Analysing multiparticle quantum states

The analysis of multiparticle quantum states is a central problem in quantum information processing. This task poses several challenges for experimenters and theoreticians. We give an overview over current problems and possible solutions concerning systematic errors of quantum devices, the reconstruction of quantum states, and the analysis of correlations and complexity in multiparticle density matrices.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, prepared for proceedings of the "Quantum [Un]speakables II" conference (Vienna, 2014

Baryon Washout, Electroweak Phase Transition, and Perturbation Theory

We analyze the conventional perturbative treatment of sphaleron-induced baryon number washout relevant for electroweak baryogenesis and show that it is not gauge-independent due to the failure of consistently implementing the Nielsen identities order-by-order in perturbation theory. We provide a gauge-independent criterion for baryon number preservation in place of the conventional (gauge-dependent) criterion needed for successful electroweak baryogenesis. We also review the arguments leading to the preservation criterion and analyze several sources of theoretical uncertainties in obtaining a numerical bound. In various beyond the standard model scenarios, a realistic perturbative treatment will likely require knowledge of the complete two-loop finite temperature effective potential and the one-loop sphaleron rate.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures; v2 minor typos correcte

Mental health care for irregular migrants in Europe: Barriers and how they are overcome

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

A Recombinant Vaccine Effectively Induces C5a-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies and Prevents Arthritis

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a recombinant vaccine to attenuate inflammation in arthritis by sustained neutralization of the anaphylatoxin C5a. METHODS: We constructed and expressed fusion protein of C5a and maltose binding protein. Efficacy of specific C5a neutralization was tested using the fusion protein as vaccine in three different arthritis mouse models: collagen induced arthritis (CIA), chronic relapsing CIA and collagen antibody induced arthritis (CAIA). Levels of anti-C5a antibodies and anti-collagen type II were measured by ELISA. C5a neutralization assay was done using a rat basophilic leukemia cell-line transfected with the human C5aR. Complement activity was determined using a hemolytic assay and joint morphology was assessed by histology. RESULTS: Vaccination of mice with MBP-C5a led to significant reduction of arthritis incidence and severity but not anti-collagen antibody synthesis. Histology of the MBP-C5a and control (MBP or PBS) vaccinated mice paws confirmed the vaccination effect. Sera from the vaccinated mice developed C5a-specific neutralizing antibodies, however C5 activation and formation of the membrane attack complex by C5b were not significantly altered. CONCLUSIONS: Exploitation of host immune response to generate sustained C5a neutralizing antibodies without significantly compromising C5/C5b activity is a useful strategy for developing an effective vaccine for antibody mediated and C5a dependent inflammatory diseases. Further developing of such a therapeutic vaccine would be more optimal and cost effective to attenuate inflammation without affecting host immunity

Evolutionary Changes in the Complexity of the Tectum of Nontetrapods: A Cladistic Approach

Background: The tectum is a structure localized in the roof of the midbrain in vertebrates, and is taken to be highly conserved in evolution. The present article assessed three hypotheses concerning the evolution of lamination and citoarchitecture of the tectum of nontetrapod animals: 1) There is a significant degree of phylogenetic inertia in both traits studied (number of cellular layers and number of cell classes in tectum); 2) Both traits are positively correlated accross evolution after correction for phylogeny; and 3) Different developmental pathways should generate different patterns of lamination and cytoarchitecture. Methodology/Principal Findings: The hypotheses were tested using analytical-computational tools for phylogenetic hypothesis testing. Both traits presented a considerably large phylogenetic signal and were positively associated. However, no difference was found between two clades classified as per the general developmental pathways of their brains. Conclusions/Significance: The evidence amassed points to more variation in the tectum than would be expected by phylogeny in three species from the taxa analysed; this variation is not better explained by differences in the main course of development, as would be predicted by the developmental clade hypothesis. Those findings shed new light on th

Parallel use of shake flask and microtiter plate online measuring devices (RAMOS and BioLector) reduces the number of experiments in laboratory-scale stirred tank bioreactors

Background Conventional experiments in small scale are often performed in a Black Box fashion, analyzing only the product concentration in the final sample. Online monitoring of relevant process characteristics and parameters such as substrate limitation, product inhibition and oxygen supply is lacking. Therefore, fully equipped laboratory-scale stirred tank bioreactors are hitherto required for detailed studies of new microbial systems. However, they are too spacious, laborious and expensive to be operated in larger number in parallel. Thus, the aim of this study is to present a new experimental approach to obtain dense quantitative process information by parallel use of two small-scale culture systems with online monitoring capabilities: Respiration Activity MOnitoring System (RAMOS) and the BioLector device. Results The same mastermix (medium plus microorganisms) was distributed to the different small-scale culture systems: 1) RAMOS device; 2) 48-well microtiter plate for BioLector device; and 3) separate shake flasks or microtiter plates for offline sampling. By adjusting the same maximum oxygen transfer capacity (OTRmax), the results from the RAMOS and BioLector online monitoring systems supplemented each other very well for all studied microbial systems (E. coli, G. oxydans, K. lactis) and culture conditions (oxygen limitation, diauxic growth, auto-induction, buffer effects). Conclusions The parallel use of RAMOS and BioLector devices is a suitable and fast approach to gain comprehensive quantitative data about growth and production behavior of the evaluated microorganisms. These acquired data largely reduce the necessary number of experiments in laboratory-scale stirred tank bioreactors for basic process development. Thus, much more quantitative information is obtained in parallel in shorter time.Cluster of Excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass”, which is funded by the Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments to promote science and research at German universities

Efficacy and safety of palliative treatment in patients with autoimmune liver disease-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction and Objectives: Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are rare causes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and data on the efficacy and tolerability of anti-tumor therapies are scarce. This pan-European study aimed to assess outcomes in AILD-HCC patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) compared with patients with more common HCC etiologies, including viral, alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. / Materials and Methods: 107 patients with HCC-AILD (AIH:55; PBC:52) treated at 13 European centres between 1996 and 2020 were included. 65 received TACE and 28 received TKI therapy. 43 (66 %) were female (median age 73 years) with HCC tumor stage BCLC A (34 %), B (46 %), C (9 %) or D (11 %). For each treatment type, propensity score matching was used to match AILD to non-AILD-HCC on a 1:1 basis, yielding in a final cohort of 130 TACE and 56 TKI patients for comparative analyses of median overall survival (mOS) and treatment tolerability. / Results: HCC-AILD patients showed comparable mOS to controls for both TACE (19.5 vs. 22.1 months, p = 0.9) and TKI (15.4 vs. 15.1 months, p = 0.5). Adverse events were less frequent in AILD-HCC patients than controls (33 % % vs. 62 %, p = 0.003). For TKIs, there were no significant differences in adverse events (73% vs. 86%, p = 0.2) or interruption rates (44% vs. 36 %, p = 0.7). / Conclusions: In summary, this study demonstrates comparable mOS for AILD-HCC patients undergoing local and systemic treatments, with better tolerability than HCC of other causes. TKIs remain important therapeutic options for AILD-HCC patients, particularly given their exclusion from recent immunotherapy trials

The deuteron: structure and form factors

A brief review of the history of the discovery of the deuteron in provided. The current status of both experiment and theory for the elastic electron scattering is then presented.Comment: 80 pages, 33 figures, submited to Advances in Nuclear Physic

Diversity of Haloquadratum and other haloarchaea in three, geographically distant, Australian saltern crystallizer ponds

Haloquadratum walsbyi is frequently a dominant member of the microbial communities in hypersaline waters. 16S rRNA gene sequences indicate that divergence within this species is very low but relatively few sites have been examined, particularly in the southern hemisphere. The diversity of Haloquadratum was examined in three coastal, but geographically distant saltern crystallizer ponds in Australia, using both culture-independent and culture-dependent methods. Two 97%-OTU, comprising Haloquadratum- and Halorubrum-related sequences, were shared by all three sites, with the former OTU representing about 40% of the sequences recovered at each site. Sequences 99.5% identical to that of Hqr. walsbyi C23T were present at all three sites and, overall, 98% of the Haloquadratum-related sequences displayed ≤2% divergence from that of the type strain. While haloarchaeal diversity at each site was relatively low (9–16 OTUs), seven phylogroups (clones and/or isolates) and 4 different clones showed ≤90% sequence identity to classified taxa, and appear to represent novel genera. Six of these branched together in phylogenetic tree reconstructions, forming a clade (MSP8-clade) whose members were only distantly related to classified taxa. Such sequences have only rarely been previously detected but were found at all three Australian crystallizers

Noninvasive, In Vivo Assessment of Mouse Retinal Structure Using Optical Coherence Tomography

BACKGROUND: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel method of retinal in vivo imaging. In this study, we assessed the potential of OCT to yield histology-analogue sections in mouse models of retinal degeneration. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We achieved to adapt a commercial 3(rd) generation OCT system to obtain and quantify high-resolution morphological sections of the mouse retina which so far required in vitro histology. OCT and histology were compared in models with developmental defects, light damage, and inherited retinal degenerations. In conditional knockout mice deficient in retinal retinoblastoma protein Rb, the gradient of Cre expression from center to periphery, leading to a gradual reduction of retinal thickness, was clearly visible and well topographically quantifiable. In Nrl knockout mice, the layer involvement in the formation of rosette-like structures was similarly clear as in histology. OCT examination of focal light damage, well demarcated by the autofluorescence pattern, revealed a practically complete loss of photoreceptors with preservation of inner retinal layers, but also more subtle changes like edema formation. In Crb1 knockout mice (a model for Leber's congenital amaurosis), retinal vessels slipping through the outer nuclear layer towards the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) due to the lack of adhesion in the subapical region of the photoreceptor inner segments could be well identified. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We found that with the OCT we were able to detect and analyze a wide range of mouse retinal pathology, and the results compared well to histological sections. In addition, the technique allows to follow individual animals over time, thereby reducing the numbers of study animals needed, and to assess dynamic processes like edema formation. The results clearly indicate that OCT has the potential to revolutionize the future design of respective short- and long-term studies, as well as the preclinical assessment of therapeutic strategies