Information measures and cognitive limits in multilayer navigation

Cities and their transportation systems become increasingly complex and multimodal as they grow, and it is natural to wonder if it is possible to quantitatively characterize our difficulty to navigate in them and whether such navigation exceeds our cognitive limits. A transition between different searching strategies for navigating in metropolitan maps has been observed for large, complex metropolitan networks. This evidence suggests the existence of another limit associated to the cognitive overload and caused by large amounts of information to process. In this light, we analyzed the world's 15 largest metropolitan networks and estimated the information limit for determining a trip in a transportation system to be on the order of 8 bits. Similar to the "Dunbar number," which represents a limit to the size of an individual's friendship circle, our cognitive limit suggests that maps should not consist of more than about $250$ connections points to be easily readable. We also show that including connections with other transportation modes dramatically increases the information needed to navigate in multilayer transportation networks: in large cities such as New York, Paris, and Tokyo, more than $80\%$ of trips are above the 8-bit limit. Multimodal transportation systems in large cities have thus already exceeded human cognitive limits and consequently the traditional view of navigation in cities has to be revised substantially.Comment: 16 pages+9 pages of supplementary materia

The activity of Pleurotus ostreatus extracts against pathogenic fusaria

A P. ostreatus strain, appreciated as food and for the production of nutraceuticals, was grown on a commercial substrate, dried at low temperature (<40\ub0C) and grinded in order to produce a mushroom powder. The bioactivity of the water extract conserved at 4\ub0C in the dark was then assessed on F. graminearum, F. culmorum and F. musae at different time points from production (4 hrs, 40 days, 4 months). Moreover, the effect of the extracts on trichothecene type B production was measured exploiting a F. graminearum isolate expressing GFP-tagged trichodiene synthase. This allowed to monitor the first step of toxin production using a microplate fluorimeter. While mycelial growth of F. graminearum and F. culmorum was completely blocked at 3 mg/ml, mycelial growth of F. musae was inhibited at 90%. MIC50 was measured for F. graminearum and F. culmorum at 300 micrograms/mL. A loss of the bioactivity of P. ostreaus water extract on fungal growth was observed at 40 days (-30%) and of a further -30% at 4 months. A preliminary study on the biological activities of the extract identified a strong protease activity associated to low molecular weight proteins. Their bioactivity decreased over storage time in accordance with a decreased proteolytic activity. The P. ostreatus extract modulates trichothecene production independently from the protease activity, even at concentration where no mycelium inhibition was observed (down to 0.75 micrograms/mL). Studies on the genetic determinants of the protease activity as well as the compounds able to modulate trichothecene production are ongoing

Produtividade de milho inoculado com Azospirillum brasilense em diferentes doses de nitrogênio, em latossolo vermelho - safra 2011/12.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a produtividade do milho cultivado em Latossolo Vermelho na safra 2011/12, na presença ou ausência de inoculação de sementes com Azospirillum brasilense, em diferentes doses de N em cobertura. A inoculação de sementes de milho com Azospirillum brasilense e a aplicação de doses de nitrogênio em cobertura não proporcionaram incrementos significativos na produtividade de grãos de milho cultivados na safra 2011/12, em Latossolo Vermelho de Campos Novos e Canoinhas

Produtividade de milho inoculado com Azospirillum brasilense em diferentes doses de nitrogênio, em latossolo vermelho - safra 2012/13.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a produtividade do milho cultivado em Latossolo Vermelho na safra 2012/13, na presença ou ausência de inoculação de sementes com A. brasilense, em diferentes doses de N em cobertura. A inoculação de sementes de milho com Azospirillum brasilense não proporcionou incrementos significativos na produtividade de grãos de milho cultivados na safra 2012/13, em Latossolo Vermelho de Campos Novos e de Papanduva. Em Papanduva, as doses de N aplicadas em cobertura aumentaram a produtividade de grãos de milho

Dietary fat intake as a risk factor for the development of diabetes. Multinational, multicenter study of the Mediterranean Group for the Study of Diabetes (MGDS)

In the context of the Multinational MGSD Nutrition Study, three groups of subjects were studied: 204 subjects with recently diagnosed diabetes(RDM),42subjectswithundiagnoseddiabetes(UDM)(AmericanDiabetesAssociation criteria—fasting plasma glucose [FPG] 126 mg/dl), and 55 subjects with impaired fasting glucose(IFG)(FPG 110and126mg/dl).Eachgroupwascomparedwithacontrolgroupof nondiabetic subjects, matched one by one for center, sex, age, and BMI. Nutritional habits were evaluated by a dietary history method, validated against the 3-day diet diary. In RDM, the questionnaire referred to the nutritional habits before the diagnosis of diabetes. Demographic data were collected, and anthropometrical and biochemical measurements were taken. RESULTS— Compared with control subjects, RDM more frequently had a family history of diabetes(49.0vs.14.2%;P0.001),exercisedless(exerciseindex53.5vs.64.4;P0.01),and more frequently had sedentary professions (47.5 vs. 27.4%; P 0.001). Carbohydrates contributed less to their energy intake (53.5 vs. 55.1%; P 0.05), whereas total fat (30.2 0.5 vs. 27.8 0.5%; P 0.001) and animal fat (12.2 0.3 vs. 10.8 0.3%; P 0.01) contributed moreandtheplant-to-animalfatratiowaslower(1.50.1vs.1.80.1;P0.01).UDMmore frequentlyhadafamilyhistoryofdiabetes(38.1vs.19.0%;P0.05)andsedentaryprofessions (58.5vs.34.1%;P0.05),carbohydratescontributedlesstotheirenergyintake(47.61.7vs. 52.81.4%;P0.05),totalfat(34.71.5vs.30.41.2%;P0.05)andanimalfat(14.2 0.9 vs. 10.6 0.7%; P 0.05) contributed more, and the plant-to-animal fat ratio was lower (1.6 0.2 vs. 2.3 0.4; P 0.05). IFG differed only in the prevalence of family history of diabetes (32.7 vs. 16.4%; P 0.05). CONCLUSIONS— Our data support the view that increased animal fat intake is associated with the presence of diabetes

Desempenho de milho inoculado com Azospirillum brasiliense associado a doses de nitrogênio em cobertura.

RESUMO: Uma das alternativas de redução no consumo de fertilizantes nitrogenados na cultura do milho é a inoculação de sementes com bactérias diazotróficas que possuem a capacidade de fixar N atmosférico no solo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar algumas características agronômicas e o rendimento de grãos de milho cultivado em Latossolo Vermelho com diferentes doses de N em cobertura, na presença e ausência de inoculação de sementes com Azospirillum brasilense. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em Papanduva e em Campos Novos, SC, nos anos agrícolas 2011/12 e 2012/13, utilizando-se delineamento fatorial 2 x 6, com os tratamentos alocados em blocos casualizados, com três repetições, avaliando-se a variedade de milho de polinização aberta SCS155 Catarina. Os fatores testados foram a inoculação com A. brasilense (presença e ausência) e doses de N em cobertura (0, 25, 50, 75, 100 e 125kg ha-1). A inoculação de sementes de milho com A. brasilense não aumenta o rendimento de grãos e não altera a massa de mil grãos, estatura de plantas, altura da inserção da espiga principal e diâmetro do colmo. A aplicação de N em cobertura no milho influencia de modo positivo o rendimento de grãos. ABSTRACT: One of the alternatives to reduce the consumption of nitrogen fertilizers in corn production is seed inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria that have the ability of fixing atmospheric N in the root zone. The aim of this study was to evaluate some agronomic characteristics and grain yield of maize grown in an Oxisol with the presence and absence of seed´s inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense associated with different nitrogen doses (0, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125kg/ha). The experiments were carried out in the municipalities of Papanduva and Campos Novos, in Santa Catarina State (Southern Brazil), during the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. The experiments were ploted in a 2x6 factorial with the treatments assigned in a randomized blocks with three replications, using the corn cultivar ?SCS155 Catarina? as indicator. The inoculation of seeds with Azospirillum brasilense does not increase the corn yield and does not alter the weight of the grains, plant height, ear height and main stem diameter. Nitrogen application in corn influences positively the grain yield

Produtividade de genótipos de milho na presença ou ausência de inoculação com Azospirillum brasilense e adubação nitrogenada de cobertura - safra 2011/12.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a produtividade de genótipos de milho com bases genéticas distintas, na presença ou ausência de inoculação de sementes com A. brasilense e de adubação nitrogenadas de cobertura. A inoculação de sementes de milho com Azospirillum brasilense não proporcionou incrementos significativos na produtividade de grãos, em diferentes genótipos, com e sem adubação nitrogenada de cobertura. Nos dois locais avaliados, houve variação entre genótipos para produtividade de grãos, todavia sem interação com adubação nitrogenada de cobertura. Em Campos Novos, houve interação entre genótipos e inoculação para a variável produtividade de grãos, indicando que a interação entre A. brasilense e o milho depende das características genéticas da cultura

Dedicated core-on-anvil production of bladelet-like fakes in the Acheulean at Thomas Quarry I - L1 (Casablanca, Morocco)

The ability to produce large cutting tools (LCTs) is considered as the technological marker of the Acheulean and the indicator of a greater technological complexity compared to the previous Oldowan. Although Acheulean techno-complexes are also composed of a concurrent core-and-flake technology, the iconic handaxes have attracted more attention than any other lithic component. Consequently, little is known of the small and medium-sized flake productions (small flaking), especially starting from 1 Ma, when handaxe and cleaver manufacture becomes intensive and widespread across Africa, including the Atlantic coastal regions of Morocco. Research at Thomas Quarry I yielded a rich early Acheulean lithic assemblage, mainly composed of quartzite LCTs and small flaking, together with a small-sized flint production. Here, we report a particular aspect of this flint assemblage, i.e. a flint bladelet-like flake production. This process represents a discrete technical behaviour among those related to small flaking both in quartzite and flint: pebbles were flaked using the bipolar-on-anvil technique repeatedly employing a specific method to produce bladelet-like flakes. This production represents the oldest dated occurrence of bladelet-like technology in Africa and reveals technical competencies hitherto unknown for these periods, providing further elements for the techno-economic diversification of the African Acheulean

Produtividade de genótipos de milho na presença ou ausência de inoculação com Azospirillum brasilense e adubação nitrogenada de cobertura - Safra 2012/13.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a produtividade de genótipos de milho com bases genéticas distintas, na presença ou ausência de inoculação de sementes com A. brasilense e de adubação nitrogenadas de cobertura. A inoculação de sementes de milho com Azospirillum brasilense não proporcionou incrementos significativos na produtividade de grãos de milho, em diferentes genótipos, com e sem adubação nitrogenada de cobertura. A adubação com 100 kg ha-1 de N, aplicados em cobertura, proporcionou aumento de produtividade de grãos de milho em relação à ausência de adubação nitrogenada de cobertura. Nos dois locais avaliados, houve variação entre genótipos para produtividade de grãos, todavia sem interação com adubação nitrogenada de cobertura e inoculação com Azospirillum brasilense