172 research outputs found
New results for the degree/diameter problem
The results of computer searches for large graphs with given (small) degree
and diameter are presented. The new graphs are Cayley graphs of semidirect
products of cyclic groups and related groups. One fundamental use of our
``dense graphs'' is in the design of efficient communication network
topologies.Comment: 15 page
Interaction-free measurement and forward scattering
Interaction-free measurement is shown to arise from the forward-scattered
wave accompanying absorption: a "quantum silhouette" of the absorber.
Accordingly, the process is not free of interaction. For a perfect absorber the
forward-scattered wave is locked both in amplitude and in phase. For an
imperfect one it has a nontrivial phase of dynamical origin (``colored
silhouette"), measurable by interferometry. Other examples of quantum
silhouettes, all controlled by unitarity, are briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages in RevTex + 1 figure in eps; submitted to Phys. Rev. A since
09Jan98; now update
High-efficiency quantum interrogation measurements via the quantum Zeno effect
The phenomenon of quantum interrogation allows one to optically detect the
presence of an absorbing object, without the measuring light interacting with
it. In an application of the quantum Zeno effect, the object inhibits the
otherwise coherent evolution of the light, such that the probability that an
interrogating photon is absorbed can in principle be arbitrarily small. We have
implemented this technique, demonstrating efficiencies exceeding the 50%
theoretical-maximum of the original ``interaction-free'' measurement proposal.
We have also predicted and experimentally verified a previously unsuspected
dependence on loss; efficiencies of up to 73% were observed and the feasibility
of efficiencies up to 85% was demonstrated.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett;
submitted June 11, 199
Is 8:30 a.m. Still Too Early to Start School? A 10:00 a.m. School Start Time Improves Health and Performance of Students Aged 13-16.
While many studies have shown the benefits of later school starts, including better student attendance, higher test scores, and improved sleep duration, few have used starting times later than 9:00 a.m. Here we report on the implementation and impact of a 10 a.m. school start time for 13 to 16-year-old students. A 4-year observational study using a before-after-before (A-B-A) design was carried out in an English state-funded high school. School start times were changed from 8:50 a.m. in study year 0, to 10 a.m. in years 1-2, and then back to 8:50 a.m. in year 3. Measures of student health (absence due to illness) and academic performance (national examination results) were used for all students. Implementing a 10 a.m. start saw a decrease in student illness after 2 years of over 50% (p < 0.0005 and effect size: Cohen's d = 1.07), and reverting to an 8:50 a.m. start reversed this improvement, leading to an increase of 30% in student illness (p < 0.0005 and Cohen's d = 0.47). The 10:00 a.m. start was associated with a 12% increase in the value-added number of students making good academic progress (in standard national examinations) that was significant (<0.0005) and equivalent to 20% of the national benchmark. These results show that changing to a 10:00 a.m. high school start time can greatly reduce illness and improve academic performance. Implementing school start times later than 8:30 a.m., which may address the circadian delay in adolescents' sleep rhythms more effectively for evening chronotypes, appears to have few costs and substantial benefits
Are Interaction-free Measurements Interaction Free?
In 1993 Elitzur and Vaidman introduced the concept of interaction-free
measurements which allowed finding objects without ``touching'' them. In the
proposed method, since the objects were not touched even by photons, thus, the
interaction-free measurements can be called as ``seeing in the dark''. Since
then several experiments have been successfully performed and various
modifications were suggested. Recently, however, the validity of the term
``interaction-free'' has been questioned. The criticism of the name is briefly
reviewed and the meaning of the interaction-free measurements is clarified.Comment: 11 pages, 3 eps figures. Contribution to the ICQO 2000, Raubichi,
Belaru
How variation in head pitch could affect image matching algorithms for ant navigation
Desert ants are a model system for animal navigation, using visual memory to follow long routes across both sparse and cluttered environments. Most accounts of this behaviour assume retinotopic image matching, e.g. recovering heading direction by finding a minimum in the image difference function as the viewpoint rotates. But most models neglect the potential image distortion that could result from unstable head motion. We report that for ants running across a short section of natural substrate, the head pitch varies substantially: by over 20 degrees with no load; and 60 degrees when carrying a large food item. There is no evidence of head stabilisation. Using a realistic simulation of the antâs visual world, we demonstrate that this range of head pitch significantly degrades image matching. The effect of pitch variation can be ameliorated by a memory bank of densely sampled along a route so that an image sufficiently similar in pitch and location is available for comparison. However, with large pitch disturbance, inappropriate memories sampled at distant locations are often recalled and navigation along a route can be adversely affected. Ignoring images obtained at extreme pitches, or averaging images over several pitches, does not significantly improve performance
Selenoproteins Are Essential for Proper Keratinocyte Function and Skin Development
Dietary selenium is known to protect skin against UV-induced damage and cancer and its topical application improves skin surface parameters in humans, while selenium deficiency compromises protective antioxidant enzymes in skin. Furthermore, skin and hair abnormalities in humans and rodents may be caused by selenium deficiency, which are overcome by dietary selenium supplementation. Most important biological functions of selenium are attributed to selenoproteins, proteins containing selenium in the form of the amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec). Sec insertion into proteins depends on Sec tRNA; thus, knocking out the Sec tRNA gene (Trsp) ablates selenoprotein expression. We generated mice with targeted removal of selenoproteins in keratin 14 (K14) expressing cells and their differentiated descendents. The knockout progeny had a runt phenotype, developed skin abnormalities and experienced premature death. Lack of selenoproteins in epidermal cells led to the development of hyperplastic epidermis and aberrant hair follicle morphogenesis, accompanied by progressive alopecia after birth. Further analyses revealed that selenoproteins are essential antioxidants in skin and unveiled their role in keratinocyte growth and viability. This study links severe selenoprotein deficiency to abnormalities in skin and hair and provides genetic evidence for the role of these proteins in keratinocyte function and cutaneous development
Transcriptome-Wide Binding Sites for Components of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Non-Poly(A) Termination Pathway: Nrd1, Nab3, and Sen1
RNA polymerase II synthesizes a diverse set of transcripts including both protein-coding and non-coding RNAs. One major difference between these two classes of transcripts is the mechanism of termination. Messenger RNA transcripts terminate downstream of the coding region in a process that is coupled to cleavage and polyadenylation reactions. Non-coding transcripts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae snoRNAs terminate in a process that requires the RNAâbinding proteins Nrd1, Nab3, and Sen1. We report here the transcriptome-wide distribution of these termination factors. These data sets derived from in vivo proteinâRNA cross-linking provide high-resolution definition of non-poly(A) terminators, identify novel genes regulated by attenuation of nascent transcripts close to the promoter, and demonstrate the widespread occurrence of Nrd1-bound 3âČ antisense transcripts on genes that are poorly expressed. In addition, we show that Sen1 does not cross-link efficiently to many expected non-coding RNAs but does cross-link to the 3âČ end of most preâmRNA transcripts, suggesting an extensive role in mRNA 3âČ end formation and/or termination
Measurement of in with decays by a combined time-dependent Dalitz plot analysis of BaBar and Belle data
We report measurements of and from a
time-dependent Dalitz plot analysis of with decays, where the light unflavored and neutral
hadron is a , , or meson. The analysis is
performed with a combination of the final data sets of the \babar\ and Belle
experiments containing and
pairs collected at the resonance at the
asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. We
measure and . The result for the direct
measurement of the angle is . The last quoted
uncertainties are due to the composition of the decay amplitude model, which is newly established by a Dalitz plot
amplitude analysis of a high-statistics data sample
as part of this analysis. We find the first evidence for at the
level of standard deviations. The measurement excludes the trigonometric
multifold solution at the level of
standard deviations and therefore resolves an ambiguity in the
determination of the apex of the CKM Unitarity Triangle. The hypothesis of
is ruled out at the level of standard deviations, and
thus CP violation is observed in decays.Comment: To be submitted to Physical Review
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