Produção de farinha instantânea de mandioca: efeito das condições de extrusão sobre as propriedades térmicas e de pasta

With the advancement of technology, there is the possibility of introduction of differentiated flours, such as cassava instant flour. This alternative has generated great interest from the cassava processing industries. This study aimed to assess the effect of extrusion temperature, moisture content and screw speed on the thermal and viscosity properties of extruded cassava flour. The results showed significant effects of process parameters on the viscosity properties, with effect of screw speed on cold viscosity, viscosity peak and breakdown. The viscosity peak was influenced by the three parameters of extrusion process. No significant effects of operational conditions were observed on the final viscosity and retrogradation. The thermal properties of extruded cassava flours showed no residual enthalpy of gelatinization.

Substratos e regulador vegetal no enraizamento de estacas de pitaya

A pitaya é uma cactácea originária das florestas tropicais americanas que produz frutos exóticos bem apreciados e comercializados, principalmente no continente asiático. Contudo, ainda é uma espécie vegetal que demanda informações técnicas de cultivo nas áreas agrícolas brasileiras, motivando pesquisas em várias áreas do conhecimento. Objetivou-se avaliar diferentes substratos no enraizamento de cladódios imersos e não imersos no regulador de crescimento, ácido naftalenacético (ANA), na formação e desenvolvimento inicial de raízes em estacas de Hylocereus undatus, resultando em mudas mais vigorosas e de melhor qualidade. O experimento foi conduzido sob ripado no Departamento de Produção Vegetal - setor de Horticultura da Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas no campus de Botucatu - UNESP. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente aleatorizado em esquema fatorial 4 x 2 (substratos x condições) com quatro repetições. Após 60 dias da instalação do experimento foram avaliados: massa fresca e seca da parte aérea, massa fresca e seca das raízes e o comprimento da maior raiz. O crescimento e desenvolvimento radicular inicial de mudas não são influenciados pelo regulador vegetal ANA. Os substratos com a presença de areia são os mais adequados para a formação de mudas vigorosas e de boa qualidade. A mistura areia + esterco bovino proporciona maior acúmulo de fitomassa no sistema radicular de pitaya (H. undatus).

Boron transport in Eucalyptus. 2. Identification in silico of a putative boron transporter for xylem loading in eucalypt

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of bamboo stands on seed rain and seed limitation in a rainforest

Bamboos often negatively affect tree recruitment, survival, and growth, leading to arrested tree regeneration in forested habitats. Studies so far have focused on the effects of bamboos on the performance of seedlings and saplings, but the influence of bamboos on forest dynamics may start very early in the forest regeneration process by altering seed rain patterns. We tested the prediction that the density and composition of the seed rain are altered and seed limitation is higher in stands of Guadua tagoara (B or bamboo stands), a large-sized woody bamboo native from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, compared to forest patches without bamboos (NB or non-bamboo stands). Forty 1 m(2) seed traps were set in B and NB stands, and the seed rain was monitored monthly for 1 year. The seed rain was not greatly altered by the presence of bamboos: rarefied seed species richness was higher for B stands, patterns of dominance and density of seeds were similar between stands, and differences in overall composition were slight. Seed limitation, however, was greater at B stands, likely as a resulted of reduced tree density. Despite Such reduced density, the presence of trees growing amidst and over the bamboos seems to play a key role in keeping the seeds falling in B stands because they serve as food sources for frugivores or simply as perches for them. The loss of such trees may lead to enhanced seed limitation, contributing ultimately to the self-perpetuating bamboo disturbance cycle. (C) 2008 Elsevier B,V. All rights reserved.

New Species of Ischnocnema (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the State of Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil, with Comments on the I. verrucosa Species Series

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Postnatal growth of the ventral prostate in Wistar rats: A stereological and morphometrical study

Morphological and stereological analyses were used to characterize the growth kinetics of the Wistar rat ventral prostate (VP). Volume density and absolute volume of the epithelium, lumen, smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and nonmuscular stroma were determined by stereology and paired with plasma testosterone levels and different morphometric measurements. The VP shows an initial growth within the first 3 weeks, a resting phase, and the puberal growth. The puberal growth was coincident with the raise in plasma testosterone. Lumen formation occurred within the 3 postnatal weeks. After an expected increase during puberty, the lumen showed a further increase at the 12th week. The volume density of the nonmuscular stroma and of the SMCs decreased slowly postnatally. Absolute volume of the luminal compartment showed three phases of growth (weeks 1-3, 6-9, and 11-12). on the other hand, the increase in the absolute volume of the epithelium was steady up to the 8th week and then showed a marked increase up the 10th week. The increase in epithelial volume was characterized morphologically by the presence of epithelial infoldings and sprouts. The growth of the epithelium showed a 2-week delay as compared to the lumen and occurred only until the 10th week. The epithelial height was variable but could be related to the synthetic activity of the epithelium. In conclusion, the postnatal growth of the VP results from a combination of epithelial proliferation/differentiation and synthesis/accumulation of the secretory products in the lumen.

Atomic radiative transitions in thermo field dynamics

In this work we rederive the Lamb-Retherford energy shift for an atomic electron in the presence of a thermal radiation. Using the Dalibard, Dupont-Roc and Cohen-Tannoudji (DDC) formalism, where physical observables are expressed as convolutions of suitable statistical functions, we construct the electromagnetic field propagator of thermo field dynamics in the Coulomb gauge in order to investigate finite temperature effects on the atomic energy levels. In the same context, we also analyze the problem of the ground state stability.

