Fisiografia e uso da terra de uma bacia hidrográfica em área de afloramento do sistema aquífero Guarani (SAG): o caso do Ribeirão do Jacú, Tejupá/SP (UGRHI-14)SP

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Irrigação e Drenagem) - FCA

Determinação eletroanalítica e cromatográfica do corante solvente azul 14 em amostras de combustíveis

Métodos comparativos foram desenvolvidos para detectar e quantificar o corante solvente azul 14 (SA-14) em amostras de combustíveis. O método eletroanalítico foi baseado na técnica de voltametria de onda quadrada (VOQ) com detecção em +0,60 V vs. Ag/AgCl sobre o eletrodo de carbono vítreo, usando tampão Britton-Robinson e N, N-dimetilformamida (1:1, v/v) como eletrólito suporte. Para metodologia, envolvendo a cromatografia líquida de alta performance (CLAE) foi empregada uma fase móvel composta de acetonitrila e cloreto de lítio (85:15, v/v) e a detecção eletroquímica foi realizada em um potencial de oxidação em +0,65 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Sob as melhores condições de trabalho curvas de calibração foram obtidas, para ambos os métodos, as quais foram lineares na faixa de concentração de 5,0×10 -7 a 6,0×10 -6 mol L-1 (VOQ) e 8,0×10 -8 a 3,0×10 -6 mol L-1 (CLAE). Os métodos foram aplicados para quantificar o corante em amostras de álcool e querosene após um simples processo de extração em fase sólida com resultados de recuperação satisfatórios.

Biochemical responses, morphometric changes, genotoxic effects and CYP1A expression in the armored catfish Pterygoplichthys anisitsi after 15 days of exposure to mineral diesel and biodiesel

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

High Resolution Paleoceanography of the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, During the Past 15 000 Years

Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 480 (27°54.10’N, 111°39.34’W; 655 m water depth) contains a high resolution record of paleoceanographic change of the past 15 000 years for the Guaymas Basin, a region of very high diatom productivity within the central Gulf of California. Analyses of diatoms and silicoflagellates were completed on samples spaced every 40-50 yr, whereas ICP-AES geochemical analyses were completed on alternate samples (sample spacing 80-100 yr). The Bolling-Allerod interval (14.6-12.9 ka) (note, ka refers to 1000 calendar years BP throughout this report) is characterized by an increase in biogenic silica and a decline in calcium carbonate relative to surrounding intervals, suggesting conditions somewhat similar to those of today. The Younger Dryas event (12.9-11.6 ka) is marked by a major drop in biogenic silica and an increase in calcium carbonate. Increasing relative percentage contributions of Azpeitia nodulifera and Dictyocha perlaevis (a tropical diatom and silicoflagellate, respectively) and reduced numbers of the silicoflagellate Octactis pulchra are supportive of reduced upwelling of nutrient-rich waters. Between 10.6 and 10.0 ka, calcium carbonate and A. nodulifera abruptly decline at DSDP 480, while Roperia tesselata, a diatom indicative of winter upwelling in the modern-day Gulf, increases sharply in numbers. A nearly coincident increase in the silicoflagellate Dictyocha stapedia suggests that waters above DSDP 480 were more similar to the cooler and slightly more saline waters of the northern Gulf during much of the early and middle parts of the Holocene (~10 to 3.2 ka). At about 6.2 ka a stepwise increase in biogenic silica and the reappearance of the tropical diatom A. nodulifera marks a major change in oceanographic conditions in the Gulf. A winter shift to more northwesterly winds may have occurred at this time along with the onset of periodic northward excursions (El Nino-driven?) of the North Equatorial Countercurrent during the summer. Beginning between 2.8 and 2.4 ka, the amplitude of biogenic silica and wt% Fe, Al, and Ti (proxies of terrigenous input) increase, possibly reflecting intensification of ENSO cycles and the establishment of modern oceanographic conditions in the Gulf. Increased numbers of O. pulchra after 2.8 ka suggest enhanced spring upwelling.

Trophic structure on the West Antarctic Peninsula shelf: Detritivory and benthic inertia revealed by delta(13)C and delta(15)N analysis

Summer bloom-derived phytodetritus settles rapidly to the seafloor on the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) continental shelf, where it appears to degrade relatively slowly, forming a sediment ""food bank"" for benthic detritivores. We used stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to examine sources and sinks of particulate organic material (POM) reaching the WAP shelf benthos (550-625 m depths), and to explore trophic linkages among the most abundant benthic megafauna. We measured delta(13)C and delta(15)N values in major megafaunal taxa (n = 26) and potential food sources, including suspended and sinking POM, ice algae, sediment organic carbon, phytodetritus, and macrofaunal polychaetes. The range in delta(13)C values (> 14 parts per thousand) of suspended POM was considerably broader than in sedimentary POC, where little temporal variability in stable isotope signatures was observed. While benthic megafauna also exhibited a broad range of VC values, organic carbon entering the benthic food web appeared to be derived primarily from phytoplankton production, with little input from ice algae. One group of organisms, primarily deposit-feeders, appeared to rely on fresh phytodetritus recovered from the sediments, and sediment organic material that had been reworked by sediment microbes. A second group of animals, including many mobile invertebrate and fish predators, appeared to utilize epibenthic or pelagic food resources such as zooplankton. One surface-deposit-feeding holothurian (Protelpidia murrayi) exhibited seasonal variability in stable isotope values of body tissue, while other surface- and subsurface-deposit-feeders showed no evidence of seasonal variability in food source or trophic position. Detritus from phytoplankton blooms appears to be the primary source of organic material for the detritivorous benthos; however, seasonal variability in the supply of this material is not mirrored in the sediments, and only to a minor degree in the benthic fauna. This pattern suggests substantial inertia in benthic-pelagic coupling, whereby the sediment ecosystem integrates long-term variability in production processes in the water column above. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Long-Term Comparison of Video-Assisted Thoracic Sympathectomy and Clinical Observation for the Treatment of Palmar Hyperhidrosis in Children Younger Than 14

The results of video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy (VATS)in children are unknown. To investigate the improvement in quality of life (QOL) of a group of 45 children who did and did not undergo VATS for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) 4 years after the initial evaluation. Forty-five children with PH were initially evaluated. Children were divided into two groups: 30 in the VATS group and 15 in the control group. We studied the evolution of PH, negative effect of hyperhidrosis on the QOL before the treatment, and improvement in QOL after treatment. Twenty-five patients (83.4%) in the VATS group experienced great improvement in PH, and five (16.6%) experienced partial improvement; 12 (80.0%) children from the control group had some type of improvement, and three (20.0%) had partial improvement. Two (13.3%) children in the control group and 23 (76.7%) in the VATS group had great improvement in QOL. For children with PH and poor QOL, VATS is better than no treatment. It produces better results with regard to sweating and greater improvement in QOL.

Natural intracellular peptides can modulate the interactions of mouse brain proteins and thimet oligopeptidase with 14-3-3e and calmodulin

Protein interactions are crucial for most cellular process. Thus, rationally designed peptides that act as competitive assembly inhibitors of protein interactions by mimicking specific, determined structural elements have been extensively used in clinical and basic research. Recently, mammalian cells have been shown to contain a large number of intracellular peptides of unknown function. Here, we investigate the role of several of these natural intracellular peptides as putative modulators of protein interactions that are related to Ca2+-calmodulin (CaM) and 14-3-3 epsilon, which are proteins that are related to the spatial organization of signal transduction within cells. At concentrations of 1-50 mu M, most of the peptides that are investigated in this study modulate the interactions of CaM and 14-3-3 epsilon with proteins from the mouse brain cytoplasm or recombinant thimet oligopeptidase (EP24.15) in vitro, as measured by surface plasmon resonance. One of these peptides (VFDVELL; VFD-7) increases the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in a dose-dependent manner but only if introduced into HEK293 cells, which suggests a wide biological function of this peptide. Therefore, it is exciting to suggest that natural intracellular peptides are novel modulators of protein interactions and have biological functions within cells.

New structures in the continuum of C-15 populated by two-neutron transfer

The C-13(O-18,O-16)C-15 reaction has been studied at 84 MeV incident energy. The ejectiles have been detected at forward angles and C-15 excitation energy spectra have been obtained up to about 20 MeV. Several known bound and resonant states of C-15 have been identified together with two unknown structures at 10.5 MeV (FWHM = 2.5 MeV) and 13.6 MeV (FWHM = 2.5 MeV). Calculations based Oil the removal of two uncorrelated neutrons from the projectile describe a significant part of the continuum observed in the energy spectra. In particular the structure at 10.5 MeV is dominated by a resonance of C-15 near the C-13 + n + n threshold. Similar structures are found in nearby nuclei such as C-14 and Be-11. (c) 2012 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.

Palaeoenvironment in North-Western Romania during the last 15 000 years

The objectives of this thesis are to establish a chronological framework for environmental changes during the last 15,000 years in northwest Romania, to reconstruct the vegetation development, and to evaluate the underlying processes for forest dynamics. Furthermore, an overview of earlier and ongoing pollenstratigraphic work in Romania is provided. Sediments from two former crater lakes, Preluca Tiganului and Steregoiu, situated in the Gutaiului Mountains, on the western extremity of the Eastern Carpathians at 730 m and 790 m a.s.l., respectively were obtained and analysed for high-resolution pollen, macrofossils, charcoal, mineral magnetic parameters and organic matter. The chronostratigraphic framework was provided by dense AMS 14C measurements. Cold and dry climatic conditions are indicated by the occurrence of open vegetation with shrubs and herbs, and cold lake water prior to 14,700 cal. yr BP. The climatic improvement at the beginning of the Lateglacial interstadial (around 14,700 cal. yr BP) is seen by the development of open forests. These were dominated by Pinus and Betula, but contained also new arriving tree taxa, such as Populus, Alnus and Prunus. The gradual establishment of forests may have led to a stabilization of the soils in the catchment. Between ca. 14,100 and 13,800 cal. yr BP the forest density became reduced to stands of Pinus, Betula, Alnus, Larix and Populus trees and grassland expanded, suggesting colder climatic conditions. Picea arrived as a new taxon at around 13,800 cal. yr BP, and between 13,800 and 12,900 cal. yr BP, the surroundings of the sites were predominantly covered by Picea forest. This forest included Betula, Pinus, Alnus, Larix and Populus and, from 13,200 cal. yr BP onwards also Ulmus. At ca. 12,900 cal. yr BP, the forest became significantly reduced and at 12,600 cal. yr BP, a recurrence of open vegetation with stands of Larix, Pinus, Betula, Salix and Alnus is documented, lasting until 11,500 cal. yr BP. This distinct change in vegetation may by taken as a strong decline in temperature and moisture availability. At the transition to the Holocene, at ca. 11,500 cal. yr BP, Pinus, Betula and Larix quickly expanded (from small local stands) and formed open forests, probably as a response to warmer and more humid climatic conditions. At 11,250 cal. yr BP Ulmus and Picea expanded and the landscape became completely forested. The rapid increase of Ulmus and Picea after 11,500 cal. yr BP may suggest the existence of small residual populations close to the study sites during the preceding cold interval. Ulmus was the first and most prominent deciduous taxa in the early Holocene in the Gutaiului Mountains. From ca. 10,750 cal. yr BP onwards Quercus, Tilia, Fraxinus and Acer expanded and Corylus arrived. A highly diverse, predominantly deciduous forest with Ulmus, Quercus, Tilia, Fraxinus, Acer, Corylus and Picea developed between 10,700 and 8200 cal. yr BP, which possibly signifies more continental climatic conditions. The development of a Picea-Corylus dominated forest between 8200 and 5700 cal. yr BP is likely connected to a more humid and cooler climate. The establishment of Carpinus and Fagus was dated to 5750 cal. yr BP and 5200 cal. yr BP, respectively. The dominance of Fagus during the late Holocene, from 4000 cal. yr BP onwards, may have been related to cooler and more humid climatic conditions. First signs of human activities are recorded around 2300 cal. yr BP, but only during the last 300 years did local human impact become significant. The vegetation development recorded in the Gutaiului Mountains during the Lateglacial is very similar to reconstructions based on lowland sites, whereas higher elevation sites seem not to have always experienced visible vegetation changes. The time of tree arrival and expansion during the past 11,500 cal. yr BP seems to have occurred almost synchronously across Romania. The composition of the forests during the Holocene in the Gutaiului Mountains is consistent with that reconstructed at mid-elevation sites, but differs from the forest composition at higher elevations. Important differences between the Gutaiului Mountains and other studied sites in Romania are a low representation of Carpinus and a late and weak human impact. The available data sets for Romania give evidence for the presence of coniferous and cold-tolerant deciduous trees before 14,700 cal. yr BP. Glacial refugia for Ulmus may have occurred in different parts of Romania, whereas the existence of Quercus, Tilia, Corylus and Fraxinus has not been corroborated.

Acto de Apertura Oficial del Curso Académico 2009-2010: 15 septiembre 2009

[ES] Apertura a cargo del Excmo. Sr. Presidente del Gobierno de Canarias. Lectura del resumen de la Memoria del curso 2008-2009 por la Secretaria General de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Lección inagural "La interpretación del negocio jurídico" a cargo del Dr. D. Ignacio Díaz de Lezcano Sevillano. Reconocimiento al personal de la ULPGC por sus años de servicio. Entrega de la Medalla de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria a D. Lizardo Martell Cárdenes. Discurso del Dr. D. José Regidor García, Rector Magnífico de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Programa musical con obras de Elgar, Massenet, Bloch y Saraste, interpretadas por Carlos Alberto Parra (violín) y Juan Francisco Parra (piano)

Competition between evaporation and fragmentation in nuclear reactions at 15-20 AMeV beam energy

The reactions 32S+58,64Ni are studied at 14.5 AMeV. From this energy on, fragmentation begins to be a dominant process, although evaporation and fission are still present. After a selection of the collision mechanism, we show that important even-odd effects are present in the isotopic fragment distributions when the excitation energy is small. The staggering effect appears to be a universal feature of fragment production, slightly enhanced when the emission source is neutron poor. A closer look at the behavior of isotopic chains reveals that odd-even effects cannot be explained by pairing effects in the nuclear mass alone, but depend in a more complex way on the de-excitation chain.

In search of CS2(H2O)n = 1–4 clusters

Gaussian-3 and MP2/aug-cc-pVnZ methods have been used to calculate geometries and thermochemistry of CS2(H2O)n, where n = 1–4. An extensive molecular dynamics search followed by optimization using these two methods located two dimers, six trimers, six tetramers, and two pentamers. The MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ structure matched best with the experimental result for the CS2(H2O) dimer, showing that diffuse functions are necessary to model the interactions found in this complex. For larger CS2(H2O)n clusters, the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ minima are significantly different from the MP2(full)/6-31G* structures, revealing that the G3 model chemistry is not suitable for investigation of sulfur containing van der Waals complexes. Based on the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ free energies, the concentration of saturated water in the atmosphere and the average amount of CS2 in the atmosphere, the concentrations of these clusters are predicted to be on the order of 105CS2(H2O) clusters∙cm−3 and 102 CS2(H2O)2 clusters∙cm−3 at 298.15 K. The MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ scaled harmonic and anharmonic frequencies of the most abundant dimer cluster at 298 K are presented, along with the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ scaled harmonic frequencies for the CS2(H2O)n structures predicted to be present in a low-temperature molecular beam experiment.