Combined Error Correction Techniques for Quantum Computing Architectures

Proposals for quantum computing devices are many and varied. They each have unique noise processes that make none of them fully reliable at this time. There are several error correction/avoidance techniques which are valuable for reducing or eliminating errors, but not one, alone, will serve as a panacea. One must therefore take advantage of the strength of each of these techniques so that we may extend the coherence times of the quantum systems and create more reliable computing devices. To this end we give a general strategy for using dynamical decoupling operations on encoded subspaces. These encodings may be of any form; of particular importance are decoherence-free subspaces and quantum error correction codes. We then give means for empirically determining an appropriate set of dynamical decoupling operations for a given experiment. Using these techniques, we then propose a comprehensive encoding solution to many of the problems of quantum computing proposals which use exchange-type interactions. This uses a decoherence-free subspace and an efficient set of dynamical decoupling operations. It also addresses the problems of controllability in solid state quantum dot devices.Comment: Contribution to Proceedings of the 2002 Physics of Quantum Electronics Conference", to be published in J. Mod. Optics. This paper provides a summary and review of quant-ph/0205156 and quant-ph/0112054, and some new result

Cost of Production and Net Returns for Alternative Farming Systems in Northeastern South Dakota: 1986 and Normalized Situations

This report is a product of the initial year of research under South Dakota State University (SDSU) Agricultural Experiment Station Project H-076. entitled Economics of Farming Systems Alternatives in Eastern South Dakota . The overall objective of this research project is to determine the economic practicality in eastern South Dakota of alternative farming systems which may entail less use of chemical fertilizers. pesticides. and herbicides than do conventional systems. The initial step in achieving that overall objective is to make preliminary estimates of crop enterprise and farming system costs and returns. We have done this for two sets of farming systems being studied by the SDSU Plant Science Department at the Northeast Research Station near Watertown. S.D. As the Plant Science Department research continues over a period of years at the Northeast Station. crop enterprise budgets will be adjusted to reflect new yield. cropping practice. etc. information. We also expect to develop farming system budgets for other parts of eastern South Dakota

Improving Assessment of Drug Safety Through Proteomics: Early Detection and Mechanistic Characterization of the Unforeseen Harmful Effects of Torcetrapib.

BackgroundEarly detection of adverse effects of novel therapies and understanding of their mechanisms could improve the safety and efficiency of drug development. We have retrospectively applied large-scale proteomics to blood samples from ILLUMINATE (Investigation of Lipid Level Management to Understand its Impact in Atherosclerotic Events), a trial of torcetrapib (a cholesterol ester transfer protein inhibitor), that involved 15 067 participants at high cardiovascular risk. ILLUMINATE was terminated at a median of 550 days because of significant absolute increases of 1.2% in cardiovascular events and 0.4% in mortality with torcetrapib. The aims of our analysis were to determine whether a proteomic analysis might reveal biological mechanisms responsible for these harmful effects and whether harmful effects of torcetrapib could have been detected early in the ILLUMINATE trial with proteomics.MethodsA nested case-control analysis of paired plasma samples at baseline and at 3 months was performed in 249 participants assigned to torcetrapib plus atorvastatin and 223 participants assigned to atorvastatin only. Within each treatment arm, cases with events were matched to controls 1:1. Main outcomes were a survey of 1129 proteins for discovery of biological pathways altered by torcetrapib and a 9-protein risk score validated to predict myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, or death.ResultsPlasma concentrations of 200 proteins changed significantly with torcetrapib. Their pathway analysis revealed unexpected and widespread changes in immune and inflammatory functions, as well as changes in endocrine systems, including in aldosterone function and glycemic control. At baseline, 9-protein risk scores were similar in the 2 treatment arms and higher in participants with subsequent events. At 3 months, the absolute 9-protein derived risk increased in the torcetrapib plus atorvastatin arm compared with the atorvastatin-only arm by 1.08% (P=0.0004). Thirty-seven proteins changed in the direction of increased risk of 49 proteins previously associated with cardiovascular and mortality risk.ConclusionsHeretofore unknown effects of torcetrapib were revealed in immune and inflammatory functions. A protein-based risk score predicted harm from torcetrapib within just 3 months. A protein-based risk assessment embedded within a large proteomic survey may prove to be useful in the evaluation of therapies to prevent harm to patients.Clinical trial registrationURL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00134264

