Reuse of healing abutments : ethical, biological and professional training implications

The aim was to estimate the prevalence of reuse of healing abutments, the methods used in disinfection and to analyze the reasons that lead to the reuse of these components by professionals who work in rehabilitation with dental implants. For this, an

Patterns and controls of the latent and sensible heat fluxes in the brazilian Pampa biome

Energy and water exchange between the surface and the atmosphere are important drivers to Earth’s climate fromlocal to global scale. In thisstudy, the energy dynamic and the biophysical mechanisms thatcontrol the energy partitioning overa natural grassland pasture overthe Brazilian Pampa biome are investigated using two micrometeorological sites located 300 km apart, in Southern Brazil. The latent heatflux, LE, was the maincomponent of the energy balance in bothautumn-winter (AW)and spring-summer (SS)periods. Annually, approximately 60% of the available energy is usedfor evapotranspiration (ET). However, the Bowen ratio presents seasonal variability greater in AW than SS. Global radiation, Rg, is the atmospheric variable controlling LE and sensible heatflux, H. Hysteresis curves in the daily cycle wereobserved for ET and surface conductance, Cs, regarding the environmental variables, net radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and air temperature. Among the variables analyzed in the Pampa biome, surface conductance and evapotranspiration respond more strongly to the vapor pressure deficit. The hysteresis cycles formed by ET and conductance show a substantial biophysical control in the ET process. The results obtained here allowed a comprehension of the biophysical mechanisms involved in the energy partition process in natural grassland. Therefore, thisstudy can be usedas abasefor research on land-use changes in this unique ecosystem of the Pampa biome

Alternative substrates for the germination test with treated soybean seeds / Substratos alternativos para o teste de germinação com sementes de soja tratadas

The present study had as the aim to analyze the performance of soybean seeds treated different products on the germination test using the substrates described by the “Rules for seed analysis” and alternative substrates. Two steps were carried out, in the first the products (fungicides and insecticides) were used individually and in the second in combinations (fungicide + insecticide, with or without polymer). Seeds were treated and sown on paper rolls, sand, vermiculite between paper rolls and sand between paper rolls. The variables evaluated were: first count, abnormal seedlings and germination. In the first step, imidacloprid+thiodicarb presented as the most problematic treatment in the paper substrate, with improved results in sand and in the alternative substrates proposed. It is possible to observe the low influence of the polymer in the results obtained in the second step. Lower results were observed for seeds treated with fludioxonil+metalaxyl-M+thiabendazole + imidacloprid+thiodicarb. Lower percentages of normal seedlings in the first count and germination, and higher percentage of abnormal seedlings, were observed in the paper substrate when the products were used individually. Sand was superior to the paper substrate, and vermiculite between paper stands out as a good alternative. 

Evaluation of MOD16 algorithm over irrigated rice paddy using flux tower measurements in Southern Brazil

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the hydrological cycle. Understanding the ET process has become of fundamental importance given the scenario of global change and increasing water use, especially in the agricultural sector. Determining ET over large agricultural areas is a limiting factor due to observational data availability. In this regard, remote sensing data has been used to estimate ET. In this study, we evaluated the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface ET product estimates (hereafter MOD16 ET - MODIS Global Terrestrial Evapotranspiration Product) over two rice paddy areas in Southern Brazil, through the ET measured using the eddy covariance technique (hereafter EC). The energy balance components were evaluated during fallow and flooded seasons showing latent heat flux dominates in both seasons. The results showed that MOD16 ET underestimated EC measurements. Overall, the RMSE (root mean square error) ranged between 13.40 and 16.35 mm 8-day-1 and percent bias (PBIAS) ranged between -33.7% and -38.7%. We also assessed the ET (measured and estimated) main drivers, with EC yielding higher correlation against observed net radiation (Rn) and global radiation (Rg), followed by air temperature (Temp) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD), whilst MOD16 ET estimates yielded higher correlation against leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR). The MOD16 algorithm was forced with meteorological measurements but the results did not improve as expected, suggesting a low sensitivity to meteorological inputs. Our results indicated when a water layer was present over the soil surface without vegetation (LAI around zero), the largest differences between EC measurements and MOD16 ET were found. In this period, the expected domain of soil evaporation was not observed in MOD16 ET physical processes partition, indicating the algorithm was not able to detect areas with high soil moisture. In general, the MOD16 ET product presented low accuracy when compared against experimental measurements over flooded rice paddy, suggesting more studies are necessary, in order to reduce uncertainties associated to the land cover conditions

