Many-body models for topological quantum information

We develop and investigate several quantum many-body spin models of use for topological quantum information processing and storage. These models fall into two categories: those that are designed to be more realistic than alternative models with similar phenomenology, and those that are designed to have richer phenomenology than related models. In the first category, we present a procedure to obtain the Hamiltonians of the toric code and Kitaev quantum double models as the perturbative low-energy limits of entirely two-body Hamiltonians. This construction reproduces the target models' behavior using only couplings which are natural in terms of the original Hamiltonians. As an extension of this work, we construct parent Hamiltonians involving only local 2-body interactions for a broad class of Projected Entangled Pair States (PEPS). We define a perturbative Hamiltonian with a finite order low energy effective Hamiltonian that is a gapped, frustration-free parent Hamiltonian for an encoded version of a desired PEPS. For topologically ordered PEPS, the ground space of the low energy effective Hamiltonian is shown to be in the same phase as the desired state to all orders of perturbation theory. We then move on to define models that generalize the phenomenology of several well-known systems. We first define generalized cluster states based on finite group algebras, and investigate properties of these states including their PEPS representations, global symmetries, relationship to the Kitaev quantum double models, and possible applications. Finally, we propose a generalization of the color codes based on finite groups. For non-Abelian groups, the resulting model supports non-Abelian anyonic quasiparticles and topological order. We examine the properties of these models such as their relationship to Kitaev quantum double models, quasiparticle spectrum, and boundary structure

TEACHER ENGAGEMENT WITH ACADEMIC READING IN A POST-SERVICE TESOL COURSE

Engaging school teachers with academic reading is challenging for all teacher trainers, yet if teachers’ knowledge base is to be up-to-date the input of new research information is essential. Within the field of teacher professional development, few research studies focus primarily on teacher academic reading.  On the Auckland New Zealand TESOL diploma course reported on here, academic readings are key. They theorise the weekly lecture topics and provide practical strategies that embed the theory. Three approaches to academic reading are used.  These three approaches are the focus of the study reported here, exploring the attitudes of the 49 elementary and secondary school teachers over the two years of the part-time course. Quantitative questionnaire findings and relevant qualitative interview data which explicate the quantitative findings are reported on. The key finding was that, on average, the entire sample exhibited a large and statistically significant increase in engagement in academic reading over the two-year period. A majority of the teachers favoured the third approach to academic reading, being tightly structured, supportive reading groups rather than independent reading or reading presentation to a group. They valued the interdependence and reciprocity of the tightly structured reading groups

Mendelian randomization in family data

The phrase "mendelian randomization" has become associated with the use of genetic polymorphisms to uncover causal relationships between phenotypic variables. The statistical methods useful in mendelian randomization are known as instrumental variable techniques. We present an approach to instrumental variable estimation that is useful in family data and is robust to the use of weak instruments. We illustrate our method to measure the causal influence of low-density lipoprotein on high-density lipoprotein, body mass index, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure. We use the Framingham Heart Study data as distributed to participants in the Genetics Analysis Workshop 16

A Cross‐Sectional Survey of Research Involvement and Interest among Graduate Dietetics Students

Background: Dietitians are not frequently participating in or leading research. Cultivating greater research interest and involvement starts with dietetics education, but little is known about dietetics students’ research involvement and interest. This study examines relationships between research involvement and interest among graduate dietetics students. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey design incorporating participant characteristic data, the Practice-Based Dietitian Research Involvement Survey (PBDRIS), and the modified Interest in Research Questionnaire (IRQ) tools; 89 of 327 (27.2%) graduate dietetic students from 3 US universities were included. Participant characteristics, PBDRIS scores, and IRQ scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Relationships between variables were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way ANOVA, and Spearman correlation depending on data distribution. Results: Among participants, the median age was 35.0, 92.5% were female, and 70.8% were registered dietitians. The mean PBDRIS total score was 47.4 ± 10.9, and the median IRQ score was 66.0 (56.0, 75.0). Post-professional doctorate students had a significantly higher PBDRIS total score than pre-professional master’s students (P=0.002). There were significantly higher median IRQ scores among post-professional master’s and doctorate students than pre-professional master’s students (P\u3c0.001 and P=0.004, respectively). A moderate, positive correlation was found between PBDRIS total score and IRQ score (P\u3c0.001). Conclusion: Research involvement is higher in post-professional doctorate students than in pre-professional master’s students. Research interest is higher in post-professional master’s and doctorate students compared to pre-professional master’s students. The pre-professional dietetics research curriculum should be strengthened to cultivate research interest and involvement

A regression based transmission/disequilibrium test for binary traits: the power of joint tests for linkage and association

BACKGROUND: In this analysis we applied a regression based transmission disequilibrium test to the binary trait presence or absence of Kofendred Personality Disorder in the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW14) simulated dataset and determined the power and type I error rate of the method at varying map densities and sample sizes. To conduct this transmission disequilibrium test, the logit transformation was applied to a binary outcome and regressed on an indicator variable for the transmitted allele from informative matings. All 100 replicates from chromosomes 1, 3, 5, and 9 for the Aipotu and the combined Aipotu, Karangar, and Danacaa populations were used at densities of 3, 1, and 0.3 cM. Power and type I error were determined by the number of replicates significant at the 0.05 level. RESULTS: The maximum power to detect linkage and association with the Aipotu population was 93% for chromosome 3 using a 0.3-cM map. For chromosomes 1, 5, and 9 the power was less than 10% at the 3-cM scan and less than 22% for the 0.3-cM map. With the larger sample size, power increased to 38% for chromosome 1, 100% for chromosome 3, 31% for chromosome 5, and 23% for chromosome 9. Type I error was approximately 7%. CONCLUSION: The power of this method is highly dependent on the amount of information in a region. This study suggests that single-point methods are not particularly effective in narrowing a fine-mapping region, particularly when using single-nucleotide polymorphism data and when linkage disequilibrium in the region is variable

Comparison of univariate and multivariate linkage analysis of traits related to hypertension

Complex traits are often manifested by multiple correlated traits. One example of this is hypertension (HTN), which is measured on a continuous scale by systolic blood pressure (SBP). Predisposition to HTN is predicted by hyperlipidemia, characterized by elevated triglycerides (TG), low-density lipids (LDL), and high-density lipids (HDL). We hypothesized that the multivariate analysis of TG, LDL, and HDL would be more powerful for detecting HTN genes via linkage analysis compared with univariate analysis of SBP. We conducted linkage analysis of four chromosomal regions known to contain genes associated with HTN using SBP as a measure of HTN in univariate Haseman-Elston regression and using the correlated traits TG, LDL, and HDL in multivariate Haseman-Elston regression. All analyses were conducted using the Framingham Heart Study data. We found that multivariate linkage analysis was better able to detect chromosomal regions in which the angiotensinogen, angiotensin receptor, guanine nucleotide-binding protein 3, and prostaglandin I2 synthase genes reside. Univariate linkage analysis only detected the AGT gene. We conclude that multivariate analysis is appropriate for the analysis of multiple correlated phenotypes, and our findings suggest that it may yield new linkage signals undetected by univariate analysis

Fossil Mobiles: Exploring the Process of Art as Science Inquiry for Elementary Students through a Grounded Theory Study

Arts integration into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subject areas is currently an important area of investigation. This study developed a grounded theory of how artmaking of a mobile related to fossil life of the Devonian period engendered geoscience inquiry. Data were collected from elementary students entering fourth to sixth grade (7 male, 9 female) attending a week-long summer camp at a Midwestern university. Students engaged in a daily hour-long class creating fossil mobiles and learning geoscience content through illustrated slide shows, form and function sets of materials related to Devonian fossils, fossil books, and a fossil hunter- fossil find matching game. The art fossil mobile was constructed of painted dowel rods suspended from a beaded string with four craft fossils (traced onto clear plastic and back-painted or stenciled onto canvas) attached to the ends of the rods. The grounded theory research design identified seven major repeating interactions among the triad of art, science, and students: (1) art promoting science inquiry, (2) art aspects positively influencing science learning, (3) science learning increasing interest in fossils, (4) science influencing art, (5) student-centered artwork increasing desire for more art knowledge, (6) student-centered art providing connections to science, and (7) student-centered science increasing interest in fossils. Implications for educators include integrating art activities into science lessons, thereby providing engagement and motivation for students, supporting students’ fine motor skills development, and building a community of learners. Geoscience educators should consider the positive cyclical effects of art-science-student interactions identified in this study

Genome-wide linkage scan for genes affecting longitudinal trends in systolic blood pressure

Only one genome scan to date has attempted to make use of the longitudinal data available in the Framingham Heart Study, and this attempt yielded evidence of linkage to a gene for mean systolic blood pressure. We show how the additional information available in these longitudinal data can be utilized to examine linkages for not only mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), but also for its trend with age and its variability. Prior to linkage analysis, individuals treated for hypertension were adjusted to account for right-censoring of SBP. Regressions on age were fitted to obtain orthogonal measures of slope, curvature, and residual variance of SBP that were then used as dependent variables in the model-free linkage program SIBPAL. We included mean age, gender, and cohort as covariates in the analysis. To improve power, sibling pairs were weighted for informativity using weights derived from both the marker and trait. The most significant results from our analyses were found on chromosomes 12, 15, and 17 for mean SBP, and chromosome 20 for both SBP slope and curvature