Stratigraphy and sedimentology of distal-alluvial and lacustrine deposits of the western-central Ebro Basin (NE Iberia) reflecting the onset of the middle Miocene Climatic Optimum

Stratigraphic and sedimentological study of distal alluvial and lacustrine deposits in the Plana de la Negra-Sancho Abarca area (western-central Ebro Basin, NE Iberia) within the early and middle Miocene allows five main lithofacies to be characterized and mapped within two tectosedimentary units, construction of a sedimentary facies model and discussion on allogenic controls on sedimentation. In this area, the boundary between tectosedimentary units T5 and T6 appears to be conformable and is marked by the change from dominant clastics to carbonates. Correlation of the studied outcrops with nearby sections that already had magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data allows the studied succession to be dated from C5Dr to C5Cn (Burdigalian-Langhian), placing the boundary T5/T6 at ca. 16.1-16.05Ma. Seven vertical facies sequences document deposition of distal alluvial clastics and palustrine and lacustrine carbonates. Sandstones and mudstones represent low-sinuosity channels and lateral and terminal splays by unconfined flows runnig across the alluvial plain, associated to the Pyrenean-derived Luna fluvial system. The carbonates contain charophytes, ostracods, bivalves and gastropods, indicating deposition in 2-4m deep lakes. Laminated carbonate facies record reworking of shore carbonates and the influx fine-siliciclastic sediment offshore. Abundant bioturbation and desiccation features indicate episodic submergence and subaerial exposure. Four main episodes of alluvial and associated palustrine/lacustrine facies belt shifts are identified. Alluvial deposition in the studied T5 unit is related to low lake level conditions, rather than to a Pyrenean uplift. The maximum extent of the freshwater carbonates occur at the base of unit T6. This is consistent with conditions of increasing humidity of the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum

Self consistent determination of plasmonic resonances in ternary nanocomposites

We have developed a self consistent technique to predict the behavior of plasmon resonances in multi-component systems as a function of wavelength. This approach, based on the tight lower bounds of the Bergman-Milton formulation, is able to predict experimental optical data, including the positions, shifts and shapes of plasmonic peaks in ternary nanocomposites without using any ftting parameters. Our approach is based on viewing the mixing of 3 components as the mixing of 2 binary mixtures, each in the same host. We obtained excellent predictions of the experimental optical behavior for mixtures of Ag:Cu:SiO2 and alloys of Au-Cu:SiO2 and Ag-Au:H2 O, suggesting that the essential physics of plasmonic behavior is captured by this approach.Comment: 7 pages and 4 figure

Acausality in Gowdy spacetimes

We present a parametrization of $T^3$ and $S^1\times S^2$ Gowdy cosmological models which allows us to study both types of topologies simultaneously. We show that there exists a coordinate system in which the general solution of the linear polarized special case (with both topologies) has exactly the same functional dependence. This unified parametrization is used to investigate the existence of Cauchy horizons at the cosmological singularities, leading to a violation of the strong cosmic censorship conjecture. Our results indicate that the only acausal spacetimes are described by the Kantowski-Sachs and the Kerr-Gowdy metrics.Comment: Typos corrected, 10 pages. Dedicated to Michael P. Ryan on the occasion of his 60-th birthda

First bird footprints from the lower Miocene Lerín Formation, Ebro Basin, Spain

A new tracksite with bird footprints, found in the Bardenas Reales de Navarra Natural Park (Navarre, Spain), is presented in this study. The footprints are preserved in four sandstone blocks of the Lerín Formation from the northwest sector of the Ebro Basin. According to the magnetostratigraphic data, the age of these blocks is 20.4 Ma (Agenian, lower Miocene). The footprints are more than 100 mm in length, mesaxonic, and tridactyl, and have a prominent central pad impression with the digit impressions not jointed proximally. These features allow classifying them as Uvaichnites riojana. Some of the studied footprints are better preserved than the type series of Uvaichnites, which were found also in the northwest sector of the Ebro Basin. Therefore, the original diagnosis has been emended. Available chronostratigraphic data for these localities as well as for other footprints from China indicate a latest Oligocene-earliest Miocene age (from about 23 to 20 Ma) for Uvaichnites-like footprints. Sedimentological data also indicate similar continental environments, namely perilacustrine deltaic systems and distal alluvial systems. The information about early Miocene avian remains (bones, eggs and footprints) in the Iberian Peninsula is scarce. The skeletal and oological record of this age has been included within the families Phoenicopteridae, Phaisanidae and Cathartidae (or incertae sedis), while the ichnological record was related with trackmakers belonging to Charadriiformes, Ardeidae and Gruidae taxa. For this scenario, in which there are few avian remains, the ichnological diversity shown in this paper complements and improves the knowledge about the Iberian avian diversity in the early Miocene

