Effect of fiber surface on flexural strength in carbon fabric reinforced epoxy composites

The effect of carbon fiber surface characteristics on flexural properties of structural composites is studied in this work. Two types of intermediate modulus carbon fibers were used: T800HB and IM7. Results revealed that higher mechanical properties are linked with higher interfacial adhesion. Morphologies and chemical compositions of commercial carbon fibers (CF) were characterized by Fourier Transformed Infra Red (FTIR) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). Comparing the results, the T800HB apparently has more roughness, since the IM7 seems to be recovered for a polymeric film. On other hand, the IM7 one shows higher interactivity with epoxy resin system Cycom 890 RTM. Composites produced with Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) were tested on a flexural trial. Interfacial adhesion difference was showed with SEM and Dynamic Mechanical Analyses (DMA), justifying the higher flexural behavior of composites made with IM7 fibers. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of weather influence on mechanical and viscoelastic properties of polyetherimide/carbon fiber composites

In order to investigate how environmental degradation affects the mechanical and thermal performance of polyetherimide/carbon fiber laminates, in this work different weathering were conducted. Additionally, dynamic mechanical analysis, interlaminar shear strength tests and non-destructive inspections were performed on this composite before and after being submitted to hygrothermal, UV radiation and thermal shock weathering. According to our results, hygrothermally aged samples had their glass transition temperature and elastic and storage moduli reduced by plasticization effect. Photooxidation, due to UV radiation exposure, occurred only on the surface of the laminates. Thermal shock induced a reversible stress on the composite's interface region. The results revealed that the mechanical behavior can vary during weather exposure but since this variation is only subtle, this thermoplastic laminate can be considered for high-performance applications, such as aerospace. © The Author(s) 2013.

Post-sphaleron baryogenesis and an upper limit on the neutron-antineutron oscillation time

A recently proposed scenario for baryogenesis, called post-sphaleron baryogenesis (PSB), is discussed within a class of quark-lepton unified framework based on the gauge symmetry SU(2)L×SU(2) R×SU(4)c realized in the multi-TeV scale. The baryon asymmetry of the Universe in this model is produced below the electroweak phase transition temperature after the sphalerons have decoupled from the Hubble expansion. These models embed naturally the seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses and predict color-sextet scalar particles in the TeV range which may be accessible to the LHC experiments. A necessary consequence of this scenario is the baryon-number-violating ΔB=2 process of neutron-antineutron (n-n̄) oscillations. In this paper we show that the constraints of PSB, when combined with the neutrino oscillation data and restrictions from flavor changing neutral currents mediated by the colored scalars, imply an upper limit on the n-n̄ oscillation time of 5×1010 sec regardless of the quark-lepton unification scale. If this scale is relatively low, in the (200-250) TeV range, τn-n̄ is predicted to be less than 1010 sec, which is accessible to the next generation of proposed experiments. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Photodynamic inactivation of biofilm: Taking a lightly colored approach to stubborn infection

Microbial biofilms are responsible for a variety of microbial infections in different parts of the body, such as urinary tract infections, catheter infections, middle-ear infections, gingivitis, caries, periodontitis, orthopedic implants, and so on. The microbial biofilm cells have properties and gene expression patterns distinct from planktonic cells, including phenotypic variations in enzymic activity, cell wall composition and surface structure, which increase the resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial treatments. There is consequently an urgent need for new approaches to attack biofilm-associated microorganisms, and antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) may be a promising candidate. aPDT involves the combination of a nontoxic dye and low-intensity visible light which, in the presence of oxygen, produces cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. It has been demonstrated that many biofilms are susceptible to aPDT, particularly in dental disease. This review will focus on aspects of aPDT that are designed to increase efficiency against biofilms modalities to enhance penetration of photosensitizer into biofilm, and a combination of aPDT with biofilm-disrupting agents. © 2013 Informa UK Ltd.

Genotoxicological assessment of two reactive dyes extracted from cotton fibres using artificial sweat

Human eyes have a remarkable ability to recognize hundreds of colour shades, which has stimulated the use of colorants, especially for clothing, but toxicological studies have shown that some textile dyes can be hazardous to human health. Under conditions of intense perspiration, dyes can migrate from coloured clothes and penetrate into human skin. Garments made from cotton fabrics are the most common clothing in tropical countries, due to their high temperatures. Aiming to identify safe textile dyes for dyeing cotton fabrics, the genotoxicity [in vitro Comet assay with normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF), Tail Intensity] and mutagenicity [Salmonella/microsome preincubation assay (30 min), tester strains TA98, TA100, YG1041 and YG1042] of Reactive Blue 2 (RB2, CAS No. 12236-82-7, C.I. 61211) and Reactive Green 19 (RG19, CAS No. 61931-49-5, C.I. 205075) were evaluated both in the formulated form and as extracted from cotton fibres using different artificial sweats. Both the dyes could migrate from cotton fibres to sweat solutions, the sweat composition and pH being important factors during this extraction. However, the dye sweat solutions showed no genotoxic/mutagenic effects, whereas a weak mutagenic potential was detected by the Ames test for both dyes in their formulated form. These findings emphasize the relevance of textile dyes assessment under conditions that more closely resemble human exposure, in order to recognize any hazard. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen and potassium concentrations in the nutrients solution for melon plants growing in coconut fiber without drainage

With the objective of evaluating the effects of N and K concentrations for melon plants, an experiment was carried out from July 1, 2011 to January 3, 2012 in Muzambinho city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The Bonus no. 2 was cultivated at the spacing of 1.1 × 0.4. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replications in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme with four N concentrations (8, 12, 16, and 20 mmol L-1) and four K concentrations (4, 6, 8, and 10 mmol L-1). The experimental plot constituted of eight plants. It was observed that the leaf levels of N and K, of N-NO3 and of K, and the electrical conductivity (CE) of the substrate increased with the increment of N and K in the nutrients' solution. Substratum pH, in general, was reduced with increments in N concentration and increased with increasing K concentrations in the nutrients' solution. Leaf area increased with increments in N concentration in the nutrients solution. Fertigation with solutions stronger in N (20 mmol L-1) and K (10 mmol L-1) resulted in higher masses for the first (968 g) and the second (951 g) fruits and crop yield (4,425 gm-2). © 2013 Luiz Augusto Gratieri et al.

Hybridization effect on the mechanical properties of curaua/glass fiber composites

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effect of hybridizing glass and curaua fibers on the mechanical properties of their composites. These composites were produced by hot compression molding, with distinct overall fiber volume fraction, being either pure curaua fiber, pure glass fiber or hybrid. The mechanical characterization was performed by tensile, flexural, short beam, Iosipescu and also nondestructive testing. From the obtained results, it was observed that the tensile strength and modulus increased with glass fiber incorporation and for higher overall fiber volume fraction (%Vf). The short beam strength increased up to %Vf of 30 vol.%, evidencing a maximum in terms of overall fiber/matrix interface and composite quality. Hybridization has been successfully applied to vegetable/synthetic fiber reinforced polyester composites in a way that the various properties responded satisfactorily to the incorporation of a third component. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical, serological, and parasitological analysis of snakes naturally infected with Cryptosporidium serpentis

Infection by Cryptosporidium serpentis is one of the most important diseases in reptiles and is characterized by chronic clinical or subclinical infection and the presence of hypertrophic gastritis, food regurgitation, progressive weight loss, mortality, and intermittent or continuous shedding of oocysts in the feces. The objectives of this study were to standardize an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies against C. serpentis and to evaluate the clinical, parasitological, and humoral immune response in snakes naturally infected with C. serpentis. Twenty-one snakes naturally infected with C. serpentis and housed at the Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, underwent clinical and parasitological analyses for C. serpentis infection through daily records of clinical signs and a monthly survey of fecal shedding of oocysts using the Kinyoun's acid-fast staining. The serological evaluation was performed monthly by indirect ELISA using crude total antigen from oocysts of C. serpentis to detect anti-C. serpentis antibodies. Clinical symptoms consisted of food regurgitation, inappetence, and progressive weight loss. The parasitological analysis revealed intermittent fecal shedding of a variable number of oocysts in all snakes, with positivity in 85.32% (157/184) of the samples. The indirect ELISA was positive in 68.25% (86/126) of the samples. A humoral immune response was observed in most animals; however, fluctuating antibodies levels, leading to alternating positive and negative results, were observed in most snakes. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lead-germanate glasses and fibers: A practical alternative to tellurite for nonlinear fiber applications

We report on the fabrication of novel lead-germanate glasses and fibers. We have characterized these glasses in terms of their thermal properties, Raman spectra and refractive indices (both linear and nonlinear) and present them as viable alternatives to tellurite glasses for applications requiring highly nonlinear optical fibers. © 2013 Optical Society of America.

Thermophysical properties of cotton, canola, sunflower and soybean oils as a function of temperature

Vegetable oils are used in the industry of processed food, including deep-fat frying. This work determined data on the thermophysical properties of cotton, canola, sunflower, corn, and soybean oils. Thermal conductivity, heat capacity, density, and viscosity were measured within the temperature range of 299.15-433.15 K. The data showed that the temperature influenced the thermophysical properties of the oils studied. The developed correlations could be used to predict these properties within the range of temperatures studied. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

CD95 (FAS) and CD178 (FASL) induce the apoptosis of CD4+ and CD8+ cells isolated from the peripheral blood and spleen of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania spp

Infected dogs are urban reservoirs of Leishmania chagasi, which is a causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Dogs exhibit immune suppression during the course of this disease, and lymphocyte apoptosis is involved in this process. To investigate apoptosis and the expression levels of FAS-FAS-associated death domain protein (CD95 or APO-1), FASL-FAS ligand protein (CD178), and TRAIL-TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (CD253) receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and spleen leukocytes from 38 symptomatic dogs with moderate VL and 25 healthy dogs were evaluated by flow cytometry. The apoptosis rate of blood and splenic CD4+ and CD8+ cells was higher in infected dogs than in healthy dogs. The expression levels of FAS and FASL in blood and splenic CD4+ cells were lower in infected dogs than in healthy dogs. FAS expression in CD8+ cells was higher in infected dogs than in healthy dogs; in contrast, FASL expression was lower in infected dogs. The expression of the TRAIL receptor increased only in splenic CD8+ cells from infected dogs. The FAS and FAS-L blocking antibodies confirmed the importance of these receptors in apoptosis. Our results enhance the current understanding of the immune response in dogs infected with L. chagasi, facilitating the future development of therapeutic interventions to reduce lymphocyte depletion. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Anthelmintic efficacy of an oral formulation of Aurixazol against gastrointestinal nematodes of naturally and experimentally infected sheep

As a result of the need to develop new active principles for the control of endoparasites in ruminants, the present in vivo study evaluated a formulation containing 24% Aurixazol (48 mg/kg), a parasiticide molecule based on disophenolate of levamisole. Two experiments were conducted: one evaluating the anthelmintic efficacy of 24% Aurixazol (48 mg/kg) against gastrointestinal nematodes in naturally infected sheep, compared to an association of ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg) + albendazole (5.0 mg/kg) + levamisole (7.5 mg/kg) (IAL), and a second one which evaluated the persistent efficacy of the same formulation against immature stages (L4) and adults of Haemonchus contortus in experimentally infected animals. In experiment I, against H. contortus, the formulation of Aurixazol and the IAL association reached efficacies (arithmetic means) of 99.32% and 96.11%, respectively. For Trichostrongylus colubriformis, the efficacy values were 88.92% and 98.08% for Aurixazol and the IAL association, respectively. Both formulations were totally effective against Oesophagostomum columbianum (100%). The results of the statistical analysis demonstrated that the mean parasitic burden of treated animals was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) compared to the average number of helminths diagnosed in animals from the control group for H. contortus, T. colubriformis and O. columbianum. Comparing only the treated groups, it was possible to verify that the average number of H. contortus recovered from animals treated with Aurixazol was different (P ≤ 0.05) when compared to the mean amount recovered from sheep treated with the IAL association. When evaluating the prevention of H. contortus infection in experiment II, Aurixazol did not present preventive efficacy. Up until 21 days after treatment the groups treated with Aurixazol contained less adults and L4 of H. contortus (P ≤ 0.05) when compared to the non-medicated control group. However, future studies will be necessary to assess the effectiveness of Aurixazol against nematode strains resistant to levamisole and disophenol, but the efficacy results described in this study allow to state that Aurixazol can, associated with other measures, become an important tool in the control of sheep nematodes. © 2013.

Estudo da atividade antioxidante em frutas nativas e exóticas brasileiras

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Perdas na colheita e qualidade da fibra de cultivares de algodão adensado em função de sistemas de colheita

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA