Testing for entanglement with periodic coarse-graining

Continuous variables systems find valuable applications in quantum information processing. To deal with an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, one in general has to handle large numbers of discretized measurements in tasks such as entanglement detection. Here we employ the continuous transverse spatial variables of photon pairs to experimentally demonstrate novel entanglement criteria based on a periodic structure of coarse-grained measurements. The periodization of the measurements allows for an efficient evaluation of entanglement using spatial masks acting as mode analyzers over the entire transverse field distribution of the photons and without the need to reconstruct the probability densities of the conjugate continuous variables. Our experimental results demonstrate the utility of the derived criteria with a success rate in entanglement detection of $\sim60\%$ relative to $7344$ studied cases.Comment: V1: revtex4, 10 pages, 4 figures + supp. material (4 pages, 1 figure) V2: Substantial revisions implemented both in theory and experimental data analysi

Classificação da rede viária em função da sinistralidade em ambiente SIG

Tendo em conta a atual conjuntura económica dos municípios, uma gestão financeira eficiente poderá ser mais facilmente alcançada se forem identificadas as prioridades de futuros investimentos. Neste contexto, a classificação da rede viária municipal em função da sinistralidade é fundamental na definição de prioridades de intervenção. O presente trabalho, apresenta um modelo de classificação de rede viária em função da sinistralidade integrada num sistema de informação geográfica. Definiu-se uma equação para obter um Índice de Sinistralidade Rodoviária, através da combinação dos seguintes indicadores: Indicador de Gravidade, Indicador de Danos Materiais e o Indicador dos Custos. A sua aplicação prática foi desenvolvida através de um caso de estudo no concelho de Barcelos. Da análise da natureza dos acidentes, constatou-se que as vias com maior número de colisões correspondem às vias com maior número de acidentes, todas integradas na rede de Estradas Nacionais e Regionais. Para além da classificação viária da rede, a aplicação do modelo permite analisar a cobertura espacial das ocorrências para determinar a centralidade e dispersão dos locais com maior incidência de acidentes rodoviários. Essa análise pode ainda ser refinada de acordo com a natureza dos acidentes, nomeadamente por colisão, despiste ou atropelamento.Given the current economical situation of the Portuguese municipalities, it is necessary to identify the priority investments in order to achieve a more efficient financial management. The classification of the road network of the municipality according to the occurrence of traffic accidents is fundamental to set priorities for road interventions. This paper presents a model for road network classification based on traffic accidents integrated in a geographic information system. An equation was defined to obtain a road safety index through the combination of the following indicators: Severity, Property Damage Only and Accident Costs. Its practical application was developed through a case study in the municipality of Barcelos. After analysing the nature of accidents, it was identified that roads with the largest number of collisions have also the largest number of accidents. All those cases belongs to the National and Regional road network. In addition to the road network classification, the application of the model allows to analyse the spatial coverage of accidents in order to determine the centrality and dispersion of the locations with the highest incidence of road accidents. This analysis can be further refined according to the nature of the accidents namely in collision, skidding and pedestrian roadkill

From rapid prototyping to building in real scale: methodologies for upscaling additive manufacturing in architecture

The manufacture of architectural components mediated by computer-controlled Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies has highlighted several positive aspects of their application, namely by enabling customised design solutions and high-performance complex geometries. Taking into account the experience of the Advanced Ceramics R&D Lab, in the production of small- / medium- scale prototypes, this paper explores the main variables and constraints of the production of real-scale architectural components. This information points to a set of procedures that should be avoided and others that should be privileged, allowing to anticipate how AM can contribute for the achievement of high performance components on a large scale.This work has the financial support of the Project Lab2PT – Landscapes, Heritage and Territory laboratory – AUR/04509 and FCT through national founds and when applicable of the FEDER cofinancing, in the aim of the new partnership agreement PT2020 and COMPETE2020 – POCI 01 0145FEDER 007528

Experimental analysis on steel reinforced glass beams at different temperatures

This work is funded by FEDER Funds, through the Operational Programme Competitiveness Factors – COMPETE, and Portuguese Funds, through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project PTDC/ECM/116609/2010, “S-GLASS: Structural Performance and Design Rules of Glass Beams Externally Reinforced”. In addition, The COST Action TU0905 ‘‘Structural Glass – Novel Design Methods and Next Generation Products’’ is also acknowledged.Whereas glass components were used as infill elements in the past, contemporary architectural concepts include glass components as load-bearing elements. Recent architectural trends and technological developments have brought about unprecedented opportunities in the use of glass in buildings. The increasingly daring structural applications of glass will continue to drive the development of structural glass elements with high post-failure resistances. The present work aims to explore the concepts of structural performance of glass beams and the effectiveness of an embedded steel reinforcement system. The reinforcement system consists in embedding perforated stainless steel plates in the lamination process. The experimental study focuses on the effect of thermal actions and compares the use of soft foils and stiff foils (temperature ranging from approximately 16 ºC to 85 ºC).Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Tuning of fiber optic surface reflectivity through graphene oxide-based Layer-by-Layer film coatings

SFRH/BD/135820/2018 UID/EEA/50014/2019 UID/FIS/00068/2019 M-ERA-NET2/0002/2016The use of graphene oxide-based coatings on optical fibers are investigated, aiming to tune the reflectivity of optical fiber surfaces for use in precision sensing devices. Graphene oxide (GO) layers are successfully deposited onto optical fiber ends, either in cleaved or hollow microspheres, by mounting combined bilayers of polyethylenimine (PEI) and GO layers using the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technique. The reflectivity of optical fibers coated with graphene oxide layers is investigated for the telecom region allowing to both monitor layer growth kinetics and cavity characterization. Tunable reflective surfaces are successfully attained in both cleaved optical fibers and hollow microsphere fiber-based sensors by simply coating them with PEI/GO layers through the LbL film technique.publishersversionpublishe

Optimization of estradiol monitoring in raw and treated wastewater samples by response surface methodology

The ever-increasing use of endocrine disruptors compounds (EDCs), through pharmaceuticals such as synthetic estrogens, both in humans as well as in animals, are raising its concentration in the environment. Estradiol, also designed as 17β-Estradiol (see Fig. 1), belongs to the pharmaceutical class of steroid estrogens and was included in the “Watch List” since 2013 the Directive 2013/39/EU due to its potential risk to human health and environment. The low removal efficiency of estrogens by the conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), becomes a major source of their release into different aquatic matrices. Therefore, the occurrence and, more importantly, the destination of these compounds are matters of utmost importance towards a better public health. The aim of this work is the optimization of solid phase extraction/high performance liquid chromatography (SPE/HPLC) using the response surface methodology (RSM) to detect and quantify 17β-Estradiol in WWTPs effluents.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020, UIDP/00690/2020 and EXPL2021CIMO_05-REMPHARM) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). J.L. Diaz De Tuesta acknowledges the financial support of “Comunidad de Madrid” (Spain) for the individual research grant 2020-T2/AMB-19836.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Acoustic optical fiber sensor based on graphene oxide membrane

A Fabry–Pérot acoustic sensor based on a graphene oxide membrane was developed with the aim to achieve a faster and simpler fabrication procedure when compared to similar graphene-based acoustic sensors. In addition, the proposed sensor was fabricated using methods that reduce chemical hazards and environmental impacts. The developed sensor, with an optical cavity of around 246 µm, showed a constant reflected signal amplitude of 6.8 ± 0.1 dB for 100 nm wavelength range. The sensor attained a wideband operation range between 20 and 100 kHz, with a maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 32.7 dB at 25 kHz. The stability and sensitivity to temperatures up to 90◦C was also studied. Moreover, the proposed sensor offers the possibility to be applied as a wideband microphone or to be applied in more complex systems for structural analysis or imaging.publishersversionpublishe

Monitoring of 17 β-Estradiol in raw and treated waters of wastewater treatment plants

Nowadays, there has been a growing concern regarding the possible consequences of exposure to estrogens through its direct or indirect consumptioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Treadmill Exercise Training Prevents Myocardial Mechanical Dysfunction Induced by Androgenic-Anabolic Steroid Treatment in Rats

Elevated concentrations of testosterone and its synthetic analogs may induce changes in cardiovascular function. However, the effects of the combination of anabolic/androgenic steroid (AAS) treatment and exercise training on systolic and diastolic cardiac function are poorly understood. in the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of low-dose steroid treatment (stanozolol) on cardiac contractile parameters when this steroid treatment was combined with exercise training in rats and the effects of chronic steroid treatment on the Frank-Starling (length-tension curves) relationship. Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to one of four groups: U (untrained), US (untrained and treated with stanozolol 5 mg/kg/week), T (trained, 16 m/min/1 h) and TS (trained and treated with stanozolol 5 mg/kg/week). Continuous exercise training was conducted 5 days/week for 8 consecutive weeks. the speed of the treadmill was gradually increased to a final setting of 16 m/min/1 h. Experiments were divided into two independent series: 1) central hemodynamic analysis for mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and cardiac output (CO) measurements and 2) isolated papillary muscle preparation in Krebs solution. Stanozolol treatment significantly increased the MAP and the heart size in untrained and trained rats (U 113 +/- 2; T 106 +/- 2; US 138 +/- 8 and TS 130 +/- 7 mmHg). Furthermore, stanozolol significantly decreased developed tension and dT/dt (maximal and minimal) in U rats. However, the developed tension was completely restored by training. the Frank/Starling relationship was impaired in rats treated with stanozolol; however, again, training completely restored diastolic function. Taken together, the present data suggest that AAS treatment is able to decrease cardiac performance (systolic and diastolic functions). the combination of stanozolol and physical training improved cardiac performance, including diastolic and systolic functions, independent of changes in central hemodynamic parameters. Therefore, changes in ventricular myocyte calcium transients may play a cardioprotective role.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Univ Sao Judas Tadeu, Dept Post Grad Phys Educ, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Physiol, Div Cardiovasc, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Med, Div Cardiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Physiol, Div Cardiovasc, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Med, Div Cardiol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Generic system for human-computer gesture interaction: applications on sign language recognition and robotic soccer refereeing

Hand gestures are a powerful way for human communication, with lots of potential applications in the area of human computer interaction. Vision-based hand gesture recognition techniques have many proven advantages compared with traditional devices, giving users a simpler and more natural way to communicate with electronic devices. This work proposes a generic system architecture based in computer vision and machine learning, able to be used with any interface for human-computer interaction. The proposed solution is mainly composed of three modules: a pre-processing and hand segmentation module, a static gesture interface module and a dynamic gesture interface module. The experiments showed that the core of visionbased interaction systems could be the same for all applications and thus facilitate the implementation. For hand posture recognition, a SVM (Support Vector Machine) model was trained and used, able to achieve a final accuracy of 99.4%. For dynamic gestures, an HMM (Hidden Markov Model) model was trained for each gesture that the system could recognize with a final average accuracy of 93.7%. The proposed solution as the advantage of being generic enough with the trained models able to work in real-time, allowing its application in a wide range of human-machine applications. To validate the proposed framework two applications were implemented. The first one is a real-time system able to interpret the Portuguese Sign Language. The second one is an online system able to help a robotic soccer game referee judge a game in real time