Potential usefulness of CCD imagers in astronomy

Two dimensional detectors have been important in astronomy since the earliest days of the science. Recently, the requirements for greater photometric accuracy, sensitivity and spectral coverage have driven the search for better imaging devices. Electron beam readout devices with a variety of target materials and intensification schemes, including the SEC and silicon vidicons, have been used successfully. The CCD as an image detector has several potential advantages over electron beam readout devices; low noise, simple construction and geometric stability are among them

HUGO:The Hawaii Undersea Geo-Observatory

The Hawaii Undersea Geo-Observatory, HUGO, was installed with the intent of supplying infrastructure for researchers interested in studies of undersea volcanism and associated phenomena at Loihi, the newest volcano of the Hawaiian chain. Much like an astronomical observatory, HUGO is a facility where scientists can perform experiments while sharing resources with others. The main components of HUGO are the shore station, supplying power to the observatory and recording data; the main cable-an electro-optical cable connecting the shore station to the summit of Loihi; the Junction box-the power distribution and data collection center on Loihi; multiplexing (mux) nodes-secondary distribution points; and experiments supplied by scientists. HUGO can potentially supply electrical power, command capability and real-time data service to more than 100 instruments connected and removed on the ocean floor by submersible or ROV. HUGO was installed on October 11, 1997, but the main cable developed an electrical short circuit to sea water on April 26, 1998, and a new cable must be obtained and installed before routine operations can continue. Despite the failure, several important tasks have been accomplished, including: 1) the successful small-ship lay of the 47-km electro-optical cable from the Island of Hawaii to the summit of Loihi submarine volcano; 2) installation and servicing of the Junction box; 3) successful operation of electro-optical connectors on the ocean floor by submersible; 4) installation and removal of experiments on the ocean floor; 5) transmission of power and commands from shore to experiments installed at HUGO; 6) transmission of high-rate, high-fidelity data from the summit of Loihi to shore in real time; and 7) recording of volcanic, earthquake, biological, ocean wave and ship noises for a period of three months. This paper provides a general description of the HUGO system and its history of operation

Avaliação de propriedades relacionadas à penetração de cloretos em concretos produzidos com substituição parcial de cimento por resíduo de beneficiamento de rochas ornamentais

Recentemente muitas estruturas de concreto armado têm apresentado manifestações patológicas precocemente, tendo sua vida útil reduzida. Dentre essas manifestações, destaca-se a corrosão das armaduras desencadeada, principalmente, pela ação deletéria dos íons cloreto ou do dióxido de carbono. Em busca de alternativas que reduzam a penetração desses agentes no concreto, neste trabalho é avaliada a influência da substituição parcial de cimento Portland pelo resíduo gerado durante o beneficiamento de rochas ornamentais (RBRO). O resíduo utilizado foi caracterizado através de ensaios de massa específica, granulometria a laser, difração de raios X (DRX) e fluorescência de raios X por dispersão de energia (EDX). Foram produzidos concretos com substituição de cimento por RBRO nos teores de 5 %, 7,5 % e 10 % em relação à massa de cimento, além de um traço referência. Desses concretos foram avaliadas a resistência à compressão, a absorção de água por imersão e por capilaridade e a penetrabilidade de cloretos. Os resultados indicam que a substituição parcial de até 7,5 % de cimento por RBRO conduziu à obtenção de um material que apresenta comportamento similar ao concreto referência em aspectos como resistência mecânica, absorção de água e penetrabilidade de cloretos, proporcionando um uso sustentável a um resíduo que seria descartado no meio ambiente.Palavras-chave: Resíduo do beneficiamento de rochas ornamentais. Penetração de cloretos. Durabilidade do concreto.

A pivotal role for interleuking-4 in Atorvastatin-associated neuroprotection in rat brain.

noInflammatory changes, characterized by an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine production and up-regulation of the corresponding signaling pathways, have been described in the brains of aged rats and rats treated with the potent immune modulatory molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These changes have been coupled with a deficit in long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus. The evidence suggests that anti-inflammatory agents, which attenuate the LPS-induced and age-associated increase in hippocampal interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) concentration, lead to restoration of LTP. Here we report that atorvastatin, a member of the family of agents that act as inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, exerts powerful anti-inflammatory effects in brain and that these effects are mediated by IL-4 and independent of its cholesterol-lowering actions. Treatment of rats with atorvastatin increased IL-4 concentration in hippocampal tissue prepared from LPS-treated and aged rats and abrogated the age-related and LPS-induced increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines, interferon-¿ (IFN¿) and IL-1ß, and the accompanying deficit in LTP. The effect of atorvastatin on the LPS-induced increases in IFN¿ and IL-1ß was absent in tissue prepared from IL-4¿/¿ mice. The increase in IL-1ß in LPS-treated and aged rats is associated with increased microglial activation, assessed by analysis of major histocompatibility complex II expression, and the evidence suggests that IFN¿ may trigger this activation. We propose that the primary effect of atorvastatin is to increase IL-4, which antagonizes the effects of IFN¿, the associated increase in microglial activation, and the subsequent cascade of events

Propriedades de concretos produzidos com fresa de asfalto em substituição ao agregado miúdo

O constante aumento de manutenção de rodovias asfaltadas resulta em alta geração de resíduos. A preocupação com o meio ambiente e a redução de recursos naturais disponíveis têm levado à busca por materiais mais sustentáveis. Já se tem estudos e aplicações que analisam a viabilidade e os benefícios da utilização do resíduo de fresagem de asfalto no próprio pavimento, como reforço do subleito, sub-base e base da via. Há também estudos que verificam a substituição de agregado natural por agregado de fresagem na composição do concreto.  Desta forma, o presente estudo tem por objetivo avaliar a influência da utilização de agregados graúdos reciclados com diferentes teores de substituição do agregado graúdo na produção de concretos. Será avaliado o comportamento do material no estado fresco, quanto a sua trabalhabilidade, e no estado endurecido, avaliando a resistência à compressão, módulo de elasticidade e absorção de água por imersão e capilaridade. O estudo tem como resultados esperados a produção de concretos reciclados com fresagem asfáltica que atendam aos requisitos de resistência mecânica apresentados pela NBR 12655:2015 e que apresentem absorção de água em níveis similares ao do concreto de referência

Avaliação de Propriedades Físicas e Mecânicas de Concretos Produzidos com a Utilização de Diferentes Impermeabilizantes

The objective of this work was to study the effect of hydrophobic and crystallizing agents applied to concrete, by carrying out axial compression resistance tests (NBR 16.889/2020), water absorption by immersion (NBR 9778/2009) and water absorption by capillarity (NBR 9779/2012). The results suggest the interference of the waterproofing additive in the mechanical properties of the concrete, causing a 37% drop in the resistance of concretes produced with water repellent additive and 28% for concretes with the addition of crystallizers. With regard to watertightness, the results indicate little effectiveness of waterproofing additives, in which a 7.83% reduction in absorption was obtained with the use of crystallizing additives and even a 1.44% increase in absorption with the use of water repellent additives.O objetivo do trabalho foi estudar o efeito de hidrofugantes e cristalizantes aplicados ao concreto, através da realização dos ensaios de resistência à compressão axial (NBR 16.889, 2020), absorção de água por imersão (NBR 9778, 2009) e absorção de água por capilaridade (NBR 9779, 2012). Os resultados sugerem a interferência do aditivo impermeabilizante nas propriedades mecânicas do concreto, causando queda de 37% da resistência de concretos produzidos com aditivo hidrofugante e 28% para concretos com adição de cristalizantes. No que diz respeito à estanqueidade, os resultados indicam pouca eficácia dos aditivos impermeabilizantes, em que se obteve 7,83% da redução da absorção com o uso de aditivos cristalizantes e, até mesmo, aumento de 1,44% da absorção com o uso de aditivos hidrofugantes

The geology of Bluff Hill, Southland, New Zealand.

Digital copy stored under Section 55 of the NZ Copyright act.The mineralogy and structure of two gabbronorite intrusions forming Bluff Hill, is described. They intrude volcanogenic metasediments of the Greenhills Group and together comprise a segment of Brook Street terrane (Coombs et al., 1976), the inferred products of a Permian island arc environment. The Bluff Hill Gabbronorite is of arc-tholeiitic affinity and appears to represent the middle zones of a small south-west dipping pluton, the upper levels now removed by erosion. Mineralogical differences and a fractionation trend revealed by microprobe analysis of co-existing pyroxenes provide information on the structure and orientation of the pluton. The original magma was rather hydrous, as evidenced by the abundance of hornblende and the low temperatures (850° ± 100° C) obtained from co-existing pyroxene geothermometry. A convection current origin is put forward to explain several strongly flow-banded, thin xenolithbearing zones within the main mass. A segment of upper level Ocean Beach Gabbronorite, also of tholeiitic affinity,is described from Bluff Hill's western coast, which appears to post-date the Bluff Hill Gabbronorite. Later intrusives include several thick basaltic andesite (?) dykes, innumerable thin hornblende microgabbro veins and dykes, occasional hornblende pegmatite veins and diorite dykes. A Tertiary strandline deposit, the Foveaux Formation (new formation) is described. Its rich brachiopod and warm-water benthic foraminifera fauna would suggest a Waitakian to Otaian age. The cement consists largely of the zeolites thomsonite, gonnardite, and chabaz:Lte together with minor well-crystallized smectite and gibbsite

Siegmund Bosel Collection 1924-1939

This collection consists of items regarding the Viennese banker Siegmund Bosel: sheet music entitled "Wär Ich Bosel" with a caricature of Siegmund Bosel (1924); and a love letter, to a woman he addresses as "HRa," possibly in London, to whom he expresses great desire to see along with her children, as they had been partners for twenty years (1939).digitizedSigmund Bosel was a well known financier in Vienna, Austria in the 1920s and 1930s. He was deported with other Viennese Jews to the Riga Ghetto in 1942 and killed during the journey by SS Hauptsturmführer Alois Brunner.Bosel’s daughter, Julie Marks, née Bosel, was born 1927 in Vienna, Austria. She emigrated to Prague, then to Paris and London, where she lived until 1950. During this time she served 3 years with the US Army Intelligence Corps in occupied Germany. After her immigration to New York in 1950 she worked as an interior designer.Austrian Heritage CollectionProcessed for digitizatio