Investigation of AISI 1040 steel corrosion H(2)S solution containing chloride ions by digital image processing coupled with in electrochemical techniques

This paper presents a study of AISI 1040 steel corrosion in aqueous electrolyte of acetic acid buffer containing 3.1 and 31 x 10(-3) mol dm(-3) of Na(2)S in both the presence and absence of 3.5 wt.% NaCl. This investigation of steel corrosion was carried out using potential polarization, and open-circuit and in situ optical microscopy. The morphological analysis and classification of types of surface corrosion damage by digital image processing reveals grain boundary corrosion and shows a non-uniform sulfide film growth, which occurs preferentially over pearlitic grains through successive formation and dissolution of the film. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fast batch injection analysis of H(2)O(2) using an array of Pt-modified gold microelectrodes obtained from split electronic chips

A fast and robust analytical method for amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) based on batch injection analysis (BIA) on an array of gold microelectrodes modified with platinum is proposed. The gold microelectrode array (n = 14) was obtained from electronic chips developed for surface mounted device technology (SMD), whose size offers advantages to adapt them in batch cells. The effect of the dispensing rate, volume injected, distance between the platinum microelectrodes and the pipette tip, as well as the volume of solution in the cell on the analytical response were evaluated. The method allows the H(2)O(2) amperometric determination in the concentration range from 0.8 mu mol L(-1) to 100 mu mol L(-1). The analytical frequency can attain 300 determinations per hour and the detection limit was estimated in 0.34 mu mol L(-1) (3 sigma). The anodic current peaks obtained after a series of 23 successive injections of 50 mu L of 25 mu mol L(-1) H(2)O(2) showed an RSD < 0.9%. To ensure the good selectivity to detect H(2)O(2), its determination was performed in a differential mode, with selective destruction of the H(2)O(2) with catalase in 10 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer solution. Practical application of the analytical procedure involved H(2)O(2) determination in rainwater of Sao Paulo City. A comparison of the results obtained by the proposed ampermetric method with another one which combines flow injection analysis (FIA) with spectrophotometric detection showed good agreement. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cultura de anteras e embriogênese de genótipos selecionados de cevada (Hordeum vulgare L.ssp.vulgare)

A eficiência da técnica de cultura de anteras, em escala comercial, ainda pode ser considerada baixa quando medida em número de plantas duplo-haplóides férteis obtidas para cada antera estabelecida in vitro. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho é pioneiro no estudo detalhado da embriogênese in vitro do micrósporo e do grão de pólen de cevada (Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. vulgare). Com o objetivo de contribuir para o aperfeiçoamento da técnica de cultura de anteras foi analisada a embriogênese, com especial ênfase na etapa da indução, através de análises citológicas e histológicas de anteras cultivadas in vitro. Foram analisadas uma cultivar brasileira de cevada, em comparação com linhagens de duas outras cultivares brasileiras, que foram selecionadas, por seleção divergente para maior ou para menor resposta na indução da rota embriogênica e, respectivamente, para menor ou para maior capacidade de regenerar plântulas verdes. Somente foram estabelecidas em cultivo in vitro as anteras que apresentaram micrósporos e pólens jovens, das linhagens selecionadas da cultivar A-05 (S3A22 e S3A23), e da cultivar BR-2(S3B63 e, apenas na cultura de anteras, S3B61), bem como da cultivar MN-599 (nãoselecionada). Para as análises histológicas, foram fixadas, a cada dois dias, duas anteras, correspondentes a cada fileira da mesma espiga, após o início do cultivo in vitro. As anteras em cultivo e respectivas estruturas multicelulares foram fixadas em FAA 50%, desidratadas em série etílica e incluídas em hidroxietilmetacrilato. Os blocos de resina polimerizada foram secionados longitudinalmente com 3 mm de espessura. Para as análises citológicas foram fixadas, de cada espiga recém-coletada, três espiguetas sendo uma da base, outra do meio e outra do ápice. Após o pré-tratamento à baixa temperatura (5 °C), porém antes do cultivo in vitro, foram fixadas três anteras (amostras utilizadas como controles). A cada três dias, durante o cultivo, três anteras foram fixadas (até 18 dias). As anteras em cultivo e estruturas multicelulares foram fixadas em Farmer e FAA 50%, transferidas após 24 horas para etanol 70%. Na cultura in vitro das anteras houve diferenças entre uma das linhagens da cultivar A-05 em relação a cultivar MN- 599, na produção inicial de estruturas embriogênicas, diferença que desapareceu na produção total. Entretanto, houve diferenças na formação dos xiii embriões: a cv.MN-599 formou embriões bem diferenciados ao passo que a linhagem S3A22 produziu um número aparentemente menor, sendo que os embriões não eram bem diferenciados. A linhagem S3B63 não apresentou embriões até o final da análise histológica. Considerando que a amostra dessa linhagem, mantida em cultura, formou plantas verdes, pode-se propor que a formação de embriões deve ocorrer posteriormente ao desenvolvimento da cv.MN-599. Cabe destacar que houve diferenças significativas entre as cultivares A-05 e BR-2 quanto à regeneração de plântulas verdes. Esses resultados indicam ter havido maior eficiência da seleção em relação à etapa da regeneração. Com relação às categorias classificatórias dos micrósporos e grãos de pólen, constatou-se que desde o início da análise histológica (2o dia de cultivo in vitro) até o final (34o dia), foram observados micrósporos, o mesmo tendo sido observado na análise citológica. Os grãos de pólen multinucleados ocorreram praticamente em todo o período de cultivo in vitro, em ambas análises; não ocorrendo nos controles da citologia (antes do cultivo); os multinucleados foram observados a partir do 3o dia, enquanto que os multicelulares a partir do 4o dia de cultivo. As estruturas multicelulares foram observadas a partir do 8o dia. A quantidade e o tamanho das estruturas multicelulares foram variáveis ao longo da análise histológica, sendo que do 14o ao 20o dia foram encontradas as de maiores dimensões, resultantes da proliferação celular por mitoses sucessivas. A partir do 22o dia (cultivar MN- 599), a ocorrência de estruturas multicelulares no interior dos lóculos da antera diminuiu, predominando o processo de proliferação externo às anteras. Para as linhagens, a partir do 18o dia foram observadas estruturas multicelulares liberadas das anteras. A análise das estruturas multicelulares permitiu classificá-las em quatro categorias: 1. SFD: Sem forma definida; 2. MAC: meristema apical caulinar; 3. MAR: meristema apical radical embrionário adventício; e 4. Embriões. As estruturas amorfas apareceram em maior número, quando comparadas com as outras categorias. Em síntese: as linhagens selecionadas e a cultivar diferiram não apenas no tempo necessário para a formação dos embriões, mas também no desenvolvimento dos mesmos, que foi mais diferenciado na cultivar MN-599, porém sendo observados mais cedo na linhagem S3A22 e S3A23, do que na cultivar MN-599.

Fecundity and pre-imaginal period of Chrysoperla externa (hagen) (neuroptera: chrysopidae) under different populations and laboratory generations

The lacewings appear in many agroecosystems, preying several species of agricultural pests. They have great search capability, high voracity, high reproductive potential and are easily maintained in laboratory conditions. In laboratory rearing, to avoid problems in the mass production are recommended adjustments in the type and quality of prey to be used in order to obtain individuals with desirable characteristics. It is necessary special care with the laboratory populations, avoiding problems from inbreeding. Larvae were reared individually in Petri dishes (9.0 cm diameter) and fed with eggs of Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1789) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in the amount of 25 mg / larva, while the adults were kept in PVC cylindrical cages (10 cm x 30 cm). Thus, the study analyzed the influence of the size of the population of Chrysoperla externa (Hagen, 1861) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on the pre-imaginal period (egg to adult) and reproductive capacity of this specie come from different populations and generations of laboratory. To this end, we used two populations, one of Jaboticabal (F-8 and F-21) and one of Piracicaba (F-6 and F-15), and subpopulations of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 couples, analyzing the incubation of eggs and the number of eggs per female in each population, generation and subpopulation. The pre-imaginal period (egg to adult) and the number of eggs per female of C. externa are influenced by the generation and the number of founding individuals, being these parameters favored when laboratory populations are established with the largest number of couples.

Tabela de vida ecológica de Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) biótipo B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Este trabalho teve por objetivo construir tabelas de vida ecológica para Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) biótipo B em soja. Para isso realizaram-se sucessivas infestações artificiais em plantas de soja, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, cultivar FT 2000. As amostragens foram realizadas retirando-se 10 folhas ao acaso com intervalos de três dias, durante oito gerações da mosca branca. O número de insetos vivos, mortos, parasitados e a distribuição etária foi registrado para cada folha amostrada. No presente trabalho os coeficientes de correlação para a mortalidade de ovos (0,1954), ninfas de 1º ínstar (0,5610) e pupas (0,6168), não foram significativos, porém as ninfas de 2º e 3º ínstar apresentaram coeficientes significativos de 0,7978 e 0,8641, respectivamente. No entanto o fator chave não foi identificado. O parasitóide Encarsia spp., apresentou-se como fator de mortalidade importante na fase de 'pupa' de B. tabaci biótipo B, porém o coeficiente de correlação não foi significativo.

