System for studies of control strategies applied in the refrigerated chambers

The process of cold storage chambers contributes largely to the quality and longevity of stored products. In recent years, it has been intensified the study of control strategies in order to decrease the temperature change inside the storage chamber and to reduce the electric power consumption. This study has developed a system for data acquisition and process control, in LabVIEW language, to be applied in the cooling system of a refrigerating chamber of 30m³. The use of instrumentation and the application developed fostered the development of scientific experiments, which aimed to study the dynamic behavior of the refrigeration system, compare the performance of control strategies and the heat engine, even due to the controlled temperature, or to the electricity consumption. This system tested the strategies for on-off control, PID and fuzzy. Regarding power consumption, the fuzzy controller showed the best result, saving 10% when compared with other tested strategies.

Post-industrial 2.0 – Social Web as the second coming of the post-industrial society

This study presents a review of theories of the so-called post-industrial society, and proposes that the concept of post-industrial society can be used to understand the recent developments of the World Wide Web, often described as Web 2.0 or social Web. The study combines theories ranging from post-war management science and cultural studies to software development, and tries to build a holistic view of the development of the post-industrial society, and especially the Internet. The discourse on the emergence of a post-industrial society after the World Wars has addressed the ways in which the growing importance of information, and innovations in digital communications technology, are changing our society. It is furthermore deeply connected with the discourse on the postmodern society, which emphasizes cultural fragmentation, intertextuality, and pluralism. The Internet age is characterized by increasing masses of information that are managed through various technologies. While 1990s Internet technologies often used the network as a traditional broadcasting channel with added interactivity, Web 2.0 technologies are specifically designed to utilize the network model by facilitating communication between various services and devices, and analyzing the relationships between users and objects in order to produce intelligent insight. The wide adoption of the Internet, and recently of Internet-enabled mobile devices, is furthermore continuously producing new ways of communicating, consuming, and producing. Applications of the social Web, such as social media or social networking services, are permanently changing our traditional social, cultural, and economic practices. The study first presents an overview of the post-industrial society, the Internet, and the concept of Web 2.0. Then the concept of social Web is described with an analysis of the term social media, the brief histories of the interactive Web and social networking services, and a description of the concept ―long tail‖, used to represent the masses of information available in the Web that do not receive mainstream attention. Finally, methods for retrieving and filtering information, modeling social and cultural relationships, and communicating with customers, are presented.

Computational studies for the design of process equipment with complex geometries

This study combines several projects related to the flows in vessels with complex shapes representing different chemical apparata. Three major cases were studied. The first one is a two-phase plate reactor with a complex structure of intersecting micro channels engraved on one plate which is covered by another plain plate. The second case is a tubular microreactor, consisting of two subcases. The first subcase is a multi-channel two-component commercial micromixer (slit interdigital) used to mix two liquid reagents before they enter the reactor. The second subcase is a micro-tube, where the distribution of the heat generated by the reaction was studied. The third case is a conventionally packed column. However, flow, reactions or mass transfer were not modeled. Instead, the research focused on how to describe mathematically the realistic geometry of the column packing, which is rather random and can not be created using conventional computeraided design or engineering (CAD/CAE) methods. Several modeling approaches were used to describe the performance of the processes in the considered vessels. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to describe the details of the flow in the plate microreactor and micromixer. A space-averaged mass transfer model based on Fick’s law was used to describe the exchange of the species through the gas-liquid interface in the microreactor. This model utilized data, namely the values of the interfacial area, obtained by the corresponding CFD model. A common heat transfer model was used to find the heat distribution in the micro-tube. To generate the column packing, an additional multibody dynamic model was implemented. Auxiliary simulation was carried out to determine the position and orientation of every packing element in the column. This data was then exported into a CAD system to generate desirable geometry, which could further be used for CFD simulations. The results demonstrated that the CFD model of the microreactor could predict the flow pattern well enough and agreed with experiments. The mass transfer model allowed to estimate the mass transfer coefficient. Modeling for the second case showed that the flow in the micromixer and the heat transfer in the tube could be excluded from the larger model which describes the chemical kinetics in the reactor. Results of the third case demonstrated that the auxiliary simulation could successfully generate complex random packing not only for the column but also for other similar cases.

Morphological, anatomical and biochemical studies on the foliar galls of Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae)

Morphological, anatomical and biochemical alterations in foliar galls of Alstonia scholaris R. Br. induced by the insect Pauropsylla tuberculata (Psyllidae) are described and quantified. Galls occur isolated or agglomerated on the abaxial surface of the leaf. The insect along with the egg deposits some physiologic fluid which act as a stimulant for the induction of the gall. This stimulus brings about hypertrophy followed by hyperplasia of cells next to the location of the deposited eggs. The psyllid presents three nymphal instars, from eclosion of the egg to the adult. Hyperplasia in the palisade cells is very distinctly noticed. Hypertrophy followed by hyperplasia takes place and brings about elevation of hypodermal and palisade parenchyma which undergoes repeated anticlinal divisions. Neoformation of phloematic bundles were distinctly noticed close to the site of infection. With an increase in the growth of the gall, chlorophyll content in the gall tissue decreases. A steady increase of sugar content is noticed. The immature galled tissue showed almost two fold increases in the protein content. The mature galled tissue showed a very high increase in the proline content compared to the immature galled tissue indicating a stressed condition of the galled tissue.

In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate non-mutagenicity of the herbicide metolachlor

The herbicide metolachlor was evaluated for genotoxic potential. Metolachlor did not induce micronuclei in mice, however at 40 mg/kg it significantly decreased the percentage of polychromatic erythrocytes, which is a cytotoxic effect. Metolachlor did not induce chromosomal aberrations in human lymphocytes in vitro, but 2.0 mug/ml culture medium resulted in cytotoxicity, decreasing the mitotic index significantly. The indirect exposure test was carried out by adding plasma from metolachlor-pretreated rats to the human lymphocyte cultures. There was no indication of clastogenicity by metolachlor metabolites. On the other hand, plasma of cyclophosphamide-pretreated rats had a significant clastogenic effect

Long-term habituation (LTH) in the crab Chasmagnathus: a model for behavioral and mechanistic studies of memory

A decade of studies on long-term habituation (LTH) in the crab Chasmagnathus is reviewed. Upon sudden presentation of a passing object overhead, the crab reacts with an escape response that habituates promptly and for at least five days. LTH proved to be an instance of associative memory and showed context, stimulus frequency and circadian phase specificity. A strong training protocol (STP) (³15 trials, intertrial interval (ITI) of 171 s) invariably yielded LTH, while a weak training protocol (WTP) (£10 trials, ITI = 171 s) invariably failed. STP was used with a presumably amnestic agent and WTP with a presumably hypermnestic agent. Remarkably, systemic administration of low doses was effective, which is likely to be due to the lack of an endothelial blood-brain barrier. LTH was blocked by inhibitors of protein and RNA synthesis, enhanced by protein kinase A (PKA) activators and reduced by PKA inhibitors, facilitated by angiotensin II and IV and disrupted by saralasin. The presence of angiotensins and related compounds in the crab brain was demonstrated. Diverse results suggest that LTH includes two components: an initial memory produced by spaced training and mainly expressed at an initial phase of testing, and a retraining memory produced by massed training and expressed at a later phase of testing (retraining). The initial memory would be associative, context specific and sensitive to cycloheximide, while the retraining memory would be nonassociative, context independent and insensitive to cycloheximide

Studies on the intrinsic nervous system of the wild rodent Calomys callosus digestive tract. II: The submucous plexus

