New methodology to measure the dynamics of ocular wave front aberrations during small amplitude changes of accommodation

We present a methodology to measure the systematic changes of aberrations induced by small changes in amplitude of accommodation. We use a method similar the one used in electrophysiology, where a periodic stimulus is presented to the eye and many periods (epochs) of the stimulus are averaged. Using this technique we have measured changes in higher order aberrations from 0.006μm to 0.02μm and correlated them with amplitude changes of accommodation as small as 0.14D. These small changes would have been undetectable without epoch averaging. The correlation coefficients of Zernike terms with defocus were calculated, demonstrating higher values of correlation for epoch averaging. The accurate monitoring of defocus at the start of the accommodation response has shown some interesting trends that may be related with the mechanisms behind accommodation

THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF A VAPOR-COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION CYCLE WITH A HEAT EXCHANGER BETWEEN THE SUCTION AND LIQUID LINES

Vapor-compression refrigeration systems require a significant amount of electrical energy. Therefore, there is a need for finding efficient ways of operating this equipment, reducing their energy consumption. The use of heat exchangers between the suction line and the liquid line can produce a better performance of the thermodynamic cycle, as well as reduce it. The present work aims at an experimental analysis of the suction/liquid heat exchanger present in a freezer running with refrigerant fluid R-134a. Three different scenarios were used in order to evaluate the thermal performance of the refrigeration cycle. The first scenario was the conventional freezer set up to collect the required data for further comparison. Moreover, the second and third scenarios were introduced with a 20 cm and 40 cm suction/liquid heat exchanger, respectively, into the system. From the experiments, it was observed that the heat exchange does not significantly affect the coefficient of performance (COP) of the freezer. It was concluded from this work that the best scenario analyzed was the 20 cm suction/liquid heat exchanger where most of the thermodynamic properties were improved, one of them being the isentropic efficiency

Avaliação de tolerância à seca em progênies híbridas de citros.

O Brasil destaca-se como maior produtor mundial de citros e maior produtor e exportador de suco concentrado congelado de laranja, sendo a Bahia o segundo maior produtor de laranja do país, superada apenas por São Paulo. Apesar da sua importância, a vulnerabilidade da citricultura nordestina, a exemplo da brasileira, é grande, pela presença quase única da combinação laranjeira 'Pera' [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] / limoeiro 'Cravo' (C. limonia Osbeck) na sustentação dos pomares, tornando urgente um programa de diversificação de variedades. A citricultura baiana está concentrada na Grande Unidade de Paisagem de Tabuleiros Costeiros, onde são registradas precipitações pluviais anuais de 1.000 mm a 1.200 mm, distribuídas em 8 a 10 meses, com dois a seis meses de deficiência hídrica, sendo o uso de irrigação praticamente nulo. Assim, é desejável o emprego de combinações copa / porta-enxerto que, entre outras características de interesse agronômico, sejam tolerantes à seca. Este trabalho teve como objetivo a identificação, dentro de progênies obtidas a partir de cruzamentos controlados, de seedlings (pés-francos) híbridos com potencial para tolerância à seca.PDF. 061

Refined decay rates of C0C_0-semigroups on Banach spaces

We study rates of decay for $C_0$-semigroups on Banach spaces under the assumption that the norm of the resolvent of the semigroup generator grows with $\vert s\vert^{\beta}\log(\vert s\vert)^b$, $\beta, b \geq 0$, as $\vert s\vert\rightarrow\infty$, and with $\vert s\vert^{-\alpha}\log(1/\vert s\vert)^a$, $\alpha, a \geq 0$, as $\vert s\vert \rightarrow 0$. Our results do not suppose that the semigroup is bounded. In particular, for $a=b=0$, our results improve the rates involving Fourier types obtained by Rozendaal and Veraar (J. Funct. Anal. 275(10): 2845-2894, 2018)

Interfaces adaptáveis com jQuery.

Um dos grandes desafios, portanto, dos desenvolvedores de sistemas no século XXI é projetar sistemas flexíveis adaptando as interfaces de acordo com necessidades e preferências do usuário para diferentes dispositivos. Além disso, esses designs devem aumentar a eficiência de sistemas de informações utilizando interfaces adaptativas. Nesse contexto, se insere a proposta deste trabalho que propõe o uso da biblioteca javaScript jQuery para criar interfaces interativas

JQuery ou Dojo, qual biblioteca JavaScript usar?

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise comparativa das bibliotecas jQuery (JQUERY, 2011) e Dojo (DOJO, 2011) que possuem códigos de funções, classes, manipulação do Document Object Model (DOM), entre outros, o que facilita o desenvolvimento de aplicações

Distribuição de água no solo sob secamento parcial do sistema radicular da Mangueira CV. Palmer.

O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o método do secamento parcial do sistema radicular para a mangueira cultivar Palmer nas condições semiáridas do norte de Minas Gerais. Os tratamentos foram instalados com base na redução de 50% da lâmina bruta calculada, isto é aplicação de água em apenas um lado da fileira de plantas no tempo equivalente a aplicação nos dois lados e com base na fase fenológica da cultura. Foram feitas duas análises: uma considerando a umidade média no perfil e a outra considerando a distribuição de umidade no perfil uma hora antes da irrigação. A distribuição da disponibilidade de água em todos os pontos dos perfis foi obtida utilizando o software Surfer 7.0 (Golden Software, Inc.), apresentando gráficos dos tratamentos estudados. O teor de água disponível ao longo do perfil do solo, monitorada nos dois lados da planta pela TDR (Reflectometria no Domínio do Tempo), apresentaram valores compatíveis ao manejo com secamento parcial do sistema radicular

Physiologic osteoclasts are not sufficient to induce skeletal pain in mice

Background: Increased bone resorption is driven by augmented osteoclast activity in pathological states of the bone, including osteoporosis, fracture and metastatic bone cancer. Pain is a frequent co‐morbidity in bone pathologies and adequate pain management is necessary for symptomatic relief. Bone cancer is associated with severe skeletal pain and dysregulated bone remodelling, while increased osteoclast activity and bone pain are also observed in osteoporosis and during fracture repair. However, the effects of altered osteoclast activity and bone resorption on nociceptive processing of bone afferents remain unclear. / Methods: This study investigates whether physiologic osteoclasts and resulting changes in bone resorption can induce skeletal pain. We first assessed correlation between changes in bone microarchitecture (through µCT) and skeletal pain using standardized behavioural phenotyping assays in a mouse model of metastatic bone cancer. We then investigated whether increased activity of physiologic osteoclasts, and the associated bone resorption, is sufficient to induce skeletal pain using mouse models of localized and widespread bone resorption following administration of exogenous receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa‐B ligand (RANKL). / Results: Our data demonstrates that mice with bone cancer exhibit progressive pain behaviours that correlate with increased bone resorption at the tumour site. Systemic RANKL injections enhance osteoclast activity and associated bone resorption, without producing any changes in motor function or pain behaviours at both early and late timepoints. / Conclusion: These findings suggest that activation of homeostatic osteoclasts alone is not sufficient to induce skeletal pain in mice. / Significance statement: The role of osteoclasts in peripheral sensitization of sensory neurones is not fully understood. This study reports on the direct link between oestrogen‐independent osteoclast activation and skeletal pain. Administration of exogenous receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa‐B ligand (RANKL) increases bone resorption, but does not produce pro‐nociceptive changes in behavioural pain thresholds. Our data demonstrates that physiologic osteoclasts are not essential for skeletal pain behaviours