Adaptation for tandem cold mill models

The ideal conditions for the operation of tandem cold mills are connected to a set of references generated by models and used by dynamic regulators. Aiming at the optimization of the friction and yield stress coefficients an adaptation algorithm is proposed in this paper. Experimental results obtained from an industrial cold rolling mill are presented. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adequacy of Cold Rolling Models to Upgrade Set-up Generation Systems

This paper presents two strategies for the upgrade of set-up generation systems for tandem cold mills. Even though these mills have been modernized mainly due to quality requests, their upgrades may be made intending to replace pre-calculated reference tables. In this case, Bryant and Osborn mill model without adaptive technique is proposed. As a more demanding modernization, Bland and Ford model including adaptation is recommended, although it requires a more complex computational hardware. Advantages and disadvantages of these two systems are compared and discussed and experimental results obtained from an industrial cold mill are shown.

The perception of Executives and other Employees on the answer to the Sarbanes-Oxley: case study of a subsidary of the American auto industry established in Brazil

To attend and obtain the systems and. internal controls mechanisms proposed by Sarbanes-Oxley certifications is actually a big challenge,for most of the multinational companies registered in SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission). This work has the objective of contributing to the analysis of this methodology, not only to attend the law but to reduce cost and generate value through the strengthen of the internal control systems, turning them into animating value generation process mechanisms. So, the idea is to identify the main gaps in the theory through the literature revision and a case study in order to put a question to the main deficiencies, strong points or contributions through the evaluation of the noticed practices. Finally, we can say that a a result of the research and the analyses made in. this case, the vast majority of executives and other employees recognize the benefit that Sarbanes-Oxley Act has brought to the company searched. Also recognize that, although there is still necessity for systemic adequacy and infrastructure, it helps and reinforce reducing and controlling the risks. the system of internal controls in all areas of expertise. They approach and understand that there is the need for a change in the other employees` culture to be inserted in the day-today routine as internal controls, attention to Sarbanes-Oxley and Corporate Governance, making the control cost smaller when compared to the benefits generated.

Age-dependent increase in blood pressure in two different Native American communities in Brazil

Objective Cardiovascular risk factors were surveyed in two Indian populations (Guarani, n=60; Tupinikin, n=496) and in a non-Indian group (n=114) living in the same reserve in southeast Brazilian coast. The relationship between an age-dependent blood pressure (BP) increase with salt consumption was also investigated. Methods Overnight (12 h) urine was collected to evaluate Na excretion. Fasting glucose and lipids, anthropometry, BP, ECG and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured in a clinic visit. Participation (318 men/352 women, age 20-94 years; mean=37.6 +/- 14.9 years) comprised 80% of the eligible population. Results The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol was similar in Tupinikins and in non-Indians and higher than in Guaranis. The prevalence of smoking and obesity was higher in the latter group. Hypertension and diabetes were detected in only one individual of the Guarani group. Mean BP adjusted to age and BMI was significantly lower (P<0.01) in Guaranis (82.8 +/- 1.6 mmHg) than in Tupinikins (92.3 +/- 0.5 mmHg) and non-Indians (91.6 +/- 1.1 mmHg). Urinary Na excretion (mEq/12h), however, was similar in the three groups (Guarani=94 +/- 40; Tupinikin=105 +/- 56; non-Indian=109 +/- 55; P>0.05). PWV (m/s) was lower (P<0.01) in Guarani (7.5 +/- 1.4) than in Tupinikins (8.8 +/- 2.2) and non-Indians (8.4 +/- 2.0). Multiple regression analysis showed that age and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were independent predictors of SBP and DBP (r(2)=0.44) in Tupinikins, whereas the WHR was the unique independent predictor of BP variability in Guaranis (r(2)=0.22). Conclusion Lower BP levels in Guaranis cannot be explained by low salt intake observed in other primitive populations. J Hypertens 27:1753-1760 (C) 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Bleaching of melanin in the epidermis of South American fur seal and its application on enzyme immunohistochemistry

The South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) is an amphibious marine mammal distributed along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America. The species is well adjusted to different habitats due to the morphology of its fin-like members and due to some adaptations in their integumentary system. Immunohistochemical studies are very important to evaluate the mechanisms of skin adaptation due the differential expression of the antigens present in the tissue depending of the region of the body surface. However, its strongly pigmented (melanin) epidermis prevents the visualization of the immuno-histochemical chromogens markers. In this study a melanin bleaching method was developed aimed to allow the visualization of the chromogens without interfering in the antigen-antibody affinity for immunohistochemistry. The analysis of PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) index in the epidermis of A. australis by immunohistochemistry with diaminobenzidine (DAB) as chromogen was used to test the method. The bleaching of the melanin allowed to obtain the cell proliferation index in epidermis and to avoid false positive results without affecting the immunohistochemical results.

