Statistical detection of spurious variations in daily raingauge data caused by changes in observation practices, as applied to records from various parts of the world

In the instrumental records of daily precipitation, we often encounter one or more periods in which values below some threshold were not registered. Such periods, besides lacking small values, also have a large number of dry days. Their cumulative distribution function is shifted to the right in relation to that for other portions of the record having more reliable observations. Such problems are examined in this work, based mostly on the two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test, where the portion of the series with more number of dry days is compared with the portion with less number of dry days. Another relatively common problem in daily rainfall data is the prevalence of integers either throughout the period of record or in some part of it, likely resulting from truncation during data compilation prior to archiving or by coarse rounding of daily readings by observers. This problem is identified by simple calculation of the proportion of integers in the series, taking the expected proportion as 10%. The above two procedures were applied to the daily rainfall data sets from the European Climate Assessment (ECA), Southeast Asian Climate Assessment (SACA), and Brazilian Water Resources Agency (BRA). Taking the statistic D of the KS test >0.15 and the corresponding p-value <0.001 as the condition to classify a given series as suspicious, the proportions of the ECA, SACA, and BRA series falling into this category are, respectively, 34.5%, 54.3%, and 62.5%. With relation to coarse rounding problem, the proportions of series exceeding twice the 10% reference level are 3%, 60%, and 43% for the ECA, SACA, and BRA data sets, respectively. A simple way to visualize the two problems addressed here is by plotting the time series of daily rainfall for a limited range, for instance, 0–10 mm day−1.

Giving up reporting the aggressor: reports of female victims of domestic violence

The goal of this study is to describe the experience of female victims of domestic violence, who forfeited the lawsuits against their aggressors. The interviews were oriented by the question: What was your experience of forfeiting the denunciation of your aggressor? Three themes emerged from the convergence of the testimonies: time passed from the aggression to the denunciation and then to the forfeiting; the partner, the family, the women's precinct; reflecting about the experience, which described the studied phenomenon. The women expressed ambiguous feelings for their aggressor: affection, anger, humiliation and fear. They recognize that they are dominated and humiliated, but notions of justice and equality between spouses do not appear in the testimonies. Forfeiting can be understood in the context of the reproduction of the traditional family structure, conditioned to economic and social factors. Results highlight implications about the role of the Women's Precinct and the healthcare institutions in the care for women who were victims of domestic violence.

Follow-up of the Development of Femoral Degeneration Lesions in Broilers

A study was carried out in the experimental facilities of FMVZ/UNESP-Botucatu, with the aim of following-up the development and the incidence of femoral degeneration (FD). A total of 305 one-day-old male broilers were housed in six pens of 5m(2) each. Histological analyses of femur head collected when broilers were 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 days of age were carried out. At 42 days of age, 30 birds were taken to the experimental processing plant of FMVZ for leg gross examination. Ten legs per FD score where selected, and histologically analyzed to determine the most probable age at the beginning of the lesions, and to standardize femoral degeneration lesion scores. The histological results showed that cell architecture started to disorganize at 21 days of age in the resting and proliferation zones, and that angiogenesis increased, invading the joint cartilage, The gross lesion indexes due to femoral degeneration were 22.5%, 42.5%, and 65% at 28, 35, and 42 days of age, respectively.

Ballast water: a review of the impact on the world public health

Since the nineteenth century ships have been using ballast water (BW) for safety, stability, propulsion and maneuverability, as well as to redress loss of fuel weight and water consumption, and to maintain structural stress at acceptable levels. Ballast water has been spreading many non-native species around the globe, but little is known about the extent and potential significance of ship-mediated transfer of microorganisms. The global movements of ballast water by ships create a long-distance dispersal mechanism for human pathogens that may be important in the worldwide distribution of microorganisms, as well as for the epidemiology of waterborne diseases. Only a few studies have been carried out on this subject, most of them involving ballast water containing crustacean larvae and phytoplankton. Specialized microbiological studies on these waters are necessary to avoid a repeat of what happened in 1991, when epidemic cholera was reported in Peru and rapidly spread through Latin America and Mexico. In July of 1992, Vibrio cholerae was found in the USA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that it came from ballast water of ships whose last port of call was in South America. In Brazil, just a few studies about the subject have been performed. An exploratory study by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria - ANVISA) found in ballast water different microorganisms, such as fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, coliphages, Vibrio cholerae O1 and Vibrio cholerae non-O1. Until now, Brazil has been focusing only on organisms transported to its territory from other countries by ballast water, to avoid their establishment and dissemination in Brazilian areas. Studies that can assess the probability that water ballast carries pathogenic microorganisms are extremely important, as is the examination of ships that arrive in the country. Treatment of the human infections caused by BW exists but none is completely safe and efficient.

The first electronic polytomous key to the world species of the subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) de Leon (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

This paper describes the first polytomous computerised identification key within the family Phytoseiidae. It applies to the females of the world species of the subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) de Leon. This group is one of the largest within the family Phytoseiidae and the sub-family Typhlodrominae, with nearly 350 species currently recognised worldwide. No identification tool of these species exists at the world level, which makes their identification very difficult and unsecure. Thirty five characters were used to characterise each of the 343 species. Among these characters, 14 are discrete and 21 are continuous. The polytomous key was constructed using the free software DELTA 1.04 (DEscription Language for TAxonomy) and is freely available at the web site: http://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/phytoseiidae/anthoseiuskeypresentation.html. We hope that this work will open new perspectives for the identification of species of other genera (especially the largest ones, e.g. Neoseiulus, Euseius, Amblyseius) which contains more than 150 species and for which no key presently exists. We also expect that the present work will make the identification of the world species of Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) easier and more secure. Finally, we expect a contribution from the whole Phytoseiidae scientist community to improve subsequent versions of the key.

Superspace approach to the renormalization of the O'Raifeartaigh model up to the second order in the linear delta expansion parameter

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of caffeine on time to exhaustion in exercise performed below and above the anaerobic threshold

Controversy still exists concerning the potential ergogenic benefit of caffeine (CAF) for exercise performance. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of CAF ingestion on endurance performance during exercise on a bicycle ergometer at two different intensities, i.e., approximately 10% below and 10% above the anaerobic threshold (AT). Eight untrained males, non-regular consumers of CAF, participated in this study. AT, defined as the intensity (watts) corresponding to a lactate concentration of 4 mM, was determined during an incremental exercise test from rest to exhaustion on an electrically braked cycle ergometer. on the basis of these measurements, the subjects were asked to cycle until exhaustion at two different intensities, i.e., approximately 10% below and 10% above AT. Each intensity was performed twice in a double-blind randomized order by ingesting either CAF (5 mg/kg) or a placebo (PLA) 60 min prior to the test. Venous blood was analyzed for free fatty acid, glucose, and lactate, before, during, and immediately after exercise. Rating of perceived exertion and time to exhaustion were also measured during each trial. There were no differences in free fatty acids or lactate levels between CAF and PLA during and immediately after exercise for either intensity. Immediately after exercise glucose increased in the CAF trial at both intensities. Rating of perceived exertion was significantly lower (CAF = 14.1 ± 2.5 vs PLA = 16.6 ± 2.4) and time to exhaustion was significantly higher (CAF = 46.54 ± 8.05 min vs PLA = 32.42 ± 14.81 min) during exercise below AT with CAF. However, there was no effect of CAF treatment on rating of perceived exertion (CAF = 18.0 ± 2.7 vs PLA = 17.6 ± 2.3) and time to exhaustion (CAF = 18.45 ± 7.28 min vs PLA = 19.17 ± 4.37 min) during exercise above AT. We conclude that in untrained subjects caffeine can improve endurance performance during prolonged exercise performed below AT and that the decrease of perceived exertion can be involved in this process

