Genetic diversity of standard leaf nutrients in Coffea canephora genotypes during phenological phases.

Diagnosing foliar nutritional status is essential for fertilizer recommendations and for the identification of nutrient imbalances. This study aimed to verify genetic diversity and establish mean standards (leaf nutrient contents; LNCs) and relationships among leaf nutrients (LNC relationships; LNCRs) in seven conilon coffee genotypes during both pre-flowering and bean-filling stages. Twenty crops from several cities in the northern region of Espírito Santo State, Brazil, with crop yield either equal to or greater than 100 bags per hectare (during two harvests) were assessed. A total of 140 samples were collected during each evaluation period for quantification of leaf nutrient contents (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, and B). The Ward procedure, a hierarchical genetic clustering method, was used to quantify the genetic diversity among genotypes. To examine differences between the LNCs and LNCRs, F-and Scott-Knott tests were used. LNCs and LNCRs showed significant differences among the conilon coffee genotypes during the evaluation periods. Additionally, the 8V, 10V,and 12V genotypes exhibited the highest values for most of the nutrients, especially for N, P, and Cu. Therefore, the clustering method revealed genetic diversity among genotypes for standard leaf nutrient levels, implying that leaf diagnosis could be specific to each genotype and phenological stage.

Investigation of ground- and excited-state photophysical properties of 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphyrin with ruthenium outlying complexes.

The present work employs a set of complementary techniques to investigate the influence of outlying Ru(II) groups on the ground- and excited-state photophysical properties of free-base tetrapyridyl porphyrin (H(2)TPyP). Single pulse and pulse train Z-scan techniques used in association with laser flash photolysis, absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence decay measurements, allowed us to conclude that the presence of outlying Ru(II) groups causes significant changes on both electronic structure and vibrational properties of porphyrin. Such modifications take place mainly due to the activation of nonradiative decay channels responsible for the emission quenching, as well as by favoring some vibrational modes in the light absorption process. It is also observed that, differently from what happens when the Ru(II) is placed at the center of the macrocycle, the peripheral groups cause an increase of the intersystem crossing processes, probably due to the structural distortion of the ring that implies a worse spin-orbit coupling, responsible for the intersystem crossing mechanism.

[Hemorrhagic angiodysplasia of the upper digestive tract: endoscopic diagnosis and treatment]. / Angiodisplasia hemorrágica no trato digestivo superior: diagnóstico e tratamento endoscópico.

Angiodysplasia of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is considered probably the most common cause of the occult bleeding. This paper analyses retrospectively 8 patients with angiodysplasia from upper GI tract. Two of them had Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome. The main symptom was upper GI bleeding and 5 patients had acute melena and 3 chronic-intermittent bleeding. The diagnosis of angiodysplasia was confirmed by endoscopy. All patients but one underwent endoscopic treatment by injections of sclerosant and vasoconstrictor agents. One patient had hemigastrectomy and died in the post-operative. In the follow-up of 10 to 41 months, 2 patients died, one with bronchial carcinoma and the other due to cardiopulmonary failure. There was no bleeding recurrence in 5 patients. The endoscopic therapy should be the first choice if it is feasible, considering its efficacy as well as the low cost and safety.