Inputs to the hormonal control of egg development in Rhodnius prolixus

This paper re-examines existing data on the environmental inputs governing egg production in Rhodnius prolixus. Feeding has a direct effect on egg production such that the product of the unfed weight of the female times the weight of the blood meal is a good predictor of the number of eggs produced. Mating modifies this input, so that mated females produce more eggs. Egg production is governed by the corpus allatum, and indirect evidence suggests that the number of eggs producted by a female is a function of the length of time that juvenile hormone is secreted by the corpus allatum. The input which determines the times at which the corpus allatum is switched off originates in the stretch induced by the amount of the meal remaining in the crop, modified by the matedness status of the female. The precise nature of the sensors detecting stretch is not yet clear, but the integrity of the dorsal aorta is essential to the transmission of the information. These data are related to the survival strategy for Rhodnius.

Initial growth of maize in response to application of rock phosphate, vermicompost and endophytic bacteria

Due to the high energy requirement and demand for non-renewable resources for the production of chemical fertilizers, added also to the environmental impact caused by the use of such products, it is important to intensify research on bio-based agricultural inputs. The use of nitrogen-fixing endophytic and phosphate solubilizing bacteria can provide these nutrients to the plants from the air and poorly soluble phosphorus sources, such as phosphate rock. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutrition and initial growth of maize (Zea mays L.) in response to the inoculation of nitrogen-fixing and rock phosphate solubilizing endophytic bacteria, in single or mixed formulation, applied with vermicompost. The treatments containing bacteria, both diazotrophic and phosphate solubilizing, when compared to controls, showed higher levels of leaf nitrogen and phosphorus in maize, as well as higher growth characteristics. The application of vermicompost showed synergistic effect when combined with endophytic bacteria. Thus, the innovation of the combination of the studied factors may contribute to the early development of maize.

Characterization of verdete rock as a potential source of potassium

Potassium is a nutrient found at low levels in Brazilian soils, requiring large inputs of fertilizers to achieve satisfactory crop yields. Brazil has high external dependence and limited reserves of soluble K mineral, which is traditionally exploited for the production of fertilizers. On the other hand, it is common the occurrence in the country of potassium-rich silicate minerals which are not commercially exploited. This study aimed to characterize mineralogically and chemically samples of verdete rock separated into size fractions and evaluate its potential as potassium fertilizer. The mineral composition of verdete rock is based on glauconite, quartz and feldspar. The total K2O content in verdete rock ranged from 5.18 to 9.0 dag/kg. The K content extracted in water or 2% citric acid was 2.4% below the total of K, indicating low reactivity of verdete rock and limitations for direct use as K source. The processes of physical fractionation and sedimentation in water are inefficient to promote the concentration of K in the different verdete rock fractions. The total K content in some samples are considerable and may enable the use of this rock as raw material for production of more reactive potassium fertilizers.

Eficiência dos gastos municipais em saúde e educação: uma investigação através da análise envoltória no estado do Rio de Janeiro

Este artigo analisa a eficiência dos gastos públicos nos municípios fluminenses no período 1999/2000, por meio da aplicação da análise envoltória de dados. O estudo adota os indicadores sociais e de gastos municipais das seguintes áreas temáticas da realidade social: educação e cultura; saúde e saneamento. O artigo apresenta uma revisão de várias aplicações de DEA no campo das políticas públicas e, em seguida, os indicadores e modelos propostos para análise da eficiência dos gastos sociais. Aplicou-se o modelo BCC da DEA, com orientação output, isto é, visando maximizar os outputs sem diminuir os inputs. Foram selecionados indicadores de despesas per capita com educação e cultura e com saúde e saneamento como inputs do modelo em questão. Já as variáveis "candidatas" a outputs foram definidas como: taxa de alfabetização de 10 a 14 anos; proporção de domicílios particulares permanentes com esgotamento sanitário adequado; proporção de domicílios particulares permanentes com saneamento adequado; o inverso da taxa de mortalidade por causas hídricas; a proporção de crianças de dois a cinco anos matriculadas em creches ou escolas de educação infantil. O artigo destaca como "boas práticas", no que se refere à eficiência das políticas públicas, pelos resultados que alcançam em termos do que alocam como recursos ou pelas condições de renda média, os municípios de São Gonçalo, Japeri, Queimados, Cantagalo, São João de Meriti e Resende.

Diversity of the land resources in the Amazonian State of Rondônia, Brazil

Conflicting opinions are recorded in the literature concerning the suitability of Amazon lands for sustainable agriculture following deforestation. This article has been written to shed light on this question by summarizing climate, landform, soil and vegetation features from the findings of a land resource study of the Brazilian state of Rondônia in south-west Amazonia. The work, which followed the World Soils and Terrain Digital Database (SOTER) methodology, was financed by the World Bank. During the course of the survey special emphasis was given to studying soils; 2914 profiles were analyzed and recorded. The study identified a complex pattern of land units with clear differences in climate, landform, soils and native vegetation. Forested areas mosaic with lesser areas of natural savannas. The latter occur on both poorly-drained and well-drained, albeit nutrient deficient sandy soils. The tallest and most vigorous forests or their remnants were seen growing on well-drained soils formed from nutrient-rich parent materials. Many of these soils could, or are being used for productive agriculture. Soils developed on nutrient-poor parent materials support forests that are significantly lower in height, and would require large lime and fertilizer inputs for agriculture. Low forests with high palm populations and minor areas of wet land savannas cover the poorly drained soils. It is evident that forest clearing in the past was indiscriminant; this cannot be condoned. The diversity of land conditions found throughout Rondônia would suggest that many past studies in the Amazon have simply been too broad to identify significant soil differences.

Chemical composition of phytoplankton from the estuaries of Eastern Amazonia

Phytoplankton is important bioindicator of chemical and biological modifications of natural ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the total chemical composition of the phytoplankton of the Pará and Mocajuba estuaries on the eastern coast of the Amazon region in the Brazilian state of Pará. The chemical composition of the surface water, bottom sediments (total sample and bioavailable fraction), and the phytoplankton were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Phytoplankton contained high concentrations of Ca, P, Mn, Fe, Zn, Al, Ba, and Pb. The phytoplankton of the Mocajuba estuary is rich in Fe (2,967-84,750 µg g-1), while those from the Pará is rich in Al (1,216-15,389 µgg-1), probably reflecting divergent anthropogenic inputs. Both samples indicated a high bioconcentration factor derived from both the water and the bioavailable fraction, reflecting the efficiency of these organisms in the concentration of metals.

Increasing the efficiency of utilization of soil and fertilizer phosphorus in the subtropical and tropical agricultural systems C

As a rule, soils of the subtropical and tropical regions, in which rainfall is not limiting, are acidic, and low in phosphorus, and, to a less extent, in other macro and micronutrients as well, such a sulfur, boron and zinc. The establishment of a permanent agricultural prac. tice therefore, demands relatively high usage of liming and phosphatic fertilization, to begin with. Several approaches, not mutually exclusive, could be used in order to increase the efficiency of utilization of soil and fertilizer phosphorus so that, goal of diminishing costs of production is reached. The use of liming materials bringing up pH to 6.0-6.5 causes the conversion of iron and aluminum phosphates to more available calcium phosphates; on the other hand, by raising calcium saturation in the exchange complex, it improves the development and operation if the root system which allows c or a higher utilization of all soil nutrients, including phosphorus, and helps of stand water deficits which may occur. The role of mycorrhizal fungi should be considered as a way of increasing soil and fertilizer P utilization, as well as the limitations thereof. Screening of and breeding for varieties with higher efficiency of uptake and utilization of soil and fertilizer phosphorus leads to a reduction in cost of inputs and to higher benefit/cost ratios. Corrective fertilization using ground rock phosphate helps to saturate the fixation power of the soil thereby reducing, as a consequence, the need for phosphorus in the maintenance fertilization. Maintenance fertilization, in which soluble phos-phatic sources are used, could be improved by several means whose performance has been proved: limimg, granula tion, placement, use of magnesium salts. Last, cost of phosphate fertilization could be further reduced, without impairing yields, through impairing yields, through changes in technology designed to obtain products better adapted to local conditions and to the availability or raw materials and energy sources.

Determination and control of schistosomiasis

The subject of this conference reflects the scientific community's interest in seeking to understand the complex causal web whose various social, economic, and biological components interact in the production and reproduction of schistosomiasis and its control in relation to community participation. From the onset, the author stresses the impossibility of dealing separately with community participation, as if social components were just one more "weapon" in the arsenal for schistosomiasis control. This study begins with a brief historical review of the 71 years of control activities with this endemic disease, stressing the enormous efforts and huge expenditures in this field vis-à-vis the limited results, despite the extraordinary technological development of specific, classical control inputs such as new treatment drugs and molluscicides. The article then discusses the various strategies used in control programs, emphasizing ideological consistencies and contradictions. Interactions at the macro and micro levels are discussed, as are the determinants and risk factors involved in producing the disease's endemicity. Unequal occupation of space leaves the segregated portion of the population exposed to extremely favorable conditions for transmission of the disease. This raises the issue of how to control an endemic disease which is so closely linked to the way of life imposed on the population. The study challenges the classical control model and suggests an alternative model now undergoing medium-term investigation in the States of Espirito Santo, and Pernambuco, Brazil. The author concludes that we do not need new strategies, but a new control model, contrary to the prevailing classical model in both concept and practice. From the conceptual point of view, the new model mentioned above is different from others in that schistosomiasis control is seen from a social perspective stressing the population's accumulated knowledge in addition to the building of shared knowledge. The model's praxis has the following characteristics: (1) it is integrated with and financed by research agencies and health services; (2) it operates at the local health services level; (3) use of molluscicides has been eliminated; (4) emphasis is given to individual medical treatment and improvement of sanitary conditions.

Projecting the effectiveness of RotaTeq® against rotavirus-related hospitalisations in Brazil

RotaTeq® (Merck & Company, Inc, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA) is an oral pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) that has shown high and consistent efficacy in preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis (RGE) in randomised clinical trials previously conducted in industrialised countries with high medical care resources. To date, the efficacy and effectiveness data for RV5 are available in some Latin American countries, but not Brazil. In this analysis, we projected the effectiveness of RV5 in terms of the percentage reduction in RGE-related hospitalisations among children less than five years of age in four regions of Brazil, using a previously validated mathematical model. The model inputs included hospital-based rotavirus surveillance data from Goiânia, Porto Alegre, Salvador and São Paulo from 2005-2006, which provided the proportions of rotavirus attributable to serotypes G1, G2, G3, G4 and G9, and published rotavirus serotype-specific efficacy from the Rotavirus Efficacy and Safety Trial. The model projected an overall percentage reduction of 93% in RGE-related hospitalisations, with an estimated annual reduction in RGE-related hospitalisations between 42,991-77,383 in the four combined regions of Brazil. These results suggest that RV5 could substantially prevent RGE-related hospitalisations in Brazil.

Desempenho dos municípios paulistas: uma avaliação de eficiência da atenção básica à saúde

Neste trabalho, teve-se por objetivo construir uma metodologia de avaliação de desempenho dos municípios paulistas quanto à eficiência técnica na aplicação de recursos públicos nas ações de atenção básica à saúde e analisar a influência de variáveis não controláveis no processo de produção em tal área. A eficiência técnica é um dos parâmetros de avaliação de desempenho dos gestores públicos, refletindo a capacidade de uma entidade obter máximos outputs com o menor consumo de inputs. O alcance de tal métrica pode ser prejudicado ou favorecido pelas variáveis ambientais ou não controláveis que, se não forem consideradas na avaliação de desempenho, podem gerar vieses. Nesse sentido, por meio da metodologia Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) em dois estágios, os escores de eficiência dos municípios foram estimados e depois ajustados com o uso da análise de regressão. Os resultados indicaram que seria possível aumentar, consideravelmente, a quantidade de serviços prestados à população sem a necessidade de novas dotações orçamentárias na maioria dos municípios. Além disso, verificou-se que a maior proporção de idosos em uma jurisdição torna a prestação de serviços mais cara; por sua vez, maiores densidade populacional, grau de urbanização e escala dos estabelecimentos de saúde favorecem o gasto público com eficiência. Os cinco municípios paulistas considerados mais eficientes foram Tuiuti, Nova Guataporanga, Sabino, Lins e Santos.

Permanent demand excess as business strategy: an analysis of the Brazilian higher-education market

Many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) establish tuition below the equilibrium price to generate permanent demand excess. This paper first adapts Becker’s (1991) theory to understand why the HEIs price in this way. The fact that students are both consumers and inputs on the education production process gives rise to a market equilibrium where some firms have excess demand and charge high prices, and others charge low prices and have empty seats.Second, the paper analyzes this equilibrium empirically. We estimated the demand for undergraduate courses in Business Administration in the State of São Paulo. The results show that tuition, quality of incoming students and percentage of lecturers holding doctorates degrees are the determining factors of students’ choice. Since the student quality determines the demand for a HEI, it is calculated what the value is for a HEI to get better students; that is the total revenue that each HEI gives up to guarantee excess demand. Regarding the “investment” in selectivity, 39 HEIs in São Paulo give up a combined R$ 5 million (or US$ 3.14 million) in revenue per year per freshman class, which means 7.6% of the revenue coming from a freshman class.

Understanding the hierarchy governance choice of some wineries in Brazil - case study of 3 Brazilian wineries

ABSTRACT This study aims to contribute towards understanding the multiple factors, which influence firm's governance decisions. To identify some of these factors, three cases in the Brazilian wine industry were analyzed: Miolo located in Vale dos Vinhedos (South of Brazil) and in Vale do Rio São Francisco (Northeast of Brazil); Don Laurindo located in Vale dos Vinhedos; and ViniBrasil located in Vale do Rio São Francisco. For the most part, all three firms procure the grapes they use for their wine production in-house. Only Miolo purchases an insignificant amount of grapes outside of its production. By Brazilian standards, these regions have a long tradition of grape production and it is not difficult to purchase sufficient quantity of grapes to produce wine. However, the wineries are concerned also about the quality of the grapes they use and purchasing high-quality grapes might be critical issue. On the other hand, the quality of grapes is easily measured and the cost to buy in the market is cheaper than producing in-house. Furthermore, also the level of asset specificity present in the grape-grower-wine-producer transaction seems, by itself, insufficient to justify the use of hierarchical governance forms. Then, the aim of the article is to analyze the reasons why these wineries largely rely on hierarchy governance forms to procure their grape-inputs. What explains their use of hierarchy governance, given that both asset specificity and measurement problems appear to be relatively low?

Limits and possibilities experienced by nurses in the treatment of women with chronic venous ulcers

Objective To understand the experiences and expectations of nurses in the treatment of women with chronic venous ulcers. Method Phenomenological research was based on Alfred Schütz, whose statements were obtained in January, 2012, through semi-structured interviews with seven nurses. Results The nurse reveals the difficulties presented by the woman in performing self-care, the perceived limitations in the treatment anchored in motivation, and the values and beliefs of women. It showed professional frustration because venous leg ulcer recurrence, lack of inputs, interdisciplinary work and training of nursing staff. There was an expected adherence to the treatment of women, and it emphasized the need for ongoing care, supported self-care and standard practices in treatment. Conclusion That treatment of chronic venous leg ulcers constitutes a challenge that requires collective investment, involving women, professionals, managers and health institutions.

15N uptake fom manure and fertilizer sources by three consecutive crops under controlled conditions

There are several regions of the world where soil N analysis and/or N budgets are not used to determine how much N to apply, resulting in higher than needed N inputs, especially when manure is used. One such region is the North Central "La Comarca Lagunera", one of the most important dairy production areas of Mexico. We conducted a unique controlled greenhouse study using 15N fertilizer and 15N isotopic-labeled manure that was labeled under local conditions to monitor N cycling and recovery under higher N inputs. The manure-N treatment was applied only once and was incorporated in the soil before planting the first forage crop at an equivalent rate of 30, 60 and 120 Mg ha-1 dry manure. The 15N treatments were equivalent to 120 and 240 kg ha-1 (NH4)2SO4-N for each crop. The total N fertilizer for each N fertilized treatment were 360, and 720 kg ha-1 N. We found very low N recoveries: about 9 % from the manure N inputs, lower than the 22 to 25 % from the fertilizer N inputs. The manure N recovered belowground in soil and roots ranged from 82 to 88 %. The low recoveries of N by the aboveground and low soil inorganic nitrate (NO3-N) and ammonium (NH4-N) content after the third harvested suggested that most of the 15N recovered belowground was in the soil organic form. The losses from manure N inputs ranged from 3 to 11 %, lower than the 34 to 39 % lost from fertilizer N sources. Our study shows that excessive applications of manure or fertilizer N that are traditionally used in this region will not increase the rate of N uptake by aboveground compartment but will increase the potential for N losses to the environment.

Carbon stock and its compartments in a subtropical oxisol under long-term tillage and crop rotation systems

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a crucial role in soil quality and can act as an atmospheric C-CO2 sink under conservationist management systems. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects (19 years) of tillage (CT-conventional tillage and NT-no tillage) and crop rotations (R0-monoculture system, R1-winter crop rotation, and R2- intensive crop rotation) on total, particulate and mineral-associated organic carbon (C) stocks of an originally degraded Red Oxisol in Cruz Alta, RS, Southern Brazil. The climate is humid subtropical Cfa 2a (Köppen classification), the mean annual precipitation 1,774 mm and mean annual temperature 19.2 ºC. The plots were divided into four segments, of which each was sampled in the layers 0-0.05, 0.05-0.10, 0.10-0.20, and 0.20-0.30 m. Sampling was performed manually by opening small trenches. The SOM pools were determined by physical fractionation. Soil C stocks had a linear relationship with annual crop C inputs, regardless of the tillage systems. Thus, soil disturbance had a minor effect on SOM turnover. In the 0-0.30 m layer, soil C sequestration ranged from 0 to 0.51 Mg ha-1 yr-1, using the CT R0 treatment as base-line; crop rotation systems had more influence on soil stock C than tillage systems. The mean C sequestration rate of the cropping systems was 0.13 Mg ha-1 yr-1 higher in NT than CT. This result was associated to the higher C input by crops due to the improvement in soil quality under long-term no-tillage. The particulate C fraction was a sensitive indicator of soil management quality, while mineral-associated organic C was the main pool of atmospheric C fixed in this clayey Oxisol. The C retention in this stable SOM fraction accounts for 81 and 89 % of total C sequestration in the treatments NT R1 and NT R2, respectively, in relation to the same cropping systems under CT. The highest C management index was observed in NT R2, confirming the capacity of this soil management practice to improve the soil C stock qualitatively in relation to CT R0. The results highlighted the diversification of crop rotation with cover crops as a crucial strategy for atmospheric C-CO2 sequestration and SOM quality improvement in highly weathered subtropical Oxisols.