Cost-effective composite electrode for the fast voltammetric screening and determination of riboflavin (B2) and pyridoxine (B6) in pharmaceuticals

Different solid composites made by mechanical dispersions of graphite particles into heated paraffin (from 65 to 80% graphite, in mass) were prepared and assessed in order to optimize their use in electrochemical and electroanalytical procedures for bioanalysis. Besides these, composites were also evaluated by thermoanalytical techniques aiming to study their conservation and long-term stability (over eight months without special care), among others. Best results were found at 80% m/m graphite in paraffin. Such electrode combines low-cost, stability, sensitivity, ease of maintenance and clearance, besides the possibilities of manufacture in many different forms and shapes (with or without modifications) and applicability in a wide range of pH. Electrochemical studies by different voltammetric techniques involving vitamins from complex B (riboflavin and pyridoxine) leaded to a better understanding about their electrooxidative processes onto carbon-composite electrodes, specially regarding reversibility and pH-dependence. Data were also acquired and optimized with analytical purposes, being square-wave voltammetry in pH 4.2 chosen by its many advantages. Good linearity between peak responses as function of concentration were reached from 5 to 43 μmol L-1 for riboflavin (peak at -0.257 V) and up to 8.5 × 10-4 mol L -1 for pyridoxine (peak at +1.04 V), best studied conditions; limits of detection (at an S/N of 3) for both analites showed to be circa 1.0 mol L-1. Different commercial samples were analyzed for riboflavin (EMS® complex B syrup) and pyridoxine (Citoneurin 5000 Merck® ampoules) providing 96.6% and 98.7% recoveries, respectively.

O cenário ambiental paulista: no passado e no presente: considerações sobre as condições das unidades de conservação da Mata Atlântica de São Paulo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Road Concessions in Latin America: Achievements and Challenges

Concessions have become an important mechanism in Latin America for attracting financing and private management to the highway sector. Highways are one of the areas of transport infrastructure in which this concept in long-term investment in road conservation and management has been widely applied and the concession-holder's costs are recouped through tolls and other complementary mechanisms.After a brisk start in the 1990s, the pattern of road concessions has proved to be less dynamic in the current decade. Nevertheless, highway concessions have expanded significantly and now account for 1% of the total inter-city road network. The international seminar entitled "Concessions for the provision of transport infrastructure: challenges for Latin America" was organized jointly by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Agency for the Promotion of Private Investment of Peru (PROINVERSION) and held in Lima, Peru, on 13 and 14 November 2003.

Strategies to overcome barriers to the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy in the Caribbean

Includes bibliography.

An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the Agriculture, Coastal and Human Settlements and Health Sectors in Guyana

This report analyses the agriculture, coastal and human settlements and health sectors in Guyana to assess the potential economic impacts of climate change. The fundamental aim of this report is to assist with the development of strategies to deal with the potential impact of climate change on Guyana. It also has the potential to provide essential input for identifying and preparing policies and strategies to help bring the Caribbean sub-region closer to solving problems associated with climate change and attaining national and regional sustainable development goals. Some of the key anticipated manifestations of climate change for the Caribbean include elevated air and sea-surface temperatures, sea-level rise, possible changes in extreme events and a reduction in freshwater resources. The economic impact of climate change on the three sectors was estimated for the A2 and B2 IPCC scenarios until 2050 (agriculture and health sectors) and 2100 (coastal and human settlements sector). An exploration of various adaptation strategies was also undertaken for each sector using standard evaluation techniques. The study of the impact of climate change on the agriculture sector focused on three leading sub-sectors namely: sugar-cane, rice-paddy and fisheries. In estimating costs, the sugar sub-sector is projected to experience losses under A2 between US$ 144 million (at 4% discount rate) and US$300 million (1% rate); comparative statistics for rice are US$795 million and US$1577 million, respectively; while for fisheries, the results show that losses range from US$15 million (4% rate) and US$34 million (1% rate). In general, under the B2 scenarios, there are gains for sugar up to 2030 under all three discount rates while for rice the performance is somewhat better with gains realized under all three discount rates up to 2040. For fisheries, gains are forecasted under all three rates up to 2050, following marginal losses to 2020. In terms of the benefit-cost analysis conducted on selected adaptation measures under the A2 scenario, there were net benefits for all three commodities under all three discount rates. For the sugar-cane sub-sector these are: drainage and irrigation upgrade, purchase of new machinery for planting and harvesting, developing and replanting climate tolerant sugar-cane. The rice-paddy sub-sector will benefit from adaptive strategies, which include maintenance of drainage and irrigation systems, research and development, as well as education and training. Adaptation in the fisheries sub-sector must include measures such as, mangrove development and restoration and public education. The analysis of the coastal and human settlements sector has shown that based upon exposed assets and population, SLR can be classified as having the potential to create catastrophic conditions in Guyana. The main contributing factor is the concentration of socioeconomic infrastructure along the coastline in vulnerable areas.

