Adsorption Of Cadmium And Copper In Representative Soils Of Eastern Amazonia, Brazil

Studies of heavy metals adsorption in soil play a key role in predicting environmental susceptibility to contamination by toxic elements. The objective of this study was to evaluate cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) adsorption in surface and subsurface soil. Samples of six soils: Xanthic Hapludox (XH1 and XH2), Typic Hapludox (TH), Typic Rhodudalf (TR), Typic Fluvaquent (TF), and Amazonian dark earths (ADE) from Eastern Amazonian, Brazil. The soils were selected for chemical, physical and mineralogical characterization and to determine the adsorption by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. All soils characterized as kaolinitic, and among them, XH1 and XH2 showed the lowest fertility. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms revealed a higher Cu (H curve) than Cd (L curve) adsorption. Parameters of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms indicate that soils TR, TF and ADE has the greatest capacity and affinity for metal adsorption. Correlation between the curve adsorption parameters and the soil attributes indicates that the pH, CEC, OM and MnO variables had the best influence on metal retention. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms satisfactorily described Cu and Cd soil adsorption, where TR, TF and ADE has a lower vulnerability to metal input to the environment. Besides the pH, CEC and OM the MnO had a significant effect on Cu and Cd adsorption in Amazon soils.3753005301

Antioxidant properties of different dietary supplements based on Agaricus blazei Murrill

In 2012, the market for nutraceuticals earned $90 billion worldwide and it is predicted to reach$33.6 billion in the next four years. Agaricus blazei Murrill mushroom is native to Brazil and widely cultivated due to nutritional and medicinal value [I ,2]. Its beneficial effects have long been recognized, becoming popular as ordinary food, increasing also its production and marketing as dietary supplements (3]. A. blazei is traditionally used to combat a variety of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hepatitis and hypercholesterolemia [2]. The use of dietary supplements based on A. blazei has grown significantly, due to pharmacological studies reporting antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immunostimulant, apoptotic and chemopreventive effects [2,3], attributed to ®-glucans and other bioactive compounds, such as steroids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds [4]. Herein, the antioxidant activity of A. blazei capsules enriched with fmits of Malpighia glabra L. (acerola), Solanum melongena L. (eggplant) and Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açai), calcium and chitosan, were evaluated though in vitro assays: DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, reducing power, inhibition of G-carotene bleaching and inhibition of lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TSARS) assay. Two capsules (daily recommended dose) were dissolved in 100 mL of distilled water in order to prepare a stock solution. Several dilutions were tested until determination of EC50 values (concentration responsible for 50% of antioxidant activity or 0.5 of absorbance in reducing power assay). Globally, all the tested formulations showed high antioxidant activity. A. blazei with acerola gave the highest DPPH scavenging activity (EC50=0.81±0.0 1 mg/mL) and reducing power (EC50=0.53±0.0 1 mg/mL). Nevertheless, A. blazei with ayai showed the highest activity in the lipophilic assays: f3 - carotene bleaching inhibition (EC50=0.55±0.02 mg/mL) and lipid peroxidation inhibition by TSARS assay (EC50=O. 14±0.01 mg/mL). The studied formulations might be useful as antioxidants-enriched supplements to prevent some of the diseases related to oxidative stress

Large atom number dual-species magneto-optical trap for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms

We present the design, implementation and characterization of a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms with large atom numbers. The MOT simultaneously contains 5.2x10^9 6Li-atoms and 8.0x10^9 40K-atoms, which are continuously loaded by a Zeeman slower for 6Li and a 2D-MOT for 40K. The atom sources induce capture rates of 1.2x10^9 6Li-atoms/s and 1.4x10^9 40K-atoms/s. Trap losses due to light-induced interspecies collisions of ~65% were observed and could be minimized to ~10% by using low magnetic field gradients and low light powers in the repumping light of both atomic species. The described system represents the starting point for the production of a large-atom number quantum degenerate Fermi-Fermi mixture

Impact of interaction between chronic variable stress and moderate intensity physical exercise on antibody production in Wistar rats

Stress in its chronic form has been an important factor in the onset of depression. In addition, it can lead to immunosuppression. On the other hand, physical exercise has a protective action on the immune system and reduces the signs and symptoms of stress. Studies on the effects of chronic variable stress (CVS) and moderate intensity physical exercise (MIPE) on humoral immunity are scarce. Thus, in this study, we investigated the interaction between the effects of CVS and MIPE on antibody production. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control (C); physical exercise (P); stress (S); and physical exercise and stress (PS). The P and PS groups were trained in MIPE for six weeks. From the fourth week of the study, concomitant with the MIPE, the S and PS groups were subjected to CVS. To evaluate the production of antibodies, all groups were immunized. Regarding antibody production, it was observed that females in the C and S groups presented higher IgM antibody production in relation to males. Furthermore, the production of IgM was potentiated in males of the PS group. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed in relation to the production of IgG1 and IgG2a. We conclude that CVS prevented the increase in IgM production in male rats and MIPE was effective in reversing the effects of stress on the production of IgM in male rats. On the other hand, the production of IgG1 and IgG2a was not affected by MIPE or CVS

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio