Superpositions of the dual family of nonlinear coherent states and their non-classical properties

Nonlinear coherent states (CSs) and their {\it dual families} were introduced recently. In this paper we want to obtain their superposition and investigate their non-classical properties such as antibunching effect, quadrature squeezing and amplitude squared squeezing. For this purpose two types of superposition are considered. In the first type we neglect the normalization factors of the two components of the dual pair, superpose them and then we normalize the obtained states, while in the second type we superpose the two normalized components and then again normalize the resultant states. As a physical realization, the formalism will then be applied to a special physical system with known nonlinearity function, i.e., Hydrogen-like spectrum. We continue with the (first type of) superposition of the dual pair of Gazeau-Klauder coherent states (GKCSs) as temporally stable CSs. An application of the proposal will be given by employing the P\"oschl-Teller potential system. The numerical results are presented and discussed in detail, showing the effects of this special quantum interference.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, Accpeted for Publication in Optics Communications, 201

Educação emocional: uma estratégia para a mudança dos comportamentos ambientais na educação pré-escolar

A investigação feita neste estudo, recai sobre o desenvolvimento emocional nas crianças em idade Pré-Escolar, nomeadamente nos seus comportamentos menos adequados para com os seus pares e para com o meio ambiente. Desta forma, aborda-se a perceção desses comportamentos menos apropriados, a importância do desenvolvimento das competências emocionais e sociais, a responsabilidade do educador de infância na construção dessas competências e como essa construção influencia no desenvolvimento das boas práticas para com o meio ambiente. A pesquisa foi realizada num jardim de infância de cariz católico, onde a investigadora procurou responder à principal questão “De que forma as emoções estão relacionadas com a promoção de hábitos saudáveis para com o meio ambiente?” Sendo o objetivo geral da mesma (i) compreender até que ponto as emoções são um fator relevante para a promoção de um meio ambiente saudável e os objetivos específicos: (i) estabelecer uma relação intra e interpessoal positiva entre as crianças, os seus pares e os adultos; (ii) dinamizar diversas atividades promotoras do desenvolvimento emocional das crianças em relação com o meio ambiente; (iii) observar o grau de influência das emoções e as boas práticas ambientais e (iv) avaliar os níveis de importância do desenvolvimento emocional no comportamento para com os outros e para com o meio ambiente; Na realização desta investigação, optei por uma tipologia de investigação qualitativa, uma vez que esta interpreta a realidade a partir das perceções dos sujeitos investigadores, encontrando significados, através de observações e das narrativas verbais, recorrendo a uma entrevista semiestruturada à educadora e a um inquérito por questionário de respostas abertas a dez crianças. Foram feitas atividades, onde a educação emocional e a educação ambiental, estiveram relacionadas entre si, para perceber a possível mudança de comportamento das crianças. Com o desenvolvimento desta investigação, foi possível confirmar a importância que o desenvolvimento emocional tem na educação pré-escolar, bem como concluir que as atividades realizadas neste âmbito, permitem reforçar a afetividade, entre as crianças e das crianças para com o meio natural envolvente.The research of this study is about emotional development in pre-school age children, particularly in their less-appropriate behaviour towards peers and the environment. In this way, we address the perception of these less appropriate behaviors, the importance of the development of emotional and social skills, the responsibility of the child educator in the construction of these skills and how this construction influences the development of good practices for the environment. The research was carried out in a Catholic kindergarten, where the researcher sought to answer the main question: "How are emotions related to the promotion of healthy habits towards the environment?" The overall goal of which is to: (i) understand to what extent emotions are a relevant factor in promoting a healthy environment and the specific objectives: (i) to establish a positive intra- and interpersonal relationship between children, their peers and adults; (ii) to stimulate various activities that promote children's emotional development in relation to the environment; (iii) to observe the degree of influence of emotions and good environmental practices and (iv) to assess the levels of importance of emotional development in behavior toward others and towards the environment; In carrying out this research, I opted for a qualitative research typology, since it interprets reality from the perceptions of the research subjects, finding meanings, through observations and verbal narratives, using semistructured interview to the kindergarden teacher and a questionnaire survey of open answers to ten children. Activities were done, where emotional education and environmental education were related to each other to understand the possible change in behavior of children. With the development of this research, it was possible to confirm the importance that the emotional development has in the pre-school education, as well as conclude, that the activities carried out in this area, allow to strengthen the affection, between the children and the children to the natural surroundings

A theoretical scheme for generation of Gazeau-Klauder coherent states via intensity-dependent degenerate Raman interaction

A theoretical scheme is presented for generating Gazeau-Klauder coherent states(GKCSs) via the generalization of degenerate Raman interaction with coupling constant to intensity-dependent coupling. Firstly, we prove that in the intensity-dependent degenerate Raman interaction, under particular conditions, the modified efective Hamiltonian can be used instead of Hamiltonian in the interaction picture, for describing the atom-field interaction. We suppose that the cavity field is initially prepared in a nonlinear CS, which is not temporally stable. As we will observe, after the occurrence of the interaction between atom and field, the generated state involves a superposition of GKCSs which are temporally stable and initial nonlinear CS. Under specific conditions which may be prepared, the generated state just includes GKCS. So, in this way we produced the GKCS, successfully.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figures, Optics Communications, Article in Pres

Degradation models and maintenance strategies for reinforced concrete structures in coastal environments under climate change: a review

Modern engineering faces challenges in ensuring technical standards for service, durability, and sustainability. Political, administrative, and budgetary factors, coupled with climate change, pose tasks to structural integrity, affecting industries and economies. Marine infrastructures represent a strategic asset of a country as they handle a large part of the economic exchanges. This article analyzes five essential factors that play a fundamental role in the performance analysis of coastal structures: chloride-induced corrosion, degradation models, maintenance strategies, monitoring, and climate change. We start with reinforcement corrosion, which is considered as the main cause of distress, particularly in coastal zones, for the long-term behavior of structures. Additional pressure from the influences of climate change is becoming evident and extreme, leading to a reduction in capacity. To guarantee the lifespan of infrastructures, degradation models contribute by estimating the long-term performance of the asset as a strategic piece to the development of effective maintenance solutions. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have gained recent prominence in this field due to their ability to learn intricate patterns from historical data, making them valuable instruments for predicting structural deterioration. Additionally, quantifying the condition of the structure from monitoring data plays a crucial part in providing information on the current situation of the structure. Finally, this review summarizes the challenges associated with the maintenance of aging marine structures considering aspects such as corrosion, monitoring, and the future challenges this area will face due to climate change.This work was partly financed by the FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020 (doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04029/2020), and under the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent Systems ARISE under reference LA/P/0112/2020

Chemical Characterization and Biological Properties Assessment of Euphorbia resinifera and Euphorbia officinarum Moroccan Propolis

Although the plants of the genus Euphorbia are largely exploited by therapists in Morocco, the composition and antibacterial activities of propolis from these plants are still unknown. To address this gap, this study aimed to characterize the pollen type, the volatile compounds, and the phenolic and mineral profiles of three Euphorbia propolis samples collected in Morocco and evaluate their antimicrobial activities. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the propolis samples was determined by the microdilution method, and the anti-adherence activity was evaluated by the crystal violet assay. The examination of anti-quorum-sensing proprieties was performed using the biosensor Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Pollen analysis revealed that Euphorbia resinifera pollen dominated in the P1 sample (58%), while E. officinarum pollen dominated in the P2 and P3 samples (44%). The volatile compounds were primarily composed of monoterpene hydrocarbons, constituting 35% in P1 and 31% in P2, with α-pinene being the major component in both cases, at 16% in P1 and 15% in P2. Calcium (Ca) was the predominant mineral element in both E. resinifera (P1) and E. officinarum (P2 and P3) propolis samples. Higher levels of phenols, flavonoids and dihydroflavonoids were detected in the E. officinarum P2 sample. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value ranged from 50 to 450 µL/mL against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Euphorbia propolis displayed the ability to inhibit quorum sensing in the biosensor C. violaceum CV026 and disrupted bacterial biofilm formation, including that of resistant bacterial pathogens. In summary, the current study evidences the potential use of E. officinarum propolis (P2 and P3) to combat important features of resistant pathogenic bacteria, such as quorum sensing and biofilm formation.The authors are grateful to the financial support to FCT/MCTES through national funds, under CESAM UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020+LA/P/ 0094/2020, FEDER, PT2020 PACompete 2020. The authors are also grateful for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020); and MED UIDB/05183/2020; UIDP/04326/2020 and LA/0101/2020. The authors acknowledge Município de Loulé for the support provided during the study. The authors are also thankful for the imaging analysis using the equipment available at the Light Microscopy Unit of ABC-UAlg that was partially supported by National Portuguese funding PPBI-POCI-01-0145- FEDER-22122info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dry Markets and Superreplication Bounds of American Derivatives

This paper studies the impact of dry markets for underlying assets on the pricing of American derivatives, using a discrete time framework. Dry markets are characterized by the possibility of non-existence of trading at certain dates. Such non-existence may be deterministic or probabilistic. Using superreplicating strategies, we derive expectation representations for the range of arbitrage-free values of the dervatives. In the probabilistic case, if we consider an enlarged filtration induced by the price process and the market existence process, ordinary stopping times are required. If not, randomized stopping times are required. Several comparisons of the ranges obtained with the two market restrictions are performed. Finally, we conclude that arbitrage arguments are not enough to define the optimal exercise policy.N/

Dendritic self-assembled structures from therapeutic charged pentapeptides

CRENKA [Cys-Arg-(NMe)Glu-Lys-Ala, where (NMe)Glu refers to N-methyl-Glu], an anti-cancer pentapeptide that induces prostate tumor necrosis and significant reduction in tumor growth, was engineered to increase the resistance to endogenous proteases of its parent peptide, CREKA (Cys-Arg-Glu-Lys-Ala). Considering their high tendency to aggregate, the self-assembly of CRENKA and CREKA into well-defined and ordered structures has been examined as a function of peptide concentration and pH. Spectroscopic studies and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations reveal significant differences between the secondary structures of CREKA and CRENKA. Thus, the restrictions imposed by the (NMe)Glu residue reduce the conformational variability of CRENKA with respect to CREKA, which significantly affects the formation of well-defined and ordered self-assembly morphologies. Aggregates with poorly defined morphology are obtained from solutions with low and moderate CREKA concentrations at pH 4, whereas well-defined dendritic microstructures with fractal geometry are obtained from CRENKA solutions with similar peptide concentrations at pH 4 and 7. The formation of dendritic structures is proposed to follow a two-step mechanism: (1) pseudo-spherical particles are pre-nucleated through a diffusion-limited aggregation process, pre-defining the dendritic geometry, and (2) such pre-nucleated structures coalesce by incorporating conformationally restrained CRENKA molecules from the solution to their surfaces, forming a continuous dendritic structure. Instead, no regular assembly is obtained from solutions with high peptide concentrations, as their dynamics is dominated by strong repulsive peptide–peptide electrostatic interactions, and from solutions at pH 10, in which the total peptide charge is zero. Overall, results demonstrate that dendritic structures are only obtained when the molecular charge of CRENKA, which is controlled through the pH, favors kinetics over thermodynamics during the self-assembly process.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

WhoLoDancE: Towards a methodology for selecting Motion Capture Data across different Dance Learning Practice

<p>In this paper we present the objectives and preliminary work of WhoLoDancE a Research and Innovation Action funded under the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 programme, aiming at using new technologies for capturing and analyzing dance movement to facilitate whole-body interaction learning experiences for a variety of dance genres. Dance is a diverse and heterogeneous practice and WhoLoDancE will develop a protocol for the creation and/or selection of dance sequences drawn from different dance styles for different teaching and learning modalities. As dance learning practice lacks standardization beyond dance genres and specific schools and techniques, one of the first project challenges is to bring together a variety of dance genres and teaching practices and work towards a methodology for selecting the appropriate shots for motion capturing, to acquire kinetic material which will provide a satisfying proof of concept for Learning scenarios of particular genres. The four use cases we are investigating are 1) classical ballet, 2) contemporary dance, 3) flamenco and 4) Greek folk dance.</p

Round-Robin modelling of the load-bearing capacity of slender columns by using classical and advanced non-linear numerical and analytical prediction tools

Non-linear finite element analyses have intrinsic model and user factors that influence the results of the analyses. However, non-linear finite element analysis can provide a tool to assess safety using realistic descriptions of material behaviour with actual material properties. A realistic estimation of the existing safety and capacity of slender column elements can be achieved by means of "true" material properties. Nevertheless, it seems that for some structural components, such as slender columns, non-linear finite element analyses can, due to its complexity and its various setting parameters, cause the risk of overestimating the real performance of analysed components or systems. Hence, an invited expert group has carried out an investigation into the experimental testing and the prediction of the bearing capacity of slender columns by performing independent non-linear finite element analyses in order to determine the practical applicability, and its inconsistencies, with respect to the stability failure of slender columns. This work aims the characterization of modelling uncertainties, concerning the prediction of slender columns stability when forecasted by non-linear finite element analysis.This paper was partly carried out during research exchanges at TU Brno (BUT), Lehigh University (LU). The authors acknowledge also the financial support provided by the SAFEBRIDGE ATCZ190 EU Interreg project, the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic, the Slovak Academy of Sciences VEGA No. 1/0696/14, and Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract No. APVV-150658. The computational results presented have been achieved [in part] using the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC)