Assessment of agricultural power take-off (pto) drive shafts guards in field conditions

The power take-off (PTO) shafts, is one of the main ways to transfer power from the tractor to drive implements. To avoid accidents the PTO shaft must be covered with a protective shield device which consists of: a) cones at each end of the driveshaft; b) a protective cover along the telescopic tube; c) restraining devices (chain or other type) and d) pictograms or safety signs. The aim of this study was to verify the conditions of use of the guards for drive shafts in farms of São Paulo. From 112 tractor-implement set analyzed, 77 showed some device featured as “protection” of the drive shaft. In this research, the cones, the tubes, the restraining devices and safety signs were observed to identify the condition (integrity, damage, absence) of each part. From components analyzed, the cones and the tubes showed to be the most damage (63.6 and 71.4%, respectively). The most common damage of cones was cracks, cuts and dents. Also lashing with wire or rope and improvisations with plastic containers were found. Some tubes were incomplete, cut and found rotating free release on the drive shaft. In the case of restraint devices (little chain) and of pictograms, the absence (50.6 and 53.2%, respectively) is the most critical situation. Also improvisations of the restraining device made with wires and ropes were noticed. The low percentage of the condition “intact” points out to the poor quality of the protective material, confirmed by claims of users who say that some guards last less than six months and that it does not encourage them to replace them when damaged.El eje cardan es una de las más eficientes formas de transferir potencia del tractor para el accionamiento de implementos. Para evitar accidentes el mismo debe ser revestido con un protector que se compone de: a) conos a cada una de las extremidades del eje cardan; b) capa protectora revistiendo el tubo telescópico; c) corriente o dispositivo de retención equivalente; d) pictogramas o señalización de seguridad. El objetivo de este trabajo fue verificar las condiciones de uso de esos protectores en propiedades agrícolas del estado de São Paulo. De los 112 conjuntos de tractor-implemento analizados, 77 representan algo característico como siendo “protección” de eje. En esta investigación, los conos, los tubos, los dispositivos de retención y la señalización de seguridad fueron observados buscando identificar la condición (integridad, damnificación, ausencia) de cada parte de los componentes analizados, los conos y los tubos fueron los que más presentaban daños (63,6 y 71,4%, respectivamente). Los daños más comunes en los conos fueron trincas, cortes y aplastados. Hasta mismo amarres con alambre o cuerda y improvisación con envase plástico fueron encontrados. Algunos tubos estaban incompletos, cortados o sueltos sobre el eje cardan. En el caso de dispositivos de retención (correa) y de los pictogramas, la ausencia (50,6 y 53,2%, respectivamente) es la situación más común. También fueron encontradas improvisaciones hechas con alambres y cuerdas para el dispositivo de retención, el bajo porcentaje de condición “intacto” apunta para la pésima calidad del material del protector confirmada por alegaciones de usuarios de que algunos protectores duran menos de seis meses y que esto no los estimula a substituirlos cuando sufren daños.O eixo cardan é uma das mais eficientes formas de transferir potência do trator para o acionamento de implementos. Para evitar acidentes o mesmo deve ser revestido com um protetor que se compõe de: a) cones em cada uma das extremidades do eixo cardan; b) capa protetora revestindo o tubo telescópico; c) corrente ou dispositivo de retenção equivalente; d) pictogramas ou sinalização de segurança. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar as condições de uso desses protetores em propriedades agrícolas do estado de São Paulo. Dos 112 conjuntos trator-implemento analisados, 77 apresentaram algo caracterizado como sendo “proteção” do eixo. Nesta pesquisa, os cones, os tubos, os dispositivos de retenção e a sinalização de segurança foram observados visando identificar a condição (integridade, danificação, ausência) de cada parte. Dos componentes analisados, os cones e os tubos foram os que mais apresentaram danos (63,6 e 71,4%, respectivamente). Os danos mais comuns nos cones foram trincas, cortes e amassados. Até mesmo amarração com arame ou corda e improvisação com vasilhame plástico foram encontrados. Alguns tubos estavam incompletos, cortados ou soltos sobre o eixo cardan. No caso dos dispositivos de retenção (correntinha) e dos pictogramas, a ausência (50,6 e 53,2 %, respectivamente) é a situação mais comum. Também foram encontradas improvisações feitas com arames e cordas para o dispositivo de retenção. O baixo percentual da condição “intacto” aponta para a péssima qualidade do material do protetor confirmada por alegações de usuários de que alguns protetores duram menos de seis meses e que isto não os estimula a substituí-los quando danificados. 

Thermal and physical properties of crude palm oil with higher oleic content

Interspecific hybridization of oil palms (E. guineensis × E. oleifera) was initially exploited to provide disease resistance and, consequently, increased oleic acid content. Besides the growing importance of this cultivar to the market, there is little information about this oil’s properties. In this context, this study aimed to determine a comprehensive physicochemical and thermal characterization of hybrid palm oil (HOPO) compared with the better-known African palm oil (APO). Differences in the distribution of fatty acids, carotenoids, and tocols were observed. Minor differences in density and viscosity were found between the oils, with no relevance for the materials’ processing design. Nevertheless, HOPO showed unique crystallization behavior, which potentially can affect industrial operations, such as fractionation. HOPO did not present the two thermal characteristic regions of APO, attributed to olein and stearin fractions. The HOPO demonstrated a decrease in the melting point of more than 3 °C in relation to APO, and a reduction in the crystallization point of more than 6 °C. Furthermore, besides the higher content of unsaturated fatty acids, HOPO was more stable than APO due to a higher antioxidant content. These results could be useful to establish operation conditions for processes using palm oil from hybrid oil palm

Dissociation between skin test reactivity and anti-aeroallergen IgE: Determinants among urban Brazilian children.

BACKGROUND: The dissociation between specific IgE and skin prick test reactivity to aeroallergens, a common finding in populations living in low and middle-income countries, has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases. Few studies have investigated the determinants of this dissociation. In the present study, we explored potential factors explaining this dissociation in children living in an urban area of Northeast Brazil, focusing in particular on factors associated with poor hygiene. METHODS: Of 1445 children from low income communities, investigated for risk factors of allergies, we studied 481 with specific IgE antibodies to any of Blomia tropicalis, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Periplaneta americana and Blatella germanica allergens. Data on demographic, environmental and social exposures were collected by questionnaire; serum IgG and stool examinations were done to detect current or past infections with viral, bacterial, protozoan and intestinal helminth pathogens. We measured atopy by skin prick testing (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) to aerollergens in serum (by ImmunoCAP). SIgE reactivity to B. tropicalis extract depleted of carbohydrates was measured by an in-house ELISA. Total IgE was measured by in house capture ELISA. SNPs were typed using Illumina Omni 2.5. RESULTS: Negative skin prick tests in the presence of specific IgE antibodies were frequent. Factors independently associated with a reduced frequency of positive skin prick tests were large number of siblings, the presence of IgG to herpes simplex virus, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections, living in neighborhoods with infrequent garbage collection, presence of rodents and cats in the household and sIgE reactivity to glycosylated B. tropicalis allergens. Also, SNP on IGHE (rs61737468) was negatively associated with SPT reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of factors were found to be associated with decreased frequency of SPT such as unhygienic living conditions, infections, total IgE, IgE response to glycosylated allergens and genetic polymorphisms, indicating that multiple mechanisms may be involved. Our data, showing that exposures to an unhygienic environment and childhood infections modulate immediate allergen skin test reactivity, provide support for the "hygiene hypothesis"

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost