Estudos sobre as defasagens de Prometeu e Pandora

Pós-graduação em Física - FEG

Bovine cysticercosis in slaughtered cattle as an indicator of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and epidemiological risk factors

This study focused on estimating the economic losses resulting from cysticercosis at beef cattle farms that supply an export slaughterhouse located in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and to identify the epidemiological risks factors involved in the disease to ascertain if these farms adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). To this, we used data recorded in 2012 by Brazil's Federal Inspection Service (SIP) on the daily occurrence of the disease, according to the farm from which the animals originated. In addition, the associated risk factors were determined based on a case-control study at 48 farms. Cysticercosis was detected in 2.26% (95% CI 2.2-2.33) of the 190,903 bovines supplied by 556 farms in the following four states: 2.92% (95% CI 2.83-3.03) in Sao Paulo, 1.81% (95% CI 1.71-1.93) in Minas Gerais, 0.71% (95% CI 0.6-0.82) in Goias and 1.11% (95% CI 0.79-1.57) in Mato Grosso do Sul, with significant differences in the epidemiological indices of these states. Cysticercosis was detected at 58.45% (95% CI 54.36-62.55) of the farms of this study, representing estimated economic losses of US$312,194.52 for the farmers. Lower prevalence of this disease were found at the farms qualified for exports to the European Union, indicating a statistically significant difference from those not qualified to export to Europe. The access of cattle to non-controlled water sources, as well as sport fishing activities near the farms, was identified as risk factors. Cysticercosis causes considerable losses in Brazil's beef supply chain, with lower prevalence appearing only at farms qualified to export to the European Union. As for the access of cattle to non-controlled water sources, this is an indication that GAP are not implemented by some farms, demonstrating the violation of international agreements by the industry and the farms. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mixed-integer convex model for VAr expansion planning

This paper presents a mixed-integer convex-optimization-based approach for optimum investment reactive power sources in transmission systems. Unlike some convex-optimization techniques for the reactive power planning solution, in the proposed approach the taps settings of under-load tap-changing of transformers are modeled as a mixed-integer linear set equations. Are also considered the continuous and discrete variables for the existing and new capacitive and reactive power sources. The problem is solved for three significant demand scenarios (low demand, average demand and peak demand). Numerical results are presented for the CIGRE-32 electric power system.

Estudo sobre o panorama da energia elétrica no Brasil e tendências futuras

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Elétrica - FEB

Intoxicação por uréia em bovinos: revisão bibliográfica

This paper was developed with the purpose to guide the way for the use of non-proteic nitrogen sources for supplemental feeding of cattle, the epidemiological factors and determinantes of urea poisoning and actions for prevention and treatment of poisoning.

Análise estatística de parâmetros elétricos em usinas sucroalcoleiras do centro-oeste paulista

The industry of sugar cane has become an important contributor to the generation of electricity in Brazil. Currently there are 434 sugar and ethanol plants operating in the country, 23% of the total export electricity to the National Integrated System (SIN), the state of São Paulo has 182 plants and 30% of them export energy to the SIN. The objective of this study is to compare parameters of electrical efficiency in the sugar and alcohol industry. For the study, three plants localized in the midwest region of Sao Paulo state with great potential for production and exporting bioenergy were chosen. Five energy analyzers LANDYS + GYR SAGA were used for measure the electrical parameters. The variables studied were energy consumption (C) and power factor (PF). For the statistical analysis it was adopteda randomized block design in a factorial 3 5composed of three companies and five sectors of energy consumption,in which: reception(1), milling (2), boiler (3), supporting activities / juice treatment (4), and distillation (5), totaling 15 treatments. Each group comprised 192 repetitions (48 hours 4 measurements per hour). It was concluded that there is no interest for the plans to fix the FP and reach a value 0.92, which is considered the ideal power factor.This,because the plants generate their own energy and are not penalized. Regarding the energy consumed, all sectors had significant differences. When comparingsector to sector, the plant called USB showed no significant differences in sectors 1 and 3, and the plant USC, in sectors 1 and 4. Considering the production units of this sector and selling power this type of evaluation is essential to perform this analysis, since the analyzed sectors are most important in the production of sugar and ethanol, and analyze and monitor these parameters, use and consumption energy can provide a greater supply of energy to be commercialized.

