Quantum ground state isoperimetric inequalities for the energy spectrum of local Hamiltonians

We investigate the relationship between the energy spectrum of a local Hamiltonian and the geometric properties of its ground state. By generalizing a standard framework from the analysis of Markov chains to arbitrary (non-stoquastic) Hamiltonians we are naturally led to see that the spectral gap can always be upper bounded by an isoperimetric ratio that depends only on the ground state probability distribution and the range of the terms in the Hamiltonian, but not on any other details of the interaction couplings. This means that for a given probability distribution the inequality constrains the spectral gap of any local Hamiltonian with this distribution as its ground state probability distribution in some basis (Eldar and Harrow derived a similar result in order to characterize the output of low-depth quantum circuits). Going further, we relate the Hilbert space localization properties of the ground state to higher energy eigenvalues by showing that the presence of k strongly localized ground state modes (i.e. clusters of probability, or subsets with small expansion) in Hilbert space implies the presence of k energy eigenvalues that are close to the ground state energy. Our results suggest that quantum adiabatic optimization using local Hamiltonians will inevitably encounter small spectral gaps when attempting to prepare ground states corresponding to multi-modal probability distributions with strongly localized modes, and this problem cannot necessarily be alleviated with the inclusion of non-stoquastic couplings

Prior Homelessness and Rent Burden as Predictors of HIV Risk for Single Room Occupancy Building Residents

Session 2: Victimization. Presenter Elizabeth Bowen, University of Illinois at Chicago (2014) - "Prior Homelessness and Rent Burden as Predictors of HIV Risk for Single Room Occupancy Building Residents".The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

Factors affecting conventional and molecular detection of <i>Bacillus anthracis</i> in the environment and the stability of <i>B. anthracis</i> identification plasmids PX01 and PX02 <i>in vitro</i>

Conventional and molecular methods for the improved detection of B. anthracis in environmental material were studied. A system was developed which combines a selective enrichment broth with two-phase concentration using polyethylene glycol and potassium phosphate to form the two immiscible phases.The enrichment broth alone, based on polymyxin B sulphate, lysozyme, EDTA and thallous acetate, which comprise PLET agar (PLETA), allowed the selective recovery of B. anthracis from a mixture of B. anthracis and closely related B. cereus. When soil was added to the broth, however, B. anthracis was rapidly overgrown by other naturally occurring Bacillus species. Recovery of B. anthracis was improved by using semi-solid PLET broth or by adding chelating agents or the monobactam antibiotic aztreonam to the broth. The combination of chemicals required for optimal recovery of B. anthracis varied according to the composition of the soil. Use of the two-phase concentration system showed that in soil B. anthracis spores are generally attached to soil particles and need to be separated before they can be concentrated. Separation was achieved by pre-soaking the soil in water.The sensitivity of standard PLETA is approximately 5- 50 spores per gram of soil depending on the sample composition. The system finally recommended for the most reliable and sensitive detection of spores in soil achieved an average 25 fold greater sensitivity than PLETA.Further enrichment of the B. anthracis concentrate obtained using the optimised enrichment method allowed the PCR detection of B. anthracis DNA. The sensitivity of the PCR was affected by the composition of the soil. In the absence of inhibition the PCR detection limit was approximately 10 - 100 spores per gram. A multiplex PCR was developed which targets DNA from pXO1, pX02 and the B. anthracis chromosome. The PCR allowed the rapid identification of colonies suspected of being B. anthracis. In addition to being essential for the definitive identification of B. anthracis, the ability to determine the presence of virulence plasmids in B. anthracis has reduced the need to use animals for virulence tests.Attenuated pX01+/pX02- or pX01-/pX02- strains of B. anthracis are occasionally found in the environment. Naturally occurring pX01-/pX02- derivatives have not been isolated. No other plasmid DNA has been identified in B. anthracis. To examine the nature of the stability of pX01 and pX02 in B. anthracis, the effect of selective pressure for non-indigenous plasmid DNA that had been introduced into B. anthracis was studied. A plasmid based on the minimal replicon of pAMß 1 (pAEX-5E, 5.8. kb) was found to be stable in pX01+/pX02- and pX01-/pX02+ derivatives of B. anthracis for more than 100 generations of growth. In the pX01+/pX02- and pX01+/pX02- derivatives of B. anthracis, pAEX-5E was expelled within 105 culture generations. Loss of pAEX-5E was most rapid in the pX01+/pX02- derivative. Plasmids pXOI and pX02 both remained stable under selection pressure for pAEX-5E, and in the pX01+/pX02- derivative retention of pX01 led to a reduction in growth rate. This indicates that, in the absence of pX02, B. anthracis will endure a significant metabolic compromise in order to retain pX01.This study has provided extensive new information about the selective recovery of B. anthracis. in environmental material and novel'data about the stability of identity plasmids pXO1 and pX02 under selective pressure for non-indigenous plasmid DNA

Family Album

A collection of eight nonfiction stories by Missy Bowen about the Minnesota State Fair, owls, winter, summer, stairs, lumber, and the rock and roll life

Clean Needles and Bad Blood: Needle Exchange as Morality Policy

The morality policy framework is a lens for understanding the unique characteristics of policies that attempt to regulate personal morals and behaviors. Needle exchange, a controversial intervention for reducing the transmission of HIV in injection drug users, shares many of the hallmark characteristics of morality policies. Analyzing needle exchange from a morality policy perspective, focusing on the 21-year ban on federal funding for needle exchange, reveals how value-based arguments have been used in the needle exchange debate and explains why the issue is likely to remain controversial in the United States. This analysis adds to the understanding of moral and political aspects of U.S. HIV/AIDS prevention and care policies

Studies of the natural history of human cytomegalovirus infection in the HIV infected host

This thesis examined the relationship between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and HCMV disease occurrence in patients co-infected with HIV. HCMV PCR was used to screen asymptomatic patients with low CD4 counts for their risk of developing HCMV disease. Patients who were HCMV PCR positive had a 21 fold increase in risk of HCMV disease compared to those who remained HCMV PCR negative. I suggest that PCR positive patients are a high risk group in whom controlled trials of pre-emptive therapy should be conducted. The quantity of HCMV present in blood (HCMV load) at the time of diagnosis of retinitis was found to have important implications.Firstly, if left untreated HCMV load continued to increase, HCMV retinitis progressed and HCMV disease occurred in other organs. Secondly, patients with an HCMV load>5 log10 genomes/ml blood at diagnosis of retinitis responded less well to ganciclovir induction therapy and had a shorter time to first progression of retinitis. Thirdly, there was a significant association between high HCMV loads at retinitis presentation and reduced survival. Whilst receiving maintenance therapy 80% of patients had at least one episode of retinitis progression which occurred mostly in the absence of detectable PCR-viraemia. I suggest this was likely to be due to local reactivation of virus in the retina. Patients who did become PCR positive during maintenance therapy all had an episode of retinitis progression and had a significantly higher risk of developing other HCMV disease. Patients who were PCR positive were also more likely to develop mutations in the UL97 gene conferring ganciclovir resistance. I developed a point mutation assay for screening patient samples for the presence of the five most common UL97 resistant mutations. These results were then used to study the viral fitness of different UL97 mutants and hence, estimate the in vivo generation time of HCMV. I expressed one of these UL97 mutants (L595F) in a recombinant baculovirus expression system in preparation for functional studies. All studies conducted in this thesis had gained full approval from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine Ethics Committee

Family Album

A collection of eight nonfiction stories by Missy Bowen about the Minnesota State Fair, owls, winter, summer, stairs, lumber, and the rock and roll life

Telegram from Elizabeth Bowen to Hubert Creekmore

Bowen sends a telegram from New York City to Creekmore at Yaddo artists\u27 retreat in Saratoga Springs, New York, to note that she received notice of Creekmore\u27s change of address. Includes envelope.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/creekmore/1084/thumbnail.jp

Elizabeth Bowen and Nicole Capozziello, A Human Rights Perspective on Homelessness and COVID-19

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts warned of the unique and devastating havoc that the novel illness could wreak on people experiencing homelessness, an already vulnerable population. While reports thus far suggest that neither the prevalence nor mortality of COVID-19 among people who are homeless has been as severe as feared, the pandemic has brought about opportunities to enact innovative and long overdue approaches to the issue of homelessness. Though there are compelling public health reasons for providing housing assistance and related services, we believe that there is more enduring value in reframing homelessness from a human rights perspective, ensuring housing to every American during the pandemic and beyond