Quantum error correction via robust probe modes

We propose a new scheme for quantum error correction using robust continuous variable probe modes, rather than fragile ancilla qubits, to detect errors without destroying data qubits. The use of such probe modes reduces the required number of expensive qubits in error correction and allows efficient encoding, error detection and error correction. Moreover, the elimination of the need for direct qubit interactions significantly simplifies the construction of quantum circuits. We will illustrate how the approach implements three existing quantum error correcting codes: the 3-qubit bit-flip (phase-flip) code, the Shor code, and an erasure code.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Common lizards break Dollo’s law of irreversibility: genome-wide phylogenomics support a single origin of viviparity and re-evolution of oviparity

Dollo’s law of irreversibility states that once a complex trait has been lost in evolution, it cannot be regained. It is thought that complex epistatic interactions and developmental constraints impede the re-emergence of such a trait. Oviparous reproduction (egg-laying) requires the formation of an eggshell and represents an example of such a complex trait. In reptiles, viviparity (live-bearing) has evolved repeatedly but it is highly disputed if oviparity has re-evolved. Here, using up to 194,358 SNP loci and 1,334,760 bp of sequence, we reconstruct the phylogeny of viviparous and oviparous lineages of common lizards and infer the evolutionary history of parity modes. Our phylogeny supports six main common lizard lineages that have been previously identified. We find strong statistical support for a topological arrangement that suggests a reversal to oviparity from viviparity. Our topology is consistent with highly differentiated chromosomal configurations between lineages, but disagrees with previous phylogenetic studies in some nodes. While we find high support for a reversal to oviparity, more genomic and developmental data are needed to robustly test this and assess the mechanism by which a reversal might have occurred

SOUTHERN REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS AND U.S. AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Efficient growth of complex graph states via imperfect path erasure

Given a suitably large and well connected (complex) graph state, any quantum algorithm can be implemented purely through local measurements on the individual qubits. Measurements can also be used to create the graph state: Path erasure techniques allow one to entangle multiple qubits by determining only global properties of the qubits. Here, this powerful approach is extended by demonstrating that even imperfect path erasure can produce the required graph states with high efficiency. By characterizing the degree of error in each path erasure attempt, one can subsume the resulting imperfect entanglement into an extended graph state formalism. The subsequent growth of the improper graph state can be guided, through a series of strategic decisions, in such a way as to bound the growth of the error and eventually yield a high-fidelity graph state. As an implementation of these techniques, we develop an analytic model for atom (or atom-like) qubits in mismatched cavities, under the double-heralding entanglement procedure of Barrett and Kok [Phys. Rev. A 71, 060310 (2005)]. Compared to straightforward postselection techniques our protocol offers a dramatic improvement in growing complex high-fidelity graph states.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures (which print to better quality than when viewed as an on screen pdf

Suez and Sterling, 1956

Daily data on spot and forward dollar/sterling exchange rates and on Britain's foreign exchange reserves are used to reassess the financial history of the 1956 Suez crisis. We find that support of sterling at its Bretton Woods lower bound lost credibility as early as July. Reserve losses also are consistent with an exchange rate crisis. We provide the first econometric study of foreign exchange market intervention in the pre-convertibility phase of the Bretton Woods system. The Bank of England's interventions reacted strongly both to official sterling and to the transferable sterling market in New York, which suggests that convertibility was a central goal of policy.Suez crisis, Bretton Woods system, foreign exchange market intervention

What does the 1930s’ experience tell us about the future of the Eurozone?

If the Eurozone follows the precedent of the 1930s, it will not survive. The attractions of escaping from the gold standard then were massive and they point to a strategy of devalue and default for today’s crisis countries. A fully-federal Europe with a banking union and a fiscal union is the best solution to this problem but is politically infeasible. However, it may be possible to underpin the Euro by a ‘Bretton-Woods compromise’ that accepts a retreat from some aspects of deep economic integration since exit entails new risks of financial crisis that were not present eighty years ago

Lithuania: Fertility decline and its determinants

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Lithuania has been undergoing significant transformations in family life and has experienced a precipitous decline in fertility. The determinants of the changes are diverse in character and are associated with socioeconomic transformations, economic difficulties faced by the post-Soviet society, inadequate social and family policies and changing value orientations and life styles. This article traces the fertility trends in Lithuania from the period and cohort perspective, providing adjusted TFR estimates that reveal the significance of the tempo effect on the recent decline in fertility. Furthermore, the main factors leading to the recently observed changes in family and fertility are identified and analysed. Finally, the characteristic features and necessary improvements of current Lithuanian family policy and its possible effects on individual behaviour and fertility trends are discussed.childbearing, Europe, fertility, fertility decline, Lithuania

Washington's Working Women: Not Equal Yet

Women's earnings are essential to economic security for the majority of families in Washington State, where women comprise about half of all workers. But over the past two decades, forward progress for women in the workforce has largely stalled. Women continue to earn far less than men. And workplace standards remain mired in outdated assumptions that most workers are men and most families have a full-time caregiver at home. Our children, families, businesses, and communities all pay the price for our failure to step up to the public policy needs of today's working women

Mental Health in the Workplace: Situation Analyses, United States

Mental illness constitutes one of the world\u27s most critical and social health problems. It affects more human lives and wastes more human resources than any other disabling condition. The ILO’s activities promote the inclusion of persons with physical, psychiatric and intellectual disabilities into mainstream training and employment structures. The ILO’s primary goals regarding disability are to prepare and empower people with disabilities to pursue their employment goals and facilitate access to work and job opportunities in open labour markets, while sensitising policy makers, trade unions and employers to these issues. The ILO\u27s mandate on disability issues is specified in the ILO Convention 159 (1983) on vocational rehabilitation and employment. No. 159 defines a disabled person as an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining, and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical or mental impairment. The Convention established the principle of equal treatment and employment for workers with disabilities