Avaliação energética econômica do agroecossistema algodão: uma abordagem entre sistemas familiares de produção do Paraguai e do Brasil

The objective of this work was to evaluate the energy and economic efficiency indexes per unit of cotton agro-ecosystem area in family production systems of Paraguay and Brazil; and, to establish a relationship between the energy and economic. Typologies presented by the Program to Support Small Cotton Holdings (Paraguay), and by the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Brazil). Family systems of the two countries were identified; these are located from Paraguay (San Juan–CA) and from Brazil (Leme–SP). To construct the energy expenditure structure of the cotton agro-ecosystem, as well as to assess the economic efficiency, the mean values obtained were considered, when they presented similarities in production systems and they were within the typology proposed in this study. From the technical itinerary observed the Paraguayan agro-ecosystem depended (fossil fuel 56.76%) and industrial source (35.99%). Thus, the energy balance of the agricultural stage was established, which attained a value of 17,740.69 MJ ha-1; an energy efficiency of 5.28, and a cultural efficiency of 3.04. The Brazilian agro-ecosystem depended on energy from industrial source (insecticides 39.82%) and from fossil fuel (33.59%); it reached an energy balance of 19,547.88 MJ ha-1; an energy efficiency of 2.12, and a cultural efficiency index of 0.71. In the economic and energy indicator ratio, with regard to the months referring to the harvest time, that is to say, March, April, and May, the maximum economic efficiency indicator of paraguay was attained in the month of May (1,00), and from Brazil in the month of May (1,71). Both production systems analyzed were presented efficient, however, dependent of external circumstances and non-renewable energy sources.

Valiação energética e econômica do agroecossistema algodão: uma abordagem entre sistemas familiares de produção do Paraguai e Brasil

The objective of this work was to evaluate the energy and economic efficiency indexes per unit of cotton agro-ecosystem area in family production systems of Paraguay and Brazil; and, to establish a relationship between the energy and economic. Typologies presented by the Program to Support Small Cotton Holdings (Paraguay), and by the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Brazil). Family systems of the two countries were identified; these are located from Paraguay (San Juan–CA) and from Brazil (Leme–SP). To construct the energy expenditure structure of the cotton agro-ecosystem, as well as to assess the economic efficiency, the mean values obtained were considered, when they presented similarities in production systems and they were within the typology proposed in this study. From the technical itinerary observed the Paraguayan agro-ecosystem depended (fossil fuel 56.76%) and industrial source (35.99%). Thus, the energy balance of the agricultural stage was established, which attained a value of 17,740.69 MJ ha-1; an energy efficiency of 5.28, and a cultural efficiency of 3.04. The Brazilian agro-ecosystem depended on energy from industrial source (insecticides 39.82%) and from fossil fuel (33.59%); it reached an energy balance of 19,547.88 MJ ha-1; an energy efficiency of 2.12, and a cultural efficiency index of 0.71. In the economic and energy indicator ratio, with regard to the months referring to the harvest time, that is to say, March, April, and May, the maximum economic efficiency indicator of paraguay was attained in the month of May (1,00), and from Brazil in the month of May (1,71). Both production systems analyzed were presented efficient, however, dependent of external circumstances and non-renewable energy sources.

The Effect of Power Bleaching Actived by Several Light Sources on Enamel Microhardness

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of different light sources for in-office bleaching on surface microhardness of human enamel. One hundred and five blocks of third molars were distributed among seven groups. The facial enamel surface of each block was polished and baseline Knoop microhardness of enamel was assessed with a load of 25 g for 5 s. Subsequently, the enamel was treated with 35% hydrogen peroxide bleaching agent and photo-activated with halogen light (group A) during 38 s, LED (group B) during 360 s, and high intensity diode laser (group C) during 4 s. The groups D (38 s), E (360 s), and F (4 s) were treated with the bleaching agent without photo-activated. The control (group G) was only kept in saliva without any treatment. Microhardness was reassessed after 1 day of the bleaching treatment, and after 7 and 21 days storage in artificial saliva. The mean percentage and standard deviation of microhardness in Knoop Hardness Number were: A 97.8 +/- 13.1 KHN; B 95.5 +/- 12.7 KHN; C 84.2 +/- 13.6 KHN; D 128.6 +/- 20.5 KHN; E 133.9 +/- 14.2 KHN; F 123.9 +/- 14.2 KHN; G 129.8 +/- 18.8 KHN. Statistical analysis (p < 0.05; Tukey test) showed that microhardness percentage values were significantly lower in the groups irradiated with light when compared with the non-irradiated groups. Furthermore, the non-irradiated groups showed that saliva was able to enhance the microhardness during the measurement times. The enamel microhardness was decreased when light sources were used during the bleaching process and the artificial saliva was able to increase microhardness when no light was used.

Sources of human non-typhoid salmonellosis: a review

Salmonellosis is a worldwide disease caused by bacteria of the genus Salmonella. Currently, there are over 2,500 identified serovars of Salmonella. A reduced number of these serovars, about eighty, are implicated in most animals and human diseases. Most cases of salmonellosis in humans are associated with the consumption of contaminated food products such as beef, pork, poultry meat, eggs, vegetables, juices and other kind of foods. It may also be associated with the contact between humans and infected pet animals. Therefore, the chain of human salmonellosis is very complex and in most cases the origin of the infection is difficult to establish. The use of antimicrobial agents to treat and to prevent bacterial infections in humans and animals, as well as as growth promoters in animal production, has favoured the selection and transference of resistance genes between different bacteria, including Salmonella serovars. Many studies have confirmed the role of foods of animal origin as a source of multi drugresistant Salmonella serovars. For this reason, continuous surveillance of these pathogens along the food chain together with the responsible use of antimicrobial agents is necessary.

Reactive power dispatch and planning using a non-linear branch-and-bound algorithm

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

On the performance of a dual-mode non-linear vibration energy harvesting device

The research trend for harvesting energy from the ambient vibration sources has moved from using a linear resonant generator to a non-linear generator in order to improve on the performance of a linear generator; for example, the relatively small bandwidth, intolerance to mistune and the suitability of the device for low-frequency applications. This article presents experimental results to illustrate the dynamic behaviour of a dual-mode non-linear energy-harvesting device operating in hardening and bi-stable modes under harmonic excitation. The device is able to change from one mode to another by altering the negative magnetic stiffness by adjusting the separation gap between the magnets and the iron core. Results for the device operating in both modes are presented. They show that there is a larger bandwidth for the device operating in the hardening mode compared to the equivalent linear device. However, the maximum power transfer theory is less applicable for the hardening mode due to occurrence of the maximum power at different frequencies, which depends on the non-linearity and the damping in the system. The results for the bi-stable mode show that the device is insensitive to a range of excitation frequencies depending upon the input level, damping and non-linearity.

Angular-planar CMB power spectrum

Gaussianity and statistical isotropy of the Universe are modern cosmology's minimal set of hypotheses. In this work we introduce a new statistical test to detect observational deviations from this minimal set. By defining the temperature correlation function over the whole celestial sphere, we are able to independently quantify both angular and planar dependence (modulations) of the CMB temperature power spectrum over different slices of this sphere. Given that planar dependence leads to further modulations of the usual angular power spectrum C(l), this test can potentially reveal richer structures in the morphology of the primordial temperature field. We have also constructed an unbiased estimator for this angular-planar power spectrum which naturally generalizes the estimator for the usual C(l)'s. With the help of a chi-square analysis, we have used this estimator to search for observational deviations of statistical isotropy in WMAP's 5 year release data set (ILC5), where we found only slight anomalies on the angular scales l = 7 and l = 8. Since this angular-planar statistic is model-independent, it is ideal to employ in searches of statistical anisotropy (e.g., contaminations from the galactic plane) and to characterize non-Gaussianities.

Signatures of primordial non-Gaussianities in the matter power-spectrum and bispectrum: the time-RG approach

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

New concepts of the power received by ideal energy storage elements: the instantaneous complex power approach

This paper presents some definitions and concepts of the Instantaneous Complex Power Theory [1] which is a new approach for the Akagi's Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory [2].The powers received by an ideal inductor are interpreted and the knowledge of the actual nature of these powers may lead to changes of the conventional electrical power concepts.