Influence of a preventive training program on lower limb kinematics and vertical jump height of male volleyball athletes

Objective: To examine the influence of a preventative training program (PTP) on sagittal plane kinematics during different landing tasks and vertical jump height (VJH) in males. Design: Six weeks prospective exercise intervention. Participants: Fifteen male volleyball athletes (13 ± 0.7 years, 1.70 ± 0.12 m, 60 ± 12 kg). Interventions: PTP consisting of plyometric, balance and core stability exercises three times per week for six weeks. Bilateral vertical jumps with double leg (DL) and single leg (SL) landings were performed to measure the effects of training. Main outcome measurements: Kinematics of the knee and hip before and after training and VJH attained during both tasks after training. The hypothesis was that the PTP would produce improvements in VJH, but would not generate great changes in biomechanical behavior. Results: The only change identified for the SL was the longest duration of landing, which represents the time spent from initial ground contact to maximum knee flexion, after training, while increased angular displacement of the knee was observed during DL. The training did not significantly alter the VJH in either the SL (difference: 2.7 cm) or the DL conditions (difference: 3.5 cm). Conclusions: Despite the PTP's effectiveness in inducing some changes in kinematics, the changes were specific for each task, which highlights the importance of the specificity and individuality in selecting prevention injury exercises. Despite the absence of significant increases in the VJH, the absolute differences after training showed increases corroborating with the findings of statistically powerful studies that compared the results with control groups. The results suggest that short-term PTPs in low risk young male volleyball athletes may enhance performance and induce changes in some kinematic parameters. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Photoluminescence of core-shell nanoparticles made from yttrium stabilized zirconia powder grain coated with alumina

A YSZ@Al2O3 nanocomposite was obtained by Al 2O3 coating on the surface of yttrium stabilized zirconia via a polymeric precursor method. The resulting core-shell structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy and PL spectra. The TEM micrographs clearly show a homogeneous Al2O3 shell around the ZrO2 core. The observed PL is related to surface-interface defects. Such novel technologies can, in principle, explore materials which are not available in the bulk single crystal form but their figure-of-merit is dramatically dependent on the surface-interface defect states. © 2013 This journal isThe Royal Society of Chemistry.

Genome-wide association study for birth weight in Nellore cattle points to previously described orthologous genes affecting human and bovine height

Background: Birth weight (BW) is an economically important trait in beef cattle, and is associated with growth- and stature-related traits and calving difficulty. One region of the cattle genome, located on Bos primigenius taurus chromosome 14 (BTA14), has been previously shown to be associated with stature by multiple independent studies, and contains orthologous genes affecting human height. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) for BW in Brazilian Nellore cattle (Bos primigenius indicus) was performed using estimated breeding values (EBVs) of 654 progeny-tested bulls genotyped for over 777,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).Results: The most significant SNP (rs133012258, PGC = 1.34 × 10-9), located at BTA14:25376827, explained 4.62% of the variance in BW EBVs. The surrounding 1 Mb region presented high identity with human, pig and mouse autosomes 8, 4 and 4, respectively, and contains the orthologous height genes PLAG1, CHCHD7, MOS, RPS20, LYN, RDHE2 (SDR16C5) and PENK. The region also overlapped 28 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) previously reported in literature by linkage mapping studies in cattle, including QTLs for birth weight, mature height, carcass weight, stature, pre-weaning average daily gain, calving ease, and gestation length.Conclusions: This study presents the first GWAS applying a high-density SNP panel to identify putative chromosome regions affecting birth weight in Nellore cattle. These results suggest that the QTLs on BTA14 associated with body size in taurine cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) also affect birth weight and size in zebu cattle (Bos primigenius indicus). © 2013 Utsunomiya et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Desempenho agronômico de cultivares de soja (Glycine max (L.) Merril) em sistemas de preparo do solo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Monitoramento e avaliação dos ovos férteis de avestruz submetidos à incubação artificial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influência do espaçamento de plantas no crescimento, produtividade e rendimento do amendoim rasteiro, cultivar Runner IAC 886

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise estrutural de um ferramentador pelo método dos elementos finitos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Progresso com seleção nos compostos flintisa e dentado de milho (Zea mays L.)

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Desenvolvimento e qualidade de mudas clonais de Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla em função da adubação fosfatada em substratos

Pós-graduação em Ciência Florestal - FCA

Influence of spray mixture volume and flight height on herbicide deposition in aerial applications on pastures

The objective of the present study was to analyze the influence of spray mixture volume and flight height on herbicide deposition in aerial applications on pastures. The experimental plots were arranged in a pasture area in the district of Porto Esperidião (Mato Grosso, Brazil). In all of the treatments, the applications contained the herbicides aminopyralid and fluroxypyr (Dominum) at the dose of 2.5 L c.p. ha-1, including the adjuvant mineral oil (Joint Oil) at the dose of 1.0 L and a tracer to determine the deposition by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (rhodamine at a concentration of 0.6%). The experiment consisted of nine treatments that comprised the combinations of three spray volumes (20, 30 and 50 L ha-1) and three flight heights (10, 30 and 40 m). The results showed that, on average, there was a tendency for larger deposits for the smallest flight heights, with a significant difference between the heights of 10 and 40 m. There was no significant difference among the deposits obtained with the different spray mixture volumes.

Shell occupation by the South Atlantic endemic hermit crab Loxopagurus loxochelis (Moreira, 1901) (Anomura: Diogenidae)

The evaluation of population characteristics, particularly those of endemic species, aids in population preservation and management. Hermit crabs present an innate behavior of occupying shells, which tends to individual needs and limits their distribution. This study characterized the pattern of occupation of gastropod shells by the hermit Loxopagurus loxochelis in three bays of the southwestern coast of Brazil. Monthly collections were made from January/1998 to December/1999 in the bays Ubatumirim (UBM), Ubatuba (UBA) and Mar Virado (MV) with a shrimping boat. Overall, ten species of gastropod shells were occupied by L. loxochelis. The shell of Olivancillaria urceus represented 66.8% of those occupied. Morphometric relationships demonstrated a differential occupation of the more abundant shells among demographic groups, where most of the males occupied O. urceus, non-ovigerous females occupied O. urceus and Buccinanops cochlidium, and ovigerous females occupied B. cochlidium and Stramonita haemastoma. Most of the individuals occupied the more abundant shells, considered adequate for the morphology of this hermit crab species. Thus, the studied bays seem to be stable and propitious environments for population perpetuation and the settlement of new individuals.

Initial height of pasture deferred and utilized in winter and tillering dynamics of signal grass during the following spring

Tillering dynamics during regrowth in the spring (September to December 2009) on signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk) pastures deferred in the beginning of April 2009 is evaluated. Four pasture heights were evaluated at the beginning of deferment (10, 20, 30 and 40 cm). The experimental design consisted of completely randomized blocks with two replications. Rise in pasture height at the beginning of deferment decreased the appearance rate, increased the mortality rate and reduced the survival rate, the balance between appearance and mortality and the stability index of the tiller population at the beginning of the spring. Pastures deferred at initial height of 30 and 40 cm presented relatively stable tiller appearance rate between the beginning and end of spring. However, these pastures presented greater mortality rate, lower survival rate, lower balance between appearance and mortality and lower stability index of the tiller population at the beginning of spring when compared to rates at the end of spring. Pastures managed with shorter initial heights (10 and 20 cm) provided more tissue renewal in the subsequent growth season after their utilization in the winter.

Cultivation of PCV2 in swine testicle cells using the shell vial technique and monitoring of viral replication by qPCR and RT-qPCR

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

MOISTURE SORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF PINEAPPLE PROCESSING WASTE: SHELL AND CENTRAL CYLINDER

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

Optimizing row spacing and plant population arrangement for a new short-height castor genotype in fall-winter

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