Giant planets around two intermediate-mass evolved stars and confirmation of the planetary nature of HIP67851 c

Precision radial velocities are required to discover and characterize planets orbiting nearby stars. Optical and near infrared spectra that exhibit many hundreds of absorption lines can allow the m/s precision levels required for such work. However, this means that studies have generally focused on solar-type dwarf stars. After the main-sequence, intermediate-mass stars (former A-F stars) expand and rotate slower than their progenitors, thus thousands of narrow absorption lines appear in the optical region, permitting the search for planetary Doppler signals in the data for these types of stars. We present the discovery of two giant planets around the intermediate-mass evolved star HIP65891 and HIP107773. The best Keplerian fit to the HIP65891 and HIP107773 radial velocities leads to the following orbital parameters: P=1084.5 d; m$_b$sin$i$ = 6.0 M$_{jup}$; $e$=0.13 and P=144.3 d; m$_b$sin$i$ = 2.0 M$_{jup}$; $e$=0.09, respectively. In addition, we confirm the planetary nature of the outer object orbiting the giant star HIP67851. The orbital parameters of HIP67851c are: P=2131.8 d, m$_c$sin$i$ = 6.0 M$_{jup}$ and $e$=0.17. With masses of 2.5 M$_\odot$ and 2.4 M$_\odot$ HIP65891 and HIP107773 are two of the most massive stars known to host planets. Additionally, HIP67851 is one of five giant stars that are known to host a planetary system having a close-in planet ($a <$ 0.7 AU). Based on the evolutionary states of those five stars, we conclude that close-in planets do exist in multiple systems around subgiants and slightly evolved giants stars, but probably they are subsequently destroyed by the stellar envelope during the ascent of the red giant branch phase. As a consequence, planetary systems with close-in objects are not found around horizontal branch stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Forecasting Food Price Inflation in Developing Countries with Inflation Targeting Regimes: the Colombian Case

Many developing countries are adopting inflation targeting regimes to guide monetary policy decisions. In such countries the share of food in the consumption basket is high and policy makers often employ total inflation (as opposed to core inflation) to set inflationary targets. Therefore, central banks need to develop reliable models to forecast food inflation. Our literature review suggests that little has been done in the construction of models to forecast short-run food inflation in developing countries. We develop a model to improve short-run food inflation forecasts in Colombia. The model disaggregates food items according to economic theory and employs Flexible Least Squares given the presence of structural changes in the inflation series. We compare the performance of this new model to current models employed by the central bank. Next, we apply econometric methods to combine forecasts from alternative models and test whether such combination outperforms individual models. Our results indicate that forecasts can be improved by classifying food basket items according to unprocessed, processed and food away from home and by employing forecast combination techniques.Food Inflation, Time Series,

Public sector reform and the state of performance management in Portugal: is there a gap between performance measurement and its use?

Purpose – This paper analyses the state of performance management in the Portuguese public sector as part of the efforts towards public administration reform. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretically, we took Bouckaert and Halligan’s (2008, pp. 35-39) approach into consideration to analyse the adoption of performance management practices. This approach was supplemented by an adaptation of Pollitt and Bouckaert’s (2011, p. 33) framework to analyse the context for administrative reforms. The used data analysis techniques include documentary analysis (namely legislation and evaluation reports of reform efforts), secondary data analysis and a survey conducted with 296 Portuguese top public managers. Findings – Findings show that Portuguese public sector organizations adopted several tools to measure performance over the years, but failed to incorporate performance information into their management practices or to properly use it for either internal or external purposes. Concerning the ideal types proposed by Bouckaert and Halligan (2008, p. 36), Portugal is considered to fit the ‘Performance Administration’ ideal type, even though it is moving closer to the ‘Managements of Performance’ ideal type. Originality – This is one of the first comprehensive studies on the state of performance management in Portugal framed within the broader context of public sector reforms. The findings will be of interest both to scholars that study public administration reforms and performance management and to Portuguese policymakers and public managers who are interested in understanding and improving the way performance information is measured, incorporated and used in that sector.publishe

Isolamento de bactérias associadas à palma e prospecção do potencial de solubilizar fosfato e fixar nitrogênio.

Bactérias associadas às cactáceas, adaptadas ao estresse hídrico e a altas temperaturas, podem ser usadas como inoculantes visando aumento de produtividade e recuperação de solos em processos de desertificação. Nesse sentido, visou-se selecionar bactérias endofíticas e rizobactérias de palma (Opuntia ficus-indica) quanto aos atributos de fixar N2 e solubilizar fosfato. Sessenta e nove linhagens de bactérias, isoladas em meio livre de nitrogênio (meio NFb) foram avaliadas quanto à presença dos genes nifH e nifD e à capacidade de solubilizar fosfato. Ficou evidenciado a presença do gene nifH em dez bactérias, sendo os gêneros identificados como Citrobacter, Sphingomonas, Ochrobactrum, Rodococcus, Stenotrophomonas e Enterobacter. Vinte dos isolados bacterianos avaliados foram capazes de solubilizar in vitro fosfato de rocha, sobressaindo-se o gênero Bacillus como hiperprodutor. As espécies B. megaterium e Enterobacter agglomerans apresentaram os maiores níveis de solubilização de fosfato. Estas bactérias, aliadas a outras características benéficas, podem ser usadas para inoculação de plântulas de cacto visando assegurar maior índice de desenvolvimento em solos com déficit hídrico

Wave localization in strongly nonlinear Hertzian chains with mass defect

We investigate the dynamical response of a mass defect in a one-dimensional non-loaded horizontal chain of identical spheres which interact via the nonlinear Hertz potential. Our experiments show that the interaction of a solitary wave with a light intruder excites localized mode. In agreement with dimensional analysis, we find that the frequency of localized oscillations exceeds the incident wave frequency spectrum and nonlinearly depends on the size of the intruder and on the incident wave strength. The absence of tensile stress between grains allows some gaps to open, which in turn induce a significant enhancement of the oscillations amplitude. We performed numerical simulations that precisely describe our observations without any adjusting parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted for publicatio

Desenvolvimento de caracteres da panícula e frutificação de duas populações de cajueiros comum e anão-precoce (A. occidentale).

Apesar de sua importancia, sao escassas as informacoes sobre a biologia floral do cajueiro no Brasil. Em 1974-75 avaliaram-se, em Pacajus, CE, dez plantas de cajueiro-comum e dez de anao-precoce. Em cada uma foram avaliadas 28 paniculas por ponto cardeal; dezesseis colhidas aos 30, 45, 60 e 75 dias e as outras dize observadas diretamente nas plantas. Em cada panicula tomaram-se o comprimento, o numero de ramificacoes, de botoes florais, de flores masculinas e hermafroditas, a duracao do florescimento e o numero de frutos jovens e colhidos. Nas paniculas estufadas em laboratorio foram estimados a media e o intervalo de confianca por epoca de coleta, dentro e entre cada ano de observacao e, nas avaliadas em campo, as medias anuais para cada carater avaliado. Em ambos os casos aplicou-se o teste t a 5% de probabilidade. Os principais resultados foram os seguintes: o cajueiro-anao-precoce na media da maioria dos caracteres avaliados; as duas populacoes apresentaram baixo indice de flores hermafroditas (<10%); as paniculas com 30 e 45 dias exibiram maior numero de flores que as mais velhas; paniculas com 40 dias ja atingiram o comprimento normal pois nao diferiram estatisticamente daquelas com outras idades; a maior concentracao de flores hermafroditas ocorreu aos 45 e 75 dias, respectivamente, para os tipos anao-precoce e comum; a maior concentracao de flores masculinas ocorreu aos 45 e 60 dias, nos dois tipos de cajueiro; o periodo medio de florescimento, nos dois anos, foi de 97,8 dias para o anao-precoce e 102,2...bitstream/item/34967/1/Bp-008.pd

Bioprospecção de actinobactérias da rizosfera para produção de metabólitos bioativos.

