Surface code fidelity at finite temperatures

We study the dependence of the fidelity of the surface code in the presence of a single finite-temperature massless bosonic environment after a quantum error correction cycle. The three standard types of environment are considered: super-Ohmic, Ohmic, and sub-Ohmic. Our results show that, for regimes relevant to current experiments, quantum error correction works well even in the presence of environment-induced, long-range inter-qubit interactions. A threshold always exists at finite temperatures, although its temperature dependence is very sensitive to the type of environment. For the super-Ohmic case, the critical coupling constant separating high- from low-fidelity decreases with increasing temperature. For both Ohmic and super-Ohmic cases, the dependence of the critical coupling on temperature is weak. In all cases, the critical coupling is determined by microscopic parameters of the environment. For the sub-Ohmic case, it also depends strongly on the duration of the QEC cycle.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Advanced smoke meter development survey and analysis

Ideal smoke meter characteristics are determined to provide a basis for evaluation of candidate systems. Five promising techniques are analyzed in detail to evaluate compilance with the practical smoke meter requirements. Four of the smoke measurement concepts are optical methods: Modulated Transmission (MODTRAN), Cross Beam Absorption Counter (CBAC), Laser Induced Incandescence (LIN), and Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS). A rapid response filter instrument called a Taper Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM) is also evaluated. For each technique, the theoretical principles are described, the expected performance is determined, and the advantages and disadvantages are discussed The expected performance is evaluated against each of the smoke meter specifications, and the key questions for further study are given. The most promising smoke meter technique analyzed was MODTRAN, which is a variation on a direct transmission measurement. The soot-laden gas is passed through a transmission cell, and the gas pressure is modulated by a speaker

Lean Body Mass Index for women ages 18-75 years of age

Purpose: Lean mass is an important component of health because of its multifaceted role in the body. Of particular concern are the effects of muscle mass loss due to aging. Lean mass index (LMI), calculated as lean mass/height2, and fat-free mass index (FFMI) are used to assist in determining a healthy lean mass. The exact FFMI a healthy individual should have to be considered clinically healthy is unclear. Three population-based studies have been done to establish FFMI percentiles, but none were with American subjects. The purpose of this study was to develop LMI percentiles for females of different age groups, to compare the LMI values among these groups, and to compare the FFMI of this cohort to previous studies. Methods: Participants included 762 women, 18 to 75 yrs of age, who had DXA body composition testing at the Fitness Institute of Texas. LMI was calculated for each participant. The women were split into age groups of 18-22 (G1), 23-39 (G2), and 40+ (G3) yrs of age. Cumulative relative frequency was used to determine the LMI percentiles for each group and a univariate ANOVA was used to compare the LMI of the three groups. FFMI percentiles were developed to compare with previously published studies using age groupings of 18-34 and 35-59 yrs of age. Results: The LMI percentiles for each age group are shown in Figure 1. LMI increased significantly between each age group: G1 (15.2±1.8 kg/ m2) \u3c G2 (15.7±1.9 kg/ m2) \u3c G3 (16.1±2.0 kg/ m2) (

Body Composition and Body Satisfaction in Adult Men and Women

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the strongest relationships and predictors of self-perceived weight/body composition dissatisfaction from various body anthropometric measures. Hypotheses were that, 1) men (M) and women (W) with an overall higher percentage of body fat would exhibit greater weight dissatisfaction, and 2) that W would experience a greater dissatisfaction than M. Methods: A convenience cohort of 1404 participants (642 M and 762 W), 18-75 yrs of age (30.6 ± 12.4 yrs), ranked their satisfaction with their weight/body composition on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 (1= very satisfied, 2 = satisfied, 3 = somewhat satisfied/somewhat dissatisfied, 4= dissatisfied, 5 = very dissatisfied). If not satisfied or very satisfied, participants were asked “what would make you satisfied?” Responses included: no choice, gain weight and/or muscle, lose 5-10 lbs., lose 10-15 lbs., lose 15-25 lbs., lose more than 25 lbs., be within recommended BF% range, and other. Their total and regional body composition was then measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the Fitness Institute of Texas. Results: Spearman correlations were used to compare dissatisfaction ratings and body composition measures. Most body composition variables were significantly correlated (p \u3c 0.01) with dissatisfaction. The highest correlations for W were: total fat mass (FM) (0.60), android FM (0.58), trunk FM (0.58), and BMI (0.58). For M the highest correlations were: android fat% (0.55), android FM (0.55), android mass (0.55), total fat % (0.55) and trunk fat % (0.55). All lean mass measures had the lowest correlation with dissatisfaction for M (0.03 – 0.19) and W (0.18 – 0.28). At all body composition levels, more W than M were dissatisfied with their weight/body composition. Stepwise ordinal regression, with dissatisfaction as the outcome variable and DXA variables as predictors, determined that total fat, BMI and age explained 19.7% of the variation in the dissatisfaction of W, while android fat % and lean arm mass accounted for 16.3% of the variation in M (p \u3c 0.05). Of those dissatisfied, 19.2% of W and 42.5% of M wanted to “gain weight and/or muscle,” while 80.8% of W and 57.5% of M wanted to lose weight. Conclusion: In general, as total or regional body fat increases, so does weight/body composition dissatisfaction. At all levels of body composition, more W than M were dissatisfied with their weight/body composition. Of those dissatisfied, most participants wanted to lose weight instead of gain weight/muscle; however, more W than M want to lose weight, and more M than W want to gain weight/muscle. Body composition measures accounted for only a modest amount of self-perceived dissatisfaction; therefore further research should investigate factors beyond the physical that may better predict body dissatisfaction and better understand body image perceptions to develop individual strategies that encourage the adoption of healthy behaviors that promote an overall better quality of life

