Water activity in lamellar stacks of lipid bilayers: "Hydration forces" revisited

Water activity and its relationship with interactions stabilising lamellar stacks of mixed lipid bilayers in their fluid state are investigated by means of osmotic pressure measurements coupled with small-angle x-ray scattering. The (electrically-neutral) bilayers are composed of a mixture in various proportions of lecithin, a zwitterionic phospholipid, and Simulsol, a non-ionic cosurfactant with an ethoxylated polar head. For highly dehydrated samples the osmotic pressure profile always exhibits the "classical" exponential decay as hydration increases but, depending on Simulsol to lecithin ratio, it becomes either of the "bound" or "unbound" types for more water-swollen systems. A simple thermodynamic model is used for interpreting the results without resorting to the celebrated but elusive "hydration forces"Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in The European Physical Journal

The low-mass population of the Rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud

Star formation theories are currently divergent regarding the fundamental physical processes that dominate the substellar regime. Observations of nearby young open clusters allow the brown dwarf (BD) population to be characterised down to the planetary mass regime, which ultimately must be accommodated by a successful theory. We hope to uncover the low-mass population of the Rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud and investigate the properties of the newly found brown dwarfs. We use near-IR deep images (reaching completeness limits of approximately 20.5 mag in J, and 18.9 mag in H and Ks) taken with the Wide Field IR Camera (WIRCam) at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) to identify candidate members of Rho Oph in the substellar regime. A spectroscopic follow-up of a small sample of the candidates allows us to assess their spectral type, and subsequently their temperature and membership. We select 110 candidate members of the Rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud, from which 80 have not previously been associated with the cloud. We observed a small sample of these and spectroscopically confirm six new brown dwarfs with spectral types ranging from M6.5 to M8.25

Comparison of solar radio and EUV synoptic limb charts during the present solar maximum

The present solar cycle is particular in many aspects: it had a delayed rising phase, it is the weakest of the last 100 years, and it presents two peaks separated by more than one year. To understand the impact of these characteristics on the solar chromosphere and coronal dynamics, images from a wide wavelength range are needed. In this work we use the 17~GHz radio continuum, formed in the upper chromosphere and the EUV lines 304 and 171~{\AA}, that come from the transition region (He II) and the corona (Fe IX, X), respectively. We analyze daily images at 304 and 171~{\AA} obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). The 17~GHz maps were obtained by the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH). To construct synoptic limb charts, we calculated the mean emission of delimited limb areas with 100" wide and angular separation of $5^\circ$. At the equatorial region, the results show an hemispheric asymmetry of the solar activity. The northern hemisphere dominance is coincident with the first sunspot number peak, whereas the second peak occurs concurrently with the increase in the activity at the south. The polar emission reflects the presence of coronal holes at both EUV wavelengths, moreover, the 17~GHz polar brightenings can be associated with the coronal holes. Until 2013, both EUV coronal holes and radio polar brightenings were more predominant at the south pole. Since then they have not been apparent in the north, but thus appear in the beginning of 2015 in the south as observed in the synoptic charts. This work strengthens the association between coronal holes and the 17~GHz polar brightenings as it is evident in the synoptic limb charts, in agreement with previous case study papers. The enhancement of the radio brightness in coronal holes is explained by the presence of bright patches closely associated with the presence of intense unipolar magnetic fields.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Acccepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Caracterização e análise da rentabilidade financeira do cultivo da teca (Tectona grandis L.f.) para produção de madeira em Rio Branco, Acre.

A teca (Tectona grandis L.f.), planta originária da Ásia, encontra-se em expansão nas regiões Centro-Oeste e Norte do Brasil. O principal produto dessa espécie é a madeira de alta qualidade, muito utilizada em móveis finos e na construção naval. O valor de mercado para a madeira de teca madura, livre de nós e com diâmetro para serraria, chega a superar o da espécie mogno (Swietenia macrophylla King). Apesar da potencialidade de mercado para a teca, no Brasil ainda são escassos os trabalhos que avaliam o potencial econômico dessa espécie considerando as várias formas de manejo. Assim, estudos dessa natureza contribuirão para o planejamento e administração dos atuais e futuros plantios de teca. Tendo como referência estudos sobre os povoamentos de teca nos estados do Acre e Rondônia, este trabalho tem como objetivo determinar, em diferentes estratégias de manejo, o valor presente líquido (VPL), a relação benefício-custo (RBC), a taxa interna de retorno (TIR) e analisar a sensibilidade dos indicadores econômicos quanto à oscilação na taxa mínima de atratividade (TMA) e nos preços da madeira.bitstream/item/28922/1/Circular-tec.-53.pd