Aqueous nicotine solutions:PH-measurements and salting-out effects - Analysis of the effective Gibbs energies of hydration and ionic strengths of the solutions

This work is a continuation of previous studies on phase demixing - salting-out effects - in aqueous nicotine solutions. Thus, pH measurements were performed, allowing a brief analysis of the existing hydrogen bond interactions. Salting-out effects - the related experimental cloud point shifts - provoked by the addition of two inorganic salts, potassium nitrate and sodium sulfate, which have not hitherto been studied, were determined. Analysis of the current and previously reported salting-out/or salting-in phenomena in nicotine aqueous solutions was performed. In this respect, five studied salts were included: four inorganic salts (sodium chloride, potassium nitrate, sodium sulfate and trisodium phosphate (Na3PO4)), and ionic the liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate ([C2mim][EtSO4], commercial name ECOENG212®). Based on pH measurements, the effective Gibbs energies of hydration and the ionic strengths of the respective ternary solutions were calculated and plotted against the related cloud-point shifts caused by the addition of the salts. For the studied salts, the results and diagram obtained within this work may be used to predict the cloud-points shifts, based on the related quantities of the salts added and/or the molar Gibbs energies of hydration and/or ionic strengths requested in each case

Gestão de resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU) em territórios rurais: caracterização, problemas e propostas de intervenção no concelho de Anadia

Num mundo cada vez mais industrializado e consumista, com assimetrias territoriais várias, a defesa dos valores ambientais assume uma progressiva importância, uma vez que a qualidade de vida passa também pela qualidade ambiental. Como os produtos gerados pelo consumo devem ter o confinamento correto em função das suas diversas componentes, a gestão do processo de deposição, recolha e transporte de RSU, fica mais complexa, à medida que a população e a área se diversifica e expande, como acontece em alguns territórios rurais, agravando os custos e os impactos ambientais induzidos, se não for equacionada uma solução simultaneamente eficaz e eficiente. Paralelamente urge a satisfação dos residentes e dos restantes utilizadores enquanto usuários desses territórios. Por este motivo, nos últimos anos, as autarquias têm vindo a estudar essas soluções nas suas áreas de jurisdição, tentando com as ações realizadas, respeitar não só os critérios de proteção ambiental, mas também as necessidades das pessoas. Neste trabalho apresentam-se algumas variáveis identificadas, como resultados de um estudo de caso aplicado a um município rural, Anadia, onde se evidencia a ausência de sensibilização e a carência de meios e processos que podem comprometer as metas ambientais e sociais desejadas. In a world, progressively more industrialized and consumer, with several territorial disparities, the protection of environmental values assumes an increasingly importance, since the quality of life also involves environmental quality. As the products generated by the consumption must have a correct confinement in its various components, the management of the deposition process, collection and transportation of municipal solid waste, is more complex, as the population and the area expand, as happens in some rural territories, increasing the cost and environmental impacts induced, if not equated a solution both effective and efficient. At the same time it is very important to increase the satisfaction of residents, visitors and tourists visiting these areas. For this reason, in the last years, the municipalities have been studying these solutions in their areas of jurisdiction. That is why they try to respect not only the criteria of environmental protection, but also the needs of people and fulfilled actions whose variables we shall try to present as a case study applied to a rural municipality, Anadia, where we show up that the absence of awareness and the lack of means and processes can compromise the desired environmental and social goal

Parasitismo e desenvolvimento de Trichospilus diatraeae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) em pupas de Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) em diferentes temperaturas.

SICONBIOL 2011

A comparison of online versus offline gambling harm in Portuguese pathological gamblers: an empirical study

Over the past decade, gambling has become a very popular activity across Europe including the growth of Internet gambling. Portugal is one of the few European countries where little research has been carried out. Given the lack of studies, a Portuguese sample (N = 1,599) was surveyed concerning their online and offline gambling habits. More specifically, the aim of this study was to identify and compare from the total sample, online pathological gamblers (PGON) (n = 171) and offline pathological gamblers' (PGOF) (n = 171) characteristics, and eventual risk factors for the development of problem gambling. Results demonstrated that PGON had different profiles compared to PGOF, although there were also similarities. Situational characteristics were much more significant for PGON than PGOF (e.g., availability, accessibility, affordability), but PGOF had higher scores than PGON on factors concerning individual characteristics (e.g., intensity of feelings while gambling, depression, suicidal ideation, etc.). Findings also showed differences concerning attitudes toward responsible gambling measures. The fact that situational characteristics are more attractive to online gamblers confirms differences between PGON and PGOF and suggests that this preferred attractiveness may enhance problem gambling potential. Further research is needed to better understand the interaction between Internet situational characteristics and the individual characteristics of gamblers, as well as the profile of the growing population of gamblers that uses both online and offline modes to gamble

Immature B cells preferentially switch to IgE with increased direct Sμ to Sε recombination

Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) class-switch recombination (CSR) replaces initially expressed Cμ (IgM) constant regions (C(H)) exons with downstream C(H) exons. Stimulation of B cells with anti-CD40 plus interleukin-4 induces CSR from Cμ to Cγ1 (IgG1) and Cε (IgE), the latter of which contributes to the pathogenesis of atopic diseases. Although Cε CSR can occur directly from Cμ, most mature peripheral B cells undergo CSR to Cε indirectly, namely from Cμ to Cγ1, and subsequently to Cε. Physiological mechanisms that influence CSR to Cγ1 versus Cε are incompletely understood. In this study, we report a role for B cell developmental maturity in IgE CSR. Based in part on a novel flow cytometric IgE CSR assay, we show that immature B cells preferentially switch to IgE versus IgG1 through a mechanism involving increased direct CSR from Cμ to Cε. Our findings suggest that IgE dysregulation in certain immunodeficiencies may be related to impaired B cell maturation

