Quantum Information processing by NMR: Preparation of pseudopure states and implementation of unitary operations in a single-qutrit system

Theoretical Quantum Information Processing (QIP) has matured from the use of qubits to the use of qudits (systems having states> 2). Where as most of the experimental implementations have been performed using qubits, little experimental work has been carried out using qudits as yet. In this paper we demonstrate experimental realization of a qutrit system by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), utilizing deuterium (spin-1) nuclei partially oriented in liquid crystalline phase. Preparation of pseudopure states and implementation of unitary operations are demonstrated in this single-qutrit system, using transition selective pulses.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

The detection of possible transient Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the γ\gamma-ray light curve of PKS 0244-470 and 4C+38.41

The continuous monitoring capability of Fermi-LAT has enabled the exploration of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) in the $\gamma$-ray light curve of blazar that has given a new perspective to probe these source and jet physics over a wide range of time scales. We report the presence of transient QPOs in the long-term $\gamma$-ray light curve of blazars PKS 0244-470 \& 4C +38.41. We first identified different flux states using the Bayesian Block algorithm and then explored the possible transient QPOs in the segments of each flux phase where the flux level changes over fairly regular intervals. Combining this with source intrinsic variance, we identified two flux phases for PKS 0244-470: one activity (AP-1) and one quiescent phase (QP-1). For 4C+38.41, we similarly identified four activity (AP-1, AP-2, AP-3, and AP-4) and two quiescent (QP-1 and QP-2) phases. AP-1 phase of PKS 0244-470 shows QPO of $\sim$ 225 days persisting for 8 cycles ($\sim$ 4.1 $\sigma$). In 4C+38.41, AP-1 and AP-2 phases show QPO of $\sim$ 110 days and $\sim$ 60 days, respectively, persisting for 5 cycles. In AP-3, we identified three sub-phases, and all show a $\sim$ week scale recurrent rise with five complete cycles, while in QP-1, we could identify 2 sub-phases (Q1 and Q2). Q1 phase shows a significant period of $\sim$ 104 days with six complete cycles. Q2 phase also shows significant QPO but with only $\sim$ 3.7 cycles. All the detections are locally significant with at least four or more cycles. We discuss the possible origin and argue that the current driven kink instability and curved jet model seem the most likely cause for shorter and longer QPOs though the latter requires continuous acceleration or injection of particles to explain these

AN OPD BASED PROSPECTIVE EXPLORATORY STUDY OF DERMATOPHYTOSIS - FOCUS ON TREATMENT OUTCOMES, MEDICATION ADHERENCE, AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Objective: The study was planned primarily to judge the effectiveness, safety, and adherence of the prescribed treatments in dermatophytosis along with the effect on the Quality of Life (QoL) of the affected individuals. Methods: In this prospective observational study, spanning over 5 months, participants (dermatophytosis patients) were assessed at baseline and 6 week-follow-up at study site. Information about their clinical presentation, QoL (Quality of Life) parameters, medication adherence, and adverse drug reaction (ADR) were entered in the Case Report Form (CRF) prepared by utilizing global standard tools such as 5D-itch scale, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS), and WHO-ADR reporting form respectively. Results: Total 60 subjects (33 males and 27 females) had completed the study. Overall, tinea cruris (40%) was the most common variety followed by combination of tinea corporis and cruris (35%), tinea corporis (20%), and tinea incognito (3%). Pruritus was the predominant symptom. There was a significant (p<0.001) improvement of both 5D-itch & DLQI scores from baseline to follow-up stage (after 6 weeks). Treatment regimens were well tolerated (only eight subjects reported any adverse event such as gastric irritation and sedation). Medication adherence to the prescribed treatment was good; (mean MARS score 7.588±1.82). Mostly prescribed regimen was a combination of antifungal (oral plus topical) and antihistamine tablet (58/60, 96.66%). The most common drug combination was capsule itraconazole, luliconazole cream, and cetirizine or levocetirizine tablet with or without ketoconazole soap (35/60, 58.33%). Conclusion: Prescribed treatment regimen for dermatophytosis was effective, tolerable, acceptable with high medication adherence and also improved the QoL of the study subjects

Characterizing the optical nature of the blazar S5 1803+784 during its 2020 flare

We report the results from our study of the blazar S5 1803+784 carried out using the quasi-simultaneous $B$, $V$, $R$, and $I$ observations from May 2020 to July 2021 on 122 nights. Our observing campaign detected the historically bright optical flare during MJD 59063.5$-$MJD 59120.5. We also found the source in its brightest ($R_{mag}$= 13.617) and faintest ($R_{mag}$= 15.888) states till date. On 13 nights, covering both flaring and non-flaring periods, we searched for the intraday variability using the power-enhanced $F-$test and the nested ANOVA test. We found significant variability in 2 out of these 13 nights. However, no such variability was detected during the flaring period. From the correlation analysis, we observed that the emission in all optical bands were strongly correlated with a time lag of $\sim$ 0 days. To get insights into its dominant emission mechanisms, we generated the optical spectral energy distributions of the source on 79 nights and estimated the spectral indices by fitting the simple power law. Spectral index varied from 1.392 to 1.911 and showed significant variations with time and $R-$band magnitude. We have detected a mild bluer-when-brighter trend (BWB) during the whole monitoring period while a much stronger BWB trend during the flare. We also carried out a periodicity search using four different methods and found no significant periodicity during our observation duration. Based on the analysis during the flaring state of the source one can say that the emissions most likely originate from the jet rather than the accretion disk.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ

Quasi-periodic oscillation detected in γ\gamma-rays in blazar PKS 0346-27

We present a variability study of the blazar PKS 0346-27 from December 2018 to January 2022 in its archival $\gamma$-ray observation by Fermi-LAT. We use the Lomb-Scargle periodogram and the weighted wavelet transform methods in order to detect the presence of periodicity/quasi-periodicity and localize this feature in time and frequency space. The significance of the periodicity feature has been estimated using the Monte-Carlo simulation approach. We have also determined the global significance of the periodicity to test the robustness of our claim. To explore the most probable scenario, we modeled the light curve with both a straight jet and a curved jet model. We detect a periodicity feature of $\sim$ 100 days duration for the entire period of observation with a statistical significance of $3\sigma$, which amounts to a 99.7\% confidence level. The global significance of this feature is found to be 96.96\%. Based on the Akaike Information Criteria, the most probable explanation is that the observed emission is enhanced due to the helical motion of a blob within a curved jet. The origin of this QPO is very likely a region of enhanced emission moving helically inside a curved jet. This work presents strong evidence for jet curvature in the source and an independent (albeit a little serendipitous) procedure to estimate the curvature in blazar jets.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A, in Pres

Experimental implementation of local adiabatic evolution algorithms by an NMR quantum information processor

Quantum adiabatic algorithm is a method of solving computational problems by evolving the ground state of a slowly varying Hamiltonian. The technique uses evolution of the ground state of a slowly varying Hamiltonian to reach the required output state. In some cases, such as the adiabatic versions of Grover's search algorithm and Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, applying the global adiabatic evolution yields a complexity similar to their classical algorithms. However, using the local adiabatic evolution, the algorithms given by J. Roland and N. J. Cerf for Grover's search [ Phys. Rev. A. {\bf 65} 042308(2002)] and by Saurya Das, Randy Kobes and Gabor Kunstatter for the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm [Phys. Rev. A. {\bf 65}, 062301 (2002)], yield a complexity of order $\sqrt{N}$ (where N=2$^{\rm n}$ and n is the number of qubits). In this paper we report the experimental implementation of these local adiabatic evolution algorithms on a two qubit quantum information processor, by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.Comment: Title changed, Adiabatic Grover's search algorithm added, error analysis modifie

Necrotizing fasciitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a rare case report and recent concepts in diagnosis and management

Necrotizing fasciitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an extremely rare and life threatening bacterial soft tissue infection. Here we report a case study of fully established necrotizing fasciitis associated with monomicrobial pseudomonas infection in a 34 years old male. The patient presented with painful, necrosed areas of skin and soft tissue over right gluteal region which rapidly progressed to right upper back. Aggressive supportive measures and early debridement lead to a full recovery with no functional deficits

Fracture of neck of femur with fracture of posterior column of acetabulum: a rare case of floating hip

Injuries around the hip joint are one of the most common orthopedic injuries and these types of injuries are grossly debilitating until treated properly. Simultaneous occurrence of fracture of proximal femur with fracture of ipsilateral acetabulum or pelvis is termed as floating hip injury. These injuries are very rare, only to be found 1 in 10,000 as well as there is lack of literature support regarding proper treatment protocol. Here we are going to present a case of fracture of neck of left femur along with fracture of left acetabulum in a 45 years old male undergone road traffic accident.

Analysis of the intra-night variability of BL Lacertae during its August 2020 flare

We present an analysis of the $BVRI$ photometry of the blazar BL Lacertae on diverse timescales from mid-July to mid-September 2020. We have used 11 different optical telescopes around the world and have collected data over 84 observational nights. The observations cover the onset of a new activity phase of BL Lacertae started in August 2020 (termed as the August 2020 flare by us), and the analysis is focused on the intra-night variability. On short-term timescales, (i) flux varied with ~2.2\,mag in $R$ band, (ii) the spectral index was found to be weakly dependent on the flux (i.e., the variations could be considered mildly chromatic) and (iii) no periodicity was detected. On intra-night timescales, BL Lacertae was found to show bluer-when-brighter chromatism predominantly. We also found two cases of significant inter-band time lags of the order of a few minutes. The duty cycle of the blazar during the August 2020 flare was estimated to be quite high (~90\% or higher). We decomposed the intra-night light curves into individual flares and determined their characteristics. On the basis of our analysis and assuming the turbulent jet model, we determined some characteristics of the emitting regions: Doppler factor, magnetic field strength, electron Lorentz factor, and radius. The radii determined were discussed in the framework of the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence. We also estimated the weighted mean structure function slope on intra-night timescales, related it to the slope of the power spectral density, and discussed it with regard to the origin of intra-night variability.Comment: 46 pages, 19 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (manuscript version after proof correction