Quantum state tomography by continuous measurement and compressed sensing

The need to perform quantum state tomography on ever larger systems has spurred a search for methods that yield good estimates from incomplete data. We study the performance of compressed sensing (CS) and least squares (LS) estimators in a fast protocol based on continuous measurement on an ensemble of cesium atomic spins. Both efficiently reconstruct nearly pure states in the 16-dimensional ground manifold, reaching average fidelities FCS = 0.92 and FLS = 0.88 using similar amounts of incomplete data. Surprisingly, the main advantage of CS in our protocol is an increased robustness to experimental imperfections

Introduction: Examined Live – An Epistemological Exchange Between Philosophy and Cultural Psychology on Reflection

Besides the general agreement about the human capability of reflection, there is a large area of disagreement and debate about the nature and value of “reflective scrutiny” and the role of “second-order states” in everyday life. This problem has been discussed in a vast and heterogeneous literature about topics such as epistemic injustice, epistemic norms, agency, understanding, meta-cognition etc. However, there is not yet any extensive and interdisciplinary work, specifically focused on the topic of the epistemic value of reflection. This volume is one of the first attempts aimed at providing an innovative contribution, an exchange between philosophy, epistemology and psychology about the place and value of reflection in everyday life. Our goal in the next sections is not to offer an exhaustive overview of recent work on epistemic reflection, nor to mimic all of the contributions made by the chapters in this volume. We will try to highlight some topics that have motivated a new resumption of this field and, with that, drawing on chapters from this volume where relevant. Two elements defined the scope and content of this volume, on the one hand, the crucial contribution of Ernest Sosa, whose works provide original and thought-provoking contributions to contemporary epistemology in setting a new direction for old dilemmas about the nature and value of knowledge, giving a central place to reflection. On the other hand, the recent developments of cultural psychology, in the version of the “Aalborg approach”, reconsider the object and scope of psychological sciences, stressing that “[h]uman conduct is purposeful”

A functional-cognitive framework for attitude research

In attitude research, behaviours are often used as proxies for attitudes and attitudinal processes. This practice is problematic because it conflates the behaviours that need to be explained (explanandum) with the mental constructs that are used to explain these behaviours (explanans). In the current chapter we propose a meta-theoretical framework that resolves this problem by distinguishing between two levels of analysis. According to the proposed framework, attitude research can be conceptualised as the scientific study of evaluation. Evaluation is defined not in terms of mental constructs but in terms of elements in the environment, more specifically, as the effect of stimuli on evaluative responses. From this perspective, attitude research provides answers to two questions: (1) Which elements in the environment moderate evaluation? (2) What mental processes and representations mediate evaluation? Research on the first question provides explanations of evaluative responses in terms of elements in the environment (functional level of analysis); research on the second question offers explanations of evaluation in terms of mental processes and representations (cognitive level of analysis). These two levels of analysis are mutually supportive, in that better explanations at one level lead to better explanations at the other level. However, their mutually supportive relation requires a clear distinction between the concepts of their explanans and explanandum, which are conflated if behaviours are treated as proxies for mental constructs. The value of this functional-cognitive framework is illustrated by applying it to four central questions of attitude research

Successful new product development by optimizing development process effectiveness in highly regulated sectors: the case of the Spanish medical devices sector

Rapid development and commercialization of new products is of vital importance for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in regulated sectors. Due to strict regulations, competitive advantage can hardly be achieved through the effectiveness of product concepts only. If an SME in a highly regulated sector wants to excell in new product development (NPD) performance, the company should focus on the flexibility, speed, and productivity of its NPD function: i.e. the development process effectiveness. Our main research goals are first to explore if SMEs should focus on their their development process effectiveness rather than on their product concept effectiveness to achieve high NPD performance; and second, to explore whether a shared pattern in the organization of the NPD function can be recognized to affect NPD performance positively. The medical devices sector in Spain is used as an example of a\ud highly regulated sector. A structured survey among 11 SMEs, of which 2 were studied also as in in-depth case studies, led to the following results. First of all, indeed the companies in the dataset which focused on the effectiveness of their development process, stood out in NPD performance. Further, the higher performing companies did have a number of commonalities in the organisation of their NPD function: 1) The majority of the higher performing firms had an NPD strategy characterized by a predominantly incremental project portfolio.\ud 2) a) Successful firms with an incremental project portfolio combined this with a functional team structure b) Successful firms with a radical project portfolio combined this with a heavyweight or autonomous team structure.\ud 3) A negative reciprocal relationship exists between formalization of the NPD processes and the climate of the NPD function, in that a formalized NPD process and an innovative climate do not seem to reinforce each other. Innovative climate combined with an informal NPD process does however contribute positively to NPD performance. This effect was stronger in combination with a radical project portfolio. The highest NPD performance was measured for companies focusing mainly on incremental innovation. It is argued that in highly regulated sectors, companies with an incremental product portfolio would benefit from employing a functional structure. Those companies who choose for a more radical project portfolio in highly regulated sectors should be aware\ud that they are likely to excell only in the longer term by focusing on strategic flexibility. In their NPD organization, they might be well advised to combine informal innovation processes with an innovative climate

Abnormal cognition, sleep, EEG and brain metabolism in a novel knock-in Alzheimer mouse, PLB1

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluation of the impact of residual stresses in crack initiation with the application of the Crack Compliance Method Part II, Experimental analysis

Abstract. The present work is based on a previous numerical simulation used for the introduction of a residual stress field in a modified compact tensile specimen. The main objective in that paper was to evaluate the effect that previous history has in crack initiation and to establish the new loading conditions needed to propagate a fracture. The experimental analysis presented in this paper was performed to compare and validate the numerical procedure. Several modified compact tensile specimens from a biocompatible material (AISI 316L) were manufactured to estimate the beneficial effect of a residual stress field. The specimens were separated in four batches; an initial group of uncracked specimens was used to establish an evaluation of the induction of a residual stress field produced by an overload; the remaining specimens were separated into three groups where a crack was introduced in each specimen (1 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm respectively) and the residual stress field caused by the application of an overload was determined. The assessment of all the residual stress fields introduced into the specimens was done by the application of the crack compliance method (CCM). The results obtained have provided useful information on the correlation between the numerical and experimental procedures. Furthermore, data concerning the understanding of diverse factors related to crack initiation are discussed in this paper. Finally, the beneficial aspects of the residual stresses are discussed

Evaluation of the impact of residual stresses in crack initiation with the application of the Crack Compliance Method Part I, Numerical analysis

Abstract. The understanding of how materials fail is still today a fundamental research problem for scientist and engineers. The main concern is the assessment of the necessary conditions to propagate a crack that will eventually lead to failure. Nevertheless, this kind of analysis tends to be more complicated, when a prior history in the material is taken into consideration and it will be extremely important to recognize all the factors involved in this process. In this work, a numerical simulation of the introduction of residual stresses, which change the crack initiation conditions, in a modified compact tensile specimen to change the condition of crack initiation is presented. Four numerical analyses were carried out; an initial evaluation was performed in a specimen without a crack and it was used for the estimation of a residual stress field produced by an overload; three more cases were simulated and a crack was introduced in each specimen (1 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm, respectively). The overload was then applied to set up a residual stress field into the component; furthermore, in each case the crack compliance method (CCM) was applied to measure the induced residual stress field. By performing this numerical simulation, the accuracy of the crack compliance method can be evaluated. On the other hand, elastic-plastic finite element analysis was utilized for the residual stress estimation. The numerical analysis was based on the mechanical properties of a biocompatible material (AISI 316L). The obtained results provided significant data about diverse factors, like; the manner in which a residual stress field could modify the crack initiation conditions, the convenient set up for induction of a beneficial residual stresses field, as well as useful information that can be applied for the experimental implementation of this research