The submucous plexus of the normal small and large intestine of Calomys callosus was studied by NADH and AChE histochemical techniques and by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The plexus contains (mean ± SD) 7,488 ± 293 neurons/cm2 in the duodenum, 5,611 ± 836 in the jejunum, 2,741 ± 360 in the ileum, 3,067 ± 179 in the cecum, and 3,817 ± 256 in the proximal colon. No ganglia or nerve cell bodies were seen in the esophagus, stomach, distal colon or rectum. The neurons are pear-shaped with a round or oval nucleus and the neuronal cell profile areas were larger in the large intestine than in the small intestine. Most of the neurons display intense AChE activity in the cytoplasm. AChE-positive nerve fibers are present in a primary meshwork of large nerve bundles and in a secondary meshwork of finer nerve bundles. At the ultrastructural level, the ganglia are irregular in shape and covered with fibroblast-like cells. The nucleoplasm of the neurons is finely granular with a few condensations of chromatin attached to the nuclear envelope. In the neuropil numerous varicosities filled with vesicles of different size and electron densities are seen. The pre- and post-synaptic membrane thickenings are asymmetric. Characteristic glial cells with oval nuclei and few organelles are numerous. These data provide a detailed description of this submucosal meshwork.

The multicultural moment : the history of the idea and politics of multiculturalism in Sweden in comparative, transnational and biographical context, 1964–1975

The emergence of the idea of multiculturalism in Swedish public discourse and social science in the latter half of the 1960s and introduction of official multiculturalism in 1975 constituted a major intellectual and political shift in the post-war history of Sweden. The ambition of the 1975 immigrant and minority policy to enable the preservation of ethno-cultural minorities and to create a positive attitude towards the new multicultural society among the majority population was also incorporated into Swedish cultural, educational and media policies. The rejection of assimilationism and the new commitment to ethno-cultural diversity, the multicultural moment, has earned Sweden a place on the list of the early adopters of official multiculturalism, together with Canada and Australia. This compilation thesis examines the origins and early post-war history of the idea of multiculturalism as well as the interplay between idea and politics in the shift from a public ideal of homogeneity to an ideal of multiculturalism in Sweden. It does so from a range of conceptual, comparative, transnational, and biographical perspectives. The thesis consists of an introduction (Part I) and four previously published studies (Part II). The primary research result of the thesis concerns the agency involved in the break-through and formal establishment of the idea of multiculturalism in Sweden. Actors such as ethnic activists, experts and officials were instrumental in the introduction and establishment of multiculturalism in Sweden, as they also had been in Canada and in Australia. These actors have, however, not previously been recognized and analysed as significant idea-makers and political agents in the case of Sweden. The intertwined connections between activists, social scientists, linguists, and officials facilitated the transfer of the idea of multiculturalism from a publically contested idea to public policy via the way of The Swedish Trade Union Confederation, academia and the Royal Commission of Immigration. The thesis furthermore shows that the political success of the idea of multiculturalism, such as it was within the limits of the universalist social democratic welfare state, was dependent on whom the claims-makers were, the status and positions they held, and the way the idea of multiculturalism was conceptualised and used. It was also dependent on the migratory context of labour immigration in the 1960s and 1970s and on whose behalf the advocates of multiculturalism made their claims. The majority of the labour immigrants were Finnish citizens from the former eastern half of the kingdom of Sweden who were net contributors to the Swedish welfare state. This facilitated the recognition of their ethno-cultural difference, and, following the logic of universalism, the ethno-cultural difference of other minority groups in Sweden. The historical significance of the multicultural moment is still evident in the contemporary immigration and integration policies of Sweden. The affirmation of diversity continues to set Sweden apart from the rest of Europe, now more so than in the 1970s, even though the migratory context has changed radically in the last 40 years.

