Spatial correlation between the composition of the clay fraction and contents of available phosphorus of an Oxisol at hillslope scale

Relief is regarded as the abiotic factor most strongly influencing pedogenic processes at a local scale. The spatial correlations between the composition of the clay fraction (iron - Fe and aluminum - Al oxides, kaolinite and organic matter - OM) and contents of available phosphorus (P) of an Oxisol were evaluated at hillslope scale under sugarcane cultivation. A total of 119 samples were collected at intersection points on a 100. ×. 100. m georeferenced grid of regularly spaced points 10. m apart in the 0.2-0.4. m depth in an area consisting of two landform components namely: component I (an area with a linear hillslope curvature), and component II (one with a concave-convex hillslope curvature). Soil OM and available P contents were subjected to descriptive statistics and geostatistical analyses in order to assess their variability and spatial dependence. All attributes studied were spatially dependent. Available phosphorus had positive spatial correlation with high crystalline goethite, hematite and gibbsite. Identifying small hillslope curvatures is useful with a view to better understanding their relationships with soil organic matter and available phosphorus, as well as kaolinite and Fe and Al oxide attributes. A simple correlation analysis by itself is inadequate to relate attributes, which requires a supplemental, geostatistical technique. © 2012 Elsevier B.V..

Small and medium-scale industry in the development of Latin America

Includes bibliography

Agroindustry and changing production patterns in small-scale agriculture

Includes bibliography

The importance of local production and small-scale enterprises for Latin American development

Includes bibliography

Argentina: Dissemination of genetically modified cotton and its impact on the profitability of small-scale farmers in the Chaco province

Includes bibliography

Experimental results and thermodynamic analysis of a natural gas small scale cogeneration plant for power and refrigeration purposes

In this work, experimental results are reported for a small scale cogeneration plant for power and refrigeration purposes. The plant includes a natural gas microturbine and an ammonia/water absorption chiller fired by steam. The system was tested under different turbine loads, steam pressures and chiller outlet temperatures. An evaluation based on the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics was also performed. For the ambient temperature around 24°C and microturbine at full load, the plant is able to provide 19 kW of saturated steam at 5.3 bar (161 °C), corresponding to 9.2 kW of refrigeration at -5 °C (COP = 0.44). From a 2nd law point-of-view, it was found that there is an optimal chiller outlet temperature that maximizes the chiller exergetic efficiency. As expected, the microturbine presented the highest irreversibilities, followed by the absorption chiller and the HRSG. In order to reduce the plant exergy destruction, it is recommended a new design for the HRSG and a new insulation for the exhaust pipe. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of the English version of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in cats

Background: A scale validated in one language is not automatically valid in another language or culture. The purpose of this study was to validate the English version of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale (MCPS) to assess postoperative pain in cats. The English version was developed using translation, back-translation, and review by individuals with expertise in feline pain management. In sequence, validity and reliability tests were performed.Results: Of the three domains identified by factor analysis, the internal consistency was excellent for 'pain expression' and 'psychomotor change' (0.86 and 0.87) but not for 'physiological variables' (0.28). Relevant changes in pain scores at clinically distinct time points (e.g., post-surgery, post-analgesic therapy), confirmed the construct validity and responsiveness (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.001). Favorable correlation with the IVAS scores (p < 0.001) and moderate to very good agreement between blinded observers and 'gold standard' evaluations, supported criterion validity. The cut-off point for rescue analgesia was > 7 (range 0-30 points) with 96.5% sensitivity and 99.5% specificity.Conclusions: The English version of the UNESP-Botucatu-MCPS is a valid, reliable and responsive instrument for assessing acute pain in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy, when used by anesthesiologists or anesthesia technicians. The cut-off point for rescue analgesia provides an additional tool for guiding analgesic therapy. © 2013 Brondani et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Scale-invariant resonance tagging in multijet events and new physics in Higgs pair production

We study resonant pair production of heavy particles in fully hadronic final states by means of jet substructure techniques. We propose a new resonance tagging strategy that smoothly interpolates between the highly boosted and fully resolved regimes, leading to uniform signal efficiencies and background rejection rates across a broad range of masses. Our method makes it possible to efficiently replace independent experimental searches, based on different final state topologies, with a single common analysis. As a case study, we apply our technique to pair production of Higgs bosons decaying into b\overline{b} pairs in generic New Physics scenarios. We adopt as benchmark models radion and massive KK graviton production in warped extra dimensions. We find that despite the overwhelming QCD background, the 4b final state has enough sensitivity to provide a complementary handle in searches for enhanced Higgs pair production at the LHC. © 2013 SISSA.

The Brazilian version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Clinician rating scale (NPI-C): Reliability and validity in dementia

ABSTRACT Background: Patients with dementia may be unable to describe their symptoms, and caregivers frequently suffer emotional burden that can interfere with judgment of the patient's behavior. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Clinician rating scale (NPI-C) was therefore developed as a comprehensive and versatile instrument to assess and accurately measure neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia, thereby using information from caregiver and patient interviews, and any other relevant available data. The present study is a follow-up to the original, cross-national NPI-C validation, evaluating the reliability and concurrent validity of the NPI-C in quantifying psychopathological symptoms in dementia in a large Brazilian cohort. Methods: Two blinded raters evaluated 312 participants (156 patient-knowledgeable informant dyads) using the NPI-C for a total of 624 observations in five Brazilian centers. Inter-rater reliability was determined through intraclass correlation coefficients for the NPI-C domains and the traditional NPI. Convergent validity included correlations of specific domains of the NPI-C with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Index (CMAI), the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), and the Apathy Inventory (AI). Results: Inter-rater reliability was strong for all NPI-C domains. There were high correlations between NPI-C/delusions and BPRS, NPI-C/apathy-indifference with the AI, NPI-C/depression-dysphoria with the CSDD, NPI-C/agitation with the CMAI, and NPI-C/aggression with the CMAI. There was moderate correlation between the NPI-C/aberrant vocalizations and CMAI and the NPI-C/hallucinations with the BPRS. Conclusion: The NPI-C is a comprehensive tool that provides accurate measurement of NPS in dementia with high concurrent validity and inter-rater reliability in the Brazilian setting. In addition to universal assessment, the NPI-C can be completed by individual domains. © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013.

Definición de la pequeña industria = The definition of small-scale industry

Incluye Bibliografía

Servicios de extensión industrial para la pequeña industria = Industrial extension services for small-scale industries

Incluye Bibliografía

The role of industrial estates in policies and programmes for the development of small-scale industries

Includes bibliography

El rol de la pequeña industria en la estrategia global de desarrollo = The role of small-scale industry in over-all industrial development strategy = Le rôle de la petite industrie dans une stratégie générale du développement industriel

Incluye Bibliografía

Avaliação sazonal dos efeitos do enriquecimento por N e P sobre o perifíton em represa tropical rasa mesotrófica (Lago das Ninféias, São Paulo)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Vegetal) - IBRC

Caracterização molecular dos genótipos G e P de rotavírus tipo G9 provenientes de crianças com gastrenterite aguda na região metropolitana de Belém, Pará, no período de 1999 a 2007

O rotavírus (RV) é o principal agente viral associado às gastrenterites, ocasionando em média 39% dos casos diarreicos que culminam em hospitalizações, sendo responsável por cerca de 520.000 óbitos entre crianças menores de cinco anos de idade a cada ano. Pertencem à família Reoviridae, gênero Rotavirus, possui RNA de dupla fita (dsRNA) com 11 segmentos codificando 12 proteínas, sendo seis estruturais (VPs) e seis não estruturais (NSPs). A proteína VP4, juntamente com a VP7, compõem a camada externa do RV, designando os genótipos P e G, respectivamente. Até o momento foram descritos 23 tipos G e 31 tipos P. O genótipo G9 emergiu em escala global e é possivelmente associado a manifestação clínica mais grave, estando geralmente acompanhado do genótipo P[8]. O genótipo G9 possui 6 linhagens distintas e o P[8] 4 linhagens. Este estudo objetivou caracterizar os genes VP7 e VP4 de RV do genótipo G9, circulantes na região metropolitana de Belém, Pará, no período de 1999 a 2007. O dsRNA viral de 38 amostras selecionadas foi extraído a partir das suspensões fecais e submetido à eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida para determinação dos eletroferotipos, seguido da reação de seqüenciamento. Na presente investigação, foi possível a análise de 32 amostras selecionadas, sendo todas genótipo G9P[8] associadas ao eletroferotipo longo. A análise filogenética do gene VP7 demonstrou que as amostras G9 agruparam na linhagem 3 com elevados índices de similaridade, apresentando 8 substituições nucleotídicas. Contudo, apenas três modificações aminoacídicas foram observadas nas posições 43 (I→V), 66 (A→V) e 73 (Q→R), sendo estes resíduos 43 e 73 exclusivos das amostras do ano de 2007. A análise do gene VP4 demonstrou que as amostras P[8] agruparam na linhagem 3, identificando-se 15 substituições nucleotídicas, as quais ocasionaram quatro modificações aminoacídicas nos resíduos 108 (V→I), 172 (R→K), 173 (I→V) e 275 (K→R). As modificações nos resíduos 172 e 275 são exclusivos das amostras dos anos de 1999 a 2002. As amostras do presente estudo apresentaram elevada similaridade ao longo do tempo estudado. As amostras de 2007 foram as mais divergentes, tanto para o gene VP4 quanto para o gene VP7. É importante se proceder ao contínuo monitoramento do genótipo G9 na região metropolitana de Belém, a fim de detectar possíveis variantes emergentes que possam representar um desafio as estratégias de imunização atuais.