57 research outputs found
A physical approach to Tsirelson's problem
Tsirelson's problem deals with how to model separate measurements in quantum
mechanics. In addition to its theoretical importance, the resolution of
Tsirelson's problem could have great consequences for device independent
quantum key distribution and certified randomness. Unfortunately, understanding
present literature on the subject requires a heavy mathematical background. In
this paper, we introduce quansality, a new theoretical concept that allows to
reinterpret Tsirelson's problem from a foundational point of view. Using
quansality as a guide, we recover all known results on Tsirelson's problem in a
clear and intuitive way.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Experimental estimation of the dimension of classical and quantum systems
An overwhelming majority of experiments in classical and quantum physics make
a priori assumptions about the dimension of the system under consideration.
However, would it be possible to assess the dimension of a completely unknown
system only from the results of measurements performed on it, without any extra
assumption? The concept of a dimension witness answers this question, as it
allows one to bound the dimension of an unknown classical or quantum system in
a device-independent manner, that is, only from the statistics of measurements
performed on it. Here, we report on the experimental demonstration of dimension
witnesses in a prepare and measure scenario. We use pairs of photons entangled
in both polarization and orbital angular momentum to generate ensembles of
classical and quantum states of dimensions up to 4. We then use a dimension
witness to certify their dimensionality as well as their quantum nature. Our
results open new avenues for the device-independent estimation of unknown
quantum systems and for applications in quantum information science.Comment: See also similar, independent and jointly submitted work of J. Ahrens
et al., quant-ph/1111.127
Large violation of Bell inequalities with low entanglement
In this paper we obtain violations of general bipartite Bell inequalities of
order with inputs, outputs and
-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Moreover, we construct explicitly, up to a
random choice of signs, all the elements involved in such violations: the
coefficients of the Bell inequalities, POVMs measurements and quantum states.
Analyzing this construction we find that, even though entanglement is necessary
to obtain violation of Bell inequalities, the Entropy of entanglement of the
underlying state is essentially irrelevant in obtaining large violation. We
also indicate why the maximally entangled state is a rather poor candidate in
producing large violations with arbitrary coefficients. However, we also show
that for Bell inequalities with positive coefficients (in particular, games)
the maximally entangled state achieves the largest violation up to a
logarithmic factor.Comment: Reference [16] added. Some typos correcte
SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on a Spanish mink farm: epidemiological, molecular, and pathological studies
Farmed minks have been reported to be highly susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and may represent a risk to humans. In this study, we describe the first outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 occurred on a mink farm in Spain, between June and July 2020, involving 92,700 animals. The outbreak started shortly after some farm workers became seropositive for SARS-CoV-2. Minks showed no clinical signs compatible with SARS-CoV-2 infection throughout the outbreak. Samples from 98 minks were collected for histopathological, serological, and molecular studies. Twenty out of 98 (20.4%) minks were positive by RT-qPCR and 82 out 92 (89%) seroconverted. This finding may reflect a rapid spread of the virus at the farm with most of the animals overcoming the infection. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 was detected by RT-qPCR in 30% of brain samples from positive minks. Sequencing analysis showed that the mink sequences were not closely related with the other mink SARS-CoV-2 sequences available, and that this mink outbreak has its probable origin in one of the genetic variants that were prevalent in Spain during the first COVID-19 epidemic wave. Histological studies revealed bronchointerstitial pneumonia in some animals. Immunostaining of viral nucleocapsid was also observed in nasal turbinate tissue. Farmed minks could therefore constitute an important SARS-CoV-2 reservoir, contributing to virus spread among minks and humans. Consequently, continuous surveillance of mink farms is needed
Cell identity and nucleo-mitochondrial genetic context modulate OXPHOS performance and determine somatic heteroplasmy dynamics
Heteroplasmy, multiple variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the same cytoplasm, may be naturally generated by mutations but is counteracted by a genetic mtDNA bottleneck during oocyte development. Engineered heteroplasmic mice with nonpathological mtDNA variants reveal a nonrandom tissue-specific mtDNA segregation pattern, with few tissues that do not show segregation. The driving force for this dynamic complex pattern has remained unexplained for decades, challenging our understanding of this fundamental biological problem and hindering clinical planning for inherited diseases. Here, we demonstrate that the nonrandom mtDNA segregation is an intracellular process based on organelle selection. This cell type-specific decision arises jointly from the impact of mtDNA haplotypes on the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system and the cell metabolic requirements and is strongly sensitive to the nuclear context and to environmental cues
Bevacizumab dose adjustment to improve clinical outcomes of glioblastoma.
Background
Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive and vascularized brain tumors in adults, with a median survival of 20.9âmonths. In newly diagnosed and recurrent GBM, bevacizumab demonstrated an increase in progression-free survival, but not in overall survival.
Methods
We conducted an in silico analysis of VEGF expression, in a cohort of 1082 glioma patients. Then, to determine whether appropriate bevacizumab dose adjustment could increase the anti-angiogenic response, we used in vitro and in vivo GBM models. Additionally, we analyzed VEGFA expression in tissue, serum, and plasma in a cohort of GBM patients before and during bevacizumab treatment.
Results
We identified that 20% of primary GBM did not express VEGFA suggesting that these patients would probably not respond to bevacizumab therapy as we proved in vitro and in vivo. We found that a specific dose of bevacizumab calculated based on VEGFA expression levels increases the response to treatment in cell culture and serum samples from mice bearing GBM tumors. Additionally, in a cohort of GBM patients, we observed a correlation of VEGFA levels in serum, but not in plasma, with bevacizumab treatment performance.
Conclusions
Our data suggest that bevacizumab dose adjustment could improve clinical outcomes in Glioblastoma treatment.post-print1360 K
Immuno-metabolic impact of the multiple sclerosis patients' sera on endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier
The higher level of organization of the oxidative phosphorylation system: mitochondrial supercomplexes
The organization of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system within the inner mitochondrial membrane appears to be far more complicated than previously thought. In particular, the individual protein complexes of the OXPHOS system (complexes I to V) were found to specifically interact forming defined supramolecular structures. Blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and single particle electron microscopy proved to be especially valuable in studying the so-called ârespiratory supercomplexesâ? Based on these procedures, increasing evidence was presented supporting a âsolid stateâ organization of the OXPHOS system. Here, we summarize results on the formation, organisation and function of the various types of mitochondrial OXPHOS supercomplexes
A Generalized Grothendieck Inequality and Nonlocal Correlations that Require High Entanglement
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