Hopping-tunneling model to describe electric charge injection at metal/organic semiconductor heterojunctions

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

Chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of fresh sugarcane hydrolysed with calcium oxide (CaO)

The objective was to evaluate the chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of sugarcane hydrolysed with increasing doses of calcium oxide and varying air exposure times. A completely randomised, split plot design was used; the doses were allocated to the plots, and the air exposure times were allocated to the subplots, with four repetitions. The data underwent analysis of variance and were laid out according to the effect of the treatment on the components of polynomial regressions, and evaluated at the 5% probability. The increase in the dosage negatively affected the quantities of neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), acid-detergent fibre (ADF), lignin (LIG), total carbohydrates (TC), cellulose (CEL), crude protein (CP), and ether extract (EE); and positively affected the quantities of non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) and mineral matter (MM). The addition of calcium oxide improved the in vitro digestible dry matter (IVDMD) coefficients and was able to keep up to 72 hours. The in vitro digestibility of the neutral-detergent fibre (IVDNDF) and of the acid-detergent fibre (IVDADF) coefficients decreased when calcium oxide was added. Calcium oxide has the ability to hydrolyse the fibrous fraction and conserve chopped sugarcane. Doses of 0.5 and 1.0% lime exhibited similar results to those achieved at higher doses; therefore, higher doses are not required in the hydrolyses of sugarcane. Over time, the sugarcane deteriorates, but this deterioration is reduced by the addition of calcium oxide.

Use of the probability of stone formation (PSF) score to assess stone forming risk and treatment response in a cohort of Brazilian stone formers

Introduction: The aim was to confirm that PSF (probability of stone formation) changed appropriately following medical therapy on recurrent stone formers.Materials and Methods: Data were collected on 26 Brazilian stone-formers. A baseline 24-hour urine collection was performed prior to treatment. Details of the medical treatment initiated for stone-disease were recorded. A PSF calculation was performed on the 24 hour urine sample using the 7 urinary parameters required: voided volume, oxalate, calcium, urate, pH, citrate and magnesium. A repeat 24-hour urine sample was performed for PSF calculation after treatment. Comparison was made between the PSF scores before and during treatment.Results: At baseline, 20 of the 26 patients (77%) had a high PSF score (> 0.5). Of the 26 patients, 17 (65%) showed an overall reduction in their PSF profiles with a medical treatment regimen. Eleven patients (42%) changed from a high risk (PSF > 0.5) to a low risk (PSF < 0.5) and 6 patients reduced their risk score but did not change risk category. Six (23%) patients remained in a high risk category (> 0.5) during both assessments.Conclusions: The PSF score reduced following medical treatment in the majority of patients in this cohort.

Modelos de fração de cura de mistura e não-mistura na distribuição Weibull Modificada Generalizada

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Imagens aéreas multiespectrais na identificação de zonas de manejo em áreas de algodão para aplicação localizada de insumos

Crop yield is influenced by several factors with variability in time and space that are associated with the variations in the plant vigor. This variability allows the identification of management zones and site-specific applications to manage different regions of the field. The purpose of this study was the use of multispectral image for management zones identification and implications of site-specific application in commercial cotton areas. Multispectral airborne images from three years were used to classify a field into three vegetation classes via the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The NDVI classes were used to verify the potential differences between plant physical measurements and identify management zones. The cotton plant measurements sampled in 8 repetitions of 10 plants at each NDVI class were Stand Count, Plant Height, Total Nodes and Total Bolls. Statistical analysis was performed with treatments arranged in split plot design with Tukey’s Test at 5% of probability. The images were classified into five NDVI classes to evaluate the relationship between cotton plant measurement results and sampling location across the field. The results have demonstrated the possibility of using multispectral image for management zones identification in cotton areas. The image classification into three NDVI classes showed three different zones in the field with similar characteristics for the studied years. Statistical differences were shown for plant height, total nodes and total bolls between low and high NDVI classes for all years. High NDVI classes contained plants with greater height, total nodes and total bolls compared to low NDVI classes. There was no difference in Stand Count between low and high NDVI classes for the three studied years. The final plant stand was the same between all NDVI classes for 2001 and 2003 as it was expected due to the conventional seeding application with the same rate of seeds for the entire field.