Effective Maxwell's equations in general periodic microstructures

We study the time harmonic Maxwell equations in a meta-material consisting of perfect conductors and void space. The meta-material is assumed to be periodic with period $\eta > 0$; we study the behaviour of solutions $(E^{\eta}, H^{\eta})$ in the limit $\eta \to 0$ and derive an effective system. In geometries with a non-trivial topology, the limit system implies that certain components of the effective fields vanish. We identify the corresponding effective system and can predict, from topological properties of the meta-material, whether or not it permits the propagation of waves

“Mistérios do sexo”: um relato de experiência

Trabalho apresentado no II Congresso Nacional do PROJETO RONDON, realizado em Florianópolis, SC, no período de 23 a 25 de setembro de 2015 - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.A Operação Rondon UEPG é um projeto voltado para a comunidade, realizado no período de 19 a 29 de julho de 2015. Este é um relato de experiência de duas rondonistas estudantes dos cursos de Enfermagem e engenharia de alimentos (UEPG). O objetivo da oficina foi educar e orientar crianças na faixa etária de 14 e 15 anos sobre sexualidade e conhecer suas possíveis dúvidas sobre tal assunto. Trata- se de um relato de experiência sobre a oficina “Mistérios do sexo” para adolescentes na cidade de Ibaiti- PR, Colégio Estadual Aldo Dallago, Operação Rondon Regional, onde a oficina abrangeu uma população de aproximadamente 140 alunos, entre eles, meninos e meninas do oitavo ano do ensino fundamental, divididos em dois grupos de 70 alunos. Realizamos a oficina com o uso de multimídia e participação em grupo, esclarecendo assuntos como a anatomia do sistema reprodutor feminino e masculino e aplicado uma dinâmica referente à contaminação de Doenças Sexualmente Transmissíveis, além do esclarecimento das dúvidas sobre sexualidade. Foi solicitado que os alunos colocassem em uma caixa suas dúvidas, em um papel que entregamos, para que fossem anônimas, deixando- os a vontade para expor- as. Através das perguntas identificamos qual o nível de domínio que os alunos apresentavam sobre sexualidade, essas questões foram esclarecidas com bases científicas e linguagem correspondente a fase desses adolescentes. Observamos que o assunto é pouco abordado nessa faixa etária, porém os adolescentes sabem muito a respeito. No entanto, eles conhecem a prática, mas não sabem como se comporta o organismo humano nessas condições e desconhecem todas as formas de prevenção, por isso a importância de trazer essas questões e deixar em aberto como uma conversa para que eles apresentem suas opiniões a respeito, facilitando assim um debate. A oficina foi realizada como um projeto voltado para os adolescentes a pedido das secretarias do município de Ibaiti-PR que sentem a necessidade de trazer esse assunto, já que existem muitos casos de HIV na cidade e demais DST’s, sem comentar dos números elevados de meninas com gestantação precoce. Para nós rondonistas, foi uma experiência maravilhosa, os alunos demonstraram que nosso trabalho fez a diferença na vida deles e assim na comunidade

Extração radicular de água e Kc em cultura de café

Basic information for a rational soil-water management of the coffee crop is still insufficient, particularly under irrigated conditions. Of great importance for the estimation of water requirements of coffee crops are their root distribuition and evapotranspiration crop coefficients. This study compares soil water extraction by roots of coffee plants of the variety Catuaí Vermelho (IAC-44), grown in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, 3 to 5 years old, with direct measurements of root dry matter, showing a good agreement between both approaches, and confirming that most of the root system is distributed in the top soil layer (0-0.3 m) and that less than 10% of the root system reaches depths greater than 1.0 m. Calculated evapotranspiration crop coefficients are in agreement with those found in the literature, with an average of 1.1, independent of shoot dry matter, plant height and leaf area index.A informação básica para o manejo racional de água e solo na cultura de café ainda é insuficiente, sobretudo em condições de cultura irrigada. A distribuição radicular e os coeficientes de cultura para evapotranspiração são de grande importância para a estimativa da necessidade de água na cultura café. Este estudo compara a extração radicular de água de plantas de café, variedade Catuaí Vermelho (IAC-44), cultivado em Piracicaba, SP, Brasil, de 3 a 5 anos de idade, com medidas diretas de material seca de raiz, mostrando boa relação entre as metodologias e confirmando que a maioria do sistema radicular está distribuída na camada superficial de solo (0-0,3 m) e que menos de 10% do sistema radicular atingem profundidades maiores que 1,0 m. Os coeficientes de cultura medidos estão de acordo com aqueles encontrados na literatura, com média de 1,1, independentemente da matéria seca, altura de planta e índice de área foliar

Plantas de cobertura para sistemas de plantio direto de hortaliças como estratégia de mitigação da crise climática na produção orgânica de Cucurbitáceas

The conventional vegetable farming model aggravates the climate crisis, whereas the no-tillage system provides a sustainable alternative. This study aimed to identify winter cover crops for single cropping and intercropping by evaluating the biomass production and degradability, as well as their impact on Cucurbitaceae production in organic no-tillage system. The experiment was conducted in an area with Cucurbita pepo var. melopepo and other with Cucumis sativus. A randomized complete block design was used, with three replicates. The treatments included the single cropping of black oat (Avena strigosa), rye (Secale cereale) and vetch (Vicia sativa), as well as the intercropping systems black oat + vetch, black oat + vetch + radish (Raphanus sativus), rye + vetch + radish and winter fallow. The Poaceae treatments showed a higher biomass production and half-life, with the black oat biomass contributing to the greatest zucchini yield, whereas the Japanese cucumber showed a superior performance when grown with cover crops. Thus, the black oat + vetch + radish or rye + vetch + radish intercropping systems are the most recommended ones for the organic no-tillage system. KEYWORDS: Biomass production, sustainable agriculture, 2030 Agenda.O modelo convencional de produção de hortaliças contribui para a crise climática, enquanto o sistema de plantio direto é uma alternativa sustentável. Objetivou-se identificar plantas de cobertura de inverno em sistemas de cultivo solteiro e consorciado, por meio da avaliação da produção e degradabilidade da biomassa e de seus efeitos sobre a produção de Cucurbitáceas, em sistema de plantio direto orgânico. O experimento foi conduzido em uma área com Cucurbita pepo var. melopepo e outra com Cucumis sativus. Utilizou-se delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, com três repetições. Os tratamentos incluíram o sistema de cultivo solteiro de aveia-preta (Avena strigosa), centeio (Secale cereale) e ervilhaca (Vicia sativa), os consórcios aveia-preta + ervilhaca, aveia-preta + ervilhaca + nabo-forrageiro (Raphanus sativus), centeio + ervilhaca + nabo-forrageiro e pousio invernal. Os tratamentos da família Poaceae apresentaram maior produção de biomassa e meia-vida, com a biomassa da aveia-preta contribuindo para a maior produtividade de abobrinha, ao passo que o pepino japonês apresentou desempenho superior quando cultivado com as plantas de cobertura. Assim, os sistemas de consórcio aveia-preta + ervilhaca + nabo-forrageiro ou centeio + ervilhaca + nabo-forrageiro são os mais recomendados para o sistema de plantio direto orgânico. KEYWORDS: Produção de biomassa, agricultura sustentável, Agenda 2030

Designing decentralized small-scale bioenergy systems based on short rotation coppice for rural poverty alleviation

Introducing an approach to develop Decision Support Tools (DST) assessing sustainability of bioenergy systems.Access to electricity is crucial for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals of poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. In East Africa, increasing environmental degradation and modern energy supply are a major obstacle to sustainable rural development. Small-scale bioenergy systems can supply clean, renewable and affordable energy to rural communities while at the same time creating new job opportunities and having beneficial impacts on natural resources especially when fed from Short Rotation Coppice (SRC). However, bioenergy systems are complex because their three components feedstock supply, conversion technology and energy allocation are influenced by environmental factors simultaneously with economic and social factors. Assessing these factors and their interdependence is essential to determine the project’s contribution to sustainable development as failure of one component can lead to failure of the entire system. Decision Support Tools (DST) structure the collection and evaluation of quantitative and qualitative information about social, economic and environmental impacts at scales ranging from local to national level. DSTs enable transparent and informed decisions even when limited information is available and many participants with different expertise and interests are involved to consider all relevant criteria. This paper introduces an approach to develop a DST assessing sustainability of bioenergy systems.Access to electricity is crucial for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals of poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. In East Africa, increasing environmental degradation and modern energy supply are a major obstacle to sustainable rural development. Small-scale bioenergy systems can supply clean, renewable and affordable energy to rural communities while at the same time creating new job opportunities and having beneficial impacts on natural resources especially when fed from Short Rotation Coppice (SRC). However, bioenergy systems are complex because their three components feedstock supply, conversion technology and energy allocation are influenced by environmental factors simultaneously with economic and social factors. Assessing these factors and their interdependence is essential to determine the project’s contribution to sustainable development as failure of one component can lead to failure of the entire system. Decision Support Tools (DST) structure the collection and evaluation of quantitative and qualitative information about social, economic and environmental impacts at scales ranging from local to national level. DSTs enable transparent and informed decisions even when limited information is available and many participants with different expertise and interests are involved to consider all relevant criteria. This paper introduces an approach to develop a DST assessing sustainability of bioenergy systems

Measurement of the top quark-pair production cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at \sqrt{s}=7\TeV

A measurement of the production cross-section for top quark pairs(\ttbar) in $pp$ collisions at \sqrt{s}=7 \TeV is presented using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in two different topologies: single lepton (electron $e$ or muon $\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least four jets, and dilepton ($ee$, $\mu\mu$ or $e\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. In a data sample of 2.9 pb-1, 37 candidate events are observed in the single-lepton topology and 9 events in the dilepton topology. The corresponding expected backgrounds from non-\ttbar Standard Model processes are estimated using data-driven methods and determined to be $12.2 \pm 3.9$ events and $2.5 \pm 0.6$ events, respectively. The kinematic properties of the selected events are consistent with SM \ttbar production. The inclusive top quark pair production cross-section is measured to be \sigmattbar=145 \pm 31 ^{+42}_{-27} pb where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measurement agrees with perturbative QCD calculations.Comment: 30 pages plus author list (50 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, CERN-PH number and final journal adde

Inclusive search for same-sign dilepton signatures in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

An inclusive search is presented for new physics in events with two isolated leptons (e or mu) having the same electric charge. The data are selected from events collected from p p collisions at root s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb(-1). The spectra in dilepton invariant mass, missing transverse momentum and jet multiplicity are presented and compared to Standard Model predictions. In this event sample, no evidence is found for contributions beyond those of the Standard Model. Limits are set on the cross-section in a fiducial region for new sources of same-sign high-mass dilepton events in the ee, e mu and mu mu channels. Four models predicting same-sign dilepton signals are constrained: two descriptions of Majorana neutrinos, a cascade topology similar to supersymmetry or universal extra dimensions, and fourth generation d-type quarks. Assuming a new physics scale of 1 TeV, Majorana neutrinos produced by an effective operator V with masses below 460 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. A lower limit of 290 GeV is set at 95% confidence level on the mass of fourth generation d-type quarks

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports a measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample recorded with the ATLAS detector with an integrated luminosity of 0.30 pb^-1 for jets with transverse momentum between 25 and 70 GeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta| < 2.5. D*+/- mesons found in jets are fully reconstructed in the decay chain: D*+ -> D0pi+, D0 -> K-pi+, and its charge conjugate. The production rate is found to be N(D*+/-)/N(jet) = 0.025 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for D*+/- mesons that carry a fraction z of the jet momentum in the range 0.3 < z < 1. Monte Carlo predictions fail to describe the data at small values of z, and this is most marked at low jet transverse momentum.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (22 pages total), 5 figures, 1 table, matches published version in Physical Review