199 research outputs found
Automation and control of the SORTEGEL wastewater plant
Food Processing Industries produce large amounts of wastewater with high
environmental impact. Due to the high content of suspended matter and inadequate pH
value of the wastewater, national laws prohibit direct discharges of the influent to the
environment. This work describes the design and operation of a wastewater treatment
plant installed in the Sortegel food-processing company located in Sortes, Portugal. This
industry uses the water collected from groundwater wells to process raw materials and to
wash the equipments, being the volume of wastewater produced season dependent (80 to
300m3/day). Results show that the implemented wastewater treatment plant and the
automation solutions generate treated effluents that comply with the Portuguese
legislation
Efeito da adição de uréia e sulfato de amônio sobre o pH e nitrificação em um solo ácido
The variation of pH and the production of nitrate were studied in a Dark Red Latosol, Guamium séries, in function of the addition of 200 and 400 ppm of N, as urea and ammonium sulphate in the presence and absence of Ca(0H)2, for a period of 30 days. The results obtained showed that the pH decreased with ammonium sulphate and increased with urea. The variations were observed even in the presence of Ca(0H)2. The production of nitrate increased with pH considering the same level and source of nitrogen.A variação do pH e a produção de nitrato foram estudados em um Latossolo Vermelho Escuro, Série Guamium, em função da adição de 200 e 400 ppm de N nas formas de uréia e sulfato de amônio, em presença e ausência de Ca(OH)2 por um período de 30 dias. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o pH decresceu com o sulfato de amônio e aumentou com a uréia. As variações foram observadas mesmo empresença de Ca(0H)2. A produção de nitrato aumentou com o pH, considerando o mesmo nível e fonte de nitrogênio. Não foi observado no conjunto uma relação entre pH e produção de nitrato
Phenyldihydropyrazolones as Novel Lead Compounds Against Trypanosoma cruzi
As over 6 million people are infected with Chagas disease and only limited therapeutic options are available, there is an urgent need for novel drugs. The involvement of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE) in the lifecycle and biological fitness of a number of protozoan parasites has been described and several of these enzymes are thought to be viable drug targets. Within this context, a PDE-focused library was screened for its ability to affect the viability of Trypanosoma cruzi parasites. 5-(3-(Benzyloxy)-4-methoxyphenyl)-2-isopropyl-4,4-dimethyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one (4), previously reported as a human PDE4 inhibitor, was identified as a hit. Upon optimization on three positions of the phenylpyrazolone scaffold, 2-isopropyl-5-(4-methoxy-3-(pyridin-3-yl)phenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one (34) proved to be the most active compound against intracellular forms of T. cruzi (pIC50 = 6.4) with a 100-fold selectivity with respect to toxicity toward human MRC-5 cells. Evaluation on different life stages and clinically relevant T. cruzi strains revealed that the phenylpyrazolones are not active against the bloodstream form of the Y strain but show submicromolar activity against the intracellular form of the Y- and Tulahuen strains as well as against the nitro-drug-resistant Colombiana strain. In vitro screening of phenylpyrazolones against TcrPDEB1, TcrPDEC, and TcrCYP51 showed that there was a poor correlation between enzyme inhibition and the observed phenotypic effect. Among the most potent compounds, both TcrCYP51 and non-TcrCYP51 inhibitors are identified, which were both equally able to inhibit T. cruzi in vitro
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