Memory-keeping effects and forgetfulness in the dynamics of a qubit coupled to a spin chain

Using recently proposed measures for non-Markovianity [H.-P. Breuer, E. M. Laine, and J. Piilo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 210401 (2009)], we study the dynamics of a qubit coupled to a spin environment via an energy-exchange mechanism. We show the existence of a point, in the parameter space of the system, where the qubit dynamics is effectively Markovian and that such a point separates two regions with completely different dynamical behaviors. Indeed, our study demonstrates that the qubit evolution can in principle be tuned from a perfectly forgetful one to a deep non-Markovian regime where the qubit is strongly affected by the dynamical backaction of the environmental spins. By means of a theoretical quantum process tomography analysis, we provide a complete and intuitive characterization of the qubit channel.

The Battle of the Somme in Ulster memory and identity

One of the enduring illusions about Northern Ireland is that its society can be conceptualized through a binary distinction between protestant and catholic. unionist and nationalist. It is increasingly apparent that these broad domains are themselves fractured and diverse and that otherness is often conceived from within rather than without. Northern Ireland can also be viewed as a laboratory for identity formation as unionists and loyalists strive to reconcile themselves with the fundamental political changes that have followed in the wake of the Peace Process. This paper considers one aspect of the contestation of belonging that increasingly characterizes unionism. It examines the competition for the ownership of the mythology of the Battle of the Somme ( 1916), long a key event in the unionist narrative. In particular, the paper addresses the ways in which paramilitary organizations are using the Somme to legitimate their own activities but also to distance the loyalist working classes from the former hegemonic Britishness of official unionism and the sectarianism of the Orange Order. The analysis concludes that loyalist identity is being conceptualized thorough a narrative of betrayal from within and at an intensely localized scale.

Sensory systems and spatial memory in the fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus

The megachiropteran fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus is able to orient and navigate using both vision and echolocation. These two sensory systems have different environmental constraints however, echolocation being relatively short range when compared with vision. Despite this difference, an experiment testing their memory of a perch location demonstrates that once the location of a perch is learned R. aegyptiacus is not influenced by the movement of local landmark cues in the vicinity of the perch under either light or dark conditions. Thus despite the differing constraints of vision and echolocation, this suggests a place is remembered as a location in space and not by associations with landmarks in the vicinity. A decrease in initial performance when the task was repeated in the dark suggested the possibility that a memory of a location learned using vision does not generalize to echolocation.

Task prioritization in aging: effects of sensory information on concurrent posture and memory performance

In older adults, cognitive resources play a key role in maintaining postural stability. In the present study, we evaluated whether increasing postural instability using sway referencing induces changes in resource allocation in dual-task performance leading older adults to prioritize the more age-salient posture task over a cognitive task. Young and older adults participated in the study which comprised two sessions. In the first session, three posture tasks (stable, sway reference visual, sway reference somatosensory) and a working memory task (n-back) were examined. In the second session, single- and dual-task performance of posture and memory were assessed. Postural stability improved with session. Participants were more unstable in the sway reference conditions, and pronounced age differences were observed in the somatosensory sway reference condition. In dual-task performance on the stable surface, older adults showed an almost 40% increase in instability compared to single-task. However, in the sway reference somatosensory condition, stability was the same in single- and dual-task performance, whereas pronounced (15%) costs emerged for cognition. These results show that during dual-tasking while standing on a stable surface, older adults have the flexibility to allow an increase in instability to accommodate cognitive task performance. However, when instability increases by means of compromising somatosensory information, levels of postural control are kept similar in single- and dual-task, by utilizing resources otherwise allocated to the cognitive task. This evidence emphasizes the flexible nature of resource allocation, developed over the life-span to compensate for age-related decline in sensorimotor and cognitive processing.

Working Memory and Postural Control: Adult Age Differences in Potential for Improvement, Task Priority, and Dual Tasking

We investigate dynamic posture control and working memory (NBack) retest practice in young and older adults, focusing on older adults' potential for improvement in the component tasks but more importantly in dual-task performance. Participants performed the 2 tasks in 11 sessions under single- and dual-task conditions. Posture improvement was observed with retest practice for both groups. Increase in cognitive load after initial practice led to greater dual-task costs in both tasks in older adults and higher costs in memory in young adults. With continued practice, costs were reduced by both groups; however, the 2 groups focused improvement on different tasks: Older adults focused on posture but young adults on cognition. These results emphasize older adults' potential for improvement in dual-task performance and their flexibility to utilize the practice gains in posture to optimize cognitive performance.

Does first aid have a place in the medical curriculum? A survey of medical students

Introduction: When a medical emergency occurs in the prehospital environment, there is an expectation from the general public for medical students to offer assistance with a similar level of competence as qualified doctors. However, the question is raised; do medical students have sufficient training in first aid skills to fulfil the role expected of them?

Prior to the publication of the latest version of Tomorrow’s Doctors by the UK General Medical Council, a student selected component (SSC) in first aid was delivered at the medical school in Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), Northern Ireland. The overwhelming popularity of this SSC prompted a desire to investigate and understand students’ experiences of first aid.

Aim: To identify first and second year medical students’ knowledge of, and attitudes towards, first aid and their expectations of the medical curriculum.

Methods: A questionnaire was delivered using TurningPoint Audience Response System® during the second semester of the 2008 - 2009 academic year to all first and second year medical students at QUB.

Results: Less than half of the students felt that they had a good level of first aid knowledge, a third would feel confident helping in an emergency and only 10% would be confident leading an emergency situation. The vast majority of students believed first aid is beneficial, that the general public expect medical students to have the knowledge to handle an emergency situation, and that a full first aid course should be included in the core medical curriculum at an early stage. They did not believe it should be a pre-requisite for medical school.

Conclusion: Only a small proportion believed their first aid knowledge adequate. An overwhelming proportion believed that first aid training is beneficial and that the public expect competency in managing emergencies. This study clearly demonstrates students’ need and desire for first aid training in the core medical curriculum at an early stage and to the highest training level possible.

Fetal memory: Does it exist? what does it do?

Whether fetal memory exists has attracted interest for many thousands of years. The following review draws on recent experimental evidence to consider two questions: does the fetus have a memory? And, if so, what function(s) does it serve? Evidence from fetal learning paradigms of classical conditioning, habituation and exposure learning reveal that the fetus does have a memory. By comparison little attention has been paid to the possible function of memory. Possible functions discussed are: practice, recognition of and attachment to the mother, promotion of breastfeeding, and language acquisition. It is concluded that the fetus does possess a memory but that more attention to the functions of fetal memory will guide future studies of fetal memory abilities.