Transit times – the link between hydrology and water quality at the catchment scale

In spite of trying to understand processes in the same spatial domain, the catchment hydrology and water quality scientific communities are relatively disconnected and so are their respective models. This is emphasized by an inadequate representation of transport processes, in both catchment-scale hydrological and water quality models. While many hydrological models at the catchment scale only account for pressure propagation and not for mass transfer, catchment scale water quality models are typically limited by overly simplistic representations of flow processes. With the objective of raising awareness for this issue and outlining potential ways forward we provide a non-technical overview of (1) the importance of hydrology-controlled transport through catchment systems as the link between hydrology and water quality; (2) the limitations of current generation catchment-scale hydrological and water quality models; (3) the concept of transit times as tools to quantify transport and (4) the benefits of transit time based formulations of solute transport for catchment-scale hydrological and water quality models. There is emerging evidence that an explicit formulation of transport processes, based on the concept of transit times has the potential to improve the understanding of the integrated system dynamics of catchments and to provide a stronger link between catchment-scale hydrological and water quality models.

Module property verification : A method to plan and perform quality verifications in modular architectures

Modular product architectures have generated numerous benefits for companies in terms of cost, lead-time and quality. The defined interfaces and the module’s properties decrease the effort to develop new product variants, and provide an opportunity to perform parallel tasks in design, manufacturing and assembly. The background of this thesis is that companies perform verifications (tests, inspections and controls) of products late, when most of the parts have been assembled. This extends the lead-time to delivery and ruins benefits from a modular product architecture; specifically when the verifications are extensive and the frequency of detected defects is high. Due to the number of product variants obtained from the modular product architecture, verifications must handle a wide range of equipment, instructions and goal values to ensure that high quality products can be delivered. As a result, the total benefits from a modular product architecture are difficult to achieve. This thesis describes a method for planning and performing verifications within a modular product architecture. The method supports companies by utilizing the defined modules for verifications already at module level, so called MPV (Module Property Verification). With MPV, defects are detected at an earlier point, compared to verification of a complete product, and the number of verifications is decreased. The MPV method is built up of three phases. In Phase A, candidate modules are evaluated on the basis of costs and lead-time of the verifications and the repair of defects. An MPV-index is obtained which quantifies the module and indicates if the module should be verified at product level or by MPV. In Phase B, the interface interaction between the modules is evaluated, as well as the distribution of properties among the modules. The purpose is to evaluate the extent to which supplementary verifications at product level is needed. Phase C supports a selection of the final verification strategy. The cost and lead-time for the supplementary verifications are considered together with the results from Phase A and B. The MPV method is based on a set of qualitative and quantitative measures and tools which provide an overview and support the achievement of cost and time efficient company specific verifications. A practical application in industry shows how the MPV method can be used, and the subsequent benefits

Incumbency Reconsidered: Prospects, Strategic Entry, and Incumbent Quality in U.S. House Elections

Efforts to estimate the magnitude of the incumbency effect in U.S. House elections and assess its political meaning have been complicated by two omitted-variables problems. First, in the absence of an adequate measure of incumbent prospects, estimates of the magnitude of the incumbency effect fail to control for selection effects associated with the decision incumbents make about whether to run for reelection. Strategic incumbents enter races they think they can win and withdraw when they expect to lose. The consequence is an upward bias in estimates of incumbents’ electoral advantages. Second, the normative implications of high reelection rates cannot be assessed without measuring incumbent quality, since a possible explanation for their electoral success is that incumbents are of high quality and doing a good job. We propose a strategy for measuring incumbent prospects and quality, demonstrate the strategic nature of incumbent and challenger entry, re-estimate the incumbency effect, and show that incumbent quality has an impact on electoral outcomes. Our conclusion is that incumbents’ advantages in House elections have been over estimated while the positive basis of incumbent safety is typically under appreciated.

Why designate market makers? affirmative obligations and market quality

We study why most financiaI markets designate one or more agents who precommit to provide more liquidity than they would endogenously choose, and identify two reasons that such affirmative obligations can improve welfare. The first relies on the insight that the informational component of the competi tive bid-ask spread represents a transfer across traders, not a social cost to completing trades. As such, this trading cost dissuades efficient trading, while a restriction on spread widths encourages efficient trading. Secondly, a restriction on spread widths encourages traders to become informed, which speeds the rate at which market prices move toward true asset values in the wake of information events. We consider the setting where competition ensures that affirmative obligations impose net trading losses on designated market makers that must be compensated by side payments, as observed on the Euronext limit order market, and also the setting where the designated market maker is allowed some advantages relative to limit order traders so that profits can be eamed during tranquil periods to offset losses incurred when affirmative obligations are binding, as observed on the NYSE.

Correlations between thermal environment and egg quality of two layer commercial strains

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

Faecal bacteria in Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mollusca: Bivalvia) for biomonitoring coastal waters and seafood quality

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

Physiological and morphological responses to feeding in broad-nosed caiman (Caiman latirostris)

Broad nosed caiman are ectotherm sauropsids that naturally experience long fasting intervals. We have studied the postprandial responses by measuring oxygen consumption using respirometry, the size changes of the duodenum, the distal small intestine, and the liver, using repeated non-invasive ultrasonography, and by investigating structural changes on the level of tissues and cells by using light- and electron microscopy. The caimans showed the same rapid and reversible changes of organ size and identical histological features, down to the ultrastructure level, as previously described for other ectothermic sauropsids. We found a configuration change of the mucosa epithelium from pseudostratified during fasting to single layered during digestion, in association with hypertrophy of enterocytes by loading them with lipid droplets. Similar patterns were also found for the hepatocytes of the liver. By placing the results of our study in comparative relationship and by utilizing the phylogenetic bracket of crocodiles, birds and squamates, we suggest that the observed features are plesiomorphic characters of sauropsids. By extending the comparison to anurans, we suggest that morphological and physiological adjustments to feeding and fasting described here may have been a character of early tetrapods. In conclusion, we suggest that the ability to tolerate long fasting intervals and then swallow a single large meal as described for many sit-an-wait foraging sauropsids is a functional feature that was already present in ancestral tetrapods.

Effect of steeping conditions (sulfur dioxide, lactic acid, and temperature) on starch yield, starch quality, and germ quality from the Intermittent Milling and Dynamic Steeping process (IMDS) for a Brazilian corn hybrid

Effect of lactic acid, SO2, temperature, and their interactions were assessed on the dynamic steeping of a Brazilian dent corn (hybrid XL 606) to determine the ideal relationship among these variables to improve the wet-milling process for starch and corn by-products production. A 2x2x3 factorial experimental design was used with SO2 levels of 0.05 and 0.1% (w/v), lactic acid levels of 0 and 0.5% (v/v), and temperatures of 52, 60, and 68degreesC. Starch yield was used as deciding factor to choose the best treatment. Lactic acid added in the steep solution improved the starch yield by an average of 5.6 percentage points. SO2 was more available to break down the structural protein network at 0.1% than at the 0.05% level. Starch-gluten separation was difficult at 68degreesC. The lactic acid and SO2 concentrations and steeping temperatures for better starch recovery were 0.5, 0.1, and 52degreesC, respectively. The Intermittent Milling and Dynamic Steeping (IMDS) process produced, on average, 1.4% more starch than the conventional 36- hr steeping process. Protein in starch, oil content in germ, and germ damage were used as quality factors. Total steep time can be reduced from 36 hr for conventional wet-milling to 8 hr for the IMDS process.

Growth retardants on development and ornamental quality of potted 'Lilliput' Zinnia elegans Jacq.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bovine Biofertilizer and Water Regime Effects on Growth and Bulb Quality of Garlic

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

Effect of Vitrification of Feline Ovarian Cortex on Follicular and Oocyte Quality and Competence

Cryopreservation of ovarian cortex has important implications in the preservation of fertility and biodiversity in animal species. Slow freezing of cat ovarian tissue resulted in the preservation of follicular morphology and in the follicular development after xenografting. Vitrification has been recently applied to ovarian tissues of different species, but no information is available on the effect of this method on feline ovarian cortex. Moreover, meiotic competence of fully grown oocytes isolated from cryopreserved tissue has not been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitrification of feline ovarian cortex on follicular morphology and oocyte integrity, as well as meiotic competence. A total of 352 fragments (1.52 mm3) were obtained from ovarian cortical tissues: 176 were vitrified and 176 were used fresh as control. Histological evaluation of fresh and vitrified fragments showed intact follicles after cryopreservation procedures with no statistically significant destructive effect from primordial to antral follicles. After IVM, oocytes collected from vitrified ovarian fragment showed a higher proportion of gametes arrested at germinal vesicle (GV) stage compared to those isolated from fresh control tissue (33.8% vs 2.9%; p < 0.001). However, oocytes isolated from vitrified tissues were able to resume meiosis, albeit at lower rate than those collected from fresh tissues (39.8% vs 85.9%; p < 0.00001). Vitrification induced changes in the organization of cytoskeletal elements (actin microfilaments and microtubules) of oocytes, but significantly only for actin network (p < 0.001). Finally, chromatin configuration within the GV was not affected by the cryopreservation procedure. Our study demonstrated that vitrification preserves the integrity of ovarian follicles and that oocytes retrieved from cryopreserved tissue maintain the capability of resuming meiosis. To our knowledge, this has not previously been reported in the cat.

Liming and postharvest quality of carambola fruits

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

Methods of discard ewes carcass suspension and the quality of meat

Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o método de pendura da carcaça quanto à qualidade da carne ovina. Foram utilizadas 10 ovelhas de descarte com aproximadamente 62 kg de peso corporal. Após abate, esfola, evisceração e retirada da cabeça e das patas, as carcaças foram divididas longitudinalmente em duas partes. Lados alternados das meias carcaças foram pendurados pelo tendão do gastrocnêmico, tratamento 1 (T1) e suspensos pelo osso pélvico (T2) por um período de 24 horas em câmara frigorífica. Posteriormente retirou-se o músculo Semimembranosus de todas as meias carcaças para as análises de qualidade da carne. Os músculos Semimembranosus das carcaças pendurados pelo método de suspensão da pelve apresentou maior maciez que os mesmos músculos das carcaças pendurados pelo tendão do gastrocnêmico, com valores de 1,99 kgf.cm-2 e 3,15 kgf.cm-2, respectivamente. O tratamento 2 obteve menores perdas por cocção da carne que o tratamento 1, com valores médios de 32,14 e 33,44%, respectivamente. Os demais parâmetros de qualidade de carne avaliados não foram influenciados pelo método de suspensão da carcaça. Concluiu-se que o método de suspensão da carcaça, influenciou a maciez e as perdas por cocção da carne, sendo os melhores resultados para as carcaças penduras pelo osso pélvico.

Effects of the season of the year, truck type and location on truck on skin bruises and meat quality in pigs

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the season of the year (summer vs winter), type of truck (A: single decker vs B : double-decker) and pig location on the truck (front, middle, rear) on the incidence of skin bruising and pork quality variation. For this purpose, 2660 gilts of an average weight of 126.7 (+/- 6.6) kg originating from 19 different farms were used. No interaction between season of the year, type of truck and location on truck was observed. A higher number of bruises on the body at unloading and slaughter (P < 0.0001) and a higher number of bruises on the carcass (P < 0.01) were observed in winter. At unloading a higher number of bruises on the body and on the carcass after slaughter was observed in pigs transported on Truck A (P=0.004 and P=0.05). A higher, although not significant, number of bruises was found on the body of pigs transported in the rear compartment of both trucks. Higher paleness value was found in the longissimus and semimembranosus muscles in summer (P=0.0001) than in winter. Cold and heat stress have a negative influence on skin bruises and meat quality, respectively. Poor vehicle design increases the incidence of bruised carcasses without detracting from pork quality regardless of the climate conditions tested and location of the animal it] the truck. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of age at slaughter and sire genotype on fatness, muscularity, and the quality of meat from ram lambs born to Romney ewes

Ram lambs (n = 356) born to Romney ewes and sired by a range of straightbred or crossbred sires were evaluated for carcass composition and, for a subsample (n = 236), some meat quality characteristics over a period of 4 years. Within each year, 2 to 4 sire genotypes, including Romney controls, were evaluated at 2 slaughter ages (5-9 months and 10-11 months). Weight-adjusted carcass length was greater for lambs with some East Friesian or Finn genes, but no differences were found in dressing-out percent. At a constant carcass weight, carcass fatness (fat depths and leg dissectible fat) was lower in lambs with East Friesian, Texel, or Finn genes. Meat yield at a constant weight tended to be greatest in sire groups that were least fat, and M:B ratio in the femur region was highest in lambs with Texel genes and, to a lesser extent, those with Poll Dorset genes. Leg muscularity in the femur region generally paralleled differences in M:B, except in a comparison of East Friesian-cross and Romney lambs where the former had lower muscularity but slightly better M:B. Lambs slaughtered at the older age for each year had longer and leaner carcasses at the same weight, possibly because they had been taken part way through a winter or because of slower growth rates leading up to slaughter. Meat quality characteristics differed little between the genotype groups, but for 2 of 3 years, meat from the semimembranosus muscle of lambs in the older slaughter lot was significantly tougher.