Fridericia speciosa (Bignoniaceae) is a liana that occurs in humid to dry vegetation in eastern and southeastern Brazil. Species belonging to the genus Fridericia are employed as medicinal plants. This study evaluates the antipromastigote and cytotoxic activities of the crude extract, fractions, and compounds isolated from F. speciosa, and an HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) analytical method was used to quantify the bioactive flavonoids. The flavonoids alpinetin (1), luteolin (2), diosmetin (3), and apigenin (4) were isolated from the active EtOAc-soluble fraction (EAF) of the crude ethanol extract (LCE) obtained from F. speciosa leaves. Both LCE and EAF were active against the normal human lung fibroblast cell line GM07492A (IC50 of 460.7 µg mL-1 and 381.4 µg mL-1, respectively). Only EAF showed activity against Leishmania amazonensis (80.4% at 50 µg mL-1). Compounds 1 and 2 were quantified by HPLC-DAD in both LCE (1: 6.21%; 2: 1.11%) and EAF (1: 45.32%; 2: 2.00%). At 100 µM, compounds1-4 inhibited L. amazonensis flagellar motility by 40.2%, 26.8%, 1.0%, and 24.8%, respectively, while their toxicities (IC50) to the normal cell were > 1000, 353.0, 766.2, and >1000 µg mL-1, respectively. Therefore, F. speciosa leaves are a prolific source of bioactive flavonoids.

Abstract The ethanol crude extract from cashew (Anacardium occidentale L. Anacardiaceae) displayed significant antiplasmodial activity (IC50 0.577 µg/ml). Liquid chromatography-high resolution Mass spectrometry analysis was performed to identify the main compounds existing in the ethanol extract. The occurrence of anacardic acids, cardols, and 2-methylcardols derivatives was confirmed in the extract. The IC50 obtained, when the main isolated compounds were evaluated in Plasmodium falciparum D6 strain, ranged from 5.39 µM to >100 µM. Tested here for the first time, the data showed that cardol triene 1 (IC50 = 5.69 µM) and 2-methylcardol triene 4 (IC50 = 5.39 µM) demonstrated good antimalarial activity. In conclusion, Anacardium occidentale nuts presented relevant biological potential, and further studies should be considered.

Abstract The goal of this work was to assess the influence of initial plantation density and sociological position on the yield and quality of Grevillea robusta sawn wood. Six individuals were analyzed for each treatment: two suppressed individuals (lower diameters), two co-dominant specimens (average diameters), and two dominant specimens (larger diameters). Saw wood was classified in terms of quality based on appearance, considering four qualities according to the presence or absence of defects and according to dimensions. At individual tree level, higher volumes were obtained at lower planting density in woods of the higher qualities. Analysis at the stand-level, greater plantation densities yielded the highest volume of sawn wood and best-quality boards, though the boards were in general narrower than those required by the market. If wider boards are needed, they will have to be produced from treatments with a lower plantation density. Yield was also affected by the sociological position of each individual in each treatment: dominant trees had a higher yield of best-quality timber than co-dominant and suppressed individuals.

Resumen El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la influencia de la densidad inicial de plantación y la posición sociológica de Grevillearobusta en el rendimiento y calidad de la madera aserrada. Se analizaron 6 individuos por cada tratamiento (densidad inicial de plantación) y dentro de ellos, por posición sociológica, se consideraron 2 ejemplares suprimidos (diámetros menores), 2 codominantes (diámetros medios) y 2 dominantes (diámetros mayores). La madera aserrada se tipificó según su calidad por grados apariencia, se consideraron cuatro calidades, según presencia o ausencia de defectos y dimensiones. A nivel de árboles individuales, a una menor densidad de plantación se obtuvieron mayores volúmenes en maderas de las calidades superiores. Realizado el análisis a nivel de rodal, influenciado por el efecto del número de árboles, las mayores densidades de plantación presentaron el mayor volumen de madera aserrada y de tablas de la mejor calidad, aunque en tablas de anchos en general por debajo de los requeridos por el mercado. En la medida que se requieran tablas de anchos mayores, éstas sólo podrán obtenerse de los tratamientos de menor densidad de plantación. El rendimiento fue también afectado por la posición sociológica del individuo dentro de cada tratamiento. Los árboles dominantes presentaron un mayor rendimiento en madera de la mejor calidad que los árboles codominantes y suprimidos.

This paper discusses the effect of different internal recirculation velocities on the mixture and shear stress on the flocs in an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR). Thus, simulations are performed using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool to evaluate this dependency. The analysis of velocities and turbulent kinetic energy indicates that the highest flow evaluated (0.003 m³/s) results in better mixing within the reactor. However, care must be taken with the recycling pipe size, in order to maintain the shear stress inside the range of optimal values.

Desde a descoberta dos supercondutores com alta temperatura crítica, vários trabalhos têm sido efetuados sobre as diferentes propriedades destes materiais. As cerâmicas YBa2Cu3O7-delta mostraram que têm suas propriedades supercondutoras fortemente afetadas pela quantidade de oxigênio. Mais recentemente, medidas de relaxação anelástica em La2CuO4+delta mostraram que a remoção deste elemento pode ser relacionada com dois eventos. Um deles é o decréscimo na mobilidade entre dois planos adjacentes CuO e o outro, é o aumento no número de padrões de mobilidade para os octaedros CuO6. Para SmBa2Cu3O7 (SBCO), a possibilidade de uma estequiometria de oxigênio variável e sua alta mobilidade nos planos CuOx, dá origem a um diagrama de fases bastante rico. Neste trabalho, são reportadas medidas de espectroscopia anelástica em amostras de SBCO, que mostram um pico de relaxação termicamente ativado, que foi atribuído aos saltos de átomos de oxigênio nas posições O1 e O5 da rede.

Since the discovery of the high-Tc superconductors, several works have been made about the different properties of these materials. The YBa2Cu3O7-delta ceramic showed to have its superconducting properties strongly affected by the oxygen content. More recently, anelastic relaxation measurements in La2CuO4+delta, showed that the removal of this element can be related to two events. One is the decrease in mobility between two adjacent CuO planes, and the other is the increase in the number of tilting patterns of the CuO6 octahedra. For SmBa2Cu3O7 (SBCO), the possibility of variable stoichiometry and the high mobility of oxygen in the CuOx planes give rise to a rich phase diagram. In this paper, anelastic spectroscopy measurements are reported in SBCO samples which shown a thermally activated relaxation peak that was attributed to the jumps of the oxygen atoms in the inter-chains O1 and O5 of the lattice.