Use Of Organic Compost Containing Waste From Small Ruminants In Corn Production

Composting is a useful way of transforming livestock waste into organic fertilizer, which is proven to increase soil nutrient levels, and thus crop yield. Remains from production and slaughter of small ruminants can become a source of important elements for plant growth, such as N, after microorganism-driven decomposition.The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of this compost on soil fertility and on the nutritional status and yield of the corn crop. The experiment was conducted in a Haplic Luvisol in a randomized block design with six treatments and five application rates of the organic compound in Mg ha-1: 3 (half the standard rate), 6 (standard rate), 9 (one and a half times the standard rate), 12 (twice the standard rate), and 24 (four times the standard rate) and an additional treatment with mineral fertilizers (110, 50 e 30 kg ha-1 of N, P2O5 and K2O, respectively), with four blocks. Evaluations were performed for two harvests of rainfed crops, measuring soil fertility, nutritional status, and grain yield. The compost increased P, K, Na and Zn values in the 0.00-0.20 m layer in relation of mineral fertilization in 616, 21, 114 and 90% with rate 24 Mg ha-1 in second crop. Leaf N, Mg, and S contents, relative chlorophyll content, and the productivity of corn kernels increased in 27, 32, 36, 20 e 85%, respectively, of low rate (3 Mg ha-1) to high rate (24 Mg ha-1) with of application of the compost. Corn yield was higher with application of organic compost in rate of 24 Mg ha-1 than mineral fertilizer combination in second crop. © 2016, Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo. All rights reserved.4

Chemical And Physical Characterization Of Mume Fruit Collected From Different Locations And At Different Maturity Stages In São Paulo State

Prunus mume is widely studied due to its health benefits regarding increase of blood fluidity and consequent improvement of the cardiovascular system and the prevention or even the fight against different types of cancer. However, in Brazil this culture is found only among oriental descendants. The present study aimed to characterize mume fruit collected from three different locations in the State of São Paulo regarding general aspects such as pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), total soluble solids (TTS), pectin content and yield of pulp and chemical characteristics: total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant capacity. Mume fruit were collected unripe and analyzed until maturation about 88 days after flowering. Fruit collected in Botucatu came from a commercial mume fruit producer and had average weight of 16.9 g, while in fruit from other locations weight varied from 5.7-6.9 g. TSS ranged from 9.5 to 10.0 Brix, total solids was 10.2-12.2% and pH showed values between 2.5 and 2.7 for all locations. TTA expressed in citric acid decreased from 4.0-5.7 g (100g-1) at unripe stage to 2.0-3.8 g (100g-1) in mature-stage fruit. Pectin content decreased from 11.2 to 10.8% during fruit maturation, TPC content was 147-226 mg catechin (g-1) on a dry matter basis and the antioxidant capacity was 96-169 μMol Trolox (g-1) on a dry matter basis or 21-34 μMol Trolox (g-1) on a wet matter basis.333441445Adachi, M., The Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc (Ume) is a rich natural source of novel anti-cancer substance (2007) International Journal of Food Properties, 10 (2), pp. 375-384. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10942910600547624Baker, R.A., Reassessment of some fruit and vegetable pectin levels (1997) Journal of Food Science, 62 (2), pp. 225-229. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1997.tb03973.xBenzie, I.F.F., Strain, J.J., The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of "antioxidant power": The FRAP assay (1996) Analytical Biochemistry, 239, pp. 70-76(2008) Normas Analíticas Do Instituto Adolfo Lutz: Métodos Químicos E Físicos Para Análise De Alimentos, p. 1020. , 4. ed. São Paulo: Secretaria de Estado da Saúde, INSTITUTO ADOLFO LUTZ - IALJo, S.-C., Antioxidant activity of Prunus mume extract in cooked chicken breast meat (2006) International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 41 (1), pp. 15-19. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01234.xJun, J.H., Chung, K.H., Development of SCAR markers to differentiate between mume (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) and apricot (P. armeniaca L.) (2008) Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology, 83 (3), pp. 318-322Liu, L., The possible mechanisms of Fructus Mume pill in the treatment of colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid in rats (2009) Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 126, pp. 557-564. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.013, PMid:19703546Lorenzi, H., (2006) Frutas Brasileiras E Exóticas Cultivadas: (de Consumo In Natura), , São Paulo: Instituto PlantarumLuo, Z., Hot water treatment of postharvest mei fruit to delay ripening (2006) HortScience, 41 (3), pp. 737-740Mayer, N.A., Pereira, F.M., Môro, F.V., Caracterização morfológica de três genótipos de umezeiro selecionados como porta-enxertos para pessegueiro (2008) Revista Brasileira De Fruticultura, 30 (3), pp. 716-722. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-29452008000300026McGhie, T.K., Hunt, M., Barnett, L.E., Cultivar and growing region determine the antioxidant polyphenolic concentration and composition of apples grown in New Zealand (2005) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53 (8), pp. 3065-3070. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf047832r, PMid:15826060Miyazawa, M., Comparision of the volatile componentes of unripe and ripe Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) (2009) Natural Product Research, 23 (17), pp. 1567-1571. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786410500462926, PMid:19851921Penniston, K.L., Quantitative assessment of citric acid in lemon juice, lime juice, and commercially-available fruit juice products (2008) Journal of Endourology, 22 (3), pp. 567-570. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/end.2007.0304, PMid:18290732 PMCid:PMC2637791Quast, E., Prunus mume - fruit characteristics and phenolic content capacity (2011) Fruit Processing, pp. 238-242. , Nov/DecRupasinghe, H.P.V., Jayasankar, S., Lay, W., Variation in total phenolics and antioxidant capacity among European plum genotypes (2006) Scientia Horticulturae, 108 (3), pp. 243-246. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.01.020Shi, J., Moy, J.H., Functional foods from fruit and fruit products (2005) Asian Functional Foods, pp. 303-339. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781420028119, SHI, J.HO, C.-T.SHAHIDI, F., Boca Raton: CRC PressShi, J., Antioxidant capacity of extract from edible flowers of Prunus mume in China and its active components (2009) LWT - Food Science and Technology, 42 (2), pp. 477-482Singleton, V.L., Rossi Jr., J.A., Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents (1965) American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 16 (3), pp. 144-158Souza, V.C., Lorenzi, H., (2005) Botanica Sistemática: Guia Ilustrado Para Identificação Das Famílias De Angiospermas Da Flora Brasileira, , baseado em APG II. São Paulo: Instituto PlantarumThaipong, K., Comparison of ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and ORAC assays for estimating antioxidant activity from guava fruit extracts (2006) Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 19, pp. 669-675Topp, B.L., Noller, J., Russell, D.M., (2007) Development of Prunus Mume, a New Tree Crop For Australia, p. 113. , Australia: Rural Industries Research and Development CorporationTsubaki, S., Ozaki, Y., Azuma, J., Microwave-assisted autohydrolysis of Prunus mume stone for extraction of polysaccharides and phenolic compounds (2010) Journal of Food Science, 75 (2), pp. 152-157. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01466.x, PMid:2049221

Boat noise impacts Lusitanian toadfish breeding males and reproductive outcome

Anthropogenic noise is a growing threat to marine organisms, including fish. Yet very few studies have addressed the impact of anthropogenic noise on fish reproduction, especially in situ. In this study, we investigated the impacts of boat noise exposure in the reproductive success of wild Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus), a species that relies on advertisement calls for mate attraction, using behavioural, physiological and reproductive endpoints. Two sets of artificial nests were deployed in the Tagus estuary and exposed to either ambient sound or boat noise during their breeding season. Toadfish males spontaneously used these nests to breed. We inspected nests for occupation and the presence of eggs in six spring low tides (in two years) and assessed male vocal activity and stress responses. Boat noise did not affect nest occupation by males but impacted reproductive success by decreasing the likelihood of receiving eggs, decreasing the number of live eggs and increasing the number of dead eggs, compared to control males. Treatment males also showed depressed vocal activity and slightly higher cortisol levels. The assessment of oxidative stress and energy metabolism-related biomarkers revealed no oxidative damage in noise exposed males despite having lower antioxidant responses and pointed towards a decrease in the activity levels of energy metabolism-related biomarkers. These results suggest that males exposed to boat noise depressed their metabolism and their activity (such as parental care and mate attraction) to cope with an acoustic stressor, consistent with a freezing defensive response/behaviour. Together, our study demonstrates that boat noise has severe impacts on reproductive fitness in Lusitanian toadfish. We argue that, at least fishes that cannot easily avoid noise sources due to their dependence on specific spawning sites, may incur in significant direct fitness costs due to chronic noise exposure.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of anthropogenic noise on the survival and development of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) early life stages

The growth of human populations has been driving an unprecedent and widespread increase in marine traffic, posing a real threat to marine biodiversity. Even though we are now aware of the negative effects of shipping noise exposure on fish, information about the impact on their early life stages continues to lack. Meagre (Argyrosomus regius) is a vocal fish that uses estuaries with high levels of anthropogenic noise pollution as both breeding areas and nurseries. Here, the effects of boat noise exposure on the development and survival of meagre larvae were studied. Embryos and larvae were exposed to either noise (boat noise playback) or control treatments (coils producing a similar electric field to the speakers) and hatching rate, survival rate, morphometric traits and stress-related biomarkers, at hatching and at 2 days-post-hatching (dph) were analyzed. Results showed no conclusive effects of the impact of boat noise playback, even though there was an increased lipid droplet consumption and a decrease in body depth at 2dph larvae under this stressor. The assessment of oxidative stress and energy metabolism-related biomarkers at hatching showed a marginal decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and no changes in DNA damage or electron transport system activity (ETS), although it cannot be disregarded that those effects could only be visible at later stages of larval development. Whether these morphological and developmental results have implications in later stages remains to be investigated. Further studies with longer exposure and wild meagre could help deepen this knowledge and provide a better understanding of how anthropogenic noise can impact meagre early stagesFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of HBV-Like circulation in wild and farm animals from Brazil and Uruguay

The origin of the hepatitis B virus is a subject of wide deliberation among researchers. As a result, increasing academic interest has focused on the spread of the virus in different animal species. However, the sources of viral infection for many of these animals are unknown since transmission may occur from animal to animal, human to human, animal to human, and human to animal. The aim of this study was to evaluate hepadnavirus circulation in wild and farm animals (including animals raised under wild or free conditions) from different sites in Brazil and Uruguay using serological and molecular tools. A total of 487 domestic wild and farm animals were screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV) serological markers and tested via quantitative and qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect viral DNA. We report evidence of HBsAg (surface antigen of HBV) and total anti-HBc (HBV core antigen) markers as well as low-copy hepadnavirus DNA among domestic and wild animals. According to our results, which were confirmed by partial genome sequencing, as the proximity between humans and animals increases, the potential for pathogen dispersal also increases. A wider knowledge and understanding of reverse zoonoses should be sought for an effective One Health response

Morphological phenotypic dispersion of garlic cultivars by cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling

Multivariate techniques have become a useful tool for studying the phenotypic diversity of Germplasm Bank accessions, since they make it possible to combine a variety of different information from these accessions. This study aimed to characterize the phenotypic dispersion of garlic (Allium sativum L.) using two multivariate techniques with different objective functions. Twenty accessions were morphologically characterized for bulb diameter, length, and weight; number of cloves per bulb; number of leaves per plant; and leaf area. Techniques based on generalized quadratic distance of Mahalanobis, UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) clustering, and nMDS (nonmetrric MultiDimensional Scaling) were applied and the relative importance of variables quantified. The two multivariate techniques were capable of identifying cultivars with different characteristics, mainly regarding their classification in subgroups of common garlic or noble garlic, according to the number of cloves per bulb. The representation of the phenotypic distance of cultivars by multidimensional scaling was slightly more effective than that with UPGMA clustering

Refined physical parameters for Chariklo's body and rings from stellar occultations observed between 2013 and 2020

Context. The Centaur (10199) Chariklo has the first ring system discovered around a small object. It was first observed using stellar occultation in 2013. Stellar occultations allow sizes and shapes to be determined with kilometre accuracy, and provide the characteristics of the occulting object and its vicinity. Aims. Using stellar occultations observed between 2017 and 2020, our aim is to constrain the physical parameters of Chariklo and its rings. We also determine the structure of the rings, and obtain precise astrometrical positions of Chariklo. Methods. We predicted and organised several observational campaigns of stellar occultations by Chariklo. Occultation light curves were measured from the datasets, from which ingress and egress times, and the ring widths and opacity values were obtained. These measurements, combined with results from previous works, allow us to obtain significant constraints on Chariklo's shape and ring structure. Results. We characterise Chariklo's ring system (C1R and C2R), and obtain radii and pole orientations that are consistent with, but more accurate than, results from previous occultations. We confirm the detection of W-shaped structures within C1R and an evident variation in radial width. The observed width ranges between 4.8 and 9.1 km with a mean value of 6.5 km. One dual observation (visible and red) does not reveal any differences in the C1R opacity profiles, indicating a ring particle size larger than a few microns. The C1R ring eccentricity is found to be smaller than 0.022 (3σ), and its width variations may indicate an eccentricity higher than ~0.005. We fit a tri-axial shape to Chariklo's detections over 11 occultations, and determine that Chariklo is consistent with an ellipsoid with semi-axes of 143.8-1.5+1.4, 135.2-2.8+1.4, and 99.1-2.7+5.4 km. Ultimately, we provided seven astrometric positions at a milliarcsecond accuracy level, based on Gaia EDR3, and use it to improve Chariklo's ephemeris.Fil: Morgado, B.E.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; Francia. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Sicardy, Bruno. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Braga Ribas, Felipe. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; Brasil. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; Francia. Universidade Tecnologia Federal do Parana; BrasilFil: Desmars, Josselin. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Gomes Júnior, Altair Ramos. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Bérard, D.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Leiva, Rodrigo. Universidad de Chile; Chile. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Vieira Martins, Roberto. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; Brasil. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Benedetti Rossi, G.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; Francia. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Santos Sanz, Pablo. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Camargo, Julio Ignacio Bueno. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Duffard, R.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Rommel, F.L.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Assafin, M.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Boufleur, R.C.. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Colas, F.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Kretlow, Mike. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Beisker, W.. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Sfair, Rafael. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Snodgrass, Colin. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Morales, N.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Fernández Valenzuela, E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Amaral, L.S.. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Estados UnidosFil: Amarante, A.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Artola, R.A.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; FranciaFil: Backes, M.. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Bath, K. L.. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Bouley, S.. University of St. Andrews; Reino UnidoFil: Garcia Lambas, Diego Rodolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Schneiter, Ernesto Matías. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ingeniería Económica y Legal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; Argentin