Estudos de viabilidade técnica e econômica visando à incubação de empresas: a experiência da Embrapa Informática Agropecuária.

Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta a experiência da Embrapa Informática Agropecuária na elaboração de estudos de viabilidade técnica e econômica, visando à incubação de empresas. Para este fim, foram selecionadas quatro tecnologias desenvolvidas por esta empresa. A metodologia utilizada para o estudo foi constituída de quatro etapas, a saber: treinamento embate, diligência da inovação®, definição do modelo de negócios e estruturação de plano de negócios. Os resultados demonstram que as tecnologias analisadas têm potencial de comercialização através da incubação de empresas de base tecnológica

Relatório de gestão 2001-2004.

Embrapa Informática Agropecuária. Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento. Ações gerenciais estratégicas. Transferência de tecnologia e comunicação empresarial. Gestão Institucional. Prêmios recebidos. Infra-estrutura física. Gestão de Recursos Financeiros. Gestão de Recursos Humanos.bitstream/CNPTIA/10727/1/doc51.pdfAcesso em: 29 maio 2008

Origin of Prunus x yedoenins 'Somei-yoshino' based on sequence analysis of PolA1 gene

Prunus × yedoensis ‘Somei-yoshino’ is the most popular cultivar of flowering cherry in Japan. Although the origin of this cultivar has been considered hybrid between P. pendula f. ascendens and P. lannesiana var. speciosa, the paternity of P. lannesiana has not been clearly proven by molecular analysis. To reveal the origin of ‘Somei-yoshino,’ we analyzed sequences of intron 19 and exon 20 of PolA1, a single-copy nuclear gene encoding the largest subunit of RNA polymerase I. One of two exon 20 sequences found in ‘Somei-yoshino’ was the same as that of P. pendula, whereas the other sequence was shared with several taxa in seven wild species, including P. jamasakura and P. lannesiana. ‘Someiyoshino’ contained two different haplotypes of the intron 19 sequences; one was the same as that of P. lannesiana, which is endemic to the Izu and Boso Peninsula in Japan. While another haplotype of ‘Somei-yoshino’ was different from that of P. pendula by two SNPs but identical to one of two haplotypes of P. pendula ‘Komatsu-otome,’ which is a cultivar found in the Ueno Park, Tokyo. These results indicated that ‘Somei-yoshino’ probably originated by the hybridization of cultivars derived from P. pendula and P. lannesiana

Surface electromyographic evaluation of the neuromuscular activation of the inspiratory muscles during progressively increased inspiratory flow under inspiratory-resistive loading

This study aimed to evaluate neuromuscular activation in the scalene and sternocleidomastoid muscles using surface electromyography (EMG) during progressively increased inspiratory flow, produced by increasing the respiratory rate under inspiratory-resistive loading using a mask ventilator. Moreover, we attempted to identify the EMG inflection point (EMGIP) on the graph, at which the root mean square (RMS) of the EMG signal values of the inspiratory muscles against the inspiratory flow velocity acceleration abruptly increases, similarly to the EMG anaerobic threshold (EMGAT) reported during incremental-resistive loading in other skeletal muscles. We measured neuromuscular activation of healthy male subjects and found that the inspiratory flow velocity increased by approximately 1.6-fold. We successfully observed an increase in RMS that corresponded to inspiratory flow acceleration with ρ ≥ 0.7 (Spearman’s rank correlation) in 17 of 27 subjects who completed the experimental protocol. To identify EMGIP, we analyzed the fitting to either a straight or non-straight line related to the increasing inspiratory flow and RMS using piecewise linear spline functions. As a result, EMGIP was identified in the scalene and sternocleidomastoid muscles of 17 subjects. We believe that the identification of EMGIP in this study infers the existence of EMGAT in inspiratory muscles. Application of surface EMG, followed by identification of EMGIP, for evaluating the neuromuscular activation of respiratory muscles may be allowed to estimate the signs of the respiratory failure, including labored respiration, objectively and non-invasively accompanied using accessory muscles in clinical respiratory care

Freshwater Bacterioplankton Metacommunity Structure Along Urbanization Gradients in Belgium

Urbanization is transforming and fragmenting natural environments worldwide, driving changes in biological communities through alterations in local environmental conditions as well as by changing the capacity of species to reach specific habitats. While the majority of earlier studies have been performed on higher plants and animals, it is crucial to increase our insight on microbial responses to urbanization across different spatial scales. Here, using a metacommunity approach, we evaluated the effects of urbanization on bacterioplankton communities in 50 shallow ponds in Belgium (Flanders region), one of the most urbanized areas in Northwest Europe. We estimated the relative importance of local environmental factors (35 abiotic and biotic variables), regional spatial factors and urbanization (built-up area) quantified at two spatial scales (200 m × 200 m and 3 km × 3 km). We show that urbanization at local or regional scales did not lead to strong changes in community composition and taxon diversity of bacterioplankton. Urbanization at regional scale (3 km × 3 km) explained only 2% of community composition variation while at local scale (200 m × 200 m), no effect was detected. Local environmental factors explained 13% (OTUs with relative abundance ≥ 0.1%) to 24% (12 dominant OTUs -≥ 1%) of community variation. Six local environmental variables significantly explained variation in bacterioplankton community composition: pH, alkalinity, conductivity, total phosphorus, abundance of Daphnia and concentration of copper (Cu), of which pH was partly mediated by urbanization. Our results indicate that environmental rather than spatial factors accounted for the variation in bacterioplankton community structure, suggesting that species sorting is the main process explaining bacterioplankton community assembly. Apparently, urbanization does not have a direct and strong effect on bacterioplankton metacommunity structure, probably due to the capacity of these organisms to adapt toward and colonize habitats with different environmental conditions and due to their fast adaptation and metabolic versatility. Thus, bacterioplankton communities inhabiting shallow ponds may be less affected by environmental conditions resulting from urbanization as compared to the impacts previously described for other taxa