Determination of broiler femur parameters at different growth phases

The objective of this experiment was to analyse macroscopically the femur and determine the biochemical values at 8, 22 and 42 days of age, producing basic results that can help to understand the pathogeny of the locomotor problems and the broiler physiologic growth. A total of 60 Cobb male broilers were distributed in three age groups (8, 22 and 42 days of age) of 20 birds. All macroscopic measurements, except the cranial compact layer increased (p<0.05) over the course of the ages. The cranial compact layer presented the biggest measure at 22 days of age. The ash percentage increased (p<0.05) until 22 days of age, but at 42 days of age this values decreased. Calcium and phosphorus percentage in ash increased (p<0.05) until 22 days of age and evidenced constancy from 22 to 42 days of age. The biomechanical adaptation capacity of femur was evidenced by the increase of the macroscopic measures over the course of the ages and the different behavior of cranial compact layer at 22 days of age suggested an adaptation attempt of the immature bone to muscle mass increase. The ash and mineral percentage confirmed that the relative growth occurs with more intensity until 21 days of age. The calcium and phosphorus percentage evidenced the physiologic balance acting on the deposition of these minerals in femur. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2011.

Auto-avaliação dos Discentes do Curso de Ciências Biológicas da Unemat, Campus de Nova Xavantina: um modelo para avaliação das disciplinas curriculares, segundo a percepção do corpo discente e docente

This paper presents an evaluation of the curriculum subjects of the Biological Sciences course in the University of the State of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Nova Xavantina campus, Brazil. The research was carried out by means of a self-assessment instrument, aimed at searching learners' and educators' points of view. The questionnaires were given in the first, third and seventh semesters, in which students were asked to assess pedagogical aspects regarding professors and their didacticism, as well as the subject matters being taught; in addition, they were invited to evaluate themselves as learners. The data was analyzed using statistical parameters, in order to measure teaching performance, and, subsequently, professors were given the opportunity to express their concepts about the students' assessment. The average value of the overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.923±0.001, a significant value considering that alpha varies between 0 and 1, which proves the questionnaire to be reliable. The hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) does not permit teaching performance to be associated with professors' qualification or workload.

Influence of nonsphericity of planetary satellites and perturbation of the third-body on the artificial satellites motion

Some orbital characteristics of lunar artificial satellites is presented taking into account the perturbation of the third-body in elliptical orbit and the non-uniform distribution of mass of the Moon. We consider the development of the non-sphericity of the Moon in zonal spherical harmonics up to the ninth order and sectorial harmonic C 22 due to the lunar equatorial ellipticity. The motion of the artificial satellite is studied under the single-averaged analytical model. The average is applied to the mean anomaly of the satellite to analyze low-altitude orbits which are of highest importance for future lunar missions. We found families of frozen orbits with long lifetimes for the problem of an orbiter travelling around the Moon.

Wireless mesh networks planning based on parameters of quality of service

The use of QoS parameters to evaluate the quality of service in a mesh network is essential mainly when providing multimedia services. This paper proposes an algorithm for planning wireless mesh networks in order to satisfy some QoS parameters, given a set of test points (TPs) and potential access points (APs). Examples of QoS parameters include: probability of packet loss and mean delay in responding to a request. The proposed algorithm uses a Mathematical Programming model to determine an adequate topology for the network and Monte Carlo simulation to verify whether the QoS parameters are being satisfied. The results obtained show that the proposed algorithm is able to find satisfactory solutions.

Search for pair production of third-generation leptoquarks and top squarks in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the pair production of third-generation scalar and vector leptoquarks, as well as for top squarks in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models. In either scenario, the new, heavy particle decays into a τ lepton and a b quark. The search is based on a data sample of pp collisions at √s=7 TeV, which is collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb -1. The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the standard model prediction, and exclusion limits on mass parameters are obtained at the 95% confidence level. Vector leptoquarks with masses below 760 GeV are excluded and, if the branching fraction of the scalar leptoquark decay to a τ lepton and a b quark is assumed to be unity, third-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses below 525 GeV are ruled out. Top squarks with masses below 453 GeV are excluded for a typical benchmark scenario, and limits on the coupling between the top squark, τ lepton, and b quark, λ333′ are obtained. These results are the most stringent for these scenarios to date. © 2013 CERN.

Investing better in order to invest more. Finance and management of education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Structural change and productivity growth 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities. Summary

Includes bibliography

Characterization and impact of the sugarcane borer on sugarcane yield and quality

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a key pest of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). While damage caused by this pest has increased in the past 20 yr, studies investigating the insect-plant interactions are still lacking. Moreover, there is no information about the consequences of borer damage on the parameters of sugar quality. Therefore, two field experiments were performed during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons in Brazil to compare the raw material and sugar quality of SP80-3280 sugarcane plants with and without the sugarcane borer. Plants were protected within screen cages and infested weekly during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, using egg masses starting at the second and third internode stage. At harvest, 25.77 and 19.01% of the internodes were bored by larvae (infestation intensity, II) in the first and second seasons, respectively. There was no correlation between the borer gallery total volume and II. The fiber content significantly increased with increasing II. The stalk biometric parameters, such as length, diameter, and yield, were not correlated with II. The sucrose yield significantly decreased with increasing II. Consequently, sugar yield losses were estimated at 8.83 and 19.80% per 1% bored internode for the first and second seasons, respectively. The concentration of phenolic compounds increased, and unclarified juice color quality decreased, with increasing II. Significant differences were detected in the quality of the sugar. These results should be confirmed for other sugarcane cultivars and incorporated into an economic injury level to enhance decision-making strategies for borer management. © 2013 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved.

Massive spin-2 particle from a rank-2 tensor

Here we obtain all possible second-order theories for a rank-2 tensor which describe a massive spin-2 particle. We start with a general second-order Lagrangian with ten real parameters. The absence of lower-spin modes and the existence of two local field redefinitions leads us to only one free parameter. The solutions are split into three one-parameter classes according to the local symmetries of the massless limit. In the class which contains the usual massive Fierz-Pauli theory, the subset of spin-1 massless symmetries is maximal. In another class where the subset of spin-0 symmetries is maximal, the massless theory is invariant under Weyl transformations and the mass term does not need to fit into the form of the Fierz-Pauli mass term. In the remaining third class neither the spin-1 nor the spin-0 symmetry is maximal and we have a new family of spin-2 massive theories. © 2013 American Physical Society.

On the parameters of performance of combined refrigeration and power plants

Combined Refrigeration and Power (CRP) plants generate power and refrigerate a thermal load simultaneously from the same fuel. The overall efficiency is a parameter based on the first law generally used to quantify the fuel saving, in the sense that a plant that has greater overall efficiency saves more fuel than others to generate the same useful energy. However, the literature shows that the overall efficiency and other parameters of performance are defined in several different ways. This heterogeneity is not desirable when considering a coherent and universally accepted parameter of performance based on the first law. In this work, some parameters found in the literature are critically analyzed in order to indicate the most proper one. The indicated parameter is then formally analyzed in order to verify its mathematical consistency. The primary energy rate is considered the most well-suited parameter based on the first law to characterize the performance of a CRP plant. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and IIR.

Relationship between running intensity, muscle activation, and stride kinematics during an incremental protocol

Objective: To analyze the effect of running intensity on stride length (SL), stride frequency (SF), stride time (ST) and the electromyographic signal of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris (BF) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) muscles. Methods: Nine well-trained runners performed an incremental protocol with an initial velocity of 10km.h-1, and increments of 1km.h-1 every 3minutes until exhaustion. The electromyographic activity, SL, SF, ST, inter-stride coefficient of variation, and association between kinematic and electromyographic parameters were calculated at 60%, 80% and 100% of maximum running velocity. Results: SL, SF and electromyographic activity of the RF, VM, VL and GL increased and the ST decreased with increased running speed. Electromyographic variability of VL and VM was higher than GL, and variability was lower in TA than all other muscles. The inter-stride variability of muscle activation was associated with kinematic parameters, and their variability, differently as running speed increased. Conclusion: The incremental protocol increased electromyographic activity differently among lower limb muscles; increased SF and SL, and decreased ST, without changing the variability of these variables. Muscle activation variability was correlated with kinematic parameters, but the relationships among these measures varied with running intensity. © 2013 .

Calling behavior and parasite intensity in Treefrogs, Hypsiboas prasinus

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

Estimates of genetic parameters and eigenvector indices for milk production of Holstein cows

The objectives of the present study were to estimate genetic parameters of monthly test-day milk yield (TDMY) of the first lactation of Brazilian Holstein cows using random regression (RR), and to compare the genetic gains for milk production and persistency, derived from RR models, using eigenvector indices and selection indices that did not consider eigenvectors. The data set contained monthly TDMY of 3,543 first lactations of Brazilian Holstein cows calving between 1994 and 2011. The RR model included the fixed effect of the contemporary group (herd-month-year of test days), the covariate calving age (linear and quadratic effects), and a fourth-order regression on Legendre orthogonal polynomials of days in milk (DIM) to model the population-based mean curve. Additive genetic and nongenetic animal effects were fit as RR with 4 classes of residual variance random effect. Eigenvector indices based on the additive genetic RR covariance matrix were used to evaluate the genetic gains of milk yield and persistency compared with the traditional selection index (selection index based on breeding values of milk yield until 305 DIM). The heritability estimates for monthly TDMY ranged from 0.12 ± 0.04 to 0.31 ± 0.04. The estimates of additive genetic and nongenetic animal effects correlation were close to 1 at adjacent monthly TDMY, with a tendency to diminish as the time between DIM classes increased. The first eigenvector was related to the increase of the genetic response of the milk yield and the second eigenvector was related to the increase of the genetic gains of the persistency but it contributed to decrease the genetic gains for total milk yield. Therefore, using this eigenvector to improve persistency will not contribute to change the shape of genetic curve pattern. If the breeding goal is to improve milk production and persistency, complete sequential eigenvector indices (selection indices composite with all eigenvectors) could be used with higher economic values for persistency. However, if the breeding goal is to improve only milk yield, the traditional selection index is indicated. © 2013 American Dairy Science Association.

Rietveld refinement, morphology and optical properties of (Ba 1-xSrx)MoO4 crystals

In this article, the structural refinement, morphology and optical properties of barium strontium molybdate [(Ba1-x Sr x )MoO4 with x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1] crystals, synthesized by the co-precipitation (drop-by-drop) method, are reported. The crystals obtained were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, and Fourier transform-Raman (FT-Raman) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopies. The shapes of the crystals were observed by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The optical properties were investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. XRD patterns, Rietveld refinement, and FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra showed that all of the crystals are monophasic with a scheelite-type tetragonal structure. The refined lattice parameters and atomic positions were employed to model the [BaO8], [SrO8] and [MoO4] clusters in the tetragonal lattices. The FE-SEM images indicate that increased x content produces a decrease in the crystal size and modifications in the crystal shape. UV-Vis spectra indicated a decrease in the optical band gap with an increase in x in the (Ba1-x Sr x )MoO4 crystals. Finally, a decrease in the intensity of PL emission is apparent with an increase in x up to 0.75 in the (Ba1-x Sr x )MoO4 crystal lattice when excited by a wavelength of 350nm, probably associated with the degree of structural order-disorder. © 2013 International Union of Crystallography Printed in Singapore - all rights reserved.

Local order of Pb1-xLaxZr0.40Ti 0.60O3 ferroelectric ceramic materials probed by X-ray absorption and Raman spectroscopies

This paper reports on the structural characterization of Pb 1-xLaxZr0.40Ti0.60O3 (PLZT) ferroelectric ceramic compositions prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Raman spectroscopy were used to probe the local structure of PLZT samples that exhibits a normal and relaxor ferroelectric behavior. From the Zr K-edge and Pb LIII-edge EXAFS spectra, a considerable dissymmetry of Zr and Pb sites was observed in all samples, including those showing a long-range order cubic symmetry and a relaxor behavior. The Raman spectroscopy results confirmed the existence of a local disorder in all PLZT samples through the observation of Raman active vibrational modes. The variation in the intensity of the E(TO 3) mode in the PLZT relaxor samples indicates that the process of correlation between nanodomains stabilizes at temperatures lower than T m. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.