Study of Adaptative Derivative-Assemble Pseudo-Trotter Ansatzes in VQE through qiskit API

In order to answer the problem of Quantum Phase Estimation Algorithm been not suitable for NISQ devices, and allows one to outperform classical computers, Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) were designed. Our subject of interest is the so-called Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) algorithm and was originally designed to simulate electronic structures and to compute the ground state of a given molecule. VQE is made of two main components : an ansatz and a classical optimizer. The ansatz runs on the quantum device and aims to simulate the wavefunction, the parameters of the ansatz will be optimized until the expectation value is minimum. The very first ansatz that has originally been used is called UCCSD and it is based on Coupled Cluster Theory. The main issue considering UCCSD is the large amount of parameters to optimize and this leads us to the introduction of Adaptive Derivative-Assembled Pseudo-Trotter ansatz VQE (ADAPT-VQE) which determines a quasi-optimal ansatz with a minimal number of parameters. The key point of ADAPT-VQE is to grow the ansatz at every step, by adding operators chosen from a pre-determined pool of operators one-at-a-time, assuring that the maximal amount of correlation energy is recovered at each step. There exists different kind of ADAPT-VQE depending on the starting pool of operators as the fermionic-ADAPT, the qubit-ADAPT or even the qubit excitation based (QEB). Our goal is to implement the different types of ADAPT-VQE mentioned before. After a quick review of the theoretical background under all of these concepts, we will implement each algorithm using quiskit. We will also compare all of these algorithms on different criterions such as the number of parameters, the accuracy or the number of CNOT gate used on H2 and LiH molecules. Then we will have a small discussion about the results we obtained.Comment: 33 pages, 19 figure

Meiofauna versus macrofauna as a food resource in a tropical intertidal mudflat

International audienceEvaluations of the functioning of benthic marine food webs could be improved by quantifying organic matter fluxes from the meiofauna to higher trophic levels. In this study, we measured the simultaneous ingestion of meiofauna and macrofauna by common dwellers of a tropical intertidal mudflat on the coast of Amazonia. The meiofauna and macrofauna (tanaid) communities of a tropical intertidal mudflat of French Guiana were separately enriched with 15N and 13C, respectively. The enriched preys were then used as tracers during feeding experiments with common predators of different sizes and feeding mechanisms: a Portunidae crab (Callinectes bocourti), a Penaeidae shrimp (Farfantepenaeus subtilis), and a Gobiidae fish (Gobionellus oceanicus). In feeding experiments with all predators except crabs, feeding rates increased with the availability of meiofauna and macrofauna food sources. The ability of consumers to ingest their food selectively was evaluated by calculating the differences in the ratio of macrofauna to meiofauna between the (1) ingested material and (2) that available in the environment. Larger predators showed a higher degree of preferential macrofauna ingestion than smaller predators, consistent with the optimal foraging theory. For large predators, the meiofauna would be important only during early life or in the absence of large food items

GRB 090417B and its Host Galaxy: A Step Towards an Understanding of Optically-Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts

GRB 090417B was an unusually long burst with a T_90 duration of at least 2130 s and a multi-peaked light curve at energies of 15-150 keV. It was optically dark and has been associated with a bright star-forming galaxy at a redshift of 0.345 that is broadly similar to the Milky Way. This is one of the few cases where a host galaxy has been clearly identified for a dark gamma-ray burst and thus an ideal candidate for studying the origin of dark bursts. We find that the dark nature of GRB 090417B cannot be explained by high redshift, incomplete observations, or unusual physics in the production of the afterglow. Assuming the standard relativistic fireball model for the afterglow we find that the optical flux is at least 2.5 mag fainter than predicted by the X-ray flux. The Swift/XRT X -ray data are consistent with the afterglow being obscured by a dense, localized sheet of dust approximately 30-80 pc from the burst along the line of sight. Our results suggest that this dust sheet imparts an extinction of A_V >~ 12 mag, which is sufficient to explain the missing optical flux. GRB 090417B is an example of a gamma-ray burst that is dark due to the localized dust structure in its host galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Salvage use of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after reduced intensity conditioning from unrelated donors in multiple myeloma. A study by the Plasma Cell Disorders subcommittee of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplant Chronic Malignancies Working Party

