Economic results of the integrated crop-livestock systems implementation in degraded pastures in Pium, TO, Brazil.

In Pium, Tocantins state, Brazil, in 2012 Embrapa developed a technology transference project in partnership with the state?s rural extension service for the consolidation of low carbon emissions agriculture. The goal was to recover the degraded grasslands of the Trigueira farm (49°1'37.44"W and 10°24'58.84"S) with low cost using a crop-livestock system

Financiamento da educação e remuneração docente na educação básica: uma abordagem a partir de planos de carreira, vencimentos e composição remuneratória em 2010

O texto apresenta aspectos conceituais, políticos e práticos da remuneração e carreira docentes como elementos de análise próprios da área de Financiamento em Educação. Estuda a estrutura da remuneração e da carreira, em diferentes Estados e municípios brasileiros, com o propósito de revelar o impacto das políticas de valorização docente. Entre outras, constata, em várias administrações públicas, a existência de valores de vencimento-base abaixo do piso salarial nacional e uma maior dispersão de vencimentos nas redes municipais de ensino. Conclui que, para definir e, sobretudo, para elevar o padrão remuneratório dos professores brasileiros, é imprescindível o aumento dos fundos destinados à Educação, além da pressão docente e da vontade política de gestores.

Sobressemeadura de forrageiras na soja como alternativa de alto aporte de biomassa para o Sistema Plantio Direto.

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a adição anual de biomassa de forrageiras implantadas em sobressemeadura na soja. Foi avaliada a safra 2015/2016 de um experimento objetivando longa duração, implantado em 2012 na estação experimental da Universidade Federal do Tocantins (Gurupi, TO)

Silver colloidal nanoparticle stability: influence on Candida biofilms formed on denture acrylic

Our aim in this study was to evaluate how the chemical stability of silver nanoparticles (SNs) influences their efficacy against Candida albicans and C. glabrata biofilms. Several parameters of SN stability were tested, namely, temperature (50ºC, 70ºC, and 100ºC), pH (5.0 and 9.0), and time of contact (5 h and 24 h) with biofilms. The control was defined as SNs without temperature treatment, pH 7, and 24 h of contact. These colloidal suspensions at 54 mg/L were used to treat mature Candida biofilms (48 h) formed on acrylic. Their efficacy was determined by total biomass and colony-forming unit quantification. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc test (=0.05). The temperature and pH variations of SNs did not affect their efficacy against the viable cells of Candida biofilms (P > 0.05). Moreover, the treatment periods were not decisive in terms of the susceptibility of Candida biofilms to SNs. These findings provide an important advantage of SNs that may be useful in the treatment of Candida-associated denture stomatitis.We thank Dr David Williams, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK, for providing the strain 324LA/94. The authors also thank Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, process 2009/15146-5), Brazil, for supporting the work of D. R. M. The authors are indebted to Laboratorio Interdisciplinar de Eletroquimica e Ceramica, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil, in the name of Andressa Kubo, for preparing and characterizing the colloidal suspensions of silver nanoparticles

The Trypanosoma cruzi Virulence Factor Oligopeptidase B (OPBTc) Assembles into an Active and Stable Dimer

Oligopeptidase B, a processing enzyme of the prolyl oligopeptidase family, is considered as an important virulence factor in trypanosomiasis. Trypanosoma cruzi oligopeptidase B (OPBTc) is involved in host cell invasion by generating a Ca2+-agonist necessary for recruitment and fusion of host lysosomes at the site of parasite attachment. The underlying mechanism remains unknown and further structural and functional characterization of OPBTc may help clarify its physiological function and lead to the development of new therapeutic molecules to treat Chagas disease. In the present work, size exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments demonstrate that OPBTc is a dimer in solution, an association salt and pH-resistant and independent of intermolecular disulfide bonds. The enzyme retains its dimeric structure and is fully active up to 42°C. OPBTc is inactivated and its tertiary, but not secondary, structure is disrupted at higher temperatures, as monitored by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. It has a highly stable secondary structure over a broad range of pH, undergoes subtle tertiary structure changes at low pH and is less stable under moderate ionic strength conditions. These results bring new insights into the structural properties of OPBTc, contributing to future studies on the rational design of OPBTc inhibitors as a promising strategy for Chagas disease chemotherapy