Results from NA49

An overview of results from the CERN experiment NA49 is presented with emphasis on most recent measurements. NA49 has systematically studied the dependence of hadron production on energy and system size or centrality. At top-SPS energy the detailed investigation of hadron production, now also extending to elliptic flow of Lambda-baryons and to identified particle yields at high p_t, shows that the created matter behaves in a similar manner as at RHIC energies. In the lower SPS energy range a distinct structure is observed in the energy dependence of the rate of strangeness production and in the slopes of p_t-spectra suggesting the onset of the creation of a deconfined phase of matter.Comment: Contribution to Quark Matter 2005, Budapest, 9 page

Sessea brasiliensis Toledo

Nativa no Parque e Jardim Botanico do EstadopublishedVersio

A study of turbofan-engine compressor noise suppression techniques

Nacelle design for turbofan engine compressor noise suppression on Douglas DC-8 aircraf

Damping in high-frequency metallic nanomechanical resonators

We have studied damping in polycrystalline Al nanomechanical resonators by measuring the temperature dependence of their resonance frequency and quality factor over a temperature range of 0.1 - 4 K. Two regimes are clearly distinguished with a crossover temperature of 1 K. Below 1 K we observe a logarithmic temperature dependence of the frequency and linear dependence of damping that cannot be explained by the existing standard models. We attribute these phenomena to the effect of the two-level systems characterized by the unexpectedly long (at least two orders of magnitude longer) relaxation times and discuss possible microscopic models for such systems. We conclude that the dynamics of the two-level systems is dominated by their interaction with one-dimensional phonon modes of the resonators.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Lock-in detection for pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance

We show that in pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance (pEDMR) signal modulation in combination with a lock-in detection scheme can reduce the low-frequency noise level by one order of magnitude and in addition removes the microwave-induced non-resonant background. This is exemplarily demonstrated for spin-echo measurements in phosphorus-doped Silicon. The modulation of the signal is achieved by cycling the phase of the projection pulse used in pEDMR for the read-out of the spin state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

QUALIDADE DE VIDA DE DEFICIENTES VISUAIS

Design of the study: Analytic/Exploratory survey.Purpose: To assess the quality of life of visually impaired people who attend the rehabilitation program at a universitary service.Methods : This study was conducted in October and November 2004. Were interviewed sixteen visually impaired teenagers and adults who attended the rehabilitation program: blind (n=10) and low vision (n=6). In order to assess their quality of life, we used the Portuguese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL – Bref). SPSS was used and the scores were transformed from 4 to 20. The medians of the scores in each domain were compared and considered significant when p= 0,05 (5%). The Research Ethics Committee approved this investigation. Results : The population of this research consisted of 50% men, aged from 18 to 61 years, with an average of 38 years of age. The evaluation of the different items of the WHOQOL –Bref did not indicate a statistically significant difference between low vision and blind patients. The study pointed out a better quality of life in the psychological and physical aspects (15,66 and 15,14, respectively). In the general questions the global score was 14,00. Conclusion: The results reported a good quality of life perception in the physical and psychological domains and a less perception in the social relationship and environment.Estudo exploratório analítico. Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade de vida de deficientes visuais em Programa de Reabilitação de um serviço universitário. Métodos: O estudo foi realizado nos meses de outubro e novembro de 2004, com 16 deficientes visuais adolescentes e adultos acompanhados em programa de reabilitação, dos quais 10 tinham baixa visão e 6 eram cegos. Para a avaliação da qualidade de vida foi utilizada a versão em português do World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL– Bref). Na análise estatística utilizou-se o programa SPSS com escores transformados de quatro a 20. As medianas dos escores de cada domínio foram comparadas e consideradas significativas se “p” fosse menor ou igual a 5%. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Resultados : Dos 16 deficientes estudados 50% eram do sexo masculino, idade variando de 18 a 61 anos, média de 38 anos. A avaliação dos diferentes itens do WHOQOL-Bref não mostrou diferença estatisticamente significante entre os pacientes com baixa visão e os cegos. O estudo revelou melhor qualidade de vida nos domínios psicológico (15,66), e físico (15,14). Nas questões gerais o escore global foi 14,00. Conclusão: Os resultados apontam para uma boa percepção de qualidade de vida nos aspectos físicos e psicológicos e menor percepção nos domínios das relações sociais e do meio ambiente, provavelmente decorrentes da situação sócio-estruturais e culturais dos pacientes

Steep rise in norovirus cases and emergence of a new recombinant strain GII.P16-GII.2, Germany, winter 2016

Since early November 2016, the number of laboratory-confirmed norovirus infections reported in Germany has been increasing steeply. Here, we report the detection and genetic characterisation of an emerging norovirus recombinant, GII.P16-GII.2. This strain was frequently identified as the cause of sporadic cases as well as outbreaks in nine federal states of Germany. Our findings suggest that the emergence of GII.P16-GII.2 contributed to rising case numbers of norovirus gastroenteritis in Germany