Error Mitigation and Quantum-Assisted Simulation in the Error Corrected Regime.

A standard approach to quantum computing is based on the idea of promoting a classically simulable and fault-tolerant set of operations to a universal set by the addition of "magic" quantum states. In this context, we develop a general framework to discuss the value of the available, nonideal magic resources, relative to those ideally required. We single out a quantity, the quantum-assisted robustness of magic (QROM), which measures the overhead of simulating the ideal resource with the nonideal ones through quasiprobability-based methods. This extends error mitigation techniques, originally developed for noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices, to the case where qubits are logically encoded. The QROM shows how the addition of noisy magic resources allows one to boost classical quasiprobability simulations of a quantum circuit and enables the construction of explicit protocols, interpolating between classical simulation and an ideal quantum computer.

Encefalitis amebiana granulomatosa por Balamuthia mandrillaris. Primer caso diagnosticado en Chile / Granulomatous amebic encephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris: first case diagnosed in Chile

Se presenta el caso de un lactante de sexo masculino de 7 meses de vida con una historia de varias semanas de evolución caracterizada por convulsiones, fiebre y cambios conductuales. Hospitalizado, la tomografía axial computada de cerebro mostró lesiones multifocales de algunos mm a 4 cm de diámetro, sin efecto de masa, y una biopsia de las mismas reveló una encefalitis necrotizante con arteritis necrótica fibrinoide. A pesar del tratamiento, las lesiones progresaron y el niño falleció. La necropsia demostró una extensa encefalitis necrotizante, multifocal, con arteritis necrótica fibrinoide, algunos signos de organización, y la presencia de elementos parasitarios con caracteres de trofozoitos y quistes de amebas de vida libre del género Acanthamoeba o Balamuthia. Además, se constató una hipoplasia- displasia del timo y signos de schok. Los elementos encontrados corresponden al cuadro descrito como encefalitis amebiana granulomatosa y el agente encontrado fue tipificado, (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA) correspondiendo a la especie Balamuthia mandrillaris.

[Granulomatous amebic encephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris. First case diagnosed in Chile]. / Encefalitis amebiana granulomatosa por Balamuthia mandrillaris. Primer caso diagnosticado en Chile.

The case of a 7 month-old baby boy is presented, with a history of several weeks of evolution of personality changes, convulsions and fever. While he was hospitalized, the brain image study showed multifocal cavity lesions, which varied from millimeters to 4 cm of diameter, not producing mass effect. Their biopsy revealed necrotizing encephalitis. In spite of treatment, the lesions progressed and the boy died. The autopsy demonstrated an extensive necrotizing encephalitis with fibrinoid necrotic arteritis, signs of organization, and the presence of parasitic elements with characteristics of trophozoites and cysts of free-living amoebas belonging to the genus Acanthamoeba or Balamuthia. In addition, hypoplasia-dysplasia of the thymus and signs of shock were found. The morphologic elements correspond to the disease described as granulomatous amebic encephalitis and the agent found was identified as Balamuthia mandrillaris (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA ).

Effects of combined dietary supplementation on oxidative and inflammatory status in dyslipidemic subjects.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Dyslipidemia is one of the main risk factors for atherosclerosis, usually the underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases which are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The aim of this study was to assess the effects and the advantages of a combined dietary supplementation with PUFA n-3, vitamin E, niacin and gamma-oryzanol on lipid profile, inflammatory status and oxidative balance. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-seven dyslipidemic volunteers were randomly assigned to receive: placebo (group A, 19 subjects); PUFA n-3 and vitamin E (group B, 18 subjects); the same as B plus gamma-oryzanol and niacin (group C, 20 subjects). Lipid profile, reactive oxygen species (ROS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), vitamin E, interleukin 1-beta (IL1-beta), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) were determined at baseline (T0) and after four months (T1). All dyslipidemic subjects showed, at baseline, oxidative stress and, after four months, all biochemical markers improved significantly in groups treated with dietary supplementation. Particularly in group C all lipid patterns improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that the strategy of combining different compounds, which protect each other and act together at different levels of the lipid chain production, improves lipid profile, inflammatory and oxidative status, allowing us to reduce the dose of each compound under the threshold of its side effects.

Eco-ethology of sexual strategies in animals.

