Impact of global warming on beef cattle production cost in Brazil

Global warming is affecting agribusiness in its economic aspects. Therefore, the prediction of the evolution of Brazilian beef cattle production cost was made using the IPCC forecast scenario for global warming. The methodology consisted of two steps: (i) the development of a fuzzy model that estimated the grazing land capacity (RP) decrease risk as a function of the changes in the average total rain index, air temperature and increase in extension of the dry season; and (ii) the design of an algorithm for predicting the decrease in production as function of the RPfuzzy model, that results in the impact in beef cattle productivity, and consequent increase in production costs. Historical environmental data from important producing counties in the Cerrado were organized and a set of fuzzy Gaussian functions were developed, and three possible settings (optimistic, medium and pessimistic) were considered. The decrease in beef cattle productivity was estimated using the losses in production due to the increase in air temperature and vulnerability of pasture capacity. The boundary settings for the total increase of production cost scenario used the number of animals per area of grazing land, the adoption of grain supplement and its future scenario; and the result output function pointed to a threshold within a variation from an increase in production cost of 80% (optimistic) to 160% (pessimistic). Under the optimistic scenario the total cost of Brazilian beef cattle production in the Cerrado became near to US$2.88 kg-1, while in the pessimistic scenario this cost reached US$ 4.16 kg-1, challenging the international competitiveness of this economic segment.O aquecimento global afeta o agronegócio em seus aspectos econômicos. Foi feita previsão daevolução do custo de produção de carne bovina brasileira usando a predição de aquecimento global do IPCC. A metodologia consistiu de duas etapas: (i) o desenvolvimento de modelo fuzzy que estimou o risco de decréscimo da capacidade de pastagens (RP) em função das mudanças no índice pluviométrico total, na temperatura do ar e na extensão da estação de seca; e (ii) o desenvolvimento de um algoritmo para predição do decréscimo da produção em função de um modelo fuzzy de RP que resulte no impacto na produtividade bovina de corte e conseqüente aumento no custo de produção. Foram organizados os dados históricos de fatores ambientais dos municípios importante produção no Cerrado e um conjunto de funções Gaussianas fuzzy foi desenvolvido e três estimativas possíveis (otimista, média e negativa) foram consideradas. O decréscimo na produtividade do gado foi estimado usando as perdas de produção devido ao acréscimo da temperatura bem como da vulnerabilidade da capacidade de pastagem. O estabelecimento dos limites para o cenário do acréscimo do custo de produção usou o número de unidade animal por área de pastagem, a adoção de suplemento de grãos e o cenário de produção futura; e o resultado da função de saída apontou para uma variação do acréscimo do custo de produção de 80% (otimista) até 160% (pessimista). Sob o cenário otimista, o custo total da produção brasileira de carne bovina no Cerrado chega a US$2,88 kg-1, enquanto no cenário pessimista este custo pode atingir US$ 4,16 kg-1, o que pode comprometer a competitividade internacional do setor

Permainan Tradisional Gowokan Dalam Membentuk Kecakapan Sosial Anak Usia Sekolah Dasar: Permainan Tradisional, Gowokan, Kecakapan Sosial

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan pemahaman guru tentang peran dan fungsi permainan tradisional gowokan, mendeskripsikan peran dan fungsi permainan tradisional gowokan dan, merefleksikan aspek pendukung dan penghambat peran dan fungsi permainan tradisional gowokan dalam membentuk kecakapan sosial anak pada usia sekolah dasar Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Sumber data penelitian ini yaitu kepala sekolah, guru, dan siswa. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakandalam penelitian ini yaitu observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi. Uji keabsahan data menggunakan triangulasi atau pengecekan data. Analisis data menggunakan model Miles and Huberman yaitu pengumpulan data, reduksi data, penyajian data dan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa guru belum terlalu memahami peran dan fungsi permainan tradisional gowokan dalam membentuk kecakapan sosial anak pada usia sekolah dasar, hal ini disebabkan karena dalam proses pembelajaran guru jarang memanfaatkan permainan tradisional. Permainan tradisional gowokan dapat memberikan kesenangan pada anak, kemampuan untuk menjadi relasi, kerja sama, melatih kematangan sosial dengan teman sebaya, berlatih peran dengan orang yang lebih dewasa, melatih anak untuk bersabar secara bergantian ketika melakukan sesuatu permainan, serta kemampuan untuk menerima kekalahan dengan lapang dada dan mengakui kemenangan teman

