DBI equations and holographic DC conductivity

We provide a simple method for writing the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) equations of a Dp-brane in an arbitrary static background whose metric depends only on the holographic radial coordinate z. Using this method we revisit the Karch-O'Bannon's procedure to calculate the DC conductivity in the presence of constant electric and magnetic fields for backgrounds where the boundary is four or three dimensional and satisfies homogeneity and isotropy. We find a frame-independent expression for the DC conductivity tensor. For particular backgrounds we recover previous results on holographic metals and strange metals.Comment: 1+21 pages; v2 : references added, minor typos correcte

On the Nature of Income Inequality Across Nations

In this paper, we investigate the nature of income inequality across nations by first estimating, testing, and distinguishing between two types of aggregate production functions: the extended neoclassical model and a mincerian formulation of schooling-returns to skills. Next, given our panel-data estimates, we proceed in decomposing the variance of the (log) level of output per-worker in 1985 into that of three distinct factors: productivity, human capital, and the dynamic incentives to accumulate capital. Finally, we classify a group of 95 countries according to their relative position (above or below average) for each of these factors. The picture that emerges from these last two exercises is one where countries grew in the past for different reasons, which should be considered for policy design. Although there is not a single-factor explanation for the difference in output per-worker across nations, it seems that productivity differences can explain a considerable portion of income inequality, followed second by dynamic inefficiencies and third by human capital accumulation.

Identificação das fontes de material particulado atmosférico fino e grosso no Distrito Federal empregando marcadores iônicos solúveis em água

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Química, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, 2016.A atmosfera apresenta papel essencial na manutenção da vida de todos os seres vivos e os materiais particulados (MP) encontrados nela são de extrema importância para manutenção do equilíbrio ambiental. A alteração na quantidade e composição de particulados por conta de interferência antrópica tem sido motivo de grandes preocupações relacionadas à saúde da população, tendo destaque os particulados finos. O trabalho realizado objetivou analisar os particulados fino e grosso de diferentes regiões do Distrito Federal de modo a encontrar as suas principais fontes a partir de espécies inorgânicas solúveis em água. Essas espécies foram utilizadas como marcadores de fontes, com íons como por exemplo o NO3- sendo utilizados para marcação da influência de veículos no MP. Foram feitas coletas nas regiões de Planaltina, Taguatinga, Fercal e Plano Piloto, entre os meses de abril de 2015 e março de 2016, tendo a época de coleta apresentado período de seca mais prolongado, durando de maio a outubro. Para realização das coletas foi montado um sistema de filtros sequenciais conectados a uma bomba de vazão de 30 L min-1 ligada por 24h, bem como uma proteção contra intempéries para ele. As amostras obtidas foram analisadas usando-se cromatografia iônica, tendo-se determinado assim tanto espécies aniônicas quanto catiônicas. De modo geral, as concentrações de partículas encontradas estiveram dentro dos padrões estabelecidos pela CONAMA nº 03/1990 para PTS, tendo a maior média anual, referente a região da Fercal, concentração de 25,42 ± 9,36 μg m-3. As concentrações dos íons determinados apresentaram grande variação, com os íons Ca2+, SO42- e NO3- apresentando as maiores concentrações em todos os locais e frações estudados, destacando-se as concentrações de cálcio que em alguns casos se apresentaram maiores que a soma dos demais íons. Na região da Fercal, por exemplo, a concentração de Ca variou entre 468,824 a 1633,515 ng m-3 na fração grossa, enquanto que em Planaltina na mesma fração a concentração de Ca variou entre 39,730 a 669,002 ng m-3. A alta concentração de cálcio no MP do Distrito Federal foi relacionada com a presença de indústrias cimenteiras encontradas na região da Fercal. Razões entre os íons Mg2+ e Ca2+ também permitem supor que o comportamento desses íons esteja relacionado às cimenteiras da Fercal, com exceção das amostras de Planaltina. Relações de Pearson significativas também evidenciaram outras possíveis fontes como automóveis e queimadas. Por fim foram feitas análises multivariadas de agrupamentos hierárquicos e componentes principais, a partir das quais foi possível verificar a diferenciação entre grupos formados pelo tamanho das partículas ao invés da sua localização geográfica. Com a rotação dos componentes principais foi possível calcular a contribuição que cada fonte apresentou para o MP do Distrito Federal, destacando-se como fonte principal do MP grosso as cimenteiras (35%), seguidas pelos automóveis (27%) e do MP fino fontes secundárias (37%), e queimas (24%). O destaque de outras fontes além de automóveis como fonte principal aparenta ser uma descoberta importante para melhor compreensão do particulado do Distrito Federal.Earth’s atmosphere is essential in maintaining the lives of all living beings and atmospheric particulate matter (PM) are extremely important to the balance of nature. Changes in the amount and composition of such particulates have been of great health concern due to anthropogenic interference, especially related to fine particles. This research analyzed fine and coarse particles found in different parts of the Brazilian Federal District in search of their main sources through inorganic water-soluble species. These species were used as source markers with ions such as NO3- showing vehicle’s influence in the PM. The sampling took place from april 2015 to march 2016 in Planaltina, Taguatinga, Fercal and Plano Piloto, with dry season lasting from May until October. Sampling was performed using a system that consisted of a stacked filter unit and an air sampler using 30 L min-1 of airflow, both sheltered against the rain with portable lab-made protection. Samples were analyzed with ion chromatography which determined both anionic and cationic species. Overall, particulate matter concentration was lower than current legislation limits, stablished by CONAMA 03/1990 for total suspended particles. The highest mean annual concentration was found to be 25,42 ± 9,36 μg m-3 in Fercal.Ion concentrations were very variable, with Ca2+, SO42- and NO3- ions having the highest concentrations in every site and fraction studied. Calcium concentrations were in some cases greater than the sum of other ions concentrations. The concentration of Ca in coarse particles varied from 468,824 to 1633,515 ng m-3 in the Fercal region compared to a variation between 39,730 and 669,002 ng m-3 in Planaltina. Calcium’s high concentration in the PM of the Federal District was related to the existence of two cement plants located in the Fercal region. A ratio between Mg2+ and Ca2+ supports that these ions are related to such cement plants, with the exception of Planaltina’s samples. Pearson’s correlation coefficient indicated other possible sources, such as vehicles and biomass burning. Lastly, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal components analysis were performed. From both analyses, it was possible to differentiate separate groups of fine and coarse particles. Principal components rotation allowed for source apportionment of the Federal District PM. Main sources of coarse particles were cement plants (35%) followed by vehicles (27%). Secondary products (37%) and fuel and biomass burning (24%) were main sources of fine particles. Considerable influence of other sources besides vehicles as main sources may be one of the most important findings, which will improve the comprehension of Federal District’s PM

Evaluating Drill Interseeded Cover Crop Establishment and Nitrogen Impact in Irrigated Corn

The adoption of cover crops as a strategy to improve soil health and cropping systems sustainability is on the rise in the United States. PRE herbicides with soil residual activity are widely applied in corn production systems to prevent early season weed development, crop-weed competition, and yield loss. When preemergence herbicides are applied in the field, the active ingredients remain in the soil rhizosphere for a period of time, killing weed seedlings as they emerge. However, PRE herbicides can also impact the establishment of interseeded cover crops. Greenhouse bioassay was conducted to evaluate the preemergence herbicide carry-over potential to interseeded cover crops. On-farm research was conducted to evaluate nitrogen uptake by interseeded cover crops that could potentially decrease nitrogen losses. The objectives of these studies were: (1) to elucidate the impact of corn PRE herbicides on CC establishment; (2) to identify the ideal time to interseed cover crops following herbicide application; and (3) to evaluate the effect of cover crops on nitrogen uptake, including corn-N, cover crop-N, and soil nitrate in different depths. Advisor: Christopher A. Procto

Reliability-Oriented Strategies for Multichip Module Based Mission Critical Industry Applications

The availability is defined as the portion of time the system remains operational to serve its purpose. In mission critical applications (MCA), the availability of power converters are determinant to ensure continue productivity and avoid financial losses. Multichip Modules (MCM) are widely adopted in such applications due to the high power density and reduced price; however, the high number of dies inside a compact package results in critical thermal deviations among them. Moreover, uneven power flow, inhomogeneous cooling and accumulated degradation, potentially result in thermal deviation among modules, thereby increasing the temperature differences and resulting in extra temperature in specific subset of devices. High temperatures influences multiple failure mechanisms in power modules, especially in highly dynamic load profiles. Therefore, the higher failure probability of the hottest dies drastically reduces the reliability of mission critical power converters. Therefore, this work investigate reliability-oriented solutions for the design and thermal management of MCM-based power converters applied in mission critical applications. The first contribution, is the integration of a die-level thermal and probabilistic analysis on the design for reliability (DFR) procedure, whereby the temperature and failure probability of each die are taken into account during the reliability modeling. It is demonstrated that the dielevel analysis can obtain more realistic system-level reliability of MCM-based power converters. Thereafter, three novel die-level thermal balancing strategies, based on a modified MCM - with more gate-emitter connections - are proposed and investigated. It is proven that the temperatures inside the MCM can be overcame, and the maximum temperate reduced in up to 8 %

Phonological influences on lexical (mis)selection

Abstract—Speakers produce words to convey meaning, but does meaning alone determine which words they say? We report three experiments that show independent semantic and phonological influences converging to determine word selection. Speakers named pictures (e.g., of a priest) following visually presented cloze sentences that primed either semantic competitors of the target object name (“The woman went to the convent to become a...”), homophones of the competitors (“I thought that there would still be some cookies left, but there were...”), or matched unrelated control object names. Primed semantic competitors (nun) were produced instead of picture names more often than primed unrelated control object names, showing the well-documented influence of semantic similarity on lexical selection. Surprisingly, primed homophone competitors (none) also substituted for picture names more often than control object names even though they only sounded like competitors. Thus, independent semantic and phonological influences can converge to affect word selection. People are remarkably successful at selecting words that express what they intend to say. Yet much evidence about how this process of lexical selection works comes from errors in which speakers produce unintended words instead of intended ones. At least two kinds of such word substitutions 1 have been observed. In semantic substitutions, the intended and intruding words are similar in meaning (e.g., “he got hot under the belt”; Fromkin, 1973); in phonological substitutions or malapropisms, the words are similar in sound (e.g., “White Anglo-Saxon prostitute”; Fromkin, 1973). These two kinds of word substitutions have been taken to reflect two distinct lexical processes (e.g., Dell, 1986; Levelt, Roelofs, &amp