Entropy-based Model for Gully Erosion - A combination of probabilistic and deterministic components.

Gullies are a major threat to ecosystems, potentially leading to land degradation, groundwater depletion, crop loss, debris flow, and desertification. Gullies are also characterized by having a fast development and turning into primary sediment sources. Despite their impact, we have but scarce understanding of how gully erosion evolves and how to model it. In this paper, we propose a new gully erosion model that is based on the classical premise of net shear stress, i.e., hydraulic shear stress minus critical (resistant) shear stress, to calculate detachment rates. In order to calculate hydraulic shear stress, we developed a new equation derived from the principle of minimum cross-entropy; it was validated with laboratory measures from the literature with a Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency of 0.95. Soil samples were analysed in the laboratory to assess critical shear stress and other soil properties. The novel gully erosion model was implemented in three gully impacted locations with catchment areas ranging from 10-2 to 10+1 ha. To assess channel geometry and eroded volumes, we used Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Structure-from-Motion technique. The model successfully estimated long-term erosion rates, its efficiency was 0.77, and it is recommended for catchments up to 8 ha. Therefore, the new model provides planners and stakeholders with a tool to assess gully erosion, sediment yield and geometry in most areas.

Análise faunística e flutuação populacional de moscas-das-frutas (Diptera: Tephritidae) em pomares comerciais de goiaba na região do Cariri cearense / Faunistic and populational analysis of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in commercial guava orchards in the Cariri region (State of Ceará), Brazil

Devido à importância das moscas-das-frutas como pragas da fruticultura, este trabalho teve como objetivos caracterizar as populações das moscas-das-frutas em pomares comerciais de goiaba na região do Cariri, Estado do Ceará, por meio de índices faunísticos e estudar a flutuação populacional dessas moscas ao longo do ano. Para isso, foram instaladas armadilhas McPhail nos Municípios de Barbalha, Crato e Juazeiro do Norte. As armadilhas foram examinadas semanalmente e as moscas capturadas foram triadas, conservadas em álcool a 70% e identificadas. Constatou-se que Anastrepha zenildae (Wiedemann), A. sororcula Zucchi, A. fraterculus (Wiedemann), A. obliqua (Macquart) e Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) foram as moscas-das-frutas associadas à goiaba. Dessas, A. zenildae. A. sororcula e A. obliqua foram dominantes e constantes na região estudada, enquanto que A. fraterculus e C. capitata foram não-dominantes, mas também constantes. A. zenildae ocorreu em quase todos os meses do ano, exceto em outubro e dezembro de 2008, nos três pomares de goiaba do Cariri e com picos populacionais nos meses mais chuvosos e com temperaturas amenas.

Due to the importance of fruit-flies as pests in fruit growing, the present study was aimed to characterize the populations of fruit-flies in commercial guava orchards in the Cariri region (state of Ceará), Brazil, by means of faunistic indexes and to study their population fluctuation during the year. For this purpose, McPhail traps were installed in the counties Barbalha, Crato and Juazeiro do Norte. The traps were examined weekly and the captured flies were separated, preserved in 70% alcohol and identified. Anastrepha zenildae (Wiedemann), A. sororcula Zucchi, A. fraterculus (Wiedemann), A. obliqua (Macquart) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) were associated with guava fruits. Of them, A. zenildae. A. sororcula and A. obliqua were dominant and constant in the studied region, while A. fraterculus and C. capitata were non-dominant but constant. A. zenildae occurred in almost all months of the year, except October and December of 2008, with population peaks in the rainy season with its milder temperatures.

Características escroto-testiculares e do ejaculado em bodes mestiços submetidos à insulaçäo escrotal / Scrotal-testicular and ejaculation characteristics in crossbred bucks submitted to scrotal insulation

Estudaram-se as características do saco escrotal e do ejaculado de seis bodes ½ sangue Moxotó-Pardo Alpina, adultos, mantidos em confinamento, antes e após a insulaçäo do saco escrotal com bolsa plástica, de parede dupla, durante 6,5 dias. O volume apresentou-se com oscilaçöes atípicas e o aumento da temperatura no escroto afetou as características escroto-testiculares e do ejaculado de modo consistente. Os defeitos espermáticos começaram e elevar-se aos sete dias após o início da insulaçäo. A motilidade individual progressiva atingiu os menores valores à terceira semana após o início da insulaçäo, retornando aos valores normais entre a oitava e nona semanas. Entretanto, a degeneraçäo seminal ocorreu em todos os animais na quarta semana após iniciado o desafio térmico, evidenciando a diminuiçäo na concentraçäo, o aumento da patologia espermática e a reduçäo do vigor celular, culminando com acinesia e necrospermia. Dez semanas após o início do desafio escroto-testicular todos os animais mostraram regeneraçäo do perímetro escrotal, da consistência testicular e do quadro espermático

Eficiência do flunixin meglumine no controle da regressäo lútea prematura em cabras superovuladas / Efficiency of flunixin meglumine in the control of premature luteal regression in supervovulated goats

Testou-se a eficácia de três doses de flunixin meglumine, um anti-prostaglandínico que impede a regressäo lútea precoce, em 32 cabras, sob estro sincronizado com esponjas vaginais, por 11 dias, impregnadas com 60mg de acetato de medroxiprogesterona, e aplicaçäo intramuscular de 50µg de cloprostenol no nono dia da sincronizaçäo. Nesse dia, também, teve início a superovulaçäo das doadoras com 9mg de FSH, fracionadas em seis aplicaçöes, em doses decrescentes, com intervalo de 12 horas. Três dias após a retirada das esponjas, iniciaram-se os tratamentos (T) com flunixin meglumine, nas seguintes doses por aplicaçäo: T1=0,00; T2=1,10; T3=1,65 e T4=2,20mg/kg de peso vivo, em um esquema de oito aplicaçöes, intervaladas de 12 horas. As fêmeas foram cobertas por reprodutores de fertilidade comprovada e as colheitas dos embriöes foram realizadas por laparotomia, entre o sexto e oitavo dia após a última cobertura. Os sintomas de estro foram observados em 84,34 por cento das fêmeas após os tratamentos de sincronizaçäo e superovulaçäo, principalmente entre 12 e 36 horas da retirada das esponjas. A ovulaçäo ocorreu em 87,10 por cento dos animais. As porcentagens de corpos lúteos funcionais em T1, T2, T3 e T4 foram, respectivamente, 54,95 e 45,04; 98,06 e 1,94; 67,16 e 32,83; 80,41 e 19,58. As maiores porcentagens de recuperaçäo embrionária ocorreram em T2; 51,45 e T4; 49,48 e as menores em T3 e T1, 32,83 e 28,83, respectivamente, mostrando relaçäo positiva com os porcentuais de corpos lúteos funcionais. T2 e T1 apresentaram os maiores valores de embriöes viáveis, 64,15 por cento e 56,25 por cento, respectivamente, seguidos por T4, 45,83 por cento e T3, 36,36 por cento. A dose de 1,10mg/kg de flunixin meglumine apresentou melhores resultados

Caprine blastocyst development after in vitro fertilization with spermatozoa frozen in different extenders.

The feasibility of using frozen-thawed semen in caprine IVF outside the breeding season was investigated. Electroejaculated spermatozoa from a Nubian buck were washed twice and then frozen in skim milk- or in egg yolk-based extenders. Goat oocytes were matured and inseminated by frozen-thawed spermatozoa selected by swim-up. In vitro fertilization was performed in a modified defined medium (mDM), altered experimentally, for 24 h. Embryos were cultured in 50 microL of c-SOF + NEA for 9 d. The percentages of oocytes exposed to heparin-capacitated spermatozoa, (previously cryopreserved in skim milk-based extender) that cleaved, reached morula, blastocyst and expanded blastocyst stages were 82.8, 57.1, 35.7 and 30.0%, respectively. Without heparin treatment the rates for cleavage, morula, blastocyst and expanded blastocyst stages were 44.3, 31.4, 18.6 and 8.6%, respectively. Therefore, heparin treatment was included in sperm capacitation. Use of spermatozoa with BSA in the IVF medium yielded no cleavage. Although extenders containing 8 to 20% egg yolk enabled good sperm motility after cryopreservation, in vitro fertilizing ability was compromised under our conditions. By contrast, semen commercially processed in season in an egg yolk-based diluent remained effective for IVF. The highest proportion of blastocysts resulted from the use of spermatozoa diluted in a skim milk extender, heparin capacitation, and insemination in medium containing lamb serum.

Caprine blastocyst formation following intracytoplasmic sperm injection and defined culture.

Experiments were undertaken to develop intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to produce caprine embryos out of the normal breeding season. Oocytes were obtained from 2-6 mm ovarian follicles at slaughter. Selected oocytes with two to four layers of cumulus cells were incubated in 1 ml of H-TCM199 supplemented with 10 micrograms each of oFSH and bLH (NHPP, NIDDK, NICHD, USDA) and 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) in a thermos (38.5 degrees C) for 4.5 h during transportation. Then, oocytes were transferred into 75 microliters of freshly prepared maturation medium under paraffin oil and a mixture of 5% O2, 5% CO2 and 90% N2. Approximately 26 h after recovery oocytes were denuded by incubation with hyaluronidase (100 IU/ml) and pipetting and held at 38.5 degrees C for 90 min. Spermatozoa frozen in egg yolk extender were thawed in a 37 degrees C water bath for 15 s. Motile fractions were selected by swim-up, then incubated for 90 min in TALP with 10 micrograms heparin/ml. Each oocyte was positioned with its first polar body at 6 or 12 o'clock by a holding pipette. Sperm (1 microliter) were added to 10 microliters medium containing 10% polyvinylpyrrolidone. A sperm cell was aspirated into a pipette, and then injected head-first into the cytoplasm of an oocyte maintained in H-TCM199 + 20% FBS at 37 degrees C. Injected oocytes were transferred to HM and, after 90 min, cultured in 50 microliters of BSA-free synthetic oviduct fluid plus polyvinyl alcohol, citrate and non-essential amino acids. Results demonstrate that caprine blastocysts can be produced outside the breeding season by the use of frozen-thawed semen and injection of sperm cells with broken tails into ova followed by culture in defined medium.

Alteraçöes do sistema genital de ovinos deslanados / Genital anatomo-histopathological alterations in sheep rams

Foram examinados anátomo-histopatologicamente os diversossegmentos do sistema genital de 16 ovinos machos adultos, das raças Morada Nova (6), Santa Inês (7) e Somalis (3), procedentes do município de Sobral/CE. Os animais foram sacrificados após exames clínico-andrológicos ao se diagnosticar algum problema reprodutivo. As lesöes foram registradas, apenas, nos testículos, nosepidídimos e na bolsa escrotal, apresentando a seguinte ordem de freqüência: degeneraçäo testicular (37,50//), epididimite näo infecciosa (25,00//) e calcificaçäotesticular, orquite-epididimite, hipoplasia testicular e epididimária ocorrendo em 8,33//cada uma. A lesäo menos freqüente foi o abscesso escrotal devido ao Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis na frequência de 4,1//. O diagnóstico clínico-andrológico das alteraçöes gonadais é de fundamental importância pois a maioria delas causa subfertilidade ou esterilidade

Seasonal variation in seminal and testicular characteristics of Brazilian Somali rams in the hot semi-arid climate of tropical northeast Brazil.

The seasons in the 1 year study were classified as rainy, transitional rainy-dry, dry, and transitional dry-rainy. Semen pH and the consistency of the testes did not vary between seasons or among rams. All other characteristics of semen and testis varied between rams. Significant seasonal differences were observed for ejaculate volume, mass, % motility, forward motility score and concentration of spermatozoa, and linear testis measurements. The total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate did not vary seasonally. The magnitude of the seasonal effects was not sufficient to prevent the rams being used for breeding throughout the year.

Evaluation of sheep breeds for early growth in tropical north-east Brazil.

Three breeds of sheep, Brazilian Somali, Morada Nova and Santa Inês which are indigenous to hot tropical semi-arid north-east Brazil were studied for their early growth. There were large breed differences in size at birth, at the 86th day and at 6 months. The Santa Inês was the largest and the Brazilian Somali the smallest. The type of birth (single vs. multiple) had a profound effect on weight at virtually all stages of growth which was similar for male and female lambs. Sex effects tended to become significant at around the 86th day, female lambs slightly outweighing males but marked sex differences appeared around 6 months when males outweighed females. The 7-day variation in age of lambs when the weights were taken around the 15th day had a marked effect on weight and correction for age would be necessary in future studies. However, the 7-day variation in age around the 86th day and thereafter did not affect the weights. The birth weight and weights at the 15th, 86th and 112 days and at 6 months were significantly correlated.