Generalizations of Poisson Structures Related to Rational Gaudin Model

International audience

H-infinity control design for time-delay linear systems: a rational transfer function based approach

The aim of this paper is to present new results on H-infinity control synthesis for time-delay linear systems. We extend the use of a finite order LTI system, called comparison system to H-infinity analysis and design. Differently from what can be viewed as a common feature of other control design methods available in the literature to date, the one presented here treats time-delay systems control design with classical numeric routines based on Riccati equations arisen from H-infinity theory. The proposed algorithm is simple, efficient and easy to implement. Some examples illustrating state and output feedback design are solved and discussed in order to put in evidence the most relevant characteristic of the theoretical results. Moreover, a practical application involving a 3-DOF networked control system is presented.

Experimentation of Rational Trust Evolution and Sustainability in Dynamic VOs

Part 10: Sustainability and Trust

Rational choice, social identity, and beliefs about oneself

Social identity poses one of the most important challenges to rational choice theory, but rational choice theorists do not hold a common position regarding identity. On one hand, externalist rational choice ignores the concept of identity or reduces it to revealed preferences. On the other hand, internalist rational choice considers identity as a key concept in explaining social action because it permits expressive motivations to be included in the models. However, internalist theorists tend to reduce identity to desire—the desire of a person to express his or her social being. From an internalist point of view, that is, from a viewpoint in which not only desires but also beliefs play a key role in social explanations as mental entities, this article rejects externalist reductionism and proposes a redefinition of social identity as a net of beliefs about oneself, beliefs that are indexical, robust, and socially shaped.

The Rational for Auto Vaccines in Poultry Colibacillosis

Colibacillosis is a rather important economic problem for poultry production, associated to Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains, which may cause several extraintestinal pathologies, such as airsacculitis and cellulitis in broiler chickens, and salpingitis and peritonitis in broiler breeders, leading to septicemic mortality. Control of morbidity and mortality in the outbrakes of colibacillosis may be performed with antibiotics and/or by vaccination. The use antibiotics is frequently inef - fective as Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) is considered the largest reservoir of antimicrobial resistance, characteristic that may even transmit to other bacteria, turning the situation into a serious problem of public health. Vaccination may be the alternative solution but as many different strains arise, flock-specific autovaccines seem to be needed under several possible protocols, with live attenuated and/or inactivated vaccines from different strains that should be identified and characterized according to their virulence factors, within different flocks.

Are Decision Makers Rational in Ambiguous Situations?

This research work analyzes human behavior in complex situations and explains how decisions makers act in ambiguous situations. The objective of this research work is to study the sunk cost effect and the completion percentage effect of an investment project in a decision-making process. This research work uses a “retrospective rationality” approach to justify irrational behaviors such as the sunk cost effect, the completion percentage effect of an investment project and the irrational escalation since decision-makers are repeatedly affected by the decisions on past irreversible investments. This research work evaluates three sunk cost levels, and three completion percentage levels of an investment project, besides three neutral situations in a business environment and a personal decision situation. Graduate students in three Portuguese Management Schools responded to the questionnaires. Model results show that the value of resources invested is crucial for understanding the students’ rational behavior, who participated in this research work. These results disclose statistical evidence that the information on sunk costs and completion percentage of an investment project determines human behavior under irrational escalation in ambiguous situations. As a consequence, decision makers have the opportunity to interpret their decisions, since the scenarios do not allow a unique definition of rational choice, it is not correct to judge the irrational decision makers that decide to continue to invest in ambiguous situations. Keywords: Human Behavior, Sunk costs Effect, Completion Percentage Effect of an Investment Project, Irrational Escalation, Ambiguous Situations.

Peptidomimetic ligands for tuning integrin-mediated signalling: rational design, synthesis and theranostic applications

Integrins are α/β-heterodimeric transmembrane adhesion receptors that mediate cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions. Integrins are bidirectional signalling receptors that respond to external signals (“outside-in” signalling) and in parallel, transduce internal signals to the matrix (“inside-out” signalling), to regulate vital cellular functions including migration, survival, growth and differentiation. Therefore, dysregulation of these tightly regulated processes often results in uncontrolled integrin activation and abnormal tissue expression that is responsible for many diseases. Because of their important roles in physiological and pathological events, they represent a validated target for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. The aim of the present Thesis was focused on the development of peptidic ligands for α4β1 and αvβ3 integrin subtypes, involved in inflammatory responses (leukocytes recruitment and extravasation) and cancer progression (angiogenesis, tumor growth, metastasis), respectively. Following the peptidomimetic strategy, we designed and synthesized a small library of linear and cyclic hybrid α/β-peptidomimetics based on the phenylureido-LDV scaffolds for the treatment of chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases. In order to implement a fast and non-invasive diagnostic method for monitoring the course of the inflammatory processes, a flat glass-surface of dye-loaded Zeolite L-crystal nanoparticles was coated with bioactive α4β1-peptidomimetics to detect specific integrin-expressing cells as biomarkers of inflammatory diseases. Targeted drug delivery has been considered a promising alternative to overcome the pharmacokinetic limitations of conventional anticancer drugs. Thus, a novel Small-Molecule Drug Conjugate was synthesized by connecting the highly cytotoxic Cryptophycin to the tumor-targeting RGDfK-peptide through a protease-cleavable linker. Finally, in view to making the peptide synthesis more sustainable and greener, we developed an alternative method for peptide bonds formation employing solvent-free mechanochemistry and ultra-mild minimal solvent-grinding conditions in common, inexpensive laboratory equipment. To this purpose, standard amino acids, coupling agents and organic-green solvents were used in the presence of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite as a reusable, bio-compatible inorganic basic catalyst.

Low-molecular-weight gels: from the rational design to the application of versatile soft materials

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) gels are a versatile class of soft materials that gained increasing interest over the last few decades. They are made of a small percentage, often lower than 1.0 %, of organic molecules called gelators, dispersed in a liquid medium. Such molecules have a molecular weight usually lower than 1 kDa. The gelator molecules start to interact after the addition of a trigger, and form fibres, whose entanglement traps the solvent through capillary forces. A plethora of LMW gelators have been designed, including short peptides. Such gelators present several advantages: the synthesis is easy and can be easily scaled up; they are usually biocompatible and biodegradable; the gelation phenomenon can be rationalised by making small variation on the peptide scaffold; they find application in several fields. In this thesis, an overview of several peptide based LMW gels is presented. In each study, the gelation conditions were carefully studied, and the final materials were thoroughly investigated. First, the gelation ability of a fluorinated phenylalanine was assessed, to understand how the presence of a rigid moiety and the presence of fluorine may influence the gelation. In this context, a method for the dissolution of sensitive gelators was studied. Then, the control over the gel formation was studied both over time and space, taking advantage of either the pH-annealing of the gel or the reaction-diffusion of a hydrolysing reagent. Some gels were probed for various applications. Due to their ability of trapping water and organic solvents, we used gels for trapping pollutants dissolved in water, as well as a medium for the controlled release of either fragrances or bioactive compounds. Finally, the interaction of the gel matrix with a light-responsive molecule was assessed to understand wether the gel properties or the interaction of the additive with light were affected.

Rational algorithms for the decomposition of Feynman integrals via intersection theory

The decomposition of Feynman integrals into a basis of independent master integrals is an essential ingredient of high-precision theoretical predictions, that often represents a major bottleneck when processes with a high number of loops and legs are involved. In this thesis we present a new algorithm for the decomposition of Feynman integrals into master integrals with the formalism of intersection theory. Intersection theory is a novel approach that allows to decompose Feynman integrals into master integrals via projections, based on a scalar product between Feynman integrals called intersection number. We propose a new purely rational algorithm for the calculation of intersection numbers of differential $n-$forms that avoids the presence of algebraic extensions. We show how expansions around non-rational poles, which are a bottleneck of existing algorithms for intersection numbers, can be avoided by performing an expansion in series around a rational polynomial irreducible over $\mathbb{Q}$, that we refer to as $p(z)-$adic expansion. The algorithm we developed has been implemented and tested on several diagrams, both at one and two loops.

Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (lmwptp) Upregulation Mediates Malignant Potential In Colorectal Cancer.

Phosphatases have long been regarded as tumor suppressors, however there is emerging evidence for a tumor initiating role for some phosphatases in several forms of cancer. Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (LMWPTP; acid phosphatase 1 [ACP1]) is an 18 kDa enzyme that influences the phosphorylation of signaling pathway mediators involved in cancer and is thus postulated to be a tumor-promoting enzyme, but neither unequivocal clinical evidence nor convincing mechanistic actions for a role of LMWPTP have been identified. In the present study, we show that LMWPTP expression is not only significantly increased in colorectal cancer (CRC), but also follows a step-wise increase in different levels of dysplasia. Chemical inhibition of LMWPTP significantly reduces CRC growth. Furthermore, downregulation of LMWPTP in CRC leads to a reduced migration ability in both 2D- and 3D-migration assays, and sensitizes tumor cells to the chemotherapeutic agent 5-FU. In conclusion, this study shows that LMWPTP is not only overexpressed in colorectal cancer, but it is correlated with the malignant potential of this cancer, suggesting that this phosphatase may act as a predictive biomaker of CRC stage and represents a rational novel target in the treatment of this disease.

Proposta de mecanismo de lavagem em equipamentos de beneficiamento de tomate de mesa

The cleanness level in fresh market tomatoes cleaning equipment is essential for consumer acceptance and conservation of product quality. However, the washing process in cleaning current equipments demands an excessive volume of water, leading to serious economic and environmental concerns. The objective of this work was to contribute with technical information for the washing system optimization. The conventional washing system currently used in cleaning equipment, which consists of perforated PVC pipes, was compared with a proposed system which uses commercial sprays. Characteristic curves (flow rate versus pressure) for both systems were determined in lab conditions and the respective water consumptions were compared. The results confirmed the excess of water consumption in the conventional washing systems, and the proposed system proved that is possible to reduce it, and the use of sprays allowed the rational use of the water.

Filtros de areia aplicados à irrigação localizada: teoria e prática

The application of sand filters in localized irrigation systems is recommended in the presence of organic and algae contamination. The proper design and maintenance of these equipments are essential to assure an effective water quality control, in order to reduce the emitters clogging, to keep its water application uniformity, and to prevent increasing in the system operation costs. Despite the existence of some references about design, operation and maintenance of these filters, they are dispersed, with not enough details to guarantee the optimization of its hydraulics structure design and the proper selection of porous media to be used. Therefore, the objective of this work was to report a current literature review, relating practical information with scientific knowledge. The content of this review would help to induce and intensify the research on this subject and to contribute so the operational functions for the equipment are reached. It is also expected to assist the improvement of the filtration and flushing processes in the agricultural irrigation and the development of original design procedures and the rational use of these devices.

Corpo-sujeito Kadiweu : jogo e esporte

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física