1,077 research outputs found
Information transfer using a single particle path-spin hybrid entangled state
The path-spin entangled state of a single spin-1/2 particle is considered
which is generated by using a beam-spitter and a spin-flipper. Using this
hybrid entanglement at the level of a single particle as a resource, we
formulate a protocol for transferring of the state of an unknown qubit to a
distant location. Our scheme is implemented by a sequence of unitary operations
along with suitable spin-measurements, as well as by using classical
communication between the two spatially separated parties. This protocol, thus,
demonstrates the possibility of using intraparticle entanglement as a physical
resource for performing information theoretic tasks
Economische evaluatie Plan van Aanpak Salmonella
In opdracht van het PVE en het Ministerie van LNV heeft LEI-DLO een economische evaluatie uitgevoerd van het Plan van Aanpak. Het doel hiervan was de kosten in beeld te brengen, maar vooral om via berekeningen aan te geven met welke combinatie van maatre
The effect of the SAFE or SORRY? programme on patient safety knowledge of nurses in hospitals and nursing homes: a cluster randomised trial
Background: patients in hospitals and nursing homes are at risk for the development of often preventable adverse events. Guidelines for the prevention of many types of adverse events are available, however compliance with these guidelines appears to be lacking. As a result many patients do not receive appropriate care. We developed a patient safety program that allows organisations to implement multiple guidelines simultaneously and therefore facilitates guideline use to improve patient safety. This program was developed for three frequently occurring nursing care related adverse events: pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections and falls. For the implementation of this program we developed educational activities for nurses as a main implementation strategy.Objectives: the aim of this study is to describe the effect of interactive and tailored education on the knowledge levels of nurses.Design: a cluster randomised trial was conducted between September 2006 and July 2008.Settings: ten hospital wards and ten nursing home wards participated in this study. Prior to baseline, randomisation of the wards to an intervention or control group was stratified for centre and type of ward.Participants: all nurses from participating wards.Methods: a knowledge test measured nurses’ knowledge on the prevention of pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections and falls, during baseline en follow-up. The results were analysed for hospitals and nursing homes separately.Results: after correction for baseline, the mean difference between the intervention and the control group on hospital nurses’ knowledge on the prevention of the three adverse events was 0.19 points on a zero to ten scale (95% CI: ?0.03 to 0.42), in favour of the intervention group. There was a statistically significant effect on knowledge of pressure ulcers, with an improved mean mark of 0.45 points (95% CI: 0.10–0.81). For the other two topics there was no statistically significant effect. Nursing home nurses’ knowledge did neither improve (0 points, CI: ?0.35 to 0.35) overall, nor for the separate subjects.Conclusion: the educational intervention improved hospital nurses’ knowledge on the prevention of pressure ulcers only. More research on long term improvement of knowledge is neede
Efficient data processing and quantum phenomena: Single-particle systems
We study the relation between the acquisition and analysis of data and
quantum theory using a probabilistic and deterministic model for photon
polarizers. We introduce criteria for efficient processing of data and then use
these criteria to demonstrate that efficient processing of the data contained
in single events is equivalent to the observation that Malus' law holds. A
strictly deterministic process that also yields Malus' law is analyzed in
detail. We present a performance analysis of the probabilistic and
deterministic model of the photon polarizer. The latter is an adaptive
dynamical system that has primitive learning capabilities. This additional
feature has recently been shown to be sufficient to perform event-by-event
simulations of interference phenomena, without using concepts of wave
mechanics. We illustrate this by presenting results for a system of two chained
Mach-Zehnder interferometers, suggesting that systems that perform efficient
data processing and have learning capability are able to exhibit behavior that
is usually attributed to quantum systems only.Comment: http://www.compphys.net/dl
Van Hove's "\lambda^2 t" limit in nonrelativistic and relativistic field-theoretical models
Van Hove's "\lambda^2 t" limiting procedure is analyzed in some interesting
quantum field theoretical cases, both in nonrelativistic and relativistic
models. We look at the deviations from a purely exponential behavior in a decay
process and discuss the subtle issues of state preparation and initial time.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
Quantum Dynamical Approach of Wavefunction Collapse in Measurement Process and Its Application to Quantum Zeno Effect
The systematical studies on the dynamical approach of wavefunction collapse
in quantum measurement are reported in this paper based on the Hepp-Coleman's
model and its generalizations. Under certain physically reasonable conditions,
which are easily satisfied by the practical problems, it is shown that the
off-diagonal elements of the reduced density matrix vanish in quantum
mechanical evolution process in the macroscopic limit with a very large
