Entanglement-Assisted Quantum Error Correction with Linear Optics

We construct a theory of continuous-variable entanglement-assisted quantum error correction. We present an example of a continuous-variable entanglement-assisted code that corrects for an arbitrary single-mode error. We also show how to implement encoding circuits using passive optical devices, homodyne measurements, feedforward classical communication, conditional displacements, and off-line squeezers.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, major expansion of paper with detailed exampl

Effects of adjunctive eslicarbazepine acetate on serum lipids in patients with partial-onset seizures: Impact of concomitant statins and enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) on lipid metabolism and to determine whether reduced statin exposure during ESL therapy has clinical consequences. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted a post-hoc analysis of pooled data for serum lipids (laboratory values) from three phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of adjunctive ESL therapy (400, 800, or 1200 mg once daily) in patients with treatment-refractory partial-onset seizures. Changes from baseline in serum lipid levels were analyzed according to use of statins and/or enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (EIAEDs) during the baseline period. KEY FINDINGS: In total, 426 and 1021 placebo- and ESL-treated patients, respectively, were included in the analysis. With regard to the changes from baseline in serum concentrations, there were statistically significant differences between the placebo and ESL 1200 mg QD groups, for both total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), but the effect sizes were small (+4.1 mg/dL and +1.8 mg/dL, respectively). A small but significant difference in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; -5.0 mg/dL) was observed between the ESL 400 mg QD group and the placebo group. In patients not taking a concomitant EIAED, there were no changes with ESL 400 mg QD, but modest and statistically significant increases in cholesterol fractions (TC, LDL-C and HDL-C) with ESL 800 mg QD (/dL) and ESL 1200 mg QD (/dL). ESL had no consistent effect on lipids in patients taking a concomitant EIAED. In patients taking statins during baseline, there were no clinically relevant changes in serum lipids during use of ESL, although the subgroups were small. SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that ESL does not appear to have clinically significant effects on serum lipids, nor does the pharmacokinetic interaction between ESL and statins have an impact on serum lipid concentrations

A versatile matching algorithm based on dynamic programming with circular order preserving

This paper presents an assignment algorithm with circular order preserving constraint. Given a cost affinity matrix and the desired percentage of correspondences, the algorithm implemented using dynamic programming determines the correspondence of type one-to-one of minimum global cost. Here, it was applied to optimize the global matching between two sets of ordered points that represent the contours of objects previously segmented from images. In the tests performed, we considered affinity matrices previously built based on information on curvature and distance to centroid. The results that have been obtained are better than the ones presented in previous studies, for the cases in which partial deformations or occlusions are involved

"A bit more truthful": the validity of adolescent sexual behaviour data collected in rural northern Tanzania using five methods.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the validity of sexual behaviour data collected from African adolescents using five methods. METHODS: 9280 Tanzanian adolescents participated in a biological marker and face to face questionnaire survey and 6079 in an assisted self-completion questionnaire survey; 74 participated in in-depth interviews and 56 person weeks of participant observation were conducted. RESULTS: 38% of males and 59% of females reporting sexual activity did so in only one of the two 1998 questionnaires. Only 58% of males and 29% of females with biological markers consistently reported sexual activity in both questionnaires. Nine of 11 (82%) in-depth interview respondents who had had biological markers provided an invalid series of responses about sex in the survey and in-depth interview series. Only one of six female in-depth interview respondents with an STI reported sex in any of the four surveys, but five reported it in the in-depth interviews. CONCLUSION: In this low prevalence population, biological markers on their own revealed that a few adolescents had had sex, but in combination with in-depth interviews they may be useful in identifying risk factors for STIs. Self-reported sexual behaviour data were fraught with inconsistencies. In-depth interviews seem to be more effective than assisted self-completion questionnaires and face to face questionnaires in promoting honest responses among females with STIs. Participant observation was the most useful method for understanding the nature, complexity, and extent of sexual behaviour

Variance fluctuations in nonstationary time series: a comparative study of music genres

An important problem in physics concerns the analysis of audio time series generated by transduced acoustic phenomena. Here, we develop a new method to quantify the scaling properties of the local variance of nonstationary time series. We apply this technique to analyze audio signals obtained from selected genres of music. We find quantitative differences in the correlation properties of high art music, popular music, and dance music. We discuss the relevance of these objective findings in relation to the subjective experience of music.Comment: 13 pages, 4 fig

Neuronal circuitry for pain processing in the dorsal horn

Neurons in the spinal dorsal horn process sensory information, which is then transmitted to several brain regions, including those responsible for pain perception. The dorsal horn provides numerous potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and is thought to undergo changes that contribute to the exaggerated pain felt after nerve injury and inflammation. Despite its obvious importance, we still know little about the neuronal circuits that process sensory information, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the various neuronal components that make up these circuits. Recent studies have begun to shed light on the neuronal organization and circuitry of this complex region

Evidence for Cold Accretion: Primitive Gas Flowing onto a Galaxy at z~0.274

We present UV and optical observations from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck of a z= 0.27395 Lyman limit system (LLS) seen in absorption against the QSO PG1630+377. We detect H I absorption with log N(HI)=17.06\pm0.05 as well as Mg II, C III, Si III, and O VI in this system. The column densities are readily explained if this is a multi-phase system, with the intermediate and low ions arising in a very low metallicity ([Mg/ H] =-1.71 \pm 0.06) photoionized gas. We identify via Keck spectroscopy and Large Binocular Telescope imaging a 0.3 L_* star-forming galaxy projected 37 kpc from the QSO at nearly identical redshift (z=0.27406, \Delta v = -26 \kms) with near solar metallicity ([O/ H]=-0.20 \pm 0.15). The presence of very low metallicity gas in the proximity of a near-solar metallicity, sub-L_* galaxy strongly suggests that the LLS probes gas infalling onto the galaxy. A search of the literature reveals that such low metallicity LLSs are not uncommon. We found that 50% (4/8) of the well-studied z < 1 LLSs have metallicities similar to the present system and show sub-L_* galaxies with rho < 100 kpc in those fields where redshifts have been surveyed. We argue that the properties of these primitive LLSs and their host galaxies are consistent with those of cold mode accretion streams seen in galaxy simulations.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Core Curriculum for the Continuing Professional Development of Nurses Working in Cardiovascular Settings: Developed by the Education Committee of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (CCNAP) on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology

status: publishe

Mid-infrared plasmons in scaled graphene nanostructures

Plasmonics takes advantage of the collective response of electrons to electromagnetic waves, enabling dramatic scaling of optical devices beyond the diffraction limit. Here, we demonstrate the mid-infrared (4 to 15 microns) plasmons in deeply scaled graphene nanostructures down to 50 nm, more than 100 times smaller than the on-resonance light wavelength in free space. We reveal, for the first time, the crucial damping channels of graphene plasmons via its intrinsic optical phonons and scattering from the edges. A plasmon lifetime of 20 femto-seconds and smaller is observed, when damping through the emission of an optical phonon is allowed. Furthermore, the surface polar phonons in SiO2 substrate underneath the graphene nanostructures lead to a significantly modified plasmon dispersion and damping, in contrast to a non-polar diamond-like-carbon (DLC) substrate. Much reduced damping is realized when the plasmon resonance frequencies are close to the polar phonon frequencies. Our study paves the way for applications of graphene in plasmonic waveguides, modulators and detectors in an unprecedentedly broad wavelength range from sub-terahertz to mid-infrared.Comment: submitte