Biodegradation of Coir and Sisal Applied in the Automotive Industry

This paper discusses the results of biodegradability tests of natural fibers used by the automotive industry, namely: coir, coir with latex, and sisal. The biodegradation of coir, coir with latex, and of sisal fibers was determined by monitoring the production of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (IBAMA-E.1.1.2, 1988) and fungal growth (DIN 53739, 1984). The contents of total extractives, lignin, holocellulose, ashes, carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen of the fibers under study were determined in order to ascertain their actual content and to understand the results of the biodegradation tests. The production of CO(2) indicated low biodegradation, i.e., about 10% in mass, for all the materials after 45 days of testing; in other words, no material inhibited glucose degradation. However, the percentage of sisal fiber degradation was fourfold higher than that of coir with latex in the same period of aging. The fungal growth test showed a higher growth rate on sisal fibers, followed by coir without latex. In the case of coir with latex, we believe the fungal growth was not intense, because natural latex produces a bactericide or fungicide for its preservation during bleeding [1]. An evaluation of the materials after 90 days of aging tests revealed breaking of the fibers, particularly sisal and coir without latex, indicating fungal attack and biodegradation processes.

Properties of a new fungal b-galactosidase with potential application in the dairy industry

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Curauá fibers in the automobile industry - a sustainability assessment

Replacing glass fibers with natural fibers in the automobile industry can yield economic, environmental and social benefits. This article evaluates the prospective environmental impacts of automobile applications of curauá fiber (Ananas erectifolius), which nearly equates the physical properties of glass fibers. The study identified economic and social advantages of applying curauá fiber composites in car parts. Besides costing 50% less than fiber glass, the use of curauá fibers can promote regional development in the Amazon region. In order to realize significant environmental benefits, however, the curauá-based composites would have to be lighter than their glass fiber-based counterparts. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The infuence of production systems in postponement make-to-stock compagny in the graphic industry

The supply chain management, postponement and demand management operations are of strategic importance to the economic success of organizations because they directly influence the production process. The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of the postponement in an enterprise production system with make-to-stock and with seasonal demand. The research method used was a case study, the instruments of data collection were semi-structured interviews, document analysis and site visits. The research is based on the following issues: Demand Management which can be understood as a practice that allows you to manage and coordinate the supply chain in reverse, in which consumers trigger actions for the delivery of products. The Supply Chain Management is able to allow the addition of value, exceeding the expectations of consumers, developing a relationship with suppliers and customer's win-win. The Postponement strategy must fit the characteristics of markets that require variety of customized products and services, lower cost and higher quality, aiming to support decision making. The production system make-to-stock shows enough interest to organizations that are operating in markets with high demand variability. © 2011 IEEE.

Molecular diagnostic methods for identifying Serrasalmid fish (Pacu, Pirapitinga, and Tambaqui) and their hybrids in the Brazilian aquaculture industry

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Aggressive behavior in the genus Gallus sp

The intensification of the production system in the poultry industry and the vertical integration of the poultry agribusiness have brought profound changes in the physical and social environment of domestic fowls in comparison to their ancestors and have modified the expression of aggression and submission. The present review has covered the studies focusing on the different aspects linked to aggressiveness in the genus Gallus. The evaluated studies have shown that aggressiveness and subordination are complex behavioral expressions that involve genetic differences between breeds, strains and individuals, and differences in the cerebral development during growth, in the hormonal metabolism, in the rearing conditions of individuals, including feed restriction, density, housing type (litter or cage), influence of the opposite sex during the growth period, existence of hostile stimuli (pain and frustration), ability to recognize individuals and social learning. The utilization of fighting birds as experimental material in the study of mechanisms that have influence on the manifestation of aggressiveness in the genus Gallus might comparatively help to elucidate important biological aspects of such behavior.

Effects of pretreatment with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) in the prevention of lipid oxidation in salted tilapia fillets

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Control of parasitic infections among school children in the peri-urban area of Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was investigated in a primary school located in Rubiao Junior, a peri-urban district of Botucatu, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, in order to assess the effect of treatment and practical measures of prophylaxis in the control of parasitic infections among 7-to-18-year-old school children of a low socio-economic status. The first series of parasitological examinations included 219 school children, of which 123 (56.1%) were found to be infected with one or more parasite species. Eighty-four children carrying pathogenic parasites were submitted to various anti-parasitic treatment schedules. We re-evaluated 75 (89%) students after 4 to 6 months postchemotherapy. The results indicate that the combination of treatment with prophylactic measures has been successful in the control of parasitic infections, since reinfection rates were generally low (≤5.3%), except for Giardia lamblia infections (18.6%), and a marked reduction on the prevalence rates was observed with a significant percentage of cure (≤73.1%) in children infected with most parasite species. The reasons for the apparent failure in the control of infections caused by Hymenolepsis nana and Strongyloides stercoralis are discussed.

Development of a model to measure the efficiency of outsourced companies in the process of aircraft spare parts technical publications

This paper presents a proposal of a model to measure the efficiency of outsourced companies in the aeronautical industry applying the methods DEA and AHP. It also proposes an evaluation in the relation between the variables of the process and the value obtained for the effiiency. The criteria of Quality, Time and Cost were considered the outputs of the process, and those criteria were quantified by AHP for DEA matrix.The number of technical documents received by those outsorced companies were considered the input of the process. The other purpose is to separate the companies in groups considered able to receive an investment to improve their process. Copyright © 2008 SAE International.

