Characterization of the Use and Occupation of Soil on Rural Properties Using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems - RPAS

The use of remotely piloted aircraft systems allows for practicality in the collection and monitoring of study areas or in the development of rehabilitation projects for degraded areas. As such, this technology is gaining space as an alternative for applications in studies and surveys of several areas. This work is justified by the demand for projects and the search for practical alternatives that will enable the framing of rural properties according to the new Brazilian Forestry Code (Codígo Florestal Brasileiro) and its environmental recovery plans (Plano de Recuperação Ambiental). The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the use of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System in the monitoring of a rural property, seeking to include it in the framework of the Brazilian Forestry Code. To accomplish this work, information samples were taken in an area of 30.19 ha of a rural property with the use of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System - RPAS. After the data collection, the images were treated using the QGis software and through the generation of an ortho-mosaic, which enabled the data to be analyzed and interpreted. With the interpretation of land use and occupation data and with the generation of maps of land use and occupation, a diagnosis of the current situation of the area can be obtained. In a second phase, maps were created to include the property in the current legislative framework, seeking its regularization. After the completion of this work, the conclusion can be drawn that the use of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System - RPAS is viable and enables the monitoring of rural areas with efficiency and speed

Application of Nanostructured Carbon-Based Electrochemical (Bio)Sensors for Screening of Emerging Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Waters and Aquatic Species: A Review

Pharmaceuticals, as a contaminant of emergent concern, are being released uncontrollably into the environment potentially causing hazardous effects to aquatic ecosystems and consequently to human health. In the absence of well-established monitoring programs, one can only imagine the full extent of this problem and so there is an urgent need for the development of extremely sensitive, portable, and low-cost devices to perform analysis. Carbon-based nanomaterials are the most used nanostructures in (bio)sensors construction attributed to their facile and well-characterized production methods, commercial availability, reduced cost, high chemical stability, and low toxicity. However, most importantly, their relatively good conductivity enabling appropriate electron transfer rates—as well as their high surface area yielding attachment and extraordinary loading capacity for biomolecules—have been relevant and desirable features, justifying the key role that they have been playing, and will continue to play, in electrochemical (bio)sensor development. The present review outlines the contribution of carbon nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene, fullerene, carbon nanofibers, carbon black, carbon nanopowder, biochar nanoparticles, and graphite oxide), used alone or combined with other (nano)materials, to the field of environmental (bio)sensing, and more specifically, to pharmaceutical pollutants analysis in waters and aquatic species. The main trends of this field of research are also addressed.This work was financially supported by: projects UID/QUI/50006/2019 and PTDC/ASP-PES/29547/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029547) funded by FEDER funds through the POCI and by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology. This proposal was also subsidized by the Brazilian agencies CNPq (Proc. 420261/2018-4) and CAPES (Proc. 88881.140821/2017-01; Finance code 001). F.W.P. Ribeiro acknowledges funding provided by FUNCAP-BPI (Proc. BP3-0139-00301.01.00/18). Acknowledgments T.M.B.F. Oliveira thanks the UFCA’s Pro-Rectory of Research and Innovation for initiating his investigations. F.W.P. Ribeiro thanks the CNPq (proc. 406135/2018-5) and all support provided by the UFCA‘s Pro-Rectory of Research and Innovation. A.N. Correia thanks the CNPq (proc. 305136/2018-6).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

(Bio)Sensing Strategies Based on Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Carbon Nanocomposites for Pharmaceuticals: Towards Greener Electrochemical Tools

The interaction of carbon-based nanomaterials and ionic liquids (ILs) has been thoroughly exploited for diverse electroanalytical solutions since the first report in 2003. This combination, either through covalent or non-covalent functionalization, takes advantage of the unique characteristics inherent to each material, resulting in synergistic effects that are conferred to the electrochemical (bio)sensing system. From one side, carbon nanomaterials offer miniaturization capacity with enhanced electron transfer rates at a reduced cost, whereas from the other side, ILs contribute as ecological dispersing media for the nanostructures, improving conductivity and biocompatibility. The present review focuses on the use of this interesting type of nanocomposites for the development of (bio)sensors specifically for pharmaceutical detection, with emphasis on the analytical (bio)sensing features. The literature search displayed the conjugation of more than 20 different ILs and several carbon nanomaterials (MWCNT, SWCNT, graphene, carbon nanofibers, fullerene, and carbon quantum dots, among others) that were applied for a large set (about 60) of pharmaceutical compounds. This great variability causes a straightforward comparison between sensors to be a challenging task. Undoubtedly, electrochemical sensors based on the conjugation of carbon nanomaterials with ILs can potentially be established as sustainable analytical tools and viable alternatives to more traditional methods, especially concerning in situ environmental analysisThis work was financed by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029547—PTDC/ASP-PES/29547/2017. This work received support by UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/ 2020 and LA/P/0008/2020 by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) through national funds. T.M.B.F. Oliveira thanks the Brazilian agencies CNPq (Proc. 420261/2018-4 and 308108/2020-5) and FUNCAP (Proc. BP4-0172-00111.01.00/20) for their financial support, and he is grateful to UFCA and CAPES (Finance code 001) for supporting his investigations. F.W.P. Ribeiro thanks all support provided by the UFCA’s Pro-Rectory of Research and Innovation and the funding provided by FUNCAP-BPI (Proc. BP4-0172-00150.01.00/20) and CNPq (Proc. 406135/2018-5). P. de Lima-Neto thanks the financial support received from CNPq projects 408626/2018-6 and 304152/2018-8 and FUNCAP project FCT-00141-00011.01.00/18. A. N. Correia thanks the financial support received from CNPq projects: 305136/2018-6 and 405596/2018-9info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fixação de fósforo por um latossolo vermelho escuro-orto

This paper deals with an experiment carried out in pots with the aim of studying the fixation of P in a Dark Red Latosol, from the Municipality of Piracicaba, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The main conclusions were as follows: a) about 90% of the fixed P remained soluble in 0,05N H2SO4 solution; b) Fe and Al contributed to increase the quantities of fixed P; c) the pre-treatment of the soil with Ca(H2PO4)2. H2O decreased its capacity for fixing P.Este trabalho relata os resultados de um ensaio realizado com o objetivo de estudar a fixação de P por um Latossolo Vermelho Escuro-Orto, serie Iracema, de Piracicaba, Estado de São Paulo. O ensaio foi realizado em vasos de plástico, cada um recebendo 500 g de terra e os tratamentos, correspondentes a 0, 100, 200, 400, 600 e 1.200 kg/ha de P2O5 na forma de Ca (H2PO4)2. H2O. Houve 4 repetições de cada tratamento. Seguiu-se um período de incubação de 3 semanas, durante o qual as parcelas permaneceram umidecidas, entre 40 e 70% do poder de retenção de umidade. Depois foram feitos trabalhos necessários do que se concluiu que: a) grande proporção do P fixado permaneceu solúvel em H2SO4 0,05 N; b) o Fe e o Al foram importantes na fixação do P; c) o pré-tratamento do solo com Ca (H2P0(4))2· H2O reduziu-lhe a capacidade de fixação de fosfato

Hertz potentials approach to the dynamical Casimir effect in cylindrical cavities of arbitrary section

We study the creation of photons in resonant cylindrical cavities with time dependent length. The physical degrees of freedom of the electromagnetic field are described using Hertz potentials. We describe the general formalism for cavities with arbitrary section. Then we compute explicitly the number of TE and TM motion-induced photons for cylindrical cavities with rectangular and circular sections. We also discuss the creation of TEM photons in non-simply connected cylindrical cavities.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, revtex

Short communication: Genetic analysis of lactation curves in buffaloes, using Wood’s model

Aim of study: To estimate the heritability and genetic correlations for lactation curve traits in buffaloes.Area of study: The buffalo cows were raised on properties located in the states of São Paulo, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.Material and methods: The individual parameters of Wood’s model ( , , and ) were obtained using a non-linear mixed model. Peak yield (PY), peak time (PT) and lactation persistency (LP) were also calculated. These individual parameters were employed in multi-trait analysis with the milk yield (MY) using Bayesian inference.Main results: The heritability estimates were of low to moderate magnitudes, with values ranging from 0.156 ( ) to 0.299 (PY). The estimates for genetic correlation between the Wood’s parameters and MY were of low to high magnitude and ranged from -0.533 (  and MY) to 0.983 (PY and MY).Research highlights: The heritability estimates obtained indicate that the traits studied can be used in animal breeding programs

Solar Irradiance Forecasting Using Dynamic Ensemble Selection

Solar irradiance forecasting has been an essential topic in renewable energy generation. Forecasting is an important task because it can improve the planning and operation of photovoltaic systems, resulting in economic advantages. Traditionally, single models are employed in this task. However, issues regarding the selection of an inappropriate model, misspecification, or the presence of random fluctuations in the solar irradiance series can result in this approach underperforming. This paper proposes a heterogeneous ensemble dynamic selection model, named HetDS, to forecast solar irradiance. For each unseen test pattern, HetDS chooses the most suitable forecasting model based on a pool of seven well-known literature methods: ARIMA, support vector regression (SVR), multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP), extreme learning machine (ELM), deep belief network (DBN), random forest (RF), and gradient boosting (GB). The experimental evaluation was performed with four data sets of hourly solar irradiance measurements in Brazil. The proposed model attained an overall accuracy that is superior to the single models in terms of five well-known error metrics

Artificial graphene as a tunable Dirac material

Artificial honeycomb lattices offer a tunable platform to study massless Dirac quasiparticles and their topological and correlated phases. Here we review recent progress in the design and fabrication of such synthetic structures focusing on nanopatterning of two-dimensional electron gases in semiconductors, molecule-by-molecule assembly by scanning probe methods, and optical trapping of ultracold atoms in crystals of light. We also discuss photonic crystals with Dirac cone dispersion and topologically protected edge states. We emphasize how the interplay between single-particle band structure engineering and cooperative effects leads to spectacular manifestations in tunneling and optical spectroscopies.Comment: Review article, 14 pages, 5 figures, 112 Reference