Dredging and disposal of fine sediments in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dredging is employed quite frequently in the state of Rio de Janeiro, especially for the installation and upkeep of commercial ports and rehabilitation of the hydraulic section of silted bodies of water. Until recently, all dredged material with no economic use was destined for marine disposal or stored at the edge of the water body. Since the 1990s, however, a new approach has been adopted for dredging as a result of pressure from the environmental organisations, encouraging closer interaction in Rio de Janeiro between the local and state public authorities and the universities on issues relating to licensing of this kind of activity. The recent experiments of the Civil and Ocean Engineering Programs of COPPE-UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) described herein are included in this context. The state of Rio de Janeiro has three bays, several coastal lagoon systems and a number of small and medium sized rivers in or close to urban areas, with a gentle slope as they near the sea. This is, then, a region highly susceptible to silting processes of water bodies, and therefore, to maintenance and/or environmental rehabilitation. As discussed in the article, fine and almost always organic sediments prevail, which is a considerable obstacle to the end disposal and possibility of reuse.     

Os 30 Valérios

Abstract

Valério Vieira (1862–1941) was born in Angra dos Reis in Rio de Janeiro. As a young man he went to the capital where he enrolled in the Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) without his parents' approval. It appears that he began his photographic activities in the 1880s in several cities of the Vale do Paraíba and in Ouro Preto, an old town in the State of Minas Gerais. Around 1888, he married Carmen Augusta Villas-Boas Teixeira, and in 1892 he came to São Paulo, where he installed his studio at No. 19, Rua da Imperatriz, now the XV de Novembro street.     

Dose assessment for releases from medical installations in the city of Rio de Janeiro

The values of effluent releases to urban sewage system in Brazilian regulation were investigated and compared with the current International Atomic Energy Agency recommended criteria, using the city of Rio de Janeiro as a case study. Deterministic and probabilistic assessments were performed for two conservative scenarios, considering the exposure of the population in general and the exposure of workers in sewage treatment plants. The results from the deterministic assessment were found to be more restrictive than those from the probabilistic assessment. Although currently the doses for the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro are lower than the dose limit for the public, the approach currently in use in Brazil is not adequate to fulfill the international requirements and nuclide-specific values needing to be adopted.     

Sugar Cane Bagasse Waste as Reinforcement in Low Cost Composites

The State University of the North of Rio de Janeiro State is currently engaged on a large development program to exploit the potentialities of sugar cane industry in a self sustained nonpolluting program. Sugar cane is a traditional industry responsible for the main fraction of the economy of the northern region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, also known as the North Fluminense region. In this respect, a project of particular interest is the use of the sugar cane bagasse waste as reinforcement to polymeric resins for fabrication of low cost composites. In the present work a study was carried out on the possible uses of bagasse waste as reinforcement in polyester matrix composites. Preliminary results have attested this possibility. Composites with homogeneous microstructures could be fabricated and the level of their mechanical properties enable them to have practical applications similar to the ones normally associated with wooden agglomerates. Future developments are expected to increase the performance and competitiveness of these composites as compared to those of other materials in the same structural class.     

Pedestrian deaths in Rio de Janeiro and Baltimore

Pedestrian fatalities in the cities of Baltimore (U.S.) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) were studied using medical examiner data. The population-based death rate for Rio was about four times the rate for Baltimore. The difference reflected extremely high death rates in Rio among sober adults of working age. In Baltimore, 72% of the fatally injured pedestrians were either younger than 10 years old or older than 64, or had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10% by weight or greater. In Rio, only 28% were similarly youthful, aged, or impaired by alcohol.     

Determination of 238U, 234U, 232Th, 228Th, 228Ra, 226Ra and 210Pb concentration in excreta samples of inhabitants of a high natural background area

The high concentration of uranium and thorium in certain Brazilian areas provides an opportunity to evaluate the radiation exposure due to intake of radionuclides by the populations that live and work in areas with a high natural radiation background. Buena, where this study was conducted, is a small village on the coast in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro State, characterised by the presence of a large deposit of monazite sand. In this paper, the concentrations of 238U, 234U, 232Th, 228Th, 228Ra, 226Ra and 210Pb in faecal samples from inhabitants of this area were determined by a sequential analytical method. The results of the average concentrations in faeces of inhabitants of Buena are 9.4 +/- 3.4 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 238U, 9.2 +/- 4.0 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 234U, 7.0 +/- 4.2 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 232Th, 256.1 +/- 134.6 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 228Th, 335.5 +/- 192.8 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 228Ra, 156.6 +/- 74.1 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 226Ra and 66.7 +/- 17.7 mBq g(ash)(-1) for 210Pb. The results were compared with background concentrations from faecal samples from individuals living in Rio de Janeiro City. For most of the radionuclides analysed, the average concentration in faeces from inhabitants of the high natural radiation background was higher than the concentration found in Rio de Janeiro, considered a 'normal' background area.     

Brazilian immunology: One hundred years later

Brazilian immunology dates from the end of the 19^th century. The aim of the present paperwas to analyze the impact of this field in contemporary Brazilian biomedical research. For this, a15 years period (1981-1995) was studied. Production of immunological articles in Brazilrepresented in 1995 a percentage of 8.66 of total papers in biomedical sciences in this country.This level was achieved by an exponential increase in 1991 in the number of papers inimmunology followed by a steady increase in the subsequent years. This growth was onlyobserved in articles published in international immunology journals listed by ISI, a similarincrease did not occur when the most representative Brazilian journal in biomedical sciences wasanalyzed. The production in immunology in the last five years (1991-1995) represented 60.69% oftotal articles in this field published in the whole 15 years period. When quality was assessed basedon impact factor of the journals were the articles appeared, 52.71% of total immunology papershad been published in journals with impact factors varying between 7.29 and 3.24. A higherdegree of international co-authorship was seen both in articles published in international journalsand presentations at international congresses compared to national ones. The main countriescollaborating with Brazil were: EUA, England and France. Within Brazil, immunology researchwas not equally distributed. Around 80% of the articles were produced by four states (São Paulo,Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Bahia), São Paulo being responsible for more than half of thosearticles. This geographic distribution closely resembles the distribution of the Brazilian Society ofImmunology (SBI) membership. The main field of study throughout the period wasimmunoparasitology.     

Photographic Miscarriage

Abstract

Henrique Fleiuss (born 1823 in Cologne, died 1882 in Rio de Janeiro) studied literature in Cologne and natural sciences as well as music in Munich. He went to Brazil in 1858 at the suggestion of von Martius, the famous botanist. There, in 1859, he founded the ‘Instituto Artistico’ in partnership with his brother Carlos Fleiuss and the artist Carlos Linde.     

Latin American and Caribbean intercomparison of surface contamination monitoring equipment

In October 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sponsored an intercomparison exercise of surface contamination monitoring equipment, which was held at the Laboratório Nacional de Metrologia das Radia??es Ionizantes, from the Instituto de Radioprote??o e Dosimetria, IRD/CNEN, Rio de Janeiro. This intercomparison was performed to evaluate the calibration accessibility in Latin America and the Caribbean. Thirteen countries within the region and IAEA have sent instruments to be compared, but only five countries and IAEA were considered apt to participate. Analysis of instruments, results and discussions are presented and recommendations are drawn.     

Relationship between connectivity and academic productivity

A relevant factor in the growth of academic productivity in the second half of 20th century is the implementation of the internet, particularly in developing countries. One of the first networks in Brazil is the Academic Network at Sao Paulo (ANSP), a regional network implemented in the state of Sao Paulo, which contains the largest concentration of researchers in the country. This study presents a unique metric for analyzing the impact of ANSP in academic productivity in the state of Sao Paulo. We correlate academic production and available bandwidth using Fisher ideal price index with suitable variables to evaluate the impact of the internet on research centers and universities. We find that the members of ANSP show a steady growth in academic productivity compared with other institutions outside of the ANSP network. These results suggest that policies which increase available bandwidth can positively affect academic productivity.     

Evaluation of radiographic image quality parameters obtained with the REX simulator

The PTW REX phantom was used to study the radiographic image quality parameters in X-ray devices in the X-ray Diagnostics Department, as well as the system of film processing at the University Hospital of Rio de Janeiro State. X-ray devices were evaluated by performing tests on 11 screen-film combinations from X-ray devices in 3 rooms. The results showed that six film-screen combinations exhibited poor performances. For determination of air kerma output in the X-ray field, two devices presented significant variation >2 %. The grid attenuation factor in three devices had been approved, while two films were within the limits of sensitometric specifications. The modulation transfer function, which evaluates the level of image degradation, revealed that five film-screen combinations exhibited bad performance. The tests with the REX phantom revealed that the X-ray equipment and the system of processing at the University Hospital presented discrepancies in relation to the expected values, contributing to loss of quality of the radiographs.     

4He adsorption isotherms on Na-plated Pyrex glass

We present ⁴ He volumetric adsorption isotherm measurements on small area cells made out of Pyrex glass, and the same cells coated with partial platings of evaporated sodium. Isotherms at 4.2K and 3.99K are used to obtain quanititative results for the isosteric heat of adsorption (q_st) on bare glass and qualitative results for q_st on the Na-plated portion of the cells.On leave from Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, supported by CNPq.     

Latin american and Caribbean intercomparison of radiation protection area monitoring instruments

In December 2000 the International Atomic Energy Agency sponsored an intercomparison of radiation protection area monitoring instruments which was held at the Instituto de Radioprote??o e Dosimetria--IRD/CNEN, Rio de Janeiro. Brazil. This intercomparison exercise was aimed at evaluating the ability of some Latin American and Caribbean countries to perform calibrations or such instruments, or have them properly performed by a third party. Nine countries participated in the exercise with 13 portable gamma dose rate monitors. The quantity of interest for the intercomparison was the ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), although some instruments were not designed or calibrated in this quantity. Results were converted to H*(10), whenever necessary. according to the information supplied by each participant. All results for the quantity of interest agree well within 10% of the reference values and the quoted uncertainties.     

Establishment of radiation qualities for mammography according to the IEC 61267 and TRS 457

This article presents the technical conditions necessary to establish appropriate radiation qualities for the calibration of the dosemeters used in the mammography detectors in the Laboratório de Ciências Radiológicas (LCR) from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Tests were conducted to evaluate the homogeneity of the radiation field, scattering, half-value layers and system stability. The calibration method (substitution) is described in this work. A moderate alteration in filtration makes it possible to maintain the half-value layers within the limits recommended. The results indicate the adequacy of the LCR laboratory for the calibration of the dosemeters in the radiation qualities for mammography with an expanded uncertainty in the best measurement capability of ± 1.8 % (k = 2).     

The technique of glueing precast elements of the Rio-Niteroi bridge

The prestressed concrete superstructure of the 7,884 m long and 26.6 m wide bridge over the Guanabara Bay, connecting the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi, in Brazil, was constructed by the cantilever method with the help of precast segments which were glued together with epoxy resin. An experimental investigation of the structural behavior of the glued joints was made in a model of the bridge. Important conclusions resulted from the experiment. It has been shown that the glued joints do not affect the safety of the structure. Several investigations were made during the construction for determination of various important features of the glued joints for erection procedures. The behavior of glued joints was studied with the help of a specially developed concrete test piece.     

Behaviour of composite soil reinforced with natural fibres

Next to the food shortage, the housing shortage is one of the most crucial problems on earth. To improve this situation and make it possible to build more houses, particularly for low-income families, it is necessary to examine all locally available materials which can be used for construction. Bamboo, sisal and coconut fibres are materials which are available in abundance in Brazil and are not used in civil construction. To increase the amount of information concerning the physical and mechanical behaviour of these materials several research programmes were executed at Pontifical Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and Universidade Federal da Paraiba (UFPb) under the general supervision of the first author. In this paper new results are presented concerning the application of sisal and coconut fibres in conjunction with three types of locally appropriate soil for the production of composite soil blocks reinforced with sisal and coconut fibres.     

Dosimetric assessment from 212Pb inhalation at a thorium purification plant

At the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Sao Paulo, Brazil, there is a facility (thorium purification plant) where materials with high thorium concentrations are manipulated. In order to estimate afterwards the lung cancer risk for the workers, the thoron daughter (212Pb) levels were assessed and the committed effective and lung committed equivalent doses for workers in place. A total of 28 air filter samples were measured by total alpha counting through the modified Kusnetz method, to determine the 212Pb concentraion. The committed effective dose and lung committed equivalent dose due to 212Pb inhalation were derived from compartmental analysis following the ICRP 66 lung compartmental model, and ICRP 67 lead metabolic model.     

NORM workers: a challenge for internal dosimetry programmes

The mining, milling and processing of uranium and thorium bearing minerals may result in radiation doses to workers. The control of occupational exposures from these natural sources of radiation imposes a challenge to regulators and radiation protection advisers. A survey pilot programme, which included six mines in Brazil and a monazite plant, was established, consisting of the collection and analysis of concentrations of uranium, thorium and polonium in urine, faeces and air samples. Results from workers were compared to background data from their families living in the same area and from residents from the population of Rio de Janeiro. Positive exposure results were identified among the coal miners, the niobium miners and the monazite sand workers. Difficulties in the application of internal dosimetry programmes are discussed in relation to the control of NORM workers.     

Nuclear medicine annual external occupational dose distribution: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, year 2005

Brazil has about 300 nuclear medicine services (NMS), 44 of them located in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Most nuclear medicine staff are routinely monitored for external dose. This paper makes a statistical analysis of all the RJ NMS annual external occupational doses in year 2005. Around 100 professionals of RJ NMS received annual doses >4.0 mSv, considering only external doses, but no one receives doses higher than the mean annual dose limit of 20 mSv. Extremities dosemeters are used by about 10 % of the staff. In some cases, these doses are more than 10 times higher than the dose in thorax. The maximum ratio of extremity dose/thorax dose, in 2005, was 72. This study shows the importance to improve radiation protection procedures in nuclear medicine, mainly because the number of occupational individuals in nuclear medicine and their external doses are increasing.     

Development of a profitable procedure for the extraction of 2-H-1-benzopyran-2-one (coumarin) from Mikania glomerata

This report deals with a new procedure suitable for the extraction of coumarin 1 from Mikania glomerata. The aim of this investigation is to obtain this compound in an economically profitable way, taking into account the yield of its extraction, the cost, and the time of the overall process. Fresh and dried plants collected in several areas of the State of Rio de Janeiro were used, and seasonal effects on coumarin content were studied. Obtained results indicated that extraction with a 1% (w/v) NaOH solution, under appropriate conditions, allows a simple and complete recovery of the desired product and that the best yields were obtained with the fresh aerial parts of the plant. Season and area of harvesting effects have also been studied