particle number N. Various examples with detector made up of oscillators of
different spectrum distribution are used to illustrate this observations . With
the two-level system as an explicit illustration, the quantum information
entropy is exactly obtained to quantitatively describe the degree of
decoherence for the so-called partial coherence caused by detector. The entropy
for the case with many levels is computed based on perturbation method in the
limits with very large and very small N. As an application of this general
approach for quantum measurement, a dynamical realization of the quantum Zeno
effect are present to analyse its recent testing experiment in connection with
a description of transition in quantum information entropy. Finally, the Cini's
model for the correlation between the states of the measured system and the
detector is generalized for the case with many energy-level.Comment: ITP.SUNYSB preprint Sep.,199
The associations of sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with 24-hour glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes
The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of accelerometer-assessed sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with 24-h events and duration of hypoglycaemia (7.8 mmol/l) and above target glucose (>9 mmol/l). Thirty-seven participants with type 2 diabetes (age, 62.8 ± 10.5 years; body mass index, 29.6 ± 6.8 kg/m2) in Glasgow, United Kingdom were enrolled between February 2016 and February 2017. Participants wore an activity monitor (activPAL3) recording the time and pattern of sedentary behaviour and a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM, Abbott FreeStyle Libre) for up to 14 days. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the associations. Participants spent 3.7%, 64.7%, 32.1% and 19.2% of recording h/day in hypoglycaemia, euglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and above target, respectively. There was a negative association between sedentary time and time in euglycaemia (β = -0.44, 95% CI -0.86; -0.03, p = 0.04). There was a trend towards a positive association between sedentary time and time in hyperglycaemia (β = 0.36, 95% CI -0.05; 0.78, p = 0.08). Breaks in sedentary time was associated with higher time in euglycaemia (β = 0.38, 95% CI 0.00; 0.75, p = 0.04). To conclude, in individuals with type 2 diabetes, more time spent in unbroken and continuous sedentary behaviour was associated with poorer glucose control. Conversely, interrupting sedentary time with frequent breaks appears to improve glycaemic control. Therefore, this should be considered as a simple adjunct therapy to improve clinical outcomes in type 2 diabetes
Health and lifestyle of Nepalese migrants in the UK
Background: The health status and lifestyle of migrants is often poorer than that of the general
population of their host countries. The Nepalese represent a relatively small, but growing,
immigrant community in the UK, about whom very little is known in term of public health.
Therefore, our study examined the health and lifestyle of Nepalese migrants in the UK.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of Nepalese migrants in UK was conducted in early 2007 using
a postal, self-administered questionnaire in England and Scotland (n = 312), and telephone
interviews in Wales (n = 15). The total response rate was 68% (327 out of 480). Data were analyzed
to establish whether there are associations between socio-economic and lifestyle factors. A
multivariate binary logistic regression was applied to find out independent effect of personal factors
on health status.
Results: The majority of respondents was male (75%), aged between 30 and 45 (66%), married or
had a civil partner (83%), had university education (47%) and an annual family income (69%) ranging
from £5,035 to £33,300. More than one third (39%) of the respondents have lived in the UK for 1
to 5 years and approximately half (46%) were longer-term residents. Most (95%) were registered
with a family doctor, but only 38% with a dentist. A low proportion (14%) of respondents smoked
but more than half (61%) consumed alcohol. More than half (57%) did not do regular exercises and
nearly one fourth (23%) of respondents rated their health as poor. Self reported 'good' health
status of the respondents was independently associated with immigration status and doing regular exercise
Conclusion: The self reported health status and lifestyle, health seeking behaviour of Nepalese
people who are residing in UK appears to be good. However, the overall regular exercise and dentist registration was rather poor. Health promotion, especially aimed at Nepalese migrants could help encourage them to exercise regularly and assist them to register with a dentist
Gastric Schwannoma
Schwannomas, also known as neurinomas or neurilemmomas, are generally benign, slow-growing neoplasms originating in any nerve that has a Schwann cell sheath. These neoplasms are rare among the spindle cell mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, but develop most commonly in the stomach representing 0.2% of all gastric tumors. We present the case of a 57-year-old female patient with a large schwannoma in the stomach that was palpable in the abdomen. She underwent subtotal gastrectomy under suspicion of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), but post-operative histopathological and immunohistochemical findings showed a fascicular arrangement of spindle cell with pallisading nuclei, and positive for S-100 protein with negative smooth muscle actin (SMA). These results confirmed schwannoma as the diagnosis
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