Mixing of d(x)(-y)(2)(2) and d(xy) superconducting states for different filling and temperature

We investigate the solution of the gap equation for mixed order parameter symmetry states as a function of filling using a two-dimensional tight-binding model incorporating second-neighbor hopping for tetragonal and orthorhombic lattice, the principal (major) component of the order parameter is taken to be of the d(x2-y2) type, As suggested in several investigations the minor component of the order parameter is taken to be of the d(xy) type. Both the permissible mixing angles 0 and pi/2 between the two components are considered. As a function of filling pronounced maxima of d(x2-y2) order parameter is accompanied by minima of the d(xy) order parameter. At fixed filling. The temperature dependence of the two components of the order parameter is also studied in all cases. The variation of critical temperature T, with filling is also studied and T-c is found to increase with second-neighbor hopping. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Wastes released by tanneries at Patrocinio Paulista, São Paulo State, Brazil

This investigation was carried out within the Parana sedimentary basin, Brazil, and involved the sampling of sludge and residuary waters that were collected from reservoirs/decantation ponds settled in two tanneries situated at Patrocinio Paulista, São Paulo State Two samples from each tannery were collected, stored in appropriate flasks and transported to the LABIDRO for chemical analysis The LABIDRO (Laboratory of Isotopes and Hydrochemistry) of the Petrology Department at the Geosciences and Exacts Sciences Institute of UNESP is situated in Rio Claro city, about 240 km distant from the investigated area The data for residuary waters were compared with guideline values established by two different legislations (a) Rule No 12486 (NTA60) established in 20(th) October 1978 by São Paulo State for defining the potable water standards and (b) Register 997 published on 31 May 1976 that defines the permissible concentration limits in effluents to be released to water bodies (coastal, fresh or ground water) in São Paulo State The results confirmed that leather production is an activity with high environmental impact, despite improvements that may be achieved by tanneries

PM2.5 and PM10: The influence of sugarcane burning on potential cancer risk

In Brazil, sugarcane fields are often burned to facilitate manual harvesting, and this burning causes environmental pollution from the large amounts of soot released into the atmosphere. This material contains numerous organic compounds such as PAHs. In this study, the concentrations of PAHs in two particulate-matter fractions (PM2.5 and PM10) in the city of Araraquara (SE Brazil, with around 200,000 inhabitants and surrounded by sugarcane plantations) were determined during the sugarcane harvest (HV) and non-harvest (NHV) seasons in 2008 and 2009. The sampling strategy included four campaigns, with 60 samples in the NHV season and 220 samples in the HV season. The PM2.5 and PM10 fractions were collected using a dichotomous sampler (10 L min(-1), 24 h) with Teflon (TM) filters. The filter sets were extracted (ultrasonic bath with hexane/acetone (1:1 v/v)) and analyzed by HPLC/Fluorescence. The median concentration for total PAHs (PM2.5 in 2009) was 0.99 ng m(-3) (NHV) and 3.3 ng m(-3) (HV). In the HV season, the total concentration of carcinogenic PAHs (benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, and benzo(a)pyrene) was 5 times higher than in the NHV season. B(a)P median concentrations were 0.017 ng m(-3) and 0.12 ng m(-3) for the NHV and HV seasons, respectively. The potential cancer risk associated with exposure through inhalation of these compounds was estimated based on the benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalence (BaPeq), where the overall toxicity of a PAR mixture is defined by the concentration of each compound multiplied by its relative toxic equivalence factor (TEF). BaPeq median (2008 and 2009 years) ranged between 0.65 and 1.0 ng m(-3) and 1.2-1.4 ng m(-3) for the NHV and HV seasons, respectively. Considering that the maximum permissible BaPeq in ambient air is 1 ng m(-3), related to the increased carcinogenic risk, our data suggest that the level of human exposure to PAHs in cities surrounded by sugarcane crops where the burning process is used is cause for concern. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Uranium in groundwaters from Botucatu-Piramboia aquifer, Brazil

Groundwater from 60 pumped tubular wells of the Botucatu-Piramboia aquifer system located at the Parana sedimentary basin in Brazil were chemically analysed with the aim of evaluating if the mechanisms related to the migration of uranium can generate concentrations greater than the maximum permissible limit in drinking water, as defined by the Brazilian national standards.

Health risk related to radon in a thermal spa utilizing waters from Guarani aquifer

This investigation was carried out within the Parana sedimentary basin, Brazil, involved the sampling of groundwater and air, and was realized with the purpose of evaluating the radioactivity, due to radon gas, in a thermal spa utilizing the waters from Guarani (Botucatu-Piramboia) aquifer. The results reported here provide additional information relative to that of previous studies focusing on the presence of radionuclides in the aquifer, which have mainly characterized those belonging to uranium and thorium series decay, such as the uranium isotopes (U-238 and U-234), radium isotopes (Ra-226 and Ra-228), radon daughters (Bi-214 and Pb-214) and radon (Rn-222) itself the results obtained were compared with the maximum permissible concentration limits in air and drinking water defined by international standards, such as the guidelines for drinking water quality established by the World Health Organization. The possible processes responsible for the presence of radon in the aquifer were also considered in order to evaluate the data obtained.

Simultaneous determination of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se in drinking water by GRAS with transversely heated graphite atomizer and longitudinal Zeeman-effect background correction

A method has been developed for the direct and simultaneous determination of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se in drinking water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) using a transversely heated graphite tube atomizer (THGA) with longitudinal Zeeman-effect back- ground correction. The thermal behavior of analytes during the pyrolysis and atomization stages was investigated in 0.028 mol L-1 HNO3, 0.14 mol L-1 HNO3 and 1 + 1 (v/v) diluted water using mixtures of Pd(NO3)(2) + Mg(NO3)(2) as the chemical modifier, With 5 mug Pd + 3 mug Mg as the modifier, the pyrolysis and atomization temperatures of the heating program of the atomizer were fixed at 1400degreesC and 2100degreesC, respectively, and 20 muL of the water sample (sample + 0.28 mol L-1 HNO3, 1 + 1, v/v), dispensed into the graphite tube, analytical curves were established ranging from 5.00 - 50.0 mug L-1 for As, Sb, Se; 10.0 - 100 mug L-1 for Cu; and 20.0 - 200 mug L-1 for Mn. The characteristic masses were around 39 pg As, 17 pg Cu, 60 pg Mn, 43 pg Sb, and 45 pg Se, and the lifetime of the tube was around 500 firings. The limits of detection (LOD) based on integrated absorbance (0.7 mug L-1 As, 0.2 mug L-1 Cu, 0.6 mug L-1 Mn, 0.3 mug L-1 Sb, 0.9 mug L-1 Se) exceeded the requirements of the Brazilian Food Regulations (decree # 310-ANVS from the Health Department), which established the maximum permissible level for As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se at 50 mug L-1, 1000 mug L-1, 2000 mug L-1, 5 mug L-1, and 50 mug L-1, respectively. The relative standard deviations (n = 12) were typically < 5.3% for As, < 0.5% for Cu, < 2.1% for Mn, < 11.7% for Sb, and < 9.2% for Se. The recoveries of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se added to the mineral water samples varied from 102-111%, 91-107%, 92-109%, 89-97%, and 101-109%, respectively. Accuracy for the determination of As, Cu, Mu Sb and Se was checked using standard reference materials NIST SRM 1640 - Trace Elements in Natural Water, NIST SRM 1643d - Trace Elements in Water, and 10 mineral water samples. A paired t-test showed that the results were in agreement with the certified values of the standard reference materials at the 95% confidence level.

Simultaneous determination of cadmium and lead in wine by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A method has been developed for the direct simultaneous determination of Cd and Pb in white and red wine by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS) using a transversely heated graphite tube atomizer (THGA) with longitudinal Zeeman-effect background correction. The thermal behavior of both analytes during pyrolysis and atomization stages were investigated in 0.028 mol l(-1) HNO3 and in 1 + 1 v/v diluted wine using mixtures of Pd(NO3)(2) + Mg(NO3)(2) and NH4H2PO4 + Mg(NO3)(2) as chemical modifiers. With 5 mug Pd + 3 mug Mg as the modifiers and a two-step pyrolysis (10 s at 400 degreesC and 10 s at 600 degreesC), the formation of carbonaceous residues inside the atomizer was avoided. For 20 mul of sample (wine + 0.056 mol l(-1) HNO3, 1 + 1, v/v) dispensed into the graphite tube, analytical curves in the 0.10-1.0 mug l(-1) Cd and 5.0-50 mug l(-1) Pb ranges were established. The characteristic mass was approximately 0.6 pg for Cd and 33 pg for Pb, and the lifetime of the tube was approximately 400 firings. The limits of detection (LOD) based on integrated absorbance (0.03 mug l(-1) for Cd, 0.8 mug l(-1) for Pb) exceeded the requirements of Brazilian Food Regulations (decree #55871 from Health Department), which establish the maximum permissible level for Cd at 200 mug l(-1) and for Pb at 500 mug l(-1). The relative standard deviations (n = 12) were typically < 8% for Cd and < 6% for Pb. The recoveries of Cd and Pb added to wine samples varied from 88 to 107% and 93 to 103%, respectively. The accuracy of the direct determination of Cd and Ph was checked for 10 table wines by comparing the results with those obtained for digested wine using single-element ET-AAS, which were in agreement at the 95% confidence level. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

