The main objective of this work is to investigate the effect of a set of crude oil emulsion variables, including pH and salt and water contents, upon the microwave demulsification process. A series of batch demulsification runs were carried out to evaluate the final emulsified water content of emulsion samples after the exposure to microwaves. Tests were performed at distinct heating temperatures, using water-in-heavy crude oil emulsion samples containing different salt and water contents and pH. Well-defined temperature programs were established to control the amount of energy applied to the emulsion and, ultimately, the viscosity. Higher microwave demulsification efficiencies were achieved for emulsions containing high water contents, except when high pH and salt contents were simultaneously involved.

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In late 2015, the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization classified the increase in congenital malformations associated with the Zika virus (ZIKV) as a public health emergency. The risk of ZIKV-related congenital syndrome poses a threat to reproductive outcomes that could result in declining numbers of live births and potentially fertility. Using monthly microdata on live births from the Brazilian Information System on Live Births (SINASC), this study examines live births and fertility trends amid the ZIKV epidemic in Brazil. Findings suggest a decline in live births that is stratified across educational and geographic lines, beginning approximately nine months after the link between ZIKV and microcephaly was publicly announced. Although declines in total fertility rates were small, fertility trends estimated by age and maternal education suggest important differences in how Zika might have impacted Brazil’s fertility structure. Further findings confirm the significant declines in live births in mid-2016 even when characteristics of the municipality are controlled for; these results highlight important nuances in the timing and magnitude of the decline. Combined, our findings illustrate the value of understanding how the risk of a health threat directed at fetuses has led to declines in live births and fertility.

The main objective of this work is evaluating the influence of water content and average droplet size upon the near-infrared (NIR) spectra collected during water-in-crude oil emulsions synthesis and observing whether NIR spectroscopy may be used for predicting these properties simultaneously. It is shown that NIR spectra are sensitive to changes of the water content and average droplet size and that standard empirical models [partial least-squares (PLS)] may be built to correlate these properties and total absorbance at the NIR region properly. Finally, it is shown that these models, built with off-line experiments, allow for the online evaluation of average droplet size and water content in water-in-crude oil emulsions with NIR spectroscopy when low water content (<5 wt %) is involved.

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Apesar de ainda pouco estudada no Brasil, a influência da religião na sexualidade tem sido investigada pela literatura internacional por mais de meio século. Na literatura brasileira, a religião enquanto variável de interesse demográfico, com impacto no comportamento sexual, vem ganhando importância à medida que se fazem presentes, na sociedade, as mudanças no panorama religioso e nas normas e valores associados à sexualidade. Diante do crescente interesse, por parte dos demógrafos, na variável religião, tornam-se necessários mais subsídios teóricos com a finalidade de dar suporte às futuras pesquisas e estudos brasileiros. O presente trabalho busca, então, mapear as literaturas nacional e internacional acerca da associação entre religião, religiosidade e iniciação sexual de adolescentes e jovens e revelar as muitas formas utilizadas ao longo dos anos para classificar religião e religiosidade. Esta análise também procura ressaltar os cuidados metodológicos que devem ser tomados em estudos de sexualidade adolescente e de religião em geral. Para cumprir com esses dois objetivos, foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica sistemática nas bases de dados SciELO, Atla, JSTOR e Banco de Teses e Dissertações do Cedeplar e da UFMG, buscando artigos publicados entre 1950 e abril de 2014, em português e inglês.Palavras-chave: Iniciação sexual. Religião. Religiosidade. Adolescência. Revisão bibliográfica sistemática.

There has been a remarkable decline in the number of Catholics in Brazil over the last few decades, a fact that is attributed to the growth of Pentecostal churches and to an increase in the number of people with no religious affiliation. We analyzed the age, period, and cohort effects associated with religious affiliation in Brazil from 1980 to 2010, applying the Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort and Cross-Classified Random Effects Model. We observed that age effects were significant but low for Catholics and Pentecostals, and were substantial for those with no religious affiliation, with a negative relationship. For these first two religious affiliations, period effects were of greater magnitude with clear trends: negative for Catholics and positive for Pentecostals. Cohort effects were significant for all three affiliations, but magnitudes were lower than the other two effects. We also verified that the likelihood of being a Pentecostal decreased with formal education, and the opposite occurred for persons with no religious affiliation. These effects, however, were smaller for younger cohorts, possibly due to the reduced social selectivity of recent students pursuing higher education and the increase in overall levels of education.

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