Consolidation and break-up of the South American platform in southeastern Brazil: Tectonothermal and denudation histories

The different tectonic stages that occurred at the end of the Proterozoic and during the Phanerozoic have an important bearing on the tectonothermal history of the South American Platform and its consolidation. Geochronological data (U/Pb monazite, Ar-40/Ar-39 whole rock) and apatite fission-track analysis, from Precambrian rocks of the southeastern Brazilian coastline, permit the modeling of a long-term thermal history of the crust and constrain variable denudation rates.Using these data, a temperature-time diagram reflects a period of accelerated exhumation during the end of the Brasiliano Orogeny, followed by long stability and reactivation of the platform during the Rifting Phase of the South Atlantic Ocean.U/Pb zircon and monazite (blocking temperature of ca. 650degreesC) data from a series of igneous bodies suggest that a tangential and transpressional tectonic regime occurred between 625 and 610 Ma. During the following escape tectonics, between 610 and 590 Ma the exhumation process indicates cooling rates of ca. 12degreesC/Ma. Ar-40/Ar-39 biotite ages between 540 and 510 Ma (ca. 300degreesC) and a corrected fission-track age on apatites (100degreesC) of 480 Ma indicate an exhumation event related to block tectonics with huge vertical displacement along shear zones.A long stabilization phase, with low exhumation, and cooling rate around 0.25degreesC/Ma was recorded from the Cambro/Ordovician to the Mesozoic. At 65 Ma an acceleration of the exhumation through denudation and reworking of the South American surface with cooling rate of 1.5degreesC/Ma is observed.The uplift of the Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar mountain ranges along the southeast Brazilian coastline works as a climatic barrier provoking lateral erosional processes causing long-term scarp retreat, combined with intense, but progressive denudation towards the continent. A denudation of 2.5 to 4 km was calculated for such processes. This lateral retreat of escarpments and flexural response can provide important insights regarding marginal isostatic uplift and the evolution of offshore sedimentary basins of southeast Brazil.

On the Origin of Cattle: How Aurochs Became Cattle and Colonized the World

Since their domestication in the Neolithic, cattle have belonged to our cultural heritage. The reconstruction of their history is an active field of research 1 that contributes to our understanding of human history. Archeological data are now supplemented by analyses of modern and ancient samples of cattle with DNA markers of maternal, paternal, or autosomal inheritance. The most recent genetic data suggest that maternal lineages of taurine cattle originated in the Fertile Crescent with a possible contribution of South-European wild cattle populations, while zebu cattle originate from the Indus Valley. Subsequently, cattle accompanied human migrations, which led to the dispersal of domestic cattle of taurine, indicine, or mixed origin over Asia, Africa, Europe, and the New World. This has resulted in their adaptation to different environments and considerable variation in appearance and performance. More recently, rational management of breeding led to international movements of sires, which again changed the global patterns of genetic diversity.

INGAP-PP up-regulates the expression of genes and proteins related to K-ATP(+) channels and ameliorates Ca2+ handling in cultured adult rat islets

