Pinning quantum phase transition of photons in a hollow-core fiber

We show that a pinning quantum phase transition for photons could be observed in a hollow-core one-dimensional fiber loaded with a cold atomic gas. Utilizing the strong light confinement in the fiber, a range of different strongly correlated polaritonic and photonic states, corresponding to both strong and weak interactions can be created and probed. The key ingredient is the creation of a tunable effective lattice potential acting on the interacting polaritonic gas which is possible by slightly modulating the atomic density. We analyze the relevant phase diagram corresponding to the realizable Bose-Hubbard (weak) and sine-Gordon (strong) interacting regimes and conclude by describing the measurement process. The latter consists of mapping the stationary excitations to propagating light pulses whose correlations can be efficiently probed once they exit the fiber using available optical technologiesComment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Comments welcome

Robust Multidimentional Chinese Remainder Theorem for Integer Vector Reconstruction

The problem of robustly reconstructing an integer vector from its erroneous remainders appears in many applications in the field of multidimensional (MD) signal processing. To address this problem, a robust MD Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) was recently proposed for a special class of moduli, where the remaining integer matrices left-divided by a greatest common left divisor (gcld) of all the moduli are pairwise commutative and coprime. The strict constraint on the moduli limits the usefulness of the robust MD-CRT in practice. In this paper, we investigate the robust MD-CRT for a general set of moduli. We first introduce a necessary and sufficient condition on the difference between paired remainder errors, followed by a simple sufficient condition on the remainder error bound, for the robust MD-CRT for general moduli, where the conditions are associated with (the minimum distances of) these lattices generated by gcld's of paired moduli, and a closed-form reconstruction algorithm is presented. We then generalize the above results of the robust MD-CRT from integer vectors/matrices to real ones. Finally, we validate the robust MD-CRT for general moduli by employing numerical simulations, and apply it to MD sinusoidal frequency estimation based on multiple sub-Nyquist samplers.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figur

11β,17aα-Dihydr­oxy-17aβ-methyl-d-homoandrosta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione monohydrate

In the title compound, C21H28O4·H2O, the cyclo­hexa­dienone ring is planar (r.m.s. deviation 0.0186 Å), whereas the two cyclo­hexane rings and the cyclo­hexa­none ring adopt chair conformations. The crystal structure is stabilized by O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Antimicrobial resistance and the growing threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between birth weight, chest circumference, and lung function in preschool children from e-waste exposure area. A total of 206 preschool children from Guiyu (an e-waste recycling area) and Haojiang and Xiashan (the reference areas) in China were recruited and required to undergo physical examination, blood tests, and lung function tests during the study period. Birth outcome such as birth weight and birth height were obtained by questionnaire. Children living in the e-waste-exposed area have a lower birth weight, chest circumference, height, and lung function when compare to their peers from the reference areas (all p value <0.05). Both Spearman and partial correlation analyses showed that birth weight and chest circumference were positively correlated with lung function levels including forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). After adjustment for the potential confounders in further linear regression analyses, birth weight, and chest circumference were positively associated with lung function levels, respectively. Taken together, birth weight and chest circumference may be good predictors for lung function levels in preschool children

Curing Condition and NaOH Concentration on the Mechanical Properties of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Mortars

This paper describes the effect of different curing conditions on the mechanical properties of fly ash-based geopolymer mortars activated by different NaOH solution molarity. The influence of different curing initial curing temperatures (40℃,50℃,60℃), initial curing time (4h,8h,12h), and NaOH solution concentration (8mol, 10mol, 12mol) was studied by orthogonal design and the single-variable method. Results indicated that the fluidity of the geopolymer mortar sample followed the opposite trend with NaOH molarity increase. The most sensitive factor is NaOH molarity without considering curing age based on the data from orthogonal experiments. Furthermore, the study revealed a tendency to increase the flexural and compressive strength with rising NaOH concentration, initial curing temperature, and time, despite the mechanical strength development speed at different ages being various, and the optimum NaOH molarity may be 10mol while NaOH pellets dosage and CO2 emission were considered

Early-life exposure to widespread environmental toxicants and maternal-fetal health risk:A focus on metabolomic biomarkers

Prenatal exposure to widespread environmental toxicants is detrimental to maternal health and fetal development. The effects of environmental toxicants on maternal and fetal metabolic profile changes have not yet been summarized. This systematic review aims to summarize the current studies exploring the association between prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants and metabolic profile alterations in mother and fetus. We searched the MEDLINE (PubMed) electronic database for relevant literature conducted up to September 18, 2019 with some key terms. From the initial 155 articles, 15 articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and consist of highly heterogeneous research methods. Seven studies assessed the effects of multiple environmental pollutants (metals, organic pollutants, nicotine, air pollutants) on the maternal urine and blood metabolomic profile; five studies evaluated the effects of arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), nicotine, and ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on the cord blood metabolomic profile; and one study assessed the effects of smoking exposure on the amniotic fluid metabolomic profile. The alteration of metabolic pathways in these studies mainly involve energy metabolism, hormone metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammation. No population study investigated the association between environmental toxicants and placental metabolomics. This systematic review provides evidence that prenatal exposure to a variety of environmental pollutants can affect maternal and fetal metabolomic characteristics. Integration of environmental toxicant exposure and metabolomics data in maternal-fetal samples is helpful to understand the interaction between toxicants and metabolites, so as to reveal the pathogenesis of fetal disease or diseases of fetal origin

Elevated lead levels in relation to low serum neuropeptide Y and adverse behavioral effects in preschool children with e-waste exposure

As a neurotoxicant, lead (Pb) primarily affects central nervous system, and particularly impacts developing brain. This study explores the associations of blood Pb level and children's behavioral health. A total of 213 preschool children aged 3-7 years old were recruited from Guiyu (the e-waste-exposed area) and Haojiang (the reference area). The behavioral health of children was assessed using the 'behavioral symptoms' subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results showed that there was a significant difference in percent of children categorized as "at risk" between Guiyu (48.2%) and Haojiang (13.9%) (p = 5.00 mu g/dL (high) than those with blood Pb level < 5.00 mu g/dL (low). After adjusting for confounding factors, children with lower NPY levels were at higher risk of having behavioral difficulties. In conclusion, Pb exposure in e-waste-exposed areas may lead to decrease in serum NPY and increase in the risk of children's behavioral problems. In addition, NPY may mediate the association between Pb exposure and behavioral difficulties. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Alterations in platelet indices link polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons toxicity to low-grade inflammation in preschool children

Background: Environmental exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can disturb the immune response. However, the effect of PAHs on low-grade inflammation related to platelets in humans is unknown. Objectives: We investigated the association of PAH exposure with low-grade inflammation and platelet parameters in healthy preschoolers. Methods: The present study recruited 239 participants, aged 2-7 years, from an electronic-waste (e-waste)-exposed (n = 118) and a reference (n = 121) area. We measured ten urinary PAH metabolites, four types of immune cells and cytokines, and seven platelet parameters, and compared their differences between children from the two groups. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to explore the potential risk factors for PAH exposure and the associations between urinary monohydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) and biological parameters. Associations between urinary PAH metabolites and platelet indices were analyzed using quantile regression models. Mediation analysis was used to understand the relationship between urinary total hydroxynaphthalene (Sigma OHNa) and interleukin (IL)-1 beta through seven platelet indices, as mediator variables. Results: We found higher urinary monohydroxylated PAH (OH-PAH) concentrations, especially 1-hydroxynaphthalene (1-OHNa) and 2-hydroxynaphthalene (2-OHNa), in children from the e-waste-exposed group than in the reference group. These were closely associated with child personal habits and family environment. A decreased lymphocyte ratio and increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as gamma interferon-inducible protein (IP)-10 and IL-1 beta, were found in the e-waste-exposed children. After adjustment for confounding factors, significantly negative correlations were found between levels of mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR) and ratio of mean platelet volume to platelet count (MPVP) and OH-PAHs. In addition, Sigma OHNa was positively associated with IL-1 beta mediated through MPV, PDW, P-LCR, and ratio of platelet count to lymphocyte count (PLR). Conclusions: Platelet indices were significantly associated with the changes in urinary OH-PAH levels, which may can be regarded as effective biomarkers of low-grade inflammation resulting from low PAH exposure in healthy children