The production of the W and Z bosons in single diffractive processes at the LHC is investigated taking into account the ATLAS, CMS and LHCb acceptances and considering different assumptions for the ...flavor content of the Pomeron. The total cross sections and pseudorapidity distributions are estimated for pp collisions at s=13 TeV. Our results indicate that a future experimental analysis of the ratio between the W and Z cross sections can be used to probe the flavor content of the Pomeron.
The present work describes a valuable tool for winemaking industry to measure the acidity parameters with rapid response, simple sample handling, with no or minimal pre-treatment. Thus, a sequential ...injection analysis (SIA) system with spectrophotometric detection was used as platform for the development of methodologies for the quantification of volatile and total acidity in wine samples. Both procedures make use of the same colour reagent, bromothymol blue (BTB) that changes its intrinsic colour in the presence of the acidity compounds. The volatile acidity value was attained with the separation of the volatile fraction of acids by means of a membrane separation technique, a gas-diffusion unit. For the total acidity value, the sample was merged with the colour reagent on the way towards detection. The fixed acidity is a result of the difference from the total and the volatile acidity.
The presented tool displayed a low sample and reagent consumption, 346 and 102µL of sample and 37 and 32µg of BTB, for the volatile acidity (VA) and for the total acidity (TA), respectively. The observed limits of detection and quantification were 0.03 and 0.01gL−1 (VA) and 0.09 and 0.02gL−1 (TA) with high determination rates, 35 (VA) and 62 (TA) determinations per hour. The proposed system was successfully applied to the quantification of volatile, total and fixed acidity in white table wine samples. The obtained results were in good agreement with the ones obtained by the reference methods.
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•Same platform and same colour reagent (BTB) for the automation of total and volatile acidity in wine.•High throughput, with low limits of detection and quantification, for both methodologies.•Successful application to table white wines.
We isolated and characterized 10 new microsatellites loci for
Paleosuchus trigonatus
using ION TORRENT Sequencing Technology. We tested the transferability of these loci to three related species of ...the subfamily Caimaninae, and used these bi-parental markers to test population structure and genetic diversity of two populations of
P. trigonatus
impacted by hydroelectric dam construction on the Madeira (N = 16) and Xingu (N = 16) rivers. We also investigated the transferability of these markers to three related species:
Paleosuchus palpebrosus
(N = 5),
Caiman crocodilus
(N = 6) and
Melanosuchus niger
(N = 6). The genetic diversity of
P. trigonatus
was low in both the Madeira (
He
: 0.535 ± 0.148) and Xingu (
He
: 0.381 ± 0.222) populations, but the loci were sufficiently polymorphic to be used in system of mating and kinship studies in
P. trigonatus
. DAPC analysis with our set of microsatellites loci was able to separate the four species of Caimaninae studied and to detect a shallow genetic structure between Madeira and Xingu populations of
P. trigonatus
. AMOVA and STRUCTURE analyses using
locprior
model corroborate this shallow genetic structure. These novel molecular markers will be also useful in conservation genetics and phylogeographic studies of
P. trigonatus
, since they improve our ability to monitor the putative effects of dams on the loss of genetic diversity and allow us to investigate population dynamics and microevolutionary processes that occurred in the species.
Coral species are better able to survive bleaching events with heterotrophic feeding, which raises the level of lipid provisions and coral resilience against stress episodes. We report that a ...lipid-enriched diet allowed 2 coral species (Duncanopsammia axifuga and Acropora millepora) to resist an experimental bleaching event that involved exposure to temperatures of 32°C for 14 d. The diet, containing Artemia enriched with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), increased the proportions of essential fatty acid within coral tissue at normal temperatures, and maintained normal levels of these fatty acids under high temperatures. Neither of the 2 species significantly bleached when fed an enriched diet, and D. axifuga also grew faster, and increased colour, chlorophyll, symbiont density and PUFA proportions in the enriched diet compared to controls. Overall, this study sheds new light on the role of heterotrophic feeding in coral resilience to bleaching and provides a novel approach for bleaching prevention, reef restoration and improved coral aquaculture.
Macroinvertebrate shredders consume preferably leaves conditioned by fungi and bacteria which offer greater palatability to them. Plant species in Cerrado present high concentration of chemical ...elements such as lignin and cellulose, phenols and tanins thus making them less attractive for shredders consumption and limiting the palatability. This study aimed to evaluate the feeding preference of a macroinvertebrate shredder of the genus Phylloicus for plant material from two different biomes (Cerrado and Mata Atlântica), after conditioning in a stream of Mata Atlântica and observing their physical and chemical characteristics. Senescent leaves were collected, monthly from the litterfall of riparian vegetation in a 500 m stretch of a stream in each biome from August 2014 to January 201. The most abundant species in each stream was selected for the experiment. The experimental design consisted in with two treatments. The first (T1) comprised leaf discs from Chrysophyllum oliviforme (Cerrado species) together with leaf discs of Miconia chartacea (Atlantic Forest species) which were conditioned in the Atlantic Forest stream. The second treatment (T2) involved leaf discs of Miconia chartacea conditioned in Mata Altlântica and Cerrado streams. Both tests had showed significant differences between the two treatments (T1 and T2). For T1, there was consumption of M. chartacea leaf discs by Phylloicus sp., but there was no consumption of C. oliviforme discs. For T2, there was preference for M. chartaceae leaves conditioned in a stream of Mata Atlântica than in Cerrado stream. The results showed that Phylloicus sp., had presented preference for food detritus of the Mata Antlântica biome and rejection to the one from Cerrado biome.
