Thermal structure, heat content and stability of two lakes in The National Park of Rio Doce Valley (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

The thermal structure, heat content and stability were studied in Lakes Dom Helvécio and Carioca during an annual cycle. It was found that the maximum heat content, stability and work of the wind in Lake Dom Helvécio correspond to two, four and four times, respectively, the values for the Lake Carioca. These difference can be attributed to morphometric differences in the lakes. A long-term record of heat content and stability for lake Carioca is also presented. Diel variations were studied in summer and winter. The tropicality of the lakes is discussed and compared with other lacustrine systems. © 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Allochthonous matter input in two different stretches of a headstream (Itatinga, São Paulo, Brazil)

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

Biologia floral e sistema de reprodução de Merostachys riedeliana (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)

Merostachys riedeliana Rupr. é uma espécie monocárpica com floração cíclica e muito freqüente em sub-bosques de fragmentos florestais do sul do estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Sua biologia floral e seu sistema de reprodução foram estudados e comparados com os de outros bambus. Devido ao complexo sistema de rizomas, formam touceiras vigorosas no interior da floresta, ocorrendo a interrupção na produção de novos colmos meses antes do aparecimento das primeiras inflorescências. O início da floração maciça e da morte da população ocorreu em outubro de 1998 e maio de 1999, respectivamente, com pico de floração durante a estação quente e chuvosa (dezembro e janeiro). As inflorescências espiciformes possuem, em média, 29 espiguetas. Estas são hermafroditas com três anteras poricidas e dois estigmas plumosos que se expõem durante a antese. O pólen é abundante e facilmente liberado das anteras pelo vento ou pelos visitantes. Apis mellifera L. e Trigona spinipes (F.) foram os visitantes mais freqüentes, atuando como pilhadores de pólen e, ocasionalmente, através de movimentos vibratórios, como elementos auxiliares para a dispersão do pólen. A alta pluviosidade durante a floração e a escassez de vento no sub-bosque da floresta, podem diminuir a efetividade da anemofilia. No entanto, vários caracteres morfológicos das espiguetas, queda de folhas e o hábito espacialmente agrupado, apontam para uma polinização pelo vento. Testes de polinização controlada, mostraram que M. riedeliana é autocompatível (ISI 0,99). A auto-incompatibilidade não favorece a formação de frutos em clones vegetais, ao passo que a autocompatibilidade poderia resultar em uma elevada produção de sementes. Assim, a possível ocorrência de clones de M. riedeliana nos fragmentos florestais, originados pelo crescimento vegetativo durante os intervalos reprodutivos de 30-32 anos, poderiam explicar o alto investimento na produção de espiguetas e a formação de frutos provenientes da autocompatibilidade.

Viabilidade de turbinas eólicas de pequeno porte no Brasil

Facing a global scenario where oil is scarce and the emission of CO2 in the atmosphere is a world concern, the search for new methods of energy production becomes the focus of all countries. Based on these assumptions, the wind power gains highlight and happen to be the most exploited around the world, since this does not produce toxic waste, since it uses the wind, no raw material shortage and its cost and efficiency are increasingly attractive. Taking advantage of the geographical features of Brazil, coastal and territorial extension, this study aims to analyze the feasibility of using wind turbines widely used in Germany, one of the countries with the highest production of energy through wind, in Brazil. In order to increase the energy production without causing more environmental impacts, geographical analyses will be made, and to determine the features and costs of production of this type of energy generation, and at the end of this dissertation, will finish for one of the turbines, Montana, is it feasible to install, however due to the Government's little incentive return is not very expressive. With respect to the turbine Passaat, this is infeasible to install under current conditions

Attraction of the cutaneous leishmaniasis vector Nyssomyia neivai (Diptera: Psychodidae) to host odour components in a wind tunnel