Impact of successive sugarcane harvests and trash management practices on soil microbiological properties

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Depression by inbreeding after four sucessive self-pollination squash generations

The strategy for breeding F-1 hybrid squash is to develop parental lines through self-pollination. However, it increases plant mean homozygosis, which is not the natural genetic state of a cross-pollinated species, and can cause inbreeding depression. The objective of this work was to evaluate this depression with sucessive generations of self-pollination (without selection) in Cucurbita moschata, cv. Piramoita. Populations were obtained from lines with one to four generations of self-pollination (obtained by the SSD method), from the original cv. Piramoita (population SO). Randomized blocks were used with five treatments (different generations of self-pollination -S-0 to S-4), six replicates and five plants per plot. Regression analysis was made by the Wright inbreeding coefficient (F) to measure the homozygosis level effect on vigor loss. There was a linear reduction of mean weight and fruit length, seed production (number and weight) per fruit with the increase of the homozygosis level; however inbreeding did not affect seed quality (weight of 100 seeds and germination).

Artificial satellites orbits in 2:1 resonance: GPS constellation

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

The Orbital Dynamics of Synchronous Satellites: Irregular Motions in the 2:1 Resonance

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

Degree of conversion of nanofilled and microhybrid composite resins photo-activated by different generations of LEDs

Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the degree of conversion (DC) of four composite resins, being one nanofilled and 3 microhybrid resins, photo-activated with second- and third-generation light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Material and methods: Filtek (TM) Z350 nanofilled composite resins and Amelogen (R) Plus, Vit-l-escence (TM) and Opallis microhybrid resins were photo-activated with two second-generation LEDs (Radii-cal and Elipar Free Light (TM) 2) and one third-generation LED (Ultra-Lume LED 5) by continuous light mode, and a quartz halogen-tungsten bulb (QHT, control). After 24 h of storage, the samples were pulverized into fine powder and 5 mg of each material were mixed with 100 mg of potassium bromide (KBr). After homogenization, they were pressed, which resulted in a pellet that was evaluated using an infrared spectromer (Nexus 470, Thermo Nicolet) equipped with TGS detector using diffuse reflectance (32 scans, resolution of 4 cm(-1)) coupled to a computer. The percentage of unreacted carbon-carbon double bonds (% C=C) was determined from the ratio of absorbance intensities of aliphatic C=C (peak at 1637 cm-1) against internal standard before and after curing of the specimen: aromatic C-C (peak at 1610 cm-1). Results: The ANOVA showed a significant effect on the interaction between the light-curing units (LCUs) and the composite resins (p<0.001). The Tukey's test showed that the nanofilled resin (Filtek (TM) Z350) and Opallis when photo-activated by the halogen lamp (QTH) had the lowest DC compared with the other microhybrid composite resins. The DC of the nanofilled resin (Filtek (TM) Z350) was also lower using LEDs. The highest degrees of conversion were obtained using the third-generation LED and one of second-generation LEDs (Elipar Free Light (TM) 2). Conclusions: The nanofilled resin showed the lowest DC, and the Vit-l-escence (TM) microhybrid composite resin showed the highest DC. Among the LCUs, it was not possible to establish an order, even though the second-generation LED Radii-cal provided the lowest DC.

The development of resistance to caffeine in Drosophila prosaltans: productivity and longevity after ten generations of treatment

The productivity of Drosophila prosaltans treated with six concentrations of caffeine (from 50 mu g/ml to 2,500 mu g/ml of culture medium) during ten generations (similar to 8 months) decreased in a dosage dependent manner in every generation, but at the end of the treatment the flies in all experiments recovered normal productivity, except for those treated with 2,500 mu g/ml. Longevity in the tenth generation was significantly reduced in males and females only in the 2,500 mu g/ml dosage, with males being much more affected than females. In a previous study in which the treatment was done in a single generation, productivity exhibited only a partial recovery when the treatment ceased and longevity was significantly reduced in 1,500 mu g/ml dosages. The hypothesis of selection occurring in ten generations leading to recovery in productivity and to a reduction in the processes which cause a decrease in longevity is being considered.

