格但斯克大学

Fluctuation theorems, such as the Jarzynski equality and the Crooks relation, are effective tools connecting non-equilibrium work statistics and equilibrium free energy differences. However, detailed hands-on, reproducible protocols for implementing and analyzing these relations in real experiments remain scarce. This tutorial provides an end-to-end workflow for measuring, validating, and applying fluctuation theorems using a single-beam optical tweezers setup. It introduces the foundational ideas and consolidates practical calibration (PSD-based trap stiffness and position sensitivity), protocol design (forward/reverse finite-time drives over multiple amplitudes and durations), and robust estimators for free-energy difference and dissipated work, highlighting finite-sampling and rare-event effects. We demonstrate the procedures using an extensive set of measured trajectories under different conditions and provide openly accessible datasets and Python code, enabling new researchers or educators to reproduce the results with minimal effort. Beyond pedagogical validation, we discuss how these recipes translate to broader soft-matter and mesoscopic contexts. By combining user-friendly instruments with clear and transparent analysis, this work promotes the education and reliable adoption of stochastic thermodynamic methods in the curricula of physics and chemistry, as well as among emerging research teams.

There has been a recent surge of interest within the field of quantum foundations regarding incorporating ideas from general relativity and quantum gravity. However, many quantum information tools remain agnostic to the underlying spacetime. For instance, whenever we draw a quantum circuit the effective spacetime imposed by the connectivity of the physical qubits which will realize this circuit is not taken into account. In this work, we aim to address this limitation by extending the framework of process theories to include a background spacetime structure. We introduce the notion of process implementations, i.e., decompositions of a process. A process is then embeddable if and only if one of its implementations can be embedded in such a way that all the component processes are localized and all wires follow timelike paths. While conceptually simple, checking for embeddability is generally computationally intractable. We therefore work towards simplifying this problem as much as possible, identifying a canonical subset of implementations that determine both the embeddability of a process and the causal structures distinguishable at least in some process theory. Notably, we discover countably infinite ''zigzag'' causal structures beyond those typically considered. While these can be ignored in classical theory, they seem to be essential in quantum theory, as the quantum CNOT gate can be implemented by all zigzag structures but not in a standard causal structure, except in the trivial undecomposed way. These zigzags could be significant for quantum causal modeling and the study of novel quantum resources.

Postmenopause is characterized by a permanent decline in estrogen levels, effecting various tissues and contributing to systemic aging. Reduced hormonal levels negatively impact vaginal health, leading to tissue atrophy, which can be alleviated with topical estrogen therapies. This study aimed to assess the effects of menopausal hormone deficiencies on DNA methylation in vaginal tissue and swabs, compared to buccal swabs, and evaluate the impact of local estrogen therapy on these changes. Samples from 126 women were categorized into three groups: premenopausal, postmenopausal without local estrogen therapy, and postmenopausal with local estrogen therapy. Postmenopausal women with urogenital atrophy exhibited elevated cytosine methylation (5-mC) compared to premenopausal women, whereas those receiving local estrogen therapy had 5-mC levels similar to premenopausal women. Additionally, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) levels, a marker of demethylation, was also higher in the estrogen-treated group. The 5-mC/5-hmC ratio was notably elevated in women with urogenital atrophy. Significant differences in DNA methylation dynamics were observed in vaginal samples but not in buccal swabs among postmenopausal groups. Menopausal hormonal deficiencies lead to epigenetic changes in vaginal tissue, particularly increased cytosine methylation. Local estrogen therapy can mitigate these changes, providing insights into aging processes. Analyzing DNA methylation in vaginal swabs may serve as a non-invasive tool for monitoring age-related changes and assessing therapeutic efficacy. Further research is needed to understand these epigenetic modifications and their clinical implications.

The present article focused on the psychometric evaluation of the Polish version of the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory-Revised (ESI-R), a measure of a five-dimensional model of spirituality that has been studied in multiple cultures. Using a large Polish adult sample (N = 2,002), we examined the reliability and factorial, criterion, and convergent validity of the test. Results provide evidence of satisfactory item- and scale-level reliability for all five ESI-R dimensions. Strong support for the criterion validity and factorial validity of the instrument was also found. Convergent validity as manifested in correlations with conceptually similar measures was supported for four of the five ESI-R dimensions. While there were a couple of points of divergence, findings from the present investigation largely replicate and extend upon results reported in other cultural contexts and provide evidence supporting the possibility that spirituality research may be generalizable across cultures. The paper ends with a discussion of meaning and implications of the findings for theory development, testing, and future research.

This article argues that the best remedy for the structural flaws of law (its unavoidable generality and its vulnerability to manipulation) is judicial practical wisdom (phronesis), understood both as an individual virtue and as an institutional quality. To illustrate this idea, the article refers to Lon L. Fuller’s “grudge informer” thought experiment and to Poland’s post-1989 lustration process, where conflicts between the letter and the spirit of the law revealed the danger of arbitrariness. The discussion then introduces virtue jurisprudence and reconstructs the ideal of phronesis as the quality judges need to deliver substantively just decisions. This ideal involves reflexivity and self-awareness, moral perception and imagination, empathy guided by reason, emotional self-control, and moral depth. The critical section addresses three common objections to a wisdom-based model of adjudication: first, that tacit moral judgment cannot be adequately communicated; second, that it encourages moral elitism; and third, that it leads to juristocracy, understood as law without rules. The article argues that these concerns can be mitigated by linking individual phronesis to its collective form. Drawing on Kristján Kristjánsson’s account of collective phronesis, it shows that the ethos of the judicial community—its body of precedents, standards of justification, practices of mutual critique, and moral exemplars—does not replace individual phronesis but rather strengthens, refines, and legitimizes it. The article concludes that grounding judicial wisdom in both the individual and the community strengthens the integration of the law’s letter and spirit, thereby us improving the quality and public legitimacy of adjudication.