Humic fractions of forest, pasture and maize crop soils resulting from microbial activity

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

Thermal and structural properties of tantalum alkali-phosphate glasses

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Eugenia calycina Cambess extracts and their fractions: Their antimicrobial activity and the identification of major polar compounds using electrospray ionization FT-ICR mass spectrometry

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

EPR, optical absorption and luminescence studies of Cr3+-doped antimony phosphate glasses

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The Influence of the Heat Treatment Temperatures in Calcium Phosphate Synthesis

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

Novel bioassay for the discovery of inhibitors of the 2-C-Methyl-D-erythritol 4-Phosphate (MEP) and terpenoid pathways leading to carotenoid biosynthesis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação da membrana P81 como agente ligante da técnica de difusão em filmes finos por gradiente de concentração (DGT) para determinação de mercúrio em sistemas aquáticos

Worldwide environmental degradation is an undesirable byproduct resulting from the increasing demand for natural resources. Water sources are suffering intense contamination since they usually receive a huge amount of domestic and industrial effluents - which are mostly wasted without proper treatment - inserting a large number of pollutants in the environment, heavy metals included. Mercury holds great toxicological importance because, under some physicochemical conditions in a water environment, Hg (II) ion turns into methylated compounds stemming from this element, such as methylmercury CH3Hg, which is highly toxic for the aquatic community in which bioaccumulation occurs. Nowadays passive sampling techniques are being developed to enable the analytical procedures which are applied in environmental monitoring. Diffusive gradients in thin-films technique (DGT) has been proven an interesting tool for the determination of labile metal species due to its in situ application. The DGT technique consists of a piston-like device on which the following series of agents is disposed: a binding agent (conventionally Chelex 100 resin), a diffusive agent, usually a polyacrylamide gel, and a membrane filter. Nevertheless, the agents conventinally used for this technique don't usually show satisfactory results in mercury sampling. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the phosphate-treated cellulose membrane (Whatman P 81), an alternative material, as binding agent in the DGT to determine labile mercury fractions in aquatic systems. In this context, we conducted a study of the behavior of this material in relation with system variables, pH and ionic strength. Afterwards we performed immersions of the DGT devices in real and enriched samples and in situ aiming the determination of mercury

Bioactive compounds of the lipid fractions of agro-industrial waste

This study aimed at evaluating the oils extracted from seeds originating from agro-industrial waste, in order to identify the presence of bioactive compounds. Therefore, determinations of fatty acid profile, triacylglycerols, tocopherol composition, phytosterols, phenolic compounds, total carotenoids, and antioxidant capacity were performed in the oils of grape, guava, melon, passion fruit, pumpkin, soursop, and tomato seeds. Antioxidant capacity analysis was performed by the methods DPPH• , ABTS•+, FRAP, and β-carotene/linoleic acid, besides measure of oxidative stability in the oils. The oils showed to be predominantly unsaturated with high percentage of linoleic essential fatty acid (38.8 to 79.4%), besides presenting significant quantities of tocopherols, phytosterols, and phenolic compounds. Tomato and guava oils showed better results in the antioxidant capacity tests and pumpkin oil had higher induction period in the oxidative stability test (65.3 h). The results obtained in this study collect information that enables the use of new alternative sources of vegetable oils, obtained from agroindustrial waste, which may serve as raw material for food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.

Polymeric alginate microspheres containing biochar to immobilize phosphate ions

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

Improved pretreatments applied to the sugarcane bagasse and release of lignin and hemicellulose from the cellulose-enriched fractions by sulfuric acid hydrolysis

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

White Light and Multicolor Emission Tuning in Triply Doped Yb3+/Tm3+/Er3+ Novel Fluoro-phosphate Transparent Glass-ceramics

New Yb3+, Er3+ and Tm3+ doped fluoro-phosphate glasses belonging to the system NaPO3–YF3–BaF2–CaF2 and containing up to 10 wt% of rare-earth ion fluorides were prepared and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, absorption spectroscopy and up-conversion emission spectroscopy under excitation with a 975 nm laser diode. Transparent and homogeneous glass-ceramics have been reproducibly obtained with a view to manage the red, green and blue emission bands and generate white light. X-ray diffraction as well as electron microscopy techniques have confirmed the formation of fluorite-type cubic nanocrystals at the beginning of the crystallization process while complex nanocrystalline phases are formed after a longer heat-treatment. The prepared glass-ceramics exhibit high optical transparency even after 170 h of thermal treatment. An improvement of up-conversion emission intensity – from 10 to 160 times larger – was measured in the glass-ceramics when compared to the parent glass, suggesting an important incorporation of the rare-earth ions into the crystalline phase(s). The involved mechanisms and lifetime were described in detail as a function of heat-treatment time. Finally, a large range of designable color rendering (from orange to turquoise through white) can be observed in these materials by controlling the laser excitation power and the crystallization rate.

Phytotoxicity of extracts and fractions of Ouratea spectabilis (Mart. ex Engl.) Engl. (Ochnaceae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Paepalanthus spp: antimycobacterial activity of extracts, methoxylated flavonoids and naphthopyranone fractions

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

Microstructural, physical, and fluid dynamic assessment of spinel-based and phosphate-bonded investments for dental applications

This work reports the experimental evaluation of physical and gas permeation parameters of four spinel-based investments developed with or without inclusion of sacrificial fillers. Data were compared with those of three commercial formulations. Airflow tests were conducted from 27 to 546°C, and permeability coefficients were fitted from Forchheimer's equation. Skeletal densities found for spinel- (ρs = 3635 ± 165 kg/m3) and phosphate-bonded (ρs = 2686 ± 11 kg/m3) samples were in agreement with the literature. The developed investments were more porous and less permeable than commercial brands, and the differences were ascribed to the different pore morphologies and hydraulic pore sizes of ceramic matrices. The inclusion of both fibers and microbeads resulted in increases of total porosity (42.6–56.6%) and of Darcian permeability coefficient k1 (0.76 × 10−14–7.03 × 10−14 m2). Air permeation was hindered by increasing flow temperatures, and the effect was related to the influence of gas viscosity on ΔP, in accordance with Darcy's law. Casting quality with molten titanium (CP Ti) was directly proportional to the permeability level of the spinel-based investments. However, the high reactivity of the silica-based investment RP and the formation of α-case during casting hindered the benefits of the highest permeability level of this commercial brand.

Double-setting alpha-tricalcium phosphate cement provided with interconection channels in rabbits after enucleation: a potential implant for the anophthalmic socket

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the macroscopy and microstructure of a double setting alpha-tricalcium phosphate bone cement sphere provided with interconnection channels (alpha-TCP-i), as well as the integration of the implant with the rabbits' orbital tissue, through macroscopic analysis and histopathology. The external and internal surfaces of the alpha-TCP-i were evaluated macroscopically and by electron microscopy. Twelve New Zealand rabbits received 12mm implants of alpha-TCP-i following enucleation of the left eye. The clinical assessment was undertaken daily during the first 15 days, followed by fortnightly assessment until the end of the study period. For the morphological analysis, exenteration was performed in 3 animals per experimental period (15, 45, 90 and 180 days). The external and internal surfaces of the implant appeared solid, smooth and compact, with six channels which interconnected centrally. The micro-architecture was characterized by the formation of columns of hexagonal crystals. No signs of infection, exposure, dehiscence of sutures or extrusion of the implant were noted in any of the animals during the entire period of the study. The morphological evaluation demonstrated the presence of a thin capsule around the implant, from whence appeared fibro-vascular projections, which penetrated it through the interconnecting channels. In the first days after the insertion of the implant, an intense inflammatory reaction was noted. At 180 days, however, there were no signs of inflammation. The alpha-tricalcium phosphate cement implant was well tolerated in this rabbit model and appeared to be relatively inert with some fibrovascular ingrowth through the large channels.