Does Firm Heterogeneity Impact the Effectiveness of Carbon Taxes? Experiments in Argentina and Mexico

This paper examines the effectiveness of carbon taxes on macroeconomic performance when manufacturing firms have the opportunity to change their scale of operation and degree of formality. The hypothesis is that when tax evasion or elusion is possible, it cannot be ruled out that emissions increase rather than decrease due to the reallocation of resources from the rest of manufacturing towards informal small-scale firms. When informality is high, industry could adapt to carbon taxes by reducing the scale of operation of big firms and increasing the number of small firms. However, when taxes are enforceable in all types of firms, there is a cost in terms of GDP and employment, since small-scale firms are more labor intensive. For numerical experiments, two CGE models calibrated for Argentina and Mexico are used. The 'domestic leakage' is found to be more relevant for Argentina than for Mexico

Generation and manipulation of Schrödinger cat states in Rydberg atom arrays

Quantum entanglement involving coherent superpositions of macroscopically distinct states is among the most striking features of quantum theory, but its realization is challenging because such states are extremely fragile. Using a programmable quantum simulator based on neutral atom arrays with interactions mediated by Rydberg states, we demonstrate the creation of “Schrödinger cat” states of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) type with up to 20 qubits. Our approach is based on engineering the energy spectrum and using optimal control of the many-body system. We further demonstrate entanglement manipulation by using GHZ states to distribute entanglement to distant sites in the array, establishing important ingredients for quantum information processing and quantum metrology

Fiscal Policy, Inequality and the Poor in the Developing World

Using comparable fiscal incidence analysis, this paper examines the impact of fiscal policy on inequality and poverty in 25 countries for around 2010. Success in fiscal redistribution is driven primarily by redistributive effort (share of social spending to GDP in each country) and the extent to which transfers/subsidies are targeted at the poor and direct taxes targeted at the rich. While fiscal policy always reduces inequality, this is not the case with poverty. Fiscal policy increases poverty in 4 countries using a US$1.25/day PPP poverty line, in 8 countries using a US$2.50/day line, and in 15 countries using a US$4/day line (over and above market income poverty). Net direct taxes are always equalizing and net indirect taxes are equalizing in 17 of the 25 countries. While spending on pre-school and primary school is pro-poor (i.e. the per capita transfer declines with income) in almost all countries, pro-poor secondary school spending is less prevalent, and tertiary education spending tends to be progressive only in relative terms (i.e. equalizing but not pro-poor). Health spending is always equalizing

An Optimal Control Framework for the Automated Design of Personalized Cancer Treatments

One of the key challenges in current cancer research is the development of computational strategies to support clinicians in the identification of successful personalized treatments. Control theory might be an effective approach to this end, as proven by the long-established application to therapy design and testing. In this respect, we here introduce the Control Theory for Therapy Design (CT4TD) framework, which employs optimal control theory on patient-specific pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) models, to deliver optimized therapeutic strategies. The definition of personalized PK/PD models allows to explicitly consider the physiological heterogeneity of individuals and to adapt the therapy accordingly, as opposed to standard clinical practices. CT4TD can be used in two distinct scenarios. At the time of the diagnosis, CT4TD allows to set optimized personalized administration strategies, aimed at reaching selected target drug concentrations, while minimizing the costs in terms of toxicity and adverse effects. Moreover, if longitudinal data on patients under treatment are available, our approach allows to adjust the ongoing therapy, by relying on simplified models of cancer population dynamics, with the goal of minimizing or controlling the tumor burden. CT4TD is highly scalable, as it employs the efficient dCRAB/RedCRAB optimization algorithm, and the results are robust, as proven by extensive tests on synthetic data. Furthermore, the theoretical framework is general, and it might be applied to any therapy for which a PK/PD model can be estimated, and for any kind of administration and cost. As a proof of principle, we present the application of CT4TD to Imatinib administration in Chronic Myeloid leukemia, in which we adopt a simplified model of cancer population dynamics. In particular, we show that the optimized therapeutic strategies are diversified among patients, and display improvements with respect to the current standard regime

Influence of the follicular wave on gene expression and in vitro embryo production in cattle

This study evaluated oocyte competence, gene expression, and in vitro embryo production (IVEP) in cattle, based on follicular waves. Twenty Bos taurus taurus donors were subjected to ovulation synchronization, starting with intramuscular administration of 2 mg estradiol benzoate and a 1.9 g intravaginal progesterone device on a random estrous cycle day (ten days before synchronized ovulation; D-10). After 3 days, the device was removed, and 150 μg of D-cloprostenol sodium, 300 IU of equine chorionic gonadotrophin, and 1.0 mg of estradiol cypionate were administered. Day zero (D0) was defined as the day of ovulation, and the ovaries of the females in the crossover design were examined using Doppler ultrasonography. Ovum pick-up was scheduled on days D4, D8, D14, and D18, and the experimental groups were designated as G4 (n = 5), G8 (n = 5), G14 (n = 5), and G18 (n = 5), respectively. The corpus luteum (CL) increased in diameter, perimeter, and area throughout the estrous cycle, with significant differences between G4 and other groups (P 2.0 (upregulated) or FC < 0.5 (downregulated).Total and viable oocyte numbers were lowest in G8 (13.9 and 9, respectively). The average numbers of embryos per donor were 2.58, 2.38, 2.29, and 1.69 G14, G18, G4, and G8, respectively. Gene expression analysis showed downregulation of genes related to apoptosis and lipid metabolism in oocytes retrieved from G14 compared to those from G4, G8, or G18. Oocytes from G18 showed upregulation of genes related to apoptosis control and lipid metabolism, whereas those from G4 and G8 were downregulated. In conclusion, ovum pick-up at the beginning of the second follicular wave can improve IVP efficiency.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Public Health EnglandLaboratory of Biotechnology of Animal Reproduction State University of Londrina, ParanáUNICESUMAR Postgraduate Program in Clean Technologies and Veterinary Medicine Course, ParanáDepartment of Structural and Functional Biology Institute of Biosciences Sao Paulo State University, SPDepartment of Structural and Functional Biology Institute of Biosciences Sao Paulo State University, S

Generation and manipulation of Schrödinger cat states in Rydberg atom arrays

Quantum entanglement involving coherent superpositions of macroscopically distinct states is among the most striking features of quantum theory, but its realization is challenging because such states are extremely fragile. Using a programmable quantum simulator based on neutral atom arrays with interactions mediated by Rydberg states, we demonstrate the creation of “Schrödinger cat” states of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) type with up to 20 qubits. Our approach is based on engineering the energy spectrum and using optimal control of the many-body system. We further demonstrate entanglement manipulation by using GHZ states to distribute entanglement to distant sites in the array, establishing important ingredients for quantum information processing and quantum metrology

Generation and manipulation of Schrodinger cat states in Rydberg atom arrays

Quantum entanglement involving coherent superpositions of macroscopically distinct states is among the most striking features of quantum theory, but its realization is challenging because such states are extremely fragile. Using a programmable quantum simulator based on neutral atom arrays with interactions mediated by Rydberg states, we demonstrate the creation of Schrodinger cat states of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) type with up to 20 qubits. Our approach is based on engineering the energy spectrum and using optimal control of the many-body system. We further demonstrate entanglement manipulation by using GHZ states to distribute entanglement to distant sites in the array, establishing important ingredients for quantum information processing and quantum metrology

Generation and manipulation of Schrödinger cat states in Rydberg atom arrays

Entanglement goes largeThe success of quantum computing relies on the ability to entangle large-scale systems. Various platforms are being pursued, with architectures based on superconducting qubits and trapped atoms being the most advanced. By entangling up to 20 qubits, Omranet al.and Songet al.—working with Rydberg atom qubits and superconducting qubits, respectively—demonstrate how far these platforms have reached. The demonstrated controllable generation and detection of entanglement on such quantum systems is promising for the development of large-scale quantum processors.Science, this issue p.570, p.574</jats:p