Formation of deeply bound polar molecules combining pump-dump pulses with infrared radiation

We consider the formation of cold ground-state polar molecules in a low vibrational level by laser fields. Starting from a pair of cold colliding atoms of dissimilar species, we propose a strategy consisting of three steps. In the first step, a pump pulse induces the molecule formation by photoassociating the atomic pair in a high or intermediate vibrational level of an excited electronic molecular state. This step is followed by a dump pulse in an intermediate vibrational level of the ground state. In the last step, an infrared chirped pulse induces downward transitions among the vibrational levels of the ground electronic state, reaching the ground vibrational level. Initially, the strategy is constructed with fixed-shaped pulses. Subsequently, we perform the calculations with optimized chirped pulses introducing an optimal control technique in which the optimization of the time-dependent frequency is carried out in the time domain. The proposed scheme is an alternative to the use of two pairs of pump-dump pulses or to the direct photoassociation and vibrational stabilization in the ground state

Evolution Of The Deaths Registry System In Brazil: Associations With Changes In The Mortality Profile, Under-registration Of Death Counts, And Ill-defined Causes Of Death.

This paper examines the spatial pattern of ill-defined causes of death across Brazilian regions, and its relationship with the evolution of completeness of the deaths registry and changes in the mortality age profile. We make use of the Brazilian Health Informatics Department mortality database and population censuses from 1980 to 2010. We applied demographic methods to evaluate the quality of mortality data for 137 small areas and correct for under-registration of death counts when necessary. The second part of the analysis uses linear regression models to investigate the relationship between, on the one hand, changes in death counts coverage and age profile of mortality, and on the other, changes in the reporting of ill-defined causes of death. The completeness of death counts coverage increases from about 80% in 1980-1991 to over 95% in 2000-2010 at the same time the percentage of ill-defined causes of deaths reduced about 53% in the country. The analysis suggests that the government's efforts to improve data quality are proving successful, and they will allow for a better understanding of the dynamics of health and the mortality transition.301721-3

The Association between Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes and Cohort Fertility: Evidence from Brazil

Brazil’s Bolsa Família Programme (BFP) aims to combat poverty and social inequalities through monetary transfers to families. A much-discussed indirect effect of the programme was its correlation to the fertility of the beneficiary families. In this paper, we use a cohort fertility approach with parity progression ratios that differs from existing literature, which mainly used period fertility measures, to better understand the relationship between fertility and the BFP. This study analyses the relationship between the BFP and the reproduction of Brazilian women. We use data from the 2010 Brazilian micro-censuses, the only census after the start of the BFP in 2004, to reconstruct the childbirth history of women with incomplete reproductive cycles (women aged 25 to 29), and estimate parity progression ratios (PPRs) and cohort fertility rates (CFR). In addition, we estimate propensity score matching (PSM) models comparing fertility outcomes of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the programme. Our results show distinct differences in CFRs and PPRs. On average, BFP beneficiaries had more children than women not covered by the programme. This finding remained consistent even after controlling for educational gradients and other covariates. Our empirical findings show that women opt for a “rational” strategy, where they tend to have children in more rapid succession up until three children. These findings contradict the recent literature that has not found any correlation between BFP and fertility. The results also suggest that cohort analyses may fill certain gaps left by previous studies of period fertility. This paper is one of a few that have analysed the relationship between a conditional income transfer programme and cohort measures in Brazil

Revisão de literatura sobre percepção dos usuários de álcool e outras drogas acerca do tratamento

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação) — Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ceilândia, Terapia Ocupacional, 2021.O uso de substâncias psicoativas pode causar diversos prejuízos aos consumidores. Pessoas que buscam tratamento podem encontrar tipos diferentes de dispositivos com o propósito de enfrentamento acerca do consumo prejudicial. O Centro de Atenção Psicossocial Álcool e outras Drogas e as Comunidades Terapêuticas são duas opções disponíveis. Os usuários desses tipos de serviço experimentam vivencias que geram percepções acerca de tudo que é proposto e ofertado. Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo é investigar publicações acadêmicas sobre tratamentos de álcool e outras drogas na perspectiva do usuário. Trata-se de uma revisão narrativa da literatura, norteada por uma questão elaborada através da estratégia PECOS. Utilizou-se artigos científicos brasileiros, do ano de 2015 a 2020, publicados em periódicos na base de dados Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Foram encontrados 10 artigos, e após a leitura do título e resumo 07 atenderam aos propósitos da revisão. Com os achados dessa pesquisa foi possível identificar que há sim publicações que abordam o tema proposto. Acolhimento, abstinência, redução de danos, relações interpessoais e familiares, acesso a alimentação, higiene e resolução de problemas pessoais, e religiosidade são percebidos pelos usuários como motivadores a busca e permanência no tratamento. Identificou-se baixa escolaridade e predomínio de homens dentre os pesquisados.The use of psychoactive substances can cause several losses to consumers. People seeking treatment may find different types of devices for the purpose of coping with harmful consumption. The Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs and the Therapeutic Communities are two options available. Users of these types of services experience experiences that generate perceptions about everything that is proposed and offered. Thus, the aim of the study is to investigate academic publications on alcohol and other drug treatments from the user's perspective. It is a narrative review of the literature, guided by a question elaborated through the PECOS strategy. Brazilian scientific articles, from 2015 to 2020, published in journals in the Scientific Electronic Library Online database (SciELO) were used. 10 articles were found, and after reading the title and summary 07, they served the purposes of the review. With the findings of this research it was possible to identify that there are publications that address the proposed theme. Reception, abstinence, harm reduction, interpersonal and family relationships, access to food, hygiene and personal problem solving, and religiosity are perceived by users as motivators to seek and remain in treatment. Low educational level and a predominance of men were identified among those surveyed

Circuit plasticity during up-states in mouse barrel cortex

Dissertação de mestrado em Investigação Biomédica, apresentada à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de CoimbraO sono é caracterizado por ocorrências cíclicas de movimento rápido dos olhos (REM) e não-REM, pelo qual inclui “Slow wave sleep” (SWS, estágio 3 e 4) e o sono leve correspondentes aos estágios 1 e 2. Nos humanos, a primeira parte da noite (sono recente) consiste em SWS e o sono REM prevalece durante a segunda metade (sono tardio). Num evento de rede inteira, o sono suprime os sinais moleculares que mediam a remodelação sináptica relacionado com LTP mas estimula a sinalização dependente de LTD, parecendo ser mediado pelo SWS[1]. As oscilações lentas tem sido anteriormente observadas em diferentes áreas corticais, ocorrendo espontaneamente up-states e down, ambos in vivo e in vitro. Os espontâneos up-states ocorrem intrinsecamente dentro do córtex [2, 3]. Também conseguem ser observados in vivo em resposta a uma entrada sensorial [4] e conseguem ser ligados e desligados por estimulação sináptica in vitro[5]. O processo da consolidação de memórias pode produzir varias associações e alterações qualitativas na representação de memórias, em que o sono tem o potencial final de estabilizar os seus efeitos e melhorar a sua performance, sendo observado em tarefas de memória declarativas e procederias[6]. A hipótese de homeostasia propõe que a rede integrativa de pesos sinápticos, devido à codificação de informação durante o acordar, é compensada durante um subsequente SWS. De acordo com esta hipótese, o SWS serve para globalmente efetuar um “downscale” de pesos sinápticos ao longo do cortex, e assim aumentar o rácio sinal-para-ruído para reativar memórias e preservar a capacidade das redes corticais de armazenar nova informação, prevenindo a sua saturação[7]. Os endocanabinoides (ECs) são uma classe de neurotrasmissores sintetizados e libertados a partir da membrana pós-sináptica dos PNs corticais durante períodos de - 1 - _____________________________________________________________________________ estimulação de atividade celular, como por exemplo, durante os up-states. No córtex, a ativação de receptores CB1 diminuí a libertação de GABA e glutamato[8], sugerindo que este sistema neuromodulatório loca pode sintonizar a atividade das redes neuronais regulando os níveis de neurotransmissores excitatórios e inibitórios dentro dos circuitos corticais. Dada a importância de consolidação de memórias durante o SWS, nós procedemos à investigação dos efeitos modulatórios dos recetores CB1 enquanto bloqueados pelo antagonista AM251. A presença de AM251 nas fatias de “barrel córtex” do ratinho resultaram numa diminuição de amplitude do estado up e, por sua vez, em acordo com a importância dos endocanabinoides na modelação das oscilações SWS. Para investigar qual dos dois processos de plasticidade neuronal (LTP ou LTD) ocorre durante a plasticidade sináptica das redes neuronais presentes no “barrel córtex” durante a fase de SWS, os nossos resultados indicam que após uma experiência protocolo de “pairing” em up-states, são observados efeitos de LTD dada à redução significativa dos níveis de slope e força neuronal (EPSPs). Em suma, é notavel mencionar o fato de afetar o sistema de endocanabinoides com o auxílio de antagonistas pode vir a ajudar no tratamento de, por exemplo, desordens de stress pós-traumático. Para além disso, estas descobertas permitem sugerir a importância de LTD durante o SWS no “barrel córtex” de ratinhos e, em termos de perspectivas futuras, poder-se-á proceder a experiências in vivo, de forma a revelar posterior informação valiosa sobre os mecanismos por detrás dos up-states em mamíferos e, potencialmente, estimular/inibir o processamento de memórias.Sleep is characterized by the cyclic occurrence of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep, which includes slow wave sleep (SWS, stages 3 and 4) and lighter sleep stages 1 and 2. In humans, the first part of the night (early sleep) consists of SWS, whereas REM sleep prevails during the second half (late sleep). In a whole network event, sleep suppresses the molecular signals that mediate LTP-related synaptic remodelling but enhances LTD-related signalling, and this effect seems to be mediated by SWS[1]. Slow oscillations have previously been observed in different cortical areas as spontaneously occurring up- and down-states both in vivo and in vitro. Spontaneous up-states occur intrinsically within the cortex [2, 3]. They can also be observed in vivo in response to sensory input[4] and can be turned on and off by synaptic stimulation in vitro [5]. Memory consolidation can produce several associations and qualitative changes in memory representations, whereas sleep has the potential to outcome stabilizing effects and improve their performance, being observed in declarative and procedural memory tasks[6]. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis proposes that the net build-up of synaptic weights, due to encoding of information during waking, is compensated during subsequent SWS. According to this hypothesis, SWS serves to globally downscale synaptic weights across the cortex, thus increasing the signal-to-noise ratio for reactivated memories and preserving the capacity of cortical networks to store new information by preventing their saturation[7]. Endocannabinoids (ECs) are a class of neurotransmitters synthesized and released from the post-synaptic membrane of cortical PNs during periods of enhanced cellular activity such as during up-states. In the cortex, activation of CB1 decreases release of - 3 - _____________________________________________________________________________ both GABA and glutamate[8] suggesting this local neuromodulatory system may tune network activity by regulating both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission within local cortical circuits. Para investigar qual dos dois processos de plasticidade neuronal (LTP ou LTD) ocorre durante a plasticidade sináptica das redes neuronais presentes no “barrel cortex”, presente na fase de SWS, os nossos resultados indicam que após uma experiência protocolo de “pairing” em up-states, são observados efeitos de LTD dada à redução significativa dos níveis de slope e força neuronal (EPSPs) enfraquecida. Given the importance of memory consolidations during SWS, we investigate the modulatory effects of CB1 receptors while being blocked by the antagonist AM251. The presence AM251 in a mouse barrel cortex slice resulted in an up-state amplitude decrease therefore agreeing with the importance of endocannabinoids in the modulation of SWS oscillations. To investigate which of the two processes of neural plasticity (LTP or LTD) occur during synaptic plasticity in the barrel cortex circuitry, present in SWS, our results indicate that after conducting a pairing protocol experiment in up-states, it is observed LTD effects duo to a significant reduction of slope levels and weakening neural strength (EPSPs). In sum, it is remarkable to mention that targeting the endocannabinoid system may aid in the treatment of disorder associated with impaired extinction-like processes, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Overall these findings allow to suggest the importance of LTD during SWS in mouse barrel cortex and future projects can now proceed to in vivo experiments, in order to reveal further promising information about the underlying mechanisms of up-states in mammals and potentially enhance/inhibit the memory consolidation processin

Optimal laser control of molecular photoassociation along with vibrational stabilization

AbstractThis work explores the optimization of laser pulses for the control of photoassociation and vibrational stabilization. Simulations are presented within a model system for the electronic ground-state collision of O+H. The goal is to drive the transition from a wavepacket representing the colliding atoms to the vibrational ground level of the diatomic molecule. The optimized fields resulting from two distinct trial pulses are analyzed and compared. Very high yields were obtained in the molecular vibrational ground-level

Mecanum wheel robotic platform for educational purposes: a cost-effective approach

This paper presents a cost-effective approach of a mecanum wheel robotic platform for educational propose on the development of an autonomous or remote controlled mobile robot with a four-wheel mecanum drive train. The main structure of the mobile robot was developed in Solidworks and it was built using additive manufacturing to validate in a real scenario. The main objective of developing this type of mobile platform was the ability to transport different types of cargo or robotic arm on industrial spaces or on rough terrain, since the implemented suspension mechanism allows the wheels contact to the floor. Another important objective is the maneuverability and the capacity to be guided in various environments, a great advantage in this type of mobile platform. An additional advantage of the developed mobile robot is the easy way to reconfigure the structure for new acquired parts.The authors acknowledge the support of RD Unit SYSTEC-Base (UIDB/00147/2020) and Programmatic (UIDP/00147/2020) funds, and also the support of Project Warehouse of the Future (WoF), with reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-072638, co-funded by European RegionalDevelopment Fund (ERDF), through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Primary Iliac Venous Leiomyosarcoma: A Rare Cause of Deep Vein Thrombosis in a Young Patient

Introduction. Primary venous tumours are a rare cause of deep vein thrombosis. The authors present a case where the definitive diagnosis was delayed by inconclusive complementary imaging. Clinical Case. A thirty-seven-year-old female presented with an iliofemoral venous thrombosis of the right lower limb. The patient had presented with an episode of femoral-popliteal vein thrombosis five months before and was currently under anticoagulation. Phlegmasia alba dolens installed progressively, as thrombus rapidly extended to the inferior vena cava despite systemic thrombolysis and anticoagulation. Diagnostic imaging failed to identify the underlying aetiology of the deep vein thrombosis. The definitive diagnosis of primary venous leiomyosarcoma was reached by a subcutaneous abdominal wall nodule biopsy. Conclusion. Primary venous leiomyosarcoma of the iliac vein is a rare cause of deep vein thrombosis, which must be considered in young patients with recurrent or refractory to treatment deep vein thrombosis