Road-kills of the giant anteater in south-eastern Brazil: 10 years monitoring spatial and temporal determinants

Context. The giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, is a large insectivorous mammal from Cerrado which is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN's red list. In spite of frequent giant anteater casualties, there continues to be a lack of published data on how road and landscape attributes affect road-kill rates - information that could prove useful in guiding mitigation measures.Aims. We seek to determine whether road and landscape attributes influence the incidence of road-kills of the giant anteater.Methods. From February 2002 to December 2012 (except for 2004), five roads in two regions in south-eastern Brazil were surveyed twice each month by car. We recorded temporal road-kill data for the giant anteater and related spatial road variables. These variables were also recorded at regular control sites every 2 km. We also took traffic volume data on stretches of the two roads to correlate with road-kills.Key results. Of the 45 anteater casualties recorded, there was a predominance of adult males. On roads MG-428 and SP-334, we found anteater road-kills were more common in the dry season, negatively correlated with traffic volume and related to the presence of native vegetation. Accordingly, road-kill sites tended to occur near the cerrado and grasslands and also appeared more frequently on some straight stretches of roadways. Although it was not shown to influence road-kill rates, topography data does point to regular overpass/underpass locations allowing population connectivity. Termitaria or ant nests were present at all road-kill sites, with 86% having signs of feeding.Conclusions. Native vegetation along roadways, together with straight road design, increases the probability of anteater road-kills by 40.1%.Implications. For mitigation, mowing and removing insect nests on roadsides, as well as roadside wildlife fencing in cerrado and grassland areas is suggested. Warning signs and radar to reduce vehicle speed are recommended for both human safety and anteater conservation. With regard to population connectivity, the absence of aggregated anteater road-kill data in this study meant that there were no particular crossing locations identified. However, the collected topography data do show places that could be used for roadway crossings. The measures indicated may apply to similar species and types of topography on other continents.

Influência do espaçamento do feixe de laser Nd: YAG na obtenção de óxidos e nitretos na superfície do titânio em pressão atmosférica

Neste trabalho investigou-se a modificação de superfície do titânio pela irradiação com feixe de Laser Nd:YAG. Os parâmetros do laser como a potência, o comprimento de onda, a frequência, a velocidade de varredura e a área de exposição foram mantidos constantes, exceto o espaçamento da matriz, o qual foi de 0,01 e 0,02 mm. A caracterização da superfície foi realizada por Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV) e Difração de Raios X (DRX), sendo que os espectros foram refinados pelo método Rietveld. Pela análise de MEV, observou-se uma mudança na topografia, obtendo uma superfície rugosa produzida pelo fenômeno de ablação. As análises por Rietveld dos espectros de difração de raios X detectaram TiN, Ti2N, TiO2 (anatásio e rutilo), sendo que a amostra com espaçamento 0,01 mm apresentou uma maior quantidade de óxidos e nitretos. Isso pode ser devido à sobreposição do feixe, induzindo à formação de uma superfície com maior estabilidade termodinâmica. Os óxidos e nitretos obtidos são de grande importância, pois são responsáveis por produzir uma maior interação entre o osso-implante.

Calvarial ectopic meningothelial meningioma

Meningiomas are the most common benign neoplasm of the brain whereas ectopic presentation, although reported, is rare. Among these ectopic tumors, there are a group of purely intraosseous meningiomas, which usually are diagnosed differentially from common primary osseous tumor such as fibrous dysplasia and osteoid osteoma. We report a 62-year-old female with a history of headaches and 6 months of progressive right parietal bulging, with no neurological signs. Parietal craniotomy was performed with immediate titanium cranioplasty of the parietal convexity. Histopathology exams revealed an ectopic intradiploic meningioma without invasion of cortical layers, with positive staining for progesterone receptors and epithelial membrane antigen. Ectopic intraosseous meningiomas remain a rare neoplasm with only a few cases reported. The main theories to justify the unusual topography appear to be embryological remains of neuroectodermal tissue or cellular dedifferentiation. Surgical treatment seems the best curative option.

Incorporation of Ca, P, and Si on bioactive coatings produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation: The role of electrolyte concentration and treatment duration

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

Titanium-35niobium alloy as a potential material for biomedical implants: in vitro study

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A classificação das disciplinas matemáticas e a Mathesis Universalis nos séculos XVI e XVII: um estudo do pensamento de Adriaan van Roomen

Pós-graduação em Educação Matemática - IGCE

Mapeamento geológico-geotécnico do núcleo urbano central do município de Ilhabela - SP

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE

Obtenção e caracterização de nanofibras eletrofiadas via solução de quitosana com e sem inclusão de hidroxiapatita

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Osseointegration of anodized implant: effect of fibrin adhesive/TEA on primary stability

Processo FAPESP: 2012/24545-3

Wettability behavior of nanotubular TiO2 intended for biomedical applications

Nanotubes have been subject of studies with regard to their ability to promote differentiation of several cells lines. Nanotubes have been used to increase the roughness of the implant surfaces and to improve bone tissue integration on dental implant. In this study TiO2 nanotube layer prepared by anodic oxidation was evaluated. Nanotube formation was carried out using Glycerol-H2O DI(50-50 v/v)+NH4F(0,5 a 1,5% and 10-30V) for 1-3 hours at 37ºC. After nanostructure formation the topography of surface was observed using field-emission-scanning-microscope (FE-SEM). Contact angle was evaluated on the anodized and non-anodized surfaces using a water contact angle goniometer in sessile drop mode with 5 μL drops. In the case of nanotube formation and no treatment surface were presented 39,1° and 75,9°, respectively. The contact angle describing the wettability of the surface is enhanced, more hydrophilic, on the nanotube surfaces, which can be advantageous for enhancing protein adsorption and cell adhesion.

A cartografia geomorfológica como subsídio para a análise do relevo antropogênico em área de mineração

Mining activities are directly related to changes in natural landscapes. With the objective of analyzing the changes imposed by the geomorphological dynamics of human action in areas of mining clay, two fragments were selected from the basin of Ribeirão Santa Gertrudes / SP, representing denudational and sedimentation processes respectively. This area is within the context of the Ceramic Pole Santa Gertrudes / SP, which besides its importance as a supplier of raw material, is characterized as the largest center of international reference in ceramic tiles on the American continent. Data was collected and analyzed from the perspective of anthropogenic geomorphology supported by general systems theory and uses techniques from evolutionary geomorphological mapping. Thus, geomorphological mapping were produced concerning three scenarios, which date from 1962, 1988 and 2006 in a scale of 1:10.000. These surveys allowed us to infer a detailed investigation of the evolution of changes in topography and hydrology, geomorphology representative of the original (1962), which has characteristics of an earlier phase of earlier existing large mining pits, and its evolution to a anthropogenic geomorphological stage, represented by active disruption scenarios dating from 1988 and 2006. The last two scenarios have analyzed changes in the dimensions of relief features when compared with the original scenario representative of geomorphology, as well as an intense reallocation of surface and subsurface materials, in which human action is highlighted by becoming responsible for sculpting the landscape through the imposition of control mechanisms to natural processes.

Using landscape metrics to analyze micro-scale soil erosion processes

Methods of recording soil erosion using photographs exist but they are not commonly considered in scientific studies. Digital images may hold an expressive amount of information that can be extracted quickly in different manners. The investigation of several metrics that were initially developed for landscape ecology analysis constitutes one method. In this study we applied a method of landscape metrics to quantify the spatial configuration of surface micro-topography and erosion-related features, in order to generate a possible complementary tool for environmental management. In a 3.7 m wide and 9.7 m long soil box used during a rainfall simulation study, digital images were systematically acquired in four instances: (a) when the soil was dry; (b) after a short duration rain for initial wetting; (c) after the first erosive rain; and (d) after the 2nd erosive rain. Thirteen locations were established in the box and digital photos were taken at these locations with the camera positioned at the same orthogonal distance from the soil surface under the same ambient light intensity. Digital photos were converted into bimodal images and seven landscape metrics were analyzed: percentage of land, number of patches, density of patches, largest patch index, edge density, shape index, and fractal dimension. Digital images were an appropriate tool because they can generate data very quickly. The landscape metrics were sensitive to changes in soil surface micro-morphology especially after the 1st erosive rain event, indicating significant erosional feature development between the initial wetting and first erosive rainfall. The method is considered suitable for spatial patterns of soil micro-topography evolution from rainfall events that bear similarity to landscape scale pattern evolution from eco-hydrological processes. Although much more study is needed for calibrating the landscape metrics at the micro-scale, this study is a step forward in demonstrating the advantages of the method.

Influência de tratamentos a plasma na resistência à corrosão e na propriedade de adesão de uma camada protetiva sobre a superfície de ligas de alumínio

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Geoquímica de perfis lateríticos na chapada sedimentar do Triângulo Mineiro

The ferruginous sandstone (Serra da Galga member) from Marilia formation present in sedimentary mining triangle plateaus - MG (southeast Brazil) is still not properly characterized, as well as the presence of a rich layer Fe nodules which is not properly understood, as are the alteration products of this material that may be linked to the presence of refractory clays which are characterized by intimate relationship between Fe and Al. Aluminum is widely present on top of these plateaus. This course conclusion paper characterized the mineralogy and distribution of smaller elements both rust sandstone evolved as soil above this sandstone. The characterization has been done by using X-ray fluorescence techniques (XRF), the iron was removed by using the CBD method (dithionito-citratebicarbonate), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and analysis of the products extracted by the CBD method by ICP- OES were made to characterize the material. The results of the XRF show great variation of Al and Si, Fe with almost constant behavior in the average depth of 110 cm, where it has the highest concentration levels. Fe appear associated with the V and Ce. CDB results show a clear relation of Fe with Al. Al does not have in this case compared with Cr or any other item. The concentration of extracted Al was always below the concentration of Fe. In the region, the formation of this Latosols- Gleysols system is subject to topography and its influence on local water regime, a regime that has direct influence on the formation of supergene accumulations as in the area and results in aluminum accumulation in refractory clays exploited by IBAR mining