The fundamental group of the clique graph

AbstractGiven a finite connected bipartite graph B=(X,Y) we consider the simplicial complexes of complete subgraphs of the square B2 of B and of its induced subgraphs B2[X] and B2[Y]. We prove that these three complexes have isomorphic fundamental groups. Among other applications, we conclude that the fundamental group of the complex of complete subgraphs of a graph G is isomorphic to that of the clique graph K(G), the line graph L(G) and the total graph T(G)

An alternative approach for robot localization inside pipes using RF spatial fadings

Accurate robot localization represents a challenge inside pipes due to the particular conditions that characterize this type of environment. Outdoor techniques (GPS in particular) do not work at all inside metal pipes, while traditional indoor localization methods based on camera or laser sensors do not perform well mainly due to a lack of external illumination and distinctive features along pipes. Moreover, humidity and slippery surfaces make wheel odometry unreliable. In this paper, we estimate the localization of a robot along a pipe with an alternative Radio Frequency (RF) approach. We first analyze wireless propagation in metallic pipes and propose a series of setups that allow us to obtain periodic RF spatial fadings (a sort of standing wave periodic pattern), together with the influence of the antenna position and orientation over these fadings. Subsequently, we propose a discrete RF odometry-like method, by means of counting the fadings while traversing them. The transversal fading analysis (number of antennas and cross-section position) makes it possible to increase the resolution of this method. Lastly, the model of the signal is used in a continuous approach serving as an RF map. The proposed localization methods outperform our previous contributions in terms of resolution, accuracy, reliability and robustness. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the RF-based strategy without the need for a previously known map of the scenario or any substantial modification of the existing infrastructure

A dark scenario for Cerrado plant species: effects of future climate, land-use, and protected areas ineffectiveness

Aim: The anthropogenic climate change and land-use change are considered two of the main factors that are altering biodiversity at the global scale. An evaluation that combined both factors can be relevant to detect which species could be the most vulnerable and reveal the regions of highest stability or susceptibility to biodiversity.We aimed to (i) assess the effect of the climate change and land-use on the distribution of the Cerrado plant species for different countries where it occurs, (ii) evaluate the efficiency of the current protected areas (PAs) network to safeguards species under different greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land-use and (iii) estimate the vulnerability of species caused by protection efficiency and habitat loss.Location: Bolivia, Brazil, and ParaguayMethods: We modeled the distribution of 1,553 plant species of Cerrado and evaluated species range loss caused by present and future land-use and two GHG for 2050 and 2080. We assessed the species vulnerability combining the representativeness of a species´ distribution within conservation units and the loss of species range outside PAs.Results: We found that climate change and land-use will cause great damage to Cerrado flora by 2050 and 2080, even under optimistic conditions. Unfortunately, the greatest intensity and extent of land-use will have to overcome on the regions where the greatest richness will be harbored. The conservation of the species will be seriously affected since the PAs network is not as efficient in safeguarding them under current or future conditions. Main conclusions: The low level of protection together with the losses caused by the advance of the agricultural frontier will lead to most species being highly vulnerable. Due to the climate and land-use, effects showed different interactions in each country, conservation strategies should be implemented at transboundary and national levels.Fil: Velazco, Santiago José Elías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; Argentina. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Villalobos, Fabricio. Instituto de Ecología; México. Universidade Federal de Goiás; BrasilFil: Galvao, Franklin. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: de Marco Junior, Paulo. Universidade Federal de Goiás; Brasi

Cutting through Content Clutter: How Speech and Image Acts Drive Consumer Sharing of Social Media Brand Messages

Consumer-to-consumer brand message sharing is pivotal for effective social media marketing. Even as companies join social media conversations and generate millions of brand messages, it remains unclear what, how, and when brand messages stand out and prompt sharing by consumers. With a conceptual extension of speech act theory, this study offers a granular assessment of brands’ message intentions (i.e., assertive, expressive, or directive) and the effects on consumer sharing. A text mining study of more than two years of Facebook posts and Twitter tweets by well-known consumer brands empirically demonstrates the impacts of distinct message intentions on consumers’ message sharing. Specifically, the use of rhetorical styles (alliteration and repetitions) and cross-message compositions enhance consumer message sharing. As a further extension, an image-based study demonstrates that the presence of visuals, or so-called image acts, increases the ability to account for message sharing. The findings explicate brand message sharing by consumers and thus offer guidance to content managers for developing more effective conversational strategies in social media marketing

Detecção de Staphylococcus aureus utilizando a técnica de REP-PCR no monitoramento da qualidade do leite de cabra.

Resumo: Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de aplicar a técnica de REP-PCR no monitoramento da qualidade do leite de cabra por meio da detecção de Staphylococcus aureus em amostras de mãos de ordenhador, tetos das cabras, leite, ordenhadeira e água para estabelecimento e implantação do sistema de Análise de Perigos e Pontos Críticos de Controle (APPCC). Verificaram-se vários fingerprints de todos os isolados coletados das diferentes fontes estudadas (mãos de ordenhador, tetos das cabras, leite, ordenhadeira e água). Observaram-se comportamentos muito similares das bandas, o que indica que os isolados podem ser relatados como clones epidemiológicos. As mãos do ordenhador caracterizaram-se como ponto crítico de controle, pois se destacaram como iniciador de contaminação nas amostras Staphylococcus aureus. A técnica demonstrou ser eficiente para a análise da similaridade entre indivíduos da espécie Staphylococcus aureus e, portanto, constitui ferramenta útil para investigação de falhas no manejo e na busca de controle mais eficiente para evitar ou reduzir a disseminação de microrganismos patogênicos causadores de sérias enfermidades em humanos e animais, que muitas vezes podem ser transmitidas por produtos como o leite e seus derivados. Detection of Staphylococcus aureus using the REP-PCR technique to monitor goat milk quality. Abstract: The objective of the present study was to apply REP-PCR sequences in the monitoring goat milk quality, by detecting Staphylococcus aureus, in samples of from milker hands, goat teats, milk, milking machine and water, for the future establishment and implantation of the system of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). Several fingerprints were verified of all the isolates collected from the different sources studied (milker hands, goat teats, milk, milking machine and water). Very similar band behaviors were observed that indicated that the isolates can be reported as epidemic clones. Milker's hands were was characterized as a critical control point (CCP), because it stands out as an initial point of contamination in the Staphylococcus aureus samples. The technique was shown to be efficient for the similarity analysis among individuals of the Staphylococcus aureus species, and is therefore a useful tool for investigation of management faults and consequently, in the search for more efficient control to prevent or minimize the spread of pathogenic microorganisms that cause serious illnesses in humans and animals that can be transmitted through products such as milk and its products

Consequences of long-distance transport on the behavior and health of young-bulls that may affect their fitness to adapt to feedlots

Some studies have shown that long distance journeys and the type of trailer compartment have consequences on farm animal welfare. However, there is little evidence to indicate how these consequences affect the fitness of young bulls to adapt to a novel and challenging environment such as an intensive industrial feedlot. Therefore, the objective of our study was to evaluate the consequences of long-distance transport and trailer compartment on the behavior and health of young bulls during the first 60 days after arrival to the feedlot. An evaluation protocol was conducted to record individual behavior (scan sampling) and health indicators of young bulls from days 1-10 and 51-60 after arrival. In addition, three ocular thermal images were taken per animal in a chute during weighing, one each on day 0, day 2 (48 h) and day 50. From our results, the thermophysiological profile, maintenance behaviors and health indicators suggest that there are two distinct groups of consequences affecting animal fitness during the first two months in the feedlot. The first was linked to post-transport fatigue (PTF) that seemed to disappear after the 10 days post-arrival at feedlot. The second was related to signs of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) that began 6 days post-transport and persisted until day 60. In addition, the trailer compartments known as the belly and the deck were shown to be problematic for animal welfare, where the transport in the belly was linked to fatigue after transport, while transport in the deck was associated with respiratory problems. Our study underscores the importance of applying preconditioning practices in cow-calf rearing systems at least a couple of months prior to the long-distance journey, in addition to implementing good loading practices to select which animals are best suited for a given compartment. Our results may be useful to minimize the impacts of PTF and BRD, to propose best practices for livestock transport in countries with similar production systems and agroecosystems

Clinical and nutritional effectiveness of a nutritional protocol with oligomeric enteral nutrition in patients with oncology treatment-related diarrhea

Background: Poor nutritional status and diarrhea are common complications in cancer patients. Methods: This multicenter, observational, prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of an oligomeric enteral nutrition (OEN) protocol in the improvement of nutritional status and reduction of diarrhea symptoms. Nutritional status was assessed with the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), Body Mass Index (BMI) and albumin levels. Diarrhea was evaluated by the frequency and consistency of stools (Bristol Stool form scale). Results: After 8 weeks of OEN protocol, the nutritional status improved in 48.3% of patients, with an increased proportion of patients at risk of malnourishment (+27.3%) at the expense of a decrease of moderately (-19.9%) and severely (-7.3%) malnourished patients (p < 0.001). Serum albumin and BMI significantly increased after 8 weeks of OEN treatment (p < 0.005). OEN showed a 71.1% effectiveness in the improvement of stool consistency. The mean number of stools per day significantly decreased from baseline (4.17 stools/day) to week 8 (1.42 stools/day; p = 0.0041). The nutritional status significantly improved even in those patients with persistent diarrhea. Conclusion: The proposed OEN protocol seemed to be effective in improving the nutritional status, frequency and consistency of stools in patients with oncology treatment-related diarrhea even in persistent cases

Impact of an oral nutritional protocol with oligomeric enteral nutrition on the quality of life of patients with oncology treatment-related diarrhea

Background: Nutritional status can influence the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients. Methods: This subanalysis evaluated the impact of an oral oligomeric enteral nutrition (OEN) protocol on the QoL of patients with oncology treatment-related diarrhea (OTRD) in a multicenter, observational, prospective study (DIAPOENO study). QoL was assessed with the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) at baseline and after eight weeks of OEN treatment. In the overall population, all the NHP categories significantly improved after eight weeks of OEN treatment: energy levels (p < 0.001), pain (p < 0.001), emotional reactions (p < 0.001), sleep (p < 0.001), social isolation (p = 0.023), and physical abilities (p = 0.001). QoL improvement was higher in patients with improved or maintained nutritional status and in those with improved consistency of stools with the OEN protocol. However, QoL did not significantly improve in patients with worse nutritional status and with worse or maintained stool consistency with the OEN protocol. QoL improved regardless of disease severity. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that weight change was significantly associated with improved QoL (OR 2.90–5.3), except for social isolation, in models unadjusted and adjusted to age, sex, oncology treatment, and stool consistency. Conclusion: In this subanalysis, the OEN protocol was associated with improved QoL

SAVASA project @ TRECVID 2012: interactive surveillance event detection

In this paper we describe our participation in the interactive surveillance event detection task at TRECVid 2012. The system we developed was comprised of individual classifiers brought together behind a simple video search interface that enabled users to select relevant segments based on down~sampled animated gifs. Two types of user -- `experts' and `end users' -- performed the evaluations. Due to time constraints we focussed on three events -- ObjectPut, PersonRuns and Pointing -- and two of the five available cameras (1 and 3). Results from the interactive runs as well as discussion of the performance of the underlying retrospective classifiers are presented

Analysis and optimization of propagation losses in LiNbO3 optical waveguides produced by swift heavy-ion irradiation

The propagation losses (PL) of lithium niobate optical planar waveguides fabricated by swift heavy-ion irradiation (SHI), an alternative to conventional ion implantation, have been investigated and optimized. For waveguide fabrication, congruently melting LiNbO3 substrates were irradiated with F ions at 20 MeV or 30 MeV and fluences in the range 1013–1014 cm−2. The influence of the temperature and time of post-irradiation annealing treatments has been systematically studied. Optimum propagation losses lower than 0.5 dB/cm have been obtained for both TE and TM modes, after a two-stage annealing treatment at 350 and 375∘C. Possible loss mechanisms are discussed