Características agronômicas e demanda energética de cultivares de soja sob efeito dos sistemas de preparo do solo

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of preparation: intermediate grade, minimum tillage and no-till on the agronomic characteristics and energy demand of transgenic soybean cultivars and non-GMO soybeans. Soil preparation aims at improving physical, chemical and biological conditions, aiming at good emergence and plant development. The different types of tillage may interfere with the agronomic characteristics and productivity of plants, and in energy use which can cause variation in production costs. Genetically modified plants can be one of the alternatives for reduction of production costs in crops by reducing pesticide applications, enabling higher productivity with less environmental impact. The test was conducted in 2010/2011 at the agricultural Experimental Farm Lageado, belonging to the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences – UNESP, located in the city of Botucatu, SP in an area using no-till systems for the past 12 years. The experiment was carried out in a 3 x 2 factorial, randomized treatments were comprised of three soil preparation systems, minimum cultivation, intermediate grade preparation and no-till, with two cultivars of soybeans: MGBR-46 Conquest (conventional), Valuable RR (Transgenic). The data obtained was submitted to variance analysis using Tukey test at a 5% probability. With the results analyzed it might be observed that there was no significant difference between treatments, in the variables, the percentage of soil cover, final soybean plant population, grain yield and plant height. The results obtained show that the no-till system resulted in higher productivity than conventional tillage and minimum cultivation. The higher specific energy use per area was observed in minimum cultivation with a chisel plough, when compared to the preparation across the grid. The greatest fuel consumption was to treat minimum cultivation with chisel plough. The highest values were found in the skating system of minimum cultivation, being greater in conventional tillage system. It is more satisfactory for the producer to sow transgenic soy using a no-till system, because productivity retrieved from that system compensates for fuel expenditure.

Parcelamento de fontes alternativas de nitrogênio no milho safrinha em sucessão à soja

Increasing out-of-season corn productivity is possible by the application of nitrogen fertilizers even when in succession to soybean. On the other hand, information concerning the best sources of nitrogen and ways of splitting the doses to be applied is still scarce. Having that in mind, an experiment was carried out viewing to evaluate the effects of sources of nitrogen and ways of splitting doses of those N fertilizers on out-of-season corn sown in succession to soybean cultivated in a no-tillage system. The experiment took place in Chapadão do Céu, state of Goiás, Brasil (latitude of 18°35’42’’ South, longitude of 52°47’59’’ West and mean altitude above sea level of 802 m) in an Acrutox. The experimental units were distributed in the field in accordance with a randomized complete block design, in a factorial scheme 3 X 5 + 1, with four replications. Three were the sources of N: urea, urea extruded with starch (Amireia®) and ammonium sulfonitrate with a nitrification inhibitor (Entec®) and five the ways of splitting the nitrogen dose : 90-0, 60-30, 45-45, 30-60, and 0-90 in which the first fraction was applied at sowing and the second in side dressing. In addition to those, there was a check treatment, without N. All plots received, at sowing, 12 kg ha-1 of N by the mixture NPK. The ways of splitting the N dose and the sources of N had no significant effect on the levels of N and S in the leaves, first ear height, the final plant population, the number of ears per plant, and the number of grains per ear. N in the Entec® form at the highest doses applied in side dressing resulted in the highest grain yield, independently of the way the N dose was split. Only in the form Entec® the dose of 90 kg ha-1 of N increased grain productivity by 9.6% in comparison with the check treatment.

Espaçamento e população de plantas na cultura da mamona na safra e safrinha: estudo econômico

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

Uso do fluxofenim em trigo como protetor ao herbicida S-metolachlor

This work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of fluxofenim used for seed treatment as safener in wheat, Ônix cultivar, treated with the herbicide S-metolachlor applied in pre-emergence. The study was divided in two steps. The first step consisted of an evaluation of fluxofenim’s safener potential for the reduction of visual symptoms of S-metolachlor injury in the field, and the treatments were S-metolachlor at 1,440 and 2,880 mL i.a. ha-1 and fluxofenim at 0, and 40 mL per 100 kg of seeds, and a control without herbicide. The second step was to evaluate glutathione S-transferase activity (GST). Herbicide phytotoxity was measured by way of visual symptoms at 3, 7, 15, and 30 days after emergence (DAE), dry matter from roots and leaves at 10 DAE. For the determination of GST activity, the canopy of plants was collected at 10 DAE and 15 days after treatment application. The wheat presented low tolerance to S-metolachlor at both rates, and fluxofenim increased S-metolachlor selectivity to wheat but not sufficiently, reducing plant population to a nonacceptable level. Gluthationa S-transferase activity for wheat increased when seeds treated with fluxofenim were submitted to S-metolachlor at 1,440 mL a.i. ha-1.

Um estudo da vulnerabilidade socioclimática no Brasil e no mundo

The Socio Climate Vulnerability Index (IVSC, Portuguese acronym) aims to expose spatially and in a comparative basis, human settlement areas that are more susceptible to the potential risks posed by climate change. To access this vulnerability, the IVSC draws on the aggregation of adaptive capacity and sensitivity indicators (Human Development Index and population density) and an indicator of projected climate change (Regional Climate Change Index-IRCM). The IVSC can be applied to any spatial scale, as long as data in reasonable resolution.is available. Knowing the spatial distribution of vulnerability is an important strategic step in development and implementation of measures that seeks to improve human development and the preparedness of society for future environmental changes. In addition, the production and comparison climate change vulnerability indexes is an important exercise to improve gradually the quality of information provided to decision makers and stakeholders in the management of measures involving climate change adaptation

Comparison of Endocrine Response to Stress Between Captive-Raised and Wild-Caught Bighorn Sheep

Stress hormones in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis), produced in response to environmental changes, road development, or high population density, may impact their immune systems to a threshold level that predisposes them to periodic, large-scale mortality. We compared the stress response to a novel environmental situation and repeated handling between bighorn sheep born and raised in captivity (CR) and bighorn sheep born in the wild (WC) and brought into captivity. We measured plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). Three weeks after each group’s arrival we used a one-time drop-net event to elicit an acute stress response, and we collected blood samples from each sheep over 35 minutes, as well as one fecal sample. We collected blood and fecal samples from both groups on 7 other occasions over the subsequent 6 months. We also collected fecal samples from the pen at approximately 24-hour intervals for 3 days following every handling event to monitor the stress response to handling. We found that CR sheep had a stronger autonomic nervous system response than WC sheep, as measured by epinephrine and norepinephrine levels, but we found a very similar hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) response, measured by cortisol levels, to the acute stress event of a drop-net restraint. We also found that once the WC sheep had acclimated, as indicated by the return to the initial baseline FGM levels within 12 weeks, the CR and WC groups’ HPA responses to sampling events were not significantly different from one another. Fecal samples can provide a noninvasive mechanism for managers to monitor baseline FGM for a given herd. Using long-term monitoring of FGM rather than values from a single point in time may allow managers to correlate these levels to outside influences on the herd and better understand the impacts of management changes, population density, or increased human developments on the health of the sheep population.

Deterministic Solutions for a Step-growth Polymerization

Chain topology, including branch node, chain link and cross-link dynamics that contribute to the number of elastically active strands and junctions, are calculated using purely deterministic derivations. Solutions are not coupled to population density distributions. An eigenzeit transformation assists in the conversion of expressions derived by chemical reaction principles from time to conversion space, yielding transport phenomena type expressions where the rate of change in the molar concentrations of branch nodes with respect to conversion is expressed as functions of the fraction of reactive sites on precursors and reactants. Analogies are hypothesized to exist in cross-linking space that effectively distribute branch nodes with i reacted moieties between cross-links having j bonds extending to the gel. To obtain solutions, reacted sites on nodes or links with finite chain extensions are examined in terms of stoichiometry associated with covalent bonding. Solutions replicate published results based on Miller and Macosko’s recursive procedure and results obtained from truncated weighted sums of population density distributions as suggested by Flory.

Um estudo da vulnerabilidade socioclimática no Brasil e no mundo

The Socio Climate Vulnerability Index (IVSC, Portuguese acronym) aims to expose spatially and in a comparative basis, human settlement areas that are more susceptible to the potential risks posed by climate change. To access this vulnerability, the IVSC draws on the aggregation of adaptive capacity and sensitivity indicators (Human Development Index and population density) and an indicator of projected climate change (Regional Climate Change Index-IRCM). The IVSC can be applied to any spatial scale, as long as data in reasonable resolution.is available. Knowing the spatial distribution of vulnerability is an important strategic step in development and implementation of measures that seeks to improve human development and the preparedness of society for future environmental changes. In addition, the production and comparison climate change vulnerability indexes is an important exercise to improve gradually the quality of information provided to decision makers and stakeholders in the management of measures involving climate change adaptation

Intraspecific competition in Zabrotes subfasciatus: Physiological and behavioral adaptations to different amounts of host

The effects of competition on populations of the bean weevil Zabrotes subfasciatus were analyzed during 41 generations under different competition levels. Three competition environments were established by maintaining the number of couples (6) and varying the amount of available host seeds: HC, high (limited availability of host: 1.35 g); IC, intermediate (intermediate availability of host: 6 g); and LC, low competition (abundance of host: 36 g). It was found that the distribution of the eggs laid on grains was different among treatments: in LC, for example, although females showed high fecundity (35.4 +/- 5.6 eggs/female) the number of eggs laid on each grain was small (1.2 +/- 0.4 eggs on each seed), thus avoiding larval competition of their offspring; whereas in HC treatment, females showed low fecundity (27.04 +/- 4.5 eggs/female) but laid many eggs on each grain (15.03 +/- 4.3 eggs). There were no changes in the ability to respond to different amounts of host via oviposition behavior (egg distribution) during 41 generations. However, HC females had more offspring than LC females under HC conditions. This suggests that HC insects evolved toward higher fitness in crowded conditions. In addition, after inverting the competition level, insects behaved independently of the treatment conditions they experienced through generations, thus showing that oviposition behavior is flexible. Taken together, our results show that Z. subfasciatus presents a broad range of behavioral and physiological responses which allows for quick and reversible adjustments to sudden changes in the amount of resources.

Factors Associated with Dengue Mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1995-2009: An Ecological Study

In this study, we aimed to estimate the effect that environmental, demographic, and socioeconomic factors have on dengue mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean. To that end, we conducted an observational ecological study, analyzing data collected between 1995 and 2009. Dengue mortality rates were highest in the Caribbean (Spanish-speaking and non-Spanish-speaking). Multivariate analysis through Poisson regression revealed that the following factors were independently associated with dengue mortality: time since identification of endemicity (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] = 3.2 [for each 10 years]); annual rainfall (aRR = 1.5 [for each 10(3) L/m(2)]); population density (aRR = 2.1 and 3.2 for 20-120 inhabitants/km(2) and > 120 inhabitants/km(2), respectively); Human Development Index > 0.83 (aRR = 0.4); and circulation of the dengue 2 serotype (aRR = 1.7). These results highlight the important role that environmental, demographic, socioeconomic, and biological factors have played in increasing the severity of dengue in recent decades.

Maize and soybeans production in integrated system under no-tillage with different pasture combinations and animal categories

The adoption of no-till system (NTS) combined with crop-livestock integration (CLI) has been a strategy promoted in Brazil, aiming to maximize areas yield and increase agribusiness profitability. This study aimed to evaluate grains yield and phytotechnical attributes from maize and soybean culture by CLI system under NTS after winter annual pure and diversified pastures with the absence or presence of grazing animals. The experiment was installed in Castro (Parana State, Brazil) on in a dystrophic Humic Rhodic Hapludox with a clay texture, using experimental design of randomized complete blocks in 4 x 2 factorial scheme with three replications. Treatments included four pasture combinations (diversified or pure) and animal categories (light and heavy) subjected or not to grazing animals during the winter. During 2008/09 and 2009/10 summers, the area was cultivated with soybeans and maize, respectively, with yield assessment of grains and phytotechnical attributes. Treatments did not alter the yield and weight of a thousand seeds (WTS) of soybeans. In maize culture, the grazing animal during the winter increased the plant population and grains yield, but gave slight decrease in WTS. Pasture combinations (diversified or pure) and animal categories (light and heavy) did not interfere in soybean culture, but benefited the maize crop.

Dental health in Northern Chile's Atacama oases: Evaluating the Middle Horizon (AD 500-1000) impact on local diet

As one of the few areas apt for horticulture in Northern Chile's arid landscape, the prehistory of the Atacama oases is deeply enmeshed with that of the inter-regional networks that promoted societal development in the south central Andes. During the Middle Horizon (AD 5001000), local populations experienced a cultural apex associated with a substantial increase in inter-regional interaction, population density, and quantity and quality of mortuary assemblages. Here, we test if this cultural peak affected dietary practices equally among the distinct local groups of this period. We examine caries prevalence and the degree of occlusal wear in four series recovered from three cemeteries. Our results show a reduction in the prevalence of caries for males among an elite subsample from Solcor 3 and the later Coyo 3 cemeteries. Dental wear tends to increase over time with the Late Middle Horizon/Late Intermediate Period cemetery of Quitor 6 showing a higher average degree of wear. When considered in concert with archaeological information, we concluded that the Middle Horizon was marked by dietary variability wherein some populations were able to obtain better access to protein sources (e.g., camelid meat). Not all members of Atacameno society benefited from this, as we note that this dietary change only affected men. Our results suggest that the benefits brought to the San Pedro oases during the Middle Horizon were not equally distributed among local groups and that social status, relationship to the Tiwanaku polity, and interment in particular cemeteries affected dietary composition. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Social Mobilization in Health and Sanitation in an Action Research Process in an Indigenous Community in Northwestern Amazon

The living conditions of the inhabitants of Iauarete, an indigenous area in the municipality of Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, State of Amazonas (Northern Brazil), have been negatively affected by population density, poor sanitation and maintenance of sanitation practices that are incompatible with that reality. To improve the population's quality of life, sanitation systems that are adequate to the local socio-cultural characteristics should be implemented, as well as educational processes with emphasis on social mobilization and community empowerment. The aim of this paper is to report and discuss a training course on health and sanitation using action research, directed to the mobilization of the Iauarete indigenous people, with the objective of assisting other studies of this nature. In the meetings, issues related to environmental health were discussed, a Community Newspaper was constructed, the course participants made interviews and drew up claims documents. This experience has enhanced the participants' understanding of local problems and of the importance of social mobilization for the dialogue with governmental institutions that are responsible for providing sanitation services and for seeking better living conditions. The researchers and teachers of the training course benefitted from the construction of collective knowledge resulting from interaction with subjects of the investigated situation and from the recognition and redefinition of their representations, fulfilling the fundamental premise of action research.

Prediction of sediments toxicity using consensus-based sediment quality guidelines and benthic foraminifera in the Ria de Aveiro(Portugal)

Ria de Aveiro is a large and shallow lagoon on the west coast of Portugal (40º38’N, 8º45´W), characterized by a complex geometry. It includes large areas of intertidal flats and a network of narrow channels which are connected to the Atlantic by an artificial inlet. Tides are the main forcing of the hydrology and physical processes of the lagoon. The deeper areas near the inlet are characterized by strong marine influence through tidal inflow, with high values of current velocity (>1m/s) and tidal range (2–3 m at spring tides), while in remote shallow areas, the circulation and the sea water inflow are reduced. These remote areas are more influenced by fresh waters received from several rivers and several small streams. The Aveiro lagoon is a very important ecosystem but as been used as recipient for various kinds of anthropogenic wastes resulting from the high population density, urban activities and industrial development. One of the most important Portuguese industrial centre is located in the lagoon margins. Ria de Aveiro is a coastal lagoon under huge direct antropization. This system also suffers strong diffuse antropization. This work is related with diffuse antropization linked with chemical pollution which may lead to biological stress and collapse.