Predation risk and jumping behavior in Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes tadpoles

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

Simultaneous observation of the magnetic and electric behavior in a correlated system near a metal-semiconductor transition: ESR in pellets of conducting polymers

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

Influence of microwave energy on structural and photoluminescent behavior of CaTiO3 powders

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Characterization and thermal behavior of residues from industrial sugarcane processing

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Synthesis, characterization, and thermal behavior of palladium(II) coordination compounds containing isonicotinamide

Palladium(II) coordination compounds of general formula trans-[PdX(2)(isn)(2)], X = Cl(-) (1), N(3) (-) (2), SCN(-) (3), NCO(-) (4), isn = isonicotinamide; were synthesized and characterized in solid state by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and simultaneous TG-DTA. TG experiments reveal that the compounds 1-4 undergo thermal decomposition in three or four stages, yielding Pd(0) as final residue, according to calculus and identification by X-ray powder diffraction.

Visual timing and adaptive behavior in a road-crossing simulation study

In this road-crossing simulation study, we assessed both participant's ability to visually judge whether or not they could cross a road, and their adaptive walking behavior. To this end, participants were presented with a road inside the laboratory on which a bike approached with different velocities from different distances. Eight children aged 5-7, ten children aged 10-12, and ten adults were asked both to verbally judge whether they could cross the road, and to actually walk across the road if possible. The results indicated that the verbal judgments were not similar to judgments to actually cross the road. With respect to safety and accuracy of judgments, groups did not differ from each other, although the youngest group tended to be more cautious. All groups appeared to use a strategy to cross the road based both on the distance and the velocity of the approaching bike. Young children waited longer on the curb before crossing the road than older children and adults. All groups adjusted their crossing time to the time-to-arrival of the bike. These findings are discussed in relation to the ecological psychological approach and the putative dissociation between vision for perception (i.e. verbal judgment) and vision for action (i.e. actual crossing). (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LOSS OF HEMISPERMATOPHORES AND SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR OF TITYUS-BAHIENSIS (PERTY, 1834) (SCORPIONES, BUTHIDAE)

Male scorpions (Tityus bahiensis) that have been deprived of their hemispermatophores and hemispermatophore sheaths retain their ability to court females despite their inability to mate successfully. Although hemispermatophores usually regenerate rapidly in nature, no such regeneration occurred after experimental amputation.

Extraction and exchange behavior of metal species in therapeutically applied peat

The binding and availability of metals (Al, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) in therapeutically applied peat (GroBes Gifhorner Moor, Sassenburg/North Germany) was characterized by means of a versatile extraction approach. Aqueous extracts of peat were obtained by a standardized batch equilibrium procedure using high-purity water (pH 4.5 and 5.0), 0.01 mol l(-1) calcium chloride solution, 0.0 1 mol l(-1) ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and 0.01 mol l(-1) diethylenetriarnine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) solution as metal extractants. In addition, the availability of peat-bound metal species was kinetically studied by collecting aliquots of extracts after different periods of extraction time (5, 10, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min). Metal determinations were performed by atomic spectrometry methods (AAS, ICP-OES) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) was characterized by UV/Vis measurements at 254 and 436 nm, respectively. of the extractants studied Ca, Mg and Mn were the most available metals, in contrast to peat-bound Fe and Al. The relative standard deviation s(r) of the developed extraction procedures was mostly in the range of 4 to 20%, depending on the metal and its concentration in peat. A pH increase favored the extraction of metals and DOM from peat revealing complex extraction kinetics. Moreover, a competitive exchange between peat-bound metal species and added Cu(II) ions showed that > 100 mg of Cu(II) per 50 g wet peat was necessary to exchange the maximum of bound metals (e.g. 21.8% of Al, 3.9% of Fe, 79.0% of Mn, 81.9% of Sr, related to their total content). (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of diethylpropion treatment and withdrawal on aorta reactivity, endothelial factors and rat behavior

