Design and Implementation of Flower Export Consortium in Ceará State, Brazil

 The Brazilian presence in international commerce, despite the regional leadership in Latin America and the global importance of Brazil as an emerging economy, is quite limited, reaching only 1% of the world’s total trade. Nevertheless, the agribusiness sector is responsible for half of the country’s export and Brazil is the world leader in sugar, coffee, orange juice, tobacco, soybean and beef export. Export growth is considered to be a key factor for the economic development of the country and many governmental programs are being carried out. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA), through its Cooperative Department (DENACOOP), has joined these efforts. The DENACOOP export consortia program is focused on building strategic alliance in agribusiness production chain. After successful experiences in implementing in grain and honey sector, an applied research project was set up focusing on a flower production chain in Northeast of Brazil, which has the potential to improve socio-economic indicators of a low income region. To carry out the project the Federal University of Viçosa research team has developed a design and implemen-tation procedure, which was based on structuring and translating the requirements of organizations and producers into contract’s clause. The consortium main clauses established that all the purchase and sale of agricultural inputs, the internal and external seedling market, roses, ornamental and vase flowers will be done together. The commercialization and the post-harvest activities will be done through the creation of a distribution center. Recently flower producers have signed the export consortium contract. The consortium is expected to improve the competitiveness of the flower production chain in the state of Ceará and increase the current minor importance of Brazil in the international flower trade

Controle de qualidade em laboratório de fertilidade do solo que adotam o Método Embrapa: relatório de desempenho no período de 1994-1998.

Neste relatório são discutidos assuntos associados ao controle de qualidade das análises realizadas em 68 laboratórios de fertilidade do solo do Brasil durante o período de 1994-1998. A metodologia de controle de qualidade do Programa Análise de Qualidade dos Laboratórios de Solos da Embrapa - PAQLF baseia-se no envio, a cada três meses, de 02 amostras de solo para a análise de pH em água, dos teores trocáveis de cálcio, magnésio, potássio e alumínio, e do fósforo extraível (Mehlich-1). Com base nas 04 rodadas de controle de qualidade, emitiu-se, a cada ano, uma lista com conceitos e classificação de cada laboratório, sendo considerado com qualidade mínima aceitável somente os laboratórios com conceito A ou B. A infra-estrutura e os procedimentos analíticos usados nos laboratórios participantes do Programa foram levantados através da análise de questionários enviados no ano de 1998. No período de 1994-1996, cerca de 80% dos laboratórios obtiveram conceitos A ou B; em 1997, cerca de 74% dos laboratórios apresentaram qualidade mínima aceitável, e, em 1998, somente 58% dos laboratórios obtiveram conceitos A ou B. Contudo, considerando-se o período de 1994 a 1998, o número de laboratórios aptos a usarem o selo de participação no PAQLF saltou de 13 para 30. De um modo geral, o nível de qualidade das análises geradas em cada laboratório variou muito de um ano para outro. A elaboração de cadastro com informações dos laboratórios participantes do PAQLF permitiu identificar as seguintes deficiências: baixa automatização dos laboratórios, uso de protocolos antigos que não refletem o estado da arte de marchas analíticas ajustadas para os solos brasileiros, ausência de uniformização de procedimentos entre os laboratórios e infra-estrutura laboratorial deficiente, o que resulta em baixa produtividade.bitstream/CNPS/11854/1/bp172000paqlf9498.pd

Effectiveness of disinfectant treatments for inactivating Piscirickettsia salmonis

This short communication investigated in vitro differences between commercial disinfectants types (n = 36), doses of application, and time of action in the elimination of Piscirickettsia salmonis, the most important bacterium affecting farmed salmon in Chile. Seven different treatments were examined, including active and inactive chlorine dioxides, glutaraldehyde, hypochlorite disinfectants and detergents, peracetic acid, peroxides and other miscellaneous methods A 3 replicate set of each of the sample groups was stored at 20 °C and 95% relative humidity and retested after 1, 5 and 30 min with varying doses (low, recommended and high doses). Multiple comparison tests were performed for the mean log CFU/ml among different disinfectant types, dose (ppm) and time of exposure (minutes) on the reduction of P. salmonis. Overall, disinfection using peracetic acid, peroxides, and both active and inactive chlorine dioxides caused significantly higher reduction of >7.5 log CFU/ml in samples, compared to other tested sanitizers. The lowest reduction was obtained after disinfection with hypochlorite detergents. As expected, as doses and time of action increase, there was a significant reduction of the overall counts of P. salmonis. However, at lowest doses, only use of paracetic acids resulted in zero counts. Implementation of effective protocols, making use of adequate disinfectants, may enhance biosecurity, and ultimately, mitigate the impact of P. salmonis in farmed salmon

