Distinguishing n Hamiltonians on C^n by a single measurement

If an experimentalist wants to decide which one of n possible Hamiltonians acting on an n dimensional Hilbert space is present, he can conjugate the time evolution by an appropriate sequence of known unitary transformations in such a way that the different Hamiltonians result in mutual orthogonal final states. We present a general scheme providing such a sequence.Comment: 4 pages, Revte

Involvement of β3-Adrenoceptor in Altered β-Adrenergic Response in Senescent Heart: Role of Nitric Oxide Synthase 1–derived Nitric Oxide

Background: In senescent heart, β-adrenergic response is altered in parallel with β1- and β2-adrenoceptor down-regulation. A negative inotropic effect of β3-adrenoceptor could be involved. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that β3-adrenoceptor plays a role in β-adrenergic dysfunction in senescent heart.Methods: β-Adrenergic responses were investigated in vivo (echocardiography–dobutamine, electron paramagnetic resonance) and in vitro (isolated left ventricular papillary muscle, electron paramagnetic resonance) in young adult (3-month-old) and senescent (24-month-old) rats. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunolabeling (confocal microscopy), nitric oxide production (electron paramagnetic resonance) and β-adrenoceptor Western blots were performed in vitro. Data are mean percentages of baseline ± SD. Results: An impaired positive inotropic effect (isoproterenol) was confirmed in senescent hearts in vivo (117 ± 23 vs. 162 ± 16%; P < 0.05) and in vitro (127 ± 10 vs. 179 ± 15%; P < 0.05). In the young adult group, the positive inotropic effect was not significantly modified by the nonselective NOS inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methylester (l-NAME; 183 ± 19%), the selective NOS1 inhibitor vinyl-l-N-5(1-imino-3-butenyl)-l-ornithine (l-VNIO; 172 ± 13%), or the selective NOS2 inhibitor 1400W (183 ± 19%). In the senescent group, in parallel with β3-adrenoceptor up-regulation and increased nitric oxide production, the positive inotropic effect was partially restored by l-NAME (151 ± 8%; P < 0.05) and l-VNIO (149 ± 7%; P < 0.05) but not by 1400W (132 ± 11%; not significant). The positive inotropic effect induced by dibutyryl-cyclic adenosine monophosphate was decreased in the senescent group with the specific β3-adrenoceptor agonist BRL 37344 (167 ± 10 vs. 142 ± 10%; P < 0.05). NOS1 and NOS2 were significantly up-regulated in the senescent rat. Conclusions: In senescent cardiomyopathy, β3-adrenoceptor overexpression plays an important role in the altered β-adrenergic response via induction of NOS1-nitric oxide

Study of the depletion depth in a frontside biased CMOS pixel sensors

Depletion of the sensitive volume for semiconductor based detectors is a key to achieve high performance. It is for instance required for charged particle detection in highly radiative environment and for X-ray spectroscopy. PIPPER-2 is a CMOS pixel sensor featuring an architecture that allows the application of the reverse bias of the pn junction from the frontside (cathode), on the electronic side, without process modification. Biasing voltages up to 45 V have been applied to sensor prototypes fabricated on two different high resistivity substrates: a thin epitaxial layer (1 kΩ cm) and a 40 μm thick bulk substrate (600 Ω cm). Calculations from a simplified analytical model and 3D-TCAD simulations were conducted to predict the evolution of the depletion depth with the bias voltage. These expectations were compared to measurements of PIPPER-2 illuminated with two X-ray energies. We conclude that the frontside biasing method allows the full-depletion of the thin epitaxial layer. In contrast, depletion of the bulk substrate reaches about half-depth but X-rays are still detected over the full depth

Resummation for (boosted) top-quark pair production at NNLO+NNLL\u27 in QCD

We construct predictions for top quark pair differential distributions at hadron colliders that combine state-of-the-art NNLO QCD calculations with double resummation at NNLL′ accuracy of threshold logarithms arising from soft gluon emissions and of small mass logarithms. This is the first time a resummed calculation at full NNLO+NNLL′ accuracy in QCD for a process with non-trivial color structure has been completed at the differential level. Of main interest to us is the stability of the $M_{t\bar{t}}$ and top-quark $p_T$ distributions in the boosted regime where fixed order calculations may become strongly dependent on the choice of dynamic scales. With the help of numeric and analytic arguments we confirm that the choice for the factorization and renormalization scales advocated recently by some of the authors is indeed optimal. We further derive a set of optimized kinematics-dependent scales for the matching functions which appear in the resummed calculations. Our NNLO+NNLL′ prediction for the top-pair invariant mass is significantly less sensitive to the choice of factorization scale than the fixed order prediction, even at NNLO. Notably, the resummed and fixed order calculations are in nearly perfect agreement with each other in the full $M_{t\bar{t}}$ range when the optimal dynamic scale is used. For the top-quark $p_T$ distribution the resummation performed here has less of an impact and instead we find that upgrading the matching with fixed-order from NLO+NNLL′ to NNLO+NNLL′ to be an important effect, a point to be kept in mind when using NLO-based Monte Carlo event generators to calculate this distribution

Red wine polyphenols prevent metabolic and cardiovascular alterations associated with obesity in Zucker fatty rats (Fa/Fa)

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Study of the internal quantum efficiency of FBK sensors with optimized entrance windows

Single-photon detection of X-rays in the energy range of 250 eV to 1 keV is difficult for hybrid detectors because of the low quantum efficiency and low signal-to-noise ratio. The low quantum efficiency is caused by the absorption of soft X-rays in the entrance window of the silicon sensors. The entrance window consists of an insensitive layer on the surface and a highly doped layer, which is typically from a few hundred nanometers to a couple of micrometers thick and is comparable to the absorption depth of soft X-ray photons (e.g. the attenuation length of 250 eV X-ray photons is ∼100 nm in silicon). The low signal-to-noise ratio is mainly caused by the small signal amplitude (e.g. ca. 70 electrons for 250 eV X-ray photons in silicon) with respect to the electronic noise. To improve the quantum efficiency, the entrance window must be optimized by minimizing the absorption of soft X-rays in the insensitive layer, and reducing charge recombination at the Si-SiO2 interface and in the highly doped region. Low gain avalanche diodes (LGADs) with a multiplication factor between 5 and 10 increase the signal amplitude and therefore improve the signal-to-noise ratio for soft X-rays, enabling single-photon detection down to 250 eV. Combining LGAD technology with an optimized entrance window technology can thus allow hybrid detectors to become a useful tool also for soft X-ray detection. In this work we present the optimization of the entrance window by studying the internal quantum efficiency of eight different process technology variations. The sensors are characterized using light emitting diodes with a wavelength of 405 nm. At this wavelength, the light has an absorption depth of 125 nm, equivalent to that of 276 eV X-rays. The best variation achieves an internal quantum efficiency of 0.992 for 405 nm UV light. Based on this study, further optimization of the quantum efficiency for soft X-rays detection is planned

Molecular phenomics and metagenomics of hepatic steatosis in non-diabetic obese women

The role of molecular signals from the microbiome and their coordinated interactions with those from the host in hepatic steatosis – notably in obese patients and as risk factors for insulin resistance and atherosclerosis – needs to be understood. We reveal molecular networks linking gut microbiome and host phenome to hepatic steatosis in a cohort of non diabetic obese women. Steatotic patients had low microbial gene richness and increased genetic potential for processing of dietary lipids and endotoxin biosynthesis (notably from Proteobacteria), hepatic inflammation and dysregulation of aromatic and branched-chain amino acid (AAA and BCAA) metabolism. We demonstrated that faecal microbiota transplants and chronic treatment with phenylacetic acid (PAA), a microbial product of AAA metabolism, successfully trigger steatosis and BCAA metabolism. Molecular phenomic signatures were predictive (AUC = 87%) and consistent with the gut microbiome making an impact on the steatosis phenome (>75% shared variation) and, therefore, actionable via microbiome-based therapies

Development of LGAD sensors with a thin entrance window for soft X-ray detection

We show the developments carried out to improve the silicon sensor technology for the detection of soft X-rays with hybrid X-ray detectors. An optimization of the entrance window technology is required to improve the quantum efficiency. The LGAD technology can be used to amplify the signal generated by the X-rays and to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, making single photon resolution in the soft X-ray energy range possible. In this paper, we report first results obtained from an LGAD sensor production with an optimized thin entrance window. Single photon detection of soft X-rays down to 452 eV has been demonstrated from measurements, with a signal-to-noise ratio better than 20

Novel Role of NOX in Supporting Aerobic Glycolysis in Cancer Cells with Mitochondrial Dysfunction and as a Potential Target for Cancer Therapy

NAD(P)H oxidase plays a role in cancer metabolism by providing NAD+ to support increased glycolysis

Post-infarct remodelling: contribution of wound healing and inflammation

In human and experimental myocardial infarction (MI), cessation of blood supply leads to rapid necrosis of cardiac myocytes in the ischaemic heart. Immediately after injury, various intra- and intercellular pathways contribute to healing the myocardial wound in order to achieve tissue integrity and function. MI and the consequent loss of myocardium are the major aetiology for heart failure. Despite aggressive primary therapy, prognosis remains poor in patients with large infarction and severe left ventricular dysfunction. Thus, it would be highly desirable to improve healing of the cardiac wound to maintain structure and function of the heart. Healing in the heart occurs in overlapping phases. Herein, we review the inflammatory phase as a trigger of tissue formation