An isolate of Apple stem grooving virus associated with Cleopatra mandarin fruit intumescence

A citrus tatter leaf isolate (CTLV-Cl) of Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) has been found to be associated with a fruit rind intumescence in Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reshni) in Limeira (SP). The CTLV-Cl was mechanically transmitted to the main experimental herbaceous hosts of CTLV. Chenopodium quinoa and C. amaranticolor reacted with local lesions and systemic symptoms while other test plants reacted somewhat differently than what is reported for CTLV. A pair of primers designed for specific detection of ASGV and CTLV amplified the expected 801 bp fragment from the CTLV-Cl-infected plants. Typical capillovirus-like particles were observed by the electron microscope in experimentally infected C. quinoa and C. amaranticolor leaves.

Minimum number of assessment times to compare chemical control treatments for papaya fruit anthracnose

The chemical treatment evaluation in the field to control post-harvest fruit anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) requires a suitable disease incidence assessment on harvested papaya (Carica papaya) fruits. The minimum number of papaya fruit harvests was determined for valid treatment comparison in field trials for anthracnose chemical control. Repeatability analysis was done using previously published data. The coefficient determination (R²) estimate range, using four methods, and based on means of 12 assessment times, was 92.58 < R² < 94.45%. The number of assessment times required for R²=90% varied from seven to nine. The R² values of 85.1 < R² < 91.3% estimated by ANOVA suggested that any seven successive assessment times were sufficient for treatment comparison.

Protection between strains of Passion fruit woodiness virus in sunnhemp

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea) host species on the protective ability of two mild strains of Passion fruit woodiness virus (PWV), named F-101 and F-144, which had failed to protect passion flowers (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) in previous experiments. The nucleotide sequences of the capsid protein (CP) gene and the 3'-non-translated region (3'-NTR) of these mild strains and the severe strain of PWV-SP were compared to confirm their relationship. The results of two protective tests with sunhemp plants in the greenhouse and one test under field conditions showed that all plants infected with either mild strain were protected against infection and/or symptom expression of the severe strain of PWV-SP. Evaluation of the relative concentration of the mild strains in sun hemp leaves showed an apparent uniformity in virus distribution in the leaf tissues, different than that which was previously reported for these mild strains in passion flower leaves. These results agree with previous studies that showed the effect of the concentration of the protective strains and the host species in the protection process.

Guava fruit loss caused by rust

The aim of this paper was to estimate the loss caused by rust (Puccinia psidii) to 'Paluma' guava production in orchards located in Rio de Janeiro State. The disease intensity on the reproductive organs of plants was observed during two chemical control experiments carried out in 2003 and 2004. The loss was estimated based on simple linear regression and the production reduction (fruit number and weight ha-1) on the incidence of diseased buds and fruits. In the first experiment, no relationship was established between incidence of diseased buds and loss since there was a delay in spraying and the incidence of buds showing rust was high (mean of 47%) at the beginning of flowering. In the second experiment (2003-2004), spraying occurred at the beginning of the epidemics and there was a linear relationship between incidence of diseased buds and loss, justifying fungicide intervention at this stage. For the fruiting stage, a significant relationship was found between incidence of diseased fruits and loss in both experiments. In the absence of chemical control, rust reduced fruit production by around 90%.

FRUIT MORPHOLOGY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF BABASSU PALMS IN NORTHERN MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL1

ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to morphologically characterize fruits of the babassu palm tree (Attalea vitrivir) and to estimate their productivity in the north of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Twenty mature fruits were collected from 10 plants in three different areas in Januária, Minas Gerais. Eighteen biometric parameters of the fruits were measured, the oil contents of the seeds was determined, the adherence to normal distribution was evaluated, distribution frequencies were evaluated and the effects of individuals and areas on the variables and the correlations between them were analyzed. The production of fruit bunches per plant and the number of fruits per bunch from 10 plants were quantified in three areas and the potential production under both natural harvesting and cultivation conditions were estimated. Significant differences were found among all of the biometric parameters examined between the different individuals and the different areas, which shows wide morphological variability in the fruits. The average oil content was 45.7%, but with significant differences among individuals. The observed variability favors the selection of productive individuals in genetic improvement programs. The potential productivity of endocarps and oil based on a density of 400/plants per hectare would be respectively 6.4 and 1.2 tons/ha, which indicates the possibility of using A. vitrivir for producing charcoal, bio fuels, and for carbon fixation.

Solar drying of jack fruit almonds

Dryers heated by solar energy have been constructed and used in drying whole and half jack fruit almonds. The samples were dried during the day in direct sun and in the conventional solar dryer prepared for this purpose. Another piece of equipment was built for reception and accumulation of sun energy in a body of water, which was used as a heat source for night drying. The drying with the sun energy was compared with artificial drying. The jack fruit almonds were dried whole, half, with pellicle and without it. The storage of solar energy in water was technically viable for use in night drying. The drying by combining solar dryers in the day and night periods were completed in approximately 35 hours, and were equivalent to artificial drying between 40ºC and 70ºC. Almond cut in half and the pellicle removed reduced the drying time.

Technical and economic indicators of the yellow passion fruit tree irrigated with underground water supply

The research aimed to quantify technical and economic indicators of yellow passion fruit tree irrigated with fractions of irrigation with underground source of water, to generate information that helps farmers in decision making on the implementation of investment in irrigated fruit growing (yellow passion fruit). For this purpose, we used the passion fruit crop irrigated with Microjet type irrigation system, with conducting system in simple espaliers. The treatments consisted of five hours of application of the depth of water required by the crop with irrigation frequency of two days. The results showed that the highest yield (16660kg ha-1) was obtained with the fractionation of irrigation twice a day (50% to 7h and 50% to 21h30), which provided an increase in productivity of 54%, demonstrating the financial viability and being highly profitable to the interest rate of 2% per year, with low sensitivity of financial risk to real interest rates above the prevailing market.

Tríade de Carney

The authors present a case of an incomplete form of Carney's Triad .They emphasize the use of immunohistochemistry to classify gastrointestinal stromal tumors and policy of long term follow-up .

Abuses in the Poultry Trade

18 x 25 cm

A new climatic periodisation of the Gold and Guinea Coasts in West Africa, 1750-1798 : a reconstruction of the climate during the slave trade era, including an analysis of the climatically facilitated Trans-Atlantic slave trade

Avsikten med studien är att producera den första rekonstruktionen av det västafrikanska klimatet mellan 1750 och 1798. Kunskapen om det västafrikanska klimatet före 1800-talet är till dags dato bristfällig, vilket gör det svårare att förstå framtida klimatvariationer. Det är bristen på instrumentell meteorologisk data (temperatur, regnmängd, och lufttryck), vilket i princip bara täcker det senaste århundradet, som är orsaken till att tidigare klimat är bristfälligt kartlagda. Klimatet och miljön är även sådana att proxydata från ’naturens arkiv’ (såsom t.ex. trädringar) har begränsad användning. Således är historiska dokument, främst från gästande kulturer/nationer/intressenter, innehållande deskriptiv information om vädret och klimatet, klimatforskarens viktigaste källa. Genom att använda tidigare, för det här syftet, oanvända källor påvisade den här undersökningen att klimatet i västra Afrika och Guldkusten (Ghana) har ändrats sedan 1700-talet. Monsunregnen var svagare och kortvarigare, speciellt den sekundära regnperioden under hösten var betydligt svagare än idag. Det förekom kraftiga årliga variationer i monsunregnen, men sett ur längre tidsperspektiv utmärktes torrare och blötare perioder. Studien kunde också visa en viss korrelation mellan det globala väderfenomenet El Niño och regnperiodens intensitet längs med kusten. Flera torrperioder sammanföll med tidigare registrerade El Niño sekvenser. Speciellt slutet av 1760-talet påverkades kraftigt av El Niño och även det globala klimatet verkar ha genomgått graftiga förändringar just dessa år. På basis av den nya klimatrekonstruktionen genomfördes också en jämförelse av klimatets inverkan på den transatlantiska slavhandeln från 1750 till 1798, en fråga som historikerna gjort anspelningar på i över 30 år. Utförseln av slavar från västra Afrika var som kraftigast under 1700-talets andra hälft. Analysen visade att slavhandeln delvis tilltog i samband med klimatanomalierna.

Parasites of the freshwater fish trade in Brazil: science metric study

This paper presents a science metric study of parasites of fish farming in Brazil, including a significant review of the literature. The methodology used was based on researching articles in three different databases, carried out ​on May 2012: ISI (Institute for Scientific Information), SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), and Google Academic. The number of articles on fish parasites is mounting (currently over 110), having much increased since 1995. However, the quantity is still low compared with the amount of papers on parasites of fish from natural environments. In Brazil, the farmed fish that have been studied the most are pacu, tilapia and tambaqui. Monogeneans represent the most prevalent group, followed by protozoa and crustaceans. The regions most researched were the southeast and south, making up 84% of the total literature. The main issue addressed in articles was pathology, followed by treatment and record. In conclusion, the treatment of parasitic diseases of farmed fish in Brazil is still incipient, highlighting the importance and usefulness of management practices to prevent the occurrence of health problems.

Risk-return trade-off and autocorrelation

A trade-off between return and risk plays a central role in financial economics. The intertemporal capital asset pricing model (ICAPM) proposed by Merton (1973) provides a neoclassical theory for expected returns on risky assets. The model assumes that risk-averse investors (seeking to maximize their expected utility of lifetime consumption) demand compensation for bearing systematic market risk and the risk of unfavorable shifts in the investment opportunity set. Although the ICAPM postulates a positive relation between the conditional expected market return and its conditional variance, the empirical evidence on the sign of the risk-return trade-off is conflicting. In contrast, autocorrelation in stock returns is one of the most consistent and robust findings in empirical finance. While autocorrelation is often interpreted as a violation of market efficiency, it can also reflect factors such as market microstructure or time-varying risk premia. This doctoral thesis investigates a relation between the mixed risk-return trade-off results and autocorrelation in stock returns. The results suggest that, in the case of the US stock market, the relative contribution of the risk-return trade-off and autocorrelation in explaining the aggregate return fluctuates with volatility. This effect is then shown to be even more pronounced in the case of emerging stock markets. During high-volatility periods, expected returns can be described using rational (intertemporal) investors acting to maximize their expected utility. During lowvolatility periods, market-wide persistence in returns increases, leading to a failure of traditional equilibrium-model descriptions for expected returns. Consistent with this finding, traditional models yield conflicting evidence concerning the sign of the risk-return trade-off. The changing relevance of the risk-return trade-off and autocorrelation can be explained by heterogeneous agents or, more generally, by the inadequacy of the neoclassical view on asset pricing with unboundedly rational investors and perfect market efficiency. In the latter case, the empirical results imply that the neoclassical view is valid only under certain market conditions. This offers an economic explanation as to why it has been so difficult to detect a positive tradeoff between the conditional mean and variance of the aggregate stock return. The results highlight the importance, especially in the case of emerging stock markets, of noting both the risk-return trade-off and autocorrelation in applications that require estimates for expected returns.