An accurate distance to 2M1207Ab

Context. In April 2004, the first image was obtained of a planetary mass companion (now known as 2M 1207 b) in orbit around a self-luminous object different from our own Sun (the young brown dwarf 2MASSW J 1207334-393254, hereafter 2M 1207 A). That 2M 1207 b probably formed via fragmentation and gravitational collapse offered proof that such a mechanism can form bodies in the planetary mass regime. However, the predicted mass, luminosity, and radius of 2MI207 b depend on its age, distance, and other observables, such as effective temperature. Aims. To refine our knowledge of the physical properties of 2M 1207 b and its nature, we accurately determined the distance to the 2M 1207 A and b system by measuring of its trigonometric parallax at the milliarcsec level. Methods. With the ESO NTT/SUS12 telescope, we began a campaign of photometric and astrometric observations in 2006 to measure the trigonometric parallax of 2M 1207 A. Results. An accurate distance (52.4 +/- 1.1 pc) to 2M1207A was measured. From distance and proper motions we derived spatial velocities that are fully compatible with TWA membership. Conclusions. With this new distance estimate, we discuss three scenarios regarding the nature of 2M 1207 b: (1) a cool (1150 +/- 150 K) companion of mass 4 +/- 1 M-Jup (2) a warmer (1600 +/- 100 K) and heavier (8 +/- 2 M-Jup) companion occulted by an edge-on circumsecondary disk, or (3) a hot protoplanet collision afterglow.

Cold Nuclear Matter Effects on J/psi Yields as a Function of Rapidity and Nuclear Geometry in d plus A Collisions at root S(NN)=200 GeV

We present measurements of J/psi yields in d + Au collisions at root S(NN) = 200 GeV recorded by the PHENIX experiment and compare them with yields in p + p collisions at the same energy per nucleon-nucleon collision. The measurements cover a large kinematic range in J/psi rapidity (-2.2 < y < 2.4) with high statistical precision and are compared with two theoretical models: one with nuclear shadowing combined with final state breakup and one with coherent gluon saturation effects. In order to remove model dependent systematic uncertainties we also compare the data to a simple geometric model. The forward rapidity data are inconsistent with nuclear modifications that are linear or exponential in the density weighted longitudinal thickness, such as those from the final state breakup of the bound state.

Azimuthal Anisotropy of pi(0) Production in Au plus Au Collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV: Path-Length Dependence of Jet Quenching and the Role of Initial Geometry

We have measured the azimuthal anisotropy of pi(0) production for 1 < p(T) < 18 GeV/c for Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The observed anisotropy shows a gradual decrease for 3 less than or similar to p(T) less than or similar to 7-10 GeV/c, but remains positive beyond 10 GeV/c. The magnitude of this anisotropy is underpredicted, up to at least similar to 10 GeV/c, by current perturbative QCD (PQCD) energy-loss model calculations. An estimate of the increase in anisotropy expected from initial-geometry modification due to gluon saturation effects and fluctuations is insufficient to account for this discrepancy. Calculations that implement a path-length dependence steeper than what is implied by current PQCD energy-loss models show reasonable agreement with the data.

Lossless filter for multiple repeats with bounded edit distance

Background: Identifying local similarity between two or more sequences, or identifying repeats occurring at least twice in a sequence, is an essential part in the analysis of biological sequences and of their phylogenetic relationship. Finding such fragments while allowing for a certain number of insertions, deletions, and substitutions, is however known to be a computationally expensive task, and consequently exact methods can usually not be applied in practice. Results: The filter TUIUIU that we introduce in this paper provides a possible solution to this problem. It can be used as a preprocessing step to any multiple alignment or repeats inference method, eliminating a possibly large fraction of the input that is guaranteed not to contain any approximate repeat. It consists in the verification of several strong necessary conditions that can be checked in a fast way. We implemented three versions of the filter. The first is simply a straightforward extension to the case of multiple sequences of an application of conditions already existing in the literature. The second uses a stronger condition which, as our results show, enable to filter sensibly more with negligible (if any) additional time. The third version uses an additional condition and pushes the sensibility of the filter even further with a non negligible additional time in many circumstances; our experiments show that it is particularly useful with large error rates. The latter version was applied as a preprocessing of a multiple alignment tool, obtaining an overall time (filter plus alignment) on average 63 and at best 530 times smaller than before (direct alignment), with in most cases a better quality alignment. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, TUIUIU is the first filter designed for multiple repeats and for dealing with error rates greater than 10% of the repeats length.