Diethylpropion (DEP) is an amphetamine-like compound used as a coadjutant in the treatment of obesity and which presents toxicological importance as a drug of abuse. This drug causes important behavioral and cardiovascular complications; however, the vascular and behavioral alterations during DEP treatment and withdrawal, have not been determined. We evaluated the effects of DEP treatment and withdrawal on the rat aorta reactivity to noradrenaline, focusing on the endothelium, and the rat behavior during DEP treatment and withdrawal. DEP treatment caused a hyporreactivity to noradrenaline in aorta, reversible after 2 days of withdrawal and abolished by both the endothelium removal and the presence of L-NAME, but not by the presence of indomethacin. Furthermore, DEP treatment increased the general activity of rats. Contrarily, DEP withdrawal caused a decrease in the locomotor activity and an increase in grooming behavior, on the 2nd and 7th days after the interruption of the treatment, respectively. DEP treatment also caused an adaptive vascular response to noradrenaline that seems to be dependent on the increase in the endothelial nitric oxide system activity, but independent of prostaglandins synthesis. The data evidenced chronological differences in the adaptive responses of the vascular and central nervous systems induced by DEP treatment. Finally, a reversion of the adaptive response to DEP was observed in the vascular system during withdrawal, whereas a neuroadaptive process was still present in the central nervous system post-DEP. These findings advance on the understanding of the vascular and behavioral pathophysiological processes involved in the therapeutic and abusive uses of DEP. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. (USA). All rights reserved.

Spectroscopic investigation and thermal behavior of new carbonyl complexes [M(CO)(4)(N-N)(CuX)], (M = W, Mo; N-N=2,2 '-bipyridine, 1,10-phenanthroline; X = Cl, SCN)

M(CO)(4)(N-N)] reacts with CuCl to give new heterobimetallic metal carbonyls of the type [M(CO)(4)(N-N)(CuCl)], M = W, Mo; N-N = 2,2'-bipyridine (bipy), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen). Reactions of [M(CO)(4)(N-N)(CuCl)] with NaSCN produced the series of complexes of general formula [M(CO)(4)(N-N)(CuSCN)]. The i.r. spectral of all the bimetallic carbonyls exhibited the general four m ( CO) band patterns of the precursors. The u.v.-vis. spectral data for precursors and products showed bands associated with pi --> pi* (nitrogen ligands), d-->d (intrametal), as well as MLCT d-->pi* (nitrogen ligands) and MLCT d --> pi*(CO) transitions. The [M(CO)(4)(N-N)(CuX)] (X = Cl, SCN) emission spectra showed only one band associated with the MLCT transition. The t.g. curves revealed a stepwise loss of CO groups. The initial decomposition temperatures of the [M(CO)(4)(N-N)(CuX)] series suggest that the bimetallic compounds are indeed thermally less stable than their precursors, and the X- ray data showed the formation of MO3, CuMO4, Cu2O and CuO as final decomposition products, M = W, Mo. The spectroscopic data suggests that the heterobimetallic compounds are polymeric.

Experimental and theoretical study of the ferroelectric and piezoelectric behavior of strontium-doped PZT

Theoretical data using ab initio perturbed ion calculation were compared with ferroelectric and piezoelectric experimental data of strontium doped PZT. Various concentrations of SrO in PZT at constant temperature and sintering time were carried out. Experimental results, such as the remanent polarization, P-R of 6.9-8.9 muC/Cm-2, the coercive field, E-C of 6.6-7.8 kVcm, and the planar coupling factor, Kp of 0.45-0.53, were compared with the energy of Zr4+ and Ti4+ ion dislocation and the lattice interaction energy which show that strontium increment in PZT alter the energies and increase the values of piezoelectric and ferroelectric variables. Calculations of lattice energy of the rhombohedral phase show that a phase non-stability is coincident with increasing experimental values of the P-R, E-C and Kp. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation, characterization and thermal behavior of double selenates of calcium, beryllium and ammonium.

The preparation and thermal decomposition ammonium selenate and calcium and beryllium selenates have been reported previously. However, there are not any information in the literature concerning the thermal decomposition of double selenates of calcium, of beryllium and ammonium. Thermogravimetry (TG), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) were used in the studies and characterisation of these compounds.