795 research outputs found

    Towards the automation of book typesetting

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    This paper proposes a generative approach for the automatic typesetting of books in desktop publishing. The presented system consists in a computer script that operates inside a widely used design software tool and implements a generative process based on several typographic rules, styles and principles which have been identified in the literature. The performance of the proposed system is tested through an experiment which included the evaluation of its outputs with people. The results reveal the ability of the system to consistently create varied book designs from the same input content as well as visually coherent book designs with different contents while complying with fundamental typographic principles.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures. Revised version published at Visual Informatics, 7(2), pp. 1\textendash{}1

    Identification of honey bee populations from the Azores: insights from wing geometric morphometrics

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    The geometric morphometrics of the wings has been an important method for the identification and evaluation of honey bee diversity patterns around the world. Honey bee populations of the Macaronesian archipelagos of Canaries and Madeira have been intensively surveyed for diversity using a variety of genetic markers. In contrast, honey bee populations inhabiting the Azorean archipelago have been largely undersampled. To fill this gap, we sampled 473 colonies from across the Azores and assessed diversity patterns using a geometric morphometrics approach. A total of 5 forewings were collected per colony, mounted in a slide and photographed with a stereomicroscope. Additionally, the forewings representing 711 colonies of A. m. iberiensis, 11 A. m. ligustica, 15 A. m. carnica and 12 A. m. caucasia were used as reference samples. To extract shape information, 19 anatomical landmarks were plotted across the veins’ intersections in the wing structures of all individuals. The analyses of wing shape were performed in MorphoJ using the Procrustes superimposition method. Shape differences were investigated through multivariate statistical analysis and Mahalanobis and Procrustes distances were used to construct a dendrogram of the morphological proximity. Results revealed the power of landmark-based methods to discriminate different honey bee populations from the Azores, and also to distinguish them from the subspecies of the reference collection. The wing geometric morphometrics patterns showed that while, overall, populations from the Azores exhibited a closer relationship with A. m. iberiensis, some populations, especially those from the islands of Graciosa, but also Terceira and Pico tended to cluster closer to A. m. ligustica, A. m. carnica. Several non-mutually exclusive factors can contribute to the observed wing patterns such as the recent human-mediated introductions of subspecies from Eastern Europe, and the founder effect resulting from honey bee introductions in historical times. Moreover, the particular insular environment and the barrier to gene flow due to geographical isolation possibly shaped the diversity patterns currently observed in the Azores.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    A diversificação das receitas bancárias: seu impacto sobre o risco e o retorno dos bancos brasileiros

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    O objetivo deste estudo é determinar o impacto da diversificação das receitas bancárias sobre o risco e o retorno dos bancos brasileiros. Essa estratégia foi adotada por bancos em diversos países, inclusive no Brasil. Em 2003, as receitas noninterest (não decorrentes de juros) representavam 17,80% da receita operacional dos bancos analisados e, em 2014, essa participação havia aumentado para 27,40%. Embora muitos estudos tenham abordado a questão para bancos americanos, europeus e asiáticos, este tema ainda não foi abordado para uma amostra de bancos brasileiros. Como o setor bancário é uma variável crucial à estabilidade do sistema financeiro, é importante estudar os fatores que afetam o risco e o retorno dos bancos. Analisamos a amostra para o período entre 2003 e 2014, utilizando dados em painel dinâmico através do Método Generalizado dos Momentos para abordar questões de endogeneidade, heterocedasticidade e autocorrelação. Nossos principais resultados mostram que as receitas noninterest possuem um papel importante no desempenho dos bancos estudados; nossa análise das atividades de intermediação financeira mostrou que as operações de crédito produziram melhores resultados do que as atividades de negociação de títulos. Além disso, confirmando as hipóteses propostas, as receitas noninterest apresentaram, de maneira geral, um impacto positivo sobre o retorno e o retorno ajustado ao risco nos bancos estudados. Entretanto, ao contrário do que esperávamos, as receitas noninterest mostraram uma relação positiva com o risco desses bancos (embora estatisticamente não significativa). É importante destacar as variáveis de controle, ou seja, a taxa de juros real, o PIB e o crescimento bancário, as quais foram relevantes para a determinação do desempenho dos bancos.The present study aims to determine the impact of bank revenue diversification on Brazilian banks’ risk and return. This strategy has been adopted by banks in several countries, including Brazil. In 2003, noninterest income accounted for 17.80% of the operating revenue of the banks analyzed, and in 2014, this share increased to 27.40%. While many studies have addressed the subject in American, European and Asian banks, it still has not been approached in a sample of Brazilian banks. Since the banking industry is a key variable for the financial system’s stability, it is important to study the factors that affect banks’ risk and return. We analyzed the sample for the period from 2003 to 2014, using dynamic panel data GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) to address endogeneity, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation problems. Our main results show that noninterest income has a major role in the performance of the banks studied; our analysis of financial intermediation activities showed that loan operations produced better results than trading. Moreover, confirming the hypotheses proposed, noninterest income showed a generally positive impact on return and risk adjusted return for the banks studied. However, against our expectation, noninterest income showed a positive relationship with the risk of these banks (although not statistically significant). It is worth highlighting the control variables, i.e., real interest rate, GDP and bank growth, which were relevant in determining bank performance

    Leishmania braziliensis prostaglandin F2α synthase impacts host infection

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    BACKGROUND: Prostaglandins (PG) are lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid metabolism. They are involved in cellular processes such as inflammation and tissue homeostasis. PG production is not restricted to multicellular organisms. Trypanosomatids also synthesize several metabolites of arachidonic acid. Nevertheless, their biological role in these early-branching parasites and their role in host-parasite interaction are not well elucidated. Prostaglandin F2α synthase (PGF2S) has been observed in the Leishmania braziliensis secreted proteome and in L. donovani extracellular vesicles. Furthermore, we previously reported a positive correlation between L. braziliensis PGF2S (LbrPGF2S) expression and pathogenicity in mice. METHODS: LbrPGF2S gene expression and PGF2α synthesis in promastigotes were detected and quantified by western blotting and EIA assay kit, respectively. To investigate LbrPGF2S localization in amastigotes during bone marrow-derived macrophage infection, parasites expressing mCherry-LbrPGF2S were generated and followed by time-lapse imaging for 48 h post-infection. PGF2S homolog sequences from Leishmania and humans were analyzed in silico using ClustalW on Geneious v6 and EMBOSS Needle. RESULTS: Leishmania braziliensis promastigotes synthesize prostaglandin F2α in the presence of arachidonic acid, with peak production in the stationary growth phase under heat stress. LbrPGF2S is a cytoplasmic protein enriched in the secretory site of the parasite cell body, the flagellar pocket. It is an enzyme constitutively expressed throughout promastigote development, but overexpression of LbrPGF2S leads to an increase of infectivity in vitro. The data suggest that LbrPGF2S may be released from intracellular amastigotes into the cytoplasm of bone marrow-derived macrophages over a 48-hour infection period, using time-lapse microscopy and mCherry-PGF2S (mChPGF2S)-expressing parasites. CONCLUSIONS: LbrPGF2S, a parasite-derived protein, is targeted to the host cell cytoplasm. The putative transfer of this enzyme, involved in pro-inflammatory lipid mediator synthesis, to the host cell suggests a potential role in host-parasite interaction and may partially explain the increased pathogenicity associated with overexpression of LbrPGF2S in L. braziliensis. Our data provide valuable insights to help understand the importance of parasite-derived lipid mediators in pathogenesis

    Improving the stability of the friction stir channelling technology via a cooled copper backing plate

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    Funding Information: Open access funding provided by FCT|FCCN (b-on). The authors acknowledge UNIDEMI for its financial support. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).Abstract: The development of the friction stir channelling (FSC) technology has a potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry, providing an innovative way to produce continuous sub-surface channels in monolithic components in a single step. However, the process generates heat that can lead to defects and loss of stationarity, affecting the quality of the channels produced and the process’ efficiency and control. To address these challenges, a ground-breaking study was conducted using a cooled copper backing plate to adjust the process temperatures and investigate the influence of the temperature on FSC stability. The results of the study showed that the cooled copper backing plate has a significantly higher rate of heat conduction, effectively preventing the processed component from overheating and ensuring that the process maintains its stationarity. When using the steel backing plate, only one combination of process parameters (a rotation speed of 450 rev/min and a traverse speed of 71 mm/min) yielded satisfactory results. Moreover, the use of the cooled copper backing plate allowed for a wider range of process parameters to be employed, resulting in sub-surface channels with higher quality and fewer defects. The 710/71 parameters combination resulted in a lower heat input, while the 900/45 parameters set produced channels with a more rectangular geometry. A rotation speed of 900 rev/min and a traverse speed of 45 mm/min have been shown to be the best choice. This innovative approach to FSC technology represents a major step forward in solid-state manufacturing, envisaging new possibilities for producing longer sub-surface channels with superior quality and greater efficiency. Highlights: • Conducting the FSC process at low temperature has improved its stability. • The use of a cooled copper backing plate enabled a broader range of FSC process parameters. • Longer and stabler leak-free sub-surface channels have been produced in aluminium alloys. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]publishersversionpublishe

    Using Open Data to Rapidly Benchmark Biomolecular Simulations : Phospholipid Conformational Dynamics

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    Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are widely used to monitor time-resolved motions of biomacromolecules, although it often remains unknown how closely the conformational dynamics correspond to those occurring in real life. Here, we used a large set of open-access MD trajectories of phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipid bilayers to benchmark the conformational dynamics in several contemporary MD models (force fields) against nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data available in the literature: effective correlation times and spin-lattice relaxation rates. We found none of the tested MD models to fully reproduce the conformational dynamics. That said, the dynamics in CHARMM36 and Slipids are more realistic than in the Amber Lipid14, OPLS-based MacRog, and GROMOS-based Berger force fields, whose sampling of the glycerol backbone conformations is too slow. The performance of CHARMM36 persists when cholesterol is added to the bilayer, and when the hydration level is reduced. However, for conformational dynamics of the PC headgroup, both with and without cholesterol, Slipids provides the most realistic description because CHARMM36 overestimates the relative weight of similar to 1 ns processes in the headgroup dynamics. We stress that not a single new simulation was run for the present work. This demonstrates the worth of open-access MD trajectory databanks for the indispensable step of any serious MD study: benchmarking the available force fields. We believe this proof of principle will inspire other novel applications of MD trajectory databanks and thus aid in developing biomolecular MD simulations into a true computational microscope-not only for lipid membranes but for all biomacromolecular systems.Peer reviewe

    Changes of the energetic profile in masters' swimmers over a season

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    The aim of this study was to track and compare the changes of performance and energetic profile of male and female masters swimmers during a season. Eleven female (age: 34.7±7.3-y) and fourteen male (age: 35.6±7.4-y) with 4.2±3.7-y and 3.9±1.6-y of experience in masters, respectively, performed an all-out 200 m freestyle to evaluate total energy expenditure (Etot), aerobic (Aer), anaerobic lactic (AnL) and alactic (AnAl) contributions. The oxygen uptake (VO2) was measured immediately after the 200 m trial and the VO2 reached during the trial was estimated through the backward extrapolation of the O2 recovery curve. Fingertip capillary blood samples were collected before the 200 m trial and 3, 5, and 7 minutes after its end. Significant differences were observed between male (TP1:177.50±30.96s; TP2:174.79±29.08s; TP3:171.21±22.38s) and female (TP1:205.18±24.47s; TP2: 197.45±20.97s; TP3: 193.45±18.12s) for 200 m freestyle performance at the three time periods (TPs). Male presented higher Etot in all TPs (TP1:230.40±48.40kJ; TP2:242.49±37.91kJ; TP3:257.94±46.32kJ) compared with that found for female swimmers (TP1:188.51±35.13kJ; TP2:193.18±20.98kJ; TP3:199.77±25.94kJ). Male presented higher AnL (TP1:33.42±6.82kJ; TP2:30.97±8.73kJ; TP3:30.66±8.27kJ) and AnAl (TP1:30.61±3.48kJ; TP2:30.61±3.48kJ; TP3:30.60±3.48kJ) than female (TP1:18.83±8.45kJ; TP2:14.98±4.17kJ; TP3:18.33±8.66kJ) and (TP1:24.32±2.22kJ; TP2:24.31±2.23kJ; TP3: 24.31±2.23kJ). Aerobic metabolism is the major contributor for Etot both in male (TP1:71.63±4.99%; TP2:74.05±5.03%; TP3:76.14±4.46%) and female swimmers (TP1:76.87±3.86%; TP2:79.40±3.63%; TP3:78.40±5.54%). The better performance obtained by male compared to female swimmers may be due to the different contributions of the energetic pathways. Aerobic metabolism was the major contributor to Etot in a 200 m race, in both genders. Partial aerobic contribution was higher in female, while partial anaerobic contribution was greater in male.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    A network approach to emotion regulation and symptom activation in depression and anxiety

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    Background: Emotions can be regulated through several regulatory strategies that are involved in the development of psychopathological symptoms. Despite the well-established association between psychopathology and emotion dysregulation, little is known about the relationship between individual symptoms of depression and anxiety and emotion regulation strategies (ERS), as well as between ERS themselves. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study and examined the interactions between six ERS (reappraisal, engagement, rumination, suppression, arousal control, and distraction) and assessed their distinctive association with the activation of specific symptoms of depression and anxiety in a community sample of 376 adults (80.4% female; Mage = 32.70; SDage = 11.80). The Regulation Emotion Systems Survey (RESS) was used to measure ERS. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) were used to assess psychological symptoms. An exploratory graph analysis was performed to examine the structural properties of the network of interactions between these behaviors. Additionally, to test the association of ERS with the activation of the depression symptoms network, an expected symptoms activity (ESA) was conducted. Results: Six communities were found that correspond to the six ERS. Rumination and suppression have a significant association with symptom activation (particularly low self-esteem), whereas reappraisal reduces symptomatic activation. The effect of arousal control, engagement, and distraction appears to depend on the remaining ERS rather than having much influence on their own. Conclusion: This study provides insight into how ERS interact with each other and with individual symptoms of depression and anxiety. Understanding the effects of these interactions on symptom activation and comorbidity can improve our understanding of psychopathology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Configurations and Electrochemical Performance

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    This work was financed by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope ofthe All-FiBRE project with the reference PTDC/CTM−CTM/1571/2020. This work was also supported by ERC-CoG-2014, CapTherPV, 647596.Technological solutions for emerging e-textiles are being sought to enable e-wear technology to be self-sustaining and lightweight. A rippling 1D carbon fiber capacitor design was made with commercial carbon threads as electrodes using simulated sweat solution as the electrolyte. This is particularly relevant for potential sports textile applications in which sweat could serve as an electrochemical energy source. An electrospun cellulose acetate fiber membrane and a commercially available felt were used as separators capable of soaking the electrolyte. These were tested in braided and woven electrode configurations, respectively. Functionalizing the carbon wires with polypyrrole (PPy) enhanced the surface area and significantly increased the specific capacity by approximately an order of magnitude (0.62 F/g). Cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge tests confirmed the washability and durability of the devices for at least 1000 cycles.publishersversionpublishe

    Unveiling the Temperature Influence on the Sorptive Behaviour of ZIF-8 Composite Materials Impregnated with [Cn MIM][B(CN)4 ] Ionic Liquids

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    LA/P/0008/2020 PTDC/CTM-CTM/ 30326/2017Composite sorbent materials (IL@MOF) with a metal-organic framework (MOF) ZIF-8 and [B(CN)4 ]−-based ionic liquids (ILs) were produced for the first time. Characterization results indicate the successful IL impregnation and conservation of the ZIF-8 crystalline structure and morphology. The data collected from the nitrogen (N2 ) physisorption at 77 K suggest that these IL@ZIF-8 materials are nonporous as their textural properties, such as BET specific surface area and total pore volume, are negligible. However, CO2, CH4, and N2 adsorption/desorption measurements in the IL@ZIF-8 composites at 303 and 273 K contradict the N2 data at 77 K, given that the obtained isotherms are Type I, typical of (micro)porous materials. Their gas adsorption capacity and ultramicroporous volume are in the same order of magnitude as the pristine microporous ZIF-8. The case study [C6 MIM][B(CN)4 ] IL revealed a high affinity to both CO2 and CH4 . This compromised the selectivity performance of its respective composite when compared with pristine ZIF-8. This work highlights the importance of accurate experimental gas adsorption/desorption equilibrium measurements to characterize the adsorption uptake and the porous nature of adsorbent materials.publishersversionpublishe
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