Peanut seed tegument is affected by liming and drying method

Calcium plays a fundamental role in cell division and growth, and is an important constituent of the cell wall. An increase in Ca concentration in the tegument of peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) seeds in response to lime application can affect its structure. The tegument structure can also be affected by the drying method of the seeds. The effects of lime application and drying methods as affecting the peanut seed tegument structure were studied in seeds from a field experiment conducted in Sao Manuel, São Paulo, Brazil. Peanut (cv. Botutatu, Valencia Type) was grown in presence or absence of 2.1 Mg ha(-1) of lime and dried in an oven, in shade and in the field. The tegument anatomical features were described and its structure was analysed. Pectic substances, lipidic reserves and starch accumulation were studied. The peanut tegument exhibited well differentiated exotesta, mesotesta and endotesta rich in pectates and covered by a cuticle. Tannin was not observed but there was lipid accumulation in mature teguments. Lignin was observed in the vascular bundles. Lime increased the tegument thickness and decreased the central cavity mainly in the exotesta cells when the period of seed drying was shortened. The effect of drying method upon the tegument was more noticeable in seeds grown without lime. It can be inferred that liming increased the resistance of the tegument.

Application of a glassy carbon electrode modified with poly(glutamic acid) in caffeic acid determination

Glassy carbon electrodes were coated with films of poly( glutamic acid) ( PG), and the modified electrode proved to be very effective in the oxidation of caffeic acid. The performance of the film was also tested with ascorbic acid, coumaric acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid and chlorogenic acid. At pH 5.6, all the hydroxycinnamic acids yield a higher peak current intensity when oxidized after incorporation in the PG-modified electrode, and only the oxidation of ascorbic acid exhibits overpotential reduction. At pH 3.5 only caffeic and chlorogenic acid are incorporated in the modified electrode and exhibit a well-defined oxidation wave at +0.51 V and +0.48 V, which is the base for their determination. Linear calibration graphs were obtained from 9 x 10(-6) mol L-1 to 4 x 10(-5) mol L-1 caffeic acid by linear voltammetric scan and from 4 x 10(-6) mol L-1 to 3 x 10(-5) mol L-1 by square wave voltammetric scan. The method was successfully applied to the determination of caffeic acid in red wine samples without interference from other hydroxycinnamic acids or ascorbic acid.

The effect of microwave annealing on the electrical characteristics of lanthanum doped bismuth titanate films obtained by the polymeric precursor method

Lanthanum doped bismuth titanate thin films (Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12-BLT) were produced by the polymeric precursor method and crystallized in a domestic microwave oven and in conventional furnace. Using platinum coated silicon substrates configuration, ferroelectric properties of the films were determined with remanent polarization P-r and a coercive field E-c of 3.9 mu C/cm(2) and 70 kV/cm for the film annealed in the microwave oven and 20 mu C/cm(2) and 52 kV/cm for the film annealed in conventional furnace, respectively. The films annealed in conventional furnace exhibited excellent retention-free characteristics at low infant periods indicating that BLT thin films can be a promise material for use in nonvolatile memories. on the other hand, the pinning of domains wall causes a strong decay at low infant periods for the films annealed in the microwave furnace which makes undesireable the application for future FeRAMS memories. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry to the analysis of polyphenolic compounds from an infusion of Byrsonima crassa Niedenzu

A fast and reliable method, based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-ITMS), was developed to investigate the infusion prepared from the leaves of Byrsonima crassa Niedenzu (Malpighiaceae), a native plant used in Brazil against gastric disorders. The use of on-line reverse-phase HPLC/ESI-ITMS allowed separation of three major classes of compounds and identification of over 20 very polar compounds characterized as galloylquinic acids, proanthocyanidins, and flavonoid glycosides, as well as the dimeric flavonoid amentoflavone and minor amounts of galloyl hexose and galloyl saccharose. This approach provided data that will allow establishment of a method for a future standardization of the infusion. Copyright (C) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Application of pi Circuits for Simulation of Corona Effect in Transmission Lines

In this article, it is represented by state variables phase a transmission line which parameters are considered frequency independently and frequency dependent. Based on previous analyses, it is used the reasonable number of p circuits and the number of blocks composed by parallel resistor and inductor for reduction of numerical oscillations. It is analyzed the influence of the increase of the RL parallel blocks in the obtained results. The RL parallel blocks are used for inclusion of the frequency influence in the transmission line longitudinal parameter. It is a simple model that is been used by undergraduate students for simulation of traveling wave phenomena in transmission lines. Considering the model without frequency influence, it is included a representation of the corona effect. Some simulations are carried considering the corona effect and they are compared to the results without this phenomenon.

Application of Polysaccharide Hydrogels in Adsorption and Controlled-Extended Release of Fertilizers Processes

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

Ga-Modified Nanostructured ZnO: Characterization and Application in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

ZnO has received great attention in many applications due to its electronic and optical properties. We report on the preparation of ZnO and gallium-containing ZnO (ZnO:Ga) nanoparticles by the precipitation method. The nanoparticles have the wurtzite structure and a high crystallinity. Gallium ions are present as Ga(3+), as evidenced by the binding energies through XPS. Porosity and surface area of the powder increased under increasing gallium level, explained by the smaller particle size of ZnO:Ga samples compared with ZnO. The estimated optical band gap of ZnO was 3.2 eV, comparable to ZnO:Ga.

Application of dissociation curve analysis to radiation hybrid panel marker scoring: generation of a map of river buffalo (B-bubalis) chromosome 20

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

Application of a model updating technique for health condition monitoring and damage detection of flexible structures

This paper discusses the application of a damage detection methodology to monitor the location and extent of partial structural damage. The methodology combines, in an iterative way, the model updating technique based on frequency response functions (FRF) with monitoring data aiming at identifying the damage area of the structure. After the updating procedure reaches a good correlation between the models, it compares the parameters of the damage structure with those of the undamaged one to find the deteriorated area. The influence of the FEM mesh size on the evaluation of the extent of the damage has also been discussed. The methodology is applied using real experimental data from a spatial frame structure.

Generalized simulated annealing: Application to silicon clusters

We have compared the recently introduced generalized simulated annealing (GSA) with conventional simulated annealing (CSA). GSA was tested as a tool to obtain the ground-state geometry of molecules. We have used selected silicon clusters (Sin, n=4-7,10) as test cases. Total energies were calculated through tight-binding molecular dynamics. We have found that the replacement of Boltzmann statistics (CSA) by Tsallis's statistics (GSA) has the potential to speed up optimizations with no loss of accuracy. Next, we applied the GSA method to study the ground-state geometry of a 20-atom silicon cluster. We found an original geometry, apparently lower in energy than those previously described in the literature.

Application of the GPS system for preliminary satellite orbit determination

In this paper, we discuss a method of preliminary orbit determination for an artificial satellite based on the navigation message of the GPS constellation. Orbital elements are considered as state variables and a simple dynamic model, based on the classic two-body problem, is used. The observations are formed by range and range and range-rate with respect to four visible GPS. A discrete Kalman filter with simulated data is used as filtering technique. The data are obtained through numerical propagation (Cowell's method), which considers special perturbations for the GPS satellite constellation and a user satellite. © 1997 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

A new application of humic substances: Activation of supports for invertase immobilization

Invertase was immobilized on aminopropyl silica (APTS-SiO2) activated with humic substances (APTS-SiO2-HS) and on aminopropyl silica activated with glutaraldehyde (APTS-SiO2-GA). The resulting activity of both systems was compared. Humic substances (HS) used for the activation of the silica were extracted from soil of Cananéia, São Paulo State, Brazil, according to the procedure recommended by the International Humic Substances Society. Activity was determined by measuring the rate of formation of reduced sugars using the reaction with dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS). The amount of HS bound on the APTS-SiO2 was equal to 50 mg. The maximum amount of invertase immobilized on APTS-SiO2-HS was 15200 U/g while in the system APTS-SiO2-GA it was 13400 U/g. The experimental enzymatic activity was 3700 and 3300 U/g, for the systems APTS-SiO2-HS and APTS-SiO2-GA, respectively. Considering the increased amount and activity of immobilized enzyme compared with the glutaraldehyde method, it was concluded that this technique opens a new perspective in the preparation of supports for enzyme immobilization employing humic substances. © Springer-Verlag 2000.

Assessing relationships between genetic evaluations using robust regression with an application to holsteins in Uruguay

Globalization of dairy cattle breeding has created a need for international sire proofs. Some early methods for converting proofs from one population to another are based on simple linear regression. An alternative robust regression method based on the t-distribution is presented, and maximum likelihood and Bayesian techniques for analysis are described, including the situation in which some proofs are missing. Procedures were used to investigate the relationship between Holstein sire proofs obtained by two Uruguayan genetic evaluation programs. The results suggest that conversion equations developed from data including only sires having proofs in both populations can lead to distorted results, relative to estimates obtained using techniques for incomplete data. There was evidence of non-normality of regression residuals, which constitutes an additional source of bias. A robust estimator may not solve all problems, but can provide simple conversion equations that are less sensitive to outlying proofs and to departures from assumptions.

A method for rearing immature stages of Apis melifera outside the colony (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The objective this work is to define an effective method for following the development of immatures of Apis mellifera from metamorphosis to the emergence of the adult, under conditions allowing the application of diverse treatments. The results showed the best method to be when broods with 5th instar larvae and prepupae were maintained in incubators with the temperature and humidity controlled at 34°C and 65 to 70% respectively.

Production of Ti-35Nb alloy by powder metallurgy for aerospace application

Titanium and its alloys provide high strength-to-weight ratios, good fatigue strength and increased corrosion resistance compared with others materials. Its acceptance in aerospace has been limited by costs considerations such as high cost of raw material, high buy-to-fly ratios and expensive machining operations. Significant cost reductions can be obtained by vacuum sintering and powder metallurgy (P/M) techniques by producing near net shapes and consequently minimizing material waste and machining time. The Ti 35Nb alloy exhibit a low modulus of elasticity. Stemming from the unique combination of high strength, low modulus of elasticity and low density, this alloy is intrinsically more resistant to shock and explosion damages than most other engineering materials. Samples were produced by mixing of initial metallic powders followed by uniaxial and cold isostatic pressing with subsequent densification by sintering between 900 and 1600 °C, in vacuum. Sintering behavior was studied by means of dilatometry. Sintered samples were characterized for phase composition, microstructure and microhardness by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation, respectively. Density was measured by Archimedes method. Copyright © 2004 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.