Blood parameters of chicks from eggs injected with ascorbic acid and subjected to thermal stress

This study was aimed to verify if chicks from eggs injected with ascorbic acid and subjected to thermal stress would have higher immunity than chicks from incubation at thermoneutrality without injection of ascorbic acid. The parameters evaluated were temperature on oxygen saturation in hemoglobin, glucose, number of erythrocytes, hematocrit rate and number of hemoglobins of newly hatched male chicks, hatched from eggs injected with ascorbic acid (AA) and subjected to thermal stress during incubation. The experimental design was completely randomized in factorial scheme 5 (application levels of ascorbic acid) x 2 (incubation temperatures). The data were subjected to analysis of variance using the General Linear Model procedure (GLM) of SAS ®. For the parameters (number of erythrocytes, rate of hematrocit and values of hemoglobin), there was significant interaction (p <0.05) between treatments in egg and incubation temperatures. Analyzing the interactions for these parameters, it was observed that the application of 0% ascorbic acid in egg minimized the effect of heat stress when compared with treatment without injection. The application of ascorbic acid levels in eggs incubated under heat stress failed to maximize the immunity of newly hatched chicks. It is assumed that the increased liquid in the amniotic fluid, in those embryos injected with water, favored the lower heat conductance for these embryos, thus helping in their development in relation to immunity. Considering that hemoglobin is related to the transport of gases, these data suggest that increasing the concentration of AA solution inoculated may influence the respiratory rates of eggs.

Concessions and road and rail transport optimization

Includes bibliography

Electrochemical studies based on local interfacial ph changes of gold nanoparticles immobilized on polystyrene brushes

The electrochemical behavior of polystyrene modified with gold nanoparticle (Au NPs) was investigated in terms of pH-responsive polymer brush. A pH-responsive of modified polymer brush from tethered polystyrene was prepared and used for selective gating transport of anions andcations across the thin-film. An ITO-coated glass electrode was used as substrate and applied to study the switchable permeability of the polymer brush triggered by changes in pH of the aqueous environment. The pH-sensitive behavior of the polymer brush interface has been demonstrated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). CV experiments showed at ph values of 4 and 8 induces swelling and shrinking of the grafted polymer brushes, respectively, and this behavior is fast and reversible. LSPR measurements showed a blue shift of 33 nm in the surface resonance band changes by local pH. The paper brings an easy methodology to fabrication a variety of nanosensors based on the polymer brushes-nanoparticle assemblies. © 2013 by ESG.

Scaling invariance of the diffusion coefficient in a family of two-dimensional Hamiltonian mappings

We consider a family of two-dimensional nonlinear area-preserving mappings that generalize the Chirikov standard map and model a variety of periodically forced systems. The action variable diffuses in increments whose phase is controlled by a negative power of the action and hence effectively uncorrelated for small actions, leading to a chaotic sea in phase space. For larger values of the action the phase space is mixed and contains a family of elliptic islands centered on periodic orbits and invariant Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) curves. The transport of particles along the phase space is considered by starting an ensemble of particles with a very low action and letting them evolve in the phase until they reach a certain height h. For chaotic orbits below the periodic islands, the survival probability for the particles to reach h is characterized by an exponential function, well modeled by the solution of the diffusion equation. On the other hand, when h reaches the position of periodic islands, the diffusion slows markedly. We show that the diffusion coefficient is scaling invariant with respect to the control parameter of the mapping when h reaches the position of the lowest KAM island. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Poluição do ar por veículos automotores e tipos de tempo em áreas metropolitanas: a elaboração de um roteiro metodológico

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

International trade and maritime transport in the Caribbean

For the countries of the Caribbean, the international trade and transport of goods are more important than for many others in the region (see FAL Bulletin No. 136 Maritime transport in the Caribbean), and the subregion is strongly affected by structural changes in maritime transport (see FAL Bulletin No. 142 The impact of structural changes in liner shipping on Caribbean ports).For these reasons ECLAC's Transport Unit and the Commissions' sub-headquarters in the Caribbean, jointly organized a Meeting of Experts which took place in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from 14 to 15 September 2000. Twenty-six participants took part, representing different academic, intergovernmental, financial and industrial institutions and organizations.This edition of the FAL Bulletin presents some of the results of this meeting.

Análise econômica do uso de célula a combustível para acionamento de ônibus urbano

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise do monitoramento ambiental e da delimitação das plumas de contaminantes provenientes de vazamentos em postos de combustíveis: estudos de caso no médio Vale do Paraíba

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Construção de um modelo de dispersão de poluentes na Baía do Guajará

Os ambientes marinho e costeiro do Brasil vêm sofrendo nos últimos anos um considerável processo de degradação ambiental, gerado pela crescente pressão sobre os recursos naturais marinhos e continentais e pela capacidade limitada desses ecossistemas absorverem os impactos resultantes. No caso específico da Baía do Guajará, situada no Estuário Guajará, na região delimitada pela Baía do Marajó e pelos rios Pará e Guamá, estes riscos estão associados principalmente à poluição oriunda da cidade de Belém e às operações de transporte de derivados de petróleo. No caso da Baía do Guajará, sabe-se que ocorre o despejo de esgoto periodicamente, de acordo com a maré. Desta forma, pouco tem sido feito para amenizar os efeitos do problema. Os modelos numéricos, por considerarem a complexidade dos fenômenos físicos que governam o funcionamento dos ambientes costeiros, vêm sendo utilizados como ferramentas em simulação hidrodinâmica, com reconhecida importância no gerenciamento costeiro. Sua aplicação pode dar suporte a estudos diversos, como no entendimento dos processos dispersivos de poluentes, implantação de sistemas de monitoramento de qualidade de água, planejamento de ações em casos de derrame de óleo, e avaliar as conseqüências de alterações na geometria de canais e baías e estuários. Este trabalho tem como objetivo esclarecer essas questões e descreve as etapas necessárias para a construção de um modelo numérico de dispersão na Baía do Guajará usando as ferramentas de Sistemas de Informação Geográfica e o Método de Elementos Finitos.

Origin of the peculiar eccentricity distribution of the inner cold Kuiper belt

Dawson and Murray-Clay (Dawson and Murray-Clay [2012]. Astrophys. J., 750, 43) pointed out that the inner part of the cold population in the Kuiper belt (that with semi major axis a < 43.5 AU) has orbital eccentricities significantly smaller than the limit imposed by stability constraints. Here, we confirm their result by looking at the orbital distribution and stability properties in proper element space. We show that the observed distribution could have been produced by the slow sweeping of the 4/7 mean motion resonance with Neptune that accompanied the end of Neptune's migration process. The orbital distribution of the hot Kuiper belt is not significantly affected in this process, for the reasons discussed in the main text. Therefore, the peculiar eccentricity distribution of the inner cold population cannot be unequivocally interpreted as evidence that the cold population formed in situ and was only moderately excited in eccentricity; it can simply be the signature of Neptune's radial motion, starting from a moderately eccentric orbit. We discuss how this agrees with a scenario of giant planet evolution following a dynamical instability and, possibly, with the radial transport of the cold population. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical studies based on local interfacial ph changes of gold nanoparticles immobilized on polystyrene brushes

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

Seasonal variability of a conditional stability constant and the characterization of sedimentary humic substances from typical agricultural and urban areas

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

Analysing the fate of nanopesticides in soil and the applicability of regulatory protocols using a polymer-based nanoformulation of atrazine

For the first time, regulatory protocols defined in the OECD guidelines were applied to determine the fate properties of a nanopesticide in two agricultural soils with contrasting characteristics. The nanoformulation studied had no effect on the degradation kinetics of atrazine indicating that (1) the release of atrazine from the polymer nanocarriers occurred rapidly relative to the degradation kinetics (half-lives 36-53 days) and/or that (2) atrazine associated with the nanocarriers was subject to biotic or abiotic degradation. Sorption coefficients, derived from a batch and a centrifugation technique at a realistic soil-to-solution ratio, were higher for the nanoformulated atrazine than for the pure active ingredient. Results indicate that the nanoformulation had an effect on the fate of atrazine. However, since the protocols applied were designed to assess solutes, conclusions about the transport of atrazine loaded onto the nanocarriers should be made extremely cautiously. The centrifugation method applied over time (here over 7 days) appears to be a useful tool to indirectly assess the durability of nanopesticides under realistic soil-to-solution ratios and estimate the period of time during which an influence on the fate of the active ingredient may be expected. More detailed investigations into the bioavailability and durability of nanopesticides are necessary and will require the development of novel methods suitable to address both the "nano" and "organic" characteristics of polymer-based nanopesticides.

The metapleural glands of fungus-growing and non-fungus-growing ants: Ultrastructural study

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

Nanostructured Lipid Carriers as a Strategy to Improve the In Vitro Schistosomiasis Activity of Praziquantel

Praziquantel (PZQ) is a pyrazinoisoquinoline anthelmintic that was discovered in 1972 by Bayer Germany. Currently, due to its efficacy, PZQ is the drug of choice against all species of Schistosoma. Although widely used, PZQ exhibits low and erratic bioavailability because of its poor water solubility. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), second-generation solid lipid nanoparticles, were developed in the 1990s to improve the bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate nanostructured lipid carriers as a strategy to improve the efficacy. of PZQ in S. mansoni treatment. We prepared NLC2 and NLC4 by adding seventy percent glycerol monostearate (GMS) as the solid lipid, 30% oleic acid (OA) as the liquid lipid and two surfactant systems containing either soybean phosphatidylcholine/poloxamer (PC/P-407) or phosphatidylcholine/Tween 60 (PC/T60), respectively. The carriers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. The safety profile was evaluated using red cell hemolysis and in vitro cytotoxicity assays. The results showed that the encapsulation of PZQ in NLC2 or NLC4 improved the safety profile of the drug. Treatment efficacy was evaluated on the S. mansoni BH strain. PZQ-NLC2 and PZQ-NLC4 demonstrated an improved efficacy in comparison with free PZQ. The results showed that the intestinal transport of free PZQ and PZQ-NLC2 was similar. However, we observed that the concentration of PZQ absorbed was smaller when PZQ was loaded in NLC4. The difference between the amounts of absorbed PZQ could indicate that the presence of T60 in the nanoparticles (NLC4) increased the rigid lipid matrix, prolonging release of the drug. Both systems showed considerable in vitro activity against S. mansoni, suggesting that these systems may be a promising platform for the administration of PZQ for treating schistosomiasis.