Errors due to the tropospheric and ionospheric effects on the geographic location of data collection platforms

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

Detecção de falhas em estruturas inteligentes usando otimização por nuvem de partículas: fundamentos e estudo de casos

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

Nest location, clutch size and nest success in the Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber

Breeding success and nest-site characteristics were studied during the 1996-1997 breeding season in a colony of Scarlet Ibises Eudocimus ruber in south-eastern Brazil to test the hypothesis that nest-site characteristics and clutch size affect nest success. Two nesting pulses produced young, the earlier being more successful. Predation accounted for most failures during the first pulse, wind destruction during the second. A third pulse with few nests produced no young. Adult Ibises abandoned nests when they lost sight of other incubating birds. Logistic regression analysis indicated that nest success during the first pulse was positively related to clutch size, number of nests in the nest tree and in the nearest tree, and negatively to the distance to the nearest neighbour. During the second pulse there were significant negative associations between success, nest height and distance to the fourth nearest nest, and a positive association between success and nest cover. The results agree with the 'selfish herd' hypothesis, indicating that nest aggregation may increase breeding success, but the nest-site characteristics affecting success can differ over the course of one breeding season.

Application of rotor response analysis to fault detection in hydro powerplants.

In this article some considerations obtained during the utilization of rotor response analysis techniques in hydraulic powerplants are discussed. An applied research work was carried out in two hydraulic turbines analysing the rotor response both theoretically and experimentally. A developed mathematical model was used to simulate the rotordynamic behaviour of Francis and Kaplan turbines. The main dynamical effects that appear during the operation of the machines are discussed too. A series of measurements were carried out in the turbines using impact hammers to determine the modal behaviour of the units. The tests were carried out with the machine still and in operation. Some results and the comparison with the theory is presented in this article. The improved theoretical model was used for a sensitivity analysis of the different bearings to the main excitations that fake place during the machine operation. From this analysis, the best measuring points for condition monitoring were determined.

A SIMPLE METHOD FOR DETERMINING LOCATION OF FORAGING ANT NESTS USING LEAF-CUTTING ANTS AS A MODEL

In many situations, it is difficult to evaluate the location of nests of ants, especially in tropical systems, or to determine which trail system corresponds with which nest, as in the case of high-density populations of leaf-cutting ants, Atta spp. Fragments of colored drinking straws coated with an attractant, generally vegetable oil and/or a starchy carbohydrate, are carried by ants and following removal of the attractant are deposited in middens, allowing determination of the origin of foraging workers.

The use of apatite fission track thermochronology to constrain fault movements and sedimentary basin evolution in northeastern Brazil

An apatite fission track study of crystalline rocks underlying sedimentary basins in northeastern Brazil indicate that crustal blocks that occur on opposite sides of a geological fault experienced different thermal histories. Samples collected on the West block yielded corrected fission-track ages from 140 to 375 Ma, whereas samples collected on the East block yielded ages between 90 and 125 Ma. The thermal models suggest that each block experienced two cooling events separated by a heating event at different times. We concluded that the West block moved downward relative to the East block ca. 140 Ma ago, when sediments eroded from the East side were deposited on the West side. This process represents the early stage of sedimentary basin formation and the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean in the region. Downward and upward movements related to heating and cooling events of these crustal blocks at different periods until recent times are proposed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermotectonic and fault dynamic analysis of Precambrian basement and tectonic constraints with the Parana basin

The Precambrian crystalline basement of southeast Brazil is affected by many Phanerozoic reactivations of shear zones that developed during the end of the Neoproterozoic in the Brasiliano orogeny. These reactivations with specific tectonic events, a multidisciplinary study was done, involving geology, paleostress, and structural analysis of faults, associated with apatite fission track methods along the northeastern border of the Parana basin in southeast Brazil.The results show that the study area consists of three main tectonic domains, which record different episodes of uplift and reactivation of faults. These faults were brittle in character and resulted in multiple generations of fault products as pseudotachylytes and ultracataclasites, foliated cataclasites and fault gouges.Based on geological evidence and fission track data, an uplift of basement rocks and related tectonic subsidence with consequent deposition in the Parana basin were modeled.The reactivations of the basement record successive uplift events during the Phanerozoic dated via corrected fission track ages, at 387 +/- 50 Ma (Ordovician); 193 +/- 19 Ma (Triassic); 142 +/- 18 Ma (Jurassic), 126 +/- 11 Ma (Early Cretaceous); 89 +/- 10 Ma (Late Cretaceous) and 69 +/- 10 Ma (Late Cretaceous). These results indicate differential uplift of tectonic domains of basement units, probably related to Parana basin subsidence. Six major sedimentary units (supersequences) that have been deposited with their bounding unconformities, seem to have a close relationship with the orogenic events during the evolution of southwestern Gondwana. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Test results of a superconducting fault current limiter using YBCO coated conductor

A single-phase superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) using a 0.9 m length of YBCO coated conductor (CC) tape was tested in 220 V-60 Hz line for fault current up to 1 kA, operating in 77 K. In this work are presented the IN experimental curves measured under DC and AC currents for the electrical characterization of the CC tape in order to design a low voltage current limiter. The experimental setup is described and the test results are presented for a unit conducting a steady nominal AC current of 50 A and also during the fault time (I to 5 cycles.) the performance of the CC-based SFCL providing the limiting resistance developed in the whole tape length after few milliseconds of the beginning of the fault was analyzed.

LOCATION OF RIBOSOMIC CISTRONS IN THE SALIVARY-GLAND CELLS OF D-MULLERI, D-ARIZONENSIS AND THEIR HYBRIDS

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

CDKN2A promoter methylation is related to the tumor location and histological subtype and associated with Helicobacter pylori flaA(+) strains in gastric adenocarcinomas

Promoter hypermethylation of CDKN2A (p16INK4A protein) is the main mechanism of gene inactivation. However, its association with Helicobacter pylori infection is a controversial issue. Therefore, we examined a series of gastric adenocarcinomas to assess the association between p16INK4A inactivation and H. pylori genotype (vacA, cagA, cagE, virB11 and flaA) according to the location and histological subtype of the tumors. p16INK4A expression and CDKN2A promoter methylation were found in 77 gastric adenocarcinoma samples by immunohistochemistry and methylation-specific PCR, respectively. Helicobacter pylori infection and genotype were determined by PCR. A strong negative correlation between immunostaining and CDKN2A promoter region methylation was found. In diffuse subtype tumors, the inactivation of p16INK4A by promoter methylation was unique in noncardia tumors (p = 0.022). In addition, H. pylori-bearing flaA was associated with non-methylation tumors (p = 0.008) and H. pylori strain bearing cagA or vacAs1m1 genes but without flaA was associated with methylated tumors (p = 0.022 and 0.003, respectively). Inactivation of p16INK4A in intestinal and diffuse subtypes showed distinct carcinogenic pathways, depending on the tumor location. Moreover, the process of methylation of the CDKN2A promoter seems to depend on the H. pylori genotype. The present data suggest that there is a differential influence and relevance of H. pylori genotype in gastric cancer development.

Location and contract pricing of distributed generation using a genetic algorithm

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Electrical and Magnetic Characterization of BSCCO and YBCO HTS Tapes for Fault Current Limiter Application

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

Inactivation of COX-2, HMLH1 and CDKN2A Gene by Promoter Methylation in Gastric Cancer: Relationship with Histological Subtype, Tumor Location and Helicobacter pylori Genotype

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the inactivation of COX-2, HMLH1 and CDKN2A by promoter methylation and its relationship with the infection by different Helicobacter pylori strains in gastric cancer. Methods: DNA extracted from 76 H. pylori-positive gastric tumor samples was available for promoter methylation identification by methylation-specific PCR and H. pylori subtyping by PCR. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine COX-2, p16(INK4A) and HMLH1 expression. Results: A strong negative correlation was found between the expression of these markers and the presence of promoter methylation in their genes. Among cardia tumors, negativity of p16(INK4A) was a significant finding. on the other hand, in noncardia tumors, the histological subtypes had different gene expression patterns. In the intestinal subtype, a significant finding was HMLH1 inactivation by methylation, while in the diffuse subtype, CDKN2A inactivation by methylation was the significant finding. Tumors with methylated COX-2 and HMLH1 genes were associated with H. pylori vac A s1 (p = 0.025 and 0.047, respectively), and the nonmethylated tumors were associated with the presence of the gene flaA. Conclusions: These data suggest that the inactivation of these genes by methylation occurs by distinct pathways according to the histological subtype and tumor location and depends on the H. pylori genotype. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel

Joint control charts for monitoring location and dispersion

The T-2 and the generalized variance vertical bar S vertical bar charts are used for monitoring the mean vector and the covariance matrix of multivariate processes. In this article, we propose for bivariate processes the use of the T-2 and the VMAX charts. The points plotted on the VMAX chart correspond to the maximum of the sample variances of the two quality characteristics. The reason to consider the VMAX statistic instead of the generalized variance vertical bar S vertical bar is the user's familiarity with the computation of simple sample variances; we can't say the same with regard to the computation of the generalized variance vertical bar S vertical bar.