Tracking Cluster Debris (TraCD) – I. Dissolution of clusters and searching for the solar cradle

The capability to reconstruct dissolved stellar systems in dynamical and chemical space is a key factor in improving our understanding of the evolution of the Milky Way. Here we concentrate on the dynamical aspect and given that a significant portion of the stars in the Milky Way have been born in stellar associations or clusters that have lived a few Myr up to several Gyr, we further restrict our attention to the evolution of star clusters. We have carried out our simulations in two steps: (1) we create a simulation of dissolution and mixing processes which yields a close fit to the present-day Milky Way dynamics and (2) we have evolved three sets of stellar clusters with masses of 400, 1000 and 15 000 M⊙ to dissolution. The birth location of these sets was 4, 6, 8 and 10 kpc for the 400 and 1000 M⊙ clusters and 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 kpc for the 15 000 M⊙. We have focused our efforts on studying the state of the escapers from these clusters after 4.5 Gyr of evolution with particular attention to stars that reach the solar annulus, i.e. 7.5 ≤ Rgc ≤ 8.5 kpc. We give results for solar twins and siblings over a wide range of radii and cluster masses for two dissolution mechanisms. From kinematics alone, we conclude that the Sun was ∼50 per cent more likely to have been born near its current Galactocentric radius, rather than have migrated (radially) ∼2 kpc since birth. We conclude our analysis by calculating magnitudes and colours of our single stars for comparison with the samples that the Gaia, Gaia-ESO and GALAH-AAO surveys will obtain. In terms of reconstructing dissolved star clusters, we find that on short time-scales we cannot rely on kinematic evolution alone and thus it will be necessary to extend our study to include information on chemical space

Dynamic resource management in SDN-based virtualized networks

Network virtualization allows for an abstraction between user and physical resources by letting a given physical infrastructure to be shared by multiple service providers. However, network virtualization presents some challenges, such as, efficient resource management, fast provisioning and scalability. By separating a network's control logic from the underlying routers and switches, software defined networking (SDN) promises an unprecedented simplification in network programmability, management and innovation by service providers, and hence, its control model presents itself as a candidate solution to the challenges in network virtualization. In this paper, we use the SDN control plane to efficiently manage resources in virtualized networks by dynamically adjusting the virtual network (VN) to substrate network (SN) mappings based on network status. We extend an SDN controller to monitor the resource utilisation of VNs, as well as the average loading of SN links and switches, and use this information to proactively add or remove flow rules from the switches. Simulations show that, compared with three state-of-art approaches, our proposal improves the VN acceptance ratio by about 40% and reduces VN resource costs by over 10%

Single-particle transfer and nuclear supersymmetry

Transfer reactions constitute a stringent test for nuclear supersymmetry, a theory that simultaneously describes neighboring nuclei with bosonic and fermionic character. We construct and analytically evaluate one-nucleon transfer matrix elements between supersymmetric partners with the U( 6/4) case as an example, and stress the need for a careful treatment of bosonic and fermionic operators in the construction of mixed tensor operators.CONACyT 32416-E 32397-EPAGA-UNAM IN106400DGICYT PB98-111

Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to (i) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity-taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits-and (ii) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts

Experiências profissionais na escola e os sentidos da educação Física

Este estudo tem como objetivo compreender de que maneira as experiências profissionais singularizam a disciplina Educação Física no contexto escolar. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma escola do município de Vitória-ES e focou os espaços de interação nos quais ocorria um maior número de experiências produzidas pelos sujeitos profissionais. A aproximação com o problema e as interpretações fundamentaram-se na teoria da ação. Opta por uma metodologia de abordagem qualitativa, pelo estudo etnográfico e pela observação participante. Para tanto, utiliza, como instrumento de coleta de dados os diálogos estabelecidos com os profissionais, a observação de espaços-tempos de interação, a análise dos documentos produzidos pela escola. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram: a diretora, as pedagogas, as professoras regentes e as professoras de Educação Física. Como resultado, identifica quatro categorias fundamentais. A Educação Física aparece como curinga, disciplina menor, centro das festividades e lugar de acirrada tensão entre profissionalização e desprofissionalização. A legitimidade da Educação Física na instituição advém não do reconhecimento de seus conteúdos, mas do potencial de suporte às demais disciplinas, seus conteúdos e organização institucional. As representações construídas em torno da Educação Física nessa escola não podem ser abstraídas do seu reconhecimento específico, fato que às veses parece passar despercebido pelos profissionais. Nesse jogo conflituoso, a Educação Física é significada ora de forma a ser valorizada, ora a ser desvalorizada. A desvalorização tende a perpassar o universo da escola enquanto que um certo significado de valorização da disciplina ocorreu em alguns momentos pontuais e , às vezes, frágeis

Neural network interpolation of the magnetic field for the LISA Pathfinder Diagnostics Subsystem

LISA Pathfinder is a science and technology demonstrator of the European Space Agency within the framework of its LISA mission, which aims to be the first space-borne gravitational wave observatory. The payload of LISA Pathfinder is the so-called LISA Technology Package, which is designed to measure relative accelerations between two test masses in nominal free fall. Its disturbances are monitored and dealt by the diagnostics subsystem. This subsystem consists of several modules, and one of these is the magnetic diagnostics system, which includes a set of four tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers, intended to measure with high precision the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses. However, since the magnetometers are located far from the positions of the test masses, the magnetic field at their positions must be interpolated. It has been recently shown that because there are not enough magnetic channels, classical interpolation methods fail to derive reliable measurements at the positions of the test masses, while neural network interpolation can provide the required measurements at the desired accuracy. In this paper we expand these studies and we assess the reliability and robustness of the neural network interpolation scheme for variations of the locations and possible offsets of the magnetometers, as well as for changes in environmental conditions. We find that neural networks are robust enough to derive accurate measurements of the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses in most circumstances

The 1997 El Niño impact on clouds, water vapour, aerosols and reactive trace gases in the troposphere, as measured by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment

The El Niño event of 1997/1998 caused dry conditions over the Indonesian area that were followed by large scale forest and savannah fires over Kalimantan, Sumatra, Java, and parts of Irian Jaya. Biomass burning was most intense between August and October 1997, and large amounts of ozone precursors, such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons were emitted into the atmosphere. In this work, we use satellite measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) sensor to study the teleconnections between the El Niño event of 1997 and the Indonesian fires, clouds, water vapour, aerosols and reactive trace gases (nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and ozone) in the troposphere

Influence of Tillage and Liming on N2O emission from a rainfed crop

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the main greenhouse gas (GHG) produced by agricultural soils due to microbial processes. The application of N fertilizers is associated with an increase of N2O losses. However, it is possible to mitigate these emissions by the introduction of adequate management practices (Snyder et al., 2009). Soil conservation practices (i.e.no tillage, NT) have recently become widespread because they promote several positive effects (increases in soil organic carbonand soil fertility, reduction of soil erosion, etc). In terms of GHG emissions, there is no consensus in the literature on the effects of tillage on N2O. Several studies found that NT can produce greater (Baggs et al., 2003), lower (Malhi et al., 2006) or similar (Grandey et al., 2006) N2O emissions compared to traditional tillage (TT). This large uncertainty is associated with the duration of tillage practices and climatic variability. Liming is widely use to solve problems of soil acidity (Al toxicity, yield penalties, etc). Several studies show a decrease in N2O emissions with liming (Barton et al., 2013) whereas no significant effects or increases were observed in others (Galbally et al., 2010). The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of tillage (NT vs TT) and liming application or not of Ca-amendment) on N2O emissions from an acid soil during a rainfed crop