Controlled Manipulation of Engineered Colloidal Particles

This research utilized the Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates (PRINT) technology to fabricate highly tailored colloidal particles. The behavior of these engineered particles were studied as they were subjected to different precisely controlled external influences, including electric fields, magnetic fields and a templating approach based on the PRINT process. Given the tunability in particle properties afforded by the PRINT process, exceptional control of the resulting particle assemblies and particle mobility were observed, suggesting potential applications in numerous materials and life science applications that require control on the nanoscale. As the PRINT process was integral to all aspects of this research, it was important to gain a clear understanding of mechanism by which perfluoropolyether (PFPE) elastomeric molds can generate monodisperse arrays of discrete, uniform particles with tailored size, shape and composition. Thus, fundamental studies were conducted on the PFPE elastomers, focusing on contact mechanics measurements and capillary flow experiments. The results confirmed the low surface energy of PFPE, an important property that renders the PFPE molds ideal for the PRINT process. Capillary flow experiments were conducted to study the method by which PFPE molds can be filled during the PRINT process. The flow in closed PFPE microchannels was compared to that in PDMS and glass. Suspensions of PRINT particles were studied in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. Electric field experiments were conducted using non-uniform alternating current electric fields and uniform direct current electric fields. Magnetic field experiments were conducted using both stationary and rotating magnetic fields. Particle assemblies were observed to form and could be tuned by particle shape and composition. Particle motion, both translational and rotational, was also controlled. Properties were found to be both shape and composition dependent. These experiments were applied to the fabrication of steerable micromotors and the driving of deformable particles through confined environments. Using the inherent templating nature of the PRINT process, highly ordered polymer composite films were fabricated to completely avoid particle aggregation. The fabrication process was optimized for different compositions and film nanostructures. These experiments were applied to the fabrication of dielectric composite films for capacitors

Biossegurança do enfermeiro obstetra durante a pandemia Covid-19 em contexto hospitalar

