Integração lavoura-pecuária-floresta como estratégia para aumentar a produtividade e prover serviços ambientais no noroeste do Paraná.

RESUMO: Os solos da região Noroeste do Paraná apresentam cerca de 85 a 90% de areia e níveis críticos de nutrientes, conferindo alta suscetibilidade à erosão e baixa capacidade de armazenamento de água. Além disso, a região apresenta clima quente, tornando-a bastante vulnerável a estresses abióticos. Uma das estratégias para aumentar a produtividade e, ao mesmo tempo, incrementar serviços ambientais é aumentar a diversidade de atividades, por meio do sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária-floresta (iLPF). O sistema iLPF pode conferir maior taxa de sequestro de carbono, conservação da biodiversidade e melhoria da qualidade do solo, água e ar, em comparação a sistemas não integrados. No município de Santo Inácio, PR, foram conduzidas por cinco anos duas áreas com sistema iLPF. Nos três primeiros anos de condução, foi possível conciliar a produção de grãos (soja), forragem (Brachiaria ruziziensis e B brizantha ) e madeira (eucalipto), sem que um componente prejudicasse o outro. A partir do terceiro ano, as árvores interferiram expressivamente na produtividade de grãos e forragem, indicando a necessidade de redução do número de árvores por área. O iLPF é um sistema de produção relevante para aumentar a provisão de bens e serviços ecossistêmicos na região Noroeste do Paraná, mas que ainda precisa de ajustes tecnológicos para incrementar os ganhos econômicos e ambientais. ABSTRACT: Most soils in Northwest of Paraná state, Brazil, are sandy (85 to 90% sand), with critical nutrient levels, high susceptibility to erosion and low water storage capacity Moreover, the region?s warm weather confers to these soils high vulnerability to abiotic stresses The diversification of production via adoption of integrated cropping-livestock-forestry (ICLF) systems is an important strategy to increase productivity and, simultaneously enhance ecosystem services. ICLF systems can increase carbon sequestration, conserve biodiversity and improve soil, water and air quality, compared with specialized production systems. Two trials were carried out for five years using ICLF in Santo Inácio county in Paraná state, Brazil. In the first three years, it was possible to harmonize production of grains (soybean), fodder (Brachiaria ruziziensis and brizantha) and wood (Eucalyptus) without negative effects of three components on each other. After the third year, the trees significantly reduced grain yield and fodder production, indicating the need for thinning to reduce tree interference. The ICLF system is relevant to increase the delivery of ecosystem goods and services in Northwestern Paraná, though technological adjustments are needed to increase its economic and environmental gains.

Des aptamères pour améliorer l’encapsulation et la libération contrôlée des liposomes

Mémoire par article

Des aptamères pour améliorer l’encapsulation et la libération contrôlée des liposomes

Mémoire par article

An inter-laboratory validation of a real time PCR assay to measure host excretion of bacterial pathogens, particularly of Mycobacterium bovis

Advances in the diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection in wildlife hosts may benefit the development of sustainable approaches to the management of bovine tuberculosis in cattle. In the present study, three laboratories from two different countries participated in a validation trial to evaluate the reliability and reproducibility of a real time PCR assay in the detection and quantification of M. bovis from environmental samples. The sample panels consisted of negative badger faeces spiked with a dilution series of M. bovis BCG Pasteur and of field samples of faeces from badgers of unknown infection status taken from badger latrines in areas with high and low incidence of bovine TB (bTB) in cattle. Samples were tested with a previously optimised methodology. The experimental design involved rigorous testing which highlighted a number of potential pitfalls in the analysis of environmental samples using real time PCR. Despite minor variation between operators and laboratories, the validation study demonstrated good concordance between the three laboratories: on the spiked panels, the test showed high levels of agreement in terms of positive/negative detection, with high specificity (100%) and high sensitivity (97%) at levels of 10(5) cells g(-1) and above. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed low variability in recovery of BCG cells between laboratories and operators. On the field samples, the test showed high reproducibility both in terms of positive/negative detection and in the number of cells detected, despite low numbers of samples identified as positive by any laboratory. Use of a parallel PCR inhibition control assay revealed negligible PCR-interfering chemicals co-extracted with the DNA. This is the first example of a multi-laboratory validation of a real time PCR assay for the detection of mycobacteria in environmental samples. Field studies are now required to determine how best to apply the assay for population-level bTB surveillance in wildlife.

Regionen och EU? : Uppfattningar och attityder till EU-relaterade frågor i Västsverige

This thesis explores perceptions and preferences on regional action in EU-related frameworks among regional actors in Western Sweden. Building upon the literature on Europeanisation and the Fusion approach, three dimensions of Europeanisation are clarified and explored– download, upload and crossload – and together with a set of five variables that constitute the Micro Fusion Framework; a comprehensive analytical tool is developed. The thesis analyses the intense debate among the members of West Sweden that took place from 2011 to 2013 that focused on how to functionally organise the regional office in Brussels in order to meet future challenges. Surprisingly, the members eventually decided to terminate their cooperation and close the jointly owned office in Brussels in spite of the fact that it has been widely regarded as successful and effective. Diverging perceptions and preferences is understood in terms of three positions on regional action; a download-, upload- and a coherent oriented position. Finally, the thesis presents the empirical findings and discusses in relation to three fusion scenarios, infusion, defusion and clustered fusion. In terms of Micro Fusion Framework, the dynamics shaping why West Sweden was finally regarded as a dysfunctional arena for regional action are explained by a shift of attention and action among regional actors in Western Sweden that led to pressure for further institutional adaptation in order to meet the demand of how ‘to get the best out of the EU’. Further, this redefinition of how to handle EU-affairs within the upload-oriented position was accompanied by positive attitudes towards the potential to bypass the state and thereby pursue regional priorities directly in Brussels given the compound nature of the EU. In contrast, those regional actors that are found to be more download-oriented often question the benefits of uploading activities in practice and advocate close relations to the state. A coherent oriented position recognises the importance of activities related to both of the vertical dimensions of Europeanisation.

A companion to heritage studies

The selected essays have been innovatively organized into three sections on the expansion, use and abuse, and the recasting of heritage.

Facebook content analysis: a study into Australian banks' social media community engagement

Understanding the motives that encourage users to adopt social media to communicate with businessesis very important. This research study was conducted with Australian banks and adds to the developmentof empirically tested social media adoption model consisting of technological and social communicationaspects (Senadheera, 2015). This chapter presents the findings of the research study based on analysisof wall posts gathered from Australian banks’ Facebook presence in the year 2013. The research studyinvolves a thematic analysis of frequently used words by Australian banks in their respective Facebookwall posts following an outcome of a word frequency test conducted using NVivo. This analysis wasconducted with the proposed adoption model as the basis to determine whether banks’ Facebook contentaddresses the basic user requirements driving them to adopt social media to communicate with Australianbanks. The results strengthens the robustness and the applicability of the social media adoption model.

The Museum of Doubt

Is there a God? Does my bum look big in this? Why doesn’t my house cost only the materials used to build it? Is Video Art dead? When Peter Hill curated his first Museum of Doubt exhibition at Zeppelin Projects in Brunswick, these were some of the questions his artist friends wrote on one wall of the gallery. Those artists included Jon Cattapan, Phil Edwards, Julian Goddard, Ceri Hahn, and Peter Ellis. Others, who are also in this second outing of The Museum of Doubt, include Louise Weaver, Patrick Pound, Josh Foley and Michael Vale. How do we know what is true or false in any given visual statement? How willing are we to suspend our disbelief? And does that even matter if the artworks can be enjoyed for their own formal beauty, angst, or inquisitiveness?“I have a great sympathy with both doubt and faith as beacons for navigating this sublime universe,” says Peter Hill. “Remembering that the sublime in art, as in life and death, hovers between beauty and terror. Doubt and faith are both on the same side of the same coin – a coin that has “certainty” on the reverse. Most of the problems we face today are caused by individuals and nations being “certain” that they have the answer. Don’t listen to them. Be skeptical. The truth can be approached, as Karl Popper, the great philosopher of science tells us, but it can rarely be found. It can only be falsified.”So bring your doubt and your faith to this Wunderkammer of Super Fictions and enjoy the lightness, the darkness, and the strangeness in the works of: Glen Clarke, Josh Foley, Tony Garifalakis, Grant Hill, Peter Hill, Patrick Pound, Michael Vale, Louise Weaver and Robert Zhao.

Microencapsulation of flaxseed oil in flaxseed protein and flaxseed gum complex coacervates

Flaxseed oil, a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, was microencapsulated in a novel matrix formed by complex coacervation between flaxseed protein isolate (FPI) and flaxseed gum (FG). This matrix was crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. Liquid microcapsules with three core (oil)-to-wall ratios (1:2, 1:3 and 1:4) were prepared and spray-dried or freeze-dried to produce powders. The microencapsulation efficiency, surface oil, morphology and oxidative stability of these microcapsules were determined. The spray-dried solid microcapsules had higher oil microencapsulation efficiency, lower surface oil content, smoother surface morphology and higher oxidation stability than the freeze-dried microcapsules. The highest microencapsulation efficiency obtained in spray-dried microcapsules was 87% with a surface oil of 2.78% at core-to-wall ratio 1:4 and oil load 20%. The oxidation stability obtained from spray-dried microcapsules at core-to-wall ratio of 1:4 was nearly double that of the unencapsulated flaxseed oil.

Deindustrialisation and industrial communities: the Lanarkshire coalfields c.1947-1983

This thesis examines deindustrialisation, the declining contribution of industrial activities to economic output and employment, in Lanarkshire, Scotland’s largest coalfield between the early nineteenth and mid-twentieth century. It focuses on contraction between the National Coal Board’s (NCB) vesting in 1947 and the closure of Lanarkshire’s last colliery, Cardowan, in 1983. Deindustrialisation was not the natural outcome of either market forces or geological exhaustion. Colliery closures and falling coal employment were the result of policy-makers’ decisions. The thesis consists of four thematic chapters: political economy, moral economy, class and community, and generation and gender. The analysis is based on archival sources including Scottish Office reports and correspondence relating to regional policy, and NCB records. These are supported by National Union of Mineworkers Scottish Area and STUC meeting minutes, and oral history testimonies from over 30 men and women with Lanarkshire coalfield backgrounds, as well as two focus groups. The first two chapters analyse the process of deindustrialisation, with the first offering a top-down perspective and the second a bottom-up viewpoint. In chapter one deindustrialisation is analysed through changes in political economy. Shifts in labour market structure are examined through the development of regional policy and its administration by the Scottish Office. The analysis centres upon a policy network of Scottish business elites and civil servants who shaped a vision of modernisation via industrial diversification through attracting inward investment. In chapter two the perspective shifts to community and workforce. It analyses responses to coalfield contraction through a moral economy of customary rights to colliery employment. A detailed investigation of Lanarkshire colliery closures between the 1940s and 1980s emphasises the protracted nature of deindustrialisation. Chapters three and four consider the social and cultural structures which shaped the moral economy but were heavily altered by deindustrialisation. Chapter three focuses on the dense networks that linked occupation, community, and class consciousness. Increasing coalfield centralisation and remote control of pits from NCB headquarters in London, and mounting hostility to coal closures, contributed to an accentuated sense of Scottish-ness. Chapter four illuminates gender and generational dimensions. The differing experiences of cohorts of men who faced either early retirement, redundancy or transfer to alternative sectors, or those who never attained anticipated industrial employment due to final closures, are analysed in terms of constructions of masculinity and the endurance of cultural as well as material losses. This is counterpoised to women who gained industrial work in assembly plants and the perceived gradual attainment of an improved economic and social position whilst continuing to navigate structures of patriarchy.

Acreditando... É possível: Três meses de viagem

Fiz o meu estágio curricular na companhia Trigo Limpo Teatro ACERT, em Tondela. Uma companhia com uma essência e um carisma singulares e especiais. Estive lá três meses (de março a maio). Tive oportunidade de acompanhar inúmeras actividades e participar em vários projectos, em vez de (como na maioria dos estágios desta natureza) integrar exclusivamente um processo de criação artística. Procurando facilitar a organização e compreensão do meu percurso na ACERT, defini três fases do meu estágio: a fase de conhecimento e entrosamento na companhia; a Queima e Rebentamento do Judas; a Fantástica Aventura duma Criança chamada Pinóquio. Foi desta estrutura que parti para passar para palavras o que experienciei e cresci na ACERT, não só como actriz, mas como pessoa. Num registo pessoal, descrevo no relatório de estágio os momentos mais relevantes de todo o processo, o que aprendi com os mesmos e o que mudou em mim. /ABSTRACT: I did my curricular traineeship at the Theatre Company Trigo Limpo Teatro ACERT, in Tondela. It's a theatre troupe with an essence and a charisma very special and unique. I was there for three months (from March to May). I had the chance to accompany many activities as to participate in several projects, instead of being parte only on one creative process. Trying to make the understanding and organization of my path in the ACERT easier, I defined three phases on my traineeship: presentation and integration with the whole team; the street show Queima e Rebentamento do Judas; The fantastic adventure of a child called Pinóquio. This was my starting point to write about all I experienced and developed at ACERT, not only as an actress but also as a human being. ln an informal register, I describe on my report the process' most relevant moments, what I've learned with them and what has changed about myself.

Antibiofilm activity of Brasilian propolis extracts against Staphylococcus aureus producers isolated from goat and sheep mastitic milk

The aim of this study was to investigate the action of inhibiting S. aureus biofilm formation, and the ability to eliminate formed biofilm, by alcoholic extracts of green, red and brown propolis from Brazil. Ten isolates of S. aureus have been tested, 8 field isolates, 1 MRSA and 1 ATCC 25923, by microplate quantitative method. For the evaluation of inhibitory action, the isolates were inoculated, in triplicate, in TSB 1% glucose in the presence of green (1), red (2) and brown (4) propolis extracts. Biofilm formation was evaluated by optical reading, compared to a negative control consisting of a mixture of TSB and extract. For biofilm elimination assay, extracts were added to plates with 24h cultures of the same isolates. Assays were repeated three times on three different days. Eight out of the 10 isolates produced less biofilm in the presence of the green propolis extracts, so the inhibitory effect is 80%. Brown propolis extracts inhibited the formation of biofilm in 10% to 70% of the isolates and the red extracts in 30% to 80%. Regarding the biofilm elimination activity, green propolis extract was positive for 9 out of the 10 isolates (90%), the brown propolis extracts were positive for 0% to 100% isolates and red extracts for 0% to 10% isolates.

Description of the Immatures of Workers of the Ant Linepithema micans Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Linepithema micans Forel is a poorly studied species that is now considered a pest in vineyards in South Brazil. Larval characters have been used in a few phylogenetic studies, and their importance greatly depends in the amount of available information on different species. This study presents a complete panorama on the external morphology of the immatures of L. micans based on observations by light and scanning electron microscopy. The number of larval instars was estimated as three based on the frequency distribution of head widths of 965 larvae. Larvae of L. micans were similar to other Linepithema Mayr in the general format of body and mandibles, presenting a dorsal abdominal protuberance, nine pairs of spiracle, and unbranched hairs. On the other hand, L. micans was unique for having shorter hairs, predominantly denticulate, intraspecific variation in the number of antennal sensilla and in the types of sensilla on the labial palps were reported.

Effect of pulverized natural bone mineral on regeneration of three-wall intrabony defects. A preclinical study.

AIMS The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of a paste-like bone substitute material with easy handling properties and improved mechanical stability on periodontal regeneration of intrabony defects in dogs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mandibular and maxillary first and third premolars were extracted, and three-wall intrabony defects were created on second and fourth premolars. After a healing period of 3 months, acute type defects were filled with a paste-like formulation of deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) (particle size, 0.125-0.25 mm) in a collagenous carrier matrix (T1), pulverized DBBM (particle size, 0.125-0.25 mm) without the carrier (T2), or Bio-Oss® granules (particle size, 0.25-1.00 mm) as control (C). All defects were covered with a Bio-Gide® membrane. The dogs were sacrificed after 12 weeks, and the specimens were analyzed histologically and histometrically. RESULTS Postoperative healing of all defects was uneventful, and no histological signs of inflammation were observed in the augmented and gingival regions. New cementum, new periodontal ligament, and new bone were observed in all three groups. The mean vertical bone gain was 3.26 mm (T1), 3.60 mm (T2), and 3.81 mm (C). That of new cementum was 2.25 mm (T1), 3.88 mm (T2), and 3.53 mm (C). The differences did not reach statistical significance. The DBBM particles were both incorporated in new bone and embedded in immature bone marrow. CONCLUSIONS The results of this preclinical study showed that the 0.125-0.25-mm DBBM particles in a powder or paste formulation resulted in periodontal regeneration comparable to the commercially available DBBM. Osteoconductivity, in particular, was not affected by DBBM size or paste formulation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The improved handling properties of the paste-like bone substitute consisting of small DBBM particles embedded in a collagen-based carrier hold promise for clinical applications.

Analysis of cardiac ventricular wall motion based on a three-dimensional electromechanical biventricular model

This paper describes a biventricular model, which couples the electrical and mechanical properties of the heart, and computer simulations of ventricular wall motion and deformation by means of a biventricular model. In the constructed electromechanical model, the mechanical analysis was based on composite material theory and the finite-element method; the propagation of electrical excitation was simulated using an electrical heart model, and the resulting active forces were used to calculate ventricular wall motion. Regional deformation and Lagrangian strain tensors were calculated during the systole phase. Displacements, minimum principal strains and torsion angle were used to describe the motion of the two ventricles. The simulations showed that during the period of systole, (1) the right ventricular free wall moves towards the septum, and at the same time, the base and middle of the free wall move towards the apex, which reduces the volume of the right ventricle; the minimum principle strain (E3) is largest at the apex, then at the middle of the free wall and its direction is in the approximate direction of the epicardial muscle fibres; (2) the base and middle of the left ventricular free wall move towards the apex and the apex remains almost static; the torsion angle is largest at the apex; the minimum principle strain E3 is largest at the apex and its direction on the surface of the middle wall of the left ventricle is roughly in the fibre orientation. These results are in good accordance with results obtained from MR tagging images reported in the literature. This study suggests that such an electromechanical biventricular model has the potential to be used to assess the mechanical function of the two ventricles, and also could improve the accuracy ECG simulation when it is used in heart torso model-based body surface potential simulation studies.