Convergent power series for fields in positive or negative high-contrast periodic media

We obtain convergent power series representations for Bloch waves in periodic highcontrast media. The material coefficient in the inclusions can be positive or negative. The small expansion parameter is the ratio of period cell width to wavelength, and the coefficient functions are solutions of the cell problems arising from formal asymptotic expansion. In the case of positive coefficient, the dispersion relation has an infinite sequence of branches, each represented by a convergent even power series whose leading term is a branch of the dispersion relation for the homogenized medium. In the negative case, there is a single branch. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Early-onset breast cancer patients in the South and Southeast of Brazil should be tested for the TP53 p.R337H mutation

Abstract Germline TP53 mutations are associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), a disease that predisposes carriers to a wide variety of early onset tumors. In southern and southeastern Brazil, a high frequency of a germline TP53 mutation, p.R337H, was diagnosed in 0,3% of the population due to a founder effect. Carriers are at risk for developing cancer but the penetrance is lower than in typical DNA binding domain mutations. To date, only a few families were detected and diagnosis of carriers remains a challenge. Therefore, the inclusion of additional criteria to detect p.R337H carriers is necessary for the Brazilian population. We assessed the A.C. Camargo Cancer Center Oncogenetics Department database in search of common characteristics associated with p.R337H families that did not fulfill LFS/LFL clinical criteria. Among 42 p.R337H families, three did not meet any LFS/LFL criteria. All cases were young female patients with breast cancer diagnosed before age 45 and with no family history of LFS linked-cancers. Our results suggest that screening for the germline TP53 p.R337H mutation should be indicated, along with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic testing, for this group of patients, especially in the South and Southeast of Brazil

Influence of sensory stimuli on brand experience, brand equity and purchase intention

Sensory stimulation is used by various brands to induce desired behaviours among their customers. Although its effectiveness is recognised in business contexts, little research has been conducted on sensory marketing. In order to contribute to filling this gap, this study sought to build a model that explains how sensory stimulation influences intentions to purchase a brand. Brand experience and brand equity were expected to medi- ate this relationship. The empirical validation of the model was conducted by carrying out an online survey with a convenience sample of 302 customers of a brand of the catering industry. The data collected were processed using PLS-SEM methodology. The results reveal that sensory stimulation positively influences brand experience and brand equity, which, in turn, have a positive impact on intentions to purchase the brand in question. The relevant contributions that emerged from this study include not only bridging the aforementioned gap in the literature but also offering significant managerial implications.publishe

Características físicas e nutricionais da matriz de encapsulamento na produção de sementes sintéticas de pimenta-longa (Piper hispidinervum C. DC.) Physical and nutritional characteristics of the encapsulated matriz of long pepper (Piper hispidinervum C. DC.) synthetic seed production

A pimenta-longa (Piper hispidinervum C. DC.) é um arbusto da família Piperaceae, nativa da região amazônica, que vem despertando o interesse das indústrias de cosméticos e bioinseticidas pelo alto teor de safrol, óleo essencial extraído das folhas e talos. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a influência de características físicas e nutricionais da matriz de encapsulamento durante a produção de sementes sintéticas de pimenta-longa. Sementes germinadas de pimenta-longa foram utilizadas como material de encapsulamento. Em ambos os experimentos, a influência da constituição (água ou meio Murashige e Skoog) e consistência da cápsula (alginato de sódio 1% ou 2%) e do tempo de complexação (10, 20 e 30 min) em CaCl2, na abertura das cápsulas, foi avaliada. Depois de encapsulados, os materiais foram transferidos para frascos com meio de MS e mantidos em sala de crescimento, onde, quinzenalmente, foi avaliada a taxa de emergência e crescimento das plântulas encapsuladas. Verificou-se que o emprego de um endosperma artificial composto por 1% de alginato de sódio em meio de MS foi o tratamento que promoveu os melhores resultados para a emergência e posterior crescimento de plântulas oriundas de sementes sintéticas aos 30 dias da semeadura em meio MS sólido, independentemente do tempo de complexação utilizado.<br>Long pepper (Piper hispidinervum C. DC.) is a shrub of the Piperaceae family, native of the Amazonian region, with special interest of cosmetics and bio-insecticide industries due to its high concentration of safrol, an essential oil extracted from the leaves and stems. This work aimed to evaluate the physical and nutritional characteristics of the encapsulation matrix during the production of synthetic seeds of long pepper. Germinated long pepper seeds were used as vegetative material for encapsulation. For both experiments, the influence of capsule composition (water or MS) and consistency (sodium alginate at 1% or 2%), complexation time in CaCl2 (10, 20 and 30 minutes) and opening of the capsules were evaluated. After encapsulation, the materials were transferred to flasks with MS medium and maintained in a growth room, where the germination and growth rates of the encapsulated plantlets were evaluated every two weeks. We verified that the use of an artificial endosperm composed by 1% of sodium alginate in MS medium promoted the best results for the conversion and further growth of plants originated from synthetic seeds after 30 days of culture in solid MS medium, independently of the complexation time used

Spatial Cournot equilibrium: do branches matter?

D43, L13,