Random regression models using different functions to model test-day milk yield of Brazilian Holstein cows

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

Milk yield persistency in Brazilian Gyr cattle based on a random regression model

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Security constrained optimal active power flow via network model and interior point method

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

Ultrasonic densitometer using a multiple reflection technique

This work presents recent improvements in a density measurement cell with a double-element transducer that can eliminate diffraction effects. A new mechanical design combined with the use of more appropriate materials has resulted in better parallelism between interfaces, more robust assembly, and chemical resistance. A novel method of signal processing, named energy method, is introduced to obtain the reflection coefficient, reducing sensitivity to noise and improving accuracy. The measurement cell operation is verified both theoretically, using an acoustic wave propagation model, and experimentally, using homogeneous liquids with different densities. The accuracy in the density measurement is 0.2% when compared with the measurements made with a pycnometer.

Contributions and perspectives of chicken genomics in Brazil: from biological model to export commodity

Chicken is one of the most important sources of animal protein for human consumption, and breeding programmes have been responsible for constant improvements in production efficiency and product quality. Furthermore, chicken has largely contributed to fundamental discoveries in biology for the last 100 years. In this article we review recent developments in poultry genomics and their contribution to adding functional information to the already existing structural genomics, including the availability of the complete genome sequence, a comprehensive collection of mRNA sequences ( ESTs), microarray platforms, and their use to complement QTL mapping strategies in the identification of genes that underlie complex traits. Efforts of the Brazilian Poultry Genomics Programme in this area resulted in generation of a resource population, which was used for identification of Quantitative Trait Loci ( QTL) regions, generation of ESTs and candidate gene studies that contributed to furthering our understanding of the complex biological processes involved in growth and muscular development in chicken.

Quantitative trait loci for performance traits in a broiler x layer cross

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Mapping quantitative trait loci in Gallus gallus using principal components

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

Photoelastic Analysis of Biomechanical Behavior of Single and Multiple Fixed Partial Prostheses With Different Prosthetic Connections

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

Competition and phylogeny determine community structure in Mullerian co-mimics

Until recently, the study of negative and antagonistic interactions (for example, competition and predation) has dominated our understanding of community structure, maintenance and assembly(1). Nevertheless, a recent theoretical model suggests that positive interactions (for example, mutualisms) may counterbalance competition, facilitating long-term coexistence even among ecologically undifferentiated species(2). Mullerian mimics are mutualists that share the costs of predator education(3) and are therefore ideally suited for the investigation of positive and negative interactions in community dynamics. The sole empirical test of this model in a Mullerian mimetic community supports the prediction that positive interactions outweigh the negative effects of spatial overlap(4) (without quantifying resource acquisition). Understanding the role of trophic niche partitioning in facilitating the evolution and stability of Mullerian mimetic communities is now of critical importance, but has yet to be formally investigated. Here we show that resource partitioning and phylogeny determine community structure and outweigh the positive effects of Mullerian mimicry in a species-rich group of neotropical catfishes. From multiple, independent reproductively isolated allopatric communities displaying convergently evolved colour patterns, 92% consist of species that do not compete for resources. Significant differences in phylogenetically conserved traits (snout morphology and body size) were consistently linked to trait-specific resource acquisition. Thus, we report the first evidence, to our knowledge, that competition for trophic resources and phylogeny are pivotal factors in the stable evolution of Mullerian mimicry rings. More generally, our work demonstrates that competition for resources is likely to have a dominant role in the structuring of communities that are simultaneously subject to the effects of both positive and negative interactions.

Exploring community assembly through an individual-based model for trophic interactions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The use of artificial neural networks in analysing the nutritional ecology of Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), compared with a statistical model

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

Time-dependent expression of annexin 1 in a model of chronic granulomatous inflammation

Objective and design: To determine the expression pattern and distribution of the glucocorticoid-inducible protein annexin 1 (ANXA1) in a murine model of chronic granulomatous inflammation.Materials or subjects: TO Mouse.Treatment: Chronic granulomatous inflammation was induced by injecting into dorsal sub-cutaneous air-pouches in mice, a mixture of croton oil and Freund's complete adjuvant (CO/FCA).Methods: Western and northern analysis, corticosterone assay, and immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Tukey's pair-wise comparisons or Dunnett's multiple comparisons.Results: ANXA1 protein levels changed significantly throughout the 4-week time course, with an initial peak at day 7 and a later elevation at 28 days. ANXA1 mRNA levels peaked at days 1 and 3, with a significant decline at day 7 followed by an upward trend to day 28. Plasma corticosterone measurements taken throughout the time course revealed an increase from 14 days onward, suggesting that corticosterone does not influence ANXA1 expression during the initial stages of the model. Immunogold staining revealed that ANXA1 expression in the inflamed tissue was mainly in extravasated neutrophils, with intact protein (37 kDa) being predominantly observed on the cell membrane.Conclusions: the pattern of ANXA1 expression indicates that infiltrated neutrophils are responsible for the majority of ANXA1 present both at early and later stages of this model of granulomatous inflammation.

Statistics and kinetics of single-molecule electron transfer dynamics in complex environments: A simulation model study

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

Trait-mediated effects on flowers: Artificial spiders deceive pollinators and decrease plant fitness

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

Azimuthal decorrelations and multiple parton interactions in gamma+2 jet and gamma+3 jet events in p(p)over-bar collisions at root s=1.96 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)