Cytogenetic study on three species of the genus Triatoma (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) with emphasis on nucleolar organizer regions

The use of banding techniques allows the recognition of chromosomal pairs and karyotypical arrangements. However, its application in Heteroptera holocentric chromosomes is limited. Thus, little is known about their structure, specially their Nucleolar Organizer Regions (NORs). A comparative analysis of the nucleolar characteristics present during spermatogenesis in Triatoma platensis, Triatoma protacta and Triatoma tibiamaculata seems to indicate that in this group of insects nucleolar fragmentation occurs after prophase I. The study of chromosomal structure of these triatomines indicates that NORs are located at some telomeric and interstitial autosome regions and at sexual chromosomes (X/X1X2).

Oral cancer mortality trends in Brazilian geographical regions from 1996-2001

The purpose of this study was to analyse the oral cancer mortality trends in Brazil by geographic region, age and sex, from 1996 to 2001. The Brazilian Ministry of Health database DATASUS and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics were used as the source of data. Oral cancer mortality rates per 100,000 population were estimated. Statistical analyses comprised estimates of oral cancer mortality rates, grouped according to the study variables, in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001; also, the three-year periods 1996-1998 and 1999-2001 were analysed, allowing the oral cancer mortality trends between these two periods to be calculated. For comparison, in each geographical region, the ratio between two death rates (related to period or sex) was calculated. In the period 1996-2001, a total of 25,972 deaths due to oral cancer were reported, giving a mortality rate of 2.67. The rates for the periods 1996-1998 and 1999-2001 were 2.53 and 2.73, respectively, showing a slight increase in the rate. There was a predominance of oral cancer in males with a male/female ratio of approximately 4. All regions exhibited an increase in mortality rates, with the exception of the Southeast region. From 1996 to 2001, the average mortality rates were 3.55 and 3.58 for the Southeast and South regions, and 1.94, 1.41, and 0.86 for the Mid-West, Northeast, and North regions, respectively. Over the age of 40, oral cancer mortality rates were seen to increase rapidly with age. Oral cancer mortality increased in all regions, except in the Southeast, and was considerably higher among males and older individuals.

Bathymetric distribution and recruitment of the spider crab Libinia spinosa H. Milne Edwards 1834 in the Ubatuba and Caraguatatuba regions, northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil (Crustacea, Brachyura, Majoidea, Pisidae)

The objective of this study was to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of Libinia spinosa H. MILNE EDWARDS 1834 on unconsolidated sublittoral bottoms in two regions off the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, and to analyze the influence of environmental factors on the occurrence of this species and observe the recruitment pattern of its young. Crabs were collected monthly (July 2001 through June 2003) at depths of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 In, from a fishing boat equipped with two double-rig nets. Samples of water and sediment were collected for analysis of environmental factors. A total of 2112 spider crabs was obtained (701 juveniles and 1411 adults). The highest abundance was observed at depths of 20 and 25 m, in both regions. These localities were characterized by substrate composed of very fine sand and silt-clay. In regard to the temporal distribution, juveniles and adults predominated in the summer and winter months respectively. From these results, one can infer that the distribution of L. spinosa is related to environmental factors favorable for its life cycle; sediment type is the factor which most strongly determines its presence. © E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Nägele u. Obermiller), 2007.

Chemical and biochemical characterization of guava and araçá fruits from different regions of Brazil

Guava and araçá, species of the Psidium genus, are important options for Brazilian agribusiness, especially the former species, due to their fruit characteristics, such as appearance, taste and richness in minerals and phenolic compounds. These fruits can be consumed in natura or in several processed forms. The active germplasm bank is an important tool for genetic resource characterization and plant breeding studies. Sixty guava and ten araçá accessions of the Psidium active germplasm, sampled in 44 different Brazilian regions and grown at Embrapa Semiarid, were chemically and biochemically characterized in order to support breeding programs. The accessions were grown in a randomized block design, with two replications and three plants/plot. The sugar, proteins, soluble solids, titratable acidity, calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus contents were determined. Large variations were observed in the analyzed compounds, which could be attributed to the diversity of genotypes and also to the environmental conditions, which affect the plant metabolism. The high variability observed in most parameters of the accessions is an important factor for the improvement of these species. Most guava accessions showed higher titratable acidity and soluble solids than those found in commercial cultivars and, in araçá, these levels were even higher, which makes them promising for commercial exploitation. Moreover, fruits of the guava and araçá accessions present good sources of sugars and minerals. Special attention should be given to some guava and araçá accessions from Maranhão and Pernambuco States, respectively, which showed high levels for titratable acidity, soluble solids, SS/TA ratio, total soluble sugars, calcium, magnesium and iron, should be targets of breeding programs for new Psidium cultivars. © ISHS.

Chaotic diffusion caused by close encounters with several massive asteroids: II. the regions of (10) Hygiea, (2) Pallas, and (31) Euphrosyne

Context. Close encounters with (1) Ceres and (4) Vesta, the two most massive bodies in the main belt, are known to be a mechanism of dynamical mobility able to significantly alter proper elements of minor bodies, and they are the main source of dynamical mobility for medium-sized and large asteroids (D > 20 km, approximately). Recently, it has been shown that drift rates caused by close encounters with massive asteroids may change significantly on timescales of 30 Myr when different models (i.e., different numbers of massive asteroids) are considered. Aims. So far, not much attention has been given to the case of diffusion caused by the other most massive bodies in the main belt: (2) Pallas, (10) Hygiea, and (31) Euphrosyne, the third, fourth, and one of the most massive highly inclined asteroids in the main belt, respectively. Since (2) Pallas is a highly inclined object, relative velocities at encounter with other asteroids tend to be high and changes in proper elements are therefore relatively small. It was thus believed that the scattering effect caused by highly inclined objects in general should be small. Can diffusion by close encounters with these asteroids be a significant mechanism of long-term dynamical mobility? Methods. By performing simulations with symplectic integrators, we studied the problem of scattering caused by close encounters with (2) Pallas, (10) Hygiea, and (31) Euphrosyne when only the massive asteroids (and the eight planets) are considered, and the other massive main belt asteroids and non-gravitational forces are also accounted for. Results. By finding relatively small values of drift rates for (2) Pallas, we confirm that orbital scattering by this highly inclined object is indeed a minor effect. Unexpectedly, however, we obtained values of drift rates for changes in proper semi-major axis a caused by (10) Hygiea and (31) Euphrosyne larger than what was previously found for scattering by (4) Vesta. These high rates may have repercussions on the orbital evolution and age estimate of their respective families. © 2013 ESO.

Frequency of reported European ancestry among multiple sclerosis patients from four cities in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil

Recent reports on the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) have described discrepancies between the rates in cities in the northeastern and southeastern regions of Brazil, representing a north-south gradient. European immigrants settled in southeastern and southern Brazil at the beginning of the twentieth century. In this study, we report the frequency of European ancestors among Brazilian MS patients in four cities in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil. Methods: A total of 652 consecutive patients with confirmed MS diagnoses seen at four centers in Belo Horizonte, Ribeirão Preto, Londrina and Santos were asked about the origin of their ancestors, going back three generations. Results: 287 (44%) reported Italian ancestry, 211 (32%) reported that all ancestors were born in Brazil, 49 (7.5%) had Portuguese ancestry and 70 (10%) had Spanish ancestry. The patients in Belo Horizonte and Londrina reported higher proportions of Italian ancestry than the proportions estimated for the populations of their respective States. Conclusion: Brazil has a north-south gradient of 0.91/100,000 per degree of latitude, which is higher than the gradient for Latin America. Since the largest immigrant group that settled in southern and southeastern Brazil was from Italy, it is possible that Italian immigration was one of the factors that have contributed toward increasing the prevalence of MS in these regions. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Signal classification of submerged aquatic vegetation based on the hemispherical-conical reflectance factor spectrum shape in the yellow and red regions

The water column overlying the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) canopy presents difficulties when using remote sensing images for mapping such vegetation. Inherent and apparent water optical properties and its optically active components, which are commonly present in natural waters, in addition to the water column height over the canopy, and plant characteristics are some of the factors that affect the signal from SAV mainly due to its strong energy absorption in the near-infrared. By considering these interferences, a hypothesis was developed that the vegetation signal is better conserved and less absorbed by the water column in certain intervals of the visible region of the spectrum; as a consequence, it is possible to distinguish the SAV signal. To distinguish the signal from SAV, two types of classification approaches were selected. Both of these methods consider the hemispherical-conical reflectance factor (HCRF) spectrum shape, although one type was supervised and the other one was not. The first method adopts cluster analysis and uses the parameters of the band (absorption, asymmetry, height and width) obtained by continuum removal as the input of the classification. The spectral angle mapper (SAM) was adopted as the supervised classification approach. Both approaches tested different wavelength intervals in the visible and near-infrared spectra. It was demonstrated that the 585 to 685-nm interval, corresponding to the green, yellow and red wavelength bands, offered the best results in both classification approaches. However, SAM classification showed better results relative to cluster analysis and correctly separated all spectral curves with or without SAV. Based on this research, it can be concluded that it is possible to discriminate areas with and without SAV using remote sensing. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Stable regions around Pluto

In a previous work, GiuliattiWinter et al. found several stable regions for test particles in orbit around Pluto associated with families of periodic orbits obtained in the circular, restricted three-body problem. They have shown that a possible eccentricity of the Pluto-Charon binary slightly reduces but does not destroy any of these stable regions. In thiswork, we extended their results by analysing the cases with the orbital inclination (I) equal to zero and considering the argument of pericentre (w) equal to 90°, 180° and 270°. We explore the influence of the orbital inclination of the particles in these stable regions. In this case, the initial inclination varies from 10° to 170° in steps of 10°. We also present a sample of results for the longitude of the ascending node Ω = 90°, considering the cases I = 20°, 50°, 130° and 180°. Our results show that stable regions are present in all of the inclined cases, except when the initial inclination of the particles is equal to 110°. A sample of 3D trajectories of quasi-periodic orbits were found related to the periodic orbits obtained in the planar case by Giuliatti Winter et al. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Genomic regions harboring insecticide resistance-associated Cyp genes are enriched by transposable element fragments carrying putative transcription factor binding sites in two sibling Drosophila species

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A study of low velocities regions near the Roche lobe during the gas giant planets formation

In this paper were studied regions close to the Roche lobe of a planet like Jupiter, in order to find regions with low velocities. We simulated a two dimensional and non-self-gravitating disk, where tidal and viscous torques are considered, using the hydrodynamic numerical integrator FARGO 2D. As stated earlier we are interested in find low velocities regions for in future works study the possibility of satellites formation in these regions.

Worldwide HLA-E nucleotide and haplotype variability reveals a conserved gene for coding and 3 ' untranslated regions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Using phenology to assess urban heat islands in tropical and temperate regions

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Genotype by environment interaction for post-weaning weight gain, scrotal circumference, and muscling score of composite beef cattle in different regions of Brazil

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

Characterization of the Exonic Regions of the JY-1 Gene in Zebu Cattle and Buffaloes

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

Clinical aspects of envenomation caused by Tityus obscurus (Gervais, 1843) in two distinct regions of Para state, Brazilian Amazon basin: a prospective case series

Background: Scorpion envenomations are a major public health problem in Brazil, whose most dangerous cases are attributable to the genus Tityus. This study was designed to compare the clinical and demographic features of envenomations by Tityus obscurus in two areas of the state of Para located in the Amazon basin. Were compared demographic findings, local and systemic signs and symptoms of human envenomations caused by T. obscurus that occurred in western and eastern areas of the state.Results: Forty-eight patients with confirmed envenomation by T. obscurus were evaluated from January 2008 to July 2011. Most of them came from the eastern region, where male and female patients were present in similar numbers, while males predominated in the west. Median age groups were also similar in both areas. Most scorpion stings took place during the day and occurred significantly more frequently on the upper limbs. The time between the sting and admission to the health center was less than three hours in both areas. Most eastern patients had local manifestations while in the west, systemic manifestations predominated. Local symptoms were similar in both areas, but systemic signs and symptoms were more common in the west. Symptoms frequently observed at the sting site were local and radiating pain, paresthesia, edema, erythema, sweating, piloerection and burning. The systemic manifestations were significantly higher in patients from the west. Futhermore, neurological symptoms such as general paresthesia, ataxia, dysarthria, myoclonus, dysmetria, and electric shock-like sensations throughout the body were reported only by patients from the west.Conclusion: The present study shows that two regions of Para state differ in the clinical manifestations and severity of confirmed envenomation by T. obscurus which suggests a toxicity variation resulting from the diversity of T. obscurus venom in different areas of the Brazilian Amazon basin, and that T. serrulatus antivenom can be successfully used against T. obscurus.