Use of a semantically grained database system for distribution and control within design environments

This paper presents a technique to share the data stored in an object-oriented database aimed at designing environments. This technique shares data between two related databases, called the Original and Product databases, and is composed of three processes: data separation, evolution and integration. Whenever a block of data needs to be shared, it is spread into both databases, resulting in a block on the original database, and another into the Product database, with special links between them controlled by the Object Manager. These blocks do not need to be maintained identical during the evolution phase of the sharing process. Six types of links were defined, and by choosing one, the designer control the evolution and reintegration of the block in both databases. This process uses the composite object concept as the unit of control. The presented concepts can be applied to any data model with support to composite objects.

Phenology of a dioecious population of Batrachospermum delicatulum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in a stream from southeastern Brazil

The seasonal dynamics of a dioecious population of Batrachospermum delicatulum (Skuja) Necchi and Entwisle was evaluated biweekly during the growth period of the macroscopic gametophyte, from late autumn (May) to early spring (October) in a third-order stream from the northeast region of Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil (20°43'S, 49°13'W). The population fluctuated throughout the study period in terms of percentage cover, frequency and chlorophyll content. Percent cover and frequency showed a clear pattern with the lowest values at the initial and final stages of the growth period and the highest in July-August (winter). Gametophyte growth was associated with high illumination and low temperature, which agrees with most observations on Batrachospermales in stream environments. Relatively wide variations in reproductive characteristics were observed during the growth period, which were not correlated with percentage cover, frequency and chlorophyll content. The phenologic pattern observed in this population was characterized by a synchronic development of female/male plant ratio with the number of spermatangia per plant resulting in. (i) a higher proportion of fertilized (carposporophytic) plants associated with more male plants; (ii) higher fertilization rates during the periods with higher production of spermatangia per plant; and (iii) higher production of spermatangia per plant when the population had more male plants. These characteristics were largely associated with water temperature and ion content. In terms of reproductive success, the population studied can be regarded as highly efficient, considering the relatively low proportion of male to female plants and high fertilization rates. These data are consistent with a hypothesis to explain high fertilization rates in dioecious species in lotic habitats consisting of outcrossing among adjacent plants with intermingled male and female branches within an algal cluster. Efficient reproductive strategies have been reported in dioecious, monoecious and even mixed populations of B. delicatulum and can be interpreted as adaptations to successfully colonize streams with different characteristics.

Geographic distribution and associated environments characterization of trichilia catigua A. Juss - Meliaceae in Santa Catarina State - Brazil

A survey was conducted aiming to recognize and characterize the environments of occurrence of Trichilia species and their geographic distribuition, particulary T. catigua A. Juss, in Santa Catarina State. These informations will support a domestication strategy for agricultural production of this spcies. This species is widely used by traditional communities as dye and tonic beverage, as well as digestive and purgative. Some pharmaceutical and beverage industries in Brasil use bark of this species to prepare a tonic drink. There are several common names reffering the species and this situation can promove mistakes in collecting and selling processes. Termperature, soil, vegetational types and edaphoclimatic aspects have great influence on the occurrence of this species. Plant collection strategu was based on herbaria data and field verification. The vouchers were deposited at the Federal University of Parana herbarium (UPCB). The collection sites were geographically located, by latitude and longitude and these data were crossed with climate, soil, temperature, rainfall, altitude and vegetation maps. Catuaba occurs predominantly on a stational semidecidual forest and also on transitional forest with Araucaria and part of Atlantic forest. It is found growing in lower canopy, with fertile soils, and high content of organic matter. The main geomorphological formation are basaltic and the soil types vary from dark red latossol to yellow red latossol, including structured red latossl and cambissol from basaltic and granitic origin.

Geographical distribution and associated environments characterisation of catuba (Trichilia catigua A. Juss. - Meliaceae) in Paraná State - Brazil

Trichilia catigua A. Juss. - Meliaceae has been traditionally used as a tonic and digestive medicine. Some Brazilian pharmaceutical firms use this species to produce phytopharmaceuticals and alcoholic beverages. The aim of this work is to determine its geographical distribution and characterise the environments where catuaba is found in the state of Paraná, in order to support the domestication strategy for the agricultural production of this species. Based on the literature, botanical collections and field observations it was established, that five species of the genus occurring in Paraná, which were identified as T casaretti, T catigua, T claussenii, T elegans, T pallida and another supposed to be T pattens. Trichilia catigua occurs within a wide but defined strip in the state. By evaluating data of climate; soil types; natural vegetation formations; mean, maximum and minimum temperatures; relative humidity; rainfall; altitudes and evapotranspiration the strip may be localised above latitude 25° in the central and Eastern regions of the state and above latitude 26° in South-western Parana. In general, T catigua was found to occur on fertile, organic-matter-rich soils and predominantly under forest canopies.

Dietary electrolyte balance for broiler chickens exposed to thermoneutral or heat-stress environments

Ross male broiler chicks (n = 480) on new litter were used in a randomized block design with two blocks (environmental rooms) and four treatments having four replicate pens (1.0 × 2.5 m; 15 chicks) each to evaluate dietary electrolyte balance (DEB; P < 0.05). Two rooms were 1) thermoneutral (Weeks 1 through 6, with decreasing maximum from 32 to 25°C and minimum from 28 to 19°C; relative humidity 49 to 58%) and 2) cyclic daily heat stress (Weeks 1 and 2, thermoneutral; Weeks 2 through 6, maximum temperatures 35, 35, 33, and 33°C, respectively; and minimum temperatures 23, 20, 19, and 19°C, respectively; relative humidity 51 to 54%). The DEB treatments (0, 140, 240, or 340 mEq Na + K - Cl/kg) had NaHCO3 plus NH4Cl, or KHCO3, or both added to corn-soybean meal mash basal diets with 0.30% salt (NaCl). In the thermoneutral room, DEB 240 increased 42-d weight gain and 44-d lymphocyte percentage and decreased heterophil percentage and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio compared to the DEB 40 treatment. The DEB 240 diets had 0.35 and 0.35% Na and 0.37% and 0.29% Cl in starter (0.75% K) and grower (0.67% K) diets, respectively. No DEB treatment differences were found in the heat stress room. For combined rooms, 42-d feed intake was higher for DEB 240 than for DEB 40. The 21-d weight gain was higher for DEB 240 than for DEB 40 or 140; and 21-d feed/gain was lower for DEB 40 than for DEB 340. The predicted maximum point of inflection for 21- and 42-d weight gains were DEB 250 and 201, with highest 42-d feed intake at 220.

Photosynthetic responses to temperature in tropical lotic macroalgae

A comparative analysis of the photosynthetic responses to temperature (10-30°C) was carried out under short-term laboratory conditions by chlorophyll fluorescence and oxygen (O2) evolution. Ten lotic macroalgal species from southeastern Brazil (20°11-20°48′S, 49°18-49°41′W) were tested, including Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, Rhodophyta and Xanthophyta. Temperature had significant effects on electron transport rate (ETR) only for three species (Terpsinoe musica, Bacillariophyta; Cladophora glomerata, Chlorophyta; and C. coeruleus, Rhodophyta), with highest values at 25-30°C, whereas the remaining species had no significant responses. It also had similar effects on non-photochemical quenching and ETR. Differences in net photosynthesis/dark respiration ratios at distinct temperatures were found, with an increasing trend of respiration with higher temperatures. This implies in a decreasing balance between net primary production and temperature, representing more critical conditions toward higher temperatures for most species. In contrast, high net photosynthesis and photosynthesis/dark respiration ratios at high and wide ranges of temperature were found in three species of green algae, suggesting that these algae can be important primary producers in lotic ecosystems, particularly in tropical regions. Optimal photosynthetic rates were observed under similar environmental temperatures for five species (two rhodophytes, two chlorophytes and one diatom) considering both techniques, suggesting acclimation to their respective ambient temperatures. C. coeruleus was the only species with peaks of ETR and O 2 evolution under similar field-measured temperatures. All species kept values of ETR and net photosynthesis close to the optimum under a broad range of temperatures. Increased non-photochemical quenching, as a measure of thermal dissipation of excess energy, toward higher temperatures was observed in some species, as well as positive correlation of non-photochemical quenching with ETR, and were interpreted as two mechanisms of adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus to temperature changes. Different optimal temperatures were found for individual species by each technique, generally under lower temperatures by O2 evolution, indicating dependence on distinct factors: increases in temperature generally induced higher ETR due to increased enzymatic activity, whereas increments of enzymatic activity were compensated by increased respiration and photorespiration leading to decreases in net photosynthesis.

Managing large scale virtual environments using portals

This article describes a technique for Large Scale Virtual Environments (LSVEs) partitioning in hexagon cells and using portal in the cell interfaces to reduce the number of messages on the network and the complexity of the virtual world. These environments usually demand a high volume of data that must be sent only to those users who needs the information [Greenhalgh, Benford 1997].

Scalable distributed virtual environments using multicast application level

Most of architectures proposed for developing Distributed Virtual Environment (DVE) allow limited number of users. To support the development of applications using the internet infrastructure, with hundred or, perhaps, thousands users logged simultaneously on DVE, several techniques for managing resources, such as bandwidth and capability of processing, must be implemented. The strategy presented in this paper combines methods to attain the scalability required, In special the multicast protocol at application level.

Evaluating quality of life in mercury intoxicated people in urban-industrial environments through short-form 36 application

Context and objective: Records of contact with mercury (Hg) exist for more than 3500 years and several problems related to the use of this element can be noticed. Considering inexistence of current reports about it, quality of life perception evaluation was studied in people chronically intoxicated by mercury in an industrial environment. Design and setting: This is a cross-sectional descriptive observational study. Information from 47 urban-industrial workers from lamps manufacturing in São Paulo, clinically diagnosed as intoxicated by mercury and currently followed by the Occupational Health Service of Faculdade de Medicine da Universidade de São Paulo, with average age of 41.7 years old, was considered. Methods: SF36 questionnaire application was performed, with inferences tested by χ-square proof, by Spearman linear correlation and Mann-Whitney non-parametric test, adopting p < 0.05 as significant level. Results: In the eight domains, observed medians are 40% for physical functioning; 0 for physical function; 30% for body pain; 30% for general health; 22.2% for vitality; 50% for social functioning; 0 for emotional role and 36% for mental health. Correlation between age and SF36 domains does not reveal statistical significance, except for physical functioning, indicating that lower scores presented by older people in this domain are not followed by changes on other ones. Conclusions: Values obtained in people chronically intoxicated by mercury are actually lower, in the motor and mental scope components. Some instruments domains are higher for men than for women. Older ages are inversely associated to good performance in physical function domain. © Copyright Moreira Jr. Editora. Todos os direitos reservados.

Evaluation of urban ants (hymenoptera: formicidae) as vectors of microorganisms in residential and industrial environments: II. Fungi

Collections in households and industrial kitchens were done aiming at evaluating the potential of urban ants in spreading fungi. The most abundant ant species in households were Tapinoma melanocephalum and Paratrechina longicornis. In industrial kitchens Paratrechina longicornis and Monomorium floricola were the most common. Tapinoma melanocephalum was the species that most carried fungi, followed by Paratrechina longicornis, Tetramorium sp., Monomorium pharaonis and Monomorium floricola. An aflatoxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus was isolated.

The generation of scenes in mixed reality environments using the chromakey technique

A classic problem in the development of Mixed Reality systems is the registration. The correct alignment between virtual objects and the real elements is extremely important for the coherent composition of the resultant scene. Considering this context, this paper describes an approach for the composition of scenes in Mixed Reality environments using the chromakey technique for the extraction of real objects. After that, the scene is mounted in a coherent way related to the depth in OpenGL framebuffer for posterior rendering. ©2007 IEEE.

Cytogenetic and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of Leptodactylus species from rural and urban environments (Anura, Amphibia)

Cytogenetic and random amplified polymorphic DNA analyses carried out in the species Leptodactylus podicipinus, L. ocellatus, L. labyrinthicus, and L. fuscus from rural and urban habitats of the northwest region of São Paulo State, Brazil, showed that the karyotypes (2n = 22), constitutive heterochromatin distribution and nucleolus organizer region (NOR) location did not differ between the populations from the two environments. The in situ hybridization with an rDNA probe confirmed the location of the NORs on chromosome 8 revealing an in tandem duplication of that region in one of the chromosomes of L. fuscus. DAPI showed that part of the C-band-positive heterochromatin is rich in AT, including that in the proximity the NORs in L. podicipinus and L. ocellatus. The molecular analyses showed that the two populations (urban and rural) of L. podicipinus and L. fuscus are similar from a genetic point of view. The urban and rural populations of species L. ocellatus and L. labyrinthicus showed differences in genetic structures, probably due to urbanization which interferes with the dispersion of those frogs. The marked differences observed between the two populations of L. ocellatus can be representing the cryptic condition of the species. Unweighted pair-group method of analysis and genetic distance analysis detected the genetic proximity between L. ocellatus and L. fuscus. The results indicate that there was no reduction in the genetic diversity in the populations from the urban environment; however, the survival of these frogs would not be guaranteed in the case of an increase in human impact especially for populations of L. labyrinthicus and L. ocellatus. ©FUNPEC-RP.

Functional feeding habits of Chironomidae larvae (Insecta, Diptera) in a lotic system from Midwestern region of São Paulo State, Brazil

Functional feeding habits of Chironomidae larvae (Insecta, Diptera) in a lotic system from Mid-western region of São Paulo State, Brazil were analyzed. Collectors were the dominant organisms, repre-sented by genera Chironomus, Fissimentum and Cryptochironomus, following by shredders and predators.

Using virtual worlds in distance learning environments

This paper presents two tools developed to facilitate the use and automate the process of using Virtual Worlds for educational purposes. The first tool has been developed to automatically create the classroom space, usually called region in the virtual world, which means, a region in the virtual world used to develop educational activities between professors, students and interactive objects. The second tool helps the process of creating 3D interactive objects in a virtual world. With these tools educators will be able to produce 3D interactive learning objects and use them in virtual classrooms improving the quality and appeal, for students, of their classes. © 2011 IEEE.

Treatments to optimize the use of artificial insemination and reproductive efficiency in beef cattle under tropical environments

Bos indicus cattle, the preferred genetic group in tropical climates, are characterized by having a lower reproductive efficiency than Bos taurus. The reasons for the poorer reproductive efficiency of the Bos indicus cows include longer lengths of gestation and postpartum anestrus, a short length of estrous behavior with a high incidence of estrus occurring during the dark hours, and puberty at older age and at a higher percentage of body weight relative to mature body weight. Moreover, geography, environment, economics, and social traditions are factors contributing for a lower use of reproductive biotechnologies in tropical environments. Hormonal protocols have been developed to resolve some of the reproductive challenges of the Bos indicus cattle and allow artificial insemination, which is the main strategy to hasten genetic improvement in commercial beef ranches. Most of these treatments use exogenous sources of progesterone associated with strategies to improve the final maturation of the dominant follicle, such as temporary weaning and exogenous gonadotropins. These treatments have caused large impacts on reproductive performance of beef cattle reared under tropical areas. Copyright © 2011 O. G. Sá Filho and J. L. M. Vasconcelos.