804 research outputs found
Evolving division of labor in a response threshold model
The response threshold model explains the emergence of division of labor
(i.e., task specialization) in an unstructured population by assuming that the
individuals have different propensities to work on different tasks. The
incentive to attend to a particular task increases when the task is left
unattended and decreases when individuals work on it. Here we derive mean-field
equations for the stimulus dynamics and show that they exhibit complex
attractors through period-doubling bifurcation cascades when the noise
disrupting the thresholds is small. In addition, we show how the fixed
threshold can be set to ensure specialization in both the transient and
equilibrium regimes of the stimulus dynamics. However, a complete explanation
of the emergence of division of labor requires that we address the question of
where the threshold variation comes from, starting from a homogeneous
population. We then study a structured population scenario, where the
population is divided into a large number of independent groups of equal size,
and the fitness of a group is proportional to the weighted mean work performed
on the tasks during a fixed period of time. Using a winner-take-all strategy to
model group competition and assuming an initial homogeneous metapopulation, we
find that a substantial fraction of workers specialize in each task, without
the need to penalize task switching
Examination of the Feynman-Hibbs Approach in the Study of Ne-Coronene Clusters at Low Temperatures
Feynman-Hibbs (FH) effective potentials constitute an appealing approach for
investigations of many-body systems at thermal equilibrium since they allow us
to easily include quantum corrections within standard classical simulations. In
this work we apply the FH formulation to the study of Ne-coronene clusters
( 1-4, 14) in the 2-14 K temperature range. Quadratic (FH2) and quartic
(FH4) contributions to the effective potentials are built upon Ne-Ne and
Ne-coronene analytical potentials. In particular, a new corrected expression
for the FH4 effective potential is reported. FH2 and FH4 cluster energies and
structures -obtained from energy optimization through a basin-hoping algorithm
as well as classical Monte Carlo simulations- are reported and compared with
reference path integral Monte Carlo calculations. For temperatures K,
both FH2 and FH4 potentials are able to correct the purely classical
calculations in a consistent way. However, the FH approach fails at lower
temperatures, especially the quartic correction. It is thus crucial to assess
the range of applicability of this formulation and, in particular, to apply the
FH4 potentials with great caution. A simple model of isotropic harmonic
oscillators allows us to propose a means of estimating the cut-off temperature
for the validity of the method, which is found to increase with the number of
atoms adsorbed on the coronene molecule
In-situ laboratory X-ray diffraction applied to assess cement hydration
In-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a powerful tool to assess the hydration of cementitious materials, providing
time-resolved quantitative analysis with reasonable accuracy without disturbing sample. However, the lack of
guidelines and well-established procedures for data collection and analysis is the limiting factor for spreading
this technique. This paper discussed using in-situ laboratory XRD to assess cement hydration. The first part was
dedicated to a literature review on the topic. Then, experimental strategies were discussed, and recommendations
related to the data analysis routine were drawn; the advantages and limitations of this technique were also
discussed. We can conclude that the critical factors for a successful analysis are the choice of an adequate
experimental setup with good statistics and low measurement time, the proper consideration of different
amorphous contributions in the XRD pattern, and a good data analysis routine. Independent techniques are
highly recommended to support the in-situ XRD data.PID2020-114650RB-I0
Biodiesel synthesis: influence of alkaline catalysts in methanol-oil dispersion
CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOBiodiesel synthesis from soybean oil using methanol and alkaline catalysts occurs in the following two consecutive steps: dispersion of methanol in the oil and methanolysis. The effect of the alkaline catalysts NaOCH3, KOCH3, NaOH, and KOH in the dispersi302342349CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPERJ - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO A PESQUISA DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIROCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçãoThe authors would like to thank CAPES, FAPERJ, and CNPq (Brazilian agencies) for their financial suppor
Evaluation antimicrobial and antiadhesive properties of the biosurfactant lunasan produced by Candida sphaerica UCP 0995
Abstract Different groups of biosurfactants exhibit diverse properties and display a variety of physiological functions in producer microorganisms; these include enhancing the solubility of hydrophobic/water-insoluble compound, heave metal binding, bacterial pathogenesis, cell adhesion and aggregation, quorum sensing and biofilm formation. Candida sphaerica was grown in a low cost medium, consisting of distilled water supplemented with 9% refinery residue of soybean oil and 9% corn steep liquor, for 144 h at 28°C and 150 rpm. The cell-free supernatant obtained at the end of the experiments was submitted to extraction, and afterward the biosurfactant was isolated using methanol with a yield of 9 g l -1 . The critical micelle concentration of the biosurfactant was found to be 0.25 mg ml -1 with a surface tension of 25 mN m -1 . Several concentrations of the biosurfactant (0.625-10 mg ml -1 ) were used to evaluate its antimicrobial and antiadhesive activities against a variety of microorganisms. The biosurfactant showed antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus oralis (68%), Candida albicans (57%), and Staphylococcus epidermidis(57.6%) for the highest concentration tested. Furthermore, the biosurfactant at a concentration of 10 mg ml -1 inhibited the adhesion between 80 and 92% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus sanguis12. Inhibition of adhesion with percentages near 100% occurred for the higher concentrations of biosurfactant used. Results gathered in this study point to a potential use of the biosurfactant in biomedical applications
The BLue Amazon Brain (BLAB): A Modular Architecture of Services about the Brazilian Maritime Territory
We describe the first steps in the development of an artificial agent focused
on the Brazilian maritime territory, a large region within the South Atlantic
also known as the Blue Amazon. The "BLue Amazon Brain" (BLAB) integrates a
number of services aimed at disseminating information about this region and its
importance, functioning as a tool for environmental awareness. The main service
provided by BLAB is a conversational facility that deals with complex questions
about the Blue Amazon, called BLAB-Chat; its central component is a controller
that manages several task-oriented natural language processing modules (e.g.,
question answering and summarizer systems). These modules have access to an
internal data lake as well as to third-party databases. A news reporter
(BLAB-Reporter) and a purposely-developed wiki (BLAB-Wiki) are also part of the
BLAB service architecture. In this paper, we describe our current version of
BLAB's architecture (interface, backend, web services, NLP modules, and
resources) and comment on the challenges we have faced so far, such as the lack
of training data and the scattered state of domain information. Solving these
issues presents a considerable challenge in the development of artificial
intelligence for technical domains
Nuclear translocation of glutaminase GLS2 in human cancer cells associates with proliferation arrest and differentiation
Glutaminase (GA) catalyzes the first step in mitochondrial glutaminolysis playing a key role in cancer metabolic reprogramming. Humans express two types of GA isoforms: GLS and GLS2. GLS isozymes have been consistently related to cell proliferation, but the role of GLS2 in cancer remains poorly understood. GLS2 is repressed in many tumor cells and a better understanding of its function in tumorigenesis may further the development of new therapeutic approaches. We analyzed GLS2 expression in HCC, GBM and neuroblastoma cells, as well as in monkey COS-7 cells. We studied GLS2 expression after induction of differentiation with phorbol ester (PMA) and transduction with the full-length cDNA of GLS2. In parallel, we investigated cell cycle progression and levels of p53, p21 and c-Myc proteins. Using the baculovirus system, human GLS2 protein was overexpressed, purified and analyzed for posttranslational modifications employing a proteomics LC-MS/MS platform. We have demonstrated a dual targeting of GLS2 in human cancer cells. Immunocytochemistry and subcellular fractionation gave consistent results demonstrating nuclear and mitochondrial locations, with the latter being predominant. Nuclear targeting was confirmed in cancer cells overexpressing c-Myc- and GFP-tagged GLS2 proteins. We assessed the subnuclear location finding a widespread distribution of GLS2 in the nucleoplasm without clear overlapping with specific nuclear substructures. GLS2 expression and nuclear accrual notably increased by treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with PMA and it correlated with cell cycle arrest at G2/M, upregulation of tumor suppressor p53 and p21 protein. A similar response was obtained by overexpression of GLS2 in T98G glioma cells, including downregulation of oncogene c-Myc. Furthermore, human GLS2 was identified as being hypusinated by MS analysis, a posttranslational modification which may be relevant for its nuclear targeting and/or function. Our studies provide evidence for a tumor suppressor role of GLS2 in certain types of cancer. The data imply that GLS2 can be regarded as a highly mobile and multilocalizing protein translocated to both mitochondria and nuclei. Upregulation of GLS2 in cancer cells induced an antiproliferative response with cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase
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