Quantum hypercomputation based on the dynamical algebra su(1,1)

An adaptation of Kieu's hypercomputational quantum algorithm (KHQA) is presented. The method that was used was to replace the Weyl-Heisenberg algebra by other dynamical algebra of low dimension that admits infinite-dimensional irreducible representations with naturally defined generalized coherent states. We have selected the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$, due to that this algebra posses the necessary characteristics for to realize the hypercomputation and also due to that such algebra has been identified as the dynamical algebra associated to many relatively simple quantum systems. In addition to an algebraic adaptation of KHQA over the algebra $\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$, we presented an adaptations of KHQA over some concrete physical referents: the infinite square well, the infinite cylindrical well, the perturbed infinite cylindrical well, the P{\"o}sch-Teller potentials, the Holstein-Primakoff system, and the Laguerre oscillator. We conclude that it is possible to have many physical systems within condensed matter and quantum optics on which it is possible to consider an implementation of KHQA.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure, conclusions rewritten, typing and language errors corrected and latex format changed minor changes elsewhere and

Microsystem Technology for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)

AbstractAAL is certainly an application area with sensor as well as actuator needs. Some of the requirements can be fulfilled by state of the art technology; some areas however still need a lot of R&D efforts for potential applications in homes. The contribution describes two areas of interest and actual development: One is the topic of robust fire detection; the other domain is fall detection. For both application areas one has to understand both the state of the art and the drawbacks of the current solutions. One can state clearly that there is a huge potential for the development of new microsystems. Still one has to keep in mind that usage in elderly homes also requires consent and cooperation of the users which is the focus of the user centered design principle

Imaging Jupiter's radiation belts down to 127 MHz with LOFAR

Context. Observing Jupiter's synchrotron emission from the Earth remains today the sole method to scrutinize the distribution and dynamical behavior of the ultra energetic electrons magnetically trapped around the planet (because in-situ particle data are limited in the inner magnetosphere). Aims. We perform the first resolved and low-frequency imaging of the synchrotron emission with LOFAR at 127 MHz. The radiation comes from low energy electrons (~1-30 MeV) which map a broad region of Jupiter's inner magnetosphere. Methods (see article for complete abstract) Results. The first resolved images of Jupiter's radiation belts at 127-172 MHz are obtained along with total integrated flux densities. They are compared with previous observations at higher frequencies and show a larger extent of the synchrotron emission source (>=4 $R_J$). The asymmetry and the dynamic of east-west emission peaks are measured and the presence of a hot spot at lambda_III=230 {\deg} $\pm$ 25 {\deg}. Spectral flux density measurements are on the low side of previous (unresolved) ones, suggesting a low-frequency turnover and/or time variations of the emission spectrum. Conclusions. LOFAR is a powerful and flexible planetary imager. The observations at 127 MHz depict an extended emission up to ~4-5 planetary radii. The similarities with high frequency results reinforce the conclusion that: i) the magnetic field morphology primarily shapes the brightness distribution of the emission and ii) the radiating electrons are likely radially and latitudinally distributed inside about 2 $R_J$. Nonetheless, the larger extent of the brightness combined with the overall lower flux density, yields new information on Jupiter's electron distribution, that may shed light on the origin and mode of transport of these particles.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (27/11/2015) - abstract edited because of limited character

Ground/space, passive/active remote sensing observations coupled with particle dispersion modelling to understand the inter-continental transport of wildfire smoke plumes

During the 2017 record-breaking burning season in Canada/United States, intense wild fires raged during the first week of September in the Pacific northwestern region (British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and northern California) burning mostly temperate coniferous forests. The heavy loads of smoke particles emitted in the atmosphere reached the Iberian Peninsula (IP) a few days later on 7 and 8 September. Satellite imagery allows to identify two main smoke clouds emitted during two different periods that were injected and transported in the atmosphere at several altitude levels. Columnar properties on 7 and 8 September at two Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) mid-altitude, background sites in northern and southern Spain are: aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 440 nm up to 0.62, Ångström exponent of 1.6–1.7, large dominance of small particles (fine mode fraction >0.88), low absorption AOD at 440 nm (0.98). Profiles from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) show the presence of smoke particles in the stratosphere during the transport, whereas the smoke is only observed in the troposphere at its arrival over the IP. Portuguese and Spanish ground lidar stations from the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network/Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (EARLINET/ACTRIS) and the Micro-Pulse Lidar NETwork (MPLNET) reveal smoke plumes with different properties: particle depolarization ratio and color ratio, respectively, of 0.05 and 2.5 in the mid troposphere (5–9 km) and of 0.10 and 3.0 in the upper troposphere (10–13 km). In the mid troposphere the particle depolarization ratio does not seem time-dependent during the transport whereas the color ratio seems to increase (larger particles sediment first). To analyze the horizontal and vertical transport of the smoke from its origin to the IP, particle dispersion modelling is performed with the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT) parameterized with satellite-derived biomass burning emission estimates from the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Three compounds are simulated: carbon monoxide, black carbon and organic carbon. The results show that the first smoke plume which travels slowly reaches rapidly (~1 day) the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) but also shows evidence of large scale horizontal dispersion, while the second plume, entrained by strong subtropical jets, reaches the upper troposphere much slower (~2.5 days). Observations and dispersion modelling all together suggest that particle depolarization properties are enhanced during their vertical transport from the mid to the upper troposphere.Spanish groups acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (MINECO) (ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2014-52877-R, CGL2014-55230-R, TEC2015-63832-P, CGL2015-73250-JIN, CGL2016-81092-R and CGL2017-85344-R)European Union through H2020 programme ACTRIS-2, grant 654109European Union through H2020 programme EUNADICS-AV, grant 723986European Union through H2020 programme GRASP-ACE, grant 77834

Virulence and Pathogen Multiplication: A Serial Passage Experiment in the Hypervirulent Bacterial Insect-Pathogen Xenorhabdus nematophila

The trade-off hypothesis proposes that the evolution of pathogens' virulence is shaped by a link between virulence and contagiousness. This link is often assumed to come from the fact that pathogens are contagious only if they can reach high parasitic load in the infected host. In this paper we present an experimental test of the hypothesis that selection on fast replication can affect virulence. In a serial passage experiment, we selected 80 lines of the bacterial insect-pathogen Xenorhabdus nematophila to multiply fast in an artificial culture medium. This selection resulted in shortened lag phase in our selected bacteria. We then injected these bacteria into insects and observed an increase in virulence. This could be taken as a sign that virulence in Xenorhabdus is linked to fast multiplication. But we found, among the selected lineages, either no link or a positive correlation between lag duration and virulence: the most virulent bacteria were the last to start multiplying. We then surveyed phenotypes that are under the control of the flhDC super regulon, which has been shown to be involved in Xenorhabdus virulence. We found that, in one treatment, the flhDC regulon has evolved rapidly, but that the changes we observed were not connected to virulence. All together, these results indicate that virulence is, in Xenorhabdus as in many other pathogens, a multifactorial trait. Being able to grow fast is one way to be virulent. But other ways exist which renders the evolution of virulence hard to predict

Urban air pollution and emergency room admissions for respiratory symptoms: a case-crossover study in Palermo, Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Air pollution from vehicular traffic has been associated with respiratory diseases. In Palermo, the largest metropolitan area in Sicily, urban air pollution is mainly addressed to traffic-related pollution because of lack of industrial settlements, and the presence of a temperate climate that contribute to the limited use of domestic heating plants. This study aimed to investigate the association between traffic-related air pollution and emergency room admissions for acute respiratory symptoms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From January 2004 through December 2007, air pollutant concentrations and emergency room visits were collected for a case-crossover study conducted in Palermo, Sicily. Risk estimates of short-term exposures to particulate matter and gaseous ambient pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide were calculated by using a conditional logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Emergency departments provided data on 48,519 visits for respiratory symptoms. Adjusted case-crossover analyses revealed stronger effects in the warm season for the most part of the pollutants considered, with a positive association for PM₁₀(odds ratio = 1.039, 95% confidence interval: 1.020 - 1.059), SO₂(OR = 1.068, 95% CI: 1.014 - 1.126), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂: OR = 1.043, 95% CI: 1.021 - 1.065), and CO (OR = 1.128, 95% CI: 1.074 - 1.184), especially among females (according to an increase of 10 μg/m³in PM₁₀, NO₂, SO₂, and 1 mg/m³in CO exposure). A positive association was observed either in warm or in cold season only for PM₁₀.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that, in our setting, exposure to ambient levels of air pollution is an important determinant of emergency room (ER) visits for acute respiratory symptoms, particularly during the warm season. ER admittance may be considered a good proxy to evaluate the adverse effects of air pollution on respiratory health.</p

Gender Differences in Sleep Deprivation Effects on Risk and Inequality Aversion: Evidence from an Economic Experiment

Excessive working hours—even at night—are becoming increasingly common in our modern 24/7 society. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is particularly vulnerable to the effects of sleep loss and, consequently, the specific behaviors subserved by the functional integrity of the PFC, such as risk-taking and pro-social behavior, may be affected significantly. This paper seeks to assess the effects of one night of sleep deprivation on subjects’ risk and social preferences, which are probably the most explored behavioral domains in the tradition of Experimental Economics. This novel cross-over study employs thirty-two university students (gender-balanced) participating to 2 counterbalanced laboratory sessions in which they perform standard risk and social preference elicitation protocols. One session was after one night of undisturbed sleep at home, and the other was after one night of sleep deprivation in the laboratory. Sleep deprivation causes increased sleepiness and decreased alertness in all subjects. After sleep loss males make riskier decisions compared to the rested condition, while females do the opposite. Females likewise show decreased inequity aversion after sleep deprivation. As for the relationship between cognitive ability and economic decisions, sleep deprived individuals with higher cognitive reflection show lower risk aversion and more altruistic behavior. These results show that one night of sleep deprivation alters economic behavior in a gender-sensitive way. Females’ reaction to sleep deprivation, characterized by reduced risky choices and increased egoism compared to males, may be related to intrinsic psychological gender differences, such as in the way men and women weigh up probabilities in their decision-making, and/or to the different neurofunctional substrate of their decision-making.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economic Competititveness (ECO2012-34928), Italian Ministry of University and Research MIUR (PRIN 20103S5RN3_002), Generalitat Valenciana (Research Projects Gruposo3/086), the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (IVIE), and the Ministero della Salute (RF-2009-1528677)

Identification of a major QTL for Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni resistance in apricot

Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni causes bacterial spot of stone fruit resulting in severe yield losses in apricot production systems. Present on all continents, the pathogen is regulated in Europe as a quarantine organism. Host resistance is an important component of integrated pest management; however, little work has been done describing resistance against X. arboricola pv. pruni. In this study, an apricot population derived from the cross “Harostar” × “Rouge de Mauves” was used to construct two parental genetic maps and to perform a quantitative trait locus analysis of resistance to X. arboricola pv. pruni. A population of 101 F1 individuals was inoculated twice for two consecutive years in a quarantine greenhouse with a mixture of bacterial strains, and disease incidence and resistance index data were collected. A major QTL for disease incidence and resistance index accounting respectively for 53 % (LOD score of 15.43) and 46 % (LOD score of 12.26) of the phenotypic variation was identified at the same position on linkage group 5 of “Rouge de Mauves.” Microsatellite marker UDAp-452 co-segregated with the resistance, and two flanking microsatellites, namely BPPCT037 and BPPCT038A, were identified. When dividing the population according to the alleles of UDAp-452, the subgroup with unfavorable allele had a disease incidence of 32.6 % whereas the group with favorable allele had a disease incidence of 21 %, leading to a reduction of 35.6 % in disease incidence. This study is a first step towards the marker-assisted breeding of new apricot varieties with an increased tolerance to X. arboricola pv. pruni

The Immune Cellular Effectors of Terrestrial Isopod Armadillidium vulgare: Meeting with Their Invaders, Wolbachia

Most of crustacean immune responses are well described for the aquatic forms whereas almost nothing is known for the isopods that evolved a terrestrial lifestyle. The latter are also infected at a high prevalence with Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium which affects the host immune system, possibly to improve its transmission. In contrast with insect models, the isopod Armadillidium vulgare is known to harbor Wolbachia inside the haemocytes.In A. vulgare we characterized three haemocyte types (TEM, flow cytometry): the hyaline and semi-granular haemocytes were phagocytes, while semi-granular and granular haemocytes performed encapsulation. They were produced in the haematopoietic organs, from central stem cells, maturing as they moved toward the edge (TEM). In infected individuals, live Wolbachia (FISH) colonized 38% of the haemocytes but with low, variable densities (6.45±0.46 Wolbachia on average). So far they were not found in hyaline haemocytes (TEM). The haematopoietic organs contained 7.6±0.7×10(3)Wolbachia, both in stem cells and differentiating cells (FISH). While infected and uninfected one-year-old individuals had the same haemocyte density, in infected animals the proportion of granular haemocytes in particular decreased by one third (flow cytometry, Pearson's test = 12 822.98, df = 2, p<0.001).The characteristics of the isopod immune system fell within the range of those known from aquatic crustaceans. The colonization of the haemocytes by Wolbachia seemed to stand from the haematopoietic organs, which may act as a reservoir to discharge Wolbachia in the haemolymph, a known route for horizontal transfer. Wolbachia infection did not affect the haemocyte density, but the quantity of granular haemocytes decreased by one third. This may account for the reduced prophenoloxidase activity observed previously in these animals

Protist-Type Lysozymes of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans Contribute to Resistance against Pathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis

Pathogens represent a universal threat to other living organisms. Most organisms express antimicrobial proteins and peptides, such as lysozymes, as a protection against these challenges. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans harbours 15 phylogenetically diverse lysozyme genes, belonging to two distinct types, the protist- or Entamoeba-type (lys genes) and the invertebrate-type (ilys genes) lysozymes. In the present study we characterized the role of several protist-type lysozyme genes in defence against a nematocidal strain of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Based on microarray and subsequent qRT-PCR gene expression analysis, we identified protist-type lysozyme genes as one of the differentially transcribed gene classes after infection. A functional genetic analysis was performed for three of these genes, each belonging to a distinct evolutionary lineage within the protist-type lysozymes (lys-2, lys-5, and lys-7). Their knock-out led to decreased pathogen resistance in all three cases, while an increase in resistance was observed when two out of three tested genes were overexpressed in transgenic lines (lys-5, lys-7, but not lys-2). We conclude that the lysozyme genes lys-5, lys-7, and possibly lys-2 contribute to resistance against B. thuringiensis, thus highlighting the particular role of lysozymes in the nematode's defence against pathogens