6,298 research outputs found
Adiabatic Charge Pumping through Quantum Dots in the Coulomb Blockade Regime
We investigate the influence of the Coulomb interaction on the adiabatic
pumping current through quantum dots. Using nonequilibrium Green's functions
techniques, we derive a general expression for the current based on the
instantaneous Green's function of the dot. We apply this formula to study the
dependence of the charge pumped per cycle on the time-dependent pumping
potentials. The possibility of charge quantization in the presence of a finite
Coulomb repulsion energy is investigated in the light of recent experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Fractal Conductance Fluctuations of Classical Origin
In mesoscopic systems conductance fluctuations are a sensitive probe of
electron dynamics and chaotic phenomena. We show that the conductance of a
purely classical chaotic system with either fully chaotic or mixed phase space
generically exhibits fractal conductance fluctuations unrelated to quantum
interference. This might explain the unexpected dependence of the fractal
dimension of the conductance curves on the (quantum) phase breaking length
observed in experiments on semiconductor quantum dots.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PR
Some Remarks about Variable Mass Systems
We comment about the general argument given to obtain the rocket equation as
it is exposed in standard textbooks. In our opinion, it can induce students to
a wrong answer when solving variable mass problems.Comment: 2 page
On the applicability of Backus' mantle filter theory
Geomagnetic jerks are sudden changes of trend in the geomagnetic secular variation. The Earth's mantle behaves as a filter for the jerks, causing a delayed and a smoothed signal at the Earth's surface. Backus' mantle filter theory relies on approximating the impulse response function (IRF) of the mantle by a Gaussian. The advantage of this theory is the linear relation between jerks' delay times and the mantle electrical conductivity, as expressed by kernels. However, the limitations of this theory arise when negative delay and/or smoothing times occur. The applicability of the mantle filter theory is examined by analysing the validity of the Gaussian as an approximation for the composite IRF (CIRF) at a given location. We show that the electrical conductivity of the lower mantle is mostly responsible for the jerk delay time. Alternating sign CIRFs might cause negative delay and/or smoothing times which prevents the use of the mantle filter theory. Adequate/inadequate Gaussian approximations to the CIRFs give small/large differences in the convolved jerk occurrence times. Most observatories yield positive time constants, but in most cases the difference in the jerk occurrence times exceeds 0.5y
The role of the disorder range and electronic energy in the graphene nanoribbons perfect transmission
Numerical calculations based on the recursive Green's functions method in the
tight-binding approximation are performed to calculate the dimensionless
conductance in disordered graphene nanoribbons with Gaussian scatterers.
The influence of the transition from short- to long-ranged disorder on is
studied as well as its effects on the formation of a perfectly conducting
channel. We also investigate the dependence of electronic energy on the
perfectly conducting channel. We propose and calculate a backscattering
estimative in order to establish the connection between the perfectly
conducting channel (with ) and the amount of intervalley scattering.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures. To be published on Phys. Rev.
Secure and trustworthy file sharing over cloud storage using eID tokens
This paper presents a multi-platform, open-source application that aims to protect data stored and shared in existing cloud storage services. The access to the cryptographic material used to protect data is implemented using the identification and authentication functionalities of national electronic identity (eID) tokens. All peer to peer dialogs to exchange cryptographic material is implemented using the cloud storage facilities. Furthermore, we have included a set of mechanisms to prevent files from being permanently lost or damaged due to concurrent modification, deletion and malicious tampering. We have implemented a prototype in Java that is agnostic relatively to cloud storage providers; it only manages local folders, one of them being the local image of a cloud folder. We have successfully tested our prototype in Windows, Mac OS X and Linux,
with Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive and SugarSync
Can Wheat Germ Have a Beneficial Effect on Human Health? A Study Protocol for a Randomised Crossover Controlled Trial to Evaluate its Health Effects
INTRODUCTION:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality worldwide and diet is an important contributor to CVD risk. Thus, several food derivatives are being investigated for their beneficial impact on reducing cardiometabolic risk factors, either in risk groups or in healthy population as a preventive measure. Wheat germ is a food by-product with high nutritional value, especially as a concentrated source of dietary fibre and essential fatty acids, but its incorporation into the diet has been rare up to now. Previous studies do not clarify the hypothesised potential causal relationship between the consumption of wheat germ and benefits for human health.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS:
We are conducting a randomised, double-blinded, crossover, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to assess the physiological effects of daily consumption of wheat germ-enriched bread (containing 6 g of wheat germ) compared with non-enriched bread, over a 4-week period with a 15-week follow-up, in a healthy human population. A total of 55 participants (healthy volunteers, aged 18-60) have been recruited from the Porto metropolitan area in northern Portugal. Our aim is to evaluate the health effects of wheat germ on blood cholesterol and triglycerides, postprandial glycaemic response, gastrointestinal function and discomfort, and changes in intestinal microbiota and insulin resistance as secondary outcomes. The study follows the best practices for evaluating health claims in food according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientific opinion, namely random allocation, double blinding, reporting methods to measure and maximise compliance, and validated outcomes with beneficial physiological effects as recommended by EFSA.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:
The study has been approved by the Health Ethics Committee of São João Hospital Centre (156-15) and the Ethics Committee of Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (PCEDCSS-FMUP07/2015). Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international scientific meetings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Quantum entanglement of bound particles under free center of mass dispersion
On the basis of the full analytical solution of the overall unitary dynamics,
the time evolution of entanglement is studied in a simple bipartite model
system evolving unitarily from a pure initial state. The system consists of two
particles in one spacial dimension bound by harmonic forces and having its free
center of mass initially localized in space in a minimum uncertainty wave
packet. The existence of such initial states in which the bound particles are
not entangled is pointed out. The entanglement of the two particles is shown to
be independent of the wavepacket mean momentum, and to increase monotonically
in a time scale distinct from that of the spreading of the center of mass
wavepacket.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure
Advanced Maternal Age: Adverse Outcomes of Pregnancy, A Meta-Analysis
INTRODUCTION:
The risks of pregnancy in women of advanced maternal age are not consensual amongst studies. The aim of this metaanalysis was to determine whether women of advanced maternal age (≥ 35 years old) had worse obstetrical and perinatal outcomes than non- advanced maternal age women (20 - 34 years old) in singleton, naturally-conceived pregnancies.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
We searched PubMed/ MEDLINE, IndexRMP and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Ten studies were included according to the following criteria: population of > 1000 nulliparous and/or multiparous women with singleton gestations who did not undergo any type of infertility treatment. Using Review Manager v. 5.3, two meta-analysis were performed: one comparing the outcomes of 20 - 34-year-old vs 35 - 40-year-old women, and another comparing the outcomes of 35 - 40-year-old women vs > 40-year-old women.
RESULTS:
Women aged 35 - 40 years old were more likely to have > 12 years of education than 20 - 34 years old and > 40 years old women. Advanced maternal age women (35 - 40 and > 40 years old) were more likely to be overweight and having gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension. They were also more likely to undergo induced labour and elective caesarean deliveries. Furthermore, they had worse perinatal outcomes such as preterm delivery, low birthweight babies, higher rates of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission and worse Apgar scores. Advanced maternal age women had higher rates of perinatal mortality and stillbirth.
DISCUSSION:
Most authors present similar results to our study. Although the majority of adverse outcomes can be explained through the physio-pathological changes regarding the female reproductive apparatus that come with aging and its inherent comorbidities, according to the existing literature advanced maternal age can be an independent risk factor per se. In older pregnant women without comorbidities such as gestational hypertension or diabetes there are still worse obstetric and perinatal outcomes, which indicate that advanced maternal age is an independent strong risk factor alone.
CONCLUSION:
Advanced maternal age women are at a higher risk of adverse obstetrical and perinatal outcomes. In both comparisons, worse outcomes were more prevalent in the older group, suggesting that poorer outcomes are more prevalent with increasing age.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Multibody parameter estimation: A comprehensive case-study for an innovative rear suspension
Numerical and virtual simulation of mechanical systems is a standard part of product development in the automotive sector, and multibody techniques are a consolidated tool to describe vehicle dynamics, elasto- kinematic behavior, handling, and comfort. To achieve high precision results as output of simulations, it is essential to provide the system with reliable data as input, and to accurately describe the vehicle and its subsystems. The task of gathering objective parameters to fully describe a vehicle can seem trivial to the stakeholders directly connected to a project, that can access detailed design data and a plethora of schemes and datasheets covering all subsystems of a vehicle. However, whenever this task regards benchmarking, prototyping, research projects or niche/low-volume products, data availability decreases drastically, and alternative forms of data acquisition become essential. This paper proposes a comprehensive overview of data gathering and experimental procedures used to reliably extract parameters of an existing vehicle using quick and accessible strategies. The analysis is based on a case-study project of an A-segment vehicle mounted with an innovative rear suspension scheme, whose behavior should be described by a dedicated elasto- kinematic multibody model as well as a full vehicle model for dynamic validation. The multibody model is based on Adams/Car with the inclusion of flexible elements, which is briefly described, while a closer focus is given to the experimental extraction of key features, such as: total mass, longitudinal and lateral position of the center of gravity, CoG height, wheel travel and wheel rate, shock-absorber damping coefficient, steering ratio, components inertia and flexible elements strain. The results obtained in the static and dynamic experimental validation suggest a good outcome from the methodology, that can be replicated on many kinds of vehicle modelling activities as an approachable and affordable experimental methodology for small projects
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