Chemical and radiological characterization of clay minerals used in pharmaceutics and cosmetics

Since the early days, clays have been used for therapeutic purposes. Nowadays, they are used as active ingredients or as excipient in formulations for a variety of purposes. Despite their wide use, little information is available in literature on their content of trace elements and radionuclides. The purpose of this study was to determine the elements (As, Ba, Br, Cs, Co, Cr, Eu, Fe, Hf, Hg, La, Lu, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Yb, Zn, and Zr) and the radionuclides ((238)U, (232)Th, (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (210)Pb and (40)K) in Brazilian clays as well as the health and radiological implications of the use of these clays in pharmaceutical formulations. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Family Novel in the Emerging Nation-State: A Comparative Study of Ba Jin’s Jia and Lev Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina

The theme of family in literature and in popular discourse occurs at times when the family as an institution is under attack. Attacks against the family coupled with defence of the family are viewed as the barometer of people’s satisfaction with the society in which they live. This outpouring of emotion, whether it is in defence of or attacking the family, is the result of the family’s position on the bridge between nature and society – a fortunate (or a detrimental) link between an individual and the units that make up a society. Across the United States and much of the western world, the battle for gay marriage and inclusive civil unions has revealed the fissures in our collective moral view of the family. The conservative concern about the absence of ‘family values’ is magnified by our situation in a world of flux. Inflation, war, terrorist threats, and the depletion of natural resources are but a few examples. When so much is unknown, how do we position ourselves? What anchors us to the past, gives us comfort in the present, and supports us in the future if not the family? Alternatively, what coddles us more in the past, shackles us more to the present, and lulls us more into a fixed conception of the future than the family? My research is not a sociological survey into the family nor does it stake any claims to understanding the present state of the family in society. The study seeks, however, to shed light on the rhetorical uses of the family by analysing two novels that are inextricably concerned with the theory of the family in times of heightened social change. In particular, my research focuses upon the social role and political meaning of the family in Anna Karenina and Jia.

Change through Tradition in the Work of 'Zulu Sofola Rehearsal Presentation Outline

This paper highlights the struggle Nigerian playwright 'Zulu Sofola underwent to impart her message. She attempted to confront gender oppression through tradition without contradicting herself in her play, 'Wedlock of the Gods.' ‘Zulu Sofola wrote commentaries about social problems and the influence of Western culture. Her goal was to maintain a traditional framework in the face of encroaching Western perspectives. She advocated enacting change through tradition, irrespective of Western ideologies about change. Sofola focused on gender oppression as a social problem. She intended to address gender oppression rooted in tradition by teaching traditional customs to her audience in order for audiences to make informed and progressive decisions about what to change within traditional practices. Thus, her traditionalist approach to change requires cognizance and recognition of tradition as an initial step. Sofola argued against the influences of Westernization that shift the focus of change from confronting customs through tradition to confronting customs through Western ideology.

Grotesque in Dickens

Dickens's use of the grotesque in his novels undergoes a variety of changes. For convenience sake, and to better illustrate the developments of the grotesque, I divide the novels into three separate groups. The first group, the period of experiment, included the novels from Pickwick Papers through Barnaby Rudge; the second group, the period of transition, includes the novels from Martin Chuzzlewit through David Copperfield; and the third, the period of a new vision. included the novels from Bleak House through Edwin Drood. Basically, I see the development of the grotesque involving a change in Dickens's conceptions of society, as well as responding to complex changes in society itself; Dickens's vision loses much of its humor in the end, yet it also reflects a definite maturity.

Dwelling in possibility: aestheticizing identity in African American women's fiction

African American women writers define aesthetics through their negotiation of identity in the politicized loci of space, place and voice. In the balkanization of such issues of voice and space, we can see the ways that the emergent selfis embodied and aestheticized in literature. To do so creates a more tactile and "artfull" representation of the self rather than a representation of identity as a mere abstract concept. To use written language to express the self is to carry processes of selfdefinition for black women into the realm of creative production. For women, especially black women, who are a politically and socially compromised element of society, the written word is a way of expressing the politically and the socially critical voice that is suppressed in other forums of expression. Using theories on "writing in difference" as a skeleton key, this project seeks to outline some of the ways that black women writers use aesthetic elements in their art to express the potential for self-examination, discovery, and emancipation.

Do encontro das águas ao Atlântico negro: organização, difusão de frames e os limites do ativismo transnacional no movimento negro brasileiro

Meu objetivo nesta tese é compreender o processo de transnacionalização do movimento negro brasileiro e as suas consequências para a luta antirracista no Brasil. Em outras palavras, busco compreender como os negros brasileiros se articulam com os negros do mundo para cumprir seus objetivos. Uma vez que hoje a cultura negra global tem sido compreendida a partir da metáfora do “Atlântico Negro”, que representa um espaço de trocas transnacional que conecta todos os sujeitos da diáspora negra, assumo esta mesma metáfora como ponto de partida para minha reflexão. Entretanto, me interessa refletir sob um dos aspectos do Atlântico Negro, que é a sua dimensão organizacional. Se é pelo Atlântico Negro que hoje circulam um conjunto de conteúdos que são compartilhados pela comunidade negra mundial, tais como idéias e práticas que estão relacionadas a religião, a música, a literatura e as formas de organização, então podemos afirmar que a organização do movimento negro brasileiro se alimenta também destas múltiplas dimensões. Para desenvolver esta linha de argumentação, a tese utiliza o caso do movimento negro brasileiro para analisar o processo de difusão de um frame transnacional racialista que é apropriado pelo movimento negro como base para a elaboração de um diagnóstico, prognóstico e ressonância das ações de combate ao racismo no Brasil e para a definição das estruturas de mobilização e das estratégias de ação do movimento. Contudo, esta apropriação não ocorre sem problemas, pois este frame enfrenta outros frames locais, de caráter não-racialista, o que acarreta severas restrições ao ativismo transnacional na medida em que o próprio movimento negro se vê diante do dilema entre manter o alinhamento com o frame transnacional e aproveita as oportunidades políticas oferecidas pelo racialismo, ou relativiza este frame fazendo algumas concessões em suas propostas e na sua organização, a fim de se adaptar aos frames locais, negociando estas oportunidades a partir das restrições existentes. Para entender esta dinâmica, proponho a metáfora do “Encontro das Águas” amazonense, como um ponto de argumentação complementar ao Atlântico Negro, pois leva em conta os aspectos locais da luta antirracista que se apoiam na mestiçagem como identidade autônoma que não se dilui facilmente na identidade negra. Além de desenvolver estes pontos, a tese contribui para compreender melhor a dialética entre o global e local, bem como as tensões advindas dos frames em disputa.

"Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" : romantic imagery in Mary Shelley's Frankstein

Romantic English literature – written at a time when prose fiction was predominantly a medium for sheer entertainment – is rooted in poetry. One or two novelists may exceptionally be granted the adjective “Romantic”, but Mary Shelley is not ranked among them. For centuries, her work has been restricted to that section in handbooks reserved for exotic Gothic literature. This thesis argues that literary criticism has failed to recognize Frankenstein’s obvious relation with the movement. The argument will be fostered by a brief look at such handbooks, and developed through the analysis of the imagery of the novel, so as to trace the Romantic elements there contained. The analysis relies mainly on the frame developed by Northrop Frye concerning the nature and function of imagery in literature. The concept of intertextuality will also be useful as a tool to account for the insertion of images in the novel, and for the novel’s insertion within the Romantic context. The work is divided into three parts. The first contextualizes the main issues set forth by Frankenstein, establishing connections with the life of the author and with the Romantic movement. The second exposes the theoretical basis on which the thesis is grounded. The last presents my reading of the novel’s web of images. In the end, I hope to validate the thesis proposed, that Frankenstein embodies the aesthetic and philosophical assessments of the English Romantic agenda, and therefore deserves to be situated in its due place in the English Literary canon as the legitimate representative of Romanticism in prose form.

