Electron microprobe monazite ages from a tin placer deposit on Bangka Island, Indonesia

A first attempt of Electron microprobe (EMP) based Th-U-total Pb in situ dating of monazites in tailings from a placer deposit (quartz bearing sands) from Bangka Island, Indonesia, revealed for the first time from a single locality in Indonesia an age cluster around 231 Ma as well as two single grains with ages of 1133 Ma and 1916 Ma. The monazite ages from this study agree with detrital zircon ages and whole rock isochron ages from magmatic intrusions, which were reported from various localities all over the Malaysian peninsula, Myanmar and Thailand but not yet from Bangka Island. Perhaps intrusions in the closer vicinity, which could be the source of the monazite under study, have not been discovered so far or the sedimentary catchment area of the placer deposit is much larger than assumed so far. The existence of the monazite ages investigated in this study may also raise the question of the paleogeographic position of Bangka Island and the relative timing of sedimentation and Miocene rifting. However, the present work is an excellent example for the resistance of monazite and its Th-U-Pb system to sedimentary processes and hence is a useful tool for provenance studies and source of Rare Earth Element (REEs) recovery. An important outcome of this study is that sedimentary monazite relics often provide a wide range of unrealistic ages. Such dates may be wrongly explained in terms of recrystallization along with metasomatic process, instead these ages are only a methodic artefact because monazite relics are either not thick enough for dating or show poor surfaces with numerous cracks

Singlet-triplet transition in a few-electron lateral InGaAs-InAlAs quantum dot

The magnetic-field evolution of Coulomb blockade peaks in lateral InGaAs/InAlAs quantum dots in the few-electron regime is reported. Quantum dots are defined by gates evaporated onto a 60 nm-thick hydrogen silsesquioxane insulating film. A gyromagnetic factor of 4.4 is measured via zero-bias spin spectroscopy and a transition from singlet to triplet spin configuration is found at an in-plane magnetic field B = 0.7 T. This observation opens the way to the manipulation of singlet and triplet states at moderate fields and its relevance for quantum information applications will be discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

User Satisfaction and Service Quality of the IS Department: Closing the Gaps

Measurement and management of user satisfaction with information systems (IS) have been issues of concern for practitioners and academics in the field for some time. This paper introduces the ‘Gaps’ approach to service quality, a topic widely discussed in the marketing literature, and proposes that a similar approach is applicable in the IS domain. The user gap is explained and its measurement suggested, and the other gaps within the IS arena are described and their causes and cures addressed

Germinação e vigor de sementes de melancia com diferentes ploidias submetidas a tratamentos pré-germinativos.

Sementes triplóides e tetraplóides de melancia apresentam problemas de germinação, havendo a necessidade do emprego de tratamentos visando minimizar este problema. Técnicas para melhorar a germinação são importantes para aumentar o potencial de desempenho das sementes e, por conseguinte, a uniformidade das plantas em condições de campo. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo verificar o efeito de tratamentos pré-germinativos em sementes diplóides, triplóides e tetraplóides de melancia. As sementes foram submetidas à maceração; escarificação mecânica + ácido giberélico (GA3); escarificação; ácido giberélico (GA3). Após a aplicação dos tratamentos, as sementes foram colocadas para germinar em rolos de papel germitest embebido com água destilada na proporção de 2,5 vezes seu peso e mantidas em germinador à temperatura de 25°C. Foram realizadas avaliações de porcentagem de germinação e crescimento de plântulas aos 5 e 12 dias. A avaliação da emergência de plântulas foi realizada no interior de uma casa-de-vegetação coberta com sombrite 50%, em bandejas plásticas com solo. Foram realizadas contagens diárias do número de plântulas emergidas até a estabilização da emergência das mesmas, considerando-se emergidas aquelas que apresentavam os cotilédones expostos. Foram determinadas as porcentagens de emergência e o índice de velocidade de emergência de plântulas. Apesar dos tratamentos prégerminativos empregados nos três tipos de sementes não serem eficientes no aumento da germinação e emergência de plântulas de melancia, observou-se que o GA3 e a escarificação, empregados separadamente e em associação, promoveram maior crescimento de plântulas oriundas de sementes diplóides e tetraplóides e que a maceração também contribuiu para maior crescimento de plântulas tetraplóides

Avaliação de frutos de clones de aceroleira para consumo in natura.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os genótipos da coleção de aceroleira da Embrapa Semiárido, com vista à identificação de clones ou genitores potenciais a serem utilizados no programa de melhoramento genético da espécie

Effect of hazelnut on serum lipid profile and fatty acid composition of erythrocyte phospholipids in children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia : a randomized controlled trial

Background & aim: Regular intake of nuts improves lipid profile and thus reduces the cardiovascular (CV) risk associated with hyperlipidemia. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of a dietary intervention with hazelnuts (HZNs, 15-30 g/day, depending on patient weight) on serum lipid profile, anthropometric parameters and fatty acids (FAs) composition of erythrocyte phospholipids in children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia. Methods: Eight-week randomized, single blind, controlled, three-arm, parallel-group study. Sixty-six subjects were enrolled and randomized in 3 groups receiving: 1) hazelnuts with skin (HZN+S); 2) hazelnuts without skin (HZN-S); 3) dietary advices for hyperlipidemia only (controls). Before and after intervention, clinical parameters were measured and blood samples were collected for the evaluation of serum lipid levels and phospholipid FA composition of erythrocytes. Results: Two-way ANOVA showed a significant effect of time on serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)/LDL-C ratio and non-HDL-C (p < 0.001), but not of treatment and time x treatment interaction. In particular, HZN+S and HZN-S significantly reduced the concentrations of LDL-C and increased HDL-C/LDL-C ratio. HZNs also had a favorable impact on FAs composition of erythrocyte phospholipids, as demonstrated by time x treatment interaction, with a significant increase of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) (p = 0.008) and MUFAs/saturated fatty acids (SFAs) ratio (p = 0.002) with respect to the control group. Conclusions: For the first time, we documented a positive effect of HZN consumption on lipid profile and FA composition of erythrocyte phospholipids in children with primary hyperlipidemia. Further studies are encouraged to better define HZN impact on the markers of CV risk in this population