Test-day model for milk yield of dairy buffaloes in colombia

The test-day model is the preferred method for genetic evaluations in dairy cattle. For this study, 28372 test-day records of 1220 lactations from 1997 to 2009 were used. The (co)variance components for milk in test-day were estimated using a Uni and multiple-traits repeated animal model with the Restricted Maximum Likelihood method (REML). The Contemporary Group (herd, year, and season of parity) and the age of parity (linear and quadratic) fixed effects, and the additive genetic, permanent environmental, and residual random effects were included in the model. The heritabilities ranged between 0.06 and 0.45 during lactation. The genetic correlations were greater than 0.93. In conclusion, the test-day model is appropriate for the genetic evaluation of dairy buffaloes in Colombia.

Estudio de efectos ambientales y genéticos que influyen en la producción de leche y duración de lactación en bovinos de raza guzerat

Objective of present work was study a influence of environmental and genetic effects over characteristics of milk total production (PL) and lactation duration (DL), from 2572 lactations of 477 Guzerat cows, collected since 1957 to 2002, in Rio de Janeiro State. Environmental effects were analyzed by an statistical model that include male randomized effect, fixed effect of contemporary group, and the (co)variables age of cow (lineal and quadratic) and lactation duration. The contemporary group had significant effect just for PL. Bayesian inference was used to obtain estimatives of genetic parameters over an animal model, in which was included as fixed effect the contemporary group and the covariables age of cow (linear and quadratic). The estimates of heritability and repeatability were 0.36 and 0.75 for PL and 0.29 and 0.36 for DL, respectively. The estimated genetic correlation was 0.97. The heritability estimates for PL and DL were moderate, indicating that it is possible answer to the selection of the characteristics under study. The genetic correlation was high and indicates that selection for increase milk production will be accompanied with increase in lactation duration.

Análise Genética de Características Reprodutivas Na Raça Brahman

Aiming to establish selection criteria for the Brahman cattle in Brazil, the objective of this paper was to estimate genetic and environmental parameters for birth weight (BW), gestation length (GL) and scrotal circumference at 365 (SC365), 455 (SC455) and 550 (SC 550) days of age, and relative efficiency of indirect versus direct selection for these traits. Data were obtained from 15 851 animals belonging to 16 herds in six states, enrolled in a genetic breeding program. (Co)variance and heritability coefficients and genetic and environmental correlations between traits were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood (REML) under a multi trait animal model. The model included as fixed effects the contemporary group and the age of cow at calving as a covariate (linear and quadratic), and as random the direct genetic, the permanent environmental and residual effects. For BW and GL it was also considered the maternal genetic effect as random. Estimates of direct heritabilities were 0.36, 0.29, 0.55, 0.43 and 0.40 for BW, GL, SC365, SC455 and SC550, respectively. Genetic correlations between BW and GL, GL and SC365, GL and SC455, GL and SC550, SC365 and SC455, SC365 and SC550 and SC455 and SC550, were respectively 0.06, 0.13, 0.20, 0.13, 0.96, 0.98 and 0.99. The heritabilities estimates for all traits indicated these show enough additive genetic variability to respond favorably to selection. For sexual precocity, the best option would be SC365, due to the high value of heritability and to indirect selection at this age being more efficient than direct selection for PE455.

A comparative study of aquifer systems occurring at the Paraná sedimentary basin, Brazil: U-isotopes contribution

The radioactivity due to 238U and 234U in three aquifer systems occurring within the Paraná sedimentary basin, South America, has been investigated. Uranium is much less dissolved from fractured igneous rocks than from the porous sedimentary rocks as indicated by the U-mobility coefficients between 7. 6 × 10-6 and 1. 2 × 10-3 g cm-3. These values are also compatible with the U preference ratios relative to Na, K, Ca, Mg and SiO2, which showed that U is never preferentially mobilized in the liquid phase during the flow occurring in cracks, fissures, fractures and faults of the igneous basaltic rocks. Experimental dissolution of diabase grains on a time-scale laboratory has demonstrated that the U dissolution appeared to be a two-stage process characterized by linear and second-order kinetics. The U dissolution rate was 8 × 10-16 mol m-2 s-1 that is within the range of 4 × 10-16-3 × 10-14 mol m-2 s-1 estimated for other rock types. The 234U/238U activity ratio of dissolved U in solutions was higher than unity, a typical result expected during the water-rock interactions when preferential 234U-leach from the rock surfaces takes place. Some U-isotopes data allowed estimating 320 ka for the groundwater residence time in a sector of a transect in São Paulo State. A modeling has been also realized considering all U-isotopes data obtained in Bauru (35 samples), Serra Geral (16 samples) and Guarani (29 samples) aquifers. The results indicated that the Bauru aquifer waters may result from the admixture of waters from Guarani (1. 5 %) and Serra Geral (98. 5 %) aquifers. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Análise química da folha d de abacaxizeiro cv. smooth cayenne antes e após a indução floral em função de doses e parcelamentos de nitrogênio

