16,448 research outputs found
Effectiveness of Psycho-Educational Intervention in HIV Patients' Treatment
Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is the main prognostic factor associated with HIV disease progression and death. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a psycho-educational program to promote adherence to HAART in HIV patients. A longitudinal study (nā=ā102) over 9āmonths in an Infectious Diseases Hospital was carried out. Adherence to HAART was measured with standardized scales and values of viral load. Two groups were defined: adherents and non-adherents. In the latter, a psycho-educational program was implemented and 6āmonths later measured adherence to HAART. Knowledge about the infection, CD4 T lymphocytes and HIV-ribonucleic acid values were measured before and after this program. The sample was predominantly male (70%), heterosexual (78%), with a mean age of 49 (SDā=ā12.7) years, and 48% of participants were not adhering to HAART. After the program, non-adherence decreased to 21.6%. Knowledge about the infection increased from 79 to 97%. A significant increase in CD4 T lymphocytes (mean 540-580) and a decrease in viral load (mean 5411-3052) were observed, the latter of statistical significance. This program seems to be feasible and efficient, improving adherence to HAART
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On the relation between Transversal and Longitudinal Scaling in Cities
Given that a group of cities follows a scaling law connecting urban population with socio-economic or infrastructural metrics (transversal scaling), should we expect that each city would follow the same behavior over time (longitudinal scaling)? This assumption has important policy implications, although rigorous empirical tests have been so far hindered by the lack of suitable data. Here, we advance the debate by looking into the temporal evolution of the scaling laws for 5507 municipalities in Brazil. We focus on the relationship between population size and two urban variables, GDP and water network length, analyzing the time evolution of the system of cities as well as their individual trajectory. We find that longitudinal (individual) scaling exponents are city-specific, but they are distributed around an average value that approaches to the transversal scaling exponent when the data are decomposed to eliminate external factors, and when we only consider cities with a sufficiently large growth rate. Such results give support to the idea that the longitudinal dynamics is a micro-scaling version of the transversal dynamics of the entire urban system. Finally, we propose a mathematical framework that connects the microscopic level to global behavior, and, in all analyzed cases, we find good agreement between theoretical prediction and empirical evidence
On the dynamics of bubbles in boiling water
We investigate the dynamics of many interacting bubbles in boiling water by
using a laser scattering experiment. Specifically, we analyze the temporal
variations of a laser intensity signal which passed through a sample of boiling
water. Our empirical results indicate that the return interval distribution of
the laser signal does not follow an exponential distribution; contrariwise, a
heavy-tailed distribution has been found. Additionally, we compare the
experimental results with those obtained from a minimalist phenomenological
model, finding a good agreement.Comment: Accepted for publication in Chaos, Solitons & Fractal
Ab initio calculation of the CdSe/CdTe heterojunction band offset using the local-density approximation-1/2 technique with spin-orbit corrections
We performed ab initio calculations of the electronic structures of bulk CdSe and CdTe and of their interface. We employed the local-density approximation-1/2 self-energy correction scheme [L. G. Ferreira, M. Marques, and L. K. Teles, Phys. Rev. B 78, 125116 (2008)] to obtain improved band gaps and band offsets, as well as spin-orbit coupling to further correct the valence band edges. Our results are in good agreement with experimental values for bulk band gaps and reproduce the staggered band alignment characteristic of this system. We found that the spin-orbit effect is of considerable importance for the bulk band gaps, but has little impact on the band offset of this particular system. Moreover, the electronic structure calculated along the 61.4 Ć
transition region across the CdSe/CdTe interface shows a non-monotonic variation of the bandgap in the range 0.8-1.8 eV. This finding may have important implications to the absorption of light along the interface between these two materials in photovoltaic applications1117FUNDAĆĆO DE AMPARO Ć PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SĆO PAULO - FAPESP2006/05858-
Efeito de substratos e recipientes na aclimatizaĆ§Ć£o de goiabeiras Paluma multiplicadas in vitro.