Fundamental fermion masses from deformed SUq(2) triplets

A spectrum-generating q-algebra, within the framework of SUq(2), as firstly suggested by Iachello, is studied in order to describe the mass spectrum of three generations of quarks and leptons. The SUq(2) quantum group is a q-deformed extension of SU(2), where q = e(alpha) (with alpha real) is the deformation parameter. In this work, the essential use of inequivalent representations of SUq(2) is introduced. The inequivalent representations are labelled by (j, nu(0)), where j = 0, 1/2, 1, ... and nu(0) is a positive real number. A formula for the fermion masses M-m(j, nu(0)), with -j less than or equal to m less than or equal to j is derived. As an example, a possible scheme which corresponds to two triplets (j = 1) associated to up and down quarks is presented here in some detail. They are associated to different values of the deformation parameter, indicating a dependence of the charge Q on the parameter alpha. The masses of the charged leptons are treated in a similar way. The current results show that some mass relations for quarks and leptons found in the literature can be considered as approximations of the equations obtained in the j = 1 representations. The breaking of SUq(2) necessary to describe the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) flavor mixing is briefly discussed.

Synthesis, crystal structure, spectroscopic and electrochemical characterization of the dinuclear complex {tetra-mu-[(+/-)-2-(p-methoxyphenoxy)-propionato-O,O']bis(aqua)dicopper(II)}

Structural, electrochemical and spectroscopic data of a new dinuclear copper(II) complex with (+/-)-2-(p- methoxyphenoxy) propionic acid are reported. The complex {tetra-mu-[(+/-)-2-(p-methoxyphenoxy)propionato-O,O']-bis( aqua) dicopper(II)} crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/n with a = 14.149(1) angstrom, b = 7.495(1) angstrom, c = 19.827(1) angstrom, beta = 90.62(1) and Z = 4. X-ray diffraction data show that the two copper(II) ions are held together through four carboxylate bridges, coordinated as equatorial ligands in square pyramidal geometry. The coordination sphere around each copper ion is completed by two water molecules as axial ligands. Thermogravimetric data are consistent with such results. The ligand has an L' type shape due to the angle formed by the beta-carbon of the propionic chain and the linked p-methoxyphenoxy group. This conformation contributes to the occurrence of a peculiar structure of the complex. The complex retains its dinuclear nature when dissolved in acetonitrile, but it decomposes into the corresponding mononuclear species if dissolved in ethanol, according to the EPR measurements. Further, cyclic voltammograms of the complex in acetonitrile show that the dinuclear species maintains the same structure, in agreement with the EPR data in this solvent. The voltammogram shows two irreversible reduction waves at E-pc = -0.73 and -1.04 V vs. Ag/AgCl assigned to the Cu(II)/ Cu(I) and Cu(I)/Cu degrees redox couples, respectively, and two successive oxidation waves at E-pa = -0.01 and +1.41 V vs. Ag/AgCl, assigned to the Cu degrees/Cu(I) and Cu( I)/Cu( II) redox couples, respectively, in addition to the oxidation waves of the carboxylate ligand.

Cryopreservation of equine embryos with glycerol plus sucrose and glycerol plus 1,2-propanediol.

Six or 7-day-old equine embryos were divided into 4 groups; Group 1, n = 15, Day 7 embryos destined for immediate transfer; Group 2, n = 15, Day 6 embryos destined for deep-freezing with glycerol plus sucrose as cryoprotectant; Group 3, n = 10, Day 6 embryos destined for deep-freezing with glycerol plus 1,2-propanediol as cryoprotectant and Group 4, n = 3, fresh embryos destined for ultrastructural analysis. All the frozen/thawed embryos were transferred to recipient mares, except 3 embryos in Group 3 that were subjected to ultrastructural analysis. After thawing the cryoprotectants were removed by successive dilutions in PBS + 15% v:v fetal calf serum (FCS) containing decreasing concentrations of the cryoprotectants. Pregnancy was diagnosed ultrasonographically in 53.3%, 13.3% and 0% of the mares in Groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Ultrastructural analysis showed differences between frozen/thawed and fresh embryos. In the former, embryonic cells were deformed and showed dilation of the intercellular and perivitelline spaces, a decrease of desmosome number in the junctional complexes, few microvilli on the apical surface of the trophectoderm and an almost total absence of pinocytotic vesicles. Most of the mitochondria showed regions containing dilation and irregularities on the cristae, which appeared electron-dense. The results obtained with Groups 2 and 3 embryos showed that the cryoprotectants employed were not effective in protecting the embryos against damage during freezing and thawing. Indeed, the ultrastructural changes observed in the Group 3 embryos explained the absence of any established pregnancies in this group of mares.