3,822 research outputs found
Mode-Wise Entanglement of Gaussian States
We address the decomposition of a multi-mode pure Gaussian state with respect
to a bi-partite division of the modes. For any such division the state can
always be expressed as a product state involving entangled two-mode squeezed
states and single mode local states at each side. The character of entanglement
of the state can therefore be understood modewise; that is, a given mode on one
side is entangled with only one corresponding mode of the other, and therefore
the total bi-partite entanglement is the sum of the modewise entanglement. This
decomposition is generally not applicable to all mixed Gaussian states.
However, the result can be extended to a special family of "isotropic" states,
characterized by a phase space covariance matrix with a completely degenerate
symplectic spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex4. Replaced with revised version with reference added
to a previous related paper. Minor typographical errors correcte
How Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Differ in Their Use of Neuroscience Evidence
Much of the public debate surrounding the intersection of neuroscience and criminal law is based on assumptions about how prosecutors and defense attorneys differ in their use of neuroscience evidence. For example, according to some commentators, the defenseâs use of neuroscience evidence will abdicate criminals of all responsibility for their offenses. In contrast, the prosecutionâs use of that same evidence will unfairly punish the most vulnerable defendants as unfixable future dangers to society. This âdouble- edged swordâ view of neuroscience evidence is important for flagging concerns about the lawâs construction of criminal responsibility and punishment: it demonstrates that the same information about the defendant can either be mitigating or aggravating depending on who is raising it. Yet empirical assessments of legal decisions reveal a far more nuanced reality, showing that public beliefs about the impact of neuroscience on the criminal law can often be wrong. This Article takes an evidence-based and multidisciplinary approach to examining how courts respond to neuroscience evidence in capital cases when the defense presents it to argue that the defendantâs mental state at the time of the crime was below the given legal requisite due to some neurologic or cognitive deficiency
A High-Resolution Spectrum of the Extremely Metal-Rich Bulge G-Dwarf OGLE-2006-BLG-265
We present an R=45,000 Keck spectrum of the microlensed Galactic bulge
G-dwarf OGLE-2006-BLG-265, which has a high (~60) signal-to-noise ratio despite
its short (15 min) exposure time because the source was magnified by A~135.
While it is very metal-rich ([Fe/H]=0.56), the higher temperature of this star
compared with the luminous red giants usually measured in the bulge gives its
spectrum many unblended atomic lines. We measure the abundances of 17 elements,
including the first abundances for S and Cu in a bulge star. The [alpha/Fe]
ratios are subsolar, while the odd-Z elements are slightly supersolar, trends
that are also seen in the more metal-rich stars in the bulge and the local
Galactic disk. Because the star is a dwarf, the [O/Fe], [Na/Fe], and [Al/Fe]
ratios cannot be attributed to internal mixing, as is sometimes claimed for
giants. Similar high-resolution spectra could be obtained for about a dozen
bulge dwarf stars per year by means of well-designed target-of-opportunity
observations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ApJ Letter
Vacuum orbit and spontaneous symmetry breaking in hyperbolic sigma models
We present a detailed study of quantized noncompact, nonlinear SO(1,N)
sigma-models in arbitrary space-time dimensions D \geq 2, with the focus on
issues of spontaneous symmetry breaking of boost and rotation elements of the
symmetry group. The models are defined on a lattice both in terms of a transfer
matrix and by an appropriately gauge-fixed Euclidean functional integral. The
main results in all dimensions \geq 2 are: (i) On a finite lattice the systems
have infinitely many nonnormalizable ground states transforming irreducibly
under a nontrivial representation of SO(1,N); (ii) the SO(1,N) symmetry is
spontaneously broken. For D =2 this shows that the systems evade the
Mermin-Wagner theorem. In this case in addition: (iii) Ward identities for the
Noether currents are derived to verify numerically the absence of explicit
symmetry breaking; (iv) numerical results are presented for the two-point
