CAMINHOS PARA UNIVERSIDADE

Este trabalho faz parte dossiê temático associado ao II Seminário da RP/UFT, com o tema: “Formação e prática docente – concepções, trajetórias e desafios da Residência Pedagógica da UFT"

Management of top-dressed nitrogen fertilization in the common bean/castor intercropping system

Abstract Among essential mineral nutrients, nitrogen is the one that most limits crop growth and development, since plants need fairly high quantities of it. The objective of this work is to evaluate the splitting form of top-dressed N for intercropped common bean and castor cultivars. We used the randomized block design with factorial arrangement of two cultivation years (2009/10 and 2010/11), two common bean cultivars (Pontal and Pérola), two castor cultivars (Energia and Paraguaçu), combined with six forms of top-dressed nitrogen fertilization splitting: without application; 100 kg ha -1 applied at 25 days after emergence (DAE); 100 kg ha -1 applied at 35 DAE; 30 and 70 kg ha -1 applied at 25 and 35 DAE, respectively; 70 and 30 kg ha -1 applied at 25 and 35 DAE, respectively; 50 and 50 kg ha -1 applied at 25 and 35 DAE, respectively. Extra treatments consisted in the planting of the four studied cultivars in monoculture. The agronomic traits of common bean cultivars Pérola and Pontal are influenced by intercropping with castor. On the other hand, common bean cultivars did not exert any influence on the agronomic behavior of the intercropped castor, regardless of the genotype used. The optimum dose of top-dressed nitrogen in the common bean and castor intercropping system is 30 and 70 kg ha -1 , split at 25 and 35 DAE of the mentioned crops. The common bean/castor intercropping system is more efficient than monoculture, according to LER average value (1.64)

BTEX adsorption on TiO2 anatase and rutile surfaces : DFT functionals

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes are volatile hydrocarbons known as BTEX, which present concerns about environmental problems. Density functional theory (DFT) functionals were used for the BTEX gas phase adsorption on TiO2 (110) of rutile and (101) of anatase surfaces. Dispersion terms have shown the importance to treat weak interactions and were used to study these adsorptions using plane wave DFT calculations. All BTEX molecules have the same trend for the adsorption on rutile and anatase surfaces. The inclusion of dispersion terms has a significant contribution for the interaction energy. Density of states results suggest the hybridization between the d state of pentacoordinated titanium atoms (Ti5C) and carbon p states of benzene. The adsorption energy values indicate an effective interaction between the BTEX and surfaces, mainly due to the aromatic π interaction, which is present in all adsorbates. However, for p-xylene the methyl hydrogen directs the second major influence

Early pharmacological inhibition of angiotensin-I converting enzyme activity induces obesity in adulthood

We have investigated early programming of body mass in order to understand the multifactorial etiology of obesity. Considering that the renin-angiotensin system is expressed and functional in the white adipose tissue (WAT) and modulates its development, we reasoned whether early transitory inhibition of angiotensin-I converting enzyme activity after birth could modify late body mass development. Therefore, newborn Wistar rats were treated with enalapril (10 mg/kg of body mass) or saline, starting at the first day of life until the age of 16 days. Between days 90th and 180th, a group of these animals received high fat diet (HFD). Molecular, biochemical, histological and physiological data were collected. Enalapril treated animals presented hyperphagia, overweight and increased serum level of triglycerides, total cholesterol and leptin, in adult life. Body composition analyses revealed higher fat mass with increased adipocyte size in these animals. Molecular analyses revealed that enalapril treatment increases neuropeptide Y (NPY) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) gene expression in hypothalamus, fatty acid synthase (FAS) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) gene expression in retroperitoneal WAT and decreases peroxixome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) γ, PPARα, uncoupling protein (UCP) 2 and UCP3 gene expression in WAT. The results of the current study indicate that enalapril administration during early postnatal development increases body mass, adiposity and serum lipids in adulthood associated with enhanced food intake and decreased metabolic activity in WAT, predisposing to obesity in adulthood

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora

Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, ventilation management, and outcomes in invasively ventilated intensive care unit patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pooled analysis of four observational studies

Background: Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, the practice of ventilation, and outcome in invasively ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unexplored. In this analysis we aim to address these gaps using individual patient data of four large observational studies. Methods: In this pooled analysis we harmonised individual patient data from the ERICC, LUNG SAFE, PRoVENT, and PRoVENT-iMiC prospective observational studies, which were conducted from June, 2011, to December, 2018, in 534 ICUs in 54 countries. We used the 2016 World Bank classification to define two geoeconomic regions: middle-income countries (MICs) and high-income countries (HICs). ARDS was defined according to the Berlin criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patients in MICs versus HICs. The primary outcome was the use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were key ventilation parameters (tidal volume size, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, peak pressure, plateau pressure, driving pressure, and respiratory rate), patient characteristics, the risk for and actual development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after the first day of ventilation, duration of ventilation, ICU length of stay, and ICU mortality. Findings: Of the 7608 patients included in the original studies, this analysis included 3852 patients without ARDS, of whom 2345 were from MICs and 1507 were from HICs. Patients in MICs were younger, shorter and with a slightly lower body-mass index, more often had diabetes and active cancer, but less often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure than patients from HICs. Sequential organ failure assessment scores were similar in MICs and HICs. Use of LTVV in MICs and HICs was comparable (42·4% vs 44·2%; absolute difference -1·69 [-9·58 to 6·11] p=0·67; data available in 3174 [82%] of 3852 patients). The median applied positive end expiratory pressure was lower in MICs than in HICs (5 [IQR 5-8] vs 6 [5-8] cm H2O; p=0·0011). ICU mortality was higher in MICs than in HICs (30·5% vs 19·9%; p=0·0004; adjusted effect 16·41% [95% CI 9·52-23·52]; p<0·0001) and was inversely associated with gross domestic product (adjusted odds ratio for a US$10 000 increase per capita 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; p<0·0001). Interpretation: Despite similar disease severity and ventilation management, ICU mortality in patients without ARDS is higher in MICs than in HICs, with a strong association with country-level economic status