Composite with Recyclable Loads for the Manufacture of Blocks to Build Popular Houses

The science space in a state school in Natal city was built using a composite consisting of gypsum, EPS （expanded polystyrene）, shredded tire, cement and water. Mechanical and thermal resistances were evaluated. Inside the blocks, three types of fillings （EPS plates, aluminum cans and 500 mL bottles of mineral water） were placed in order to obtain a walls with higher thermal resistance, but also to give it an ecologically correct order, considering that both the tire and the EPS occupy a large space in landfills and require years to be degraded when released into the environment. Compression tests were conducted according to the rules. The experiments demonstrated that the temperature difference between the internal and external surfaces on the walls reached levels above 12.0 ℃. It was also demonstrated that the proposed composite has adequate mechanical strength to be used for sealing walls. The proposed use of the composite can contribute to reduce the significant housing deficit of Brazil, producing popular houses at low cost and with little time to work.     

Highly Aligned Centrifugal Spun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers Collected and Processed with Automated Tracks

A parallel automated track collector is integrated with a rationally designed centrifugal spinning head to collect aligned polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers. Centrifugal spinning is an extremely promising nanofiber fabrication technology due to high production rates. However, continuous oriented fiber collection and processing presents challenges. Engineering solutions to these two challenges are explored in this study. A 3D-printed head design, optimized through a computational fluid dynamics simulation approach, is utilized to limit unwanted air currents that disturb deposited nanofibers. An automated track collecting device has pulled deposited nanofibers away from the collecting area. This results in a continuous supply of individual aligned nanofibers as opposed to the densely packed nanofiber mesh ring that is deposited on conventional static post collectors. The automated track collector allows for simple integration of the postdraw processing step that is critical to polymer fiber manufacturing for enhancing macromolecular orientation and mechanical properties. Postdrawing has enhanced the mechanical properties of centrifugal spun PAN nanofibers, which have different crystalline properties compared with conventional PAN microfiber. These technological developments address key limitations of centrifugal spinning that can facilitate high production rate commercial fabrication of highly aligned, high-performance polymer nanofibers.     

Benzodioxoles as alternative coinitiators for radical polymerization in a model‐dental adhesive resin

This study evaluated the effectiveness of benzodioxole derivatives as coinitiators of radical polymerization in a model‐dental adhesive resin. To compose the adhesive resin, a monomer mixture based on 50 wt % of Bis‐GMA, 25 wt % of TEGDMA, and 25 wt % of HEMA was used. Camphorquinone (CQ) 1 mol % was used as a photoinitiator to initiate polymerization. 1,3‐Benzodioxole (BDO) and piperonyl alcohol (PA) were used as coinitiators at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 mol % level. In addition, tertiary amine, ethyl 4‐dimethylamino benzoate (EDAB) was used as coinitiator in the control group. Some physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the polymer formed in the experimental adhesives were evaluated using the kinetics of polymerization, sorption and solubility, flexural strength, and elastic modulus tests. The results indicated that BDO and PA were effective coinitiators in the photoinitiator system based on CQ. Comparisons between the benzodioxoles derivative coinitiators and EDAB showed similar performance in the kinetics of polymerization and flexural strength. For water sorption and solubility evaluation, BDO and PA demonstrated significantly more sorption of water and less solubility than the EDAB control group. The findings suggest that BDO and PA were feasible alternatives to conventional amine as coinitiator. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

From Molecules to Behavior in Long-Term Inorganic Mercury Intoxication: Unraveling Proteomic Features in Cerebellar Neurodegeneration of Rats

Mercury is a severe environmental pollutant with neurotoxic effects, especially when exposed for long periods. Although there are several evidences regarding mercury toxicity, little is known about inorganic mercury (IHg) species and cerebellum, one of the main targets of mercury associated with the neurological symptomatology of mercurial poisoning. Besides that, the global proteomic profile assessment is a valuable tool to screen possible biomarkers and elucidate molecular targets of mercury neurotoxicity; however, the literature is still scarce. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of long-term exposure to IHg in adult rats’ cerebellum and explore the modulation of the cerebellar proteome associated with biochemical and functional outcomes, providing evidence, in a translational perspective, of new mercury toxicity targets and possible biomarkers. Fifty-four adult rats were exposed to 0.375 mg/kg of HgCl₂ or distilled water for 45 days using intragastric gavage. Then, the motor functions were evaluated by rotarod and inclined plane. The cerebellum was collected to quantify mercury levels, to assess the antioxidant activity against peroxyl radicals (ACAPs), the lipid peroxidation (LPO), the proteomic profile, the cell death nature by cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and the Purkinje cells density. The IHg exposure increased mercury levels in the cerebellum, reducing ACAP and increasing LPO. The proteomic approach revealed a total 419 proteins with different statuses of regulation, associated with different biological processes, such as synaptic signaling, energy metabolism and nervous system development, e.g., all these molecular changes are associated with increased cytotoxicity and apoptosis, with a neurodegenerative pattern on Purkinje cells layer and poor motor coordination and balance. In conclusion, all these findings feature a neurodegenerative process triggered by IHg in the cerebellum that culminated into motor functions deficits, which are associated with several molecular features and may be related to the clinical outcomes of people exposed to the toxicant.     

Continuous production of soybean biodiesel with compressed ethanol in a microtube reactor using carbon dioxide as co-solvent

This work investigates the production of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from the transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical ethanol in a continuous catalyst-free process using carbon dioxide as co-solvent. The experiments were performed in a microtube reactor in the temperature range of 523 K to 598 K, from 10 MPa to 20 MPa, oil to ethanol molar ratio from 1:20 to 1:40, and co-solvent to substrates mass ratio from 0.05:1 to 0.2:1. Results showed that ethyl esters yield obtained increased with increasing addition of carbon dioxide to the system. Considerable reaction yields were achieved at 598 K, 20 MPa, oil to ethanol molar ratio of 1:20 and using a CO₂ to substrate mass ratio of 0.2:1.     

Monitoring the transesterification reaction with laser spectroscopy

The production of biodiesel is rapidly expanding around the world, making it more important to produce this fuel with more energy efficiency. In this paper, we observed a series of transesterification reactions of soy bean oil and methyl alcohol catalyzed by potassium hydroxide. The observations were made using a non-invasive optical technique. This technique is useful to indicate the endpoint of a transesterification reaction or to determine when this reaction is reaching the state of chemical equilibrium. This study made it possible to improve the follow-up of the transesterification reaction, by optimizing the reaction time with a better monitoring system.     

Anticoagulant, Antioxidant and Antitumor Activities of Heterofucans from the Seaweed Dictyopteris delicatula

In the present study, six families of sulfated polysaccharides were obtained from seaweed Dictyopteris delicatula by proteolytic digestion, followed by acetone fractionation and molecular sieving on Sephadex G-100. Chemical analyses demonstrated that all polysaccharides contain heterofucans composed mainly of fucose, xylose, glucose, galactose, uronic acid, and sulfate. The fucans F0.5v and F0.7v at 1.0 mg/mL showed high ferric chelating activity (～45%), whereas fucans F1.3v (0.5 mg/mL) showed considerable reducing power, about 53.2% of the activity of vitamin C. The fucan F1.5v presented the most prominent anticoagulant activity. The best antiproliferative activity was found with fucans F1.3v and F0.7v. However, F1.3v activity was much higher than F0.7v inhibiting almost 100% of HeLa cell proliferation. These fucans have been selected for further studies on structural characterization as well as in vivo experiments, which are already in progress.     

Update on the pharmacology of Spirulina (Arthrospira), an unconventional food

Spirulina (Arthrospira), a filamentous, unicellular alga, is a cyanobacterium grown in certain countries as food for human and animal consumption. It is also used to derive additives in pharmaceuticals and foods. This alga is a rich source of proteins, vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and other nutrients. Its main use, therefore, is as a food supplement. Over the last few years, however, it has been found to have many additional pharmacological properties. Thus, it has been experimentally proven, in vivo and in vitro that it is effective to treat certain allergies, anemia, cancer, hepatotoxicity, viral and cardiovascular diseases, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, immunodeficiency, and inflammatory processes, among others. Several of these activities are attributed to Spirulina itself or to some of its components including fatty acids omega-3 or omega-6, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, phycocyanin, phenol compounds, and a recently isolated complex, Ca-Spirulan (Ca-SP). This paper aims to update and critically review the results published over the last few years with regards to these properties. The conclusion is that even if this cyanobacterium has been one of the most extensively studied from the chemical, pharmacological and toxicological points of view, it is still necessary to expand the research in order to have more consistent data for its possible use in human beings.     

Effects of secretory and osmotic diarrhea on rats intestinal function and morphology

In order to compare intestinal morphology and function, diarrhea was produced in rats using laxatives in the diet. The 14 day study included two groups of rats with diarrhea (osmotic or secretory), two groups without diarrhea but with a degree of malnutrition which was similar to that seen in the rats with diarrhea (malnourished without diarrhea) and a well-nourished group (control). The inclusion of laxatives(lactose or bisoxatin acetate) cause a reduction in food intake, diarrhea an malnutrition. It also caused a reduction in dietary protein and fat digestibility which was proportional to the severity of diarrhea and more pronounced in secretory diarrhea. In the malnourished rats without diarrhea, malnutrition did not affect their absorptive function. Both in the rats with secretory and osmotic diarrhea an intestinal hypertrophy was observed. This hypertrophy was proportional to the severity of diarrhea and independent of its aetiology. In the intestines of the rats with both types of diarrhea there was inflammation, a greater number of mitotic figures but the flattening of the villi seen in the malnourished rats without diarrhea was not seen. In osmotic diarrhea there was, in addition, a patchy damage of the surface of the jejunal mucosa and an increment in the number of goblet cells, indicating a more severe intestinal deterioration. Since despite this greater deterioration, these rats absorbed more protein and fat we concluded that the alterations in intestinal morphology seen in this study was not predictive of intestinal function. The study also showed that diarrhea had a trophic effect on the intestine which did not occur in malnourished rats without diarrhea.