The Mellin transform in Nonparametric Statistics

This thesis deals with the nonparametric estimation for a special class of ill-posed inverse prob- lems, the so-called multiplicative measurement error models. In these models, the observations of the unknown, to be estimated quantity is only accessible with a multiplicative measurement error. As a consequence, the instability of the reconstruction depends on the distribution of the error by effecting the ill-posedness of the underlying inverse problem. The theory of Mellin transform al- lows to express the influence of the error distribution on the instability of the reconstruction and to reduce the estimation of the unknown quantity to a regularized estimation of its unknown Mellin transform. The proposed estimation strategies will be evaluated in terms of a mean weighted(- integrated) squared risk. Aside from being an introduction to the theory of Mellin transforms and multiplicative convolu- tions, this thesis is structuered in three topics. In the first part, we consider global density estimation under multiplicative measurement error. After a comparison between direct and noisy observations, we study several families of error dis- tributions, the multivariate case and the influence of dependence structures in the data. Here in each case we will propose an estimation strategy, discuss its minimax-optimality and consider data- driven choices of smoothing parameters. The theoritcal expected behavior of the estimators are illustrated through Monte-Carlo simulations. In the second part, we study global survival function estimation, which is, alongside the density of a distribution, a frequently considered characterization of a distribution. We once again propose an estimation method, prove its minimax-optimality and discuss data-driven choices of smoothing parameters. Furthermore, we analyse the stability of the estimator for Bernoulli-shift processes and visualize it using a Monte-Carlo simulation. The third part considers the estimation of the evaluation of an linear functional under multiplicative measurement errors. The point evaluation of the density, the survival function and the cumulative distribution function, to mention only a few, can be intrepreted as an evaluation of a linear func- tional. This allows the simultaneous analysis of these different estimation problems and the com- parison of the ill-posedness of the underlying inverse problems. A minimax-optimal estimation strategy as well as a data-driven choice of the smoothing parameters are presented and analyzed

Multifunctional metal-organic frameworks : from academia to industrial applications

After three decades of intense and fundamental research on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), is there anything left to say or to explain? The synthesis and properties of MOFs have already been comprehensively described elsewhere. It is time, however, to prove the nature of their true usability: technological applications based on these extended materials require development and implementation as a natural consequence of the up-to-known intensive research focused on their design and preparation. The current large number of reviews on MOFs emphasizes practical strategies to develop novel networks with varied crystal size, shape and topology, being mainly devoted to academic concerns. The present survey intends to push the boundaries and summarise the state-of-the-art on the preparation of promising (multi) functional MOFs in worldwide laboratories and their use as materials for industrial implementation. This review starts, on the one hand, to describe several tools and striking examples of remarkable and recent (multi) functional MOFs exhibiting outstanding properties (e.g., in gas adsorption and separation, selective sorption of harmful compounds, heterogeneous catalysis, luminescent and corrosion protectants). On the other hand, and in a second part, it intends to use these examples of MOFs to incite scientists to move towards the transference of knowledge from the laboratories to the industry. Within this context, we exhaustively review the many efforts of several worldwide commercial companies to bring functional MOFs towards the daily use, analysing the various patents and applications reported to date. Overall, this review goes from the very basic concepts of functional MOF engineering and preparation ending up in their industrial production on a large scale and direct applications in society

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Persister Biofilm Cells of Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas fluorescens

The present study evaluates the antimicrobial susceptibility of persister cells of Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas fluorescens after their regrowth in suspension and as biofilms. Two conventional (benzalkonium chloride-BAC and peracetic acid-PAA) and two emerging biocides (glycolic acid-GA and glyoxal-GO) were selected for this study. Persister cells resulted from biofilms subjected to a critical treatment using the selected biocides. All biocide treatments developed B. cereus persister cells, except PAA that effectively reduced the levels of vegetative cells and endospores. P. fluorescens persister cells comprise viable and viable but non-culturable cells. Afterwards, persister cells were regrown in suspension and in biofilms and were subjected to a second biocide treatment. In general, planktonic cultures of regrown persister cells in suspension lost their antimicrobial tolerance, for both bacteria. Regrown biofilms of persister cells had antimicrobial susceptibility close to those regrown biofilms of biocide-untreated cells, except for regrown biofilms of persister P. fluorescens after BAC treatment, which demonstrated increased antimicrobial tolerance. The most active biocide against persister cells was PAA, which did not promote changes in susceptibility after their regrowth. In conclusion, persister cells are ubiquitous within biofilms and survive after critical biocide treatment. The descendant planktonic and biofilms populations showed similar properties as the original ones

Curcumin and 10-undecenoic acid as natural quorum sensing inhibitors of LuxS/AI-2 of Bacillus subtilis and LasI/LasR of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The quorum sensing (QS) system is related to cell-to-cell communication as a function of population density, which regulates several physiological functions including biofilm formation and virulence gene expression. QS inhibitors have emerged as a promising strategy to tackle virulence and biofilm development. Among a wide variety of phytochemicals, many of them have been described as QS inhibitors. Driven by their promising clues, this study aimed to identify active phytochemicals against LuxS/autoinducer-2 (AI-2) (as the universal QS system) from Bacillus subtilis and LasI/LasR (as a specific QS system) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, through in silico analysis followed by in vitro validation. The optimized virtual screening protocols were applied to screen a phytochemical database containing 3479 drug-like compounds. The most promising phytochemicals were curcumin, pioglitazone hydrochloride, and 10-undecenoic acid. In vitro analysis corroborated the QS inhibitory activity of curcumin and 10-undecenoic acid, however, pioglitazone hydrochloride showed no relevant effect. Inhibitory effects on LuxS/AI-2 QS system triggered reduction of 33-77% by curcumin (at 1.25-5 mu g/mL) and 36-64% by 10-undecenoic acid (at 12.5-50 mu g/mL). Inhibition of LasI/LasR QS system was 21% by curcumin (at 200 mu g/mL) and 10-54% by 10-undecenoic acid (at 15.625-250 mu g/mL). In conclusion, in silico analysis allowed the identification of curcumin and, for the first time, 10-undecenoic acid (showing low cost, high availability, and low toxicity) as alternatives to counteract bacterial pathogenicity and virulence, avoiding the imposition of selective pressure usually related to classic industrial disinfection and antibiotics therapy

Ejercicio físico y estilo de vida sedentario: consecuencias para la salud

Perhaps the greatest barriers for achieving major advances in public health in the twenty-first century result from the paralysis of the pandemic paradigm or from the widespread inability to envision alternative or new models of thought. Human movement represents a complex behavior that is influenced by personal motivation, health and mobility problems, genetic factors, and social and physical environments in which people live. These factors influence the propensity to engage in sedentary behaviors or in physical activity. However, the biological, social, and environmental pathways leading to sedentary behavior versus physical activity may be different. In addition, the health effects associated with sedentary behavior and physical activity may be the result of different biological mechanisms. Thus, our objective was to discuss the importance of physical exercise on health-related outcomes and the consequences of sedentary lifestyles. Research on sedentary behavior has been growing;however, the evidence for its determinants is relatively sparse. More studies are needed to obtain more conclusive results because it is fundamental to understand these complex relationships related to the practice and the acquisition of active and healthy lifestyles as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Could tDCS Be a Potential Performance-Enhancing Tool for Acute Neurocognitive Modulation in eSports? A Perspective Review

Competitive sports involve physical and cognitive skills. In traditional sports, there is a greater dependence on the development and performance of both motor and cognitive skills, unlike electronic sports (eSports), which depend much more on neurocognitive skills for success. However, little is known about neurocognitive functions and effective strategies designed to develop and optimize neurocognitive performance in eSports athletes. One such strategy is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), characterized as a weak electric current applied on the scalp to induce prolonged changes in cortical excitability. Therefore, our objective is to propose anodal (a)-tDCS as a performance-enhancing tool for neurocognitive functions in eSports. In this manuscript, we discussed the neurocognitive processes that underlie exceptionally skilled performances in eSports and how tDCS could be used for acute modulation of these processes in eSports. Based on the results from tDCS studies in healthy people, professional athletes, and video game players, it seems that tDCS is applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as a potential performance-enhancing tool for neurocognition in eSports.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lifecycle Information Systems: the concept, principles and an approach

The aim of this article is to introduce the concept of lifecycle information systems (LCISs), in which the main purpose is to permit the development of ISs capable of supporting the management of information of an entity during its whole lifecycle. In order to validate this concept, we outline the MyHistory which consists in an experimental IS structured in four different contexts, supporting the information management of persons during their lifecycle. As the main contribution, this article introduces a new approach for the development of ISs which can improve the current way of information management of entities

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The flight and control capabilities of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have increased significantly with recent research for civilian and commercial applications. As a result, these devices are becoming capable of flying ever greater distances, accomplishing flights beyond line of sight (BVLOS). However, given the need for safety guarantees, these flights are increasingly subject to regulations. Handover operations between controllers and the security of the exchanged data are a challenge for implementing these devices in various applications. This paper presents a secure handover architecture between control stations, using a Software in the Loop (SIL) model to validate the adopted strategies and mitigate the time between simulation and real systems implementations. This architecture is developed in two separate modules that perform the security and handover processes. Finally, we validate the proposed architecture with several drone flights on a virtual testbed.This work was partially supported by National Funds through FCT/MCTES (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), within the CISTER Research Unit (UIDP/UIDB/04234/2020); and by FCT and the EU ECSEL JU under the H2020 Framework Programme, within project ECSEL/0010/2019, JU grant nr. 876019 (ADACORSA). The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and Germany, Netherlands, Austria, France, Sweden, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Turkey. The ECSEL JU and the European Commission are not responsible for the content on this paper or any use that may be made of the information it contains.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio