Localized detection of quantum entanglement through the event horizon

We present a completely localized solution to the problem of entanglement degradation in non-inertial frames. A two mode squeezed state is considered from the viewpoint of two observers, Alice (inertial) and Rob (accelerated), and a model of localized projective detection is used to study the amount of entanglement that they are able to extract from the initial state. The Unruh vacuum noise plays only a minor role in the degradation process. The dominant source of degradation is a mode mismatch between the mode of the squeezed state Rob observes and the mode he is able to detect from his accelerated frame. Leakage of the initial mode through Rob's horizon places a limit on his ability to fully measure the state, leading to an inevitable degradation of entanglement that even in principle cannot be corrected by changing the hardware design of his detector.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The effectiveness of orally applied L-menthol on exercise performance in the heat

During exercise in the heat, increasing thermal load leads to thermo-behavioural adjustments in exercise performance, due to greater perceptual and physiological strain. Behavioural reductions in exercise intensity in the heat are initially mediated via rises in skin temperature, which alter thermal perception (comfort and sensation) and later by rises in core temperature, which increase cardiovascular strain and perceived exertion. Therefore, thermoregulation may be ordered and dependant on the magnitude, timing and/or prioritisation of afferent signals. Non-thermal cooling via L-menthol has been shown to enhance exercise performance in the early and latter stages when delivered orally at a concentration of 0.01%. Indeed, during periods of progressive thermal stress, imposed by the combination of maximal exercise and environmental heat and humidity, L-menthol has been shown to offer an immediate cooling stimulus thus extending exercise capacity. However, repeated administration of L-menthol during exercise in the heat, as thermal load increases, is unable to recover a decline in work rate. Therefore, it is unclear whether the potency of L-menthol is sustained upon frequent application and what strategies are needed in both sporting and occupational settings to optimise its effectiveness. In this part of the symposium we will consider oral delivery of L-menthol and its potential for reducing an individual’s perception of heat stress with associated effects on exercise tolerance in the heat. We will also examine the frequency of use, optimal concentration, timing and novelty of L-menthol in a sporting and occupational context

Oral application of L-menthol in the heat: From pleasure to performance

When menthol is applied to the oral cavity it presents with a familiar refreshing sensation and cooling mint flavour. This may be deemed hedonic in some individuals, but may cause irritation in others. This variation in response is likely dependent upon trigeminal sensitivity toward cold stimuli, suggesting a need for a menthol solution that can be easily personalised. Menthol’s characteristics can also be enhanced by matching colour to qualitative outcomes; a factor which can easily be manipulated by practitioners working in athletic or occupational settings to potentially enhance intervention efficacy. This presentation will outline the efficacy of oral menthol application for improving time trial performance to date, either via swilling or via co-ingestion with other cooling strategies, with an emphasis upon how menthol can be applied in ecologically valid scenarios. Situations in which performance is not expected to be enhanced will also be discussed. An updated model by which menthol may prove hedonic, satiate thirst and affect ventilation will also be presented, with the potential performance implications of these findings discussed and modelled. Qualitative reflections from athletes that have implemented menthol mouth swilling in competition, training and maximal exercise will also be included

A combinatorial take on hierarchical hyperbolicity and applications to quotients of mapping class groups

We give a simple combinatorial criterion, in terms of an action on a hyperbolic simplicial complex, for a group to be hierarchically hyperbolic. We apply this to show that quotients of mapping class groups by large powers of Dehn twists are hierarchically hyperbolic (and even relatively hyperbolic in the genus 2 case). Under residual finiteness assumptions, we construct many non-elementary hyperbolic quotients of mapping class groups. Using these quotients, we reduce questions of Reid and Bridson-Reid-Wilton about finite quotients of mapping class groups to residual finiteness of specific hyperbolic groups.Comment: Revised according to comments from reader

Economic Globalization and the Welfare State in Affluent Democracies, 1975-1998

Prior scholarship is sharply divided on how or if globalization influences welfare states. Globalization's effects may be positive causing expansion, negative triggering crisis and reduction, curvilinear contributing to convergence, or insignificant. We bring new evidence to bear on this crucial debate with a pooled time series analysis of two measures of the welfare state and 16 indicators of economic globalization for 17 affluent democracies from 1975 to 1998. The analysis suggests that: (1) state-of-the-art welfare state models warrant revision in the globalization era; (2) most indicators of economic globalization do not have significant effects; (3) the few significant globalization effects are in different directions and often inconsistent with extant theories; (4) the globalization effects are far smaller than the effects of domestic political and economic factors; and (5) these effects are not systematically different for liberal vs. nonliberal welfare state regimes, European vs. non-European countries, or with four alternative dependent variables. Increased globalization and a modest convergence of the welfare state have occurred, but globalization does not unambiguously cause welfare state expansion, crisis and reduction or convergence. -- Bisherige Befunde der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung zum kausalen Verhältnis von 'Globalisierung' und Wohlfahrtsstaat sind nicht eindeutig. Danach kann Globalisierung positive Effekte haben und zu einem Ausbau an Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit führen, eine Krise des Wohlfahrtsstaates oder Leistungsreduktionen herbeiführen, kurvilineare Wirkungen aufweisen und zu Konvergenz beitragen, als auch vollkommen insignifikant sein. Unsere gepoolte Zeitreihenanalyse von Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit und 'Globalisierung' in 17 reichen Demokratien (1975-1998) hat folgende Befunde zu Tage gefördert: (1) im Zeitalter der Globalisierung erscheinen bestehende Wohlfahrtsstaatsmodelle revisionsbedürftig; (2) die Mehrzahl der ökonomischen Globalisierungsindikatoren weist keine signifikanten Effekte auf; (3) die wenigen signifikanten Effekte zeigen in unterschiedliche Richtungen und stimmen häufig nicht mit bestehenden theoretischen Annahmen überein; (4) die Globalisierungseffekte sind deutlich kleiner als die Effekte binnenpolitischer Variablen und ökonomischer Faktoren; (5) diese Effekte unterscheiden sich in 'liberalen' und 'nicht-liberalen' Wohlfahrtsregimen bzw. europäischen und nicht-europäischen Ländern nicht systematisch von einander. Im Analysezeitraum können wir sowohl einen Anstieg der verschiedenen Globalisierungsindikatoren sowie eine moderate Konvergenz der verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten konstatieren. Jedoch kann der Prozess der 'Globalisierung' nicht eindeutig als kausale Ursache für die unterschiedlichen Entwicklungsrichtungen in den verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten identifiziert werden.

An agglomeration payment for cost-effective biodiversity conservation in spatially structured landscapes

Compensation schemes in which land owners receive payments for voluntarily managing their land in a biodiversity-enhancing manner have become one of the most important instruments for biodiversity conservation worldwide. One key challenge when designing such schemes is to account for the spatial arrangement of habitats bearing in mind that for given total habitat area connected habitats are ecologically more valuable than isolated habitats. To integrate the spatial dimension in compensation schemes and based on the idea of an agglomeration bonus we consider a scheme in which land-owners only receive payments if managed patches are arranged in a specific spatial configuration. We compare the cost-effectiveness of agglomeration payments with spatially homogeneous payments on a conceptual level and for a real world case and find that efficiency gains of agglomeration payments are positive or zero but never negative. In the real world case, agglomeration payments lead to cost-savings of up to 70% compared to spatially homogeneous payments. --agglomeration bonus,biodiversity conservation,cost-effectiveness,ecologicaleconomic modelling,metapopulation,spatial heterogeneity