Effect of plant-biostimulant on cassava initial growth

ABSTRACT Biostimulants are complex substances that promote hormonal balance in plants, favor the genetic potential expression, and enhance growth of shoots and root system. The use of these plant growth promoters in crops can increase quantitatively and qualitatively crop production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a commercial biostimulant on the initial growth of cassava. The experiment was arranged in a 2 x 5 factorial design, corresponding to two cassava cultivars (Cacau-UFV and Coimbra) and five biostimulant concentrations (0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 mL L-1). At 90 days after planting, the characteristics leaf area, plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, total dry matter and dry matter of roots, stems and leaves were evaluated. The biostimulant promoted linear increases in plant height, leaf number, leaf area, total dry matter, dry matter of stems, leaves and roots. The cultivar Cacau-UFV had a higher growth rate than the cultivar Coimbra. The growth promoter stimulated the early growth of the cassava crop.

Targeting lactate transport suppresses in vivo breast tumour growth

Background: Most cancers, including breast cancer, have high rates of glucose consumption, associated with lactate production, a process referred as “Warburg effect”. Acidification of the tumour microenvironment by lactate extrusion, performed by lactate transporters (MCTs), is associated with higher cell proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and increased cell survival. Previously, we have described MCT1 up-regulation in breast carcinoma samples and demonstrated the importance of in vitro MCT inhibition. In this study, we performed siRNA knockdown of MCT1 and MCT4 in basal-like breast cancer cells in both normoxia and hypoxia conditions to validate the potential of lactate transport inhibition in breast cancer treatment. Results: The effect of MCT knockdown was evaluated on lactate efflux, proliferation, cell biomass, migration and invasion and induction of tumour xenografts in nude mice. MCT knockdown led to a decrease in in vitro tumour cell aggressiveness, with decreased lactate transport, cell proliferation, migration and invasion and, importantly, to an inhibition of in vivo tumour formation and growth. Conclusions: This work supports MCTs as promising targets in cancer therapy, demonstrates the contribution of MCTs to cancer cell aggressiveness and, more importantly, shows, for the first time, the disruption of in vivo breast tumour growth by targeting lactate transport.

Absorption of primary macronutrients and soybean growth at different compactation densities and moisture levels in a silt loam soil

ABSTRACT Soybean cultivation is increasing rapidly in the region of Alto Vale do Itajaí, State of Santa Catarina, where there is a predominance of silt soils. The objective of this work was to evaluate the content of primary macronutrients in shoots and shoot and root vegetative growth of soybean (Glicine max L. Merrill) grown in a silt-loam soil under different compactation densities and moisture levels. A randomized block design in a 4x4 factorial arrangement was used, with four compactation densities: 1.00; 1.20; 1.40 and 1.60 Mg m-3, and four soil moisture levels: 0.130; 0.160; 0.190 and 0.220 kg kg-1 and four replications. Each pot consisted of the overlapping of three 150-mm PVC rings, where soil was maintained in the higher and lower part of the pot with a density of 1.00 Mg m-3 and in the intermediate ring, the compactation densities were increased. Values of soil density higher than 120 Mg m-3 negatively affected N, P and K uptake by soybean plants, as well as the plant mass of the shoots and roots. The higher levels of soil moisture reduced the compaction effect and promoted better absorption of P and K.

Growth of sugar cane varieties under salinity

ABSTRACT Large salty areas in the Brazilian semi-arid region have limited farming in Northeastern Brazil. One example is the sugar cane cultivation, which reinforces the need of selecting varieties that are more tolerant to salinity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of salinity on growth of ten varieties of sugar cane. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, set in the experimental field of Embrapa Semiárido, in Petrolina, Pernambuco State. The experimental design was randomized blocks arranged in a 6 X 10 factorial arrangement, comprised of six levels of salinity (0, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0 dS m-1) and ten sugar cane varieties (VAT 90212; RB 72454; RB 867515; Q 124; RB 961003; RB 957508; SP791011; RB 835089; RB 92579 and SP 943206). Salt levels of irrigation water were obtained by adding NaCl, CaCl2.2H2O and MgSO4.7H2O to achieve an equivalent ratio among Na:Ca:Mg of 7:2:1. Sixty days later, plant height, stem diameter (base), number of leaves, stalks and sprouts, leaf area and fresh and dry mass of the aerial part and roots were all measured. The varieties of sugar cane showed similar responses for growth reduction as soil salinity increases, being considered moderately sensitive to salinity.

THE INTERNATIONAL GROWTH OF A SOCIAL BUSINESS: A CASE STUDY

ABSTRACTIn developing countries, initiatives have often been undertaken in order to fight social and environmental problems. Since the 1990s, an increase can be seen in corporate social responsibility actions, as well as increasingly strong activities by civil society organizations. Tweenty years ago, companies and civil society organizations stood wide apart from each other, with often conflicting agendas and resistance to mutual collaboration. This reality has changed significantly. Besides the phenomenon of cross-sector partnerships, we can also observe the expansion of a particular organization type, i.e., the social business, which combines two objectives that were previously seen as incompatible: financial sustainability and the generation of social value. This article aims to discuss the factors that influence the results of a social business operating in three countries: Botswana, Brazil and Jordan. The results allow understanding the challenges involved in constructing social businesses in developing countries as well as a better understanding of the very nature of those businesses, considering the social realities where they operate.

