Effects of seasonality on drosophilids (Insecta, Diptera) in the northern part of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

Seasonality is an important aspect associated with population dynamic and structure of tropical insect assemblages. This study evaluated the effects of seasonality on abundance, richness, diversity and composition of an insect group, drosophilids, including species native to the Neotropical region and exotic ones. Three preserved fragments of the northern Atlantic Forest were surveyed, where temperatures are above 20 °C throughout the year and rainfall regimes define two seasons (dry and rainy). As opposed to other studies about arthropods in tropical regions, we observed that abundance of drosophilids was significantly higher in the dry season, possibly due to biological aspects and the colonization strategy adopted by the exotic species in these environments. Contrarily to abundance, we did not observe a seasonal pattern for richness. As for other parts of the Atlantic Forest, the most representative Neotropical species (Drosophila willistoni, D. sturtevanti, D. paulistorum and D. prosaltans) were significantly more abundant in the rainy season. Among the most abundant exotic species, D. malerkotliana, Zaprionus indianus and Scaptodrosophila latifasciaeformis were more importantly represented the dry season, while D. simulans was more abundant in the rainy period. The seasonality patterns exhibited by the most abundant species were compared to findings published in other studies. Our results indicate that exotic species were significantly more abundant in the dry season, while native ones exhibited an opposite pattern.

Contributions of Dryland Forest (Caatinga) to Species Composition, Richness and Diversity of Drosophilidae.

In this study, semi-arid environments were tested to see if they support insect diversity. This was evaluated through the structure of the composition of assemblies of drosophilids in three conservation units placed in three different ecoregions in the dryland forests, Caatinga. This is a unique biome in northeast Brazil, comprising approximately 10% of the country. Species richness was investigated over 2 years during a prolonged drought, considered the worst affliction the Caatinga ecosystem had experienced in the last 50 years. Alpha diversity indices and the ecological similarity between the samples were calculated to determine how the environments drive the composition of Drosophilidae in such semi-arid places. A total of 7352 specimens were sampled. They were classified into 20 species belonging to four genera: Drosophila, Rhinoleucophenga, Scaptodrosophila, and Zaprionus. Drosophila nebulosa Sturtevant (44.5%) and Drosophila cardini Sturtevant (12.5%) were the most abundant species. The occurrences and abundances of all the species differed greatly between sites. These results and other ecological analyses indicate that although placed in the same biome, there are great variability in the drosophilid species and abundance among the three protected and conserved dryland environments.

High Diversity of Drosophilidae in High-Altitude Wet Forests in Northeastern Brazil.

The high-altitude wet forests of northeastern Brazil, locally known as "Brejos de Altitude," are enclaves of the Atlantic Forest situated above 500 m, surrounded by dryland vegetation, the Caatinga. The aim of this study was to characterize drosophilid communities in these upland forests, since few ecological studies on drosophilid communities have been conducted in northeastern Brazil. Four sites were investigated in three different times of the year throughout standardized traps. The results reveal the presence of 55 different species in a total of 13,064 specimens collected. The data were evaluated using ecological diversity measurements and compared with those obtained for other environments in the same geographic region. As for species composition, the Bonito upland forest, in a boundary forest location, stood out as having high species richness.

Electron-recoil ion and recoil ion-projectile coincidence techniques applied to obtain absolute partial collision cross sections.

We present in detail an alternative experimental set-up and data analysis, based on the electron-recoil ion and recoil ion-projectile coincidence techniques, that enable the measurement of partial pure ionization and partial charge exchange cross sections for an effusive gas jet set-up, where the absolute target density and recoil ion efficiency cannot be measured directly. The method is applied to the ionization of helium atoms due to collision with partially stripped C(3 +) projectiles. In order to check the method, the results are compared to data available in the literature where the target density and recoil ion detection efficiency were measured directly. The pure ionization channel is compared to the electron capture channel.

Consumo e desempenho produtivo de ovinos alimentados com dietas que continham coprodutos do desfibramento do sisal / Intake and productive performance of sheep fed sisal coproducts based diets

Avaliaram-se o desempenho produtivo e o consumo de nutrientes e frações fibrosas em ovinos alimentados com dietas contendo coprodutos do desfibramento do sisal, Agave sisalana. Foram utilizados 24 ovinos, machos, alojados em baias individuais. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente ao acaso, com quatro tratamentos e seis repetições. Os tratamentos consistiram em quatro dietas isoproteicas, em que: i) dieta padrão, contendo 38 por cento de volumoso (silagem de milheto) e 62 por cento de concentrado (milho, farelo de soja e ureia); ii) inclusão de 20 por cento da silagem de mucilagem do sisal em substituição à silagem de milheto; iii) inclusão de 20 por cento da silagem de mucilagem associada ao pó da batedeira como aditivo em substituição à silagem de milheto; iv) inclusão de 20 por cento do feno da mucilagem em substituição à silagem de milheto. O peso corporal final, os ganhos médio diário e total e a conversão alimentar dos ovinos não foram influenciados pelas dietas avaliadas (P>0,05). Os consumos dos nutrientes, em g/dia e em por centoPC e g/kg0,75, não sofreram influência das dietas. Os resultados indicam que as dietas à base de coprodutos do sisal podem ser utilizadas como alternativa volumosa, além de possibilitar o aumento da rentabilidade da atividade na região semiárida brasileira.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the productive performanceand mean daily intake of nutrients in sheep fed diets containing sisal, Agave sisalana, and co-products. Twenty-four male sheep were used in individual stalls. A completely randomized design was used, with four treatments and six replications. The treatments consisted of four isonitrogenous, in which: i) standard diet containing 38 percent forage (millet silage) and 62 percent concentrate (corn, soybean meal and urea), ii) inclusion 20 percent agave mucilage silage to replace millet silage in the standard diet, iii) inclusion of 20 percent agave mucilage silage associated with agave powder as additive to replace millet silage in the standard diet, iv) inclusion of 20 percent agave mucilage hay in substitution of millet silage. The final body weight, average daily gain, the total weight gain and feed conversion of sheep was not affected by the diets tested (P>0.05). Similarly, the intake of nutrients in g/day, percent BW and g/kg0,75 were not affected by the diets. The results indicate that the experimental diets based on the agave co-products can be used as alternative roughage in the semiarid region of Brazil, as well as help increase the profitability of cattle ranching in the region.

Qualidade de méis produzidos por apicultores e méis provenientes de entrepostos registrados no Serviço de Inspeção Federal / Quality of honeys produced by beekeepers and honey from warehouses registered at the Federal Inspection Service

This study was carried out to compare the physiochemical quality of honeys from beekeepers in northern Zona da Mata, MG, and honeys from warehouses registered at the Serviço de Inspeção Federal (SIF) in the State of Minas Gerais. Physiochemical analysis involving 39 samples were done, with three samples from each of the 13 beekeepers and 18 samples from warehouses registered at SIF-MG. Differences in quality from the two origins occurred in: free acidity, ashes, hydroxymethylfurfural, apparent sucrose and insoluble solids, where honeys from warehouses were of better quality. In addition, for free acidity and insoluble solids, two samples from northern Zona da Mata showed values above the established by the Instrução Normativa n°11 relative to the year 2000, whereas the values for insoluble solids in 11 samples from northern Zona da Mata and 2 samples from warehouses were in disagreement with this legislation.

Pb-210 in rock and soils of the semi-arid agreste region of Pernambuco, Brazil.

The aim of this research was to determine (210)Pb concentrations in rocks and soils of farms located in the municipalities of Pedra and Venturosa. In these farms, rolled blocks of mafic rock with a high percentage of U(3)O(8) were found. The concentrations of (210)Pb varied from 3.2 to 201 kBq kg(-1) in rock samples and from 195 to 86,400 Bq kg(-1) in soil samples. The high levels of radioactivity found in the samples, indicate the need to conduct more detailed studies to evaluate the risk of radionuclide ingestion due to milk consumption by the population in the state of Pernambuco.

[An anti-Listeria seroepidemiological study in Uberaba, MG]. / Inquérito soro-epidemiológico antilistéria em Uberaba, MG.

From a total of 445 individuals, 17.1% had antibodies against L. monocytogenes detected by the agglutination tube test. They were separated in seven groups: bloods donnors (n = 50), Hospital visitors (n = 40), frigorific workers (n = 28), aviculture workers (n = 87), herdsman (n = 31), agriculture students (n = 60) and street-sweepers (n = 51). L1/2a serotype was predominant. Individuals from urban areas (19.5%) and those who had less contact with animals (21.7%) had significantly positive serology when compared with individuals from rural areas (9.4%) and those who had close contact with animals (13.2%). The overall picture is individuals of more specialized occupations had more frequently (25.9%) anti listeria antibodies similar to the results observed in developed countries where listeriosis is a public health problem in urban areas.