PHYTOSOCIOLOGY AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF WOODY REGENERATION FROM A REFORESTATION WITH NATIVE SPECIES IN SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

ABSTRACT In Brazil, specifically in São Paulo State, there are guidelines based on the high diversity of tropical forests that instructs the restoration projects in the state (current SMA 32/2014). The main goal of this study was verify the importance and effectiveness of the high diversity of arboreal species originated from a reforestation, and its influence in a woody regenerating composition. We developed a phytosociologic study in a woody regenerating stratum of a nine year old reforestation at a Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN), in Mogi-Guaçu, São Paulo State. All specimens with height > 30 cm and Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) < 5 cm were evaluated. The woody regenerating diversity was smaller than the overstory diversity and the species composition was similar to the overstory. The Simpson index (1-D) was 0.85, Shannon index (H') was 2.46 and the Pielou index (J') was 0.60. The zoochoric dispersion syndrome was major among the species. Our results suggest that the use of high diversity of native seedlings in a reforestation leads to high diversity of species in woody regeneration stratum, after one decade of planting.

The genera Eriochrysis P. Beauv., Imperata Cirillo and Saccharum L. (Poaceae - Andropogoneae - Saccharinae) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The subtribe Saccharinae belongs to the tribe Andropogoneae and comprises ca. 140 species in 13 genera, including Eriochrysis, Imperata and Saccharum. This work presents a survey of the species of these three genera in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Intensive field collections were made in different physiographic regions of the state, as well as studies in several herbaria. The occurrence of three native species of each genus was confirmed in Rio Grande do Sul, in addition to sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) that is cultivated in the region. Based on the material examined, Eriochrysis villosa is reported for the first time in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Identification keys for the species, descriptions, data on their geographical distributions, habitats and flowering and fruiting periods, as well as illustrations of important taxonomic characters are provided.

pH titration of native and unfolded ß-trypsin: evaluation of the D D G0 titration and the carboxyl pK values

The stabilizing free energy of ß-trypsin was determined by hydrogen ion titration. In the pH range from 3.0 to 7.0, the change in free energy difference for the stabilization of the native protein relative to the unfolded one (D D G0 titration) was 9.51 ± 0.06 kcal/mol. An isoelectric point of 10.0 was determined, allowing us to calculate the Tanford and Kirkwood electrostatic factor w. This factor presented a nonlinear behavior and indicated more than one type of titratable carboxyl groups in ß-trypsin. In fact, one class of carboxyl group with a pK = 3.91 ± 0.01 and another one with a pK = 4.63 ± 0.03 were also found by hydrogen ion titration of the protein in the folded state

Redefining U.S. borders : a reading of Sandra Cisneros’s Caramelo, Cristina Garcia’s The Agüero Sisters, and David Plante’s The Family and The Native

Cette thèse propose une redéfinition de la notion de frontière dans le contexte américain, avec pour point de départ les romans de trois voix littéraires issues de trois minorités ethniques : Sandra Cisneros (Caramelo), Cristina Garcia (The Agüero Sisters) et David Plante (The Family et The Native). Je conceptualise la frontière comme fluctuation entre mouvement et immobilité, entre porosité et imperméabilité. Dans le premier chapitre, je fournis des repères sur la théorie des frontières et j'analyse les avancées de ce champ d'étude, du concept de terre frontalière (“Borderland Theories”) jusqu'aux récits d'immigration. Je propose un cadre conceptuel que j'appelle « Écrire la frontière à partir de la perspective de la frontière », lequel permet une lecture neuve des récits de frontière, et une redéfinition de la notion elle-même. Prise comme perspective, la frontière est une dynamique vivante, ce qui la rend plurielle et impossible à fixer définitivement; aussi les récits de frontière présentent-ils une grande variété d’expériences, toutes liées à des moments et à des points de vue uniques. Dans le second chapitre, j’analyse la porosité des frontières dans le contexte géopolitique contemporain, en mettant en lumière comment la colonisation, la mondialisation économique et l’immigration sont autant de mécanismes de transgression des frontières qui suivent des orientations transnationales, dénationales et postnationales. Dans le troisième chapitre, j’étudie la résurgence des frontières dans la vie des immigrants qui habitent aux États-Unis. J’identifie l’insécurité capitaliste ainsi que la marchandisation de l’espace et de l’ethnicité comme étant à l'origine du renforcement des frontières délimitant les quartiers ethniques; génératrices de stéréotypes négatifs, ces divisions physiques deviennent une technologie d’exclusion et d’injustice sociale. Le dernier chapitre présente une lecture des aspects esthétiques de la frontière, voyant comment ils peuvent contribuer à écrire la frontière à partir de la perspective de la frontière. Dans les textes à l'étude, j'examine de près la problématisation du concept de représentation, la multiplicité des points de vue narratifs, l’inaccessibilité du réel, et la partialité de la médiation. Mots clés : Théories et écrits sur les frontières, minorités ethniques aux États-Unis, multiculturalisme, culture, immigration, mondialisation, espace, place, territoire, état-nation, nationalisme, histoire, langue et langage, représentation, communauté, justice sociale, citoyenneté

A prolegomenon to the construct of the native speaker: heritage speaker bilinguals are natives too!

This Forum challenges the generally accepted position in the linguistic sciences—conscious or not—that monolingualism and nativeness are essentially synonymous in an exclusive way. We discuss two consequences of our position that naturalistic bilinguals and multilinguals exposed to a language in early childhood are also native speakers: (i) that bi-/multilinguals have multiple native languages;and (ii) nativeness can be applicable to a state of linguistic knowledge that is characterized by significant differences to the monolingual baseline.

Can a native rodent species limit the invasive potential of a non-native rodent species in tropical agroforest habitats?

BACKGROUND Little is known about native and non-native rodent species interactions in complex tropical agro-ecosystems. We hypothesised that the native non-pest rodent Rattus everetti may be competitively dominant over the invasive pest rodent Rattus tanezumi within agroforests. We tested this experimentally by using pulse removal for three consecutive months to reduce populations of R. everetti in agroforest habitat and assessed over 6-months the response of R. tanezumi and other rodent species. RESULTS Following removal, R. everetti individuals rapidly immigrated into removal sites. At the end of the study period, R. tanezumi were larger and there was a significant shift in their microhabitat use with respect to the use of ground vegetation cover following the perturbation of R. everetti. Irrespective of treatment, R. tanezumi selected microhabitat with less tree canopy cover, indicative of severely disturbed habitat, whereas, R. everetti selected microhabitat with a dense canopy. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that sustained habitat disturbance in agroforests favours R. tanezumi, whilst the regeneration of agroforests towards a more natural state would favour native species and may reduce pest pressure in adjacent crops. In addition, the rapid recolonisation of R. everetti suggests this species would be able to recover from non-target impacts of short-term rodent pest control.

Biochemical and biophysical properties of a highly active recombinant arginase from Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis and subcellular localization of native enzyme

