The open-ended photothermal cell with LiTaO3 and its use in determining the photochemical loss

Comparative determinations of the noise equivalent power (NEP) of open-ended photothermal cells are performed using LiTaO3 and LiNbO3 crystals with and without indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrodes. Open-ended cells can be used for in vivo measurements, which are important when considering the achievability for continuous monitoring of a plant, verifying, for example, the effect of water stress or UV-B radiation on a leaf. We also show the results obtained with one of these cells in the determination of photochemical loss of plant leaves. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Uma abordagem no ensino de frações baseadas em atividades para o 6º ano do ensino fundamantal

The objective of this work if constitutes in creation a proposal for activities, in the discipline of mathematics, for the 6th year of Elementary School, that stimulates the students the develop the learning of the content of fractions, from the awareness of the insufficiency of the natural numbers for solve several problems. Thus, we prepared a set with twelve activities, starting by the comparison between measures, presenting afterward some of the meanings of fractions and ending with the operations between fractions. For so much, use has been made of materials available for use in the classroom, of forma ludic, for resolution of challenges proposed. Through these activities, it becomes possible students to recognize the necessity of using fractions for solve a amount larger of problems

Refinement and initial validation of a multidimensional composite scale for use in assessing acute postoperative pain in cats

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

Which kind of miniplate to use in mandibular sagittal split osteotomy? An in vitro study

This study verified the resistance to displacement of six miniplate fixation methods after sagittal split osteotomy (SSO). SSO was performed in 30 polyurethane synthetic mandible replicas. The distal segments were advanced (4 mm) and specimens were grouped according to the fixation method: four-hole standard miniplate; four-hole locking miniplate; six-hole standard miniplate; six-hole locking miniplate; six-hole standard sagittal miniplate; six-hole locking sagittal miniplate. Biomechanical evaluation was performed by applying compression loads to three points on the second molar region, using an Instron universal testing machine until a 3 mm displacement of the segments occurred. Compression loads able to produce 3 mm displacement were recorded in kN and subjected to analysis of variance (P < 0.01) and Tukey's tests for comparison between groups (P < 0.05). The locking sagittal miniplate showed higher resistance to displacement than the regular four- and six-hole locking and standard miniplates. No significant differences were observed between the locking sagittal miniplate and the regular sagittal or the four-hole locking miniplates. Two of the three groups with the best results had locking plate fixation methods. Fixation of SSO with a single miniplate is better accomplished using six-hole locking sagittal miniplates, six-hole standard sagittal miniplates, or four-hole locking miniplates; these methods are more resistant to displacement.

pH and calcium ion release evaluation of pure and calcium hydroxide-containing Epiphany for use in retrograde filling

Objective: Hydroxyl (OH(-)) and calcium (Ca(++)) ion release was evaluated in six materials: G1) Sealer 26, G2) White mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), G3) Epiphany, G4) Epiphany + 10% calcium hydroxide (CH), G5) Epiphany + 20% CH, and G6) zinc oxide and eugenol. Material and Methods: Specimens were placed in polyethylene tubes and immersed in distilled water. After 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h, 7, 14, and 28 days, the water was assessed for pH with a pH meter and for Ca++ release by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: G1, G2, G4, and G5 had the highest pH until 14 days (p < 0.05). G1 presented the highest Ca(++) release until 6 h, and G4 and G5, from 12 h through 14 days. Ca(++) release was greater for G1 and G2 at 28 days. G6 released the least Ca(++). Conclusions: MTA, Sealer 26, Epiphany, and Epiphany + CH release OH-and Ca(++) ions. Epiphany + CH may be an alternative as retrofilling material.

Drought tolerance is associated with rooting depth and stomatal control of water use in clones of Coffea canephora

center dot Background and Aims Drought is a major environmental constraint affecting growth and production of Coffea canephora. Selection of C. canephora clones has been largely empirical as little is known about how clones respond physiologically to drought. Using clones previously shown to differ in drought tolerance, this study aimed to identify the extent of variation of water use and the mechanisms responsible, particularly those associated morphological traits.center dot Methods Clones (14 and 120, drought-tolerant; 46 and 109A, drought-sensitive, based on their abilities to yield under drought) were grown in 120-L pots until they were 12-months old, when an irrigation and a drought treatment were applied; plants were droughted until the pressure potential (Psi(x)) before dawn (pre-dawn) reached -3.0 MPa. Throughout the drought period, Psi(x) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) were measured. At the end of the experiment, carbon isotope ratio and parameters from pressure-volume curves were estimated. Morphological traits were also assessed.center dot Key Results and Conclusions With irrigation, plant hydraulic conductance (K-L), midday Psi(x) and total biomass were all greater in clones 109A and 120 than in the other clones. Root mass to leaf area ratio was larger in clone 109A than in the others, whereas rooting depth was greater in drought-tolerant than in drought-sensitive clones. Predawn Psi(x) of -3.0 MPa was reached fastest by 109A, followed progressively by clones 46, 120 and 14. Decreases in g(s) with declining Psi(x), or increasing evaporative demand, were similar for clones 14, 46, and 120, but lower in 109A. Carbon isotope ratio increased under drought; however, it was lower in 109A than in other clones. For all clones, Psi(x), g(s) and KL recovered rapidly following re-watering. Differences in root depth, KL and stomatal control of water use, but not osmotic or elastic adjustments, largely explained the differences in relative tolerance to drought stress of clones 14 and 120 compared with clones 46 and 109A.

