Estudo de classificação e quantificação das lamas geradas no processo de beneficiamento de rochas ornamentais.

No município de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim/ES, as lamas de beneficiamento de rochas ornamentais (LBROs) constituem um resíduo sólido (RS) muito impactante ao meio ambiente, uma vez que são geradas em grande quantidade e que ainda não está implementada no Estado do Espírito Santo a Política Estadual de Resíduos Sólidos que direcione o gerenciamento deste RS.Desta forma, observa-se no município um gerenciamento inadequado em que grande parte das LBROs são depositadas em tanques escavados no solo, sem qualquer tipo de proteção de modo a evitar a contaminação do solo e de corpos dágua. De encontro a este problema ambiental, a presente pesquisa foi desenvolvida junto a um grupo de empresas do setor de rochas ornamentais associadas à AAMOL, localizadas no município de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, com o objetivo principal de classificar e quantificar as LBROs, de acordo com a NBR 10004/2004, NBR 10005/2004, e NBR 10006/2004. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia que se mostrou viável para o RS em estudo, a LBRO. A metodologia contemplou visita e aplicação de questionários às empresas associadas à AAMOL, quantificação dos blocos desdobrados e chapas polidas e consumo de insumos no processo de desdobramento. Também contemplou a elaboração de um plano de amostragem, de acordo com os critérios estabelecidos na NBR 10007/2004, para a coleta das amostras de matérias-primas, insumos e LBROs. Da classificação das LBROs verificouse que 77% das amostras foram classificadas como Resíduo Classe IIA Não- Inertes e 23% como Resíduo Classe IIB Inertes, sendo os parâmetros Al, Ba, Cd, Pb, Cl-, Cr, fenol, Fe, F-, Hg, Ag, Na e SO4 2-, aqueles que contribuíram para a não inerticidade das amostras. Foram obtidos neste estudo também o indicadores de quantidade de geração de LBRO por bloco desdobrado e chapa polida nas umidades em que são geradas as lamas, 95% e 99,7%, obtendo-se o ILD95% = 22,14 t/bloco, o ILP99,7% = 19,191 kg/chapa, além dos indicadores na umidade máxima permitida de 30% para a disposição final em aterro, obtendose o ILD30% = 14,76 t/bloco e o ILP30% = 12,493 kg/chapa, que demonstraram ser bastante eficiente o processo de desidratação para o gerenciamento deste RS, uma vez que contribui para o melhor manejo e redução nos custos do transporte e da disposição final

The ESPERIA satellite project for detecting seismo-associated effects in the topside ionosphere. First instrumental tests in space

In recent times, ionospheric and magnetospheric perturbations constituted by radiation belt particle precipitations, variations of temperature and density of ionic and electronic components of ionospheric plasma as well as electric and magnetic field fluctuations have been detected on board of the LEO satellites and associated with earthquake preparation and occurrence. Several mechanisms have been suggested as justifying the seismoelectromagnetic phenomena observed in the upper lithosphere and in the topside ionosphere before, during and after an earthquake. Their propagation in these media has also been investigated, but physical knowledge of such processes is below standard. Consequently, coordinated space and ground-based observations based on data gathered simultaneously in space and at the Earth's surface are needed to investigate seismo-associated phenomena. To this end, the ESPERIA space mission project has been designed for the Italian Space Agency (ASI). To date, a few instruments of its payload have been built and tested in space. This paper reports on the justification, science background, and characteristics of the ESPERIA mission project as well as the description and testing of ESPERIA Instruments (ARINA and LAZIO-EGLE) in space

Cutting and Shuffling a Line Segment: Mixing by Interval Exchange Transformations

We present a computational study of finite-time mixing of a line segment by cutting and shuffling. A family of one-dimensional interval exchange transformations is constructed as a model system in which to study these types of mixing processes. Illustrative examples of the mixing behaviors, including pathological cases that violate the assumptions of the known governing theorems and lead to poor mixing, are shown. Since the mathematical theory applies as the number of iterations of the map goes to infinity, we introduce practical measures of mixing (the percent unmixed and the number of intermaterial interfaces) that can be computed over given (finite) numbers of iterations. We find that good mixing can be achieved after a finite number of iterations of a one-dimensional cutting and shuffling map, even though such a map cannot be considered chaotic in the usual sense and/or it may not fulfill the conditions of the ergodic theorems for interval exchange transformations. Specifically, good shuffling can occur with only six or seven intervals of roughly the same length, as long as the rearrangement order is an irreducible permutation. This study has implications for a number of mixing processes in which discontinuities arise either by construction or due to the underlying physics.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, ws-ijbc class; accepted for publication in International Journal of Bifurcation and Chao

Fingerprinting the hydration products of hydraulic binders using snapshots from time-resolved in situ multinuclear mas nmr spectroscopy

The very early hydration behavior of a hydraulic binder phase, ye'elimite, Ca4Al6O12SO4, in the absence and in the presence of calcium sulfate, has been investigated. A time-resolved in situ multinuclear magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic suite involving 1H and 27Al MAS as well as two-dimensional 27Al multiple quantum MAS (MQMAS) experiments has been employed to detect the transient species and to govern the sequence of hydration reactions and the subsequent formation of the hydration products. The results of the study show that the rates of formation of ye'elimite hydration products vary substantially according to the absence or the presence of calcium sulfate. Hydrated calcium sulfoaluminate phases such as ettringite and monosulfate as well as aluminum hydroxide gel have been detected during the various stages of hydration. The direct observation of various transient species during the hydration stages of calcium aluminates and calcium sulfoaluminates illustrates the potential of a newly designed time-resolved in situ 1H MAS NMR experimental approach for fingerprinting phases and offers significant advantages over other established techniques in detecting transient species

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Corneal Transplantation: A Report From the Italian Association of Eye Banks

Purpose: To analyze the impact of COVID-19 on Italian corneal transplantation from March-2020 to February 2021 compared to the same timeframe of the 2 previous years, in order to identify potential consequences of a global pandemic on corneal procurement and transplantation services during this time. Methods: This national, multicentric, retrospective cohort study evaluated data collected from 12 (100%) Italian eye banks from March 2020 to February 2021 (Group A). The number of tissues collected, distributed and discarded were compared with the same time-frame of the 2 previous years: 2019 and 2018 (group B and C, respectively). The different type of transplants performed were reported. Data were analyzed using a non-parametric Friedman test. Results: Corneal procurement and the percentage of distributed tissues reduced in 2020 by more than 30 and 15%, respectively, compared to the 2 previous years. During the pandemic corneal transplant surgery showed only a modest drop: the number of the penetrating keratoplasties (PKs) and the anterior lamellar keratoplasties (ALKs) decreased by about 30 and 20% in comparison with groups B and C, respectively; between the Endothelial Keratoplasties (EKs), the Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) increased slightly from March 2020 to February 2021. Conclusions: Italy was one of the first countries most affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, and the Italian government adopted severe measures to limit viral transmission. The pandemic generated several implications in corneal transplant activity during the first lockdown. Then an efficacious reaction with constant, vigorous work led to a resumption of transplant surgery to a near-normal standard. The increase of EKs, despite the pandemic, is a sign that the advance in corneal transplantation has gone ahead and it continues to evolve

Absence of RNA-binding protein FXR2P prevents prolonged phase of kainate-induced seizures.

Status epilepticus (SE) is a condition in which seizures are not self-terminating and thereby pose a serious threat to the patient's life. The molecular mechanisms underlying SE are likely heterogeneous and not well understood. Here, we reveal a role for the RNA-binding protein Fragile X-Related Protein 2 (FXR2P) in SE. Fxr2 KO mice display reduced sensitivity specifically to kainic acid-induced SE. Immunoprecipitation of FXR2P coupled to next-generation sequencing of associated mRNAs shows that FXR2P targets are enriched in genes that encode glutamatergic post-synaptic components. Of note, the FXR2P target transcriptome has a significant overlap with epilepsy and SE risk genes. In addition, Fxr2 KO mice fail to show sustained ERK1/2 phosphorylation induced by KA and present reduced burst activity in the hippocampus. Taken together, our findings show that the absence of FXR2P decreases the expression of glutamatergic proteins, and this decrease might prevent self-sustained seizures

Chains of infinite order, chains with memory of variable length, and maps of the interval

We show how to construct a topological Markov map of the interval whose invariant probability measure is the stationary law of a given stochastic chain of infinite order. In particular we caracterize the maps corresponding to stochastic chains with memory of variable length. The problem treated here is the converse of the classical construction of the Gibbs formalism for Markov expanding maps of the interval

Large deviations for non-uniformly expanding maps

We obtain large deviation results for non-uniformly expanding maps with non-flat singularities or criticalities and for partially hyperbolic non-uniformly expanding attracting sets. That is, given a continuous function we consider its space average with respect to a physical measure and compare this with the time averages along orbits of the map, showing that the Lebesgue measure of the set of points whose time averages stay away from the space average decays to zero exponentially fast with the number of iterates involved. As easy by-products we deduce escape rates from subsets of the basins of physical measures for these types of maps. The rates of decay are naturally related to the metric entropy and pressure function of the system with respect to a family of equilibrium states. The corrections added to the published version of this text appear in bold; see last section for a list of changesComment: 36 pages, 1 figure. After many PhD students and colleagues having pointed several errors in the statements and proofs, this is a correction to published article answering those comments. List of main changes in a new last sectio