Allelopathic Interactions Among Forage Grasses and Legumes

Aqueous extracts at 10% were prepared with the shoots of the grasses Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandú, B. decumbens, B. humidicola, and of the legumes Calopogonium mucunoides, Leucaena leucocephala, Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Mineirão. The effects of the extracts were evaluated on the germination and on the radicleelongation of the forages. The pH, the electric conductivity and the osmotic potential of the extracts were determined. The germination and radicle biossays were conducted in germination chambers, with controlled temperature and photoperiod. The pH and the presence of ions did not contribute to the effects observed. The extracts of the legumes tended to reduce the growth of the grasses to a greater extent than the grasses reduced the growth of the legumes. The radicle-elongation was a more sensitive indicator to evaluate the effects of the extracts than the germination (%). The C. mucunoides was the legume with higher allelopathic effect, while among the grasses there was not a remarkable species

Physiological and Chemical Characteristics of Five Cultivars of Cynodon

The experiment was carried out at UNESP, Brazil, to evaluate five Cynodon cultivars: (Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst cv “Tifton 68”, Cynodon spp. cv “Tifton 85”, Cynodon dactylon cv “Florakirk”, Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst var. nlemfuensis cv “Florico” e Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst var. nlemfuensis cv “Florona”). Plants were sampled once a week from 14 to 84 days of growth to study physiological characteristics and at 14-day intervals to study chemical characteristics. The following variables were studied: DM production, leaf/stem ratio, leaf weight/total dry matter ratio, relative growth rate, chlorophyll contents, leaf area, specific leaf area, LAI, and the contents of CP, NDF, and ADF. The five cultivars showed similar responses for all variables studied. The data obtained allowed us to conclude that the five cultivars would be better managed when cut or grazed at 28-42 days intervals of plant growth

Vision based referee sign language recognition system for the RoboCup MSL league

In RoboCup Middle Size league (MSL) the main referee uses assisting technology, controlled by a second referee, to support him, in particular for conveying referee decisions for robot players with the help of a wireless communication system. In this paper a vision-based system is introduced, able to interpret dynamic and static gestures of the referee, thus eliminating the need for a second one. The referee's gestures are interpreted by the system and sent directly to the Referee Box, which sends the proper commands to the robots. The system is divided into four modules: a real time hand tracking and feature extraction, a SVM (Support Vector Machine) for static hand posture identification, an HMM (Hidden Markov Model) for dynamic unistroke hand gesture recognition, and a FSM (Finite State Machine) to control the various system states transitions. The experimental results showed that the system works very reliably, being able to recognize the combination of gestures and hand postures in real-time. For the hand posture recognition, with the SVM model trained with the selected features, an accuracy of 98,2% was achieved. Also, the system has many advantages over the current implemented one, like avoiding the necessity of a second referee, working on noisy environments, working on wireless jammed situations. This system is easy to implement and train and may be an inexpensive solution

Entropy perturbations in quartessence Chaplygin models

We show that entropy perturbations can eliminate instabilities and oscillations, in the mass power spectrum of the quartessence Chaplygin models. Our results enlarge the current parameter space of models compatible with large scale structure and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations.Comment: references added, one figure corrected, results unchange

Expanding indication of padeliporfin (WST11) vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy: results of prostate cancer Latin-American multicenter study

OBJECTIVES: To explore the proportion of patients with higher risk localized prostate cancer (PCa) that would become safely biopsy negative 12 months after non-thermal focal therapy with padeliporfin vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP). METHODS: Multicenter study in a scenario of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≤20ng/ml and variable PCa target volumes Gleason pattern 3 or low-volume secondary Gleason pattern 4, all patients received VTP, consisting of intravenous 4mg/kg padeliporfin activated by light-diffusing fibers in the prostate. The prostate was biopsied at baseline, months 6 and 12, PSA, patient-reported functional outcomes and quality of life (QoL) questionnaires were recorded at baseline, months 3, 6, and 12 and adverse events (AE) throughout the study. RESULTS: In the intention-to-treat population (n=81), the proportion of patients with negative biopsies at month 12 was 74% (60/81 patients; 95% CI: 63.1%,83.2%). In the per-protocol population, the proportion was 79% (58/73 patients; 95% CI: 68.4%,88.0%). Questionnaire results indicated a slight improvement in urinary function and limited deterioration in sexual function. No difference in QoL was observed over time. A total of 42/81 (52%) patients reported mild or moderate and 4 of 81 (4.9%) experienced serious AE, all resolved without sequelae. No phototoxicity, cardiovascular event, fistula or prolonged urinary incontinence, secondary cancer or death was reported. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the efficacy, safety, and QoL associated with padeliporfin focal treatment for low/intermediate risk localized PCa

Kiyang-yang, a West-African Postwar Idiom of Distress

In 1984, a healing cult for young barren women in southern Guinea Bissau developed into a movement, Kiyang-yang, that shook society to its foundations and had national repercussions. “Idiom of distress” is used here as a heuristic tool to understand how Kiyang-yang was able to link war and post-war-related traumatic stress and suffering on both individual and group levels. An individual experience born from a traumatic origin may be generalized into an idiom that diverse sectors of society could embrace for a range of related reasons. We argue that, for an idiom to be understood and appropriated by others, there has to be resonance at the level of symbolic language and shared experiences as well as at the level of the culturally mediated contingent emotions it communicates. We also argue that through its symbolic references to structural causes of suffering, an idiom of distress entails a danger for those in power. It can continue to exist only if its etiology is not exposed or the social suffering it articulates is not eliminated. We finally argue that idioms of distress are not to be understood as discrete diagnostic categories or as monodimensional expressions of “trauma” that can be addressed

Inhalation of the prodrug PI3K inhibitor CL27c improves lung function in asthma and fibrosis

PI3K activation plays a central role in the development of pulmonary inflammation and tissue remodeling. PI3K inhibitors may thus offer an improved therapeutic opportunity to treat non-resolving lung inflammation but their action is limited by unwanted on-target systemic toxicity. Here we present CL27c, a prodrug pan-PI3K inhibitor designed for local therapy, and investigate whether inhaled CL27c is effective in asthma and pulmonary fibrosis. Mice inhaling CL27c show reduced insulin-evoked Akt phosphorylation in lungs, but no change in other tissues and no increase in blood glycaemia, in line with a local action. In murine models of acute or glucocorticoid-resistant neutrophilic asthma, inhaled CL27c reduces inflammation and improves lung function. Finally, inhaled CL27c administered in a therapeutic setting protects from bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis, ultimately leading to significantly improved survival. Therefore, local delivery of a pan-PI3K inhibitor prodrug reduces systemic on-target side effects but effectively treats asthma and irreversible pulmonary fibrosis

Do precocial mammals develop at a faster rate? A comparison of rates of skull development in Sigmodon fulviventer and Mus musculus domesticus

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72993/1/j.1420-9101.2003.00568.x.pd