CFRP bioinspirados para melhoria da resistência ao impacto e autossensorização

Os compósitos reforçados com fibras de carbono (CFRP) são cada vez mais usados em aplicações de elevado desempenho devido às excelentes propriedades mecânicas e baixo peso que apresentam. A resistência interlaminar continua, no entanto, a ser uma das maiores limitações do seu desempenho mecânico [1-3]. Recentemente, tem-se vindo a tentar superar o problema aplicando nos CFRP mecanismos semelhantes aos que garantem um elevado desempenho ao impacto em organismos vivos, p.e., o exosqueleto dos artrópodes que apresenta uma estrutura fibrosa laminada helicoidal (Bouligand) à escala micrométrica [4-6]. Sistemas sensoriais estudados em seres vivos também têm inspirado o desenvolvimento de compósitos multifuncionais [7], sendo ainda um desafio a criação de tecnologias de fabrico capazes de replicar estas estruturas/sistemas. Neste trabalho fabricaram-se CFRPs com desempenho mecânico melhorado, usando laminados bioinspirados com fibras orientadas helicoidalmente (tipo Bouligand) e nanotubos de carbono (CNT) como sensores capazes de lhes conferiram multifuncionalidade (monitorização de dano). Produziram-se por infusão por vácuo, usando uma resina epóxída reforçada com fibras contínuas de carbono, placas CFRP (550x180x4 mm) com empilhamentos helicoidal e standard que, para comparação de propriedades, foram sujeitas a ensaios de impacto e de compressão após-impacto. Para garantir a multifuncionalidade, transferiram-se florestas de CNT verticalmente alinhados (VA-CNT) obtidas por deposição química a vapor (CVD) para o laminado. Usaram-se ainda técnicas não-destrutivas (NDT) de ultrassons (C-Scan) na análise da microestrutura e avaliação dos danos produzidos após impacto. Os resultados evidenciam as dificuldades encontradas em fabricar as placas e as melhorias que a integração de estruturas bioinspiradas conferem às características e multifuncionalidade dos compósitosProjeto IAMATinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Alternative transmission routes in the malaria elimination era: an overview of transfusion-transmitted malaria in the Americas

Submitted by Janaína Nascimento ([email protected]) on 2019-02-21T11:59:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ve_Alho_Regina_etal_INI_2017.pdf: 1190158 bytes, checksum: 8937322faefa31c89eb1bbd2f7d134a3 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Janaína Nascimento ([email protected]) on 2019-02-25T11:34:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ve_Alho_Regina_etal_INI_2017.pdf: 1190158 bytes, checksum: 8937322faefa31c89eb1bbd2f7d134a3 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-25T11:34:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ve_Alho_Regina_etal_INI_2017.pdf: 1190158 bytes, checksum: 8937322faefa31c89eb1bbd2f7d134a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Fundação de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Sem afiliação.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisas Leônidas e Maria Deane. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisas Leônidas e Maria Deane. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Background: Transfusion-transmitted (TT) malaria is an alternative infection route that has gained little attention from authorities, despite representing a life-threatening condition. There has been no systematic review of this health problem in American countries. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of TT malaria in the Americas and identify factors associated with lethality based on the studies published in the literature. Methods: Potentially relevant papers in all languages were retrieved from MEDLINE and LILACS. Additional articles were obtained from reviews and original papers. Publications on screening of candidate blood donors and on surveillance of TT malaria cases were included. Odds ratios with respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Epidemiological characteristics of blood donors of TT malaria cases, including a pooled positivity of different tests for malaria diagnosis, were retrieved. Results: A total of 63 publications regarding TT malaria from seven countries were included, from 1971 to 2016. A total of 422 cases of TT malaria were recorded. Most TT malaria cases were in females (62.0%) and 39.5% were in the ≥61 years-old age group. About half of all cases were from Mexico (50.7%), 40.3% from the United States of America (USA) and 6.6% from Brazil. Gyneco-obstetrical conditions (67.3%), surgical procedures (20.6%) and complications from neoplasias (6.1%) were the most common indications of transfusion. Packed red blood cells (RBCs) (50.7%) and whole blood (43.3%) were the blood products mostly associated with TT malaria. Cases were mostly caused by Plasmodium malariae (58.4%), followed by Plasmodium vivax (20.7%) and Plasmodium falciparum (17.9%). A total of 66.6% of cases were diagnosed by microscopy. Incubation period of 2–3 weeks was the most commonly observed (28.6%). Lethality was seen in 5.3% of cases and was associated with living in non-endemic countries, P. falciparum infection and concomitant neoplastic diseases. Conclusion: There is an important research and knowledge gap regarding the TT malaria burden in Latin American countries where malaria remains endemic. No screening method that is practical, affordable and suitably sensitive is available at blood banks in Latin American countries, where infections with low parasitaemia contribute greatly to transmission. Lethality from TT malaria was not negligible. TT malaria needs to be acknowledged and addressed in areas moving toward elimination

