Effects of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on random number generation

OBJECTIVE: Focal application of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS) is a neuromodulation technique, with predominantly inhibitory effects when applied to the motor, somatosensory or visual cortex. Whether this approach can also transiently interact with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) function remains unclear. The suppression of habitual or competitive responses is one of the core executive functions linked to DLPFC function. This study aimed to assess the impact of tSMS on the prefrontal contributions to inhibitory control and response selection by means of a RNG task. METHODS: We applied 20 min of tSMS over the left DLPFC of healthy subjects, using a real/sham cross-over design, during performance of a RNG task. We used an index of randomness calculated with the measures of entropy and correlation to assess the impact of stimulation on DLPFC function. RESULTS: The randomness index of the sequences generated during the tSMS intervention was significantly higher compared to those produced in the sham condition. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that application of tSMS transiently modulates specific functional brain networks in DLPFC, which indicate a potential use of tSMS for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. SIGNIFICANCE: This study provides evidence for the capacity of tSMS for modulating DLPFC function

The inventory of geological heritage of the state of São Paulo, Brazil: Methodological basis, results and perspectives

An inventory of geological sites based on solid and clear criteria is a first step for any geoconservation strategy. This paper describes the method used in the geoheritage inventory of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and presents its main results. This inventory developed by the geoscientific community aimed to identify geosites with scientific value in the whole state, using a systematic approach. All 142 geosites representative of 11 geological frameworks were characterised and quantitatively evaluated according to their scientific value and risk of degradation, in order to establish priorities for their future management. An online database of the inventory is under construction, which will be available to be easily consulted and updated by the geoscientific community. All data were made available to the State Geological Institute as the backbone for the implementation of a future state geoconservation strategy.The authors acknowledge the Science Without Borders Programme, Process 075/2012, which supported this study and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Process 2011/17261-6. We also thanks C. Mazoca for his help with maps and figures.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Heavy-light decay topologies as a new strategy to discover a heavy gluon

We study the collider phenomenology of the lightest Kaluza-Klein excitation of the gluon, G*, in theories with a warped extra dimension. We do so by means of a two-site effective lagrangian which includes only the lowest-lying spin-1 and spin-1/2 resonances. We point out the importance of the decays of G* to one SM plus one heavy fermion, that were overlooked in the previous literature. It turns out that, when kinematically allowed, such heavy-light decays are powerful channels for discovering the G*. In particular, we present a parton-level Montecarlo analysis of the final state Wtb that follows from the decay of G* to one SM top or bottom quark plus its heavy partner. We find that at \sqrt{s} = 7 TeV and with 10 fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity, the LHC can discover a KK gluon with mass in the range M_{G*} = (1.8 - 2.2) TeV if its coupling to a pair of light quarks is g_{G*qqbar} = (0.2-0.5) g_3. The same process is also competitive for the discovery of the top and bottom partners as well. We find, for example, that the LHC at \sqrt{s} = 7 TeV can discover a 1 TeV KK bottom quark with an integrated luminosity of (5.3 - 0.61) fb^{-1} for g_{G*qqbar} = (0.2-0.5) g_3.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figures. v2: a few typos corrected, comments added, version published in JHE

Effectiveness of telephone monitoring in primary care to detect pneumonia and associated risk factors in patients with SARS-CoV-2

Improved technology facilitates the acceptance of telemedicine. The aim was to analyze the effectiveness of telephone follow-up to detect severe SARS-CoV-2 cases that progressed to pneumonia. A prospective cohort study with 2-week telephone follow-up was carried out March 1 to May 4, 2020, in a primary healthcare center in Barcelona. Individuals aged =15 years with symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 were included. Outpatients with non-severe disease were called on days 2, 4, 7, 10 and 14 after diagnosis; patients with risk factors for pneumonia received daily calls through day 5 and then the regularly scheduled calls. Patients hospitalized due to pneumonia received calls on days 1, 3, 7 and 14 post-discharge. Of the 453 included patients, 435 (96%) were first attended to at a primary healthcare center. The 14-day follow-up was completed in 430 patients (99%), with 1798 calls performed. Of the 99 cases of pneumonia detected (incidence rate 20.8%), one-third appeared 7 to 10 days after onset of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. Ten deaths due to pneumonia were recorded. Telephone follow-up by a primary healthcare center was effective to detect SARS-CoV-2 pneumonias and to monitor related complications. Thus, telephone appointments between a patient and their health care practitioner benefit both health outcomes and convenience. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Probing the Tevatron t tbar asymmetry at LHC

We use an effective operator framework to study the contributions to the Tevatron t tbar asymmetry from arbitrary vector bosons and scalars, and compare with their effect on the t tbar tail at LHC. Our study shows, for example, that models reproducing the t tbar asymmetry by exchange of Z' and W' bosons or colour-triplet scalars lead to a large enhancement in the t tbar tail at LHC. This fact can be used to exclude these models as the sole explanation for the asymmetry, using the data already collected by CMS and ATLAS. Our analysis is model independent in the sense that we scan over all possible extra particles contributing to the asymmetry, and allow for general couplings. We also explore a class of Standard Model extensions which can accommodate the Tevatron asymmetry without contributing to the total t tbar cross section at first order, so that the enhancement of the tail at Tevatron and LHC is moderate.Comment: LaTeX 21 pages. Added several references and comments, and an appendix to study the validity of the effective operator approximation and efficiency issue

Simple models for the top asymmetry: constraints and predictions

We perform a comprehensive study of the allowed range for the Tevatron t tbar forward-backward asymmetries in six representative new physics models: a flavour-changing Z' boson, a scalar isodoublet, a W' boson, a heavy axigluon, a colour-triplet and a colour-sextet scalar. We devote special attention to the constraints from the t tbar tail at LHC on the parameter space, which will be dramatic if the measurements agree with the SM prediction, specially for Z' and W' bosons. We also study the predictions for the charge asymmetries at LHC and compare several proposed definitions.Comment: LaTeX 27 pages. Version to appear in JHE

Chromomagnetic Dipole Moment of the Top Quark Revisited

We study the complete one-loop contributions to the chromagnetic dipole moment $\Delta\kappa$ of the top quark in the Standard Model, two Higgs doublet models, topcolor assited technicolor models (TC2), 331 models and extended models with a single extra dimension. We find that the SM predicts $\Delta\kappa = - 0.056$ and that the predictions of the other models are also consitent with the constraints imposed on $\Delta\kappa$ by low-energy precision measurements.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, Updat