Diffusion Enhanced Upconversion in Organic Systems

The upconverted fluorescence generation in a solution of multicomponent organic systems has been studied as a function of the temperature to investigate the role of resonant energy transfer processes and of the molecular diffusion on the overall emission yield. The strong blue emission observed exciting the samples at 532 nm derives from a bimolecular triplet-triplet annihilation between 9,10 diphenylanthracene molecules, which produces singlet excited states from which the higher energy emission takes place. Diphenylanthracene excited triplet states are populated by energy transfer from a phosphorescent donor (Pt(II)octaethylporphyrin) which acts as excitation light harvesting. At low temperature, the experimental data on the efficiency of the transfer have been interpreted in the frame of a Dexter energy transfer in the Perrin approximation. At room temperature, the fast diffusion of the molecules has been found to be the main factor which affects the energy transfer rates and the overall photon upconversion efficiency

One Dimensional Polymeric Organic Photonic Crystals for DFB Lasers

We present a very simple method to realize a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PC), consisting of a dye-doped polymeric multilayer. Due to the high photonic density of states at the edges of the photonic band-gap (PBG), a surface emitting distributed feedback (DFB) laser is obtained with this structure. Furthermore, the incidence angle dependence of the PBG of the polymeric multilayer is reported

Spot-test identification and rapid quantitative sequential analysis of dipyrone

A qualitative spot-test and tandem quantitative analysis of dipyrone in the bulk drug and in pharmaceutical preparations is proposed. The formation of a reddish-violet color indicates a positive result. In sequence a quantitative procedure can be performed in the same flask. The quantitative results obtained were statistically compared with those obtained with the method indicated by the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia, using the Student's t and the F tests. Considering the concentration in a 100 µL aliquot, the qualitative visual limit of detection is about 5×10-6 g; instrumental LOD ≅ 1.4×10-4 mol L-1 ; LOQ ≅ 4.5×10-4 mol L-1.Um método spot-test qualitativo e seqüencialmente quantitativo é proposto para análise de dipirona em fármaco puro e em preparações farmacêuticas. A formação de coloração vermelho-violeta indica um resultado qualitativo positivo. Na seqüência, um procedimento quantitativo pode ser realizado no mesmo frasco. Os resultados quantitativos obtidos foram comparados estatisticamente com os resultados obtidos pelo método indicado pela Farmacopéia Brasileira, utilizando o teste t de Student e o teste F. Considerando a concentração em uma alíquota de 100 µL, o limite qualitativo visual de detecção foi de cerca 5×10-6 g; instrumentalmente o limite de detecção foi de LOD ≅ 1.4×10-4 mol L-1 e o limite de quantificação de LOQ ≅ 4.5×10-4 mol L-1.4146Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Education in mine waste engineering: the experience of "SIGEO" Master's Course

On 19th July 1985 the failure of two tailings dams at the service of a fluorite mine in the Stava Valley (Italy) caused the death of 268 people and severe environmental and socioeconomic damage. Similar accidents have happened in Sgorigrad (Bulgaria, 1966), Aberfan (U.K., 1966), Buffalo Creek (USA, 1972), Aznalcollar (Spain, 1998), Taoshi (China, 2008) and many other places worldwide. The European Union has recognized the seriousness of the problems concerning the management and disposal of mining waste (over 400 million tonnes per year worldwide). With the 2006/21/CE Directive, the EU has urged all member States to carry out censuses, monitoring and consolidation of existing structures under the supervision of qualified experts. These experts should be provided with interdisciplinary knowledge that is difficult to attain during normal degree courses. For this reason, the Trento and Modena-Reggio Emilia Universities and the Turin Polytechnic have set up a post-graduate Master’s Course in “Analysis and Management of Geotechnical Structures”. The article describes the interdisciplinary approach adopted in the course and aims to stimulate the sharing of this initiative among other European Universities

Development and characterization of a gel formulation integrating microencapsulated nitrofurazone

Nitrofurazone (NTZ) is usually employed in the topical treatment of infected wounds and lesions of both skin and mucosa. Microencapsulation is a process utilized in the incorporation of active ingredients within polymers aiming at, among other objectives, the prolonged release of pharmaceutical compounds and protection from atmospheric agents (viz. moisture, light, heat and/or oxidation). With the goal of utilizing the microparticles containing encapsulated NTZ in pharmaceutical formulations, one prepared microparticles containing NTZ via ionotropic gelation of sodium alginate. The microparticles were characterized via scanning electron microscopy analyses, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, via determination of encapsulation efficiency, and via thermal analyses (both TGA and DSC). The final gel formulation was also characterized rheologically. The extrusion/solidification technique employed to obtain the calcium alginate microparticles with encapsulated NTZ was found to be adequate, and produced an NTZ encapsulation efficiency of ca. 97.8% ± 1.1%. The calcium alginate microparticles thus obtained, with encapsulated NTZ, exhibited an oval shape and hydrodynamic diameters between 500 μm and 800 μm. From the thermal analyses performed, together with information from the infrared spectra, one may conclude that NTZ did not strongly bind to the polymer, which may be favorable for the release of the active ingredient. From the results obtained in the present research effort, one may conclude that the microparticles produced possess the potential to be utilized as carriers for NTZ in pharmaceutical formulations such as gels, ointments, and solutions.Financial support to Victor M. Balcao, via an Invited Research Scientist fellowship (FAPESP Ref. No. 2011/51077-8) by Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil), is hereby gratefully acknowledged

Biodiesel synthesis: influence of alkaline catalysts in methanol-oil dispersion

CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOBiodiesel synthesis from soybean oil using methanol and alkaline catalysts occurs in the following two consecutive steps: dispersion of methanol in the oil and methanolysis. The effect of the alkaline catalysts NaOCH3, KOCH3, NaOH, and KOH in the dispersi302342349CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçãoThe authors would like to thank CAPES, FAPERJ, and CNPq (Brazilian agencies) for their financial suppor

Brazilian recreational fisheries: current status, challenges and future direction.

Recreational fisheries in Brazil have increased in importance and attracted many foreign recreational fishers. The objectives of this article were to summarise the available data on Brazilian recreational fisheries, to discuss some of their features and to analyse how they are performing in different regions compared with international trends. A review of published and unpublished sources together with data from recreational fishing licences was used. The participation rate was low (0.9%). Overall, there was a high diversity of fish species, with the following species/group of species repeatedly reported: Menticirrhus spp., Centropomus spp., Cynoscion spp., and Micropogonias furnieri (marine/estuarine water), and Cichla spp., Hoplias malabaricus, and Piaractus mesopotamicus, together with the introduced Oreochromis niloticus and Coptodon rendalli (fresh water). The north-eastern region differs from the other regions: fishing occurs mostly in marine waters and fishers acquire mainly shore-based licences, have minimum fishing expenditures and rarely release fishes. There is no estimate of the total harvest or economic value. Conflicts include catch-and-release-oriented freshwater and marine recreational fishers vs consumption-oriented coastal fishers, tournament participants vs non-participants, commercial fishers and other leisure activities, pollution, ports, species introductions and translocations, protected areas, and federal and state laws. Cases of smooth shifts from artisanal to recreational fishing were detected, possibly associated with changes in the societal relationship with natural resources

Screening of conditions controlling spectrophotometric sequential injection analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite its potential benefits over univariate, chemometrics is rarely utilized for optimizing sequential injection analysis (SIA) methods. Specifically, in previous vis-spectrophotometric SIA methods, chemometrically optimized conditions were confined within flow rate and reagent concentrations while other conditions were ignored.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The current manuscript reports, for the first time, a comprehensive screening of conditions controlling vis-spectrophotometric SIA. A new diclofenac assay method was adopted. The method was based on oxidizing diclofenac by permanganate (a major reagent) with sulfuric acid (a minor reagent). The reaction produced a spectrophotometrically detectable diclofenac form. The 2⁶full-factorial design was utilized to study the effect of volumes of reagents and sample, in addition to flow rate and concentrations of reagents. The main effects and all interaction order effects on method performance, i.e. namely sensitivity, rapidity and reagent consumption, were determined. The method was validated and applied to pharmaceutical formulations (tablets, injection and gel).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Despite 64 experiments those conducted in the current study were cumbersome, the results obtained would reduce effort and time when developing similar SIA methods in the future. It is recommended to critically optimize effective and interacting conditions using other such optimization tools as fractional-factorial design, response surface and simplex, rather than full-factorial design that used at an initial optimization stage. In vis-spectrophotometric SIA methods those involve developing reactions with two reagents (major and minor), conditions affecting method performance are in the following order: sample volume > flow rate ≈ major reagent concentration >> major reagent volume ≈ minor reagent concentration >> minor reagent volume.</p

Compulsive sexual behavior disorder in 42 countries: Insights from the International Sex Survey and introduction of standardized assessment tools

© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/Background and aims Despite its inclusion in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, there is a virtual paucity of high-quality scientific evidence about compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), especially in underrepresented and underserved populations. Therefore, we comprehensively examined CSBD across 42 countries, genders, and sexual orientations, and validated the original (CSBD-19) and short (CSBD-7) versions of the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder Scale to provide standardized, state-of-the-art screening tools for research and clinical practice. Method Using data from the International Sex Survey (N = 82,243; Mage = 32.39 years, SD = 12.52), we evaluated the psychometric properties of the CSBD-19 and CSBD-7 and compared CSBD across 42 countries, three genders, eight sexual orientations, and individuals with low vs. high risk of experiencing CSBD. Results A total of 4.8% of the participants were at high risk of experiencing CSBD. Country- and gender-based differences were observed, while no sexual-orientation-based differences were present in CSBD levels. Only 14% of individuals with CSBD have ever sought treatment for this disorder, with an additional 33% not having sought treatment because of various reasons. Both versions of the scale demonstrated excellent validity and reliability. Discussion and conclusions This study contributes to a better understanding of CSBD in underrepresented and underserved populations and facilitates its identification in diverse populations by providing freely accessible ICD-11-based screening tools in 26 languages. The findings may also serve as a crucial building block to stimulate research into evidence-based, culturally sensitive prevention and intervention strategies for CSBD that are currently missing from the literature.Peer reviewe