Polarized ensembles of random pure states

A new family of polarized ensembles of random pure states is presented. These ensembles are obtained by linear superposition of two random pure states with suitable distributions, and are quite manageable. We will use the obtained results for two purposes: on the one hand we will be able to derive an efficient strategy for sampling states from isopurity manifolds. On the other, we will characterize the deviation of a pure quantum state from separability under the influence of noise.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Towards a Smarter organization for a Self-servicing Society

Traditional social organizations such as those for the management of healthcare are the result of designs that matched well with an operational context considerably different from the one we are experiencing today. The new context reveals all the fragility of our societies. In this paper, a platform is introduced by combining social-oriented communities and complex-event processing concepts: SELFSERV. Its aim is to complement the "old recipes" with smarter forms of social organization based on the self-service paradigm and by exploring culture-specific aspects and technological challenges.Comment: Final version of a paper published in the Proceedings of International Conference on Software Development and Technologies for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion (DSAI'16), special track on Emergent Technologies for Ambient Assisted Living (ETAAL

Attorneys\u27 Fees in Environmental Citizen Suits: Should Prevailing Defendants Recover?

Attorneys\u27 fees in environmental citizen suits enable private citizens to enforce environmental legislation. First introduced in the federal Clean Air Act, attorney s fee provisions are now included in virtually all environmental legislation. Without provisions for the award of attorneys\u27 fees, legislation allowing for private citizen enforcement would be practically meaningless. Attorneys\u27 fees provisions typically allow for prevailing parties to be awarded attorneys\u27 fees when it is appropriate. The appropriateness standard has routinely justified awarding attorneys\u27 fees to prevailing plaintiffs, while defendants have commonly been awarded fees only when a suit is deemed frivolous, harassing, or without merit. This Comment explores how prevailing defendants continue to rely on the language of the applicable statutes to argue that they are entitled to attorneys\u27 fees as prevailing parties, and how the principles of equity can provide a better basis for awarding attorneys\u27 fees to prevailing defendants

A Generalized Solution Method to Undamped Constant-Coefficient Second-Order ODEs Using Laplace Transforms and Fourier Series

A generalized method for solving an undamped second order, linear ordinary differential equation with constant coefficients is presented where the non-homogeneous term of the differential equation is represented by Fourier series and a solution is found through Laplace transforms. This method makes use of a particular partial fraction expansion form for finding the inverse Laplace transform. If a non-homogeneous function meets certain criteria for a Fourier series representation, then this technique can be used as a more automated means to solve the differential equation as transforms for specific functions need not be determined. The combined use of the Fourier series and Laplace transforms also reinforces the understanding of function representation through a Fourier series and its potential limitations, the mechanics of finding the Laplace transform of a differential equation and inverse transforms, the operation of an undamped system, and through programming insight into the practical application of both tools including information on the influence of the number of terms in the series solution

Special Case of Partial Fraction Expansion with Laplace Transform Application

Partial fraction expansion is often used with the Laplace Transforms to formulate algebraic expressions for which the inverse Laplace Transform can be easily found. This paper demonstrates a special case for which a linear, constant coefficient, second order ordinary differential equation with no damping term and a harmonic function non-homogeneous term leads to a simplified partial fraction expansion due to the decoupling of the partial fraction expansion coefficients of s and the constant coefficients. Recognizing this special form can allow for quicker calculations and automation of the solution to the differential equation form which is commonly used to model physical systems

Mass gaps of a Z3\mathbb{Z}_3 gauge theory with three fermion flavors in 1 + 1 dimensions

We consider a $\mathbb{Z}_3$ gauge theory coupled to three degenerate massive flavors of fermions, which we term "QZD". The spectrum can be computed in $1+1$ dimensions using tensor networks. In weak coupling the spectrum is that of the expected mesons and baryons, although the corrections in weak coupling are nontrivial, analogous to those of non-relativistic QED in 1+1 dimensions. In strong coupling, besides the usual baryon, the singlet meson is a baryon anti-baryon state. For two special values of the coupling constant, the lightest baryon is degenerate with the lightest octet meson, and the lightest singlet meson, respectively.Comment: 17 pages and 10 figure

Liposomal delivery of hydrophobic RAMBAs provides good bioavailability and significant enhancement of retinoic acid signalling in neuroblastoma tumour cells

Retinoid treatment is employed during residual disease treatment in neuroblastoma, where the aim is to induce neural differentiation or death in tumour cells. However, although therapeutically effective, retinoids have only modest benefits and suffer from poor pharmacokinetic properties. In vivo, retinoids induce CYP26 enzyme production in the liver, enhancing their own rapid metabolic clearance, while retinoid resistance in tumour cells themselves is considered to be due in part to increased CYP26 production. Retinoic acid metabolism blocking agents (RAMBAs), which inhibit CYP26 enzymes, can improve retinoic acid pharmacokinetics in pre-clinical neuroblastoma models. Here we demonstrate that in cultured neuroblastoma tumour cells, RAMBAs enhance retinoic acid action as seen by morphological differentiation, AKT signalling and suppression of MYCN protein. Although active as retinoid enhancers, these RAMBAs are highly hydrophobic and their effective delivery in humans will be very challenging. Here we demonstrate that such RAMBAs can be loaded efficiently into cationic liposomal particles, where the RAMBAs achieve good bioavailability and activity in cultured tumour cells. This demonstrates the efficacy of RAMBAs in enhancing retinoid signaling in neuroblastoma cells and shows for the first time that liposomal delivery of hydrophobic RAMBAs is a viable approach, providing novel opportunities for their delivery and application in humans

Robust gates for holonomic quantum computation

Non Abelian geometric phases are attracting increasing interest because of possible experimental application in quantum computation. We study the effects of the environment (modelled as an ensemble of harmonic oscillators) on a holonomic transformation and write the corresponding master equation. The solution is analytically and numerically investigated and the behavior of the fidelity analyzed: fidelity revivals are observed and an optimal finite operation time is determined at which the gate is most robust against noise.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure