Source populations in coastal crabs: parameters affecting egg production

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

Abundance of sedentary consumers and sessile organisms along the wave exposure gradient of subtropical rocky shores of the south-west Atlantic

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

Seleção de features guiada por atenção visual em imagens com fóvea

Visual attention is a very important task in autonomous robotics, but, because of its complexity, the processing time required is significant. We propose an architecture for feature selection using foveated images that is guided by visual attention tasks and that reduces the processing time required to perform these tasks. Our system can be applied in bottom-up or top-down visual attention. The foveated model determines which scales are to be used on the feature extraction algorithm. The system is able to discard features that are not extremely necessary for the tasks, thus, reducing the processing time. If the fovea is correctly placed, then it is possible to reduce the processing time without compromising the quality of the tasks outputs. The distance of the fovea from the object is also analyzed. If the visual system loses the tracking in top-down attention, basic strategies of fovea placement can be applied. Experiments have shown that it is possible to reduce up to 60% the processing time with this approach. To validate the method, we tested it with the feature algorithm known as Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF), one of the most efficient approaches for feature extraction. With the proposed architecture, we can accomplish real time requirements of robotics vision, mainly to be applied in autonomous robotics

A interpretação dos sintagmas nominais com adjetivos atributivos por alunos de inglês instrumental

This present work has as objective to analyze the interpretation of the syntactic and semantic meaning performed by third graders in the nominal groups (NGs) with attributive adjectives in the English language in a text of the final exam in the ESP (English for Specific Purposes) discipline. The corpus is made up of 30 exams of two classes from a third grade institution of the biomedical area, corresponding to the basic and advanced levels of the second term in 2006. The text has 24 NGs of different lexical content, a total of 27 NGs in the whole text summing up to 810 analyzed occurrences. The analysis is carried out at the morphologic, syntactic and semantic levels using as theoretical background the traditional and functional grammars (QUIRK et al, 1985; CELSE-MURCIA et al, 1998; TUCKER, 1998), in their semantic aspects, the Semantics (FRAWLEY, 1992) and the Cognitive Linguistics (TAYLOR, 2002). We concluded that the main difficulties were due to the lack of vocabulary and to the use of mother tongue strategies instead of using the top-down strategies for reading a text in English to compensate this gap. We also observed that even when the vocabulary was known, there were difficulties in establishing the semantic and syntactic relations between modifier and noun head. We suggested improvements for the teaching of reading English texts at the third grade grounded in the obtained results such as a more comprehensive study of the several different morphologic and syntactic structures of the NGs with premodifiers and their semantic consequences, an approach of the morphologic, syntactic and semantic aspects of the NGs and the use of both top-down and bottom-up strategies when reading a NG in the English language

Eficiência de argila silicatada no controle de Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae, in vitro e em mudas de maracujazeiro-amarelo

A mancha bacteriana do maracujá, causada pela bactéria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae, ocorre em todas as regiões produtoras do País, sendo responsável por grandes perdas econômicas na cultura do maracujazeiro-amarelo. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos testar a eficiência de argila silicatada na inibição da bactéria X. axonopodis pv. passiflorae in vitro e no controle preventivo e curativo da mancha bacteriana em mudas de maracujazeiro-amarelo. A argila silicatada foi adicionada ao meio de cultura batata-dextrose-ágar fundente, nas concentrações de 0,0; 0,5; 1,0; 1,5 e 2,0%; vertido em placas de Petri. Após resfriamento do meio, repicou-se a suspensão bacteriana (10(7) UFC.mL-1) com uma alça, incubando-se as placas a 28 °C por três dias, quando se avaliou o crescimento bacteriano. Posteriormente, o produto, nas mesmas concentrações citadas, foi pulverizado em mudas de maracujá 'Afruvec' de forma preventiva ou curativa. A inoculação da bactéria foi realizada através de pulverização foliar da suspensão bacteriana (10(7) UFC.mL-1), 24 h antes ou após os tratamentos curativo e preventivo, respectivamente. A severidade da doença foi avaliada com auxílio de uma escala diagramática nas quatro primeiras folhas verdadeiras contadas de baixo para cima. Nas concentrações avaliadas, a argila silicatada inibiu a bactéria in vitro e os sintomas da mancha bacteriana no tratamento curativo, enquanto no tratamento preventivo, controle significativo foi obtido a partir de 1,0% de argila silicatada. Com base nestes resultados, a argila silicada pode ser recomendada, na concentração de 1,0-2,0%, para o controle da mancha bacteriana do maracujazeiro em pulverizações foliares.