The use of nonparametric contrasts in one-way layouts and random block designs

Nonparametric simple-contrast estimates for one-way layouts based on Hodges-Lehmann estimators for two samples and confidence intervals for all contrasts involving only two treatments are found in the literature.Tests for such contrasts are performed from the distribution of the maximum of the rank sum between two treatments. For random block designs, simple contrast estimates based on Hodges-Lehmann estimators for one sample are presented. However, discussions concerning the significance levels of more complex contrast tests in nonparametric statistics are not well outlined.This work aims at presenting a methodology to obtain p-values for any contrast types based on the construction of the permutations required by each design model using a C-language program for each design type. For small samples, all possible treatment configurations are performed in order to obtain the desired p-value. For large samples, a fixed number of random configurations are used. The program prompts the input of contrast coefficients, but does not assume the existence or orthogonality among them.In orthogonal contrasts, the decomposition of the value of the suitable statistic for each case is performed and it is observed that the same procedure used in the parametric analysis of variance can be applied in the nonparametric case, that is, each of the orthogonal contrasts has a chi(2) distribution with one degree of freedom. Also, the similarities between the p-values obtained for nonparametric contrasts and those obtained through approximations suggested in the literature are discussed.

Simultaneous determination of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se in drinking water by GFAAS with transversely heated graphite atomizer and longitudinal zeeman-effect background correction

A method has been developed for the direct and simultaneous determination of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se in drinking water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) using a transversely heated graphite tube atomizer (THGA) with longitudinal Zeeman-effect background correction. The thermal behavior of analytes during the pyrolysis and atomization stages was investigated in 0.028 mol L-1 HNO3, 0.14 mol L-1 HNO3 and 1 + 1 (v/v) diluted water using mixtures of Pd(NO3)2 + Mg(NO3)2 as the chemical modifier. With 5 μg Pd + 3 μg Mg as the modifier, the pyrolysis and atomization temperatures of the heating program of the atomizer were fixed at 1400°C and 2100°C, respectively, and 20 μL of the water sample (sample + 0.28 mol L-1 HNO3, 1 + 1, v/v), dispensed into the graphite tube, analytical curves were established ranging from 5.00 -50.0 μg L-1 for As, Sb, Se; 10.0 - 100 μg L-1 for Cu; and 20.0 - 200 μg L-1 for Mn. The characteristic masses were around 39 pg As, 17 pg Cu, 60 pg Mn, 43 pg Sb, and 45 pg Se, and the lifetime of the tube was around 500 firings. The limits of detection (LOD) based on integrated absorbance (0.7 μg L-1 As, 0.2 μg L-1 Cu, 0.6 μg L-1 Mn, 0.3 μg L-1 Sb, 0.9 μg L-1 Se) exceeded the requirements of the Brazilian Food Regulations (decree # 310-ANVS from the Health Department), which established the maximum permissible level for As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se at 50 μg L-1, 1000 μg L-1, 2000 μg L-1, 5 μg L-1, and 50 μg L-1, respectively. The relative standard deviations (n = 12) were typically < 5.3% for As, < 0.5% for Cu, < 2.1% for Mn, < 11.7% for Sb, and < 9.2% for Se. The recoveries of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se added to the mineral water samples varied from 102-111%, 91-107%, 92-109%, 89-97%, and 101-109%, respectively. Accuracy for the determination of As, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Se was checked using standard reference materials NIST SRM 1640 - Trace Elements in Natural Water, NIST SRM 1643d - Trace Elements in Water, and 10 mineral water samples. A paired t-test showed that the results were in agreement with the certified values of the standard reference materials at the 95% confidence level.

Geo(anthropo)genic factors affecting the radioactivity in groundwaters from Guarani aquifer, Brazil

This investigation was carried out within the Paraná sedimentary basin, involved the sampling of 77 pumped tubular wells, and was realized with the puipose of evaluating the radioactivity in the Brazilian part of Guarani (Botucatu-Pirambóia, Tacuarembó, Misiones) aquifer. The radioactivity due to nuclides belonging to uranium and thorium series decay was investigated in terms of the uranium isotopes 234U and 238U, radon (222Rn), and the radium isotopes 226Ra and 228Ra. The obtained results were compared with the maximum permissible concentration limits in drinking water defined by the Brazilian national standard, as well with the guidelines for drinking water quality established by the World Health Organization. The importance of water-rock/soil interactions was considered in order to explain most of the obtained data.

