Generalised quantum weakest preconditions

Generalisation of the quantum weakest precondition result of D'Hondt and Panangaden is presented. In particular the most general notion of quantum predicate as positive operator valued measure (POVM) is introduced. The previously known quantum weakest precondition result has been extended to cover the case of POVM playing the role of a quantum predicate. Additionally, our result is valid in infinite dimension case and also holds for a quantum programs defined as a positive but not necessary completely positive transformations of a quantum states.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, added references, changed conten

Utilizing image texture to detect land-cover change in Mediterranean coastal wetlands

Land-use/cover change dynamics were investigated in a Mediterranean coastal wetland. Change Vector Analysis (CVA) without and with image texture derived from the co-occurrence matrix and variogram were evaluated for detecting land-use/cover change. Three Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes recorded on July 1985, 1993 and 2005 were used, minimizing change detection error caused by seasonal differences. Images were geometrically, atmospherically and radiometrically corrected. CVA without and with texture measures were implemented and assessed using reference images generated by object-based supervised classification. These outputs were used for cross-classification to determine the ‘from–to’ change used to compare between techniques. The Landsat TM image bands together with the variogram yielded the most accurate change detection results, with Kappa statistics of 0.7619 and 0.7637 for the 1985–1993 and 1993–2005 image pairs, respectively

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Can print literacy impact upon learning to speak Standard Australian English?

© 2019 - John Benjamins B.V. Second language learning research mostly investigates literate learners. Based on studies by Tarone, Bigelow and colleagues (2004, 2005, 2006, 2006) this small scale study focuses on low level literacy learners who are acquiring Standard Australian English as their second dialect. It explores whether literacy levels impact upon the processing of language when engaging in oral interaction tasks. Utilising Pienemann's (1998, 2005) stages of question formation, feedback given to the learners targeted questions within the learners' developmental stage. Participants were asked to identify whether the language used differed from their own, and if so, to attempt to reproduce it. The findings show that feedback was often noticed, but no significant relationship was found between literacy level and noticing. However, there was a significant relationship between literacy level and the reproduction of targeted forms. This study, like the others contained within this section, is concerned with the developmental readiness of second language learners to acquire target forms and the approach is closely aligned with that of Li and Iwashita (this volume). However, it does differ in that its participants are learners of a second dialect with low literacy levels, representing an under-studied population