Production and quality of melons grown in two different substrates under soilless cultivation

This investigation was conducted at UNESP, Jaboticabal campus, São Paulo, Brazil, from March 8 to June 21, 1999, to evaluate net melon yield and fruit quality, using soilless culture. 'Bônus 2' and 'Mission' cultivars were grown in a substrate of ground quartz or thick sand, in a randomized block experimental design. Leaf and stem dry matter production, leaf size and soluble solids content of the fruit, of 'Bônus 2' were superior to 'Mission'. There was a significant interaction for the evaluated characteristics of fruit dry mass production and yield. The largest accumulation of fruit dry mass and yield of the 'Bônus 2' cultivar (61,325 kg/ha) was observed when a substrate of ground quartz was used, while the yield for the 'Mission' cultivar was higher in a substrate of thick sand (42,125 kg/ha).

Clinical and nutritional profile of individuals with Chagas disease

Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan Trypanossoma cruzi, affects approximately 18 million individuals in the Americas, 5 million of which five in Brazil. Most chronic sufferers have either the indeterminate form of the disease, without organic compromise, or the cardiac or digestive forms. Despite the importance of this disease, there is no information on the effect of nutrition on CD evolution. We evaluated the clinical-nutritional profile of individuals with CD treated at the Tropical Diseases Nutrition Out-Patient Clinic of the Botucatu School of Medicine, UNESP.A retrospective cohort study was performed between 2002 and 2006, on 66 patients with serum and parasitological diagnosis of CD. Epidemiological, clinical, nutritional, and biochemical data were collected, including gender, age, skin color, smoking, alcoholism, physical activity, weight, stature, body mass index, abdominal circumference, glycemia, and lipid profile. Fifty-three percent were mate and 47% female; 96% were white skinned. Mean age was 49.6±6.36 years. The predominant form was indeterminate in 71 %; smoking and drinking were recorded in 23% and 17%, respectively. Sedentariness predominated in 83%, and 55% presented increased abdominal circumference. Most, 94%, were overweight or obese. The biochemical exam revealed hyperglycemia in 12% and dyslipidemia in 74%. These findings suggest that the Chagas population presents co-morbidities and risk factors for developing chronic non-transmissible diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, making CD evolution even worse. © 2007 by The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Contexto Publishing. All rights reserved.

Quality management and competitiveness: the diffusion of the ISO 9000 standards in Latin America and recommendations for government strategies

Includes bibliography

Living kidney donors - a prospective study of quality of life before and after kidney donation

Although the safety of living kidney donation has been well established, prospective studies examining the physical and psychosocial aspects of the donor's quality of life are still scarce. Thus, the purpose of this prospective work was to assess the quality of life of 50 consecutive donors before and after kidney transplantation. All donors were asked to respond to both a donor questionnaire and the short-form 36-item health survey (SF-36). Interviews were individually conducted before, three months after, and over one yr after transplantation. Donation was considered a positive experience by all patients and had no impact on any physical or psychosocial aspect of the donor's life. Improved self-esteem and better quality of life after donation were reported in 52% of the cases. All donors would donate again and encouraged donation. SF-36 data indicated improvement in post-donation mental and physical scores among living donors closely related to recipient. Overall, most donors had a positive experience, felt no changes in quality of life, experienced enhanced self-esteem, would donate again, and recommended donation. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Pain and quality of life in patients undergoing radiotherapy for spinal metastatic disease treatment

Background: Radiotherapy is an important tool in the control of pain in patients with spinal metastatic disease. We aimed to evaluate pain and of quality of life of patients with spinal metastatic disease undergoing radiotherapy with supportive treatment. Methods. The study enrolled 30 patients. From January 2008 to January 2010, patients selection included those treated with a 20Gy tumour dose in five fractions. Patients completed the visual analogue scale for pain assessment and the SF-36 questionnaire for quality of life assessment. Results: The most frequent primary sites were breast, multiple myeloma, prostate and lymphoma. It was found that 14 spinal metastatic disease patients (46.66%) had restricted involvement of three or fewer vertebrae, while 16 patients (53.33%) had cases involving more than three vertebrae. The data from the visual analogue scale evaluation of pain showed that the average initial score was 5.7 points, the value 30days after the end of radiotherapy was 4.60 points and the average value 6months after treatment was 4.25 points. Notably, this final value was 25.43% lower than the value from the initial analysis. With regard to the quality of life evaluation, only the values for the functional capability and social aspects categories of the questionnaire showed significant improvement. Conclusion: Radiotherapy with supportive treatment appears to be an important tool for the treatment of pain in patients with spinal metastatic disease. © 2013 Valesin Filho et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Characterization and impact of the sugarcane borer on sugarcane yield and quality

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a key pest of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). While damage caused by this pest has increased in the past 20 yr, studies investigating the insect-plant interactions are still lacking. Moreover, there is no information about the consequences of borer damage on the parameters of sugar quality. Therefore, two field experiments were performed during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons in Brazil to compare the raw material and sugar quality of SP80-3280 sugarcane plants with and without the sugarcane borer. Plants were protected within screen cages and infested weekly during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, using egg masses starting at the second and third internode stage. At harvest, 25.77 and 19.01% of the internodes were bored by larvae (infestation intensity, II) in the first and second seasons, respectively. There was no correlation between the borer gallery total volume and II. The fiber content significantly increased with increasing II. The stalk biometric parameters, such as length, diameter, and yield, were not correlated with II. The sucrose yield significantly decreased with increasing II. Consequently, sugar yield losses were estimated at 8.83 and 19.80% per 1% bored internode for the first and second seasons, respectively. The concentration of phenolic compounds increased, and unclarified juice color quality decreased, with increasing II. Significant differences were detected in the quality of the sugar. These results should be confirmed for other sugarcane cultivars and incorporated into an economic injury level to enhance decision-making strategies for borer management. © 2013 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved.

Effects of chronic stress and high-fat diet on metabolic and nutritional parameters in Wistar rats

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

Digestible lysine levels for laying hens and their effects on egg quality

Egg quality of semi-heavy laying hens fed on low protein diets (14.0% CP) and on different lysine levels is evaluated, while maintaining the same ratio of digestible amino acids / digestible lysine. Four hundred and twenty commercial strain Isa Brown laying hens, 28 weeks old, were divided into 42 experimental plots. A completely randomized design with six treatments and seven replicates was employed in four production cycles of 28 days each. Treatments comprised Control - 16.92% CP; 0.750% digestible lysine. Treatments 1 to 5, with CP levels 14% and digestible lysine levels 0.600, 0.675, 0.750, 0.825 and 0.900% respectively. Levels of Treatments 1 and 2 (0.546 and 0.640% digestible Met + Cys / 0.600 and 0.675% digestible lysine) provided smaller egg size. On the other hand, eggs had higher shell percentage when compared to control diet. When compared to other digestible amino acids, digestible lysine requirement may be estimated at 0.750% in a diet with 14% CP, which corresponds to the average daily intake of 876 mg dig. lysine hen-1 day-1 and 798 mg dig. Met + Cys hen-1 day-1, without jeopardizing performance and eggs' internal and external quality.

Effects of traffic control on the soil physical quality and the cultivation of sugarcane

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Alcohol and Quality of Life Among Social Groups for the Elderly in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

This study aims to investigate alcohol consumption within social groups for the elderly in So Jos, dos Campos-Brazil, and to check for a correlation between alcohol consumption and quality of life. A sample of 500 individuals participating on social groups for the elderly were interviewed by using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to verify alcohol consumption; the Medical Outcomes Study 36 Item Short Form (SF-36), for evaluating quality of life; and the Oral Health Impact Profile short form (OHIP-14), for evaluating oral health-related quality of life. The average alcohol consumption was very low (1.48), being higher in men (2.23) than women (1.09). The SF-36 average score for the domain of physical function was 70.5; for role-physical function 64.9; for bodily pain,68.3; for general health 73.8; for vitality,72.4; for social function 82.8; for role-emotional function 72.3 and for mental health 75.0. The OHIP-14 average score was 3.87. AUDIT did not correlate with SF-36 domains, or with OHIP-14. However, there was a negative correlation between OHIP 14 and all SF-36 domains. This elderly sample has a very low consumption of alcohol, and no correlation was found between alcohol consumption and oral and medical quality of life.

Drying kinetics and quality of natural coffee

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Psoriasis: correlation between severity index (PASI) and quality of life index (DLQI) in patients assessed before and after systemic treatment

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that affects patients of all ages and both genders. The impact of the disease on quality of life is greater among patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: to establish a correlation between the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) based on a quality of life questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context for patients with plaque psoriasis before and after systemic treatment. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of psoriasis patients who did not undergo treatment or who manifested clinical activity of the disease. Patients were evaluated according to the PASI and the quality of life questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context before and 60 days after systemic treatment. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients participated in the study. Twenty-six were men, with a mean age of 46 years. There was no correlation between the PASI and the quality of life questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context, but there was a correlation between the PASI and some items of the quality of life questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context, such as jobs involving public contact. CONCLUSION: The non-correlation between the PASI and the quality of life questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context in this work may be associated with a history of chronic disease, which implies greater acceptance of the illness, or may be related to the low income and social status of the patients studied. The correlation observed among patients with careers involving public contact suggests that some professions are more impacted by the disease. It may be necessary to adapt the quality of life questionnaire to patients with a low income and cultural and social limitations. The small sample size (n=35 patients) and the short follow-up period of 60 days were some of the limitations of this work.

Iron oxides and quality of organic matter in sugarcane harvesting systems

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

Passion fruit seed meal at growing and finishing pig (30-90 kg) feeding

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

Fatty acid profile, carcass and quality traits of meat from Nellore young bulls on pasture supplemented with crude glycerin

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