Optimization of the use of carbon paste electrodes (CPE) for electrochemical study of the chalcopyrite

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

Use of high energy ball milling on the sintering optimization of alumina ceramics

In this work, the effect of the milling time on the densification of the alumina ceramics with or without 5wt.%Y 2O 3, is evaluated, using high-energy ball milling. The milling was performed with different times of 0, 2, 5 or 10 hours. All powders, milled at different times, were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction presenting a reduction of the crystalline degree and crystallite size as function of the milling time increasing. The powders were compacted by cold uniaxial pressing and sintered at 1550°C-60min. Green density of the compacts presented an increasing as function of the milling time and sintered samples presented evolution on the densification as function of the reduction of the crystallite size of the milled powders. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications.

Optimization of query results in peer-to-peer database supported by semantics

The development of new technologies that use peer-to-peer networks grows every day, with the object to supply the need of sharing information, resources and services of databases around the world. Among them are the peer-to-peer databases that take advantage of peer-to-peer networks to manage distributed knowledge bases, allowing the sharing of information semantically related but syntactically heterogeneous. However, it is a challenge to ensure the efficient search for information without compromising the autonomy of each node and network flexibility, given the structural characteristics of these networks. On the other hand, some studies propose the use of ontology semantics by assigning standardized categorization of information. The main original contribution of this work is the approach of this problem with a proposal for optimization of queries supported by the Ant Colony algorithm and classification though ontologies. The results show that this strategy enables the semantic support to the searches in peer-to-peer databases, aiming to expand the results without compromising network performance. © 2011 IEEE.

Report on formulating public policies for the sustainable use of natural resources: the case of biofuels

Includes bibliography

Latin America and the Caribbean: inventory of water resources and their use, vol. 1: Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

Incluye Bibliografía

América Latina y el Caribe: inventario de los recursos hídricos y su utilización, vol. 2: América del Sur = Latin America and the Caribbean: inventory of water resources and their use, vol.2: South America

Incluye Bibliografía

Influence of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on the Use of the Most Abundant and Attractive Floral Resources in a Plant Community

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Use of uniform designs in combination with neural networks for viral infection process development

This work aimed to compare the predictive capacity of empirical models, based on the uniform design utilization combined to artificial neural networks with respect to classical factorial designs in bioprocess, using as example the rabies virus replication in BHK-21 cells. The viral infection process parameters under study were temperature (34°C, 37°C), multiplicity of infection (0.04, 0.07, 0.1), times of infection, and harvest (24, 48, 72 hours) and the monitored output parameter was viral production. A multilevel factorial experimental design was performed for the study of this system. Fractions of this experimental approach (18, 24, 30, 36 and 42 runs), defined according uniform designs, were used as alternative for modelling through artificial neural network and thereafter an output variable optimization was carried out by means of genetic algorithm methodology. Model prediction capacities for all uniform design approaches under study were better than that found for classical factorial design approach. It was demonstrated that uniform design in combination with artificial neural network could be an efficient experimental approach for modelling complex bioprocess like viral production. For the present study case, 67% of experimental resources were saved when compared to a classical factorial design approach. In the near future, this strategy could replace the established factorial designs used in the bioprocess development activities performed within biopharmaceutical organizations because of the improvements gained in the economics of experimentation that do not sacrifice the quality of decisions.

Genetic diversity strategy for the management and use of rubber genetic resources: more than 1,000 wild and cultivated accessions in a 100-genotype core collection

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

Availability and Use of Audiovisual and Electronic Resources by Distance Learning Students in Nigerian Universities: a Case Study of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Ibadan Study Centre

This study investigated the availability and use of audiovisual and electronic resources by distance learning students at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). A questionnaire was administered tothe distance learning students selected across the various departments of the NOUN. The findings revealed that even though NOUN made provision for audiovisual and electronic resources for students' use, a majority of the audiovisual and electronic resources are available through personal provision by the students.The study also revealed regular use of audiovisual and electronic resources by the distance learning students. Constraints on use include poor power supply, poor infrastructure, lack of adequate skill, and high cost of access.

Diversification in the use of resources by Idarnes species: bypassing functional constraints in the fig-fig wasp interaction

Mutualisms such as the figfig wasp mutualism are generally exploited by parasites. We demonstrate that amongst nonpollinating fig wasps (NPFWs) parasitic on Ficus citrifolia, a species of Idarnes galls flowers and another species feeds on galls induced by other wasps killing their larvae. The galling wasp inserts its ovipositor through the fig wall into the fig cavity. The ovipositor then follows a sinuous path and is introduced through the stigma and style of the flower. The egg is deposited between the integument and nucellus, in the exact location where the pollinating mutualistic wasp would have laid its egg. Gall induction is a complex process. In contrast, the path followed by the ovipositor of the other species is straightforward: attacking a larva within a developed gall poses different constraints. Shifts in feeding regime have occurred repeatedly in NPFWs. Monitoring traits associated with such repeated evolutionary shifts may help understand underlying functional constraints. (c) 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 114122.

Corporate Venture Capital: How established firms use external resources to create new competencies

This Doctoral Dissertation is triggered by an emergent trend: firms are increasingly referring to investments in corporate venture capital (CVC) as means to create new competencies and foster the search for competitive advantage through the use of external resources. CVC is generally defined as the practice by non-financial firms of placing equity investments in entrepreneurial companies. Thus, CVC can be interpreted (i) as a key component of corporate entrepreneurship - acts of organizational creation, renewal, or innovation that occur within or outside an existing organization– and (ii) as a particular form of venture capital (VC) investment where the investor is not a traditional and financial institution, but an established corporation. My Dissertation, thus, simultaneously refers to two streams of research: corporate strategy and venture capital. In particular, I directed my attention to three topics of particular relevance for better understanding the role of CVC. In the first study, I moved from the consideration that competitive environments with rapid technological changes increasingly force established corporations to access knowledge from external sources. Firms, thus, extensively engage in external business development activities through different forms of collaboration with partners. While the underlying process common to these mechanisms is one of knowledge access, they are substantially different. The aim of the first study is to figure out how corporations choose among CVC, alliance, joint venture and acquisition. I addressed this issue adopting a multi-theoretical framework where the resource-based view and real options theory are integrated. While the first study mainly looked into the use of external resources for corporate growth, in the second work, I combined an internal and an external perspective to figure out the relationship between CVC investments (exploiting external resources) and a more traditional strategy to create competitive advantage, that is, corporate diversification (based on internal resources). Adopting an explorative lens, I investigated how these different modes to renew corporate current capabilities interact to each other. More precisely, is CVC complementary or substitute to corporate diversification? Finally, the third study focused on the more general field of VC to investigate (i) how VC firms evaluate the patent portfolios of their potential investee companies and (ii) whether the ability to evaluate technology and intellectual property varies depending on the type of investors, in particular for what concern the distinction between specialized versus generalist VCs and independent versus corporate VCs. This topic is motivated by two observations. First, it is not clear yet which determinants of patent value are primarily considered by VCs in their investment decisions. Second, VCs are not all alike in terms of technological experiences and these differences need to be taken into account.

Demersal communities in the Mediterranean Sea: a case study of Triglidae (Osteichthyes, Scorpaeniformes) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources

An appropriate management of fisheries resources can only be achieved with the continuous supply of information on the structure and biology of populations, in order to predict the temporal fluctuations. This study supports the importance of investigating the bio-ecology of increasingly exploited and poorly known species, such as gurnards (Osteichthyes, Triglidae) from Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean), to quantify their ecological role into marine community. It also focuses on investigate inter and intra-specific structuring factor of Adriatic population. These objectives were achieved by: 1) investigating aspects of the population dynamics; 2) studying the feeding biology through the examination of stomach contents; 3) using sagittal otoliths as potential marker of species life cycle; 4) getting preliminary data on mDNA phylogeny. Gurnards showed a specie-specific “critical size” coinciding with the start of sexual maturity, the tendency to migrate to greater depths, a change of diet from crustaceans to fish and an increase of variety of food items eaten. Distribution of prey items, predator size range and depth distribution were the main dimensions that influence the breadth of trophic niche and the relative difference amongst Adriatic gurnards. Several feeding preferences were individuated and a possible impact among bigger-size gurnards and other commercial fishes (anchovy, gadoids) and Crustacea (such as mantis prawn and shrimps) were to be necessary considered. Otolith studies showed that gurnard species have a very fast growth despite other results in other areas; intra-specific differences and the increase in the variability of otolith shape, sulcus acusticus shape, S:O ratios, sulcus acusticus external crystals arrangement were shown between juveniles and adults and were linked to growth (individual genetic factors) and to environmental conditions (e.g. depth and trophic niche distribution). In order to facilitate correct biological interpretation of data, molecular data were obtained for comparing morphological distance to genetic ones.