Amplitude Damping for single-qubit System with single-qubit mixed-state Environment

We study a generalized amplitude damping channel when environment is initially in the single-qubit mixed state. Representing the affine transformation of the generalized amplitude damping by a three-dimensional volume, we plot explicitly the volume occupied by the channels simulatable by a single-qubit mixed-state environment. As expected, this volume is embedded in the total volume by the channels which is simulated by two-qubit enviroment. The volume ratio is approximately 0.08 which is much smaller than 3/8, the volume ratio for generalized depolarizing channels.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures incluided V2: homepage address is included in reference V3: version to appear in J. Phys. A: Mathematical and Theoretica

Refractory Duodenal Crohn's Disease Successfully Treated with Infliximab

Crohn's disease (CD) may involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. Approximately >90% of cases occur in the small bowel and colon. Upper gastrointestinal involvement, especially duodenal manifestation, is relatively rare. Therefore, adequate medical treatment for duodenal CD has not yet been established. We report a case of CD with duodenal involvement. A 46-year-old man with Crohn's ileocolitis presented to our hospital with right upper quadrant pain. An endoscopy showed a deep excavated ulcer with deformity at the duodenal bulb, and he was initially treated with azathioprine (1 mg/kg), Pentasa (3.0 g/day), and a proton pump inhibitor for 1 year. However, the deep ulcer did not heal. Therefore, infliximab infusion therapy was initiated, and the duodenal lesion completely resolved on follow-up esophagogastroduodenoscopy. We report a case of duodenal CD that completely resolved following infliximab infusion, with a review of the literature

Exponential ATP amplification through simultaneous regeneration from AMP and pyrophosphate for luminescence detection of bacteria

a b s t r a c t Bacteria monitoring is essential for many industrial manufacturing processes, particularly those involving in food, biopharmaceuticals, and semiconductor production. Firefly luciferase ATP luminescence assay is a rapid and simple bacteria detection method. However, the detection limit of this assay for Escherichia coli is approximately 10 4 colony-forming units (CFU), which is insufficient for many applications. This study aims to improve the assay sensitivity by simultaneous conversion of PP i and AMP, two products of the luciferase reaction, back to ATP to form two chain-reaction loops. Because each consumed ATP continuously produces two new ATP molecules, this approach can achieve exponential amplification of ATP. Two consecutive enzyme reactions were employed to regenerate AMP into ATP: adenylate kinase converting AMP into ADP using UTP as the energy source, and acetate kinase catalyzing acetyl phosphate and ADP into ATP. The PP i -recycling loop was completed using ATP sulfurylase and adenosine 5 0 phosphosulfate. The modification maintains good quantification linearity in the ATP luminescence assay and greatly increases its bacteria detection sensitivity. This improved method can detect bacteria concentrations of fewer than 10 CFU. This exponential ATP amplification assay will benefit bacteria monitoring in public health and manufacturing processes that require high-quality water. Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Bacteria monitoring is essential for many industrial manufacturing processes, and particularly those involving food, semiconductors, and biopharmaceuticals. The presence of bacteria reduces production yield and may cause serious health problems in humans. Researchers have developed several rapid assays for detecting bacteria in water. These methods include polymerase chain reactions, fluorescence in situ hybridization [1], b-D-glucuronidase activity measurement The ATP luminescence assay is a rapid, sensitive, and easy-toperform method based on the detection of ATP, a molecule ubiquitously present in all living cells. The enzyme luciferase catalyzes the oxidation of the substrate luciferin while transforming the energy derived from ATP into light, which can be quantified by a luminometer. This assay has been widely used in bacteria monitoring for food hygiene [4] and surface cleanliness The current detection limit of the ATP luminescence method for Escherichia coli is approximately 10 4 colony-forming units (CFU) 1 [12,13], which is not sensitive enough for many industrial and medical applications. Several approaches have been adopted to improve the assay sensitivity. The first strategy involves the identification of chemical extractants that can effectively disrupt bacterial cells while not interfering with the luminescence assay. Both dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) 0003-2697/$ -see front matter

Hypereosinophilia Presenting as Eosinophilic Vasculitis and Multiple Peripheral Artery Occlusions without Organ Involvement

