Belief propagation as a partial decoder

One of the fundamental challenges in enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation is realising fast enough quantum decoders. We present a new two-stage decoder that accelerates the decoding cycle. In the first stage, a partial decoder based on belief propagation is used to correct errors that occurred with high probability. In the second stage, a conventional decoder corrects any remaining errors. We study the performance of our two-stage decoder with simulations using the surface code under circuit-level noise. When the conventional decoder is minimum-weight perfect matching, adding the partial decoder decreases bandwidth requirements, increases speed and improves logical accuracy. Specifically, we observe partial decoding consistently speeds up the minimum-weight perfect matching stage by between 2x-4x on average depending on the parameter regime, and raises the threshold from 0.94 to 1.01

Crop Yield Estimation and Interpretability With Gaussian Processes

This work introduces the use of Gaussian processes (GPs) for the estimation and understanding of crop development and yield using multisensor satellite observations and meteo- rological data. The proposed methodology combines synergistic information on canopy greenness, biomass, soil, and plant water content from optical and microwave sensors with the atmospheric variables typically measured at meteorological stations. A com- posite covariance is used in the GP model to account for varying scales, nonstationary, and nonlinear processes. The GP model reports noticeable gains in terms of accuracy with respect to other machine learning approaches for the estimation of corn, wheat, and soybean yields consistently for four years of data across continental U.S. (CONUS). Sparse GPs allow obtaining fast and compact solutions up to a limit, where heavy sparsity compromises the credibility of confidence intervals. We further study the GP interpretability by sensitivity analysis, which reveals that remote sensing parameters accounting for soil moisture and greenness mainly drive the model predictions. GPs finally allow us to identify climate extremes and anomalies impacting crop productivity and their associated drivers

Una Mà de Contes: A new website through the artistic techniques

Treballs Finals del doble Grau de Gestió d'Informació i Documentació Digital + Comunicació Audiovisual (INFOCOM), Facultat d'Informació i Mitjans Audiovisuals, Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2020-2021, Tutors: Muntsa Tarrés i Cristóbal UrbanoUna Mà de Contes: la reinvenció del portal web a través de les tècniques artístiques, és un treball que pretén reformular el portal web existent, plantejant una nova base de dades dirigida a tècniques artístiques del programa

Las crisis matrimoniales y los animales de compañía : una aproximación práctica desde el ejercicio de la abogacía

Es objeto del presente trabajo desgranar los elementos que los abogados deben tener en cuenta a la hora de atender situaciones referentes a las crisis matrimoniales y el papel de los animales de compañía en estas. La transformación progresiva del modelo familiar ha conllevado la aparición de nuevas situaciones que no se hallan reguladas legalmente, una de ellas es cómo debe procederse en los casos de separación y divorcio en los que los cónyuges poseen animales de compañía en común.Por cuanto es cada vez más común que las parejas decidan compartir los cuidados de un animal de compañía la actuación del abogado en los casos de crisis matrimonial supone uno de los grandes interrogantes del ejercicio de la abogacía hoy en día. Sin llegar a desarrollar un plan de parentalidad stricto sensu, habiendo éste debe ser reservado exclusivamente para el trato de los hijos del matrimonio, estas situaciones requieren de una exposición y redacción que emplea un lenguaje semejable al empleado para regular las relaciones de guarda y custodia de los hijos. Sin embargo resulta innegable que estas situaciones requieren de una detallada atención, habiendo de incurrir en cuántos elementos resulten necesarios a fin de evitar problemáticas y contingencias futuras que pudieran afectar al bienestar de los cónyuges y de los animales.The object of the present work is to describe the elements that the lawyers must take into account when dealing with cases of marital crises and the role of companion animals in these. The progressive transformation of the family model has led to the appearance of new situations that are not legally regulated, one of which is how to proceed in cases of separation and divorce in which the spouses have shared pets. The lawyer's role in cases of marital crisis is one of the great questions of the practice of law today. Without developing a stricto sensu parenting plan, which is reserved exclusively for the treatment of the children of the marriage, these situations require a language similar to that used to regulate guardianship and custody relationships. However, it is undeniable that these situations require detailed attention, having to avoid problems and future contingencies that could affect the welfare of the spouses and animals

Melting temperature of YBa2Cu3O7−x and GdBa2Cu3O7−x at subatmospheric partial pressure

AbstractThe melting temperature, Tm, of YBa2Cu3O7−x and GdBa2Cu3O7−x superconductor ceramic compounds has been measured by differential thermal analysis (DTA) over a large oxygen partial pressure range of five orders of magnitude (2·10−5 < PO2 < 1 bar). It is shown that the DTA peak and endset temperatures are closer to Tm than the onset temperature. Correct measurement of Tm requires low heating rates and subatmospheric pressure conditions to avoid temperature shifts due to local oxygen overpressure and kinetic effects

Acumulación y resistencias en el norte de África y Oriente Medio : Colonialismo, poscolonialismo y neoliberalismo

En este artículo analizamos el entrelazamiento de factores externos e internos en las movilizaciones sociales en la región de Oriente Medio y el Norte de África desde el siglo xix, cuando la región queda definitivamente subsumida a los procesos de modernización económica y política mundiales. El impacto de la influencia exterior depende directamente de su relación con el peso de los recursos de poder en cada momento: la tierra, el Estado moderno, la coacción, la industrialización o la financiación. Un seguimiento de estos recursos nos permite ver la evolución del poder y sus elites, así como de las respuestas populares. En nuestro análisis adoptaremos una perspectiva histórica de la sociología del poder.In this article, we analyse the intertwining of external and internal factors affecting social mobilisation in the Middle East and North Africa. We begin in the nineteenth century, when the region became definitively subsumed into a global economy and undertook the process of political modernisation. The impact of the external influence depends directly on the weight of the resources of power at any given time: land, the modern state, coercion, industrialisation, or finances. Monitoring these resources allows us to see the evolution of power and elites, as well as popular responses. In our analysis, we will take a historical perspective of the sociology of power

Electrophysiological assessment of plant status outside a Faraday cage using supervised machine learning

Living organisms have evolved complex signaling networks to drive appropriate physiological processes in response to changing environmental conditions. Amongst them, electric signals are a universal method to rapidly transmit information. In animals, bioelectrical activity measurements in the heart or the brain provide information about health status. In plants, practical measurements of bioelectrical activity are in their infancy and transposition of technology used in human medicine could therefore, by analogy provide insight about the physiological status of plants. This paper reports on the development and testing of an innovative electrophysiological sensor that can be used in greenhouse production conditions, without a Faraday cage, enabling real-time electric signal measurements. The bioelectrical activity is modified in response to water stress conditions or to nycthemeral rhythm. Furthermore, the automatic classification of plant status using supervised machine learning allows detection of these physiological modifications. This sensor represents an efficient alternative agronomic tool at the service of producers for decision support or for taking preventive measures before initial visual symptoms of plant stress appear