Immobilization and stabilization of a bimolecular aggregate of the lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens by multipoint covalent attachment

The soluble lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PFL) forms bimolecular aggregates in which the hydrophobic active centers of the enzyme monomers are in close contact. This bimolecular aggregate could be immobilized by multipoint covalent linkages on glyoxyl supports at pH 8.5. The monomer of PFL obtained by incubation of the soluble enzyme in the presence of detergent (0.5% TRITON X-100) could not be immobilized under these conditions. The bimolecular aggregate has two amino terminal residues in the same plane. A further incubation of the immobilized derivative under more alkaline conditions (e.g., pH 10.5) allows a further multipoint attachment of lysine (Lys) residues located in the same plane as the amino terminal residues. Monomeric PFL was immobilized at pH 10.5 in the presence of 0.5% TRITON X-100. The properties of both PFL derivatives were compared. In general, the bimolecular derivatives were more active, more selective and more stable both in water and in organic solvents than the monomolecular ones. The bimolecular derivative showed twice the activity and a much higher selectivity (100 versus 20) for the hydrolysis of R,S-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid ethyl ester (HPBEt) in aqueous media at pH 5.0 compared to the monomeric derivative. In experiments measuring thermal inactivation at 75 °C, the bimolecular derivative was 5-fold more stable than the monomeric derivative (and 50-fold more stable than a one-point covalently immobilized PFL derivative), and it had a half-life greater than 4 h. In organic solvents (cyclohexane and tert-amyl alcohol), the bimolecular derivative was much more stable and more active than the monomeric derivative in catalyzing the transesterification of olive oil with benzyl alcohol. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combined therapy with mineral trioxide aggregate, and guided tissue regeneration for a large radicular cyst: A 13-year follow-up

Biomaterials such as membrane barriers and/or bone grafts are often used to enhance periapical new bone formation. A combination of apical surgery and these biomaterials is one of the latest treatment options for avoiding tooth extraction. In case of periapical lesions, guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is attempted to improve the self-regenerative healing process by excluding undesired proliferation of the gingival connective tissue or migration of the oral epithelial cells into osseous defects. In many cases, GTR is necessary for achieving periodontal tissue healing. This report describes the healing process after surgery in a challenging case with a long-term followup. In this case report, endodontic surgery was followed by retrograde sealing with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in the maxillary right central incisor and left lateral incisor. Apicectomy was performed in the maxillary left central incisor and a 1-mm filling was removed. The bone defect was filled with an anorganic bone graft and covered with a decalcified cortical osseous membrane. No intraoperative or postoperative complications were observed. After 13 years of follow-up, the patient showed no clinical signs or symptoms associated with the lesion and radiographic examination showed progressive resolution of radiolucency. In conclusion, the combination of apical surgery and regenerative techniques can successfully help the treatment of periapical lesions of endodontic origin and is suitable for the management of challenging cases.

Aggregate shape and tensile strength measurement

Tensile strength (TS) of soil aggregates is an important indicator of soil quality. However, TS varies with aggregate shape. Thus, the objective of this study was to quantify the influence of aggregate shape on TS and propose a shape standardization protocol to increase accuracy in the measurement of TS. The latter was determined on 7,560 aggregates divided into three shapes, (i) irregular shape (IS), (ii) spherical shape (SS), and (iii) flat surface (FS), while preserving the inherent structure of the aggregate. The aggregates with IS had a larger range in the TS (306 kPa) because of the shape variability when compared with SS (238 kPa) and FS (129 kPa). The TS determined in aggregates with FS had smaller coefficient of variation (46%) in comparison with those of IS (70%) and SS (66%), indicating that the aggregate uniformity reduced the influence of shape on the TS. A smaller force (42.12 kPa) was needed to rupture aggregates with FS than IS (58.43 kPa) and SS (56.89 kPa) because of better force distribution in causing the tensile stress. The use of aggregates with the FS enables an accurate assessment of TS in relation to a wide range of management treatments. Copyright © 2013 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Report of the Workshop on Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting

Includes bibliography

A statistical model of aggregate fragmentation

Processo FAPESP: 11/08171-3

Support area as an indicator of environmental load: Comparison between Embodied Energy, Ecological Footprint, and Emergy Accounting methods

Environmental aspects have been acknowledged as an important issue in decision making at any field during the last two decades. There are several available methodologies able to assess the environmental burden, among which the Ecological Footprint has been widely used due to its easy-to-understand final indicator. However, its theoretical base has been target of some criticisms about the inadequate representation of the sustainability concept by its final indicator. In a parallel way, efforts have been made to use the theoretical strength of the Emergy Accounting to obtain an index similar to that supplied by the Ecological Footprint. Focusing on these aspects, this work assesses the support area (SA) index for Brazilian sugarcane and American corn crop through four different approaches: Embodied Energy Analysis (SA(EE)), Ecological Footprint (SA(EF)), Renewable Empower Density (SA(R)), and Emergy Net Primary Productivity (SA(NPP)). Results indicate that the load on environment varies accordingly to the methodology considered for its calculation, in which emergy approach showed the higher values. Focusing on crops comparison, the load by producing both crops are similar with an average of 0.04 ha obtained by SA(EE), 1.86 ha by SA(EF), 4.24 ha by SA(R), and 4.32 ha by SA(NPP). Discussion indicates that support area calculated using Emergy Accounting is more eligible to represent the load on the environment due to its global scale view. Nevertheless, each methodology has its contribution depending of the study objectives, but it is important to consider the real meaning and the scope of each one. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Fuzzy Goal Programming model for solving aggregate production-planning problems under uncertainty: A case study in a Brazilian sugar mill

This paper proposes a Fuzzy Goal Programming model (FGP) for a real aggregate production-planning problem. To do so, an application was made in a Brazilian Sugar and Ethanol Milling Company. The FGP Model depicts the comprehensive production process of sugar, ethanol, molasses and derivatives, and considers the uncertainties involved in ethanol and sugar production. Decision-makings, related to the agricultural and logistics phases, were considered on a weekly-basis planning horizon to include the whole harvesting season and the periods between harvests. The research has provided interesting results about decisions in the agricultural stages of cutting, loading and transportation to sugarcane suppliers and, especially, in milling decisions, whose choice of production process includes storage and logistics distribution. (C)2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emergetic ternary diagrams: five examples for application in environmental accounting for decision-making

In a recent paper, "A combined tool for environmental scientists and decision makers: ternary diagrams and emergy accounting." [Giannettti BF, Barrella FA, Almeida CMVB. A combined tool for environment scientists and decision makers: ternary diagrams and emergy accounting. J Clean Prod, in press http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.09.002] Ternary diagrams were proposed as a graphical tool to assist emergy analysis. The graphical representation of the emergy accounting data makes it possible to compare processes and systems with and without ecosystem services, to evaluate improvements and to follow the system performance over time. The graphic tool is versatile and adaptable to represent products, processes, systems, countries, and different periods of time.The use and the versatility of ternary diagrams for assisting in performing emergy analyses are illustrated by means of five examples taken from the literature, which are presented and discussed. It is shown that emergetic ternary diagram's properties assist the assessment of the system of the system efficiency, its dependance upon renewable and non-renewable inputs and the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions. With the aid of ternary diagrams, details such as the interaction between systems and between systems and the environment are recognized and evaluated. Such a tool for graphical analysis allows a transparent presentation of the results and can serve as an interface between emergy scientists and decision makers, provided the meaning of each line in the diagram is carefully explained and understood. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Push-out bond strength of calcium hydroxide and mineral trioxide aggregate based sealers

The adhesiveness of six root canal sealers: Acroseal, Endo CPM, Epiphany, White MTA, Sealapex and Sealer 26 to dentin, was evaluated in a push-out test design. Methods: Twenty eight roots of freshly extracted teeth were gauged with a size 5 Largo drill. With a cutting machine slices of 2 mm were prepared, rinsed with 5.25% NaOCl and a final rinse with 17% EDTA, dried and filled with one of the sealers. After setting their bond strength was measured in a mechanical testing machine. The data were statistically analyzed by using a One Way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test. Results: The mean and standard deviation from values of bond strength was: Sealapex 2.2±0.4; Endo CPM 3.8±1.3; White MTA 6.0±1.4; Epiphany 10.9±2.6; Sealer 26 12.3±2.3; and Acroseal 12.2±1.4. Acroseal, Sealer 26 and Epiphany presented a significantly (P<0.01) greater bond strength compared with the other sealers. Also White MTA showed higher adhesiveness compared with Endo CPM and Sealapex (P<0.01). Conclusion: The bond strength between endodontic sealers and root dentin was maximal when Acroseal, Sealer 26 and Epiphany were used; Sealapex e Endo CPM, in turn, presented the lowest bond strength mean values.

Combined therapy with mineral trioxide aggregate, and guided tissue regeneration for a large radicular cyst: a 13-year follow-u

Biomaterials such as membrane barriers and/or bone grafts are often used to enhance periapical new bone formation. A combination of apical surgery and these biomaterials is one of the latest treatment options for avoiding tooth extraction. In case of periapical lesions, guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is attempted to improve the self-regenerative healing process by excluding undesired proliferation of the gingival connective tissue or migration of the oral epithelial cells into osseous defects. In many cases, GTR is necessary for achieving periodontal tissue healing. This report describes the healing process after surgery in a challenging case with a long-term followup. In this case report, endodontic surgery was followed by retrograde sealing with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in the maxillary right central incisor and left lateral incisor. Apicectomy was performed in the maxillary left central incisor and a 1-mm filling was removed. The bone defect was filled with an anorganic bone graft and covered with a decalcified cortical osseous membrane. No intraoperative or postoperative complications were observed. After 13 years of follow-up, the patient showed no clinical signs or symptoms associated with the lesion and radiographic examination showed progressive resolution of radiolucency. In conclusion, the combination of apical surgery and regenerative techniques can successfully help the treatment of periapical lesions of endodontic origin and is suitable for the management of challenging cases

Root reconstructed with mineral trioxide aggregate and guided tissue regeneration in apical surgery: a 5-year follow-up

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

Accounting for uncertainty in ecological analysis: the strengths and limitations of hierarchical statistical modeling

Analyses of ecological data should account for the uncertainty in the process(es) that generated the data. However, accounting for these uncertainties is a difficult task, since ecology is known for its complexity. Measurement and/or process errors are often the only sources of uncertainty modeled when addressing complex ecological problems, yet analyses should also account for uncertainty in sampling design, in model specification, in parameters governing the specified model, and in initial and boundary conditions. Only then can we be confident in the scientific inferences and forecasts made from an analysis. Probability and statistics provide a framework that accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty. Given the complexities of ecological studies, the hierarchical statistical model is an invaluable tool. This approach is not new in ecology, and there are many examples (both Bayesian and non-Bayesian) in the literature illustrating the benefits of this approach. In this article, we provide a baseline for concepts, notation, and methods, from which discussion on hierarchical statistical modeling in ecology can proceed. We have also planted some seeds for discussion and tried to show where the practical difficulties lie. Our thesis is that hierarchical statistical modeling is a powerful way of approaching ecological analysis in the presence of inevitable but quantifiable uncertainties, even if practical issues sometimes require pragmatic compromises.