Measuring the elements of the optical density matrix

Most methods for experimentally reconstructing the quantum state of light involve determining a quasiprobability distribution such as the Wigner function. In this paper we present a scheme for measuring individual density matrix elements in the photon number state representation. Remarkably, the scheme is simple, involving two beam splitters and a reference field in a coherent state.Comment: 6 pages and 1 figur

How to dissect viral infections and their interplay with the host-proteome by immunoaffinity and mass spectrometry: A tutorial

The capabilities of bioanalytical mass spectrometry to (i) detect and differentiate viruses at the peptide level whilst maintaining high sample throughput and (ii) to provide diagnosis and prognosis for infected patients are presented as a tutorial in this work to aid analytical chemists and physicians to gain insights into the possibilities offered by current high-resolution mass spectrometry technology and bioinformatics. From (i) sampling to sample treatment; (ii) Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization- to Electrospray Ionization -based mass spectrometry; and (iii) from clustering to peptide sequencing; a detailed step-by-step guide is provided and exemplified using SARS-CoV-2 Spike Y839 variant and the variant of concern SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7 lineage), Influenza B, and Influenza A subtypes AH1N1pdm09 and AH3N2.Highlights: - Immunohistochemistry with magnetic core nanoparticles to isolate viruses. - The use of MALDI-MS for rapid virus detection is explained in detail; - The use of ESI-MS/MS to pinpoint host-patient crosstalk is explained in detail. - The absolute quantitative MS is explained for large-scale protein quantitation.This work received financial support from PT national funds (FCT/MCTES) through the projects UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020 and from PROTEOMASS Scientific Society through the projects #PM001/2019 and #PM003/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Validation of commercial Mas receptor antibodies for utilization in Western Blotting, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry studies

Mas receptor (MasR) is a G protein-coupled receptor proposed as a candidate for mediating the angiotensin (Ang)-converting enzyme 2-Ang (1-7) protective axis of renin-angiotensin system. Because the role of this receptor is not definitively clarified, determination of MasR tissue distribution and expression levels constitutes a critical knowledge to fully understanding its function. Commercially available antibodies have been widely employed for MasR protein localization and quantification, but they have not been adequately validated. In this study, we carried on an exhaustive evaluation of four commercial MasR antibodies, following previously established criteria. Western Blotting (WB) and immunohistochemistry studies starting from hearts and kidneys from wild type (WT) mice revealed that antibodies raised against different MasR domains yielded different patterns of reactivity. Furthermore, staining patterns appeared identical in samples from MasR knockout (MasR-KO) mice. We verified by polymerase chain reaction analysis that the MasR-KO mice used were truly deficient in this receptor as MAS transcripts were undetectable in either heart or kidney from this animal model. In addition, we evaluated the ability of the antibodies to detect the human c-myc-tagged MasR overexpressed in human embryonic kidney cells. Three antibodies were capable of detecting the MasR either by WB or by immunofluorescence, reproducing the patterns obtained with an anti c-myc antibody. In conclusion, although three of the selected antibodies were able to detect MasR protein at high expression levels observed in a transfected cell line, they failed to detect this receptor in mice tissues at physiological expression levels. As a consequence, validated antibodies that can recognize and detect the MasR at physiological levels are still lacking

Pulse-mode quantum projection synthesis: Effects of mode mismatch on optical state truncation and preparation

Quantum projection synthesis can be used for phase-probability-distribution measurement, optical-state truncation and preparation. The method relies on interfering optical lights, which is a major challenge in experiments performed by pulsed light sources. In the pulsed regime, the time frequency overlap of the interfering lights plays a crucial role on the efficiency of the method when they have different mode structures. In this paper, the pulsed mode projection synthesis is developed, the mode structure of interfering lights are characterized and the effect of this overlap (or mode match) on the fidelity of optical-state truncation and preparation is investigated. By introducing the positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) for the detection events in the scheme, the effect of mode mismatch between the photon-counting detectors and the incident lights are also presented.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Comparison of oral versus sublingual piroxicam during postoperative pain management after lower third molar extraction

AbstractIn this study, 53 patients received piroxicam, administered orally or sublingually, after undergoing removal of symmetrically positioned lower third molars, during two separate appointments. This study used a randomized, blind, cross-over protocol. Objective and subjective parameters were recorded for comparison of postoperative results for 7 days after surgery. Patients treated with oral or sublingual piroxicam reported low postoperative pain scores. The patients who received piroxicam orally took a similar average amount of analgesic rescue medication compared with patients who received piroxicam sublingually (p>0.05). Patients exhibited similar values for mouth opening measured just before surgery and immediately following suture removal 7 days later (p>0.05), and showed no significant differences between routes of piroxicam administration for swelling control during the second or seventh postoperative days (p>0.05). In summary, pain, trismus and swelling after lower third molar extraction, independent of surgical difficulty, could be controlled by piroxicam 20mg administered orally or sublingually and no significant differences were observed between the route of delivery used in this study

Modelling Non-linear Crowd Dynamics in Bio-PEPA

Emergent phenomena occur due to the pattern of non-linear and distributed local interactions between the elements of a system over time. Surprisingly, agent based crowd models, in which the movement of each individual follows a limited set of simple rules, often re-produce quite closely the emergent behaviour of crowds that can be observed in reality. An example of such phenomena is the spontaneous self-organisation of drinking parties in the squares of cities in Spain, also known as "El Botellon" [20]. We revisit this case study providing an elegant stochastic process algebraic model in Bio-PEPA amenable to several forms of analyses, among which simulation and fluid flow analysis. We show that a fluid flow approximation, i.e. a deterministic reading of the average behaviour of the system, can provide an alternative and efficient way to study the same emergent behaviour as that explored in [20] where simulation was used instead. Besides empirical evidence, also an analytical justification is provided for the good correspondence found between simulation results and the fluid flow approximation

Single-particle nonlocality and entanglement with the vacuum

We propose a single-particle experiment that is equivalent to the conventional two-particle experiment used to demonstrate a violation of Bell's inequalities. Hence, we argue that quantum mechanical nonlocality can be demonstrated by single-particle states. The validity of such a claim has been discussed in the literature, but without reaching a clear consensus. We show that the disagreement can be traced to what part of the total state of the experiment one assigns to the (macroscopic) measurement apparatus. However, with a conventional and legitimate interpretation of the measurement process one is led to the conclusion that even a single particle can show nonlocal properties.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Quantum Cryptography Using Single Particle Entanglement

A quantum cryptography scheme based on entanglement between a single particle state and a vacuum state is proposed. The scheme utilizes linear optics devices to detect the superposition of the vacuum and single particle states. Existence of an eavesdropper can be detected by using a variant of Bell's inequality.Comment: 4 pages, 3figures, revte

Role of carbonate burial in Blue Carbon budgets

Calcium carbonates (CaCO 3 ) often accumulate in mangrove and seagrass sediments. As CaCO 3 production emits CO 2 , there is concern that this may partially offset the role of Blue Carbon ecosystems as CO 2 sinks through the burial of organic carbon (C org ). A global collection of data on inorganic carbon burial rates (C inorg , 12% of CaCO 3 mass) revealed global rates of 0.8 TgC inorg yr −1 and 15–62 TgC inorg yr −1 in mangrove and seagrass ecosystems, respectively. In seagrass, CaCO 3 burial may correspond to an offset of 30% of the net CO 2 sequestration. However, a mass balance assessment highlights that the C inorg burial is mainly supported by inputs from adjacent ecosystems rather than by local calcification, and that Blue Carbon ecosystems are sites of net CaCO 3 dissolution. Hence, CaCO 3 burial in Blue Carbon ecosystems contribute to seabed elevation and therefore buffers sea-level rise, without undermining their role as CO 2 sinks. © 2019, The Author(s)

Genetic Divergence and Dispersal of Yellow Fever Virus, Brazil

Examining viral isolates collected over 66 years shows divergence into clades and potential dispersal by human migration