Distância e padrões de dispersão contemporânea de pólen e sistema de reprodução em pequeno fragmento isolado de Copaifera Langsdorfii Desf. (Leguminosae – Caesalpinoideae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Identification and phylogenetic inferences on stocks of sharks affected by the fishing industry off the Northern coast of Brazil

The ongoing decline in abundance and diversity of shark stocks, primarily due to uncontrolled fishery exploitation, is a worldwide problem. An additional problem for the development of conservation and management programmes is the identification of species diversity within a given area, given the morphological similarities among shark species, and the typical disembarkation of processed carcasses which are almost impossible to differentiate. The main aim of the present study was to identify those shark species being exploited off northern Brazil, by using the 12S-16S molecular marker. For this, DNA sequences were obtained from 122 specimens collected on the docks and the fish market in Bragança, in the Brazilian state of Pará. We identified at least 11 species. Three-quarters of the specimens collected were either Carcharhinus porosus or Rhizoprionodon sp, while a notable absence was the daggernose shark, Isogomphodon oxyrhyncus, previously one of the most common species in local catches. The study emphasises the value of molecular techniques for the identification of cryptic shark species, and the potential of the 12S-16S marker as a tool for phylogenetic inferences in a study of elasmobranchs.

Gestão em áreas protegidas: proposição metodológica para análise de impactos socioambientais nas comunidades tradicionais da APA Chapada do Araripe

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

Distribuição natural de espécies arbóreas em áreas com diferentes níveis de antropização visando integrar programa de conservação genética in situ

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Sero-epidemiological survey for brucellosis, leptospirosis, and toxoplasmosis in free-ranging Alouatta caraya and Callithrix penicillata from Sao Paulo State, Brazil

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

The fracture resistance of a CAD/CAM Resin Nano Ceramic (RNC) and a CAD ceramic at different thicknesses

Objective. This study aimed to investigate the influence of restoration thickness to the fracture resistance of adhesively bonded Lava (TM) Ultimate CAD/CAM, a Resin Nano Ceramic(RNC), and IPS e. max CAD ceramic.Methods. Polished Lava (TM) Ultimate CAD/CAM (Group L), sandblasted Lava (TM) Ultimate CAD/CAM (Group LS), and sandblasted IPS e.max CAD (Group ES) discs (n=8, phi=10 mm) with a thickness of respectively 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, and 3.0 mm were cemented to corresponding epoxy supporting discs, achieving a final thickness of 3.5 mm. All the 120 specimens were loaded with a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. The load (N) at failure was recorded as fracture resistance. The stress distribution for 0.5 mm restorative discs of each group was analyzed by Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The results of facture resistances were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and regression.Results. For the same thickness of testing discs, the fracture resistance of Group L was always significantly lower than the other two groups. The 0.5 mm discs in Group L resulted in the lowest value of 1028 (112) N. There was no significant difference between Group LS and Group ES when the restoration thickness ranged between 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm. There was a linear relation between fracture resistance and restoration thickness in Group L (R = 0.621, P < 0.001) and in Group ES (R = 0.854, P < 0.001). FEA showed a compressive permanent damage in all groups.Significance. The materials tested in this in vitro study with the thickness above 0.5 mm could afford the normal bite force. When Lava Ultimate CAD/CAM is used, sandblasting is suggested to get a better bonding. (C) 2014 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mixed methodology to analyze the relationship between maturity of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management in Brazil

The aim of this research is to verify the relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices by electro-electronic companies in Brazil. In this work a two-phase research was conducted, with one quantitative and the other qualitative. The quantitative phase aimed to test whether a relationship between the maturity levels of environmental management and GSCM exists, while the qualitative phase tried to detail the characteristics of this relationship. The quantitative phase was conducted through a survey with 100 Brazilian electro-electronic companies and the collected data were processed using Structural Equation Modeling. For the qualitative phase, a multiple case study was conducted with three companies located in Brazil. The results indicate that: (1) The main hypothesis was confirmed and considered statistically valid, indicating that, indeed, the maturity level of environmental management influences the adoption of GSCM practices; (2) a coevolution tends to occur between the environmental maturity and the GSCM practices; that is, the more developed is the company's environmental management, more complex GSCM practices are adopted; and (3) the GSCM internal practices tend to present a greater relative adoption than the external practices; these external practices of GSCM tend to be adopted when the company is inserted in a higher environmental stage and/or operates under a scenario of stronger normative environmental pressure. By the way, this is the first research mixing survey and case studies on GSCM in Brazil. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transformação da paisagem da área de preservação ambiental APA no Município de Botucatu-SP

The Environmental Protection Areas (EPA) are a type of sustainable use conservation unit, therefore its territory have public and private areas. To establish and reorganize the use of EPA’s territory, aiming the environment conservation along with human actions, it is necessary a management plan that should be conducted within five years from the date of its creation. The EPA Botucatu, established in 1983, does not have its management plan completed until the present day. The consequences of lack of organization about the use and occupation of its territory can be observed in a comparative study of territorial classification between the years 1985 and 2010, which was the objective of this study. As a result, it could be observed the decrease of the remaining fragments and intense fragmentation of them, pointing to the need for projects that aim the restoration, conservation and connectivity between these fragments and the subsequent application

Soil and leaf nutrient content of tree species support deciduous forests on limestone outcrops as a eutrophic ecosystem

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Allometric equations for estimating tree biomass in restored mixed-species Atlantic Forest stands

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