Micro-raman spectroscopic characterization of a CR-39 detector

Characterization by micro-Raman spectroscopy of polymeric materials used as nuclear track detectors reveals physico-chemical and morphological information on the material's molecular structure. In this work, the nuclear track detector poly(allyl diglycol carbonate), or Columbia Resin 39 (CR-39), was characterized according to the fluence of alpha particles produced by a 226Ra source and chemical etching time. Therefore, damage of the CR-39 chemical structure due to the alpha-particle interaction with the detector was analyzed at the molecular level. It was observed that the ionization and molecular excitation of the CR-39 after the irradiation process entail cleavage of chemical bonds and formation of latent track. In addition, after the chemical etching, there is also loss of polymer structure, leading to the decrease of the group density C-O-C (∼888 cm-1), CH=CH (∼960 cm -1), C-O (∼1110 cm-1), C-O-C (∼1240 cm -1), C-O (∼1290 cm-1), C-O (∼1741 cm -1), -CH2- (∼2910 cm-1), and the main band -CH2- (∼2950 cm-1). The analyses performed after irradiation and chemical etching led to a better understanding of the CR-39 molecular structure and better comprehension of the process of the formation of the track, which is related to chemical etching kinetics. Copyright © 2013 Society for Applied Spectroscopy.

Edge-interior differences in the species richness and abundance of drosophilids in a semideciduous forest fragment

Habitat fragmentation is the main cause of biodiversity loss, as remnant fragments are exposed to negative influences that include edge effects, prevention of migration, declines in effective population sizes, loss of genetic variability and invasion of exotic species. The Drosophilidae (Diptera), especially species of the genus Drosophila, which are highly sensitive to environmental variation, have been used as bioindicators. A twelve-month field study was conducted to evaluate the abundance and richness of drosophilids in an edge-interior transect in a fragment of semideciduous forest in São Paulo State, Brazil. One objective of the study was to evaluate the applied methodology with respect to its potential use in future studies addressing the monitoring and conservation of threatened areas. The species abundance along the transect showed a clear gradient, with species associated with disturbed environments, such as Drosophila simulans, Scaptodrosophila latifasciaeformis and Zaprionus indianus, being collected at the fragment edge and the species D. willistoni and D. mediostriata being found in the fragment's interior. Replacement of these species occurred at approximately 60 meters from the edge, which may be a reflection of edge effects on species abundance and richness because the species found within the habitat fragment are more sensitive to variations in temperature and humidity than those sampled near the edge. The results support the use of this methodology in studies on environmental impacts. © 2013 Penariol and Madi-Ravazzi; licensee Springer.

Influence of maxillary incisor edge asymmetries on the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and laypersons

Introduction: Our objective was to determine the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and laypeople with respect to asymmetries on the maxillary incisor edges in a frontal smile analysis. Methods: Two frontal close-up smile photos of 2 women, 1 white and 1 Afro-Brazilian, were selected for this study. Both smiles displayed healthy maxillary anterior dentitions. The images were digitally altered to create tooth wear on the maxillary left central and lateral incisors in 0.5-mm increments. The final images were randomly assembled into a photo album that was given to 120 judges, 60 orthodontists and 60 laypersons. Each rater was asked to evaluate the attractiveness of the images with visual analog scales. The data collected were statistically analyzed with 1-way analysis of variance with the Tukey post-hoc test and the unpaired Student t test. Results: The most attractive smiles in both types of smiles were those without asymmetries and the 0.5-mm wear in the lateral incisor. In general, tooth wear was considered unattractive by both groups of raters following a pattern: the more tooth wear, the more unattractive the smile; tooth wear in the central incisor was considered more unattractive than in the lateral incisor. For both group of raters, 0.5 mm of wear in the central incisor was considered unattractive, whereas the thresholds for lateral incisor discrepancies were 0.5 mm for orthodontists and 1.0 mm for laypersons. Conclusions: The result of this study corroborates the clinical assumption that symmetry between the maxillary central incisors is a paramount goal for esthetic treatments. Copyright © 2013 by the American Association of Orthodontists.

Measurements of differential jet cross sections in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV with the CMS detector

Measurements of inclusive jet and dijet production cross sections are presented. Data from LHC proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV, corresponding to 5.0 fb-1 of integrated luminosity, have been collected with the CMS detector. Jets are reconstructed up to rapidity 2.5, transverse momentum 2 TeV, and dijet invariant mass 5 TeV, using the anti-k T clustering algorithm with distance parameter R=0.7. The measured cross sections are corrected for detector effects and compared to perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order, using five sets of parton distribution functions. © 2013 CERN.

Search for exotic resonances in diboson final states with the CMS detector at the LHC

The results of searches for new resonances decaying to a pair of massive vector bosons (WW, WZ, ZZ) are presented. All searches are performed using 5.0 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions, at TeV of center of mass energy, collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess compared to the standard model background expectation is observed, and upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section times the branching fraction of hypothetical particles decaying to a pair of vector bosons. The results are interpreted in the context of several benchmark models, such as the Randall-Sundrum gravitons, the Sequential Standard Model W′, and Technicolor. Graviton resonances in the Randall-Sundrum model with masses smaller than 940 GeV/c2, for coupling parameter k/MPl = 0.05 are excluded. Bulk (ADPS) Randall-Sundrum gravitons with masses smaller than 610 GeV/c2 are excluded, for k/MPl = 0.05. Sequential Standard Model W′ with masses smaller than 1143 GeV/c2 are excluded, as well as ρTC in the 167-687 GeV/c2 mass range, in Low Scale Technicolor models with M(πTC) = 3/4 M(ρTC) - 25 GeV/c2. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Implementação de um sistema detector piroelétrico para medição de intensidade de radiação X na faixa de ortovoltagem

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Femtoscopia em colisões próton-próton no detector CMS do Large Hadron Collider

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Termotectônica por traços de fissão em apatitas dos altos estrutrais de Pitanga, Pau d'Álho e Jibóia - centro do Estado de São Paulo

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Busca por dimensões extras no detector CMS do large hadron collider

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Disposição construtiva aplicada em câmara fotoacústica aberta com detector de tantalato de lítio

Compreendida por um dispositivo para determinação do espectro de substâncias sólidas e líquidas, com possibilidades de medições in vivo, e exibindo diversas vantagens sobre os dispositivos precedentes, que apresenta uma relação sinalruído excelente e comparável a uma câmara fotoacústica com microfone convencional com a grande vantagem de ser aberta. O dispositivo é composto por um detector transparente de radiação de Tantalato de Lítio, ao qual é acoplada, por contato físico, a amostra a ser analisada. Os eletrodos do detector são em formato de anel, sendo recobertos por uma camada de óxido de índio-estanho (ITO). Ao detector deve ser acoplado um amplificador eletrónico com elevada impedância de entrada.

Missing transverse energy performance of the CMS detector

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Patch size, shape and edge distance influences seed predation in a keystone palm in tropical rainforests

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBRC

Measurement of diffractive dissociation cross sections in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Soft edge of hadron scattering and minijet models for the total and inelastic pp cross sections at LHC and beyond

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Search for physics beyond the standard model in events with two leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)