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Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:30:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-01 Pervious concrete is a construction material widely used in pervious pavements. Pozzolanic materials replacing partially Portland cement can improve mechanical and hydraulic issues associated with the use of pervious concrete. This paper reports the use of wastes from the sugar cane industry (sugar cane bagasse ash and sugar cane straw ash) and their influence on the mechanical and hydraulic properties of pervious concrete for different binder:aggregate mass ratio (1:3.5, 1:4.0, 1:4.5, 1:5.0). The assessed pervious concrete achieved a compressive strength in the range 7.4–14.2 MPa, a total porosity between 26.4 and 32.4% and an infiltration rate of 0.6–1.3 cm/s. Grupo de Pesquisa MAC–Materiais Alternativos de Construção Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Campus de Ilha Solteira ICITECH–GIQUIMA Group–Grupo de Investigación en Química de los Materiales de Construcción Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología del Hormigón Universitat Politècnica de Valencia Grupo de Pesquisa MAC–Materiais Alternativos de Construção Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Campus de Ilha Solteira

Low yields of early ‘Carioca’ and black bean varieties are a consequence of instability and low yield adaptability to specific growing environments. The goal of this work was to evaluate the genotype x environment interaction of early ‘Carioca’ and black bean new lines aiming at obtaining genotypes with high grain yield and good adaptability and stability. In (2012), 15 genotypes of the black group were evaluated in Ibimirim, Belém do São Francisco, and Petrolina municipalities, in Pernambuco State, Brazil; and, in (2016), 11 genotypes of early ‘Carioca’ bean were evaluated in Caruaru, Arcoverde, and Araripina municipalities, also in Pernambuco State. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three replicates, and grain yield data were submitted to analysis of variance, in which means were compared by the Tukey’s test and analysis via GGE Biplot. In Arcoverde, the grain yield was greater for all early ‘Carioca’ bean genotypes, whereas, in the environment of Petrolina, there was the worst grain yield in kg ha-1 for all black bean genotypes, individually. The GGE Biplot methodology was found to be efficient in identifying genotypes with good adaptability, stability, and yield. Differences presented by the genotypes for the grain yield trait give the basis to recommend the genotypes and express the possibility of selection for genetic improvement of the species.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the World Health Organization, by July 15th, 2021, has infected more than 188 million people, and more than 4 millions have died from it in the worldwide. It is important to forecast the incidence of cases in a short-term horizon to help the public health system develop strategic planning to deal with the COVID-19. In this chapter, several artificial intelligence (AI) models including extreme gradient boosting, extreme learning machine, long short-term memory, and support vector regression are used stand-alone, and coupled with the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) employed to decompose the time-series into intrinsic mode functions and residual signals. All AI techniques are evaluated in the task of forecasting daily incidence COVID-19 cases in ten Brazilian states, with a high number of cases by September 4th, 2020, with seven and fourteen-days-ahead. Previous COVID-19 incidence cases and urban mobility information were employed as systems input for all forecasting models. The models’ effectiveness are evaluated based on the performance criteria. In general, the EEMD approach outperformed the compared models regarding the accuracy in 65% of the cases. Regarding the exogenous variables, urban mobility information indeed plays a key role in the forecasting task. Therefore, due to the efficiency of evaluated models to forecasting cumulative COVID-19 cases up to fourteen-days-ahead, the adopted models can be recommended as promising for forecasting and can be used to assist in development of public policies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 outbreak. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Refractory ceramics were produced from clays and alumina waste. Specimens were shaped by uniaxial pressing, subjected to thermal analysis by dilatometry and heat-treated in a conventional furnace at 1300 and 1400ºC, applying a heating rate of 5ºC/min and a dwell time of 2 and 3 hours at the maximum temperature. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and physicomechanical properties. The dilatometric analysis before heat treatment indicated that the formulation containing the largest amount of fluxing oxides presented the highest linear shrinkage. The XRD analysis revealed that mullite was the major phase and needle shaped crystals typical of mullite obtained from clay minerals were observed by SEM. The increase in firing temperature and dwell time at the maximum temperature improved the physicomechanical properties of the specimens. The thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) in the range of 25 to 1000ºC varied from 6.2 to 6.9 x 10-6°C-1.

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is one of the major fungal diseases that affect Capsicum spp. and leads to severe crop losses. The aim of this study was to identify species within Colletotrichum that cause anthracnose in bell and hot pepper using phylogenetic and morphological criteria. Pathogenic isolates were obtained from bell and hot peppers exhibiting anthracnose symptoms and grown in the northeastern region of Brazil. These were initially identified based on the sequences of GAPDH, ACT, CAL, β-TUB genes and the ITS-rDNA region. Mycelial growth, coloration of the colony, size and shape of conidia and appressoria were determined for the selected isolates. It was concluded that five species: C. brevisporum, C. scovillei, C. siamense, C. tropicale and C. truncatum compose the species complex associated with anthracnose of Capsicum spp. in northeastern Brazil.

This work explores a Geometrical Optics based procedure to design axis-symmetric single reflector antenna to offer omnidirectional coverage with an arbitrary radiation pattern in the elevation plane. The reflector surface is bodie-of-revolution generated from a shaped generatrix locally described by a set of local conic sections consecutively concatenated. To illustrate the method, a reflector surface illuminated by a TEM coaxial horn was designed to radiate a co-secant squared radiation pattern.

The potential of using quartzite residues in the composition of an industrial ceramic mass for porcelain tile production was investigated through experimental design. Chemical, physical and microstructural analyses were accomplished to understand how the incorporation of quartzite residues affects the material, before and after sintering. Central composite design was used to analyze the effects of firing temperature (1143; 1160; 1200; 1240; 1257ºC) and residue content (1.76; 3; 6; 9; 10.24 wt.%) on the physical-mechanical properties of the material, and regression models correlating these factors to the response variables linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent density and flexural strength were adjusted. Firing temperature had statistically significant effect on the response variables, so that the elevation of its levels contributed to the properties improvement. Residue content presented non-significant effect. In conclusion, specimens containing quartzite residues, up to 10.24 wt.%, sintered at 1240 and 1257ºC, fulfil the ISO 13006 requirements for porcelain tiles.

This study examined the effect of weight loss after 3, 6 and 12 months of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) on energy intake and on several biomarkers of oxidative stress such as levels of vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin E (diet/blood), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), myeloperoxidase (MPO), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reduced glutathione (GSH) and activity of catalase (CAT).Study with a control group (CG), assessed once, and a bariatric group (BG) assessed at the basal period as well as at 3, 6 and 12 months post-surgery; both groups were composed of 5 men and 31 women (n=36). Age was 38.7 ± 9.4 and 39.6 ± 9.2 years old and body mass index (BMI) was 22.2 0 ± 2.1 and 47.6 ± 9.1 kg/m(2), respectively. The variance measure quoted was SEM.The body weight at 12 months was 35.8 ± 1.0% (P0.001) lower than that of the basal period. At the basal period BG showed higher levels of NOx (P=0.007) and TBARS (P0.001) and lower levels of vitamins C and E (P0.001) compared with CG. After 3 months the activity of MPO was decreased (P0.001). Six months after surgery GSH levels were decreased (P=0.037), whereas CAT activity was increased (P=0.029). After 12 months levels of NOx (P=0.004), TBARS (P0.001), beta-carotene (P0.001) and vitamin E (P0.001) were decreased, whereas those of vitamin C (P0.001) were increased compared with controls.RYGB followed by a daily vitamin supplement apparently attenuated pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress markers 1 year after surgery, but additional antioxidant supplementation appears necessary.

Batista EL Jr, Deves C, Ayub L, da Silva RG, Filho LCC, Basso LA, Santos DS. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity and expression are upregulated in sites affected by periodontal disease. J Periodont Res 2010; 45: 664–671. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Background and Objective: Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of purine nucleosides, playing a key role in the purine salvage pathway. Activated T cells seem to rely heavily on PNP to remain functionally active and are particularly sensitive to PNP deficiency. The role of PNP in periodontal tissues has not been characterized thus far. The aim of this study therefore was to assess the activity and expression of PNP in the gingival tissues of periodontitis patients. Material and Methods: Ten patients consecutively admitted for treatment had their periodontal clinical variables recorded and their gingival crevicular fluid collected. After periodontal treatment the patients were seen once a month for plaque and bleeding control, and had their periodontal variables recorded and gingival crevicular fluid collected at 90 and 180 d. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase-specific activity was assessed using a spectrophotometer through the addition of the PNP substrate analog 2-amino-6mercapto-7-methyl purine riboside to the gingival crevicular fluid. In parallel, PNP expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR in gingival biopsies and cell culture. Results: Purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity was higher in the gingival crevicular fluid of periodontally diseased sites, which was positively correlated with improvements of the clinical variables. Treatment of periodontal disease induced a striking decrease of PNP activity in periodontally diseased sites. Expression of PNP was more pronounced in mononuclear cells and endothelial cells of the gingiva, and the mRNA levels were 5.7-fold higher in inflamed tissues compared with control samples. Conclusion: Purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity and expression are upregulated in periodontally diseased sites and can be detected in the gingival crevicular fluid.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation of vitamin E, vitamin C, and zinc on the oxidative stress in burned children. In a prospective double-blind placebo controlled pilot study, 32 patients were randomized as no supplementation (n = 15) or antioxidant supplementation (n = 17) groups. Supplementation consisted of the antioxidant mixture of vitamin C (1.5 times upper intake level), vitamin E (1.35 times upper intake level), and zinc (2.0 times recommended dietary allowance) administered during 7 days starting on the second day of admittance into the hospital. Energy requirement was calculated by the Curreri equation, and protein input was 3.0 g/kg of ideal body mass index (percentile 50). Total antioxidant capacity of plasma and malondialdehyde were used to monitor oxidative stress. The time of wound healing was evaluated as the main clinical feature. Patients (age 54.2 +/- 48.9 months, 65.6% males), who exhibited 15.5 +/- 6.7% of total burn area, showed no differences in age and sex, when compared with controls. Intake of the administered antioxidants was obviously higher in treated subjects (P = .005), and serum differences were confirmed for vitamin E and C, but not for zinc (P = .180). There was a decrease in lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde level) (P = .006) and an increase in vitamin E concentrations in the antioxidant supplementation group (P = .016). The time of wound healing was lower in the supplemented group (P < .001). The antioxidant supplementation through vitamin E and C and the mineral zinc apparently enhanced antioxidant protection against oxidative stress and allowed less time for wound healing.