Tightening Quantum Speed Limits for Almost All States

Conventional quantum speed limits perform poorly for mixed quantum states: They are generally not tight and often significantly underestimate the fastest possible evolution speed. To remedy this, for unitary driving, we derive two quantum speed limits that outperform the traditional bounds for almost all quantum states. Moreover, our bounds are significantly simpler to compute as well as experimentally more accessible. Our bounds have a clear geometric interpretation; they arise from the evaluation of the angle between generalized Bloch vectors.Comment: Updated and revised version; 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 page appendi

CSI sensing and control: Analytical and experimental results

Recent work on structural identification and large-angle maneuvers with vibration suppression was presented. The recent work has sought to balance structural and controls analysis activities by involving the analysts directly in the validation and experimental aspects of the research. Some new sensing, actuation, system identification, and control concepts were successfully implemented. An overview of these results is given

Effects of Neutron Spatial Distributions on Atomic Parity Nonconservation in Cesium

We have examined modifications to the nuclear weak charge due to small differences between the spatial distributions of neutrons and protons in the Cs nucleus. We derive approximate formulae to estimate the value and uncertainty of this modification based only on nuclear rms neutron and proton radii. Present uncertainties in neutron distributions in Cs are difficult to quantify, but we conclude that they should not be neglected when using atomic parity nonconservation experiments as a means to test the Standard Model.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX, slightly revised, one figure adde

Mining Sequences of Developer Interactions in Visual Studio for Usage Smells

In this paper, we present a semi-automatic approach for mining a large-scale dataset of IDE interactions to extract usage smells, i.e., inefficient IDE usage patterns exhibited by developers in the field. The approach outlined in this paper first mines frequent IDE usage patterns, filtered via a set of thresholds and by the authors, that are subsequently supported (or disputed) using a developer survey, in order to form usage smells. In contrast with conventional mining of IDE usage data, our approach identifies time-ordered sequences of developer actions that are exhibited by many developers in the field. This pattern mining workflow is resilient to the ample noise present in IDE datasets due to the mix of actions and events that these datasets typically contain. We identify usage patterns and smells that contribute to the understanding of the usability of Visual Studio for debugging, code search, and active file navigation, and, more broadly, to the understanding of developer behavior during these software development activities. Among our findings is the discovery that developers are reluctant to use conditional breakpoints when debugging, due to perceived IDE performance problems as well as due to the lack of error checking in specifying the conditional

Renal response to seven days of lower body positive pressure in the squirrel monkey

As a ground-based model for weightlessness, the response of the chair-trained squirrel monkey to lower body positive pressure (LBPP) was evaluated in a length of study similar to a typical Space Shuttle mission (7 days). Results were compared to time control experiments that included chair-sitting without exposure to LBPP. Chronic exposure to LBPP results in an acute diuretic and natriuretic response independent of changes in plasma aldosterone concentrations and produces a chronic reduction in fluid volume lasting the duration in the stimulus

Education Through Camping

The purpose of this report was to provide a brief history of camping in the United States, an account of the Auburn, Washington School District’s elementary summer school pilot and first year camping program, the first in Washington State, and to present the education benefits of such a program

“Doing Time Long After the Crime: How a Prison Sentence Today is Only the Beginning of a Felon’s Life-Long Sentence as a Pariah to Society”

This research seeks to explore the various difficulties in convicted felons’ life after their transition back into society. The research examines how an ex-convict’s finances, interpersonal relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners, lifetime opportunities, mental health, physical health, and living conditions are affected by the offender’s status as such an offender, as well as to consider ways in which these difficulties can be alleviated for future ex-offenders upon reassimilation into society after a prison sentence. Though indeed a broad topic, this particular brand of research seeks to highlight the exaggerated perception of the ex-con as a permanently damned member of society, condemned to the outer rims of their community, and forced to live a half-life while branded a criminal to all, even their loved ones.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1209/thumbnail.jp