A simple protocol for verifiable delegation of quantum computation in one round

The importance of being able to verify quantum computation delegated to remote servers increases with recent development of quantum technologies. In some of the proposed protocols for this task, a client delegates her quantum computation to non-communicating servers in multiple rounds of communication. In this work, we propose the first protocol where the client delegates her quantum computation to two servers in one-round of communication. Another advantage of our protocol is that it is conceptually simpler than previous protocols. The parameters of our protocol also make it possible to prove security even if the servers are allowed to communicate, but respecting the plausible assumption that information cannot be propagated faster than speed of light, making it the first relativistic protocol for quantum computation

Multinomial logistic regression in worker’s health

In European countries, namely in Portugal, it is common to hear some people mentioning that they are exposed to excessive and continuous psychosocial stressors at work. This is increasing in diverse activity sectors, such as, the Services sector. A representative sample was collected from a Portuguese Services’ organization, by applying a survey (internationally validated), which variables were measured in five ordered categories in Likert-type scale. A multinomial logistic regression model is used to estimate the probability of each category of the dependent variable general health perception where, among other independent variables, burnout appear as statistically significant

Care and Caregivers: the contribution of rehabilitation nursing care on preparing discharge in patients after stroke

A transição demográfica, que continua a ocorrer por todo o mundo ocidental, tem implícita a sobrevivência das pessoas com idade avançada por muitos anos, expondo-as de um modo acrescido ao risco de acidente vascular cerebral. É reconhecido, tanto pelos profissionais de saúde como pelo público, o esforço dos decisores políticos e de saúde no sentido de dotar as unidades de saúde de recursos que permitam o encaminhamento e atendimento mais rápido destes doentes, que associado à terapêutica trombolítica, tem permitido em muitos casos evitar sequelas graves e dependência de terceiros. Contudo, um número significativo de pessoas acometidas por este problema fica fora dos critérios destas abordagens, resultando da sua doença sequelas mais ou menos graves com graus de dependência muito variados. Nestes doentes, a diminuição do tempo médio de internamento é uma realidade tanto associada à optimização do desempenho das unidades de saúde, como a algum desinteresse suscitado pela evolução lenta do seu restabelecimento e pela reserva no prognóstico. Dos 9,6 dias de demora média em 1990, passou-se para uma meta de 6 dias de internamento como estabelecia o Plano Nacional de Saúde 2004-2010. O mesmo plano, refere a insuficiência nas respostas existentes, relativamente às pessoas que se encontram em situação de perda de funcionalidade ou com níveis de dependência que as fazem necessitar de apoio para a satisfação das suas necessidades mais básicas, tanto por número insuficiente de respostas como pela frágil articulação entre as mesmas, configurando-se a família como um recurso fundamental. As famílias em Portugal continuam a ser a principal fonte de cuidados e a responsabilidade de cuidar dos dependentes, continua a ser da família, que se vê de repente confrontada com as necessidades acrescidas e exposta a desequilíbrios diversos. Com o presente artigo de revisão pretende-se reflectir sobre alguns aspectos relacionados com continuidade de cuidados, após um episódio de doença aguda, o acidente vascular cerebral salientando a importância da família neste processo, e rever, elencando, um conjunto de intervenções relacionadas com os cuidados de enfermagem de reabilitação à família na transição para o seu novo papel. Duas ideias centrais nortearam a reflexão: a família e a gestão da dependência e os cuidados de enfermagem de reabilitação no planeamento da alta

Instability in spatial evolutionary games

We investigate the aspects that influence the instability of spatial evolutionary games, namely the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Snowdrift games. In this paper instability is defined as the proportion of strategy changes in the asymptotic period of the evolutionary process. The results show that with the Prisoner's Dilemma, when the level of noise present in the decision process is very low, the instability decreases as the synchrony rate decreases. With the Snowdrift this pattern of behavior depends strongly on the interaction topology and arises only for random and scale-free networks. However, for large noise values, the instability in both games depends only on the proportion of cooperators present in the population: it increases as the proportion of cooperators approaches 0.5. We advance an explanation for this behavior

A multi-scenario analysis to improve layout efficiency

Logistics costs represent a large portion of overall costs. Companies in peripheral countries need to be additionally careful in streamlining them if they want to maintain their competitivity. This research is focussed on a plant belonging to an aerospace component supplier, and its purpose is to reduce the layout costs in one of its warehouses. Data was collected using documentation, archival records, informal interviews, and direct and participant observation. From 66 initial scenarios based on layout decisions, storage assignment policies and alternative picking routes, 44 were compared as these are the ones that fit the company reality. Findings showed that travelling distance could be reduced when the allocation of items in shelves follow their picking frequency and when Class-based storage with return routing policies is used. In parallel, it does not impact in a relevant way process time and the quality of the picking.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Obliterative Surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse - an Option that Remains Valid?

Objective: To investigate the results of vaginal obliterate surgery in elderly women with pelvic organ prolapse. Design: observational retrospective study. Material and Methods: a total of 69 women with the diagnosis of pelvic prolapse were submitted to obliterative surgery in the urogynecology unit of a tertiary care hospital centre over the course of 8 years (2001 to 2008). The following data were collected from their clinical records: age, number of vaginal births, body mass index (BMI), hormone therapy, other existing diseases, type of prolapse and stage, anaesthetic risk score, duration of surgery, length of hospital stay, and short-term complications. Results: Of the 69 women studied, 31 were submitted to colpocleisis and the remaining 38 were managed by the LeFort technique. Mean age was 74.8 years with a standard deviation (sd) of 7.14 years. Average BMI was 26.2 (sd =3.76). Vaginal births were recorded in all patients. Only three patients were taking hormone therapy at the time of surgery. Sixty-three women were classified as having and anesthetic risk of II or III and 55 underwent local-regional anesthesia. Complications were reported in five cases, four of which in the first days after surgery. Nearly all were mild and resolved within the first 6 weeks. Conclusion: Complication rates appear to be low after obliterative surgery for pelvic organ prolapse in elderly women

Improving supply chain practices in a luxury fashion company in the Middle East and the Near East

Supply chain practices have a high impact on a company’s ability to compete in the market as well as in its profitability. The positioning of its inventory and its supply chain practices determine the ability to react to changes in demand, as well as the ability to fulfil customer’s requests. Cultural characteristics as well as long term practices can influence both its efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to analyse supply chain practices and its impact in supply chain performance in the luxury fashion industry, which represents a market not widely studied in the supply chain management literature. Particularly, this paper aims at exploring a supply chain of luxury fashion products operating in the Middle East and the Near East while assessing the efficiency and effectiveness gains from supply chain adjustments. Data was collected using direct observation and semi-structured interviews at the office of the company for the Middle East and the Near East. Findings show that the main constraint to improve customer service is lack of visibility and long lead times, which lead retailers to frequent shortage gaming practices. Analysis and managerial recommendations lead to position decoupling points, reduce lead times and simultaneously reduce customer complaints and the bullwhip effect while improving visibility and forecasting practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Verifier-on-a-Leash: New schemes for verifiable delegated quantum computation, with quasilinear resources

The problem of reliably certifying the outcome of a computation performed by a quantum device is rapidly gaining relevance. We present two protocols for a classical verifier to verifiably delegate a quantum computation to two non-communicating but entangled quantum provers. Our protocols have near-optimal complexity in terms of the total resources employed by the verifier and the honest provers, with th

Measuring Efficiency and Productivity Growth of New Technology-Based Firms in Business Incubators: The Portuguese Case Study of Madan Parque

Business incubators can play a major role in helping to turn a business idea into a technology-based organization that is economically efficient. However, there is a shortage in the literature regarding the efficiency evaluation and productivity evolution of the new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the incubation scope. This study develops a model based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology, which allows the incubated NTBFs to evaluate and improve the efficiency of their management. Moreover, the Malmquist index is used to examine productivity change. The index is decomposed into multiple components to give insights into the root sources of productivity change. The proposed model was applied in a case study with 13 NTBFs incubated. From that study, we conclude that inefficient firms invest excessively in research and development (R&D), and, on average, firms have a productivity growth in the period of study