Gases e ruídos em edificações para suínos: aplicação das normas NR-15, CIGR e ACGIH

A produção de suínos representa importante setor da economia brasileira, e a possibilidade de crescimento na produção é iminente, principalmente se considerar o baixo consumo de carne suína comparado ao de outras carnes e com outros países. As transformações e exigências de mercado que vêm ocorrendo no cenário mundial mostram que, num futuro muito próximo, as barreiras serão baseadas no bem-estar dos animais, na proteção ao meio ambiente e na legislação trabalhista. Pouco conhecimento está disponível sobre as normas relacionadas ao trabalho com agentes ambientais nas atividades rurais, assim como as condições de qualidade do ar nas instalações brasileiras. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram aplicar as principais normas relacionadas a ruído e gases, e estimar os riscos de exposição ocupacional a partir de medidas de ruído, sulfeto de hidrogênio, metano e oxigênio em granjas de suínos nas fases de creche e terminação. Os resultados mostram que os níveis de ruídos contínuos ficaram abaixo do permitido pelas normas, entretanto foram observadas diferenças (P < 0,05) em relação ao ruído medido na creche com gaiolas e em piso semi-ripado; as concentrações de sulfeto de hidrogênio e metano foram inferiores a 1 ppm e 0,1% em volume, respectivamente, inferiores aos limites recomendados pelas normas NR-15, CIGR e ACGIH, e o nível de oxigênio ficou, em média, em 21%.

Ambiência aérea em alojamento de frangos de corte: poeira e gases

A qualidade do ar em ambientes de produção animal vem sendo referenciada como ponto de interesse em estudos de sistema de controle ambiental, focando tanto a saúde dos animais que vivem em total confinamento, quanto a dos trabalhadores. O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a variação da qualidade da ambiência aérea em dois tipos de galpões criatórios de frangos de corte: convencional (Gc) e tipo túnel (Gt). Os valores de poeira total, em ambos os galpões, ofereceram condições adequadas às aves; entretanto, as concentrações de poeira respirável no ar estiveram acima do limite recomendado para humanos. A concentração de monóxido de carbono, na fase de aquecimento, esteve acima dos 10 ppm máximos recomendados, no período avaliado, sendo superior na época de frio no galpão Gt (30 ppm), comparada ao galpão Gc (18 ppm). Os picos de concentração de amônia no ar estiveram acima dos 20 ppm máximos recomendados às aves a partir do 20º dia de produção, em ambos os galpões, e na média diária, por período superior no galpão Gt (4h30), quando comparado ao Gc (2h45). Foram encontrados apenas traços de óxido nítrico e metano, enquanto a concentração de gás carbônico, avaliada em condições diurnas, atendeu aos limites máximos permitidos, tanto para aves quanto para o trabalhador.

Índíces de conforto térmico e concentração de gases em galpões avícolas no semiárido Paraibano

Esta pesquisa teve o objetivo de determinar os índices de conforto térmico e a concentração de gases no interior de galpões avícolas e suas influencias sobre o desempenho de frangos de corte comercias, em condições de verão, na região semiárida paraibana. Utilizaram-se dois aviários, um coberto com telha de cerâmica e outro coberto com telha de fibrocimento. Observou-se que não houve diferença significativa (p > 0,05) entre a temperatura ambiente (TA), umidade relativa do ar (UR), temperatura da água de bebida (Tágua) e da cama entre os galpões, sendo que os valores médios de TA (das 8h às 17h) e UR (das 10h às 16h) podem ser considerados fora do limite da zona de termoneutralidade recomendada para frangos de corte, como também a Tágua, no período diurno, ficou acima dos limites recomendados, que é de 24 ºC. Nenhum dos aviários apresentou concentrações de gases que oferecesse insalubridade para as aves e para os trabalhadores. Apesar de a Tágua e de os índices de conforto térmico, nos horários mais quentes do dia, estarem elevados, os índices produtivos ficaram dentro do estabelecido pela indústria avícola brasileira.

Thermal performance and concentration of gases in facilities for pigs in semiarid region from State of Paraiba - Brazil

The study was conducted in a facility for pigs during the nursery and finishing in the town of 'Montadas', in the semiarid of the state of Paraiba, Brazil, in the rainy and dry season, aiming to evaluate the concentration of oxygen, methane, carbon monoxide and ammonia, and the bioclimatic indexes: ambient temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH) and the index of black globe temperature and humidity (IBGTH). These indexes differed significantly (P>0.05) between the periods and times. The AT in the rainy season was in the thermal comfort zone(TCZ) in most of the times in the nursery; for the finishing phase, thermal discomfort occurred; during the dry season, there was thermal comfort in the nursery phase; in the finishing phase the thermal discomfort occurred at all times. In the rainy season, the IBGTH was in TCZ; in the dry season, it was above the TCZ. The RH in the rainy period was in the TCZ; in the dry season, in most of the times, below the range of the TCZ. The concentration of gases showed no differences (P > 0.05) between periods and between the times, and the carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and methane were below 1.0 ppm, and the ammonia showed a mean of 5.2 ppm. None of the analyzed gases exceeded the limits established by Brazilian and international standards for animals and workers.