Extracting the time-dependent transmission rate from infection data via solution of an inverse ODE problem

The transmission rate of many acute infectious diseases varies significantly in time, but the underlying mechanisms are usually uncertain. They may include seasonal changes in the environment, contact rate, immune system response, etc. The transmission rate has been thought difficult to measure directly. We present a new algorithm to compute the time-dependent transmission rate directly from prevalence data, which makes no assumptions about the number of susceptible or vital rates. The algorithm follows our complete and explicit solution of a mathematical inverse problem for SIR-type transmission models. We prove that almost any infection profile can be perfectly fitted by an SIR model with variable transmission rate. This clearly shows a serious danger of overfitting such transmission models. We illustrate the algorithm with historic UK measles data and our observations support the common belief that measles transmission was predominantly driven by school contacts

Real-world clinical experience in the Connect® chronic lymphocytic leukaemia registry: a prospective cohort study of 1494 patients across 199 US centres.

The clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is heterogeneous, and treatment options vary considerably. The Connect® CLL registry is a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study that provides a real-world perspective on the management of, and outcomes for, patients with CLL. Between 2010 and 2014, 1494 patients with CLL and that initiated therapy, were enrolled from 199 centres throughout the USA (179 community-, 17 academic-, and 3 government-based centres). Patients were grouped by line of therapy at enrolment (LOT). We describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of, and practice patterns for, patients with CLL enrolled in this treatment registry, providing patient-level observational data that represent real-world experiences in the USA. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses were performed on 49·3% of patients at enrolment. The most common genetic abnormalities detected by FISH were del(13q) and trisomy 12 (45·7% and 20·8%, respectively). Differences in disease characteristics and comorbidities were observed between patients enrolled in LOT1 and combined LOT2/≥3 cohorts. Important trends observed include the infrequent use of genetic prognostic testing, and differences in patient characteristics for patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy combinations. These data represent experiences of patients with CLL in the USA, which may inform treatment decisions in everyday practice

Should Aggressive Surgical Local Control Be Attempted in All Patients with Metastatic or Pelvic Ewing's Sarcoma?

In previous reports, patients with Ewing's sarcoma received radiation therapy (XRT) for definitive local control because metastatic disease and pelvic location were thought to preclude aggressive local treatment. We sought to determine if single-site metastatic disease should be treated differently from multicentric-metastatic disease. We also wanted to reinvestigate the impact of XRT, pelvic location, and local recurrence on outcomes. Our results demonstrated a significant difference in overall survival (OS) between patients with either localized disease or a single-metastatic site and patients with multicentric-metastatic disease (P = 0.004). Local control was also found to be an independent predictor of outcomes as demonstrated by a significant difference in OS between those with and without local recurrence (P = 0.001). Axial and pelvic location did not predict a decreased OS. Based on these results, we concluded that pelvic location and the diagnosis of metastatic disease at diagnosis should not preclude aggressive local control, except in cases of multicentric-metastatic disease

Introducing e-consents in a clinical setting

Preeclampsia (PE) is a multiorgan hypertensive-disorder in pregnancy that causes significant maternal-fetal mortality and morbidity. The diagnostics and therapeutics for PE are limited due to its unclear etiology. Using the UI Maternal Fetal Tissue Bank, our lab has demonstrated that copeptin is robustly predictive of PE. To investigate copeptin further, we developed the Rule Out Pre-Eclampsia Study (ROPE). The ROPE study recruits women admitted to Labor and Delivery for evaluation of PE. Women are admitted for PE evaluation at all hours. Research team members are not available at all times to obtain consent which limits recruitment. Our project aimed to develop an electronic informed consent (e-IC) that is compliant with the Federal Regulation for Human Research Protection and is easy to use and readily understood by study participants. After obtaining IRB approval, simulated patients were given an iPad on which to read and evaluate the e-IC using a validated questionnaire, the Quality of Informed Consent (QuIC). Based on the QuIC, the e-IC was modified and re-tested. Participants demonstrated good comprehension of the e-IC as evidence by QuIC scores ranging from 61 to 96. Based on our results, the e-IC is an effective and efficient method for the Informed Consent process