2,962 research outputs found
Entanglement degradation in the solid state: interplay of adiabatic and quantum noise
We study entanglement degradation of two non-interacting qubits subject to
independent baths with broadband spectra typical of solid state nanodevices. We
obtain the analytic form of the concurrence in the presence of adiabatic noise
for classes of entangled initial states presently achievable in experiments. We
find that adiabatic (low frequency) noise affects entanglement reduction
analogously to pure dephasing noise. Due to quantum (high frequency) noise,
entanglement is totally lost in a state-dependent finite time. The possibility
to implement on-chip both local and entangling operations is briefly discussed.Comment: Replaced with published version. Minor change
Dynamics of correlations due to a phase noisy laser
We analyze the dynamics of various kinds of correlations present between two
initially entangled independent qubits, each one subject to a local phase noisy
laser. We give explicit expressions of the relevant quantifiers of correlations
for the general case of single-qubit unital evolution, which includes the case
of a phase noisy laser. Although the light field is treated as classical, we
find that this model can describe revivals of quantum correlations. Two
different dynamical regimes of decay of correlations occur, a Markovian one
(exponential decay) and a non-Markovian one (oscillatory decay with revivals)
depending on the values of system parameters. In particular, in the
non-Markovian regime, quantum correlations quantified by quantum discord show
an oscillatory decay faster than that of classical correlations. Moreover,
there are time regions where nonzero discord is present while entanglement is
zero.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Scripta,
special issue for CEWQO 2011 proceeding
Revival of quantum correlations without system-environment back-action
Revivals of quantum correlations have often been explained in terms of
back-action on quantum systems by their quantum environment(s). Here we
consider a system of two independently evolving qubits, each locally
interacting with a classical random external field. The environments of the
qubits are also independent, and there is no back-action on the qubits.
Nevertheless, entanglement, quantum discord and classical correlations between
the two qubits may revive in this model. We explain the revivals in terms of
correlations in a classical-quantum state of the environments and the qubits.
Although classical states cannot store entanglement on their own, they can play
a role in storing and reviving entanglement. It is important to know how the
absence of back-action, or modelling an environment as classical, affects the
kind of system time evolutions one is able to describe. We find a class of
global time evolutions where back-action is absent and for which there is no
loss of generality in modelling the environment as classical. Finally, we show
that the revivals can be connected with the increase of a parameter used to
quantify non-Markovianity of the single-qubit dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; this version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Biomolecules responsible for the total antioxidant capacity (Tac) of human plasma in healthy and cardiopathic individuals: A chemical speciation model
(1) Background: Much effort has been expended to investigate the antioxidant capacity of human plasma, attempting to clarify the roles of both metabolic and food substances in determining defenses against oxidative stress. The relationship between the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the concentrations of redox-active biomolecules in the human plasma of healthy and cardiopathic individuals was investigated in the present study to develop a chemical speciation model. (2) Methods: Plasma was collected from 85 blood donors and from 25 cardiovascular surgery patients. The TAC was measured using the CUPRAC-BCS (CUPric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity — Bathocuproinedisulfonic acid) method. Biomolecule concentrations were determined via visible spectrophotometry or HPLC/RP techniques. The relationship between the TAC and the concentrations was defined by applying a multiple regression analysis. The significance of the variables was first tested, and chemical models were proposed for the two datasets. The model equation is βTAC=∑iβi·Ai, where βi and [Ai] are the electronic exchange and the molar concentrations of the ith antioxidant component, respectively. (3) Results: The major contributions to the TAC, ~80%, come from endogenous compounds in both healthy and cardiopathic individuals, whereas the contributions from exogenous compounds were different between the two datasets. In particular, γ-tocopherol showed a different role in the chemical models developed for the two groups
Initial correlations effects on decoherence at zero temperature
We consider a free charged particle interacting with an electromagnetic bath
at zero temperature. The dipole approximation is used to treat the bath
wavelengths larger than the width of the particle wave packet. The effect of
these wavelengths is described then by a linear Hamiltonian whose form is
analogous to phenomenological Hamiltonians previously adopted to describe the
free particle-bath interaction. We study how the time dependence of decoherence
evolution is related with initial particle-bath correlations. We show that
decoherence is related to the time dependent dressing of the particle. Moreover
because decoherence induced by the T=0 bath is very rapid, we make some
considerations on the conditions under which interference may be experimentally
observed.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
The use of new mobile and gaming technologies for the assessment and rehabilitation of people with ataxia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
