Reguladores vegetais e nutrientes minerais no metabolismo de plantas de tomateiro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Irradiação e atmosfera modificada passiva na qualidade pós-colheita de goiabas 'Pedro Sato'

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gamma radiation associated with modified atmosphere on postharvest quality of guavas ‘Pedro Sato’. It was used guavas from the region of Vista Alegre do Alto/São Paulo/Brazil. After harvest, the fruits were immediately transported to the Fruit and Vegetables Laboratory from the Agroindustrial Management and Technology Department, Agronomic Sciences College - UNESP - Botucatu / SP, where they were kept at 10 ° C and 90-95% RH in cold storage, for 28 days. It was used the randomized design, with factorial scheme 5 x 5, three repetitions. The first factor consisted of the following effects: control 1 (without package or irradiation), control 2 (polystyrene package/PS + package low density polyethylene/LDPE and without irradiation), treatment 1 (PS + LDPE and 0.2 kGy ), treatment 2 (PS + LDPE and 0.6 kGy) and treatment 3 (PS + LDPE and 1.0 kGy). The second factor consisted of the evaluation periods: 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. The analyses were: firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), maturity index, pH, respiration rate. Concluded that high doses of irradiation promoted a negative effect on physical-chemical characteristics of guava ‘Pedro Sato’, verifying that only the lowest dose associated with modified atmosphere provided fruits with higher quality and acceptability, due to higher maturation rate and soluble solids obtained. Regarding the days of analysis, there were no positive effect of the treatments during storage, where only the early days promoted better values for the variables studied.

Gamma irradiation can control the number of psychotrophic bacteria in Agaricus bisporus during storage

We evaluated the effect of gamma irradiation doses (0, 125, 250, and 500 Gy) in control of psychrotrophic bacteria in different strains of Agaricus bisporus (ABI-07/06, ABI-05/03, and PB-1) during storage, cultivated in composts based on oat straw (Avena sativa) and Brachiaria spp. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme 4  2  3 (irradiation doses  composts  strains), with 24 treatments, each consisting of 2 replicates, totaling 48 experimental units (samples of mushrooms). The mushrooms collected from all culture conditions were packaged in plastic polypropylene with 200 g each and subjected to Cobalt-60 irradiator, type Gammacell 220, and dose rate 0.740 kGy h–1 , according to the treatments. Subsequently, the control (nonirradiated) and other treatments were maintained at 4 ± 1°C and 90% relative humidity (RH) in a climatic chamber to perform the microbiological analysis of mushrooms on the 1st and 14th day of storage. According to the results, it was found that the highest mean colony psychotrophic count, after 14 days of storage, was observed in strain ABI-07/06 1.30 × 108 g -1 most probable number (MPN) in nonirradiated mushrooms, coming from Brachiaria grass-based compost, and this same strain under the same storage conditions, coming from the same type of compost that underwent a dose of 500 Gy, obtained a significant reduction in mean colonies of psychrotrophic bacteria (2.25 × 104 g –1 MPN). Thus, the irradiation doses tested favored reducing the number of colonies of psychrotrophic bacteria, regardless of the type of compound and strain of A. bisporus.

Qualidade pós-colheita de abacates "hass" mantidos em temperatura ambiente e tratados com diferentes radiações

This study aimed the avocado ‘Hass’ conservation with the use of radiation. We performed two experiments: Experiment I – fruits irradiated with different doses of cobalt-60 gamma irradiation(0,0; 0,2; 0,4; 0,6 e 1,0 kGy); Experiment II – fruit irradiated by electron accelerator in different doses (0,0; 0,48; 0,8; 1,12 e 1,45 MeV), both maintained at room temperature of 21±1 °C and at relative humidity of 79±5 %. Antioxidant capacity, total phenolic compounds, fresh weight loss, and respiration rate evaluation were performed every three days for 12 days. The experimental design was completely randomized with three replicates per treatment. For statistical analysis, the Tukey test at 5% probability was employed. Under the conditions in which the experiments were performed, the results showed that the gamma radiation use retained the fruits for 12 days, regardless the doses applied. The radiation by electron accelerator use also promote the fruits preservation, regardless the doses employed.

