A two-armed pattern in flickering maps of the nova-like variable UU aquarii

We report the analysis of a uniform sample of 31 light curves of the nova-like variable UU Aqr with eclipse-mapping techniques. The data were combined to derive eclipse maps of the average steady-light component, the long-term brightness changes, and the low- and high-frequency flickering components. The long-term variability responsible for the ""low-brightness`` and ""high-brightness`` states is explained in terms of the response of a viscous disk to changes of 20%-50% in the mass transfer rate from the donor star. Low- and high-frequency flickering maps are dominated by emission from two asymmetric arcs reminiscent of those seen in the outbursting dwarf nova IP Peg, and they are similarly interpreted as manifestations of a tidally induced spiral shock wave in the outer regions of a large accretion disk. The asymmetric arcs are also seen in the map of the steady light aside from the broad brightness distribution of a roughly steady-state disk. The arcs account for 25% of the steady-light flux and are a long-lasting feature in the accretion disk of UU Aqr. We infer an opening angle of 10 degrees +/- 3 degrees for the spiral arcs. The results suggest that the flickering in UU Aqr is caused by turbulence generated after the collision of disk gas with the density-enhanced spiral wave in the accretion disk.

The spiral structure of the Galaxy revealed by CS sources and evidence for the 4:1 resonance

We present a map of the spiral structure of the Galaxy, as traced by molecular carbon monosulphide (CS) emission associated with IRAS sources which are believed to be compact H II regions. The CS line velocities are used to determine the kinematic distances of the sources in order to investigate their distribution in the galactic plane. This allows us to use 870 objects to trace the arms, a number larger than that of previous studies based on classical H II regions. The distance ambiguity of the kinematic distances, when it exists, is solved by different procedures, including the latitude distribution and an analysis of the longitude-velocity diagram. The study of the spiral structure is complemented with other tracers: open clusters, Cepheids, methanol masers and H II regions. The well-defined spiral arms are seen to be confined inside the corotation radius, as is often the case in spiral galaxies. We identify a square-shaped sub-structure in the CS map with that predicted by stellar orbits at the 4:1 resonance (four epicycle oscillations in one turn around the galactic centre). The sub-structure is found at the expected radius, based on the known pattern rotation speed and epicycle frequency curve. An inner arm presents an end with strong inwards curvature and intense star formation that we tentatively associate with the region where this arm surrounds the extremity of the bar, as seen in many barred galaxies. Finally, a new arm with concave curvature is found in the Sagitta to Cepheus region of the sky. The observed arms are interpreted in terms of perturbations similar to grooves in the gravitational potential of the disc, produced by crowding of stellar orbits.

VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV): The public ESO near-IR variability survey of the Milky Way

We describe the public ESO near-IR variability survey (VVV) scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane where star formation activity is high. The survey will take 1929 h of observations with the 4-m VISTA telescope during 5 years (2010-2014), covering similar to 10(9) point sources across an area of 520 deg(2), including 33 known globular clusters and similar to 350 open clusters. The final product will be a deep near-IR atlas in five passbands (0.9-2.5 mu m) and a catalogue of more than 106 variable point sources. Unlike single-epoch surveys that, in most cases, only produce 2-D maps, the VVV variable star survey will enable the construction of a 3-D map of the surveyed region using well-understood distance indicators such as RR Lyrae stars, and Cepheids. It will yield important information on the ages of the populations. The observations will be combined with data from MACHO, OGLE, EROS, VST, Spitzer, HST, Chandra, INTEGRAL, WISE, Fermi LAT, XMM-Newton, GAIA and ALMA for a complete understanding of the variable sources in the inner Milky Way. This public survey will provide data available to the whole community and therefore will enable further studies of the history of the Milky Way, its globular cluster evolution, and the population census of the Galactic Bulge and center, as well as the investigations of the star forming regions in the disk. The combined variable star catalogues will have important implications for theoretical investigations of pulsation properties of stars. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genomic Analysis of Wild Tomato Introgressions Determining Metabolism- and Yield-Associated Traits

With the aim of determining the genetic basis of metabolic regulation in tomato fruit, we constructed a detailed physical map of genomic regions spanning previously described metabolic quantitative trait loci of a Solanum pennellii introgression line population. Two genomic libraries from S. pennellii were screened with 104 colocated markers from five selected genomic regions, and a total of 614 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)/cosmids were identified as seed clones. Integration of sequence data with the genetic and physical maps of Solanum lycopersicum facilitated the anchoring of 374 of these BAC/cosmid clones. The analysis of this information resulted in a genome-wide map of a nondomesticated plant species and covers 10% of the physical distance of the selected regions corresponding to approximately 1% of the wild tomato genome. Comparative analyses revealed that S. pennellii and domesticated tomato genomes can be considered as largely colinear. A total of 1,238,705 bp from both BAC/cosmid ends and nine large insert clones were sequenced, annotated, and functionally categorized. The sequence data allowed the evaluation of the level of polymorphism between the wild and cultivated tomato species. An exhaustive microsynteny analysis allowed us to estimate the divergence date of S. pennellii and S. lycopersicum at 2.7 million years ago. The combined results serve as a reference for comparative studies both at the macrosyntenic and microsyntenic levels. They also provide a valuable tool for fine-mapping of quantitative trait loci in tomato. Furthermore, they will contribute to a deeper understanding of the regulatory factors underpinning metabolism and hence defining crop chemical composition.

Precambrian geotectonic units of the Rio de La Plata craton

The main Precambrian tectonic units of Uruguay include the Piedra Alta tectonostratigraphic terrane (PATT) and Nico Perez tectonostratigraphic terrane (NPTT), separated by the Sarandi del Yi high-strain zone. Both terranes are well exposed in the Rio de La Plata craton (RPC). Although these tectonic units are geographically small, they record a wide span of geologic time. Therefore improved geological knowledge of this area provides a fuller understanding of the evolution of the core of South America. The PATT is constituted by low-to medium-grade metamorphic belts (ca. 2.1 Ga); its petrotectonic associations such as metavolcanic units, conglomerates, banded iron formations, and turbiditic deposits suggest a back-arc or a trench-basin setting. Also in the PATT, a late to post-orogenic, arc-related layered mafic complex (2.3-1.9 Ga), followed by A-type granites (2.08 Ga), and finally a taphrogenic mafic dike swarm (1.78 Ga) occur. The less thoroughly studied NPTT consists of Palaeoproterozoic high-grade metamorphic sequences (ca. 2.2 Ga), mylonites and postorogenic and rapakivi granites (1.75 Ga). The Brasiliano-Pan African orogeny affected this terrane. Neoproterozoic cover occurs in both tectonostratigraphic terranes, but is more developed in the NPTT. Over the past 15 years, new isotopic studies have improved our recognition of different tectonic events and associated processes, such as reactivation of shear zones and fluids circulation. Transamazonian and Statherian tectonic events were recognized in the RPC. Based on magmatism, deformation, basin development and metamorphism, we propose a scheme for the Precambrian tectonic evolution of Uruguay, which is summarized in the first Palaeoproterozoic tectonic map of the Rio de La Plata craton.

Decay of geometry for Fibonacci critical covering maps of the circle

We study the growth of Df `` (f(c)) when f is a Fibonacci critical covering map of the circle with negative Schwarzian derivative, degree d >= 2 and critical point c of order l > 1. As an application we prove that f exhibits exponential decay of geometry if and only if l <= 2, and in this case it has an absolutely continuous invariant probability measure, although not satisfying the so-called Collet-Eckmann condition. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Iteration of closed geodesics in stationary Lorentzian manifolds

Following the lines of Bott in (Commun Pure Appl Math 9:171-206, 1956), we study the Morse index of the iterates of a closed geodesic in stationary Lorentzian manifolds, or, more generally, of a closed Lorentzian geodesic that admits a timelike periodic Jacobi field. Given one such closed geodesic gamma, we prove the existence of a locally constant integer valued map Lambda(gamma) on the unit circle with the property that the Morse index of the iterated gamma(N) is equal, up to a correction term epsilon(gamma) is an element of {0,1}, to the sum of the values of Lambda(gamma) at the N-th roots of unity. The discontinuities of Lambda(gamma) occur at a finite number of points of the unit circle, that are special eigenvalues of the linearized Poincare map of gamma. We discuss some applications of the theory.

Spatial Analysis of Colby College Trails: Perkins Arboretum and Runnals Hill

I created an updated map of trails at Colby College using global positioning system data that were then edited in ArcGIS. The map background, obtained from the Maine Office of GIS, was created from digital orthophotographs produced from aerial photos collected over southwest Maine in Spring 2003. Trail difficulty was determined by creating a slope layer and taking other factors into consideration such as ground surface and path width. The map will eventually be available online, enabling interactive selection of trails where users can access additional trail information.

Modified value stream mapping of airport check-in procedures

In June 2014 Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup and in August 2016 Rio de Janeiro hosts the Summer Olympics. These two seminal sporting events will draw tens of thousands of air travelers through Brazil’s airports, airports that are currently in the midst of a national modernization program to address years of infrastructure neglect and insufficient capacity. Raising Brazil’s major airports up to the standards air travelers experience at major airports elsewhere in the world is more than just a case of building or remodeling facilities, processes must also be examined and reworked to enhance traveler experience and satisfaction. This research paper examines the key interface between airports and airline passengers—airport check-in procedures—according to how much value and waste there is associated with them. In particular, the paper makes use of a value stream mapping construct for services proposed by Martins, Cantanhede, and Jardim (2010). The uniqueness of this construct is that it attributes each activity with a certain percentage and magnitude of value or waste which can then be ordered and prioritized for improvement. Working against a fairly commonly expressed notion in Brazil that Brazil’s airports are inferior to the airports of economically advanced countries, the paper examines Rio’s two major airports, Galeão International and Santos Dumont in comparison to Washington D.C.’s Washington National and Dulles International airports. The paper seeks to accomplish three goals: - Determine whether there are differences in airport passenger check-in procedures between U.S. and Brazilian airports in terms of passenger value - Present options for Brazilian government or private sector authorities to consider adopting or implementing at Brazilian airports to maximize passenger value - Validate the Martins et al. construct for use in evaluating the airport check-in procedures Observations and analysis proved surprising in that all airports and service providers follow essentially the same check-in processes but execute them differently yet still result in similar overall performance in terms of value and waste. Although only a few activities are categorized as completely wasteful (and therefore removed in the revised value stream map of check-in activities), the weighting and categorization of individual activities according to their value (or waste) presents decision-makers a means to prioritize possible corrective actions. Various overall recommendations are presented based on this analysis. Most importantly, this paper demonstrates the viability of using the construct developed by Martins et al to examine airport operations, as well as its applicability to the study of other service industry processes.

SSM samba: a survey of brazilian approaches to soft systems methodology (1999-2005)

This paper reports the results of a survey intended to discover the manner in which Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is understood and used in Brazil. The focus is upon SSM papers published in national and international journals, and conferences, incorporating a refereeing procedure. To be included in the survey, publications had to meet at least one of the following criteria: (a) authorship is clearly of Brazilian nationality; or, (b) authorship is affiliated to a Brazilian institution; or (c) application is set in Brazil. Similar surveys reporting on the United Kingdom, Australia and, to a lesser extent, Spain have been published previously in the literature. This paper, therefore, contributes to the growing international understanding and usage of SSM. Ultimately the paper serves as an initial map of the developing context in Brazilian SSM theory and practice.

Proteomic analysis of dog tears for potential cancer markers

The first reference map of the proteome of pooled normal dog tears was created using 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the identity of a number of the major species determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and peptide mass fingerprint matching on protein sequence databases. In order to understand the changes in protein expression in the tear film of dogs with cancer, tears from such animals were similarly examined. A number of differences were found between the tears of healthy dogs and the dogs with cancer. Differences were found in levels of actin and albumin and in an unidentified protein which may be analogous to human lacryglobulin. These findings suggest that it may be possible to develop tear film analysis to provide a simple non-invasive test for the diagnosis and/or management of canine cancers. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of land use and occupancy in permanent preservation areas according to the hydrography of Ribeirão Água Fria - Bofete, SP - Brazil

Os conflitos de uso são determinados pelas ocupações inadequadas do solo, como é o caso de ocupação do solo dentro de áreas de preservação permanente. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos determinar as classes de uso do solo e se há conflitos dentro de áreas de preservação permanente ao longo da rede de drenagem da microbacia do Ribeirão Água Fria, município de Bofete (SP). Situa-se geograficamente entre as coordenadas: 48°09'30 a 48°18'30 de longitude WGr., 22°58'30 a 23°04'30 de latitude sul com uma área de 15.242,84 ha. O mapa de uso do solo foi elaborado por meio da interpretação diretamente na tela do computador de imagem digital de satélite. Nos dados orbitais, a área de estudo está inserida no quadrante A, da imagem TM/Landsat-5, órbita 220, ponto 76, passagem de 8/09/2007. O Sistema de Informação Geográfica empregado foi o Cartalinx. As áreas de conflito da microbacia foram obtidas a partir do cruzamento entre os mapas de uso do solo e de APPs. Os resultados permitiram concluir que mais da metade da área (51,09%) está ocupada por pastagens, reflexo de solos arenosos e de baixa fertilidade. Constatou-se, ainda, que apesar de quase metade da microbacia estar coberta com algum tipo de vegetação (48,78% de mata natural/reflorestamento), possui aproximadamente um terço das áreas de preservação permanente utilizadas inadequadamente por pastagens (88,15%), reflorestamento (10,42%) e solo exposto (1,43%), totalizando 343,07 ha de áreas conflitantes em um total de 993,26 ha de APPs.

Mapeamento geoambiental do campo de dunas Pirangi-Potengi com ênfase a San Vale e Lagoinha Natal/RN: um instrumento de apoio ao planejamento ambiental

The city of Natal-RN is constructed on dune areas with wavy relives softly waved and green areas that help to keep a pleasant climate, amongst these is distinguished field Pirangi-Potengi the dune with the areas of San Vale and Lagoinha. These environments are being substituted gradual for property and other workmanships of engineering on behalf of the urban expansion. This study the elaboration of a geoambiental mapping of Field had as objective generality Pirangi-Potengi the Dune with emphasis the San Vale and Lagoinha in Natal-RN. The done mapping had as objective specific to elaborate a vegetation map, a map of registers in cadastre of ambient problems to dunes, a map of flooding susceptibility, a map of vulnerability to the underground water contamination and a map of use and occupation of the ground. Of the carried through analysis, the area in study reveals sufficiently degraded, remaining only few green areas and dunares, as well as, the vulnerable presence of areas of vulnerability in floods and areas the contamination of the water-bearing one. The gotten results allow to affirm that this type of mapping, is of great importance for analysis and evaluation of the environment of the city

An analysis of the region of the Phocaea dynamical family

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

Assessment of cumulative damage by using ultrasonic C-scan on carbon fiber/epoxy composites under thermal cycling

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