A volatolomic approach using cerumen as biofluid to diagnose bovine intoxication by Stryphnodendron rotundifolium

An innovative volatolomic approach employs the detection of biomarkers present in cerumen (earwax) to identify cattle intoxication by Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart., Fabaceae (popularly known as barbatimão). S. rotundifolium is a poisonous plant with the toxic compound undefined and widely distributed throughout the Brazilian territory. Cerumen samples from cattle of two local Brazilian breeds (‘Curraleiro Pé-Duro’ and ‘Pantaneiro’) were collected during an experimental intoxication protocol and analyzed using headspace (HS)/GC–MS followed by multivariate analysis (genetic algorithm for a partial least squares, cluster analysis, and classification and regression trees). A total of 106 volatile organic metabolites were identified in the cerumen samples of bovines. The intoxication by S. rotundifolium influenced the cerumen volatolomic profile of the bovines throughout the intoxication protocol. In this way, it was possible to detect biomarkers for cattle intoxication. Among the biomarkers, 2-octyldecanol and 9-tetradecen-1-ol were able to discriminate all samples between intoxicated and nonintoxicated bovines. The cattle intoxication diagnosis by S. rotundifolium was accomplished by applying the cerumen analysis using HS/GC–MS, in an easy, accurate, and noninvasive way. Thus, the proposed bioanalytical chromatography protocol is a useful tool in veterinary applications to determine this kind of intoxication.     

Approximation of multi-scale elliptic problems using patches of finite elements

In this paper we present a method to solve numerically elliptic problems with multi-scale data using multiple levels of not necessarily nested grids. The method consists in calculating successive corrections to the solution in patches whose discretizations are not necessarily conforming. It resembles the FAC method (see Math. Comp. 46 (174) (1986) 439–456) and its convergence is obtained by a domain decomposition technique (see Math. Comp. 57 (195) (1991) 1–21). However it is of much more flexible use in comparison to the latter. To cite this article: R. Glowinski et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 337 (2003).     

Evidences of phase separation in moisture‐cured poly(urethane urea)s by means of temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry

The degree of phase separation in several moisture‐cured poly(urethane urea)s (PUUs) was studied by FTIR spectroscopy, wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), and temperature‐modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC). This latter technique was shown to be particularly useful in analysing the degree of phase separation in PUU polymers. Both phase mixing and phase segregation coexisted in the PUUs and the degree of phase separation increased as the urea hard segment (HS) content in the PUU increased. The maximum solubility of urea HSs into the polyol soft segments (SSs) was achieved for 50 wt % urea HS content in diol‐based PUUs, whereas for triol‐based PUUs the highest solubility between HS and SS was reached for lower urea HS amount. Finally, the higher the urea HS content the higher the extent of phase separation in the PUU. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 3034–3045, 2007     

Study of removal processes of <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs from the atmosphere

In order to understand better the way in which radioactive contamination may be transferred from the atmosphere to other ecological compartments it is necessary to obtain information of the deposition mechanisms of radionuclides. Concentration and speciation of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be in the atmospheric aerosol and deposition were studied. The mixed deposition velocities of water-soluble and insoluble ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be were determined. The relation between activity concentrations of insoluble ⁷Be in the atmosphere and its amount in deposition was observed. It is supposed that in the deposition process of radiocesium the precipitation plays an important role in scavenging of water-soluble radiocesium by falling raindrops, in contrast to insoluble ¹³⁷Cs where the dry deposition becomes predominant.     

Analysis of end point vibrations of a two-link manipulator by integrated CAD/CAE procedures

In this work, the effect of flexibility on the trajectory of a planar two-link manipulator is studied using integrated computer-aided design/analysis (CAD/CAE) procedures. The solid models and finite element models of the parts of the manipulator are created by using the CAD/CAE software I-DEAS. The assembly is defined, and knowing the payload and the end point trajectory, the velocities and accelerations of the parts, joint forces and driving torques are calculated using the rigid body dynamics. All the time dependent nodal forces acting on the parts including distributed gravity and inertia forces are created in files with the I-DEAS program file format. The finite element vibration analysis of the parts is performed by I-DEAS. The end point vibrations and the deviations from the rigid-body trajectory are analyzed for different types of end point acceleration curves. A circular trajectory is considered as an example. It is observed that the precision of the manipulator can be increased by testing different end point acceleration curves without changing the trajectory and the duration of the end point work. The procedure explained in this work can be used for this purpose successfully.