Time-optimal control fields for quantum systems with multiple avoided crossings

We study time-optimal protocols for controlling quantum systems which show several avoided level crossings in their energy spectrum. The structure of the spectrum allows us to generate a robust guess which is time-optimal at each crossing. We correct the field applying optimal control techniques in order to find the minimal evolution or quantum speed limit (QSL) time. We investigate its dependence as a function of the system parameters and show that it gets proportionally smaller to the well-known two-level case as the dimension of the system increases. Working at the QSL, we study the control fields derived from the optimization procedure, and show that they present a very simple shape, which can be described by a few parameters. Based on this result, we propose a simple expression for the control field, and show that the full time-evolution of the control problem can be analytically solved.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Elementi strutturali in calcestruzzo armati con barre in GFRP

Sono riportati alcuni risultati sperimentali, ottenuti dagli autori, riguardanti: - caratterizzazione meccanica a trazione di barre GFRP, anche di elevato diametro; - valutazione dell’aderenza tra barre in GFRP e calcestruzzo; - vita a fatica di solette da ponte rinforzati con barre in GFRP; - comportamento statico di elementi in calcestruzzo rinforzati con barre in GFRP soggetti ad elevate variazioni di temperatura

Polynomial conjunctive query rewriting under unary inclusion dependencies

Ontology-based data access (OBDA) is widely accepted as an important ingredient of the new generation of information systems. In the OBDA paradigm, potentially incomplete relational data is enriched by means of ontologies, representing intensional knowledge of the application domain. We consider the problem of conjunctive query answering in OBDA. Certain ontology languages have been identified as FO-rewritable (e.g., DL-Lite and sticky-join sets of TGDs), which means that the ontology can be incorporated into the user's query, thus reducing OBDA to standard relational query evaluation. However, all known query rewriting techniques produce queries that are exponentially large in the size of the user's query, which can be a serious issue for standard relational database engines. In this paper, we present a polynomial query rewriting for conjunctive queries under unary inclusion dependencies. On the other hand, we show that binary inclusion dependencies do not admit polynomial query rewriting algorithms

War and dissociation : the case of futurist aesthetics

Thanks to their deliberate engagement in state propaganda Italian Futurists deserved a prominent spot in the history of military aesthetics in the 20th century. However, under what looked like an unequivocal expression of support for war, lied a deep philosophical disagreement concerning its existential and epistemological value. The bone of contention concerned the effects of warfare on perception and, consequently, the means of its depiction. The author analyses this intellectual disagreement within the group and focuses, in particular, on its philosophical implications

Factors Influencing Chat-Based Cultural Discussions for Learning History in a 3D Virtual World

In a fast-changing world, there is an increasingly felt need to bring what we teach and how we teach it intothe 21st Century. Learning@Europe is an attempt in this direction: a shared online virtual world where students from different European countries meet to play and learn about European history. Chat-based discussions of study material, research homework to prepare in col-laboration with remote peers on online forums, team games and a cultural com-petition are the main ingredients of this innovative experience, already tested by over 6000 high-school students and teachers from 18 European countries. This paper focuses on a particular Learning@Europe activity – chat-based cultural discussions about history – and analyzes the elements that are essential to its success. Basing on evaluation data and our 3-years experience, we describe strategies deal with the different elements to be taken into account: Technology; Content; Interaction Design; and – mostimportant of all – Social Behavior

Influence of Attention Control on Implicit and Explicit Emotion Processing of Face and Body: Evidence From Flanker and Same-or-Different Paradigms

Many existing findings indicate that processing of emotional information is pre-attentive, largely immune from attentional control. Nevertheless, inconsistent evidence on the interference of emotional cues on cognitive processing suggests that this influence may be a highly conditional phenomenon. The aim of the present study was twofold: (1) to examine the modulation of attention control on emotion processing using facial expressions (2) explore the very same effect for emotional body expressions. In Experiment 1, participants performed a Flanker task in which they had to indicate either the emotion (happy/fearful) or the gender of the target stimulus while ignoring the distracting stimuli at the side. We found evidence for intrusion of the emotional dimension of a stimulus in both the emotion and gender discrimination performance, thus when either task-relevant or task-irrelevant. To further explore the influence of attention control mechanisms, in Experiment 2 participants performed a same-or-different judgment task in which they were asked to pay attention to both the central and lateral stimuli and indicated whether the central stimulus matched the lateral for emotion or gender. Results showed that emotional features exerted an influence at an implicit level (i.e., during gender judgments) for bodies only. Gender features did not affect emotional processing in either experiments. To rule out the possibility that this effect was driven by postural rather than emotional features of fearful vs. happy stimuli, a control experiment was conducted. In Experiment 3, bodies with an opening/up-ward or closing/down-ward posture but with no emotional valence were presented. Results revealed that the body posture did not influence gender discrimination. Findings suggest that the emotional valence of a face or body stimulus can overpass attention filtering mechanisms, independently from the level of attentional modulation (Experiment 1). However, broadening the focus of attention to include the lateral stimuli led emotional information to intrude on the main task, exerting an implicit, bottom–up influence on gender processing, only when conveyed by bodies (Experiment 2). Results point to different mechanisms for the implicit processing of face and body emotional expressions, with the latter likely having role on action preparation processes

Long-Term Behavior of PBO FRCM and Comparison with Other Inorganic-Matrix Composites

Fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites, comprising high-strength fiber textiles embedded within inorganic matrices, represent an effective, cost-efficient, and low-invasive solution for strengthening and retrofitting existing masonry and reinforced concrete structures. Among different textiles employed in FRCM composites, polyparaphenylene benzo-bisoxazole (PBO) textiles are adopted due to their high tensile strength and good adhesion with the matrix. Although several experimental, numerical, and analytical works were performed to investigate the mechanical properties of PBO FRCM composites, limited information is available on their long-term behavior, as well as in the case of exposure to aggressive environments. This paper presents and discusses the results of a wide experimental campaign aimed at investigating the effect of different environmental conditions on the long-term tensile behavior of a PBO FRCM composite. Tests are performed using a clamping-grip tensile test set-up. The effect of various aggressive environments on the composite matrix cracking stress, composite tensile strength, ultimate strain, and fully cracked stage slope is investigated by comparing the results of nominally equal conditioned and unconditioned (control) specimens. These results are also compared with those of other FRCM composites comprising glass and carbon textiles subjected to the same conditionings, collected from the literature. The results show only limited reductions in the tensile properties, even after long exposure to aggressive environments

Sucrose-specific induction of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Sugars act as signaling molecules, whose signal transduction pathways may lead to the activation or inactivation of gene expression. Whole-genome transcript profiling reveals that the flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthetic pathways are strongly up-regulated following sucrose (Suc) treatment. Besides mRNA accumulation, Suc affects both flavonoid and anthocyanin contents. We investigated the effects of sugars (Suc, glucose, and fructose) on genes coding for flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthetic enzymes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The results indicate that the sugar-dependent up-regulation of the anthocyanin synthesis pathway is Suc specific. An altered induction of several anthocyanin biosynthetic genes, consistent with in vivo sugar modulation of mRNA accumulation, is observed in the phosphoglucomutase Arabidopsis mutant accumulating high levels of soluble sugars