Triple unification of inflation, dark matter, and dark energy using a single field

We construct an explicit scenario whereby the same material driving inflation in the early Universe can comprise dark matter in the present Universe, using a simple quadratic potential. Following inflation and preheating, the density of inflaton/dark matter particles is reduced to the observed level by a period of thermal inflation, of a duration already invoked in the literature for other reasons. Within the context of the string landscape, one can further argue for a non-zero vacuum energy of this field, thus unifying inflation, dark matter and dark energy into a single fundamental field.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX with 3 figures incorporate

Intermediate inflation in light of the three-year WMAP observations

The three-year observations from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe have been hailed as giving the first clear indication of a spectral index n_s<1. We point out that the data are equally well explained by retaining the assumption n_s=1 and allowing the tensor-to-scalar ratio r to be non-zero. The combination n_s=1 and r>0 is given (within the slow-roll approximation) by a version of the intermediate inflation model with expansion rate H(t) \propto t^{-1/3}. We assess the status of this model in light of the WMAP3 data.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX4 with one figure. Minor changes to match PRD accepted versio

Quintessence, inflation and baryogenesis from a single pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson

We exhibit a model in which a single pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson explains dark energy, inflation and baryogenesis. The model predicts correlated signals in future collider experiments, WIMP searches, proton decay experiments, dark energy probes, and the PLANCK satellite CMB measurements.Comment: 16 pages, 3 color figure

Oscillations in the inflaton potential?

We consider a class of inflationary models with small oscillations imprinted on an otherwise smooth inflaton potential. These oscillations are manifest as oscillations in the power spectrum of primordial perturbations, which then give rise to oscillating departures from the standard cosmic microwave background power spectrum. We show that current data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe constrain the amplitude of a sinusoidal variation in the inflaton potential to have an amplitude less than 3 x 10^{-5}. We anticipate that the smallest detectable such oscillations in Planck will be roughly an order of magnitude smaller, with slight improvements possible with a post-Planck cosmic-variance limited experiment.Comment: 6 pages RevTeX4 with 6 figures incorporate

PREOPERATIVE SEDATION BEFORE REGIONAL ANAESTHESIA: COMPARISON BETWEEN ZOLPIDEM, MIDAZOLAM AND PLACEBO

The quality of premedication induced by oral midazolam and zolpidem, a new imidazopyridine hypnotic, was assessed in a controlled, double-blind study in 93 patients undergoing elective surgery under spinal or extradural anaesthesia. The patients were allocated randomly to three groups. Each group received the same treatment twice at two different doses. The night before operation, patients received zolpidem 10 mg, midazolam 7.5 mg or placebo and, 1 h before operation, zolpidem 20 mg, midazolam 15 mg or placebo. The sleep inducing effects of the drugs were comparable. Zolpidem and midazolam were significantly more effective sedatives than placebo 45 min after administration, but no difference was noted between the drugs. There was a comparable incidence of anterograde amnesia with zolpidem and midazolam, but the onset was shorter after zolpidem. Side effects were comparable in the three groups. Zolpidem is an effective hypnotic with a rapid onset and short duration of action which may be an alternative to midazolam for premedicatio

Breaking the Screen: Interaction Across Touchscreen Boundaries in Virtual Reality for Mobile Knowledge Workers.

Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to transform knowledge work. One advantage of VR knowledge work is that it allows extending 2D displays into the third dimension, enabling new operations, such as selecting overlapping objects or displaying additional layers of information. On the other hand, mobile knowledge workers often work on established mobile devices, such as tablets, limiting interaction with those devices to a small input space. This challenge of a constrained input space is intensified in situations when VR knowledge work is situated in cramped environments, such as airplanes and touchdown spaces. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of interacting jointly between an immersive VR head-mounted display and a tablet within the context of knowledge work. Specifically, we 1) design, implement and study how to interact with information that reaches beyond a single physical touchscreen in VR; 2) design and evaluate a set of interaction concepts; and 3) build example applications and gather user feedback on those applications.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, ISMAR 202

Detecting and describing heterogeneity in health care cost trajectories among asylum seekers.

The mechanism underlying the health care cost trajectories among asylum seekers is not well understood. In the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, a nurse-led health care and medical Network for Migrant Health ("Réseau santé et migration" RESAMI) has established a health care model focusing on the first year after arrival of asylum seekers, called the "community health phase". This model aims to provide tailored care and facilitate integration into the Swiss health care system. The aim of this study is to explore different health care cost trajectories among asylum seekers during this phase and identify the associated factors. We detected different patterns of health care cost trajectories using time-series clustering of longitudinal data of asylum seekers in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. These data included all adult asylum seekers and recipients of emergency aid who entered the canton between 2012 and 2015 and were followed until 2018. The different clusters of health care cost trajectories were then described using a multinomial logistic regression model. We identified a concave, an upward trending, and a downward trending cluster of health care cost trajectories with different characteristics being associated with each cluster. The likelihood of being in the concave cluster is positively associated with coming from the Eastern Mediterranean region or Africa rather than Europe and with a higher share of consultations with an interpreter. The likelihood of being in the upward trending cluster, which accrued the highest costs, is positively associated with 20-24-year-olds rather than older individuals, coming from Europe than any other region and having a mental disorder. In contrast to the other two clusters, the likelihood of being in the downward trending cluster is positively associated with having contacted the RESAMI network within the first month after arrival, which might indicate the potential of early intervention. It is also positively associated with older age and living in a group lodge. Asylum seekers are heterogeneous in terms of health care cost trajectories. Exploring these differences can help point to possible ways to improve the care and supporting services provided to asylum seekers. Our findings could indicate that early and patient-centered interventions might be well-suited to this aim

Bayesian analysis of Friedmannless cosmologies

Assuming only a homogeneous and isotropic universe and using both the 'Gold' Supernova Type Ia sample of Riess et al. and the results from the Supernova Legacy Survey, we calculate the Bayesian evidence of a range of different parameterizations of the deceleration parameter. We consider both spatially flat and curved models. Our results show that although there is strong evidence in the data for an accelerating universe, there is little evidence that the deceleration parameter varies with redshift.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Model selection forecasts for the spectral index from the Planck satellite

The recent WMAP3 results have placed measurements of the spectral index n_S in an interesting position. While parameter estimation techniques indicate that the Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum n_S=1 is strongly excluded (in the absence of tensor perturbations), Bayesian model selection techniques reveal that the case against n_S=1 is not yet conclusive. In this paper, we forecast the ability of the Planck satellite mission to use Bayesian model selection to convincingly exclude (or favour) the Harrison-Zel'dovich model.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX with one figure included. Updated to match PRD accepted version. Improved likelihood function implementation; no qualitative change to results but some tiny numerical shift

Simulación de personajes conversacionales virtuales dentro de un entorno de realidad virtual

En la actualidad, la popularización y expansión de las tecnologías de la comunicación y la información han alterado las formas tradicionales de comunicación de las personas convirtiendo a las tecnologías en canales casi obligados del proceso. Particularmente, las situaciones de adquisición y transmisión de conocimiento han obligado a desarrollar nuevas formas de visualización e interacción que faciliten la transmisión de información. La generación de entornos de interacción que provean nuevos contextos de intercambio y comunicación de información es uno de los fines básicos del área de Realidad Virtual. La virtualidad consiste en hacer calzar un mundo virtual en un mundo real. Uno de los desafíos mas importantes radica en preservar las vías naturales de comunicación, interacción y entendimiento de las personas proveyendo a las computadoras de una visualización e interacción lo mas humana posible. Proveer a las computadoras las capacidades de comunicación de los humanos involucra dotarlas entre, otras cosas, de conocimiento permitiendo automatizar el intercambio de información y otorgando comportamiento y razonamiento en función del contexto. Esta propuesta de trabajo establece los lineamientos a seguir para la exploración de las sinergias existentes entre las nuevas tecnologías asociadas a la simulación de personajes conversacionales virtuales dentro de un entorno de Realidad Virtual inmersiva.Eje: Computación Gráfica, Imágenes y VisualizaciónRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI