Measurement of line widths and permanent electric dipole moment change of the Ce 4f-5d transition in Y_2SiO_5 for a qubit readout scheme in rare-earth ion based quantum computing

In this work the inhomogeneous (zero-phonon line) and homogeneous line widths, and one projection of the permanent electric dipole moment change for the Ce 4f-5d transition in Y_2SiO_5 were measured in order to investigate the possibility for using Ce as a sensor to detect the hyperfine state of a spatially close-lying Pr or Eu ion. The experiments were carried out on Ce doped or Ce-Pr co-doped single Y_2SiO_5 crystals. The homogeneous line width was measured to be about 3 MHz, which is essentially limited by the excited state lifetime. Based on the line width measurements, the oscillator strength, absorption cross section and saturation intensity were calculated to be about 9*10^-7, 5*10^-19 m^2 and 1*10^7 W/m^2, respectively. One projection of the difference in permanent dipole moment, Delt_miu_Ce, between the ground and excited states of the Ce ion was measured as 6.3 * 10^-30 C*m, which is about 26 times as large as that of Pr ions. The measurements done on Ce ions indicate that the Ce ion is a promising candidate to be used as a probe to read out a single qubit ion state for the quantum computing using rare-earth ions.Comment: 9 figures, 8 page

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Michael Kwass, Contraband: Louis Mandrin and the Making of a Global Underground.

Contraband: Louis Mandrin and the Making of a Global Underground is a sexy title for what is indeed a very sexy book. Michael Kwass’s new work has something to say—and often important things to say—about everything from early modern globalization, consumption, political economic thought, and mercantilist policy to the fiscal-military state, criminal justice, tax resistance and rebellion, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution. Oh, and did I mention smuggling and banditry? In a book libe..

“Cheap" property holding stocks: Opportunity of a lifetime or too good to be true? - An empirical test of investment strategies based on stock price / EPRA NAV multiples for Swedish property holding stocks.

This thesis tests the reliability of EPRA NAV (European Public Real estate Association Net Asset Value) as a measure for stock prices in property holding firms. The law of one price dictates that the price of a listed asset should equal the price of a private asset, however, this is not the case for property holding firms as the stock prices deviate from the EPRA NAV. We test the reliability of the EPRA NAV measure by constructing two portfolio strategies. One portfolio strategy trades on cheap stock price / EPRA NAV multiples, where the majority of the portfolio's stock trades at a discount to EPRA NAV. The other portfolio strategy trades on expensive stock price / EPRA NAV multiples, where the majority of the portfolio's stock trades at a premium to EPRA NAV. We try to explain the reliability of EPRA NAV by comparing the abnormal returns, which we retrieve using OLS regressions applied to the Five-Factor model by Fama & French. We find that both investment strategies produce abnormal returns, where the strategy trading on expensive stocks outperforms the strategy trading on cheap stocks, this goes against the efficient market hypothesis as the strategies produce abnormal returns. Furthermore, we find that there is little recent research regarding net asset value and stocks for the real estate sector, where all previous research aims to explain the underlying factors behind the spreads. This thesis takes a different approach where we empirically test if abnormal returns can be achieved by investing on these spreads. Furthermore, we find no empirical research that regards stock price to EPRA NAV spreads. Our results therefore contribute to the understanding of stock price / NAV spreads for property holding firms and the understanding the quality of EPRA NAV as a measure of firm value. Moreover, our results provide interesting discussion points that regard EMH and behavioral finance.MSc in Accounting and Financial Managemen