Lattices from subfields of Q (xi n)

In this paper we present a method for evaluating the center density of algebraic lattices from subfields of Q(xi n), where n is a positive integer. This method allows to reproduce rotated versions of dense lattices in some dimensions. Constellations on algebraic lattices with high packing density have been proposed for use in communications in Gaussian channels and also in Rayleigh fading channels in case they have high diversity.

Current outlook and future perspectives of beef production in Brazil

Brazil is the world's largest beef exporter with the world's largest commercial cattle herd; however, the production cycle needs to be more efficient to supply internal and external demands in the future. Feedlot operations are currently a reality for the Brazilian beef cattle industry; nonetheless the beef cattle industry in Brazil is still based on grass-fed animals in which the Nellore breed predominates. At some point this constitutes an important advantage for Brazilian beef exportations because some countries look for “natural beef.” Brazilian packing plants regulate the use of antibiotics, especially ionophores used as growth promoters, on farms certified to export beef to European countries. In addition, the use of any implant or beta-agonist for cattle is forbidden in Brazil. From 1970 to 2006, the Brazilian bovine herd increased at 2.04%/year, total pasture at 0.07%/year, area with cultivated pasture at 3.5%/year, and ratio of animals/hectare of total pasture at 1.97%/year, whereas the area with natural pasture decreased at 2.26%/year. These trends alleviate some of the pressure on Brazilian authorities with respect to deforestation of the Amazon forest. Although Brazil had the greatest growth rate of enteric methane emissions, it also had the greatest growth rate of beef production, resulting in Brazil having a negative growth rate (–1.82%/year) of methane emissions per unit of product (kilogram of methane/kilogram of beef).

Avaliação fitoquímica e microbiológica da espécia Artemisia annua L. submetida a tratamentos de armazenamento e condições de ambiente

The species Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) is native to China and has artemisinin as its main active component, substance that is considered a potent antimalarial drug. With the increased interest in natural active principles, studies related to post-harvest and storage of vegetable material become important for better conservation of its phytotherapic properties. Therefore, the present study had as objectivedefine the best storage conditions to preserve and keep the quality of phytotherapic drugs. Leaves of A. annua dried were stored for six months in polyethylene bags wrapped in Kraft paper and packed in four treatments: at ambient condition, refrigerated at 4 ± 2 oC, using normal packing, and using vacuum packing. Samples were taken for microbiological, moisture content, and level of artemisinin analyses before the experiment begun and at 30, 90, 120 and 180 days. The results of microbiological tests showed no significant contamination, as well as the moisture content of the stored (biological) material, which remain between 5% and 10%, keeping within acceptable parameters. The ambient without vacuum treatment (SVA) was the treatment that better maintained the sample stability during 180 days, however, the refrigerated without vacuum (SVR) showed greater efficiency to conserve the content of artemisinin.

Conservação refrigerada de abacate 'hass' e 'fuerte' submetidos à atmosferas modificadas ativas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Eletronarcose no abate de frangos de corte: Iderlipes Luiz Carvalho Bossolani. -

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

A Aplicação de um modelo matemático na resolução de um problema de carregamento de paletes

Global competitiveness has been increased significantly in the last decade and, as consequence, companies are always looking for developing better processes in supply chain operations in order to maintain their competitive costs and keep themselves in the business. Logistics operations represent a large part of the product's final cost. Transportation can represent more than fifty percent of final cost sometimes. The solutions for cutting and packing problems consist in simple and low investment actions, as enhancing the arrangement of the transported load in order to decrease both material and room wastes. As per the presented reasons, the objective of this paper is to show and analyze a real application of a mathematical model to solve a manufacturer pallet-loading problem, comparing results from the model execution and the solution proposed by the company studied. This study will not only find the best arrangement to load pallets (which will optimize storage and transportation process), but also to check the effectiveness of existing modeling in the literature. For this study a computational package was used, which consists of a modeling language GAMS with the CPLEX optimization solver and two other existing software in the market, all of them indicating that an accurate mathematical model for solving this kind of problem in a two-dimensional approach is difficult to be found, in addition to a long execution time. However, the study and the software utilization indicate that the problem would be easily solved by heuristics in a shorter execution time

Estudo da formação de domínios em membranas modelos induzidos por peptídeos antimicrobianos e sua ação interfacial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

RB30-250 Raising Early Lambs from Aged Western Ewes

Many farm flocks in Nebraska are comprised of aged western ewes. They are easily obtained because of the state's geographical position with reference to the sheep-producing sections of the West and the leading feeder lamb markets. Nebraska ranks second in number of western lambs fed. This also tends to acquaint farmers with range sheep. This 1930 research bulletin discusses factors in early lamb production; objects of the experiment, experimental procedure, and experimental data of raising early lambs from aged western ewes.

Antibody Responses in Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) Infected with Mycobacterium bovis

Despite having a very low incidence of disease, reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are subject to tuberculosis (TB) testing requirements for interstate shipment and herd accreditation in the United States. Improved TB tests are desperately needed, as many reindeer are falsely classified as reactors by current testing procedures. Sera collected sequentially from 11 (experimentally) Mycobacterium bovis-infected reindeer and 4 noninfected reindeer were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunoblotting, and multiantigen print immunoassay (MAPIA) for antibody specific to M. bovis antigens. Specific antibody was detected as early as 4 weeks after challenge with M. bovis. By MAPIA, sera were tested with 12 native and recombinant antigens, which were used to coat nitrocellulose. All M. bovis-infected reindeer developed responses to MPB83 and a fusion protein, Acr1/MPB83, and 9/11 had responses to MPB70. Other antigens less commonly recognized included MPB59, ESAT-6, and CFP10. Administration of purified protein derivatives for skin testing boosted serum antibody responses, as detected by each of the assays. Of the noninfected reindeer, 2/4 had responses that were detectable immediately following skin testing, which correlated with pathological findings (i.e., presence of granulomatous lesions yet the absence of acid-fast bacteria). The levels of specific antibody produced by infected reindeer appeared to be associated with disease progression but not with cell-mediated immunity. These findings indicate that M. bovis infection of reindeer elicits an antibody response to multiple antigens that can be boosted by skin testing. Serological tests using carefully selected specific antigens have potential for early detection of infections in reindeer.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF FOLDED PLATE GIRDERS AND SLAB JOINTS USED IN MODULAR CONSTRUCTION

The folded plate girder, a newly proposed bridge girder, is investigated through this thesis. The folded plate girder is cold bent out of a single sheet of steel. The cold bending eliminates the costly and inconsistent shop welds found in traditional girders. The folded plate girder is meant for application in short span bridges. The girder was subjected to an equivalent 75 year lifetime loading to investigate the fatigue performance. The rebar detail used in the closure region between adjacent slabs has been investigated in the past by the NCHRP 12-68 project. This thesis will proposes a hooked rebar detail as a cost effective alternative to the previously recommended headed rebar detail. The proposed hooked rebar detail looks to improve upon the headed bar detail by increasing the clear cover, and reducing the cost of fabrication and shipment of the rebar. Six specimens containing closure regions are subjected to both positive and negative moment loading in order to investigate their behavior and failure modes under ultimate load.

A Aplicação de um modelo matemático na resolução de um problema de carregamento de paletes

Global competitiveness has been increased significantly in the last decade and, as consequence, companies are always looking for developing better processes in supply chain operations in order to maintain their competitive costs and keep themselves in the business. Logistics operations represent a large part of the product's final cost. Transportation can represent more than fifty percent of final cost sometimes. The solutions for cutting and packing problems consist in simple and low investment actions, as enhancing the arrangement of the transported load in order to decrease both material and room wastes. As per the presented reasons, the objective of this paper is to show and analyze a real application of a mathematical model to solve a manufacturer pallet-loading problem, comparing results from the model execution and the solution proposed by the company studied. This study will not only find the best arrangement to load pallets (which will optimize storage and transportation process), but also to check the effectiveness of existing modeling in the literature. For this study a computational package was used, which consists of a modeling language GAMS with the CPLEX optimization solver and two other existing software in the market, all of them indicating that an accurate mathematical model for solving this kind of problem in a two-dimensional approach is difficult to be found, in addition to a long execution time. However, the study and the software utilization indicate that the problem would be easily solved by heuristics in a shorter execution time

Estudo da formação de domínios em membranas modelos induzidos por peptídeos antimicrobianos e sua ação interfacial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Conformational polymorphism of the antidiabetic drug chlorpropamide

In this paper, the main features of Raman spectroscopy, one of the first choice methods in the study of polymorphism in pharmaceuticals, are presented taking chlorpropamide as a case of study. The antidiabetic drug chlorpropamide (1-[4-chlorobenzenesulphonyl]-3-propyl urea), which belongs to the sulfonylurea class, is known to exhibit, at least, six polymorphic phases. These forms are characterized not only by variations in their molecular packing but also in their molecular conformation. In this study, the polymorphism of chlorpropamide is discussed on the basis of Raman scattering measurements and quantum mechanical calculations. The main spectroscopic features that fingerprint the crystalline forms are correlated with the corresponding crystalline structures. Using a theoretical approach on the energy dependence of the conformers, simulated molecular torsion angles are plotted versus the formation energy, which provides a satisfactory agreement between the torsion angles at the energy minima and the experimental values observed in the different solid forms of chlorpropamide. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) signatures of clayey soils containing toluene

We performed laboratory experiments to investigate the sensitivity of the Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) method to toluene contamination in clayey soils. We used mixtures of quartzitic sand and montmorillonite as soil samples, artificially contaminated with varying amounts of toluene. Care was taken to quantify the experimental uncertainty resulting from packing since such effects must be quantified if variations in SIP signatures between samples are to be reliably interpreted in terms of the effects of hydrocarbon concentration. The SIP response of all samples following addition of toluene was monitored for a period of 40 days following sample preparation. Stepwise regression was used to examine the statistical significance of correlations between (i) clay content and (ii) toluene concentration and SIP parameters. Both single-frequency real and imaginary conductivity measurements, along with the integral chargeability, normalized chargeability, DC conductivity and time constant obtained from a Debye decomposition fitting, were examined in this regression analysis. The SIP measurements show a clear time dependence following sample preparation, indicating that samples containing toluene may take significant time to reach an equilibrium electrical response. SIP measurements are significantly related to toluene content shortly after sample preparation, when the expected dependence of SIP on clay concentration is apparently suppressed. However, for the state of electrical equilibrium after 40 days (interpreted to indicate surface chemistry at equilibrium) there is no significant relation between SIP measurements and toluene content; instead SIP measurements are then significantly correlated with clay concentration. The total chargeability, normalized chargeability and relaxation time obtained from the Debye decomposition show no correlation with toluene content, indicating that this procedure, which likely integrates over multiple mechanisms, may not be suitable for understanding relationships between SIP and hydrocarbon contamination. We find only small low-frequency polarization signals observed in relation to toluene concentration (2 mrad at 0.01 Hz), which initially decreases the interfacial polarization. Unlike earlier works, our results do not support the use of the SIP method as a tool for monitoring toluene contamination in clay soils.

Magnetic Tuning of All-Organic Binary Alloys between Two Stable Radicals

Mixtures of 2-(4,5,6,7-tetrafluorobenzimidazol-2-yl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (F4BImNN) and 2-(benzi-midazol-2-yl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (BImNN.) crystallize as solid solutions (alloys) across a wide range of binary compositions. (F4BImNN)(x)(BImNN)((1-x)) with x < 0.8 gives orthorhombic unit cells, while x >= 0.9 gives monoclinic unit cells. In all crystalline samples, the dominant intermolecular packing is controlled by one-dimensional (1D) hydrogen-bonded chains that lead to quasi-1D ferromagnetic behavior. Magnetic analysis over 0.4-300 K indicates ordering with strong 1D ferromagnetic exchange along the chains (J/k = 12-22 K). Interchain exchange is estimated to be 33- to 150-fold weaker, based on antiferromagnetic ordered phase formation below Neel temperatures in the 0.4-1.2 K range for the various compositions. The ordering temperatures of the orthorhombic samples increase linearly as (1 - x) increases from 0.25 to 1.00. The variation is attributed to increased interchain distance corresponding to decreased interchain exchange, when more F4BImNN is added into the orthorhombic lattice. The monoclinic samples are not part of the same trend, due to the different interchain arrangement associated with the phase change.