A Silicon Surface Code Architecture Resilient Against Leakage Errors

Spin qubits in silicon quantum dots are one of the most promising building blocks for large scale quantum computers thanks to their high qubit density and compatibility with the existing semiconductor technologies. High fidelity single-qubit gates exceeding the threshold of error correction codes like the surface code have been demonstrated, while two-qubit gates have reached 98\% fidelity and are improving rapidly. However, there are other types of error --- such as charge leakage and propagation --- that may occur in quantum dot arrays and which cannot be corrected by quantum error correction codes, making them potentially damaging even when their probability is small. We propose a surface code architecture for silicon quantum dot spin qubits that is robust against leakage errors by incorporating multi-electron mediator dots. Charge leakage in the qubit dots is transferred to the mediator dots via charge relaxation processes and then removed using charge reservoirs attached to the mediators. A stabiliser-check cycle, optimised for our hardware, then removes the correlations between the residual physical errors. Through simulations we obtain the surface code threshold for the charge leakage errors and show that in our architecture the damage due to charge leakage errors is reduced to a similar level to that of the usual depolarising gate noise. Spin leakage errors in our architecture are constrained to only ancilla qubits and can be removed during quantum error correction via reinitialisations of ancillae, which ensure the robustness of our architecture against spin leakage as well. Our use of an elongated mediator dots creates spaces throughout the quantum dot array for charge reservoirs, measuring devices and control gates, providing the scalability in the design

Morphological characterisation of biomass in wastewater treatment using partial least squares

A wastewater treatment plant was followed in order to determine the biomass morphological properties and relate them with other measures as the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) or Sludge Volume Index (SVI). Image analysis was used to provide morphological data, which was subsequently treated by Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results showed very good correlations between observed and model predicted TSS but, considerably lower for SVI

Biodegradation of p-nitrophenol by microalgae

A study was made on the use of a mixed microalgal consortium to degrade p-nitrophenol. The consortium was obtained from a microbial community in a waste container fed with the remains and by-products of medium culture containing substituted aromatic pollutants (nitrophenols, chlorophenols, fluorobenzene). After selective enrichment with p-nitrophenol (p-NP), followed by an antibiotic treatment, an axenic microalgal consortium was recovered, which was able to degrade p-nitrophenol. At a concentration of 50 mg L−1, total degradation occurred within 5 days. Two species, Chlorella vulgaris var. vulgaris f. minuscula and Coenochloris pyrenoidosa, were isolated from the microalgal consortium. The species were able to accomplish p-NP biodegradation when cultured separately, although Coenochloris pyrenoidosa was more efficient, achieving the same degradation rate as the original axenic microalgal consortium. When Coenochloris pyrenoidosa was associated with Chlorella vulgaris in a 3:1 ratio, complete removal of the nitro-aromatic compound occurred within three days. This is apparently the first report on the degradation of a nitro aromatic compound by microalgae

Comparison of Actual versus Recommended Intake of Collegiate Athletes Across Gender and Season at a Small Division I University

Collegiate athletes often struggle to consume foods that provide adequate energy and nutrition to fuel their demanding physical performance and recovery needs. The increased energy expenditure during in- versus off-season training may further hinder an athlete’s ability to meet recommended intake guidelines. PURPOSE: to assess Division I student-athlete nutrition intake (calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat) throughout training seasons of the 2019-2021 school years. METHODS: From 2019-2021, 29 athletes (male: n=9, Wt=76.9 ± 2.2kg, LBM=66.0 ± 6.7kg; female: n=20, Wt=68.6 ± 3.7, LBM=51.4 ± 1.7kg) completed 3-day intake (ASA24) logs monthly. Body composition (InBody 570, BIA) and sport nutrition knowledge (NSKQ) were assessed at baseline. Paired samples t-tests were used to assess differences between actual intake and recommended values (based on kg/BW and sport) while repeated measures ANOVAs were used to assess gender by season interactions; data are reported as mean ± standard error. RESULTS: Regardless of training season athletes failed to meet recommended intake guidelines for carbohydrates (-319.5 ± 27.5g; P\u3c0.001) and calories (-552.7 ± 144.2kcals; P=0.001). Fat was the only macronutrient consistently overconsumed throughout the year (+19.3 ± 4.7g; P\u3c0.001) while protein intake was not significantly different from recommendations (-1.7 ± 6.7g, P=0.804). Males and females did not differ in their ability to meet recommendations. When comparing training seasons, the carbohydrate underconsumption was greater in-season (-379 ± 26.2g) than off-season (-245 ± 26.4g; P=0.001) while the fat overconsumption was greater in-season (+34.7 ± 5.9g) than off-season (+17.1 ± 6.2g; P=0.002). When comparing gender by season interactions, males significantly overconsumed fat off-season (+12.8 ± 10.3g; P=0.031) while females significantly under consumed protein in-season (-9.3 ± 8.2g; P=0.044). Knowledge scores (51.7 ± 2.3%) were not correlated with matching intake, regardless of season and across macronutrients, however this sample’s narrow distribution of scores may have prevented significant findings. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that collegiate athletes at a small D1 university can meet protein and fat recommendations yet struggle to meet calorie and carbohydrate guidelines. Gender differences may also exist, and sport nutrition knowledge was not found to influence an athlete’s nutrient intake

An Italian expert consensus on the use of opioids for the management of chronic non-oncological pain in clinical practice: focus on buprenorphine

Purpose: The aim of the present work was to evaluate the knowledge and prescriptive habits of clinicians involved in the management of chronic non cancer pain (CNCP), with a special focus on the use of opioids. Methods: A Delphi method was used. A Board of specialists elaborated and discussed a series of statements, based on available literature and personal clinical expertise, about particularly controversial topics on pain pathophysiology and treatment. A Panel of experts in the field of pain management, selected by the Board, was invited to vote the proposed statements, indicating the level of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale (1: strongly disagree; 2: disagree; 3: partially agree; 4: agree; 5: strongly agree). The threshold for consensus was set at minimum 66.6% of the number of respondents with a level of agreement ≥4 (Agree or Strongly agree). Results: The Board included 5 pain therapists, 1 pharmacologist and 1 methodology expert and drew up a total of 36 statements (for a total of 40 requested answers)”. A total of 100 clinicians were included in the Expert Panel. Respondents were 89 (89%). Consensus was achieved for 32 out of 40 answers. Most of the lack of consensus was recorded for statements regarding opioids use, and resulted from a low level of agreement (3 on the Likert scale), suggesting a neutral position deriving from a lack of knowledge rather than a strong contrary opinion. Conclusion: Most of the proposed items reached consensus, suggesting a generally homogeneous approach to CNCP management. However, the lack of consensus recorded for several items regarding opioid use confirms the need to fill important gaps in the knowledge of available agents. A clear explanation of the peculiar pharmacological properties of drugs associated with potential clinical advantages (such as buprenorphine) will help optimize pain treatment in both primary care and hospital settings and improving pain control in CNCP patients

Endophytic bacteria from aromatic plants and their potential for bioinoculation on Green Roofs vegetation

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Populational analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from different appellations of origin and grape varieties by microsatellite analysis.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate populational relationships among Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from some of the Portuguese most important grapevine varieties in different appellations of origin, using polymorphic microsatellites. 
One hundred ninety two grape samples were collected during the 2006 and 2007 harvest season in the Vinho Verde (grape varieties: Arinto, Alvarinho, Avesso, Loureiro, Touriga Nacional) Bairrada (grape varieties: Arinto, Baga, Castelão Francês, Maria Gomes, Touriga Nacional) Alentejo (grape varieties, Aragonês, Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional), Terras do Sado (grape variety Castelão) Bucelas (grape variety Arinto) and Estremadura (grape varieties: Arinto, Aragonês, Castelão, Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional) appellations of origin. From the final stage of spontaneous fermentations, 2820 yeast isolates were obtained, mainly belonging to the species S. cerevisiae. An initial genetic screen, based on mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (mtDNA RFLP) and/or interdelta sequence analysis was followed by microsatellite analysis of strains with unique genetic profiles, using 10 highly polymorphic microsatellites. Our results showed that microsatellite analysis revealed a high resolution populational screen, showing that genetic differences and populational structures among S. cerevisiae populations derived from both “diagnostic” vineyard-, specific alleles and the accumulation of small allele-frequency differences across ten microsatellite loci. Heterozygosity was three to four times lower than the expected value, confirming the strong populational substructuring. The presented large-scale approach shows that each vineyard contains differentiated S. cerevisiae populations, showing the occurrence of specific native strains that can be associated with a terroir. 

Financially supported by the programs POCI 2010 (FEDER/FCT, POCTI/AGR/56102/2004) and AGRO (ENOSAFE, Nº 762).
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Inclusion of turbulence in solar modeling

The general consensus is that in order to reproduce the observed solar p-mode oscillation frequencies, turbulence should be included in solar models. However, until now there has not been any well-tested efficient method to incorporate turbulence into solar modeling. We present here two methods to include turbulence in solar modeling within the framework of the mixing length theory, using the turbulent velocity obtained from numerical simulations of the highly superadiabatic layer of the sun at three stages of its evolution. The first approach is to include the turbulent pressure alone, and the second is to include both the turbulent pressure and the turbulent kinetic energy. The latter is achieved by introducing two variables: the turbulent kinetic energy per unit mass, and the effective ratio of specific heats due to the turbulent perturbation. These are treated as additions to the standard thermodynamic coordinates (e.g. pressure and temperature). We investigate the effects of both treatments of turbulence on the structure variables, the adiabatic sound speed, the structure of the highly superadiabatic layer, and the p-mode frequencies. We find that the second method reproduces the SAL structure obtained in 3D simulations, and produces a p-mode frequency correction an order of magnitude better than the first method.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure