Topological Protection and Quantum Noiseless Subsystems

Encoding and manipulation of quantum information by means of topological degrees of freedom provides a promising way to achieve natural fault-tolerance that is built-in at the physical level. We show that this topological approach to quantum information processing is a particular instance of the notion of computation in a noiseless quantum subsystem. The latter then provide the most general conceptual framework for stabilizing quantum information and for preserving quantum coherence in topological and geometric systems.Comment: 4 Pages LaTeX. Published versio

Sequential analyses of bovid tooth enamel and dentine collagen (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N): new insights into animal husbandry between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age at Tana del Barletta (Ligurian Prealps)

Tana del Barletta is an upland cave used from the Late Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age, located in the vicinity of the coast in Liguria (NW Italy). The excavation revealed the presence of a faunal assemblage dominated by caprine and cattle remains. In order to gain new data on late prehistoric farming strategies (e.g. seasonal mobility, coastal grazing, animal diet), intra-tooth series of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes have been obtained from cattle and sheep/goat tooth enamel, along with intra-tooth series of nitrogen and carbon isotopes from cattle dentine collagen. Due to the prevalence of maxillary teeth, a modern calf has also been analysed to assess intra-individual isotopic differences between the maxillary and mandibular dentition. Modern data on oxygen isotope values of meteoric water from different altitudes around the area of the site were used as a reference for interpretation. The results indicate that the water ingested by the herd was mostly characterised by particularly low δ18O values, highlighting the importance of the uplands for the late prehistoric farmers of the region. However, the input of water sourced from lower elevations, especially during the winter months, cannot be dismissed. In addition, the nitrogen isotopic composition of cattle collagen rules out the ingestion of salt-tolerant vegetation or seaweed, suggesting that grazing did not occur directly on the coastal plain

Controle biológico no Brasil: situação, desafios e oportunidades.

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Application of an Exhausted Fermentation Broth Obtained from Biohydrogen Production in an Apple Orchard: Assessment of Fruit Quality

About 95% of global hydrogen production is made by fossil fuels using different technologies which are all characterized by high energy consumption and high carbon emissions. Alternatively, more sustainable production methods, such as biological fermentation processes, are under study. Dark fermentation, also called acidogenesis, entails the transformation of a great variety of organic substances into a mixture of organic and inorganic products, as well as gases (H-2 and CO2). In this study we tested an exhausted fermentation broth, derived after Clostridium fermentation for H-2 production, as a biostimulant via foliar application in an intensive apple orchard. Two different doses were applied upon dilution of the broth in water (100 mL L-1 and 10 mL L-1), evaluating the main fruit quality parameters (fresh weight, fruit diameter, dry matter, firmness, soluble solid content, color lightness, DA index) in addition to macro- and micro-nutrients and heavy metals concentrations. Chemical characterization of the broth showed a high amount of low-MW polypeptides (Trp-Glu-Lys, Ile-Pro-Ile, Phe-Pro-Lys, His-Pro) and organic acids (formic acid, butyric acid, butanedioic acid); moreover, quantitative analyses of inorganic ions showed no heavy metal detection but high concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, compatible with use in agriculture. The fruit quality parameters showed significantly higher mean fruit weight compared to the untreated trees, as well as higher dry matter. No statistical differences were recorded among the treatments for fruit firmness, diameter and yield. Soluble solids content in both treatments were significantly lower than the controls, whereas the DA index mean values were higher in both treatments compared to the controls, indicating a delay in fruit ripening probably due to the high nitrogen broth concentration. Regarding the chemical analyses of fruits, no particular differences were found among the treatments, except for Fe, which showed a significantly higher amount upon treatment with the lower dose. As concerns leaves, no phytotoxic symptoms were detected in both treatments, making the described exhausted broth a candidate for its use as a plant biostimulant. Additional studies are needed to evaluate the ideal application dose, identify further action targets and implement appropriate strategies to concentrate the biostimulant active compounds

RNA framework: An all-in-one toolkit for the analysis of RNA structures and post-transcriptional modifications