functions of the spin field and the Noether current as well as a new order
parameter; (v) in a large N saddle-point analysis the dynamically generated
squared mass is found to be negative and of order 1/(V \ln V) in the volume,
the 0-component of the spin field diverges as \sqrt{\ln V}, while SO(1,N)
invariant quantities remain finite.Comment: 60 pages, 12 Figures, AMS-Latex; v2: results on vacuum orbit and
spontaneous symmetry breaking extended to all dimension
Molecular Characteristics of Extraintestinal Pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and Multidrug Resistant E. coli Isolated from Healthy Dogs in Spain. Whole Genome Sequencing of Canine ST372 Isolates and Comparison with Human Isolates Causing Extraintestinal Infections
Under a one health perspective and the worldwide antimicrobial resistance concern, we investigated extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli from 197 isolates recovered from healthy dogs in Spain between 2013 and 2017. A total of 91 (46.2%) isolates were molecularly classified as ExPEC and/or UPEC, including 50 clones, among which (i) four clones were dominant (B2-CH14-180-ST127, B2-CH52-14-ST141, B2-CH103-9-ST372 and F-CH4-58-ST648) and (ii) 15 had been identified among isolates causing extraintestinal infections in Spanish and French humans in 2015 and 2016. A total of 28 (14.2%) isolates were classified as MDR, associated with B1, D, and E phylogroups, and included 24 clones, of which eight had also been identified among the human clinical isolates. We selected 23 ST372 strains, 21 from healthy dogs, and two from human clinical isolates for whole genome sequencing and built an SNP-tree with these 23 genomes and 174 genomes (128 from canine strains and 46 from human strains) obtained from public databases. These 197 genomes were segregated into six clusters. Cluster 1 comprised 74.6% of the strain genomes, mostly composed of canine strain genomes (p < 0.00001). Clusters 4 and 6 also included canine strain genomes, while clusters 2, 3, and 5 were significantly associated with human strain genomes. Finding several common clones and clone-related serotypes in dogs and humans suggests a potentially bidirectional clone transfer that argues for the one health perspective
Survey strategy optimization for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope
In recent years there have been significant improvements in the sensitivity
and the angular resolution of the instruments dedicated to the observation of
the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). ACTPol is the first polarization
receiver for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and is observing the CMB sky
with arcmin resolution over about 2000 sq. deg. Its upgrade, Advanced ACTPol
(AdvACT), will observe the CMB in five frequency bands and over a larger area
of the sky. We describe the optimization and implementation of the ACTPol and
AdvACT surveys. The selection of the observed fields is driven mainly by the
science goals, that is, small angular scale CMB measurements, B-mode
measurements and cross-correlation studies. For the ACTPol survey we have
observed patches of the southern galactic sky with low galactic foreground
emissions which were also chosen to maximize the overlap with several galaxy
surveys to allow unique cross-correlation studies. A wider field in the
northern galactic cap ensured significant additional overlap with the BOSS
spectroscopic survey. The exact shapes and footprints of the fields were
optimized to achieve uniform coverage and to obtain cross-linked maps by
observing the fields with different scan directions. We have maximized the
efficiency of the survey by implementing a close to 24 hour observing strategy,
switching between daytime and nighttime observing plans and minimizing the
telescope idle time. We describe the challenges represented by the survey
optimization for the significantly wider area observed by AdvACT, which will
observe roughly half of the low-foreground sky. The survey strategies described
here may prove useful for planning future ground-based CMB surveys, such as the
Simons Observatory and CMB Stage IV surveys.Comment: 14 Pages, 9 Figures, 4 Table
An abundance study of red-giant-branch stars in the Hercules dwarf spheroidal galaxy
Using high-resolution spectroscopy, we provide a determination of [Fe/H] and
[Ca/H] for confirmed red-giant branch member stars of the Hercules dwarf
spheroidal galaxy. Based on this we explore the ages of the prevailing stellar
populations in Hercules, and the enrichment history from supernovae.
Additionally, we provide a new simple metallicity calibration for Stromgren
photometry for metal-poor, red giant branch stars. We find that the red-giant
branch stars of the Hercules dSph galaxy are more metal-poor than estimated in
our previous study that was based on photometry alone. Additionally, we find an
abundance trend such that [Ca/Fe] is higher for more metal-poor stars, and
lower for more metal-rich stars, with a spread of about 0.8 dex. The [Ca/Fe]
trend suggests an early rapid chemical enrichment through supernovae of type
II, followed by a phase of slow star formation dominated by enrichment through
supernovae of type Ia. A comparison with isochrones indicates that the red
giants in Hercules are older than 10 Gyr.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Single cell RNA sequencing of human FAPs reveals different functional stages in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Copyright \ua9 2024 Fern\ue1ndez-Sim\uf3n, Pi\uf1ol-Jurado, Gokul-Nath, Unsworth, Alonso-P\ue9rez, Schiava, Nascimento, Tasca, Queen, Cox, Suarez-Calvet and D\uedaz-Manera.Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease produced by mutations in the dystrophin gene characterized by early onset muscle weakness leading to severe and irreversible disability. Muscle degeneration involves a complex interplay between multiple cell lineages spatially located within areas of damage, termed the degenerative niche, including inflammatory cells, satellite cells (SCs) and fibro-adipogenic precursor cells (FAPs). FAPs are mesenchymal stem cell which have a pivotal role in muscle homeostasis as they can either promote muscle regeneration or contribute to muscle degeneration by expanding fibrotic and fatty tissue. Although it has been described that FAPs could have a different behavior in DMD patients than in healthy controls, the molecular pathways regulating their function as well as their gene expression profile are unknown. Methods: We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) with 10X Genomics and Illumina technology to elucidate the differences in the transcriptional profile of isolated FAPs from healthy and DMD patients. Results: Gene signatures in FAPs from both groups revealed transcriptional differences. Seurat analysis categorized cell clusters as proliferative FAPs, regulatory FAPs, inflammatory FAPs, and myofibroblasts. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between healthy and DMD FAPs included upregulated genes CHI3L1, EFEMP1, MFAP5, and TGFBR2 in DMD. Functional analysis highlighted distinctions in system development, wound healing, and cytoskeletal organization in control FAPs, while extracellular organization, degradation, and collagen degradation were upregulated in DMD FAPs. Validation of DEGs in additional samples (n = 9) using qPCR reinforced the specific impact of pathological settings on FAP heterogeneity, reflecting their distinct contribution to fibro or fatty degeneration in vivo. Conclusion: Using the single-cell RNA seq from human samples provide new opportunities to study cellular coordination to further understand the regulation of muscle homeostasis and degeneration that occurs in muscular dystrophies
Roles and practices of general practitioners and psychiatrists in management of depression in the community
BACKGROUND: Little is known about depressed patients' profiles and how they are managed. The aim of the study is to compare GPs and psychiatrists for 1°) sociodemographic and clinical profile of their patients considered as depressed 2°) patterns of care provision. METHODS: The study design is an observational cross-sectional study on a random sample of GPs and psychiatrists working in France. Consecutive inclusion of patients seen in consultation considered as depressed by the physician. GPs enrolled 6,104 and psychiatrists 1,433 patients. Data collected: sociodemographics, psychiatric profile, environmental risk factors of depression and treatment. All clinical data were collected by participating physicians; there was no direct independent clinical assessment of patients to check the diagnosis of depressive disorder. RESULTS: Compared to patients identified as depressed by GPs, those identified by psychiatrists were younger, more often urban (10.5% v 5.4% â OR = 2.4), educated (42.4% v 25.4% â OR = 3.9), met DSM-IV criteria for depression (94.6% v 85.6% â OR = 2.9), had been hospitalized for depression (26.1% v 15.6% â OR = 2.0) and were younger at onset of depressive problems (all adjusted p < .001). No difference was found for psychiatric and somatic comorbidity, suicide attempt and severity of current depression. Compared to GPs, psychiatrists more often prescribed tricyclics and very novel antidepressants (7.8% v 2.3% OR = 5.0 and 6.8% v 3.0% OR = 3.8) with longer duration of antidepressant treatment. GPs' patients received more "non-conventional" treatment (8.8% v 2.4% OR = 0.3) and less psychotherapy (72.2% v 89.1% OR = 3.1) (all adjusted p < .001). CONCLUSION: Differences between patients mainly concerned educational level and area of residence with few differences regarding clinical profile. Differences between practices of GPs and psychiatrists appear to reflect more the organization of the French care system than the competence of providers
Order by disorder and spiral spin liquid in frustrated diamond lattice antiferromagnets
Frustration refers to competition between different interactions that cannot
be simultaneously satisfied, a familiar feature in many magnetic solids. Strong
frustration results in highly degenerate ground states, and a large suppression
of ordering by fluctuations. Key challenges in frustrated magnetism are
characterizing the fluctuating spin-liquid regime and determining the mechanism
of eventual order at lower temperature. Here, we study a model of a diamond
lattice antiferromagnet appropriate for numerous spinel materials. With
sufficiently strong frustration a massive ground state degeneracy develops
amongst spirals whose propagation wavevectors reside on a continuous
two-dimensional ``spiral surface'' in momentum space. We argue that an
important ordering mechanism is entropic splitting of the degenerate ground
states, an elusive phenomena called order-by-disorder. A broad ``spiral
spin-liquid'' regime emerges at higher temperatures, where the underlying
spiral surface can be directly revealed via spin correlations. We discuss the
agreement between these predictions and the well characterized spinel MnSc2S4
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