The impact of adding SBAS data on GPS data processing in southeast of Brazil: Preliminary result

Nowadays, L1 SBAS signals can be used in a combined GPS+SBAS data processing. However, such situation restricts the studies over short baselines. Besides of increasing the satellite availability, SBAS satellites orbit configuration is different from that of GPS. In order to analyze how these characteristics can impact GPS positioning in the southeast area of Brazil, experiments involving GPS-only and combined GPS+SBAS data were performed. Solutions using single point and relative positioning were computed to show the impact over satellite geometry, positioning accuracy and short baseline ambiguity resolution. Results showed that the inclusion of SBAS satellites can improve the accuracy of positioning. Nevertheless, the bad quality of the data broadcasted by these satellites limits their usage. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.

Finding best urban routes based on analyses of high level and IOPT Petri net models

This paper presents a tool that combines two kinds of Petri Net analyses to set the fastest routes to one vehicle in a bounded area of traffic urban. The first analysis consists of the discovery of possible routes in a state space generated from an IOPT Petri net model given the initial marking as the vehicle position. The second analysis receives the routes found in the first analysis and calculates the state equations at incidence matrix created from the High Level Petri net model to define the fastest route for each vehicle that arrive in the roads. It was considered the exchange of information between vehicle and infrastructure (V2I) to get the position and speed of all vehicles and support the analyses. With the results obtained we conclude that is possible optimizing the urban traffic flow if this tool is applied to all vehicles in a bounded urban traffic. © 2012 IEEE.

Controlling traffic jams on urban roads modeled in Coloured Petri net using Genetic Algorithm

This paper presents an application to traffic lights control in congested urban traffic, in real time, taking as input the position and route of the vehicles in the involved areas. This data is obtained from the communication between vehicles and infrastructure (V2I). Due to the great complexity of the possible combination of traffic lights and the short time to get a response, Genetic Algorithm was used to optimize this control. According to test results, the application can reduce the number of vehicles in congested areas, even with the entry of vehicles that previously were not being considered in these roads, such as parked vehicles. © 2012 IEEE.

Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Guarulhos, state of São Paulo, Brazil

The present study provides a record of the bat fauna captured in Guarulhos, state of São Paulo, Brazil, between February and November 2011. The capture sessions were carried out using mist nets set on trails, around and above streams and lakes, near built areas and around livestock. After a total effort of 26,208 m2.h, we recorded 17 bat species belonging to Phyllostomidae (13 species), Vespertilionidae (3) and Molossidae (1). Sturnira lilium (73 captures), Artibeus fimbriatus (69), and A. lituratus (59) were the most abundant species, corresponding to 57.8% of all captures. Some information about shelters was also commented. This paper is the first to report Molossops neglectus for Guarulhos. © 2012 Check List and Authors.

The Vampirome: Transcriptome and proteome analysis of the principal and accessory submaxillary glands of the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus, a vector of human rabies

Vampire bats are notorious for being the sole mammals that strictly feed on fresh blood for their survival. While their saliva has been historically associated with anticoagulants, only one antihemostatic (plasminogen activator) has been molecularly and functionally characterized. Here, RNAs from both principal and accessory submaxillary (submandibular) salivary glands of Desmodus rotundus were extracted, and ~. 200. million reads were sequenced by Illumina. The principal gland was enriched with plasminogen activators with fibrinolytic properties, members of lipocalin and secretoglobin families, which bind prohemostatic prostaglandins, and endonucleases, which cleave neutrophil-derived procoagulant NETs. Anticoagulant (tissue factor pathway inhibitor, TFPI), vasodilators (PACAP and C-natriuretic peptide), and metalloproteases (ADAMTS-1) were also abundantly expressed. Members of the TSG-6 (anti-inflammatory), antigen 5/CRISP, and CCL28-like (antimicrobial) protein families were also sequenced. Apyrases (which remove platelet agonist ADP), phosphatases (which degrade procoagulant polyphosphates), and sphingomyelinase were found at lower transcriptional levels. Accessory glands were enriched with antimicrobials (lysozyme, defensin, lactotransferrin) and protease inhibitors (TIL-domain, cystatin, Kazal). Mucins, heme-oxygenase, and IgG chains were present in both glands. Proteome analysis by nano LC-MS/MS confirmed that several transcripts are expressed in the glands. The database presented herein is accessible online at http://exon.niaid.nih.gov/transcriptome/D_rotundus/Supplemental-web.xlsx. These results reveal that bat saliva emerges as a novel source of modulators of vascular biology. Biological significance: Vampire bat saliva emerges as a novel source of antihemostatics which modulate several aspects of vascular biology. © 2013.

Changes during chilled storage of whole tilapia and short-term frozen storage of tilapia fillets

This study evaluated the physicochemical changes in Nile tilapia (n = 82, 373.71 ± 61.91 g) refrigerated for up to 92 h and in the frozen fillets. The tilapias were captured with nets, slaughtered by ice and water shock (1:1) in a temperature of approximately 2°C for 30 min, and stored refrigerated at 4°C in polystyrene boxes containing ice. The fish were filleted, and filets were weighed and frozen. The drip loss and protein were determined after 23 days of frozen storage. After 4 h of storage, all fish were in full rigor mortis. The pH of the muscles decreased for up to 45 h of the storage period. The fillets obtained from tilapia stored for more than 72 h lost more weight and protein. Thus, the filleting or processing of tilapia should be done before 72 h of cold storage, since deterioration of the fish starts to occur after this period. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in urban fragments of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

Bat assemblages in two urban fragments of Maringá city, north of the state of Paraná, southern Brazil, were inventoried. These fragments, Parque do Ingá (48 ha) and Parque Florestal dos Pioneiros (59 ha), are located in a subtropical region covered by semideciduous Atlantic forest. Bats were sampled with mist-nets from August 2006 to July 2007, over 24 nights (12 hours a night), adding up to a total of 30,240 h.m2 of net effort. A total of 839 individuals were captured belonging to 10 species and four families. Artibeus lituratus was the most abundant species (66% of the sample). The observed richness represents 22% of the bat species recorded for the state, 24% of the bat species occurring in the seasonal semideciduous forest of Paraná, 26% of the species previously recorded in urban environments in Brazil, and 83.4% of the estimated richness by Jackknife 1 (n= 12 species). Studies that provide data on richness and abundance of bat species in urban fragments are becoming increasingly important, but are still poorly available in Brazil. This habitat is especially interesting because anthropogenic pressure can be harmful to bat assemblages, reducing their diversity. © 2013 Check List and Authors.

Strain rate of the South American lithospheric plate by SIRGAS-CON geodetic observations

A multiyear solution of the SIRGAS-CON network was used to estimate the strain rates of the earth surface from the changing directions of the velocity vectors of 140 geodetic points located in the South American plate. The strain rate was determined by the finite element method using Delaunay triangulation points that formed sub-networks; each sub-network was considered a solid and homogeneous body. The results showed that strain rates vary along the South American plate and are more significant on the western portion of the plate, as expected, since this region is close to the subduction zone of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. After using Euler vectors to infer Nazca plate movement and to orient the velocity vectors of the South American plate, it was possible to estimate the convergence and accommodation rates of the Nazca and South American plates, respectively. Strain rate estimates permitted determination of predominant contraction and/or extension regions and to establish that contraction regions coincide with locations with most of the high magnitude seismic events. Some areas with extension and contraction strains were found to the east within the stable South American plate, which may result from different stresses associated with different geological characteristics. These results suggest that major movements detected on the surface near the Nazca plate occur in regions with more heterogeneous geological structures and multiple rupture events. Most seismic events in the South American plate are concentrated in areas with predominant contraction strain rates oriented northeast-southwest; significant amounts of elastic strain can be accumulated on geological structures away from the plate boundary faults; and, behavior of contractions and extensions is similar to what has been found in seismological studies. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Relative growth, sexual maturity, and breeding season of three species of the genus Persephona (Decapoda: Brachyura: Leucosiidae): A comparative study

The relative growths of Persephona lichtensteinii, P. mediterranea, and P. punctata were investigated on the south-eastern Brazilian coast, focusing on differences in the growth rates between immature and mature phases, the onset of morphological sexual maturity, and the breeding seasons of these species. Crabs were collected every two months from January 1991 through to November 1992, from a shrimp fishing boat equipped with two otter-trawl nets. Significant differences in the patterns of body growth were observed between immature and mature phases of all three species. Changes in the growth rates of the chelipeds (males) and abdomen (females) observed for P. lichtensteinii, P. mediterranea, and P. punctata, seem to be related to the puberty moult for both sexes. Males of P. mediterranea and P. punctata reached larger mean sizes of carapace width than females, whereas no difference was recorded for P. lichtensteinii. The body size at which 50% of males attained sexual maturity was also larger in P. mediterranea and P. punctata, and smaller in P. lichtensteinii. The absence of a pronounced sexual dimorphism and the size at the onset of sexual maturity observed only for P. lichtensteinii might be explained by distinct reproductive strategies of males. The presence of ovigerous females during the entire sampling period suggests that all three species have a continuous reproduction pattern at the Ubatuba region. Future studies on the population structure, functional maturity, and mating system should improve the understanding of factors driving the biology and ecology of these species at a subtropical region. © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013.

Influência de uma piscicultura em tanquesrede na dieta e atributos biológicos de Galeocharax knerii na represa de Chavantes, Brasil

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diet and biological attributes of the population of Galeocharax knerii residing near net cage fish farming activities in the Chavantes reservoir (Paranapanema River, Brazil) to check their possible impacts. Samples were collected from two populations: one near the net cages (NC) and one from an area not influenced by these cages denominated the reference site (RS). Monthly sampling was carried out from March 2008 to February 2009. Fish were caught with a standardized effort using gill nets deployed for 14 hours. The alimentary index (AI) and degree of repletion (RD) were calculated to determine diet composition. Analyses of the sex ratio and the gonadosomatic index (GSI) were also performed. The calculations of AI revealed that fish wastes constituted the most frequent food item in the diet in both study areas (NC = 70.43; RS = 87.55), followed by the consumption of Apareiodon affinis (AI = 29.56), which was abundant near the NC, and prawn at the reference site (AI = 12.28). The sex ratio differed from 1:1 and mature individuals were only found in the population near the NC. The findings demonstrate that G. knerii indirectly benefits from the input of organic matter, using small fish as its main food resource. We conclude that the activities of fish farming influence diet and biological attributes of the species G. knerii, evidenced mainly by higher feeding activity, numerical abundance and biomass in the area of the cages.

Composição e alimentação da ictiofauna da área de influência da Usina Hidrelétrica de Funil, localizada no rio Grande, região sul do estado de Minas Gerais

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ictiofauna de riachos formadores do rio Teles Pires, drenagem do rio Tapajós, bacia Amazônica

Pós-graduação em Aquicultura - FCAV

Investigações acerca do uso da narrativa no teatro contemporâneo

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

Ferramentas para a integração de redes de Petri e VHDL na síntese de sistemas digitais

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comparação de técnicas de redes de Petri na descrição de um pipeline

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)