In this work, we theoretically analyze a circuit quantum electrodynamics design where propagating quantum microwaves interact with a single artificial atom, a single Cooper-pair box. In particular, ...we derive a master equation in the so-called transmon regime, including coherent drives. Inspired by recent experiments, we then apply the master equation to describe the dynamics in both a two-level and a three-level approximation of the atom. In the two-level case, we also discuss how to measure photon antibunching in the reflected field and how it is affected by finite temperature and finite detection bandwidth.
Abstract
Magnetic exchange interactions determine the magnetic groundstate, as well as magnetic excitations of materials and are thus essential to the emerging and fast evolving fields of spintronics ...and magnonics. The magnetic force theorem has been used extensively for studying magnetic exchange interactions. However, short-ranged interactions in itinerant magnetic systems are poorly described by this method and numerous strategies have been developed over the years to overcome this deficiency. The present study supplies a fully self-consistent method for systematic investigations of exchange interactions beyond the standard Heisenberg model. In order to better describe finite deviations from the magnetic ground state, an extended Heisenberg model, including multi-spin interactions, is suggested. Using cross-validation analysis, we show that this extended Heisenberg model gives a superior description for non-collinear magnetic configurations. This parameterisation method allows us to describe many different itinerant magnetic systems and can be useful for high-throughput calculations.
This study reports the clinical and immunological state of patients 3 years after a 6-year period of Xolair treatment for severe allergic asthma. The patient's cat allergen sensitivity, measured as ...CD-sens, IgE and IgE- and IgG4 antibodies, was analysed and compared with asthma severity evaluated from FEV₁ and a questionnaire. Three years after treatment with Xolair was stopped, 12/18 patients reported improved or unchanged asthma compared with ongoing Xolair treatment. Most of the patients were in a stable clinical condition, 16/18 had not increased nightly asthma attacks and 14/18 little or no increase in medication. The CD-sens to cat was still significantly lower (P < 0.02) than untreated patients with allergic asthma and lower than expected from their serum IgE antibody levels. Most of the patients in this study had, still 3 years after closing of 6 years Xolair treatment, a surprisingly mild and stable asthma. Interestingly, the observed, considerable, downregulation of basophil allergen sensitivity, CD-sens, most likely representing mast cell allergen sensitivity, contributed to the clinical results.
To cite this article: Florvaag E, Johansson SGO, Irgens Å, de Pater GH. IgE‐sensitization to the cough suppressant pholcodine and the effects of its withdrawal from the Norwegian market. Allergy ...2011; 66: 955–960.
Background: IgE‐mediated anaphylaxis to neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA), frequent in Norway, was proposed to be caused by exposure to pholcodine (PHO) carrying the allergenic quarternary ammonium ion epitope. Consequently, the PHO‐containing drug was withdrawn from the market in March 2007.
Objective: Describe the effects of withdrawal of PHO on IgE, IgE‐antibodies and reported frequencies of anaphylaxis to NMBAs.
Methods: Three hundred sera from supposedly allergic patients sampled yearly through 2006 to 2010 were analysed for IgE antibodies to PHO, suxamethonium (SUX) and morphine (MOR). Furthermore, IgE and preliminary reports from the Norwegian Network for Anaphylaxis under Anaesthesia (NARA) were monitored.
Results: PHO exposure was associated with IgE sensitization to PHO, MOR and SUX. However, after withdrawal, within 1 year, antibody prevalences to PHO and SUX fell significantly from 11.0% to 5.0% and from 3.7% to 0.7%, respectively. At 3 years, SUX had fallen to 0.3%, PHO to 2.7% and MOR to 1.3%. By 2 years, the prevalence of elevated IgE was significantly reduced. After 3 years, the incidence of reported suspected anaesthetic anaphylaxis fell significantly, both the total number, the reactions related to NMBAs and those with IgE antibodies to SUX.
Conclusions: Withdrawing of PHO lowered significantly within 1–2 years levels of IgE and IgE antibodies to PHO, MOR and SUX, and, within 3 years, the frequency of NMBA suspected anaphylaxis. The results strengthen the PHO hypothesis considerably and equally the need to question the existence of cough depressants containing PHO.
Background
As a strong inducer of IgE antibodies to substituted ammonium ion epitopes (QAI), pholcodine (PHO) is a postulated cause of allergic anaphylaxis to neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs). ...Three years after withdrawal of PHO in Norway, a significant reduction in IgE sensitization and anaphylaxis reporting was seen.
Objective
Six‐year follow‐up study on the effects of PHO withdrawal on IgE sensitization and anaphylaxis reporting.
Methods
From 650 acute consecutive reports (2005–2013) to the Norwegian Network for Anaphylaxis under Anaesthesia (NARA), total number of reports on suspected anaphylactic reactions, number of reactions where NMBAs were administered, number of reactions where serum IgE antibodies (≥0.35 kUA/l) to suxamethonium (SUX) and PHO were present at time of reaction and anaphylaxis severity grades were retrieved. In addition, NMBA sales and prevalence of IgE sensitization to PHO and SUX among ‘allergics’ were monitored.
Results
From baseline period P0 (PHO on the market) through the first (P1) and second (P2), three‐year periods after withdrawal, significant falls in total reports (P < 0.001) and reports with IgE antibodies to PHO (P = 0.008) and SUX (P = 0.001) at time of reaction were found. Total NMBA sales in P2 were 83% of P0, and SUX and rocuronium (ROC) together made up 86% of sales throughout the study. Five NMBA‐related anaphylactic deaths occurred during P0 and P1 and, however, none during P2. Prevalence of IgE sensitization to SUX in ‘allergics’ fell to 0% at 4 and 5 years after withdrawal.
Conclusions
Six years after PHO withdrawal, the Norwegian population has become significantly less IgE‐sensitized and clinically more tolerant to NMBAs.
A prospective observational nationwide investigation was performed from September 2005 to August 2006 to study the epidemiology of candidaemia in Sweden. From 385 patients, 403 isolates were ...recovered, yielding an incidence of 4.2 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. Candida albicans was the most common species (61%), followed by Candida glabrata (20%) and Candida parapsilosis (9%). The rates of resistance to fluconazole were ≤ 1% in C. albicans and 6–29% in non-albicans species other than C. glabrata and Candida krusei. Resistance to voriconazole was rare, except for C. glabrata and C. krusei. Only three isolates had reduced susceptibility to amphotericin B, and one had reduced susceptibility to caspofungin.
The effect of novel Co and Ce nanocoatings on oxidation behaviour and chromium volatilization from a commercial Fe–22Cr steel (Sanergy HT) developed for solid oxide fuel cell interconnect ...applications is investigated. Three different coatings (10nm Ce, 640nm Co and 10nm Ce+640nm Co) are studied. Uncoated and nanocoated samples are exposed isothermally at 850°C in the air with 3% H2O for 168h. The detailed microstructure of the different coatings is investigated. The surface morphology and microstructure of the oxide scales are characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Cross-section TEM thin foils are prepared by using a combined FIB/SEM (focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope) instrument. A 640nm cobalt coating strongly inhibits Cr volatilization but has only minor effects on oxidation rate. In contrast, a 10nm Ce coating decreases the oxidation rate but has no significant effects on chromium volatilization. Combining the two coatings, i.e., applying a 640nm Co coating on top of the 10nm Ce, effectively reduces Cr evaporation and slows down the rate of alloy oxidation.
► 640nm Co coating strongly inhibits Cr volatilization. ► 640nm Co coating has only minor effects on oxidation rate. ► 10nm Ce coating decreases the oxidation rate. ► 10nm Ce coating has no significant effects on chromium volatilization. ► 10nm Ce + 640nm Co reduces Cr evaporation and the rate of alloy oxidation.
Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized as contributing to the pathogenesis of depression. Key inflammatory markers as well as kynurenic acid (KYNA) and quinolinic acid (QUIN), both tryptophan ...metabolites, have been associated with depressive symptoms and suicidality. The aim of the present study is to investigate the peripheral concentration of cytokines and tryptophan and kynurenine metabolites in patients with unipolar treatment-resistant depression before and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), the most effective treatment for depression.
Cytokines in plasma from patients with major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 19) and healthy volunteers (n = 14) were analyzed with electrochemiluminescence detection. Tryptophan and kynurenine metabolites were detected with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and LC/MS. KYNA was analyzed in a second healthy control cohort (n = 22).
Patients with MDD had increased plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6 compared to healthy volunteers (P < 0.05). We also found an altered kynurenine metabolism in these patients displayed by decreased plasma levels of KYNA (P < 0.0001) as well as a significantly increased QUIN/KYNA ratio (P < 0.001). Plasma levels of tryptophan, kynurenine, and QUIN did not differ between patients and controls. Treatment with ECT was associated with a significant decrease in the plasma levels of tryptophan (P < 0.05), kynurenine (P < 0.01), and QUIN (P < 0.001), whereas plasma levels of KYNA did not change. The QUIN/KYNA ratio was found to significantly decrease in ECT-treated patients (P < 0.05). There was a significant inverse correlation between symptom severity and kynurenine levels at baseline (r = -0.67, P = 0.002).
This study confirms an imbalanced kynurenine pathway in MDD supporting the hypothesis of a netstimulation of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors in the disorder. Treatment with ECT profoundly decreased QUIN, an NMDA-receptor agonist previously suggested to be implicated in the pathogenesis of depression, an effect that might have bearing for the good clinical outcome of ECT.
We describe a multi-mode quantum memory for propagating microwave photons that combines a solid-state spin ensemble resonantly coupled to a frequency tunable single-mode microwave cavity. We first ...show that high efficiency mapping of the quantum state transported by a free photon to the spin ensemble is possible both for strong and weak coupling between the cavity mode and the spin ensemble. We also show that even in the weak coupling limit unit efficiency and faithful retrieval can be obtained through time reversal inhomogeneous dephasing based on spin echo techniques. This is possible provided that the cavity containing the spin ensemble and the transmission line are impedance matched. We finally discuss the prospects for an experimental implementation using a rare-earth doped crystal coupled to a superconducting resonator.
Phytoestrogens are estradiol-like natural compounds found in plants that have been associated with protective effects against chronic diseases, including some cancers, cardiovascular diseases and ...osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to estimate the dietary intake of phytoestrogens, identify their food sources and their association with lifestyle factors in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.
Single 24-hour dietary recalls were collected from 36,037 individuals from 10 European countries, aged 35-74 years using a standardized computerized interview programe (EPIC-Soft). An ad hoc food composition database on phytoestrogens (isoflavones, lignans, coumestans, enterolignans and equol) was compiled using data from available databases, in order to obtain and describe phytoestrogen intakes and their food sources across 27 redefined EPIC centres.
Mean total phytoestrogen intake was the highest in the UK health-conscious group (24.9 mg/day in men and 21.1 mg/day in women) whereas lowest in Greece (1.3 mg/day) in men and Spain-Granada (1.0 mg/day) in women. Northern European countries had higher intakes than southern countries. The main phytoestrogen contributors were isoflavones in both UK centres and lignans in the other EPIC cohorts. Age, body mass index, educational level, smoking status and physical activity were related to increased intakes of lignans, enterolignans and equol, but not to total phytoestrogen, isoflavone or coumestan intakes. In the UK cohorts, the major food sources of phytoestrogens were soy products. In the other EPIC cohorts the dietary sources were more distributed, among fruits, vegetables, soy products, cereal products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
There was a high variability in the dietary intake of total and phytoestrogen subclasses and their food sources across European regions.
PDF
