Influence of the substrate in germination of lychee seeds

The lychee is, all over the world, considered as the "queen of the fruits" due to the delicacy of its appearance and flavor. Although it was only recently that it started to have economical importance in Brazil, the lychee is already calling the attention of numerous farmers, mainly those who cultivate citric fruits and/or sugarcane in the State of São Paulo, due to the constant and at the same time growing necessity of finding new alternative crops. Considering that the commercial cultivation of lychee plants in the field requires the previous obtainment of rootstocks viewing to reduce the genetic variability and the length of the juvenile period displayed by plants resulting directly from the seeds, finding ways to improve the germination performance of lychee seeds for the production of rootstock plants is of considerable economic importance. Thus, the objective of this experiment was to test five substrates for the germination of lychee seeds: (1) vermiculite, (2) washed sand, (3) filter paper, (4) carbonized rice hull, and (5) sphagnum. The results showed that the period of time required by a lychee seed to germinate is a short one thus reinforcing the importance of providing a suitable substrate for the germination to take place. It was found that the substrates which apparently allowed the best combinations of water and oxygen availability for the seeds - washed sand and carbonized rice hull - were those leading to the fastest and highest germination values.

Del Programa d'Educació Compensatòria al nou Pla per a la Llengua i la Cohesió Social

El Programa d’Educació Compensatòria va ser el fruit emblemàtic de la política reformista empresa el 1983 en el camp pedagògic. Es tractava d’un discurs destinat a corregir les desi- gualtats socials i assolir quotes més elevades de justícia social. Actualment, en el context català ha estat considerat necessari un doble canvi, davant el ràpid increment de la població escolar procedent de la immigració i l’aparició de noves formes d’exclusió social: per una banda, una adequada integració educativa, social i cultural de tot l’alumnat independentment del seu origen i condició, i, per l’altra, la consolidació de la llengua catalana com a llengua vehicular de l’ensenyament i com a element de cohesió social en un marc plurilingüe.

Quantitative developmental response to the length of exposure to long photoperiod in wheat and barley

The present study was designed to analyse the effect of the length of exposure to a long photoperiod imposed c. 3 weeks after sowing in spring wheat (cv. UQ189) and barley (cv. Arapiles) to (i) establish whether the response to the number of cycles of exposure is quantitative or qualitative, (ii) determine the existence of a commitment to particular stages well before the stage has been observable, and (iii) study the interrelationships between the effects on final leaf number and phyllochron when the stimulus is provided several days after seedling emergence. Both wheat and barley seemed to respond quantitatively to the number of long-day cycles they were exposed to. However, wheat showed a requirement of approximately 4 long-day cycles to be able to produce a significant response in time to heading. The barley cultivar used in the study was responsive to the minimum length of exposure. The response to extended photoperiod cycles during the stem elongation phase was due to the ‘ memory’ photoperiod effects being related, in the case of wheat, to the fact that the pre-terminal spikelet appearance phase saturated its photoperiod response well before that stage was reached. Therefore, the commitment to the terminal spikelet appearance in wheat may be reached well before this stage could be recognized. As the response in duration to heading exceeded that of the final leaf number, and the stem elongation phase responded to memory effects of photoperiod, the phyllochron of both cereals was responsive to the treatments accelerating the average phyllochron when exposed to longer periods of long days. The response in average phyllochron was due to a switch from bi-linear to linear models of leaf number v. time when the conditions were increasingly inductive, with the phyllochron of the initial (6–8) leaves being similar for all treatments (within each species), and from then on increased.

