Hasil untuk "Special industries and trades"

Guansong Yang, Liu Yang, Shikang Shen et al.

The evolutionary history of Yunnanopilia longistaminea, a vulnerable plant endemic to the Yuanjiang-Honghe River Valley in southwestern China, was investigated using cpDNA and nrDNA sequences along with ecological niche modeling. Understanding the genetic diversity and population structure of Y. longistaminea is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies and managing its genetic resources. This study comprehensively sampled 295 individuals from 16 populations, which represent the species’ entire global distribution range, ensuring a thorough and representative analysis of its genetic diversity and population structure. The results revealed high genetic diversity and population structure, with significant genetic differentiation among populations. Specifically, the total nucleotide diversity was 2.40 × 10−3 for cpDNA and 1.51 × 10−3 for nrDNA, while the total haplotype diversity was 0.605 for cpDNA and 0.526 for nrDNA. The divergence time of ancestral haplotypes of Y. longistaminea was estimated to be around 2.19 million years ago based on nrDNA and 2.72 million years ago based on cpDNA. These divergence times are comparable to those of other ancient plant species, suggesting a long evolutionary history. The population size of Y. longistaminea was found to have significantly declined around 30,000 years ago. The current distribution model suggests that Y. longistaminea primarily inhabits the warm temperate zone of China, and the LGM distribution model predicts a concentration of the species in Yuanjiang-Honghe River Valley in southwestern China. This study concludes that the southwestern region of China may have served as a glacial refuge for Y. longistaminea. These findings suggest that establishing protected areas in these regions and creating gene banks for ex situ conservation could be effective strategies to preserve the genetic diversity of Y. longistaminea. Further research on its population dynamics and genetic adaptation to climate change is valuable for understanding the species’ evolutionary history and conservation.

Soham Ghosh, Sujay Mukhoti, Pritee Sharma

Intra-annual variation in rainfall creates significant challenges for agricultural output, particularly in semi-arid monsoon regions. In this study, we present a volatility-in-mean time series modeling framework to examine how rainfall risk influences rice yield forecasts in Maharashtra, India. We construct four distinct measures to capture intra-seasonal rainfall variability and incorporate them into forecasting models using six decades of monthly rainfall data (1962–2021) for the state. These measures are embedded within ARIMAX and GARCH-ARIMAX specifications to jointly assess the effects of rainfall volatility on the mean and variability of yields. Our results show that volatility-based models – especially exponential GARCH (eGARCH) and gjrGARCH variants using higher-order, first-difference-based measures (RV3 and RV4) – consistently deliver superior forecast accuracy and greater robustness compared to simpler ARIMAX or iGARCH configurations. Models relying on contemporaneous rainfall volatility outperform those using lagged measures, underscoring the immediate impact of seasonal climate anomalies. Sensitivity analysis with ±10% perturbations to rainfall risk measures further confirms that GARCH-type models not only improve predictive skill but also enhance stability under plausible input variations, making their inclusion effectively indispensable for climate-sensitive crop forecasting. These findings reinforce the need to embed dynamic meteorological risk indicators in agricultural forecasting frameworks to strengthen early warning systems, support adaptive policy design, and promote resilient, sustainable cropping systems in monsoon-dependent regions.

N. Diepstraten, L.M.T. Somers, J.A. van Oijen

The hydrogen-fueled direct-injection (DI) compression-ignition (CI) argon power cycle (APC) is a highly efficient and emission-free energy conversion system that relies on the low specific heat capacity of the working fluid argon. Compared to conventional internal combustion engines, the DI CI APC allows to easily adjust the oxygen level of the charge. Besides, the engine operating pressure can be increased at virtually no cost assuming the mechanics of the engine are suitable. In this study, we systematically investigate how to take advantage of these two benefits by varying the intake pressure and oxygen mole fraction using a validated Reynolds-averaged numerical simulation environment. It is found that the optimal amount of oxygen is a trade-off between burn duration and specific heat ratio of the charge. Provided that the oxygen mole fraction is high enough to achieve complete combustion, the sensitivity of thermal efficiency to oxygen mole fraction is relatively low. Increasing the intake pressure for a fixed oxygen level leads to shorter burn durations and less heat loss, thereby significantly increasing thermal efficiency. Flame–wall interaction is a dominant factor that negatively impacts the engine performance, and should therefore be minimized. The highest obtained thermal efficiency is 70%, which is comparable to but mostly higher than efficiencies of state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cells. The DI CI APC has therefore potential to overcome challenges of conventional engines, without penalizing its strengths.

