Inelaticity in hadron-nucleus collisions from emulsion chamber studies

The inelasticity of hadron-carbon nucleus collisions in the energy region exceeding 100 TeV is estimated from the carbon-emulsion chamber data at Pamirs to be $= 0.65\pm 0.08$. When combined with the recently presented data on hadron-lead nucleus collisions taken at the same energy range it results in the $K\sim A^{0.086}$ mass number dependence of inelasticity. The evaluated partial inelasticity for secondary ($\nu > 1$) interactions, $K_{\nu >1} \simeq 0.2$, suggests that the second and higher interactions of the excited hadron inside the nucleus proceed with only slight energy losses.Comment: LaTeX file and 5 LaTeX files with figures, 11 pages altogether. Thoroughly rewritten and modified, one figure addded one removed. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Design responsivo do sistema Agritempo para multidispositivos.

Desta forma, este artigo apresenta o processo e as alterações realizadas no design da nova versão do Agritempo a fim de melhorar continuamente a experiência do usuário em novos dispositivos, resoluções e tecnologias

The Offline Software Framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is designed to unveil the nature and the origins of the highest energy cosmic rays. The large and geographically dispersed collaboration of physicists and the wide-ranging collection of simulation and reconstruction tasks pose some special challenges for the offline analysis software. We have designed and implemented a general purpose framework which allows collaborators to contribute algorithms and sequencing instructions to build up the variety of applications they require. The framework includes machinery to manage these user codes, to organize the abundance of user-contributed configuration files, to facilitate multi-format file handling, and to provide access to event and time-dependent detector information which can reside in various data sources. A number of utilities are also provided, including a novel geometry package which allows manipulation of abstract geometrical objects independent of coordinate system choice. The framework is implemented in C++, and takes advantage of object oriented design and common open source tools, while keeping the user side simple enough for C++ novices to learn in a reasonable time. The distribution system incorporates unit and acceptance testing in order to support rapid development of both the core framework and contributed user code.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, presented at IEEE NSS/MIC, 23-29 October 2005, Puerto Ric

Saturday Morning Television Advertisements Aired on English and Spanish Language Networks along the Texas-Mexico Border

Objectives: The aim of this content analysis study is to characterize the TV advertisements aired to an at-risk child population along the Texas-Mexico border. Methods: We characterized the early Saturday morning TV advertisements aired by three broadcast network categories (U.S. English language, U.S. Spanish language, and Mexican Spanish language) in Spring 2010. The number, type (food related vs. non-food related), target audience, and persuasion tactics used were recorded. Advertised foods, based on nutrition content, were categorized as meeting or not meeting current dietary guidelines. Results: Most commercials were non-food related (82.7%, 397 of 480). The majority of the prepared foods (e.g., cereals, snacks, and drinks) advertised did not meet the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Additionally, nutrition content information was not available for many of the foods advertised on the Mexican Spanish language broadcast network category. Conclusions: For U.S. children at risk for obesity along the Texas-Mexico border exposure to TV food advertisements may result in the continuation of sedentary behavior as well as an increased consumption of foods of poor nutritional quality. An international regulatory effort to monitor and enforce the reduction of child-oriented food advertising is needed. Editors\u27 Note: This article was submitted in response to the first issue of the Journal of Applied Research on Children: Latino Children

Argamassas multifuncionais para armazenamento de calor, despoluição do ar e auto-limpeza, processo para a sua preparação e utilização

Patente Portuguesa n.º PT 106935A presente invenção diz respeito a argamassas, para aplicação no revestimento interior e exterior de sistemas construtivos, que compreende misturas, em diferentes proporções, de microcápsulas de materiais de mudança de fase (PCM) e nanopartículas de dióxido de titânio, juntamente com um ou mais ligantes, à base de cal, cimento ou gesso, agregados, água e outros materiais auxiliares. A invenção diz também respeito a um processo para a elaboração das referidas argamassas por mistura prévia e homogeneização, em seco, dos componentes sólidos, com posterior mistura com água e homogeneização numa máquina misturadora. A argamassa de acordo com a invenção é utilizada no revestimento interior e exterior de sistemas construtivos, com o objectivo de poupar energia, melhorar a qualidade do ar e assegurar auto-limpeza.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Renormalization of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Quark Mixing Matrix

We have investigated the present renormalization prescriptions of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix. When considering the prescription which is formulated with reference to the case of zero mixing we find it doesn't satisfy the unitary condition of the bare CKM matrix. After added a delicate patch this problem can be solved at one-loop level. In this paper We generalize this prescription to all loop levels and keep the unitarity of the bare CKM matrix, simultaneously make the amplitude of an arbitrary physical process involving quark mixing convergent and gauge independent. We also find that in order to keep the CKM counterterms gauge independent the unitarity of the bare CKM matrix must be preserved.Comment: has been revised, 8 pages, 1 figur

Papel de nano-aditivos na funcionalização de argamassas

A manutenção da qualidade do ar no interior dos edifícios é um dos aspetos mais relevantes da construção sustentável e tem forte impacto no nível de conforto dos utilizadores. A introdução de nano-aditivos em materiais de construção permite modificar propriedades fundamentais destes materiais convencionais, com o objetivo de proporcionar novas funcionalidades. Neste trabalho apresentam-se os resultados obtidos com o desenvolvimento de argamassas funcionais que pretendem melhorar a qualidade do ar interior e contribuir para a poupança energética dos edifícios. As formulações foram optimizadas com vista à sua aplicação em construção nova ou reabilitação

On the relationships between the caudal intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus and the basal ganglia : implications for the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease

Besides corticostriatal projections, the thalamic intralaminar nuclei are a major source of glutamatergic afferents reaching the basal ganglia input nuclei. Although the thalamostriatal system is already well characterized from the anatomical point of view, the role to be played by this pathway within basal ganglia function (both in normal and pathological conditions) remains poorly understood. On one hand, neurode- generation phenomena restricted to the caudal intralaminar nuclei have been described in several neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy and Huntington’s disease. On the other hand, after unilateral dopaminergic depletion in rodents the caudal intralaminar nuclei are highly hyperactive. Indeed, the chemical ablation of the caudal intralaminar nuclei prevents the increase of the activity observed in both the basal ganglia output nuclei and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) after unilateral dopaminergic depletion. These findings suggest that the caudal intralaminar nuclei might be responsible (at least partially) for the changes in activity of the STN and basal ganglia output nuclei typically seen under circumstances of dopamine removal. These results paved the way for the implementation of pioneer clinical experiences focused on targeting the caudal intralaminar nuclei with a deep brain stimulation electrode in patients suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease. This approach resulted in the alleviation of cardinal symptoms of the disease such as resting tremor, druginduced dyskinesias and chronic pain.peer-reviewe