Age determination and growth of the night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) off the northeastern Brazilian coast

Age and growth of the night shark (Carcharhinus signatus) from areas off northeastern Brazil were determined from 317 unstained vertebral sections of 182 males (113–215 cm total length [TL]), 132 females (111.5–234.9 cm) and three individuals of unknown sex (169–242 cm). Although marginal increment (MI) analysis suggests that band formation occurs in the third and fourth trimesters in juveniles, it was inconclusive for adults. Thus, it was assumed that one band is formed annually. Births that occur over a protracted period may be the most important source of bias in MI analysis. An estimated average percent error of 2.4% was found in readings for individuals between two and seventeen years. The von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) showed no significant differences between sexes, and the model derived from back-calculated mean length at age best represented growth for the species (L∞=270 cm, K=0.11/yr, t0=–2.71 yr) when compared to the observed mean lengths at age and the Fabens’ method. Length-frequency analysis on 1055 specimens (93–260 cm) was used to verify age determination. Back-calculated size at birth was 66.8 cm and maturity was reached at 180–190 cm (age 8) for males and 200–205 cm (age ten) for females. Age composition, estimated from an age-length key, indicated that juveniles predominate in commercial catches, representing 74.3% of the catch. A growth rate of 25.4 cm/yr was estimated from birth to the first band (i.e. juveniles grow 38% of their birth length during the first year), and a growth rate of 8.55 cm/yr was estimated for eight- to ten-year-old adults

LHC discovery potential for supersymmetry with \sqrt{s}=7 TeV and 5-30 fb^{-1}

We extend our earlier results delineating the supersymmetry (SUSY) reach of the CERN Large Hadron Collider operating at a centre-of-mass energy \sqrt{s}=7 TeV to integrated luminosities in the range 5 - 30 fb^{-1}. Our results are presented within the paradigm minimal supergravity model (mSUGRA or CMSSM). Using a 6-dimensional grid of cuts for the optimization of signal to background ratio -- including missing E_T-- we find for m(gluino) \sim m(squark) an LHC 5\sigma SUSY discovery reach of m(gluino) \sim 1.3,\ 1.4,\ 1.5 and 1.6 TeV for 5, 10, 20 and 30 fb^{-1}, respectively. For m(squark)>> m(gluino), the corresponding reach is instead m(gluino)\sim 0.8,\ 0.9,\ 1.0 and 1.05 TeV, for the same integrated luminosities.Comment: 7 pages with 2 .eps figure. In version 2, a new figure has been added along with associated discussio

Avaliação da qualidade da água do rio Sergipe no município de Laranjeiras, Sergipe-Brasil.

Este estudo apresenta os resultados obtidos nas campanhas de monitoramento dos parâmetros da qualidade da água (temperatura, pH, nitrogênio amoniacal, DBO, DQO, chumbo, fósforo, oxigênio dissolvido, coliformes fecais e toxicidade crônica) do Rio Sergipe, coletadas nas estações, seca e chuvosa, a montante (Latitude: 10°46,147?, Longitude: 37°09,092?) e a jusante (Latitude: 10°46,66?, Longitude: 37°08,021?) do rio Sergipe, entre os meses de fevereiro de 2010 a janeiro de 2011. As coletas foram realizadas em duas profundidades, superfície e fundo. A maioria dos parâmetros analisados apresentou resultados conforme os preconizados pela Resolução CONAMA No 357/2005 e 397/2008. Observou-se que: i) o pH, temperatura, DBO, DQO, fósforo total e chumbo, em ambas as estações, apresentaram resultados compatíveis com a Resolução. Apenas o parâmetro oxigênio dissolvido apresentou resultados abaixo do padrão exigido pela legislação; ii) o parâmetro coliforme fecal mostrou-se elevado em ambas as estações; iii) a toxicidade crônica foi positiva na estação a montante em julho de 2010, e em ambas as estações no mês de janeiro 2011. Concluiu-se que ações antrópicas têm contribuído para degradação do rio através do lançamento de dejetos sanitários sem tratamento prévio, podendo em médio prazo comprometer a qualidade da água do Rio Sergipe

Determining the squark mass at the LHC

We propose a new way to determine the squark mass based on the shape of di-jet invariant mass distribution of supersymmetry (SUSY) di-jet events at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Our algorithm, which is based on event kinematics, requires that the branching ratio $B(\tilde{q} \rightarrow q \tilde{z}_1)$ is substantial for at least some types of squarks, and that $m_{\tilde{z}_1}^2/m_{\tilde{q}}^2 \ll 1$. We select di-jet events with no isolated leptons, and impose cuts on the total jet transverse energy, $E_T^{tot}=E_T(j_1)+E_T(j_2)$, on $\alpha = E_T(j_2)/m_{jj}$, and on the azimuthal angle between the two jets to reduce SM backgrounds. The shape of the resulting di-jet mass distribution depends sensitively on the squark mass, especially if the integrated luminosity is sufficient to allow a hard enough cut on $E_T^{tot}$ and yet leave a large enough signal to obtain the $m_{jj}$ distribution. We simulate the signal and Standard Model (SM) backgrounds for 100 fb$^{-1}$ integrated luminosity at 14 TeV requiring $E_T^{tot}> 700$ GeV. We show that it should be possible to extract $m_{\tilde{q}}$ to within about 3% at 95% CL --- similar to the precision obtained using $m_{T2}$ --- from the di-jet mass distribution if $m_{\tilde{q}} \sim 650$ GeV, or to within $\sim 5$% if $m_{\tilde{q}}\sim 1$ TeV.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures. Footnote added, updated reference

ATIVIDADES COLABORATIVAS COM O GEOGEBRA: UMA PROPOSTA DE ENSINO DE GEOMETRIA PLANA

Os índices de desempenho de alunos brasileiros não têm alcançado níveis favoráveis em avaliações institucionais para verificação da aprendizagem em Matemática. Apesar do Brasil se destacar no cenário mundial pelo crescimento econômico e pelo desenvolvimento, assim como África do Sul, China, Índia e Rússia países com essas características e denominados BRICS não tem alcançado resultados semelhantes à maioria deles, como por exemplo no PISA. Desta forma se mostra importante, além de avaliar, se apropriar dos resultados e traçar metas, para que esse quadro seja modificado. O ponto de partida deste estudo é a avaliação realizada no sistema educacional do estado do Espírito Santo, o PAEBES. O resultado da avaliação no ano de 2014, servirá de apoio para a elaboração metodológica deste estudo, por constarem indicativos das habilidades (descritores) em que os alunos ainda não demonstraram ter desenvolvido. A proposta contempla a realização de atividades envolvendo Geometria para despertar curiosidade e a vontade de, por meio de desafios, aprender de forma colaborativa e interessante. Como a interatividade atrai os jovens, a Geometria Dinâmica do software GeoGebra pode fazer a ponte entre a teoria e a prática, tornando mais fácil a visualização em múltiplas representações do objeto criado

Scaffolding MATLAB and octave software comprehension through visualization

Multiple view interactive environments (MVIEs) provide visual resources to support the comprehension of a specific domain dataset. For any domain, different views can be selected and configured in a real time fashion to be better adjusted to the user needs. This paper focuses on the use of a MVIE called OctMiner to support the comprehension of MATLAB and GNU/Octave programs. The authors conducted a case study to characterize the use of OctMiner in the context of comprehension activities. Results provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of OctMiner to support the comprehension of programs written in MATLAB and Octave.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A multiple view interactive environment to support MATLAB and GNU/Octave program comprehension

Program comprehension plays an important role in Software Engineering. In fact, many of the software lifecycle activities depend on program comprehension. Despite the importance of MATLAB and Octave programing languages in the Engineering and Statistical communities, little attention has been paid to the conception, implementation and characterization of tools and techniques for the comprehension of programs written in these languages. Considering this scenario, this paper presents a Multiple View Interactive Environment (MVIE) called OctMiner that supports the comprehension of programs developed in the aforementioned languages. OctMiner provides a set of coordinated visual metaphors that can be adjusted in accordance with the comprehension goals. An example is presented to illustrate the main functionalities of OctMiner in a real scenario of program comprehension.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

On the use of a multiple view interactive environment for MATLAB and octave program comprehension

WOS:000364988500049 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)MATLAB or GNU/Octave programs can become very large and complex and therefore difficult to understand and maintain. The objective of this paper is presenting an approach to mitigate this problem, based upon a multiple view interactive environment (MVIE) called OctMiner. The latter provides visual resources to support program comprehension, namely the selection and configuration of several views to meet developers’ needs. For validation purposes, the authors conducted two case studies to characterize the use of OctMiner in the context of software comprehension activities. The results provided initial evidences of its effectiveness to support the comprehension of programs written in the aforementioned languages

Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: A Pilot Study of the General Public and Food Handlers

Objective: We have assessed the factors that might improve the free food allergen at the restaurants. In addition, we have compared food handlers knowledge with the general public knowledge about food allergens. Design: Cross-sectional, via questionnaires. Participants: A total of 182 participants (80 food handlers and 102 of general public). Main Outcome Measures: Dependent variables: Food allergy knowledge, attitudes and practices. Analysis: The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent t-test. Questionnaires were hand coded and data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0. Results: The survey showed that food handlers and general public had some knowledge on the issue, a major proportion of both group do not believe the meals produced in restaurants are safe in terms of food allergies. Conclusions and Implications: Allergic people must stay on the alert, questioning the place where they are going to have their meals in terms of the ingredients used, verifying whether the food is really free of allergens. This study can be used by restaurants to develop food allergy policies