We present an efficient approach to achieving arbitrary, high-fidelity control of a multilevel quantum system using optimal control techniques. As an demonstration, we implement a continuous, ...software-defined microwave pulse to realize a 0 ↔ 2 SWAP gate that achieves an average gate fidelity of 99.4%. We describe our procedure for extracting the system Hamiltonian, calibrating the quantum and classical hardware chain, and evaluating the gate fidelity. Our work represents an alternative, fully generalizable route towards achieving universal quantum control by leveraging optimal control techniques.
Biofilm formation in 92 unrelated strains of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated in a multicentre cohort study was investigated using a microtitre plate assay. Fifty-six (63%) isolates formed biofilm. ...These isolates were less frequently resistant to imipenem or ciprofloxacin than were non-biofilm-forming isolates (25% vs. 47%, p 0.04; and 66% vs. 94%, p 0.004, respectively). All catheter-related urinary or bloodstream infections and the sole case of shunt-related meningitis were caused by biofilm-forming strains. Multivariate analysis revealed that treatment in an intensive care unit, ciprofloxacin resistance and isolation from a respiratory sample were associated with non-biofilm-forming isolates, while previous aminoglycoside use was associated with biofilm-forming isolates.
Objective: We sought to determine the effect of hydroxychloroquine therapy on the levels proinflammatory/prothrombotic markers and disease activity scores in patients with systemic lupus ...erythematosus (SLE) in a multiethnic, multi-center cohort (LUMINA). Methods: Plasma/serum samples from SLE patients (n = 35) were evaluated at baseline and after hydroxychloroquine treatment. Disease activity was assessed using SLAM-R scores. Interferon (IFN)-α2, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, inducible protein (IP)-10, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) levels were determined by a multiplex immunoassay. Anticardiolipin antibodies were evaluated using ELISA assays. Thirty-two frequency-matched plasma/serum samples from healthy donors were used as controls. Results: Levels of IL-6, IP-10, sCD40L, IFN-α and TNF-α were significantly elevated in SLE patients versus controls. There was a positive but moderate correlation between SLAM-R scores at baseline and levels of IFN-α (p = 0.0546). Hydroxychloroquine therapy resulted in a significant decrease in SLAM-R scores (p = 0.0157), and the decrease in SLAM-R after hydroxychloroquine therapy strongly correlated with decreases in IFN-α (p = 0.0087). Conclusions: Hydroxychloroquine therapy resulted in significant clinical improvement in SLE patients, which strongly correlated with reductions in IFN-α levels. This indicates an important role for the inhibition of endogenous TLR activation in the action of hydroxychloroquine in SLE and provides additional evidence for the importance of type I interferons in the pathogenesis of SLE. This study underscores the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of SLE.
In this study, we compared eighteen clinical strains of A. baumannii belonging to the ST-2 clone and isolated from patients in the same intensive care unit (ICU) in 2000 (9 strains referred to ...collectively as Ab_GEIH-2000) and 2010 (9 strains referred to collectively as Ab_GEIH-2010), during the GEIH-REIPI project (Umbrella BioProject PRJNA422585). We observed two main molecular differences between the Ab_GEIH-2010 and the Ab_GEIH-2000 collections, acquired over the course of the decade long sampling interval and involving the mobilome: i) a plasmid harbouring genes for bla
ß-lactamase and abKA/abkB proteins of a toxin-antitoxin system; and ii) two temperate bacteriophages, Ab105-1ϕ (63 proteins) and Ab105-2ϕ (93 proteins), containing important viral defence proteins. Moreover, all Ab_GEIH-2010 strains contained a Quorum functional network of Quorum Sensing (QS) and Quorum Quenching (QQ) mechanisms, including a new QQ enzyme, AidA, which acts as a bacterial defence mechanism against the exogenous 3-oxo-C12-HSL. Interestingly, the infective capacity of the bacteriophages isolated in this study (Ab105-1ϕ and Ab105-2ϕ) was higher in the Ab_GEIH-2010 strains (carrying a functional Quorum network) than in the Ab_GEIH-2000 strains (carrying a deficient Quorum network), in which the bacteriophages showed little or no infectivity. This is the first study about the evolution of the Quorum network and the mobilome in clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii during a decade.
Background. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections are increasingly associated with acute exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We aimed to determine whether an underlying chronic ...infection might be behind this process and to determine the epidemiological characteristics of the isolates involved, to implement useful protocols for preventing and treating these infections. Methods. P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from respiratory samples of 13 patients with COPD and from blood samples of 10 patients in intensive care units were investigated. In 8 patients with COPD, isolates were obtained during sequential exacerbation episodes. Five patients presented a single infection episode. Production of virulence determinants and genetic relationships were analyzed in all isolates. Results. Patients with COPD were usually infected with 1 P. aeruginosa clone that remained in the lung for years, without evidence of interpatient transmission. During chronic infection, each clone diversified, which led to the coexistence of isolates with different morphotypes and antibiotic susceptibility. Overall, P. aeruginosa evolved toward an increased mutation rate, increased antibiotic resistance, and reduced production of proteases. Isolates from samples of infected lungs tend to be less cytotoxic and motile and to produce more biofilm, compared with isolates from blood samples. Conclusion. These results provide the first evidence supporting the hypothesis that P. aeruginosa causes chronic infections in COPD, with patterns of infection and evolution that resemble those observed in cystic fibrosis. Experience gained from treating cystic fibrosis might be useful for implementing new procedures for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infection due to P. aeruginosa in COPD.
