The Effect of a Community-Based, Primary Health Care Exercise Program on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Hormone Levels

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Predictive maintenance of a worm reducer with an unbalanced load

Among all predictive maintenance techniques the oil analysis and vibration analysis are the most important for monitoring some mechanical systems. The integration of these techniques has potential to improve industrial maintenance practices and provide a better economic gain for industries. To study the integration of these two techniques, a test rig was set up to obtain an extreme working condition for the worm reducer used in this paper. The test rig was composed by a motor connected to a reducer through a flexible coupling and with an unbalanced load. The analysis of the results carried out by using a sample of the oil recommended by the manufacturer in extreme conditions, and using liquid contaminant is presented. From the results it was observed that if there is an abnormal instantaneous load in a system, the subsequent vibration analysis may not perceive what occurred if there was no permanent damage, which is not the case with the lubricant analysis.

Analysis of Structural Integrity Using an ARTMAP-Fuzzy Artificial Neural Network

This paper presents the application of artificial neural networks in the analysis of the structural integrity of a building. The main objective is to apply an artificial neural network based on adaptive resonance theory, called ARTMAP-Fuzzy neural network and apply it to the identification and characterization of structural failure. This methodology can help professionals in the inspection of structures, to identify and characterize flaws in order to conduct preventative maintenance to ensure the integrity of the structure and decision-making. In order to validate the methodology was modeled a building of two walk, and from this model were simulated various situations (base-line condition and improper conditions), resulting in a database of signs, which were used as input data for ARTMAP-Fuzzy network. The results show efficiency, robustness and accuracy.

Modelagem do equilíbrio térmico de frangos de corte: um estudo da geração e transferência de calor

Pós-graduação em Zootecnia - FCAV

Contribuição da deposição atomosférica seca de compostos nitrogenados na disponibilização de nutrientes e na indução do fenômeno de eutrofização em reservatório localizado no interior do estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Química - IQ

The stigma and prejudice of leprosy: influence on the human condition

Introduction: To analyze the knowledge, feelings and perceptions involving patients affected by leprosy, as a better understanding of these factors may be useful to decrease the stigma and prejudice associated with the condition. Methods: The study cohort consisted of 94 patients who underwent treatment for leprosy at the Health Units in the City of Cuiaba, Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil. The study questionnaire included items to collect information on socio-demographic data, knowledge about the disease, stigma, prejudice, self-esteem and quality of life of leprosy patients. Bivariate analyses were used to assess the data based on the chi-square test with a 5% significance threshold. Results: The results revealed that the study population consisted predominantly of males (55.3%) with an income between 1 and 3 times the minimum wage (67%). The survey respondents reported that the most significant difficulties related to the treatment were the side effects (44.7%) and the duration of the treatment (28.7%). A total of 72.3% of the subjects were knowledgeable about the disease, of whom 26.6% had the leprosy reaction. Stigma and prejudice were cited by 93.6% of the participants. Based on the responses, 40.4% of patients reported being depressed and sad, and 69.1% of the subjects encountered problems at work after being diagnosed. A total of 45.7% of the patients rated their quality of life between bad and very bad. Conclusions: Our results suggest that leprosy causes suffering in patients beyond pain and discomfort and greatly influences social participation.

Development of a Yellow Pigment Based on Bismuth and Molybdenum-Doped TiO2 for Coloring Polymers

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Grinding process monitoring based on electromechanical impedance measurements

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Tool condition monitoring of aluminum oxide grinding wheel in dressing operation using acoustic emission and neural networks

The grinding operation gives workpieces their final finish, minimizing surface roughness through the interaction between the abrasive grains of a tool (grinding wheel) and the workpiece. However, excessive grinding wheel wear due to friction renders the tool unsuitable for further use, thus requiring the dressing operation to remove and/or sharpen the cutting edges of the worn grains to render them reusable. The purpose of this study was to monitor the dressing operation using the acoustic emission (AE) signal and statistics derived from this signal, classifying the grinding wheel as sharp or dull by means of artificial neural networks. An aluminum oxide wheel installed on a surface grinding machine, a signal acquisition system, and a single-point dresser were used in the experiments. Tests were performed varying overlap ratios and dressing depths. The root mean square values and two additional statistics were calculated based on the raw AE data. A multilayer perceptron neural network was used with the Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm, whose inputs were the aforementioned statistics. The results indicate that this method was successful in classifying the conditions of the grinding wheel in the dressing process, identifying the tool as "sharp''(with cutting capacity) or "dull''(with loss of cutting capacity), thus reducing the time and cost of the operation and minimizing excessive removal of abrasive material from the grinding wheel.

Zirconia-based dental crown to support a removable partial denture: a three-dimensional finite element analysis using contact elements and micro-CT data

Veneer fracture is the most common complication in zirconia-based restorations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanical behavior of a zirconia-based crown in a lower canine tooth supporting removable partial denture (RPD) prosthesis, varying the bond quality of the veneer/coping interface. Microtomography (μCT) data of an extracted left lower canine were used to build the finite element model (M) varying the core material (gold core - MAu; zirconia core - MZi) and the quality of the veneer/core interface (complete bonded - MZi; incomplete bonded - MZi-NL). The incomplete bonding condition was only applied for zirconia coping by using contact elements (Target/Contact) with 0.3 frictional coefficients. Stress fields were obtained using Ansys Workbench 10.0. The loading condition (L = 1 N) was vertically applied at the base of the RPD prosthesis metallic support towards the dental apex. Maximum principal (σmax) and von Mises equivalent (σvM) stresses were obtained. The σmax (MPa) for the bonded condition was similar between gold and zirconia cores (MAu, 0.42; MZi, 0.40). The incomplete bonded condition (MZi-NL) raised σmax in the veneer up to 800% (3.23 MPa) in contrast to the bonded condition. The peak of σvM increased up to 270% in the MZi-NL. The incomplete bond condition increasing the stress in the veneer/zirconia interface.

Análise dos sistemas de produção dos estabelecimentos rurais do município de Palmital/SP em busca de estratégias para o desenvolvimento rural

Pós-graduação em Agronegócio e Desenvolvimento - Tupã

Development of CAN-based distributed control system for variable rate technology in agricultural machinery

The number of electronic devices connected to agricultural machinery is increasing to support new agricultural practices tasks related to the Precision Agriculture such as spatial variability mapping and Variable Rate Technology (VRT). The Distributed Control System (DCS) is a suitable solution for decentralization of the data acquisition system and the Controller Area Network (CAN) is the major trend among the embedded communications protocols for agricultural machinery and vehicles. The application of soil correctives is a typical problem in Brazil. The efficiency of this correction process is highly dependent of the inputs way at soil and the occurrence of errors affects directly the agricultural yield. To handle this problem, this paper presents the development of a CAN-based distributed control system for a VRT system of soil corrective in agricultural machinery. The VRT system is composed by a tractor-implement that applies a desired rate of inputs according to the georeferenced prescription map of the farm field to support PA (Precision Agriculture). The performance evaluation of the CAN-based VRT system was done by experimental tests and analyzing the CAN messages transmitted in the operation of the entire system. The results of the control error according to the necessity of agricultural application allow conclude that the developed VRT system is suitable for the agricultural productions reaching an acceptable response time and application error. The CAN-Based DCS solution applied in the VRT system reduced the complexity of the control system, easing the installation and maintenance. The use of VRT system allowed applying only the required inputs, increasing the efficiency operation and minimizing the environmental impact.

Obtenção e caracterização molecular e fisiológica de plantas de soja contendo o gene AtGolS2 sob déficit hídrico

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Genética e Melhoramento de Plantas) - FCAV

Inspeção periódica de pulverizadores nas principais regiões de produção de soja no Brasil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the evolution of calibration and maintenance practices for crop sprayers on soybean production areas in Brazil, in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, based on the Project IPP data. Therefore, the evaluation covered issues related to calibration, maintenance condition and the main components of 103 sprayers distributed in the following states: Rio Grande do Sul (35), Paraná (60), and, Mato Grosso do Sul (8). The evaluations were done at the rate of one sprayer per farm. The most frequent problems were related to the pressure gauge, spray leaks and calibration errors greater than 50% of the desired volume rate. The analysis of the application rate showed a tendency for the farmers to apply volume rates below the desired value. In 2006 the errors of the application rate were significant, with 70.4% for Rio Grande do Sul State, 74.5% for Paraná State and 37.5% for Mato Grosso do Sul State. In 2007 there was a reduction of errors, with averages of 50.0% for Rio Grande do Sul and 66.7% for Paraná. In general terms, the results showed improvements on the use, maintenance and calibration processes for crop sprayers on the areas covered by the Project IPP, with reductions on average indexes for calibration errors, leaks and bad tips, among other issues.

Geoprocessamento de variáveis morfométricas para caracterização da microbacia do Córrego do Petiço

This study aims to perform the morphometric characterization of the watershed stream Petiço, Botucatu-SP, through techniques of GIS by GIS IDRISI Selva and Charter planialtimetric Botucatu (SF-22-ZB-VI-3) , edited by IBGE (1969), scale 1: 50000 for ranking the drainage network and the morphometric analysis. The variables analyzed were the dimensions, the relief pattern, pattern of the drainage network and the shape variables. The results show that related to how the watershed has an oblong shape with environmental interpretation with low tendency to flooding and erosion. The sinuosity index of 1.22 shows that the channels of the micro tend to be somewhat sinuous, which allows to infer that is permeable soil with good water infiltration. Based on the results of the morphometric variables was found that the watershed is in good condition of conservation, however, presents certain risks of susceptibility to erosion, and environmental degradation in some points, being fundamental to the maintenance of vegetation cover, in view of the roughness coefficient (Rn). Thus, the evaluation of morphometric characteristics in the study watershed constitutes an important tool in conjunction with the use of GIS and Geographic Information Systems makes possible the planning and management of natural resources aimed at their conservation.