Vibrational Aspects of the SU(2) Skyrmion

We treat the Skyrme model with the breathing mode in a situation involving two quartic terms. It is seen that there is a new limit for large $e$ due to the breathing mode not found in the usual rotating hedgehog.Comment: 15 pages, ADP-93-206/T12

A Compact Formulation for the ℓ2,1\ell_{2,1} Mixed-Norm Minimization Problem

Parameter estimation from multiple measurement vectors (MMVs) is a fundamental problem in many signal processing applications, e.g., spectral analysis and direction-of- arrival estimation. Recently, this problem has been address using prior information in form of a jointly sparse signal structure. A prominent approach for exploiting joint sparsity considers mixed-norm minimization in which, however, the problem size grows with the number of measurements and the desired resolution, respectively. In this work we derive an equivalent, compact reformulation of the $\ell_{2,1}$ mixed-norm minimization problem which provides new insights on the relation between different existing approaches for jointly sparse signal reconstruction. The reformulation builds upon a compact parameterization, which models the row-norms of the sparse signal representation as parameters of interest, resulting in a significant reduction of the MMV problem size. Given the sparse vector of row-norms, the jointly sparse signal can be computed from the MMVs in closed form. For the special case of uniform linear sampling, we present an extension of the compact formulation for gridless parameter estimation by means of semidefinite programming. Furthermore, we derive in this case from our compact problem formulation the exact equivalence between the $\ell_{2,1}$ mixed-norm minimization and the atomic-norm minimization. Additionally, for the case of irregular sampling or a large number of samples, we present a low complexity, grid-based implementation based on the coordinate descent method

Scheme Independence of g1p(x,Q2)g_1^p (x, Q^2)

We work with two general factorization schemes in order to explore the consequences of imposing scheme independence on $g_1^p (x, Q^2)$. We see that although the light quark sector is indifferent to the choice of a particular scheme, the extension of the calculations to the heavy quark sector indicates that a scheme like the $\bar{MS}$ is preferable.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Brief Reports of Phys. Rev.

Inoculação de bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio em arroz de sequeiro (Oryza sativa): respostas fisiológicas em estudos in vitro.

Este estudo determinou as respostas fisiológicas de 10 variedades de arroz de sequeiro (Oryza sativa L.) inoculação utilizando bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio em ensaios in vitro

Cortiça, tecnologia e moda : aplicação da descarga plasmática para viabilizar a utilização de novos produtos.

Este trabalho pretende estudar potenciais aplicações da cortiça. Por ser tratar de um material inerte, muitas vezes torna-se necessário modificar a superfície deste substrato com o intuito de melhorar a sua interação com outros tipos de materiais nos processos de estamparia, tingimento, acabamentos entre outros. Diferentes técnicas foram utilizadas para analisar a cortiça após o tratamento plasmático. Verificou-se, com os resultados obtidos, que o plasma DBD foi capaz de melhorar as propriedades superficiais de um aglomerado de cortiça e sua interação com microcápsulas, criando a possibilidade de desenvolver produtos sustentáveis e inovadores.Os autores agradecem o programa CsF - CNPq e a Fundação CAPES, pelas bolsas de doutorado 202539/2011-3 e BEX0978/12-4, respectivamente. Gostaríamos também de agradecer ao Projeto n o 2011/19280 ("COLTEC"), FCT e FEDER-COMPETE financiamento PEt-C/CTM/UI0264/2011.This paper intends to explore potential applications of the cork. Because it is an inert material, several times becomes necessary to modify the surface of this substrate in order to improve its interaction with other types of materials in the printing, dyeing, finishing processes. Different techniques were used to analyze the cork agglomerate after plasma treatment. The results obtained showed that the DBD plasma was able to improve the surface properties of this substrate and its interaction with PCMs microcapsules, creating the possibility to develop innovative and sustainable products

Characterization of natural cork agglomerate functionalised by plasma treatment

This work intends to study the chemical and physical modifications of natural cork agglomerate after plasma treatment using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). Different experimental techniques were used to evaluate the surface alterations of the substrate pre- treated with DBD plasma, namely, static and dynamic contact angle, surface energy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Plasma discharge greatly increases the wettability and surface energy of the samples. Chemical and physical analyses of the cork agglomerate confirmed considerable surface modification.The authors gratefully acknowledge the CsF – CNPq and CAPES Foundation, Brazil, for the doctoral grants 202539/2011-3 and BEX0978/12-4. We would also like to thank the Project no 2011/19280 (“COLTEC”), FCT and FEDER-COMPETE funding PEt-C/CTM/UI0264/2011

Heavy Meson Production in NN Collisions with Polarized Beam and Target -- A new facility for COSY

The study of near--threshold meson production in pp and pd collisions involving polarized beams and polarized targets offers the rare opportunity to gain insight into short--range features of the nucleon--nucleon interaction. The Cooler Synchrotron COSY at FZ--J\"ulich is a unique environment to perform such studies. Measurements of polarization observables require a cylindrically symmetrical detector, capable to measure the momenta and the directions of outgoing charged hadrons. The wide energy range of COSY leads to momenta of outgoing protons to be detected in a single meson production reaction between 300 and 2500 MeV/c. Scattering angles of protons to be covered extend to about $45^{\circ}$ in the laboratory system. An azimuthal angular coverage of the device around 98% seems technically achievable. The required magnetic spectrometer could consist of a superconducting toroid, providing fields around 3 T.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Czechoslovak Journal of Physic

S-adenosyl-L-methionine: (S)-scoulerine 9-O-methyltransferase, a highly stereo- and regio-specific enzyme in tetrahydroprotoberberine biosynthesis

Suspension cultures of Berberis species are useful sources for the detection and isolation of a new enzyme which transfers the methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine specifically to the 9-position of the (S)-enantiomer of scoulerine, producing (S)-tetrahydrocolumbamine. The enzyme was enriched 27-fold; it is not particle bound, has a pH optimum of 8.9, a molecular weight of 63 000 and shows a high degree of substrate specificity

Overfeeding, Autonomic Regulation and Metabolic Consequences

The autonomic nervous system plays an important role in the regulation of body processes in health and disease. Overfeeding and obesity (a disproportional increase of the fat mass of the body) are often accompanied by alterations in both sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic functions. The overfeeding-induced changes in autonomic outflow occur with typical symptoms such as adiposity and hyperinsulinemia. There might be a causal relationship between autonomic disturbances and the consequences of overfeeding and obesity. Therefore studies were designed to investigate autonomic functioning in experimentally and genetically hyperphagic rats. Special emphasis was given to the processes that are involved in the regulation of peripheral energy substrate homeostasis. The data revealed that overfeeding is accompanied by increased parasympathetic outflow. Typical indices of vagal activity (such as the cephalic insulin release during food ingestion) were increased in all our rat models for hyperphagia. Overfeeding was also accompanied by increased sympathetic tone, reflected by enhanced baseline plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels in both VMH-lesioned animals and rats rendered obese by hyperalimentation. Plasma levels of NE during exercise were, however, reduced in these two groups of animals. This diminished increase in the exercise-induced NE outflow could be normalized by prior food deprivation. It was concluded from these experiments that overfeeding is associated with increased parasympathetic and sympathetic tone. In models for hyperphagia that display a continuously elevated nutrient intake such as the VMH-lesioned and the overfed rat, this increased sympathetic tone was accompanied by a diminished NE response to exercise. This attenuated outflow of NE was directly related to the size of the fat reserves, indicating that the feedback mechanism from the periphery to the central nervous system is altered in the overfed state.