Status of a hybrid three-neutrino interpretation of neutrino data

We re-analyse the non-standard interaction (NSI) solutions to the solar neutrino problem in the light of the latest solar as well as atmospheric neutrino data. The latter require oscillations (OSC), while the former do not. Within such a three-neutrino framework the solar and atmospheric neutrino sectors are connected not only by the neutrino mixing angle theta(13) constrained by reactor and atmospheric data, but also by the flavour-changing (FC) and non-universal (NU) parameters accounting for the solar data. Since the NSI solution is energy-independent the spectrum is undistorted, so that the global analysis observables are the solar neutrino rates in all experiments as well as the Super-Kamiokande day-night measurements. We find that the NSI description of solar data is slightly better than that of the OSC solution and that the allowed NSI regions are determined mainly by the rate analysis. By using a few simplified ansatzes for the NSI interactions we explicitly demonstrate that the NSI values indicated by the solar data analysis are fully acceptable also for the atmospheric data. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of the B-s(0) lifetime in the exclusive decay channel B-s(0)-> J/psi phi

Using the exclusive decay B-s(0)-->J/psi(mu(+)mu(-))phi(K+K-), we report the most precise single measurement of the B-s(0) lifetime. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of approximately 220 pb(-1) collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider in 2002-2004. We reconstruct 337 signal candidates, from which we extract the B-s(0) lifetime, tau(B-s(0))=1.444(-0.090)(+0.098)(stat)+/-0.020(sys) ps. We also report a measurement for the lifetime of the B-0 meson using the exclusive decay B-0-->J/psi(mu(+)mu(-))K-*0(892)(K(+)pi(-)). We reconstruct 1370 signal candidates, obtaining tau(B-0)=1.473(-0.050)(+0.052)(stat)+/-0.023(sys) ps, and the ratio of lifetimes, tau(B-s(0))/tau(B-0)=0.980(-0.071)(+0.076)(stat)+/-0.003(sys).

An exact equation for the free surface of a fluid in a porous medium

We study the problem of the evolution of the free surface of a fluid in a saturated porous medium, bounded from below by a. at impermeable bottom, and described by the Laplace equation with moving-boundary conditions. By making use of a convenient conformal transformation, we show that the solution to this problem is equivalent to the solution of the Laplace equation on a fixed domain, with new variable coefficients, the boundary conditions. We use a kernel of the Laplace equation which allows us to write the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator, and in this way we are able to find an exact differential-integral equation for the evolution of the free surface in one space dimension. Although not amenable to direct analytical solutions, this equation turns out to allow an easy numerical implementation. We give an explicit illustrative case at the end of the article.

On non-linear dynamics and control designs applied to the ideal and non-ideal variants of the Fitzhugh-Nagumo (FN) mathematical model

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

High-pressure granulites from Carire, Borborema Province, NE Brazil: Tectonic setting, metamorphic conditions and U-Pb, Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronology

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pollination and dispersal systems in a Cerrado remnant (Brazilian Savanna) in Southeastern Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Desempenho da colhedora de milho Penha CLM-350: parte III - danos mecânicos

Cm vistas a estudar o efeito do sistema de debulhamento na qualidade dos grãos de milho, realizou-se o presente trabalho, onde foram estudados os danos mecânicos sofridos pelos grãos, bem como os danos mecânicos invisíveis, evidenciados pelos testes de germinação. Nos diversos tratamentos estudados, determinou-se a porcentagem de umidade presente nos grãos de milho. Definiu-se a velocidade periférica do debulhador, pelo diâmetro (300 mm) do mesmo e as rotações, para os diversos tratamentos. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso com 5 tratamentos e 6 repetições onde foram estudados os valores percentuais de grãos inteiros e quebrados, os teores de umidade correspondentes e os valores de germinação através da análise de variância. Empregou-se o teste F aos níveis de 1% e 5% de probabilidade e o teste Tukey para comparação entre as médias. da análise pode-se concluir que em relação ao teor de umidade dos grãos, os tratamentos não diferiram estatisticamente.

Capacidade de colonização de Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) em cercas-vivas, quebra-ventos e plantas invasoras

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a capacidade de colonização do Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) em espécies de cercas-vivas, quebra-ventos e plantas invasoras mais freqüentes em pomares cítricos. O ensaio foi conduzido em laboratório e casa-de-vegetação, utilizando-se 11 espécies vegetais (tratamentos): Hibiscus sp., Malvaviscus mollis, Grevillea robusta, Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia, Bixa orellana, Euphorbia splendens, Bidens pilosa, Commelina benghalensis, Sida cordifolia e Ageratum conyzoides e Citrus sinensis. Adotou-se o delineamento estatístico de blocos casualizados, com cinco repetições. Para cada unidade experimental, constituída de uma planta envasada, foram transferidas 100 fêmeas de B. phoenicis provenientes de uma criação estoque. Decorridos 45 dias após a transferência dos ácaros para as plantas invasoras e 60 dias para as cercas-vivas e os quebra-ventos, estas tiveram suas folhas destacadas e seus ramos repicados para avaliação dos totais de estágios de desenvolvimento. Os dados relativos às contagens foram transformados em ln(x+5) e analisados pelo teste F. As médias foram comparadas pelo teste de Tukey (P < 0,05). As cercas-vivas e quebra-ventos mais favoráveis ao ácaro, em ordem decrescente, foram: M. mollis (6.342 ácaros), Hibiscus sp. (2.546), B. orellana (2.097), G. robusta (1.485) e M. caesalpiniaefolia (776). Nenhum ácaro foi encontrado em E. splendens. Com relação às plantas invasoras, foram: B. pilosa (2.238), C. benghalensis (920), S. cordifolia (738) e A. conyzoides (684). em C. sinensis foram contados 3.116 ácaros. Com exceção de E. splendens, todas as plantas mostraram-se favoráveis ao crescimento populacional de B. phoenicis. A presença destes nos pomares cítricos pode representar uma ameaça à cultura.