Background: Challenges in predicting risk of recurrence for individual patients with meningioma limits appropriate selection of patients who may benefit from adjuvant radiation therapy to delay recurrence. Here, we aimed to develop and validate a combined clinicomolecular predictor of early recurrence for individual patients with meningiomas. Methods: A methylation-based predictor of 5-year recurrence-free-survival (RFS) was developed using DNA-methylation profiles from a training cohort of 228 patients. Model performance was compared to a standard-of-care histological-based model using three independent cohorts (N=54 ;N=140; N=64 patients). Subsequently, a nomogram that integrated the methylome-based predictor with prognostic clinical factors was developed and validated. Results: The methylome-based predictor of 5-year RFS performed favorably compared to a grade-based predictor when tested using the three validation cohorts (ΔAUC=0.10, 95%CI 0.03 – 0.018) and was independently associated with RFS on multivariable Cox regression analysis (HR=3.6, 95%CI 1.8–7.2, P<0.001). A nomogram combining the methylome-predictor with clinical factors demonstrated greater discrimination for recurrence than a nomogram using clinical factors alone (ΔAUC=0.25, 95%CI 0.22–0.27) and resulted in two risk groups with distinct recurrence patterns (HR=7.7, 95%CI 5.3–11.1, P<0.001) and clinical implications. Conclusions: Our validated models provide important novel prognostic information that could be used to individualize decisions regarding post-operative therapeutic interventions in meningioma.

The cryopreservation of epididymal sperm is an important technique that allows genetic material to be preserved, even post mortem. However, cryopreservation leads to increased oxidative stress and impaired sperm viability. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation may improve certain sperm characteristics, but it also makes sperm more susceptible to oxidative stress, therefore adding antioxidants that counteract oxidative stress has become an option. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of the interaction between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and antioxidants on the quality after the cryopreservation of epididymal bull sperm. Twenty epididymides were collected after slaughter, and epididymal sperm was cryopreserved with bovine extender supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). We verified an improvement in motility in the group that was treated only with DHA 5 µM and a concentration-dependent effect on susceptibility to lipid peroxidation that was associated with DHA concentration (1 µM, 5 µM or 10 µM). Moreover, treatment with DHA (5 µM) and SOD (20 IU/ml) resulted in higher sperm motility. Thus, the association between DHA (5 µM) and SOD (20 IU/ml) appears to be an option for increased epididymal sperm features in bulls.

This paper reports a comparative analysis performed on a fraction-image time series of the Antarctic Peninsula from the period 1999–2009 generated by multiresolution remote-sensing images (SSM/I and SSMI/S with 25 km and QuikSCAT with 2.225 km spatial resolutions) for snow-melt detection. Our method is based on the (a) preprocessing of multitemporal remote-sensing data, (b) subpixel mixture analysis of SSMI and QuikSCAT image time series, and (c) evaluation of subpixel analysis, including an assessment of fraction images of wet snow using an independent ASAR dataset and sensitivity analysis on the melt metrics measured by these images. The temporal dynamics of the melt indices derived from the wet-snow fraction images presented a more realistic pattern than the traditional melt metrics measured by Boolean snow-melt detection approaches. Because the snow melt actually occurs at the pixel fractions, the multiscale analysis that was performed suggests an overestimation of the melt metrics calculated using Boolean approaches (which assume that the entire area of the detected pixel shows snow melt). The melt metrics measurements show an overestimation according to the decrease in spatial resolution related to the multiplicative effect of a larger pixel area.

Narrow-band photometric surveys, such as the Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS), provide not only a means of pre-selection for high-resolution follow-up, but open a new era of precision photometric stellar parameter determination. Using a family of machine learning algorithms known as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), we have obtained photometric estimates of effective temperature (Teff) and metallicity ([Fe/H]) across a wide parameter range of temperature and metallicity (4000 < Teff <7000 K; −3.5 <[Fe/H]<0.0) for a number of stars in the J-PLUS Early Data Release. With this methodology, we expect to increase the number of known Carbon-enhanced Metal-poor (CEMP; [C/Fe]>+0.7) stars by several orders of magnitude, as well as constrain the metallicity distribution function of the Milky Way Halo system.

The Cariri region is the largest sedimentary basin in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Located in the southern portion of the state, it comprises the Araripe Plateau and the Cariri Valley on its northern foot. The region's groundwaters are being heavily exploited. Using electric conductivity (EC) and 18O, 14C and 3H data, we differentiate groundwaters from various origins. We identified three horizons of springs on the slope of the Plateau through their geologic environment and the EC of their waters. Groundwaters from wells in the Cariri Valley are classified according to the aquifers exploited as indicated by the drilling profiles. However, strong tectonic features and intense fracturing in the Valley produce a great many horizontal discontinuities, which result in a mixing of groundwaters from different aquifers. Mixing systems are described in terms of δ18O–14C and EC–14C linear trends.

Compact Groups (CGs) of galaxies represent an extreme class of objects. They typically contain 4-8 galaxies with high space density (as in the centers of rich clusters) but with low velocity dispersions, being an excellent laboratory for the study of galaxy interactions and their effects. Up to now no unbiassed sample of CGs was available in the literature, and therefore several of the classical problems and paradoxes involving CGs could not be properly addressed.

We describe a long-term program based on Fabry-Perot Hα velocity field data of compact groups taken at the ESO and the CFH 3.6m telescopes. The main goals of our project are: 1) determine the evolutionary stages of the studied groups, 2) search for tidal dwarf galaxy candidates in interacting systems and 3) in combination with photometry available in the literature, determine the Tully-Fisher relation for the group galaxies. In this paper we summarize all the Hα Fabry-Perot data we have obtained to date and present a preliminary discussion of point 1).

The sample of 18 systems (with 64 galaxies) studied here contain groups at a variety of dynamical stages: from a false group that is in fact one single irregular galaxy with several star-forming blobs (e.g. HCG 18) to a group whose members are strongly interacting and possibly forming tidal dwarf galaxies (e.g. HCG 92) to a group in the final process of merging (e.g. HCG 31). A companion paper (Amram and Mendes de Oliveira, 2000) shows examples of galaxy velocity fields for groups in different dynamical stages.

Graphene-covered copper surfaces have been exposed to borazine, (BH)3(NH)3, with the resulting surfaces characterized by low-energy electron microscopy. Although the intent of the experiment was to form hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on top of the graphene, such layers were not obtained. Rather, in isolated surface areas, h-BN is found to form μm-size islands that substitute for the graphene. Additionally, over nearly the entire surface, the properties of the layer that was originally graphene is observed to change in a manner that is consistent with the formation of a mixed h-BN/graphene alloy, i.e., h-BNC alloy. Furthermore, following the deposition of the borazine, a small fraction of the surface is found to consist of bare copper, indicating etching of the overlying graphene. The inability to form h-BN layers on top of graphene is discussed in terms of the catalytic behavior of the underlying copper surface and the decomposition of the borazine on top of the graphene.

The stellar kinematics of the discs of S0 galaxies (as obtained using planetary nebulae, PNe, and integrated stellar light data) is comparable to that of spiral galaxies, with similar flat rotation curves and falling velocity dispersion profiles, but they present a larger amount of random motions. The only other tracer available to probe the kinematics of individual early-type galaxies are globular clusters (GCs). GCs’ formation is intimately connected to a galaxy major star forming event(s) and GCs are, therefore, good proofs of galaxy formation histories. We directly compare a sample of PNe, GCs, and stellar velocities out to 4 effective radii, in the S0 galaxies NGC 2768 and NGC 1023. In particular, we test a new method for studying GC properties and we find that these two lenticular galaxies are consistent with being formed through different formation mechanisms.

The enzymatic activities of NTPDase and 5′nucleotidase are important to regulate the concentration of adenine nucleotides, known molecules involved in many physiological functions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of NTPDase and 5′nucleotidase in serum and liver tissue of rats infected by Fasciola hepatica. Rats were divided into two groups: uninfected control and infected. NTPDase activity for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and ADP substrates in the liver was higher compared with the control group at 15 days post-infection (PI), while seric activity was lower. In addition, seric and hepatic samples did not show changes for 5′nucleotidase activity at this time. On the other hand, either NTPDase or 5′nucleotidase activities in liver homogenate and serum were higher at 87 days PI. Early in the infection, low NTPDase activity maintains an increase of ATP in the bloodstream in order to activate host immune response, while in hepatic tissue it decreases extracellular ATP to maintain a low inflammatory response in the tissue. As stated, higher NTPDase and 5′nucleotidase activities 87 days after infection in serum and tissue, probably results on an increased concentration of adenosine molecule which stimulates a Th2 immune response. Thus, it is possible to conclude that F. hepatica infections lead to different levels of nucleotide degradation when considering the two stages of infection studied, which influences the inflammatory and pathological processes developed by the purinergic system.

The upper Jequitinhonha Valley is located within the Serra do Espinhaço Meridional mountain range in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The topography is flat or gently undulating with large flat areas known as chapadas (‘high plains’) that are dissected by rivers forming swamps known locally as veredas (‘paths’). The present study is concerned mainly with a representative toposequence in the watershed of the Lagoa do Leandro vereda, a swamp near the city of Minas Novas on a chapada of the highlands of the Alto (Upper) Jequitinhonha region.

The soils of this sequence were studied by a variety of physical and chemical techniques, including Mössbauer, electron spin resonance (ESR) and photoacoustic (PAS) spectroscopies, as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and carbon isotope data. Mössbauer spectra of the silt fraction of a grey Xanthic Haplustox (Munsell 10YR 3/2) from the Lagoa do Leandro vereda, referred to here as a ‘Grey Haplustox’ (‘LAC’), proved the existence of Fe2+- and Fe3+-bearing components. Photoacoustic spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Fe2+, as shown by Mössbauer spectroscopy, probably in an octahedrally coordinated site, but the principal optical absorption bands are due to different Fe3+ sites. A ferrimagnetic contribution and three other paramagnetic lines attributed to Fe3+ and Ti3+ were demonstrated by means of ESR. The ESR and PAS results are thus in agreement with the chemical composition and Mössbauer spectroscopy, allowing a detailed characterization of the mineralogy of this silt.

Carbon isotope data indicate the climate to have varied during the past: awetter climate in the Pleistocene, with drier phases in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, and again a more humid climate 1200 years ago. δ13C data indicate the C3 scrubland vegetation to have occupied the bottom of the vereda in the past (Bispo & Silva, 2014).

Greyish Oxisols that consist chiefly of phyllosilicate minerals of the kaolinite group (which are usually associated with binary oxides and hydroxides) are of common occurrence in tropical soils resulting from leaching and precipitation. Such Oxisols of greyish appearance and similar mineralogy have been described elsewhere from Brazil and, for example, from India. Such soils are therefore proposed here as a new hierarchical level of the Soil Classification System.

The Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) is a narrow-band imaging, very wide field cosmological survey. It will last 5 years and will observe 8500 sq. deg. of the sky. There will be 54 contiguous narrow-band filters of 145Å FWHM, from 3,500 to 10,000Å. Two broad-band filters will be added at the extremes, UV and IR, plus the 3–g, r, and i– SDSS filters. Thus, J-PAS can be an important tool to search for new planetary nebulae (PNe) at the halo, increasing their numbers, because only 14 of them have been convincingly identified in the literature. Halo PNe are able to reveal precious information for the study of stellar evolution and the early chemical conditions of the Galaxy. The characteristic low continuum and intense emission lines of PNe make them good objects to be searched by J-PAS. Though covering a significantly smaller sky area, data from the ALHAMBRA survey were used to test our J-PAS strategy to search for PNe. Our first results are shown in this contribution.

The aim of this study was to investigate the activities of important enzymes involved in the phosphoryl transfer network (adenylate kinase and creatine kinase (CK)), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), respiratory chain complexes and biomarkers of cardiac function in rat experimentally infected by Trypanosoma evansi. Rat heart samples were evaluated at 5 and 15 days post-infection (PI). At 5 day PI, there was an increase in LDH and CK activities, and a decrease in respiratory chain complexes II, IV and succinate dehydrogenase activities. In addition, on day 15 PI, a decrease in the respiratory chain complex IV activity was observed. Biomarkers of cardiac function were higher in infected animals on days 5 and 15 PI. Considering the importance of the energy metabolism for heart function, it is possible that the changes in the enzymatic activities involved in the cardiac phosphotransfer network and the decrease in respiratory chain might be involved partially in the role of biomarkers of cardiac function of T. evansi-infected rats.