Identification of a high-velocity compact nebular filament 2.2 arcsec south of the Galactic Centre

The central parsec of the Milky Way is a very special region of our Galaxy; it contains the supermassive black hole associated with Sgr A* as well as a significant number of early-type stars and a complex structure of streamers of neutral and ionized gas, within two parsecs from the centre, representing a unique laboratory. We report the identification of a high velocity compact nebular filament 2.2 arcsec south of Sgr A*. The structure extends over ~1 arcsec and presents a strong velocity gradient of ~200 km s^{-1} arcsec^{-1}. The peak of maximum emission, seen in [Fe III] and He I lines, is located at d{\alpha} = +0.20 +/- 0.06 arcsec and d{\delta} = -2.20 +/- 0.06 arcsec with respect to Sgr A*. This position is near the star IRS 33N. The velocity at the emission peak is Vr = -267 km s^{-1}. The filament has a position angle of PA = 115{\degr} +/- 10{\degr}, similar to that of the Bar and of the Eastern Arm at that position. The peak position is located 0.7 arcsec north of the binary X-ray and radio transient CXOGX J174540.0-290031, a low-mass X-ray binary with an orbital period of 7.9 hr. The [Fe III] line emission is strong in the filament and its vicinity. These lines are probably produced by shock heating but we cannot exclude some X-ray photoionization from the low-mass X-ray binary. Although we cannot rule out the idea of a compact nebular jet, we interpret this filament as a possible shock between the Northern and the Eastern Arm or between the Northern Arm and the mini-spiral "Bar".Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, published online in MNRA

Shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beams under impact loads by the lumped damage framework

Impact loadings such as vehicle collisions or falling rocks on a structure could lead it to collapse and, eventually, to fatal victims. Among possible alternatives to analyse this issue, Lumped Damage Mechanics is an interesting option due to its formulation and easiness for practical application. Therefore, this paper presents a simplified lumped damage model to evaluate reinforced concrete structures under impact loads with shear failure mode. In the proposed approach, the damage variable is considered as an output parameter. Such damage variable takes values between zero and one that quantifies the concrete cracking due to impact loading. The proposed formulation was applied in experiments of reinforced concrete beams under impact loads that presents shear collapse. The obtained results showed good accuracy between the proposed model and the actual structural behaviour. Moreover, a possible flowchart for practical applications is also presented. Since the model parameters are easily associated to inelastic phenomena, the proposed formulation might become accessible to engineers in practice

Editorial: v14 n3

Editoria

Combined automotive safety and security pattern engineering approach

Automotive systems will exhibit increased levels of automation as well as ever tighter integration with other vehicles, traffic infrastructure, and cloud services. From safety perspective, this can be perceived as boon or bane - it greatly increases complexity and uncertainty, but at the same time opens up new opportunities for realizing innovative safety functions. Moreover, cybersecurity becomes important as additional concern because attacks are now much more likely and severe. However, there is a lack of experience with security concerns in context of safety engineering in general and in automotive safety departments in particular. To address this problem, we propose a systematic pattern-based approach that interlinks safety and security patterns and provides guidance with respect to selection and combination of both types of patterns in context of system engineering. A combined safety and security pattern engineering workflow is proposed to provide systematic guidance to support non-expert engineers based on best practices. The application of the approach is shown and demonstrated by an automotive case study and different use case scenarios.EC/H2020/692474/EU/Architecture-driven, Multi-concern and Seamless Assurance and Certification of Cyber-Physical Systems/AMASSEC/H2020/737422/EU/Secure COnnected Trustable Things/SCOTTEC/H2020/732242/EU/Dependability Engineering Innovation for CPS - DEIS/DEISBMBF, 01IS16043, Collaborative Embedded Systems (CrESt

A Methodological Proposal for the Construction of Municipal Sustainable Development Indices using Data Envelopment Analysis

In this study we constructed the Municipal Sustainable Development Index MSDI with the use of Data Envelopment Analysis DEA consider ing seventeen 17 socioeconomic and environmental indicators thus achieving the classification of towns in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul MS like sustainable development local strengths and weaknesses that may facilitate or hinder the regional sustainable development The state of MS goes through a process of influential agro-industrial development with powerful environmental impact requiring measures of State Public Policymakers The MSDI was formulated following the tripod structure of social sustainability SDI - Social Development Index economic EDI Economic Development Index and environmental EnDI Environmental Development Index Selected indicators of each structure represented each sustainability aspect being tested separately by the models DEA-CCR and DEA-BCC to generate efficiency scores for subsequent aggregation into a synthetic index that represents the sustainable development of municipalities The relevance of the present work consisted of broadening the debate on sustainable development and identifying the local inequalities and the need for targeting public policies in order that promote sustainable and comprehensive development In applying the methodology DEA-BCC model fits best to the data of the municipalities considered The inefficiencies found were for the most part related to economic aspect

TRADE LIBERALIZATION, THE EXCHANGE RATE AND JOB AND WORKER FLOWS IN BRAZIL

Over the 1990's Brazil experienced a massive trade liberalization and wide variation in the real exchange rate. At the same time, employment growth was small and in manufacturing there was a significant reduction in total manufacturing. The main goal of this article is to idntify the effects of the exchange rate and trade liberalization on job and worker flows in Brazil. Using a novel sector exchange rate measure, our results suggest that a depreciation of the exchange rate affects net employment growth by increasing job creation and hires, with no effect on job reallocation. Tariffs have no effect on job or worker flows, while import penetration decrease job growth by increasing job destruction. The results suggest that the echange rate have a very important role on job and worker flows, even after controlling for openess and sector specificities.

Produtividade de frutos de mangueira sob irrigação com uso da técnica PRD.

A mangueira Mangifera indica L. pertence à família Anacardiaceae. É originada do sul da Ásia, mais precisamente da Índia, onde há mais de 4000 anos é cultivada, e do arquipélago Malaio, de onde se disseminou por outras partes do mundo, inclusive as Américas. Com uma área cultivada superior a 31,2 mil hectares, dos quais 26,2 mil irrigados, a Bahia é o principal estado produtor e exportador de manga do país, tendo produzido em 2008, mais de 1,11 milhão de toneladas dessa fruta, o que corresponde a mais de 51 % da safra nacional. A PRD ou irrigação parcial do sistema radicular é uma técnica que tem o objetivo aplicar água de forma alternada entre os dois lados da planta para manter parte do sistema de raiz em contato com solo seco, enquanto o resto do sistema radicular está em uma condição molhada. Os mecanismos fisiológicos da prática de PRD estão baseados em estudos com plantas cultivadas em vaso onde freqüentemente raízes estavam artificialmente separadas em dois recipientes. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a produtividade de frutos de mangueira sob manejo de irrigação utilizando a técnica de PRD em diferentes fases fenológicas.PDF. 050