Measurement of geometric phase for mixed states using single photon interferometry

Geometric phase may enable inherently fault-tolerant quantum computation. However, due to potential decoherence effects, it is important to understand how such phases arise for {\it mixed} input states. We report the first experiment to measure mixed-state geometric phases in optics, using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and polarization mixed states that are produced in two different ways: decohering pure states with birefringent elements; and producing a nonmaximally entangled state of two photons and tracing over one of them, a form of remote state preparation.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 3 figure

‘I’m proud of what I achieved; I’m also ashamed of what I done’: a soccer coach’s tale of sport, status, and criminal behaviour

The purpose of this study was to explore the life of John (a pseudonym), a soccer coach working with disadvantaged young people. Six open-ended life history interviews over a ten week period ranging between 45 and 75 min were conducted. John described how soccer was fully entwined with aspects of his former delinquent and criminal lifestyle, including missing school lessons to play soccer, the fusion of soccer and youth violence, and competing in teams with local criminals. On the other hand, a soccer programme for people with limited opportunities helped him leave behind a life of delinquency, gang fighting, and selling drugs. Moreover, he came to understand that soccer could help him satisfy his desire for social recognition and fit with a relational narrative in a more socially legitimate way. This study provides an insight into how soccer was used to thwart a soccer coach’s formal criminal lifestyle, and also warns against uncritical assumptions that sport can serve as a panacea for deviant behaviour

The importance of disaggregating within-person changes and individual differences among internalized motives, self-esteem and self-efficacy

Grounded in self-determination theory, this study examined the implications of differentiating between within-person weekly changes and between-person differences in average levels of autonomy support and internalized motivation for one’s self-esteem and self-efficacy. Thirty-nine adults who were socially disadvantaged and unemployed completed weekly questionnaire assessments over 11-weeks of a sports-based educational program. Multilevel modeling revealed that within-person changes in perceptions of autonomy support positively predicted identified regulation and introjected regulation; however, between-person differences in perceived autonomy support predicted identified regulation only. Within-person changes in introjected regulation positively predicted global self-esteem and self-efficacy towards future employment in coaching; however, between-person differences in introjected regulation negatively predicted self-esteem and self-efficacy. In contrast, within-person changes in identified regulation, as well as between-person differences, were positively associated with self-efficacy. Between-person differences in identified regulation also positively predicted self-esteem. It was also demonstrated that many of these contrasting relationships are hidden if the different processes are not disaggregated. As a result, we propose that different internalization processes exist which depend on whether within-person changes or sustained levels of motivation are explored

Ageing, sport and physical activity participation in Scotland

Aim: As sport and physical activity are vital to support extended health spans, this study aimed to analyse the current trends in sports participation and physical activity rates among individuals aged 65 years and older in Scotland. Data were compared with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) guidelines and analysed the influence of key factors on participation rates.Methods: The study used data from the Scottish Health Survey and the Scottish Household Survey (2019) to investigate self-reported participation in physical activity and sports across different age groups. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were used to analyse the relationships between participation rates and influencing factors. Participation data for Parkrun events in Scotland were also analysed for the years 2008–2018.Results: The study found a clear decline in sports participation with age, with a steep decline after the age of 65, particularly in women. The majority of participation among individuals aged 65+ was in walking, with a sport participation rate of only 31.2% when walking was excluded. Physical activity and sport participation was lower in women across all age ranges but particularly so in the 75+ age group. The most popular sporting activities in the older age group were keep fit/aerobics, swimming and golf. Additionally, the study found that social deprivation had a major impact on sports participation rates, with the most deprived households exhibiting the lowest participation levels irrespective of age. The prevalence of loneliness was lower among individuals who participated in sports or adhered to the CMO guidelines for moderate/vigorous physical activity and strength-building exercises.Discussion: The findings of this study have implications for promoting physical activity and sports participation among older adults, particularly in deprived communities. This study highlights the importance of balance exercises within sport and the need for more targeted efforts to increase participation rates among older adults. The study also emphasizes the positive impact of sports participation on reducing loneliness among older adults. Overall, the findings suggest the need for ongoing efforts to promote physical activity and sports participation among older adults to improve their overall health and well-being

Hemodynamic Considerations in the Pathophysiology of Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathic pain presents one of the greatest on going challenges to both acute and chronic pain management yet our understanding of the origins and pathogenesis of this complex disease state are severely lacking. The purpose of this chapter is to review the current literature regarding neuropathic pain as impacted by hemodynamic alterations. Because of the varied origins of neuropathy, this cannot be discussed as a single entity but we can seek to identify a final common pathway. We will for this reason examine each known pathogenetic category of neuropathy separately then discuss the effect of hemodynamic alterations through changes in blood pressure to determine any correlations between these alterations and specific effects upon neural structure and function. We have divided this chapter into sections which describe the more commonly known and encountered neuropathies. These are diabetes mellitus, neurotoxic medications, alcohol-related neuropathy, Vitamin B12 deficiency, end-stage renal disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis

‘You don't need a degree to get a coaching job’:investigating the employability of sports coaching degree students

Though highly popular, degree-level sports coaching qualifications are in their infancy, and it remains that ‘an individual intending to become an accredited coaching practitioner can only do so by undertaking their sport's national governing body (NGB) coaching award(s)’ [Nelson et al., 2006, p. 254. Formal, nonformal and informal coach learning: A holistic conceptualisation. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 1(3), 247–259]. Consequently, little is known about the development of HE sports coaching students’ employability. This study critically investigates sports coaching students’ degree-study motives, development of employability skills and perceptions of career prospects as graduates. Survey data and follow-up interviews from two U.K. post-92 universities reveal tensions between liberal and vocational philosophies of university education and concerns about the graduate labour market. Critical incidents and missed opportunities in students’ development of key skills for coaching during and outside of university are also discussed

Plastid establishment did not require a chlamydial partner

Primary plastids descend from the cyanobacterial endosymbiont of an ancient eukaryotic host, but the initial selective drivers that stabilized the association between these two cells are still unclear. One hypothesis that has achieved recent prominence suggests that the first role of the cyanobiont was in energy provision for a host cell whose reserves were being depleted by an intracellular chlamydial pathogen. A pivotal claim is that it was chlamydial proteins themselves that converted otherwise unusable cyanobacterial metabolites into host energy stores. We test this hypothesis by investigating the origins of the key enzymes using sophisticated phylogenetics. Here we show a mosaic origin for the relevant pathway combining genes with host, cyanobacterial or bacterial ancestry, but we detect no strong case for Chlamydiae to host transfer under the best-fitting models. Our conclusion is that there is no compelling evidence from gene trees that Chlamydiae played any role in establishing the primary plastid endosymbiosis