Photophysical studies of zinc phthalocyanine and chloroaluminum phthalocyanine incorporated into liposomes in the presence of additives

The photophysical properties of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPC) and chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (AlPHCl) incorporated into liposomes of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine in the presence and absence of additives such as cholesterol or cardiolipin were studied by time-resolved fluorescence, laser flash photolysis and steady-state techniques. The absorbance of the drugs changed linearly with drug concentration, at least up to 5.0 µM in homogeneous and heterogeneous media, indicating that aggregation did not occur in these media within this concentration range. The incorporation of the drugs into liposomes increases the dimerization constant by one order of magnitude (for ZnPC, 3.6 x 10(4) to 1.0 x 10(5) M-1 and for AlPHCl, 3.7 x 10(4) to 1.5 x 10(5) M-1), but this feature dose does not rule out the use of this carrier, since the incorporation of these hydrophobic drugs into liposomes permits their systemic administration. Probe location in biological membranes and predominant positions of the phthalocyanines in liposomes were inferred on the basis of their fluorescence and triplet state properties. Both phthalocyanines are preferentially distributed in the internal regions of the liposome bilayer. The additives affect the distribution of these drugs within the liposomes, a fact that controls their delivery when both are used in a biological medium, retarding their release. The addition of the additives to the liposomes increases the internalization of phthalocyanines. The interaction of the drugs with a plasma protein, bovine serum albumin, was examined quantitatively by the fluorescence technique. The results show that when the drugs were incorporated into small unilamellar liposomes, the association with albumin was enhanced when compared with organic media, a fact that should increase the selectivity of tumor targeting by these phthalocyanines (for ZnPC, 0.71 x 10(6) to 1.30 x 10(7) M-1 and for AlPHCl, 4.86 x 10(7) to 3.10 x 10(8) M-1).

Comparison of the homeostasis model assessment and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index with data from forearm metabolic studies for the in vivo assessment of insulin sensitivity

The present study was designed to compare the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) with data from forearm metabolic studies of healthy individuals and of subjects in various pathological states. Fifty-five healthy individuals and 112 patients in various pathological states, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, essential hypertension and others, were studied after an overnight fast and for 3 h after ingestion of 75 g of glucose, by HOMA, QUICKI and the forearm technique to estimate muscle uptake of glucose combined with indirect calorimetry (oxidative and non-oxidative glucose metabolism). The patients showed increased HOMA (1.88 ± 0.14 vs 1.13 ± 0.10 pmol/l x mmol/l) and insulin/glucose (I/G) index (1.058.9 ± 340.9 vs 518.6 ± 70.7 pmol/l x (mg/100 ml forearm)-1), and decreased QUICKI (0.36 ± 0.004 vs 0.39 ± 0.006 (µU/ml + mg/dl)-1) compared with the healthy individuals. Analysis of the data for the group as a whole (patients and healthy individuals) showed that the estimate of insulin resistance by HOMA was correlated with data obtained in the forearm metabolic studies (glucose uptake: r = -0.16, P = 0.04; non-oxidative glucose metabolism: r = -0.20. P = 0.01, and I/G index: r = 0.17, P = 0.03). The comparison of QUICKI with data of the forearm metabolic studies showed significant correlation between QUICKI and non-oxidative glucose metabolism (r = 0.17, P = 0.03) or I/G index (r = -0.37, P < 0.0001). The HOMA and QUICKI are good estimates of insulin sensitivity as data derived from forearm metabolic studies involving direct measurements of insulin action on muscle glucose metabolism.

Epidemiological studies in the information and genomics era: experience of the Clinical Genome of Cancer Project in São Paulo, Brazil

Genomics is expanding the horizons of epidemiology, providing a new dimension for classical epidemiological studies and inspiring the development of large-scale multicenter studies with the statistical power necessary for the assessment of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in cancer etiology and prognosis. This paper describes the methodology of the Clinical Genome of Cancer Project in São Paulo, Brazil (CGCP), which includes patients with nine types of tumors and controls. Three major epidemiological designs were used to reach specific objectives: cross-sectional studies to examine gene expression, case-control studies to evaluate etiological factors, and follow-up studies to analyze genetic profiles in prognosis. The clinical groups included patients' data in the electronic database through the Internet. Two approaches were used for data quality control: continuous data evaluation and data entry consistency. A total of 1749 cases and 1509 controls were entered into the CGCP database from the first trimester of 2002 to the end of 2004. Continuous evaluation showed that, for all tumors taken together, only 0.5% of the general form fields still included potential inconsistencies by the end of 2004. Regarding data entry consistency, the highest percentage of errors (11.8%) was observed for the follow-up form, followed by 6.7% for the clinical form, 4.0% for the general form, and only 1.1% for the pathology form. Good data quality is required for their transformation into useful information for clinical application and for preventive measures. The use of the Internet for communication among researchers and for data entry is perhaps the most innovative feature of the CGCP. The monitoring of patients' data guaranteed their quality.

