Non-Gaussian states for continuous variable quantum computation via Gaussian maps

We investigate non-Gaussian states of light as ancillary inputs for generating nonlinear transformations required for quantum computing with continuous variables. We consider a recent proposal for preparing a cubic phase state, find the exact form of the prepared state and perform a detailed comparison to the ideal cubic phase state. We thereby identify the main challenges to preparing an ideal cubic phase state and describe the gates implemented with the non-ideal prepared state. We also find the general form of operations that can be implemented with ancilla Fock states, together with Gaussian input states, linear optics and squeezing transformations, and homodyne detection with feed forward, and discuss the feasibility of continuous variable quantum computing using ancilla Fock states.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stress

High levels of acute and chronic stress are known to impair problem-solving and creativity on a broad range of tasks. Despite this evidence, we know little about protective factors for mitigating the deleterious effects of stress on problem-solving. Building on previous research showing that self-affirmation can buffer stress, we tested whether an experimental manipulation of self-affirmation improves problem-solving performance in chronically stressed participants. Eighty undergraduates indicated their perceived chronic stress over the previous month and were randomly assigned to either a self-affirmation or control condition. They then completed 30 difficult remote associate problem-solving items under time pressure in front of an evaluator. Results showed that self-affirmation improved problem-solving performance in underperforming chronically stressed individuals. This research suggests a novel means for boosting problem-solving under stress and may have important implications for understanding how self-affirmation boosts academic achievement in school settings. © 2013 Creswell et al

Exploring experimental cerebral malaria pathogenesis through the characterisation of host-derived plasma microparticle protein content

© 2016 The Author(s). Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection responsible for thousands of deaths in children in sub-Saharan Africa. CM pathogenesis remains incompletely understood but a number of effectors have been proposed, including plasma microparticles (MP). MP numbers are increased in CM patients' circulation and, in the mouse model, they can be localised within inflamed vessels, suggesting their involvement in vascular damage. In the present work we define, for the first time, the protein cargo of MP during experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) with the overarching hypothesis that this characterisation could help understand CM pathogenesis. Using qualitative and quantitative high-throughput proteomics we compared MP proteins from non-infected and P. berghei ANKA-infected mice. More than 360 proteins were identified, 60 of which were differentially abundant, as determined by quantitative comparison using TMT TM isobaric labelling. Network analyses showed that ECM MP carry proteins implicated in molecular mechanisms relevant to CM pathogenesis, including endothelial activation. Among these proteins, the strict association of carbonic anhydrase I and S100A8 with ECM was verified by western blot on MP from DBA/1 and C57BL/6 mice. These results demonstrate that MP protein cargo represents a novel ECM pathogenic trait to consider in the understanding of CM pathogenesis

A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions

Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) affect more males than females in the general population. However, within ASC it is unclear if there are phenotypic sex differences. Testing for similarities and differences between the sexes is important not only for clinical assessment but also has implications for theories of typical sex differences and of autism. Using cognitive and behavioral measures, we investigated similarities and differences between the sexes in age- and IQ-matched adults with ASC (high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome). Of the 83 (45 males and 38 females) participants, 62 (33 males and 29 females) met Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) cut-off criteria for autism in childhood and were included in all subsequent analyses. The severity of childhood core autism symptoms did not differ between the sexes. Males and females also did not differ in self-reported empathy, systemizing, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive traits/symptoms or mentalizing performance. However, adult females with ASC showed more lifetime sensory symptoms (p = 0.036), fewer current socio-communication difficulties (p = 0.001), and more self-reported autistic traits (p = 0.012) than males. In addition, females with ASC who also had developmental language delay had lower current performance IQ than those without developmental language delay (p<0.001), a pattern not seen in males. The absence of typical sex differences in empathizing-systemizing profiles within the autism spectrum confirms a prediction from the extreme male brain theory. Behavioral sex differences within ASC may also reflect different developmental mechanisms between males and females with ASC. We discuss the importance of the superficially better socio-communication ability in adult females with ASC in terms of why females with ASC may more often go under-recognized, and receive their diagnosis later, than males

