Sternal nonunion on bone scintigraphy: A case report

Sternal non-union is a severe complication of sternotomy closure following open heart surgeries. Healing problems typically occur in 0.3% to 5% of patients. Technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) bone scintigraphy has been used to assess bone nonunion to predict the healing response for proper management. In this report, we present the case of a marked sternal nonunion following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), using radionuclide bone scintigraphy

Nonunitary Gate Operations by Dissipation Engineering

Irreversible logic is at odds with unitary quantum evolution. Emulating such operations by classical measurements can result in disturbances and high resource demands. To overcome these limitations, we propose protocols that harness dissipation to realize the nonunitary evolution required for irreversible gate operations. Using additional excited states subject to decay, we engineer effective decay processes that perform the desired gate operations on the smallest stable Hilbert space. These operate deterministically and in an autonomous fashion, without the need for measurements. We exemplify our approach considering several classical logic operations, such as the OR, NOR, and XOR gates. Towards experimental realization, we discuss a possible implementation in quantum dots. Our study shows that irreversible logic operations can be efficiently performed on realistic quantum systems and that dissipation engineering is an essential tool for obtaining nonunitary evolutions. The proposed operations expand the quantum engineers' toolbox and have promising applications in NISQ algorithms and quantum machine learning

Cooperative effects in surfactant adsorption layers at water/alkane interfaces

In the present work, the properties of dodecyl dimethyl phosphine oxide (C12DMPO) at the water/decane interface are studied and compared with those obtained earlier at the interface to hexane. To simulate the interfacial behavior, a two-component thermodynamic model is proposed, which combines the equation of state and Frumkin isotherm for decane with the reorientation model involving the intrinsic compressibility for the surfactant. In this approach, the surface activity of decane is governed by its interaction with C12DMPO. The theory predicts the influence of decane on the decrease of the surface tension at a very low surfactant concentration for realistic values of the ratio of the adsorbed amounts of decane and surfactant. The surfactantrsquo;s distribution coefficient between the aqueous and decane phases is determined. Two types of adsorption systems were used: a decane drop immersed into the C12DMPO aqueous solution, and a water drop immersed into the C12DMPO solution in decane. To determine the distribution coefficient, a method based on the analysis of the transfer of C12DMPO between water and decane is also employed

Numerical simulation of fish freezing process by immersion cooling and cold air blasting methods

A three dimensional simulation of cooling and freezing process of fish as a complex geometry is presented. The 3d geometry of the fish was produced by digitizing and the thermo-physical properties of the fish were considered as functions of temperature and water content of the fish. Heating loads and product temperatures during chilling, freezing and post cooling processes for immersion cooling method in brine and for cold air blasting method were predicted. The influence of effective parameters such as initial temperature and fish water content are also investigated on processing time. Because of the slow freezing rate in immersion cooling technique, the results show that the initial temperature of fish highly affects freezing time. We suggest that a combination of immersion and cold air blasting methods will decrease the freezing time in comparison with immersion method when solely applied. Comparison of temperature distribution in present study shows a good agreement with other numerical and experimental results

Effects of Phosphorus and Copper on Factors Influencing Nutrient Uptake, Photosynthesis, and Grain Yield of Wheat

Author Institution: Department of Agronomy, The Ohio State UniversityApplication of large amounts of phosphorus fertilizers is used to enhance early plant growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This practice can lead to an accumulation of phosphorus in soil and a reduced copper uptake by plants which may result in a reduction of plastocyanin concentrations in chloroplasts. As a result, photosynthetic rates and crop yield can be adversely affected. While copper uptake is sometimes enhanced by vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi, large accumulations of soil phosphorus can reduce VAM-enhanced copper uptake