Simulation of bipartite qudit correlations

We present a protocol to simulate the quantum correlations of an arbitrary bipartite state, when the parties perform a measurement according to two traceless binary observables. We show that $\log(d)$ bits of classical communication is enough on average, where $d$ is the dimension of both systems. To obtain this result, we use the sampling approach for simulating the quantum correlations. We discuss how to use this method in the case of qudits.Comment: 7 page

Working Document on Gloss Ontology

This document describes the Gloss Ontology. The ontology and associated class model are organised into several packages. Section 2 describes each package in detail, while Section 3 contains a summary of the whole ontology

Rewilding – departures in conservation policy and practice? An evaluation of developments in Britain

Rewilding has been hailed as ‘radical’ and ‘agenda-setting’ in the challenge it poses to mainstream conservation. This paper questions whether that is still the case, or if rewilding is now being mainstreamed and with what consequences? Our analysis focuses upon developments in Britain, up until 2018, discussing what changes have become manifest and the barriers and restraints that have been observed. As such, we evaluate the extent to which rewilding – in practice - departs from longstanding conservation sensibilities. Discussion is structured around three key questions— Who is now involved in rewilding across Britain? What they are seeking to do, in terms of how nature is conceptualised and managed (or not)? In what ways do their objectives involve people and human-centred aspirations? Our findings reveal three key differences from current conservation approaches. First, rewilding is associated with a proliferation of new actors, new mechanisms of finance and new spaces of conservation interest. Second, rewilding as an approach exhibits clear novelty in its stated aim to be nature-led and, despite challenges, attempts to work through ongoing negotiation and experimentation. Finally, rewilding is currently being advocated and pursued as an agenda for people and nature, which moves beyond earlier nature conservation paradigms of protecting nature from human influence. However, it remains to be seen whether rewilding advocates can realise their ambitions to popularise and create peopled wild spaces across Britain's landscapes

Assessing the effect of dynamics on the closed-loop protein-folding hypothesis

The closed-loop (loop-n-lock) hypothesis of protein folding suggests that loops of about 25 residues, closed through interactions between the loop ends (locks), play an important role in protein structure. Coarse-grain elastic network simulations, and examination of loop lengths in a diverse set of proteins, each supports a bias towards loops of close to 25 residues in length between residues of high stability. Previous studies have established a correlation between total contact distance (TCD), a metric of sequence distances between contacting residues (cf. contact order), and the log-folding rate of a protein. In a set of 43 proteins, we identify an improved correlation ( r 2 = 0.76), when the metric is restricted to residues contacting the locks, compared to the equivalent result when all residues are considered ( r 2 = 0.65). This provides qualified support for the hypothesis, albeit with an increased emphasis upon the importance of a much larger set of residues surrounding the locks. Evidence of a similar-sized protein core/extended nucleus (with significant overlap) was obtained from TCD calculations in which residues were successively eliminated according to their hydrophobicity and connectivity, and from molecular dynamics simulations. Our results suggest that while folding is determined by a subset of residues that can be predicted by application of the closed-loop hypothesis, the original hypothesis is too simplistic; efficient protein folding is dependent on a considerably larger subset of residues than those involved in lock formation. </jats:p

AgentSeal : agent-based model describing movement of marine central-place foragers

Acknowledgement This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 746602. GA and SB have been partly funded by Gemini Wind park and the NWO (project ALWPP.2017.003). We would like to thank J. Grecian, D. Thomson, M. Fedak, M. Carter, D. Russell, A. Hall, J. Ransijn, H. Vance and M. Civil for help in model design.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comparison of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentration in chimpanzee dried blood spots and serum

BackgroundDried blood spots (DBS) are used in human medicine to measure total 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐OHD) in the blood. However, this easy and affordable sampling technique has not been evaluated in primates to measure vitamin D concentrations.ObjectivesWe aimed to compare 25‐OHD measurements in chimpanzee serum at two different laboratories and determine the precision and accuracy of the DBS method by comparing DBS and serum results.MethodsBlood samples from 17 captive chimpanzees were collected, and 25‐OHD3 and 25‐OHD2 were measured in serum at two accredited laboratories using liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. The same analytes were measured on DBS cards, and results were compared with that of serum. Data were assessed using the Spearman correlation, Deming regression, and Bland‐Altman analyses. ResultsThe correlation coefficient between the two measurements in serum was r s = .51 (P = .04), and the mean bias was −1.25 ± 14.83. When comparing 25‐OHD concentrations measured in DBS and serum at the same laboratory, the r s was 0.7 (P = .002), and the mean bias was 1.42 ± 14.58. Estimated intra‐assay and inter‐assay coefficients of variation for DBS results were 6% and 12.6%, respectively. ConclusionsAlthough substantial analytical variability was found in 25‐OHD measurements regardless of the sample type, the identification of both constant and proportional error and wider limits of agreement with the DBS technique makes the interpretation of DBS results challenging, especially for values close to clinical cut‐off points. The DBS and serum methods were not interchangeable, and further studies are needed to validate DBS samples for vitamin D measurements in chimpanzees

Working practices and incomes of health workers : evidence from an evaluation of a delivery fee exemption scheme in Ghana

Background: This article describes a survey of health workers and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) which was carried out in 2005 in two regions of Ghana. The objective of the survey was to ascertain the impact of the introduction of a delivery fee exemption scheme on both health workers and those providers who were excluded from the scheme (TBAs). This formed part of an overall evaluation of the delivery fee exemption scheme. The results shed light not only on the scheme itself but also on the general productivity of a range of health workers in Ghana. Methods: A structured questionnaire was developed, covering individual and household characteristics, working hours and practices, sources of income, and views of the exemptions scheme and general motivation. After field testing, this was administered to 374 respondents in 12 districts of Central and Volta regions. The respondents included doctors, medical assistants (MAs), public and private midwives, nurses, community health nurses (CHNs), and traditional birth attendants, both trained and untrained. Results: Health workers were well informed about the delivery fee exemptions scheme and their responses on its impact suggest a realistic view that it was a good scheme, but one that faces serious challenges regarding financial sustainability. Concerning its impact on their morale and working conditions, the responses were broadly neutral. Most public sector workers have seen an increased workload, but counterbalanced by increased pay. TBAs have suffered, in terms of client numbers and income, while the picture for private midwives is mixed. The survey also sheds light on pay and productivity. The respondents report long working hours, with a mean of 54 hours per week for community nurses and up to 129 hours per week for MAs. Weekly reported client loads in the public sector range from a mean of 86 for nurses to 269 for doctors. Over the past two years, reported working hours have been increasing, but so have pay and allowances (for doctors, allowances now make up 66% of their total pay). The lowest paid public health worker now earns almost ten times the average gross national income (GNI) per capita, while the doctors earn 38.5 times GNI per capita. This compares well with average government pay of four times GNI per capita. Comparing pay with outputs, the relatively high number of clients reported by doctors reduces their pay differential, so that the cost per client – $1.09 – is similar to a nurse's (and lower than a private midwife's). Conclusion: These findings show that a scheme which increases demand for public health services while also sustaining health worker income and morale, is workable, if well managed, even within the relatively constrained human resources environment of countries like Ghana. This may be linked to the fact that internal comparisons reveal Ghana's health workers to be well paid from public sector sources.This work was undertaken as part of an international research programme – IMMPACT (Initiative for Maternal Mortality Programme Assessment) – funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Department for International Development, the European Commission and USAID

Autoantibodies to Endothelial Cell Surface ATP Synthase, the Endogenous Receptor for Hsp60, Might Play a Pathogenic Role in Vasculatides

International audienceBACKGROUND: Heat shock protein (hsp) 60 that provides "danger signal" binds to the surface of resting endothelial cells (EC) but its receptor has not yet been characterized. In mitochondria, hsp60 specifically associates with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase. We therefore examined the possible interaction between hsp60 and ATP synthase on EC surface. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using Far Western blot approach, co-immunoprecipitation studies and surface plasmon resonance analyses, we demonstrated that hsp60 binds to the β-subunit of ATP synthase. As a cell surface-expressed molecule, ATP synthase is potentially targeted by anti-EC-antibodies (AECAs) found in the sera of patients suffering vasculitides. Based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting techniques with F1-ATP synthase as substrate, we established the presence of anti-ATP synthase antibodies at higher frequency in patients with primary vasculitides (group I) compared with secondary vasculitides (group II). Anti-ATP synthase reactivity from group I patients was restricted to the β-subunit of ATP synthase, whereas those from group II was directed to the α-, β- and γ-subunits. Cell surface ATP synthase regulates intracellular pH (pHi). In low extracellular pH medium, we detected abnormal decreased of EC pHi in the presence of anti-ATP synthase antibodies, irrespective of their fine reactivities. Interestingly, soluble hsp60 abrogated the anti-ATP synthase-induced pHi down-regulation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that ATP synthase is targeted by AECAs on the surface of EC that induce intracellular acidification. Such pathogenic effect in vasculitides can be modulated by hsp60 binding on ATP synthase which preserves ATP synthase activity