•Reconciling forest conservation and production in the Atlantic Forest is a challenge.•We propose strategies for sparing land for nature and sustainable development.•We combine land use modelling and ...socioeconomic tools for policy recommendations;.•Sustainable intensification can promote land sparing in an Atlantic Forest watershed.•Production diversification and forest restoration are potential activities.
Increased demand for both agricultural production and forest restoration may lead to increased competition for land in the next decades. Sustainably increasing cattle ranching productivity is a potential solution to reconcile different land uses, while also improving biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services. If not strategically implemented in integration with complementary policies, sustainable intensification can however result in negative environmental, economic and social effects. We analyzed the potential for sustainable intensification as a solution for a conflict between agricultural expansion and forest restoration in the Paraitinga Watershed at the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot. In addition, we provide policy recommendations for sustainable development in the region, based on interviews with producers and local actors. We found that the Paraitinga Watershed has the potential to increase its cattle-ranching productivity and, as a result, relinquish spared land for other uses. This was true even in the most conservative intensification scenario considered (50% of the maximum potential productivity reached), in which 76,702ha of pastures can be spared for other uses (46% of total pasture area). We found that restoration, apiculture and rural tourism are promising activities to promote sustainable development in the region, thus potentially increasing food production and mitigating competition for land. Our study shows that results from socioeconomic interviews and biophysical modelling of potential productivity increases offer robust insights into practical solutions on how to pursue sustainable development in one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots.
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► Sequential injection determination of phosphate in estuarine and freshwaters. ► Alternative spectrophotometric flow cells are compared. ► Minimization of schlieren effect was ...assessed. ► Proposed method can cope with wide salinity ranges. ► Multi-reflective cell shows clear advantages.
A sequential injection system with dual analytical line was developed and applied in the comparison of two different detection systems
viz; a conventional spectrophotometer with a commercial flow cell, and a multi-reflective flow cell coupled with a photometric detector under the same experimental conditions. The study was based on the spectrophotometric determination of phosphate using the molybdenum-blue chemistry. The two alternative flow cells were compared in terms of their response to variation of sample salinity, susceptibility to interferences and to refractive index changes. The developed method was applied to the determination of phosphate in natural waters (estuarine, river, well and ground waters). The achieved detection limit (0.007
μM PO
4
3−) is consistent with the requirement of the target water samples, and a wide quantification range (0.024–9.5
μM) was achieved using both detection systems.
Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) process is a three dimensional surface modification method that is quite mature and well known to the surface engineering community nowadays, especially to ...those working in the field of plasma–materials interaction, aiming at both industrial and academic applications. More recently, deposition methods have been added to PIII, the PIII&D, opening possibilities of broader range of applications of these techniques. So, PIII&D is becoming a routine method of surface modification, with the advantage of pushing up the retained dose levels limited by the sputtering due to ion implantation. Therefore, well adherent, thick, three-dimensional films without stress are possible to be achieved, at relatively low cost, using PIII&D.
In this paper, we will discuss about a few PIII and PIII&D experiments that have been performed recently to achieve surface improvements in different materials: 1 — high temperature nitrogen PIII in Ti6Al4V alloy in which a deep nitrogen rich treated layer resulted in surface improvements as increase of hardness, corrosion resistance and resistance to wear of the Ti alloy; 2 — nanostructures in ZnO films, obtained by PIII&D of vaporized & ionized Zn source; 3 — combined implantation and deposition of calcium for biomaterial activity of Ti alloy (PIII&D), allowing the growth of hydroxyapatite in a body solution; 4 — magnetron sputtering deposition of Cr that was enhanced by the glow discharge Ar plasma to allow implantation and deposition of Cr on SAE 1070 steel (PIII&D) resulting in surfaces with high resistance to corrosion; and 5 — implantation of nitrogen by ordinary PIII into this Cr film, which improved resistance to corrosion, while keeping the tribological properties as good as for the SAE 1070 steel surface.
► Improvements of plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) and deposition (PIII&D) methods. ► High temperature PIII of nitrogen in Ti6Al4V was carried out at 800°C. ► Different PIII&D schemes were used to produce ZnO films, and Ca deposition. ► Cr film was produced by PIIID and nitrogen implanted to improve the properties of that film.
Tuning the 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) structure usually requires harsh conditions and long reaction times, which can result in low yields. Herein, ANS was modified to form an ANS ...group of uniform materials based on organic salts (GUMBOS), prepared with simple metathesis reactions and distinct cations, namely tetrabutylammonium (N4444), tetrahexylammonium (N6666), and tetrabutylphosphonium (P4444). These ANS-based GUMBOS were investigated as fluorescent probes for membrane binding studies with four proteins having distinct physicochemical properties. Liposomes of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine were employed as membrane models as a result of their ability to mimic the structure and chemical composition of cell membranes. Changes in fluorescence intensity were used to monitor protein binding to liposomes, and adsorption data were fitted to a Freundlich-like isotherm. It was determined that N4444ANS and P4444ANS GUMBOS have enhanced optical properties and lipophilicity as compared to parent ANS. As a result, these two GUMBOS were selected for subsequent protein-membrane binding studies. Both N4444ANS and P4444ANS GUMBOS and parent ANS independently reached membrane saturation within the same concentration range. Furthermore, distinct fluorescence responses were observed upon the addition of proteins to each probe, which demonstrates the impact of properties such as lipophilicity on the binding process. The relative maintenance of binding cooperativity and maximum fluorescence intensity suggests that proteins compete with ANS-based probes for the same membrane binding sites. Finally, this GUMBOS-based approach is simple, rapid, and involves relatively small amounts of reagents, making it attractive for high-throughput purposes. These results presented herein can also provide relevant information for designing GUMBOS with ameliorated properties.
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