THE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF A MICROLITE-GROUP MINERAL WITH A FORMULA NEAR NaCaTa(2)O(6)F FROM THE MORRO REDONDO MINE, CORONEL MURTA, MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL

We present electron-microprobe and single-crystal X-ray-diffraction data for a microlite-group mineral with a formula near NaCaTa(2)O(6)F from the Morro Redondo mine, Coronel Murta, Minas Gerais, Brazil. On the basis of these data, the formula is A(Na(0.88)Ca(0.88)Pb(0.02)square(0.22))(Sigma 2.00) (B)(Ta(1.70)Nb(0.14)Si(0.12)As(0.04))(Sigma 2.00) (X)[(O(5.75)(OH)(0.25)](Sigma 6.00) (Y)(F(0.73)square(0.27))(Sigma 1.00). According to the new nomenclature for the pyrochlore-supergroup minerals, it is intermediate between fluornatromicrolite and "" fluorcalciomicrolite"". The crystal structure, F (d3) over barm, a = 10.4396(12) angstrom, has been refined to an R(1) value of 0.0258 (wR(2) = 0.0715) for 107 reflections (MoK alpha radiation). There is a scarcity of crystal-chemical data for pyrochlore-supergroup minerals in the literature. A compilation of these data is presented here.

Electronic structure and spectra of a new molecular species: SI. A theoretical contribution

A high level theoretical approach is used to characterize for the first time a manifold of doublet and quartet A + S and Omega states correlating with the first two dissociation channels of an as yet experimentally unknown molecular species, SI, sulfur monoidide. A set of spectroscopic constants is determined, including vibrationally averaged spin-orbit coupling constants, vibrationally averaged dipole moments, and dissociation energies. The transition dipole moment function for the spin-forbidden transition a (4)Sigma -X (2)Pi, and the associated radiative lifetimes were also evaluated. Two possibilities to detect transitions experimentally and to derive spectroscopic constants are suggested. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Crystal Structure Determination for Eugenyl Acetate

Essential oils are good candidates for the substitution of conventional medicinal treatments. Many articles and patents for their use have been published in recent years. The most attractive aspects of using essential oils as medicaments are their natural source and rapid permeability. Besides permeability, the solubility behavior of a drug is a key determinant of its oral bioavailability. Based on these characteristics, the aim of this study was to synthesize an essential oil derivative compound, using the raw oil extracted from Syzygium aromaticum L., without previous purification. The Eugenol molecular modification may diminish the problems of water solubility and bioavailability. The Eugenyl acetate molecule was characterized and its molecular modification investigated, including its structural properties and stereochemistry. This study was performed applying techniques, such as carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (C-13 NMR), X-ray crystallographic analysis (XRD), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and microscopic recording.

Optical Characterization and Optimization of Display Components : Some Applications to Liquid-Crystal-Based and Electrochromics-Based Devices

This dissertation is focused on theoretical and experimental studies of optical properties of materials and multilayer structures composing liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and electrochromic (EC) devices. By applying spectroscopic ellipsometry, we have determined the optical constants of thin films of electrochromic tungsten oxide (WOx) and nickel oxide (NiOy), the films’ thickness and roughness. These films, which were obtained at spattering conditions possess high transmittance that is important for achieving good visibility and high contrast in an EC device. Another application of the general spectroscopic ellipsometry relates to the study of a photo-alignment layer of a mixture of azo-dyes SD-1 and SDA-2. We have found the optical constants of this mixture before and after illuminating it by polarized UV light. The results obtained confirm the diffusion model to explain the formation of the photo-induced order in azo-dye films. We have developed new techniques for fast characterization of twisted nematic LC cells in transmissive and reflective modes. Our techniques are based on the characteristics functions that we have introduced for determination of parameters of non-uniform birefringent media. These characteristic functions are found by simple procedures and can be utilised for simultaneous determination of retardation, its wavelength dispersion, and twist angle, as well as for solving associated optimization problems. Cholesteric LCD that possesses some unique properties, such as bistability and good selective scattering, however, has a disadvantage – relatively high driving voltage (tens of volts). The way we propose to reduce the driving voltage consists of applying a stack of thin (~1µm) LC layers. We have studied the ability of a layer of a surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal coupled with several retardation plates for birefringent color generation. We have demonstrated that in order to accomplish good color characteristics and high brightness of the display, one or two retardation plates are sufficient.

Membrana de alumina anódica: comportamento da microestrutura e estudo das propriedades ópticas após tratamento térmico

Thin commercial aluminum electrolytic and passed through reactions was obtained with anodic alumina membranes nanopores. These materials have applications in areas recognized electronic, biomedical, chemical and biological weapons, especially in obtaining nanostructures using these membranes as a substrate or template for processing nanowires, nanodots and nanofibers for applications noble. Previous studies showed that the membranes that have undergone heat treatment temperature to 1300° C underwent changes in morphology, crystal structure and optical properties. This aim, this thesis, a study of the heat treatment of porous anodic alumina membranes, in order to obtain and to characterize the behavior changes structures during the crystallization process of the membranes, at temperatures ranging between 300 and 1700° C. It was therefore necessary to mount a system formed by a tubular furnace resistive alumina tube and controlled environment, applying flux with special blend of Ag-87% and 13% N2, in which argon had the role of carrying out the oxygen nitrogen system and induce the closing of the pores during the densification of the membrane. The duration of heat treatment ranged from 60 to 15 minutes, at temperatures from 300 to 1700° C respectively. With the heat treatment occurred: a drastic reduction of porosity, grain growth and increased translucency of the membrane. For the characterization of the membranes were analyzed properties: Physical - thermogravimetric, X-ray diffraction, BET surface area; morphological - SEM, EDS through compositional and, optical absorbance, and transmittance in the UV-VIS, and FTIR. The results using the SEM showed that crystallization has occurred, densification and significant changes in membrane structure, as well as obtaining microtube, the BET analysis showed a decrease in specific surface area of the membranes has to 44.381 m2.g-1 to less than 1.8 m2.g-1 and in the analysis of transmittance and absorbance was found a value of 16.5% in the range of 800 nm, characteristic of the near infrared and FTIR have confirmed the molecular groups of the material. Thus, one can say that the membranes were mixed characteristics and properties which qualify for use in gas filtration system, as well as applications in the range of optical wavelength of the infra-red, and as a substrate of nanomaterials. This requires the continuation and deepening of additional study

Síntese de nanopartículas de magnetita via decomposição térmica em meio não-aquoso

This work aims at obtaining nanoparticles of iron oxide, the magnetite one (Fe3O4), via synthesis by thermal decomposition through polyol. Thus, two routes were evaluated: a simple decomposition route assisted by reflux and a hydrothermal route both without synthetic air atmosphere using a synthesis temperature of 260ºC. In this work observed the influence of the observe of surfactants which are generally applied in the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles decreasing cluster areas. Further, was observed pure magnetite phase without secondary phases generally found in the iron oxide synthesis, a better control of crystallite size, morphology, crystal structure and magnetic behavior. Finally, the introduction of hydroxyl groups on the nanoparticles surface was analyzed besides its employment in the polymer production with OH radicals. The obtained materials were characterized by XRD, DLS, VSM, TEM, TG and DSC analyses. The results for the magnetite obtainment with a particle size greater than 5 nm and smaller than 11 nm, well defined morphology and good magnetic properties with superparamagnetic behavior. The reflux synthesis was more efficient in the deposition of the hydroxyl groups on the nanoparticles surface

Crystal structure of Bn IV in complex with myristic acid: A Lys49 myotoxic phospholipase A(2) from Bothrops neuwiedi venom

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Analysis of the serological variability of Lettuce mosaic virus using monoclonal antibodies and surface plasmon resonance technology

A panel of 19 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was used to study the immunological variability of Lettuce mosaic virus (LMV), a member of the genus Potyvirus, and to perform a first epitope characterization of this virus. Based on their specificity of recognition against a panel of 15 LMV isolates, the mAbs could be clustered in seven reactivity groups. Surface plasmon resonance analysis indicated the presence, on the LMV particles, of at least five independent recognition/ binding regions, correlating with the seven mAbs reactivity groups. The results demonstrate that LMV shows significant serological variability and shed light on the LMV epitope structure. The various mAbs should prove a new and efficient tool for LIVIV diagnostic and field epidemiology studies.

Interaction of small amounts of bovine serum albumin with phospholipid monolayers investigated by surface pressure and atomic force microscopy

The influence of small amounts of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (nM concentration) on the lateral organization of phospholipid monolayers at the air-water interface and transferred onto solid substrates as one-layer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films was investigated. The kinetics of adsorption of BSA onto the phospholipid monolayers was monitored with surface pressure isotherms in a Langmuir trough, for the zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidyl ethanolamine (N,N-dimethyl-PE) and the anionic dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA). A monolayer of N,N-dimethyl-PE or DMPA incorporating BSA was transferred onto a solid substrate using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of one-layer LB films displayed protein-phospholipid domains, whose morphology was characterized using dynamic scaling theories to calculate roughness exponents. For DMPA-BSA films the surface is characteristic of self-affine fractals, which may be described with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation. on the other hand, for N,N-dimethyl-PE-BSA films, the results indicate a relatively flat surface within the globule. The height profile and the number and size of globules varied with the type of phospholipid. The overall results, from kinetics of adsorption on Langmuir monolayers and surface morphology in LB films, could be interpreted in terms of the higher affinity of BSA to the anionic DMPA than to the zwitterionic N,N-dimethyl-PE. Furthermore, the effects from such small amounts of BSA in the monolayer point to a cooperative response of DMPA and N,N-dimethyl-PE monolayers to the protein. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular and morphological characterization of bis benzimidazo perylene films and surface-enhanced phenomena

Thin solid films of bis benzimidazo perylene (AzoPTCD) were fabricated using physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. Thermal stability and integrity of the AzoPTCD PVD films during the fabrication (similar to 400 degrees C at 10(-6) Torr) were monitored by Raman scattering. Complementary thermogravimetric results showed that thermal degradation of AzoPTCD occurs at 675 degrees C. The growth of the PVD films was established through UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and the surface morphology was surveyed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a function of the mass thickness. The AzoPTCD molecular organization in these PVD films was determined using the selection rules of infrared absorption spectroscopy (transmission and reflection-absorption modes). Despite the molecular packing, X-ray diffraction revealed that the PVD films are amorphous. Theoretical calculations (density functional theory, B3LYP) were used to assign the vibrational modes in the infrared and Raman spectra. Metallic nanostructures, able to sustain localized surface plasmons (LSP) were used to achieve surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) and surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF).

Structure and antimycobacterial activity of the novel organometallic [Pd(C-bzan)(SCN)(dppp)] compound

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Testicular structure and description of the seminal pathway in Leporinus macrocephalus (Anostomidae, Teleostei)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Testicular thermoregulation in Bos indicus, crossbred and Bos taurus bulls: relationship with scrotal, testicular vascular cone and testicular morphology, and effects on semen quality and sperm production

Mechanisms of testicular thermoregulation, the relationship of scrotal, testicular vascular cone (TVC), and testicular morphology with thermoregulatory capability, and their effects on semen quality and sperm production were studied in 20 Bos indicus, 28 crossbred, and 26 Bos taurus bulls. The ratio of testicular artery length and volume to testicular volume were larger (P < 0.05) in B. indicus and crossbred bulls than in B. taurus bulls (1.03 and 0.94 cm/cm(2). versus 0.48 cm/cm(3); 0.034 and 0.047 ml/cm(3) versus 0.017 ml/cm(3), respectively). Testicular artery wall thickness (average 192.5, 229.0, and 290.0 mum, respectively) and arterial-venous blood distance in the TVC (average 330.5, 373.7, and 609.4 pm, respectively) were smallest in B. indicus, intermediary in crossbred, and greatest in B. taurus bulls (P < 0.05); the proximity between arterial and venous blood was consistent with the estimated decrease in arterial blood temperature after passage through the TVC (5.9, 5.0, and 2.9 degreesC, in B. indicus, crossbred, and B. taurus bulls, respectively). In crossbred and B. taurus bulls, there was a positive top-to-bottom scrotal temperature gradient and a negative testicular subtunic temperature gradient. However, in B. indicus bulls, both scrotal and testicular subtunic temperatures gradients were positive. Differences in the vascular arrangement, characteristics of the artery (e.g. wall thickness) or thickness of the tunica albuginea may have affected the testicular arterial blood and subtunic temperatures in B. indicus bulls. Better testicular thermoregulatory capability was associated with increased scrotal shape (pendulosity), testicular artery length and volume, and top-to-bottom gradient of the distance between the artery wall and the veins in the TVC. Increased semen quality was associated with increased testicular volume and scrotal subcutaneous (SQT) temperature gradient, and with decreased scrotal surface and testicular temperatures. Increased sperm production was associated with increased testicular artery volume, testicular volume, and SQT temperature gradient, and with decreased testicular artery wall thickness, scrotal circumference (SC), and scrotal surface, testicular subtunic, and epididymal temperatures. In conclusion, morphology of the TVC may contribute to the greater resistance of B. indicus bulls to high ambient temperatures by conferring a better testicular blood supply and by facilitating heat transfer between the testicular artery and veins. Testicular thermoregulation was associated with opposing scrotal and testicular subtunic temperatures gradients only in crossbred and B. taurus bulls. Scrotal, TVC, and testicular morphology influence testicular thermoregulatory capability and were associated with differences in semen quality and sperm production. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ontogenesis, structure and ultrastructure of Hymenaea stigonocarpa (Fabaceae : Caesalpinioideae) colleters

The genus Hymenaea is characterized by a great diversity of secretory structures, but there are no reports of colleters yet. The objectives of this study are to report the occurrence and describe the origin and structure of colleters in Hymenaea stigonocarpa Mart. ex Hayne. Shoot apex samples were collected, fixed, and processed for light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy as per usual methods. Colleters occur predominantly on the stipule's adaxial side. These structures are found at the base on a narrow strip, corresponding to the median vein up to half the length of the stipule. When present on the abaxial side, they are concentrated at the base and restricted to the margins. Colleters develop from the protoderm; they are elongate and club-shaped. Their body has no stratification; their surface cells differ from the inner cells only in position and presence of cuticle. Colleter cells have thin walls, dense cytoplasm, large nuclei, many mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and abundant dictyosomes. Histochemical tests with Ruthenium red showed pectic compounds in the cytosol. In H. stigonocarpa, colleter arrangement is compatible with the hypothesis that they protect shoot apex. In this species, protection is reinforced by the sheath formed by the stipule pairs.

Semi-hypogeal germination in Pachyrhizus ahipa (Wedd.) parodi (Fabaceae: Phaseoleae): seedling and sapling morphology

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