Quantum computing with spin qubits in semiconductor structures

We survey recent work on designing and evaluating quantum computing implementations based on nuclear or bound-electron spins in semiconductor heterostructures at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields. General overview is followed by a summary of results of our theoretical calculations of decoherence time scales and spin-spin interactions. The latter were carried out for systems for which the two-dimensional electron gas provides the dominant carrier for spin dynamics via exchange of spin-excitons in the integer quantum Hall regime.     

Using artificial neural networks to detect unknown computer worms

Detecting computer worms is a highly challenging task. We present a new approach that uses artificial neural networks (ANN) to detect the presence of computer worms based on measurements of computer behavior. We compare ANN to three other classification methods and show the advantages of ANN for detection of known worms. We then proceed to evaluate ANN’s ability to detect the presence of an unknown worm. As the measurement of a large number of system features may require significant computational resources, we evaluate three feature selection techniques. We show that, using only five features, one can detect an unknown worm with an average accuracy of 90%. We use a causal index analysis of our trained ANN to identify rules that explain the relationships between the selected features and the identity of each worm. Finally, we discuss the possible application of our approach to host-based intrusion detection systems.     

Online variance minimization

We consider the following type of online variance minimization problem: In every trial t our algorithms get a covariance matrix C ^t and try to select a parameter vector w ^t−1 such that the total variance over a sequence of trials ?_t=1^T (w^t-1)^T C^tw^t-1\sum_{t=1}^{T} (\boldsymbol {w}^{t-1})^{\top} \boldsymbol {C}^{t}\boldsymbol {w}^{t-1} is not much larger than the total variance of the best parameter vector u chosen in hindsight. Two parameter spaces in ℝ ⁿ are considered—the probability simplex and the unit sphere. The first space is associated with the problem of minimizing risk in stock portfolios and the second space leads to an online calculation of the eigenvector with minimum eigenvalue of the total covariance matrix ?_t=1^T C^t\sum_{t=1}^{T} \boldsymbol {C}^{t}. For the first parameter space we apply the Exponentiated Gradient algorithm which is motivated with a relative entropy regularization. In the second case, the algorithm has to maintain uncertainty information over all unit directions u. For this purpose, directions are represented as dyads uu ^⊤ and the uncertainty over all directions as a mixture of dyads which is a density matrix. The motivating divergence for density matrices is the quantum version of the relative entropy and the resulting algorithm is a special case of the Matrix Exponentiated Gradient algorithm. In each of the two cases we prove bounds on the additional total variance incurred by the online algorithm over the best offline parameter.     

Balanced timed regular expressions

Several classes of regular expressions for timed languages accepted by timed automata have been suggested in the literature. In this article we introduce balanced timed regular expressions with colored parentheses which are equivalent to timed automata, and, differently from existing definitions, do not refer to clock values, and do not use additional operations such as intersection and renaming.     

Molecularly imprinted poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐acrylic acid) matrix with sclareol

There are presented results regarding a new set of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) based on acrylonitrile:acrylic acid (AN:AA) copolymer matrix. As template, it was used sclareol, an important anticancer bioactive compound, never used before for molecular imprinting. An emerging and insufficient studied MIP preparation method, namely the phase inversion, was used to prepare 0.8 mm spherical sclareol MIPs (S‐MIPs). Three AN:AA copolymers, having the initial monomer ratios 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30, were synthesized by radical copolymerization in emulsion, without emulsifier. After that, each copolymer was dissolved in the presence of the template (sclareol) in dimethylformamide. The imprinting and the morphology of these new materials were analyzed by rheology, elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, batch rebinding tests, and Scatchard analysis. The conclusion was that the AN:AA‐80:20 matrix proved to be the optimized solution between high rigidity (given by the AN segments) and high affinity for the template (given by AA segments), the average imprinting factor for this system being 2.67. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1484–1494, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Bioavailability of nutraceuticals: Role of the food matrix,processing conditions,the gastrointestinal tract,and nanodelivery systems

Nowadays, many consumers prefer foods with a high content of nutraceuticals that contribute to the prevention or healing of chronic diseases. Therefore, in recent years, more and more researchers have studied the bioefficiency, safety, and toxicity of nutraceutical‐enriched foods. The key stage of nutraceutical bioefficiency is oral bioavailability, which involves the following processes: the release of nutraceuticals from food matrices or nanocarriers in gastrointestinal fluids, the solubilization of nutraceuticals and their interaction with other components of gastrointestinal fluids, the absorption of nutraceuticals by the epithelial layer, and the chemical and biochemical transformations into epithelial cells. These processes are endogenous factors that greatly influence the bioavailability of nutraceuticals. In addition to endogenous factors, the bioavailability of nutraceuticals is also affected by exogenous factors, such as: physicochemical properties of nutraceuticals, food matrix, food processing and storage, and so forth. Both the endogenous and exogenous factors are comprehensively analyzed in this review. Thus, the physicochemical and enzymatic processes involved in food digestion are described, highlighting the role of each stage of gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, and intestine) in nutraceuticals bioaccessibility. The structure and functions of the mucus and epithelial layers, the mechanisms involved in the active and passive transport of nutraceuticals through the cell membrane, and phase I and phase II metabolism reactions are also discussed. Finally, this review focuses on several types of bioactive‐loaded nanocarriers such as lipid‐based, surfactant‐based, and biopolymeric nanocarriers that improve the bioavailability of nutraceuticals.     

Bistable hybrids in sol–gel technology for switching devices

Development of memories based on organic soft materials is a current industrial niche aimed at the upper contacts flash memories. The electrical bistability of such materials makes them ideal candidates for cost-effective, fast-programming switching devices. Hybrid thin films of SiO₂ with Rose Bengal (bis-triethylammonium) dopant are here reported for the first time, together with their characterisations. Technology-wise the main advantage of the films is the possibility to cast photolithographically, which is also cost-effective. The physical and chemical stability of the films yields reproducible devices, from both the microtechnological and electrical point of view.     

Equilibrium and kinetic isotherms and parameters for molecularly imprinted with sclareol poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐acrylic acid) matrix

The present work continues the previous studies concerning the synthesis and characterization of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with sclareol as template and three poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐acrylic acid) (AN:AA) copolymers with different ratios between monomers as matrices. The previous studies of rheology, elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, batch rebinding tests, and Scatchard analysis, which confirmed the molecular imprinting, are being completed with the current equilibrium and kinetic adsorption studies. For this purpose, eight adsorption isotherms and three kinetic adsorption models were applied to six sets of experimental data obtained after three sclareol‐imprinted adsorbents (MIPs) and three nonimprinted adsorbents (NIPs) were submitted to batch adsorption experiments. After ordering the adsorption models according to the “minimum sum of normalized errors (SNE)” criteria, it was concluded that the adsorption in sclareol imprinted AN:AA copolymers is characterized by low surface coverage, takes place on heterogeneous binding sites and is reversible, while for NIPs the results suggest a difficult adsorption and/or easiness of template extraction, and that NIPs have homogeneous, but nonimprinted micropores. For the kinetic experiments, the minimum SNE for MIPs points to the first order kinetic model, fact that suggests a physical adsorption of template molecules on the imprinted sites. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1152–1162, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers