Tunable phonon induced steady state coherence in a double quantum dot

Charge qubits can be created and manipulated in solid-state double-quantum-dot (DQD) platforms. Typically, these systems are strongly affected by quantum noise stemming from coupling to substrate phonons. This is usually assumed to lead to decoherence towards steady states that are diagonal in the energy eigenbasis. In this article we show, to the contrary, that due to the presence of phonons the equilibrium steady state of the DQD charge qubit spontaneously exhibits coherence in the energy eigenbasis with high purity. The magnitude and phase of the coherence can be controlled by tuning the Hamiltonian parameters of the qubit. The coherence is also robust to presence of fermionic leads. In addition, we show that this steady-state coherence can be used to drive an auxiliary cavity mode coupled to the DQD

De Novo Transcriptomic Analysis of an Oleaginous Microalga: Pathway Description and Gene Discovery for Production of Next-Generation Biofuels

Background: Eustigmatos cf. polyphem is a yellow-green unicellular soil microalga belonging to the eustimatophyte with high biomass and considerable production of triacylglycerols (TAGs) for biofuels, which is thus referred to as an oleaginous microalga. The paucity of microalgae genome sequences, however, limits development of gene-based biofuel feedstock optimization studies. Here we describe the sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly for a non-model microalgae species, E. cf. polyphem, and identify pathways and genes of importance related to biofuel production. Results: We performed the de novo assembly of E. cf. polyphem transcriptome using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. In a single run, we produced 29,199,432 sequencing reads corresponding to 2.33 Gb total nucleotides. These reads were assembled into 75,632 unigenes with a mean size of 503 bp and an N50 of 663 bp, ranging from 100 bp to.3,000 bp. Assembled unigenes were subjected to BLAST similarity searches and annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthology identifiers. These analyses identified the majority of carbohydrate, fatty acids, TAG and carotenoids biosynthesis and catabolism pathways in E. cf. polyphem. Conclusions: Our data provides the construction of metabolic pathways involved in the biosynthesis and catabolism of carbohydrate, fatty acids, TAG and carotenoids in E. cf. polyphem and provides a foundation for the molecular genetics and functional genomics required to direct metabolic engineering efforts that seek to enhance the quantity and character o

Time periodicity from randomness in quantum systems

Many complex systems can spontaneously oscillate under nonperiodic forcing. Such self-oscillators are commonplace in biological and technological assemblies where temporal periodicity is needed, such as the beating of a human heart or the vibration of a cello string. While self-oscillation is well understood in classical nonlinear systems and their quantized counterparts, the spontaneous emergence of periodicity in quantum systems is more elusive. Here, we show that this behavior can emerge within the repeated-interaction description of open quantum systems. Specifically, we consider a many-body quantum system that undergoes dissipation due to sequential coupling with auxiliary systems at random times. We develop dynamical symmetry conditions that guarantee an oscillatory long-time state in this setting. Our rigorous results are illustrated with specific spin models, which could be implemented in trapped-ion quantum simulators

A peptide derived from Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 glycoprotein H: membrane translocation and applications to the delivery of quantum dots

Cell membranes are impermeable to most molecules not actively imported by living cells, including practically all macromolecules and even small molecules whose physiochemical properties prevent passive membrane diffusion. However, over the past decades, we have seen the development of increasingly sophisticated methodology for intracellular drug delivery. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), representing different families of short peptides believed to enter cells by penetrating cell membranes, have attracted a great deal of interest in the hope of enhancing gene therapy, vaccine development, and drug delivery. Nevertheless, to achieve an efficient intracellular delivery, further strategies to bypass the endocytotic pathway need to be investigated. We report on a novel peptide molecule derived from glycoprotein gH of Herpes simplex type I virus which is able to traverse the membrane bilayer and to transport a cargo into the cytoplasm. We use as cargo molecule quantum dots that are almost unable to traverse the membrane bilayer on their own

What is “Training to Cope with Crisis Situations”? Developing a Reflexive Training Device for a Crisis Support Team

International audienceSupport Teams functioning in crisis organization are challenged in the Post-Fukushima Context. Even though these teams are arranged by the company as a defined crisis structure, team members may work together only in crisis situations or crisis exercises: these teams are ephemeral. Training these teams in order to improve their teamwork inside a multi-level crisis organization is an important reliability stake. In this study, a reflexive training device for crisis management in the nuclear industry was designed and tested. Results show that it has allowed participants to debate some teamwork dimensions and helped them to build common references

Frequency of tiotropium bromide use and clinical features of patients with severe asthma in a real-life setting: Data from the severe asthma network in Italy (sani) registry

Purpose: Patients with uncontrolled asthma despite high doses of inhaled corticosteroid therapy plus another controller are defined as severe asthmatics. Tiotropium bromide respi-mat (TBR) is the only long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) approved for severe asthma. The aim of this study was to explore the frequency of severe asthmatics treated with TBR and characterize their clinical features in a real-life, registry-based setting. Materials and Methods: Baseline data from the Severe Asthma Network in Italy (SANI) registry have been analyzed to determine the use of TBR and other LAMA, and to compare clinical, functional and inflammatory features associated with the use of LAMA. Results: Among a total of 698 enrolled patients, 35.9% were treated with LAMA (23.3% TBR, 4.5% tiotropium bromide handihaler, 4.5% aclidinium, 3.4% glycopyrronium bromide 0.3% umeclidinium bromide). Age of asthma onset was higher in patients taking LAMA, whom, compared to others were more frequently former smokers. They also had a higher annual exacerbation rate, experienced worst asthma control, worst disease-related quality of life and poorer lung function. Bronchiectasis was more frequently found in LAMA users (25.9% vs 13.1%). Conclusion: TBR is still underused in severe asthma in a real-life setting, while a relevant proportion of patients are treated with other LAMA that are not approved for severe asthma treatment. Patients taking LAMA have features characteristic of even more severe asthma