Qibolab: an open-source hybrid quantum operating system

We present Qibolab, an open-source software library for quantum hardware control integrated with the Qibo quantum computing middleware framework. Qibolab provides the software layer required to automatically execute circuit-based algorithms on custom self-hosted quantum hardware platforms. We introduce a set of objects designed to provide programmatic access to quantum control through pulses-oriented drivers for instruments, transpilers and optimization algorithms. Qibolab enables experimentalists and developers to delegate all complex aspects of hardware implementation to the library so they can standardize the deployment of quantum computing algorithms in a hardware-agnostic way. We first describe the status of all components of the library, then we show examples of control setup for superconducting qubits platforms. Finally, we present successful application results related to circuit-based algorithms.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, code available at https://github.com/qiboteam/qibola

Site effect studies following the 2016 Mw 6.0 Amatrice Earthquake (Italy): the Emersito Task Force activities

On August 24, 2016, at 01:36 UTC a MW 6.0 earthquake struck an extensive area of the Central Apennines (Italy) be-tween the towns of Norcia and Amatrice. Due to the mainshock magnitude and the widespread damaging level of build-ings in the epicentral area, the Emersito task force has been mobilized by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). The aim of Emersito is to carry out and coordinate the monitoring of local site effects, caused by geological and geomorphological settings. During the first days of the seismic emergency, Emersito installed a tempo-rary seismic network for site effect studies at 4 municipalities close to the epicentral area (Amandola, Civitella del Tronto, Montereale and Capitignano), using 22 stations equipped with both velocimetric and accelerometric sensors. The selection of the sites where stations have been installed was mainly driven by the proximity to the epicentral area (without interfere with the rescue operations) and by peculiar geologic and geomorphologic settings (topographic irregu-larities, fault zones, alluvial plains). Preliminary analyses performed on ambient noise and aftershocks signals show that directional amplification effects may have occurred at stations installed on the top of topographic irregularities. We also observed the lengthening and amplification of the seismograms and a variability of the peaked frequency across the sedi-mentary basin between Montereale and Capitignano, probably related to a different thickness of the deposits. Further analyses are necessary to assess the correlation with surface geology.Published4T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica1SR. TERREMOTI - Servizi e ricerca per la Società1IT. Reti di monitoraggioJCR Journa

Temporary dense seismic network during the 2016 Central Italy seismic emergency for microzonation studies

In August 2016, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Central Italy, starting a devastating seismic sequence, aggravated by other two events of magnitude 5.9 and 6.5, respectively. After the first mainshock, four Italian institutions installed a dense temporary network of 50 seismic stations in an area of 260 km2. The network was registered in the International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks with the code 3A and quoted with a Digital Object Identifier ( https://doi.org/10.13127/SD/ku7Xm12Yy9 ). Raw data were converted into the standard binary miniSEED format, and organized in a structured archive. Then, data quality and completeness were checked, and all the relevant information was used for creating the metadata volumes. Finally, the 99 Gb of continuous seismic data and metadata were uploaded into the INGV node of the European Integrated Data Archive repository. Their use was regulated by a Memorandum of Understanding between the institutions. After an embargo period, the data are now available for many different seismological studies.Publishedid 1825T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismicaJCR Journa

Mixed-Initiative Aspects in an Agent-Based System

This paper describes a multi-agent system, called MASMA, that manages the meeting schedule of a set of users. Masma is a mixed-initiative decision support system based on agent technologies that addresses various aspects of the agenda management problem: in particular it is the result of an investigation on several issues concerning the acceptability of the agent approach by human users. The paper is focused on how the initiative moves between the different actors involved in the system: human users, personal interface agents and service agents. Two classes of control mechanisms are introduced and explained that coordinate continuous interaction among the actors. The first group concerns negotiation protocols and personalization of agents that are used as standard tools to model strategies of communication. In the second class inspection windows and heuristics are applied to avoid continuous question-answering in order to increase the acceptability of the whole system. Introduction In..

A phase 1 dose-escalation study of a PD-L1xCD27 bispecific antibody CDX-527 in patients with advanced malignancies.

Research Funding: None Background:CDX-527 is a bispecific antibody (BsAb) targeting PD-L1 and CD27 that is designed to block immune checkpoint PD-L1/PD-1 interactions while providing immune costimulation through CD27 signaling. CD27 is a key immunostimulatory molecule that enhances T cell activation, effector function, and survival. Combining anti-PD-L1 and anti-CD27 mAbs synergize in preclinical studies, activating complementary cytotoxic and proliferative gene expression profiles, respectively. Clinical studies demonstrated the safety and biological activity of combining varlilumab, an agonist anti-CD27 mAb, with nivolumab or atezolizumab, along with modest clinical activity of the combinations. CDX-527 is a novel human BsAb containing a neutralizing, high affinity IgG1k PD-L1 mAb and the single chain Fv fragment (scFv) of an agonist anti-CD27 mAb genetically attached to the C-terminus of each heavy chain, thereby making CDX-527 bivalent for each target. Pre-clinical studies demonstrated enhanced T cell activation by CDX-527 and anti-tumor activity of a surrogate bispecific compared to individual mAb combinations.Methods:CDX527-01 is a phase 1 first-in-human, open-label, multi-center, dose-escalation (DE) and expansion study evaluating safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and clinical activity of CDX-527 in patient with advanced solid tumors that have progressed on standard-of-care therapy. The primary study objective is to characterize the safety and tolerability of CDX-527. CDX-527 is administered intravenously Q2W with doses ranging from 0.03 mg/kg up to 10.0 mg/kg or until the maximum tolerated dose. The first 2 cohorts of the DE phase initiate with single patients and subsequent DE cohorts will be conducted in 3+3 manner. Tumor-specific expansion cohorts may be enrolled to further characterize the safety, PK, PD, and efficacy of CDX-527. Tumor assessments are performed Q8W by the investigator per iRECIST. Biomarker assessments include characterizing the effects on peripheral blood immune cells and cytokines, and for the expansion cohorts, the impact of CDX-527 on the tumor microenvironment in paired tumor biopsies.Results:To date, 8 patients have received CDX-527 in doses ranging from 0.03 mg/kg to 1 mg/kg and 3 are still on treatment. There has been no drug related SAEs, DLTs or discontinuations due to an AE. Most common treatment related AEs were influenza-like illness, fatigue, and arthralgia (all at 25%). All drug related AEs have been grade 1 or 2.Conclusions:Preliminary results indicate that the novel anti-PD-L1xCD27 bispecific antibody CDX-527 up to and including the 1 mg/kg dose level has been well tolerated. Additional data will be presented, including the safety profile at higher dose levels along with clinical activity, as well as PK and PD data. Clinical trial information: NCT0444094

Patient-Reported Outcomes in OAK: A Phase III Study of Atezolizumab Versus Docetaxel in Advanced Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer

The randomized phase III OAK (a study of atezolizumab compared with docetaxel in participants with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer [NSCLC] who have failed platinum-containing therapy) trial investigated the anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody atezolizumab for advanced or metastatic, previously treated, NSCLC. Atezolizumab significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared with docetaxel (hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.87; P = .0003; median OS, 13.8 vs. 9.6 months, respectively). Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were collected to evaluate disease-related symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) to support the finding of a survival benefit

Frontline brentuximab vedotin in combination with dacarbazine or bendamustine in patients aged ≥60 years with HL.

Patients aged ≥60 years with treatment-naive Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) have few treatment options and inferior survival due to treatment-related toxicities and comorbidities. This phase 2, nonrandomized, open-label study evaluated brentuximab vedotin (BV) monotherapy (results previously reported), BV plus dacarbazine (DTIC), and BV plus bendamustine. Patients had classical HL and were ineligible for or declined frontline chemotherapy. Twenty-two patients received 1.8 mg/kg BV and 375 mg/