Operator-Schmidt decompositions and the Fourier transform, with applications to the operator-Schmidt numbers of unitaries

The operator-Schmidt decomposition is useful in quantum information theory for quantifying the nonlocality of bipartite unitary operations. We construct a family of unitary operators on C^n tensor C^n whose operator-Schmidt decompositions are computed using the discrete Fourier transform. As a corollary, we produce unitaries on C^3 tensor C^3 with operator-Schmidt number S for every S in {1,...,9}. This corollary was unexpected, since it contradicted reasonable conjectures of Nielsen et al [Phys. Rev. A 67 (2003) 052301] based on intuition from a striking result in the two-qubit case. By the results of Dur, Vidal, and Cirac [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89 (2002) 057901 quant-ph/0112124], who also considered the two-qubit case, our result implies that there are nine equivalence classes of unitaries on C^3 tensor C^3 which are probabilistically interconvertible by (stochastic) local operations and classical communication. As another corollary, a prescription is produced for constructing maximally-entangled operators from biunimodular functions. Reversing tact, we state a generalized operator-Schmidt decomposition of the quantum Fourier transform considered as an operator C^M_1 tensor C^M_2 --> C^N_1 tensor C^N_2, with M_1 x M_2 = N_1 x N_2. This decomposition shows (by Nielsen's bound) that the communication cost of the QFT remains maximal when a net transfer of qudits is permitted. In an appendix, a canonical procedure is given for removing basis-dependence for results and proofs depending on the "magic basis" introduced in [S. Hill and W. Wootters, "Entanglement of a pair of quantum bits," Phys Rev. Lett 78 (1997) 5022-5025, quant-ph/9703041 (and quant-ph/9709029)].Comment: More formal version of my talk at the Simons Conference on Quantum and Reversible Computation at Stony Brook May 31, 2003. The talk slides and audio are available at http://www.physics.sunysb.edu/itp/conf/simons-qcomputation.html. Fixed typos and minor cosmetic

Specific in vivo deletion of B-cell subpopulations expressing human immunoglobulins by the B-cell superantigen protein L

Some pathogens have evolved to produce proteins, called B-cell superantigens, that can interact with human immunoglobulin variable regions, independently of the combining site, and activate B lymphocytes that express the target immunoglobulins. However, the in vivo consequences of these interactions on human B-cell numbers and function are largely unknown. Using transgenic mice expressing fully human immunoglobulins, we studied the consequences of in vivo exposure of protein L of Peptostreptococcus magnus with human immunoglobulins. In the mature pool of B cells, protein L exposure resulted in a specific reduction of splenic marginal-zone B cells and peritoneal B-1 cells. Splenic B cells exhibited a skewed light-chain repertoire consistent with the capacity of protein L to bind specific kappa gene products. Remarkably, these two B-cell subsets are implicated in innate B-cell immunity, allowing rapid clearance of pathogens. Thus, the present study reveals a novel mechanism that may be used by some infectious agents to subvert a first line of the host's immune defense

Spectrum of mutations in the CFTR gene of patients with classical and atypical forms of cystic fibrosis from southwestern Sweden: Identification of 12 novel mutations

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. The spectrum of CFTR mutations varies between populations and depends on different factors, such as ethnic background and geographical location. The extensive CFTR mutation screening of 129 patients with classical or atypical CF from the south-western region of Sweden revealed the presence of 37 CFTR mutations, including 12 novel alleles. The overall mutation detection rate in this study population was 92%, the highest among all tested regions in Sweden. Eight mutations with a frequency above 1% (ΔF508, 394delTT, R117C, 3659delC, E60X, 1112delT, R764X, and 621 + 1G → T) accounted for 78% of CF chromosomes and have been recommended for inclusion in the CFTR mutation screening panel for molecular diagnosis of CF in this region. The multiple occurrence of specific CFTR alleles less common than the predominant ΔF508 mutation (394delTT, R117C, 3659delC) allowed for genotype-phenotype comparisons and revealed consistent relationships between these mutations and disease severity.published_or_final_versio

Malt in Combination with Lactobacillus rhamnosus Increases Concentrations of Butyric Acid in the Distal Colon and Serum in Rats Compared with Other Barley Products but Decreases Viable Counts of Cecal Bifidobacteria123

Several substances, including glutamine and propionic acid but in particular butyric acid, have been proposed to be important for colonic health. β-Glucans lead to the formation of comparatively high amounts of butyric acid, and germinated barley foodstuff obtained from brewer’s spent grain (BSG), containing high amounts of β-glucans and glutamine, has been reported to reduce the inflammatory response in the colon of patients with ulcerative colitis. The present study examines how 3 barley products, whole grain barley, malt, and BSG, affect SCFA in the hindgut and serum of rats and whether the addition of Lactobacillus rhamnosus 271 to each of these diets would have further effects. Amino acids in plasma and the cecal composition of the microbiota were also analyzed. The butyric acid concentration in the distal colon and serum was higher in the malt groups than in the other groups as was the serum concentration of propionic acid. The concentrations of propionic and butyric acids were higher in the cecum and serum of rats given L. rhamnosus than in those not given this strain. The proportion of plasma glutamine and the cecal number of bifidobacteria were lower in the malt groups than in the other groups. L. rhamnosus decreased the number of cecal bifidobacteria, whereas plasma glutamine was unaffected. We conclude that malt together with L. rhamnosus 271 had greater effects on propionic and butyric acid concentrations in rats than the other barley products. This is interesting when developing food with effects on colonic health

