A One-Dimensional Theory of Solute Diffusion and Degradation in Elastic Solids

A theoretical framework for the description of the interaction between diffusion, mechanics, and degradation in elastic solids is developed. To avoid complications that obscure the essential features of these interactions, we work within a one-dimensional setting. A particular specialization of the general theory is selected and a numerical implementation based on the finite-element method, a backward Euler time-stepping scheming, and an operator-splitting algorithm is described. An application involving the time-independent end-loading of a notched cylindrical bar is used to illustrate the ability of the theory to describe some essential features of solute-assisted degradation.Indisponível

Mortality in children, adolescents and adults with sickle cell anemia in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the mortality rate of children, adolescents and adults with sickle cell anemia in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. METHODS: The number of deaths, the mortality rate and the causes of deaths in patients with sickle cell anemia who were treated and followed up at our institution for 15 years were determined and compared to data available for the Brazilian population. RESULTS: The overall number of deaths was 281 patients with a mortality rate of 16.77%. Survival probability was significantly higher in females. The number of deaths and the mortality rate were age-specific with a significant increase in the 19- to 29-year-old age group. The remaining life expectancy of the patients with sickle cell anemia was less than that of Brazilians at large. The gap between the two was about 20 years for ages between one and five years with this gap decreasing to ten years after the age of 65 years. The most common causes of death were infection, acute chest syndrome, overt stroke, organ damage and sudden death during painful crises. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Brazilian study in a single institution in Rio de Janeiro; the mortality rate was 18.87% among adult patients with sickle cell anemia. The mortality rates in children and adults are higher than those reported in developed countries of the northern hemisphere

Não jogue nada fora: prática da compostagem para donas de casa e pequenos agricultores

Trabalho apresentado no II Congresso Nacional do PROJETO RONDON, realizado em Florianópolis, SC, no período de 23 a 25 de setembro de 2015 - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.Os resíduos orgânicos (dejetos de animais, cascas e bagaços de frutas e caroços não comercializados, resíduos de culturas, serragem e restos de capim) geralmente são descartados junto com resíduos secos (papel, plástico, vidro etc.) e este tem sido um dos maiores problemas ambientais da atual sociedade. Uma alternativa para reduzir o descarte dos resíduos orgânicos com os resíduos secos é a pratica da compostagem. A compostagem é definida como processo biológico realizado por microrganismos que transformam matéria orgânica, seja ela de origem animal ou vegetal em um composto rico em nutrientes podendo ser facilmente incorporada ao solo. Nesse contexto, foi realizado no município de Wanderlândia - To, durante a Operação Itacaiúnas do Projeto Rondon, no período de 17 de Julho a 2 de agosto de 2015, o curso que abarcou a temática, tendo como objetivo discutir o descarte correto e reaproveitamento de materiais orgânicos na produção de adubo como também, sua utilização na produção de alimentos que eles irão consumir. Foram realizados vários momentos de aplicação, tanto na sede do município quanto nos distritos de Araçulândia, Ponta do Asfalto e no Assentamento Costa Rica, tendo sido beneficiadas 48 pessoas no total das atividades. Foi utilizado recurso visual para apresentar algumas formas de compostagem e modelos de composteiras, além de distribuída uma cartilha educativa como material de apoio as ações foram complementadas com atividades práticas junto aos participantes. A receptividade às propostas levantadas foram as melhores, o interesse em conhecer mais gerou interações e discussões, além do compartilhamento de informações estarem constantemente presentes. Foi inegável a certeza de que os assuntos abordados estavam interligados e os participantes tinham algum conhecimento sobre os mesmos. Ao final, entende-se que a atividade foi realizada com sucesso, tendo em vista os participantes terem demonstrado a vontade de (re) compartilhar as informações e colocá-las em prática nas suas comunidades, estimulando em seus vizinhos e colegas ao reuso e o descarte correto de resíduos domésticos e da produção

Finite Element Modal Analysis of Transient Water Flow in Aquifers

In this paper a modal superposition method is applied for the numerical modeling of aquifers. The proximity of aquifers to populated regions requires special care in their management to avoid problems that affect the quantity and quality of the water they supply. To contribute to the management of this type of natural resource, we propose a numerical strategy based on modal analysis using the finite element method. This procedure assist water production scenarios, performing the mass balance where water extraction is done through wells, in aquifers that are subject to natural recharge. This mathematical procedure is based on the modal superposition for transient flow in porous media. To evaluate its efficiency, this strategy was compared with the classical finite element method. The advantage of the proposed method resides in the possibility of reusing the properties of the global matrix of the finite element method in transient problems, for different production conditions given by the distributed recharge and by the water extraction rate from the wells, solving the numerical problem with a more efficient use of computational resources. This strategy is useful in studies of uncertainty quantification, history matching and optimization of water production in aquifers, since these types of analysis are resource intensive for the very large number of numerical simulations required for these scenarios

Service Recommendation System for a Smart City

Smart Cities are complex spaces with a variety of information and points of interest, in which citizens can have access, whether visitors or residents. This paper presents a system of recommendation of points of interest in smart cities, aiming to improve the result of the search performed by the user. For this, an ontological model was used, through a case study, adding data from a city. Through this study, it is possible to demonstrate the potential of an ontological modeling to provide recommendations. These improve semantics and create standardization to facilitate knowledge sharing. The approach developed aims to recommend information from sights and health services. To test the system, SWRL rules were developed and, from them, inferences are made by a reasoner

Gas exchanges and water-use efficiency of Nopalea cochenillifera intercropped under edaphic practices

The Nopalea forage cactus (Nopalea cochenillifera) is the main xerophilic species cultivated in Brazil, highlighted as a compatible biological element with the semiarid environment. However, studies on its physiological aspects are still scarce. In this context, an experiment was performed in the Pendência Experimental Station, belonging to the State Company of Agricultural Research of Paraíba (EMEPA-PB), municipality of Soledade, state of Paraíba, Brazil, aiming to evaluate the gas exchanges and the water-use efficiency of intercropped Nopalea Cochenillifera plants in the soil under different edaphic managements. The treatments were distributed in randomized blocks, with three replications in a 2 × 5 factorial scheme, corresponding to the soil without and with mulch and five types of cultivation of Nopalea forage cactus, in monoculture and intercropped with forage watermelon, millet, sorghum, and buffelgrass. The analyzed variables were: stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, net photosynthesis rate, and internal CO2 concentration, besides the instantaneous water-use efficiency, intrinsic water-use efficiency, and instantaneous carboxylation efficiency. The use of soil mulch satisfactorily increased the photosynthetic rate of the forage cactus; this type of practice can aid in the productive development of the crop in semiarid zones, whereas the intercropping with buffelgrass and forage watermelon stimulated photosynthesis and the water-use efficiency.The Nopalea forage cactus (Nopalea cochenillifera) is the main xerophilic species cultivated in Brazil, highlighted as a compatible biological element with the semiarid environment. However, studies on its physiological aspects are still scarce. In this context, an experiment was performed in the Pendência Experimental Station, belonging to the State Company of Agricultural Research of Paraíba (EMEPA-PB), municipality of Soledade, state of Paraíba, Brazil, aiming to evaluate the gas exchanges and the water-use efficiency of intercropped Nopalea Cochenillifera plants in the soil under different edaphic managements. The treatments were distributed in randomized blocks, with three replications in a 2 × 5 factorial scheme, corresponding to the soil without and with mulch and five types of cultivation of Nopalea forage cactus, in monoculture and intercropped with forage watermelon, millet, sorghum, and buffelgrass. The analyzed variables were: stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, net photosynthesis rate, and internal CO2 concentration, besides the instantaneous water-use efficiency, intrinsic water-use efficiency, and instantaneous carboxylation efficiency. The use of soil mulch satisfactorily increased the photosynthetic rate of the forage cactus; this type of practice can aid in the productive development of the crop in semiarid zones, whereas the intercropping with buffelgrass and forage watermelon stimulated photosynthesis and the water-use efficiency

Volume hídrico por processamento digital de imagens de açude público em Sumé, Paraíba

A referente pesquisa ressalta a importância da água, enfatizando o conhecimento da quantidade do volume em armazenamento, como uma propositura indispensável, principalmente em regiões onde há irregularidades na quantidade de chuvas e na distribuição ao longo do tempo. O sensoriamento remoto vem ganhando muito espaço no manejo de bacias, pois ajuda a identificar e a monitorar possíveis mudanças nos recursos naturais. O açude público de Sumé se encontra localizado na bacia hidrográfica do Alto Rio Paraíba, região do Cariri paraibano, tendo capacidade máxima de armazenamento de 44,8 milhões de m3 com a área relativa do espelho d’água de 8,5 milhões de m2, para a execução dessa pesquisa foram utilizadas imagens orbitais dos satélites Landsat 8/OLI, Landsat 5/TM e ETM e Landsat 7/TM e ETM+. O sistema usado para o processamento digital foi o SPRING versão 5.5.1. Para o processamento digital de imagens foram usadas as seguintes metodologias: Contraste; Componentes Principais (bandas 5, 4 e 3 - Landsat 5 e 7; e 6, 5 e 4 - Landsat 8); IVDN; Realce por Decorrelação (DECO); Composição Multiespectral Ajustada (CMA).; e, falsa composição de cor. O RGB-CONTRASTE foi o que apresentou uma maior correlação (0,9998), acompanhado da CMA-DECO (0,9979). O sensoriamento remoto mostrou-se eficaz para o estudo dos recursos hídricos, sendo um método viável economicamente com rápidos resultados

Hemipelvectomia interna: relato de oito casos

Internal hemipelvectomy is a surgical procedure adequate for treatment of certain tumors of the pelvic girdle. Being a lower limb-preserving approach, it is a therapeutic alternative to the classical interilioabdominal amputation and hip joint disarticulation. According to Enneking`s classification, there are four types of internal hemipelvectomies, although the association of different types of resection in the same procedure is feasible if necesary. This surgical approach should be correctly indicated to positively affect the patient`s morbidity, mortality and quality of life. We report eight cases of internal hemipelvectomy in patients diagnosed with tumors of the pelvic girdle. We also discuss the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatments used, along with their follow-up.A hemipelvectomia interna é um procedimento cirúrgico adequado no tratamento de certos tumores de cintura pélvica. É uma alternativa terapêutica capaz de preservar o membro inferior do paciente, ao contrário das amputações clássicas como a amputação interilioabdominal (AIIA) e desarticulação coxofemoral. De acordo com a classificação de Enneking, existem quatro tipos de hemipelvectomia interna, mas, se for necessário, é possível a associação de diferentes tipos de ressecção em um único procedimento. É fundamental que esta cirurgia seja indicada de forma correta para que interfira positivamente na morbimortalidade e qualidade de vida do paciente. Relatamos oito casos de hemipelvectomia interna em pacientes diagnosticados com tumores de cintura pélvica, bem como os tipos de tratamento neoadjuvantes e adjuvantes a que eles foram submetidos e o follow-up dos mesmos