Quasi degenerate Neutrino Masses with Universal Strength Yukawa Couplings

A simple ansatz is proposed for neutrino and charged lepton mass matrices, within the framework of universal strength for Yukawa couplings. In this framework all Yukawa couplings have equal moduli and the flavour dependence is only in their phases. We take into account the solar neutrino deficit and the atmospheric neutrino anomaly, assuming three neutrino families only. The ansatz leads in a natural way to small mixing involving neutrinos of quasi degenerate masses, as required to explain the solar neutrino deficit in the nonadiabatic MSW solution, while having the large mixing necessary to explain the atmospheric neutrino anomaly.Comment: 10 pages, LATEX, no special macros, no figures, no table

Efficient Video Indexing on the Web: A System that Leverages User Interactions with a Video Player

In this paper, we propose a user-based video indexing method, that automatically generates thumbnails of the most important scenes of an online video stream, by analyzing users' interactions with a web video player. As a test bench to verify our idea we have extended the YouTube video player into the VideoSkip system. In addition, VideoSkip uses a web-database (Google Application Engine) to keep a record of some important parameters, such as the timing of basic user actions (play, pause, skip). Moreover, we implemented an algorithm that selects representative thumbnails. Finally, we populated the system with data from an experiment with nine users. We found that the VideoSkip system indexes video content by leveraging implicit users interactions, such as pause and thirty seconds skip. Our early findings point toward improvements of the web video player and its thumbnail generation technique. The VideSkip system could compliment content-based algorithms, in order to achieve efficient video-indexing in difficult videos, such as lectures or sports.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, UCMedia 2010: 2nd International ICST Conference on User Centric Medi

The Problem of Large Leptonic Mixing

Unlike in the quark sector where simple $S_3$ permutation symmetries can generate the general features of quark masses and mixings, we find it impossible (under conditions of hierarchy for the charged leptons and without considering the see-saw mechanism or a more elaborate extension of the SM) to guarantee large leptonic mixing angles with any general symmetry or transformation of only known particles. If such symmetries exist, they must be realized in more extended scenarios.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, no figure

Desenvolvimento, Produtividade E Atributos Qualitativos De Cultivares De Cana-de-açúcar Fertirrigadas Por Gotejamento Subsuperficial

The present study aimed to evaluate the development, yield and quality of four sugarcane cultivars fertigated by subsurface drip system. The experiment was carried out in Campinas-SP, Brazil, from January 2012 to November 2013, with the cultivars SP79-1011, IACSP94-2101, IACSP94-2094 and IACSP95-5000 subjected to daily irrigations. The irrigations depths were applied to bring soil moisture to field capacity. Soil moisture was monitored using soil moisture probes. Samples were collected along the crop cycle in order to evaluate crop development and yield, at the end of the first and second ratoons. Stalk height showed good correlation for the estimation of crop yield, with R2 equal to or higher than 0.96. The cultivar IACSP95-5000 showed the highest yield in the first ratoon. In the second ratoon the highest yield was observed in IACSP94-2101, followed by IACSP95-5000 and SP79-1011. Considering the yield results associated with the technological analysis, such as soluble solids content and apparent sucrose, the cultivar IACSP95-5000 excelled the others in the cultivation under subsurface drip irrigation. © 2016, Departamento de Engenharia Agricola - UFCG/Cnpq. All rights reserved.20652553

EFEITOS DE MÊS, ORDEM E ESTÁDIO DE LACTAÇÃO SOBRE OS HORMÔNIOS TIREOIDEANOS DE VACAS E NOVILHAS HOLANDESAS

The aim of the present research work was to investigate the effects of thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3’ triiodothyronine (T3), on the mechanisms of lactation ando f thermal regulation and anergy balance, in regard to the month, the order and lactation stage from 18 heifers and 30 cows of the Holstein breed. Blood samples were withdrawed monthly for the hormones assay by the method of immunoenzymatic fluorometry. The month of blood sampling displayed na influence on the T3 levels, disclosing the higher levels in July and the lowest ones in March. Results on seric concentration of T4 showed significant effect on the lactation order (P<0.05) with lower values in cows from 2nd and 3rd lactation and higher values (P<0.005) in heifers, with no apparent effect in regard to the T3 concentrations. Heifers and dry cows T4 serum levels were the highest in January and the lowest in May, while cows in the middle and final third lactation displayed the heigher serum levels of T4 in September and the lower in November and May, respectively. The lactation stage had no influence on the T3 serum levelsOs hormônios tireoideanos participam da lactação, atuam na regulação térmica e no balanço energético. Objetivou-se investigar os efeitos de mês, ordem e estádio de lactação sobre os valores séricos de tiroxina (T4) e 3, 5, 3’ triiodotironina (T3) em 30 vacas e 18 novilhas da raça Holandesa Preta e Branca. As dosagens hormonais, pelo método fluorométrico imunoenzimático, foram efetuadas a partir de amostras sangüíneas colhidas mensalmente durante 11 meses. O mês de coleta influenciou (P<0,05) os valores séricos de T3, que foram maiores em julho e menores em março. As concentrações séricas de T4 indicaram diferenças entre ordens de lactação, com valores menores (P<0,05) nas vacas de 2a e 3a lactação e maiores (P<0,05) nas novilhas, não se verificando efeito sobre as concentrações de T3. Para T4 o efeito estádio de lactação dependeu do mês de coleta, em que vacas secas apresentaram valores séricos de T4 maiores em janeiro e menores em maio, enquanto que vacas nos terços médio e final da lactação apresentaram valores maiores em setembro e menores em novembro e maio, respectivamente. O estádio de lactação não influenciou as concentrações de T3