The eager fight for supremacy in the online service industry: a comparative study of M&A activities: case studies of Apple, Google and Microsoft

A indústria de serviços online é caracterizada por um volume alto de Fusões e Aquisições no período de 2005 a 2015. As líderes de mercado, Apple, Google e Microsoft, incorporaram essa forma de crescimento inorgânico em suas estratégias corporativas. Essa tese examina as atividades de Fusões e Aquisições dessas três empresas. Consequentemente, ela tem foco em dois aspectos principais. Primeiro, existe o objetivo de saciar uma escassez na literatura acadêmica, no que se diz respeito ao estabelecimento de uma conexão entre a estratégia corporativa dessas empresas e as decisões tomadas de Fusões e Aquisições. Segundo, há também o objetivo de estimar possíveis futuros desenvolvimentos no setor. Através de uma análise de conteúdo qualitativa das publicações das empresas, relatórios de análise de mercado, e outros conteúdos de terceiros, estudos de caso foram desenvolvidos. Os resultados mostram o processo de posicionamento estratégico por parte da Apple, Google e Microsoft, dentro do mercado de serviços online, entre os anos de 2005 e 2015. As recorrentes fusões e aquisições são analisadas, no que se diz respeito as estratégias corporativas dessas empresas e a responsividade perante as atividades de seus competidores. Os resultados evidenciam atividades agressivas de Fusões e Aquisições em grupos estratégicos em comum entre as três empresas, especialmente no mercado de aparelhos de comunicação móvel e serviços de comunicação.

Determination of lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants in Solanum Lycopersicum L. tomato from Gordal variety by LL-USAE combined with UHPLC-PDA/FLR

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is one of the main constituents of the Mediterranean diet. Its consumption has been proposed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer. It is therefore one of the most popular and extensively consumed vegetable crop worldwide. To gain insights on the potential of Lycopersicon esculentum L. as bioactive food, two analytical methodologies were developed to determine the levels of the lipophilic -tocopherol, α-tocopherol, β-carotene, lycopene; and hydrophilic antioxidants ascorbic acid. The quantification of total carotenoids (β-carotene and lycopene) was assessed through a liquid–liquid ultrasound assisted extraction (LL-USAE) in combination with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), according to method of mean, for total carotenoids (λmáx = 450 nm. The ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic using both photodiode array and fluorescence detection (UHPLC-PDA/FLR), allows the identification and quantification of the target lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants. This methodology UHPLC-PDA/FLR is fast, simple and revealed a high sensitivity for the compounds under study. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) obtained were much lower (about 10 times) than the reported in literature. The method LL-USAE/UV-Vis was validated and applied to different tomato foodstuffs. The results reveal a small increase of carotenoids content during maturation, reaching the maximum level when ripe. These results complement those obtained by the ORAC and TBARS assays that show an increase of antioxidant capacity during maturation. The LODs ans LOQs obtained were also about 10 times lower than reported in literature. The carotenoid content was also evaluated by LL-USAE/UV-Vis in different tomatoes varieties. Regional variety present the high carotenoid level, followed by campari and gordal, and at last grape. This methodology was also applied to different processed food samples containing tomatoes derivatives. Highest carotenoids content were obtained in concentrated tomato foodstuffs.

Estimating mortality in laying hens as the environmental temperature increases

Layer mortality due to heat stress is an important economic loss for the producer. The aim of this study was to determine the mortality pattern of layers reared in the region of Bastos, SP, Brazil, according to external environment and bird age. Data mining technique were used based on monthly mortality records of hens in production, 135 poultry houses, from January 2004 to August 2008. The external environment was characterized according maximum and minimum temperatures, obtained monthly at the meteorological station CATI in the city of Tupa, SP, Brazil. Mortality was classified as normal (<= 1.2%) or high (> 1.2%), considering the mortality limits mentioned in literature. Data mining technique produced a decision tree with nine levels and 23 leaves, with 62.6% of overall accuracy. The hit rate for the High class was 64.1% and 59.9% for Normal class. The decision tree allowed finding a pattern in the mortality data, generating a model for estimating mortality based on the thermal environment and bird age.

A novel A2 allele found in Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi

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

An efficient neural approach to economic load dispatch in power systems

A neural approach to solve the problem defined by the economic load dispatch in power systems is presented in this paper, Systems based on artificial neural networks have high computational rates due to the use of a massive number of simple processing elements and the high degree of connectivity between these elements the ability of neural networks to realize some complex nonlinear function makes them attractive for system optimization the neural networks applyed in economic load dispatch reported in literature sometimes fail to converge towards feasible equilibrium points the internal parameters of the modified Hopfield network developed here are computed using the valid-subspace technique These parameters guarantee the network convergence to feasible quilibrium points, A solution for the economic load dispatch problem corresponds to an equilibrium point of the network. Simulation results and comparative analysis in relation to other neural approaches are presented to illustrate efficiency of the proposed approach.

A DOE based approach for the design of RBF artificial neural networks applied to prediction of surface roughness in AISI 52100 hardened Steel turning

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Reforma a vapor catalítica do metano: Otimização da produção e seletividade em hidrogênio por absorção in situ do CO2 produzido

Topics of research related to energy and environment have significantly grown in recent years, with the need of its own energy as hydrogen. More particularly, numerous researches have been focused on hydrogen as energy vector. The main portion of hydrogen is presently obtained by reforming of methane or light hydrocarbons (steam, oxy, dry or auto reforming). During the methane steam reforming process the formation of CO2 undesirable (the main contributor to the greenhouse effect) is observed. Thus, an oxide material (sorbent) can be used to capture the CO2 generated during the process and simultaneously shifting the equilibrium of water gas shift towards thermodynamically more favorable production of pure hydrogen. The aim of this study is to develop a material with dual function (catalyst/sorbent) in the reaction of steam reforming of methane. CaO is well known as CO2 sorbent due to its high efficiency in reactions of carbonation and easy regeneration through calcination. However the kinetic of carbonation decreases quickly with time and carbonation/calcination cycles. A calcium aluminate (Ca12Al14O33) should be used to avoid sintering and increase the stability of CaO sorbents for several cycles. Nickel, the industrial catalyst choice for steam reforming has been added to the support from different manners. These bi-functional materials (sorbent/catalyst) in different molar ratios CaO.Ca12Al14O33 (48:52, 65:35, 75:25, 90:10) were prepared by different synthesis methodologies, among them, especially the method of microwave assisted self-combustion. Synthesis, structure and catalytic performances of Ni- CaO.Ca12Al14O33 synthesized by the novel method (microwave assisted selfcombustion) proposed in this work has not being reported yet in literature. The results indicate that CO2 capture time depends both on the CaO excess and on operating conditions (eg., temperature and H2O/CH4 ratio). To be efficient for CO2 sorption, temperature of steam reforming needs to be lower than 700 °C. An optimized percentage corresponding to 75% of CaO and a ratio H2O/CH4 = 1 provides the most promising results since a smaller amount of water avoids competition between water and CO2 to form carbonate and hydroxide. If this competition is most effective (H2O/CH4 = 3) and would have a smaller amount of CaO available for absorption possibly due to the formation of Ca(OH)2. Therefore, the capture time was higher (16h) for the ratio H2O/CH4 = 1 than H2O/CH4 = 3 (7h) using as catalyst one prepared by impregnating the support obtained by microwave assisted self-combustion. Therefore, it was demonstrated that, with these catalysts, the CO2 sorption on CaO modifies the balance of the water gas-shift reaction. Consequently, steam reforming of CH4 is optimized, producing pure H2, complete conversion of methane and negligible concentration of CO2 and CO during the time of capture even at low temperature (650 °C). This validates the concept of the sorption of CO2 together with methane steam reforming

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in children with obstructive sleep apnea and primary snoring

Objective: To evaluate the systemic blood pressure (BP) during daytime and nighttime in children with sleep breathing disorders (SBD) and compare parameters of BP in children with diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) to those one with primary snoring (PS).Methods: Children, both genders, aged from 8 to 12 years, with symptoms of SBD realized an overnight polysomnography followed by a 24 h recording of ambulatory BP.Results: All subjects presented with a history of snoring 7 nights per week. Children who have apnea/hipoapnea index >= four or a apnea index >= one presented a mean BP of 93 +/- 7 mmHg and 85 +/- 9 mmHg diurnal and nocturnal respectively whereas children who have a apnea/hipoapnea < four or a apnea index < one presented 90 +/- 7 mmHg and 77 +/- 2 mmHg. Eight children out of fourteen, from OSA group, lost the physiologic nocturnal dipping of the blood pressure. Among OSA children 57% were considered non-dippers. Two (16%) have presented absence of nocturnal dipping among children with primary snoring. The possibility of OSA children loosing physiologic blood pressure dipping was 6.66 higher than the possibilities of patients from PS group.Discussion: Our results indicate that children with sleep apnea syndrome exhibit a higher 24 h blood pressure when compared with those of primary snoring in form of decreased degree of nocturnal dipping and increased levels of diastolic and mean blood pressure, according to previous studies in literature. OSA in children seems to be associated to the development of hypertension or other cardiovascular disease. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.