Viscoelastic behavior of persimmons dried at constant air temperature

The viscoelastic behavior of dried persimmons at different air-drying temperatures and velocities was evaluated. Air temperatures and velocities were varied according to a second-order central composite design, with temperature ranging from 40degreesC to 70degreesC and air velocity from 0.8 to 2.0 m/s. After drying, persimmons were equilibrated at four different water activities: 0.432, 0.576, 0.625 and 0.751. The rheological behavior of dried and conditioned persimmons was studied under uniaxial compression-relaxation tests. Three different rheological models were fitted to the experimental relaxation curves: Maxwell, Generalized Maxwell and Peleg and Normand. Based on the root mean square of residuals, the Generalized Maxwell model showed the best fit and a regression analysis was applied to obtain response surfaces for the model parameters. The dependence of the rheological properties on water activity was also analysed. Results showed that only the linear effect of air temperature was significant at a 5% level on the equilibrium stress and relaxation times. In a general way, these parameters increased with increasing air temperature and decreasing water activity. (C) 2004 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of sex and locality on the abundance of lice on the wild rodent Oligoryzomys nigripes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Interação entre grau de perda auditiva e o incômodo com zumbidos em trabalhadores com história de exposição ao ruído

Hearing loss and tinnitus impact the lives of workers in every instance of their lives. Aim: this paper aims to investigate the existence of a dose-response relationship between hearing loss and tinnitus by determining whether higher levels of hearing loss can be associated with increased tinnitus-related discomfort. Materials and method: this cross-sectional case study assessed 284 workers exposed to occupational noise through pure tone audiometry. Test results were categorized as defined by Merluzzi. Individuals complaining of tinnitus answered the adapted and validated Brazilian Portuguese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. A generalized linear model was adjusted for binomial data to test the interaction between these factors. Results: over 60% of the ears analyzed had hearing loss, while more than 46% of them had tinnitus. Tinnitus prevalence and risk rates increased as pure tone audiometry results got worse. The association between both, considering all hearing loss degrees, was statistically significant. Conclusion: the results point to a statistical association between hearing loss and tinnitus; the greater the hearing loss, the greater the discomfort introduced by tinnitus. 2009 © Revista Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia.

Modeling approach based on experimental results for prediction of measurement errors in energy meters

This paper presents a general modeling approach to investigate and to predict measurement errors in active energy meters both induction and electronic types. The measurement error modeling is based on Generalized Additive Model (GAM), Ridge Regression method and experimental results of meter provided by a measurement system. The measurement system provides a database of 26 pairs of test waveforms captured in a real electrical distribution system, with different load characteristics (industrial, commercial, agricultural, and residential), covering different harmonic distortions, and balanced and unbalanced voltage conditions. In order to illustrate the proposed approach, the measurement error models are discussed and several results, which are derived from experimental tests, are presented in the form of three-dimensional graphs, and generalized as error equations. © 2009 IEEE.

Detection of cavitated approximal surfaces using cone beam CT and intraoral receptors

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare cone beam CT (CBCT) in a small field of view (FOV) with a solid-state sensor and a photostimulable phosphor plate system for detection of cavitated approximal surfaces. Methods: 257 non-filled approximal surfaces from human permanent premolars and molars were recorded by two intraoral digital receptors, a storage phosphor plate (Digora Optime, Soredex) and a solid-state CMOS sensor (Digora Toto, Soredex), and scanned in a cone beam CT unit (3D Accuitomo FPD80, Morita) with a FOV of 4 cm and a voxel size of 0.08 mm. Image sections were carried out in the axial and mesiodistal tooth planes. Six observers recorded surface cavitation in all images. Validation of the true absence or presence of surface cavitation was performed by inspecting the surfaces under strong light with the naked eye. Differences in sensitivity, specificity and agreement were estimated by analysing the binary data in a generalized linear model using an identity link function. Results: A significantly higher sensitivity was obtained by all observers with CBCT (p,0.001), which was not compromised by a lower specificity. Therefore, a significantly higher overall agreement was obtained with CBCT (p,0.001). There were no significant differences between the Digora Optime phosphor plate system and the Digora Toto CMOS sensor for any parameter. Conclusions: CBCT was much more accurate in the detection of surface cavitation in approximal surfaces than intraoral receptors. The differences are interpreted as clinically significant. A CBCT examination performed for other reasons should also be assessed for approximal surface cavities in teeth without restorations. © 2013 The British Institute of Radiology.

The dynamics of Mexican manufacturing exports

Includes bibliography

Linear and Poisson models for genetic evaluation of tick resistance in cross-bred Hereford x Nellore cattle

Cattle resistance to ticks is measured by the number of ticks infesting the animal. The model used for the genetic analysis of cattle resistance to ticks frequently requires logarithmic transformation of the observations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive ability and goodness of fit of different models for the analysis of this trait in cross-bred Hereford x Nellore cattle. Three models were tested: a linear model using logarithmic transformation of the observations (MLOG); a linear model without transformation of the observations (MLIN); and a generalized linear Poisson model with residual term (MPOI). All models included the classificatory effects of contemporary group and genetic group and the covariates age of animal at the time of recording and individual heterozygosis, as well as additive genetic effects as random effects. Heritability estimates were 0.08 ± 0.02, 0.10 ± 0.02 and 0.14 ± 0.04 for MLIN, MLOG and MPOI models, respectively. The model fit quality, verified by deviance information criterion (DIC) and residual mean square, indicated fit superiority of MPOI model. The predictive ability of the models was compared by validation test in independent sample. The MPOI model was slightly superior in terms of goodness of fit and predictive ability, whereas the correlations between observed and predicted tick counts were practically the same for all models. A higher rank correlation between breeding values was observed between models MLOG and MPOI. Poisson model can be used for the selection of tick-resistant animals. © 2013 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Regressão Simplex aplicada a delineamentos de mistura e utilização do Algoritmo Boosting

In the composition of this work are present two parts. The first part contains the theory used. The second part contains the two articles. The first article examines two models of the class of generalized linear models for analyzing a mixture experiment, which studied the effect of different diets consist of fat, carbohydrate, and fiber on tumor expression in mammary glands of female rats, given by the ratio mice that had tumor expression in a particular diet. Mixture experiments are characterized by having the effect of collinearity and smaller sample size. In this sense, assuming normality for the answer to be maximized or minimized may be inadequate. Given this fact, the main characteristics of logistic regression and simplex models are addressed. The models were compared by the criteria of selection of models AIC, BIC and ICOMP, simulated envelope charts for residuals of adjusted models, odds ratios graphics and their respective confidence intervals for each mixture component. It was concluded that first article that the simplex regression model showed better quality of fit and narrowest confidence intervals for odds ratio. The second article presents the model Boosted Simplex Regression, the boosting version of the simplex regression model, as an alternative to increase the precision of confidence intervals for the odds ratio for each mixture component. For this, we used the Monte Carlo method for the construction of confidence intervals. Moreover, it is presented in an innovative way the envelope simulated chart for residuals of the adjusted model via boosting algorithm. It was concluded that the Boosted Simplex Regression model was adjusted successfully and confidence intervals for the odds ratio were accurate and lightly more precise than the its maximum likelihood version.

Dinâmica populacional, anautogenia e dependência da ansiedade em moscas-varejeiras: experimentação e teoria populacional

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Modelagem estatística do frete da madeira no Uruguai

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Efeito da participação e do desligamento de programa de mudança no estilo de vida sobre o nível de atividade e aptidão física, percepção de saúde e presença de síndrome metabólica em adultos da comunidade de Botucatu - SP

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The AIDS epidemic in the Amazon region: a spatial case-control study in Rondonia, Brazil

OBJETIVO Analisar mudanças espaciais no risco de Aids e a relação entre incidência da doença e variáveis socioeconômicas. MÉTODOS Estudo caso-controle espacial, de base populacional, realizado em Rondônia, Brasil, com 1.780 casos notificados pelo Sistema de Vigilância Epidemiológica e os controles a partir de dados demográficos de 1987 a 2006. Os casos foram agrupados em cinco períodos de cinco anos consecutivos. Um modelo aditivo generalizado foi ajustado aos dados. O status dos indivíduos (caso ou controle) foi considerado como a variável dependente e independente: um alisamento ( spline ) bidimensional das coordenadas geográficas e variáveis socioeconômicas municipais. Os valores observados para o teste Moran I foram comparados com a distribuição de referência dos valores obtidos em condições de aleatoriedade espacial. RESULTADOS O risco de Aids apresentou padrão espacial e temporal marcado. A incidência associou-se a indicadores socioeconômicos municipais, como urbanização e capital humano. As maiores taxas de incidência de Aids ocorreram em municípios ao longo da rodovia BR-364; os resultados do teste Moran I mostram correlação espacial positiva associada à contiguidade dos municípios com a rodovia, no terceiro e quarto períodos (p = 0,05). CONCLUSÕES A incidência da doença foi maior em municípios de maior riqueza econômica e urbanização e naqueles cortados pelas estradas principais de Rondônia. O rápido desenvolvimento associado à ocupação de regiões remotas pode ser acompanhado por aumento de riscos à saúde.

Spatial Distribution of the Risk of Dengue and the Entomological Indicators in Sumare, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

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

Two species of swimming crabs of the genus Achelous (Crustacea, Brachyura): environmental requirements determining the niche

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

Oral acetylsalicylic acid and prevalence of actinic keratosis

Objective: To investigate the influence of a regular oral use of acetylsalicylic acid in the prevalence of actinic keratosis.Methods: A case-control study with dermatologic outpatients above 50 years of age assessed between 2009 and 2011. Cases were defined as those who had been under regular use of oral acetylsalicylic acid for more than six consecutive months. The assessment focused on: age, sex, skin-type, tobacco smoking, use of medication, occurrence of individual or family skin cancer, and sunscreen and sun exposure habits. Actinic keratoses were counted in the medial region of the face and upper limbs. Counts were adjusted by co-variables based on a generalized linear model.Results: A total of 74 cases and 216 controls were assessed. The median time of acetylsalicylic acid use was 36 months. Cases differed from controls as to the highest age, highest prevalence of use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and fewer keratosis on the face and on the upper limbs (p < 0.05). The multivariate model showed that the use of acetylsalicylic acid was associated to lower counts of face actinic keratosis and upper-limb erythematous actinic keratosis (p < 0.05), regardless of other risk factors.Conclusion: The regular use of oral acetylsalicylic acid for more than six months was associated to a lower prevalence of actinic keratosis, especially facial and erythematous ones.