6,512 research outputs found
Experimental Infection of Conventional Pigs with Streptococcus suis serotype 2 by Aerosolic Exposure
Multi-input CRISPR/Cas genetic circuits that interface host regulatory networks
Genetic circuits require many regulatory parts in order to implement signal processing or execute algorithms in cells. A potentially scalable approach is to use dCas9, which employs small guide RNAs (sgRNAs) to repress genetic loci via the programmability of RNA:DNA base pairing. To this end, we use dCas9 and designed sgRNAs to build transcriptional logic gates and connect them to perform computation in living cells. We constructed a set of NOT gates by designing five synthetic Escherichia coli Ï[subscript 70] promoters that are repressed by corresponding sgRNAs, and these interactions do not exhibit crosstalk between each other. These sgRNAs exhibit high onâtarget repression (56â to 440âfold) and negligible offâtarget interactions (< 1.3âfold). These gates were connected to build larger circuits, including the Booleanâcomplete NOR gate and a 3âgate circuit consisting of four layered sgRNAs. The synthetic circuits were connected to the native E. coli regulatory network by designing output sgRNAs to target an E. coli transcription factor (malT). This converts the output of a synthetic circuit to a switch in cellular phenotype (sugar utilization, chemotaxis, phage resistance).United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (CLIO N66001â12âCâ4016)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (GM095765)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Grant P50 GMO98792)Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (EEC0540879)United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Ginkgo BioWorks. CLIO N66001â12âCâ4018)United States. Office of Naval Research. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Grant N00014â13â1â0074)United States. Office of Naval Research. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Boston University. Award 4500000552)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550â11âCâ0028)American Society for Engineering Education. National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (32 CFR 168a
Targeted temperature management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: certainties and uncertainties
Realisation of a programmable two-qubit quantum processor
The universal quantum computer is a device capable of simulating any physical
system and represents a major goal for the field of quantum information
science. Algorithms performed on such a device are predicted to offer
significant gains for some important computational tasks. In the context of
quantum information, "universal" refers to the ability to perform arbitrary
unitary transformations in the system's computational space. The combination of
arbitrary single-quantum-bit (qubit) gates with an entangling two-qubit gate is
a gate set capable of achieving universal control of any number of qubits,
provided that these gates can be performed repeatedly and between arbitrary
pairs of qubits. Although gate sets have been demonstrated in several
technologies, they have as yet been tailored toward specific tasks, forming a
small subset of all unitary operators. Here we demonstrate a programmable
quantum processor that realises arbitrary unitary transformations on two
qubits, which are stored in trapped atomic ions. Using quantum state and
process tomography, we characterise the fidelity of our implementation for 160
randomly chosen operations. This universal control is equivalent to simulating
any pairwise interaction between spin-1/2 systems. A programmable multi-qubit
register could form a core component of a large-scale quantum processor, and
the methods used here are suitable for such a device.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold gas of cesium atoms
Systems of three interacting particles are notorious for their complex
physical behavior. A landmark theoretical result in few-body quantum physics is
Efimov's prediction of a universal set of bound trimer states appearing for
three identical bosons with a resonant two-body interaction.
Counterintuitively, these states even exist in the absence of a corresponding
two-body bound state. Since the formulation of Efimov's problem in the context
of nuclear physics 35 years ago, it has attracted great interest in many areas
of physics. However, the observation of Efimov quantum states has remained an
elusive goal. Here we report the observation of an Efimov resonance in an
ultracold gas of cesium atoms. The resonance occurs in the range of large
negative two-body scattering lengths, arising from the coupling of three free
atoms to an Efimov trimer. Experimentally, we observe its signature as a giant
three-body recombination loss when the strength of the two-body interaction is
varied. We also detect a minimum in the recombination loss for positive
scattering lengths, indicating destructive interference of decay pathways. Our
results confirm central theoretical predictions of Efimov physics and represent
a starting point with which to explore the universal properties of resonantly
interacting few-body systems. While Feshbach resonances have provided the key
to control quantum-mechanical interactions on the two-body level, Efimov
resonances connect ultracold matter to the world of few-body quantum phenomena.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure
Complement activation capacity in plasma before and during high-dose prednisolone treatment and tapering in exacerbations of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are characterized by intestinal inflammation mainly caused by a disturbance in the balance between cytokines and increased complement (C) activation. Our aim was to evaluate possible associations between C activation capacity and prednisolone treatment. METHODS: Plasma from patients with exacerbations of UC (n = 18) or CD (n = 18) were collected before and during high dose prednisolone treatment (1 mg/kg body weight) and tapering. Friedman's two way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test were used RESULTS: Before treatment, plasma from CD patients showed significant elevations in all C-mediated analyses compared to the values obtained from 38 healthy controls (p < 0.02), and in mannan binding lectin (MBL)-concentration and MBL-C4-activation capacity (AC) values compared to UC patients (p < 0.02). Before treatment, plasma from UC patients showed significant elevations only in the classical pathway-mediated C3-AC compared to values obtained from healthy controls (p < 0.01). After treatment was initiated, significant reductions, which persisted during follow-up, were observed in the classical pathway-mediated C3-AC and MBL-C4-AC in plasma from CD patients (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that C activation capacity is up-regulated significantly in plasma from CD patients. The decreases observed after prednisolone treatment reflect a general down-regulation in immune activation
Topological Schr\"odinger cats: Non-local quantum superpositions of topological defects
Topological defects (such as monopoles, vortex lines, or domain walls) mark
locations where disparate choices of a broken symmetry vacuum elsewhere in the
system lead to irreconcilable differences. They are energetically costly (the
energy density in their core reaches that of the prior symmetric vacuum) but
topologically stable (the whole manifold would have to be rearranged to get rid
of the defect). We show how, in a paradigmatic model of a quantum phase
transition, a topological defect can be put in a non-local superposition, so
that - in a region large compared to the size of its core - the order parameter
of the system is "undecided" by being in a quantum superposition of conflicting
choices of the broken symmetry. We demonstrate how to exhibit such a
"Schr\"odinger kink" by devising a version of a double-slit experiment suitable
for topological defects. Coherence detectable in such experiments will be
suppressed as a consequence of interaction with the environment. We analyze
environment-induced decoherence and discuss its role in symmetry breaking.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Electronic stress tensor analysis of hydrogenated palladium clusters
We study the chemical bonds of small palladium clusters Pd_n (n=2-9)
saturated by hydrogen atoms using electronic stress tensor. Our calculation
includes bond orders which are recently proposed based on the stress tensor. It
is shown that our bond orders can classify the different types of chemical
bonds in those clusters. In particular, we discuss Pd-H bonds associated with
the H atoms with high coordination numbers and the difference of H-H bonds in
the different Pd clusters from viewpoint of the electronic stress tensor. The
notion of "pseudo-spindle structure" is proposed as the region between two
atoms where the largest eigenvalue of the electronic stress tensor is negative
and corresponding eigenvectors forming a pattern which connects them.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, published online, Theoretical Chemistry
Account
Observation of an Efimov spectrum in an atomic system
In 1970 V. Efimov predicted a puzzling quantum-mechanical effect that is
still of great interest today. He found that three particles subjected to a
resonant pairwise interaction can join into an infinite number of loosely bound
states even though each particle pair cannot bind. Interestingly, the
properties of these aggregates, such as the peculiar geometric scaling of their
energy spectrum, are universal, i.e. independent of the microscopic details of
their components. Despite an extensive search in many different physical
systems, including atoms, molecules and nuclei, the characteristic spectrum of
Efimov trimer states still eludes observation. Here we report on the discovery
of two bound trimer states of potassium atoms very close to the Efimov
scenario, which we reveal by studying three-particle collisions in an ultracold
gas. Our observation provides the first evidence of an Efimov spectrum and
allows a direct test of its scaling behaviour, shedding new light onto the
physics of few-body systems.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
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