Quantum algorithms offer a dramatic speedup for computational problems in material science and chemistry. However, any near-term realizations of these algorithms will need to be optimized to fit ...within the finite resources offered by existing noisy hardware. Here, taking advantage of the adjustable coupling of gmon qubits, we demonstrate a continuous two-qubit gate set that can provide a threefold reduction in circuit depth as compared to a standard decomposition. We implement two gate families: an imaginary swap-like (iSWAP-like) gate to attain an arbitrary swap angle, θ, and a controlled-phase gate that generates an arbitrary conditional phase, ϕ. Using one of each of these gates, we can perform an arbitrary two-qubit gate within the excitation-preserving subspace allowing for a complete implementation of the so-called Fermionic simulation (fSim) gate set. We benchmark the fidelity of the iSWAP-like and controlled-phase gate families as well as 525 other fSim gates spread evenly across the entire fSim (θ, ϕ) parameter space, achieving a purity-limited average two-qubit Pauli error of 3.8 × 10−3 per fSim gate.
Nuclear β decay in magic nuclei is investigated, taking into account the coupling between particles and collective vibrations, on top of self-consistent random phase approximation calculations based ...on Skyrme density functionals. The low-lying Gamow-Teller strength is shifted downwards and at times becomes fragmented; as a consequence, the β-decay half-lives are reduced due to the increase of the phase space available for the decay. In some cases, this leads to a very good agreement between theoretical and experimental lifetimes: this happens, in particular, in the case of the Skyrme force SkM* that can also reproduce the line shape of the high-energy Gamow-Teller resonance as was previously shown.
Quantum computing can become scalable through error correction, but logical error rates only decrease with system size when physical errors are sufficiently uncorrelated. During computation, unused ...high energy levels of the qubits can become excited, creating leakage states that are long-lived and mobile. Particularly for superconducting transmon qubits, this leakage opens a path to errors that are correlated in space and time. Here, we report a reset protocol that returns a qubit to the ground state from all relevant higher level states. We test its performance with the bit-flip stabilizer code, a simplified version of the surface code for quantum error correction. We investigate the accumulation and dynamics of leakage during error correction. Using this protocol, we find lower rates of logical errors and an improved scaling and stability of error suppression with increasing qubit number. This demonstration provides a key step on the path towards scalable quantum computing.
Abstract
The impact of nuclear
β
-decay half-life uncertainties on the
r
-process simulations are investigated in the hot wind
r
-process scenarios. It is found that the theoretical deviations among ...various half-life predictions are generally smaller and larger than 1 order of magnitude for the unknown nuclei with
N
≲ 126 and
N
≳ 126, respectively. This will have a significant impact on the
r
-process freeze-out time and the neutron-to-seed ratio after the freeze-out time. A universal staggering pattern is observed for the
r
-process abundances with the use of different half-life models before freeze-out. After the freeze-out, nuclear
β
-decay half-lives remarkably affect the detailed
r
-process abundance distributions. It is also found that nuclear
β
-decay half-lives have a remarkable impact on the abundances of transuranium elements, which play an important role in reproducing the second and the rare-earth peaks of solar
r
-process abundances, and filling the troughs before them by nuclear fissions.
Background and purpose
The identification of reliable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for Parkinson's disease (PD) is urgently needed. Here, we explored the potential use of α‐synuclein (α‐syn) ...in plasma neuronal exosomes as a biomarker for early PD diagnosis and disease progression.
Methods
This study included both cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs. The subjects included 36 patients with early‐stage PD, 17 patients with advanced PD, 20 patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and 21 healthy controls (HCs). α‐syn levels were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. A subgroup of patients with early‐stage PD (n = 18) participated in a follow‐up examination with repeated blood collection and clinical assessments after an average of 22 months.
Results
The α‐syn levels in plasma neuronal exosomes were significantly higher in patients with early‐stage PD compared with HCs (P = 0.007). Differences in α‐syn levels between patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and HCs did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.08). In addition, Spearman correlation analysis revealed that neuronal exosomal α‐syn concentrations were correlated with Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III/(I + II + III) scores, Non‐Motor Symptom Questionnaire scores and Sniffin' Sticks 16‐item test scores of patients with PD (P < 0.05). After a mean follow‐up of 22 months in patients with early‐stage PD, a Cox regression analysis adjusted for age and gender showed that longitudinally increased α‐syn rather than baseline α‐syn levels were associated with higher risk for motor symptom progression in PD (P = 0.039).
Conclusions
Our results suggested that α‐syn in plasma neuronal exosomes may serve as a biomarker to aid early diagnosis of PD and also as a prognostic marker for PD progression.
To date, the commonly used methods to assess rumen fermentation are invasive. Exhaled breath contains hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOC) that can reflect animal physiological processes. In ...the present study, for the first time, we aimed to use a noninvasive metabolomics approach based on high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify rumen fermentation parameters in dairy cows. Enteric methane (CH4) production from 7 lactating cows was measured 8 times over 3 consecutive days using the GreenFeed system (C-Lock Technology Inc.). Simultaneously, exhalome samples were collected in Tedlar gas sampling bags and analyzed offline using a secondary electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry system. In total, 1,298 features were detected, among them targeted exhaled volatile fatty acids (eVFA; i.e., acetate, propionate, butyrate), which were putatively annotated using their exact mass-to-charge ratio. The intensity of eVFA, in particular acetate, increased immediately after feeding and followed a similar pattern to that observed for ruminal CH4 production. The average total eVFA concentration was 35.5 count per second (CPS), and among the individual eVFA, acetate had the greatest concentration, averaging 21.3 CPS, followed by propionate at 11.5 CPS, and butyrate at 2.67 CPS. Further, exhaled acetate was on average the most abundant of the individual eVFA at around 59.3%, followed by 32.5 and 7.9% of the total eVFA for propionate and butyrate, respectively. This corresponds well with the previously reported proportions of these VFA in the rumen. The diurnal patterns of ruminal CH4 emission and individual eVFA were characterized using a linear mixed model with cosine function fit. The model characterized similar diurnal patterns for eVFA and ruminal CH4 and H2 production. Regarding the diurnal patterns of eVFA, the phase (time of peak) of butyrate occurred first, followed by that of acetate and propionate. Importantly, the phase of total eVFA occurred around 1 h before that of ruminal CH4. This corresponds well with existing data on the relationship between rumen VFA production and CH4 formation. Results from the present study revealed a great potential to assess the rumen fermentation of dairy cows using exhaled metabolites as a noninvasive proxy for rumen VFA. Further validation, with comparisons to rumen fluid, and establishment of the proposed method are required.
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Summary
We aimed to summarize the results of genetic association studies for obesity and provide a comprehensive annotation of all susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A total of 72 ...studies were summarized, resulting in 90,361 susceptibility SNPs (738 index SNPs and 89,623 linkage disequilibrium SNPs). Over 90% of the susceptibility SNPs are located in non‐coding regions, and it is challenging to understand their functional significance. Therefore, we annotated these SNPs by using various functional databases. We identified 24,623 functional SNPs, including 4 nonsense SNPs, 479 missense SNPs, 399 untranslated region SNPs which might affect microRNA binding, 262 promoter and 5,492 enhancer SNPs which might affect transcription factor binding, 7 splicing sites, 76 SNPs which might affect gene methylation levels, 1,839 SNPs under natural selection and 17,351 SNPs which might modify histone binding. Expression quantitative trait loci analyses for functional SNPs identified 98 target genes, including 69 protein coding genes, 27 long non‐coding RNAs and 3 processed transcripts. The percentage of protein coding genes that could be correlated with obesity‐related pathways directly or through gene–gene interaction is 75.36 (52/69). Our results may serve as an encyclopaedia of obesity susceptibility SNPs and offer guide for functional experiments.
Heat stress (HS) impedes cattle behavior and performance and is an animal comfort and welfare issue. The objective of this study was to characterize the time budget and circadian rhythm of lying ...behavior in dairy cows during HS and to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of vitamin D3 and Ca. Twelve multiparous Holstein cows (42.2 ± 5.6 kg milk/d; 83 ± 27 d in milk) housed in tiestalls were used in a split-plot design with the concentration of dietary vitamin E and Se as main plots (LESe: 11.1 IU/kg and 0.55 mg/kg, and HESe: 223 IU/kg and 1.8 mg/kg, respectively). Within each plot cows were randomly assigned to (1) HS with low concentrations of vitamin D3 and Ca (HS, 1,012 IU/kg and 0.73%, respectively), (2) HS with high concentrations of vitamin D3 and Ca (HS+D3/Ca; 3,764 IU/kg and 0.97%, respectively), or (3) thermoneutral pair-fed (TNPF) with low concentrations of vitamin D3 and Ca (1,012 IU/kg and 0.73%, respectively) in a Latin square design with 14-d periods and 7-d washouts. Lying behavior was measured with HOBO Loggers in 15-min intervals. Overall, cows in HS spent less time lying per day relative to TNPF from d 7 to 14. Daily lying time was positively correlated with milk yield, energy-corrected milk yield, and feed efficiency, and was negatively correlated with rectal temperature, respiratory rate, fecal calprotectin, tumor necrosis factor-α, and C-reactive protein. A treatment by time interaction was observed for lying behavior: the time spent lying was lesser for cows in HS than in TNPF in the early morning (0000–0600 h) and in the night (1800–2400 h). The circadian rhythm of lying behavior was characterized by fitting a cosine function of time into linear mixed model. Daily rhythmicity of lying was detected for cows in TNPF and HS+D3/Ca, whereas only a tendency in HS cows was observed. Cows in TNPF had the highest mesor (the average level of diurnal fluctuations; 34.2 min/h) and amplitude (the distance between the peak and mesor; 17.9 min/h). Both the mesor and amplitude were higher in HS+D3/Ca relative to HS (26.6 vs. 25.2 min/h and 3.91 min/h vs. 2.18 min/h, respectively). The acrophase (time of the peak) of lying time in TNPF, HS, and HS+D3/Ca were 0028, 0152, and 0054 h, respectively. Lastly, a continuous increase in daily lying time in TNPF was observed during the first 4 d of the experimental period in which DMI was gradually restricted, suggesting that intake restrictions may shift feeding behavior and introduce biases in the behavior of animals. In conclusion, lying behavior was compromised in dairy cows under HS, characterizing reduced daily lying time and disrupted circadian rhythms, and the compromised lying behavior can be partially restored by supplementation of vitamin D3 and Ca. Further research may be required for a more suitable model to study behavior of cows under HS.
Bipolar disorder (BD), particularly BD II, is frequently misdiagnosed as unipolar depression (UD), leading to inappropriate treatment and poor clinical outcomes. Although depressive symptoms may be ...expressed similarly in UD and BD, the similarities and differences in the architecture of brain functional networks between the two disorders are still unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that UD and BD II patients would show convergent and divergent patterns of disrupted topological organization of the functional connectome, especially in the default mode network (DMN) and the limbic network. Brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired from 32 UD-unmedicated patients, 31 unmedicated BD II patients (current episode depressed) and 43 healthy subjects. Using graph theory, we systematically studied the topological organization of their whole-brain functional networks at the following three levels: whole brain, modularity and node. First, both the UD and BD II patients showed increased characteristic path length and decreased global efficiency compared with the controls. Second, both the UD and BD II patients showed disrupted intramodular connectivity within the DMN and limbic system network. Third, decreased nodal characteristics (nodal strength and nodal efficiency) were found predominantly in brain regions in the DMN, limbic network and cerebellum of both the UD and BD II patients, whereas differences between the UD and BD II patients in the nodal characteristics were also observed in the precuneus and temporal pole. Convergent deficits in the topological organization of the whole brain, DMN and limbic networks may reflect overlapping pathophysiological processes in unipolar and bipolar depression. Our discovery of divergent regional connectivity that supports emotion processing could help to identify biomarkers that will aid in differentiating these disorders.
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