Neonatal Appendicitis – an Uncommon Diagnosis, not to be Forgotten

Acute appendicitis is a common disease in older children, but extremely rare in the neonate. Nevertheless, the true incidence might be underestimated, given the difficulty of the diagnosis. Subtle clinical signs and symptoms usually result in high morbidity and mortality due to delayed diagnosis and surgical intervention. The presentation of neonatal appendicitis can be identical to necrotizing enterocolitis, leading to misdiagnosis. Appendicitis should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis for necrotizing enterocolitis and needs strong clinical suspicion. We report a case of a premature newborn who presented with vomiting, abdominal distension and free intra-peritoneal air on plain x-ray. He was initially diagnosed and treated as necrotizing enterocolitis, but the absence of clinical improvement with standard treatment led to exploratory laparotomy. Surgical exploration revealed an acutely inflamed appendix with normal small and large intestines and appendectomy was performed. The post-operatory period was uneventful and the infant was discharged home. Follow-up confirmed a normal growth and neurodevelopment. We herein report this case in order to raise awareness to this unusual pathology, so that an early diagnosis and treatment can lead to a better outcome, improving survival rate and reducing long term morbidity. We believe uncommon pathologies, like neonatal appendicitis, should be reported to facilitate proper epidemiologic studies

Spin-glass phase transition and behavior of nonlinear susceptibility in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model with random fields

The behavior of the nonlinear susceptibility $\chi_3$ and its relation to the spin-glass transition temperature $T_f$, in the presence of random fields, are investigated. To accomplish this task, the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model is studied through the replica formalism, within a one-step replica-symmetry-breaking procedure. In addition, the dependence of the Almeida-Thouless eigenvalue $\lambda_{\rm AT}$ (replicon) on the random fields is analyzed. Particularly, in absence of random fields, the temperature $T_f$ can be traced by a divergence in the spin-glass susceptibility $\chi_{\rm SG}$, which presents a term inversely proportional to the replicon $\lambda_{\rm AT}$. As a result of a relation between $\chi_{\rm SG}$ and $\chi_3$, the latter also presents a divergence at $T_f$, which comes as a direct consequence of $\lambda_{\rm AT}=0$ at $T_f$. However, our results show that, in the presence of random fields, $\chi_3$ presents a rounded maximum at a temperature $T^{*}$, which does not coincide with the spin-glass transition temperature $T_f$ (i.e., $T^* > T_f$ for a given applied random field). Thus, the maximum value of $\chi_3$ at $T^*$ reflects the effects of the random fields in the paramagnetic phase, instead of the non-trivial ergodicity breaking associated with the spin-glass phase transition. It is also shown that $\chi_3$ still maintains a dependence on the replicon $\lambda_{\rm AT}$, although in a more complicated way, as compared with the case without random fields. These results are discussed in view of recent observations in the LiHo$_x$Y$_{1-x}$F$_4$ compound.Comment: accepted for publication in PR

Model for erosion-deposition patterns

We investigate through computational simulations with a pore network model the formation of patterns caused by erosion-deposition mechanisms. In this model, the geometry of the pore space changes dynamically as a consequence of the coupling between the fluid flow and the movement of particles due to local drag forces. Our results for this irreversible process show that the model is capable to reproduce typical natural patterns caused by well known erosion processes. Moreover, we observe that, within a certain range of porosity values, the grains form clusters that are tilted with respect to the horizontal with a characteristic angle. We compare our results to recent experiments for granular material in flowing water and show that they present a satisfactory agreement.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The Future of Women, Peace and Security at NATO

In a ground-breaking move, Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) features prominently in NATO’s Strategic Concept for the first time, a powerful signal that it will form a central part of NATO’s changing priorities going forward. At the same time, there have been significant gendered silences in NATO and its allies’ response to the Russia-Ukraine War, undermining these policy aspirations. This is despite over a decade of significant investment in the WPS architecture across NATO’s political and military structures, including the creation of a high-level Special Representative on Women, Peace, and Security, reporting directly to the Secretary General and supporting a comprehensive WPS policy adopted in conjunction with NATO partners. Focus therefore needs to be given to what NATO can do to operationalize the WPS aspirations of the new Strategic Concept in practice

A PROPORCIONALIDADE NO PROCESSO CIVIL BRASILEIRO À LUZ DA TEORIA DO DIREITO DE ROBERT ALEXY E O DEVER DE FUNDAMENTAÇÃO DAS DECISÕES JUDICIAIS.

Contemporaneamente, a proporcionalidade foi criada e desenvolvida como um instituto indispensável aos sistemas jurídicos baseados na precedência normativa e axiológica de direitos fundamentais ou de princípios que, naturalmente, entram em colisão e precisam ser restringidos para a manutenção desse próprio sistema de direitos essenciais. Infelizmente, essa percepção não foi acompanhada com o indispensável rigor teórico e técnico que deveria acompanhar a empregabilidade do instituto, pois boa parte dos seus aplicadores acha-se dispensada de justificar racionalmente a sua aplicação, sob o entendimento de que a proporcionalidade é um princípio-norma material que por si só justifica a sua aplicação. Esse tipo de percepção do instituto, muito comum em nossa doutrina e especialmente em nossa jurisprudência, tem conduzido a aplicações do instituto em casos que sequer precisam do recurso a processos decisórios complexos para a sua solução e também a aplicações injustificadas da proporcionalidade, que impedem a avaliação e o controle da decisão pelas partes e pelos demais interessados na solução do caso concreto, vez que a mera alegação à proporcionalidade não é suficiente ao poder-dever determinado pela Constituição de que as decisões sejam jusfundamentadas. Como essas situações ocorrem com frequência no processo civil e como este ramo do direito, em conjunto com o direito constitucional, estipula que o juiz está submetido a um formalismo processual do qual não pode se desvincular, procurou-se definir a proporcionalidade em uma teoria produzida sob e para a realidade contemporânea de sistemas jurídicos calcados na prevalência de direitos fundamentais: a teoria do direito de Robert Alexy. Sob esse contexto, definimos a proporcionalidade sob as suas perspectivas normativa e a procedimental, pois ambas as perspectivas são essenciais para demonstrar (i) que o instituto não pode ser considerado como um mero método de interpretação, à medida que sua natureza normativa impõe a sua utilização em e somente em - casos reais de colisões entre direitos fundamentais; (ii) que o instituto deve ser aplicado sob um procedimento racionalmente justificado para permitir que os demais intérpretes interessados na solução do caso concreto possam controlar a aplicabilidade do instituto pelo juiz; (iii) que, contrariamente ao que sustenta boa parte da doutrina brasileira, o instituto não se confunde com a razoabilidade originária do direito norte-americano, à medida que ele possui critérios normativos e metodológicos aptos a diferenciar ambos os institutos, devendo cada deles manter-se adstrito ao seu específico campo de aplicação normativa

Robust zero-energy modes in an electronic higher-order topological insulator: the dimerized Kagome lattice

Quantum simulators are an essential tool for understanding complex quantum materials. Platforms based on ultracold atoms in optical lattices and photonic devices led the field so far, but electronic quantum simulators are proving to be equally relevant. Simulating topological states of matter is one of the holy grails in the field. Here, we experimentally realize a higher-order electronic topological insulator (HOTI). Specifically, we create a dimerized Kagome lattice by manipulating carbon-monoxide (CO) molecules on a Cu(111) surface using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). We engineer alternating weak and strong bonds to show that a topological state emerges at the corner of the non-trivial configuration, while it is absent in the trivial one. Contrarily to conventional topological insulators (TIs), the topological state has two dimensions less than the bulk, denoting a HOTI. The corner mode is protected by a generalized chiral symmetry, which leads to a particular robustness against perturbations. Our versatile approach to quantum simulation with artificial lattices holds promises of revealing unexpected quantum phases of matter

Produção de mudas in vitro e indução floral de abacaxizeiro ornamental.

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Reproduction of Patella depressa Pennant, 1777 on the central Portuguese coast

The reproductive cycle and the sex ratio of the limpet Patella depressa Pennant, 1777 were studied on two rocky shores of the central coast of the Portugal, over a period of one year. The gonads were examined and their stage of development was assessed. The gonads of P. depressa were found to develop mainly from September/October to December, and between February and April. The spawning peaks occurred in January and between May and August. From June to August the gonads seem to go into a resting phase. In P. depressa the sex proportions seem to be approximately equal, suggesting the absence of sex reversal in these limpets. High wind speed under optimum conditions of air temperatures appears to induce spawning in this species.Estudiamos el ciclo reproductor y la proporción de sexos de la lapa Patella depressa Pennant, 1777 en dos litorales rocosos de la costa central de Portugal. Examinamos las gónadas y valoramos su fase de desarrollo. Encontramos gónadas de P. depressa desarrollándose principalmente desde septiembre/octubre hasta diciembre y entre febrero y abril. Los picos de puesta aparecieron en enero y entre mayo y agosto. Las gónadas parecen permanecer en una fase de reposo desde junio hasta agosto. En P. depressa la proporción de sexos parece ser aproximadamente uno, lo que sugiere la ausencia de inversión sexual en estas lapas. Bajo condiciones óptimas de temperatura del aire, la alta velocidad del viento parece inducir la puesta en esta especie.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Non-Newtonian fluid flow through three-dimensional disordered porous media

We investigate the flow of various non-Newtonian fluids through three-dimensional disordered porous media by direct numerical simulation of momentum transport and continuity equations. Remarkably, our results for power-law (PL) fluids indicate that the flow, when quantified in terms of a properly modified permeability-like index and Reynolds number, can be successfully described by a single (universal) curve over a broad range of Reynolds conditions and power-law exponents. We also study the flow behavior of Bingham fluids described in terms of the Herschel-Bulkley model. In this case, our simulations reveal that the interplay of ({\it i}) the disordered geometry of the pore space, ({\it ii}) the fluid rheological properties, and ({\it iii}) the inertial effects on the flow is responsible for a substantial enhancement of the macroscopic hydraulic conductance of the system at intermediate Reynolds conditions. This anomalous condition of ``enhanced transport'' represents a novel feature for flow in porous materials.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. This article appears also in Physical Review Letters 103 194502 (2009