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Give it to us straight (most of the time): Top managers' use of concrete language and its effect on investor reactions
Online chromatic dispersion monitoring and compensation using a single inband subcarrier tone
Deep SDSS optical spectroscopy of distant halo stars II. Iron, calcium, and magnesium abundances
We analyze a sample of 3,944 low-resolution (R ~ 2000) optical spectra from
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), focusing on stars with effective
temperatures 5800 < Teff < 6300 K, and distances from the Milky Way plane in
excess of 5 kpc, and determine their abundances of Fe, Ca, and Mg. We followed
the same methodology as in the previous paper in this series, deriving
atmospheric parameters by chi2 minimization, but this time we obtained the
abundances of individual elements by fitting their associated spectral lines.
Distances were calculated from absolute magnitudes obtained by a statistical
comparison of our stellar parameters with stellar-evolution models. The
observations reveal a decrease in the abundances of iron, calcium, and
magnesium at large distances from the Galactic center. The median abundances
for the halo stars analyzed are fairly constant up to a Galactocentric distance
r ~ 20 kpc, rapidly decrease between r ~ 20 and r ~ 40 kpc, and flatten out to
significantly lower values at larger distances, consistent with previous
studies. In addition, we examine the [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] as a function of Fe/H
and Galactocentric distance. Our results show that the most distant parts of
the halo show a steeper variation of the [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] with iron. We
found that at the range -1.6 < [Fe/H] < -0.4 [Ca/Fe] decreases with distance,
in agreement with earlier results based on local stars. However, the opposite
trend is apparent for [Mg/Fe]. Our conclusion that the outer regions of the
halo are more metal-poor than the inner regions, based on in situ observations
of distant stars, agrees with recent results based on inferences from the
kinematics of more local stars, and with predictions of recent galaxy formation
simulations for galaxies similar to the Milky Way
Fourier transform spectroscopy of d-wave quasiparticles in the presence of atomic scale pairing disorder
The local density of states power spectrum of optimally doped
BiSrCaCuO (BSCCO) has been interpreted in terms of
quasiparticle interference peaks corresponding to an "octet'' of scattering
wave vectors connecting k-points where the density of states is maximal. Until
now, theoretical treatments have not been able to reproduce the experimentally
observed weights and widths of these "octet'' peaks; in particular, the
predominance of the dispersing "q'' peak parallel to the Cu-O bond
directions has remained a mystery. In addition, such theories predict
"background'' features which are not observed experimentally. Here, we show
that most of the discrepancies can be resolved when a realistic model for the
out-of-plane disorder in BSCCO is used. Weak extended potential scatterers,
which are assumed to represent cation disorder, suppress large-momentum
features and broaden the low-energy "q''-peaks, whereas scattering at order
parameter variations, possibly caused by a dopant-modulated pair interaction
around interstitial oxygens, strongly enhances the dispersing "q''-peaks.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Relationship of national institutes of health stroke scale to 30-day mortality in medicare beneficiaries with acute ischemic stroke.
BackgroundThe National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), a well-validated tool for assessing initial stroke severity, has previously been shown to be associated with mortality in acute ischemic stroke. However, the relationship, optimal categorization, and risk discrimination with the NIHSS for predicting 30-day mortality among Medicare beneficiaries with acute ischemic stroke has not been well studied.Methods and resultsWe analyzed data from 33102 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries treated at 404 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke hospitals between April 2003 and December 2006 with NIHSS documented. The 30-day mortality rate by NIHSS as a continuous variable and by risk-tree determined or prespecified categories were analyzed, with discrimination of risk quantified by the c-statistic. In this cohort, mean age was 79.0 years and 58% were female. The median NIHSS score was 5 (25th to 75th percentile 2 to 12). There were 4496 deaths in the first 30 days (13.6%). There was a strong graded relation between increasing NIHSS score and higher 30-day mortality. The 30-day mortality rates for acute ischemic stroke by NIHSS categories were as follows: 0 to 7, 4.2%; 8 to 13, 13.9%; 14 to 21, 31.6%; 22 to 42, 53.5%. A model with NIHSS alone provided excellent discrimination whether included as a continuous variable (c-statistic 0.82 [0.81 to 0.83]), 4 categories (c-statistic 0.80 [0.79 to 0.80]), or 3 categories (c-statistic 0.79 [0.78 to 0.79]).ConclusionsThe NIHSS provides substantial prognostic information regarding 30-day mortality risk in Medicare beneficiaries with acute ischemic stroke. This index of stroke severity is a very strong discriminator of mortality risk, even in the absence of other clinical information, whether used as a continuous or categorical risk determinant. (J Am Heart Assoc. 2012;1:42-50.)
