Non-boost-invariant motion of dissipative and highly anisotropic fluid

The recently formulated framework of anisotropic and dissipative hydrodynamics (ADHYDRO) is used to describe non-boost-invariant motion of the fluid created at the early stages of heavy-ion collisions. Very strong initial asymmetries of pressure are reduced by the entropy production processes. By the appropriate choice of the form of the entropy source we can reproduce realistic scenarios for the isotropization expected in heavy-ion collisions. Our previous results are generalized by including the realistic equation of state as the limit of the isotropization processes.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physic

Direct Wigner tomography of a superconducting anharmonic oscillator

The analysis of wave-packet dynamics may be greatly simplified when viewed in phase-space. While harmonic oscillators are often used as a convenient platform to study wave-packets, arbitrary state preparation in these systems is more challenging. Here, we demonstrate a direct measurement of the Wigner distribution of complex photon states in an anharmonic oscillator - a superconducting phase circuit, biased in the small anharmonicity regime. We test our method on both non-classical states composed of two energy eigenstates and on the dynamics of a phase-locked wavepacket. This method requires a simple calibration, and is easily applicable in our system out to the fifth level.Comment: 5 figures, 1 table and supplementary materia

Early anisotropic hydrodynamics and the RHIC early-thermalization and HBT puzzles

We address the problem if the early thermalization and HBT puzzles in relativistic heavy-ion collisions may be solved by the assumption that the early dynamics of the produced matter is locally anisotropic. The hybrid model describing the purely transverse hydrodynamic evolution followed by the perfect-fluid hydrodynamic stage is constructed. The transition from the transverse to perfect-fluid hydrodynamics is described by the Landau matching conditions applied at a fixed proper time. The global fit to the RHIC data reproduces the soft hadronic observables (the pion, kaon, and the proton spectra, the pion and kaon elliptic flow, and the pion HBT radii) with the accuracy of about 20%. These results indicate that the assumption of the very fast thermalization may be relaxed. In addition, the presented model suggests that a large part of the inconsistencies between the theoretical and experimental HBT results may be removed.Comment: replaced with the version published in Phys.Rev.C 8

Highly-anisotropic and strongly-dissipative hydrodynamics with transverse expansion

A recently formulated framework of highly-anisotropic and strongly-dissipative hydrodynamics (ADHYDRO) is used to describe the evolution of matter created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. New developments of the model contain: the inclusion of asymmetric transverse expansion (combined with the longitudinal boost-invariant flow) and comparisons of the model results with the RHIC data, which have become possible after coupling of ADHYDRO with THERMINATOR. Various soft-hadronic observables (the transverse-momentum spectra, the elliptic flow coefficient v_2, and the HBT radii) are calculated for different initial conditions characterized by the value of the initial pressure asymmetry. We find that as long as the initial energy density profile is unchanged the calculated observables remain practically the same. This result indicates the insensitivity of the analyzed observables to the initial anisotropy of pressure and suggests that the complete thermalization of the system may be delayed to easily acceptable times of about 1 fm/c

Research on emulsion mist generation in the conditions of minimum quantity cooling lubrication (MQCL)

U radu se opisuje učinak parametara stvaranja emulzijske izmaglice i udaljenosti mlaznice od kontaktne površine reznog klina s obratkom na promjer i broj kapljica dospjelih u zonu rezanja. Dati su uvjeti stvaranja emulzijske izmaglice u kojoj su sve kapljice, dovedene u zonu rezanja u datom vremenu, u to vrijeme isparile. Opisana je analiza protoka topline u MQCL metodi i dokazano je da protok zraka i udaljenost mlaznice od zone rezanja imaju najvažniji učinak na promjer kapljica.The paper presents the effect of emulsion mist generation parameters and the distance of the nozzle from the contact zone of the cutting wedge with the workpiece on the diameter and number of droplets supplied into the cutting zone. The conditions of emulsion mist generation, in which all the droplets supplied to the cutting zone in a given time, are evaporated in this time. An analysis of heat flow in the MQCL method was presented and it was proved that the air flow and the distance of the nozzle from the cutting zone have the most significant effect on the diameter of droplets

Sociodemographic and regional differences in neonatal and infant mortality in Switzerland: The Swiss National Cohort

SummaryBackgroundDespite a well-funded healthcare system with universal insurance coverage, Switzerland has one of the highest neonatal and infant mortality rates among high-income countries. Identifying avoidable risk factors targeted by evidence-based policies is a public health priority. We describe neonatal and infant mortality in Switzerland from 2011–2018 and explore associations with neonatal and pregnancy-related variables, parental sociodemographic information, regional factors, and socioeconomic position (SEP) using data from a long-term nation-wide cohort study.MethodsWe included 680,077 live births—representing 99.3% of all infants born in Switzerland between January 2011 and December 2018. We deterministically linked the national live birth register with the mortality register and with census and survey data to create a longitudinal dataset of neonatal and pregnancy-related variables; parental sociodemographic information, such as civil status, age, religion, education, nationality; regional factors, such as urbanity, language region; and the Swiss neighbourhood index of SEP (Swiss-SEP index). Information on maternal education was available for a random subset of 242,949 infants. We investigated associations with neonatal and infant mortality by fitting multivariable Poisson regression models with robust standard errors. Several sensitivity analyses assessed the robustness of our findings.ResultsOverall, neonatal mortality rates between 2011 and 2018 were 3.0 per 1000 live births, varying regionally from 3.2 in German-speaking to 2.4 in French-speaking and 2.1 in Italian-speaking Switzerland. For infant mortality, respective rates were 3.7 per 1000 live births overall, varying from 3.9 to 3.3 and 2.9. Adjusting for sex, maternal age, multiple birth and birth rank, neonatal mortality remained significantly associated with language region [rate ratio (RR) 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64–0.80 for French-speaking and RR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.51–0.87 for Italian-speaking region], with marital status (RR 1.55, 95% CI: 1.40–1.71 for unmarried), nationality (RR 1.40, 95% CI: 1.21–1.62 for non-European Economic Area vs. Swiss), and the Swiss-SEP index (RR 1.17, 95% CI: 1.00–1.36 for lowest vs. highest SEP quintile). In the subset, we showed a possible association of neonatal mortality with maternal education (RR 1.24, 95% CI: 0.95–1.61 for compulsory vs tertiary education).ConclusionWe provide detailed evidence about the social patterning of neonatal and infant mortality in Switzerland and reveal important regional differences with about 30% lower risks in French-and Italian-speaking compared with German-speaking regions. Underlying causes for such regional differences, such as cultural, lifestyle, or healthcare-related factors, warrant further exploration to inform and provide an evidence base for public health policies

A Molecular Revolution in the Treatment of Hemophilia

For decades, the monogenetic bleeding disorders hemophilia A and B (coagulation factor VIII and IX deficiency) have been treated with systemic protein replacement therapy. Now, diverse molecular medicines, ranging from antibody to gene to RNA therapy, are transforming treatment. Traditional replacement therapy requires twice to thrice weekly intravenous infusions of factor. While extended half-life products may reduce the frequency of injections, patients continue to face a lifelong burden of the therapy, suboptimal protection from bleeding and joint damage, and potential development of neutralizing anti-drug antibodies (inhibitors) that require less efficacious bypassing agents and further reduce quality of life. Novel non-replacement and gene therapies aim to address these remaining issues. A recently approved factor VIII-mimetic antibody accomplishes hemostatic correction in patients both with and without inhibitors. Antibodies against tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and antithrombin-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) target natural anticoagulant pathways to rebalance hemostasis. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy provides lasting clotting factor replacement and can also be used to induce immune tolerance. Multiple gene-editing techniques are under clinical or preclinical investigation. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of these approaches, explain how they differ from standard therapies, and predict how the hemophilia treatment landscape will be reshaped

Generation of Three-Qubit Entangled States using Superconducting Phase Qubits

Entanglement is one of the key resources required for quantum computation, so experimentally creating and measuring entangled states is of crucial importance in the various physical implementations of a quantum computer. In superconducting qubits, two-qubit entangled states have been demonstrated and used to show violations of Bell's Inequality and to implement simple quantum algorithms. Unlike the two-qubit case, however, where all maximally-entangled two-qubit states are equivalent up to local changes of basis, three qubits can be entangled in two fundamentally different ways, typified by the states $|\mathrm{GHZ}> = (|000> + |111>)/\sqrt{2}$ and $|\mathrm{W}> = (|001> + |010> + |100>)/\sqrt{3}$. Here we demonstrate the operation of three coupled superconducting phase qubits and use them to create and measure $|\mathrm{GHZ}>$ and $|\mathrm{W}>$ states. The states are fully characterized using quantum state tomography and are shown to satisfy entanglement witnesses, confirming that they are indeed examples of three-qubit entanglement and are not separable into mixtures of two-qubit entanglement.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Version 2: added supplementary information and fixed image distortion in Figure 2

Melanin production by tyrosinase activity on a tyrosine-rich peptide fragment and pH-dependent self-assembly of its lipidated analogue

We investigate the self-assembly of a palmitoylated (C16-chain at the N terminus) peptide fragment in comparison to the unlipidated peptide EELNRYY, a fragment of the gut hormone peptide PYY3–36. The lipopeptide C16-EELNRYY shows remarkable pH-dependent self-assembly above measured critical aggregation concentrations, forming fibrils at pH 7, but micelles at pH 10. The parent peptide does not show self-assembly behaviour. The lipopeptide forms hydrogels at sufficiently high concentration at pH 7, the dynamic mechanical properties of which were measured. We also show that the tyrosine functionality at the C terminus of EELNRYY can be used to enzymatically produce the pigment melanin. The enzyme tyrosinase oxidises tyrosine into 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), DOPA-quinone and further products, eventually forming eumelanin. This is a mechanism of photo-protection in the skin, for this reason controlling tyrosinase activity is a major target for skin care applications and EELNRYY has potential to be developed for such uses