Sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora Roxb) is a vine with important structural components for forest environments. Studies on growth and development are necessary, because of the environmental and economic importance. The leaf area determination is essential for ecophysiological studies to understand the relationship of the plant with the environment. The objective of this work was to estimate an allometric equation to estimate the leaf area of T. grandiflora from linear dimensions. 200 leaves of different shapes and sizes were collected from adult plants and the length (L), width (W), the product between length and width (LW), and real leaf area (LA) were measured. The linear regression, linear without intercept, quadratic, cubic, power, and exponential models were used to estimate the equations. The criteria for determining the best model were higher determination coefficient (R2), Willmott's agreement index (d), lower Akaike information criterion (AIC), the root of the mean error square (RMSE), and BIAS index closer to zero. The leaf area of T. grandiflora can be estimated satisfactorily by the equation ŷ = 0.58*LW.

Atualmente, o mercado possibilita uma variedade de elementos e configurações de fachadas, variando em materiais, orientação solar, tamanho de janelas, tipo de vidro e, consequentemente, no orçamento. Dentre as configurações possíveis de fachadas, uma que vem se destacando em projetos de edifícios, tornando-se um importante elemento arquitetônico, que aproveita sistemas solares passivos, é a Fachada Dupla, um sistema muito utilizado em climas mais frios como na Europa e, principalmente, na Alemanha. Esta pesquisa é parte dos resultados de uma dissertação de mestrado e teve como objetivo caracterizar como essas fachadas duplas estão sendo inseridas no clima brasileiro, e os tipos de materiais que estão sendo aplicados nesta segunda pele da fachada. O estudo qualitativo utilizou como metodologia estudos de casos múltiplos e levantamento bibliográfico para identificação dos materiais que estão sendo aplicados como segunda pele para o projeto dessas fachadas no Brasil. Os resultados mostraram que, no Brasil, além da utilização da fachada dupla de vidro, outros seis tipos diferentes de materiais têm sido usados nessa segunda pele em edifícios, sendo elas: chapa metálica, membrana têxtil, madeira, concreto polímero, vergalhão de aço e os cabos de aço inox.

Among the possibilities of intelligent buildings facades, Double Skin has been used more frequently in the construction industry. The application of this type of facade in tropical climate countries such as Brazil is recent. This indicates the need for further research on the subject, mainly to establish guidelines for achieving better quality of buildings that incorporate such technological solution, as well as for the well-being of end-users. The objective of this paper is to characterize double skin facades and how they are being used in the Brazilian context. The methodology included literature review to identify the types of second skin being used in these facades in Brazil, and multiple case studies to identify and analyse their configurations. Results pointed out that the characteristics and configurations of the systems are like the classification of double skin facades used in countries with mild climates. However, its main function in the Brazilian context is to serve as an element for shadowing and protection of the building. Due to the lack of information related to this type of facade in the Brazilian architecture, this research expands the possibilities and stimulates other evaluations on the theme. It is believed that more in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of this system will contribute to guidelines for designing double skin facades in hot climates.

Alternative Sweeteners, 3rd ed, revised and expanded, 2001. Lyn O'Brien Nabors (editor). Pp. 572, Marcel Dekker, Since the 1800s, a very large number of naturally occurring and industrially synthesized alternatives to sucrose have been discovered or developed, though many of these only began to appear more widely in foods within the past 20 years. These 'alternative' sweeteners include high-potency sweeteners (which in practice are essentially non-energetic), reduced-energy sweeteners having an intermediate energetic value, and bulk sweeteners which are isoenergetic with sucrose. These latter two categories typically claim additional health or technical (cost, flavour profile, etc.) benefits relative to sucrose.In twenty-seven well-organized chapters, largely arranged by specific sweetener, this book comprehensively addresses the discovery, chemistry, sensory characteristics, food technology, metabolism, toxicology, and current and potential applications of virtually all of the established and many of the recently discovered alternative sweeteners, as well as their use in combinations. The chapters are generally consistent in style and layout, covering each of these major points in reasonable depth, aided by numerous tables and figures. This is therefore a very well-edited, authoritative, and comprehensive reference resource for the technological and regulatory aspects of alternative sweeteners.

Congea tomentosa is a climbing plant suitable for covering arbors, railings, and fences. Leaf area determination is useful in understanding the plant-environment relationship and facilitating agronomic studies on transpiration, water requirement, light interception, and photosynthetic activity. The objective of this study was to obtain an allometric equation to estimate the leaf area of C. tomentosa by measuring the leaf dimensions. Analyses were performed on 200 leaves of different shapes and sizes from 10 randomly chosen adult plants grown under field conditions. The leaf length, leaf width, product length and width, and leaf area were determined. Linear, linear without intercept, quadratic, cubic, power, and exponential regression models were used to estimate the leaf area. The coefficient of determination, Willmott’s concordance index, Akaike information criterion, root mean square error and BIAS index were used to determine the best model. The leaf area of C. tomentosa can be satisfactorily estimated using a non-destructive method that uses measurements of leaf dimensions. The equation ŷ = 0.63 × LW (Leaf: L = length, W = width) estimates the leaf area of C. tomentosa in a practical and fast way, with 99.15% of precision. Estimation of the leaf area of C. tomentosa using statistical models is less expensive and easily accessible to researchers and producers of this plant.