Efeito de diferentes gases sobre o crescimento bacteriano: estudo experimental "in vitro"

OBJETIVO: Criar um modelo experimental in vitro para estudar isolada e controladamente o efeito direto de alguns gases utilizados em vídeo-laparoscopia sobre o crescimento bacteriano, além de compará-los ao efeito do ozônio, um gás sabidamente bactericida. MÉTODO: Exposição de grupos de quinze laminocultivos do tipo URIBAC (Probac do Brasil, São Paulo/Brasil), semeados com uma de três cepas das seguintes bactérias: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, e Staphylococcus aureus. A concentração utilizada de bactéria foi de 10(4) ufc/ml, o tempo de exposição foi de uma hora, o fluxo dos gases e a pressão foram mantidos constantes em 2L/m e 11 mmHg, respectivamente. Os gases utilizados foram o dióxido de carbono e o hélio na concentração de 99,99% para ambos, o ozônio a 0,4% e ar comprimido como controle. Foram também deixados um grupo de quatro placas de cada bactéria sem exposição aos gases como um controle da técnica de diluição. A leitura foi realizada após vinte e quatro horas em estufa. RESULTADOS: O ozônio promoveu esterilização de 100% dos laminocultivos; os demais gases não alteraram significativamente nenhuma das culturas em relação aos controles. CONCLUSÕES: O modelo de exposição criado é prático e eficiente. Os gases atualmente utilizados para a realização do pneumoperitônio não apresentam efeito bactericida significativo sobre as bactérias testadas. O Ozônio têm efeito bactericida superior aos demais gases estudados.

Spin-Dynamics in Cold Gases of 87Rb and Atomic Hydrogen. The spins they are a-changin’

In this thesis the dynamics of cold gaseous atoms is studied. Two different atomic species and two different experimental techniques have been used. In the first part of the thesis experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates of Rb-87 are presented. In these experiments the methods of laser cooling and magnetic trapping of atoms were utilized. An atom chip was used as the experimental technique for implementation of magnetic trapping. The atom chip is a small integrated instrument allowing accurate and detailed manipulation of the atoms. The experiments with Rb-87 probed the behaviour of a falling beam of atoms outcoupled from the Bose-Einstein condensate by electromagnetic field induced spin flips. In the experiments a correspondence between the phases of the outcoupling radio frequency field and the falling beam of atoms was found. In the second part of the thesis experiments of spin dynamics in cold atomic hydrogen gas are discussed. The experiments with atomic hydrogen are conducted in a cryostat using a dilution refrigerator as the cooling method. These experiments concentrated on explaining and quantifying modulations in the electron spin resonance spectra of doubly polarized atomic hydrogen. The modifications to the previous experimental setup are described and the observation of electron spin waves is presented. The observed spin wave modes were caused by the identical spin rotation effect. These modes have a strong dependence on the spatial profile of the polarizing magnetic field. We also demonstrated confinement of these modes in regions of strong magnetic field and manipulated their spatial distribution by changing the position of the field maximum.

Application of a non isotropic turbulence model to stable atmospheric flows and dispersion over 3D topography

A non isotropic turbulence model is extended and applied to three dimensional stably stratified flows and dispersion calculations. The model is derived from the algebraic stress model (including wall proximity effects), but it retains the simplicity of the "eddy viscosity" concept of first order models. The "modified k-epsilon" is implemented in a three dimensional numerical code. Once the flow is resolved, the predicted velocity and turbulence fields are interpolated into a second grid and used to solve the concentration equation. To evaluate the model, various steady state numerical solutions are compared with small scale dispersion experiments which were conducted at the wind tunnel of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in Japan. Stably stratified flows and plume dispersion over three distinct idealized complex topographies (flat and hilly terrain) are studied. Vertical profiles of velocity and pollutant concentration are shown and discussed. Also, comparisons are made against the results obtained with the standard k-epsilon model.

Wind tunnel simulation of atmospheric boundary layer flows

The present work shows how thick boundary layers can be produced in a short wind tunnel with a view to simulate atmospheric flows. Several types of thickening devices are analysed. The experimental assessment of the devices was conducted by considering integral properties of the flow and the spectra: skin-friction, mean velocity profiles in inner and outer co-ordinates and longitudinal turbulence. Designs based on screens, elliptic wedge generators, and cylindrical rod generators are analysed. The paper describes in detail the experimental arrangement, including the features of the wind tunnel and of the instrumentation. The results are compared with experimental data published by other authors and with naturally developed flows.

Effects of different ammoniacal nitrogen sources on N-metabolism of the atmospheric bromeliad Tillandsia pohliana Mez

Increasing levels of atmospheric ammonia from anthropogenic sources have become a serious problem for natural vegetation. Short-term effects of different ammoniacal sources on the N metabolism of Tillandsia pohliana, an atmospheric bromeliad, were investigated. One-year-old, aseptically grown plants were transferred to a modified Knudson medium lacking N for three weeks. Plants were subsequently transferred to Knudson media supplemented with 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 mM of N in the forms of NH3 or NH4+ as the sole N source. The activities of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH-NADH) were determined after 40 h. The GS activity was stimulated significantly by increasing the levels of the gaseous form. The GDH-NADH activity increased significantly under increasing N concentrations with NH3, while no significant differences were observed with NH4+ as a N source. These results may reflect a faster NH3 absorption by T. pohliana compared to NH4+ uptake. The increased activity of GDH-NADH in NH3 treatment may play a role in protecting the cells from the toxic effects of increased endogenous level of free ammonium. A raise in the concentration of N, especially in the form of NH3, greatly increased the content of free amino acids and soluble proteins. A possible utilisation of T. pohliana to evaluate the changes of atmospheric gaseous ammonia is proposed.

Emissão por folhas de Ficus benjamina L. (Moraceae) de compostos orgânicos voláteis oxigenados

A vegetação é a fonte de aproximadamente 90% de todos os compostos orgânicos voláteis na atmosfera global. Alguns hidrocarbonetos oxigenados emitidos por plantas reagem com radicais livres, tais como nitrato e hidroxila, e ozônio em taxas comparáveis com aquelas dos compostos antropogênicos mais reativos e podem contribuir para a formação de ozônio em áreas urbanas. Apesar do papel importante dos hidrocarbonetos naturais na formação fotoquímica dos oxidantes, pouco se sabe sobre as espécies químicas dos compostos orgânicos voláteis emitidos por plantas. Nesse trabalho, foi estudada a emissão de compostos orgânicos voláteis por Ficus benjamina, espécie comumente encontrada na região da cidade de São Paulo. Os gases emitidos pelas folhas da F. benjamina foram coletados em sistemas fechados e vários compostos orgânicos voláteis oxigenados, tais como ácidos orgânicos (ácido fórmico e ácido acético), aldeídos (formaldeído, acetaldeído e hexanal) e álcoois (mentol, 1- butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-penten-1-ol, 4-penten-2-ol e linalool), foram identificados através de técnicas cromatográficas.

The European Union and Assembling Biofuel Development – topological investigations concerning the associations between law, policy and space

Biofuels for transport are a renewable source of energy that were once heralded as a solution to multiple problems associated with poor urban air quality, the overproduction of agricultural commodities, the energy security of the European Union (EU) and climate change. It was only after the Union had implemented an incentivizing framework of legal and political instruments for the production, trade and consumption of biofuels that the problems of weakening food security, environmental degradation and increasing greenhouse gases through land-use changes began to unfold. In other words, the difference between political aims for why biofuels are promoted and their consequences has grown – which is also recognized by the EU policy-makers. Therefore, the global networks of producing, trading and consuming biofuels may face a complete restructure if the European Commission accomplishes its pursuit to sideline crop-based biofuels after 2020. My aim with this dissertation is not only to trace the manifold evolutions of the instruments used by the Union to govern biofuels but also to reveal how this evolution has influenced the dynamics of biofuel development. Therefore, I study the ways the EU’s legal and political instruments of steering biofuels are coconstitutive with the globalized spaces of biofuel development. My analytical strategy can be outlined through three concepts. I use the term ‘assemblage’ to approach the operations of the loose entity of actors and non-human elements that are the constituents of multi-scalar and -sectorial biofuel development. ‘Topology’ refers to the spatiality of this European biofuel assemblage and its parts whose evolving relations are treated as the active constituents of space, instead of simply being located in space. I apply the concept of ‘nomosphere’ to characterize the framework of policies, laws and other instruments that the EU applies and construes while attempting to govern biofuels. Even though both the materials and methods vary in the independent articles, these three concepts characterize my analytical strategy that allows me to study law, policy and space associated with each other. The results of my examinations underscore the importance of the instruments of governance of the EU constituting and stabilizing the spaces of producing and, on the other hand, how topological ruptures in biofuel development have enforced the need to reform policies. This analysis maps the vast scope of actors that are influenced by the mechanism of EU biofuel governance and, what is more, shows how they are actively engaging in the Union’s institutional policy formulation. By examining the consequences of fast biofuel development that are spatially dislocated from the established spaces of producing, trading and consuming biofuels such as indirect land use changes, I unfold the processes not tackled by the instruments of the EU. Indeed, it is these spatially dislocated processes that have pushed the Commission construing a new type of governing biofuels: transferring the instruments of climate change mitigation to land-use policies. Although efficient in mitigating these dislocated consequences, these instruments have also created peculiar ontological scaffolding for governing biofuels. According to this mode of governance, the spatiality of biofuel development appears to be already determined and the agency that could dampen the negative consequences originating from land-use practices is treated as irrelevant.

In situ variation of cervical mucus pH during exposure to atmospheric air

The objective of the present study was to determine if exposure of cervical mucus to air during specular examination could modify mucus pH. Detection of changes is justified because of their possible interference with sperm-mucus interaction, since an acidic pH is unfavorable to sperm penetration and is associated with infertility due to the cervical factor. Twenty women with good quality mucus were evaluated. pH measurements of ecto- and endocervical mucus were made in situ using a glass electrode after 0-, 5- and 10-min exposure to air. There was a progressive alkalinization of mucus pH. Mean values of ectocervical mucus pH were 6.91, 7.16 and 7.27, while mean values of endocervical mucus pH were 7.09, 7.34 and 7.46 at 0, 5 and 10 min, respectively. Significant differences were found between the mean values obtained at 0 and 5 min, and at 0 and 10 min (P<0.05), whereas the differences in mean values at 5 and 10 min were not significant at either site. We conclude that 5 to 10 min of exposure to atmospheric air affects cervical mucus pH in a significant way. Since tests used to evaluate sperm-mucus interaction generally have not considered this possibility, we suggest that they should be performed immediately after mucus collection in order to avoid misinterpretation of the results.

Analysis of PACTEL small break LOCA experiment using TRACE

A small break loss-of-coolant accident (SBLOCA) is one of problems investigated in an NPP operation. Such accident can be analyzed using an experiment facility and TRACE thermal-hydraulic system code. A series of SBLOCA experiments was carried out on Parallel Channel Test Loop (PACTEL) facility, exploited together with Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT Energy and Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), in order to investigate two-phase phenomena related to a VVER-type reactor. The experiments and a TRACE model of the PACTEL facility are described in the paper. In addition, there is the TRACE code description with main field equations. At the work, calculations of a SBLOCA series are implemented and after the calculations, the thesis discusses the validation of TRACE and concludes with an assessment of the usefulness and accuracy of the code in calculating small breaks.

Survey of trace element and dietetic fiber composition of “Leblebi” which is a local snack food consumed in Turkey

Abstract In Turkey and several Middle East countries' people consume “leblebi” which is a traditional snack food made from chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.). Chickpea products are highly nutritive and a cheap food for human consumption and have become an essential part of daily diets in the world. The present study aims to determine the chemical, nutritional and dietary composition of fifty leblebi samples marketed in Turkey. Protein values of the leblebi ranged from 19.4 to 23.9% dehulled and 20.3 to 20.8% for nondehulled leblebi while a value of 19.1% was recorded for chickpeas. Mineral results showed that Potassium (K) was the most abundant element in leblebi ranging from 6514 to 14431 mg/kg. The amount of dietary components neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and cellulose did not vary much between the samples analyzed.

Analysis of PWR-PACTEL Small Break LOCA experiment using TRACE

Currently, the power generation is one of the most significant life aspects for the whole man-kind. Barely one can imagine our life without electricity and thermal energy. Thus, different technologies for producing those types of energy need to be used. Each of those technologies will always have their own advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, every technology must satisfy such requirements as efficiency, ecology safety and reliability. In the matter of the power generation with nuclear energy utilization these requirements needs to be highly main-tained, especially since accidents on nuclear power plants may cause very long term deadly consequences. In order to prevent possible disasters related to the accident on a nuclear power plant strong and powerful algorithms were invented in last decades. Such algorithms are able to manage calculations of different physical processes and phenomena of real facilities. How-ever, the results acquired by the computing must be verified with experimental data.