Experimental Verification of Many-Body Entanglement Using Thermodynamic Quantities

The phenomenon of quantum entanglement underlies several important protocols that enable emerging quantum technologies. Being an extremely delicate resource entangled states easily get perturbed by their external environment, and thus makes the question of entanglement certification immensely crucial for successful implementation of the protocols involving entanglement. In this work, we propose a set of entanglement criteria for multi-qubit systems that can be easily verified by measuring certain thermodynamic quantities. In particular, the criteria depend on the difference in optimal works extractable from an isolated quantum system under global and local interactions, respectively. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate the proposed thermodynamic criteria on nuclear spin registers of up to 10 qubits using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance architecture. We prepare noisy Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger class of states in star-topology systems and certify their entanglement through our proposed criteria. We also provide elegant means of entanglement certification in many-body systems when only partial or even no knowledge about the state is available.Comment: 4.5 pages (two-column) + 9.5 pages (one-column) + 5 figures; Comments are welcom

Low-density series expansions for directed percolation I: A new efficient algorithm with applications to the square lattice

A new algorithm for the derivation of low-density series for percolation on directed lattices is introduced and applied to the square lattice bond and site problems. Numerical evidence shows that the computational complexity grows exponentially, but with a growth factor \lambda < \protect{\sqrt[8]{2}}, which is much smaller than the growth factor \lambda = \protect{\sqrt[4]{2}} of the previous best algorithm. For bond (site) percolation on the directed square lattice the series has been extended to order 171 (158). Analysis of the series yields sharper estimates of the critical points and exponents.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures (3 of them > 1Mb

Učinak ricinoleične kiseline iz ricinusova ulja na proizvodna svojstva i hemato-biokemijski profil krava pasmine Kankrej u laktaciji

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of dietary ricinoleic acid from castor oil on the milk yield, composition, fatty acid profile and haemato-biochemical profile in lactating Kankrej cows. Twenty lactating Kankrej cows were assigned to the following groups: control (CON), basal diet without any additive and treatment (RAS), basal diet with 2 g/animal/day of ricinoleic acid from castor oil. Dietary ricinoleic acid had no (P>0.05) effect on dry matter intake and feed efficiency. Milk yield (milk, 4% fat corrected milk and energy corrected milk) were not affected (P>0.05) by the feeding of ricinoleic acid. The milk composition showed no significant differences between the groups. A significantly (P0.05) in haemato-biochemical profile between the CON and RAS groups. It was concluded that supplementation of 2 g/animal/day ricinoleic acid from castor oil had no effect on milk yield, milk composition and haemato-biochemical profile. However, it increased the milk fat percentages of unsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and decreased milk saturated fatty acids, without any adverse effect on the health status of the cows.Cilj istraživanja bio je procijeniti učinak ricinoleične kiseline iz ricinusova ulja na prinos mlijeka, kemijski sastav mlijeka, profil masnih kiselina u mlijeku te na hemato-biokemijski profil krava pasmine Kankrej u laktaciji. Ukupno 20 krava u laktaciji podijeljeno je u: kontrolnu skupinu (CON), skupinu koja je dobivala osnovnu hranu, bez dodataka i pokusnu skupinu (RAS), koja je dobivala osnovnu hranu i 2 g po životinji dnevno ricinoleične kiseline iz ricinusova ulja. Ricinoleična kiselina nije imala učinka (P>0,05) na unos suhe tvari i iskorištavanje hrane. Dodatak ricinoleične kiseline nije utjecao (P>0,05) na prinos mlijeka (mlijeko, obogaćeno mlijeko s 4 % masnoće i energijski obogaćeno mlijeko). Sastav mlijeka nije pokazao znakovite razlike među skupinama. Uočen je znakovito veći postotak C4:0, C6:0 i C8:0 u mlijeku u skupini RAS (P0,05) u hemato-biokemijskom profilu skupina CON i RAS. Zaključeno je da dodatak 2 g ricinoleične kiseline po životinji dnevno ne utječe na prinos i sastav mlijeka te hemato- biokemijski profil, međutim povećava postotak mliječne masti, nezasićenih masnih kiselina i višestruko nezasićenih masnih kiselina, a smanjuje postotak zasićenih masnih kiselina bez posljedica za zdravlje krava

Tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 protein is downregulated in the placenta of pre-eclamptic women

Background: Tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 protein (TINAGL1), is a matricellular protein, known to play role in cell adhesion and cell receptor interaction. Research related to TINAGL1 is limited to cell culture and animal models. Demonstration of TINAGL1 as a positive regulator of angiogenesis and its expression in the decidua of postimplantation mouse uterus, prompted us to validate its expression in human placenta during impaired angiogenesis in pre-eclamptic condition. Methods: Placental tissue from normotensive (n = 25) and pre-eclamptic (n = 25) pregnancies were used to study the differentially expressed proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and TINAGL1 protein was validated with Western blotting. Results: A total of 55 protein spots were differentially expressed (fold change &gt;1.5, p &lt; 0.05), of which 27 were upregulated and 28 were downregulated in the pre-eclamptic placenta. TINAGL1 was found to be downregulated in pre-eclamptic compared to normotensive pregnant women. Conclusion: This is the first study reporting TINAGL1 to be present in human placenta and differentially expressed in pre-eclamptic condition. The functional role of TINAGL1 in association to human pregnancy needs to be explored further

Evidence-based teaching in contact lenses education: Teaching and learning strategies

Contact lens (CL) practice is an ever-changing field with clinical knowledge, techniques and equipment continuously evolving. These new developments are backed with clinical trials and research to ensure that practitioners feel confident that there is an evidence base to support these advances. Evidence-based practice is now a crucial part of CL practice, and its importance also filters down to CL education. For example, lectures are one of the most popular tools for an educator but, is standing at the front of a lecture theatre full of students a more effective way of teaching than providing the same material for students to read by themselves? What evidence exists specific to CL education

BCLA CLEAR Presbyopia:Epidemiology and impact

The global all-ages prevalence of epidemiologically-measured 'functional' presbyopia was estimated at 24.9% in 2015, affecting 1.8 billion people. This prevalence was projected to stabilise at 24.1% in 2030 due to increasing myopia, but to affect more people (2.1 billion) due to population dynamics. Factors affecting the prevalence of presbyopia include age, geographic location, urban versus rural location, sex, and, to a lesser extent, socioeconomic status, literacy and education, health literacy and inequality. Risk factors for early onset of presbyopia included environmental factors, nutrition, near demands, refractive error, accommodative dysfunction, medications, certain health conditions and sleep. Presbyopia was found to impact on quality-of-life, in particular quality of vision, labour force participation, work productivity and financial burden, mental health, social wellbeing and physical health. Current understanding makes it clear that presbyopia is a very common age-related condition that has significant impacts on both patient-reported outcome measures and economics. However, there are complexities in defining presbyopia for epidemiological and impact studies. Standardisation of definitions will assist future synthesis, pattern analysis and sense-making between studies

Management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in India: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic diseases are fast becoming the largest health burden in India. Despite this, their management in India has not been well studied. We aimed to systematically review the nature and efficacy of current management strategies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in India. METHODS: We used database searches (MEDLINE, EMBASE, IndMED, CENTRAL and CINAHL), journal hand-searches, scanning of reference lists and contact with experts to identify studies for systematic review. We did not review management strategies aimed at chronic diseases more generally, nor management of acute exacerbations. Due to the heterogeneity of reviewed studies, meta-analysis was not appropriate. Thus, narrative methods were used. SETTING: India. PARTICIPANTS: All adult populations resident in India. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 1. Trialled interventions and outcomes 2. Extent and efficacy of current management strategies 3. Above outcomes by subgroup. RESULTS: We found information regarding current management - particularly regarding the implementation of national guidelines and primary prevention - to be minimal. This led to difficulty in interpreting studies of management strategies, which were varied and generally of positive effect. Data regarding current management outcomes were very few. CONCLUSIONS: The current understanding of management strategies for COPD in India is limited due to a lack of published data. Determination of the extent of current use of management guidelines, availability and use of treatment, and current primary prevention strategies would be useful. This would also provide evidence on which to interpret existing and future studies of management outcomes and novel interventions

Suffering in silence: consequences of sexual violence within marriage among young women in Nepal

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the grave consequences of sexual violence, and it's persistence both within and outside marriages, this subject has received relatively little attention from researchers, policy makers, and programme managers in Nepal. This paper explores the definition of sexual violence and its various forms and consequences as reported by young married women in Nepal. In addition, it describes the coping mechanisms used by young married women to avoid sexual violence perpetrated against them by their husbands.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper analyzes data collected during the qualitative study on "Sexual violence among young couples in Nepal", conducted amongst two major ethnic groups - Brahmin/Chhetri and Tharu - between 2006 and 2007. The data is comprised of 39 free-lists and 15 in-depth case histories with married women aged 15-24 years. The average rank and Smith's Salience were calculated from the free-listing data. The thematic analysis approach was used for the analysis of information from the case histories.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately three-quarters (74%) of the young women mentioned 'sex against one's wishes' as sexual violence within marriage (SVWM). Sixty-two percent of respondents described 'forced sex during illness' and 'forced sex after consumption of alcohol' as SVWM. About half of young women (48.7%) who participated in the free-listing exercise reported having experienced SVWM. The types of SVWM ranged from unwanted sexual touch to forced sex. Backache, headache, lower abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding and thoughts of suicide were the most commonly reported negative physical and psychological health consequences of SVWM. Women reported various coping strategies including 'trying to convince husbands', 'sleeping in a separate room', 'visiting maternal home', 'waking up the children', and 'using pretexts such as being ill or menstruating', to avoid SVWM. However, in most cases, women reported that these coping strategies were unsuccessful. Almost all women experiencing SVWM were socially isolated and did not turn to institutions, relatives or friends for advice and support.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Sexual violence within marriage is common in Nepal. Findings provide circumstantial evidence of links between sexual violence and negative general and reproductive health outcomes for women. Various actions are required to prevent SVWM and provide immediate support to the victims.</p