Water pollution by dyes has been a major environmental problem to be tackled, and magnetic adsorbents appear as promising alternatives to solve it. Herein, magnetic activated carbons were prepared by ...the single-step method from Sapelli wood sawdust, properly characterized, and applied as adsorbents for brilliant blue dye removal. In particular, two magnetic activated carbons, MAC1105 and MAC111, were prepared using the proportion of biomass KOH of 1:1 and varying the proportion of NiCl
of 0.5 and 1. The characterization results demonstrated that the different proportions of NiCl
mainly influenced the textural characteristics of the adsorbents. An increase in the surface area from 260.0 to 331.5 m
g
and in the total pore volume from 0.075 to 0.095 cm
g
was observed with the weight ratio of NiCl
. Both adsorbents exhibit ferromagnetic properties and the presence of nanostructured Ni particles. The different properties of the materials influenced the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium of brilliant blue dye. MAC111 showed faster kinetics, reaching the equilibrium in around 10 min, while for MAC1105, it took 60 min for the equilibrium to be reached. In addition, based on the Sips isotherm, the maximum adsorption capacity was 98.12 mg g
for MAC111, while for MAC1105, it was 60.73 mg g
. Furthermore, MAC111 presented the potential to be reused in more adsorption cycles than MAC1105, and the use of the adsorbents in the treatment of a simulated effluent exhibited high effectiveness, with removal efficiencies of up to 90%.
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It is crucial to monitor the levels of Non-Ionizing Radiation (NIR) to which the general population may be exposed and compare them to the limits defined in the current standards, in view of the ...rapid rise of communication services and the prospects of a connected society. A high number of people visits shopping malls and since these locations usually have several indoor antennas close to the public, it is therefore a kind of place that must be evaluated. Thus, this work presents measurements of the electric field in a shopping mall located in Natal, Brazil. We proposed a set of six measurement points, following two criteria: places with great the flow of people and the presence of one or more Distributed Antenna System (DAS), co-sited or not with WiFi access points. Results are presented and discussed in terms of the distance to DAS (conditions: near and far) and flow density of people in the mall (scenarios: low and high number of people). The highest peaks of electric field measured were 1.96 and 3.26 V/m, respectively corresponding to 5% and 8% of the limits defined by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Brazilian National Telecommunication Agency (ANATEL).
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Viruses of the genus
Begomovirus
(family
Geminiviridae
) are emergent pathogens of crops throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. By virtue of having a small DNA genome that is ...easily cloned, and due to the recent innovations in cloning and low-cost sequencing, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of available begomovirus genome sequences. Even so, most of the available sequences have been obtained from cultivated plants and are likely a small and phylogenetically unrepresentative sample of begomovirus diversity, a factor constraining taxonomic decisions such as the establishment of operationally useful species demarcation criteria. In addition, problems in assigning new viruses to established species have highlighted shortcomings in the previously recommended mechanism of species demarcation. Based on the analysis of 3,123 full-length begomovirus genome (or DNA-A component) sequences available in public databases as of December 2012, a set of revised guidelines for the classification and nomenclature of begomoviruses are proposed. The guidelines primarily consider a) genus-level biological characteristics and b) results obtained using a standardized classification tool, Sequence Demarcation Tool, which performs pairwise sequence alignments and identity calculations. These guidelines are consistent with the recently published recommendations for the genera
Mastrevirus
and
Curtovirus
of the family
Geminiviridae
. Genome-wide pairwise identities of 91 % and 94 % are proposed as the demarcation threshold for begomoviruses belonging to different species and strains, respectively. Procedures and guidelines are outlined for resolving conflicts that may arise when assigning species and strains to categories wherever the pairwise identity falls on or very near the demarcation threshold value.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
In vivo‐ and in vitro‐produced bovine embryos have different metabolic profiles and differences in gene transcription patterns. These embryos also have a distinct ability to establish and sustain ...early pregnancies. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are secreted by embryos and carry bioactive molecules, such as miRNAs. We hypothesize that in vivo or in vitro‐produced bovine hatched blastocysts on Day 9 and the sEVs secreted by them have different miRNA profiles. To address this hypothesis, embryos of both groups were placed in in vitro culture on Day 7. After 48 h, hatched embryos and hatched embryo‐conditioned media (eCM) of both groups were collected. A total of 210 miRNAs were detected in embryos of both groups, of these 6 miRNAs were downregulated, while 7 miRNAs were upregulated in vitro group when compared to in vivo group. sEVs were isolated from eCM to determine miRNA profile. A total of 106 miRNAs were detected in both groups, including 14 miRNAs upregulated in sEVs from in vivo‐eCM, and 2 miRNAs upregulated in sEVs from in vitro‐eCM. These miRNAs express in embryos and sEVs secreted by them regulate early embryonic developmental and endometrial pathways, which can modify embryo‐maternal communication during early pregnancy and consequently affect pregnancy establishment.
