798 research outputs found
Won\u27t You Harmonize With Me?
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/3772/thumbnail.jp
Improving uptake of perinatal autopsy
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Uptake of perinatal autopsy has declined in the West over the past 30 years, largely because of reduced parental acceptance of a traditional invasive autopsy. Several studies have recently investigated the decline to identify the key factors and how they may be mitigated. RECENT FINDINGS: Three main themes were identified that have been found to improve uptake of perinatal autopsy: improved communication, in particular ensuring the consent process was conducted as a conversation with time spent talking through the procedure and allowing time for questions; health professional training to ensure staff discussing autopsy with parents have adequate understanding of the procedure and are able to convey confidence and empathy; and availability of less invasive autopsy, including noninvasive as well as minimally invasive options. These should be offered alongside standard autopsy, which some parents may still prefer. SUMMARY: This review highlights that the discussions that take place, and the options that are available to parents, can profoundly impact whether or not they consent to autopsy investigation. Further research should focus on the impact of offering less invasive options as well as evaluating the training and support materials that have recently been developed
Decoherence in a double-slit quantum eraser
We study and experimentally implement a double-slit quantum eraser in the
presence of a controlled decoherence mechanism. A two-photon state, produced in
a spontaneous parametric down conversion process, is prepared in a maximally
entangled polarization state. A birefringent double-slit is illuminated by one
of the down-converted photons, and it acts as a single-photon two-qubits
controlled not gate that couples the polarization with the transversal momentum
of these photons. The other photon, that acts as a which-path marker, is sent
through a Mach-Zehnder-like interferometer. When the interferometer is
partially unbalanced, it behaves as a controlled source of decoherence for
polarization states of down-converted photons. We show the transition from
wave-like to particle-like behavior of the signal photons crossing the
double-slit as a function of the decoherence parameter, which depends on the
length path difference at the interferometer.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review
Health professionals’ and coroners’ views on less invasive perinatal and paediatric autopsy: a qualitative study
OBJECTIVE: To assess health professionals’ and coroners’ attitudes towards non-minimally and minimally invasive autopsy in the perinatal and paediatric setting. METHODS: A qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Twenty-five health professionals (including perinatal/paediatric pathologists and anatomical pathology technologists, obstetricians, fetal medicine consultants and bereavement midwives, intensive care consultants and family liaison nurses, a consultant neonatologist and a paediatric radiologist) and four coroners participated. Participants viewed less invasive methods of autopsy as a positive development in prenatal and paediatric care that could increase autopsy rates. Several procedural and psychological benefits were highlighted including improved diagnostic accuracy in some circumstances, potential for faster turnaround times, parental familiarity with imaging and laparoscopic approaches, and benefits to parents and faith groups who object to invasive approaches. Concerns around the limitations of the technology such not reaching the same levels of certainty as full autopsy, unsuitability of imaging in certain circumstances, the potential for missing a diagnosis (or misdiagnosis) and de-skilling the workforce were identified. Finally, a number of implementation issues were raised including skills and training requirements for pathologists and radiologists, access to scanning equipment, required computational infrastructure, need for a multidisciplinary approach to interpret results, cost implications, equity of access and acceptance from health professionals and hospital managers. CONCLUSION: Health professionals and coroners viewed less invasive autopsy as a positive development in perinatal and paediatric care. However, to inform implementation a detailed health economic analysis and further exploration of parental views, particularly in different religious groups, are required
Joint measurements of spin, operational locality and uncertainty
Joint, or simultaneous, measurements of non-commuting observables are
possible within quantum mechanics, if one accepts an increase in the variances
of the jointly measured observables. In this paper, we discuss joint
measurements of a spin 1/2 particle along any two directions. Starting from an
operational locality principle, it is shown how to obtain a bound on how sharp
the joint measurement can be. We give a direct interpretation of this bound in
terms of an uncertainty relation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Body weight-based iodinated contrast immersion timing for human fetal postmortem microfocus computed tomography
Objectives
The aim of this study was to evaluate the length of time required to achieve full iodination using potassium tri-iodide as a contrast agent, prior to human fetal postmortem microfocus computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging.
Methods
Prospective assessment of optimal contrast iodination was conducted across 157 human fetuses (postmortem weight range 2-298 g; gestational age range 12-37 weeks), following micro-CT imaging. Simple linear regression was conducted to analyse which fetal demographic factors could produce the most accurate estimate for optimal iodination time.
Results
Postmortem body weight (r2 = 0.6435) was better correlated with iodination time than gestational age (r2 = 0.1384), producing a line of best fit, y = [0.0304 × body weight (g)] − 2.2103. This can be simplified for clinical use whereby immersion time (days) = [0.03 × body weight (g)] − 2.2. Using this formula, for example, a 100-g fetus would take 5.2 days to reach optimal contrast enhancement.
Conclusions
The simplified equation can now be used to provide estimation times for fetal contrast preparation time prior to micro-CT imaging and can be used to manage service throughput and parental expectation for return of their fetus.
Advances in knowledge
A simple equation from empirical data can now be used to estimate preparation time for human fetal postmortem micro-CT imaging
Criteria for Continuous-Variable Quantum Teleportation
We derive an experimentally testable criterion for the teleportation of
quantum states of continuous variables. This criterion is especially relevant
to the recent experiment of Furusawa et al. [Science 282, 706-709 (1998)] where
an input-output fidelity of was achieved for optical coherent
states. Our derivation demonstrates that fidelities greater than 1/2 could not
have been achieved through the use of a classical channel alone; quantum
entanglement was a crucial ingredient in the experiment.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Journal of Modern Optic
HoloLens for medical imaging using post-mortem fetal micro-CT data
AIM AND OBJECTIVES: Demonstrate applicability of HoloLens technology for viewing post-mortem fetal micro-CT imaging data.
Develop a pipeline focusing on the required editing of 3D segmentations for rendering in virtual reality (VR), file format and storage needs for medical holographic applications and the necessary functionality of a holographic application interface
Characterizing Quantum Microwave Radiation and its Entanglement with Superconducting Qubits using Linear Detectors
Recent progress in the development of superconducting circuits has enabled
the realization of interesting sources of nonclassical radiation at microwave
frequencies. Here, we discuss field quadrature detection schemes for the
experimental characterization of itinerant microwave photon fields and their
entanglement correlations with stationary qubits. In particular, we present
joint state tomography methods of a radiation field mode and a two-level
system. Including the case of finite quantum detection efficiency, we relate
measured photon field statistics to generalized quasi-probability distributions
and statistical moments for one-channel and two-channel detection. We also
present maximum-likelihood methods to reconstruct density matrices from
measured field quadrature histograms. Our theoretical investigations are
supported by the presentation of experimental data, for which microwave quantum
fields beyond the single-photon and Gaussian level have been prepared and
reconstructed.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
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