Metal-to-insulator transition induced by UV illumination in a single SnO2 nanobelt.

An individual tin oxide (SnO2) nanobelt was connected in a back-gate field-effect transistor configuration and the conductivity of the nanobelt was measured at different temperatures from 400 K to 4 K, in darkness and under UV illumination. In darkness, the SnO2 nanobelts showed semiconductor behavior for the whole temperature range measured. However, when subjected to UV illumination the photoinduced carriers were high enough to lead to a metal-to-insulator transition (MIT), near room temperature, at T MIT = 240 K. By measuring the current versus gate voltage curves, and considering the electrostatic properties of a non-ideal conductor, for the SnO2 nanobelt on top of a gate-oxide substrate, we estimated the capacitance per unit length, the mobility and the density of carriers. In darkness, the density was estimated to be 5-10 × 1018 cm-3, in agreement with our previously reported result (Phys. Status Solid. RRL 6, 262-4 (2012)). However, under UV illumination the density of carriers was estimated to be 0.2-3.8 × 1019 cm-3 near T MIT, which exceeded the critical Mott density estimated to be 2.8 × 1019 cm-3 above 240 K. These results showed that the electrical properties of the SnO2 nanobelts can be drastically modified and easily tuned from semiconducting to metallic states as a function of temperature and light.

Temperature evaluation of dental implant surface irradiated with high-power diode laser.

The prevalence of peri-implantitis and the absence of a standard approach for decontamination of the dental implant surface have led to searches for effective therapies. Since the source of diode lasers is portable, has reduced cost, and does not cause damage to the titanium surface of the implant, high-power diode lasers have been used for this purpose. The effect of laser irradiation on the implants is the elevation of the temperature surface. If this elevation exceeds 47 °C, the bone tissue is irreversibly damaged, so for a safety therapy, the laser parameters should be controlled. In this study, a diode laser of GaAsAl was used to irradiate titanium dental implants, for powers 1.32 to 2.64 W (real) or 2.00 to 4.00 W (nominal), in continuous/pulsed mode DC/AC, with exposure time of 5/10 s, with/without air flow for cooling. The elevation of the temperature was monitored in real time in two positions: cervical and apical. The best results for decontamination using a 968-nm diode laser were obtained for a power of 1.65 and 1.98 W (real) for 10 s, in DC or AC mode, with an air flow of 2.5 l/min. In our perspective in this article, we determine a suggested approach for decontamination of the dental implant surface using a 968-nm diode laser.

Electrical observation of sub-band formation in SnO2 nanobelts.

The electrical observation of energy sub-band formation in the electronic structure, that gives rise to the phenomenon of quantized transport is reported in tin oxide (SnO2) nanobelt back-gate field-effect transistors, at low temperatures. Sub-band formation was observed as current oscillations in the drain current vs. gate voltage characteristics, and was analyzed considering the nanobelt as a "quantum wire" with a rectangular cross-section and hard walls. The lateral quantum confinement in the nanowires created conditions for the successive filling of the first twelve electron energy sub-bands, as the gate voltage increases. When the source-drain voltage is changed, the oscillations are not dislocated with respect to the gate voltage indicating flat-band energies, and that the observations are incompatible with the phenomena of Coulomb blockade and tunnelling oscillations. The separation of the energy sub-bands was found to be in good agreement with the measured cross-section dimensions of the nanobelt and with the threshold temperature, since for T > 60 K the oscillations tend to vanish.

Exigências líquidas de energia e proteína de tourinhos Santa Gertrudes confinados, recebendo alto concentrado / Energy and protein requirements of Santa Gertrudis young bulls in feedlot, fed high concentrate diets

Com o objetivo de determinar as exigências de energia e proteína para ganho de tourinhos Santa Gertrudes, 33 tourinhos, com idade de 12 meses e peso inicial médio de 314,6±33,2kg, foram confinados durante 115 dias, após 56 dias de adaptação. Seis animais foram abatidos após adaptação, para determinação da composição química corporal inicial. Os animais receberam dietas contendo 80% de concentrado, avaliando-se a inclusão de 0; 4,5; e 9,0% do subproduto concentrado da produção de lisina na matéria seca. As exigências de energia líquida de ganho (ELg) foram estimadas em função do peso de corpo vazio (PCVZ) e do ganho de PCVZ (GPCVZ), e as exigências líquidas de proteína para ganho (PLg) foram estimadas em função do GPCVZ e da energia retida (ER). As equações obtidas para ELg e PLg foram: ELg (Mcal/dia) = 0,0061×PCVZ0,75×GPCVZ0,578; e PLg (g/dia) = 208,1×GPCVZ - 1,0868×ER. A exigência de energia líquida encontrada para ganho de 1kg de PV foi de 3,93; 4,88 e 5,76Mcal, e a exigência de proteína metabolizável foi de 367,81; 393,59 e 391,63g, respectivamente, para animais com 300, 400 e 500kg de peso corporal. O valor de exigência líquida para mantença foi obtido por meio da regressão do logaritmo da produção de calor (PC), em função da ingestão de energia metabolizável, chegando-se ao valor de 75,6kcal/PVz0,75/dia. Concluiu-se que, devido ao aumento do teor de gordura na composição do ganho, animais de maior peso de corpo vazio apresentam maiores exigências líquidas de energia.

The objective of this study was to determine the energy and protein requirements for gain of Santa Gertrudis young bulls. Thirty-three 12-month-year-old animals, with initial body weight of 314.6±33.2kg, were kept in individual pens during 115 days, after 56 days of adaptation. Six animals were slaughtered after adaptation and determined the chemical composition of initial body. The concentrate proportion in the diet was 80%, on dry matter basis, and the levels of LPB studied were: 0, 4.5 or 9.0%. It was verified that the net energy requirement observed for weight gain of 1kg was 3.93, 4.88 and 5.76Mcal, and the metabolizable protein requirement was 367.81, 393.59 and 391.63g, respectively, for animals with 300, 400 and 500kg of body weight. The estimated maintenance energy requirement observed was 75.6kcal/LW0.75/day. The conclusion was thatbecause of the fat content in the gain composition, animalswith higher EBW have higher net energy requirements.

Evaluation of the efficacy of strains of Steinernema carpocapsae Santa Rosa and ALL (Steinernematidae: Rhabditida) to control engorged female Anocentor nitens (Acari: Ixodidae).

In view of the need to combat the generalized spread of resistance in ticks to commercial acaricides, the objective of this study was to evaluate the action of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae, strains Santa Rosa and ALL) on engorged female Anocentor nitens. Five ticks per Petri dish were exposed to concentrations of 500, 5,000, or 25,000 infective juveniles of S. carpocapsae for 72 h. After transferring the ticks to clean plates, biological parameters were analyzed. Related to strains Santa Rosa, the period of pre-oviposition (p = 0.0001), oviposition (p = 0.041), and the mass weight of eggs (p = 0.005) showed significant differences between the control group and treated group. When the strain ALL was tested, the control and treated groups differed between the periods of pre-oviposition (p = 0.001), oviposition (p = 0.001), and egg mass weight (p = 0.01). The egg mass conversion was less significant in the groups when exposed to strains Santa Rosa (p = 0.002) and ALL (p = 0.001) relative to the control. The efficacy of both entomopathogenic nematode strains used in this study was comparable to other biological control agents, showing their potential against A. nitens in the laboratory.

Low frequency oscillations in semi-insulating GaAs: a nonlinear analysis.

We have observed low frequency current oscillations in a semi-insulating GaAs sample grown by low temperature molecular beam epitaxy. For this, an experimental setup proper to measure high impedance samples with small external noise was developed. Spontaneous oscillations in the current were observed for some bias conditions. Although measurements were carried out from room temperature down to liquid helium, the dynamical analysis was carried out around 200 K where the signal to noise ratio was fairly favorable. To increase the data quality we have also used a noise reduction algorithm suitably developed for nonlinear systems. We observed attractors having low embedding dimension, limit cycle bifurcations, and chaotic behavior characteristic of nonlinear dynamical processes in route to chaos. Attractor reconstruction, Poincare sections, Lyapunov exponents, and correlation dimension were also analyzed.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Brazilian patients with gastric carcinoma.

Investigators have speculated on the role of Helicobacter pylori in gastric carcinogenesis. The current study was performed to evaluate prospectively the prevalence of H. pylori infection in the stomachs of Brazilian patients with gastric carcinoma. Forty patients receiving gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma were studied. H. pylori was examined in four areas without atrophy or with minor atrophic changes. Mucosal fragments were obtained for microbiologic studies in 19 cases. H. pylori was detected in 82.5% of the cases. Of the cases evaluated by histologic and microbiologic methods, 94% had positive results by at least one method. In most cases there were small numbers of microorganisms. There was no correlation between the site and histologic type of neoplasia and the presence of H. pylori. The use of more than one diagnostic method improves H. pylori detection in gastric carcinoma. The small number of microorganisms observed in gastric carcinoma cases may lead to an underestimate of H. pylori in histologic sections. This might explain the variation in H. pylori infection rates reported for patients with gastric carcinoma.

Padronizaçao de tecnicas bioquimicas no laboratorio clinico I. Creatinina / Kinetic and end-point technique in the determination of serum creatinine levels

Com a finalidade de avaliar algumas propriedades apresentadas pelas tecnicas "cinetica" e de "ponto final" na dosagem de creatinina serica, foram estudados alguns aspectos da reaçao (Reaçao de Jaffe) em "kits" de diferentes fabricantes. Os "kits" analisados pela tecnica de "ponto-final" apresentaram sempre boa estabilidade de reaçao e boa reprodutividade. A linearidade foicompativel com os dados apresentados pelo fabricante. Quanto a reaçao com soros diluidos, foi observado que alguns "kits" respondem satisfatoriamente. Na tecnica "cinetica", linearidade e reprodutividade, mostram bons resultados e a utilizaçao com soro diluido so e possivel em diluiçoes ate 1/10. Tempo de incubaçao e temperatura tambem foram estudados e todos esses dados foram discutidos.

Padronizaçao de tecnicas bioquimicas no laboratorio clinico.II.Ureia / Standartization of kinetic and end-point techniques in clinic laboratory

O presente trabalho mostra apadronizaçao do metodo enzimatico para a quantificaçao da ureia em relaçao a reprodutibilidade e estabilidade da reaçao nas tecnicas "cinetica" e de "ponto-fina". Apesar da boa linearidade e reprodutibilidade apresentadas peloa "kits" estudados, alguns nao mostraram boa estabilidade.Fatores que influenciam, tais como temperatura e tempo de incubaçao, foram amplamente discutidos, objetivando obter o metodo mais adequado paradiferentes condiçoes de trabalho.