Fish assemblage structure and aquatic pollution in a Brazilian stream: some limitations of diversity indices and models for environmental impact studies

The aim of this study was to describe and quantify the effect of aquatic pollution on the fish assemblage structure of the Corumbatai River (Brazil), by comparing two sites with different water quality characteristics. The results revealed that abundance of individuals was low at the polluted site (B). However, the two sites did not differ significantly in species richness (total and average). This fact contradicts theories stating that portions where the transverse area of the channel is larger should present a higher biological richness. It was also observed that the ichthyofauna of site B had higher evenness, and, consequently, a tendency to a higher diversity than that at site A. This demonstrates that diversity estimates should be used cautiously in environmental impact studies, as they do not necessarily indicate better conditions of communities living in more preserved environments.

Quantitative comparisons and models of time-averaging in bivalve and brachiopod shell accumulations

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

On high Q(2) behavior of the pion form factor for transitions gamma*gamma -> pi(0) and gamma*gamma* -> pi(0) within the nonlocal quark-pion model

The behavior of the transition pion form factor for processes gamma (*)gamma --> pi(0) and gamma (*)gamma (*) --> pi(0) at large values of space-like photon momenta is estimated within the nonlocal covariant quark-pion model. It is shown that, in general, the coefficient of the leading asymptotic term depends dynamically on the ratio of the constituent quark mass and the average virtuality of quarks in the vacuum and kinematically on the ratio of photon virtualities. The kinematic dependence of the transition form factor allows us to obtain the relation between the pion light-cone distribution amplitude and the quark-pion vertex function. The dynamic dependence indicates that the transition form factor gamma (*)gamma -->, pi(0) at high momentum transfers is very sensitive to the nonlocality size of nonperturbative fluctuations in the QCD vacuum. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

A dynamical mechanism to explain the top-bottom quark mass hierarchy

We discuss the mass splitting between the the top and bottom quarks in a technicolor scenario. The model proposed here contains a left-right electroweak gauge group. An extended technicolor group and mirror fermions are introduced. The top-bottom quark mass splitting turns out to be intimately connected to the breaking of the left-right gauge symmetry. Weak isospin violation occurs within the experimental limits.

Aportes da filosofia da ciência na formação inicial de professores de Química e a mobilização do saber e do saber fazer na construção das representações científicas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Políticas participativas e a nova literatura de análise de políticas públicas: novos horizontes para agenda de pesquisa

From the organization of social movements in the late 1960s to the institutionalization of participatory politics in the Brazilian Federal Constitution in 1998 , the research agenda on participatory institutions in Brazil was not only consolidated in the academic setting as been growing and diversifying in the past decades. The main objective of this paper is to put the most recent literature of policy process applied to studies of participatory institutions. This paper assumes that the public policy are multidisciplinary epistemological field of knowledge. Thus, it is through the explanation of some of his theories and models of the policy process analysis that we aims to show new perspectives for the research agenda on participatory institutions.

Combinatorial identities and quantum state densities of supersymmetric sigma models on N-folds

There is a remarkable connection between the number of quantum states of conformal theories and the sequence of dimensions of Lie algebras. In this paper, we explore this connection by computing the asymptotic expansion of the elliptic genus and the microscopic entropy of black holes associated with (supersymmetric) sigma models. The new features of these results are the appearance of correct prefactors in the state density expansion and in the coefficient of the logarithmic correction to the entropy.

Supersymmetry flows, semi-symmetric space sine-Gordon models and the Pohlmeyer reduction

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Equivalence of many-photon Green's functions in the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau and Klein-Gordon-Fock statistical quantum field theories

Using the functional integral formalism for the statistical generating functional in the statistical (finite temperature) quantum field theory, we prove the equivalence of many-photon Greens functions in the Duffin-Kennner-Petiau and Klein-Gordon-Fock statistical quantum field theories. As an illustration, we calculate the one-loop polarization operators in both theories and demonstrate their coincidence.

Nonabelian Toda theories from parafermionic reductions of the WZW model

We investigate a class of conformal nonabelian-Toda models representing noncompact SL(2, R)/U(1) parafermions (PF) interacting with specific abelian Toda theories and having a global U(1) symmetry. A systematic derivation of the conserved currents, their algebras, and the exact solution of these models are presented. An important property of this class of models is the affine SL(2, R)(q) algebra spanned by charges of the chiral and antichiral nonlocal currents and the U(1) charge. The classical (Poisson brackets) algebras of symmetries VG(n), of these models appear to be of mixed PF-WG(n) type. They contain together with the local quadratic terms specific for the W-n-algebras the nonlocal terms similar to the ones of the classical PF-algebra. The renormalization of the spins of the nonlocal currents is the main new feature of the quantum VA(n)-algebras. The quantum VA(2)-algebra and its degenerate representations are studied in detail. (C) 1999 Academic Press.

Equivalence of many-gluon Green's functions in the Duffin-Kemmer-Petieu and Klein-Gordon-Fock statistical quantum field theories

We prove the equivalence of many-gluon Green's functions in the Duffin-Kemmer-Petieu and Klein-Gordon-Fock statistical quantum field theories. The proof is based on the functional integral formulation for the statistical generating functional in a finite-temperature quantum field theory. As an illustration, we calculate one-loop polarization operators in both theories and show that their expressions indeed coincide.

Anomalous gauge couplings from composite Higgs and warped extra dimensions

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

Clássicos versus Keynes: a abordagem formal de David Champernowne

Este texto tem por objetivo ressaltar um aspecto que não tem sido tratado com a devida profundidade na literatura que estuda a formalização da Teoria Geral do Emprego, dos Juros e da Moeda de John Maynard Keynes (1936). Mais precisamente, o texto destaca a estratégia de formalização adotada por David G. Champernowne em seu artigo intitulado Unemployment, Basic and Monetary: the classical analysis and the keynesian, publicado em 1935-36 na Review of Economic Studies. Chamamos a atenção para o fato dele distinguir a teoria clássica da teoria de Keynes não apenas pelos pressupostos adotados por cada teoria, mas principalmente pela construção de subsistemas a partir de um sistema geral, com características recursivas (relações de causalidade) distintas. As explicações em prosa, a descrição algébrica das funções comportamentais e condições de equilíbrio e a ilustração por meio de diagramas, além da escolha de conjuntos específicos de variáveis para representar cada uma das teorias e suas diferentes versões são aspectos deste artigo de Champernowne que merecem uma análise mais minuciosa.

First quantized approaches to neutrino oscillations and second quantization

Neutrino oscillations are treated from the point of view of relativistic first quantized theories and compared to second quantized treatments. Within first quantized theories, general oscillation probabilities can be found for Dirac fermions and charged spin 0 bosons. A clear modification in the oscillation formulas can be obtained and its origin is elucidated and confirmed to be inevitable from completeness and causality requirements. The left-handed nature of created and detected neutrinos can also be implemented in the first quantized Dirac theory in the presence of mixing; the probability loss due to the changing of initially left-handed neutrinos to the undetected right-handed neutrinos can be obtained in analytic form. Concerning second quantized approaches, it is shown in a calculation using virtual neutrino propagation that both neutrinos and antineutrinos may also contribute as intermediate particles. The sign of the contributing neutrino energy may have to be chosen explicitly without being automatic in the formalism. At last, a simple second quantized description of the flavor oscillation phenomenon is devised. In this description there is no interference terms between positive and negative components, but it still gives simple normalized oscillation probabilities. A new effect appearing in this context is an inevitable but tiny violation of the initial flavor of neutrinos. The probability loss due to the conversion of left-handed neutrinos to right-handed neutrinos is also presented.

Higgsing M2 to D2 with gravity: N=6 chiral supergravity from topologically gauged ABJM theory

We present the higgsing of three-dimensional N = 6 superconformal ABJM type theories coupled to conformal supergravity, so called topologically gauged ABJM theory, thus providing a gravitational extension of previous work on the relation between N M2 and N D2-branes. The resulting N = 6 supergravity theory appears at a chiral point similar to that of three-dimensional chiral gravity introduced recently by Li, Song and Strominger, but with the opposite sign for the Ricci scalar term in the lagrangian. We identify the supersymmetry in the broken phase as a particular linear combination of the supersymmetry and special conformal supersymmetry in the original topologically gauged ABJM theory. We also discuss the higgsing procedure in detail paying special attention to the role played by the U(1) factors in the original ABJM model and the U(1) introduced in the topological gauging.