Viabilidade de uso de um fogão solar para cocção de alimentos com parábola refletora fabricada em compósito que utiliza fibras de Carnaúba e resina Ortoftálica

Presents a composite formed by orthophthalic resin and fiber loading of carnauba straw. The fibers were first dried in direct sun exposure and subsequently ground into fodder for the reduction in size. Various formulations of the composite were preliminarily tested by choosing the one presenting the best processability in applying the mold. The composite produced is used for the manufacture of a parabolic surface subsequently coated with mirror segments, flexible plastic, for reflecting the solar rays incident on it. The reflective parable represents the main element of the solar cooker that works with the concentration of sunlight and has dimensions of 1.14 m in diameter and area of 1.0 m². Manufacturing processes and assembly of solar cooker concentration produced are presented. The results of tests for cooking and baking various foods, including rice, pasta, beans, cake, cassava, shrimp, beef, breaded demonstrating the competitiveness of solar cooker studied with other stoves already manufactured and tested in Brazil are presented and in the world. It was also demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed composite for Prototypes manufacture of solar and other structures that do not require great efforts resistance

O uso pedagógico de uma seqüência didática para a aquisição de algumas idéias relacionadas ao conceito de números complexos

The aim of the present work is to contribute to the teaching-learning process in Mathematics through an alternative which tries to motivate the student so that he/she will learn the basic concepts of Complex Numbers and realize that they are not pointless. Therefore, this work s general objective is to construct a didactic sequence which contains structured activities that intends to build up, in each student s thought, the concept of Complex Numbers. The didactic sequence is initially based on a review of the main historical aspects which begot the construction of those numbers. Based on these aspects, and the theories of Richard Skemp, was elaborated a sequence of structured activities linked with Maths history, having the solution of quadratic equations as a main starting point. This should make learning more accessible, because this concept permeates the students previous work and, thus, they should be more familiar with it. The methodological intervention began with the application of that sequence of activities with grade students in public schools who did not yet know the concept of Complex Numbers. It was performed in three phases: a draft study, a draft study II and the final study. Each phase was applied in a different institution, where the classes were randomly divided into groups and each group would discuss and write down the concepts they had developed about Complex Numbers. We also use of another instrument of analysis which consisted of a recorded interview of a semi-structured type, trying to find out the ways the students thought in order to construct their own concepts, i.e. the solutions of the previous activity. Their ideas about Complex Numbers were categorized according to their similarities and then analyzed. The results of the analysis show that the concepts constructed by the students were pertinent and that they complemented each other this supports the conclusion that the use of structured activities is an efficient alternative for the teaching of mathematics

Expressão de zif-268 durante a aquisição, evocação e extinção de uma memória aversiva

In the behavioral paradigm of discriminative avoidance task, both short and long-term memories have been extensively investigated with behavioral and pharmacological approaches. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, using the abovementioned model, the hippocampal expression of zif-268 - a calcium-dependent immediate early gene involved with synaptic plasticity process - throughout several steps of memory formation, such as acquisition, evocation and extiction. The behavioral apparatus consisted of a modified elevaated plus-maze, with their enclosed arms disposed in "L". A pre-exposure to the maze was made with the animal using all arms enclosed, for 30 minutes, followed by training and test, during 10 minutes each. The between sections interval was 24h. During training, aversive stimuli (bright light and loud noise) were actived whenever the animals entered one of the enclosed armas (aversive arm). Memory acquisiton, retention and extinction were evaluated by the percentage of the total time spent exploring the aversive arm. The parameters evaluated (time spent in the arms and total distance traveled) were estimated with an animal tracking software (Anymaze, Stoelting, USA). Learning during training was estimated by the decrease of the time spent exploring the aversive arm. One hour after the beginning of each section, animals were anaesthetized with sodium-thiopental (i.p.) and perfused with 0.9% heparinized saline solution followed by 4% paraformaldehyde. Brains were cryoprotected with 20% sucrose, separeted in three blocks and frozen. The middle block, containing the hippocampus, was sectioned at 20 micro meters in the coronal plane and the resutant sections were submitted to zif-268 immunohistochemistry. Our results show an increased expression of zif-268 in the dentate gyrus (DG) during the evocation and extinction stages. There is a distinct participation of the DG during the memory evocation, but not during its acquisition. Inaddition, all hippocampal regions (CA1, CA3 and DG) presented an increased zif-268 expression during the process of extinction.

