Non-extensive Behavior of a Stock Market Index at Microscopic Time Scales

This paper presents an empirical investigation of the intraday Brazilian stock market price fluctuations, considering q-Gaussian distributions that emerge from a non-extensive statistical mechanics. Our results show that, when returns are measured over intervals less than one hour, the empirical distributions are well fitted by q-Gaussians with exponential damped tails. Scaling behavior is also observed for these microscopic time intervals. We find that the time evolution of the distributions is according to a super diffusive q-Gaussian stationary process within a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation. This regime breaks down due to the exponential fall-off of the tails, which in turn, governs the transient dynamics to the long-term macroscopic Gaussian regime. Our results suggest that this modeling provides a framework for the description of the dynamics of stock markets intraday price fluctuations.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures and 1 tabl

Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at s=8 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale

Searches for electroweak neutralino and chargino production in channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are presented based on the electroweak pair production of neutralinos and charginos, leading to decay channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons and undetected lightest SUSY particles (LSPs). The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The main emphasis is neutralino pair production in which each neutralino decays either to a Higgs boson (h) and an LSP or to a Z boson and an LSP, leading to hh, hZ, and ZZ states with missing transverse energy (E-T(miss)). A second aspect is chargino-neutralino pair production, leading to hW states with E-T(miss). The decays of a Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair, to a photon pair, and to final states with leptons are considered in conjunction with hadronic and leptonic decay modes of the Z and W bosons. No evidence is found for supersymmetric particles, and 95% confidence level upper limits are evaluated for the respective pair production cross sections and for neutralino and chargino mass values

Effects of day of gestation and feeding regimen in Holstein × Gyr cows: II. Maternal and fetal visceral organ mass

This study investigated the influence of day of gestation (DG) and feeding regimens (FR) on maternal and fetal visceral organ mass in Holstein × Gyr cows. Forty-four pregnant multiparous Holstein × Gyr cows with an average initial body weight of 480 ± 10.1 kg and an average initial age of 5 ± 0.5 yr were allocated to 1 of 2 FR: ad libitum (AL; n = 20) or maintenance level (ML; n = 24). Maintenance level was considered to be 1.15% of body weight (dry matter basis) and met 100% of the energy requirements; AL provided 190% of the total net energy requirements. Cows were individually fed a corn silage and concentrate-based diet composed of 93% roughage and 7% concentrate (dry matter basis) as a total mixed ration twice daily. Pregnant cows were slaughtered at 4 DG: 139 (n = 11), 199 (n = 11), 241 (n = 11), and 268 (n = 11) d, which was followed by necropsy. Mass of heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract was heavier in AL- than in ML-fed cows. Mammary gland mass was heavier in AL- than in ML-fed cows, and the heaviest mass was observed at 268 d of gestation. Feeding regimen did not influence fetal body weight in this study. The majority of the visceral organ masses were similar in fetuses from cows fed AL or ML. These data indicate that maternal feed restriction does not affect the development of most fetal organs or fetal development; however, some maternal organs are affected by the FR provided. Moreover, the negative effect on mammary gland mass caused by ML feeding will probably not affect the subsequent lactation because the crude protein concentration in the mammary gland increased with ML feeding. However, we suggest that the AL diet in pregnant dry cows should be provided with caution because the amount of fat in the mammary gland increased at 268 d of gestation

NUTRITION AND SPORTS: A BIOCHEMICAL APPROACH

This work presents a course dedicated to the pedagogical instruction of graduate students (Ensino deBioqumica - QBQ 5711) in which they have to plan and teach a 30 hour-discipline for undergraduatestudents. The graduate students have to choose a subject for the discipline and, in 2003, the cho-sen subject was Nutrition and Sports: a Biochemical Approach, which is not specically broached inregular disciplines. The discipline was structured in the basis of collaborative learning, thus, the 75 en-rolled undergraduate students (from dierent courses as Nutrition, Sports, Pharmacy, Chemistry andBiology) were organized in small working groups. The students were given a study guide produced bythe graduate teachers (available in Portuguese at http://www.sbbq.org.br/revista/mtdidaticos.php),in which the following contents were covered: muscle contraction, O2 up-take, oxidative stress andanti-oxidant response, cramp, hydration, doping and nutritional supplies. In the nal activity thestudents had to evaluate critically myths and true facts in 80 statements usually associated to physi-cal activities and sports. The discipline was evaluated through questionnaires. From the analysis ofthe answers of both undergraduate and graduate/teachers students it is possible to conclude that thediscipline was well conduced and succeeded. These results emphasize the relevance and contribution ofthis kind of discipline to the pedagogical instruction of the graduate students and also to the increaseof undergraduate students interests in Biochemistry

Ajuste do método de Priestley-Taylor às condições climáticas locais Adjustment of the Priestley-Taylor method to local climatic conditions

A sustentabilidade da agricultura irrigada depende primariamente do manejo eficiente da irrigação, de modo a aumentar a produtividade primária de uma cultura em determinada localidade. A eficiência no uso de água pode ser melhorada pelo próprio esquema de irrigação adotado, sendo essencialmente governado pelas condições climáticas. O planejamento da irrigação e a tomada de decisão são funções do conhecimento da demanda evaporativa da atmosfera, sendo expressa pela demanda potencial (ETo). Em geral, quase todos os métodos de estimativa de ETo reportados na literatura referem-se a valores diários, incluindo-se nessa situação as perdas noturnas de evaporação, as quais serão expressivas apenas em alguns dias após a chuva ou irrigação. Desenvolveu-se, no presente estudo, método corrigido para estimar ETo, baseado no balanço de energia local, a partir de dados meteorológicos monitorados em postos de observação de superfície durante o período de luz. Para validação do método de Priestley-Taylor ajustado às condições locais, foram utilizados dados observados em estação meteorológica automática instalada em Piracicaba - SP, bem como medidas lisimétricas coletadas na Fazenda Areião da área experimental da ESALQ/USP. Estudos de regressão revelaram que o método proposto apresentou excelentes resultados quando comparado com o método de Penman-Monteith e com medidas realizadas em lisímetros de pesagem com célula de carga, dados os elevados valores de coeficiente de determinação obtidos, podendo ser recomendado, portanto, em estudos de avaliação de consumo de água das culturas em diversas localidades.<br>The sustainability of irrigated agriculture depends primarily on the efficient management of irrigation in order to increase the crop primary productivity in a given site. The efficiency in water use can be enhanced by the irrigation schedule adopted, being mainly governed by the climatic conditions. The irrigation planning and the decision making is a function of the knowledge of atmospheric demand, which might be expressed by the reference evapotranspiration (ETo). In general, almost all the ETo estimation methods reported by the literature refers to daily values, including in such situation the night evaporation losses, which must be taken into account only during some days after rain or irrigation. In the current study a corrected method for estimating ETo, based on the local energy balance, was proposed from meteorological data monitored in an automated weather station throughout light periods. To validate the current methodology a set of climatic data observed in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, as well as lysimetric measurements collected at the "Areião" Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of São Paulo - ESALQ/USP - were used for such a purpose. Regression analyses have revealed that the proposed method showed excellent results when compared with Penman-Monteith method and also with measurements made by weighting lysimeters, given the high coefficient of determination values obtained, being able to be recommended, however, in studies for assessment of crop water use at several sites