Generation of Entanglement Outside of the Light Cone

The Feynman propagator has nonzero values outside of the forward light cone. That does not allow messages to be transmitted faster than the speed of light, but it is shown here that it does allow entanglement and mutual information to be generated at space-like separated points. These effects can be interpreted as being due to the propagation of virtual photons outside of the light cone or as a transfer of pre-existing entanglement from the quantum vacuum. The differences between these two interpretations are discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures. Additional references and figur

A comparative study of ree geochemistry in precambrian pegmatites and associated host rocks from western Oban Massif, Se – Nigeria

The area of study (Igbofia-Akwa Ibami-Iwuru) is located between Latitudes 5o20'N and 5o27'N, and Longitudes 8o09'E and 8o18'E, south-eastern Nigeria. The pegmatites of this area have been studied by several authors for several decades till now. The present study evaluates the use of trace and rare-earth elements (REE) as finger prints in comparing the geochemistry of pegmatites and their associated host rocks, and to deduce if there is any co-genetic relationship between them. Sixteen representative samples of pegmatites and their host rocks (schist andgranodiorites) were collected and analysed using the ICP-MS analytical method. The pegmatites were found to be richer than their host rocks in SiO2, Al2O3 Na2O+K2O (alkali), Rb, Li, Cs, Be, Na, Zn, Nb, and Ga while they are poorer in Fe2O3, CaO, Sr, Ba, Zr, U, Cr, Th, and all the REEs. Only in the MgO contents are the rocks similar. Compared trace elements and REE data of schist and granodiorite (host rocks) against associated pegmatite samples in this work, show that the pegmatites are not necessarily products of their host rocks

Using qualitative research to overcome the shortcomings of systematic reviews when designing of a self-management intervention for advanced cancer pain

Objectives: To identify the key components for a self-management intervention for advanced cancer pain using evidence drawn from systematic reviews of complex interventions and syntheses of qualitative research. Methods: Evidence from up-to-date systematic reviews was prioritised. Searches were initially undertaken to identify systematic reviews of effectiveness in Cinahl, Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 2009-June 2014, using validated search terms. Subsequent searches to identify qualitative systematic reviews were undertaken in Cinahl, Medline, Embase, and PsycInfo from 2009- January 2015. The results of the two sets of reviews were integrated using methods based on constant comparative techniques. Results: Four systematic reviews examining interventions for the self-management of advanced cancer pain were identified. Whilst each review recommended some attributes of a pain management intervention, it was not possible to determine essential key components. Subsequent searches for qualitative evidence syntheses identified three reviews. These were integrated with the effectiveness reviews. The integration identified key components for a self-management intervention including: individualised approaches to care; the importance of addressing patients’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards pain management; and the significance of team approaches and inter-disciplinary working in the management of pain. Conclusion: Implementing the findings from systematic reviews of complex interventions is often hindered by a lack of understanding of important contextual components of care, often provided by qualitative research. Using both types of data to provide answers for practice demonstrates the benefits of incorporating qualitative research in reviews of complex interventions by ensuring the strengths of qualitative and quantitative research are combined and that their respective weaknesses are overcome

Supporting self-management of pain by patients with advanced cancer: views of palliative care professionals

Purpose: The aim of the study is to ascertain the views of specialist palliative care professionals on patient selfmanagement of cancer pain in order to inform the development of a new educational intervention to support selfmanagement. Methods: This is a qualitative research study using focus group interviews. Results: Participants viewed self-management of cancer pain as desirable and achievable but also as something that could be problematic. Challenges to self-management were perceived in patient attitudes and behaviours, professionals’ own beliefs and actions and the wider social system. Practitioners: showed awareness of potential tension between their espoused views (the desirability that patients manage pain autonomously) and their tacit views (the undesirability of patients managing pain in ways which conflict with professionals’ knowledge and identity). Conclusions: Practitioners espoused patient-centred professional practice which inclined them towards supporting self-management. They showed awareness of factors which might inhibit them from effectively incorporating education and support for self-management into routine practice

Factors affecting Acheulean handaxe variation: Experimental insights, microevolutionary processes, and macroevolutionary outcomes

PublishedJournal ArticleThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The “Acheulean” is comprised of individual knapping events undertaken by individual hominins. In other words, it is a particular component of hominin behavior that we draw out and amalgamate into a wider “pattern.” The resultant phenomenon (i.e., “the Acheulean”) is an entity that stretches over the space of three continents and spans a time period in excess of one million years. If such an exercise has any merit, it is because it provides a means of comparative (behavioral) analysis over these swathes of time and space. Comparative research can document, measure, and statistically assess temporo-spatial patterns of artifactual variation, and so test hypotheses regarding the character of that variation. However, it does not provide an independent means of examining some of the key phenomena which it is necessary to further understand in order to increase our comprehension of this archaeological legacy. Here, we review and synthesize recent experimental work that we have undertaken, which has specifically investigated some of the factors potentially responsible for the generation and constraint of variation within the Acheulean techno-complex. We examine issues of raw material, copying errors, and their relationship to mechanisms of social learning. Understanding these microevolutionary factors via experiments, we contend, is essential in order to reach a secure understanding of the macroscale phenomenon typically referred to as the “Acheulean.” Moreover, we outline how a “quantitative genetic” framework to these issues provides an essential means of linking these inherent micro- and macro-evolutionary factors into a coherent whole, while also simultaneously reconciling the potential influence of different sources of variation that are part of a temporally and geographically dispersed entity such as the Acheulean.We thank Marie-Hélène Moncel and Daniele Schreve for their invitation to take part in this issue. We are also grateful to the four reviewers (Michael O'Brien and three anonymous), whose thoughtful and constructive comments on the manuscript were much appreciated. Much of the work reported in this paper was funded by the Leverhulme Trust

Multiple familial trichoepithelioma: A case report and review of literature

No Abstract

Time-trial performance is not impaired in either competitive athletes or untrained individuals following a prolonged cognitive task

This is the final version. Available from Springer via the DOI in this record.It has been reported that mental fatigue decreases exercise performance during high-intensity constant-work-rate exercise (CWR) and self-paced time trials (TT) in recreationally-trained individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine whether performance is impaired following a prolonged cognitive task in individuals trained for competitive sport. Ten trained competitive athletes (ATH) and ten untrained healthy men (UNT) completed a 6-min severe-intensity CWR followed by a 6-min cycling TT immediately following cognitive tasks designed to either perturb (Stroop colour-word task and N-back task; PCT) or maintain a neutral (documentary watching; CON) mental state. UNT had a higher heart rate (75 ± 9 v. 69 ± 7 bpm; P = 0.002) and a lower positive affect PANAS score (19.9 ± 7.5 v. 24.3 ± 4.6; P = 0.036) for PCT compared to CON. ATH showed no difference in heart rate, but had a higher negative affect score for PCT compared to CON (15.1 ± 3.7 v. 12.2 ± 2.7; P = 0.029). Pulmonary O 2 uptake during CWR was not different between PCT and CON for ATH or UNT. Work completed during TT was not different between PCT and CON for ATH (PCT 103 ± 12 kJ; CON 102 ± 12 kJ; P > 0.05) or UNT (PCT 75 ± 11 kJ; CON 74 ± 12 kJ; P > 0.05). Compared to CON, during PCT, UNT showed unchanged psychological stress responses, whereas ATH demonstrated increased psychological stress responses. However, regardless of this distinction, exercise performance was not affected by PCT in either competitive athletes or untrained individuals

Beliefs about the Minds of Others Influence How We Process Sensory Information

Attending where others gaze is one of the most fundamental mechanisms of social cognition. The present study is the first to examine the impact of the attribution of mind to others on gaze-guided attentional orienting and its ERP correlates. Using a paradigm in which attention was guided to a location by the gaze of a centrally presented face, we manipulated participants' beliefs about the gazer: gaze behavior was believed to result either from operations of a mind or from a machine. In Experiment 1, beliefs were manipulated by cue identity (human or robot), while in Experiment 2, cue identity (robot) remained identical across conditions and beliefs were manipulated solely via instruction, which was irrelevant to the task. ERP results and behavior showed that participants' attention was guided by gaze only when gaze was believed to be controlled by a human. Specifically, the P1 was more enhanced for validly, relative to invalidly, cued targets only when participants believed the gaze behavior was the result of a mind, rather than of a machine. This shows that sensory gain control can be influenced by higher-order (task-irrelevant) beliefs about the observed scene. We propose a new interdisciplinary model of social attention, which integrates ideas from cognitive and social neuroscience, as well as philosophy in order to provide a framework for understanding a crucial aspect of how humans' beliefs about the observed scene influence sensory processing

A multi-exon deletion within WWOX is associated with a 46,XY disorder of sex development

Disorders of sex development (DSD) are congenital conditions where chromosomal, gonad or genital development is atypical. In a significant proportion of 46,XY DSD cases it is not possible to identify a causative mutation, making genetic counseling difficult and potentially hindering optimal treatment. Here, we describe the analysis of a 46,XY DSD patient that presented at birth with ambiguous genitalia. Histological analysis of the surgically removed gonads showed bilateral undifferentiated gonadal tissue and immature testis, both containing malignant germ cells. We screened genomic DNA from this patient for deletions and duplications using an Illumina whole-genome SNP microarray. This analysis revealed a heterozygous deletion within the WWOX gene on chromosome 16, removing exons 6-8. Analysis of parental DNA showed that the deletion was inherited from the mother. cDNA analysis confirmed that the deletion maintained the reading frame, with exon 5 being spliced directly onto exon 9. This deletion is the first description of a germline rearrangement affecting the coding sequence of WWOX in humans. Previously described Wwox knockout mouse models showed gonadal abnormalities, supporting a role for WWOX in human gonad development