1,143 research outputs found
Observational Characterization of the Downward Atmospheric Longwave Radiation at the Surface in the City of São Paulo
This work describes the seasonal and diurnal variations of downward longwave atmospheric irradiance (LW) at the surface in São Paulo, Brazil, using 5-min-averaged values of LW, air temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation observed continuously and simultaneously from 1997 to 2006 on a micrometeorological platform, located at the top of a 4-story building. An objective procedure, including 2-step filtering and dome emission effect correction, was used to evaluate the quality of the 9-yr-long LW dataset. The comparison between LW values observed and yielded by the Surface Radiation Budget project shows spatial and temporal agreement, indicating that monthly and annual average values of LW observed in one point of São Paulo can be used as representative of the entire metropolitan region of São Paulo. The maximum monthly averaged value of the LW is observed during summer (389 ± 14 W m-2; January), and the minimum is observed during winter (332 ± 12 W m-2; July). The effective emissivity follows the LW and shows a maximum in summer (0.907 ± 0.032; January) and a minimum in winter (0.818 ± 0.029; June). The mean cloud effect, identified objectively by comparing the monthly averaged values of the LW during clear-sky days and all-sky conditions, intensified the monthly average LW by about 32.0 ± 3.5 W m-2 and the atmospheric effective emissivity by about 0.088 ± 0.024. In August, the driest month of the year in São Paulo, the diurnal evolution of the LW shows a minimum (325 ± 11 W m-2) at 0900 LT and a maximum (345 ± 12 W m-2) at 1800 LT, which lags behind (by 4 h) the maximum diurnal variation of the screen temperature. The diurnal evolution of effective emissivity shows a minimum (0.781 ± 0.027) during daytime and a maximum (0.842 ± 0.030) during nighttime. The diurnal evolution of all-sky condition and clear-sky day differences in the effective emissivity remain relatively constant (7% ± 1%), indicating that clouds do not change the emissivity diurnal pattern. The relationship between effective emissivity and screen air temperature and between effective emissivity and water vapor is complex. During the night, when the planetary boundary layer is shallower, the effective emissivity can be estimated by screen parameters. During the day, the relationship between effective emissivity and screen parameters varies from place to place and depends on the planetary boundary layer process. Because the empirical expressions do not contain enough information about the diurnal variation of the vertical stratification of air temperature and moisture in São Paulo, they are likely to fail in reproducing the diurnal variation of the surface emissivity. The most accurate way to estimate the LW for clear-sky conditions in São Paulo is to use an expression derived from a purely empirical approach
Sharp photoluminescence of Pr3+ ions in yttrium oxyfluoride nanospheres: thermographic phosphor characteristics using the fluorescence intensity ratio technique
YOF:Pr nanoparticles prepared by Pechni sol-gel method were investigated for temperature sensing in this work. Structural investigation such as XRD, Raman, SEM and EDS were done. Photoluminescence experiments at ambient temperature for three different concentrations and with variation in temperature were performed for application in fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique. The FIR of the thermally coupled levels (TCL) 3P0 and 3P1 was determined with respect to temperature and found that the relative sensitivity of the material is 9.37 and 0.87% K−1 at 90 and 300 K, respectively. Results proved that Pr3+ in YOF nanoparticles can be used for non-contact temperature determination.publishe
Improving seabed cable plough performance for offshore renewable energy
Seabed ploughing plays an important part in providing protection to subsea cables that connect offshore renewables, and the process represents a significant portion of the overall installation cost. Current models for predicting the required tow forces for seabed ploughs are based on semi-empirical methods as conventional geotechnical finite element analysis is not suited to modelling this process due to the large de-formations involved. The project described in this paper aims to develop a new material point method numerical modelling software to predict seabed plough response, which will enable new designs to be optimised. This will be validated against physical modelling, a part of which is the focus of this paper. This includes both 1g and centrifuge testing as well as new techniques such as 3D soil surface scanning. The testing also provides insights into share geometry influences on plough behaviour, and will allow improvements to existing empirical models
Near-band-edge slow luminescence in nominally undoped bulk ZnO
We report the observation of slow emission bands overlapped with the near-band-edge steady-state luminescence of nominally undoped ZnO crystals. At low temperatures the time-resolved spectra are dominated by the emission of several high-energy bound exciton lines and the two-electron satellite spectral region. Furthermore, two donor-acceptor pair transitions at 3.22 and 3.238 eV are clearly identified in temperature-dependent time-resolved spectroscopy. These donor-acceptor pairs involve a common shallow donor at 67 meV and deep acceptor levels at 250 and 232 meV.FCT/FEDER - POCTI/CTM/45236/0
Form factors of heavy-to-light B decays at large recoil
General relations between the form factors of B decays to light mesons are
derived using the heavy quark and large recoil expansion. On their basis the
complete account of contributions of second order in the ratio of the light
meson mass to the large recoil energy is performed. Both ground and excited
final meson states are considered. It is shown that most of the known form
factor relations remain valid after the inclusion of quadratic mass
corrections. The validity of some of such relations requires additional
equalities for the helicity amplitudes. It is found that all these relations
and equalities are fulfilled in the relativistic quark model based on the
quasipotential approach in quantum field theory. The contribution of 1/m_b
corrections to the branching fraction of the rare radiative B decay is
discussed.Comment: 23 pages, revte
Annihilation Contributions in B -> K_1 gamma decay in next-to-leading order in LEET and CP-asymmetry
The effect of weak annihilation and u-quark penguin contribution on the
branching ratio B -> K_1 gamma at next-to-leading order of alpha_s are
calculated using LEET approach. It is shown that the value of LEET form factor
remains the same in the range of unitarity triangle phase alpha favored by the
Standard Model. CP-asymmetry for above mentioned decay has been calculated and
its suppression due to the hard spectator correction has also been
incorporated. In addition, the sensitivity of the CP-asymmetry on the
underlying parameters has been discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure
Density functional study of the adsorption of K on the Ag(111) surface
Full-potential gradient corrected density functional calculations of the
adsorption of potassium on the Ag(111) surface have been performed. The
considered structures are Ag(111) (root 3 x root 3) R30degree-K and Ag(111) (2
x 2)-K. For the lower coverage, fcc, hcp and bridge site; and for the higher
coverage all considered sites are practically degenerate.
Substrate rumpling is most important for the top adsorption site. The bond
length is found to be nearly identical for the two coverages, in agreement with
recent experiments. Results from Mulliken populations, bond lengths, core level
shifts and work functions consistently indicate a small charge transfer from
the potassium atom to the substrate, which is slightly larger for the lower
coverage.Comment: to appear in Phys Rev
Terapêutica intravesical com bacilo de Calmette-Guérin no tratamento do carcinoma da bexiga / o que sabemos até agora
AbstractIntroductionThe use of intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin is a valid option in the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder tumors, making it the main subject of a lot of publications. The aim of the present study is to review and consolidate the data available about this subject.MethodsA review of the data available was made on PubMed with the keywords: “intravesical BCG” and “non-muscle invasive bladder cancer”. Original and review articles written in English or Portuguese were selected. We present the discussion alongside the results for structural purposes.Results and discussionScientific evidence strongly advises in favor of BCG use on intermediate and high risk tumors, due to its impact on the recurrence and possibly on the progression rates. It is important to be watchful for possible local and systemic side effects, that when detected call for a rightful therapeutically decision alongside the recommended schemes.ConclusionThe use of intravesical BCG with therapeutically purposes has strong evidence on the non-muscle invasive bladder tumors. More studies are needed in order to better understand the best administration scheme and its mechanism of action
High-dose thiamine supplementation may reduce resting energy expenditure in individuals with hyperglycemia: a randomized, double � blind cross-over trial
Background: Despite the crucial role of thiamine in glucose and energy metabolism pathways, there has been no published study examining the impact of thiamine on energy metabolism in humans. Objective: To assess the effects of thiamine supplementation on resting energy expenditure (REE) in individuals with hyperglycemia. Methods: Twelve hyperglycemic patients completed this double-blind, randomized trial, where all participants received both thiamine (300 mg/day) and matched placebo for 6 weeks in a cross-over manner. REE was assessed by indirect calorimetry. Anthropometric measurements, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose, and glucose-induced thermogenesis were also assessed at the beginning and on the completion of each six-week phase. Results: Participants consuming thiamine supplements experienced a significant decrease in the REE assessed at week six compared to the baseline mean (SE): 1478.93 (73.62) vs.1526.40 (73.46) kcal/d, p = 0.02, and the placebo arm (p = 0.002). These results did not change significantly after adjusting for the participants� body weight and physical activity as potential confounders. Six-week intervention had no significant effect on the participants� body weight or waist circumference, in either supplement or placebo arms (all p values>0.05). However, correlation analysis highlighted significant positive relationships between the changes in REE, and those in fasting (rs = 0.497, p = 0.019) and 2-h plasma glucose (rs = 0.498, p = 0.018) during the six-week intervention period. Conclusion: Supplementation with high-dose thiamine may attenuate REE in patients with impaired glucose regulation. Our findings suggest that the impact of thiamine on REE may in part be explained by improved glycemic control. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611000051943. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12611000051943. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG
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