Local uncertainty relations serving as measures of entanglement in a bipartite two-level system

We comment on the recent suggestion to use a family of local uncertainty relations as a standard way of quantifying entanglement in two-qubit systems. Some statements made on the applicability of the proposed "measures" are overly optimistic. We exemplify how these specific "measures" fall short, and present a minor modification of the general theory which uses the same experimentally gathered information, but in a slightly different, better way.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Contrails and their impact on shortwave radiation and photovoltaic power production – a regional model study

A high-resolution regional-scale numerical model was extended by a parameterization that allows for both the generation and the life cycle of contrails and contrail cirrus to be calculated. The life cycle of contrails and contrail cirrus is described by a two-moment cloud microphysical scheme that was extended by a separate contrail ice class for a better representation of the high concentration of small ice crystals that occur in contrails. The basic input data set contains the spatially and temporally highly resolved flight trajectories over Central Europe derived from real-time data. The parameterization provides aircraft-dependent source terms for contrail ice mass and number. A case study was performed to investigate the influence of contrails and contrail cirrus on the shortwave radiative fluxes at the earth’s surface. Accounting for contrails produced by aircraft enabled the model to simulate high clouds that were otherwise missing on this day. The effect of these extra clouds was to reduce the incoming shortwave radiation at the surface as well as the production of photovoltaic power by up to 10 %

Magic angle (in)stability and mobility edges in disordered Chern insulators

Why do experiments only exhibit one magic angle if the chiral limit of the Bistritzer-MacDonald Hamiltonian suggest a plethora of them? - In this article, we investigate the remarkable stability of the first magic angle in contrast to higher (smaller) magic angles. More precisely, we examine the influence of disorder on magic angles and the Bistritzer-MacDonald Hamiltonian. We establish the existence of a mobility edge near the energy of the flat band for small disorder. We also show that the mobility edges persist even when all global Chern numbers become zero, leveraging the $C_{2z}T$ symmetry of the system to demonstrate non-trivial sublattice transport. This effect is robust even beyond the chiral limit and in the vicinity of perfect magic angles, as is expected from experiments

Discovering Blockchain for Sustainable Product-Service Systems to enhance the Circular Economy

An increasing amount of use cases is discovered for blockchain technology, since it promises tamper-proof recording of product-related data. It has the potential to improve the reliability of information management for whole supply chains and thus enables new ecologically and economically service offerings. Integrating products and services into one marketable bundle is no new concept and is referred to as product-service systems (PSS). Therefore, the methodical integration of knowledge on sustainable businesses, PSS and blockchain is a promising approach to overcome current barriers to achieve an applicable circular economy. Our study contributes a structured literature review on ongoing research in the field of sustainability-focused blockchain applications. From this, we elaborate a holistic perspective by the integration of key concepts from two additional literature reviews for blockchain and PSS. Asa result, we point out potential benefits and present the effect of blockchain on sustainable PSS with a product-life cycle model

Study on the Perception of High Visibility Level Values

For the development of new lighting functions of modern automotive headlamp systems suitable quality factors are needed to evaluate the driver’s visual performance. The Visibility Level (VL), which compares the contrast of an object with its threshold contrast, has proven to be one of these quality factors. While the perception of small VL values have been extensively investigated, high VL values have not been assessed. Results can help to determine how much light is actually needed to illuminate a situation sufficiently so that vehicles can drive without a loss of safety but at a reduced energy consumption. Here the results of a study in the light tunnel facility of the HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA in Lippstadt are presented. After the generation of different light distributions, the object luminance is measured and the different VL values of the viewing target are estimated. In the first part of the study a praxis factor for this scenario is determined, which is used for the calculation of the actual VL. The praxis factor equals 10.27. In the second part of the study different light distributions, which create different VL values from 4 to 120, are then shown to and assessed by the study participants. The evaluation shows a saturating assessment of VLs higher than 90. Viewing targets with a VL above this value are all equally described as perfectly visible. A VL above 65 leads to a well visible target. These results are a starting point for upcoming work regarding the generation of new light distribution, such that light will be brought to the streets more adequately

On the role of allergen-specific IgG subclasses for blocking human basophil activation.

Successful treatment of IgE mediated allergies by allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) usually correlates with the induction of allergen-specific IgG4. However, it is not clear whether IgG4 prevents the allergic reaction more efficiently than other IgG subclasses. Here we aimed to compare allergen-specific monoclonal IgG1 and IgG4 antibodies in their capacity to inhibit type I allergic reactions by engaging FcγRIIb. We found that IgG1, which is the dominant subclass induced by viruses, binds with a similar affinity to the FcγRIIb as IgG4 and is comparable at blocking human basophil activation from allergic patients; both by neutralizing the allergen as well as engaging the inhibitory receptor FcγRIIb. Hence, the IgG subclass plays a limited role for the protective efficacy of AIT even if IgG4 is considered the best correlate of protection, most likely simply because it is the dominant subclass induced by classical AITs

Growth factors and mechano-regulated reciprocal crosstalk with extracellular matrix tune the keratocyte–fibroblast/myofibroblast transition

Improper healing of the cornea after injury, infections or surgery can lead to corneal scar formation, which is associated with the transition of resident corneal keratocytes into activated fibroblasts and myofibroblasts (K–F/M). Myofibroblasts can create an extracellular matrix (ECM) niche in which fibrosis is promoted and perpetuated, resulting in progressive tissue opacification and vision loss. As a reversion back to quiescent keratocytes is essential to restore corneal transparency after injury, we characterized how growth factors with demonstrated profibrotic effects (PDGF, FGF, FBS, TGFβ1) induce the K–F/M transition, and whether their withdrawal can revert it. Indeed, the upregulated expression of αSMA and the associated changes in cytoskeletal architecture correlated with increases in cell contractility, fibronectin (Fn) and collagen matrix density and Fn fiber strain, as revealed by 2D cell culture, nanopillar cellular force mapping and a FRET-labeled Fn tension probe. Substrate mechanosensing drove a more complete K–F/M transition reversal following growth factor withdrawal on nanopillar arrays than on planar glass substrates. Using decellularized ECM scaffolds, we demonstrated that the K–F/M transition was inhibited in keratocytes reseeded onto myofibroblast-assembled, and/or collagen-1-rich ECM. This supports the presence of a myofibroblast-derived ECM niche that contains cues favoring tissue homeostasis rather than fibrosis

IgE glycans promote anti-IgE IgG autoantibodies that facilitate IgE serum clearance via Fc Receptors.

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown that IgE glycosylation significantly impacts the ability of IgE to bind to its high-affinity receptor FcεRI and exert effector functions. We have recently demonstrated that immunizing mice with IgE in a complex with an allergen leads to a protective, glycan-dependent anti-IgE response. However, to what extent the glycans on IgE determine the induction of those antibodies and how they facilitate serum clearance is unclear.Therefore, we investigated the role of glycan-specific anti-IgE IgG autoantibodies in regulating serum IgE levels and preventing systemic anaphylaxis by passive immunization. METHODS Mice were immunized using glycosylated or deglycosylated IgE-allergen-immune complexes (ICs) to induce anti-IgE IgG antibodies. The anti-IgE IgG antibodies were purified and used for passive immunization. RESULTS Glycosylated IgE-ICs induced a significantly higher anti-IgE IgG response and more IgG-secreting plasma cells than deglycosylated IgE-ICs. Passive immunization of IgE-sensitized mice with purified anti-IgE IgG increased the clearance of IgE and prevented systemic anaphylaxis upon allergen challenge. Anti-IgE IgG purified from the serum of mice immunized with deglycosylated IgE-ICs, led to a significantly reduced elimination and protection, confirming that the IgE glycans themselves are the primary drivers of the protectivity induced by the IgE-immune complexes. CONCLUSION IgE glycosylation is essential for a robust anti-IgE IgG response and might be an important regulator of serum IgE levels