We report here a case with hypereosinophilia and peripheral artery occlusion. A 32-yr-old Korean woman presented to us with lower extremity swelling and pain. Angiography revealed that multiple lower extremity arteries were occlusive. The biopsy specimen showed perivascular and periadnexal dense eosinophilic infiltration in dermis and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Laboratory investigations revealed a persistent hypereosinophilia. She was prescribed prednisolone 60 mg daily. Her skin lesion and pain were improved and the eosinophil count was dramatically decreased. After discharge, eosinophil count gradually increased again. Cyanosis and pain of her fingers recurred. She had been treated with cyclophosphamide pulse therapy. Her eosinophilia was decreased, but the cyanosis and tingling sense were progressive. The extremity arterial stenoses were slightly progressed. Skin biopsy showed perivascular eosinophilic infiltration in the dermis and CD40 ligand (CD40L) positive eosinophilic infiltration. The serum TNF-α was markedly increased. These results suggest that CD40L (a member of TNF-α superfamily) could play a role in the inflammatory processes when eosinophil infiltration and activation are observed. We prescribed prednisolone, cyclophosphamide, clopidogrel, cilostazol, beraprost and nifedipine, and she was discharged

High blood viscosity in acute ischemic stroke

BackgroundThe changes in blood viscosity can influence the shear stress at the vessel wall, but there is limited evidence regarding the impact on thrombogenesis and acute stroke. We aimed to investigate the effect of blood viscosity on stroke and the clinical utility of blood viscosity measurements obtained immediately upon hospital arrival.MethodsPatients with suspected stroke visiting the hospital within 24 h of the last known well time were enrolled. Point-of-care testing was used to obtain blood viscosity measurements before intravenous fluid infusion. Blood viscosity was measured as the reactive torque generated at three oscillatory frequencies (1, 5, and 10 rad/sec). Blood viscosity results were compared among patients with ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and stroke mimics diagnosed as other than stroke.ResultsAmong 112 enrolled patients, blood viscosity measurements were accomplished within 2.4 ± 1.3 min of vessel puncture. At an oscillatory frequency of 10 rad/sec, blood viscosity differed significantly between the ischemic stroke (24.2 ± 4.9 centipoise, cP) and stroke mimic groups (17.8 ± 6.5 cP, p < 0.001). This finding was consistent at different oscillatory frequencies (134.2 ± 46.3 vs. 102.4 ± 47.2 at 1 rad/sec and 39.2 ± 11.5 vs. 30.4 ± 12.4 at 5 rad/sec, Ps < 0.001), suggesting a relationship between decreases in viscosity and shear rate. The area under the receiver operating curve for differentiating cases of stroke from stroke mimic was 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.69–0.88).ConclusionPatients with ischemic stroke exhibit increases in whole blood viscosity, suggesting that blood viscosity measurements can aid in differentiating ischemic stroke from other diseases

Rapid access to polycyclic N-heteroarenes from unactivated, simple azines via a base-promoted Minisci-type annulation

Conventional synthetic methods to yield polycyclic heteroarenes have largely relied on metal-mediated arylation reactions requiring pre-functionalised substrates. However, the functionalisation of unactivated azines has been restricted because of their intrinsic low reactivity. Herein, we report a transition-metal-free, radical relay pi-extension approach to produce N-doped polycyclic aromatic compounds directly from simple azines and cyclic iodonium salts. Mechanistic and electron paramagnetic resonance studies provide evidence for the in situ generation of organic electron donors, while chemical trapping and electrochemical experiments implicate an iodanyl radical intermediate serving as a formal biaryl radical equivalent. This intermediate, formed by one-electron reduction of the cyclic iodonium salt, acts as the key intermediate driving the Minisci-type arylation reaction. The synthetic utility of this radical-based annulative pi-extension method is highlighted by the preparation of an N-doped heptacyclic nanographene fragment through fourfold C-H arylation. The functionalisation of unactivated azines has been restricted because of their intrinsic low reactivity. Here the authors show a transition-metal-free, radical relay pi-extension approach to produce N-doped polycyclic aromatic compounds directly from simple azines and cyclic iodonium salts

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe