Morphogenetic characteristics and management of Tanzania grass

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of grazing interval and period of evaluation over tissue turnover in Tanzania grass pastures (Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania) and to ascertain if herbage accumulation rate can be used as a criterion to establish a defoliation schedule for this grass in Southeast of Brazil. A randomized block design with a split-plot arrangement was used. The effect of three grazing intervals was evaluated within seven periods between October 1995 and September 1996. Responses monitored were leaf and stem elongation rates, leaf senescence rate, stem length, and tiller density. Net herbage accumulation rate was calculated using tissue turnover data. The grazing intervals for Tanzania grass should be around 38 days between October and April (spring and early autumn) and 28 days during the reproductive phase of the grass (April/May). Between May and September (late autumn and winter), grazing interval should be around 48 days. Herbage accumulation rate is not a good criterion to establish defoliation time for Tanzania grass. Studies on the effects of stem production in grazing efficiency, animal intake and forage quality are needed to improve Tanzania grass management.

QUANTIDADE E PREÇOS DA BANANA-'PRATA' COMERCIALIZADA NAS CEASAS DO DISTRITO FEDERAL, SÃO PAULO, BELO HORIZONTE E RIO DE JANEIRO, NO PERÍODO DE 1995 A 1999

A evolução das quantidades e preços médios mensais e anuais da banana-'Prata' comercializada nos entrepostos das CEASAS do Distrito Federal, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte e Rio de Janeiro foi analisada no período de janeiro de 1995 a dezembro de 1999. Os dados foram analisados pelo teste de Tukey, a nível de 5%. A média da quantidade anual comercializada nas CEASAS do DF, SP, BH e RJ foram, respectivamente, de 831; 1.012; 3.101 e 5.597 t no período analisado. A quantidade média anual comercializada variou significativamente em todas as CEASAS. Os preços médios anuais diferiram significativamente, sendo que em todas as CEASAS estes foram maiores em 1995 e menores em 1997. Não houve diferença significativa na quantidade média mensal comercializada apenas na CEAGESP, já o preço médio mensal diferiu significativamente nas CEASAS do DF, SP e BH. O preço médio anual foi maior na CEASA/RJ (R$ 1,01/Kg), que foi 18,8%; 32,9% e 80,4% superior quando comparado ao preço praticado na CEASA/ DF, CEAGESP e CEASA/BH, respectivamente.

Análise química de sais de cobre fabricados entre 1877 e 1995

Samples of copper compounds covering all of the XXth century and the end of the XIXth century were submitted to classical and instrumental quantitative analysis. The amount of impurities greatly decreased with time, reaching a constant level since the 1960's. The gravimetric method was suitable for the determination of copper although other procedures also gave good or reasonable results. However, for metal contaminants, atomic absorption spectrometry was the best choice because of its lower detection limits, being able to determine several elements in the oldest samples. Ion chromatography detected several anions in copper salts manufactured before the 1950's. An increasing quality of raw materials and a better sensitivity of analytical methods led to quality improvement of copper compounds with time.

Mortalidade materna na cidade de São Paulo de 1993 a 1995

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram: determinar o coeficiente de mortalidade materna para o município de São Paulo, as patologias mais freqüentes que determinaram o óbito e a distribuição por faixas etárias. Foram revisados neste estudo retrospectivo 179.872 atestados de óbito de mulheres entre 10 e 49 anos de idade abrangendo no período de abril de 1993 a dezembro de 1995.Foram selecionados 761 atestados de óbito nos quais o estado gravídico era declarado ou presumido. A gravidez foi confirmada em 291 dos 761 casos e 53 destes estão ainda sob investigação. Os dados foram tabulados, agrupados e analisados considerando a idade e a causa da morte, de acordo com a 9ª Revisão do CID - Classificação Internacional de Doenças. Dos 291 casos positivos para associação com gravidez, 82 (28,17%) não apresentaram nenhuma referência a este fato no atestado de óbito (subnotificação). Dos 291 óbitos, 183 (62,9%) se deveram a causas diretas, sendo a hemorragia (47/183), a pré-eclâmpsia/eclâmpsia (46/183) e as complicações do aborto (43/183) as principais patologias. Em 79 casos a causa foi indireta, sendo a cardiopatia (33/79) a principal patologia determinante do óbito. A síndrome hipertensiva (pré-eclâmpsia/eclâmpsia e/ou hipertensão arterial crônica) foi responsável por 19,93% das mortes. Este estudo possibilitou calcular o Coeficiente de Mortalidade Materna para o município de São Paulo: 50,24 por 100.000 nascidos vivos.

Associação entre o estado nutricional pré-gestacional e a predição do risco de intercorrências gestacionais

OBJETIVO: analisar a associação entre o estado nutricional pré-gestacional materno e os desfechos maternos - síndromes hipertensivas da gravidez, diabetes gestacional, deficiência de vitamina A e anemia - e do concepto - baixo peso ao nascer. MÉTODOS: estudo transversal, com 433 puérperas adultas (>20 anos), atendidas na Maternidade Escola da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) e seus respectivos recém-nascidos. As informações foram coletadas em consulta a prontuários e entrevistas. O estado nutricional pré-gestacional materno foi definido por meio do índice de massa corporal pré-gestacional, segundo os pontos de corte para mulheres adultas da World Health Organization (WHO), em 1995. Estimou-se a associação entre os desfechos gestacionais e o estado nutricional pré-gestacional, por meio da odds ratio (OR) e intervalo de confiança (IC) de 95%. RESULTADOS: a freqüência de desvio ponderal pré-gestacional (baixo peso, sobrepeso e obesidade) foi de 31,6%. Considerando-se o estado nutricional pré-gestacional, aquelas com sobrepeso e obesidade apresentaram menor ganho ponderal do que as eutróficas e as com baixo peso (p<0,05). As mulheres com obesidade pré-gestacional apresentaram risco aumentado de desenvolver síndromes hipertensivas da gravidez (OR=6,3; IC95%=1,90-20,5) e aquelas com baixo peso pré-gestacional, maior chance de ter recém-nascidos com baixo peso ao nascer (OR=7,1; IC95%=1,9-27,5). Não foi evidenciada a associação entre estado nutricional pré-gestacional e o desenvolvimento de anemia, deficiência de vitamina A e diabetes gestacional. A média de ganho de peso entre as gestantes com sobrepeso e obesas foi significativamente menor, quando comparadas às eutróficas e às com baixo peso (p=0,002, p=0,049, p=0,002, p=0,009). CONCLUSÕES: a expressiva quantidade de mulheres com desvio ponderal pré-gestacional reforça a importância da orientação nutricional que favoreça o estado nutricional adequado e minimize os riscos de intercorrências maternas e do recém-nascido.

Woody community dynamics in two fragments of "cerrado" stricto sensu over a seven-year period (1995-2002), MA, Brazil

This study was conducted in two fragments of "cerrado" stricto sensu in the Gerais de Balsas Colonization Project, located in southern Maranhão, Brazil. The objective was to evaluate the dynamics of the woody plant community, over seven years (1995-2002). Four transects of 160 × 20 m were monitored. All woody plants with a stem diameter > 3 cm, at 0.30 m above ground level, were recorded. In 1995, 983 and 1,177 stems were sampled in fragments 1 and 2, respectively; in 2002, 1057 and 1406 stems were sampled in the same fragments. In 1995, the Shannon diversity indices (H') were 3.07 and 3.33, in fragments 1 and 2, respectively, reaching their maximum value in 2002 of 3.11 and 3.35. The community of fragment 1 showed an increase of 7.5% in density and 4.4% in basal area between 1995 and 2002, while in fragment 2 there was an increment of 19.4% in density and 23.5% in basal area, over the same period. The annual increment in diameter was 0.13 cm year-1 and 0.17 cm year-1 in fragments 1 and 2, respectively. The mortality rate was 2.73% per year in fragment 1 and 4.88% per year in fragment 2, while the recruitment rate was 3.25% per year and 5.86% per year, respectively. The community presented high recruitment and mortality rates compared to the studies conducted in other sites, indicating a community that was highly dynamic in the period studied.

Sleep habits and complaints of adults in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1987 and 1995

This study compares the prevalence of complaints of insomnia, excessive diurnal sleepiness, parasomnias, and sleep habits of the adult population in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, estimated in surveys carried out in 1987 and 1995. Representative samples of 1000 adult residents per survey were interviewed using a validated structured sleep questionnaire, the "UNIFESP Sleep Questionnaire". Difficulty maintaining sleep, difficulty initiating sleep and early morning awakening, occurring at least three times a week, were reported in 1987 and 1995, by 15.8/27.6, 13.9/19.1, and 10.6/14.2% of the interviewees, respectively, significantly increasing throughout time. These sleep problems were more often found among women. Frequencies of excessive diurnal sleepiness and sleep attacks were unchanged comparing 1987 with 1995 (4.5 vs 3.8 and 3.1 vs 3.0%, respectively). Parasomnia complaints remained unchanged, with the exception of leg cramps, which doubled in prevalence from 1987 to 1995 (2.6 to 5.8%). Snoring was the most common parasomnia (21.5% in 1995), reported more often by men than by women, and somnambulism was the least common (approximately 1%). Besides sleeping slightly less, interviewees went to bed and woke up later in 1995. Approximately 12% of the subjects in both surveys had consulted a physician due to sleep problems and 3.0% reported habitual use of sleep-promoting substances in 1995. Overall, there was a significant increase in insomnia complaints from 1987 to 1995 in the general population of the city of São Paulo. This major change over a little under a decade should be considered as an important public health issue.

A substituição de importações no Brasil entre 1995 e 2000

This work estimates the import substitution process in Brazilian industrial sectors in a recent period and evaluates whether it is occurring naturally or is in part induced by some kind of external commercial policy. An index to measure import substitution was calculated for forty nine sectors of industry. A regression analysis with this index against effective tariffs and real effective exchange rate, during the period 1995-2000, shows that these variables (effective tariffs and real effective exchange rates) did affect the substitution index. From 1999 on, the influence of the exchange rate over the import substitution index was greater than the influence of the effective tariff, suggesting that the process of import substitution post the Brazilian currency depreciation occurred in 1999 contains elements that characterizes it as a "natural" process.

Poder de barganha dos sindicatos e negociações coletivas na indústria do Rio Grande do Sul, 1979-1995

This paper analyses the relationship between bargaining outcomes in seventeen units regarding the manufacturing sector in Rio Grande do Sul, and change in the relevant economic environment from 1979 to 1995. Theories on the determinants of bargaining outcomes are discussed in order to provide a basis for hypothesizing about the specific case. Statistical outcomes suggest that collective bargaining have been basically influenced by unemployment, manufacturing relative prices, the stabilization policies starting in 1986, and, specifically for negotiated minimum wages, change in the official rates of minimum wages.