ARCHI: pipeline for light curve extraction of CHEOPS background star

High precision time series photometry from space is being used for a number of scientific cases. In this context, the recently launched CHEOPS (ESA) mission promises to bring 20 ppm precision over an exposure time of 6 hours, when targeting nearby bright stars, having in mind the detailed characterization of exoplanetary systems through transit measurements. However, the official CHEOPS (ESA) mission pipeline only provides photometry for the main target (the central star in the field). In order to explore the potential of CHEOPS photometry for all stars in the field, in this paper we present archi, an additional open-source pipeline module{\dag}to analyse the background stars present in the image. As archi uses the official Data Reduction Pipeline data as input, it is not meant to be used as independent tool to process raw CHEOPS data but, instead, to be used as an add-on to the official pipeline. We test archi using CHEOPS simulated images, and show that photometry of background stars in CHEOPS images is only slightly degraded (by a factor of 2 to 3) with respect to the main target. This opens a potential for the use of CHEOPS to produce photometric time series of several close-by targets at once, as well as to use different stars in the image to calibrate systematic errors. We also show one clear scientific application where the study of the companion light curve can be important for the understanding of the contamination on the main target.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, all code available at https://github.com/Kamuish/arch

Rotatory power reversal induced by magnetic-current in bi-isotropic media

Bi-isotropic media constitute a proper scenario for scrutinizing optical effects stemming from magnetoelectric parameters. Chiral magnetic current is a macroscopic effect arising from the chiral magnetic effect that enriches the phenomenology of a classical dielectric medium. This work examines optical aspects of bi-isotropic media in the presence of magnetic conductivity. The full isotropic scenario manifests circular birefringence described by a dispersive rotatory power that changes sign at a given frequency. For a bi-isotropic medium with antisymmetric magnetic conductivity, an intricate dispersive rotatory power is attained, supplied with sign reversal as well. This scenario also indicates a handedness reversion of the medium, an unusual property in dielectrics, which may work as a signature of bi-isotropic media supporting chiral magnetic current.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Cold plasma waves in the chiral Maxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw electrodynamics

In this work, we study the propagation and absorption of plasma waves in the chiral Maxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw (MCJF) electrodynamics. The Maxwell equations are rewritten for a cold, uniform, and collisionless fluid plasma model, allowing us to determine the new refractive indices and propagating modes. The cases of propagation parallel and orthogonal to the magnetic field are examined considering a purely timelike CFJ background that plays the role of the magnetic conductivity chiral parameter. The collective electromagnetic modes are associated with four distinct refractive indices associated with right-circularly polarized and left-circularly polarized waves. For each index, the propagation and absorption zones are illustrated for some specific parameter values. In low-frequency regime, we have obtained modified helicons with right- and left-circularly polarizations. The optical behavior is investigated by means of the rotatory power (RP) and dichroism coefficient. The existence of a negative refraction zone enhances the rotatory power. It is also observed RP sign reversal, a feature of rotating plasmas.Comment: revtex style, two columns, 19 figures, 19 pages, version published in the PR

The M2/M5 BPS Partition Functions from Supergravity

In the framework of the AdS/CFT duality, we calculate the supersymmetric partition function of the superconformal field theories living in the world volume of either $N$ $M2$-branes or $N$ $M5$-branes. We used the dual supergravity partition function in a saddle point approximation over supersymmetric Black Holes. Since our BHs are written in asymptotically global $AdS_{d+1}$ co-ordinates, the dual SCFTs are in $R x S^{d}$ for $d=2,5$. The resulting partition function shows phase transitions, constraints on the phase space and allowed us to identify unstable BPS Black hole in the $AdS$ phase. These configurations should correspond to unstable configurations in the dual theory. We also report an intriguing relation between the most general Witten Index, computed in the above theories, and our BPS partition functions.Comment: 9 pages, 2 columns, 4 figures, revtex, typos corrected, reference adde

New pre-processing technologies for fruits and vegetables

Horticultural products constitute one of the most perishable foods and its availability throughout the year requires the application of preservation methods. Traditionally, horticultural products are preserved by freezing, allowing these products to reach longer shelf-life periods. Until nowadays, freezing has been preceded by a blanching step, which has been considered as an efficient and safe food preservation method. However, besides its reliable efficiency in terms of food safety, blanching normally induces various chemical reactions, leading to quality deterioration by producing undesirable changes in sensory and nutritional qualities, affecting the balance between high quality and safety. The increasing consumer quality demanding standards has spurred the search for new and gently processing technologies that prolong shelf-life without the detrimental effects caused by severe heating. Non-thermal methods have emerged as attractive alternatives to conventional methods of thermal processing. There are several new nonthermal technologies of potential interest to the industry, such as ozone, UV-C irradiation, ultrasound, high pressure, and electrical pulses. The application of nonthermal technologies to food processing and preservation may yield processed foods with minor losses of colour, flavour, texture and nutrients, while retaining the desired shelf-life and safety. Ozone, UV-C irradiation, and ultrasound treatments are promising techniques for the fruits and vegetables industry. However, their efficiency depends on the product/microorganism under consideration

Effect of Hemodynamic Changes in Plasma Propofol Concentrations Associated with Knee-Chest Position in Spinal Surgery: A Prospective Study

Background: Anesthesia induction and maintenance with propofol can be guided by target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems using pharmacokinetic (Pk) models. Physiological variables, such as changes in cardiac output (CO), can influence propofol pharmacokinetics. Knee-chest (KC) surgical positioning can result in CO changes. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between propofol plasma concentration prediction and CO changes after induction and KC positioning. Methods: This two-phase prospective cohort study included 20 patients scheduled for spinal surgery. Two different TCI anesthesia protocols were administered after induction. In phase I (n = 9), the loss of consciousness (LOC) concentration was set as the propofol target concentration and CO changes following induction and KC positioning were quantified. In phase II (n = 11), based on data from phase I, two reductions in the propofol target concentration on the pump were applied after LOC and before KC positioning. Propofol plasma concentrations were measured at different moments in both phases: after induction and after KC positioning. Results: Schnider Pk model showed a good performance in predicting propofol concentration after induction; however, after KC positioning, when a significant drop in CO occurred, the measured propofol concentrations were markedly underestimated. Intended reductions in the propofol target concentration did not attenuate HD changes. In the KC position, there was no correlation between the propofol concentration estimated by the Pk model and the measured concentration in plasma, as the latter was much higher (P = 0.013) while CO and BIS decreased significantly (P < 0.001 and P = 0.004, respectively). Conclusions: Our study showed that the measured propofol plasma concentrations during the KC position were significantly underestimated by the Schnider Pk model and were associated with significant CO decrease. When placing patients in the KC position, anesthesiologists must be aware of pharmacokinetic changes and, in addition to standard monitoring, the use of depth of anesthesia and cardiac output monitors may be considered in high-risk patients.This work was partially funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT, through national (MEC) and European structural (FEDER) funds, in the scope of the research projects UID/MAT/04106/2019 (CIDMA/UA), UID/CEC/00127/2019 (IEETA/UA) and UID/MAT/00144/2019 (CMUP/UP). This work was also partially suported by Portugal 2020 under the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program, and by the European Regional Development Fund through project SOCA-Smart Open Campus (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000010), acknowledgements from Sonia Gouveia. Aura Silva also acknowledges the postdoctoral grant by FCT (ref. SFRH/BPD/75697/2011).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Targeting cancer resistance via multifunctional gold nanoparticles

POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007728 SFRH/BD/120030/2016 PD/BD/105734/2014 Pest-OE/UID/DTP/04138/2013Resistance to chemotherapy is a major problem facing current cancer therapy, which is continuously aiming at the development of new compounds that are capable of tackling tumors that developed resistance toward common chemotherapeutic agents, such as doxorubicin (DOX). Alongside the development of new generations of compounds, nanotechnology-based delivery strategies can significantly improve the in vivo drug stability and target specificity for overcoming drug resistance. In this study, multifunctional gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have been used as a nanoplatform for the targeted delivery of an original anticancer agent, a Zn(II) coordination compound [Zn(DION)2]Cl2 (ZnD), toward better efficacy against DOX-resistant colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT116 DR). Selective delivery of the ZnD nanosystem to cancer cells was achieved by active targeting via cetuximab, NanoZnD, which significantly inhibited cell proliferation and triggered the death of resistant tumor cells, thus improving efficacy. In vivo studies in a colorectal DOX-resistant model corroborated the capability of NanoZnD for the selective targeting of cancer cells, leading to a reduction of tumor growth without systemic toxicity. This approach highlights the potential of gold nanoformulations for the targeting of drug-resistant cancer cells.publishersversionpublishe

Curved dilatonic brane-worlds and the cosmological constant problem

We construct a model for dilatonic brane worlds with constant curvature on the brane, i.e. a non-zero four-dimensional cosmological constant, given in function of the dilaton coupling and the cosmological constant of the bulk. We compare this family of solutions to other known dilatonic domain wall solutions and apply a self-tunning mechanism to check the stability of our solutions under quantum fluctuations living on the brane.Comment: latex, 6 pages. (v2): considerable changes in the conclusion. (v3): added new discussion on the solutions and some references; version to appear in CQ