Nos\'e-Hoover Dynamics in Quantum Phase Space

Thermal fluctuations in time-dependent quantum processes are treated by a constant-temperature generalization of Wigner's formulation of quantum mechanics in phase space. To this end, quantum Nos\`e-Hoover dynamics is defined by generalizing the Moyal bracket. Computational applications of the formalism, together with further theoretical developments, are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

An orientable time of flight detector for cosmic rays

Cosmic ray studies, in particular UHECR, can be in general supported by a directional, easy deployable, simple and robust detector. The design of this detector is based on the time of flight between two parallel tiles of scintillator, to distinguish particle passing through in opposite directions; by fine time resolution and pretty adjustable acceptance it is possible to select upward(left)/downward(right) cosmic rays. It has been developed for an array of detectors to measure upward $\tau$ from Earth-Skimming neutrino events with energy above $10^8 GeV$. The properties and performances of the detector are discussed. Test results from a high noise environment are presented.Comment: 4 pages, Nuclear Instruments and methods, Proceedings Ricap0

Test results of a prototype designed to detect horizontal cosmic ray flux

In this paper we report test results from a prototype designed to detect muons from horizontal air shower at large zenith angle, $86^{0}<\Theta<93^{0}$. To detect horizontal tracks and their directions we select them according the muon vertical equivalent charge and we measure the time of flight with a time resolution of 800 ps. Several measurements are collected at different zenith angles. The background studies performed with two modules show that the main source is due to tracks crossing the module at the same time. The upper limit of background flux for a single twin module is estimated to be $10^{-9} cm^{-2}$ $s^{-1}$ $sr^{-1} (90$. We estimated the size of the surface array necessary to detect the shower flux of the order of $10^{-9} cm^{-2}$ $yr^{-1}$ $sr^{-1}$ if originated by Tau Air-Showers secondaries of GZK neutrino Tau below the horizons.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure

Forbidden patterns and shift systems

The scope of this paper is two-fold. First, to present to the researchers in combinatorics an interesting implementation of permutations avoiding generalized patterns in the framework of discrete-time dynamical systems. Indeed, the orbits generated by piecewise monotone maps on one-dimensional intervals have forbidden order patterns, i.e., order patterns that do not occur in any orbit. The allowed patterns are then those patterns avoiding the so-called forbidden root patterns and their shifted patterns. The second scope is to study forbidden patterns in shift systems, which are universal models in information theory, dynamical systems and stochastic processes. Due to its simple structure, shift systems are accessible to a more detailed analysis and, at the same time, exhibit all important properties of low-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems (e.g., sensitivity to initial conditions, strong mixing and a dense set of periodic points), allowing to export the results to other dynamical systems via order-isomorphisms.Comment: 21 pages, expanded Section 5 and corrected Propositions 3 and

Deterministic constant-temperature dynamics for dissipative quantum systems

A novel method is introduced in order to treat the dissipative dynamics of quantum systems interacting with a bath of classical degrees of freedom. The method is based upon an extension of the Nos\`e-Hoover chain (constant temperature) dynamics to quantum-classical systems. Both adiabatic and nonadiabatic numerical calculations on the relaxation dynamics of the spin-boson model show that the quantum-classical Nos\`e-Hoover chain dynamics represents the thermal noise of the bath in an accurate and simple way. Numerical comparisons, both with the constant energy calculation and with the quantum-classical Brownian motion treatment of the bath, show that the quantum-classical Nos\`e-Hoover Chain dynamics can be used to introduce dissipation in the evolution of a quantum subsystem even with just one degree of freedom for the bath. The algorithm can be computationally advantageous in modeling, within computer simulation, the dynamics of a quantum subsystem interacting with complex molecular environments.Comment: Revised versio

Health status and retirement decisions for older European couples

In this paper we use data the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) to describe and analyse the dynamics of joint labour force behaviour of older couples for the EU12 countries. We focus on three main issues: the relevance of joint retirement across EU12 countries, the existence of complementarities in leisure and/or assortative matting and the effects of health variables. Concerning the evidence, we first find that a working spouse is more likely to retire the more recently the other spouse has retired; this effect is stronger if the wife is the working spouse. Second, there is evidence of assortative mating and/or complementarities in leisure; the effects of all relevant factors on the retirement decision of one spouse depend strongly on whether the other one is working, unemployed, or retired. Third, besides the standard evidence that poor health increases the retirement probability, we find that the husband's health affects the couple's retirement decisions much more strongly than the wife's health does. Additional asymmetric effects are detected with respect to income related variables.joint retirement decisions ; labour force transitions ; health variables ; asymmetric effects

Digital Pathology: The Time Is Now to Bridge the Gap between Medicine and Technological Singularity

Digitalization of the imaging in radiology is a reality in several healthcare institutions worldwide. The challenges of filing, confidentiality, and manipulation have been brilliantly solved in radiology. However, digitalization of hematoxylin- and eosin-stained routine histological slides has shown slow movement. Although the application for external quality assurance is a reality for a pathologist with most of the continuing medical education programs utilizing virtual microscopy, the abandonment of traditional glass slides for routine diagnostics is far from the perspectives of many departments of laboratory medicine and pathology. Digital pathology images are captured as images by scanning and whole slide imaging/virtual microscopy can be obtained by microscopy (robotic) on an entire histological (microscopic) glass slide. Since 1986, services using telepathology for the transfer of images of anatomic pathology between detached locations have benefited countless patients globally, including the University of Alberta. The purpose of specialist recertification or re-validation for the Royal College of Pathologists of Canada belonging to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and College of American Pathologists is a milestone in virtual reality. Challenges, such as high bandwidth requirement, electronic platforms, the stability of the operating systems, have been targeted and are improving enormously. The encryption of digital images may be a requirement for the accreditation of laboratory services—quantum computing results in quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement. Different from binary digital electronic computers based on transistors where data are encoded into binary digits (bits) with two different states (0 and 1), quantum computing uses quantum bits (qubits), which can be in superpositions of states. The use of quantum computing protocols on encrypted data is crucial for the permanent implementation of virtual pathology in hospitals and universities. Quantum computing may well represent the technological singularity to create new classifications and taxonomic rules in medicine

An Empirical Analysis of the Demand for Physician Services Across the European Union

This paper presents parameter estimates for physician services equations using the European Community Household Panel for 12 countries covering the period 1994-1996. The focus is on two specific points: i) the identification of behavioural similarities and differences in the demand for health across the countries; ii) the variability of the demand for health captured through a joint model for all the countries. We find that there are significant differences across countries, although there are also similarities in the effect of variables such as the health stock, labour situation or family structure. An important fraction of the variability of the demand of health services across countries could be explained from differences in age, income, and the role of General Practitioners (GP) as a gatekeepers in the public health system. We also find some evidence of induced demand effects in both the decision to visit and the number of visits to specialists.count data; demand; physician services; latent class model; two-part model