Metodologia para avaliação do desempenho de receptor de GPS de uso agrícola em condição cinemática

Activities that use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are countless and the most used one is the Global Positioning System (GPS) developed by the United States. In precision agriculture there are demands for static and cinematic positioning with distinct levels of accuracy for different applications; nevertheless cinematic performance data are not available as manufacturers of GPS receivers present only static performance information. For this reason it was developed an instrumented vehicle to test a methodology of performance evaluation of GPS receivers in kinematic conditions, which is representative to agricultural operations. A set of instrumentation was composed and used for collecting data under variable speed and rotation direction. Tests were conducted showing that the methodology allows to measure accuracy and precision, but improvements have to be implemented on the instrumentation equipment for long term tests.

Desenvolvimento de sistemas micro e nanoestruturados de quitosana/MDI para aplicações cosméticas

Currently, studies in the area of polymeric microcapsules and nanocapsules and controlled release are considerably advanced. This work aims the study and development of microcapsules and nanocapsules from Chitosan/MDI, using a new technique of interfacial polycondensation combined to spontaneous emulsification, for encapsulation of BZ-3. It was firstly elaborated an experimental design of 23 of the particle in white without the presence of BZ-3 and Miglyol, where the variables were the concentrations of MDI, chitosan and solvent. Starting from the data supplied by the experimental design was chosen the experiment with smaller particle diameter and only added like this BZ-3 and Miglyol. The suspension containing concentrations of 6.25 mg/mL, 12.5 mg/mL, 18.75 mg/mL, 25 mg/mL of BZ-3 were prepared, nevertheless, during the storage time, these formulations presented drug precipitates in the suspensions of 18.75 mg/mL and 25 mg/mL of BZ-3. This apparition of precipitate was attributed to the diffusion of BZ-3 for the aqueous phase without any encapsulation, suggesting so the use of the smaller concentrations of the BZ-3. The suspension containing 6.25mg/mL of BZ3 presented average size of 1.47μm, zeta potential of 61 mV, pH 5.64 and this sample showed an amount of BZ-3 and drug entrapment of 100 %. The suspension containing 12.5mg/mL of BZ-3 presented average size of 1.76μm, zeta potential of 47.4 mV, pH 5.71 and this sample showed an amount of BZ-3 and drug entrapment of 100 %. Then, showing such important characteristics, these two formulations were chosen for futher continuity to the study. These formulations were also characterized by the morphology, FTIR, stability for Turbiscan, DSC and a study of controlled release of the BZ-3 was elaborated in different receiving means

Estudo de técnicas para o tratamento alternativo de efluentes oleosos oriundos da industrialização da castanha de caju

An evaluation project was conducted on the technique of treatment for effluent oil which is the deriving process to improve cashews. During the evaluation the following techniques were developed: advanced processes of humid oxidation, oxidative processes, processes of biological treatment and processes of adsorption. The assays had been carried through in kinetic models, with an evaluation of the quality of the process by means of determining the chemical demand of oxygen (defined as a technique of control by means of comparative study between the available techniques). The results demonstrated that the natural biodegradation of the effluent ones is limited, as result using the present natural flora in the effluent one revealed impracticable for an application in the industrial systems, independent of the evaluation environment (with or without the oxygen presence). The job of specific microorganisms for the oily composite degradation developed the viability technique of this route, the acceptable levels of inclusion in effluent system of treatment of the improvement of the cashew being highly good with reasonable levels of removal of CDO. However, the use combined with other techniques of daily pay-treatment for these effluent ones revealed to still be more efficient for the context of the treatment of effluent and discarding in receiving bodies in acceptable standards for resolution CONAMA 357/2005. While the significant generation of solid residues the process of adsorption with agroindustrial residues (in special the chitosan) is a technical viable alternative, however, when applied only for the treatment of the effluent ones for discarding in bodies of water, the economic viability is harmed and minimized ambient profits. Though, it was proven that if used for ends of I reuse, the viability is equalized and justifies the investments. There was a study of the photochemistry process which have are applicable to the treatment of the effluent ones, having resulted more satisfactory than those gotten for the UV-Peroxide techniques. There was different result on the one waited for the use of catalyses used in the process of Photo. The catalyses contained the mixing oxide base of Cerium and Manganese, incorporated of Potassium promoters this had presented the best results in the decomposition of the involved pollutants. Having itself an agreed form the gotten photochemistry daily paytreatment resulted, then after disinfection with chlorine the characteristics next the portability to the water were guarantee. The job of the humid oxidation presented significant results in the removal of pollutants; however, its high cost alone is made possible for job in projects of reuses, areas of low scarcity and of raised costs with the capitation/acquisition of the water, in special, for use for industrial and potable use. The route with better economic conditions and techniques for the job in the treatment of the effluent ones of the improvement of the cashew possesses the sequence to follow: conventional process of separation water-oil, photochemistry process and finally, the complementary biological treatment

Protection induced in BALB/c mice by the high-molecular-mass (hMM) fraction of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Remoção de nitrogênio em biofiltros aerado e anóxico, com alto índice de vazios e sem remoção de lodo

The improper disposal of nitrogen in receiving water courses causes problems such as toxicity to living beings through the consumption of oxygen to meet the nitrogen demand, eutrophication and nitrate contamination of aquifers. For this reason it is often necessary to be carried out complementary treatment of wastewater to eliminate or reduce the concentration of this compound in the wastewater. The objective of this study is to evaluate the biological removal of nitrogen compounds using submerged aerated and anoxic filters as post-treatment of an anaerobic system, with low cost and innovative technology, which in previous studies has shown high removal efficiency of organic matter and great potential biological nitrogen compounds removal. The simple design with perforated hoses for air distribution and filling with plastic parts proved to be very efficient in relation to organic matter removal and nitrification. The system presented, in the best stage, efficiency in converting ammonia to nitrate by 71%, and produced a final effluent concentration below 10 mg / L of NH3-N. In addition, carbon concentration was removed by 77%, producing final effluent with 24 mg/L COD. However, denitrification in anoxic filter was not effective even with the addition of an external carbon source. There was a reduction of up to 56% of nitrogen caused by the process of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND). The high voids space presented by this type of support material coupled with direct aeration of the sludge, allows the respiration of biomass retained between the endogenous phase, increased cell retention time and sludge retention capacity, producing a final effluent with turbidity less than 5 UT and total suspended solids around 5.0 mg/L

Período de mínima atividade solar: melhora no desempenho do posicionamento relativo

In the relative positioning, even considering that part of the errors due to ionosphere is canceled with the double-difference observations, strong ionospheric effects can occur in maximum solar activity period. However, in minimum solar activity period, the ionospheric effects decrease significantly and therefore an improvement of the relative positioning performance takes place. In this paper we aim at showing that improvement for the scientific and GPS community users. So, have been experiments by using GPS data of two stations of the Brazilian Network for Continuous Monitoring of GPS, forming a baseline of 430 km. The processing were use accomplished with interval of two hours, and only L1 carrier data have been used. The analysis of the obtained results has been carried out from the discrepancies between the "true" coordinates and corresponding ones obtained in the processing. In maximum solar activity period the discrepancy value reached 25 m. on the other hand, in minimum solar activity period, the discrepancy value reached 5,5 m. It is important to emphasize that the majority of the discrepancy values didn't exceed 0,50 m, and in some cases only reached 0,10 m. This shows the increase of application possibilities of the relative positioning using single-frequency GPS receivers in minimum solar activity period.

Role of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis outer proteins (Yops) in murine humoral immune response

The infection of mice with the wild-type (WT) strain of Y. pseudotuberculosis did not induce polyclonal activation of B lymphocytes. Suppression in the production of certain isotypes of Ig was observed, provoked mainly by YopH, YopJ and YpkA. The WT strain induced a progressive increase in the serum-specific IgG, which peaked after 4 weeks after infection, IgM being produced only after 1 week. Autoantibodies against phosphorylcholine, myelin, thyroglobulin and cardiolipin could be detected in the serum of mice infected with the WT strain. The infection of mice provoked suppression in the production of immunoglobulins by splenic B cells and that YopH, YopJ and YpkA must be involved here.

Memórias midiatizadas: percepções sobre ciência reconfiguradas a partir do consumo midiático

This piece focuses on the issue of media in the contemporary context, taking for its object the sociocultural phenomenon of mediatization‟, understood as the dilution of media culture in the everyday life, according to the perspective from Fausto Neto (2008) e Sodré (2002). This phenomenon is viewed from the angle of reception, that is, one that considers the individuals as pro-actives in this dynamic. The media culture is perceived as a fundamental element in the process of social structuring, and also is taken as a symbolic arm of great importance for the elaboration of the notion of reality as it interferes with the flow of information. Thus, we emphasize the process of symbolic consumption that we do with media content (Canclini, 1999), through a dynamic of appropriation and reframing, given from the interweaving of the meanings proposed with extra-media elements, recaptured from the perspective of mediations, by Barbero (2006), which concerns the articulation of the contents we appropriate from media with interactions from other social practices. We also consider the dimension of memory according to Sarlo (2007) and Halbwachs (2004) in order to, through speeches made in its scope, reach empirically the phenomenon of mediatization‟, and overlapping it, the media consumption on a specific theme, "science". Nevertheless, in terms of field work, we use the technique of in-depth interviews, so that the speech of our interviewers was our corpus. Through their narratives, speeches considered by us as memory-related, we visualize the dynamics of media consumption on given topic. At the level of conclusions, we realize that mediatization‟ as a phenomenon occurred, but its flows and orders showed discontinuities and pluralities not initially conceived; regarding the consumption of science through media, we see hybrid perceptions by our respondents, that is, one that include both elements aligned with the positivist conception of science - which we consider to be the view of science proposed by the media and elements that would contradict this view

Differential antibody isotype expression to the major Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antigen in juvenile and adult form paracoccidioidomycosis

We investigated the relationship between antibody response to the major Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antigen, a 43-kDa glycoprotein, and the two paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) clinical presentations, the juvenile and the adult forms. Total immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgG isotypes, and IgA anti-gp43 antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in patients' sera. Juvenile PCM patients had higher (P =.003) IgG anti-gp43 levels than adult form patients. IgG1 subclass levels, however, were comparable between the two clinical forms. Patients with the juvenile form had higher (P <.001) IgG4, but lower(P =.03) IgG2 levels than patients with the adult form. The IgG4 isotype, regulated by interleukin 4, was found in all juvenile form patients but in only 12% of the adult form patients. In contrast, high levels of the IgG2 isotype, regulated by interferon-gamma, were found in 41% of the adult PCM patients, mainly those with a more benign disease, but in only 12% of the juvenile patients. IgG3 was either absent or detected at low levels. These results demonstrate, for the first time, specific IgG4 antibodies in the humoral immune response of patients with an endemic deep mycosis and suggest that the switch to the IgG subclasses in PCM is regulated by the patients' T-helper subset (Th-l or Th-2) dominant cytokine profile. A possible role for IgG4 in the immunopathogenesis of the juvenile, more severe form of the disease is discussed. Finally, IgA was found mainly in adult form patients, probably as a result of the chronic mucosal antigenic stimulation characteristic of this form. (C) Elsevier, Paris.

Ver, lembrar e narrar: a conformação das memórias sobre a ditadura militar na recepção assistida do audiovisual

Subjective and socially constructed instance, the memory is not a natural phenomenon, but an area of contention between various social organizations for control and legitimation of a past. With the development of writing and the advent of new technical devices, it creates new ways to store and transport information. The memory is no longer restricted to the limits of the here and now of the subject and undergoes transformations. In this scenario, the media start to play an important role in publicizing and construction of embodiments of memory. This study aims to analyze the conformation of the memory of political groups during the process of receiving audiovisual fiction. For this purpose, a corpus of four chapters of the soap opera Love and Revolution was used as a cognitive device for remembering. The television series, broadcast by SBT between April 2011 and January 2012, went back to the beginning and development of the military dictatorship in Brazil, in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Three militants of various affiliations Communists who acted against the regime in Rio Grande do Norte and neighboring states, were participants in this study. Using the method of oral history, the research was divided into two stages: in-depth interviews, which dealt with the history of life of employees with the militancy in the Communist parties and other social movements, and the assistance of a drive dramatic soap opera Love and Revolution. Comparing these two phases of the study, we analyze the flow of mediations that crossed memories of militancy and media framework; shifts the narrative of remembrance during reception, and the opposition between memory and represented the experiences of the receivers

IgE antibody response to the main antigenic component of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in patients with paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) has two main clinical presentations, a chronic form (CF) and an acute, more severe form (AF). The AF is associated with a more marked dysfunction of the patient's immune response, and a distinct anti-Paracoccidioides brasiliensis immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG antibody subclass expression, compared with that seen in the CF. In this study we investigated the presence of IgE antibodies against the main P. brasiliensis antigen (a 43-kDa molecule) in the serum of PCM patients using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that 100% of the AF patients (n = 16) produced IgE antibodies, mostly at high levels, whereas only 9 (27%) out of 33 CF patients produced this isotype. Interestingly, these nine patients presented higher serological titers on the counter-immunoelectrophoresis assays than did those who did not produce IgE; a finding that suggests that they had a relatively more severe disease. As IgE is a characteristic feature of the AF patients, and switching to a positive IgE response is dependent on interleukin-4, our results support the notion that the relatively more severe impairment of cellular immunity in the AF is probably related to a Th-2 pattern of immune response.

Yersinia enterocolitica O : 3 isolated from patients with or without reactive arthritis induces polyclonal activation of B cells and autoantibody production in vivo

The mechanisms by which arthritis-provoking pathogens such as Yersinia enterocolitica interact with the human immune system to produce inflammatory synovitis are not well known. One of the immunomodulating mechanisms used against these pathogens is the polyclonal activation of lymphocytes. In this study, we investigated the extent of the B-lymphocyte activation induced in mice by a strain of Y. enterocolitica O:3 (FCF 526) isolated from a patient with arthritis, and compared it with two other strains, a virulent one (FCF 397[+]) isolated from a patient without arthritis and its plasmidless isogenic pair (FCF397[-]). Also we investigated the production of autoantibodies in mice infected with these different strains. SPF Swiss mice were infected intravenously with a suspension of Y. enterocolitica . Spleen cells were taken on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 after infection and the number of cells secreting nonspecific and specific antibodies of IgG 1 , IgG 2a , IgG 2b , IgG 3 , IgM and IgA isotypes were determined by the ELISPOT technique. The presence of autoantibodies in mouse serum was investigated by the dot-blot assay. The pattern of infection of the three bacterial strains were almost the same. We observed a general increase in the number of nonspecific Ig-secreting cells with all three strains, and the greatest increases observed were in the IgG 2a and IgG 3 isotypes. Only a small fraction of the immunoglobulins detected were antibacterial, suggesting that the rest resulted from polyclonal B cell activation. The strain isolated from the patient with arthritis (FCF526) induced the greatest production of autoantibodies, coinciding with the period in which the greatest activation of nonspecific B lymphocytes was seen. There were no signs of arthritis or inflammation in the joints of the infected animals. Based on our results, we were unable to determine whether there is an association between the arthritogenic capability of Y. enterocolitica and polyclonal activation of B cells.

Immunosensor for the diagnosis of Chagas' disease

Trypanosoma cruzi proteins from epimastigote membranes, herein referred as antigens, have been used for the construction of an amperometric immunosensor for serological diagnosis of Chagas' disease. The proteins used had a molecular mass ranging from 30 to 100 kDa. The gold electrode was treated with cysteamine and glutaraldehyde prior to antigen immobilization. Antibodies present in the serum of patients with Chagas' disease were captured by the immobilized antigens and the affinity interaction was monitored by chronoamperometry at a potential of -400 mV (versus Ag pseudo-reference electrode) using peroxidase-labeled IgG conjugate and hydrogen peroxide, iodide substrate. The incubation time to allow maximum antigen-antibody and antibody-peroxidase-labeled IgG interactions was 20 min with a reactivity threshold at -0.104 mu A. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of analytical methods by direct and first-derivative UV spectrophotometry for evaluation of losartan potassium in capsules

O losartano potássico é um agente anti-hipertensivo não peptídico, que exerce sua ação por bloqueio específico dos receptores da angiotensina II. Este trabalho propôs a validação e aplicação de métodos analíticos orientados ao controle de qualidade de losartano potássico 50 mg na forma farmacêutica cápsula, utilizando a espectrofotometria direta e derivada de primeira ordem na região do UV. Baseado nas características espectrofotométricas de losartano potássico, um sinal a 205 nm do espectro de ordem zero e um sinal a 234 nm do espectro de primeira derivada foram adequados para a quantificação. Os resultados foram usados para comparar essas duas técnicas instrumentais. O coeficiente de correlação entre as respostas e as concentrações de losartano potássico na faixa de 3,0-7,0 mg L-1 e 6,0-14,0 mg L-1 para espectrofotometria direta e derivada de primeira ordem em solução aquosa, respectivamente, foi de (r) of 0,9999 para ambos os casos. Os métodos foram aplicados para quantificação de losartano potássico em cápsulas obtidas de farmácias de manipulação locais e demonstraram ser eficientes, fáceis de aplicar e de baixo custo. Além disso, não necessitam de reagentes poluentes e requerem equipamentos economicamente viáveis.

Otimização de ELISA empregando a proteína Tc85-11 e planejamento fatorial

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