Adenosine Monophosphate-Based Detection of Bacterial Spores

A method of rapid detection of bacterial spores is based on the discovery that a heat shock consisting of exposure to a temperature of 100 C for 10 minutes causes the complete release of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) from the spores. This method could be an alternative to the method described in the immediately preceding article. Unlike that method and related prior methods, the present method does not involve germination and cultivation; this feature is an important advantage because in cases in which the spores are those of pathogens, delays involved in germination and cultivation could increase risks of infection. Also, in comparison with other prior methods that do not involve germination, the present method affords greater sensitivity. At present, the method is embodied in a laboratory procedure, though it would be desirable to implement the method by means of a miniaturized apparatus in order to make it convenient and economical enough to encourage widespread use

A Quantum Internet Architecture

Entangled quantum communication is advancing rapidly, with laboratory and metropolitan testbeds under development, but to date there is no unifying Quantum Internet architecture. We propose a Quantum Internet architecture centered around the Quantum Recursive Network Architecture (QRNA), using RuleSet-based connections established using a two-pass connection setup. Scalability and internetworking (for both technological and administrative boundaries) are achieved using recursion in naming and connection control. In the near term, this architecture will support end-to-end, two-party entanglement on minimal hardware, and it will extend smoothly to multi-party entanglement and the use of quantum error correction on advanced hardware in the future. For a network internal gateway protocol, we recommend (but do not require) qDijkstra with seconds per Bell pair as link cost for routing; the external gateway protocol is designed to build recursively. The strength of our architecture is shown by assessing extensibility and demonstrating how robust protocol operation can be confirmed using the RuleSet paradigm.Comment: 17 pages, 7 numbered figure

QuISP: a Quantum Internet Simulation Package

We present an event-driven simulation package called QuISP for large-scale quantum networks built on top of the OMNeT++ discrete event simulation framework. Although the behavior of quantum networking devices have been revealed by recent research, it is still an open question how they will work in networks of a practical size. QuISP is designed to simulate large-scale quantum networks to investigate their behavior under realistic, noisy and heterogeneous configurations. The protocol architecture we propose enables studies of different choices for error management and other key decisions. Our confidence in the simulator is supported by comparing its output to analytic results for a small network. A key reason for simulation is to look for emergent behavior when large numbers of individually characterized devices are combined. QuISP can handle thousands of qubits in dozens of nodes on a laptop computer, preparing for full Quantum Internet simulation. This simulator promotes the development of protocols for larger and more complex quantum networks.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure

Evaluation of the Total Adenylate (ATP+ADP+AMP) Hygiene Monitoring Test in Healthcare Settings

Introduction. Evaluation of cleaning methods is the first step in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections. ATP hygiene monitoring tests are widely used for assessing the effectiveness of sanitation procedures. The test is easy to use and gives immediate results, however, ATP can be metabolized and degraded to ADP and AMP. Recently, a total adenylate [ATP+ADP+AMP(A3)] monitoring test has been developed.Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of the A3 test for hygiene monitoring in healthcare settings.Methods. The detection sensitivities of the ATP and the A3 tests were compared for hemolysate, sweat, and debris derived from endoscopes immediately after inspection. The performance of the A3 test in monitoring cleanliness of high touch surfaces in the hospital and endoscopes at each cleaning step was also evaluated.Results. For the hemolysate, the measurement values of the A3 test were stable, although ATP was promptly degraded. In sweat, the amount of A3 was 20 times higher than that of ATP. The detection sensitivities of the A3 test on residues derived from gastroscopes and colonoscopes were 3 and 8 times higher, respectively, than those from the ATP test. A field study indicated that a large number of microorganisms tend to show high A3 values on high touch surfaces in the hospital and on endoscopes.Conclusions. The A3 test appeared to be superior to the conventional ATP test for the rapid verification of cleaning procedures in healthcare settings

Self-sterility in Lilium Hansonii I : Pollen tube behaviors in some crosses

The preliminary observations on the self-sterility in Lilium Hansonii has been made with special reference to the pollen tube behaviors. 1) The number of somatic chromosomes is 2n=24, and the idiogram is shown in Fig.1. 2) The morphological normality of embryo-sac seems to be 100%. 3) The modes of pollen tube behaviors of some Lilium members in the pistils of L. Hansonii can be classified into two types : 1) stopps in the stylar part (L. Hansonii, L. rubellum), 2) stopps in the ovarian part (L. maculatum, L. concolor). 4) The pollen tubes of L. Hansonii stopps their growth in the stylar part of L. Henryi and of L. concolor. 4) The bud pollination gives some advantage to the pollen tube growth in the selfing

Behavior of defects in a-plane GaN films grown by low-angle-incidence microchannel epitaxy (LAIMCE)

The microstructure in a-plane GaN thin films was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The GaN thin films were grown by metal-organic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE) on a GaN/r-plane sapphire template using the low-angle-incidence microchannel epitaxy (LAIMCE) technique, following fabrication of a stripe type mask. The polar direction +c at GaN thin films was determined from the electron diffraction pattern by the relationship between c-axis of sapphire and +c of nitride crystal. It was confirmed that threading dislocations passing through the mask windows penetrate into the overgrown GaN layer, running straight up to the Lop surface without bending. Therefore wing regions containing fewer lattice defects are successfully formed. The density of lattice defects is roughly estimated to be around 10(8) cm(-2). Stacking faults (SFs) and partial dislocations on the edges of SFs on the basal planes are found to be formed additionally in the wing regions. As GaN islands that have been formed on the mask windows grow first laterally along +c and -c direction, the microstructures in the c and owing regions were predicted to be different from each other. Bur actually, they are almost the same as each other due to the fact that the islands of GaN develop laterally with the a-plane growth process instead of c-plane growth