O objetivo desse trabalho foi determinar oefeito de diferentes tipos de substratos e recipientes na aclimatizaĆ§Ć£o de goiabeira Paluma multiplicadas in vitro
The Apparent Fractal Conjecture: Scaling Features in Standard Cosmologies
This paper presents an analysis of the smoothness problem in cosmology by
focussing on the ambiguities originated in the simplifying hypotheses aimed at
observationally verifying if the large-scale distribution of galaxies is
homogeneous, and conjecturing that this distribution should follow a fractal
pattern in perturbed standard cosmologies. This is due to a geometrical effect,
appearing when certain types of average densities are calculated along the past
light cone. The paper starts reviewing the argument concerning the possibility
that the galaxy distribution follows such a scaling pattern, and the premises
behind the assumption that the spatial homogeneity of standard cosmology can be
observable. Next, it is argued that to discuss observable homogeneity one needs
to make a clear distinction between local and average relativistic densities,
and showing how the different distance definitions strongly affect them,
leading the various average densities to display asymptotically opposite
behaviours. Then the paper revisits Ribeiro's (1995: astro-ph/9910145) results,
showing that in a fully relativistic treatment some observational average
densities of the flat Friedmann model are not well defined at z ~ 0.1, implying
that at this range average densities behave in a fundamentally different manner
as compared to the linearity of the Hubble law, well valid for z < 1. This
conclusion brings into question the widespread assumption that relativistic
corrections can always be neglected at low z. It is also shown how some key
features of fractal cosmologies can be found in the Friedmann models. In view
of those findings, it is suggested that the so-called contradiction between the
cosmological principle, and the galaxy distribution forming an unlimited
fractal structure, may not exist.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX. This paper is a follow-up to
gr-qc/9909093. Accepted for publication in "General Relativity and
Gravitation
The Noncommutative Anandan's Quantum Phase
In this work we study the noncommutative nonrelativistic quantum dynamics of
a neutral particle, that possesses permanent magnetic and electric dipole
momenta, in the presence of an electric and magnetic fields. We use the
Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation of the Dirac spinor with a non-minimal coupling
to obtain the nonrelativistic limit. In this limit, we will study the
noncommutative quantum dynamics and obtain the noncommutative Anandan's
geometric phase. We analyze the situation where magnetic dipole moment of the
particle is zero and we obtain the noncommutative version of the
He-McKellar-Wilkens effect. We demonstrate that this phase in the
noncommutative case is a geometric dispersive phase. We also investigate this
geometric phase considering the noncommutativity in the phase space and the
Anandan's phase is obtained.Comment: 15 pages, revtex4, version to appear in Physical Review
Comparison of Outcomes in Immediate Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction: Acellular Dermal Matrix versus Inferior Dermal Flap
Background Implant-based breast reconstruction has evolved tremendously in the last decades, mainly due to the development of new products and techniques that make the procedure safer and more reliable. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes in immediate one-stage breast reconstruction between acellular dermal matrix (ADM) and inferior dermal flap (IDF). Methods We conducted a retrospective comparative study of patients submitted to immediate breast reconstructions with an anatomical implant and ADM or IDF in a single center between 2016 and 2018. Outcomes evaluated included major complications, early complications, reinterventions, readmissions, and reconstruction failure. Simple descriptive statistics and univariate analysis were performed. Results A total of 118 breast reconstructions (85 patients) were included in the analysis. Patients in the IDF group had a higher body mass index (median = 27.0) than patients in the ADM group (median = 24). There were no statistically significant differences among both groups regarding immediate major complication, early complications, readmissions, and reinterventions. Conclusion There are no significant differences in complications between the ADM and IDF approach to immediate implant breast reconstruction. In patients with higher body mass index and large, ptotic breasts, we recommend an immediate implant reconstruction with IDF.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
e-Sispaf: Sistema de InformaĆ§Ć£o e PromoĆ§Ć£o de Produtos e ServiƧos da Agricultura Familiar - guia de instalaĆ§Ć£o e configuraĆ§Ć£o do sistema. VersĆ£o 0,1.
O e-Sispaf Ć© um sistema de informaĆ§Ć£o que promove a consolidaĆ§Ć£o e a disseminaĆ§Ć£o de conhecimentos relativos ao mapeamento da produĆ§Ć£o e informaƧƵes da comercializaĆ§Ć£o e do mercado de produtos convencionais, orgĆ¢nicos e artesanais para agricultura familiar. O objetivo do sistema Ć© facilitar as transaƧƵes entre produtores e consumidores, promovendo, assim a execuĆ§Ć£o de aƧƵes efetivas para o crescimento da renda do segmento. AtravĆ©s do sistema, produtor e consumidor podem trocar informaƧƵes e negociar suas produƧƵes diretamente, sem nenhum intermediĆ”rio. O sistema Ć© importante porque auxilia na tomada de decisƵes de todos os seus possĆveis usuĆ”rios (produtores, comerciantes e governos), que passam a contar com instrumentos decisivos para o planejamento das polĆticas agrĆcolas. O e-Sispaf foi Implementado utilizando-se software livre (osCommerce) para o ambiente web, eliminando assim custos para operacionalizaĆ§Ć£o. Baseia-se nos pressupostos do comĆ©rcio eletrĆ“nico (e-commerce) e oferece aos usuĆ”rios - que podem ser produtores rurais, cooperativas, associaƧƵes ou organizaƧƵes pĆŗblicas ou privadas - a oportunidade de expor seus produtos e trocar dados, obtidos junto aos produtores, Ć s cooperativas, Ć s associaƧƵes, aos Ć³rgĆ£os do governo e/ou Ć³rgĆ£os privados localizados na regiĆ£o de abrangĆŖncia do e-Sispaf. Este guia contĆ©m um conjunto de informaƧƵes, distribuĆdas em sessƵes, com o objetivo de facilitar a instalaĆ§Ć£o e configuraĆ§Ć£o do e-Sispaf. Algumas das opƧƵes de configuraĆ§Ć£o disponibilizadas nĆ£o foram utilizadas na atual versĆ£o do e-Sispaf. Elas fazem parte do software osCommerce e sĆ£o configuradas para aquisiĆ§Ć£o de produtos de forma on-line, o que nĆ£o ocorre no e-Sispaf.bitstream/item/17881/1/docmeionorte191.pd
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