Quantum metrology at the Heisenberg limit with ion traps

Sub-Planck phase-space structures in the Wigner function of the motional degree of freedom of a trapped ion can be used to perform weak force measurements with Heisenberg-limited sensitivity. We propose methods to engineer the Hamiltonian of the trapped ion to generate states with such small scale structures, and we show how to use them in quantum metrology applications.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Desalination in nuclear plants: a bibliometric study of research activity in scientific literature indexed by SCOPUS base

With the scarcity of fresh water, desalination is an important instrument to be considered for the production of non-salinized water through waste heat in the dual use of nuclear reactors. The gap that this study seeks to fill is related to the use of bibliometric method, based on information structure, about the scientific studies indexed on the evolution of the topic desalination in nuclear power plants. The objective of this work is to map the themes in the scientific literature between 1966 and the first semester of 2017. Data were collected from the research activities indexed by the SCOPUS database and analyzed with the support of bibliometric software VOSviewer. Among others, the results of the research led to the following conclusions: (1) the articles published in indexed journals represent the largest percentage of the type of instrument used for scientific dissemination, representing 64% of the documents; (2) it is estimated that between the years 2016 and 2025 the indexed research activities involving nuclear desalination continued to grow sharply

Underlying Dimensions of the Physical Educators\u27 Judgments about Inclusion Instrument: Brazilian-Version

Background/Objective: The available information pertaining to the attitudes of Brazilian physical education teachers about teaching students with disabilities is limited in the extant literature base. Rationally, however, scholars argue that determining, analyzing, and theorizing about the attitudes of physical education teachers is important in the preparation and professional development of these teachers. It is therefore important to extend the research base using valid and reliable measures regarding teachers’ attitudes about inclusion and teaching students with various disabilities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying dimensions of the Physical Educators’ Judgments about Inclusion (PEJI) scale following translation procedures that converted the existing measure to Portuguese. The PEJI was designed to analyze teachers’ attitudes about inclusion and teaching students with various disabilities. Method: Using a descriptive survey research design, data were collected from 147 participants (women = 57.1%, men = 42.9%) on the PEJI survey instrument. Results: Principal component analysis resulted in salient loadings on three dimensions consistent with prior study using the PEJI and explained 57% of the variance for measuring judgments about: Inclusion versus Exclusion, Acceptance of Students with Disabilities, and Perceived Training Needs. Conclusions: The overall results confirm validity of the PEJI survey consistent with prior study on this measure. The strong magnitude of values indicates that each of the subscales measures separate dimensions of judgments (attitudes). Implications for future use, we recommend reporting individual scale scores rather than a total PEJI score

Modeling the ecology and evolution of biodiversity: Biogeographical cradles, museums, and graves

Individual processes shaping geographical patterns of biodiversity are increasingly understood, but their complex interactions on broad spatial and temporal scales remain beyond the reach of analytical models and traditional experiments. To meet this challenge, we built a spatially explicit, mechanistic simulation model implementing adaptation, range shifts, fragmentation, speciation, dispersal, competition, and extinction, driven by modeled climates of the past 800,000 years in South America. Experimental topographic smoothing confirmed the impact of climate heterogeneity on diversification. The simulations identified regions and episodes of speciation (cradles), persistence (museums), and extinction (graves). Although the simulations had no target pattern and were not parameterized with empirical data, emerging richness maps closely resembled contemporary maps for major taxa, confirming powerful roles for evolution and diversification driven by topography and climate

Surface tension implementation for Gensmac 2D

In the present work we describe a method which allows the incorporation of surface tension into the GENSMAC2D code. This is achieved on two scales. First on the scale of a cell, the surface tension effects are incorporated into the free surface boundary conditions through the computation of the capillary pressure. The required curvature is estimated by fitting a least square circle to the free surface using the tracking particles in the cell and in its close neighbors. On a sub-cell scale, short wavelength perturbations are filtered out using a local 4-point stencil which is mass conservative. An efficient implementation is obtained through a dual representation of the cell data, using both a matrix representation, for ease at identifying neighbouring cells, and also a tree data structure, which permits the representation of specific groups of cells with additional information pertaining to that group. The resulting code is shown to be robust, and to produce accurate results when compared with exact solutions of selected fluid dynamic problems involving surface tension

Hidrogenionic potential (pH) of the attractant, trap density and control threshold for Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: tephritidae) on Hamlin oranges in São Paulo central region, Brazil

This study evaluated the effect of initial pH values of 4.5, 6.5 and 8.5 of the attractant (protein bait) Milhocina® and borax (sodium borate) in the feld, on the capture of fruit flies in McPhail traps, using 1, 2, 4 and 8 traps per hectare, in order to estimate control thresholds in a Hamlin orange grove in the central region of the state of São Paulo. The most abundant fruit fly species was Ceratitis capitata, comprising almost 99% of the fruit flies captured, of which 80% were females. The largest captures of C. capitata were found in traps baited with Milhocina® and borax at pH 8.5. Captures per trap for the four densities were similar, indicating that the population can be estimated with one trap per hectare in areas with high populations. It was found positive relationships between captures of C. capitata and the number of Hamlin oranges damaged, 2 and 3 weeks after capture. It was obtained equations that correlate captures and damage levels which can be used to estimate control thresholds. The average loss caused in Hamlin orange fruits by C. capitata was 2.5 tons per hectare or 7.5% of production.Esta pesquisa teve como objetivos: avaliar o efeito do pH inicial, 4.5; 6.5 e 8.5, do atrativo proteico Milhocina® e bórax (tetraborato de sódio) na captura de moscas-das-frutas em armadilhas McPhail; estudar densidades de armadilhas, 1; 2; 4 e 8 por hectare, para estimar níveis de controle em laranja cv. Hamlin, na região central de São Paulo. A espécie predominante, com 99% das moscas-das-frutas capturadas, foi Ceratitis capitata, sendo 80% de fêmeas. As maiores capturas de C. capitata ocorreram nas armadilhas com Milhocina® e bórax em pH 8.5. As capturas, nas 4 densidades, foram semelhantes, indicando que a população pode ser estimada com uma armadilha por hectare em áreas de altas populações. Houve relações positivas entre capturas de C. capitata e o número de frutos danificados, 2 e 3 semanas após a captura. Assim, foram obtidas equações que relacionam a captura e o dano, possibilitando estimar níveis de controle desse inseto. As perdas médias causadas por C. capitata em laranja cv. Hamlin chegaram a 2,5 toneladas de frutos por hectare ou 7,5% da produção.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Molecular characterization of PDGFR-α/PDGF-A and c-KIT/SCF in gliosarcomas

Gliosarcomas are rare and poorly characterized malignant brain tumors that exhibit a biphasic tissue pattern with areas of gliomatous and sarcomatous differentiation. These tumors are histological variants of glioblastoma, displaying a similar genetic profile and dismal prognosis. Up-regulation of PDGFR subfamily of tyrosine kinase members, PDGFR-α and c-Kit, and their intracellular effectors RAS/RAF/MAPK has a crucial role in the cancer development. In addition, signal transduction mediated by activating mutations of c-Kit and PDGFR can be effectively blocked by specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as Imatinib mesylate. The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular alterations of PDGFR signaling in gliosarcomas. Six cases were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for the expression of PDGFR-α, c-Kit and their ligands PDGF-A and SCF, respectively. The cases were further evaluated for the presence of activating mutations of PDGFR-α (exons 12 and 18) and c-kit (exons 9, 11, 13, and 17), as well as B-RAF (exons 11 and 15). Expression of PDGF-A was found in all cases and co-expression of PDGFR-α was observed in three cases. Four cases showed expression of SCF, and c-Kit was observed only in one case that also expressed SCF. Generally, immunoreaction predominates in the glial component. The mutational analysis of PDGFR-α showed the presence of an IVS17-50insT intronic insertion in two cases, one of them also with a 2472C > T silent mutation; this silent mutation was also found in another case. Glioma cell line analysis of IVS17-50insT insertion showed no influence on PDGFR-α gene splicing. No mutations were detected in c-kit and B-RAF oncogenes. Our results indicate that activating mutations of PDGFR-α, c-kit and B-RAF are absent in gliosarcomas. Nevertheless, the presence of a PDGFR-a/PDGFA and c-Kit/SCF autocrine/paracrine stimulation loop in a proportion of cases, supports the potential role of specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of gliosarcomas.Novartis Portugal