Enquadramento: Atualmente somos confrontados com uma realidade que desconhecíamos até então. A pandemia Covid-19 exigiu uma colaboração e cooperação de suporte, sem precedentes a um nível global, sobre questões de saúde relacionadas com a segurança. As vulnerabilidades dos profissionais de saúde, incluindo os Enfermeiros Especialistas em Enfermagem de Saúde Materna e Obstétrica (EEESMO) associadas à prática clínica tornaram-se mais evidentes. Por essa razão, urge refletir sobre as questões que afetam a biossegurança dos EEESMO em contexto hospitalar. Objetivos: O presente relatório reflete o meu percurso e apresenta dois objetivos gerais: Relatar o percurso de desenvolvimento de competências comuns e específicas de enfermeiro especialista nos vários contextos de aprendizagem; Descrever a investigação realizada relativamente às estratégias implementadas para aumentar a biossegurança do EEESMO, em contexto de Bloco de Partos, durante a pandemia de Covid-19. Metodologia: Estudo Exploratório Descritivo. Para a colheita de dados foi utilizado um instrumento (questionário) e a observação durante a interação de cuidados. Numa primeira fase, efetuou-se uma Revisão Scoping, que me permitiu mapear o conhecimento científico sobre a temática, posteriormente, a minha observação durante o estágio no contexto de Bloco de Partos foi fundamental para conhecer o contexto de cuidados, tomar conhecimento do Plano de Contingência e identificar os recursos humanos e materiais disponíveis. Na terceira fase aplicou-se o questionário construído no Google Forms e acessível nas redes sociais, a uma amostra de 32 EEESMO que exercem funções em Blocos de Parto. Na quarta fase, após análise e reflexão sobre os resultados, apresento algumas sugestões para aumentar a biossegurança do enfermeiro obstetra e iniciei a divulgação de resultados. Resultados: O Plano de Contingência é do conhecimento da quase totalidade dos participantes, contudo no que diz respeito ao procedimento de testagem dos acompanhantes das parturientes, cerca de metade dos respondentes 7 desconhecem-no. Relativamente às medidas implementadas para controle ambiental, a grande maioria dos EEESMO conhecem e aderiram às medidas promotoras da segurança do ambiente de trabalho, porém a utilização de roupa descartável durante a prestação de cuidados à parturiente suspeita ou infetada é a medida em que se observou menor adesão. Quanto à gestão de casos suspeitos, os EEESMO conhecem e aplicam o definido no “Fluxograma de Atuação”, mas alguns consideram que não está disponível para consulta rápida em todos os locais de atendimento das parturientes. Na gestão dos recursos humanos, os participantes consideram que existem profissionais de saúde suficientes para garantir os cuidados diretos à grávida suspeita ou infetada, mas quando inquiridos relativamente à disponibilidade de EEESMO para esse efeito, já consideram esse recurso limitado. Outro aspeto critico nesta dimensão é o facto de nem sempre estarem disponíveis profissionais experientes para ajudar com a colocação e remoção do EPI nas zonas de isolamento, porém consideram que os materiais se encontram disponíveis e acessíveis nos locais definidos para a sua colocação e manuseamento. Alguns enfermeiros assumem que não cumprem criteriosamente os “5 momentos” para a higiene das mãos. A programação de atividades que promovem a formação e treino de procedimentos técnicos, que visam minimizar grau de risco e exposição foi considerada insuficiente. Conclusões: Embora não se conheça a real dimensão dos profissionais de saúde infetados durante a pandemia Covid-19, é determinante a sua formação para lidar com os riscos presentes no seu ambiente de trabalho e a implementação de medidas que garantam a biossegurança dos enfermeiros, no exercício da sua prática clínica.Framework: Currently, we are facing a reality so far unknown for all of us. The Covid-19 pandemic has required an unprecedent collaboration and support cooperation about health issues related to safety at a global level. The healthcare professional’s vulnerabilities, including Specialist Nurses in Maternal and Obstetric Health (EEESMO) have become increasingly more evident on their daily practice. For that reason, is urgent to reflect about the questions that affect the biosafety of EEESMO in a hospital context. Objectives: The developed report reflects my path and has two main goals: to describe the development and improvement of specific and common skills of the EEESMO in all grounds of their apprenticeship; account the different strategies implemented in a Labour Ward in order to improve the EEESMO’s biosafety during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methodology: Descriptive Exploratory Research. It was taken a questionnaire for data collection as well my perception through observation during the healthcare provision. On a first stage, a Scoping Review was carried out, which allowed me to map the acknowledgment and the scientific evidence, during care interaction. Later, on a second stage, my observation was paramount to acknowledge the context of care, to become aware of the Contingency Plan and to identify the human and material resources. On a third stage, the questionnaire built with the help of Google Forms and available on social networks, was applied to a convenience sample of 32 EEESMO, which perform their duties on Labour Wards. On the fourth stage, after proper analysis and reflexion, I present some suggestions to maximize the EEESMO biosafety and started a disclosure for results. Results: The contingency plan for the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Urgent Care Department is recognized by the majority of the intervenients, however, regarding the testing procedure for both parturient and companion almost half of the participants are unaware of it. In regard to the implemented measures for 9 environmental control, the vast majority of nurses is aware of them and adhered to the work environment safety measures. However, the use of disposable clothing worn during the delivery of care to a suspected or infected parturient is the most missed measure. Considering the management of suspicious cases, the EEESMO knows and apply the defined in the Action Flowchart, but some consider that is not available for rapid consultation in every parturient services location. In the management of human resources, the inquired people acknowledged that there are enough healthcare professionals to ensure direct care for suspected and infected pregnant women, but when inquired about the availability of EEESMO for that same purpose, they already recognize it as a limited resource. Another critical aspect in this extent is that experienced healthcare professionals are not always available to help with the donning and the doffing of PPE in critical isolation areas, but the fact that these materials are available and ready to use in the designated areas is widely recognized. Some nurses assume that they don’t meticulously follow the “5 Moments” to the hand sanitizing procedure. The programming for activities that promote this training and technical procedures, aiming to reduce the risk level and exposure was considered insufficient. Conclusion: Although is yet unknown the real dimension of healthcare professionals infected during Covid-19 pandemic, the training compliance is mandatory to cope with the risk and hazards involved on their work environment and the implementation of measures to guarantee the biosafety of nurses in the exercise of their clinical practice