RNA is emerging as a key regulator of a plethora of biological processes. While its study has remained elusive for decades, the recent advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies provided the unique opportunity to develop novel techniques for the study of RNA structure and post-transcriptional modifications. Nonetheless, most of the required downstream bioinformatics analyses steps are not easily reproducible, thus making the application of these techniques a prerogative of few laboratories. Here we introduce RNA Framework, an all-in-one toolkit for the analysis of most NGS-based RNA structure probing and post-transcriptional modification mapping experiments. To prove the extreme versatility of RNA Framework, we applied it to both an in-house generated DMS-MaPseq dataset, and to a series of literature available experiments. Notably, when starting from publicly available datasets, our software easily allows replicating authors' findings. Collectively, RNA Framework provides the most complete and versatile toolkit to date for a rapid and streamlined analysis of the RNA epistructurome. RNA Framework is available for download at: http://www.rnaframework.com

Phenotypic matching by spot pattern potentially mediates female giraffe social associations

Animal color pattern is a phenotypic trait that may mediate assortative mixing (also known as homophily), whereby similar looking individuals have stronger social associations. Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) coat spot patterns show high variation and some spot traits appear to be heritable. Giraffes also have high visual acuity, which may facilitate intraspecific communication and recognition based on spot patterns. Giraffe groupings are dynamic, merging and splitting throughout the day, but females form long-term associations. We predicted that adult female giraffes show stronger associations with other females that have similar spot pattern traits. We quantified the spot pattern characteristics of 399 adult female Masai giraffes and determined the pattern similarity among pairs (dyads) in their social network. We then tested for an association between coat pattern similarity (spot size, shape, and orientation) and dyadic association strength, and quantified assortative mixing. The strength of social associations was positively correlated with similarity in spot shape. Our results are compatible with assortativity by coat patterns that are similar between mother and offspring, potentially reflecting an effect of relatedness on both pattern similarity and female social associations. These results offer evidence that spot pattern could function as a visual cue for intraspecific communication and kin or individual recognition in a fission-fusion species

Finite Euler Hierarchies And Integrable Universal Equations

Recent work on Euler hierarchies of field theory Lagrangians iteratively constructed {}from their successive equations of motion is briefly reviewed. On the one hand, a certain triality structure is described, relating arbitrary field theories, {\it classical\ts} topological field theories -- whose classical solutions span topological classes of manifolds -- and reparametrisation invariant theories -- generalising ordinary string and membrane theories. On the other hand, {\it finite} Euler hierarchies are constructed for all three classes of theories. These hierarchies terminate with {\it universal\ts} equations of motion, probably defining new integrable systems as they admit an infinity of Lagrangians. Speculations as to the possible relevance of these theories to quantum gravity are also suggested.Comment: (replaces previous unprintable version corrupted mailer) 13 p., (Plain TeX), DTP-92/3

The relict landslide in bimsoils in downtown Genova, Italy: a new modeling approach

Stability problems occurring in geological units with a block-in-matrix fabric are often analyzed with deterministic approaches and/or assuming block-in-matrix rocks/soils (bimrocks or bimsoils) to be homogeneous equivalent geomaterials. However, recent studies have demonstrated that since these formations are characterized by a great (dimensional, spatial and lithological) variability, reliable results can only be obtained if a stochastic approach accounting for different block arrangements and dimensions is used. This paper extends and improves a previous study from Minuto and Morandi (2015) to evaluate the stability of a relict landslide in bimsoil located in downtown Genova (Italy), where a deterministic approach and the traditional limit equilibrium method were used. In this work, different slope models with elliptical blocks of variable eccentricity, size and positions are generated by means of a stochastic approach and are analyzed with the FEM code RS2. Moreover, since the slope can be considered to be a bimsoil, interfaces between the blocks and matrix are introduced in order to better simulate the lower strength at the block/matrix contacts. The numerical analyses of the slope reveal that shallow failure surfaces have a higher probability of occurrence as compared to the deep failure surfaces considered by Minuto and Morandi (2015). Furthermore, lower safety factors are obtained when a block-matrix interface strength smaller than that of the matrix (i.e., a bimsoil) is simulated