1,760 research outputs found
Twin pregnancy in brazil: a profile analysis exploring population information from the national birth e-registry on live births
sem informaçãoBirth records as SINASC (Brazilian Live Birth Information System) are highlighted in uncommon conditions such as twin pregnancy whose prevalence rarely exceeds 2 to 3% of the total number of births. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence110sem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã
Semiclassical thermodynamics of scalar fields
We present a systematic semiclassical procedure to compute the partition
function for scalar field theories at finite temperature. The central objects
in our scheme are the solutions of the classical equations of motion in
imaginary time, with spatially independent boundary conditions. Field
fluctuations -- both field deviations around these classical solutions, and
fluctuations of the boundary value of the fields -- are resummed in a Gaussian
approximation. In our final expression for the partition function, this
resummation is reduced to solving certain ordinary differential equations.
Moreover, we show that it is renormalizable with the usual 1-loop counterterms.Comment: 24 pages, 5 postscript figure
Microwave-assisted methanolysis of green coffee oil
AbstractOptimisation of a microwave-assisted methanolysis was performed to obtain cafestol and kahweol directly from green coffee oil (Coffea arabica). A two-factor (the methanolysis period and temperature), three-level, factorial experimental design (32) was adopted. The methanolysis procedure was performed under microwave irradiation, using closed vessel and accurate fast responding internal fibre-optic temperature probe. The effects on the responses were measured by HPLC. After 3min of microwave irradiation (hold time) at 100°C, with 500mg of green coffee oil, a yield higher than 99% was obtained. The yield of this reaction is 26% after 2h when working under conventional heating. The methods described in the literature lead to long reaction times, poor yields and formation of side products. The microwave-assisted technique proved to be faster, avoided undesired side products and gave better conversion, when compared to conventional heating process
Effective Action for QED with Fermion Self-Interaction in D=2 and D=3 Dimensions
In this work we discuss the effect of the quartic fermion self-interaction of
Thirring type in QED in D=2 and D=3 dimensions. This is done through the
computation of the effective action up to quadratic terms in the photon field.
We analyze the corresponding nonlocal photon propagators nonperturbatively in %
\frac{k}{m}, where k is the photon momentum and m the fermion mass. The poles
of the propagators were determined numerically by using the Mathematica
software. In D=2 there is always a massless pole whereas for strong enough
Thirring coupling a massive pole may appear . For D=3 there are three regions
in parameters space. We may have one or two massive poles or even no pole at
all. The inter-quark static potential is computed analytically in D=2. We
notice that the Thirring interaction contributes with a screening term to the
confining linear potential of massive QED_{2}. In D=3 the static potential must
be calculated numerically. The screening nature of the massive QED
prevails at any distance, indicating that this is a universal feature of % D=3
electromagnetic interaction. Our results become exact for an infinite number of
fermion flavors.Comment: Latex, 13 pages, 3 figure
Structural and optical studies of FeSb2 under high pressure
Nanostructured orthorhombic FeSb2 and an amorphous phase were formed by
mechanical alloying starting from a mixture of high purity elemental Fe and Sb
powders. The effects of high pressures on structural and optical properties
were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy (RS). XRD
patterns showed the presence of the orthorhombic FeSb2 phase up to the maximum
pressure applied (28.2 GPa). The XRD patterns showed also an increase in the
amount of the amorphous phase with increasing pressure up to 23.3 GPa. At 14.3
GPa, together with the former phases, a new phase was observed and indexed to a
tetragonal FeSb2 phase, but its volume fraction is small at least up to 23.3
GPa. For the orthorhombic FeSb2 phase, the pressure dependence of the volume
fitted to a Birch-Murnaghan equation of state gave a bulk modulus = 74.2 +- 3.0
GPa and its pressure derivative = 7.5 +- 0.6. RS measurements were performed
from atmospheric pressure up to 45.2 GPa. For the orthorhombic FeSb2 phase, the
Raman active mode was observed up to the maximum pressure applied, while the
mode disappeared at 16.6 GPa. For pressures higher than 21 GPa, the Raman
active mode of a tetragonal FeSb2 phase was observed, confirming ab initio
calculations reported in the literature.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures and 2 tables. Already submitted for publicatio
A Palatable Hyperlipidic Diet Causes Obesity and Affects Brain Glucose Metabolism in Rats
Background
We have previously shown that either the continuous intake of a palatable hyperlipidic diet (H) or the alternation of chow (C) and an H diet (CH regimen) induced obesity in rats. Here, we investigated whether the time of the start and duration of these feeding regimens are relevant and whether they affect brain glucose metabolism.
Methods
Male Wistar rats received C, H, or CH diets during various periods of their life spans: days 30-60, days 30-90, or days 60-90. Experiments were performed the 60th or the 90th day of life. Rats were killed by decapitation. The glucose, insulin, leptin plasma concentration, and lipid content of the carcasses were determined. The brain was sliced and incubated with or without insulin for the analysis of glucose uptake, oxidation, and the conversion of [1-14C]-glucose to lipids.
Results
The relative carcass lipid content increased in all of the H and CH groups, and the H30-60 and H30-90 groups had the highest levels. Groups H30-60, H30-90, CH30-60, and CH30-90 exhibited a higher serum glucose level. Serum leptin increased in all H groups and in the CH60-90 and CH30-90 groups. Serum insulin was elevated in the H30-60, H60-90, CH60-90, CH30-90 groups. Basal brain glucose consumption and hypothalamic insulin receptor density were lower only in the CH30-60 group. The rate of brain lipogenesis was increased in the H30-90 and CH30-90 groups.
Conclusion
These findings indicate that both H and CH diet regimens increased body adiposity independent treatment and the age at which treatment was started, whereas these diets caused hyperglycemia and affected brain metabolism when started at an early age
Asymptotically Improved Convergence of Optimized Perturbation Theory in the Bose-Einstein Condensation Problem
We investigate the convergence properties of optimized perturbation theory,
or linear expansion (LDE), within the context of finite temperature
phase transitions. Our results prove the reliability of these methods, recently
employed in the determination of the critical temperature T_c for a system of
weakly interacting homogeneous dilute Bose gas. We carry out the explicit LDE
optimized calculations and also the infrared analysis of the relevant
quantities involved in the determination of in the large-N limit, when
the relevant effective static action describing the system is extended to O(N)
symmetry. Then, using an efficient resummation method, we show how the LDE can
exactly reproduce the known large-N result for already at the first
non-trivial order. Next, we consider the finite N=2 case where, using similar
resummation techniques, we improve the analytical results for the
nonperturbative terms involved in the expression for the critical temperature
allowing comparison with recent Monte Carlo estimates of them. To illustrate
the method we have considered a simple geometric series showing how the
procedure as a whole works consistently in a general case.Comment: 38 pages, 3 eps figures, Revtex4. Final version in press Phys. Rev.
Yield And Nutritive Value Of The Silage Of Corn Intercropped With Tropical Perennial Grasses
The objective of this work was to compare the yield and nutritive value of the silage of corn intercropped with palisade grass (Urochloa brizantha 'Marandu') or guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus 'Tanzânia') with those of the silage of monocropped corn, as well as to evaluate the pasture established in the intercropping systems during two growing seasons (2010-2011 and 2011-2012), in low-altitude Brazilian Cerrado. The treatments consisted of three cropping systems: monocropped corn, corn intercropped with palisade grass, and corn intercropped with guinea grass, with four replicates. Intercropping decreased corn forage dry matter yield for silage; however, due to the addition of grass, total dry matter yield (corn + grass) was similar between treatments. Intercropping also did not negatively affect corn production components and morphological characteristics. The cropping systems provided silages with good nutritive values, and the inclusion of tropical forages increased the silage fiber contents. Intercropping corn with tropical perennial grasses is a viable option for producing large quantities of silage with good nutritive value. The forage yield (silage + pasture) of these intercropping systems is similar to that of monocropped corn in tropical regions and has the advantage of providing a pasture in the off-season.521637
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