Accentuated polymorphism of heterochromatin and nucleolar organizer regions in Astyanax scabripinnis (Pisces, Characidae): tools for understanding karyotypic evolution

Astyanax scabripinnis has been considered a species complex because it presents high karyotypic and morphological variability among its populations. In this work, individuals of two A. scabripinnis populations from different streams in the same hydrographic basin were analyzed through C-banding and AgNOR. Although they present distinct diploid numbers, they show meta and submetacentric chromosome groups highly conserved (numerically and morphologically). Other chromosomal characteristics are also shared by both populations, as the pattern of constitutive heterochromatin distribution (large blocks in the telomeric regions of subtelocentric and acrocentric chromosomes) and some nucleolar chromosomes. Inter-individual variations both in the number and size of heterochromatic blocks, and in the number and localization of NORs were verified in the studied populations, characterizing them as polymorphics for these regions. The mechanisms involved in the dispersion of heterochromatin and NORs through the karyotypes, as well as the possible events related to the generation of polymorphism of those regions are discussed. Furthermore, relationships between these populations and within the context of the scabripinnis complex are also approached.

Chromosome polymorphism of heterochromatin and nucleolar regions in two populations of the fish Astyanax bockmanni (Teleostei: Characiformes)

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

Giardia survey in live-trapped small domestic and wild mammals in four regions in the southwest region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil

For the first time, a survey on Giardia in the live-trapped small domestic and wild mammals was perfomed in four regions of state of the São Paulo, Brazil, with special attention to the parasitism of Rattus rattus rattus by Giardia. This species was found infected in all studied sites: Botucatu (15.4%), Conchas (28.5%), Itaporanga (38.7%) and São Roque (100 %). Two new hosts and their frequency of infection were described for Giardia in Nectomys squamipes, an aquatic rodent and in Bolomys lasiurus, a forest rodent (100 % and 14.3 %, respectively). Both G. muris and G. duodenalis groups were found in scrapings of intestinal mucosa of those rodents. Mixed infection was observed in some animals. It is important to emphasize the infection by G. duodenalis in the black rat as this species lives as a comensal with man and in N. squamipes as it may contaminate small streams used for domestic consumption. Therefore, further investigation will be necessary to elucidate the potential of these rodents to act as reservoirs of Giardia for man.

Taxonomic and evolutionary analysis of Zaprionus indianus and its colonization of Palearctic and Neotropical regions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Stability regions around the components of the triple system 2001 SN263

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Molecular studies of Callithrix pygmaea (Primates, Platyrrhini) based on transferrin intronic and ND1 regions: implications for taxonomy and conservation

As classificações tradicionais envolvendo os macacos da infraordem Platyrrhini, principalmente baseadas em características morfológicas, têm sido contestadas por dados moleculares recentes. A subfamília Callitrichinae (Platyrrhine, Primates) engloba um diverso grupo de espécies, muitas das quais consideradas em perigo de extinção. A presente análise de duas regiões do DNA, um gene mitocondrial (ND1) e um gene nuclear (regiões intrônicas da transferrina), sugerem que Callithrix pygmaea apresenta variabilidade suficiente para justificar a existência de subespécies ou até mesmo de espécies distintas. As árvores filogenéticas baseadas na região do ND1 indicam que esta espécie está relacionada mais proximamente aos marmosets amazônicos do que aos da mata Atlântica. Estes resultados reabrem a discussão sobre diversidade e programas de conservação baseados apenas em classificações taxonômicas tradicionais.

Environmental factors influencing the distribution of three species within the genus Persephona Leach, 1817 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Leucosiidae) in two regions on the northern coast of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Patterns of spatio-temporal distribution of Brachyura are determined by the interaction among life history traits, inter and intraspecific relationships, as well as by the variation of abiotic factors. This study aimed to characterize patterns of spatio-temporal distribution of Persephona lichtensteinii, Persephona mediterranea and Persephona punctata in two regions of the northern coast of Sao Paulo State, southeastern region of Brazil. Collections were done monthly from July 2001 to June 2003 in Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba, using a shrimp fishery boat equipped with double-rig nets. The patterns of species distribution were tested by means of redundancy analysis (RDA) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) in relation to the recorded environmental factors (BT: bottom temperature, BS: bottom salinity, OM: organic matter and granulometry (Phi)). The most influent environmental factor over the species distribution was the Phi, and the ascendant order of influence was P. lichtensteinii, P. punctata and P. mediterranea. The greater abundance of P. mediterranea showed a conservative pattern of distribution for the genus in the sampled region. The greater occurrence of P. punctata and P. lichtensteinii, in distinct transects than those occupied by P. mediterranea, seems to be a strategy to avoid competition among congeneric species, which is related to the substratum specificity.

Segmentation of Cell Nuclei Regions in Epithelium of Prostate Glands

This paper proposes a method for segmentation of cell nuclei regions in epithelium of prostate glands. This structure provides information to diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer. In the initial step, the contrast stretching technique was applied in image in order to improve the contrast between regions of interest and other regions. After, the global thresholding technique was applied and the value of threshold was defined empirically. Finally, the false positive regions were removed using the connected components technique. The performance of the proposed method was compared with the Otsu technique and statistical measures of accuracy were calculated based on reference images (gold standard). The result of the mean value of accuracy of proposed method was 93% ± 0.07.

Comparison of eating attitudes among university students from the five Brazilian regions

Eating attitudes can be defined as beliefs, thoughts, feelings, behavior and relationship with food. They can influence people's food choices and health status. The scope of this paper is to compare eating attitudes of university students from different regions of Brazil and investigate possible associations and correlations with nutritional status, age, individual income and parental education. 2489 female university students in the area of health answered the Eating Attitude Scale - evaluated by total score and 5 sub-scores. The eating attitudes were compared by means of an analysis of covariance. A logistic regression was conducted to evaluate which variables were associated to the scale score. The Northeast presented more restrictive and compensatory practices and the North and Northeast presented less positive feelings about food and worse ideas about normal eating. The score on the scale did not present strong correlation with any of the variables studied, but nutritional status and age were associated with the total score. The profile of university students was similar among regions with the worst response in the North and Northeast regions. It is believed that these data could help to elucidate dietary patterns and nutritional differences among groups.

Characterization of ozone transport among metropolitan regions

The aim of this work is to determine the interaction in terms of ozone transport between two metropolitan regions of São Paulo State: The Metropolitan Region of Campinas (MRC) and Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP), with different characteristics and dimensions. In order to describe the interaction between both regions, 3-D Eulerian photochemical CIT model was used with a new approach for São Paulo regions since most previous studies deal with individual areas considering the contribution of other areas only as boundary conditions. The results from the photochemical simulations showed that the ozone concentration in the MRC is associated to local emissions and the transport of ozone and its precursors from the MRSP, demonstrating the significant impact of a megacity in its neighborhood and the importance of meteorological and topography conditions in the transport of air pollutants from the local source to distant regions.

Influence of spatial constraints in non-crystalline regions on the polymer dynamics in semi-crystalline polyethylene: a solid state NMR study

A broad variety of solid state NMR techniques were used to investigate the chain dynamics in several polyethylene (PE) samples, including ultrahigh molecular weight PEs (UHMW-PEs) and low molecular weight PEs (LMW-PEs). Via changing the processing history, i.e. melt/solution crystallization and drawing processes, these samples gain different morphologies, leading to different molecular dynamics. Due to the long chain nature, the molecular dynamics of polyethylene can be distinguished in local fluctuation and long range motion. With the help of NMR these different kinds of molecular dynamics can be monitored separately. In this work the local chain dynamics in non-crystalline regions of polyethylene samples was investigated via measuring 1H-13C heteronuclear dipolar coupling and 13C chemical shift anisotropy (CSA). By analyzing the motionally averaged 1H-13C heteronuclear dipolar coupling and 13C CSA, the information about the local anisotropy and geometry of motion was obtained. Taking advantage of the big difference of the 13C T1 relaxation time in crystalline and non-crystalline regions of PEs, the 1D 13C MAS exchange experiment was used to investigate the cooperative chain motion between these regions. The different chain organizations in non-crystalline regions were used to explain the relationship between the local fluctuation and the long range motion of the samples. In a simple manner the cooperative chain motion between crystalline and non-crystalline regions of PE results in the experimentally observed diffusive behavior of PE chain. The morphological influences on the diffusion motion have been discussed. The morphological factors include lamellar thickness, chain organization in non-crystalline regions and chain entanglements. Thermodynamics of the diffusion motion in melt and solution crystallized UHMW-PEs is discussed, revealing entropy-controlled features of the chain diffusion in PE. This thermodynamic consideration explains the counterintuitive relationship between the local fluctuation and the long range motion of the samples. Using the chain diffusion coefficient, the rates of jump motion in crystals of the melt crystallized PE have been calculated. A concept of "effective" jump motion has been proposed to explain the difference between the values derived from the chain diffusion coefficients and those in literatures. The observations of this thesis give a clear demonstration of the strong relationship between the sample morphology and chain dynamics. The sample morphologies governed by the processing history lead to different spatial constraints for the molecular chains, leading to different features of the local and long range chain dynamics. The knowledge of the morphological influence on the microscopic chain motion has many implications in our understanding of the alpha-relaxation process in PE and the related phenomena such as crystal thickening, drawability of PE, the easy creep of PE fiber, etc.