Efeitos da cafeína sobre a memória de saguis (Callithrix jacchus)

Caffeine is considered the most consumed psychostimulant in the world, presenting several central and peripheral effects. In the Central Nervous System the major effect occur by its antagonistic activity at the A1 and A2a subtypes of the adenosine receptors. These receptors are responsible for the slow-wave sleep induction, and their binding, caused by the consumption of foods and beverages that contain caffeine, cause behaviors like increase of alertness, mood and locomotion. The effects of caffeine on memory are still discussed because of the diversity of experimental protocols. Also, it does not have the same effects on all stages of the processing of memory - acquisition, consolidation and recall. Thus, using the marmoset (Callitrhix jacchus) as subject, we aim to evaluate the effects of caffeine on the memory of this primate through the conditioned place preference paradigm, where the animal selects a context by presence of food. This cognitive task consists of five phases. The first phase was two sessions of pre-exposure, in which they were evaluated for preference for any compartment of the apparatus. Then, we proceeded the training, conditioning the animals to the food-present context for 8 days. Then, there was administration of caffeine or placebo (10mg/kg) for 8 consecutive days, during the pre-sleep phase, where the 20 animals were distributed in two groups: placebo and repeated. The forth phase was one day of retraining, a re-exposure of the apparatus to the marmosets followed by the administration of caffeine (for the repeated group and a new group called abstinence) or placebo (for placebo and abstinence groups). Finally, was the test where we evaluated if the subjects learned where the food was present. Moreover, in this work we evaluate the existence of differences between females and males on the task, and the locomotor activity for the experimental groups. The results showed that in the pre-exposure phase the animals were habituated on the apparatus and did not present differences for any contexts. In training, they were able to learn the conditioning task, independent of gender. For the retraining, the two groups exhibited more interactions in rewarded context than that in non-rewarded context. Nevertheless, in the locomotor activity, the repeated group moved similarly in contact with the apparatus and outside of it. In the other hand, the animals of the placebo group moved more when in contact with the apparatus. In the test phase, the marmosets under influence of caffeine presented an increase in the locomotor activity when compared with the placebo group, corroborating works that show this increase in locomotion. In the learning evaluation, the continuous and abstinence groups had a bad performance in the task in relation to the placebo and acute groups. This suggests that the prolonged administration of caffeine disrupts the memories because it affected sleep, which is largely responsible offline processing of memories

A influência do status social no forrageio de itens camuflados e avermelhados em sagüis (Callithrix jacchus) cativos

Seeing colors can be advantageous, because they are an important signal for providing information about the environment, such as the location of food. However, not every animals sees these chromatic signals in the same way. In primates, the group of Plathyrrhini has polymorphic sex-linked vision with males always dichromats and dichromats or trichromats females. Studies indicate that trichromats during foraging would benefit by seeing better than dichromats ripe fruits against the green foliage background. On the other hand, dichromats appear to distinguish camouflaged insects better than trichromats. The marmoset (Callihtrix jacchus) is a neotropical primate species that have color vision polymorphism. This species establishes family groups with highly reproductive bias, with breeding females often having preferential access to food. This work aims to study whether the social context influences the foraging ability of camouflaged and red items in groups of C. jacchus. Four groups of captive marmosets were presented to four food tasks, involving difficult, easy, reddish and camouflaged food targets. Foods were presented in a concentrated and dispersed manner, to check whether there was monopolization of the resources by the dominant subjects and if this would affect the ability of individuals to find the food targets. Success was measured by latency to food acquisition and number of targets consumed. Males and females differed in their foraging success for camouflaged and reddish items, although this difference has not appeared in all situations and experimental conditions. In general males were more successful for detecting camouflaged items while females succeeded more in identifying reddish items. There were no differences in foraging success between individuals of different social status, however, there were differences in the success of consumption of food items for different situations when food was concentrate compared with dispersed food. Taken as a role, there was a greater difficulty in detecting food items when they were presented in concentrated arrangement, which is supposed to be related to a higher difficulty to approach and stay near the food. Although it appears that there was no direct competition seems to have group's indirect influence on the detection of food items and foraging success of individuals, affecting mainly those items more difficult to detect

Implicações socioeconômicas e ambientais da pesca artesanal de lagosta em Touros/RN

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Sistema de aquisição de dados para estudos de transiente de pressão e detecção de vazamentos em oleodutos

In February 2011, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) has published a new Technical Rules for Handling Land Pipeline Petroleum and Natural Gas Derivatives (RTDT). Among other things, the RTDT made compulsory the use of monitoring systems and leak detection in all onshore pipelines in the country. This document provides a study on the method for detection of transient pressure. The study was conducted on a industrial duct 16" diameter and 9.8 km long. The pipeline is fully pressurized and carries a multiphase mixture of crude oil, water and natural gas. For the study, was built an infrastructure for data acquisition and validation of detection algorithms. The system was designed with SCADA architecture. Piezoresistive sensors were installed at the ends of the duct and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) were used for sampling, storage and processing of data. The study was based on simulations of leaks through valves and search for patterns that characterize the occurrence of such phenomena

Aquisição, processamento e análise de dados de sísmica de alta resolução na plataforma continental norte do Rio Grande do Norte: Vale inciso do rio açu

On the modern Continental Shelf to the north of Rio Grande do Norte state (NE Brazil) is located a paleo-valley, submerged during the last glacial sea-level lowstand, that marks continuation of the most important river of this area (Açu River). Despite the high level of exploration activity of oil industry, there is few information about shallow stratigraphy. Aiming to fill this gap, situated on the Neogene, was worked a marine seismic investigation, the development of a processing flow for high resolution data seismic, and the recognition of the main feature morphology of the study area: the incised valley of the River Açu. The acquisition of shallow seismic data was undertaken in conjunction with the laboratory of Marine Geology/Geophysics and Environmental Monitoring - GGEMMA of Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte UFRN, in SISPLAT project, where the geomorphological structure of the Rio paleovale Açu was the target of the investigation survey. The acquisition of geophysical data has been over the longitudinal and transverse sections, which were subsequently submitted to the processing, hitherto little-used and / or few addressed in the literature, which provided a much higher quality result with the raw data. Once proposed for the flow data was developed and applied to the data of X-Star (acoustic sensor), using available resources of the program ReflexW 4.5 A surface fluvial architecture has been constructed from the bathymetric data and remote sensing image fused and draped over Digital Elevation Models to create three-dimensional (3D) perspective views that are used to analyze the 3D geometry geological features and provide the mapping morphologically defined. The results are expressed in the analysis of seismic sections that extend over the region of the continental shelf and upper slope from mouth of the Açu River to the shelf edge, providing the identification / quantification of geometrical features such as depth, thickness, horizons and units seismic stratigraphyc area, with emphasis has been placed on the palaeoenvironmental interpretation of discordance limit and fill sediment of the incised valley, control by structural elements, and marked by the influence of changes in the sea level. The interpretation of the evolution of this river is worth can bring information to enable more precise descriptions and interpretations, which describes the palaeoenvironmental controls influencing incised valley evolution and preservation to provide a better comprehensive understanding of this reservoir analog system

Estudo de um secador híbrido (solar-elétrico) para desidratação de frutas

The growing need for food is something that worries the world, which has a population that is growing at a geometric progression while their resources grows at an arithmetic progression. To alleviate this problem there are some proposals, including increased food production or reduce waste thereof. Many studies have been conducted in the world in order to reduce food waste that can reach 40% of production, depending on the region. For this purpose techniques are used to retard degradation of foods, including drying. This paper presents a design of a hybrid fruit dryer that uses solar energy and electric energy with automation of the process. To accomplish drying tests were chosen Typical fruits with good acceptability as processed fruits. During the experiments were measured temperature values at different points. Were also measured humidity values, solar radiation and mass. A data acquisition system was built using a Arduino for obtaining temperatures. The data were sent to a program named Secador de Frutas, done in this work, to plot the same. The volume of the drying chamber was 423 liters and despite the unusual size test using mirrors to increase the incidence of direct radiation, showed that the drier is competitive when compared with other solar dryers produced in Hydraulic Machines and Solar Energy Laboratory (LMHES ) UFRN. The drier has been built at a cost of 3 to 5 times smaller than industrial dryers that operate with the same load of fruit. And the energy cost to produce dried fruits was more feasible compared with such dryers that use LPG as an energy source. However, the drying time was longer.

Diagnóstico da comercialização de produtos da medicina popular em feiras livres do semiárido do Rio Grande do Norte: avaliações socioeconômicas e sanitárias, com proposta de legislação específica

Historically, man has empirically acquired knowledge about the therapeutic applications of extracted elements of the natural environment in which belonged. Such knowledge over time culminated in the formation of traditional health systems. Among its features, the use of bioactive plant species - medicinal plants - stands out for its efficiency and high popular acceptance. Despite its importance for public health, the population still has in the open-air fairs the main source for the acquisition of the species used. In these spaces, the trade generally occurs informally, under unfavorable conditions to the quality of the products and to the financial sustainability of the business. In this context, this study aimed to characterize the socioeconomic, cultural and sanitary aspects related to the trade of medicinal plants in municipalities of a semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte, and additionally, proposing a specific legislation to the activity. Socioeconomic data were collected through on-site interviews, guided by structured form. The observations about the hygienic and sanitary adequacy of physical facilities and practices employed at the point of sale /environment were conducted and recorded with the use of assessment tool developed for use in open markets. The adequacy of medicinal plants to consumption was determined by microbiological analysis. The activity was carried out by individuals who are aged between 21 and 81 years of age, low educational level and low-income, predominantly males. The data showed a tendency to extinction of the activity in all the districts studied. It was observed in all the fairs studied hygiene and sanitation inadequacies that characterized very high health risk, representing in this way, the high probability of Food Transmitted Diseases outbreaks Such conditions were reflected in the high percentage of inadequacy to the consumption of the analyzed medicinal plants samples, illustrating the potential health risk to consumers. To contribute to the correction of hygiene and sanitation inadequacies observed in the studied open-air fairs, educational interventions were made to the training of traders in Good Practices. As a complement, was drafted a specific legislation for the marketing of folk medicine's products in open-air fairs. Such actions, products and its developments will contribute significantly to improving the quality of products available to the population and the preservation of activity, potentially reducing the risks to public health.

Inovação e desempenho exportador: uma perspectiva estratégica em uma empresa de alimentos no setor de candies no Rio Grande do Norte

A crescente globalização da economia tem se revelado uma grande oportunidade e um importante desafio para as empresas. Para atingir altos níveis de desempenho nas atividades de negócios internacionais, faz-se necessário adotar estratégias que confiram um diferencial competitivo em relação aos concorrentes. Assim, este trabalhou buscou avaliar o impacto de fatores estratégicos e da inovação sobre o desempenho exportador em uma empresa de alimentos no setor de candies no Rio Grande do Norte, a partir dos fundamentos teóricos e empíricos discutidos pelos estudiosos da área. A pesquisa tem caráter descritivo com métodos qualitativos e quantitativos, quanto ao planejamento da pesquisa optou-se pela pesquisa bibliográfica e pelo estudo de caso, na forma de levantamento apoiado por questionário, e procurou-se testar o modelo e identificar fatores positivamente correlacionados com desempenho nas atividades de exportação da empresa objeto de estudo. As inovações implementadas foram avaliadas, confrontadas com as estratégias de internacionalização adotadas pela empresa. Através de uma matriz importância desempenho pudemos observar vários fatores e sua importância no caseestudado. Para análise qualitativa utilizamos a matriz importância desempenho, onde pudemos sugerir melhorias nas estratégias adotados pela empresa estudada. Para a análise quantitativa, o uso do survey mostrou a correlação entre os fatores pesquisados através da análise de variância (ANOVA) que é um teste paramétrico usado para verificar se existe uma diferença significativa entre as médias e se os fatores estão influenciando na variável resposta. Dessa forma, esta técnica estatística permite que vários grupos sejam comparados. A análise das estratégias e da iniciativas de inovação na empresa estudada indicam que há uma correlação entre elas e a importância dessa interação para o seu desempenho exportador.

Algoritmo eficiente para aquisição de sinais de GPS por software

O NAVSTAR/GPS (NAVigation System with Timing And Ranging/Global Po- sitioning System), mais conhecido por GPS, _e um sistema de navegacão baseado em sat_elites desenvolvido pelo departamento de defesa norte-americano em meados de 1970. Criado inicialmente para fins militares, o GPS foi adaptado para o uso civil. Para fazer a localização, o receptor precisa fazer a aquisição de sinais dos satélites visíveis. Essa etapa é de extrema importância, pois é responsável pela detecção dos satélites visíveis, calculando suas respectivas frequências e fases iniciais. Esse processo pode demandar bastante tempo de processamento e precisa ser implementado de forma eficiente. Várias técnicas são utilizadas atualmente, mas a maioria delas colocam em conflito questões de projeto tais como, complexidade computacional, tempo de aquisição e recursos computacionais. Objetivando equilibrar essas questões, foi desenvolvido um método que reduz a complexidade do processo de aquisição utilizando algumas estratégias, a saber, redução do efeito doppler, amostras e tamanho do sinal utilizados, além do paralelismo. Essa estratégia é dividida em dois passos, um grosseiro em todo o espaço de busca e um fino apenas na região identificada previamente pela primeira etapa. Devido a busca grosseira, o limiar do algoritmo convencional não era mais aceitável. Nesse sentido, um novo limiar foi estabelecido baseado na variância dos picos de correlação. Inicialmente, é feita uma busca com pouca precisão comparando a variância dos cinco maiores picos de correlação encontrados. Caso a variância ultrapasse um certo limiar, a região de maior pico torna-se candidata à detecção. Por fim, essa região passa por um refinamento para se ter a certeza de detecção. Os resultados mostram que houve uma redução significativa na complexidade e no tempo de execução, sem que tenha sido necessário utilizar algoritmos muito complexos.

Atitudes e conhecimento dos consumidores sobre os alimentos irradiados: um inquérito conduzido em Natal, Brasil

The aim of this study is to assess the attitudes and knowledge of consumers about irradiated foods. The study sample corresponded to 65.52% women and the mean age was 41.82 (SD: 14.33) years. Only 66.9% of respondents consumers consult the list of ingredients on the label of packaged foods, and 13.4% of them said they had detected the phrase “FOOD TREATED BY IRRADIATION PROCESS.” Furthermore, 86.6% considered that irradiation becomes unsafe food and thus 94.9% of those not consume these foods, as well as 29.6% of those who felt otherwise. Women had a score of attitude towards irradiated foods less favorable than men. The television was considered the most efficient means of communication to report on irradiated foods. We conclude that consumers of the city of Natal lack information about food irradiation and acceptance of these products depends on how the policies are directed to food security and health education, including through the use of sources of mass information dissemination. The information on the labels of irradiated foods is controversial, although sufficient instruments for detection of irradiated foods by these consumers.

Procedimentos legais e protocolos sobre a sistemática de aquisição de cadáveres na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte para o ensino de anatomia humana

A disponibilidade de cadáveres para estudo e pesquisa vinha sendo feita tradicionalmenteutilizando-se corpos não reclamados sem grandes formalidades. Com a complexidadejurídica, social, ética e moral dos tempos atuais, o simples encaminhamento dessescorpos ao Departamento de Morfologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte,passou a ser temido com o receio de transgredir a legislação penal. Isso desencadeouuma redução no número de cadáveres para as aulas práticas de Anatomia. Essarealidade levou o Departamento de Morfologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande doNorte a pesquisar mecanismos legais que solucionassem a escassez de cadáveres parao estudo e pesquisa. A metodologia utilizada constou de reuniões de discussão eapresentação de protocolos de aquisição de cadáveres com base na legislação vigente.Os resultados obtidos foram: (1) Publicação do provimento 093/2012 da CorregedoriaGeral da Justiça do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, que dispõesobre o registro de óbito dos cadáveres destinados às escolas de Medicina para fins deensino e pesquisa; (2) Elaboração de protocolos para aquisição de cadáveres nãoreclamados junto às instituições; (3) Programa de doadores voluntários na UniversidadeFederal do Rio Grande do Norte.Por fim, concluímos que o conhecimento das atribuiçõespor parte das instituições públicas e privada, bem como o programa de doação voluntáriaaumentaram a oferta de cadáveres para o ensino da Anatomia Humana na UniversidadeFederal do Rio Grande do Norte.