Spin configurations in hard-soft coupled bilayer systems: from rigid magnet to exchange spring transitions

We investigate equilibrium properties of an exchange-spring magnetic system constituted of a soft layer (e.g. Fe) of a given thickness on top of a hard magnetic layer (e.g. FePt). The magnetization profile M(z) as a function of the atomic position ranging from the bottom of the hard layer to the top of the soft layer is obtained in two cases with regard to the hard layer: i) in the case of a rigid interface (the FePt layer is a single layer), the profile is obtained analytically as the exact solution of a sine-Gordon equation with Cauchy's boundary conditions. Additional numerical simulations also confirm this result. Asymptotic expressions of M(z) show a linear behavior near the bottom and the top of the soft layer. In addition, a critical value of the number of atomic planes in the soft layer, that is necessary for the onset of spin deviations, is obtained in terms of the anisotropy and exchange coupling between the adjacent plane in the soft layer. ii) in the case of a relaxed interface (the FePt layer is a multilayer), the magnetization profile is obtained numerically for various Fe and FePt films thicknesses and applied field.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, PRB submitted (12-07-2010

Regional scale characteristics of the seasonal cycle of chlorophyll in the Southern Ocean

In the Ocean, the seasonal cycle is the mode that couples climate forcing to ecosystem response in production, diversity and carbon export. A better characterisation of the ecosystem's seasonal cycle therefore addresses an important gap in our ability to estimate the sensitivity of the biological pump to climate change. In this study, the regional characteristics of the seasonal cycle of phytoplankton biomass in the Southern Ocean are examined in terms of the timing of the bloom initiation, its amplitude, regional scale variability and the importance of the climatological seasonal cycle in explaining the overall variance. The seasonal cycle was consequently defined into four broad zonal regions; the subtropical zone (STZ), the transition zone (TZ), the Antarctic circumpolar zone (ACZ) and the marginal ice zone (MIZ). Defining the Southern Ocean according to the characteristics of its seasonal cycle provides a more dynamic understanding of ocean productivity based on underlying physical drivers rather than climatological biomass. The response of the biology to the underlying physics of the different seasonal zones resulted in an additional classification of four regions based on the extent of inter-annual seasonal phase locking and the magnitude of the integrated seasonal biomass. This regionalisation contributes towards an improved understanding of the regional differences in the sensitivity of the Southern Oceans ecosystem to climate forcing, potentially allowing more robust predictions of the effects of long term climate trends

Valoração econômica da perda de solo na cultura de cana-de-açúcar colhida crua e queimada no município de Campos dos Goytacazes.

Este trabalho foi realizado no Município de Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ e teve como objetivo valorar economicamente as perdas de solo em relação aos nutrientes perdidos na cultura de cana-de-açúcar sob dois sistemas distintos de colheita, cana-de-açúcar crua e queimada em áreas de baixada e de tabuleiro. Utilizou-se a Universal Soil Loss Equation ? USLE e o método do custo de reposição de nutrientes, para realizar a estimação econômica das perdas de solo. Os resultados mostram que a taxa de perda de solo da cana-de-açúcar queimada foi quatro vezes maior quando comparada à taxa para cana-de-açúcar colhida crua para ambas as áreas estudadas. O custo de reposição dos nutrientes perdidos no cultivo da cana-de-açúcar sob sistema de colheita com queima prévia apresentou um valor de R$10,53 por hectare, já o custo para área com cana crua foi de R$ 2,61 por hectare em área de baixada e de R$43,59 por hectare para cana queimada e R$ 10,89 para cana crua em tabuleiro. Dessa forma, o sistema de manejo da colheita da cana crua contribui ambientalmente e economicamente para a preservação da fertilidade do solo

Toward an understanding on father involvement in divorced families

Important changes regarding the traditional family structure and the beliefs about gender roles, more specifically about the parental roles, have contributed to an increasing number of studies focusing on the father and his involvement in the family, especially with the child. However, research is still scarce among divorced families. Therefore the main goal of this study was to analyze father involvement with their children (one child per family) in divorced Portuguese parents. Sociodemographic variables such as parents’ age, education and the child’s sex were considered. Fathers (N = 118) reported on their involvement regarding the child. Results show that the father’s involvement varies according to the type of activities and was moderated by the child’s sex and the mother’s education. Fathers were more involved in indirect care and outdoor leisure activities with their sons than daughters, also father involvement in outdoor leisure increased in families in which the mother’s education was higher. These results are important to understand father involvement as a multidimensional construct, and how it’s affected by parents and child’s characteristics, particularly after divorce.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Editorial: New Training Strategies and Evaluation Methods for Improving Health and Physical Performance

Physical activity is among the most effective methods for improving health, body composition, and physical function, and its practice is suitable for every population [...]

Light field image coding based on hybrid data representation

This paper proposes a novel efficient light field coding approach based on a hybrid data representation. Current state-of-the-art light field coding solutions either operate on micro-images or sub-aperture images. Consequently, the intrinsic redundancy that exists in light field images is not fully exploited, as is demonstrated. This novel hybrid data representation approach allows to simultaneously exploit four types of redundancies: i) sub-aperture image intra spatial redundancy, ii) sub-aperture image inter-view redundancy, iii) intra-micro-image redundancy, and iv) inter-micro-image redundancy between neighboring micro-images. The proposed light field coding solution allows flexibility for several types of baselines, by adaptively exploiting the most predominant type of redundancy on a coding block basis. To demonstrate the efficiency of using a hybrid representation, this paper proposes a set of efficient pixel prediction methods combined with a pseudo-video sequence coding approach, based on the HEVC standard. Experimental results show consistent average bitrate savings when the proposed codec is compared to relevant state-of-the-art benchmarks. For lenslet light field content, the proposed coding algorithm outperforms the HEVC-based pseudo-video sequence coding benchmark by an average bitrate savings of 23%. It is shown for the same light field content that the proposed solution outperforms JPEG Pleno verification models MuLE and WaSP, as these codecs are only able to achieve 11% and -14% bitrate savings over the same HEVC-based benchmark, respectively. The performance of the proposed coding approach is also validated for light fields with wider baselines, captured with high-density camera arrays, being able to outperform both the HEVC-based benchmark, as well as MuLE and WaSP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio