Synchronised firing patterns in a random network of adaptive exponential integrate-and-fire neuron model

Acknowledgements This study was possible by partial financial support from the following Brazilian government agencies: CNPq, CAPES, and FAPESP (2011/19296-1 and 2015/07311-7). We also wish thank Newton Fund and COFAP.Peer reviewedPostprin

Body image association and habitual physical activity in institutionalized elderly

Research clearly shows that physical activity (PA) is one important factor in developing and maintaining good health and function in older people. Knowledge of the underlying processes that influence the elderly to initiate and maintain lifestyle changes is an important requirement for the development of a PA intervention. The aim of this study is to analyse the variation of the body image at its component parts of perception and satisfaction and the ha- bitual PA in institutionalized old people of both genders who are physically active or not. Methods: The sample (n=33; 77,6 ± 5,75, years) was divided into two different groups, the Physical Active Group (PAG, n =18) and the Physical Inactive Group (PIG, n = 15). The PAG comprises 10 fe- males and 8 males and PIG comprises 6 females and 9 males. The perception of the body image was assessed by the Body Size Estimation Method; the satisfaction with the body image was assessed by the Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire. The questionnaire Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) was used to evaluate the habitual PA. We adopted the following statistical procedures: Descrip- tive Statistics (mean, standard deviation and frequency dis- tribution) and Inferential Statistic (nonparametric tests for independent samples, Mann Whitney U and Chi- Square test). Results: The following results have shown that in average, no statistics significance was found between the mean of satisfaction with the body image, when comparing genders and the physically active elderly and the physically inactive elderly. Conclusion: The main conclusions are:(i) the perceptions of the body image do not differ between old people, neither in gender nor in PA; (ii) the satisfaction with the body image does not differ in gender neither in PA; (iii) the habitual PA does not differ in gender.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Model for tumour growth with treatment by continuous and pulsed chemotherapy

Peer reviewedPreprin

Estudo de estratégias de controle de vazão de fluido de transferência de calor em campo solar em sistema híbrido

CIES2020 - XVII Congresso Ibérico e XIII Congresso Ibero-americano de Energia SolarRESUMO: Com a crescente demanda energética mundial cada vez mais é possível notar os avanços em estudos de aproveitamento de energía solar. Hoje em dia modelagens de sistemas térmicos híbridos de geração de energía por meio das tecnologías heliotérmicas tem sido muito desenvolvidas. O conceito em estudo do presente trabalho se trata de uma planta híbrida Ciclo Combinado Integrado a Sistema Solar (ICCSS, do inglês Integrated Combined Cycle Solar System) concebido para ser usado no aproveitamento de gás metano de aterro sanitário como fonte primária para o ciclo a gás e o campo solar suplementar para aumentar a geração do ciclo de vapor, aumentando assim a eficiência global do ciclo termodinâmico. Mais especificamente, estudo de estratégias de controle de vazão do Fluido de Transferência de Calor no campo solar da instalação foi abordado aqui. Por meio das simulações realizadas é possível concluir que as configurações têm desempenho semelhante sendo que a de vazão variável mais uniforme, o que pode representar uma vantagem.ABSTRACT: With the growing global energy demand, it is noticeable the advances in studies on the use of solar energy. Nowadays, modeling of hybrid thermal systems for power generation through concentrating solar power technologies has been increasingly developed. The concept under study in the present work is a hybrid plant Integrated Combined Cycle to Solar System (ICCSS, from the English Integrated Combined Cycle Solar System) designed to be applied in the use of landfill methane gas as the primary source for the gas cycle and the supplementary solar field to increase the generation of the steam cycle, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle. More specifically, study of heat transfer fluid flow control strategies in the solar field of the installation is considered in the study. Through the simulations carried out, it is possible to conclude that the configuration has similar performance with variable thermal oil flow seems to be more uniform solar absorption throughout the year, which can be advantageous.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Orange snacks as a solution for orange surplus in Portugal

In the summer of 2022, Portugal experienced a downfall of the price of oranges, mainly due to pressure of the agricultural commodity market and the change in trade dynamics in Europe due to the war in Ukraine. One way to add value to a product is to transform it into something new.CULTIVAR (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000020) e FUSILIinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crispy orange: a multi-purpose ready-to-eat snack

Póster premiado no evento IMTFWith the war in Ukraine reshaping world trade, there is now a surplus of orange production in Europe, affecting the price in Portugal. Algarve is no exception, where producers are offering the fruit for lack of buyers. An innovative solution is on the agenda: transforming this Mediterranean diet fruit into a crispy ready-to-eat snack. The crispy orange snack is made exclusively from dehydrated oranges (and no other ingredients) and is not yet available in the market. Not only can this product be made from surplus orange production, but it can also be used in a variety of ways, including as a crunchy, ready-to-eat snack, as an edible cake topper, or even as an ingredient in beverages such as sparkling and tonic water, or gin. Following development, the product was fully characterized regarding nutritional value, water activity (aw), microbiology and sensory analysis with 66 consumers. Interestingly, unlike other orange products such as 100% orange juice, the crispy orange snack has a high fibre content (10% of the recommended daily dose). This is a major point as fibre is essential for regulating blood sugar levels. Furthermore, 95.5% of consumers who tested the product would buy it if it were available.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crescimento e respostas hematológicas de tambaquis alimentados com diferentes quantidades de mandioca (Manihot esculenta)

Tambaqui,Colossoma macropomum is a fish of primary importance in Brazilian aquaculture and in the Amazon region in particular. The aim of this work is to analyze the combined effects of physical training and levels of dietary cassava (Manihot esculenta) on the hematological parameters, food intake, conversion efficiency, growth ratio and swimming performance of this fish. A diet for tambaqui consisting of 30% cassava caused decreases in weight gain and specific growth rate compared with the control group. Diets containing 15% or 45% cassava did not affect these indices and did not cause hematological changes in tambaqui juveniles, indicating that some amount of cassava can be used as an alternative energy source for this important aquaculture species.Tambaqui Colossoma macropomum, é um peixe de importância fundamental na aquicultura do Brasil e, em particular, na Região Amazônica. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o efeito combinado do treinamento físico com diferentes níveis de macaxeira (Manihot esculenta) na dieta, sobre os parâmetros hematológicos, ingestão alimentar, eficiência de conversão, taxa de crescimento e performance natatória desses peixes. A dieta com 30% de cassava causou diminuição no ganho de peso e na taxa de crescimento específico quando se comparou ao grupo controle. Dietas contendo 15% e 45% de cassava não apresentaram efeito sobre estes índices e não causaram alterações hematológicas significativas em indivíduos juvenis de tambaqui, indicando que estas quantidades de cassava podem ser administradas como alternativa de fonte de energia para essa importante espécie na aquicultura

Spike timing-dependent plasticity induces non-trivial topology in the brain.

We study the capacity of Hodgkin-Huxley neuron in a network to change temporarily or permanently their connections and behavior, the so called spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), as a function of their synchronous behavior. We consider STDP of excitatory and inhibitory synapses driven by Hebbian rules. We show that the final state of networks evolved by a STDP depend on the initial network configuration. Specifically, an initial all-to-all topology evolves to a complex topology. Moreover, external perturbations can induce co-existence of clusters, those whose neurons are synchronous and those whose neurons are desynchronous. This work reveals that STDP based on Hebbian rules leads to a change in the direction of the synapses between high and low frequency neurons, and therefore, Hebbian learning can be explained in terms of preferential attachment between these two diverse communities of neurons, those with low-frequency spiking neurons, and those with higher-frequency spiking neurons

Evaluation of Hungarian Wines for Resveratrol by Overpressured Layer Chromatography

A method, including solid phase extraction sample preparation, overpressured layer chromatographic separation and subsequent densitometric evaluation, was developed for measurement of total resveratrol (cis- and trans-isomers) content of wine. The amount of resveratrol was determined in wine samples from different winemaking regions of Hungary. The total resveratrol was high in Hungarian red wines (3.6–11 mg/L), and much lower in white ones (0.04–1.5 mg/L)