Ultrasensitive electrochemical molecularly imprinted sensor based on AuE/Ag-MOF@MC for determination of hemoglobin using response surface methodology

Considering the importance of determining the levels of hemoglobin (Hb) as a vital protein in red blood cells, in this work a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor was developed based on a gold electrode (AuE) modified with Ag metal-organic framework mesoporous carbon (Ag-MOF@MC) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). To that end, the MIP layer was formed on the Ag-MOF@MC by implanting Hb as the pattern molecule during the polymerization. The modified electrode was designed using electrochemical approaches including differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Using a response level experimental design method, the most important parameters affecting the reaction of the sensing system including pH, incubation time, and scanning rate were optimized. Following the same route, the Hb concentration, pH, temperature, and elution times were optimized to prepare the imprinted polymer layer on the Ag-MOF@MC surface. By exploiting DPV techniques based on the optimal parameters, the electrochemical response of the AuE/Ag-MOF@MC-MIPs for Hb determination was recorded in a wide linear dynamic range (LDR) of 0.2 pM to 1000 nM, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.09 pM. Moreover, the Ag-MOF@MC-MIP sensing system showed good stability, high selectivity, and acceptable reproducibility for Hb determination. The sensing system was successfully applied for Hb determination in real blood samples, and the results were compared with those of the standard methods for Hb determination. Acceptable recovery (99.0) and RDS (4.6) confirmed the applicability and reliability of the designed Hb sensing system

Phenotypic comparison between smoking and non-smoking chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract Background Although COPD among non-smokers (NS-COPD) is common, little is known about this phenotype. We compared NS-COPD subjects with smoking COPD (S-COPD) patients in a rural Indian population using a variety of clinical, physiological, radiological, sputum cellular and blood biomarkers. Methods Two hundred ninety subjects (118 healthy, 79 S-COPD, 93 NS-COPD) performed pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry and were followed for 2 years to study the annual rate of decline in lung function. Body plethysmography, impulse oscillometry, inspiratory-expiratory HRCT, induced sputum cellular profile and blood biomarkers were compared between 49 healthy, 45 S-COPD and 55 NS-COPD subjects using standardized methods. Spirometric response to oral corticosteroids was measured in 30 female NS-COPD patients. Results Compared to all male S-COPD subjects, 47% of NS-COPD subjects were female, were younger by 3.2 years, had greater body mass index, a slower rate of decline in lung function (80 vs 130 mL/year), more small airways obstruction measured by impulse oscillometry (p &lt; 0.001), significantly less emphysema (29% vs 11%) on CT scans, lower values in lung diffusion parameters, significantly less neutrophils in induced sputum (p &lt; 0.05) and tended to have more sputum eosinophils. Hemoglobin and red cell volume were higher and serum insulin lower in S-COPD compared to NS-COPD. Spirometric indices, symptoms and quality of life were similar between S-COPD and NS-COPD. There was no improvement in spirometry in NS-COPD patients after 2 weeks of an oral corticosteroid. Conclusions Compared to S-COPD, NS-COPD is seen in younger subjects with equal male-female predominance, is predominantly a small-airway disease phenotype with less emphysema, preserved lung diffusion and a slower rate of decline in lung function. </jats:sec

Integrated halide perovskite photoelectrochemical cells with solar driven water splitting efficiency of 20.8

Achieving high solar to hydrogen STH efficiency concomitant with long term durability using low cost, scalable photo absorbers is a long standing challenge. Here we report the design and fabrication of a conductive adhesive barrier CAB that translates gt;99 of photoelectric power to chemical reactions. The CAB enables halide perovskite based photoelectrochemical cells with two different architectures that exhibit record STH efficiencies. The first, a co planar photocathode photoanode architecture, achieved an STH efficiency of 13.4 and 16.3 amp; 8201;h to t60, solely limited by the hygroscopic hole transport layer in the n i p device. The second was formed using a monolithic stacked silicon perovskite tandem, with a peak STH efficiency of 20.8 and 102 amp; 8201;h of continuous operation before t60 under AM 1.5G illumination. These advances will lead to efficient, durable, and low cost solar driven water splitting technology with multifunctional barrier