Cavity QED with Single Atoms and Photons

Recent experimental advances in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) have opened new possibilities for control of atom-photon interactions. A laser with "one and the same atom" demonstrates the theory of laser operation pressed to its conceptual limit. The generation of single photons on demand and the realization of cavity QED with well defined atomic numbers N = 0, 1, 2,... both represent important steps toward realizing diverse protocols in quantum information science. Coherent manipulation of the atomic state via Raman transitions provides a new tool in cavity QED for in situ monitoring and control of the atom-cavity system. All of these achievements share a common point of departure: the regime of strong coupling. It is thus interesting to consider briefly the history of the strong coupling criterion in cavity QED and to trace out the path that research has taken in the pursuit of this goal

Fast and Automated Peak Bagging with DIAMONDS (FAMED)

Stars of low and intermediate mass that exhibit oscillations may show tens of detectable oscillation modes each. Oscillation modes are a powerful to constrain the internal structure and rotational dynamics of the star, hence tool allowing one to obtain an accurate stellar age. The tens of thousands of solar-like oscillators that have been discovered thus far are representative of the large diversity of fundamental stellar properties and evolutionary stages available. Because of the wide range of oscillation features that can be recognized in such stars, it is particularly challenging to properly characterize the oscillation modes in detail, especially in light of large stellar samples. Overcoming this issue requires an automated approach, which has to be fast, reliable, and flexible at the same time. In addition, this approach should not only be capable of extracting the oscillation mode properties of frequency, linewidth, and amplitude from stars in different evolutionary stages, but also able to assign a correct mode identification for each of the modes extracted. Here we present the new freely available pipeline FAMED (Fast and AutoMated pEak bagging with DIAMONDS), which is capable of performing an automated and detailed asteroseismic analysis in stars ranging from the main sequence up to the core-Helium-burning phase of stellar evolution. This, therefore, includes subgiant stars, stars evolving along the red giant branch (RGB), and stars likely evolving toward the early asymptotic giant branch. In this paper, we additionally show how FAMED can detect rotation from dipolar oscillation modes in main sequence, subgiant, low-luminosity RGB, and core-Helium-burning stars. FAMED can be downloaded from its public GitHub repository (https://github.com/EnricoCorsaro/FAMED).Comment: 46 pages, 19 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in A&

A retrospective database study of oral corticosteroid and bisphosphonate prescribing patterns in England

© 2020, The Author(s). Exposure to oral corticosteroids (OCS) is associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Guidelines suggest bisphosphonate (BP) therapy as the first-line treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). This population study used publicly available data, including prescription annual cost analysis and monthly practice-level data. Our aim was to examine the prescribing of OCS and BP at practice level and investigate reasons for variation using a mixed-effect negative binomial regression analysis. There was a rise in OCS and BP prescriptions of 55% and 1200% from 1998 to 2018, respectively. Of the 6586 included practices, the median (IQR) of OCS and BP prescriptions were 120.8 (84.8–160.4) and 107.7 (73.8–147.4) per 1000 patients, respectively. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were significantly associated with OCS use (p < 0.0001), but only COPD was associated with BP use (p < 0.0001). Higher OCS prescribing rates were associated with higher BP prescribing rates (5th to 1st quintile—IRR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.88–2.10). Practice list size, deprivation and advanced age were all associated with both drugs (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, although OCS use is positively associated with BP prescription, variation among practices and CCGs exists. The variation in prescribing suggests there is still a need to improve GIOP prevention

Novel mutations in the anoctamin 5 gene ( ANO5 ) associated with limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy 2L

Introduction: We present a Jordanian man with the typical LGMD 2L phenotype of early, asymmetric quadriceps weakness and subsequent biceps brachii weakness. Methods: Case report. Results: Muscle biopsies document a progressive dystrophic pattern unrelated to known sarcolemmal defects associated with muscular dystrophy. Genetic testing revealed novel, heterozygote Anoctamin 5 gene mutations. Conclusions: This case report expands the known mutations resulting in LGMD 2L and supports the assertion that Anoctamin 5 mutations are more prevalent than previously recognized. Muscle Nerve, 2013Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96310/1/23542_ftp.pd

Observation of the Vacuum-Rabi Spectrum for One Trapped Atom

The transmission spectrum for one atom strongly coupled to the field of a high-finesse optical resonator is observed to exhibit a clearly resolved vacuum-Rabi splitting characteristic of the normal modes in the eigenvalue spectrum of the atom-cavity system. A new Raman scheme for cooling atomic motion along the cavity axis enables a complete spectrum to be recorded for an individual atom trapped within the cavity mode, in contrast to all previous measurements in cavity QED that have required averaging over many atoms.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figure

Time gating of heralded single photons for atomic memories

We demonstrate a method for time gating the standard heralded continuous- wave (cw) spontaneous parametric down-converted (SPDC) single photon source by using pulsed pumping of the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) below threshold. The narrow bandwidth, high purity, high spectral brightness and the pseudo-deterministic character make the source highly suitable for light-atom interfaces with atomic memories.Comment: Accepted for publication in Optics Letter

Patient reported outcome measures in the recovery of adults hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia: a systematic review

Symptomatic and functional recovery are important patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) that are increasingly used as trial endpoints. This systematic review summarises the literature on PROMs in CAP.Comprehensive searches in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement were conducted to March 2017. Eligible studies included adults discharged from hospital following confirmed CAP and reporting PROMs.Fifteen studies (n=5644 patients) were included; most of moderate quality. Studies used a wide range of PROMs and assessment tools. At 4-6 weeks’ post-discharge, the commonest symptom reported was fatigue (45% to 72.6% of patients, 3 studies), followed by cough (35.3% to 69.7%) and dyspnoea (34.2% to 67.1%), corresponding values from studies restricted by ag