137 research outputs found
The rationale for the Council of Europe Recommendations on the protection of whistleblowers 2014 and its implementation in member states : the view from the council of Europe.
Le whistleblowing est un Ă©lĂ©ment fondamental de la libertĂ© d'expression et de la libertĂ© de conscience. Il joue Ă©galement un rĂŽle important dans la lutte contre la corruption. Depuis plusieurs annĂ©es, la Cour europĂ©enne des droits de l'homme (CEDH) dĂ©veloppe une jurisprudence en matiĂšre de whistleblowing fondĂ©e en particulier sur le droit Ă la libertĂ© d'expression consacrĂ© par l'article 10 de la CEDH. Elle a dĂ©gagĂ© sur ce fondement juridique six points clefs qui constituent les critĂšres de la protection juridique des lanceurs dâalerte. Suite au rapport de M. Peter Omzigt en 2009, l'AssemblĂ©e parlementaire du Conseil de l'Europe (APCE) a adoptĂ© la rĂ©solution (1729) 2010 puis la recommandation (1916) 2010. La Recommandation CM / rec (2014) 7 dĂ©finit l'intĂ©rĂȘt gĂ©nĂ©ral en matiĂšre de whistleblowing ainsi que le rĂŽle de lâalerte Ă©thique dans la dĂ©tection et la prevention des malversations. Elle dĂ©crit Ă©galement les Ă©lĂ©ments constitutifs dâun cadre juridique solide permettant le lancement dâalerte et la protection des lanceurs dâalerte. Sâagissant de la transposition de la recommandation dans le systĂšme normatif des Etats membres, le Conseil de l'Europe ne sâattache pas au caractĂšre simple ou pluriel de la lĂ©gislation applicable mais Ă son effectivitĂ©. Le CDCJ Ćuvre en faveur de la promotion et de la mise en Ćuvre de la recommandation dans les Etats membres par plusieurs actions. L'une des premiĂšres actions menĂ©es a consistĂ© en la publication de brĂšves lignes directrices qui peuvent ĂȘtre consultĂ©es sur le site Web du CDCJ. Le CDCJ a Ă©galement adoptĂ© un plan d'action en 2014 pour promouvoir la mise en Ćuvre de la recommandation. D'autres actions pourraient ĂȘtre mises en Ćuvre Ă la demande des autoritĂ©s nationales et le CDCJ se fĂ©licite du lancement en France de ce nouveau projet de recherche sur lâalerte Ă©thique.Whistleblowing is a fundamental aspect of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience and it is important also in the fight against corruption. For several years, the European Court of Human rights has made some significant ruling with regards to whistleblowing, setting out six key principles when considering whistleblowing, in particular, on the right to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 10 ECHR. Those six key points are the reasoning of the Court to see if the whistleblowers can benefit from a legal protection. Further to the report of M. Peter Omzigt in 2009, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted resolution (1729)2010 and Recommendation (1916)2010. Recommendation CM/rec (2014)7 explains what public interest whistleblowing is and its value in deterring and preventing wrongdoing and malpractice. It also describes what a robust framework for facilitating whistleblowing and protecting whistleblowers should look like. Regarding to the normative framework of the recommendation into the member states, the recommendation is very flexible. The recommendation should be seen as a practical tool for member states and it does not take into account whether or not it should be single law or plural laws as long as again it is effective. The CDCJ is willing to promote and support the implementation of the recommendation into member states by several and different activities. One of the first activities which have already been done was the publication of brief guidelines which can be found on the CDCJ website. The CDCJ has also adopted a plan of action in 2014 to promote recommendations on whistleblowers. Other activities could be upon request by national authorities and the CDCJ welcomes this new research project in France
Period-tripling subharmonic oscillations in a driven superconducting resonator
We have observed period-tripling subharmonic oscillations, in a
superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator operated in the quantum regime,
. The resonator is terminated by a tunable inductance
that provides a Kerr-type nonlinearity. We detected the output field
quadratures at frequencies near the fundamental mode, GHz, when the resonator was driven by a current at with an
amplitude exceeding an instability threshold. The output radiation was
red-detuned from the fundamental mode. We observed three stable radiative
states with equal amplitudes and phase-shifted by . The
downconversion from to is strongly enhanced by resonant
excitation of the second mode of the resonator, and the cross-Kerr effect. Our
experimental results are in quantitative agreement with a model for the driven
dynamics of two coupled modes
Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on arterial stiffness in patients with hypertension: a randomized pilot study.
