7,591 research outputs found
Resilience of multi-photon entanglement under losses
We analyze the resilience under photon loss of the bi-partite entanglement
present in multi-photon states produced by parametric down-conversion. The
quantification of the entanglement is made possible by a symmetry of the states
that persists even under polarization-independent losses. We examine the
approach of the states to the set of states with a positive partial transpose
as losses increase, and calculate the relative entropy of entanglement. We find
that some bi-partite distillable entanglement persists for arbitrarily high
losses.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, title changed, minor typographic errors correcte
Multi-Partite Entanglement Inequalities via Spin Vector Geometry
We introduce inequalities for multi-partite entanglement, derived from the
geometry of spin vectors. The criteria are constructed iteratively from cross
and dot products between the spins of individual subsystems, each of which may
have arbitrary dimension. For qubit ensembles the maximum violation for our
inequalities is larger than that for the Mermin-Klyshko Bell inequalities, and
the maximally violating states are different from Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger
states. Our inequalities are violated by certain bound entangled states for
which no Bell-type violation has yet been found.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure. A truncated version is published in
Physical Review Letters, volume 95 issue 18, 180402 (October 2005
Outpatient antibiotic prescription trends in the United States: A national cohort study
OBJECTIVETo characterize trends in outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the United StatesDESIGNRetrospective ecological and temporal trend study evaluating outpatient antibiotic prescriptions from 2013 to 2015SETTINGNational administrative claims data from a pharmacy benefits manager PARTICIPANTS. Prescription pharmacy beneficiaries from Express Scripts Holding CompanyMEASUREMENTSAnnual and seasonal percent change in antibiotic prescriptionsRESULTSApproximately 98 million outpatient antibiotic prescriptions were filled by 39 million insurance beneficiaries during the 3-year study period. The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were azithromycin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, ciprofloxacin, and cephalexin. No significant changes in individual or overall annual antibiotic prescribing rates were found during the study period. Significant seasonal variation was observed, with antibiotics being 42% more likely to be prescribed during February than September (peak-to-trough ratio [PTTR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39–1.61). Similar seasonal trends were found for azithromycin (PTTR, 2.46; 95% CI, 2.44–3.47), amoxicillin (PTTR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.42–1.89), and amoxicillin/clavulanate (PTTR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.68–2.29).CONCLUSIONSThis study demonstrates that annual national outpatient antibiotic prescribing practices remained unchanged during our study period. Furthermore, seasonal peaks in antibiotics generally used to treat viral upper respiratory tract infections remained unchanged during cold and influenza season. These results suggest that inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics remains widespread, despite the concurrent release of several guideline-based best practices intended to reduce inappropriate antibiotic consumption; however, further research linking national outpatient antibiotic prescriptions to associated medical conditions is needed to confirm these findings.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:584–589</jats:sec
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The Association of Light Trucks and Vans with Pediatric Pedestrian Deaths
We investigated the hypothesis that relative to cars, light trucks and vans (including sports utility vehicles) are more likely to result in fatal pediatric pedestrian injury. It was further hypothesized that this increased risk is a result of head injuries. The study sample consisted of 18,117 police records of motor vehicles involved in crashes in which one or more pedestrian aged 5 to 19 years old was injured or killed. Frequencies and case fatality ratios for each vehicle body type were calculated. We conducted a logistic regression analysis with light truck or van versus car as the exposure variable and fatal / non-fatal pedestrian injury as the outcome variable. After controlling for driver age, driver gender, vehicle weight, road surface condition and presence of head injury, 5 to 19 year-olds struck by light trucks or vans were more than twice as likely to die than those struck by cars (OR = 2.3 95% CI 1.4, 3.9). For the 5 to 9 year-old age group, light trucks and vans were four times as likely to be associated with fatal injury (OR = 4.2 95 % CI 1.9, 9.5). There was an association between head injury and light trucks and vans (OR=1.2, 95% CI 1.1, 1.3). We conclude that vehicle body type characteristics play an important role in pediatric pedestrian injury severity and may offer engineering-based opportunities for injury control
Importance of site of infection and antibiotic selection in the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis
ABSTRACT
In a retrospective analysis of 215 patients with carbapenem-resistant
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
sepsis, we observed a significantly higher risk of mortality associated with respiratory tract infection (risk ratio [RR], 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.39;
P
= 0.010) and lower risk with urinary tract infection (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.90;
P
= 0.004). Aminoglycoside monotherapy was associated with increased mortality, even after adjusting for confounders (adjusted RR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.85;
P
= 0.037), consistent across multiple sites of infection.
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Radiation Testing of Electronics for the CMS Endcap Muon System
The electronics used in the data readout and triggering system for the
Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
particle accelerator at CERN are exposed to high radiation levels. This
radiation can cause permanent damage to the electronic circuitry, as well as
temporary effects such as data corruption induced by Single Event Upsets. Once
the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) accelerator upgrades are completed it will
have five times higher instantaneous luminosity than LHC, allowing for
detection of rare physics processes, new particles and interactions. Tests have
been performed to determine the effects of radiation on the electronic
components to be used for the Endcap Muon electronics project currently being
designed for installation in the CMS experiment in 2013. During these tests the
digital components on the test boards were operating with active data readout
while being irradiated with 55 MeV protons. In reactor tests, components were
exposed to 30 years equivalent levels of neutron radiation expected at the
HL-LHC. The highest total ionizing dose (TID) for the muon system is expected
at the inner-most portion of the CMS detector, with 8900 rad over ten years.
Our results show that Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components selected for
the new electronics will operate reliably in the CMS radiation environment
Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts.
Background: Measuring public response during COVID-19 is an important way of ensuring the suitability and effectiveness of epidemic response efforts. An analysis of social media provides an approximation of public sentiment during an emergency like the current pandemic. The measures introduced across the globe to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus have led to the development of a situation labeled as a “perfect storm,” triggering a wave of domestic violence. As people use social media to communicate their experiences, analyzing public discourse and sentiment on social platforms offers a way to understand concerns and issues related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objective: This study was based on an analysis of public discourse and sentiment related to domestic violence during the stay-at-home periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in 2020. It aimed to understand the more personal self-reported experiences, emotions, and reactions toward domestic violence that were not always classified or collected by official public bodies during the pandemic.
Methods: We searched social media and news posts in Australia using key terms related to domestic violence and COVID-19 during 2020 via digital analytics tools to determine sentiments related to domestic violence during this period.
Results: The study showed that the use of sentiment and discourse analysis to assess social media data is useful in measuring the public expression of feelings and sharing of resources in relation to the otherwise personal experience of domestic violence. There were a total of 63,800 posts across social media and news media. Within these posts, our analysis found that domestic violence was mentioned an average of 179 times a day. There were 30,100 tweets, 31,700 news reports, 1500 blog posts, 548 forum posts, and 7 comments (posted on news and blog websites). Negative or neutral sentiment centered on the sharp rise in domestic violence during different lockdown periods of the 2020 pandemic, and neutral and positive sentiments centered on praise for efforts that raised awareness of domestic violence as well as the positive actions of domestic violence charities and support groups in their campaigns. There were calls for a positive and proactive handling (rather than a mishandling) of the pandemic, and results indicated a high level of public discontent related to the rising rates of domestic violence and the lack of services during the pandemic.
Conclusions: This study provided a timely understanding of public sentiment related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia using social media analysis. Social media represents an important avenue for the dissemination of information; posts can be widely dispersed and easily accessed by a range of different communities who are often difficult to reach. An improved understanding of these issues is important for future policy direction. Heightened awareness of this could help agencies tailor and target messaging to maximize impact
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