Analysis of mediation and reciprocal effects of changes in weight, self-esteem, and exercise in a behavioral weight loss treatment

Improving the treatment of obesity remains a critical challenge. Several health behaviour change models, often based on a social-cognitive framework, have been used to design weight management interventions (Baranowski et al., 2003). However, most interventions have only produced modest weight reductions (Wadden et al., 2002) and socialcognitive variables have shown limited power to predict weight outcomes (Palmeira et al., 2007). Other predictors, and possibl alte nati e e planatory models, are needed to better understand the mechanisms by which weight loss and other obesity treatment-outcomes are brought about (Baranowski, 2006). Self-esteem is one of these possible mechanisms, because is commonly reported to change during the treatment, although these changes are not necessarily associated with weight loss (Blaine et al., 2007; Maciejewski et al., 2005). This possibility should be more evident if the program integrates regular exercise, as it promotes improvements in subjective well-being (Biddle & Mutrie, 2001), with possible influences on long-term behavioral adherence (e.g. diet, exercise). Following the reciprocal effects model tenets (Marsh & Craven, 2006), we expect that the influences between changes in weight, selfesteem and exercise to be reciprocal and might present one of the mechanisms by which obesity treatments can be improved.

Self-interacting scalar field cosmologies: unified exact solutions and symmetries

We investigate a mechanism that generates exact solutions of scalar field cosmologies in a unified way. The procedure investigated here permits to recover almost all known solutions, and allows one to derive new solutions as well. In particular, we derive and discuss one novel solution defined in terms of the Lambert function. The solutions are organised in a classification which depends on the choice of a generating function which we have denoted by x(phi) that reflects the underlying thermodynamics of the model. We also analyse and discuss the existence of form-invariance dualities between solutions. A general way of defining the latter in an appropriate fashion for scalar fields is put forward.

Increasing availability through maintainability growth using partial Multi Criteria Decision Making (pMCDM)

In the last decades considerations about equipments' availability became an important issue, as well as its dependence on components characteristics such as reliability and maintainability. This is particularly of outstanding importance if one is dealing with high risk industrial equipments, where these factors play an important and fundamental role in risk management when safety or huge economic values are in discussion. As availability is a function of reliability, maintainability, and maintenance support activities, the main goal is to improve one or more of these factors. This paper intends to show how maintainability can influence availability and present a methodology to select the most important attributes for maintainability using a partial Multi Criteria Decision Making (pMCDM). Improvements in maintainability can be analyzed assuming it as a probability related with a restore probability density function [g(t)].

Equilibrium self-assembly of colloids with distinct interaction sites: Thermodynamics, percolation, and cluster distribution functions

We calculate the equilibrium thermodynamic properties, percolation threshold, and cluster distribution functions for a model of associating colloids, which consists of hard spherical particles having on their surfaces three short-ranged attractive sites (sticky spots) of two different types, A and B. The thermodynamic properties are calculated using Wertheim's perturbation theory of associating fluids. This also allows us to find the onset of self-assembly, which can be quantified by the maxima of the specific heat at constant volume. The percolation threshold is derived, under the no-loop assumption, for the correlated bond model: In all cases it is two percolated phases that become identical at a critical point, when one exists. Finally, the cluster size distributions are calculated by mapping the model onto an effective model, characterized by a-state-dependent-functionality (f) over bar and unique bonding probability (p) over bar. The mapping is based on the asymptotic limit of the cluster distributions functions of the generic model and the effective parameters are defined through the requirement that the equilibrium cluster distributions of the true and effective models have the same number-averaged and weight-averaged sizes at all densities and temperatures. We also study the model numerically in the case where BB interactions are missing. In this limit, AB bonds either provide branching between A-chains (Y-junctions) if epsilon(AB)/epsilon(AA) is small, or drive the formation of a hyperbranched polymer if epsilon(AB)/epsilon(AA) is large. We find that the theoretical predictions describe quite accurately the numerical data, especially in the region where Y-junctions are present. There is fairly good agreement between theoretical and numerical results both for the thermodynamic (number of bonds and phase coexistence) and the connectivity properties of the model (cluster size distributions and percolation locus).

Validity of self-reported weight: a study of urban brazilian adults

In order to evaluate the validity of self-reported weight for use in obesity prevalence surveys, self-reported weight was compared to measured weight for 659 adults living in the Porto Alegre county, RS Brazil in 1986-87, both weights being obtained by a technician in the individual's home on the same visit. The mean difference between self-reported and measured weight was small (-0.06 +/- 3.16 kg; mean +/- standard deviation), and the correlation between reported and measured weight was high (r=0.97). Sixty-two percent of participants reported their weight with an error of < 2 kg, 87% with an error of < 4 kg, and 95% with an error of < 6 kg. Underweight individuals overestimated their weight, while obese individuals underestimated theirs (p<0.05). Men tended to overestimate their weight and women underestimate theirs, this difference between sexes being statistically significant (p=0.04). The overall prevalence of underweight (body mass index < 20) by reported weight was 11%, by measured weight 13%; the overall prevalence of obesity (body mass index > 30) by reported weight was 10%, by measured weight 11%. Thus, the validity of reported weight is acceptable for surveys of the prevalence of ponderosity in similar settings.