ABSTRACT This work aims to study the transversal motion of a car’s chassis, modeled by a beam and supported at its ends by two sets of spring-damper elements. A finite differences method is utilized along with Robin boundary conditions to solve the mathematical modeling. The constants of the boundary conditions are modeled by a fuzzy parameter obtained through a Fuzzy Rule-Based System (FRBS) acting on the different vibrations of the model, depending on the number of spirals and time of use of the spring. The contributions of this study is based on considering the spring’s elastic constant as a relevant instrument acting in the system, due to the fact that analytic formula to perform these calculations, does not consider the time of use. Indeed, the vehicle’s mechanical components might have their properties altered due to the fatigue process, for example. The impacts of the car dynamics’s property evolution might induce undesirable passenger’s discomfort up to the vehicle performance loss. The results showed that the time of use of the spring influences the vehicle’s displacement due to the loss of stiffness, thus affecting its stability.

AbstractOne of the main uses of catalysts in the oil industry is in the fluidized catalytic cracking process, which generates large quantities of waste material after use and regeneration cycles and that can be treated by the electrokinetic remediation technique, in which the contaminant metals are transported by migration. In this study, deactivated FCC catalyst was characterized before and after the electrokinetic remediation process to evaluate the amount of metal removed, and assess structural modifications, in order to indicate a possible use as an adsorbent material. The analyses included pH measurement and the concentration profile of vanadium ions along the reactor, X-ray microtomography, X-ray fluorescence, BET analysis and DTA analysis. The results indicated that 40% of the surface area of the material was recovered in relation to the disabled material, showing an increase in the available area for the adsorption. The remediation process removed nearly 31% of the vanadium and 72% of the P2O5 adhering to the surface of the catalyst, without causing structural or thermal stability changes.

Relata-se o segundo caso de infecção por Chromobacterium violaceum ocorrido no Brasil. Um trabalhador agrícola, morador do Estado de São Paulo apresentou febre e intensa dor abdominal durante quatro dias. Ao ser hospitalizado estava em estado toxêmico e tinha o abdômen distendido e doloroso. Radiografia de tórax e ultrassonografia abdominal mostraram pneumonia e áreas hipoecóicas no fígado. O paciente desenvolveu falência de múltiplos órgãos e faleceu poucas horas depois. Em cultura de sangue foi isolado C. violaceum resistente à ampicilina e a cefalosporinas, mas suscetível a cloranfenicol, tetraciclina, aminoglicosídeos e ciprofloxacina. À autópsia foram encontrados microabscessos pulmonares e múltiplos abscessos hepáticos. As principais características deste caso são geralmente observadas em infecções por C. violaceum: evolução rápida, formação de abscessos viscerais múltiplos e alta mortalidade. Em razão do padrão de resistência antimicrobiana desse bacilo Gram-negativo ambiental, para se obter antibioticoterapia empírica apropriada em casos de graves infecções comunitárias no Brasil é importante incluir no diagnóstico diferencial a cromobacteriose.

We report the second case of infection with Chromobacterium violaceum that occurred in Brazil. A farm worker living in the State of São Paulo presented fever and severe abdominal pain for four days. At hospitalization the patient was in a toxemic state and had a distended and painful abdomen. Chest X-ray and abdominal ultrasound revealed bilateral pneumonia and hypoechoic areas in the liver. The patient developed failure of multiple organs and died a few hours later. Blood culture led to isolation of C. violaceum resistant to ampicillin and cephalosporins and sensitive to chloramphenicol, tetracyclin, aminoglicosydes, and ciprofloxacin. Autopsy revealed pulmonary microabscesses and multiple abscesses in the liver. The major features of this case are generally observed in infections by C. violaceum: rapid clinical course, multiple visceral abscesses, and high mortality. Because of the antimicrobial resistance profile of this Gram-negative bacillus, for appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy it is important to consider chromobacteriosis in the differential diagnosis of severe community infections in Brazil.