Dynamic distance analysis : new geometric data structures and algorithms for the real-time calculation of tolerance violating regions in the digital mockup process

In vielen Industriezweigen, zum Beispiel in der Automobilindustrie, werden Digitale Versuchsmodelle (Digital MockUps) eingesetzt, um die Konstruktion und die Funktion eines Produkts am virtuellen Prototypen zu überprüfen. Ein Anwendungsfall ist dabei die Überprüfung von Sicherheitsabständen einzelner Bauteile, die sogenannte Abstandsanalyse. Ingenieure ermitteln dabei für bestimmte Bauteile, ob diese in ihrer Ruhelage sowie während einer Bewegung einen vorgegeben Sicherheitsabstand zu den umgebenden Bauteilen einhalten. Unterschreiten Bauteile den Sicherheitsabstand, so muss deren Form oder Lage verändert werden. Dazu ist es wichtig, die Bereiche der Bauteile, welche den Sicherhabstand verletzen, genau zu kennen. rnrnIn dieser Arbeit präsentieren wir eine Lösung zur Echtzeitberechnung aller den Sicherheitsabstand unterschreitenden Bereiche zwischen zwei geometrischen Objekten. Die Objekte sind dabei jeweils als Menge von Primitiven (z.B. Dreiecken) gegeben. Für jeden Zeitpunkt, in dem eine Transformation auf eines der Objekte angewendet wird, berechnen wir die Menge aller den Sicherheitsabstand unterschreitenden Primitive und bezeichnen diese als die Menge aller toleranzverletzenden Primitive. Wir präsentieren in dieser Arbeit eine ganzheitliche Lösung, welche sich in die folgenden drei großen Themengebiete unterteilen lässt.rnrnIm ersten Teil dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir Algorithmen, die für zwei Dreiecke überprüfen, ob diese toleranzverletzend sind. Hierfür präsentieren wir verschiedene Ansätze für Dreiecks-Dreiecks Toleranztests und zeigen, dass spezielle Toleranztests deutlich performanter sind als bisher verwendete Abstandsberechnungen. Im Fokus unserer Arbeit steht dabei die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Toleranztests, welcher im Dualraum arbeitet. In all unseren Benchmarks zur Berechnung aller toleranzverletzenden Primitive beweist sich unser Ansatz im dualen Raum immer als der Performanteste.rnrnDer zweite Teil dieser Arbeit befasst sich mit Datenstrukturen und Algorithmen zur Echtzeitberechnung aller toleranzverletzenden Primitive zwischen zwei geometrischen Objekten. Wir entwickeln eine kombinierte Datenstruktur, die sich aus einer flachen hierarchischen Datenstruktur und mehreren Uniform Grids zusammensetzt. Um effiziente Laufzeiten zu gewährleisten ist es vor allem wichtig, den geforderten Sicherheitsabstand sinnvoll im Design der Datenstrukturen und der Anfragealgorithmen zu beachten. Wir präsentieren hierzu Lösungen, die die Menge der zu testenden Paare von Primitiven schnell bestimmen. Darüber hinaus entwickeln wir Strategien, wie Primitive als toleranzverletzend erkannt werden können, ohne einen aufwändigen Primitiv-Primitiv Toleranztest zu berechnen. In unseren Benchmarks zeigen wir, dass wir mit unseren Lösungen in der Lage sind, in Echtzeit alle toleranzverletzenden Primitive zwischen zwei komplexen geometrischen Objekten, bestehend aus jeweils vielen hunderttausend Primitiven, zu berechnen. rnrnIm dritten Teil präsentieren wir eine neuartige, speicheroptimierte Datenstruktur zur Verwaltung der Zellinhalte der zuvor verwendeten Uniform Grids. Wir bezeichnen diese Datenstruktur als Shrubs. Bisherige Ansätze zur Speicheroptimierung von Uniform Grids beziehen sich vor allem auf Hashing Methoden. Diese reduzieren aber nicht den Speicherverbrauch der Zellinhalte. In unserem Anwendungsfall haben benachbarte Zellen oft ähnliche Inhalte. Unser Ansatz ist in der Lage, den Speicherbedarf der Zellinhalte eines Uniform Grids, basierend auf den redundanten Zellinhalten, verlustlos auf ein fünftel der bisherigen Größe zu komprimieren und zur Laufzeit zu dekomprimieren.rnrnAbschießend zeigen wir, wie unsere Lösung zur Berechnung aller toleranzverletzenden Primitive Anwendung in der Praxis finden kann. Neben der reinen Abstandsanalyse zeigen wir Anwendungen für verschiedene Problemstellungen der Pfadplanung.

Development of a physically-based method for delineation of hydrologically homogeneous regions and flood quantile estimation in ungauged basins via the index flood method

Regional flood frequency techniques are commonly used to estimate flood quantiles when flood data is unavailable or the record length at an individual gauging station is insufficient for reliable analyses. These methods compensate for limited or unavailable data by pooling data from nearby gauged sites. This requires the delineation of hydrologically homogeneous regions in which the flood regime is sufficiently similar to allow the spatial transfer of information. It is generally accepted that hydrologic similarity results from similar physiographic characteristics, and thus these characteristics can be used to delineate regions and classify ungauged sites. However, as currently practiced, the delineation is highly subjective and dependent on the similarity measures and classification techniques employed. A standardized procedure for delineation of hydrologically homogeneous regions is presented herein. Key aspects are a new statistical metric to identify physically discordant sites, and the identification of an appropriate set of physically based measures of extreme hydrological similarity. A combination of multivariate statistical techniques applied to multiple flood statistics and basin characteristics for gauging stations in the Southeastern U.S. revealed that basin slope, elevation, and soil drainage largely determine the extreme hydrological behavior of a watershed. Use of these characteristics as similarity measures in the standardized approach for region delineation yields regions which are more homogeneous and more efficient for quantile estimation at ungauged sites than those delineated using alternative physically-based procedures typically employed in practice. The proposed methods and key physical characteristics are also shown to be efficient for region delineation and quantile development in alternative areas composed of watersheds with statistically different physical composition. In addition, the use of aggregated values of key watershed characteristics was found to be sufficient for the regionalization of flood data; the added time and computational effort required to derive spatially distributed watershed variables does not increase the accuracy of quantile estimators for ungauged sites. This dissertation also presents a methodology by which flood quantile estimates in Haiti can be derived using relationships developed for data rich regions of the U.S. As currently practiced, regional flood frequency techniques can only be applied within the predefined area used for model development. However, results presented herein demonstrate that the regional flood distribution can successfully be extrapolated to areas of similar physical composition located beyond the extent of that used for model development provided differences in precipitation are accounted for and the site in question can be appropriately classified within a delineated region.

Measurement of Protein in Nearshore Marine Sediments

Proteinaceous material in marine sediments which is available to proteolytic hydrolysis has been measured using a new method. This technique utilizes Coomassie Blue dye binding, which has the advantage of being sensitive only to larger polypeptides. Substantial interferences from other sedmentary organic substances are overcome by using a standard additions approach in conjunction with enzymatic digestion of the protein. Although tedious, the technique provides acceptable precision and accuracy. Measurements of protein in surficial nearshore sediments of the Gulf of Maine and St. Croix yield values ranging from 0.1 to 2.2 mg g-1, which account for a minor fraction of total nitrogen or acid-hydrolyzable amino acids. Protein decreases downcore at a faster rate than either of these 2 indicators of nitrogenous material, indicating the greater lability of the truly proteinaceous material. Biomass comprises a minor portion of the measured protein.

Total Factor Productivity, Human Capital and Outward Orientation: Differences by Stage of Ddevelopment and Geographic Regions

Do openness and human capital accumulation promote economic growth? While intuition argues yes, the existing empirical evidence provides mixed support for such assertions. We examine Cobb-Douglas production function specifications for a 30-year panel of 83 countries representing all regions of the world and all income groups. We estimate and compare labor and capital elasticities of output per worker across each of several income and geographic groups, finding significant differences in production technology. Then we estimate the total factor productivity series for each classification. Using determinants of total factor productivity that include, among many others, human capital, openness, and distortion of domestic prices relative to world prices, we find significant differences in results between the overall sample and sub-samples of countries. In particular, a policy of outward orientation may or may not promote growth in specific country groups. even if geared to reducing price distortion and increasing openness. Human capital plays a smaller role in enhancing growth through total factor productivity.