‘Zhengmei’: A new early-ripening table grape

Research Not

'Brilliant Seedless': A new medium-ripening seedless table grape

Research Not

Rapid and Unconditional Parametric Reset Protocol for Tunable Superconducting Qubits

Qubit initialization is a critical task in quantum computation and communication. Extensive efforts have been made to achieve this with high speed, efficiency and scalability. However, previous approaches have either been measurement-based and required fast feedback, suffered from crosstalk or required sophisticated calibration. Here, we report a fast and high-fidelity reset scheme, avoiding the issues above without any additional chip architecture. By modulating the flux through a transmon qubit, we realize a swap between the qubit and its readout resonator that suppresses the excited state population to 0.08% $\pm$ 0.08% within 34 ns (284 ns if photon depletion of the resonator is required). Furthermore, our approach (i) can achieve effective second excited state depletion, (ii) has negligible effects on neighbouring qubits, and (iii) offers a way to entangle the qubit with an itinerant single photon, useful in quantum communication applications.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figure

A simulation study on the measurement of D0-D0bar mixing parameter y at BES-III

We established a method on measuring the \dzdzb mixing parameter $y$ for BESIII experiment at the BEPCII $e^+e^-$ collider. In this method, the doubly tagged $\psi(3770) \to D^0 \overline{D^0}$ events, with one $D$ decays to CP-eigenstates and the other $D$ decays semileptonically, are used to reconstruct the signals. Since this analysis requires good $e/\pi$ separation, a likelihood approach, which combines the $dE/dx$, time of flight and the electromagnetic shower detectors information, is used for particle identification. We estimate the sensitivity of the measurement of $y$ to be 0.007 based on a $20fb^{-1}$ fully simulated MC sample.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Correlations between the optic nerve head morphology and ocular biometrics in highly myopic eyes

AIM: To analyze peripapillary atrophy β/γ zone (PPA-β/γ) and the optic disc ovality index, and to assess their associations with the axial length (AL), refractive error, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), choroidal thickness (CT), and age in highly myopic eyes. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational case series. The study included 667 patients consecutively examined for highly myopic eyes [spherical equivalent ≤-6.0 diopters (D) and AL≥26 mm] with or without myopic retinopathy. Each patient went through a comprehensive ophthalmological examination that included spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) of the macula, A-mode ultrasonography, and a cycloplegic refraction test. The ovality index and PPA-β/γ area were measured from optic disc photographs. RESULTS: A significant association was seen between PPA-β/γ area and the ovality index (P=0.000, r=-0.232). The PPA-β/γ area increased significantly with a longer AL, older age, worse BCVA, higher refractive error, and thinner choroid (P<0.01). The oval disc was significantly correlated with a longer AL, older age, worse BCVA, higher refractive error, larger PPA-β/γ area, and thinner choroid (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The PPA-β/γ zone and ovality index in highly myopic eyes show distinct associations with the AL, refractive error, BCVA, age, and CT

The Bone-Protecting Efficiency of Chinese Medicines Compared With Western Medicines in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease leading to joint destruction. The prevention of bone and cartilage destruction has received increased attention in recent years.Objective: To evaluate the current evidences regarding the bone-protecting efficacy of Chinese medicine or the combination of Chinese medicine and Western medicine for RA.Methods: We comprehensively searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library (www.thecochranelibrary.com), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP), and SinoMed. We then performed a systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the two therapy methods.Results: Sixteen studies including 1,171 patients were included in the final analysis. The results showed that Chinese medicine could significantly improve the bone mineral density (BMD) (mean difference [MD] = 0.05 /g·cm−2, 95% CI [0.03, 0.08], P &lt; 0.00001), and decrease the serum matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3) ([SMD] = −2.84, 95% CI [−4.22, −1.47], P &lt; 0.0001).Conclusions: Chinese medicine may provide an efficiently alternative choice for the treatment of RA in terms of the bone-protecting efficiency. Given the inherent limitations of the included studies, future well-designed RCTs are required to confirm and update the findings of this analysis