Pediatric palliative care in Brazil: reflections on end of life based on geographic mapping.

Introduction: In Brazil, a country of continental dimensions, the lack of services in the different regions is a major barrier that prevents patients from accessing Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC). If accessing PPC is already challenging, end-of-life care for these patients may also be difficult. Therefore, this study is based on a recent mapping effort, aimed at reflecting on the end-of-life care for children in Palliative Care in Brazil.

Scope of services provided to childhood cancer patients by the Brazilian Pediatric Palliative Care Network.

Introduction: Brazil is a developing and an Upper Middle Income, categorized by the World Bank. Therefore, it is a country that needs a special vision for children with oncological diseases who require Pediatric Palliative Care. This study aimed to understand the specificities of services that provide oncology services in comparison to those that do not provide oncological care.

Coherence in macroscopic high harmonic generation for spatial focal phase distributions of monochromatic and broadband Gaussian laser pulses.

Efficient application of ultrafast laser sources from high harmonic generation requires an understanding of how the spectrum can be controlled - the extent of the highest harmonics and the strength and cleanness of the harmonic lines. We study one important aspect in the coherent build-up of macroscopic high-order harmonic generation, namely the impact of different phase distributions in the focal area on the features of the generated radiation. Specifically, we compare the high harmonic signals for the commonly-used Gouy distribution of a monochromatic beam with those for the phase distribution of a short broadband Gaussian pulse.

Characterization of vacuum and deep ultraviolet pulses via two-photon autocorrelation signals.

Characterization of ultrashort vacuum and deep ultraviolet pulses is important in view of applications of those pulses for spectroscopic and dynamical imaging of atoms, molecules, and materials. We present an extension of the autocorrelation technique, applied for measurement of the pulse duration via a single Gaussian function. Analytic solutions for two-photon ionization of atoms by Gaussian pulses are used along with an expansion of the pulse to be characterized using multiple Gaussians at multi-color central frequencies.

Nonlinear polarization and ionization in O: metastable electronic state model.

We present a computational model for the nonlinear response of molecular oxygen exposed to strong mid-wavelength and long-wavelength infrared optical fields. Based on a non-Hermitian approach utilizing metastable electronic states, the nonlinear polarization and strong-field ionization are described as intimately connected properties. Good agreement with the measured nonlinear index and ionization rates is shown, and parameterized response functions are provided to facilitate applications in large-scale simulations of infrared optical pulses interacting with gaseous media.