Medidas dos níveis de radônio em diferentes tipos de ambientes internos na região da Baixada Santista, SP

OBJETIVO: Exposições a altos níveis do gás radioativo radônio podem causar câncer de pulmão e, conseqüentemente, o conhecimento da concentração deste gás em ambientes internos é importante, do ponto de vista de proteção radiológica, para a população de um modo geral. Neste trabalho realizaram-se monitorações passiva e integrada de radônio em alguns tipos de ambientes fechados na região da Baixada Santista, SP, tais como túneis, galpão de fertilizantes, "shopping center", lojas de cerâmica e residências, com o objetivo de se avaliar os níveis de concentração existentes nestes locais. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: As medidas de concentração de radônio foram realizadas utilizando a técnica do registro de traços de partículas alfa em folhas plásticas de Makrofol E, na geometria de copo fechado ("cup method"). RESULTADOS: Os teores de radônio encontrados nos ambientes internos estudados neste trabalho variaram entre 17 e 263 Bq/m³, em razoável acordo com os valores divulgados na literatura por outros autores para ambientes similares. CONCLUSÃO: De modo geral, os resultados obtidos estão abaixo dos limites máximos recomendados pela Comissão Internacional de Proteção Radiológica (ICRP), não necessitando, portanto, que sejam implementadas ações de intervenção nos locais estudados.

Comparação de dois tipos de amostragem de chuva: deposição total e deposição apenas úmida em àrea costeira tropical

In a tropical coastal area. During 6 months the composition of rain samples collected simultaneously over 24h with an open collector and with an automatic opened collector (KFA - J¸lich Type) at 500m of the Atlantic coastline of Salvador were compared. All average concentrations were higher for the "total" samples than for the "wet only" samples, except for hydrogen ions, nitrate and ammonium.

A dinâmica de analisar livros didáticos com os professores de química

This work evidences a survey conducted during a teacher professional qualification in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This survey analysed the textbooks used by these teachers. The dynamics consisted of choosing the analytic criteria used by teachers, and adding new criteria for examining their difficulties and ways to choose textbooks. This article emphasises the problematics and difficulties teachers have to make choices and their loss of skills and authority to consider these books more profoundly.

Avaliação dos métodos de extração sequencial de Tessier, Keller e Miller na determinação de ferro nativo em três tipos de solos: orgânico, brunizem e latossolo

Sequential extraction is not totally effective to dissolve distinct forms of trace elements. The extractive solution, for example, can dissolve less of the target fraction and more than another not wished fraction. The goal of this work is to compare the extraction of native iron with three sequential extraction methods of the heavy metals, using three soils with different physical chemistry characteristics: a histosol, an oxisol, and a mollisol. The results obtained in this work demonstrate that a smaller relation soil/extractor results in a larger extraction in almost all phases. The use of many stages of the sequential extraction, with the purpose of more association of the metal with different components of the soil, can result, among other things, in modification of the substratum by the action of the reagents used, besides reducing the selectivity of the more specific extractors. Readsorption and redistribution of the heavy metals could have happened with larger intensity in the fraction where hidroxilamine was used with higher temperature. Sequential extraction of iron, without enrichment of soil samples, in the respective fractions in each method, it was important to better understand the behavior of the reagents considered specific to each form of the metal in soil.

Estabilidade relativa de alcenos: análise dos critérios encontrados nos livros textos de graduação e uma proposta de explicação operacional para alcenos dissubstituídos

Despite of being used as thermodynamic criterion to rank alkene stability in a number of undergraduate textbooks, the heat of hydrogenation does not describe adequately the relative stability of disubstituted alkenes. In this work, both the heat of formation and the heat of combustion were used as thermodynamic criteria to rank correctly the stability of alkenes according to the degree of alkyl substitution and also in the disubstituted series (geminal > trans > cis). An operational model based on molecular orbital and valence bond representations of hyperconjugation is proposed to show how this effect can explain the order of stability of this class of compounds.

