ABSTRACT Infrared thermography (IR) is a non-invasive tool with potential to indicate changes in the animal’s thermal conditions in response to the thermally stressful environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the application of IR to estimate the rectal temperature of crossbred goats of the Boer breed. Six male crossbred goats of the Boer breed were distributed in a completely randomized design and submitted to temperatures of 26, 30 and 34 °C. Rectal temperature (RT) and thermograms data were collected from animals at each air temperature evaluated. In the thermograms, the temperatures of the ocular globe (PT), head (HT), shoulder (ST), hindquarter (HQ) and maximum infrared (IRMax) of the animals’ surfaces were collected, the latter being observed in the lower region of the animals’ eyes, at all air temperatures evaluated. The correlation of PT, HT, ST, HQ and IRMax data with the RT was evaluated through the Pearson coefficient analysis and the concordance using Bland-Altman diagrams. With the exception of the IRMax surface temperature, the others were adequate for the accurate estimation of RT, with PT standing out for presenting the highest correlation coefficient with RT (r = 0.951) and estimation errors varying in the range of ± 0.27 °C.

RESUMO Os caprinos são animais homeotérmicos considerados rústicos do ponto de vista bioclimático. Porém, em condições térmicas desfavoráveis, pode ocorrer a redução de sua eficiência produtiva. Realizou-se o presente estudo com o objetivo de avaliar a dilatação pupilar como indicador do estresse térmico em caprinos mestiços Boer, mantidos em condições ambientais controladas. Seis caprinos machos mestiços da raça Boer foram distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado e submetidos às temperaturas de 26, 29 e 33 °C. Foram monitoradas a dilatação e temperatura pupilar, frequência respiratória, frequência cardíaca, temperatura superficial e retal. Ocorreu a elevação nas respostas fisiológicas em razão do aumento da temperatura do ar. Constatou-se aumento da dilatação pupilar dos animais com a elevação da temperatura do ar, observando-se um acréscimo de 26,96 mm2 de área pupilar quando comparadas às temperaturas de 26 e 33 °C, sendo possível estabelecer uma correlação entre temperatura do ar e aumento do diâmetro pupilar chamado de razão de estresse pupilar (REP).

ABSTRACT Goats are homeothermic animals considered as rustic from the bioclimatic point of view, but the reduction of their productive efficiency may occur in unfavorable thermal conditions. The present study was carried out to evaluate pupil dilation as an indicator of thermal stress in Boer crossbred goats maintained under controlled environmental conditions. Six male crossbred goats of the Boer breed were distributed in a completely randomized design submitted to temperatures of 26, 29 and 33 °C. The pupillary dilation and pupillary temperature, respiratory frequency, heart rate, surface and rectal temperatures were monitored. The significant increase in physiological responses occurred in response to the increase in air temperature. An increase of pupillary dilation was observed in the animals with the elevation of the air temperature, with an increase of 26.96 mm2 in pupillary area when comparing the temperatures 26 and 33 °C, and it was possible to establish a correlation between air temperature and pupillary diameter increase, named pupillary stress ratio (PSR).

ABSTRACT With the demand in the production at large-scale food, confinement of animals has become a necessity of the productive process because of the increase in production capacity and optimization of the spaces reserved for creations. In this context, the aim of this study was the development and validation of models using fuzzy logic for predicting climate indices and productive performance of European quails kept in a climatic chamber. The model developed was analyzed from two points of view; the first one took into account the prediction of climate indexes where the input variables were the temperature (°C) and relative humidity (%) of the air. In the second, related to the prediction of productive performance, the input variables were air temperature (°C) and age of the birds (weeks) while the output variables were the food intake (FI, g), water consumption (WC, g), weight gain (WG, g) and food conversion (FC g g-1) of the birds. The Mamdani method was used for the preparation of the rules, and in the defuzzification was applied the center of gravity method. Based on the results generated by the models and compared with the experimental data it was obtained coefficients of determination (R2) of: 0.9771; 0.9897; 0.9955; 0.9995; 0.9993 and 0.9788, for BGTHI, RTL, WC, FI, WG and FC, respectively.

ABSTRACT For the calculation of silos structures it has been used new methods and computational tools that require mechanical properties knowledge that are still unknown for most storable materials, especially grains. In this context, we aimed to determine the mechanical properties of rice and beans grains with moisture contents of 10, 12, and 14% by applying four compressive loads (5, 10, 15 and 20). The determined mechanical properties were Poisson's ratio (ν), Modulus of Elasticity (E), and the dilatancy angle (ψ). The procedure consisted in the application of the load in compression cell, adapted from MOLENDA & STASIAK, aiming to simulate loading and unloading of silos. We observed that the Poisson's ratio calculated for both loading and unloading, presented higher values than the experimental values, with the increase of their moisture content; the experimental elastic modulus presented higher values than the calculated ones, and both increased their values with the increase of their moisture content; the dilatancy angle decreased with the increase of moisture content and compressive loads.