The carbon footprint appraisal of local visitor travel in Brazil: A case of the Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo itinerary

Tourism transportation contributes substantially to the global carbon footprint. This contribution is predicted to enlarge, especially in ‘emerging’ tourism markets, and hence urgent carbon mitigation is necessary. Effective mitigation is determined by reliable carbon footprint assessments whose number is however limited, particularly for developing countries with growing tourism. This study applied the life cycle assessment (LCA) based method to appraise the carbon significance of various transport modes between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the key itinerary for travel with leisure and tourism purposes by local residents and overseas visitors in Brazil. Given the envisaged rise in biofuel use in the Brazilian transportation sector, this study is unique in that it evaluated the carbon reduction potential offered by biofuel. The study demonstrated that overland public transport represents the most carbon-efficient mode of local transportation. It further highlighted the crucial role of biofuel in minimising the carbon intensity of transportation between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Policy-making and managerial recommendations were put forward to facilitate more climate-benign local transportation practices

Applying the facility location problem model for selection of more climate benign mega sporting event hosts: A case of the FIFA World Cups.

Sporting mega-events generate substantial carbon footprint where return transportation of event participants and visitors between the source and host countries makes the largest contribution. To enhance environmental sustainability of sporting mega-events, it is paramount to select a host country with the lowest carbon footprint from international transportation without compromising the magnitude of major visitor flows. The Facility Location Problem (FLP) model represents an established tool employed in the business environment to determine the best location for the installation of facilities to provide for existing or envisaged consumer demand. The model has proven its feasibility in a number of economic sectors, but rarely been applied in tourism, and never with sustainability management and planning purposes. This study contributes to knowledge by demonstrating the applicability of the FLP model when planning for sporting mega-events. The model enables selection of a host country with better climate credentials by quantifying the magnitude of international transportation of the event participants alongside the associated carbon footprint. Application of the FLP model to the FIFA World Cups shows that, to facilitate the progress of these mega-events towards sustainability, a decision on a host country should be made after the team qualification round, rather than before, as it currently stands. The model can then identify prospective hosts with the lowest carbon footprint from international transportation

Effect of iodonium salt and chitosan on the physical and antibacterial properties of experimental infiltrants

Resinous infiltrants are indicated in the treatment of incipient carious lesions, and further development of these materials may contribute to greater control of these lesions. The aim of this study was to analyze the physical and antibacterial properties of experimental infiltrants containing iodonium salt and chitosan. Nine experimental infiltrants were formulated by varying the concentration of the diphenyliodonium salt (DPI) at 0, 0.5 and 1 mol%; and chitosan at 0, 0.12 and 0.25 g%. The infiltrants contained the monomeric base of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate and bisphenol-A dimethacrylate ethoxylate in a 75 and 25% proportion by weight, respectively; 0.5 mol% camphorquinone and 1 mol% ethyl 4-dimethylaminobenzoate. The degree of conversion was evaluated using Fourier transformer infrared spectroscopy, and the flexural strength and elastic modulus using the three-point bending test. Sorption and solubility in water, and antibacterial analysis (minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration) were also analyzed. Data was analyzed statistically by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (p<0.05), with the exception of the antibacterial test, which was evaluated by visual inspection. In general, the infiltrant group containing 0.5% DPI and 0.12% chitosan showed high values of degree of conversion, higher values of elastic modulus and flexural strength, and lower sorption values in relation to the other groups. Antibacterial activity was observed in all the groups with DPI, regardless of the concentration of chitosan. The addition of DPI and chitosan to experimental infiltrants represents a valid option for producing infiltrants with desirable physical and antibacterial characteristics3

Sensorineural Hearing Loss In Hemorrhagic Dengue?

