Quantum Communication Through an Unmodulated Spin Chain

We propose a scheme for using an unmodulated and unmeasured spin-chain as a channel for short distance quantum communications. The state to be transmitted is placed on one spin of the chain and received later on a distant spin with some fidelity. We first obtain simple expressions for the fidelity of quantum state transfer and the amount of entanglement sharable between any two sites of an arbitrary Heisenberg ferromagnet using our scheme. We then apply this to the realizable case of an open ended chain with nearest neighbor interactions. The fidelity of quantum state transfer is obtained as an inverse discrete cosine transform and as a Bessel function series. We find that in a reasonable time, a qubit can be directly transmitted with better than classical fidelity across the full length of chains of up to 80 spins. Moreover, the spin-chain channel allows distillable entanglement to be shared over arbitrarily large distances.Comment: Much improved versio

Evaluating the Baluti Formation at Sararu village, Ora Anticline, Iraqi Kurdistan : a stratigraphic and geochemical approach

Open access through Springer Compact Agreement Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Colin Taylor and Walter Ritchie from University of Aberdeen for their technical support and assistance with laboratory work. We would also like to thank Mr. Omer Kamil Ali, the Head of the Qumri village, for providing accommodation during fieldwork.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Experiments to investigate particulate materials in reduced gravity fields

Study investigates agglomeration and macroscopic behavior in reduced gravity fields of particles of known properties by measuring and correlating thermal and acoustical properties of particulate materials. Experiment evaluations provide a basis for a particle behavior theory and measure bulk properties of particulate materials in reduced gravity

Birth room images: What they tell us about childbirth. A discourse analysis of birth rooms in developed countries

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Objective: this study examined images of birth rooms in developed countries to analyse the messages and visual discourse being communicated through images. Design: a small qualitative study using Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) social semiotic theoretical framework for image analysis, a form of discourse analysis. Setting/participants: forty images of birth rooms were collected in 2013 from Google Images, Flickr, Wikimedia Commons and midwifery colleagues. The images were from obstetric units, alongside and freestanding midwifery units located in developed countries (Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America). Main findings: findings demonstrated three kinds of birth room images; the technological, the 'homelike', and the hybrid domesticated birth room. The most dominant was the technological birth room, with a focus on the labour bed and medical equipment. The visual messages from images of the technological birth room reinforce the notion that the bed is the most appropriate place to give birth and the use of medical equipment is intrinsically involved in the birth process. Childbirth is thus construed as risky/dangerous. Key conclusions and implications for practice: as images on the Internet inform and persuade society about stereotypical behaviours, the trends of our time and sociocultural norms, it is important to recognise images of the technological birth room on the Internet may be influential in dictating women's attitudes, choices and behaviour, before they enter the birth room