Observing the temperature of the Big Bang through large scale structure

It is widely accepted that the Universe underwent a period of thermal equilibrium at very early times. One expects a residue of this primordial state to be imprinted on the large scale structure of space time. In this paper we study the morphology of this thermal residue in a universe whose early dynamics is governed by a scalar field. We calculate the amplitude of fluctuations on large scales and compare it to the imprint of vacuum fluctuations. We then use the observed power spectrum of fluctuations on the cosmic microwave background to place a constraint on the temperature of the Universe before and during inflation. We also present an alternative scenario where the fluctuations are predominantly thermal and near scale-invariant

Recommender system for drivers of electric vehicles

Being the next big step in automobile industry, electric vehicles continue to have limited autonomy which associated with the long charging times, limited charging stations and undeveloped smart grid infrastructure demands for a hard planning of the daily use of the vehicle. This paper presents an information system that will help the driver in the daily use of his electric vehicle, minimizing the problem of range anxiety thru the continuous control of the vehicle range and presenting in time relevant information about the charging stations within reach. Given the success of recommendation systems on automatically delivering the relevant information in numerous areas of usage, it can be applied in this scenario as well as with the objective of maximizing the relevance of the information presented to the driver, which should be the strictly needed for him to make his decisions filtering out the unnecessary one.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Particles’ distribution enhancing in aluminum-based composites produced by upward friction stir processing

Funding Information: Open access funding provided by FCT|FCCN (b-on). CV and TGS acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT-MCTES) for its financial support via projects UIDB/00667/2020 and UIDP/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI). PMF also acknowledges FCT-MCTES for its financial support via the PhD scholarship UI/BD/151055/2021. PLI would like to acknowledge FCT-MCTES for its financial support via the PhD scholarship FCT-SFRH /BD/146885/2019. RJCS acknowledges national funds from FCT-MCTES, in the scope of the project UIDB/50025/2020–2023 of the CENIMAT/i3N. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).A new variant of friction stir processing named upward friction stir processing (UFSP) is a promising approach to control particles’ distribution and promote a more uniform distribution over a larger processed area. This variant involves using two sheets with functional particles between them to produce metallic composites. A spacer is used to ensure the desired quantity and uniform distribution of the particles and prevent sputtering. This technique promotes an upward flow to introduce more particles with a uniform distribution in the processed volume, avoiding discrete holes or grooves. This study involved enhancing the particles’ distribution by varying process parameters. The resulting trial with the best particles’ distribution was characterized by means of light microscopy, eddy current testing, microhardness mapping, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The study revealed that UFSP can improve the particles’ distribution in the stir zone of metallic composites, especially when multi-passes are performed towards the retreating side of the plates. The process parameters that produced an improvement in particles’ distribution were six passes with an offset of 1 mm towards the retreating side, the tool rotation and processing speed of 900 rev/min, and 180 mm/min, respectively, and a spacer’s thickness of 0.5 mm. The resulting hardness and electrical conductivity profiles show that the UFSP technique can significantly affect material’s properties, including mechanical strength, particularly when processing with tool offset towards the retreating side. Furthermore, the hardness increased by about 22% in composites produced with the addition of reinforcement particles. However, for some aluminum alloys, the properties decreased under such conditions. These findings highlight the potential of UFSP for producing functionalized materials with tailored properties, while also underscoring the importance of careful parameters selection to optimize the material´s performance. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].publishersversioninpres

Development and characterization of cotton elastic yarns to improve wear comfort of bi-elastic thin fabrics

Clothing is our second skin, beyond the aesthetic function it primarily has the protective function. One cannot speak about clothing design without mentioning comfort and we may even say that they are not dissociable. The clothing design, in conceptual sense, cannot be successful if it does not take into account the comfort component. Among the many comfort dimensions, the sensorial and ergonomic dimensions of comfort which influence the sensory perception and the ability of a garment to "well fit", are largely determined by the elastic properties of the yarns and fabrics. The present work, relates to the development of cotton elastic yarns for bi-stretch woven fabrics, designed for high-quality women's fine shirting. The yarns were manufactured by the conventional core-spinning method, using different filaments in the core and cotton fibres as sheath. The physical-mechanical properties of the yarns were evaluated to assess their performance ability to improve bi-stretch fabrics wear comfort.FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136

The Parameterized Post-Friedmann Framework for Theories of Modified Gravity: Concepts, Formalism and Examples

A unified framework for theories of modified gravity will be an essential tool for interpreting the forthcoming deluge of cosmological data. We present such a formalism, the Parameterized Post-Friedmann framework (PPF), which parameterizes the cosmological perturbation theory of a wide variety of modified gravity models. PPF is able to handle spin-0 degrees of freedom from new scalar, vector and tensor fields, meaning that it is not restricted to simple models based solely on cosmological scalar fields. A direct correspondence is maintained between the parameterization and the underlying space of theories, which allows us to build up a `dictionary' of modified gravity theories and their PPF correspondences. In this paper we describe the construction of the parameterization and demonstrate its use through a number of worked examples relevant to the current literature. We indicate how the formalism will be implemented numerically, so that the dictionary of modified gravity can be pitted against forthcoming observations.Comment: 24 pages, updated to match version published in PRD. Discussion of section 4 extended. Suggestions for the busy reader are given at the end of section

Conformal Orbifold Partition Functions from Topologically Massive Gauge Theory

We continue the development of the topological membrane approach to open and unoriented string theories. We study orbifolds of topologically massive gauge theory defined on the geometry $[0,1]\times\Sigma$, where $\Sigma$ is a generic compact Riemann surface. The orbifold operations are constructed by gauging the discrete symmetries of the bulk three-dimensional field theory. Multi-loop bosonic string vacuum amplitudes are thereby computed as bulk correlation functions of the gauge theory. It is shown that the three-dimensional correlators naturally reproduce twisted and untwisted sectors in the case of closed worldsheet orbifolds, and Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions in the case of open ones. The bulk wavefunctions are used to explicitly construct the characters of the underlying extended Kac-Moody group for arbitrary genus. The correlators for both the original theory and its orbifolds give the expected modular invariant statistical sums over the characters.Comment: 47 pages LaTeX, 3 figures, uses amsfonts and epsfig; v2: Typos corrected, reference added, clarifying comments on modular invariance inserted; v3: Further comments on modular invariance added; to be published in JHE

Biofortified Diets Containing Algae and Selenised Yeast: Effects on Growth Performance, Nutrient Utilization, and Tissue Composition of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata)

Efforts have been made to find natural, highly nutritious alternatives to replace fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO), which can simultaneously promote fish health and improve the nutritional quality of filets for human consumption. This study evaluated the impact of biofortified diets containing microalgae (as replacement for FM and FO), macroalgae (as natural source of iodine) and selenised yeast (organic source of selenium) on gilthead seabream growth, nutrient utilization, tissue composition and gene expression. A control diet (CTRL) with 15% FM and 5.5% FO was compared with three experimental diets (AD1, AD2, and AD3), where a microalgae blend (Chlorella sp., Tetraselmis sp., and DHA-rich Schizochytrium sp.) replaced 33% of FM. Diet AD1 contained 20% less FO. Diets were supplemented with Laminaria digitata (0.4% AD1 and AD2; 0.8% AD3) and selenised yeast (0.02% AD1 and AD2; 0.04% AD3). After feeding the experimental diets for 12 weeks, growth was similar in fish fed AD1, AD2, and CTRL, indicating that microalgae meal can partially replace both FM and FO in diets for seabream. But AD3 suppressed fish growth, suggesting that L. digitata and selenised yeast supplementation should be kept under 0.8 and 0.04%, respectively. Despite lower lipid intake and decreased PUFAs bioavailability in fish fed AD3, compared to CTRL, hepatic elovl5 was upregulated resulting in a significant increase of muscle EPA + DHA. Indeed, filets of fish fed AD2 and AD3 provided the highest EPA + DHA contents (0.7 g 100 g–1), that are well above the minimum recommended values for human consumption. Fish consuming the AD diets had a higher retention and gain of selenium, while iodine gain remained similar among diets. Upregulation of selenoproteins (gpx1, selk, and dio2) was observed in liver of fish fed AD1, but diets had limited impact on fish antioxidant status. Overall, results indicate that the tested microalgae are good sources of protein and lipids, with their LC-PUFAs being effectively accumulated in seabream muscle. Selenised yeast is a good fortification vehicle to increase selenium levels in fish, but efforts should be placed to find new strategies to fortify fish in iodineThis work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programe under Grant Agreement No. 773400 (SEAFOODTOMORROW) and from the project ATLANTIDA (ref. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000040), supported by the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement and through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work received financial support from REQUIMTE/LAQV national funds (FCT) through project UID/QUI/50006/2019. LV acknowledges national funds provided by FCT to CIIMAR (UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020), PP-F acknowledges MAR2020 national funds provided to IPMA (DIVERISAQUA project - 16-02-01-FEAM-66) and MF acknowledges FCT for the grant SFRH/BD/144843/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A versatile nanocarrierCubosomes, characterization, and applications

The impact of nanotechnology on the exponential growth of several research areas, particularly nanomedicine, is undeniable. The ability to deliver active molecules to the desired site could significantly improve the efficiency of medical treatments. One of the nanocarriers developed which has drawn researchers’ attention are cubosomes, which are nanosized dispersions of lipid bicontinuous cubic phases in water, consisting of a lipidic interior and aqueous domains folded in a cubic lattice. They stand out due to their ability to incorporate hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and amphiphilic compounds, their tortuous internal configuration that provides a sustained release, and the capacity to protect and safely deliver molecules. Several approaches can be taken to prepare this structure, as well as different lipids like monoolein or phytantriol. This review paper describes the different methods to prepare nanocarriers. As it is known, the physicochemical properties of nanocarriers are very important, as they influence their pharmacokinetics and their ability to incorporate and deliver active molecules. Therefore, an extensive characterization is essential to obtain the desired effect. As a result, we have extensively described the most common techniques to characterize cubosomes, particularly nanocarriers. The exceptional properties of the cubosomes make them suitable to be used in several applications in the biomedical field, from cancer therapeutics to imaging, which will be described. Taking in consideration the outstanding properties of cubosomes, their application in several research fields is envisaged.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit, by Marie Skłodowska Curie grant (MSCA-RISE; FODIAC; 778388) and by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Competitiveness factors Operational program—Norte 2020, COMPETE and National Funds through the FCT—under the project AgriFood XXI (NORTE- 01-0145-FEDER-000041). J.L.P. acknowledge the Instituto de Salud Carlos III for a “Sara Borrell” grant (CD19/00250), cofounded by European Social Fund (“El FSE invierte en futuro”). C.J.O.F. acknowledge the FCT for the grant SFRH/149/BD/14199/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mudanças no diagnóstico pré-natal cromossómico: indicações clínicas, amostras biológicas, metodologias e cromossomopatias

Introdução: As mudanças no diagnóstico pré-natal de anomalias cromossómicas (DPN) nos últimos 10-15 anos foram contínuas e significativas. Objetivos: Propômo-nos analisar essa evolução: mudanças nas indicações clínicas; introdução das biópsias de vilosidades coriónicas (BVC); utilização do diagnóstico rápido de aneuploidias (DRA); estudos por microarray; alterações cromossómicas encontradas. Metodologia: Fez-se a avaliação retrospetiva nas gestações com amostras estudadas nos triénios 2004-2006 e 2014-2016. Analisaram-se os parâmetros indicação clínica, tipo de amostra, metodologias utilizadas e resultados. Resultados: Identificaram-se 68 fetos com cariotipo anormal em 2210 cariotipos (3,1%) em 2004-2006 e 208 fetos com cariotipo anormal em 2315 cariotipos (9,0%) em 2014-2016. A maior frequência de anomalias encontrou-se nos casos de rastreios ecográficos e combinados indicativos de risco acrescido de anomalia numérica e de progenitores portadores de alterações cromossómicas. As BVC permitiram respostas precoces nas gestações com anomalias numéricas e, adicionalmente, um aumento desses cariotipos (7.5% das amostras). O DRA permitiu ter uma resposta rápida nas anomalias numéricas mais frequentes (2 dias). As anomalias estruturais foram menos preponderantes nos cariotipos anormais (32,4% em 2004-2006 e 14.4% em 2014-2016). Discussão e conclusões: O DRA reduziu o tempo de resposta e das decisões sobre o futuro das gestações. O microarray permitiu identificar alterações sindromáticas em situações não resolúveis por outras metodologias. A utilização de BVC permite estabelecer uma melhor correlação fenotipo-genotipo em menores idades gestacionais. No entanto, as gestações com anomalias numéricas têm algum risco de perda fetal no primeiro e início do segundo trimestres. Assim, algumas BVC com cariotipos anormais resultariam em perdas espontâneas, o que poderia disponibilizar outros casos para DPN. Por outro lado, o menor número de anomalias estruturais equilibradas encontrado pode reduzir o conhecimento da variação genética nas famílias e na população. Um novo paradigma resulta da implementação dos testes não invasivos no DPN, para os quais ainda não conhecemos todas as limitações e repercussões.N/