Spectroscopic studies on the interaction of efonidipine with bovine serum albumin

Efonidipine hydrochloride is an antihypertensive and antianginal agent with fewer side effects and is better tolerated in the treatment of hypertension with renal impairment. Its interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA) is of great use for the understanding of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms of the drug. The binding of efonidipine to BSA was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism. BSA fluorescence was quenched by efonidipine, due to the fact that efonidipine quenched the fluorescence of tryptophan residues mainly by the collision mode. The thermodynamic parameters ΔH0 and ΔS0 were 68.04 kJ/mol and 319.42 J·mol-1·K-1, respectively, indicating that the hydrophobic interactions played a major role. The results of circular dichroism and synchronous fluorescence measurements showed that the binding of efonidipine to BSA led to a conformational change of BSA. The fraction of occupied sites (θ) for the 8-anilino-1-naphthalein-sulfonic acid (ANS)-BSA system is 85%, whereas for the NZ-105-BSA system, it is 53%, which suggests that the interaction of ANS with BSA is stronger than that of NZ-105 with BSA. Binding studies in the presence of ANS indicated that efonidipine competed with ANS for hydrophobic sites of BSA. The effects of metal ions on the binding constant of the efonidipine-BSA complex were also investigated. The presence of metal ions Zn2+, Mg2+, Al3+, K+, and Ca2+ increased the binding constant of efonidipine_BSA complex, which may prolong the storage period of NZ-105 in blood plasma and enhance its maximum effects.

In vitro and in vivo studies of pirarubicin-loaded SWNT for the treatment of bladder cancer

Intravesical chemotherapy is an important part of the treatment for superficial bladder cancer. However, the response to it is limited and its side effects are extensive. Functional single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have shown promise for tumor-targeted accumulation and low toxicity. In the present study, we performed in vivo and in vitro investigations to determine whether SWNT-based drug delivery could induce high tumor depression in rat bladder cancer and could decrease the side effects of pirarubicin (tetrahydropyranyl-adriamycin, THP). We modified SWNT with phospholipid-branched polyethylene glycol and constructed an SWNT-THP conjugate via a cleavable ester bond. The cytotoxicity of SWNT-THP against the human bladder cancer cell line BIU-87 was evaluated in vitro. Rat bladder cancer in situ models constructed by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea intravesical installation (1 g/L, 2 mg/rat once every 2 weeks for 8 weeks) were used for in vivo evaluation of the cytotoxicity of SWNT and SWNT-THP. Specific side effects in the THP group including urinary frequency (N = 12), macroscopic hematuria (N = 1), and vomiting (N = 7) were identified; however, no side effects were observed with SWNT-THP treatment. Flow cytometry was used to assess the cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Results showed that SWNT alone did not yield significant tumor depression compared to saline (1.74 ± 0.56 and 1.23 ± 0.42%) in vitro. SWNT-THP exhibited higher tumor depression than THP-saline in vitro (74.35 ± 2.56 and 51.24 ± 1.45%) and in vivo (52.46 ± 2.41 and 96.85 ± 0.85%). The present findings indicate that SWNT delivery of THP for the treatment of bladder cancer leads to minimal side effects without loss of therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, this nanotechnology may play a crucial role in the improvement of intravesical treatment of bladder cancer.