The role of coarse intermetallics in the localized corrosion behaviour of AA 2024-T3 in low concentrated chloride media

Aluminium alloy (AA) 2024-T3 is an important engineering material due to its widespread use in the aerospace industry. However, it is very prone to localized corrosion attack in chloride containing media, which has been mainly associated to the presence of coarse intermetallics (IMs). In this work the corrosion behaviour of aluminium alloy 2024-T3 in low concentrated chloride media was investigated using microscopy and electrochemical methods. SEM observations have shown that intermetallics with the same nominal composition present heterogeneous reaction rates, and that both types of coarse IMs normally found in the AA 2024-T3 microstructure corrode. Moreover, EDS analyses have shown important compositional changes in the corroded IMs, evidencing the selective corrosion of their more active constituents and the onset of an intense oxygen peak, irrespective to the IM nature. TEM/EDS observations on non-corroded samples have evidenced the heterogeneous composition within the IMs. On the other hand, the results of the electrochemical investigations, in accordance with the SEM/EDS observations, have evidenced that IMs corrosion dominates the electrochemical response of the alloy during the first hours of immersion in the test electrolyte. © 2009 by NACE International.

Development and validation of a microbiological assay by turbidimetry to determine the potency of cefazolin sodium in the lyophilized powder form

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Can Heat Treatment Procedures of Pre-hydrolyzed Silane Replace Hydrofluoric Acid in the Adhesion of Resin Cement to Feldspathic Ceramic?

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of heat treatment (HT) procedures of a pre-hydrolyzed silane on bond strength of resin cement to a feldspathic ceramic.Materials and Methods: Ceramic and composite blocks (N = 30) were divided into six groups (n = 5) and subjected to the following conditioning procedures: G1: 9.6% hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 20 s + silane (RelyX Ceramic Primer, 3M ESPE) + resin cement (Panavia F2.0, Kuraray) (control); G2: HF (20 s) + silane + heat treatment in furnace (HTF) (100 degrees C, 2 min) + resin cement; G3: silane + HTF + resin cement; G4-HF (20 s) + silane + heat treatment with hot air (HTA) (50 +/- 5 degrees C for 1 min) + resin cement; G5: silane + HTA + resin cement; G6: silane + resin cement. The microtensile bond strength (MTBS) test was performed using a universal testing machine (1 mm/min). After debonding, the substrate and adherent surfaces were analyzed using a stereomicroscope and SEM to categorize the failure types. The data were statistically evaluated using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (5%).Results: The control group (G1) showed no pre-test failures and presented significantly higher mean MTBS (16.01 +/- 1.12 MPa) than did other groups (2.63 +/- 1.05 to 12.55 +/- 1.52 MPa) (p = 0.0001). In the groups where HF was not used, HTF (G3: 12.55 +/- 1.52 MPa) showed significantly higher MTBS than did HTA (G5: 2.63 +/- 1.05 MPa) (p < 0.05). All failure types were mixed, ie, adhesive between the resin cement and ceramic accompanied by cohesive failure in the cement.Conclusion: Heat treatment procedures for the pre-hydrolyzed silane either in a furnace or with the application of hot air cannot replace the use of HF gel for the adhesion of resin cement to feldspathic ceramic. Yet when mean bond strengths and incidence of pre-test failures are considered, furnace heat treatment delivered the second best results after the control group, being considerably better than hot air application.

Verification of applicability of the polyurethane adhesive based on castor oil in the manufacture of glued laminated bamboo

The current concern with the environment promotes the development of new technologies for production with use of alternative materials, from renewable resources, and changes in production processes, having as main objective the reduction of environmental impact. One of the alternatives for cleaner production is the use of castor oil derivatives instead of non-renewable sources, such as adhesives based on PVA (polyvinyl acetate), applied in the manufacturing process of glued laminated bamboo. Based on the versatility of the bamboo laminate and the castor oil, and from the perspective of sustainability, this study aims to contribute to the application of new materials and processes, used in the manufacturing industry, by proposing the use of the polyurethane adhesive based on castor oil for glued laminated bamboo manufacturing, which can later be used in the manufacture of several products. To verify the applicability of the polyurethane adhesive based on castor oil in the glued laminated bamboo manufacture, mechanical tests of traction and shearing of the glue sheet were performed in specimens of the said material, and the results were compared with the Cascorez 2590 and Waterbond adhesives. The results showed that the polyurethane adhesive based on castor oil, in the traction test, has superior performance than the Waterbond adhesive and slightly below than the Cascorez 2590 adhesive, but in the shear test, the polyurethane adhesive based on castor oil presented a slightly inferior performance than the other two adhesives used in the comparison.

Uma análise sobre o suporte dos fatores de recursos humanos à gestão ambiental: estudo de caso em um hotel do interior do Estado de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Hydrogen embrittlement in an AISI 1045 steel component of the sugarcane industry

This paper will present a failure analysis of a chain component, manufactured with AISI 1045 steel and used for sugarcane transport. During the fabrication process, this component is submitted to induction hardening, just on one surface, before the galvanizing process. The occurrence of surface cracks, during storage, disables the usage of these components. Chemical and metallographic analyses, tensile, fracture toughness, and hardness tests, and fractography were conducted in order to determine the causes of failure. The steel chemical composition was in accordance with AISI 1045. The metallographic analyses and fractography did not exhibit the presence of zinc into the cracks; this is an indication that the cracks occurred after the galvanizing process. Tensile and fracture toughness test results are as expected. The crack surface and the fracture toughness specimen surfaces showed two different fracture micromechanisms: dimples and intergranular. The delayed fracture associated with the predominance of intergranular fracture micromechanism at the induction hardened layer and the high hardness level is a clear indication of the hydrogen embrittlement. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.