Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm as a test of quantum computation

A redundancy in the existing Deutsch-Jozsa quantum algorithm is removed and a refined algorithm, which reduces the size of the register and simplifies the function evaluation, is proposed. The refined version allows a simpler analysis of the use of entanglement between the qubits in the algorithm and provides criteria for deciding when the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm constitutes a meaningful test of quantum computation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, RevTex, Approved for publication in Phys Rev

The atmospheric effects of stratospheric aircraft: A current consensus

In the early 1970's, a fleet of supersonic aircraft flying in the lower stratosphere was proposed. A large fleet was never built for economic, political, and environmental reasons. Technological improvements may make it economically feasible to develop supersonic aircraft for current markets. Some key results of earlier scientific programs designed to assess the impact of aircraft emissions on stratospheric ozone are reviewed, and factors that must be considered to assess the environmental impact of aircraft exhaust are discussed. These include the amount of nitrogen oxides injected in the stratosphere, horizontal transport, and stratosphere/troposphere assessment models are presented. Areas in which improvements in scientific understanding and model representation must be made to reduce the uncertainty in model calculations are identified

Excerpts from the paper: Research Status and Recommendation from the Alaska Workshop on Gravity Waves and Turbulence in the Middle Atmosphere, part 1.3A

Internal gravity waves are disturbances whose intrinsic frequencies k(c - u) are smaller than the Brunt-Vaisala frequency (N). Their importance arises because: they are the major components of the total flow and temperature variability fields of the mesosphere (i.e., shears and lapse rates) and hence constitute the likely sources of turbulence; and they are associated with fluxes of momentum that communicate stresses over large distances. For example, gravity waves exert a drag on the flow in the upper mesosphere. However, in order for gravity waves to exert a net drag on the atmosphere, they must be attenuated. There are two general types of processes that seek to attenuate gravity waves: dissipation and saturation. Dissipation is any process that is effective independent of the wave amplitude, while saturation occurs when certain wave amplitude conditions are met. Radiative damping is an example of dissipation, while convective overturning is an example of saturation. The two processes are not mutually exclusive

A Priority-Based Admission Control Scheme for Commercial Web Servers

This paper investigates into the performance and load management of web servers that are deployed in commercial websites. Such websites offer various services such as flight/hotel booking, online banking, stock trading, and product purchases among others. Customers are increasingly relying on these round-the-clock services which are easier and (generally) cheaper to order. However, such an increasing number of customers’ requests makes a greater demand on the web servers. This leads to web servers’ overload and the consequential provisioning of inadequate level of service. This paper addresses these issues and proposes an admission control scheme which is based on the class-based priority scheme that classifies customer’s requests into different classes. The proposed scheme is formally specified using ΠΠ-calculus and is implemented as a Java-based prototype system. The prototype system is used to simulate the behaviour of commercial website servers and to evaluate their performance in terms of response time, throughput, arrival rate, and the percentage of dropped requests. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly improves the performance of high priority requests but without causing adverse effects on low priority requests

Effect of a Single Bout of Prior Moderate Exercise on Cutaneous Perfusion in Type 2 Diabetes

In diabetic individuals, increased shunting of circulation away from the skin may exist, contributing to their greater risk for ulcerations and poor cutaneous healing. In a prospective study (1), we previously found a lower skin perfusion during local heating in the foot dorsum of sedentary type 2 diabetic individuals compared with active people without diabetes. This defect was present despite normal increases in skin interstitial nitric oxide (NO), suggesting that NO is either ineffective or not involved (2). A prior bout of maximal exercise also lessened the impaired responsiveness to local heating of the dorsal foot in active type 2 diabetic individuals but not in their sedentary counterparts (3). Thus, this study examined the effect of a single bout of prior moderate cycle exercise on dorsal foot cutaneous perfusion and interstitial NO

Cutaneous Blood Flow in Type 2 Diabetic Individuals After an Acute Bout of Maximal Exercise

OBJECTIVE - We previously demonstrated a positive association between chronic aerobic exercise and dorsal foot skin blood flow during local heating in type 2 diabetic individuals. Thus, we hypothesized that a prior acute bout of maximal exercise would also have positive effects on postexercise blood now. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Subjects consisted of 32 individuals with type 2 diabetes and 26 nondiabetic control subjects further subdivided based on their physical activity status diabetic exerciser (DE), diabetic sedentary (DS), control exerciser (CE), or control sedentary. Dorsal foot cutaneous blood flow was measured noninvasively by continuous laser-Doppler assessment at baseline and during local heating to 44°C before and after a maximal bout of cycle exercise. Interstitial nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured concurrently in the foot dorsum. RESULTS - increases in blood flow and its responsiveness to local heating to 44°C were significantly lower in both diabetic groups compared with CE before maximal exercise, but perfusion responsiveness remained lower in DS subjects only after exercise (P \u3c 0.05). Baseline skin blood flow was not different among groups preexercise, but it was significantly increased postexercise in DE subjects only. Interstitial NO levels were not significantly different at either time. At baseline, groups differed only in HbA1c, fasting serum glucose, HDL cholesterol, and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment method). CONCLUSIONS - All diabetic individuals exhibit a blunted responsiveness of cutaneous blood flow with local heating to 44°C before maximal exercise compared with active nondiabetic individuals, but after an exercise bout, it remains significantly blunted only in diabetic individuals who are sedentary. These findings occur independently of changes in interstitial NO levels

Assembly of alpha-synuclein and neurodegeneration in the central nervous system of heterozygous M83 mice following the peripheral administration of alpha-synuclein seeds

Peripheral administration (oral, intranasal, intraperitoneal, intravenous) of assembled A53T α-synuclein induced synucleinopathy in heterozygous mice transgenic for human mutant A53T α-synuclein (line M83). The same was the case when cerebellar extracts from a case of multiple system atrophy with type II α-synuclein filaments were administered intraperitoneally, intravenously or intramuscularly. We observed abundant immunoreactivity for pS129 α-synuclein in nerve cells and severe motor impairment, resulting in hindlimb paralysis and shortened lifespan. Filaments immunoreactive for pS129 α-synuclein were in evidence. A 70% loss of motor neurons was present five months after an intraperitoneal injection of assembled A53T α-synuclein or cerebellar extract with type II α-synuclein filaments from an individual with a neuropathologically confirmed diagnosis of multiple system atrophy. Microglial cells changed from a predominantly ramified to a dystrophic appearance. Taken together, these findings establish a close relationship between the formation of α-synuclein inclusions in nerve cells and neurodegeneration, accompanied by a shift in microglial cell morphology. Propagation of α-synuclein inclusions depended on the characteristics of both seeds and transgenically expressed protein

From exercise intolerance to functional improvement: The second wind phenomenon in the identification of McArdle disease

McArdle disease is the most common of the glycogen storage diseases. Onset of symptoms is usually in childhood with muscle pain and restricted exercise capacity. Signs and symptoms are often ignored in children or put down to 'growing pains' and thus diagnosis is often delayed. Misdiagnosis is not uncommon because several other conditions such as muscular dystrophy and muscle channelopathies can manifest with similar symptoms. A simple exercise test performed in the clinic can however help to identify patients by revealing the second wind phenomenon which is pathognomonic of the condition. Here a patient is reported illustrating the value of using a simple 12 minute walk test.RSS is funded by Ciências sem Fronteiras/CAPES Foundation. The authors would like to thank the Association for Glycogen Storage Disease (UK), the EUROMAC Registry funded by the European Union, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, the NHS National Specialist Commissioning Group and the Myositis Support Group for funding

An optically driven quantum dot quantum computer

We propose a quantum computer structure based on coupled asymmetric single-electron quantum dots. Adjacent dots are strongly coupled by means of electric dipole-dipole interactions enabling rapid computation rates. Further, the asymmetric structures can be tailored for a long coherence time. The result maximizes the number of computation cycles prior to loss of coherence.Comment: 4 figure