Stochastic Simulation Model for the Spatial Characterization of Lung Cancer Mortality Risk and Study of Environmental Factors

This paper presents a study in which the lung cancer risk in males was characterized based on a simulation model of mortality rates. Block sequential simulation of mortality rates, measured in counties of different sizes, was implemented and applied to a normal grid of continental Portugal with high spatial resolution. The uncertainty in the mortality rate measurements, directly related to differences in the population size of each county, was integrated in a block direct sequential simulation through Poisson kriging of local means and variances. Three age groups were examined: 50–59, 60–69, and 70–79 years. After the continuous geographic patterns of lung cancer risk were obtained, factors potentially associated with the main areas of risk were analyzed for southern Portugal. Thus, a defined class of land use and dry weather events, related to airborne particulate matter, were found to be associated with high-risk areas, resulting in high local spatial correlation patterns in all three age groups.     

Multi-scale approach using remote sensing images to characterize the iron deposit N1 influence areas in Carajás Mineral Province (Brazilian Amazon)

Mining activities cause a wide range of changes to the environment, substantially affecting both the physical and biological environmental sectors. In the Carajás Mineral Province, located in the Amazon rainforest, environmental regulations tend to be more rigorous, due to the fragility of the environment in which large iron deposits are found. The characterization of the impact of mining on environment considers: the type and extent of the impact, the physical chemistry differences and similarities of the mineral deposits, the deposit size, the adopted mining process, and the environment (both natural and economic) in which the mining process was developed. Remote sensing technology is utilized in this study, in particular, the use of ortho-aerial photograph, and optical and radar images with distinct spatial resolution. These permit the elaboration in synoptic maps, multi-scale and dynamic, of the changes wrought upon the environment: deforestation, removal of vegetation cover, topographic surface and landscape alteration, and slope instabilities among others. In this aspect, determining the extent of influence of the mining activity is directly tied to the characterization of its impact on various natural systems at the observed scale, and not by simply defining a predetermined Euclidean distance. The results showed that remote sensing technology, optical and radar images, proved to be efficient in the study of environmental information and the areas of influence on the semi-regional and local scales in the Amazon forest.     

Artificial neural networks applied to mineral potential mapping for copper-gold mineralizations in the Carajás Mineral Province, Brazil

Motivated by recent successful results of artificial neural network modelling in a variety of problems related to the geosciences, we have applied a radial basis functional link net to a regional-scale mapping of the potential for Cu-Au mineralizations in the Carajás Mineral Province, northern Brazil. To derive the input feature vectors, we have used geological and both radiometric and magnetic geophysical data. A k -fold cross-validation method was employed in order to tune the parameters of the network and to select the best radial basis functional link net model amongst several others. Subsets of the available data set were used for training and validation and the estimated overall accuracy of the selected model is 91.7%. The plotting of a cumulative area versus favourability curve allowed us to define favourability zones of occurrences of Cu-Au mineralizations and to assess the efficiency and the predictive power of the model. A binary map showing high and low favourability sectors was produced for the study area as an end product that can be used to guide and support more detailed exploration efforts. Our results show that 4.18% of the study area has an extremely high potential to contain Cu-Au mineralizations, especially those of iron-oxide Cu-Au type, which are related to volcanic rocks and hydrothermal alteration.     

Long-term thermo-mechanical behavior of energy pile in dry sand

A small-scale pile has been developed in the laboratory to investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of energy piles subjected to a significant number of thermal cycles. The pile (20 mm external diameter), installed in dry sand, was initially loaded at its head to 0, 20, 40 and 60% of its ultimate bearing capacity (500 N). At the end of each loading step, 30 heating/cooling cycles were applied. The long-term behavior of the pile was observed in terms of head settlement, axial force profile, soil and pile temperature, and stress in soil. The results evidence the irreversible settlement of the pile head induced by thermal cycles under constant load head. In addition, the incremental irreversible settlement that accumulates after each thermal cycle decreases when the number of cycles increases. The evolution of irreversible pile head settlement versus number of cycles can be reasonably predicted by an asymptotic equation.     

Brown algae overproduce cell wall polysaccharides as a protection mechanism against the heavy metal toxicity

Brown algae are often used as heavy metal biomonitors and biosorbents because they can accumulate high concentrations of metals. Cation-exchange performed by cell wall polysaccharides is pointed out as the main chemical mechanism for the metal sequestration. Here, we biochemically investigated if the brown alga Padina gymnospora living in a heavy metal contaminated area would modify their polysaccharidic content. We exposed non-living biomass to Cd and Pb and studied the metals adsorption and localization. We found that raw dried polysaccharides, sulfate groups, uronic acids, fucose, mannose, and galactose were significantly higher in contaminated algae compared with the control ones. Metal concentrations adsorbed by non-living biomass were rising comparatively to the tested concentrations. Electron microscopy showed numerous granules in the cell walls and X-ray microanalysis revealed Cd as the main element. We concluded that P. gymnospora overproduces cell wall polysaccharides when exposed to high metal concentrations as a defense mechanism.     

Estimates of coda Q attenuation in the João Câmara area (Northeastern Brazil)

S coda wave of seventy-four local earthquakes recorded in a network of ten seismic stations were used to calculate coda Q attenuation (Q_c) in the João Câmara area (northeastern Brazil). The estimates show Q_c as a strong function of frequency in the range from 6.0 to 20.0 Hz. We found out that Q_c in João Câmara has a functional form given by Q_c= Q₀ f, where Q₀= 151 ± 99 and = 0.98 ± 0.05. If the standard deviations are taken into account,we conclude that there are no relevant changes in both Q₀ and values from one station to another. The estimated Q₀ values at the different stations suggest that the Samambaia fault is a boundary between two different seismic attenuation zones. In one side of the fault (left), where stations were installed in Pre-Cambrian terrain and thick sedimentary layer, the seismic attenuation is stronger than in the other side (stations installed in thin sedimentary layer and limestone outcrop).The anomalous Q₀ values in the left side of the Samambaia fault can be explained due to the presence of a shallow conductive layer in the upper crust( 10 km), such as proposed by Padilha et al. (1992). According to our results, if there is a conductive layer in the area, it probably spreads over João Câmara city and surrounding regions.However, more detailed investigation either with seismic methods (seismic attenuation,3D tomography with P and/or S wave velocities) or with other geophysical methods is needed to interpret the observed differences in Q₀ values between the two sides of the Samambaia fault.     

Search for Spatial Structures at Scales Z∼ 1. III. The Effect of Lensing on QSO ?

We carried out a search for peak in homogeneities in the distribution of matter – namely clumps and voids, within the range Z ∼ 1-3. We used a new method, based on the lensing of quasars by a combination of lenses, belonging to the above sought in homogeneities in the matter distribution. This work confirms the evidence of the existence of in homogeneities found by us earlier – of a clump (superattractor N.1), and of a void(supervoid). Besides, the existence of a new gigantic clump (superattractorN.2) was also discovered at Z ∼ 3. These clumps could well serve ascenters of the Bose-condensation in the early Universe; in particular –as Anselm's arion condensate, which leads to the formation of quasiperiodic structures with a period p ∼ 100-200 Mpc. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of damage on pore size distribution and permeability of rocks

The model proposed in this article relates permeability to porosity measurements that can easily be performed in the laboratory. The pore size distribution (PSD) curve is updated with strains and damage. The updated volumetric fractions of natural pores and cracks are introduced in the expression of permeability. Contrary to classical permeability models based on PSD integrations, the model proposed in this article accounts for possible changes in the porosity modes: one mode for undamaged samples and two modes for cracked samples. The proposed approach also accounts for varying states of damage, as opposed to classical fracture network models, in which the cracks pattern is fixed. The only material parameters that are required to describe the microstructure are the lower and upper bounds of the pores size for both natural pores and cracks. All the other PSD parameters involved in the model are related to macroscopic parameters that can easily be determined in the laboratory, such as the initial void ratio. The framework proposed in this article can be used in any damage constitutive model to determine the permeability of a brittle porous medium. Drained triaxial compression tests have been simulated. Before cracks initiation, permeability decreases while the larger natural pores are getting squeezed. After the occurrence of damage, permeability grows due to the increase of cracks density. The model performs well to represent the influence of the confining pressure on damage evolution and permeability variations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources and Transport of Urban and Biomass Burning Aerosol Black Carbon at the South–West Atlantic Coast

The total extent of the atmospheric impacts associated to the aerosol black carbon (BC) emissions from South America is not completed described. This work presents results of BC monitored during three scientific expeditions (2002, 2003 and 2004) on board of a Brazilian oceanographic vessel Ary Rongel that covered the South–West Atlantic coast between 22–62°S. This latitudinal band encloses major urban regions of South America and the outflow region of the SACZ (South Atlantic Convergent Zone), which is an important mechanism of advective transport of heat, moisture, minor gases and aerosols from the South America continental land to the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Our results showed that aerosol BC enhanced concentrations from urban/industrial origin can be transported to the South–West Atlantic Ocean due to the migration of sub-polar fronts that frequently reach tropical/subtropical regions. Despite the decrease of aerosol BC concentrations southwards (from ∼1,200 ng m⁻³ at latitude 22°S to ∼10 ng m⁻³ at latitude 62°S), several observed peak events were attributed to regional urban activities. Most of such events could be explained by the use of air mass back trajectories analysis. In addition, a global model simulation is presented (Goddard Institute for Space Studies – GISS GCM BC simulation) to explore the origins of aerosol BC in the South–West Atlantic. The model allowed isolating the biomass emissions from South America and Africa and industrial (non-biomass) pollution from other regions of the globe. This model suggests that the apportionment of about half of the aerosol BC at the South–West Atlantic may derive from South American biomass burning.     

Facies analyses and volcanic setting of the giant Neves Corvo massive sulfide deposit,Iberian Pyrite Belt,Portugal

In the Iberian Pyrite Belt, volcanic rocks are relatively scarce, accounting for approximately only 25% of the geologic record, with the remaining 75% consisting of sedimentary units. This association is very clear in the host succession to the Neves Corvo massive sulfide deposit in Portugal. The Neves Corvo host succession comprises the products of explosive and effusive rhyolitic eruptions intercalated with mudstone that records a submarine below-wave-base environment and provides precise biostratigraphic age constraints. The first and second volcanic events involved eruptions at local intrabasinal vents. The first event generated thick beds of fiamme breccia that are late Famennian in age. The fiamme were originally pumice clasts produced by explosive eruptions and were subsequently compacted. The second event was the late Strunian (latest Famennian) effusion of rhyolitic lava that was pervasively quench-fragmented. The third and final event is younger than the massive sulfide deposits poorly represented in the mine area and minor compared with the two other events. The integration of biostratigraphic data with the volcanic facies architecture indicates that the Neves Corvo ore deposits are similar in age to the late Strunian rhyolitic lava. Although regionally the Iberian Pyrite Belt is essentially a sedimentary succession, ore formation at Neves Corvo can be closely linked to discrete volcanic events that produced a relatively narrow range of volcanic facies.