Carcass characteristics and meat quality of sheep fed buffelgrass silage to replace corn silage

The aim of the study was to evaluate the carcass characteristics, proximate composition, and sensorial attributes of meat from sheep fed diets in which buffelgrass silage replaced corn silage. Thirty-two intact male crossbred Santa Inês sheep with an average live weight of 20.09 ± 2.0 kg were housed in individual stalls and allotted at random to four treatments in which corn silage was replaced by buffelgrass silage at the levels of 0 (control), 33.3%, 66.6%, and 100%. After an adaption period of 10 days, the sheep were fed for an additional 61 days. Feed was offered ad libitum and corn silage comprised 60% of the diet for the control group. Carcass characteristics, non-carcass components and meat quality were evaluated. Hot carcass yield, cold carcass yield, true carcass yield, trimmings, fat weight, and mesenteric and omental fat weight were highest for the control group (P &lt;0.05). Loin eye area had a quadratic response (P =0.02), with the largest areas being observed in animals fed the diet containing 66.6% buffelgrass silage. Liver weight (P &lt;0.01), luminosity of the meat (P &lt;0.05), and cooking loss (P &lt;0.05) likewise had nonlinear responses to the concentration of buffelgrass silage in the diet. The treatments did not have significant negative influence on the nutritional and organoleptic characteristics of the meat

The Symmetry behind Extended Flavour Democracy and Large Leptonic Mixing

We show that there is a minimal discrete symmetry which leads to the extended flavour democracy scenario constraining the Dirac neutrino, the charged lepton and the Majorana neutrino mass term ($M_R$) to be all proportional to the democratic matrix, with all elements equal. In particular, this discreet symmetry forbids other large contributions to $M_R$, such as a term proportional to the unit matrix, which would normally be allowed by a $S_{3L}\times S_{3R}$ permutation symmetry. This feature is crucial in order to obtain large leptonic mixing, without violating 't Hooft's, naturalness principle.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

Suscetibilidade da Bacia do Rio Bengalas a deslizamentos de terra

Landslides have frequently occurred in last years, due to the disorderly grownth of the cities and the occupation of risk areas by the poor population, causing social, environmental and economic impacts. Urban areas in expansion move to geologically unstable areas and topographically inclined, such as the Basin of River Bengalas, located in the city of Nova Friburgo, mountainous region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article aims to present the model survey to assess the susceptibility of the Basin of River Bengalas to landslides, which in january 2011, with the occurrence of heavy rains, caused landslides that impacted in the death of 429 people in city of Nova Friburgo. For the case study, several investigations have been made related to the areas of the basin, such as slope, soil conditions, lithology, land use and cover, vertical and horizontal curvatures. With this study it was possible to understand how the natural and anthropics elements of the basin are related to the local dynamics of the disasters regarding to their interferences in the induction of landslides, thus enabling improved public management of the Municipality regarding the use and division of land, from the identification of areas Basin of River Bengalas susceptible to landslides

Expression analysis of transcription factors from the interaction between cacao and Moniliophthora perniciosa (Tricholomataceae)

Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is one of the most important tropical crops; however, production is threatened by numerous pathogens, including the hemibiotrophic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa, which causes witches' broom disease. To understand the mechanisms that lead to the development of this disease in cacao, we focused our attention on cacao transcription factors (TFs), which act as master regulators of cellular processes and are important for the fine-tuning of plant defense responses. We developed a macroarray with 88 TF cDNA from previously obtained cacao-M. perniciosa interaction libraries. Seventy-two TFs were found differentially expressed between the susceptible (Catongo) and resistant (TSH1188) genotypes and/or during the disease time course - from 24 h to 30 days after infection. Most of the differentially expressed TFs belonged to the bZIP, MYB and WRKY families and presented opposite expression patterns in susceptible and resistant cacao-M. perniciosa interactions (i.e., up-regulated in Catongo and down-regulated in TSH1188). The results of the macroarray were confirmed for bZIP and WRKY TFs by real-time PCR. These differentially expressed TFs are good candidates for subsequent functional analysis as well as for plant engineering. Some of these TFs could also be localized on the cacao reference map related to witches' broom resistance, facilitating the breeding and selection of resistant cacao trees. (Résumé d'auteur