Optimal generation of entanglement under local control

We study the optimal generation of entanglement between two qubits subject to local unitary control. With the only assumptions of linear control and unitary dynamics, by means of a numerical protocol based on the variational approach (Pontryagin's Minimum Principle), we evaluate the optimal control strategy leading to the maximal achievable entanglement in an arbitrary interaction time, taking into account the energy cost associated to the controls. In our model we can arbitrarily choose the relative weight between a large entanglement and a small energy cost.Comment: 4 page

b \bar b b\bar b production in proton-nucleus collisions at the LHC

A sizable rate of events, with several pairs of $b$-quarks produced contemporarily by multiple parton interactions, may be expected at very high energies as a consequence of the large parton luminosities. The production rates are further enhanced in hadron-nucleus reactions, which may represent a convenient tool to study the phenomenon. We compare the different contributions to $b{\bar b}b{\bar b}$ production, due to single and double parton scatterings, in collisions of protons with nuclei at the CERN-LHC.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Fractional momentum correlations in multiple production of W bosons and of b-anti_b pairs in high energy pp collisions

Multiple parton collisions will represent a rather common feature in pp collisions at the LHC, where regimes with very large momentum transfer may be studied and events rare in lower energy accelerators might occur with a significant rate. A reason of interest in large p_t regimes is that, differently from low p_t, evolution will induce correlations in x in the multiparton structure functions. We have estimated the cross section of multiple production of W bosons with equal sign, where the correlations in x induced by evolution are particularly relevant, and the cross section of b-bar_b b-bar_b production, where the effects of evolution are much smaller. Our result is that, in the case of multiple production of W bosons, the terms with correlations may represent a correction of the order of 40% of the cross sections, for pp collisions at 1 TeV c.m. energy, and a correction of the order of 20% at 14 TeV. In the case of b-bar_b pairs the correction terms are of the order of 10-15% at 1 TeV and of the order of 5% at 14 TeV.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Zygomatic Implant Survival in 9 Ectodermal Dysplasia Patients with 3.5 to 7-year Follow Up

Ectodermal dysplasia syndrome is a complex group of genetic disorders identified by the abnormal development of the ectodermal structures. The aim of this retrospective clinical case series report was to evaluate the outcomes of the ectodermal dysplasia syndrome patients that underwent zygomatic implant surgery. Materials and Methods: A total of 9 ectodermal dysplasia syndrome patients aged between 21 and 56 years (mean age 36.8) with severely atrophic maxilla were included in this study. All the patients were treated with a total of 19 zygomatic implants. The mean follow-up of the patients was 55 months (with a range of 44\u201384 months). The implant survival rate was evaluated as a primary outcome. The intra- and postoperative complications were evaluated as additional criteria for success. Results: The overall implant survival rate was 100% without any complications. Final or provisional prosthesis was delivered on the same day of surgery, which resulted in an improvement of the quality of life of the patients. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, zygomatic surgery can be considered as a viable and safe alternative to conventional treatment modalities for oral rehabilitation of ectodermal dysplasia syndrome patients

VBL: Virtual Biophysics Lab

VBL (Virtual Biophysics Lab) is a computational project to develop a basic numerical model of tumor spheroids. This paper is a status report that describes the structure of the code that implements the model, and the progress made up to February 2008, and also some recent results in modeling the effects of radiations on cells in a bioreactor

Same-sign W pair production as a probe of double parton scattering at the LHC

We study the production of same-sign W boson pairs at the LHC in double parton interactions. Compared with simple factorised double parton distributions (dPDFs), we show that the recently developed dPDFs, GS09, lead to non-trivial kinematic correlations between the W bosons. A numerical study of the prospects for observing this process using same-sign dilepton signatures, including same-sign WWjj, di-boson and heavy flavour backgrounds, at 14 TeV centre-of-mass energy is then performed. It is shown that a small excess of same-sign dilepton events from double parton scattering over a background dominated by single scattering WZ(gamma*) production could be observed at the LHC.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Added references, slight changes in the text

A quantitative study on the growth variability of tumour cell clones in vitro

Objectives: In this study, we quantify the growth variability of tumour cell clones from a human leukemia cell line. Materials and methods: We have used microplate spectrophotometry to measure the growth kinetics of hundreds of individual cell clones from the Molt3 cell line. The growth rate of each clonal population has been estimated by fitting experimental data with the logistic equation. Results: The growth rates were observed to vary among different clones. Up to six clones with a growth rate above or below the mean growth rate of the parent population were further cloned and the growth rates of their offsprings were measured. The distribution of the growth rates of the subclones did not significantly differ from that of the parent population thus suggesting that growth variability has an epigenetic origin. To explain the observed distributions of clonal growth rates we have developed a probabilistic model assuming that the fluctuations in the number of mitochondria through successive cell cycles are the leading cause of growth variability. For fitting purposes, we have estimated experimentally by flow cytometry the maximum average number of mitochondria in Molt3 cells. The model fits nicely the observed distributions of growth rates, however, cells in which the mitochondria were rendered non functional (rho-0 cells) showed only a 30% reduction in the clonal growth variability with respect to normal cells. Conclusions: A tumor cell population is a dynamic ensemble of clones with highly variable growth rate. At least part of this variability is due to fluctuations in the number of mitochondria.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figure

Implant supported cantilevered fixed dental rehabilitations in partially edentulous patients : systematic review of the literature. Part I

Objectives: To investigate in which clinical situations a cantilever fixed implant supported restorations can be a treatment alternative and which complications are reported. Materials and Methods: Two operators screened the literature (MEDLINE, EMBASE) and performed a hand search on the main journals dealing with implantology and prosthetics until 31 December 2017. Only articles that considered cantilever implant fixed restorations with at least 10 patients and with a mean follow-up of at least 5\ua0year were selected. The outcome variables were survival of implants and prosthesis, mechanical, technical and biological complications, marginal bone loss. The review was performed according to the PRISMA statements. Risk of bias assessment was evaluated. Failure and complication rates were analysed using random effect Poisson regression models to obtain summary estimate of 5- and 10-year survival and complication rates. Results: A total of nine papers were selected for partially edentulous patients and reported high survival rate of the prosthesis. The estimated survival rate for 5\u201310\ua0years was calculated to be 98.4% for the implants and 99.2% for the rehabilitations. Mechanical, technical and biological complications were reported with a cumulative 5\u201310\ua0years complication rate of 28.66% and 26.57% for the patients and for the prosthesis, respectively. Two papers for single implant supporting 2-unit cantilever were not sufficient to draw conclusions. Conclusions: There is evidence that cantilever can be successful treatment in partially edentulous patients. In two adjacent edentulous sites, data are not yet sufficient

Microsurgical re-treatment of an endodontically treated tooth with an apically located incomplete vertical root fracture: a clinical case report

Although it is challenging, the early diagnosis of a vertical root fracture (VRF) is crucial in order to ensure tooth preservation. The purpose of this clinical case report was to describe reparative surgery performed to treat a tooth affected by an incomplete VRF. A 26 year old male patient was suspected to have a VRF in a maxillary left central incisor, and an exploratory flap was performed in order to confirm the diagnosis. After detecting the fracture, the lesion was surgically treated, the fracture and the infected root-end were removed, and a platelet-rich plasma membrane was used to cover the defect in order to prevent bacterial migration. A 24 month clinical and radiological follow-up examination showed that the tooth was asymptomatic and that the healing process was in progress. The surgical approach described here may be considered an effective treatment for a combined endodontic-periodontal lesion originating from an incomplete VRF and a recurrent periapical lesion

Suppressing H2 evolution by silicon powder dispersions

Silicon dispersions in water are used to produce pyrotechnic time delay compositions. The propensity of the silicon to react with water and to produce hazardous hydrogen gas must be suppressed. To this end, the effect of surface modifications and medium pH on the rate of corrosion of silicon was studied at ambient temperature. It was found that the rate of hydrogen evolution increased with increasing pH. Silanes proved to be more effective silicon corrosion inhibitors than alcohols, with vinyl tris (2-methoxyethoxy) silane producing the best results. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) studies were performed using a near-stoichiometric amount of lead chromate as oxidant. Comparable combustion behavior was observed when both the fuel and the oxidant powders were either uncoated or silane modified. Mixtures of neat oxidant with silane-coated silicon showed poor burn behavior and this was attributed to poor particle–particle mixing due to the mismatch in surface energies.The THRIP programme of the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Research Foundation as well as AELhttp://tandfonline.com/loi/uegm20ai201