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Diatomaceous earth is an organic naturally occurring material rich in silicon. This silicon source can be used in organic agriculture, it also has a great potential of use in the acclimatization of crops. However, there are no reports of the effects of diatomaceous earth supplementation on the micropropagation of sweet potato. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of diatomaceous earth applied in vitro on the growth, physiology and anatomy of sweet potato cv. 'Brazlândia Branca' after acclimatization. Four concentrations of diatomaceous earth. After 30 days of in vitro growth, the plants were transferred to a greenhouse for acclimatization. After 45 days, leaf number, shoot and root length, fresh and dry shoot and root mass, gas exchange, chlorophyll content, root and leaf anatomy. The experimental design was completely randomized. The supplementation of diatomaceous earth in the in vitro cultivation had beneficial effects, increasing the accumulation of mass, improving the photosynthetic apparatus and promoting favorable anatomical characteristics during the acclimatization of the sweet potato plants. In addition, the use of diatomaceous earth achieved adequate seedling development, with higher seedling quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic effects than attained with control treatment.

Strawberry ( Fragaria x ananassa , Duch.) is an important crop worldwide. However, since it is a highly demanding crop in terms of the chemical conditions of the substrate, a large part of strawberry production implies the application of large amounts of fertilizers in the production fields. This practice can cause environmental problems, in addition to increases in the fruit's production costs. In this context, applying plant growth-promoting bacteria in production fields can be an essential strategy, especially thanks to their ability to stimulate plant growth via different mechanisms. Therefore, this study aimed to test in vitro and in vivo the potential of bacteria isolated from strawberry leaves and roots to directly promote plant growth. The isolates were tested in vitro for their ability to produce auxins, solubilize phosphate and fix nitrogen. Isolates selected in vitro were tested on strawberry plants to promote plant growth and increase the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in the leaves. The tested isolates showed an effect on plant growth according to biometric parameters. Among the tested isolates, more expressive results for the studied variables were observed with the inoculation of the isolate MET12M2, belonging to the species Brevibacillus fluminis . In general, bacterial inoculation induced strain-dependent effects on strawberry growth. In vitro and in vivo assays showed the potential use of the B. fluminis MET12M2 isolate as a growth promoter for strawberries.

Background: The use of a peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) is a common invasive practice in healthcare settings. It is estimated that about 70% of people with PIVCs will develop associated complications, such as infections. It is the consensus that best practices could reduce the appearance of such complications and reduce the length of stay in hospital., Methods: A project will be applied to implement the best approach in peripheral venous catheterization, provided by clinical nurses from an inland hospital in Portugal. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology will be used on evidence implementation projects, which will be developed in three phases. First, a baseline audit will be performed. The second phase implements corrective measures, and the third phase is a follow-up audit., Conclusions: This project will improve the practice of the nursing team on peripheral venous catheterization nursing cares, positively influencing the quality of nursing care and patient safety. The implementation and dissemination of this project could boost its replication in other centres.

Garlic is a health promoter that has important bioactive compounds. The bioactive extraction is an important step in the analysis of constituents present in plant preparations. The purpose of this study is to optimize the extraction with the best proportion of solvents to obtain total phenolic compounds (TPC) and thiosulfinates (TS) from dried garlic powder, and evaluate the antioxidant activities of the optimized extracts. A statistical mixture simplex axial design was used to evaluate the effect of solvents (water, ethanol, and acetone), as well as mixtures of these solvents, after two ultrasound extraction cycles of 15 min. Results showed that solvent mixtures with a high portion of water and pure water were efficient for TPC and TS recovery through this extraction procedure. According to the regression model computed, the most significant solvent mixtures to obtain high TPC and TS recovery from dried garlic powder are, respectively, the binary mixture with 75% water and 25% acetone and pure water. These optimized extracts presented oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Pure water was better for total antioxidant capacity, and the binary mixture of water-acetone (75:25) was better for DPPH scavenging activity. These optimized extracts can be used for industrial and research applications.

The association of different species of endophytic bacteria with the rhizosphere of the host plants can stimulate growth, development and acclimatization, offering a greater quantity of seedlings, in addition to reducing the cycle, providing economic return to the producer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of introduction four bacterial isolates through inoculation into the root system in three banana cultivars (Prata Anã, Grande Naine and BRS Princesa) in the acclimatization phase. The evaluated treatments were: control (nutrient broth without bacteria); Bacillus cereus strain 1 (BC1); Bacillus cereus strain 2 (BC2); Bacillus thuringiensis (BT); Buttiauxella agrestis (BA). The morphological characteristics related to the development of the plants (total height and pseudostem diameter) were evaluated throughout the acclimatization period. After 90 days of transplanting and acclimatization, root length, leaf number, dry root weight, pseudostem and leaf, leaf area, internal carbon concentration, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, leaf temperature and chlorophyll were evaluated. The bacteria showed different results in relation to the studied cultivars. Considering the morphological and physiological characteristics observed in this study, B. thuringiensis for the cultivars Prata Anã and Grande Naine and the B. agrestis for the cultivar BRS Princesa are recommended for the process of acclimatization of banana seedlings, as they stimulated growth of the plant, increasing the dry mass, besides promoting the growth of roots. In this way, they improved the physiological aspects of the plants and reduced the period of acclimatization of the banana., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is one of the crops whose economic importance has increased considerably in recent years in Brazil. The use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a useful alternative for reducing the cost of agricultural inputs and, consequently, for increasing productivity. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to isolate and evaluate potential growth promoters in plants and plant pathogenic fungi growth inhibitors using endophytic bacteria from garlic roots and bacteria from the Agricultural Microbiology Culture Collection at the Federal University of Lavras. Besides verifying improvements in the growth and physiology of garlic meristems grown in vitro under the action of PGPB. Forty-eight endophytic bacteria were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry based on the protein profile of each isolate. Four isolates were chosen according to their ability to fix nitrogen, to produce auxin and solubilize phosphate. The cultivation of garlic meristems in tissue culture with these bacteria was established at a population level of 10 6 CFU/mL. The evaluated criteria were: (1) the colonization capacity of the bacteria inside the garlic plants determined through scanning electron microscopy; (2) the chlorophyll content; and (3) the growth of garlic plants in vitro post-PGPB inoculation. Volatiles emitted by those isolates inhibited fungi growth. The inoculation of garlic meristems with Enterobacter cloacae and Burkholderia cepacia promoted an improvement in the growth and physiological attributes of garlic, indicating the feasibility of their application as plant growth promoters for commercial cultivation., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Plant growth-promoting bacteria have been highlighted by their potential for application in plant production, allowing the reduction of the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which is due to the ability to stimulate the growth of plants by nitrogen-fixation and production of phytohormones, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The objective of this study was to verify the potential of plant growth promotion of 25 wild isolates from the Agricultural Microbiology Culture Collection of the Federal University of Lavras (CCMA-UFLA) through the evaluation of the biological nitrogen-fixation capacity and the production of IAA. In addition, the growth of three selected strains inoculated on roots of strawberry seedlings in greenhouse conditions was evaluated. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (CRD), with an 8 × 2 factorial schemes involving eight combinations of bacteria: alone, in pairs and threes, plus the control without inoculation. Two fertilizer levels were used (0% and 50% of nitrogen), totaling 16 treatments with eight replicates each. After 75 days, variables such as root length, root dry weight, aerial part length, aerial part dry weight, leaf number, total dry mass and ultrastructural analysis of the inoculated and uninoculated roots, were evaluated. The results showed that the strawberry crop responded positively to inoculation with the three bacteria combined Azospirillum brasilense (Ab-V5) + Burkholderia cepacia (CCMA 0056) + Enterobacter cloacae (CCMA 1285) compared to the uninoculated controls. More expressive responses in terms of plant growth were observed in relation to the combined inoculation of the three bacterial strains plus fertilizer application with 50% of nitrogen., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) plays an important role in popular culture due to its dietary and medicinal uses. It is also used to produce a wide range of pharmacologically interesting molecules. Several pathogens affect garlic plants, especially Athelia (Sclerotium) rolfsii, a fungus that is widespread and causes large economic losses. It causes direct damage to crops and leads to plant stress, which induces secondary metabolite production in plants. The use of microorganisms as biocontrol agents may induce the production of beneficial metabolites in plants that will protect it and promote resistance to pathogen attack. In addition to suppressing disease, biological control agents may have elicitor effects that could induce an increase in the production of useful bioactive secondary metabolites in plants, some of which may be of pharmacological interest. Therefore, the search for new biological control agents should also consider their potential as elicitor agents. This paper presents an analysis of the biological control of Athelia (Sclerotium) rolfsii by antagonistic microrganisms, the potential of yeasts and bacteria of the genus Bacillus for the biocontrol of phytopathogens, microrganisms influence in nutritional and bioactive compounds content of interest to the pharmaceutical industry.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of simulated toothbrushing over ten weeks on the roughness and optical stability (colour, translucency and gloss) of microfilled - Mf (Durafil VS), microhybrid - Mh (Empress Direct) and nanofilled - Nf (Z 350) resin-based composites (RBC)., Methods: The roughness, colour, translucency and gloss of each RBC were measured before and after storage in distilled water (DW) and propionic acid (PA) for ten weeks. The specimens were removed from the media each week, submitted to toothbrushing simulation and the properties measured. The obtained data were analyzed using a multifactor analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Tukey's HSD test (α=0.05)., Results: The roughness significantly increased after ten weeks for the three RBCs (p<0.05), with the final values of roughness presenting no statistical differences among them (p>0.05). Only Mf and Nf immersed in DW and Mh immersed in PA presented a change in colour after ten weeks (p<0.05), although the change in colour was lower after immersion in PA for the three RBCs (p<0.05). None of the RBCs presented significant changes in translucency after ten weeks (p>0.05). Only Mh immersed in DW presented gloss stability after ten weeks (p>0.05)., Conclusions: Toothbrushing increased the roughness and diminished the gloss of the three RBCs. The translucency was not influenced by the toothbrushing. The immersion in propionic acid produced lower alterations in colour than did immersion in distilled water., Clinical Significance: In general, the three RBCs presented similar optical behaviours after toothbrushing over ten weeks. Thus, it is possible that anterior restorations produced with these materials will not present perceptible differences over time., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

There are some arguments concerning prenatal Hepatitis B testing: universal screening versus testing of risk groups. A thousand parturients were evaluated in order to assess the sensitivity of risk factors in the identification of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive women. To achieve that purpose they were questioned regarding risk factors and blood samples were collected for HBsAg testing. Thirty two HBsAg positive parturients were identified. A larger number of HBsAg positive was found amongst women included in the class 5 of the Graffard scale (p = 0.005), or referring contact with patients with hepatitis (p = 0.01). These risk factors identified no more than 17 of the 32 positive mothers (sensitivity = 53%). None of the other risk factors proved significant. The entire questionnaire allows a sensitivity of 87.5% but presents a specificity of 22.5%. In this population, risk factors are not a good method of screening HBsAg positive women. A universal screening must be undertaken in order to prevent vertical transmission of the virus and to detect families in risk.