Automatic crater detection using DEM and circular coherency analysis - A case study on South American craters

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Probing the stellar initial mass function with high-z supernovae

The first supernovae (SNe) will soon be visible at the edge of the observable universe, revealing the birthplaces of Population III stars. With upcoming near-infrared missions, a broad analysis of the detectability of high-z SNe is paramount. We combine cosmological and radiationtransport simulations, instrument specifications and survey strategies to create synthetic observations of primeval core-collapse (CC), Type IIn and pair-instability (PI) SNe with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We show that a dedicated observational campaign with theJWST can detect up to ~15 PI explosions, ~300 CC SNe, but less than one Type IIn explosion per year, depending on the Population III star formation history. Our synthetic survey also shows that ≈1-2 × 102 SNe detections, depending on the accuracy of the classification, are sufficient to discriminate between a Salpeter and flat mass distribution for high-redshift stars with a confidence level greater than 99.5 per cent. We discuss how the purity of the sample affects our results and how supervised learning methods may help to discriminate between CC and PI SNe. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society

Genetic elements associated with antimicrobial resistance in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) from Brazil

Background: We recently observed an association of resistance with a certain enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) serotypes and identified a conjugative plasmid, similar to plasmid pED208, that was conserved among archival O111:H2/NM and O119:H2 strains of diverse geographical origin. in this study, we sought to determine the prevalence and distribution of this plasmid among a collection of EPEC isolates from Brazil, as well as to study the susceptibilities of these isolates to antimicrobial agents.Results: Resistance was more commonly seen in typical EPEC than atypical strains. the most prevalent resistances were to ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin and the sulfonamides. Markers for the EPEC conjugative multiresistance plasmid, were detected in 21 (30%) of typical but only 4 (5%) of atypical strains (p=0.001, Chi-squared test). This plasmid, previously reported from only O111 and O119 strains was found in O55 and O127 strains and was associated with the presence of class 1 integrons.Conclusion: Our data suggest a limited but expanding host range for the EPEC resistance plasmid.Branco Weiss FellowshipFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)NSFUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Pediat, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilHaverford Coll, Dept Biol, Haverford, PA 19041 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Pediat, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilNSF: 0516591Web of Scienc

The overlooked potential of Generalized Linear Models in astronomy-II: Gamma regression and photometric redshifts

Machine learning techniques offer a precious tool box for use within astronomy to solve problems involving so-called big data. They provide a means to make accurate predictions about a particular system without prior knowledge of the underlying physical processes of the data. In this article, and the companion papers of this series, we present the set of Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) as a fast alternative method for tackling general astronomical problems, including the ones related to the machine learning paradigm. To demonstrate the applicability of GLMs to inherently positive and continuous physical observables, we explore their use in estimating the photometric redshifts of galaxies from their multi-wavelength photometry. Using the gamma family with a log link function we predict redshifts from the PHoto-z Accuracy Testing simulated catalogue and a subset of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Data Release 10. We obtain fits that result in catastrophic outlier rates as low as ~1% for simulated and ~2% for real data. Moreover, we can easily obtain such levels of precision within a matter of seconds on a normal desktop computer and with training sets that contain merely tho nds of galaxies. Our software is made publicly available as a user-friendly package developed in Python, R and via an interactive web application. This software allows users to apply a set of GLMs to their own photometric catalogues and generates publication quality plots with minimum effort. By facilitating their ease of use to the astronomical community, this paper series aims to make GLMs widely known and to encourage their implementation in future large-scale projects, such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

Modelling the chemical recycling of crosslinked poly (methyl methacrylate): kinetics of depolymerisation

Whereas increasing plastic solid waste production constitutes one of the main challenges of modern society, mainly due to the lack of suitable recycling technologies, chemical recycling represents an attractive solution for the conversion of plastic solid waste into valuable chemical intermediates. Herein, a kinetic model for the pyrolysis of a dental industry waste, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) crosslinked poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), is presented for the first time. Kinetics parameters and their statistical significance have been estimated from eight non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments with heating rates varying between 5 and 50 °C·min-1 by using nonlinear regression. Our analysis indicates that the mechanism of depolymerisation of EGDMA crosslinked PMMA is likely to involve a consecutive reaction pathway involving two steps. The developed kinetic model - containing five kinetic parameters only - was able to predict well all non-isothermal TGA runs, and was validated against isothermal TGA experiments at 400 °C

Uma releitura a propósito da responsabilidade civil ambiental: de uma responsabilidade civil para além da figura do dano

RESUMO: O presente artigo enfrenta a problemática da responsabilidade civil na área do direito ambiental.  Partindo de um direito fundamental a um meio ambiente equilibrado, enfrenta-se os aspectos mais controvertidos no âmbito da responsabilidade civil ambiental, dentre eles o princípio do poluidor-pagador, o princípio da precação, as figuras da prescrição e da solidariedade e a própria noção de responsabilização civil na matéria ambiental, ainda que ausente a figura do dano. Para tanto, adota-se o método dedutivo de pesquisa, estruturando o presente trabalho com base em uma análise crítica de doutrinas e legislações nacionais e estrangeiras que enfrentam a matéria, de forma a definir critérios da responsabilidade civil ambiental.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: dano ambiental; responsabilidade ambiental; princípio do poluidor pagador; responsabilidade civil ambiental;ABSTRACT: The present article faces the problematic of the civil responsibility on the environmental field. Starting from a fundamental right to balanced environment, it’s faced the most controverted aspects in the field of the civil environmental responsibility, between them the polluter pays principle, the precaution principle, the figures of prescription and solidarity and the notion itself of civil responsibility in environmental subject, even with the absence of the damage figure. For that, it’s adopted the deductive method of research, structuring the present paper in a critic analysis of national and foreigner doctrine and legislation that faces the subject, in a way to define criteria of civil environmental responsibility.KEYWORDS: environmental damage; environmental responsibility; polutter pays principle; civil environmental responsibility; Submetido em: 04-04-2017Aprovado em: 14-07-201

New detrital petrographic and thermochronologic constraints on the Late Cretaceous-Neogene erosional history of the equatorial margin of Brazil: Implications for the surface evolution of a complex rift margin

The equatorial margin of Brazil is an example of a rift margin with a complex landscape, dominated by an escarpment perpendicular to the continental margin, which testifies to an equally complex rift and post-rift surface and tectonic evolution. This has been the focus of a long debate on the driving mechanism for post-rift tectonics and on the amount of exhumation. This study contributes to this debate with new petrographic and thermochronologic data on 152 samples from three basins, Para-Maranhao, Barreirinhas and Ceara, on the offshore continental platform. Our detrital record goes back to the rift time at ca. 100 Ma ago and outlines three major evolutionary phases of a changing landscape: a rift phase, with the erosion of a moderate rift escarpment, a Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene post-rift phase of major drainage reorganization and significant vertical erosion and a Late Oligocene-to-Recent post-rift phase of moderate vertical erosion and river headwater migration. We estimate that along the equatorial margin of Brazil, over a large onshore area, exhumation since the Late Cretaceous has totalled locally up to 2-2.5 km and since the late Oligocene did not exceed 1 km

Areas of natural occurrence of melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811(Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

The bee Melipona scutellaris is considered the reared meliponine species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from the state of Rio Grande do Norte down to the state of Bahia. Considering the importance of this species in the generation of income for family agriculture and in the preservation of areas with natural vegetation, this study aimed at providing knowledge on the distribution of natural colonies of M. scutellaris in the state of Bahia. Literature information, interviews with stinglessbee beekeepers, and expeditions were conducted to confirm the natural occurrence of the species. A total of 102 municipalities showed records for M. scutellaris, whose occurrence was observed in areas ranging from sea level up to 1,200-meter height. The occurrence of this species in the state of Bahia is considered to be restricted to municipalities on the coastal area and the Chapada Diamantina with its rainforests. Geographic coordinates, elevation, climate and vegetation data were obtained, which allowed a map to be prepared for the area of occurrence in order to support conservation and management policies for the species