Quality Of Seeds Of Jatobá-do-cerrado Processed And Stored In Diferents Forms

The preservation of the physical and chemical quality of jatobá-do-cerrado seeds during processing and storage is essential to the restocking of vegetation in degraded areas. Since no scientific studies have analysed the optimal post-harvest conditions for jatobá-do-cerrado seeds, this study aimed to evaluate the physical and chemical quality of jatobá-do-cerrado seeds following different types of processing: with pulp, without pulp (scarification), without pulp (fermentation) and at different storage temperatures (10 and 23 °C) and different packaging (tetrapack, paper, plastic, PET bottles and glass bottles), over six months. The physical and chemical constituents of jatobá-do-cerrado seeds varied according to the packaging conditions. An increased storage time reduced the quality of the seeds. Seeds with pulp showed better physical characteristics during storage. The pulping processing of seeds by mechanical scarification increased the acidity and ash content, but led to the highest percentage of crude protein during storage at 23 °C. The fermentation method of seed pulping positively affected seed quality during storage at 10 °C. Permeable packaging (paper bags and tetrapack) led to a greater reduction in seed quality than that in glass bottles, PET bottles or plastic bags. The best conditions for the processing of jatobá-do-cerrado seeds was fermentation and the best storage condition was in waterproof packaging (glass or PET bottles).37266568

The effects of an educational program based on modeling and social stories on improvements in the social skills of students with autism

Social communication difficulties are one of the most common issues among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as ASD affects their social and academic lives and isolates them from their environment. Several studies that utilized video modeling, video self-modeling, or social stories (or social stories combined with video modeling) have yielded promising outcomes in improving the social skills of individuals with ASD. However, to date, the effects of the combination of all three strategies have not been studied. The current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an educational program based on multiple strategies, including social stories, animated video modeling, and video self-modeling, to improve the social communication skills of a sample of six high-functioning students with ASD at the Autism Academy of Jordan. A mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) approach was used to examine the impact of the program on the experimental group. The results of the Mann–Whitney test indicated that compared to the monitoring group, all participants in the experimental group achieved significant improvements in the post-test of the Autism Social Skills Profile in both the domains of social reciprocity and social participation skills. Furthermore, the data from teachers' interviews, analyzed using WebQDA software, corroborated the results in terms of significant improvements in students’ social skills after the implementation of the educational program. The implications of the study for psychological and educational interventions are addressed, and research suggestions are made to promote the personal and social development of individuals with AS

Assessing the Harvest Maturity of Brazilian Mangoes

No clear criterion exists to determine the optimum time to harvest mango. Some empirical relations are used to assess maturity, such as shoulder development. Moreover, as a result of the typical growing conditions in tropical climates, a huge variation in maturity and ripeness exists, seriously hampering the export of fruit in the global chain. The consequence for consumers in western countries is that sometimes mangoes are overripe at the retailer, or have to be kept for several days, even weeks, to reach the edible state, provided they do not rot in the meantime. To ensure an edible quality, the chlorophyll content in the fruit flesh, measured at harvest by Time-resolved Reflectance Spectroscopy (TRS), could be used as a maturity criterion for mango fruit. Commercially grown fruit were harvested in Brazil and transported to Italy by plane. Fruits were measured using TRS at 630 nm for absorption coefficient (µa) and skin colour. The development of µa was followed on 60 fruits during 15 days of storage at 20°C. The remainders of fruit were used to measure firmness destructively. Absorption coefficient decreased during shelf life according to a logistic pattern, as expected for colour development. Taking the variation between the individual fruit into account, 72% of the variation was accounted for. Nevertheless, µa assessed at harvest could be converted into a biological shift factor (BSF), as an expression of the maturity at harvest of each individual fruit. This biological shift factor explained about 70% of the variation in firmness development in individual fruit. These preliminary results indicate that TRS methodology coupled with BSF theory could be useful in assessing maturity at harvest and assuring acceptable eating quality of mango

Investigation of chemical modifiers for the determination of cadmium and chromium in fish oil and lipoid matrices using HR-CS GF AAS and a simple ‘dilute-and-shoot’ approach

The authors are grateful to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico and Tecnológico (CNPq), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for financial support and scholarships. The present research was mostly financed through Project no. CNPq 406877/2013-0. The authors are also grateful to Analytik Jena for financial support and the donation of the contrAA 600.Peer reviewedPostprin

Are the liabilities of newness and smallness the same for male and female informal entrepreneurs? Evidence from Brazil

Though challenges to female entrepreneurship are widely acknowledged in the settings of developed countries or the context of formal firms, the challenges faced by female informal entrepreneurs in developing markets are less explored. Based on the liabilities of newness and smallness framework in organizational ecology, we draw on a sample of 2562 Brazilian informal firms, to examine the unique differences in the experience of newness and smallness between male and female informal entrepreneurs. With increasing firm age, female informal entrepreneurs realized lower firm revenues (inverted-U), however, the firm age and firm revenue association are linear for males. Informal firm performance did not vary by size between male and female informal entrepreneurs. The distinctive differences in firm revenues for male and female entrepreneurs have implications for informal entrepreneurship

Influence of the meso-substituents of zinc porphyrins in dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency with improved performance under short periods of white light illumination

The sensitization activity of four zinc metalloporphyrin dyes: meso-tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (a), meso-triphenyl-(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (b), meso-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (c) and meso-tripyridyl(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato Zn(II) (d) is reported here, in terms of current-potential curve, open-circuit potential, fill factor, and overall solar energy conversion efficiency which have been evaluated under 100 mW/cm2 light intensity and their performances compared to the benchmark N719 (di-tetrabutylammonium cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato) ruthenium(II)). This work focus the structural aspects of dyes with anchoring groups using TiO2-based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), which includes pyridyl and carboxyphenyl acid groups and argue how the combination of both anchoring groups, in the same structure, may allow relevant optimization of DSSCs performance in the near future. Also, a noticeable improvement in the photovoltaic performance of all dyes, reaching a maximum increase from 25% to 69% in the overall DSSC efficiency under short periods of white light illumination is discussed.publishe

Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of portuguese olive oil

The main goal of this paper was to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of olive oil production in Portugal. A life-cycle model and inventory were implemented for the entire production process, including a comprehensive analysis of olive cultivation, olive oil extraction, packaging, and distribution. Data originates from five differently-sized Portuguese olive growers and from a total of six olive oil mills, representing the three extraction processes in use: three-phase extraction, two-phase extraction, and traditional pressing. The results show that the GHG intensity lies in the range 1.8-8.2 kg CO2eq/liter and that the main contributors were fertilizers (production and field emissions). Efficient use of fertilizers thus seems to be a key factor for mitigating the GHG intensity of olive oil production.This research was supported by project ECODEEP (Eco-efficiency and Eco-management in the Agro Industrial sector, FCOMP–05–0128–FEDER–018643) and the Portuguese Scienc