Fast and secure key distribution using mesoscopic coherent states of light

This work shows how two parties A and B can securely share sequences of random bits at optical speeds. A and B possess true-random physical sources and exchange random bits by using a random sequence received to cipher the following one to be sent. A starting shared secret key is used and the method can be described as an unlimited one-time-pad extender. It is demonstrated that the minimum probability of error in signal determination by the eavesdropper can be set arbitrarily close to the pure guessing level. Being based on the $M$-ry encryption protocol this method also allows for optical amplification without security degradation, offering practical advantages over the BB84 protocol for key distribution.Comment: 11 pages and 4 figures. This version updates the one published in PRA 68, 052307 (2003). Minor changes were made in the text and one section on Mutual Information was adde

Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados e Tempo de Internamento dos Doentes com Acidente Vascular Cerebral 2010-2011

INTRODUCTION: The National Post Hospital Care Project was created to provide a continuity of care after hospitalization or to functionally dependent people. Currently there is a great difficulty in the integration of patients. The objective of this paper is to compare the impact of the referral to the Project versus being discharged home, in the length of stay of stroke patients between 2010 and 2011. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of patients admitted to the Neurology Infirmary A and Stroke Unit of Coimbra's University Hospital, in 2010 and 2011. The cases analyzed were 1 209, featuring demographic data, length of stay, Rankin Score (mRS) and destination after discharge. The data was analyzed comparing the two years concerning the length of stay of stroke patients referred to the Project and those discharged home, given the their Rankin Score. RESULTS: In 2011, the number patients referred to the National Post Hospital Care Project was higher, 23.5% compared to 21.4%. The length of stay for the same Rankin Score of the patients referred to National Post Hospital Care Project, remained higher than those discharged home: for a Rankin Score of 1: 11, versus 26 days for the Project; Rankin Score 2: 13, versus 29 days for the project; Rankin Score 3: 13, versus 23 days for the Project; Rankin Score 4: 17, to 33 days for the Project, Rankin Score 5: 27, versus 39 days to the Project. After comparison between the length of stay of patient discharged of and those referred to the National Post Hospital Care Project, it was estimated that the referral represented an hospitalization excess of 1 718 days in 2010 and 1 198 days in 2011

Sublethal effects of chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam seed treatments when Lysiphlebus testaceipes feed on sunflower extrafloral nectar

Citation: Moscardini, V. F., Gontijo, P. C., Michaud, J. P., & Carvalho, G. A. (2014). Sublethal effects of chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam seed treatments when Lysiphlebus testaceipes feed on sunflower extrafloral nectar. Retrieved from http://krex.ksu.eduThe extrafloral nectar (EFN) of sunflower, Helianthus annuus L., is an important summer resource for many insects and represents a potential route of exposure to systemic insecticides applied as seed treatments to cultivated varieties. Among the many parasitoids that utilize sunflower EFN, Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an important generalist parasitoid of cereal aphids in North America. This study evaluated the performance of adult wasps fed EFN of sunflower plants grown from seed treated with chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam. Consumption of EFN from treated sunflower seedings caused no lethal effects, but reduced the numbers of greenbug nymphs, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, attacked and parasitized when wasps foraged in Petri dish arenas. Whereas control females self-superparasitized every fourth host, those exposed to chlorantraniliprole did not. Offspring developmental time and adult emergence were unaffected by either treatment, but thiamethoxam greatly reduced the proportion of female offspring

Non-target effects of chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam on Chrysoperla carnea when employed as sunflower seed treatments

Citation: Gontijo, P. C., Moscardini, V. F., Michaud, J. P., & Carvalho, G. A. (2014). Non-target effects of chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam on Chrysoperla carnea when employed as sunflower seed treatments. Retrieved from http://krex.ksu.eduThe use of systemic insecticides as seed treatments has raised concern about the possible impacts of these products on natural enemies. This study assessed the effects of sunflower seed treatments with chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam on Chrysoperla carnea by exposing larvae and adults to sunflower stem segments grown from treated seeds and the nectar secreted by their extrafloral nectaries. Confinement of larvae with stem segments for their entire developmental period had no effect on their survival or any life history parameter, except that the sex ratio of resulting adults was lower in the thiamethoxam treatment than in chlorantraniliprole. However, when adult pairs of C. carnea were exposed to treated stem segments during their maturation period, their subsequent survival and fecundity was significantly reduced by both materials, with thiamethoxam reducing median survival (LT[subscript 50]) and fecundity to a greater degree than chlorantraniliprole. Insufficient offspring were obtained from adults exposed to thiamethoxam to permit assessment of their fitness, but the offspring in the chlorantraniliprole-exposed adults had reduced larval survival relative to controls. The greater impact of seed treatments on adult lacewings may be partly attributable to their greater consumption of extra-floral nectar. Our results indicate that seed treatment with systemic insecticides can cause negative effects on beneficial insects, potentially disrupting their population dynamics, and should not be assumed compatible with biological control and IPM simply because this mode of application limits direct exposure

Filisteus em Canaã, uma cultura desaparecida?

O Povo Filisteu1. As fontes egípcias e os Povos do Mar2. A Bíblia e os Filisteus3. Haverá uma cultura filisteia?4. Testemunhos Bíblicos sobre a cultura filisteia5. Os dados da Arqueologia6. Complexidade do problema filisteu-fenícioConclusã

Sistema de consulta e visualização das projeções dos modelos climáticos globais do IPPC AR4 para o Brasil.

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um sistema de consulta e visualização das projeções para as variáveis climáticas dos modelos do IPCC AR4 para o Brasil, contribuindo para o aumento de informações referentes às mudanças climáticas. O software foi desenvolvido em linguagem C# (Sharp) da Microsoft e os dados foram armazenados em um banco de dados relacional, utilizando o Firebird como sistema gerenciador de banco de dados e a ferramenta IBExpert para interação com o banco. O usuário pode escolher diferentes projeções para as médias mensais de temperatura média, temperatura mínima, temperatura máxima, precipitação, umidade relativa e duração de período de molhamento foliar para os períodos de referência (1961-1990) e do futuro (2011-2040, 2041-2070, 2071-2100) que possui os cenários A2 e B1. O sistema permite aos usuários buscar por parâmetros dos modelos climáticos globais, variáveis climáticas, período e mês. Os resultados são mostrados na forma de grade com a opção de exportar estes dados em arquivo texto (txt). Este sistema permite buscar os dados do IPCC AR4, de maneira simples e consistente com várias opções. Abstract: The aim of this study was to develop a system for searching and data visualization of the projections for the climate variables of the models from the IPCC AR4 for Brazil, contributing to the increase of information about the climate change. The software was developed in C# (Sharp) language from Microsoft and the data were stored in a relational database, using Firebird as the database management system and the IBExpert tool for interaction with the database. The user can choose different projections for the monthly average of mean temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and leaf wetness duration for the reference period (1961-1990) and the future periods (2011-2040, 2041-2070, 2071-2100), A2 and B1 scenarios. The system permits the users to search for parameters of the global climate models, climatic variables, period, and month. The results are showed in a grid structure with the option of exporting this data in a txt (text) file. This system allows searching for the IPCC AR4 data, in a consistent and simple way, with a lot of options