Inorganic phosphates in juices from different parts of sugarcane stalks (cultivars ctc 9, ctc 15 and ctc 16)

This study aimed to quantify, the inorganic phosphates in sugarcane juice from nodes and internodes of three sugarcane cultivars. The experimental design was a randomized block in factorial scheme 3x2. The main treatments were three sugarcane cultivars and two parts of the stalk (nodes and internodes). The inorganic phosphates contents were determined for each treatment. The results were subjected to variance analysis by the F test; when statistically significant, means were compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. It is concluded that the three cultivars (CTC 9, CTC 16 and CTC 15) showed similar values regarding the content of inorganic phosphates present in the juice, and these values are considered adequate for a good performance in juice clarification. For the different parts of the stem, differences were observed in the levels of the nutrient studied, which showed a higher concentration in the node than in the internode.

Evaluation of the acidity in the juice from different parts of the stem of sugarcane, cycle 2010/2011

The acidity levels present in the juice of sugarcane can cause problems in its processing. This study aimed to compare the values of total, volatile and fixed acidity in the juice of the stem nodes and internodes of sugarcane. The experimental design was a completely randomized, 3x2 factorial arrangement with four replications, using three varieties of sugarcane (IAC91-1099; ISC95 and CTC7-5000) divided into node and internode. The stems were collected and separated in node and internode. After extraction of juice from each part, total, volatile and fix acidities were determined. The results were subjected to variance analysis the by F test and compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The cultivar CTC7 had the lowest levels of total and fixed acidity. Cultivar IAC91-1099 showed high levels of fixed acidity on both parts of the stem, and high volatile acidity at the node. In the stem, the values of volatile acidity showed no definite pattern between cultivars. The node has, in general, a higher fixed acidity, but some cultivars have shown opposite results.

Assessment of the Removal Capacity, Tolerance, and Anatomical Adaptation of Different Plant Species to Benzene Contamination

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

CONTRIBUTION OF BASAL AND AERIAL TILLERS IN DYNAMICS OF HERBAGE PRODUCTION OF SIGNALGRASS AFTER GRAZING DEFERRED

During the spring, the understanding of regrowth in basal and aerial tillers of deferred pasture in winter it is necessary. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the morphogenesis and herbage accumulation during spring in Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk (signalgrass) pasture used under deferred grazing in winter. The basal and aerial tillers in same pasture were evaluated. The signalgrass was managed with grazing cattle and with an average height of 25 cm. The randomized block design with three replications was adopted. The leaf appearance rate, phyllochron and the numbers of expanded, expanding and live leaves did not differ between basal and aerial tillers. The aerial tiller possessed lower rates of leaf senescence, of leaf elongation and of stem elongation, as well as lower number of dead leaf and stem and leaf lamina lengths, compared to basal tiller. The leaf lifespan was higher in aerial tillers than at basal. The basal tiller also contributed to higher rates of tissue growth and forage accumulation in pasture when compared to aerial tiller. After deferred grazing during the spring, the aerial tiller has low participation in forage production of signalgrass pasture.

Variable assessment of wing colouration in aerial contests of the red-winged damselfly Mnesarete pudica (Zygoptera, Calopterygidae)

Wing pigmentation is a trait that predicts the outcome of male contests in some damselflies. Thus, it is reasonable to suppose that males would have the ability to assess wing pigmentation and adjust investment in a fight according to the costs that the rival may potentially impose. Males of the damselfly Mnesarete pudica exhibit red-coloured wings and complex courtship behaviour and engage in striking male– male fights. In this study, we investigated male assessment behaviour during aerial contests. Theory suggests that the relationship between male resource-holding potential (RHP) and contest duration describes the kind of assessment adopted by males: self-assessment, opponent-only assessment or mutual assessment. A recent theory also suggests that weak and strong males exhibit variations in the assessment strategies adopted. We estimated male RHP through male body size and wing colouration (i.e. pigmentation, wing reflectance spectra and transmission spectra) and studied the relationship between male RHP and contest duration from videodocumented behavioural observations of naturally occurring individual contests in the field. The results showed that males with more opaque wings and larger red spots were more likely to win contests. The relationships between RHP and contest durations partly supported the self-assessment and the mutual assessment models. We then experimentally augmented the pigmented area of the wings, in order to evaluate whether strong and weak males assess rivals’ RHP through wing pigmentation. Our experimental manipulation, however, clearly demonstrated that strong males assess rivals’ wing pigmentation. We finally suggest that there is a variation in the assessment strategy adopted by males

Variable assessment of wing colouration in aerial contests of the red-winged damselfly Mnesarete pudica (Zygoptera, Calopterygidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Locating control points in aerial images with a multi-scale approach based on terrestrial image patches

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Late Quaternary vegetation dynamics from central parts of the Madeira River in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Leishmanicidal activity of different parts from Arrabidaea brachypoda (DC.) Bureau (Bignoniaceae)

Infections by protozoans of the genus Leishmania are the major worldwide health problem, with high endemicity in developing countries. The drugs of choice for the treatment of leishmaniasis are the pentavalent antimonials, which exert renal and cardiac toxicity. Thus, there is a strong need for safer and more effective treatments against leishmaniasis. The present study was designated to evaluate, by a bioguided assay, the leishmanicidal activity of hidro-ethanolic extracts from different parts (leves, caule and root) of one same plant the Arrabidaea brachypoda (DC.) Bureau. Its has been used to relieve general pain, painful joints and kidney stones in Brazilian folk medicine. Nevertheless, scientific information regarding this species is scarce; there are no reports related to its possible leishmanicidal activity. The leves extract presented the best activity on promastigotes forms of Leishmania (L.) amazonensis, when compared to the other extracts. It showed significant activity on Leishmania (L.) amazonensis. Our results are promising, showing that these compounds are biologically active on Leishmania (L.) amazonensis.

Statistical detection of spurious variations in daily raingauge data caused by changes in observation practices, as applied to records from various parts of the world

In the instrumental records of daily precipitation, we often encounter one or more periods in which values below some threshold were not registered. Such periods, besides lacking small values, also have a large number of dry days. Their cumulative distribution function is shifted to the right in relation to that for other portions of the record having more reliable observations. Such problems are examined in this work, based mostly on the two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test, where the portion of the series with more number of dry days is compared with the portion with less number of dry days. Another relatively common problem in daily rainfall data is the prevalence of integers either throughout the period of record or in some part of it, likely resulting from truncation during data compilation prior to archiving or by coarse rounding of daily readings by observers. This problem is identified by simple calculation of the proportion of integers in the series, taking the expected proportion as 10%. The above two procedures were applied to the daily rainfall data sets from the European Climate Assessment (ECA), Southeast Asian Climate Assessment (SACA), and Brazilian Water Resources Agency (BRA). Taking the statistic D of the KS test >0.15 and the corresponding p-value <0.001 as the condition to classify a given series as suspicious, the proportions of the ECA, SACA, and BRA series falling into this category are, respectively, 34.5%, 54.3%, and 62.5%. With relation to coarse rounding problem, the proportions of series exceeding twice the 10% reference level are 3%, 60%, and 43% for the ECA, SACA, and BRA data sets, respectively. A simple way to visualize the two problems addressed here is by plotting the time series of daily rainfall for a limited range, for instance, 0–10 mm day−1.