Barley development as affected by rate of change of photoperiod

The rate of leaf appearance of barley varies substantially with time of sowing. This variation has been related to both the length and the rate of change of photoperiod at the time of plant emergence. An outdoor pot experiment was conducted to test if rate of change of photoperiod directly affects phasic development and rate of leaf emergence of spring barley. Two photoperiod-sensitive cultivars (Bandulla and Galleon) were subjected to five photoperiod regimes: two constant photoperiods, of 14 and 15·5 h, and three different rates of change of photoperiod of c. 2, 9 and 13 min/day from seedling emergence to awn initiation. Photoperiod treatments significantly affected the duration from seedling emergence to awn initiation in both cultivars. Rate of change of photoperiod did not affect the rate of development towards awn initiation independently of the absolute daylength it produced. Although Bandulla had a longer duration than Galleon at any photoperiod regime, the cultivars did not vary in their sensitivity to photoperiod. When this phase was divided into the leaf initiation (LI) and spikelet initiation (SI) phases, it was evident that the sensitivity to photoperiod was not constant, being in general higher during the SI than during the LI phase. However, the magnitude of the change in sensitivity was cultivar-dependent, indicating that sensitivity to photoperiod during the different phases could be under independent genetic control. Final numbers of primordia (leaves together with maximum spikelet number) were negatively affected by increasing photoperiods, but once again, there was no evidence of any effect of the rate of change of photoperiod which was independent of the average photoperiod. Both cultivars showed similar sensitivities for final leaf number but maximum spikelet number was more sensitive to photoperiod in Galleon than in Bandulla. Highly significant linear relationships between leaf number and thermal time were found for all combinations of cultivars and photoperiod regimes (r2 > 0·98). The rate of leaf appearance (RLA) was similar for both cultivars (c. 0·0185 leaves/°Cd) and did not alter during plant development or in response to the change in photoperiod at awn initiation. The range in RLA was greater for Galleon (0·0170–0·0205 leaves/°Cd) than for Bandulla (0·0173–0·0186 leaves/°Cd). Neither of these cultivars exhibited a significant relationship between rate of leaf emergence and photoperiod or rate of change of photoperiod. The lack of significant relationships between RLA and length or rate of change of photoperiod is in contrast with previous reports using time of sowing as a main treatment.

Agronomic characteristics of 'Prata-anã' and 'Maçã' bananas micropropagated

The experiment evaluated the agronomic characteristics of 'Prata-anã' and 'Maçã' banana plants, in the São Manuel region of São Paulo state. In the first crop cycle, the number of days from planting to inflorescence and from inflorescence to harvest; the number of shoots until the appearance of inflorescence and during the harvest period; active leaves number at inflorescence appearance and during the harvest period. Were evaluated yield parameters: like average weight of bunch, hand, rachis and fruit; average fruit number per hand and bunch; average fruit diameter and length. Incidences of plague diseases, as well as their severity were also evaluated. Delineation was totally at random, with 2 treatments, 15 replications and 5 useful plants per experimental plot. Both cultivars were characterized by values of descriptive average statistics and standard deviation, for characteristic interests. Number of days from planting to harvest was similar for both 'Prata-anã' and 'Maçã', 574 and 567 days respectively. Banana plants showed good phytosanitary quality throughout the whole cycle.

Necrosis del tomate: "torrao "o "cribado"

Desde la primavera de 2001, viene presentándose en España una nueva enfermedad conocida con el nombre de "torrao" o "cribado". Los síntomas que habitualmente presentan las plantas afectadas son una necrosis en la parte basal del foliolo que evoluciona a cribado, en los peciolos aparecen manchas longitudinales en ocasiones endurecidas que llegan a curvar los foliolos, y los frutos manifiestan manchas necróticas, deformaciones que finalmente lo rajan, quedando comercialmente inviables. Muestreos realizados desde su aparición han determinado la mayor incidencia de la enfermedad en la zona de Murcia, seguido de Canarias y en menor proporción Almería, y Alicante. Los resultados de los análisis realizados a las 369 muestras recogidas determinan que el 67% de las muestras analizadas eran positivas a Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV). En los ensayos de transmisión, únicamente mediante el injerto, se consiguió reproducir los síntomas de la enfermedad en dos casos, en el resto las plantas inoculadas e injertadas únicamente mostraban síntomas típicos de PepMV y los análisis realizados confirmaron este aspecto. A la vista de los resultados obtenidos, se diseñó un nuevo método de diagnóstico que ha permitido la caracterización del 89% de las muestras analizadas como aislado Chileno 2 de PepMV, recientemente publicado en el Gen Bank (Accesión number: DQ000985). De acuerdo con lo expuesto podría tratarse de uno de los agentes implicados en el desarrollo del síndrome junto con otros factores aún por determinar