Better Nonlinear Models from Noisy Data: Attractors with Maximum Likelihood

A new approach to nonlinear modelling is presented which, by incorporating the global behaviour of the model, lifts shortcomings of both least squares and total least squares parameter estimates. Although ubiquitous in practice, a least squares approach is fundamentally flawed in that it assumes independent, normally distributed (IND) forecast errors: nonlinear models will not yield IND errors even if the noise is IND. A new cost function is obtained via the maximum likelihood principle; superior results are illustrated both for small data sets and infinitely long data streams.Comment: RevTex, 11 pages, 4 figure

The Meissner effect in a strongly underdoped cuprate above its critical temperature

The Meissner effect and the associated perfect "bulk" diamagnetism together with zero resistance and gap opening are characteristic features of the superconducting state. In the pseudogap state of cuprates unusual diamagnetic signals as well as anomalous proximity effects have been detected but a Meissner effect has never been observed. Here we have probed the local diamagnetic response in the normal state of an underdoped La1.94Sr0.06CuO4 layer (up to 46 nm thick, critical temperature Tc' < 5 K) which was brought into close contact with two nearly optimally doped La1.84Sr0.16CuO4 layers (Tc \approx 32 K). We show that the entire 'barrier' layer of thickness much larger than the typical c axis coherence lengths of cuprates exhibits a Meissner effect at temperatures well above Tc' but below Tc. The temperature dependence of the effective penetration depth and superfluid density in different layers indicates that superfluidity with long-range phase coherence is induced in the underdoped layer by the proximity to optimally doped layers; however, this induced order is very sensitive to thermal excitation.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures + Erratu

Body Mass Index in young women and risk of cardiomyopathy: a long-term follow-up study in Sweden

Incidence rates of cardiomyopathies, which are a common cause of heart failure in young people, have increased during the last decades. An association between body weight in adolescence and future cardiomyopathy among men was recently identified. Whether or not this holds true also for women is unknown. The aim was therefore to determine whether for young women being overweight or obese is associated with a higher risk of developing cardiomyopathy. This was a registry-based national prospective cohort study with data collected from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, 1982 to 2014, with up to 33 years of follow-up. Included women were of childbearing age (18-45 years) during the initial antenatal visit in their first or second pregnancy (n=1 393 346). We obtained baseline data on body mass index (BMI), smoking, education, and previous disorders. After exclusions, mainly because of previous disorders, the final sample was composed of 1 388 571 women. Cardiomyopathy cases were identified by linking the Medical Birth Register to the National Patient and Cause of Death registers. In total, we identified 1699 cases of cardiomyopathy (mean age at diagnosis, 46.2 [SD 9.1] years) during the follow-up with an incidence rate of 5.9 per 100 000 observation years. Of these, 481 were diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, 246 had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 61 had alcohol/drug-induced cardiomyopathy, and 509 had other forms. The lowest risk for being diagnosed with a cardiomyopathy was detected at a BMI of 21 kg/m , with a gradual increase in risk with higher BMI, particularly for dilated cardiomyopathy, where a hazard ratio of 4.71 (95% CI, 2.81-7.89) was found for severely obese subjects (BMI ≥35 kg/m ), as compared with BMI 20 to &lt;22.5. Elevated BMI among young women was associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with a subsequent cardiomyopathy, especially dilated cardiomyopathy, starting already at mildly elevated body weight, whereas severe obesity entailed an almost 5-fold increase in risk. With the increasing numbers of persons who are overweight or obese, higher rates of cardiomyopathy can be expected in the future, along with an altered disease burden related to adiposity

Editor's Choice: Contemporary treatment of popliteal artery aneurysm in eight countries: A Report from the Vascunet collaboration of registries.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.To study contemporary popliteal artery aneurysm (PA) repair.Vascunet is a collaboration of population-based registries in 10 countries: eight had data on PA repair (Australia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland).From January 2009 until June 2012, 1,471 PA repairs were registered. There were 9.59 operations per million person years, varying from 3.4 in Hungary to 17.6 in Sweden. Median age was 70 years, ranging from 66 years in Switzerland and Iceland to 74 years in Australia and New Zealand; 95.6% were men and 44% were active smokers. Elective surgery dominated, comprising 72% of all cases, but only 26.2% in Hungary and 39.7% in Finland, (p < .0001). The proportion of endovascular PA repair was 22.2%, varying from 34.7% in Australia, to zero in Switzerland, Finland, and Iceland (p < .0001). Endovascular repair was performed in 12.2% of patients with acute thrombosis and 24.1% of elective cases (p < .0001). A vein graft was used in 87.2% of open repairs, a synthetic or composite graft in 12.7%. Follow-up was until discharge or 30 days. Amputation rate was 2.0% overall: 6.5% after acute thrombosis, 1.0% after endovascular, 1.8% after open repair, and 26.3% after hybrid repair (p < .0001). Mortality was 0.7% overall: 0.1% after elective repair, 1.6% after acute thrombosis, and 11.1% after rupture.Great variability between countries in incidence of operations, indications for surgery, and choice of surgical technique was found, possibly a result of surgical tradition rather than differences in case mix. Comparative studies with longer follow-up data are warranted

Outcome Following Carotid Endarterectomy: Lessons Learned From a Large International Vascular Registry

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On linear combinations of generalized involutive matrices

Let X(dagger) denotes the Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse of a matrix X. We study a number of situations when (aA + bB)(dagger) = aA + bB provided a, b is an element of C\{0} and A, B are n x n complex matrices such that A(dagger) = A and B(dagger) = B. (C) 2011 Taylor & FrancisLiu, X.; Wu, L.; Benítez López, J. (2011). On linear combinations of generalized involutive matrices. Linear and Multilinear Algebra. 59(11):1221-1236. doi:10.1080/03081087.2010.496111S12211236591