Temporal Justification Logic

Justification logics are modal-like logics with the additional capability of recording the reason, or justification, for modalities in syntactic structures, called justification terms. Justification logics can be seen as explicit counterparts to modal logics. The behavior and interaction of agents in distributed system is often modeled using logics of knowledge and time. In this paper, we sketch some preliminary ideas on how the modal knowledge part of such logics of knowledge and time could be replaced with an appropriate justification logic

Frequency-selective single photon detection using a double quantum dot

We use a double quantum dot as a frequency-tunable on-chip microwave detector to investigate the radiation from electron shot-noise in a near-by quantum point contact. The device is realized by monitoring the inelastic tunneling of electrons between the quantum dots due to photon absorption. The frequency of the absorbed radiation is set by the energy separation between the dots, which is easily tuned with gate voltages. Using time-resolved charge detection techniques, we can directly relate the detection of a tunneling electron to the absorption of a single photon

Subthreshold problem drinkers in DSM-5 alcohol use disorder classification.

The DSM-5 defined alcohol use disorder (AUD) to better cover undiagnosed subthreshold alcohol users, but few studies have investigated this topic. This study aimed to test whether subthreshold problem drinkers were a distinct subgroup of undiagnosed drinkers according to the DSM-5 AUD classification by investigating drinking patterns and longitudinal trajectories. Data were collected in the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors from young Swiss men in their early twenties (n = 4,630) at two time points. Participants responded to the 11 criteria of the DSM-5 AUD and to variables related to drinking patterns. Among drinkers, 23.2% and 23.5% of the participants were subthreshold problem drinkers at baseline and follow-up, respectively. The trends showed that 29.4% of them remained subthreshold problem drinkers over time. Those who remained subthreshold problem drinkers or progressed to AUD status were likely to meet the same criterion/add a new one. Subthreshold problem drinkers showed concurrent and later drinking patterns that were in between those of symptom-free drinkers and AUD drinkers. Subthreshold problem drinkers were an important subgroup of drinkers with risky drinking patterns, but they did not necessarily progress to later AUD status and did not appear to be a consistent subgroup over time. Subthreshold problem drinkers did not seem to be a subgroup of undiagnosed problem drinkers in the current DSM-5 classification. The results showed that AUD appeared to be a dimensional construct, in which one additional criterion was associated with worse alcohol-related outcomes. (Am J Addict 2016;25:408-415)

Are Changes in Personality Traits and Alcohol Use Associated? A Cohort Study Among Young Swiss Men.

Objective: It is well known that certain personality traits are associated with alcohol use. Because less is known about it, we wished to investigate whether changes in alcohol use were longitudinally associated with changes in personality and in which direction the influence or causation might flow. Methods: Data came from the self-reported questionnaire answers of 5,125 young men at two time points during the Cohort study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF). Their average ages were 20.0 and 25.4 years old at the first and second wave assessments, respectively. Four personality traits were measured: (a) aggression-hostility; (b) sociability; (c) neuroticism-anxiety; and (d) sensation seeking. Alcohol use was measured by volume (drinks per week) and binge drinking (about 60+ grams per occasion). Cross-lagged panel models and two-wave latent change score models were used. Results: Aggression-hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability were significantly and positively cross-sectionally associated with both alcohol use variables. Drinking volume and these three personality traits bidirectionally predicted each other. Binge drinking was bidirectionally associated with sensation-seeking only, whereas aggression-hostility and sociability only predicted binge drinking, but not vice versa. Changes in alcohol use were significantly positively associated with changes in aggression-hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability. Associations reached small Cohen's effect sizes for sociability and sensation seeking, but not for aggression-hostility. Associations with neuroticism-anxiety were mostly not significant. Conclusion: The direction of effects confirmed findings from other studies, and the association between changes in personality and alcohol use support the idea that prevention programs should simultaneously target both

Quantum-to-Classical Transition in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

The quantum properties of electromagnetic, mechanical or other harmonic oscillators can be revealed by investigating their strong coherent coupling to a single quantum two level system in an approach known as cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). At temperatures much lower than the characteristic energy level spacing the observation of vacuum Rabi oscillations or mode splittings with one or a few quanta asserts the quantum nature of the oscillator. Here, we study how the classical response of a cavity QED system emerges from the quantum one when its thermal occupation -- or effective temperature -- is raised gradually over 5 orders of magnitude. In this way we explore in detail the continuous quantum-to-classical crossover and demonstrate how to extract effective cavity field temperatures from both spectroscopic and time-resolved vacuum Rabi measurements.Comment: revised version: improved analysis, 4 pages, 4 figures, hi-res version available at http://qudev.ethz.ch/content/science/PubsPapers.htm

Disseminated Tuberculosis Following Total Knee Arthroplasty in an HIV Patient

Skeletal tuberculosis is now uncommon in developed countries. In immunocompromised patients - particularly in the HIV-infected - who present with subacute or chronic joint pain refractory to conventional treatment, osteoarticular tuberculosis should still be included in the differential diagnosis. We report on a lethal case of disseminated tuberculosis in an HIV-infected subject. Dissemination may have resulted from the implantation of an articular prosthesis in a knee joint with unsuspected osteoarticular tuberculosis. The diagnosis was established months later when the patient presented with far-advanced tuberculous meningitis, miliary tuberculosis of the lungs, femoral osteomyelitis and extended cold abscesses along the femoral shaft. Failure to respond to a conventional four-drug regimen is explained by the resistance pattern of his multi-drug resistant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which was only reported after the patient's death. This case illustrates the diagnostic challenges of osteoarticular tuberculosis and the consequences of a diagnostic delay in an HIV-infected individua

Selectome: a database of positive selection.

Genome wide scans have shown that positive selection is relatively frequent at the molecular level. It is of special interest to identify which protein sites and which phylogenetic branches are affected. We present Selectome, a database which provides the results of a rigorous branch-site specific likelihood test for positive selection. The Web interface presents test results mapped both onto phylogenetic trees and onto protein alignments. It allows rapid access to results by keyword, gene name, or taxonomy based queries. Selectome is freely available at http://bioinfo.unil.ch/selectome/