A porous material for bone ingrowth with adequate pore structure and appropriate mechanical properties has long been sought as the ideal bone-implant interface. This study aimed to assess in vivo the influence of three types of porous titanium implant on the new bone ingrowth. The implants were produced by means of a powder metallurgy technique with different porosities and pore sizes: Group 1 = 30% and 180 µm; Group 2 = 30% and 300 µm; and Group 3 = 40% and 180 µm. Six rabbits received one implant of each type in the right and left tibiae and were sacrificed 8 weeks after surgery for histological and histomorphometric analyses. Histological analysis confirmed new bone in contact with the implant, formed in direction of pores. Histomorphometric evaluation demonstrated that the new bone formation was statistically significantly lower in the group G1 than in group G3, (P = 0.023). Based on these results, increased porosity and pore size were concluded to have a positive effect on the amount of bone ingrowth.

A porous implant material with adequate pore structure and the appropriate mechanical properties for bone ingrowth has long been sought. This article presents details of the development, characterization and in vivo evaluations of powder metallurgy-processed titanium samples exhibiting a dense core with an integrated porous surface for biomedical applications. A space-holder method was applied to investigate the effects of different percentages and particle sizes of the urea on bone neoformation in 30 rabbits. The samples were previously characterized using scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing. After 8 and 12 weeks of implantation, bone ingrowth was histologically and histometrically analyzed and push-out testing was performed. This study demonstrated that the association of a dense core integrated with the greatest number of interconnected pores of the smallest size is a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering. This sample exhibits appropriate mechanical properties combined with increased bone ingrowth, providing enhanced resistance to displacement.

To improve yield and nutrient absorption, the addition of fertilizers to provide nutrients in adequate quantities is recommended. An alternative substitution for soluble fertilizer is the use of Acidithiobacillus bacteria to produce rock biofertilizer that is then mixed with organic matter inoculated with diazotrophic bacteria (Beijerinckia indica) for N enrichment. This study evaluates the effectiveness of biofertilizer on nutrient uptake and its interaction with sugarcane filter cake in field-grown sugarcane on an Ultisol in the Brazilian rainforest region. The experiment used two NPK fertilizer treatments (biofertilizer and soluble fertilizer) applied at three rates (50, 100 and 150% of the recommended rate [RR]) and a control treatment of earthworm compost (20 t ha -1 ). The fertilizer treatments were applied with and without filter cake, in four replicates. Total C and N, available P and K, and exchangeable Ca and Mg in plants (upper shoots, leaves and stems) as well as soil samples were analyzed.The biofertilizer showed similar responses as did the soluble fertilizer in nutrient uptake in the different parts of sugarcane and in the soil samples. The effects of biofertilizer were enhanced by the interaction of the fertilizer treatments with sugarcane filter cake. We concluded that the biofertilizer enriched in N by inoculation with B.indica may be a viable alternative for the replacement of soluble fertilizers in sugarcane.

No abstract

A B S T R A C THydrocarbon reservoirs are generally located beneath complex geological structures. Frequently, such areas contain seismic diffractors that carry detailed structure information in the order of the seismic wavelength. Therefore, the development of computational facilities capable of detecting diffractor points with a good resolution is desirable but has been a challenge in the area of seismic processing. In this work, we present a method for the detection of diffraction points in the common-offsetgather domain. The method applies a two-class k nearest neighbours (kNN) pattern recognition technique to amplitudes along diffraction traveltime curves to distinguish between diffractions and reflections or noise. While the method, in principle, requires knowledge of the migration velocity field, it is very robust with respect to an erroneous model. Numerical examples using synthetic seismic and field groundpenetrating-radar (GPR) data demonstrate the feasibility of the technique and show its usefulness for automatically mapping diffraction points in a seismic section. In our applications, the method was able to detect all diffractions present in the data and did not produce any false positives.

The actions and priorities of the Strategic Action Plan to Combat Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases in Brazil include the consumption of vegetables and fruit, as they are sources of vitamins, minerals and fibers. Thus, also meeting the demand for foods with convenient consumption, together with microbiological and nutritional security, we

Much of the production of vegetables, including lettuce, takes place on small farms, requiring the use of technologies that increase productivity without compromising environmental quality and food safety. Biofertilizers are sustainable alternatives to the farmer, to reduce or replace the use of soluble mineral fertilizers. These materials act directly or indirectly on all or parts of the cultivated plants, providing nutrients and increasing their productivity. These formulations are composed of materials that are easily accessible to the farmer, such as harvest remains, and microorganisms that act beneficially can also be used, increasing the availability of nutrients to plants, through biological processes. The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of lettuce seedlings in different substrates. The experiment was installed in the agriculture sectorof the Center for Social and Agrarian Human Sciences-UFPB, in randomized blocks, with 4 replications and 4 treatments, using 200-cell polypropylene trays, each plot consisting of 20 seedlings. The evaluated treatments were: T1-commercial substrate; T2-filter cake biofertilizer and plant growth-promoting bacteria; T3-50% ravine soil and 50% bovine manure; T4-50% ravine soil and 50% goat manure. At 34 days after planting, the stem diameter, plant height, fresh weight of the aerial part, fresh weight of the root, dry matter of the aerial part, and dry matter of the root were evaluated. The biofertilizer had a similar effect to the commercial substrates, bovine manure, and goat manure in the development of lettuce seedlings.

Apresenta a relação entre a percepção de um usuário da informação sobre sua competência informacional e sua percepção sobre o compartilhamento de fake news no WhatsApp. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário on-line, com um grupo de estudantes de uma especialização em letramento informacional e uma amostra geral. A percepção individual sobre o próprio comportamento informacional está positivamente relacionada à confiança da mídia, e não à sua competência informacional. Os participantes percebem que outras pessoas são mais suscetíveis a ser influenciadas e compartilhar fake news que eles mesmos – família, amigos, colegas e os brasileiros em geral. Eles percebem que o compartilhamento de fake news no WhatsApp é muito prejudicial e não consideram que quem compartilha desinformação o faz por querer, mas sim, por falta de competências em informação. Não se identificou ações corretivas. Embora os participantes digam preocupar-se com os efeitos do compartilhamento das fake news no WhatsApp e tomar atitudes para os combater, não é possível identificar, de fato, estas ações. Conclui-se que os participantes parecem considerar que quem compartilha conteúdos falsos é vítima e não tem interesse na circulação de informações falsas. Por último, os participantes desconsideram a economia das fake news, os mecanismos que permitem sua reprodução e a dimensão técnica da circulação da informação – o modo como algoritmos reestruturam o fluxo de informações na internet, a existência de bots, dentre outros.