Growth regulators for in vitro propagation of Tillandsia gardneri (Bromeliaceae)

Tillandsia gardneri Lindi, is a herbaceous perennial with ornamental value. However, in Brazil there is no report about this species' cultivation on a commercial scale. The low multiplication rate of T. gardneri (in average one offshoot/plant/year) leads to illegal over-collection in the wild to meet commercial demands. The development of protocols for in vitro propagation of T. gardneri may be useful for increasing multiplication rate, producing enough plants to supply the ornamental market and also to reduce the pressure over plants collection in the wild. The present study evaluated the effect of growth regulators (6-benzylaminopurine-BA alone or in combinations with naphthaleneacetic acid-NAA) on shoots development from seedlings pre-established in vitro, from seed germination on 1/4 MS medium without growth regulators. Seedlings (with about 1.0 cm long) were re-cultured to solid 1/2 MS media supplemented with growth regulators. After 30 days on the induction medium seedlings were re-cultured to MS basal medium. The experiment was conducted in a complete randomized design with four replications and ten treatments: control (free of growth regulators), BA (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/L), BA (0.5 mg/L) + ANA (0.1 mg/L), BA (1.0 mg/L) + ANA (0.1 mg/L), BA (1.0 mg/L) + ANA (0.5 mg/L), BA (2.0 mg/L) + ANA (0.1 mg/L), BA (2.0 mg/L) + ANA (0.5 mg/L), and BA (2.0 mg/L) + ANA (1.0 mg/L). The outgrowth of shoots did not occur on medium devoid of growth regulators (control). Regression analysis for some evaluated parameters, such as percentage of seedlings responsive to shoot formation and number of shoots/seedling, and regulators concentrations (BA or ANA) were significant, allowing the establishment of the growth regulators concentration for obtaining the best multiplication rate. Some seedlings maintained in media with ANA (0.5 or 1.0 mg/L) were completely converted into callus masses that turned dark brown leading to seedlings death.

The dynamic behaviour of a buried water pipe and its effect on leak location using acoustic methods

Leakage in buried pipes is one of the main concerns for water companies due to the scarcity of potable water sources. Older metallic pipelines have been replaced by plastic pipes in such systems, which makes it more difficult to locate leaks using acoustics and vibration. This is mainly because of the high attenuation of leak signals caused by the damping in the pipe wall. To investigate acoustic methods in leak location in controlled conditions, a bespoke test rig was constructed in the UK. In this paper, data from this test-rig is used to discuss some issues that arise when using two contemporary correlators. Of particular interest, is the way in which a resonance in the system can have a profound effect on the estimate of the position of the leak depending on the way in which the leak noise signals are processed. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications.

Desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para elaboração de modelos de predição dos níveis de ruído do campo acústico de usinas hidrelétricas

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEIS

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

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

Measurement of Wave Attenuation in Buried Plastic Water Distribution Pipes

Leaks in pipes are a common issue encountered in the water industry. Acoustic methods are generally successful in finding and locating leaks in metallic pipes, however, they are less effective when applied to plastic pipes. This is because leak-noise signals are heavily attenuated due to high damping in the pipe-wall and sound radiation into the soil. As result, high frequency leak noise does not travel long distances. To determine how far leak noise may travel in a pipe at any frequency, the attenuation of the wave responsible for leak noise propagation should be known. In this paper a new method to estimate this is described. The method is then applied to some measurements made on a bespoke pipe-test rig in the UK, and the results are compared with theoretical predictions.

Perceptual and acoustic parameters of vocal nodules in children

Vocal nodules constitute the major cause of dysphonia during childhood. Auditory-perceptual and acoustic vocal analyses have been used to differentiate vocal nodules from normal voice in children.Purpose: To study the value of auditory-perceptual and acoustic vocal analyses in assessments of children with nodules.Design: Diagnostic test study.Patients and interventions: A comparative study was carried out including 100 children with videolaryngoscopic diagnosis of vocal nodules (nodule group-NG); and 100 children without vocal symptoms and with normal videolaryngoscopic exams (control group-CG). The age range of both groups was between 4 and 11 years. All children underwent auditory-perceptual vocal analyses (GRBASI scale); maximum phonation time and s/z ratio were calculated, and acoustic vocal analysis (MDVP software) were carried out.Results: There was no difference in the values of maximum phonation time and s/z ratio between groups. Auditory-perceptual analysis indicated greater compromising of voice parameters for NG, compared to CG: G (79 versus 24), R (53 versus 3), B (67 versus 23) and S (35 versus 1). The values of acoustic parameters jitter, PPQ shimmer, APQ, NHR and SPI were higher for NG for CG. The parameter f0 did not differ between groups.Conclusion: Compromising of auditory-perceptual (G, R, B and S) and acoustic vocal parameters (jitter, PPQ shimmer, APQ, NHR and SPI) was greater for children with nodules than for those of the control group, which makes them important methods for assessing child dysphonia. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microsatellite analysis supports clonal propagation and reduced divergence of Trypanosoma vivax from asymptomatic to fatally infected livestock in South America compared to West Africa