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Two fosmid libraries, totaling 13,200 clones, were obtained from bioreactor sludge of petroleum refinery wastewater treatment system. The library screening based on PCR and biological activity assays ...revealed more than 400 positive clones for phenol degradation. From these, 100 clones were randomly selected for pyrosequencing in order to evaluate the genetic potential of the microorganisms present in wastewater treatment plant for biodegradation, focusing mainly on novel genes and pathways of phenol and aromatic compound degradation. The sequence analysis of selected clones yielded 129,635 reads at an estimated 17-fold coverage. The phylogenetic analysis showed Burkholderiales and Rhodocyclales as the most abundant orders among the selected fosmid clones. The MG-RAST analysis revealed a broad metabolic profile with important functions for wastewater treatment, including metabolism of aromatic compounds, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus. The predicted 2,276 proteins included phenol hydroxylases and cathecol 2,3- dioxygenases, involved in the catabolism of aromatic compounds, such as phenol, byphenol, benzoate and phenylpropanoid. The sequencing of one fosmid insert of 33 kb unraveled the gene that permitted the host, Escherichia coli EPI300, to grow in the presence of aromatic compounds. Additionally, the comparison of the whole fosmid sequence against bacterial genomes deposited in GenBank showed that about 90% of sequence showed no identity to known sequences of Proteobacteria deposited in the NCBI database. This study surveyed the functional potential of fosmid clones for aromatic compound degradation and contributed to our knowledge of the biodegradative capacity and pathways of microbial assemblages present in refinery wastewater treatment system.
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Coatings usually play an important role in terms of machining tool behaviour and lifespan. TiAlN is a well-known PVD coating but, the permanent need for improved performance is inducing new ...compositions around this coating. In this work, the wear behaviour of different PVD coated tools with different geometries was analysed, in the milling of pre-hardened tool steel. The selected tools had two different geometries, namely ball nose end mill and end mill tools. Additionally, these were coated with two different PVD coatings, TiAlSiN and TiAlN. These tools were employed in milling operations of W 1.2711 pre-hardened tool steel. The cutting parameters were defined in a way to enable a valid comparison between the milling tools, varying only feed and cutting length, to analyse the influence of these parameters on the tool's wear mechanisms. Cutting force data was collected during the milling tests using a dynamometer in order to identify the different wear stages of the tool, and surface roughness was measured after each test. Furthermore, after the milling tests the tools were submitted to a SEM analysis, in order to analyse the wear mechanisms of each coated tool. The main wear mechanisms that were identified in both coatings are adhesion and abrasion, followed by coating delamination. Moreover, the analysed wear was less significant in the TiAlSiN PVD coated tools used, mainly in the ball-nose tools, providing as well very good surface roughness of the machined surface. The surface morphology of the tool and the direction of the grooves left on the tool surface after grinding operations of the uncoated tool showed a significant influence on the coating wear mode. The best machining conditions have been established, taking into account the lowest surface roughness obtained on the machined surface and the lowest wear rate of the tool.
•TiAlSIN coating presented better results in pre-hardened tool steel milling than TiAlN coated tools (end-mill and ball-nose tools’ geometry).•Wear mechanisms follow this sequence: adhesion, abrasion, and delamination. The cycle is repeating itself, increasing systematically.•For the conservative set of parameters used, low machining forces were registered, and no significant variations were observed.•The first signals of tool failure happened after 2 m cutting length.•TiAlSiN coated tools provided lower roughness of the machined surfaces, showing a better suitability for finishing operations.•Best cutting conditions: 80 m/min cutting speed, 0.0147 mm/edge feed rate, 3 mm depth of cut under dry machining conditions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Fifteen novel arylimidamides (AIAs) (6 bis-amidino and 9 mono-amidino analogues) were assayed against Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro and in vivo. All the bis-AIAs were more effective than the mono-AIAs, ...and two analogues, DB1967 and DB1989, were further evaluated in vivo. Although both of them reduced parasitemia, protection against mortality was not achieved. Our results show that the number of amidino-terminal units affects the efficacy of arylimidamides against T. cruzi.
Mercury is a toxic metal that can be found in the environment in three different forms - elemental, organic and inorganic. Inorganic mercury has a lower liposolubility, which results in a lower ...organism absorption and reduced passage through the blood-brain barrier. For this reason, exposure models that use inorganic mercury in rats in order to evaluate its effects on the central nervous system are rare, especially in adult subjects. This study investigated if a chronic exposure to low doses of mercury chloride (HgCl2), an inorganic form of mercury, is capable of promoting motor alterations and neurodegenerative in the motor cortex of adult rats. Forty animals were exposed to a dose of 0.375 mg/kg/day, for 45 days. They were then submitted to motor evaluation and euthanized to collect the motor cortex. Measurement of mercury deposited in the brain parenchyma, evaluation of oxidative balance, quantification of cellular cytotoxicity and apoptosis and density of mature neurons and astrocytes of the motor cortex were performed. It was observed that chronic exposure to inorganic mercury caused a decrease in balance and fine motor coordination, formation of mercury deposits and oxidative stress verified by the increase of lipoperoxidation and nitrite concentration and a decrease of the total antioxidant capacity. In addition, we found that this model of exposure to inorganic mercury caused cell death by cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis with a decreased number of neurons and astrocytes in the motor cortex. Our results provide evidence that exposure to inorganic mercury in low doses, even in spite of its poor ability to cross biological barriers, is still capable of inducing motor deficits, cell death by cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and oxidative stress in the motor cortex of adult rats.
Musculoskeletal conditions affect millions of people globally; however, conventional treatments pose challenges concerning price, accessibility, and convenience. Many telerehabilitation solutions ...offer an engaging alternative but rely on complex hardware for body tracking. This work explores the feasibility of a model for 3D Human Pose Estimation (HPE) from monocular 2D videos (MediaPipe Pose) in a physiotherapy context, by comparing its performance to ground truth measurements. MediaPipe Pose was investigated in eight exercises typically performed in musculoskeletal physiotherapy sessions, where the Range of Motion (ROM) of the human joints was the evaluated parameter. This model showed the best performance for shoulder abduction, shoulder press, elbow flexion, and squat exercises. Results have shown a MAPE ranging between 14.9% and 25.0%, Pearson's coefficient ranging between 0.963 and 0.996, and cosine similarity ranging between 0.987 and 0.999. Some exercises (e.g., seated knee extension and shoulder flexion) posed challenges due to unusual poses, occlusions, and depth ambiguities, possibly related to a lack of training data. This study demonstrates the potential of HPE from monocular 2D videos, as a markerless, affordable, and accessible solution for musculoskeletal telerehabilitation approaches. Future work should focus on exploring variations of the 3D HPE models trained on physiotherapy-related datasets, such as the Fit3D dataset, and post-preprocessing techniques to enhance the model's performance.
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Brazil major probiotics and bioremediators have proven their effectiveness in the cultivation of exotic species. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of a commercial multi‐species ...probiotic suitable for shrimp and fish in the feed and as biocontrol in tambaqui rearing through zootechnical performance, water quality, clinical and laboratory alterations and innate immunity evaluations. Colossoma macropomum juveniles were used, distributed: Control (C)—without any probiotic addition; Probiotics added to water (G2)—.004 g/L of probiotics added to each experimental unit; Probiotics in feed (G3)—5 g/kg of probiotics added to the feed. The use of probiotics during the tambaqui breeding phase was proven safe. However, the use of multi‐species did not result in any complementary benefit when added to the water or to the feed for 60 consecutive days regarding zootechnical performance, water quality and tambaqui health under the applied experimental conditions. The findings demonstrate the need for further in vitro and in vivo tests regarding microorganism screening and protocols analyses for each culture species, since several factors influence the effects of the administration of probiotics on aquaculture production and health.
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