On the Dynamics of Induced Maps on the Space of Probability Measures

For the generic continuous map and for the generic homeomorphism of the Cantor space, we study the dynamics of the induced map on the space of probability measures, with emphasis on the notions of Li-Yorke chaos, topological entropy, equicontinuity, chain continuity, chain mixing, shadowing and recurrence. We also establish some results concerning induced maps that hold on arbitrary compact metric spaces.Comment: 23 page

On the structure of the neritic suprabenthic communities from the Portuguese continental margin

This work presents the investigations made on the neritic suprabenthic communities of the Portuguese margin (continental shelf and upper slope) exposed to seasonal upwelling. These communities were sampled during the AVEIRO-94 cruise at 5 sites located along an E-W bathymetric transect from 21 to 299 m depth using a suprabenthic sled with superposed nets. In the 0 to 100 cm water layer, the total densities ranged from 700.2 to 13591.7 ind. 100m(-2). During daytime, the motile fauna was mainly concentrated within the 0 to 50 cm water layer (76.2 to 97.2% of the total abundance). The night-time sample at the shallower site showed a more even distribution of the fauna in the near-bottom water layers (nocturnal migratory behaviour of some motile species). The Shannon diversity (H') values ranged from 1.84 to 3.54 for the shelf sites and increased at the upper slope site (4.15). Mysids and amphipods were generally dominant except for at the middle part of the shelf where the latter was replaced by euphausiids. The suprabenthic fauna off Aveiro was compared with similar data from the same bathymetric sampling levels off Arcachon (Bay of Biscay). Multivariate analysis showed that differences in faunal composition between the 2 geographic areas were smaller than depth-related variations within geographic areas. The results were discussed in relation to other suprabenthic communities from the northeastern Atlantic.Programa de Cooperação Oceanológica Luso-FrancesaJNICT/Embaixada de FrançaFrench CIRMAT-CNR

Probing quantum fluctuation theorems in engineered reservoirs

Fluctuation Theorems are central in stochastic thermodynamics, as they allow for quantifying the irreversibility of single trajectories. Although they have been experimentally checked in the classical regime, a practical demonstration in the framework of quantum open systems is still to come. Here we propose a realistic platform to probe fluctuation theorems in the quantum regime. It is based on an effective two-level system coupled to an engineered reservoir, that enables the detection of the photons emitted and absorbed by the system. When the system is coherently driven, a measurable quantum component in the entropy production is evidenced. We quantify the error due to photon detection inefficiency, and show that the missing information can be efficiently corrected, based solely on the detected events. Our findings provide new insights into how the quantum character of a physical system impacts its thermodynamic evolution.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Entanglement properties of optical coherent states under amplitude damping

Through concurrence, we characterize the entanglement properties of optical coherent-state qubits subject to an amplitude damping channel. We investigate the distillation capabilities of known error correcting codes and obtain upper bounds on the entanglement depending on the non-orthogonality of the coherent states and the channel damping parameter. This work provides a first, full quantitative analysis of these photon-loss codes which are naturally reminiscent of the standard qubit codes against Pauli errors.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. Revised version with small corrections; main results remain unaltere

Comparative study of inner shelf sediments (Plio-Pleistocene and present day cover) in the Western Portuguese margin

A comparative study between Pliocene-Pleistocene and present day inner shelf deposits, considering both grain-size distribution and the present day hydrodynamic conditions, at west Portuguese Coastal Margin, is conducted. The modal grain-size analysis indicates that the west Portuguese Plio-Pleistocene inner shelf sediments are made of a mixture of several populations. The coarser populations (mode >0.5 mm, 1empty set) result from reworking of previous shoreface and beach deposits after storm events or are related with transgressive ravinement lags. The intermediate population, with modes around 0.125 to 0.250 mm (3 to 2empty set), should be in equilibrium with the hydrodynamic storm conditions in the inner shelf. This population is also the main constituent of the present day inner shelf cover between 10 and 25 meters depth. The finer population, with modes around 32 mu m (5empty set), is probably deposited from suspension during fair-weather periods. Under the high hydrodynamic winter storm conditions this population remains in suspension and tends to be mobilized to outer shelf locations by downward currents. It is expected that the mud size population proportion in bulk sediment should increases basinward, but this proportion may as well be influenced by post-depositional processes in ancient deposits

Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Portuguese breakthrough pain assessment tool with cancer patients

Breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) is a transient exacerbation of pain that occurs over persistent, stable, and adequately controlled cancer background pain. It is prevalent and bears severe consequences to patients' quality-of-life. The effective management of BTcP depends on fast and reliable (re)assessment. The Breakthrough pain Assessment Tool (BAT) is one of the most concise and reliable self-report instruments adapted to clinical contexts so far, showing good psychometric qualities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Korea. As to promote the effective management of BTcP in Portuguese-speaking communities this study, first aimed to culturally adapt and validate the Portuguese version of the BAT (BAT-Pt). Second, and most importantly, it sought to provide novel evidence on its criterion validity by investigating its association with measures of psychological distress, which has not been yet investigated. The BAT was translated into European Portuguese, using the back-translation method, and culturally adapted. Its psychometric properties (factor structure, internal consistency, construct and criterion validity) were analyzed in a cross-sectional multicenter study, with a sample of 65 cancer patients (49.2% women) recruited from eight hospitals in mainland Portugal (a priori power analysis determined a minimum sample of 50). Health professionals collected patients' clinical information, assessed their functional disability (ECOG Performance Status) and the adequacy of pain control. In addition to the Portuguese version of the BAT (BAT_Pt), patients completed the Portuguese versions of the Brief Pain Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, a Distress Thermometer and answered questions about the adequacy of pain control. The BAT-Pt was very well accepted by experts and patients. As hypothesized, a Principal Axis Factor Analysis revealed two underlying factors accounting for 55.2% of the variance: (1) Pain Severity and Impact of BTcP and (2) Duration of BTcP and Medication Inefficacy. Two items (on episode frequency and medication efficacy) were analyzed separately given their lower/cross loadings. The BAT-Pt showed good internal consistency overall (?=0.79) and for each sub-scale, namely, Pain Severity and Impact of BTcP (n=5 items; ?=0.86) and Duration of BTcP and Medication Inefficacy (n=2 items; rsb=0.62).info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Evolution of Coordination in Social Networks: A Numerical Study

Coordination games are important to explain efficient and desirable social behavior. Here we study these games by extensive numerical simulation on networked social structures using an evolutionary approach. We show that local network effects may promote selection of efficient equilibria in both pure and general coordination games and may explain social polarization. These results are put into perspective with respect to known theoretical results. The main insight we obtain is that clustering, and especially community structure in social networks has a positive role in promoting socially efficient outcomes.Comment: preprint submitted to IJMP

Classificação automática de imagens de satélites no mapeamento da região cafeeira de Patrocínio, MG.

Imagens orbitais representam uma boa opção na coleta de dados sobre a superfície terrestre reduzindo custos e tempo necessários à sua realização. O uso de imagens de satélite representa uma ferramenta de grande utilidade para fins de mapeamento devido à sua grande abrangência em termos de área, periodicidade de imageamento em intervalos curtos, possibilidade de análise visual e espectral e baixo custo de aquisição. O sensoriamento remoto e o processamento digital de imagens fornecem dados que podem ser manipulados e integrados a outros tipos de dados em sistemas de informações geográficas, possibilitando a obtenção de informações importantes sobre a superfície terrestre. A idéia básica em classificação de dados multiespectrais é identificar grupos de atributos espaciais e isolá-los usando alguns limites de decisão. A classificação automática de imagens visa à categorização da cobertura da terra distinguindo as composições de diferentes materiais superficiais (Crosta, 1999). Os valores de nível de cinza de cada pixel são agrupados e associados a um tipo de cobertura da superfície terrestre imageada. A distinção entre os padrões de uso da terra é possível graças ao comportamento específico dos objetos ao longo do espectro eletromagnético, ou seja, os objetos da superfície terrestre interagem (reflectância, absorbância e transmitância) com a radiação eletromagnética de maneira diferenciada em função do comprimento de onda e de suas características bio-físico-químicas. Este trabalho visa à avaliação da qualidade de diferentes métodos de classificação automática de uma imagem do satélite Landsat para geração de um mapa de uso atual do município de Patrocínio, importante polo cafeeiro do estado de Minas Gerais. O processamento digital da imagem foi realizado pelo SPRING (Sistema para Processamento de Informações Georreferenciadas) do INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). Os classificadores automáticos utilizados foram: MaxVer (Máxima Verossimilhança), caracterizado como do tipo ?pixel a pixel?, Isoseg e Battacharya, considerados como classificadores por região. Para avaliação dos mapeamentos obtidos com os classificadores foi usado o mapeamento gerado por interpretação visual da mesma imagem. Para medição da acurácia foram usadas matrizes de contingência e o coeficiente de concordância Tau. O melhor índice obtido foi para a classificação pelo algoritmo Battacharya, seguido dos classificadores MaxVer e Isoseg. O relevo suavizado da região, que reduz a influência do sombreamento no comportamento espectral das coberturas, associado ao padrão da agricultura regional em que extensas áreas são ocupadas com culturas anuais e perenes colaborou para o bom desempenho dos classificadores. Em outras áreas cafeeiras do estado, onde o relevo é montanhoso e o uso agrícola muito segmentado, os mesmos classificadores apresentaram índices de acurácia inferiores