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A path- and label-cost propagation approach to speedup the training of the optimum-path forest classifier

In general, pattern recognition techniques require a high computational burden for learning the discriminating functions that are responsible to separate samples from distinct classes. As such, there are several studies that make effort to employ machine learning algorithms in the context of big data classification problems. The research on this area ranges from Graphics Processing Units-based implementations to mathematical optimizations, being the main drawback of the former approaches to be dependent on the graphic video card. Here, we propose an architecture-independent optimization approach for the optimum-path forest (OPF) classifier, that is designed using a theoretical formulation that relates the minimum spanning tree with the minimum spanning forest generated by the OPF over the training dataset. The experiments have shown that the approach proposed can be faster than the traditional one in five public datasets, being also as accurate as the original OPF. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Tool Condition Monitoring of Single-Point Dresser Using Acoustic Emission and Neural Networks Models

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

Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Validation of the Scholte Wave Propagation in Immersed Plates for the Characterization of Viscous Fluids

This work reports the study of an attractive interfacial wave for application in ultrasonic NDE techniques for inspection and fluid characterization. This wave, called quasi-Scholte mode, is a kind of flexural wave in a plate in contact with a fluid which presents a good sensitivity to the fluid properties. In order to explore this feature, the phase velocity curve of quasi-Scholte mode is experimentally measured in a plate in contact with a viscous fluid, showing a good agreement with theory.

On the Acoustic Filtering of the Pipe and Sensor in a Buried Plastic Water Pipe and its Effect on Leak Detection: An Experimental Investigation

Acoustic techniques have been used for many years to find and locate leaks in buried water distribution systems. Hydrophones and accelerometers are typically used as sensors. Although geophones could be used as well, they are not generally used for leak detection. A simple acoustic model of the pipe and the sensors has been proposed previously by some of the authors of this paper, and their model was used to explain some of the features observed in measurements. However, simultaneous measurements of a leak using all three sensor-types in controlled conditions for plastic pipes has not been reported to-date and hence they have not yet been compared directly. This paper fills that gap in knowledge. A set of measurements was made on a bespoke buried plastic water distribution pipe test rig to validate the previously reported analytical model. There is qualitative agreement between the experimental results and the model predictions in terms of the differing filtering properties of the pipe-sensor systems. A quality measure for the data is also presented, which is the ratio of the bandwidth over which the analysis is carried out divided by the centre frequency of this bandwidth. Based on this metric, the accelerometer was found to be the best sensor to use for the test rig described in this paper. However, for a system in which the distance between the sensors is large or the attenuation factor of the system is high, then it would be advantageous to use hydrophones, even though they are invasive sensors.

Origin and function of short-latency inputs to the neural substrates underlying the acoustic startle reflex

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

Analysis of acoustic frequency and wave amplitude generated by the Oscillatory Thoracic Thixotropic Device (Diottix(r)) in human chest

Diottix(r) was calibrated at 25 Hz to achieve the frequency indicated in literature as being effective to mobilize the airways secretions. However, the amplitude and frequency of the waves generated by the equipment in different regions of the chest still need to be investigated. The objective of this study was to analyze the frequency and amplitude of waves generated by Diottix(r) in chests of healthy subjects. Diottix(r) was used in the anterior and posterior regions of the chest. The mechanical waves were captured using stethoscopes connected to electret microphones, which were connected to a digital oscilloscope. Frequency and amplitude data were recorded by the stethoscope, positioned in six points in the anterior region and six in the posterior region of the chest, following the positions commonly used in pulmonary auscultation. Signals were recorded and transferred to a computer with software for their analysis. The frequency of waves did not present a significant change (from 24.9 to 26.4 Hz). The wave amplitude in the anterior versus the posterior region in each area of the lung, the upper, middle and lower, had differences. Diottix(r) produces frequencies in the chest according to the calibrated; thus, it can be a complementary resource to bronchial hygiene maneuvers. The amplitudes of waves seem to be affected by other structures like bone parts and heart.

Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography of the spleen in healthy dogs of different ages

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

Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography of prostate and testes of healthy dogs: preliminary results

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