One-sided invertibility of discrete operators with bounded coefficients

Aequationes mathematicae - For $$p\in (1,\infty )$$ , we establish several criteria of one-sided invertibility on spaces $$l^p=l^p(\mathbb {Z})$$ for discrete band-dominated operators being either...     

Long-wavelength Ultraviolet A1 and Visible Light Photoprotection: A Multimodality Assessment of Dose and Response

Human skin is exposed to visible light (VL; 400–700 nm) and long-wavelength ultraviolet A1 (UVA1) radiation (370–400 nm) after the application of organic broad-spectrum sunscreens. The biologic effects of these wavelengths have been demonstrated; however, a dose–response has not been investigated. Ten subjects with Fitzpatrick skin phototype IV-VI were enrolled. Subjects were irradiated with 2 light sources (80–480 J cm⁻²): one comprising VL with less than 0.5% UVA1 (VL+UVA1) and the other pure VL. Skin responses were evaluated for 2 weeks using clinical and spectroscopic assessments. 4-mm punch biopsies were obtained from nonirradiated skin and sites irradiated with 480 J cm⁻² of VL+UVA1 and pure VL 24 h after irradiation. Clinical and spectroscopic assessments demonstrated a robust response at VL+UVA1 sites compared with pure VL. Histology findings demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the marker of inflammation (P < 0.05) and proliferation (P < 0.05) at the irradiated sites compared with nonirradiated control. Threshold doses of VL+UVA1 resulting in biologic responses were calculated. Results indicate that approximately 2 h of sun exposure, which equates to VL+UVA1 dose (~400 J cm⁻²), is capable of inducing inflammation, immediate erythema and delayed tanning. These findings reinforce the need of photoprotection beyond the UV range.     

In Vivo Biological Behavior of Polymer Scaffolds of Natural Origin in the Bone Repair Process

Autologous bone grafts, used mainly in extensive bone loss, are considered the gold standard treatment in regenerative medicine, but still have limitations mainly in relation to the amount of bone available, donor area, morbidity and creation of additional surgical area. This fact encourages tissue engineering in relation to the need to develop new biomaterials, from sources other than the individual himself. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of an elastin and collagen matrix on the bone repair process in critical size defects in rat calvaria. The animals (Wistar rats, n = 30) were submitted to a surgical procedure to create the bone defect and were divided into three groups: Control Group (CG, n = 10), defects filled with blood clot; E24/37 Group (E24/37, n = 10), defects filled with bovine elastin matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 37 °C and C24/25 Group (C24/25, n = 10), defects filled with porcine collagen matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 25 °C. Macroscopic and radiographic analyses demonstrated the absence of inflammatory signs and infection. Microtomographical 2D and 3D images showed centripetal bone growth and restricted margins of the bone defect. Histologically, the images confirmed the pattern of bone deposition at the margins of the remaining bone and without complete closure by bone tissue. In the morphometric analysis, the groups E24/37 and C24/25 (13.68 ± 1.44; 53.20 ± 4.47, respectively) showed statistically significant differences in relation to the CG (5.86 ± 2.87). It was concluded that the matrices used as scaffolds are biocompatible and increase the formation of new bone in a critical size defect, with greater formation in the polymer derived from the intestinal serous layer of porcine origin (C24/25).     

A Genetic Search for Exploiting a Fuzzy Preference Model of Portfolio Problems with Public Projects

When an organization solves a portfolio problem with public projects evaluated by multiple criteria, in which the economic dimension is not essential or not well characterized, the classical methods are not useful. We propose a non-linear preference model developed from normative Value Theory and using fuzzy sets to model some sources of imprecision. This model can be considered as a generalization of the classical approaches. However, the optimization problem is very complex in order to be solved with non-linear programming techniques. Therefore, the model is exploited by an evolutionary algorithm, able to achieve a strong improvement of the quality of solution.     

MEI, SOI and mid-range correlations in the onset of El Niño–Southern Oscillation

Entropy analysis and wavelet transforms are used to study the Southern Oscillation index (SOI) and multivariate ENSO index (MEI) indexes for the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Trends to large decreasing symbolic chains responsible for La Niña and interrupted increasing chains for El Niño are found in the MEI persistence series. These are all located in regions where the wavelet transforms of both indexes reveal the existence of mid-range correlations. The SOI and MEI indexes are mutually correlated in a non-trivial manner in the time.     

Using dynamic data exchange to exchange information between Visual Basic and Matlab : Application to a diode array spectrophotometer

Photodiode array spectrometers are increasingly being coupled to flow analysis and separation techniques. Computer programs are needed to control the data acquisition from each photodiode and to handle the data. The Microsoft Visual Basic programming language is used along with a DLL library and dynamic data exchange (DDE) to allow communication with the MATLAB computational environment.     

The emergence of dynamical complexity: An exploration using elementary cellular automata

This work concerns the interaction between two classical problems: the forecasting of the dynamical behaviors of elementary cellular automata (ECA) from its intrinsic mathematical laws and the conditions that determine the emergence of complex dynamics. To approach these problems, and inspired by the theory of reversible logical gates, we decompose the ECA laws in a “spectrum” of dyadic Boolean gates. Emergent properties due to interactions are captured generating another spectrum of logical gates. The combined analysis of both spectra shows the existence of characteristic bias in the distribution of Boolean gates for ECA belonging to different dynamical classes. These results suggest the existence of signatures capable to indicate the propensity to develop complex dynamics. Logical gates “exclusive‐or” and “equivalence” are among these signatures of complexity. An important conclusion is that within ECA space, interactions are not capable to generate signatures of complexity in the case these signatures are absent in the intrinsic law of the automaton. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 9: 33–42, 2004