Generating Gowdy cosmological models

Using the analogy with stationary axisymmetric solutions, we present a method to generate new analytic cosmological solutions of Einstein's equation belonging to the class of $T^3$ Gowdy cosmological models. We show that the solutions can be generated from their data at the initial singularity and present the formal general solution for arbitrary initial data. We exemplify the method by constructing the Kantowski-Sachs cosmological model and a generalization of it that corresponds to an unpolarized $T^3$ Gowdy model.Comment: Latex, 15 pages, no figure

Rancang Bangun Mesin Pengiris Buah Pinang Muda Tipe Horizontal

Biji pinang merupakan salah bahan campuran dalam memakan sirih, bahan campuran pembuatan permen, zat pewarna merah alami, dan diekstrak untuk mendapatkan zat-zat antioksidan alami yang menguntungkan seperti tanin. Pinang muda diolah ditingkat petani dalam bentuk irisan yang kemudian dikeringkan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempercepat proses produksi dan mengurangi kecelakaan kerja karena pengolahan buah pinang muda biasanya dilakukan dengan cara diiris tipis dengan menggunakan pisau. Prinsip pengirisan pinang ini dilakukan secara horizontal dengan mengubah gerak rotasi dari motor listrik menjadi gerak linear bolak-Balik. Dengan adanya mesin ini diharapkan pekerjaan pengirisan akan lebih efektif dan efisien dari segi waktu serta aman bagi pekerja itu sendiri. Perbandingan kinerja mesin pengiris pinang muda dengan alat manual dengan menggunakan mesin pengiris adalah 1 :15,54. Dari uji analisa ekonomi maka didapat harga jual Rp. 5.070.000, biaya tetap (Fixed cost) Rp 1.277.640,- /tahun, biaya tidak tetap (Variable cost) Rp 11.361,56,-/jam, biaya pokok Rp.458.869 dan Break Event Point 20.607,09 kg/tahun

Expression of phosphate and calcium transporters and their regulators in parotid glands of mice

The concentration of inorganic phosphate (Pi) in plasma is under hormonal control, with deviations from normal values promptly corrected to avoid hyper- or hypophosphatemia. Major regulators include parathyroid hormone (PTH), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), and active vitamin D$_{3}$ (calcitriol). This control is achieved by mechanisms largely dependent on regulating intestinal absorption and renal excretion, whose combined actions stabilise plasma Pi levels at around 1–2 mM. Instead, Pi concentrations up to 13 and 40 mM have been measured in saliva from humans and ruminants, respectively, suggesting that salivary glands have the capacity to concentrate Pi. Here we analysed the transcriptome of parotid glands, ileum, and kidneys of mice, to investigate their potential differences regarding the expression of genes responsible for epithelial transport of Pi as well as their known regulators. Given that Pi and Ca$^{2+}$ homeostasis are tightly connected, the expression of genes involved in Ca$^{2+}$ homeostasis was also included. In addition, we studied the effect of vitamin D$_{3}$ treatment on the expression of Pi and Ca$^{2+}$ regulating genes in the three major salivary glands. We found that parotid glands are equipped preferentially with Slc20 rather than with Slc34 Na$^{+}$/Pi cotransporters, are suited to transport Ca$^{2+}$ through the transcellular and paracellular route and are potential targets for PTH and vitamin D$_{3}$ regulation

Towards the entropy of gravity time-dependent models via the Cardy-Verlinde formula

For models with several time-dependent components generalized entropies can be defined. This is shown for the Bianchi type IX model. We first derive the Cardy-Verlinde formula under the assumption that the first law of thermodynamics is valid. This leads to an explicit expression of the total entropy associated with this type of universes. Assuming the validity of the Cardy entropy formula, we obtain expressions for the corresponding Bekenstein, Bekenstein-Hawking and Hubble entropies. We discuss the validity of the Cardy-Verlinde formula and possible extensions of the outlined procedure to other time-dependent models.Comment: 13 page