Quantitative comparisons and models of time-averaging in bivalve and brachiopod shell accumulations

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

ESR dating of a subfossil shell from Couve Island, Ubatuba, Brazil

The occurrence of subfossil material in bottom sediments of Couve Island, Ubatuba region, São Paulo State, is confirmed. The analyzed material consists of a bivalve shell that was dated by the electron spin resonance technique. By the additive irradiation method an archaeological absorbed dose of (25 +/- 5) Gy was obtained and calibration with other dating works in the same area allows the inference of an age of (25 +/- 5) x 10(2) years. The importance of this finding and its paleoecological implications could contribute to elucidating the nature of short-term environmental changes in the Brazilian coastline during the Holocene, as well as becoming an important tool to the understanding of the distribution and biological aspects of the bivalve fauna. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biology and shell relationship in Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) (Crustacea, Diogenidae) from Sao Vicente, SP, Brasil.

This study aimed to characterize the populational structure of Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802), as well as to determine the morphometric relations between the animal's size and the variables: length of their chelar propodus and the size of the shell opening. C. vittatus is a relatively abundant pagurid on the west Atlantic coast, it occurs in the intertidal region from 38 degrees N to 28 degrees S. The animals in this study were randomly sampled every month on the Paranapu (a) over tilde Beach (46 degrees 23' S e 23 degrees 59' W), S (a) over tilde $ o Vicente (SP), Brazil. The biometrics data were adjusted to the power equation (y = ax(b)), by means of the minimum square method. A total of 427 individuals were collected. The size of the cephalothoraxic shield ranged from 2.5 to 12.7 mm, evidencing a representative sample of the population. The of most commonly genus of Gastropoda shells occupied by the hermits was Thais (97,26%). In relation to the morphometric analyses performed, it was observed a positive correlation between the animal size and the variables length of the chelar propodus and the size of the shells.

Patterns of shell utilization in Petrochirus diogenes (Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil

The objective of this study is to investigate the patterns of shell utilization in Petrochirus diogenes in the Ubatuba region, SP, Brazil. Hermit crabs were obtained from 1993 to 1996 with the aid of a shrimp fishery boat equipped with two double-rigged trawling nets. Shells were identified and weighed, and their maximum aperture width was measured. Hermit crabs were weighed, and their shield length was recorded. A total of 634 P. diogenes specimens, occupying shells of 12 gastropod species, was obtained. The shells of Tonna galea, Zidona dufresnei and Strombus pugilis were the most frequently occupied, the first marked by its larger aperture width and lower average weight. Small hermit crabs inhabited a wide variety of gastropod shells due to their higher availability. However, the utilization of T. galea shells became predominant as the crabs attained larger sizes. Differences in weight and aperture width are known to encourage certain shell utilization patterns and may affect growth and reproduction of hermit crabs.

Shell beds as paleoecological puzzles: A case study from the Upper Permian of the Parana Basin, Brazil

Microstratigraphic, sedimentological, and taphonomic features of the Ferraz Shell Bed, from the Upper Permian (Kazanian-Tatarian?) Corumbatai Formation of Rio Claro Region (the Parana Basin, Brazil), indicate that the bed consists of four distinct microstratigraphic units. They include, from bottom to top, a lag concentration (Unit 1), a partly reworked storm deposit (Unit 2), a rapidly deposited sandstone unit with three thin horizons recording episodes of reworking (Unit 3), and a shell-rich horizon generated by reworking/winnowing that was subsequently buried by storm-induced obrution deposit (Unit 4). The bioclasts of the Ferraz Shell Bed represent exclusively bivalve mollusks. Pinzonella illusa and Terraia aequilateralis are the dominant species. Taphonomic analysis indicates that mollusks are heavily time-averaged (except for some parts of Unit 3). Moreover, different species are time-averaged to a different degree (disharmonious time-averaging). The units differ statistically from one another in their taxonomic and ecological composition, in their taphonomic pattern, and in the size-frequency distributions of the two most common species. Other Permian shell beds of the Parana Basin are similar to the Ferraz Shell Bed in their faunal composition (they typically contain similar sets of 5 to 10 bivalve species) and in their taphonomic, sedimentologic, and microstratigraphic characteristics. However, rare shell beds that include 2-3 species only and are dominated by articulated shells preserved in life position also occur. Diversity levels in the Permian benthic associations of the Parana Basin were very low, with the point diversity of 2-3 species and with the within-habitat and basin-wide (alpha and gamma) diversities of 10 species, at most. The Parana Basin benthic communities may have thus been analogous to low-diversity bivalve-dominated associations of the present-day Baltic Sea. The 'Ferraz-type' shell beds of the Parana Basin represent genetically complex and highly heterogeneous sources of paleontological data. They are cumulative records of spectra of benthic ecosystems time-averaged over long periods of time (10(2)-10(4) years judging from actualistic research). Detailed biostratinomic reconstructions of shell beds can not only offer useful insights into their depositional histories, but may also allow paleoecologists to optimize their sampling designs, and consequently, refine paleoecological and paleoenvironmental interpretations.

Is the evolutionary history of the O-type P element in the saltans and willistoni groups of Drosophila similar to that of the canonical P element?

We studied the occurrence of O-type P elements in at least one species of each subgroup of the saltans group, in order to better understand the phylogenetic relationships among the elements within the saltans group and with those of species belonging to the willistoni group. We found that the O-type subfamily has a patchy distribution within the saltans group (it does not occur in D. neocordata and D. emarginata), low sequence divergence among species of the saltans group as well as in relation to species of the willistoni group, a lower rate of synonymous substitution for coding sequences compared to Adh, and phylogenetic incongruities. These findings suggest that the evolutionary history of the O-type subfamily within the saltans and willistoni groups follows the same model proposed for the canonical subfamily of P elements, i.e., events of horizontal transfer between species of the saltans and willistoni groups.

