A set of linear equations to calculate the steady-state operation of an electrical distribution system

In this paper, the calculation of the steady-state operation of a radial/meshed electrical distribution system (EDS) through solving a system of linear equations (non-iterative load flow) is presented. The constant power type demand of the EDS is modeled through linear approximations in terms of real and imaginary parts of the voltage taking into account the typical operating conditions of the EDS's. To illustrate the use of the proposed set of linear equations, a linear model for the optimal power flow with distributed generator is presented. Results using some test and real systems show the excellent performance of the proposed methodology when is compared with conventional methods. © 2011 IEEE.

Division of labor in pachycondyla striata Fr. Smith, 1858 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Four colonies of the ant Pachycondyla striata were used to analyze the specie behavioral repertoire. Forty-six behavioral acts were recorded in laboratory. Here, we present the record the division of labor between the castes and the temporal polyethism of monomorphic workers. The queens carried out many of the behavioral traits recorded in this work however; they performed them less frequently compared to the worker. The workers activity involved chasing and feeding on fresh insects and usingthem to nourish larvae besides laying eggs in the C-posture, an activity also performed by queens, which is similar to that of wasps of the subfamily Stenogastrinae. The young workers were involved in activities of brood care, sexuate care, and nest maintenance, and the older workers were involved in defense, exploration, and foraging. © 2012 Adolfo da Silva-Melo and Edilberto Giannotti.

Comparison of the ant assemblages in three phytophysionomies: Rocky field, secondary forest, and riparian forest - A case study in the state park of Ibitipoca, Brazil

Ant assemblages are almost all related with the vegetation composition and so can provide us important information for conservation strategies, which are especially relevant to an environmentally protected area. We sampled the ant fauna in three different phytophysionomies in order to verify if the composition of ant species is different among the areas, especially because one of the areas is a Rocky Field and there is little information about the ant fauna in this habitat. A total of 8730 individuals were registered and an NMDS analysis showed that the ant assemblies are different at the three phytophysionomies (Rocky Field, Riparian Forest, and Secondary Forest). This study shows that the species that compose the ant assemblies in different phytophysionomies are a reflex of the environment, supporting the hypothesis that the vegetational composition results in different compositions in the ant assembly. Vegetal composition is determinant in the formation of the litter and consequently in the occurrence of ant species that depend on this layer of organic matter for nesting and foraging. © 2012 Juliane Floriano Santos Lopes et al.

Solid-state hydrolysis of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate after plasma treatment

Plasma treatments were applied on the surface of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to increase their wettability and hasten the subsequent hydrolysis process. Sixty-four treatments were tested by varying plasma composition (oxygen and air), power (25-130 W), pressure (50-200 mTorr), and time (1 and 5 min). The best treatment was the one applied in air plasma at 130 W and 50 mTorr for 5 min, as it provided the lowest contact angle, 9.4°. Samples of PET before and after the optimized plasma condition were subjected to hydrolysis at 205°C. Although the treatment changed only a thin surface layer, its influence was evident up to relatively high conversion rates, as the treated samples presented more than 40% higher conversion rates than the untreated ones after 2 h of reaction. Infrared spectroscopy showed that the terephthalic acid obtained from 99% of depolymerization was similar to the commercial product used in PET synthesis. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behavior of solid state compounds of heavy trivalent lanthanide succinates

Solid-state Ln-L compounds, where Ln stands for heavy trivalent lanthanides or yttrium(III) (Tb-Lu, Y) and L is succinate, have been synthesized. Simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy, TG-DTA coupled to FTIR, elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffractometry and complexometry were used to characterize and study the thermal behavior of these compounds. For the terbium to thulium and yttrium compounds, the dehydration, as well the thermal decomposition of the anhydrous compound occurs in two consecutive steps, while ytterbium and lutetium the dehydration occurs in a single step. The results also led to information about the ligand's denticity, thermal stability and thermal decomposition of these compounds. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Comparing submerged and solid-state fermentation of agro-industrial residues for the production and characterization of lipase by Trichoderma harzianum

Lipase production by Trichoderma harzianum was evaluated in submerged fermentation (SF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) using a variety of agro-industrial residues. Cultures in SF showed the highest activity (1.4 U/mL) in medium containing 0.5 % (w/v) yeast extract, 1 % (v/v) olive oil and 2.5 C:N ratio. This paper is the first to report lipase production by T. harzianum in SSF. A 1:2 mixture of castor oil cake and sugarcane bagasse supplemented with 1 % (v/w) olive oil showed the best results among the cultures in SSF (4 U/g ds). Lipolytic activity was stable in a slightly acidic to neutral pH, maintaining 50 % activity after 30 min at 50 C. Eighty percent of the activity remained after 1 h in 25 % (v/v) methanol, ethanol, isopropanol or acetone. Activity was observed with vegetable oils (olive, soybean, corn and sunflower) and long-chain triacylglycerols (triolein), confirming the presence of a true lipase. The results of this study are promising because they demonstrate an enzyme with interesting properties for application in catalysis produced by fermentation at low cost. © 2012 Springer-Verlag and the University of Milan.

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behaviour of solid-state compounds of folates with some bivalent transition metals ions

Solid-state M-L compounds, where M stands for bivalent Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn and L is folate (C19H17N7O6), have been synthesized. Simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), X-ray powder diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), TG-DSC coupled to FTIR, elemental analysis and high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry technique (HR-CS FAAS) were used to characterize and to study the thermal behaviour of these compounds. The results provided information concerning the composition, dehydration, thermal stability and thermal decomposition. © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.

Division of labor in stable social hierarchy of the independent-founding wasp Mischocyttarus (Monocyttarus) cassununga, von Ihering (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Evaluating interaction with websites: Case study of a government website of the Brazilian Ministry of labor and employment

This paper presents a usability evaluation of the MTE (Ministry of Labor e Employment) website in order to measure the effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction regarding the website. The participants were 12 users (07 users were female and 05 male). The results indicate that although the education level of all participants and computing experience, many of them have had difficulty in finding information and do not recommend the site. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Magnetocrystalline interactions and oxidation state determination of Mn(2-x)V(1+x)O4 (x=0, 1/3 and 1) magnetorresistive spinel family

Oxidation states of transition metal cations in spinels-type oxides are sometimes extremely difficult to determine by conventional spectroscopic methods. One of the most complex cases occurs when there are different cations, each one with several possible oxidation states, as in the case of the magnetoresistant Mn(2-x)V(1+x)O4 (x=0, 1/3 and 1) spinel-type family. In this contribution we describe the determination of the oxidation state of manganese and vanadium in Mn(2-x)V(1+x)O4 (x=0, 1/3,1) spinel-type compounds by analyzing XANES and high-resolution K beta X-ray fluorescence spectra. The ionic models found are Mn22+V4+O4, Mn5/32+V4/33.5+O4 and Mn2+V23+O4. Combination of the present results with previous data provided a reliable cation distribution model. For these spinels, single magnetic electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) lines are observed at 480 K showing the interaction among the different magnetic ions. The analysis of the EPR parameters show that g-values and relative intensities are highly influenced by the concentration and the high-spin state of Mn2+. EPR broadening linewidth is explained in terms of the bottleneck effect, which is due to the presence of the fast relaxing V3+ ion instead of the weak Mn2+ (S state) coupled to the lattice. The EPR results, at high temperature, are well explained assuming the oxidation states of the magnetic ions obtained by the other spectroscopic techniques. (c) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Potential application of Ganoderma lucidum in solid state fermentation of primary sludge and wheat straw

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The steady-state behavior of the synthetic and side-sensitive synthetic double sampling (X)over-bar charts

The steady-state average run length is used to measure the performance of the recently proposed synthetic double sampling (X) over bar chart (synthetic DS chart). The overall performance of the DS X chart in signaling process mean shifts of different magnitudes does not improve when it is integrated with the conforming run length chart, except when the integrated charts are designed to offer very high protection against false alarms, and the use of large samples is prohibitive. The synthetic chart signals when a second point falls beyond the control limits, no matter whether one of them falls above the centerline and the other falls below it; with the side-sensitive feature, the synthetic chart does not signal when they fall on opposite sides of the centerline. We also investigated the steady-state average run length of the side-sensitive synthetic DS X chart. With the side-sensitive feature, the overall performance of the synthetic DS X chart improves, but not enough to outperform the non-synthetic DS X chart. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.

Synthesis, characterisation and thermal behaviour of solid state compounds of 4-methylbenzylidenepyruvate with heavier trivalent lanthanides and yttrium(III)

Solid state Ln-4-Me-BP compounds, where Ln stands for heavier trivalent lanthanides (gadolinium to lutetium) and yttrium(III) and 4-Me-BP is 4-methylbenzylidenepyruvate (CH3-C6H4-CH=CH-COCOO-), have been synthesized. Elemental analysis, complexometry, X-ray powder diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy and simultaneous thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), have been used to characterise and to study the thermal behaviour of these compounds. The results provided information concerning the stoichiometry, crystallinity, ligand's denticity, thermal stability and thermal decomposition. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Production and Characterization of β-glucosidase Obtained by the Solid-State Cultivation of the Thermophilic Fungus Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae N31

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

Solid-state compounds of 2-methoxybenzylidenepyruvate with some bivalent metal ions - Synthesis, characterization and thermal behavior studies

Solid-state M-2-MeO-BP compounds, where M represents bivalent Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and 2-MeO-BP is 2-methoxybenzylidenepyruvate have been synthesized. Simultaneous thermogravinietry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray powder diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and complexometry were used to characterize and to study the thermal stability and thermal decomposition of these compounds. The results led to information about the composition, dehydration, crystallinity and thermal decomposition of the isolated compounds.