The aims of this study were to assess arsenic concentrations and solubility in soils, and its uptake by plant species growing in an area strongly affected by mining activities in Murcia (SE, Spain) ...paying attention to the mineralogical composition of the soils and the relation of the same with the bioavailability of this element.
For this, extractions were made with several chemical reagents, to determine the bioavailability of the element in different environmental conditions (natural or potential) and, especially, the arsenic bioavailable for the plant uptake. Maximum extraction was achieved using the Mehra and Jackson procedure, while the least effective extractant was an ammonium sulphate solution. The strongest relationship between the As determined by soil chemical extractions and the As measured in plant biomass was found using the oxidisable-organic matter extraction procedure.
► Arsenic behaviour in soils near an old mining site is studied. ► The uptake of arsenic by plants is influenced by soil mineralogy. ► Arsenic in leaves correlates with that mobilized in soils by Mehra and Jackson reagent.
In this paper, we examine prospects for the manufacture of patient-specific biomedical implants replacing hard tissues (bone), particularly knee and hip stems and large bone (femoral) intramedullary ...rods, using additive manufacturing (AM) by electron beam melting (EBM). Of particular interest is the fabrication of complex functional (biocompatible) mesh arrays. Mesh elements or unit cells can be divided into different regions in order to use different cell designs in different areas of the component to produce various or continually varying (functionally graded) mesh densities. Numerous design elements have been used to fabricate prototypes by AM using EBM of Ti-6Al-4V powders, where the densities have been compared with the elastic (Young) moduli determined by resonant frequency and damping analysis. Density optimization at the boneimplant interface can allow for bone ingrowth and cementless implant components. Computerized tomography (CT) scans of metal (aluminium alloy) foam have also allowed for the building of Ti-6Al-4V foams by embedding the digital-layered scans in computer-aided design or software models for EBM. Variations in mesh complexity and especially strut (or truss) dimensions alter the cooling and solidification rate, which alters the -phase (hexagonal close-packed) microstructure by creating mixtures of / (martensite) observed by optical and electron metallography. Microindentation hardness measurements are characteristic of these microstructures and microstructure mixtures (/) and sizes.
Microstructures and a microstructural, columnar architecture as well as mechanical behavior of as-fabricated and processed INCONEL alloy 625 components produced by additive manufacturing using ...electron beam melting (EBM) of prealloyed precursor powder are examined in this study. As-fabricated and hot-isostatically pressed (“hipped”) at 1393 K (1120 °C) cylinders examined by optical metallography (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive (X-ray) spectrometry (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) exhibited an initial EBM-developed
γ
″ (bct) Ni
3
Nb precipitate platelet columnar architecture within columnar 200 textured
γ
(fcc) Ni-Cr grains aligned in the cylinder axis, parallel to the EBM build direction. Upon annealing at 1393 K (1120 °C) (hot-isostatic press (HIP)), these precipitate columns dissolve and the columnar,
γ
, grains recrystallized forming generally equiaxed grains (with coherent {111} annealing twins), containing NbCr
2
laves precipitates. Microindentation hardnesses decreased from ~2.7 to ~2.2 GPa following hot-isostatic pressing (“hipping”), and the corresponding engineering (0.2 pct) offset yield stress decreased from 0.41 to 0.33 GPa, while the UTS increased from 0.75 to 0.77 GPa. However, the corresponding elongation increased from 44 to 69 pct for the hipped components.
ABSTRACT
Most secular effects produced by stellar bars strongly depend on the pattern speed. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult observational parameter to estimate. In this work, we ...measured the bar pattern speed of 97 Milky-Way analogue galaxies from the MaNGA survey using the Tremaine–Weinberg method. The sample was selected by constraining the stellar mass and morphological type. We improve our measurements by weighting three independent estimates of the disc position angle. To recover the disc rotation curve, we fit a kinematic model to the H α velocity maps correcting for the non-circular motions produced by the bar. The complete sample has a smooth distribution of the bar pattern speed ($\Omega _{\rm Bar}=28.14^{+12.30}_{-9.55}$ km s−1 kpc −1), corotation radius ($R_{CR} = 7.82^{+3.99}_{-2.96}$ kpc), and the rotation rate ($\mathcal {R} = 1.35^{+0.60}_{-0.40}$). We found two sets of correlations: (i) between the bar pattern speed, the bar length and the logarithmic stellar mass (ii) between the bar pattern speed, the disc circular velocity and the bar rotation rate. If we constrain our sample by inclination within 30° < i < 60° and relative orientation 20° < |PAdisc − PAbar| < 70°, the correlations become stronger and the fraction of ultra-fast bars is reduced from 20 to 10 per cent of the sample. This suggests that a significant fraction of ultra-fast bars in our sample could be associated with the geometric limitations of the TW method. By further constraining the bar size and disc circular velocity, we obtain a subsample of 25 Milky-Way analogues galaxies with distributions $\Omega _{\rm Bar}=30.48^{+10.94}_{-6.57}$ km s−1 kpc−1, $R_{\rm CR} = 6.77^{+2.32}_{-1.91}$ kpc, and $\mathcal {R} = 1.45^{+0.57}_{-0.43}$, in good agreement with the current estimations for our Galaxy.
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