Entanglement dynamics following a sudden quench: an exact solution

We present an exact and fully analytical treatment of the entanglement dynamics for an isolated system of $N$ coupled oscillators following a sudden quench of the system parameters. The system is analyzed using the solutions of the time dependent Schrodinger's equation, which are obtained by solving the corresponding nonlinear Ermakov equations. The entanglement entropies exhibit a multi-oscillatory behaviour, where the number of dynamically generated time scales increases with $N$. The harmonic chains exhibit entanglement revival and for larger values of $N (> 10)$, we find near-critical logarithmic scaling for the entanglement entropy, which is modulated by a time dependent factor. The $N=2$ case is equivalent to the two site Bose-Hubbard model in the tunneling regime, which is amenable to empirical realization in cold atom systems.Comment: Figure for large N added, discussion related with near critical scaling behavior adde

Differential expression of syntaxin-1 and synaptophysin in the developing and adult human retina

Synaptophysin and syntaxin-1 are membrane proteins that associate with synaptic vesicles and presynaptic active zones at nerve endings, respectively. The former is known to be a good marker of synaptogenesis; this aspect, however, is not clear with syntaxin-1. In this study, the expression of both proteins was examined in the developing human retina and compared with their distribution in postnatal to adult retinas, by immunohistochemistry. In the inner plexiform layer, both were expressed simultaneously at 11-12 weeks of gestation, when synaptogenesis reportedly begins in the central retina. In the outer plexiform layer, however, the immunoreactivities were prominent by 16 weeks of gestation. Their expression in both plexiform layers followed a centre-to-periphery gradient. The immunoreactivities for both proteins were found in the immature photoreceptor, amacrine and ganglion cells; however, synaptophysin was differentially localized in bipolar cells and their axons, and syntaxin was present in some horizontal cells. In postnatal-to-adult retinas, synaptophysin immunoreactivity was prominent in photoreceptor terminals lying in the outer plexiform layer; on the contrary, syntaxin-1 was present in a thin immunoreactive band in this layer. In the inner plexiform layer, however, both were homogeneously distributed. Our study suggests that (i) syntaxin-1 appears in parallel with synapse formation; (ii) synaptogenesis in the human retina might follow a centre-to-periphery gradient; (iii) syntaxin-1 is likely to be absent from ribbon synapses of the outer plexiform layer, but may occur at presynaptic terminals of photoreceptor and horizontal cells, as is apparent from its localization in these cells, which is hitherto unreported for any vertebrate retina

Integration of Service-Learning into Civil and Environmental Engineering Curriculum

Service-learning is defined as integrating the community service experience of students with their academic study so that learning is enhanced. The level of student participation in community service is at an all time high as students feel the need to confront today\u27s technical and societal problems. However, service-learning is more than community service or volunteerism. Service-learning as defined above, integrates the community service experience with the student’s academic study (note the hyphen in service-learning means that both are considered equal). This enhances learning which is a fundamental goal of colleges and universities. Boyer highlights the need for service-learning stating that At no time in our history has the need been greater for connecting the work of the academy to the social and environmental changes beyond the campus. Service-learning is a campus wide learning pedagogy including a range of disciplines and has been implemented at over 600 institutions; however, not as widely implemented in engineering and science. A noteworthy contribution in the engineering education, is the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program at Purdue University (http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu) that partners undergraduate students and local community not-for-profit organizations to solve engineering-based problems in the community