Photoplastic effects in chalcogenide glasses: A review

A synopsis of the various photoinduced changes of rheological, mechanical and elastic properties is presented in the first part of the article. After a critical appraisal of a large body of experimental data it suggested that the photoviscous effect, that is, the athermal decrease of viscosity of a non-crystalline chalcogenide upon illumination is the key for a plethora of photoinduced effects reported so far in the literature under different names. Morphic effects (shape or surface morphology) may ap-pear either in the presence or absence of external mechanical stimuli leading to the fabrication of a variety of technologically important photoprocessed structures. A few representative examples of photoplastic effects are described, in the second part of the paper, in some detail based on information provided by in situ Raman scattering and nanoindentation experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

On the analysis of the vibrational Boson peak and low-energy excitations in glasses

Implications of reduction procedures applied to the low energy part of the vibrational density of states in glasses and supercooled liquids are considered by advancing a detailed comparison between the excess - over the Debye limit - vibrational density of states g(w) and the frequency-reduced representation g(w)/w^2 usually referred to as the Boson peak. Analyzing representative experimental data from inelastic neutron and Raman scattering we show that reduction procedures distort to a great extent the otherwise symmetric excess density of states. The frequency of the maximum and the intensity of the excess experience dramatic changes; the former is reduced while the latter increases. The frequency and the intensity of the Boson peak are also sensitive to the distribution of the excess. In the light of the critical appraisal between the two forms of the density of states (i.e. the excess and the frequency-reduced one) we discuss changes of the Boson peak spectral features that are induced under the presence of external stimuli such as temperature (quenching rate, annealing), pressure, and irradiation. The majority of the Boson peak changes induced by the presence of those stimuli can be reasonably traced back to simple and expected modifications of the excess density of states and can be quite satisfactorily accounted for the Euclidean random matrix theory. Parallels to the heat capacity Boson peak are also briefly discussed.Comment: To appear in J. Non-Cryst. Solids (Proceedings of the 5th IDMRCS, Lille, July 2005

Adesão à terapia antiretroviral para HIV/AIDS

A não-adesão à terapêutica antiretroviral altamente eficaz (HAART) é considerada, no plano individual, como um dos mais ameaçadores perigos para a efetividade do tratamento da pessoa com HIV/aids e para a disseminação de vírus-resistência, no plano coletivo. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar, mediante revisão de literatura, os fatores de risco para não-adesão à HAART, além de agrupá-los e relacioná-los à pessoa em tratamento, à doença, ao tratamento e ao serviço de saúde e suporte social. A literatura aponta para a necessidade da realização de estudos que avaliem aspectos socioculturais, crenças, qualidade do serviço prestado, relações do cliente com a equipe multiprofissional e outros referentes à raça e aos efeitos colaterais dos anti-retrovirais. Estes estudos visam a favorecer o estabelecimento de estratégias que melhorem a adesão dos clientes à HAART, ao mesmo tempo em e que contribuem para a construção e exercício da cidadania

Protocol deviations and execution models

An important goal of clinical trial simulation (CTS) is to develop well-designed protocols that will maximize the ability to address the stated aim(s) of a proposed clinical trial. The �?rst step in this process is to identify a useful input-output model (IO), including the model structure and its parameters, which will adequately reproduce salient characteristics that clinicians wish to observe in a future clinical study (see Chapter 2). Examples of such characteristics include drug (and metabolite) concentrations, biomarkers of therapeutic or toxicological response (e.g., changes in serum cholesterol, blood pressure, CD4 cell counts, coagulation time, neutrophil counts, hepatic and renal markers, QT prolongation or the incidence of an event, such as drug-induced rash) or clinical outcomes (e.g., time to AIDS conversion, survival time, recovery from stroke, improvement in cognitive scales)