The influence of surface finishing on laser heat treatments of a tool steel

Laser heat treatments (LHT) has received growing attention in the last years because of highly localized precision and manufacturing efficiency related to laser processing of moulds steel. Due of its strong resistance and ability to maintain hardness and strength at high temperatures, AISI P20 steel is one of the most widely used tool steel in the plastics injection mould industry. This work presents an experimental investigation on LHT using P20 mod. steel produced with different surface finishes. After mechanical surface finishing, the diode laser beam with 15 mm width was applied to the P20 specimens at 1060 °C using a feed rate of 8.8 mms-1in an air and argon ambient. The influence of different LHT atmosphere conditions and specimen initial surface finishing on characteristics such as final roughness, microhardness and microstructure were comprehensively analyzed. The use of a controlled atmosphere during processing showed an increment in depth and hardness values of samples. Through 3D profilometer, it was possible to determine the samples roughness. Results showed that lower average roughness leads to higher hardness values close to the surface, while higher average roughness lead to a deeper heat-treated zone. Macroscopical analysis revealed the depth and width afftected by LHT. The microhardness results showed an increment from 300 HV to around 750 HV on laser heat-treated zone using a controlled environment. Optical microscopy analysed the microstructural changes into martensite between LHT and non LHT zones for all samplespublishe

Effect of laser heat treatments on the hardness of tool steels

The application of laser heat treatments (LHT) has been growing attention in the last years, due to the effectiveness of localized hardening that can improve the tribological properties of steels. AISI P20 mod. steel is commonly used for plastic injection moulds applications and can be heat-treated to achieve high hardness values. This work presents an experimental investigation on the laser local heat treatments effect on the hardness of AISI P20 mod. steel parts, using a high-power diode laser. Different heat treatments at 1060 ºC and 1100 ºC using a feed rate of 10 mm·s-1 and 15 mm·s-1 were applied on the steel. The LHT were assessed through the hardness mapping trough depth and width. The results showed that the hardness of asreceived P20 mod. tool steel is approximately 300 HV, and after LHT occurred an increment to around 625 HV with a fair hardness distribution. LHT had a minimum of 0.8mm and a maximum of 1.0mm depth.publishe

Reproducción y hábitat de desove del jurel dentón, Pseudocaranx dentex, en las Azores, Atlántico norte central

Reproductive biology and habitat preferences of the white trevally, Pseudocaranx dentex (Carangidae), were studied in the Azores islands, central north Atlantic, to determine the spatial and seasonal dynamics of habitat use of immature and mature fish. The sex ratio was close to 1:1 and fish matured at about 30 cm fork length. There were no differences in the maturation or length-weight relationships between sexes. The spawning season lasts from June to September. Underwater visual censuses showed that schools of mature individuals preferentially aggregate around the summits of offshore reefs during the spawning season. In contrast, schools of smaller, immature fish use inshore habitats all year round. Our data support the hypothesis that offshore reefs are a preferential spawning habitat of larger white trevally, and most possibly for a number of visitor pelagic predators as well. Inverse relationships between exploitation levels, abundance and size composition at the two different islands suggest that the summer fishery targeting trevally schools around offshore reefs has negatively impacted the population. These findings bring additional ecological and management relevance to offshore reefs.Se realizó un estudio de la biología reproductiva y las preferencias de hábitat del jurel dentón, Pseudocaranx dentex (Carangidae),en las islas Azores, Atlántico norte central, con el objetivo de comprender la dinámica espacial y estacional de individuos inmaduros y maduros en el uso del hábitat. Se observó un sex ratio próximo a 1:1 y una talla de primera madurez de 30 cm longitud de furca, sin diferencias entre sexos respecto a la talla de madurez, ni tampoco en la relación talla-peso. La época de reproducción se prolongó de junio a septiembre. Los muestreos visuales revelaron que durante la época de reproducción los individuos maduros se agregan preferentemente en torno de las coronas de arrecifes en mar abierto, mientras que los cardúmes de individuos inmaduros utilizan los hábitats costeros durante todo el año. Nuestros datos apoyan la hipótesis de que los arrecifes en mar abierto constituyen el hábitat preferente para el desove del jurel dentón y, muy probablemente, de otros predadores pelágicos. Una relación inversa entre los niveles de explotación y la abundancia y talla del jurel dentón en dos islas distintas sugiere que la pesquería de verano del jurel dentón ha afectado negativamente la población. Estos resultados ponen de manifiesto la relevancia, tanto ecológica como para la gestión, de los arrecifes en mar abierto

Errors and Artefacts in Agent-Based Modelling

The objectives of this paper are to define and classify different types of errors and artefacts that can appear in the process of developing an agent-based model, and to propose activities aimed at avoiding them during the model construction and testing phases. To do this in a structured way, we review the main concepts of the process of developing such a model – establishing a general framework that summarises the process of designing, implementing, and using agent-based models. Within this framework we identify the various stages where different types of errors and artefacts may appear. Finally we propose activities that could be used to detect (and hence eliminate) each type of error or artefact.Verification, Replication, Artefact, Error, Agent-Based Modelling, Modelling Roles

Projecto Rodentia : etologia aplicada na sala de aula do 1º Ciclo

p. 275-279O Projecto Rodentia, implementado no ano 2006/2007, visa promover a cultura científica em alunos do 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico, familiarizando-os com o Método Científico e desenvolvendo competências conceptuais, processuais e atitudinais, com base na Etologia Aplicada e na reflexão ética sobre o bem-estar animal. Foram instalados em três salas de aula habitats especialmente desenhados, contendo cada um dois ratos de laboratório. Inicialmente orientadas, as crianças começaram de modo progressivamente autónomo a propor actividades experimentais, registar e interpretar resultados e tirara conclusões, tacitamente aprendendo o Método Científico. Recorreu-se à observação comportamental e análise de trabalhos dos alunos para avaliar o desenvolvimento da lógica condicional nestes alunos

First in situ observations of soft bottom megafauna from the Cascais Canyon head

We report the first in situ observations of soft bottom megafauna from the Cascais Canyon head. Observations were collected opportunistically during three technical dives with the ROV Luso between 460-805 m at two locations distanced 1,230 m. The habitats were clas-sified as upper bathyal fine mud. The soft bottom fauna was dominated by burrows of Nephrops norvegicus reaching up to 2.9 burrows/m2, a common habitat along the Portu-guese continental margin. To our knowledge, densities are the highest ever reported for depths below 300 m. The ichthyofauna at the upper Cascais Canyon is a mixture of lower shelf and upper bathyal species, including Phycis blennoides, Scyliorhynus canicula, Coe-lorhynchus labiatus/occa and Chimaera monstrosa. Bait release attracted Myxine glutinosa. Surveys in other geological settings of the Cascays Canyon are required to understand more comprehensively the diversity of its sessile and vagile biodiversity

Ultraspinning instability of rotating black holes

Rapidly rotating Myers-Perry black holes in d>5 dimensions were conjectured to be unstable by Emparan and Myers. In a previous publication, we found numerically the onset of the axisymmetric ultraspinning instability in the singly-spinning Myers-Perry black hole in d=7,8,9. This threshold signals also a bifurcation to new branches of axisymmetric solutions with pinched horizons that are conjectured to connect to the black ring, black Saturn and other families in the phase diagram of stationary solutions. We firmly establish that this instability is also present in d=6 and in d=10,11. The boundary conditions of the perturbations are discussed in detail for the first time and we prove that they preserve the angular velocity and temperature of the original Myers-Perry black hole. This property is fundamental to establish a thermodynamic necessary condition for the existence of this instability in general rotating backgrounds. We also prove a previous claim that the ultraspinning modes cannot be pure gauge modes. Finally we find new ultraspinning Gregory-Laflamme instabilities of rotating black strings and branes that appear exactly at the critical rotation predicted by the aforementioned thermodynamic criterium. The latter is a refinement of the Gubser-Mitra conjecture.Comment: 38 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Structure-based drug design studies on a series of aldolase inhibitors

Human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, is a major cause of death in Africa, and for which there are no safe and effective treatments available. The enzyme aldolase from Trypanosoma brucei is an attractive, validated target for drug development. A series of alkyl‑glycolamido and alkyl-monoglycolate derivatives was studied employing a combination of drug design approaches. Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D QSAR) models were generated using the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA). Significant results were obtained for the best QSAR model (r2 = 0.95, non-cross-validated correlation coefficient, and q2 = 0.80, cross-validated correlation coefficient), indicating its predictive ability for untested compounds. The model was then used to predict values of the dependent variables (pKi) of an external test set,the predicted values were in good agreement with the experimental results. The integration of 3D QSAR, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations provided further insight into the structural basis for selective inhibition of the target enzyme.FAPESPCNP

Trajetorias: a dataset of environmental, epidemiological, and economic indicators for the Brazilian Amazon

The Trajetorias dataset is a harmonized set of environmental, epidemiological, and poverty indicators for all municipalities of the Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA). This dataset is the result of a scientific synthesis research initiative conducted by scientists from several natural and social sciences fields, consolidating multidisciplinary indicators into a coherent dataset for integrated and interdisciplinary studies of the Brazilian Amazon. The dataset allows the investigation of the association between the Amazonian agrarian systems and their impacts on environmental and epidemiological changes, furthermore enhancing the possibilities for understanding, in a more integrated and consistent way, the scenarios that affect the Amazonian biome and its inhabitants.This work was funded by the Brazilian Research Council (CNPQ MCTIC-SÍNTESE EM BIODIVERSIDADE E SERVIÇOS ECOSSISTÊMICOS-SINBIOSE, process 442357/2019-2). We are grateful to the Synthesis Center on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (SinBiose), funded by the Brazilian Research Council, for providing the opportunity for the development of this work. CC, AM, RML, and AD are also grateful to the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) for providing the intellectual environment that stimulated the conception of the present work, as part of the project Development, environmental degradation, and disease spread in the Brazilian Amazon led by Andres Baeza and Mercedes Pascual. We would like to extend a special thanks to Professor Francisco de Assis Costa, from the Pará Federal University (UFPA) for sharing his data on the technological trajectories in the municipalities of the Amazon biome and for his generous discussions and support. We also extend our special thanks to Alexandre Gontijo, Flavio Coelho and Marcelle Chagas, for fruitful discussions during the project.Peer Reviewed"Article signat per 15 autors/es: Ana C. Rorato, Ana Paula Dal’Asta, Raquel Martins Lana, Ricardo B. N. dos Santos, Maria Isabel S. Escada, Camila M. Vogt, Tatiana Campos Neves, Milton Barbosa, Cecilia S. Andreazzi, Izabel C. dos Reis, Danilo A. Fernandes, Mônica da Silva-Nunes, Anielli R. de Souza, Antonio M. V. Monteiro & Claudia T. Codeço "Postprint (published version