This brief review of comparative aspects of sexual strategies in animals, will focus on their behavioral flexibility rather than on fixed action patterns. Discussion will be on why sex is so common, but not universal, in animal species, and why males and females differ in their sexual strategies, and how each individual adapts its strategies according to social and ecological environment. The goal is to suggest to clinical sexologists to be careful in depicting what is pathological and what is an adaptation to a bad ecological or social environment in our species.

Surveillance of infections acquired in intensive care: usefulness in clinical practice.

Nosocomial infection surveillance is common in the USA and in some European countries but in Italy few hospitals use it. In order to evaluate its usefulness in clinical practice we performed a one year prospective epidemiological study that included 178 patients, admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) for more than 48 h. Median ICU stay was 16 days. Trauma and neurological diseases accounted for 65% of admissions. The selected population had high severity scores and required a large number of invasive procedures for diagnosis and therapy. The most common infections were: pneumonia 46/1000 ventilator-days; urinary tract infections 17/1000 catheter-days; central venous catheter infections 14.5/1000 catheter-days with 1.7/1000 CVC-related sepsis; bacteraemic sepsis 12/1000 ICU-days. The most frequent pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, other Gram-negative aerobes and Candida spp. Antimicrobial resistance was substantial, with 68% methicillin-resistance in S. aureus and 76% of P. aeruginosa displaying antibiotic resistance. Severe sepsis or septic shock occurred in 30 patients (8/1000 ICU-days), and three patients died from septic shock of unknown origin (10% case fatality rate). There were no case fatalities for pneumonia and bacteraemic sepsis. Overall, ICU-acquired infections were not associated with an increased risk of death.

Patrones de carcinomas en gastrectomías de adultos chilenos: estudio multivariado en un país de alto riesgo / Patterns of carcinoma in gastrectomy specimens from chilean adults: a multivariate analysis in a high risk area

Objetivos: a) analizar la distribución por sexo, edad, ubicacióm y tipo histológico del carcinoma gástrico en adultos chilenos y sus variciones en un lapso de 38 años; b) investigar las variables independientes relacionadas con el tipo histológico. Método: se estudian los caracteres de las piezas de gastrectoomía en 748 pacientes con cáncer de tipo intestinal o difuso, y se compara su distribución en las épocas 1958-1979 y 1980-1996. Resultados: Las variaciones entre ambas épocas fueron las siguentes: aumento de la proporción de mujeres de 34,1 a 38,6 por ciento (n.s.) y de la edad promedio de 59,3 a 62,3 años (p< 0,002); aumento de la proporción de carcinomas en el tercio superior del estómago, de 22,4 a 30,8 por ciento (p< 0,007) y, en particular, de los cardiales de 5,7 a 12,4 por ciento (p< 0,003), disminución de los carcinomas de tipo intestinal de 66,2 a 54,3 por ciento. Las variables independiente que influyen en la probabilidad de que un carcinoma sea de tipo difuso son, por orden de importancia: menor edad (p < 0,0001), segunda época (p< 0.0001), ubicación antral (p< 0,0065) y sexo femenino (p< 0,0323). Conclusiones: En pacientes gastrectomizados de un país de alta incidencia de carcinoma gástrico se aprecia, en las décadas recientes, un aumento de la frecuencia de carcinoma de la porción proximal del estómago, y una disminución del carcinoma de tipo intestinal. Estas variaciones son similares a las descritas en otros países, paralelamente a un descenso de la incidencia de cáncer gástrico

Factors predicting response to splenectomy in adult patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Splenectomy is the treatment of choice in the majority of patients affected by idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura refractory to corticosteroid therapy, but it is not free from early and late complications. As the available literature does not seem to contain any precise indications concerning possible factors predicting the response to splenectomy, the aim of this retrospective study of 65 splenectomized patients was to attempt to identify potentially predictive clinical or laboratory parameters. DESIGN AND METHODS: For the purposes of statistical analysis, the patients were divided into two groups: the first included those with a complete (platelets > 100x10(9)/L) or partial response (platelets 50-100 x10(9)/L) to splenectomy; the second, the non-responders (platelets < 50x10(9)/L). The non-parametric tests were based on the Kruskal-Wallis method for independent samples, and the independent samples were compared using the Chi-square test according to Pearson. RESULTS: Univariate analysis did not reveal any significant correlation between successful splenectomy and age, sex, platelet count at diagnosis, anti-platelets antibody positivity, the site of platelet sequestration, the time between diagnosis and surgery, or the response to high intravenous immunoglobulin doses. However, the probability of success was greater in the patients with a complete or partial pre-operative response to steroid therapy (p<0.05). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: The factor most frequently associated with the success of splenectomy is the site of autologous platelet sequestration. Our study did not identify any clinical or laboratory parameter clearly predictive of post-splenectomy cure other than a transient response to steroid treatment. This finding needs further confirmation in larger patient populations.

When to get mad: adaptive significance of rage in animals.

The wide distribution of rage in animals suggests that rage should have an adaptive significance. In the present work, the function of rage is explored under an evolutionary perspective. I try to assess the selective advantage conferred to the individual presenting rage compared to one that does not. In this work, I considered animals under the 'strategist' perspective rather than the 'stimulus-reactor' one. I suggest that rage has a highly adaptive significance both as: (1) an emotion to prepare antagonistic actions and (2) as a communicative act. I suggest therefore that, as a communicative act, rage can be explored through the theory of games. In three crucial scenarios, I investigate, using the theory of games framework, when, and how, there is a selective advantage for individuals expressing, bluffing and simulating rage.

Metformin treatment reduces ovarian cytochrome P-450c17alpha response to human chorionic gonadotrophin in women with insulin resistance-related polycystic ovary syndrome.

It has recently been proposed that hyperinsulinaemic insulin resistance and increased ovarian cytochrome P-450c17alpha activity, two features of the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), are pathogenetically linked. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis of the linkage between hyperinsulinaemia and supranormal activity of cytochrome P-450c17alpha using the human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) challenge, which is a more direct ovarian stimulus than gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in detecting modifications in ovarian steroidogenesis. Eleven women with insulin resistance-related PCOS were studied. HCG (10 000 IU) was given i.m., and blood samples were obtained 0, 8, 12, 16 and 24 h thereafter. Next day, metformin was given at a dose of 500 mg three times a day for 30-32 days, at which time the pretreatment study was repeated. Two women ovulated after metformin treatment. The administration of metformin was associated with a decrease in area under the curve for insulin during a 2h, 75g oral glucose tolerance test, in plasma free testosterone concentrations and an increase in plasma sex hormone binding globulin concentration. The plasma 17-hydroxyprogesterone response to HCG was significantly lower after metformin treatment. The present study gives a direct demonstration that metformin leads to a reduction in stimulated ovarian cytochrome P-450c17alpha activity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Pólipo fibroepitelial con estroma atípico en piel y mucosa anogenital / Fibroepithelial polyp with atypical stroma in skin and anal-genital mucosa

El pólipo fibroepitelial es una lesión benigna de piel y mucosa genital y perineal. Se presenta en mujeres jóvenes, es poco frecuente e histológicamente muestra estroma laxo con prominentes y numerosas células atípicas, pleomórficas, multinucleadas. La lesión puede confundirse con rabdomiosarcoma botrioide, angiomixoma agresivo y neurofibroma mixoideo. Se revisaron los casos de nuestro archivo del período 1990-1996. Se recolectaron 13 casos, todas mujeres, cuya edad varió de recién nacido a 74 años. El tamaño de la lesión fluctuó de 0,3 a 2,5 cm; 12 lesiones únicas y 1 múltiple; localizaciones: vagina 6 (46,2 por ciento), ano 3 (23,1 por ciento), vulva 2 (15,4 por ciento) y uretra 1 (7,7 por ciento); en 1 caso la localización no se consignó. Histológicamente, las lesiones presentaban revestimiento escamoso normotípico, estroma, conjuntiva laxo, vascularizado, con moderada cantidad de células atípicas, pleomórficas, en partes formando rosetas, sin mitosis ni invasión del epitelio. Esta veriedad de papiloma es una lesión benigna, que simula sarcoma, que debe tenerse presente en el diagnóstico diferencial de sarcoma y pseudosarcoma de mucosa vaginal y piel perineal

Cáncer tiroídeo tipo intermedio folicular-medular; una forma inhabitual, particular y agresiva: comunicación de tres casos / Mixed medullary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid: report of three cases

Mixed medullary and follicular carcinomas of the thyroid shares secretory and immunohistochemical features of both follicular and parafollicular thyroidal cells. We report three women, aged 34, 63 and 61 old with this type of tumor. Its diagnosis must be bore in mind in patients with thyroidal tumors and a histological appearance of a medullary or undifferentiated carcinomas. An early diagnosis of a mixed medullary and follicular carcinomas of the thyroid is important, considering its special treatment and negative prognosis

Rendimiento comparativo entre biopsia y citología obtenidas por aspiración con aguja fina en nódulos sólidos del tiroides / Comparative useful between biopsy and cytology obtained by fine needle aspiration in thyroid nodules

The correct management of thyroid nodules requires an accurate histological diagnosis to doscard carcinoma. One hundred and forty three thyroid nodules were punctured with a 21 G needle under continous aspiration obtaining a sample for cytological and histological diagnosis. Fifty patients were subjected to a thyroidectomy. The age of studied patients ranged from 12 to 78 years old and 94 percent were female. Mean nodule diameter was 2.7ñ1.4 cm. Two percent of procedures were complicated with local hematomas, that subsided spontaneously. A diagnosis of cancer was reached in 16 percent of all patients and 46 percent of operated patients. Cytology had a 50 percent sensitivity, 87.5 percent specificity, a 89.4 percent positive predictive value and a 87.5 percent negative predictive value. The figures for fine needle aspiration biopsy were 82.6, 100, 100 and 87 percent respectively. Fine needle aspiration biopsy has a better diagnostic accuracy than cytology and is a simple and safe procedure

Rhabdomyolytic acute renal failure in cardiac surgery. A clinical case.

OBJECTIVE: Authors describe 1 case of rhabdomyolytic acute renal failure as a complication of Cardiopulmonary bypass. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Department of Cardiac Surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Patient affected by rhabdomyolytic acute renal failure was treated with pharmacological therapy, plasmapheresis and continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration (CAVH). RESULTS: Anuric acute renal failure was diagnosed in 2nd post surgical day; serum myoglobin values was 16000 micrograms/l (normal values in non surgical patients < 88 micrograms/l), creatine phosphokinase serum values was 8790 UI/L (with Mb fraction < 8%). Patient underwent CAVH and two a day sessions of plasmapheresis; hematochemical and hemodynamic parameters improved progressively with resolution of acute renal failure and resumption of the diuresis on the 10th day. The CAVH was suspended on the 11th day and plasmapheresis on the 5th. Rhabdomyolytic syndrome should be correlated to the direct cannulation of the femoral artery for cardiopulmonary bypass and to prolonged time of extracorporeal circulation, with consequent leg ischemia/reperfusion induced injury which occurs during the extracorporeal circulation and continued during postoperative period; contributory causes should be the low cardiac output syndrome and alpha vasoconstrictor effect of high dose continuous intravenous administration of epinephrine. CONCLUSIONS: Rhabdomyolytic acute renal failure is a severe complication of cardiopulmonary bypass; plasmapheresis and continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration seems to be suitable treatments.

Evidence of clonal progression in a case of Richter syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The debate continues as to whether Richter syndrome should be defined as non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) because of a more malignant clone of neoplastic cells superimposed on preexisting chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or as the chance occurrence of two unrelated tumors. The cellular characteristics of the neoplastic clone involved in the CLL phase and the subsequent NHL were investigated in a patient in whom Richter syndrome developed. METHODS: Cell analysis was performed with immunofluorescence, histologic analysis, DNA extraction, and Southern blot analysis. RESULTS: The separated CLL and NHL B-cells from blood and bone marrow, as well as the neoplastic cells in autopsy specimens of the organs affected by NHL, particularly the brain, were found to express the same light chain of surface immunoglobulin (SIg). The change MD-->M in the SIg heavy-chain expression and the appearance of cytoplasmic IgMk suggested isotype switching simulating that observed on the final phases of primary B-cell differentiation. This hypothesis was confirmed by Southern blot analysis of DNA from blood cells in the CLL phase and in Richter transformation, which showed that the two cell populations had identical Ig gene rearrangement. CONCLUSIONS: The NHL in the patient in this study represented a malignant progression of CLL, not a second lymphoid malignancy.

Banded karyotypes of 20 Papionini species reveal no necessary correlation with speciation.

The G-banded karyotypes of 20 species of the tribe Papionini are remarkably similar, and the amount of phylogenetic interpretation permitted is limited. The genera Mandrillus and Cercocebus may be linked by a derived chromosome 10. T. gelada may be linked to the macaques by chromosome 2. Chromosome 5, which differs in M. fascicularis, makes this species an unlikely ancestor of the Sulawesi (Celebes) macaques. An alternate hypothesis, which takes into consideration the possibility that ancestral populations may be polymorphic for these chromosome variants, suggests that different chromosome variants have become fixed in different lines. These chromosomes would therefore not reflect phylogenetic relations. In the Papionini the karyotype has not played a major role in diversification and speciation.