Nutrição mineral do Panicum maximum cv. Makueni II: concentração e extração de micronutrientes

O trabalho foi conduzido em área de pasto já formado e rebaixado, situado na Fazenda Canchim (UEPAE de São Carlos EMBRAPA), São Carlos - SP, em Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo, fase arenosa. Com a finalidade de avaliar a concentração e acúmulo de micronutrientes a partir dos 30 dias após o rebaixamento até aos 180 dias. A área foi adubada com nitrogênio correspondendo à 250 kg de sulfato de amônio por hectare. Em intervalos de 30 dias após o rebaixamento até aos 180 dias, foram coletadas quatro metros quadrados das plantas ao acaso, sem sub dividir em folhas e caules O material seco à 80°C, foi analisado para Cu, Zn, B, Mn e Fe. Os autores concluíram que: . A concentração de cobre é mais elevada aos 30 dias com 7,63ppm. . A concentração de zinco é maxima aos 180 dias com 22,66 ppm e mínima aos 120 dias com 12, 42ppm . A concentração de boro e maxima aos 150 dias com 11,76 ppm e mínima aos 60 dias com 1,69 ppm. . A concentração de manganês é máxima aos 180 dias com 133,85 ppm e mínima aos 30 dias com 49,64 ppm. . A concentração de ferro é máxima aos 180 dias com 236,25 ppm e mínima aos 90 dias com 136,22ppm . O acúmulo de cobre é máximo aos 90 dias. . O acúmulo de boro de mangês é máximo aos 180 dias. . O acúmulo de zinco e ferro não diferiu nas diferentes idades. A exportação de micronutrientes contida na produção máxima de 1.425 kg de matéria seca por hectare obedece a seguinte ordem: ferro - 286 g; manganês - 157 g; zinco - 23g; boro - 13,2g e cobre 7,6 g.

Nutrição mineral do Panicum maximum cv. Makueni III: digestibilidade da materia seca

O presente trabalho foi conduzido em área de pasto já formado e rebaixado, situado na Fazenda Canchim (UEPAE de São Carlos-EMBRAPA), São Carlos - SP, em Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo, fase arenosa. Com a finalidade de avaliar o coeficiente de digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca em função da idade, a partir dos 30 dias após o rebaixamento até aos l80 dias. A área foi adubada com nitrogênio correspondendo à 250 kg de sulfato de amônio por hectare. Em intervalos de 30 dias após o rebaixamento até aos l80 dias, colhiam-se quatro metrosquadrados das plantas ao acaso, sem subdividir em folhas e caules No mate rial coletado foi determinado o coeficiente de digestibilidade invitro sobre vinte e quatro amostras com duas repetições. Os resultados mostram que o coeficiente de digestibilidade da matéria seca é máximo aos 30 dias com 51,9% e decresce aos 180 dias com 29,4%.

Nutrição mineral de gramíneas tropicais. I. Carências nutricionais de capim tobiatã (Panicum maximum jacq.)

Plantas de capim tobiati, em condições controladas, foram submetidas a tratamentos em soluções nutritivas completa e carentes em N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Se B, com o objetivo de se obter o quadro sintomatológico das carências, bem como os teores dos elementos no caule e folhas. Foi obtido o quadro sintomatológico de todas as carências. Os teores encontra dos nas folhas de plantas com sintomas e normais, foram os seguintes: N: 1,0 -2,06; P: 0,08-0,15; K: 0,47-2,99; Mg: 0,12-1,52; Ca: 0,19-1,18; S: 0,08-0,16; B: 15,11-95,55 (ppm).

Nutrição mineral de gramineas tropicais: II. carências de micronutrientes em capim tobiatã (Panicum maximum, Jacq.)

Durante oitenta e um dias, foi conduzido um experimento com omissão de micronutrientes, em casa de vegetação, visando estabelecer o quadro sintomatológico das deficiências nutricionais e verificar os efeitos da omissão dos micronutrientes na produção de matéria seca do capim tobiatã. Foram testados os tratamentos: completo, omissão de Fe, omissão de Cu, omissão de Mn e omissão de Zn. A produção de matéria seca obtida nos diferentes tratamentos foi: completo = 62,2 g; -Cu = 45,7 g; -Zn = 46,9 g; -B = 48,1 g; -Mn = 48,1 ge-Fe=48,8 g. A concentração média em ppm, determinada nas folhas novas em função dos tratamentos foi: +B = 19 ppm e -B = 23 ppm; +Cu = 2,0 ppm e -Cu = 0,8; +Fe = 79 ppm e -Fe = 81 ppm; + Mn = 42 ppm e -Mn 41 ppm; +Zn = 27 ppm e -Zn = 31 ppm. A soma total dos micronutrientes nas diversas partes em mg por tratamento foi: +B = 1221; -B = 1227; +Cu = 85; -Cu = 21; +Fe = 4734; -Fe = 2788; +Mn = 536; -Mn = 393; +Zn = 2273 e -Zn = 1444.

Anfíbios Anuros da coleção Adolpho Lutz: III - Hyla claresignata Lutz & B. Lutz, 1939

Hyla claresignata Lutz & Lutz, 1939, is a large species apparently not closely allied to the other known Brazilian hylas. It is characterized by the very small tympanum; the head is short and the snout rounded; the legs are long, the hands and feet unusually large, the latter extensively webbbed. The specific name is derived from the insular, irregular, or roughly triangular, dark spots, with a light halo, found mostly in the dorso-lateral region and on the legs. It belongs to the rain-forest fauna of the Marítime Range. The adult is a bromeliad-dweller and the tadpole rhyacophilous. DESCRIPTION. Vomerine teeth in two separate, oblique, groups, behind the large choanae, parallel to the posterior half of their inner border. Tongue entire, short, very broad and hardly free behind. Snout short, rounded, with distinct canthus rostralis and gradually sloping loreal region. Eye very large and prominent, its horizontal diameter almost equal to the distance between its anterior corner and the tip of the snout. Tympanum very small, less than one third of the diameter of the eye, but distinct, partly covered by a short, heavy ridge. Lateral fingers less than one third webbed; fourth finger slightly longer than the second, just reaching the base of the disk of the third; subarticular tubercles well developed; an angular pollex rudiment, more noticeable in the males. Toes almost completely webbed, the edge of the web inserted at the base of the disk on the third and the fifth; an inner metatarsal tubercle. Skin smooth above, granular beneath, on the throat minutely so. No dermal appendage on the hell. Habit robust, head broader than long, body rather heavy, slightly narrowed in the postaxillary region. Legs long, the tibiotarsal articulation reaching beyond the tip of the snout when adpressed. Type (female): 61 mm. (Fig. 1.) DIAGNOSIS of TADPOLE (by G. Orton). "A large specialized, mountain-stream tadpole, with wide head an elongated, flattened snout, greatly enlarged lips and high tooth formula. Eyes dorsal. Spiracle sinistral, projecting, situated far back on side. Anus dextral. Tooth formula 8/12 to 9/14 in fully grown larvae. Tail with a prominent, vertical dark band across musculature and fins; a second concentration of dark pigment near tip of tail, may or may not form a similar but narrower band. Maximum known total length: 60mm.; head and body length 25mm. (Figs. 6 e 7). For further details see Lutz & Lutz, 1939 and Lutz B. & Orton G. 1946.

Estruturas silicosas na gramínea Panicum maximum

The silica structure of the grass Panicum maximum were studied by electron and phase contrast microscopy. Several interesting kinds of silica formation (spiklets) were found. The most ineresting structures ressembels the "Schaumstruktur" found by HELMCKE in diatoms. Another interesting structure was described in the "silica cells" and a detailed study of the mophology of some different kinds of spiklets was made.

El suro com a adsorbent del plom i el poloni

S’ha estudiat la utilització del suro com a adsorbent de metalls i radionúclids, com el plom i el poloni. Aquesta metodologia es pot aplicar en diferents camps, principalment per la separació d’aquests elements tant per a la seva posterior anàlisi com per l’eliminació i descontaminació en medis naturals. El suro és un bon adsorbent del plom, ja que de promig n’adsorbeix un 80%, i existeix dependència amb la relació superfície – volum del suro. La capacitat de càrrega màxima, a partir de les vuit hores, correspon al suro de diàmetre de partícula de 0.5 a 1 mm, amb un valor proper a 6·10-2 mmol Pb/g suro. El poloni presenta una eficiència d’adsorció menor a la del plom, d’un 50% del poloni present en la solució de càrrega inicial. Del present treball es pot concloure que el suro és un bon material adsorbent per a metalls i/o radionúclids, i per tan pot ser emprat com a una tècnica de separació i/o recuperació alternativa a les actualment establertes, sent més econòmica i biodegradable.

Duplex Hemodinamic evaluation of hepatosplenic mansoni schistosomiasis

Conventional ultrasonography highly contributes to a non invasive diagnosis of HS schistosomiasis (Cerri et al., 1984). The introduction of Dopple allowed new advances in the knowledge of the portal dinamics of this disease (Taylor et al., 1985; Moriyasu et al., 1986). The aim of this paper was to analize the hemodinamic behavior of the portal vessels, considering caliper, maximum flow speed, direction of flow and preferential disposition of the collateral vessels. Thirty two patients with schistosomiasis mansoni with confirmed hepatosplenic form (HSSM), were analyzed. Fourteen patients with the intestinal form, have been analyzed as a control group. The results demonstrated that the maximum speed of the portal vein in the two groups has not been significantly diferent. Nevertheless, the diameter of the PV in the hepatosplenic group has been larger. The splenic vein presented speed and caliper larger than the superior mesenteric vein. The hepatic artery has been detectly in only 40% of the cases. The hepatic veins presented normal caliper and spectral pattern. The duplex proved to be an useful technich complementar and non-invasive, in the study of the HSSM.

Advanced mapping of environmental data: Geostatistics, Machine Learning and Bayesian Maximum Entropy

This book combines geostatistics and global mapping systems to present an up-to-the-minute study of environmental data. Featuring numerous case studies, the reference covers model dependent (geostatistics) and data driven (machine learning algorithms) analysis techniques such as risk mapping, conditional stochastic simulations, descriptions of spatial uncertainty and variability, artificial neural networks (ANN) for spatial data, Bayesian maximum entropy (BME), and more.

Sedimentology, geochemistry and mineralogy of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) : sediment records from Egypt, India and Spain

A gradual increase in Earth's surface temperatures marking the transition from the late Paleocene to early Eocene (55.8±0.2Ma), represents an extraordinary warming event known as Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Both marine and continental sedimentary records during this period reveal evidences for the massive injection of isotopically light carbon. The carbon dioxide injection from multiple potential sources may have triggered the global warming. The importance of the PETM studies is due to the fact that the PETM bears some striking resemblances to the human-caused climate change unfolding today. Most notably, the culprit behind it was a massive injection of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and oceans, comparable in volume to what our persistent burning of fossil fuels could deliver in coming centuries. The exact knowledge of what went on during the PETM could help us to foresee the future climate change. The response of the oceanic and continental environments to the PETM is different. Many factors might control the response of the environments to the PETM such as paleogeography, paleotopography, paleoenvironment, and paleodepth. To better understand the mechanisms triggering PETM events, two different environments were studied: 1) shallow marine to inner shelf environment (Wadi Nukhul, Sinai; and the Dababiya GSSP, Luxor, Egypt), and 2) terrestrial environments (northwestern India lignite mines) representing wetland, and fluvial environments (Esplugafreda, Spain) both highlighting the climatic changes observed in continental conditions. In the marine realm, the PETM is characterized by negative ö13Ccar and ô13Corg excursions and shifts in Ô15N to ~0%o values above the P/E boundary and persisting along the interval suggesting a bloom and high production of atmospheric N2-fixers. Decrease in carbonate contents could be due to dissolution and/or dilution by increasing detrital input. High Ti, K and Zr and decreased Si contents at the P/E boundary indicate high weathering index (CIA), which coincides with significant kaolinite input and suggests intense chemical weathering under humid conditions at the beginning of the PETM. Two anoxic intervals are observed along the PETM. The lower one may be linked to methane released from the continental shelf with no change in the redox proxies, where the upper anoxic to euxinic conditions are revealed by increasing U, Mo, V, Fe and the presence of small size pyrite framboids (2-5fim). Productivity sensitive elements (Cu, Ni, and Cd) show their maximum concentrated within the upper anoxic interval suggesting high productivity in surface water. The obtained data highlight that intense weathering and subsequent nutrient inputs are crucial parameters in the chain of the PETM events, triggering productivity during the recovery phase. In the terrestrial environments, the establishment of wetland conditions and consequence continental climatic shift towards more humid conditions led to migration of modern mammals northward following the extension of the tropical belts. Relative ages of this mammal event based on bio-chemo- and paleomagnetic stratigraphy support a migration path originating from Asia into Europe and North America, followed by later migration from Asia into India and suggests a barrier to migration that is likely linked to the timing of the India-Asia collision. In contrast, at Esplugafereda, northeastern Spain, the terrestrial environment reacted differently. Two significant S13C shifts with the lower one linked to the PETM and the upper corresponding to the Early Eocene Thermal Maximum (ETM2); 180/160 paleothermometry performed on two different soil carbonate nodule reveal a temperature increase of around 8°C during the PETM. The prominent increase in kaolinite content within the PETM is linked to increased runoff and/or weathering of adjacent and coeval soils. These results demonstrate that the PETM coincides globally with extreme climatic fluctuations and that terrestrial environments are very likely to record such climatic changes. - La transition Paléocène-Eocène (55,8±0,2 Ma) est marquée par un réchauffement extraordinaire communément appelé « Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum » (PETM). Les données géochimiques caractérisant les sédiments marins et continentaux de cette période indiquent que ce réchauffement a été déclenché par une augmentation massive de CO2 lié à la déstabilisation des hydrates de méthane stockés le long des marges océaniques. L'étude des événements PETM constitue donc un bon analogue avec le réchauffement actuel. Le volume de CO2 émis durant le PETM est comparable avec le CO2 lié à l'activité actuelle humaine. La compréhension des causes du réchauffement du PETM peut être cruciale pour prévoir et évaluer les conséquences du réchauffement anthropogénique, en particulier les répercussions d'un tel réchauffement sur les domaines continentaux et océaniques. De nombreux facteurs entrent en ligne de compte dans le cas du PETM, tels que la paléogéographie, la paléotopographie et les paléoenvironnement. Pour mieux comprendre les réponses environnementales aux événements du PETM, 2 types d'environnements ont été choisis : (1) le domaine marin ouvert mais relativement peu profond (Wadi Nukhul. Sinai, Dababiya, Luxor, Egypte), (2) le milieu continental marécageux humide (mines de lignite, Inde) et fluviatile, semi-aride (Esplugafreda, Pyrénées espagnoles). Dans le domaine marin, le PETM est caractérisé par des excursions négatives du ô13Ccar et ô13Corg et un shift persistant des valeurs de 815N à ~ 0 %o indiquant une forte activité des organismes (bactéries) fixant l'azote. La diminution des carbonates observée durant le PETM peut-être due à des phénomènes de dissolution ou une augmentation des apports terrigènes. Des taux élevés en Ti, K et Zr et une diminution des montants de Si, reflétés par des valeurs des indices d'altération (CIA) qui coïncident avec une augmentation significative des apports de kaolinite impliquent une altération chimique accrue, du fait de conditions plus humides au début du PETM. Deux événements anoxiques globaux ont été mis en évidence durant le PETM. Le premier, situé dans la partie inférieur du PETM, serait lié à la libération des hydrates de méthane stockés le long des talus continentaux et ne correspond pas à des variations significatives des éléments sensibles aux changements de conditions redox. Le second est caractérisé par une augmentation des éléments U, Mo, V et Fe et la présence de petit framboids de pyrite dont la taille varie entre 2 et 5pm. Le second épisode anoxique est caractérisé par une forte augmentation des éléments sensibles aux changements de la productivité (Cu, Ni et Co), indiquant une augmentation de la productivité dans les eaux de surface. Les données obtenues mettent en évidence le rôle crucial joué par l'altération et les apports en nutriments qui en découlent. Ces paramètres sont cruciaux pour la succession des événements qui ont conduit au PETM, et plus particulièrement l'augmentation de la productivité dans la phase de récupération. Durant le PETM, le milieu continental est caractérisé par l'établissement de conditions humides qui ont facilité voir provoqué la migration des mammifères modernes qui ont suivi le déplacement de ces ceintures climatiques. L'âge de cette migration est basé sur des arguments chimiostratigraphiques (isotopes stables), biostratigraphiques et paléomagnétiques. Les données bibliographiques ainsi que celles que nous avons récoltées en Inde, montrent que les mammifères modernes ont d'abord migré depuis l'Asie vers l'Europe, puis dans le continent Nord américain. Ces derniers ne sont arrivés en Inde que plus tardivement, suggérant que le temps de leur migration est lié à la collision Inde-Asie. Dans le Nord-Est de l'Espagne (Esplugafreda), la réponse du milieu continental aux événements PETM est assez différente. Comme en Inde, deux excursions signicatives en ô13C ont été observées. La première correspond au PETM et la seconde est corrélée avec l'optimum thermique de l'Eocène précoce (ETM2). Les isotopes stables de l'oxygène mesurés 2 différents types de nodules calcaires provenant de paléosols suggère une augmentation de 10°C pendant le PETM. Une augmentation simultanée des taux de kaolinite indique une intensification de l'altération chimique et/ou de l'érosion de sols adjacents. Ces résultats démontrent que le PETM coïncide globalement avec des variations climatiques extrêmes qui sont très aisément reconnaissables dans les dépôts continentaux.

