A Dystopic or Utopic Future?

de Castro Neto, M., & de Melo Cartaxo, T. (2021). Algorithmic Cities: A Dystopic or Utopic Future? In M. I. A. Ferreira (Ed.), How Smart Is Your City?: Technological Innovation, Ethics and Inclusiveness (Vol. 98, pp. 59-73). (Intelligent Systems, Control and Automation: Science and Engineering; Vol. 98). Springer Science and Business Media B.V.. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56926-6_6Cities of today face a digital transformation process, leading to a new reality where urban space is taking advantage of information and communication technologies and data science to answer present and future challenges, namely to become more efficient in services and infrastructures management in order to deliver increased quality of life to the people who live, work or visit the city, and addressing at the same time the problems of climate change. This new reality is leveraged by big data produced by the cities Internet of everything (as interconnected systems, sensors and people), information management and data science capabilities, which allow us to measure and describe what happens, predict what can happen, and prescribe what could be the course of actions bringing policy making to a fact-based environment, which had never been possible before. In this work, we will address the opportunities and challenges of this paradigm shift that is leading to the city as a platform reality that supports what we can call the algorithmic city where it is up to us to decide if this will be a dystopic or utopic future for the citizen.authorsversionpublishe

Magnesium and calcium content in waters from the Mediterranean coastal area of south-eastern Spain and their relation with industrial activity

Se han determinado los niveles de calcio y magnesio en aguas (potables, de riego, residuales y marinas) de la zonaindustrial y costera del sureste de España. Las muestras de agua acidifi cadas fueron analizadas por espectrometría deabsorción atómica. Previamente las muestras fueron tratadas con 0,2 ml de LaCl3 (10 mg/mL La) como modifi cadorde matriz. Las concentraciones de magnesio oscilaron entre 18,2 μg/L y 2286,7 μg/L y las de calcio desde 48,8 μg/La 627,1 μg/L. Los niveles medios de magnesio y calcio en aguas marinas fueron signifi cativamente superiores (P <0,001). Las concentraciones de magnesio encontradas en los diferentes grupos de aguas estuvieron linear y signifi -cativamente correlacionadas con los niveles de calcio correspondientes (r= 0,942; P < 0,001). La actividad humanae industrial no infl uyó en los niveles de magnesio y calcio en las aguas de riego y marinas de la zona. Sin embargo,los efl uentes de la fábrica de papel existente en la zona y los de origen doméstico aumentaron signifi cativamente lasconcentraciones de calcio en las aguas residuales.Magnesium and calcium levels in waters (potable, irrigation, waste and sea waters) from a coastal and industrial zonein south-eastern Spain, have been determined. Acidifi ed water samples were analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry.The samples were previously treated with a matrix modifi er consisting in 0.2 mL of LaCl3 (10 mg/mL La). Magnesiumconcentrations ranged from 18.2 μg/L to 2286.7 μg/L and those for calcium from 48.8 μg/L to 627.1 μg/L. Meanmagnesium and calcium levels in sea water samples were signifi cantly higher (P < 0.001). Magnesium concentrationsfound in different water groups were signifi cantly and linearly related with corresponding calcium levels (r= 0.942; P< 0.001). Human and industrial activity did not infl uence magnesium and calcium levels in irrigation and sea watersof the zone. Nevertheless, effl uents from the paper factory existing in the zone and from domestic origin increasedsignifi cantly the calcium concentrations in waste waters

Severity and duration of allergic conjunctivitis: are they associated with severity and duration of allergic rhinitis and asthma?

Comorbiditat al·lèrgica; Conjuntivitis al·lèrgica; Malaltia respiratòria al·lèrgicaAllergic comorbidity; Allergic conjunctivitis; Allergic respiratory diseaseComorbilidad alérgica; Conjuntivitis alérgica; Enfermedad respiratoria alérgicaObjective. The association of allergic conjunctivitis (AC) with rhinitis and/or asthma is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to apply the Consensus Document for Allergic Conjunctivitis (DECA) criteria for the classification of AC to a population of patients with AC to assess the association between the severity and duration of AC and rhinitis and/or asthma. Methods. Patients with ocular symptoms of AC who participated in the 'Alergológica 2015' study were included. The demographics, classification according to the DECA criteria, etiology, and comorbidities were evaluated by age groups (less or equal than 14 and greater than 14 years). Results. A total of 2,914 patients (age range, 1-90 years) were included in the "Alergológica 2015" study. Of these, 965 patients (33.1%) were diagnosed with AC (77.5% > 14 years). AC was classified as severe, moderate, or mild in 1.8%, 46.4%, and 51.8%, respectively; and as intermittent or persistent in 51.6% and 48.4% of the patients. AC alone occurred in 4% of patients. AC was mainly associated with rhinitis (88.4%), asthma (38.2%), food allergy (8.3%) and atopic dermatitis (3.5%). In allergic respiratory disease rhinitis preceded AC and asthma developed later. The severity and duration of AC was significantly associated with severity and duration of rhinitis (p less than 0.001 for both age groups) and asthma (p less than 0.001 only in adults). Conclusions. The application of the new DECA classification for AC reveals a direct relationship between AC, rhinitis and asthma respect to severity and duration. These relationships suggest that AC should be considered an integral part of the "one airway, one disease" hypothesis

Experimental signature of a topological quantum dot

Topological insulators (TIs) present a neoteric class of materials, which support delocalised, conducting surface states despite an insulating bulk. Due to their intriguing electronic properties, their optical properties have received relatively less attention. Even less well studied is their behaviour in the nanoregime, with most studies thus far focusing on bulk samples - in part due to the technical challenges of synthesizing TI nanostructures. We study topological insulator nanoparticles (TINPs), for which quantum effects dominate the behaviour of the surface states and quantum confinement results in a discretized Dirac cone, whose energy levels can be tuned with the nanoparticle size. The presence of these discretized energy levels in turn leads to a new electron-mediated phonon-light coupling in the THz range. We present the experimental realisation of Bi$_2$Te$_3$ TINPs and strong evidence of this new quantum phenomenon, remarkably observed at room temperature. This system can be considered a topological quantum dot, with applications to room temperature THz quantum optics and quantum information technologies

Computational Polyethylene-Ceramic Composite Plate Design and Optimization

A composite designed Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) reinforced by a material with a failure mode that will strengthen the system may significantly improve on modern armor designs. UHMWPE is considerably less dense than steel or high density ceramics. It is reasonable to consider making improvements to the weight-performance of armor by using the lower density UHMWPE and combining it with inserts of a high-density ceramic. A cellular ceramic encapsulated by rubber may significantly increase the amount of kinetic energy a composite will absorb through a phase transition. It is theorized that a series of ceramic inserts distributed in a polymer matrix will result in an increased impact resistance. Shock propagation in the ceramic will be minimal, and the elastomeric properties of the polymer will provide maximum tensile support. The ceramic inserts will act as a stress concentrator and physical resistor to the impacting object. When the ceramic inserts are shattered by the impactor they will impart a resistive force by forcing additional deformation in the polymer matrix. Study of design variations by examination of multiple geometries for the ceramic inserts will maximize the impact resistance of the structure. The resistance of the structure is enhanced by providing a multi-dimensional failure mode. The ceramic, once shattered, will still occupy space, forcing additional plastic deformation, and additional deformation in the impactor

The inevitable youthfulness of known high-redshift radio galaxies

Radio galaxies can be seen out to very high redshifts, where in principle they can serve as probes of the early evolution of the Universe. Here we show that for any model of radio-galaxy evolution in which the luminosity decreases with time after an initial rapid increase (that is, essentially all reasonable models), all observable high-redshift radio-galaxies must be seen when the lobes are less than 10^7 years old. This means that high-redshift radio galaxies can be used as a high-time-resolution probe of evolution in the early Universe. Moreover, this result helps to explain many observed trends of radio-galaxy properties with redshift [(i) the `alignment effect' of optical emission along radio-jet axes, (ii) the increased distortion in radio structure, (iii) the decrease in physical sizes, (iv) the increase in radio depolarisation, and (v) the increase in dust emission] without needing to invoke explanations based on cosmology or strong evolution of the surrounding intergalactic medium with cosmic time, thereby avoiding conflict with current theories of structure formation.Comment: To appear in Nature. 4 pages, 2 colour figures available on request. Also available at http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/~km

