576 research outputs found

    On the Nonlocality of the Quantum Channel in the Standard Teleportation Protocol

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    By exhibiting a violation of a novel form of the Bell-CHSH inequality, Zukowski has recently established that the quantum correlations exploited in the standard perfect teleportation protocol cannot be recovered by any local hidden variables model. Allowing the quantum channel state in the protocol to be given by any density operator of two spin-1/2 particles, we show that a violation of a generalized form of Zukowski's teleportation inequality can only occur if the channel state, considered by itself, violates a Bell-CHSH inequality. On the other hand, although it is sufficient for a teleportation process to have a nonclassical fidelity-defined as a fidelity exceeding 2/3-that the channel state employed violate a Bell-CHSH inequality, we show that such a violation does not imply a violation of Zukowski's teleportation inequality or any of its generalizations. The implication does hold, however, if the fidelity of the teleportation exceeds 2/3(1+1/22).902/3(1+1/2\sqrt{2})\approx .90, suggesting the existence of a regime of nonclassical values of the fidelity, less than .90, for which the standard teleportation protocol can be modelled by local hidden variables.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, submitted to PR

    Developing a 21st Century Aerospace Workforce

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    White Paper Version 2Across the industry there are leaders at every level who are being challenged to think and act in new ways. The same is true for this commission. This can't be a "business as usual" review of the industry's status. As the first such government commission in this new century we are faced with a unique opportunity and a unique set of challenges. In this paper we provide analysis and recommendations on human capital issues that are simultaneously designed to be practical and visionary -- aimed to address root causes, not symptoms

    Durrington Walls to West Amesbury by way of Stonehenge: a major transformation of the Holocene landscape

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    A new sequence of Holocene landscape change has been discovered through an investigation of sediment sequences, palaeosols, pollen and molluscan data discovered during the Stonehenge Riverside Project. The early post-glacial vegetational succession in the Avon valley at Durrington Walls was apparently slow and partial, with intermittent woodland modification and the opening-up of this landscape in the later Mesolithic and earlier Neolithic, though a strong element of pine lingered into the third millennium BC. There appears to have been a major hiatus around 2900 cal BC, coincident with the beginnings of demonstrable human activities at Durrington Walls, but slightly after activity started at Stonehenge. This was reflected in episodic increases in channel sedimentation and tree and shrub clearance, leading to a more open downland, with greater indications of anthropogenic activity, and an increasingly wet floodplain with sedges and alder along the river’s edge. Nonetheless, a localized woodland cover remained in the vicinity of DurringtonWalls throughout the third and second millennia BC, perhaps on the higher parts of the downs, while stable grassland, with rendzina soils, predominated on the downland slopes, and alder–hazel carr woodland and sedges continued to fringe the wet floodplain. This evidence is strongly indicative of a stable and managed landscape in Neolithic and Bronze Age times. It is not until c 800–500 cal BC that this landscape was completely cleared, except for the marshy-sedge fringe of the floodplain, and that colluvial sedimentation began in earnest associated with increased arable agriculture, a situation that continued through Roman and historic times

    ENERGETICS OF LOWER EXTREMITY MOVEMENTS PREDICTED USING AN EMG-DRIVEN MUSCLE MODEL

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    An EMG-driven muscle model is described and applied to the analysis of a loaded squat movement, vertical jumping performance, and walking, jogging and running gait. The main findings are: (i) for the up phase of the loaded squat the monoarticular hip and knee extensors account for approximately 80% of the work done by the muscle tendon complexes; (ii) differences in movement amplitude of the whole body centre of gravity between the countermovement jump and the squat jump may be explained by differences in muscle-tendon dynamics; and (iii) the amount of mechanical energy transferred between joints via biarticular muscles during the support phase of gait increases as a function of gait speed

    Maps & Apps: Mobile Media Marketing Education for Food and Farm Entrepreneurs

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    With an increasing number of consumers using smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices to find and interact with local businesses, Ohio State University Extension developed a new curriculum aimed at improving market access for food and farm entrepreneurs. The literature review, curriculum framework, and lessons learned shared in this article can be used by Extension professionals to improve their own online presence, as well as by educators working with entrepreneurs and community leaders

    Cognitive behavioural therapy and short-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy versus a brief psychosocial intervention in adolescents with unipolar major depressive disorder (IMPACT): a multicentre, pragmatic, observer-blind, randomised controlled superiority trial.

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    BACKGROUND\textbf{BACKGROUND}: Psychological treatments for adolescents with unipolar major depressive disorder are associated with diagnostic remission within 28 weeks in 65-70% of patients. We aimed to assess the medium-term effects and costs of psychological therapies on maintenance of reduced depression symptoms 12 months after treatment. METHODS\textbf{METHODS}: We did this multicentre, pragmatic, observer-blind, randomised controlled superiority trial (IMPACT) at 15 National Health Service child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) clinics in three regions in England. Adolescent patients (aged 11-17 years) with a diagnosis of DSM IV major depressive disorder were randomly assigned (1:1:1), via a web-based randomisation service, to receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or short-term psychoanalytical therapy versus a reference brief psychological intervention. Randomisation was stochastically minimised by age, sex, self-reported depression sum score, and region. Patients and clinicians were aware of group allocation, but allocation was concealed from outcome assessors. Patients were followed up and reassessed at weeks 6, 12, 36, 52, and 86 post-randomisation. The primary outcome was self-reported depression symptoms at weeks 36, 52, and 86, as measured with the self-reported Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ). Because our aim was to compare the two psychological therapies with the brief psychosocial intervention, we first established whether CBT was inferior to short-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy for the same outcome. Primary analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials, number ISRCTN83033550. FINDINGS\textbf{FINDINGS}: Between June 29, 2010, and Jan 17, 2013, we randomly assigned 470 patients to receive the brief psychosocial intervention (n=158), CBT (n=155), or short-term psychoanalytical therapy (n=157); 465 patients comprised the intention-to-treat population. 392 (84%) patients had available data for primary analysis by the end of follow-up. Treatment fidelity and differentiation were established between the three interventions. The median number of treatment sessions differed significantly between patients in the brief psychosocial intervention group (n=6 [IQR 4-11]), CBT group (n=9 [5-14]), and short-term psychoanalytical therapy group (n=11 [5-23]; p<0·0001), but there was no difference between groups in the average duration of treatment (27·5 [SD 21·5], 24·9 [17·7], 27·9 [16·8] weeks, respectively; Kruskal-Wallis p=0·238). Self-reported depression symptoms did not differ significantly between patients given CBT and those given short-term psychoanalytical therapy at weeks 36 (treatment effect 0·179, 95% CI -3·731 to 4·088; p=0·929), 52 (0·307, -3·161 to 3·774; p=0·862), or 86 (0·578, -2·948 to 4·104; p=0·748). These two psychological treatments had no superiority effect compared with brief psychosocial intervention at weeks 36 (treatment effect -3·234, 95% CI -6·611 to 0·143; p=0·061), 52 (-2·806, -5·790 to 0·177; p=0·065), or 86 (-1·898, -4·922 to 1·126; p=0·219). Physical adverse events (self-reported breathing problems, sleep disturbances, drowsiness or tiredness, nausea, sweating, and being restless or overactive) did not differ between the groups. Total costs of the trial interventions did not differ significantly between treatment groups. INTERPRETATION\textbf{INTERPRETATION}: We found no evidence for the superiority of CBT or short-term psychoanalytical therapy compared with a brief psychosocial intervention in maintenance of reduced depression symptoms 12 months after treatment. Short-term psychoanalytical therapy was as effective as CBT and, together with brief psychosocial intervention, offers additional patient choice for psychological therapy, alongside CBT, for adolescents with moderate to severe depression who are attending routine specialist CAMHS clinics.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme, and the Department of Health

    Recent decline in body condition of departing Common Guillemots Uria aalge at Hornøya, North Norway

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    Since 1980, there has been large variation and a recent decline in the mass and body condition of Common Guillemot Uria aalge chicks departing from the nest site in NE Norway. This may be related to deterioration in the feeding conditions off the colony and is alarming considering the critically endangered status of the species in Norway. To measure body condition, earlier studies have caught, weighed and measured guillemot chicks either while still on the breeding site or as they leave the colony. This study emphasises the importance of choosing and defining which method to use as they give different results

    IL-7 Receptor Mutations and Steroid Resistance in Pediatric T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Genome Sequencing Study