Características pós-colheita em frutos de pitaya orgânica submetida a diferentes doses de irradiação

The objective was to evaluate the influence of different irradiation doses in post-harvest characteristics of pitaya organic species Hylocereus undatus grown in the municipality of Itajobi - SP. The experiment was conducted at the Fruit and Vegetable Department of Agribusiness Management and Technology - FCA / UNESP - Botucatu - SP from December 2008 to January 2009. The radiation process was conducted at the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) located in Sao Paulo. The design was randomized blocks with six treatments and three replications. The fruits were harvested on the third day after onset of color, selected, cleaned, packed in polystyrene trays covered with PVC film, pre - cooled (8 ° C for 24 hours) and subjected to different doses of gamma irradiation (0.0; 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 kGy of cobalt-60) and subsequently stored in cold temperature of 8 degrees C, with relative humidity of about 85 ± 5%. The fruits were evaluated at twenty days after irradiation for pH, soluble solids (SS), Titratable Acidity (TA), ratio (SS / TA) and percentage loss of mass (weight). Data were subjected to analysis of variance and means compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. There were no statistically significant differences (p <0.05) for pH (4.82), soluble solids (11.33) Titratable acidity (0.12) and ratio (79.42) compared to non-irradiated fruit. Regarding the percentage of loss of mass (weight), the highest among the patients treated irradiated with 0.8 kGy (12.12%), whereas for treatment at a dose of 0.0 kGy (irradiated) showed a lower loss weight (11.59%), a result that differs significantly (P <0.05) from the remaining doses of irradiation. The loss of mass (weight) of fruit irradiated with other doses was not statistically significant (P> 0.05).

Use of Cathorops spixii as bioindicator of pollution of trace metals in the Santos Bay, Brazil

In the present study Cathorops spixii, was evaluated as a bioindicator fish for trace metal pollution. Concentrations of cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis in liver. Mercury (Hg) and methyl-mercury (MeHg) were analyzed by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry in muscles and livers. High concentrations of Co, Fe, Se and Zn were observed in C. spixii from Santos Bay in comparison to fish collected in a non-polluted site in the same Brazilian coast. These trace metal concentrations were out of the permissible levels for human consumption. Although, Hg and MeHg levels were low, the C. spixii could still be used as an effective bioindicator to observe trace metal behaviors in the environment in function of the bioaccumulation process observed mainly by other analyzed trace metals. Thus, the use of this species is strongly recommended to monitor the effects and behavior of trace metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems in Brazil due to its bioaccumulation function.

Formation of an extended CoSi2 thin nanohexagons array coherently buried in silicon single crystal

A Co-doped silica film was deposited on the surface of a Si(100) wafer and isothermally annealed at 750 degrees C to form spherical Co nanoparticles embedded in the silica film and a few atomic layer thick CoSi2 nanoplatelets within the wafer. The structure, morphology, and spatial orientation of the nanoplatelets were characterized. The experimental results indicate that the nanoplatelets exhibit hexagonal shape and a uniform thickness. The CoSi2 nanostructures lattice is coherent with the Si lattice, and each of them is parallel to one of the four planes belonging to the {111} crystallographic form of the host lattice. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3683493]

Study of the oxygen vacancy influence on magnetic properties of Fe- and Co-doped SnO2 diluted alloys

Transition-metal (TM)-doped diluted magnetic oxides (DMOs) have attracted attention from both experimental and theoretical points of view due to their potential use in spintronics towards new nanostructured devices and new technologies. In the present work, we study the magnetic properties of Sn0.96TM0.04O2 and Sn0.96TM0.04O1.98(V (O))(0.02), where TM = Fe and Co, focusing in particular in the role played by the presence of O vacancies nearby the TM. The calculated total energy as a function of the total magnetic moment per cell shows a magnetic metastability, corresponding to a ground state, respectively, with 2 and 1 mu(B)/cell, for Fe and Co. Two metastable states, with 0 and 4 mu(B)/cell were found for Fe, and a single value, 3 mu(B)/cell, for Co. The spin-crossover energies (E (S)) were calculated. The values are E (S) (0/2) = 107 meV and E (S) (4/2) = 25 meV for Fe. For Co, E (S) (3/1) = 36 meV. By creating O vacancies close to the TM site, we show that the metastablity and E (S) change. For iron, a new state appears, and the state with zero magnetic moment disappears. The ground state is 4 mu(B)/cell instead of 2 mu(B)/cell, and the energy E (S) (2/4) is 30 meV. For cobalt, the ground state is then found with 3 mu(B)/cell and the metastable state with 1 mu(B)/cell. The spin-crossover energy E (S) (1/3) is 21 meV. Our results suggest that these materials may be used in devices for spintronic applications that require different magnetization states.

Highly stabilized alpha-NiCo(OH)(2) nanomaterials for high performance device application

Improving the charge capacity, electrochemical reversibility and stability of anode materials are main challenges for the development of Ni-based rechargeable batteries and devices. The combination of cobalt, as additive, and electrode material nanostructuration revealed a very promising approach for this purpose. The new alpha-NiCo mixed hydroxide based electrodes exhibited high specific charge/discharge capacity (355-714 C g(-1)) and outstanding structural stability, withstanding up to 700 redox cycles without any significant phase transformation, as confirmed by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and X-ray diffractometry. In short, the nanostructured alpha-NiCo mixed hydroxide materials possess superior electrochemical properties and stability, being strong candidates for application in high performance batteries and devices. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.