Formation of Supermassive Black Holes

Evidence shows that massive black holes reside in most local galaxies. Studies have also established a number of relations between the MBH mass and properties of the host galaxy such as bulge mass and velocity dispersion. These results suggest that central MBHs, while much less massive than the host (~ 0.1%), are linked to the evolution of galactic structure. In hierarchical cosmologies, a single big galaxy today can be traced back to the stage when it was split up in hundreds of smaller components. Did MBH seeds form with the same efficiency in small proto-galaxies, or did their formation had to await the buildup of substantial galaxies with deeper potential wells? I briefly review here some of the physical processes that are conducive to the evolution of the massive black hole population. I will discuss black hole formation processes for `seed' black holes that are likely to place at early cosmic epochs, and possible observational tests of these scenarios.Comment: To appear in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Mutational analysis of the RNA-binding domain of the Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) movement protein reveals its requirement for cell-to-cell movement

The movement protein (MP) of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is required for cell-to-cell movement. MP subcellular localization studies using a GFP fusion protein revealed highly punctate structures between neighboring cells, believed to represent plasmodesmata. Deletion of the RNA-binding domain (RBD) of PNRSV MP abolishes the cell-to-cell movement. A mutational analysis on this RBD was performed in order to identify in vivo the features that govern viral transport. Loss of positive charges prevented the cell-to-cell movement even though all mutants showed a similar accumulation level in protoplasts to those observed with the wild-type (wt) MP. Synthetic peptides representing the mutants and wild-type RBDs were used to study RNA-binding affinities by EMSA assays being approximately 20-fold lower in the mutants. Circular dichroism analyses revealed that the secondary structure of the peptides was not significantly affected by mutations. The involvement of the affinity changes between the viral RNA and the MP in the viral cell-to-cell movement is discussed

The Novel Object and Unusual Name (NOUN) database: a collection of novel images for use in experimental research

Many experimental research designs require images of novel objects. Here we introduce the Novel Object and Unusual Name (NOUN) Database. This database contains 64 primary novel object images and additional novel exemplars for ten basic- and nine global-level object categories. The objects’ novelty was confirmed by both self-report and a lack of consensus on questions that required participants to name and identify the objects. We also found that object novelty correlated with qualifying naming responses pertaining to the objects’ colors. Results from a similarity sorting task (and subsequent multidimensional scaling analysis on the similarity ratings) demonstrated that the objects are complex and distinct entities that vary along several featural dimensions beyond simply shape and color. A final experiment confirmed that additional item exemplars comprise both sub- and superordinate categories. These images may be useful in a variety of settings, particularly for developmental psychology and other research in language, categorization, perception, visual memory and related domains

The Formation of the First Massive Black Holes

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are common in local galactic nuclei, and SMBHs as massive as several billion solar masses already exist at redshift z=6. These earliest SMBHs may grow by the combination of radiation-pressure-limited accretion and mergers of stellar-mass seed BHs, left behind by the first generation of metal-free stars, or may be formed by more rapid direct collapse of gas in rare special environments where dense gas can accumulate without first fragmenting into stars. This chapter offers a review of these two competing scenarios, as well as some more exotic alternative ideas. It also briefly discusses how the different models may be distinguished in the future by observations with JWST, (e)LISA and other instruments.Comment: 47 pages with 306 references; this review is a chapter in "The First Galaxies - Theoretical Predictions and Observational Clues", Springer Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Eds. T. Wiklind, V. Bromm & B. Mobasher, in pres