16,898 research outputs found
Recording from two neurons: second order stimulus reconstruction from spike trains and population coding
We study the reconstruction of visual stimuli from spike trains, recording
simultaneously from the two H1 neurons located in the lobula plate of the fly
Chrysomya megacephala. The fly views two types of stimuli, corresponding to
rotational and translational displacements. If the reconstructed stimulus is to
be represented by a Volterra series and correlations between spikes are to be
taken into account, first order expansions are insufficient and we have to go
to second order, at least. In this case higher order correlation functions have
to be manipulated, whose size may become prohibitively large. We therefore
develop a Gaussian-like representation for fourth order correlation functions,
which works exceedingly well in the case of the fly. The reconstructions using
this Gaussian-like representation are very similar to the reconstructions using
the experimental correlation functions. The overall contribution to rotational
stimulus reconstruction of the second order kernels - measured by a chi-squared
averaged over the whole experiment - is only about 8% of the first order
contribution. Yet if we introduce an instant-dependent chi-square to measure
the contribution of second order kernels at special events, we observe an up to
100% improvement. As may be expected, for translational stimuli the
reconstructions are rather poor. The Gaussian-like representation could be a
valuable aid in population coding with large number of neurons
Sistema integrado de produção agroecológica: uma experiência de pesquisa em agricultura orgânica.
O sistema integrado de produção agroecológica (SIPA). Alguns resultados de pesquisa no SIPA.bitstream/item/111699/1/CNPAB-Sistema-Integrado-de-Producao-Agroecologica-SIPA-DOC.-169-03.pd
Size effects in the magnetic behaviour of TbAl_2 milled alloys
The study of the magnetic properties depending upon mechanical milling of the
ferromagnetic polycrystalline TbAl_2 material is reported. The Rietveld
analysis of the X-ray diffraction data reveals a decrease of the grain size
down to 14 nm and -0.15 % of variation of the lattice parameter, after 300
hours of milling time. Irreversibility in the zero field cooled - field cooled
(ZFC-FC) DC-susceptibility and clear peaks in the AC susceptibility between 5
and 300 K show that the long-range ferromagnetic structure is inhibited in
favour of a disordered spin arrangement below 45 K. This glassy behaviour is
also deduced from the variation of the irreversibility transition with the
field (H^{2/3}) and frequency. The magnetization process of the bulk TbAl_2 is
governed by domain wall thermal activation processes. By contrast, in the
milled samples, cluster-glass properties arise as a result of cooperative
interactions due to the substitutional disorder. The interactions are also
influenced by the nanograin structure of the milled alloys, showing a variation
of coercivity with the grain size, below the crossover between the multi- and
single-domain behaviours.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, to appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Ma
Greenhouse Gasses emissions and land use in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) State: an exploratory study to the MS carbon neutral initiative.
Climate Change Policy of Mato Grosso do Sul (CCP-MS) was stablished by the State Law 4.555/2014 (Lei 4.555/2014). The state assumed a voluntary reduction in greenhouse gases emissions (GHG) of 20% by 2020 in relation to 2005 emissions. To reach this target, the CCP- MS appointed a number of strategies, including the State Program on Climate Change (PROCLIMA). The program will structure the basis to calculate and monitor the emission inventories of MS, and launch initiatives towards a low carbon emission economy. The current inventories are based on global and national standards and emission factors that are not completely adapted to particular characteristics of MS. Some emission factors are probably overestimating the net GHG emissions. Complementarily, the final balance of GHG do not consider some important mechanisms that absorbs carbon in conservative land use systems, e.g. no-tillage crop farming, improved sown pastures, zero-burning sugarcane plantations and integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) systems; as well as soil carbon and aboveground biomass through afforestation and ICLF. The objective of MS Carbon Neutral Project is to create the methodological basis for a low carbon economy in Mato Grosso do Sul
A Search for Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem Violations in Spin-Glasses from Susceptibility Data
We propose an indirect way of studying the fluctuation-dissipation relation
in spin-glasses that only uses available susceptibility data. It is based on a
dynamic extension of the Parisi-Toulouse approximation and a Curie-Weiss
treatment of the average magnetic couplings. We present the results of the
analysis of several sets of experimental data obtained from various samples.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Destruction of first-order phase transition in a random-field Ising model
The phase transitions that occur in an infinite-range-interaction Ising
ferromagnet in the presence of a double-Gaussian random magnetic field are
analyzed. Such random fields are defined as a superposition of two Gaussian
distributions, presenting the same width . Is is argued that this
distribution is more appropriate for a theoretical description of real systems
than its simpler particular cases, i.e., the bimodal () and the
single Gaussian distributions. It is shown that a low-temperature first-order
phase transition may be destructed for increasing values of , similarly
to what happens in the compound , whose
finite-temperature first-order phase transition is presumably destructed by an
increase in the field randomness.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Magnetic phases evolution in the LaMn1-xFexO3+y system
We have investigated the crystal structure and magnetic properties for
polycrystalline samples of LaMn1-xFexO3+y, in the whole range x=0.0 to x=1.0,
prepared by solid state reaction in air. All samples show the ORT-2
orthorhombic structure that suppresses the Jahn-Teller distortion, thus
favoring a ferromagnetic (FM) superexchange (SE) interaction between
Mn^{3+}-O-Mn^{3+}. For x=0.0 the oxygen excess (y ~ 0.09) produces vacancies in
the La and Mn sites and generates a fraction around 18% of Mn^{4+} ions and 82%
of the usual Mn^{3+} ions, with possible double exchange interaction between
them. The Fe doping in this system is known to produce only stable Fe^{3+}
ions. We find an evolution from a fairly strong FM phase with a Curie
temperature T_{C} ~ 160 K, for x=0.0, to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase with
T_{N} = 790 K, for x=1.0, accompanied by clear signatures of a cluster-glass
behavior. For intermediate Fe contents a mixed-phase state occurs, with a
gradual decrease (increase) of the FM (AFM) phase, accompanied by a systematic
transition broadening for 0.2 < x < 0.7. A model based on the expected exchange
interaction among the various magnetic-ion types, accounts very well for the
saturation-magnetization dependence on Fe doping.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figure
GRB 170817A-GW170817-AT 2017gfo and the observations of NS-NS, NS-WD and WD-WD mergers
The LIGO-Virgo Collaboration has announced the detection of GW170817 and has
associated it with GRB 170817A. These signals have been followed after 11 hours
by the optical and infrared emission of AT 2017gfo. The origin of this complex
phenomenon has been attributed to a neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) merger.
In order to probe this association we confront our current understanding of the
gravitational waves and associated electromagnetic radiation with four observed
GRBs originating in binaries composed of different combinations NSs and white
dwarfs (WDs). We consider 1) GRB 090510 the prototype of NS-NS merger leading
to a black hole (BH); 2) GRB 130603B the prototype of a NS-NS merger leading to
massive NS (MNS) with an associated kilonova; 3) GRB 060614 the prototype of a
NS-WD merger leading to a MNS with an associated kilonova candidate; 4) GRB
170817A the prototype of a WD-WD merger leading to massive WD with an
associated AT 2017gfo-like emission. None of these systems support the above
mentioned association. The clear association between GRB 170817A and AT 2017gfo
has led to introduce a new model based on on a new subfamily of GRBs
originating from WD-WD mergers. We show how this novel model is in agreement
with the exceptional observations in the optical, infrared, X- and gamma-rays
of GRB 170817A-AT 2017gfo.Comment: version accepted for publication in JCAP. Missing references adde
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