Obtenção de uma porcelana dielétrica a partir de matérias-primas do Rio Grande do Norte

The dielectric porcelain is usually obtained by mixing various raw materials proportions and is used in the production of electronic equipment for various applications, from capacitors of high and low Power to insulators for low, medium, high and extra high voltage, which are used in distribution lines and transmission of electricity.This work was directed to the s tudy of technological properties of technic porcelain, made from raw materials extracted from pegmatites found in the regions of Seridó and the Alto Oeste of Rio Grande do Norte, which are made of kaolin, quartz and feldspar, abundant and high quality in these regions. The technic ceramics were obtained by mixing in appropriate levels, kaolin, feldspar, quartz and clay, the last item from a pottery in the city of Sao Gonçalo do Amarante, Rio Grande do Norte. During the development the following characterizations correlated to raw materials were made: laser particle sizing, x-ray diffraction, DTA and TG. The compositions studied were formed by uniaxial pressing at a pressure of 50 MPa and sintered at temperatures ranging from 1150 to 1350ºC and levels (times) of sintering between 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The characterization of the samples were taken from the analysis of weight loss, linear shrinkage, porosity, stoneware curve, bulk density, flexural strength of three points, SEM and X-ray diffraction, TMA, Dielectric and cross Resistivity. The studied materials can be employed in producing the objects used in electrical engineering such as: insulators for low, medium and high-voltage electrical systems, command devices, bushing insulation for transformers, power capacitors, spark plugs, receptacles for fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs and others

Estudo da incorporação da cal em composições binárias de solo-cimento para produção de tijolos maciços

The use of binders in the soil for the production of solid bricks is an old construction technique that has been used by several civilizations over time. At the same time, the need for environmental preservation and the tendency of scarcity of natural resources make the construction invest in researching new concepts, methods and materials for building systems for the sustainability of their economic activities. Thus arises the need to obtain building materials with low power consumption, capable of reducing the growing housing shortage of rural and urban population. Currently, research has been conducted on this topic to better understand the cementitious and pozzolanic reactions that occur in the formation of the microstructure of the soil-cement when added to other materials such as, for example, lime, and the relationship between microstructure and formed interfaces with the physical, mechanical and chemical analysis in compounds made from these ternary compositions. In this context, this study aimed to analyze the results of the influence of the incorporation of lime to the soil-cement to form a ternary mixture to produce soil-cement bricks and mortar without structural purposes. From the inclusion of contents of 6 %, 8 %, 10% and 12% lime to the soil, and soil-cement mixes in amounts of 2 %, 3 %, 4 % and 5 % were shaped-bodies of -cylindrical specimens to determine the optimum moisture content and maximum dry apparent specific weight. Then they were cured, and subjected to the tests of compressive strength, absorption and durability modified. Compositions obtained the best results in the tests performed on the bodies-of-proof cylindrical served as a parameter for molding of solid bricks, which underwent the same experimental methodology previously cited. The raw materials used, as well as compositions in which the bricks were molded solid, were characterized by physical and chemical tests, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results obtained in the study indicate that the compositions studied, that showed the best results in terms of compressive strength, water absorption and durability ternary composition was soil, 10 % cement and 2 % lime

Calibração cega de receptores cinco-portas baseada em separação cega de fontes

The exponential growth in the applications of radio frequency (RF) is accompanied by great challenges as more efficient use of spectrum as in the design of new architectures for multi-standard receivers or software defined radio (SDR) . The key challenge in designing architecture of the software defined radio is the implementation of a wide-band receiver, reconfigurable, low cost, low power consumption, higher level of integration and flexibility. As a new solution of SDR design, a direct demodulator architecture, based on fiveport technology, or multi-port demodulator, has been proposed. However, the use of the five-port as a direct-conversion receiver requires an I/Q calibration (or regeneration) procedure in order to generate the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the transmitted baseband signal. In this work, we propose to evaluate the performance of a blind calibration technique without additional knowledge about training or pilot sequences of the transmitted signal based on independent component analysis for the regeneration of I/Q five-port downconversion, by exploiting the information on the statistical properties of the three output signals

Desenvolvimento de perfis aerodinâmicos a partir de suas características utilizando redes neurais artificiais

One of the current major concerns in engineering is the development of aircrafts that have low power consumption and high performance. So, airfoils that have a high value of Lift Coefficient and a low value for the Drag Coefficient, generating a High-Efficiency airfoil are studied and designed. When the value of the Efficiency increases, the aircraft s fuel consumption decreases, thus improving its performance. Therefore, this work aims to develop a tool for designing of airfoils from desired characteristics, as Lift and Drag coefficients and the maximum Efficiency, using an algorithm based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). For this, it was initially collected an aerodynamic characteristics database, with a total of 300 airfoils, from the software XFoil. Then, through the software MATLAB, several network architectures were trained, between modular and hierarchical, using the Back-propagation algorithm and the Momentum rule. For data analysis, was used the technique of cross- validation, evaluating the network that has the lowest value of Root Mean Square (RMS). In this case, the best result was obtained for a hierarchical architecture with two modules and one layer of hidden neurons. The airfoils developed for that network, in the regions of lower RMS, were compared with the same airfoils imported into the software XFoil

Filmes nanométricos de FeN e ALN crescidos por sputtering e aplicações do efeito peltier

This study will show the capability of the reactive/nonreactive sputtering (dc/rf) technique at low power for the growth of nanometric thin films from magnetic materials (FeN) and widegap semiconductors (AlN), as well as the technological application of the Peltier effect using commercial modules of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3). Of great technological interest to the high-density magnetic recording industry, the FeN system represents one of the most important magnetic achievements; however, diversity of the phases formed makes it difficult to control its magnetic properties during production of devices. We investigated the variation in these properties using ferromagnetic resonance, MOKE and atomic force microscopy (AFM), as a function of nitrogen concentration in the reactive gas mixture. Aluminum nitride, a component of widegap semiconductors and of considerable interest to the electronic and optoelectronic industry, was grown on nanometric thin film for the first time, with good structural quality by non-reactive rf sputtering of a pure AlN target at low power (≈ 50W). Another finding in this study is that a long deposition time for this material may lead to film contamination by materials adsorbed into deposition chamber walls. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis shows that the presence of magnetic contaminants from previous depositions results in grown AlN semiconductor films exhibiting magnetoresistance with high resistivity. The Peltier effect applied to commercially available compact refrigeration cells, which are efficient for cooling small volumes, was used to manufacture a technologically innovative refrigerated mini wine cooler, for which a patent was duly registered

Study of RF-excited Diethylene Glycol Dimethyl Ether Plasmas by Mass Spectrometry

This paper deals with the study of the fragmentation process of diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (CH3O(CH2CH2O)(2)CH3) (diglyme here in) molecule in low pressure RF excited plasma discharges. The study was carried out using mass spectrometry. The results showed that for a fixed pressure, the increase of the RF power coupled to the plasma chamber from 1 to 35 W produced a plasma environment much more reactive which increases the population of the ionized species like CH3+ (15 amu), C2H4+ (28 amu), CH3O+ (31 amu), C2H4O+ (44 amu), CH3OCH2CH2+ (59 amu) and CH3OCH2CH2O+ (75 amu). This fact may be attributed to the increase of the electronic temperature that makes predominant the occurrence of inelastic processes that promotes molecular fragmentation. For a fixed value of RF power the increase of pressure from 50 mTorr to 100 mTorr produces the decreasing of the above mentioned chemical species due the lower electronic mean free path. These results suggest that if one wants to keep the monomer's functionality within the plasma deposited films resulting from such kind of discharges one must operate in low power conditions.

DCM Boost interleaved converter for operation in AC and DC to trolleybus application

This paper is based on the development and experimental analysis of a DCM Boost interleaved converter suitable for application in traction systems of electrical vehicles pulled by electrical motors (Trolleybus), which are powered by urban DC or AC distribution networks. This front-end structure is capable of providing significant improvements in trolleybuses systems and in the urban distribution network costs, and efficiency. The architecture of proposed converter is composed by five boost power cells in interleaving connection, operating in discontinuous conduction mode. Furthermore, the converter can operate as AC-DC converter, or as DC-DC converter providing the proper DC output voltage range required by DC or AC adjustable speed drivers. Therefore, when supplied by single-phase AC distribution networks, and operating as AC-DC converter, it is capable to provide high power factor, reduced harmonic distortion in the input current, complying with the restrictions imposed by the IEC 61000-3-4 standards. The digital controller has been implemented using a low cost FPGA and developed totally using a hardware description language VHDL and fixed point arithmetic. Thus, two control strategies are evaluated considering the compliance with input current restrictions imposed by IEC 61000-3-4 standards, the regular PWM modulation and a current correction PWM modulation. In order to verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed system, experimental results from a 15 kW low power scale prototype are presented, operating in DC and AC conditions.

Vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric transducer and non-controlled rectifiers circuits

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Atividade biológica de células-tronco da polpa de dentes decíduos humanos submetidas à criopreservação

Dental pulp stem cells have been widely investigated because of their ability to differentiate into both dental and non-dental cells, with potential use in therapies involving tissue engineering. The technique of cell cryopreservation represents a viable alternative for the conservation of these cells, since it stops reversibly, in a controlled manner, all of cell biological functions in an ultra low temperature. The present study aimed to evaluate, using in vitro experiments, the influence of a cryopreservation protocol on the biologic acti vity of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED). Cells obtained from the pulp of three deciduous teeth on end-stage exfoliation or with indicated extraction were expanded in α-MEM culture medium supplemented with antibiotics and 15% fetal bovine serum. At second subculture (P2), a group of cells were submitted to cryopreservation for 30 days in 10% DMSO diluted in fetal bovine serum, at -80º C, while the remind cells continued under normal conditions of cell culture. Cell proliferation was evaluated in both groups (not cryopreserved or cryopreserved) by Trypan blue stain essay at intervals of 24, 48 and 72h after plating. Cell cycle analysis of SHEDs submitted or not to the cryopreservation protocol was performed in the same intervals. Events related to cell death were studied by Annexyn V and PI expression under flow cytometry at the intervals of 24 and 72h. The presence of nuclear morphological changes was evaluated by DAPI staining at 72h interval. It was observed that both groups exhibited an upward cell proliferation curve, without considerable changes in cell viability throughout the experiment. The distribution of cell in the cell cycle phasis was consistent with cell proliferation in both groups. There were no nuclear morphological damages in the end range of the experiment. therefore, it is concluded that the proposed cryopreservation protocol is efficient for storing the studied cell type, allowing its use in future experimental studies

Effect of photodynamic therapy on clinical isolates of Staphylococcus spp

Staphylococcus spp. are opportunistic microorganisms known for their capacity to develop resistance against antimicrobial agents. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) on 20 Staphylococcus strains isolated from the human oral cavity, including S. aureus, S. schleiferi, S. epidermidis, S. capitis, S. haemolyticus, and S. lentus. A suspension of each Staphylococcus strain (10(6) cells/mL) was submitted to PDT using methylene blue and a low power laser. The isolated effects of methylene blue, laser treatment and ciprofloxacin were also evaluated. After the experimental treatments, 0.1 mL aliquots of the suspensions were seeded onto BHI agar for determination of the number of colony-forming units (CFU/mL). The results were analyzed by analysis of variance and Tukey's test (p < 0.05). The mean reduction in bacterial counts of the strains submitted to PDT ranged from 4.89 to 6.83 CFU (log10)/mL, with the observation of a decreasing susceptibility to treatment of S. schleiferi, S. haemolyticus, S. epidermidis, S. capitis, S. aureus, and S. lentus. The results showed that PDT was effective in reducing the number of viable cells of all clinical Staphylococcus isolates studied.

Susceptibility of Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus mutans biofilms to photodynamic inactivation: an in vitro study

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

Effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation, laser therapy and LED therapy on the masticatory system and the impact on sleep variables in cerebral palsy patients: a randomized, five arms clinical trial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Three-boson recombination at ultralow temperatures

The effects of trimer continuum resonances are considered in the three-body recombination rate of a Bose system at finite energies for large and negative two-body scattering lengths (a). The thermal average of the rate allows to apply our formula to Bose gases at ultra-low temperatures. We found a good quantitative description of the experimental three-body recombination length of cesium atoms to deeply bound molecules up to 500 nK. Consistent with the experimental data, the increase of the temperature moves the resonance peak of the three-body recombination rate to lower values of vertical bar a vertical bar exhibiting a saturation behavior. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fortran programs for the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation in a fully anisotropic trap

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Rugged, Portable Tungsten Coil Atomic Emission Spectrometer

Tungsten coil atomic emission spectrometry is an ideal technique for field applications because of its simplicity, low cost, low power requirement, and independence from cooling systems. A new, portable, compact design is reported here. The tungsten coil is extracted from an inexpensive 24 V, 250 W commercial light bulb. The coil is housed in a small, aluminum cell. The emission signal exits from a small aperture in the cell, while the bulk of the blackbody emission from the tungsten coil is blocked. The resulting spectra exhibit extremely low background signals. The atomization cell, a single lens, and a hand-held charge coupled device (CCD) spectrometer are fixed on a 1 x 6 x 30 cm ceramic base. The resulting system is robust and easily transported. A programmable, miniature 400 W solid-state constant current power supply controls the temperature of the coil. Fifteen elements are determined with the system (Ba, Cs, Li, Rb, Cr, Sr, Eu, Yb, Mn, Fe, Cu, Mg, V, Al, and Ga). The precision ranges from 4.3% to 8.4% relative standard deviation for repetitive measurements of the same solution. Detection limits are in the 0.04 to 1500 mu g/L range. Accuracy is tested using standard reference materials for polluted water, peach leaves, and tomato leaves. For those elements present above the detection limit, recoveries range from 72% to 147%.