Populational fluctuation and spatial distribution of Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera; Tenebrionidae) in a poultry house, Cascavel, Parana state, Brazil.

Abstract Knowledge of the population fluctuation and spatial distribution of pests is fundamental for establishing an appropriate control method. The population fluctuation and spatial distribution of the Alphitobius diaperinus in a poultry house in Cascavel, in the state of Parana, Brazil, was studied between October, 2001 and October 2002. Larvae and adults of the lesser mealworm were sampled weekly using Arends tube traps (n = 22) for six consecutive flock grow-outs. The temperature of the litter and of the poultry house was measured at the same locations of the tube traps. Beetle numbers increased continuously throughout all the sampling dates (average 5,137 in the first week and 18,494 insects on the sixth week). Significantly greater numbers of larvae were collected than adults (1 to 20 times in 95% of the sampling points). There was no correlation between temperature and the number of larvae and adults collected, therefore no fluctuation was observed during the sampling period. The population growth was correlated to litter re-use. The highest temperatures were observed in deep litter. The spatial distribution of larvae and adults in the poultry house was heterogeneous during the whole period of evaluation. Results suggest that monitoring in poultry houses is necessary prior to adopting and evaluating control measures due to the great variability of the insect distribution in the poultry house. Keywords: lesser mealworm, poultry house, temperature, population dynamicbitstream/item/78871/1/ID-27879.pd

Solving rank-constrained semidefinite programs in exact arithmetic

We consider the problem of minimizing a linear function over an affine section of the cone of positive semidefinite matrices, with the additional constraint that the feasible matrix has prescribed rank. When the rank constraint is active, this is a non-convex optimization problem, otherwise it is a semidefinite program. Both find numerous applications especially in systems control theory and combinatorial optimization, but even in more general contexts such as polynomial optimization or real algebra. While numerical algorithms exist for solving this problem, such as interior-point or Newton-like algorithms, in this paper we propose an approach based on symbolic computation. We design an exact algorithm for solving rank-constrained semidefinite programs, whose complexity is essentially quadratic on natural degree bounds associated to the given optimization problem: for subfamilies of the problem where the size of the feasible matrix is fixed, the complexity is polynomial in the number of variables. The algorithm works under assumptions on the input data: we prove that these assumptions are generically satisfied. We also implement it in Maple and discuss practical experiments.Comment: Published at ISSAC 2016. Extended version submitted to the Journal of Symbolic Computatio

Estudo da variação do crescimento da cortiça na direcção axial e tangencial

Comunicação apresentada no 4.º Congresso Florestal Nacional que decorreu em Évora em 2001.Neste trabalho efectuou-se o estudo do crescimento da cortiça através da espessuras dos anéis de crescimento de 5 pranchas de cortiça amadia cozida de classe de qualidade 1. Para cada prancha de cortiça efectuaram-se medições das camadas de crescimento segundo a direcção axial e tangencial distanciadas de 3 cm cada num total de 25 medições, 5 para cada direcção. Verificou-se que dentro da mesma prancha, para um determinado ano de crescimento, a variabilidade encontrada para a espessura da camada de crescimento é muito elevada, sendo mais elevada nos primeiros anéis de crescimento com espessuras superiores. Constatou-se que existiam diferenças significativamente entre as várias pranchas, no entanto, é a espessura dos anéis de crescimento que explicam a maior parte da variabilidade encontrada (66%). A variação na direcção axial é praticamente nula, contrariamente ao que se verifica na direcção tangencial devido às tensões de crescimento em diâmetro que vão provocar uma maior variabilidade. A variação do crescimento da cortiça segue uma distribuição da forma E=b0Ab1, em que E – espessura da cortiça, A – anos de crescimento e b0 e b1 são parâmetros ajustados em função do material. Os modelos justificam mais de 97% da variação encontrada

Resonant and nonresonant D+ -> K- pi+ l+ nu(l) semileptonic decays

We analyse the semileptonic decay D+ -> K- pi+ l+ nu(l) using an effective Lagrangian developed previously to describe the decays D -> P l nu(l) and D -> V l nu(l). Light vector mesons are included in the model which combines the heavy quark effective Lagrangian and chiral perturbation theory approach. The nonresonant and resonant contributions are compared. With no new parameters the model correctly reproduces the measured ratio Gamma(nres)/Gamma(nres + res). We also present useful nonresonant decay distributions. Finally, a similar model, but with a modified current which satisfies the soft pion theorems at the expense of introducing another parameter, is analyzed and the results of the models are compared.Comment: 17 pages, 3 Postscript figures, standard Latex, extended revision, title, abstract and text (especially Sec. IV) changed, results unchange

Bee pollen flavonoid/phenolic characterization in different flowering periods

In order to assess the choice made by honey bees all over the time two apiaries in the region of Beira Interior were selected for evaluation of the variance of floral pollen sources used by them in three different flowering periods

Influence of wood storage time in the paper properties of Eucalyptus globulus

In this work we studied the effect of moisture and chip pile storage time of Eucalyptus globulus wood, regarding the impact in kraft cooking and papermaking. Experimentally, chip samples were collected with different storage times (0, 15, 30, 60 and 90 days) from two distinct piles (wet and dry). The cooked chips after disintegration, screening and washing were submitted to a bleaching stage, in ECF sequence following five stages (D0E1D1E2D2). The pulps were beaten in a PFI mill at 1000, 2000 and 3000 revolutions. For the cooking results we observed higher yield and lower alkali consumption for the wet pile chips and lower storage time (15 days). The results showed that storage time is a significant factor (ANOVA results) for almost paper properties studied and influenced mainly the internal fibre links. For what paper properties are concerned, the difference between piles isn’t so evident, the major differences are observed for the lower storage time (15 days)

Heavy Quark Symmetry Violation in Semileptonic Decays of D Mesons

The decays of $D$ mesons to $K l \nu$ and $K^* l \nu$ final states exhibit significant deviations from the predictions of heavy-quark symmetry, as one might expect since the strange quark's mass is of the same order as the QCD scale. Nonetheless, in order to understand where the most significant effects might lie for heavier systems (such as $B \to D l\nu$ and $B \to D^* l\nu$), the pattern of these deviations is analyzed from the standpoint of perturbative QCD and ${\cal O}(1/m_s)$ corrections. Two main effects are noted. First, the perturbative QCD corrections lead to an overall decrease of predicted rates, which can be understood in terms of production of excited kaonic states. Second, ${\cal O}(1/m_s)$ effects tend to cancel the perturbative QCD corrections in the case of $Kl\nu$ decay, while they have minimal effect in $K^*l\nu$ decay.Comment: 25 pages (LaTeX) + 7 pages of Postscript figures (included at end), EFI-92-3

A importância da verificação das sondas na secagem industrial de madeira

Comunicação apresentada no 4.º Congresso Florestal Nacional que decorreu em Évora em 2001.A grande vantagem da secagem artificial é permitir obter madeira com um teor de água mais adequado para o fim a que se destina, o que nem sempre é possível na secagem natural. No entanto, nunca devemos deixar de ter presente que a madeira é um material higroscópico, anisotrópico e heterogéneo, e portanto, a homogeneidade final pretendida é muito difícil de obter. Como as condições dos secadores são normalmente estabelecidas em função da humidade da madeira em secagem, e os programas prevêem um número relativamente elevado de alterações nas variáveis envolvidas no processo, torna-se necessário estimar frequentemente o teor de humidade da madeira. Portanto essas estimativas devem ser ao mesmo tempo precisas e práticas. Verificou-se, através do teste de Scheffe a 95% de confiança, que a secagem dentro da mesma peça de madeira não é homogénea para valores iguais ou inferiores a 12%, sendo necessário efectuar a leitura em vários pontos da mesma. Para valores de 14% e 15% não existem diferenças significativas do teor em água ao longa da peça. Efectuou-se um estudo preliminar onde se pretende comprovar a importância da posição da colocação das sondas na madeira, e também tentar aplicar as normas europeias às dificuldades existentes em Portugal

Determinação de aflatoxinas em milho por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detecção por fluorescência - CLAE/DF.

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