5,146 research outputs found
Regulatory justifications: regulating European medicines to maximise market potential
The justification for regulating is generally considered to rely on benefitting interested groups. Whereas the traditional view is that regulators act as impartial arbiters balancing competing public and private interests, modern accounts consider regulation to be dominated by single interests, such as those of industry. This article challenges these theories by arguing that regulators are substantively (not just procedurally) motivated to justify their actions according to the goals set for them by the bodies that empower them. In consequence, regulators understand their goals as market-based objectives, prompting them to focus on maximising market potential. This is demonstrated in the context of regulating medicines in Europe, through the European Patent Organisation, the CJEU, and the European Medicines Agency. The analysis identifies that regulating to achieve market benefits is a better predictor of regulatory behaviour, but this behaviour frustrates goal-achievement (relating to effective and affordable medicines) and only incidentally enables benefits to accrue to specific groups
Initial test results on bolometers for the Planck high frequency instrument
We summarize the fabrication, flight qualification, and dark performance of bolometers completed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the High Frequency Instrument (HFI) of the joint ESA/NASA Herschel/Planck mission to be launched in 2009. The HFI is a multicolor focal plane which consists of 52 bolometers operated at 100 mK. Each bolometer is mounted to a feedhorn-filter assembly which defines one of six frequency bands centered between 100-857 GHz. Four detectors in each of five bands from 143-857 GHz are coupled to both linear polarizations and thus measure the total intensity. In addition, eight detectors in each of four bands (100, 143, 217, and 353 GHz) couple only to a single linear polarization and thus provide measurements of the Stokes parameters, Q and U, as well as the total intensity. The measured noise equivalent power (NEP) of all detectors is at or below the background limit for the telescope and time constants are a few ms, short enough to resolve point sources as the 5 to 9 arc min beams move across the sky at 1 rpm
Application of data mining to intensive care unit microbiologic data.
We describe refinements to and new experimental applications of the Data Mining Surveillance System (DMSS), which uses a large electronic health-care database for monitoring emerging infections and antimicrobial resistance. For example, information from DMSS can indicate potentially important shifts in infection and antimicrobial resistance patterns in the intensive care units of a single health-care facility
Classical model for bulk-ensemble NMR quantum computation
We present a classical model for bulk-ensemble NMR quantum computation: the
quantum state of the NMR sample is described by a probability distribution over
the orientations of classical tops, and quantum gates are described by
classical transition probabilities. All NMR quantum computing experiments
performed so far with three quantum bits can be accounted for in this classical
model. After a few entangling gates, the classical model suffers an exponential
decrease of the measured signal, whereas there is no corresponding decrease in
the quantum description. We suggest that for small numbers of quantum bits, the
quantum nature of NMR quantum computation lies in the ability to avoid an
exponential signal decrease.Comment: 14 pages, no figures, revte
Local Realistic Model for the Dynamics of Bulk-Ensemble NMR Information Processing
We construct a local realistic hidden-variable model that describes the
states and dynamics of bulk-ensemble NMR information processing up to about 12
nuclear spins. The existence of such a model rules out violation of any Bell
inequality, temporal or otherwise, in present high-temperature, liquid-state
NMR experiments. The model does not provide an efficient description in that
the number of hidden variables grows exponentially with the number of nuclear
spins.Comment: REVTEX, 7 page
Decoherence and Programmable Quantum Computation
An examination of the concept of using classical degrees of freedom to drive
the evolution of quantum computers is given. Specifically, when externally
generated, coherent states of the electromagnetic field are used to drive
transitions within the qubit system, a decoherence results due to the back
reaction from the qubits onto the quantum field. We derive an expression for
the decoherence rate for two cases, that of the single-qubit Walsh-Hadamard
transform, and for an implementation of the controlled-NOT gate. We examine the
impact of this decoherence mechanism on Grover's search algorithm, and on the
proposals for use of error-correcting codes in quantum computation.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. A 35 double-spaced pages, 2 figures, in LaTe
Implementation of NMR quantum computation with para-hydrogen derived high purity quantum states
We demonstrate the first implementation of a quantum algorithm on a liquid
state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computer using almost pure
states. This was achieved using a two qubit device where the initial state is
an almost pure singlet nuclear spin state of a pair of 1H nuclei arising from a
chemical reaction involving para-hydrogen. We have implemented Deutsch's
algorithm for distinguishing between constant and balanced functions with a
single query.Comment: 7 pages RevTex including 6 figures. Figures 4-6 are low quality to
save space. Submitted to Phys Rev
Duality, thermodynamics, and the linear programming problem in constraint-based models of metabolism
It is shown that the dual to the linear programming problem that arises in
constraint-based models of metabolism can be given a thermodynamic
interpretation in which the shadow prices are chemical potential analogues, and
the objective is to minimise free energy consumption given a free energy drain
corresponding to growth. The interpretation is distinct from conventional
non-equilibrium thermodynamics, although it does satisfy a minimum entropy
production principle. It can be used to motivate extensions of constraint-based
modelling, for example to microbial ecosystems.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, RevTeX 4, final accepted versio
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