On the Bethe states of the one-dimensional supersymmetric t-J model with generic open boundaries

By combining the algebraic Bethe ansatz and the off-diagonal Bethe ansatz, we investigate the supersymmetric t-J model with generic open boundaries. The eigenvalues of the transfer matrix are given in terms of an inhomogeneous T-Q relation, and the corresponding eigenstates are expressed in terms of nested Bethe states which have well-defined homogeneous limit. This exact solution provides basis for further analyzing the thermodynamic properties and correlation functions of the model.Comment: 17 pages, 2 tables, published versio

Unsupervised Domain Adaptation via Deep Hierarchical Optimal Transport

Unsupervised domain adaptation is a challenging task that aims to estimate a transferable model for unlabeled target domain by exploiting source labeled data. Optimal Transport (OT) based methods recently have been proven to be a promising direction for domain adaptation due to their competitive performance. However, most of these methods coarsely aligned source and target distributions, leading to the over-aligned problem where the category-discriminative information is mixed up although domain-invariant representations can be learned. In this paper, we propose a Deep Hierarchical Optimal Transport method (DeepHOT) for unsupervised domain adaptation. The main idea is to use hierarchical optimal transport to learn both domain-invariant and category-discriminative representations by mining the rich structural correlations among domain data. The DeepHOT framework consists of a domain-level OT and an image-level OT, where the latter is used as the ground distance metric for the former. The image-level OT captures structural associations of local image regions that are beneficial to image classification, while the domain-level OT learns domain-invariant representations by leveraging the underlying geometry of domains. However, due to the high computational complexity, the optimal transport based models are limited in some scenarios. To this end, we propose a robust and efficient implementation of the DeepHOT framework by approximating origin OT with sliced Wasserstein distance in image-level OT and using a mini-batch unbalanced optimal transport for domain-level OT. Extensive experiments show that DeepHOT surpasses the state-of-the-art methods in four benchmark datasets. Code will be released on GitHub.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

An Efficient and Secure Arbitrary N-Party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol Using Bell States

Two quantum key agreement protocols using Bell states and Bell measurement were recently proposed by Shukla et al.(Quantum Inf. Process. 13(11), 2391-2405, 2014). However, Zhu et al. pointed out that there are some security flaws and proposed an improved version (Quantum Inf. Process. 14(11), 4245-4254, 2015). In this study, we will show Zhu et al.'s improvement still exists some security problems, and its efficiency is not high enough. For solving these problems, we utilize four Pauli operations {I, Z, X, Y } to encode two bits instead of the original two operations {I,X} to encode one bit, and then propose an efficient and secure arbitrary N-party quantum key agreement protocol. In the protocol, the channel checking with decoy single photons is introduced to avoid the eavesdropper's flip attack, and a post-measurement mechanism is used to prevent against the collusion attack. The security analysis shows the present protocol can guarantee the correctness, security, privacy and fairness of quantum key agreement.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Bethe states of the trigonometric SU(3) spin chain with generic open boundaries

By combining the algebraic Bethe ansatz and the off-diagonal Bethe ansatz, we investigate the trigonometric SU(3) model with generic open boundaries. The eigenvalues of the transfer matrix are given in terms of an inhomogeneous T-Q relation, and the corresponding eigenstates are expressed in terms of nested Bethe-type eigenstates which have well-defined homogeneous limit. This exact solution provides a basis for further analyzing the thermodynamic properties and correlation functions of the anisotropic models associated with higher rank algebras.Comment: 17 pages, 3 tables. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1705.0947

Using Webquest As A Universal Design For Learning Tool To Enhance Teaching And Learning In Teacher Preparation Programs

Developed by Dodge (1995), WebQuest is an inquiry-based teaching tool, in which students of all ages and levels participate in an authentic task that use pre-designed, pre-defined internet resources, though other print resources can also be used.  Learners will put the focus on gathering, summarizing, synthesizing, and evaluating the information within clearly defined parameters in order to accomplish an authentic task set by the instructor.  WebQuest takes a problem-solving approach and exhibits a clear structure that guides the learning processes and interactions (Dodge, 2001), and can be used for different subject areas across age levels, from young children to adult learners (Ezell, Klein, Hines, & Hall, 2003).  In teacher preparation, research has shown that WebQuest enhanced problem-solving skills, higher order thinking, motivation, creativity, critical thinking, active learning, connection to authentic contexts (Abu-Elwan, 2007; Allan & Street, 2007; Lim & Hernandez, 2007) and assisted in bridging the theory to practice gap (Lim & Hernandez, 2007).  It should be noted that most studies were conducted on the subject areas of Math, literacy, or science.  In Singapore context, many local teachers still haven’t heard of WebQuest and learned about using WebQuest in their teaching.  Further, few research studies have focused on establishing WebQuest as an evidence-based practice in enhancing teaching and learning or a pedagogy promoting Universal Design for Learning and inquiry based learning.  This research project intends to introduce WebQuest, to be modelled and integrated in a course training special education pre-service teachers (allied educators) in Singapore. Specifically, the following research questions were posed: (1) Does the use of WebQuest in teacher preparation promote special education teachers’ understanding on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in accommodating students with diverse learning needs? (2) Does WebQuest a useful tool to enhance teacher’s higher order thinking, engagement, creativity, and collaborative learning skills? (3) Does the use of WebQuest in teacher preparation foster stronger desires for teachers to integrate ICT in teaching and learn more about WebQuest?  Forty one teacher responded to a survey questionnaire after experiencing WebQuest developed by the course instructor in teacher preparation program.  Teachers also learned about WebQuest as an Universal Design for Learning tool for students with diverse learning needs.  The majoirty of teachers indicated strong favors over WebQuest activities over traditional teacher-directed learning methods.  All participants found WebQuest helpful in accommodating individual differences and learning styles (Agree: 68.3%; Strongly agree: 31.7%).  Forty teachers (N=41) reflected that they used more critical thinking and problem solving skills when they engaged in the WebQuest activities developed by the instructor (39% strongly agree and 56.1% agree).  Thirty nine teachers agreed that they were required to use more creativity when they engaged in the WebQuest activities (24.4% of teachers stronly agree and 68.3% agree). The majority of teachers (26.8% strongly agree and 68.3% agree) felt that they know more about ways to incorporate technology for teaching and learning after experiencing WebQuest in this class.  They also indicated that they would like to use more technology and web resources in teaching in the future after learning about WebQuest (41.5% strongly agree and 53.7% agree)

ELECTROSPUN PLGA MICROFIBERS FOR LOCALIZED DELIVERY OF SMALL MOLECULES TO INDUCE BROWN ADIPOGENESIS

Obesity and its related disorders have been on the rise in the last few decades. Current prescribed treatments range from diet and physical activity for low risk patients to pharmacological intervention and surgical procedures for higher risk patients. In the past few years, with the discovery of its presence in adult humans, brown adipose tissue has emerged as an interesting tool for reducing the risk of developing obesity or improving weight reduction in overweight or obese individuals. This study aims to create a system to deliver drugs specifically to white fat pads to increase brown fat differentiation, thus increase overall energy expenditure and improve energy metabolism in obesity and other metabolic disorders. The designed model system encapsulates rosiglitazone, a small molecule anti-diabetic drug, within electrospun poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microfibers. Drug release is sustained over a period of 35 days from microfibers with 0.5% w/w rosiglitazone loaded. In vitro experiments with the microfibers in a Transwell system demonstrate that 0.5% rosiglitazone was an optimal concentration for stimulating brown adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, the rosiglitazone released from the microfibers was able to stimulate differentiation of white adipose-derived stem cells towards a brown adipocyte lineage. These results provide promising steps towards developing a therapy to create a localized depot of brown fat in situ that can be easily administered in the clinic to supplement current obesity treatment and prevention techniques

Electronic Structure and Energy Band of IIIA Doped Group ZnO Nanosheets

The electronic and magnetic properties of IIIA group doped ZnO nanosheets (ZnONSs) are investigated by the first principles. The results show that the band gap of ZnO nanosheets increases gradually along with Al, Ga, and In ions occupying Zn sites and O sites. The configuration of Al atoms replacing Zn atoms is more stable than other doped. The system shows half-metallic characteristics for In-doped ZnO nanosheets