Abundância de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares e biomassa total fúngica e bacteriana de solos cultivados com cana de açúcar.

A cana de açúcar movimenta no Brasil cerca de R$40 bilhões por ano com a produção e comercialização de açúcar e etanol. Os micro-organismos do solo têm são fundamentais no ciclo dos nutrientes, destacando os Fungos Micorrízicos Arbusculares (FMAs) no fornecimento de fósforo para as plantas. Os objetivos desse trabalho foram determinar os parâmetros quantitativos da microbiota do solo através da avaliação da abundância de esporos dos FMAs e biomassa total de fungos e bactérias utilizando a técnica de microscopia de Epifluorescência, em mata ciliar e em canaviais com diferentes manejos do solo. Foram selecionadas seis áreas no Estado de São Paulo e as amostras de solo foram coletadas nos períodos de outubro/novembro de 2010. A abundância de esporos dos FMAs junto ao manejo de cana de açúcar não apresentaram diferenças significativas. Houve aumento significativo do pH do solo nos solos manejados em relação com a mata ciliar. O baixo pH do solo não interferiu na comunidade dos FMAs e também não afetou na biomassa de fungos e bactérias. Foram observadas diferenças significativas no aumento para biomassa de bactérias e fungo+bactérias do solo no manejo com cana queimada, com aplicação de vinhaça e colheita mecanizada em relação à cana crua, sem vinhaça e colheita manual. Este é o primeiro estudo que se tem conhecimento realizado no Brasil utilizando a técnica de microscopia de epifluorescência para estimar a biomassa total de carbono de fungos e bactérias e os resultados apresentados aqui estão de coerentes com outros estudos da literatura. Desse modo a técnica é promissora e poderá ser utilizada em futuros estudos no Brasil.Fertbio

Surface Roughness and Effective Stick-Slip Motion

The effect of random surface roughness on hydrodynamics of viscous incompressible liquid is discussed. Roughness-driven contributions to hydrodynamic flows, energy dissipation, and friction force are calculated in a wide range of parameters. When the hydrodynamic decay length (the viscous wave penetration depth) is larger than the size of random surface inhomogeneities, it is possible to replace a random rough surface by effective stick-slip boundary conditions on a flat surface with two constants: the stick-slip length and the renormalization of viscosity near the boundary. The stick-slip length and the renormalization coefficient are expressed explicitly via the correlation function of random surface inhomogeneities. The effective stick-slip length is always negative signifying the effective slow-down of the hydrodynamic flows by the rough surface (stick rather than slip motion). A simple hydrodynamic model is presented as an illustration of these general hydrodynamic results. The effective boundary parameters are analyzed numerically for Gaussian, power-law and exponentially decaying correlators with various indices. The maximum on the frequency dependence of the dissipation allows one to extract the correlation radius (characteristic size) of the surface inhomogeneities directly from, for example, experiments with torsional quartz oscillators.Comment: RevTeX4, 14 pages, 3 figure

[18F]FDG PET/MRI in rectal cancer

We conducted a systematic literature review on the use of [18F]FDG PET/MRI for staging/restaging rectal cancer patients with PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, based on the PRISMA criteria. Three authors screened all titles and abstracts and examined the full texts of all the identified\ua0relevant articles. Studies containing aggregated or duplicated data, review articles, case reports, editorials, and letters were excluded. Ten reports met the inclusion criteria. Four studies examined T staging and one focused on local recurrences after surgery; the reported sensitivity (94\u2013100%), specificity (73\u201394%), and accuracy (92\u2013100%) varied only slightly from one study to another. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of [18F]FDG PET/MRI for N staging were 90\u201393%, 92\u201394%, and 42\u201392%. [18F]FDG PET/MRI detected malignant nodes better than MRI, resulting in treatment change. For M staging, [18F]FDG PET/MRI outperformed [18F]FDG PET/CT and CT in detecting liver metastases, whereas it performed worse for lung metastases. The results of this review suggest that [18F]FDG PET/MRI should be used for rectal cancer restaging after chemoradiotherapy and to select patients for rectum-sparing approaches thanks to its accuracy in T and N staging. For M staging, it should be associated at least with a chest CT scan to rule out lung metastases

Plano de negócio para aplicação de realidade aumentada no treinamento de colaboradores no ramo do varejo

