Detection of zeptojoule microwave pulses using electrothermal feedback in proximity-induced Josephson junctions

We experimentally investigate and utilize electrothermal feedback in a microwave nanobolometer based on a normal-metal (\mbox{Au}_{x}\mbox{Pd}_{1-x}) nanowire with proximity-induced superconductivity. The feedback couples the temperature and the electrical degrees of freedom in the nanowire, which both absorbs the incoming microwave radiation, and transduces the temperature change into a radio-frequency electrical signal. We tune the feedback in situ and access both positive and negative feedback regimes with rich nonlinear dynamics. In particular, strong positive feedback leads to the emergence of two metastable electron temperature states in the millikelvin range. We use these states for efficient threshold detection of coherent 8.4 GHz microwave pulses containing approximately 200 photons on average, corresponding to 1.1 \mbox{ zJ} \approx 7.0 \mbox{ meV} of energy

Retrodictive states and two-photon quantum imaging

We use retrodictive quantum theory to analyse two-photon quantum imaging systems. The formalism is particularly suitable for calculating conditional probability distributions.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Surgical plume and its implications: A review of the risk and barriers to a safe work place

Every year thousands of health care professionals worldwide are exposed to surgical smoke. There is evidence that this smoke consists of toxic gases, pathogens and particulate matter that is a hazard for patients and the perioperative team. Past research indicates that perioperative staff inconsistently comply with smoke evacuation recommendations. The aim of this study was to identify, review and discuss the issues related to surgical plume and its implications for patients and perioperative staff. The findings of this review relate to: surgical smoke content, its risks to the health of the perioperative staff, preventative measures, infection control measures, compliance with smoke evacuation systems, staff knowledge and barriers to implementing smoke evacuation practices. Of particular importance, the literature indicated that strong support from management and the implementation of regular staff education could improve practice for the management of surgical plume in the operating theatre

Let’s makan!: Savoring Singapore’s culinary heritage in hotel restaurants

Eating is a national pastime in Singapore and food features strongly in many aspects of the city-state’s social and cultural landscape. Culinaria and gastronomy can be significant features of a destination and they allow tourists to experience local cultures, heritage and lifestyles. Street (hawker) food in Singapore offers a unique opportunity for visitors to sample popular local dishes conveniently and economically, whilst experiencing a vibrant taste of the colloquial way of life through eating and socializing with the locals. Many hotels in Singapore also commonly feature local signature dishes in their menu and foodservice outlets. This study aims to explore the role of street (hawker) food and local cuisine as a tourism and cultural resource within the Asian hospitality context. It investigates the phenomenon of Asian street food and traditional cuisines served in international chain hotels, specifically from a hotel and destination branding perspective, with a particular example of Singapore as a tourist destination. Keywords: Street Food, Asian Cuisine, Hotel Restaurants, Food Heritage, Brand Identit

Academia meets industry: Bridging the gap to produce the preferred graduates

With worldwide growth of tourism and its respective industries, there has been increased focus on tourism and hospitality education in recent years. Concurrently, there is growing industry demand for better educational infrastructure and curriculum relevant to build a competent workforce. Despite shared consensus between academics and industry on the need to produce graduates with suitable theoretical and practical competencies, there seems to exist a gap between what educators are nurturing and what the industry expects. This study aims to examine the tourism and hospitality programs currently offered by institutions vis-à-vis the graduate competencies and job-specific skills sought by the industry. It aims to assess the gaps (if any) existing between industry expectations and education curriculum; and in doing so provide the foundation for future research on strategies needed to bridge the gap(s) identified for a better fit between tourism and hospitality education and industry requirements

"Almost stable" matchings in the Roommates problem

An instance of the classical Stable Roommates problem (SR) need not admit a stable matching. This motivates the problem of finding a matching that is “as stable as possible”, i.e. admits the fewest number of blocking pairs. In this paper we prove that, given an SR instance with n agents, in which all preference lists are complete, the problem of finding a matching with the fewest number of blocking pairs is NP-hard and not approximable within n^{\frac{1}{2}-\varepsilon}, for any \varepsilon>0, unless P=NP. If the preference lists contain ties, we improve this result to n^{1-\varepsilon}. Also, we show that, given an integer K and an SR instance I in which all preference lists are complete, the problem of deciding whether I admits a matching with exactly K blocking pairs is NP-complete. By contrast, if K is constant, we give a polynomial-time algorithm that finds a matching with at most (or exactly) K blocking pairs, or reports that no such matching exists. Finally, we give upper and lower bounds for the minimum number of blocking pairs over all matchings in terms of some properties of a stable partition, given an SR instance I

Scalable squeezed light source for continuous variable quantum sampling

We propose a novel squeezed light source capable of meeting the stringent requirements of continuous variable quantum sampling. Using the effective $\chi_2$ interaction induced by a strong driving beam in the presence of the $\chi_3$ response in an integrated microresonator, our device is compatible with established nanophotonic fabrication platforms. With typical realistic parameters, squeezed states with a mean photon number of 10 or higher can be generated in a single consistent temporal mode at repetition rates in excess of 100MHz. Over 15dB of squeezing is achievable in existing ultra-low loss platforms