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Absorção de nitrogênio pelo algodoeiro herbáceo em dois sistemas de cultivo

The study of nutrient uptake is of fundamental importance to plant nutrition, as well as tell the time (growth stage) being absorbed by the culture, also signals to the levels of fertilizer to be used. Aiming to establish the uptake of nitrogen for cultivation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. r. latifolium Hutch.) led to an experiment in a Alfissol under randomized block design with two treatments, sowing conventional tillage and after tillage on the straw of previous crop (millet), with five replicates. Samples were taken according to the phenology and plants development. The dry matter accumulation in cotton is linear and increasing until the period of large boll, being more intense with the appearance of flowers and boll, or 50 to 100 days after emergence. The nitrogen content is higher in newly emerged plants, having peaks at the beginning of the appearance of squares and flowers, and from the appearance of small boll, the nitrogen content in the plant decreases linearly. The extraction of nitrogen is bigger from the appearance of flowers (55-60 days after emergence).

Comparison of random regression models to estimate genetic parameters for milk production in Guzerat (Bos indicus) cows

Random regression models have been widely used to estimate genetic parameters that influence milk production in Bos taurus breeds, and more recently in B. indicus breeds. With the aim of finding appropriate random regression model to analyze milk yield, different parametric functions were compared, applied to 20,524 test-day milk yield records of 2816 first-lactation Guzerat (B. indicus) cows in Brazilian herds. The records were analyzed by random regression models whose random effects were additive genetic, permanent environmental and residual, and whose fixed effects were contemporary group, the covariable cow age at calving (linear and quadratic effects), and the herd lactation curve. The additive genetic and permanent environmental effects were modeled by the Wilmink function, a modified Wilmink function (with the second term divided by 100), a function that combined third-order Legendre polynomials with the last term of the Wilmink function, and the Ali and Schaeffer function. The residual variances were modeled by means of 1, 4, 6, or 10 heterogeneous classes, with the exception of the last term of the Wilmink function, for which there were 1, from 0.20 to 0.33. Genetic correlations between adjacent records were high values (0.83-0.99), but they declined when the interval between the test-day records increased, and were negative between the first and last records. The model employing the Ali and Schaeffer function with six residual variance classes was the most suitable for fitting the data. © FUNPEC-RP.

A comparison of two nonlinear damping mechanisms in a vibration isolator

The vibration transmissibility characteristics of a single-degree-of- freedom (SDOF) passive vibration isolation system with different nonlinear dampers are investigated in this paper. In one configuration, the damper is assumed to be linear and viscous, and is connected to the mass so that it is perpendicular to the spring (horizontal damper). The vibration is in the direction of the spring. The second configuration is one in which the damper is in parallel with the spring but the damping force is proportional to the cube of the relative velocity across the damper (cubic damping). Both configurations are studied for small amplitudes of excitation, when some analysis can be conducted based on analytical expressions, and for large amplitudes of excitation, where the analysis is based on numerical simulations. It is found that the two nonlinear systems can outperform the linear system when force transmissibility is considered. However, for displacement transmissibility, the system with the horizontal damper exhibits some desirable properties, but the system with cubic damping does not. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Efeitos ambientais e genéticos sobre escores visuais e ganho em peso ao sobreano de bovinos brangus

This research aimed at studying the effects of age of the cow at calving (IVP), age of the animal at yearling (IDS), the direct additive genetic (AD) and maternal (AM) effects and individual heterozygosity (HI) on visual scores of conformation (CS), early finishing (PS) and muscling (MS) at postweaning and average daily gain from weaning to yearling (GDS) of cattle used to originate the Brangus breed. There were analyzed records on 24 531, 21 166, 24 006 and 25 419 for CS, PS, MS and GDS, respectively, of animals born from 1986 to 2002 belonging to livestock files of Gensys Consultores Associados S/C Ltda. The analyses were performed by the least square method using mathematical models that included contemporary group as class variable and IVP, IDS, AD, AM and HI as covariates. IVP showed linear and quadratic effects (p<0.01) on GDS and linear (p<0.01) on PS, while the quadratic effect of IDS was not significant for PS and GDS. AD and AM were significant (p<0.01) only for PS and MS scores, respectively. All the traits were significantly (p<0.01) influenced by HI. The environmental and genetic effects were important sources of variation for the studied traits and should be taken into account when comparison of animals and selection were performed.

Sustainable urban energy planning: The case study of a tropical city

The urbanization of modern societies has imposed to the planners and decision-makers a more precise attention to facts not considered before. Several aspects, such as the energy availability and the deleterious effect of pollution on the populations, must be considered in the policy decisions of cities urbanization. The current paradigm presents centralized power stations supplying a city, and a combination of technologies may compose the energy mix of a country, such as thermal power plants, hydroelectric plants, wind systems and solar-based systems, with their corresponding emission pattern. A goal programming multi-objective optimization model is presented for the electric expansion analysis of a tropical city, and also a case study for the city of Guaratinguetá, Brazil, considering a particular wind and solar radiation patterns established according to actual data and modeled via the time series analysis method. Scenarios are proposed and the results of single environmental objective, single economic objective and goal programming multi-objective modeling are discussed. The consequences of each dispatch decision, which considers pollutant emission exportation to the neighborhood or the need of supplementing electricity by purchasing it from the public electric power grid, are discussed. The results revealed energetic dispatch for the alternatives studied and the optimum environmental and economic solution was obtained. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

A hybrid multi-population genetic algorithm applied to solve the multi-level capacitated lot sizing problem with backlogging

The present paper proposes a new hybrid multi-population genetic algorithm (HMPGA) as an approach to solve the multi-level capacitated lot sizing problem with backlogging. This method combines a multi-population based metaheuristic using fix-and-optimize heuristic and mathematical programming techniques. A total of four test sets from the MULTILSB (Multi-Item Lot-Sizing with Backlogging) library are solved and the results are compared with those reached by two other methods recently published. The results have shown that HMPGA had a better performance for most of the test sets solved, specially when longer computing time is given. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Anaerobic running capacity determined from the critical velocity model is not significantly associated with maximal accumulated oxygen deficit in army runners

Purpose: The aim of this study was to verify whether there is an association between anaerobic running capacity (ARC) values, estimated from two-parameter models, and maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) in army runners. Methods: Eleven, trained, middle distance runners who are members of the armed forces were recruited for the study (20 ± 1 years). They performed a critical velocity test (CV) for ARC estimation using three mathematical models and an MAOD test, both tests were applied on a motorized treadmill. Results: The MAOD was 61.6 ± 5.2 mL/kg (4.1 ± 0.3 L). The ARC values were 240.4 ± 18.6 m from the linear velocity-inverse time model, 254.0 ± 13.0 m from the linear distance-time model, and 275.2 ± 9.1 m from the hyperbolic time-velocity relationship (nonlinear 2-parameter model), whereas critical velocity values were 3.91 ± 0.07 m/s, 3.86 ± 0.08 m/s and 3.80 ± 0.09 m/s, respectively. There were differences (P < 0.05) for both the ARC and the CV values when compared between velocity-inverse time linear and nonlinear 2-parameter mathematical models. The different values of ARC did not significantly correlate with MAOD. Conclusion: In conclusion, estimated ARC did not correlate with MAOD, and should not be considered as an anaerobic measure of capacity for treadmill running. © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Genetic variability for temperament indicators of Nellore cattle

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Control design applied to a non-ideal structural system with behavior chaotic

In this paper we study the behavior of a structure vulnerable to excessive vibrations caused by an non-ideal power source. To perform this study, the mathematical model is proposed, derive the equations of motion for a simple plane frame excited by an unbalanced rotating machine with limited power (non-ideal motor). The non-linear and non-ideal dynamics in system is demonstrated with a chaotic behavior. We use a State-Dependent Riccati Equation Control technique for regulate the chaotic behavior, in order to obtain a periodic orbit small and to decrease its amplitude. The simulation results show the identification by State-Dependent Riccati Equation Control is very effective. © 2013 Academic Publications, Ltd.

Damage detection in nonlinear structures using discrete-time volterra series

Structural damage identification is basically a nonlinear phenomenon; however, nonlinear procedures are not used currently in practical applications due to the complexity and difficulty for implementation of such techniques. Therefore, the development of techniques that consider the nonlinear behavior of structures for damage detection is a research of major importance since nonlinear dynamical effects can be erroneously treated as damage in the structure by classical metrics. This paper proposes the discrete-time Volterra series for modeling the nonlinear convolution between the input and output signals in a benchmark nonlinear system. The prediction error of the model in an unknown structural condition is compared with the values of the reference structure in healthy condition for evaluating the method of damage detection. Since the Volterra series separate the response of the system in linear and nonlinear contributions, these indexes are used to show the importance of considering the nonlinear behavior of the structure. The paper concludes pointing out the main advantages and drawbacks of this damage detection methodology. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications.