Measurement of the production fraction times branching fraction f(b -> Lambda(b)) . B(Lambda(b) -> J/psi Lambda)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Measurement of the relative prompt production rate of chi(c2) and chi(c1) in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Underlying dynamics of typical fluctuations of an emerging market price index: the Heston model from minutes to months

We investigate the Heston model with stochastic volatility and exponential tails as a model for the typical price fluctuations of the Brazilian São Paulo Stock Exchange Index (IBOVESPA). Raw prices are first corrected for inflation and a period spanning 15 years characterized by memoryless returns is chosen for the analysis. Model parameters are estimated by observing volatility scaling and correlation properties. We show that the Heston model with at least two time scales for the volatility mean reverting dynamics satisfactorily describes price fluctuations ranging from time scales larger than 20min to 160 days. At time scales shorter than 20 min we observe autocorrelated returns and power law tails incompatible with the Heston model. Despite major regulatory changes, hyperinflation and currency crises experienced by the Brazilian market in the period studied, the general success of the description provided may be regarded as an evidence for a general underlying dynamics of price fluctuations at intermediate mesoeconomic time scales well approximated by the Heston model. We also notice that the connection between the Heston model and Ehrenfest urn models could be exploited for bringing new insights into the microeconomic market mechanics. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphological characterization of Langmuir-Blodgett films from polyaniline and a ruthenium complex (Rupy): influence of the relative concentration of Rupy

We report on the use of dynamic scale theory and fractal analyses in a study of the growth stages of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of polyaniline and a neutral biphosphinic ruthenium complex, namely mer-[ RuCl3 (dppb)(py)] (dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphine) buthane, py = pyridine), Rupy. The LB films were deposited onto indium-tin-oxide substrates and characterized with atomic force microscopy. From the granular morphology exhibited by the films one could infer growth processes inside and outside the grains. Growth outside was found to follow the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang model, with fractal dimensions of about 2.7. As one would expect, inside the grains the morphology is close to a Euclidian surface with fractal dimension of about 2.

Determination of the relative contribution of phenolic antioxidants in orange juice by voltammetric methods

The electrochemical oxidation of caffeic, chlorogenic, sinapic, ferulic and p-coumaric acids was investigated by cyclic voltammetry on acetate buffer pH 5.6 on glassy carbon electrode and modified glassy carbon electrode. According to their voltammetric behavior, the antioxidant activity of these phenolic acids was evaluated and the results pointed to the following sequence: caffeic acid (E-a = +0.31 V) > chlorogenic acid (+ 0.38 V) > sinapic acid (+ 0.45 V) > ferulic acid (+ 0.53 V) >p-coumaric acid (+ 0.73 V). The results were confirmed by DPPH test, which evidenced the strongest antiradical activity for compounds possessing the cathecol moiety (caffeic and chlorogenic acids). Linear calibration graphs were obtained for their determination at concentrations from 1 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-3) mol L-1. The method was applied to orange juice. Selectivity was illustrated by the analysis of caffeic and chlorogenic acids electrodeposited on a glassy carbon electrode previously modified by electrochemical activation in the presence of ascorbic acid. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Amazon fisheries. I. - Variations in the relative abundance of tambaqui ( Colossoma macropomum Cuvier, 1818) based on catch and effort data of the gill-net fisheries.

Adjusted mean catches which are calculated discounting the effect of average fishing effort increase the further the lake is from Manaus, Brazil. -from Author

Morphological prediction of worker size discrimination and relative abundance of sympartic species of Pseudacteon (Dipt., Phoridae) parasitoids of the fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima (Hym., Formicidae) in Brazil

Patterns of attack for collected species of phorids are predicted using multivariate morphometrics of female Pseudacteon species and worker size distributions of parasitized fire ants, Solenopsis saevissima. The model assumes that there is a direct correlation between phorid size and the size range of the worker ant attacked, and presumes that worker sizes are a resource that is divided by sympatric phorid species to minimize joint parasitism. These results suggest that the community of sympatric Pseudacteon species on only one host species coexists by restricting the size of workers attacked, and secondarily by differing diel patterns of ovipositional activity. When we compared relative abundance of species of Pseudacteon with the size distribution of foragers of S. saevissima, our observed distribution did not differ significantly from our predicted relative abundance of females of Pseudacteon. The activity of Pseudacteon may be a factor determining forager size distributions.