Avaliação da resistência de progênies F5:6 de feijão-de-metro ao CPSMV (Caupea severe mosaic virus).

O feijão-de-metro é uma hortaliça que possui importante papel na complementação da renda e diversificação de cultivos, principalmente na produção familiar. O vírus Cowpea Severe Mosaic Virus (CPSMV) ocorre com frequência nas regiões produtoras paraenses, causando danos severos aos cultivos. No estudo atual, foram avaliadas em relação à susceptibilidade ao CPSMV, 100 novas linhas de feijão-de-metro, obtidas a partir de cruzamentos de feijão-de-metro suscetível, com uma linhagem resistente do tipo tradicional. Foi percebida grande variação na susceptibilidade destas linhagens ao CPSMV, com a identificação de 25 linhagens resistentes

Obtaining high purity silica from rice hulls

Many routes for extracting silica from rice hulls are based on direct calcining. These methods, though, often produce silica contaminated with inorganic impurities. This work presents the study of a strategy for obtaining silica from rice hulls with a purity level adequate for applications in electronics. The technique is based on two leaching steps, using respectively aqua regia and Piranha solutions, which extract the organic matrix and inorganic impurities. The material was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analysis by laser diffraction (LPSA) and thermal analysis

Dispersão de machos estéreis de Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) em pomar comercial de manga (Mangifera indica L.) na região Sudoeste da Bahia.

O cultivo de manga é a principal opção econômica do pólo de fruticultura de Anagé, Região Sudoeste da BA. As moscas-das-frutas são pragas quarentenárias e se constituem nos principais problemas fitossanitários da região. Em conformidade com os princípios da Produção Integrada de Frutas, a Técnica do Inseto Estéril (TIE) apresenta-se como uma estratégia de manejo vantajosa e de baixo impacto ambiental. Estudos sobre dispersão de moscamed (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) estéril são necessários para gerar subsídios à implantação da TIE no Brasil. Esse trabalho teve por objetivos estimar a capacidade de dispersão de machos moscamed estéril em pomar comercial de manga e a sua sobrevivência em campo. Cerca de 18.000 machos estéreis de moscamed, linhagem TSL Viena 8, procedentes de Mendonza, Argentina, foram liberados no centro do pomar de 20 ha, às 06h00. Para a recaptura, foram utilizadas armadilhas Jackson, dispostas a cada 25m nas direções N, S, L, O, NO, NE. SO e SE, totalizando 80 armadilhas, num raio máximo de 250 m. No 1º, 3º, 5º, 7º, 9º e 11º dia da liberação, as armadilhas foram expostas às 8h00 e retiradas após uma hora, sendo levadas a uma sala escura, sob lâmpada negra, para contagem de machos estéreis e selvagens. Foram recapturados apenas 22 machos estéreis (0,12%) em 16 armadilhas (20,0%) no primeiro dia após a liberação, sendo que nos demais dias a recaptura foi nula. As recapturas ocorreram principalmente nas armadilhas a sudoeste do ponto de liberação, à distância mínima de 25 metros (SO, NE, NO, SE) e máxima de 250 metros (S). Boa parte dos adultos (40%) foi recapturada num raio de 50m do ponto de liberação. A distância média de dispersão foi de 157,0 m/dia e a área abrangida foi de 29.008,33 m²/dia. A sobrevivência dos machos em campo foi insatisfatóri