Transmission coefficient and two-fold degenerate discrete spectrum of spin-1 bosons in a double-step potential

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Functional neurologic recovery in two dogs diagnosed with severe luxation of the vertebral column

Traumatic injuries to the vertebral column, spinal cord, and cauda equina nerve roots occur frequently in human and veterinary medicine and lead to devastating consequences. Complications include partial or complete loss of motor, sensory, and visceral functions, which are among the main causes of euthanasia in dogs. The present case report describes neurological functional recovery in two dogs that were treated surgically for severe spinal fracture and vertebral luxation. In the first case, a stray, mixed breed puppy was diagnosed with thoracolumbar syndrome and Schiff-Scherrington posture, as well as a T13 caudal epiphyseal fracture with 100% luxation between vertebrae T13 and L1; despite these injuries, the animal did show deep pain sensation in the pelvic limbs. Decompression through hemilaminectomy and spinal stabilization with vertebral body pins and bone cement were performed, and the treatment was supplemented with physiotherapy and acupuncture. In the second case, a mixed breed dog was diagnosed with a vertebral fracture and severe luxation between L6 and L7 after a vehicular trauma, but maintained nociception and perineal reflex. Surgical stabilization of the spine was performed using a modified dorsal segmental fixation technique Both patients showed significant recovery of neurological function. Complete luxation of the spinal canal observed radiographically does not mean a poor prognosis, and in some cases, motor, sensory, and visceral functions all have the potential for recovery. In the first case the determining factor for good prognosis was the presence of deep pain perception, and in the second case the prognosis was determined by the presence of sensitivity and anal sphincter tone during the initial neurological examination.

Spectrum generating algebra for the pure spinor superstring

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

Flattening of the resonance spectrum of hadrons from κ-deformed Poincaré algebra

Recently Lukierski et al. [1] defined a κ-deformed Poincaré algebra which is characterized by having the energy-momentum and angular momentum sub-algebras not deformed. Further Biedenharn et al. [2] showed that on gauging the κ-deformed electron with the electromagnetic field, one can set a limit on the allowed value of the deformation parameter ∈ ≡ 1/κ < 1 fm. We show that one gets Regge like angular excitations, J, of the mesons, non-strange and strange baryons, with a value of ∈ ∼ 0.082 fm and predict a flattening with J of the corresponding trajectories. The Regge fit improves on including deformation, particularly for the baryon spectrum.

Autism spectrum disorder in a girl with a de novo x;19 balanced translocation

Balanced X-autosome translocations are rare, and female carriers are a clinically heterogeneous group of patients, with phenotypically normal women, history of recurrent miscarriage, gonadal dysfunction, X-linked disorders or congenital abnormalities, and/or developmental delay. We investigated a patient with a de novo X;19 translocation. The six-year-old girl has been evaluated due to hyperactivity, social interaction impairment, stereotypic and repetitive use of language with echolalia, failure to follow parents/caretakers orders, inconsolable outbursts, and persistent preoccupation with parts of objects. The girl has normal cognitive function. Her measurements are within normal range, and no other abnormalities were found during physical, neurological, or dysmorphological examinations. Conventional cytogenetic analysis showed a de novo balanced translocation, with the karyotype 46,X,t(X;19)(p21.2;q13.4). Replication banding showed a clear preference for inactivation of the normal X chromosome. The translocation was confirmed by FISH and Spectral Karyotyping (SKY). Although abnormal phenotypes associated with de novo balanced chromosomal rearrangements may be the result of disruption of a gene at one of the breakpoints, submicroscopic deletion or duplication, or a position effect, X; autosomal translocations are associated with additional unique risk factors including X-linked disorders, functional autosomal monosomy, or functional X chromosome disomy resulting from the complex X-inactivation process.

Sociocognitive performance in autism spectrum disorders and interference of the therapeutic environment

To analyze the sociocognitive performance of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders in two environments of language therapy, which differ as to the physical structure. Ten children and adolescents with ages between 4 and 13 years, of both genders, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders took part in the study. For data collection, eight filming sessions were performed during individual language therapy lasting 30 minutes, being four in a room with conventional environmental organization (common room) and four in a room with specific ambiance [children's interaction core (CIC) room], interspersed during a month. For the analysis of filmed situations, the Sociocognitive Performance Protocol was used and obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis. No statistical significance was found in sociocognitive performance of 10 subjects in the common and CIC rooms, although specific differences were observed in some cases. The creation of preestablished physical environments or specific materials is not and should not be considered essential for language therapy. It is noteworthy, however, that the absence of a large volume of statistically significant data does not indicate that the results are not expressive, reiterating the need for further research in the area.

Higher algebras and mesonic spectrum in two-dimensional QCD

We construct composite operators in two-dimensional bosonized QCD, which obey a W∞ algebra, and discuss their relation to analogous objects recently obtained in the fermionic language. A complex algebraic structure is unravelled, supporting the idea that the model is integrable. For singlets we find a mass spectrum obeying the Regge behavior.

Postura de trabalho relacionada com as dores na coluna vertebral em trabalhadores de uma indústria de alimentos: estudo de caso

This study has as main objective to identify the complains occurrences about pain in the spine segments, that are related to work standing posture, adopted by the collaborators in the production section of a food industry, in the city of Marília São Paulo state. A descriptive research and studying case was made, using 30 employees as a sample. It was used as methodological procedure, a questionnaire to obtain information on professional and personal data, posture to remain standing, the most uncomfortable postures in the work environment (signed by the form of Ranney, 2000) and pain (pointed out by Corllet and Manenica Diagram, 1980). It was also used the Nordic questionnaire (Kuorioka et al.,1986), validated in the Brazilian culture by Barros e Alexandre (2003) and adapted for the study, the direct evaluation and, a direct observation was made in the production work, a posture analysis using the OWAS Method. It was noticed that the posture of standing up is adopted during work, and 73.3% of the people that was interviewed said that they felt tired in consequence of this posture, especially when associated with trunk twists, trunk inclination and elevation of their arms above their heads. Most complains regarding pain through their bodies, by Corllet e Manenica (1980) pointed to the lumbar region, followed in the dorsal area and legs and in the neck area, shoulders and right thigh. The adapted Nordic questionnaire reveled the lumbar area, in 10 interviewed people (33.3%) as the area mostaffected by musculoskeletal symptoms, next in the dorsal area, with five people interviewed (16.7%) and one of them (3.3%) felt pain in the cervical area, none reported pain in the hips area. The postural analysis was applied using OWAS method, and it was identified the postures that demanded more effort in the four levels of musculoskeletal injuries. As conclusion, the standing up posture and the asymmetric and incorrect movements are related to pain in the spine, mostly in the lumbar area.

Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) for Individuals with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders in Outpatient Treatment Settings

The role of social cognition in severe mental illness (SMI) has gained much attention, especially over the last decade. The impact of deficits in socio-cognitive functioning has been found to have detrimental effects on key areas of day-to-day functioning in individuals with SMI, such as gaining and maintaining employment and overall experienced quality of life. Treatment of individuals with SMI is challenging, as the presentation of individual signs and symptoms is rather heterogeneous. There are several treatment approaches addressing deficits ranging from broader social and interpersonal functioning to neurocognitive and more intrapersonal functioning. As research in the domain of social cognition continues to identify specific deficits and its functional detriments, treatment options need to evolve to better target identified functional deficits. Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) was recently developed to address specific socio-cognitive deficits in an inpatient population of individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. This study applied SCIT in an outpatient SMI population as many deficits remain after individuals’ symptoms are less severe and overall functioning is more stable than during the acute inpatient phase of their rehabilitation. Specifically, this study has two objectives. First, to demonstrate that deficits in social cognition persist after the acute phase of illness has abated. Second, to demonstrate that these deficits can be ameliorated via targeted treatment such as SCIT. Data was gathered in local outpatient treatment settings serving a heterogeneous SMI population. Adviser: William D. Spaulding

Temperature Effect on the Two-Photon Absorption Spectrum of All-trans-beta-carotene

In this report, we investigate the influence of temperature on the two-photon absorption (2PA) spectrum of all-trans-beta-carotene using the femtosecond white-light-continuum Z-scan technique. We observed that the 2PA cross-section decreases quadratically with the temperature. Such effect was modeled using a three-energy-level diagram within the sum-over-essential states approach, assuming temperature dependencies to the transition dipole moment and refractive index of the solvent. The results show that the transition dipole moments from ground to excited state and between the excited states, which governed the two-photon matrix element, have distinct behaviors with the temperature. The first one presents a quadratic dependence, while the second exhibits a linear dependence. Such effects were attributed mainly to the trans -> cis thermal interconversion process, which decreases the effective conjugation length, contributing to diminishing the transition dipole moments and, consequently, the 2PA cross-section.

