Engineering four-qubit fuel states for protecting quantum thermalization machine from decoherence

Decoherence is a major issue in quantum information processing, degrading the performance of tasks or even precluding them. Quantum error-correcting codes, creating decoherence-free subspaces, and the quantum Zeno effect are among the major means for protecting quantum systems from decoherence. Increasing the number of qubits of a quantum system to be utilized in a quantum information task as a resource expands the quantum state space. This creates the opportunity to engineer the quantum state of the system in a way that improves the performance of the task and even to protect the system against decoherence. Here, we consider a quantum thermalization machine and four-qubit atomic states as its resource. Taking into account the realistic conditions such as cavity loss and atomic decoherence due to ambient temperature, we design a quantum state for the atomic resource as a classical mixture of Dicke and W states. We show that using the mixture probability as the control parameter, the negative effects of the inevitable decoherence on the machine performance almost vanish. Our work paves the way for optimizing resource systems consisting of a higher number of atoms

Brand advertising competition across economic cycles

This study investigates how brands’ responses to competitors’ advertising actions change over the business cycle. In an empirical analysis of advertising activity by 105 brands in six consumer packaged goods categories over 10 years in a market that experienced severe economic swings, we show that managers become more aggressive in contractions. Brands respond not only more often to competitors’ advertising but also more intensely. Different brands react in contractions. Brand leaders respond less often and intensely in bad times; by contrast, premium-tier brands seem to avoid competition in good times but aggressively defend their position in bad times, especially against cheaper competitors, which are more popular in contractions. We corroborate the validity of our findings through in-depth interviews with executives and introduce two useful metrics, aggressivity and receptivity, to map changes in brand competition in an industry when economic conditions change. Collectively, the findings show how managers can better anticipate competitive advertising reactions in good and bad economic times

Unlocking the potential of V2O5 decorated on crossed g-C3N4 monolayers derived from synergistic bio-transformation of ZnMn2O4 for antibiotic photodegradation

Although the physiochemical merits of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts have garnered increasing interest in the fields of energy and environmental science, insufficient layer detachment has created a gap between fundamental research and practical applications. To unlock the intrinsic potential of g-C3N4, a bio-transformation of the ZnMn2O4 ((6)ZM) gel was employed to introduce highly-ordered modulation caused by steric hindrance during melamine pyrolysis. Phytomediated (6)ZM reorganized traditional carbon nitride into crossed C3N4 (CCN) monolayers, simultaneously engineering an auspicious Z-schematic system ((6)ZM/CCN). Phytoconverted (6)ZM retained the crystalline-amorphous configuration for facile charge transfer and provided a large surface area (288 m2 g−1) that was 2.3 times greater than that of thermally prepared g-C3N4 (TCN) monolayers. Additionally, (6)ZM exhibited a quantum confinement-promoted reduction capability and induced bulging on CCN monolayers to fully utilize photons through multilevel light scattering and reflection. Specific sequential two-step calcination of (6)ZM/CCN, furnishing affordable dual Z-schematic VO-(6)ZM/CCN, was specifically developed to introduce a third component into the structure without incurring additional operational cost or complexity. V2O5 (VO) nanoparticles were thermally anchored on (6)ZM/CCN to achieve highly efficient levofloxacin (LFC) detoxification under visible-light irradiation. After optimizing all effective synthesis parameters and experimental variables, VO-(6)ZM/CCN exhibited unsurpassed activity, achieving complete LFC photodegradation (50 mg L−1) within 120 min, which was 10.7, 8.7, and 24.7 times more kinetically efficient than the photodegradations achieved by (6)ZM, TCN, and VO, respectively. The outstanding performance of VO-(6)ZM/CCN was evident through complete mineralization of LFC, excellent decontamination of pharmaceutical wastewater within 300 min, resistance to performance deterioration during successive cycling runs, and the corresponding postcharacterization. The combination of simultaneous Z-scheme formation with photogenic (6)ZM provides a promising strategy to bridge the gap between experimental investigations and industrial applications of g-C3N

Investigation of controlled salmeterol xinafoate and fluticasone propionate release from double molecular imprinted nanoparticles

Salmeterol xinafoate (SAM) and fluticasone propionate (FLU) are one of the drug combinations used together in the treatment of lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study is to investigate the usability of novel dual molecular imprinted nanoparticles (poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-N-methacryloyl-(L)-alanine-N-methacryloyl-(L)-histidine) [p(HEMA-MAAL-MAH)], abbr. DMIPNPs) as a controlled drug release systems. In this study, SAM and FLU drugs were chosen as model drugs because they are used in the treatment of these diseases. DMIPNPs were prepared by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). In in vitro drug release experiments, drug release conditions were optimized. SAM and FLU release from DMIPNPs experiments were also performed in the simulated lung fluid (SLF). The amount of released SAM and FLU were found as 4.79 and 5.68 mg/g in the SLF medium at the end of 48 h, respectively. The release kinetics of SAM and FLU from DMIPNPs were calculated in the SLF medium. The release of SAM and FLU was determined to be compatible with the Higuchi release models. According to these results, these DMIPNPs, dual-template molecular imprinted nanoparticles with dual monomers, are promising materials that can be used in the controlled release of two different drugs

Backlash towards male versus female leaders' interpersonal emotion management strategy use: the role of followers' gender-based leadership stereotypes

Research on the backlash effect predominantly investigated penalties men and women incurred when they violate gender norms in the domain of achievement-oriented aggressiveness. We investigated backlash reactions towards female versus male leaders' attempts to manage follower emotions using one of two gender-stereotypic interpersonal emotion management strategies, cognitive change or expression suppression, in a 2×2 vignette experiment in which undergraduate students as participants acted as followers (N = 206). We hypothesized that followers high in explicit or implicit prejudice towards female leadership would be motivated to show backlash in the form of negative attitudes and anger when female leaders use an expression suppression strategy and when male leaders use a cognitive change strategy, violating gender norms. We also explored the role of followers' gender as a boundary condition of backlash reactions towards leaders of the same versus opposite sex. Male participants with negative explicit attitudes towards women leaders in general expressed higher levels of anger towards a female leader who utilized a suppression strategy. Female participants holding implicit stereotypes reported negative attitudes for both female and male leaders who utilized a gender-incongruent emotion management strategy. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and research on the backlash effect

Fatigue performance of metal additive manufacturing: a comprehensive overview

Fatigue life assessment of metal additive manufacturing (AM) products has remained challenging due to the uncertainty of as–built defects, heterogeneity of the microstructure, and residual stress. In the past few years, many works have been conducted to develop models in order to predict fatigue life of metal AM samples by considering the existence of AM inherent defects. This review paper addresses the main issues regarding fatigue assessment of metal AM parts by considering the effect of defects and post processing strategies. Mechanisms that are contributing to the failure of metal AM samples are categorized and discussed in detail. Several modelling approaches exist in the case of fatigue life prediction. The common fatigue models that are compatible with AM properties are thoroughly explained by discussing the previous works and highlighting their major conclusions. In addition, the use of machine learning is identified as the future of metal AM fatigue life assessment due to their high performance. The main challenge of today's fatigue and fracture community was identified as the fatigue life estimation of complex geometries with the presence of different types of defects, anisotropic microstructure, and complex state of residual stress. This work proposes the available approaches to tackle this challenge

Preventing tacit collusion in deregulated electricity markets through trilevel optimization

Deregulation in electricity markets aims to promote the market competition in order to minimize the cost of electricity to the public. Among the many threats that may lead to inflated electricity prices, tacit collusion is challenging to deal with. Tacit collusion, which may not be detected by the system operators easily, is usually considered as an outcome of the strategic behaviour of the electricity generators in a repeated game under the existence of certain market conditions and settings of the transmission network. We present a trilevel optimization problem which intertwines the decisions of agents in the market; a solution to this problem aims to prevent potential collusion by modifying the transmission network. Due to intractibility of the resulting trilevel problem formulation, an iterative algorithm solving a restricted version of the original trilevel problem in each iteration is proposed. Computational results show that it is possible to attain a collusive-free environment in an oligopolistic market with an efficient algorithm. We also investigate the effect of an intuitive compound objective function and problem attributes that affect the computational difficulty and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Ex ante transparency and corruption by networks

This paper explains the structure of corruption networks as response to ex ante transparency, defined as visibility of authorities whose cooperation clients may need, in due course, to execute corrupt transactions. It also characterizes the optimal transparency policy given the network response, as a function of connection costs, sanctions, the corruption surplus and the detection probability (hence the anti-corruption budget and ex post transparency). Corruption chains may emerge in equilibrium if authority is expected to be shared by multiple offices, where the office with higher solo assignment probability becomes the intermediary. Otherwise, clients penetrate the bureaucracy by inducing the star network, or contend with single connection. I show that the optimal policy always assigns one office, sometimes alone, sometimes jointly with others. It is often possible to deter corruption networks through an ex ante transparent policy that parcels out authority to multiple offices with probability 1—a common feature of many US bureaucracies. Decomposing transparency into its components reveals nuances in the transparency–corruption relationship, suggesting that ex ante transparency is instrumental except in environments in which anti-corruption enforcement is extremely effective or extremely ineffective

Charismatic leadership in work organizations: an evaluation for energy industry

Charismatic leadership is a widespread application in organizational research and practice. Organizations favor charismatic leaders who are capable of motivating employees to achieve outstanding results. Scholars proposed various, often conflicting definitions of charismatic leadership. These include charisma as (a) an attribution by the followers to their leaders, (b) as an indicator of leader-follower relations, or (c) as a communication strategy composed of verbal and nonverbal tactics. Charismatic communication, the most recent approach, operationalizes charisma as a distinct measurable construct, which enhances research and construct validity. Charismatic communication is a trainable leadership skill that empowers leaders to motivate and inspire followers to achieve organizational objectives. However, defining charisma as a communication strategy includes theoretical and practical limitations. It deviates from the social/cultural anthropology approach, proposing that individuals earn charisma via overcoming hardships, in which communication skills are secondary. Further, the anthropological view indicates that charismatics primarily seek to respond to the needs of the members of their communities. Finally, overreliance on individual communication strategy as the primary source of influence runs risks of superficial leadership practices and development. To aid cross-disciplinary consistency and to enhance meritocracy in leadership, this chapter introduces the role of earned charisma. Earned charisma refers to the psychological legitimacy to influence others following the demonstration of outstanding achievement. Drawing from social identity theory, we further propose that charismatic leaders possess a unique capacity/ability to discern the needs of their followers by addressing the struggling follower prototype in need of a guider. The present chapter proposes a charismatic leadership model within work organizations focusing on earned charisma as a focal predictor, the leaders’ capacity to address the struggling follower prototype as a moderator of earned charismatic effects. Charismatic communication is an auxiliary predictor and moderator. Charismatic attributions and relations are used as outcome variables

Writing to exist: Mes'adet Bedirhan's pleas for Ottoman women

Mes’adet Bedirhan was an eloquent author who wrote for the pioneer Ottoman feminist journal called Kadınlar Dünyası (Women’s World) published in Istanbul between 1913 and 1921. She wrote multiple pieces in the Ottoman Turkish and French editions of the journal in 1913–1914. Although very few traces of her life story exist in the historical accounts of the era, she left a mark in this world through her own act of writing. This article not only generates new information about her life but also endeavors to reflect on the overall content of her essays. Through these essays, she showed Ottoman women that they can change their destiny once they discovered their innate strength. She not only underlined women’s agency in contesting their unequal position in the society but also criticized her feminist sisters in the west for representing the Ottoman women as silent and submissive objects of pleasure