Copy number of P elements, KP/full-sized P element ratio and their relationships with environmental factors in Brazilian Drosophila melanogaster populations

The P transposable element copy numbers and the KP/full-sized P element ratios were determined in eight Brazilian strains of Drosophila melanogaster. Strains from tropical regions showed lower overall P element copy numbers than did strains from temperate regions. Variable numbers of full-sized and defective elements were detected, but the full-sized P and KP elements were the predominant classes of elements in all strains. The full-sized P and KP element ratios were calculated and compared with latitude. The northernmost and southernmost Brazilian strains showed fewer full-sized elements than KP elements per genome, and the strains from less extreme latitudes had many more full-sized P than KP elements. However, no clinal variation was observed. Strains from different localities, previously classified as having P cytotype, displayed a higher or a lower proportion of KP elements than of full-sized P elements, as well as an equal number of the two element types, showing that the same phenotype may be produced by different underlying genomic components of the P-M system.

Geographic polymorphism of P element in populations of Drosophila sturtevanti

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

Copia Retrotransposon in the Zaprionus Genus: Another Case of Transposable Element Sharing with the Drosophila melanogaster Subgroup

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Modal analysis of anisotropic diffused-channel waveguide by a scalar finite element method

A procedure to model optical diffused-channel waveguides is presented in this work. The dielectric waveguides present anisotropic refractive indexes which are calculated from the proton concentration. The proton concentration inside the channel is calculated by the anisotropic 2D-linear diffusion equation and converted to the refractive indexes using mathematical relations obtained from experimental data, the arbitrary refractive index profile is modeled by a. nodal expansion in the base functions. The TE and TM-like propagation properties (effective index) and the electromagnetic fields for well-annealed proton-exchanged (APE) LiNbO3 waveguides are computed by the finite element method.

MATHEMATICA notebook for computing tetrahedral finite element shape functions and matrices for the Helmholtz equation

A MATHEMATICA notebook to compute the elements of the matrices which arise in the solution of the Helmholtz equation by the finite element method (nodal approximation) for tetrahedral elements of any approximation order is presented. The results of the notebook enable a fast computational implementation of finite element codes for high order simplex 3D elements reducing the overheads due to implementation and test of the complex mathematical expressions obtained from the analytical integrations. These matrices can be used in a large number of applications related to physical phenomena described by the Poisson, Laplace and Schrodinger equations with anisotropic physical properties.

Machined and plastic copings in three-element prostheses with different types of implant-abutment joints: a strain gauge comparative analysis

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

Finite element analysis and fracture resistance testing of a new intraradicular post

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to evaluate a prefabricated intraradicular threaded pure titanium post, designed and developed at the Sao Jose dos Campos School of Dentistry - UNESP, Brazil. This new post was designed to minimize stresses observed with prefabricated post systems and to improve cost-benefits. Materials and and methods: Fracture resistance testing of the post/core/root complex, fracture analysis by microscopy and stress analysis by the finite element method were used for post evaluation. The following four prefabricated metal post systems were analyzed: group 1, experimental post; group 2, modification of the experimental post; group 3, Flexi Post, and group 4, Para Post. For the analysis of fracture resistance, 40 bovine teeth were randomly assigned to the four groups (n=10) and used for the fabrication of test specimens simulating the situation in the mouth. The test specimens were subjected to compressive strength testing until fracture in an EMIC universal testing machine. After fracture of the test specimens, their roots were sectioned and analyzed by microscopy. For the finite element method, specimens of the fracture resistance test were simulated by computer modeling to determine the stress distribution pattern in the post systems studied. Results: The fracture test presented the following averages and standard deviation: G1 (45.63 +/- 8.77), G2 (49.98 +/- 7.08), G3 (43.84 +/- 5.52), G4 (47.61 +/- 7.23). Stress was homogenously distributed along the body of the intraradicular post in group 1, whereas high stress concentrations in certain regions were observed in the other groups. These stress concentrations in the body of the post induced the same stress concentration in root dentin. Conclusions: The experimental post (original and modified versions) presented similar fracture resistance and better results in the stress analysis when compared with the commercial post systems tested (08/2008PA/CEP).

General massive one-loop off-shell three-point functions

In this work we compute the most general massive one-loop off-shell three-point vertex in D-dimensions, where the masses, external momenta and exponents of propagators are arbitrary. This follows our previous paper in which we have calculated several new hypergeometric series representations for massless and massive (with equal masses) scalar one-loop three-point functions, in the negative dimensional approach.

Measurement of the top quark mass in the lepton plus jets final state with the matrix element method

We present a measurement of the top quark mass with the matrix element method in the lepton+jets final state. As the energy scale for calorimeter jets represents the dominant source of systematic uncertainty, the matrix element likelihood is extended by an additional parameter, which is defined as a global multiplicative factor applied to the standard energy scale. The top quark mass is obtained from a fit that yields the combined statistical and systematic jet energy scale uncertainty. Using a data set of 0.4 fb(-1) taken with the D0 experiment at Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, the mass of the top quark is measured using topological information to be: m(top)(center dot+jets)(topo)=169.2(-7.4)(+5.0)(stat+JES)(-1.4)(+1.5)(syst) GeV, and when information about identified b jets is included: m(top)(center dot+jets)(b-tag)=170.3(-4.5)(+4.1)(stat+ JES)(-1.8)(+1.2)(syst) GeV. The measurements yield a jet energy scale consistent with the reference scale.