Towards A Deeper Understanding Of Structural Biomass Recalcitrance Using Phase-contrast Tomography.

The development of technological routes to convert lignocellulosic biomass to liquid fuels requires an in-depth understanding of the cell wall architecture of substrates. Essential pretreatment processes are conducted to reduce biomass recalcitrance and usually increase the reactive surface area. Quantitative three-dimensional information about both bulk and surface structural features of substrates needs to be obtained to expand our knowledge of substrates. In this work, phase-contrast tomography (PCT) was used to gather information about the structure of a model lignocellulosic biomass (piassava fibers). The three-dimensional cellular organization of piassava fibers was characterized by PCT using synchrotron radiation. This technique enabled important physical features that describe the substrate piassava fibers to be visualized and quantified. The external surface area of a fiber and internal surface area of the pores in a fiber could be determined separately. More than 96% of the overall surface area available to enzymes was in the bulk substrate. The pore surface area and length exhibited a positive linear relationship, where the slope of this relationship depended on the plant tissue. We demonstrated that PCT is a powerful tool for the three-dimensional characterization of the cell wall features related to biomass recalcitrance. Original and relevant quantitative information about the structural features of the analyzed material were obtained. The data obtained by PCT can be used to improve processing routes to efficiently convert biomass feedstock into sugars.

Adaptação de protocolos invasivos e não invasivos para avaliações aeróbias e anaeróbias específicas ao basquetebol feminino

OBJECTIVE: To adapted the critical velocity (CV), RAST test and lactate minimum (LM) to evaluation of female basketball players. METHODS: Twelve well-trained female basketball players (19 ± 1yrs) were submitted to four intensities running (10 - 14 km/h) at shuttle exercise until exhaustion, applied on alternate days. The linear model 'velocity vs. 1/tlim' was adopted to determine the aerobic (CV) and anaerobic (CCA) parameters. The lactate minimum test consisted of two phases: 1) hiperlactatemia induction using the RAST test and 2) incremental test composed by five shuttle run (20-m) at 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 km/h. Blood samples were collected at the end of each stage. RESULTS: The velocity (vLM) and blood lactate concentration at LM were obtained by two polynomial adjustments: lactate vs. intensity (LM1) and lactate vs. time (LM2). ANOVA one-way, Student t-test and Pearson correlation were used for statistical analysis. The CV was obtained at 10.3 ± 0.2 km/h and the CCA estimated at 73.0 ± 3.4 m. The RAST was capable to induce the hiperlactatemia and to determine the Pmax (3.6 ± 0.2 W/kg), Pmed (2.8 ± 0.1 W/kg), Pmin (2.3 ± 0.1 W/kg) and FI (30 ± 3%). The vLM1 and vLM2 were obtained, respectively, at 9.47 ±0.13 km/h and 9.8 ± 0.13 km/h, and CV was higher than vLM1. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the non-invasive model can be used to determine the aerobic and anaerobic parameters. Furthermore, the LM test adapted to basketball using RAST and progressive phase was effective to evaluate female athletes considering the specificity of modality, with high success rates observed in polynomial adjustment 'lactate vs. time' (LM2).

Análise cinemática tridimensional do salto em distância de atletas de alto nível em competição

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Análise dos esforços de alta intensidade de jogadores de futebol profissional

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Torque articular e ativação dos musculos biceps femoral e semi-tendineo durante movimentos isocineticos de flexão do joelho em atletas de futebol

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Modelo para análise do ataque no futebol = : A model to analyze soccer offensive phase

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

A influência de palmares e parachute na coordenação dos nados

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Análise do desempenho em testes de triathlon com diferentes intensidades durante a etapa natação = : Analysis of triathlon trials performance using different intensities during swimming phase

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Comparação entre protocolos de determinação do limiar anaerobio e suas correlações com o desempenho aerobio em nadadores adolescentes

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Programa perceptivo-motor aplicado a habilidade nadar na fase de aperfeiçoamento

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Adaptações da geometria da coluna vertebral e do dorso durante a corrida

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Phase transitions in biodegradable films based on blends of gelatin and poly (vinyl alcohol)

The aim of this work was to study the effect of the hydrolysis degree (HD) and the concentration (C PVA) of two types of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and the effect of the type and the concentration of plasticizers on the phase properties of biodegradable films based on blends of gelatin and PVA, using a response-surface methodology. The films were made by casting and the studied properties were their glass (Tg) and melting (Tm) transition temperatures, which were determined by diferential scanning calorimetry (DSC). For the data obtained on the first scan, the fitting of the linear model was statistically significant and predictive only for the second melting temperature. In this case, the most important effect on the second Tm of the first scan was due to the HD of the PVA. In relation to the second scan, the linear model could be fit to Tg data with only two statistically significant parameters. Both the PVA and plasticizer concentrations had an important effect on Tg. Concerning the second Tm of the second scan, the linear model was fit to data with two statistically significant parameters, namely the HD and the plasticizer concentration. But, the most important effect was provoked by the HD of the PVA.

The anticancer drug tamoxifen is active against Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro but ineffective in the treatment of the acute phase of Chagas disease in mice

The activity of the antineoplastic drug tamoxifen was evaluated against Trypanosoma cruzi. In vitro activity was determined against epimastigote, trypomastigote and amastigote forms of CL14, Y and Y benznidazole resistant T. cruzi strains. Regardless of the strain used, the drug was active against all life-cycle stages of the parasite with a half maximal effective concentration ranging from 0.7-17.9 µM. Two experimental models of acute Chagas disease were used to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of treatment with tamoxifen. No differences in parasitemia and mortality were observed between control mock-treated and tamoxifen-treated mice.

Cation size effects-modified phase and PTCR development in Er3+ and Ca2+ co-doped BaTiO3 ceramics during sintering

Development of the positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) in Er3+ and Ca2+ co-doped ferroelectric BaTiO3 was studied in this work, with Er3+ being used to act as a donor doping. Irrespective of all the materials showing high densities after sintering at 1200 to 1300 ºC, these revealed insulator at the lowest sintering temperature, changing to semiconducting and PTCR-type materials only when the sintering temperature was further increased. Observations from X-ray diffraction help correlating this effect with phase development in this formulated (Ba,Ca,Er)TiO3 system, considering the formation of initially two separated major (Ba,Ca)TiO3- and minor (Ca,Er)TiO3-based compounds, as a consequence of cation size-induced stress energy effects. Thus, appearance and enhancement here of the semiconducting and PTCR responses towards higher sintering temperatures particularly involve the incorporation of Er3+ into the major phase, rendering finally possible the generation and "percolative-like" migration of electrons throughout the whole material.

Evaluation of a simple hyphenated system for flow injection solid-phase pre-concentration and capillary electrophoresis

In this work, the development and evaluation of a hyphenated flow injection-capillary electrophoresis system with on-line pre-concentration is described. Preliminary tests were performed to investigate the influence of flow rates over the analytical signals. Results revealed losses in terms of sensitivity of the FIA-CE system when compared to the conventional CE system. To overcome signal decrease and to make the system more efficient, a lower flow rate was set and an anionic resin column was added to the flow manifold in order to pre-concentrate the analyte. The pre-concentration FIA-CE system presented a sensitivity improvement of about 660% and there was only a small increase of 8% in total peak dispersion. These results have confirmed the great potential of the proposed system for many analytical tasks especially for low concentration samples.