955 research outputs found

    Identification of Cocoa Pods with Image Processing and Artificial Neural Networks

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    Cocoa pods harvest is a process where peasant makes use of his experience to select the ripe fruit. During harvest, the color of the pods is a ripening indicator and is related to the quality of the cocoa bean. This paper proposes an algorithm capable of identifying ripe cocoa pods through the processing of images and artificial neural networks. The input image pass in a sequence of filters and morphological transformations to obtain the features of objects present in the image. From these features, the artificial neural network identifies ripe pods. The neural network is trained using the scaled conjugate gradient method. The proposed algorithm, developed in MATLAB ®, obtained a 91% of assertiveness in the identification of the pods. Features used to identify the pods were not affected by the capture distance of the image. The criterion for selecting pods can be modified to get similar samples with each other. For correct identification of the pods, it is necessary to take care of illumination and shadows in the images. In the same way, for accurate discrimination, the morphology of the pod was important

    Parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos em três raças de cavalos de alta performance do Sul do Brasil

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    The hematological and biochemical parameters are useful tools for clinics and feeding management of athlete equines. The population of high performance horses consists of different breed groups, displaying specific phenotypic and metabolic characteristics related to the type of sport activity they perform. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the South of Brazil, racing, jumping, polo, endurance, reigning, and dressage are the main activities. This study investigated the hemato-biochemical parameters in three high performance horse breeds from Southern Brazil. A total number of 154 horses belonging to the breeds Thoroughbred, Brasileiro de Hipismo, and Criollo, were selected for this study. Within each breed, samples were collected from males (n=12) and non-pregnant females (n=12) of two ages: 1 to 3 years of age (n=12) and over five years of age (n=12). Hematological (total count of erythrocytes and leukocytes, blood cell volume, hemoglobin, and differential count of leukocytes) and biochemical (lactate, fructosamine, glucose, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulins, fibrinogen, urea, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and enzymes LDH, AST, GGT, and CK) parameters were analyzed. Significant differences were observed in hematological and biochemical parameters, except for calcium and albumin, among breeds. There was no significant effect of age or sex within breed. This study shows that the local population, the breed and the type of sport activity are important variables to be considered in the analysis of blood parameters of horses.Os parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos são ferramentas que auxiliam na clínica e no manejo alimentar do eqüino atleta. Na população eqüina de alta performance existem diferentes grupos raciais que apresentam características fenotípicas e metabólicas específicas, relacionadas com o tipo de atividade esportiva que exercem. Atualmente, no Rio Grande do Sul (Sul do Brasil), são reconhecidas as modalidades esportivas de corrida, salto, polo, enduro, provas de rédeas e provas funcionais. O presente trabalho estudou os parâmetros hemato-bioquímicos em três raças de eqüinos de alta performance no Sul do Brasil. Um total de 154 animais das raças Puro Sangue Inglês, Brasileiro de Hipismo e Crioula foram selecionados para este estudo. Em cada grupo racial foram obtidas amostras de machos (n=12) e fêmeas não gestantes (n=12) e de duas faixas etárias: de 1 a 3 anos (n=12) e de mais de cinco anos (n=12). Foram analisados parâmetros hematológicos (contagem total de eritrócitos e leucócitos, hematócrito, hemoglobina e contagem diferencial de leucócitos) e bioquímicos (lactato, fructosamina, glicose, colesterol, proteína total, albumina, globulinas, fibrinogênio, uréia, cálcio, magnésio, fósforo e enzimas LDH, AST, GGT e CK). Foram observadas diferenças significativas nos parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos, exceto para cálcio e albumina, entre os grupos raciais. Não houve efeito significativo da idade e do sexo dentro da mesma raça. O presente trabalho mostra que o fator racial e o tipo de atividade esportiva são variáveis importantes que devem ser consideradas na análise de parâmetros sangüíneos em eqüinos

    Estudio polarográfico de los potenciales Redox de un derivado pteridínico

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    It is made the polarographic description of a pteridine derivative. The reduction consist in a process of three steps, with interchange of two electrons and protons in the first proGess of reduction.Se ha hecho la descripción polarográfica de un derivado pteridínico. La reducción consiste en un proceso de tres pasos con intercambio de dos electrones y dos protones en el primer paso de reducción

    Examination of the Feynman-Hibbs Approach in the Study of NeN_N-Coronene Clusters at Low Temperatures

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    Feynman-Hibbs (FH) effective potentials constitute an appealing approach for investigations of many-body systems at thermal equilibrium since they allow us to easily include quantum corrections within standard classical simulations. In this work we apply the FH formulation to the study of NeN_N-coronene clusters (N=N= 1-4, 14) in the 2-14 K temperature range. Quadratic (FH2) and quartic (FH4) contributions to the effective potentials are built upon Ne-Ne and Ne-coronene analytical potentials. In particular, a new corrected expression for the FH4 effective potential is reported. FH2 and FH4 cluster energies and structures -obtained from energy optimization through a basin-hoping algorithm as well as classical Monte Carlo simulations- are reported and compared with reference path integral Monte Carlo calculations. For temperatures T>4T> 4 K, both FH2 and FH4 potentials are able to correct the purely classical calculations in a consistent way. However, the FH approach fails at lower temperatures, especially the quartic correction. It is thus crucial to assess the range of applicability of this formulation and, in particular, to apply the FH4 potentials with great caution. A simple model of NN isotropic harmonic oscillators allows us to propose a means of estimating the cut-off temperature for the validity of the method, which is found to increase with the number of atoms adsorbed on the coronene molecule

    Dietary patterns and their association with body composition and cardiometabolic markers in children and adolescents: Genobox cohort

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    Diet is a key factor for obesity development; however, limited data are available on dietary cluster analysis in children with obesity. We aimed to assess the associations between dietary patterns and obesity and several cardiometabolic markers. Anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance, blood pressure and plasma biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial damage were determined in 674 Caucasian children, aged 5–16, with normal or excess weight. Using a food frequency questionnaire and cluster analysis, two consistent dietary patterns were shown, labeled as health conscious (HC) and sweet and processed (SP). The HC pattern included a greater proportion of participants with overweight/obesity than the SP cluster (80.1% vs. 63.8%). However, children with obesity within the HC cluster, showed less abdominal fat, through waist to hip (0.93 vs. 0.94) and waist to height (0.61 vs. 0.63) indexes (p < 0.01). Univariate general models showed several additional differences in cardiometabolic risk biomarkers in the global and stratified analyses, with a healthier profile being observed mainly in the HC cluster. However, multivariate models questioned these findings and pointed out the need for further studies in this field. Anyhow, our findings support the benefits of a healthy diet and highlight the importance of dietary patterns in the cardiometabolic risk assessment of children with overweight/obesity, beyond weight control

    Processes : working group report

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    It has often been suggested that model-driven development of user interfaces amounted to producing models of user interfaces then using automatic code generation to obtain the final result. However, this may be seen as an extreme interpretation of the model-driven approach. There are examples where that approach is successful, including mobile computing and database management systems. But in many cases automatic generation may be either impossible or may limit the quality of the final interface

    Crambescin C1 Acts as A Possible Substrate of iNOS and eNOS Increasing Nitric Oxide Production and Inducing In Vivo Hypotensive Effect

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    Crambescins are guanidine alkaloids from the sponge Crambe crambe. Crambescin C1 (CC) induces metallothionein genes and nitric oxide (NO) is one of the triggers. We studied and compared the in vitro, in vivo, and in silico effects of some crambescine A and C analogs. HepG2 gene expression was analyzed using microarrays. Vasodilation was studied in rat aortic rings. In vivo hypotensive effect was directly measured in anesthetized rats. The targets of crambescines were studied in silico. CC and homo-crambescine C1 (HCC), but not crambescine A1 (CA), induced metallothioneins transcripts. CC increased NO production in HepG2 cells. In isolated rat aortic rings, CC and HCC induced an endothelium-dependent relaxation related to eNOS activation and an endothelium-independent relaxation related to iNOS activation, hence both compounds increase NO and reduce vascular tone. In silico analysis also points to eNOS and iNOS as targets of Crambescin C1 and source of NO increment. CC effect is mediated through crambescin binding to the active site of eNOS and iNOS. CC docking studies in iNOS and eNOS active site revealed hydrogen bonding of the hydroxylated chain with residues Glu377 and Glu361, involved in the substrate recognition, and explains its higher binding affinity than CA. The later interaction and the extra polar contacts with its pyrimidine moiety, absent in the endogenous substrate, explain its role as exogenous substrate of NOSs and NO production. Our results suggest that CC serve as a basis to develop new useful drugs when bioavailability of NO is perturbed.Fil: Rubiolo, Juan Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas; Argentina. Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia E Innovacion Productiva (santa Fe). - Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia E Innovacion Productiva (santa Fe).; Argentina. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Lence, Emilio. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: González Bello, Concepción. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Roel, María. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Gil Longo, José. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Campos Toimil, Manuel. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Ternon, Eva. Université Nice Sophia Antipolis. Laboratoire Jean-alexandre Dieudonné.; FranciaFil: Thomas, Olivier P.. National University of Ireland Galway; IrlandaFil: González Cantalapiedra, Antonio. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: López Alonso, Henar. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Vieytes, Mercedes R.. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Botana, Luis M.. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; Españ

    Estudio oscilopolarográfico de dos derivados 5,4d pirimidínicos

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    Comentario al manuscrito de Francisco Fernández Navarrete, médico granadino del siglo XVIII, "Carácter de España deducido de los principios fundamentos y consideraciones de su Historia Natural" (1740), localizado en la Real Academia de la Historia de Madrid

    Relation between magnetic Barkhausen noise and hardness for jominy quench tests in SAE 4140 and 6150 steels

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    he nondestructive Magnetic Barkhausen Noise (MBN) technique was applied for the evaluation of SAE 4140 and SAE 6150 steels after a Jominy end-quench test. Microstructures were also characterized by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and hardness tests. MBN measurements were performed on the same sample regions at three excitation frequencies. Different parameters of the measured signals (signal peak position and height, and Root mean square) were calculated. A relationship between mechanical hardness and MBN parameters was found for both materials, with the best correlation coefficient being found in low excitation frequency range.The authors would like to thank the State of São Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP (Process 05/57146-0). M.F. de Campos and L.R. Padovese thank CNPq. We thank Dr. Martin Sab- lik for the critical reading of the manuscrip

    Estudio oscilopolarográfico de dos derivados 5,4d pirimidínicos

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    Se ha estudiado la reducción electroquímica sobre el electrodo de gota de mercurio del 2,6-bis(morfolino)-4-[( Beta -hidroxi-etil)-metil-amino] -pirimido (5,4d)pirimidina(sustancia 1) y 2,4,6, -tris(morfolino )-pirimido(5 ,4d)pirimidina(sustancia I1). Los datos oscilopolarográficos ponen de manifiesto que el producto de la reacción catódica se abosrbe intensamente sobre la superficie del electrodo indicador.It has been studied electrochemical reduction of 2,6-bis(morpholino)-4-[( B-hydroxy-etil)-methylamino] -pyrimido(5,4d) pyrimidine (1) and 2,4,6-tris(morpholino)-pyrimido (5,4d) pyrimidine (I1)
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