Leilei Dong, Weizhen Wang, Tao Che et al.

Soil moisture and salinity (SMS) are two critical factors in crop growth, and monitoring their dynamic has important scientific value and social benefits for preventing land degradation and improving land productivity. However, the current methodology treats soil moisture and salinity as two independent variables to be estimated separately, completely ignoring their joint influence on the microwave signal. In this paper, the Jingdian irrigated region, which is located in northwestern China, is selected as an example, the contents of soil volumetric water and soil salt are measured separately for different seasons in the research area, and they are also retrieved simultaneously by combining Sentinel-1 data and a revised dielectric model of salty soil. The results demonstrate that the Sentinel-1 data can achieve satisfactory results in the simultaneous retrieval of SMS, with R2 values higher than 0.53. The RMSE values in the upward track are less than 0.042 m3/m3 and 3.132 mS/cm, respectively, which are smaller than in the downward track, with the RMSE values less than 0.051 m3/m3 and 3.84 mS/cm, respectively. The average value of soil moisture content in winter is 0.17 m3/m3, which is higher than in spring, with a value of 0.21 m3/m3. The soil salt content increases gradually over the study period, with average values of 1.88 mS/cm in spring and 3.58 mS/cm in winter, respectively. In addition, vegetation, surface roughness, precipitation, and agricultural activities are the main factors affecting the simultaneous retrieval of SMS.

Hao Dong, Jiahui Dong, Shikun Sun et al.

Agricultural water accounts for more than 70 % of the total global water usage, and the scarcity of global freshwater resources will largely limit global agricultural production. Precision irrigation is the key to improving water efficiency and achieving sustainable agriculture. Accurate and rapid access to crop water information is an essential prerequisite for precise irrigation decisions. Traditional moisture detection methods based on soil moisture and crop physiological parameters are faced with the problems of variable field conditions, low efficiency and lack of spatial information, which can be extremely limited in practical applications. By contrast, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing has the advantages of low cost, small size, flexible data acquisition time, and easy acquisition of high-resolution image data. Therefore, UAV remote sensing has become an easy and efficient method for crop water information monitoring. This study systematically introduces the principles, methods and applications of crop water stress analysis using the UAV technology. First, the mechanism of crop water stress analysed by UAV is elaborated, focusing on the relationship between canopy temperature, evapotranspiration, sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and crop water stress. Next, various UAV imaging technologies for crop water stress monitoring are presented, including optical sensing systems, red, green and blue (RGB) images, multi-spectral sensing systems, and hyper-spectral sensing systems. Subsequently, the application of machine learning algorithms in the field of UAV monitoring of crop water information is outlined, demonstrating their potential for data processing and analysis. Finally, new directions and challenges in UAV-based crop water information acquisition and processing are synthesised and discussed, with special emphasis on the prospects of data assimilation algorithms and non-stomatal restriction in monitoring crop water information in the future. This study provides a comprehensive comparison and assessment of the mechanisms, technologies and challenges of UAV-based crop water information monitoring, providing insights and references for researchers in related fields.