BackgroundOmega-3 fatty acids prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in patients with myocardial infarction or heart failure. Benefits in patients without overt CVD have not been demonstrated, though most studies did not use treatment doses (3.36 g) of omega-3 fatty acids. Arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) predicts CVD events independent of standard risk factors. However, no therapy has been shown to reduce PWV in a blood pressure-independent manner. We assessed the effects of esterified omega-3 fatty acids on PWV and serum markers of inflammation among patients with hypertension.Design and methodsWe performed a prospective, randomized; double-blinded pilot study of omega-3 fatty acids among 62 patients in an urban, safety net hospital. Patients received 3.36 g of omega-3 fatty acids vs. matched placebo daily for 3-months. The principal outcome measure was change in brachial-ankle PWV. Serum inflammatory markers associated with CVD risk were also assessed.ResultsThe majority (71Â %) were of Latino ethnicity. After 3-months, mean change in arterial PWV among omega-3 and placebo groups was -97Â cm/s vs. -33Â cm/s respectively (pâ=â0.36 for difference, after multivariate adjustment for baseline age, systolic blood pressure, and serum adiponectin). Non-significant reductions in lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (LpPLA2) mass and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) relative to placebo were also observed (pâ=â0.08, and 0.21, respectively).ConclusionHigh-dose omega-3 fatty acids did not reduce arterial PWV or markers of inflammation among patients within a Latino-predominant population with hypertension.Clinical trial registrationNCT00935766 , registered July 8 2009
Single-shot Readout of a Superconducting Qubit using a Josephson Parametric Oscillator
We propose and demonstrate a new read-out technique for a superconducting
qubit by dispersively coupling it to a Josephson parametric oscillator. We
employ a tunable quarter-wavelength superconducting resonator and modulate its
resonant frequency at twice its value with an amplitude surpassing the
threshold for parametric instability. We map the qubit states onto two distinct
states of classical parametric oscillation: one oscillating state, with
photons in the resonator, and one with zero oscillation amplitude.
This high contrast obviates a following quantum-limited amplifier. We
demonstrate proof-of-principle, single-shot readout performance, and present an
error budget indicating that this method can surpass the fidelity threshold
required for quantum computing.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Microwave photon generation in a doubly tunable superconducting resonator
We have developed and tested a doubly tunable resonator, with the intention
to simulate fast motion of the resonator boundaries in real space. Our device
is a superconducting coplanar-waveguide half-wavelength microwave resonator,
with fundamental resonant frequency ~5 GHz. Both of its ends are terminated by
dc-SQUIDs, which serve as magnetic-flux-controlled inductances. Applying a flux
to either SQUID allows tuning of the resonant frequency by approximately 700
MHz. By using two separate on-chip magnetic-flux lines, we modulate the SQUIDs
with two tones of equal frequency, close to twice that of the resonator's
fundamental mode. We observe photon generation, at the fundamental frequency,
above a certain pump amplitude threshold. By varying the relative phase of the
two pumps we are able to control the photon generation threshold, in good
agreement with a theoretical model for the modulation of the boundary
conditions. At the same time, some of our observations deviate from the
theoretical predictions, which we attribute to parasitic couplings, resulting
in current driving of the SQUIDs.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
A tunable coupling scheme for implementing high-fidelity two-qubit gates
The prospect of computational hardware with quantum advantage relies
critically on the quality of quantum gate operations. Imperfect two-qubit gates
is a major bottleneck for achieving scalable quantum information processors.
Here, we propose a generalizable and extensible scheme for a two-qubit coupler
switch that controls the qubit-qubit coupling by modulating the coupler
frequency. Two-qubit gate operations can be implemented by operating the
coupler in the dispersive regime, which is non-invasive to the qubit states. We
investigate the performance of the scheme by simulating a universal two-qubit
gate on a superconducting quantum circuit, and find that errors from known
parasitic effects are strongly suppressed. The scheme is compatible with
existing high-coherence hardware, thereby promising a higher gate fidelity with
current technologies
Direct observation of the thickness distribution of ultra thin AlOx barriers in Al/AlOx/Al Josephson junctions
We have directly measured the thickness distribution of the tunnel barriers in state-of-the-art Al/AlOx/Al tunnel junctions. From the distribution we can conclude that less than 10% of the junction area dominates the electron tunnelling. The barriers have been studied by transmission electron microscopy, specifically using atomic resolution annular dark field (ADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging. The direct observation of the local barrier thickness shows a Gaussian distribution of the barrier thickness variation along the junction, from ~1 to ~2nm. We have investigated how the thickness distribution varies with oxygen pressure (Po) and oxidation time (to) and we find, in agreement with resistance measurements, that an increased to has a larger impact on barrier thickness and its uniformity compared to an increased Po
Distinguishing coherent and thermal photon noise in a circuit QED system
In the cavity-QED architecture, photon number fluctuations from residual
cavity photons cause qubit dephasing due to the AC Stark effect. These unwanted
photons originate from a variety of sources, such as thermal radiation,
leftover measurement photons, and crosstalk. Using a capacitively-shunted flux
qubit coupled to a transmission line cavity, we demonstrate a method that
identifies and distinguishes coherent and thermal photons based on
noise-spectral reconstruction from time-domain spin-locking relaxometry. Using
these measurements, we attribute the limiting dephasing source in our system to
thermal photons, rather than coherent photons. By improving the cryogenic
attenuation on lines leading to the cavity, we successfully suppress residual
thermal photons and achieve -limited spin-echo decay time. The
spin-locking noise spectroscopy technique can readily be applied to other qubit
modalities for identifying general asymmetric non-classical noise spectra
Nondegenerate parametric oscillations in a tunable superconducting resonator
We investigate nondegenerate parametric oscillations in a multimode
superconducting microwave resonator that is terminated by a SQUID. The
parametric effect is achieved by modulating magnetic flux through the SQUID at
a frequency close to the sum of two resonator-mode frequencies. For modulation
amplitudes exceeding an instability threshold, self-sustained oscillations are
observed in both modes. The amplitudes of these oscillations show good
quantitative agreement with a theoretical model. The oscillation phases are
found to be correlated and exhibit strong fluctuations which broaden the
oscillation spectral linewidths. These linewidths are significantly reduced by
applying a weak on-resonance tone, which also suppresses the phase
fluctuations. When the weak tone is detuned, we observe synchronization of the
oscillation frequency with the frequency of the input. For the detuned input,
we also observe an emergence of three idlers in the output. This observation is
in agreement with theory indicating four-mode amplification and squeezing of a
coherent input.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Simplified Josephson-junction fabrication process for reproducibly high-performance superconducting qubits
We introduce a simplified fabrication technique for Josephson junctions and demonstrate superconducting Xmon qubits with T1 relaxation times averaging above 50 ÎŒs (Q > 1.5
7 1 0 6). Current shadow-evaporation techniques for aluminum-based Josephson junctions require a separate lithography step to deposit a patch that makes a galvanic, superconducting connection between the junction electrodes and the circuit wiring layer. The patch connection eliminates parasitic junctions, which otherwise contribute significantly to dielectric loss. In our patch-integrated cross-type junction technique, we use one lithography step and one vacuum cycle to evaporate both the junction electrodes and the patch. This eliminates a key bottleneck in manufacturing superconducting qubits by reducing the fabrication time and cost. In a study of more than 3600 junctions, we show an average resistance variation of 3.7% on a wafer that contains forty 0.5
7 0.5-cm2 chips, with junction areas ranging between 0.01 and 0.16 ÎŒm2. The average on-chip spread in resistance is 2.7%, with 20 chips varying between 1.4% and 2%. For the junction sizes used for transmon qubits, we deduce a wafer-level transition-frequency variation of 1.7%-2.5%. We show that 60%-70% of this variation is attributed to junction-area fluctuations, while the rest is caused by tunnel-junction inhomogeneity. Such high frequency predictability is a requirement for scaling-up the number of qubits in a quantum computer
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