Yield of upland rice cultivars in rainfed and sprinkler-irrigated systems in the Cerrado region of Brazil

In upland rice, the reduced grain yield that originates from the moisture stress period is related to the plant's tolerance of water deficiency and may vary between cultivars. The purpose of the work presented here was to evaluate the performance of upland rice cultivars in both rainfed and sprinkler-irrigated systems. A split-plot scheme with 8 replicates in a randomised block design was used. The plots were composed of 2 cropping systems (rainfed and sprinkler-irrigated) and the split-plot consisted of 2 cultivars (IAC 201 and Carajas) which are suggested for cultivation in upland ecosystems. Carajas had a greater number of panicles per square metre, higher spikelet fertility and grain mass, and, consequently, a higher grain yield than IAC 201 regardless of cropping system. IAC 201 was more sensitive to water deficiency than Carajas. Sprinkler irrigation improved spikelet fertility, grain mass and upland rice grain yield. Even when cultivars with a higher tolerance of water deficiency are used, a sprinkler-irrigated system may be a viable method to increase upland rice yield throughout most of the Brazilian Cerrado.

Traveling solitons in Lorentz and CPT breaking systems

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Atributos físicos do solo e produtividade de soja em sistema de consórcio milho e braquiária

Em virtude das altas taxas de decomposição do material orgânico em regiões tropicais, um dos problemas para a manutenção e sustentabilidade do sistema de plantio direto é a necessidade de produção de grandes quantidades de palha. Com o objetivo de identificar, no sistema de integração agricultura-pecuária, as variações dos atributos físicos do solo e a produtividade de grãos de soja sobre palhada de braquiárias, este trabalho foi conduzido na FEPE-UNESP de Ilha Solteira, SP, e o delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso, com nove tratamentos em esquema fatorial (3 x 3), com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por três espécies de braquiárias e três modalidades de consórcio das braquiárias com o milho. Os atributos físicos foram determinados antes da implantação do projeto de pesquisa, após a colheita do milho consorciado com as forrageiras e depois da colheita da soja. Na safra de verão a cultura da soja foi semeada sobre a palhada dos consórcios de milho com braquiárias, no espaçamento de 0,45 m, com 14 linhas por parcela e área útil correspondente às 4 linhas centrais de 5 m cada uma. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a consorciação e a sequência de culturas proporcionaram aumento na macroporosidade e porosidade total do solo. A Brachiaria brizantha semeada na época de adubação de cobertura do milho e a Brachiaria decumbens, na linha do milho, promoveram maiores valores de produtividade de grãos de soja.

Performance of japanese quails fed feeds containing different corn and limestone particle sizes

This study aimed at evaluating performance and egg quality of Japanese quails fed feeds containing different corn and limestone particle sizes. A total number of 648 birds in the peak of production was distributed in a random complete block experimental design, using a 2x3 factorial arrangement (2 corn particle sizes and 3 limestone particle sizes). Birds were designated to one of two blocks, with six replicates of 18 birds each. Mean geometric diameter (MGD) values used were 0.617mm and 0.723mm (corn fine and coarse particle sizes, respectively), and 0.361mm, 0.721mm, and 0.947mm (limestone fine, intermediate and coarse particle sizes, respectively). The following treatments were applied: T1: fine corn feed, with 100% fine limestone; T2: fine corn feed, with 50% fine limestone and 50% intermediate limestone; T3: fine corn feed, with 50% fine limestone and 50% coarse limestone; T4: coarse corn feed, with 100% fine limestone; T5: coarse corn feed, with 50% fine limestone and 50% intermediate limestone; T6: coarse corn feed, with 50% fine limestone and 50% coarse limestone. The experiment lasted 112 days, consisting of 4 cycles of 28 days. No significant interaction was observed among corn and limestone particle sizes for any of the analyzed parameters. There were no significant effects (p>0.05) of the tested corn particle sizes on quail performance or egg quality. There were significant (p<0.05) isolated effects of limestone particle size only on the percentage of cracked eggs, which was reduced when birds fed 50% coarse limestone (0.947mm) and 50% fine limestone (0.361mm) as compared to those fed 100% fine limestone. Therefore, the inclusion of 50% coarse limestone (0.947mm) is recommended for quail egg production.

Bond Strength of Two-Step Etch-and-Rinse Adhesive Systems to the Dentin of Primary and Permanent Teeth

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of chlorhexidine on bond strength of two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive systems to dentin of primary and permanent teeth

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Morphology and histology of male and female reproductive systems in the inseminating species Scoloplax distolothrix (Ostariophysi : Siluriformes : Scoloplacidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Riccati-type equations, generalised WZNW equations, and multidimensional Toda systems

We associate to an arbitrary Z-gradation of the Lie algebra of a Lie group a system of Riccati-type first order differential equations. The particular cases under consideration are the ordinary Riccati and the matrix Riccati equations. The multidimensional extension of these equations is given. The generalisation of the associated Redheffer-Reid differential systems appears in a natural way. The connection between the Toda systems and the Riccati-type equations in lower and higher dimensions is established. Within this context the integrability problem for those equations is studied. As an illustration, some examples of the integrable multidimensional Riccati-type equations related to the maximally nonabelian Toda systems are given.

Universality of Brunnian (N-body Borromean) four- and five-body systems

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of enzyme supplementation of broiler diets based on corn and soybeans

Digestibility of diets based on corn and soybean meal or soybeans treated by roasting or extrusion, with or without an enzyme supplementation, was measured by true (Sibbald) methods, by analysis of excreta, and by analysis of ileal digesta. Only analysis of ileal digesta was able to consistently measure differences between soybean and enzyme treatments in the digestibility of CP, starch, fat, and ME. The amino acid (AA) digestibility of the diets was measured by analysis of the ileal contents. Whereas enzyme supplementation improved overall CP digestibility by 2.9%, this improvement was not equal for all AA. of the AA most important for broilers fed corn-soybean diets, the digestibilities of Lys, Met, and Arg were not improved or not improved significantly by the enzyme supplementation; however, that of Val was improved by 2.3% and that of Thr was improved by 3.0%. A performance trial demonstrated that enzyme supplementation with equal diet formulation improved BW and the feed conversion ratio by 1.9 and 2.2%, respectively. A second performance trial compared standard diet formulations with formulations using enzyme supplementation and energy levels that were reduced by the amount of improvement provided by the inclusion of enzyme in the first performance trial. No difference was seen between treatments, showing that the improvement of nutrient utilization brought about by enzyme supplementation completely compensated for the reduced energy content. Whereas enzyme supplementation should allow a reduction in CP formulation as well, individual AA were not improved equally by supplementation and should also be balanced.

A study of habitat fragmentation in Southeastern Brazil using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS)

The purpose of this work was to study fragmentation of forest formations (mesophytic forest, riparian woodland and savannah vegetation (cerrado)) in a 15,774-ha study area located in the Municipal District of Botucatu in Southeastern Brazil (São Paulo State). A land use and land cover map was made from a color composition of a Landsat-5 thematic mapper (TM) image. The edge effect caused by habitat fragmentation was assessed by overlaying, on a geographic information system (GIS), the land use and land cover data with the spectral ratio. The degree of habitat fragmentation was analyzed by deriving: 1. mean patch area and perimeter; 2. patch number and density; 3. perimeter-area ratio, fractal dimension (D), and shape diversity index (SI); and 4. distance between patches and dispersion index (R). In addition, the following relationships were modeled: 1. distribution of natural vegetation patch sizes; 2. perimeter-area relationship and the number and area of natural vegetation patches; 3. edge effect caused by habitat fragmentation, the values of R indicated that savannah patches (R = 0.86) were aggregated while patches of natural vegetation as a whole (R = 1.02) were randomly dispersed in the landscape. There was a high frequency of small patches in the landscape whereas large patches were rare. In the perimeter-area relationship, there was no sign of scale distinction in the patch shapes, In the patch number-landscape area relationship, D, though apparently scale-dependent, tends to be constant as area increases. This phenomenon was correlated with the tendency to reach a constant density as the working scale was increased, on the edge effect analysis, the edge-center distance was properly estimated by a model in which the edge-center distance was considered a function of the to;al patch area and the SI. (C) 1997 Elsevier B.V. B.V.

Use of In Vivo and In Vitro Systems to Select Leishmania amazonensis Expressing Green Fluorescent Protein

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)