Effects of sex and age on genotype x environment interaction for beef cattle body weight studied using reaction norm models

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The role of sugar cane straw on soil reaction

Conduziram-se dois experimentos em laboratório avaliar o efeito da palha da cana- de-açúcar na acidez do solo. A palha da cana foi adicionada nas doses de 0, 20, 40, e 76 g kg-1 na superfície de um latossolo roxo distrófico acondicionado em colunas de PVC. O solo foi incubado a capacidade de campo durante 0, 7, 14, 45, e 90 dias. Após cada incubação, o solo das colunas foram subdividido e amostrado nas seguintes frações 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, e 20-25 cm. Com o aumento da dose da palha da cana verificou-se aumento do pH CaCl2 do solo e decréscimo do alumínio trocável até a camada de 15 cm de solo da coluna de PVC. A contribuição de compostos orgânicos para a destoxificação do Al aumentou com o acréscimo das doses da palha da cana. O crescimento da raiz das plantas trigo usadas como planta indicadora aumentou com o acréscimo das doses da palha de cana. O máximo de crescimento da raiz foi até a camada de 15 cm de solo depois de oito dias para a maior dose de palha da cana-de-açúcar.

Bio-óleo e biogás da degradação termoquímica de lodo de esgoto doméstico em cilindro rotativo

The objective of this study was to produce biofuels (bio-oil and gas) from the thermal treatment of sewage sludge in rotating cylinder, aiming industrial applications. The biomass was characterized by immediate and instrumental analysis (elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy - SEM, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and ICP-OES). A kinetic study on non-stationary regime was done to calculate the activation energy by Thermal Gravimetric Analysis evaluating thermochemical and thermocatalytic process of sludge, the latter being in the presence of USY zeolite. As expected, the activation energy evaluated by the mathematical model "Model-free kinetics" applying techniques isoconversionais was lowest for the catalytic tests (57.9 to 108.9 kJ/mol in the range of biomass conversion of 40 to 80%). The pyrolytic plant at a laboratory scale reactor consists of a rotating cylinder whose length is 100 cm with capable of processing up to 1 kg biomass/h. In the process of pyrolysis thermochemical were studied following parameters: temperature of reaction (500 to 600 ° C), flow rate of carrier gas (50 to 200 mL/min), frequency of rotation of centrifugation for condensation of bio-oil (20 to 30 Hz) and flow of biomass (4 and 22 g/min). Products obtained during the process (pyrolytic liquid, coal and gas) were characterized by classical and instrumental analytical techniques. The maximum yield of liquid pyrolytic was approximately 10.5% obtained in the conditions of temperature of 500 °C, centrifugation speed of 20 Hz, an inert gas flow of 200 mL/min and feeding of biomass 22 g/min. The highest yield obtained for the gas phase was 23.3% for the temperature of 600 °C, flow rate of 200 mL/min inert, frequency of rotation of the column of vapor condensation 30 Hz and flow of biomass of 22 g/min. The non-oxygenated aliphatic hydrocarbons were found in greater proportion in the bio-oil (55%) followed by aliphatic oxygenated (27%). The bio-oil had the following characteristics: pH 6.81, density between 1.05 and 1.09 g/mL, viscosity between 2.5 and 3.1 cSt and highest heating value between 16.91 and 17.85 MJ/ kg. The main components in the gas phase were: H2, CO, CO2 and CH4. Hydrogen was the main constituent of the gas mixture, with a yield of about 46.2% for a temperature of 600 ° C. Among the hydrocarbons formed, methane was found in higher yield (16.6%) for the temperature 520 oC. The solid phase obtained showed a high ash content (70%) due to the abundant presence of metals in coal, in particular iron, which was also present in bio-oil with a rate of 0.068% in the test performed at a temperature of 500 oC.

Conversão catalítica de clorometano em hidrocarbonetos

Amorphous silica-alumina and modified by incipient impregnation of iron, nickel, zinc and chromium were synthetized in oxide and metal state and evaluated as catalysts for the chloromethane conversion reaction. With known techniques their textural properties were determined and dynamics techniques in programmed temperature were used to find the acid properties of the materials. A thermodynamic model was used to determine the adsorption and desorption capacity of chloromethane. Two types of reactions were studied. Firstly the chloromethane was catalytically converted to hydrocarbons (T = 300 450 oC e m = 300 mg) in a fixed bed reactor with controlled pressure and flow. Secondly the deactivation of the unmodified support was studied (at 300 °C and m=250 g) in a micro-adsorver provided of gravimetric monitoring. The metal content (2,5%) and the chloromethane percent of the reagent mixture (10% chloromethane in nitrogen) were fixed for all the tests. From the results the chloromethane conversion and selectivity of the gaseous products (H2, CH4, C3 and C4) were determined as well as the energy of desorption (75,2 KJ/mol for Ni/Al2O3-SiO2 to 684 KJ/mol for the Zn/Al2O3-SiO2 catalyst) considering the desorption rate as a temperature function. The presence of a metal on the support showed to have an important significance in the chloromethane condensation. The oxide class catalyst presented a better performance toward the production of hydrocarbons. Especial mention to the ZnO/Al2O3-SiO2 that, in a gas phase basis, produced C3 83 % max. and C4 63% max., respectively, in the temperature of 450 oC and 20 hours on stream. Hydrogen was produced exclusively in the FeO/Al2O3-SiO2 catalysts (15 % max., T = 550 oC and 5,6 h on stream) and Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 (75 % max., T = 400 oC and 21,6 h on stream). All the catalysts produced methane (10 à 92 %), except for Ni/Al2O3-SiO2 and CrO/Al2O3-SiO2. In the deactivation study two models were proposed: The parallel model, where the product production competes with coke formation; and the sequential model, where the coke formation competes with the product desorption dessorption step. With the mass balance equations and the mechanism proposed six parameters were determined. Two kinetic parameters: the hydrocarbon formation constant, 8,46 10-4 min-1, the coke formation, 1,46 10-1 min-1; three thermodynamic constants (the global, 0,003, the chloromethane adsorption 0,417 bar-1, the hydrocarbon adsorption 2,266 bar-1), and the activity exponent of the coke formation (1,516). The model was reasonable well fitted and presented a satisfactory behavior in relation with the proposed mechanism

Plasmid-based controls to detect rpoB mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by quantitative polymerase chain reaction-high-resolution melting

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

Theoretical study on the molecular mechanism for the reaction of VO2+ with C2H4

The complex reaction between VO2+ ((1)A(1)/(3)A) and C2H4 (Ag-1(g)/(3)A(1)) to yield VO+ ((1)Delta/(3)Sigma) and CH3CHO ('A'/(3)A) has been studied by means of B3LYP/6-31G* and B3LYP/6-311G(2d,p) calculations. The structures of all reactants, products, intermediates, and transition structures of this reaction have been optimized and characterized at the fundamental singlet and first excited triplet electronic states. Crossing points are localized, and possible spin inversion processes are discussed by means of the intrinsic reaction coordinate approach. Relevant stationary points along the most favorable reaction pathways have been studied at the CCSD/6-311G(2d,p)//B3LYP/6-311G(2d,p) calculation level. The theoretical results allow the development of thermodynamic and kinetic arguments about the reaction pathways of the title process. In the singlet state, the first step is the barrierless obtention of a reactant complex associated with the formation of a V-C bond, while in the triplet state a three-membered ring addition complex with the V bonded to the two C atoms is obtained. Similar behavior is found in the exit channels: the product complexes can be formed from isolated products without barriers. The reactant and product complexes are the most stable stationary points in the singlet and triplet electronic states. From the singlet state reactant complex, two reaction pathways are posssible to reach the triplet state product complex. (i) A mechanism in which a hydrogen transfer process is the first and rate limiting step and the second step is an oxygen transfer between vanadium and carbon atoms with a concomitant change in the spin state. The crossing point between singlet and triplet spin states is not kinetically relevant because it takes place at a later stage occurring in the exit channel. (ii) A mechanism in which the first stage renders a four-membered ring between vanadyl cation and the ethylene fragment and an oxygencarbon bond is formed; on going from this minimum to the second transition structure, associated with a carbon-vanadium bond breaking process, the crossing point between singlet and triplet spin states is reached. The final step is the hydrogen transfer between both carbon atoms to yield the product complex. In this case the spin change opens a lower barrier pathway. The transition structures with larger values of relative energies for both reactive channels of VO2+ ((1)A(1)) + C2H4 (Ag-1) --> VO+ ((3)Sigma) + CH3CHO ((1)A') present similar energies, and the two reaction pathways can be considered as competitive.

NH3+N2O3 reaction. High level calculations

We have undertaken a comprehensive study of the NH3 + N2O3 reaction in gas phase. Total energies of reactants, intermediates, transition states, and products have been calculated at CBS-QB3 level of theory. The corresponding BSSE analysis were performed at the highest level of theory, i.e. MP2 using the complete basis set (CBS) extrapolation at CBS-QB3 optimized geometries. A detailed mechanism was proposed for 2NH(3) - N2O3 -> 2N(2) - 3H(2)O with Delta H-r= - 170.08 kcal/mol N-2. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Niobium Pentachloride Catalyzed Multicomponent Povarov Reaction

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

Analysis of the performance of an extraction-condensation steam turbine on a cogeneration system of a Brazilian sugar-alcohol factory

In this work a detailed thermodynamic analysis for an extraction-condensation steam turbine capable to drive a 40 MVA electricity generator in a sugar-alcohol factory was carried out. The use of this turbine in the cogeneration system showed that its efficiency contributed to increase the power generation, although the condensation reduces the overall efficiency of the plant. Sensibility analyses were performed to evaluate the behavior of the overall energy efficiency of a plant with the extraction-condensation turbine in function of the boiler efficiency, the specific consumption of steam in the processes and the condensation rate in the turbine. It was observed that the plant efficiency is very sensible to the condensation rate variation and it increases when there is an increase in the demand of steam for processes.

Cell-free antigens from precocious Paracoccidioides brasiliensis culture induce a typical delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Correlation between API 50 CH and multiplex polymerase chain reaction for the identification of vaginal lactobacilli in isolates

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

A polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Brucella canis in semen of naturally infected dogs

The objective was to evaluate a PCR assay for the detection of Brucella canis in canine semen, comparing its performance with that of bacterial isolation, serological tests and PCR assay of blood. Fifty-two male dogs were examined clinically to detect reproductive abnormalities and their serum was tested by the rapid slide agglutination test, with and without 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME-RSAT and RSAT, respectively). In addition, microbiological culture and PCR assays were performed on blood and semen samples. The findings of the semen PCR were compared (Kappa coefficient and McNemar test) to those of blood PCR, culture of blood and semen, RSAT, and 2ME-RSAT. Nucleic acid extracts from semen collected from dogs not infected with B. canis were spiked with decreasing amounts of B. canis RM6/66 DNA and the resulting samples subjected to PCR. In addition, semen samples of non-infected dogs were spiked with decreasing amounts of B. canis CFU and the resulting suspensions were used for DNA extraction and amplification. of the 52 dogs that were examined, the following tests were positive: RSAT, 16 (30.7%); 2ME-RSAT, 5 (9.6%); blood culture, 14 (26.9%); semen culture, 11 (21.1%); blood PCR, 18 (34.6%); semen PCR, 18 (34.6%). The PCR assay detected as few as 3.8 fg of B. canis DNA experimentally diluted in 444.9 ng of canine DNA (extracted from semen samples of noninfected dogs). In addition, the PCR assay amplified B. canis genetic sequences from semen samples containing as little as 1.0 x 10(0) cfu/mL. We concluded that PCR assay of semen was a good candidate as a confirmatory test for the diagnosis of brucellosis in dogs; its diagnostic performance was similar to blood culture or blood PCR. Furthermore, the PCR assay of semen was more sensitive than the 2ME-RSAT or semen culture. Examination of semen by PCR should be included for diagnosis of brucellosis prior to natural mating or AI; in that regard, some dogs that were negative on serological and microbiological examinations as well as blood PCR were positive on PCR of semen. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A polymerase chain reaction for detection of Brucella canis in vaginal swabs of naturally infected bitches

A PCR assay for the detection of Brucella canis in canine vaginal swab samples was evaluated, comparing its performance with that of bacterial isolation, serological tests, and a blood PCR assay. One hundred and forty-four female dogs were clinically examined to detect reproductive problems and they were tested by the rapid slide agglutination test, with and without 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME-RSAT and RSAT, respectively). In addition, microbiological culture and PCR were performed on blood and vaginal swab samples. The results of the vaginal swab PCR were compared to those of the other tests using the Kappa coefficient and McNemar test. of the 144 females that were examined, 66 (45.8%) were RSAT positive, 23 (15.9%) were 2ME-RSAT positive, 49 (34.02%) were blood culture positive, 6 (4.1%) were vaginal swab culture positive, 54 (37.5%) were blood PCR positive, 52 (36.2%) were vaginal swab PCR positive, and 50.69% (73/144) were positive by the combined PCR. The PCR was able to detect as few as 3.8 fg of B. canis DNA experimentally diluted in 54 ng of canine DNA, extracted from vaginal swab samples of non-infected bitches. In addition, the PCR assay amplified B. canis genetic sequences from vaginal swab samples containing 1.0 x 10(0) cfu/mL. In conclusion, vaginal swab PCR was a good candidate as a confirmatory test for brucellosis diagnosis in bitches suspected to be infected, especially those negative on blood culture or blood PCR; these animals may be important reservoirs of infection and could complicate attempts to eradicate the disease in confined populations. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptation and evaluation of polymerase chain reaction for Brucella ovis detection in semen, urine and organs of rams experimentally infected

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

Genotype by environment interaction for 450-day weight of Nelore cattle analyzed by reaction norm models

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)