A New Symmetry for QED

We demonstrate that QED exhibits a previously unobserved symmetry. Some consequences are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, MZ-TH/93-02, DIAS-STP-93-0

Efficacy of a four-week uphill sprint training intervention in field hockey players

Current evidence increasingly suggests that very short, supra-maximal bouts of exercise can have significant health and performance benefits. The majority of research conducted in the area however, uses laboratory-based protocols, which can lack ecological validity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a high intensity sprint-training programme on hockey related performance measures. 14 semi-professional hockey players completed either a 4-week high intensity training (HIT) intervention, consisting of a total of six sessions HIT, which progressively increased in volume (n=7), or followed their normal training programme (Con; n=7). Straight-line sprint speed with and without a hockey stick and ball, and slalom sprint speed, with and without a hockey stick and ball were used as performance indicators. Maximal sprint speed over 22.9m was also assessed. Upon completion of the four-week intervention, straight-line sprint speed improved significantly in the HIT group (~3%), with no change in performance for the Con group. Slalom sprint speed, both with and without a hockey ball was not significantly different following the training programme in either group. Maximal sprint speed improved significantly (12.1%) in the HIT group, but there was no significant performance change in the Con group. The findings of this study indicate that a short period of HIT can significantly improve hockey related performance measures, and could be beneficial to athletes and coaches in field settings

The Impact of Full and Half-day Head Start Programs on Kindergarten Readiness

The 2013-2014 school year brought mandated school readiness screenings to 173 school districts across the state of Kentucky. According to the Governor’s Task Force on early childhood development and education (2012), school readiness is defined as: each child enters school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the child’s success. To assess whether students were school ready the use of the Brigance© Screens III was implemented across the state. This study investigated the impact of enrollment in half and full-day Head Start programs on kindergarten readiness for students in Kentucky as measured by the Brigance© Screens III. The Brigance© scores were analyzed using the composite score and subdomain scores which are reported as ready, not ready, or ready with supports. A multivariate analysis of variance, or MANOVA, was utilized to examine if there was a significant difference in full or half-day readiness outcomes

Comparison of optimal performance at 300keV of three direct electron detectors for use in low dose electron microscopy

Low dose electron imaging applications such as electron cryo-microscopy are now benefitting from the improved performance and flexibility of recently introduced electron imaging detectors in which electrons are directly incident on backthinned CMOS sensors. There are currently three commercially available detectors of this type: the Direct Electron DE-20, the FEI Falcon II and the Gatan K2 Summit. These have different characteristics and so it is important to compare their imaging properties carefully with a view to optimise how each is used. Results at 300 keV for both the modulation transfer function (MTF) and the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) are presented. Of these, the DQE is the most important in the study of radiation sensitive samples where detector performance is crucial. We find that all three detectors have a better DQE than film. The K2 Summit has the best DQE at low spatial frequencies but with increasing spatial frequency its DQE falls below that of the Falcon II

From head to tail it's a 2 way street for neuro-immune communication

Animals need to be able to rapidly and effectively respond to changes in their external and internal environment. To achieve this the nervous and immune systems need to coordinate their responses, integrating multiple cues including presence of potential pathogens, and availability of food. In our recent study we demonstrate that signaling by sensory neurons in the head using the classical neurotransmitter serotonin can negatively regulate the rectal epithelial immune response upon infection of C. elegans with the naturally occurring bacterial pathogen Microbacterium nematophilum (M. nematophilum). The complicated nature of the mammalian brain and immune system has made it difficult to identify the molecular mechanisms mediating these interactions. With its simple, well described, nervous system and a rapidly growing understanding of its immune system, C. elegans has emerged as an excellent model to study the mechanisms by which animals recognize pathogens and coordinate behavioral and cellular immune responses to infection

Quantumness in decoherent quantum walk using measurement-induced disturbance

The classicalization of a decoherent discrete-time quantum walk on a line or an n-cycle can be demonstrated in various ways that do not necessarily provide a geometry-independent description. For example, the position probability distribution becomes increasingly Gaussian, with a concomitant fall in the standard deviation, in the former case, but not in the latter. As another example, each step of the quantum walk on a line may be subjected to an arbitrary phase gate, without affecting the position probability distribution, no matter whether the walk is noiseless or noisy. This symmetry, which is absent in the case of noiseless cyclic walk, but is restored in the presence of sufficient noise, serves as an indicator of classicalization, but only in the cyclic case. Here we show that the degree of quantum correlations between the coin and position degrees of freedom, quantified by a measure based on the disturbance induced by local measurements (Luo, Phys. Rev. A 77, 022301 (2008)), provides a suitable measure of classicalization across both type of walks. Applying this measure to compare the two walks, we find that cyclic quantum walks tend to classicalize faster than quantum walks on a line because of more efficient phase randomization due to the self-interference of the two counter-rotating waves. We model noise as acting on the coin, and given by the squeezed generalized amplitude damping (SGAD) channel, which generalizes the generalized amplitude damping channel.Comment: 8 pages with 8 figures, Published versio