from four mother trees. The experiment was carried out in green house, in pots filled with 5 dm 3 of Oxisol. Five cattle manure levels were applied 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 t ha -1 (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 g pot -1). All treatments received lime levels which were calculated to increase the base saturation degree to 50%. The soil fertility was evaluated after 30 days of soil incubation with manure and lime. The seeds were collected from mother trees called 2, 8, 20 and 29. Sowing was performed directly in rigid plastic containers of 50 cm 3 and seedlings were transplanted when they were around 17 cm height. The experimental design was entirely randomized, in a factorial 5 × 4 (five doses of cattle manure and seeds of four mother trees) scheme and four repetitions. Each parcel was a pot with two plants. At 90 days the height, foliar area, stalk diameter, shoot and root dry matter. The plants responded positively to application of manure, but differently for each evaluated growth characteristic linearly or quadratically. The manure levels had linear effects on growth characteristics and dry matter production of the plants from mother trees 2 and 20 moreover these plants require more cattle manure levels than ones from mother trees 8 and 29. The cattle manure promoted the best development of plants from mother trees 8 and 29, in relationship with dry matter production of shoot components was approximately 27 t ha-1, equivalent to 67.5 g pot.

Paleosuperfícies e perfis bauxíticos no Planalto de Poços de Caldas, São Paulo/Minas Gerais, Brasil

This work has the objective of correlating altitude with the bauxite profiles in the Poços de Caldas Plateau in order to identify paleosurfaces. Then, bauxite profiles found in the Plateau have been classified and mapped through DEM. Three different types of bauxite profiles are highlighted in the area: (1) Rim Profiles which are well-developed and thick and are located in the areas of highest altitude in the Plateau; (2) Plateau Profiles which are not very thick and very clayey, normally appear in the lower portion of the landscape; (3) Reworked Profiles, characterized by bauxite reworked fragments composed by similar materials found in the tops of Rim and Plateau Profiles. After relating altitude to the constituting materials of the bauxite profiles, it is noticed that there are occurrences of Rim Bauxite Profiles located in altitudes of Plateau Profiles and Reworked Profiles located over Rim Profiles, above 1,400 meters of altitude. In the opposite direction, tops of the same elevation are found, where there should be Rim Profiles, there are rocky outcrops observed in field, without any evidence of laterite profiles. It is concluded, therefore, that the elevation rates by themselves, at least in this area, are not good enough references to determine the existence and distribution of paleosurfaces.

Causes of resistant hypertension detected by a standardized algorithm

Resistant hypertension (RH) is characterized by blood pressure above 140 × 90 mm Hg, despite the use, in appropriate doses, of three antihypertensive drug classes, including a diuretic, or the need of four classes to control blood pressure. Resistant hypertension patients are under a greater risk of presenting secondary causes of hypertension and may be benefited by therapeutical approach for this diagnosis. However, the RH is currently little studied, and more knowledge of this clinical condition is necessary. In addition, few studies had evaluated this issue in emergent countries. Therefore, we proposed the analysis of specific causes of RH by using a standardized protocol in Brazilian patients diagnosed in a center for the evaluation and treatment of hypertension. The management of these patients was conducted with the application of a preformulated protocol which aimed at the identification of the causes of resistant hypertension in each patient through management standardization. The data obtained suggest that among patients with resistant hypertension there is a higher prevalence of secondary hypertension, than that observed in general hypertensive ones and a higher prevalence of sleep apnea as well. But there are a predominance of obesity, noncompliance with diet, and frequent use of hypertensive drugs. These latter factors are likely approachable at primary level health care, since that detailed anamneses directed to the causes of resistant hypertension are applied. © 2012 Livia Beatriz Santos Limonta et al.

Estimating hardness of eucalyptus wood with a portable hardness tester

More than 80% of the 29600 km of the Brazilian railroad mesh employs wooden sleepers. The problem of hard availability of native wood for this purpose leads to the alternative use of reforestation species to produce sleepers. Considering the great difficulty to, in field condition, evaluate characteristics that are of major importance to define its suitability to sleeper production the Research Group on Forest Products from FCA/UNESP - Brazil had developed equipment for field evaluation of hardness in wood - Portable Hardness Tester. This paper reports the functional validation tests, performed with different species of Eucalyptus. Results revealed the equipment great functionality, easy-to-use characteristics and applicability to Eucalyptus wood. Moderate to strong relationships between laboratory and validated values of hardness were found. The best validation model was obtained using the data provided by the experimental dispositive 3 (R2=0.74 and SSE= 7.71 kJ/m2) while the experimental dispositive 1 gave the worse validation (R2=0.55 and SSE= 13.46 kJ/m2).

Perdas qualitativas na colheita mecanizada de sementes de soja

The study aimed to assess the physical and physiological characteristics of soybean seeds collected in grain tank and the outlet of the discharge tube of the harvester, depending on the year and the forward speed of the harvester. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial 2 x 2 x 2 tested two harvesters of different years, two displacement's speeds and two locations of sample collection, totaling eight treatments with four replications. The harvest of soybean cv. COODETEC 217, was performed with two tangential harvesters, aged three and four years, with 900 rpm rotation of the cylinder, operating at forward speeds of 4 ± 0.5 km h-1 and 7 ± 0.5 km h-1. Seed samples (approximately 3 kg) were withdrawn at the grain tank and the outlet of the discharge tube of the harvester and subjected to determinations of water content in field and laboratory. Subsequently, we evaluated purity, mechanical damage, germination and seed vigor. The younger harvester had a higher percentage of pure seed and lowest percentage of inert material. The increase in forward speed provides the higher the bands percentage and reduction of percentages of pure seed and inert material. The percentage of inert material was higher for seeds collected in the discharge pipe. The speed increase has positively influenced the emergence in sand for the harvester oldest (4 years) and negatively to the harvester youngest (3 years). At lower speeds the youngest harvester higher percentage of germination in sand.