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Background. Dry eye disease (DED) is one of the most common complications following refractive surgery. Purpose. Evaluate the efficacy of an osmoprotective eye drop (Optive®) for the management of induced DED in refractive surgery patients. Design. Double-masked randomised controlled trial. Methods. Twenty-two refractive surgery patients oriented to apply FreshTears (FT; n=13) or Optive (Op; n=9), topically, QID, for 3 months. Eye exams were performed before surgery (T0) and 1-month (T1) and 3-month (T3) follow-up and consisted of tear film osmolarity, Schirmer 1 test, tear film breakup time (TBUT), fluorescein staining, and ocular surface disease index (OSDI) and patient symptoms questionnaires. Main Outcome Measures. Pain and osmolarity. Results. Pain increased significantly for FT at T3 (p

Myrmecochory-seed dispersal by ants-is a mutualistic interaction in which ants attracted by seed appendices take them away from the parental plant location, where seeds usually have better development odds. Not all ant species benefit plants, and the mechanisms of those divergent outcomes are still unclear, especially from the perspective of microbial third parties. Here, we explore the effects of seed manipulation on fungi communities promoted by two ant species with contrasting effects on seed germination and antimicrobial cleaning strategies. We hypothesize that: i) fungi richness is higher in seeds manipulated by Acromyrmex subterraneus (species that negatively affect seed germination), followed by unmanipulated seeds and seeds manipulated by Atta sexdens (ant species that increase seed germination) and ii) seeds manipulated by A. sexdens, Ac. subterraneus and unmanipulated seeds present dissimilar fungi compositions. We identified fungal morphotypes in three groups of seeds: i) manipulated by A. sexdens; ii) manipulated by Ac. subterraneus; iii) unmanipulated. Seeds manipulated by Ac. subterraneus exhibited higher fungal richness than those manipulated by A. sexdens and unmanipulated seeds, indicating that the ant species known to impair germination increases the fungal load on seeds. Additionally, we found that A. sexdens ants were unable to reduce fungal richness compared to unmanipulated seeds. Furthermore, fungal composition differed among all three treatments. Our results underscore the significance of ant species identity in shaping the fungal communities associated with myrmecochorous seeds. Given the potential influence of microbial infection on seed fate, we suggest considering manipulation strategies when evaluating the overall quality of an ant as a seed disperser.

This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of injuries in bovine carcasses slaughtered in the northwest of São Paulo, through the quantification of the number of these injuries and their location in the main Brazilian commercial courts. Five ranchers were randomly selected, differentiated by the acronyms PEC A (rancher A), PEC B (rancher B), PEC C (rancher C), PEC D (rancher D) and PEC E (rancher E), which totaled 333 evaluated carcasses. The results showed that the majority of the slaughtered animals were of the Nellore breed and females of different age groups. There was a variation in the fasting period and water diet established for the animals, with the PEC C being the shortest period and in the others the variation was 10 to 16 hours. As for the injuries, it was possible to observe that the greater the distance covered, the greater the percentage of injuries in the half carcasses, with the rear quarter being more affected, especially the thigh, followed by the rump. Factors such as age and duration of transport positively influenced the percentage of injuries and even with the intense discussions and quality programs aimed at the application of animal welfare, the bovine half carcasses analyzed in the present study showed a high incidence of injuries.

The present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of abscesses from vaccine or drug reactions in the muscle tissue of bovine carcasses and to establish the location of these abscesses in half-carcasses, in a slaughterhouse located in the northwest of the State of São Paulo, under the supervision of the State Inspection Service (SISP). It was possible to identify that 13.50% of the half-carcasses evaluated had vaccine abscesses and of these 91.46% were in the forequarter, 52.50% of these affected the neck, and 27.50% fell. Currently, there is still the presence of abscesses in bovine carcasses from vaccine and drug reactions, which are found in greater proportion in the forequarter, due to the recommendations of this region for the application of vaccines and medications.

Various spintronic devices use single-domain magnetic nanoparticles as unit cells. Herein, we investigated interparticle dipole-dipole interactions in arrays of Permalloy single-domain nano-ellipses through micromagnetic simulations. In this study, the variation is introduced not only to the aspect ratio and the spacing between ellipses but to the magnetization distribution and the 2D lattice type as well. When integrating the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation with zero external magnetic field, equilibrium magnetic configurations were obtained for each array. For small values of the spacing between ellipses, they interact strongly, such that the shape anisotropy is locally modified by the distribution of the magnetization. Moreover, the effect of the dipolar coupling on the precessional magnetization reversal is also studied. The minimum field strength required to switch the magnetization depends on the magnetization distribution in a strongly interacting magnetic system. Consequently, we have assessed the minimum spacing between particles in which single-domain nano-ellipses becomes a non-interacting magnetic system.

Este artículo contiene resultados del trabajo ejecutado para estudiar la determinación de las emisiones de los micropolutantes orgánicos muy tóxicos que se emiten por los hornos eléctricos de arco utilizados en la producción de acero. Este estudio inicial va a permitir relacionar las concentraciones de polutantes emitidos a la atmósfera con las condiciones de operación del horno eléctrico de arco. Utilizando el método normalizado CEN 1948 para captación y análisis de muestras de compuestos análogos a las dioxinas ha sido posible determinar el perfil característico de los micropolutantes tales como PAHs y PCBs emitidos por esta fuente.

Este articulo contiene los resultados obtenidos en ensayos de lixiviación de escorias de acero (horno electrico y cuchara) ejecutados siguiendo la metodologia de flujo dinámico así como el ensayo normalizado DIN 38414-S4. El primer ensayo intenta simular el comportamiento de lixiviación de las escorias en vertedero. Para las escorias ensayadas se han complementado los ensayos con el análisis químico de los lixiviados y se ha verificado un aumento de la liberación de metales pesados. El ensayo DIN 38414-S4 se ha utilizado para evaluar la lixiviación por agua de metales pesados, en muestras de escorias originales. Despues de un año de ensayos, se han observado niveles muy bajos de lixiviación. Los elementos mas lixiviados han sido calcio y magnesio. No obstante, en los ensayos de flujo dinámico, el calcio y el magnesio lixiviados de las escorias sólidas era menor de 0,5% y el resto de los otros metales era inferior a 0,1%. Los lixiviados obtenidos con el ensayo DIN 38414-S4 presentan, como era de esperar, valores mas elevados de los lixiviados: casi, 5 % para el calcio y casi, 1 % para todos los demás metales.

As características macro e micromorfológicas dos horizontes diagnósticos superficiais e subsuperficiais de Latossolos e Neossolos Quartzarênicos das superfícies Sul-Americana e Velhas foram estudadas em perfis sob cobertura de vegetação nativa, visando estabelecer um referencial para futuras comparações com áreas similares sob constante intervenção antrópica em termos de sustentabilidade. Com os solos referenciados por sub-região e pela superfície geomórfica que representam, três agrupamentos foram constituídos: Grupo 1: solos de textura argilosa a muito argilosa e hipo a mesoférricos; Grupo 2: solos de textura média a arenosa e hipoférricos, e Grupo 3: solos de textura argilosa a muito argilosa e férricos. O horizonte Bw dos Latossolos argilosos e muito argilosos estudados (Grupos 1 e 3), com relações cauliníticas/(caulinita + gibbsita) variando de 0,27 a 0,77, apresentaram grande coincidência de estrutura e microestrutura, respectivamente, forte muito pequena granular e de microagregados. Os solos do Grupo 2, Latossolos de textura média e um Neossolo Quartzarênico, apresentaram o plasma preferencialmente como películas aderidas aos grãos que dominam o fundo matricial. A presença marcante de agregados na fração areia, resistentes ao tratamento para dispersão da terra fina, se deu apenas nos Latossolos argilosos e muito argilosos do Grupo 3 (com caráter férrico) e em parte do Grupo 1 (naqueles mais gibbsíticos). No leste de Goiás, o horizonte Bw dos perfis de G2, Latossolos Amarelos de mineralogia gibbsítica e isenta de hematita, apresentaram feições observadas em lâmina delgada de cor vermelha e agregados residuais da fração areia com hematita detectada pela difração de raios-X, aspectos que corroboram a hipótese de um pedoambiente mais úmido dessa posição na paisagem relativamente à posição G1, com perfis de Latossolos Vermelhos.The macro and micromorphological characteristics of the surface and subsurface diagnostic horizons of Oxisols and Quartzipsamments of the South American and Velhas geomorphic surfaces were analyzed in profiles under native vegetation cover, in order to establish a reference for future comparisons with similar areas under ongoing human intervention. The soils in their respective subregions and geomorphic surfaces were classified in three groups: Group 1: hypo to mesoferric, clayey to very clayey soils; Group 2: hypoferric; sandy to sandy loam soils, and Group 3: ferric, clayey to very clayey soils. The Bw horizons of the studied clayey and very clayey Oxisols (Groups 1 and 3), with kaolinite/(kaolinite + gibbsita) ratio varying from 0.27 and 0.77, present elevated similarity in macrostructure and microstructure, which are granular. The soil plasma of Group 2 (sandy loam Oxisols and a Quartzipsament) is film-like and is adhered to grains that are dominant in the matrix background. The marked presence of dispersion resistant aggregates in the sand fraction occurred only in Group 3 ferric clayey Oxisols and in more gibsitic Oxisols of Group 1. In Bw horizons of yellowish gibsitic Oxisols of the G2 profiles from eastern Goiás, red colored thick sections and residual aggregates of the sand fraction with presence of hematite detected by X-ray diffraction were observed. These features corroborate the hypothesis of a more humid pedoenvironment at this landscape position compared to that at position G1, where reddish Oxisol profiles are found.

Com o intuito de avaliar diferenças de comportamento entre solos das superfícies geomórficas Sul-Americana e Velhas da região dos Cerrados, todos sob uso atual de cobertura vegetal nativa, foram realizadas caracterizações físicas, químicas e mineralógicas, bem como feitas análises de componentes principais desses atributos. Com os solos referenciados por sub-região e pela superfície geomórfica que representam, três agrupamentos foram constituídos: Grupo 1: solos de textura argilosa a muito argilosa e hipo a mesoférricos; Grupo 2: solos de textura média a arenosa e hipoférricos; e Grupo 3: solos de textura argilosa a muito argilosa e férricos. A retenção de água dos horizontes superficiais dos solos estudados foi positivamente correlacionada com os teores de argila e carbono orgânico. Os solos do Grupo 3 apresentaram a maior oferta de bases trocáveis dos horizontes superficiais, o que foi relacionado, em grande parte, com a maior reciclagem imposta pela formação florestal local, quando comparada à da formação de cerrado, presente em 31 dos 33 perfis de solos dos Grupos 1 e 2. O Grupo 3, diferenciado pelos elevados teores de Fe herdados do material de origem, é o grupo mais homogêneo em termos mineralógicos, com todos os perfis hematíticos. Os Grupos 1 e 2 apresentam sobreposição de composição mineralógica, sendo o Grupo 1, em termos médios, mais gibbsítico do que o Grupo 2. A maior eficácia do Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos, relativamente ao Soil Taxonomy, em discriminar os solos estudados é resultante do uso do caráter férrico concomitantemente a outros atributos comuns aos dois sistemas. A análise de componentes principais auxiliou no entendimento das diferenças e similaridades dos ambientes pedológicos separados no campo.Behavior differences between soils of the South-American and Velhas geomorphic surfaces of the Cerrado region, all of them under native vegetation cover, were evaluated by physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterizations, and principal component analyses. According to their sub-region and geomorphic surfaces, the soils were separated in three groups: 1. clayey to very clayey texture, low- and mesoferric; 2. medium to sandy texture, lowferric; 3. clayey to very clayey texture, ferric. Water retention in the surface horizons of the studied soils was positively correlated with the clay and organic carbon contents. Soils of Group 3 showed the greatest amount of exchangeable bases in the surface horizons, which is mainly a consequence of the greater recycling efficiency imposed by the local forest formation when compared to the Cerrado formation (verified in 31 of the 33 soil profiles of Groups 1 and 2). Soils of Group 3, formed from mafic rocks, were the most homogeneous in mineralogical terms, since all profiles were hematitic. In averages, Groups 1 and 2 presented an overlapping mineralogical composition, though Group 1 is more gibbsitic than Group 2. In comparison to the US Soil Taxonomy, the efficacy of the Brazilian Soil Classification System at discriminating the studied soils is higher owing to the use of the ferric character in conjunction with the other attributes both systems have in common. The principal component analysis supported the understanding of the pedologic environment differences and similarities identified in the field.

The present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of abscesses from vaccine or drug reactions in the muscle tissue of bovine carcasses and to establish the location of these abscesses in half-carcasses, in a slaughterhouse located in the northwest of the State of São Paulo, under the supervision of the State Inspection Service (SISP). It was possible to identify that 13.50% of the half-carcasses evaluated had vaccine abscesses and of these 91.46% were in the forequarter, 52.50% of these affected the neck, and 27.50% fell. Currently, there is still the presence of abscesses in bovine carcasses from vaccine and drug reactions, which are found in greater proportion in the forequarter, due to the recommendations of this region for the application of vaccines and medications.

The density functional theory (DFT) based hybrid-method B3LYP has been used to study the interaction of the nitromethane molecule (CH3NO2) with the Au(111) surface. The perfect Au(111) surface has been represented by a rather large cluster model, Au22, that was in turn used to extract information about the preferred adsorption geometry of the CH3NO2 species. In order to extract energetic information about the stability of adsorbed nitromethane, calculations were also performed for the gas-phase CH3NO2 molecule. The results obtained here are used to interpret experimental data. The computed geometry for adsorbed CH3NO2 agrees with the structure proposed from a previous experimental work.