Performance and operation of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75 848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.

Population structure of a native and an alien species of snail in an urban area of the Atlantic Rainforest

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

Coexistence between Nearctic-Neotropical migratory shorebirds and humans on urban beaches of the Southern Hemisphere: a current conservation challenge in developing countries

The arrival of migratory shorebirds on beaches in urban communities in developing countries is a current challenge for the protection of these migrant birds. Nearctic-Neotropical migrants rely on roosting and feeding sites during their stopover on wintering sites in the Southern Hemisphere to acquire sufficient energy to complete their migratory cycles. On the other hand, cities in the Southern Hemisphere are growing rapidly, which results in increasing competition for space between humans and birds, such as for use in beach habitats. In the present study, I analyze the probability for occurrence for Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds relative to the number of people in southeastern Brazil, the most populated region of South America. The frequency of occurrence of migrants, their distance of tolerance to people and the number of people were recorded in sample areas (circle plots with 20 m radius) on a 9 km stretch of urban beaches from November to February from 2009 to 2013. The probability of occurrence of Nearctic birds decreased as the number of people increased. When the number of people exceeded 20, the probability of occurrence of birds was almost zero. Furthermore, more than 95 % of birds moved off when people were within 16 m of reach. These results are discussed in the context of conservation actions since no management plan has been developed for migrant shorebirds that use urban beaches as stopover or wintering sites in developing countries.

Effects of dredging operations on sediment quality: contaminant mobilization in dredged sediments from the Port of Santos, SP, Brazil

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

Analysis of the radial operation of distribution systems considering operation with minimal losses

Electric power distribution systems, and particularly those with overhead circuits, operate radially but as the topology of the systems is meshed, therefore a set of circuits needs to be disconnected. In this context the problem of optimal reconfiguration of a distribution system is formulated with the goal of finding a radial topology for the operation of the system. This paper utilizes experimental tests and preliminary theoretical analysis to show that radial topology is one of the worst topologies to use if the goal is to minimize power losses in a power distribution system. For this reason, it is important to initiate a theoretical and practical discussion on whether it is worthwhile to operate a distribution system in a radial form. This topic is becoming increasingly important within the modern operation of electrical systems, which requires them to operate as efficiently as possible, utilizing all available resources to improve and optimize the operation of electric power systems. Experimental tests demonstrate the importance of this issue. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of trachoma in a population of the upper Rio Negro basin and risk factors for active disease

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of trachoma in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira (SGC), the only urban community of the upper Rio Negro Basin of the Amazon state in Brazil, near the Colombian border, and to investigate the risk factors associated with the active forms of the disease. Methods: A total of 1702 people (440 children up to 9 years and 1069 adults aged 15 years and above) were examined. The sample was selected from a probabilistic household sampling procedure based on census data and a previous study of trachoma prevalence in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira. A two-stage probabilistic household cluster sample was drawn. Household units were randomly selected within each cluster. A variety of socioeconomic and hygiene variables were studied in order to determine the risk factors for active trachoma in a household. Results: The total prevalence of trachoma was 8.9%. Prevalence of active trachoma (TF and/or TI) in children aged 1-9 years was 11.1% and trachomatous trichiasis in adults aged 15 years and above was 0.19%. Trachomatous scarring reached a peak of 22.4% for subjects between 50 to 60 years of age. Corneal opacity occurred in subjects aged 50 years and older with a prevalence of 2.0%. No sex effect was found on the overall prevalence of trachoma in SGC. Risk factors associated with active trachoma were mainly related to poor socioeconomic indicators. Conclusions: Despite the ubiquitous presence of water, the analysis of the risk factors associated with the active forms of the disease supports the idea that a low personal standard of hygiene and not water availability per se, is the key factor associated with trachoma. Copyright © 2008 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Evaluation of neighborhood impacts caused by companies of the high-tech industrial cluster of São Carlos, SP, Brazil

The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology for evaluating neighborhood impacts using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and to apply the procedures to the companies of the High-Technology Industrial Cluster of São Carlos. To this end, an evaluation was made of the neighborhood impacts on the physical environment, urban components, quality of life, and urban infrastructure using impact matrices, and the impacts were assigned scores according to type, order, magnitude and duration. Fifty one companies were examined based on data provided by the companies themselves and on field surveys. The impacts are represented spatially in proportional symbols maps, based on the spatial distribution of the companies in the urban area of the city of São Carlos and the areas of influence of each company. The application of the proposed methodology served to validate it and indicated that the neighborhood impacts caused by the companies of this study are related to each company's type of activity, its size, and its occupation of the area. © 2008 Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering (JUEE). All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the genotoxicity of waters impacted by domestic and industrial effluents of a highly industrialized region of So Paulo State, Brazil, by the comet assay in HTC cells

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influence of the number of load cycles to obtain the stiffness properties of angico preto (Anadenanthera macrocarpa) wood specie

The tests used to obtain the stiffness properties of wood are made with two loading cycles, as defined by the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 7190 (Design of Timber Structures). However, the possibility of reducing the number of cycles allows decrease the operating time of the machine, resulting in reduced spending on electricity used during the tests. This research aimed to investigate, with the aid of the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the influence of the use of three load cycles to obtain the modulus of elasticity in compression parallel to grain (Ec0), in tensile parallel to the grain (Et0), in bending (Em) and in compression perpendicular to the grain (Ec90) of Angico Preto (Anadenanthera macrocarpa) wood specie. For the number of cycles and stiffness were manufactured 12 samples, totaling 144 specimens. The results of the ANOVA revealed statistical equivalence between the stiffness properties for both load cycle numbers evaluated, indicating that it is possible to carry out the tests with a single charge cycle, allowing savings in time and energy in the operation of the equipment.

Ecotoxicological assessment of sediments from the Port of Santos and the disposal sites of dredged material

A dragagem dos sedimentos do Canal de Santos é necessária para permitir o trânsito de navios que operam no Porto de Santos. As áreas de disposição do material dragado estão situadas na zona costeira, em frente à Baía de Santos. Este estudo visou avaliar a qualidade dos sedimentos do Canal de Santos e das áreas de disposição atuais e antigas, utilizando testes de toxicidade de sedimento integral com anfípodos e de toxicidade de elutriatos com embriões de ouriço do mar. As amostras do Canal de Santos foram consideradas as mais tóxicas: todas as amostras dessa área foram consideradas significativamente tóxicas. Além disso, algumas amostras das áreas de disposição exibiram toxicidade. Os resultados mostraram, portanto, que os sedimentos apresentam evidências de degradação em sua qualidade, porém novos estudos devem ser conduzidos visando determinar as relações entre contaminação e toxicidade. Os resultados sugerem ainda que a disposição dos sedimentos dragados deva ser reavaliada.

Application of the Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) Technique in the Plunge Cylindrical Grinding Operation

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

Setting the preheating and steady-state operation of electronic ballasts, considering electrodes of hot-cathode fluorescent lamps

This paper presents a new methodology for the adjustment of the preheating process and steady-state operation of electronic ballasts intended for hot-cathode fluorescent lamps. The classical series-resonant parallel-loaded half-bridge inverter is the power stage analyzed in this paper. In addition, the preheating process is based on the imposition of a constant rms current through the electrodes, in order to provide a proper value of the R-h/R-c ratio before the lamp start. According to the proposed methodology, it is possible to set suitable operating points for, the electronic ballast, considering optimal conditions for the lamps electrodes. Therefore, the proposed methodology for setting the preheating and steady-state operation is a complete platform to the design of electronic ballasts for hot-cathode fluorescent lamps.

Differential-Evolution-Based Optimization of the Dynamic Response for Parallel Operation of Inverters With No Controller Interconnection

In this paper, the use of differential evolution ( DE), a global search technique inspired by evolutionary theory, to find the parameters that are required to achieve optimum dynamic response of parallel operation of inverters with no interconnection among the controllers is proposed. Basically, in order to reach such a goal, the system is modeled in a certain way that the slopes of P-omega and Q-V curves are the parameters to be tuned. Such parameters, when properly tuned, result in system's eigenvalues located in positions that assure the system's stability and oscillation-free dynamic response with minimum settling time. This paper describes the modeling approach and provides an overview of the motivation for the optimization and a description of the DE technique. Simulation and experimental results are also presented, and they show the viability of the proposed method.