Background: Laboratory studies of host-seeking olfactory behaviour in sandflies have largely been restricted to the American visceral leishmaniasis vector Lutzomyia longipalpis. In comparison, almost nothing is known about the chemical ecology of related species, which transmit American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL), due in part to difficulties in raising these insects in the laboratory. Understanding how ACL vectors locate their hosts will be essential to developing new vector control strategies to combat this debilitating disease.Methods: This study examined host-odour seeking behaviour of the ACL vector Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto) (=Lutzomyia neivai) using a wind tunnel olfactometer. The primary aim was to determine whether field-collected female N. neivai would respond to host odours in the laboratory, thereby eliminating the need to maintain colonies of these insects for behavioural experiments. Responses to two key host odour components, 1-octen-3-ol and lactic acid, and a commercially-available mosquito lure (BG-Lure (TM)) were assessed and compared relative to an air control. We also tested whether trials could be conducted outside of the normal evening activity period of N. neivai without impacting on fly behaviour, and whether the same flies could be used to assess baseline responses to air without affecting responses to octenol, thereby reducing the number of flies required for experiments.Results: Octenol was found to both activate host-seeking behaviour and attract female N. neivai in the wind tunnel, while lactic acid elicited weaker responses of activation and attractiveness under identical conditions. The BG-Lure did not activate or attract N. neivai under test conditions. Further experiments showed that sandfly behaviour in the wind tunnel was not affected by time of day, such that experiments need not be restricted to nocturnal hours. Moreover, using the same flies to measure both baseline responses to air and attraction to test compounds did not affect odour-seeking behaviour.Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that N. neivai taken from the field are suitable for use in laboratory olfactometer experiments. It is hoped this work will facilitate further research into chemical ecology of this species, and other ACL vectors.

The modulational instability in deep water under the action of wind and dissipation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Attraction of the sand fly Nyssomyia neivai (Diptera: Psychodidae) to chemical compounds in a wind tunnel

Background: Similar to other hematophagous insects, male and female sand flies must feed on plants to obtain sugar and, subsequently, energy to complete their life cycles. A large number of compounds emitted by plants may act as volatile signals to these insects. Primary alcohols have been detected in some plants, but in small amounts. In a previous report, the attractiveness of saturated primary alcohols with 7 to 9 carbons was evaluated for Lutzomyia longipalpis, the vector of American visceral leishmaniasis, with positive results.Methods: In the present study, a wide range of primary alcohols, 3 to 10 carbons, were tested to investigate their attractiveness to another sand fly species, Nyssomyia neivai, a putative vector of American cutaneous leishmaniasis. The mixture of compounds that induced the best sand fly response was also evaluated.Results: Of the eight compounds evaluated, hexanol and octanol elicited the best attractive responses for sand fly females.Conclusion: Phytochemicals may be an interesting source of search for new sand fly attractants.

The feasibility of using wind energy for rural populations lacking electric power in Brazil

In the wake of current global image involving environmental impacts, the use of wind power has had a remarkable growth in recent years as a technique for generating electricity. In fact, it is a source featuring strong dissemination of technology which provides decrease in costs and a greater access to low-income electricity. PROINFA (Incentive Program for Alternative Energy Sources) promotes a greater diffusion of new technologies for power generation, in particular wind-produced. Due to such a scenario on the exploitation of such energy source, current analysis discusses strategies for the development of domestic wind technology and the implications for electricity-lacking rural areas. Analysis shows a similar behavior between rural populations lacking electricity and the amount of potential energy available in the region. It is expected that this assay will contribute towards the establishment of public policies for wind-energy parks on rural farms in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil.

The benefits of ethanol use for hydrogen production in urban transportation

The purpose of this paper is to describe the benefits of sugar cane ethanol in Brazil, appointing the productivity of this type of fuel based on hectares of plantation, its carbon dioxide cycle and the contribution to reduce the greenhouse effect. In the following step the uses of ethanol for hydrogen production by steam reforming is analyzed and some comparison with natural gas steam reforming is performed. The sugar cane industry in Brazil, in a near future, in the hydrogen era, could be modified according to our purpose, since besides the production of sugar, and ethylic and anhydric alcohol, Brazilian sugar cane industry will also be able to produce biohydrogen.Fuel cells appear like a promising technology for energy generation. Among several technologies in the present, the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is the most appropriate for vehicles application, because it combines durability, high power density, high efficiency, good response and it works at relatively low temperatures. Besides that it is easy to turn it on and off and it is able to support present vibration in vehicles. A PEMFC's problem is the need of noble catalysts like platinum. Another problem is that CO needs to be in low concentration, requiring a more clean hydrogen to avoid fuel cell deterioration.One part of this paper was developed in Stockholm, where there are some buses within the CUTE (clean urban transport for Europe) project that has been in operation with FC since January 2004. Another part was developed in Guaratingueta, Brazil. Brazil intends to start up a program of FC buses. As conclusion, this paper shows the economical analysis comparing buses moved by fuel cells using hydrogen by different kinds of production. Electrolyze with wind turbine, natural gas steam reforming and ethanol steam reforming. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Repair Welding Effects on the Bending Fatigue Strength of AISI 4130 Aeronautical Steel used in a Critical to the Flight-Safety Structure

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of successive TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding repairs on the reverse bending fatigue strength of AISI 4130 steel, which is widely used in components critical to the flight-safety. In order to simulate the abrupt maneuvers, wind bursts, motor vibration and helixes efforts, which generate cyclic bending loadings at the welded joints of a specific aircraft component called motor cradle, experimental reverse bending fatigue tests were carried out on specimens made from hot-rolled steel plate, 1.10 mm (0.043 in) thick, by mean of a SCHENK PWS equipment, with load ratio R = -1, under constant amplitude, at 30 Hz frequency and room temperature. It was observed that the bending fatigue strength decreases after the TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding process application on AISI 4130 steel, with subsequent decrease due to re-welding sequence as well. Microstructural analyses and microhardness measurements on the base material, heat-affected zone (HAZ) and weld metal, as well as the effects of the weld bead geometry on the obtained results, have complemented this study.

Bamboo overabundance alters forest structure and dynamics in the Atlantic Forest hotspot

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

Resources Taken to the Nest by Protopolybia exigua (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in Different Phases of the Colony Cycle, in a Region of the Medio Sao Francisco River, Bahia, Brazil

The present study aimed to identify what resources were taken to the nest by workers of Protopolybia exigua (de Saussure), to verify if there is a relationship between physical factors of weather and phases of colony development and the collection of different resources and also to observe if the wasps carry macerated prey in the crop. The species collected nectar (62.8%), wood pulp for nest building (6.1%), water(2.9%), prey (0.8%) and resin (0.2%). Moreover, workers of P exigua do carry macerated prey in the crop. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.85, p = 0.0004) between the presence of larvae in the nest and the carrying of solid contents in the crop, which provides strong evidence that this species macerates its prey while still in the field, before taking it to the nest. There was positive influence of the temperature on the collection of nectar (r = 0.89, p = 0.0001) and water (r = 0.46, p = 0.0066) and negative influence of relative air humidity on the collection of the same resources (r = - 0.88, p = 0.0001 and r = - 0.37, p = 0.0160, respectively). Luminosity influenced the gathering of water (r = 0.43, p = 0.0089) and Pulp for nest building (r = 0.31, p = 0.0274) and the wind speed did nor influence the collection of any resources. Nectar is the main item taken to the nest during all phases of the colony.

Edge effect and phenology in Erythroxylum tortuosum (Erythroxylaceae), a typical plant of the Brazilian Cerrado

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

Nest location, clutch size and nest success in the Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber

Breeding success and nest-site characteristics were studied during the 1996-1997 breeding season in a colony of Scarlet Ibises Eudocimus ruber in south-eastern Brazil to test the hypothesis that nest-site characteristics and clutch size affect nest success. Two nesting pulses produced young, the earlier being more successful. Predation accounted for most failures during the first pulse, wind destruction during the second. A third pulse with few nests produced no young. Adult Ibises abandoned nests when they lost sight of other incubating birds. Logistic regression analysis indicated that nest success during the first pulse was positively related to clutch size, number of nests in the nest tree and in the nearest tree, and negatively to the distance to the nearest neighbour. During the second pulse there were significant negative associations between success, nest height and distance to the fourth nearest nest, and a positive association between success and nest cover. The results agree with the 'selfish herd' hypothesis, indicating that nest aggregation may increase breeding success, but the nest-site characteristics affecting success can differ over the course of one breeding season.

Sea waves generated by extratropical cyclones in the South Atlantic Ocean: Hindcast and validation against altimeter data

This work presents analyses of the atmospheric conditions and the hindcast of the surface wave field when six extratropical cyclones formed and displaced over the South Atlantic Ocean (10degreesN, 60degreesS; 75degreesW, 15degreesE) between April and September 1999. These events caused high sea waves associated with hazardous conditions along the south and southeast coast of Brazil. The meteorological composite fields for these cyclones show a strong near-surface wind velocity (up to 14 m s(-1)) during its mature phase. The sea-state wave hindcast was obtained using a third-generation wave model forced by the 10-m above ground level wind field from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis dataset. Closer to the south and southeast Brazilian coast, the hindcast results showed significant wave heights of up to 5 m in some of the events. The wave hindcast results for the significant wave height were compared against satellite altimeter data at 6 h intervals. The statistical index showed a systematic underestimation of the significant wave height by 0.5 m. The correlation between wave hindcast and altimeter measurements was greater than 90%, showing a good phase reproduction by the wave model.