Stepp Mayes, McKenna Peplinski, Kelly T Sanders

Electrifying the residential sector is critical for national climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, but increases in electricity demand could drive-up emissions from the power sector. However, the emissions associated with electricity consumption can vary depending on the timing of the demand, especially on grids with high penetrations of variable renewable energy. In this study, we analyze smart meter data from 2019 for over 100 000 homes in Southern California and use hourly average emissions factors from the California Independent System Operator, a high-solar grid, to analyze household CO _2 emissions across spatial, temporal, and demographic variables. We calculate two metrics, the annual household electricity-associated emissions (annual-HEE), and the household average emissions factor (HAEF). These metrics help to identify appropriate strategies to reduce electricity-associated emissions (i.e. reducing demand vs leveraging demand-side flexibility) which requires consideration of the magnitude and timing of demand. We also isolate the portion of emissions caused by AC, a flexible load, to illustrate how a load with significant variation between customers results in a large range of emissions outcomes. We then evaluate the distribution of annual-HEE and HAEF across households and census tracts and use a multi-variable regression analysis to identify the characteristics of users and patterns of consumption that cause disproportionate annual-HEE. We find that in 2019 the top 20% of households, ranked by annual-HEE, were responsible for more emissions than the bottom 60%. We also find the most emissions-intense households have an HAEF that is 1.7 times higher than the least emissions-intense households, and that this spread increases for the AC load. In this analysis, we focus on Southern California, a demographically and climatically diverse region, but as smart meter records become more accessible, the methods and frameworks can be applied to other regions and grids to better understand the emissions associated with residential electricity consumption.

Jiang Xiuhui, Muhammad Yousaf Raza

Pakistan predominately relies on fossil fuel consumption (almost 84%) to meet its energy demand, which has led to a significant rise in CO2 emissions (CO2Es) and poses an enormous threat to industrial growth. To reduce CO2Es and develop the economy simultaneously, it is necessary to study how to attain a strong decoupling association between impacting factors. Meantime, Pakistan is a transitional economy with significant industrial gaps. Against such backgrounds, this study provides detailed information regarding carbon intensity, energy structure, energy intensity, energy efficiency, worker's effect, economic activity, and industrial scale, which may be essential and beneficial for policymakers. Most existing studies ignored such factors' variations in Pakistan. To fill this gap, focusing on the industrial sector from 1990 onwards, this analysis aims to identify the major driving factors, mainly our focusing the productive sector. This is important because this sector has reached the country's target. The results show that (1) workers' effect, energy intensity, and energy structure factors played a bigger role in rising CO2Es by 133.40 Mt during 1990–2019. (2) The decoupling relationship is an alternating state between five couplings and decoupling. Wherein decoupling states of energy intensity (9.28%), industrial structure (0.39%), and employees' value-added (0.75%) had strong volatility, energy structure (0.22%), and carbon intensity (0.24%) effects were relatively gentle during the period. (3) The average value of employees' value-added remained positive which shows that economic growth negatively impacts the decoupling between CO2Es and the economy. (4) CO2 mitigation rate occurred during 1994, 1997, 2004–06, 2011, and 2013–14, which are inconsistent over the period. The study puts forward some policies to efficiently promote the decoupling between factors based on empirical results.

Yangyang Li, Linxue Zhang, Sheng Hu et al.

Abstract Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is the second most important oilseed crop in edible vegetable oil and bioenergy; however, drought stress generally causes a decrease in rapeseed yield and oil content, especially during the reproductive stage. In our study, we measured the oil and protein contents and gibberellic acid (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) levels in seeds that were acquired on the 30th, 40th, and 50th days after flowering under control and drought treatments. RNA and protein libraries were constructed from the stressed seeds to perform transcriptome and proteome analyses, respectively. Our results demonstrated that the oil content decreased due to four primary mechanisms: downregulation of fatty acid biosynthesis‐associated genes and proteins; upregulation of fatty acid degradation‐associated genes and proteins; enhancement of protein storage due to changes in the abundances of relevant genes and proteins; and upregulation of Gly‐Asp‐Ser‐Leu (GDSL) gene expression, potentially as the result of upregulating the GA biosynthesis gene GA20ox3 and downregulating the GA inactivating gene GA2ox3 and thus an increase in GA content. During seed maturation, oil storage change may also relate to increasing ABA content as the upregulation of two members of NCED6 (9‐cis‐epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase) gene family involved in ABA biosynthesis, and the upregulation of genes involved in ABA signal transduction. These results will help to establish a foundation for breeding excellent varieties of rapeseed with high oil content for areas with frequent droughts to promote the supply of edible vegetable oil and biofuel.

Delcio Junior

Lista dos pareceristas que contribuiram avaliando artigos durante o período de elaboração desta edição da revista Estudos Sociedade e Agricultura (v. 29, n. 2, junho a setembro de 2021). - Andréa Maria Narciso Rocha de Paula – Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (Unimontes), Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brasil - Anelise Dias – Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Beatriz Medeiros de Melo – Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, São Paulo, Brasil - Cátia Antônia da Silva – Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Cristiano Wellington Norberto Ramalho – Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil - Daniela Garcez Wives – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil - Eliane Dalmora – Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Sergipe (IFS), São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brasil - Evander Eloí Krone – Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil - Fabiano Escher – – Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Flávia Charão-Marques – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil - Flávia Trentini – Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil - Flavio Sacco dos Anjos – Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil - Francisco Carlos Teixeira da Silva – Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Gilson Cássio de Oliveira Santos – Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (Unimontes), Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brasil - Glauber Lopes Xavier – Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG), Anápolis, Goiás, Brasil - Guélmer Júnior Almeida Faria – Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil - Igor Simoni Homem de Carvalho – Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Jandir Ferrera de Lima – Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (Unioeste), Toledo, Paraná, Brasil - Janine Helfst Leicht Collaço – Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil - John Wilkinson – Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Jorge Andres Vélez-Correa – Universidad del Valle, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colômbia - Marcos Otávio Bezerra – Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Maria Aparecida Chaves Martins – Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (Unesp), Araraquara, São Paulo, Brasil - Mariana de Andrade Soares – Empresa de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (Emater/RS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil - Mariana Miggiolaro Chaguri – Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil - Maria Thereza Macedo Pedroso – Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil - Mireya Eugenia Valencia Perafán – Rede Brasileira de Pesquisa e Gestão em Desenvolvimento Territorial, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil - Paulo André Nierdele – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil - Rodica Weitzman – Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - Thais Joi Martins – Universidade Federal do Recôncavo Baiano (UFRB), Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brasil - Thomas Ludewigs – Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil

Roya Pashangpour, Faramarz Faghihi, Soodabeh Soleymani et al.

There has been a global effort to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In an electric resource scheduling, emission dispatch and load economic dispatch problems should be considered. Using renewable energy resources (RESs), especially wind and solar, can be effective in cutting back emissions associated with power system. Further, the application of electric vehicles (EV) capable of being connected to power grid reduces the pollution level in the transportation sector. This paper investigates a resource scheduling with uncertain behavior of RESs and EVs by considering the penalty factors of emission for each conventional power plant in Hormozgan province of Iran for a 10-year period from 2016 to 2026. In this study, combined-cycle and thermal units are also taken into account. The CPLEX Solver is utilized for resource scheduling problem in GAMS. For combined-cycle power plants, ramp rate constraints are also included. To investigate the impact of uncertainties, different scenarios are considered. The obtained results demonstrate that Hormozgan province has a decent potential of utilizing RESs and EVs to achieve pollution reduction and optimal cost.

Laleh R. Kalankesh, Mohammad Ali Zazouli, Ahmad Mansouri

Water scarcity is a critical issue in Caspian Sea regions of Iran. Thus, people may use polluted water or saline brackish groundwater, estuarine water or seawater. This paper deals with the application of Low-Pressure reverse osmosis (RO) for removing salt and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in synthetic and Caspian Sea waters. The study aims to achieve optimization at different pressures (30, 50, 70, and 90 PSI) with synthetic seawater at initial salt concentrations (5, 25, and 35 g/L TDS) at various retention time intervals (15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes). The results showed that the low-pressure RO system was able to reject 95 %, 57 %, and 46 % of 5, 25, and 35 g/L of TDS from synthetic seawater. In addition, rejection efficiency was achieved at 86 % and    78 % for Caspian seawater and Tajan River, respectively. In addition, optimal conditions (pressure: 70 PSI, time: 120 min) for salt rejection included 16-23 %, 93-94, 52-56 %, 88-90, and 22 % for 35g/L TDS, Tajan River, 5g/L TDS, 25g/L TDS, and Caspian seawater, respectively. Moreover, TOC rejection was achieved at >95 % and >97 % of Tajan River and Caspian seawater, respectively, at an overall 120-minute interval. In the case of growing environmental pollution that is discharged into Caspian sea including industrial and agricultural effluents from rivers, this study proposed the suggested pilot as a simple design that will significantly reduce salt, TOC, and TDS.

