Anderson Luiz de Souza

Assessing locomotion deficiency in broiler chicken

Locomotion deficiencies in broiler production cause poor welfare and lead to change in drinking and feeding behavior with consequent loss in weight gain. This research aimed to assess locomotion deficiencies in broiler chicken by analyzing the vertical peak force on both feet during walk. A chamber was built with an inlet ramp, a horizontal walkway in the middle and an outlet ramp. In the walkway a thin mat with piezoelectric crystal sensors was placed to record the step vertical peak force of the feet while walking on the force platform. The measurement system consisted of a mat with electronic sensors and software that allowed real time recording of the forces and the processing and analysis of data. Footage was taken from two digital video cameras and used for gait scoring. Forty male broilers were chosen at random, grown under similar rearing conditions and farms, with age varying from 49 to 28 days (ten birds of same age) to be used in the trial. Measurement consisted of inducing the bird to walk on the force platform which automatically registered the peak vertical force of the steps. Results showed that the gait score increased with the weight and age of the birds. Peak force asymmetry was found for each foot, independent of age or gait score. Although not identified visually in the broilers, the peak vertical force values differed in both right and left feet leading to slow and uneven walking. Walking deficiency was more severe in older birds.

Consumo de água e produção de grãos do feijoeiro irrigado em sistemas plantio direto e convencional

The inappropriate use of water resources in agriculture, to get higher yields, has caused negative impacts on soil water storage, reducing the efficiency of irrigated productive systems. The aim of this research was to study water use through crop coefficients for sprinkler-irrigated beans at different development stages, in addition to the production of grains and their components, in no tillage and tillage crop systems. Irrigation management was monitored with tensiometers to maintain the soil water content level between 28% (at the moment of irrigation) and 31% (field capacity). The crop evapotranspiration level (ETc) was obtained from the soil water balance and the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) using the Penman-Monteith method. The results indicate that bean crop coefficients show lower values in the no tillage system than in the conventional tillage system, during flowering and pod formation stages. The bean plants in no tillage system are more efficient in relation to water use than the conventional tillage system, because in this system, the bean crop shows higher grain yield with lower water consumption.

Ajuste de parâmetros de transporte de solutos no solo utilizando Matlab 6.5

O sucesso na utilizacao de modelos matematicos no estudo do transporte de ions no solo esta intimamente ligado a precisao com que os parâmetros de transporte envolvidos neste processo sao estabelecidos. De maneira geral, tais parâmetros sao determinados mediante a resolucao de um problema de otimizacao nao linear em que os dados experimentais, obtidos em ensaios de deslocamento miscivel, sao ajustados a um modelo teorico. Neste sentido, a utilizacao de softwares de alta performance no ajuste destes parâmetros mostra-se vantajosa, uma vez que, alem da consistencia e da disponibilidade de ferramentas numericas preexistentes, possibilita a incorporacao de novas rotinas de acordo com o fenomeno que se queira simular. Sendo assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver, em ambiente MATLAB 6.5, uma rotina computacional para a otimizacao dos seguintes parâmetros de transporte: fator de retardamento (R) e coeficiente de dispersao (D). A rotina desenvolvida foi aplicada a dados experimentais de tres ensaios de deslocamento miscivel do ion potassio em colunas preenchidas com um Latossolo Vermelho- -Amarelo, fase arenosa. A qualidade dos ajustes obtidos foi avaliada utilizando-se do coeficiente de exatidao. Concluiu-se que a rotina proposta apresentou otimo desempenho, o que, alem de reforcar a consistencia do metodo numerico utilizado, indica que a rotina proposta neste trabalho pode contribuir com o avanco dos estudos teoricos da dinâmica da agua e de solutos em meios porosos nao saturados.

Caracterização física de dois substratos orgânicos para plantas e a estimativa da umidade por meio da reflectometria no domínio do tempo

The increasing use of substrates on agricultural production and controlled environment has been promoting its large scale production. In this way, chemical, biological and physical characterizations of these materials are necessary to the quality standard proposal and evaluation which must precede its commercialization. High plants development has been influenced by substrates physical properties, mainly on irrigation handling, where understanding about water retention and pore aeration is essential. Water volume determination on substrates used during experiments has been necessary, and in this way the use of the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) can represent an advance about this kind of researches. Based on water retention curve determination, this research, has been carried on physical characterizations of two organic substrates: coconut fiber and pine bark substrates. Also, a calibration curve has been adjusted for each tested substrates, and through TDR technique was estimated the water content. In a general, except to the dry density, the tested substrates has showed similar characteristics about its water-air relation. In the range readily available water, for both tested substrates, the TDR technique has showed a good performance on the water content estimative, with a determination coefficient of 0.9319 to the pine barks and 0.9385 to the coconut fiber.

Numerical simulation of fecal coliform reduction at a constructed wetland

The aim of this research was to use experimental planning to collect data and also to establish a methodology to compare them with theoretical data, where both are associated to the dynamics of reduction in pollutants in a natural treatment system for wastewater. The experimental data were collected and evaluated from two of these systems, built according to Valentim & Amendola (1999) and Collaco (2001), at the Center of Mechanization and Agricultural Automation of the Agricultural Institute of Campinas, located in Jundiai, SP, Brazil. These systems were rectangular in shape; one with crushed stone and another with chopped tires used as support bed to hold the plants, both with macrophyte species Typha sp. The theoretical data were obtained from a mathematical model, adapted to describe the physical process of subsurface flow. The numerical simulations using the implicit finite difference numerical method were carried out using MATLAB 6.1 software. The results of the comparative analysis between theoretical and experimental data are presented for the two types of support beds. Some coefficients and parameters were adjusted to characterize the constructed systems. The results obtained were analyzed and some conclusions about the physical process as well as those about the adequacy of the mathematical model were made.

Reflectometria no domínio do tempo em estudos de lixiviação de potássio em colunas de solo não-saturado

The aim of this research was to evaluate the advantages of using unsaturated soil columns equipped with TDR probes (Time Domain Reflectometry) coupled to an automated system of data acquisition for monitoring water and potassium movement in soils. The research was conducted in acrylic columns of 0.35m of internal diameter and 1.05m of length filled with air-dried soil. The use of TDR technique allowed obtaining time-space network at short time intervals, indicating levels of soil moisture and electric conductivity (Ce) at different depths. The results may represent an important help for the works on the proposition and validation of mathematical models that describe numerically these processes, contributing to a better understanding of the dynamics of water and potassium in soils.

Investigação teórica do processo de redução de coliformes em leitos cultivados

This paper shows the continuity of the research, as suggested by Amendola et al. (2003), when looking for better accuracy in the theoretical investigation of the pollutant reduction as a function of the support bed used in constructed wetland. This investigation is performed through the mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of the process, which is described by an advection-diffusion differential equation. This equation depends on certain constants which characterize the support bed (Moreno-Grau, 1996), and must be associated to the initial and boundary conditions established according to the experimental procedure. To solve the equation an algorithm based on the implicit scheme of the finite difference method was implemented which, when ran with MATLAB 6.1, generated values for the pollutant concentration which depend on the mentioned constants. The results obtained with the simulation were compared with the reference values to determine the longitudinal dispersion coefficient value which leads to the least residual value for each kind of support bed. The obtained results lead to the conclusion that the constructed wetland with crushed stone and chopped tires is better than the one with crushed stone alone to reduce fecal and total coliforms.