Understanding development project implementation: an actor-network perspective

Development projects are central to international development, yet the actual practice of their implementation is under-researched. In particular, we know little about how practice affects project performance and about how politics is enacted within such projects. This paper investigates these knowledge gaps through analysis, using actor-network theory (ANT), of a donor-funded reform project in the Sri Lankan public sector. By analysing, using mobilisation, interaction and disintegration of the local and global actor-networks that typically surround such development projects, the paper explains the project's trajectory. These actions represent the practice of politics that must, in turn, be understood in relation to network actor power: not through a static conception of ‘capacitive power’ but through the dynamic enacted concept of ‘associative power’. The paper concludes by reflecting on the contribution and limitations of ANT's local/global networks component in analysing development projects, and in providing insights for development project practice

A non-destructive approach to collect nest material data using photographs

\ua9 2021 The Authors. Ibis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ornithologists\u27 UnionThe materials that birds use to build their nests have a profound effect on nest quality and consequently on the builder’s reproductive success. Given that the common method to quantify nest materials by dismantling nests takes time and limits study species, we developed a non-destructive and much quicker method for quantifying nest materials using nest photographs. Using our photographic method, the proportions of the main materials in 45 Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus and 20 Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata nests, including grass, heather and moss, matched those found by dismantling the nests, but the proportions of rarer animal-derived materials differed between the two methods. Provided that there is an initial calibration with the dismantling method, the photographic method offers two key advantages: a reduction in the time it takes to quantify the major components of nests, and application to previously inaccessible data, including museum collections. Together, these advantages encourage further study of nesting materials and enable a better understanding of avian nest diversification

Mineralogical attenuation for metallic remediation in a passive system for mine water treatment

Passive systems with constructed wetlands have been consistently used to treat mine water from abandoned mines. Long-term and cost-effective remediation is a crucial expectation for these water treatment facilities. To achieve that, a complex chain of physical, chemical, biological, and mineralogical mechanisms for pollutants removal must be designed to simulate natural attenuation processes. This paper aims to present geochemical and mineralogical data obtained in a recently constructed passive system (from an abandoned mine, Jales, Northern Portugal). It shows the role of different solid materials in the retention of metals and arsenic, observed during the start-up period of the treatment plant. The mineralogical study focused on two types of materials: (1) the ochre-precipitates, formed as waste products from the neutralization process, and (2) the fine-grained minerals contained in the soil of the wetlands. The ochre-precipitates demonstrated to be poorly ordered iron-rich material, which gave rise to hematite upon artificial heating. The heating experiments also provided mineralogical evidence for the presence of an associated amorphous arsenic-rich compound. Chemical analysis on the freshly ochre-precipitates revealed high concentrations of arsenic (51,867 ppm) and metals, such as zinc (1,213 ppm) and manganese (821 ppm), indicating strong enrichment factors relative to the water from which they precipitate. Mineralogical data obtained in the soil of the wetlands indicate that chlorite, illite, chlorite–vermiculite and mica–vermiculite mixedlayers, vermiculite, kaolinite and goethite are concentrated in the fine-grained fractions (<20 and <2 μm). The chemical analyses show that high levels of arsenic (up to 3%) and metals are also retained in these fractions, which may be enhanced by the low degree of order of the clay minerals as suggested by an XRD study. The obtained results suggest that, although the treatment plant has been receiving water only since 2006, future performance will be strongly dependent on these identified mineralogical pollutant hosts.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

The HERITAGE Family Study: A Review of the Effects of Exercise Training on Cardiometabolic Health, with Insights into Molecular Transducers

The aim of the HERITAGE Family Study was to investigate individual differences in response to a standardized endurance exercise program, the role of familial aggregation, and the genetics of response levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors. Here we summarize the findings and their potential implications for cardiometabolic health and cardiorespiratory fitness. It begins with overviews of background and planning, recruitment, testing and exercise program protocol, quality control measures, and other relevant organizational issues. A summary of findings is then provided on cardiorespiratory fitness, exercise hemodynamics, insulin and glucose metabolism, lipid and lipoprotein profiles, adiposity and abdominal visceral fat, blood levels of steroids and other hormones, markers of oxidative stress, skeletal muscle morphology and metabolic indicators, and resting metabolic rate. These summaries document the extent of the individual differences in response to a standardized and fully monitored endurance exercise program and document the importance of familial aggregation and heritability level for exercise response traits. Findings from genomic markers, muscle gene expression studies, and proteomic and metabolomics explorations are reviewed, along with lessons learned from a bioinformatics-driven analysis pipeline. The new opportunities being pursued in integrative-omics and physiology have extended considerably the expected life of HERITAGE and are being discussed in relation to the original conceptual model of the study