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Abstract This work aimed to perform the characterization of electrical properties of niobium pentoxide, Nb2O5, pure and doped with molybdenum, prepared by powder metallurgy route and to do a comparative analysis of the influence of this material when sintered in a muffle or in a microwave oven. The results showed that the doping of the niobium pentoxide with 0.5% or 1% of molybdenum along with the process of sintering in a microwave oven make the material more applicable as a microwave absorber material for electromagnetic radiation in the UHF (ultra-high frequency) range between 0.3 to 3 GHz. The motivation of this work was associated with the fact that in Brazil are located two of the largest niobium reserves in the world. Under this view, the study of the processing of the ceramic materials is important considering possible technological applications.

The scope of this article is to analyze the trend of the standardized mortality rate (SMR) for tuberculosis and its correlation with the developmental status in Brazil. An ecological time series study was conducted to analyze data of deaths from tuberculosis reported between 2005 and 2019 in all states. Data were extracted from the Mortality Information System, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and the Global Burden of Disease study. The temporal trend was analyzed using Prais-Winsten regression. Spearman's correlation analysis between SMR and Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) was also performed. From 2005 to 2019, 68,879 deaths from tuberculosis were recorded in Brazil. The average mortality rate was 2.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The decreasing trend of SMR due to tuberculosis was observed in Brazil and in all regions. There was a significant negative correlation between SDI and TMP. TMP due to tuberculosis revealed a decreasing trend in Brazil and in all regions. Most states showed a decreasing trend and none of them had an increasing trend. An inverse relationship was found between developmental status and mortality due to tuberculosis.

Purpose: to evaluate whether the sample adequacy influences the detection of precursor cervical cancer lesions., Methods: a transversal study from January 2004 to December 2005. A number of 10,951 results of cervical cytopathological exams from users of the National Health System (Sistema Unico de Saúde, SUS) in Goiânia, Goiás , Brazil, was studied. These women had spontaneously looked for the services from the Family Health Program or from the Basic Units of Health. Samples were collected by medical doctors and nurses, through the conventional technique to detect cervical cancer. The analyzed smears were classified by the Bethesda System, the sample adequacy being defined along the routine screening and categorized as: satisfactory, satisfactory but presenting factors that might partially jeopardize the analysis, and unsatisfactory. Results were stored in the Epi-Info 3.3.2 program. The chi2 test was used to compare altered results with the adequacy of the samples from cytopathological smears. Differences with probability of rejection of the null hypothesis lower than 5% (p<0.05) were considered as significant., Results: From 10,951 smears, 51.1% were classified as having satisfactory adequacy for analysis, 46.6% as satisfactory, but presenting some limiting factors, and 2.3%, as unsatisfactory. The main factors which have partially jeopardized the analysis were: lack of endocervical cells (52.2%), dried smears (22.8%), purulence (14.9%), or smears with some thick areas (9.5%). There was a higher rate of altered smears when the sample had been classified as satisfactory for analysis and with representation of endocervical cells ASC-US (2.3%), ASC-H (0.6%), LSIL (3.2%), HSIL (1.7%) and 0.3% of AGC. Differences were significant when p=0.001. The rate of low and high grade lesions was higher when the smears were satisfactory for analysis., Conclusions: the rate of precursor uterine cervix cancer lesions varies according to the sample adequacy, and the main adequacy limitations of the sample are mainly related to the collection condition.