Paradoxical consequences of multipath coherence: perfect interaction-free measurements

Quantum coherence can be used to infer the presence of a detector without triggering it. Here we point out that, according to quantum mechanics, such interaction-free measurements cannot be perfect, i.e., in a single-shot experiment one has strictly positive probability to activate the detector. We formalize the extent to which such measurements are forbidden by deriving a trade-off relation between the probability of activation and the probability of an inconclusive interaction-free measurement. Our description of interaction-free measurements is theory independent and allows derivations of similar relations in models generalizing quantum mechanics. We provide the trade-off for the density cube formalism, which extends the quantum model by permitting coherence between more than two paths. The trade-off obtained hints at the possibility of perfect interaction-free measurements and indeed we construct their explicit examples. Such measurements open up a paradoxical possibility where we can learn by means of interference about the presence of an object in a given location without ever detecting a probing particle in that location. We therefore propose that absence of perfect interaction-free measurement is a natural postulate expected to hold in all physical theories. As shown, it holds in quantum mechanics and excludes the models with multipath coherence.Comment: Published versio

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) – neuroendocrine skin cancer

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rarely occurring skin cancer of high malignancy. It develops, most probably, from the neuroendocrine cells (Merkel’s cells). The most frequent location of this cancer is the skin of the head and neck (44–48% of cases), and then in the skin of the upper limbs (about 19% of cases) and then the lower limbs (16–20% of cases). The aetiology of this cancer is unknown, yet some role in its pathogenesis is played by ultraviolet light and immunosuppression. The basis of therapy in cases with locoregional spread is surgical intervention, whilst in more advanced cases, an effective systemic treatment is possible with the use of molecularly targeted therapies. This paper presents the current treatment possibilities in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma

Pilosella bauhinii (Schult.) Arv.-Touv. and P. cymosa subsp. vaillantii (Tausch) S. Bräut. & Greuter (Asteraceae) from new localities in north-central Poland

We provide information about two species, Pilosella bauhinii and P. cymosa subsp. vaillantii (Asteraceae), from new localities in north-central Poland (ATPOL DC18). All individuals of both species grew on a railway embankment in Górzno-Lidzbark Landscape Park. The ecological preferences for P. cymosa and P. bauhinii estimated according to average Ellenberg values nearly coincided with the original description of Ellenberg. We also sequenced the barcode marker, plastid trnH-psbA intergenic spacer, for two individuals of P. bauhinii, three specimens of P. cymosa subsp. vaillantii, and additionally two individuals of P. officinarum L. and one H. murorum L. growing in close proximity. A pairwise comparison of trnH-psbA sequences showed that each species has a unique haplotype. Taking into account their morphological coherence, it is possible that both P. bauhinii and P. cymosa have not hybridized yet, at least locally, with the more abundant species (e.g., P. officinarum). A search for reference sequences did not provide additional information because of the low quality of the reference database for this group in GenBank. Only 14 sequences of trnH-psbA were available with some apparently being misidentified or of low quality. None were identical to sequences of P. cymosa subsp. vaillantii and P. bauhinii found in this study

EFFECT OF IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZATION ON THE GROWTH AND YIELDING OF APPLE-TREES CULTIVAR ŠAMPION IN A REPLANTED ORCHARD

Studies were carried out in an experimental orchard established on the area of Agricultural and Pomicultural Experimental Farm in Przybroda belonging to the Agricultural University in Poznań. The establishing of an orchard in the place of a previously existing one exerted an influence on the tree growth impediment and increased the number of tree losses. Poor growth decreased both the individual yield from one tree and the yielding from the area unit. Irrigation as well as fertilization had an effect on the occurrence of soil fatigue phenomenon. Increased irrigation intensity and low fertilization doses increased the results of replantation disease. The least effects of soil fatigue were found in case of no additional irrigation and an increased dose of tree fertilization. Experimentalconditions did not exert any effect on fruit quality

Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), review of a new therapy of cutaneous melanoma with genetically modified oncolytic virus

Talimogen laherparepwek (T-VEC) to pierwsza (ostatnio zarejestrowana w Unii Europejskiej) immunoterapia wirusem onkolitycznym, która wykazała korzyść terapeutyczną w leczeniu czerniaka skóry w badaniu klinicznym III fazy, powodując większy odsetek trwałej odpowiedzi na leczenie oraz medianę przeżyć całkowitych, w szczególności w grupie nieleczonych wcześniej chorych w nieresekcyjnym stadium IIIB, IIIC lub IVM1a. T-VEC był dobrze tolerowany i jest obecnie badany w leczeniu skojarzonym z inhibitorami punktów kontrolnych układu immunologicznego oraz terapii neoadiuwantowej. W pracy omówiono aktualne dane dotyczące skuteczności i bezpieczeństwa tego leku w leczeniu zaawansowanego czerniaka.Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) is the first (approved recently in the European Union) oncolytic immunotherapy which demonstrated therapeutic benefit for cutaneous melanoma in a phase III clinical trial. This resulted in a higher that previously obtainable response rate and median overall survival, particularly in untreated patients or those with stage IIIB, IIIC, or IVM1a disease. T-VEC was well tolerated and is currently studied in combined therapy with immunological checkpoints and in a neoadjuvant setting. In the review, current data on its efficacy and safety in melanoma therapy are discussed

Surgery of primary melanomas

Surgery remains the mainstay of melanoma therapy, regardless of the tumor site. Only the early diagnosis combined with proper surgical therapy currently gives patients affected by this malignancy the chance for a full cure. The main goal of surgical therapy is to provide the local control of the disease and to secure long-term survival of the patient without reasonable functional and esthetic impairment. The recommended method of biopsy-excisional biopsy, as an initial diagnostic and, to some extent, therapeutic procedure-is performed under local anesthesia as an elliptical incision with visual clear margins of 1-3 mm and with some mm of subcutaneous tissue. The extent of radical excision of the primary tumor (or scar after excisional biopsy) is based on the histopathologic characteristics of the primary tumor and usually consists of 1-2 cm margins with primary closure. The philosophy behind conducted randomized clinical trials has been to find the most conservative surgical approach that is able to guarantee the same results as more demolitive treatment. This has been the background of the trials designed to define the correct margins of excision around a primary cutaneous melanoma. Much less definition can be dedicated to the surgical management of patients with non-cutaneous melanomas

Brain correlates of task-load and dementia elucidation with tensor machine learning using oddball BCI paradigm

Dementia in the elderly has recently become the most usual cause of cognitive decline. The proliferation of dementia cases in aging societies creates a remarkable economic as well as medical problems in many communities worldwide. A recently published report by The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 47 million people are suffering from dementia-related neurocognitive declines worldwide. The number of dementia cases is predicted by 2050 to triple, which requires the creation of an AI-based technology application to support interventions with early screening for subsequent mental wellbeing checking as well as preservation with digital-pharma (the so-called beyond a pill) therapeutical approaches. We present an attempt and exploratory results of brain signal (EEG) classification to establish digital biomarkers for dementia stage elucidation. We discuss a comparison of various machine learning approaches for automatic event-related potentials (ERPs) classification of a high and low task-load sound stimulus recognition. These ERPs are similar to those in dementia. The proposed winning method using tensor-based machine learning in a deep fully connected neural network setting is a step forward to develop AI-based approaches for a subsequent application for subjective- and mild-cognitive impairment (SCI and MCI) diagnostics.Comment: In ICASSP 2019 - 2019 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP), pp. 8578-8582, May 201