Courtship behavior of Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei (Bour, 1973) (Testudines: Chelidae) under natural conditions in the Brazilian Cerrado

Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei is a Neotropical chelid lacking basic natural history studies. Based on a film made in December 2004, we describe the courtship behavior in this species. Field observations were conducted at Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso State, southwestern Brazil, in an oligotrophic stream amidst the savannah like Cerrado formation. We provide a schematic drawing of the behavioral sequences during courtship, as well as a flow diagram describing sequential responses of the female to the male behavioral patterns. Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei courtship behavior is similar to that described for other freshwater chelonians.

Análise da confiabilidade de equipamentos em uma indústria química com aplicações de ferramentas da melhoria contínua

The constant search for improvements and the survival of organizations makes the strategic guidelines are deployed and executed at the operational levels. This work is the approach to critical analysis of the equipment of a chemical industry through a case study based on the classification of each equipment manufactures through qualitative and quantitative analysis on the pillars of maintenance costs, loss of production, MTBF, contribution margin, Health Safety and Environment (SHE). From this study and future data collection, along with the flow diagram show the main equipment that should be special attention. To this can be prepared an action plan with deadlines and responsible. With the results one can measure the maintenance costs, loss of production and technical availability of the plant, with future gains

Effects of rainfall on water quality in six sequentially disposed fishponds with continuous water flow

O estudo foi efetuado durante o período de chuva (dezembro-fevereiro) em seis viveiros de produção semi-intensiva de peixes, a fim de avaliar o efeito da chuva na qualidade da água de viveiros que apresentam fluxo contínuo de água, a qual é passada de um viveiro para outro sem tratamento prévio. Foram amostrados oito pontos de coleta nas saídas dos viveiros. O viveiro P1 (próximo à nascente) apresentou as menores concentrações físicas e químicas da água e as maiores no viveiro P4 (considerado um ponto crítico recebendo material alóctone proveniente de outros viveiros e do escoamento do setor de criação de rãs). A disposição seqüencial dos viveiros estudados promoveu aumento nas concentrações dos nutrientes, clorofila-a e condutividade. As chuvas características desta época do ano aumentaram o fluxo de água nos viveiros e conseqüentemente, carreando material particulado e dissolvido de um viveiro para outro e, promovendo um aumento das variáveis limnológicas em direção do P3 ao P6. Os resultados sugerem que a chuva no período de estudo afetou positivamente a qualidade da água dos viveiros estudados, porém, como os sistemas analisados estão dispostos em distribuição seqüencial e escoamento constante da água de viveiros e tanques paralelos sem tratamento prévio, cuidados devem ser averiguados para que o aumento do fluxo de água provocado pelas chuvas não tenha efeito adverso nos viveiros estudados.

Anomalous flow behaviour of bauxite tailings

This paper deals with the anomalous flow behaviour observed in two bauxite tailings pumping systems, with 450 mm and 680 mm outer diameter. In order to enlarge the pipeline lengths in the field, tests were carried out in a laboratory test-loop in order to try to understand the anomalous (intermittent) flow behaviour and to solve the problem. Based on data obtained from these laboratory tests and using a generalized REYNOLDS number it was possible to obtain results that fit the MOODY ROUSE diagram.

Análise doprojeto de expansãode um armazém por meio da elaboração de um layout e análise de investimento: estudo de caso em uma fábrica do setor alimentício

The proper management of materials storage is essential to supply the needs of production and reduce the inventory costs. Moreover, an effective layout contributes to improve the productivity and reduce the operational costs of a warehouse. This way, the purpose of this study was: to propose an expansion project to the warehouse of a factory in the food sector, suggesting a layout that best fit their needs and to verify its economic feasibility. To achieve this goal, it was applied methods such as ABC curve, spaghetti diagram and concepts of economics engineering to the analysis of investment in the project. The results showed that the second layout model was better than the first, supporting the storage capacity required by the company and presenting an internal movement more efficient. However, with the investment analysis, it was found that it was not feasible, given the conditions of the company, investing in the expansion of the warehouse

Proposta de melhoria do layout de um armazém de vidros automotivos

This work was based on a case study of improvement of the warehouse layout of a multinational automotive glass sector, located in the State of Sao Paulo. The aim was to propose a layout template to be more effective and besides optimizing production would also promote an increase in warehouse packaging capacity for metal containers containing glasses, thus reducing operating costs. To achieve the desired purpose, it was developed two layout proposals and to this end inventory management tools have been used, such as ABC curve and the Spaghetti Diagram, and other concepts of Packaging Engineering and Logistics. By the end of this work, it was obtained as a result, a project in which it was possible to rearrange the packages according the demand, and the developed changes became the most efficient layout both in storage capacity as well as in the internal drive