Longitudinal scaling property of the charge balance function in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

We present measurements of the charge balance function, from the charged particles, for diverse pseudorapidity and transverse momentum ranges in Au + Au collisions at root S(NN) = 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. We observe that the balance function is boost-invariant within the pseudorapidity coverage vertical bar-1.3, 1.3 vertical bar. The balance function properly scaled by the width of the observed pseudorapidity window does not depend on the position or size of the pseudorapidity window. This scaling property also holds for particles in different transverse momentum ranges. In addition, we find that the width of the balance function decreases monotonically with increasing transverse momentum for all centrality classes. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mild mitochondrial uncoupling in mice affects energy metabolism, redox balance and longevity

Caloric restriction is the most effective non-genetic intervention to enhance lifespan known to date. A major research interest has been the development of therapeutic strategies capable of promoting the beneficial results of this dietary regimen. In this sense, we propose that compounds that decrease the efficiency of energy conversion, such as mitochondrial uncouplers, can be caloric restriction mimetics. Treatment of mice with low doses of the protonophore 2,4-dinitrophenol promotes enhanced tissue respiratory rates, improved serological glucose, triglyceride and insulin levels, decrease of reactive oxygen species levels and tissue DNA and protein oxidation, as well as reduced body weight. Importantly, 2,4-dinitrophenol-treated animals also presented enhanced longevity. Our results demonstrate that mild mitochondrial uncoupling is a highly effective in vivo antioxidant strategy, and describe the first therapeutic intervention capable of effectively reproducing the physiological, metabolic and lifespan effects of caloric restriction in healthy mammals.

The connectivity paradox: Students’ use of technology as both help and hindrance, and the challenge of striking a balance.

While there is research supporting the use of technology in classrooms, there is also evidence that technology often disrupts student learning. Examples of technology use in classrooms by both teachers and students will be explored, including the benefits and risks of each to the learning process. Research findings on cognition, attention, and classroom technologies will inform strategies for best practices for classroom technology use.

Literary Love Making in Nicholas Sparks Novels: Finding the Balance Between the Writer's Life and Writer's Work in Bestselling Romantic Love

For almost a decade now Nicholas Sparks has been writing love stories. Not only has he been publishing his stories, but they have received high acclaim in each of their installments. Several of his novels have been made into major motion pictures and increased his popularity quite significantly. His status as a successful romantic fiction writer is undeniable, but the question is, why? What is it about Nicholas Sparks that makes his novels so engaging, and personally, what do I need to do as an aspiring novelist to try and acquire the same literary status? Sparks’s novels reach readers at a number of different levels, thus giving them appeal no matter the intellectual intent of the reader. Theoretically, Sparks engages reader response techniques as well as formalist processes such as “habitualization” and “defamiliarization,” while also developing engaging plot lines that represent many of the experiences from his own life. His writing is not only academically redeemable, but it is also creatively stimulating; between the two, Sparks represents the thunder and lightning combination all writers strive for while trying to achieve literary success. This project also offers a creative element in which I attempt to exemplify many of the traits discussed in the analytical sections of this document, by recreating them in a creative, fictitious fashion. Themes such as: motion versus stasis, life versus death, and the ordinary versus the extraordinary all exist within the narrative structure of my short story “Trip to Fall.” Besides these thematic elements, the creative section strives to represent the balance Sparks achieves between the experiences of his own life and the fictitious world he creates. Overall, this project delves into the life of Nicholas Sparks to better understand the inspiration for his writing at the level of form as well as content, while also paying tribute to Sparks’s style through a representation of his work in my own words.

Literary love making in Nicholas Sparks novels: Finding the balance between the writer’s life and the writer’s work in bestselling Romantic Literature

For almost a decade now Nicholas Sparks has been writing love stories. Not only has he been publishing his stories, but they have received high acclaim in each of their installments. Several of his novels have been made into major motion pictures and increased his popularity quite significantly. His status as a successful romantic fiction writer is undeniable, but the question is, why? What is it about Nicholas Sparks that makes his novels so engaging, and personally, what do I need to do as an aspiring novelist to try and acquire the same literary status? Sparks’s novels reach readers at a number of different levels, thus giving them appeal no matter the intellectual intent of the reader. Theoretically, Sparks engages reader response techniques as well as formalist processes such as “habitualization” and “defamiliarization,” while also developing engaging plot lines that represent many of the experiences from his own life. His writing is not only academically redeemable, but it is also creatively stimulating; between the two, Sparks represents the thunder and lightning combination all writers strive for while trying to achieve literary success. This project also offers a creative element in which I attempt to exemplify many of the traits discussed in the analytical sections of this document, by recreating them in a creative, fictitious fashion. Themes such as: motion versus stasis, life versus death, and the ordinary versus the extraordinary all exist within the narrative structure of my short story “Trip to Fall.” Besides these thematic elements, the creative section strives to represent the balance Sparks achieves between the experiences of his own life and the fictitious world he creates. Overall, this project delves into the life of Nicholas Sparks to better understand the inspiration for his writing at the level of form as well as content, while also paying tribute to Sparks’s style through a representation of his work in my own words.

Investigating The Sources Of Fresh Water Affecting The Hydrological Balance Of Lakes Enriquillo And Azuei (Hispaniola) – Data Analysis

The Enriquillo and Azuei are saltwater lakes located in a closed water basin in the southwestern region of the island of La Hispaniola, these have been experiencing dramatic changes in total lake-surface area coverage during the period 1980-2012. The size of Lake Enriquillo presented a surface area of approximately 276 km2 in 1984, gradually decreasing to 172 km2 in 1996. The surface area of the lake reached its lowest point in the satellite observation record in 2004, at 165 km2. Then the recent growth of the lake began reaching its 1984 size by 2006. Based on surface area measurement for June and July 2013, Lake Enriquillo has a surface area of ~358 km2. Sumatra sizes at both ends of the record are 116 km2 in 1984 and 134 km2in 2013, an overall 15.8% increase in 30 years. Determining the causes of lake surface area changes is of extreme importance due to its environmental, social, and economic impacts. The overall goal of this study is to quantify the changing water balance in these lakes and their catchment area using satellite and ground observations and a regional atmospheric-hydrologic modeling approach. Data analyses of environmental variables in the region reflect a hydrological unbalance of the lakes due to changing regional hydro-climatic conditions. Historical data show precipitation, land surface temperature and humidity, and sea surface temperature (SST), increasing over region during the past decades. Salinity levels have also been decreasing by more than 30% from previously reported baseline levels. Here we present a summary of the historical data obtained, new sensors deployed in the sourrounding sierras and the lakes, and the integrated modeling exercises. As well as the challenges of gathering, storing, sharing, and analyzing this large volumen of data in a remote location from such a diverse number of sources.

Desenvolvimento do saltar à horizontal : uma análise topológica

O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a organização espaço-temporal dos segmentos da perna e da coxa no saltar à horizontal, verificando as infiuências do organismo e do ambiente (dois tipos de piso: concreto e areia). Participaram do estudo 21 sujeitos, 3 de cada faixa etária: 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 e adulta (X = 19 anos de idade). Os sujeitos foram filmados realizando o saltar à horizontal com marcas desenhadas no centro das articulações do tornozelo, joelho e quadril. Estes pontos foram digitalizados e processados obtendo a posição e velocidade angular dos segmentos da perna e da coxa. A partir da posição e velocidade angular foi possível delinear os gráficos dos atratores (retratos de fase) e calcular os valores dos ângulos de fase para cada segmento, durante a realização da tarefa. Duas reversões para cada segmento, na posição angular, foram identificadas e nestes momentos os valores dos ângulos de fase foram capturados. Analisando as trajetórias dos retratos de fase verificou-se que os segmentos da perna e da coxa apresentaram um conjunto específico de características topológicas, na realização do saltar à horizontal. A análise dos valores dos ângulos de fase, nas duas reversões, indicou que ao longo das faixas etárias e nos dois tipos de piso os segmentos da perna e da coxa apresentaram organização espaço-temporal semelhante, indicando coordenação invariante.

Purificação de aluminio por fusão zonal horizontal

Durante este trabalho foi construido um sistema experimental de fusão zonal horizontal com a finalidade de purificar metais com ponto de fusão entre 400° e 1200°C. A fonte de aquecimento escolhida foi o aquecimento indutivo, e o metal o alumínio. Uma barra de alumínio foi colocada dentro de um cadinho de grafite alojada dentro de um tubo de quartzo. Para deslocar a zona de fusão o cadinho foi puxado por meio de fios, polias e pesos acoplados a um motor-redutor. As experiências de purificação foram feitas com atmosfera de argônio. Foram produzidas oito barras usando diferentes números de passadas da zona de fusão e velocidade de deslocamento. Os resultados obtidos pelos métdos de análise empregados mostraram-se satisfatoriamente concordantes com a teoria e com os resultados registrados na literatura.

Obtenção das freqüências naturais em torres estaiadas pelo método da matriz de transferência, representando o feixe de cabos por uma rigidez horizontal dinâmica

O objetivo do presente trabalho é o estudo do comportamento, em termos de freqüências naturais de estruturas de torres estaiadas, para diversas situações de serviço. Para isso criou-se uma formulação para a determinação dessas freqüências, utilizando o método da matriz de transferência. O procedimento consiste na discretização da estrutura em elementos de barras, massas discretas, molas e amortecedores viscosos, para a representação da estrutura. Com relação aos cabos da torre estaiada, desenvolveu-se uma expressão que nos fornece a rigidez completa dos mesmos, apoiados nos extremos, com amortecimento viscoso e as propriedades físicas e geométricas uniformes. Além disso, os cabos podem ser inclinados e sujeitos à excitação horizontal harmônica no apoio superior. Nesse caso, considera-se uma deformada parabólica do cabo na posição de equilíbrio estático, e por outro lado, os deslocamentos dinâmicos são considerados pequenos. A rigidez do cabo é válida para um ângulo de inclinação que varia de zero (0) a noventa (90) graus. Esse método é aplicável a microcomputadores devido a pouca memória empregada no processamento de dados. Com esse intuito, foi elaborado um programa para microcomputadores de 16 bits, que possibilita o estudo da estrutura da torre sobre o efeito de flexão pura, torção pura ou acoplamento de ambos. Exemplos numéricos de torres estaiadas e do comportamento da rigidez de cabos foram desenvolvidos para as mais diversas situações de cálculo.

Desenvolvimento de um programa de simulação computacional de sistemas de aquecimento solar para água

Esta Tese apresenta uma análise do comportamento térmico de um sistema de aquecimento solar operando por termossifão. Neste tipo de sistema o fluido no coletor solar é circulado por convecção natural, que acontece devido à diferença de massa específica da água ao longo circuito. Nestes sistemas a vazão mássica varia ao longo do dia e do ano, dependendo, dentre outros fatores, da irradiância solar absorvida, do perfil de temperaturas da água no sistema, da geometria, do volume e do perfil de demanda de água quente. Para uma avaliação detalhada do comportamento térmico de aquecedores solares operando por termossifão foram realizados ensaios experimentais e cálculos teóricos. Os resultados dos experimentos concordaram com aqueles apresentados na literatura e sua análise fundamentou o desenvolvimento do aplicativo TermoSim, um programa de simulação computacional do comportamento térmico de sistemas de aquecimento de água com energia solar. O tratamento matemático adotado no TermoSim compreende a modelagem dos coletores solares de acordo com a teoria de Hottel-Bliss-Whillier. O reservatório térmico é modelado com estratificação térmica, convecção e condução entre as camadas. A vazão mássica é obtida a partir do balanço da quantidade de movimento no circuito. Os modelos matemáticos empregados na construção do aplicativo TermoSim foram validados através do confronto dos resultados simulados com medidas experimentais. Foi demonstrado que a utilização destes modelos é adequada e permite reproduzir com precisão o comportamento térmico dos coletores solares e do reservatório térmico. Além do programa TermoSim, foi também desenvolvido o programa TermoDim, que é uma ferramenta para o dimensionamento de sistemas de aquecimento solar, que requer apenas o conhecimento dos parâmetros geométricos do sistema, dados meteorológicos em média mensal e informação a respeito do volume de demanda. O TermoDim é apropriado para estimar o desempenho de aquecedores solares operando por termossifão com tanques verticais e horizontais. O método de dimensionamento do TermoDim é baseado na correlação para a eficiência média mensal obtida neste trabalho a partir de um grande número de simulações.

Debt composition and exchange rate balance sheet effects in Brazil: A firm level analysis

In this paper we study the interaction between macroeconomic environment and firms’ balance sheet effects in Brazil during the 1990’s. We start by assessing the influence of macroeconomic conditions on firms’ debt composition in Brazil. We found that larger firms tend to change debt currency composition more in response to a change in the exchange rate risk than small firms. We then proceed to investigate if and how exchange rate balance sheet effects affected the firms’ investment decisions. We test directly the exchange rate balance sheet effect on investment. Contrary to earlier findings (Bleakley and Cowan, 2002), we found that firms more indebted in foreign currency tend to invest less when there is an exchange rate devaluation. We tried different controls for the competitiveness effect. First, we control directly for the effect of the exchange rate on exports and imported inputs. We then pursue an alternative investigation strategy, inspired by the credit channel literature. According to this perspective, Tobin’s q can provide an adequate control for the competitiveness effect on investment. Our results provide supporting evidence for imperfect capital markets, and for a negative exchange rate balance sheet effect in Brazil. The results concerning the exchange rate balance sheet effect on investment are statistically significant and robust across the different specifications. We tested the results across different periods, classified according to the macroeconomic environment. Our findings suggest that the negative exchange rate balance sheet effect we found in the whole sample is due to the floating exchange rate period. We also found that exchange rate devaluations have important negative impact on both cash flows and sales of indebted firms. Furthermore, the impact of exchange rate variations is asymmetric, and the significant effect detected when no asymmetry is imposed is engendered by exchange rate devaluations.