The borehole-fluid effect in electrical resistivity imaging

Fluid that fills boreholes in crosswell electrical resistivity investigations provides the necessary electrical contact between the electrodes and the rock formation but it is also the source of image artifacts in standard inversions that do not account for the effects of the boreholes. The image distortions can be severe for large resistivity contrasts between the rock formation and borehole fluid and for large borehole diameters. We have carried out 3D finite-element modeling using an unstructured-grid approach to quantify the magnitude of borehole effects for different resistivity contrasts, borehole diameters, and electrode configurations. Relatively common resistivity contrasts of 100:1 and borehole diameters of 10 and 20 cm yielded, for a bipole length of 5 m, apparent resistivity underestimates of approximately 12% and 32% when using AB-MN configurations and apparent resistivity overestimates of approximately 24% and 95% when using AM-BN configurations. Effects are generally more severe at shorter bipole spacings. We report the results obtained by either including or ignoring the boreholes in inversions of 3D field data from a test site in Switzerland, where approximately 10,000 crosswell resistivity-tomography measurements were made across six acquisition planes among four boreholes. Inversions of raw data that ignored the boreholes filled with low-resistivity fluid paradoxically produced high-resistivity artifacts around the boreholes. Including correction factors based on the modeling results fora ID model with and without the boreholes did not markedly improve the images. The only satisfactory approach was to use a 3D inversion code that explicitly incorporated the boreholes in the actual inversion. This new approach yielded an electrical resistivity image that was devoid of artifacts around the boreholes and that correlated well with coincident crosswell radar images.

Morphometry of submucous and myenteric esophagic plexus of dogs experimentally reinfected with Trypanosoma cruzi

We carried out a morphometric study of the esophagus of cross-bred dogs experimentally infected or consecutively reinfected with Trypanosoma cruzi 147 and SC-1 strains, in order to verify denervation and/or neuronal hypertrophy in the intramural plexus. The animals were sacrificed in the chronic stage, 38 months after the initial infection. Neither nests of amastigotes, nor myositis or ganglionitis, were observed in all third inferior portions of esophageal rings analyzed. No nerve cell was identified in the submucous of this organ. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the number, maximum diameter, perimeter, or area and volume of the nerve cells of the myenteric plexus of infected and/or reinfected dogs and of the non-infected ones. In view of these results we may conclude that the 147 and SC-1 strains have little neurotropism and do not determine denervation and/or hypertrophy in the intramural esophageal plexuses in the animals studied, independent of the reinfections.

