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This small-plot field study evaluated food processing liquid slurry ( FPLS) as a potential fertilizer for tanner grass ( Brachiaria arrecta) production on an acidic loam soil. The treatments, arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates, consisted of an unfertilized control, inorganic fertilizer applied at 50 and 200 kg nitrogen (N) ha−1 with and without phosphorus (P) at 50 kg P ha−1, and FPLS applied at 50 and 200 kg N ha−1. Compared to the unfertilized control, the FPLS applied at 200 kg N ha−1 significantly increased grass dry-matter yield ( DMY), herbage crude protein ( CP) and P content, and N and P uptake in the second of two trials and P uptake in both trials. However, DMY and contents, of CP and P were generally lower for the FPLS treatments compared to the inorganic fertilizers. Apparent N recovery was higher for the inorganic fertilizer treatments than FPLS treatments in trial 1, while apparent P recovery was similar among all treatments in both trials. The FPLS treatments did not significantly increase soil NO3-N and P concentrations, but increased NH4-N in the 0-15 cm layer. The results suggest that application of FPLS to tanner grass pastures is an alternative to its disposal in landfill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the seasonal incidence of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) in the water column of the Patos Lagoon estuary and the effects of UV radiation (UVR) at different organizational levels. Field work was conducted to collect UVA and UVB radiance, transparency, salinity, seston and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration, and fish larvae at an inner and at an outer sampling site in the Patos Lagoon estuary (32°S). Cell culture techniques combined with tools for fluorimetric detection were used to assess possible damage caused by UVR. GEM-81 erythrophoroma cells and larvae of silverside Odontesthes argentinensis were used as biological indicators. Field results revealed that at the inner station, UVA penetration was deeper in autumn and shallower in spring when water-column was less transparent, fresher, and had the highest concentration of seston and Chl a. At the outer station, UVA penetration in the water-column in spring was significantly different than in summer, when transparency and water salinity were high and Chl a was low. UVB did not present significant variation between seasons at both sampling stations. Experiments with GEM-81 cell lineage revealed that UVA doses similar to the environment (1.35 J cm) inhibited cell proliferation, increased the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the lipid peroxide content (LPO), and lowered the activity of the antioxidant defense system (total antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (TOSC)). For UVB, 0.075 J cm caused cytotoxicity and 0.015 J cm induced DNA damage in cells. Silverside larvae showed low growth rate when exposed to UVA and low antioxidant capacity when exposed to UVB. These results suggest that planktonic organisms that live close to surface water column in the Patos Lagoon estuary are subject to the effects of continued exposure to UVR. Knowledge of this impact is relevant to understand future changes in the populations dynamics of planktonic organisms and its ecological and economic implications to southern Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Backfat thickness affects the preservation of the beef carcass after slaughter and confers organoleptic characteristics assessed by the consumer. One of the breeding goals for Canchim, a tropically adapted breed, is to comprehensively increase fat thickness. Our goals were to identify genomic regions associated with backfat in Canchim populations and validate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) overlapping previously identified QTL regions known to affect fat deposition. Fifteen animals with lower and 15 animals with higher residues for backfat, according to a linear model using the SAS GLM procedure, were selected from a population of 1171 animals and genotyped using the BovineSNP50 BeadChip. Initial analysis revealed more than 100 SNPs that discriminated the tails of phenotypic distribution. One extended region of association included the centromeric region of chromosome (Chr) 14. Because this region overlapped with QTL from previous reports, we developed SNP assays to interrogate two linkage disequilibrium blocks, one in the centromeric region and another in the middle region of Chr 14 to confirm the association. The analysis validated the presence of specific haplotypes affecting fat thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which focused on the development of a reliable numerical biomechanical model that at a given time t, returns forces and torques in the hip articulation. Concept of open-chain mechanisms; Description of the model; Efficiency of the proposed model.