The equation of state for scalar-tensor gravity

We show that the field equation of Brans-Dicke gravity and scalar-tensor gravity can be derived as the equation of state of Rindler spacetime, where the local thermodynamic equilibrium is maintained. Our derivation implies that the effective energy can not feel the heat flow across the Rindler horizon.Comment: 6 pages, to be published in Prog. Theor. Phy

Building quantum neural networks based on swap test

Artificial neural network, consisting of many neurons in different layers, is an important method to simulate humain brain. Usually, one neuron has two operations: one is linear, the other is nonlinear. The linear operation is inner product and the nonlinear operation is represented by an activation function. In this work, we introduce a kind of quantum neuron whose inputs and outputs are quantum states. The inner product and activation operator of the quantum neurons can be realized by quantum circuits. Based on the quantum neuron, we propose a model of quantum neural network in which the weights between neurons are all quantum states. We also construct a quantum circuit to realize this quantum neural network model. A learning algorithm is proposed meanwhile. We show the validity of learning algorithm theoretically and demonstrate the potential of the quantum neural network numerically.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure

Premedication with dexmedetomidine in pediatric patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Premedication is important in pediatric anesthesia. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the role of dexmedetomidine as a premedicant for pediatric patients. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials comparing dexmedetomidine premedication with midazolam or ketamine premedication or placebo in children. Two reviewers independently performed the study selection, quality assessment and data extraction. The original data were pooled for the meta-analysis with Review Manager 5. The main parameters investigated included satisfactory separation from parents, satisfactory mask induction, postoperative rescue analgesia, emergence agitation and postoperative nausea and vomiting. Thirteen randomized controlled trials involving 1190 patients were included. When compared with midazolam, premedication with dexmedetomidine resulted in an increase in satisfactory separation from parents (RD = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.30, p = 0.003) and a decrease in the use of postoperative rescue analgesia (RD = -0.19, 95% CI: -0.29 to -0.09, p = 0.0003). Children treated with dexmedetomidine had a lower heart rate before induction. The incidence of satisfactory mask induction, emergence agitation and PONV did not differ between the groups. Dexmedetomidine was superior in providing satisfactory intravenous cannulation compared to placebo. This meta-analysis suggests that dexmedetomidine is superior to midazolam premedication because it resulted in enhanced preoperative sedation and decreased postoperative pain. Additional studies are needed to evaluate the dosing schemes and long-term outcomes of dexmedetomidine premedication in pediatric anesthesia

An Approach to the Production of Soluble Protein from a Fungal Gene Encoding an Aggregation-Prone Xylanase in Escherichia coli

The development of new procedures and protocols that allow researchers to obtain recombinant proteins is of fundamental importance in the biotechnology field. A strategy was explored to overcome inclusion-body formation observed when expressing an aggregation-prone fungal xylanase in Escherichia coli. pHsh is an expression plasmid that uses a synthetic heat-shock (Hsh) promoter, in which gene expression is regulated by an alternative sigma factor (σ32). A derivative of pHsh was constructed by fusing a signal peptide to xynA2 gene to facilitate export of the recombinant protein to the periplasm. The xylanase was produced in a soluble form. Three factors were essential to achieving such soluble expression of the xylanase: 1) the target gene was under the control of the Hsh promoter, 2) the gene product was exported into the periplasm, and 3) gene expression was induced by a temperature upshift. For the first time we report the expression of periplasmic proteins under the control of an Hsh promoter regulated by σ32. One unique feature of this approach was that over 200 copies of the Hsh promoter in an E. coli cell significantly increased the concentration of σ32. The growth inhibition of the recombinant cells corresponded to an increase in the levels of soluble periplasmic protein. Therefore, an alternative protocol was designed to induce gene expression from pHsh-ex to obtain high levels of active soluble enzymes

A path to precision cosmology: synergy between four promising late-universe cosmological probes

In the next decades, it is necessary to forge new late-universe cosmological probes to precisely constrain the Hubble constant and the equation of state of dark energy simultaneously. In this work, we show that the four typical late-universe cosmological probes, the 21 cm intensity mapping (IM), fast radio burst (FRB), gravitational wave (GW) standard siren, and strong gravitational lensing (SGL), are expected to be forged into useful tools in solving the Hubble tension and exploring dark energy. We propose that the synergy of them is rather important in cosmology. We simulate the 21 cm IM, FRB, GW, and SGL data based on the hypothetical observations of the Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX), the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Einstein Telescope (ET), and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), respectively. We find that the four probes show obviously different parameter degeneracy orientations in cosmological constraints, so any combination of them can break the parameter degeneracies and thus significantly improve the constraint precision. The joint 21 cm IM+FRB+GW+SGL data can provide the constraint errors of $\sigma(\Omega_{\rm m})=0.0022$ and $\sigma(H_0)=0.16\ \rm km\ s^{-1}\ Mpc^{-1}$ in the $\Lambda$CDM model, which meet the standard of precision cosmology, i.e., the constraint precision of parameters is better than 1%. In addition, the joint data give $\sigma(w)=0.020$ in the $w$CDM model, and $\sigma(w_0)=0.066$ and $\sigma(w_a)=0.25$ in the $w_0w_a$CDM model, which are all better than the constraints obtained by the CMB+BAO+SN data. We show that the synergy between the four late-universe cosmological probes has magnificent prospects.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in JCA