Altered Neural and Behavioral Dynamics in Huntington's Disease: An Entropy Conservation Approach

Background: Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited condition that results in neurodegeneration of the striatum, the forebrain structure that processes cortical information for behavioral output. In the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of HD, striatal neurons exhibit aberrant firing patterns that are coupled with reduced flexibility in the motor system. The aim of this study was to test the patterns of unpredictability in brain and behavior in wild-type (WT) and R6/2 mice. Methodology/Principal Findings: Striatal local field potentials (LFP) were recorded from 18 WT and 17 R6/2 mice (aged 8– 11 weeks) while the mice were exploring a plus-shaped maze. We targeted LFP activity for up to 2 s before and 2 s after each choice-point entry. Approximate Entropy (ApEn) was calculated for LFPs and Shannon Entropy was used to measure the probability of arm choice, as well as the likelihood of making consecutive 90-degree turns in the maze. We found that although the total number of choice-point crossings and entropy of arm-choice probability was similar in both groups, R6/2 mice had more predictable behavioral responses (i.e., were less likely to make 90-degree turns and perform them in alternation with running straight down the same arm), while exhibiting more unpredictable striatal activity, as indicated by higher ApEn values. In both WT and R6/2 mice, however, behavioral unpredictability was negatively correlated with LFP ApEn. Conclusions/Significance: HD results in a perseverative exploration of the environment, occurring in concert with mor

Maternal psychological distress in primary care and association with child behavioural outcomes at age three

Observational studies indicate children whose mothers have poor mental health are at increased risk of socio-emotional behavioural difficulties, but it is unknown whether these outcomes vary by the mothers’ mental health recognition and treatment status. To examine this question, we analysed linked longitudinal primary care and research data from 1078 women enrolled in the Born in Bradford cohort. A latent class analysis of treatment status and self-reported distress broadly categorised women as (a) not having a common mental disorder (CMD) that persisted through pregnancy and the first 2 years after delivery (N = 756, 70.1 %), (b) treated for CMD (N = 67, 6.2 %), or (c) untreated (N = 255, 23.7 %). Compared to children of mothers without CMD, 3-year-old children with mothers classified as having untreated CMD had higher standardised factor scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (d = 0.32), as did children with mothers classified as having treated CMD (d = 0.27). Results were only slightly attenuated in adjusted analyses. Children of mothers with CMD may be at risk for socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties. The development of effective treatments for CMD needs to be balanced by greater attempts to identify and treat women. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00787-015-0777-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Stability study of a model for the Klein-Gordon equation in Kerr spacetime

The current early stage in the investigation of the stability of the Kerr metric is characterized by the study of appropriate model problems. Particularly interesting is the problem of the stability of the solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation, describing the propagation of a scalar field of mass $\mu$ in the background of a rotating black hole. Rigorous results proof the stability of the reduced, by separation in the azimuth angle in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates, field for sufficiently large masses. Some, but not all, numerical investigations find instability of the reduced field for rotational parameters $a$ extremely close to 1. Among others, the paper derives a model problem for the equation which supports the instability of the field down to $a/M \approx 0.97$.Comment: Updated version, after minor change

Piperidinols that show anti-tubercular activity as inhibitors of arylamine N-acetyltransferase: an essential enzyme for mycobacterial survival inside macrophages

Latent M. tuberculosis infection presents one of the major obstacles in the global eradication of tuberculosis (TB). Cholesterol plays a critical role in the persistence of M. tuberculosis within the macrophage during latent infection. Catabolism of cholesterol contributes to the pool of propionyl-CoA, a precursor that is incorporated into cell-wall lipids. Arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) is encoded within a gene cluster that is involved in the cholesterol sterol-ring degradation and is essential for intracellular survival. The ability of the NAT from M. tuberculosis (TBNAT) to utilise propionyl-CoA links it to the cholesterol-catabolism pathway. Deleting the nat gene or inhibiting the NAT enzyme prevents intracellular survival and results in depletion of cell-wall lipids. TBNAT has been investigated as a potential target for TB therapies. From a previous high-throughput screen, 3-benzoyl-4-phenyl-1-methylpiperidinol was identified as a selective inhibitor of prokaryotic NAT that exhibited antimycobacterial activity. The compound resulted in time-dependent irreversible inhibition of the NAT activity when tested against NAT from M. marinum (MMNAT). To further evaluate the antimycobacterial activity and the NAT inhibition of this compound, four piperidinol analogues were tested. All five compounds exert potent antimycobacterial activity against M. tuberculosis with MIC values of 2.3-16.9 µM. Treatment of the MMNAT enzyme with this set of inhibitors resulted in an irreversible time-dependent inhibition of NAT activity. Here we investigate the mechanism of NAT inhibition by studying protein-ligand interactions using mass spectrometry in combination with enzyme analysis and structure determination. We propose a covalent mechanism of NAT inhibition that involves the formation of a reactive intermediate and selective cysteine residue modification. These piperidinols present a unique class of antimycobacterial compounds that have a novel mode of action different from known anti-tubercular drugs

Chronic psychosocial and financial burden accelerates 5-year telomere shortening: findings from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study.

Leukocyte telomere length, a marker of immune system function, is sensitive to exposures such as psychosocial stressors and health-maintaining behaviors. Past research has determined that stress experienced in adulthood is associated with shorter telomere length, but is limited to mostly cross-sectional reports. We test whether repeated reports of chronic psychosocial and financial burden is associated with telomere length change over a 5-year period (years 15 and 20) from 969 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, a longitudinal, population-based cohort, ages 18-30 at time of recruitment in 1985. We further examine whether multisystem resiliency, comprised of social connections, health-maintaining behaviors, and psychological resources, mitigates the effects of repeated&nbsp;burden on telomere attrition over 5 years. Our results indicate that adults with high chronic burden do not show decreased telomere length over the 5-year period. However, these effects do vary by level of resiliency, as regression results revealed a significant interaction between chronic burden and multisystem resiliency. For individuals with high repeated&nbsp;chronic burden and low multisystem resiliency (1 SD below the mean), there was a significant 5-year shortening in telomere length, whereas no significant relationships between chronic burden and attrition were evident for those at moderate and higher levels of resiliency. These effects apply similarly across the three components of resiliency. Results imply that interventions should focus on establishing strong social connections, psychological resources, and health-maintaining behaviors when attempting to ameliorate stress-related decline in telomere length among at-risk individuals

Neurobehavioral consequences of chronic intrauterine opioid exposure in infants and preschool children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; It is assumed within the accumulated literature that children born of pregnant opioid dependent mothers have impaired neurobehavioral function as a consequence of chronic intrauterine opioid use.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Quantitative and systematic review of the literature on the consequences of chronic maternal opioid use during pregnancy on neurobehavioral function of children was conducted using the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched Cinahl, EMBASE, PsychINFO and MEDLINE between the periods of January 1995 to January 2012.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; There were only 5 studies out of the 200 identified that quantitatively reported on neurobehavioral function of children after maternal opioid use during pregnancy. All 5 were case control studies with the number of exposed subjects within the studies ranging from 33–143 and 45–85 for the controls. This meta-analysis showed no significant impairments, at a non-conservative significance level of p &#60; 0.05, for cognitive, psychomotor or observed behavioural outcomes for chronic intra-uterine exposed infants and pre-school children compared to non-exposed infants and children. However, all domains suggested a trend to poor outcomes in infants/children of opioid using mothers. The magnitude of all possible effects was small according to Cohen’s benchmark criteria.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Chronic intra-uterine opioid exposed infants and pre-school children experienced no significant impairment in neurobehavioral outcomes when compared to non-exposed peers, although in all domains there was a trend to poorer outcomes. The findings of this review are limited by the small number of studies analysed, the heterogenous populations and small numbers within the individual studies. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if any neuropsychological impairments appear after the age of 5 years and to help investigate further the role of environmental risk factors on the effect of ‘core’ phenotypes