Restriction of memory B cell differentiation at the germinal center B cell positive selection stage

Memory B cells (MBCs) are key for protection from reinfection. However, it is mechanistically unclear how germinal center (GC) B cells differentiate into MBCs. MYC is transiently induced in cells fated for GC expansion and plasma cell (PC) formation, so-called positively selected GC B cells. We found that these cells coexpressed MYC and MIZ1 (MYC-interacting zinc-finger protein 1 [ZBTB17]). MYC and MIZ1 are transcriptional activators; however, they form a transcriptional repressor complex that represses MIZ1 target genes. Mice lacking MYC-MIZ1 complexes displayed impaired cell cycle entry of positively selected GC B cells and reduced GC B cell expansion and PC formation. Notably, absence of MYC-MIZ1 complexes in positively selected GC B cells led to a gene expression profile alike that of MBCs and increased MBC differentiation. Thus, at the GC positive selection stage, MYC-MIZ1 complexes are required for effective GC expansion and PC formation and to restrict MBC differentiation. We propose that MYC and MIZ1 form a module that regulates GC B cell fate

2D PCA-Based localization for mobile robots in unstructured environments

In this paper a new PCA-based positioning sensor and localization system for mobile robots to operate in unstructured environments (e. g. industry, services, domestic ...) is proposed and experimentally validated. The inexpensive positioning system resorts to principal component analysis (PCA) of images acquired by a video camera installed onboard, looking upwards to the ceiling. This solution has the advantage of avoiding the need of selecting and extracting features. The principal components of the acquired images are compared with previously registered images, stored in a reduced onboard image database, and the position measured is fused with odometry data. The optimal estimates of position and slippage are provided by Kalman filters, with global stable error dynamics. The experimental validation reported in this work focuses on the results of a set of experiments carried out in a real environment, where the robot travels along a lawn-mower trajectory. A small position error estimate with bounded co-variance was always observed, for arbitrarily long experiments, and slippage was estimated accurately in real time

2D PCA-Based localization for mobile robots in unstructured environments

In this paper a new PCA-based positioning sensor and localization system for mobile robots to operate in unstructured environments (e. g. industry, services, domestic ...) is proposed and experimentally validated. The inexpensive positioning system resorts to principal component analysis (PCA) of images acquired by a video camera installed onboard, looking upwards to the ceiling. This solution has the advantage of avoiding the need of selecting and extracting features. The principal components of the acquired images are compared with previously registered images, stored in a reduced onboard image database, and the position measured is fused with odometry data. The optimal estimates of position and slippage are provided by Kalman filters, with global stable error dynamics. The experimental validation reported in this work focuses on the results of a set of experiments carried out in a real environment, where the robot travels along a lawn-mower trajectory. A small position error estimate with bounded co-variance was always observed, for arbitrarily long experiments, and slippage was estimated accurately in real time

Solutions of ionic liquids with diverse aliphatic and aromatic solutes – Phase behavior and potentials for applications:A review article

This article principally reviews our research related to liquid–liquid and solid–liquid phase behavior of imidazolium- and phosphonium-based ionic liquids, mainly having bistriflamide ([NTf2]−) or triflate ([OTf]−) anions, with several aliphatic and aromatic solutes (target molecules). The latter include: (i) diols and triols: 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol and glycerol; (ii) polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG): average molecular mass 200, 400 and 2050 – PEG200 (liquid), PEG400 (liquid) and PEG2050 (solid), respectively; (iii) polar aromatic compounds: nicotine, aniline, phenolic acids (vanillic, ferulic and caffeic acid,), thymol and caffeine and (iv) non-polar aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene, p-xylene). In these studies, the effects of the cation and anion, cation alkyl chain and PEG chain lengths on the observed phase behaviors were scrutinized. Thus, one of the major observations is that the anion – bistriflamide/triflate – selection usually had strong, sometimes really remarkable effects on the solvent abilities of the studied ionic liquids. Namely, in the case of the hydrogen-bonding solutes, the ionic liquids with the triflate anion generally exhibited substantially higher solubility than those having the bistriflamide anion. Nevertheless, with the aromatic compounds the situation was the opposite – in most of the cases it was the bistriflamide anion that favoured solubility. Moreover, our other studies confirmed the ability of PEG to dissolve both polar and non-polar aromatic compounds. Therefore, two general possibilities of application of alternative, environmentally acceptable, solvents of tuneable solvent properties appeared. One is to use homogeneous mixtures of two ionic liquids having [NTf2]− and [OTf]− anions as mixed solvents. The other, however, envisages the application of homogeneous and heterogeneous (PEG + ionic liquid) solutions as tuneable solvents for aromatic solutes. Such mixed solvents have potential applications in separation of the aforesaid target molecules from their aqueous solutions or in extraction from original matrices. From the fundamental point of view the phase equilibrium studies reviewed herein and the diversity of the pure compounds – ionic liquids and target molecules – represent a good base for the discussion of interactions between the molecules that exist in the studied solutions