Integrated optical waveplates for arbitrary operations on polarization-encoded single-qubits

Integrated photonic technologies applied to quantum optics have recently enabled a wealth of breakthrough experiments in several quantum information areas. Path encoding was initially used to demonstrate operations on single or multiple qubits. However, a polarization encoding approach is often simpler and more effective. Two-qubits integrated logic gates as well as complex interferometric structures have been successfully demonstrated exploiting polarization encoding in femtosecond-laser-written photonic circuits. Still, integrated devices performing single-qubit rotations are missing. Here we demonstrate waveguide-based waveplates, fabricated by femtosecond laser pulses, capable to effectively produce arbitrary single-qubit operations in the polarization encoding. By exploiting these novel components we fabricate and test a compact device for the quantum state tomography of two polarization-entangled photons. The integrated optical waveplates complete the toolbox required for a full manipulation of polarization-encoded qubits on-chip, disclosing new scenarios for integrated quantum computation, sensing and simulation, and possibly finding application also in standard photonic devices

(A)symmetry during gait initiation in people with Parkinson’s disease: A motor and cortical activity exploratory study

BackgroundGait asymmetry and deficits in gait initiation (GI) are among the most disabling symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD). Understanding if PwPD with reduced asymmetry during GI have higher asymmetry in cortical activity may provide support for an adaptive mechanism to improve GI, particularly in the presence of an obstacle.ObjectiveThis study quantified the asymmetry of anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs), stepping parameters and cortical activity during GI, and tested if the presence of an obstacle regulates asymmetry in PwPD.MethodsSixteen PwPD and 16 control group (CG) performed 20-trials in two conditions: unobstructed and obstructed GI with right and left limbs. We measured, through symmetry index, (i) motor parameters: APAs and stepping, and (ii) cortical activity: the PSD of the frontal, sensorimotor and occipital areas during APA, STEP-I (moment of heel-off of the leading foot in the GI until the heel contact of the same foot); and STEP-II (moment of the heel-off of the trailing foot in the GI until the heel contact of the same foot) phases.ResultsParkinson’s disease showed higher asymmetry in cortical activity during APA, STEP-I and STEP-II phases and step velocity (STEP-II phase) during unobstructed GI than CG. However, unexpectedly, PwPD reduced the level of asymmetry of anterior–posterior displacement (p < 0.01) and medial-lateral velocity (p < 0.05) of the APAs. Also, when an obstacle was in place, PwPD showed higher APAs asymmetry (medial-lateral velocity: p < 0.002), with reduced and increased asymmetry of the cortical activity during APA and STEP-I phases, respectively.ConclusionParkinson’s disease were not motor asymmetric during GI, indicating that higher cortical activity asymmetry can be interpreted as an adaptive behavior to reduce motor asymmetry. In addition, the presence of obstacle did not regulate motor asymmetry during GI in PwPD

Effect of the Nano-Ca(OH)2 addition on the Portland clinker cooking efficiency

A new technology was tested to improve the cooking efficiency of the raw mixture for Portland clinker production by the use of nano-Ca(OH)2. A decrease in the free lime concentration after the firing of approximately 35% and 55% in the nano-added clinkers burned at 1350 °C and 1450 °C, respectively, with respect to the standard Portland clinkers was observed. Moreover, in the nano-added clinkers, a slight decrease in alite (C3S), of approximately 2-4 wt%, and increase in belite (C2S), of approximately 5-6 wt%, were observed. Despite these variations, the C2S and C3S abundance lies within the ranges for standard Portland clinkers. The results showed that the nano-addition leads to an increase of the raw mixtures' cooking efficiency. The relatively low energy required for the clinker firing could be used to increase the plant productivity and decrease the CO2 emissions during clinker burning. The decrease of the work index of the clinkers produced by the use of the nano-Ca(OH)2 also contributes to the energy saving during clinker grinding. Differences were also found in the pore size distribution among nano-added clinkers and the standard Portland clinker. The smallest porosities with the modal volume lying in the class of 3 × 10-6 mm3 were found to increase by the use of nano-Ca(OH)2. However, the pore volumes higher than 2.0 × 10-5 mm3 decreased in the nano-added clinkers. © 2019 by the authors

can a rapid local cooling intervention help young soccer players?

The effects of a cooling strategy following repeated high-intensity running (RHIR) on soccer kicking performance in a hot environment (>30ºC) were investigated in youth soccer players. Fifteen academy under-17 players participated. In Experiment 1, players completed an all-out RHIR protocol (10×30 m, with 30s intervals). In Experiment 2 (cross-over design), participants performed this running protocol under two conditions: (1) following RHIR 5 minutes of cooling where ice packs were applied to the quadriceps/hamstrings, (2) a control condition involving passive resting. Perceptual measures [ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), pain and recovery], thigh temperature and kick-derived video three-dimensional kinematics (lower limb) and performance (ball speed and two-dimensional placement indices) were collected at baseline, post-exercise and intervention. In Experiment 1, RHIR led to small- to-large impairments (p < 0.03;d = −0.42–-1.83) across perceptual, kinematic and performance measures. In experiment 2, RPE (p < 0.01; Kendall’s W = 0.30) and mean radial error (p = 0.057; η2 = 0.234) increased only post-control. Significant small declines in ball speed were also observed post-control (p < 0.05; d = 0.35). Post-intervention foot centre-of-mass velocity was moderately faster in the cooling compared to control condition (p = 0.04; d = 0.60). In youth soccer players, a short cooling period was beneficial in counteracting declines in kicking performance, in particular ball placement, following intense running activity in the heat.9E1A-F9DD-3EB8 | Filipe Manuel ClementeN/

Atrial fibrillation detection using a novel three-vector cardiac implantable monitor: the atrial fibrillation detect study.

Aims Continuous rhythm monitoring is valuable for adequate atrial fibrillation (AF) management in the clinical setting. Subcutaneous leadless implantable cardiac monitors (ICMs) yield an improved AF detection, overcoming the intrinsic limitations of the currently available external recording systems, thus resulting in a more accurate patient treatment. The study purpose was to assess the detection performance of a novel three-vector ICM device equipped with a dedicated AF algorithm. Methods and results Sixty-six patients (86.4% males; mean age 60.4 ± 9.4 years) at risk to present AF episodes, having undergone the novel ICM implant (BioMonitor, Biotronik SE&Co. KG, Berlin, Germany), were enrolled. External 48-h ECG Holter was performed 4 weeks after the device implantation. The automatic ICM AF classification was compared with the manual Holter arrhythmia recordings. Of the overall study population, 63/66 (95.5%) had analysable Holter data, 39/63 (62%) showed at least one true AF episode. All these patients had at least one AF episode stored in the ICM. On Holter monitoring, 24/63 (38%) patients did not show AF episodes, in 16 of them (16/24, 67%), the ICM confirmed the absence of AF. The AF detection sensitivity and positive predictive value for episodes' analysis were 95.4 and 76.3%, respectively. Conclusion Continuous monitoring using this novel device, equipped with a dedicated detection algorithm, yields an accurate and reliable detection of AF episodes. The ICM is a promising tool for tailoring individual AF patient management. Further long-term prospective studies are necessary to confirm these encouraging results

Rapporto tecnico sulle attività di campionamento della “Campagna Oceanografica CISAS_2” Crotone 07-12 dicembre 2017

Le attività di campionamento ed acquisizione dati svolte durante la campagna CISAS_2 si inseriscono in seno al progetto “Centro internazionale di studi avanzati su ambiente ed impatti su ecosistema e salute umana (CISAS)” del CNR. L’obiettivo principale del progetto CISAS è la comprensione dei processi e dei meccanismi di trasferimento di alcuni contaminanti convenzionali (metalli pesanti, POPs, radionuclidi, ecc.) e di alcuni contaminanti emergenti (PDBE, composti farmaceutici di nuova generazione, ecc.) dall’ambiente inteso come l’insieme di atmosfera-suoli-acque sotterranee-matrici marine (acque e sedimento) all’ecosistema e all’uomo. Le aree di indagine del progetto sono i Siti di Interesse Nazionale (SIN) di Priolo, Milazzo-Pace del Mela e Crotone che, per specificità e modalità di impatto antropogenico sull’ambiente, l’ecosistema e la salute umana, coprono un ampio spettro di tipologie di interesse. La campagna oceanografica CISAS_ 2 è stata dedicata alla caratterizzazione ambientale del SIN di Crotone, nonché all’identificazione delle sorgenti dei contaminanti la cui distribuzione si ritiene di interesse (per i valori di concentrazione riscontrati nelle diverse matrici ambientali e per livello di tossicità associata agli effetti degli stessi sulla salute dell’ecosistema e dell’uomo) e i pathways di deposizione nelle aree di interesse

A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas : the PERSEUS experience

PERSEUS project aims to identify the most relevant pressures exerted on the ecosystems of the Southern European Seas (SES), highlighting knowledge and data gaps that endanger the achievement of SES Good Environmental Status (GES) as mandated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A complementary approach has been adopted, by a meta-analysis of existing literature on pressure/impact/knowledge gaps summarized in tables related to the MSFD descriptors, discriminating open waters from coastal areas. A comparative assessment of the Initial Assessments (IAs) for five SES countries has been also independently performed. The comparison between meta-analysis results and IAs shows similarities for coastal areas only. Major knowledge gaps have been detected for the biodiversity, marine food web, marine litter and underwater noise descriptors. The meta-analysis also allowed the identification of additional research themes targeting research topics that are requested to the achievement of GES. 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.peer-reviewe

Field test of a pre-pilot scale hollow fiber facilitated transport membrane for CO2 capture

In this work, a pre-pilot scale hollow fiber membrane module with a PVA/ProK hybrid membrane containing up to 40 wt% amino acid salt was fabricated and tested infield for CO2 capture. The petroleum coke-fired flue gas generated from the rotary kiln provided with a 5-stage cyclone pre-heater tower for the production of grey clinker in the Colacem cement plant in Gubbio (PG), Italy, was used as feed gas after a simple filtration to remove the suspended particulate matter without further pretreatment. The temperature for the membrane test was ranging from 80 to 115 °C. The effects of various parameters including operation temperature, pressure, sweep gas flow rate, vacuum grade, and the impurities in the feed were systematically investigated. Under optimized condition, CO2 content of 50% in the permeate and CO2 permeate flux of ˜5 × 10−3 cm3(STP) cm−2 s−1 were documented, which is comparable with other facilitated transport membranes. The presence of impurities in the feed stream showed a negligible effect on the CO2 separation performance. Long-term stability was also studied through a test for a duration of 1 week at 90 °C

Field trial of hollow fiber modules of hybrid facilitated transport membranes for flue gas CO2 capture in cement industry

Alarming increase in global CO2 emissions warrants acceleration of CO2 capture technologies. In this work, testing of pre-pilot scale membrane modules containing hybrid facilitated transport membranes in hollow fiber configuration is reported. The tests were carried out using real flue gas from a slipstream in the Colacem cement plant located in Gubbio, Italy. With the fabricated modules, CO2 flux of up to 750 NL m−2h−1 with a CO2 permeate purity ranging from 50 to 55 vol% was recorded. All pre-pilot membrane modules showed increased CO2 permeance in industrial testing (1.5 to 1.9x higher) compared to laboratory evaluation owing to the reliable water profile and high temperature of the flue gas from the chimney. Influence of operating parameters (e.g., pressures in the feed and permeate) were studied. Long-term testing showed no obvious reduction in permeation performance. Furthermore, the membranes with mobile carriers when exposed to the feed gas containing SOx and NOx exhibited good resistance to performance deterioration despite high concentrations of acidic impurities. Simulation studies based on validated experimental performance under industrial conditions reveal the high potential of the fabricated membranes as an efficient separation unit capable of achieving industrial capture rate and CO2 purity requirements using a relatively low membrane area