Linear optical implementation of a single mode quantum filter and generation of multi-photon polarization entangled state
We propose a scheme to implement a single-mode quantum filter, which
selectively eliminates the one-photon state in a quantum state
. The vacuum state and the two photon state are
transmitted without any change. This scheme requires single-photon sources,
linear optical elements and photon detectors. Furthermore we demonstrate, how
this filter can be used to realize a two-qubit projective measurement and to
generate multi-photon polarization entangled states.Comment: revision submitted to PR
Experimental Quantum Teleportation of a Two-Qubit Composite System
Quantum teleportation, a way to transfer the state of a quantum system from
one location to another, is central to quantum communication and plays an
important role in a number of quantum computation protocols. Previous
experimental demonstrations have been implemented with photonic or ionic
qubits. Very recently long-distance teleportation and open-destination
teleportation have also been realized. Until now, previous experiments have
only been able to teleport single qubits. However, since teleportation of
single qubits is insufficient for a large-scale realization of quantum
communication and computation2-5, teleportation of a composite system
containing two or more qubits has been seen as a long-standing goal in quantum
information science. Here, we present the experimental realization of quantum
teleportation of a two-qubit composite system. In the experiment, we develop
and exploit a six-photon interferometer to teleport an arbitrary polarization
state of two photons. The observed teleportation fidelities for different
initial states are all well beyond the state estimation limit of 0.40 for a
two-qubit system. Not only does our six-photon interferometer provide an
important step towards teleportation of a complex system, it will also enable
future experimental investigations on a number of fundamental quantum
communication and computation protocols such as multi-stage realization of
quantum-relay, fault-tolerant quantum computation, universal quantum
error-correction and one-way quantum computation.Comment: 16pages, 4 figure
Deep SDSS optical spectroscopy of distant halo stars I. Atmospheric parameters and stellar metallicity distribution
We analyze a sample of tens of thousands of spectra of halo turnoff stars,
obtained with the optical spectrographs of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS),
to characterize the stellar halo population "in situ" out to a distance of a
few tens of kpc from the Sun. In this paper we describe the derivation of
atmospheric parameters. We also derive the overall stellar metallicity
distribution based on F-type stars observed as flux calibrators for the
Baryonic Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Our analysis is based on an
automated method that determines the set of parameters of a model atmosphere
that reproduces each observed spectrum best. We used an optimization algorithm
and evaluate model fluxes by means of interpolation in a precomputed grid. In
our analysis, we account for the spectrograph's varying resolution as a
function of fiber and wavelength. Our results for early SDSS (pre-BOSS upgrade)
data compare well with those from the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP),
except for stars with logg (cgs units) lower than 2.5. An analysis of stars in
the globular cluster M13 reveals a dependence of the inferred metallicity on
surface gravity for stars with logg < 2.5, confirming the systematics
identified in the comparison with the SSPP. We find that our metallicity
estimates are significantly more precise than the SSPP results. We obtain a
halo metallicity distribution that is narrower and more asymmetric than in
previous studies. The lowest gravity stars in our sample, at tens of kpc from
the Sun, indicate a shift of the metallicity distribution to lower abundances,
consistent with what is expected from a dual halo system in the Milky Way.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Table 1 includes model ugriz magnitudes for
stars with different atmospheric parameters in electronic forma
Magnetotransport Properties of Quasi-Free Standing Epitaxial Graphene Bilayer on SiC: Evidence for Bernal Stacking
We investigate the magnetotransport properties of quasi-free standing
epitaxial graphene bilayer on SiC, grown by atmospheric pressure graphitization
in Ar, followed by H intercalation. At the charge neutrality point the
longitudinal resistance shows an insulating behavior, which follows a
temperature dependence consistent with variable range hopping transport in a
gapped state. In a perpendicular magnetic field, we observe quantum Hall states
(QHSs) both at filling factors () multiple of four (), as
well as broken valley symmetry QHSs at and . These results
unambiguously show that the quasi-free standing graphene bilayer grown on the
Si-face of SiC exhibits Bernal stacking.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
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