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    Background: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. T cell ALL (T-ALL) represents about 15% of pediatric ALL cases and is considered a high-risk disease. T-ALL is often associated with resistance to treatment, including steroids, which are currently the cornerstone for treating ALL; moreover, initial steroid response strongly predicts survival and cure. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying steroid resistance in T-ALL patients are poorly understood. In this study, we combined various genomic datasets in order to identify candidate genetic mechanisms underlying steroid resistance in children undergoing T-ALL treatment. Methods and Findings: We performed whole genome sequencing on paired pre-treatment (diagnostic) and post-treatment (remission) samples from 13 patients, and targeted exome sequencing of pre-treatment samples from 69 additional T-ALL patients. We then integrated mutation data with copy number data for 151 mutated genes, and this integrated dataset was tested for associations of mutations with clinical outcomes and in vitro drug response. Our analysis revealed that mutations in JAK1 and KRAS, two genes encoding components of the interleukin 7 receptor (IL7R) signaling pathway, were associated with steroid resistance and poor outcome. We then sequenced JAK1, KRAS, and other genes in this pathway, including IL7R, JAK3, NF1, NRAS, and AKT, in these 69 T-ALL patients and a further 77 T-ALL patients. We identified mutations in 32% (47/146) of patients, the majority of whom had a specific T-ALL subtype (early thymic progenitor ALL or TLX). Based on the outcomes of these patients and their prednisolone responsiveness measured in vitro, we then confirmed that these mutations were associated with both steroid resistance and poor outcome. To explore how these mutations in IL7R signaling pathway genes cause steroid resistance and subsequent poor outcome, we expressed wild-type and mutant IL7R signaling molecules in two steroid-sensitive T-ALL cell lines (SUPT1 and P12 Ichikawa cells) using inducible lentiviral expression constructs. We found that expressing mutant IL7R, JAK1, or NRAS, or wild-type NRAS or AKT, specifically induced steroid resistance without affecting sensitivity to vincristine or L-asparaginase. In contrast, wild-type IL7R, JAK1, and JAK3, as well as mutant JAK3 and mutant AKT, had no effect. We then performed a functional study to examine the mechanisms underlying steroid resistance and found that, rather than changing the steroid receptor’s ability to activate downstream targets, steroid resistance was associated with strong activation of MEK-ERK and AKT, downstream components of the IL7R signaling pathway, thereby inducing a robust antiapoptotic response by upregulating MCL1 and BCLXL expression. Both the MEK-ERK and AKT pathways also inactivate BIM, an essential molecule for steroid-induced cell death, and inhibit GSK3B, an important regulator of proapoptotic BIM. Importantly, treating our cell lines with IL7R signaling inhibitors restored steroid sensitivity. To address clinical relevance, we treated primary T-ALL cells obtained from 11 patients with steroids either alone or in combination with IL7R signaling inhibitors; we found that including a MEK, AKT, mTOR, or dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor strongly increased steroid-induced cell death. Therefore, combining these inhibitors with steroid treatment may enhance steroid sensitivity in pat

    Modelling and mapping of exceedance of critical loads and critical levels for acidification and eutrophication in the UK 2013-2016. Final report

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    This report covers the work of the original contract (2013-15) and the following one-year extension (2015-16). The overall purpose of this project was to maintain, and where appropriate update, the UK critical loads database, and to provide estimates of critical load and critical level exceedance based on current pollutant deposition or concentrations, and scenarios for the future. The exceedance results were used to inform policy makers on the areas of sensitive habitats and designated sites potentially at risk from air pollution and were updated annually to provide a UK indicator of the impacts of air pollution on ecosystems. The project also supported the UK National Focal Centre (NFC) for critical loads modelling and mapping. The 1-year extension to this contract additionally included the biodiversity modelling required to enable the UK NFC to begin work in preparation for responding to the 2015-17 “Call for Data” under the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP)

    Quantum Communication

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    Quantum communication, and indeed quantum information in general, has changed the way we think about quantum physics. In 1984 and 1991, the first protocol for quantum cryptography and the first application of quantum non-locality, respectively, attracted a diverse field of researchers in theoretical and experimental physics, mathematics and computer science. Since then we have seen a fundamental shift in how we understand information when it is encoded in quantum systems. We review the current state of research and future directions in this new field of science with special emphasis on quantum key distribution and quantum networks.Comment: Submitted version, 8 pg (2 cols) 5 fig
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