An investigation into the loss of the Brazilian space programme's launch vehicle VLS-1 V03

There has been a rapid increase in the complexity and integration of many safety-critical systems. In consequence, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify the causes of incidents and accidents back through the complex interactions that lead to an adverse event. At the same time, there is a growing appreciation of the need to consider a broad range of contextual factors in the aftermath of any mishap. A number of regulators, operators and research teams have responded to these developments by proposing novel techniques to support the analysis of complex, safety-critical incidents. It is important to illustrate these different approaches by applying them to a number of common case studies. The following pages, therefore, show how STAMP and AcciMap might support the Serviço Público Federal investigation into the explosion and fire of the Brazilian launch vehicle VLS-1 VO3. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A statistical analysis of loss factor to determine the energy losses

Given that the total amount of losses in a distribution system is known, with a reliable methodology for the technical loss calculation, the non-technical losses can be obtained by subtraction. A usual method of calculation technical losses in the electric utilities uses two important factors: load factor and the loss factor. The load factor is usually obtained with energy and demand measurements, whereas, to compute the loss factor it is necessary the learning of demand and energy loss, which are not, in general, prone of direct measurements. In this work, a statistical analysis of this relationship using the curves of a sampling of consumers in a specific company is presented. These curves will be summarized in different bands of coefficient k. Then, it will be possible determine where each group of consumer has its major concentration of points. ©2008 IEEE.

Smoking enhances bone loss in anterior teeth in a Brazilian population: A retrospective cross-sectional study

The aim of the present study was to radiographically evaluate the effect of smoking on bone loss resulting from chronic periodontitis. Periapical radiographs were analyzed of 80 patients with chronic periodontitis (40 current or former smokers and 40 never-smokers) that attended a private periodontal practice. The smokers or former-smokers with a minimum consumption of 10 cigarettes/day for a period of over 10 years were selected. Interproximal radiographic bone loss was considered as the distance between the cementum-enamel junction and the alveolar bone crest. Bone loss for smokers was higher than that observed in never-smokers (p < 0.05) (3.33 ± 1.09 mm and 2.24 ± 0.76 mm; mean ± standard deviation for smokers and non-smokers, respectively). When each region of the mouth was comparatively evaluated, it was observed that the smokers' incisors presented the highest bone loss when compared with the other groups of teeth (p < 0.01). Within the limits of the present investigation it can be concluded that smoking enhances the bone loss resulting from periodontitis and that the incisors are the teeth most affected.

Effect of induced diabetes mellitus on alveolar bone loss after 30 days of ligature-induced periodontal disease

Several studies have shown that diabetics are more susceptible to the development of severe periodontal disease. Currently, the use of animal models can be considered a feasible alternative in radiographic assessments of these two pathologies. The purpose of this radiographic study was to evaluate the effect of induced diabetes mellitus on alveolar bone loss after 30 days of ligature-induced periodontal disease. Sixty-four Wistar rats were randomly distributed into four experimental groups. Diabetes was induced in Groups II and IV, while periodontal disease was induced in Groups III and IV; Group I was used as control. In order to perform the radiographic assessment of the specimens, the rats were killed on the 3rd and 30th days of the study. Radiographic measurements were assessed with ANOVA and Tukey's test to determine statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). It was observed that Groups III and IV featured greater bone loss when compared to Groups I and II. Only the diabetic group with periodontal disease (Group IV) featured statistically significant greater bone loss when compared to the other groups. These results suggested that the alveolar bone loss resulting from the periodontal disease installation is greater when associated to the diabetes mellitus.

Low caloric value of ethanol itself increases alveolar bone loss in ligature-induced periodontitis in male rats

This study aimed at morphometrically evaluating the influence of variable caloric values of ethanol consumption on alveolar bone loss in periodontitis in male rats. Thirty-six male rats were randomized into four groups of nine rats each, as follows: Test group A (low) - rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (ethanol representing 22% of total caloric value); Control group A - rats were fed a pair-fed control diet (ethanol replaced by isocaloric amounts of carbohydrate); Test group B (high) - rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (ethanol representing 36% of total caloric value); Control group B - rats were fed a pair-fed control diet for Test B. Following anesthesia, cotton ligatures were placed around the cervix of the right upper second molar. At eight weeks, the maxillary bones were removed and alveolar bone loss was analyzed by measuring the distance between the cementoenamel junction and the alveolar bone crest at buccal and palatal sites of the upper second molar. The unligated groups showed no significant differences between the bone loss values observed for the low and high caloric values of ethanol (p > 0.05). In the ligated groups, the rats receiving low caloric values of ethanol showed significantly greater bone loss compared to the isocaloric rats (p < 0.05); however, the rats receiving high caloric values of ethanol showed no significant differences compared to the controls. Analysis of the results demonstrated that, in male rats, ethanol itself affected ligature-induced bone loss when representing a low value in the total caloric value.

Determination of BTEX by GC-MS in air of offset printing plants: Comparison between conventional and ecological inks

The use of inks containing organic solvents by the offset printing process implies in the release of volatile organic compounds to the work environment. Many of these compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and the xylene isomers (well known by the acronym BTEX) are extremely toxic. In this study, the BTEX concentrations were determined in two different printing plants that use distinct types of inks: the conventional and the so-called ecological, which is manufactured based on vegetal oil. Concentration ranges were 43-84, 15-3,480, 2-133, 5-459, and 2-236 μg m-3 for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m + p-xylene, and o-xylene, respectively, for the conventional printing plant. At the ecological printing plant, concentration ranges were below limit of detection (

An efficient codification to solve distribution network reconfiguration for loss reduction problem

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Trade, poverty and complementary policies in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Infrared thermography applied to the evaluation of metabolic heat loss of chicks fed with different energy densities

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

Forage mass production and grazing loss of sorghum hybrid in response to the density of the sowing and the spacing between planting lines

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate dry matter yield and loss of grazing due to animal trampling in response to sowing density and spacing between lines in the planting. Sorghum hybrid 1P400 was submitted to six treatments, composed of three sowing density combinations (12; 16 and 20 kg/ha of seeds) and two spacing between lines (0.40 and 0.80 m). Sorghum hybrid 1P400 was sowed in two seasons, at the end of spring (December 3rd, 2005) and the other at the end of summer (March 20th, 2006). Cultivation strategies influenced plant population in the two experimental seasons. Diameter of the stem in season 1 decreased with density increase, whereas in the second season, interaction between sowing density and spacing was significant. In the first season, 0.40-m spacing promoted greater losses due to grazing stepping, that is, 891 kg/ha of DM, whereas in the second season there was no statistical difference. There was no significant difference in forage dry matter yield in sowing densities among the two studied seasons. Dry mater production of sorghum hybrids 1P400 did not increase with the increase of the sowing density in the two sowing seasons, therefore it is recommended 12 kg/ha of seeds for the sowing. Sorghum IP400 cultivated in 0.80-m spacing resulted in lower forage loss caused by grazing bovine trampling. © 2011 Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia.

Prevalence and reasons for tooth loss in a sample from a dental clinic in Brazil

Purpose. To evaluate the prevalence and reasons for teeth extractions in a sample from a dental clinic in Brazil. Methods. The prevalence of teeth mortality was analyzed by gender, age, tooth type and reasons for extraction on 800 teeth of 439 subjects, whose data was collected in clinical records in a convenience sample. Results. The groups with range from 35 to 44 years, 45 to 54 years and 55 to 64 years revealed significantly greater number of teeth extractions than other age groups (P < 0.0001). The anterior teeth loss increased significantly with aging, while the tooth mortality of premolar and molar were higher in younger people. The caries was the more prevalent reason for tooth mortality among young and adults up to 44 years old, while the periodontal disease was the main reason for extractions from 45 years old until range of 81 years (P < 0.0001). Conclusions. It can be suggested that some reasons for tooth loss were age-dependent, but the caries and the periodontal diseases were the main reasons for tooth mortality in this Brazilian sample. Copyright © 2012 Andréia Montandon et al.

Arterial hypertension perpetuates alveolar bone loss

Few studies have focused on the impact of hypertension on the progression of periodontitis (PD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether hypertension affects PD by enhancing bone loss even after the stimulus for PD induction is removed. Ligature-induced PD was created on the first mandibular molars of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive rats (Wistar Kyoto-WKY). The animals were assigned to non-ligated controls (C) and PD groups: WKY-C, WKY-PD, SHR-C, and SHR-PD. After 10 days, five animals of each group were killed and the ligatures of the other animals were removed. On the 21st day (11 days without PD induced), the remaining animals were killed. The jaws were defleshed and the amount of bone loss was measured. After 10 days, the PD groups showed more bone loss than its controls (P < .05); SHR-PD = 0.72 ± 0.05 mm, SHR-C = 0.39 ± 0.04 mm, WKY-PD = 0.75 ± 0.04 mm, and WKY-C = 0.56 ± 0.04 mm. The cumulative bone loss on day 21 (0.94 ± 0.13 mm) was significantly worse than on day 10 only in SHR-PD group (P < .05). The final bone loss differences between PD and C groups accounted for 102% (SHR) and 26% (WKY) increase in comparison with the initial control levels. Hypertension is associated with progressive alveolar bone loss even when the stimulus for PD induction is removed and it may be speculated that host condition perpetuates alveolar bone loss. © 2013 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Globalization and loss of autonomy by the fiscal, banking and monetary authorities

Includes bibliography

NAFTA and the loss of US market share by Brazil, 1992-2001

Includes bibliography