Litter size, effects of maternal body size, and date of birth in South American scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

We present new data on litter size and date of birth (month) for 21 South American scorpions species. We provide data for one katoikogenic species, the liochelid Opisthacanthus cayaporum Vellard, 1932 (offspring = 3; birth month: Jan); and for several apoikogenic species, such as the bothriurids Bothriurus araguayae Vellard, 1934 (53; Sep), B. rochensis San Martín, 1965 (22-28; Jan, Aug); the buthids Ananteris balzanii Thorell, 1891 (10-34; Jan-Mar), Physoctonus debilis (Koch, 1840) (2; Sep), Rhopalurus amazonicus Lourenço, 1986 (19; Nov), R. lacrau Lourenço & Pinto-da-Rocha, 1997 (30; Dec), R. laticauda Thorell, 1876 (41; Nov), R. rochai Borelli, 1910 (11-47; Dec-Jan, Mar-Apr), Tityus bahiensis (Perty, 1833) (4-23; Oct-Mar), T. clathratus Koch, 1844 (8-18; Nov-Jan), T. costatus (Karsch, 1879) (21-25; Jan, Apr), T. kuryi Lourenço, 1997 (4-16; Mar), T. mattogrossensis Borelli, 1901(8-9; May), T. obscurus (Gervais, 1843) (16-31; Jan-Feb, May, Jul), T. serrulatus Lutz & Mello, 1922 (8-36; Dec, Feb-Apr), T. silvestris Pocock, 1897 (5-14; Dec-Jan, Apr), T. stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (10-18; Nov, Jan, Mar), Tityus sp. 1 (T. clathratus group - 7-12; Feb-Apr), Tityus sp. 2 (T. bahiensis group - 2; Mar); and the chactid Brotheas sp. (8-21; Jan, Apr). We observed multiple broods: R. lacrau (offspring in the 2nd brood = 27), T. kuryi (6-16), T. obscurus (2-32), T. silvestris (8), T. stigmurus (4-9), T. bahiensis (offspring in the 2nd brood = 2-18; 3rd = 1), and T. costatus (2nd brood = 18; 3rd = 4). We found statistically significant positive correlation between female size and litter size for T. bahiensis and T. silvestris, and nonsignificant correlation for T. serrulatus.

Molecular phylogeny of advanced snakes (Serpentes, Caenophidia) with an emphasis on South American Xenodontines: a revised classification and descriptions of new taxa

We present a molecular phylogenetic analysis of caenophidian (advanced) snakes using sequences from two mitochondrial genes (12S and 16S rRNA) and one nuclear (c-mos) gene (1681 total base pairs), and with 131 terminal taxa sampled from throughout all major caenophidian lineages but focussing on Neotropical xenodontines. Direct optimization parsimony analysis resulted in a well-resolved phylogenetic tree, which corroborates some clades identified in previous analyses and suggests new hypotheses for the composition and relationships of others. The major salient points of our analysis are: (1) placement of Acrochordus, Xenodermatids, and Pareatids as successive outgroups to all remaining caenophidians (including viperids, elapids, atractaspidids, and all other "colubrid" groups); (2) within the latter group, viperids and homalopsids are sucessive sister clades to all remaining snakes; (3) the following monophyletic clades within crown group caenophidians: Afro-Asian psammophiids (including Mimophis from Madagascar), Elapidae (including hydrophiines but excluding Homoroselaps), Pseudoxyrhophiinae, Colubrinae, Natricinae, Dipsadinae, and Xenodontinae. Homoroselaps is associated with atractaspidids. Our analysis suggests some taxonomic changes within xenodontines, including new taxonomy for Alsophis elegans, Liophis amarali, and further taxonomic changes within Xenodontini and the West Indian radiation of xenodontines. Based on our molecular analysis, we present a revised classification for caenophidians and provide morphological diagnoses for many of the included clades; we also highlight groups where much more work is needed. We name as new two higher taxonomic clades within Caenophidia, one new subfamily within Dipsadidae, and, within Xenodontinae five new tribes, six new genera and two resurrected genera. We synonymize Xenoxybelis and Pseudablabes with Philodryas; Erythrolamprus with Liophis; and Lystrophis and Waglerophis with Xenodon.

