Solution Blow Spinning Control of Morphology and Production Rate of Complex Superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x Nanowires

The demand for nanostructured materials can increase exponentially due to the miniaturization of devices and their potential application in different areas, such as electronic and medicine. Therefore, high production rates are essential for making nanomaterials commercially available. When electrospinning (ES) and solution blow spinning (SBS) are employed for producing ceramic nanostructures, the solution injection rate can influence the morphology without, however, supply the real ceramic production rate. In this work, complex superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x wires were prepared by using the SBS technique. We also show that the morphology can be controlled by varying the injection rate of the polymer solution and the production rate is 4.7 to 33 times higher than the rates of equivalent ceramics produced by ES. Additionally, we also suggest the term Ceramic Production Rate to refer to the production rate of ceramic structures.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures and 1 Table. Submitted to Ceramic Internationa

Prevention and non-pharmacological management of pain in newborns

Objective: to describe the main non-pharmacological interventions for pain relief in newborns available in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Method: an exploratory search of the MedLine, Lilacs and Scielo online databases was conducted to retrieve references of studies published from 2004 to 2013. Results: several non-pharmacological interventions were shown to be effective, to represent low risk for neonates and to have a low operational cost. The ones most often discussed in the literature were: oral administration of glucose/sucrose, non-nutritive sucking, breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, facilitated tucking and swaddling. Conclusion: healthcare teams should be familiar with these methods and use them more effectively in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit daily routines, so as to ensure that newborns receive qualified and more human care

ACS Observations of a Strongly Lensed Arc in a Field Elliptical

We report the discovery of a strongly lensed arc system around a field elliptical galaxy in Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) images of a parallel field observed during NICMOS observations of the HST Ultra-Deep Field. The ACS parallel data comprise deep imaging in the F435W, F606W, F775W, and F850LP bandpasses. The main arc is at a radius of 1.6 arcsec from the galaxy center and subtends about 120 deg. Spectroscopic follow-up at Magellan Observatory yields a redshift z=0.6174 for the lensing galaxy, and we photometrically estimate z_phot = 2.4\pm0.3 for the arc. We also identify a likely counter-arc at a radius of 0.6 arcsec, which shows structure similar to that seen in the main arc. We model this system and find a good fit to an elliptical isothermal potential of velocity dispersion $\sigma \approx 300$ \kms, the value expected from the fundamental plane, and some external shear. Several other galaxies in the field have colors similar to the lensing galaxy and likely make up a small group.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. 10 pages, 3 figures. Figures have been degraded to meet size limit; a higher resolution version and addtional pictures available at http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/~jpb/UDFparc

Atividade microbiana do solo sob diferentes cultivos irrigados em um Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo distrófico no Submédio São Francisco.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a atividade biológica do solo sob diferentes cultivos com uso de irrigação e sua comparação com áreas de Caatinga. As amostras foram coletadas em novembro de 2006 em áreas com cultivo de manga, uva, culturas anuais, banana e em reserva de vegetação natural, no Campo Experimental da Embrapa Semi-¡rido no Distrito Irrigado de Bebedouro

Characterisation of activated sludge by automated image analysis : validation on full-scale plants

Automated methods based on the analysis of macro- and meso-scale images has been developed to characterise activated sludge in terms of size and shape (fractal dimension) of flocs and abundance of filamentous bacteria. After tests on pilot-scale reactors, the method has been validated on full-scale samples from twelve different wastewater treatment plants in France and Portugal

Late-onset neonatal sepsis in preterm infants with birth weight under 1.500g

Objective: the research objective was to characterize preterm infants with birth weight under 1500 g, and to identify the incidence of late-onset neonatal sepsis among this population. Methods: a prospective cohort study with a sample of 30 preterm newborns that weighed under 1500 g and were hospitalized in the NICU of the university hospital. Data were collected from January to December 2013 using a structured instrument. Results: of the 30 neonates included in the study, 14 developed late-onset neonatal sepsis with a prevalence of coagulase-negative staphylococci. Conclusions: the incidence of late-onset neonatal sepsis indicates a vulnerability in preterm infants due to immunological immaturity. These results reveal that knowledge of the profi le of newborn infants admitted to the NICU and the risk factors to which they are exposed are central to the planning of nursing care for these patients. Future studies should address strategies for preventing nosocomial infection