Using full-scale duckweed ponds as the finish stage for swine waste treatment with a focus on organic matter degradation

Artigo Publicado em: IWA - Water Science & TechnologyThe rapid increase in the number of swine has caused pronounced environmental impacts worldwide, especially on water resources. As an aggregate, smallholdings have an important role in South American pork production, contributing to the net diffusion of pollution. Thus, duckweed ponds have been successfully used for swine waste polishing, mainly for nutrient removal. Few studies have been carried out to assess organic matter degradation in duckweed ponds. Hence, the present study evaluated the efficiency of two full-scale duckweed ponds for organic matter reduction of swine waste on small pig farms. Duckweed ponds, in series, received the effluent after an anaerobic biodigester and storage pond, with a flow rate of 1 m3 day 1. After 1 year of monitoring, an improvement in effluent quality was observed, with a reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD), respectively, of 94.8 and 96.7%, operating at a loading rate of approximately 27 kgBOD ha 1 day 1 and 131 kgCOD ha 1 day 1. Algae inhibition due to duckweed coverage was strongly observed in the pond effluent, where chlorophyll a and turbidity remained below 25 μg L 1 and 10 NTU. Using the study conditions described herein, duckweed ponds were shown to be a suitable technology for swine waste treatment, contributing to the environmental sustainability of rural areas

Thermal behaviour of rebars and steel deck components of composite slabs under natural fire

Most of the studies involving composite slabs under fire follow the standard fire scenario described by the ISO 834 curve, disregarding the cooling-phase. However, recent studies show that this phase is equally important, as it can lead to the collapse of the structure. Therefore, the present research carried out a parametric study, using numerical models, validated through experimental tests, to evaluate the thermal behaviour of the composite slabs components under natural fire. The results showed that the maximum temperatures in the reinforcement bars occur during the cooling-phase, reaching temperatures up to 300% higher than at the heating-phase, on the steel deck occur at the end of heating, and that the concrete thickness above the steel deck influences the temperature of these components. Also, during the cooling-phase, a “heat bubble” effect is observed on the ribs of the composite slabs, where the reinforcement bars are normally placed. These results highlight the importance of considering different natural fire scenarios, in the structural performance and safety of composite slabs, since during the cooling-phase there is still heat transfer between the elements, which can lead to slab failure. New parameters are proposed to find the temperature of each component for different fire ratings

O movimento LGBT e os partidos políticos no Brasil

Resumo Este estudo trata da interação entre o Movimento LGBT ”“ Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais e Transgêneros ”“ e os partidos políticos brasileiros, no contexto em que sua pauta ganha visibilidade.  A perspectiva é a de que novas subjetividades vêm produzindo novas agendas políticas no mundo público, reconfigurando o escopo do debate político no Brasil em duas dimensões interconectadas: uma cultural, simbólica e difusa e outra institucionalizada, voltada para a incorporação ao mundo do direito. Se a causa LGBT pouco aparece nos programas partidários, já frequenta a organização do parlamento, atraindo o olhar dos competidores. Palavras-chave: política, partidos políticos, Movimento LGBT, agenda política. Abstract This article deals with the interaction between the LGBT Movement ”“ Lesbian, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender ”“ and the Brazilian political parties, in the context where the former’s demands gain visibility. The perspective involved here concerns new subjectivities that have been producing new political agendas in the public sphere, reconfiguring the scope of the Brazilian political debate in two interconnected dimensions: a cultural, symbolic and diffuse dimension and an institutionalized one, turned towards the incorporation of such demands into the domain of the law. If LGBT cause has still a small space in party programs, it is already present at the parliamentary level, attracting the attention of competitors. Key words: political, political parties, LGBT Movement, political agenda

Underlying Dimensions of the Physical Educators\u27 Judgments about Inclusion Instrument: Brazilian-Version

Background/Objective: The available information pertaining to the attitudes of Brazilian physical education teachers about teaching students with disabilities is limited in the extant literature base. Rationally, however, scholars argue that determining, analyzing, and theorizing about the attitudes of physical education teachers is important in the preparation and professional development of these teachers. It is therefore important to extend the research base using valid and reliable measures regarding teachers’ attitudes about inclusion and teaching students with various disabilities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying dimensions of the Physical Educators’ Judgments about Inclusion (PEJI) scale following translation procedures that converted the existing measure to Portuguese. The PEJI was designed to analyze teachers’ attitudes about inclusion and teaching students with various disabilities. Method: Using a descriptive survey research design, data were collected from 147 participants (women = 57.1%, men = 42.9%) on the PEJI survey instrument. Results: Principal component analysis resulted in salient loadings on three dimensions consistent with prior study using the PEJI and explained 57% of the variance for measuring judgments about: Inclusion versus Exclusion, Acceptance of Students with Disabilities, and Perceived Training Needs. Conclusions: The overall results confirm validity of the PEJI survey consistent with prior study on this measure. The strong magnitude of values indicates that each of the subscales measures separate dimensions of judgments (attitudes). Implications for future use, we recommend reporting individual scale scores rather than a total PEJI score

Raman Spectroscopy of Amino Acid Crystals

In this chapter, we investigate the Raman spectra of proteinogenic amino acid crystals. Amino acids are fundamental organic molecules that compose polypeptides (a linear chain of amino acids) and proteins (folded polypeptides with specific functions) found in all living beings. Surprisingly, the number of these basic molecules is not more than 22 (20 of them commonly known as the standard amino acids, plus pyrrolysine and selenocysteine). They are defined as a molecule formed by an NH2 group, a COOH group, a lateral chain (the R group), and a hydrogen atom, all of them connected to a single carbon, the α-carbon. Interestingly, α-amino acids show chirality, i.e., they present different distributions of group of atoms around the α-carbon, being defined as l- and d-form. For amino acids and proteins found in the living beings, the l-form is the dominant form, although some exceptions have been discovered in the last decades. In this chapter, we present the Raman spectra of all standard amino acids and discuss the different kinds of vibrations found, comparing them. As complementary part of the work, we present results on vibrational properties of some amino acids using Raman spectroscopy when subjected to specific conditions, with variation in temperature or pressure. Finally, we present some perspectives as the investigation of purines, a group of molecules associated with the DNA molecule