Actinobactérias rizosféricas, têm mostrado grande potencial na produção de metabólitos bioativos, sendo o gênero das Streptomyces o mais bem estudado e com melhor potencial para produção destes compostos. Assim, o presente trabalho visou realizar a bioprospecção de actinobactérias rizosféricas e avaliar o potencial de seus metabólitos bioativos no controle de bactérias patogênicas. Foram isoladas linhagens de actinobactérias de plantas sadias de milho, cultivado em diferentes regiões edafoclimáticas do Estado de São Paulo. As linhagens foram avaliadas quanto ao potencial de controle de Bacillus megaterium, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonnas aeruginosa e Sthaphylococcus aureus. Os isolados que se mostraram eficientes em testes de antagonismo foram utilizados em ensaios de antibiose para verificação do potencial do composto bioativo no controle destes patógenos. Foram isolados 60 actinobactérias, identificadas morfologicamente como sendo do gênero Streptomyces. Dentre estas, 31 inibiram pelo menos 1 dos 5 patógenos em testes de antagonismos. Nos ensaios de antibiose, foi verificada a eficiência dos metabólitos de 25 actinobactérias no controle dos patógenos testados

An eccentric companion at the edge of the brown dwarf desert orbiting the 2.4 Msun giant star HIP67537

We report the discovery of a substellar companion around the giant star HIP67537. Based on precision radial velocity measurements from CHIRON and FEROS high-resolution spectroscopic data, we derived the following orbital elements for HIP67537$\,b$: m$_b$sin$i$ = 11.1$^{+0.4}_{-1.1}$ M$_{\rm {\tiny jup}}$, $a$ = 4.9$^{+0.14}_{-0.13}$ AU and $e$ = 0.59$^{+0.05}_{-0.02}$. Considering random inclination angles, this object has $\gtrsim$ 65% probability to be above the theoretical deuterium-burning limit, thus it is one of the few known objects in the planet to brown-dwarf transition region. In addition, we analyzed the Hipparcos astrometric data of this star, from which we derived a minimum inclination angle for the companion of $\sim$ 2 deg. This value corresponds to an upper mass limit of $\sim$ 0.3 M$_\odot$, therefore the probability that HIP67537$\,b$ is stellar in nature is $\lesssim$ 7%. The large mass of the host star and the high orbital eccentricity makes HIP67537$\,b$ a very interesting and rare substellar object. This is the second candidate companion in the brown dwarf desert detected in the sample of intermediate-mass stars targeted by the EXPRESS radial velocity program, which corresponds to a detection fraction of $f$ = 1.6$^{+2.0}_{-0.5}$%. This value is larger than the fraction observed in solar-type stars, providing new observational evidence of an enhanced formation efficiency of massive substellar companions in massive disks. Finally, we speculate about different formation channels for this object.Comment: Accepted for publication to A&

Portuguese Adaptation of Students Engagement in Schools International Scale (SESIS)

The importance of student’s engagement has been recently pointed out in research. However, there has been a lack of engagement assessment instrument, pertaining psychometric qualities. Objective: This paper presents the Portuguese adaptation of the “Student’s Engagement in School International Scale” (SESIS), drawn up from a12 countries international study (Lam et al., 2012; Lam et al., in press). Method: Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data from 685 students from different grades (6th, 7th, 9th and 10th), from both sexes, and different regions of the country. Results: Factorial analysis of the results, with varimax rotation, lead to three different factors which explain 50.88% of the variance. The scale integrates the original 33 items, and cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions. For the external validity study, the relationship between student’s engagement in school results and other school variables — academic performance, self-concept — was considered, and significant relations were observed, as expected. Conclusion: The data presented highlights the qualities of SESIS, as well as its usefulness for research purposes. Suggestion: It is suggested the investigation of the extension of SESIS’s three-dimensionality, in future studiesKeywords: Innovation, technology, research projects, etc. [Arial 10-point, justified alignment]