Introduction Dengue is an acute febrile infectious disease, with high fever followed by symptoms flu-like. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a vascular leak syndrome and could present spontaneous bleeding and worsening of symptoms after some days. Dengue could have some ENT manifestations, however hearing loss is not one of them. Sudden hearing loss is considered as sensorineural or perceptual hearing loss with a sudden onset in a person without other prior otological history. The relation between infectious diseases and sudden hearing are been investigated, some viruses were already linked, but the relation between dengue virus and sudden hearing still remains unknown. This article has the goal of presenting a case of DHF that evolved with SSHL in his hospitalization process. Presentation of case We report a 60 years-male patient of with DHF who developed bilateral secretory otitis media and sensorineural hearing loss after the fifth day of onset of symptoms. His hearing loss remained even after 7 months and the patient was referred for hearing aid fitting. Discussion and conclusion This is the first case report that brings together DHF and sudden hearing loss. In the development of this case no other cause to sudden hearing loss was found and the correlation between dengue and hearing loss was questioned. In the literature review was found that some viruses, as mumps virus, varicella-zoster virus and HSV-1 and HSV-2 are related to sudden hearing loss, all of them fit in the viral theory. Besides the viral theory of sudden hearing loss, there is the vascular theory that is the occlusion of the end artery that supplies the cochlea. DHF has a vascular commitment, and the hypothesis of a vascular cause could be elicited in this case. Many studies in this area are needed and this article has the objective of elicit the discussion about the subject. Could dengue be associated with sensorineural hearing loss?83841Simmons, C.P., Farrar, J.J., Vinh Chau, N., Wills, B., Dengue (2012) N Engl J Med, 366, pp. 1423-1432(2009) Dengue Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention and Control - New Edition, , http://www.who.int/topics/dengue/en/, WHOGuzman, M.G., Kourí, G., Dengue: An update (2002) Lancet Dis, 2 (1), p. 33Srikiatkhachorn, A., Kelley, J.F., Endothelial cells in dengue hemorrhagic fever (2014) Antiviral Res, 109, pp. 160-170Fonseca, B.A., Fonseca, S.N., Dengue virus infections (2002) Curr Opin Pediatr, 14 (1), pp. 67-71Figueiredo, R.M.P., Mourão, M.P.G., Abi-Abib, Y.E.C., Oliveira, C.M., Roque, R., Azara, T., Identification of dengue viruses in naturally infected Aedes aegypti females captured with BioGents (BG) - Sentinel traps in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil (2013) Rev Soc Bras Med Trop, 46 (2), pp. 221-222Plaza, G., Durio, E., Herráiz, C., Rivera, T., García-Berrocal, J.R., Asociación Madrileña de ORL. Consensus on diagnosis and treatment of sudden hearing loss. Asociación Madrileña de ORL (2011) Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp, 62 (2), pp. 144-157Schreiber, B.E., Agrup, C., Haskard, D.O., Luxon, L.M., Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (2010) Lancet, 375, pp. 1203-1211Merchant, S.N., Durand, M., Adams, J.C., Sudden deafness: Is it viral? (2008) ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec, 70 (1), pp. 52-62Greco, A., Fusconi, M., Gallo, A., Marinelli, C., Macri, G.F., Vincentiis, M., Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: An autoimmune disease? (2011) Autoimmun Rev, 10, pp. 756-761Cohen, B.E., Durstenfeld, A., Roehm, P.C., Viral causes of hearing loss: A review for hearing health professionals (2014) Trends Hear, 18, pp. 1-17Scalia, G., Palermo, C.I., Maiolino, L., Costanzo, C.M., Zappalà, D., Grillo, C., Detection of serum IgA to HSV1 and its diagnostic role in sudden hearing loss (2013) New Microbiol, 36, pp. 41-47Westmore, G.A., Pickard, B.H., Stern, H., Isolation of mumps virus from the inner ear after sudden deafness (1979) BMJ, 1, pp. 14-1

Improving quantum interferometry by using entanglement (to take a decision you'd better use entanglement)

We address the use of entanglement to improve the precision of generalized quantum interferometry, i.e. of binary measurements aimed to determine whether or not a perturbation has been applied by a given device. For the most relevant operations in quantum optics, we evaluate the optimal detection strategy and the ultimate bounds to the minimum detectable perturbation. Our results indicate that entanglement-assisted strategies improve the discrimination in comparison with conventional schemes. A concrete setup to approach performances of the optimal strategies is also suggested.Comment: 2 fig

