Hybrid-adaptive differential evolution with decay function (HyDE-DF) applied to the 100-digit challenge competition on single objective numerical optimization

In this paper, a hybrid-adaptive differential evolution with a decay function (HyDE-DF)1 is proposed for numerical function optimization. The proposed HyDE-DF is applied to the 100-Digit Challenge in a set of 10 benchmark functions. Results show that HyDE-DF can achieve a 93/100 score, proving its effectiveness for numerical optimization.This research has received funding from FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028983; by National Funds through the FCT Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Projects PTDC/EEI-EEE/28983/2017 (CENERGETIC).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Learning Bidding Strategies in Local Electricity Markets using Ant Colony optimization

Local energy markets (LM) are attracting significant interest due to their potential of balancing generation and consumption and supporting the adoption of distributed renewable sources at the distribution level. Besides, LMs aim at increasing the participation of small end-users in energy transactions, setting the stage for transactive energy systems. In this work, we explore the use of ant colony optimization (ACO) for learning bidding strategies under a bi-level optimization framework that arises when trading energy in an LM. We performed an empirical analysis of the impact of ACO parameters have in the learning process and the obtained profits of agents. After that, we analyze and compare ACO performance against an evolutionary algorithm under a realistic case study with nine agents trading energy in the day-ahead LM. Results suggest that ACO can be efficient for strategic learning of agents, providing solutions in which all agents can improve their profits. Overall, it is shown the advantages that an LM can bring to market participants, thereby increasing the tolerable penetration of renewable resources and facilitating the energy transition.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project DOMINOES (grant agreement No 771066) and CENERGETIC (POCI-01-0145- FEDER-028983 and PTDC/EEI-EEE/28983/2017), from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through (FCT) under the project UIDB/00760/2020, and grants CEECIND/02814/2017, CEECIND/02887/2017, SFRH/BD/133086/2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Business models for flexibility of electric vehicles

The electrical grid is undergoing an unprecedented evolution driven mainly by the adoption of smart grid technologies. The high penetration of distributed energy resources, including renewables and electric vehicles, promises several beneits to the diferent market actors and consumers, but at the same time imposes grid integration challenges that must adequately be addressed. In this paper, we explore and propose potential business models (BMs) in the context of distribution networks with high penetration of electric vehicles (EVs). The analysis is linked to the CENERGETIC project (Coordinated ENErgy Resource manaGEment under uncerTainty considering electrIc vehiCles and demand lexibility in distribution networks). Due to the complex mechanisms needed to fulill the interactions between stakeholders in such a scenario, computational intelligence (CI) techniques are envisaged as a viable option to provide eicient solutions to the optimization problems that might arise by the adoption of innovative BMs. After a brief review on evolutionary computation (EC) applied to the optimization problems in distribution networks with high penetration of EVs, we conclude that EC methods can be suited to implement the proposed business models in our future CENERGETIC project and beyond.This research has received funding from FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028983; by National Funds through the FCT Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Projects PTDC/EEI-EEE/28983/2017 (CENERGETIC), UID/EEA/00760/2019; and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), under Projects 2018/08008-4 and 2018/20355- 1info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differential Evolution Aplication in Portfolio optimization for Electricity Markets

Smart Grid technologies enable the intelligent integration and management of distributed energy resources. Also, the advanced communication and control capabilities in smart grids facilitate the active participation of aggregators at different levels in the available electricity markets. The portfolio optimization problem consists in finding the optimal bid allocation in the different available markets. In this scenario, the aggregator should be able to provide a solution within a timeframe. Therefore, the application of metaheuristic approaches is justified, since they have proven to be an effective tool to provide near-optimal solutions in acceptable execution times. Among the vast variety of metaheuristics available in the literature, Differential Evolution (DE) is arguably one of the most popular and successful evolutionary algorithms due to its simplicity and effectiveness. In this paper, the use of DE is analyzed for solving the portfolio optimization problem in electricity markets. Moreover, the performance of DE is compared with another powerful metaheuristic, the Particle Swarm optimization (PSO), showing that despite both algorithms provide good results for the problem, DE overcomes PSO in terms of quality of the solutions.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794 (project DREAM-GO) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT under the project UID/EEA/00760/2013 and grant agreement No 703689 (project ADAPT);info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Synthesis and evaluation of tumor cell growth inhibition of Methyl 3-Amino-6-[(hetero)arylethynyl]thieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylates: structure-activity relationships, effects on the cell cycle and apoptosis

The methyl 3-amino-6-bromothieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate, recently reported by some of us, was reacted in Sonogashira couplings with several (hetero)arylacetylenes. The growth inhibitory activity of the novel methyl 3-amino-6-[(hetero)arylethynyl]thieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylates obtained was evaluated on three human tumor cell lines (MCF-7, NCI-H460, A375-C5). The para-methoxyphenyl and the ortho and para-aminophenyl derivatives were the most promising compounds, and their effects were further studied regarding alterations in the normal cell cycle distribution and induction of apoptosis in the NCI-H460 cell line. All three compounds altered cell cycle distribution and the ortho-aminophenyl derivative was further shown to induce apoptosis in the same cell line.Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher EducationFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - (Bruker Avance III 400) REDE/1517/RMN/2005, PTDC/QUI-QUI/111060/2009, SFRH/BD/29274/2006, SFRH/BPD/29112/2006European Social Fund

Encapsulation of a new antitumoral fluorescent 6-(benzo[d]thiazo-2-ylamino)thieno[3,2-b]pyridine derivative in nanoliposomes

