The systematic significance of floral morphology, nectaries, and nectar concentration in epiphytic cacti of tribes Hylocereeae and Rhipsalideae (Cactaceae)

A long-standing interest in cactus taxonomy has existed since the Linnaean generation, but an appreciation of the reproductive biology of cacti started early in the 1900s. Numerous studies indicate that plant reproductive traits provide valuable systematic information. Despite the extensive reproductive versatility and specializations in breeding systems coupled with the striking floral shapes, the reproductive biology of the Cactaceae has been investigated in approximately 10% of its species. Hence, the systematic value of architectural design and organization of internal floral parts has remained virtually unexplored in the family. This study represents the most extensive survey of flower and nectary morphology in the Cactaceae focusing on tribes Hylocereeae and Rhipsalideae (subfamily Cactoideae). Our objectives were (1) to conduct comparative morphological analyses of flowers and floral nectaries and (2) to compare nectar solute concentration in these two tribes consisting of holo- and semi-epiphytic species. Flower morphology, nectary types, and sugar concentration of nectar have strong taxonomic implications at the tribal, generic and specific levels. Foremost, three types of nectaries were found, namely chamber nectary (with the open and diffuse subtypes), furrow nectary (including the holder nectary subtype), and annular nectary. All Hylocereeae species possess chamber nectaries, in which the nectarial tissue has both trichomes and stomata. The Rhipsalideae are distinguished by two kinds of floral nectaries: furrow and annular, both nectary types with stomata only. The annular nectary type characterizes the genus Rhipsalis. Nectar concentration is another significant taxonomic indicator separating the Hylocereeae and Rhipsalideae and establishing trends linked to nectar sugar concentration and amount of nectar production in relation to flower size. There is an inverse relationship between flower size and amount of nectar production in the smaller Rhipsalideae flowers, in which nectar concentration is more than two-fold higher despite the smaller volume of nectar produced when compared to the large Hylocereeae flowers. Variability of nectary morphology and nectar concentration was also evaluated as potential synapomorphic characters in recent phylogenies of these tribes. In conclusion, our data provide strong evidence of the systematic value of floral nectaries and nectar sugar concentration in the Cactaceae, particularly at different taxonomic levels in the Hylocereeae and Rhipsalideae. © 2013 Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

Implant-abutment gap versus microbial colonization: Clinical significance based on a literature review

Microorganisms from the oral cavity may settle at the implant-abutment interface (IAI). As a result, tissue inflammation could occur around these structures. The databases MEDLINE/PubMed and PubMed Central were used to identify articles published from 1981 through 2012 related to the microbial colonization in the implant-abutment gap and its consequence in terms of crest bone loss and osseointegration. The following considerations could be put forward, with respect to the clinical importance of IAI: (a) the space present at the IAI seems to allow bacterial leakage to occur, in spite of the size of this space; (b) bacterial leakage seems to occur at the IAI, irrespective of the type of connection. More studies are necessary to clarify the relationship between leakage at IAI and abutment connection designs; (c) losses at the peri-implant bone crests cannot be related to the IAI size, since few studies have shown no relationship. Also, the microbial leakage at the IAI cannot be related to the bone crest loss, since there are no articles reporting this relationship; remains controversial the influence of the IAI position on the bone crest losses. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 101B: 1321-1328, 2013. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Satisfação com a vida em idosos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A influência da integração multissensorial na construção do espaço semântico no sistema Kansei de engenharia: um estudo de Design Ergonômico com barbeadores descartáveis

Pós-graduação em Design - FAAC

Shell beds from the Low Head Member (Polonez Cove Formation, early Oligocene) at King George Island, west Antarctica: new insights on facies analysis, taphonomy and environmental significance

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

O centenário da ferrovia brasileira (1954): ensaio sobre a elabo-ração da memória ferroviária no Brasil

In 1954, it was celebrated the centenary of railways in Brazil. The date refers to the first section of 14.5 km of railway in Brazil (30/04/1854), in Rio de Janeiro, between Mauá and Fragoso, of the Petropolis Railway Company (Estrada de Ferro Petrópolis). Some of the texts and commemorative events indicated the symbolic values that the railroad took in the Brazilian history. Firstly, on 30.04.1954, the railway section Mauá-Fragoso and steam locomotive “Baroness” (the first used on the track) were declared national monuments(Decree No. 35,447-A, April 30, 1954). Secondly, some entities (Clube de Engenharia, Conselho Nacional de Geografia, Ministério da Viação e Obras Públicas) highlighted the importance of celebrating the Brazilian railway history and its historical significance, economic and geographical. For this, some events was occurred (the commemoration of one hundred years in Rio de Janeiro and Recife on 30.04.1954). Among the texts wrought produced, we highlight the text I Centenary of Brazilian Railroad (1954), released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística), and the National Council of Geography (Conselho Nacional de Geografia). The emphasis given to the railway refersto the geographical perspective (territorial expansion), but also makes mention of the Barãode Mauá, the founder of Petropolis Railway Company. We aim to understand the celebration from evocations about the Brazilian railroad history and some ideas that is assigned to the railway (and the Barãode Mauá), and railway heritage (the track and the locomotive “Baroneza”). On basis of this review will seek to understand how it was reconceived the railroad memory in view of these values and material elements.

Characterization of the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C-released form of rat osseous plate alkaline phosphatase and its possible significance on endochondral ossification

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