Faunistic analysis of Cerambycidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) in an area of Atlantic Forest

The Atlantic Forest is considered a hotspot biome, one of the most diverse in the world. Currently, due to deforestation, only 22% of the original cover remains, and only 7.5% well preserved. Despite the global importance of this biome, it still lacks basic studies, e.g. primary inventories. Cerambycidae is one of the most diverse groups of beetles, with high ecological and economic importance. The aim of this work was to survey the longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) in three fragments (Pacangê, Vila 5 and Pancada Grande) of Atlantic Forest within Reserva Ecológica da Michelin (southern Bahia State, Brazil). A total of 166 individuals belonging to 53 species were recorded, 15 of them new geographical records for the state, and one for Brazil. The Shannon index (H) shows Pacangê (H = 2.665) as the most diverse fragment, followed by Pancada Grande (H = 2.658) and Vila 5 (H = 2.565). The most abundant species were Nyssodrysina lignaria (38 specimens collected), followed by Compsibidion vanum (31 specimens). One hundred and ten specimens were captured in Malaise traps, while in light traps only 56 specimens were caught; however, the richness and consequently the diversity in light traps was higher. This is one of the few studies carried out in Atlantic Forest surveying longhorn beetles, and provides primary data on these taxa, to help develop conservation policies for this threatened biome.     

具有周围组织的动脉脉搏波分析

本文提出在周围结缔组织深处动脉的理论模型。利用土力学原理分析动脉纵向振动,指出动脉纵向振动引起周围结缔组织的位移是以表面波形式传播的,动脉纵向波速是表面波相速度,表面波的存在是动脉纵向振动的必要条件。Lamb波速是本文结论特例。     

A new cellular function for peroxisomes related to oxygen free radicals?

Although in cell biology peroxisomes are still 'young' organelles, it is becoming increasingly clear that they are involved in important cellular functions. Recent results have indicated the presence of the metalloenzyme superoxide dismutase in peroxisomes and the production of superoxide free radicals (O2-) in these oxidative organelles. These findings, together with other experimental evidence, point towards the existence of new roles for peroxisomes in cellular active oxygen metabolism, something that has a potential impact in multiple areas of cell biology, particularly in biochemistry and biomedicine.     

Real-time quantum feedback prepares and stabilizes photon number states

Feedback loops are central to most classical control procedures. A controller compares the signal measured by a sensor (system output) with the target value or set-point. It then adjusts an actuator (system input) to stabilize the signal around the target value. Generalizing this scheme to stabilize a micro-system's quantum state relies on quantum feedback, which must overcome a fundamental difficulty: the sensor measurements cause a random back-action on the system. An optimal compromise uses weak measurements, providing partial information with minimal perturbation. The controller should include the effect of this perturbation in the computation of the actuator's operation, which brings the incrementally perturbed state closer to the target. Although some aspects of this scenario have been experimentally demonstrated for the control of quantum or classical micro-system variables, continuous feedback loop operations that permanently stabilize quantum systems around a target state have not yet been realized. Here we have implemented such a real-time stabilizing quantum feedback scheme following a method inspired by ref. 13. It prepares on demand photon number states (Fock states) of a microwave field in a superconducting cavity, and subsequently reverses the effects of decoherence-induced field quantum jumps. The sensor is a beam of atoms crossing the cavity, which repeatedly performs weak quantum non-demolition measurements of the photon number. The controller is implemented in a real-time computer commanding the actuator, which injects adjusted small classical fields into the cavity between measurements. The microwave field is a quantum oscillator usable as a quantum memory or as a quantum bus swapping information between atoms. Our experiment demonstrates that active control can generate non-classical states of this oscillator and combat their decoherence, and is a significant step towards the implementation of complex quantum information operations.     

A Combinatorial Approach to Assess the Separability of Clusters

Separability of clusters is an issue that arises in many different areas, and is often used in a rather vague and subjective manner. We introduce a combinatorial notion of interiority to derive a global view on separability of a set of entities. We develop this approach further to evaluate the overall separability of a partition in the context of cluster analysis. Our approach captures combinatorial and geometrical aspects of data and provides, in addition to numerical evaluations, graphical representations particularly useful when data are not easily visualized. We illustrate the methodology on some real and simulated datasets.     

A snapshot of a high density seahorse population in a tropical rocky reef

Seahorses are fishes that suffer high trading pressure in the international market. Three species have been recorded in Brazil, Hippocampus reidi, Hippocampus erectus and Hippocampus patagonicus, already classified as threatened or data deficient. Guaíba Island is an ecologically relevant site due to its position between two bays in Rio de Janeiro state. The present study aimed to survey the seahorse population of Guaíba Island, verifying several population structure parameters. Eight diving sites were selected around the island. Only the longsnout seahorse H. reidi was recorded. The population showed the largest density ever recorded in the world for the species. Sex ratio was 1:1 and seahorses were reproductively active. We observed three juveniles. The mean length recorded was 8.9 ± 1.64 cm. The population structure was similar to others populations studied throughout the Brazilian coast.