Optimization of spatial resolution for peripheral magnetic resonance angiography.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To determine optimum spatial resolution when imaging peripheral arteries with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight vessel diameters ranging from 1.0 to 8.0 mm were simulated in a vascular phantom. A total of 40 three-dimensional flash MRA sequences were acquired with incremental variations of fields of view, matrix size, and slice thickness. The accurately known eight diameters were combined pairwise to generate 22 "exact" degrees of stenosis ranging from 42% to 87%. Then, the diameters were measured in the MRA images by three independent observers and with quantitative angiography (QA) software and used to compute the degrees of stenosis corresponding to the 22 "exact" ones. The accuracy and reproducibility of vessel diameter measurements and stenosis calculations were assessed for vessel size ranging from 6 to 8 mm (iliac artery), 4 to 5 mm (femoro-popliteal arteries), and 1 to 3 mm (infrapopliteal arteries). Maximum pixel dimension and slice thickness to obtain a mean error in stenosis evaluation of less than 10% were determined by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Mean errors on stenosis quantification were 8.8% +/- 6.3% for 6- to 8-mm vessels, 15.5% +/- 8.2% for 4- to 5-mm vessels, and 18.9% +/- 7.5% for 1- to 3-mm vessels. Mean errors on stenosis calculation were 12.3% +/- 8.2% for observers and 11.4% +/- 15.1% for QA software (P = .0342). To evaluate stenosis with a mean error of less than 10%, maximum pixel surface, the pixel size in the phase direction, and the slice thickness should be less than 1.56 mm2, 1.34 mm, 1.70 mm, respectively (voxel size 2.65 mm3) for 6- to 8-mm vessels; 1.31 mm2, 1.10 mm, 1.34 mm (voxel size 1.76 mm3), for 4- to 5-mm vessels; and 1.17 mm2, 0.90 mm, 0.9 mm (voxel size 1.05 mm3) for 1- to 3-mm vessels. CONCLUSION: Higher spatial resolution than currently used should be selected for imaging peripheral vessels.

Phase-I/II radio-immunotherapy study with Iodine-131-labeled anti-CEA monoclonal antibody F6 F(ab')2 in patients with non-resectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

Experimental studies in nude mice with human colon-carcinoma grafts demonstrated the therapeutic efficiency of F(ab')2 fragments to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) labeled with a high dose of 131Iodine. A phase I/II study was designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of 131I-labeled F(ab')2 fragments (131I-F(ab')2) from anti-CEA monoclonal antibody F6, its limiting organ toxicity and tumor uptake. Ten patients with non-resectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer (9 detected by CT scan and 1 by laparotomy) were treated with 131I-F(ab')2, doses ranging from 87 mCi to 300 mCi for the first 5 patients, with a constant 300-mCi dose for the last 5 patients. For all the patients, autologous bone marrow was harvested and stored before treatment. Circulating CEA ranged from 2 to 126 ng/ml. No severe adverse events were observed during or immediately following infusion of therapeutic doses. The 9 patients with radiologic evidence of liver metastases showed uptake of 131I-F(ab')2 in the metastases, as observed by single-photon-emission tomography. The only toxicity was hematologic, and no severe aplasia was observed when up to 250 mCi was infused. At the 300-mCi dose, 5 out of 6 patients presented grade-3 or -4 hematologic toxicity, with a nadir for neutrophils and thrombocytes ranging from 25 to 35 days after infusion. In these 5 cases, bone marrow was re-infused. No clinical complications were observed during aplasia. The tumor response could be evaluated in 9 out of 10 patients. One patient showed a partial response of one small liver metastasis (2 cm in diameter) and a stable evolution of the other metastases, 2 patients had stable disease, and 6 showed tumor progression at the time of evaluation (2 or 3 months after injection) by CT scan. This phase-I/II study demonstrated that a dose of 300 mCi of 131I-F(ab')2 from the anti-CEA Mab F6 is well tolerated with bone-marrow rescue, whereas a dose of 200 mCi can be infused without severe bone-marrow toxicity.

Fourth order pseudo maximum likelihood methods

We extend PML theory to account for information on the conditional moments up to order four, but without assuming a parametric model, to avoid a risk of misspecification of the conditional distribution. The key statistical tool is the quartic exponential family, which allows us to generalize the PML2 and QGPML1 methods proposed in Gourieroux et al. (1984) to PML4 and QGPML2 methods, respectively. An asymptotic theory is developed. The key numerical tool that we use is the Gauss-Freud integration scheme that solves a computational problem that has previously been raised in several fields. Simulation exercises demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of the methods [Authors]