Decoherence of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering

We consider two systems A and B that share Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering correlations and study how these correlations will decay, when each of the systems are independently coupled to a reservoir. EPR steering is a directional form of entanglement, and the measure of steering can change depending on whether the system A is steered by B, or vice versa. First, we examine the decay of the steering correlations of the two-mode squeezed state. We find that if the system B is coupled to a reservoir, then the decoherence of the steering of A by B is particularly marked, to the extent that there is a sudden death of steering after a finite time. We find a different directional effect, if the reservoirs are thermally excited. Second, we study the decoherence of the steering of a Schr\"odinger cat state, modeled as the entangled state of a spin and harmonic oscillator, when the macroscopic system (the cat) is coupled to a reservoir

Defects in Self Assembled Colloidal Crystals

Colloidal self assembly is an efficient method for making 3-D ordered nanostructures suitable for materials such as photonic crystals and macroscopic solids for catalysis and sensor applications. Colloidal crystals grown by convective methods exhibit defects on two different scales. Macro defects such as cracks and void bands originate from the dynamics of meniscus motion during colloidal crystal growth while micro defects like vacancies, dislocation and stacking faults are indigenous to the colloidal crystalline structure. This paper analyses the crystallography and energetics of the microscopic defects from the point of view of classical thermodynamics and discusses the strategy for the control of the macroscopic defects through optimization of the liquid-vapor interface.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

An immunotherapy survivor population: health-related quality of life and toxicity in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

© The Author(s) 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Purpose The immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have resulted in subgroups of patients with metastatic melanoma achievinghigh-quality durable responses. Metastatic melanoma survivors are a new population in the era of cancer survivorship. The aimofthis study was to evaluate metastatic melanoma survivors in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), immune-relatedadverse events (irAEs) and exposure to immunosuppressive agents in a large single centre in the UK.Methods We defined the survivor population as patients with a diagnosis of metastatic melanoma who achieved a durableresponse to an ICI and had been followed-up for a minimum of 12 months from initiation of ICI without disease progression.HRQoL was assessed using SF-36. Electronic health records were accessed to collect data on demographics, treatments, irAEsand survival. HRQoL data was compared with two norm-based datasets.Results Eighty-four metastatic melanoma survivors were eligible and 87% (N = 73) completed the SF-36. ICI-related toxicity ofany grade occurred in 92%of patients and 43%had experienced a grade 3 or 4 toxicity. Almost half (49%) of the patients requiredsteroids for the treatment of ICI-related toxicity, whilst 14% required treatment with an immunosuppressive agent beyondsteroids.Melanoma survivors had statistically significant lower HRQoL scores with regard to physical, social and physical rolefunctioning and general health compared with the normative population. There was a trend towards inferior scores in patientswith previous exposure to ipilimumab compared with those never exposed to ipilimumab.Conclusions Our results show that metastatic melanoma survivors have potentially experienced significant ICI-related toxicityand experience significant impairments in specific HRQoL domains. Future service planning is required to meet this population’sunique survivorship needs.Peer reviewe

Mechanical signatures of microbial biofilms in micropillar-embedded growth chambers

Biofilms are surface-attached communities of microorganisms embedded in an extracellular matrix and are essential for the cycling of organic matter in natural and engineered environments. They are also the leading cause of many infections, for example, those associated with chronic wounds and implanted medical devices. The extracellular matrix is a key biofilm component that determines its architecture and defines its physical properties. Herein, we used growth chambers embedded with micropillars to study the net mechanical forces (differential pressure) exerted during biofilm formation in situ. Pressure from the biofilm is transferred to the micropillars via the extracellular matrix, and reduction of major matrix components decreases the magnitude of micropillar deflections. The spatial arrangement of micropillar deflections caused by pressure differences in the different biofilm strains may potentially be used as mechanical signatures for biofilm characterization. Hence, we submit that micropillar-embedded growth chambers provide insights into the mechanical properties and dynamics of the biofilm and its matrix.Singapore. National Research Foundation (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)

Hepatoprotective Activity of Dried- and Fermented-Processed Virgin Coconut Oil

The present study aims to determine the hepatoprotective effect of MARDI-produced virgin coconut oils, prepared by dried- or fermented-processed methods, using the paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats. Liver injury induced by 3 g/kg paracetamol increased the liver weight per 100 g bodyweight indicating liver damage. Histological observation also confirms liver damage indicated by the presence of inflammations and necrosis on the respective liver section. Interestingly, pretreatment of the rats with 10, but not 1 and 5, mL/kg of both VCOs significantly (P < .05) reduced the liver damage caused by the administration of paracetamol, which is further confirmed by the histological findings. In conclusion, VCO possessed hepatoprotective effect that requires further in-depth study

Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith: A Review of Its Ethnomedicinal, Chemical, and Pharmacological Uses

Zingiber zerumbet Sm., locally known to the Malay as “Lempoyang,” is a perennial herb found in many tropical countries, including Malaysia. The rhizomes of Z. zerumbet, particularly, have been regularly used as food flavouring and appetizer in various Malays' cuisines while the rhizomes extracts have been used in Malay traditional medicine to treat various types of ailments (e.g., inflammatory- and pain-mediated diseases, worm infestation and diarrhea). Research carried out using different in vitro and in vivo assays of biological evaluation support most of these claims. The active pharmacological component of Z. zerumbet rhizomes most widely studied is zerumbone. This paper presents the botany, traditional uses, chemistry, and pharmacology of this medicinal plant

n vivo antiulcer activity of the aqueous extract of Bauhinia purpurea leaf.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Bauhinia purpurea (Fabaceae) is a medicinal plant traditionally used to treat various ailments, including ulcers. In order to establish pharmacological properties of the leaf of Bauhinia purpurea, studies were performed on antiulcer activity of the plant's aqueous extract. Materials and methods The Bauhinia purpurea aqueous extract (BPAE) was prepared in the doses of 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg. Antiulcer activity of BPAE was evaluated by absolute ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer, and pyloric ligation models. Acute toxicity was also carried out. Results BPAE, at the dose of 5000 mg/kg, did not cause any signs of toxicity to rats when given orally. Oral administration of BPAE exhibited antiulcer activity (p < 0.05) in all models used. However, the dose-dependent activity was observed only in the absolute ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model. Histological studies supported the observed antiulcer activity of BPAE. In pyloric ligation assay, BPAE increased the gastric wall mucus secretion. Conclusions The BPAE exhibits antiulcer activity, which could be due to the presence of saponins or sugar-free polyphenols, and, thus, confirmed the traditional uses of Bauhinia purpurea in the treatment of ulcers

Termites mitigate the effects of drought in tropical rainforest

Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) with permission from the Maliau Basin Management Committee. We thank G. Reynolds, U. Jami, and L. Kruitbos for coordinating fieldwork; S. Both and U. Kritzler for help in establishing the experimental plots; R. Walsh for providing rainfall data; and A. Zanne and A. Cheesman for discussions on experimental design. We thank J. Nash from Bayer Southeast Asia Pte-Ltd, Singapore, for donating Premise 200SC and Agenda 10SC. We thank J. Rees, A. Tagliabue, M. Begon, R. Williams, W. Cheng, C. Dahlsjö, R. Kitching, and J. Barlow for comments on the manuscript. Finally, we thank all our field assistants: R. Binti Manber, A. Jupri, F. John, Y. Binti Suffian, E. Bin Esing, D. Bin Paul, Z. Bin Angau, A. Allbanah Bin Anchun, N. Angau, D. Ku Shamirah Binti Pg Bakar, E. Binti Nahun, R. Rusili, A. Bin Rantau, R. Bin Sahamin, A. Mastor, M. Adzim Bin Rahili, M. Azuan, H. Nasir, and N. Fazzli. Funding: This publication is a contribution from the UK NERC-funded Biodiversity And Land-use Impacts on Tropical Ecosystem Function (BALI) consortium (NERC grant NE/L000016/1). Author contributions: C.L.P., H.M.G., L.A.A., P.E., and T.A.E. conceived and designed the experiment; C.L.P., P.E., and T.A.E. established the experimental plots; H.M.G., L.A.A., and P.E. collected the data; H.M.G., L.A.A., P.E., and R.K.D. analyzed the data; C.S.V., F.H., and H.S.T. carried out laboratory analysis; H.M.G. and L.A.A. led the writing of the manuscript with significant input from C.L.P., P.E., R.K.D., and Y.A.T. Competing interests: None declared. Data and materials availability: Data have been deposited in the NERC Environmental Information Data Centre (37).Peer reviewedPostprin