Arginase (L-arginine amidinohydrolase, E.C. 3.5.3.1) is a metalloenzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis Of L-arginine to L-ornithine and urea. In Leishmania spp., the biological role of the enzyme may be involved in modulating NO production upon macrophage infection. Previously, we cloned and characterized the arginase gene from Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. In the present work, we successfully expressed the recombinant enzyme in E. coli and performed biochemical and biophysical characterization of both the native and recombinant enzymes. We obtained K-M and V-max. values of 23.9(+/- 0.96) mM and 192.3 mu mol/min mg protein (+/- 14.3), respectively, for the native enzyme. For the recombinant counterpart, K-M was 21.5(+/- 0.90) mM and V-max was 144.9(+/- 8.9) mu mol/min mg. Antibody against the recombinant protein confirmed a glycosomal cellular localization of the enzyme in promastigotes. Data from light scattering and small angle X-ray scattering showed that a trimeric state is the active form of the protein. We determined empirically that a manganese wash at room temperature is the best condition to purify active enzyme. The interaction of the recombinant protein with the immobilized nickel also allowed us to confirm the structural disposition of histidine at positions 3 and 324. The determined structural parameters provide substantial data to facilitate the search for selective inhibitors of parasitic sources of arginase, which could subsequently point to a candidate for leishmaniasis therapy. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carnivore mammals in a fragmented landscape in northeast of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Sao Paulo is the most developed state in Brazil and little of its native vegetation remains. In Luiz Antonio and Santa Rita do Passa Quatro municipalities, only small fragments of cerrado (Brazilian savanna) physiognomies (cerrado, cerrado sensu stricto) and of semideciduous forest have been left, surrounded by eucalyptus silviculture and sugar-cane agriculture. However, that vegetation mosaic still shelters large mammals, including several carnivore species. To detect the carnivores present in such a mosaic area (50,000 ha), and to find out how they use the landscape, we recorded them through 21 camera traps and 21 track plots, during 18 months. Species richness, diversity and relative frequency were evaluated according to the habitat. Ten species were recorded, some of them locally threatened to extinction (Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalis, Chrysocyon brachyurus). Species diversity did not significantly differ among fragments, and although most species preferred one or another habitat, the carnivore community as a whole explored all the study area regardless of the vegetation cover;eucalyptus plantations were as used by the carnivores as the native fragments. Therefore, it seems possible to maintain such animals in agricultural landscapes, where some large native fragments are left and the matrix is permeable to native fauna.

State Senate Environmental Performance 2007-2009

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Moose-vehicle collisions (MVC) in the State of Maine from 1992-2004

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2004 Distribution of Brood Trout Stockings For The State of Maine: 2004

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Temperature and Scarification Effects on the Germination of Syagrus picrophylla Seeds, a Brazilian Native Palm

Syagrus picrophylla belongs to the Arecaceae family. Its propagation is made by seeds; however there is a lack of information in the literature about its seed germination. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of temperature and scarification on the germination of S. picrophylla seeds. The experiment was carried out at the State University of São Paulo, Jaboticabal Campus, Brazil. The experimental design was entirely randomized in a factorial arrangement 5 x 2 (five temperature conditions combined with or without mechanical scarification. The number of germinated seeds that showed primary root protrusion was noted daily, and when the germination was stabilized, the germination (%G) and germination rate (GR) were calculated. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out for means comparing by the Tukey test at 5% confidence level. It was concluded that the greatest %G were obtained at 20-30 degrees C (62%) and 25-35 degrees C (59%) alternated temperatures; %G and GR were similar for both scarified and non-scarified seeds, and there was a faster germination at 20-30 degrees C alternated temperature.

An evaluation of direct seeding for reforestation of degraded lands in central São Paulo state, Brazil

As part of a larger study evaluating several silvicultural techniques for restoring tropical moist forests on abandoned agricultural lands in southeastern Brazil, direct seeding with five early-successional Atlantic forest species was tested at three degraded sites, characterized by different soil types and land-use histories, within the Environmental Protection Area at Botucatu, SP. The species used in this study were Chorisia speciosa, Croton floribundus, Enterolobium contorstisiliquum, Mimosa scabrella, and Schizolobium parahyba. Scarified seeds of each of these species were sown in prepared seed spots in replicated, 0.25 ha mixed-species plots at an initial espacement of 1 m x 1 m at each site. of the five species planted, only two, Enterolobium and Schizolobium, showed good seed germination, seedling survival, and early growth rates, averaging 4.1-4.6 cm stem diameter and 1.5-1.7 m height growth during the first 2 years after sowing. These two species constituted 88-100% of the total stand density, which ranged from 1050 to 1790 stems ha(-1) at 2 years. Despite the poor performance of the other species tested, we observed that the natural regeneration of native forest species originating from remnant forests in the general vicinity of our study sites was significantly greater within the direct-seeded plots than in unplanted control plots that were protected from fire and other disturbances. Published by Elsevier B.V. B.V.

What Role Should Government Regulation Play in Ecological Restoration? Ongoing Debate in São Paulo State, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Can native vegetation recover after slash pine cultivation in the Brazilian Savanna?

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)