Análise energética da aplicação de torta de filtro na substituição parcial da adubação inorgânica sintética da cana-de-açúcar

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Short-term effect of alginate-biochar microbeads in corn germination

Biochar is the solid by-product of biomass pyrolysis. It is a promising soil conditioner and can be a material with high aggregate economic value, since its performance can improve plant’s nutrient utilization and reduce the usage of conventional fertilizers. Biochar can be used in the formulation of new types of fertilizers as polymeric microbeads. These microbeads can be enriched with biochar and nutrients in its matrix to form fertilizers of slow release of nutrients. Thus, as a promising agricultural material, it is important to assess the environmental hazards caused by the implementation of these microbeads. In this context, seeds were sown in a soil-less Petri dish with microbeads produced with biochar from sugarcane enriched with or without phosphate. The seeds germination and its vitality were evaluated by the first germination count (FGC) and the germination speed index (GSI). The short-term effects showed that the microbeads, in general, assessed by the means of FGC, GSI and mass gain showed the best performance, suggesting that the environment created by these materials provided the best chemical and physical interaction with the embryonic axes.

A novel synthesis of perovskite bismuth ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract. Biochar is the solid by-product of biomass pyrolysis. It is a promising soil conditioner and can be a material with high aggregate economic value, since its performance can improve plant’s nutrient utilization and reduce the usage of conventional fertilizers. Biochar can be used in the formulation of new types of fertilizers as polymeric microbeads. These microbeads can be enriched with biochar and nutrients in its matrix to form fertilizers of slow release of nutrients. Thus, as a promising agricultural material, it is important to assess the environmental hazards caused by the implementation of these microbeads. In this context, seeds were sown in a soil-less Petri dish with microbeads produced with biochar from sugarcane enriched with or without phosphate. The seeds germination and its vitality were evaluated by the first germination count (FGC) and the germination speed index (GSI). The short-term effects showed that the microbeads, in general, assessed by the means of FGC, GSI and mass gain showed the best performance, suggesting that the environment created by these materials provided the best chemical and physical interaction with the embryonic axes.

Avaliação dos processos de tratamento do glicerol proveniente da produção do biodiesel

The substitution of diesel by biodiesel meets the current scenario to increase the consumption of alternative energy sources promoting sustainable development of a country. However, the production of biodiesel concurrently generates the formation of glycerine in the process is a by-product. The main application of glycerine is in the food industry, cosmetics, soaps, pharmaceuticals, among others, but these segments are not capable of absorbing the generated volume of glycerine, whereas the total volume of the biodiesel produced about 10% correspond to glycerine. Glycerine obtained from the transesterification reaction (necessary for production of biodiesel) triglycerides and alcohol contains certain impurities such as water, salts, esters, alcohol, and residual oil, which decrease the value. Thus, the purification process or the direct use of glycerine become essential to make it competitive biodiesel production process. This work aims to evaluate the different processes of purification and the use of glycerine obtained as by-product in the production of biodiesel. The research was theoretical, based on technical articles and theses published on this subject, and from these databases was established a summary of the most important processes

Por que ainda é importante pensar como um nômade em nosso tempo

This article argues for the existence of a nomadic way of thinking, in accord with Deleuze and Guattari’s proposals throughout their “nomadology”. I will look forward to develop such an argument through of four points: the epistemological, the political, the historical and the ontological one. These four points, in set, describe what we call nomadic thought. Such reflection is defined in the observation of a dominant process that constitutes subjectivities ruled by a “capitalist axiomatic”, in our time. Such process is understood as a nomadic device involving, as its main by-product, what is called of narcissism of the difference. However, if the dominant way of becoming subjects ruled by capitalist society, in our time, is nomadic, is it still worthwhile thinking as a nomad, as pursued Deleuze and Guattari?

Fosfato decantado e calagem no perfilhamento e produção de massa seca do capim-marandu

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Produção Vegetal) - FCAV

Efeito da fermentação fúngica no teor de compostos fenólicos em casca de café robusta

Coffee husk is an abundant by-product generated by the coffee industry and it can be used for the production of-value-added phenolic compounds. Currently, this residue has no commercial use due to the presence of anti-nutritional compounds and it is returned to the soil or burned. The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of phenolic compounds in Robusta coffee husk, the adequacy of this residue as substrate for fermentation processes, as well as evaluating the influence of fungal solid state fermentation to obtain phenolic compounds from this residue. In the present study, the use of different solvents for the extraction of polyphenols was evaluated and the content was found to be in the range of 96.9-159.5 mg of galic acid (GA).g(-1) substrate, depending on the solvent used. The best solvent was acetone, therefore it was selected for extraction. Studies were carried out to evaluate the effect of solid-state fermentation in the release of phenolic compounds, using the filamentous fungi Penicillium purpurogenum. The total phenolic content increased from 159.5 up to 243.2 mg GA.g(-1) substrate as a result the solid-state fermentation.

Adsorção de cádmio e chumbo em solução aquosa por lama vermelha natural e com diferentes ativações

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Civil e Ambiental - FEB

Digestibilidade e exigência de aminoácidos para rã-touro

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

Desenvolvimento de detector eletroquímico para cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência baseado em um eletrodo modificado com nanopartículas metálicas para determinação de ácidos carboxílicos em vinhaça de cana-de-açúcar

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

Design & seleção de materiais: elaboração e execução de um sistema de informações para projeto do produto: madeiras

Wood is a renewable material and has unique characteristics that stem from its orthotropic properties. The objective of this study was to develop and implement an informational Selection of Materials and Manufacturing Processes appropriate to the activity of Product Design - Woods. Composed of a Digital Information System, distributed, and an ordered collection of samples. The design of a product, carries with it the choice of material, and the choice of a manufacturing process. Information on materials and manufacturing processes are available with different content, media and interfaces. However, such information is not systematized so that they can be recovered, as the need for the designer, especially on wood. This set of methods is called the Selection of Materials and Manufacturing Processes. It is hoped through this study that the methodologies for SMPF are employed by product designers, architects and engineers in Brazil.

Theorem for series in three-parameter mittag-leffler function

The new result presented here is a theorem involving series in the three-parameter Mittag-Le er function. As a by-product, we recover some known results and discuss corollaries. As an application, we obtain the solution of a fractional di erential equation associated with a RLC electrical circuit in a closed form, in terms of the two-parameter Mittag-Le er function.

Species richness and abundance of low-trunk herb epiphytes in relation to host tree size and bark type, Eastern Amazonia

A composição e estrutura da comunidade epifítica herbácea de fuste baixo, assim como sua distribuição vertical, foram estudadas. O DAP de hospedeiros arbóreos e o tipo de casca influenciam a riqueza e abundância dessas espécies em um trecho de floresta de terra firme na Amazônia Oriental (1º57’36"S 51º36’55"W). Foram identificadas, no total, 37 espécies herbáceas epifíticas, sendo 60% delas Araceae. A riqueza de espécies e a abundância de herbáceas epifíticas mostraram tendência de correlação positiva com o tamanho de hospedeiros arbóreos e nenhuma relação com o tipo de casca. Correlação positiva baixa pode ser um subproduto da predominância de árvores de menor diâmetro na amostragem em vez de refletir relação neutra. A ausência de relações com o tipo de casca deve ser parcialmente explicada pelo grande número de hemiepífitas secundárias, generalistas, e também refletir a ausência de substratos adequados em árvores de menor diâmetro.

Petroleum contamination impact on macrobenthic communities under the influence of an oil refinery: Integrating chemical and biological multivariate data

Petroleum contamination impact on macrobenthic communities in the northeast portion of Todos os Santos Bay was assessed combining in multivariate analyses, chemical parameters such as aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon indices and concentration ratios with benthic ecological parameters. Sediment samples were taken in August 2000 with a 0.05 m(2) van Veen grab at 28 sampling locations. The predominance of n-alkanes with more than 24 carbons, together with CPI values close to one, and the fact that most of the stations showed UCM/resolved aliphatic hydrocarbons ratios (UCM:R) higher than two, indicated a high degree of anthropogenic contribution, the presence of terrestrial plant detritus, petroleum products and evidence of chronic oil pollution. The indices used to determine the origin of PAH indicated the occurrence of a petrogenic contribution. A pyrolytic contribution constituted mainly by fossil fuel combustion derived PAH was also observed. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis performed with chemical data and benthic ecological descriptors demonstrated that not only total PAH concentrations but also specific concentration ratios or indices such as >= C24:< C24, An/178 and Fl/Fl + Py, are determining the structure of benthic communities within the study area. According to the BIO-ENV results petroleum related variables seemed to have a main influence on macrofauna community structure. The PCA ordination performed with the chemical data resulted in the formation of three groups of stations. The decrease in macrofauna density, number of species and diversity from groups III to I seemed to be related to the occurrence of high aliphatic hydrocarbon and PAH concentrations associated with fine sediments. Our results showed that macrobenthic communities in the northeast portion of Todos os Santos Bay are subjected to the impact of chronic oil pollution as was reflected by the reduction in the number of species and diversity. These results emphasise the importance to combine in multivariate approaches not only total hydrocarbon concentrations but also indices, isomer pair ratios and specific compound concentrations with biological data to improve the assessment of anthropogenic impact on marine ecosystems. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Simple Artificial Life Model Explains Irrational Behavior in Human Decision-Making

Although praised for their rationality, humans often make poor decisions, even in simple situations. In the repeated binary choice experiment, an individual has to choose repeatedly between the same two alternatives, where a reward is assigned to one of them with fixed probability. The optimal strategy is to perseverate with choosing the alternative with the best expected return. Whereas many species perseverate, humans tend to match the frequencies of their choices to the frequencies of the alternatives, a sub-optimal strategy known as probability matching. Our goal was to find the primary cognitive constraints under which a set of simple evolutionary rules can lead to such contrasting behaviors. We simulated the evolution of artificial populations, wherein the fitness of each animat (artificial animal) depended on its ability to predict the next element of a sequence made up of a repeating binary string of varying size. When the string was short relative to the animats' neural capacity, they could learn it and correctly predict the next element of the sequence. When it was long, they could not learn it, turning to the next best option: to perseverate. Animats from the last generation then performed the task of predicting the next element of a non-periodical binary sequence. We found that, whereas animats with smaller neural capacity kept perseverating with the best alternative as before, animats with larger neural capacity, which had previously been able to learn the pattern of repeating strings, adopted probability matching, being outperformed by the perseverating animats. Our results demonstrate how the ability to make predictions in an environment endowed with regular patterns may lead to probability matching under less structured conditions. They point to probability matching as a likely by-product of adaptive cognitive strategies that were crucial in human evolution, but may lead to sub-optimal performances in other environments.