Autores citados na menção da equipe (p. 3): Alexandre Albertoni, Mahane A P. de Souza, Samuel V. Elias, Takeshi Koyti SaitoOrientador : Prof. Dr. Pablo Deivid ValleMonografia (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Curso de Especialização em Engenharia da Manutenção.Inclui referênciasResumo: O ramo varejo é um setor muito importante na economia atual, esse setor emprega uma quantidade significativa de colaboradores que buscam o primeiro emprego, colaboradores que um nível de escolaridade um pouco mais baixo. A carga de trabalho é puxada e exige muita das vezes que se trabalhe sábados, domingos e feriados. Devido a todas essas situações, o turnover do setor é muito alto e chega a quase 90%. Isso representa um custo muito alto com treinamento. Esse custo é composto pelo tempo de baixa produtividade do colaborador, desperdícios durante a montagem dos lanches etc. Temos como objetivo reduzir esse custo reduzindo o tempo de treinamento de cada colaborador. Essa redução de tempo aconteceria com a implantação de um óculos de realidade aumentada, este teria como objetivo de simular as estações de trabalho, as operações e atividades que cada colaborador deve realizar

Evaluation of two detection methods of microorganisms in platelet concentrates

SUMMARY Background: The performance of a bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was evaluated and validated with an automated culture system to determine its use for screening of platelet concentrates (PCs). Study Design and Methods: PCs were spiked with suspensions of Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus epidermidis and St. aureus at 1, 10, and 100 colony-forming units (CFUs) mL and stored for 5 days. DNA amplification was performed using realtime PCR. The BacT/ALERT was used as a reference method and samples were inoculated into an aerobic culture bottle; for the PCR assay, aliquots were drawn from all (spiked) PCs on days 0 to 5 of storage. Results: Real-time PCR detected only the grampositive bacteria in PCs spiked with low bacterial titres (1 CFU mL) after 48 h; however, it was able to detec

Entry mode deviation: a behavioral approach to internalization theory

We explore when and why decision makers choose international entry modes (e.g., hierarchies or markets) that deviate from internalization theory’s predictions. By applying a cognitive perspective on entry mode decision making, we propose that the performance of prior international activities influences decision makers’ behavior in different ways than assumed in internalization theory. More specifically, due to a representativeness bias, underperforming (overperforming) past ventures influence the decision to change (continue using) the previous entry mode choice, which may result in an entry mode deviation. In addition, the propensity to deviate from theoretical predictions is stronger when the experience is recent and/or salient due to an availability bias. In conclusion, we argue that internalization theory can benefit from incorporating more systematically important behavioral assumptions on how firms enter international markets. In so doing, we contribute to the recent conversation on how variations in human behavior influence internalization theory

Frequent genomic imbalances suggest commonly altered tumour genes in human hepatocarcinogenesis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent-occurring malignant tumours worldwide, but molecular changes of tumour DNA, with the exception of viral integrations and p53 mutations, are poorly understood. In order to search for common macro-imbalances of genomic tumour DNA, 21 HCCs and 3 HCC-cell lines were characterized by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), subsequent database analyses and in selected cases by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Chromosomal subregions of 1q, 8q, 17q and 20q showed frequent gains of genomic material, while losses were most prevalent in subregions of 4q, 6q, 13q and 16q. Deleted regions encompass tumour suppressor genes, like RB-1 and the cadherin gene cluster, some of them previously identified as potential target genes in HCC development. Several potential growth- or transformation-promoting genes located in chromosomal subregions showed frequent gains of genomic material. The present study provides a basis for further genomic and expression analyses in HCCs and in addition suggests chromosome 4q to carry a so far unidentified tumour suppressor gene relevant for HCC development. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Leukotriene D(4)-induced activation of smooth-muscle cells from human bronchi is partly Ca(2+)-independent

Cysteine-containing leukotrienes (cysteinyl-LTs) are potent bronchoconstrictors and play a key role in asthma. We found that histamine and LTD, markedly constrict strips of human bronchi (HB) with similar efficacy. However, in human airway smooth-muscle (HASM) cells, LTD(4), at variance with histamine, elicited only a small, transient change in intracellular calcium ion concentration. HASM cells express both Ca(2+)-dependent and -independent isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) (i.e., PKC-alpha and PKC-epsilon). Western blot analysis showed that PKC-alpha is activated by histamine and, to a lesser extent, by LTD(4), whereas only LTD(4) translocates PKC-epsilon. This translocation was specifically inhibited by the LTD4 antagonist pobilukast. Phorbol-dibutyrate ester (PDBu) (a PKC activator) contracted HE strips to the same extent in the presence as in the absence of extra- and intracellular Ca(2+). In the absence of Ca(2+), LTD(4) contracted HB strips to the same extent as did PDBu, suggesting the involvement of a Ca(2+)-independent PKC in LTD(4)-mediated signal transduction. PDBu-induced desensitization and the PKC inhibitor H7 abolished the slow and sustained LTD(4)-triggered contraction of HE strips in the absence of Ca(2+), although H7 did not greatly affect the response in the presence of the ion. Thus, in human airways, we identified a novel LTD(4) transduction mechanism linked to bronchial smooth-muscle contraction, which is partly independent of Ca(2+) and involves the activation of PKC-epsilon