Interactive Joint Transfer of Energy and Information

In some communication networks, such as passive RFID systems, the energy used to transfer information between a sender and a recipient can be reused for successive communication tasks. In fact, from known results in physics, any system that exchanges information via the transfer of given physical resources, such as radio waves, particles and qubits, can conceivably reuse, at least part, of the received resources. This paper aims at illustrating some of the new challenges that arise in the design of communication networks in which the signals exchanged by the nodes carry both information and energy. To this end, a baseline two-way communication system is considered in which two nodes communicate in an interactive fashion. In the system, a node can either send an "on" symbol (or "1"), which costs one unit of energy, or an "off" signal (or "0"), which does not require any energy expenditure. Upon reception of a "1" signal, the recipient node "harvests", with some probability, the energy contained in the signal and stores it for future communication tasks. Inner and outer bounds on the achievable rates are derived. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies and illustrate some key design insights.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures, Submitted in IEEE Transactions on Communications. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1204.192

Joint Interference Alignment and Bi-Directional Scheduling for MIMO Two-Way Multi-Link Networks

By means of the emerging technique of dynamic Time Division Duplex (TDD), the switching point between uplink and downlink transmissions can be optimized across a multi-cell system in order to reduce the impact of inter-cell interference. It has been recently recognized that optimizing also the order in which uplink and downlink transmissions, or more generally the two directions of a two-way link, are scheduled can lead to significant benefits in terms of interference reduction. In this work, the optimization of bi-directional scheduling is investigated in conjunction with the design of linear precoding and equalization for a general multi-link MIMO two-way system. A simple algorithm is proposed that performs the joint optimization of the ordering of the transmissions in the two directions of the two-way links and of the linear transceivers, with the aim of minimizing the interference leakage power. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.Comment: To be presented at ICC 2015, 6 pages, 7 figure

Educated millennials and credence attributes of food products with genetically modified organisms: Knowledge, trust and social media

In this paper, we investigated educated millennials’ evaluation of credence attributes in food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMO products). Our goal is to assess whether beliefs about GMO products are determined by scientific knowledge alone or if they are affected by other factors such as trust in information providers and use of social media. The focus on millennials is motivated by the increasing relevance of this social group in the public debate and by their extensive use of social media. We surveyed a sample of 215 Italian college students, confronting them with questions about safety, environmental impact and ethical issues in GMO product consumption. Using an ordered probit regression model, we found that educated millennials build their beliefs using a mix of scientific knowledge and trust in information providers. The role of the two drivers depended on the issue considered. Scientific knowledge drove beliefs in health claims, while trust in information providers was a driving factor in almost all claims. After controlling for trust effects, we did not find evidence of impact of confidence in the reliability of traditional and social media on beliefs. This result contradicts previous literature

Time boundary terms and Dirac constraints

Time boundary terms usually added to action principles are systematically handled in the framework of Dirac's canonical analysis. The procedure begins with the introduction of the boundary term into the integral Hamiltonian action and then the resulting action is interpreted as a Lagrangian one to which Dirac's method is applied. Once the general theory is developed, the current procedure is implemented and illustrated in various examples which are originally endowed with different types of constraints.Comment: 12 page

Brans-Dicke cylindrical wormholes

Static axisymmetric thin-shell wormholes are constructed within the framework of the Brans-Dicke scalar-tensor theory of gravity. Examples of wormholes associated with vacuum and electromagnetic fields are studied. All constructions must be threaded by exotic matter, except in the case of geometries with a singularity of finite radius, associated with an electric field, which can have a throat supported by ordinary matter. These results are achieved with any of the two definitions of the flare-out condition considered.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; v3: corrected version, conclusions unchange

Composição química e usos da semente de imbuia nativa do município de Colombo, PR.

bitstream/CNPMS-2010/22843/1/com-tec218.pd

Electrophysiological evaluation of the peripheral and central pathways in patients with achondroplasia before and during a lower-limb lengthening procedure

In this paper we review the spectrum of spinal and peripheral nerve involvement secondary to achon- droplasia. Alongside conventional and computerised imaging techniques, electrophysiological investiga- tion may represent a useful, non-invasive approach in this clinical setting. Somatosensory evoked poten- tials (SEPs) and magnetic stimulation are valuable tools for studying spinal cord function. Neurophysio- logical abnormalities show a good correlation with the lesion level. Imaging techniques indicate that multiple malformation can affect the patient at the same time and SEPs help to determine the main site of involvement. Interestingly, these techniques are more sensitive than clinical evaluation in document- ing neurological impairment in patients with achon- droplasia prior to the manifestation of unmistakable signs. Callotasi has became a widely used and accept- ed procedure for limb lengthening. Extensive length- ening can be safely performed in patients with achon- droplasia once neurological impairment has been ruled out. In our experience, the presence of elec- trophysiological abnormalities calls for a compre- hensive surgical re-evaluation of the traditional pro- cedure, and sometimes exclusion of patients. Peripheral nerve involvement may occur during limb lengthening, and continuous nerve monitoring pro- vides useful insights into the pathophysiology of nerve damage

Avaliação in vivo da qualidade protéica do champignon do Brasil (Agaricus brasiliensis Wasser et al.).

Objetivo: O trabalho aqui descrito trata da avaliação de uma dieta experimental contendo Champingnon do Brasil (Agaricus brasiliensis) como fonte de proteína em um modelo experimental de ratos. Métodos: Para este propósito, foram selecionados 24 ratos Wistar machos, recém desmamados (21 dias) divididos em 3 grupos de 8 animais cada, que foram alimentados com uma dieta padrão de caseína, ou com uma dieta experimental de proteína de Agaricus brasiliensis ambas contendo 10% de proteína e isoenergéticas ou ainda, com uma dieta com muito baixo teor de proteína. O ensaio biológico foi realizado em 28 dias, ao longo dos quais se determinou a concentração de nitrogênio na urina e nas fezes, além dos cálculos do Quociente de Eficiência Alimentar (ganho de peso dividido pelo consumo de dieta), do Quociente de Eficiência Protéica (ganho de peso dividido pelo consumo de proteína), da Razão Protéica Líquida (ganho de peso corrigido dividido pelo consumo de proteína) e da Digestibilidade Verdadeira. Resultados: Os resultados demonstraram que quando o Champignon do Brasil foi utilizado como fonte exclusiva de proteína na dieta, os índices de qualidade protéica apresentaram-se baixos (Quociente de Eficiência Alimentar= 0,08, Quociente de Eficiência Protéica=0,92 e Razão Protéica Líquida=3,00), quando comparados com a dieta padrão caseína (Quociente de Eficiência Alimentar=0,30, Quociente de Eficiência Protéica=3,05 e Razão Protéica Líquida=4,21). Os índices obtidos para o grupo Agaricus mostraram-se comparáveis àqueles 536 | G.S. HENRIQUES et al. Revista de Nutrição Rev. Nutr., Campinas, 21(5):535-543, set./out., 2008 apresentados por alguns tipos de proteína vegetal e podem ser explicados por sua limitação em aminoácidos essenciais, notadamente a lisina e a leucina, respectivamente primeiro e segundo aminoácido limitante. Conclusão: Os dados apontam para a utilização da proteína do Agaricus brasiliensis como uma boa fonte para complementação protéica, quando combinada com outras culturas vegetais comuns na dieta típica brasileira

Candidate genes and quantitative trait loci for grain yield and seed size in durum wheat

Grain yield (YLD) is affected by thousand kernel weight (TKW) which reflects the combination of grain length (GL), grain width (GW) and grain area (AREA). Grain weight is also influenced by heading time (HT) and plant height (PH). To detect candidate genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) of yield components, a durum wheat recombinant inbred line (RIL) population was evaluated in three field trials. The RIL was genotyped with a 90K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and a high-density genetic linkage map with 5134 markers was obtained. A total of 30 QTL were detected including 23 QTL grouped in clusters on 1B, 2A, 3A, 4B and 6B chromosomes. A QTL cluster on 2A chromosome included a major QTL for HT co-located with QTL for YLD, TKW, GL, GW and AREA, respectively. The photoperiod sensitivity (Ppd-A1) gene was found in the physical position of this cluster. Serine carboxypeptidase, Big grain 1 and β-fructofuranosidase candidate genes were mapped in clusters containing QTL for seed size. This study showed that yield components and phenological traits had higher inheritances than grain yield, allowing an accurate QTL cluster detection. This was a requisite to physically map QTL on durum genome and to identify candidate genes affecting grain yield

Adiabatic renormalization in theories with modified dispersion relations

We generalize the adiabatic renormalization to theories with dispersion relations modified at energies higher than a new scale $M_C$. We obtain explicit expressions for the mean value of the stress tensor in the adiabatic vacuum, up to the second adiabatic order. We show that for any dispersion relation the divergences can be absorbed into the bare gravitational constants of the theory. We also point out that, depending on the renormalization prescription, the renormalized stress tensor may contain finite trans-Planckian corrections even in the limit $M_C\to\infty$.Comment: Typos corrected; to appear in the Proceedings of IRGAC 06, Journal of Physics