Draft Whole-Genome Sequences of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa Strains TPD3 and TPD4, Isolated from Grapevines in Hou-li, Taiwan.

We report the draft assemblies of TPD3 and TPD4, two Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa isolates infecting grapevines in Hou-li, Taiwan. TPD3 and TPD4 showed similar characteristics regarding genome size (2,483,503 bp and 2,491,539 bp, respectively), GC content (51.49% and 51.47%, respectively), and number of protein-coding sequences (2,394 and 2,413, respectively)

Valley-polarized Josephson Junctions as gate-tunable 00-π\pi qubit platforms

Recently, gate-defined Josephson junctions based on magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) have been fabricated. In such a junction, local electrostatic gating can create two superconducting regions connected by an interaction-driven valley-polarized state as the weak link. Due to the spontaneous time-reversal and inversion symmetry breaking of the valley-polarized state, novel phenomena such as the Josephson diode effect have been observed without applying external fields. Importantly, when the so-called nonreciprocity efficiency (which measures the sign and strength of the Josephson effect) changes sign, the energy-phase relation of the junction is approximate $F(\phi) \approx \cos(2\phi)$ where $F$ is the free energy and $\phi$ is the phase difference of the two superconductors. In this work, we show that such a MATBG-based Josephson junction, when shunted by a capacitor, can be used to realize the long-sought-after $0$-$\pi$ qubits which are protected from local perturbation-induced decoherence. Interestingly, by changing the junction parameters, transmon-like qubits with large anharmonicity can also be realized. In short, by utilizing the novel interaction-driven valley-polarized state in MATBG, a single gate-defined Josephson junction can be used to replace complicated superconducting circuits for realizing qubits that are protected from local perturbations

Reversible Engineering of Topological Insulator Surface State Conductivity through Optical Excitation

Despite the broadband response, limited optical absorption at a particular wavelength hinders the development of optoelectronics based on Dirac fermions. Heterostructures of graphene and various semiconductors have been explored for this purpose, while non-ideal interfaces often limit the performance. The topological insulator is a natural hybrid system, with the surface states hosting high-mobility Dirac fermions and the small-bandgap semiconducting bulk state strongly absorbing light. In this work, we show a large photocurrent response from a field effect transistor device based on intrinsic topological insulator Sn-Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S. The photocurrent response is non-volatile and sensitively depends on the initial Fermi energy of the surface state, and it can be erased by controlling the gate voltage. Our observations can be explained with a remote photo-doping mechanism, in which the light excites the defects in the bulk and frees the localized carriers to the surface state. This photodoping modulates the surface state conductivity without compromising the mobility, and it also significantly modify the quantum Hall effect of the surface state. Our work thus illustrates a route to reversibly manipulate the surface states through optical excitation, shedding light into utilizing topological surface states for quantum optoelectronics

Efficacy and safety of anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve for distal humerus fractures: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThis systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to summarize available evidence of anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve for patients with distal humerus fractures.Materials and MethodsThe databases were searched from PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chongqing VIP Database (VIP), and Wan Fang Database up to June 2022. The clinical outcome included operation time, fracture healing time, hospital stays, elbow joint function, and ulnar neuritis rate. Statistical analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration).ResultsA total of 17 studies were included (8 RCTs and 9 retrospective studies), and 1280 patients were analyzed. The results of this meta-analysis showed anterior transposition group had longer operation time (MD = 20.35 min, 95%CI: 12.56–28.14, P < 0.00001). There was no significant difference in fracture healing time (SMD = −0.50, 95%CI: −1.50–0.50, P = 0.33), hospital stays (MD = −1.23 days, 95%CI: −2.72–−0.27, P = 0.11), blood loss (MD = 2.66 ml, 95%CI: −2.45–7.76, P = 0.31), and ulnar neuritis rate (OR = 1.23, 95%CI: 0.63–2.42, P = 0.54) between two groups. Finally, elbow joint motion, elbow joint function, fracture nonunion, and post-operative infection (P > 0.05) between two groups were not significantly statistic difference.ConclusionThis meta-analysis showed that anterior transposition group is not superior to non-transposition group for patients with distal humerus fractures without ulnar nerve injury. On the contrary, non-transposition group have shorter operation time than that of anterior transposition group. Non-transposition group did not increase the post-operative ulnar neuritis rate. Therefore, both anterior transposition group and non- transposition group are the treatment options for patients with distal humerus fractures without ulnar nerve injury. Besides, these findings need to be further verified by multi-center, double-blind, and large sample RCTs

Self-controlled growth of highly uniform Ge/Si hut wires for scalable qubit devices

Semiconductor nanowires have been playing a crucial role in the development of nanoscale devices for the realization of spin qubits, Majorana fermions, single photon emitters, nanoprocessors, etc. The monolithic growth of site-controlled nanowires is a prerequisite towards the next generation of devices that will require addressability and scalability. Here, combining top-down nanofabrication and bottom-up self-assembly, we report on the growth of Ge wires on pre-patterned Si (001) substrates with controllable position, distance, length and structure. This is achieved by a novel growth process which uses a SiGe strain-relaxation template and can be generalized to other material combinations. Transport measurements show an electrically tunable spin-orbit coupling, with a spin-orbit length similar to that of III-V materials. Also, capacitive coupling between closely spaced wires is observed, which underlines their potential as a host for implementing two qubit gates. The reported results open a path towards scalable qubit devices with Si compatibility

Evaluating the link between immune characteristics and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder through a bi-directional Mendelian randomization study

ContextDespite the recognition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a multifaceted neurodevelopmental disorder, its core causes are still ambiguous. The objective of this study was to explore if the traits of circulating immune cells contribute causally to susceptibility to ADHD.MethodsBy employing a unified GWAS summary data covering 731 immune traits from the GWAS Catalog (accession numbers from GCST0001391 to GCST0002121), our analysis focused on the flow cytometry of lymphocyte clusters, encompassing 3,757 Sardinians, to identify genetically expected immune cells. Furthermore, we obtained summarized GWAS statistics from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium to evaluate the genetic forecasting of ADHD. The studies employed ADHD2019 (20,183 cases and 35,191 controls from the 2019 GWAS ADHD dataset) and ADHD2022 (38,691 cases and 275,986 controls from the 2022 GWAS ADHD dataset). Through the examination of genome-wide association signals, we identified shared genetic variances between circulating immune cells and ADHD, employing the comprehensive ADHD2022 dataset. We primarily utilized inverse variance weighted (IVW) and weighted median methods in our Mendelian randomization research and sensitivity assessments to evaluate diversity and pleiotropy.ResultsAfter adjusting for false discovery rate (FDR), three distinct immunophenotypes were identified as associated with the risk of ADHD: CD33 in Im MDSC (OR=1.03, CI: 1.01~1.04, P=3.04×10−5, PFDR=0.015), CD8br NKT %T cell (OR=1.08, 95%CI: 1.04~1.12, P=9.33×10−5, PFDR=0.023), and CD8br NKT %lymphocyte (OR=1.08, 95%CI: 1.03~1.12, P=3.59×10−4, PFDR=0.066). Furthermore, ADHD showed no statistical effects on immunophenotypes. It’s worth noting that 20 phenotypes exist where ADHD’s appearance could diminish 85% of immune cells, including FSC-A in myeloid DC (β= -0.278, 95% CI: 0.616~0.931, P=0.008), CD3 in CD45RA- CD4+ (β= -0.233, 95% CI: 0.654~0.960, P=0.017), CD62L- monocyte AC (β=0.227, 95% CI: 0.038~1.518, P=0.019), CD33 in CD33br HLA DR+ CD14dim (β= -0.331, 95% CI: 0.543~0.950, P=0.020), and CD25 in CD39+ resting Treg (β=0.226, 95% CI: 1.522, P=0.022), and FSC-A in monocytes (β= -0.255, 95% CI: 0.621~0.967, P=0.234), among others.ConclusionStudies indicate that the immune system’s response influences the emergence of ADHD. The findings greatly improve our understanding of the interplay between immune responses and ADHD risk, aiding in the development of treatment strategies from an immunological perspective

Ultrafast Operations of a Hole Spin Qubit in Ge Quantum Dot

Strong spin-orbit coupling and relatively weak hyperfine interaction make quantum dots in germanium a promising candidate for rapid, all-electrically quantum control of spin qubit. Here, we report two different modes of quantum operation in a single spin-qubit based on holes in germanium hut wire. By selecting a proper branch of spin resonances mediated by spin-orbit interaction, a Rabi oscillation exceeding 540 MHz is observed at a small magnetic field of 100 mT. Furthermore, we perform two-axis control of the spin qubit by applying a phase-tunable microwave modulation. A dephasing time is measured by Ramsey spectroscopy, and further extended by dynamic decoupling. The qubit has a rather high quality-factor of 90, for nanowire-based spin qubits.Based on numerical calculation of the Rabi frequency of these two modes, we confirm that the ultrafast control speed is caused by the large spin-orbit coupling strength of holes in germanium.Our results demonstrate the potential to further control the spin qubit with a faster frequency to meet the requirement of Divincenzo's criteria for quantum gates, when the spin-orbit coupling is properly enhanced while maintaining good coherence in this system.Comment: 14 pages,4 figure

Metabolically Specific In Situ Fluorescent Visualization of Bacterial Infection on Wound Tissues

The ability to effectively detect bacterial infection in human tissues is important for the timely treatment of the infection. However, traditional techniques fail to visualize bacterial species adhered to host cells in situ in a target-specific manner. Dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) exclusively exists in bacterial species and metabolically converts p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) to folic acid (FA). By targeting this bacterium-specific metabolism, we have developed a fluorescent imaging probe, PABA-DCM, based on the conjugation of PABA with a long-wavelength fluorophore, dicyanomethylene 4H-pyran (DCM). We confirmed that the probe can be used in the synthetic pathway of a broad spectrum of Gram-positive and negative bacteria, resulting in a significantly extended retention time in bacterial over mammalian cells. We validated that DHPS catalytically introduces a dihydropteridine group to the amino end of the PABA motif of PABA-DCM, and the resulting adduct leads to an increase in the FA levels of bacteria. We also constructed a hydrogel dressing containing PABA-DCM and graphene oxide (GO), termed PABA-DCM@GO, that achieves target-specific fluorescence visualization of bacterial infection on the wounded tissues of mice. Our research paves the way for the development of fluorescent imaging agents that target species-conserved metabolic pathways of microorganisms for the in situ monitoring of infections in human tissues. </p