Blue cooperative luminescence properties in Yb3+ doped GeO2-PbO-Bi2O3 vitreous system for the production of thin films

Germanate glasses are of interest for optoelectronic applications because they combine high mechanical strength, high chemical durability and temperature stability with a large transmission window (400 to 4500 nm) and high refractive index (2.0). GeO2-PbO-Bi2O3 glasses doped with Y-b(3+) were fabricated by melting powders in a crucible and then pouring them in a brass mold. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy showed that the glass composition has a high spatial uniformity and that the Yb concentration in the solid sample is proportional to the Yb concentration in the melt, what was confirmed by absorption measurements. Intense blue emission at 507 nm was observed, corresponding to half of the wavelength of the near infrared region (NIR) emission; besides, a decay lifetime of 0.25 ms was measured and this corresponds to half of the decay lifetime in the infrared region; these are very strong indications of the presence of blue cooperative luminescence. Larger targets have been produced to be sputtered, resulting in thin films for three dimensional (3D) display and waveguide applications. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimum-Path Forest Classifier for Large Scale Biometric Applications

This paper addresses biometric identification using large databases, in particular, iris databases. In such applications, it is critical to have low response time, while maintaining an acceptable recognition rate. Thus, the trade-off between speed and accuracy must be evaluated for processing and recognition parts of an identification system. In this paper, a graph-based framework for pattern recognition, called Optimum-Path Forest (OPF), is utilized as a classifier in a pre-developed iris recognition system. The aim of this paper is to verify the effectiveness of OPF in the field of iris recognition, and its performance for various scale iris databases. The existing Gauss-Laguerre Wavelet based coding scheme is used for iris encoding. The performance of the OPF and two other - Hamming and Bayesian - classifiers, is compared using small, medium, and large-scale databases. Such a comparison shows that the OPF has faster response for large-scale databases, thus performing better than the more accurate, but slower, classifiers.

Dynamical capture in the Pluto-Charon system

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

A Fast Large Scale Iris Database Classification with Optimum-Path Forest Technique: A Case Study

Majority of biometric researchers focus on the accuracy of matching using biometrics databases, including iris databases, while the scalability and speed issues have been neglected. In the applications such as identification in airports and borders, it is critical for the identification system to have low-time response. In this paper, a graph-based framework for pattern recognition, called Optimum-Path Forest (OPF), is utilized as a classifier in a pre-developed iris recognition system. The aim of this paper is to verify the effectiveness of OPF in the field of iris recognition, and its performance for various scale iris databases. This paper investigates several classifiers, which are widely used in iris recognition papers, and the response time along with accuracy. The existing Gauss-Laguerre Wavelet based iris coding scheme, which shows perfect discrimination with rotary Hamming distance classifier, is used for iris coding. The performance of classifiers is compared using small, medium, and large scale databases. Such comparison shows that OPF has faster response for large scale database, thus performing better than more accurate but slower Bayesian classifier.

Critical exponents for a transition from integrability to non-integrability via localization of invariant tori in the Hamiltonian system

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Humoral and cell-mediated immunity in large non-toxic multinodular goitre

Humoral and cell-mediated immunity was investigated in fourteen patients with non-toxic multinodular goitre and ten healthy controls by in vitro methods. These included determination of sheep erythrocyte and complement rosette-forming cells in the peripheral blood, immunoglobulin levels, titres of thyroglobulin and microsomal antibodies and migration inhibition test using thyroid extract and phytohemagglutinin. When compared with controls the patients showed high IgA levels and positive response to thyroid antigen in the leucocyte migration inhibition test. There was no correlation between the leucocyte migration results and the presence of auto-antibodies. These findings indicate a possible role of cell-mediated immunity in non-toxic multinodular goitre.

Fisheries in large tropical reservoirs in South America

The present status of large reservoir fisheries and their management in large reservoirs in South America are reviewed. There is a brief discussion about reservoir typology, and how most of it is inappropriate to fish. Fish in reservoirs and their introduction from other habitats are described, together with comparative yields. The main impacts due to damming are described, including social aspects. Four case studies are presented for the largest reservoirs in South America: Sobradinho, Tucuruí and Itaipu in Brazil, and El Guri in Venezuela.

Spectroscopy of InF3 based glasses containing a large amount of GdF3

Glass formation in the pseudo ternary system ZnF2-GdF3-BaF2-InF3 and other complex systems stabilized by NaF, CaF2, AlF3 and YF3 have been investigated. Samples with greater stability have been prepared and their properties measured. Optical absorption and emission spectra of Gd3+ ions doped glasses with 2, 4, 10 and 20% concentrations have been measured. Using the Judd-Ofelt theory and the experimental oscillator strengths, the Judd-Ofelt parameters have been calculated. The emission of Gd3+ ions from 6I and 6P has been detected and the lifetime has been measured.

Biocompatibility of an adhesive system applied to exposed human dental pulp

Human pulp tissue was directly capped with All Bond 2, or calcium hydroxide and evaluated 7, 30, or 60 days after the procedures. Histological analysis was performed to assess the inflammatory cell response, tissue disorganization, dentin bridging, and the presence of bacteria. At 7 days, with All Bond 2 capping, there was a large area of neutrophilic infiltrate underlying the pulp capping material, and the death of adjacent odontoblasts, was observed. However, with time, the neutrophilic reaction was replaced by fibroblastic proliferation with macrophages and giant cells surrounding globules of resin scattered in the coronal pulp tissue. The persistent inflammatory reaction and hyaline alteration of extracellular matrix inhibited complete pulp repair or dentin bridging. In contrast, at 7 days, the pulp tissue capped with calcium hydroxide exhibited odontoblast-like cells organized underneath coagulation necrosis. Pulp repair evolved into apparent complete dentin bridge formation at 60 days. All Bond 2 did not appear to allow any pulp repair and does not appear to be indicated for direct pulp capping of human teeth. Copyright © 1999 by The American Association of Endodontists.

Quantum topology change and large-N gauge theories

We study a model for dynamical localization of topology using ideas from non-commutative geometry and topology in quantum mechanics. We consider a collection X of N one-dimensional manifolds and the corresponding set of boundary conditions (self-adjoint extensions) of the Dirac operator D. The set of boundary conditions encodes the topology and is parameterized by unitary matrices g. A particular geometry is described by a spectral triple x(g) = (A X, script H sign X, D(g)). We define a partition function for the sum over all g. In this model topology fluctuates but the dimension is kept fixed. We use the spectral principle to obtain an action for the set of boundary conditions. Together with invariance principles the procedure fixes the partition function for fluctuating topologies. The model has one free-parameter β and it is equivalent to a one plaquette gauge theory. We argue that topology becomes localized at β = ∞ for any value of N. Moreover, the system undergoes a third-order phase transition at β = 1 for large-N. We give a topological interpretation of the phase transition by looking how it affects the topology. © SISSA/ISAS 2004.

Bryconamericus turiuba, a new species from the upper Rio Paraná system (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)

Bryconamericus turiuba, new species, is described from the upper Rio Paraná system in Brazil. It differs from all congeners in the following combination of characters: 15-20 branched anal-fin rays; four or five scales in a transverse series from the dorsal-fin origin to the lateral line; shallow body (depth 23.6-30.6% of SL); 37-43 perforated lateral line scales; first, third, and fifth or, more rarely, first and fourth outer premaxillary tricuspid teeth projecting anteriorly; two to five tricuspid to pentacuspid maxillary teeth; dentary with three or four tricuspid or pentacuspid large teeth, followed by five to seven smaller conical to tricuspid teeth; a conspicuous dark, vertically elongate humeral spot, extending to below the lateral line; a dark dorsal stripe extending from the supraoccipital spine to the caudal peduncle with a gap at the adipose-fin base; caudal-fin lobes without conspicuous markings, uniformly pigmented along rays; mature males lacking hooks on the pelvic- and anal-fin rays. The new species is compared with the Bryconamericus species described from the basins of the Rio Paraná, Rio Paraguay, Rio São Francisco, and coastal Brazilian rivers. © 2005 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Isolated Richter's syndrome in central nervous system: Case report

Diffuse large cell non Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), or Richter's syndrome, is a rare and serious complication. Isolated Richter's syndrome in the central nervous system is very rare; only 12 cases have been reported. We describe a 74-year-old patient with diffuse large cell non Hodgkin's lymphoma in the right frontal region with the appearance of multiform glioblastoma.

A unique intraorbital osseous structure in the large fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus)

Objective: To describe the normal bony orbital structure of the large fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus) with emphasis on a unique intraorbital bony structure previously not described in the literature. Procedures: The bony anatomy of the orbital cavity was studied on dissected skulls of large fruit-eating bats. The anatomic description of a unique intraorbital spine was made while studying the bony orbit of macerated skulls. Additional observations were made on dissected formalin-fixed whole heads. Both procedures were performed under a stereo dissecting microscope, using ×2-4-magnification. A histologic analysis of soft tissues surrounding this cylindrical bony structure was performed using cross and longitudinal oblique sections from decalcified whole heads, which had been fixed in formalin. Additionally, biometric measurements and a histomorphometric analysis were performed. Results and conclusions: An intraorbital cylindrical osseous structure measuring 3.96 ± 0.68 mm in length and 155.62 ± 14.03 μm in diameter was observed in the large fruit-eating bat (A. lituratus), creating a unique orbital structural design among mammals. We suggest the name optic spine of the alisphenoid bone. The anatomic, biometric and histologic characterization of this element might contribute to a further understanding of the dynamics of bat vision and the sort of factors that influenced evolution of the visual system of microbats. The authors hope that the documentation of this distinctive anatomic feature will also expand the debate about the phylogenetic analysis of the relationship among bat species in the near future. © 2007 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

The Owner Share scheduler for a distributed system

In large distributed systems, where shared resources are owned by distinct entities, there is a need to reflect resource ownership in resource allocation. An appropriate resource management system should guarantee that resource's owners have access to a share of resources proportional to the share they provide. In order to achieve that some policies can be used for revoking access to resources currently used by other users. In this paper, a scheduling policy based in the concept of distributed ownership is introduced called Owner Share Enforcement Policy (OSEP). OSEP goal is to guarantee that owner do not have their jobs postponed for longer periods of time. We evaluate the results achieved with the application of this policy using metrics that describe policy violation, loss of capacity, policy cost and user satisfaction in environments with and without job checkpointing. We also evaluate and compare the OSEP policy with the Fair-Share policy, and from these results it is possible to capture the trade-offs from different ways to achieve fairness based on the user satisfaction. © 2009 IEEE.

What can we say about trade and growth when trade becomes a complex system?

Includes bibliography