Direct and Inverse Magnetocaloric effects in A-site ordered PrBaMn2O6 manganite in low magnetic fields

The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of A-site ordered PrBaMn2O6 manganite has been studied by direct methods and by the specific heat measurements. Direct measurements of the MCE in low magnetic fields were performed using recently proposed modulation technique and by classic direct method in high fields. Direct and inverse MCE are observed at Curie and Neel points correspondingly. A value of the inverse MCE in the heating run is less than in the cooling regime. This effect can be attributing to competition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. Indirectly estimated and direct MCE values considerably differ in around first order AF transition.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Some Properties of the Speciation Model for Food-Web Structure - Mechanisms for Degree Distributions and Intervality

We present a mathematical analysis of the speciation model for food-web structure, which had in previous work been shown to yield a good description of empirical data of food-web topology. The degree distributions of the network are derived. Properties of the speciation model are compared to those of other models that successfully describe empirical data. It is argued that the speciation model unifies the underlying ideas of previous theories. In particular, it offers a mechanistic explanation for the success of the niche model of Williams and Martinez and the frequent observation of intervality in empirical food webs.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, minor rewrite

An explanatory model for food-web structure and evolution

Food webs are networks describing who is eating whom in an ecological community. By now it is clear that many aspects of food-web structure are reproducible across diverse habitats, yet little is known about the driving force behind this structure. Evolutionary and population dynamical mechanisms have been considered. We propose a model for the evolutionary dynamics of food-web topology and show that it accurately reproduces observed food-web characteristic in the steady state. It is based on the observation that most consumers are larger than their resource species and the hypothesis that speciation and extinction rates decrease with increasing body mass. Results give strong support to the evolutionary hypothesis.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Índices De Qualidade Da água E De Estado Trófico Do Rio Caiabi, Mt

The objective of this study was to evaluate the water quality of the Caiabi River based upon the water quality index (WQI) and the trophic state index (TSI), considering seasonal and spatial variations, with the aim of determining the most appropriate monitoring design for this study site. Sampling for water quality monitoring was conducted at five points on theCaiabi River from July 2012 to June 2013. Quality parameters quantified were as follows: pH, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total and thermotolerant coliforms, turbidity, Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus, biochemical oxygen demand, series of solids, and chlorophyll a. Sampling procedures and analysis followed the methods recommended by the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. The WQI results showed that the quality of the Caiabi River water is good. TSI results demonstrated the low risk of eutrophication in the Caiabi River, indicating an ultra- oligotrophic lotic environment. Analysis of variance showed that 10 of the 16 monitored quality parameters presented differences of means between the dry and rainy seasons or among the monitored points or in the interaction between seasons and points. These results indicate that two annual sampling collections at two points may be sufficient to describe the water quality behavior in the basin, as long as the conditions of land use are stable. © 2016, Institute for Environmental Research in Hydrographic Basins (IPABHi). All rights reserved.11116217

Recharge assessment in the context of expanding agricultural activity: Urucuia Aquifer System, western State of Bahia, Brazil

Groundwater recharge rate estimation is crucial to sustainable development of aquifers in intensely pumped regions, such as the Urucuia Aquifer System (UAS). A sedimentary aquifer in Western Bahia, Brazil, that underlies one of the major agricultural areas of the country where there has been major growth of irrigated areas. This study seeks to evaluate the recharge component of the water budget in the UAS area, based on three complementary techniques. The double-ring infiltrometer test was used to evaluate surface infiltration capacity, an important control on recharge. Water level data from wells (2011–2019 period, 19 wells) in the Brazilian Geological Survey’s Integrated Groundwater Monitoring Network (RIMAS-CPRM) was used to estimate the aquifer recharge using the water table fluctuation (WTF) method. Additionally, this study used the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in two selected sub-basins to estimate deep recharge from the surface hydrological data. The results of the infiltrometer tests show a notable difference in the infiltration rates between the natural vegetation zones and cropped areas. The WTF and SWAT simulations results suggest similar ranges of recharge rate (an average of 24% of precipitation, in both methods). Results of the study indicate equivalence of these methods to estimate the recharge in sedimentary unconfined aquifers as UAS

Conductance of Mesoscopic Systems with Magnetic Impurities

We investigate the combined effects of magnetic impurities and applied magnetic field on the interference contribution to the conductance of disordered metals. We show that in a metal with weak spin-orbit interaction, the polarization of impurity spins reduces the rate of electron phase relaxation, thus enhancing the weak localization correction to conductivity. Magnetic field also suppresses thermal fluctuations of magnetic impurities, leading to a recovery of the conductance fluctuations. This recovery occurs regardless the strength of the spin-orbit interaction. We calculate the magnitudes of the weak localization correction and of the mesoscopic conductance fluctuations at an arbitrary level of the spin polarization induced by a magnetic field. Our analytical results for the ``$h/e$'' Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillations in metal rings can be used to extract spin and gyromagnetic factor of magnetic impurities from existing experimental data.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory

Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from Sagittarius $A$. Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio

Atmospheric effects on extensive air showers observed with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Atmospheric parameters, such as pressure (P), temperature (T) and density, affect the development of extensive air showers initiated by energetic cosmic rays. We have studied the impact of atmospheric variations on extensive air showers by means of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The rate of events shows a ~10% seasonal modulation and ~2% diurnal one. We find that the observed behaviour is explained by a model including the effects associated with the variations of pressure and density. The former affects the longitudinal development of air showers while the latter influences the Moliere radius and hence the lateral distribution of the shower particles. The model is validated with full simulations of extensive air showers using atmospheric profiles measured at the site of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic