Report of the Age Calibration Exercise Analysis for Anchovy in Division 9a (IBERAS survey 2018)

In November 2018, a new acoustic survey (IBERAS) coordinated by IEO and IPMA was carried out in order to estimate the strength of sardine and anchovy recruitment in the Atlantic waters of the Iberian Peninsula (ICES Division 9a) and to map its distribution area. As well as determine the main biological characteristics of these species in the area. In January-February 2019, an otolith reading exercise was carried out on the anchovy from the survey to determine its age, with the objective of calibrating the age readings among the anchovy readers of the IEO and the IPMA, and estimating the accuracy and discrepancies in the determination of anchovy age among these readers. As well as, to obtain the age length keys of the surve

Hadron beam test of a scintillating fibre tracker system for elastic scattering and luminosity measurement in ATLAS

A scintillating fibre tracker is proposed to measure elastic proton scattering at very small angles in the ATLAS experiment at CERN. The tracker will be located in so-called Roman Pot units at a distance of 240 m on each side of the ATLAS interaction point. An initial validation of the design choices was achieved in a beam test at DESY in a relatively low energy electron beam and using slow off-the-shelf electronics. Here we report on the results from a second beam test experiment carried out at CERN, where new detector prototypes were tested in a high energy hadron beam, using the first version of the custom designed front-end electronics. The results show an adequate tracking performance under conditions which are similar to the situation at the LHC. In addition, the alignment method using so-called overlap detectors was studied and shown to have the expected precision.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Journal of Instrumentation (JINST

Runoff inducement for agriculture in very arid zones of the northeast of Brazil

Discutem-se, em detalhes, os conceitos de indução do escoamento superficial de água de chuva com fins agrícolas e são explicadas suas implicações para o Nordeste do Brasil e a necessidade de pesquisas adicionais. Inclui-se uma revisão exaustiva das pesquisas em vários países. É apresentado o trabalho mais recente atualmente conduzido no Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Trópico Semi-Árido (CPATSA/EMBRAPA). Este trabalho inclui a criação de oito pequenas bacias hidrográficas variando de 1,0 ha a 2,7 ha, para a avaliação hidrológica de métodos simples e de baixo custo de indução do escoamento superficial da água de chuva em condições de caatinga natural e de latossolos rasos a medianamente profundos. Os vários métodos estudados incluem a combinação de linhas de drenagens como gramíneas, faixas desmatadas das caatingas, terraceamento, tratamentos com sal, total desmatamento e cobertura com gramíneas.The concept of runoff inducement for agricultural purposes is discussed in detail, its implications to the Northeast Brazilian conditions and necessity for additional research is explained. An exaustive review of the research at various places in the world is included. The latest work being carried out at the Centro Nacional de Pesquisa do Trópico Semi-Árido (CPATSA/EMBRAPA) (Center of Agricultural Research for Semi-And Tropics) is explained in detail. This work included development of eight small watersheds varying in size from 1.0 ha. to 2.7 ha, for hydrologic evaluation of various simple low cost runoff inducement methods under natural "caatinga" conditions on shallow to medium deep Latossols. The various methods of runoff inducement include combinations of intensified grassed waterways, strip cleaning of caatinga, narrow based channel terraces (or graded bunds) for soil conservation, salt treatment on cleared strips and complete clearing of caatinga with grass cover

New WC-Cu composites for the divertor in fusion reactors

ABSTRACT: The requirements for the divertor components of future fusion reactors are challenging and therefore a stimulus for the development of new materials. In this paper, WC-Cu composites are studied for use as thermal barrier between the plasma facing tungsten tiles and the copper-based heat sink of the divertor. Composite materials with 50% vol. WC were prepared by hot pressing and characterized in terms of microstructure, density, expansion coefficient, elastic modulus, Young's modulus and thermal diffusivity. The produced materials consisted of WC particles homogeneously dispersed in a Cu matrix with densifications between 88% and 98%. The sample with WC particles coated with Cu evidenced the highest densification. The thermal diffusivity was significantly lower than that of pure copper or tungsten. The sample with higher densification exhibits a low value of Young's modulus (however, it is higher compared to pure copper), and an average linear thermal expansion coefficient of 13.6 x 10(-6) degrees C-1 in a temperature range between 100 degrees C and 550 degrees C. To estimate the behaviour of this composite in actual conditions, a monoblock of the divertor in extreme conditions was modelled. The results predict that while the use of WC-Cu interlayer leads to an increase of 190 degrees C on the temperature of the upper part of the monoblock when compared to a pure Cu interlayer, the composite will improve and reduce significantly the cold-state stress between this interlayer and the tungsten.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biocompatibility of salix viminalis, salix atrocinerea and salix fragilis

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Synthesis and characterization of the copolymer poly(3-poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-?-caprolactone) from poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(?-caprolactone)

O copol?mero poli(3-hidroxibutirato-co-?-caprolactona) foi sintetizado por transesterifica??o, a partir dos homopol?meros PHB e PCL, usando acetilacetonato de zirc?nio(IV), como catalisador, nas concentra??es de 20, 50 e 80% de PHB em massa. Os copol?meros foram caracterizados por GPC, m?todos espectrosc?picos (RMN-?H, RMN-13C e IV-FT) e m?todos t?rmicos (TG e DSC). A rota de s?ntese utilizada mostrou-se eficaz na s?ntese dos copol?meros P(HB-co-CL), os quais mostraram diminui??o das cadeias polim?ricas, apresentando Mw inferior a 24.000Daltons. Todos os copol?meros obtidos s?o termicamente mais est?veis que o PHB e com menor cristalinidade que os homopol?meros de partida. Esses materiais s?o bons candidatos para utiliza??o como biomateriais em matrizes para libera??o controlada de f?rmacos ou mesmo como compatibilizante em blendas PHB/PCL.Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecu?ria de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq)Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES)In the present work, the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co??-caprolactone), P(HB-co-CL), was prepared by transesterification reaction from PHB and PCL. Zirconium (IV) acetylacetonate was used as catalyst and the copolymers were obtained in a wide range of compositions of PHB/PCL (20/80, 50/50, 80/20). These copolymers were characterized by GPC, FT-IR, ?H-NMR, 13C-NMR, TG, and DSC. The copolymers had weight average molecular weight less than 24.000 Daltons. All the systems were thermally more stable than PHB, showing lower crystallinity than the homopolymers. These materials are good candidates to be used as biomaterials, in drug release matrices, or even as PHB/PCL blends compatibilizers

Precooling of table grapes on a commercial scale as function of packaging.

Although precooling by forced air is widely used to remove field heat from fresh table grapes, there is no knowledge about its use and efficiency. Factors influencing the process include temperature and relative air humidity, amount and initial temperature of the fruits, air velocity, and packaging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cooling effect and efficiency of forced air cooling on table grapes in two types of packages. The experimental method used randomized blocks, in a 2 × 3 factorials, corresponding to two package types (polystyrene and cardboard) and three heights on the pallet - lower, middle, and upper - with four replicates. The temperature gradient in the direction of the airflow was evaluated. There was heterogeneity in cooling, both vertically and horizontally, on the pallets with a central heat zone for both the directions. None of the packages was suitable for fast cooling as both types of packages showed a cooling time of 15.5 h; moreover, relative humidity values were far below the ideal value for table grapes

The Fate of Carbon in Sediments of the Xingu and Tapajós Clearwater Rivers, Eastern Amazon

The Xingu and Tapajós rivers in the eastern Amazon are the largest clearwater systems of the Amazon basin. Both rivers have “fluvial rias” (i.e., lake-like channels) in their downstream reaches as they are naturally impounded by the Amazon mainstem. Fluvial rias are widespread in the Amazon landscape and most of the sedimentary load from the major clearwater and blackwater rivers is deposited in these channels. So far, little is known about the role of Amazon rias as a trap and reactor for organic sediments. In this study, we used organic and inorganic geochemistry, magnetic susceptibility, diatom, and pollen analyses in sediments (suspended, riverbed, and downcore) of the Xingu and Tapajós rias to investigate the effects of hydrologic variations on the carbon budget in these clearwater rivers over the Holocene. Ages of sediment deposition (~100 to 5,500 years) were constrained by optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon. Major elements geochemistry and concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) indicate that seasonal hydrologic variations exert a strong influence on riverine productivity and on the input and preservation of organic matter in sediments. Stable carbon isotope data (δ13C from −31.04 to −27.49‰) and pollen analysis indicate that most of the carbon buried in rias is derived from forests. In the Xingu River, diatom analysis in bottom sediments revealed 65 infrageneric taxa that are mostly well-adapted to slack oligotrophic and acidic waters. TOC values in sediment cores are similar to values measured in riverbed sediments and indicate suitable conditions for organic matter preservation in sediments of the Xingu and Tapajós rias at least since the mid-Holocene, with carbon burial rates varying from about 84 g m−2 yr−1 to 169 g m−2 yr−1. However, redox-sensitive elements in sediment core indicate alternation between anoxic/dysoxic and oxic conditions in the water-sediment interface that may be linked to abrupt changes in precipitation. The variation between anoxic/dysoxic and oxic conditions in the water-sediment interface controls organic matter mineralization and methanogenesis. Thus, such changes promoted by hydrological variations significantly affect the capacity of Amazon rias to act either as sources or sinks of carbon

The Volta Grande do Xingu: Reconstruction of Past Environments and Forecasting of Future Scenarios of a Unique Amazonian Fluvial Landscape

The Xingu River is a large clearwater river in eastern Amazonia and its downstream sector, known as the Volta Grande do Xingu (“Xingu Great Bend”), is a unique fluvial landscape that plays an important role in the biodiversity, biogeochemistry and prehistoric and historic peopling of Amazonia. The sedimentary dynamics of the Xingu River in the Volta Grande and its downstream sector will be shifted in the next few years due to the construction of dams associated with the Belo Monte hydropower project. Impacts on river biodiversity and carbon cycling are anticipated, especially due to likely changes in sedimentation and riverbed characteristics. This research project aims to define the geological and climate factors responsible for the development of the Volta Grande landscape and to track its environmental changes during the Holocene, using the modern system as a reference. In this context, sediment cores, riverbed rock and sediment samples and greenhouse gas (GHG) samples were collected in the Volta Grande do Xingu and adjacent upstream and downstream sectors. The reconstruction of past conditions in the Volta Grande is necessary for forecasting future scenarios and defining biodiversity conservation strategies under the operation of Belo Monte dams. This paper describes the scientific questions of the project and the sampling surveys performed by an international team of Earth scientists and biologists during the dry seasons of 2013 and 2014. Preliminary results are presented and a future workshop is planned to integrate results, present data to the scientific community and discuss possibilities for deeper drilling in the Xingu ria to extend the sedimentary record of the Volta Grande do Xingu