The root systems of permian arborescent sphenopsids: evidence from the northern and southern hemispheres

Anatomically preserved calamitalean trunks are described from the Permian fossil forests of Chemnitz, Germany, and Tocantins, central-north Brazil. Several trunk bases were found in situ, still rooting in their former substrate or in parautochthonous sediments and revealing multiple organic connections between stems and roots. The new evidence of several free-stemmed Permian calamitaleans from different fossil lagerstatten and different taphonomic modes from the Northern and Southern hemispheres has implications for understanding calamite growth and challenges the universal validity of the reconstruction of rhizome-bearing woody trees. Whereas the stems belong to different species of the widely distributed genus Arthropitys GOEPPERT 1864, among them the generitype A. bistriata (COTTA) emend. RoSSLER, FENG & NOLL 2012 the attached roots represent the largest calamite roots ever found and incorporate a broad spectrum of preservational forms and ontogenetic stages. The latter are represented by the root genera Astromyelon WILLIAMSON 1878, Myriophylloides HICK & CASH 1881 and Asthenomyelon LEISTIKOW 1962 that were evidenced for the first time from Chemnitz, the type locality of Arthropitys and Calamitea (COTTA) emend. ROSSLER & NOLL 2007. Branched, stem-borne, adventitious root systems exhibit similar architectures, arise from different nodes of the lowermost trunks and anchor the trees in' different substrates. Developmental features were analysed in first- to third-order roots, which possess clearly-defined concentric tissue zones: epidermis/periderm, cortex, endodermis and central vascular tissue with or without pith. First-order roots, in particular, show considerable secondary growth. Numerous zones of concentric density variation in the secondary xylem indicate some kind of seasonality in the early Permian environments.

Broad Escovopsis-inhibition activity of Pseudonocardia associated with Trachymyrmex ants

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

Anti-Trichophyton Activity of Protocatechuates and Their Synergism with Fluconazole

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Antimalarial activity of piperidine alkaloids from Senna spectabilis and semisynthetic derivatives

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

H-1 and C-13 NMR of some alpha-halo derivatives of o-xylene

C-13 and H-1 NMR data for a series of alpha-halo derivatives of o-xylene are presented. A dynamic H-1 NMR investigation of alpha,alpha,alpha',alpha'-tetrabromo-o-xylene (5) was performed and the spectrum of the most stable conformer at 213 K is presented. The free energy of activation for the rotation of the CHBr2 groups in 5 are determined for the first time. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Controllability and stabilizability of linear time-varying distributed hereditary control systems

This paper is concerned with the controllability and stabilizability problem for control systems described by a time-varyinglinear abstract differential equation with distributed delay in the state variables. An approximate controllability propertyis established, and for periodic systems, the stabilization problem is studied. Assuming that the semigroup of operatorsassociated with the uncontrolled and non delayed equation is compact, and using the characterization of the asymptoticstability in terms of the spectrum of the monodromy operator of the uncontrolled system, it is shown that the approximatecontrollability property is a sufficient condition for the existence of a periodic feedback control law that stabilizes thesystem. The result is extended to include some systems which are asymptotically periodic. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.

Maximally genuine multipartite entangled mixed X-states of N-qubits

For every possible spectrum of 2(N)-dimensional density operators, we construct an N-qubit X-state of the same spectrum and maximal genuine multipartite (GM-) concurrence, hence characterizing a global unitary transformation that -constrained to output X-states-maximizes the GM-concurrence of an arbitrary input mixed state of N qubits. We also apply semidefinite programming methods to obtain N-qubit X-states with maximal GM-concurrence for a given purity and to provide an alternative proof of optimality of a recently proposed set of density matrices for the purpose, the so-called X-MEMS. Furthermore, we introduce a numerical strategy to tailor a quantum operation that converts between any two given density matrices using a relatively small number of Kraus operators. We apply our strategy to design short operator-sum representations for the transformation between any given N-qubit mixed state and a corresponding X-MEMS of the same purity.

