Detection of continuous variable entanglement without coherent local oscillators

We propose three criteria for identifying continuous variable entanglement between two many-particle systems with no restrictions on the quantum state of the local oscillators used in the measurements. Mistakenly asserting a coherent state for the local oscillator can lead to incorrectly identifying the presence of entanglement. We demonstrate this in simulations with 100 particles, and also find that large number fluctuations do not prevent the observation of entanglement. Our results are important for quantum information experiments with realistic Bose-Einstein condensates or in optics with arbitrary photon states.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 Figure

Associations between social risk factors and surgical site infections after colectomy and abdominal hysterectomy

Importance: Surgical site infection (SSI) is an important patient safety outcome. Although social risk factors have been linked to many adverse health outcomes, it is unknown whether such factors are associated with higher rates of SSI. Objectives: To determine whether social risk factors, including race/ethnicity, insurance status, and neighborhood income, are associated with higher rates of SSI after colectomy or abdominal hysterectomy, 2 surgical procedures for which SSI rates are publicly reported and included in pay-for-performance programs by Medicare and other groups. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study analyzed adults undergoing colectomy or abdominal hysterectomy, as captured in State Inpatient Databases for Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and Vermont. Operations were performed in 2013 through 2014 at general acute care hospitals in the United States. Data analysis was conducted from October 2018 through June 2019. Exposures: Colectomy or hysterectomy. Main Outcomes and Measures: Postoperative complex SSI rates. Results: A total of 149 741 patients met the inclusion criteria, including 90 210 patients undergoing colectomies (mean [SD] age, 63.4 [15.6] years; 49 029 [54%] female; 74% white, 11% black, 9% Hispanic, and 5% other or unknown race/ethnicity) and 59 531 patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomies (mean [SD] age, 49.8 [11.8] years; 100% female; 52% white, 26% black, 14% Hispanic, and 8% other or unknown race/ethnicity). In the colectomy cohort, 34% had private insurance, 52% had Medicare, 9% had Medicaid, and 5% had other or unknown insurance or were uninsured; 24% were from the lowest quartile of median zip code income. In the hysterectomy cohort, 57% had private insurance, 16% had Medicare, 19% had Medicaid, and 3% had other or unknown insurance or were uninsured; 27% were from the lowest-income zip codes. Within 30 days of surgery, SSI rates were 2.55% for the colectomy cohort and 0.61% for the hysterectomy cohort. For colectomy, black race (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.71; 95% CI, 0.61-0.82) was associated with lower odds of SSI, whereas Medicare (AOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.10-1.41), Medicaid (AOR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.06-1.44), and low neighborhood income (AOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.01-1.29) were associated with higher odds of SSI. For hysterectomy, no social risk factors that were examined in this study had statistically significant associations with SSI after adjustment for clinical risk. Conclusions and Relevance: Inconsistent associations between social risk factors and SSIs were found. For colectomy, infection prevention programs targeting low-income groups may be important for reducing disparities in this postoperative outcome, and policy makers could consider taking social risk factors into account when evaluating hospital performance

Greater Sage-Grouse Demography, Habitat Selection, and Habitat Connectivity in Relation to Western Juniper and its Management

The expansion of native, woody plants is a global phenomenon with characteristics and effects that are often indistinguishable from exotic invasions. These expansions have largely been driven by altered fire regimes and favorable climatic conditions. In the Great Basin of western North America, expansion of conifers such as western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) is a considered a primary threat to sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse), a sagebrush obligate gallinaceous bird, utilizes sagebrush during every phase of its lifecycle. Sage-grouse have declined across their range and currently occupy approximately 56% of their pre-European settlement distribution. Management agencies are actively removing conifers that established after European settlement (~1870) in the Great Basin to restore sagebrush ecosystem function and benefit species such as sage-grouse that are inextricably tied these landscapes. The literature on the response of sage-grouse to these broad-scale management actions is limited. My study utilized a “before-after-control-impact” study design to investigate the response of sage-grouse populations, habitat selection, and habitat connectivity to conifer removal. I was able to build upon a radio telemetry data set that began in 2010 and with my work included a total sample of 417 females, their nests (n = 378), and broods (n = 233) for demographic and resource selection modeling. In Chapter 2, I developed a hierarchical population model in a Bayesian framework that integrated telemetry data and lek (i.e., breeding arena) count data to estimate sage-grouse vital rates and population growth rates in a treatment area with conifer removal (Treatment) and a control area (Control). The model indicated that dynamics in population growth rates (λ) approximately tracked each other in the Treatment and Control. However, starting in 2013 (conifer removals initiated in 2012), λ in the Treatment steadily increased relative to the Control and was 11.2% higher by 2017. This trend was driven by increases in juvenile, adult, first nest, and yearling survival in the Treatment relative to the Control. These findings indicated that conifer removal is an effective technique for restoring sagebrush ecosystem function and increasing sage-grouse population growth rates. In Chapter 3, I estimated resource selection functions for sage-grouse nest site and breeding season habitat selection. Conifer cover and conifer removal variables were among the most influential predictors of nest site and breeding season habitat selection. Sage-grouse selected nest sites in and near older conifer removal areas and were 16% less likely to nest in an area for every 1% increase in conifer cover within 400 m of the nest. During the breeding season, sage-grouse selected habitat closer to conifer removals and were 26% more likely to use a removal each year post-removal (1–5 years post-removal). By 2017, 75% of the treatment area was in the medium-high and high probability of use categories resulting from conifer removal, up from 49% in 2010. These findings demonstrated the efficacy of conifer removal for increasing usable space for sage-grouse in landscapes affected by conifer expansion. In Chapter 4, I modeled the landscape connectivity in the Treatment with resistance surfaces generated with a resource selection function. The change in resistance resulting from conifer removal was quantified within the habitat utilized by sage-grouse, which was modeled with Brownian bridge movement models and straight-line, movement pathways. Regardless of the habitat use metric used, there was a reduction in landscape resistance in the areas used by sage-grouse in the post-conifer removal period. When comparing areas used by females with broods and those without, breeding season home ranges of females without broods experienced greater increases (≤81% increase) in connectivity after conifer removal. These differences in landscape resistance held when comparing females with broods and those without in a given post-removal year. These findings indicated that conifer removal is an effective method of restoring landscape connectivity in landscapes affected by post-European settlement expansion of conifers. The difference in benefits for females with and without broods may have demographic implications and needs further investigation. I sought to evaluate the response of sage-grouse to landscape-scale conifer removal. Collectively, I demonstrated increased population growth rates, usable space, and landscape connectivity resulting from conifer removal. While the extent of sagebrush ecosystems affected by conifer expansion in the Great Basin and the larger sage-grouse range is immense, these findings indicated that targeted conifer removal is an effective management technique to improve the ecosystem function of these landscapes and benefit sage-grouse and likely other sagebrush obligates

A statistical gap-filling method to interpolate global monthly surface ocean carbon dioxide data

We have developed a statistical gap-filling method adapted to the specific coverage and prop-erties of observed fugacity of surface ocean CO2(fCO2). We have used this method to interpolate the Sur-face Ocean CO2Atlas (SOCAT) v2 database on a 2.5832.58 global grid (south of 708N) for 1985–2011 atmonthly resolution. The method combines a spatial interpolation based on a ‘‘radius of influence’’ to deter-mine nearby similar fCO2values with temporal harmonic and cubic spline curve-fitting, and also fits long-term trends and seasonal cycles. Interannual variability is established using deviations of observations fromthe fitted trends and seasonal cycles. An uncertainty is computed for all interpolated values based on thespatial and temporal range of the interpolation. Tests of the method using model data show that it performsas well as or better than previous regional interpolation methods, but in addition it provides a near-globaland interannual coverage

PHAT Stellar Cluster Survey I. Year 1 Catalog and Integrated Photometry

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an on-going Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin^2). This work presents results derived from the first \sim25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include \sim2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, Accepted by Ap

Intra- and inter-pandemic variations of antiviral, antibiotics and decongestants in wastewater treatment plants and receiving rivers

The concentration of eleven antibiotics (trimethoprim, oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, cefotaxime, doxycycline, sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin, clarithromycin, ofloxacin, norfloxacin), three decongestants (naphazoline, oxymetazoline, xylometazoline) and the antiviral drug oseltamivir’s active metabolite, oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), were measured weekly at 21 locations within the River Thames catchment in England during the month of November 2009, the autumnal peak of the influenza A[H1N1]pdm09 pandemic. The aim was to quantify the pharmaceutical response to the pandemic and compare this to drug use during the late pandemic (March 2010) and the inter-pandemic periods (May 2011). A large and small wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) were sampled in November 2009 to understand the differential fate of the analytes in the two WWTPs prior to their entry in the receiving river and to estimate drug users using a wastewater epidemiology approach. Mean hourly OC concentrations in the small and large WWTP’s influent were 208 and 350 ng/L (max, 2070 and 550 ng/L, respectively). Erythromycin was the most concentrated antibiotic measured in Benson and Oxford WWTPs influent (max = 6,870 and 2,930 ng/L, respectively). Napthazoline and oxymetazoline were the most frequently detected and concentrated decongestant in the Benson WWTP influent (1650 and 67 ng/L) and effluent (696 and 307 ng/L), respectively, but were below detection in the Oxford WWTP. OC was found in 73% of November 2009’s weekly river samples (max = 193 ng/L), but only in 5% and 0% of the late- and inter-pandemic river samples, respectively. The mean river concentration of each antibiotic during the pandemic largely fell between 17–74 ng/L, with clarithromycin (max = 292 ng/L) and erythromycin (max = 448 ng/L) yielding the highest single measure. In general, the concentration and frequency of detecting antibiotics in the river increased during the pandemic. OC was uniquely well-suited for the wastewater epidemiology approach owing to its nature as a prodrug, recalcitrance and temporally- and spatially-resolved prescription statistics

The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury

The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury (ANGST) is a systematic survey to establish a legacy of uniform multi-color photometry of resolved stars for a volume-limited sample of nearby galaxies (D<4 Mpc). The survey volume encompasses 69 galaxies in diverse environments, including close pairs, small & large groups, filaments, and truly isolated regions. The galaxies include a nearly complete range of morphological types spanning a factor of ~10^4 in luminosity and star formation rate. The survey data consists of images taken with ACS on HST, supplemented with archival data and new WFPC2 imaging taken after the failure of ACS. Survey images include wide field tilings covering the full radial extent of each galaxy, and single deep pointings in uncrowded regions of the most massive galaxies in the volume. The new wide field imaging in ANGST reaches median 50% completenesses of m_F475W=28.0 mag, m_F606W=27.3 mag, and m_F814W=27.3 mag, several magnitudes below the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB). The deep fields reach magnitudes sufficient to fully resolve the structure in the red clump. The resulting photometric catalogs are publicly accessible and contain over 34 million photometric measurements of >14 million stars. In this paper we present the details of the sample selection, imaging, data reduction, and the resulting photometric catalogs, along with an analysis of the photometric uncertainties (systematic and random), for both the ACS and WFPC2 imaging. We also present uniformly derived relative distances measured from the apparent magnitude of the TRGB.Comment: 54 pages, including 24 pages of figures and 16 pages of tables. Project website and data available at http://www.nearbygalaxies.org/ . Data is also available through MAST. Scheduled to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements. (Replaced to fix several figures that were damaged during compression