Elastic and plastic stresses at weld sinkages and other discontinuities in pressure vessels

Mismatch and weld sinkage problems of pressure vessel geometric discontinuities studied in design graphs and test progra

Elastic and plastic analysis of pressure vessel weld lands with mismatch

Elastic and plastic analysis of pressure vessel weld lands with mismatc

Accelerating variational quantum eigensolver convergence using parameter transfer

One impediment to the useful application of variational quantum algorithms in quantum chemistry is slow convergence with large numbers of classical optimization parameters. In this work, we evaluate a quantum computational warm-start approach for potential energy surface calculations. Our approach, which is inspired by conventional computational methods, is evaluated using simulations of the variational quantum eigensolver. Significant speedup is demonstrated relative to calculations that rely on a Hartree-Fock initial state, both for ideal and sampled simulations. The general approach of transferring parameters between similar problems is promising for accelerating current and near-term quantum chemistry calculations on quantum hardware, and is likely applicable beyond the tested algorithm and use case

Benchmarking the Variational Quantum Eigensolver through Simulation of the Ground State Energy of Prebiotic Molecules on High-Performance Computers

We use the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) as implemented in the Qiskit software package to compute the ground state energy of small molecules derived from water, H$_2$O, and hydrogen cyanide, HCN. The work aims to benchmark algorithms for calculating the electronic structure and energy surfaces of molecules of relevance to prebiotic chemistry, beginning with water and hydrogen cyanide, and to run them on the available simulated and physical quantum hardware. The numerical calculations of the algorithms for small quantum processors allow us to design more efficient protocols to be run in real hardware, as well as to analyze their performance. Future implementations on accessible quantum processing prototypes will benchmark quantum computers and provide tests of quantum advantage with heuristic quantum algorithms.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, MIPT2020, Moscow, 7-11 September 2020, AIP Proceedings (Table III corrected; ref. [16] updated

New interfacial-gel copolymerization technique for steric GRIN polymer optical waveguides and lens arrays

Abstract: A synthetic polymeric lens was designed and fabricated based on a bio-inspired, "Age=5" human eye lens design by utilizing a nanolayered polymer film-based technique. The internal refractive index distribution of an anterior and posterior GRIN lens were characterized and confirmed against design by µATR-FTIR. 3D surface topography of the fabricated aspheric anterior and posterior lenses was measured by placido-cone topography and exhibited confirmation of the desired aspheric surface shape. Furthermore, the wavefronts of aspheric posterior GRIN and PMMA lenses were measured and simulated by interferometry and Zemax software, respectively. Their results show that the gradient index distribution reduces the overall wavefront error as compared a homogenous PMMA lens of an identical geometry. Finally, the anterior and posterior GRIN lenses were assembled into a bio-inspired GRIN human eye lens through which a clear imaging was possible

Reference-State Error Mitigation: A Strategy for High Accuracy Quantum Computation of Chemistry

Decoherence and gate errors severely limit the capabilities of state-of-the-art quantum computers. This work introduces a strategy for reference-state error mitigation (REM) of quantum chemistry that can be straightforwardly implemented on current and near-term devices. REM can be applied alongside existing mitigation procedures, while requiring minimal postprocessing and only one or no additional measurements. The approach is agnostic to the underlying quantum mechanical ansatz and is designed for the variational quantum eigensolver. Up to two orders-of-magnitude improvement in the computational accuracy of ground state energies of small molecules (H2, HeH+, and LiH) is demonstrated on superconducting quantum hardware. Simulations of noisy circuits with a depth exceeding 1000 two-qubit gates are used to demonstrate the scalability of the method

Leflunomide in the treatment of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis—results of a prospective non-interventional study

Leflunomide is effective and well tolerated in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however, data on its use in early RA are scarce. This study seeks to evaluate effectiveness and safety of leflunomide in the treatment of early RA in daily practice. This prospective, open-label, non-interventional, multi-center study was carried out over 24 weeks including adults with early RA (≤1 year since diagnosis). Leflunomide treatment was according to label instructions. Three hundred thirty-four patients were included. Disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) response (reduction in DAS28 of >1.2 or reduction of >0.6 and a DAS28 of ≤5.1) was 71.9% at week 12 and 84.6% at week 24. 25.0% of patients achieved clinical remission (DAS28 ≤ 2.6). Most frequently reported adverse drug reactions (ADR) were diarrhea (3.0%), nausea (2.4%), hypertension (1.8%), and headache (1.5%). Serious ADR were reported in four patients (1.2%). Leflunomide showed the effectiveness which was to be expected from controlled studies without revealing any new or hitherto unknown side effects. Onset of action was quick and significant improvement of disease was seen after 12 weeks of therapy and at even higher rates after 24 weeks irrespective of the use of a loading dose. Interestingly, the DAS28-remission rate achieved was similar to the rate seen with methotrexate or biologic therapy in other studies

Development of the rhopalial nervous system in Aurelia sp.1 (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa)

We examined the development of the nervous system in the rhopalium, a medusa-specific sensory structure, in Aurelia sp.1 (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) using confocal microscopy. The rhopalial nervous system appears primarily ectodermal and contains neurons immunoreactive to antibodies against tyrosinated tubulin, taurine, GLWamide, and FMRFamide. The rhopalial nervous system develops in an ordered manner: the presumptive gravity-sensing organ, consisting of the lithocyst and the touch plate, differentiates first; the “marginal center,” which controls swimming activity, second; and finally, the ocelli, the presumptive photoreceptors. At least seven bilaterally arranged neuronal clusters consisting of sensory and ganglion cells and their neuronal processes became evident in the rhopalium during metamorphosis to the medusa stage. Our analysis provides an anatomical framework for future gene expression and experimental studies of development and functions of scyphozoan rhopalia