Electron Fabry-Perot interferometer with two entangled magnetic impurities

We consider a one-dimensional (1D) wire along which single conduction electrons can propagate in the presence of two spin-1/2 magnetic impurities. The electron may be scattered by each impurity via a contact-exchange interaction and thus a spin-flip generally occurs at each scattering event. Adopting a quantum waveguide theory approach, we derive the stationary states of the system at all orders in the electron-impurity exchange coupling constant. This allows us to investigate electron transmission for arbitrary initial states of the two impurity spins. We show that for suitable electron wave vectors, the triplet and singlet maximally entangled spin states of the impurities can respectively largely inhibit the electron transport or make the wire completely transparent for any electron spin state. In the latter case, a resonance condition can always be found, representing an anomalous behaviour compared to typical decoherence induced by magnetic impurities. We provide an explanation for these phenomena in terms of the Hamiltonian symmetries. Finally, a scheme to generate maximally entangled spin states of the two impurities via electron scattering is proposed.Comment: 19 page

Effect of Static Disorder in an Electron Fabry-Perot Interferometer with Two Quantum Scattering Centers

In a recent paper -- F. Ciccarello \emph{et al.}, New J. Phys. \textbf{8}, 214 (2006) -- we have demonstrated that the electron transmission properties of a one-dimensional (1D) wire with two identical embedded spin-1/2 impurities can be significantly affected by entanglement between the spins of the scattering centers. Such effect is of particular interest in the control of transmission of quantum information in nanostructures and can be used as a detection scheme of maximally entangled states of two localized spins. In this letter, we relax the constraint that the two magnetic impurities are equal and investigate how the main results presented in the above paper are affected by a static disorder in the exchange coupling constants of the impurities. Good robustness against deviation from impurity symmetry is found for both the entanglement dependent transmission and the maximally entangled states generation scheme.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Generalized one-step third derivative implicit hybrid block method for the direct solution of second order ordinary differential equation

In this article, an implicit hybrid method of order six is developed for the direct solution of second order ordinary differential equations using collocation and interpolation approach.To derive this method, the approximate solution power series is interpolated at the first and off-step points and its second and third derivatives are collocated at all points in the given interval.Besides having good numerical method properties, the new developed method is also superior to the existing methods in terms of accuracy when solving the same problems

Availability and Perceived Value of Bachelor of Science Programs in Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management in the United States

Several academic institutions across the United States offer Bachelor of Science degree programs in Pharmaceutical Marketing and/or Management. In general, these programs are designed to provide students with stronger foundations and a broader understanding of the business side of pharmacy. The purpose of this study was to explore the availability of the Bachelor of Science programs in pharmaceutical marketing and management in the United States. Internet search was conducted in order to collect information about the programs of interest. Results showed that a total of 8 schools and colleges offer the Bachelor of Science degree programs. The total number of credit hours for each program ranged from 122 to 130 All these schools/colleges were located in only 3 States, namely Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Tuition and fees were markedly different across these programs. Additionally, salient differences between these programs were evident with regard to career paths expected for their graduates. These programs have gained more attention over the past few years as fewer numbers of pharmacists work in pharmaceutical sales jobs, leaving such jobs almost exclusively undertaken by graduates of Pharmaceutical Marketing and/or Management programs. In the future, we expect changes to take place in these programs’ curricula in order to equip students with more skills to assume certain jobs, such as insurance management, industry, or sales

Two Versus Three Narrow-Diameter Implants with Locator Attachments Supporting Mandibular Overdentures: A Two-Year Prospective Study

Purpose. To compare treatment outcome (survival rate, condition of hard and soft peri-implant tissues) and prosthodontic maintenance requirements of two versus three narrow-diameter bone level implants with Locator attachments supporting mandibular overdentures. Materials and Methods. Twenty completely edentulous patients with atrophic mandibles were treated. Ten patients (Group A) were treated with overdentures supported by two narrow (3.3-mm diameter) implants (Straumann AG, Basel, Switzerland) and ten patients (Group B) were treated with overdentures supported by three narrow implants. Locator (Zest Anchors, USA) attachments were used for prosthetic anchorage. Standardized clinical and radiographic parameters (survival rate, plaque index, calculus index, gingival index, bleeding index, probing depth and marginal bone loss) were evaluated at the time of the completion of the prosthetic treatment (baseline) and after 6, 12 and 24 months of functional loading. Prosthodontic maintenance requirements were also scored. Results. Only one implant was lost (Group B) during the healing period. There were no significant differences with regards to any of the studied clinical and radiographic parameters between the two groups (P > 0.05). Few prosthetic complications were recorded. Conclusions. No need to insert more than two narrow-diameter bone level implants with Locator attachments in cases of atrophic mandible to support an overdenture, however, long-term prospective studies are required to support this notion

A Prospective Study of Early Loaded Single Implant-Retained Mandibular Overdentures: Preliminary One-Year Results

Purpose. To investigate the predictability of simplifying mandibular overdenture treatment using one-stage surgery and early prosthetic loading of a single implant. Materials and Methods. Twenty edentulous patients with problematic existing mandibular dentures were treated. A single implant with a chemically modified surface (SLActive, Straumann AG, Basel, Switzerland) was placed into the mandibular midline. The patients were recalled at 3, 6 and 12 months. Clinical assessments and marginal bone loss using standardized radiographs were recorded. All complications, failures and maintenance were noted. Visual analog-scale questionnaires were used to record patient satisfaction in five categories. ANOVA was used to determine differences between means of marginal bone loss and different categories of patient staisfaction (=0.05). Results. The 20 early loaded implants were all surviving at the 12-month recall. All implants showed less than 1 mm of marginal bone loss by the end of the 1-year with a significant increase during the follow-up period. Few prosthetic problems were reported. Patient satisfaction was high with a significant increase in all comfort and functional parameters. Conclusions. These preliminary 1-year results indicate that early loading of a single chemically modified surface implant used to retain a mucosa-borne mandibular overdenture is a safe, reliable, and cost-effective treatment

Changes in endotoxin levels in T2DM subjects on anti-diabetic therapies

Introduction Chronic low-grade inflammation is a significant factor in the development of obesity associated diabetes. This is supported by recent studies suggesting endotoxin, derived from gut flora, may be key to the development of inflammation by stimulating the secretion of an adverse cytokine profile from adipose tissue. Aims The study investigated the relationship between endotoxin and various metabolic parameters of diabetic patients to determine if anti-diabetic therapies exerted a significant effect on endotoxin levels and adipocytokine profiles. Methods Fasting blood samples were collected from consenting Saudi Arabian patients (BMI: 30.2 ± (SD)5.6 kg/m2, n = 413), consisting of non-diabetics (ND: n = 67) and T2DM subjects (n = 346). The diabetics were divided into 5 subgroups based on their 1 year treatment regimes: diet-controlled (n = 36), metformin (n = 141), rosiglitazone (RSG: n = 22), a combined fixed dose of metformin/rosiglitazone (met/RSG n = 100) and insulin (n = 47). Lipid profiles, fasting plasma glucose, insulin, adiponectin, resistin, TNF-α, leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and endotoxin concentrations were determined. Results Regression analyses revealed significant correlations between endotoxin levels and triglycerides (R2 = 0.42; p < 0.0001); total cholesterol (R2 = 0.10; p < 0.001), glucose (R2 = 0.076; p < 0.001) and insulin (R2 = 0.032; p < 0.001) in T2DM subjects. Endotoxin showed a strong inverse correlation with HDL-cholesterol (R2 = 0.055; p < 0.001). Further, endotoxin levels were elevated in all of the treated diabetic subgroups compared with ND, with the RSG treated diabetics showing significantly lower endotoxin levels than all of the other treatment groups (ND: 4.2 ± 1.7 EU/ml, RSG: 5.6 ± 2.2 EU/ml). Both the met/RSG and RSG treated groups had significantly higher adiponectin levels than all the other groups, with the RSG group expressing the highest levels overall. Conclusion We conclude that sub-clinical inflammation in T2DM may, in part, be mediated by circulating endotoxin. Furthermore, that whilst the endotoxin and adipocytokine profiles of diabetic patients treated with different therapies were comparable, the RSG group demonstrated significant differences in both adiponectin and endotoxin levels. We confirm an association between endotoxin and serum insulin and triglycerides and an inverse relationship with HDL. Lower endotoxin and higher adiponectin in the groups treated with RSG may be related and indicate another mechanism for the effect of RSG on insulin sensitivity

Assessment of Texan pharmacists\u27 attitudes, behaviors, and preferences related to continuing pharmacy education

Background: Whether the available Continuing Education (CE) programs meet pharmacists’ continuously increasing needs and preferences is open to question. Objectives: to investigate pharmacists’ perceptions and attitudes concerning available CE programs, evaluate the pharmacists’ choices with regard to selecting among different CE programs, and investigate the factors that are associated with preference to utilize online CE programs. Method: A 17-question survey was developed and mailed to a random sample of 600 Texan pharmacists. In addition to collecting basic demographic information, the survey investigated pharmacists’ choices with regard to delivery and content of CE programs, motivations to participation in CE programs, and pharmacists’ preferences for future CE programs. Results: A total of 161 pharmacists completed the survey and mailed back their responses. Excluding the 75 undeliverable surveys, the response rate was 31%. Approximately 83% of respondents found that currently available CE programs met their educational needs. The most important factors influencing pharmacists’ choices with regard to CE programs were the scope programs, the location where programs are held, and the cost associated with enrolling in such programs. Online CE was the most preferred mode of CE among participants. The factors that were associated with pharmacists’ preferences to complete 50% or more of required CE through online programs were previous use of online CE programs, preference to limit the duration of CE programs to 1 or 2 hour-long, and perceived ability to find adequate CE programs among currently available CE programs. Conclusion: The findings suggest modalities for CE programs providers on how to improve CE programs in the future in order to meet the preferences of local pharmacists

Entanglement Controlled Single-Electron Transmittivity

We consider a system consisting of single electrons moving along a 1D wire in the presence of two magnetic impurities. Such system shows strong analogies with a Fabry - Perot interferometer in which the impurities play the role of two mirrors with a quantum degree of freedom: the spin. We have analysed the electron transmittivity of the wire in the presence of entanglement between the impurity spins. The main result of our analysis is that, for suitable values of the electron momentum, there are two maximally entangled state of the impurity spins the first of which makes the wire transparent whatever the electron spin state while the other strongly inhibits the electron transmittivity. Such predicted striking effect is experimentally observable with present day technology.Comment: Published version (6 figures