Updated Nucleosynthesis Constraints on Unstable Relic Particles

We revisit the upper limits on the abundance of unstable massive relic particles provided by the success of Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis calculations. We use the cosmic microwave background data to constrain the baryon-to-photon ratio, and incorporate an extensively updated compilation of cross sections into a new calculation of the network of reactions induced by electromagnetic showers that create and destroy the light elements deuterium, he3, he4, li6 and li7. We derive analytic approximations that complement and check the full numerical calculations. Considerations of the abundances of he4 and li6 exclude exceptional regions of parameter space that would otherwise have been permitted by deuterium alone. We illustrate our results by applying them to massive gravitinos. If they weigh ~100 GeV, their primordial abundance should have been below about 10^{-13} of the total entropy. This would imply an upper limit on the reheating temperature of a few times 10^7 GeV, which could be a potential difficulty for some models of inflation. We discuss possible ways of evading this problem.Comment: 40 pages LaTeX, 18 eps figure

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

A gestão por processos gera melhoria de qualidade e redução de custos: o caso da unidade de ortopedia e traumatologia do hospital das clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco Process management improves quality and reduces costs: the case of the orthopedics and trauma unit at the hospital das clínicas at the Federal University of Pernambuco

Este artigo teve como objetivo principal verificar até que ponto a utilização de protocolos de atendimento médico-hospitalar pode promover um incremento na qualidade dos serviços prestados via padronização de processos, no mesmo tempo em que propicia uma redução nos custos diretamente relacionados aos procedimentos protocolados. O estudo em tela ocorreu na Unidade de Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, e se refere ao procedimento de artroplastia de joelho ou colocação de prótese no joelho. Dados foram coletados durante os anos de 2004 e 2005 sobre indicadores de qualidade e sobre os custos diretos da cirurgia e da internação referentes a 89 pacientes que se submeteram ao procedimento sob estudo. A pesquisa foi realizada em dois momentos distintos: antes e após a implantação do protocolo que envolveu todo o processo médicohospitalar desde o seu atendimento inicial no ambulatório até sua alta do hospital. Por meio da análise dos dados ficou evidenciado que o protocolo implantado promoveu uma redução no tempo médio de espera para a realização da cirurgia da ordem de 3 dias, permitiu a diminuição de 7 dias na permanência total dos pacientes, reduziu em cerca de 20 minutos o tempo médio de duração da cirurgia. Todavia, não se conseguiu reduzir de maneira significativa os custos diretos de consumo, mas proporcionou uma queda em todos os custos diretos vinculadas à internação.<br>This paper aims to verify to which extent the use of a medical-hospital treatment protocol can promote quality improvement in the services provided by means of process standardization, while at the same time reducing surgical and inpatient costs directly related to the procedure under protocol. The study took place at the Orthopedics Department of the Hospital das Clínicas at the Federal University of Pernambuco and referred to a knee arthroplasty or prosthetic knee replacement procedure. Data was collected during the period from 2004 to 2005 regarding quality indicators and direct surgical and inpatient costs for 89 patients submitted to the procedure under observation. The study looked at two distinct time periods: before and after the implementation of the protocol that involved the entire medical and administrative processes, ranging from the initial contact of the patient at the outpatient service up to the surgery and discharge from the hospital ward. Statistical data analysis made it evident that the protocol implemented at the hospital promoted a reduction in the mean waiting period of three days from time of admission to surgery, of seven days in the overall length of the patient' stay, a mean reduction of 20 minutes in the time of surgery, although no significant cost reduction in the materials consumed during the surgery itself was observed. It also proportioned a reduction in all direct cost categories related to the inpatient period