Non peer reviewe

Cytoklepty in the plankton: A host strategy to optimize the bioenergetic machinery of endosymbiotic algae

Endosymbioses have shaped the evolutionary trajectory of life and remain ecologically important. Investigating oceanic photosymbioses can illuminate how algal endosymbionts are energetically exploited by their heterotrophic hosts and inform on putative initial steps of plastid acquisition in eukaryotes. By combining three-dimensional subcellular imaging with photophysiology, carbon flux imaging, and transcriptomics, we show that cell division of endosymbionts (Phaeocystis) is blocked within hosts (Acantharia) and that their cellular architecture and bioenergetic machinery are radically altered. Transcriptional evidence indicates that a nutrient-independent mechanism prevents symbiont cell division and decouples nuclear and plastid division. As endosymbiont plastids proliferate, the volume of the photosynthetic machinery volume increases 100-fold in correlation with the expansion of a reticular mitochondrial network in close proximity to plastids. Photosynthetic efficiency tends to increase with cell size, and photon propagation modeling indicates that the networked mitochondrial architecture enhances light capture. This is accompanied by 150-fold higher carbon uptake and up-regulation of genes involved in photosynthesis and carbon fixation, which, in conjunction with a ca.15-fold size increase of pyrenoids demonstrates enhanced primary production in symbiosis. Mass spectrometry imaging revealed major carbon allocation to plastids and transfer to the host cell. As in most photosymbioses, microalgae are contained within a host phagosome (symbiosome), but here, the phagosome invaginates into enlarged microalgal cells, perhaps to optimize metabolic exchange. This observation adds evidence that the algal metamorphosis is irreversible. Hosts, therefore, trigger and benefit from major bioenergetic remodeling of symbiotic microalgae with potential consequences for the oceanic carbon cycle. Unlike other photosymbioses, this interaction represents a so-called cytoklepty, which is a putative initial step toward plastid acquisition

Clinical Outcomes With a Repositionable Self-Expanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Prosthesis: The International FORWARD Study

Background Clinical outcomes in large patient populations from real-world clinical practice with a next-generation self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve are lacking. Objectives This study sought to document the clinical and device performance outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a next-generation, self-expanding transcatheter heart valve (THV) system in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) in routine clinical practice. Methods The FORWARD (CoreValve Evolut R FORWARD) study is a prospective, single-arm, multinational, multicenter, observational study. An independent clinical events committee adjudicated safety endpoints based on Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 definitions. An independent echocardiographic core laboratory evaluated all echocardiograms. From January 2016 to December 2016, TAVR with the next-generation self-expanding THV was attempted in 1,038 patients with symptomatic, severe AS at 53 centers on 4 continents. Results Mean age was 81.8 ± 6.2 years, 64.9% were women, the mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality was 5.5 ± 4.5%, and 33.9% of patients were deemed frail. The repositioning feature of the THV was applied in 25.8% of patients. A single valve was implanted in the proper anatomic location in 98.9% of patients. The mean aortic valve gradient was 8.5 ± 5.6 mm Hg, and moderate or severe aortic regurgitation was 1.9% at discharge. All-cause mortality was 1.9%, and disabling stroke occurred in 1.8% at 30 days. The expected-to-observed early surgical mortality ratio was 0.35. A pacemaker was implanted in 17.5% of patients. Conclusions TAVR using the next-generation THV is clinically safe and effective for treating older patients with severe AS at increased operative risk. (CoreValve Evolut R FORWARD Study [FORWARD]; NCT02592369

GRB 081007 AND GRB 090424: THE SURROUNDING MEDIUM, OUTFLOWS, AND SUPERNOVAE

We discuss the results of the analysis of multi-wavelength data for the afterglows of GRB 081007 and GRB 09042We discuss the results of the analysis of multi-wavelength data for the afterglows of GRB 081007 and GRB 090424, two bursts detected by Swift. One of them, GRB 081007, also shows a spectroscopically confirmed supernova, SN 2008hw, which resembles SN 1998bw in its absorption features, while the maximum magnitude may be fainter, up to 0.7 mag, than observed in SN 1998bw. Bright optical flashes have been detected in both events, which allows us to derive solid constraints on the circumburst-matter density profile. This is particularly interesting in the case of GRB081007, whose afterglow is found to be propagating into a constant-density medium, yielding yet another example of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) clearly associated with a massive star progenitor which did not sculpt the surroundings with its stellar wind. There is no supernova component detected in the afterglow of GRB090424, likely because of the brightness of the host galaxy, comparable to the Milky Way. We show that the afterglow data are consistent with the presence of both forward- and reverse-shock emission powered by relativistic outflows expanding into the interstellar medium. The absence of optical peaks due to the forward shock strongly suggests that the reverse-shock regions should be mildly magnetized. The initial Lorentz factor of outflow of GRB081007 is estimated to be ?? ~ 200, while for GRB090424 a lower limit of ?? > 170 is derived. We also discuss the prompt emission of GRB081007, which consists of just a single pulse. We argue that neither the external forward-shock model nor the shock-breakout model can account for the prompt emission data and suggest that the single-pulse-like prompt emission may be due to magnetic energy dissipation of a Poynting-flux-dominated outflow or to a dissipative photosphere

Outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with haploidentical versus HLA-matched donors in patients with higher-risk MDS.

peer reviewedAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains the best curative option for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. The presence of monosomal karyotype and/or complex karyotype abnormalities predicts inferior survival after allo-SCT in MDS patients. Haploidentical allo-SCT has been increasingly used in acute leukemia (AL) and has similar results as using HLA-matched donors, but data on higher-risk MDS is sparse. We compared outcomes in 266 patients with higher-risk MDS after HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD, n = 79), HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD, n = 139) and HLA haploidentical donor (HID, n = 48) from 2010 to 2019. Median donor age differed between the three groups (p < 0.001). The overall survival was significantly different between the three groups with a better OS observed in the MUD group (p = 0.014). This observation could be explained by a higher progression-free survival with MUD (p = 0.014). The cumulative incidence of grade 2-4 acute GvHD was significantly higher in the HID group (p = 0.051). However, in multivariable analysis, patients transplanted using an HID had comparable mortality to patients transplanted using a MUD (subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR]: 0.58 [0.32-1.07]; p = 0.080) and a MSD ([sHR]: 0.56 [0.28-1.11]; p = 0.094). MUD do not remain a significant positive predictor of survival, suggesting that beyond the donor-recipient HLA matching, the donor age might impact recipient outcome

Completion strategy or emphasis manipulation? Task support for teaching information problem solving

While most students seem to solve information problems effortlessly, research shows that the cognitive skills for effective information problem solving are often underdeveloped. Students manage to find information and formulate solutions, but the quality of their process and product is questionable. It is therefore important to develop instruction for fostering these skills. In this research, a 2-h online intervention was presented to first-year university students with the goal to improve their information problem solving skills while investigating effects of different types of built-in task support. A training design containing completion tasks was compared to a design using emphasis manipulation. A third variant of the training combined both approaches. In two experiments, these conditions were compared to a control condition receiving conventional tasks without built-in task support. Results of both experiments show that students' information problem solving skills are underdeveloped, which underlines the necessity for formal training. While the intervention improved students’ skills, no differences were found between conditions. The authors hypothesize that the effective presentation of supportive information in the form of a modeling example at the start of the training caused a strong learning effect, which masked effects of task support. Limitations and directions for future research are presented