Effects of financial incentives on motivating physical activity among older adults: Results from a discrete choice experiment

10.1186/1471-2458-14-141BMC Public Health141

Wave function mapping conditions in Open Quantum Dots structures

We discuss the minimal conditions for wave function spectroscopy, in which resonant tunneling is the measurement tool. Two systems are addressed: resonant tunneling diodes, as a toy model, and open quantum dots. The toy model is used to analyze the crucial tunning between the necessary resolution in current-voltage characteristics and the breakdown of the wave functions probing potentials into a level splitting characteristic of double quantum wells. The present results establish a parameter region where the wavefunction spectroscopy by resonant tunneling could be achieved. In the case of open quantum dots, a breakdown of the mapping condition is related to a change into a double quantum dot structure induced by the local probing potential. The analogy between the toy model and open quantum dots show that a precise control over shape and extention of the potential probes is irrelevant for wave function mapping. Moreover, the present system is a realization of a tunable Fano system in the wave function mapping regime.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Magnetic fluctuations in 2D metals close to the Stoner instability

We consider the effect of potential disorder on magnetic properties of a two-dimensional metallic system (with conductance $g\gg 1$) when interaction in the triplet channel is so strong that the system is close to the threshold of the Stoner instability. We show, that under these conditions there is an exponentially small probability for the system to form local spin droplets which are local regions with non zero spin density. Using a non-local version of the optimal fluctuation method we find analytically the probability distribution and the typical spin of a local spin droplet (LSD). In particular, we show that both the probability to form a LSD and its typical spin are independent of the size of the droplet (within the exponential accuracy). The LSDs manifest themselves in temperature dependence of observable quantities. We show, that below certain cross-over temperature the paramagnetic susceptibility acquires the Curie-like temperature dependence, while the dephasing time (extracted from magneto-resistance measurements) saturates.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Spinor Algebras

We consider supersymmetry algebras in space-times with arbitrary signature and minimal number of spinor generators. The interrelation between super Poincar\'e and super conformal algebras is elucidated. Minimal super conformal algebras are seen to have as bosonic part a classical semimisimple algebra naturally associated to the spin group. This algebra, the Spin$(s,t)$-algebra, depends both on the dimension and on the signature of space time. We also consider maximal super conformal algebras, which are classified by the orthosymplectic algebras.Comment: References added, misprints corrected. Version to appear in the Journal of Geometry and Physic

Enhancement of nonclassical properties of two qubits via deformed operators

We explore the dynamics of two atoms interacting with a cavity field via deformed operators. Properties of the asymptotic regularization of entanglement measures proving, for example, purity cost, regularized fidelity and accuracy of information transfer are analyzed. We show that the robustness of a bipartite system having a finite number of quantum states vanishes at finite photon numbers, for arbitrary interactions between its constituents and with cavity field. Finally it is shown that the stability of the purity and the fidelity is improved in the absence of the deformation parameters

Efficacy and Safety of Radium-223 Dichloride in Symptomatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Patients With or Without Baseline Opioid Use From the Phase 3 ALSYMPCA Trial

Background: The phase 3 ALSYMPCA trial enrolled metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with or without baseline opioid use. Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of radium-223 dichloride (radium-223) versus placebo in ALSYMPCA patients by baseline opioid use. Design, setting, and participants: Nine hundred and twenty one patients enrolled at 136 centers globally. Intervention: Radium-223 (50 kBq/kg, intravenous injection) every 4 wk for six cycles or matching placebo, each plus best standard of care. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Primary endpoint (overall survival [OS]), main secondary efficacy endpoints, and safety were evaluated by baseline opioid use. Additional analyses included time to first opioid use, time to first external beam radiation therapy for bone pain, and safety of concomitant external beam radiation therapy. Results and limitations: At baseline, 408 (44%) patients had no pain and no analgesic use or mild pain with nonopioid therapy (World Health Organization ladder pain score 0–1 [nonopioid subgroup]), and 513 (56%) had moderate pain with occasional opioids or severe pain with regular daily opioids (World Health Organization ladder pain score 2–3 [opioid subgroup]). Radium-223 significantly prolonged OS versus placebo in nonopioid (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52–0.93; p = 0.013) and opioid (HR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.54–0.86; p = 0.001) subgroups, and significantly reduced risk of symptomatic skeletal events versus placebo, regardless of baseline opioid use (nonopioid subgroup: HR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.39– 0.82, p = 0.002; opioid subgroup: HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.53–0.98, p = 0.038). Time to first opioid use for bone pain was significantly delayed with radium-223 versus placebo (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.46–0.85, p = 0.002). Adverse event incidences were similar between opioid subgroups. Conclusions: Radium-223 versus placebo significantly prolonged OS and reduced symptomatic skeletal event risk with a favorable safety profile in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with symptomatic bone metastases, regardless of baseline opioid use. Patient summary: In this ALSYMPCA opioid subgroup analysis, baseline symptom levels did not appear to impact radium-223 dichloride efficacy or safet

Automatic regularization by quantization in reducible representations of CCR: Point-form quantum optics with classical sources

Electromagnetic fields are quantized in manifestly covariant way by means of a class of reducible representations of CCR. $A_a(x)$ transforms as a Hermitian four-vector field in Minkowski four-position space (no change of gauge), but in momentum space it splits into spin-1 massless photons (optics) and two massless scalars (similar to dark matter). Unitary dynamics is given by point-form interaction picture, with minimal-coupling Hamiltonian constructed from fields that are free on the null-cone boundary of the Milne universe. SL(2,C) transformations and dynamics are represented unitarily in positive-norm Hilbert space describing $N$ four-dimensional oscillators. Vacuum is a Bose-Einstein condensate of the $N$-oscillator gas. Both the form of $A_a(x)$ and its transformation properties are determined by an analogue of the twistor equation. The same equation guarantees that the subspace of vacuum states is, as a whole, Poincar\'e invariant. The formalism is tested on quantum fields produced by pointlike classical sources. Photon statistics is well defined even for pointlike charges, with UV/IR regularizations occurring automatically as a consequence of the formalism. The probabilities are not Poissonian but of a R\'enyi type with $\alpha=1-1/N$. The average number of photons occurring in Bremsstrahlung splits into two parts: The one due to acceleration, and the one that remains nonzero even if motion is inertial. Classical Maxwell electrodynamics is reconstructed from coherent-state averaged solutions of Heisenberg equations. Static pointlike charges polarize vacuum and produce effective charge densities and fields whose form is sensitive to both the choice of representation of CCR and the corresponding vacuum state.Comment: 2 eps figures; in v2 notation in Eq. (39) and above Eq. (38) is correcte

The 3D Structure of N132D in the LMC: A Late-Stage Young Supernova Remnant

We have used the Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) on the 2.3m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory to map the [O III] 5007{\AA} dynamics of the young oxygen-rich supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud. From the resultant data cube, we have been able to reconstruct the full 3D structure of the system of [O III] filaments. The majority of the ejecta form a ring of ~12pc in diameter inclined at an angle of 25 degrees to the line of sight. We conclude that SNR N132D is approaching the end of the reverse shock phase before entering the fully thermalized Sedov phase of evolution. We speculate that the ring of oxygen-rich material comes from ejecta in the equatorial plane of a bipolar explosion, and that the overall shape of the SNR is strongly influenced by the pre-supernova mass loss from the progenitor star. We find tantalizing evidence of a polar jet associated with a very fast oxygen-rich knot, and clear evidence that the central star has interacted with one or more dense clouds in the surrounding ISM.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Astrophysics & Space Science, 18pp, 8 figure

Emergence of quasi-metallic state in disordered 2D electron gas due to strong interactions

The interrelation between disorder and interactions in two dimensional electron liquid is studied beyond weak coupling perturbation theory. Strong repulsion significantly reduces the electronic density of states on the Fermi level. This makes the electron liquid more rigid and strongly suppresses elastic scattering off impurities. As a result the weak localization, although ultimately present at zero temperature and infinite sample size, is unobservable at experimentally accessible temperature at high enough densities. Therefore practically there exists a well defined metallic state. We study diffusion of electrons in this state and find that the diffusion pole is significantly modified due to "mixture" with static photons similar to the Anderson - Higgs mechanism in superconductivity. As a result several effects stemming from the long range nature of diffusion like the Aronov - Altshuler logarithmic corrections to conductivity are less pronounced.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.

Negatively Charged Excitons and Photoluminescence in Asymmetric Quantum Well

We study photoluminescence (PL) of charged excitons ($X^-$) in narrow asymmetric quantum wells in high magnetic fields B. The binding of all $X^-$ states strongly depends on the separation $\delta$ of electron and hole layers. The most sensitive is the ``bright'' singlet, whose binding energy decreases quickly with increasing $\delta$ even at relatively small B. As a result, the value of B at which the singlet--triplet crossing occurs in the $X^-$ spectrum also depends on $\delta$ and decreases from 35 T in a symmetric 10 nm GaAs well to 16 T for $\delta=0.5$ nm. Since the critical values of $\delta$ at which different $X^-$ states unbind are surprisingly small compared to the well width, the observation of strongly bound $X^-$ states in an experimental PL spectrum implies virtually no layer displacement in the sample. This casts doubt on the interpretation of PL spectra of heterojunctions in terms of $X^-$ recombination