Quantifying Entanglement Production of Quantum Operations

The problem of entanglement produced by an arbitrary operator is formulated and a related measure of entanglement production is introduced. This measure of entanglement production satisfies all properties natural for such a characteristic. A particular case is the entanglement produced by a density operator or a density matrix. The suggested measure is valid for operations over pure states as well as over mixed states, for equilibrium as well as nonequilibrium processes. Systems of arbitrary nature can be treated, described either by field operators, spin operators, or any other kind of operators, which is realized by constructing generalized density matrices. The interplay between entanglement production and phase transitions in statistical systems is analysed by the examples of Bose-Einstein condensation, superconducting transition, and magnetic transitions. The relation between the measure of entanglement production and order indices is analysed.Comment: 20 pages, Revte

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p

Overvåking av forurensningssituasjonen i indre Oslofjord 2007

Årsliste 2008Fagrådet For Vann & Avløpstekn

Overvåking av Indre Oslofjord i 2012 - Vedleggsrapport

Her presenteres data for overvåkingen av Indre Oslofjord i 2012. En mindre omfattende beskrivelse av resultatene er presentert i NIVA rapport nr. 6533. Undersøkelsene omfatter fysiske, kjemiske og biologiske forhold. Fjordens innelukkede karakter gjør at utslipp vil kunne medføre uønskede effekter (eutrofiering, miljøgifteffekter). Dette er påvirkninger som fremdeles er aktuelle fordi det ventes en betydelig befolkningsøkning i området med dertil følgende tilførsler. Kapasiteten på de kommunale renseanleggene er også i ferd med å bli sprengt. Vannutskiftningen i Indre Oslofjord var i 2012 svært lav. Innenfor Drøbak ble ca. 25 % av vannet mellom 20 meters dyp og bunn skiftet ut mot ca. 73 % i 2011. I Bunnefjorden var det ingen dypvannsfornyelse i 2012 og oksygenkonsentrasjonen sank mot sommeren, med litt sulfidutvikling på 150 m dyp frem til august. Vinteren 2012 var det en relativt god dypvannsfornyelse i Vestfjorden. Algemengden i overflatevannet var i 2012 nær gjennomsnittet for tidligere år. Forekomsten av reker var relativt god i Lysakerfjorden, men var lavere lengre utover i Vestfjorden. Horisontalutbredelsen av tang viste en positiv utvikling i Vestfjorden og Bunnefjorden, og negativ utvikling i sørlige deler av Vestfjorden og Drøbak-området. I 2011/12 ble det startet en registrering av fisk innsamlet med bunntrål ved Steilene i Indre Oslofjord. Resultatene tyder på en sesongavhengighet mht. tilstedeværende arter og deres antall. I august og november var fangstene dominert av øyepål som utgjorde 43-46 % av fangsten. Sypike og hvitting utgjorde hver ca. 15 %. I februar og juni var sypike, gapeflyndre (20-25 %) og sølvtorsk (20 %) mest dominerende. De fleste artene syntes likevel å være tilstede året rundt. Fangstene av torsk varierte mellom 2 og 5 %, og var på topp i november måned. Biomarkør resultater fra de siste ti årene antyder at det blir gradvis mindre effekter av miljøgifter på torsken i Indre Oslofjord