Range extension for buff-fronted owl Aegolius harrisii in south-east Brazil.

Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harrisii is a poorly known species. Field records are rare and sparse, with large gaps throughout its distribution. We present five new records of A. harrisii in south-east Brazil, in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and the second ever nest description. In São Paulo, records from Franca are >300 km from previous records, while the new record in Minas Gerais is 600 km from the only previous state record. More nocturnal field work is required to better evaluate the true distribution of A. harrisii.

Amphibia, Anura, Brachycephalidae, Ischnocnema verrucosa Reinhardt and Luetken, 1862: distribution extension to northeastern Brazil.

Herein I present a new geographical record of Ischnocnema verrucosa Reinhardt and Luetken, 1862 fro northeastern Brazil and briefly discuss the new record with a previous record of similar characteristics.

Arcovomer passarellii Carvalho, 1954 (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae): distribution extension in São Paulo state, Brazil and geographic distribution map.

The Passarelli's Frog, Arcovomer passarellii Carvalho, 1954, was registered for the first time in the city of Santos, on the seacoast of São Paulo state, extending 160 km to southwest of the distribution previously known for this species. Here we show a distribution map for an up-to-date map for A. passarelli.

Effects of research and extension on agricultural growth and equity in Brazil.

Studies the effects of investment in research and extension on total agricultural production and on production of individual crops. Some distributional effects are briefly discussed. Due to the lack of data, the first part of the analysis is restricted to the State of Sao Paulo, and the second part covers the entire country.-from Author

Shelf life extension of individually film-wrapped mangoes

Mangoes cv. Keitt were individually sealed in a heat-shrinkable polyolefin film (D-955) and a low-density polyethylene film (LDPE), stored for 0-5 weeks at 12°C and 17°C, and then ripened unwrapped at 22°C. Weight loss of packaged mangoes was significantly lower than that of the non-wrapped control. A sensory panel ranked the mangoes for overall eating quality and appearance. D-955 and LDPE film-sealed mangoes and control had shelf lives of 33, 15 and 7 days at 12°C and 17,10 and 7 days at 17°C, respectively.

Electromyographic behaviour of the gastrocnemius muscle during knee extension and flexion performed on the leg press

The gastrocnemius was analysed in 10 male volunteers during knee flexion and extension with the foot in normal, plantar flexion and dorsal flexion positions. Hewlett-Packard surface electrodes, an electromyographic signal amplifier, a computer equipped with an AID conversion plaque (Model CAD 10/26), a software specially designed to record and analyse the signals, a horizontal leg press, and electrogoniometers were used. The gastrocnemius muscle showed strong potentials at the end of knee extension and beginning of knee flexion. The muscle presented a similar activity both in the zipper and lower platforms. As to bilateral action, the right gastrocnemius presented stronger potentials on the upper platforms, whereas the potentials were bilaterally similar on the lower platforms. As for foot position, the gastrocnemius presented strong potentials when the foot was in plantar flexion. The remaining positions had no effect on the work of the muscle.

Comment on 'Relativistic extension of shape-invariant potentials'

This comment criticizes the recently published approach of Alhaidari for solving relativistic problems. It is shown that his gauge considerations are inaccurate and that the class of exactly solvable relativistic problems is not as large as the author claims.

Flight range extension in Polistes simillimus Zikán, 1951 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

The aim of this study was to determine the flight range extension of the social wasps, Polistes simillimus. The results of the 125 wasps-carried out tests originating from 10 colonies in post-emergency stage demonstrated that the flight range extension of P. simillimus was of approximately 150m, resulting in a collection area of about 70.650m2 by colony. It suggested wasp's efficiency as a biological control agent.