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

Estudio de la influencia de los diferentes residuos de carbón como aluminosilicatos en las propiedades mecánicas y la microestructura de los cementos activados alcalinamente

Coal mining wastes are associated with serious environmental problems; they have potential as building materials, including alkali-activated cement. In this study, the effect of different coal mining wastes on the mechanical properties and microstructural development of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) was evaluated through XRD, SEM and FTIR spectroscopy. Different alkali-activated compounds were produced; the alkaline solution was composed of NaOH+Na2SiO3. The results obtained using the calcined coal sludge showed excellent mechanical performance, with compressive strength higher than 60 MPa. However, addition of metakaolin and ordinary Portland cement was necessary to increase the mechanical performance of calcined coal gangue materials. The formation of N-A-S-H gel and the incorporation of iron ions into the cementitious matrix were evidenced. Ultrasonic pulse velocity indicated the early polymerization during the reaction processes. The study verified that the different characteristics of the wastes influence the performance of alkali-activated materials.Los residuos de minería de carbón causan serios problemas ambientales, no obstante, tienen potencial como material de construcción, destacándose los cementos activados alcalinamente. El efecto de los residuos de carbón sobre las propiedades mecánicas y el desarrollo microestructural de los cementos activados alcalinamente son objeto de este estudio. Para ello, se utilizaron las técnicas de DRX, SEM y FTIR. Se produjeron diferentes compuestos activados alcalinamente, utilizando NaOH + Na2SiO3 como activador alcalino y curado térmico (50 °C durante 24 h). Los resultados obtenidos a partir del lodo de carbón calcinado mostraron un excelente rendimiento mecánico, con una resistencia a la compresión superior a 60 MPa. Sin embargo, en el caso de los materiales obtenidos a partir de la ganga de carbón calcinada, fue necesaria la adición de metacaolín y cemento Portland para aumentar sus resistencias mecánicas. Asimismo, se evidenció la formación de gel N-A-S-H y la incorporación de iones de hierro en la matriz cementante. El ensayo de velocidad de pulso ultrasónica indicó la polimerización inicial durante el proceso de reacción. Gracias a este se ha comprobado que las diferentes características de los residuos influyen en las propiedades y comportamiento de los correspondientes materiales activados alcalinamente

Using the impact-WEB_GIS platform to assess the impacts of environmental sustainability public policies in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Urban environmental sustainability is a growing concern within the United Nations and the European Union’s ongoing policy agendas to fight climate change. This paper contributes to this debate by presenting the main impacts of the Operational Programme for Sustainability and Use of Resources (POSEUR 2014–2020) in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (NUTS II). The analysis was completed using the Impact-WEB_GIS platform, specially developed for this study, supported by a territorial impact assessment methodology. In addition to the production of general impact scores, five analytic dimensions were further analysed, supported by state-of-the-art (i) low-emissions economy, (ii) adaptation to climate change, (iii) risk prevention and management, (iv) environmental protection and (v) resource efficiency. At a strategic level, the research created awareness of the need to adjust regional policy to the region’s characteristics on environmental sustainability matters.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improving the Knowledge on Seismogenic Sources in the Lower Tagus Valley for Seismic Hazard Purposes

The Lower Tagus Valley, that includes the metropolitan area of Lisbon, has been struck by several earthquakes which produced significant material damage and loss of lives. Their exact location remains unknown. Our goal is to shed some light into the seismogenic sources in the area using seismic reflection and geological data. In areas with no seismic coverage, potential-field data interpretation was carried out. Seismicity was overlaid to the potential seismogenic structures and high-resolution data was acquired in order to confirm which structures have been active into the Quaternary. Three major fault-zones affecting the Neogene were identified: V. F. Xira, Samora-Alcochete and Pinhal Novo. For the first fault, strong evidences suggest it is active. The other two fault-zones and other structures previously unknown can be correlated with several epicentres. Empirical relationships between maximum moment magnitude and fault area indicate that MW > 6.5 earthquakes can be expected for the larger structures

Gaussian superpositions in scalar-tensor quantum cosmological models

A free scalar field minimally coupled to gravity model is quantized and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in minisuperspace is solved analytically, exhibiting positive and negative frequency modes. The analysis is performed for positive, negative and zero values of the curvature of the spatial section. Gaussian superpositions of the modes are constructed, and the quantum bohmian trajectories are determined in the framework of the Bohm-de Broglie interpretation of quantum cosmology. Oscillating universes appear in all cases, but with a characteristic scale of the order of the Planck scale. Bouncing regular solutions emerge for the flat curvature case. They contract classically from infinity until a minimum size, where quantum effects become important acting as repulsive forces avoiding the singularity and creating an inflationary phase, expanding afterwards to an infinite size, approaching the classical expansion as long as the scale factor increases. These are non-singular solutions which are viable models to describe the early Universe.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 3 Postscript figures, uses graficx.st

