Revealing interference by continuous variable discordant states

In general, a pair of uncorrelated Gaussian states mixed in a beam splitter produces a correlated state at the output. However, when the inputs are identical Gaussian states the output state is equal to the input, and no correlations appear, as the interference had not taken place. On the other hand, since physical phenomena do have observable effects, and the beam splitter is there, a question arises on how to reveal the interference between the two beams. We prove theoretically and demonstrate experimentally that this is possible if at least one of the two beams is prepared in a discordant, i.e. Gaussian correlated, state with a third beam. We also apply the same technique to reveal the erasure of polarization information. Our experiments involves thermal states and the results show that Gaussian discordant states, even when they show a positive Glauber P-function, may be useful to achieve specific tasks.Comment: published versio

Maximal characterisation of local Hardy spaces on locally doubling manifolds

We prove a radial maximal function characterisation of the local atomic Hardy space h1(M) on a Riemannian manifold M with positive injectivity radius and Ricci curvature bounded from below. As a consequence, we show that an integrable function belongs to h1(M) if and only if either its local heat maximal function or its local Poisson maximal function is integrable. A key ingredient is a decomposition of Hölder cut-offs in terms of an appropriate class of approximations of the identity, which we obtain on arbitrary Ahlfors-regular metric measure spaces and generalises a previous result of A. Uchiyama

A family of Hardy-type spaces on nondoubling manifolds

We introduce a decreasing one-parameter family Xγ(M) , γ> 0 , of Banach subspaces of the Hardy–Goldberg space h1(M) on certain nondoubling Riemannian manifolds with bounded geometry, and we investigate their properties. In particular, we prove that X1 / 2(M) agrees with the space of all functions in h1(M) whose Riesz transform is in L1(M) , and we obtain the surprising result that this space does not admit an atomic decomposition

Quantum state reconstruction using binary data from on/off photodetection

The knowledge of the density matrix of a quantum state plays a fundamental role in several fields ranging from quantum information processing to experiments on foundations of quantum mechanics and quantum optics. Recently, a method has been suggested and implemented in order to obtain the reconstruction of the diagonal elements of the density matrix exploiting the information achievable with realistic on/off detectors, e.g. silicon avalanche photo-diodes, only able to discriminate the presence or the absence of light. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the theoretical and experimental developments of the on/off method, including its extension to the reconstruction of the whole density matrix.Comment: revised version, 11 pages, 6 figures, to appear as a review paper on Adv. Science Let

Involvement of long non-coding RNAs in beta cell failure at the onset of type 1 diabetes in NOD mice.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Exposure of pancreatic beta cells to cytokines released by islet-infiltrating immune cells induces alterations in gene expression, leading to impaired insulin secretion and apoptosis in the initial phases of type 1 diabetes. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a new class of transcripts participating in the development of many diseases. As little is known about their role in insulin-secreting cells, this study aimed to evaluate their contribution to beta cell dysfunction. METHODS: The expression of lncRNAs was determined by microarray in the MIN6 beta cell line exposed to proinflammatory cytokines. The changes induced by cytokines were further assessed by real-time PCR in islets of control and NOD mice. The involvement of selected lncRNAs modified by cytokines was assessed after their overexpression in MIN6 cells and primary islet cells. RESULTS: MIN6 cells were found to express a large number of lncRNAs, many of which were modified by cytokine treatment. The changes in the level of selected lncRNAs were confirmed in mouse islets and an increase in these lncRNAs was also seen in prediabetic NOD mice. Overexpression of these lncRNAs in MIN6 and mouse islet cells, either alone or in combination with cytokines, favoured beta cell apoptosis without affecting insulin production or secretion. Furthermore, overexpression of lncRNA-1 promoted nuclear translocation of nuclear factor of κ light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells 1 (NF-κB). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our study shows that lncRNAs are modulated during the development of type 1 diabetes in NOD mice, and that their overexpression sensitises beta cells to apoptosis, probably contributing to their failure during the initial phases of the disease

Deformation Sequence and Paleofluids in Carbonate Buckle Folds Under Transpression (Pag Anticline, External Dinarides, Croatia)

Contractional deformation structures at the front of transpressional orogens display complex three-dimensional geometries deviating from the interpretative templates commonly applied in thrust belts. Accordingly, detailed constraints on deformation patterns and associated paleofluid circulation are desirable, especially for fracture geometry and permeability predictive purposes. The Pag anticline, which is located in the Dinaric fold and thrust belt, provides an appropriate field site for studying fold- and fault-related deformation structures in a transpressive setting. We performed a multiscale structural analysis together with petrographic and stable isotope characterization of the deformation-related calcite cements. Structural mapping suggests that the Pag anticline is a detachment fold developed mainly by buckling, since large-scale thrust faults are absent. Fold tightening in a transpressive setting produced a complex deformational structure including two sets of N-S right-lateral and E-W left-lateral late-stage strike-slip fault sets trending oblique to the NW-SE fold axis. The pre-folding deformation pattern includes incipient normal faults likely related to the forebulge stage, veins and stylolites coherent with NE-SW layer parallel shortening contraction in a strike-slip regime, and metric to decametric scale conjugate thrusts coherent with layer parallel shortening in a compressive regime. Buckle folding preceded propagation of a series of accommodation structures during fold tightening. Petrographic and isotopic data indicate meteoric alteration of the Cretaceous platform carbonates in the prefolding stage, likely due to forebulge subaerial exposure. Layer parallel shortening and early syn-folding veins involved formational fluids resulting from mixed marine and meteoric fluids during folding at shallow burial conditions. Eventually, meteoric fluid infiltrated again along strike-slip faults, acting as cross-formational conduits in the postfolding stage

Development of a BIMAsset Maturity Model

This paper presents a BIMAsset Maturity Model (BAMM) which demonstrates how asset owners can appraise the maturity of their organisations in relation to their capability of realising Building Information Modelling (BIM) business value in Asset Management (AM). The study aims to develop and enhance the understanding of asset owners in relation to techniques of appraising key business processes that help derive BIM business value during asset operations. The study utilises a qualitative multi-case study strategy to develop a maturity model that is specific to the domains of BIM, AM and value realisation management. Also, this study adopts an inductive approach using semi-structured interviews to collect data. Furthermore, an expert panel in the form of a focus group is utilised to validate the BAMM. This study finds that the ability of asset owners to derive BIM business value during asset operations has maturity implications in relation to certain key business processes. Furthermore, the study reveals that business value can be derived by the asset owner if organisational processes such as BIM strategy, contract management, lifecycle management, maintenance management, work-order management and value realisation management are effectively executed and continuously improved to an advanced stage of maturity. An important contribution of the paper is that it presents a novel approach for evaluating owner-operator organisations using the BAMM from two perspectives; AM business processes (BIM strategy, contract management, lifecycle management, maintenance management, work-order management and value realisation management); and BIM governance dimensions (people, process and technology)

Constrained MaxLik reconstruction of multimode photon distributions

We address the reconstruction of the full photon distribution of multimode fields generated by seeded parametric down-conversion (PDC). Our scheme is based on on/off avalanche photodetection assisted by maximum-likelihood (MaxLik) estimation and does not involve photon counting. We present a novel constrained MaxLik method that incorporates the request of finite energy to improve the rate of convergence and, in turn, the overall accuracy of the reconstruction

Efficient Anodically Grown WO3 for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Abstract The potentiostatic anodization of metallic tungsten has been investigated in different solvent/electrolyte compositions with the aim of improving the photoelectrochemical performances of the tungsten oxide layer. Among the explored electrolytes, the anodization in the NMF/H2O/NH4F solvent mixture was found to produce the most efficient WO3 photoanodes, which, combining spectral sensitivity, high electrochemically active surface and improved charge transfer kinetics, outperform, under simulated solar illumination, most of the reported nanocrystalline substrates produced by anodization in aqueous electrolytes and by sol gel methods. While the preparation of the photoelectrodes is a slow process at room temperature (20 °C), it could be greatly accelerated (x 10) by carrying out the anodization at 40-50 °C, thus proving to be a fast and convenient approach to the production of high performing WO3 photoactive substrates directly connected to a metal electron collector