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.

Local Conentration of Waves due to Abrupt Alongshore Variation of Nearshore Bathymetry

Small-scale physical and numerical experiments were conducted to investigate the local concentration of waves (monochromatic and group) due to abrupt change of nearshore bathymetry in alongshore direction. Wave run-up motions along the shoreline were measured using an image analysis technique to compare localized concentration of wave energy, when waves propagate a over bathymetry composing rhythmic patterns of mild/steep slope bottom configurations. Measured alongshore variation of maximum wave run-up heights showed significant peak near the boundary, which has sudden alongshore change of depth, both under monochromatic and group wave trains. This phenomenon is found to be due to interaction of waves with neashore currents, which is further enhanced by excitation of long wave components by breaking of group waves. Furthermore, this paper discusses results of preliminary experiments carried out to test the effectiveness of several shore protection structure layouts in mitigating such wave concentrations. Numerical simulations were performed by using a model developed based on Nwogu (1993) Boussinesq-type equations; coupled with a transport equation to model energy dissipation due to wave breaking.

Investigating the mechanism of the H 2-assisted selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with octane using fast cycling transient in situ DRIFTS-MS analysis

A mechanistic study of the H-2-assisted Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NOx with octane as reductant over a Ag/Al2O3 catalyst was carried out using a modified DRIFTS cell coupled to a mass spectrometer Using fast transient cycling switching of H-2 with a time resolution of a few seconds It was possible to differentiate potential reaction intermediates from other moieties that are clearly spectator species Using such a periodic operation mode effects were uncovered that are normally hidden in conventional transient studies which typically consist of a single transient In experiments based on a single transient addition of H-2 to or removal of H-2 from the SCR feed it was found that the changes in the concentrations of gaseous species (products and reactants) were not matched by changes at comparable timescales of the concentration of surface species observed by IR This observation indicates that the majority of sur face species observed by DRIFTS under steady-state reaction conditions are spectators In contrast under fast cycling experimental conditions It was found that a surface isocyanate species had a temporal response that matched that of N-15(2) This suggests that some of the isocyanate species observed by infrared spectroscopy could be important intermediates in the hydrogen-assisted SCR reaction although it is emphasised that this may be dependent on the way in which the infrared spectra are obtained It is concluded that the use of fast transient cycling switching techniques may provide useful mechanistic information under certain circumstances.

New Wave Italian Style

An investigation of the long controversy around the definition of an Italian New Wave cinema of the 1960s, this essay engages (and takes issue) with the reasons behind the critics’ reluctance to recognise its existence. After establishing a theoretical and historical framework for a transnational under- standing of the phenomenon of the European and World New Waves, it offers a reasoned analysis of the multiple industrial and artistic attempts at a generational renewal of Italian cinema that were made in Italy during the 1960s. Ultimately, the essay suggests that it would not only be appropriate, but also highly productive to reconsider the vibrant and heterogeneous young Italian cinema of the 1960s under the generational and transnational New Wave label, instead of continuing to approach the decade exclusively in the light of Neorealism.

The repertoire of G protein-coupled receptors in the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni and the model organism Schmidtea mediterranea.

Background

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute one of the largest groupings of eukaryotic proteins, and represent a particularly lucrative set of pharmaceutical targets. They play an important role in eukaryotic signal transduction and physiology, mediating cellular responses to a diverse range of extracellular stimuli. The phylum Platyhelminthes is of considerable medical and biological importance, housing major pathogens as well as established model organisms. The recent availability of genomic data for the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni and the model planarian Schmidtea mediterranea paves the way for the first comprehensive effort to identify and analyze GPCRs in this important phylum.

Results

Application of a novel transmembrane-oriented approach to receptor mining led to the discovery of 117 S. mansoni GPCRs, representing all of the major families; 105 Rhodopsin, 2 Glutamate, 3 Adhesion, 2 Secretin and 5 Frizzled. Similarly, 418 Rhodopsin, 9 Glutamate, 21 Adhesion, 1 Secretin and 11 Frizzled S. mediterranea receptors were identified. Among these, we report the identification of novel receptor groupings, including a large and highly-diverged Platyhelminth-specific Rhodopsin subfamily, a planarian-specific Adhesion-like family, and atypical Glutamate-like receptors. Phylogenetic analysis was carried out following extensive gene curation. Support vector machines (SVMs) were trained and used for ligand-based classification of full-length Rhodopsin GPCRs, complementing phylogenetic and homology-based classification.

Conclusions

Genome-wide investigation of GPCRs in two platyhelminth genomes reveals an extensive and complex receptor signaling repertoire with many unique features. This work provides important sequence and functional leads for understanding basic flatworm receptor biology, and sheds light on a lucrative set of anthelmintic drug targets.

Travelling wave chirped pulse amplified transient pumping for collisional excitation lasers

A similar to 3 ps travelling wave chirped pulse amplified pulse at 6 x 10(14) W cm(-2) superimposed on similar to 300 ps background pulses is shown to be an efficient method to pump transient collisional excitation X-ray lasers in both Ni-like and Ne-like ions. Measurements of X-ray laser output as a function of plasma length are fitted with results of an amplified spontaneous emission model of the laser output taking account of travelling wave pumping effects. A small signal gain coefficient similar to 42 cm(-1) and a effective gain length product of similar to 18 are measured for the Ni-like Sn laser at 120 Angstrom. Simulations from a hydrodynamic and atomic physics code (EHYBRID) coupled to a ray trace code show that a spatially averaged small signal gain similar to 65 cm(-1) can be obtained in Ne-like Ge provided the optimum pumping pulse arrangement is used. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of a method for the confirmation of nicarbazin in chicken liver and eggs using LC-electrospray MS-MS according to the revised EU criteria for veterinary drug residue analysis

A method is described for the quantitative confirmation of 4,4'-dinitrocarbanilide (DNC), the marker residue for nicarbazin in chicken liver and eggs. The method is based on LC coupled to negative ion electrospray MS-MS of tissue extracts prepared by liquid-liquid extraction. The [M-H](-) ion at m/z 301 is monitored along with two transition ions at m/z 137 and 107 for DNC and the [M-H](-) ion at m/z 309 for the internal standard, d(8)-DNC. The method has been validated according to the new EU criteria for the analysis of veterinary drug residues at 100, 200 and 300 mug kg(-1) in liver and at 10, 30 and 100 mug kg(-1) in eggs. Difficulties concerning the application of the new analytical limits, namely the decision limit (CC) and the detection capability (CC) to the determination of DNC in both liver and eggs are discussed.

Confined site construction: An empirical analysis of factors impacting health and safety management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify, clarify and tabulate the various managerial issues encountered, to aid in the management of the complex health and safety concerns which occur within a confined construction site environment.

Design/methodology/approach – This is achieved through conducting extensive qualitative and qualitative research in the form of case studies, interviews and questionnaire survey.

Findings – The leading managerial issues in the management of health and safety on a confined construction site are found to be: “Difficulty to move materials around site safely”; “Lack of adequate room for the effective handling of materials”; “Difficulty in ensuring site is tidy and all plant and materials are stored safely”; “Close proximity of individuals to operation of large plant and machinery”; and joint fifth “Difficulty in ensuring proper arrangement and collection of waste materials on-site” along with “Difficulty in controlling hazardous materials and equipment on site”.

Practical implications – The resulting implication for practice of these results can be summarised by identifying that with sustained development of urban centres on a global scale, coupled with the increasing complexity of architectural designs, the majority of on-site project management professionals are faced with the onerous task of completing often intricate designs within a limited spatial environment, under strict health and safety parameters.

Originality/value – The subsequent value of the findings are such that just as on-site management professionals successfully identify the various managerial issues highlighted, the successful management of health and safety on a confined construction site is attainable.

Wavelet analysis of bender element signals

Accurate determination of shear wave arrival time using bender elements may be severely affected by a combination of near-field effects and reflected waves. These may mask the first arrival of the shear wave, making its detection difficult in the time domain. This paper describes an approach for measuring the shear wave arrival time through analysis of the output signal in the time-scale domain using a multi-scale wavelet transform. The local maxima lines of the wavelet transform modulus are observed at different scales, and all singularities are mathematically characterised, allowing subsequent detection of the singularity relating to the first arrival. Examples of the use of this approach on typical synthetic and experimental bender element signals are also supplied, and these results are compared with those from other time and frequency domain approaches. The wavelet approach is not affected by near-field effects, but instead is characterised by a relatively consistent singularity related to the shear wave arrival time, across a range of frequencies and noise levels.

A whole-genome massively parallel sequencing analysis of BRCA1 mutant oestrogen receptor-negative and -positive breast cancers

BRCA1 encodes a tumour suppressor protein that plays pivotal roles in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair, cell-cycle checkpoints, and transcriptional regulation. BRCA1 germline mutations confer a high risk of early-onset breast and ovarian cancer. In more than 80% of cases, tumours arising in BRCA1 germline mutation carriers are oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative; however, up to 15% are ER-positive. It has been suggested that BRCA1 ER-positive breast cancers constitute sporadic cancers arising in the context of a BRCA1 germline mutation rather than being causally related to BRCA1 loss-of-function. Whole-genome massively parallel sequencing of ER-positive and ER-negative BRCA1 breast cancers, and their respective germline DNAs, was used to characterize the genetic landscape of BRCA1 cancers at base-pair resolution. Only BRCA1 germline mutations, somatic loss of the wild-type allele, and TP53 somatic mutations were recurrently found in the index cases. BRCA1 breast cancers displayed a mutational signature consistent with that caused by lack of HR DNA repair in both ER-positive and ER-negative cases. Sequencing analysis of independent cohorts of hereditary BRCA1 and sporadic non-BRCA1 breast cancers for the presence of recurrent pathogenic mutations and/or homozygous deletions found in the index cases revealed that DAPK3, TMEM135, KIAA1797, PDE4D, and GATA4 are potential additional drivers of breast cancers. This study demonstrates that BRCA1 pathogenic germline mutations coupled with somatic loss of the wild-type allele are not sufficient for hereditary breast cancers to display an ER-negative phenotype, and has led to the identification of three potential novel breast cancer genes (ie DAPK3, TMEM135, and GATA4).

Income, deprivation, and economic strain. An analysis of the European community household panel

This paper is concerned with the relationship between household income and life-style deprivation, and their combined impact on households' perceptions of economic strain. It takes as a point of departure findings from a number of European countries showing that the relationship between income and deprivation is weaker than widely assumed and that relative income poverty lines may perform poorly in terms of identifying the most deprived households. It proceeds to examine how far these conclusions about income and deprivation can be generalized to the countries included in the first wave of the European Community Household Panel. Results show that five distinct dimensions of deprivation emerge from an overall European analysis and that these are consistent across individual countries. While a good deal of similarity is observed in the income-deprivation relationship, countries differ in the strength of relationship between income and what is termed 'current liferstyle deprivation' with the relationship being generally weakest in the richer countries. The implications of these findings for the use of relative income poverty lines are developed. Extending this analysis to an assessment of how income and deprivation combine to influence perceptions of economic strain, we show that within-nation reference group processes operating in a uniform manner across countries can account for the bulk of the variation in strain. Cross-national differences can be accounted for by corresponding variation in income and deprivation levels.

Design technique for mm-wave IC realization of the load network of switched-mode class-EF power amplifier

Analysis and synthesis of the new Class-EF power amplifier (PA) are presented in this paper. The proposed circuit offers means to alleviate some of the major issues faced by existing Class-EF and Class-EF PAs, such as (1) substantial power losses due to parasitic resistance of the large inductor in the Class-EF load network, (2) unpredictable behaviour of practical lumped inductors and capacitors at harmonic frequencies, and (3) deviation from ideal Class-EF operation mode due to detrimental effects of device output inductance at high frequencies. The transmission-line load network of the Class-EF PA topology elaborated in this paper simultaneously satisfies the Class-EF optimum impedance requirements at fundamental frequency, second, and third harmonics as well as simultaneously providing matching to the circuit optimum load resistance for any prescribed system load resistance. Furthermore, an elegant solution using an open and short-circuit stub arrangement is suggested to overcome the problem encountered in the mm-wave IC realizations of the Class-EF PA load network due to lossy quarter-wave line. © 2010 IEICE Institute of Electronics Informati.

Millimetre-wave broadband wireless systems and enabling MMIC technologies

Chapter eleven on Mm-wave broadband wireless systems and enabling MMIC technologies, is contributed by Jian Zhang, Mury Thian, Guochi Huang, George Goussetis and Vincent F. Fusco, from Queen's University Belfast, UK. Millimeter wave bands provide large available bandwidths for high data rate wireless communication systems, which are envisaged to shift data throughput well in the GBps range. This capability has over past few years driven rapid developments in the technology underpinning broadband wireless systems as well as in the standardisation activity from various non-governmental consortia and the band allocation from spectrum regulators globally. This chapter provides an overview of the recent developments on V-band broadband wireless systems with the emphasis placed on enabling MMIC technologies. An overview of the key applications and available standards is presented. System-level architectures for broadband wireless applications are being reviewed. Examples of analysis, design and testing on MMIC components in SiGe BiCMOS are presented and the outlook of the technology is discussed.

Superluminal electromagnetic solitary waves in electron-positron plasmas

The propagation of an electromagnetic wave packet in an electron-positron plasma, in the form of coupled localized electromagnetic excitations, is investigated, from first principles. By means of the Poincare section method, a special class of superluminal localized nonlinear stationary solutions, existing along a separatrix curve, are proposed as intrinsic electromagnetic modes in a relativistic electron-positron plasma. The ratio of the envelope time scale to the carrier wave time scale of these envelope solitary waves critically depends on the carrier's phase velocity. In the strongly superluminal regime, v(ph)/c >> 1, the large difference between the envelope and carrier time scales enables us to carry out a multiscale perturbative analysis resulting in an analytical form of the solution envelope. The analytical prediction thus obtained is shown to be in agreement with the solution obtained via a direct numerical integration. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2012

Next generation planar waveguide detection of microcystins in freshwater and cyanobacterial extracts, utilising a novel lysis method for portable sample preparation and analysis

The study details the development of a fully validated, rapid and portable sensor based method for the on-site analysis of microcystins in freshwater samples. The process employs a novel lysis method for the mechanical lysis of cyanobacterial cells, with glass beads and a handheld frother in only 10min. The assay utilises an innovative planar waveguide device that, via an evanescent wave excites fluorescent probes, for amplification of signal in a competitive immunoassay, using an anti-microcystin monoclonal with cross-reactivity against the most common, and toxic variants. Validation of the assay showed the limit of detection (LOD) to be 0.78ngmL and the CCß to be 1ngmL. Robustness of the assay was demonstrated by intra- and inter-assay testing. Intra-assay analysis had % C.V.s between 8 and 26% and recoveries between 73 and 101%, with inter-assay analysis demonstrating % C.V.s between 5 and 14% and recoveries between 78 and 91%. Comparison with LC-MS/MS showed a high correlation (R=0.9954) between the calculated concentrations of 5 different Microcystis aeruginosa cultures for total microcystin content. Total microcystin content was ascertained by the individual measurement of free and cell-bound microcystins. Free microcystins can be measured to 1ngmL, and with a 10-fold concentration step in the intracellular microcystin protocol (which brings the sample within the range of the calibration curve), intracellular pools may be determined to 0.1ngmL. This allows the determination of microcystins at and below the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline value of 1µgL. This sensor represents a major advancement in portable analysis capabilities and has the potential for numerous other applications.