2,688 research outputs found
Anomalous lack of decoherence of the Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions based on phase-covariant Quantum Cloning
We show that all Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions (MQS) based on
phase-covariant quantum cloning are characterized by an anomalous high
resilence to the de-coherence processes. The analysis supports the results of
recent MQS experiments and leads to conceive a useful conjecture regarding the
realization of complex decoherence - free structures for quantum information,
such as the quantum computer.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Anomalous resilient to decoherence macroscopic quantum superpositions generated by universally covariant optimal quantum cloning
We show that the quantum states generated by universal optimal quantum
cloning of a single photon represent an universal set of quantum superpositions
resilient to decoherence. We adopt Bures distance as a tool to investigate the
persistence ofquantum coherence of these quantum states. According to this
analysis, the process of universal cloning realizes a class of quantum
superpositions that exhibits a covariance property in lossy configuration over
the complete set of polarization states in the Bloch sphere.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
issues and perspectives in dairy sheep breeding
The present review consists of two parts. In the first part, the authors briefly describe the state of the art of breedingprogrammes for Italian dairy sheep; then they report new models for genetic evaluation and consider the problem ofgenotype x environment interaction and the impact of farming systems on the genetic merit of animals. In the secondpart new breeding goals regarding the evolution of milk quality concept and the increasing importance of functional traitsare reported. Regarding milk quality, the authors especially focus on the traits related to cheese-making ability and onthe nutraceutical aspects of milk. Among functional traits, resistance to diseases (mastitis and Scrapie) has been highlightedfor its great importance in livestock species. Finally, the perspectives of marker-assisted selection have also beenreported
Commissioning of the MEG II tracker system
The MEG experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) represents the state
of the art in the search for the charged Lepton Flavour Violating (cLFV) decay. With the phase 1, MEG set the new world best
upper limit on the \mbox{BR}(\mu^+ \rightarrow e^+ \gamma) < 4.2 \times
10^{-13} (90% C.L.). With the phase 2, MEG II, the experiment aims at reaching
a sensitivity enhancement of about one order of magnitude compared to the
previous MEG result. The new Cylindrical Drift CHamber (CDCH) is a key detector
for MEG II. CDCH is a low-mass single volume detector with high granularity: 9
layers of 192 drift cells, few mm wide, defined by wires in a
stereo configuration for longitudinal hit localization. The filling gas mixture
is Helium:Isobutane (90:10). The total radiation length is
\mbox{X}_0, thus minimizing the Multiple Coulomb Scattering (MCS)
contribution and allowing for a single-hit resolution m and an
angular and momentum resolutions of 6 mrad and 90 keV/c respectively. This
article presents the CDCH commissioning activities at PSI after the wiring
phase at INFN Lecce and the assembly phase at INFN Pisa. The endcaps
preparation, HV tests and conditioning of the chamber are described, aiming at
reaching the final stable working point. The integration into the MEG II
experimental apparatus is described, in view of the first data taking with
cosmic rays and beam during the 2018 and 2019 engineering runs. The
first gas gain results are also shown. A full engineering run with all the
upgraded detectors and the complete DAQ electronics is expected to start in
2020, followed by three years of physics data taking.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, proceeding at INSTR'20 conference,
accepted for publication in JINS
Impedance measurements and simulations on the TCT and TDI LHC collimators
The LHC collimation system is a critical element for
the safe operation of the LHC machine and it is subject
to continuous performance monitoring, hardware upgrade
and optimization. In this work we will address the impact
on impedance of the upgrades performed on the injection
protection target dump (TDI), where the absorber material
has been changed to mitigate the device heating observed
in machine operation, and on selected secondary (TCS) and
tertiary (TCT) collimators, where beam position monitors
(BPM) have been embedded for faster jaw alignment. Con-
cerning the TDI, we will present the RF measurements per-
formed before and after the upgrade, comparing the result
to heating and tune shift beam measurements. For the TCTs,
we will study how the higher order modes (HOM) intro-
duced by the BPM addition have been cured by means of
ferrite placement in the device. The impedance mitigation
campaign has been supported by RF measurements whose
results are in good agreement with GdfidL and CST simula-
tions. The presence of undamped low frequency modes is
proved not to be detrimental to the safe LHC operation
LCA assessment related to the evolution of the earthquake performance of a strategic structure
Several buildings and infrastructures, located in urban areas, are identified as strategic in the case of an earthquake event. This is the case of a water treatment plant which is currently built in Genoa, Italy, and which has been assessed for the scope of this research. Since the structure has been designed following the seismic design prescriptions, this work aims to provide a preliminary assessment of how the degradation mechanisms do affect its earthquake response. To this purpose, both chloride attack and carbonation are taken into account as main degradation mechanisms. Moreover, due to the importance of the water treatment plant, to develop a realistic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis, the earthquake resistance of the structure and its evolution over time as a function of the aforesaid degradation mechanisms, have been accounted as Serviceability Limit State to estimate the frequency of the maintenance activities needed in a timeframe of 100 years
Single-hit resolution measurement with MEG II drift chamber prototypes
Drift chambers operated with helium-based gas mixtures represent a common
solution for tracking charged particles keeping the material budget in the
sensitive volume to a minimum. The drawback of this solution is the worsening
of the spatial resolution due to primary ionisation fluctuations, which is a
limiting factor for high granularity drift chambers like the MEG II tracker. We
report on the measurements performed on three different prototypes of the MEG
II drift chamber aimed at determining the achievable single-hit resolution. The
prototypes were operated with helium/isobutane gas mixtures and exposed to
cosmic rays, electron beams and radioactive sources. Direct measurements of the
single hit resolution performed with an external tracker returned a value of
110 m, consistent with the values obtained with indirect measurements
performed with the other prototypes.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figure
IGLV3-21∗01 is an inherited risk factor for CLL through the acquisition of a single-point mutation enabling autonomous BCR signaling
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The prognosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) depends on different markers, including cytogenetic aberrations, oncogenic mutations, and mutational status of the immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy-chain variable (IGHV) gene. The number of IGHV mutations distinguishes mutated (M) CLL with a markedly superior prognosis from unmutated (UM) CLL cases. In addition, B cell antigen receptor (BCR) stereotypes as defined by IGHV usage and complementaritydetermining regions (CDRs) classify ∼30% of CLL cases into prognostically important subsets. Subset 2 expresses a BCR with the combination of IGHV3-21-derived heavy chains (HCs) with IGLV3- 21-derived light chains (LCs), and is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Importantly, the subset 2 LC carries a single-point mutation, termed R110, at the junction between the variable and constant LC regions. By analyzing 4 independent clinical cohorts through BCR sequencing and by immunophenotyping with antibodies specifically recognizing wild-type IGLV3-21 and R110-mutated IGLV3-21 (IGLV3-21R110), we show that IGLV3-21R110-expressing CLL represents a distinct subset with poor prognosis independent of IGHV mutations. Compared with other alleles, only IGLV3-21∗01 facilitates effective homotypic BCR-BCR interaction that results in autonomous, oncogenic BCR signaling after acquiring R110 as a single-point mutation. Presumably, this mutation acts as a standalone driver that transforms IGLV3-21∗01-expressing B cells to develop CLL. Thus, we propose to expand the conventional definition of CLL subset 2 to subset 2L by including all IGLV3-21R110-expressing CLL cases regardless of IGHV mutational status. Moreover, the generation ofmonoclonal antibodies recognizing IGLV3-21 or mutated IGLV3-21R110 facilitates the recognition of B cells carrying this mutation in CLL patients or healthy donors
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