Anurans of a seasonally dry tropical forest: Morro do Diabo State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil

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

Adaptive filter feature identification for structural health monitoring in aeronautical panel

This paper presents an approach for structural health monitoring (SHM) by using adaptive filters. The experimental signals from different structural conditions provided by piezoelectric actuators/sensors bonded in the test structure are modeled by a discrete-time recursive least square (RLS) filter. The biggest advantage to use a RLS filter is the clear possibility to perform an online SHM procedure since that the identification is also valid for non-stationary linear systems. An online damage-sensitive index feature is computed based on autoregressive (AR) portion of coefficients normalized by the square root of the sum of the square of them. The proposed method is then utilized in a laboratory test involving an aeronautical panel coupled with piezoelectric sensors/actuators (PZTs) in different positions. A hypothesis test employing the t-test is used to obtain the damage decision. The proposed algorithm was able to identify and localize the damages simulated in the structure. The results have shown the applicability and drawbacks the method and the paper concludes with suggestions to improve it. ©2010 Society for Experimental Mechanics Inc.

Análise de genes associados à deposição de gordura em bovinos da raça Nelore

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comparação entre valores de ensaios experimentais e calculados da resistência ao embutimento da madeira de Pinus taeda L.

To design connections between timber parts with metal dowels (nails or bolts), two phenomena must be considered: bending of the metal dowel and the embedment strength in the wood. The Brazilian Standard ABNT NBR 7190:1997 proposes the methods used in the laboratory tests to determine the embedment strength with the metal dowell and, in the absence of testing, specifies relations to calculate the embedment strength from the compression strength. The aim of this research was to compare the embedment strength values obtained by experimental tests and calculated by the relationships established by the Brazilian Standard ABNT NBR 7190:1997. By the results of the hypothesis tests, it was possible to conclude that the estimate of the embedment strength parallel to the grain proposed by the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 7190:1997, establishing equivalence with the strength compression results in the same direction, must be effective to the wood species Pinus taeda L., however, the same was not found in the perpendicular direction with respect to the grain, possibly explained by the alpha(e) values in the equation to calculed fe(90)

Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Study of the venom glands in Ectatomma quadridens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Evolutionary hypothesis in subfamily ponerinae

The venom glands of worker ants of the species Ectatomma quadridens morphologically resemble an elongated sac or reservoir ending in a narrower portion that has the function of releasing the secretion to the exterior. Two external secretory filaments are individually inserted into the proximal portion of the gland and end inside the convoluted gland. The venom gland of workers of E. quadridens is, therefore, morphologically subdivided into four distinct portions: a) sac-shaped reservoir measuring approximately 1mm in length; b) excretory duct, proximal portion of the reservoir that joins the gland to the sting apparatus; c) convoluted gland, final portion of the external secretory filaments located inside the reservoir; and d) two secretory filaments measuring about 2 mm in length; their free extremities end blindly and are individually inserted into the reservoir wall at the proximal region of the venom gland. The histological data showed that the filaments and the convoluted gland are composed of cubic cells of secretory function. The reservoir consists of a simple cubical epithelium externally surrounded by muscle fibers. A thick cuticle internally coats the epithelium of the reservoir. The application of histochemical tests allowed us to establish that the final secretion of the venom gland of Ectatomma quadridens is of glycoproteic nature. This secretion undergoes several modifications at the secretory filaments, at the convoluted gland, and in the reservoir before reaching the excretory duct, the point at which the secretion is released in its final composition, namely the venom. Based on the differences among various Ponerinae species we propose a hypothesis suggesting a probable evolutionary process that the venom glands of members of this subfamily might have undergone.