Monitoring biotransformations in polyesters

This paper describes two methods to monitor esterase hydrolysis at the surface of polyester fibres (PET-Polyethylene terephthalate). The hydroxyl groups were determined on the fibre surface by alkaline reaction with a reactive dye (CI Reactive Black 5) and colour intensity was determined using a reflectance spectrophotometer. The terephthalic acid solution formed was also quantified after reaction with peroxide by fluorimetric determination of the resulting hydroxyterephthalic acid. Detailed descriptions of those methods are given in this paper

Efeito de solventes orgânicos nas propriedades de fibras sintéticas

A modificação de fibras sintéticas pode ser feita por via enzimática, com enzimas como as lipases, proteases e nitrilases. Nestes tratamentos enzimáticos existe o problema da acessibilidade das enzimas às fibras, devido à natureza hidrofóbica das mesmas. Este problema de acessibilidade existe também durante o tingimento destes materiais sintéticos, pelo que por vezes é necessário recorrer a carriers, que vão baixar a temperatura de transição vítrea, tendo uma acção inchante e facilitando a penetração do corante. Da mesma forma, é possível utilizar pequenas concentrações de solventes que provocam o inchamento das fibras aumentando a referida acessibilidade. Pretende-se neste trabalho estudar a alteração das propriedades das fibras sintéticas, nomeadamente da acrílica, poliamida e poliéster, na presença de vários solventes orgânicos. Deste modo espera-se o aumento da acessibilidade das enzimas às fibras em meio orgânico, conseguindo-se uma modificação no interior da fibra e não apenas à superfície. Na execução do estudo, aplicaram-se várias técnicas, como o tingimento em presença de solventes orgânicos e alguns estabilizadores, utilizando as condições do tratamento enzimático, FT-IR (espectroscopia por infravermelhos com transformadas de Fourrier) para detectar a alteração de grupos superficiais terminais e a determinação de alteração de grupos terminais por titulação, entre outras. O aumento do rendimento tintorial verificado poderá ser um indício da eficácia da acção dos solventes orgânicos no aumento da acessibilidade da enzima à fibra e também na diminuição da temperatura de transição vítrea.The modification of synthetic fibres can be obtained by enzymatic action, using enzymes like lipases, proteases and nitrilases. In these enzymatic treatments, it is always difficult for the enzyme to access the fibre, because oh its hydrophobic nature. This problem of accessibility also exists in the dyeing process of these synthetic materials, making it necessary to use carriers to decrease the glass transition temperature, having a swelling action over the fibre and facilitating therefore the dye penetration. With the same principle, it is possible to use low organic solvent concentrations to swell the fibre and increase the mentioned accessibility. The purpose of this work is to study the changing in properties of the synthetic fibres such as: acrylic, polyamide and polyester, in the presence oh some organic solvents. The increase of the accessibility of the enzymes into the fibre in organic media is expected after the experiments, obtaining enzymatic modification inside the fibre structure, and not only on the surface. Several techniques were used during this work, such as dyeing in the presence of organic solvents and some enzyme stabilizers, with the same conditions as used for the enzymatic treatment, the FT-IR (infra red spectroscopy with Fourrier transforms) to detect changes of end groups at the surface, end groups determination by titration, etc. The increase of the dye uptake verified seams to indicate the efficiency oh the organic solvents action in increasing the accessibility of the enzyme into the fibre and decreasing the glass transition temperature

Effect of the agitation on the adsorption and hydrolytic efficiency of cutinases on polyethylene terephthalate fibres

The effect of agitation on adsorption, desorption and hydrolytic efficiency of a native and a genetically modified cutinase (L182A) on polyethylene terephthalate fibres is reported in this paper. The effect of mechanical agitation was studied using a shaker bath with orbital agitation and a Rotawash machine with vertical agitation with and without extra steel discs inside the reaction pots. The results obtained indicate that mechanical agitation combined with enzymatic action enhances the adsorption and activity of cutinases towards PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fibres. L182A showed higher adsorption than the native enzyme for all the levels of mechanical agitation. Lower units of L182A lead to similar yields of terephthalic acid formed in all levels of mechanical agitation. The highest increase of hydroxyl surface groups was found for the genetically modified L182A at the lowest level of mechanical agitation with a shaker bath. These results indicate that enzymatic functionalization of PET is favoured with a process with lower levels of mechanical agitation

ESTAÇÃO METEOROLÓGICA EXPERIMENTAL DE BAIXO CUSTO

Doi: 10.12957/geouerj.2015.12335   It is considered as the main objective for this work the assembly and calibration of an Experimental Weather Station from the use of low material. The development of this work was acted upon principles in the following steps: Step 1 - acquisition of low cost materials; 2nd achievement of sensors to measure temperature, air relative humidity and atmospheric pressure; Step 3 - download a free software; Step 4 - assembly of equipment; Step 5 - collection of the Experimental weather station data, into the environment of a weather shelter owned by INFRAERO / GNA - based in the airport of Barra do Garças; Step 6 - correlation, analysis and discussion of the gauged data. The diary the data of the Experimental Didactics Weather Station were collected each fifty (50) minutes from 09: 00h to 19: 00hon the day 10.09.2013, along with data INFRAERO / GNA. Thus it was verified that exactly 12: 00, the temperature data recorded by the Meteorological Station the Experimental sensor and sensor INFRAERO Weather Station / GNA, registered 30,2ºC. Meanwhile at 18: 00h, it was noted 43.6% relative humidity, the Experimental Weather Station, and Weather Station INFRAERO / GNA has quantified the sensor up 44%, showing a difference of only 0.4 %, between stations. Given the measurement and calibration performed diagnosed that the the Experimental Weather Station and of good reliability and of excellent acceptance because its value is low cost

a nationwide population-based study

Funding Information: The present publication was funded by Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia, IP national support through CHRC (UIDP/04923/2020). The same institution supported the first author (LAG) under an individual PhD grant (SFRH/BD/145636/2019). EpiReumaPt was supported by unrestricted grants from Direção-Geral da Saúde, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundação Champalimaud, Fundação AstraZeneca, Abbvie, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, Pfizer, Roche, Servier, Bial, D3A Medical Systems, Happybrands, Center de Medicina Laboratorial, Germano de Sousa, Clínica Médica da Praia da Vitória, CAL-Clínica, Galp Energia, Açoreana Seguros, and individual rheumatologists. Data were provided by the EpiDoC Unit - CEDOC with permission. Publisher Copyright: ©Objectives To estimate the prevalence of medical care-seeking among adults with low back pain (LBP) and to characterise and compare use of diagnostic procedures and medical management between primary and secondary care. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Data from the EpiReumaPt, a nationwide population-based study conducted in Portugal including a representative sample of non-institutionalised adults (n=10 661) stratified by administrative territorial units was analysed. Participants Individuals who self-reported history of LBP within the previous 12 months (n=6434) and sought medical care for this problem in the same period (n=2618). Outcome measures Patients' self-reported diagnostic workup and management procedures performed by medical care for LBP collected through a structured questionnaire. Medical care procedures were stratified by level of care. Results The prevalence of medical care-seeking for LBP was 38.0% (95% CI 35.9% to 40.1%). Primary care in isolation (45.3%) was the most sought level of care. Emergency departments (25.9%) and orthopaedics (19.4%) were the most sought secondary medical specialties. Several pathoanatomical diagnoses were used, supported by laboratory or imaging tests (91.1%). Disc herniation (20.4%) and osteoarthritis (19.7%) were the most frequent diagnoses, and X-ray (63.7%) was the most frequent diagnostic procedure self-reported by individuals. Most (75.1%) reported being treated for LBP: 80.4% with oral medication and 49.9% with injectables. The mean duration of pharmacological treatment was 104.24 (SD, 266.80) days. The use of pathoanatomical diagnoses, laboratory or imaging tests, and pharmacological treatments were generally more frequent for secondary care (p<0.05). Approximately one-quarter of individuals (24.5%) reported seeking care from additional healthcare providers, physiotherapists (66.9%) were the most frequent. Conclusions Medical care for LBP is frequent and associated with high levels of pathoanatomical diagnoses, imaging and laboratory tests and pharmacological therapy in both primary and secondary care settings. Funding and delivery actions should be prioritised to assure appropriate care for LBP.publishersversionpublishe

Fast and secure automatic retrieval of data from multi-vendor devices - The portuguese experience

Nowadays protection systems generate large amounts of useful data. The most important of which are the oscillographic records, because they allow: fault location estimation; validation of relay settings; validation of coordination among protections. This important information traditionally resided in the protection units and could only be retrieved through vendor proprietary software. Retrieving this information could be conducted in two ways: a specialized technician had to physically go to the substation (expensive solution); by use of a slow analog modem with a tendency to breakdown (especially in remote areas exposed to lightning strikes) and a high probability to stop working due to communication errors. Recently EDP has begun to equip all the substations with an IP network through optical fiber. This fast and reliable network, which is also intended for other application other than remote access, eliminates the communication constraints. Due to technological differences the substations were, for this purpose, separated in two groups: Substations with a modern protection system complying with IEC 61850; Substations with older protection units for which a pilotproject was conducted using the communications gateway Kalkitech SYNC2000. This device communicates with protection units from several vendors, using standardized (ex.: IEC61850) or proprietary protocols (ex.: ABB SPABUS), and has mechanisms for retrieving oscillographic records. The usage of standard tools such as FTP and file sync programs proved to be cost effective and reliable to get the information to a central location

A critical analysis of the degree of conversion of resin-based luting cements

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the degree of conversion (DC%) of four resin-based cements (All Ceram, Enforce, Rely X ARC and Variolink II) activated by two modes (chemical and dual), and evaluated the decrease of DC% in the dual mode promoted by the interposition of a 2.0-mm-thick IPS Empress 2 disc. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the chemical activation, the resin-based cements were prepared by mixing equal amounts of base and catalyst pastes. In the dual activation, after mixing, the cements were light-activated at 650 mW/cm² for 40 s. In a third group, the cements were light-activated through a 2.0-mm-thick IPS Empress 2 disc. The DC% was evaluated in a FT-IR spectrometer equipped with an attenuated total reflectance crystal (ATR). The data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test. RESULTS: For all resin-based cements, the DC% was significantly higher with dual activation, followed by dual activation through IPS Empress 2, and chemical activation (

Conservação pós-colheita de frutos de amoreira-preta

The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of blackberry fruits kept in different environments conditions and storage periods. A completely randomized block design was used with three repetitions and 18 fruits per plot in a 2x2x5 factorial scheme (cultivars: Brazos and Comanche; environmental conditions: 2ºC and 20±2ºC; storage periods 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 days). The characteristics evaluated were mass loss, total vitamin C, total soluble solids, pH, and total titratable acidity (citric acid percentage). The increase in length of storage resulted in a significant mass loss, mainly when the fruits were maintained at 20ºC. There was an increase in pH and a reduction in total titratable acid and total soluble solids. The Comanche cultivar showed higher content in total vitamin C and total soluble solids than 'Brazos'. Both cultivars are better conserved at 2ºC and can be storaged up to nine days after harvest, when the deterioration process starts.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o comportamento de frutos de amoreira-preta (Rubus spp.) conservados em diferentes ambientes e períodos de armazenamento. O delineamento utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados com três repetições e 18 frutos por parcela, em esquema fatorial 2x2x5 (cultivares: Brazos e Comanche; ambientes: 2ºC e 20±2ºC; períodos de armazenamento: 0, 3, 6, 9 e 12 dias). As características avaliadas foram perda de massa, vitamina C total, sólidos solúveis totais, pH e acidez titulável total (porcentagem de ácido cítrico). Com o aumento do período de armazenamento houve perdas significativas de massa, principalmente nos frutos que permaneceram a 20ºC. Houve aumento do pH e redução do porcentual de acidez total titulável e sólidos solúveis totais. A cultivar Comanche apresentou maiores teores de vitamina C e sólidos solúveis totais em relação à 'Brazos'. Ambas cultivares conservam-se melhor a 2ºC, podendo ser armazenadas até nove dias depois de colhidas, quando se inicia o processo de deterioração

PROTEÇÃO AMBIENTAL: ENTRE O DIREITO DA SUSTENTABILIDADE E O ESTADO DE COISAS INCONSTITUCIONAL

O trabalho tem por objetivo analisar se é possível pensar na existência de um estado de coisas inconstitucional em matéria ambiental, a partir da leitura da ADO nº 60 e da doutrina do direito da sustentabilidade. Para a realização da pesquisa foi utilizado o método indutivo na fase de investigação, somado às técnicas do referente, da categoria, dos conceitos operacionais, da pesquisa bibliográfica e do fichamento. Ao final, utilizando a ADO 60 como lócus argumentativo, pode-se concluir pela existência de um estado de coisas inconstitucional em matéria ambiental