L'Origen de l'arquitectura en pedra i l'urbanisme a la Catalunya Occidental

The consolidation of an agricultural economy based in extensive cereals production influenced the development of the typical communities of the plains of western Catalonia during the second millennium BC and the first centuries of the first and differentiated them from the villages of the coast. This paper analyzes the occupation and exploitation pattems of temtories, settlements and specially the development of stone architecture in the Bronze and Iron Age periods. We characterise the process that leads from the first open-air sedentary settlements to the agricultural settlements in early and middle Bronze Age period and the appearance of wellbuilt houses and town planning during the late Bronze Age. We can asses the contribution of the early Urnfield period and link the kind of settlement, the town plan, the architecture and building techniques - which centuries later characterised the Ibero-Ilergeta society - to their origin during the later Urnfield period: systematic exploitation of lands suitable for agriculture (Urgell, Monegros), the phenomenon of concentration-depopulation and the decrease in number of settlements combined with an increase in size.

La atención a la diversidad cultural en Cataluña: exclusión, segregación e interculturalidad

La diversidad cultural se ha incrementado notablemente en los centros escolares españoles por la llegada de alumnado de origen inmigrado y esto, más los discursos de toma en consideración de las diferencias culturales que han realizado la Unión Europea y las administraciones autonómicas, ha contribuido a la aparición del discurso intercultural. Este artículo presenta la evolución realizada hasta llegar al discurso dominante actual basándose en un trabajo empírico de análisis de documentación editada por la Generalitat de Cataluña sobre política de integración y de escolarización de los inmigrados y entrevistas en profundidad a políticos y técnicos de los diferentes niveles de la administración catalana. De ello se concluye la existencia de tres etapas en la política de integración de los inmigrados en Cataluña: un primer momento de mera observación del fenómeno; una segunda etapa en la que sin abandonar la observación se insiste en la organización vertical y horizontal de la administración para trabajar de forma coordinada un fenómeno que empieza a despertar preocupación; y, una tercera, en la que sin abandonar la necesaria observación y organización, el énfasis se sitúa en la intervención. Estas fases son el marco de lo realizado a nivel educativo donde observamos la dificultad de traducción del discurso intercultural a la práctica cotidiana de los centros escolares, de los noventa, es necesario incrementar los esfuerzos para incorporar al alumnado de origen inmigrado en el dominio de la creencia de que la educación intercultural (en contra de lo que esta implica) es cuestión que deben trabajar los centros con inmigrantes y, ante la presión existente en las aulas (por el incremento del alumnado, la matrícula viva, etc.), el retorno a prácticas potencialmente segregacionistas que nos recuerdan actuaciones implementadas para escolarizar a los gitanos años atrás. Sin negar los avances realizados desde mediados aulas y centros de Cataluña.

Tilastotietojen graafinen esittäminen WWW-sivulla

World Wide Webin suosiolla on ollut merkittävä vaikutus yhteiskuntaan. WWW-sivut ovat helposti saatavilla ja sisällön tekeminen WWW:hen on helppoa. WWW-ympäristölle myös kehitetään paljon sovelluksia. WWW-sovellusten kehittämiselle ominaista on valinnanvapaus ja nopeuden tavoittelu. WWW-sovellusten ohjelmoinnin mahdollistavat useat toisilleen vaihtoehtoiset tekniikat. Ne eroavat toisistaan suoritusnopeudessa, ominaisuuksien määrässä ja joustavuudessa. Ohjelmoinnissa käytetään apuna useita erilaisia menetelmiä. Apumenetelmiä ovat muun muassa työkalut ja valmiiden komponenttien hyödyntäminen. Valmiit komponentit voivat olla joko ilmaisia, avointa lähdekoodia tai maksullisia. Tämän kandidaatintyön aikana valmistui sovellus, joka piirtää tilastotiedoista kaaviokuvia ja näyttää niitä dynaamisella WWW-sivulla. Sovellus pyrittiin toteuttamaan älykkäästi apumenetelmiä sopivasti hyödyntäen. Sovelluksen kehittämisessä käytettiin apuna sekä ohjelmointityökaluja että valmiita komponentteja. Kaaviokuvien tyypin ja ulkoasun haluttiin olevan käyttäjien muokattavissa. Toisaalta sovelluksen haluttiin olevan helposti laajennettavissa. Vaatimuksiin vastattiin tekemällä kaaviokuvien piirrosta osittain tietokannalla ohjelmoitava.

El clític 'es' i la construcció anticausativa

L'objectiu d'aquest article és defensar la responsabilitat del component lèxic pel que fa a la presència (o l'absència) del clític en la construcció anticausativa. Es presenten proves que justifiquen que les argumentacions sobre aquest fenomen des de la semàntica o l'estructura eventual, que són les més prolíferes en la bibliografia, no són vàlides per a tots els verbs que participen en l'estructura sintàctica esmentada. Es considera que ni la sintaxi ni la morfologia tampoc poden donar llum dels fets i es proposa que l'explicació de la manca d'uniformitat pel que fa a l'aparició del pronom ha de trobar-se a partir de fenòmens que no es poden discernir en observar només l'estat actual de la llengua.

La maladie liée aux IgG4 : une cause possible d'ictère obstructif

La maladie liée aux immunoglobulines de type G4 (ML-IgG4) est reconnue depuis le début des années 2000 comme une entité regroupant un ensemble de maladies inflammatoires à caractéristiques histopathologiques communes. Pouvant atteindre quasiment tous les organes et tissus, elle se manifeste le plus souvent de manière subaiguë chez des hommes de plus de 50 ans, sous forme de masse ou d'agrandissement diffus des organes atteints. L'aspect histopathologique est celui d'une infiltration lymphoplasmocytaire à prédominance de plasmocytes IgG4 positifs et d'une fibrose progressive. Ses caractéristiques cliniques et radiologiques peuvent rendre difficile la distinction avec un processus tumoral. La maladie répond bien à un traitement systémique de glucocorticoïdes, avec toutefois un haut taux de récidives après l'arrêt du traitement. Immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4-RD) has been recognized since early 2000s as an entity comprising a set of inflammatory diseases with common histopathological features. The disease may affect almost all organs and tissues, and often occurs in a subacute fashion in males over 50 years as a mass or diffuse enlargement of affected organs. The histopathological appearance is characterized by a lymphoplasmacytic infiltration with predominantly IgG4-positive plasma cells and progressive fibrosis. Its clinical and radiological features can make the distinction with a malignancy difficult. The disease responds well to systemic glucocorticoids however with a high rate of recurrence after treatment discontinuation.

Sensory characteristics of 'Douradão' peaches submitted to modified atmosphere packaging

The sensory, physical and chemical characteristics of 'Douradão' peaches cold stored in different modified atmosphere packaging (LDPE bags of 30, 50, 60, 75µm thickness) were studied. After 14, 21 and 28 days of cold storage (1 ± 1 ºC and 90 ± 5% RH), samples were withdrawn from MAP and kept during 4 days in ambient air for ripening. Descriptive terminology and sensory profile of the peaches were developed by methodology based on the Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA). The assessors consensually defined the sensory descriptors, their respective reference materials and the descriptive evaluation ballot. Fourteen individuals were selected as judges based on their discrimination capacity and reproducibility. Seven descriptors were generated showing similarities and differences among the samples. The data were analysed by ANOVA, Tukey test and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The atmospheres that developed inside the different packaging materials during cold storage differed significantly. The PCA showed that MA50 and MA60 treatments were more characterized by the fresh peach flavour, fresh appearance, juiciness and flesh firmness, and were effective for keeping good quality of 'Douradão' peaches during 28 d of cold storage. The Control and MA30 treatments were characterized by the mealiness, the MA75 treatment showed lower intensity for all attributes evaluated and they were ineffective to maintain good quality of the fruits during cold storage. Higher correlation coefficients (positive) were found between fresh appearance and flesh firmness (0.95), fresh appearance and juiciness (0.97), ratio and intensity of fresh peach smell (0.81), as well as higher correlation coefficients (negative) between Hue angle and intensity of yellow colour (-0.91), fresh appearance and mealiness (-0.92), juiciness and mealiness (-0.95), firmness and mealiness (-0.94).

Phenomenological models of holographic superconductors and hall currents

We study general models of holographic superconductivity parametrized by four arbitrary functions of a neutral scalar field of the bulk theory. The models can accommodate several features of real superconductors, like arbitrary critical temperatures and critical exponents in a certain range, and perhaps impurities or boundary or thickness effects. We find analytical expressions for the critical exponents of the general model and show that they satisfy the Rushbrooke identity. An important subclass of models exhibit second order phase transitions. A study of the specific heat shows that general models can also describe holographic superconductors undergoing first, second and third (or higher) order phase transitions. We discuss how small deformations of the HHH model can lead to the appearance of resonance peaks in the conductivity, which increase in number and become narrower as the temperature is gradually decreased, without the need for tuning mass of the scalar to be close to the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. Finally, we investigate the inclusion of a generalized ¿theta term¿ producing Hall effect without magnetic field.

Preservation of minimally processed 'aurora-1' peaches using additives

'Aurora-1' peaches establishes an interesting alternative as a minimally processed product, due to its characteristics like flavor, color, smell, and also because of its handling resistance. However, it has a short shelf life after a fresh-cut due to enzymatic browning and stone cavity collapse. The main purpose of this research was to test the additive with antioxidant effect to prevent browning in minimally processed 'Aurora-1' peaches. The minimal processing consists of washing, sanitizing, peelings and fruit stone extraction. After that, longitudinal cuts were made to obtain eight segments per fruit. The slices were immersed into the following treatment solutions: control (immersion in 2% ascorbic acid); 2% ascorbic acid + 2% calcium chloride; 1% sodium isoascorbate; 1% citric acid; 1% L-cysteine hydrochloride. The products were placed into rigid polystyrene trays branded MEIWA M-54, covered with 14 µm PVC film (OmnifilmTM) and kept in cold storage at 3ºC ± 2ºC and 65% RH for twelve days, and evaluated each three days. Appraised variables were appearance, soluble solids, titratable acidity, soluble carbohydrates and reducing sugars, total and soluble pectin, ascorbic acid, and peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase enzyme activity. L-cysteine gave to the minimally processed products a shelf life of twelve days, limmited by off-flavor. The treatment with ascorbic acid was efficient to maintainthe ascorbic acid content, with a shelf-life of nine days, limited by enzymatic browning.

Thick XML client and technology of its construction

Nykyään kolmeen kerrokseen perustuvat client-server –sovellukset ovat suuri kinnostuskohde sekä niiden kehittäjille etta käyttäjille. Tietotekniikan nopean kehityksen ansiosta näillä sovelluksilla on monipuolinen käyttö teollisuuden eri alueilla. Tällä hetkellä on olemassa paljon työkaluja client-server –sovellusten kehittämiseen, jotka myös tyydyttävät asiakkaiden asettamia vaatimuksia. Nämä työkalut eivät kuitenkaan mahdollista joustavaa toimintaa graafisen käyttöliittyman kanssa. Tämä diplomityö käsittelee client-server –sovellusten kehittamistä XML –kielen avulla. Tämä lähestymistapa mahdollistaa client-server –sovellusten rakentamista niin, että niiden graafinen käyttöliittymä ja ulkonäkö olisivat helposti muokattavissa ilman ohjelman ytimen uudelleenkääntämistä. Diplomityö koostuu kahdesta ostasta: teoreettisesta ja käytännöllisestä. Teoreettinen osa antaa yleisen tiedon client-server –arkkitehtuurista ja kuvailee ohjelmistotekniikan pääkohdat. Käytannöllinen osa esittää tulokset, client-server –sovellusten kehittämisteknologian kehittämislähestymistavan XML: ää käyttäen ja tuloksiin johtavat usecase– ja sekvenssidiagrammit. Käytännöllinen osa myos sisältää esimerkit toteutetuista XML-struktuureista, jotka kuvaavat client –sovellusten kuvaruutukaavakkeiden esintymisen ja serverikyselykaaviot.