Low-cost point-focus solar concentrator, phase 1

The results of the preliminary design study for the low cost point focus solar concentrator (LCPFSC) development program are presented. A summary description of the preliminary design is given. The design philosophy used to achieve a cost effective design for mass production is described. The concentrator meets all design requirements specified and is based on practical design solutions in every possible way

Cloning Protocol of Aloe vera as a Study-Case for “Tailor-Made” Biotechnology to Small Farmers

Aloe vera has been used worldwide both for pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries due to the plethora of biological activities of some of its metabolites. A study case is reported focusing on the development of a cloning protocol of A. vera to provide propagation material with superior quality to the private sector in southern Brazil, i.e., A. vera juice industry. Such biotechnological approach afforded ca. 4,300 plantlets from 20 explants, over a 6-month period, overcoming the drawback of the lack of propagation material. Typically, the results have led to the increase of the cultured area and juice production of that species coming true the goal of the partnership between the public and private sectors herein involved. The transference of the resulting technology was successfully performed to the company and a patent covering the biotechnological process has been recently requested to official organisms on behalf of the partners.El Aloe vera ha sido empleado mundialmente en las industrias farmacéutica, alimentaria y cosmética, debido a la variedad de actividades biológicas de sus metabolitos. Un estudio de caso es reportado, enfocado en el desarrollo de un protocolo de clonamiento de A. vera para proveer propagación de material de calidad superior al sector privado en el sur de Brasil, por ejemplo, la industria de jugo de A. Vera. Ya que las plantas obtenidas mediante métodos biotecnológicos ascienden a 4300 plántulas desde 20 explantes, en un período de 6 meses, se hace un problema la inminente falta de material. Típicamente los resultados han conducido al incremento de del área cultivada y de la producción de jugo de las especies con verdaderos objetivos de asociatividad entre los sectores privados y públicos. La transferencia de la tecnología resultante fue exitosamente desempeñada hacia la compañía y una patente que protege el proceso biotecnológico ha sido recientemente solicitada a los organismos de patentamiento.Aloe vera has been used worldwide both for pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries due to the plethora of biological activities of some of its metabolites. A study case is reported focusing on the development of a cloning protocol of A. vera to provide propagation material with superior quality to the private sector in southern Brazil, i.e., A. vera juice industry. Such biotechnological approach afforded ca. 4,300 plantlets from 20 explants, over a 6-month period, overcoming the drawback of the lack of propagation material. Typically, the results have led to the increase of the cultured area and juice production of that species coming true the goal of the partnership between the public and private sectors herein involved. The transference of the resulting technology was successfully performed to the company and a patent covering the biotechnological process has been recently requested to official organisms on behalf of the partners

Efeito de sistemas de manejo sobre a flora de uma pastagem

A pasture of Paspalum guenoarum Arech. and Desmodium intortum (Mill.) Urb. established in 1978 at the Estação Experimental Agronômica - UFRS, Guaíba, RS, was evaluated by phytosociological surveys in the summer of 1980 and fall and spring of 1981. The evaluation aimed to know the pasture behaviour when submitted to different grazing systems with cattle. The alterations in the species frequency were evaluated along a transect line using only one pin. High grazing pressures increased the Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. and Paspalum notatum Flueg. frequencies (P0.05).Uma pastagem de Paspalum guenoarum Arech. e Desmodium intortum (Mill.) Urb., introduzida em 1978 na Estação Experimental Agronômica - UFRS, Guaíba, RS, foi avaliada através de levantamentos fitossociológicos, no verão de 1980 e outono e primavera de 1981. A pesquisa visava o estudo do comportamento da pastagem submetida a sistemas de pastejo com bovinos. As alterações na frequência das espécies foram avaliadas ao longo de transecções, com auxilio de urna única agulha. Altas pressões de pastejo aumentaram a frequência de Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. e Paspalum notatum Flueg. (P0,05)

Compostos fenólicos em frutos de bananeira.

Os compostos fenólicos são encontrados em muitas frutas e a quantificação desses metabólicos revela informações importantes a respeito da qualidade dos alimentos e dos potenciais benefícios à saúde (atividade antioxidante e atitumoral, e.g. - TALCOTT et al., 2003). A banana é amplamente consumida por todas as classes sociais e seu consumo é elevado, alcançando 162 Kg/pessoa/ano em algumas regiões da África (FAO, 2012)

ISOLATION, CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF CELL WALL POLYSACCHARIDES OF Laurencia microcladia (RHODOMELACEAE, CERAMIALES)

Polissacarídeos de parede celular da alga vermelha Laurencia microcladia foram isolados por tratamento alcalino (KOH 1M, 10 mg NaBH4, temperatura ambiente), produzindo duas subfrações por neutralização (AcOH, pH=5.2) e precipitação com EtOH, respectivamente A e B. Eletroforese em papel revelou a existência de apenas um polissacarídeo por fração. O espectro FT-IR de ambos polissacarídeos mostraram indícios de COH (OH: 3400-3300 cm-, CO: 1260-1000 cm-) e de CHC (1300 – 1000 cm-), típicos em polímeros de parede celular de algas. Um derivado Nglicosil (1640 – 1560 cm-) e baixo conteúdo ácido (0.34 mol%) são traços estruturais encontrados, ao passo que proteínas não foram encontradas. A atividade antimitótica foi observada em larvas de Lytechinus variegatus (ouriço verde), com valores crônicos de 38.18 mg/mL e 267.99 mg/mL para os polissacarídeos A e B, respectivamente. Não foram observados efeitos antagonistas para bradicinina e acetilcolina para os polissacarídeos em testes in vitro com íleo de porco-da-índia. Resultados preliminares apontaram efeito neurotóxico dessas macromoléculas (5mg/100 mL) além de assimetria do tubo neural em embriões de galinha.Cell wall polysaccharides of the red algae Laurencia microcladia were isolated by alkaline treatment (KOH 1M, 10 mg NaBH4, room temperature), yielding two sub-fractions by neutralization (AcOH, pH=5.2) and EtOH precipitation, respectively A and B. Paper electrophoresis revealed the existence of only one polysaccharide in each fraction. FT-IR spectra of both polysaccharides showed signals for COH (OH: 3400-3300 cm-, CO: 1260-1000 cm-) and CHC (1300 – 1000 cm-) typical of cell wall algal polymers. An N-glyco derivative (1640 – 1560 cm-) and a low acidic content (0.34 mol %) were structural features found, while proteins were not detected. Antimitotic activity was observed on Lytechinus variegatus (green bur) larvae, with chronic values of 38.18 mg/mL and 267.99 mg/mL for polysaccharides A and B, respectively. No bradykinin or acetylcholine antagonistic effect was observed when polysaccharides were assayed in vitro in guinea-pig ileum. Preliminary results pointed to neurotoxic effect of these macromolecules (5mg/100 mL) since asymmetry of the neural tube in chick embryo was also found

A 1H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis of propolis from Santa Catarina state

16th IUFoST World Congress of Food Science and Technology: Addressing Global Food Security and Wellness through Food Science and TechnologyPropolis is a resinous biomass produced by honeybees from exudates of local flora. It has been used since ancient times in folk medicine and in recent years has been added to foods and beverages to improve health and prevent diseases. The chemical composition of propolis is highly variable and depends on the climate, season, specie of bee, and mainly the local flora visited by bees to collect resin. In order to identify groups of chemical similarity among samples (n=20 autumn, n=16 winter, n=19 spring, n=17 summer) of propolis produced in Santa Catarina (SC) state (southern Brazil - 2010), lyophilized ethanolic extracts (200 mg/ml, EtOH 70%, v/v) were solubilized in MeOD3 (700l) and analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. One-dimensional 1HNMR spectra were acquired at a magnetic field strength of 500,13/125,03 MHz using a Varian Inova 500 MHz equipment and standard conditions of data acquisition. The 1H-NMR peak list data set was processed under MetaboAnalyst 2.0. suite, computing the resonances at 0.80- 12ppm spectral window. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) score scatter plots (PC1 88.2% x PC2 2.2%) clearly demonstrated samples discriminated mainly according to the season of production. These results suggest that not only geographical origin is important for the classification of propolis, but the seasonal effects as well. Since seasons directly influence the flora available from where bees collect resin, the propolis chemical profile can be significantly modified over the seasons even from a same geographical origin.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A machine learning and chemometrics assisted interpretation of spectroscopic data: a NMR-based metabolomics platform for the assessment of Brazilian propolis

In this work, a metabolomics dataset from 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of Brazilian propolis was analyzed using machine learning algorithms, including feature selection and classification methods. Partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), random forest (RF), and wrapper methods combining decision trees and rules with evolutionary algorithms (EA) showed to be complementary approaches, allowing to obtain relevant information as to the importance of a given set of features, mostly related to the structural fingerprint of aliphatic and aromatic compounds typically found in propolis, e.g., fatty acids and phenolic compounds. The feature selection and decision tree-based algorithms used appear to be suitable tools for building classification models for the Brazilian propolis metabolomics regarding its geographic origin, with consistency, high accuracy, and avoiding redundant information as to the metabolic signature of relevant compounds.The work is partially funded by ERDF -European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within projects ref. COMPETE FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015079 and PEstOE/ EEI/UI0752/2011. RC's work is funded by a PhD grant from the Portuguese FCT ( ref. SFRH/BD/66201/2009)

Espectroscopia de infravermelho médio e quimiometria aplicadas a discriminação de acessos de bananeira.

O Brasil é o quinto produtor mundial de banana, tendo produzido aproximadamente 6,9 milhões de toneladas em 2010, em uma área aproximada de 487 mil hectares (FAO, 2012). Entretanto, há poucos cultivares para exploração comercial com potencial agronômico, tolerantes às pragas e doenças e que apresentem frutos com boas características pós-colheita e organolépticas. Uma das estratégias à solução desse problema é a seleção de novos genótipos, por meio do melhoramento genético, visando o aumento do valor nutricional e funcional (biofortificação), associado às boas características agronômicas

Is there potential for using beatboxing in supporting laryngectomees?: findings from a public engagement project

This paper outlines key findings from the UCL public engagement project Beatboxing after laryngectomy. The project was a collaboration between Dr Evangelos Himonides from the UCL Institute of Education and Shout at Cancer, the only charity, globally, that implements singing and acting techniques in the voice rehabilitation for laryngectomies. Clinicians, patients with laryngectomies and young people from East London were brought together to explore the role of beatboxing in voice rehabilitation and raise awareness of the difficulties facing those without voice boxes