Estimative of genetic parameters in progeny test of Pinus caribaea Morelet var. hondurensis Barret & Golfari by quantitative traits and microsatellite markers

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

Handicrafts from Jalapao (TO), Brazil, and their relationship to plant anatomy

EICHEMBERG, M. T. and V. L. SCATENA (Universidade Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Botanica, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil). J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 138:34-40. 2011.-Handicrafts from Jalapao (TO), Brazil, and their Relationship to Plant Anatomy. In the state of Tocantins, midwestern Brazil, communities from the region of Jalapao use scapes of "capim dourado" (golden grass - Syngonanthus nitens- Eriocaulaceae) and leaves of "buriti" (Mauritia flexuosa - Arecaceae) to make handicrafts (baskets and ornaments). The predominant biome of this area is cerrado (savanna), with a notable presence of buriti in the "veredas" (swampy forest-like vegetation), and of golden grass, which is one of the most common plants in humid grasslands. These traditional handicrafts represent a significant source of income for local communities. The whole scapes of Syngonanthus nitens are used due to their golden color, which is a reflection of such internal structures as thick walled cells and lignin in the epidermis and cortex. The strips called "seda" (silk) used to sew the scapes in the making of handicrafts come from young leaves of Mauritia,flexuosa. They are constituted by the adaxial epidermis and bundles of subepidermic fibers, both showing thick-walled cells. Since the cells of the bundles of sclerenchymatic fibers from the abaxial surface of buriti leaves present stegmata containing silica bodies, their mechanical properties are less adapted to the production of "silk", justifying the use of the leaf adaxial surface. Anatomical characteristics such as the thickening and composition of the cell walls of both species together with sociocultural factors, allow a better knowledge of the use of plant structures in the making of handicrafts.

Reproductive biology of Atlantoraja cyclophora (Regan 1903) (Elasmobranchii : Rajidae) off southern Brazil

A total of 459 (245 females, 214 males) Atlantoraja cyclophora was captured by bottom trawl off the coast of Rio Grande do Sul between 30 degrees 40'S and 34 degrees 30'S during surveys conducted in winter 2001 and summer/autumn 2002 at depths of 100-300 M. Total length at maturity was 52.8 cm for females and 48.5 cm for males. Symmetry and functional parity of the gonads were observed in both sexes, but there was no significant temporal variation in either sex for any of the reproductive parameters studied. Ovulation and egg-deposition were similarly intensive in both seasons. In adult females, there was an ovarian resting period at an individual level, though it was not synchronized at a population level. Distribution of egg-bearing females was not related to depth or species' range. (c) 2005 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

HB D Los Angeles in a Brazilian family

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Palm harvesting affects seed predation of Euterpe edulis, a threatened palm of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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

Effect of calcium and magnesium silicate on the growth of the castor oil plant subjected to salinity levels

Salt stress decreases the osmotic potential of soil solution causing water stress, causing toxic effects in the plants resulting in injuries on the metabolism and nutritional disorders, thus compromising the plant growth, resulting in lower production. The calcium silicate and magnesium can perform the same function as limestone, besides providing silicon to plants, may also contribute to the resistance of plants to salt stress. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of calcium and magnesium silicate on the growth of the castor oil plant BRS Energia cultivated under saline conditions. This study evaluated plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, dry weight of shoot and root, and soil chemical characteristics. There was no interaction between factors of salinity level and of silicate level regarding the evaluated variables. There was a direct relationship between salinity levels and plant growth in height and stem diameter. The K concentration in soil were affected by salinity levels.

Nuclear DNA content of thirty species of neotropical fishes

The present paper reports nuclear DNA content in 30 Neotropical freshwater fish species and summarizes the data on other Neotropical species presented in the literature. Among Neotropical fishes, the nuclear DNA content ranges from 1.04 ± 0.09 pg/nucleus in Corydoras cf. simulatus (2n = 62) to 248.0 pg/nucleus in Lepidosiren paradoxa (2n = 38). A general analysis of the data obtained in the present study for each species showed that DNA measurements were practically constant at the individual level, while significant differences were observed among individuals of the same population. This observation was valid for all species analyzed and was more evident in those species that presented other karyotypic particularities such as sex chromosomes or supernumerary chromosomes. The importance of changes in nuclear DNA content in the evolutionary process of Neotropical fishes is discussed.

Efeito do desbaste seletivo nas estimativas de parâmetros genéticos em progénies de Pinus caribaea Morelet var. hondurensis

The objective of this work was to study the effect of selective thinning on the estimates of genetic parameters in progenies of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis. The progeny test was installed in June 1986, following a 10 × 10, triple square lattice design, containing ten trees in linear plots in 3.0 × 3.0m spacing. Twelve years after the planting, a selective thinning based on Multi-effect index (selection for DBH) was performed, leaving six trees per plot. The assessments were done in four situations: A (before thinning); B (among thinned trees); C (among remnant trees at 13 years of age) and D (two years after the thinning). The following traits were analyzed: total height (H), diameter at breast height (DBH), volume (VOL), stem form (FOR), foxtail (FT), wood density at 1.3 m (WD1) and wood density at the half height (WD2). The thinning led to increase in the estimates of variability among progenies for VOL and decrease for ALT and DBH. There was a high and positive genetic correlation among the growth traits, mainly between DBH and VOL. The latter remained unchanged after thinning. The narrow-sense heritabilities at the individual level, showed a slight increase while at the family mean level had a reduction with the thinning. The estimates of breeding values increased with the thinning. This may lead to an easier identification of the best progenies in further selection.

Existe utilização efetiva dos recursos vegetais conhecidos em comunidades caiçaras da Ilha do Cardoso, estado de São Paulo, Brasil?

This study aims to investigate if plant resources are effective used by caiçaras' communities of the Cardoso Island. We also want to verify if the biogeografic origin of plants, their uses and socioeconomic factors influence the locals' knowledge. We carried out 51 semi-structured interviews with people who have been living there for at least 5 years, who were older than 18. We concluded that the interviewees' knowledge is still diverse and that most of the plants known are used by them (82%). Native plants are largely known, while the exotic ones are the most used (95%). Knowledge and use vary according to the use of plants, although they were very similar, considering the interviewees' age and gender. We also realized that housewives use a large quantity of medicinal plants, which are mainly the exotic ones. Fishermen know and use native plants, usually for handicraft purposes. The environmental guides and people, whose job is tourism related, have a similar knowledge, especially about medicinal plants, which are less used when compared with the other professional activities.

The reproductive cycle of the male sleep snake Sibynomorphus mikanii (Schlegel, 1837) from southeastern brazil

This study describes the male reproductive cycle of Sibynomorphus mikanii from southeastern Brazil considering macroscopic and microscopic variables. Spermatogenesis occurs during spring-summer (September-December) and spermiogenesis or maturation occurs in summer (December-February). The length and width of the kidney, the tubular diameter, and the epithelium height of the sexual segment of the kidney (SSK) are larger in summer-autumn (December-May). Histochemical reaction of the SSK [periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and bromophenol blue (BB)] shows stronger results during summer-autumn, indicating an increase in the secretory activity of the granules. Testicular regression is observed in autumn and early winter (March-June) when a peak in the width of the ductus deferens occurs. The distal ductus deferens as well as the ampulla ductus deferentis exhibit secretory activities with positive reaction for PAS and BB. These results suggest that this secretion may nourish the spermatozoa while they are being stored in the ductus deferens. The increase in the Leydig cell nuclear diameter in association with SSK hypertrophy and the presence of sperm in the female indicate that the mating season occurs in autumn when testes begin to decrease their activity. The peak activity of Leydig cells and SSK exhibits an associated pattern with the mating season. However, spermatogenesis is dissociated of the copulation characterizing a complex reproductive cycle. At the individual level, S. mikanii males present a continuous cyclical reproductive pattern in the testes and kidneys (SSK), whereas at the populational level the reproductive pattern may be classified as seasonal semisynchronous. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

As contribuições do audiovisual para a formação de jovens produtores: a construção de conteúdos por meio de dispositivos móveis

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC

Aplicação de modelos de agentes e redes complexas na caracterização e estudo da interação entre insetos sociais, com enfoque em formigas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Traços de história de vida de três espécies de peixes em riachos da bacia do rio Corumbataí-SP

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBRC

Resistência de genótipos de cana-de-açúcar ao Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV)

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Genética e Melhoramento de Plantas) - FCAV

O processo de formação de conceitos na perspectiva vigotskiana

In his work on human knowledge, Vygotsky reveals the second human nature, the one which is historical and cultural, due to people´s learning throughout life, through the mediation of others and the concrete conditions of life and education. In this eminently social process, the child grows into the intellectual life having the adult as a peer and learns human skills from this adult-child interaction. This means that, for working with abstract formulation, it is necessary understanding it as a complex, dynamic and functional act that is built by the insertion of individual performance into culture that is mediated by interaction with others. In this setting, each individual reaches knowledge through formal and non-formal learning that help on the formulation of scientific and everyday concepts. To make studies on the process of concept formation, Vygotsky adopted an experimental methodology based on the philosophical assumptions of Marxist theory of how mental processes occur, once he perceived these processes in a constantly changing and moving. Thus, the method called “Instrumental, Cultural and Historical” differed from conventional experimental studies focused on the performance of the task itself. The method adopted by Vygotsky was concerned with the process of concept formation and not only with fragmentary cutouts of cognitive processes. According to our study, the formation of the social nature of man develops from processes of appropriation and objectification of knowledge, which makes individual the historically constructed achievements by mankind, as, for example, types of sophisticated thinking, which requires the discussion of concept formation.