Safflower: importance, use and economical exploitation

The safflower is an ornamental, medicinal, oleaginous, annual and herbaceous plant, and it is cultivated in more than 60 countries. In Brazil, it presents great edaphoclimatic adaptations for the different regions of the country. With wide economic exploitation, it encompasses: the floricultural sector with the floral stems in a fresh and dry form; the animal feeding with grazing, silage and seed cake; the food, pharmaceutical and oil industries with the use of oil according to its refine for the emulsification in bakery, elaboration of medicine and biodiesel; besides the use of coloring that comes from the dried petals in culinary, cosmetics and in fabrics, among other aptitudes of use. Thus, the present work had as objective to perform a national and international review of literature about the importance, use and economic exploitation of safflower

Design Of An Optofluidic Device For The Measurement Of The Elastic Modulus Of Deformable Particles

Suspensions carrying deformable inclusions are ubiquitous in nature and applications. Hence, high-throughput characterization of the mechanical properties of soft particles is of great interest. Recently, a non-invasive optofluidic technique has been developed for the measurement of the interfacial tension between two immiscible liquids [8]. We have adapted such technique to the case of soft solid beads, thus designing a non-invasive optofluidic device for the measurement of the mechanical properties of deformable particles from real-time optical imaging of their deformation. The device consists of a cylindrical microfluidic channel with a cross-section reduction in which we make initially spherical soft beads flow suspended in a Newtonian carrier. By imaging the deformation of a particle in real time while it goes through the constriction, it is possible to get a measure of its elastic modulus through a theoretically derived-correlation. We provide both experimental and numerical validation of our device

Controlling capillary fingering using pore size gradients in disordered media

Capillary fingering is a displacement process that can occur when a non-wetting fluid displaces a wetting fluid from a homogeneous disordered porous medium. Here, we investigate how this process is influenced by a pore size gradient. Using microfluidic experiments and computational pore-network models, we show that the non-wetting fluid displacement behavior depends sensitively on the direction and the magnitude of the gradient. The fluid displacement depends on the competition between a pore size gradient and pore-scale disorder; indeed, a sufficiently large gradient can completely suppress capillary fingering. By analyzing capillary forces at the pore scale, we identify a non-dimensional parameter that describes the physics underlying these diverse flow behaviors. Our results thus expand the understanding of flow in complex porous media, and suggest a new way to control flow behavior via the introduction of pore size gradients.Comment: In press, Physical Review Fluids (2019

Termoterapia via calor seco para o tratamento de sementes de cártamo

The objectives of this work were to evaluate the method of thermotherapy via dry heat for the treatment of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seeds and, to verify its effect on the physiological and sanitary quality of seeds. The experiment was conducted in entirely randomized design, arranged in 5x6+1 factorial scheme, with six levels of temperature: 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 and 85 ºC and with five time periods: 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h, plus the additional treatment (control), with eight repetitions. The seeds were packaged in Kraft paper bags and submitted to the forced circulation greenhouse according to the factorial mentioned above. We evaluated the physiological and sanitary qualities by the standard tests of germination, length and mass of seedlings, emergence at field and sanity. We observed that the thermotherapy can be used as treatment of safflower seeds, and it is efficient in the control of phytopathogens, without damage to the physiological quality up to 45 ºC, and the combination of 45 ºC 24 h-1 provided better phytosanitary quality for these seeds, increasing their germinative potential and emergence at field.Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar o método de termoterapia via calor seco para o tratamento de sementes de cártamo (Carthamus tinctorius L.) e verificar seu efeito na qualidade fisiológica e sanitária das sementes. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, arranjado em esquema fatorial 5x6+1, com seis níveis de temperatura: 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 e 85 ºC e com cinco períodos: 24, 48, 72, 96 e 120 h, mais o tratamento adicional (controle), com oito repetições. As sementes foram acondicionadas em sacos de papel Kraft e submetidas à estufa de circulação forçada, conforme o fatorial mencionado acima. Avaliamos as qualidades fisiológicas e sanitárias pelos testes padrão de germinação, comprimento e massa de plântulas, emergência em campo e sanidade. Observamos que a termoterapia pode ser utilizada como tratamento de sementes de cártamo e é eficiente no controle de fitopatógenos, sem prejuízo da qualidade fisiológica até 45 ºC, e a combinação de 45 ºC 24 h-1 proporcionou melhor qualidade fitossanitária para sementes, aumentando seu potencial germinativo e emergência no campo

Armazenamento de sementes de cártamo tratadas por termoterapia

A cultura do cártamo (Carthamus tinctorius L.) apresenta ampla aptidão de uso, desde planta ornamental a oleaginosa, com boa adaptabilidade de cultivo no país. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade fisiológica e sanitária das sementes de cártamo tratadas por termoterapia durante o armazenamento em diferentes embalagens. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3x4x4 (tratamentos de sementes, tipos de embalagens e períodos de armazenamento), com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos das sementes foram: testemunha (sem tratamento), termoterapia via calor úmido (45º C 15 min-1) e termoterapia via calor seco (45º C 24 h-1), em embalagens foram do tipo: frasco de vidro transparente, sacos de papel Kraft, embalagem plástica de garrafa e saco plástico selado a vácuo. Os períodos de armazenamento foram: 0, 4, 8 e 12 meses, em ambiente com refrigeração em câmara fria (15º C e 40% UR). As qualidades foram avaliadas pelos testes de germinação, condutividade elétrica massal, comprimento e massa de plântulas, emergência no campo e sanidade. Observou-se que a partir de quatro meses de armazenamento houve declínio na qualidade fisiológica e sanitária das sementes de cártamo, observado pela diminuição da germinabilidade e da emergência das plântulas no campo. Portanto, o tratamento de sementes por termoterapia é eficaz quando a semeadura realizada na sequência do tratamento (24 h)

Diretrizes de universidades públicas: um estudo sobre regras e comportamento estudantil

Estatutos e regimentos são documentos tipicamente utilizados pelas universidades públicas para descrever normas sobre o funcionamento do sistema acadêmico em vários âmbitos. Esta pesquisa tratou de identificar, descrever e analisar regras relacionadas ao ensino na graduação no Estatuto e no Regimento da Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", visando estudo da efetividade, qualidade descritiva e função dessas normas. Este se fundamenta no referencial teórico da Análise do Comportamento, utilizando a contingência de três termos como unidade de análise. A partir da seleção de termos (antecedentes, respostas e consequências) entre as normas do tema pesquisado, foram identificadas e analisadas 15 contingências, 8 incompletas e 7 completas. Estas foram agrupadas em cerimoniais, tecnológicas, positivas e negativas. Identificaram-se, também, categorias às quais as contingências se referem e a distribuição de contingências completas e incompletas nestas: princípios e diretrizes; deveres do estudante; entrada na graduação; representação discente; currículo e calendário; órgãos colegiados. Dos resultados conclui-se que as regras (comportamentais) aplicadas à dimensão educacional no planejamento do ensino superior na universidade estudada poderiam ser mais claras, efetivas e mais democráticas em suas prescrições. O método utilizado também se mostra viável para descrição e análise de prescrições, indicando alterações úteis para o planejamento da formação de estudantes e organização do contexto acadêmico em diversos âmbitos

Photoblastic and temperatures in the germination of cockscomb seeds

Germination is the result of the triggering of various processes occurred in the seed, which are influenced by the environmental conditions, especially light and temperature. In this way, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of different temperatures and photoblastic on the germination of cockscomb seeds. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design, with a 2 x 5 factorial scheme (two lighting regimes and five temperatures), with four replicates of 50 seeds, for two species of cockscomb (Celosia argentea L. and C. cristata L.). The lighting regimes were with absence (dark continuous) and the presence of light (photoperiod of 24 h), and temperatures were constant at 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 ºC. The seed lots of the two species of cockscomb were cultivated in 2012 and stored in a cold chamber (15 ºC and 40% RH), with an average moisture content of 11% and a mean germination of 98%. The results of the laboratory tests indicated that the two species of cockscomb presented fast germination in average 2.5 and 4.5 days for the regimes with presence and absence of illumination, respectively, characterizing as neutral photoblastic species. However, it was observed that the temperature is a limiting factor for the germination of the two species of cockscomb, having its optimal thermal range between 20 and 30 ºC