Correlation Measurement of Squeezed Light

We study the implementation of a correlation measurement technique for the characterization of squeezed light which is nearly free of electronic noise. With two different sources of squeezed light, we show that the sign of the covariance coefficient, revealed from the time resolved correlation data, is witnessing the presence of squeezing in the system. Furthermore, we estimate the degree of squeezing using the correlation method and compare it to the standard homodyne measurement scheme. We show that the role of electronic detector noise is minimized using the correlation approach as opposed to homodyning where it often becomes a crucial issue

Influence of frequency and duration of strength training for effective management of neck and shoulder pain:a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Specific strength training can reduce neck and shoulder pain in office workers, but the optimal combination of exercise frequency and duration remains unknown. This study investigates how one weekly hour of strength training for the neck and shoulder muscles is most effectively distributed. METHODS: A total of 447 office workers with and without neck and/or shoulder pain were randomly allocated at the cluster-level to one of four groups; 1×60 (1WS), 3×20 (3WS) or 9×7 (9WS) min a week of supervised high-intensity strength training for 20 weeks, or to a reference group without training (REF). Primary outcome was self-reported neck and shoulder pain (scale 0–9) and secondary outcome work disability (Disability in Arms, Shoulders and Hands (DASH)). RESULTS: The intention-to-treat analysis showed reduced neck and right shoulder pain in the training groups after 20 weeks compared with REF. Among those with pain ≥3 at baseline (n=256), all three training groups achieved significant reduction in neck pain compared with REF (p<0.01). From a baseline pain rating of 3.2 (SD 2.3) in the neck among neck cases, 1WS experienced a reduction of 1.14 (95% CI 0.17 to 2.10), 3WS 1.88 (0.90 to 2.87) and 9WS 1.35 (0.24 to 2.46) which is considered clinically significant. DASH was reduced in 1WS and 3WS only. CONCLUSION: One hour of specific strength training effectively reduced neck and shoulder pain in office workers. Although the three contrasting training groups showed no statistical differences in neck pain reduction, only 1WS and 3WS reduced DASH. This study suggests some flexibility regarding time-wise distribution when implementing specific strength training at the workplace

Acute Effects of Massage or Active Exercise in Relieving Muscle Soreness: Randomized Controlled Trial

Andersen, LL, Jay, K, Andersen, CH, Jakobsen, MD, Sundstrup, E, Topp, R, and Behm, DG. Acute effects of massage or active exercise in relieving muscle soreness: randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 27(12): 3352–3359, 2013—Massage is commonly believed to be the best modality for relieving muscle soreness. However, actively warming up the muscles with exercise may be an effective alternative. The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effect of massage with active exercise for relieving muscle soreness. Twenty healthy female volunteers (mean age 32 years) participated in this examiner-blind randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01478451). The participants performed eccentric contractions for the upper trapezius muscle on a Biodex dynamometer. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) presented 48 hours later, at which the participants (a) received 10 minutes of massage of the trapezius muscle or (b) performed 10 minutes of active exercise (shoulder shrugs 10 × 10 reps) with increasing elastic resistance (Thera-Band). First, 1 treatment was randomly applied to 1 shoulder while the contralateral shoulder served as a passive control. Two hours later, the contralateral resting shoulder received the other treatment. The participants rated the intensity of soreness (scale 0–10), and a blinded examiner took measures of pressure pain threshold (PPT) of the upper trapezius immediately before treatment and 0, 10, 20, and 60 minutes after treatment 48 hours posteccentric exercise. Immediately before treatment, the intensity of soreness was 5.0 (SD 2.2) and PPT was 138 (SD 78) kPa. In response to treatment, a significant treatment by time interaction was found for the intensity of soreness (p \u3c 0.001) and PPT (p \u3c 0.05). Compared with control, both active exercise and massage significantly reduced the intensity of soreness and increased PPT (i.e., reduced pain sensitivity). For both types of treatment, the greatest effect on perceived soreness occurred immediately after treatment, whereas the effect on PPT peaked 20 minutes after treatment. In conclusion, active exercise using elastic resistance provides similar acute relief of muscle soreness as compared with that using massage. Coaches, therapists, and athletes can use either active warm-up or massage to reduce DOMS acutely, for example, to prepare for competition or strenuous work, but should be aware that the effect is temporary, that is, the greatest effects occurs during the first 20 minutes after treatment and diminishes within an hour

Demonstration of Near-Optimal Discrimination of Optical Coherent States

The optimal discrimination of nonorthogonal quantum states with minimum error probability is a fundamental task in quantum measurement theory as well as an important primitive in optical communication. In this work, we propose and experimentally realize a new and simple quantum measurement strategy capable of discriminating two coherent states with smaller error probabilities than can be obtained using the standard measurement devices: the Kennedy receiver and the homodyne receiver

Implementation of neck/shoulder exercises for pain relief among industrial workers: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Although leisure-time physical activity is important for health, adherence to regular exercise is challenging for many adults. The workplace may provide an optimal setting to reach a large proportion of the adult population needing regular physical exercise. This study evaluates the effect of implementing strength training at the workplace on non-specific neck and shoulder pain among industrial workers. METHODS: Cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 537 adults from occupations with high prevalence of neck and shoulder pain (industrial production units). Participants were randomized to 20 weeks of high-intensity strength training for the neck and shoulders three times a week (n = 282) or a control group receiving advice to stay physically active (n = 255). The strength training program followed principles of progressive overload and periodization. The primary outcome was changes in self-reported neck and shoulder pain intensity (scale 0-9). RESULTS: 85% of the participants followed the strength training program on a weekly basis. In the training group compared with the control group, neck pain intensity decreased significantly (-0.6, 95% CI -1.0 to -0.1) and shoulder pain intensity tended to decrease (-0.2, 95% CI -0.5 to 0.1, P = 0.07). For pain-cases at baseline (pain intensity > = 3) the odds ratio - in the training group compared with the control group - for being a non-case at follow-up (pain intensity < 3) was 2.0 (95% CI 1.0 to 4.2) for the neck and 3.9 (95% CI 1.7 to 9.4) for the shoulders. CONCLUSION: High-intensity strength training relying on principles of progressive overload can be successfully implemented at industrial workplaces, and results in significant reductions of neck and shoulder pain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01071980

Prognostic implications of serial high-sensitivity cardiac troponin testing among patients with COVID-19:A Danish nationwide registry-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: Although troponin elevation is associated with worse outcomes among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), prognostic implications of serial troponin testing are lacking. We investigated the association between serial troponin measurements and adverse COVID-19 outcomes. METHODS: Using Danish registries, we identified COVID-19 patients with a high-sensitivity troponin measurement followed by a second measurement within 1–24 h. All measurements during follow-up were also utilized in subsequent time-varying analyses. We assessed all-cause mortality associated with the absence/presence of myocardial injury (≥1 troponin measurement >99th percentile upper reference limit) and absence/presence of dynamic troponin changes (>20% relative change if first measurement elevated, >50% relative change if first measurement normal). RESULTS: Of 346 included COVID-19 patients, 56% had myocardial injury. Overall, 20% had dynamic troponin changes. In multivariable Cox regression models, myocardial injury was associated with all-cause mortality (HR = 2.56, 95%CI = 1.46–4.51), as were dynamic troponin changes (HR = 1.66, 95%CI = 1.04–2.64). We observed a low incidence of myocardial infarction (4%) and invasive coronary procedures (4%) among patients with myocardial injury. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial injury and dynamic troponin changes determined using serial high-sensitivity troponin testing were associated with poor prognosis among patients with COVID-19. The risk of developing myocardial infarction requiring invasive management during COVID-19 hospitalization was low

An atlas of O-linked glycosylation on peptide hormones reveals diverse biological roles

Peptide hormones and neuropeptides encompass a large class of bioactive peptides that regulate physiological processes like anxiety, blood glucose, appetite, inflammation and blood pressure. Here, we execute a focused discovery strategy to provide an extensive map of O-glycans on peptide hormones. We find that almost one third of the 279 classified peptide hormones carry O-glycans. Many of the identified O-glycosites are conserved and are predicted to serve roles in proprotein processing, receptor interaction, biodistribution and biostability. We demonstrate that O-glycans positioned within the receptor binding motifs of members of the neuropeptide Y and glucagon families modulate receptor activation properties and substantially extend peptide half-lives. Our study highlights the importance of O-glycosylation in the biology of peptide hormones, and our map of O-glycosites in this large class of biomolecules serves as a discovery platform for an important class of molecules with potential opportunities for drug designs. O-glycosylation is an abundant post-translational modification but its relevance for bioactive peptides is unclear. Here, the authors detect O-glycans on almost one third of the classified peptide hormones and show that O-glycosylation can modulate peptide half-lives and receptor activation properties.This work was supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation, Danish National Research Foundation Grant DNRF107

Protocol for Work place adjusted Intelligent physical exercise reducing Musculoskeletal pain in Shoulder and neck (VIMS): a cluster randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neck and shoulder complaints are common among employees in sedentary occupations characterized by intensive computer use. Specific strength training is a promising type of physical exercise for relieving neck and shoulder pain in office workers. However, the optimal combination of frequency and exercise duration, as well as the importance of exercise supervision, is unknown. The VIMS study investigates in a cluster randomized controlled design the effectiveness of different time wise combinations of specific strength training with identical accumulated volume, and the relevance of training supervision for safe and effective training.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>A cluster randomized controlled trial of 20 weeks duration where employed office workers are randomized to 1 × 60 min, 3 × 20 min, 9 × 7 min per week of specific strength training with training supervision, to 3 × 20 min per week of specific strength training with a minimal amount of training supervision, or to a reference group without training. A questionnaire will be sent to 2000 employees in jobs characterized by intensive computer work. Employees with cardiovascular disease, trauma, hypertension, or serious chronic disease will be excluded. The main outcome measure is pain in the neck and shoulders at week 20.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01027390.</p