The study of titanium oxynitride coatings solubility deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

To improve hemocompatibility of cardiovascular stents the coatings based on titanium oxides and oxynitrides were used. In the present work the morphology, surface properties (wettability and surface energy), and in vitro solubility of the ternary system Ti-N-O coating were investigated. Experimentally, low dissolution rate of the coating in saline NaCl (0,9%) was confirmed. Instrumental methods of quantitative analysis (XRF, AES) revealed that the Ti-N-O coating is chemical-resistant and does not change the qualitative and quantitative composition of body fluids

The role of contracting strategies in social value implementation

There has been an increasing demand for social value (SV) implementation to assume a cardinal position in the infrastructure delivery efforts of infrastructure client organisations (ICOs). However, whereas successful implementation has been recorded in some projects, monumental failures have also been recorded in others. This variance in implementation performance is a cause for concern. The mode of governance applied in an infrastructure delivery endeavour has been identified as capable of influencing the implementation of SV. This observation makes imperative an investigation into the role of contracting strategies – an integral part of governance modes – adopted by ICOs on SV implementation performance. This is the aim of this study. Using a case study approach, three infrastructure projects which used different contracting strategies were selected from two different countries, the UK and Nigeria. Semistructured interviews were conducted with ICO representatives on these projects and subsequently analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings confirmed that the kind of contract adopted by ICOs influenced their ability to drive the successful implementation of desirable SV objectives through their supply chain. It is therefore recommended that ICOs ensure that the selected contracting strategies are capable of ensuring successful implementation of the desired objectives

Measurement of W-pair production in e+e−e^+ e^- collisions at 189 GeV

The production of W-pairs is analysed in a data samplecollected by ALEPH at a mean centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV,corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 174.2 pb^-1. Crosssections are given for different topologies of W decays intoleptons or hadrons. Combining all final states and assumingStandard Model branching fractions, the total W-pair cross sectionis measured to be 15.71 +- 0.34 (stat) +- 0.18 (syst) pb.Using also the W-pair data samples collected by ALEPH at lowercentre-of-mass energies, the decay branching fraction of the W bosoninto hadrons is measured to be BR (W hadrons) = 66.97+- 0.65 (stat) +- 0.32 (syst) %, allowing a determination of theCKM matrix element |V(cs)|= 0.951 +- 0.030 (stat) +- 0.015 (syst)

Search for New Particles Decaying to b bbar in p pbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV

We have used 87 pb^-1 of data collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab to search for new particles decaying to b bbar. We present model-independent upper limits on the cross section for narrow resonances which excludes the color-octet technirho in the mass interval 350 < M < 440 GeV/c^2. In addition, we exclude topgluons, predicted in models of topcolor-assisted technicolor, of width Gamma = 0.3 M in the mass range 280 < M < 670 GeV/c^2, of width Gamma = 0.5 M in the mass range 340 < M < 640 GeV/c^2, and of width Gamma = 0.7 M in the mass range 375 < M < 560 GeV/c^2.Comment: 17 pages in a LaTex generated postscript file, with one table and four figures. Resubmitted to Physical Review Letters. Minor clarifications were added to the text. The displayed normalization of the resonance models in Figure 2 was modified to correspond to our 95% CL upper limit on the cross section (instead of arbitrary normalization which was used previously). All results are identical to those in the previous submissio

O Poder Judiciário e o Meio Ambiente

Evento realizado nos dias 16 e 17 de agosto de 2012, no auditório externo do Superior Tribunal de Justiça, em Brasília.MESA I – POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS DE SUSTENTABILIDADE: ASPECTOS JURÍDICOS DA CONTROVÉRSIA. Meio ambiente e sustentabilidade: alcance do controle jurisdicional – Juarez Freitas. Poder de polícia ambiental: aspectos controvertidos – Flávio Henrique Unes Pereira. Responsabilidade do Estado por dano ambiental – Márcio Cammarosano. Presidente da mesa - Flavio José Roman.PALESTRA: “Licitações e Construções Sustentáveis” - Jessé Torres Pereira.MESA II – CONSTRUÇÕES E RESPONSABILIDADE SOCIOAMBIENTAL. Conceitos e a experiência em sustentabilidade da Holcim como fornecedora de materiais de construção - Carlos Eduardo Garrocho de Almeida. Eficiência energética em edificações - Roberto Lamberts. Como ferramentas de certificações podem auxiliar no desenvolvimento do setor da construção no Brasil – Felipe Faria. Presidente da mesa - Cláudia Amorim.PALESTRA: "PEC 99/03 - Tribunais e justiça ambiental no Brasil : uma flagrante necessidade" - Francisco Carrera.MESA III – IMPACTOS DA CRIAÇÃO DAS VARAS AMBIENTAIS. As varas ambientais no contexto do projeto socioambiental da 4ª Região – Cândido Alfredo Silva Leal. A contribuição do Poder Judiciário à conservação da natureza - Elton Martinez Carvalho Leme. Proteção aos mananciais no bioma cerrado - Alexandre Vidigal de Oliveira. Presidente da mesa – Paulo Afonso de Oliveira.PALESTRA: “A evolução do progresso” - Cristovam Buarque.MESA IV – GESTÃO SUSTENTÁVEL E O BIOMA CERRADO. Sustentabilidade da biodiversidade em Unidades de Conservação de Proteção Integral - exemplo do Parna de Brasília - Roberto Ricardo Vizentin. Meio ambiente e desenvolvimento sustentável do cerrado - Donald Sawyer. Educação e gestão ambiental – Genebaldo Freire Dias. Presidente da mesa – Roberto Brandão Cavalcanti. Movimento Amazônia para sempre e suas metas - Victor Fasano.PALESTRA DE ENCERRAMENTO. Herman Benjamin, Ministro do Superior Tribunal de Justiça.Trata de diversos temas relacionados ao meio ambiente, tais como: educação ambiental, gestão sustentável, bioma cerrado, construções públicas sustentáveis, varas ambientais, políticas públicas de sustentabilidade e Movimento Amazônia para Sempre