Imagery and long-slit spectroscopy of the Polar-Ring Galaxy AM2020-504

Interactions between galaxies are very common. There are special kinds of interactions that produce systems called Polar Ring Galaxies (PRGs), composed by a lenticular, elliptical, or spiral host galaxy, surrounded by a ring of stars and gas, orbiting in an approximately polar plane. The present work aims to study AM2020-504, a PRG with an elliptical host galaxy, and a narrow and well defined ring, probably formed by accretion of material from a donor galaxy, collected by the host galaxy. Our observational study was based on BVRI broad band imagery as well as longslit spectroscopy in the wavelenght range 4100--8600\AA, performed at the 1.6m telescope at the Observat\'orio do Pico dos Dias (OPD), Brazil. We estimated a redshift of z= 0.01683, corresponding a heliocentric radial velocity of 5045 +/-23 km/s. The (B-R) color map shows that the ring is bluer than the host galaxy, indicating that the ring is a younger structure. Standard diagnostic diagrams were used to classify the main ionizing source of selected emission-line regions (nucleus, host galaxy and ring). It turns out that the ring regions are mainly ionized by massive stars while the nucleus presents AGN characteristics. Using two empirical methods, we found oxygen abundances for the HII regions located in the ring in the range 12+log(O/H)=8.3-8.8 dex, the presence of an oxygen gradient across the ring, and that AM2020-504 follows the metallicity-luminosity relation of spiral galaxies. These results support the accretion scenario for this object and rules out cold accretion as source for the HI gas in the polar ring

HPLC determination of theophylline and paracetamol in fresh and powdered milk

Poster presented at the 1st International Congress of CiiEM - From Basic Sciences to Clinical Research. 27-28 November 2015, Egas Moniz, Caparica, Portugal"Theophylline and paracetamol are drugs used worldwide both in human and veterinary medicine. Paracetamol (or acetaminophen) is employed as analgesic and antipyretic, and theophylline is a bronchodilator drug used in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Both drugs are extensively used in pediatrics and their dosage is based on the child's body weight. Due to possible liver toxicity (paracetamol) and narrow therapeutic index (theophylline) it is imperative to carefully select and monitor the dose administered to children. Additionally, the recent proposal of milk as a platform to deliver drugs in pediatrics has prompted the development of a simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quantification method, of both theophylline and paracetamol, in the complex matrix that milk represents."Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/DTP-FTO/1057/2012

FM 047-02: a collisional pair of galaxies with a ring

Aims. We investigate the nature of the galaxy pair FM 047-02, which has been proposed as an archetype of the Solitaire types of peculiar (collisional) ring galaxies. Methods. The study is based on long-slit spectrophotometric data in the range of 3500-9500 angstrons obtained with the Gemini Multi-ObjectComment: 07 pages, 06 figures, 02 tables. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1206.071

Mudanças climáticas no Semiárido brasileiro: medidas de mitigação e adaptação.

O objetivo deste artigo é discutir os impactos das mudanças climáticas e medidas de mitigação e adaptação que já estão sendo executadas no Semiárido brasileiro. Os potenciais impactos negativos sobre os recursos hídricos e a agricultura de sequeiro poderão comprometer a população da região. Medidas de mitigação como o manejo correto do solo, a redução de emissão de metano em ruminantes, o manejo florestal da Caatinga, a integração lavoura-pecuária-floresta e a produção e uso de biocombustíveis podem reduzir a emissão dos gases do efeito estufa. Medidas de adaptação como uso do melhoramento genético, a captação da água de chuva, adoção de novos sistemas produtivos, aproveitamento do potencial produtivo das plantas da Caatinga poderão contribuir para minimizar os efeitos das mudanças climáticas. A demanda por pesquisas nesse contexto continuará crescente, necessitando de esforços multidisciplinares, com a interação entre as instituições de pesquisa, a fim de definir métodos e estratégias para serem aplicados no Semiárido. A formulação de políticas públicas que incentivem a adoção destas práticas será imprescindível para que as mesmas sejam colocadas em prática

Simple and sensitive HPLC determination of paracetamol and theophylline in fresh and powdered milk

Poster presented at the 10th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology. 4-7 April 2016, Glasgow, UKN/

Child-driven design of milk micelles for drug delivery

Poster presented at the 9th EuPFI Conference [European Paediatric Formulation Initiative], 19-21th Sep 2017, Warsaw, PolandN/

Milk as a drug delivery platform in paediatrics

Communication presented at the PSSRC − 9th Annual Symposium. 16-18 September 2015, Ghent, Belgium"Purpose: to assess the physical properties of spray dried milk powders and evaluate drug-milk interactions.