Variation of the rainfall regime in the Northern region and its effect on the Odonata (Insecta) in Been river, Amazonas, Brazil

The goal of this work was to know the effect of precipitation in four periods (Rising, Flood, Lowing and Dry) on Odonata larvae living near to the macrophyte Salvinia auriculata Aubl., in Been River, Amazonas, Brazil. The biological material was collected in the Been river in the section near the river Madeira, state of Amazonas, Brazil. Sampling was conducted in stands of three macrophytes S. auriculata in four periods: rising (November 2012), flood (February 2013), lowing (May 2013), and dry (August 2013). A total of 286 Odonata larvae were identified in the river studied. Six families and 14 genera were identified. The flood period showed the highest abundance in the studied period. Acanthagrion presented a positive correlation with flood period in axis 1 and Telebasis also positive, but in the dry period. In conclusion, although there are few studies on Odonata larvae associated with floating macrophytes in the Amazon, the results of this work showed the importance of knowing the distribution of larval abundance throughout the year. Flood and dry period showed to be the period with the highest abundance of Odonata genera. In addition, the principal component analysis showed that some species are more sensitive to the periods of the year, Telebasis in the dry period and Acanthagrion in the flood period.El objetivo de este trabajo fue conocer el efecto de la precipitación en cuatro períodos (aumento, inundación, baja y sequía) en las larvas de Odonata que viven cerca del macrófito Salvinia auriculata Aubl., en el río Been, Amazonas, Brasil. El material biológico se recolectó en el río Been en la sección cerca del río Madeira, estado de Amazonas, Brasil. El muestreo se realizó en rodales de tres macrófitos en cuatro períodos: en aumento (noviembre de 2012), inundación (febrero de 2013), baja (mayo de 2013) y Seca (agosto de 2013). Se identificaron un total de 286 larvas de Odonata en el río estudiado. Se identificaron seis familias y 14 géneros. El período de inundación mostró la mayor densidad en el período estudiado. Acanthagrion presentó una correlación positiva con el período de inundación en el eje 1 y Telebasis también positivo, pero en el período seco. En conclusión, aunque hay pocos estudios sobre larvas de Odonata asociadas con macrófitos flotantes en la Amazonia, los resultados de este trabajo mostraron la importancia de conocer la distribución de la densidad larvaria a lo largo del año. El período de inundación y seco mostró ser el período con la mayor densidad de los géneros Odonata. Además, el análisis de componentes principales mostró que algunas especies son más sensibles a los períodos del año, Telebasis en el período seco y Acanthagrion en el período de inundación

O Mecanismo da Autocomposição como Alternativa para Solução de Controvérsias na Seara Administrativa

In a time of exhaustion of the pacification process of conflict through court decisions, the alternative dispute resolutions emerges as a valid option to the settlement of disputes , that has been welcoming gradually and increasingly used by Brazilian law. In this context , this article aims to study alternative dispute resolutions in Brazilian law , especially in the new Civil Procedure Code, analyzing the use of this institute by the Brazilian Public Administration, and any gains in terms of speed and efficiency with such use.Em uma época de esgotamento das vias de pacificação de conflitos via Poder Judiciário, a autocomposição surge como alternativa válida para a composição de litígios, sendo tal opção acolhida de forma paulatina e crescente pelo ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, em diversos diplomas normativos. Neste contexto, o presente artigo visa estudar o instituto da autocomposição à luz do regramento jurídico brasileiro, notadamente, em face do novo Código de Processo Civil, e principalmente, acerca da viabilidade jurídica da utilização do instituto da autocomposição pela Administração Pública Brasileira, e dos eventuais ganhos, em termos de celeridade e eficácia com tal utilização

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Relacao entre o nivel de atividade fisica estimado pelo Baltimore Activity Scale for Intermittent Claudication e a pedometria em pacientes com claudicacao intermitente

CONTEXTO: Os pacientes com claudicação intermitente apresentam níveis reduzidos de atividade física. A Baltimore Activity Scale for Intermittent Claudication (BASIC) foi validada para quantificar o nível de atividade física destes pacientes. No entanto, esta validação se baseou em apenas dois dias de monitoramento com acelerômetros, de modo que ainda permanece incerto se a BASIC fornece informações sobre os níveis de atividade física semanal. OBJETIVO: Analisar a correlação entre o nível de atividade física estimada pela BASIC e o nível obtido pelo pedômetro em uma semana, em pacientes com claudicação intermitente. MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 150 pacientes com claudicação intermitente, com idade entre 30 e 80 anos. Foram obtidos os dados sociodemográficos e verificada a presença de comorbidades e de fatores de risco cardiovascular, e a BASIC. O pedômetro foi utilizado por sete dias consecutivos, sendo a análise feita em três diferentes períodos de monitorização (todos os dias, dias da semana e do fim de semana). RESULTADOS: Foi observada correlação entre a BASIC e a média de passos de todos os dias (rho=0,343; p<0,001), dos dias de semana (rho=0,336; p<0,001) e dos dias do final de semana (rho=0,317; p<0,001). CONCLUSÃO: Em pacientes com claudicação intermitente, o nível de atividade física estimado pela BASIC se correlaciona com o nível de atividade física semanal

Studies of the mass composition of cosmic rays and proton-proton interaction cross-sections at ultra-high energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

In this work, we present an estimate of the cosmic-ray mass composition from the distributions of the depth of the shower maximum (Xmax) measured by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We discuss the sensitivity of the mass composition measurements to the uncertainties in the properties of the hadronic interactions, particularly in the predictions of the particle interaction cross-sections. For this purpose, we adjust the fractions of cosmic-ray mass groups to fit the data with Xmax distributions from air shower simulations. We modify the proton-proton cross-sections at ultra-high energies, and the corresponding air shower simulations with rescaled nucleus-air cross-sections are obtained via Glauber theory. We compare the energy-dependent composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays obtained for the different extrapolations of the proton-proton cross-sections from low-energy accelerator data

Study of downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The surface detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory, consisting of 1660 water-Cherenkov detectors (WCDs), covers 3000 km2 in the Argentinian pampa. Thanks to the high efficiency of WCDs in detecting gamma rays, it represents a unique instrument for studying downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) over a large area. Peculiar events, likely related to downward TGFs, were detected at the Auger Observatory. Their experimental signature and time evolution are very different from those of a shower produced by an ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray. They happen in coincidence with low thunderclouds and lightning, and their large deposited energy at the ground is compatible with that of a standard downward TGF with the source a few kilometers above the ground. A new trigger algorithm to increase the TGF-like event statistics was installed in the whole array. The study of the performance of the new trigger system during the lightning season is ongoing and will provide a handle to develop improved algorithms to implement in the Auger upgraded electronic boards. The available data sample, even if small, can give important clues about the TGF production models, in particular, the shape of WCD signals. Moreover, the SD allows us to observe more than one point in the TGF beam, providing information on the emission angle