The effectiveness of quantum operations for eavesdropping on sealed messages

A quantum protocol is described which enables a user to send sealed messages and that allows for the detection of active eavesdroppers. We examine a class of eavesdropping strategies, those that make use of quantum operations, and we determine the information gain versus disturbance caused by these strategies. We demonstrate this tradeoff with an example and we compare this protocol to quantum key distribution, quantum direct communication, and quantum seal protocols.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Third Feynman Festival, 25 -- 29 August 2006, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, U.S.

Capturing Plasmon-Molecule Dynamics in Dye Monolayers on Metal Nanoparticles Using Classical Electrodynamics with Quantum Embedding

A multiscale hybrid quantum/classical approach using classical electrodynamics and a collection of discrete three-level quantum systems is used to simulate the coupled dynamics and spectra of a malachite green monolayer adsorbed to the surface of a spherical gold nanoparticle (NP). This method utilizes finite difference time domain (FDTD) to describe the plasmonic response of the NP within the main FDTD framework and a three-level quantum description for the molecule via a Maxwell/Liouville framework. To avoid spurious self-excitation, each quantum molecule has its own auxiliary FDTD subregion embedded within the main FDTD grid. The molecular parameters are determined by fitting the experimental extinction spectrum to Lorentzians, yielding the energies, transition dipole moments, and the dephasing lifetimes. This approach can be potentially applied to modeling thousands of molecules on the surface of a plasmonic NP. In this paper, however, we first present results for two molecules with scaled oscillator strengths to reflect the optical response of a full monolayer. There is good agreement with experimental extinction measurements, predicting the plasmon and molecule depletions. Additionally, this model captures the polariton peaks overlapped with a Fano-type resonance profile observed in the experimental extinction measurements. This technique can be generalized to any nanostructure/multichromophore system, where the molecules can be treated with essentially any quantum method

Re-Examining the Frustrated Homemaker Hypothesis

Multiple Classification Analyses on responses from 946 white women, drawn from the 1972 American National Election Study survey, were used to test the "frustrated homemaker hypothesis" that full-time homemakers are more dissatisfied with their lives than women employed outside the home. The fit between actual and desired roles proved to be a better predictor of personal satisfaction than the traditional dichotomy between homemakers and employed women. Homemakers who had wanted a career were more personally dissatisfied than homemakers who had never wanted a career. The career-oriented homemakers were the ones who expressed greater personal dissatisfaction than employed women. Employed women and career-oriented homemakers were about equally critical of women's collective position in society, while homemakers who had never wanted a career were more accepting of women's status quo. The importance of including evaluations of both personal and collective well-being was shown by the fact that these two domains bore different relationships to employment-homemaker status.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69078/2/10.1177_073088848100800404.pd

Tooling design and microwave curing technologies for the manufacturing of fiber-reinforced polymer composites in aerospace applications

The increasing demand for high-performance and quality polymer composite materials has led to international research effort on pursuing advanced tooling design and new processing technologies to satisfy the highly specialized requirements of composite components used in the aerospace industry. This paper reports the problems in the fabrication of advanced composite materials identified through literature survey, and an investigation carried out by the authors about the composite manufacturing status in China’s aerospace industry. Current tooling design technologies use tooling materials which cannot match the thermal expansion coefficient of composite parts, and hardly consider the calibration of tooling surface. Current autoclave curing technologies cannot ensure high accuracy of large composite materials because of the wide range of temperature gradients and long curing cycles. It has been identified that microwave curing has the potential to solve those problems. The proposed technologies for the manufacturing of fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials include the design of tooling using anisotropy composite materials with characteristics for compensating part deformation during forming process, and vacuum-pressure microwave curing technology. Those technologies are mainly for ensuring the high accuracy of anisotropic composite parts in aerospace applications with large size (both in length and thickness) and complex shapes. Experiments have been carried out in this on-going research project and the results have been verified with engineering applications in one of the project collaborating companies

Not all shellfish "allergy" is allergy!

The popularity of shellfish has been increasing worldwide, with a consequent increase in adverse reactions that can be allergic or toxic. The approximate prevalence of shellfish allergy is estimated at 0.5-2.5% of the general population, depending on degree of consumption by age and geographic regions. The manifestations of shellfish allergy vary widely, but it tends to be more severe than most other food allergens

Autistic behavior in boys with fragile X syndrome: social approach and HPA-axis dysfunction

The primary goal of this study was to examine environmental and neuroendocrine factors that convey increased risk for elevated autistic behavior in boys with Fragile X syndrome (FXS). This study involves three related analyses: (1) examination of multiple dimensions of social approach behaviors and how they vary over time, (2) investigation of mean levels and modulation of salivary cortisol levels in response to social interaction, and (3) examination of the relationship of social approach and autistic behaviors to salivary cortisol. Poor social approach and elevated baseline and regulation cortisol are discernible traits that distinguish boys with FXS and ASD from boys with FXS only and from typically developing boys. In addition, blunted cortisol change is associated with increased severity of autistic behaviors only within the FXS and ASD group. Boys with FXS and ASD have distinct behavioral and neuroendocrine profiles that differentiate them from those with FXS alone and typically developing boys

Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

There is considerable evidence that children and adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are at increased risk of anxiety and anxiety disorders. However, it is less clear which of the specific DSM-IV anxiety disorders occur most in this population. The present study used meta-analytic techniques to help clarify this issue. A systematic review of the literature identified 31 studies involving 2,121 young people (aged <18 years) with ASD, and where the presence of anxiety disorder was assessed using standardized questionnaires or diagnostic interviews. Across studies, 39.6% of young people with ASD had at least one comorbid DSM-IV anxiety disorder, the most frequent being specific phobia (29.8%) followed by OCD (17.4%) and social anxiety disorder (16.6%). Associations were found between the specific anxiety disorders and ASD subtype, age, IQ, and assessment method (questionnaire versus interview). Implications for the identification and treatment of anxiety in young people with ASD are discussed