Experimental Test of Bell inequalities with Six-Qubit Graph States

We report on the experimental realization of two different Bell inequality tests based on six-qubit linear-type and Y-shape graph states. For each of these states, the Bell inequalities tested are optimal in the sense that they provide the maximum violation among all Bell inequalities with stabilizing observables and possess the maximum resistance to noise.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Evaluation of metabolic and biochemical blood parameters in lactating cows with Cystic Ovarian Disease

The aim of the study was to determine and evaluate different blood parameters associated to energetic, protein, mineral and liver metabolic processes together with productive and reproductive parameters in dairy cows of Santa Fe province (Argentina) that were diagnosed with cystic ovarian disease (COD). Lactating Argentine Holstein cows from five dairy herds with spontaneous COD (n= 80) diagnosed by ultrasound and control cows (n= 124) were included in the study. Blood samples were obtained from all cows to determine serum concentrations of: growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), insulin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkalin phosphatase, gamma glutamiltransferase, albumin, total proteins, albumin: globulin ratio, total and direct bilirrubin, ?-hidroxibutirate, colesterol, glucose, urea, creatinin, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Serum concentrations of insulin and IGF-1 were lower (P<0.05) in COD than control cows. No significant differences among groups were observed in any other variables studied, however, the calving to conception interval was higher in cows with COD compared to controls. These results allowed us to conclude that there would be an association between blood concentrations of IGF-1 and insulin and COD that, ultimately, compromise the reproductive performance of the cow.Fil: Cattaneo, L. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Cátedra de Teriogenología. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFil: Barberis, F.C. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Cátedra de Teriogenología. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFil: Stangaferro, M.L. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Cátedra de Teriogenología. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFil: Signorini, M.L. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. ArgentinaFil: Signorini, M.L. CONICET. ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, M.F. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Hospital de Salud Animal. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFil: Zimmermann, R. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Hospital de Salud Animal. Santa Fe, ArgentinaFil: Bo, G.A. Instituto de Reproducción Animal Córdoba (IRAC). ArgentinaFil: Hein, G.J. CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral (ICiVet-Litoral). Esperanza, ArgentinaFil: Ortega, H.H. CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral (ICiVet-Litoral). Esperanza, ArgentinaEl objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar y evaluar indicadores bioquímicos sanguíneos asociados a procesos metabólicos energéticos, proteicos, minerales y de funcionalidad hepática, junto con parámetros productivos y reproductivos en vacas lecheras que fueron diagnosticadas con enfermedad quística ovárica (COD) y controles. Se emplearon vacas Holando Argentino en lactancia de 5 rebaños de la provincia de Santa Fe (Argentina) que presentaban COD (n= 80) diagnosticada mediante ultrasonografía y controles clínicamente sanas (n= 124). De las vacas se obtuvo sangre coccígea para determinar las concentraciones séricas de las hormonas de crecimiento (GH), factor de crecimiento similar a la insulina-1 (IGF-1) e insulina, la actividad sérica de AST, FA, GGT y las concentraciones séricas de albúmina, proteínas totales, relación albúmina: globulinas, bilirrubina total y directa, ?-hidroxibutirato, colesterol, glucosa, urea, creatinina, calcio, fósforo y magnesio. Las concentraciones séricas de insulina e IGF-1 fueron menores (P<0,05) en las vacas con COD que en las controles. No se observaron diferencias significativas (P>0,05) entre ambos grupos en las demás variables séricas y productivas evaluadas, sin embargo, el intervalo parto-concepción fue mayor en vacas que presentaron COD. Los resultados nos permitieron concluir que habría una asociación entre los valores séricos de IGF-1 e insulina y la COD, y que ésta comprometería el futuro reproductivo de las vacas

Eyes-free tongue gesture and tongue joystick control of a five DOF upper-limb exoskeleton for severely disabled individuals

Spinal cord injury can leave the affected individual severely disabled with a low level of independence and quality of life. Assistive upper-limb exoskeletons are one of the solutions that can enable an individual with tetraplegia (paralysis in both arms and legs) to perform simple activities of daily living by mobilizing the arm. Providing an efficient user interface that can provide full continuous control of such a device—safely and intuitively—with multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) still remains a challenge. In this study, a control interface for an assistive upper-limb exoskeleton with five DOFs based on an intraoral tongue-computer interface (ITCI) for individuals with tetraplegia was proposed. Furthermore, we evaluated eyes-free use of the ITCI for the first time and compared two tongue-operated control methods, one based on tongue gestures and the other based on dynamic virtual buttons and a joystick-like control. Ten able-bodied participants tongue controlled the exoskeleton for a drinking task with and without visual feedback on a screen in three experimental sessions. As a baseline, the participants performed the drinking task with a standard gamepad. The results showed that it was possible to control the exoskeleton with the tongue even without visual feedback and to perform the drinking task at 65.1% of the speed of the gamepad. In a clinical case study, an individual with tetraplegia further succeeded to fully control the exoskeleton and perform the drinking task only 5.6% slower than the able-bodied group. This study demonstrated the first single-modal control interface that can enable individuals with complete tetraplegia to fully and continuously control a five-DOF upper limb exoskeleton and perform a drinking task after only 2 h of training. The interface was used both with and without visual feedback

Evaluation of metabolic and biochemical blood parameters in lactating cows with Cystic Ovarian Disease

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar y evaluar indicadores bioquímicos sanguíneos asociados a procesos metabólicos energéticos, proteicos, minerales y de funcionalidad hepática, junto con parámetros productivos y reproductivos en vacas lecheras que fueron diagnosticadas con enfermedad quística ovárica (COD) y controles. Se emplearon vacas Holando Argentino en lactancia de 5 rebaños de la provincia de Santa Fe (Argentina) que presentaban COD (n= 80) diagnosticada mediante ultrasonografía y controles clínicamente sanas (n= 124). De las vacas se obtuvo sangre coccígea para determinar las concentraciones séricas de las hormonas de crecimiento (GH), factor de crecimiento similar a la insulina-1 (IGF-1) e insulina, la actividad sérica de AST, FA, GGT y las concentraciones séricas de albúmina, proteínas totales, relación albúmina: globulinas, Bilirrubina total y directa, β-hidroxibutirato, colesterol, glucosa, urea, creatinina, calcio, fósforo y magnesio. Las concentraciones séricas de insulina e IGF-1 fueron menores (P0,05) entre ambos grupos en las demás variables séricas y productivas evaluadas, sin embargo, el intervalo parto-concepción fue mayor en vacas que presentaron COD. Los resultados nos permitieron concluir que habría una asociación entre los valores séricos de IGF-1 e insulina y la COD, y que ésta comprometería el futuro reproductivo de las vacas.The aim of the study was to determine and evaluate different blood parameters associated to energetic, protein, mineral and liver metabolic processes together with productive and reproductive parameters in dairy cows of Santa Fe province (Argentina) that were diagnosed with cystic ovarian disease (COD). Lactating Argentine Holstein cows from five dairy herds with spontaneous COD (n= 80) diagnosed by ultrasound and control cows (n= 124) were included in the study. Blood samples were obtained from all cows to determine serum concentrations of: growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), insulin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkalin phosphatase, gamma glutamiltransferase, albumin, total proteins, albumin: globulin ratio, total and direct bilirrubin, β-hidroxibutirate, colesterol, glucose, urea, creatinin, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Serum concentrations of insulin and IGF-1 were lower (P<0.05) in COD than control cows. No significant differences among groups were observed in any other variables studied, however, the calving to conception interval was higher in cows with COD compared to controls. These results allowed us to conclude that there would be an association between blood concentrations of IGF-1 and insulin and COD that, ultimately, compromise the reproductive performance of the cow.Fil: Cattaneo, L.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Barberis, F. C.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Stangaferro, M. L.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Signorini Porchietto, Marcelo Lisandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, Marcelo Fabián. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Zimmermann, R.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Bo, Gabriel Amilcar. Instituto de Reproduccion Animal Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Hein, Gustavo Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Cs.veterinarias. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Hugo Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Cs.veterinarias. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral; Argentin

Evaluation on dry forage yields and nutritional characteristics of introduced herbaceous legumes in Myanmar

The study was carried out to evaluate the forage yields, nutritive values and in vitro fermentation parameters of herbaceous legumes. Five varieties of introduced herbaceous legumes; Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Ubon stylo, Macrotyloma axillare cv. Archer, Centrosema brasilianum cv. Ooloo, Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Stylo 184 and Macroptilum bracteatum cv. Cadarga were evaluated at the research farm, University of Veterinary Science, Yezin, Myanmar. No fertilizer and no irrigation were applied for cultivation to test drought resistance. Dry forage yield, nutritive values and gas production at four harvesting times were measured with 4×5 factorial arrangement (5 legumes and 4 harvesting time) in randomized complete block design. There was no interaction between legumes and harvesting time on forage yield, nutritive values and fermentation parameters but they were affected by the main effects of legume types and harvesting time. Among the legume forages, the highest dry forage yields were found in Ooloo, Ubon stylo, and Stylo 184, and followed by the DM yield of Archer and Cadarga. The DM yield of the second harvest was significantly higher (p&lt;0.05) than those of the first, third and fourth harvest which were not significantly different from each other. As a chemical composition, the DM content of Archer was lower (p&lt;0.05) than those of other varieties. Among the legumes forages, the lower CP content was found in Cadarga. The higher NDF was observed in Ooloo. Ooloo, Ubon stylo and Cadarga showed higher ADF in comparison with the other two varieties. Among the harvesting time, the lowest DM content was found at the first harvest. The highest CP content was found at third harvest. The NDF content was not significantly different. The lowest ADF content was found in fourth harvest. According to the dry forage yield, Ubon stylo and Ooloo had the highest dry forage yield and in term of nutritive values, Stylo 184 and Archer had higher nutritive values. As the main effect of forages, Stylo 184 and Archer had higher gas production in comparison with the other varieties. As the main effect of harvesting time, the fourth harvest had the highest gas production in comparison with other harvesting time. It could be better for cultivation by application of fertilizer and irrigation to get more forage yield and quality. &nbsp

Experimental Quantum Teleportation of a Two-Qubit Composite System

Quantum teleportation, a way to transfer the state of a quantum system from one location to another, is central to quantum communication and plays an important role in a number of quantum computation protocols. Previous experimental demonstrations have been implemented with photonic or ionic qubits. Very recently long-distance teleportation and open-destination teleportation have also been realized. Until now, previous experiments have only been able to teleport single qubits. However, since teleportation of single qubits is insufficient for a large-scale realization of quantum communication and computation2-5, teleportation of a composite system containing two or more qubits has been seen as a long-standing goal in quantum information science. Here, we present the experimental realization of quantum teleportation of a two-qubit composite system. In the experiment, we develop and exploit a six-photon interferometer to teleport an arbitrary polarization state of two photons. The observed teleportation fidelities for different initial states are all well beyond the state estimation limit of 0.40 for a two-qubit system. Not only does our six-photon interferometer provide an important step towards teleportation of a complex system, it will also enable future experimental investigations on a number of fundamental quantum communication and computation protocols such as multi-stage realization of quantum-relay, fault-tolerant quantum computation, universal quantum error-correction and one-way quantum computation.Comment: 16pages, 4 figure

Hypoxia induces dilated cardiomyopathy in the chick embryo: mechanism, intervention, and long-term consequences

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction is associated with an increased future risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. Hypoxia in utero is a common clinical cause of fetal growth restriction. We have previously shown that chronic hypoxia alters cardiovascular development in chick embryos. The aim of this study was to further characterize cardiac disease in hypoxic chick embryos. Methods: Chick embryos were exposed to hypoxia and cardiac structure was examined by histological methods one day prior to hatching (E20) and at adulthood. Cardiac function was assessed in vivo by echocardiography and ex vivo by contractility measurements in isolated heart muscle bundles and isolated cardiomyocytes. Chick embryos were exposed to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its scavenger soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sFlt-1) to investigate the potential role of this hypoxia-regulated cytokine. Principal Findings: Growth restricted hypoxic chick embryos showed cardiomyopathy as evidenced by left ventricular (LV) dilatation, reduced ventricular wall mass and increased apoptosis. Hypoxic hearts displayed pump dysfunction with decreased LV ejection fractions, accompanied by signs of diastolic dysfunction. Cardiomyopathy caused by hypoxia persisted into adulthood. Hypoxic embryonic hearts showed increases in VEGF expression. Systemic administration of rhVEGF165 to normoxic chick embryos resulted in LV dilatation and a dose-dependent loss of LV wall mass. Lowering VEGF levels in hypoxic embryonic chick hearts by systemic administration of sFlt-1 yielded an almost complete normalization of the phenotype. Conclusions/Significance: Our data show that hypoxia causes a decreased cardiac performance and cardiomyopathy in chick embryos, involving a significant VEGF-mediated component. This cardiomyopathy persists into adulthood

Experimental demonstration of a hyper-entangled ten-qubit Schr\"odinger cat state

Coherent manipulation of an increasing number of qubits for the generation of entangled states has been an important goal and benchmark in the emerging field of quantum information science. The multiparticle entangled states serve as physical resources for measurement-based quantum computing and high-precision quantum metrology. However, their experimental preparation has proved extremely challenging. To date, entangled states up to six, eight atoms, or six photonic qubits have been demonstrated. Here, by exploiting both the photons' polarization and momentum degrees of freedom, we report the creation of hyper-entangled six-, eight-, and ten-qubit Schr\"odinger cat states. We characterize the cat states by evaluating their fidelities and detecting the presence of genuine multi-partite entanglement. Small modifications of the experimental setup will allow the generation of various graph states up to ten qubits. Our method provides a shortcut to expand the effective Hilbert space, opening up interesting applications such as quantum-enhanced super-resolving phase measurement, graph-state generation for anyonic simulation and topological error correction, and novel tests of nonlocality with hyper-entanglement.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, comments welcom

User Based Development and Test of the EXOTIC Exoskeleton:Empowering Individuals with Tetraplegia Using a Compact, Versatile, 5-DoF Upper Limb Exoskeleton Controlled through Intelligent Semi-Automated Shared Tongue Control

This paper presents the EXOTIC- a novel assistive upper limb exoskeleton for individuals with complete functional tetraplegia that provides an unprecedented level of versatility and control. The current literature on exoskeletons mainly focuses on the basic technical aspects of exoskeleton design and control while the context in which these exoskeletons should function is less or not prioritized even though it poses important technical requirements. We considered all sources of design requirements, from the basic technical functions to the real-world practical application. The EXOTIC features: (1) a compact, safe, wheelchair-mountable, easy to don and doff exoskeleton capable of facilitating multiple highly desired activities of daily living for individuals with tetraplegia; (2) a semi-automated computer vision guidance system that can be enabled by the user when relevant; (3) a tongue control interface allowing for full, volitional, and continuous control over all possible motions of the exoskeleton. The EXOTIC was tested on ten able-bodied individuals and three users with tetraplegia caused by spinal cord injury. During the tests the EXOTIC succeeded in fully assisting tasks such as drinking and picking up snacks, even for users with complete functional tetraplegia and the need for a ventilator. The users confirmed the usability of the EXOTIC

Neuro4Neuro: A neural network approach for neural tract segmentation using large-scale population-based diffusion imaging

Subtle changes in white matter (WM) microstructure have been associated with normal aging and neurodegeneration. To study these associations in more detail, it is highly important that the WM tracts can be accurately and reproducibly characterized from brain diffusion MRI. In addition, to enable analysis of WM tracts in large datasets and in clinical practice it is essential to have methodology that is fast and easy to apply. This work therefore presents a new approach for WM tract segmentation: Neuro4Neuro, that is capable of direct extraction of WM tracts from diffusion tensor images using convolutional neural network (CNN). This 3D end-to-end method is trained to segment 25 WM tracts in aging individuals from a large population-based study (N=9752, 1.5T MRI). The proposed method showed good segmentation performance and high reproducibility, i.e., a high spatial agreement (Cohen's kappa, k = 0.72 ~ 0.83) and a low scan-rescan error in tract-specific diffusion measures (e.g., fractional anisotropy: error = 1% ~ 5%). The reproducibility of the proposed method was higher than that of a tractography-based segmentation algorithm, while being orders of magnitude faster (0.5s to segment one tract). In addition, we showed that the method successfully generalizes to diffusion scans from an external dementia dataset (N=58, 3T MRI). In two proof-of-principle experiments, we associated WM microstructure obtained using the proposed method with age in a normal elderly population, and with disease subtypes in a dementia cohort. In concordance with the literature, results showed a widespread reduction of microstructural organization with aging and substantial group-wise microstructure differences between dementia subtypes. In conclusion, we presented a highly reproducible and fast method for WM tract segmentation that has the potential of being used in large-scale studies and clinical practice.Comment: Preprint to be published in NeuroImag