Evidence of secondary relaxations in the dielectric spectra of ionic liquids

We investigated the dynamics of a series of room temperature ionic liquids based on the same 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium cation and different anions by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy covering 15 decades in frequency (10^(-6)-10^9 Hz), and in the temperature range from 400 K down to 35 K. An ionic conductivity is observed above the glass transition temperature T_{g} with a relaxation in the electric modulus representation. Below T_{g}, two relaxation processes appear, with the same features as the secondary relaxations typically observed in molecular glasses. The activation energy of the secondary processes and their dependence on the anion are different. The slower process shows the characteristics of an intrinsic Johari-Goldstein relaxation, in particular an activation energy E_{beta}=24k_{B}T_{g} is found, as observed in molecular glasses.Comment: Major revision, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

The effect of electric field on important food-processing enzymes : comparison of inactivation kinetics under conventional and ohmic heating

This work deals with the determination of the inactivation kinetics of several enzymes, most of them used as time-temperature integrators in the food industry. The tested enzymes were polyphenoloxidase, lipoxygenase, pectinase, alkaline phosphatase, and β-galactosidase, and the inactivation assays were performed under conventional and ohmic heating conditions. The thermal history of the samples (conventional and ohmically processed) was made equal to determine if there was an additional inactivation caused by the presence of an electric field, thus eliminating temperature as a variable. All the enzymes followed 1st-order inactivation kinetics for both conventional and ohmic heating treatments. The presence of an electric field does not cause an enhanced inactivation to alkaline phosphatase, pectinase, and β-galactosidase. However, lipoxygenase and polyphenoloxidase kinetics were significantly affected by the electric field, reducing the time needed for inactivation. The results of the present work can be used industrially to determine processing effectiveness when ohmic heating technology is applied

Isolation of alternative oxidase (AOX) genes of Olea europaea L.

Alternative oxidase (AOX) is recently suggested to be a potential candidate as functional marker for efficient cell reprogramming under stress (Arnholdt-Schmitt et al., 2006a). The presented work is part of a Marie Curie Chair project, that was established to investigate the potential role of the multigene AOX to assist breeding on efficient rooting of olive shoot cuttings (Arnholdt-Schmitt et al. 2006b). Plant mito-chondrial AOX is a small nuclear-encoded multigene family consisting of the two subfamilies AOX1 and AOX2. The intron-exon structure of AOX has been well characterized in several species, revealing a large degree of conservation. Here we report for the first time about the isolation of AOX multigene se-quences of olive (Olea europaea L.). The genes were isolated from a portuguese clone of the landrace ‘Galega vulgar’

Biomassa microbiana de um latossolo da região sudoeste dos cerrados com diferentes sistemas de manejo.

JIPE 2013

The gathering firestorm in southern Amazonia.

Wildfires, exacerbated by extreme weather events and land use, threaten to change the Amazon from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source. Here, we develop and apply a coupled ecosystem-fire model to quantify how greenhouse gas-driven drying and warming would affect wildfires and associated CO2 emissions in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Regional climate projections suggest that Amazon fire regimes will intensify under both low- and high-emission scenarios. Our results indicate that projected climatic changes will double the area burned by wildfires, affecting up to 16% of the region's forests by 2050. Although these fires could emit as much as 17.0 Pg of CO2 equivalent to the atmosphere, avoiding new deforestation could cut total net fire emissions in half and help prevent fires from escaping into protected areas and indigenous lands. Aggressive efforts to eliminate ignition sources and suppress wildfires will be critical to conserve southern Amazon forests

Fingolimod Treatment Modulates PPARγ and CD36 Gene Expression in Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Fingolimod is an oral immunomodulatory drug used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) that may change lipid metabolism. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are transcription factors that regulate lipoprotein metabolism and immune functions and have been implicated in the pathophysiology of MS. CD36 is a scavenger receptor whose transcription is PPAR regulated. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether fingolimod treatment modifies PPAR and CD36 gene expression as part of its action mechanisms. Serum lipoprotein profiles and PPAR and CD36 gene expression levels in peripheral leukocytes were analysed in 17 female MS patients before and at 6 and 12 months after fingolimod treatment initiation. Clinical data during the follow-up period of treatment were obtained. We found that fingolimod treatment increased HDL-Cholesterol and Apolipoprotein E levels and leukocyte PPARγ and CD36 gene expression. No correlations were found between lipid levels and variations in PPARγ and CD36 gene expression. PPARγ and CD36 variations were significantly correlated during therapy and in patients free of relapse and stable disease. Our results suggest that PPARγ and CD36-mediated processes may contribute to the mechanisms of action of fingolimod in MS. Further studies are required to explore the relation of the PPARγ/CD36 pathway to the clinical efficacy of the drug and its involvement in the pathogenesis of the disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise econômica da bananeira "Pacovan Ken" em função de diferentes tensões de água do solo.

O trabalho avaliou economicamente a bananeira ?Pacovan Ken? sob diferentes tensões de água no solo, relacionando os custos de produção obtidos pela aplicação de água e as receitas alcançadas através da produtividade para cada tratamento. O experimento foi realizado em um solo tipo Cambissolo, em Limoeiro do Norte, Ceará, utilizando a cultivar Pacovan Ken irrigada por microaspersão. Os tratamentos consistiram em iniciar as irrigações quando a tensão da água na zona radicular da cultura (0-0,4 m) atingisse -15, -30, -45 e -60 kPa. Três sensores de resistência elétrica tipo matriz granular (modelo Watermark) foram instalados em cada parcela (0,15; 0,30 e 0,50 m). Nas avaliações de produção foram utilizadas quatro plantas situadas na fileira dupla central de cada parcela. Para cálculo do custo da irrigação (Ci) foi adotado apenas o custo de aplicação da água, considerando uma situação hipotética padrão para irrigação de uma área de 5,0 ha. A melhor relação custo/benefício encontrada para a cultivar de banana Pacovan Ken na região estudada foi obtida quando as irrigações eram iniciadas na tensão de água no solo de -15 kPa, apresentando uma menor sensibilidade à variação de preço do produto, além do maior índice de lucratividade