Influence of drying conditions on the moisture diffusion and fluidization quality during multi-stage fluidized bed drying of bovine intestine for pet food

In order to establish the influence of the drying air characteristics on the drying performance and fluidization quality of bovine intestine for pet food, several drying tests have been carried out in a laboratory scale heat pump assisted fluid bed dryer. Bovine intestine samples were heat pump fluidized bed dried at atmospheric pressure and at temperatures below and above the materials freezing points, equipped with a continuous monitoring system. The investigation of the drying characteristics have been conducted in the temperature range −10 to 25 ◦C and the airflow in the range 1.5–2.5 m/s. Some experiments were conducted as single temperature drying experiments and others as two stage drying experiments employing two temperatures. An Arrhenius-type equation was used to interpret the influence of the drying air temperature on the effective diffusivity, calculated with the method of slopes in terms of energy activation, and this was found to be sensitive to the temperature. The effective diffusion coefficient of moisture transfer was determined by the Fickian method using uni-dimensional moisture movement in both moisture, removal by evaporation and combined sublimation and evaporation. Correlations expressing the effective moisture diffusivity and drying temperature are reported. Bovine particles were characterized according to the Geldart classification and the minimum fluidization velocity was calculated using the Ergun Equation and generalized equation for all drying conditions at the beginning and end of the trials. Walli’s model was used to categorize stability of the fluidization at the beginning and end of the dryingv for each trial. The determined Walli’s values were positive at the beginning and end of all trials indicating stable fluidization at the beginning and end for each drying condition.

A vibrational spectroscopic study of the phosphate mineral churchite (REE)(PO4)⋅2H2O

Vibrational spectroscopy has been used to study the rare earth mineral churchite of formula (REE)(PO4)-⋅2H2O. The mineral contains a range of rare earth metals including yttrium depending on the locality. The Raman spectra of churchite-(REE) are characterized by an intense sharp band at 984 cm-1 assigned to the v1 (PO¾-) symmetric stretching mode. A lower intensity band observed at around 1067 cm-1 is attributed to the v3 (PO¾-) antisymmetric stretching mode. The (PO¾-) bending modes are observed at 497 cm-1 (v2) and 565 cm-1(v4). Raman bands at 649 and 681 cm-1 are assigned to water librational modes. Vibrational spectroscopy enables aspects of the structure of churchite to be ascertained.

Fostering rapid transitions to education for sustainable development through a whole-system approach to curriculum and organizational change

Despite decades of attempts to embed sustainability within higher education, literature clearly suggests that highly regulated disciplines such as engineering have been relatively slow to incorporate sustainability knowledge and skill areas, and are generally poorly prepared to do so. With current efforts, it is plausible that sustainability could take another two decades to be embedded within the curriculum. Within this context, this paper presents a whole system approach to implement systematic, intentional and timely curriculum renewal that is responsive to emerging challenges and opportunities, encompassing curriculum and organizational change. The paper begins by considering the evolution of curriculum renewal processes, documenting a number of whole system considerations that have been empirically distilled from literature, case studies, pilot trials, and a series of workshops with built environment educators from around the world over the last decade. The paper outlines a whole-of-institution curriculum renewal approach to embedding sustainability knowledge and skills within the DNA of the institutional offerings. The paper concludes with a discussion of research and practice implications for the field of education research, within and beyond higher education.

Identification of direct transcriptional targets of V600EBRAF/MEK signalling in melanoma

Oncogenic mutations in BRAF are common in melanoma and drive constitutive activation of the MEK/ERK pathway. To elucidate the transcriptional events downstream of V600EBRAF/MEK signalling we performed gene expression profiling of A375 melanoma cells treated with potent and selective inhibitors of V600EBRAF and MEK (PLX4720 and PD184352 respectively). Using a stringent Bayesian approach, we identified 69 transcripts that appear to be direct transcriptional targets of this pathway and whose expression changed after 6 h of pathway inhibition. We also identified several additional genes whose expression changed after 24 h of pathway inhibition and which are likely to be indirect transcriptional targets of the pathway. Several of these were confirmed by demonstrating their expression to be similarly regulated when BRAF was depleted using RNA interference, and by using qRT-PCR in other BRAF mutated melanoma lines. Many of these genes are transcription factors and feedback inhibitors of the ERK pathway and are also regulated by MEK signalling in NRAS mutant cells. This study provides a basis for understanding the molecular processes that are regulated by V600EBRAF/MEK signalling in melanoma cells.

