Development of a Farm Management Tool for the Brazilian Conditions

This paper presents results of a managerial information system prototype developed for modern agriculturalists in the Brazilian Cerrado´s Region. It follows a case study approach. One medium scale (422 hectares) of operation was envisioned, archetypical accounting framework was established, aiming to provide better data and information to support farm management decisions. The system has proved to be useful in examining decision making at farm level and in ex ante evaluations of changes in farm-level input use, output and profitability in response to price, policy, and/or technology changes. Data entry was done in ACCESS for user friendliness and global availability; presentational materials were prepared in ACCESS and in EXCEL.Family farm system, Microsoft ACCESS application, managerial information, cost accounting, Farm Management,

Impact of sense of coherence on oral health-related quality of life among brazilian adults

It has been postulated that oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) may be affected by the sense of coherence (SOC), but there are no epidemiological studies investigating this association in Brazilian adults. The present study was conducted among adults of a mid-sized Brazilian city, with the aim of looking into this association. The probability sampling consisted of 342 adults aged 35-44 years old, from a mid-sized Brazilian city, who were examined at their homes for caries (Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth [DMFT] Index) and periodontal disease (Community Periodontal Index - CPI), according to WHO criteria. The questionnaire applied included demographic factors, socioeconomic information, use of dental services, behavior, SOC and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). The OHIP outcome, measured by prevalence of the impact, was analyzed by binary logistic regression using a hierarchical approach, a conceptual model, and a 5% significance level. A total of 67.9% of the respondents had one or more impacts on OHRQoL, and 54.4% showed a high SOC. The impact on OHRQoL was more prevalent in adults who had a manual occupation (PR = 2.47, 95%CI 1.24-4.93), those who perceived the need for dental treatment (PR = 2.93, 95%CI 1.67-5.14), and those who had untreated caries (PR = 1.93, 95%CI 1.07-3.47). Those with a low SOC had a twofold higher prevalence of impact on OHRQoL (PR = 2.19, 95%CI 1.29-3.71). This impact on OHRQoL was associated with a low SOC, even after adjusted by socioeconomic, behavioral and clinical factors. Future studies should consider the SOC in determining the oral health impact on quality of life3

Binding affinities and activation of Asp712Ala and Cys100Ser mutated kinin B1 receptor forms suggest a bimodal scheme for the molecule of bound-DABK

AbstractMutant forms of kinin B1 receptor (B1R) and analogs of the full agonist des-Arg9-bradykinin (DABK) were investigated aiming to verify the importance of selected receptor residues and of each agonist-peptide residue in the specific binding and activation. Linked by a specific disulfide bond (Cys100–Cys650), the N-terminal (Nt) and the EC3 loop C-terminal (Ct) segments of angiotensin II (AngII) receptor 1 (AT1R) have been identified to form an extracellular site for binding the agonist Nt segment (Asp1 and Arg2 residues). Asp712 residue at the receptor EC3 loop binds the peptide Arg2 residue. By homology, a similar site might be considered for DABK binding to B1R since this receptor contains the same structural elements for composing the site in AT1R, namely the disulfide bond and the EC3 loop Asp712 residue. DABK, Alan-DABK analogs (n=Ala1-, Ala2-, Ala3-, Ala4-, Ala5-, Ala6-, Ala7-, Ala8-DABK), and other analogs were selected to binding wild-type, Asp712Ala and Cys100Ser mutated B1R receptors. The results obtained suggested that the same bimodal scheme adopted for AngII-AT1R system may be applied to DABK binding to B1R. The most crucial similarity in the two cases is that the Nt segments of peptides equally bind to the homologous Asp712 residue of both AT1R and B1R extracellular sites. Confirming this preliminary supposition, mutation of residues located at the B1R extracellular site as EC3 loop Asp712 and Cys100 caused the same modifications in biological assays observed in AT1R submitted to homologous mutations, such as significant weakening of agonist binding and reduction of post-receptor-activation processes. These findings provided enough support for defining a site that determines the specific binding of DABK to B1R receptors

Carbon-modified titanium oxide materials for photocatalytic water and air decontamination

Titanium oxide-based materials with different physical and chemical features were synthetized aiming at removing organic pollutants from both water and air media. The materials were produced employing two different heating methodologies (thermal, T and hydrothermal, H) at distinct temperatures resulting in porous materials. These materials were also modified with either graphene oxide (GO) or carbon nanotubes (CNT), using an in-situ approach. All materials were tested as photocatalysts using ultra-violet (UV), visible (Vis) and solar radiation. Rhodamine B (RhB) and benzene were used as representative pollutants in water and air, respectively. The addition of carbon to the catalysts improved the removal of both pollutants. In the case of the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B, under both UV and Vis light, it was found that, the materials containing carbon nanostructures allowed the highest degradation degree, while the photosensitisation phenomenon became negligible. The best catalyst is the one containing CNT (2.98 wt% of C) and thermally treated at 300 °C (T300_CNT). This material showed higher degradation ability than the commercial TiO2 nanopowder Degussa P25 (P25) under Vis light. Regarding benzene removal, the samples thermally treated at 300 °C and modified with CNT and GO (T300_CNT and T300_GO, respectively) outperformed Degussa P25. The former material was successfully reused in the photocatalytic degradation of benzene over 6 consecutive cycles.publishe

Forensic Human Identification for Cutaneous Microbiome, a Brief Review

Forensic Science compounds many study areas in context of solving crimes, one of which is the forensic microbiology. Combined with genomic approaches, microbiology has shown strong performance in studies regarding the relationship between microorganisms present on human skin and environment. The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has contributed significantly to characterization of microbial complexity and their connection to human being. The purpose of this work consists of a historical overview of scientific articles, demonstrating the growth and possibility of using skin microbiome in forensic identification. Studies about use of cutaneous microbiome in human identification, as well its forensic approaches, were looked into for writing of this review. Comparisons among cutaneous microbial communities and manipulated objects have been tested using 16S rRNA, as well as a thorough sequencing of the bacterial genome. From use of ecological measures of distance to genetic markers with nucleotide variants and predictive algorithms, research has shown promising results for advances in field of forensic identification. The development of metagenomic microbial panel markers, named hidSkinPlax for targeted sequencing has been designed and tested with great results. Research results show satisfactory potential in human identification by cutaneous microbiome and the possibility for contributive use in elucidating crimes

Thermistors manufactured from nioubium oxide in the ZrO2-Bi2o3 / Termistores manufacturados de óxido de nioúbio no ZrO2-Bi2o3

Thermistors are thermal resistors that allow high changes in the dielectric constant due to the sensible temperature change. The thermistors can be P.T.C.R and N.T.C.R. They are devices applied within the oil exploration industry, automobiles and electronics. The ceramic powders were obtained from stoichiometric quantities by ball milling with subsequent compaction, sintering and heat treatment from 825 ° C for 24 hours and cooled to room temperature. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, calculation of the apparent density, dielectric constant and qualitative thermistor factors, called temperature coefficient and characteristic ratio. The samples from the mixture between the niobium zirconia-bismuth oxides obtained significant results for commercial and industrial application in the respective temperature ranges, between 30ºC-80ºC and 460ºC-600ºC.

Bosonic String and String Field Theory: a solution using Ultradistributions of Exponential Type

In this paper we show that Ultradistributions of Exponential Type (UET) are appropriate for the description in a consistent way string and string field theories. A new Lagrangian for the closed string is obtained and shown to be equivalent to Nambu-Goto's Lagrangian. We also show that the string field is a linear superposition of UET of compact support CUET). We evaluate the propagator for the string field, and calculate the convolution of two of them.Comment: 30 page

Variation of growth performance of the striped venus clam Chamelea gallina (Mollusca: Bivalvia) (Linnaeus, 1758) in relation to environmental variables along the southern part of its geographic range

This study reports relative growth, shell length-age keys and growth performance indices (overall growth performance (OGP) and phi prime) for the striped venus Chamelea gallina from the Huelva coast in southwest (SW) Spain. The morphometric relationship shell height (SH)/shell length (SL) presented isometric growth whereas SL/shell width (SW) and SL/weight (W) displayed negative allometric growth. Shell length at age was estimated through length-frequency distribution (LF) and internal shell growth bands by acetate peel method (AP). C. gallina population consists mainly of three age classes with shell lengths around 13-15 mm for the first year, 25 mm for the second year and 30 mm for the third year. The OGP and phi prime values obtained in the present study are within the range of values for other C. gallina populations from the Gulf of Cádiz. Nevertheless, marked differences in growth performance were observed between populations from the Black Sea (lower growth performance) and from other locations along the southern distribution area of this species, which may be related to the low levels of temperature (SST), salinity (SSS) and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration that exhibit large intra-annual fluctuations.En prensa0,371

Developing a Plastic Waste Management Program: From River Basins to Urban Beaches (Case Study)

Solid waste accumulation in coastal environments has been a growing concern. In the coastal megacity of Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, plastic waste issues currently exist both at the ocean scale and river basin scale. The city is known as the 'Brazilian Venice' thanks to the Capibaribe River, which crosses many neighborhoods, running in a west-east direction into the Atlantic Ocean. This paper provides the initial basis to develop a Plastic Waste Management Program proposal for implementation in the city of Recife, given the lack of resolutions that have looked at plastic waste management through integrated water environment scales (from river basin to ocean). The methodology used included articulation and documental collection from four main public agencies from the state/city and stakeholders. The results showed its relevance for better plastic waste management in Recife, considering an integrated water environment on a river basin-to-ocean scale by using the recognized major connected water environments (Capibaribe river and Boa Viagem beach). Similar integrated program proposals could be made for other coastal areas, enabling not only the identification of fragilities but also the exchange of information regarding the theme