Surface roughness effects on runoff and soil erosion rates under simulated rainfall

Soil surface roughness is identified as one of the controlling factors governing runoff and soil loss. Yet, most studies pay little attention to soil surface roughness. In this study, we analyzed the influence of surface roughness on runoff and soil erosion rates. Bulk samples of a silt loam soil were collected and sieved to 4 aggregate sizes: 0.003-0.012, 0.012-0.02, 0.02-0.045, 0.045-0.1 m. The aggregates were packed in a 0.60 by 1.2 m soil tray, which was set at a slope of 5%. Rainfall simulations using an oscillating nozzle simulator were executed for 90 min at intensity of 50.2 mm.h-1. The surface microtopography was digitized by an instantaneous profile laser scanner before and after the rainfall application. From the laser scanner data, a digital elevation model was produced and a roughness factor extracted. The data revealed longer times to runoff with increasing soil surface roughness as surface depressions first had to be filled before runoff could take place. Once channels were interconnected, runoff velocity and runoff amount increased as aggregates were broken down and depressions were filled. Rough surfaces were smoothed throughout the rainfall event, diminishing the effect on runoff. Final wash rates were comparable for all different applications. The simulations reveal that the significance of soil surface roughness effect is the delay in runoff for rougher surfaces rather than the decrease of soil erosion amount

Phenotypic characterization of national Brazilian buffalo breeds and Baio type

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a influência de fatores ambientais e genéticos nas características fenotípicas de búfalo (Bubalus bubalis) das raças Carabao, Jafarabadi, Murrah e Mediterrâneo e do tipo Baio. Os dados foram analisados usando-se o procedimento GLM do SAS (Statistical Analysis System), cujo modelo estatístico incluiu os efeitos fixos de ano e mês de nascimento, ordem de parto e sexo do animal. As médias encontradas para as variáveis foram: peso ao nascer de 32,79 kg (de 32,22 a 34,71 kg), peso da fêmea adulta de 514,31 kg, primeiro intervalo entre partos de 501,30 dias (de 483 a 564 dias), período de serviço de 191,30 dias (de 86 a 191 dias), idade ao primeiro parto de 1.088,03 dias (de 1.040 a 1.156 dias) e intervalo entre partos de 380,32 dias (de 373 a 392 dias). O grupo genético dos machos teve influência significativa nas características estudadas, exceto no peso da fêmea adulta. O sexo do bezerro influenciou o peso ao nascer e idade ao primeiro parto. A ordem de parto influenciou o peso ao nascer, período de serviço e intervalo entre partos. O ano e mês de nascimento influenciaram todas as características estudadas. As médias das características produtivas nas populações de bubalinos criadas na Região Amazônica demonstram que a espécie encontra-se adaptada àquelas condições, constituindo-se em uma alternativa para os criadores. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to verify the influence of environmental and genetic factors on buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) of the Carabao, Jaffarabadi, Mediterranean, and Murrah breeds and of the Baio type, utilizing the GLM procedure of SAS (Statistical Analysis System). The mean birth weight was 32.79 kg (from 32.22 to 34.71 kg), mature female weight was 514.31 kg, first calving interval was 501.30 days (from 483 to 564 days), service period was 191.30 days (from 86 to 190 days), age at first calving was 1,088.03 days (from 1,040 to 1,156 days) and calving interval was 380.32 days (from 373 to 392 days). Sire group significantly affected all traits studied, except mature female weight. Calf sex affected both birth weight and age at first calving. Calving order affected birth weight, service period and calving interval while year of calving significantly affected most traits studied. The productive characteristics studied on the buffalo populations raised on the Brazilian Amazon show that this species is well adapted to those harsh conditions and that it can be considered as an alternative for breeders

Remission vs low disease activity: function, quality of life and structural outcomes in the Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Study and Network

Objectives To examine associations between function, quality of life and structural outcomes in patients achieving remission vs low disease activity in early RA. Methods Demographic, clinical and radiographic variables were collected at baseline and then annually from the Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Study (ERAS) and Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Network (ERAN) inception cohorts in routine care from 1986 to 2012. Disease activity was categorized: mean DAS28 score between years 1 and 5: remission [mean remission DAS (mRDAS) <2.6] or low [mean low DAS (mLDAS) 2.6–3.2]; sustained low/remission DAS28 (sLDAS/sRDAS) at years 1 and 2; and sustained Boolean remission (sBR) at years 1 and 2. Changes in HAQ and Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire [SF-36; physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component score]) and total Sharp van der Heijde (SvdH) scores for each disease activity category were modelled using multi-level models. Covariates included year of onset, age, gender and DMARD use at first visit. Results Of 2701 patients, 562 (21%) were categorized mRDAS, 330 (12%) mLDAS, 279 (10%) sRDAS, 203 (7.5%) sLDAS and 93 (3%) sBR. Patients categorized as mRDAS had increasingly divergent improved HAQ, SF-36 PCS, MCS and total SvdH scores compared with mLDAS (P-values 0.001 to <0.0001, all time points). Patients categorized as sRDAS had better HAQ, SF-36 PCS and MCS scores (P-values 0.05 to <0.0001, all time points) and SvdH scores (P = 0.05, years 3–5) over sLDAS. sBR was associated with better HAQ, and SF-36 PCS and MCS scores over sLDAS (P-values 0.002 to <0.0001, all time points). Conclusion These findings from routine care support ACR/EULAR guidelines that remission is a preferable goal over low disease activity in early RA.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Um estudo de alinhamento de propostas de inovações negociais com gestão tecnológica da Sanepar : quantitativos, indicadores, balanced scorecard e UML

Orientador: Alexandre Reis GraemlMonografia(Especializaçao) - Universidade Federal do Paraná,Setor de Ciencias Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Especializaçao em Gestao de NegociosResumo: Este estudo apresenta uma proposta de alinhamento tecnológico associado com as necessidades de informações que servem como base para tomada de decisão. Estas informações são os indicadores, que proporcionam através das suas relações e valores, uma leitura do desempenho da Sanepar, em nível de Estado, Diretoria, Unidade de Negócio e Sistemas de Coleta e Distribuição. Com o objetivo de organizar o acesso a informações consolidadas, propõe-se a criação da base de dados de Quantitativos. Associado a esta base, define-se um processo de escopo centralizado de atualização que gera totais consolidados baseados em uma regra negocial. O desenvolvimento desta pesquisa consistiu na análise e identificação de processos para obter informações necessárias para o calculo de quinze indicadores. Estes processos descentralizados foram organizados e implementados em um processo centralizado, visando melhorias de performance negocial e de processamento. Os indicadores escolhidos visam a atender os critérios do Balanced Scorecard, com destaque para a perspectiva de aprendizado e crescimento, que tem uma proposta baseada nas Cinco Disciplinas de Peter Senge. Para assegurar a disponibilidade e a qualidade da tecnologia da informação visando a utilização adequada dos recursos computacionais em longo prazo, propõe-se a concepção de um sistema orientado a objeto, utilizando a Linguagem de Modelagem Unificada (UML)

Genetic parameters of production and reproduction traits of buffaloes in the Brazilian Amazon

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar componentes de variância e parâmetros genéticos, incluindo correlações genéticas, fenotípicas e herdabilidade das características produtivas e reprodutivas de búfalos na Amazônia brasileira. As estimativas de herdabilidade (h2) das características variaram de 0,04 a 0,05 no primeiro intervalo entre partos, de 0,0 a 0,26 no intervalo entre partos, e de 0,0 a 0,25 no período de serviço, refletindo grande influência ambiental. Na idade ao primeiro parto, a herdabilidade variou de 0,12 a 0,38. Em relação ao peso ao nascer, a raça Murrah foi a que apresentou a mais alta h2 (0,62). As correlações genéticas variaram de 1,00 a -1,00. Foram negativas as correlações genéticas entre idade ao primeiro parto e peso da fêmea adulta (-0,12 a -1,00 dependendo da raça), assim como as correlações entre período de serviço, peso ao nascer e peso da fêmea adulta (0,01 a -1,00). O efeito de ambiente permanente (c2) variou de 0,000 a 0,155. Somente no intervalo entre partos para a raça Jafarabadi pode-se considerar que houve c2 significativo (0,458). O efeito materno (m2) no peso ao nascer variou de baixo a médio, nas raças Carabao, Jafarabadi, Mediterrâneo e Murrah (0,11, 0,17, 0,37, 0,04, respectivamente).The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters, including genetic and phenotypic correlations as well as heritabilities, for production and reproduction traits of buffaloes in the Brazilian Amazon. Heritability estimates varied from 0.04 to 0.05 for FCI (first calving interval), 0.0 to 0.26 for CI (calving interval) and 0.0 to 0.25 for SP (service period), reflecting high environmental variation for these traits. For AFC (age at first calving) the heritabilities varied from 0.12 to 0.38. The Murrah breed showed the highest heritabilitiy for BW (birth weight) (0.62). Genetic correlations varied between 1.00 and -1.00 depending on the traits. There were negative genetic correlations between AFC and MFW (mature female weight) (-0.12 to -1.00 depending on breed) as well as between SP, BW and MFW (0.01 to -1.00). Permanent environment effects of the traits were low (0.000 to 0.155) and only that for CI in the Jafarabadi breed could be considered significant (0.458). Maternal effects for birth weight were low to medium (0.11, 0.17, 0.37 and 0.04 for Carabao, Jaffarabadi, Mediterranean and Murrah, respectively)

Regularized expression for the gravitational energy-momentum in teleparallel gravity and the principle of equivalence

The expression of the gravitational energy-momentum defined in the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity is extended to an arbitrary set of real-valued tetrad fields, by adding a suitable reference space subtraction term. The characterization of tetrad fields as reference frames is addressed in the context of the Kerr space-time. It is also pointed out that Einstein's version of the principle of equivalence does not preclude the existence of a definition for the gravitational energy-momentum density.Comment: 17 pages, Latex file, no figure; minor correction in eq. (14), three references added, to appear in the GRG Journa

Value of simplified lung lesions scoring systems to inform future codes for routine meat inspection in pigs

peer-reviewedBackground Across the European Union (EU), efforts are being made to achieve modernisation and harmonisation of meat inspection (MI) code systems. Lung lesions were prioritised as important animal based measures at slaughter, but existing standardized protocols are difficult to implement for routine MI. This study aimed to compare the informative value and feasibility of simplified lung lesion scoring systems to inform future codes for routine post mortem MI. Results Data on lung lesions in finisher pigs were collected at slaughter targeting 83 Irish pig farms, with 201 batches assessed, comprising 31,655 pairs of lungs. Lungs were scored for cranioventral pulmonary consolidations (CVPC) and pleurisy lesions using detailed scoring systems, which were considered the gold standard. Using the data collected, scenarios for possible simplified scoring systems to record CVPC (n = 4) and pleurisy (n = 4) lesions were defined. The measurable outcomes were the prevalence and (if possible) severity scoring at batch level for CVPC and pleurisy. An arbitrary threshold was set to the upper quartile (i.e., the top 25% of batches with high prevalence/severity of CVPC or pleurisy, n = 50). Each pair of measurable outcomes was compared by calculating Spearman rank correlations and assessing if batches above the threshold for one measurable outcome were also above it for their pairwise comparison. All scenarios showed perfect agreement (k = 1) when compared among themselves and the gold standard for the prevalence of CVPC. The agreement among severity outcomes and the gold standard showed moderate to perfect agreement (k = [0.66, 1]). The changes in ranking were negligible for all measurable outcomes of pleurisy for scenarios 1, 2 and 3 when compared with the gold standard (rs ≥ 0.98), but these changes amounted to 50% for scenario 4. Conclusions The best simplified CVPC scoring system is to simply count the number of lung lobes affected excluding the intermediate lobe, which provides the best trade-off between value of information and feasibility, by incorporating information on CVPC prevalence and severity. While for pleurisy evaluation, scenario 3 is recommended. This simplified scoring system provides information on the prevalence of cranial and moderate and severe dorsocaudal pleurisy. Further validation of the scoring systems at slaughter and by private veterinarians and farmers is needed