913 research outputs found
Five-year Outcomes in Men Screened for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm at 65 Years of Age: A Population-based Cohort Study
Operator-Schmidt decompositions and the Fourier transform, with applications to the operator-Schmidt numbers of unitaries
The operator-Schmidt decomposition is useful in quantum information theory
for quantifying the nonlocality of bipartite unitary operations. We construct a
family of unitary operators on C^n tensor C^n whose operator-Schmidt
decompositions are computed using the discrete Fourier transform. As a
corollary, we produce unitaries on C^3 tensor C^3 with operator-Schmidt number
S for every S in {1,...,9}. This corollary was unexpected, since it
contradicted reasonable conjectures of Nielsen et al [Phys. Rev. A 67 (2003)
052301] based on intuition from a striking result in the two-qubit case. By the
results of Dur, Vidal, and Cirac [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89 (2002) 057901
quant-ph/0112124], who also considered the two-qubit case, our result implies
that there are nine equivalence classes of unitaries on C^3 tensor C^3 which
are probabilistically interconvertible by (stochastic) local operations and
classical communication. As another corollary, a prescription is produced for
constructing maximally-entangled operators from biunimodular functions.
Reversing tact, we state a generalized operator-Schmidt decomposition of the
quantum Fourier transform considered as an operator C^M_1 tensor C^M_2 -->
C^N_1 tensor C^N_2, with M_1 x M_2 = N_1 x N_2. This decomposition shows (by
Nielsen's bound) that the communication cost of the QFT remains maximal when a
net transfer of qudits is permitted. In an appendix, a canonical procedure is
given for removing basis-dependence for results and proofs depending on the
"magic basis" introduced in [S. Hill and W. Wootters, "Entanglement of a pair
of quantum bits," Phys Rev. Lett 78 (1997) 5022-5025, quant-ph/9703041 (and
quant-ph/9709029)].Comment: More formal version of my talk at the Simons Conference on Quantum
and Reversible Computation at Stony Brook May 31, 2003. The talk slides and
audio are available at
http://www.physics.sunysb.edu/itp/conf/simons-qcomputation.html. Fixed typos
and minor cosmetic
Evolution of the interfacial structure of LaAlO3 on SrTiO3
The evolution of the atomic structure of LaAlO3 grown on SrTiO3 was
investigated using surface x-ray diffraction in conjunction with
model-independent, phase-retrieval algorithms between two and five monolayers
film thickness. A depolarizing buckling is observed between cation and oxygen
positions in response to the electric field of polar LaAlO3, which decreases
with increasing film thickness. We explain this in terms of competition between
elastic strain energy, electrostatic energy, and electronic reconstructions.
The findings are qualitatively reproduced by density-functional theory
calculations. Significant cationic intermixing across the interface extends
approximately three monolayers for all film thicknesses. The interfaces of
films thinner than four monolayers therefore extend to the surface, which might
affect conductivity
Short-term effects of a pay-for-performance programme for diabetes in a primary care setting: an observational study
Objective A pay-for-performance (P4P) programme for primary care was introduced in 2011 by a Swedish county (with 1.6 million inhabitants). Effects on register entry practice and comparability of data for patients with diabetes mellitus were assessed. Design and setting Observational study analysing short-term outcomes before and after introduction of a P4P programme in the study county as compared with a reference county. Subjects A total of 84 053 patients reported to the National Diabetes Register by 349 primary care units. Main outcome measures Completeness of data, level and target achievement of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), and LDL cholesterol (LDL). Results In the study county, newly recruited patients who were entered during the incentive programme were less well controlled than existing patients in the register - they had higher HbA1c (54.9 [54.5-55.4] vs. 53.7 [53.6-53.9] mmol/mol), BP, and LDL. The percentage of patients with entry of BP, HbA1c, LDL, albuminuria, and smoking increased in the study county but not in the reference county (+26.3% vs -1.5%). In the study county, with an incentive for BP < 130/80 mmHg, BP data entry behaviour was altered with an increased preference for sub-target BP values and a decline in zero end-digit readings (38.3% vs. 33.7%, p < 0.001). Conclusion P4P led to increased register entry, increased completeness of data, and altered BP entry behaviour. Analysis of newly added patients and data shows that missing patients and data can cause performance to be overestimated. Potential effects on reporting quality should be considered when designing payment programmes. Key points A pay-for-performance programme, with a focus on data entry, was introduced in a primary care region in Sweden. Register data entry in the National Diabetes Register increased and registration behaviour was altered, especially for blood pressure. Newly entered patients and data during the incentive programme were less well controlled. Missing data in a quality register can cause performance to be overestimated
Unbiased bases (Hadamards) for 6-level systems: Four ways from Fourier
In quantum mechanics some properties are maximally incompatible, such as the
position and momentum of a particle or the vertical and horizontal projections
of a 2-level spin. Given any definite state of one property the other property
is completely random, or unbiased. For N-level systems, the 6-level ones are
the smallest for which a tomographically efficient set of N+1 mutually unbiased
bases (MUBs) has not been found. To facilitate the search, we numerically
extend the classification of unbiased bases, or Hadamards, by incrementally
adjusting relative phases in a standard basis. We consider the non-unitarity
caused by small adjustments with a second order Taylor expansion, and choose
incremental steps within the 4-dimensional nullspace of the curvature. In this
way we prescribe a numerical integration of a 4-parameter set of Hadamards of
order 6.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Unit cell of graphene on Ru(0001): a 25 x 25 supercell with 1250 carbon atoms
The structure of a single layer of graphene on Ru(0001) has been studied
using surface x-ray diffraction. A surprising superstructure has been
determined, whereby 25 x 25 graphene unit cells lie on 23 x 23 unit cells of
Ru. Each supercell contains 2 x 2 crystallographically inequivalent subcells
caused by corrugation. Strong intensity oscillations in the superstructure rods
demonstrate that the Ru substrate is also significantly corrugated down to
several monolayers, and that the bonding between graphene and Ru is strong and
cannot be caused by van der Waals bonds. Charge transfer from the Ru substrate
to the graphene expands and weakens the C-C bonds, which helps accommodate the
in-plane tensile stress. The elucidation of this superstructure provides
important information in the potential application of graphene as a template
for nanocluster arrays.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, paper submitted to peer reviewed journa
Incidence of Acute Thrombo-Embolic Occlusion of the Superior Mesenteric Artery—A Population-based Study
AbstractObjective. To determine the incidence of acute thrombo-embolic occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (AOSMA) in a population-based study.Material. All clinical (n=23,446) and forensic (n=7569) autopsies performed in the city of Malmö between 1970 and 1982 (population 264,000–230,000 inhabitants). The autopsy rate was 87%.Methods. Calculation of the incidence of AOSMA with intestinal gangrene in those autopsies coded for bowel ischaemia (997/23,446 clinical and 9/7569 forensic autopsies). The operative procedures performed in 1970, 1976 and 1982 were also analysed.Results. Two forensic and 211 clinical autopsies demonstrated AOSMA with intestinal gangrene. Previous suspicion of intestinal ischaemia was noted in only 33%. Sixteen patients were operated. The cause-specific mortality was 6.0/1000 deaths. The incidence was 8.6/100,000 person years, increasing exponentially with age (p<0.001). Mortality was 93%.Conclusions. The incidence and mortality of AOSMA is higher than previously reported from clinical series. There is seldom any suspicion of the diagnosis prior to death
Specific in vivo deletion of B-cell subpopulations expressing human immunoglobulins by the B-cell superantigen protein L
Some pathogens have evolved to produce proteins, called B-cell superantigens, that can interact with human immunoglobulin variable regions, independently of the combining site, and activate B lymphocytes that express the target immunoglobulins. However, the in vivo consequences of these interactions on human B-cell numbers and function are largely unknown. Using transgenic mice expressing fully human immunoglobulins, we studied the consequences of in vivo exposure of protein L of Peptostreptococcus magnus with human immunoglobulins. In the mature pool of B cells, protein L exposure resulted in a specific reduction of splenic marginal-zone B cells and peritoneal B-1 cells. Splenic B cells exhibited a skewed light-chain repertoire consistent with the capacity of protein L to bind specific kappa gene products. Remarkably, these two B-cell subsets are implicated in innate B-cell immunity, allowing rapid clearance of pathogens. Thus, the present study reveals a novel mechanism that may be used by some infectious agents to subvert a first line of the host's immune defense
Constructive updating/downdating of oblique projectors: a generalization of the Gram-Schmidt process
A generalization of the Gram-Schmidt procedure is achieved by providing
equations for updating and downdating oblique projectors. The work is motivated
by the problem of adaptive signal representation outside the orthogonal basis
setting. The proposed techniques are shown to be relevant to the problem of
discriminating signals produced by different phenomena when the order of the
signal model needs to be adjusted.Comment: As it will appear in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and
Theoretical (2007
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