Federal University of São Carlos

About: Federal University of São Carlos is a education organization based out in São Carlos, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Microstructure. The organization has 16471 authors who have published 34057 publications receiving 456654 citations. The organization is also known as: UFSCar & Federal University of São Carlos.

Putative Regulatory Factors Associated with Intramuscular Fat Content

Abstract: Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is related to insulin resistance, which is an important prediction factor for disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes in human. At the same time, it is an economically important trait, which influences the sensorial and nutritional value of meat. The deposition of IMF is influenced by many factors such as sex, age, nutrition, and genetics. In this study Nellore steers (Bos taurus indicus subspecies) were used to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in IMF content. This was accomplished by identifying differentially expressed genes (DEG), biological pathways and putative regulatory factors. Animals included in this study had extreme genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) for IMF. RNA-seq analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and co-expression network methods, such as partial correlation coefficient with information theory (PCIT), regulatory impact factor (RIF) and phenotypic impact factor (PIF) were utilized to better understand intramuscular adipogenesis. A total of 16,101 genes were analyzed in both groups (high (H) and low (L) GEBV) and 77 DEG (FDR 10%) were identified between the two groups. Pathway Studio software identified 13 significantly over-represented pathways, functional classes and small molecule signaling pathways within the DEG list. PCIT analyses identified genes with a difference in the number of gene-gene correlations between H and L group and detected putative regulatory factors involved in IMF content. Candidate genes identified by PCIT include: ANKRD26, HOXC5 and PPAPDC2. RIF and PIF analyses identified several candidate genes: GLI2 and IGF2 (RIF1), MPC1 and UBL5 (RIF2) and a host of small RNAs, including miR-1281 (PIF). These findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie fat content and energy balance in muscle and provide important information for the production of healthier beef for human consumption.

Effect of moisture and porosity on the thermal properties of a conventional refractory concrete

Abstract: An investigation was carried out to study the effect of moisture and porosity on the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat of a conventional aluminous refractory concrete. The experimental technique employed was the hot wire parallel technique, and measurements were carried out from room temperature up to 1000 °C. The thermal conductivity and the specific heat were simultaneously determined from the same experimental thermal transient, and the thermal diffusivity was derived from these two properties. A 60 wt.% alumina grog and a 60 wt.% alumina calcium aluminate cement were the raw materials employed in this work. Five different porosity levels were obtained by proportioning three different aggregate grain sizes. Experimental results show a drastic influence of the moisture content on the thermal conductivity of the refractory concrete, doubling its value when compared with the same fired composition, depending on the temperature range considered in the measurements. It was also observed for the fired material, a smooth variation of the thermal conductivity with the temperature for each composition in the temperature range studied, and a modified form of the Loeb equation was employed to evaluate the thermal conductivity of the fully dense solid.

Dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization competition on a Nb- and N-bearing austenitic stainless steel biomaterial: Influence of strain rate and temperature

Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the dynamic softening behavior of an austenitic stainless steel with high nitrogen (type ISO 5832-9) through hot torsion tests, in the temperature range of 900–1200 °C and in the strain rate range of 0.01–10 s−1. The shape of flow stress curves indicated that the softening was promoted by dynamic recovery followed by dynamic recrystallization with high level of recovery. The microstructure evolution indicated that even though after large straining as that of the steady state stresses a combination of strained and recrystallized grains was observed. The delay of dynamic recrystallization, which is a consequence of the intermediate level of stacking fault energy of this steel, and the presence of large recrystallized grains, inside of necklace formed by small grains, were associated with extended recovery regions.

Polyamide 66/Brazilian clay nanocomposites

Abstract: Polyamide 66 (PA66)/Brazilian clay nanocomposites were produced via direct melt intercalation. A montmorillonite sample from the Brazilian state of Paraiba was organically modified with esthearildimethylammonium chloride (Praepagen), quaternary ammonium salt and has been tested to be used in polymer nanocomposites. The dispersion analysis and the interlayer spacing of the clay particles in matrix were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermal behavior of the obtained systems was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), and heat deflection temperature (HDT) was reported too. The nanocomposites exhibited a partially exfoliated structure, very interesting HDT values which are higher than those of pure PA66, and good thermal stability.