A paradox in bosonic energy computations via semidefinite programming relaxations

We show that the recent hierarchy of semidefinite programming relaxations based on non-commutative polynomial optimization and reduced density matrix variational methods exhibits an interesting paradox when applied to the bosonic case: even though it can be rigorously proven that the hierarchy collapses after the first step, numerical implementations of higher order steps generate a sequence of improving lower bounds that converges to the optimal solution. We analyze this effect and compare it with similar behavior observed in implementations of semidefinite programming relaxations for commutative polynomial minimization. We conclude that the method converges due to the rounding errors occurring during the execution of the numerical program, and show that convergence is lost as soon as computer precision is incremented. We support this conclusion by proving that for any element p of a Weyl algebra which is non-negative in the Schrodinger representation there exists another element p' arbitrarily close to p that admits a sum of squares decomposition.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure

El proyecto nefreduca : una plataforma educativa virtual para alumnos de secundaria hospitalizados por enfermedades crónicas de riñón

A pesar de avances médicos los jóvenes con enfermedades crónicas a menudo son hospitalizados durante largos períodos, y por consiguiente, no pueden mantener un ritmo de asistencia escolar normal. Esto puede traducirse a menudo en un menor nivel de alfabetización científica. A pesar de que muchos hospitales disponen de Aula hospitalaria; el acceso de estos jóvenes al currículum de ciencias es reducido, por falta de docentes especialistas y de los recursos específicos a estas y el contexto hospitalario. Con la finalidad de tratar estos problemas, se diseñó el proyecto Nefreduca. Esta comunicación presenta una tipología preliminar de las modificaciones de diseño basadas en evidencias a partir de los datos fase cíclica del proyecto. Los resultados muestran dos limitaciones principales a tener en cuenta en la enseñanza de las ciencias en el contexto educativo hospitalario

Design, Implementation, and Empirical Validation of a Framework for Remote Car Driving Using a Commercial Mobile Network

Despite the fact that autonomous driving systems are progressing in terms of their automation levels, the achievement of fully self-driving cars is still far from realization. Currently, most new cars accord with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 2 of automation, which requires the driver to be able to take control of the car when needed: for this reason, it is believed that between now and the achievement of fully automated self-driving car systems, there will be a transition, in which remote driving cars will be a reality. In addition, there are tele-operation-use cases that require remote driving for health or safety reasons. However, there is a lack of detailed design and implementation available in the public domain for remote driving cars: therefore, in this work we propose a functional framework for remote driving vehicles. We implemented a prototype, using a commercial car. The prototype was connected to a commercial 4G/5G mobile network, and empirical experiments were conducted, to validate the prototype’s functions, and to evaluate its performance in real-world driving conditions. The design, implementation, and empirical evaluation provided detailed technical insights into this important research and innovation area.This research was funded in part by the EU Horizon 2020 5G-PPP 5G-INDUCE project (“Open cooperative 5G experimentation platforms for the industrial sector NetApps”) under grant number H2020-ICT-2020-2/101016941, by the EU Horizon Europe INCODE project (“Programming platform for intelligent collaborative deployments over heterogeneous edge-IoT environments”) under grant number HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-03/101093069, and by the EU Horizon Europe project INCODE: programming platform for intelligent collaborative deployments over heterogeneous edge-IoT environments (HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-03/101093069)

How Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Differ in Their Use of Neuroscience Evidence

Much of the public debate surrounding the intersection of neuroscience and criminal law is based on assumptions about how prosecutors and defense attorneys differ in their use of neuroscience evidence. For example, according to some commentators, the defense’s use of neuroscience evidence will abdicate criminals of all responsibility for their offenses. In contrast, the prosecution’s use of that same evidence will unfairly punish the most vulnerable defendants as unfixable future dangers to society. This “double- edged sword” view of neuroscience evidence is important for flagging concerns about the law’s construction of criminal responsibility and punishment: it demonstrates that the same information about the defendant can either be mitigating or aggravating depending on who is raising it. Yet empirical assessments of legal decisions reveal a far more nuanced reality, showing that public beliefs about the impact of neuroscience on the criminal law can often be wrong. This Article takes an evidence-based and multidisciplinary approach to examining how courts respond to neuroscience evidence in capital cases when the defense presents it to argue that the defendant’s mental state at the time of the crime was below the given legal requisite due to some neurologic or cognitive deficiency

Revealing subthreshold motor contributions to perceptual confidence

Established models of perceptual metacognition, the ability to evaluate our perceptual judgements, posit that perceptual confidence depends on the strength or quality of feedforward sensory evidence. However, alternative theoretical accounts suggest the entire perception-action cycle, and not only variation in sensory evidence, is monitored when evaluating confidence in one’s percepts. Such models lead to the counterintuitive prediction that perceptual confidence should be directly modulated by features of motor output. To evaluate this proposal here we recorded electromyographic (EMG) activity of motor effectors while subjects performed a near-threshold perceptual discrimination task and reported their confidence in each response in a pre-registered experiment. A subset of trials exhibited subthreshold EMG activity in response effectors before a decision was made. Strikingly, trial-by-trial analysis showed that confidence, but not accuracy, was significantly higher on trials with subthreshold motor activation. These findings support a hypothesis that preparatory motor activity, or a related latent variable, impacts upon confidence over and above performance, consistent with models in which perceptual metacognition integrates information across the perception-action cycle

Role of cis-zeatin in root responses to phosphate starvation

Phosphate (Pi) is an essential nutrient for all organisms. Root are underground organs, but the majority of the root biology studies have been done growing the root system in presence of light.Root illumination alters the Pi starvation response (PSR) at different levels. Thus, we have analyzed morphological, transcriptional and physiological responses to Pi starvation in dark‐grown roots.We have identified new genes and pathways regulated by Pi starvation that were not described previously. We also show that Pi‐starved plants increase the cis‐zeatin (cZ)/trans‐zeatin (tZ) ratio. Transcriptomic analyses show that tZ preferentially represses cell cycle and PSR genes while cZ induces genes involved in cell and root hair elongation and differentiation. In fact, cZ‐treated seedlings show longer root system as well as longer root hairs than tZ‐treated, increasing the total absorbing surface. Mutants with low cZ levels do not allocate free Pi in roots during Pi starvation.We propose that Pi‐starved plants increase the cZ/tZ ratio to maintain basal CK responses and allocate Pi in the root system to sustain its growth. Therefore, cZ acts as a Pi‐starvation response hormone that stimulates root and root hair elongation to enlarge root absorbing surface and to increase Pi levels in roots

Cost-Utility Analysis of a Medication Review with Follow-Up Service for Older Adults with Polypharmacy in Community Pharmacies in Spain: The conSIGUE Program

© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Background: The concept of pharmaceutical care is operationalized through pharmaceutical professional services, which are patient-oriented to optimize their pharmacotherapy and to improve clinical outcomes. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of a medication review with follow-up (MRF) service for older adults with polypharmacy in Spanish community pharmacies against the alternative of having their medication dispensed normally. Methods: The study was designed as a cluster randomized controlled trial, and was carried out over a time horizon of 6 months. The target population was older adults with polypharmacy, defined as individuals taking five or more medicines per day. The study was conducted in 178 community pharmacies in Spain. Cost-utility analysis adopted a health service perspective. Costs were in euros at 2014 prices and the effectiveness of the intervention was estimated as quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). In order to analyze the uncertainty of ICER results, we performed a non-parametric bootstrapping with 5000 replications. Results: A total of 1403 older adults, aged between 65 and 94 years, were enrolled in the study: 688 in the intervention group (IG) and 715 in the control group (CG). By the end of the follow-up, both groups had reduced the mean number of prescribed medications they took, although this reduction was greater in the IG (0.28 ± 1.25 drugs; p < 0.001) than in the CG (0.07 ± 0.95 drugs; p = 0.063). Older adults in the IG saw their quality of life improved by 0.0528 ± 0.20 (p < 0.001). In contrast, the CG experienced a slight reduction in their quality of life: 0.0022 ± 0.24 (p = 0.815). The mean total cost was €977.57 ± 1455.88 for the IG and €1173.44 ± 3671.65 for the CG. In order to estimate the ICER, we used the costs adjusted for baseline medications and QALYs adjusted for baseline utility score, resulting in a mean incremental total cost of −€250.51 ± 148.61 (95 % CI −541.79 to 40.76) and a mean incremental QALY of 0.0156 ± 0.004 (95 % CI 0.008–0.023). Regarding the results from the cost-utility analysis, the MRF service emerged as the dominant strategy. Conclusion: The MRF service is an effective intervention for optimizing prescribed medication and improving quality of life in older adults with polypharmacy in community pharmacies. The results from the cost-utility analysis suggest that the MRF service is cost effective

Inhibition of gamma-Secretase Leads to an Increase in Presenilin-1

γ-Secretase inhibitors (GSIs) are potential therapeutic agents for Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, trials have proven disappointing. We addressed the possibility that γ-secretase inhibition can provoke a rebound effect, elevating the levels of the catalytic γ-secretase subunit, presenilin-1 (PS1). Acute treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with the GSI LY-374973 (N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-l-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester, DAPT) augments PS1, in parallel with increases in other γ-secretase subunits nicastrin, presenilin enhancer 2, and anterior pharynx-defective 1, yet with no increase in messenger RNA expression. Over-expression of the C-terminal fragment (CTF) of APP, C99, also triggered an increase in PS1. Similar increases in PS1 were evident in primary neurons treated repeatedly (4 days) with DAPT or with the GSI BMS-708163 (avagacestat). Likewise, rats examined after 21 days administered with avagacestat (40 mg/kg/day) had more brain PS1. Sustained γ-secretase inhibition did not exert a long-term effect on PS1 activity, evident through the decrease in CTFs of APP and ApoER2. Prolonged avagacestat treatment of rats produced a subtle impairment in anxiety-like behavior. The rebound increase in PS1 in response to GSIs must be taken into consideration for future drug development