Experimentally generating and tuning robust entanglement between photonic qubits

We generate and study the entanglement properties of novel states composed of three polarisation-encoded photonic qubits. By varying a single experimental parameter we can coherently move from a fully separable state to a maximally robust W state, while at all times preserving an optimally robust, symmetric entanglement configuration. We achieve a high fidelity with these configurations experimentally, including the highest reported W state fidelity.Comment: lower print quality for arxiv figure

Landscape Evolution of Eagle Flat and Red Light Basins, Chihuahuan Desert, South-Central Trans-Pecos Texas

This report documents the development of the landscape near the site proposed for the Texas low-level radioactive waste repository, located in southern Hudspeth County, Texas. It documents the geomorphic, depositional, and erosional features in the area. The Texas Legislature designated an approximately 400 square mile (1,035 square kilometer) area as the Eagle Flat Study Area, within which the site was to be selected. The study area consists of six U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles between the towns of Sierra Blanca and Van Horn, Texas. The six-quadrangle Eagle Flat Study Area contains a large part of Eagle Flat Basin and a smaller area in Red Light Draw. The Eagle Flat Study Area contains parts of the Belson and Sacramento subsections of the Mexican Highlands section in the Basin and Range physiographic province. The Belson subsection is characterized by broad, internally drained alluvial basins, interrupted by rugged, discontinuous fault-block mountains. The mountains are composed of Cretaceous and Permian carbonate rocks with scattered areas of Tertiary intrusives and volcanics, older Paleozoic shata, and Precambrian metamorphic rocks. In the Belson subsection, the uplands make up about one-fifth of the area, whereas uplands make up 27 percent of the entire Eagle Flat Study Area. The Eagle Flat and Red Light Draw Basins, in the Belson subsection, are floored by Pliocene and Pleistocene alluvial sands and muds. The Sacramento subsection is represented by the Diablo Plateau in the northern part of the study area. This plateau is an upland area of Cretaceous hills separated by broad alluvial valleys with thin sedimentary cover. The Eagle Flat Study Area contains the four geomorphic regions: the mountainous region, the upland region, the basin floor, and the Sacramento Plateau.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Secondary Natural Gas Recovery: Use of Dipmeters in Stratigraphic and Depositional Interpretation of Natural Gas Reservoirs of the Oligocene Vicksburg Formation: An Example from McAllen Ranch Field, Hidlgo County Texas

Dipmeter interpretation techniques based on the correlation of dipmeter results with maps, cores, and VSP have been developed to aid in the identification of secondary gas recovery in the Vicksburg section of McAllen Ranch Field in South Texas. The objectives of this program include the identification of optimal dipmeter processing parameters to match structural and stratigraphic features in the cores; integration of structural dipmeter results into the structural mapping; correlation of dipmeter results to depositional dips in the cores to identify interpretation methods for predicting sand developments between wellbores; and identification of growth fault-associated structural features that tend to cause reservoir compartments. Results of these efforts have been documented, and the dipmeter results aided in the description of the reservoir. Dipmeter processing parameters were identified that produced results reflecting structural and stratigraphic features in the cores. Large slump features interpreted from the dipmeter were corroborated by the VSP. Numerous small slump features indicate the orientation of permeability reductions. Microresistivity curves were correlated with cement types in the core, allowing qualitative permeability predictions. Hole breakouts were compared to acoustic anisotropy to predict formation stress vectors.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Influenza in Sri Lanka, 1918-1919 : the impact of a new disease in a pre-modern Third World setting

In 1918–1919 there was an unusually serious influenza pandemic. The main object in this paper is to establish the course and impact of this outbreak in Sri Lanka using census and registration data. Influenza probably entered the country through the port of Colombo and possibly also through the port of Talaimannar. As elsewhere there was a mild first wave followed by a virulent second wave characterized by fatal pneumonic complications. Women suffered heavier mortality than men and young adults more (relatively) than other age groups. Fertility fell. Probably about 1.1 per cent of the population died

The impact of superphosphate and surface-applied lime on the profitability and sustainability of wool production on the tablelands of NSW

Soil acidification is one of the major forms of soil degradation in higher rainfall areas of the tablelands of NSW. A grazing experiment was conducted near Sutton, NSW, to assess the effect of various rates of superphosphate, lime, sewage ash and stocking rates on wool production and sustainability between 1999 and 2008. The results from the discounted cash flow analysis show that the net present value of the treatment without lime, the lower rate of superphosphate and the lowest stocking rate returned the highest net present value of $266.30/ha. Raising the application of superphosphate from 125kg/ha every two to three years to 250kg/ha every year on un-limed and limed soil reduced the net present value by$278.70/ha and $249.30/ha, respectively. The addition of lime at the rate of 4t/ha on un-limed soil at the low superphosphate level reduced the net present value by about$234.60/ha. The net present value fell by $205.24/ha when the level of superphosphate rate increased to 250kg/ha every year. The net present value decreased as the level of stocking rate increased. We conclude that wool producers will be unlikely to use lime to ameliorate acid soil, even though production will not be sustainable, unless there are more favourable input and commodity prices in the market and government intervention.economic, acid soil, lime, superphosphate, sewage ash, stocking rate, policy,

Kawasaki disease: the role of immune complexes revisited

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an inflammatory disease in children associated with vasculitis affecting predominantly the coronary arteries and is now the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed countries. The etiology of KD is unknown but epidemiological studies implicate an infectious agent or toxin, which causes disease in genetically predisposed individuals. The presence of immune complexes (ICs) in the serum of children with KD was established in numerous studies during the 1970s and 80s. More recent genetic studies have identified variation in Fcγ receptors and genes controlling immunoglobulin production associated with KD. In this review we link the genetic findings and IC studies and suggest a key role for their interaction in pathophysiology of the disease

Late-onset bloodstream infection and perturbed maturation of the gastrointestinal microbiota in premature infants

Late-onset bloodstream infection (LO-BSI) is a common complication of prematurity, and lack of timely diagnosis and treatment can have life-threatening consequences. We sought to identify clinical characteristics and microbial signatures in the gastrointestinal microbiota preceding diagnosis of LO-BSI in premature infants.Daily faecal samples and clinical data were collected over two years from 369 premature neonates (<32 weeks gestation). We analysed samples from 22 neonates who developed LO-BSI and 44 matched control infants. Next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene regions amplified by PCR from total faecal DNA was used to characterise the microbiota of faecal samples preceding diagnosis from infants with LO-BSI and controls. Culture of selected samples was undertaken, and bacterial isolates identified using MALDI-TOF. Antibiograms from bloodstream and faecal isolates were compared to explore strain similarity.From the week prior to diagnosis, infants with LO-BSI had higher proportions of faecal aerobes/facultative anaerobes compared to controls. Risk factors for LO-BSI were identified by multivariate analysis. Enterobacteriaceal sepsis was associated with antecedent multiple lines, low birth weight and a faecal microbiota with prominent Enterobacteriaceae. Staphylococcal sepsis was associated with Staphylococcus OTU faecal over-abundance, and the number of days prior to diagnosis of mechanical ventilation and of the presence of centrally-placed lines. In 12 cases, the antibiogram of the bloodstream isolate matched that of a component of the faecal microbiota in the sample collected closest to diagnosis.The gastrointestinal tract is an important reservoir for LO-BSI organisms, pathogens translocating across the epithelial barrier. LO-BSI is associated with an aberrant microbiota, with abundant staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae and a failure to mature towards predominance of obligate anaerobes

Experimental demonstration of Shor's algorithm with quantum entanglement

Shor's powerful quantum algorithm for factoring represents a major challenge in quantum computation and its full realization will have a large impact on modern cryptography. Here we implement a compiled version of Shor's algorithm in a photonic system using single photons and employing the non-linearity induced by measurement. For the first time we demonstrate the core processes, coherent control, and resultant entangled states that are required in a full-scale implementation of Shor's algorithm. Demonstration of these processes is a necessary step on the path towards a full implementation of Shor's algorithm and scalable quantum computing. Our results highlight that the performance of a quantum algorithm is not the same as performance of the underlying quantum circuit, and stress the importance of developing techniques for characterising quantum algorithms.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures + half-page additional online materia

Macro- and micro-strain in GaN nanowires on Si(111)

We analyze the strain state of GaN nanowire ensembles by x-ray diffraction. The nanowires are grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a Si(111) substrate in a self-organized manner. On a macroscopic scale, the nanowires are found to be free of strain. However, coalescence of the nanowires results in micro-strain with a magnitude from +-0.015% to +-0.03%.This micro-strain contributes to the linewidth observed in low-temperature photoluminescence spectra