Ade Yulia, Fenny Permata Sari, Meri Arisandi

Abstrak Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis kelayakan rencana pendirian usaha pengolahan tempurung kelapa menjadi asap cair dan briket di Kecamatan Pengabuan, Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat, Provinsi Jambi Jambi yang dilihat dari aspek teknis, pasar, dan finansial. Ketersediaan bahan baku tempurung kelapa sebesar 1.500 ton/tahun. Jika satu kali produksi memerlukan 6,25 ton tempurung kelapa, maka dapat menghasilkan 3.750 liter asap cair, dan 1.912 kg briket. Lokasi yang dipilih untuk usaha ini adalah Desa Parit Pudin dengan tata letak pabrik menggunakan tipe produk. Harga jual untuk asap cair yaitu Rp22.000/liter dan briket yaitu Rp12.196/kg. Target pasar untuk asap cair grade 3 adalah industri pengolahan lateks, sedangkan target pasar untuk briket adalah negara yang mempunyai 4 musim. Kelayakan aspek finansial meliputi NPV lebih besar dari nol yaitu Rp38.511.979.874, IRR lebih besar dari MARR 7% yaitu 85,38%, payback period selama 1,48 tahun, dan net B/C yaitu 2,43. Keseluruhan kriteria kelayakan secara teknis, pasar dan finansial didapatkan bahwa usaha asap cair dan briket dari tempurung kelapa layak didirikan. Kata Kunci: analisis kelayakan, asap cair, briket, tempurung kelapa Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the feasibility (technical, market, and financial aspects) of the establishment of coconut shell processing business in Pengabuan District, Tanjung Jabung Barat Regency, Jambi Province. Research shows that the availability of coconut shell raw materials of 1,500 tons/year with the needs of 6.25 tons per coconut shell production can produce 3,750 liters of liquid smoke, and 1,912 kg of briquettes. The location chosen for this business is Parit Pudin Village, and the factory layout uses the product type. The selling price for liquid smoke is IDR 22,000 / liter, and briquette is IDR 12,196 / kg. The market target for grade 3 liquid smoke is the latex processing industry. Meanwhile, the market target of briquette are countries that have four seasons. The feasibility of financial aspects is NPV greater than zero, which is Rp38,511,979,874. The IRR is higher than MARR 7%, which is 85.38%. The payback period is 1.48 years, and net B / C is 2.43. Based on the overall technical, market, and financial feasibility criteria, liquid smoke business, and coconut shell briquettes are feasible to be established. Keywords: briquette, coconut shell, feasibility analisys, liquid smoke

Maimunah Hindun Pulungan, Sucipto Sucipto, Sarsiyani Sarsiyani

Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui umur simpan pia apel dengan metode Accelerated Shelf Life Testing berdasarkan persamaan Arrhenius. Pia apel yang digunakan dalam penelitian didapatkan dari UKM Permata Agro Mandiri Kota Batu. Umur simpan ditentukan dengan menggunakan metode Accelerated Shelf Life Testing dengan persamaan Arrhenius. Percobaan dilakukan pada suhu 25o C±2, 35o C±2, dan 45o C±2 selama 30 hari. Setiap lima hari sekali, dilakukan tes kadar air, aktivitas air (aw), dan organoleptik (rasa, aroma, dan kenampakan). Umur simpan pia apel dengan metode ASLT adalah 164 hari (5 bulan 14 hari) pada suhu 25o C, 117 hari (3 bulan 27 hari) pada suhu 35o C, dan 92 hari (3 bulan 2 hari pada suhu 45o C). Kata kunci: Accelerated Shelf Life Testing (ASLT), Kota Batu, pia apel Abstract The aim of this study was to get shelf life of apple pia with Accelerated Shelf Life Testing method depend on Arrhenius equation. Apple pia that used have taken from Permata Agro Mandiri’s SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise) at Batu town. Shelf life was determined using Accelerated Shelf Life Testing (ASLT) with Arrhenius equation. Experiment was conducted at temperature of 25o C±2, 35o C±2, and 45o C±2 for 30 days. Once in every five days, the tests of water percentage, water activity (aw), and organoleptic (flavor, smell, and appearance) are conducted. The shelf life of apple pia using ASLT method was 164 days (5 months 14 days) on 25o C, 117 days (3 months 27 days) on 35o C , and 92 days (3 months 2 days on 45o C). Keywords: Accelerated Shelf Life Testing (ASLT), Batu Town, apple pia

Giovanna Christina Costa Mazzeo, Marcos Paulo de Oliveira Silva, Luciana Lopes Guimarães et al.

<p>Bauhinia forficata Link, popularly known as pata-de-vaca, unha-de-vaca, casco-de-vaca, has been widely used in traditional medicine to treat several diseases. Leaves of B. forficata are used in popular medicine as a diuretic, hypoglycemic, tonic and cleanser, and to combat elephantiasis. However, despite the wide range of ethnopharmacological data surrounding the plant, there are no scientific data demonstrating a probable anti-ulcerogenic activity conferred by use of that species. The present study aimed to evaluate the antiulcer properties of an infusion of fresh leaves of B. forficata Link. From the leaves of B. forficata, an Aqueous extract (AqE) was obtained and the phytochemical analysis showed the presence of flavonols in this extract. In the gastric ulcer induced by administration of HCl-Ethanol model performed with four different doses of AqE (125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg.Kg-1), the AqE showed significant preventive activity (*p&lt;0.01) at doses of 1000 mg.Kg-1. The antiulcer activity of AqE (1000 mg.Kg-1) could also be demonstrated in experimental models of NSAID-bethanechol (**p&lt;0.001) and absolute ethanol (**p&lt;0.001). Moreover, AqE (1000 mg.Kg-1) promoted a significant increase (**p&lt;0.001) in the amount of gastric mucus. The data presented here demonstrated the potential gastroprotective activity from AqE, possibly attributed to the presence of flavonols in this extract. These results may serve as a support for the development of new treatments related to the pathology of gastric ulcer.</p><p><br />Keywords: Gastric ulcer. Cytoprotection. Flavonoids. Bauhinia forficata.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

Kumar Saw V., Udayabhanu G., Mandal A. et al.

The formation and dissociation of methane hydrates in a porous media containing silica sand of different sizes and bentonite clay were studied in the presence of synthetic seawater with 3.55 wt% salinity. The phase equilibrium of methane hydrate under different experimental conditions was investigated. The effects of the particle size of silica sand as well as a mixture of bentonite clay and silica sand on methane hydrate formation and its dissociation were studied. The kinetics of hydrate formation was studied under different subcooling conditions to observe its effects on the induction time of hydrate formation. The amount of methane gas encapsulated in hydrate was computed using a real gas equation. The Clausius-Clapeyron equation is used to estimate the enthalpy of hydrate dissociation with measured phase equilibrium data.

Khodagholi Mohammad Ali, Hemmati Mohammad Reza, Pour Ali Nakhaei

The filtration efficiency for separating liquid paraffin (or water) from a slurry consisting of 25 weight% spherical alumina in a Slurry Bubble Column Reactor (SBCR) comprised of a cylindrical tube of 10 cm diameter and 150 cm length was studied. Various differential pressures (ΔP) were applied to two separate tubular sintered metal stainless steel filter elements with nominal pore size of 4 and 16μm. The experimental results disclosed that the rate of filtrations increased on applying higher differential pressure to the filter element. Albeit this phenomenon is limited to moderate ΔPs and for ΔP more than 1 bar is neither harmful nor helpful. The highest filtration rates at ΔPs higher than 1 bar were 170 and 248 ml/minute for 4 and 16μm respectively. Using water as the liquid in slurry the rate of filtration enhanced to 4 folds, and this issue reveals impact of viscosity on filtration efficiency clearly. In all situations, the total amount of particles present in the filtrate part never exceeded a few parts per million (ppm). The statistical analysis of the SEM image of the filtrate indicated that by applying higher pressure difference to the filter element the frequency percent of larger particle size increases. The operation of filter cake removing was performed with back flashing of 300 ml of clean liquid with pressures of 3-5 bar of N2 gas.

