Probing quantum fluctuation theorems in engineered reservoirs

Fluctuation Theorems are central in stochastic thermodynamics, as they allow for quantifying the irreversibility of single trajectories. Although they have been experimentally checked in the classical regime, a practical demonstration in the framework of quantum open systems is still to come. Here we propose a realistic platform to probe fluctuation theorems in the quantum regime. It is based on an effective two-level system coupled to an engineered reservoir, that enables the detection of the photons emitted and absorbed by the system. When the system is coherently driven, a measurable quantum component in the entropy production is evidenced. We quantify the error due to photon detection inefficiency, and show that the missing information can be efficiently corrected, based solely on the detected events. Our findings provide new insights into how the quantum character of a physical system impacts its thermodynamic evolution.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

What is gender awareness in health? A scoping review of the concept, its operationalization, and its relation to health outcomes

Gender awareness emerged in the 1990s and aimed to provide awareness and sympathy toward the needs of women, measuring health-care providers’ attitudes toward them and understand if providers possessed the knowledge for appropriate care. According to Miller et al.’s seminal model, gender awareness incorporates three sub-dimensions: gender sensitivity, gender ideology, and knowledge. Gender awareness has the potential to minimize gender bias in health care, improving the ecological validity of research. This scoping review provides an analysis of how gender awareness has been conceptualized, operationalized, and investigated in its relationship with health-related outcomes. A search was conducted on PubMed, PsycINFO, and ERIC. The relevance of 2.589 articles was assessed and 14 empirical studies were selected and included. Difficulties conceptualizing gender awareness were found and gender awareness and gender sensitivity were often presented as interchangeable. Most papers aimed to measure and compare levels of gender awareness among health professionals and the relationship between gender awareness and relevant health-related outcomes was not studied. Drawing upon a critical analysis of our findings, a proposal for a revised gender awareness conceptualization and operationalization is put forth as to inform novel research on its association with gender bias in health and health care.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Surviving opinions in Sznajd models on complex networks

The Sznajd model has been largely applied to simulate many sociophysical phenomena. In this paper we applied the Sznajd model with more than two opinions on three different network topologies and observed the evolution of surviving opinions after many interactions among the nodes. As result, we obtained a scaling law which depends of the network size and the number of possible opinions. We also observed that this scaling law is not the same for all network topologies, being quite similar between scale-free networks and Sznajd networks but different for random networks.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Obtenção de Imagens de Algas por Microscopia de Força Atômica.

bitstream/CNPDIA/10457/1/CT63_2004.pd

Recomendação de Baveno VI Sobre Evicção da Endoscopia de Rastreio em Doentes com Cirrose: Já Lá Estamos?

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies assessed the predictive value of liver transient elastography, combined or not with platelet count, for the presence of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis, and multiple cutoffs have been proposed. The Baveno VI consensus states that patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease, liver stiffness 150,000 have a very low risk of having varices requiring treatment and can avoid screening endoscopy. We aimed to validate this recommendation in a cohort of cirrhotic patients. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all patients evaluated at the Gastroenterology Department (Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central) between September 2009 and October 2015 with a liver stiffness (FibroScan®) compatible with liver cirrhosis as well as upper endoscopy and blood tests within 12 months from elastography. Patients on propranolol ≥80 mg/day or carvedilol ≥12.5 mg/day, as well as those with previous variceal bleeding, variceal endoscopic treatments, or cirrhosis decompensations were excluded. We validated the new Baveno VI recommendation and explored alternative cutoffs. RESULTS: Ninety-seven patients were analyzed, 76.3% (74/97) male, mean age 54.3 ± 11.2 years. Most patients (55.7%) had no varices and 14.4% had varices requiring treatment. Most patients (78.4%) had cirrhosis related to chronic hepatitis C. If the new Baveno VI recommendation had been applied to this cohort, upper endoscopy would have been avoided in 11.3% (11/97) of patients, none of them with esophageal varices requiring treatment: specificity 100%, sensitivity 13.3%, positive predictive value 100%, and negative predictive value 16.3% for absence of varices requiring treatment. If screening endoscopy had been avoided in those patients with liver stiffness <30 kPa and platelet count ≥120,000, endoscopy would have been avoided in 27.8% (27/97) of patients, none of whom with esophageal varices requiring treatment: specificity 100%, sensitivity 32.5%, positive predictive value 100%, and negative predictive value 20% for absence of varices requiring treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The new Baveno VI criteria identified compensated cirrhotic patients without varices requiring treatment in whom screening endoscopy could have been avoided safely. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and potentially explore more ambitious but still safe cutoffs for those criteria.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estratégias ambientais em grandes empresas com atividade galvânica no Rio Grande do Sul.

As pressões sociais sinalizam que os custos para adequação da empresa às demandas do meio ambiente podem se transformar em conscientização, pois a sociedade não mais aceita a exacerbação do lucro obtido às custas dos efeitos ambientais negativos. Assim, a proteção ambiental deixou de ser uma função exclusiva da produção para ser uma função da empresa, fazendo parte da estrutura organizacional e do planejamento estratégico. As empresas que possuem processos galvânicos são consideradas de alto impacto ambiental, devido ao grande consumo de água, energia, geração de emissões e resíduos sólidos perigosos. Conciliar a atividade produtiva com a sustentabilidade ambiental é um desafio enfrentado pelas empresas. Este contexto determinou o problema da pesquisa: qual o tipo e o foco das estratégias ambientais adotadas pelas grandes empresas do Rio Grande do Sul com atividade galvânica para o controle dos impactos negativos? O objetivo do trabalho foi identificar tipos de estratégias implantadas pelas empresas pesquisadas. Para a realização da pesquisa foi usado o método investigativo, a partir do estudo de caso em cinco grandes empresas. O estudo de caso permitiu identificar o potencial das empresas gaúchas para a implantação de estratégias preventivas que possibilitam reduzir perdas e a poluição ambiental

Estratégias ambientais nas grandes empresas do rio grande do sul com processo galvânico.

As pressões sociais sinalizam que os custos para adequação da empresa às demandas do meio ambiente podem se transformar em conscientização, pois a sociedade não mais aceita a exacerbação do lucro obtido às custas dos efeitos ambientais negativos. Assim, a proteção ambiental deixou de ser uma função exclusiva da produção para ser uma função da empresa, fazendo parte da estrutura organizacional e do planejamento estratégico. As empresas que possuem processos galvânicos são consideradas de alto impacto ambiental devido ao grande consumo de água, energia, geração de emissões e resíduos sólidos perigosos. Conciliar a atividade produtiva com a sustentabilidade ambiental é um desafio enfrentado pelas empresas. Este contexto determinou o problema da pesquisa: qual o tipo e o foco das estratégias ambientais adotadas pelas grandes empresas do Rio Grande do Sul com atividade galvânica para o controle dos impactos negativos? O objetivo do trabalho foi identificar tipos de estratégias, a partir das medidas ambientais implantadas nas empresas pesquisadas. Para a realização da pesquisa foi usado o método investigativo, a partir do estudo de caso em cinco grandes empresas. O período realização da pesquisa foi de abril a setembro de 2003. O estudo de caso permitiu identificar o potencial das empresas gaúchas para a implantação de estratégias preventivas que possibilitam reduzir perdas e a poluição ambiental

Synergism of Chemical and Microbial Additives on Sugarcane (\u3ci\u3eSaccharum Officinaruml.\u3c/i\u3e) Silage Fermentation

Sugarcane has a high productive potential (30 t DM/year) and it is commonly used in its fresh form. The ensiling of sugarcane is increasing but little research has been carried out to reduce nutrient losses during fermentation