Two methods for the generation of chordal graphs

In this paper two methods for automatic generation of connected chordal graphs are proposed: the first one is based on new results concerning the dynamic maintenance of chordality under edge insertions; the second is based on expansion/merging of maximal cliques. Theoretical and experimental results are presented. In both methods, chordality is preserved along the whole generation process. L. Markenzon’s research is partially supported by grant 301068/2003-8, CNPq, Brazil.     

Modeling and simulation of cephalosporin C production in a fed-batch tower-type bioreactor

Immobilized cell utilization in tower-type bioreactor is one of the main alternatives being studied to improve the industrial bioprocess. Other alternatives for the production of β-lactam antibiotics, such as a cephalosporin C fed-batch process in an aerated stirred-tank bioreactor with free cells of Cephalosporium acremonium, or a tower-type bioreactor with immobilized cells of this fungus, have proven to be more efficient than the batch process. In the fed-batch process, it is possible to minimize the catabolite repression exerted by the rapidly utilization of carbon sources (such as glucose) in the synthesis of antibiotics by utilizing a suitable flow rate of supplementary medium. In this study, several runs for cephalosporin C production, each lasting 200 h, were conducted in a fed-batch tower-type bioreactor using different hydrolyzed sucrose concentrations. For this study's model, modifications were introduced to take intoaccount the influence of supplementary medium flow rate. The balance equations considered the effect of oxygen limitation inside the bioparticles. In the Monod-type rate equations, cell concentrations, substrate concentrations, and dissolved oxygen were included as reactants affecting the bioreaction rate. The set of differential equations was solved by the numerical method, and the values of the parameters were estimated by the classic nonlinear regression method following Marquardt's procedure with a 95% confidence interval. The simulation results showed that the proposed model fit well with the experimental data, and based on the experimental data and the mathematical model, an optimal mass flow rate to maximize the bioprocess productivity could be proposed.

     

Kauffman Cellular Automata on Quasicrystal Topology

In this paper, we perform numerical simulations to study Kauffman cellular automata (KCA) on quasiperiod lattices. In particular, we investigate phase transition, magnetic entropy, and propagation speed of the damage on these lattices. Both the critical threshold parameter \(p_{c}\) and the critical exponents are estimated with good precision. In order to investigate the increase of statistical fluctuations and the onset of chaos in the critical region of the model, we have also defined a magnetic entropy to these systems. It is seen that the magnetic entropy behaves in a different way when one passes from the frozen regime (p < p_c) to the chaotic regime (p > p_c). For a further analysis, the robustness of the propagation of failures is checked by introducing a quenched site dilution probability q on the lattices. It is seen that the damage spreading is quite sensitive when a small fraction of the lattice sites are disconnected. A finite-size scaling analysis is employed to estimate the critical exponents. From these numerical estimates, we claim that on both pure (q =?0) and diluted (q =?0.05) quasiperiodic lattices, the KCA model belongs to the same universality class than on square lattices. Furthermore, with the aim of comparing the dynamical behavior between periodic and quasiperiodic systems, the propagation speed of the damage is also calculated for the square lattice assuming the same conditions. It is found that on square lattices the propagation speed of the damage obeys a power law as \(v\sim (p-p_{c})^{\alpha }\), whereas on quasiperiod lattices, it follows a logarithmic law as \(v \sim \ln (p-p_{c})^{\alpha }\).     

Doping strategies for increased performance in BiFeO3

Investigation of crystal structure, dielectric, magnetic and local ferroelectric properties of the diamagnetically substituted Bi_1−xA_xFeO_3−x/2 (A=Ca, Sr, Pb, Ba; x=0.2, 0.3) polycrystalline samples has been carried out. It has been shown that the heterovalent A²⁺ substitution result in the formation of oxygen vacancies in the host lattice. The solid solutions have been found to possess a rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure described by the space group R3c. Piezoresponse force microscopy has revealed signs of existence of the ferroelectric polarization in the samples at room temperature. Magnetization measurements have shown that the magnetic state of these compounds is determined by the ionic radius of the substituting elements. A-site substitution with the biggest ionic radius ions has been found to suppress the spiral spin structure of BiFeO₃ giving rise to the appearance of room-temperature weak ferromagnetism.     

Probing the formalism through gravitational wave polarizations

The direct observation of gravitational waves (GW) in the near future, and the corresponding determination of the number of independent polarizations, is a powerful tool to test general relativity and alternative theories of gravity. In the present work we use the Newman–Penrose formalism to characterize GWs in quadratic gravity and in a particular class of f(R) Lagrangians. We find that both quadratic gravity and the f(R) theory belong to the most general invariant class of GWs, i.e., they can present up to six independent polarizations of GWs. For a particular combination of the parameters, we find that quadratic gravity can present up to five polarizations states. On the other hand, if we use the Palatini approach for f(R) theories, GWs present only the usual two transverse-traceless polarizations such as in general relativity. Thus, we conclude that the observation of GWs can strongly constrain the suitable formalism for these theories.     

Generalized relative entropy in functional magnetic resonance imaging

The generalized Kullback-Leibler distance D_q (q is the Tsallis parameter) is shown to be an useful measure for analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data series. This generalized form of entropy is used to evaluate the “distance” between the probability functions p₁ and p₂ of the signal levels related to periods of stimulus and non-stimulus in event-related fMRI experiments. The probability densities of the mean distance (averaged over the N epochs of the entire experiment) are obtained through numerical simulations for different values of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and found to be fitted very well by Gamma distributions (χ²<0.0008) for small values of N (N<30). These distributions allow us to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the method by construction of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The performance of the method is also investigated in terms of the parameters q and L (number of signal levels) and our results indicate that the optimum choice is q=0.8 and L=3. The entropic index q is found to exert control on both sensitivity and specificity of the method. As q (q>0) is raised, sensitivity increases but specificity decreases. Finally, the method is applied in the analysis of a real event-related fMRI motor stimulus experiment and the resulting maps show activation in primary and secondary motor brain areas.     

Deformation induced semiconductor-metal transition in single wall carbon nanotubes probed by electric force microscopy

We report the direct experimental observation of the semiconductor-metal transition in single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) induced by compression with the tip of an atomic force microscope. This transition is probed via electric force microscopy by monitoring SWNT charge storage. Experimental data show that such charge storage is different for metallic and semiconducting SWNTs, with the latter presenting a strong dependence on the tip-SWNT force during injection. Ab initio calculations corroborate experimental observations and their interpretation.     

Characterization of electrodeposited Ni and Ni80Fe20 nanowires

In this work we use nanoporous alumina substrates as templates for the growth of Ni and Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ nanowires. Our membranes were obtained by a two-step anodization process of high-purity aluminum foils: first anodizations were performed at 40 V for 15 h in 0.3 M oxalic acid, at 2–6 °C; the second anodization was carried out using the same conditions for 30 min, resulting in pore lengths of ～1.3 μm. After the second anodization, the pore bottom barrier-layer was thinned, to allow the current to flow through electron tunneling. A pulsed electrodeposition method was then used to grow Ni and Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ nanowires. Transport characterization and isothermal magnetization measurements performed on the produced arrays are presented.     

n -Heptane oxidation over co3o4-ceo2 catalyst

The present study reports the catalytic behavior of Co₃O₄-CeO₂ in the oxidation of n-heptane. The results obtained showed that the catalyst give good activity in n-heptane oxidation with high selectivity to carbon dioxide. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.