No abstract

Caste determination in Trigona spinipes Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) is trophogenic. Larvae that eat about 360 microl of food become queens, while those who consume 36 microl develop into workers. We studied the effect of larval nutrition on the number and length of ovarioles and on ovarian development in fifth instar larvae, white eyed, pink eyed and black-eyed pupae as well as newly emerged adults. All larvae have four ovarioles per ovary, while in queen pupae this number ranged from 8 to 15. Cyst formation, the cell death and other characteristics of ovary morphogenesis were the same regardless of the quantity of food consumed. These results are discussed in relation to caste differentiation in other bees.

Intensive rainfall is an important meteorological variable that is of technical interest in hydraulic projects. This study therefore generated Intensity-Duration-Frequency equations (IDF) for 14 weather stations in Mato Grosso State, based on pluviograph analysis. Annual maximum rainfall data regarding 10-to-1440-minute long rainfall events were collected from digitized daily pluviographs. Data adherence to the generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) was checked through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test at a 20% significance level. Next, the maximum probable rainfall for return periods such as 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 years was calculated and the IDF equations were adjusted. The performance of the IDF equations was evaluated based on mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), bias, Willmott's concordance index and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency index (ENS). Adjusting the IDF equations was only possible for rainfall durations ranging from 10 to 360 min at each station due to the low frequency of longer rainfalls.  High variation was present in parameters of the IDF equation and in maximum rainfall intensity between stations. The satisfactory performance of the models, as attested to by statistical indices, allows using IDF equations adjusted for rainfall durations from 10 to 360 min, and return periods from 2 to 100 years, in the regions of the Mato Grosso weather stations.

RESUMO A outorga de direito de uso da água é um dos principais instrumentos de gestão para controle quantitativo e qualitativo dos recursos hídricos. Para sua implantação, é necessário, entre outras ações, definir critérios e desenvolver ferramentas para análise integrada dos aspectos quantitativos e qualitativos da água. Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo foi desenvolver um sistema para análise das outorgas de captação de água e diluição de efluentes aplicado à bacia hidrográfica do rio Piracicaba (MG). Inicialmente, foram realizados o levantamento e a preparação da base de dados geográfica, hidrológica e administrativa. O sistema foi desenvolvido utilizando tecnologias open source, sendo estruturado em três camadas: de dados, de negócios e de apresentação. De acordo com os resultados, constatou-se que os trechos mais críticos quanto à vazão passível de outorga localizam-se na foz e na cabeceira do rio Piracicaba. A análise dos dados permitiu concluir que o sistema determina, de forma consistente, a disponibilidade hídrica outorgável ao longo da hidrografia e as vazões de diluição e indisponível pelos lançamentos, além de identificar trechos dos cursos d’água com disponibilidade hídrica crítica, fornecendo subsídios para análises das outorgas quali-quantitativas dos recursos hídricos na bacia.