A backwards approach to the formation of disk galaxies I. Stellar and gas content

A simple chemical enrichment code is described where the two basic mechanisms driving the evolution of the ages and metallicities of the stellar populations are the star formation efficiency and the fraction of gas ejected from the galaxy. Using the observed Tully-Fisher relation in different passbands as a constraint, it is found that a steep correlation between the maximum disk rotational velocity and star formation efficiency must exist either for a linear or a quadratic Schmidt law. Outflows do not play a major role. The redshift evolution of disk galaxies is explored, showing that a significant change in the slope of the Tully-Fisher relation is expected because of the different age distributions of the stellar components in high and low-mass disk galaxies. The slope measured in the rest frame B,K bands is found to change from 3(B); 4(K) at z=0 up to 4.5(B); 5(K) at z~1, with a slight dependence on formation redshift.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Uses emulateapj.sty. 12 pages with 10 embedded EPS figure

Chemical Evolution of the Galaxy Based on the Oscillatory Star Formation History

We model the star formation history (SFH) and the chemical evolution of the Galactic disk by combining an infall model and a limit-cycle model of the interstellar medium (ISM). Recent observations have shown that the SFH of the Galactic disk violently variates or oscillates. We model the oscillatory SFH based on the limit-cycle behavior of the fractional masses of three components of the ISM. The observed period of the oscillation ($\sim 1$ Gyr) is reproduced within the natural parameter range. This means that we can interpret the oscillatory SFH as the limit-cycle behavior of the ISM. We then test the chemical evolution of stars and gas in the framework of the limit-cycle model, since the oscillatory behavior of the SFH may cause an oscillatory evolution of the metallicity. We find however that the oscillatory behavior of metallicity is not prominent because the metallicity reflects the past integrated SFH. This indicates that the metallicity cannot be used to distinguish an oscillatory SFH from one without oscillations.Comment: 21 pages LaTeX, to appear in Ap

Testing the Relation Between the Local and Cosmic Star Formation Histories

Recently, there has been great progress toward observationally determining the mean star formation history of the universe. When accurately known, the cosmic star formation rate could provide much information about Galactic evolution, if the Milky Way's star formation rate is representative of the average cosmic star formation history. A simple hypothesis is that our local star formation rate is proportional to the cosmic mean. In addition, to specify a star formation history, one must also adopt an initial mass function (IMF); typically it is assumed that the IMF is a smooth function which is constant in time. We show how to test directly the compatibility of all these assumptions, by making use of the local (solar neighborhood) star formation record encoded in the present-day stellar mass function. Present data suggests that at least one of the following is false: (1) the local IMF is constant in time; (2) the local IMF is a smooth (unimodal) function; and/or (3) star formation in the Galactic disk was representative of the cosmic mean. We briefly discuss how to determine which of these assumptions fail, and improvements in observations which will sharpen this test.Comment: 14 pages in LaTeX (uses aaspp4.sty). 5 postscript figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journa

The Consistency of Causal Quantum Geometrodynamics and Quantum Field Theory

We consider quantum geometrodynamics and parametrized quantum field theories in the framework of the Bohm-de Broglie interpretation. In the first case, and following the lines of our previous work [1], where a hamiltonian formalism for the bohmian trajectories was constructed, we show the consistency of the theory for any quantum potential, completing the scenarios for canonical quantum cosmology presented there. In the latter case, we prove the consistency of scalar field theory in Minkowski spacetime for any quantum potential, and we show, using this alternative hamiltonian method, a concrete example where Lorentz invariance of individual events is broken.Comment: Final version. See also http://www.cosmologia.cbpf.b

The BMV project: Search for photon oscillations into massive particles

In this contribution to PSAS08 we report on the research activities developed in our Toulouse group, in the framework of the BMV project, concerning the search for photon oscillations into massive particles, such as axion-like particles in the presence of a strong transverse magnetic field. We recall our main result obtained in collaboration with LULI at \'Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France). We also present the very preliminary results obtained with the BMV experiment which is set up at LNCMP (Toulouse, France).Comment: Proceedings of PSAS'08, to be published in Can. J. Phy