RESUMO Embora o pré-resfriamento por ar forçado seja amplamente utilizado na remoção do calor de campo de uvas de mesa frescas, muitas vezes não há conhecimento sobre seu funcionamento e eficiência. Fatores como temperatura e umidade relativa do ar, quantidade e temperatura inicial das frutas, velocidade do ar e embalagens, influenciam o processo. Objetivou-se neste estudo avaliar o efeito e eficiência do resfriamento de uvas de mesa sujeitas a resfriamento por ar forçado. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, em um fatorial 2 × 3, correspondente a dois tipos de embalagens e três alturas no pallet: inferior, meio e superior com quatro repetições. Foi avaliado o gradiente de temperatura no sentido do fluxo de ar. Há heterogeneidade de resfriamento tanto no sentido vertical quanto horizontal dos paletes, com uma zona de calor concentrada na região central em ambas as direções. Nenhuma embalagem apresentou design favorável ao resfriamento rápido, já que em ambas o tempo de resfriamento foi de 15,5 horas, além de valores de umidade relativa do ar muito abaixo do ideal para uvas de mesa.

ABSTRACT Although precooling by forced air is widely used to remove field heat from fresh table grapes, there is no knowledge about its use and efficiency. Factors influencing the process include temperature and relative air humidity, amount and initial temperature of the fruits, air velocity, and packaging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cooling effect and efficiency of forced air cooling on table grapes in two types of packages. The experimental method used randomized blocks, in a 2 × 3 factorials, corresponding to two package types (polystyrene and cardboard) and three heights on the pallet - lower, middle, and upper - with four replicates. The temperature gradient in the direction of the airflow was evaluated. There was heterogeneity in cooling, both vertically and horizontally, on the pallets with a central heat zone for both the directions. None of the packages was suitable for fast cooling as both types of packages showed a cooling time of 15.5 h; moreover, relative humidity values were far below the ideal value for table grapes.

ABSTRACT This study proposes a fuzzy logic model capable of predicting the ocular temperature (OT) of beef cattle by means of infrared thermography. The goal of this study is to establish a methodology for making decisions related to animal welfare. The experiment was carried out at a commercial beef production farm, located in the south of Minas Gerais state, where twenty-eight Brahman cattle (Bos Taurus Indicus) raised in extensive production systems were evaluated. Thermal images of the entire head of the animal were collected in order to measure the ocular temperature (OT). Concurrently, the variables air dry bulb temperature (DBT) and relative humidity (RH) were recorded. The fuzzy logic model was developed using the Mandani inference method, based on the input variables DBT and RH and the output variable OT, and using the experimental data as reference. The proposed fuzzy logic system allows the estimation of the ocular temperature of beef cattle with an error of 1.71% and a coefficient of determination R 2 of 0.8749. These values validate the proposed fuzzy logic system for helping to make decisions for better animal welfare.

ABSTRACT Considering the challenges faced by poultry farming, this study aimed to develop a neuro-fuzzy model to predict eyeball and crest temperatures of egg-laying hens based on environmental conditions (dry bulb temperature and relative humidity). To develop the models and simulations, Matlab’s Fuzzy Toolbox® (Anfisedit) was used. Different configurations were used for each of the several neuro-fuzzy models developed. Eyeball temperature (ET) and chicken crest temperature (CCT) were simulated from the developed neuro-fuzzy models, and the obtained results were validated with the variables collected experimentally with the aid of recorder sensors and an infrared thermographic camera. The proposed neuro-fuzzy models allow the accurate estimation of ET and CCT of two lineages of egg-laying hens raised in conventional aviaries, thus helping in decision-making for better animal welfare.