ABSTRACT
Understanding soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics is essential to employ management that contribute to the improvement of soil quality (SQ). The aim of this study was to characterize the SOM and evaluate the emission of mineralizable C (C-CO2) in different management systems. The soil was collected in five managed areas: exposed soil (ES), conventional tillage system (CTS), no-tillage system (NTS), permanent pasture (PP) and sugarcane (SC), in addition to a forest area (NF), in the layers of 0-5, 5-10, and 10-20 cm. Total organic carbon (TOC), physical-granulometric fractionation of SOM were performed, determining the contents and stocks of particulate organic matter (C-POM; StockPOM) and mineral organic matter (C-MOM; StockMOM), in addition to calculating SQ indices. In addition to C-CO2 emissions from the soil. The areas of PP and NTS presented the highest levels of TOC in the surface layer. The highest levels of C-MOM and StockMOM were observed in the PP area, besides higher CSI (carbon stock index), reaching 1.67 in the 10-20 cm layer. The areas of PP and SC were similar to the NF in all layers regarding CMI (carbon management index). In CTS, there were higher peaks in emissions and accumulation of C-CO2. It is evident that the improvements in the SQ in the areas of PP, SC, and NTS caused mainly by the deposition of plant material and by soil revolving not being performed. In the CTS, high emission peaks of C-CO2 show that the lack of conservation management practices contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases.
Subject(s)
Saccharum , Soil , Agriculture , Carbon/analysis , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Environmental Monitoring , Quality Indicators, Health CareABSTRACT
Background. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory, multisystem, and autoimmune disease. Objective. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of hyposalivation in SLE patients and evaluate factors associated. Methods. This is a cross-sectional study developed at the Cuiaba University General Hospital (UNIC-HGU), Mato Grosso, Brazil. The study population consisted of female SLE patients treated at this hospital from 06/2010 to 12/2012. Unstimulated salivary flow rates (SFRs) were measured. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed in all cases using a significance level P < 0.05. Results. The results showed that 79% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus suffered from hyposalivation and that the disease activity and age in years were the factors that resulted in statistically significant differences. Conclusion. The activity of the disease, age >27 years, and the drugs used were factors associated with hyposalivation, resulting in a statistically significant decrease in saliva production.
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to characterize Nelore cattle on central performance tests in pasture, ranked by the visual classification method EPMURAS (structure, precocity, muscle, navel, breed, posture, and sexual characteristics), and to estimate genetic and phenotypic correlations between these parameters, including visual as well as production traits (initial and final weight on test, weight gain, and weight corrected for 550 days). The information used in the study was obtained on 21,032 Nelore bulls which were participants in the central performance test at pasture of the Brazilian Association for Zebu Breeders (ABCZ). Heritabilities obtained were from 0.19 to 0.50. Phenotypic correlations were positive from 0.70 to 0.97 between the weight traits, from 0.65 to 0.74 between visual characteristics, and from 0.29 to 0.47 between visual characteristics and weight traits. The genetic correlations were positive ranging from 0.80 to 0.98 between the characteristics of structure, precocity and musculature, from 0.13 to 0.64 between the growth characteristics, and from 0.41 to 0.97 between visual scores and weight gains. Heritability and genetic correlations indicate that the use of visual scores, along with the selection for growth characteristics, can bring positive results in selection of beef cattle for rearing on pasture.