Mosaic PPM1D mutations are associated with predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer

Improved sequencing technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for investigating the role of rare genetic variation in common disease. However, there are considerable challenges with respect to study design, data analysis and replication. Using pooled next-generation sequencing of 507 genes implicated in the repair of DNA in 1,150 samples, an analytical strategy focused on protein-truncating variants (PTVs) and a large-scale sequencing case-control replication experiment in 13,642 individuals, here we show that rare PTVs in the p53-inducible protein phosphatase PPM1D are associated with predisposition to breast cancer and ovarian cancer. PPM1D PTV mutations were present in 25 out of 7,781 cases versus 1 out of 5,861 controls (P = 1.12 × 10-5), including 18 mutations in 6,912 individuals with breast cancer (P = 2.42 × 10-4) and 12 mutations in 1,121 individuals with ovarian cancer (P = 3.10 × 10-9). Notably, all of the identified PPM1D PTVs were mosaic in lymphocyte DNA and clustered within a 370-base-pair region in the final exon of the gene, carboxy-terminal to the phosphatase catalytic domain. Functional studies demonstrate that the mutations result in enhanced suppression of p53 in response to ionizing radiation exposure, suggesting that the mutant alleles encode hyperactive PPM1D isoforms. Thus, although the mutations cause premature protein truncation, they do not result in the simple loss-of-function effect typically associated with this class of variant, but instead probably have a gain-of-function effect. Our results have implications for the detection and management of breast and ovarian cancer risk. More generally, these data provide new insights into the role of rare and of mosaic genetic variants in common conditions, and the use of sequencing in their identification.

The conservation status of the world’s reptiles

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known species). To our knowledge, our results provide the first analysis of the global conservation status and distribution patterns of reptiles and the threats affecting them, highlighting conservation priorities and knowledge gaps which need to be addressed urgently to ensure the continued survival of the world’s reptiles. Nearly one in five reptilian species are threatened with extinction, with another one in five species classed as Data Deficient. The proportion of threatened reptile species is highest in freshwater environments, tropical regions and on oceanic islands, while data deficiency was highest in tropical areas, such as Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and among fossorial reptiles. Our results emphasise the need for research attention to be focussed on tropical areas which are experiencing the most dramatic rates of habitat loss, on fossorial reptiles for which there is a chronic lack of data, and on certain taxa such as snakes for which extinction risk may currently be underestimated due to lack of population information. Conservation actions specifically need to mitigate the effects of human-induced habitat loss and harvesting, which are the predominant threats to reptiles.

An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between similar to 40,000 and similar to 53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of similar to 19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of similar to 4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

Sapientia, 1947, Vol. II, nº 6 (número completo)

Contenido: Ser o no ser : el dilema de la filosofía y cultura actual / La Dirección – Los primeros principios y el tercer grado de abstracción / Reginaldo Garrigou Lagrange – Existencialismo e historia / Juan R. Sepich – F. H. Jacobi y la filosofía : un ejemplo de filosofía del sentimiento / Raymundo Paniker – Ontología de la existencia / Alberto García Vieyra – Notas y comentarios -- Bibliografía

Sapientia, 1953, Vol. VIII, nº 30 (número completo)

Contenido: Filosofía y vida / La Dirección – Ensayo sobre la acción / J. H. Nicolás O. P. – Reflexión acerca del principio de identidad / José María de Estrada – La evolución del patriotismo en occidente / Raymundo Paniker – Notas y comentarios -- Bibliografía

Sapientia, 1948, Vol. III, nº 7 (número completo)

Contenido: Realismo intelectualista o irracionalismo caótico : nueva fórmula del dilema de la filosofía y cultura contemporánea / La Dirección – El desarrollo histórico de la filosofía y lógica medioevales del lenguaje / Martín Grabmann – F. H. Jacobi y la filosofía : un ejemplo de filosofía del sentimiento / Raymundo Paniker – Humanismo moderno y humanismo cristiano / Ricardo Fuentes Castellanos -- Bibliografía

Na trilha do etéreo : a divinizaçao da Domus Iulia na Eneida de Vigílio e nas Metamorfoses de Ovídio

Resumen: No momento em que a Eneida foi composta, entre os anos 29 e 19 a.C, a memória da divinização de César se fazia presente, lançando também a expectativa sobre a consecratio do próprio Imperador. No poema épico, o prenúncio da apoteose de Augusto surge na mesma profecia em que Júpiter assegura a Vênus a acolhida de seu filho, Enéias, entre os imortais (VIRGÍLIO, Eneida, I.259- 289). Este tema reaparece nas Metamorfoses de Ovídio cujas linhas finais do livro XV retratam a transformação de Júlio César em astro – sidus - e mencionam o dia em que o Princeps deverá receber, nos céus, as preces de seus governados (OVÍDIO, Metamorfoses, XV.745-879). Tendo em vista a instituição do culto imperial, problematizaremos nas obras mencionadas as relações entre mito, memória e poder no Principado.

A política espacial brasileira

Síntese das contribuições apresentadas no âmbito do estudo promovido pelo Conselho de Altos Estudos, durante ciclo de palestras que contou com a participação de especialistas e diretores de instituições e de empresas vinculadas aos projetos que procuram inserir o Brasil como ator de relevante destaque no cenário internacional de conquista do espaço. Organizado em dois volumes, o estudo visa apurar as razões que levaram à sucessiva postergação das metas e do cronograma previstos no programa Missão Espacial Completa Brasileira, bem como apontar propostas que possam equacionar as dificuldades e limitações do programa espacial no Brasil. Pretende também levar à sociedade brasileira o debate sobre a relevância, os objetivos e a relação entre os custos e os benefícios de se manter um programa de alta intensidade tecnológica, cotejando os investimentos e os riscos envolvidos com os resultados que podem ser alcançados.