Occurrence, distribution, and relative incidence of five viruses infecting cucurbits in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Cucurbits species grown in 38 of 40 agricultural regions in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were surveyed for the relative incidence of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Papaya ringspot virus-type W (PRSV-W), Watermelon mosaic virus-2 (WMV-2), Zucchini lethal chlorosis virus (ZLCV), and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) during May 1997 and June 1999. Samples from 621 plants, representing eight cultivated species, six wild species, and one commercial hybrid (Cucurbita moschata x C. maxima), were analyzed by plate trapped antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PTA-ELISA). PRSV-W and ZYMV were the most frequently found viruses, accounting for 49.1 and 24.8%, respectively, of 605 samples tested. ZLCV, CMV, and WMV-2 were detected in 7.8, 6.0, and 4.5% of 612, 497, and 423 samples tested, respectively. Double infection was found in 97 samples, and triple infection was found in 10 samples. Quadruple infection was detected in one C. pepo sample. Plants that were symptomatic but negative by PTA-ELISA might be due to abiotic agents, infection by virus for which antiserum was not available, such as Squash mosaic virus, or infection with an as yet uncharacterized virus.

Influence of the final temperature of investment healting on the tensile strength and Vickers hardness of CP TI and TI-6AL-4V alloy

The aim of the work was to evaluate the influence of the temperature of investment healting on the tensile strength and Vickers hardness of CP Ti and Ti-6Al-4V alloy casting. Were obtained for the tensile strength test dumbbell rods that were invested in the Rematitan Plus investment and casting in the Discovery machine cast. Thirty specimens were obtained, fiftten to the CP Titanium and fifteen to the Ti-6Al-4V alloy, five samples to each an of the three temperatures of investment: 430°C (control group), 480°C and 530°C. The tensile test was measured by means of a universal testing machine, MTS model 810, at a strain of 1.0 mm/min. After the tensile strenght test the specimens were secctioned, embedded and polished to hardness measurements, using a Vickers tester, Micromet 2100. The means values to tensile tests to the temperatures 430°C, 480 and 530: CP Ti (486.1 - 501.16 - 498.14 -mean 495.30 MPa) and Ti-6Al-4V alloy (961.33 - 958.26 - 1005.80 - mean 975.13 MPa) while for the Vickers hardness the values were (198.06, 197.85, 202.58 - mean 199.50) and (352.95, 339.36, 344.76 - mean 345.69), respectively. The values were submitted to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey' s Test that indicate differences significant only between the materials, but not between the temperature, for both the materias. It was conclued that increase of the temperature of investment its not chance the tensile strength and the Vickers hardness of the CP Titanium and Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

A study of the relative velocities of small particles that are orbiting the earth

The evolution of the velocity of the particles with respect to the circular orbits of satellites that are around the Earth that the particles will cross, suggests a range of possible velocities of impact as a function of the altitude of the satellite. A study made from those results show that the maximum relative velocities occur at the semi-latus rectum, independent of the initial semi-major axis of the particle. Considering both the solar radiation pressure and the oblateness of the Earth, it is visible that a precession in the orbit occurs and there is also a variation in the eccentricity of the particle as a function of its orbital region and its size. This is important information, because the damage caused in a spacecraft depends on the impact velocity.

Study of the decay Bs0→J/ψf2′(1525) in μ +μ -K +K - final states

We investigate the decay Bs0→J/ψK +K - for invariant masses of the K +K - pair in the range 1.35The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 10.4fb -1 of pp̄ collisions at √s=1.96TeV accumulated with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. From the study of the invariant mass and spin of the K +K - system, we find evidence for the two-body decay Bs0→J/ψf2′(1525) and measure the relative branching fraction of the decays Bs0→J/ψf2′(1525) and Bs0→J/ψ to be R f2′/=0.19±0.05(stat)±0.04(syst). © 2012 American Physical Society.

Relative growth, sexual maturity, and breeding season of three species of the genus Persephona (Decapoda: Brachyura: Leucosiidae): A comparative study

The relative growths of Persephona lichtensteinii, P. mediterranea, and P. punctata were investigated on the south-eastern Brazilian coast, focusing on differences in the growth rates between immature and mature phases, the onset of morphological sexual maturity, and the breeding seasons of these species. Crabs were collected every two months from January 1991 through to November 1992, from a shrimp fishing boat equipped with two otter-trawl nets. Significant differences in the patterns of body growth were observed between immature and mature phases of all three species. Changes in the growth rates of the chelipeds (males) and abdomen (females) observed for P. lichtensteinii, P. mediterranea, and P. punctata, seem to be related to the puberty moult for both sexes. Males of P. mediterranea and P. punctata reached larger mean sizes of carapace width than females, whereas no difference was recorded for P. lichtensteinii. The body size at which 50% of males attained sexual maturity was also larger in P. mediterranea and P. punctata, and smaller in P. lichtensteinii. The absence of a pronounced sexual dimorphism and the size at the onset of sexual maturity observed only for P. lichtensteinii might be explained by distinct reproductive strategies of males. The presence of ovigerous females during the entire sampling period suggests that all three species have a continuous reproduction pattern at the Ubatuba region. Future studies on the population structure, functional maturity, and mating system should improve the understanding of factors driving the biology and ecology of these species at a subtropical region. © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013.