Sharp crossover from composite fermionization to phase separation in mesoscopic mixtures of ultracold bosons

We show that a two-component mixture of a few repulsively interacting ultracold atoms in a one-dimensional trap possesses very different quantum regimes and that the crossover between them can be induced by tuning the interactions in one of the species. In the composite fermionization regime, where the interactions between both components are large, none of the species show large occupation of any natural orbital. Our results show that by increasing the interaction in one of the species, one can reach the phase-separated regime. In this regime, the weakly interacting component stays at the center of the trap and becomes almost fully phase coherent, while the strongly interacting component is displaced to the edges of the trap. The crossover is sharp, as observed in the in the energy and the in the largest occupation of a natural orbital of the weakly interacting species. Such a transition is a purely mesoscopic effect which disappears for large atom numbers.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Predicting Productive Performance in Grow-Finisher Pigs Using Birth and Weaning Body Weight

peer-reviewedThis study aimed to (1) investigate the effect of birth and weaning body weight (BW) on performance indicators of grow-finisher pigs and (2) estimate birth and weaning BW cut-off values in order to identify slow growing pigs (SGP). Pigs (n = 144) were classified as SMALL (0.9 ± 0.13 kg) or BIG (1.4 ± 0.20 kg) at birth and re-classified as SMALL (5.4 ± 1.6 kg) or BIG (6.3 ± 1.91 kg) at weaning. Individual BW was recorded bi-weekly, and feed intake was recorded on a daily basis. Average daily gain (ADG) and feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and days to target slaughter weight (TSW) were calculated. SMALL–SMALL pigs had lower ADG (p 0.05). Pigs weaned at <3.7 kg BW would likely be SGP. Pigs born at ≥1.1 kg BW or weaned at ≥6.4 kg BW are more likely to reach TSW at 22 weeks of age. The results suggest that birth BW might not be the best predictor for subsequent performance, as some small-born pigs were able to catch up with their bigger counterparts. The cut-off values identified could be used to design specific management and nutritional strategies for SGP

Nuclear shell‑model simulation in digital quantum computers

The nuclear shell model is one of the prime many-body methods to study the structure of atomic nuclei, but it is hampered by an exponential scaling on the basis size as the number of particles increases. We present a shell-model quantum circuit design strategy to find nuclear ground states by exploiting an adaptive variational quantum eigensolver algorithm. Our circuit implementation is in excellent agreement with classical shell-model simulations for a dozen of light and medium-mass nuclei, including neon and calcium isotopes. We quantify the circuit depth, width and number of gates to encode realistic shell-model wavefunctions. Our strategy also addresses explicitly energy measurements and the required number of circuits to perform them. Our simulated circuits approach the benchmark results exponentially with a polynomial scaling in quantum resources for each nucleus. This work paves the way for quantum computing shell-model studies across the nuclear chart and our quantum resource quantification may be used in configuration-interaction calculations of other fermionic systems

Persons with first episode psychosis have distinct profiles of social cognition and metacognition

Subjects with first-episode psychosis experience substantial deficits in social cognition and metacognition. Although previous studies have investigated the role of profiles of individuals in social cognition and metacognition in chronic schizophrenia, profiling subjects with first-episode psychosis in both domains remains to be investigated. We used latent profile analysis to derive profiles of the abilities in 174 persons with first-episode psychosis using the Beck’s Cognitive Insight Scale, the Faces Test, the Hinting Task, the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire, and the Beads Task. Participants received a clinical assessment and a neuropsychological assessment. The best-fitting model was selected according to the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). We assessed the importance of the variables via a classification tree (CART). We derived three clusters with distinct profiles. The first profile (33.3%) comprised individuals with low social cognition. The second profile (60.9%) comprised individuals that had more proneness to present jumping to conclusions. The third profile (5.7%) presented a heterogeneous profile of metacognitive deficits. Persons with lower social cognition presented worse clinical and neuropsychological features than cluster 2 and cluster 3. Cluster 3 presented significantly worst functioning. Our results suggest that individuals with FEP present distinct profiles that concur with specific clinical, neuropsychological, and functional challenges. Each subgroup may benefit from different interventionsPeer ReviewedArticle signat per 22 articles: "M. Ferrer-Quintero, D. Fernández, R. López-Carrilero, I. Birulés, A. Barajas, E. Lorente-Rovira, L. Díaz-Cutraro, M. Verdaguer, H. García-Mieres, J. Sevilla-Llewellyn-Jones, A. Gutiérrez-Zotes, E. Grasa, E. Pousa, E. Huerta-Ramos, T. Pélaez, M. L. Barrigón, F. González-Higueras, I. Ruiz-Delgado, J. Cid, S. Moritz, Spanish Metacognition Group & S. Ochoa"Postprint (published version

La filosofía de Patricia Benner y la práctica clínica

In order to explore how to apply Patricia Benner’s philosophy on the clinical field, a research was done about the scientific literature, initially with a five year range. However, little material was found on that field and for this reason it was decided to increase the range to a period ranging from 1984 to 2010. 90 articles were found and 52 of them were selected.This article establishes the skills that a professional nurse needs during the clinical practice, based on Patricia Benner´s approach that modified the Dreyfus brothers’ skill acquisition levels in order to apply them to nursery in the clinical area; additionally, it is related to the knowledge patterns described by Barbara Carper and the profile that a nurse must have in order to take care of patients who, either due to their age or clinical condition, are located on the ICU or pediatricsCon el objetivo de explorar la aplicación de la filosofía de Patricia Benner en el ámbito clínico se realizó una búsqueda de la literatura científica inicialmente con vigencia mínima de 5 años, encontrándose  durante este  proceso escasa literatura, por lo cual surgió la necesidad de ampliar el período e incluir desde 1984 hasta el 2010. Se encontraron 90 artículos, de los cuales se seleccionaron 52. En el desarrollo del presente artículo se establecen las competencias que requiere el profesional de enfermería durante la práctica clínica, partiendo de los planteamientos de Patricia Benner quien modifica los niveles de adquisición de habilidades de los hermanos Dreyfus con el fin de aplicarlo a  enfermeria en el área clínica; adicionalmente  se relacionan con los patrones del conocimiento descritos por Barbara Carper y el perfil que debe tener la enfermera(o) que cuida pacientes que por su edad o condición clinica se encuentran en las areas de urgencias, unidad de cuidados intensivos y pediatria

HS3ST2 expression is critical for the abnormal phosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease-related tau pathology

Heparan sulphate (glucosamine) 3-O-sulphotransferase 2 (HS3ST2, also known as 3OST2) is an enzyme predominantly expressed in neurons wherein it generates rare 3-O-sulphated domains of unknown functions in heparan sulphates. in Alzheimer's disease, heparan sulphates accumulate at the intracellular level in disease neurons where they co-localize with the neurofibrillary pathology, while they persist at the neuronal cell membrane in normal brain. However, it is unknown whether HS3ST2 and its 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphate products are involved in the mechanisms leading to the abnormal phosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. Here, we first measured the transcript levels of all human heparan sulphate sulphotransferases in hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease (n = 8; 76.8 +/- 3.5 years old) and found increased expression of HS3ST2 (P < 0.001) compared with control brain (n = 8; 67.8 +/- 2.9 years old). Then, to investigate whether the membrane-associated 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates translocate to the intracellular level under pathological conditions, we used two cell models of tauopathy in neuro-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells: a tau mutation-dependent model in cells expressing human tau carrying the P-301L mutation hTau P-301L, and a tau mutation-independent model in where tau hyperphosphorylation is induced by oxidative stress. Confocal microscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, and western blot analyses showed that 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates can be internalized into cells where they interact with tau, promoting its abnormal phosphorylation, but not that of p38 or NF-kappa B p65. We showed, in vitro, that the 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates bind to tau, but not to GSK3B, protein kinase A or protein phosphatase 2, inducing its abnormal phosphorylation. Finally, we demonstrated in a zebrafish model of tauopathy expressing the hTau P-301L, that inhibiting hs3st2 (also known as 3ost2) expression results in a strong inhibition of the abnormally phosphorylated tau epitopes in brain and in spinal cord, leading to a complete recovery of motor neuronal axons length (n = 25; P < 0.005) and of the animal motor response to touching stimuli (n = 150; P < 0.005). Our findings indicate that HS3ST2 centrally participates to the molecular mechanisms leading the abnormal phosphorylation of tau. By interacting with tau at the intracellular level, the 3-O-sulphated heparan sulphates produced by HS3ST2 might act as molecular chaperones allowing the abnormal phosphorylation of tau. We propose HS3ST2 as a novel therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease.Association France Alzheimer & Maladies ApparenteesSATT Idf InnovCONACyT, MexicoFrench Ministry of Higher Education and ResearchInstitute de Recherche ServierUniv Paris Est, CNRS, Lab Cell Growth Tissue Repair & Regenerat CRRET, UPEC,EA 4397,ERL 9215, F-94000 Creteil, FranceUPMC, Univ Paris 04, Inst Cerveau & Moelle Epiniere, CNRS,UMR 7225,INSERM,U1127,UM75, Paris, FranceHop Robert Debre, INSERM, UMR 1141, F-75019 Paris, FranceSorbonne Paris Cite, Univ Paris Diderot, Paris, FranceUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Aging & Neurodegenerat Dis Brain Bank Invest Lab, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilGrp Hosp Pitie Salpetriere, Biochim Malad Neurometab, F-75013 Paris, FranceRadboud Univ Nijmegen, Med Ctr, Radboud Inst Mol Life Sci, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, NetherlandsUniv Strasbourg, INSERM, U1119, FMTS, F-67000 Strasbourg, FranceUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Aging & Neurodegenerat Dis Brain Bank Invest Lab, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilCONACyT, Mexico: 308978Web of Scienc

Polisacáridos de Porphyridium cruentum presentan actividad antiviral diferencial frente a infecciones causadas de VHSV y VNN

Los microorganismos del medio marino constituyen una importante fuente de compuestos cuya utilización en la prevención y/o tratamiento de enfermedades de etiología viral está siendo sugerida en los últimos años. En concreto, diversos estudios demuestran que los polisacáridos de Porphyridium cruentum presentan funciones biológicas en mamíferos, entre ellas acción antiviral, siendo un buen candidato para analizar su posible papel frente a patologías víricas de peces cultivados. En este trabajo se ha evaluado la actividad de los polisacáridos de P. cruentum frente a la infección por el virus de la septicemia hemorrágica viral (VHSV, genotipo I), y el virus de la necrosis nerviosa (VNN, genotipo RGNNV). El análisis se ha realizado in vitro mediante dos aproximaciones: (a) evaluando la capacidad de los polisacáridos de bloquear la unión virus-célula, y (b) su papel durante el proceso de replicación vírica. En cada ensayo se analizó la replicación viral mediante cuantificación de genoma vírico a diferentes tiempos post-inoculación (p.i.). Los resultados muestran actividad de los polisacáridos de P. cruentum frente a la infección por VHSV en ambas aproximaciones, observándose disminución significativa de genoma viral a las 24 y 36 h p.i. en las células tratadas con el polisacárido respecto a las no tratadas. Por el contrario, no se ha observado actividad frente a VNN, indicando que los polisacáridos de P. cruentum presentan actividad antiviral diferencial, dependiente del patógeno.Financiación: AGL2017-84644-R, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE) y P18-RT-1067, Junta de Andalucía. G.P. beca ANID-PFCHA (2018- No. 21180059). I Plan Propio Integral de Docencia. Universidad de Málaga Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Insulin regulates neurovascular coupling through astrocytes

Mice with insulin receptor (IR)-deficient astrocytes (GFAP-IR knockout [KO] mice) show blunted responses to insulin and reduced brain glucose uptake, whereas IRdeficient astrocytes show disturbed mitochondrial responses to glucose. While exploring the functional impact of disturbed mitochondrial function in astrocytes, we observed that GFAP-IR KO mice show uncoupling of brain blood flow with glucose uptake. Since IR-deficient astrocytes show higher levels of reactive oxidant species (ROS), this leads to stimulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1¿ and, consequently, of the vascular endothelial growth factor angiogenic pathway. Indeed, GFAP-IR KO mice show disturbed brain vascularity and blood flow that is normalized by treatment with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC). NAC ameliorated high ROS levels, normalized angiogenic signaling and mitochondrial function in IR-deficient astrocytes, and normalized neurovascular coupling in GFAP-IR KO mice. Our results indicate that by modulating glucose uptake and angiogenesis, insulin receptors in astrocytes participate in neurovascular coupling.We are thankful to M.Garcia and R. Cañadas for technical support. This work was funded by Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED) (Instituto de Salud CarlosIII, Spain) to I.T.A., A.G., and T.I.; an Inter-CIBER project (PIE14/00061) to I.T.A.that forms part of the projects PID2019-104376RB-I00 (I.T.A.) and RTI2018-094887-B-I00 (M.N.) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; a grant from Junta de Andalucia Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento (P18-RT-2233 to A.G.) cofinanced by Programa Operativo FEDER 2014–2020; a grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III Spain (cofinanced by FEDER funds from the European Union; PI21/00915 to A.G.); Grant PID2020-115218RB-I00 to T.I. funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Española de Investigación (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033); and a grant from Comunidad de Madrid through the European Social Fund (ESF)–financed programme Neurometabolismo-Comunidad de Madrid (NEUROMETAB-CM) (B2017/BMD-3700 to I.T.A.and T.I.). M.N. was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ramón y Cajal RYC-2016-20414). J.P.-U. was contracted by CIBERNED

Longitudinal analysis of blood DNA methylation identifies mechanisms of response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the joints that has been associated with variation in the peripheral blood methylome. In this study, we aim to identify epigenetic variation that is associated with the response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapy.Peripheral blood genome-wide DNA methylation profiles were analyzed in a discovery cohort of 62 RA patients at baseline and at week 12 of TNFi therapy. DNA methylation of individual CpG sites and enrichment of biological pathways were evaluated for their association with drug response. Using a novel cell deconvolution approach, altered DNA methylation associated with TNFi response was also tested in the six main immune cell types in blood. Validation of the results was performed in an independent longitudinal cohort of 60 RA patients.Treatment with TNFi was associated with significant longitudinal peripheral blood methylation changes in biological pathways related to RA (FDR<0.05). 139 biological functions were modified by therapy, with methylation levels changing systematically towards a signature similar to that of healthy controls. Differences in the methylation profile of T cell activation and differentiation, GTPase-mediated signaling, and actin filament organization pathways were associated with the clinical response to therapy. Cell type deconvolution analysis identified CpG sites in CD4+T, NK, neutrophils and monocytes that were significantly associated with the response to TNFi.Our results show that treatment with TNFi restores homeostatic blood methylation in RA. The clinical response to TNFi is associated to methylation variation in specific biological pathways, and it involves cells from both the innate and adaptive immune systems.The Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Macroscopic superposition states of ultracold bosons in a double-well potential

We present a thorough description of the physical regimes for ultracold bosons in double wells, with special attention paid to macroscopic superpositions (MSs). We use a generalization of the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick Hamiltonian of up to eight single particle modes to study these MSs, solving the Hamiltonian with a combination of numerical exact diagonalization and high-order perturbation theory. The MS is between left and right potential wells; the extreme case with all atoms simultaneously located in both wells and in only two modes is the famous NOON state, but our approach encompasses much more general MSs. Use of more single particle modes brings dimensionality into the problem, allows us to set hard limits on the use of the original two-mode LMG model commonly treated in the literature, and also introduces a new mixed Josephson-Fock regime. Higher modes introduce angular degrees of freedom and MS states with different angular properties.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Mini-review prepared for the special issue of Frontiers of Physics "Recent Progresses on Quantum Dynamics of Ultracold Atoms and Future Quantum Technologies", edited by Profs. Lee, Ueda, and Drummon