Nanodisplacement measurements of piezoelectric flextensional actuators using a new interferometry homodyne method

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

In silico infrared and Raman spectroscopy under pressure: The case of CaSnO3 perovskite

The CaSnO3 perovskite is investigated under geochemical pressure, up to 25 GPa, by means of periodic ab initio calculations performed at B3LYP level with local Gaussian-type orbital basis sets. Structural, elastic, and spectroscopic (phonon wave-numbers, infrared and Raman intensities) properties are fully characterized and discussed. The evolution of the Raman spectrum of CaSnO3 under pressure is reported to remarkably agree with a recent experimental determination [J. Kung, Y. J. Lin, and C. M. Lin, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 224507 (2011)] as regards both wave-number shifts and intensity changes. All phonon modes are symmetry-labeled and bands assigned. The single-crystal total spectrum is symmetry-decomposed into the six directional spectra related to the components of the polarizability tensor. The infrared spectrum at increasing pressure is reported for the first time and its main features discussed. All calculations are performed using the CRYSTAL14 program, taking advantage of the new implementation of analytical infrared and Raman intensities for crystalline materials. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Nano-displacement measurements of a new piezoelectric flextensional actuator by using a high dynamic range interferometry homodyne method

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Evaluation of sodium diclofenac release using natural rubber latex as carrier

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

Genomic data as the hitchhiker's guide to cattle adaptation: tracking the milestones of past selection in the bovine genome

The bovine species have witnessed and played a major role in the drastic socio-economical changes that shaped our culture over the last 10,000 years. During this journey, cattle hitchhiked on human development and colonized the world, facing strong selective pressures such as dramatic environmental changes and disease challenge. Consequently, hundreds of specialized cattle breeds emerged and spread around the globe, making up a rich spectrum of genomic resources. Their DNA still carry the scars left from adapting to this wide range of conditions, and we are now empowered with data and analytical tools to track the milestones of past selection in their genomes. In this review paper, we provide a summary of the reconstructed demographic events that shaped cattle diversity, offer a critical synthesis of popular methodologies applied to the search for signatures of selection (SS) in genomic data, and give examples of recent SS studies in cattle. Then, we outline the potential and challenges of the application of SS analysis in cattle, and discuss the future directions in this field.

Mass spectrometry study of N-alkylbenzenesulfonamides with potential antagonist activity to potassium channels

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

Raman and infrared investigations of glass and glass-ceramics with composition 2Na2O·1CaO·3SiO2

Precursor glass and glass-ceramics with molar composition 2Na2O·1CaO·3SiO2 are studied by infrared, conventional, and microprobe Raman techniques. The Gaussian deconvoluted Raman spectrum of the glass presents bands at 625 and 660 cm-1, attributed to bending vibrations of Si-O-Si bonds, and at 860, 920, 975, and 1030 cm-1, attributed to symmetric stretching vibrations of SiO4 tetrahedra with 4, 3, 2, and 1 nonbridging oxygens, respectively. The Raman microprobe spectrum of a highly crystallized sample presents two narrow and intense bands at about 590 and 980 cm-1, associated with vibrations of SiO4 tetrahedra with two nonbridging oxygens, in agreement with the predicted chain-like structure of crystalline metasilicates. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the crystals distributed in partially crystallized samples have a spherical shape, built up by radially oriented needle-like single crystals. The Raman microprobe spectra of these spherulites show that they still contain residual amorphous material. A comparison of Raman and infrared spectra of amorphous and highly crystallized samples is presented.

Development and validation of first derivative spectrophotometric method for quantification of darunavir in tablets

Aims: Darunavir is widely used in HIV/AIDS therapy. It is a HIV protease inhibitor that has excellent efficacy against the virus. The aim of this study is to develop and validate an analytical method fast and free of interferences for determination of darunavir ethanolate as raw material and tablet dosage form. Methodology: As the formulation excipients show high interference in darunavir determination by a direct UV absorption measurement a derivative spectrophotometry was applied. A selective, easy and fast method was achieved employing simple and cheap instrumentation by using first-order derivative spectrophotometry. Results: The first-derivation of spectrum of the drug measured between 200 and 400 nm allowed identification of the analyte and showed absence of placebo interference. The assay was based on the absorbance at 276nm. The linear concentration range was established from 11 to 21 μg/mL. The intra-day and inter-day precision expressed as RSD was 0.06% and 3.75% respectively with mean recovery of 99.84%. Conclusion: The proposed analytical method is able to quantify darunavir as raw material and tablets and can be used routinely by any laboratory applying a spectrophotometer with a derivative accessory. The great difference of the method proposed here is that it proves to be free of placebo interferences as well as simple, fast and low cost.