Classic Exodus commentary still relevant

No abstract available

Difficulty of distinguishing product states locally

Non-locality without entanglement is a rather counter-intuitive phenomenon in which information may be encoded entirely in product (unentangled) states of composite quantum systems in such a way that local measurement of the subsystems is not enough for optimal decoding. For simple examples of pure product states, the gap in performance is known to be rather small when arbitrary local strategies are allowed. Here we restrict to local strategies readily achievable with current technology; those requiring neither a quantum memory nor joint operations. We show that, even for measurements on pure product states there can be a large gap between such strategies and theoretically optimal performance. Thus even in the absence of entanglement physically realizable local strategies can be far from optimal for extracting quantum information.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

AN EVALUATION OF THREE AREAS FOR POTENTIAL POPULATONS OF WHOOPING CRANES

Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) populations were evaluated on the Seney NWR, Michigan, the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, and in southcentral Florida to evaluate their suitability to support introduced whooping cranes (G. americana). This paper compares data collected at these sites and additional data collected in northcentral Florida. The length of the egg-laying period varied from 4.5 months in central Florida to 1 month at Seney, but egg-laying ceased at all sites from mid-May to early June. Mean clutch sizes were similar 0.7-1.9). Renesting ranged from 79% in northcentral Florida to \u3c=5% at Seney. These dates and values are consistent with nesting successes that ranged from 48% in northcentral Florida to 80% at Seney. Average annual recruitment, 12.3 juveniles/lOa adults, was highest on the Kissimmee Prairie in southcentral Florida. Average annual horne range size for the non-migratory populations were 1 km2 on the Okefenokee and 6.6 km2 on the Kissimmee. Nesting season horne range sizes ranged from 0.5 km2 on the Okefenokee to 1.8 km2 at Seney. All candidate populations successfully satisfied most of the guidelines for potential whooping crane populations as established by the Whooping Crane Recovery Team. Once reintroduction techniques have been refined, any or all of the study sites have the capacity to accommodate a flock of whooping cranes commensurate with Whooping Crane Recovery Team recommendations

Conditional beam splitting attack on quantum key distribution

We present a novel attack on quantum key distribution based on the idea of adaptive absorption [calsam01]. The conditional beam splitting attack is shown to be much more efficient than the conventional beam spitting attack, achieving a performance similar to the, powerful but currently unfeasible, photon number splitting attack. The implementation of the conditional beam splitting attack, based solely on linear optical elements, is well within reach of current technology.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

A comparison of transhepatic versus transperitoneal cholecystostomy for acute calculous cholecystitis: a 5-year experience.

Percutaneous cholecystostomy is a treatment for acute calculous cholecystitis used in patients where surgery is high risk or challenging either to allow for surgical optimisation or as definitive treatment. In this case series we compare the outcomes of a transhepatic versus transperitoneal approach in patients undergoing percutaneous cholecystostomy for acute calculous cholecystitis. A retrospective review of patients from 2014 to 2019 was conducted and included demographics, percutaneous cholecystostomy route, complications and outcome. Fifty-one patients were included. Percutaneous cholecystostomy was placed transhepatically in 15 cases; transperitoneal in 30 cases; 6 cases had undetermined route. The transhepatic cohort had 43.5% fewer readmissions due to biliary sepsis, 32.5% fewer drain-related complications, and were less likely to require further treatment (32.5% reduction) compared to the transperitoneal cohort. In our experience, the transhepatic route is preferred due to fewer complications, fewer readmissions and a reduction in the need for further treatment

Sex Moderates the Relationship That Number of Professional Fights Has With Cognition and Brain Volumes.

Objective: Incidence of concussions and report of symptoms are greater among women across sports. While structural brain changes and cognitive declines are associated with repetitive head impact (RHI), the role of sex is not well-understood. This study aimed to determine if there is a moderating effect of sex on the relationship the number of professional fights has with cognitive functioning and regional brain volumes in a cohort of boxers, mixed martial artists, and martial artists. Methods: A total of 55 women were matched with 55 men based on age, years of education, ethnicity, and fighting style. Cognition was assessed via the CNS Vital Signs computerized cognitive battery and supplemental measures. Structural brain scans, demographic data, and number of professional fights (NoPF) were also considered. The matched pairs were compared via analysis of covariance, accounting for total brain volume. Within-subject moderation models were utilized to assess the moderating effect of sex on the relationship between NoPF and brain volumes and cognitive performance. Results: Men were observed to have poorer performance on measures of psychomotor speed when compared to women. On a series of analyses assessing the role of sex as a moderator of the relationship between NoPF and regional brain volumes/cognitive performance, a significant moderation effect was observed across multiple measures of cognitive functioning, such that men had poorer performance. Differences in numerous regional brain volumes were also observed, such that the relationship between NoPF and brain volumes was steeper among men. Conclusion: Sex was observed to be an important moderator in the relationship between NoPF, aspects of cognitive functioning, and volumes of numerous brain regions, suggesting that sex differences in neuroanatomic and cognitive response to RHI deserve further attention

