Abstract This study investigated the renal function of soccer players after an entire game-season. Thirty-five athletes recruited to play for the Macae Futebol Clube were invited for this study, of which 18 athletes completed the entire game season. Blood and 24-hour urine were collected at the beginning (Pre-Season) and the end of the game season (Post-Season). Kidney functions were assessed by calculating the urinary excretion, clearance, and fractional excretion of the selected solutes. Plasma creatinine, sodium, total protein, and osmolality were lower in the Post-Season . In contrast, plasma urea was higher in the Post-Season period. Urinary excretion of urea was reduced while albumin excretion was higher in comparison to Pre-Season. The clearances of creatinine, total proteins, and albumin were higher in the Post-Season period. In accordance, the fractional excretion of albumin increased. On the other hand, the clearance and fractional excretion of urea was lower in the Post-Season period. These results show that soccer-associated exercise throughout the entire game-season induces kidney functions adaptations that may prevent dehydration in these athletes through increased urea reabsorption to conserve water. In addition, this data corroborates to increased glomerular permeability to plasma proteins, such as albumin, that soccer players may experience.

RESUMO Este estudo teve por objetivo avaliar os efeitos de sistemas de semeadura e de aplicação de fertilizantes sobre a incidência de plantas daninhas e componentes de rendimento na cultura da soja. Dois experimentos foram realizados em áreas com níveis distintos de fertilidade. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi blocos ao acaso em parcelas subdivididas, o tratamento principal foi quatro sistemas de semeadura, sendo: sistema de semeadura cruzada (0,45x0,45 m); sistema de espaçamento entre linha reduzido de 0,35 m, 0,175 m e 0,45 m. Como subparcelas foram três sistemas de aplicação de fertilizantes, sendo: aplicado na linha de semeadura, lanço no momento da semeadura e sem aplicação de fertilizante. As variáveis analisadas foram: produtividade, massa de mil grãos e incidência de plantas daninhas aos 30 e 50 dias após a semeadura (DAS). Nos 30 DAS, a incidência foi menor no espaçamento entre linhas 0,45 m, fato correlacionado com o menor revolvimento da camada superficial do solo. O arranjo de planta no espaçamento entre linha de 0,175 m proporcionou menor competição entre plantas daninhas aos 50 DAS e maior sombreamento, resultando em maior rendimento de grãos. A aplicação do fertilizante na linha causou maior rendimento e massa de mil grãos. O sistema de semeadura afeta a dinâmica populacional de plantas daninhas que teve influencia direta no rendimento da cultura da soja.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects sowing systems and fertilizer application systems on the incidence of weeds and on yield components in soybean crops. Two experiments were conducted in soils with different fertility levels. An experimental design in split-plot was used; the plots consisted of four sowing systems: crossed sowing (0.45×0.45 m), and spacings between rows of 0.35 m, 0.175 m, and 0.45 m; and the subplots consisted of fertilizer application systems: application in the sowing row, broadcast fertilizer application at sowing, and no fertilizer application. The variables evaluated were: grain yield, 1000-grain weight, and weed incidence at 30 and 50 days after sowing (DAS). The weed incidence at 30 DAS was lower when using spacing between rows of 0.45 m, which was correlated with the lower turning of the soil surface layer. The plant spacing between rows of 0.175 m resulted in a lower competition with weeds at 50 DAS and in a higher shading, generating higher grain yields. The fertilizer application in the sowing row resulted in a higher grain yield and 1000-grain weight. The sowing system affects the weed population dynamics, which directly affects the grain yield of soybean crops.

In recent years, the increase in the generation of waste (e.g., bones and skin) from the processing of fish-based food related to the increase in fish consumption and the accumulation of synthetic polymers in the environment are causing major environmental concerns. Hydroxyapatite (HA) extracted from the bones and collagen from the skin of fish processing residues can be combined with synthetic polymers to maximize the use of waste material derived from fish while simultaneously reducing the use of synthetic polymers. Hence, in this study, collagen and HA were extracted from the carcasses of Lophiosilurus alexandri, and the obtained materials were reused to prepare low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blends and composites. The integrity of the triple helix structure of collagen was confirmed by FTIR and DSC showing that there was no collagen denaturation during its extraction and sample processing. The results indicated that the material produced by the incorporation of collagen into LDPE compatibilized with polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride exhibits good mechanical and surface properties for use as a support material for ornamental articles, among other applications.

RESUMO Esse estudo testou a utilização de marcadores externos em juvenis de Lophiosilurus alexandri, assim como o tamanho mínimo ideal do peixe para marcação. No experimento 1 foi avaliado a taxa de retenção e a influência do marcador sobre a sobrevivência e crescimento dos peixes divididos por tamanho nas classes: Pequeno, Médio e Grande. Após 90 dias, os peixes apresentaram 100% de sobrevivência e uma taxa de retenção mais elevada para os animais classificados como grandes. O segundo experimento avaliou a influência do marcador sobre os parâmetros hematológicos dos animais após 5, 10 e 30 dias da marcação. Neste experimento, foram observados valores mais elevados para o hematócrito no 30º dia para os animais marcados, enquanto nenhuma diferença foi observada para leucócitos, proteína plasmática, eritrócitos e volume corpuscular médio. Concluiu-se o que o marcador reduziu a taxa de crescimento dos animais menores, e que a taxa de retenção aumentou com o aumento do tamanho do animal. Dos parâmetros hematológicos avaliados, o marcador influenciou apenas no valor do hematócrito, o que mostra que o marcador pode ser usado sem considerável influência nos parâmetros hematológicos do L. alexandri.

ABSTRACT This study tested an external tag for juveniles of Lophiosilurus alexandri and measured the effects of tagging in different size classes of fishes. Experiment 1 evaluated the retention rate and influence of the tag on survival and growth of three hundred fishes divided Small, Medium and Large size classes. After 90 days of experiment the fishes had 100% survival and the tag had a higher retention rate for animals of the Large size class. Experiment 2 evaluated the tag’s influence on hematology parameters of forty-two fishes at 5, 10 and 30 days post-tagging. In this experiment both tagged and untagged animals experienced 9.4% mortality. The hematocrit was higher on the 30th day for tagged animals than for untagged animals. No difference was observed for leukocytes, plasma protein, erythrocytes and mean corpuscular volume. It was concluded from Experiment 1 that the tag reduced growth performance when applied to small sized juvenile L. alexandri, and that the tag retention rate increased with increasing animal size. Among the hematological parameters studied for juveniles on the Experiment 2 the tag only influenced the hematocrit parameters, which shows that the tag can be used without considerable influence on the hematological parameters of juvenile L. alexandri.