The effect of quantum memory on quantum games

We study quantum games with correlated noise through a generalized quantization scheme. We investigate the effects of memory on quantum games, such as Prisoner's Dilemma, Battle of the Sexes and Chicken, through three prototype quantum-correlated channels. It is shown that the quantum player enjoys an advantage over the classical player for all nine cases considered in this paper for the maximally entangled case. However, the quantum player can also outperform the classical player for subsequent cases that can be noted in the case of the Battle of the Sexes game. It can be seen that the Nash equilibria do not change for all the three games under the effect of memory.Comment: 26 pages, 7 ps figure

Can contracted out health facilities improve access, equity, and quality of maternal and newborn health services? evidence from Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: The case of contracting out government health services to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has been weak for maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services, with documented gains being mainly in curative services. We present an in-depth assessment of the comparative advantages of contracting out on MNCH access, quality, and equity, using a case study from Pakistan. METHODS: An end-line, cross-sectional assessment was conducted of government facilities contracted out to a large national NGO and government-managed centres serving as controls, in two remote rural districts of Pakistan. Contracting out was specific for augmenting MNCH services but without contractual performance incentives. A household survey, a health facility survey, and focus group discussions with client and spouses were used for assessment. RESULTS: Contracted out facilities had a significantly higher utilization as compared to control facilities for antenatal care, delivery, postnatal care, emergency obstetric care, and neonatal illness. Contracted facilities had comparatively better quality of MNCH services but not in all aspects. Better household practices were also seen in the district where contracting involved administrative control over outreach programs. Contracting was also faced with certain drawbacks. Facility utilization was inequitably higher amongst more educated and affluent clients. Contracted out catchments had higher out-of-pocket expenses on MNCH services, driven by steeper transport costs and user charges for additional diagnostics. Contracting out did not influence higher MNCH service coverage rates across the catchment. Physical distances, inadequate transport, and low demand for facility-based care in non-emergency settings were key client-reported barriers. CONCLUSION: Contracting out MNCH services at government health facilities can improve facility utilization and bring some improvement in quality of services. However, contracting out of health facilities is insufficient to increase service access across the catchment in remote rural contexts and requires accompanying measures for demand enhancement, transportation access, and targeting of the more disadvantaged clientele

Green synthesis of silver nanoclusters via Melia azedarach plant and their potential towards catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Biomolecules present in the plant extracts have potential to reduce metal ions to nanoclusters by a single-step green synthesis approach. In the current study, we have synthesized the silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) from a medicinal plant, Melia azedarach and studied their catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4-nitophenol to 4-aminophenol and organic dyes. Morover, the phytochemical analysis of the plant extract was carried out in order to determine the bioactive compounds present in it. Metallic nature of the synthesized AgNCs was verified by X-ray diffraction study, while their morphology and size of was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and Zetasizer, respectively. The study revealed that they were 56±2 nm in size and formed clusters. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy gives information about the different functional groups present in synthesized these NCs. Furthermore, the important catalytic applications, such as catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of mild reducing agent NaBH4 and the catalytic degradation of organic dyes was monitored by FTIR. Therefore, these results indicate that the obtained nanomaterials have important applications in industrial areas.                     KEY WORDS: Green synthesis, Silver nanoclusters, Catalytic reduction, Characterization   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(1), 197-206. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i1.1

Ethyl 6-chloro-2-[(2-chloro-7,8-dimethyl­quinolin-3-yl)meth­oxy]-4-phenyl­quinoline-3-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C30H24Cl2N2O3, the two quinoline ring systems are almost planar [maximum deviations = 0.029 (2) and 0.018 (3) Å] and the dihedral angle between them is 4.17 (8)°. The dihedral angle between the phenyl ring and its attached quinoline ring is 69.06 (13)°. The packing is stabilized by C—H⋯O, C—H⋯N, weak π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distances = 3.7985 (16) and 3.7662 (17) Å] and C—H⋯π inter­actions

3-Phenyl-1-[2-(3-phenyl­isoquinolin-1-yl)­diselan­yl]isoquinoline

The complete molecule of the title compound, C30H20N2Se2, is generated by a crystallographic inversion centre at the mid-point of the Se—Se bond. The dihedral angle between the isoquinoline-1-selenol group and the phenyl ring is 14.92 (2)°. The herringbone-like packing of the structure is supported by inter­molecular π–π stacking inter­actions with a shortest perpendicular distance between isoquinoline groups of 3.514 Å; the slippage between these ring systems is 0.972 Å, and the distance between the centroids of the six-membered carbon rings is 3.645 (3) Å

4-(5-Phenyl-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinolin-3-yl)benzonitrile

In the title mol­ecule, C23H14N4, the triazoloisoquinoline ring system is nearly planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.038 (2) Å and a maximum deviation of −0.030 (2) Å from the mean plane of the triazole ring C atom which is bonded to the benzene ring. The benzene and phenyl rings are twisted by 57.65 (8) and 53.60 (9)°, respectively, with respect to the mean plane of the triazoloisoquinoline ring system. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked by weak aromatic π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.8074 (12) Å]. In addition, the crystal structure exhibits a nonclassical inter­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bond

5-(4-Chloro­phen­yl)-3-(2-fur­yl)-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline

In the title mol­ecule, C20H12ClN3O, the triazoloisoquinoline ring system is nearly planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.018 (3) Å and a maximum deviation of 0.034 (3) Å from the mean plane for the triazole ring C atom which is bonded to the benzene ring. The furan and benzene rings are twisted by 59.71 (14) and 66.95 (10)°, respectively, with respect to the mean plane of the triazoloisoquinoline ring system. The mol­ecular conformation is stabilized by an intra­molecular π–π inter­action [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.5262 (18) Å]. The crystal packing is stabilized by weak C—H⋯π inter­actions and weak π–π inter­actions [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.9431 (17) Å]

5-Phenyl-3-(2-thien­yl)-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline

In the title mol­ecule, C20H13N3S, the triazoloisoquinoline ring system is approximately planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.045 Å and a maximum deviation of 0.090 (2) Å from the mean plane for the triazole ring C atom which is bonded to the thio­phene ring. The phenyl ring is twisted by 52.0 (1)° with respect to the mean plane of the triazoloisoquinoline ring system. The thio­phene ring is rotationally disordered by approximately 180° over two sites, the ratio of refined occupancies being 0.73 (1):0.27 (1)

2-[2-(Cyclo­hexyl­carbon­yl)phen­yl]-1-phenyl­ethanone

The title diketone, C21H22O2, features a phenyl­ene ring having benzoyl­methyl and cyclo­hexa­noyl substituents ortho to each other. The cyclo­hexyl ring adopts a chair conformation with the ketonic group occupying an equatorial position; the four-atom –C(O)–C ketonic unit is twisted out of the plane of the phenyl­ene ring by 34.9 (1)°

Ethyl 6-chloro-2-methyl-4-phenyl­quinoline-3-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C19H16ClNO2, the quinoline ring system is planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å). The phenyl group and the –CO2 fragment of the ester unit form dihedral angles of 60.0 (1) and 60.5 (1)°, respectively, with the quinoline ring system