Search for third generation scalar leptoquarks decaying into τb

We have searched for third generation leptoquarks (LQ3) using 1.05fb-1 of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider operating at s=1.96TeV. We set a 95% C.L. lower limit of 210 GeV on the mass of a scalar LQ3 state decaying solely to a b quark and a τ lepton. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Population Parameters Based on Known Pedigree Records from Brazilian Jaffarabadi Buffaloes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effective number of founders and ancestors, generation intervals and completeness of pedigree in Jaffarabadi breed buffaloes raised in Brazil. Pedigree records of 1,272 animals born from 1966 were used. The parameters were estimated using ENDOG, computational population genetic software. The obtained value for completeness of pedigree was 99.5, 50.9, and 20.5 for, the first, second and third generations, respectively. Generation interval estimates expressed in years and considering different pathways were 12.28 +/- 6.90 (sire-son), 11.55 +/- 6.07 (sire-daughter), 8.20 +/- 2.63 (dam-son) and 8.794 +/-.33 (dam-daughter). The overall average generation interval was 10.17 +/- 5.43 years. The number of founders, equivalent founders and ancestor animals that contributed for the genetic diversity in the reference population (1059) were 136, 130 and 134, respectively. Effective number of founder (f(e)=8) and ancestors (f(a)=7) were small, and the calculated expected inbreeding increase per generation was 4.99%. Four ancestors explained 50% of the genetic variability in the population and the major ancestor contributed with approximately 33% of the total population genetic variation. The genetic diversity within the current population is low as a consequence of a reduced number of ancestors.

Degree of conversion of nanofilled and microhybrid composite resins photo-activated by different generations of LEDs

Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the degree of conversion (DC) of four composite resins, being one nanofilled and 3 microhybrid resins, photo-activated with second- and third-generation light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Material and methods: Filtek (TM) Z350 nanofilled composite resins and Amelogen (R) Plus, Vit-l-escence (TM) and Opallis microhybrid resins were photo-activated with two second-generation LEDs (Radii-cal and Elipar Free Light (TM) 2) and one third-generation LED (Ultra-Lume LED 5) by continuous light mode, and a quartz halogen-tungsten bulb (QHT, control). After 24 h of storage, the samples were pulverized into fine powder and 5 mg of each material were mixed with 100 mg of potassium bromide (KBr). After homogenization, they were pressed, which resulted in a pellet that was evaluated using an infrared spectromer (Nexus 470, Thermo Nicolet) equipped with TGS detector using diffuse reflectance (32 scans, resolution of 4 cm(-1)) coupled to a computer. The percentage of unreacted carbon-carbon double bonds (% C=C) was determined from the ratio of absorbance intensities of aliphatic C=C (peak at 1637 cm-1) against internal standard before and after curing of the specimen: aromatic C-C (peak at 1610 cm-1). Results: The ANOVA showed a significant effect on the interaction between the light-curing units (LCUs) and the composite resins (p<0.001). The Tukey's test showed that the nanofilled resin (Filtek (TM) Z350) and Opallis when photo-activated by the halogen lamp (QTH) had the lowest DC compared with the other microhybrid composite resins. The DC of the nanofilled resin (Filtek (TM) Z350) was also lower using LEDs. The highest degrees of conversion were obtained using the third-generation LED and one of second-generation LEDs (Elipar Free Light (TM) 2). Conclusions: The nanofilled resin showed the lowest DC, and the Vit-l-escence (TM) microhybrid composite resin showed the highest DC. Among the LCUs, it was not possible to establish an order, even though the second-generation LED Radii-cal provided the lowest DC.

The origin of the first and third generation fermion massesin a technicolor scenario

We argue that the masses of the first and third fermionic generations, which are respectively of the order of a few MeV up to a hundred GeV, originate from a dynamical symmetry breaking mechanism leading to masses of the order alphamu, where alpha is a small coupling constant, and mu, in the case of the first fermionic generation, is the scale of the dynamical quark mass (approximate to250 MeV). For the third fermion generation mu is the value of the dynamical techniquark mass (approximate to250 GeV). We discuss how this possibility can be implemented in a technicolor scenario, and how the mass of the intermediate generation is generated.

Third eyelid gland protrusion in dogs: an experimental model proposal

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Canine lacrimal and third eyelid superficial glands macroscopic and morphometric characteristics

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fecundity and pre-imaginal period of Chrysoperla externa (hagen) (neuroptera: chrysopidae) under different populations and laboratory generations

The lacewings appear in many agroecosystems, preying several species of agricultural pests. They have great search capability, high voracity, high reproductive potential and are easily maintained in laboratory conditions. In laboratory rearing, to avoid problems in the mass production are recommended adjustments in the type and quality of prey to be used in order to obtain individuals with desirable characteristics. It is necessary special care with the laboratory populations, avoiding problems from inbreeding. Larvae were reared individually in Petri dishes (9.0 cm diameter) and fed with eggs of Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1789) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in the amount of 25 mg / larva, while the adults were kept in PVC cylindrical cages (10 cm x 30 cm). Thus, the study analyzed the influence of the size of the population of Chrysoperla externa (Hagen, 1861) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on the pre-imaginal period (egg to adult) and reproductive capacity of this specie come from different populations and generations of laboratory. To this end, we used two populations, one of Jaboticabal (F-8 and F-21) and one of Piracicaba (F-6 and F-15), and subpopulations of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 couples, analyzing the incubation of eggs and the number of eggs per female in each population, generation and subpopulation. The pre-imaginal period (egg to adult) and the number of eggs per female of C. externa are influenced by the generation and the number of founding individuals, being these parameters favored when laboratory populations are established with the largest number of couples.

Aspectos biológicos de Chrysoperla raimundoi Freitas & Penny (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae)

Os crisopídeos são importantes predadores e são encontrados em diversos agroecossistemas. A temperatura é um dos fatores determinantes para o desenvolvimento dos insetos, sendo que existe um gradiente de variação aceitável para cada espécie. Portanto, objetivou-se com este estudo verificar a influência de diferentes temperaturas sobre o desenvolvimento embrionário e pós-embrionário de C. raimundoi assim como verificar as conseqüências nas diferentes gerações. As fases jovens foram criadas em três ambientes com temperaturas constantes de 19,0, 25,0 e 31,0ºC e em um ambiente externo sem controle dos fatores abióticos. Foram observados a duração do período embrionário, do primeiro, segundo e terceiro ínstares, a duração do período larval, pupal e ovo-adulto, assim como, a sobrevivência em cada estágio, estádio e a porcentagem de emergência. O desenvolvimento embrionário e pós-embrionário diferiu entre as gerações F2 e F4. Quanto à influência de diferentes temperaturas para a geração F2, os indivíduos criados a 31,0ºC demonstraram redução na taxa de desenvolvimento com relação aos outros dois ambientes. Para a geração F4, observou-se que as diferentes temperaturas influenciaram no desenvolvimento, sendo que a 19,0ºC houve prolongamento do mesmo.

Heritability estimation in early generations of two-way crosses in soybean

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

Uso combinado de sêmen sexado e acasalamento dirigido sobre uma população de bovinos de corte submetida a seleção: estudo de simulação

Desenvolveu-se um estudo de simulação estocástica com o objetivo de verificar as consequências do uso combinado de acasalamento dirigido e sêmen sexado em uma população de bovinos de corte sob seleção. Simularam-se seis gerações de seleção para três cenários de acasalamento e uso de sêmen sexado. O primeiro cenário foi caracterizado por acasalamento aleatório e uso exclusivo de sêmen convencional. O segundo cenário caracterizou-se pelo uso de acasalamento associativo positivo nas 40% melhores vacas e acasalamento associativo negativo nas demais, sem uso de sêmen sexado. O terceiro cenário seguiu o mesmo procedimento de acasalamento do segundo, combinando-o com uso de sêmen sexado nas vacas submetidas a acasalamento associativo positivo. O acasalamento associativo positivo teve maior impacto no progresso genético que o uso de sêmen sexado, apesar de ter aumentado a incidência de endogamia na população. O uso de acasalamento associativo negativo foi ineficiente em reduzir a variabilidade dos animais destinados ao abate. O uso combinado de acasalmento associativo positivo e sêmen sexado aumentou a produção de animais geneticamente superiores.

Depression by inbreeding after four sucessive self-pollination squash generations

The strategy for breeding F-1 hybrid squash is to develop parental lines through self-pollination. However, it increases plant mean homozygosis, which is not the natural genetic state of a cross-pollinated species, and can cause inbreeding depression. The objective of this work was to evaluate this depression with sucessive generations of self-pollination (without selection) in Cucurbita moschata, cv. Piramoita. Populations were obtained from lines with one to four generations of self-pollination (obtained by the SSD method), from the original cv. Piramoita (population SO). Randomized blocks were used with five treatments (different generations of self-pollination -S-0 to S-4), six replicates and five plants per plot. Regression analysis was made by the Wright inbreeding coefficient (F) to measure the homozygosis level effect on vigor loss. There was a linear reduction of mean weight and fruit length, seed production (number and weight) per fruit with the increase of the homozygosis level; however inbreeding did not affect seed quality (weight of 100 seeds and germination).

RINEX_HO: second- and third-order ionospheric corrections for RINEX observation files

When GNSS receivers capable of collecting dual-frequency data are available, it is possible to eliminate the first-order ionospheric effect in the data processing through the ionosphere-free linear combination. However, the second- and third-order ionospheric effects still remain. The first-, second- and third-order ionospheric effects are directly proportional to the total electron content (TEC), although the second- and third-order effects are influenced, respectively, by the geomagnetic field and the maximum electron density. In recent years, the international scientific community has given more attention to these kinds of effects and some works have shown that for high precision GNSS positioning these effects have to be taken into consideration. We present a software tool called RINEX_HO that was developed to correct GPS observables for second- and third-order ionosphere effects. RINEX_HO requires as input a RINEX observation file, then computes the second- and third-order ionospheric effects, and applies the corrections to the original GPS observables, creating a corrected RINEX file. The mathematical models implemented to compute these effects are presented, as well as the transformations involving the earth's magnetic field. The use of TEC from global ionospheric maps and TEC calculated from raw pseudorange measurements or pseudoranges smoothed by phase is also investigated.

Second and Third Order Ionospheric Effects on GNSS Positioning: A Case Study in Brazil

The Global Positioning System (GPS) transmits signals in two frequencies. It allows the correction of the first order ionospheric effect by using the ionosphere free combination. However, the second and third order ionospheric effects, which combined may cause errors of the order of centimeters in the GPS measurements, still remain. In this paper the second and third order ionospheric effects, which were taken into account in the GPS data processing in the Brazilian region, were investigated. The corrected and not corrected GPS data from these effects were processed in the relative and precise point positioning (PPP) approaches, respectively, using Bernese V5.0 software and the PPP software (GPSPPP) from NRCAN (Natural Resources Canada). The second and third order corrections were applied in the GPS data using an in-house software that is capable of reading a RINEX file and applying the corrections to the GPS observables, creating a corrected RINEX file. For the relative processing case, a Brazilian network with long baselines was processed in a daily solution considering a period of approximately one year. For the PPP case, the processing was accomplished using data collected by the IGS FORT station considering the period from 2001 to 2006 and a seasonal analysis was carried out, showing a semi-annual and an annual variation in the vertical component. In addition, a geographical variation analysis in the PPP for the Brazilian region has confirmed that the equatorial regions are more affected by the second and third order ionospheric effects than other regions.

Heteroplasmy in Hair: Study of Mitochondrial DNA Third Hypervariable Region in Hair and Blood Samples

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

Solid-liquid transition in Nb powder determined by third harmonic susceptibility

Measurements of the third harmonic of the AC-susceptibility were employed to determine the boundaries of the linear regime of the magnetic response of Nb powder. Non-linear contributions to the magnetic response reveal the occurrence of a structured phase, disappearing as the vortex lattice melts to the liquid state. A systematic study of the third harmonic was conducted to determine how its onset temperature depends on experimental parameters, such as the frequency and amplitude of the excitation field. The melting line (ML) has been extracted from the onset temperature measured at low-frequencies and low-excitation fields in the presence of DC magnetic fields. The study indicates that the ML can be described by a 3D vortex-glass model, except at lower fields, where the system experiences a depinning crossover, and the best description of the experimental data is provided by a 3D Bose-glass model. (c) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.