Analytic perturbation theory for bound states in the transfer matrix spectrum of weakly correlated lattice ferromagnetic spin systems

We consider general d-dimensional lattice ferromagnetic spin systems with nearest neighbor interactions in the high temperature region ('beta' << 1). Each model is characterized by a single site apriori spin distribution taken to be even. We also take the parameter 'alfa' = ('S POT.4') - 3 '(S POT.2') POT.2' > 0, i.e. in the region which we call Gaussian subjugation, where ('S POT.K') denotes the kth moment of the apriori distribution. Associated with the model is a lattice quantum field theory known to contain a particle of asymptotic mass -ln 'beta' and a bound state below the two-particle threshold. We develop a 'beta' analytic perturbation theory for the binding energy of this bound state. As a key ingredient in obtaining our result we show that the Fourier transform of the two-point function is a meromorphic function, with a simple pole, in a suitable complex spectral parameter and the coefficients of its Laurent expansion are analytic in 'beta'.

Complete Sequence of Broad-Host-Range Plasmid pRIO-5 Harboring the Extended-Spectrum-beta-Lactamase Gene bla(BES-1)

Broad-host-range plasmid pRIO-5, harboring the extended-spectrum beta-lactamase bla(BES-1) gene in Serratia marcescens, was fully sequenced. Analysis of the 12,957-bp sequence of this IncP6-type plasmid revealed that the bla(BES-1) gene was associated with two copies of the insertion sequence IS26. The promoter responsible for the bla(BES-1) expression was hybrid, made of a - 35 box located inside the inverted repeat of IS26 and a - 10 box inside a remnant of an insertion sequence.

PHOTOELASTIC ANALISYS IN THE LOWER REGION OF VERTEBRAL BODY L4

Objective: To analyze the shear forces on the vertebral body L4 when submitted to a compression force by means of transmission photoelasticity. Methods: Twelve photoelastic models were divided into three groups, with four models per group, according to the positioning of the sagittal section vertebrae L4-L5 (sections A, B and C). The simulation was performed using a 15N compression force, and the fringe orders were evaluated in the vertebral body L4 by the Tardy compensation method. Results: Photoelastic analysis showed, in general, a homogeneous distribution in the vertebral bodies. The shear forces were higher in section C than B, and higher in B than A. Conclusion: The posterior area of L4, mainly in section C, showed higher shear concentrations, corresponding to a more susceptible area for bone fracture and spondylolisthesis. Economic and Decision Analyses Development of an Economic or Decision Model. Level I

Fractal descriptors based on Fourier spectrum applied to texture analysis

This work proposes the development and study of a novel technique lot the generation of fractal descriptors used in texture analysis. The novel descriptors are obtained from a multiscale transform applied to the Fourier technique of fractal dimension calculus. The power spectrum of the Fourier transform of the image is plotted against the frequency in a log-log scale and a multiscale transform is applied to this curve. The obtained values are taken as the fractal descriptors of the image. The validation of the proposal is performed by the use of the descriptors for the classification of a dataset of texture images whose real classes are previously known. The classification precision is compared to other fractal descriptors known in the literature. The results confirm the efficiency of the proposed method. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Riemannian Submersions with Discrete Spectrum

We prove some estimates on the spectrum of the Laplacian of the total space of a Riemannian submersion in terms of the spectrum of the Laplacian of the base and the geometry of the fibers. When the fibers of the submersions are compact and minimal, we prove that the spectrum of the Laplacian of the total space is discrete if and only if the spectrum of the Laplacian of the base is discrete. When the fibers are not minimal, we prove a discreteness criterion for the total space in terms of the relative growth of the mean curvature of the fibers and the mean curvature of the geodesic spheres in the base. We discuss in particular the case of warped products.