QUALITY OF SWEET CORN SEEDS TREATED BEFORE AND AFTER STORAGE

This work evaluated the effect of industrial treatment with different pesticides and seed sizes in the physiological performance of sweetcorn and the content of active ingredients of insecticides before and three months after storage. Four seed lots of a sweetcorn single-cross hybrid (L1, L2, L3 and L4) and different sieves (S1, S2 and S3) were used for two experiments. Experiment 1: industrial seed treatment, T1=untreated seed (control), T2= Maxim Advanced®, T3= Cruiser® 350 FS and T4= Poncho®. Experiment 2: quantification of the content of active ingredients, commercial products Cruiser® 350 FS and Poncho and the efficiency of distribution were measured using HPLC-UV. The results showed that industrial seed treatment with Maxim Advanced®, Cruiser® 350 FS and Poncho® can be performed three months before sowing without damage to sweetcorn seeds HPLC is efficient in quantifying the content of active ingredients on sweetcorn seeds treated with Cruiser® 350 FS and Poncho®. The industrial seed treatment shall be calibrated for each lot, which is justified by the different amounts of active ingredient between lots and seed sizes.RESUMO: Este trabalho avaliou o efeito do tratamento industrial com diferentes pesticidas e tamanhos de sementes sobre o comportamento fisiológico do milho doce e o teor de ingredientes ativos dos inseticidas antes e três meses após o armazenamento. Quatro lotes de um único híbrido cruzado de milho doce (L1, L2, L3 e L4) e diferentes peneiras (S1, S2 e S3) foram utilizados para dois experimentos. Experimento 1: tratamento industrial de sementes, T1 = sementes não tratadas (controle), T2 = Maxim Advanced®, T3 = Cruiser® 350 FS e T4 = Poncho®. Experimento 2: quantificação do teor de princípios ativos, produtos comerciais Cruiser® 350 FS e Poncho e a eficiência de distribuição foi medida por HPLC-UV. Os resultados mostraram que o tratamento de sementes industriais com Maxim Advanced®, Cruiser® 350 FS e Poncho® pode ser realizado três meses antes da semeadura sem danificar as sementes de milho doce. A HPLC é eficiente para quantificar o conteúdo de ingredientes ativos em sementes de milho doce tratadas com Cruiser® 350 FS e Poncho®. O tratamento industrial de sementes será calibrado para cada lote, o que se justifica pelas diferentes quantidades de ingrediente ativo entre os lotes e os tamanhos das sementes

PlnTFDB: updated content and new features of the plant transcription factor database

The Plant Transcription Factor Database (PlnTFDB; http://plntfdb.bio.uni-potsdam.de/v3.0/) is an integrative database that provides putatively complete sets of transcription factors (TFs) and other transcriptional regulators (TRs) in plant species (sensu lato) whose genomes have been completely sequenced and annotated. The complete sets of 84 families of TFs and TRs from 19 species ranging from unicellular red and green algae to angiosperms are included in PlnTFDB, representing >1.6 billion years of evolution of gene regulatory networks. For each gene family, a basic description is provided that is complemented by literature references, and multiple sequence alignments of protein domains. TF or TR gene entries include information of expressed sequence tags, 3D protein structures of homologous proteins, domain architecture and cross-links to other computational resources online. Moreover, the different species in PlnTFDB are linked to each other by means of orthologous genes facilitating cross-species comparisons