Publicado no suplemento da Revista Portuguesa de Farmácia, Vol. 50, nº 4This work was funded by FCT-Portugal through CFUM, CQ/UM, Project PTDC/QUI/81238/2006 cofinanced by FCT and program FEDER/COMPETE (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007467) and by FCT grants of R. C. Calhelha (SFRH/BD/29274/2006) and L. Vale-Silva (SFRH/BPD/29112/2006)

Produtividade do fósforo em Eucalyptus globulus

Congresso Florestal Nacional: a floresta e as gentes - Actas das ComunicaçõesO objectivo deste trabalho foi estudar a produtividade do fósforo (aumento de biomassa por unidade de fósforo na planta e por unidade de tempo, PP) em Eucalyptus globulus. A metodologia utilizada foi desenvolvida por Ingestad & Lund (1979), na qual as relações nutrição/crescimento são estudadas em condições de nutrição e crescimento em equilíbrio dinâmico, ou seja, com concentrações internas de nutrientes constantes e taxa de crescimento relativo constante. As aplicações deste método são inúmeras, desde uma melhor utilização de fertilizantes em viveiro até à compreensão do comportamento das plantas e do crescimento em condições naturais, em termos fisiológicos. O estudo incluiu três clones e um lote seminal, que foi utilizado como controlo, aos quais foram aplicados 3 níveis de nutrição, um óptimo (OP, com livre acesso de nutrientes) e dois sub-óptimos de nutrição de fósforo (PA e PB, com taxas de adição relativa de fósforo de 4 e 2%, respectivamente). Determinaram-se os valores da taxa máxima de crescimento relativo (RGmax), da concentração óptima de fósforo (conteúdo mínimo de fósforo na planta necessário para alcançar a taxa máxima de crescimento relativo, Popt) e da produtividade do fósforo (PP). Observaram-se diferenças significativas na PP entre o clone MP11 e o lote seminal. O clone MP11 foi o que apresentou a maior PP, mas com a mais baixa RGmax, embora não significativamente diferente dos outros clones ou lote seminal (4.58 - 7.08 % dia-1). Os valores obtidos para a PP (14.1 - 29.18 g (PS) g-1 (P) dia-1) estão em consonância com outros estudos

Nanoliposomes for encapsulation and delivery of the potential antitumoral methyl 6-methoxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxylate

A potential antitumoral fluorescent indole derivative, methyl 6-methoxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxylate, was evaluated for the in vitro cell growth inhibition on three human tumor cell lines, MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma), A375-C5 (melanoma), and NCI-H460 (non-small cell lung cancer), after a continuous exposure of 48 h, exhibiting very low GI50 values for all the cell lines tested (0.25 to 0.33 µM). This compound was encapsulated in different nanosized liposome formulations, containing egg lecithin (Egg-PC), dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG), DSPC, cholesterol, dihexadecyl phosphate, and DSPE-PEG. Dynamic light scattering measurements showed that nanoliposomes with the encapsulated compound are generally monodisperse and with hydrodynamic diameters lower than 120 nm, good stability and zeta potential values lower than −18 mV. Dialysis experiments allowed to monitor compound diffusion through the lipid membrane, from DPPC/DPPG donor liposomes to NBD-labelled lipid/DPPC/DPPG acceptor liposomes.Thanks are due to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through the research centers (CFUM and CQ-UM) and project PTDC/QUI/81238/2006 (cofinanced by FEDER/COMPETE, ref. FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007467). A.S. Abreu (SFRH/BPD/24548/2005) and L. Vale-Silva (SFRH/BPD/29112/2006) acknowledge FCT for their postdoctoral grants

Beyond new neurons in the adult hippocampus: imipramine acts as a pro-astrogliogenic factor and rescues cognitive impairments induced by stress exposure

Depression is a prevalent, socially burdensome disease. Different studies have demonstrated the important role of astrocytes in the pathophysiology of depression as modulators of neurotransmission and neurovascular coupling. This is evidenced by astrocyte impairments observed in brains of depressed patients and the appearance of depressive-like behaviors upon astrocytic dysfunctions in animal models. However, little is known about the importance of de novo generated astrocytes in the mammalian brain and in particular its possible involvement in the precipitation of depression and in the therapeutic actions of current antidepressants (ADs). Therefore, we studied the modulation of astrocytes and adult astrogliogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of rats exposed to an unpredictable chronic mild stress (uCMS) protocol, untreated and treated for two weeks with antidepressants—fluoxetine and imipramine. Our results show that adult astrogliogenesis in the DG is modulated by stress and imipramine. This study reveals that distinct classes of ADs impact differently in the astrogliogenic process, showing different cellular mechanisms relevant to the recovery from behavioral deficits induced by chronic stress exposure. As such, in addition to those resident, the newborn astrocytes in the hippocampal DG might also be promising therapeutic targets for future therapies in the neuropsychiatric field.ARMS: ELC, NDA, PP, AMP, JSC, MM, AJR, JFO, and L.P. received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (IF/00328/2015 to J.F.O.; 2020.02855.CEECIND to LP). This work was funded by FCT (IF/01079/2014, PTDC/MED-NEU/31417/2017 Grant to JFO), BIAL Foundation Grants (037/18 to J.F.O. and 427/14 to L.P.), “la Caixa” Foundation Health Research Grant (LCF/PR/HR21/52410024) and Nature Research Award for Driving Global Impact—2019 Brain Sciences (to L.P.). This was also co-funded by the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), and by FEDER, through the Competitiveness Internationalization Operational Program (POCI), and by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020. Moreover, this work has been funded by ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, member of the national infrastructure PPBI—Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122; by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020; “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434 to A.J.R.), under the agreement LCF/PR/HR20/52400020; and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 101003187 to A.J.R.)