Controlling Frequency-Domain Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference via Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference is a compelling quantum phenomenon that demonstrates the nonclassical nature of single photons. Herein, we investigate an electromagnetically induced transparency-based double-Lambda four-wave mixing system from the perspective of quantized light fields. The system can be used to realize efficient HOM interference in the frequency domain. By using the reduced density operator theory, we demonstrate that, although the double-Lambda medium does not exhibit phase-dependent properties for the closed-loop case of two incident single photons, frequency-domain HOM two-photon interference occurs. For experimentally achievable optical depth conditions, our theory indicates that this double-Lambda scheme can perform high-fidelity Hadamard gate operations on frequency-encoded single-photon qubits, and thereby generate HOM two-photon NOON states with a fidelity greater than 0.99. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this scheme can be used to realize arbitrary single-qubit gates and two-qubit SWAP gates by simply controlling the laser detuning and phase, exhibiting its multifunctional properties and providing a new route to scalable optical quantum computing.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Experience with adjuvant chemotherapy for pseudomyxoma peritonei secondary to mucinous adenocarcinoma of the appendix with oxaliplatin/fluorouracil/leucovorin (FOLFOX4)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare condition characterized by mucinous tumors, disseminated intra-peritoneal implants, and mucinous ascites. So far its diagnosis remains challenging to most clinicians.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 55-year-old male patient had suffered from acute onset of abdominal pain and abdominal distension for one day prior to his admission. Physical examination revealed tenderness over the right lower quadrant of the abdomen without diffuse muscle guarding. A large amount of ascites was identified by abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan. Paracentesis showed the appearance of sticky mucinous ascites. He underwent laparotomy under the impression of pseudomyxoma peritonei. There was a lot of mucinous ascites, one appendiceal tumor and multiple peritoneal implants disseminated from the subphrenic space to the recto-vesicle pouch. Pseudomyxoma Peritonei caused by mucinous adenocarcinoma of appendiceal origin, was confirmed by histopathology. We performed an excision of the appendiceal tumor combined with copious irrigation and debridement. After the operation, he received 10 cycles of systemic chemotherapy with FOLFOX4 regimen, without specific morbidity. Follow-up of abdominal CT and colonoscopy at post-operative 17 months showed excellent response without evidence of local recurrence or distal metastasis. He made an uneventful recovery (up to the present) for 21 months after the operation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This case report emphasizes the possible new role of systemic chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with this rare clinical syndrome.</p

Small noncoding RNA modulates japanese encephalitis virus replication and translation in trans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sequence and structural elements in the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) are known to regulate translation and replication. We previously reported an abundant accumulation of small subgenomic flaviviral RNA (sfRNA) which is collinear with the highly conserved regions of the 3'-UTR in JEV-infected cells. However, function of the sfRNA in JEV life cycle remains unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Northern blot and real-time RT-PCR analyses indicated that the sfRNA becomes apparent at the time point at which minus-strand RNA (antigenome) reaches a plateau suggesting a role for sfRNA in the regulation of antigenome synthesis. Transfection of minus-sense sfRNA into JEV-infected cells, in order to counter the effects of plus-sense sfRNA, resulted in higher levels of antigenome suggesting that the presence of the sfRNA inhibits antigenome synthesis. <it>Trans</it>-acting effect of sfRNA on JEV translation was studied using a reporter mRNA containing the luciferase gene fused to partial coding regions of JEV and flanked by the respective JEV UTRs. <it>In vivo </it>and <it>in vitro </it>translation revealed that sfRNA inhibited JEV translation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that sfRNA modulates viral translation and replication <it>in trans</it>.</p

EmbeddingTree: Hierarchical Exploration of Entity Features in Embedding

Embedding learning transforms discrete data entities into continuous numerical representations, encoding features/properties of the entities. Despite the outstanding performance reported from different embedding learning algorithms, few efforts were devoted to structurally interpreting how features are encoded in the learned embedding space. This work proposes EmbeddingTree, a hierarchical embedding exploration algorithm that relates the semantics of entity features with the less-interpretable embedding vectors. An interactive visualization tool is also developed based on EmbeddingTree to explore high-dimensional embeddings. The tool helps users discover nuance features of data entities, perform feature denoising/injecting in embedding training, and generate embeddings for unseen entities. We demonstrate the efficacy of EmbeddingTree and our visualization tool through embeddings generated for industry-scale merchant data and the public 30Music listening/playlists dataset.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by PacificVis 202

All-electric all-semiconductor spin field-effect transistors.

The spin field-effect transistor envisioned by Datta and Das opens a gateway to spin information processing. Although the coherent manipulation of electron spins in semiconductors is now possible, the realization of a functional spin field-effect transistor for information processing has yet to be achieved, owing to several fundamental challenges such as the low spin-injection efficiency due to resistance mismatch, spin relaxation and the spread of spin precession angles. Alternative spin transistor designs have therefore been proposed, but these differ from the field-effect transistor concept and require the use of optical or magnetic elements, which pose difficulties for incorporation into integrated circuits. Here, we present an all-electric and all-semiconductor spin field-effect transistor in which these obstacles are overcome by using two quantum point contacts as spin injectors and detectors. Distinct engineering architectures of spin-orbit coupling are exploited for the quantum point contacts and the central semiconductor channel to achieve complete control of the electron spins (spin injection, manipulation and detection) in a purely electrical manner. Such a device is compatible with large-scale integration and holds promise for future spintronic devices for information processing.We thank C.-W. Chang, C.-C. Cheng, M. Fletcher, S. N. Holmes, C.-T. Liang, S.-T. Lo and J. R. Petta for discussion and/or technical assistance on device fabrication and measurements. This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan), the Headquarters of University Advancement at the National Cheng Kung University, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK).This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v10/n1/full/nnano.2014.296.htm

Differentiation of Foot-and-Mouth Disease-Infected pigs from Vaccinated Pigs Using Antibody-Detecting Sandwich ELISA

The presence of serum antibodies for nonstructural proteins of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can differentiate FMDV-infected animals from vaccinated animals. In this study, a sandwich ELISA was developed for rapid detection of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) antibodies; it was based on an Escherichia coli-expressed, highly conserved region of the 3ABC nonstructural protein of the FMDV O/TW/99 strain and a monoclonal antibody derived from the expressed protein. The diagnostic sensitivity of the assay was 98.4%, and the diagnostic specificity was 100% for naïve and vaccinated pigs; the detection ability of the assay was comparable those of the PrioCHECK and UBI kits. There was 97.5, 93.4 and 66.6% agreement between the results obtained from our ELISA and those obtained from the PrioCHECK, UBI and CHEKIT kits, respectively. The kappa statistics were 0.95, 0.87 and 0.37, respectively. Moreover, antibodies for nonstructural proteins of the serotypes A, C, Asia 1, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3 were also detected in bovine sera. Furthermore, the absence of cross-reactions generated by different antibody titers against the swine vesicular disease virus and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was also highlighted in this assay's specificit