There are no currently available disease-modifying pharmacological treatments for most of the chronic hereditary ataxias; thus, effective rehabilitative strategies are crucial to help improve symptoms and therefore the quality of life. We propose to gather all available evidence on the use of video games, exergames, and apps for tablet and smartphone for the rehabilitation, diagnosis, and assessment of people with ataxias. Relevant literature published up to June 8, 2020, was retrieved searching the databases PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database. Data were extracted using a standardized form, and their methodological quality was assessed using RoB and QUADAS-2. Six studies of 434 retrieved articles met the predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Two of them were diagnostic, while 4 were experimental studies. Studies included participants ranging from 9 to 28 in trials and 70 to 248 in diagnostic studies. Although we found a small number of trials and of low methodological quality, all of them reported an improvement of motor outcomes and quality of life as measured by specific scales, including the SARA, BBS, DHI, and SF-36 scores. The main reason for such low quality in trials was that most of them were small and uncontrolled, thus non-randomized and unblinded. As video games, exergames, serious games, and apps were proven to be safe, feasible, and at least as effective as traditional rehabilitation, further and more high-quality studies should be carried out on the use of these promising technologies in people with different types of ataxia
Decay of nonlocality due to adiabatic and quantum noise in the solid state
We study the decay of quantum nonlocality, identified by the violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality, for two noninteracting Josephson qubits subject to independent baths with broadband spectra typical of solid state nanodevices. The bath noise can be separated in an adiabatic (low-frequency) and in a quantum (high-frequency) part. We point out the qualitative different effects on quantum nonlocal correlations induced by adiabatic and quantum noise. A quantitative analysis is performed for typical noise figures in Josephson systems. Finally we compare, for this system, the dynamics of nonlocal correlations and of entanglement
The zinc transporter Slc30a8/ZnT8 is required in a subpopulation of pancreatic alpha-cells for hypoglycemia-induced glucagon secretion
SLC30A8 encodes a zinc transporter ZnT8 largely restricted to pancreatic islet β- and α-cells, and responsible for zinc accumulation into secretory granules. Although common SLC30A8 variants, believed to reduce ZnT8 activity, increase type 2 diabetes risk in humans, rare inactivating mutations are protective. To investigate the role of Slc30a8 in the control of glucagon secretion, Slc30a8 was inactivated selectively in α-cells by crossing mice with alleles floxed at exon 1 to animals expressing Cre recombinase under the pre-proglucagon promoter. Further crossing to Rosa26:tdRFP mice, and sorting of RFP+: glucagon+ cells from KO mice, revealed recombination in ∼30% of α-cells, of which ∼50% were ZnT8-negative (14 ± 1.8% of all α-cells). Although glucose and insulin tolerance were normal, female αZnT8KO mice required lower glucose infusion rates during hypoglycemic clamps and displayed enhanced glucagon release (p < 0.001) versus WT mice. Correspondingly, islets isolated from αZnT8KO mice secreted more glucagon at 1 mm glucose, but not 17 mm glucose, than WT controls (n = 5; p = 0.008). Although the expression of other ZnT family members was unchanged, cytoplasmic (n = 4 mice per genotype; p < 0.0001) and granular (n = 3, p < 0.01) free Zn2+ levels were significantly lower in KO α-cells versus control cells. In response to low glucose, the amplitude and frequency of intracellular Ca2+ increases were unchanged in α-cells of αZnT8KO KO mice. ZnT8 is thus important in a subset of α-cells for normal responses to hypoglycemia and acts via Ca2+-independent mechanisms
Adverse Events in Italian Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Epidemic. A National Survey
Older people living in nursing homes (NHs) are particularly vulnerable in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, due to the high prevalence of chronic diseases and disabilities (e.g., dementia). The phenomenon of adverse events (AEs), intended as any harm or injury resulting from medical care or to the failure to provide care, has not yet been investigated in NHs during the pandemic. We performed a national survey on 3,292 NHs, either public or providing services both privately and within the national health system, out of the 3,417 NHs covering the whole Italian territory. An online questionnaire was addressed to the directors of each facility between March 24 and April 27, 2020. The list of NHs was provided by the Dementia Observatory, an online map of Italian services for people with dementia, which was one of the objectives of the implementation of the Italian National Dementia Plan. About 26% of residents in the Italian NHs for older people listed within the Dementia Observatory site had dementia. The objective of our study was to report the frequency of AEs that occurred during the months when SARS-CoV-2 spreading rate was at its highest in the Italian NHs and to identify which conditions and attributes were most associated with the occurrence of AEs by means of multivariate regression logistic analysis. Data are referred to 1,356 NHs that participated in the survey. The overall response rate was 41.2% over a time-period of six weeks (from March 24 to May 5). About one third of the facilities (444 out of 1,334) (33.3%) reported at least 1 adverse event, with a total of 2,000 events. Among the included NHs, having a bed capacity higher than the median of 60 beds (OR=1.57, CI95% 1.17–2.09; p=0.002), an observed increased in the use of psychiatric drugs (OR=1.80, CI95% 1.05–3.07; p=0.032), adopting physical restraint measures (OR=1.97, CI95% 1.47–2.64; p<0.001), residents hospitalized due to flu-like symptoms (OR =1.73, CI95% 1.28–2.32; p<0.001), and being located in specific geographic areas (OR=3.59, CI95% 1.81–7.08; OR = 2.90, CI95% 1.45–5.81 and OR = 4.02, CI05% 2.01–8.04 for, respectively, North-West, North-East and Centre vs South, p<0.001) were all factors positively associated to the occurrence of adverse events in the facility. Future recommendations for the management and care of residents in NHs during the COVID-19 pandemic should include specific statements for the most vulnerable populations, such as people with dementia
Entanglement Sudden Death in Band Gaps
Using the pseudomode method, we evaluate exactly time-dependent entanglement
for two independent qubits, each coupled to a non-Markovian structured
environment. Our results suggest a possible way to control entanglement sudden
death by modifying the qubit-pseudomode detuning and the spectrum of the
reservoirs. Particularly, in environments structured by a model of a
density-of-states gap which has two poles, entanglement trapping and prevention
of entanglement sudden death occur in the weak-coupling regime
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