Recognition of the ligand-type specificity of classical and non-classical MHC I proteins.

Functional characterization of proteins belonging to the MHC I superfamily involves knowing their cognate ligands, which can be peptides, lipids or none. However, the experimental identification of these ligands is not an easy task and generally requires some a priori knowledge of their chemical nature (ligand-type specificity). Here, we trained k-nearest neighbor and support vector machine classifiers that predict the ligand-type specificity MHC I proteins with great accuracy. Moreover, we applied these classifiers to human and mouse MHC I proteins of uncharacterized ligands, obtaining some results that can be instrumental to unravel the function of these proteins

Transmission of the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus through oviposition activity of Monochamus galloprovincialis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Transmission of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (PWN) by the oviposition of Monochamus galloprovincialis was studied in Portugal. Female insects laid eggs on 77% of pine bolts on the laboratory, of which 37% became infected with PWN, with a mean of 290 nematodes. Inside the PWN affected zone 50 P. pinaster trap-trees were created between May and September 2001 and 2002, of which 29 were colonised by M. galloprovincialis and only four became infected by the nematode. The low transmission efficiency detected both on laboratory and field suggests that nematode transmission through the vector’s oviposition activity may be a secondary component of the pine wilt disease epidemiology in Portugal

Sistema de informações económicas: contributo para um modelo.

Tese de Mestrado em EstratégiaO fenómeno da globalização aumentou o grau de incerteza e a importância das questões económicas na condução da política. As capacidades de obtenção, tratamento e utilização de informação económica ganham relevância, especificamente como forma de reduzir a incerteza no processo de decisão, pelo que se constata a necessidade de sistematizar processos para que essas capacidades possam ser operacionalizadas. Para conceber um sistema desta natureza importa abordar a temática das informações, a sua tipificação e forma de produção. Tratando-se de um sistema para apoio ao decisor em matérias económicas, é conveniente definir o conceito de informações económicas, delimitando o seu âmbito. Por outro lado, uma vez que o objetivo passa também por apresentar uma proposta de operacionalização, será útil retratar a evolução histórica e o panorama atual das informações em Portugal. O enquadramento no processo estratégico do Estado deverá ser prévio à sua definição e estruturação, embora esteja constantemente presente a referência teórica adotada: a Cibernética. A escolha desta referência teórica deve-se ao seu enfoque nos fluxos de comunicação e informação. A sugestão de operacionalização será o culminar desta fase, onde se aplicarão as propostas teorizadas. Por fim, serão apresentadas conclusões decorrentes da investigação desenvolvida e apontados eixos de investigação futuros.The globalization phenomenon increased the uncertainty level and the importance of economic issues in the conduct of policy. The capacities of obtaining, processing and using of economic information gain relevance, specifically in order to reduce uncertainty in decision making, so one considers the need to systematize processes to operationalize these capabilities. To design such a system it should be addressed the issue of intelligence, its classification and form of production. Since this is a system to support the decision maker in economic matters, it is convenient to define the economic intelligence concept, limiting its scope. Moreover, since the goal is also to present a proposal for operationalization, it is useful to portray the historical evolution and current situation of intelligence in Portugal. The framing in the strategic process of the State should be prior to its definition and structuring, although the constant presence of the theoretical background adopted: Cybernetics. The choice of this theoretical reference is due to its focus on communication and information flows. The suggestion of operationalization is the culmination of this phase where the proposals theorized are applied. Finally, the conclusions arising from the developed research will be displayed and will be pointed future shafts for research

Plano de ação baseado na manutenção preditiva e cálculo de OEE em uma bomba centrífuga de reposição de água de caldeira

With increasing competitiveness in the agribusiness market, it becomes an obligation for companies in the industry to study and adapt effective ways to apply maintenance techniques to optimize resources as a strategic way to reduce costs and increase efficiency, bringing gains in performance and price reduction that reaches the customer. When it comes to meat industry, situated in a context where agribusiness represents a large part of Brazilian revenues and where competition is quite high, maintenance management becomes crucial to sustain the operation of a meat factory. There are several challenges that maintenance finds in a plant in this industry, from production line machines, boilers, to machine room compressors, resource management and people needs to be effective. For this purpose, the steam generation area was chosen to apply methods of predictive maintenance and management; the methods used being the vibration analysis of the boiler replacement pump, an OEE analysis based on the steam production data and statistical calculations of Weibull with data taken from the corrective pump maintenance history. Therefore, through this study it was possible to extract a low reliability of the process in the short term, to show through data that the boiler operated in a non-competitive way and to verify that there were irregular vibratory movements in the pump bearings, justifying the implementation of a focused action plan in predictive maintenance.UFU - Universidade Federal de UberlândiaTrabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação)Com o aumento da competividade no mercado do agronegócio, torna-se obrigação que empresas do ramo estudem e adaptem formas eficazes de aplicar técnicas de manutenção para otimizar recursos como forma estratégica para reduzir custos e aumentar a eficiência, trazendo ganhos em performance e redução do preço que chega ao cliente. Quando se trata de uma indústria frigorífica, situada em um contexto em que o agronegócio representa grande parcela das receitas brasileiras e em que a concorrência é bastante grande, a gestão da manutenção se torna crucial para sustentar a operação de um frigorífico. São vários os desafios que a manutenção encontra em uma fábrica desse ramo, desde máquinas da linha de produção, caldeiras até compressores da sala de máquinas, a gestão de recursos e pessoas precisa ser eficaz. Com esse intuito, foi escolhido a área de geração de vapor para aplicar métodos de manutenção preditiva e gestão, sendo os métodos utilizados a análise de vibração da bomba de reposição da caldeira, uma análise OEE baseado nos dados de produção de vapor e cálculos estatísticos de Weibull com dados extraídos do histórico de manutenção corretiva da bomba. Portanto, através deste estudo foi possível extrair uma baixa confiabilidade do processo no curto prazo, mostrar através de dados que a caldeira operava de forma não competitiva e constatar que existia movimentos vibratórios irregulares nos mancais da bomba, justificando a implementação de um plano de ação focado na manutenção preditiva

Soil loss by water erosion in areas under maize and jack beans intercropped and monocultures

Adequate soil management can create favorable conditions to reduce erosion and water runoff, consequently increase water soil recharge. Among management systems intercropping is highly used, especially for medium and small farmers. It is a system where two or more crops with different architectures and vegetative cycles are explored simultaneously at the same location. This research investigated the effects of maize intercropped with jack bean on soil losses due to water erosion, estimate C factor of Universal Soil Losses Equation (USLE) and how it can be affected by soil coverage. The results obtained also contribute to database generation, important to model and estimate soil erosion. Total soil loss by erosion caused by natural rain, at Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, were: 4.20, 1.86, 1.38 and 1.14 Mg ha(-1), respectively, for bare soil, maize, jack bean and the intercropping of both species, during evaluated period. Values of C factor of USLE were: 0.039, 0.054 and 0.077 Mg ha Mg-1 ha(-1) for maize, jack bean and intercropping between both crops, respectively. Maize presented lower vegetation cover index, followed by jack beans and consortium of the studied species. Intercropping between species showed greater potential on soil erosion control, since its cultivation resulted in lower soil losses than single crops cultivation, and this aspect is really important for small and medium farmers in the studied region

Parasitoids of Monochamus galloprovincialis (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), vector of the pine wood nematode, with identification key for the Palaearctic region

The parasitoid complex associated with Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier), vector of the pine wood nematode, is discussed. Four species of the family Braconidae and one Ichneumonidae were found associated with Monochamus galloprovincialis in Portugal, namely Atanycolus denigrator (Linnaeus), Atanycolus ivanowi (Kokujev), Cyanopterus flavator (Fabricius), Doryctes striatellus (Nees) (Braconidae), and Xorides depressus (Holmgren) (Ichneumonidae). Atanycolus ivanowi, Atanycolus denigrator, Doryctes striatellus and Xorides depressus are new species for Portugal fauna, and Monochamus galloprovincialis is recorded as a new host of Xorides depressus. A key for determination of the ichneumonoid parasitoids of the pine sawyer is provided for the Palaearctic fauna

Efficacy of sulfuryl fluoride against the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Nematoda: Aphelenchidae), in Pinus pinaster boards

BACKGROUND: The pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is an important conifer disease worldwide. It is the direct cause of the death of millions of pines in south-east Asia (mainly Japan, China and Korea) and has been established in Portugal since 1999. The phasing out of methyl bromide has created an urgent need for alternative treatment of wood packaging materials. The effect of sulfuryl fluoride (SF), a broad-spectrum fumigant used to control insects, was tested in Pinus pinaster boards naturally infested by PWN. RESULTS: Boards were fumigated for 24 h at three different temperatures (15, 20 and 30 ◦ C) with dosage ranges of 3169 – 4407, 1901 – 4051 and 1385 – 2141 gh m−3 respectively. Treated wood was sampled for nematode identification and counting, before treatment and after 24 h, 72 h and 21 days. No survival was found in the 15 ◦ C and 30 ◦ C treatments, while at 20 ◦ C the mortality ranged from 94.06 to 100%. Some reasons for the survival at 20 ◦C are presented. CONCLUSION: Results confirm SF to be an effective quarantine treatment for PWN at 15 and 30 ◦ C. Further studies are needed to obtain the most effective dosage at 20 ◦ C, and to determine the toxicity of SF fumigation on B. xylophilus at other temperatures, especially at 25 ◦C. ⃝c 2013SocietyofChemicalIndustr

O gozo e amo/r/te Ana Cristina Cesar, Ana Martins Marques e Marguerite Duras

Este artigo trabalha a questão do feminino, do amor e da morte como uma tensão ou como uma possibilidade nos textos de três escritoras de estilos distintos: Marguerite Duras, Ana Cristina Cesar e Ana Martins Marques. Trata-se aqui da questão da morte como uma experiência que não está necessariamente relacionada ao suicídio, embora a escrita possa ser vivida nesse limite entre vida e morte, amor e morte. Assim é o que essas escritoras transmitem na intensidade e/ou na leveza de uma poética singular