Criticalidade auto-organizada no cerrado? Invariância escalar dos padrões texturais e espectrais de fitosionomias do cerrado paulista.

Padrões presentes em uma paisagem podem estar associados importantes processos relativos à organização e dinâmica do sistema. Objetivo: O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar, a partir de algumas métricas derivadas do paradigma da complexidade, a complexidade dos padrões texturais e espectrais de fisionomias do Cerrado paulista a fim de verificar quais propriedades relativas à sua organização e dinâmica tais padrões podem revelar. Metodologia: Para tanto, imagens do sensor Aster de três unidades de conservação do estado de São Paulo foram analisadas, utilizando-se dois tipos de medidas (dimensão fractal e medidas baseadas na entropia informacional) para avaliar a complexidade dos padrões texturais e espectrais das fisionomias. Resultados e discussão: Todas as fisionomias, nas três localidades estudadas e para todas as medidas usadas, apresentarem em diversas ocasiões a ocorrência de padrões texturais e espectrais que se repetem em diferentes escalas. A principal implicação desses resultados diz respeito às inferências sobre a dinâmica do Cerrado: a invariância escalar é uma característica marcante de sistemas que se desenvolvem longe do equilíbrio. Mais do que isso, é um grande indicativo de que o sistema pode apresentar criticalidade auto-organizada.Edição especia

Assessment of complexity metrics applied to analysis of spectral patterns generated by aster sensor.

Landscape metrics are traditionally used in the analysis and search for spatial patterns in complex environmental systems through of establishing numeric relationships between different types of targets on Earth's surface. Under this perspective, remote sensing has had great importance as a tool for data generation, providing several levels of land use and occupancy information isonomically for large areas. For that purpose, remote sensing uses regular pixel matrices (Picture Element) with associated quantitative values (e.g. digital numbers, radiance, reflectance) which constitute a direct measurement of the variation of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) after interaction with the target. The variations in pixel values may be considered in terms of their textural patterns, regarding pixel neighborhood relationships, or spectral patterns, when EMR variations are considered along different wavelengths for a same pixel. Thus, the objective of this work was to assess the results of spectral measurements to different area extensions in images taken by the ASTER sensor, which operates with 9 bands within the visible to shortwave infrared region (0.556 to 2.400 µm) and has a spatial resolution of 15 m. For this purpose, cerrado phytophysiognomies in two hillsides at Jataí Ecological Station, in the city of Luiz Antônio, northeast portion of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, were considered reference targets, and encompassed to its greatest extent the cerradão domain and also "campo sujo" and "cerrado strictu sensu" physiognomies. The metrics used for spectral analyses are based on information entropy: measure (SDL), in which most complexity values are associated to more disorderly patterns; and measure, LMC, which is represent by a convex entropy of function that attributes greater complexity values to patterns located in an intermediate zone between order and disorder. These measures was applied to values extracted from spectral response curve generated by a wavelength X reflectance graphic which represented the target's behavior in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this work, was used two bands (8 and 9) that emphasize important components of cerrado phytophysiognomies, as lignin and water cell. For each hillside, was analysed three positions: base, medium and top, and each of these position, two spatial scales (150x150m and 75x75m). The results shows that, when taken alone, any measure presented a consistent behavior when compared of different spatial scales and bands used. However, both measures show identical behavior to attribute greater and lesser values of complexity to different positions and spatial scale at the same hillside. This results appoint that its can be used in combined as complementary measures, demonstrating in case LMC measure ? heterogeneity degrees of spectral patterns analysed and, from SDL measure, your respective location along of continuum that have in your extremes, one side, more ordered condition (therefore, more homogeneous) and, in the other extremity, more disordered conditions

Insulin resistance and endometrial cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Aim: It has been suggested that chronic hyperinsulinemia from insulin resistance is involved in the etiology of endometrial cancer (EC). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether insulin resistance is associated with the risk of EC. Methods: We searched PubMed-Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles published from database inception through 30th September 2014. We included all observational studies evaluating components defining insulin resistance in women with and without EC. Quality of the included studies was assessed by NewcastleeOttawa scale. Randomeffects models and inverse variance method were used to meta-analyze the association between insulin resistance components and EC. Results: Twenty-five studies satisfied our inclusion criteria. Fasting insulin levels (13 studies, n Z 4088) were higher in women with EC (mean difference [MD] 33.94 pmol/L, 95% confi- dence interval [CI] 15.04e52.85, p Z 0.0004). No differences were seen in postmenopausal versus pre- and postmenopausal subgroup analysis. Similarly, non-fasting/fasting C-peptide levels (five studies, n Z 1938) were also higher in women with EC (MD 0.14 nmol/L, 95% CI 0.08e0.21, p < 0.00001). Homeostatic model assessment - insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values (six studies, n Z 1859) in EC patients were significantly higher than in women without EC (MD 1.13, 95% CI 0.20e2.06, p Z 0.02). There was moderate-to-high heterogeneity among the included studies. Conclusion: Currently available epidemiologic evidence is suggestive of significantly higher risk of EC in women with high fasting insulin, non-fasting/fasting C-peptide and HOMAIR values.Revisión por pare

Self-control in Sparsely Coded Networks

A complete self-control mechanism is proposed in the dynamics of neural networks through the introduction of a time-dependent threshold, determined in function of both the noise and the pattern activity in the network. Especially for sparsely coded models this mechanism is shown to considerably improve the storage capacity, the basins of attraction and the mutual information content of the network.Comment: 4 pages, 6 Postscript figure

HST Imaging of the BL Lacertae Object OJ 287

Hubble Space Telescope WFPC-2 I-band (F814W) images of the BL Lacertae object OJ 287 and the surrounding field are presented. We find evidence of associated extended nebulosity near OJ 287, as well as a small nebulosity to the West, which may be spatially coincident with the position of previously observed radio emission. The brightness of a host galaxy is difficult to determine due to the brightness of the active nucleus, but it lies in the range -21.5 > M_R > -23.1 (H_0 = 100 km s^{-1} Mpc^{-1}, q_0 = 0). No evidence is seen for the previously reported optical ``jet'' at position angle 220 degrees to a surface brightness limit of I = 24.3 mag arcsec^{-2}. There are several resolved and unresolved objects within 17'' of OJ~287 in the field to limits of I=25 (point source 5\sigma detections). The magnitudes and relative positions of these objects are reported. An offset in the centroid position between the OJ 287 point source and the underlying nebulosity reported by Wurtz, Stocke and Yee is confirmed and measured to be about 0.4 (1.2h^{-1} kpc at the redshift of OJ~287). This offset is tentatively interpreted as evidence for recent merger activity rather than a sign of gravitational microlensing.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letters, 3 jpg figure

Aprendizaje basado en proyectos y trabajo en equipo para mejorar las competencias básicas

El aprendizaje basado en proyectos es una técnica de enseñanza/aprendizaje que utiliza un proyecto como eje principal del proceso de aprendizaje. Este aprendizaje, combinado con el trabajo en equipo permite mejorar la adquisición tanto de las competencias específicas como de las básicas. Desde hace tres años, en las asignaturas de bases de datos avanzadas del Grado de Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad Jaume I se utiliza de forma combinada el aprendizaje basado en proyectos y el trabajo en equipo. En este artículo se presenta la experiencia adquirida, las actividades del proyecto y las competencias alcanzadas en cada actividad. Por último, se analiza y evalúan los resultados obtenidos, proponiendo una serie de actuaciones de trabajo futuras

How to Improve the Functional Capacity of Frail and Pre-Frail Elderly People? Health, Nutritional Status and Exercise Intervention. The EXERNET-Elder 3.0 Project

Aging is associated with the impairment of health and functional capacity, and physical exercise seems to be an effective tool in frailty prevention and treatment. The purpose of this study was to present the methodology used in the EXERNET-Elder 3.0 project that aims to evaluate the immediate and residual effects and of a multicomponent exercise training program called Elder-fit on frailty, fitness, body composition and quality of life, and also to analyse a possible dietary intake interaction according to health and metabolic status. A total of 110 frail and pre-frail elders participated in this study and were divided into a control group (CG = 52) and an intervention group (IG = 58). The IG performed a supervised multicomponent exercise training program of 6 months and 3 days per week, which included strength, endurance, balance, coordination and flexibility exercises, while the CG continued with their usual daily activities. Both groups received four speeches about healthy habits along the project. Four evaluations were performed: at baseline, after 3 months of training, at the end of the training program (6 months) and 4 months after the program had ended to examine the effects of detraining. Evaluating the efficacy, safety and feasibility of this program will help to develop efficacious physical interventions against frailty. Further, protocols should be described accurately to allow exercise programs to be successfully replicated