Pesticide monitoring programme of the Ministry of Health of Brazil

The structure of the recently introduced Brazilian government programme for monitoring pesticide residues in six major agricultural products is described. Residues found from the analysis of samples of tomatoes and strawberries are discussed in detail. The much greater frequency of detection of pesticide residues, many of which are not approved for use in Brazil, in produce being sold on the domestic market, as opposed to that produced for export, is of major concern. It is perceived that this new monitoring programme will become permanent and be used to underpin enforcement actions that will need to be taken to reduce the numbers of incidents of illegal residues occurring, particularly in fresh fruits and vegetables.     

Surface barrier diode based on zinc selenide with a passivating zinc oxide film

We propose a method of fabricating surface barrier diodes with overlapped metal junction, which provides for a significant decrease in the reverse currents and an increase in the breakdown voltage.     

Influence of the shape of fiber cross section on fabric surface characteristics

Fiber cross sections for use in textiles and composites are becoming more and more complex. Shape impacts fiber or filaments properties and therefore the yarn and fabric characteristics. This paper presents the influence of the fiber cross section on the fabric surface characteristics. The material used was polyester staple fibers, of four different shapes: round, scalloped oval, cruciform and hexachannel. All fibers had the same cut length with different fineness. Yarns obtained from these fibers had nominally the same yarn count, torsion value and structure. Plain jersey fabrics were knitted from each of the yarns under identical conditions and then relaxed prior to testing. Friction behavior was evaluated and a roughness-friction criterion developed. An indirect measurement of the real area of contact was obtained in order to provide roughness and friction properties. The influence of fiber cross section on yarn bending rigidity and on the state of the knitted fabric surface was characterized.     

Production of maraging steel grades and the influence of specified and nonspecified elements for special applications

The material properties of maraging steels are greatly affected by the alloy and inclusion content and hence by the production route. This paper describes various past and current production routes at Böhler Edelstahl GmbH and the effect of these routes on the specified element (alloy) and non-specified element (inclusion) contents. Non-metallic inclusions were investigated by EDX analysis. The effects of various alloying and tramp elements on the material properties are presented as a statistical evaluation of previous melts. Nitrogen solubility was calculated with Thermo–Calc for maraging steel Mat.-No. 1.6354 and the precipitation of nitrides is discussed. A proposal is made for the production of melts with improved properties.     

Thermodynamic Properties of Alloys and Phase Equilibria in the In–Sb System

New thermodynamic data for the In–Sb system are obtained and compared with calculation results available in the literature. An isothermal vacuum cell and a procedure for electrolyte preparation are described which ensure high measurement accuracy.     

Textural Transitions in a Rotating Slab of 3He-A

The operation of a torsional oscillator for detection, of flow-driven textural transitions in, ³He-A is described. The detection technique, tracking the shift of the resonant frequency of the torsional oscillator, allows us to observe textural changes and the presence of vortices in zero magnetic field. It relies on. the anisotropic superfluid density of ³He-A and its change due to reorientation of the Î-texture caused by counterflow.     

High-gain pseudomorphic InGaAs base ballistic hot-electron device

A high-gain ballistic hot-electron device is described. The GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructure device, with a 21-mm-thick pseudomorphic In _0.12Ga_0.88As base, had a current gain of 27 at 77 K and 41 at 4.2 K. As characteristically seen in ballistic devices, transfer into the L valley limited the maximum gain. The Γ-L valley separation in the strained In_0.12Ga_0.88As was estimated to be about 380 meV     

Effects of flux enhancing polymer on the characteristics of sludge in membrane bioreactor process.

A newly developed membrane performance enhancer (MPE) was used to prevent membrane fouling in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) process. It transpired that 1,000 mg/l of MPE reduced polysaccharide levels from 41 mg/I to 21 mg/I on average under the experimental condition. Repeated experiments also confirmed that 50-1,000 mg/l of MPE could reduce membrane fouling significantly and increase the intervals between membrane cleanings. Depending on MPE dosages and experimental conditions, trans-membrane pressure (TMP) increase was suppressed for 20-30 days, while baseline TMP surged within a few days. In addition, MPE allowed MBR operation even at 50,000 mg/l of total solid and reduced permeate COD. However, no evidence of toxicity for sludge was found from respiratory works.     

Towards new indicators for the prediction of solid waste anaerobic digestion properties.

The biochemical composition can be seen as a good indicator of both the biodegradability and the methane potential of a given waste. The work presented here is an attempt to elaborate a typology of wastes and to compare it to the anaerobic degradation characteristics. The first data indicate that there is a link between the ligno-cellulosic content of the waste and the biodegradability. When dealing with application to anaerobic digestion processes, having a tool to predict the ability of the waste to be degraded could be of the greatest interest for preventing failures, estimating biogas production, methane content, or for the management of co-digestion processes.