Expectativas y volatilidad condicionada: los tipos de interés en el mercado interbancario

En este trabajo examinamos si la teoría de expectativas con primas de liquidez constantes puede explicar la estructura temporal de los tipos de interés de pequeños vencimientos en el mercado interbancario de depósitos español, para datos mensuales desde 1977 hasta 1995. Utilizamos el contraste de Campbell y Shiller (1987) basado en un modelo VAR cointegrado. A partir de las estimaciones consistentes de dicho modelo obtenemos la magnitud y persistencia de los shocks a través de la simulación de la respuesta al impulso, y estimaciones eficientes de los parámetros modelizando la varianza condicional que es variable en el tiempo. En este sentido, se proponen varios esquemas de volatilidad que permiten plantear distintas aproximaciones de laincertidumbre en un entorno multiecuacional GARCH y que están basadas en el modelo de expectativas propuesto. La evidencia empírica muestra que se incumple la teoría de las expectativas, que existe una dinámica conjunta a corto plazo para los tipos de interés y el diferencial que está definida por un modelo VAR(4)-GARCH( 1,1)-BEKK (que está próximo a la integrabilidad en varianza), y que existen distintos factores de riesgo que afectan a las primas en los plazos estudiados

Eletrodo de hidrogênio: o que há nos livros didáticos além de E¸ = 0?

The results of an exercise on electrochemistry for General Chemistry students are presented. The difficulty encountered by students in predicting the shift in the potential of the hydrogen electrode under non-standard conditions prompted a search in textbooks on how the subject is developed. Besides several instances of inconsistencies in defining the standard state, such as including the temperature in the definition, a number of incorrect depictions of the hydrogen electrode were discovered. Of the 28 General Chemistry books, 16 Physical Chemistry books and 24 Internet pages, 30, 20 and 46%, respectively, showed devices that would not work in practice.

Matéria orgânica em quatro tipos de solos brasileiros: composição química e sorção de atrazina

Soil organic matter is the main sorptive soil compartment for atrazine in soils, followed in a minor scale by the inorganic fraction. In this study, the soil organic matter quality and atrazine sorption were investigated in four different soil types. The pedogenic environment affected the humification and therefore the chemical composition of the organic matter. The organic matter contribution to atrazine sorption was larger (60-83%) than that of the inorganic fraction. The organic matter capacity in retaining the herbicide was favoured by a higher decomposition degree and a smaller carboxylic substitution of the aliphatic chains.

Utilização de diferentes tipos de policloretos de alumínio para purificação de hidrolisado de bagaço de cana através da técnica de coagulação e floculação

In order to investigate the action of the flocculating agents Panfloc and Panclar a full factorial design 2³ and a Central Composite design 2² were carried out. The control variables were the flocculant concentration, pH and temperature. The response variables were phenolic compounds reduction and spectral area reduction. The best conditions of treatment was hydrolyzate at pH 9 for both coagulants, but the use of Panfloc was more effective in the phenolic compounds reduction (73.9%) and spectral area reduction (65.8%).

Discriminação entre estádios de maturação e tipos de processamento de pós-colheita de cafés arábica por microextração em fase sólida e análise de componentes principais

A fruit chemical composition reflects its maturation stage. For coffee, it is also the reflex of the post-harvesting processing type, dry, semi-wet and wet. The object of this work was to verify if headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC) could be used to discriminate between samples harvested in different maturation stages and treated by different processes. With application of principal component analysis to the area of 117 compounds extracted by SPME, using divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fiber, it was possible to discriminate, in the roasted and ground coffee, the maturity stage and processing type used .

Investigando a presença da história da ciência em livros didáticos de Química Geral para o ensino superior

This paper aims at analyzing the history of science content of three general chemistry textbooks used in Brazilian universities: the translations of Kotz and Treichel's Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity, Atkins and Jones's Chemical Principles, and Garritz and Chamizo's Química. Results revealed different trends for the inclusion of history of science in chemistry teaching. Kotz & Treichel and Atkins & Jones used history mainly as curiosity and ornament. Garritz & Chamizo adopted the historical approach as one of the organizing axis of their textbook. Nevertheless, the historical content of the three textbooks may be criticized from current historiographical standpoint.

O que sabemos sobre os primeiros livros didáticos brasileiros para o ensino de Química

This paper deals with the Brazilian textbooks of Chemistry from the XIX century to 1930. After presenting the science and its teaching contexts in Imperial Brazil and describing the first Chemistry textbook written by a Brazilian, the state of knowledge about these prime Brazilian books is presented. These works show the texts had strengths overlooked by current materials, a fact confirmed by analyzing textbooks from three authors from the period. The study concludes by compiling a list of 50 titles of early Chemistry books to help guide future research.

ANÁLISE DA ABORDAGEM HISTÓRICA PARA A TABELA PERIÓDICA EM LIVROS DE QUÍMICA GERAL PARA O ENSINO SUPERIOR USADOS NO BRASIL NO SÉCULO XX

The aim of this paper was to analyze the historical approaches to the periodic table in general chemistry textbooks used in Brazilian universities in the twentieth century. Textbooks were qualitatively analyzed according to the following criteria: position of the discussion about the periodic table in the book; presence or absence of a specific chapter on the subject; presentation of attempts to classify chemical elements before Mendeleev; presentation of the construction process of the periodic table by Mendeleev; identification of problems in the original table; discussion of Mendeleev's predictions about unknown elements; organization of the periodic table; periodic properties presented and discussed; and the enunciation of the periodic law. The analysis revealed different approaches at specific periods of the twentieth century, from more descriptive approaches to emphasis on attempts to explain the periodic table in terms of atomic orbitals. These changes point to different ways of understanding chemistry during the period studied.

BIOMATERIAIS: TIPOS, APLICAÇÕES E MERCADO

AbstractThe types of compounds used in the production of biomaterials, namely metals, ceramics, synthetic and natural polymers, as well as composite materials, are discussed in the present work, together with details of their application and evolution from biocompatible to bioactive, biodegradable, and biomimetic clinical products. The chemical structure, the three-dimensional structure, and the molecular organization of compounds frequently used in the manufacture of relevant classes of biomaterials are discussed, along with their advantages and some of their major limitations in specific clinical applications. The main chemical, physical, mechanical, and biological requirements of biomaterials categories are presented, as well as typical tissular responses to implanted biomaterials. Reasons for the recent economic growth of the biomaterials market segment are addressed, and the most successful biomaterial categories are discussed, emphasizing areas such as orthopedic and cardiovascular implants, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and controlled drug release devices. Finally, the need for the development of innovative and more accessible biomaterials, due to the expected increase in the number of elderly people and the growing trend of personalized medical procedures, is pointed out.

Análisis de Distintos Tipos de Azúcares en el Método de Extracción de Ascosporas de Monosporascus cannonballus en Suelo

Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo probar diferentes tipos de azúcares en la extracción de ascosporas de Monosporascus cannonballus. Las ascosporas de este ascomiceto implicado en el "colapso" del melón (Cucumis melo), pueden ser extraidas del suelo mediante un proceso físico, utilizando un gradiente de sacarosa al 50% de concentración. El uso de este azúcar presenta elevado costo por muestra, por lo que se busca un azúcar sustitutivo, eficaz para realizar la extracción de estas ascosporas y a la vez, de bajo costo. En este trabajo, además de sacarosa, se utilizó también dextrosa, azúcar de mesa y azúcar de repostería, siendo utilizadas seis repeticiones para cada uno de los tratamientos. La media de ascosporas/g de suelo recogidas en cada uno de los tratamientos no difirió estadísticamente entre sí, según el test de Tukey (P=0,05). Se recomienda la utilización del azúcar de caña por su eficacia y bajo costo por muestra (R$ 0,042).