Ultrasonic non-destructive testing of plate-like structures using piezoelectric array transducers

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

Instantaneous Phase Threshold for Reflector Detection in Ultrasonic Images

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

Oocyte maturation in the sloth's giant tick Amblyomma varium (Acari: Ixodidae) in an ecological context

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

GASTROPOD SHELLS USED BY Dardanus insignis (Decapoda, Anomura) NEAR ISLANDS IN THE UBATUBA REGION, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

The use of gastropod shells by hermit crabs is determined by the availability of shells in the environment or through selection for size and volume. This study analyzed patterns in the use of shells by Dardanus insignis (Saussure, 1858). From January 1998 to December 1999, 386 individuals were collected from two islands at Ubatuba, Sao Paulo. The crabs were measured for cephalothoracic shield length (CSL) and wet weight (CWW). The gastropod shells occupied by hermit crabs were identified, and the shell aperture width (SAW), dry weight (SDW) and internal volume (STY) were measured. The relationships between the dimensions of the gastropod shell and the hermit crabs were evaluated by linear regression analysis. Among the 11 species of gastropod shells used by D. insignis, the most often used was Olivancillaria urceus (31%), followed by Strombus pugilis (22%) and Siratus tenuivaricosus (18%). The shell of O. urceus was used most probably due to its high availability on Couves and Mar Virado islands. The most significant biometric parameter was shell aperture width (F=18.231; p<0.0001), highlighting the importance of this variable for the shell choice by D. insignis at both sites.

Estudo da tecnologia de acesso Wi-Fie suas aplicações em ambientes indoor e outdoor

Wireless communications is a feature that has become indispensable for many people in the whole world. Through this feature, communication process can become much more efficient, allowing people to access information much more quickly wherever they are. The constant evolution of communication technologies allows the development of new unthinkable applications and services. This new range of possibilities brings greater mobility and efficiency for final users and also helps service providers and carriers to improve the quality of services offered by them. This study presents the principles of wireless communication and the Wi-Fi technology as well as its most modern applications, covering from the basics of computer networks to the procedures of planning a wireless network, concepts of radio frequency, antennas, patterns, regulatory agencies, network equipment, protocols and network monitoring

Novel wireless-communicating textiles made from multi-material and minimally-invasive fibers

The ability to integrate multiple materials into miniaturized fiber structures enables the realization of novel biomedical textile devices with higher-level functionalities and minimally-invasive attributes. In this work, we present novel textile fabrics integrating unobtrusive multi-material fibers that communicate through 2.4 GHz wireless networks with excellent signal quality. The conductor elements of the textiles are embedded within the fibers themselves, providing electrical and chemical shielding against the environment, while preserving the mechanical and cosmetic properties of the garments. These multi-material fibers combine insulating and conducting materials into a well-defined geometry, and represent a cost-effective and minimally-invasive approach to sensor fabrics and bio-sensing textiles connected in real time to mobile communications infrastructures, suitable for a variety of health and life science applications.

Fluorescence Level of Composites Assessed by Computer Processing of Digital Images - ScanWhite

The human dentition is naturally translucent, opalescent and fluorescent. Differences between the level of fluorescence of tooth structure and restorative materials may result in distinct metameric properties and consequently perceptible disparate esthetic behavior, which impairs the esthetic result of the restorations, frustrating both patients and staff. In this study, we evaluated the level of fluorescence of different composites (Durafill in tones A2 (Du), Charisma in tones A2 (Ch), Venus in tone A2 (Ve), Opallis enamel and dentin in tones A2 (OPD and OPE), Point 4 in tones A2 (P4), Z100 in tones A2 ( Z1), Z250 in tones A2 (Z2), Te-Econom in tones A2 (TE), Tetric Ceram in tones A2 (TC), Tetric Ceram N in tones A1, A2, A4 (TN1, TN2, TN4), Four seasons enamel and dentin in tones A2 (and 4SD 4SE), Empress Direct enamel and dentin in tones A2 (EDE and EDD) and Brilliant in tones A2 (Br)). Cylindrical specimens were prepared, coded and photographed in a standardized manner with a Canon EOS digital camera (400 ISO, 2.8 aperture and 1/ 30 speed), in a dark environment under the action of UV light (25 W). The images were analyzed with the software ScanWhite©-DMC/Darwin systems. The results showed statistical differences between the groups (p < 0.05), and between these same groups and the average fluorescence of the dentition of young (18 to 25 years) and adults (40 to 45 years) taken as control. It can be concluded that: Composites Z100, Z250 (3M ESPE) and Point 4 (Kerr) do not match with the fluorescence of human dentition and the fluorescence of the materials was found to be affected by their own tone.

Inspeção de materiais compósitos utilizando ondas acústicas guiadas

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEIS

Land cover classification of Lago Grande de Curuai floodplain (Amazon, Brazil) using multi-sensor and image fusion techniques

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Combining ALOS/PALSAR derived vegetation structure and inundation patterns to characterize major vegetation types in the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve, Central Amazon floodplain, Brazil

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

The use of grafting to improve the net photosynthesis of cucumber

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

Geometrical parameter analysis of a high-sensitivity fiber optic angular displacement sensor

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ecological distribution of the shrimp Pleoticus muelleri (Bate, 1888) and Artemesia longinaris Bate, 1888 (Decapoda, Penaeoidea) in the southeastern Brazilian littoral

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

Construção de instrumentos técnicos de astronomia para a divulgação científica: telescópio fotométrico de grande abertura e baixo custo

Although the popularization of astronomy in the last decade and the International Year of Astronomy, celebrated in 2009, there's a great lack in respect of quality instruments for astronomical disclosure. Thinking in this research about it, we intend to recuperate and elucidate a technique long forgotten: the metal mirror amateur telescope, once was done in the first reflecting telescopes. However, with the resources available today and given the high purity of the materials, our results were better than that obtained by the pioneers. We developed and built a large aperture telescope (250 mm diameter) and very bright (focal ratio = 4.0), versatile and portable. In our study was described step by step the process to fabricate the telescope. Through its first images captured of the Moon, we can illustrate its versatility both for use in outreach events and for use in amateur astronomy, because it is a primary focus capture system and can run registration of various astronomical events

Visual estimation of apertures for wheelchair locomotion in novices: perceptual judgment and motor practice

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of motor practice on visual judgments of apertures for wheelchair locomotion and the visual control of wheelchair locomotion in wheelchair users who had no prior experience. Sixteen young adults, divided into motor practice and control groups, visually judged varying apertures as passable or impassable under walking, pre-practice, and post-practice conditions. The motor practice group underwent additional motor practice in 10 blocks of five trials each, moving the wheelchair through different apertures. The relative perceptual boundary was determined based on judgment data and kinematic variables that were calculated from videos of the motor practice trials. The participants overestimated the space needed under the walking condition and underestimated it under the wheelchair conditions, independent of group. The accuracy of judgments improved from the pre-practice to post-practice condition in both groups. During motor practice, the participants adaptively modulated wheelchair locomotion, adjusting it to the apertures available. The present findings from a priori visual judgments of space and the continuous judgments that are necessary for wheelchair approach and passage through apertures appear to support the dissociation between processes of perception and action.