Plasma DNA concentration as a predictor of mortality and sepsis in critically ill patients

INTRODUCTION: Risk stratification of severely ill patients remains problematic, resulting in increased interest in potential circulating markers, such as cytokines, procalcitonin and brain natriuretic peptide. Recent reports have indicated the usefulness of plasma DNA as a prognostic marker in various disease states such as trauma, myocardial infarction and stroke. The present study assesses the significance of raised levels of plasma DNA on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) in terms of its ability to predict disease severity or prognosis. METHODS: Fifty-two consecutive patients were studied in a general ICU. Blood samples were taken on admission and were stored for further analysis. Plasma DNA levels were estimated by a PCR method using primers for the human β-haemoglobin gene. RESULTS: Sixteen of the 52 patients investigated died within 3 months of sampling. Nineteen of the 52 patients developed either severe sepsis or septic shock. Plasma DNA was higher in ICU patients than in healthy controls and was also higher in patients who developed sepsis (192 (65–362) ng/ml versus 74 (46–156) ng/ml, P = 0.03) or who subsequently died either in the ICU (321 (185–430) ng/ml versus 71 (46–113) ng/ml, P < 0.001) or in hospital (260 (151–380) ng/ml versus 68 (47–103) ng/ml, P < 0.001). Plasma DNA concentrations were found to be significantly higher in patients who died in the ICU. Multiple logistic regression analysis determined plasma DNA to be an independent predictor of mortality (odds ratio, 1.002 (95% confidence interval, 1.0–1.004), P = 0.05). Plasma DNA had a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 80% when a concentration higher than 127 ng/ml was taken as a predictor for death on the ICU. CONCLUSION: Plasma DNA may be a useful prognostic marker of mortality and sepsis in intensive care patients

Cavity-enabled high-dimensional quantum key distribution

High-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) offers the possibility of encoding multiple bits of key on a single entangled photon pair. An experimentally promising approach to realizing this is to use energy–time entanglement. Currently, however, the control of very high-dimensional entangled photons is challenging. We present a simple and experimentally compact approach, which is based on a cavity that allows one to measure two different bases: the time of arrival and another that is approximately mutually unbiased to the arrival time. We quantify the errors in the setup, due both to the approximate nature of the mutually unbiased measurement and as a result of experimental errors. It is shown that the protocol can be adapted using a cut-off so that it is robust against the considered errors, even within the regime of up to 10 bits per photon pair

Molecular evolution of the hyaluronan synthase 2 gene in mammals: implications for adaptations to the subterranean niche and cancer resistance

The naked mole-rat (NMR) Heterocephalus glaber is a unique and fascinating mammal exhibiting many unusual adaptations to a subterranean lifestyle. The recent discovery of their resistance to cancer and exceptional longevity has opened up new and important avenues of research. Part of this resistance to cancer has been attributed to the fact that NMRs produce a modified form of hyaluronan—a key constituent of the extracellular matrix—that is thought to confer increased elasticity of the skin as an adaptation for living in narrow tunnels. This so-called high molecular mass hyaluronan (HMM-HA) stems from two apparently unique substitutions in the hyaluronan synthase 2 enzyme (HAS2). To test whether other subterranean mammals with similar selection pressures also show molecular adaptation in their HAS2 gene, we sequenced the HAS2 gene for 11 subterranean mammals and closely related species, and combined these with data from 57 other mammals. Comparative screening revealed that one of the two putatively important HAS2 substitutions in the NMR predicted to have a significant effect on hyaluronan synthase function was uniquely shared by all African mole-rats. Interestingly, we also identified multiple other amino acid substitutions in key domains of the HAS2 molecule, although the biological consequences of these for hyaluronan synthesis remain to be determined. Despite these results, we found evidence of strong purifying selection acting on the HAS2 gene across all mammals, and the NMR remains unique in its particular HAS2 sequence. Our results indicate that more work is needed to determine whether the apparent cancer resistance seen in NMR is shared by other members of the African mole-rat clade.National Research Foundation (South Africa