Effects of genotype and environment on B-glucan and dietary fibre contents in whole grain of barley grown in Brazil

The aim of this study was to determine general quality characteristics of whole grain of advanced lines of barley grown in Brazil and to determine the effects of genotype and growing location on β-glucan and dietary fibre contents. Barley cultivars, designated BRS 225, BRS 195 and MN 743, crop year 2008 and 2009, with three replications in field trial coordinated by the EMBRAPA Trigo/Passo Fundo were used in this research. The barley samples were analyzed in relation to their Total Dietary Fibre (TDF) contents and fractions for moisture and protein (N × 6.25) by using AACC Methods (American Association of Cereal Chemists, 1990). The β-Glucan content was assessed using the McCleary Enzymic Method for barley (McCleary and Codd, 1991). The data was statistically evaluated by System for Analysis and Separation Averages in Agricultural Experiment (SASM-Agri - version 4) and differences between means were located using Scott-Knott’s test (p<0,05). There were significant differences among the barley genotypes and different locations and crop years in terms of β-glucan, total dietary fibre (TDF), soluble dietary fibre (SDF) and insoluble dietary fibre (IDF) content (p<0.05). Climatic factors can affect positively or negatively the content of total dietary fibre and β-glucan, impacting on the final quality of the barley grain. Substantial variation in the content of fibre components was observed for barley cultivars grown in different years on the same location. These results indicate that environmental and genetic factors are involved in the total β-glucan content and dietary fibre of barley

Risco de cr?dito e comportamento financeiro de potenciais empreendedores: uma aplica??o com potenciais clientes de Programas de Empreendedorismo

Diante de um ambiente mercadol?gico com alta competitividade, os gestores necessitam cada vez mais tomar decis?es de modo ?gil, no entanto, essa tomada de decis?o deve se dar de modo consciente e embasando para que n?o haja comprometimento do futuro da empresa. Deste modo, ? essencial que o gestor desenvolva pr?ticas cotidianas que envolvam uma gest?o de riscos eficaz, j? que quanto mais mapeados e analisados, menor ser? o risco de executar determinada atividade. Sendo assim, a presen?a do gerenciamento de riscos apresenta-se como uma das principais ferramentas estrat?gicas de uma empresa, principalmente em institui??es financeiras, que trabalham constantemente com conceitos de risco de cr?dito, esses que envolvem a possibilidade de a institui??o financeira n?o receber o valor de um empr?stimo, podendo ser considerado como a taxa de inadimpl?ncia esperada.Em virtude deste cen?rio, este Trabalho de Conclus?o de Curso, de cunho quantitativo, tem como objetivo a identifica??o das vari?veis podem explicar a rela??o entre o comportamento financeiro de potenciais benefici?rios do Empreender Para?ba e o seu risco de cr?dito. Para coleta de dados optou-se pela aplica??o de question?rio, formulado por 24 perguntas, aplicadas indiretamente por meio da ferramenta do Google Docs. A tabula??o de dados foi realizada atrav?s do software Microsoft Office Excel 2007. A an?lise de dados, por sua vez, foi feita atrav?s do software SPSS. Participaram da pesquisa124 potenciais empreendedores. No entanto, ? interessante destacar que a amostra obtida n?o se relaciona a base de dados da Secretaria Executiva do Empreendedorismo ? respons?vel por operacionalizar o Programa Empreender Para?ba, sendo considerada, portanto uma amostra potencial benefici?ria, tendo em vista que todo empreendimento necessita de um investimento monet?rio inicial. Sendo assim, os resultados obtidos na pesquisa est?o restritos a amostra utilizada, n?o cabendo generaliza??es. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam que vari?veis como maior quantidade de filhos, maior n?mero de dependentes financeiros, maior investimento inicial e maior quantidade restante de parcelas de financiamento de ve?culos ou de empr?stimos banc?rios influenciam positivamente a situa??o de inadimpl?ncia. Palavras-chave: Comportamento financeiro, Gerenciamento de riscos

MTHFR Polymorphic Variant C677T Is Associated to Vascular Complications in Sickle-Cell Disease

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Vaso-occlusion is a determinant for most signs and symptoms of sickle-cell anemia (SCA). The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of vascular complications in SCA remain unclear. It is known that genetic polymorphisms associated with thrombophilia may be potential modifiers of clinical features of SCA. The genetic polymorphisms C677T and A1298C relating to the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), a clotting Factor V Leiden mutation (1691G -> A substitution of Factor V Leiden), and the mutant prothrombin 20210A allele were analyzed in this study. The aim was to find possible correlations with vascular complications and thrombophilia markers in a group of SCA patients in Pernambuco, Brazil. The study included 277 SCA patients, divided into two groups: one consisting of 177 nonconsanguineous SCA patients who presented vascular manifestations of stroke, avascular necrosis, leg ulcers, priapism, and acute chest syndrome (group 1); and the other consisting of 100 SCA patients without any reported vascular complication (group 2). Molecular tests were done using either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism or allele-specific PCR techniques. Comparisons between the groups were made using the chi(2) test. The 677 CT and TT genotypes showed a significant risk of vascular complications (p = 0.015). No significant associations between the groups were found when samples were analyzed for the MTHFR A1298C allele (p = 0.913), Factor V G1691 (p = 0.555), or prothrombin G20210A mutation (p = 1.000). The polymorphism MTHFR C677T seemed to be possibly predictive for the development of some vascular complications in SCA patients among this population.16910381043Science and Technology Support Foundation of the State of Pernambuco (Fundacao de Amparo a Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de PernambucoFACEPE)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem e satisfação do paciente atendido em um hospital de ensino

OBJECTIVES: assess the quality of nursing care, the patients' satisfaction and the correlation between both. METHOD: cross-sectional study, involving 275 patients hospitalized at a teaching hospital in the Central-West of Brazil. The data were collected through the simultaneous application of three instruments. Next, they were included in an electronic database and analyzed in function of the positivity, median value and Spearman's correlation coefficients. RESULTS: among the nursing care assessed, only two were considered safe - hygiene and physical comfort; nutrition and hydration - while the remainder were classified as poor. Nevertheless, the patients were satisfied with the care received in the domains assessed: technical-professional, confidence and educational. This can be justified by the weak to moderate correlation that was observed among these variables. CONCLUSION: Despite the quality deficit, the patients' satisfaction level with the nursing care received was high. These results indicate that the institution needs to center its objectives on a continuing evaluation system of the care quality, aiming to attend to the patients' expectations.OBJETIVOS: evaluar la calidad de los cuidados de enfermería, la satisfacción del paciente y la correlación entre ambos. MÉTODO: estudio trasversal con 275 pacientes internados en un hospital de enseñanza de la región Centro-Oeste de Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados mediante la aplicación simultánea de tres instrumentos. A seguir, fueron digitalizados en un banco de datos electrónico y analizados en función de la positividad, valor de mediana y coeficientes de correlación de Spearman. RESULTADOS: entre los cuidados de enfermería evaluados, solamente dos fueron considerados seguros - higiene y conforto físico; nutrición e hidratación - y los demás clasificados como pobres. Sin embargo, los pacientes se mostraron satisfechos con los cuidados recibidos en los dominios evaluados: técnico-profesional, confianza y educacional. Eso puede ser justificado por la correlación débil a moderada observada entre esas variables. CONCLUSIÓN: A pesar del déficit de cualidad, fue encontrado alto nivel de satisfacción de los pacientes con los cuidados de enfermería recibidos. Tales resultados indican la necesidad de que la institución centre sus objetivos en un sistema de evaluación permanente de la cualidad del cuidado, visando atender a las expectativas de los pacientes.OBJETIVOS: avaliar a qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem, a satisfação do paciente e a correlação entre ambos. MÉTODO: estudo transversal, realizado com 275 pacientes internados em um hospital de ensino da Região Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Os dados foram obtidos por meio da aplicação simultânea de três instrumentos. A seguir, foram digitados em banco de dados eletrônico e analisados em função da positividade, valor de mediana e coeficientes de correlação de Spearman. RESULTADOS: dentre os cuidados de enfermagem avaliados, apenas dois foram considerados seguros - higiene e conforto físico; nutrição e hidratação - e os demais foram classificados como pobres. Todavia, os pacientes mostraram-se satisfeitos com os cuidados recebidos nos domínios avaliados: técnico-profissional, confiança e educacional. Isso pode ser justificado pela correlação fraca a moderada observada entre essas variáveis. CONCLUSÃO: apesar do déficit de qualidade, houve alto nível de satisfação dos pacientes com os cuidados de enfermagem recebidos. Tais resultados apontam a necessidade de a instituição centrar seus objetivos num sistema de avaliação permanente da qualidade do cuidado, visando o atendimento das expectativas dos pacientes

Relative contribution of effects included in contemporary groups for adjusted and actual 120-day and 210-day weights in Nelore cattle in Brazil

The objective of this research was to estimate the relative magnitude of effects included in contemporary groups (CG) and their interactions with adjusted and actual 120 d and 210 d weights in 72,731 male and female Nelore calves born from 1985 to 2005 in 40 herds from PMGRN (Genetic Improvement Program of Nelore). Ten models with different CG structures were compared. The analyses were done using the general linear models (GLM) procedure run in SAS software. All of the effects included in the CG for each model were significant (p < 0.001) for the four traits analyzed. Inclusion of semester or trimester of birth as part of a CG was more appropriate than its use as an independent effect in the model because it accounted for interactions with the other effects in the CG. Calf sex (CS) and dam age at calving (DAC) had similar effects across the models, which suggested independence from other effects in these models. The corresponding age deviation effect had a larger impact on actual weight at 120 d than any other effect in all of the models tested. The use of actual weights in models with no CS effect in CG provides an alternative that would allow better genetic connectedness among CGs and greater accuracy in genetic evaluations

Can preferential credit programs speed up the adoption of low-carbon agricultural systems in Mato Grosso, Brazil? Results from bioeconomic microsimulation

The need to balance agricultural production and environmental protection shifted the focus of Brazilian land-use policy toward sustainable agriculture. In 2010, Brazil established preferential credit lines to finance investments into low-carbon integrated agricultural systems of crop, livestock and forestry. This article presents a simulation-based empirical assessment of integrated system adoption in the state of Mato Grosso, where highly mechanized soybean–cotton and soybean–maize doublecrop systems currently prevail. We employ bioeconomic modeling to explicitly capture the heterogeneity of farm level costs and benefits of adoption. By parameterizing and validating our simulations with both empirical and experimental data, we evaluate the effectiveness of the ABC Integration credit through indicators such as land-use change, adoption rates and budgetary costs of credit provision. Alternative scenarios reveal that specific credit conditions might speed up the diffusion of low-carbon agricultural systems in Mato Grosso

Dre-miR-2188 Targets Nrp2a and Mediates Proper Intersegmental Vessel Development in Zebrafish Embryos

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNAs that are implicated in the control of eukaryotic gene expression by binding to the 3'UTR of target mRNAs. Several algorithms have been developed for miRNA target prediction however, experimental validation is still essential for the correct identification of miRNA targets. We have recently predicted that Neuropilin2a (Nrp2a), a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor which is essential for normal developmental angiogenesis in zebrafish, is a dre-miR-2188 target. METHODOLOGY: Here we show that dre-miR-2188 targets the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of Nrp2a mRNA and is implicated in proper intersegmental vessel development in vivo. Over expression of miR-2188 in zebrafish embryos down regulates Nrp2a expression and results in intersegmental vessel disruption, while its silencing increases Nrp2a expression and intersegmental vessel sprouting. An in vivo GFP sensor assay based on a fusion between the GFP coding region and the Nrp2a 3'UTR confirms that miR-2188 binds to the 3'UTR of Nrp2a and inhibits protein translation. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that miR-2188 targets Nrp2a and affects intersegmental vessel development in zebrafish embryos