β-NaYF4 co-doped with Er3+ and Yb3+ ions were successfully synthesized at the reaction temperature as low as 180 °C by the two steps procedure using the rare-earth stearates as precursors. The XRD ...and TEM data show that the NaYF4 nanocrystals were relatively uniform with the approximate size of 50 nm and the dopants led to shrinking of NaYF4 crystals. Moreover, the EDX mapping analysis indicate that the Yb3+, Er3+ ions were distributed homogeneously in host matrix even the Yb3+ doping concentration as high as 25%. The PL spectroscopy was used to investigate the optical properties of these systems. The red/green emission ratio of Er3+ was controlled by changing the doping concentration in matrix. An increase of Yb3+ contents from 2 to 25 mol % induced a remarkably tunable emission from green to red. Addition, the highest red/green ratio was also achieved for the sample of 1% Er3+ and 20% Yb3+. Combining the results of the up-conversion emission intensity as a function of the pump power and luminescence data, the energy transfer mechanism between the Yb3+ sensitizers and Er3+ activators was demonstrated. The intense efficiency of red emission under 980 nm excitation provides the potential applications in bio-labeling and bio-imaging.
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•β-phase NaYF4 nanocrystals were achieved at low reaction temperature of 180 °C.•Nanocrystals size distributed uniformly in range of 40 ÷ 50 nm.•The doping ions dispersed homogeneously in host matrix even at high doping content.•Tunable green-to-red emission is controlled by changing the Yb3+ and Er3+ contents.•Energy transfer mechanism of Yb3+ sensitizer and Er3+ activator is demonstrated.
The aims of this in vivo study were to evaluate the impact of needle bevel design on patients’ pain perception and the mechanical deformation of the needle tip after the injection. In a prospective ...single-blinded trial, 150 patients received conventional infiltration anaesthesia for dental treatment by one examiner. Patients were randomized for one out of three different needle bevel types (scalpel-designed bevel needle (SB), n=50; triple bevel needle (TB), n=50; regular bevel needle (RB), n=50). Subjects’ self-reported injection pain perception was evaluated using a numeric rating scale (NRS). For each needle tip, deformations after single use were measured using SEM. A significant lower injection pain level was found in SB (mean 2.1±1.2) than in TB (mean 3.5±1.6;) and RB (mean 3.4±1.0; all P<0.001). A needle deformation was detected in about 97.3% of all needles (SB 50/50, TB 50/50, and RB: 46/50). A higher number of barbs were found in SB (29/50) versus TB (17/50) and RB (19/50). For dental local infiltration anaesthesia, injection needles with a scalpel-designed bevel demonstrated significantly less injection pain. Needle tip deflections after anaesthetic agent infiltration, especially barbed hooks on the non-cutting edge may result in greater soft tissue trauma.
Understanding universal aspects of quantum dynamics is an unresolved problem in statistical mechanics. In particular, the spin dynamics of the one-dimensional Heisenberg model were conjectured as to ...belong to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class based on the scaling of the infinite-temperature spin-spin correlation function. In a chain of 46 superconducting qubits, we studied the probability distribution of the magnetization transferred across the chain's center, Formula: see text. The first two moments of Formula: see text show superdiffusive behavior, a hallmark of KPZ universality. However, the third and fourth moments ruled out the KPZ conjecture and allow for evaluating other theories. Our results highlight the importance of studying higher moments in determining dynamic universality classes and provide insights into universal behavior in quantum systems.
Selective electrochemical reduction of CO
is an emerging field which needs more active and stable catalysts for its practicability. In this work, we have studied the influence of Ag metal ...incorporation into Cu dendritic structures on the product distribution and selectivity of CO
electroreduction. Bimetallic AgCu foams prepared by hydrogen bubble templated electrodeposition shift the potentials of CO production to more positive values compared to bulk silver. The presence of Ag during the electrodeposition significantly changed the size and the shape of the dendrites in the pore walls of AgCu foams compared to Cu foam. The CO adsorption characteristics are studied by operando Raman spectroscopy. In the presence of Ag, the maximum CO adsorption is observed at a more positive potential. As a result, an improved selectivity for CO is obtained for AgCu foam catalysts at lower overpotentials compared to Cu foam catalyst, evidencing a synergistic effect between the bimetallic components. We were successful in increasing the CO mass activity with respect to the total Ag amount. AgCu foams are found to retain the CO selectivity during long-term operation, and with their easily scalable electrodeposition synthesis they possess high potential for industrial application.
During folliculogenesis, the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge triggers dynamic events in granulosa cells that culminate with ovulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the epidermal growth ...factor receptor (EGFR) is required for ovulation in cattle, and if it regulates the expression of the natriuretic peptide (NP) system in granulosa cells after gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)/LH stimulation. It was observed that GnRH induces amphiregulin (AREG) and epiregulin (EREG) mRNA at 3 and 6 h after in vivo treatment, but the expression of these genes was not regulated by atrial (ANP) and C-type (CNP) NPs in granulosa cells cultured in vitro. The abundance of mRNA encoding the NP receptors (NPR1, 2 and 3) was not altered by LH supplementation and/or EGFR inhibition (AG1478; AG) in granulosa cells after 6 h of in vitro culture. However, in the same conditions, mRNA encoding the natriuretic peptide precursor C (NPPC) was upregulated by LH, whereas AG (0.5 and 5 μM) inhibited the LH effect. In order to confirm those results, 5 μM AG or saline were intrafollicularly injected in preovulatory follicles and cows were simultaneously treated with GnRH intramuscularly. Granulosa cells harvested at 6 h after GnRH injection revealed higher NPR3 and lower NPPC mRNA levels in AG-treated, compared to control cows. However, intrafollicular injection of AG did not inhibit GnRH-induced ovulation. In granulosa cells cultured in vitro, ANP associated with LH increased prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) mRNA abundance. In conclusion, we inferred that LH modulated NPPC and NPR3 mRNA abundance through EGFR in bovine granulosa cells, but ovulation in cattle did not seem to depend on EGFR activation.
•Natriuretic peptides A (ANP) and C (CNP) do not regulate mRNA abundance of AREG and EREG in granulosa cells in vitro.•LH upregulates mRNA expression of NPPC and downregulates NPR3 mRNA expression through EGFR in granulosa cells.•ANP potentiates LH in inducing PTGS2 mRNA during the preovulatory cascade.•EGFR inhibition does not inhibit ovulation in cattle.
Engineered dissipative reservoirs have the potential to steer many-body quantum systems toward correlated steady states useful for quantum simulation of high-temperature superconductivity or quantum ...magnetism. Using up to 49 superconducting qubits, we prepared low-energy states of the transverse-field Ising model through coupling to dissipative auxiliary qubits. In one dimension, we observed long-range quantum correlations and a ground-state fidelity of 0.86 for 18 qubits at the critical point. In two dimensions, we found mutual information that extends beyond nearest neighbors. Lastly, by coupling the system to auxiliaries emulating reservoirs with different chemical potentials, we explored transport in the quantum Heisenberg model. Our results establish engineered dissipation as a scalable alternative to unitary evolution for preparing entangled many-body states on noisy quantum processors.
Undesired coupling to the surrounding environment destroys long-range correlations on quantum processors and hinders the coherent evolution in the nominally available computational space. This ...incoherent noise is an outstanding challenge to fully leverage the computation power of near-term quantum processors. It has been shown that benchmarking Random Circuit Sampling (RCS) with Cross-Entropy Benchmarking (XEB) can provide a reliable estimate of the effective size of the Hilbert space coherently available. The extent to which the presence of noise can trivialize the outputs of a given quantum algorithm, i.e. making it spoofable by a classical computation, is an unanswered question. Here, by implementing an RCS algorithm we demonstrate experimentally that there are two phase transitions observable with XEB, which we explain theoretically with a statistical model. The first is a dynamical transition as a function of the number of cycles and is the continuation of the anti-concentration point in the noiseless case. The second is a quantum phase transition controlled by the error per cycle; to identify it analytically and experimentally, we create a weak link model which allows varying the strength of noise versus coherent evolution. Furthermore, by presenting an RCS experiment with 67 qubits at 32 cycles, we demonstrate that the computational cost of our experiment is beyond the capabilities of existing classical supercomputers, even when accounting for the inevitable presence of noise. Our experimental and theoretical work establishes the existence of transitions to a stable computationally complex phase that is reachable with current quantum processors.
Summary
Background
Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV‐1) is the cause of respiratory disease, abortion storms, and outbreaks of herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Infection of the spinal cord is ...characterised by multifocal regions of virally infected vascular endothelium, associated with vasculitis, thrombosis and haemorrhage that result in ischaemia and organ dysfunction. However, the mechanism of thrombosis in affected horses is unknown.
Objectives
To evaluate tissue factor (TF) procoagulant activity and thrombin–antithrombin complex (TAT) levels in horses following infection with EHV‐1.
Study design
In vitro and in vivo studies following experimental EHV‐1 infection.
Methods
Horses were infected with EHV‐1 and levels of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)‐associated TF activity; plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)‐derived microvesicle (MV)‐associated TF activity and TAT complexes in plasma were examined.
Results
EHV‐1 infection increased PBMC TF procoagulant activity in vitro and in vivo. In infected horses, this increase was observed during the acute infection and was most marked at the onset and end of viraemia. However, no significant differences were observed between the horses that showed signs of EHM and the horses that did not develop EHM. Significant changes in MV‐associated TF procoagulant activity and TAT complexes were not observed in infected horses.
Main limitations
A small number of horses typically exhibit clinical EHM following experimental infection.
Conclusions
The results indicate that EHV‐1 infection increases PBMC‐associated TF procoagulant activity in vivo and in vitro. Additional in vivo studies are needed to better understand the role of TF‐dependent coagulation during EHM pathogenesis in horses.
Introdução: As Tecnologias de Redução de Patógenos (TRP) atuam basicamente na alteração dos ácidos nucleicos dos microrganismos, com intuito de aumentar a segurança transfusional. TRP foi implantada ...no Hemocentro de Belo Horizonte da Fundação Hemominas (FH) em dez/2021. No planejamento foi revisto o preparo de hemocomponentes com proposta de mudanças nos procedimentos, visando redução dos custos com insumos, sem perda da qualidade dos componentes plaquetários. As principais alterações foram: preparo do Buffy Coat (BC) seco para montagem de pool simples (5 BC e 1 plasma) ou pool duplo (8 BC e 1 plasma), o qual gera duas unidades de dose terapêutica, correspondendo a 4 BC cada. Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade dos Pool de Concentrados de Plaquetas (PCP) antes e após a inativação de patógenos. Materiais e métodos: Foram avaliados contagem de plaquetas/unidade (plaq/un), leucócitos/unidade (leuc/un) e pH de PCP e volume de plasma. Foi analisado um período de cinco meses antes e após a implantação da TRP. No período anterior foram estudados 94 PCP de 4 BC e 208 PCP de 5 BC e, após a implantação, foram 205 PCP de 4 BC e 85 PCP de 5 BC. Resultados: No PCP de 4 BC a média de plaq/un foi de 2,5 ×1011 antes da implantação da TRP e 2,77 ×1011 após a implantação. Quanto à contagem de leuc/un, a média foi de 1,11 ×106 antes da TRP e 0,17 ×106 após. Já para a determinação do pH no quinto dia de armazenamento, a média foi de 7,38 antes da implantação da TRP e 7,24 após. No PCP de 5 BC a média de plaq/un foi de 3,37 ×1011 antes da implantação e 3,33 ×1011 após a implantação. Quanto aos leuc/un, a média foi de 0,20 ×106 antes da TRP e 0,13 ×106 após. Já para a determinação do pH no quinto dia de armazenamento, a média foi de 7,32 antes da TRP e 7,27 após a implantação. Em relação ao plasma fresco congelado, o volume médio foi de 237,8 mL (n=447) antes da implantação da TRP, enquanto que após a implantação da tecnologia foi de 256,7 mL (n=335). Discussão: Pós implantação da TRP, o pool de 4 BC teve aumento médio de plaq/un, redução de leuc/un e manteve o pH dentro do valor de referência (>6,4). No pool de 5 BC a média da contagem de plaq/un permaneceu semelhante, houve redução de contagem de leuc/un e manutenção do pH dentro do valor de referência (>6,4). O aumento do rendimento plaquetário nos PCP inativados pode ser explicado pela alteração no processo de produção de componentes, com utilização do BC seco. Para a metodologia de produção de pool a partir do BC seco é necessário acrescentar uma unidade de plasma ou Solução Aditiva de Plaquetas (PAS), a fim de reduzir o hematócrito do pool e permitir uma boa separação das camadas na centrifugação e, consequentemente, uma adequada recuperação plaquetária e redução da contaminação de leucócitos. No segundo semestre/2023 a FH substituirá o plasma pela PAS, o que irá aumentar a disponibilidade desse componente e otimizar a produção dos PCP. Conclusão: A TRP aumenta a segurança transfusional; substitui alguns processos, como controle microbiológico e irradiação; permite aumentar a validade do PCP de 5 para 7 dias. Além disso, a revisão e alteração da metodologia de produção, proporcionou melhor aproveitamento do sangue total, melhoria no rendimento plaquetário, redução da contaminação de leucócitos e maior disponibilização do plasma para uso transfusional e industrial.
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