Analysis of the efficiency of silicate clay on the control of Xanthomonas axonopodis PV. passiflorae in vitro and in seedlings of yellow passion fruit contaminated

The bacterial spot in yellow passion fruit plants, caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae, occurs in all producing areas of the country, and is responsible for great economic losses in the culture of passion fruit. This study aimed to test the efficiency of the silicate clay in the inhibition of the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae in vitro, and in both preventive and curative control of the bacterial spot in seedlings of yellow passion fruit plants. The silicate clay was added to the growth medium at concentrations of. 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%, placed in Petri dishes. After the culture medium was cooler, the bacterial suspension was inoculates (10(7) UFC.mL(-1)) with a handle, and left incubating at 28 degrees C for three days, and then the bacterial growth was evaluated. Subsequently, the product at the same concentrations above was sprayed on seedlings of 'Afruvec' passion fruit, as preventive or curative. The inoculation of the bacteria was made by foliar spraying of bacterial suspension (10(7) ufc.mL(-1)), 24 hours before or after the curative and preventive treatments, respectively. The severity of the disease was measured comparing each four true leaves from bottom up, with a diagrammatic scale. In the concentrations evaluated, the silicate clay inhibited both bacteria in vitro and symptoms of bacterial spot in the curative treatment. In preventive treatment, significant results were obtained using more than 1.0% of clay silicates. Based on these results, the clay silicate can be recommended, the concentration of 1.0-2.0% for the control of bacterial spot of passion fruit plants, in foliar sprays.

Structural and optical properties of CaTiO3 perovskite-based materials obtained by microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis: An experimental and theoretical insight

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Garantia literária: elementos para uma revisão crítica após um século

This study contributes to a critical synthesis of the principle of literary warrant, initially formulated by Hulme in 1911. Hulme proposed that the terms of a classification system should be derived from the literature to be classified, rather than based on purely theoretical considerations. Founding literary warrant on literature which is actually documented rather than on scientific or philosophical classifications or on the supposed authority of the first classificationists implied a clear departure from the conceptions of Harris and Dewey, who had used the classifications of Bacon and Leibniz as models. The validity of this principle over the past century is studied by means of diverse documental data (entries in dictionaries, retrieval by Google, etc.), as it is recognized as a main methodological element for classification standards and systems. This study also discusses the situation with respect to the top-down or bottom-up methodologies of system design. Three traditional applications of literary warrant are described as well as three new applications are suggested, in light of its methodological potential. It is possible to conclude that this principle will find increasing applications in other contexts, within and beyond Information Science.

Importance of lateral lagoons for the zooplankton assemblages (Cladocera and Copepoda) in a large tropical reservoir.

This study aimed to analyze the composition and the ecological attributes of the zooplankton assemblages (Cladocera and Copepoda), in four marginal lagoons and in the main channel of Rosana Reservoir (SE Brazil). Fieldwork was carried out in September and November/2004 and January, March, May and August/2005. A total of 72 taxa were identifed (55 cladocerans and 17 copepods). Seasonally, a signifcant higher richness was observed during the rainy period. The lateral lagoons, compared to the reservoir, and the rainy period, compared to the dry one, showed higher zooplankton abundance. Copepods exhibited higher abundance than cladocerans. Among the copepods, there was a higher abundance of nauppli forms in the lateral lagoons and in the dry period. Calanoida dominated in relation to Cyclopoida. The most numerous cladoceran family was Bosminidae, followed by Daphniidae. The results showed that the zooplankton assemblages are infuenced by the meteorological factors, by some important nutrients (indirectly) and by the phytoplankton abundance. This pattern indicated that in the lateral lagoon system the communities are controlled by bottom-up mechanisms. The results validate the hypotheses that lateral lagoons have a prominent ecological role for the zooplankton of Rosana Reservoir and also evidenced the main driving forces infuencing the composition and ecological attributes of the assemblages. The incorporation of the reservoir lateral lagoons in regional environmental programs should be a target strategy for the conservation of the aquatic biota, mitigating the negative impact of the dam.

Profiling the Proteome of the Venom from the Social Wasp Polybia paulista: A Clue to Understand the Envenoming Mechanism

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

Towards a UV completion of chameleons in string theory

Chameleons are scalar fields that couple directly to ordinary matter with gravitational strength, but which nevertheless evade the stringent constraints on tests of gravity because of properties they acquire in the presence of high ambient matter density. Chameleon theories were originally constructed in a bottom-up, phenomenological fashion, with potentials and matter couplings designed to hide the scalar from experiments. In this paper, we attempt to embed the chameleon scenario within string compactifications, thus UV completing the scenario. We look for stabilized potentials that can realize a screening mechanism, and we find that the volume modulus rather generically works as a chameleon, and in fact the supersymmetric potential used by Kachru, Kallosh, Linde and Trivedi (KKLT) is an example of this type. We consider all constraints from tests of gravity, allowing us to put experimental constraints on the KKLT parameters.

Phytoplankton assemblages in lateral lagoons of a large tropical reservoir

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Role of the oriented attachment mechanism in the phase transformation of oxide nanocrystals

Bottom-up methods to obtain nanocrystals usually result in metastable phases, even in processes carried out at room temperature or under soft annealing conditions. However, stable phases, often associated with anisotropic shapes, are obtained in only a few special cases. In this paper we report on the synthesis of two well-studied oxides-titanium and zirconium oxide-in the nanometric range, by a novel route based on the decomposition of peroxide complexes of the two metals under hydrothermal soft conditions, obtaining metastable and stable phases in both cases through transformation. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals the existence of typical defects relating to growth by the oriented attachment mechanism in the stable crystals. The results suggest that the mechanism is associated to the phase transformation of these structures.

Plant glandular trichomes mediate protective mutualism in a spider-plant system

1. Although several species of Peucetia (Oxyopidae) live strictly in association with plants bearing glandular trichomes worldwide, to date little is known about whether these associations are mutualistic.2. In this study we manipulated the presence of Peucetia flava on the glandular plant Rhynchanthera dichotoma in the rainy and post-rain season, to test the strength of its effects on leaf, bud, and flower damage and plant reproductive output. In addition, we ran independent field experiments to examine whether these sticky structures improve spider fidelity to plants.3. Peucetia suppressed some species of foliar phytophages, but not others. Although spiders have reduced levels of leaf herbivory, this phenomenon was temporally conditional, i.e. occurred only in the post-rain but not in the rainy season. Floral herbivory was also reduced in the presence of spiders, but these predators did not affect plant fitness components.4. Plants that had their glandular trichomes removed retained fewer insects than those bearing such structures. Spiders remained longer on plants with glandular trichomes than on plants in which these structures had been removed. Isotopic analyses showed that spiders that fed on live and dead labelled flies adhered to the glandular hairs in similar proportions.5. Spiders incurred no costs to the plants, but can potentially increase individual plant fitness by reducing damage to reproductive tissues. Temporal conditionality probably occurred because plant productivity exceeded herbivore consumption, thus dampening top-down effects. Specialisation to live on glandular plants may have favoured scavenging behaviour in Peucetia, possibly an adaptation to periods of food scarcity.

Youth and social cohesion in Ibero-America: a model in the making. Summary

Includes bibliography