859 research outputs found
Metal-insulator transition in NdEuNiO compounds
Polycrystalline NdEuNiO () compounds
were synthesized in order to investigate the character of the metal-insulator
(MI) phase transition in this series. Samples were prepared through the sol-gel
route and subjected to heat treatments at 1000 C under oxygen
pressures as high as 80 bar. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Neutron Powder
Diffraction (NPD), electrical resistivity , and Magnetization
measurements were performed on these compounds. The results of NPD and XRD
indicated that the samples crystallize in an orthorhombic distorted perovskite
structure, space group . The analysis of the structural parameters
revealed a sudden and small expansion of 0.2% of the unit cell volume
when electronic localization occurs. This expansion was attributed to a small
increase of 0.003 \AA{} of the average Ni-O distance and a simultaneous
decrease of of the Ni-O-Ni superexchange angle. The
measurements revealed a MI transition occurring at temperatures
ranging from to 336 K for samples with and 0.50,
respectively. These measurements also show a large thermal hysteresis in
NdNiO during heating and cooling processes suggesting a first-order
character of the phase transition at . The width of this thermal
hysteresis was found to decrease appreciably for the sample
NdEuNiO. The results indicate that cation disorder
associated with increasing substitution of Nd by Eu is responsible for changing
the first order character of the transition in NdNiO.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure
Doubly Periodic Instanton Zero Modes
Fermionic zero modes associated with doubly periodic SU(2) instantons of unit
charge are considered. In cases where the action density exhibits two
`instanton cores' the zero mode peaks on one of four line-segments joining the
two constituents. Which of the four possibilities is realised depends on the
fermionic boundary conditions; doubly periodic, doubly anti-periodic or mixed.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Linguistic validation of cystic fibrosis quality of life questionnaires
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to validate the Portuguese translations of four cystic fibrosis quality of life questionnaires (CFQ). The first three were developed for patients with cystic fibrosis aged from 6 to 11 years, from 12 to 13 years and 14 years or more, while the fourth was developed for the parents of patients aged 6 to 13 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The four CFQ translations contained from 35 to 50 questions covering nine domains and were validated as follows: translation from English to Portuguese, pilot application, back translation and then approval by the author of the English versions. The four translations were applied to 90 stable patients (30 from each age group) and the parents of patients aged 6-13 years (n = 60), on two occasions with a 13 to 17 day interval. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were used to measure reproducibility. This study was approved by the Commission for Ethics in Research at the institution. RESULTS:Reproducibility was good (ICC = 0.62 to 0.99) for the four translations in all domains, with the exceptions of the Digestion domain for the 6 to 11 and 12 to 13 years age groups with ICC = 0.59 and 0.47, respectively and the Social Role domain for the 14 and over age group (ICC = -0.19 ) CONCLUSION: The translation and cultural adaptation for Brazil resulted in four CFQ versions that are easy to understand and offer good reproducibility.OBJETIVO: O propĂłsito deste estudo foi validar em portuguĂȘs as quatro versĂ”es de questionĂĄrios de qualidade de vida em fibrose cĂstica, desenvolvidos para pacientes com fibrose cĂstica de 6 a 11 anos, de 12 a 13 e mais de 14 anos, e para os pais de pacientes de 6 a 13 anos. MATERIAL E MĂTODOS: A validação das quatro versĂ”es de questionĂĄrios de qualidade de vida em fibrose cĂstica (de 35 e 50 questĂ”es, abrangendo nove domĂnios) constou de: versĂŁo inglĂȘs-portuguĂȘs, aplicação-piloto, tradução retrĂłgrada e aprovação da autora da versĂŁo inglesa. As quatro versĂ”es foram aplicadas a 90 pacientes estĂĄveis (30 de cada grupo etĂĄrio) e aos pais de doentes de 6-13 anos (n = 60), em duas entrevistas, com intervalo de 13-17 dias. Foi avaliada a reprodutibilidade pelo coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (CCI). O estudo foi aprovado pela comissĂŁo de Ă©tica em pesquisa da instituição. RESULTADOS: A reprodutibilidade foi boa (CCI = 0,62 a 0,99) para as quatro versĂ”es, em todos os domĂnios, exceto o digestivo (CCI = 0,59 e CCI = 0,47) para os grupos etĂĄrios de 6 a 11 e 12 a 13 anos, respectivamente, e domĂnio papel social (CCI = -0,19 ) para o grupo acima de 14 anos. CONCLUSĂO: A tradução e a adaptação Ă lĂngua e Ă cultura brasileiras das quatro versĂ”es de questionĂĄrios de qualidade de vida em fibrose cĂstica mostraram-se de fĂĄcil entendimento e boa reprodutibilidade.Universidade de SĂŁo Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de PediatriaUniversidade Federal de SĂŁo Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaFaculdade de Medicina do ABCUNIFESP-EPM Centro de Reabilitação PulmonarUniversidade de SĂŁo Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das ClĂnicasUniversity of Miami Department of PsychologyUNIFESP, EPM, Centro de Reabilitação PulmonarSciEL
âCandidatus Phytoplasma stylosanthisâ, a novel taxon with a diverse host range in Australia, characterised using multilocus sequence analysis of 16S rRNA, secA, tuf, and rp genes
In Australia, Stylosanthes little leaf (StLL) phytoplasma has been detected in Stylosanthes scabra Vogel, Arachis pintoi Krapov, Saccharum officinarum L., Carica papaya L., Medicago sativa L., and Solanum tuberosum L. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of StLL phytoplasma strains from S. scabra, C. papaya, S. officinarum and S. tuberosum were compared and share 99.93â100â% nucleotide sequence identity. Phylogenetic comparisons between the 16S rRNA genes of StLL phytoplasma and other âCandidatus Phytoplasmaâ species indicate that StLL represents a distinct phytoplasma lineage. It shares its most recent known ancestry with âCa. Phytoplasma luffaeâ (16SrVIII-A), with which it has 97.17â97.25â% nucleotide identity. In silico RFLP analysis of the 16S rRNA amplicon using iPhyClassifier indicate that StLL phytoplasmas have a unique pattern (similarity coefficient below 0.85) that is most similar to that of âCa. Phytoplasma luffaeâ. The unique in silico RFLP patterns were confirmed in vitro. Nucleotide sequences of genes that are more variable than the 16S rRNA gene, namely tuf (tu-elongation factor), secA (partial translocation gene), and the partial ribosomal protein (rp) gene operon (rps19-rpl22-rps3), produced phylogenetic trees with similar branching patterns to the 16S rRNA gene tree. Sequence comparisons between the StLL 16S rRNA spacer region confirmed previous reports of rrn interoperon sequence heterogeneity for StLL, where the spacer region of rrnB encodes a complete tRNA-Isoleucine gene and the rrnA spacer region does not. Together these results suggest that the Australian phytoplasma, StLL, is unique according to the International Organization for Mycoplasmology (IRPCM) recommendations. The novel taxon âCa. Phytoplasma stylosanthisâ is proposed, with the most recent strain from a potato crop in Victoria, Australia, serving as the reference strain (deposited in the Victorian Plant Pathology Herbarium as VPRI 43683)
Synchronous-scan fluorescence and the complexation of copper (II) ions by humic substances
Two fluorescence bands were detected using synchronous-scan fluorescence on samples of terrestrially derived humic substances (lex/lem 380/398, 440/458 nm) without the addition of copper. A third band (lex/lem 502/520 nm) was detected after severe quenching of the second band (lex/lem 440/458 nm) caused by additions of copper. A more energetic band (lex/lem 333/351 nm) is present in marine DOM, but absent in the terrestrial material. The effects of copper on both the intensity and shape of the synchronous-scan fluorescence spectra and this technique s potential use as a tracer are discussed.A fluorescĂȘncia de substĂąncias hĂșmicas de origem terrestre foi investigada atravĂ©s da tĂ©cnica de fluorescĂȘncia sincronizada, e as amostras mostraram duas bandas principais (lex/lem 380/398, 440/458 nm) quando analisadas sem adição do metal paramagnĂ©tico cobre. Uma terceira banda (lex/lem 502/520 nm) foi detectada apĂłs severa extinção de fluorescĂȘncia da segunda banda causada pela adição de cobre. Uma outra banda, mais energĂ©tica (lex/lem 333/351 nm) foi detectada em amostras marinhas, porĂ©m ausente do material de origem terrestre. Os efeitos de cobre sobre a intensidade e forma do espectro de fluorescĂȘncia sincronizado e a utilização desta tĂ©cnica como marcadores sĂŁo discutidas.339342Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientĂfico e TecnolĂłgico (CNPq
Corporate Bankruptcy of Portuguese Firms
Over the time has been increasing the interest in understanding the subjects of insolvency
and bankruptcy due to its consequences for the countryâs economic performance, and,
actually, to its importance in the actual economic European context. The present work
studies the evolution of bankruptcy of Portuguese fi rms in the last two decades, and obtains
a set of macroeconomic factors which can explain this occurrence. It was considered the
period 1990-2009, and the methodology used was a regression model including variables
considerate in several empirical studies sustained in the literature review. The obtained results
pointed to the relevance of macroeconomic variables as most signifi cant explanatory
variables for the Portuguese case
Heterotic Compactification, An Algorithmic Approach
We approach string phenomenology from the perspective of computational
algebraic geometry, by providing new and efficient techniques for proving
stability and calculating particle spectra in heterotic compactifications. This
is done in the context of complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds in a
single projective space where we classify positive monad bundles. Using a
combination of analytic methods and computer algebra we prove stability for all
such bundles and compute the complete particle spectrum, including gauge
singlets. In particular, we find that the number of anti-generations vanishes
for all our bundles and that the spectrum is manifestly moduli-dependent.Comment: 36 pages, Late
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