Superconducting Upper Critical Field Near a 2D Van Hove Singularity

The superconducting upper critical field $H_{c2}(T)$ of a two dimensional BCS superconductor is calculated in the vicinity of a van-Hove singularity. The zero temperature upper critical field is strongly enhanced at weak coupling when the Fermi contour coincides with van-Hove points, scaling as $H_{c2}(0) \propto T_c^{\sqrt{2}}$ compared to the usual result $H_{c2}(0) \propto T_c^{2}$. The result can be interpreted in terms of the non-Fermi liquid decay of normal state pair correlations in the vicinity of a van-Hove point.Comment: 4 pages, Latex 2.09 (revtex), 3 postscript figures appended (tar-compressed and uuencoded using `uufiles'

Modern seawater acidification: The response of foraminifera to high-CO<inf>2</inf> conditions in the Mediterranean Sea

The seas around the island of Ischia (Italy) have a lowered pH as a result of volcanic gas vents that emit carbon dioxide from the sea floor at ambient seawater temperatures. These areas of acidified seawater provide natural laboratories in which to study the long-term biological response to rising CO2 levels. Benthic foraminifera (single-celled protists) are particularly interesting as they have short life histories, are environmentally sensitive and have an excellent fossil record. Here, we examine changes in foraminiferal assemblages along pH gradients at CO2 vents on the coast of Ischia and show that the foraminiferal distribution, diversity and nature of the fauna change markedly in the living assemblages as pH decreases. © 2010 Geological Society of London

Incentives for Investment in Brazil

Objetivo general: Determinar los beneficios del uso combinado de técnica Reichert-Millard en niños con labio leporino Hospital Militar Central en el año 2018. La incidencia de la fisura labial, acompañada o no de esta, es variable encontrándose generalmente entre 1 por 700-750 recién nacidos vivos, por tal motivo es considerada la alteración craneofacial de mayor prevalencia a nivel mundial. Al estudiar la incidencia, se observó que es más frecuente entre la raza asiática, en segundo lugar, la caucásica y es menos común en afroamericanos. Estas variaciones en incidencia, con respecto a la raza, no se evidencian con el paladar hendido. Al revisar estudios con respecto al sexo, la fisura labial/palatina se da con mayor frecuencia en varones; sin embargo, en mujeres es más recurrente la fisura palatina aislada. También, se observó que aproximadamente un 15% corresponden a hendiduras bilaterales. El por qué aparece esta patología se debe a múltiples causas, de las cuales las genéticas y ambientales son de mayor importancia, también se pueden asociar a otros síndromes genéticos. Es un hecho que la incidencia aumenta con la edad del padre después de los 30 años. Además está relacionada con la deficiencia de vitamina b9 durante el embarazo; sin embargo, es más común la causa idiosincrática. Clínicamente suele manifestarse un amplio espectro de variantes: fisura parcial, total labial, palatina, alveolar y nasal unilateral o bilateral. Esto es muy importante para el manejo clínico, un correcto manejo quirúrgico para definir el mejor abordaje al momento de la reparación del defecto y minimizar los riesgos relacionados con la anestesia. Lo más usual en los hospitales es reconstruir la fisura labial a partir del mes o tres meses de edad, porque anatómicamente las estructuras labiales son más grandes, lo cual facilita una mejor reconstrucción. Como es predecible, entre los hospitales el abordaje quirúrgico es diferente, por tal motivo se han descritos diversas técnicas quirúrgicas para lograr una reparación adecuada del labio leporino, con múltiples variantes, como la reparación de Randall-Tennison, LeMesurier, Millard (rotación y avance). La técnica de Millard cuyo objetivo principal es reconstruir la continuidad y funcionalidad del músculo orbicular de los labios, y lograr su simetría. Por ello es necesario describir la técnica quirúrgica utilizada en el Hospital Militar Central y además ver el resultado final del mismo

Consumer-based brand equity and brand performance

The relation between consumer-based brand equity and brand performance was investigated across 15 product categories in Brazil and the UK. Brand equity was conceptualized as related to the level of social benefit offered by each brand and was measured with a simple questionnaire that asked consumers to rate brands with respect to their familiarity and quality levels. These measures were then related to brand market share and revenue. Results showed that the relation between consumer-based brand equity and brand performance varies across product categories, indicating that products differ with respect to their level of brandability and suggesting ways to measure it

Avaliação do efeito do corte horizontal da copa, com máquina de podar de discos, em pomares de pera “Rocha

Current pear pruning making use of pneumatic shears still is a very labour intensive operation. The Proder project “Avaliação da poda mecânica em pomares de pera” was designed to contribute to solutions that would reduce the present dependence in labour and therefore to promote a reduction in pruning costs. This paper shows the results of a trial made to evaluate the influence of mechanical topping in manual pruning complement field work and pear yield. Topping was performed using a Reynolds 6DT 3.0m cutting bar with six hydraulic-driven circular disc-saws mounted in the three point tractor linkage system. The field trial was performed in a commercial orchard with 20 years, planted in an array of 4m x 2m with tree lines oriented in North-South direction. Trees were trained as the central leader system. In this trial, in a randomised complete block design with four replications, two treatments are being compared leading to 8 plots with one line of 14 trees per plot. The treatments tests were: T1 - manual pruning performed by workers using pneumatic shears, in each year; T2 - Topping the canopy parallel to the ground, using a discs-saw pruning machine mounted in a front loader of an agricultural tractor, followed by manual pruning complement performed by workers with pneumatic shears. Tree height and width was measured, before and after pruning. Work was timed and pear yields evaluated. Mechanical topping seems to be effective in the control of tree height, which can contribute to increase 14% of work rates on manual pruning complement. No significant differences in pear yield were found between treatments

Evaluation of clinical, epidemiological and electrophysiological variables for early diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Motor neuron disease (MND) is a systemic disease with a broad clinical spectrum. It is characterized by primary involvement of the lower or upper motor neuron (UMN), or both, simultaneously, represented by the most common form, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is rapidly progressive and fatal disease that evolve to death due to respiratory failure, on average, in three to five years since the onset of symptoms. This fact attends to the early and correct diagnosis of the disease. Objective: To evaluate clinical, epidemiological and electrophysiological variables for the early diagnosis of ALS. Methods: This is an observational, descriptive and retrospective study, conducted from the collect of the database, in which the variables were submitted to statistical analysis: Mann-Whitney test and Fisher's exact test. Results: When correlating clinical, epidemiological and electrophysiological findings of patients with ALS and other forms of MND, the variables: age of onset of symptoms (P=0,02) hyperreflexia (P=0,001), presence of bulbar symptoms/signs (P0,001), pathological reflexes (P=0.001), and presence of fasciculation in electromyography (P=0,001) presented statistical significance for the diagnosis of ALS. Conclusion: Despite the small sample size, the findings reinforce the importance of well- done neurological examination, to search for signs of involvement of the UMN, in the first evaluation of patients with suspected MND. And that more research is needed to better understand the different phenotypes of the disease in order to obtain an increasingly early diagnosis to offer improvements in the quality of life of thesepatients