Islet Neogenesis Associated Protein (INGAP) increases pancreatic beta-cell mass and potentiates glucose-induced insulin secretion. Here, we investigated the effects of the pentadecapeptide INGAP-PP in adult cultured rat islets upon the expression of proteins constitutive of the K-ATP(+) channel, Ca2+ handling, and insulin secretion. The islets were cultured in RPMI medium with or without INGAP-PP for four days. Thereafter, gene (RT-PCR) and protein expression (Western blotting) of Foxa2, SUR1 and Kir6.2, cytoplasmic Ca2+ ([Ca2+](i)), static and dynamic insulin secretion, and Rb-86 efflux were measured. INGAP-PP increased the expression levels of Kir6.2, SUR1 and Foxa2 genes, and SUR1 and Foxa2 proteins. INGAP-PP cultured islets released significantly more insulin in response to 40 mM KCl and 100 mu M tolbutamide. INGAP-PP shifted to the left the dose-response curve of insulin secretion to increasing concentrations of glucose (EC50 of 10.0 +/- 0.4 vs. 13.7 +/- 1.5 mM glucose of the controls). It also increased the first phase of insulin secretion elicited by either 22.2 mM glucose or 100 mu M tolbutamide and accelerated the velocity of glucose-induced reduction of Rb-86 efflux in perifused islets. These effects were accompanied by a significant increase in [Ca2+](i) and the maintenance of a considerable degree of [Ca2+](i) oscillations. These results confirm that the enhancing effect of INGAP-PP upon insulin release, elicited by different secretagogues, is due to an improvement of the secretory function in cultured islets. Such improvement is due, at least partly, to an increased K-ATP(+) channel protein expression and/or changing in the kinetic properties of these channels and augmented [Ca2+](i) response. Accordingly, INGAP-PP could potentially be used to maintain the functional integrity of cultured islets and eventually, for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prospective analysis about the world wide strategy of commercial vehicles development

The main objective of this paper is to make a prospective analysis about the tendencies of the world wide strategies of commercial vehicles development, in relation of the current local and international scenery. It has been done a research by using the Delphi method, which consists into regulate, systematically, the presentation of questions about a specified problem to a group of specialists. In order to guarantee more representative data, it has been adopted three distinct groups: academics, OEMs managers and Tier 1 suppliers managers. The results showed that the three mentioned groups have similar opinion about the necessity of having a product development in the subsidiaries companies; also it has been pointed the necessity of having more taylor made vehicles, due to the intrinsic characteristics of this industry segment. Copyright © 2008 SAE International.

The who start study suicidal behaviors across different areas of the world

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) study entitled Suicide Trends in At-Risk Territories (START) is an international multisite initiative that aims to stimulate suicide research and prevention across different areas of the globe. A central component of the study is the development of registration systems for fatal and nonfatal suicidal behaviors. Aims: This paper provides an overview of the data collected on suicidal behaviors from the participating locations in the START study. Method: Descriptive statistics on the data are presented in terms of age, sex, and method. Results: Agreater proportion of suicide deaths occurred among males. In all areas except the Philippines more females than males engaged in nonfatal suicidal behaviors. Compared to Australia, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong SAR, in the Pacific Islands suicide most often occurs in younger age groups. Results indicate notable variations between countries in choice of method. A greater proportion of suicides occurred by hanging in Pacific Islands, while inhalation of carbon monoxide, use of firearms, ingestion of chemicals and poisons, and drug overdose were the most frequent methods of choice in other areas. Conclusion: The information drawn from this study demonstrates the enormous variation in suicidal behavior across the areas involved in the START Study. Further research is needed to assess the reliability of the established data-recording systems for suicidal behaviors. The baseline data established in START may allow the development of suicide prevention initiatives sensitive to variation in the profile of suicide across different locations. © 2013 Hogrefe Publishing.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in dancers and former dancers participating in the largest dance festival in the world

Objective: To verify the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in dancers and former dancers participating in the 27th Joinville Dance FestivalMaterial and methods: The research was conducted at the 27th Joinville Dance Festival in Santa Catarina, Brazil, with 173 participants in the competition, where 139 were dancers and 34 were former dancers with at least ten years of practiceIn order to obtain information related to MSDs, dancers answered a specific questionnaireResults: The study group consisted of adults (28±9 years) with body mass index within the normal range (21.3±2.3) with high weekly training time (955.7±837.2) and featuring long-time experience in dancing (18±7years)The lumbar spine and knees were the most affected by MSDsThe pain of high intensity was the symptom that most often appeared in reports among survey participantsConclusion: It is important to have deeper knowledge of the prevalence of pain among professional dancers, the factors associated with pain conditions and its impact on everyday life in order to plan new forms of prevention and plan new forms of prevention and treatment within a multidisciplinary approach© 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.