Perfect State Transfer, Effective Gates and Entanglement Generation in Engineered Bosonic and Fermionic Networks

We show how to achieve perfect quantum state transfer and construct effective two-qubit gates between distant sites in engineered bosonic and fermionic networks. The Hamiltonian for the system can be determined by choosing an eigenvalue spectrum satisfying a certain condition, which is shown to be both sufficient and necessary in mirror-symmetrical networks. The natures of the effective two-qubit gates depend on the exchange symmetry for fermions and bosons. For fermionic networks, the gates are entangling (and thus universal for quantum computation). For bosonic networks, though the gates are not entangling, they allow two-way simultaneous communications. Protocols of entanglement generation in both bosonic and fermionic engineered networks are discussed.Comment: RevTeX4, 6 pages, 1 figure; replaced with a more general example and clarified the sufficient and necessary condition for perfect state transfe

A comparison of the cost-effectiveness of treatment of prolonged acute convulsive epileptic seizures in children across Europe

In the majority of children and adolescents with epilepsy, optimal drug therapy adequately controls their condition. However, among the remaining patients who are still uncontrolled despite mono-, bi- or tri-therapy with chronic anti-epileptic treatment, a rescue medication is required. In Western Europe, the licensed medications available for first-line treatment of prolonged acute convulsive seizures (PACS) vary widely, and so comparators for clinical and economic evaluation are not consistent. No European guidelines currently exist for the treatment of PACS in children and adolescents and limited evidence is available for the effectiveness of treatments in the community setting. The authors present cost-effectiveness data for BUCCOLAM® (midazolam oromucosal solution) for the treatment of PACS in children and adolescents in the context of the treatment pathway in seven European countries in patients from 6 months to 18 years. For each country, the health economic model consisted of a decision tree, with decision nodes informed by clinical data and expert opinion obtained via a Delphi methodology. The events modelled are those associated with a patient experiencing a seizure in the community setting. The model assessed the likelihood of medication being administered successfully and of seizure cessation. The associated resource use was also modelled, and ambulance call-outs and hospitalisations were considered. The patient's quality of life was estimated by clinicians, who completed a five-level EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire from the perspective of a child or adolescent suffering a seizure. Despite differences in current therapy, treatment patterns and healthcare costs in all countries assessed, BUCCOLAM was shown to be cost saving and offered increased health-related benefits for patients in the treatment of PACS compared with the current local standard of care

A Discrete Version of the Inverse Scattering Problem and the J-matrix Method

The problem of the Hamiltonian matrix in the oscillator and Laguerre basis construction from the S-matrix is treated in the context of the algebraic analogue of the Marchenko method.Comment: 11 pages. The Laguerre basis case is adde

Developing Games For The Purposes of Rote Learning for Keyboard and Piano.

This paper describes the development of a set of three video games designed to reduce the high drop-off rates associated with learning to play the piano/keyboard by gamifying rote tasks that require monotonous practice. By defining our own understanding of what musicianship is and creating a custom framework for assessment through the use of existing curriculum, we have chosen specific areas which require the most rote learning and are critical to developing motor skills and to building an understanding of music; these include learning and practicing scales, keeping in time with tempo and the basics of hand coordination and fingering styles. Existing solutions that attempt to resolve the issue of high drop off rates observed with beginner instrument learners use elements of gamification in order to enrich their learning experiences and also help increase motivation. These approaches do work but in most cases they offer short term solutions; a key issue is retaining users over long periods of time and ensuring that they practice consistently and regularly. We developed solutions which offer a way for learners to practice in an engaging and entertaining way, with the intention to reduce the drop-off rates and lower the barrier for entry to learning piano/keyboard

Leadership, the logic of sufficiency and the sustainability of education

The notion of sufficiency has not yet entered mainstream educational thinking, and it still has to make its mark upon educational leadership. However, a number of related concepts – particularly those of sustainability and complexity theory – are beginning to be noticed. This article examines these two concepts and uses them to critique the quasi-economic notion of efficiency, before arguing that the concept of sufficiency arises naturally from this discussion. This concept, originally derived from environmental thinking, has both metaphorical and practical impact for educational organizations and their leadership. An examination of three possible meanings suggests that while an embrace of an imperative concept of sufficiency seems increasingly necessary, its adoption would probably lead to a number of other problems, as it challenges some fundamental societal values and assumptions. Nevertheless, the article argues that these need to be addressed for the sake of both sustainable leadership and a sustainable planet

Walks4work: Rationale and study design to investigate walking at lunchtime in the workplace setting

Background: Following recruitment of a private sector company, an 8week lunchtime walking intervention was implemented to examine the effect of the intervention on modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors, and further to see if walking environment had any further effect on the cardiovascular disease risk factors. Methods. For phase 1 of the study participants were divided into three groups, two lunchtime walking intervention groups to walk around either an urban or natural environment twice a week during their lunch break over an 8week period. The third group was a waiting-list control who would be invited to join the walking groups after phase 1. In phase 2 all participants were encouraged to walk during their lunch break on self-selecting routes. Health checks were completed at baseline, end of phase 1 and end of phase 2 in order to measure the impact of the intervention on cardiovascular disease risk. The primary outcome variables of heart rate and heart rate variability were measured to assess autonomic function associated with cardiovascular disease. Secondary outcome variables (Body mass index, blood pressure, fitness, autonomic response to a stressor) related to cardiovascular disease were also measured. The efficacy of the intervention in increasing physical activity was objectively monitored throughout the 8-weeks using an accelerometer device. Discussion. The results of this study will help in developing interventions with low researcher input with high participant output that may be implemented in the workplace. If effective, this study will highlight the contribution that natural environments can make in the reduction of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors within the workplace. © 2012 Brown et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

The transformation of transport policy in Great Britain? 'New Realism' and New Labour's decade of displacement activity

In a 1999 paper, Goodwin announced ‘the transformation of transport policy in Great Britain’. His central point was that consensus was emerging among policy makers and academics based on earlier work including Transport: The New Realism, which rejected previous orthodoxy that the supply of road space could and should be continually expanded to match demand. Instead a combination of investment in public transport, walking and cycling opportunities and – crucially – demand management should form the basis of transport policy to address rising vehicle use and associated increases in congestion and pollution / carbon emissions. This thinking formed the basis of the 1997 Labour government’s ‘sustainable transport’ policy, but after 13 years in power ministers neither transformed policy nor tackled longstanding transport trends. Our main aim in this paper is to revisit the concept of New Realism and re-examine its potential utility as an agent of change in British transport policy. Notwithstanding the outcome of Labour’s approach to transport policy, we find that the central tenets of the New Realism remain robust and that the main barriers to change are related to broader political and governance issues which suppress radical policy innovation

The scientific foundations and associated injury risks of early soccer specialisation

Early specialisation is characterised by formal participation in a single sport at the exclusion of others. Limited data are available to support this approach in the development of soccer players who attain elite status later in life. Of growing concern is the associated increased risk of injury and suggestions that single sport specialisation is a risk factor independent of age, growth, biological maturation and training volumes In the United Kingdom, elite soccer organisations have recently adopted an early sport specialisation approach following the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan. A key tenet of this programme is increased opportunities for training through a marked rise in the specified on-pitch hours per week. The accumulation of high training hours may be less of a relevant marker for success, and the impact of such a significant increase in training volume for young athletes who are experiencing a range of growth and maturational processes is currently unknown. This critical commentary includes an evidence based discussion of the effectiveness of early sport specialisation and the potential injury risks associated with such programmes placing a specific focus on elite male youth soccer players. Available data indicate that modifications to the existing EPPP framework could enhance player development and reduce injury risk. Proposed alterations include reduced volume of soccer specific training at key stages of growth and maturation and guidelines for the provision of a greater variety of physical activities that are integrated within other programme components

Equation-Free Multiscale Computations in Social Networks: from Agent-based Modelling to Coarse-grained Stability and Bifurcation Analysis

We focus at the interface between multiscale computations, bifurcation theory and social networks. In particular we address how the Equation-Free approach, a recently developed computational framework, can be exploited to systematically extract coarse-grained, emergent dynamical information by bridging detailed, agent-based models of social interactions on networks, with macroscopic, systems-level, continuum numerical analysis tools. For our illustrations we use a simple dynamic agent-based model describing the propagation of information between individuals interacting under mimesis in a social network with private and public information. We describe the rules governing the evolution of the agents emotional state dynamics and discover, through simulation, multiple stable stationary states as a function of the network topology. Using the Equation-Free approach we track the dependence of these stationary solutions on network parameters and quantify their stability in the form of coarse-grained bifurcation diagrams