Exclusive Breastfeeding After 40 Years of Age – Where Are We Going?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Symbiotic behaviour in the Public Goods game with altruistic punishment

Finding ways to overcome the temptation to exploit one another is still a challenge in behavioural sciences. In the framework of evolutionary game theory, punishing strategies are frequently used to promote cooperation in competitive environments. Here, we introduce altruistic punishers in the spatial public goods game. This strategy acts as a cooperator in the absence of defectors, otherwise it will punish all defectors in their vicinity while bearing a cost to do so. We observe three distinct behaviours in our model: i) in the absence of punishers, cooperators (who don't punish defectors) are driven to extinction by defectors for most parameter values; ii) clusters of punishers thrive by sharing the punishment costs when these are low iii) for higher punishment costs, punishers, when alone, are subject to exploitation but in the presence of cooperators can form a symbiotic spatial structure that benefits both. This last observation is our main finding since neither cooperation nor punishment alone can survive the defector strategy in this parameter region and the specificity of the symbiotic spatial configuration shows that lattice topology plays a central role in sustaining cooperation. Results were obtained by means of Monte Carlo simulations on a square lattice and subsequently confirmed by a pairwise comparison of different strategies' payoffs in diverse group compositions, leading to a phase diagram of the possible states

A machine learning approach for collaborative robot smart manufacturing inspection for quality control systems1-10

The 4th industrial revolution promotes the automatic inspection of all products towards a zero-defect and high-quality manufacturing. In this context, collaborative robotics, where humans and machines share the same space, comprises a suitable approach that allows combining the accuracy of a robot and the ability and flexibility of a human. This paper describes an innovative approach that uses a collaborative robot to support the smart inspection and corrective actions for quality control systems in the manufacturing process, complemented by an intelligent system that learns and adapts its behavior according to the inspected parts. This intelligent system that implements the reinforcement learning algorithm makes the approach more robust once it can learn and be adapted to the trajectory. In the preliminary experiments, it was used a UR3 robot equipped with a Force-Torque sensor that was trained to perform a path regarding a product quality inspection task. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the FAIM 2021.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Heterogeneous contributions can jeopardize cooperation in the Public Goods Game

When studying social dilemma games, a crucial question arises regarding the impact of general heterogeneity on cooperation, which has been shown to have positive effects in numerous studies. Here, we demonstrate that heterogeneity in the contribution value for the focal Public Goods Game can jeopardize cooperation. We show that there is an optimal contribution value in the homogeneous case that most benefits cooperation depending on the lattice. In a heterogeneous scenario, where strategy and contribution coevolve, cooperators making contributions higher than the optimal value end up harming those who contribute lower. This effect is notably detrimental to cooperation in the square lattice with von Neumann neighborhood, while it can have no impact in others lattices. Furthermore, in parameter regions where a higher-contributing cooperator cannot normally survive alone, the exploitation of lower value contribution cooperators allows their survival, resembling a parasitic behavior. To obtain these results, we employed various distributions for the contribution values in the initial condition and conducted Monte Carlo simulations

Textile dye removal by Acacia dealbata Link. Pollen adsorption combined with UV-A/NTA/Fenton Process

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGThe decolourization of an aqueous solution of the textile dye Acid Red 88 (AR88) and the control of the invasive plant species Acacia dealbata Link. (ADL) were addressed in this work. The aims of the study were (1) characterization of the ADL pollen, (2) application of the pollen powder in adsorption processes, (3) selection of the best operational conditions for nitriloacetic acid (NTA)-UV-A-Fenton process and (4) assess the efficiency of the combined treatment adsorption and NTA-UV-A-Fenton in AR88 decolourization. In a first step, ADL pollen was used as a AR88 bioadsorbent. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis were performed and revealed the presence of proteins, fatty acids, carbohydrates and lignin in the pollen. Afterwards, trough scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it was possible to verify that ADL pollen has several empty spaces that can be used for dye adsorption. Biosorption results showed higher adsorption of AR88 with application of pH 3.0 and [pollen] = 3.0 g/L with 18.8 mg/g of dye adsorbed. The best fitting was observed with Langmuir, SIPS and Jovanovic isotherms (0.993, 0.996 and 0.994, respectively). To complement the biosorption, a UV-A-Fenton process was applied, and results showed a higher AR88 removal with (NTA) addition. Higher irradiance power favored the oxidation process with high Ф photodegradation value and low Electric Energy per Order (EEO) and Specific Applied Energy (ESAE). The combination of biosorption with NTA-UV-A-Fenton was the most efficient system with an AR88 decolourization of 98.5% and a total organic carbon (TOC) removal of 83.5%.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UI/BD/150847/202

Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Sprinters: Effects of Hard Versus Sand Surfaces

This study aimed to compare the post-activation performance enhancement induced by successive drop-jumps performed on hard and sand surfaces in sprint and jump performance of top-level sprinters. Athletes were tested on two occasions. On each visit they were allocated to one of the experimental protocols, which consisted of performing 2x5 drop-jumps from a box with the height of 60-cm on hard or sand surfaces in randomized order, seven days apart. Prior to and 7 and 15-min after executing drop-jumps, sprinters performed countermovement jumps and 60-m sprint tests. Differences between sprinting splits and surfaces were assessed using a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures. No significant differences in jump height or sprint time were observed (p>0.05), regardless of the surface used (i.e., hard or sand) during the conditioning activity (effect sizes [95% confidence intervals] ranging from 0.01 [-0.84;0.84] to 0.44 [-0.42;1.27]). Performing drop-jumps on sand or hard surfaces immediately before maximum sprinting bouts does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to top-level sprinters. Sprint coaches may prescribe short-plyometric training activities on sand surfaces even close to competitions, bearing in mind that this strategy will not compromise sprint-specific performance

Coevolution creates complex mosaics across large landscapes

The spatial distribution of populations can influence the evolutionary outcome of species interactions. The variation in direction and strength of selection across local communities creates geographic selection mosaics that, when combined with gene flow and genomic processes such as genome duplication or hybridization, can fuel ongoing coevolution. A fundamental problem to solve is how coevolution proceeds when many populations that vary in their ecological outcomes are connected across large landscapes. Here we use a lattice model to explore this problem. Our results show that the complex interrelationships among the elements of the geographic mosaic of coevolution can lead to the formation of clusters of populations with similar phenotypes that are larger than expected by local selection. Our results indicate that neither the spatial distribution of phenotypes nor the spatial differences in magnitude and direction of selection alone dictate coevolutionary dynamics: the geographic mosaic of coevolution affects formation of phenotypic clusters, which in turn affect the spatial and temporal dynamics of coevolution. Because the formation of large phenotypic clusters depends on gene flow, we predict that current habitat fragmentation will change the outcomes of geographic mosaics, coupling spatial patterns in selection and phenotypes1942217229We acknowledge the funding provided by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013; grant agreement 289384 [L.D.F.]), the São Paulo Research Foundation (grants 2009/54422-8 [P.R.G.], 2016/06054-3 [M.A.M.A.], and 2015/26989-4 [L.D.F.]), the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (M.A.M.A. and P.L.-C.), and the National Science Foundation (DEB0839853 [J.N.T.]

Biopsychosocial Aspects in Individuals with Acute and Chronic Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain: Classification Based on a Decision Tree Analysis

Biopsychosocial aspects seem to influence the clinical condition of rotator cuff related shoulder pain (RCRSP). However, traditional bivariate and linear analyses may not be sufficiently robust to capture the complex relationships among these aspects. This study determined which biopsychosocial aspects would better classify individuals with acute and chronic RCRSP and described how these aspects interact to create biopsychosocial phenotypes in individuals with acute and chronic RCRSP. Individuals with acute (<six months of pain, n = 15) and chronic (≥six months of pain, n = 38) RCRSP were included. Sociodemographic data, biological data related to general clinical health status, to shoulder clinical condition and to sensory function, and psychosocial data were collected. Outcomes were compared between groups and a decision tree was used to classify the individuals with acute and chronic RCRSP into different phenotypes hierarchically organized in nodes. Only conditioned pain modulation was different between the groups. However, the tree combined six biopsychosocial aspects to identify seven distinct phenotypes in individuals with RCRSP: three phenotypes of individuals with acute, and four with chronic RCRSP. While the majority of the individuals with chronic RCRSP have no other previous painful complaint besides the shoulder pain and low efficiency of endogenous pain modulation with no signs of biomechanical related pain, individuals with acute RCRSP are more likely to have preserved endogenous pain modulation and unilateral pain with signs of kinesiophobia

Treatment of winery wastewater by combined almond skin coagulant and sulfate radicals: assessment of HSO5− activators

The large production of wine and almonds leads to the generation of sub-products, such as winery wastewater (WW) and almond skin. WW is characterized by its high content of recalcitrant organic matter (biodegradability index < 0.30). Therefore, the aim of this work was to (1) apply the coagulation–flocculation–decantation (CFD) process with an organic coagulant based on almond skin extract (ASE), (2) treat the organic recalcitrant matter through sulfate radical advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) and (3) evaluate the efficiency of combined CFD with UV-A, UV-C and ultrasound (US) reactors. The CFD process was applied with variation in the ASE concentration vs. pH, with results showing a chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 61.2% (0.5 g/L ASE, pH = 3.0). After CFD, the germination index (GI) of cucumber and corn seeds was ≥80%; thus, the sludge can be recycled as fertilizer. The SR-AOP initial conditions were achieved by the application of a Box–Behnken response surface methodology, which described the relationship between three independent variables (peroxymonosulfate (PMS) concentration, cobalt (Co2+) concentration and UV-A radiation intensity). Afterwards, the SR-AOPs were optimized by varying the pH, temperature, catalyst type and reagent addition manner. With the application of CFD as a pre-treatment followed by SR-AOP under optimal conditions (pH = 6.0, [PMS] = 5.88 mM, [Co2+] = 5 mM, T = 343 K, reaction time 240 min), the COD removal increased to 85.9, 82.6 and 80.2%, respectively, for UV-A, UV-C and US reactors. All treated wastewater met the Portuguese legislation for discharge in a municipal sewage network (COD ≤ 1000 mg O2/L). As a final remark, the combination of CFD with SR-AOPs is a sustainable, safe and clean strategy for WW treatment and subproduct valorization.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/00616/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UI/BD/150847/2020CCRN - Comissão de Coordenação da Região Norte | Ref. NORTE-01- 0145-FEDER-00004