Liberalism, lack and living the dream : re-considering youth, consumer sovereignty and the attractions of night-time leisure in Magaluf

Much of the academic literature on alcohol-based leisure focuses on the pleasures of hedonism and youthful cultural exploration in environments free from the prescriptions, pressures and routines of everyday life. In this article – in which we present data from our ongoing ethnographic research exploring the experiences and attitudes of young British tourists in the Spanish resort of Magaluf on the island of Majorca – we argue that the standard liberal social-scientific image of youth leisure is naive and misrepresents its variegated reality. Our research indicates that many young British tourists gain little contentment from their holiday in the sun. Rather than embarking on a leisure experience composed of boundless freedom, choice, indulgence, excess and that is indicative of personal consumer sovereignty, many of our interviewees could identify the regimented and commodified nature of alcohol-based tourism. Rather than satisfaction, they felt an imprecise dissatisfaction. Drawing upon elements of psychoanalytic theory, we argue that underneath our interviewees’ accounts of drunkenness and promiscuity lies an obdurate but imprecise sense of lack. Yet, it is precisely this absence which only recharges their motivation to do more of the same the year after in similar destinations, thus confirming the presence, power and domination of consumer sovereignty

Fragmented host distribution and trombiculid parasitic load: Eutrombicula araucanensis and Liolaemus pictus in Chile

International audienceHabitat fragmentation produced by human impacts can generate changes in the distribution and abundance of populations across their geographic ranges. The chigger mites are ectoparasites that are widely distributed on a wide range of species. The distribution depends of the characteristics of the host and of the habitat where said species is found. As the host distribution is highly dependent on environmental factors, chigger mites are good study models to test geographical distribution patterns. The main objective of this study was to determine variation in abundance of Eutrombicula araucanensis, parasite on Liolaemus pictus, by testing three hypotheses: abundant centre hypothesis, abundance optimum hypothesis and latitudinal distribution pattern. For this purpose, mites from 147 individuals from 23 localities along the distribution of L. pictus were extracted. The three distribution models evaluated in the present study were not adequate to represent the geographical structure of parasitic mites on L. pictus. No association between the distance from the area of greatest species abundance and relative intensity, or association with the distance to the mite’s distribution centre was observed. In addition, no latitudinal distribution pattern was observed. Temperate forest fragmentation may influence the population density of mites, with each forest patch having different optimal conditions for development. The heterogeneity makes it difficult to find a clear distribution pattern

Understanding resistance vs. susceptibility in visceral leishmaniasis using mouse models of Leishmania infantum Infection

Every year, up to 90,000 new cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis and 30,000 resultant deaths are estimated to occur worldwide. Such numbers give relevance to the continuous study of this complex form of the disease: a zoonosis and an anthroponosis; two known etiological agents (Leishmania infantum and L. donovani, respectively); with an estimated average ratio of 1 symptomatic per 10 asymptomatic individuals; and sometimes associated with atypical clinical presentations. This complexity, which results from a long co-evolutionary process involving vector-host, host-pathogen, and pathogen-vector interactions, is still not completely understood. The determinants of visceralization are not fully defined and the dichotomy resistance vs. susceptibility remains unsolved, translating into obstacles that delay the progress of global disease control. Inbred mouse models, with different susceptibility patterns to Leishmania infection, have been very useful in exploring this dichotomy. BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were described as susceptible strains to L. donovani visceral infection, while SV/129 was considered resistant. Here, we used these three mouse models, but in the context of L. infantum infection, the other Leishmania species that cause visceral disease in humans, and dynamically compared their local and systemic infection-induced immune responses in order to establish a parallel and to ultimately better understand susceptibility vs. resistance in visceral leishmaniasis. Overall, our results suggest that C57BL/6 mice develop an intermediate "infection-phenotype" in comparison to BALB/c and SV/129 mouse strains, considering both the splenic parasite burden and the determined target organs weights. However, the immune mechanisms associated with the control of infection seem to be different in each mouse strain. We observed that both BALB/c and SV/129, but not C57BL/6 mice, show an infection-induced increase of splenic T follicular helper cells. On the other hand, differences detected in terms of CD21 expression by B cells early after infection, together with the quantified anti-Leishmania specific antibodies, suggest that SV/129 are faster than BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice in the assembly of an efficient B-cell response. Additionally, we observed an infection-induced increase in polyfunctional CD4+ T cells in the resistant SV/129 model, opposing an infection-induced increase in CD4+IL-10+ cells in susceptible BALB/c mice. Our data aligns with the observations reported for L. donovani infection and suggest that not only a single mechanism, but an interaction of several could be necessary for the control of this parasitic disease.The research leading to these results has received funding from the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). PC was supported by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal, through the individual grant SFRH/BD/121252/2016

Computer-Generated Ovaries to Assist Follicle Counting Experiments

Precise estimation of the number of follicles in ovaries is of key importance in the field of reproductive biology, both from a developmental point of view, where follicle numbers are determined at specific time points, as well as from a therapeutic perspective, determining the adverse effects of environmental toxins and cancer chemotherapeutics on the reproductive system. The two main factors affecting follicle number estimates are the sampling method and the variation in follicle numbers within animals of the same strain, due to biological variability. This study aims at assessing the effect of these two factors, when estimating ovarian follicle numbers of neonatal mice. We developed computer algorithms, which generate models of neonatal mouse ovaries (simulated ovaries), with characteristics derived from experimental measurements already available in the published literature. The simulated ovaries are used to reproduce in-silico counting experiments based on unbiased stereological techniques; the proposed approach provides the necessary number of ovaries and sampling frequency to be used in the experiments given a specific biological variability and a desirable degree of accuracy. The simulated ovary is a novel, versatile tool which can be used in the planning phase of experiments to estimate the expected number of animals and workload, ensuring appropriate statistical power of the resulting measurements. Moreover, the idea of the simulated ovary can be applied to other organs made up of large numbers of individual functional units

Physical inactivity and associated factors in elderly people in Brazil

El objetivo fue analizar los factores asociados a la inactividad física en personas mayores en Brasil. Se utilizó un diseño transversal, con una muestra representativa de 909 sujetos de 60 años o más. Fueron clasificados como físicamente inactivos los individuos con menos de 150 minutos de actividad física semanal. La identificación de los factores sociodemográficos, aspectos comportamentales y de salud asociados con la inactividad física se realizó con un análisis multivariante a través de una regresión de Poisson Los resultados sugieren una prevalencia del 39,1% para la inactividad física. La inactividad física presenta una mayor prevalente con o el incremento de la edad, la falta de práctica de actividad física regular en el pasado, los síntomas de depresión y la discapacidad en las Actividades Instrumentales de la Vida Diaria. El aumento de la edad, la falta de práctica regular de actividad física en el pasado, los síntomas depresivos y la discapacidad en las Actividades Instrumentales de la Vida Diaria se evidencian como factores asociados a la inactividad física.The aim was to analyse factors associated with physical inactivity in elderly Brazilians. The study was carried out by using a cross-sectional design and it comprised a representative sample of 909 subjects. Physical inactivity was defined as fewer than 150 minutes per week. In order to identify socio-demographic factors and behavioural and health aspects, which may be associated with physical inactivity, we carried out a multivariate analysis through the Poisson regression. Results suggest that physical inactivity has a prevalence of 39.1%. Physical inactivity presents a higher prevalence with an increase in age, a lack of regular physical activity practice in the past, depressive symptoms and disability in the instrumental activities of daily living. An increase in age, a lack of regular physical activity practice in the past, depressive symptoms and disability in the instrumental activities of daily living are shown as causes of physical inactivit

Planejamento e implantação do sistema de gestão da qualidade na Embrapa Uva e Vinho.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor uma abordagem para conduzir um processo de Implantação de um SGQ (Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade) e relatar os resultados recentes alcançados na Embrapa Uva e Vinho

Olhares de género face à matemática: uma investigação no ensino obrigatório espanhol

O interesse pelo estudo das atitudes e o seu papel determinante na aprendizagem da matemática tem sido objecto de investigação há mais de 50 anos. Não obstante, actualmente, a investigação ainda se centra sobre as diferenças das atitudes das mulheres e dos homens, bem como sobre as causas de tais diferenças. No geral, os estudos realizados concluíram que, face à aprendizagem da matemática, as mulheres se percepcionam como menos competentes que os homens, embora estes estudos não sejam conclusivos. Outro dos dados emergentes sugere que, à medida que o estudante progride na escolaridade obrigatória, a atitude face à matemática vai sendo mais negativa. O presente trabalho aporta mais alguns dados sobre as diferenças nas atitudes face à matemática em função do género e do ano de escolaridade no contexto educativo espanhol.Looking at Mathematics through gender: a study in Spanish compulsory education. Studying attitudes and their important role in learning Mathematics has been one of the concerns of research over the last fifty years. Nowadays research still deals with attitudes, but a new focus of interest comes to light: studying the differences between male and female attitudes and the reasons for that. Some existing studies state that females perceive themselves as less competent than males do in learning Mathematics but those studies are still not conclusive. Data also suggest that over school years students’ attitudes grow more and more negative. The present study highlights the differences in attitudes towards Mathematics according to gender and school year in the Spanish educational context.(undefined