Probing the interaction between Rydberg-dressed atoms through interference

We study the dynamics of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice in which the electronic groundstate of each atom is weakly coupled to a highly excited Rydberg state by a far off-resonant laser. This dressing induces a switchable effective soft-core interaction between groundstate atoms which, in the lattice, gives rise to on-site as well as long-range interaction terms. Upon switching on the dressing laser the Bose-Einstein condensate undergoes a nontrivial collapse and revival dynamics which can be observed in the interference pattern that is created after a release of the atoms from the optical lattice. This interference signal strongly depends on the strength and the duration of the dressing laser pulse and can be used to probe and characterize the effective interaction between Rydberg-dressed atoms.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Synchronization of Nonlinear Circuits in Dynamic Electrical Networks with General Topologies

Sufficient conditions are derived for global asymptotic synchronization in a system of identical nonlinear electrical circuits coupled through linear time-invariant (LTI) electrical networks. In particular, the conditions we derive apply to settings where: i) the nonlinear circuits are composed of a parallel combination of passive LTI circuit elements and a nonlinear voltage-dependent current source with finite gain; and ii) a collection of these circuits are coupled through either uniform or homogeneous LTI electrical networks. Uniform electrical networks have identical per-unit-length impedances. Homogeneous electrical networks are characterized by having the same effective impedance between any two terminals with the others open circuited. Synchronization in these networks is guaranteed by ensuring the stability of an equivalent coordinate-transformed differential system that emphasizes signal differences. The applicability of the synchronization conditions to this broad class of networks follows from leveraging recent results on structural and spectral properties of Kron reduction---a model-reduction procedure that isolates the interactions of the nonlinear circuits in the network. The validity of the analytical results is demonstrated with simulations in networks of coupled Chua's circuits

Studie über die Verwendung von Visionsvideos für die Weitergabe von Anforderungen

Reaching a shared understanding between stakeholders and developers during requirement analysis regarding the vision of the system to be developed is a critical and decisive factor for a successful requirement communication, thus more accurate and right specifications that leads to project success. Till now textual description of the specification is still the common way of communication and it has proven difficulties, as it entails a learning phase and may still lead to misunderstandings. The stakeholder may be hindered to express further requirements. As a result researches focus on none standard requirements engineering methods. The goal was to help facilitate interaction between participants. One of these methods aims at exploiting the video communicational power to compensate the drawbacks and difficulties in understanding during the requirement analysis as a result of using only textual description. This bachelor thesis will study the use of the so called Vision Video not only in the validation phase but also during the other phases of requirements analysis to help build a common ground between both stakeholders and developers. The thesis will also define the difference caused by using the Vision Video comparing to the traditional way of communication (specification sheets). It will try to specify factors and characteristics that lead to a better Vision Video, thus improve requirement communication to the maximum. The thesis will then present an evaluation and the data resulted by applying it. The data will be analyzed using the suitable analysis method. The result of the analysis should support or deny our claim that the Vision Video will lead to improvement in the overall requirements communication process. At the end a conclusion will be drawn on the light of the analysis’ results and some future works will be suggested.Ein entscheidender Faktor für eine erfolgreiche Weitergabe von Anforderungen, die zum Projekterfolg führen, ist ein gemeinsames Verständnis zwischen Stakeholdern und Entwicklern bei der Anforderungsanalyse hinsichtlich der Vision des entwickelnden Systems. Bisher ist die textuelle Beschreibung der Spezifikation immer noch als die übliche Art der Weitergabe von Anforderungen betrachtet. Diese Weitergabe von Anforderungen ist nicht leicht durchzuführen, da sie eine Lernphase benötigt und zu Missverständnissen führen kann. Deswegen sind viele Untersuchungen auf der Suche nach neuen Requirements Engineering Methoden, sodass die Interaktion zwischen den Teilnehmern erleichtert und unterstützt wird. Die Benutzung von Video war eine dieser Methoden, die Idee war die Videokommunikationskraft auszunutzen, um die Schwierigkeiten beim Verständnis zu reduzieren. Diese Bachelorarbeit wird die Verwendung des sogenannten Visionvideo nicht nur während der Validierungsphase, sondern auch während der anderen Phasen des Requirements Analysis. Die Studie wird der Unterschied zwischen Verwendung des Visionsvideo und die traditionellen Kommunikation (text-basierte Spezifikation) bestimmen. Darüber hinaus werden Faktoren und Merkmale definiert, die zu einem besseren Visionsvideo führen und die Weitergabe von Anforderungen maximieren. Danach wird eine Evaluation durchgeführt. Folgend werden die Daten, die sich aus dieser Evaluation ergeben, nach der geeigneten Analysemethode ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse der Evaluation sollten unsere Behauptung, dass das Visionsvideo zu einer Verbesserung des gesamten Weitergabe von Anforderungen führen wird, unterstützen oder verweigern. Am Ende wird die gesamte Arbeit resümiert, um anschließend ein Fazit über die erbrachten Ergebnisse zu ziehen

An Exploration of Elementary Teachers\u27 Beliefs and Perceptions About Science Inquiry: A Mixed Methods Study

In order for science-based inquiry instruction to happen on a large scale in elementary classrooms across the country, evidence must be provided that implementing this reform can be realistic and practical, despite the challenges and obstacles teachers may face. This study sought to examine elementary teachers\u27 knowledge and understanding of, attitudes toward, and overall perceptions of inquiry-based science instruction, and how these beliefs influenced their inquiry practice in the classroom. It offered a description and analysis of the approaches elementary science teachers in Islamic schools reported using to promote inquiry within the context of their science classrooms, and addressed the challenges the participating teachers faced when implementing scientific inquiry strategies in their instruction. The research followed a mixed method approach, best described as a sequential two-strand design (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2006). Sequential mixed designs develop two methodological strands that occur chronologically, and in the case of this research, QUAN†’QUAL. Findings from the study supported the notion that the school and/or classroom environment could be a contextual factor that influenced some teachers\u27 classroom beliefs about the feasibility of implementing science inquiry. Moreover, although teacher beliefs are influential, they are malleable and adaptable and influenced primarily by their own personal direct experiences with inquiry instruction or lack of

Integrating Python into Mechanical Engineering undergraduate curriculum

Integrating the fundamentals of computer science and programming skills into the undergraduate engineering curriculum has been a primary focus for many educational institutions around the world. Learning the basics of programming from the beginning of undergraduate engineering education allows students to incorporate such skills into their work in the future with ease. The department of mechanical engineering at University College London has acknowledged this value and decided to implement a programming element into the first-year mechanical engineering curriculum to teach the basics of Python language and assess it using a real-life engineering problem. Python is general-purpose, concise, easy-to-read and -learn programming language that has become one of the most popular and in-demand languages in the world. Python has a vast ecosystem of tools, packages, and libraries that address a wide-ranging number of programming scenarios and provide mechanical engineers with a large array of general-purpose functionality. The addition of this element to the first-year curriculum during the last academic year 2021- 2022 has shown a high assessment passing rate and notable student engagement. In this extended abstract, an overview of planning, implementing and the results obtained from this process will be illustrated, and future work plans will be outlined

Assessment of VLSI resources requirement for a sliced trusted platform module

Recent increases in cybercrime suggest questions such as: How can one trust a secure system? How can one protect private information from being stolen and maintain security? Trust in any system requires a foundation or root of trust. A root of trust is necessary to establish confidence that a machine is clean and that a software execution environment is secure. A root of trust can be implemented using the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is promising for enhancing security of general-purpose computing systems. In cloud computing, one of the proposed approaches is to use homomorphic encryption to create k program slices to be executed on k different cloud nodes. The TPM at the cloud node can then also be distributed or sliced along the lines presented in this thesis. In this work, we propose to increase TPM efficiency by distributing the TPM into multiple shares using Residue Number Systems (RNS). We then perform an evaluation of the silicon area, and execution time required for a sliced-TPM implementation and compares it to a single TPM. We characterize the execution time required by each TPM command using measurements obtained on ModelSim simulator. Finally, we show that the proposed scheme improves TPM efficiency and that execution time of TPM commands was noticeably improved. In the case of 4 shares the required execution time of the TPM commands that involving RSA operation in each slice was decreased by 93%, and the area of each slice was decreased by 2.93% while the total area was increased by 74%. In the case of 10 shares the required execution time of the TPM commands that involving RSA operations in each slice was decreased by 99%, and the area of each slice was decreased by 3.3% while the total area was increased by 85%

Incorporation of Traffic Collision Alert System (TCAS) Advisories on Heads-up Displays: Enhanced Pilot Response

This study evaluated the effects that heads-up mounted TCAS displays had on pilot response and workload. Pilot response was evaluated by: (a) response time to a traffic advisory, and (b) number of missed traffic alerts. Workload assessment was accomplished in accordance with NASA\u27s Task Load Index (TLX). Subjects were all licensed pilots with a minimum of a private pilot license and an instrument rating. A total of 32 subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups utilizing HUD-mounted, and conventional, TCAS displays respectively. Performance data was collected during computer-simulated flights, while subjective workload levels were reported at the end. It was found that HUD-mounted TCAS displays yielded better performance results (p=0.05), while resulting in significantly less workload

"The Right to Have Rights": Legal Identity Documentation in the Syrian Civil War

During the Syrian civil war the gap left by the state in providing legal identity documentation has been filled by other actors. This has forced Syrians to navigate a course through webs of interlocking identity documents to garner small benefits and manage substantial risks. The situation disproportionately affects Syrian women, particularly their parental, inheritance, and property rights. In addition to the Syrian state, the Islamic State, the Syrian Interim Government/Syrian National Coalition, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham's Salvation Government, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, and Turkey in the northern Euphrates Shield zone have all issued legal identity documentation at various times during the Syrian civil war. People need life-cycle events documented to ensure they and their children do not become stateless; to access humanitarian aid, local justice mechanisms, healthcare, and education; to ensure freedom of movement through internal checkpoints; and to conduct trade or real estate transactions. Driven primarily by necessity, many Syrians are attempting to access official, forged, or fraudulent documents through an expensive and unreliable underworld of brokers (samasira). Lack of documentation can mean Syrian women whose husbands have been killed, disappeared, displaced, or conscripted into the military are particularly at risk of losing or being unable to access property rights to which they are entitled. The problem of access to and/or lack of official identity documentation is a ticking time bomb that could lead to an entire generation of Syrians being undocumented. External states should advocate that the Syrian regime recognise prima facie the details of life-cycle events and property transactions contained in documents issued by non-state actors. This would ensure that future generations of Syrians have access to documentary evidence of these events. It would also minimise the long-term, cascading effects caused by lack of documentation