A family-sized greenhouse for a remote mountain region of Nepal

Food security is a significant issue in the remote, high altitude areas of Nepal. Malnutrition is common because the harsh climate restricts production and access to fresh food. Humla is a province in north-west Nepal where the severe weather conditions and limited arable land restrict the growing season of vegetables to only 4-5 months a year. Passive solar greenhouses are a technology that can be used to extend the growing period of vegetables. For the greenhouse to be effective in Humla, the design must be appropriate to the climatic conditions, available resources and the social requirements of the community. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a family-sized solar greenhouse proposed for Humla. Three solar greenhouses built in other high altitude areas have initially been reviewed to see what techniques might be replicated in Humla. The thermal performance of the proposed family-sized greenhouse has been predicted using the solar simulation software, TRNSYS, and compared against an existing design in the area. The proposed design was found to be superior and average night-time temperatures in the coldest month were predicted to be approximately 7°C higher. Overheating was controlled in the hottest month by shading and natural ventilation.

Diet and sleep in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder : Preliminary data in Australian children

Sleep disturbances are common and consequential in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Diet also influences ADHD symptoms. Interrelationships between diet, sleep and behaviour in children diagnosed with ADHD are little studied. We investigated, via parental report, the relationships between sleep and diet in 88 Australian children aged 6—13 years old (M = 8.94, SD = 1.78). This pilot data shows that 30 per cent of the children had sleep disturbance (≥ 2 standard deviations above the mean) with significant relationships between ADHD symptoms, sleep disturbance and diet. Parents who reported more sleep disturbance also reported a higher intake of carbohydrate, fats, and, most particularly, sugar which was also a significant predictor of night time sweating. These findings suggest an interrelationship between diet and sleep in children with ADHD. Given that both sleep and dietary intake are potentially modifiable behaviours within treatment regimes of children with ADHD, further investigation is needed.

Combined use of GPS and accelerometry reveals fine scale three-dimensional foraging behaviour in the short-tailed shearwater

Determining the foraging behaviour of free-ranging marine animals is fundamental for assessing their habitat use and how they may respond to changes in the environment. However, despite recent advances in bio-logging technology, collecting information on both at-sea movement patterns and activity budgets still remains difficult in small pelagic seabird species due to the constraints of instrument size. The short-tailed shearwater, the most abundant seabird species in Australia (ca 23 million individuals), is a highly pelagic procellariiform. Despite its ecological importance to the region, almost nothing is known about its at-sea behaviour, in particular, its foraging activity. Using a combination of GPS and tri-axial accelerometer data-loggers, the fine scale three-dimensional foraging behaviour of 10 breeding individuals from two colonies was investigated. Five at-sea behaviours were identified: (1) resting on water, (2) flapping flight, (3) gliding flight, (4) foraging (i.e., surface foraging and diving events), and (5) taking-off. There were substantial intra- and inter- individual variations in activity patterns, with individuals spending on average 45.8% (range: 17.1-70.0%) of time at sea resting on water and 18.2% (range: 2.3-49.6%) foraging. Individuals made 76.4 ± 65.3 dives (range: 8-237) per foraging trip (mean duration 9.0 ± 1.9 s), with dives also recorded during night-time. With the continued miniaturisation of recording devices, the use of combined data-loggers could provide us with further insights into the foraging behaviour of small procellariiforms, helping to better understand interactions with their prey.

A note on an application of Arrow's theorem: sufficient conditions for Lucas' inflation and welfare

Bellman's methods for dynamic optimization constitute the present mainstream in economics. However, some results associated with optimal controI can be particularly usefuI in certain problems. The purpose of this note is presenting such an example. The value function derived in Lucas' (2000) shopping-time economy in Infiation and Welfare need not be concave, leading this author to develop numerical analyses to determine if consumer utility is in fact maximized along the balanced path constructed from the first order conditions. We use Arrow's generalization of Mangasarian's results in optimal control theory and develop sufficient conditions for the problem. The analytical conclusions and the previous numerical results are compatible .

Caracterização da captura incidental de tartarugas marinhas pela pesca de espinhel pelágico no Nordeste do Brasil

The marine turtles biological characteristics and the impact they have been suffering in consequence of human activities have caused in the last decades the decrease of populations to unsustainable levels. All four of the species described in this paper are registered as endangered in a list by IUCN: Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, Chelonia mydas, Dermochelys coriacea. The main causes of such impact include several fishing activities, mostly the surface longline. This paper discusses the monitoring of two foreigner longline fleet along the North East Brazilian coast between October of 2004 and September of 2005. Both operated in the West South Atlantic, one using the Chinese technique and the other the American. The American method s target species is the swordfish (Xiphias gladius), and it is characterized by using squid as bait, J 9/0 offset 5º hook, light sticks and night soaking. It also operates in shallower waters than the Chinese method. The source of information about the efforts and the catches came from onboard observers and were used to calculate the catching rate of turtles over 1000 hooks (CPUE). The American equipment caught more turtles (CPUE = 0,059; N= 103), mainly D. coriacea, while the Chinese longline caught mainly the L. olivacea and presented a CPUE= 0,018 (N= 89). The hooks were most frequently found attached to the mouth of C. caretta, C. mydas, and L. olivacea. The D. coriacea were most frequently caught by hooks externally attached to different parts of their body. There was no significant difference between the hook type catching and most turtles were still alive when released. The results suggest a greater potential of turtle catching by the American method. Besides the statistic tests have showed less interaction between the Chinese equipment and marine turtles, the catches of this fishing technique could have been underestimated due to miscommunication between the onboard observer and the vessel s crew plus the retrieve of the longline during night time

Doses e horário de aplicação do diquat no controle de Eichhornia crassipes

O aguapé (Eichhornia crassipes) é uma das mais importantes macrófitas aquáticas que colonizam reservatórios e corpos hídricos nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais do mundo, causando uma série de interferências no uso múltiplo da água e do corpo hídrico e no controle de vetores de doenças humanas. Para evitar prejuízos econômicos, sociais, estéticos e ao meio ambiente, essas plantas são controladas por vários métodos, incluindo o controle químico com o uso de herbicidas. Com o objetivo de avaliar a eficácia do herbicida diquat no controle dessa macrófita aquática, foram instalados dois ensaios em casa de vegetação. No primeiro, foram comparadas duas formulações (Reward® e Reglone®) aplicadas em dois horários (diurno e noturno) e em quatro doses (0,1, 0,2, 0,3 e 0,4 kg ha-1), num esquema fatorial 2 x 2 x 4, com seis repetições. Os resultados mostraram que a formulação Reward® foi mais eficiente no controle dessa macrófita, agindo mais rapidamente, sobretudo em menores doses, e que as aplicações realizadas no período noturno apresentavam melhor desempenho no controle em relação às realizadas no período diurno. Assim, um segundo ensaio foi realizado utilizando apenas a formulação Reward®, comparando a aplicação no período noturno e no diurno e as doses de 0,1, 0,2, 0,3 e 0,4 kg ha-1, obedecendo a um esquema fatorial 2 x 4. As plantas de aguapé foram cultivadas em caixas-d'água, e o delineamento experimental adotado foi em blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições, considerando a posição das caixas dentro da casa de vegetação. Os resultados confirmaram que o diquat é eficiente no controle do aguapé, principalmente nas doses de 0,3 e 0,4 kg ha¹ em aplicações noturnas. Doses baixas e aplicações diurnas não impediram intensas rebrotas das plantas afetadas.

Objetivos e conteúdos no ensino de física para adultos: um estudo de caso

The dissertation presents the learning, production and results of a study with a group of adult students of a high school level class in a night time public school at the Zona Oeste district of Natal-RN. As a teacher of Physics of these adult students, whose age is between 17 and 65 years, we felt the need to deepen our knowledge about the specifics of these students and build ways of teaching which would lead to a more significant educational process beside them. Among these ways of teaching, we emphasize, first, the performance of an extra-class activity that triggered the students' oral narratives about their life stories. Such narratives have led us to prioritize, as goals of teaching: socialization and the rescue of the search for a permanent learning, self-esteem and skills development to promote the exercise of autonomy. The students' previous contacts with the country life showed to be extremely significant for their memories and motives, suggesting the theme "Nature" to be adopted as a matrix for generative themes to be adopted during the teaching and learning moments with them. Considering these results, we construct a teaching proposal for continued work with the class, with which we chose the "Climate" as a guiding theme of this proposal, here presented and analyzed. In addition to a movement between problematizations developed in a thematic framework - through the initial questions of the students -, and those in a more conceptual approach - that we induced -, we have adopted as central methodological aspect the use of oral and written language, both as an exercise of dialogue, Freire's perspective, such as a structural element of cognitive processes, the perspectives of Vygotsky and Bakhtin. The development of the proposal was registered by audio and teacher and students´ regular written records, for 1 month and a half. As positive outcomes of the proposal, we emphasize the changing attitudes of students, showing a significant increase of their initiative in participating of the classes, besides a creative and critical use of arguments during the situations studied

Caracterização das quedas de pacientes segundo notificação em boletins de eventos adversos

Este estudo foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de caracterizar as quedas de pacientes internados ocorridas em hospital terciário. Foram analisados 826 Boletins de Notificação de Eventos Adversos, de um período de 30 meses, que registraram 0,30 quedas por 1000 pacientes/dia. Quedas do leito foram mais frequentes (55%), com maior prevalência na enfermaria de neurologia. Maior frequência de quedas foi verificada no período noturno (63,7%), nos primeiros cinco dias da admissão (61,7%), nos pacientes de sexo masculino (57,5%) e na faixa etária maior de 60 anos (50%). Nos casos de quedas do leito, os diagnósticos relacionaram-se a doenças infecciosas e parasitárias (18,2%), doenças do sistema nervoso (18,2%) e doenças do aparelho circulatório (13,7%). Nas quedas da própria altura, os diagnósticos relacionaram-se a neoplasias (19,4%) e doenças do aparelho geniturinário (16,1%). A caracterização desses eventos adversos auxilia no reconhecimento dos grupos de maior risco e na elaboração de propostas preventivas.

Activity pattern of Cuniculus paca (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) in relation to lunar illumination and other abiotic variables in the southern Brazilian Amazon

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

Mercury Redox Chemistry in the Negro River Basin, Amazon: The Role of Organic Matter and Solar Light

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

Redução da dose e do volume de calda nas aplicações noturnas de herbicidas em pós-emergência na cultura de soja

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de reduções da dose e do volume de calda nas aplicações noturnas de herbicidas em pós-emergência sobre o controle de plantas daninhas e a seletividade para a cultura da soja. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos na Fazenda de Ensino e Pesquisa da FCAV/UNESP - Campus de Jaboticabal, durante os anos agrícolas de 94/95 e 95/96. As aplicações foram realizadas às 5, 9, 14, 17 e 22h e o volume de calda de 300 l/ha foi reduzido para 75 e 150l/ha. No primeiro experimento foram aplicadas as doses de 432 g de bentazon/ha e 90 g de lactofen/ha, correspondentes a 60% das recomendações de rótulo desses herbicidas, e no segundo, 60 g lactofen/ha e 157,5 g de fomesafen/ha + 2 % de adjuvante (v/v), correspondentes a 40% e 70% das recomendações. Também foram incluídos nos experimentos tratamentos com as recomendações dos rótulos e testemunhas com e sem capina das plantas daninhas durante todo o ciclo da cultura. As aplicações noturnas, realizadas às 5 e 22h, favoreceram significativamente a ação do lactofen com 60% da dose recomendada e desfavoreceram a do fomesafen no controle das plantas daninhas. Não ocorreram diferenças significativas entre os volumes de aplicação estudados, possibilitando o uso de 75 ou 150 l de calda/ha aplicados nos horários mais favoráveis a cada um dos herbicidas. A maior eficiência das aplicações dos herbicidas bentazon, lactofen e fomesafen depende, além das condições ambientais favoráveis no período noturno, das interações específicas entre os herbicidas e as plantas daninhas.

Association between hypervolemia and ventricular hypertrophy in hemodialysis patients

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a well-known predictor of cardiovascular mortality in patients who have end-stage renal disease and are maintained on hemodialysis (HD), and LVH is not always correlated with the severity of hypertension in these patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of other factors contributing to LVH.Methods: A total of 50 patients with HD were classified in three groups according to whether their LV mass index (LVMI) was higher than (n = 15), equal to (n = 20), or lower than (n = 15) that predicted by a formula based on their ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).Results: Subjects with higher LVMI than predicted had significantly greater inter-HD weight gain (3.4 +/- 0.8 v 2.7 +/- 0.8 and 2.6 +/- 05 kg, respectively, in the other two groups, P < .05), and subjects with lower LVMI than predicted had a tendency toward a more pronounced nocturnal dipping pattern of BP (P = .07 v the other two groups), although daytime and night-time average BP levels did not differ between groups. All other clinical and laboratory parameters were similar among the three groups except higher cardiac output and various indices of LVH, which were more pronounced in the group with higher LVMI by ABPM. This group had also the lowest survival rate over the 2 to 3 years of follow-up, with five deaths versus two in each of the other two groups.Conclusions: the data suggest that correct management of inter-HD weight gain by nutritional counseling and shorter inter-HD intervals may prevent LVH and improve survival independently of BP control. (C) 2004 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.

Desenvolvimento de um programa computacional destinado à unidade móvel de ensaio na barra de tração (umeb) para a avaliação do desempenho de tratores

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Variação sazonal da temperatura corpórea no lagarto Teiú, Tupinambis merianae (Squamata, Lacertilia, Teiidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Qualidade do sono em pacientes com síndrome do túnel do carpo

Pós-graduação em Bases Gerais da Cirurgia - FMB