Short-period variation of cosmic-ray intensity and ozone density observed in the stratosphere

The energy deposition by slowing-down of energetic ionizing particles in the atmosphere enhances the production of constituent concentration which perturbs and eventually destroys the ozone (OZ) layer. Near the Brazilian anomaly region the cosmic-ray (CR) intensity varies greatly due to the magnetic activity in that region. In order to study these variations, stratospheric balloons were launched to measure, simultaneously, the CR and OZ fluxes in the atmosphere. The Fourier-analysed data collected during the flight on April 22, 1989 show evidences of a short-period variation for both fluxes measured. Attempts to verify the physical mechanisms which associate the CR change with the OZ one are not conclusive due to limited data observed on that event. © 1993 Società Italiana di Fisica.

Long-wave and short-wave asymptotics in nonlinear dispersive systems

In this paper we study the interplay between short- and long-space scales in the context of conservative dispersive systems. We consider model systems in (1 + 1) dimensions that admit both long- and short-wavelength solutions in the linear regime. A nonlinear analysis of these systems is constructed, making use of multiscale expansions. We show that the equations governing the lowest order involve only short-wave properties and that the long-wave effects to leading order are determined by a secularity elimination procedure. © 1999 The American Physical Society.

Two short peptides including segments of subunit A of Escherichia coli DNA gyrase as potential probes to evaluate the antibacterial activity of quinolones

Quinolones constitute a family of compounds with a potent antibiotic activity. The enzyme DNA gyrase, responsible for the replication and transcription processes in DNA of bacteria, is involved in the mechanism of action of these drugs. In this sense, it is believed that quinolones stabilize the so-called 'cleavable complex' formed by DNA and gyrase, but the whole process is still far from being understood at the molecular level. This information is crucial in order to design new biological active products. As an approach to the problem, we have designed and synthesized low molecular weight peptide mimics of DNA gyrase. These peptides correspond to sequences of the subunit A of the enzyme from Escherichia coli, that include the quinolone resistance-determining region (positions 75-92) and a segment containing the catalytic Tyr-122 (positions 116-130). The peptide mimic of the non-mutated enzyme binds to ciprofloxin (CFX) only when DNA and Mg2+ were present (Kd = 1.6 × 10 -6 m), a result previously found with DNA gyrase. On the other hand, binding was reduced when mutations of Ser-83 to Leu-83 and Asp-87 to Asn-87 were introduced, a double change previously found in the subunit A of DNA gyrase from several CFX-resistant clinical isolates of E. coli. These results suggest that synthetic peptides designed in a similar way to that described here can be used as mimics of gyrases (topoisomerases) in order to study the binding of the quinolone to the enzyme-DNA complex as well as the mechanism of action of these antibiotics. Copyright © 2001 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Low-energy correlations in the positronium-hydrogen-atom system

Employing a nonlocal model potential for electron exchange we study positronium-hydrogen-atom (Ps-H) scattering using a five-state coupled-channel model allowing for Ps(2s,2p)H(1s) and Ps(1s)H(2s,2p) excitations. We find remarkable correlations among S-wave Ps-H binding energy, scattering length, effective range, and resonance energy in the electronic singlet state. Using these correlations we predict fairly accurate values of singlet Ps-H scattering length (3.50a0) and effective range (1.65a0).

Electrode poling of cellular polypropylene films with short high-voltage pulses

Recently, piezoelectric cellular polypropylene (PP) was proposed as a new type of quasi-ferroelectric. The observed hysteresis of the charge density as a function of the electric field could be explained as field-dependent charging inside the gas-filled voids. Interestingly enough, the measurable poling behavior of the macroscopic dipoles formed by charges that are trapped at the internal void surfaces is phenomenologically completely identical to the cooperative poling behavior of microscopic molecular dipoles in ferroelectric polymers. Therefore, it can be assumed that charge separation (or charge redistribution) and subsequent trapping in cellular PP is a rather fast switching process. In order to examine the poling dynamics, we developed an experimental setup for pulsed poling. High-voltage pulses with a duration of 45 μs (FWHM) were applied in direct contact to two-side metallized cellular PP films. The pulsed poling yields piezoelectricity in the cellular PP. We study and discuss the dependence of the resulting piezoelectricity on the poling field. We also characterize the charge separation during application of higher electric poling fields of up to -10 kV in direct contact to the two-side metallized films for longer times.

Multiperiodic magnetic structures in Hubbard superlattices

We consider fermions in one-dimensional superlattices (SL's), modeled by site-dependent Hubbard-U couplings arranged in a repeated pattern of repulsive (i.e., U>0) and free (U=0) sites. Density matrix renormalization group diagonalization of finite systems is used to calculate the local moment and the magnetic structure factor in the ground state. We have found four regimes for magnetic behavior: uniform local moments forming a spin-density wave (SDW), floppy local moments with short-ranged correlations, local moments on repulsive sites forming long-period SDW's superimposed with short-ranged correlations, and local moments on repulsive sites solely with long-period SDW's; the boundaries between these regimes depend on the range of electronic densities ρ and on the SL aspect ratio. Above a critical electronic density, ρ↑↓, the SDW period oscillates both with ρ and with the spacer thickness. The former oscillation allows one to reproduce all SDW wave vectors within a small range of electronic densities, unlike the homogeneous system. The latter oscillation is related to the exchange oscillation observed in magnetic multilayers. A crossover between regimes of thin to thick layers has also been observed.

Short-chain di-ureasil ormolytes doped with potassium triflate: Phase diagram and conductivity behavior

Di-urea cross-linked poly(oxyethylene)/siloxane hybrids, synthesized by the sol-gel process and containing a wide concentration range of potassium triflate, KCF3SO3, have been analyzed by x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The pseudo-phase diagram proposed has been taken into account in the interpretation of the complex impedance measurements. The xerogels prepared are obtained as transparent, thin monoliths. At room temperature the highest conductivity found was 2 × 10-6 Ω-1 cm-1.

A constructive heuristic algorithm to Short Term Transmission Network Expansion Planning

In this paper a method for solving the Short Term Transmission Network Expansion Planning (STTNEP) problem is presented. The STTNEP is a very complex mixed integer nonlinear programming problem that presents a combinatorial explosion in the search space. In this work we present a constructive heuristic algorithm to find a solution of the STTNEP of excellent quality. In each step of the algorithm a sensitivity index is used to add a circuit (transmission line or transformer) to the system. This sensitivity index is obtained solving the STTNEP problem considering as a continuous variable the number of circuits to be added (relaxed problem). The relaxed problem is a large and complex nonlinear programming and was solved through an interior points method that uses a combination of the multiple predictor corrector and multiple centrality corrections methods, both belonging to the family of higher order interior points method (HOIPM). Tests were carried out using a modified Carver system and the results presented show the good performance of both the constructive heuristic algorithm to solve the STTNEP problem and the HOIPM used in each step.

Neutron-neutron correlations in light exotic nuclei

For light exotic nuclei modeled as two neutrons n and a core A, we report results for the two-neutron correlation functions and also for the mean-square radii, considering a universal scaling function. The results of our calculations for the neutron-neutron correlation functions are qualitatively consistent with recent data obtained for 11Li and 14Be nuclei. The root-mean-square distance in the halo of such nuclei are also consistent with data, which means that the neutrons of the halo have a large probability to be found outside the interaction range. Therefore the low-energy properties of these halo neutrons are, to a large extend, model independent as long as few physical input scales are fixed. The model is restricted to s-wave subsystems, with small energies for the bound or virtual states. For the radii we are also shown results for the 6He and 20C. All the interaction effects, as higher partial wave in the interaction and/or Pauli blocking effect are, to some extend, included in our model, as long as the three-body binding energy is supplied. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

A specific short dextrin-hydrolyzing extracellular glucosidase from the thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus 179-5

The thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus 179-5 produced large quantities of a glucosidase which preferentially hydrolyzed maltose over starch. Enzyme production was high in submerged fermentation, with a maximal activity of 30 U/ml after 336 h of fermentation. In solid-state fermentation, the activity of the enzyme was 22 U/ml at 144 h in medium containing wheat bran and 5.8 U/ml at 48 h when cassava pulp was used as the culture medium. The enzyme was specific for maltose, very slowly hydrolyzed starch, dextrins (2-7G) and the synthetic substrate (α-PNPG), and did not hydrolyze sucrose. These properties suggest that the enzyme is a type II α-glucosidase. The optimum temperature of the enzyme was 70°C. In addition, the enzyme was highly thermostable (100% stability for 10 h at 60°C and a half-life of 15 min at 80°C), and stable within a wide pH range. Copyright © 2006, The Microbiological Society of Korea.

Heuristic algorithm to solve the short term transmission network expansion planning

In this paper, a method for solving the short term transmission network expansion planning problem is presented. This is a very complex mixed integer nonlinear programming problem that presents a combinatorial explosion in the search space. In order to And a solution of excellent quality for this problem, a constructive heuristic algorithm is presented in this paper. In each step of the algorithm, a sensitivity index is used to add a circuit (transmission line or transformer) or a capacitor bank (fixed or variable) to the system. This sensitivity index is obtained solving the problem considering the numbers of circuits and capacitors banks to be added (relaxed problem), as continuous variables. The relaxed problem is a large and complex nonlinear programming and was solved through a higher order interior point method. The paper shows results of several tests that were performed using three well-known electric energy systems in order to show the possibility and the advantages of using the AC model. ©2007 IEEE.

Measurement of the inclusive jet cross section in pp̄ collisions at s=1.96TeV

We report on a measurement of the inclusive jet cross section in pp̄ collisions at a center-of-mass energy s=1.96TeV using data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.70fb-1. The data cover jet transverse momenta from 50 to 600 GeV and jet rapidities in the range -2.4 to 2.4. Detailed studies of correlations between systematic uncertainties in transverse momentum and rapidity are presented, and the cross section measurements are found to be in good agreement with next-to-leading order QCD calculations. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2010-2011: Internacional integration and macroeconomic policy challenges amid global economic turmoil

Includes bibliography

A Simple maxwell Based Model in Order to Represent the frequency-dependent viscosity measured by ultrasound

A previous work showed that viscosity values measured high frequency by ultrasound agreed with the values at low frequency by the rotational viscometer when conditions are met, such as relatively low frequency viscosity. However, these conditions strongly reduce the range of the measurement cell. In order to obtain a measurement range and sensitivity high frequency must used, but it causes a frequency-dependent decrease on the viscosity values. This work introduces a new simple in order to represent this frequency-dependent behavior.model is based on the Maxwell model for viscoelastic , but using a variable parameter. This parameter has physical meaning because it represents the linear behavior the apparent elasticity measured along with the viscosity by .Automotive oils SAE 90 and SAE 250 at 22.5±0.5oC viscosities at low frequency of 0.6 and 6.7 Pa.s, respectively,tested in the range of 1-5 MHz. The model was used in to fit the obtained data using an algorithm of non-linear in Matlab. By including the viscosity at low frequency an unknown fitting parameter, it is possible to extrapolate its . Relative deviations between the values measured by the and extrapolated using the model for the SAE 90 and SAE 250 oils were 5.0% and 15.7%, respectively.©2008 IEEE.

Update on the status of hadronic squeezed correlations at RHIC energies

In high energy heavy ion collisions a hot and dense medium is formed, where the hadronic masses may be shifted from their asymptotic values. If this mass modification occurs, squeezed back-to-back correlations (BBC) of particle-antiparticle pairs are predicted to appear, both in the femionic (fBBC) and in the bosonic (bBBC) sectors. Although they have unlimited intensity even for finite-size expanding systems, these hadronic squeezed correlations are very sensitive to their time emission distribution. Here we discuss results in case this time emission is parameterized by a Lévy-type distribution, showing that it reduces the signal even more dramatically than a Lorentzian distribution, which already reduces the intensity of the effect by orders of magnitude, as compared to the sudden emission. However, we show that the signal could still survive if the duration of the process is short, and if the effect is searched for lighter mesons, such as kaons. We compare some of our results to recent PHENIX preliminary data on squeezed correlations of K +K - pairs. © 2011 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.