Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas (GHG) produced and released by eructation to the atmosphere in large volumes by ruminants. Enteric CH4 contributes significantly to global GHG emissions arising from animal agriculture. It has been contended that tropical grasses produce higher emissions of enteric CH4 than temperate grasses, when they are fed to ruminants. A number of experiments have been performed in respiration chambers and head-boxes to assess the enteric CH4 mitigation potential of foliage and pods of tropical plants, as well as nitrates (NO3−) and vegetable oils in practical rations for cattle. On the basis of individual determinations of enteric CH4 carried out in respiration chambers, the average CH4 yield for cattle fed low-quality tropical grasses (>70% ration DM) was 17.0 g CH4/kg DM intake. Results showed that when foliage and ground pods of tropical trees and shrubs were incorporated in cattle rations, methane yield (g CH4/kg DM intake) was decreased by 10% to 25%, depending on plant species and level of intake of the ration. Incorporation of nitrates and vegetable oils in the ration decreased enteric CH4 yield by ∼6% to ∼20%, respectively. Condensed tannins, saponins and starch contained in foliages, pods and seeds of tropical trees and shrubs, as well as nitrates and vegetable oils, can be fed to cattle to mitigate enteric CH4 emissions under smallholder conditions. Strategies for enteric CH4 mitigation in cattle grazing low-quality tropical forages can effectively increase productivity while decreasing enteric CH4 emissions in absolute terms and per unit of product (e.g. meat, milk), thus reducing the contribution of ruminants to GHG emissions and therefore to climate change.

In this paper, a general solution to the formation control problem without collisions for first-order multi-agent systems is proposed. The case of an arbitrary number of mobile agents on a plane with saturated input velocity is analysed. Besides, conditions on the communication graph among agents are relaxed to the only requirement of containing a directed spanning tree. This general approach is an extended result from the simpler case of combinations of cyclic pursuit communication graphs. The proposed solution to this problem is designed in two steps. First, the asymptotic convergence in the absence of collisions is ensured. After this, the non-collision problem is faced by analysing the most general possible geometrical scenario which can lead to collision among agents. Discontinuous vector fields with unstable counterclockwise focus behaviour are applied by every agent in order to repel each other. Numerical simulations illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme.

The pestiviruses bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 (BVDV-1), 2 (BVDV-2), and HoBi-like (HoBiPeV) are endemic among Brazilian cattle, the world's largest commercial bovine herd. In the last two decades (1998–2018) over 300 bovine pestiviruses have been partially or fully sequenced in Brazil, including viruses from different regions, different epidemiological backgrounds, and associated with diverse clinical presentations. Phylogenetic analysis of these viruses demonstrated a predominance of BVDV-1 (54.4%), with subgenotypes −1a (33.9% of total) and −1b (16.3%) being more frequent and subgenotypes −1d, −1e, and −1i at very low frequencies. The overall BVDV-2 frequency was 25.7% but it varied largely by region, reaching up to 48% in Southern states. BVDV-2b was the predominant subgenotype (84.8% of BVDV-2), followed by BVDV-2a (8.86%). HoBiPeV accounted for 19.9% (61/307) of the genotyped viruses and were detected at high frequency in cattle from Northeastern states. These findings demonstrate a unique mix of pestivirus species and subgenotypes, unlike that seen in Europe or North America. The design of effective diagnostic tools, vaccines, and control programs for limiting bovine pestivirus infections in Brazil must take into consideration this unique mix of viruses. This article provides a critical review of two decades of genetic identification of pestiviruses in Brazil.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a DNA virus linked to mucosal and cutaneous carcinogenesis. More than 200 different HPV types exist. We carried out a transversal study to investigate the prevalence of HPV types in two regions of Mexico. A total of 724 genital and non-genital samples from women (F) and men (M) were studied; 241 (33%) from North-Eastern (NE) and 483 (66%) from South-Central (SC) Mexico. The overall prevalence was 87%. In genital lesions from females, the NE group showed a prevalence of HPV types 16 (37%), 6 (13%), 59 (6%), 11, 18 and 66 (5.4% each); and the SC group showed types 6 (17%), 16 (15%), 11 (14.5%), 18 (12%) and 53 (6%). In the genital lesions from males, NE group showed types 16 (38%), 6 (21%), 11 (13%) and 59 plus 31 (7.5%) and the SC group showed types 6 (25%), 11 (22%), 18 (17%) and 16 (11.5%). When the two regions were compared, a higher prevalence of low-risk HPV 6 and 11 was found in the SC region and of high-risk HPV 59, 31 and 66 (the latter can also be present in benign lesions) in the NE region. Our findings complement efforts to understand HPV demographics as a prerequisite to guide and assess the impact of preventive interventions.

The goal of this work was the modification of silicone rubber (SR) by radiation grafting of glycerol methacrylate (GlyMA) which was limited just on the surface, allowing the control of hydrophilicity and swelling properties. The grafted SRs were activated by derivatization of GlyMA to 2-oxoethyl methacrylate using sodium periodate, enabling the chemical immobilization of lysozyme by covalent bonds. The presence of lysozyme was confirmed by non-specific assay and by the enzymatic activity at 30 °C with Micrococcus lysodeikticus (coccus, Gram-positive). The materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance, thermogravimetric analysis, water contact angle, and by mechanical properties as well as scanning electron microscope.

The goal of this work was to provide antimicrobial activity to polypropylene by covalent immobilization of lysozyme. The first step was the grafting of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate through “grafting-from” method by means of γ-rays. Then those chemical groups were activated to allow the immobilization of lysozyme by Schiff bases. The activity of lysozyme showed an improvement by the remaining double bonds from the grafting. Finally, the presence of lysozyme was confirmed by the hydrolysis of Micrococcus lysodeikticus at different temperatures, pH values, and cycles. The new materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, contact angle, and by the surface morphology.

Harnessing the properties of imidazolium species, antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria was attained by binary-grafting 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) or N-isopropylacrylamide, followed by N-vinylimidazole onto polypropylene (PP) monofilaments (sutures) using 60Co γ-rays. Ulterior functionalization with methyl iodide was carried out to endow brushes with antimicrobial activity on the PP surface. The PP-grafted sutures were characterized by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy attenuated total reflection, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis, and regarding the mechanical properties and the responsiveness to pH and temperature. Tests were performed on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus achieving large inhibition zones.

Functionalization of silicone rubber films with lysozyme was achieved by grafting copolymerization and its chemical activation allowing the covalent immobilization of the enzyme. The new materials were characterized by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, contact angle, atomic force microscopy, and mechanical properties of films. The enzymatic activity of films was studied by a suspension of lyophilized Micrococcus lysodeikticus. The activity test was inquired at different pH and temperatures, exhibiting enzymatic activity 20 °C above the free lysozyme, and at pH = 5 where the free lysozyme did not show activity.

This paper proposes the use of a generalized finite difference method for the numerical simulation of free surface single phase flows during mould filling process which are common in some industrial processes particularly in the area of metal casting. A novel and efficient idea for the computation of the normal vectors for free surface flows is introduced and presented for the first time. The incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are numerically solved by the well-known Chorin's projection method. After we showed the main ideas behind the meshless approach, some numerical results in two and three dimensions are presented corresponding to mould filling process simulation.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) from diethyl ether, butanol, hexane and ethyl acetate. A quartz tube with a stainless steel tube catalyst core with 0.019 m diameter and 0.6 m large formed the reactor. To avoid combustion, argon was used as the carrier gas. Time process ranged 30 to 60 min. The range of CNTs synthesis temperature was 680-850 °C for different precursors. Scanning Electron Microscopy micrographs have demonstrated tangled CNTs growth in all samples, thus presenting difficult length measurement. The CNTs diameters from diethyl ether are 45-200 nm, butanol diameter range from 55-230 nm, hexane diameter range is 50-130 nm and ethyl acetate range from 100 to 300 nm. Carbon content for all samples was higher than 93 %, CNTs from butanol showed carbon concentration up to 99%. FTIR, Raman and X-Ray Spectroscopies spectra for all samples demonstrated the characteristics signals present in carbon nanotubes. This research proposes a simple, effective and innovative method to synthesize CNTs by CVD on iron stainless steel catalyst in combination with diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, butanol and hexane as precursors by applying the principles of green chemistry, sustainability and its ease to be scaled.

Several European countries have timely all-cause mortality monitoring. However, small changes in mortality may not give rise to signals at the national level. Pooling data across countries may overcome this, particularly if changes in mortality occur simultaneously. Additionally, pooling may increase the power of monitoring populations with small numbers of expected deaths, e.g. younger age groups or fertile women. Finally, pooled analyses may reveal patterns of diseases across Europe. We describe a pooled analysis of all-cause mortality across 16 European countries. Two approaches were explored. In the ‘summarized’ approach, data across countries were summarized and analysed as one overall country. In the ‘stratified’ approach, heterogeneities between countries were taken into account. Pooling using the ‘stratified’ approach was the most appropriate as it reflects variations in mortality. Excess mortality was observed in all winter seasons albeit slightly higher in 2008/09 than 2009/10 and 2010/11. In the 2008/09 season, excess mortality was mainly in elderly adults. In 2009/10, when pandemic influenza A(H1N1) dominated, excess mortality was mainly in children. The 2010/11 season reflected a similar pattern, although increased mortality in children came later. These patterns were less clear in analyses based on data from individual countries. We have demonstrated that with stratified pooling we can combine local mortality monitoring systems and enhance monitoring of mortality across Europe.

We describe nine patients (eight aged <1 year) clinically diagnosed with pertussis yet laboratory-confirmed with Bordetella holmesii infections, a human pathogen normally isolated from blood. Most patients reported cough and cold symptoms. No death was reported. We report B. holmesii isolation in infants with respiratory symptoms in Argentina.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 – August 2, 2012.

Bismuth iron oxide BFO films were produced by the pulsed laser deposition technique. These films are a mixture of BiFeO3 ferroelectrical and Bi25FeO40 piezoelectrical phases. The ferroelectrical domain structure of these films was studied via contact resonance piezoresponse force microscopy (CR-PFM) and resonance tracking PFM (RT-PFM). The proportions of area of these BFO phases were derived from the PFM images. The ferroelectrical domain size corresponds to the size of the BiFeO3 crystals. The CR-PFM and RT-PFM techniques allowed us to be able to distinguish between the ferroelectric domains and the piezoelectric regions existing in the polycrystalline films.