Model-independent measurement of the W-boson helicity in top-quark decays at D0

We present the first model-independent measurement of the helicity of W bosons produced in top quark decays, based on a 1 fb(-1) sample of candidate t (t) over bar events in the dilepton and lepton plus jets channels collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron p (p) over bar Collider. We reconstruct the angle theta(*) between the momenta of the down-type fermion and the top quark in the W boson rest frame for each top quark decay. A fit of the resulting cos theta(*) distribution finds that the fraction of longitudinal W bosons f(0)=0.425 +/- 0.166(stat)+/- 0.102(syst) and the fraction of right-handed W bosons f(+)=0.119 +/- 0.090(stat)+/- 0.053(syst), which is consistent at the 30% C.L. with the standard model.

Association between left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

OBJECTIVES: ,,,,,The prevalence of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to disease severity has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients according to disease severity. ,,,, ,,,, ,,,,,METHODS: ,,,,,The study included 25 mild/moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and 25 severe/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. All participants underwent clinical evaluation, spirometry and electrocardiography/echocardiography. ,,,, ,,,, ,,,,,RESULTS: ,,,,,Electrocardiography and echocardiography showed Q-wave alterations and segmental contractility in five (10%) patients. The most frequent echocardiographic finding was mild left diastolic dysfunction (88%), independent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage. The proportion of right ventricular overload (p<0.05) and blockage of the anterosuperior division of the left bundle branch were higher in patients with greater obstruction. In an echocardiographic analysis, mild/moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients showed more abnormalities in segmental contractility (p<0.05), whereas severe/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients showed a higher prevalence of right ventricular overload (p<0.05), increased right cardiac chamber (p<0.05) and higher values of E-wave deceleration time (p<0.05). Age, sex, systemic arterial hypertension, C-reactive protein and disease were included as independent variables in a multiple linear regression; only disease severity was predictive of the E-wave deceleration time [r2 = 0.26, p = 0.01]. ,,,, ,,,, ,,,,,CONCLUSION: ,,,,,Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients have a high prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, which is associated with disease severity. Because of this association, it is important to exclude decompensated heart failure during chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation.

Interference of the blood clot on granulation tissue formation after tooth extraction. Histomorphological study in rats.

The interference of a blood clot in the first postoperative hours of dental extraction wounds was studied in rats. Sixty male albino rats were divided into two groups: Group I, immediately after extraction of right maxillary incisor the gingival mucosa was approximated and sutured; Group II, after 6 to 8 minutes postoperatively the blood clot was removed with saline irrigation and absorbent paper cones. The mucosa was then approximated and sutured. Six animals in each group were sacrificed after 12 hours, 1, 4, 7 and 10 days. There was a profound delay in healing in Group II since, although a new blood clot was later formed, it was not organized. The quality and the constitution, maintenance and retraction of the clot are the regulating factors in connective tissue formation during alveolar healing.

Heritability of sting characters in Africanized honeybees

In this paper we proposed to estimate the heritability of seven morphological characters that compose the sting apparatus ofthe Africanized honeybee workers. An experimental design to estimate genetic parameters was based on the method developed by Oldroyd and Moran. This method was modified to eliminate within-colony environmental effects associated with the additive genetic variance. The estimated h2 values ranged from 0.17 ± 0.11 (maximum width of bulb of sting stylet and height of the valve of right lancet) to 0.74 ± 0.30 (length of the lancet).

Interference phenomenon for the Faddeevian regularization of 2D chiral fermionic determinants

The classification of the regularization ambiguity of a 2D fermionic determinant in three different classes according to the number of second-class constraints, including the new Faddeevian regularization, is examined and extended. We find a new and important result that the Faddeevian class, with three second-class constraints, possesses a free continuous one parameter family of elements. The criterion of unitarity restricts the parameter to the same range found earlier by Jackiw and Rajaraman for the two-constraint class. We studied the restriction imposed by the interference of right-left modes of the chiral Schwinger model (χQED2) using Stone's soldering formalism. The interference effects between right and left movers, producing the massive vectorial photon, are shown to constrain the regularization parameter to belong to the four-constraint class which is the only nonambiguous class with a unique regularization parameter. ©1999 The American Physical Society.

O paradigmático caso do processo às juntas militares argentinas

This article analyzes the case of the proceedings against Argentina’s Military Juntas that led to jail those responsible for heinous crimes committed during the military dictatorship. The said proceeding has a high symbolic value in the struggle for human rights in Latin America and is relevant and timely in Brazil where the right to the truth regarding the missing people during the military dictatorship is in debate, as well as the invalidation of the Amnesty Act regarding the common crimes of torture, rape and / or kidnapping, among others. In the case of Argentina, following Roxin’s doctrine of mediate authorship, the Court held that the crimes were committed by the military through the use of an organized power apparatus and emphatically dismissed allegations that such crimes were justified in the so-called “dirty war”. Thus, the case against the Military Juntas has become a paradigmatic one, not only in Argentina, where many military leaders had to respond to criminal actions, but for all countries in the region that faced similar situations in recent history.

Cortical correlates of affective syndrome in dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease

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

Medium effects in the pion-pole mechanism [gamma gamma ->pi(0)->nu(R)(nu)over-bar(L)(nu(L)(nu)over-bar(R))] of neutron star cooling

Nuclear medium effects in the neutrino cooling of neutron stars through the reaction channel γγ→π0 →ν Rν̄L(νLν̄R) are incorporated. Throughout the paper we discuss different possibilities of right-handed neutrinos, massive left-handed neutrinos, and standard massless left-handed neutrinos (reaction is then allowed only with medium modified vertices). It is demonstrated that multiparticle effects suppress the rate of this reaction channel in the dense hadron matter by 6-7 orders of magnitude that does not allow to decrease existing experimental upper limit on the corresponding π0νν̄ coupling. Other possibilities of the manifestation of the given reaction channel in different physical situations, e.g., in the quark color superconducting cores of the most massive neutron stars, are also discussed. We demonstrate that in the color-flavor-locked superconducting phase for temperatures T≲ 0.1-10 MeV (depending on the effective pion mass and the decay width) the process is feasibly the most efficient neutrino cooling process, although the absolute value of the reaction rate is rather small.

Evaluation of femur of orchiectomized guinea pigs by bone densitometry using dual-energy x-ray absortiometry (DXA) and mechanical testing

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Experimental model of intestinal endometriosis: pilot study

Aims: The objective of this study is to create an experimental model of intestinal endometriosis in pigs, which might allow better understanding of deep infiltrating endometriosis and development of new treatment techniques. As secondary objective, we intend to create endometrial implants accessible by transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS). Study Design: Surgical experimental study in swine. Place and Duration of Study: This study was performed at the Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa do Hospital Sírio-Libanês, São Paulo, Brazil, between January 2012 and December 2012. Methodology: Two sexually mature female minipigBR pigs underwent two laparotomies (each animal). The first laparotomy was performed to implant two fragments of autologous endometrium in the rectal wall. The second one was performed thirty days later to visualize, measure and obtain tissue of the site of the implants for histopathology study. A TRUS study was performed prior to the second surgery. The Institution’s Animal Utilization Study Committee approved the study. Results: In the first laparotomy a 5-cm segment of right uterine horn was resected. The endometrium was separated from the myometrium through sub-endometrial saline injection. Two endometrial fragments (1.0 x 2.0 cm) were dissected and sutured in the intra peritoneal anterior rectal wall of the animals. Thirty days later, all implants were identified during preoperative TRUS. “En-bloc” resection of the intestinal segment with the implants was performed during the second surgery. The autologous implants of endometrium invaded the muscular layer in one of the two animals. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the creation of an animal model of deep infiltrating endometriosis with intestinal involvement is feasible through a simple surgical technique. We believe that this model can be applied in experimental and clinical studies but further studies are necessary to refine the technique.

Políticas Públicas Educacionais para adolescentes infratores: um estudo no município de Franca

Pós-graduação em Planejamento e Análise de Políticas Públicas - FCHS

Fragmentos da história das concepções de mundo na construção das ciências da natureza: das certezas medievais às dúvidas pré-modernas

A concepção filosófica do mundo se inicia com os gregos sintetizados por Platão e Aristóteles. Para o primeiro o mundo físico é aparente e para se chegar à verdade é preciso se lembrar das idéias originais que determinam seu significado. Para o segundo as coisas físicas são dirigidas pelas idéias e para entendê-las é preciso a lógica. Durante o helenismo a escola de Alexandria elabora o neoplatonismo, a base da Patrística. Após a queda de Roma, os filósofos bizantinos guardam a herança clássica. A Igreja constrói uma visão neoplatônica da cristandade, a Escolástica. No oriente os persas também sofreram a influência grega. Entre os árabes do Oriente o pensamento neoplatônico orienta filósofos e religiosos de forma que para eles a razão e a fé não se separam. Aí a ciências se desenvolvem na física, na alquimia, na botânica, na medicina, na matemática e na lógica, até serem subjugadas pela doutrina conservadora dos otomanos. Na Espanha mulçumana sem as restrições da teologia, a filosofia de Aristóteles é mais bem compreendida do que no resto do Islã. Também aí todas as ciências se desenvolvem rápido. Mas a Espanha sucumbe aos cristãos. Os árabes e judeus apresentam Aristóteles à Europa Ocidental que elabora um Aristóteles cristão. A matemática, a física experimental, a alquimia e a medicina dos árabes influenciam intensamente o Ocidente. Os artesãos constroem instrumentos cada vez mais precisos, os navegadores constroem navios e mapas mais eficientes e minuciosos, os armeiros calculam melhor a forma de lançamento e pontaria de suas armas e os agrimensores melhor elaboram a medida de sua área de mapeamento. Os artistas principalmente italianos, a partir dos clássicos gregos e árabes, criam a perspectiva no desenho, possibilitando a matematização do espaço. Os portugueses, junto com cientistas árabes, judeus e italianos, concluem um projeto de expansão naval e ampliam os horizontes do mundo. Os pensadores italianos, como uma reação à Escolástica, constroem um pensamento humanista influenciado pelo pensamento grego clássico original e pelos últimos filósofos bizantinos. Por todas essas mudanças se inicia a construção de um novo universo e de um novo método, que viria décadas mais tarde.

Eletromiografia de superfície da musculatura supra-hióidea durante a deglutição de idosos sem doenças neurológicas e idosos com Parkinson

OBJETIVO: investigar as diferenças entre os achados eletromiográficos dos músculos supra-hióideos direito e esquerdo durante a deglutição de um líquido e um pastoso fino, em sujeitos idosos com doença de Parkinson e idosos sem doença neurológica. MÉTODOS: 30 sujeitos de ambos os sexos participaram deste estudo, 15 idosos sem doença neurológica e os demais com doença de Parkinson. Todos foram submetidos a um protocolo de avaliação clínica e avaliação eletromiográfica de superfície. RESULTADOS: foram constatadas diferenças significantes nos valores entre os sujeitos (f=14.4 e p= 0.000) e entre os lados (f=4.4 e p=0.0037). em relação ao tempo de duração da contração muscular durante a deglutição as diferenças foram significantes apenas entre as consistências (f=8.2 e p=0.005). CONCLUSÃO: a amplitude eletromiográfica foi menor nos sujeitos com doença de Parkinson e maior nos músculos supra-hiódeos do lado direito em ambos os grupos. A duração da contração muscular não diferiu significativamente entre os sujeitos com doença de Parkinson e idosos sem doença neurológica e foi menor para a consistência líquida.

A critica behaviorista de W. O. Quine

O artigo comenta a crítica comportamental quineana da semântica e da epistemologia. Quine pretende, com esta crítica, ter produzido contribuições significativas para a clarificação de umas tantas noções, entre elas a de observação, ou de sentença observacional, tema este que é apresentado detalhadamente. É examinado, também, o papel exato da chamada tese Duhem-Quine na rejeição, por Quine, da doutrina das proposições.

A lição de Heráclito

Heráclito é conhecido na história do pensamento filosófico como o propositor da doutrina do mobilismo universal O tudo flui, nada permanece, asserção pela qual é comumente sintetizada, integra o cerne da Metafísica: suscita em Platão a não menos conhecida Teoria das Formas, que acabará por tomar-se o pensamento diretor da filosofia do Ocidente. Para melhor compreender essas ressonâncias, desenvolveremos algumas considerações sobre a essência do devir heraclítico.