A False Case of Clozapine-Resistant Schizophrenia

One of the subjects that most concerns physicians is treatment-resistance. About 30%–60% of schizophrenia patients do not respond adequately to antipsychotic treatment and are known as refractory schizophrenia patients. Clozapine has been the drug of choice in such cases. However, approximately 30% of them do not respond to clozapine either. Here, we describe a patient with an initial diagnosis of refractory schizophrenia who had a history of dramatic aggressiveness. However, in this case, “refractoriness” was a wrong diagnosis. A case of psychosis secondary to epilepsy had been treated as schizophrenia for almost 20 years. Reports like this one are important because they remind us of how a thorough investigation can lead to the correct diagnosis and improve the patient's prognosis

Antibody indexes in COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors: Unanswered questions

OBJECTIVE: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is characterized by high contagiousness, as well as variable clinical manifestations and immune responses. The antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 is directly related to viral clearance and the antibodies’ ability to neutralize the virus and confer long-term immunity. Nevertheless, the response can also be associated with disease severity and evolution. This study correlated the clinical characteristics of convalescent COVID-19 patients with immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. METHODS: This study included 51 COVID-19 health care professionals who were candidates for convalescent plasma donation from April to June 2020. The subjects had symptomatic COVID-19 with a polymerase chain reaction-confirmed diagnosis. We measured anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG antibodies after symptom recovery, and the subjects were classified as having mild, moderate, or severe symptoms. RESULTS: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were positive in most patients (90.2%). The antibody indexes for IgA and IgG did not differ significantly between patients presenting with mild or moderate symptoms. However, they were significantly higher in patients with severe symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed an association between higher antibody indexes and severe COVID-19 cases, and several hypotheses regarding the association of the antibody dynamics and severity of the disease in SARSCoV-2 infection have been raised, although many questions remain unanswered

Description of training loads using whole body exercise during high-intensity-interval-training

OBJECTIVES: To describe external training load and internal training load through sets of a single session of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) body work. METHODS: Twenty male individuals (24±3 years) performed a HIIT body work protocol consisting of a single bout of exercise with 1:1 stimuli. The exercises used were 30 min in duration with “all-out” intensity. The exercises included jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees and squat jumps, totaling 20 min of exercise. During exercise, total movement capacity, blood lactate measurement, ratings of perceived exertion and recovery, training load and intensity were monitored. RESULTS: The single bout examined showed a total of 382±89 movements. Differences (p<0.01) in the total amount of movement for each exercise were noted, reflecting the difficulty of maintaining exercise over time. Increases in lactate concentrations (before: 0.98±0.16, after: 14.10±1.66; mmol/L) were found postexercise. Significant differences (p<0.01) were found after the fifth set, and the values for movement capacity remained higher than the values of the first set, demonstrating high load in a single session. No differences in ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) during the sets were found. However, the ratings of perceived recuperation from the second set were significantly (p<0.01) lower than those from the first set. CONCLUSIONS: The exercise protocol used in this study was of high intensity and produced large values for stress during performance, with increases recorded for the internal load indicators

Infrared fixed point in quantum Einstein gravity

We performed the renormalization group analysis of the quantum Einstein gravity in the deep infrared regime for different types of extensions of the model. It is shown that an attractive infrared point exists in the broken symmetric phase of the model. It is also shown that due to the Gaussian fixed point the IR critical exponent $\nu$ of the correlation length is 1/2. However, there exists a certain extension of the model which gives finite correlation length in the broken symmetric phase. It typically appears in case of models possessing a first order phase transitions as is demonstrated on the example of the scalar field theory with a Coleman-Weinberg potential.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, final version, to appear in JHE

ELEMENTS OF WINE PRODUCTION IN THE VALLEY OF SAN FRANCISCO BRAZIL - AND COLCHAGUA – CHILE

A videira ou vinha, pertence à família das Vitaceae, subdivididas nas espécies Parthenocissus quinquefólia e Vitis vinífera, sendo esta última utilizada no cultivo de uvas no mundo. Nos próximos anos o consumo de vinho será maior que sua produção, necessitando que a produção da matéria prima seja otimizada. A tecnologia é a ferramenta preponderante nesse processo, trazendo consigo um manejo eficiente a partir da agricultura de precisão. Com intuito de obter indicadores análogos entre as regiões do Vale do São Francisco no Brasil e Vale do Colchagua no Chile, aprimorando o cultivo. Objetiva-se nesse trabalho, caracterizá-las através da análise de seus elementos agronômicos, topográficos, pedológicos e climáticos. O estudo contou com revisão bibliográfica sobre as duas regiões e coleta de dados agrupados em grupos: 1, 2, 3. Onde se discutiu as carências e vantagens agrícolas existentes nas duas regiões, buscando melhoramento do cultivo. Os fatores estudados culminaram numa análise eficiente e provaram sua importância. A agricultura de precisão coloca à disposição da sociedade seus diversos benefícios de forma sustentável