1,164 research outputs found
Casimir energy density in closed hyperbolic universes
The original Casimir effect results from the difference in the vacuum
energies of the electromagnetic field, between that in a region of space with
boundary conditions and that in the same region without boundary conditions. In
this paper we develop the theory of a similar situation, involving a scalar
field in spacetimes with compact spatial sections of negative spatial
curvature.Comment: 10 pages. Contribution to the "Fifth Alexander Friedmann
International Seminar on Gravitation and Cosmology," Joao Pessoa, Brazil,
2002. Revised version, with altered Abstract and one new referenc
Economic assesment of neosporosis in beef cattle system performance with different technological levels.
The objective of this study was to determine if there is economic losses caused by neoporosis by identifying the number of abortions occurred in beef cattle in the Pantanal region of Mato Grosso do Sul, which are associated with the disease, and then estimate the economic loss to the productive system. 1098 heifers were evaluated from breeding season to the birth of calves in relation to reproductive performance, and the serological diagnosis of neosporosis was performed. To estimate the economic loss it was chosen the projection of exploratory scenarios through simulation using the software Gerenpec/Embrapa. The output rate for heifers seropositive and seronegative to neosporosis was 28.24% and 50.12% respectively, showing a 44% reduction in the output rate of heifers seropositive to Neospora caninum. The evolution of the herd for a period of 10 years showed higher production of animals in the herd free of disease in three technology levels, with values of 7.3%, 7.1% and 8.7% in stages I, II and III respectively when compared to systems with the disease. By comparing the rate of revenue in the 10 th year of a system free of the disease with an actual observed income over the three levels of technology: the technological level to 14% revenue I, Level II and 21% of revenues to the level technological III 34% higher. Therefore, the study highlights the importance of rural business management geared towards forward-looking vision by identifying trends, behaviors and/or opportunities that will serve as sources for the development of strategic actions, and thus provide increased productivity of rural enterprises eg, methods of neosporosis control using strategies such as the disposal of positive animals
Casimir energy in a small volume multiply connected static hyperbolic pre-inflationary Universe
A few years ago, Cornish, Spergel and Starkman (CSS), suggested that a
multiply connected ``small'' Universe could allow for classical chaotic mixing
as a pre-inflationary homogenization process. The smaller the volume, the more
important the process. Also, a smaller Universe has a greater probability of
being spontaneously created. Previously DeWitt, Hart and Isham (DHI) calculated
the Casimir energy for static multiply connected flat space-times. Due to the
interest in small volume hyperbolic Universes (e.g. CSS), we generalize the DHI
calculation by making a a numerical investigation of the Casimir energy for a
conformally coupled, massive scalar field in a static Universe, whose spatial
sections are the Weeks manifold, the smallest Universe of negative curvature
known. In spite of being a numerical calculation, our result is in fact exact.
It is shown that there is spontaneous vacuum excitation of low multipolar
components.Comment: accepted for publication in phys. rev.
Ultrasound-assisted extraction of olive oil: A preliminary economic analysis
The objective of this work was to perform a preliminary economic analysis of the ultrasound-assisted extraction process of olive oil and compare it with the manufacturing costs of the conventional extraction process. The DWSIM software was used for economic modeling considering data found in the literature; the five cost parameters were considered. The results showed a cost of USD 126.50/kg of olive oil in the proposed process. Although expensive, about 54,350 bottles more of oil could be produced due to the higher yield that can be obtained. In parallel, about USD 11,350,000.00 could be earned in one year of operation. In this sense, more research must be done to demonstrate the economic viability of this type of industry, to improve the operations and the costs of manufacturing until the process becomes profitable
Fixação biológica de nitrogênio na cultura do arroz irrigado por inundação: Parte I: bactérias endofíticas diazotróficas isoladas das cultivares BRS 7 "Taim" e BRS Pelota.
bitstream/item/44624/1/documento-303.pd
A Counterexample to Claimed COBE Constraints on Compact Toroidal Universe Models
It has been suggested that if the Universe satisfies a flat, multiply
connected, perturbed Friedmann-Lema^itre model, then cosmic microwave
background data from the COBE satellite implies that the minimum size of the
injectivity diameter (shortest closed spatial geodesic) must be larger than
about two fifths of the horizon diameter. To show that this claim is
misleading, a simple universe model of injectivity diameter a
quarter of this size, i.e. a tenth of the horizon diameter, is shown to be
consistent with COBE four year observational maps of the cosmic microwave
background. This is done using the identified circles principle.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for Classical & Quantum Gravit
Probabilistic Perception Revision in AgentSpeak(L)
Agent programming is mostly a symbolic discipline and, as such, draws little benefits from probabilistic areas as machine learning and graphical models. However, the greatest objective of agent research is the achievement of autonomy in dynamical and complex environments — a goal that implies embracing uncertainty and therefore the entailed representations, algorithms and techniques. This paper proposes an innovative and conflict free two layer approach to agent programming that uses already established methods and tools from both symbolic and probabilistic artificial intelligence. Moreover, this method is illustrated by means of a widely used agent programming example, GOLDMINERS
Comparison of airflow homogeneity in Compost Dairy Barns with different ventilation systems using the CFD model
In the pursuit of high milk productivity, producers are using confinement systems in
order to improve performance and animal welfare. Among the housing systems, the Compost
bedded-pack barns (CBP) stand out. In these barns a bedding area is provided inside, where cows
move freely. Generally this area is covered with carbon source material (such as sawdust or fine
dry wood shavings) which together with manure, thanks a regular mechanically stirring, ensures
the aerobic composting process. The ventilation in these facilities has the function of
dehumidifying the air, improving the air quality, drying the bedding, improving the thermal
comfort conditions of the confined animals. This work aimed at validating a computational model
using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to determine the best homogeneity of airflows
generated by different forced ventilation systems used in CBP barns. Two CBP barns were
compared with different ventilation systems: high volume low speed (HVLS) and low volume
high-speed (LVHS) fans. The results showed that the proposed model was satisfactory to predict
the flows generated by both types of fans. It was concluded that the use of HVLS fans produced
a more homogeneous airflow when compared to LVHS fans. The use of mechanical ventilation
in tropical conditions is necessary for the proper functioning of the system. In this study, the
systems used promoted the increase in air speed to levels close to adequate
Plasmid patterns of efficient and inefficient strains of Bacillus thuringiensis against Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
Bacillus thuringiensis harbors genes encoding Cry proteins found in chromosomes or plasmids of different sizes (4-150 Mb). Although the smaller plasmids are more abundant in B. thuringiensis, their specific function is unknown. As for the megaplasmids, their main recognized function is to harbor cry genes, although the sequencing of some of these plasmids indicates the occurrence of other important genes. This work used a new protocol for practical and rapid extraction of plasmid DNA in order to characterize the plasmid patterns of Brazilian strains belonging to Embrapa Milho e Sorgo research center B. thuringiensis bank. We tried to further assess the relationship of plasmid patterns with strains belonging to the same serovars and strains causing 100% and no mortality to Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) larvae. It was possible to characterize 59 strains based on the migration of bands in agarose gel. Strains belonging to the same serovars showed different plasmid sizes (from 1,636 bp to 23,200 bp), with the exception of two strains belonging to serovar galleriae. The strain T09 Bt tolworthi showed a plasmid migration pattern identical to strains belonging to serovar galleriae. Plasmid patterns differed for 46 strains, confirming that this is a useful tool to discriminate specific strains. However, it was not possible to associate the plasmid pattern or the occurrence of particular plasmids with the pathogenicity of a given species towards S. frugiperda larvae
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