Improving Soil Primary Productivity Conditions with Minimum Energy Input in the Mediterranean

A collective well-succeed enterprise for good agriculture worldwide is possible through the synergetic effects of a series of favourable factors, among them, basically that associated to an adequate management of agricultural practices, improvement in soil tillage technologies, soil protection and conservation measures, animal and plant-breeding programs, genetic engineering and plant fertilization, all practices directed to augment the potential net production and productivity of the best biological varieties or cultivars available. A modern, intensive agricultural production system requires high levels of energy inputs, as compared to a traditional system. One should, for instance, just compare these two different production systems in terms of their global efficiency, but the IPS brought some negative environmental impacts, now diagnosed worldwide. In the Mediterranean areas the seasonal distribution of precipitation is harmful to plant (crop) dry matter (DM) production which can be increased by adequately combining a good management of all input factors with a special care to natural resources protection, namely soil and water conservation. In this work two fertile soils were managed under two alternative (TS = traditional mechanized system and DS = direct-seeding system) production systems during a ten-year period and their physical and chemical characteristics were compared in terms of agro-physical optimization to produce DM. The parameters that have been evaluated were: soil profile evolution texture and coarse elements, bulk density and soil resistance to the penetrometer, consistency limits; aggregates stability, organic matter (SOM) and nitrogen (N) contents and C/N ratio, cation-exchange capacity (CEC) and associated parameters, pores connectivity and soil-water retention curve. From an agronomic perspective the DM production has been also estimated in order to evaluate the ecological sustainability of eventual improvements in soil-water conservation were justified by the alternative system. Results enable to conclude that, inter alia, the alternative system under the perspective of the “Conservation Agriculture Paradigm” (Dumanski, R. et al., 2006) revealed to be prone to conserve more soil and water resources with interesting marginal gain in water and so in DM production. These results are well in the scope of the international concerns on adopting improved common policies for food security and problems associated to water scarcity, worldwide

Characterisation by molecular biology and MALDI-TOF ICMS of zygomycete Gongronella sp. isolated from an Alentejo vineyard soil

Zygomycete Gongronella sp. CCMI 1101 (MUM 10.263) was isolated from an Alentejo vineyard soil submitted to repeated treatments with the fungicide metalaxyl. This fungicide is widely used against Oomycetes species that causing downy mildew. After selective enrichment, adapted Gongronella sp. CCMI 1100 (MUM 10.262) showed high tolerance to metalaxyl with EC50 of 36.1 mg L-1. Additionally, this adapted fungus was able to use metalaxyl as main carbon and energy source. Afterwards, both Gongronella strains (non-adapted and metalaxyl adapted strains) were submitted to a polyphasic approach identification and characterisation. In contrast, proteomic analysis showed spectra with substantial quantitatively phenotypic differences between both strains that could be a consequence of a strain adaptation to metalaxyl. In conclusion, Gongronella sp. CCMI 1101 is now under further taxonomic studies and the current results suggest that the adapted strain CCMI 1100 can be explored in soil bioremediation for metalaxyl-degradation

O Crescimento da Remuneração Direta aos Acionistas no Brasil: Economia de Impostos ou Mudança de Características das Firmas?

This paper shows that the increase in the proportion of Brazilian publicly traded firms providing cash payouts between 1990 and 2003 was due to an increase in the propensity to pay and not to changes in the companies’ characteristics. Unlike in the United States, the current Brazilian tax structure favors cash payouts over capital gains. The tax structure also makes a distinction between dividends and interest on stockholders’ equity. The latter category has become the main way of cash distribution. Big firms with high profitability and low leverage are the most likely to make cash profit distributions.Este trabalho demonstra que o aumento na distribuição de proventos em dinheiro pelas companhias brasileiras deveu-se a um crescimento na propensão a remunerar os acionistas e não às mudanças de características das empresas. Diferentemente dos EUA, a atual estrutura tributária brasileira favorece a remuneração direta, tornando as empresas mais propensas a tal. Analisando separadamente dividendos e juros sobre o capital próprio, observa-se que os juros sobre o capital próprio tornaram-se o principal mecanismo de distribuição direta. As firmas mais prováveis de remunerar diretamente caracterizam-se como as mais lucrativas, maiores e menos endividadas

Combined aerobic and resistance training: are there additional benefits for older hypertensive adults?

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare the effects of a combination of aerobic and resistance training to those of isolated aerobic training on blood pressure, body composition, and insulin sensitivity in hypertensive older adults. METHOD: Forty-four patients were randomly assigned to the aerobic group, resistance and aerobic group, and control group. Before and after 10 weeks, the following data were obtained: 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure data, abdominal circumference, waist circumference, body mass index, lean mass, fat mass, and insulin sensitivity. The study was conducted with 3 training sessions per week. RESULTS: Comparison revealed significant reductions in the body mass index, abdominal and waist circumferences, and ambulatory blood pressure (24-hour, wakefulness and sleep systolic/diastolic blood pressures) in both the aerobic group and the resistance and aerobic (combined) group. The fat mass only changed in the combined group. There was no difference in the insulin sensitivity in any group. CONCLUSIONS: The combined treatment and aerobic treatment alone were equally effective in reducing the blood pressure, body mass index, and abdominal and waist circumferences, although the addition of the resistance component also helped reduce the fat mass

ESTIMATING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SOIL EROSION IN MEDITERRANEAN WATERSHEDS

Climate change could impact soil erosion in Mediterranean regions, through both higher climatic aridity - leading to less vegetation cover - and higher winter rainfall intensity. This could have the effect of increasing soil degradation and accelarating ongoing desertification processes. Project ERLAND aims to study the potential impacts of climate changes on vegetation growth, hydrology and erosion in Portuguese watersheds, and define the costs and benefits of different adaptation options. This will be achieved by building an ecohydrological and erosion model to two well instrumented watersheds, in order to ensure an appropriate simulation of the most important processes which could be affected by climate change. This presentation will illustrate the project's objectives and ongoing work on two representative agroforestry cathments with typical land cover/use conditions. The Macieira de Alcoba catchment in northern Portugal has a humid climate, and is covered with commercial eucalypt/pine forests interspersed with agricultural fields, where summer cereals and pastures are associated with vineyards. The Guadalupe catchment in southern Portugal has a dry climate and is covered with extensive cork oak forests (of a Portuguese "montado" land-use-system) associated with winter cereals and pastures. On each catchment, runoff and sediments are being collected simultaneously at the field (two open plots) and catchment (one hydrometric station) scales, together with other data such as meteorology, soil moisture, and some vegetation growth parameters. The field sites will be maintained at the present level during two years, and the hydrometric stations will be left for a larger period afterwards in order to collect the largest possible data series. The presentation will focus on the ongoing data collection on the two study sites and how the data will be used to fullfil the project's goals, i.e. the evaluation of an ecohydrological and erosion model for use in climate change studies

Biodegradation of the fungicide metalaxyl by zygomycetes

Publicado em "Biological resource centres : closing the gap between science and society : abstracts book...". ISBN 978-972-97916-5-9A large number of fungicides, such as metalaxyl [methyl N-(methoxyacetyl)-N-(2,6- xylyl)-DL-alaninate], are used against Oomycete species that cause downy mildew in agricultural crops, including grapes. However, these compounds are potentially harmful for terrestrial and aquatic environments, and to human health due to carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. There is an increase in interest in using filamentous fungi, such as members of the Zygomycetes which degrade xenobiotic compounds using nonspecific extracellular enzymes for the bioremediation of pesticides in polluted soils. In this study, several Zygomycetes including Gongronella, Absidia, Circinella and Rhizopus species, were used to screen degradation of metalaxyl using solid and liquid cultures. In order to identify and characterise these taxa a polyphasic approach including morphology characterization, molecular fingerprint M13-PCR and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Intact Cell Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF ICMS) was used. After selective enrichment on solid medium containing a fungicide gradient concentration of 0-100 mg.L-1, Absidia glauca (CBS 101.08) and Rhizopus orizae (CCMI 900) showed a capacity to tolerate high metalaxyl concentrations. These resistant strains were selected to perform liquid assays using Yeast Nitrogen liquid cultures supplemented with sucrose (5 g.L-1) and metalaxyl (100 mg.L-1). Biomass concentration was determined by dry weight. The A. glauca and R. orizae strains showed specific growth rates of 0.774 h-1 and 0.999 h-1, respectively. Sucrose was completely consumed within 5 d with a sucrose consumption rate of 0.93 and 0.84 g.L-1.day-1 for A. glauca and R. orizae, respectively. The non-degraded metalaxyl in liquid cultures was determined by UVHPLC and evaluated periodically for 21 d. The metalaxyl degradation rate for A. glauca and R. orizae was 2.22 mg.L-1 .day-1 and 2.29 mg.L-1day-1, respectively. Results suggest that A. glauca (CBS 101.08) and R. orizae (CCMI 900) can be used in soil bioremediation experimentation for metalaxyl degradation. These strains are now under study to determine the presence of extracellular enzymes involved in the process

ELEMENTS OF WINE PRODUCTION IN THE VALLEY OF SAN FRANCISCO BRAZIL - AND COLCHAGUA – CHILE

A videira ou vinha, pertence à família das Vitaceae, subdivididas nas espécies Parthenocissus quinquefólia e Vitis vinífera, sendo esta última utilizada no cultivo de uvas no mundo. Nos próximos anos o consumo de vinho será maior que sua produção, necessitando que a produção da matéria prima seja otimizada. A tecnologia é a ferramenta preponderante nesse processo, trazendo consigo um manejo eficiente a partir da agricultura de precisão. Com intuito de obter indicadores análogos entre as regiões do Vale do São Francisco no Brasil e Vale do Colchagua no Chile, aprimorando o cultivo. Objetiva-se nesse trabalho, caracterizá-las através da análise de seus elementos agronômicos, topográficos, pedológicos e climáticos. O estudo contou com revisão bibliográfica sobre as duas regiões e coleta de dados agrupados em grupos: 1, 2, 3. Onde se discutiu as carências e vantagens agrícolas existentes nas duas regiões, buscando melhoramento do cultivo. Os fatores estudados culminaram numa análise eficiente e provaram sua importância. A agricultura de precisão coloca à disposição da sociedade seus diversos benefícios de forma sustentável