Alcóxidos como precursores na síntese de novos materiais através do processo sol-gel

An overview about the role of alkoxides in the most recent uses of the sol-gel process in the synthesis of new materials is presented. Special attention is focused on the uses of silicon, aluminum, zirconium and titanium alkoxides. This review shows that the alkoxides enable the synthesis of new matrices with controlled surface area, acidity and porosity, as well as some unusual properties. The property associated with the solubility of metal alkoxides opens enormous possibilities of combining them for the synthesis films of powders with a very large range of metal compositions.

Algas: da economia nos ambientes aquáticos à bioremediação e à química analítica

Algae constitute a large group of many different organisms, essentially aquatic and able to live in all systems giving them sufficient light and humidity. Some algae species have been used in the evaluation or in the bioremediation of aquatic systems. More recently algae have been suggested as interesting tools in the field of analytical chemistry. In this work the most important aspects related to the different uses of algae are presented with a brief discussion.

Arqueologia biomolecular: passos preliminares para interpretações sobre a origem dos resíduos orgânicos preservados em fragmentos de cerâmica pré-colonial no Brasil

Organic residue analysis of archaeological potsherds is a well-established method for determining the uses of European and North American pottery vessels. In the present work we assess if the organic residues identified in Brazilian potsherd extracts are related to commodity processes (e.g. cooking or surface treatment) or to other non-archaeological sources, using as a model potsherds recovered from the Rio do Meio site (Santa Catarina Island). The potsherd extracts are dominated by saturated fatty acids (Ac16:0, with lower abundances of Ac14:0 and Ac18:0). Our studies provide evidence that the organic residues preserved in the Brazilian archeological potsherds are related to foodstuffs and surface treatment processes of the pottery vessels.

Marcos da história da radioatividade e tendências atuais

The first days of radioactivity, the discoveries of X-rays, radioactivity, of alpha- and beta- particles and gamma- radiation, of new radioactive elements, of artificial radioactivity, the neutron and positron and nuclear fission are reviewed as well as several adverse historical marks, such as the Manhattan project and some nuclear and radiological accidents. Nuclear energy generation in Brazil and the world, as an alternative to minimize environmental problems, is discussed, as are the medicinal, industrial and food applications of ionizing radiation. The text leads the reader to reflect on the subject and to consider its various aspects with scientific and technological maturity.

Comunicar la ciudad desde el paisaje: hacia una teoría del landscape branding

The need to decode landscape meanings, the society- landscape interaction (intra- and inter-personal communication) and, more recently, the uses of landscape as a territorial sight linked to advertising communication, citymarketing or place branding (mass communication) highlights the study of landscape persuasion, which includes clear emotional, symbolic and, therefore, communicative aspects. The landscape, as a territory image or face, gathers the essence of the implicit message in the space, thus working as a great metaphor for city communication. Regarding the foregoing, specific communication research with intangible landscapes —together with the recent emergence of emotional geographies— suggests a new territorial message theory based on the union of geographical, landscape, emotional and communicational variables. Landscape has historically been studied by geographers, architects, historians or sociologists, among others researchers, but it has not been analysed from communicational viewpoints. In this sense, the proliferation of analyses highlighting the role played by the territory as a communication mediator in the interaction process between society and its spaces (cognition and/or perception) is also remarkable. Current sales of territorial identities lead to increases in the production of territory brands, which have gathered a noticeable relevance within the last years.

Aceite de almendras dulces: extracción, caracterización y aplicación

The extraction of sweet almond oil at room temperature and reflux is an easy and accessible procedure to obtain natural oil in a laboratory scale for undergraduates' courses in chemistry and related areas. In this paper we show how the utilization of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can be interesting in the qualitative analysis of these oils. We also propose the preparation of three different skin creams to demonstrate the effective uses of sweet almond oil in cosmetics and pharmaceutical fields.

Reciclagem do crômio de resíduos químicos provenientes da determinação de carbono oxidável em fertilizantes orgânicos

This work proposes a separation, recovery and reuse procedure of chemical residues with chromium. This residue was generated by the determination of oxidizable carbon in organic fertilizers samples. The Cr(VI) of the residue was reduced with ethanol and precipitated with NaOH. The Cr(OH)3 precipitate was separated and oxidized to dichromate ions with hydrogen peroxide. This solution was used another time in organic carbon determination. The uses of recycled dichromate solution were appropriated in four successive recycling. The accuracy was proven using potassium hydrogen phthalate and ten organic fertilizer samples. The organic carbon results, determined with recycled solutions, were similar the conventional solution.

MATERIAIS VÍTREOS E LUZ: PARTE 1

2015 is the Year of Light, according to UNESCO. Chemistry has a close relationship with light and one of the materials that allows such synergy is glass. Depending on the chemical composition of the glass, it is possible to achieve technological applications for the whole range of wavelengths extending from the region of the microwave to gamma rays. This diversity of applications opens a large range of research where chemistry, as a central science, overlaps the fields of physics, engineering, medicine, etc., generating a huge amount of knowledge and technological products used for humanity. This review article aimed at discussing some families of glasses, illustrating some applications. Due to the extension of the theme, and all points raised, we thought it would be good to divide the article into two parts. In the first part we focus on the properties of heavy metal oxide glasses, fluoride glasses and chalcogenide glasses. In the second part we emphasize the properties of glassy thin films prepared by sol-gel methodology and some applications, of both glasses as the films in photonics, and more attention was given to the nonlinear properties and uses of photonic fibers.

Mikael Agricolan teosten kielen ala-, ylä-, ja -pää-vartaloiset adpositiot

Adpositions with the stems ala, ylä and pää in the language of Mikael Agricola’s writings The language of Mikael Agricola’s (c 1510–1557) writings represents an interesting phase in the development of the Finnish system for adpositions. In the Finnish language, the older Uralic system of postpositions has undergone expansion and a new system of prepositions has been adopted. On the other hand, the adposition system found in Agricola’s writings has also been strongly affected by foreign models, because Agricola’s texts are mainly translations of religious texts, which by and large use a word-for-word translation strategy. In the thesis, I explore Agricola’s use of adpositions; more specifically, which adpositions carry the meaning of ‘being under’ or ‘being over’ something, and in what other functions these adpositions are used. My main focus is on the semantics of the adpositions. I also study the syntactic features of adpositions and adposition structures; these are intertwined with semantics, since the meaning of adpositions is established in the adposition clause. Finally, I compare Agricola’s use of adpositions to the corresponding adpositions of present-day Finnish. Adpositions with stems ala, ylä and pää form an interesting subject for research. Their frequency in the data, however, is highly uneven. The overwhelming majority of the adpositions studied in the thesis are päälle; there are only two occurrences of adpositions with the stem ylä. Adpositions typically denote a location ‘under’ or ‘above’ something. Almost half of the adpositions, however, can be classified as semantically unmotivated and as representing a foreign model in terms of the Finnish language; they do not occur in present-day Finnish. In Agricola’s texts they act in more grammatical roles than the corresponding adpositions of present-day Finnish. In the thesis, the corresponding adpositions in the source languages are carefully analysed. All other uses of the adpositions are marginal in relation to spatial ones and those based on foreign models. The original meanings of the adpositions have not changed much since Agricola, but adpositions considered to originate from foreign models have been intentionally eliminated in presentday standard Finnish. It is also noteworthy that the system of adpositions with the stems ala, ylä and pää has changed since Agricola. His texts include the adposition ala, which corresponds to the modern adposition alle. Likewise the adposition yllä is absent in Agricola, as are the internal locative cases of the adposition pää.

Kysynnän ennakointiprosessin kehittäminen leipomoyrityksessä

Tämän työn tarkoituksena on kehittää lyhyen tähtäimen kysynnän ennakointiprosessia VAASAN Oy:ssä, jossa osa tuotteista valmistetaan kysyntäennakoiden perusteella. Valmistettavien tuotteiden luonteesta johtuva varastointimahdollisuuden puuttuminen, korkea toimitusvarmuustavoite sekä tarvittavien ennakoiden suuri määrä asettavat suuret haasteet kysynnän ennakointiprosessille. Työn teoriaosuudessa käsitellään kysynnän ennustamisen tarvetta, ennusteiden käyttökohteita sekä kysynnän ennustamismenetelmiä. Pelkällä kysynnän ennustamisella ei kuitenkaan päästä toimitusketjun kannalta optimaaliseen lopputulokseen, vaan siihen tarvitaan kokonaisvaltaista kysynnän hallintaa. Se on prosessi, jonka tavoitteena on tasapainottaa toimitusketjun kyvykkyydet ja asiakkaiden vaatimukset keskenään mahdollisimman tehokkaasti. Työssä tutkittiin yrityksessä kolmen kuukauden aikana eksponentiaalisen tasoituksen menetelmällä laadittuja ennakoita sekä ennakoijien tekemiä muutoksia niihin. Tutkimuksen perusteella optimaalinen eksponentiaalisen tasoituksen alfa-kerroin on 0,6. Ennakoijien tilastollisiin ennakoihin tekemät muutokset paransivat ennakoiden tarkkuutta ja ne olivat erityisen tehokkaita toimituspuutteiden minimoimisessa. Lisäksi työn tuloksena ennakoijien käyttöön saatiin monia päivittäisiä rutiineja helpottavia ja automatisoivia työkaluja.

HYDROPHOBIC MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY FOR AMMONIA EXTRACTION FROM WASTEWATERS

ABSTRACT Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen - TAN (NH3 + NH4+) in wastewaters cause environmental degradation concerns due to their negative impacts on air, soil and water. Several technologies are available for TAN removal from the wastewaters. One emerging technology is the use of hydrophobic membrane as non-destructive NH3 extraction. In this paper the authors discuss the uses of gas permeable membrane (GPM) and its physicochemical characteristics that influence gas mass transfer rate, diffusion and recovery mechanisms of NH3 from liquid sources (e.g. animal wastewater). Several aspects of NH3 extraction from liquid manure and other TAN generation sources using GPM technology as well as its applicability for NH3 mitigation from liquid effluents and possible recovery as a nutrient for plant growth are also discussed in this review.

MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT MATURITY AND TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT - From theory to practice, case Ineo Oy

After decades of mergers and acquisitions and successive technology trends such as CRM, ERP and DW, the data in enterprise systems is scattered and inconsistent. Global organizations face the challenge of addressing local uses of shared business entities, such as customer and material, and at the same time have a consistent, unique, and consolidate view of financial indicators. In addition, current enterprise systems do not accommodate the pace of organizational changes and immense efforts are required to maintain data. When it comes to systems integration, ERPs are considered “closed” and expensive. Data structures are complex and the “out-of-the-box” integration options offered are not based on industry standards. Therefore expensive and time-consuming projects are undertaken in order to have required data flowing according to business processes needs. Master Data Management (MDM) emerges as one discipline focused on ensuring long-term data consistency. Presented as a technology-enabled business discipline, it emphasizes business process and governance to model and maintain the data related to key business entities. There are immense technical and organizational challenges to accomplish the “single version of the truth” MDM mantra. Adding one central repository of master data might prove unfeasible in a few scenarios, thus an incremental approach is recommended, starting from areas most critically affected by data issues. This research aims at understanding the current literature on MDM and contrasting it with views from professionals. The data collected from interviews revealed details on the complexities of data structures and data management practices in global organizations, reinforcing the call for more in-depth research on organizational aspects of MDM. The most difficult piece of master data to manage is the “local” part, the attributes related to the sourcing and storing of materials in one particular warehouse in The Netherlands or a complex set of pricing rules for a subsidiary of a customer in Brazil. From a practical perspective, this research evaluates one MDM solution under development at a Finnish IT solution-provider. By means of applying an existing assessment method, the research attempts at providing the company with one possible tool to evaluate its product from a vendor-agnostics perspective.