Essential Oil Composition and DNA Barcode and Identification of species (Lauraceae) Growing in the Amazon Region.

Lauraceae species are widely represented in the Amazon, presenting a significant essential oil yield, large chemical variability, various biological applications, and high economic potential. Its taxonomic classification is difficult due to the accentuated morphological uniformity, even among taxa from a different genus. For this reason, the present work aimed to find chemical and molecular markers to discriminate species collected in the Pará State (Brazil).

Effects of the application of the amniotic membrane in the healing process of skin wounds in rats.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of the application of the human amniotic membrane (HAM) on the inflammatory process, fibroblast proliferation, formation of collagenand reduction of skin wound areas in rats.

Methods: Thirty six rats were submitted to a surgical injury induction and divided into two groups (n = 18): group C (control) and T (treated with the HAM). The macroscopic evolution in the wound area and the histological characteristics of the skin samples were evaluated.

Automated pulse discrimination of two freely-swimming weakly electric fish and analysis of their electrical behavior during dominance contest.

Electric fishes modulate their electric organ discharges with a remarkable variability. Some patterns can be easily identified, such as pulse rate changes, offs and chirps, which are often associated with important behavioral contexts, including aggression, hiding and mating. However, these behaviors are only observed when at least two fish are freely interacting.

Sex ratio of equine offspring is affected by the ages of the mare and stallion.

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of parental age on the sex ratio of offspring in horses. Two trials were performed. In the first trial, the data from a randomly obtained population with a 1:1 sex ratio of 59,950 Mangalarga Marchador horses born in Brazil from 1990 to 2011 were analyzed.

Optimal channel efficiency in a sensory network.

Spontaneous neural activity has been increasingly recognized as a subject of key relevance in neuroscience. It exhibits nontrivial spatiotemporal structure reflecting the organization of the underlying neural network and has proved to be closely intertwined with stimulus-induced activity patterns. As an additional contribution in this regard, we report computational studies that strongly suggest that a stimulus-free feature rules the behavior of an important psychophysical measure of the sensibility of a sensory system to a stimulus, the so-called dynamic range.

Recovery of iron oxides from acid mine drainage and their application as adsorbent or catalyst.

Iron oxide particles recovered from acid mine drainage represent a potential low-cost feedstock to replace reagent-grade chemicals in the production of goethite, ferrihydrite or magnetite with relatively high purity. Also, the properties of iron oxides recovered from acid mine drainage mean that they can be exploited as catalysts and/or adsorbents to remove azo dyes from aqueous solutions. The main aim of this study was to recover iron oxides with relatively high purity from acid mine drainage to act as a catalyst in the oxidation of dye through a Fenton-like mechanism or as an adsorbent to remove dyes from an aqueous solution.

Facial features of patients with sickle cell anemia.

Objective: To characterize the craniofacial features of patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA).

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients with SCA in the north of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were evaluated using standardized photographs (front and profile) for a subjective facial analysis and digital radiographs for a computerized cephalometric analysis. To obtain linear and angular measurements, cephalometric points were marked on the digital images by a single examiner, using the program Radiocef 6.

Analytical results on Muller's ratchet effect in growing populations.

Fontanari introduced [Phys. Rev. Lett.

Supporting adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy and protected sex among people living with HIV/AIDS: the role of patient-provider communication in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This exploratory study examined patient-provider communication dynamics regarding adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and protective sexual behavior among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). We conducted 20 direct observations of routine consultations between PLWHA and care providers in two large public health clinics providing free HIV medications and clinical care to PLWHA in the greater Rio de Janeiro area of Brazil. Immediately after these observations, 20 semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with observation participants regarding their communication with providers, overall clinic experience, and questions and concerns about adherence to HAART and safe sex.

The dynamical way to mutation-selection balance of an infinite population evolving on a truncated fitness landscape.

This paper presents the exact analytical solution, valid for all generations and initial conditions, for the frequency distribution of haploids with infinite-sites genome carrying a given number of mutations in a population evolving deterministically on a truncated fitness landscape. This landscape is a generalization of the single sharp peak one, widely used in quasispecies theory, although here there are no reverse mutations.

Effect of selection on the topology of genealogical trees.

Selection is one of the factors that most influence the shape of genealogical trees. Here we report results of simulations of the infinite-sites version of Moran's model of population genetics aiming at quantifying how the presence of selection affects the branching pattern (topology) of binary genealogical trees. In particular, we consider a scenario of purifying or negative selection in which all mutations are deleterious and each new mutation reduces the fitness of the individual by the same fraction.

Analytical solution of the evolution dynamics on a multiplicative-fitness landscape.

In an infinite population the frequency distribution of individuals carrying a given number of mutations obeys a set of recursion equations, the equilibrium solution of which describes the mutation-selection balance. Although this solution is well-known in the case of a multiplicative-fitness landscape, where it is assumed that all mutations are deleterious and that each new mutation reduces the fitness of the individual by the same fraction, we are not aware of the existence of an analytical solution for the full dynamics. Using the generating function approach, we present here an explicit analytical solution for the frequency distribution recursion equations valid for all generations and initial conditions.