Promises of the "Book of Hope" : influences on the new Malaysian government

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Tommy K. S. Koh, former Summer Affiliate Scholar at the East-West Center, explains that "Written as an opposition manifesto, Buku Harapan's desire for greater parliamentary engagement reflected what Pakatan Harapan desired from an expected ruling Barisan Nasional government.

Observation of higher-order topological states on a quantum computer

Programmable quantum simulators such as superconducting quantum processors and ultracold atomic lattices represent rapidly developing emergent technology that may one day qualitatively outperform existing classical computers. Yet, apart from a few breakthroughs, the range of viable computational applications with current-day noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices is still significantly limited by gate errors, quantum decoherence, and the number of high-quality qubits. In this work, we develop an approach that places NISQ hardware as a particularly suitable platform for simulating multi-dimensional condensed matter systems, including lattices beyond three dimensions which are difficult to realize or probe in other settings. By fully exploiting the exponentially large Hilbert space of a quantum chain, we encoded a high-dimensional model in terms of non-local many-body interactions that can further be systematically transcribed into quantum gates. We demonstrate the power of our approach by realizing, on IBM transmon-based quantum computers, higher-order topological states in up to four dimensions, which are exotic phases that have never been realized in any quantum setting. With the aid of in-house circuit compression and error mitigation techniques, we measured the topological state dynamics and their protected mid-gap spectra to a high degree of accuracy, as benchmarked by reference exact diagonalization data. The time and memory needed with our approach scale favorably with system size and dimensionality compared to exact diagonalization on classical computers.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures in main text; 4 pages, 2 tables in supplementary informatio

Effects of intermediate scales on renormalization group running of fermion observables in an SO(10) model

In the context of non-supersymmetric SO(10) models, we analyze the renormalization group equations for the fermions (including neutrinos) from the GUT energy scale down to the electroweak energy scale, explicitly taking into account the effects of an intermediate energy scale induced by a Pati--Salam gauge group. To determine the renormalization group running, we use a numerical minimization procedure based on a nested sampling algorithm that randomly generates the values of 19 model parameters at the GUT scale, evolves them, and finally constructs the values of the physical observables and compares them to the existing experimental data at the electroweak scale. We show that the evolved fermion masses and mixings present sizable deviations from the values obtained without including the effects of the intermediate scale.Comment: Comments: 20 pages, 3 figures. Final version published in JHE

Agrarian diet and diseases of affluence – Do evolutionary novel dietary lectins cause leptin resistance?

BACKGROUND: The global pattern of varying prevalence of diseases of affluence, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, suggests that some environmental factor specific to agrarian societies could initiate these diseases. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: We propose that a cereal-based diet could be such an environmental factor. Through previous studies in archaeology and molecular evolution we conclude that humans and the human leptin system are not specifically adapted to a cereal-based diet, and that leptin resistance associated with diseases of affluence could be a sign of insufficient adaptation to such a diet. We further propose lectins as a cereal constituent with sufficient properties to cause leptin resistance, either through effects on metabolism central to the proper functions of the leptin system, and/or directly through binding to human leptin or human leptin receptor, thereby affecting the function. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: Dietary interventions should compare effects of agrarian and non-agrarian diets on incidence of diseases of affluence, related risk factors and leptin resistance. A non-significant (p = 0.10) increase of cardiovascular mortality was noted in patients advised to eat more whole-grain cereals. Our lab conducted a study on 24 domestic pigs in which a cereal-free hunter-gatherer diet promoted significantly higher insulin sensitivity, lower diastolic blood pressure and lower C-reactive protein as compared to a cereal-based swine feed. Testing should also evaluate the effects of grass lectins on the leptin system in vivo by diet interventions, and in vitro in various leptin and leptin receptor models. Our group currently conducts such studies. IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYPOTHESIS: If an agrarian diet initiates diseases of affluence it should be possible to identify the responsible constituents and modify or remove them so as to make an agrarian diet healthier

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

Asian Dragons And Green Trade

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