Condições termopluviométricas e fenológicas do cafeeiro arábica no ano agrícola 2007-2008 em Varginha-MG.

Neste trabalho é apresentada uma análise das principais condições termopluviométricas reinantes no ano agrícola 2007-2008 e sua influência nas fases fenológicas do cafeeiro arábica na localidade de Varginha, MG. Pode-se verificar que o ano agrícola 2007-2008 foi caracterizado por uma temperatura média anual de 20,6°C, um índice pluviométrico de 1.701 mm, uma deficiência hídrica de 193 mm, um excedente hídrico de 926 mm e uma taxa de armazenamento médio de água no solo de 69 mm. Os eventos fenológicos mais marcantes neste ano agrícola foram: (a) ausência de chuvas entre os meses de setembro e meados de outubro, acarretou deficiência hídrica elevada prejudicando a floração; (b) crescimento dos ramos dos cafeeiros abaixo da média prevista, consequente da baixa disponibilidade hídrica no solo, principalmente, entre setembro e dezembro

Aprendizagem de nível 2 em Espanha e Portugal: percursos e equívocos

Em Portugal o correspondente ao nível 2 do QEQ constitui um equívoco ao manter um ensino unificado, dos 11 aos 15 anos, orientado para o prosseguimento de estudos e não por áreas diversificadas de estudo e trabalho com vista à cidadania inclusiva e produtiva. Pretende-se analisar as diferenças entre o sistema educativo espanhol e português em relação ao nível 2 do QEQ, comparando-os com as orientações de organizações internacionais. Verificou-se que em Espanha, a partir dos 11 anos, se orientam os melhores alunos para o prosseguimento de estudos e os casos especiais por áreas diferenciadas para inclusão na vida ativa

Rapid spectrophotometric determination of nitrates and nitrites in marine aqueous culture media

The spectrophotometric determination of nitrate in sea water broths for cultivation of, say, microalgae is complicated by the frequent presence of nitrite. Two methods - sulphamic/perchloric acid method (also known as Cawse method) and sulphamic acid method - both claimed to be able to eliminate nitrite interference, were tested using a set of standards, but statistical treatment of the results proved their limitations in nitrate quantification. An improved method, based on former published methods for quantification of nitrite and coupled determination of nitrate and nitrite, was designed and tested. This improved method was compared with the reference method (based on use of a cadmium column) using several standards and biological samples of two culture media for microalgae, in different phases of their growth curve. The results thus obtained have demonstrated that there is no statistically significant difference between them at the 5% level. The precision of the method was tested by repeating determinations with three sets of standard mixtures containing nitrate and nitrite. The method proposed has advantages over conventional methods in reduced time of analysis, as well as high precision and accuracy, so it may be a good alternative for determination of nitrite and nitrate in marine aqueous media

Analysis of the effect of renal excretory system cooling during thermal radiofrequency ablation in an animal model

Analysis of renal excretory system integrity and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation with and without irrigation with saline at 2 o C (SF2). The median third of sixteen kidneys were submitted to radiofrequency (exposition of 1 cm) controlled by intra-surgical ultrasound, with eight minutes cycles and median temperature of 90 o C in eight female pigs. One excretory renal system was cooled with SF2, at a 30ml/min rate, and the other kidney was not. After 14 days of post-operatory, the biggest diameters of the lesions and the radiological aspects of the excretory system were compared by bilateral ascending pyelogram and the animals were sacrificed in order to perform histological analysis. There were no significant differences between the diameters of the kidney lesions whether or not exposed to cooling of the excretory system. Median diameter of the cooled kidneys and not cooled kidneys were respectively (in mm): anteroposterior: 11.46 vs. 12.5 (p = 0.23); longitudinal: 17.94 vs. 18.84 (p = 0.62); depth: 11.38 vs. 12.25 (p = 0.47). There was no lesion of the excretory system or signs of leakage of contrast media or hydronephrosis at ascending pyelogram. Cooling of excretory system during radiofrequency ablation does not significantly alter generated coagulation necrosis or affect the integrity of the excretory system in the studied model401939

On-Line Determination of Biomass in a Microalga Bioreactor Using a novel Computerized Flow Injection Analysis System

A flow injection analysis (FIA) device has been developed, which is able to assay successfully for biomass in a microalga bioreactor. The device is fully computerized and is operated via diluting small aliquots of the culture followed by measuring optical density (OD); this figure is then accurately correlated with biomass, in terms of both cell number and ash-free dry weight, during the entire culture time. Furthermore, the device is not expensive, is highly versatile, and is easy to operate owing to specifically developed, user-friendly software. The growth rate and biomass productivity of Pavlova lutheri, cultivated under batch and semicontinuous modes, were monitored as experimental testing model

Sugarcane bagasse as aggregate in composites for building blocks

"Published: 29 December 2022"Each year, hundreds of millions of tons of processed sugarcane generate, by weight, 25 to 30% of bagasse as waste, whose destination is combustion for energy cogeneration. This research proposes an alternative and more sustainable use for this waste. The use of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) as the single aggregate in composites for building blocks was studied. The raw bagasse was used without any treatment. As the binder, aerial lime and/or soil were used. Both provided enough mechanical strength for non-load-bearing walls. The composite of SCB with soil achieved the best performance in terms of mechanical resistance: 2.6 MPa in compressive strength and 2.1 MPa in bending strength, while the composite of SCB with lime achieved 1.76 MPa and 1.7 MPa, respectively. The higher number of fibers in the SCB/lime mixture provides better thermal insulation than clay brick or conventional concrete, such as “hempcrete”. The lime composites obtained greater water resistance and less loss of mechanical strength when saturated. However, the higher water absorption coefficient makes it necessary to apply a waterproof mortar on surfaces exposed to the weather. The replacement of supplied blocks by SCB blocks can offer a better and more economical solution that improves the quality of the built environment and is more ecofriendly.The authors would also like to acknowledge FCT/MCTES—Foundation for Science and Technology/Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, within the scope of CTAC—Center for Territory, Environment and Construction—UIDB/0407/2020 e UIDP/04047/202

Disinfection with neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water to reduce microbial load and to prevent biofilm regrowth in the processing of fresh-cut vegetables

Product decontamination is one of the most important processes of the hygienic practice in food industries such as Minimally Processed Vegetables (MPV) plants and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions are commonly used as a biocide for disinfection. Although it may be corrosive and irritating when compared to alternative biocides, this biocide is frequently applied at high concentrations. This work aims at studying the use of lower concentrations of chlorine by testing neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water (NEOW) as a chlorine-source disinfectant in fresh-cut salad processing. Assays were performed at industrial and laboratory scale. Results showed that lower doses of chlorine from NEOW (30 ppm) are as effective as higher concentrations of the traditional chlorine from NaOCl (80 ppm) in the reduction of total microbial population at industrial scale. Moreover, in laboratory studies, the NEOW chlorine was also more effective in biofilm eradication, as well as a biofilm preventive agent. NEOW can thus be a successful alternative water disinfection technique, reducing the free chlorine concentration needed to sanitize salads, also decreasing water consumption whilst taking into account environmental and food quality impacts