50,778 research outputs found
Detecting transit signatures of exoplanetary rings using SOAP3.0
CONTEXT. It is theoretically possible for rings to have formed around
extrasolar planets in a similar way to that in which they formed around the
giant planets in our solar system. However, no such rings have been detected to
date.
AIMS: We aim to test the possibility of detecting rings around exoplanets by
investigating the photometric and spectroscopic ring signatures in
high-precision transit signals.
METHODS: The photometric and spectroscopic transit signals of a ringed planet
is expected to show deviations from that of a spherical planet. We used these
deviations to quantify the detectability of rings. We present SOAP3.0 which is
a numerical tool to simulate ringed planet transits and measure ring
detectability based on amplitudes of the residuals between the ringed planet
signal and best fit ringless model.
RESULTS: We find that it is possible to detect the photometric and
spectroscopic signature of near edge-on rings especially around planets with
high impact parameter. Time resolution 7 mins is required for the
photometric detection, while 15 mins is sufficient for the spectroscopic
detection. We also show that future instruments like CHEOPS and ESPRESSO, with
precisions that allow ring signatures to be well above their noise-level,
present good prospects for detecting rings.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables , accepted for publication in A&
Plane waves in noncommutative fluids
We study the dynamics of the noncommutative fuid in the Snyder space
perturbatively at the first order in powers of the noncommutative parameter.
The linearized noncommutative fluid dynamics is described by a system of
coupled linear partial differential equations in which the variables are the
fluid density and the fluid potentials. We show that these equations admit a
set of solutions that are monocromatic plane waves for the fluid density and
two of the potentials and a linear function for the third potential. The
energy-momentum tensor of the plane waves is calculated.Comment: 11 pages. Version published as a Lette
Gravitational waves in the generalized Chaplygin gas model
The consequences of taking the generalized Chaplygin gas as the dark energy
constituent of the Universe on the gravitational waves are studied and the
spectrum obtained from this model, for the flat case, is analyzed. Besides its
importance for the study of the primordial Universe, the gravitational waves
represent an additional perspective (besides the CMB temperature and
polarization anisotropies) to evaluate the consistence of the different dark
energy models and establish better constraints to their parameters. The
analysis presented here takes this fact into consideration to open one more
perspective of verification of the generalized Chapligin gas model
applicability. Nine particular cases are compared: one where no dark energy is
present; two that simulate the -CDM model; two where the gas acts like
the traditional Chaplygin gas; and four where the dark energy is the
generalized Chaplygin gas. The different spectra permit to distinguish the
-CDM and the Chaplygin gas scenarios.Comment: Latex file, 9 pages, 11 figures eps forma
Translocating the blood-brain barrier using electrostatics
Copyright © 2012 Ribeiro,Domingues,
Freire,Santos and Castanho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc.Mammalian cell membranes regulate homeostasis, protein activity, and cell signaling. The charge at the membrane surface has been correlated with these key events. Although mammalian cells are known to be slightly anionic, quantitative information on the membrane charge and the importance of electrostatic interactions in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics remain elusive. Recently, we reported for the first time that brain endothelial cells (EC) are more negatively charged than human umbilical cord cells, using zeta-potential measurements by dynamic light scattering. Here, we hypothesize that anionicity is a key feature of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and contributes to select which compounds cross into the brain. For the sake of comparison, we also studied the membrane surface charge of blood components—red blood cells (RBC), platelets, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).To further quantitatively correlate the negative zeta-potential values with membrane charge density, model membranes with different percentages of anionic lipids were also evaluated. From all the cells tested, brain cell membranes are the most anionic and those having their lipids mostly exposed, which explains why lipophilic cationic compounds are more prone to cross the blood-brain barrier.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia — Ministério da Educação e Ciência (FCT-MEC, Portugal) is acknowledged for funding (including fellowships SFRH/BD/42158/2007 to Marta M.B. Ribeiro, SFRH/BD/41750/2007 to Marco M. Domingues and SFRH/BD/70423/2010 to João M. Freire) and project PTDC/QUI-BIQ/119509/2010. Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (European Commission) is also acknowledged for funding (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-3-1-IAPP, Project 230654)
Rede Brasil Arroz: transferência de tecnologia integrando as regiões produtoras.
O projeto liderado pela Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, denominado Rede Brasil Arroz-RBA, iniciado em 2011, teve como premissa buscar o equilíbrio em termo de qualidade do arroz produzido nas diferentes regiões e sistemas e na transferência de práticas sustentáveis
Direct selling: consumer profile, clusters and satisfaction
This study examines the determinants of customer choice of direct selling and satisfaction of
the consumer. We obtained survey data for 378 Portuguese consumers and carried out a hierarchical
cluster and a logit analysis to assess the buyers’ profile, choice criteria and satisfaction.
We found that the profile pattern influences the level of direct selling preference and
satisfaction. The results led to identification of three specific clusters and confirmed the importance
of the buyer’s experience with this way of shopping. The interactive nature of direct
selling renders the customer highly permeable to the salesperson’s influence. These findings
contribute to a better understanding and prediction of post-consumption behaviour.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
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