Estado nutricional e níveis plasmáticos de trauma e seus precursores em pacientes portadores de neoplasias malignas de esôfago

Pós-graduação em Bases Gerais da Cirurgia - FMB

Implementação de um ambiente computacional para ensino à distância

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avanços no torneamento utilizando um porta-ferramentas refrigerado internamente com fluido em mudança de fase

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Design of a labVIEW system applied to predictive maintenance

The implementation of vibration analysis techniques based on virtual instrumentation has spread increasingly in the academic and industrial branch, since the use of any software for this type of analysis brings good results at low cost. Among the existing software for programming and creation of virtual instruments, the LabVIEW was chosen for this project. This software has good interface with the method of graphical programming. In this project, it was developed a system of rotating machine condition monitoring. This monitoring system is applied in a test stand, simulating large scale applications, such as in hydroelectric, nuclear and oil exploration companies. It was initially used a test stand, where an instrumentation for data acquisition was inserted, composed of accelerometers and inductive proximity sensors. The data collection system was structured on the basis of an NI 6008 A/D converter of National Instruments. An electronic circuit command was developed through the A/D converter for a remote firing of the test stand. The equipment monitoring is performed through the data collected from the sensors. The vibration signals collected by accelerometers are processed in the time domain and frequency. Also, proximity probes were used for the axis orbit evaluation and an inductive sensor for the rotation and trigger measurement. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

The Role of Implant/Abutment System on Torque Maintenance of Retention Screws and Vertical Misfit of Implant-Supported Crowns Before and After Mechanical Cycling

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the role of the implant/abutment system on torque maintenance of titanium retention screws and the vertical misfit of screw-retained implant-supported crowns before and after mechanical cycling. Materials and Methods: Three groups were studied: morse taper implants with conical abutments (MTC group), external-hexagon implants with conical abutments (EHC group), and external-hexagon implants with UCLA abutments (EHU group). Metallic crowns casted in cobalt-chromium alloy were used (n = 10). Retention screws received insertion torque and, after 3 minutes, initial detorque was measured. Crowns were retightened and submitted to cyclic loading testing under oblique loading (30 degrees) of 130 +/- 10 N at 2 Hz of frequency, totaling 1 x 10(6) cycles. After cycling, final detorque was measured. Vertical misfit was measured using a stereomicroscope. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance, Tukey test, and Pearson correlation test (P < .05). Results: All detorque values were lower than the insertion torque both before and after mechanical cycling. No statistically significant difference was observed among groups before mechanical cycling. After mechanical cycling, a statistically significantly lower loss of detorque was verified in the MTC group in comparison to the EHC group. Significantly lower vertical misfit values were noted after mechanical cycling but there was no difference among groups. There was no significant correlation between detorque values and vertical misfit. Conclusions: All groups presented a significant decrease of torque before and after mechanical cycling. The morse taper connection promoted the highest torque maintenance. Mechanical cycling reduced the vertical misfit of all groups, although no significant correlation between vertical misfit and torque loss was found.

Soil microbial biomass in organic farming system

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Electricity, hot water and cold water production from biomass. Energetic and economical analysis of the compact system of cogeneration run with woodgas from a small downdraft gasifier

Wood gasification technologies to convert the biomass into fuel gas stand out. on the other hand, producing electrical energy from stationary engine is widely spread, and its application in rural communities where the electrical network doesn't exist is very required. The recovery of exhaust gases (engine) is a possibility that makes the system attractive when compared with the same components used to obtain individual heat such as electric power. This paper presents an energetic alternative to adapt a fixed bed gasifier with a compact cogeneration system in order to cover electrical and thermal demands in a rural area and showing an energy solution for small social communities using renewable fuels. Therefore, an energetic and economical analysis from a cogeneration system producing electric energy, hot and cold water, using wooden gas as fuel from a small-sized gasifier was calculated. The energy balance that includes the energy efficiency (electric generation as well as hot and cold water system; performance coefficient and the heat exchanger, among other items), was calculated. Considering the annual interest rates and the amortization periods, the costs of production of electrical energy, hot and cold water were calculated, taking into account the investment, the operation and the maintenance cost of the equipments. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of remifentanil on requirements for propofol administered by use of a target-controlled infusion system for maintaining anesthesia in dogs

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of Misfit on Preload Maintenance of Retention Screws of Implant-Supported Prostheses

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of unilateral misfit at different levels on a crown-implant-retention screw system of implant-supported crowns. Hexagon castable UCLA abutments were cast in Co-Cr alloy to fabricate 48 metallic crowns divided into four groups (n = 12). Group A: crowns did not present misfit; Groups B, C and D: crowns were fabricated with unilateral misfit of 50, 100, and 200 mu m, respectively. The crowns were attached by titanium retention screw with 30 N/cm to external hexagonal osseointegrated implants embedded in acrylic resin. After 2 min, the retention screw of each replica was submitted to detorque evaluation by an analogic torque gauge. Three retention screws were used to perform detorque evaluation at each replica and the procedure was repeated twice with each screw. Each group was submitted to 72 detorque measurements. Data were evaluated by ANOVA and Tukey test (P < 0.05). All groups exhibited significant decrease (P < 0.05) in preload and the lowest decrease occurred in Group A. Groups B, C, and D were statistically significant different from Group A (P < 0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference between Groups B and D (P > 0.05). Crowns with unilateral misfit presented higher preload decrease than crowns completely fitted to osseointegrated implants.

How well will Brazil's system of atlantic forest reserves maintain viable bird populations?

It is crucial for biodiversity conservation that protected areas are large and effective enough to support viable populations of their original species. We used a point count distance sampling method to estimate population sizes of a range of bird species in three Atlantic forest protected areas of size 5600, 22,500, and 46,050 ha. Population sizes were generally related to reserve area, although in the mid-sized reserve, there were many rare species reflecting a high degree of habitat heterogeneity. The proportions of forest species having estimated populations > 500 ranged from 55% of 210 species in the largest reserve to just 25% of 140 species in the smallest reserve. All forest species in the largest reserves had expected populations > 100, but in the small reserve, 28% (38 species) had populations < 100 individuals. Atlantic forest endemics were no more or less likely to have small populations than widespread species. There are 79 reserves (> 1000 ha) in the Atlantic forest lowlands. However, all but three reserves in the north of the region (Espirito Santo and states north) are smaller than 10,000 ha, and we predict serious levels of local extinction from these reserves. Habitat heterogeneity within reserves may promote species richness within them, but it may also be important in determining species loss over time by suppressing populations of individual species. We suggest that most reserves in the region are so small that homogeneity in the habitat/altitude within them is beneficial for maintenance of their (comparatively small) original species compliment. A lack of protection in the north, continued detrimental human activity inside reserves, and our poor knowledge of how well the reserve system protects individual taxa, are crucial considerations in biodiversity management in the region.

Elastic system of the rat ventral prostate and its modifications following orchiectomy

BACKGROUND. The extracellular matrix (ECM) has important roles in prostatic development, and marked stromal changes take place in the rat ventral prostate (VP) after androgen deprivation. However, little knowledge exists about individual ECM components.METHODS. The distribution of elastic fibers (EF) and elastic-related fibers (ERF) in the VP of castrated and control rats was investigated, using histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).RESULTS. EF are barely detected in the prostatic stroma, but ERF are relatively abundant. Castration results in a relative increase in the number and thickness of ERF. TEM showed an open network of ECM microfibrils throughout the stroma and thin and short EF, which increase in number and thickness after orchiectomy.CONCLUSIONS. The presence of elastic system components in the rat VP warrants the deformability required for the secretion exclusion under the action of smooth muscle cells, and the castration-induced modification may be related to the contraction of the tissue and maintenance of peculiar arrangements of other ECM components. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Formation and maintenance of complex systems

A complex system is often identified by the absence of a characteristic length, e.g. as in a fractal. A very large system subject to a fragmentation and/or aggregation dynamics passes through such complex configurations. We study statistically creation and maintenance of such configurations in space dimensions d = 1 to 5 and find that they are easily created (maintained) for small (large) d. An intermediate d such as d = 3 seems to be ideal for the creation and maintenance of complex systems. This has consequences in a statistical description of the universe.

Isolation and characterization of Wharton's jelly-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells obtained from bovine umbilical cord and maintained in a defined serum-free three-dimensional system

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Feeding and condition factor of characidiin fish in Ribeirão Grande system, Southeastern Brazil

Feeding, seasonal changes in visceral fat and condition factor were compared in two species of characidiin fishes, Characidium lauroi and C. alipioi from Ribeirão Grande system, southeastern Brazil. Five streams of Ribeirão Grande system were sampled (22° 47' 08 S, 45° 28' 17W). The samples were taken four times per site, from July, 2001 to April, 2002: winter (July 2001), spring (October 2001), summer (February 2002) and autumn (April 2002). Quantitative collections were made with an electro-fishing device powered by a generator with maximum capacity of 1,500 V and 8.7 A of 60 Hz alternating current. Ephemeroptera nymphs, Diptera larvae (Chironomidae, Simuliidae), Plecoptera nymphs, Trichoptera larvae (Hydroptilidae, Psychoyiidae), terrestrial insects (Coleoptera, Isoptera, Hemiptera [Heteroptera, Homoptera]), Megaloptera larvae (Corydalidae), Arachnida, Ostracoda and vegetal debris were found in both species' diets. Visceral fat declined in February, coinciding with the decline of the condition factor in both species. The increased feeding from summer to fall provides fat accumulation. During subsequent seasons, fish may utilize visceral fat reserves for maintenance and reproduction.

Identification of structural damage in flexible structures using system norm and neural networks

Nowadays there is great interest in damage identification using non destructive tests. Predictive maintenance is one of the most important techniques that are based on analysis of vibrations and it consists basically of monitoring the condition of structures or machines. A complete procedure should be able to detect the damage, to foresee the probable time of occurrence and to diagnosis the type of fault in order to plan the maintenance operation in a convenient form and occasion. In practical problems, it is frequent the necessity of getting the solution of non linear equations. These processes have been studied for a long time due to its great utility. Among the methods, there are different approaches, as for instance numerical methods (classic), intelligent methods (artificial neural networks), evolutions methods (genetic algorithms), and others. The characterization of damages, for better agreement, can be classified by levels. A new one uses seven levels of classification: detect the existence of the damage; detect and locate the damage; detect, locate and quantify the damages; predict the equipment's working life; auto-diagnoses; control for auto structural repair; and system of simultaneous control and monitoring. The neural networks are computational models or systems for information processing that, in a general way, can be thought as a device black box that accepts an input and produces an output. Artificial neural nets (ANN) are based on the biological neural nets and possess habilities for identification of functions and classification of standards. In this paper a methodology for structural damages location is presented. This procedure can be divided on two phases. The first one uses norms of systems to localize the damage positions. The second one uses ANN to quantify the severity of the damage. The paper concludes with a numerical application in a beam like structure with five cases of structural damages with different levels of severities. The results show the applicability of the presented methodology. A great advantage is the possibility of to apply this approach for identification of simultaneous damages.