El plutón Precámbrico-Cámbrico Inferior de Vila Nova (Centro de Portugal)

The Vila Nova pluton is a small, Pre-Variscan granitic body that intruded rocks of the Central Iberian Zone near the contact with the Ossa Morena Zone and is affected by several shear zones and faults. Its contact metamorphic aureole is constituted by micaschist with porphyroblasts in the outer zone and hornfels in the inner zone. Small metasedimentar xenoliths are dispersed all over the body. The pluton has a great mineralogical heterogeneity with pronounced variations in muscovite/biotite and plagioclase/microcline contents and is classified as granite, granodiorite or tonalite. It is a leucogranite, highly peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.31 – 1.64), magnesian and calc-alkaline to alkaline-calcic. The variation diagrams show curvilinear trends with silica. Eu/Eu* = 0.47 – 0.77 and there is a slight enrichment in LREE relative to HREE. The normalized diagrams indicated dominantly crustal granite, related to subduction. U-Pb isotopic data of zircon and monazite gives 540-542 Ma age.El plutón de Vila Nova es un pequeño cuerpo granítico pre-varisco, que intruyó en las rocas de la Zona Centro Ibérica, cerca del contacto con la Zona de Ossa Morena, siendo afectado por varias fallas y zonas de cizalla. Su aureola de metamorfismo de contacto consiste en esquistos con porfiroblastos y corneanas. Pequeños xenolitos metasedimentarios aparecen dispersos por todo el cuerpo granítico. Presenta una gran diversidad mineralógica, con amplias variaciones en las relaciones biotita/moscovita y microclina/plagioclasa, siendo clasificado como tonalita-granodiorita-granito. Se trata de un leucogranito fuertemente peralumínico (A/CNK = 1.31 – 1.64), magnesiano y calco-alcalino a alcalino-cálcico. Los diagramas muestran variaciones curvilíneas con la variación de sílice. Eu/Eu* = 0.47 – 0.77 y hay un ligero enriquecimiento de LREE en relación con HREE. Los diagramas indican que la norma es un granito dominante de la corteza, relacionados con la subducción. El isótopo U-Pb circón y monacita indican una edad de 540-542 Ma

Dracontium Nivosum (lem.) G.h.zhu (araceae): Range Extension From Amazonia To A Brejo Forest Refugium In Northeast Brazil Confirmed

The 558 km range extension of the Amazonian aroid Dracontium nivosum (Lem.) G.H.Zhu into semiarid Northeast Brazil is confirmed. This species occurs in Ceará in threatened fragments of brejo forest at ca. 580–870 m elevation. An illustrated taxonomic description is provided. The species’ Extent of Occurrence (EOO) is estimated as 356,392 km2 (meets Least Concern); the Area of Occupancy (AOO), 60 km2 using a 2×2 km cell (Endangered). Within Ceará the EOO is 41.4 km2 (Critically Endangered) and the AOO is 16 km2 (Endangered). © 2016 Check List and Authors.12

Implementing TPM supported by 5S to improve the availability of an automotive production line

The maintenance management is a topic of strategic importance for automotive manufacturers. In fact, an effective maintenance process and a preventive maintenance (PM) procedure can significantly reduce the risk of equipment failures that can lead to downtime on the production lines. However, due to the complexity of an automotive production system, the risk of failure on a crucial piece of the production equipment cannot be entirely avoided. The study made in this paper aims at improving the availability of a critical production line through the total productive maintenance (TPM) methodology and supported by Lean Maintenance tools. An analysis is made of the initial condition of the line where the main problems are identified by employing several tools for this purpose, such as Mean Time between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) and Availability (A). In response to the identified problems, an action plan is developed and implemented in order to find the root cause of the high number of malfunctions and faults in one of the line’s equipment with the use of 5S tools, visual management, and maintenance progress, as well as the development of a training program to increase operators’ skills. The results of such actions were positive as the line became more organized, the value of the MTBF increased, the MTTR value decreased, and consequently the overall availability increased.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bosonic String and String Field Theory: a solution using Ultradistributions of Exponential Type

In this paper we show that Ultradistributions of Exponential Type (UET) are appropriate for the description in a consistent way string and string field theories. A new Lagrangian for the closed string is obtained and shown to be equivalent to Nambu-Goto's Lagrangian. We also show that the string field is a linear superposition of UET of compact support CUET). We evaluate the propagator for the string field, and calculate the convolution of two of them.Comment: 30 page

Caracterização bioquímica e molecular de doentes com diagnóstico clínico de Dislipidemia Familiar Combinada

A Dislipidemia Familiar Combinada (FCHL) é uma doença poligénica caracterizada por hiperlipidemia simples ou combinada, variabilidade intra-individual e intra-familiar do perfil lipídico, ApoB elevada (> 120 mg/dL) e risco elevado de doença cardiovascular (DCV). A sua causa é desconhecida mas alterações nos genes LPL, APOAIV, APOAV, APOCIII e USF1 parecem contribuir para o seu fenótipo. O objectivo deste estudo é caracterizar bioquímica e molecularmente doentes com diagnóstico clínico de FCHL. Todos os exões e promotor dos genes LPL, APOAIV, APOAV, APOCIII e regiões do gene USF1 (s1,s2) de 41 doentes foram amplificados por PCR e sequenciados. O colesterol total (CT), c-LDL, c-HDL, sdLDL, trigliceridos (TG), apoB e apoCIII foram determinados num aparelho automatizado. Em alguns doentes as sdLDL foram também analisadas por electroforese de lipoproteínas. A ApoAIV e ApoAV foram quantificadas por ELISA. Foram encontradas alterações genéticas em 37 doentes, 3 não descritas (APOAIV Q359_E362, APOAV D332fsX336 e APOCIII 3269C>A). O índex com a alteração Q359_E362del apresentou valores normais de apo AIV (15.5 mg/dL) e o índex com a alteração D332fsX336 apresentou valores baixos de apo AV (74.5 ng/mL). Os doentes estudados apresentam valores elevados de CT (285 ± 83 mg/dL), c-LDL (189 ± 85 mg/dL), TG (310 ± 253 mg/dL), e apo CIII (15 ± 4 mg/dL) e valores reduzidos de c-HDL (45 ± 11 mg/dL), sem medicação. Os valores de apoAIV (17,5 ± 10,4 mg/dL) e apoAV (150 ± 135 ng/mL) encontram-se, na maioria dos casos, no intervalo normal assim como os valores de sdLDL (35 ± 18 mg/dL), no entanto alguns casos apresentam valores acima do cut-off para DCV (35 mg/dL). A análise de sdLDL por electroforese foi realizada em 11 doentes, 9 dos quais apresentaram um perfil aterogénico. O valor médio de ApoB destes doentes era de 94 ± 43 mg/dL, mas aproximadamente 70% dos doentes estavam medicados com terapêutica hipolimiante (estatinas e/ou fibratos). Cerca de 30% dos doentes apresentavam DCV prematura. Os resultados obtidos parecem indicar que alterações nos genes estudados influenciam o fenótipo da FCHL. Os níveis séricos de apo CIII encontram-se alterados nesta dislipidemia. Doentes com FCHL, apesar de estarem medicados, apresentam valores elevados de sdLDL, evidenciando o seu elevado risco cardiovascular. A caracterização bioquímica complementa a identificação genética e permite uma melhor avaliação do risco cardiovascular do doente bem como a escolha de uma terapêutica adequada

ERP correlates of error processing during performance on the HalsteadCategory Test

The Halstead Category Test (HCT) is a neuropsychological test that measures a person's ability to formulate and apply abstract principles. Performance must be adjusted based on feedback after each trial and errors are common until the underlying rules are discovered. Event-related potential (ERP) studies associated with the HCT are lacking. This paper demonstrates the use of amethodology inspired on Singular SpectrumAnalysis (SSA) applied to EEG signals, to remove high amplitude ocular andmovement artifacts during performance on the test. This filtering technique introduces no phase or latency distortions, with minimum loss of relevant EEG information. Importantly, the test was applied in its original clinical format, without introducing adaptations to ERP recordings. After signal treatment, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) wave, which is related to error-processing, was identified. This component peaked around 250ms, after feedback, in fronto-central electrodes. As expected, errors elicited more negative amplitudes than correct responses. Results are discussed in terms of the increased clinical potential that coupling ERP informationwith behavioral performance data can bring to the specificity of theHCT in diagnosing different types of impairment in frontal brain function.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automatic structures for semigroup constructions

We survey results concerning automatic structures for semigroup constructions, providing references and describing the corresponding automatic structures. The constructions we consider are: free products, direct products, Rees matrix semigroups, Bruck-Reilly extensions and wreath products.Comment: 22 page

An Extreme Solar Event of 20 January 2005: Properties of the Flare and the Origin of Energetic Particles

The extreme solar and SEP event of 20 January 2005 is analyzed from two perspectives. Firstly, we study features of the main phase of the flare, when the strongest emissions from microwaves up to 200 MeV gamma-rays were observed. Secondly, we relate our results to a long-standing controversy on the origin of SEPs arriving at Earth, i.e., acceleration in flares, or shocks ahead of CMEs. All emissions from microwaves up to 2.22 MeV line gamma-rays during the main flare phase originated within a compact structure located just above sunspot umbrae. A huge radio burst with a frequency maximum at 30 GHz was observed, indicating the presence of a large number of energetic electrons in strong magnetic fields. Thus, protons and electrons responsible for flare emissions during its main phase were accelerated within the magnetic field of the active region. The leading, impulsive parts of the GLE, and highest-energy gamma-rays identified with pi^0-decay emission, are similar and correspond in time. The origin of the pi^0-decay gamma-rays is argued to be the same as that of lower energy emissions. We estimate the sky-plane speed of the CME to be 2000-2600 km/s, i.e., high, but of the same order as preceding non-GLE-related CMEs from the same active region. Hence, the flare itself rather than the CME appears to determine the extreme nature of this event. We conclude that the acceleration, at least, to sub-relativistic energies, of electrons and protons, responsible for both the flare emissions and the leading spike of SEP/GLE by 07 UT, are likely to have occurred simultaneously within the flare region. We do not rule out a probable contribution from particles accelerated in the CME-driven shock for the leading GLE spike, which seemed to dominate later on.Comment: 34 pages, 14 Postscript figures. Solar Physics, accepted. A typo corrected. The original publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co