Influence of the sulphurization time on the morphological, chemical, structural and electrical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 polycrystalline thin films

The effects of the sulphurization annealing time on the morphological, chemical, structural and electrical properties of CZTS thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, Hall effect and electrical conductivity measurements in samples annealed during different time intervals. The increase of the annealing time was found to improve the chemical composition of the samples and to, slightly, increase the crystallite size. Small amounts of Na were measured in the samples. However, the concentration of Na does not increase significantly with the annealing time and should not modify the characteristics of the CZTS thin films. It was also found that at high temperature the electrical conductivity is dominated by thermal emission of carriers over the inter-grain potential barriers. As the temperature decreases different hopping conduction mechanisms start to dominate. At first with nearest-neighbour hopping and successively changing to variable range hopping conduction with a crossover from Mott and Efros–Shklovskii behavior. The electrical conductivity, the concentration of free holes, acceptors and donors, traps0 density at the grain boundaries and the grain potential barriers height were found to increase with the annealing time. However, a significant drop in the compensation ratio from 0.8 to 0.5 was also detected.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anomalous persistent photoconductivity in Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films and solar cells

A persistent photoconductivity effect (PPC) has been investigated in Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films and solar cells as a function of temperature. An anomalous increase of the PPC decay time with temperature was observed in all samples. The PPC decay time activation energy was found to increase when temperature rises above a crossover value, and also to grow with the increase of the sulfurization temperature and pressure. Both the anomalous behavior of the PPC decay time and the existence of two different activation energies are explained in terms of local potential fluctuations in the band edges of CZTS

Inclusion of shrimp waste meal in diet of free-range chickens

Shrimp waste meal (SWM) is a by-product from the processing of shrimp for human consumption. The value of SMW in feeding poultry is not well documented. The objective of this study was to determine the energy value and optimal inclusion level of SWM in the diet of growing chickens. A total of 180 one-day-old broilers were randomly assigned to five treatments with 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 g/kg of SWM included in their diet. There were six replicates of six birds for each treatment. Dry matter intake (DMI) was not affected by the level of SWM that was fed. Retained dry matter varied from 72.39% in the diet that did not contain SWM to 66.97% in the diet with 200 g/kg of SWM. Nitrogen retention (NR) ranged from 54.70% to 70.10%; N ingested was between 18.71% and 24.03%. Energy intake ranged from 73.57% to 69.33% for the control and the diet with 200 g/kg of SWM, respectively. NR improved with increasing SWM inclusion levels. The apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and corrected apparent energy metabolizable (AMEn) ranged from 2928 to 2527 kcal/kg and 2774 to 2329 kcal/kg, respectively, relative to the control and 200 g/kg SWM diets. The energy consumption, in kcal/kg, of SWM consumed was AME = 2332-6.971 x SWM and AMEn = 2113-8.128 x SWM. High levels of SWM reduce the dry matter metabolization coefficient and metabolizable energy values in broilers during the growing phase, so it is recommended that up to 100 g/kg should be included, which would provide an AMEn of 1300.2 kcal/kg for free-range chickens in dry matter

Molecular typing and differences in biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibilities among Prototheca strains isolated in Italy and Brazil.

Bovine mastitis caused by Prototheca is a serious and complex problem that accounts for high economic losses in the dairy industry. The main objective of this study was to identify and characterize at genetic level different Prototheca strains and provide the most complete data about protothecal antibiotic resistance. The study involves 46 isolates from Italian (13 strains) and Brazilian (33 strains) mastitic milk. These strains were identified by multiplex PCR and single strand conformation polymorphism analysis and characterized by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR. Moreover, biofilm production and antibiotic susceptibility were evaluated. Forty-two strains resulted as Prototheca zopfii genotype 2, whereas 4 isolates could belong to a potential new Prototheca species. The RAPD-PCR, performed with 3 primers (M13, OPA-4, and OPA-18), showed a notable heterogeneity among isolates and grouped the strains according to the species and geographical origin. Biofilm production was species-dependent and P. zopfii genotype 2 strains were classified as strong biofilm producers. In vitro antibiotic susceptibility tests indicated that Prototheca strains were susceptible to antibacterial drugs belonging to aminoglycosides group; the highest activity against Prototheca strains was observed in the case of colistin sulfate, gentamicin, and netilmicin (100% of susceptible strains). It is interesting to note that all the Italian P. zopfii genotype 2 strains showed lower minimum inhibitory concentration values than the Brazilian ones. Nisin showed more efficacy than lysozyme and potassium sorbate, inhibiting 31% of the strains. Results obtained in this study confirmed that RAPD-PCR is a rapid, inexpensive, and highly discriminating tool for Prototheca strains characterization and could give a good scientific contribution for better understanding the protothecal mastitis in dairy herd

Epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in the State of Bahia, Brazil

O trabalho consistiu em estratificar o Estado da Bahia em quatro regiões com características homogêneas (circuitos produtores) para que fossem amostradas aleatoriamente, em cada uma delas, 300 propriedades. Em cada propriedade foram escolhidas, de forma aleatória, 10 a 15 fêmeas bovinas adultas, das quais foi obtida uma amostra de sangue. No total, foram amostrados 10.816 animais, provenientes de 1.413 propriedades. O protocolo de testes utilizado foi o da triagem com o teste do antígeno acidificado tamponado (Rosa Bengala) e a confirmação dos positivos com o teste do 2-mercaptoetanol. O rebanho foi considerado positivo se pelo menos um animal reagiu às duas provas sorológicas. As prevalências de focos e a de fêmeas adultas soropositivas do Estado foram de 4,2% [3,1-5,3%] e 0,66% [0,41-0,93%], respectivamente. Para os circuitos produtores foram: circuito 1, 5,8% [3,6-8,7%] e 0,86% [0,41-1,3%]; circuito 2, 3,1% [1,5-5,6%] e 1,2% [0,25-2,1%]; circuito 3, 6,3% [4,0-9,3%] e 1,7% [0,66-2,7%]; e circuito 4, 0,60% [0,07-2,2%] e 0,07 [0,00-0,21%]. Para a análise de fatores de riscos associados à doença foi aplicado um questionário epidemiológico em cada propriedade visitada. Os fatores de risco (odds ratio, OR) associados à condição de foco foram: compra de reprodutores (OR= 2,27) e presença de áreas alagadiças (OR= 1,76). A vacinação de fêmeas de três até oito meses de idade foi um fator de proteção (OR= 0,53). ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTA study to characterize the epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in the State of Bahia was carried out in 2004. The State was divided into four similar production regions, 300 herds were randomly sampled in each region, and 10 to 15 adult bovine females were sampled in each of these herds. A total of 10,816 serum samples from 1,413 herds were collected. The serum samples were screened for antibodies to Brucella spp. by the Rose-Bengal Test (RBT), and all RBT-positive sera were re-tested by the 2-mercaptoethanol test (2-ME) for confirmation. A herd was considered positive if at least one animal was positive on both RBT and 2-ME tests. The prevalence of infected herds and seropositive adult bovine females in Bahia State were: 4.2% [3.1-5.3%] and 0.66% [0.41-0.93%], respectively. In the production regions, prevalence of infected herds and animals were, respectively: region 1, 5.8% [3.6-8.7%] and 0.86% [0.41-1.3%]; region 2, 3.1% [1.5-5.6%] and 1.2% [0.25-2.1%]; region 3, 6.3% [4.0-9.3%] and 1.7% [0.66-2.7%]; and region 4, 0.60% [0.07-2.2%] and 0.07%[0.00-0.2%]. In each herd, an epidemiological questionnaire was applied. The risk factors (odds ratio, OR) associated with the presence of the infection were: purchase of breeding animals (OR = 2.27) and presence of flood areas (OR= 1.76). Vaccination of heifers from three to eight months of age was a protective factor (OR=0.53)