Parrot populations and habitat use in and around two lowland Atlantic forest reserves, Brazil

We estimated population sizes of parrots in a large (Sooretama/Linhares) and a small (Porto Seguro) lowland Atlantic forest reserve, and examined their habitat associations within the reserves, and their use of forest fragments. In Sooretama, most species had estimated populations between 1000 and 20,000 individuals, but in the smaller reserve population densities were low and all but one species had population estimates < 500. Two Amazons, including the 'Endangered' Amazona rhodocorytha, were strongly linked to primary forests whereas the 'Vulnerable' Pyrrhura cruentata was associated with non-pristine forest. There was considerable movement of parrots between the Sooretama reserve and the surrounding country with Amazona species tending to fly into the reserve during the mornings, and the macaw Propyrrhura maracana flying out. Other species, notably P. cruentata and P. leucotis, were never recorded away from the reserve. Most parrot populations in the region are likely to be small, and the substantial populations around Sooretama make this reserve a parrot stronghold. It is crucial that fire, illegal logging and parrot capture are adequately controlled within Sooretama, and there is a strong argument for extending conservation management efforts to areas immediately outside the reserve. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Species composition and plant use in old urban homegardens in Rio Claro, Southeast of Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Impacts of Climate Change and the End of Deforestation on Land Use in the Brazilian Legal Amazon

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Design of a reconfigurable pseudorandom number generator for use in intelligent systems

This paper deals with the design of a network-on-chip reconfigurable pseudorandom number generation unit that can map and execute meta-heuristic algorithms in hardware. The unit can be configured to implement one of the following five linear generator algorithms: a multiplicative congruential, a mixed congruential, a standard multiple recursive, a mixed multiple recursive, and a multiply-with-carry. The generation unit can be used both as a pseudorandom and a message passing-based server, which is able to produce pseudorandom numbers on demand, sending them to the network-on-chip blocks that originate the service request. The generator architecture has been mapped to a field programmable gate array, and showed that millions of numbers in 32-, 64-, 96-, or 128-bit formats can be produced in tens of milliseconds. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bioactive Compounds in Lipid Fractions of Pumpkin (Cucurbita sp) Seeds for Use in Food

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O uso de softwares na prática profissional do professor de matemática

Este artigo apresenta uma pesquisa que é resultado de cursos online de formação continuada de professores, concebidos a partir de uma parceria entre a UNESP e uma rede nacional de escolas de Ensino Básico. Os cursos buscavam familiarizar os professores de Matemática com os recursos da tecnologia informática, especificamente dois softwares, o Geometricks e o Winplot, no que diz respeito à utilização destes na sala de aula. Após alguns anos da realização dos mesmos, na pesquisa aqui descrita, objetivamos identificar se e como os softwares foram incorporados à prática profissional, em um cenário em que os professores podem contar com laboratórios, formação continuada e suporte técnico. A partir de entrevistas online, pudemos mapear as diferentes escolhas dos professores: não-uso; uso de forma semelhante (ou não) à vivenciada no curso online, e o uso interdisciplinar, mostrando variadas formas pelas quais os professores retraduziram o curso para sua prática.

Behavioral and biological correlates of medicine use in type 2 diabetic patients attended by Brazilian public healthcare system

A relação entre atividade física e consumo de medicamentos não é clara. Assim, o objetivo do estudo foi investigar a relação entre nível de atividade física e uso de medicamentosem diabéticos tipo 2 atendidos pelo Sistema Único de Saúde. A amostra foi composta por 121 diabéticos do tipo 2 de ambos os sexos atendidos pelos sistema público de saúde. Gordura corporal (antropometria e bioimpedância elétrica), atividade física (Questionário de Baecke) e uso de medicamentos (15 dias prévios a avaliação) foram avaliados. Houve relação entre uso de medicamentos e sexo (r = 0.18; p = 0.045), índice de massa corporal (r = 0.22; p = 0.012), circunferência de cintura (r = 0.19; p = 0.029), percentual de gordura (r = 0.21; p = 0.016), idade (r = 0.23; p = 0.009) e atividade física (r = -0.22; p = 0.012). A regressão linear incluiu no modelo apenas idade (β = 0.718; p = 0.057), IMC BMI (β = 0.057; p = 0.022) e atividade física (β = -0.176; p = 0.044) no modelo multivariado. Conclui-se que a prática de atividade física diminui uso de medicamentos independente da idade e obesidade.

Historical land-cover/use in different slope and riparian buffer zones in watersheds of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

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