Francisco J. GUTIÉRREZ H., Pedro AMARILES, Jaime GALINDO et al.

Antecedentes: El fortalecimiento de la política de productos competidores (genéricos) se puede acompañar de interrogantes sobre la calidad y, por tanto, sobre la efectividad de algunos de estos medicamentos. Los estudios fase IV son una opción válida para valorar la efectividad y seguridad de estos medicamentos. Objetivos: Valorar la efectividad y seguridad del esquema genérico Lamivudina/Zidovudina/Efavirenz en pacientes con VIH/SIDA que no han recibido terapia antirretroviral, que son atendidos en un programa de atención integral ambulatoria especializada, y comparar estos resultados con los datos de eficacia y seguridad reportados en un estudio de referencia (que utiliza el mismo esquema de medicamentos innovadores y fue realizado con pacientes con condiciones similares). Métodos: Se realizó un estudio clínico abierto no controlado del tipo fase IV. Se valoró la efectividad (disminución de carga viral en plasma y aumento de linfocitos CD4+) y seguridad (reacciones adversas) del esquema genérico Lamivudina/ Zidovudina/Efavirenz durante 12 meses en pacientes mayores de 18 años VIH (+), que no habían recibido terapia antirretroviral y con indicación para recibirla. Los seguimientos clínicos y el seguimiento farmacoterapéutico fueron utilizados como estrategias de valoración y recolección de datos. Los resultados fueron comparados con los resultados reportados en un estudio referencia, contrastando la hipótesis de no inferioridad de dichos resultados. Resultados: El estudio incluyó 47 pacientes, de los cuales 33 estuvieron presentes hasta el final del estudio. Al año de tratamiento, en 28 pacientes (el 85%) la carga viral (valorada por indetectabilidad de las copias de RNAm viral/mL) alcanzó una disminución estadísticamente significativa, mientras que en 30 pacientes (el 91%) el recuento de linfocitos T-CD4+ mayor a 200 células/mm³ alcanzó un aumento progresivo y estadísticamente significativo. Para la comparación se halló un artículo que cumplió con los criterios definidos y se contrastó la hipótesis de no inferioridad. En comparación con el estudio referencia, las proporciones de pacientes [intervalo de confianza del 95%] que lograron indetectabilidad no fueron estadísticamente diferentes: 0,85 [0,69-0,93] versus 0,90 [0,81-0,93], p = 0,7; similarmente, no se encontró diferencias en el incremento promedio [desviación estándar] de linfocitos CD4+: 179 [142] versus 201 [21], p = 0,08. Tampoco se encontró diferencias notorias en el perfil de seguridad. Conclusiones: El esquema genérico evaluado, Lamivudina/Zidovudina/Efavirenz, muestra resultados de efectividad no inferiores a los reportados en un estudio de referencia diseñado para valorar el mismo esquema de medicamentos innovadores.

Paula Tonello, Letícia Hoerbe Andriguetti, Magda Susana Perassolo et al.

A avaliação do uso racional de medicamentos em pediatria é importante, já que este grupo de pacientes traz desafios diários relacionados à administração, posologia e preparação dos medicamentos. Neste estudo, foram analisados 382 prontuários de pacientes de uma unidade pediátrica hospitalar, sendo avaliados o número de medicamentos prescritos, a via de administração, a adequação da dose prescrita e o modo de diluição. A divisão entre sexos foi similar, com uma média de quatro medicamentos prescritos por paciente. A via intravenosa foi a mais utilizada. As classes farmacológicas mais prescritas foram analgésicos e antibacterianos. As principais inadequações de doses foram verificadas com gentamicina, penicilina, carbamazepina e paracetamol. Verificou-se que o procedimento de diluição é realizado com volume fixo e um único tipo de diluente para todos os fármacos, sendo que o volume dos pós não é considerado no ajuste do volume final de reconstituição. Desta forma, percebese que a maioria das falhas encontradas poderia ser minimizada mediante a atuação de farmacêuticos disponibilizando informações sobre medicamentos à equipe de saúde.