Soil erodibility assessment in a pasture and forest remnant using the Indrbitzen device

Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world with approximately 200 million head. An important feature of the Brazilian cattle industry is that most of its herd is raised on pasture, which constitutes one of the most economical and practical ways to produce and provide food for cattle. However, this production model is mishandled and can lead to soil degradation. Maintaining soil quality is essential for the conservation of natural ecosystems and the areas of production, thus soil quality improves the conditions for biogeochemical cycles. In this context, the objective of this study was to develop a device for testing the Inderbitzen way of assessing soil erodibility in two situations of usage and occupation. Therefore, one area was used as a sample collection occupied by grazing and the other as a forest fragment; both located in the city of Sorocaba in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Thus, we concluded that the proposed device – the Inderbitzen – proved capable of assessing soil erodibility of the pasture and remnant forest. Accordingly, there was a tendency for a smaller loss of forest soils in the remnant when compared to the degraded pasture. The greatest resistance of the soil erosion in the forest remnant may be associated with the amount of organic matter released by the forest litter in all its diversity, influencing the quality of the structure of aggregates. Keywords: erosion, forest remnant, degraded pasture, Inderbitzen test.

Typology of companies networks for competitive assessment: an application in higher education institutions

Taking into account the changes in the market scenario by virtue of globalization, Institutes of Higher Education (IES) as well as other organizations seek their competitive stability. For that reason, it is up to organizations to adopt innovative models of management for their operations aimed at improving results. Company networks consist of a model that is perfect for uniting efforts through cooperation among partners in a given business, which can involve ties of different natures. This paper shows the development and the application of an auxiliary technique to analyze the intensity, nature and importance of internal and external relations in the formation of results for a company network. For such, a multiple case study was conducted at two IES in the State of São Paulo and their networks of partners and employees in order to observe their specificities and organizational strategies. The study demonstrated the existence of specific performance criteria (pillars) for each IES and its network, resulting from its competitive reality. It reveals evidence that the education pillar is strengthened in both cases, and the research pillar is growing, although it is the weakest. The outreach pillar is the most robust in the public IES and the financial sustainability pillar is relevant for the private IES, and it was only detected in this IES.

Emotional assessment of patients with oral lichen planus

Background Oral lichen planus is a chronic immune-mediated disease with an estimated prevalence of 0.5-2.5% in the general population. Patients with oral lichen planus are often emotionally unstable and anxious and may develop concomitant systemic disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate emotional characteristics of patients with oral lichen planus.Methods Two groups were studied: the first group consisted of 48 patients with a diagnosis of oral lichen planus, and the second group consisted of controls without the disease matched for age and gender at a proportion of 1 : 1. The emotional state of the patients was evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, SF-36 generic quality of life questionnaire, and the Self Reporting Questionnaire-20.Results and conclusions The present investigation demonstrated the presence of anxiety and depression in patients with oral lichen planus and a negative impact of the disorder on the patient's quality of life as indicated by impairment of the physical aspect, vitality, mental health, and social aspect domains. This could indicate that associated psychological treatment may be important in the follow-up of these patients.

Contamination of wetland soils and floodplain sediments from agricultural activities in the Cerrado Biome (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil)

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

Detection of hormones in surface and drinking water in Brazil by LC-ESI-MS/MS and ecotoxicological assessment with Daphnia magna

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Acute and subacute (28 days) oral toxicity assessment of the oil extracted from Acrocomia aculeata pulp in rats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Popularion biology of abdominant fish species of the Santa Bárbara river, a tributary of the Nova Avanhandava reservoir (low Tietê river, São Paulo State, Brazil)

The aim of this study is to characterize some population biology parameters of P. squamosissimus, A. altiparanae and S. maculatus, the dominant fish species of the Santa Bárbara river, a tributary of the Nova Avanhandava reservoir, low Tietê river. Fish samplings were performed monthly between September/2002 and August/2003, using gill nets with different mesh sizes. Females of all species have larger standard lengths than males (Mann-Whitney, p < 0.0001), and are more frequent in superior size classes (Kolmogorov-Smirnov, p < 0.0001). All populations presented isometric growth, but differences between males and females were observed. Only P. squamosissimus presented a gender ratio different from 1:1, with a higher proportion of males (1:2, X2, p < 0.05). The onset of gonadal maturation occurs at 15 cm in P. squamosissimus, 9 cm in S. maculatus and at 8.9 cm in A. altiparanae. In all species populations, the adults predominate over juveniles. The allometric condition factor (K) of P. squamosissimus and S. maculatus presented higher values in the periods from March-May and June-August, and A. altiparanae in the period from March-May (Kruskal-Wallis, p < 0.05). These results indicate that the populations successfully exploit the lentic environment, and present life cycle tactics adapted to their particular means of environment occupation.

Malnutrition in patients with gastrointestinal cancer: effectiveness of different diagnostic methods

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A comparative analysis of caries and fluorosis among cities with and without public water supply fluoridation in São Paulo State, Brazil

Purpose: This population-based, cross-sectional study aimed to record the DMFT index for 12 year-old children with dental caries and fluorosis levels in cities with and without public water supply fluoridation. Methods: From the 101 municipalities belonging to the Health Regional Department XV (DRSXV-SJRP) of the São Paulo state in the Southeast region of Brazil, 85 cities were selected after exclusion of those with incomplete data and less than ten years of fluoridation treatment in 2004. The criteria adopted for the assessment of dental caries and fluorosis levels were based on the guidelines published in the WHO Manual 4th edition. The data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact tests at a significance level of 5%. Results: The prevalence of caries in 12 year-old children had no significant association with fluoridated water, and was considered “moderate” and “high” in cities without fluoridation and “low” and “moderate” in cities with fluoridation. A significant association was found between water fluoridation and fluorosis (P=0.001), but not between water fluoridation and the DMFT index (P=0.119). Conclusion: The prevalence of fluorosis was related to water fluoridation in this study. However, fluorosis was also observed in non-fluoridated cities, which may result from fluoride intake through other sources.

Evaluation of oral health in a community of native brazilians of the umutina reservation, Mato Grosso State

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

Disponibilidade de n e k no solo e sua absorção pela videira de vinho fertirrigada no semiárido

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Irrigação e Drenagem) - FCA

Auditory steady-state response in the first six months of life

Objective: To characterize the thresholds of the auditory steady-state response that relates to term newborns and infants. Design: The study was cross-sectional using auditory steadystate response assessment, and the real-ear-to-dial difference was measured in the external auditory canal. Study Sample: The study group included 60 newborns and infants between the age of 0 and 6 months. Results: A statistically significant difference was found in the carrier frequency variable for auditory steady-state response thresholds but not in comparison to ages. Furthermore, there is an association between auditory steady-state response thresholds and the real-ear-to-dial difference. Conclusion: The same threshold can be used as a normality reference for this age range, with distinct values for the different carrier frequencies. The influence of external auditory canal amplification should be taken into account.

Acompanhamento nutricional no Diabete Melito gestacional

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as any degree of glucose intolerance, star or first recognitition during pregnancy, has whith a treatment strategyof monitoring the proper nutrition. During prenatal care, nutrition recommendationsare directed to two foci, energy consumption and maternal weight gain. Thus, adequate enrgy intake results in a aqquate maternal weight gain, ensuring the needs of the fetus. Nutrition interventions is na ally in control of GDM, bringing benefits to maternal and fetal health. In the assessment of maternal nutrition state be emploved antropometric, dietary, biochemical and clinical. The dietary assessment should be detailed, with attencion to fractionation and composition of meals, grifts and food groups. The nutritional monitoring in gestational diabetes aims to achieve normoglycemia and prevent metabolic and cardiovascular risks in the médium and long term, for mothers and their sons.

State of the Arctic October 2006

This State of the Arctic Report presents a review of recent data by an international group of scientists who developed a consensus on the information content and reliability. The report highlights data primarily from 2000 to 2005 with a first look at winter 2006, providing an update to some of the records of physical processes discussed in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA, 2004, 2005). Of particular note: • Atmospheric climate patterns are shifting (Fig. 1). The late winter/spring pattern for 2000–2005 had new hot spots in northeast Canada and the East Siberian Sea relative to 1980–1999. Late winter 2006, however, shows a return to earlier climate patterns, with warm temperatures in the extended region near Svalbard. • Ocean salinity and temperature profiles at the North Pole and in the Beaufort Sea, which changed abruptly in the 1990s, show that conditions since 2000 have relaxed toward the pre-1990 climatology, although 2001–2004 has seen an increase in northward ocean heat transport through Bering Strait (Fig. 2), which is thought to impact sea ice loss. • Sea ice extent continues to decrease. The sea ice extent in September 2005 was the minimum observed in summer during the satellite era (beginning in 1979), marking an unprecedented series of extreme ice extent minima beginning in 2002 (Fig. 3). The sea ice extent in March 2006 was also the minimum observed in winter during the satellite era. • Tundra vegetation greenness increased, primarily due to an increase in the abundance of shrubs. Boreal forest vegetation greenness decreased, possibly due to drought conditions (Fig. 4). • There is increasing interest in the stability of the Greenland ice sheet. The velocity of outlet glaciers increased in 2005 relative to 2000 and 1995, but uncertainty remains with regard to the total mass balance. • Permafrost temperatures continue to increase. However, data on changes in the active layer thickness (the relatively thin layer of ground between the surface and permafrost that undergoes seasonal freezing and thawing) are less conclusive. While some of the sites show a barely noticeable increasing trend in the thickness of the active layer, most of them do not. • Globally, 2005 was the warmest year in the instrumental record (beginning in 1880), with the Arctic providing a large contribution toward this increase. Many of the trends documented in the ACIA are continuing, but some are not. Taken collectively, the observations presented in this report indicate that during 2000–2005 the Arctic system showed signs of continued warming. However, there are a few indications that certain elements may be recovering and returning to recent climatological norms (for example, the central Arctic Ocean and some wind patterns). These mixed tendencies further illustrate the sensitivity and complexity of the Arctic physical system. They underline the importance of maintaining and expanding efforts to observe and better understand this important component of the climate system to provide accurate predictions of its future state.

How to Better Prepare for Assessment and Create a More Technologically Advanced Classroom

In this action research study of my classroom of 8th grade mathematics, I investigated how to better prepare these students for quizzes and how technology can be used in the classroom. I discovered that there are many different ways to challenge students and help them prepare for assessments. There are also many ways to use technology in the classroom if one has the opportunities to use some of the tools, such as Power Point and Algebra Tiles. As a result of this research, I plan to increase the scores on state standards while also allowing the students to enjoy technology during this process.