Static and dynamic phases of a Tonks-Girardeau gas in an optical lattice

We investigate the properties of a Tonks-Girardeau gas in the presence of a one-dimensional lattice potential. Such a system is known to exhibit a pinning transition when the lattice is commensurate with the particle density, leading to the formation of an insulating state even at infinitesimally small lattice depths. Here we examine the properties of the gas at all lattices depths and, in addition to the static properties, also consider the non-adiabatic dynamics induced by the sudden motion of the lattice potential with a constant speed. Our work provides a continuum counterpart to the work done in discrete lattice models.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figure

Genetic Polymorphisms as Risk Stratification Tool in Primary Preventive ICD Therapy

More and more implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted as primary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, major problem in practice is to identify high-risk patients for SCD. Different methods for noninvasive risk stratification do not have a sufficient positive or negative predictive value. Since current approaches lead to implantation of ICDs in a large number of patients who will never suffer an arrhythmic event and simultaneously patients still die of SCD who currently did not seem eligible for primary preventive ICD implantation, there is a need for additional tools for risk stratification. Epidemiological studies point to a hereditary risk of SCD. Different susceptibility of each person concerning arrhythmogenic events might be explained by genetic polymorphisms. By obtaining an individual “pattern” of polymorphisms of genes encoding for proteins which are important in arrhythmogenesis in one patient, risk stratification in primary prevention of SCD might by improved

Acupuncture for Relief of Gag Reflex in Patients Undergoing Transoesophageal Echocardiography—A Protocol for a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background: Gagging during transesophageal echocardiography examination (TEE) can be distressing and even dangerous for patients. The needling of acupuncture point CV24 was described to be effective in reducing the gag reflex during TEE in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Methods: We describe a proposal for a prospective, randomized, patient, practitioner and assessor-blinded, single-center trial with two arms/groups; real acupuncture will be compared to placebo acupuncture. A total of 60 (30 per group) patients scheduled for elective TEE in order to exclude a cardiac embolic source, endocarditis or for valve failure evaluation will be recruited according to patients’ selection criteria and receive either indwelling fixed intradermal needles at acupoints CV24 and bilateral PC6 or placebo needles at the same areas. Patients, the practitioners who will perform the TEE procedure, and the assessor of the outcome measures will be unaware of the group’s (real or placebo) allocation. Results: The primary outcome is the intensity of gagging, measured using verbal rating scale (VRS-11) from 0 = no gagging to 10 = intolerable gagging. Secondary outcomes include the incidence of gagging, the use of rescue medication, patients’ satisfaction with relief of unwanted side effects during TEE procedure, success of patients’ blinding (patients’ opinion to group allocation), heart rate and oxygen saturation measured by pulse oxymetry. Conclusions: To study the effects of acupuncture against gagging during TEE, we test the needling of acupoints CV24 and PC6 bilaterally. A placebo acupuncture is used for the control group. Trial registration number: NCT NCT0382142

PhD working conditions at NTNU with a special focus on PhD candidates with kids

During 2016-2017, DION conducted an analysis of the PhD working conditions at NTNU, with special focus on PhDs with children. All NTNU PhD candidates were invited to respond to a survey regarding working conditions and children. In total 583 PhD candidates responded, resulting in the following report, which was presented to the NTNU University Research Committee on the8thof May 2017. The report as well as the results of the survey will be published on DION's webpage,and DION will forward the report to faculties and departments at NTNU.In general, the report reveals that working conditions are perceived as good, but PhDs with children face additional challenges, mainly due to the time limitations on their PhD project versus family life. Based on the quantitative responses, qualitative comments,and suggestions from PhD candidates, we present a set of measures for improving the conditions. For example: a unified and more sophisticated parental leave and sickness regulations, better support of research stays abroad, an on-campus kindergarten with flexible opening hours to account for exam periods and other aspects affecting academics.I perioden 2016-2017 utførte DION en undersøkelse av arbeidsforholdene for doktorgradsstipendiater ved NTNU, med spesielt fokus på stipendiater med barn. Alle stipendiater ved NTNU ble invitert til å delta i en spørreundersøkelse om generelle arbeidsforhold, med et særlig fokus på hvordan stipendiattilværelsen oppleves for kandidater med barn. 583 stipendiater svarte på undersøkelsen, og den følgende rapporten tar for seg analysen av disse resultatene. Rapporten ble presentert for Forskningsutvalget den 8. mai 2017.Rapporten og svarene fra spørreundersøkelsen vil bli publisert på DIONs nettside, og DION vil videresende rapporten til alle fakulteter og institutt ved NTNU. Generelt viser resultatene at arbeidsforholdene er ansett som gode, men flere stipendiater med barn opplever at det er utfordrende å kombinere doktorgradsgradsprosjektet og foreldrelivet. Basert på den kvantitative responsen og de kvalitative kommentarene fra stipendiatene har vi noen forslag til forbedringstiltak. Først og fremst må NTNU sentralt sørge for at fakultetene følger samme praksis for forlengelse av midlertidige kontrakter ved fravær grunnet amming, omsorg for syke barn og barnehagetilvenning. Videre er det et behov for å synliggjøre støtteordninger og tilrettelegging for forskningsopphold i utlandet for stipendiater som reiser med barn. Sist vil vi oppfordre til å etablere barnehage på campus med fleksible åpningstider, der stipendiater har høy prioritet

Quantum chaos in interacting Bose-Bose mixtures

The appearance of chaotic quantum dynamics significantly depends on the symmetry properties of the system, and in cold atomic systems many of these can be experimentally controlled. In this work, we systematically study the emergence of quantum chaos in a minimal system describing one-dimensional harmonically trapped Bose-Bose mixtures by tuning the particle-particle interactions. Using an advanced exact diagonalization scheme, we examine the transition from integrability to chaos when the inter-component interaction changes from weak to strong. Our study is based on the analysis of the level spacing distribution and the distribution of the matrix elements of observables in terms of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis and their dynamics. We show that one can obtain strong signatures of chaos by increasing the inter-component interaction strength and breaking the symmetry of intra-component interactions.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figure

A note on comonotonicity and positivity of the control components of decoupled quadratic FBSDE

In this small note we are concerned with the solution of Forward-Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (FBSDE) with drivers that grow quadratically in the control component (quadratic growth FBSDE or qgFBSDE). The main theorem is a comparison result that allows comparing componentwise the signs of the control processes of two different qgFBSDE. As a byproduct one obtains conditions that allow establishing the positivity of the control process.Comment: accepted for publicatio

The Super‐Recogniser Advantage Extends to the Detection of Digitally Manipulated Faces

Face recognition by human officials remains the predominant method of identity verification in security‐critical contexts. The integrity of this process can be compromised by sophisticated fraud attacks using manipulated face images. Therefore, in this study, we examine whether human observers can detect digitally manipulated passport photos, and whether super‐recognisers (SRs) outperform typical recogniser controls. Using two face manipulation detection tasks (DFMD1, DFMD2), participants were asked to decide whether a ‘suspected’ passport photo had been digitally manipulated. SRs were found to significantly outperform controls; this effect was not the result of a ‘speed‐accuracy trade‐off’. Individual differences on tests of face identification aptitude, self‐rated ability, and response times, accounted for over 20% of the variance in manipulated image detection sensitivity. Taken together, these findings show that, despite increasing sophistication in digital face manipulation techniques, there is still utility in employing human operators, particularly SRs, to detect them

Training humans for synthetic face image detection

Fake identities created using highly realistic synthetic face images have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, driven by advancements in generative neural networks that are readily accessible online and easy to use. These fake identities can be exploited for malicious purposes, such as spreading misinformation or committing fraud. Given the widespread availability of online content and the ease of generating fake online identities, it is desirable that users are able to distinguish real face images from synthetic ones. Additionally, it is important to explore whether specialized training can enhance the ability of individuals to detect synthetically generated face images. In this work, we address these challenges by designing an online experiment to evaluate human detection capabilities and the impact of training on detecting synthetic face images. As part of the experiments, we recruited 184 participants divided into an experimental group and a control group, where the experimental group underwent a tailored training session halfway through the experiment. The study shows that training may moderately enhance human capabilities to detect synthetic face images. Specifically, it was found that the experimental group generally outperformed the control group after training, primarily due to improved abilities in detecting synthetic face images. However, after training, the experimental group showed increased sensitivity and misclassified also more authentic face images, as compared to the control group

Investigating nanoplastics toxicity using advanced stem cell-based intestinal and lung in vitro models

Plastic particles in the nanometer range–called nanoplastics–are environmental contaminants with growing public health concern. As plastic particles are present in water, soil, air and food, human exposure via intestine and lung is unavoidable, but possible health effects are still to be elucidated. To better understand the Mode of Action of plastic particles, it is key to use experimental models that best reflect human physiology. Novel assessment methods like advanced cell models and several alternative approaches are currently used and developed in the scientific community. So far, the use of cancer cell line-based models is the standard approach regarding in vitro nanotoxicology. However, among the many advantages of the use of cancer cell lines, there are also disadvantages that might favor other approaches. In this review, we compare cell line-based models with stem cell-based in vitro models of the human intestine and lung. In the context of nanoplastics research, we highlight the advantages that come with the use of stem cells. Further, the specific challenges of testing nanoplastics in vitro are discussed. Although the use of stem cell-based models can be demanding, we conclude that, depending on the research question, stem cells in combination with advanced exposure strategies might be a more suitable approach than cancer cell lines when it comes to toxicological investigation of nanoplastics

Conditional face image manipulation detection : combining algorithm and human examiner decisions

It has been shown that digitally manipulated face images can pose a security threat to automated authentication systems (e.g., when such systems are used for border control). In such scenarios, a malicious actor can, in many countries, apply for an identity document using a manipulated face image, which can then be used to gain fraudulent access to a system. Research has shown that humans and algorithms struggle to detect digitally manipulated face images, especially when the type of manipulation is unknown or when evaluated across multiple types of manipulations. In this work, we consider the detection performance of algorithms and humans on datasets consisting of retouched, face swapped and morphed images. Specifically, we investigate the joint performance of algorithms and humans in a differential detection scenario where both a trusted and suspected image are presented simultaneously. To this end, we propose a conditional face image manipulation detection approach where the human decision is only considered when the algorithm is unsure about the decision outcome. The results show that the automated algorithm performs better than the human detectors and that combining the decisions of algorithms and humans, in general, leads to an increased detection performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the joint detection performance of algorithms and humans in a differential face manipulation detection scenario and when using a variety of face image manipulations