Calibração da Reflectometria no Domínio do Tempo (TDR) para a estimativa da concentração da solução no solo

Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a reliable method for in-situ measurements of the humidity and the solution concentration at the same soil volume. Accurate interpretation of electrical conductivity (and soil humidity) measurements may require a specific calibration curve. The primary goal of this work was to establish a calibration procedure for using TDR to estimate potassium nitrate concentrations (KNO3) in soil solution. An equation relating the electrical conductivity measured by TDR and KNO3 concentration was established enabling the use of TDR technique to estimate soil water content and nitrate concentration for efficient fertigation management.

Estimativa de bem-estar de frango de corte em função da concentração de amônia e grau de luminosidade no galpão de produção

Brazil is an important poultry meat export country, and large parts of its destination are countries with specific rearing restrictions related to broiler s welfare. One of the aerial pollutants mostly found in high concentrations in closed poultry housing environment is ammonia. There are evidences that broilers welfare may be compromised by the continuous exposition to this pollutant in rearing housing. This research aimed to estimate broilers welfare reared under specific thermal environmental attributes and bird s density, as function of the ammonia concentration and light intensity inside the housing environment using the Fuzzy Theory. Results showed that the best welfare value (0.89 in the scale: 0-1) approximately 90% of the ideal was found in the conditions that associated the ideal thermal environment, with bird s density between 13-15 birds m-2, with values of the ammonia concentration in the environment below 5 ppm, and light intensity near 1 lx. Using the predictive method it was possible to estimate broilers welfare with relation to the ammonia concentration and light intensity in the housing.

Análise tempo-intensidade dos estímulos doce e amargo de extrato de folhas de estévia [Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.) Bertoni] em doçura equivalente a sacarose

The extract of stevia leaves (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is the only sweetener utilized in sucrose substitution which can be produced totally in Brazil. The objective of this study, was determine the temporal characteristic of sweet and bitter taste of stevia and compare with sucrose at 3 and 10% in the same equi-sweet. The time-intensity curves (T-I) for each substance were collected through the software Sistema de Coleta de Dados Tempo-Intensidade - SCDTI for Windows, where the judges recorded through of mouse the perception of each stimuli inside function of time, for each sample. The parameters of T-I curves collected were: time for intensity maxim (TImax), intensity maxim (Imax), time of decay (Td), time of plato (Platô), area under curve (Area) and total time of stimuli duration (Ttot). The parameters Td, Ttot, Area e Plato of T-I curves, for stimuli sweet in both sweetness level, were significativelly superior for stevia, while Timax e Imax were significativelly inferior (p£0,05), at differences between value for both substances were superior DESS at 10%. Sucrose didn?t present any record for simuli bitter as 3 as 10%, while stevia presented a characteristic T-I curve with intensity and total time of stimuli duration dependent of concentration.

Sensitivity and specificity of machine learning classifiers for glaucoma diagnosis using Spectral Domain OCT and standard automated perimetry

PURPOSE: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of machine learning classifiers (MLCs) for glaucoma diagnosis using Spectral Domain OCT (SD-OCT) and standard automated perimetry (SAP). METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study. Sixty two glaucoma patients and 48 healthy individuals were included. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, achromatic standard automated perimetry (SAP) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) imaging with SD-OCT (Cirrus HD-OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc., Dublin, California). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were obtained for all SD-OCT parameters and global indices of SAP. Subsequently, the following MLCs were tested using parameters from the SD-OCT and SAP: Bagging (BAG), Naive-Bayes (NB), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Radial Basis Function (RBF), Random Forest (RAN), Ensemble Selection (ENS), Classification Tree (CTREE), Ada Boost M1(ADA),Support Vector Machine Linear (SVML) and Support Vector Machine Gaussian (SVMG). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (aROC) obtained for isolated SAP and OCT parameters were compared with MLCs using OCT+SAP data. RESULTS: Combining OCT and SAP data, MLCs' aROCs varied from 0.777(CTREE) to 0.946 (RAN).The best OCT+SAP aROC obtained with RAN (0.946) was significantly larger the best single OCT parameter (p<0.05), but was not significantly different from the aROC obtained with the best single SAP parameter (p=0.19). CONCLUSION: Machine learning classifiers trained on OCT and SAP data can successfully discriminate between healthy and glaucomatous eyes. The combination of OCT and SAP measurements improved the diagnostic accuracy compared with OCT data alone.

Adaptações das curvas da coluna vertebral na marcha em função da altura dos saltos dos calçados

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

Metabolismo de lipoproteinas plasmaticas em fumantes cronicos sob o efeito agudo do fumo

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Protector mechanisms of the association between gastroesophageal reflux disease and asthma: experimental study in rats

BACKGROUND: It is well known the association between gastroesophageal reflux disease and asthma. The hyperreactivity of the airways is a characteristic of an asthmatic. Many studies associate the increase of the airways reactivity with gastroesophageal reflux disease. AIM: In this study we have evaluated the effect of the intraluminal exposition to gastric juice of trachea on the reactivity to methacholine from rats submitted to a pulmonary allergic inflammation. METHODS: Group of rats were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. After 24 hours the animals were sacrificed, and their tracheae were removed to be cultured with gastric juice. The gastric juice was obtained from a donor rat. Subsequently the segments were placed into plastic plates with RPMI-1640 for incubation, under suitable atmosphere and time. After the period of incubation the segments were put into chambers for the analysis of the contractile response to methacholine. RESULTS: We observed reduction in the contractile response of trachea cultured with gastric juice from allergic rats. This result was confirmed by the pharmacological treatments with compound 48/80 and dissodium cromoglicate (mast cells blockade), L-NAME (nitric oxide inhibitor, NO), capsaicin (neuropeptides depletion) and indomethacin (ciclooxigenase inhibitor). CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight to the existence of a complex interaction between pulmonary allergy and gastric juice in the airways. The involvement of the non-adrenergic non-cholinergic system, NO, prostanoids and mast cells are directly related to this interaction. We suggest that the reduced contractile response observed in vitro may represent a protector mechanism of the airways. Despite its presence in the human body it can not be observed due to the predominant effects of excitatory the non-adrenergic non-cholinergic system.

Estudo comparativo de métodos para a determinação da concentração de carbono em solos com altos teores de Fe (Latossolos)

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. Therefore, the amount of SOM is important for soil management for sustainable agriculture. The objective of this work was to evaluate the amount of SOM in oxisols by different methods and compare them, using principal component analysis, regarding their limitations. The methods used in this work were Walkley-Black, elemental analysis, total organic carbon (TOC) and thermogravimetry. According to our results, TOC and elemental analysis were the most satisfactory methods for carbon quantification, due to their better accuracy and reproducibility.

Estratégias de pré-concentração em eletroforese capilar: parte 2. Manipulação da velocidade da fase dispersa/secundária

This work describes CE preconcentration strategies based on the effect of manipulation of the disperse/secondary velocity. Introduced by Terabe et al. in 1984, micellar electrokinetic chromatography is a powerful separation approach that increases the usage of electrokinetic phenomena for the separation of nonionic compounds. The main disadvantage of MEKC is the low concentration sensitivity associated with the limited optical path length for on-capillary photometric detection and the limited volume of sample solution that can be injected. This paper compiles on-line concentration strategies for neutral analytes by sample stacking and sweeping in micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

Estratégias de pré-concentração em eletroforese capilar (CE): parte 1. Manipulação da velocidade eletroforética do analito

Capillary electrophoresis has become a well-established and routine-based separation technique. It is based on the differences between charged analyte mobility in aqueous or organic electrolytes. Its major limitation is the sensitivity due to small sample injection volumes and the narrow diameter of the capillaries, especially when UV detection is used. There are a number of ways to increase the concentration sensitivity. This report shows some on-line preconcentration strategies to perform it in free solution capillary electrophoresis that are based on manipulation of the analyte electrophoretic velocity during the sample introduction (stacking, field amplification and transient isotachophoresis).

Qualidade da água para consumo humano e concentração de fluoreto

O artigo visa analisar a concentração de fluoreto na água para consumo humano, considerando o balanço entre benefícios e riscos à saúde, e produzir subsídios para atualização da legislação brasileira. Estudos de revisão sistemática, documentos oficiais e dados meteorológicos foram examinados. As temperaturas nas capitais brasileiras indicam que o fluoreto deveria variar de 0,6 a 0,9 mg/L para prevenir cárie dentária. Concentração de fluoreto natural de 1,5 mg/L é tolerável para consumo no Brasil se não houver tecnologia de custo-benefício aceitável para ajuste/remoção do seu excesso. A ingestão diária de água com fluoreto em concentração > 0,9 mg/L representa risco à dentição em menores de oito anos de idade e os consumidores deveriam ser expressamente informados desse risco. Considerando a expansão do programa nacional de fluoretação da água para regiões de clima tipicamente tropical, deve-se revisar a Portaria 635/75, relacionada ao fluoreto adicionado às águas de abastecimento público.

Novas curvas de crescimento da Organização Mundial da Saúde: comparação com valores de crescimento de crianças pré-escolares das cidades de Taubaté e Santo André, São Paulo

OBJETIVO: Em 2007, a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) propôs um referencial de crescimento de cinco a 19 anos, a ser utilizado em continuidade ao referencial de menores de cinco anos (de 2006), que, entre outras características, aos cinco anos de idade mostra um bom ajuste com a curva de 2006. Este estudo visa comparar os referenciais da OMS com o crescimento observado em pré-escolares brasileiros. MÉTODOS: A partir dos dados antropométricos de 2.830 crianças com idade entre três e seis anos de duas amostras das cidades de Taubaté e Santo André, em São Paulo, foram calculados os valores dos percentis (P) 5, 50 e 95 de peso, estatura e índice de massa corpórea (IMC). Os valores dos novos referenciais da OMS foram comparados a esses resultados de acordo com o sexo e a faixa etária. RESULTADOS: Nos percentis de estatura, o referencial apresentou valores próximos ou pouco superiores aos dos pré-escolares até os cinco anos. Nessa idade, a tendência se inverte, obtendo-se valores progressivamente inferiores até os sete anos. Para peso e IMC, em todas as idades consideradas, o P5 e 50 dos referenciais são pouco menores que os das crianças, mas o P95 indica uma tendência de crescimento progressivamente menor, fazendo com que, próximo aos sete anos, o P95 de IMC dos pré-escolares da amostra seja cerca de 4kg/m² maior. CONCLUSÕES: Os referenciais da OMS apontam uma prevalência menor de magreza (desnutrição) e baixa estatura entre cinco e sete anos e, ao mesmo tempo, uma elevação importante da prevalência de obesidade entre três e sete anos de idade.

Influence of Urea and Ammonium Sulfate on Soil Acidity Indices in Lowland Rice Production

Urea and ammonium sulfate are principal nitrogen (N) sources for crop production. Two field experiments were conducted during three consecutive years to evaluate influence of urea and ammonium sulfate application on grain yield, soil pH, calcium (Ca) saturation, magnesium (Mg) saturation, base saturation, aluminum (Al) saturation, and acidity (H + Al) saturation in lowland rice production. Grain yield was significantly influenced by urea as well as ammonium sulfate fertilization. Soil pH linearly decreased with the application of N by ammonium sulfate and urea fertilizers. However, the magnitude of the pH decrease was greater by ammonium sulfate than by urea. The Ca and Mg saturations were decreased at the greater N rates compared to low rates of N by both the fertilizer sources. The Al and acidity saturation increased with increasing N rates by both the fertilizer sources. However, these acidity indices were increased more with the application of ammonium sulfate compared with urea. Rice grain yield had negative associations with pH, Ca saturation, Mg saturation, and base saturation and positive associations with Al and acidity saturation. This indicates that rice plant is tolerant to soil acidity.

Concussion in contact sports: Reliable change indices of impairment and recovery

This paper reports a follow-up study to an article on the sensitivity of three tests of speed of information processing to impairment after concussion (Hinton-Bayre, Geffen, BL McFarland, 1997). Group analyses showed that practice effects can obscure the effects of concussion on information processing, thereby making the assessment of functional impairment and recovery after injury unreliable. A Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used to assess individual variations following concussion. It was found that 16 of the 20 concussed professional rugby league players were impaired 1-3 days following injury. It was also demonstrated that 7 players still displayed cognitive deficits at 1-2 weeks, before returning to preseason levels at 3-5 weeks. The RCI permits comparisons between different tests, players, and repeated assessments, thereby providing a quantitative basis for decisions regarding return to play.