Revision of the species of the genus Cathorops (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from Mesoamerica and the Central American Caribbean, with description of three new species

The ariid genus Cathorops includes species that occur mainly in estuarine and freshwater habitats of the eastern and western coasts of southern Mexico, Central and South America. The species of Cathorops from the Mesoamerica (Atlantic slope) and Caribbean Central America are revised, and three new species are described: C. belizensis from mangrove areas in Belize; C. higuchii from shallow coastal areas and coastal rivers in the Central American Caribbean, from Honduras to Panama; and C. kailolae from río Usumacinta and lago Izabal basins in Mexico and Guatemala. Additionally, C. aguadulce, from the río Papaloapan basin in Mexico, and C. melanopus from the río Motagua basin in Guatemala and Honduras, are redescribed and their geographic distributions are revised.

Phlebotomine fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) of an American cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic area in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

The occurrence of an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis associated with Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis in the municipality of Bela Vista, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and the absence of information on its vectors in this area led the authors to undertake captures of phlebotomine sand flies, using Shannon traps and automatic CDC light traps, in domiciles, forested areas and animal shelters from February 2004-January 2006. A total of 808 specimens belonging to 18 sandfly species have been identified: Bichromomyia flaviscutellata,Brumptomyia avellari, Brumptomyia brumpti, Brumptomyia sp, Evandromyia aldafalcaoae, Evandromyia cortelezzii, Evandromyia evandroi, Evandromyia lenti, Evandromyia teratodes, Evandromyia termitophila, Lutzomyia longipalpis, Nyssomyia whitmani, Pintomyia christenseni, Psathyromyia aragaoi, Psathyromyia campograndensis, Psathyromyia punctigeniculata, Psathyromyia shannoni and Sciopemyia sordellii. The presence of Lu. longipalpis, Ny. whitmani and Bi. flaviscutellata, vectors of Leishmania chagasi, Leishmania braziliensis and L. amazonensis, respectively, has increased.

American cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Pontal of Paranapanema - SP, Brazil: ecological and entomological aspects

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) occurs in epidemic outbreaks and in sporadic cases with small annual variation in the Pontal of Paranapanema, SP. There is little research on the sandfly fauna of this region. The last outbreaks were related to the Movement of the Landless Workers (MST) and with the ecological tourism in preserved forest of the Parque Estadual do Morro do Diabo (PEMD). AIM: identification of the sandfly fauna within the PEMD, mainly anthropophilic species already incriminated as vectors of ACL, as well as their seasonality, hourly frequency and data of the behavior. M&M: The captures were undertaken with CDC light and Shannon traps from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm, monthly from May 2000 to December 2001. The temperature and relative humidity data were registered at hourly intervals. RESULTS: The captured species were: Brumptomyia brumpti, Nyssomyia neivai, Nyssomyia whitmani, Pintomyia fischeri and Pintomyia pessoai. The P. pessoai predominated (34.39%) and N. neivai was less found (0.74%), only being captured in CDC traps. Shannon trap captured more sandflies (63.01%) than the CDC traps (36.99%). Despite the environmental degradation anthropophilic species, indicates favorable bioecological conditions for persistence of vectors and potential transmission of leishmaniasis.

Survival, population pize, and gonotrophic cycle duration of Nyssomyia neivai (Diptera: Psychodidae) at an endemic area of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Southeastern Brazil

The survival, absolute population size, gonotrophic cycle duration, and temporal and spatial abundance of Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto) were studied in a rural area endemic for American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in Conchal, Sõo Paulo State, southeastern Brazil, using mark-release-recapture techniques and by monitoring population fluctuation. The monthly abundance exhibited a unimodal pattern, with forest and domicile habitats having the highest relative abundances. A total of 1,873 males and 3,557 females were marked and released during the six experiments, of which 4.1-13.0 per cent of males and 4.1-11.8 per cent of females were recaptured. Daily survivorship estimated from the decline in recaptures per day was 0.681 for males and 0.667 for females. Gonotrophic cycle duration was estimated to be 4.0 d. Absolute population size was calculated using the Lincoln Index and ranged from 861 to 4,612 males and from 2,187 to 19,739 females. The low proportion of females that reach the age when they are potentially infective suggests that N. neivai has a low biological capacity to serve as a vector and that factors such as high biting rates and opportunistic feeding behavior would be needed to enable Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Vianna transmission. This agreed with the epidemiological pattern of ACL in southeastern Brazil that is characterized by low incidence, with isolated cases acquired principally within domiciliary habitats

Review of American fossil phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) with a description of two new species

The objective of this study was to carry out a taxonomic review of fossil American phlebotomine sand flies and describe two new species found in amber in the Dominican Republic. The gonostyle of one of these, Micropygomyia dorafeliciangeliae nov. sp., (=Lutzomyia dorafeliciangeliae, species group oswaldoi), has five spines, similar to that of Micropygomyia paterna (Quate, 1963) (= Lutzomyia paterna, species group oswaldoi), but they may be distinguished by the alpha/gamma ratio, which is <1.0 in the new species and >1 in the latter. Pintomyia dominicana nov. sp. (=Lutzomyia dominicana, species group verrucarum) has four spines on the gonostyle and presents a long bristle on the apex of the paramere, which distinguishes it from the other fossil species. With the description of these two new species, a total of 14 species of the American fossil phlebotomine sand flies has been described, 10 of which belong to the genus Pintomyia. An identification key for male fossil species is presented

Evolution of magnetic properties and crystallographic texture in electrical steel with large plastic deformation

Deformation leads to a hardening of steel due to an increase in the density of dislocations and a reduction in their mobility, giving rise to a state of elevated residual stresses in the crystal lattice. In the microstructure, one observes an increase in the contribution of crystalline orientations which are unfavorable to the magnetization, as seen, for example, by a decrease in B(50), the magnetic flux density at a field of 50 A/cm. The present study was carried out with longitudinal strips of fully processed non-oriented (NO) electrical steel, with deformations up to 70% resulting from cold rolling in the longitudinal direction. With increasing plastic deformation, the value of B(50) gradually decreases until it reaches a minimum value, where it remains even for larger deformations. On the other hand, the coercive field H(c) continually increases. Magnetometry results and electron backscatter diffraction results are compared and discussed. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3560895]

Sliding wear of weld layers with application to cane mill shaft rebuilding

Three welding procedures used to rebuild worn shafts in sugar cane mills were analysed: two submerged arc welding processes and one flux cored arc welding (FCAW) process. Sliding wear tests were in accordance with ASTM G 77 standard, using rings of welding material, blocks of bronze SAE 67, and oil as lubricant. The worn surfaces of rings and blocks were analysed by scanning electron microscopy to determine the wear mechanisms. High contact pressure, high operating temperature, and low relative speed were applied in sliding wear tests to match the conditions in sugar cane mills. Transferred material and evidence of adhesive junctions were detected. Additionally, hardened fragments produced abrasive grooves on the worn surfaces. The welding deposits that presented strong adhesion on the worn surface showed higher mass loss than the materials that presented more abrasive characteristics. Plastic mechanical properties were measured and related to the mass loss. The tested materials presented similar hardness but different yield stress and hardening coefficient. A relationship between wear, strain hardening coefficient, and yield stress was found. The welding deposit that presented the highest hardening coefficient showed the highest mass loss, with evidence of severe adhesion on the worn surface.

South American spider mites: New hosts and localities

In order to contribute to taxonomic information on Tetranychid mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) in South America, surveys were conducted in Brazil (15 States and the Federal District) and Uruguay (one Department); 550 samples of 120 plant species were collected. Tetranychid mite infestations were confirmed in 204 samples, and 22 species belonging to seven genera of the Bryobiinae and Tetranychinae subfamilies were identified on 58 different host plants. Thirty-six new plant hosts were found in Brazil, South America, and worldwide for the following species: Eutetranychus banksi (McGregor); Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar); Oligonychus anonae Paschoal; O. mangiferus (Rahman and Sapra); Tetranychus bastosi Tuttle, Baker and Sales; T. desertorum Banks, 1900, T. evansi Baker and Pritchard; T. ludeni Zacher; T. mexicanus (McGregor); T. neocaledonicus Andre; and T. urticae Koch. Four new localities in Brazil were reported for Eotetranychus tremae De Leon; O. anonae; Panonychus ulmi (Koch); and T. gloveri Baker and Pritchard.