Materials from renewable resources: new properties and functions

Sustainable production requires increasing use of raw materials from renewable sources, processed under mild conditions with minimal effluent production. These requirements are satisfied by using materials derived from biomass, in synergy with food and energy production. The possibilities of biomass are continuously enlarged by new findings, as in the intrinsic nanocomposite properties of natural rubber and the amphiphile behavior of cellulose that translated into new functional materials, including high-performance, flexible and conductive non-metallic materials. Other findings are allowing a better understanding of electrostatic phenomena that play a positive role in electrostatic adhesion and cohesion of nanocomposites made from biomass products. Moreover, this should allow the development of safe electrostatic separation techniques, suitable for the fractionation of crude mixtures of biomass residues. A current study on rubber electrostatics is showing its capabilities as a transducer of mechanical energy while providing clues to understand the performance of the dielectric elastomers used in robotic self-sensing actuators914CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP465452/2014-088887.284776/2018-002014/50906-

Understanding Drought Dynamics during Dry Season in Eastern Northeast Brazil

Eastern Northeast Brazil (ENEB) generally experiences a high variability in precipitation in the dry season, with amplitudes that can overcome 500mm. The understanding of this variability can help in mitigating the socio-economic issues related to the planning and management of water resources this region, which is highly vulnerable to drought. This work aims to assess spatio-temporal variability of precipitation during the dry season and investigate the relationships between climate phenomena and drought events in the ENEB, using univariate (Spearman correlation) and multivariate statistical techniques, such as Principal Component Analysis, Cluster Analysis, and Maximum Covariance Analysis. The results indicate that the variability of precipitation in the dry season can be explained mainly (62%) by local physical conditions and climate conditions have a secondary contribution. Further analysis of the larger anomalous events suggests that the state of Atlantic and Pacific oceans can govern the occurrence of those events, and the conditions of Atlantic Ocean can be considered a potential modulator of anomalous phenomena of precipitation in ENEB

Optical Trapping in a Dark Focus

The superposition of a Gaussian mode and a Laguerre-Gauss mode with $\ell=0,p\neq0$ generates the so-called bottle beam: a dark focus surrounded by a bright region. In this paper, we theoretically explore the use of bottle beams as an optical trap for dielectric spheres with a refractive index smaller than that of their surrounding medium. The forces acting on a small particle are derived within the dipole approximation and used to simulate the Brownian motion of the particle in the trap. The intermediate regime of particle size is studied numerically and it is found that stable trapping of larger dielectric particles is also possible. Based on the results of the intermediate regime analysis, an experiment aimed at trapping living organisms in the dark focus of a bottle beam is proposed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Ion-exchange resin as a new tool for characterisation of coordination compounds and MOFs by NMR spectroscopy

1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy is used to investigate the organic constituents of metal complexes, MOFs and coordination compounds synthesised under solvothermal and precipitation conditions. The elucidation of the ligands in paramagnetic compounds bearing Cu2+(d9), Gd3+ (f7), Eu3+ (f6), Fe3+(d5), ions after treatment with a cationic exchange resin is possible. We prove the efficiency of two post-synthesis linker modifications on diamagnetic IRMOF-3 Zn2+ (d10) with ethyl isocyanate and benzyl bromide

Spatio-Temporal Vegetation Pixel Classification by Using Convolutional Networks

Plant phenology studies rely on long-term monitoring of life cycles of plants. High-resolution unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and near-surface technologies have been used for plant monitoring, demanding the creation of methods capable of locating, and identifying plant species through time and space. However, this is a challenging task given the high volume of data, the constant data missing from temporal dataset, the heterogeneity of temporal profiles, the variety of plant visual patterns, and the unclear definition of individuals' boundaries in plant communities. In this letter, we propose a novel method, suitable for phenological monitoring, based on convolutional networks (ConvNets) to perform spatio-temporal vegetation pixel classification on high-resolution images. We conducted a systematic evaluation using high-resolution vegetation image datasets associated with the Brazilian Cerrado biome. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is effective, overcoming other spatio-temporal pixel-classification strategies

Efeito bioeconômico de níveis de concentrado no confinamento de novilhos.

O confinamento e uma atividade que possibilita o abate de animais jovens e bem acabados, proporcionando, em geral, carcaças e carne de melhor qualidade. Considerando-se que, no Brasil, ainda não se pratica a adequada remuneração pela qualidade das carcaças e da carne e o concentrado e um dos itens que mais onera os custos operacionais de um confinamento a determinação de um nível ótimo de concentrado, que proporcione uma carcaça com um acabamento mínimo, e uma maneira do produtor conseguir maior produtividade nesta atividade. Foi desenvolvido, no Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Gado de Corte (CNPGC) da Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), um experimento com animais da raça Nelore e outro com animais F1 Pardo Suíço-Nelore, visando a determinar-se o ponto ótimo de adição de concentrado, levando-se em conta o desempenho animal, a qualidade das carcaças e o retorno econômico. No experimento com mestiços, observou-se que a conversão alimentar e ganho de peso diário melhoraram com a adição de concentrado, no qual o maior ganho seria ofertando-se concentrado na proporção de 1,65% do peso vivo dos animais. O melhor retorno econômico, entretanto, seria obtido com a oferta de 1% do peso vivo. No experimento com a raça Nelore, o melhor desempenho seria com adição de concentrado na razão de 1% do peso vivo dos animais, enquanto que o retorno financeiro mostrou-se indiferente ao nível de utilização de concentrado. O custo final de todos os tratamentos foi semelhante, pois, quando houve maior custo diário, o tempo de confinamento foi menor, enquanto que quando o gasto diário foi menor o tempo de confinamento foi maior.bitstream/item/104567/1/Efeito-bioeconomico-de-niveis.pd

Vertical Distribution of Leaves and Stems on the Sward and Forage Intake by Lambs in Tifton-85 Pasture

Sward characteristics affect the performance of grazing livestock, especially for the youngest animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the vertical distribution of leaves and stems on the sward and the forage intake parameters of lambs in four sheep meat production systems grazing a Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) cv. Tifton-85 pasture

A Membrane-bound eIF2 Alpha Kinase Located in Endosomes Is Regulated by Heme and Controls Differentiation and ROS Levels in Trypanosoma cruzi

Translation initiation has been described as a key step for the control of growth and differentiation of several protozoan parasites in response to environmental changes. This occurs by the activation of protein kinases that phosphorylate the alpha subunit of the translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2 alpha), which decreases translation, and in higher eukaryotes favors the expression of stress remedial response genes. However, very little is known about the signals that activate eIF2 alpha kinases in protozoan parasites. Here, we characterized an eIF2 alpha kinase of Trypanosoma cruzi (TcK2), the agent of Chagas' disease, as a transmembrane protein located in organelles that accumulate nutrients in proliferating parasite forms. We found that heme binds specifically to the catalytic domain of the kinase, inhibiting its activity. in the absence of heme, TcK2 is activated, arresting cell growth and inducing differentiation of proliferative into infective and non-proliferative forms. Parasites lacking TcK2 lose this differentiation capacity and heme is not stored in reserve organelles, remaining in the cytosol. TcK2 null cells display growth deficiencies, accumulating hydrogen peroxide that drives the generation of reactive oxygen species. the augmented level of hydrogen peroxide occurs as a consequence of increased superoxide dismutase activity and decreased peroxide activity. These phenotypes could be reverted by the re-expression of the wild type but not of a TcK2 dead mutant. These findings indicate that heme is a key factor for the growth control and differentiation through regulation of an unusual type of eIF2 alpha kinase in T. cruzi.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilNYU, Sch Med, Dept Pathol, New York, NY USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2011/51973-3FAPESP: 2009/54364-8FAPESP: 2012/09403-8FAPESP: 2011/50586-6FAPESP: 2003/12722-9FAPESP: 2012/50399-4FAPESP: 2009/52047-5CNPq: 477143/2011-3CNPq: 304359/2009-2Web of Scienc