(L, U): bounded priority queues and the codification of Rényi k-Trees

We introduce in this paper a data structure named (L, U)- bounded priority queue, which particularizes priority queues in two aspects: the priorities associated to the elements must be integer numbers constrained to a predefined interval and, in a sequence of operations, no more than one Insert can immediatly follow a DeleteMin. This data structure is used in the development of efficient algorithms for coding and decoding Rényi k-trees

Bats of the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brasil

Minas Gerais (MG) é o maior estado da região sudeste e sua localização em área de transição entre a faixa super úmida da costa e os ecossistemas mais áridos do centro-oeste brasileiro propicia a ocorrência de um rico mosaico de biomas e ecossistemas, incluindo o Cerrado, a Caatinga, a Mata Atlântica e áreas cársticas. Embora se saiba que a mastofauna de Minas Gerais é rica em espécies, não há uma lista de espécies de morcegos publicada, sendo esta a primeira compilação da fauna de quirópteros de MG. São aqui reunidos dados originais de inventários realizados independentemente pelos autores, informações da literatura e levantamento de espécimes depositados em várias coleções. Os resultados indicam a ocorrência de 77 espécies distribuídas em sete famílias em Minas Gerais, o que coloca o estado como o mais rico do sudeste brasileiro em número de espécies de morcegos. Essa riqueza surpreende também, devido ao fato constatado da escassez de dados disponíveis, conforme detectado no presente estudo. Grandes áreas do estado permanecem pouco conhecidas ou completamente desconhecidas em termos de sua quiropterofauna, incluindo ecossistemas frágeis associados à Caatinga, ao Cerrado e à Mata Atlântica, como os campos rupestres e áreas cársticas e não há sequer um estudo de longa duração. As coleções estudadas têm pouca representatividade em termos de espécimes oriundas do estado de Minas Gerais e são raras as séries sistemáticas oriundas de coletas no estado.Minas Gerais is the largest state in the Southeastern of Brazil, and its location in the transition between the humid coastal Atlantic Forest and the drier Western and central Brazilian countryside allows the occurrence of a rich mosaic of biomes and ecosystems that includes the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Atlantic Forest, and karstic environments. This work is the first comprehensive compilation of the bat fauna of Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil, including original data from surveys conducted independently by the authors, and published information documented with data from several museum collections. Although large areas of MG remains unsampled, unknown and/or unprotected, long term studies are virtually inexistent, and systematic inventories have not been documented to date, our results reveal high bat species richness for the state, with 77 species distributed in seven families. This indicates that MG has more bat species recorded than other Southeastern Brazilian states, a result that contrasts with the noticeable paucity of data for the state. The bat diverstity kept in museums does not mirror the actual bat diversity of MG, which thus urges to be properly acessed. Additionally, the collections examined were poorly represented in specimens from Minas Gerais and systematic series are rare

Teaching Generative Reading Via Recombination of Minimal Textual Units: A Legacy of Verbal Behavior to Children in Brazil

This paper reports results of two studies that sought to teach generative reading skills to a large group of Brazilian children who were exhibiting protracted failure in school. Inspired by Skinner\u27s analysis of verbal relations and minimal verbal units, the methodology took advantage of certain characteristics of Portuguese. Many words in this language are comprised of two-letter syllabic units (e.g., BO+LA= ball, CA+BO= handle, LA+TA= can) that can be recombined to form new words (e.g., BOCA= mouth, BOTA= boot), thus establishing a route to generative reading via recombinative generalization. Such syllabic units were incorporated within curricular framework that used matching-to-sample and learning by exclusion methods to teach matching relations involving pictures, printed and spoken words, and printed and spoken syllables. Study 1 was conducted within a university-based learning center that maintained certain aspects of laboratory conditions. It showed that teaching textual relations between dictated and printed syllables could control procedurally the inter- and intra-participant variability observed in past studies that lacked this feature -resulting in virtually universally positive teaching outcomes. Study 2 was conducted in a public school programs that applied the same basic training methodology. Positive training outcomes in an experimental group were approximately 3-5 times greater than that in a placebo control group. Together, these studies illustrate that the functional analysis in Verbal Behavior is having a direct impact in educational science in Brazil. It has led to procedures that can be effectively translated from the laboratory to the community via delivery systems that can be implemented in the developing world

THE ANKLE-HIP TRANSVERSE PLANE COUPLING DURING THE STANCE PHASE OF NORMAL WALKING

The aim of this study was to investigate the strength and features of a possibly existent ankle-hip transverse plane coupling during the stance of walking. Fifteen healthy volunteers walked on a 10m walkway in their natural speed using sandals. Kinematic data were obtained with a 3-dimensional motion analysis system. Calculation of the cross-correlation (r=-0.78) indicated a strong ankle-hip coupling, with ankle external rotation (foot pronation) coupled with hip internal rotation, and ankle internal rotation (foot supination) coupled with hip external rotation. Vector coding technique (Φ=41.01°) showed that ankle and hip joints present similar displacement magnitudes. The results agree with suggestions of ankle-hip transverse plane interdependency and an important kinetic energy transmission between the shank and thigh in this plane of movement

EFFECTS OF SIMULATING FOREFOOT VARISM INCREASES ON LOWER EXTREMITY KINEMATICS DURING THE STANCE PHASE OF WALKING

This study investigates the effects of simulating forefoot varism increases on lower extremity kinematics during the stance phase. Sixteen volunteers walked on a walkway in three conditions: wearing flat sandals; wearing a 5º and a 10º laterally wedged sandal. Data were obtained with a 3-D motion analysis system. The variables analyzed were: subtalar eversion/inversion; shank internal/external rotation; knee internal/external rotation; hip internal/external rotation. The simulations of 5º and 10º increases in forefoot varism increased subtalar pronation (P≤.007) and the simulation of 10º increased internal rotation of the shank in relation to the pelvis and of the hip (P=.001). The results suggest that forefoot varism can lead to kinematic patterns related to the occurrence of overuse injuries

Haptic Stabilization of Posture in Adults With Intellectual Disabilities Using a Nonrigid Tool

This study assessed the effects of haptic information on the postural control systems of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), through the use of a nonrigid tool that we call the ""anchor system"" (e.g., ropes attached to graduated weights that rest on the floor). Eleven participants with ID were asked to stand, blindfolded, on a balance beam placed at two heights (10 and 20 cm), for 30 s, while using the anchor system at two weights. The lighter anchor weight appeared to improve the individuals' balance in contrast to a control task condition; therefore, we concluded that haptic sensitivity was more significant in helping to orient the body than was the anchor's mechanical support alone.CNPqFAPESPPROEX/UNES

Use of the q-Gaussian mutation in evolutionary algorithms

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag 2010.This paper proposes the use of the q-Gaussian mutation with self-adaptation of the shape of the mutation distribution in evolutionary algorithms. The shape of the q-Gaussian mutation distribution is controlled by a real parameter q. In the proposed method, the real parameter q of the q-Gaussian mutation is encoded in the chromosome of individuals and hence is allowed to evolve during the evolutionary process. In order to test the new mutation operator, evolution strategy and evolutionary programming algorithms with self-adapted q-Gaussian mutation generated from anisotropic and isotropic distributions are presented. The theoretical analysis of the q-Gaussian mutation is also provided. In the experimental study, the q-Gaussian mutation is compared to Gaussian and Cauchy mutations in the optimization of a set of test functions. Experimental results show the efficiency of the proposed method of self-adapting the mutation distribution in evolutionary algorithms.This work was supported in part by FAPESP and CNPq in Brazil and in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under Grant EP/E060722/1 and Grant EP/E060722/2