Flat tori, lattices and bounds for commutative group codes

We show that commutative group spherical codes in R(n), as introduced by D. Slepian, are directly related to flat tori and quotients of lattices. As consequence of this view, we derive new results on the geometry of these codes and an upper bound for their cardinality in terms of minimum distance and the maximum center density of lattices and general spherical packings in the half dimension of the code. This bound is tight in the sense it can be arbitrarily approached in any dimension. Examples of this approach and a comparison of this bound with Union and Rankin bounds for general spherical codes is also presented.

Monocular vision and increased distance reducing the effects of visual manipulation on body sway

The goal of this study was to examine the coupling between visual information and body sway with binocular and monocular vision at two distances from the front wall of a moving room. Ten participants stood as still as possible inside of a moving room facing the front wall in conditions that combined room movement with monocular/binocular vision and distance from the front wall (75 and 150cm). Visual information effect on body sway decreased with monocular vision and with increased distance from the front wall. In addition, the combination of monocular vision with the farther distance resulted in the smallest body sway response to the driving stimulus provided by the moving room. These results suggest that binocularvision near the front wall provides visual information of a better quality than the monocular vision far from the front wall. We discuss the results with respect to two modes of visual detection of body sway: ocular and extraocular. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of children nasal geometry, employing accoustic rhinometry

The area above the nasal cavity plays a role in respiratory physiology. Aim: To analyze, during a period of growth, a possible change in the minimum cross sectional area (MCA) and nasal volume of the anterior nasal cavity. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 29 children (14 boys and 15 girls) with a mean age of 7.81 years at first examination (M1) and 11.27 years in the second examination (M2), without symptoms of nasal obstruction. The interval between examinations was 36-48 months. Children were subjected to the examination of acoustic rhinometry in which we recorded the minimum cross-sectional areas, volumes and their correlations with gender. Study design: Cohort. Results: The mean cross-sectional area of the nasal cavity of MCA for girls was 0.30 +/- 0.09 cm2 (M1) and 0.30 +/- 0.14 cm2 (M2), while for boys was 0.24 +/- 0.12 cm2 (M1) and 0.32 +/- 0.10 cm2 (M2). The mean values of the total volumes found for the whole sample were 2.17 +/- 0.23 cm3 (MCA1-M1), 2.56 +/- 0.27 cm3 (MCA1-M2), 4.24 +/- 1.17 cm3 (MCA2-M2) and 4.63 +/- 1.10 cm3 (MCA2-M2). Conclusion: There was no significant change in the minimum cross sectional area of the anterior nasal cavity. There was no significant difference between genders for both MCA and for the volume. There was a significant increase in MCA1.

Phase Distance Relaying With Fault Resistance Compensation for Unbalanced Systems

This letter presents an extension of an existing ground distance relay algorithm to include phase distance relays. The algorithm uses a fault resistance estimation process in the phase domain, improving efficiency in the distance protection process. The results show that the algorithm is suitable for online applications, and that it has an independent performance from the fault resistance magnitude, the fault location, and the line asymmetry.

Transmission lines distance protection using artificial neural networks

This work presents the development and implementation of an artificial neural network based algorithm for transmission lines distance protection. This algorithm was developed to be used in any transmission line regardless of its configuration or voltage level. The described ANN-based algorithm does not need any topology adaptation or ANN parameters adjustment when applied to different electrical systems. This feature makes this solution unique since all ANN-based solutions presented until now were developed for particular transmission lines, which means that those solutions cannot be implemented in commercial relays. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computational Method to Determine Reflected Ultrasonic Signals From Arbitrary-Geometry Targets

A computational method based on the impulse response and on the discrete representation computational concept is proposed for the determination of the echo responses from arbitrary-geometry targets. It is supposed that each point of the transducer aperture can be considered as a source radiating hemispherical waves to the reflector. The local interaction with each of the hemispherical waves at the reflector surface can be modeled as a plane wave impinging on a planar surface, using the respective reflection coefficient. The method is valid for all field regions and can be performed for any excitation waveform radiated from an arbitrary acoustic aperture. The effects of target geometry, position, and material on both the amplitude and the shape of the echo response are studied. The model is compared with experimental results obtained using broadband transducers together with plane and cylindrical concave rectangular reflectors (aluminum, brass, and acrylic), as well as a circular cavity placed on a plane surface, in a water medium. The method can predict the measured echoes accurately. This paper shows an improved approach of the method, considering the reflection coefficient for all incident hemispherical waves arriving at each point of the target surface.

Effects of mechanical properties, residual stress and indenter tip geometry on instrumented indentation data in thin films

In this work, an axisymmetric two-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate instrumented indentation testing of thin ceramic films deposited onto hard steel substrates. The level of film residual stress (sigma(r)), the film elastic modulus (E) and the film work hardening exponent (n) were varied to analyze their effects on indentation data. These numerical results were used to analyze experimental data that were obtained with titanium nitride coated specimens, in which the substrate bias applied during deposition was modified to obtain films with different levels of sigma(r). Good qualitative correlation was obtained when numerical and experimental results were compared, as long as all film properties are considered in the analyses, and not only sigma(r). The numerical analyses were also used to further understand the effect of sigma(r) on the mechanical properties calculated based on instrumented indentation data. In this case, the hardness values obtained based on real or calculated contact areas are similar only when sink-in occurs, i.e. with high n or high ratio VIE, where Y is the yield strength of the film. In an additional analysis, four ratios (R/h(max)) between indenter tip radius and maximum penetration depth were simulated to analyze the combined effects of R and sigma(r) on the indentation load-displacement curves. In this case, or did not significantly affect the load curve exponent, which was affected only by the indenter tip radius. On the other hand, the proportional curvature coefficient was significantly affected by sigma(r) and n. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Numerical study of tensile tests conducted on systems with elastic-plastic films deposited onto elastic-plastic substrates

In this work, a series of two-dimensional plane-strain finite element analyses was conducted to further understand the stress distribution during tensile tests on coated systems. Besides the film and the substrate, the finite element model also considered a number of cracks perpendicular to the film/substrate interface. Different from analyses commonly found in the literature, the mechanical behavior of both film and substrate was considered elastic-perfectly plastic in part of the analyses. Together with the film yield stress and the number of film cracks, other variables that were considered were crack tip geometry, the distance between two consecutive cracks and the presence of an interlayer. The analysis was based on the normal stresses parallel to the loading axis (sigma(xx)), which are responsible for cohesive failures that are observed in the film during this type of test. Results indicated that some configurations studied in this work have significantly reduced the value of sigma(xx) at the film/substrate interface and close to the pre-defined crack tips. Furthermore, in all the cases studied the values of sigma(xx) were systematically larger at the film/substrate interface than at the film surface. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EFFECT OF MOLD GEOMETRY IN MICROPARTS ELECTROFORMING BY UV-LIGA

UV-LIGA is a versatile technique which allows the fabrication of metal parts with high aspect ratio (height / width) through the combination of a photolithographic processing of a polymer and the electroforming of a metal inside the cavities engraved in the polymer. This low-cost technique is used in a variety of areas including microfluidic, optics, instrumentation, plastic molding and telecommunications, among others. To approximate Colombia to this modern technologies for materials processing, the Materials Science and Technology Group has started an appropriation process of microfabrication techniques, specifically, this paper presents the results of UV-LIGA technique implementation for the fabrication of Nickel microparts, and examine the effects of mold geometry on the growing speed and integrity of the obtained deposits, important parameters in order to achieve the fabrication of complex micrometric parts that leads to devices with commercial applications.

Distance Education in Another Register: Uses and Appropriation of Technologies in Teacher Education

The article explores the relationships between distance education, information and communication technologies and teacher education. Its focus is on the interactive media and its uses in an in-service teacher education program, in Brazil, and on the ways the teachers used the technologies doing their own appropriateness. It departs from the presuppositions of the society of knowledge, that is, the close relationships between new technologies, continuing professional development and social inclusion, arguing that this paradigm is an ideological discourse. The article shows how the teachers have used the technologies in creative ways, calling the attention to the importance of this teachers` abilities as a basic skill to facing the challenges of the society of knowledge itself.

Norwegian long-distance reflexives: Lectal variation and speaker attitudes

10 lectal variables were examined with respect to Norwegian speakers' acceptance of long-distance reflexives (LDR), using a questionnaire to elicit grammaticality judgements on 50 potential LDR sentences. A sample of 180 speakers completed the questionnaire. The data was analysed using a general linear model univariate model, and Spearman's correlation. In this sample the results showed that dialect and level of education had significant effects on speakers' acceptance of long-distance reflexives, while sex, age, being a native speaker, having both native-speaker parents, living in the city or the country, and the speaker's attitudes to the two Norwegian writing languages had no influence on speakers' acceptance of long-distance reflexives. It is suggested that the influence of Danish on Norwegian writing and on the southern dialects may be the cause of the observed variation with respect to LDR in Norwegian.