Entropic Test of Quantum Contextuality

We study the contextuality of a three-level quantum system using classical conditional entropy of measurement outcomes. First, we analytically construct the minimal configuration of measurements required to reveal contextuality. Next, an entropic contextual inequality is formulated, analogous to the entropic Bell inequalities derived by Braunstein and Caves in [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 61}, 662 (1988)], that must be satisfied by all non-contextual theories. We find optimal measurements for violation of this inequality. The approach is easily extendable to higher dimensional quantum systems and more measurements. Our theoretical findings can be verified in the laboratory with current technology.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Dynamic bloodflow studies of space-occupying lesions in the liver

Blood flow to space-occupying lesions in the liver was studied by scintillation camera in a series of 170 patients after injection of 113mIn-colloid. The curves obtained show a biphasic curve over the normal liver, absence of portal flow over a malignant lesion, and avascularity over benign lesions such as cysts or abscesses. The usefulness and limitations of this technique in distinguishing between a benign and malignant lesion in the liver are discussed

Study on Durability Characteristics of Self - Compacting Concrete with Fly Ash

This paper investigates the study of workability and durability characteristics of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) with Viscosity Modifying Admixture (VMA), and containing Class F fly ash. The mix design for SCC was arrived as per the Guidelines of European Federation of National Associations Representing for Concrete (EFNARC). In this investigation, SCC was made by usual ingredients such as cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, water and mineral admixture fly ash at various replacement levels (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%). The super plasticizer used was Glenium B233 and the viscosity modifying agent used was Glenium Stream 2. The experiments are carried out by adopting a water-powder ratio of 0.45. Workability of the fresh concrete is determined by using tests such as: slump flow, T50, V-funnel, L-Box and U-box tests. The durability of concrete is tested by acid resistance, sulphate attack and saturated water absorption at the age of 28, 56 and 90 days

Local Realism of Macroscopic Correlations

We show that for macroscopic measurements which cannot reveal full information about microscopic states of the system, the monogamy of Bell inequality violations present in quantum mechanics implies that practically all correlations between macroscopic measurements can be described by local realistic models. Our results hold for sharp measurement and arbitrary closed quantum systems.Comment: 9 pages incl. one Appendix, 2 figure

Spatio-temporal cluster analysis of county-based human West Nile virus incidence in the continental United States

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>West Nile virus (WNV) is a vector-borne illness that can severely affect human health. After introduction on the East Coast in 1999, the virus quickly spread and became established across the continental United States. However, there have been significant variations in levels of human WNV incidence spatially and temporally. In order to quantify these variations, we used Kulldorff's spatial scan statistic and Anselin's Local Moran's I statistic to uncover spatial clustering of human WNV incidence at the county level in the continental United States from 2002–2008. These two methods were applied with varying analysis thresholds in order to evaluate sensitivity of clusters identified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The spatial scan and Local Moran's I statistics revealed several consistent, important clusters or hot-spots with significant year-to-year variation. In 2002, before the pathogen had spread throughout the country, there were significant regional clusters in the upper Midwest and in Louisiana and Mississippi. The largest and most consistent area of clustering throughout the study period was in the Northern Great Plains region including large portions of Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota, and significant sections of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. In 2006, a very strong cluster centered in southwest Idaho was prominent. Both the spatial scan statistic and the Local Moran's I statistic were sensitive to the choice of input parameters.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Significant spatial clustering of human WNV incidence has been demonstrated in the continental United States from 2002–2008. The two techniques were not always consistent in the location and size of clusters identified. Although there was significant inter-annual variation, consistent areas of clustering, with the most persistent and evident being in the Northern Great Plains, were demonstrated. Given the wide variety of mosquito species responsible and the environmental conditions they require, further spatio-temporal clustering analyses on a regional level is warranted.</p

Partial-Transfer Absorption Imaging: A versatile technique for optimal imaging of ultracold gases

Partial-transfer absorption imaging is a tool that enables optimal imaging of atomic clouds for a wide range of optical depths. In contrast to standard absorption imaging, the technique can be minimally-destructive and can be used to obtain multiple successive images of the same sample. The technique involves transferring a small fraction of the sample from an initial internal atomic state to an auxiliary state and subsequently imaging that fraction absorptively on a cycling transition. The atoms remaining in the initial state are essentially unaffected. We demonstrate the technique, discuss its applicability, and compare its performance as a minimally-destructive technique to that of phase-contrast imaging.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Review of Scientific Instrument

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF AZITHROMYCIN ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH PROBIOTIC IN THE TREATMENT OF IMPETIGO IN CHILDREN

Objective: Impetigo is a superficial infection of the skin that involves only the epidermis. It affects mostly children, usually on exposed areas of the body (eg. The face and the legs). Staphylococcus aureus is the most important causative organism. Streptococcus pyogenes (i.e.) group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus) causes fewer cases, either alone or in combination with S. aureus. The objective of this study is to find out the efficacy and safety of azithromycin alone and in combination with probiotic among children suffering from impetigo.Methods: This prospective, randomized, single-blinded interventional study was conducted for a period of 6 mo in pediatric OPD and dermatology OPD in Rajah Muthiah Medical College and Hospital. A total of 100 patients, randomly divided into two groups with 50 patients in each group. Group, I patients treated with Azithromycin 10 mg/kg/d for 5 d. Group II patients treated with Azithromycin 10 mg/kg/d for 5 d with probiotic (50 million spores of Lactobacillus sporegens, Streptococcus faecalis 30 million spores, clostridium butyricum 2 million spores, Bacillus mesentericus 1 million spores) twice daily for 5ds.Results: Reduction in a number of lesions and wound area, clinical response were highly significant in Azithromycin with the probiotic-treated group.Conclusion: In this study, probiotic bacteria may counteract the inflammatory process beyond the intestinal milieu. The results of this study indicate that Azithromycin with probiotic is effective in the treatment of impetigo

Understanding Link Dynamics in Wireless Sensor Networks with Dynamically Steerable Directional Antennas

Abstract. By radiating the power in the direction of choice, electronicallyswitched directional (ESD) antennas can reduce network contention and avoid packet loss. There exists some ESD antennas for wireless sensor networks, but so far researchers have mainly evaluated their directionality. There are no studies regarding the link dynamics of ESD antennas, in particular not for indoor deployments and other scenarios where nodes are not necessarily in line of sight. Our long-term experiments confirm that previous findings that have demonstrated the dependence of angleof-arrival on channel frequency also hold for directional transmissions with ESD antennas. This is important for the design of protocols for wireless sensor networks with ESD antennas: the best antenna direction, i.e., the direction that leads to the highest packet reception rate and signal strength at the receiver, is not stable but varies over time and with the selected IEEE 802.15.4 channel. As this requires protocols to incorporate some form of adaptation, we present an intentionally simple and yet efficient mechanism for selecting the best antenna direction at run-time with an energy overhead below 2 % compared to standard omni-directional transmissions.

Environmental management practices, environmental technology portfolio, and environmental commitment: A content analytic approach for U.K. manufacturing firms

This study investigates how various aspects of environmental management practices EMPs (operational, strategic, and tactical) undertaken by firms influence their environmental technology portfolios ETPs (pollution control and pollution prevention). It also explores the role of environmental commitment of firms on the influence of EMPs on ETPs. This study uses data from content analysis of annual reports, and corporate social responsibility reports available from corporate websites of 76 UK manufacturing firms from eight different industrial sectors across two years using a time lag (2010-2012). We have controlled for industry type, economic performance and firm size in all our analyses. The findings of our study show that operational and tactical practices influence both the ETPs significantly but strategic practices influence only pollution prevention activities of firms. Further, we have found that environmental commitment positively moderates the influence of operational and tactical practices on pollution prevention but not on pollution control activities. There is no such moderating role on the influence of strategic practices on either pollution prevention or pollution control. Our finding generally highlight the short-term pollution control view; manufacturers focus on cost saving, operational efficiency, and being compliant with the environmental regulations rather than having a long-term strategy perspective. The use of strategic practices tends to have stronger influence on long-term pollution prevention activities. Once firms improve their level of environmental commitment, their involvement in long-term pollution prevention activities improve

Genetic drift at expanding frontiers promotes gene segregation

Competition between random genetic drift and natural selection plays a central role in evolution: Whereas non-beneficial mutations often prevail in small populations by chance, mutations that sweep through large populations typically confer a selective advantage. Here, however, we observe chance effects during range expansions that dramatically alter the gene pool even in large microbial populations. Initially well-mixed populations of two fluorescently labeled strains of Escherichia coli develop well-defined, sector-like regions with fractal boundaries in expanding colonies. The formation of these regions is driven by random fluctuations that originate in a thin band of pioneers at the expanding frontier. A comparison of bacterial and yeast colonies (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) suggests that this large-scale genetic sectoring is a generic phenomenon that may provide a detectable footprint of past range expansions.Comment: Please visit http://www.pnas.org/content/104/50/19926.abstract for published articl