Evaluation of the mixtures ammonium phosphate/magnesium nitrate and palladium nitrate/magnesium nitrate as modifiers for simultaneous determination of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in mineral water by GFAAS

A method is described for the simultaneous determination of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in mineral water samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with a transversely heated graphite atomizer (THGA) and a longitudinal Zeeman-effect background correction system. The electrothermal behavior of analytes during pyrolysis and atomization steps was studied without modifier, in presence of 5 μg Pd and 3 μg Mg(NO3)2 and in presence of 50 μg NH4H2PO4 and 3 μg Mg(NO3)2. A volume of 20 μL of a 0.028 mol L -1 HNO3 solution containing 50 μg L-1 Ni and Pb, 10 μg L-1 Cr and 5 μg L-1 Cd was dispensed into the graphite tube at 20°C. The mixture palladium/magnesium was selected as the optimum modifier. The pyrolysis and atomization temperatures were fixed at 1000°C and 2300°C, respectively. The characteristic masses were calculated as 2.2 pg Cd, 10 pg Cr, 42 pg Ni and 66 pg Pb and the lifetime of the graphite tube was around 600 firings. Limits of detection based on integrated absorbance were 0.02 μg L-1Cd, 0.94 μg L-1 Cr, 0.45 μg L-1 Ni and 0.75 μg L-1 Pb, which exceeded the requirements of Brazilian Food Regulation that establish the maximum permissible level for Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb at 3 μg L-1, 50 μg L-1, 20 μg L-1 and 10 μg L-1, respectively. The recoveries of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb added to mineral water samples varied within the 93-108%, 96-104%, 87-101% and 98-108% ranges, respectively. Results of analysis of standard reference materials (National Institute of Standards and Technology: 1640-Trace Elements in Natural Water; 1643d-Trace Elements in Water) were in agreement with certified values at the 95% confidence level.

Patulina: Incidência e controle em derivados de maçã

The patulin, (4hydroxy-4furo[3,2-c]pyran(6H)-1), is a thermal resistent mycotoxin produced by several species of fungi are common in plants, mainly in derivatives and apples. Studies on the toxicity in animals have shown that mycotoxin has character teratogenic, and carcinogenic in mice immunotoxic. Its biosynthesis is well understood involving a series of reactions of condensation and oxiredução, many catalyzed by enzymes. The danger of contamination of food with patulin, warning about the need for a more rigorous control. Recent research aimed their removal and degradation as well as increase the sensitivity of the tests, making them faster and at less cost. The removal of patulin of food is made with composite adsorbents, with inconvenience to diminish the quality of the product by adsorbs other components desirable. The degradation is made with sulfur compounds, which are not allowed in food in many countries, and the growth of yeasts, such as the production of cider. Many yeasts have resistance against patulin and produce compounds capable degrade it. Here, we reviewed research on patulin with emphasis on its influence in food industry, incidence of patulin in apple juice and other foods, maximum permissible concentrations, health effects, biosynthesis, removal, degradation and most widely used methods for its detection and quantification.

Produção de rúcula e acúmulo de nitrato em função da adubação nitrogenada

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Morphometric analysis of treatment effects of the Balters bionator in growing Class II patients

Objective: To investigate the effects of the standard (Class II) Balters bionator in growing patients with Class II malocclusion with mandibular retrusion by using morphometrics (thin-plate spline [TPS] analysis). Materials and Methods: Thirty-one Class II patients (17 male and 14 female) were treated with the Balters bionator (bionator group). Mean age at the start of treatment (T0) was 10.3 years, while it was 13 years at the end of treatment (T1). Mean treatment time was 2 years and 2 months. The control group consisted of 22 subjects (14 male and 8 female) with untreated Class II malocclusion. Mean age at T0 was 10.2 years, while it was 12.2 years at T1. The observation period lasted 2 years on average. TPS analysis evaluated statistical (permutation tests) differences in the craniofacial shape and size between the bionator and control groups. Results: Through TPS analysis (deformation grids) the bionator group showed significant shape changes in the mandible that could be described as a mandibular forward and downward displacement. The control group showed no statistically significant differences in the correction of Class II malocclusion. Conclusions: Bionator appliance is able to induce significant mandibular shape changes that lead to the correction of Class II dentoskeletal disharmony. © 2013 by The EH Angle Education and Research Foundation, Inc.

Risk/investment-driven transmission expansion planning with multiple scenarios

This study presents a new methodology based on risk/investment to solve transmission network expansion planning (TNEP) problem with multiple future scenarios. Three mathematical models related to TNEP problems considering multiple future generation and load scenarios are also presented. These models will provide planners with a meaningful risk assessment that enable them to determine the necessary funding for transmission lines at a permissible risk level. The results using test and real systems show that the proposed method presents better solutions compared with scenario analysis method. ©The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2013.