The intrinsic Baldwin effect in broad Balmer lines of six long-term monitored AGNs

We investigate the intrinsic Baldwin effect (Beff) of the broad H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ emission lines for six Type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with different broad line characteristics: two Seyfert 1 (NGC 4151 and NGC 5548), two AGNs with double-peaked broad line profiles (3C 390.3 and Arp 102B), one narrow line Seyfert 1 (Ark 564), and one high-luminosity quasar with highly red asymmetric broad line profiles (E1821+643). We found that a significant intrinsic Beff was present in all Type 1 AGNs in our sample. Moreover, we do not see strong difference in intrinsic Beff slopes in different types of AGNs which probably have different physical properties, such as inclination, broad line region geometry, or accretion rate. Additionally, we found that the intrinsic Beff was not connected with the global one, which, instead, could not be detected in the broad H$\alpha$ or H$\beta$ emission lines. In the case of NGC 4151, the detected variation of the Beff slope could be due to the change in the site of line formation in the BLR. Finally, the intrinsic Beff might be caused by the additional optical continuum component that is not part of the ionization continuum.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Long-term monitoring of the broad-line region properties in a selected sample of AGN

We present the results of the long-term optical monitoring campaign of active galactic nuclei (AGN) coordinated by the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science. This campaign has produced a remarkable set of optical spectra, since we have monitored for several decades different types of broad-line (type 1) AGN, from a Seyfert 1, double-peaked line, radio loud and radio quiet AGN, to a supermassive binary black hole candidate. Our analysis of the properties of the broad line region (BLR) of these objects is based on the variability of the broad emission lines. We hereby give a comparative review of the variability properties of the broad emission lines and the BLR of seven different type 1 AGNs, emphasizing some important results, such as the variability rate, the BLR geometry, and the presence of the intrinsic Baldwin effect. We are discussing the difference and similarity in the continuum and emission line variability, focusing on what is the impact of our results to the supermassive black hole mass determination from the BLR properties.Comment: Published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Scienc

Mass-imbalanced ionic Hubbard chain

A repulsive Hubbard model with both spin-asymmetric hopping (t↑≠t↓) and a staggered potential (of strength Δ) is studied in one dimension. The model is a compound of the mass-imbalanced (t↑≠t↓,Δ=0) and ionic (t↑=t↓,Δ>0) Hubbard models, and may be realized by cold atoms in engineered optical lattices. We use mostly mean-field theory to determine the phases and phase transitions in the ground state for a half-filled band (one particle per site). We find that a period-two modulation of the particle (or charge) density and an alternating spin density coexist for arbitrary Hubbard interaction strength, U≥0. The amplitude of the charge modulation is largest at U=0, decreases with increasing U and tends to zero for U→∞. The amplitude for spin alternation increases with U and tends to saturation for U→∞. Charge order dominates below a value Uc, whereas magnetic order dominates above. The mean-field Hamiltonian has two gap parameters, Δ↑ and Δ↓, which have to be determined self-consistently. For UUc they have different signs, and for U=Uc one gap parameter jumps from a positive to a negative value. The weakly first-order phase transition at Uc can be interpreted in terms of an avoided criticality (or metallicity). The system is reluctant to restore a symmetry that has been broken explicitly

Measurement uncertainty in broadband radiofrequency radiation level measurements

For the evaluation of measurement uncertainty in the measurement of broadband radio frequency radiation, in this paper we propose a new approach based on the experience of the authors of the paper with measurements of radiofrequency electric field levels conducted in residential areas of Belgrade and over 35 municipalities in Serbia. The main objective of the paper is to present practical solutions in the evaluation of broadband measurement uncertainty for the in-situ RF radiation levels. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III43009

Parallel window decoding enables scalable fault tolerant quantum computation

Quantum Error Correction (QEC) continuously generates a stream of syndrome data that contains information about the errors in the system. Useful fault-tolerant quantum computation requires online decoders that are capable of processing this syndrome data at the rate it is received. Otherwise, a data backlog is created that grows exponentially with the $T$-gate depth of the computation. Superconducting quantum devices can perform QEC rounds in sub-1 $\mu$s time, setting a stringent requirement on the speed of the decoders. All current decoder proposals have a maximum code size beyond which the processing of syndromes becomes too slow to keep up with the data acquisition, thereby making the fault-tolerant computation not scalable. Here, we will present a methodology that parallelizes the decoding problem and achieves almost arbitrary syndrome processing speed. Our parallelization requires some classical feedback decisions to be delayed, leading to a slow-down of the logical clock speed. However, the slow-down is now polynomial in code size and so an exponential backlog is averted. Furthermore, using known auto-teleportation gadgets the slow-down can be eliminated altogether in exchange for increased qubit overhead, all polynomially scaling. We demonstrate our parallelization speed-up using a Python implementation, combining it with both union-find and minimum weight perfect matching. Furthermore, we show that the algorithm imposes no noticeable reduction in logical fidelity compared to the original global decoder. Finally, we discuss how the same methodology can be implemented in online hardware decoders.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Delphi with feedback of rationales: how large can a Delphi group be such that participants are not overloaded, de-motivated, or disengaged?

In this paper, we investigate the effect of Delphi group size and opinion diversity on group members’ information load as well as on their overall experience of the Delphi process - in terms of task involvement (enjoyment and interest) and in terms of group sway (the influence and helpfulness of others’ rationales). For Delphi applications involving the exchange of rationales between participants, we found no evidence that group sizes of up to 19 participants cause information overload or de-motivation and disengagement of participants

Treatment compliance and retention in care among out-patient clients in a tertiary health institution in plateau state North Central Nigeria

Background: Compliance with prescribed treatment and retention in care are key components in the management of chronic diseases which is vital in averting the long term complications that could arise from such conditions. Failure to comply with treatment recommendations is often associated with poor retention in care. In view of this, this study was conducted to determine the level of treatment compliance and retention in care among patients with hypertension and diabetes in Jos University Teaching Hospital.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 290 eligible respondents between September and November 2017 using quantitative method of data collection. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis with adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval used as point and interval estimates while p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 54.5±13.1 years with 43.8% of the respondents found to have satisfactorily complied with prescribed treatment while 117 (40.3%) were uninterruptedly retained in care within the last 6 months' clinic appointments  prior to the study.Conclusions: This study has demonstrated the levels of compliance with treatment and retention in care bringing to bear the need to provide structured interventions targeted at attaining improvement in compliance with treatment and retention in care among individuals on long term care

Android Based Smart Home System

Conventional electrical installations used in various building today poses great difficulty for physically challenged and elderly persons to operate them. Sometimes it is also inconvenient for normal person to use productively. Because of the increasing number of both the elderly and the disabled persons, an implementation of a smart home system is proposed in this paper. In addition to the convenience, the system also provides a platform for inclusion of the elderly and physically challenged individuals in both homes and offices, thereby enabling them to contribute meaningful to the development of the economy. The system gives home users wireless control over the house hold lighting systems, ventilation systems and the home main gate using an application running on an android smart phone. It also provides the user with an up to date temperature reading of the surrounding and the energy consumed by the device in the house. A centralized controller was developed around PIC 18F4550 microcontroller to handle the data acquisition and processing for the system. The overall system performance was demonstrated in controlling lamps, fans and gate of a prototyped one bedroom flat and confirmed the success of the design