A study on the influence of Ni-Ti M-Wire in the flexural fatigue life of endodontic rotary files by using Finite Element Analysis.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the cyclic performance of two different Ni-Ti endodontic rotary files made from different alloys under bending using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). When experimentation is not available, this is not a trivial task and most papers on the subject rely on static analysis only. Two Ni-Ti rotary instruments are selected, ProFile GT and a GT Series X (GTX). The latter file is made from M-Wire, which has been thermo-mechanically processed to have larger flexibility, according to its manufacturer. The mechanical response was studied by considering different scenarios in the FEA package, in which the material properties were introduced according to existing literature. The method and results are presented and discussed so that this paper can be used as a guideline for future works. Although not fully reflective of the instrument's behavior in a dynamic rotation intra-canal system, the models used constitute a good approximation when a comparison between two instruments is at stake. It is shown that the GTX file has a lower risk of fatigue fracture during its clinical use when compared to the GT file, especially when the root canal makes the file deform into an extreme geometry. However, if the root canal does not make the file deform more than a certain amount, the GT file is equally good from the point of view of mechanical endurance

Fungos micotoxigênicos e ocratoxina A em cafés com permanência prolongada na planta e no solo, colhidos nas regiões do cerrado mineiro e baiano.

No Brasil, as regiões do Cerrado Mineiro e Baiano são destaque pela produtividade e qualidade dos grãos produzidos. A florada desuniforme do café no Brasil implica em frutos com diversos estágios de amadurecimento no período da colheita. Assim, frutos não colhidos oportunamente permanecem na planta ou caem no solo, e quando aproveitados farão parte de uma safra de baixa qualidade. Portanto, foi objetivo deste trabalho estudar frutos de café com exposição prolongada na planta e no solo, avaliando a colonização por fungos micotoxigênicos, a produção de ocratoxina A (OTA) e a dinâmica de umidade e atividade de água nos frutos nessas regiões produtoras. O café com permanência prolongada na planta não apresentou grandes variações nos teores de umidade e atividade de água durante os 120 dias estudados. Entretanto, o café com permanência prolongada no solo, apresentou, após 90 dias, variação drástica nos teores de umidade e atividade de água entre as regiões estudadas. Nesse período, a umidade e atividade de água foram de 14,15% e 0,74, 6,64% e 0,63 para o Cerrado Mineiro e Baiano, respectivamente. Apesar do café com permanência prolongada na planta ter sido intensamente colonizado por Aspergillus ochraceus G. Wilh. (1877), não foi detectada a presença de OTA. No café com permanência prolongada no solo detectaram-se níveis muito elevados, 49,42 e 30,93 ?g.kg-1 de OTA, no Cerrado Mineiro e Baiano, respectivamente. Pode-se constatar que independente da região de interesse, cafés com permanência prolongada na planta ou no solo interferem decisivamente na qualidade do café colhido

Use of edible and biodegradable coatings in fresh cut pineapple.

The use of edible coatings in vegetable products has been increasing because it offers several advantages as being biodegradable and extends the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of two biodegradable edible coatings, sodiumalginate and Chitosan, on the quality and shelf life of minimally processed pineapple storage at 10°C. Five L of each coating solutions were prepared as following - 2% alginate solution: 100 g of Algenic acid sodium salt in 5 L of distilled water, heated at 70°C under constant stirring - 0,75% Chitosan solution: 150 g of monohydrated citric acid dispersed in 5 L of distilled water and addition 37.5g of Chitosan (Crab shells Chitosan, minimum 85% deacetylated, SIGMA), heated to 60°C to dissolve the Chitosan. The coating solutions were then stored at 5°C before the dipping. The Chitosan coating had an important benefic effect on the microbiological contamination and on the maintenance of the total phenolic content. The high concentration of citric acid in the coating solution contributed to the antimicrobial effect but changed the sensory taste of fresh pineapple. The alginate coating also decreased the contamination of yeasts and molds but its effect was lower than the Chitosan one. Visual aspect of its coating solution can be not well accepted by the consumers. The concentration of alginate must be decreased to avoid the formation of a too thick gel. The Chitosan treatment resulted in the best product at the end of experiment and the most slight decreasing of phenolic compounds during all the experiments

Quantifying Model Complexity via Functional Decomposition for Better Post-Hoc Interpretability

Post-hoc model-agnostic interpretation methods such as partial dependence plots can be employed to interpret complex machine learning models. While these interpretation methods can be applied regardless of model complexity, they can produce misleading and verbose results if the model is too complex, especially w.r.t. feature interactions. To quantify the complexity of arbitrary machine learning models, we propose model-agnostic complexity measures based on functional decomposition: number of features used, interaction strength and main effect complexity. We show that post-hoc interpretation of models that minimize the three measures is more reliable and compact. Furthermore, we demonstrate the application of these measures in a multi-objective optimization approach which simultaneously minimizes loss and complexity

Exponential stability of the wave equation with memory and time delay

We study the asymptotic behaviour of the wave equation with viscoelastic damping in presence of a time-delayed damping. We prove exponential stability if the amplitude of the time delay term is small enough

Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green, 1908) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae): exotic pest introduced on vine in the São Francisco Valley.

The pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutusis a polyphagous pest that attacks more than 200 generous and about more than 74 botanical families of cultivated or uncultivated plants. Many of these plants are of economic importance to Brazil, including cotton, cocoa, coffee, coconut, citrus, cucumber, corn, beans, papaya, sweet potatoes, figs, grapes, guavas, peanuts, roses, hibiscusand ornamental palms. However, M. hirsutus was recently introduced in Brazil. This study reported the first time occurence this pest in São Francisco Valley, Northeastern Brazil. After the pest presence alert, samplings were taken inside and around of the plantation of vines. The mealybugs were found attacking all structures of grape plants (Vitis vinifera), native plants of caatinga, weeds, "windbreaks" and fruit trees. In grape plants, the mealybugs inside bunches caused the reduction of the fruits quality and the discard of them, and on the sprouts they cause the inhibition of branches development, compromising at least two harvests. Thus, by severity of the damage, M. hirsutus may be considered one of the most important pests of the grape culture in theregion. The control of this new pest is a big challenge that will require a set of actions including chemical insecticides registration, the development of an effective monitoring plan as well as the search and use of natural enemies adapted to the region