Calagem e atributos eletroquímicos de um latossolo sob sistema de semeadura direta

No tillage areas are increasing in Brazil especially due to a general improvement in water and nutrient availability to plants. Few results have reported the effect of liming on soil electrochemical attributes in areas under the no tillage system. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of liming (at the soil surface and incorporated to 0.2 m) on soil pH, point of zero salt effect (PZSE), electric potential, soil organic matter (SOM), and yield of soybean and corn, cultivated on an Typic Hapludox, submitted 12 years to no tillage. Rates of lime of 1/3, 2/3 and the total amount calculated for soil to reach a base saturation of 70 % (2.5 ton ha-1) were applied on soil surface. The full rate was also applied and incorporated to the 0.2 m depth. The effect of liming on PZSE was low due, most likely, to the low lime rates used in the experiment. SOM contents decreased as rates of applied lime increased, with the highest variation occurring between the control and the full rate of lime when incorporated. No clear effect of the lower values of SOM was observed in the PZSE values. The lack of interaction among lime rates and soil depth contributed for this situation, once the effect of SOM was diluted when considering the values of PZSE as the average for the soil layers (0-0.1; 0.1-0.2 and 0.2-0.3 m). There was no variation in the soil electric potential and in the yield of soybean and corn as a function of lime rates.O aumento das áreas cultivadas no Brasil sob sistema de semeadura direta (SSD) vem ocorrendo principalmente devido às melhorias na disponibilidade de água e de nutrientes às plantas. Entretanto, poucos estudos têm sido realizados sobre o efeito da calagem nos atributos eletroquímicos dos solos cultivados sob SSD. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o efeito da calagem (na superfície do solo e incorporada a 0,2 m) no pH do solo, no ponto de efeito salino nulo (PESN), no potencial elétrico, no teor de matéria orgânica do solo (MOS) e na produtividade de soja e milho cultivados em um Latossolo Vermelho com 12 anos sob SSD. As doses de calcário aplicadas na superfície representaram 1/3, 2/3 e o total da quantidade calculada para elevar a saturação por bases a 70% (2500 kg ha-1). Avaliou-se um tratamento adicional, constituído pela maior dose, incorporada na camada de 0 a 0,2 m. Houve efeito pouco pronunciado da calagem nos valores de PESN, provavelmente devido às pequenas doses de calcário utilizadas. O conteúdo de MOS decresceu com o aumento das doses de calcário, sendo que a maior variação ocorreu entre a testemunha e a dose incorporada. Não ocorreu efeito claro desse abaixamento da MOS nos valores do PESN. A falta de interação entre as doses de calcário e as profundidades de coleta do solo contribuiu para esta situação, porque o efeito da MOS foi diluído, uma vez que os valores de PESN eram médios das profundidades (0-0,1; 0,1-0,2 and 0,2-0,3 m). O potencial elétrico e as produtividades de soja e milho não variaram com as doses de calcário

The mediating role of adiposity in the longitudinal association between cardiorespiratory fitness and blood pressure in adolescents: LabMed cohort study

Background The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine whether the association between the cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) at baseline and blood pressure (BP) at follow‐up is mediated by adiposity in adolescents. Materials and methods The sample comprised 734 adolescents (349 girls) aged 12‐18 years from the LabMed Physical Activity Cohort Study. The variables of interest were measured in 2011 (baseline) and in 2013 (2‐year follow‐up). CRF was assessed by the 20‐m shuttle run test. Body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage, pubertal status and resting BP were assessed according to standard procedures. Boot‐strapped mediation procedures were performed, and indirect effects (IE) with confidence intervals (CI) not including zero were considered statistically significant. Results After adjusting for potential confounders, body mass index acted as a mediator of the relationship between CRF and systolic BP (IE = −0. 023; CI = −0.039; −0.009), pulse pressure (IE = −0.023; CI = −0.034; −0.012) and rate product pressure (IE = −2.839; CI = −5.329; −0.340). Similar results were obtained for waist circumference as mediator for systolic BP (IE = −0.019; CI = −0.033; −0.005), pulse pressure (IE = −0.017; CI = −0.028; −0.007) and rate product pressure (IE = −3.793; CI = −6.097; −1.689). Likewise, body fat percentage mediated the association for: systolic BP (IE = −0.029; CI = −0.048; −0.010), pulse pressure (IE = −0.027; CI = −0.041; −0.013) and rate product pressure (IE = −4.280; CI = −7.488; −1.264). Conclusions Adiposity mediated the association between CRF and BP in adolescents. Therefore, both optimal CRF and adiposity levels are important to maintain normal BP ranges throughout adolescence

Distinguishing mild cognitive impairment from healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease: the contribution of the INECO Frontal Screening (IFS)

Executive functions are affected differently in healthy aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and evaluating them is important for differential diagnosis. The INECO Frontal Screening (IFS) is a brief neuropsychological screening tool, developed to assess executive dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders.GoalsWe aimed to examine whether and how MCI patients can be differentiated from cognitively healthy controls (HC) and mild to moderate AD patients based on IFS performance. We also explored how IFS scores are associated with age, years of education, and depressive/anxious symptoms (as assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale).MethodIFS total scores were compared between 26 HC, 32 MCI and 21 mild to moderate AD patients. The three groups were matched for age and education. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) was analyzed and optimal cut-offs were determined.ResultsHealthy participants had higher IFS scores than both clinical groups, and MCI patients had higher scores than AD patients. IFS showed high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of MCI (AUC = .89, p < .001) and AD (AUC = .99, p < .001), and for the differentiation between the clinical groups (AUC = .76, p < .001). We provide optimal cut-offs for the identification of MCI and AD and for their differentiation. We also found that, in general, higher education predicted higher IFS scores (no associations with age and depressive/anxious symptoms were observed). Altogether, these findings indicate that evaluating executive functions with the IFS can be valuable for the identification of MCI, a high-risk group for dementia, and for differentiating this condition from healthy aging and AD

Association of dairy product consumption with metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in adolescents: a cross-Sectional Analysis from the LabMed study

This study aimed to investigate the association between dairy product consumption and metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in Portuguese adolescents, and whether the association differed by weight status. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the school year 2011/2012 with 412 Portuguese adolescents (52.4% girls) in 7th and 10th grade (aged 12 to 18 years old). The World Health Organization cutoffs were used to categorize adolescents as non-overweight (NW) or overweight (OW). Blood samples were collected to analyze C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), leptin, and adiponectin. Dairy product intake was evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire. Participants were divided by tertiles according to the amount of dairy product consumed. The associations between dairy product consumption with metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers were evaluated using generalized linear regression models with logarithmic link and gamma distribution and adjusted for potential confounders. The majority of adolescents were NW (67.2%). NW adolescents had lower IL-6, CRP, and leptin concentration than their counterparts (p p = 0.004). Our results suggest an inverse association between total dairy product and milk intake and serum concentrations of IL-6 only among NW adolescents.This study was supported by the Research Centre on Physical Activity Health and Leisure (CIAFEL) of the Faculty of Sport, University of Porto and by FCT grant BD88984/ 2012 (J. Oliveira-Santos); The Research Centre on Physical Activity Health and Leisure (CIAFEL) is supported by FCT/UID/DTP/00617/2019; the author C. Agostinis-Sobrinho was given Doctoral scholarship from the Brazilian government by CAPES (Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) (Proc: 9588-13-2). Rute Santos is founded by and FCT grant (CEECIND/01069/2017). Eduarda Sousa-Sá is funded by a Gulbenkian grant (Project nº 221669-Projeto Academias Gulbenkian do Conhecimento)

Levantamento da ocorrência de ferrugem asiática da soja nos anos de 2016 e 2017 no estado do Tocantins / Survey of the occurrence of asiatic soybean rust in the years 2016 and 2017 in the state of Tocantins

O aumento do cultivo da soja no Brasil tem trazido grandes avanços para a economia. Contudo, este segmento tem enfrentado grandes dificuldades para prosseguir de maneira positiva. Dentre os entraves da cultura está o problema da ferrugem asiática que está amplamente distribuída pelo país. O objetivo do trabalho foi realizar o levantamento da ocorrência da ferrugem asiática em diferentes épocas e regiões produtoras. O presente trabalho contou com a colaboração dos inspetores de defesa agropecuária da ADAPEC-TO que realizaram todo levantamento in loco nas propriedades

Importância do recebimento itinerante para a destinação final e correta das embalagens vazias de agrotóxicos / The importance of itinerant receiving for the final and correct disposal of empty agrochemical containers

Com o aumento vertiginoso da produção agrícola nacional, o uso de defensivos agrícolas tem sido um aliado do produtor no combate das pragas e doenças que acometem as lavouras. No entanto, os pequenos produtores, que compõem a maioria dos trabalhadores do campo, adquirirem defensivos em quantidades menores. Em muitos casos os pequenos produtores da agricultura familiar não possuem condições de se deslocarem até um posto ou uma central para dar a destinação correta às embalagens. Desse modo, alguns preferem enterrar, queimar, lançar em corpos hídricos, e outras práticas que comprometem a saúde das pessoas, animais e meio ambiente. O objetivo deste trabalho é explanar sobre a importância do Recebimento Itinerante (RI) das embalagens vazias de agrotóxicos, seu papel na logística reversa e sustentabilidade do meio ambiente. O presente trabalho contou com os dados das ações promovidas pelo INPEV em parceria com a ADAPEC-TO, prefeituras, sindicatos e associações

Trends in legal and illegal trade of wild birds: a global assessment based on expert knowledge

Wildlife trade is a profitable economic activity. Birds are among the most heavily traded animals worldwide, with numerous species threatened by pet trade. Information on both legal and illegal aspects of trade and consumer demand is difficult to obtain across different countries, particularly given substantial socio-economic and cultural variation. Focusing on consumer demand in each country, we conducted a global survey among 105 international experts on bird conservation to identify expected trends, drivers and market characteristics of legal and illegal wild-caught pet bird trade. Our results suggest that future trends in legal bird trade will be mostly driven by socio-cultural motivations and intentional demand for wild-caught, rather than captive-bred birds. Bird popularity and rarity are the main factors expected to influence the choice of which bird species will be the most traded legally. Percentage of rural population was the main national-level socio-economic predictor for legal bird trade in the future. Demand for future illegal trade is expected to be driven by bird popularity and particular species identity. Experts consider illegal trade to be sustained mainly by consumers from higher socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Human population growth rate was the main national-level socio-economic predictor of illegal trade expected for the future. Legislation enforcement remains a critical issue in wildlife trade. Expanding trade networks and socio-economic changes continue to incorporate new regions into the wildlife trade. Investigating the multidimensional and synergistic determinants of wildlife trade will thus help address potential detrimental impacts bird trade might cause on biodiversity.This research was funded by FEDER Funds through the Operational Competitiveness Factors Program “COMPETE”, and by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) within the framework of project “PTDC/AAG-GLO/0463/2014-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016583”. A.N. acknowledges the support of the Darwin Initiative. J.R. acknowledges the support from FCT through Grant ICETA 2017-38 within project “PTDC/AAG-GLO/0463/2014-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016583”. L.R. and C.C. acknowledge support from the FCT through Grants SFRH/BPD/93079/2013 and SFRH/BPD/84422/2012, respectively

Vitamin D-related polymorphisms and vitamin D levels as risk biomarkers of COVID-19 disease severity

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Vitamin D is a fundamental regulator of host defences by activating genes related to innate and adaptive immunity. Previous research shows a correlation between the levels of vitamin D in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the degree of disease severity. This work investigates the impact of the genetic background related to vitamin D pathways on COVID-19 severity. For the first time, the Portuguese population was characterized regarding the prevalence of high impact variants in genes associated with the vitamin D pathways. This study enrolled 517 patients admitted to two tertiary Portuguese hospitals. The serum concentration of 25 (OH)D, was measured in the hospital at the time of patient admission. Genetic variants, 18 variants, in the genes AMDHD1, CYP2R1, CYP24A1, DHCR7, GC, SEC23A, and VDR were analysed. The results show that polymorphisms in the vitamin D binding protein encoded by the GC gene are related to the infection severity (p = 0.005). There is an association between vitamin D polygenic risk score and the serum concentration of 25 (OH)D (p = 0.04). There is an association between 25 (OH)D levels and the survival and fatal outcomes (p = 1.5e-4). The Portuguese population has a higher prevalence of the DHCR7 RS12785878 variant when compared with its prevalence in the European population (19% versus 10%). This study shows a genetic susceptibility for vitamin D deficiency that might explain higher severity degrees in COVID-19 patients. These results reinforce the relevance of personalized strategies in the context of viral diseases.This project was supported by the “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia”, program “Research 4 Covid-19 Apoio especial a projetos de implementação rápida para soluções inovadoras de resposta à pandemia de COVID-19”. It was also partially supported by each institution.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Narrative Review of Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: What We Know and What We Need to Find Out

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the worl