Maximum confidence quantum measurements

We consider the problem of discriminating between states of a specified set with maximum confidence. For a set of linearly independent states unambiguous discrimination is possible if we allow for the possibility of an inconclusive result. For linearly dependent sets an analogous measurement is one which allows us to be as confident as possible that when a given state is identified on the basis of the measurement result, it is indeed the correct state.     

Megavariate Analysis of Environmental QSAR Data. Part II – Investigating Very Complex Problem Formulations Using Hierarchical, Non-Linear and Batch-Wise Extensions of PCA and PLS

Summary Three extensions of the basic PCA and PLS methodologies are described. These extensions are hierarchical, non-linear and batch-based in nature. The objectives of these methods are to assist in problem understanding and problem solving in very complex (QSAR) problem formulations. The method extensions are illustrated using two example QSAR data sets containing many X- and Y-variables.     

Controlled hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanostructures by sequestering the Zn metal ions with the chelating agent EDTA

In the present work, a controlled growth of ZnO nanostructures by manipulating Zn metal ion concentration by the chelating action of ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid in hydrothermal method is studied. EDTA produces metal–chelate complex by the formation of bidentate ligand with Zn²⁺ in the solution and diminishes the reactivity of Zn metal cations. Concentration of EDTA in the mother solution was varied in different ranges like 3, 5 and 10 mM while retaining the zinc metal salt and the NaOH concentration the same. Three different morphologies of wurtzite structured ZnO nanostructures such as nanorods-bunch, separate/discrete uniformly sized hexagonal nanorods and tapered flower petals like shapes are achieved by 3, 5 and 10 mM strengths of EDTA, respectively. The medium concentration 5 mM of EDTA is found to have moderate control over producing ZnO nanostructures of uniform diameter and a high aspect (length to diameter) ratio. An array of vertically aligned free standing ZnO nanorods with uniform spacing is successfully achieved by the addition of 5 mM of EDTA in the mother solution and the same is studied for its fluorescence property at an excitation of 325 nm and it has exhibited a characteristic UV emission of ZnO around 383 nm.     

On the effects of gating in diffusion imaging of the brain using single shot EPI.

To reduce image artifacts in diffusion tensor imaging using single shot EPI, cardiac gating may be performed to prevent brain motion induced signal void in the DWI data. In this work the necessity of performing cardiac gating with single shot echo planar imaging has been explored using F statistics of the variance in DWI data. Peripheral measurement of the cardiac cycle has been employed because of its greater convenience, and hence use, compared to ECG gating. Four volunteers have been studied. Six different trigger delays have been evaluated in the range 18-500 ms relative the peripheral pulse wave. Brain motion was found significant in and inferior to the corpus callosum area. A trigger delay of 500 ms was found to be optimal. However, a long delay allows only for one slice per R-R interval. Therefore, a minimum trigger delay may be the best choice in terms of SNR per unit of experiment time.     

High sensitivity gas spectroscopy of porous, highly scattering solids

We present minimalistic and cost-efficient instrumentation employing tunable diode laser gas spectroscopy for the characterization of porous and highly scattering solids. The sensitivity reaches 3 x 10(-6) (absorption fraction), and the improvement with respect to previous work in this field is a factor of 10. We also provide the first characterization of the interference phenomenon encountered in high-resolution spectroscopy of turbid samples. Revealing that severe optical interference originates from the samples, we discuss important implications for system design. In addition, we introduce tracking coils and sample rotation as new and efficient tools for interference suppression. The great value of the approach is illustrated in an application addressing structural properties of pharmaceutical materials.     

Decision support tools for ambulance dispatch and relocation

In this paper, the development of decision support tools for dynamic ambulance relocation and automatic ambulance dispatching is described. The ambulance dispatch problem is to choose which ambulance to send to a patient. The dynamic ambulance relocation problem occurs in the operational control of ambulances. The objective is to find new locations for some of the ambulances, to increase the preparedness in the area of responsibility. Preparedness is a way of evaluating the ability to serve potential patients with ambulances now and in the future. Computational tests using a simulation model show that the tools are beneficial in reducing the waiting periods for the patients.     

Ionic conductivity in three crystalline phases of LiBH4 under pressure

The AC electrical conductivity of LiBH₄ was investigated below 2 GPa between 1 Hz and 1.6 MHz. The high-temperature phase has an ionic conductivity of up to 0.01 S cm^?1, while the low-temperature phases have conductivities two orders of magnitude lower. All phases show an Arrhenius behaviour with activation energies E _a between 0.5 and 0.7 eV, in good agreement with earlier data except for phase III, which is found to have the highest activation energy of the phases studied. The high-temperature phase has a minimum in E _a near 1 GPa, close to the triple point, correlated with a sudden change in activation volume. These features may indicate an isostructural phase transition. The conductivities of the ambient temperature phases increase temporarily by an order of magnitude after transitions between these phases, probably due to new diffusion channels via structural defects. The phase diagram agrees well with earlier results.     

Resonances in Three-Body Systems Studied by a Full Angular-Momentum, Smooth-Exterior Complex-Scaling Finite-Element Method

 The development of a tool for calculating resonances and bound states in three-body systems described by a single-potential energy surface is reported. The method has been applied to the antiprotonic helium, doubly excited states in helium, the ¹¹Li nuclear halo, the NeICl van der Waals molecule, and the recently found FHD reaction complex. Received November 26, 2001; accepted for publication November 28, 2001     

Functional calculus for non-commuting operators with real spectra via an iterated Cauchy formula

We define a smooth functional calculus for a non-commuting tuple of (unbounded) operators A_j on a Banach space with real spectra and resolvents with temperate growth, by means of an iterated Cauchy formula. The construction is also extended to tuples of more general operators allowing smooth functional calculii. We also discuss the relation to the case with commuting operators.     

An α/β-HSQC-α/β Experiment for Spin-State Selective Editing of IS Cross Peaks

A generalized version of the TROSY experiment allows the spin-state selective editing of the four multiplet components of¹⁵N–¹H cross peaks of amide groups in proteins into four different subspectra, with no penalty in sensitivity. An improvement by in sensitivity results, if only two of the four multiplet components are selected. Use of the experiment for the measurement of¹J_HNcoupling constants is discussed. A water flip-back version of the experiment is demonstrated with a 45 kDa fragment of¹⁵N/²H labeledStaphylococcus aureusgyrase B.